Flurry blinked several times, each time thinking that what she was seeing would disappear, but it didn’t. On her flank was a cutie mark of a lighthouse shining out into the distance, and in the middle of that light was the symbol of the windigo-destroying heart.

“I… I got my cutie mark,” said Flurry in a quiet voice.

“You sure did!” Starlight said proudly.

“I… I got… I got a… a cutie mark. I…”

“Speechless, huh?” She chuckled. “You must be so proud.”

Tears formed in Flurry’s eyes as she buried her head in her hooves and began to sob.

“There, there. Don’t get all-”

Flurry slapped away Starlight’s hoof as she put it on her shoulder. “Don’t touch me!”

Starlight looked confused now. “What-”

Flurry was shivering. “This is terrible!”

“Terrible? But I thought-”

“Now I’m marked for life.”

She reared up and stomped her hooves on the floor before running off crying.

After a few moments of shock Starlight and Sunburst shared a look before taking off after her.

She ignored their calls. When Starlight tried using her levitation to slow Flurry down the filly just teleported away.

The two came to a stop. “What now?” asked Sunburst.

She put a hoof on Sunburst, and with a flash they were outside Flurry’s room. They could hear the sound of muffled crying inside.

“Oh, good,” said Starlight. “My hunch was right.”

“What now?” asked Sunburst.

The mare tapped the floor a few times. “As much as I want to go right in and be comforting that’s not going to work. She’s too worked up. We’re going to have to wait for a few minutes.”

“Wait?” Sunburst said confusedly. “Whatever for?”

“I don’t like it any more than you do, but she’s not in a state of mind where she’ll be able to accept our love. Her emotions are running wild. If we go in and disturb her she’s going to poof away again and then who knows where she’ll end up. Now that’s she somewhere safe we can let her burn out some of her rampant feelings until she brings herself back to a somewhat stable state.”

Sunburst groaned. Starlight had a good point.

It was an uncomfortable wait. Knowing Flurry was so close and yet not being able to do anything was terrible, though at least she was staying in one spot.

Finally, Flurry’s emotions seemed to ebb. Her muffled wailing grew quieter. After another minute Starlight felt it was time enough. She knocked on the door and peeked her head in. “Hey there, Flurry.”

The filly tensed, trembling on her bed.

“Can we come in?”

It took a little while, but finally Flurry answered. “Whatever.”

The two of them closed the door behind them before sitting on either side of her bed. Sunburst picked Flurry up, holding her close.

“What got into you, kid?” asked Starlight. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, but I was so shocked because I eavesdropped on you earlier. I heard you beating yourself up and miserable, and yet when you came to me you were holding your head up high and showing strong convictions. You seemed to have overcome your doubts and meshed yourself with the Flurry that went through Mayhem’s world.

“Those feelings seemed to be so strong that they even netted you a cutie mark over it, so-”

Flurry let out a strained noise, squirming in Sunburst’s grip.

“Talk to us, Flurry,” said Sunburst. “What’s going through your mind?”

The filly just shook her head.

He looked over at Starlight. “Let’s just… let it be for a little bit.”

Starlight looked down at Flurry, her mind working. “It’s… too real now, isn’t it? It felt fine to have this goal in your mind, but having it stamped on your flank probably feels like a beacon to others to rely on you, the exact thing you were trying to avoid right now.”

Flurry shuddered.

“You want to enjoy this time of just being a child, but with your wings and your cutie mark you just keep feeling like you stand out too much as the center of attention.”

“Y-y-yes!” Flurry sputtered out, rubbing her eyes. “Once others see my cutie mark it feels like everyone is going to start putting pressure on me again.”

“Is that your concern?” asked Sunburst. “Nobody will know what your cutie mark symbolizes if you don’t tell them.”

“Of course they will, Uncle Sunny! Every pony in the world knows what the “Fire of Friendship” is. Ponies have this play every year all over Equestria. Even if it’s only part of my cutie mark it’s not hard to figure out that I’m supposed to do something big because I have this particular heart on my flank.”

Sunburst sucked on his cheek. He couldn’t really argue that.

“I get it,” said Starlight. “You weren’t expecting to actually get your cutie mark for a while, but just think of what your cutie mark means. You represent a spirit of unity and giving ponies a light in the darkness. It’s fine for now if you only want to use your talent on your friends. There’s no need to rush.”

Flurry looked away. “You… called me selfish before for thinking that way.”

“I did go a bit too far. I shouldn’t have been pressuring you like I did, especially when you haven’t fully recovered from what happened today. But even without me by your side you found something worth fighting for.

“Where’s the Flurry that burst in here demanding a proper magic lesson?”

“She’s gone! I hate this! I hate always feeling like everything is reliant on me.”

Starlight grabbed Flurry’s brush, once again brushing her mane. “So just get into fashion.”

“Fashion?” Sunburst asked incredulously. “How is that going to sooth her fears?”

“It will cover up her cutie mark, obviously. If no one else knows then there’s no problem, right?”

Sunburst bit his lip. “But… she’ll know. It would just change her fear from expectations to being found out.”

Flurry gave a jerky nod.

Starlight sucked on her cheek. Flurry had made so much progress, overcoming her fears for the sake of her friends. Now she was on the brink of losing it all because getting her cutie mark threw her off. She had to get Flurry back on track.

She thought it over for a bit, trying to think of different ways and topics to try to restore Flurry’s spirit, but she kept hitting mental dead ends. In the end, she could push, but it all came down to Flurry being receptive. Thus the question then became how to get her to be receptive.

It might just come down to time. Flurry had done remarkably, overcoming her trauma of the day to find the answer she was looking for, but it wasn’t surprising that it was temporary.

It was too late now, now that she had the mark. It wouldn’t just go away. It was there to stay.

Something came to her then, and her stomach tensed as a flush of guilt went through her. She could do something, but she had no idea how Flurry was going to react. Still, if she didn’t do something now Flurry would simply remain stuck in the grip of despair.

“Sunburst?” she said quietly.

“Yeah?” he responded.

“I really need you to trust me here.”

“I trust you. What do you have in mind?”

She shook her head. “Listen to me, Sunburst! You might find this questionable, but this is the only thing I can think of that might get through to her, so I really need you not to freak out.”

He didn’t know what she was thinking, but the flush on her cheeks and the uncomfortable look on her face suggested it wasn’t going to be pleasant. “I… get it.”

Flurry was only half paying attention. She didn’t know what Starlight planned to do either.

Starlight disappeared with a flash of her horn, only to return a few seconds later with an empty jar.

Sunburst’s eyebrow went up.

“Well, Flurry,” Starlight said in a kind tone, “if that particular cutie mark is troubling you then let it bother you no more.”

Flurry gave a half glance over at Starlight, not even bothering to answer.

Starlight’s horn lit up, her heart racing with anxiety. She felt like she might be going too far, and Flurry’s parents wouldn’t be happy if they knew, but it was a risk she had to take.

A beam of light shot out of her horn, hitting Flurry.

Flurry gasped, feeling an odd sensation. It felt almost painful, and she let out a groan.

“Starlight!” said Sunburst in a panic. “What are you doing?”

Starlight ignored him, closing the jar she had brought.

Flurry turned to Starlight, feeling oddly tired. She felt strange, though she couldn’t give a reason for it. It was just a vague feeling of wrongness.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the jar Starlight was holding. Her cutie mark was inside it. Her head shot to her flank, seeing only an equal sign there now.

She blinked. “You… you took my cutie mark…”

“Problem solved, right?” asked Starlight. “No one will harass you about leadership now. Let them think you’re good at math.”

Flurry just kept staring before repeating herself. “You took my cutie mark.”

Sunburst gently tapped his hoof. He didn’t think this was such a good idea. If Flurry decided she liked not having her original cutie mark then she might not tell Starlight to revert the change. Given her fear of leadership that might very well be what happened.

He winced as her expression turned to a smile, seemingly confirming his fears.

“I can live with this,” said Flurry. “I like this cutie mark much better.”

“Glad to hear it,” said Starlight. Sunburst gave her a dirty look, but she ignored him. “There are a few side effects, though. This spell doesn’t just change your cutie mark, though. It makes you equal to the average of most ponies.

“I guess it fits, considering how you just want to be seen as normal. Well, now you are. As long as you have that cutie mark you’ll be forever limited. You won’t be able to run or fly faster than a normal pony. All that fancy magic you learned? Forget it. You’re stuck with basic levitation, since that’s the only spell that any average unicorn can use.”

Flurry’s smile faded slightly. “Oh… right. Well… I mean… I guess… when other ponies see how weak my magic is they won’t want to rely on me.”

“So you’re okay with this?”

Flurry hesitated. “I… guess so. I do feel a little strange, though.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll leave you be. Come on, Sunburst.” She began walking towards the door.

“Starlight!” Sunburst said angrily as he trotted up to her. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see,” she replied.

She left the room, an incensed Sunburst ready to give her an earful when Flurry was out of earshot.

She stopped a few feet outside the door, resting against the wall, and closed her eyes.

“What are you up to now?” asked Sunburst, glaring at her.

After about ten seconds she popped her head back in, “Oh, guess I did forget to mention one thing. Hope you don’t care too much about not caring about your friends, because you sure don’t anymore.”

Flurry gave her an odd look. “What do you mean?” She thought back to their teamwork and how close they had become, her heart beginning to fill with her love for them.

She tensed as she suddenly felt a reaction from her cutie mark. The passion she had just felt was gone. “W-what was that? What happened?”

Starlight walked back into the room. “Those special cutie marks are all about equality. That’s just how they work. You simply don’t care about your friends anymore…” She let out a smug chuckle. “Weeeell, at least not more than any other average pony. And considering how many hundreds of ponies there are in the world, there’s plenty that don’t care about them at all simply because they don’t know them.

“Your cutie mark was a symbol of caring and wanting to protect others. You gave that up to decide to keep your equal cutie mark. So… all those powerful feelings of love you have for them will slowly fade until they mean nothing more to you than anyone else.”

“No!” Flurry cried out, jumping up. “I don’t like that. I love my friends and I would always do anything to-” Just as her passion began to rise again her cutie mark reacted once more, and the feelings faded like a sponge being squeezed.

The sudden absence of feelings scared her. “I… I don’t like this!”

Starlight shrugged. “Why not? You have what you really wanted now, don’t you? You’re an average, unremarkable pony who will never stand out among the rest, and you can go unnoticed.

“As soon as other ponies see how weak you are now they won’t want to rely on you, and you’ll finally be able to just live your normal life free of responsibility and expectations.

“You should be happier.”

“W-well… I…”

Starlight lifted up the jar with Flurry’s cutie mark. “You don’t need this silly thing anymore. Maybe my old philosophy was partially correct, after all. Certain cutie marks do just cause misery. So let’s just get rid of this. Maybe I’ll throw it in what’s left of my old cutie mark vault.”

She lifted it with her levitation, the glow around it getting brighter as if to teleport it away.

“No, don’t!” Flurry’s horn glowed brightly for a few seconds, only for her cutie mark to flash again, the spark of her magic fading greatly until she could barely pull on the jar with her own magic.

Starlight just chuckled, easily stopping Flurry from taking it. “My, my. Is that really all you can muster?”

Flurry tried to jump at Starlight since magic didn’t work, and the mare simply lifted herself up in her magic as well, heading upwards with the jar until she was about ten feet up, and just hovered in place.

“What makes you think you’re even worthy of this cutie mark?” She asked the question tauntingly, but her expression quickly changed to anger. “You’re such a flip-flop you’re barely worthy of being a protector. You were supposed to be horrified that I stole your cutie mark, and yet you reacted with delight, perfectly willing to throw away everything that cutie mark meant to you… all the mental struggle you went through to obtain it.

“You think your friends are everything to you, but your response to my theft shows me otherwise.” She lowered herself until she touched the floor. “If what other ponies might think of you means more to you than your friendships then fine. If you don’t value the gifts you’re given then it’s only right to lose them as a consequence.”

She hit the jar with her magic, and it vanished.

Flurry’s heart jolted.

Turning around, Starlight said, “See ya!”

“No, please!” Flurry cried out, her lip trembling. “Don’t leave!”

Starlight paused for a moment to look meaningfully at Sunburst. She slightly jerked her head towards Flurry, and he nodded to show he understood.

With that Starlight teleported away.

Flurry’s breath caught. She thought Starlight likely went back to her room, and instinctively tried to teleport to follow her, but when her horn flashed she only moved a few inches, if that.

She grabbed herself and began to sob. She had no idea where Starlight was, and had no easy way of tracking her down. And even if she found Starlight she might have hidden the jar in some secret place.

Sunburst sat down on the bed next to her, pulling her onto his lap.

She looked up into his eyes, quiet for a few moments, before burying her head in his chest and breaking down again.

Sunburst took in a deep breath, thinking that Starlight was pushing too hard. He knew she was just putting pressure on her, and made sure he had understood to be there for her emotionally, but Flurry was only going on seven years old. The emotionally traumas she had gone through that day weren’t going to just go away instantly.

Flurry didn’t think she had ever been this scared and miserable. Her bond with her friends was everything she lived for. No matter how bad the danger she felt everything would always be alright as long as they were nearby.

Even Mayhem hadn’t been able to break the bond between them, even though he took away her memories. She had still remembered them subconsciously, and it gave her passion to fight on no matter what.

But this was different. She couldn’t even properly muster her love for them without having it snuffed out immediately after. And this was only a few minutes she had been suffering from this. She couldn’t imagine how bad it must have felt for all the ponies in the town Starlight had founded.

She surmised it couldn’t have been as bad as this, or else no one would have followed her for long. Her bond with her friends was being weakened because her cutie mark was directly tied to caring for others.

She hated this. She hated the utter helplessness she was feeling. If she couldn’t tap into her bond with her friends then all she was in the end was a normal, unremarkable child. She thought that was what she wanted, but if it meant she couldn’t care about her friends it was too high a price to pay.

She wanted to think of her friends for comfort, but she had to keep them out of her mind to stop Starlight’s spell from taking away any more of her feelings for them.

“Flurry,” said Sunburst. “You know that Starlight isn’t trying to hurt you, don’t you?”

She looked at him with teary eyes, not responding.

“She’s looking out for your best interests. I know that Starlight isn’t planning to keep your cutie mark forever. She just wants you to feel what your decision will lead to.

“She won’t make you suffer for long. I’ll stay by your side until she comes back.” He wiped her eyes and gave her a smile. “Okay?”

She stared at him for a little while before letting out a long breath and setting her head on his shoulder as she hugged him.

To Sunburst’s relief she didn’t break down again.

Flurry trusted in Sunburst, and she trusted in her aunt. It was unpleasant, but this pain wouldn’t be forever. Soon enough Starlight would return.

She slowly began to calm down. “Thank you, Uncle Sunny.”

“You’re welcome, Flurry.”

As she relaxed she slipped up, allowing her heart to fill with her love for him, setting off her cutie mark once again.

The serenity in her heart faded, leaving her miserable and just hoping Starlight would return as soon as possible.

Each minute felt like an eternity.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes, Starlight walked back into the room.

As soon as Flurry noticed her she immediately pulled out of Sunbursts grip and jumped off the bed. She got on her knees and put her fronts hooves together, not even giving Starlight the chance to say a word before jumping in herself.

“Please give it back!” she begged, quietly sobbing.

“What’s the problem?” asked Starlight in a neutral tone.

“I can’t stand it anymore! Every time I try to think about my loved ones all my feelings get sucked away.”

“But if you get your cutie mark back then you might have to deal with other ponies expecting great things of you. It’s better if I just hold onto it. By tomorrow I’m sure-”

“TOMORROW?” Flurry’s eyes clenched shut as she began trembling. “I can’t live without my love for everyone around me. It’s scary to think of having royal duties at my age, but I’d rather be put on the throne right now than go another minute without being able to feel my connection with my friends.”

She hugged herself as she broke down, pleading through her sobs to get her cutie mark back.

Starlight felt like Flurry was at her limit. The filly clearly understood the lesson, so it would be cruel to drag it out any longer.

With a flash of her horn the cutie mark jar appeared in front of Flurry.

When Flurry noticed the jar she immediately threw her hooves out and twisted the lid until it popped off. Her cutie mark left the jar, automatically returning to her side.

As soon as it was back in place everything felt right with the world again. That feeling of restriction faded, and she immediately thought of her friends, putting her hoof to her chest as she focused on her love for them.

Starlight sat on Flurry’s bed, lifting Flurry up onto her lap with her magic. She threw her hooves around Flurry, tearing up. “I’m sorry I had to put you through that. You needed to experience it so you could see it wasn’t as glorious as you thought.”

Pulling out of Starlight’s grip she went to sit with Sunburst again. She wasn’t quite angry, but she didn’t feel ready to show Starlight affection yet after scaring her.

Starlight let out a little sigh. She should have expected that. She wondered if she should just leave and give Flurry some space.

Sunburst tilted his head as Flurry whispered in his ear. He got a bit of an awkward look on his face. “Well, Flurry says she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.”

“I figured,” she responded.

“But she also said she wants you to sit next to me for when she is ready.”

Starlight complied, glad that Flurry wasn’t too upset with her.

Flurry grabbed her favorite brush with her magic, roughly shoving it into Starlight’s hooves.

If that was what Flurry wanted as an apology she would gladly oblige.

Flurry whispered again, and Sunburst said, “Flurry says go ahead.”

“Go ahead?” asked Starlight.

“Um… she says that she knows you have some boring lecture to give, and she’ll listen even if she doesn’t want to talk.”

“Oh. Right.

“Well, everything always comes down to choices, Flurry. Taking the easier way out might benefit you in some ways, but it usually means hurting the people around you in other ways.

“That equal mark I gave you is a perfect example. It might help to teach strangers you’re too weak to be relied upon in a position of authority, but it also makes you too weak to protect your friends if they need you.

“You tried utilizing your regular powers to stop me from leaving with your cutie mark, only to see that you were so hampered you couldn’t mount any defense.

“You let your old paranoia get to you, putting the expectations of others above your feelings for your friends. I guess realizing that is what made you come around.”

A pained look came to Flurry’s face. “N-no. That wasn’t it.”

“Then… what was it?”

“You… your spell was able to do something even Mayhem couldn’t do. It was breaking my connection with my friends. It was terrifying how much control it had over me.”

Starlight put a hoof around Sunburst. “I’m sorry it hit you that hard, but now you have your cutie mark back. You’re free to send your heart out to them again.”

“I know…” Flurry took a deep breath. “This is all so new to me. I… I don’t want to hide my cutie mark. Like Uncle Sunny said, even if I hide it with clothes I might still be found out. If… if someone looks at my cutie mark and tries to get me to do something too advanced for me I’m just going to tell them I’m not ready yet.”

Sunburst kissed her on the forehead. “I think that’s the best course of action. As we’ve tried to remind you before you’re still a child, even if you’re an alicorn. Before you got your cutie mark no one was asking you to save the world, so that shouldn’t change now. And if they try to push you then you’ve already came up with your answer.”

Flurry gave a little nod. “Today has just been too much. This last bit of sadness has killed my enthusiasm for any magic practice today. I need a good night's sleep to recharge.

"How about right after breakfast?"

"That sounds fine," said Starlight.

"Can I sleep with you and Uncle Sunny tonight?"

Starlight gave her a warm smile. "I certainly wouldn't mind, but what about your parents?"

"Oh, right. I still have to tell them about my cutie mark."

"No, Flurry. I meant why don't you ask to sleep with them?"

"Oh. Well, after today I know they would, but they're usually dealing with Skyla at night. I love her a bunch, but I don't want to deal with her crying half the night if she's feeling cranky."

"Fair enough."

"We should go and tell them the news, but first there’s something my cutie mark is telling me to do.”

She summoned her magic notebook over. “This is gonna be kinda long. Can you help me with the words, Aunt Starlight?”

“Of course, Flurry,” she replied, readying a quill.

Author's Notes:

Finally back. I really struggled with this, largely because I couldn't decide where to end things. Whether to go with my initial idea up above, to just end the arc with Flurry's cutie mark and move on, or to have her okay with her cutie mark and write her note that's coming in the next chapter.

Do you think I had Starlight go too far in using her old equality spell? That was another reason for my reluctance in using my original idea. I wondered if Starlight would come off too jerkish.