Author's Notes:

Okay before you read this, know this was planned out before Starlight’s reformation, this isn’t me character bashing or anything, this just a reinterpretation of how I feel Starlight might react in the situation.

It was a bright and sunny day in the rural town of Ponyville.

When the Pokemon had first arrived, the town had been thrown into chaos, but now, several months after their arrival, the small town had almost completely adapted to its new residents.

Many Pokemon had found friends and homes with various ponies, while others preferred to live outside as they had done on Earth.

A few however, mainly ones who weren’t always Pokemon, had taken the integration further than most. This was the case of one family who had recently moved into their newly built home on the outskirts of town.

“Belle!” A tall, green and white Pokemon known as a Gallade called as he organized some papers on a desk. “Have you seen the sheet Twilight gave me?”

There were a few seconds of hesitation before Belle, a Gardevoir, Teleported into the room holding a sheet of paper. “You mean this?” She asked coyly, handing it to her husband and planting a kiss on his lips. “Have a good day at work Gene.”

Gene smiled and returned the kiss. “Don’t worry, Twi just wants me to teach ponies about the emotional part of Pokemon training,” he smiled and kissed her cheek. “I think I’ve got that down.”

Belle giggled and kissed him again before leaving the room, Gene followed her, but turned back before leaving and walked over to a white crib set up next to his and Belle’s bed. Smiling, he placed a hand on the white, green, and pink egg resting in the crib. “I’ll be home soon sweetie.”

While this was going on, no one inside the house noticed the Pegasus fly over them, or the Earth Pony riding on a Metang who followed after her, both of them heading towards a tree in the center of town.

Twilight Sparkle’s day was off to a wonderful start. Spike was off with his Dragon friends, and Juniper was teaching a class on Pokemon biology at the community center, which had been redubbed ‘Pokemon School’ as that was all it was used for nowadays.

That meant that Twilight, for the first time in weeks, had the library to herself.

“Maybe I can finally start sifting through all those notes I took on Pokemon,” she said with a smile. “Or-”

“Twilight?” A familiar voice accompanied a knock at her door. “Twilight, I need your help.”

“Or maybe I can go see what Bio Chem wants,” Twilight said with a sigh as she opened the door with her magic. “Bio Chem, what are you... oh, hello,” Twilight smiled as her friend walked in accompanied by a Pegasus mare and a Pokemon she recognized as a Metang.

“Twilight, this is Hal and Silver Leaf,” the stallion introduced.

“Nice to meet you,” Twilight said with a smile. “So, what brings you here?”

“We were doing environmental research in the desert,” Silver Leaf explained, panting from the long fight. “We found a town out there, and they...”

“They’re some kind of cult,” Bio Chem continued. “Something about everypony having the same Cutie Mark so no pony is more special than anypony else.”

“Really?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“Yep, I didn’t believe they were serious at first either,” Bio Chem said with a sigh. “Then they tried to force us to stay and managed to capture the other members of our expedition.”

“They did what?!” Twilight shouted.

“You heard me,” the geneticist repeated. “And after we escaped, I figured I’d come to you for help.” He smiled at Twilight a nudged her side. “Seeing as how you always seem to get involved in these types of things anyway.”

Twilight frowned. “Are you just assuming that my friends and I can solve any crisis that faces Equestria?”

Bio Chem tapped his chin and thought for a second. “Yes, that’s exactly it,” he said with a smile. “Magic of Friendship and all that.”

Twilight deadpanned at the stallion and sighed. “I’ll send a letter to Princess Celestia, at least that way if anything goes wrong, someone will know where we are.”

“So you’ll do it then?” Bio Chem asked excitedly.

“If the girls say yes, maybe I can get Korrina and Lucario to tag along as well.”

Silver Leaf cleared her throat. “Probably not a good idea, the town seemed to be anti-Pokemon.”

“Of course they are,” Twilight sighed again. “Anything else I should know?” she asked, just in case.

“Well…” Bio Chem mused.

“Of course…” Twilight sighed. Nothing was ever simple.

Twilight watched silently as the desert rolled by. Lucario and Korrina can wait outside, if Mage is invisible then... no, that Unicorn might sense her... maybe a cloaking spell... but I can’t hold many illusions at once, and I need one for my wings...

“Twilight?” Mage asked, floating in front of her friend. “I know that face, that’s your over thinking face.”

Twilight chuckled, the Mismagius had gotten to know her pretty well over the past few months, they’d been teaching each other their worlds magic, Twilight had already turned some Pokemon attacks into combat spells, and Mage was learning how to Teleport.

“I’m just formulating an attack plan for this town,” Twilight explained. “I’m hoping we can reason with this Starlight Glimmer but I’d like to have a backup plan in case things go wrong.”

“Well, we still have some time before we reach the town,” Mage said. “I’m sure you’ll-”

“End of the line everyone!” The conductor suddenly shouted.

Mage sighed. “Well crud.”

As everyone filed out of the train, they looked around at the complete nothingness around them.

“Okay, I thought I’d gotten used to things like this,” Korrina said as the train pulled away. “But why did somepony take the time to build train tracks to the middle of nowhere?”

“Maybe they were planning to build something here but it fell through?” Pinkie replied.

“I think I see a town that way!” Rainbow Dash shouted from above.

“Then that’s where we’re going,” Twilight said with a nod.

“So what’s the plan sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “Not like we can just walk inta town.”

“Especially after Bio Chem made them wary of the Princesses,” Rarity added. “No offense darling, but an Alicorn doesn’t exactly blend in.”

Twilight nodded. “I know, I’m gonna cast an illusion spell to hide my wings, hopefully we can find a little about this place before they-”

“Try to take your Cutie Marks or brainwash you?” Mage asked.

Fluttershy eeped and Twilight looked at her friends. “Yeah... but Bio Chem said they didn’t try to do that right away.”

“But what if they’ve started doing it now that Bio Chem got away?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

Twilight sighed. “Look girls, I know you’re scared, I am too, but there are ponies in that town who don’t want to be there, and we’re the only ones who can help them, and even though it’s dangerous... we have to try.”

The other five ponies gave Twilight a small smile and nodded, while the two Lucario and the Mismagius looked at each other skeptically.

“We’re gonna have to rescue them, aren’t we?” Mage asked.

“Almost definitely,” Lucario answered with a nod.

“Mage,” Twilight asked. “You can keep a psychic link between us?”

The Mismagius nodded. “I learned how to do it from Belle, it’s not as strong but it’ll at least keep me in contact with you.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright, set it up, then find a place nearby to hide, I’ll contact you if anything goes wrong.”

Mage closed her eyes and Twilight felt like something had wrapped around her skull. “Stay safe you crazy Pony.”

Twilight smiled and then turned back to the town. “Alright girls, let’s do this.”

Twilight and the other had to be let into the town by two ponies guarding the gate, the first sign that things had started to change since Bio Chem’s visit.

“I don’t like the feel of this place,” Pinkie said under her breath. “Fake smiles.”

“So how long has this town been here?” Twilight asked the mare leading them.

Her smile faltered for a second, but picked back up as she answered. “I... don’t know, I got here when it was already built, and I guess I just never asked.”

“... right,” Twilight was beginning to agree more and more with Pinkie.

They continued on in silence until they reached the center of town, where a pink Unicorn matching Bio Chem’s description of Starlight Glimmer was waiting for them.

“Well hello there,” she greeted them with a not at all sincere smile. “It’s so nice to see some new faces around here, we hardly ever get visitors.”

“Maybe that’s ‘cause ya’ll built a town out in the middle of nowhere,” Applejack replied. “Ya’ll know yer not on any map right?”

Starlight chuckled. “We find it’s better if we keep a low profile, not all ponies see the good in what we’re doing here.”

“And what exactly are you doing out here in this dreadful place?” Rarity asked.

Starlight smirked. “I’m so glad you asked... everypony! All together now!”

As Starlight began the song she’d sang to Bio Chem’s group a few days prior, Twilight and the other watched in shock, most of them hadn’t believed Bio Chem when he’d told them about the song, it was just so ridiculous.

And as it ended, Rainbow Dash voiced this, by laughing out loud. “Give up our Cutie Marks?” She asked, still laughing. “Yeah right, like that’s gonna happen.”

“But giving up your Cutie Mark is the only way for true friendship to exist!” Starlight defended. “If everypony is equal, then nopony will ever feel left out if their not as good at something as their friends.”

“Sorry to break this to ya, Sugarcube,” Applejack chimed in. “But having differences doesn’t make you less likely to have friends, it just makes you a different pony.”

“And what would you even do with a Cutie Mark after you took it?” Pinkie asked.

Starlight smirked again. “Why don’t I show you?”

Before any of them could answer, Starlight started off towards the mountain path outside of town. The others following behind her.

“We’ve done our best to keep this place secure,” Starlight said. “But those creatures keep trying to get inside, a few well placed magic blasts usually drive them off though.”

Twilight was worried Starlight would look back, feeling all the daggers being shot at the back of her head.

It took nearly a half hour of walking to reach their destination, but once they did, they were greeted by a large stone door, which Starlight opened with her magic.

“After you,” Starlight said, standing aside to let the others in.

Reluctantly, the six of them entered the chamber, stopping when they saw what was inside.

A literal wall of Cutie Marks covered the back chamber of the cave. “Oh my,” Fluttershy whispered.

“That is a lot of Cutie Marks,” Rainbow said agasp.

“Yes it is...” Starlight replied as the stone door grinded shut. “And now yours will join them!”

Before any of them could react, they found themselves engulfed in a blue light. As they were turned around, they saw Starlight holding some kind of wooden staff in her magic.

“You really thought I wouldn’t recognize Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony?” She asked, sounding offended.

“You can’t do this!” Twilight shouted, her illusion charm fading as she tried to send a magic blast at Starlight. It flicked and died as her Cutie Mark was ripped from her flank, followed by Pinkie Pie’s, then Rarity’s, then Rainbow Dash’s, then Fluttershy’s, and finally Applejack’s.

Starlight grinned wildly. “So it will work on a Princess!” Starlight exclaimed, letting the six of them fall to the floor. “Looks like I’ll be ready when I have to face Celestia and Luna!” She moved the six new Cutie Marks over to the wall, placing them with the rest of her growing collection.

“You’re not gonna win,” Twilight said panting. “Somebody will stop you.”

Starlight laughed. “Are you kidding, nopony is gonna stand in my way of making a perfect and equal Equestria!”

“Nopony maybe,” Twilight replied, standing up. “But in case you haven’t noticed, Equestria isn’t just ponies anymore.”

“Oh, you mean those Poke-whatevers? I have a plan for them, a simply transmutation spell will make them just like every other animal on the planet,” Starlight said, a maniacal grin still plastered on her face.

“... you really don’t get it, do you?” Twilight asked.

Starlight scoffed. “What I get is that this is the only way for everypony to be equal, the only way for anypony to experience true friendship!”

“You’re wrong you know,” Twilight continued, trotting closer to Starlight. “Being friends doesn’t mean you have to be the same, it means accepting each other's differences, asking your friends for help when you struggle with something that comes easy to them,” Twilight glared at the mare. “It means respecting each other's strengths and weaknesses, building each other up, not tearing them down. It means not being jealous when someone is better at something than you!”

“You think I’m jealous?” Starlight scoffed. “If everypony’s the same, nopony will ever have to be jealous again, or lose out on an opportunity because somepony else is more talented than them!”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s not friendship, if everypony was the same, then nopony would be able to have a conversation, or give an honest opinion. If you take away everything that makes somepony different, you’re left with a blank slate that can barely function on its own.”

“And what do you know about friendship?” Starlight asked condescendingly. “You’re a Princess, you’re perfect at everything.”

“But I’m not!” Twilight defended. “I’m not as fast as Rainbow Dash, or as strong as Applejack, or as fashion minded as Rarity, or as good with animals as Fluttershy, or as fun and friendly as Pinkie Pie. But our differences don’t make us resent each other, they make us stronger as a group, they teach us new things,” Twilight smiled and stepped a little closer to Starlight. “And I’ve made friends with Pokemon too, and I’ve learned a thing or two from them as well.”

“Oh yeah?” Starlight asked, taking another step closer. “And what’s that?”

“They taught me how even if you look completely different on the outside, that doesn’t mean you can’t become the best of friends,” Twilight smirked and took one more step forward, she and Starlight were almost snout to snout at this point. “And one more thing they taught me...”

“I’m all ears,” Starlight said, wearing a smirk of her own. “What did those animals-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Starlight was afflicted with the ailment commonly known as, a close range uppercut to the jaw.

“They taught me I don’t need my magic to cause some damage,” Twilight said, an uncharacteristic smirk on her face as Starlight was knocked out cold.

Fluttershy, and Rarity gasped, Pinkie and AJ’s mouths hung open, and Rainbow Dash was trying to wake herself up, convinced that she must be dreaming.

“That’s from Blaziken,” Twilight said, rubbing her hoof as she looked down at the unconscious Mare. “He thought I could use some self defense that wasn’t magic.”

“Twi?” Applejack asked, still shocked.

The Alicorn turned back to her friends and noticed their shocked expressions for the first time. “What? She stole our Cutie Marks and threatened the Princesses, I had to do something and that was the first thing that came to mind.”

Applejack was about to say something else, when the cave door exploded inward and a pair of peeved looking Lucario’s and one Mismagius with glowing red eyes entered.

“Alright,” Mage hissed, her voice doubling over with an ethereal echo. “Where’s the bit-and she’s unconscious.” Mage’s voice returned to normal and her eyes stopped glowing.

“Yeah, you guys should’ve seen it!” Rainbow shouted. “Twilight was all like ‘and there’s one more thing you need to know’ and Starlight was like ‘oh I’m so scared’ and Twilight was all ‘blam’ uppercut right to the jaw!”

“Really?” Korrina asked.

“Really.” They all answered together.

“Whoa, good for you Twi,” Korrina said with a grin.

“Thanks,” Twilight replied. “Now let’s go get our Cutie Marks back!”