Chapters With every step they took towards their destination, Twilight and their friends kept a watchful eye on every pony they met. Everypony here seemed amiable at least, giving a welcoming smile or even the occasional wave. Visitors, apparently, weren't seen as anything to regard with any attitude other than warmth. But even with this good mood persisting, Twilight couldn't help but feel that something was off. After all, the Map had called them here, so something had to be going wrong in this place. As they moved, their eyes drifted to the homes they passed. Each one, while largely identical, nevertheless seemed to be well-constructed, using not only good-quality materials but also having been designed with a number of expert-level architectural flourishes, which Rarity especially seemed to fawn over. But, after having walked for a while now, there came a point when their guide, Diamond, halted, looking back to the group.
"Okay, she's right in here."
He gestured to the home they now stood next to, and Twilight regarded it thoughtfully for a time. Then, her gaze turned. For they were very close to the centre of town now, and just a short way away, they could see that large building that they could see from the ridge before. She had, at first, likened it to the Ponyville Town Hall, but in reality, it was more like a temple in appearance, forged of polished marble and bearing a number of exquisitely-carved columns. And, as ever, there was that glow , which flowed out of every window. Twilight narrowed her eyes at it, but for the time being, she looked over to Double, giving him a nod.
"Alright...let's meet this founder."
Double nodded, and headed over to the front door of the house, opening it and starting to enter. Twilight and the others followed suit, and before long, they were inside. To the house's credit, it appeared to be well-furnished. A great manner of comfortable furniture and woodwork was abound here, and all of it appeared to have been hoof-made. It just looked like an ordinary home. Nothing scary or sinister about it at all, and considering that scary and sinister was something Twilight was expecting, that only served to disturb her more . But then, within moments, she finally noticed that they were not alone here. There, on the other side of the room, were two mares, who currently had their backs to them. They were both unicorns, each with pink fur and purple manes. But one had a mane that was full of curls, while the other's style was far more straight. Before them both was a desk, and upon it was what appeared to be blueprints of some building.
"Do you think this will work, Starlight?" the mare with the curly mane asked.
The other mare, Starlight, gave a nod.
"It will. We've been needing a larger medical clinic for some time, Sugar. You say Party was able to find the right stone for it?"
Sugar nodded.
"Yes. In the mountainside just east of here. You know, where that old quarry was? Turns out there was more left over than it's past owners thought."
Starlight considered that.
"Alright. Talk to Night and Feather. Tell them they need to head on over and give Party some help. I need to get back to checking the progress on the aqueduct."
Sugar opened her mouth to speak, only to stop when, just then, she finally noticed that they had visitors.
"Oh! Um...Starlight...?"
The other mare turned, seeming just a touch surprised when she saw Double here, especially when she noticed too that he was not alone here.
"Guests, Double?"
The white stallion chuckled, before gesturing to Twilight.
"Yep. This is Twilight Sparkle. She and her friends just arrived."
Starlight regarded them, then gave a nod. She turned, lighting up her horn and carefully folding up the blueprints on the desk, before turning in earnest to meet her new visitors.
"Sorry. You caught me at a pretty busy time. I'm Starlight Glimmer. Pleased to meet you."
The tone she'd said those words in didn't seem to suggest that she was being dishonest in that, and her smile seemed genuine too. So, remembering her manners, Twilight returned the smile, stretching out her hoof.
"Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for having us here."
Starlight, graciously accepting that hoof and giving it a good shake, looked her over carefully, and as such, it wasn't long before she, of course, noted the pair of wings the mare had, prompting her to raise an eyebrow.
"I take it I'm dealing with a Princess here?"
A nervous chuckle escaped Twilight, but before she had a chance to answer, Rainbow did it for her, speaking in her usual confident way as she did so.
"You'd better believe it! This right here is Equestria's Princess of Friendship!"
Twilight glared at her for giving that unauthorised announcement, which Rainbow at least had the decency to give a somewhat apologetic laugh to. Starlight for her part, took that new knowledge in, before once more breaking out into a smile.
"Well...let it never be said that we don't know how to treat royalty properly here."
With that, she gave a deep bow, one Twilight was well used to seeing from the regular citizens of Equestria by this point. Even so, she couldn't help but be a little embarrassed by it all.
"Oh, you don't need to do that. Just treat me like anypony else."
Raising herself up, Starlight let out a brief chortle.
"Trust me, in this town, that’s a sentiment we can all get behind."
For a moment, Twilight was confused, but, much like before, she remained quiet. For just like with Rainbow earlier, she now found herself interrupted by one of her friends. This time, it was Pinkie, who darted right past her and spoke to Starlight in her usual energetic way.
"So why don't any of you have cutie marks? That's pretty weird."
Rarity's head snapped in the direction of her party-loving friend, eyes wide.
"Pinkie! That was most uncalled for!"
Pinkie herself seemed confused at her friend's unhappy remark, but Starlight, by contrast, seemed to take no issue in the question, instead letting out another laugh.
"Oh, don't worry. It's perfectly fine for her to ask. Most ponies do."
Looking to her, Twilight gained a look that was, it had to be said, more than a little inquisitive.
"Pinkie's lack of tact aside...it is a rather...odd thing to find out here. In truth...none of us have ever even heard of this town before."
Starlight nodded, glancing to Sugar beside her.
"Well, we can certainly understand that. We try to keep to ourselves out here. Don’t want to bother anypony. So I’m not surprised that nopony really knows about us.”
Looking to Twilight fully, Starlight let out a sigh.
“In truth, we always knew this was going to mean a lot of explanation if anypony official was to come along. And...well...here you are ."
Twilight shifted uncomfortably at having been referred to that way, even though she knew from Starlight's voice that there had been no insult intended in it. And speaking of whom, the Town's founder paused for a time, appearing to be deep in thought for a while.
“Although...I am a little curious as to why you’re here.”
Naturally, Twilight was feeling a little uncertain as to how best to word her presence here. Then, in a surprising move, it was Fluttershy who did so.
“We’re here to solve a friendship problem.”
Starlight looked to her, understandably confused.
“A...friendship problem?”
Then, before anypony could stop her, Pinkie began to explain matters in a rapid-fire way.
“Yep! Twilight’s got this big magic castle thing, and just the other day we were all siting down on these fancy chairs, when wham! This super-flashy table showed up, and there was this map, and it pointed straight to your town! So, with all of us being kind of Equestria’s resident experts on Friendships, we all figured there must be somepony out here who needed help with that!”
As one would expect after a barrage like that, everypony looked to Pinkie with more than a little uncertainty, Starlight especially.
“Well...um...that’s...quite the story.”
Twilight blushed at that, but stayed quiet as Starlight continued.
“Still...strange as that story was...if you're going to be that forthcoming with us ...we might as well return the courtesy.”
Placing her hoof to her chin, she pondered.
"I suppose...if I'm going to explain, it might be best to..."
But then, all of them were taken aback by the sudden and loud sound of the door bursting open. All eyes turned to see a unicorn stallion, with bright blue fur and a dark-blue curly mane, enter the house.
"Starlight! You gotta...!"
However, within an instant, he noticed her guests, and immediately looked embarrassed.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Are...are you busy?"
Starlight sighed, rolling her eyes.
"No, Party. It's fine. We were just explaining things to our visitors."
A look of confusion came to her, and she frowned slightly at her colleague.
"Hey...aren't you supposed to be scoping out the quarry by the mountain?"
A blush came to him, but then he soon recovered from it.
"Yeah...I am. But..."
A smile soon came to him.
"It's Sweet Sprinkle! She's...she's got her cutie mark!"
All of the present townsfolk's faces lit up at this, and they all looked to each other with excitement. Twilight, meanwhile, looked over to her friends, and they all shared the same look of confusion.
"Um...begin' yer pardon...but ah thought y'all didn’ have cutie marks here?" Applejack remarked.
Turning to face them again, Starlight nodded.
"That's true...but also not ."
The look on the six mares' faces made it clear that more would need to be said. But, before Starlight could do so, Party interrupted her.
"Maybe you should show them? Sweet says she wants to go through with it. Right now!"
Starlight glanced over to him, surprised.
"Really? Already?"
Party nodded, prompting Starlight to consider that. After a while of thinking the matter over, the unicorn mare resumed her smile, stepping forward and speaking confidently to the young Princess before her.
"In that case...Princess...would you care to join me...and see what our Town's all about?"
Twilight, who was still understandably nonplussed about all of this nevertheless gave a nod.
"Well...it would certainly help our purpose here. Lead the way, Miss Starlight."
As Twilight, Rainbow and all the others began to walk out of the central building of the Town, there could be no doubt for anypony that they were more than a little taken aback by what they'd just witnessed. The young Princess of Friendship herself, looking around the place, couldn't help but feel like she was out of her depth here. Everypony nearby seemed so content, so happy , despite being involved in something that, to Twilight's eyes at least, was utterly unfathomable. Turning, she looked to her friends, and even without asking, it was obvious that many of them were struggling with this revelation. Slowly, her eyes drifted through the still-open doors, to the Conduit itself. It hovered there, in its benign way, and Twilight knew that it was powerful. She didn't fully understand it, but even so, there was more to be learned, she was sure of it. But, for the time being, she focused once more on her friends, Applejack especially, as the latter finally broke the silence between them.
"Ah hate ta suggest it, but...do ya think that there Conduit is...ya know...?"
She didn't finish, for Twilight had already guessed what was going on in her mind.
"You mean...dark magic?"
Sighing, Applejack nodded, and Twilight considered the question, shaking her head slightly.
"I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered it, but...no...I don't think it is ."
Rainbow, hearing that, looked to her with some incredulity.
"What?! But that thing is taking cutie marks! That's, like, super creepy and stuff! I bet it’s got some weird magic thing going on in their heads to make them all think this is a good thing! Or, you know, something else like that!"
Twilight nodded.
"I know it appears that way to us, that something must be amiss. We’ve all been through too much together to just take something like this at face-value. But...I've faced more dark magic than anypony else here. Believe me when I say that I'm more familiar with it than you."
Looking once more to the Conduit, Twilight narrowed her eyes.
"I have this...feel for dark magic. There's always been this sense of...something wrong . Something twisted about it whenever I’m close to it, and...well...I'm just not getting that feeling from the Conduit. Whatever it is, whatever power it bears...I don’t think there’s any maliciousness to it."
Rainbow grumbled to that.
"Dark magic or not, I'm not happy about it."
Pinkie looked to her, confused.
"Why not? Everypony here seems pretty happy with it. I’d have expected everypony to be super-sad from not having their cutie marks, but all I'm getting is just...not that!"
She then giggled.
“Plus, we all know how important it is to share, right? Sharing special talents is, you know, just a really big and magical kind of sharing!”
Rarity grimaced slightly.
“Pinkie, whatever you do, please don’t do the sharing song again! Last time you did that, it started a war! ”
Pinkie squinted her eyes at her fashionista friend, but said nothing, for Applejack soon spoke up.
"It ain't natural , Pinkie! Givin' up yer cutie marks? That ain't right!"
Twilight nodded.
"It's bizarre, I'll agree. The ponies here may have accepted it, but...it's such a massive difference from everything pony society has been for...for thousands of years!"
Thinking on her options, she let out a sigh.
"I think...it might be for the best if we started asking a few questions."
Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever do you mean, darling?"
Turning away, Twilight gestured to some of the other townsfolk, many of whom were simply walking down the street and minding their own business, never even paying them any attention.
"We should split up, at least for now. Find somepony who lives here, ask them about why they came here, and why they were willing to give up their talents and marks like this. There’s probably a story to everypony here. Something that would have convinced them to come to this remote place. A place nopony had ever heard of...and accept this new way of thinking."
Eventually, she looked back to her friends.
"The Map called us here to solve a friendship problem...and that Conduit might well be what's causing it."
She considered that.
"In fact...if any of you can find out any information about it, that would help too. Where it was found, how they first managed to use it, maybe if they’ve tried casting spells on it, that sort of thing."
Rainbow let out a chuckle to that.
"No problem. It'll be pretty easy to convince these ponies that sharing your talents isn't all that great. Being the same as everypony else would just get so...you know...dull . Nopony ever looking to you and going, hey, you’re great for doing that thing I can’t do! I mean..."
She pointed straight to her own chest.
"...can you imagine how lame it'd be if everypony could fly as awesomely as I can? There’d be no need for flying races, or even the Wonderbolts! I'd never be able to brag about it again! "
Naturally, many of her friends looked to her with arched eyebrows, and as Rainbow began to notice this, she backtracked, chuckling nervously and scratching the back of her head.
"Hehe...I mean...not that that's the only bad thing about the Conduit of course. I just...need to work on my sales pitch, that’s all."
Rarity shook her head.
"Maybe it would be best if you restricted yourself to finding out ponies' stories, Rainbow. Then we can worry about trying to convince them to change their minds."
Rainbow gave her a frown, but kept quiet for the time being, instead looking to Twilight as the latter spoke up.
"Look...when you talk to the local ponies...try not to sound like we're being critical of their way of life here. After all, nopony wants to have some stranger come along from the other side of the country and tell them their ways of doing things are wrong. We’re not their enemies...we’re just curious."
There was a general murmur of agreement to that sentiment, and Twilight, giving one final look to the Conduit, gave her friends a solemn nod.
"Alright...let's get to work."
And with that, the ponies split up, heading in several different directions. Twilight turned, ready to head out and conduct her investigation. But, before she was even able to take a single step forward, she stopped. For she was halted by the sound of somepony clearing their throat, which prompted her to turn around again. To her surprise, it was Fluttershy, who had been silent during that entire conversation.
"Fluttershy? What's wrong?"
The animal lover hesitated for a moment, looking around as the other mares made their way further off, as though worried of being heard by them, before once more looking to Twilight.
"Twilight...are you sure the Conduit is a problem?"
Twilight was a little surprised by that, but nevertheless gave a short nod.
"I am. There seems to be little else here that could potentially have been the catalyst for any friendship problems. And magic like that...well...we have a long history of things going wrong with ancient magical artefacts, as you know."
Fluttershy nodded back.
"I understand that, but..."
She let out a sigh.
"...I realise the ponies here do things differently...very differently in fact. I was just as surprised as you were when I found out about it. But...that's no reason to assume that it's an issue. Everypony has been good to us since we arrived and...I don't think it's right for us to be looking to them with that kind of suspicion."
Though still taken aback that her friend would be speaking this way about this whole matter, Twilight could not deny that she had a point, and that was reflected in her tone when she finally responded to her friend’s words.
"You're right, Fluttershy. And in truth...I hope I'm wrong. I want to believe that these ponies are truly happy doing what they're doing. But for now, we need to be certain. We're just asking questions right now. Once we've learned more...we can decide what to do afterwards ...okay?"
Considering that, Fluttershy nodded.
"Okay...we're...just finding out."
Twilight smiled.
"That's right."
The yellow pegasus gave a sigh, then offered her friend a smile, before promptly heading off. Twilight watched her go, and as soon as she was far enough away, she once more turned, looking to the rest of the Town. She scoured the area, looking to ponies and homes, before finally settling on one direction in particular.
"Okay then...time for answers."
Given her personal line of work, it was no surprise that Applejack's instincts compelled her to go to the area of farmland that she and her friends had seen just outside of town. Once there, she looked on with admiration at everypony who was working within it. Now, she was by no means a stranger to people working hard in fields for a living, but now, realising that each pony she saw out there probably had the farming talents of dozens of others, just made her realise how capable they were. Talents in irrigation, care for plants, choosing the right soil, all of these things and more were all mixed up in the mares and stallions she saw there, and as such, they set to work with a speed, efficiency and self-assuredness that she had rarely witnessed before. But, she wasn't standing there unnoticed for long, and soon, a nearby mare looked over to her, having just finished planting a number of seeds in the ground.
"Hello there!"
Applejack smiled to her, tipping her hat.
"Howdy!"
The other mare took a step closer to her.
"You're one of the Town's visitors, right? A friend to that Princess?"
The orange earth pony let out a chuckle.
"Yep. Name's Applejack!"
The other mare nodded to that.
"Sandy Oak."
Applejack looked out over the field, once more admiring the work everypony was doing.
"Ah gotta tell ya, it's been a while since ah've seen so many good farmers in one place. Normally it's jus' me an' mah family."
Sandy titled her head.
"You have a farm back home?"
A look of pride came to Applejack.
"Eyup! Sweet Apple Acres! Finest Apple Orchard y'all have ever seen!"
Hearing that, Sandy then smiled.
"Oh, I haven't had a decent apple in a long time! Still, we get some pretty good fruits and vegetables growing here without them, I suppose."
Applejack regarded her carefully.
"Ah'm sure the folks round these parts were pretty grateful when ya contributed yer cutie mark. All that farmin' like ya can do an' stuff?"
But Sandy simply giggled.
"Actually...my mark was in gardening ."
Applejack seemed surprised by that.
"Um...gardenin'?"
Sandy nodded back.
"That's right. Planting roses, mowing lawns, all that sort of thing."
But then, a sigh escaped her.
"Truth be told...I was never that happy with it. Oh, sure, I could make a nice garden...but it never...never really fulfilled me."
Her face lit up soon afterwards.
"But when I came to this place, when I joined myself to the Conduit...I suddenly had every avenue opened to me! One day I was only ever good at planting flowers, and the next, I was helping to build houses, cook food I'd never even knew I could ..."
Looking back to her field, her smile widened.
"...and today, I'm helping out here ."
A chortle escaped her.
"Back in the day, I would have needed the help of pretty much all of my neighbours to get all the work done in a field like this...but now I can do it myself ."
Looking back to Applejack, she let out a contented sigh.
"I never felt so capable as I have been since I came here."
Hearing all of that, Applejack seemed thoughtful.
"That...that sounds real nice, Sandy."
Sandy stepped forward, looking to her with curiosity.
"And you? Are all your family farmers too?"
To that, Applejack regained her smile.
"Eyup! Most o' us all have talents in farmin' apples, as ya can guess. When we're all together, ah tell ya, those orchards don' know what hit em!"
Thinking on that, Sandy nodded.
"It's good, isn't it...when so many ponies around you can all do what you can do?"
Realising what she meant by that, Applejack fumbled for a bit.
"Well...um...ah guess?"
Turning, Sandy started to move off, heading straight back for her part of the field.
"It was nice meeting you, Applejack! Enjoy the rest of the Town!"
Nervously, Applejack waved back to her.
"Yeah...um...you too?"
Once Sandy was out of earshot, Applejack let out a long sigh of her own.
"Whoo boy...that...that sure was...different."
As a great lover of fine aesthetics, Rarity had taken something of an unscheduled break from her goal of asking questions around town, and instead elected to simply stand in front of one of the local buildings. She looked to it with utter awe, practically fawning over its architecture, its design. It wasn't just that it was well-built, it was downright beautiful to look at. Homes in the likes of Ponyville were all well and good, but this? This was something you were more likely to find in Canterlot , or some of the more aristocratic neighbourhoods of Manehattan. It was art , and of course, Rarity always appreciated art. But, unfortunately for her, as she stood there, near-drooling at this beautiful home before her, she failed to realise that some of the local residents were giving her odd looks. Apparently standing in front of a single house for ages on end and staring at it wasn't exactly considered "normal" behaviour. But, thankfully, it wasn't long before she caught the eye of one particular stallion, a unicorn, who walked up to her with some confusion in his expression.
"Um...Miss?"
Shaking herself out of her trance-like state, Rarity giggled nervously before turning to face this male.
"Oh! I do apologise! I was just...admiring the view."
The stallion chuckled.
"Yeah...I was always pretty proud of them."
At first, Rarity didn't quite understand what he meant by that. But then, as the moments passed, realisation came to her, and her eyes widened.
"You mean...you’re the one who made this beautiful home?"
A blush came to him.
"Well...not this one...but my talent was in architecture and building design. And after I joined the community...well..."
He didn't finish, but Rarity already understood where he was going.
"Ah, I see. Everypony was able to do the same. And so you have a whole town of gorgeous buildings."
The stallion nodded, taking a step forward and offering his hoof.
"Chipper Chisel. A pleasure to meet you. My friends call me Chip."
"Rarity too took a step forward, accepting his hoof.
"Rarity. Charmed, I'm sure."
But then, curiosity came to her.
"If I may ask, Mr Chisel, how did you end up in this place?"
Chip sighed, looking to the building nearby.
"Back when I was working in Canterlot..."
Sadly, he was then interrupted when Rarity let out a happy-sounding squeal of joy.
"Oh my! You're a genuine Canterlot architect?!"
Chip, taken aback by that, gave a nod, and Rarity immediately realised her interruption.
"Oh, I am terribly sorry, Sir! Please, do go on."
Clearing his throat, Chip regained his earlier train of thought.
"Well...all I ever wanted when I was making my designs and plans was to make homes that ponies liked. But, more often than not, I was always commissioned to create big expensive homes for the city's elite."
He grimaced, turning away.
"It wasn't that I was ungrateful for the chance to build, or even for the money. And I know my patrons weren't bad people, but..."
Soon, he let out a longer sigh.
"...I just wanted to building things for everypony , not just...a few ."
A frown came to him.
"But...my bosses always said we had to prioritise our higher-paying clients."
Eventually, he turned away from Rarity, his voice tainted with a degree of resentment.
"So...I left. I didn't want to just keep doing that sort of thing over and over for the rest of my life."
Then, slowly, a smile touched his lips, and he once more looked back to the fashionista.
"But eventually...I found the Town. A place where I didn't have the problems I was restricted with back home. It took a while, but I eventually warmed up to the idea of giving up my talent to everypony living here. And I tell you...seeing my abilities being used by others to provide homes to all? There was no better feeling of accomplishment."
Taking in all of this, Rarity nodded slowly.
"Yes...I imagine that would feel good."
Soon, she to began to smile.
"I've always had a love of being able to use my own craft to provide glamour to all I meet. If they too could do it, make dresses and outfits as well as I could...well...it wouldn't be long until everypony made such things. Why...it would be if I had me it for them myself ."
Chip's smile widened.
"You know...a good range of outfits would always be welcome here , if...you know..."
Understanding his implication, Rarity took a step backwards, giving a genuine smile but nevertheless sounding uncertain.
"Oh...well...I appreciate the offer, but..."
But Chip raised a hoof.
"It's fine, don't worry. I know it's not for everypony. Still..."
He gave her a slight bow of his head, then started to walk past her.
"...I've got some other things I need to do. It was nice meeting you!"
Rarity watched him go, giving a small wave as he left. And as soon as she was alone, she pondered what she'd learned.
"Well...no evil plot yet. Rainbow will be most disappointed."
"Wow! Your cutie mark is really pretty!"
Children had always loved Fluttershy, and today, they were swarming all around her. Right now, she was right on the edge of town, standing beside a small pond that was adjacent to a peaceful-looking willow tree. The perfect place for one to go if they wanted someplace calm and relaxing. But, that wasn't what she was getting, and instead, many of the youth of the Town were instead surrounding her, asking her mad questions about where she was from and what her talents were. Fluttershy, for her part, didn't have any issue being asked this sort of thing, especially by a bunch of happy and eager children, but even so, being bombarded by it constantly was getting to be a bit much.
"Is it true you can talk to animals?"
"Are you staying?"
"Did you see the Conduit? It was pretty neat, right?"
"Where's Ponyville? I've never heard of it."
"So what's it like being friends with a Princess?"
All these and more were being thrown at her in a rapid-fire manner, as children were usually known for doing, and though she tired her best to remain as calm and collected as she could, there was no question that Fluttershy was on the defensive here.
"Oh...um...well...you see..."
"Okay, kids, that's enough."
All eyes turned to the owner of the second voice; Starlight. The Town's founder walked on over, looking more than a little amused at the predicament Fluttershy had gotten herself in, before addressing the kids directly.
"I'm sure Miss Fluttershy would love to answer all of your questions, but she needs a little break right now. Besides..."
She raised her eyebrow at a few of them.
"...I believe some of your parents were expecting you to be in the middle of your chores right now?"
Naturally, there was a chorus of "awwww" at that remark, and soon, many of the colts and fillies started to walk off, heads hanging low. Fluttershy, being Fluttershy, offered them a wave and a smile as they left. But, one filly stayed behind briefly, looking to the Town's guest and giving one final question.
"Miss Fluttershy? Will you be staying here? I'd love to be able to talk to animals like my puppy one day!"
Though slightly startled by that, Fluttershy, to her credit, quickly re-composed herself.
"Well...we'll see."
The filly smiled to that, then ran off to join her friends. Starlight, shaking her head, looked to Fluttershy and spoke in an apologetic way.
"I'm sorry about that. The kids usually get pretty excited whenever somepony new comes along."
But Fluttershy simply giggled.
"Don't worry about it. They were just being curious."
Starlight walked past her, looking to the still waters of the pond.
"So...how are you enjoying our home?"
Fluttershy considered that.
"Well...it's very nice. Everypony here has been very welcoming."
Starlight smiled.
"...And has your investigation gone the way you wanted?"
Fluttershy was made silent by that, and Starlight looked to her, her expression hard to read.
"It's alright, Fluttershy. I know Twilight would have asked you and your friends to find out as much as you could here."
Though hesitant, Fluttershy nevertheless spoke up again.
"You're...you're not upset?"
Starlight shook her head.
"No. Sooner or later, ponies from further afield will find out about us and how we do things here. When that happens, we'll have more scrutiny than we'll know what to do with."
She focused on her pegasus companion.
"When I first found out what the Conduit could do...what it would mean for everypony...I was terrified. I didn't know what to think."
Her expression then softened.
"But when I stopped to think on it...how much good everypony could experience...I knew it was something that should be shared."
Then, she raised a hoof, pointing it to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy...your talents lie with animals. Communicating and caring for them. And there are many critters all over Equestria who go through hard times because they don't have anypony like you there."
She took a step forward.
"Can you imagine...how much better off they'd be...if every pony they came across could commune with them and give them the same level of care you can?"
Fluttershy paused, thinking on that.
"They'd...they would have better lives than ever ."
Starlight nodded, looking over to the pond.
"I want you to know...something like this...it's a choice . Nopony can or should make you want to do this. But I just wanted you to know...what it would mean if you and your friends were to become a part of what we're doing here."
Slowly, she turned back to her, her expression more serious than before.
"The flying skills of Rainbow...the magical talent of Twilight...all this and more, all shared by those who live here."
As Fluttershy looked on, Starlight began to move off, pausing just briefly to speak one last time to her.
"Twilight has headed off to the caves by the town, where I first found the Conduit. You should go there when you can...and think about what I said."
And so Fluttershy remained quiet, watching as Starlight walked away. Though she had spent much of her life as one known for naiveté, Fluttershy could still feel as though there had been no attempt at deception of manipulation from Starlight as she'd said all of that. The words she'd been given repeated themselves over and over in her mind, even when she turned in the direction Starlight had given her. As she looked out, far from the Town, she sighed.
"...I'm...not sure."
After a long day of hard work, there was nothing Starlight enjoyed more than being able to relax in her home with a nice cup of tea. And so, with her kettle boiling, se was just making the finishing touches to her favourite chair, getting her pillows in just the right arrangement she liked so much. It wasn't long afterwards when she finally heard her water finish boiling, and so she went over and, lighting up her horn, poured the water into the tea pot. There was nothing else important she needed to be doing right now, and as such, she saw no issue in simply standing to one side and waiting until the tea had brewed properly. When it had, she took the pot and promptly poured it into a cup she'd already prepared earlier. Smiling to it, she carefully levitated it over as she walked to her chair. After taking a few moments to just snuggle up on her pillows in just the right way, she took a single sip of her drink.
"Ah...perfect."
But then, to her surprise, she heard a knocking upon her door. Though not expecting this, she nevertheless took it in stride, placing her tea cup to one side for the time being. Walking to her door, she opened it, and saw that there, waiting on the other side, was Twilight.
"Oh! Princess? I wasn't expecting you."
Twilight smiled to that.
"Is it alright if I come in?"
Starlight was a little uncertain, but even so, she too began to smile in response, standing to one side and silently giving consent to her guest. Twilight nodded to this before entering, and as Starlight closed the door behind her, she turned to face her.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"
Starlight shook her head.
"Not at all. I was just getting some tea. Would you like some?"
Twilight chuckled slightly.
"I would love some."
And with that, Twilight watched her host make her way back to the kitchen, and in her absence, she picked out a chair and sat down, waiting for her to come back. Thankfully, that wasn't long, and within moments, the young Princess too had a cup of tea to enjoy. Starlight herself got back to her chair, looking on as Twilight took her first sip.
"Wow! This is really good!"
Starlight smiled.
"Thanks. I used to be total garbage at making tea. But then Herbal came to town and...well...you can probably figure it out."
Twilight nodded.
"Yeah..."
The tone she'd spoken that in made it clear that there was something that was on her mind. Starlight picked up on it immediately, but for a while, she said nothing, instead wanting to give the Princess her space. However, as a silence fell over the two mares, Twilight became more and more lost in thought, occasionally glancing up to Starlight before looking once more back down to her tea. Then, after having done this for some minutes, she let out a long sigh.
"Starlight...I owe you an apology."
Now that did surprise Starlight, and she looked to Twilight with an overt look of being taken aback. But then, after having gathered her thoughts, she replied.
"Um...for what?"
Twilight looked up to her.
"From the moment I set foot in your home, learned about your way of life, I was convinced that something was wrong. That something terrible was waiting to be found. I looked to you, to your neighbours, as being involved in something strange, unheard of...and that maybe you were a problem that I needed to fix."
Shame came to her.
"But I was wrong. Everypony here has been good to us, and I rewarded that good nature with suspicion and mistrust."
Starlight's face softened.
"Twilight...I appreciate that...but you're hardly the first pony to be uncomfortable with what we do here. Almost everypony you see here would have had that same difficulty at one point or another."
But Twilight shook her head.
"I'm the Princess of Friendship , Starlight! I'm not supposed to just go around thinking the worst of people like that!"
Thinking on that, Starlight let out a sigh of her own.
"You know...if it makes you feel any better...my reasons for starting this Town weren't...entirely altruistic...at least at first."
Twilight looked to her with confusion, and after a while, Starlight stared down at her tea, before beginning to explain herself.
"When I was a filly...I had a friend named Sunburst. He and I were inseparable. We did everything together. We learned magic, made plans for our future...and we thought we'd always be together."
Briefly, a grimace came to her.
"Then...one day...he got his cutie mark, and before I knew it, he was whisked away to a prestigious unicorn school...and I never saw him again."
She took another sip of her tea before continuing.
"Without him, I realised just how much I relied on him. My magic was good, but it was always him who found the spells, learned about them, helped me to understand them. As I grew up without him, I came to realise how much better off I was having help like that...and it wasn't long before I could see that kind of thing in others."
Slowly, she looked up to Twilight.
"All through my years, I saw ponies who needed help. Who had some sense of...some sense of needing more , so they could accomplish more."
Then, a smile touched her lips.
"That's when I learned about the Conduit. It was a small thing at first, some rumour spoken of in an old dusty tome...but it started me off on a journey...and that journey led me to...well...you know how things ended up."
Twilight nodded, understanding.
"That's...quite a story."
But Starlight still looked guilty about something.
"I may have ended up making something good...but it all began with, let's be honest, a fairly childish thing. Me losing my friend and feeling sad over it."
This time, however, it was Twilight's turn to once more look ashamed.
"That may be...but you've still done good, Starlight. The community you've made, what you're trying to achieve...it's all so...so much better than I could have thought."
Starlight looked to her, sounding more serious now.
"Don't think this a perfect place, Twilight. There are issues here, just as they are anywhere else."
Twilight tilted her head.
"Like what?"
Another sip of tea was taken before Starlight carried on.
"Well, for one thing, if somepony came here with ill intent, connected to the Conduit, and decided to use those new talents for...let's say less-than-selfless reasons...it might be a problem."
Twilight thought on that.
"True..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"...but that pony would still be surrounded by a whole population just as capable as they were. They may be made better, but it's still only bringing them to the same level as everypony else here."
Starlight nodded.
"You're right...but still...it's something that gives me pause for thought sometimes."
Turning, she looked out of her window, and could see a small group of fillies and colts, playing out in the street. A smile came to her, albeit a faint one.
"And then there's the matter of the children."
Of course, a statement like that caught Twilight's interest immediately.
"The...the children?"
Starlight nodded.
"Yes. You know that silly little thing they often have towards fillies and colts with no cutie marks? That whole blank-flank thing?"
Hearing that, Twilight giggled a little.
"Yeah. In fact, both Applejack and Rarity have sisters who get called that every now and again."
Starlight smiled.
"Well...here, it's a little different. There's still that pressure to get a mark. But instead of just getting one, it's getting one the Town doesn't already have. The kids...they want to feel like they're helping out, and if they get a mark that isn't new...they end up feeling like they can't really do that."
Twilight took that in.
"Yeah...I suppose that would get a little disappointing for them."
She shook her head soon afterwards.
"But even so, compared to everything else...that's a small problem, Starlight."
The town founder took another sip of her tea.
"I know...but I just wanted to let you know that, in spite of how proud we are of our home...we have problems like everywhere else. Things we need to work out."
Thoughtfulness came to her.
"Sometime in the future...I don't know when ...our Town will become known to Equestria as a whole. Many will look at what we do here as...wrong. We've all talked about it, and we're ready for when it comes."
A look of sadness took hold in her face.
"But even so...it won't be pleasant when it finally happens."
For the longest time, Twilight thought hard on those words. Everything she'd learned about this place, everything she'd heard from the ponies she'd met here, it all swam around in her thoughts. And amidst it all, a new thought began to take root. An idea, and one that had never occurred to her before now, began to grow and grow. Her eyes widened, realisation coming to her, and even a little shame. She let out a long sigh, and looked upwards, to Starlight.
"I...I think I finally understand why the Map called us here."
Starlight looked to her, intrigued.
"Oh?"
Twilight nodded.
"I think...it wasn't you who had the problem...but us ."
Starlight seemed taken aback by that.
"You?!"
Twilight looked away.
"We have a responsibility now. To go out into Equestria to make things right between friends. But...that was never going to work if we went to these places assuming the worst of the ponies we met. And that's exactly what my friends and I did here."
She looked back to Starlight.
"We had to come here, to learn this important lesson. There are people who do things differently to how we do, both here and beyond...but that doesn’t mean we can't be friends with those people."
Slowly, she got out of her chair, walking towards her host.
"I want to be your friend, Starlight. I want all of us to be your friends. And with the people of your Town too. We may be different...but that shouldn't divide us."
A small smile came to her.
"If I'm going to continue undertaking the tasks the Map has for me...learning to accept those differences will have to be a part of how I think from now on."
Starlight, as one would expect, wasn't quite sure of how to take all of this. But, she knew her guest had meant every word of it. So, slowly, she too began to smile, and carefully hopped off her chair. After a while of saying nothing, she reached out her hoof, offering it to Twilight. The young Princess looked to it, then to Starlight's face, before smiling again and accepting the offered hoof.
"So...friends?"
Considering that, the unicorn mare nodded.
"Yeah...I think we can be."
Then, to Twilight’s slight confusion, Starlight started to look down to her flank.
“Um...Princess?”
Turning, Twilight saw, to her own surprise, that her cutie mark was beginning to glow , which was a sight that prompted an obvious question on the part of Starlight.
“What...what’s that supposed to mean?”
Thinking on that for a moment or two, Twilight eventually resumed her smile, looking back to her new friend.
“I think...it means my purpose here really is finished.”
After everything they'd seen, heard and learned, there was no question that Twilight and her friends had gone through quite the experience. But now, their time at the Town was drawing to a close, and as such, they had all gathered on the edge of the place, getting themselves ready to begin the long journey back to Ponyville. But, they weren't alone here right now. For many of the townsfolk had come out to bid them a fond farewell. Pinkie was chatting it up with Party Favour, Rainbow was making promises of a future flying race with a mare called Night Glider, Rarity was discussing various forms of scarf fashions with Double Diamond, and Fluttershy was once more swamped with the local children, many of whom kept on begging for her to stay with them. And then there was Twilight, who wore a warm smile upon her face as she regarded all of this. But, she soon turned, for Starlight herself now came out to see her.
"Didn't think you were going to leave without me giving you a goodbye, did you?"
Twilight giggled to that.
"I was hoping you'd be here, actually."
The young Princess walked over to her, and many of her friends watched her as she did so. Once she and Starlight were close enough, Twilight reached out her hoof, and Starlight, smiling right back, accepted it, giving it a friendly shake.
"I know I should have said this a while back...but thank you, Starlight. You and your friends have been good to us here. It's been...an education."
Starlight chuckled.
"Likewise. You and your friends were a pleasure to have here. And you're always welcome to come back and visit."
Briefly, Twilight looked over to her friends, seeing the smiles they wore as they regarded her. And she, in turn, smiled back, before once more turning her attention to the founder of the Town.
"I look forward to it, Starlight."
Nodding, Starlight took a step back, looking to Twilight and her friends together, before letting out a sigh.
"One day...we'll be known."
Twilight nodded.
"I know..."
A knowing smile came to her.
"...but when that happens...I promise you we'll do everything in our power to help bridge the gap between you and the wider people of Equestria."
Starlight retained her smile, looking to the Princess with genuine appreciation.
"And so will we ."
Twilight gave another brief glance to her friends, before turning yet again to Starlight.
"Well...guess we'd better head on home. The train probably won't wait for us after all."
Starlight nodded back to her.
"In that case...I hope you have a safe trip back. Go, have your Map missions...and make Equestria a better place."
Party Favour looked to her, opening his mouth to speak, only to be stopped when Starlight beat him to it.
"Yes, Party, I know that was an incredibly corny thing to say. You don't need to point it out."
Naturally, that statement led to a round of laughter from all present, and it created an air of comfort among everypony. But, the laughter eventually died down, and when it did, everypony smiled warmly to one another. At the end of it all, Twilight turned, and took that first step back down the road she and her friends had taken to get here in the first place.
"WAIT!!!"
Everypony halted, and all turned in unison to discover, to their surprise, that it was none other than Pinkie who had yelled just now.
"Pinkie? What's wrong?"
The party-lover had a look to her that was more serious than any of her friends usually saw on her, and she looked to Twilight with a deep frown.
"Twilight...I'm sorry. Throughout our visit here, I've had something to say. I've kept quiet until now...but I can remain silent no longer!”
Twilight took on a look of nervousness.
"Pinkie..."
But Pinkie turned away from her, looking instead to Starlight. Many were worried about what was about to happen, what was about to be said , and whether or not it may shatter whatever connection they had made with these people. But, as for Pinkie herself, she marched right up to Starlight, placed her hoof square in her chest, looked her right in the eye, and then spoke what she'd wanted so long to say.
"Starlight Glimmer...are you seriously telling me that when you were making this place, you honestly couldn't come up with a better name for it than the Town? "
Starlight glimmer blinked slowly, glancing over to Twilight, the latter of which seemed both relieved and exasperated at her colleague's words, complete with a firm face-hoof to boot. Slowly, Starlight looked back to Pinkie, relaxing a little and letting out a dry laugh.
"Trust me, Pinkie. We may have many shared talents in this little place of ours...but coming up with good names was not one of them."
Though all of them were unsure of what they were going to find on this journey, none of them wavered in their commitment to reaching the end of it. Having been given an unexpected task by the newly-formed Cutie Map, Twilight, along with Pinkie pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, now ventured forth from the train station. This was the last stop, so as far as they knew, there was nothing and nopony else out here. And as they kept on walking, that belief held firm. It really did just seem like a bunch of craggy mountains and barren wastes. Naturally, a mare like Rainbow Dash was becoming more than a little irritated by this lack of activity, as evidenced by the annoyed grunt she let out. Twilight, by contrast, stayed determined, her gaze never straying from their path ahead. They seemed to have been walking for ages now, traversing one particularly narrow path through a mountain, and it was here that Fluttershy finally broke the silence.
"So...what do you think we'll find, Twilight?"
The young Princess sighed, her ears drooping somewhat.
"I have no idea, Fluttershy. This is new ground for all of us."
"Literally and figuratively," Rarity added.
"Y'all said it, Rares! Ah ain’t even heard o' this place before," Applejack chimed in.
"All I know is that there’d better be some big monster we have to fight at the end of this. Because that's the only thing that'd make this long journey worth it!" Rainbow declared.
A giggle escaped Pinkie.
"Well, I hope we meet a bunch of new ponies here! We came from a Friendship Palace , we're following the Princess of Friendship, and we're on a friendship mission . Trust me, ladies, there'll be more friends than we know what to do with!"
Looking back to her party-loving companion, Twilight broke into a small smile.
"I certainly hope so, Pinkie."
Then, as she looked forward, she stopped, and her eyes widened.
"Wait...I think...yes! We're at the end of the path!"
The other mares looked on, and sure enough, their leader had the right of it. The pathway had indeed been growing wider with their last few steps, and there, just ahead, they could see the mountains on either side of them give way, revealing what appeared to be a ridge of some sort. Feeling a degree of elation over this, the group charged forward, and within a minute, they were out. Rainbow stretched out her wings, enjoying the feel of the sun on her, while Rarity looked down to her hooves, a grimace upon her face.
"Ugh! I'm sure that was all good exercise, but I swear, my hooves will need such a cleaning from all that dust when we get home!"
Applejack rolled her eyes at that.
"Will ya cut yer belly-achin', Rarity? We got us a mission ta finish!"
The fashionista huffed at that, flipping aside some of her mane. But, before she had a chance to retort, she was halted from the sound of Twilight's voice.
"Girls...I think...we're here."
All mares rushed to her side, and together, they looked over the edge of the ridge, to what lay below. It was a small town, out in the middle of a wide open plane. From the looks of things, it was about half the size of Ponyville, and was built in a circular fashion, with a single building in the centre, relatively the same size as the Ponyville Town Hall, with a great manner of homes and other buildings dotted around it. And beyond the area where the buildings were, there appeared to be lush and verdant farmland, creating a healthy-green contrast to the wasteland the mares had just walked through. Even from this distance, Twilight could see ponies down there, walking in the streets or tending to the fields. But, what truly drew her attention was that central building. For there seemed to be some sort of light or glow emanating from its windows, which she briefly narrowed her eyes to. After regarding the place carefully, she turned to each of her friends.
"Okay, girls...we don't know what we're going to find down there. But we shouldn't go in as though we're looking for a problem. We just walk in, look around, maybe talk to a few ponies...and see how things go from there."
The others nodded to her, all in agreement, and with that matter settled, the young Princess took a deep breath, then took that first step down the steep incline. They all went down together, trying to be as careful as possible, but, thankfully, the ground soon became flat enough for them not to worry about slipping. And so it was that they drew nearer to this unfamiliar place, and as they did so, they began to walk through the spaces in-between the aforementioned farming fields. Looking down, they noted that they were now walking upon paved pathways, all neatly built in-between the fields, and as they journeyed over these cobbles, they took a moment to look upon the ponies nearby.
"Well...they're certainly working hard," Rarity commented.
Twilight nodded. Each mare and stallion they saw, while appearing to be all alone in their respective field, nevertheless seemed to be working well, planting seeds and picking up fully-grown vegetables with ease, all with looks of contentment on their faces. But, as Twilight and the others walked through, they couldn't help but notice something peculiar about these ponies, something Rainbow was more than willing to point out.
"Um...guys? Is it me...or are these ponies a little...um...bare? "
They all knew what she was talking about. For on every pony they saw, their hind-quarters were completely and utterly blank. No cutie marks of any kind. Naturally, this was not something that went without comment.
"Blank-flanks? At their? age?" Applejack said.
Narrowing her eyes, Twilight looked ahead, to the town proper.
"I think...we might have found the reason for being called here."
Sharing her determination, the other mares all walked with an upped pace, and before long, they were in the town in earnest. Just as they could see from the ridge, things were pretty busy down here, with ponies all over moving about in the exact way one would when they were in the middle of something important. Beside the obvious strangeness of having markless ponies all around, there was nothing around here that suggested that something bad was going on. As such, Twilight raised an eyebrow to it all.
"Well...things seem...pretty normal so far."
To that, Pinkie went right up to her face, poking her in the chest while bearing an utterly serious expression.
"So far indeed! Who knows what kind of sinister plot is going on beneath the surface?!"
Hearing that, Rainbow planted her hoof square in her forehead in frustration.
"Pinkie, for the love of Celestia, please don't put your detective hat on for this!"
Pinkie's ears drooped.
"Awwwww! But I was looking forward to it!"
Twilight shook her head, and then, before she had the chance to say anything else to her companions, she was distracted by the sound of somepony else calling out.
"Alright now, Whither! It's coming down now!"
The mares turned, and as soon as they did so, their eyes widened with shock. For there seemed to be construction going on of a new house, and atop the construction was an earth pony stallion, who was currently in the middle of pushing off a big pile of cinderblocks, all tied together, off the edge of the roof. Below, in the street, was another stallion, but this one was much smaller. His limbs were spindly, and overall he looked like he could barely lift a bucket of water, much less what was about to fall off the roof. And yet, he looked up with a smile, giving a nod to his companion above.
"Ready when you are!"
And down came the blocks. Twilight and the others watched in horror as the giant weight came crashing down, the poor little stallion right in it's path. Instinct kicked in, and Twilight charged forward, ready to do something to try and save this stallion's life. But she was too late, for the cinderblocks were already coming down to him.
"NO!!!"
But, she stopped. For there was no crash, no crushed stallion, no damage or injury of any kind. Instead, she and her friends watched with stunned faces, for that tiny stallion now bore the entire weight of the blocks upon his back, with the same manner as one would, say, wear a particularly heavy jacket. And always, he just smiled, as though this was just a normal day for him.
"Alrighty then, I'll get this stuff over to the other site," he called up.
The other stallion nodded, before getting back to his own work, and Twilight watched as the small stallion, Whither, trotted off happily, all while carrying that giant weight upon his back. As one would expect, none of her friends really knew how to react to this, other than with shock of course, and after that long silence, they were, for the first time, addressed directly.
"Hello there!"
Shaking themselves out of this stunned state, they turned, seeing a bright while stallion approach them. He was looking to them all with a friendly smile, and as soon as he reached them, he spoke, his tone upbeat and welcoming.
"I take it from that reaction you had back there that you're all new here?"
Stepping forward, Twilight nodded, giving him his answer. The stallion's smile widened, and he continued speaking as a result.
"In that case, welcome! Name's Double Diamond. How can we help you?"
Briefly, Twilight looked to her friends, but several of them just shrugged their shoulders, so when she looked back to Double, she hesitated somewhat.
"Well...my name is Twilight Sparkle, and...I'm not really sure what to make of your town here."
Chuckling, Double nodded.
"Yeah, it can take a bit of getting used to, trust me. I remember what it was like when I first arrived myself. But, tell you what..."
He gestured to the street behind him.
"...how about I take you to the town's founder? I'm sure she can answer any questions you have."
Considering that, Twilight gave one final look to their surroundings, to the markless ponies around them, before looking back to Diamond, giving a single determined nod.
"Yes...I think I would like to speak with her."
From the moment Twilight and her friends stepped out of Starlight's home, they could feel an air of excitement all around the Town. As Starlight guided them further away, they would look around and see groups of other ponies, all busy chatting to one another in much the same way one would see when some juicy bit of gossip leaked to Ponyville. Apparently, it would appear as though this Sweet Sprinkle getting her mark was something quite a few around here were interested by, as barely a moment passed when Twilight didn't pick up on somepony commenting on it. But, she herself remained silent, keeping her eyes forward as Starlight continued to walk onwards. She was taking them to that large building in the centre of town, and before long, they were close enough to see a small crowd of other ponies gathered near the front door of the place. And at the centre of that crowd was a small pink earth pony filly, with bright pink fur and a yellow mane. Once they drew nearer, this filly looked to them, breaking out into a wide smile.
"Starlight!"
She rushed forward like a foal towards a pile of Hearth's Warming Eve presents, and Starlight couldn't help but smile to that display.
"Hello there, Sweet. I hear you have something special to show me?"
The filly nodded enthusiastically, turning slightly to show her flank. There, Twilight could see that she did indeed have a cutie mark. It was a trio of ice cream cones, each with a different colour. Sweet, looking to it herself, bore great pride in her expression.
"I just got it today! I was making ice creams for my friends over at a Birthday party, and when everypony told me how good they were, I realised it was my special talent!"
She charged away, towards a mare and stallion who shared similar colouring to her.
"Can I show her, Mom?"
Her Mother chuckled.
"Of course, sweetie."
The filly beamed, then moved over to a small table, upon which rested a number of ice creams, all carefully placed within their own cone. Approaching it, Starlight lit up her horn, levitating one towards her. After looking it over, she gave it a single lick, and within moments, she let out sounds of enjoyment.
"Oh my! This really is good!" she said honestly.
Sweet giggled, and soon started to offer her creations to everypony around her. As for Starlight, she took her ice cream and offered it to Twilight.
"You simply have to try this, Princess!"
Though a little hesitant, Twilight nevertheless accepted, and after giving it a quick lick herself, she smiled.
"Well...that certainly is delicious," she said, meaning every word of it.
Starlight's smile widened, but before she was able to say anything, she was prevented from doing so, as Sweet suddenly rushed to her side.
"Miss Starlight? Can I do it now?"
Looking to her, Starlight thought on that, offering a warm smile to the child.
"I appreciate that you want to do that, Sweet...but there really is no rush. The Town doesn’t need it straight away after all. If you want to wait a while, enjoy your talent while it's still yours..."
But Sweet shook her head vigorously.
"Nope! I wanna help out now! Pleeeeeaaaaase?!"
Though taken aback by her directness, Starlight soon chuckled, giving a single nod.
"Alright...if that's what you want."
Sweet giggled happily, heading for the large nearby building. Starlight, meanwhile, looked to Twilight, her face one of confidence.
"You wanted to know what we do here, Princess? Well...take a look."
And with that, the Town's founder led the way, with Twilight and her friends in-tow. Many of the other ponies, Sweet especially, joined them, and before long, the doors of the Town's central building were opened. As soon as this happened, Twilight and her friends looked on with awe. For there, right in the centre of that round chamber within, was what appeared to be an enormous diamond, at least three times the height of the tallest pony they'd ever met. it glowed brightly, sending beams of light in all directions, and hovered a clear foot above the ground, as if by magic. Naturally, as one would expect, Rarity was practically drooling at the sight of it, much to Applejack and Rainbow's amusement. Many of the townsfolk wandered around it, looking to it with both awe and respect. Starlight and Sweet approached it from the front, and Twilight, along with her friends, remained where they stood.
"Okay now, Sweet...you know how this works?" Starlight asked.
The young filly nodded.
"Yep!"
She turned to the giant diamond, taking a few steps closer, all while her parents looked to her with pride. Once she'd reached it, she stretched out her hoof, touching its surface gently, before closing her eyes. At first, there was nothing, but then, Twilight watched with both fascination and worry as the diamond began to glow even brighter. What's more, both Sweet and every other resident of the Town also began to glow, albeit to a lesser degree. Then, in a turn that truly shocked Twilight, she watched as Sweet's cutie mark began to float right off her flank, heading straight for the diamond. Within seconds, it passed into its surface, before eventually fading away into the light of the thing. Then, once this had happened, the light faded a little, and Sweet lowered her hoof, opening her eyes again. She turned, smiling widely to everypony who looked to her, and many began to gather around her, telling her how proud they were of what had happened here.
"What...what was that?" Twilight asked.
Turning to her, Starlight took a few steps closer, before speaking in a somewhat hushed tone, perhaps not wanting to be overheard by the other nearby ponies and spoil Sweet’s big moment with this.
"We call it the Conduit. An ancient magical artefact I discovered near here. Ponies with cutie marks come to it, and, if they're willing, they contribute not only those marks, but their special talents too."
Twilight looked to her, utterly taken aback by that statement.
"But...but...that's impossible! That kind of magic, it’s...it’s never even been heard of before!"
Starlight nodded.
"Yeah...that was my first reaction. But, it’s true. And what’s more, each pony ends up with a connection both to the Conduit and to each other. You see..."
Before she was able to say anything further, however, she turned to see Sweet approaching her.
"Hey, can I go to my friends now? Maybe we can make our ice creams together? "
Smiling again, Starlight looked to her and gave her a pat on the head.
"Sure, go ahead."
Laughing again, Sweet once more ran off, heading straight out of the building. Meanwhile, Party Favour, who had been accompanying them this whole time, walked over to Starlight with a big smile of his own.
"I tell you, it's been ages since I had a decent ice cream around here! I can't wait to head on home tonight and make some!"
Starlight laughed.
"Trust me, Party, we're all looking forward to that."
However, Twilight and her friends remained shocked and confused about all of this. Fluttershy though appeared to be somewhat calmer in the matter, and soon spoke up, looking as though she’d just put two and two together.
"So...each of you can do everything the rest of you can do? The Conduit lets you share your talents with one another?"
Starlight nodded.
"Correct. Everypony who has ever connected to the Conduit benefits from every new mark given to it."
Turning to the Conduit again, Starlight's expression and tone of voice became more thoughtful.
"Imagine it...an entire community...all sharing their talents. All exceptional, all talented, with nopony ever being made to feel like they can't do what others can."
Smiling again, she looked back to Twilight.
"Every mark is a blessing here...for they make us all better for it."
A silence passed, and Twilight and her friends clearly seemed to be struggling with this revelation. Starlight seeing this, let out a sigh, nodding slowly, as though this was the kind of thing she was used to seeing.
"I see this is going to take a while for you to accept."
She began to walk past them.
"Feel free to go about the Town if you like. I'm sorry for leaving you like this, but have other work I need to be getting back to."
Reaching the door, she paused, giving the group one final look.
"Believe me...you're not the first to have a hard time getting your heads around this...and you won’t be the last ."
And with that final statement, she left, leaving Twilight and the other mares alone in this place. Some stared at the Conduit, at once afraid and curious about it, like it was some otherworldly thing they hadn’t quite decided how to feel about. Twilight particularly regarded it with analytical eyes, even when Applejack broke the quiet.
"Well...ah guess we know how that little fella back there could carry that big cinderblock around now. Ah bet some big strong-guy has his mark in there."
Fluttershy, nodding to that, looked over to their leader.
"So...what do we do, Twilight?"
Thinking on that, Twilight gave the only answer she could right now.
"I think...we need to talk to some ponies."
When compared to the happier and open environment of the Town, this place right here was about as far removed as you could get. And yet, Twilight knew she had to be here. A cave, darker than dark, located right at the base of the mountain range that stood beside the Town. It was cold, it was unpleasant, and it was pretty much the last place anypony would want to come to. But, with her horn illuminating her surroundings, Twilight did not stop in making her way further into it. Every once in a while she'd come across some tiny puddle on the ground, where drops of water would fall from the stalactites above her. But she ignored the less-than-pleasant aspects of her being here, and instead focused on what lay in front. For it was not long before she finally saw what it was she'd come here for. Taking steps closer towards it, the young Princess narrowed her eyes, letting out a long sigh.
"So...this was where it came from."
"Twilight?"
"GAH!!!"
Spinning around, Twilight looked on in surprise to see that it was none other than Fluttershy, who backed away from her as soon as she'd screamed like that. Twilight, realising who it was, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh...Fluttershy...it's you."
The yellow pegasus nodded, gesturing to the side.
"Well...not just me."
And it was with such words that Twilight noted that her friend was indeed not alone here. Applejack, Pinkie and all the rest of her friends had joined her, and together, they looked to one another with looks of uncertainty. Twilight, seeing that, spoke the question she knew she'd have to ask.
"So...what did you find out?"
After another round of worried-looking faces, it was Rarity who spoke first.
"Well...everypony here seems to be...happy here."
Pinkie nodded.
"Yep! Nothing creepy or schemey or bad-guy-ish going on anywhere! "
Rainbow grumbled.
"And it's totally boring! All these ponies are just...just nice , and not trying anything sneaky at all . They just kept saying how good things are here!"
Twilight nodded to that.
"I thought as much."
Fluttershy, looking once more to Twilight, spoke in a more thoughtful tone.
"Twilight...why did you come here?"
Looking around briefly, Twilight sighed.
"Double Diamond told me about this place. It where Starlight first found the Conduit. In fact..."
She turned, her gaze now once more upon the direction she'd been looking in before Fluttershy startled her.
"...they found it...in there ."
She increased the power to her horn, lighting up the immediate area even more than before. And within moments, her friends all stared wide-eyed at what now stood before them. It was a wall, pony-built, right at the back of the cave, and at its centre was what appeared to be a stone door, which had been opened. That door was large, towering over all of them. Large enough, in fact, for them to realise that the Conduit would have been placed within it. Rainbow, walking next to Twilight, kept her eyes on it before speaking up.
"So...somepony just put that big diamond here?"
Looking to her alicorn friend, she bore confusion in her expression.
"Why?"
Narrowing her eyes, Twilight stepped forward, and as she did so, the light of her horn began to make it clear that there was writing upon that wall, which everypony else soon noticed. But, the words and markings they saw were completely unrecognisable. That is, except for Twilight herself, who now placed her hoof upon it.
"It's old ponish. I was never an expert in it, but I know enough to get a good idea of the story here."
Pinkie smiled widely to that.
"Ooooh! A story? Go ahead!"
Looking over the words in front of her, Twilight did exactly that.
"Long ago...there was a unicorn king, whose magic was more powerful than any other in his kingdom. But he was cruel, jealous. He treated those whose magic threatened to match or surpass him with nothing but ridicule and scorn."
She walked along the wall, speaking aloud as she continued to read the inscriptions.
"Several of his unicorns grew so tired of this that they left, forming a village far away from his borders. And there, they began to turn away from the ideas that king had built his power on. The notion of the greatest magic having the greatest say. So..."
Briefly, she glanced to the massive open doors nearby.
"...using their talents, they created the Conduit, so that no matter how exceptional one was, that ability could be used by all who lived with them. That nopony would ever be left out or made to feel as though they could not stand with them as equals."
But then, she frowned.
"When the king they'd escaped found out about this, he raged. He might have still surpassed them in magic, but compared to the talents they all shared, each and every pony in that village surpassed him in almost every other way.”
She placed her hoof gently upon that final inscription.
"He went after them, hoping to destroy the Conduit, as well as the ponies who made it...and so those ponies fled. They hid the Conduit, hoping to keep it safe. Hoping...that a day would come when ponies would accept what they had tried to begin there."
And with that, her friends could tell that the story had finished, as Twilight simply stared at the ancient words upon the wall. Rainbow, for her part, looked to her like some eager child, waiting for more. But, when it became clear that there was no more, she instead just gave a frown.
"Wait...that's it?!"
Twilight nodded.
"Yes...that was it."
Rainbow looked to her, then to the wall, and back and forth a few times over, before just settling on the wall.
"It's...it's not an evil plan? I...I don't know what to do when it's not an evil plan!"
Twilight nodded again.
"In truth...I suspected that this might be the case. The Conduit is no evil magic. The ponies of the Town aren't scheming...and every single one of them has meant what they've said to us when they told us how happy they are here."
Rainbow looked to the other mares, many of whom seemed as nonplussed as she was, before once more looking to Twilight, scratching her head as she spoke.
"But...but the Map called us here, remember? There's gotta be something wrong going on here!"
It was with that when Twilight finally looked her in the eye.
"I realise that. But whatever it is, the Conduit isn't the problem. They’re not the problem. Whatever reason the Map sent us here...we haven't been able to find it."
Taking a step forward, it was Fluttershy who spoke next.
"So...what are we going to do?"
Twilight thought long and hard about that, looking again to the inscriptions. From everything she'd learned, it was obvious to her that not once, in the entire history of this place, this magic or anypony else here, had there ever been any ill intent. And yet, here they were, still looking for a problem in a place that, by all appearances, had none . Naturally, the Princess was at a loss here, even as her friends looked to her for guidance. Then, in one moment, she turned to Fluttershy, staring at her for the longest time. Afterwards, she shut her eyes tightly, letting out an incredibly long sigh, before giving a single nod.
"...We need to go back into the Town."
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Fer what?"
Turning, Twilight looked back where she'd come from, to the entrance of the cave, where the light of the day could be seen pouring in. She narrowed her eyes, walking just beyond where her friends were standing, before speaking up in a tone full of purpose.
"I need...to talk to Starlight. There's...something important that needs to be said."
