An Equal Burden

"Be your best by never being your best. Excellence leads to conflict!"

Twilight Sparkle's exhausted eyes fluttered open to the waking world, dreams the closest thing to freedom of thought left for the alicorn and her remaining friends in the decrepit shack prison; yet, even when buried in those figments of peace, the blare of Starlight Glimmer's commanding, insistent voice still droned on. The last to awaken that morning, Twilight counted every hour of the five days passed since Fluttershy infiltrated the ranks of the "Equalized" villagers to free them, but none of the mares had heard or seen anything of the pegasus since then, even in the processions of townsfolk marching outside.

Cupping her muzzle to stifle a yawn, Twilight looked across her ragged friends with reservation, the proud and defiant Elements of Harmony silently accepting what had become a draining routine, leaving the Princess of Magic their only pillar left to lean on.

"Fluttershy, girls, I'm so sorry. All this time it's been about me, my role as a princess, I'd never wondered if I truly deserved that power, these duties..." Twilight pondered, ears twitching just as the loudspeaker blared again:

"Standing out from the crowd is standing against comradery! Conformity never goes out of style!"

Rarity glanced out of the narrow window towards the wide and inviting dirt street, watching the Equalized villagers gather together for their daily ritual. To her astonishment, all the inhabitants of this isolated township lived in harmony with one another not just in step or purpose, but appearance as well. On the streets of Canterlot or Manehatten, everypony would make an effort to stand apart from the crowd and in their own uniqueness; but in Starlight's village, the same mane styles, earnest smiles, and rugged clothing reigned above any hint of originality.

"There is a certain charm to the aesthetic of Equality. Nopony mocking the way another dresses or the style of which they wear their hair, a community kept fulfilled and happy not by what makes them different, but what ties them together..." Rarity's judgment wavered, the formerly radiant unicorn's peerless beauty wearing the burden of restless nights and a few fearful tears for her vanished best-friend Fluttershy, before forcing herself to look upon Twilight to stir her inner resolve.

"...No, I won't falter now. Twilight wouldn't dare give in to this rhetoric, and neither shall I!""

"Free yourself from expectation! Without success there is no failure!"

Crumpled underneath the window opposite of Rarity, Rainbow Dash stared in the distance beyond the dull procession of ponies, their smiles gleaming in the morning sun. Bored out of her mind, the pegasus hardly mustered any of the gusto she'd held for their first few days of imprisonment. No escape attempt brought any hope, no daring call to action sprang from her lips, leaving the rainbow-maned pegasus tending her unsettled feathers impatiently.

"I blew it, how was I supposed to know they keep guards outside all night? Or in that last attempt yesterday, I kicked and fought all I could but it wasn't enough! Those ponies outside though, all of them, they'll never know how it feels to have so much expected of them, only to fail all your friends. Must be nice..." Rainbow Dash's tail nearly smacked her own cheek at the thought, the pegasus gritting teeth to steel her diminished resolve.

"What was that? These speakers must be getting to me, if Twilight's egghead brain is working overtime to bust us out, then there's no way I'm gonna back out either!"

"Why have so many competing parties, when all you need is one for everypony? Leave nopony out!"

The waiting and worrying stole away all the energy from Pinkie Pie, her near-inexhaustible list of jokes repeated twice within the first day. The pink earth pony tried so hard to keep her friend's spirits high, an effort that now only earned her at best a token, distant smile, or a bitter chuckle. In stark comparison, the ponies outside never seemed to stop smiling, never fought, and always laughed at each other's jokes!

"What're they so happy about? Maybe that big meanie on the intercom is right! It's a fake smile, sure, but does that mean they're any less content compared to us? They have everypony waiting outside in a huge welcoming party, just for me and my friends! It would be very rude not to at least attend once..." Pinkie attempted to force a smile, quickly flipping it upside down at the distressing "fakeness" on her lips.

"Ack, no way! It pains me to think it, but some parties are just NOT worth attending!"

"Waste not, want not! Why waste another minute standing alone, when being together as one yields the greatest fruits?"

The only mare on all four hooves, Applejack languished in the center of the room, her hooves having paced a clear trail of frustration along every corner. Nursing a sore shoulder from the previous day's escape attempt, the stubborn earth pony glared down, smoldering in frustration. Every second waiting for Fluttershy was another lost chance of escape, another given to Starlight and her followers! She paused, reflecting with quiet admiration at their tireless work to improve their village, their lives humble, homely, and won with honest work.

"Dang it, if even half of Ponyville was like them, we'd want for nothin' else! I mean, they take breaks and chatter, but when these villagers set out to work, we just can't compete! Starlight's really got a vision for this place, maybe even more than I've got for Sweet Apple Acres back home..." The earth pony judged with a sigh, glancing out the window at smiling faces lined up, waiting for their "mayor" to appear.

"Ah, shucks, what am I even thinkin' now?! Must be that knock in the head I took yesterday throwin' me for a loop." Applejack shook the thoughts away, adjusting the rugged hat on her head. "Nopony could ever lead a team like us any better than Twilight! Why, I bet the next scheme she cooks up to get is outta here'll knock Starlight right of her-" She turned towards the alicorn expectantly, managing a smile for the first time all day; only, nopony sat there any longer!

"Twi?!" Applejack called out, the attention of her friends leveled at the front door to the shack, where the princess stood with a low-hanging head, the door already swinging open with a despondent squeak...

* * *

Like clockwork soldiers on parade, Starlight led her loyal villagers in stride around the dreaded "Reeducation Shack," the nefarious unicorn's pre-recorded voice booming across its loudspeakers. Her insights on cutie-mark free living made an effective alarm-clock to awaken anypony inside that cramped prison every morning; be they either new arrivals in need of enlightenment or those misguided townsfolk who questioned the sanctity of her happy little village.

Of all the smiling faces, the pink unicorn's confident sneer stood out from the crowd; after all, one of the Elements of Harmony was already well on their way to "accepting" her teachings in full, and the mind-dulling effects of the cutie-mark robbing spell concealed as the faux-scepter's enchantment left no doubt in Starlight's mind that soon, they'd break, and see things her way.

"If it wasn't for that busybody Twilight Sparkle, we'd have ourselves five more happy citizens! Awfully selfish of her, to keep her supposedly treasured "friends" caged up and suffering. Don't you agree, Double Diamond?" The mayor questioned her right-hoof stallion, the handsome snow-colored earth pony mountaineer the first of many to fall under her charms.

"Right as always, Starlight!" The grinning stallion proclaimed without a second thought, his loyalty to the self-declared mayor without question. "It's such a shame. I really like the Princess of Friendship, and would just love to get to know her, once she gets rid of her unhealthy obsession with cutie marks! She'll love life here, they all will. Just like me!"

"Oh, I don't think you'll have long to wait, my dear friend; she'll be so eager to meet you when she finally sees things our way...Oh, look, here she comes now!" Starlight pointed a hoof towards the shack, motioning two townsfolk to escort their "friends in training" outside, as they'd done every morning for close to a week. As the oaken door swayed open at last, the purple alicorn trudging forward to meet with the long line of eager, worry-free villagers, their smiles a sharp contrast to the crestfallen frown along Twilight's muzzle. Twilight's remaining friends followed the princess in a loose line of solidarity, the spark of resistance in their eyes long-faded under Starlight's propaganda and the equalizing magic. Starlight strutted ahead of her lined-up villagers, beaming in triumph.

"Good morning, Twilight! We're just about ready to start another wonderful day in our town, full of friendship and equality! It's such a beautiful day in the village, and you know that it hurts to keep you and your wayward friends confined, er, accommodated, in the Reeducation Shack..." The unicorn jeered with false sincerity, pacing in front of Twilight with wicked anticipation, a row of smiling faces behind her each gleefully witnessing the hopeless sight of a battered, beaten, and broken Princess of Friendship.

"So, is today the day we've all hoped for? The day when you finally realize how blinded you were by your cutie marks, by the selfish need to stand apart, to be different?" Starlight continued her rhetoric, exulting the stinging truth of her ideology of sameness reverberating in every hour of propaganda spewed from the loudspeakers. "Is today the day all of us can stop calling you all skeptics, and can start calling you our new friends?"

A hush fell over the orderly crowds as the Princess of Friendship raised her gaze for the first time, fatigue and defeatism taking their toll on the once-proud heroine. Wings sulking at her sides, the alicorn's eyes traced along every smile anticipating her response, Fluttershy nowhere to be seen.

All these satisfied villagers, in such a pleasant town, wore heavily on Twilight's resolve. If she was really fit to wear the mantle of Princess, how could she dare take that away from them, much less let her friends keep suffering alongside her out of comradery? The only bulwark keeping them from joining Starlight's welcoming community was Twilight herself. The alicorn's pride since earning the crown, her duties of rank and royalty, all self-serving ends that her friends dearly paid for. Shutting away that harmful pride, Twilight met eyes with Starlight, humbled in the gaze of a mare who proved to be more than a teacher, but a superior.

"...Yes, Starlight. Today is the day." Twilight confessed, fighting back tears, pride winning out over the cold logic of acceptance, at least at that moment. The crowd gasped, but Starlight remained composed, expectantly content, like she knew from the start. Twilight continued, her eyes leveled towards the earth. "On one condition: if you promise that my friends will be happier under your teachings than under mine. I can't stand to see them miserable for my sake, they deserve so much better than that. Please, give them that, and do what you will with me..."

"Why Twilight, of course they will be happier!" Starlight exclaimed with a smile and barely a thought of consideration, to which cheers of celebration erupted from the onlookers, every villager elated to welcome a former-princess, now townsfolk, into their midst. Twilight sighed, robbed of magic and reason to resist, defeat weighing heavily on her soul. Her friends, each depending on her to stand firm, stepped forward and past her, disappeared into the roaring throng to whatever fate awaited them, hesitant smiles of encouragement dawning across their muzzles as they vanished from her view. In the chaos of celebration, Starlight cupped Twilight's chin, Double Diamond standing right behind her at attention.

"In that case, welcome to our town, Twilight Sparkle! I would have cottages built for each of your friends, but I know they'd be better served by getting to know their townsfolk in a more, ahem, "personal" sense. You, however...You'll be staying with me and Diamond! We've got a lot to teach our newest friend," Starlight explained with a sort of presence the newly-meek princess could only compare to that of her mentor, the unicorn's touch oddly calming, reassuring a docile response from the once-mighty alicorn.

"You'll all have a day or so to relax in a guest-home after our festive welcome, but after that, I look forward to seeing how your friends adjust to their new places in our village! If they have the same kind of acceptance like your dear friend Fluttershy," the unicorn sneered, drawing a shiver from her royal audience at what that implied, though anything prevailed over another sleepless night of self-loathing. "Then you and your comrades will discover a that a happy life of contentment awaits you all, in our humble town!"

* * *

That night, once the festivities ended and each new, exhausted, or drunken friend stumbled to sleep, Starlight stepped into her cottage, the unicorn's muzzle twisted in wicked glee. Double Diamond slipped down from upstairs, happy to see her. Then again, like all denizens of Starlight's village, he was always happy, and especially so to see his Mayor.

"Twilight's just passed out, tired out like the others. Do you think we may have overtaxed them with the marching routines, singing, and cider today?" the earth pony questioned, slightly concerned for their well-being, especially that of the alicorn. "They were all so listless after breakfast, almost in a trance even-"

"Diamond, my dear friend, when have I ever pushed anypony too hard? Well, other than perhaps Fluttershy," Starlight retorted with a dismissive shrug, slipping into the den with a devious sway to her trot, the subtle blue glow of her horn rippling insidious magic through the "Equal-Marks" studding each of her new citizen's flanks throughout their night's sleep. "Besides, it worked, didn't it? You've never voiced concern with the others joining our ranks..."

"W-well, nopony's fought against the truth about cutie marks so strongly before," Diamond explained thoughtfully, pouring himself and Starlight tea while watching her settle in on a pillow near the hearth. "I mean, Twilight was the only thing keeping them together at the end. I know there was no other option, that she had to accept reality; but seeing her so downtrodden, it nearly-"

"Broke your heart?" Starlight interrupted with a snicker, her magic catching the tea-tray that Diamond almost dropped upon hearing that phrase. "Hah, I knew it! I've seen the way you've been looking at her, Diamond. Honestly, I can't blame you. A bit bookish for my tastes, but I can see the appeal for a stud like yourself, especially a Princess."

"It's not that I've ever doubted you," the earth pony blurted, crimson dawning stark on his snow-colored cheeks. "I'd heard about the new Princess, but never thought she'd be, you know, so striking! I'm really happy that she's starting to accept your teachings, Starlight..."

"Oh, is that so Diamond? Yes, I'm quite pleased as well, more than you know," Starlight cooed, wicked thoughts swirling in her blue eyes as she hovered the stallion his glass, sipping at her own while watching the fire flicker in the hearth. "In that case, I think you might be able to help her, ahem, "adjust" to our ways."

"You mean it?" Diamond gasped, his tail swishing with excitement at the notion. "If there's anything I could do for her, just say the word! I'd love to see her bask in the happiness you've given all of us."

"Oh, you'll get your chance very soon," the mage hinted, pleased to enjoy the obedience of such a loyal comrade in her schemes. "I've got special plans for the others too. Responsibilities of a sort, to grant them all a suitable place in our village. They should be convinced afterwards; besides, it will save us the trouble of building new cottages!"

"Well, if they're happy to give up their cutie marks in the end, anything you say is fine by me, Starlight!" Diamond declared, lapping at his tea.

"As it should be," Starlight reminded, whispering under her breath as the equal-mark spell worked its insidious grasp through the minds of five soon-to-be citizens throughout the night. "Though, it's not as if they'll have much a choice..."