Starlight went along building her village for several years without much interference. However, one morning, while she was walking about the town, she noticed five or six ponies with cutie marks watching the village from afar. Her natural inclination was to greet them, until she noticed that among them was the newest princess, the Princess of Friendship.

The sight of the princess watching her town caused a wave of anxiety and fear to come over her. What was she doing here? If Starlight remembered correctly, the princess was currently living in Ponyville, which was quite a distance away from her village. There was no reasonable explanation for the princess to be there. More concerning was the fact that she hadn’t actually entered the town. She was just standing there, watching her village, as if she was doing something wrong and deciding how to proceed. Starlight didn’t like it one bit, the princess watching her town, and was made nervous by it.

The fact that, specifically, she was the Princess of Friendship was concerning. She more than likely assumed she was doing something wrong, and wanted to put a stop to it. She couldn't let that happen, and decided then and there to see what could be done about it.

“Double Diamond,” Starlight called out. He looked up from where he was sitting, outside of a bakery, and she continued, “I need to speak to you.”

In the years since the village’s founding, Double Diamond had unofficially taken on the role of Starlight’s right hoof stallion. Whenever there was a problem that Starlight herself wasn’t there to take care of, it was expected that he would handle it. But now was different. This was a problem that Starlight couldn’t handle, at least not directly, not yet. She wanted to proceed with extreme caution, so she needed Double Diamond to greet them, a task she would normally take up herself. Moreover, she needed him to find out why the princess was there. Starlight didn’t know what the princess thought of her, but assumed it wasn't good. More important than that, she needed to know if she knew about her lie. If she didn’t know, everything would be fine, and Starlight would have more room to work with in figuring out why she was there. If she did know… well, she didn’t want to think about what might happen if she did.

She told him what he should do, then quickly went into her house, viewing the scene from her window. She watched as Double Diamond discussed what Starlight told him with Party Favor, who was the second pony she brought into her philosophy. He said something to him, and motioned slightly towards the princess’s group. She also saw the small group discuss something for a second before walking into the town, looking a tad unsure. It calmed Starlight down a little, but not much. They were obviously here for a reason, and she didn’t think it was anything good.

She watched as Party Favor went up to the group and greeted them at Double Diamond's direction. “Welcome!” she heard him say, loud enough to be heard through the window she was looking out of. “Pardon my forwardness, but are you an alicorn?” he asked of the princess.

She smiled at him, and one of her companions, in a country accent, said, “That there is the Princess of Friendship.”

“Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place for friendship,” he told them as Double Diamond walked up next to him. “What brings you to town?” he continued.

“We’re… not entirely sure,” the princess, Twilight, answered.

Starlight breathed a sigh of relief at that. She was still nervous, but not nearly as much as before. While they may not have known why they were there, there was still a reason. She was sure they didn’t stumble upon her town by accident.

“Well, all are welcome here in our little town,” Party Favor told them, introducing himself and Double Diamond.

The pony with the accent introduced herself as Applejack, and the five others with her as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and, of course, Twilight Sparkle.

“If you don’t mind,” the princess asked them, “has there been any sort of… trouble here lately?”

Starlight hated the way she asked that, implying that it was bad to not have a cutie mark, that she was somehow better than them because she had one. She mumbled, “The only trouble here right now is you,” before catching herself. She couldn’t think like that. It wasn’t their fault that they still thought cutie marks were good. They’d been taught their whole lives to think that way. They just needed to be reeducated.

“Trouble?” Double Diamond asked. “Why, I don’t think there’s ever been trouble in our little village. Perhaps you care to speak to our founder, Starlight Glimmer.”

Starlight quickly went into the other room to compose herself as the group was led towards her house. “Don’t be nervous,” she thought. “Don’t. Be. Nervous. You have nothing to hide from them. You’re here to show them around and get them to join the town.”

“Starlight? We have some new visitors,” Double Diamond said as he and Party Favor knocked on the door.

“Bring them in,” she said cheerily as she faced the door, hoping her anxiousness was hidden. “You have nothing to hide,” she thought as the group walked into her home.

“Welcome!” she said as she stood before them. “We’re so pleased to have you here!” She then went up to the princess, and said, “Forgive my bluntness, but aren’t you the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle? We don’t get many of those around here.”

“Yes, but, just Twilight is fine,” she told her, almost embarrassed.

“So! How did you hear of our little village?” Starlight asked, wasting no time in getting down to business.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Twilight started, “but let’s just say we found it on a map.”

“Well regardless, we’re happy to have you!” Starlight told her. “We’re happy to have any pony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time.” Starlight couldn’t help but get the dig in, especially, since she was speaking to the Princess of Friendship.

“... what?” was all Twilight got out, confused.

“Oh, indeed,” Starlight explained. “You might have noticed that we all have the same cutie mark, but that's because it's by design. Around here, we don’t flaunt our special talents because we don’t have any special talents to flaunt. That's what's unique about our little village.”

Starlight stopped before she could elaborate. She felt the contempt and anger creeping into her voice, and didn’t want it to be heard. She knew she was wrong to feel contempt for them. After all, it wasn’t their fault they still had cutie marks. It wasn’t anypony’s fault. And yet she still felt it. Maybe it was because it was the Princess of Friendship she was dealing with. She just didn’t understand how she could be so misinformed. How could she not see that all cutie marks did was cause problems and divide ponies?

“So that would be why you all have the same cutie mark...” Twilight commented thoughtfully.

“Perhaps I can explain while I give you a tour of our little village,” Starlight announced, and lead them out.

Starlight showed the princess’s group around the town, explaining the basics of her philosophy along the way. She was hoping they would understand, but as she went on, they looked more and more confused. It was making her frustrated. It clicked for most ponies by this point after she lead the others around the village, but the six of them seemed as though they weren’t getting it. However, instead of commenting on this fact, she simply asked, “What do you think?”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight told her. “I guess we’re just a little confused by all of this. When we were sent to this town, we assumed it was to help in some way. But, well… it doesn’t look like you need any.”

Starlight was happy with what she heard from Twilight. In fact, she was almost ecstatic. While she may not have understood what her village was about, the fact that the Princess of Friendship had good things to say about it was fantastic. She could use this to bring more ponies into her philosophy. She also took note of the word sent that Twilight used. Whoever the princess was reporting to might hear good things from her. This might be a huge push for Starlight and her goal of eliminating cutie marks.

However, just then, she realized what might be an even bigger push for her village. “Have you considered perhaps,” Starlight asked the princess, “that you might have been sent here so we could help you? After all, no pony has ever come to our village and wanted to leave. Why should you be any different?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that…” Twilight told her hesitantly.

Starlight realized that she was pushing her luck, and reeled back. “Well,” she said, “in any case, that is entirely your choice. Please, enjoy our little corner of Equestria. We’re all quite fond of it, and I’ve no doubt the six of you will be as well.”

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