Starlight learned more about Double Diamond on the walk back to the house. Although most assumed it meant winter sports, he explained that his cutie mark, which was three snowflakes, signified mountaineering. He told her that he went to the mountains quite often, and that because of it, although he enjoyed his time, he was alone quite often, and, as a result, didn't have many friends.

"I know that what I'm saying seems ridiculous," he admitted. "I mean, if I went to the mountains less, I'd have more time to interact with other ponies. But I just love being here so much."

"It's not ridiculous," Starlight told him, "but I do think you've reached the wrong conclusion."

"The wrong conclusion?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she said, "I get the feeling that you think it's largely your fault when it's not. It's your cutie mark's fault."

He paused for a second, giving her a skeptical look. "My cutie mark's fault?"

"Actually, no. Let me change what I said. It's not your cutie mark's fault, it's the fact that everypony's cutie mark is different. I mean, think about it. If everyone had the same cutie mark as you, then everypony would be your friend.”

“I guess that makes sense. So then that's why don’t you have a cutie mark?”

"Well, sort of… look! That's where I'm staying," she said, pointing towards the house. She did this intentionally, to dodge the question. She didn't want to talk about how she thought cutie makes made ponies arrogant yet. That might turn Double Diamond away from her philosophy.

"That's your house?" he asked, surprised.

"I mean, it's not my house, but it was empty when I found it, so I decided that I was going to stay here for now,".

"I actually stay there all the time, whenever I come out to the mountains."

"So wait," Starlight asked, "is it your house?".

"No," he began. "From what I've seen, it has been abandoned for years, at least since I started coming here about five years ago."

"Abandoned," she thought aloud. "That's good to hear. Even if my rock isn't near here, this is probably where I want to start."

"Start what?" Double Diamond asked politely.

"Let's head inside," Starlight told him. "I'll explain more in there."

They went inside and sat down at a table in the sitting room, and she showed him her manifesto. She watched him nervously as he read it expressionlessly. This was going to be the first time she'd receive any sort of feedback on her philosophy, and was hoping he would take it well.

He read it silently for several minutes, then politely set the papers down. He stared at the table for a minute, taking and what was written down, as Starlight anxiously waited for his response.

"Well," he finally said, "I can't see anything wrong with your reasoning, it's just…"

"Just what?" Starlight asked.

"It's just so… unusual," Double Diamond told her. "I've never heard of anything like it. I'm sure there are other ways to spread kindness."

Starlight took a frustrated breath. It wasn't about ponies kindness, it was about neglect and indifference towards each other, towards her. He was clearly missing the point, but she didn't let her frustration show. "I know it seems crazy," she told him, "but I'm sure that my philosophy could work, and I'm sure that this is the best way to spread kindness. If we kept ponies differences to a minimum, they'd naturally want to be friendly towards each other."

"Yes, well," he started, "even if what you're saying is true, and it was the best way, you're talking about changing all of Equestria. Where would you even start?"

"I haven't quite figured that part out yet, but I'm sure if you helped me, we could figure something out," she told him, and glanced at him hopefully.

Starlight saw Double Diamond look at her hesitantly, and continued, trying to convince him. "I know this is right," she said. "My own lack of friends, my own loneliness, is proof of that. I mean, haven't you ever felt isolated because of differences between you and other ponies?"

"Well…"

"You could really help me," she told him. "I told you before that I was looking for something. There's actually a certain rock in these mountains that I'm sure you could help me find, seeing as you said you come here all the time. You'd be a really big help."

Double Diamond looked down at the table, and then back to Starlight. She smiled, trying to will him into joining her. She knew that his help would be invaluable, and knew it'd be so much easier to get things started with him on her side. More than that, this was her chance to actually have a friend for the first time in years, since Sunburst left. She desperately wanted him to stay.

After what seemed to Starlight like a long moment, Double Diamond finally smiled, and politely said, "Sure, I'll help you."

The two of them talked the rest of the day, with Starlight filling him in on the intricacies of her philosophy. It was decided that Double Diamond would stay in the second room of the house for the time being while they searched for the rock. It was also decided that, regardless of the rock's location, the area they were in now would probably be the best place to start building a coalition of ponies that agreed with her.

Starlight, however, did notice that she did most of the deciding, and that Double Diamond generally just agreed with what she said, but she figured that it was okay. She wasn't planning on being a leader, but she figured that, especially in the early stages of recruiting other ponies to join her, there would need to be somepony to guide them. But not for too long though. She wasn't better than anypony else, and she didn't want other ponies to think she thought that.

She went to sleep that night feeling positive for the first time in years. She'd gotten a lot accomplished over the last few days, from finding out in general where her rock was, to writing her manifesto, and getting somepony to see her way of thinking. If she continued at her current pace, it wouldn't be that long before everypony was truly equal. Even better than that though, she had actually had interaction, real interaction, with another pony for the first time since Sunburst left. Double Diamond might not have been a true friend yet, but making an acquaintance this early was better than she could've ever expected or hoped for. As she went to sleep, Starlight felt that things were looking up for the first time in a long time.

---

The next several weeks were rather busy for her and Double Diamond, and they fell into a sort of routine. They'd spend several days camped out in the mountains, looking for her rock, then rest for a few days before resuming their search. In between, they'd fine-tune the specifics of Starlight's philosophy, and spend time developing a strategy to get other ponies to join them. Some nights, she'd look over her notes, trying to find or create a spell that could remove cutie marks, although, unfortunately, she would continuously come up empty on that front.

Although she tried to appear cheerful on the outside, Double Diamond could sense Starlight's frustration at how slowly she felt things were moving. He tried to keep her positive, telling her that he thought they were very close, but he knew it didn't help much. She was obsessive. He knew she didn't like the way things were, but she never told him just how much she hated it. She felt like she finally had a chance to be happy, and desperately didn't want it to slip away. She wanted to get things done, and get them done now, but couldn't. She felt as though, after how much she accomplished in the first few days, she should've been getting more done, and worried that if things kept proceeding this slowly, her first grasp at happiness for the first time in a long time might slip and crumble away beneath her.

Finally, one night, while reviewing her notes, trying to find a spell to remove cutie marks, something clicked. As if granted the wisdom of a sage, she suddenly figured out which spells she should combine to get rid of the only obstacle between her and a perfectly equal world. She smiled a wide, happy smile, and silently celebrated so as not to wake Double Diamond, who was asleep at the time. She was excited. After today, all she would need to do is find her rock, and then she'd be set. She was so excited in fact that she almost didn't look down at her flank to see that she had gotten her cutie mark.

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