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Diplomacy through schooling

by Evilhumour

Chapter 6: Chapter Six

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Chapter Six

“So, where did you say we were going?” Moondancer asked early the next day as seven mares and one dragon gathered.

“Here,” Twilight said, pointing to the spot on the map. “According to Discord, this is where the magical imbalances are happening.”

“And you’re sure that waiting until after Applejack left for the Packlands to tell us about this was a good idea?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. “We’re a team, we could have used her.”

“She’s been planning that trip for quite a while, and I’m not about to make her wait,” Twilight said. “Besides, I actually told her last night and offered to wait to go until after she got back. She told me to go ahead.”

“As long as you’re sure.” Rainbow Dash sighed.

“Um, I’m more worried about how we’re going to get there,” Fluttershy ventured.

“I already checked the train schedule, and there’s one that goes right by, at the end of the line,” Twilight told them. “We’ll be there in less than a day.”

“Trixie wonders what is happening there that could require our attention,” Trixie said. “Surely it’s not one of…” and she shivered. “Those types of problems.”

“If it was an ancient evil, Discord would have said so,” Twilight told her. “But it’s not - it’s what he wrote us about a few days ago.”

“Oh. Well… good.”

“He wrote you?” Rarity asked.

“I was planning to offer him a spot as Head of Security for my new school,” Twilight explained. “He declined, but he did tell me he had something for us to handle after the wedding, and this is it.”

“I’m in!” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“So am I,” Spike said firmly. “I’ve been through a lot this last year, and I am not sitting this one out.”

“Of course not,” Twilight told him. “I’m not leaving you behind, not after everything we’ve been through together.”

“Well…” Trixie hesitated. “Trixie will go then,” she said. “So long as it isn’t an ancient evil.” She shivered. “Trixie is still creeped out by the thought of some of them. She dreads running into the Pony of Shadows, for instance.”

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. “We went through the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters,” she said. “Way back when. There wasn’t any Pony of Shadows there, just…” she looked at Twilight. “What did you call it again, after we were all done there?”

“It was subsonic vibrations from the pipe organ that Pinkie was playing, resonating deep in our bones and causing an intense feeling of terror,” Twilight said. “We literally just scared ourselves the whole time we were in there.”

“So, it’s just a legend?” Trixie asked hopefully.

“Let me put it this way,” Twilight said. “If there is a real Pony of Shadows, we haven’t met them, and from what Princess Luna has said, the real source behind how she became Nightmare Moon is long since dealt with.”

“Trixie finds that both frightening and relieving,” the blue mare said. “That technique you said though… that would actually be useful for celebrating Nightmare Night. Do you think Princess Luna and Princess Celestia would object to using their old home for that?”

“We’d have to ask,” Rarity said. “Perhaps when Princess Luna returns from her honeymoon.”

“Of course we wait until afterwards to ask,” Trixie snorted, rolling her eyes. “Interrupting a honeymoon is the worst thing one can do, even worse than heckling!”

“Well of course, but I was thinking more of waiting until we could ask both sisters at once instead of talking to Princess Celestia now and Princess Luna later,” Rarity said, giving her an indignant look.

“...Trixie sees your point,” Trixie admitted. “Trixie had not thought of that.”

“At any rate,” Twilight said, giving both a stern look. “The train’ll be here in just an hour, so we need to be ready.”

The rest nodded, then went to fetch their things.


Hours passed before they reached the end of the line, and descended along the trail towards the town. When they finally reached it, they stopped and stared.

“Discord sent us here?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It looks like the most boring place in Equestria.”

“It does look rather plain,” Moondancer noted. “But orderly. Look at those houses.” She pointed. “All in a row, on both sides, except for that one at the head. And…” she squinted. “They all look exactly the same. And I think the ponies all have the same mane cut too.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Rarity told her. “Following trends is one thing, but there is such a thing as going too far.”

Pinkie gave the place a rather suspicious look. “I don't like it. I don't like it one bit,” she said. “I know smiles. And those smiles? They're just not right.”

“Forget the smiles. Look at the cutie marks.” Twilight pointed. “They’re all equals signs.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Okay, that's weird.”

“An entire village with the same cutie mark?” Fluttershy looked worried. “How can that be? Not even Applejack’s family all have the same mark.”

“I told you,” Pinkie hissed. “Those smiles are bad news.”

“Trixie concurs,” Trixie said. “Trixie has seen those types of smiles before. They’re the kind that say ‘I don’t like your act, but I’m too polite to say so’.” She blinked. “Or are worn by mimes. I find both possibilities unnerving.”

“You’re not the only one,” Spike told her.

As the eight began to walk through the town, they heard several voices calling out to them, all from ponies with the same smiles.

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

“Still unnerving,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Welcome!” one pony, a unicorn stallion, suddenly said as he popped his face right into Twilight’s. “Pardon my forwardness, but are you an Alicorn?”

“Um… yes,” Twilight said, waving her wings.

“What brings you to town?” another stallion, this one a white Earth pony, asked.

“We… heard about this place, and decided to come see it for ourselves,” Twilight said carefully.

“I see. Well, all are welcome here in our little village. My name is Double Diamond, and this is Party Favor.” The white stallion gestured to the blue one.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said. “Princess of Friendship, and Diplomat at Large, though I am still in training. These are my friends - Moondancer, Fluttershy, Trixie, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike.”

“Hi!” Spike waved a claw.

Double Diamond looked a bit startled. “A… dragon?” He gazed at him curiously. “We’ve never had a dragon come visit us. I’m not sure how some-er, one so different would fit in.”

Spike huffed.

“In my experience, I’ve learned that while all races have their differences, we’re all still the same where it counts,” Twilight said. “We all value our friends and our families.”

“Interesting way of putting it,” one pegasus mare said thoughtfully. “Oh, and you all still have your own unique Cutie Marks!” She eyed Fluttershy’s. “Wow…”

“Excuse Trixie but did you just say still have your own unique Cutie Marks?” Trixie said, stepping in front of the other pegasus. “Would you care to explain what you mean by that?”

“Oh, it’s simple,” another unicorn said as she came over. “The Cutie unmarking is a is a beautiful experience! Our founder, Starlight Glimmer, uses the Staff of Sameness to magically take them away and replace them with these.”

Twilight looked startled. “But nopony should keep you from your cutie mark. It represents such an essential part of who you are.” She noticed Double Diamond slipping away, towards the house at the end of the town.

“Oh, we're not kept from them,” the pegasus mare said. “They're in the vault up in the caves. We can visit them any time we like to remind us of the heartache of a life with special talents.”

“Are you serious?” Moondancer asked. “How can having a special talent bring you heartache?”

“Um…” Fluttershy leaned over and whispered in her ear, prompting Moondancer to go wide-eyed.

“Really?” she asked. “But… she’s all better now, right? Applejack introduced us at the reception, and she seemed happy.”

“She is, now that her family’s accepted her,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh.”

“Excuse me.”

Looking up at the new voice, the group saw a pink unicorn mare, her bangs divided evenly on either side of her horn. “I’m Starlight Glimmer,” she said, holding out a hoof. “And I'm so pleased to have you here.” She eyed Spike, but then turned back to Twilight. “And you are?”

Once Twilight had given their names again, Starlight nodded. “Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming it's Princess Twilight Sparkle? We don't get many alicorns around here.”

“Yes, but just "Twilight" is fine,” Twilight said. She was about to speak again, when Starlight interrupted.

“So! How did you hear of our little village?” she asked.

“It's kind of a long story,” Twilight said. “Listen, we’ve been hearing some things…”

“Oh, about what makes our village so unique?” Starlight asked brightly. “About how around here, we don't flaunt our special talents because we don't have any special talents to flaunt?”

“Not quite how I’d put it, but-”

“Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village!” Starlight said brightly. Trixie and Moondancer both seemed ready to interrupt her but a quick shake of Twilight’s head stopped them.

What followed was quite possibly the most disturbing musical number any of the group had ever heard, and that included Discord’s deliberately horrific attempt at karaoke during Twilight and Spike’s welcome-home party - she had never heard anyone mangle “Luna in the Sky With Diamonds” so badly.

When they’d finished, Twilight was appalled. “That is… wrong,” she said. “It goes against all that Equestria stands for!”

“Agreed,” her friends said, before Moondancer spoke up. “Unity is one thing, between tribes and races alike. But giving up what makes you unique? That’s just messed up!”

“I will need you to take me to this cave where their cutie marks are,” Twilight said sternly, staring down the mare.

“Why should I listen to a bully like you, who thinks she can tell me what to do?” Starlight shouted back, her horn glowing. “My citizens here are happy as they are and I will not let you ruin what we have done here.”

“First of all, I doubt your town is even known, and therefore recognized, by the Equestrian Municipality Association which redefines your settlement more like a cult than an actual home,“ Twilight said, walking towards the other mare who was staring at her aghast. “Secondly, I highly doubt any pony here is truly happy; I may not be the most socially aware person around at times, but even I can tell they have been mentally conditioned to accept your teachings. Thirdly, with your ideals and notions of equality at this extreme, I don’t even know how you expected to survive a bad season’s harvest without starvation or disease hurting or killing half the people here.”

“Also, she’s still Princess Twilight,” Moondancer said, stepping forwards. “As in, one of the ruling triarchy of Equestria. She has the legal authority to tell you what to do.”

Twilight gave her friend a quick glare; she really didn’t want to rely on her title as a way to force ponies to agree with her. That made her feel like she was being a bully and that was not who she was. “Look Starlight, I do not know what drove you to these lengths but I am asking you to handle this peacefully. You said you cared for everyone here, prove it by stepping down and working with me to undo the harm you have caused and I promise I will do what I can to ensure you will be treated fairly afterwards.”

“Harm? Harm‽” Starlight was looking downright furious now. “You call this harm‽ I brought true harmony to this place, I made everypony here equal. Without their marks, they won’t have to feel the pain of being different, of paths taking them away from one another because somepony got a mark that said they belonged elsewhere.”

“Yes I do,” Twilight said, softly, walking towards the mare. “Cutie Mark Failure is a thing, but that’s not the issue at hoof. You had a friend when you were young, who left you when they got their mark. Didn’t you?”

Starlight was still staring at her, gnashing her teeth, before lowering her head. “Yes,” she admitted. “He got his mark, and so his family sent him away to a school for the gifted. And he forgot about me. All because of that wretched mark!” She glared.

“Starlight, what happened to you is a shame but you have to understand no one is perfect, no one can be the perfect friend, especially at such a young age,” Twilight said, keeping her voice soft. “It took me a long time to understand the concept of friendship and I am still learning how to be a good friend to others. It’s only recently since I reconnected with Moondancer, and realized how badly I hurt her when I didn’t realize how she felt about us.”

Moondancer nodded. “It’s true,” she said. “I became a shut-in because she didn’t get it. But I forgave her, and we’re better friends now than we ever were.” She looked at Twilight and blushed. “Giving up on your mark isn’t the answer, and making others do the same really isn’t the solution. You can still try and reach your friend again, talk to him. Tell him how you feel about him going off.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “Come to think of it…” She looked down. “I’ve got an old friend I need to try and reconnect with,” she said. “Talk to her, see how she’s doing. Show her that one big fight isn’t a reason to just break it off.”

One by one, the others nodded in agreement. Starlight still looked skeptical, but finally, she lowered her head.

“You win,” she grumbled.

“No, we did that last year,” Pinkie pointed out. “The whole war and all.”

Starlight looked startled. “War? What war?”

“Did you seriously miss out on hearing about that?” Rainbow Dash asked. “The war with the guy who wanted to take over the planet. Seriously, it was what most of Equestria was busy with for almost half a year. How’d you not know?”

“What kind of-” Starlight shook her head, still clearly confused, as were many other ponies in the crowd.

“The war with the Storm King,” Trixie said. “Where forces from most of the intelligent species on this planet came together as a unified force to protect all peoples from being overrun and destroyed by a depraved despot.” She nodded, a satisfied look on her face. “Now that was harmony, with so many races coming together for a common cause.”

“We really have been out of touch,” Double Diamond said slowly. “I never heard about any of this either.”

Looking around, Starlight sighed. “All right,” she muttered. “Do with me what you will.”


One escort later, and the group was in the cave where the Cutie Marks were held.

“The Staff of Sameness is just a piece of wood,” Starlight confessed as she showed it to them, before rubbing her hips to show her marks under the dye. “The real magic was all mine. I was so certain that I was doing the right thing…”

“Sometimes, people can mean well, but be misguided,” Twilight said as she zapped the glass holding the marks back, releasing them back to everypony in the village. “Like that yak sentry who thought he was supposed to just keep everyone out, including messages. Because of him, his people completely missed out on all sorts of news.”

“Right.”

Letting her friends escort Starlight back to the village, Twilight stayed back, and turned to Moondancer. “Listen…”

“You don’t have to say it,” Moondancer said. “I knew I should have kept my mouth shut, I know you don’t like taking advantage of your title. But she just made me so mad...”

“I know,” Twilight said, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Just… try to be more careful about that kind of thing in the future, okay?”

Moondancer smiled. “Okay.”

With that, the two headed back down.

When they returned, they found a full-scale celebration in progress, with Pinkie and Party Favor in the lead. The unicorn mare they’d met before, Sugar Belle, was baking up a storm, while the pegasus, Night Glider, was happily chatting with Rainbow Dash. Double Diamond was nowhere in sight, and neither was Fluttershy.

“He said something about asking for company while he went to go retrieve something of his,” Rarity explained. “She volunteered.”

In another part of town, Spike was gladly telling about some of the places he’d been to over the past year to a fascinated crowd, while Trixie was entertaining a group of foals and a surprised Starlight with simple tricks they could replicate without magic of any sort.

“So, think her friend went to the School for Gifted Unicorns?” Moondancer asked as she and Twilight sat down.

“Probably,” Twilight told her. “We’ll have to let Princess Celestia know, after we get his name.”

“Right.” Moondancer sighed. “So, what are you going to do about her?” she asked, gesturing to Starlight.

“First things first, therapy. Lots and lots of therapy,” Twilight said. “Doctor Heart is very good at this sort of thing; from what Princess Celestia said, he helped Tempest too, after she arrived in Canterlot. And while she’s doing that, we can try and find her friend.”

Moondancer nodded.


By the time the party settled, it was sunset, and the visitors found themselves places to bunk down for the night with the grateful townsfolk. The next morning, eight mares and one dragon boarded the train back to Canterlot. A few others also chose to head that way, though a lot of them, surprisingly, chose to stay.

“This is a chance for all of us to get to know each other again for the very first time,” Double Diamond had explained as they bid their farewells. “Besides, this place might be a bit of a fixer-upper, but it’s still where we chose to come. We’ll keep in touch though.”

Twilight had accepted his decision, and promised to send proper representatives of the Equestrian Municipality Association out to get their town officially recognized, which he’d gladly accepted. “Though we’re probably going to change the name,” he said. “Our Town just doesn’t seem quite right.”

Twilight had nodded, before saying a final goodbye. Now, having settled into one compartment with Spike and Starlight, she looked out the train window as they headed back for Canterlot.

“So you really think you can help me find him?” Starlight asked her, causing Twilight to turn to the former mayor.

“I’ve found solutions to problems that were over a hundred years old,” Twilight told her. “Finding one pony among our population shouldn’t be that difficult.” She considered. “He did go to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, right?”

Starlight nodded. “Sunburst’s parents saw him with his mark and sent him off right away… and after that, I never wanted to risk making another friend, and risk that sort of thing happening to me again.”

“Starlight, Cutie Marks don’t break up friendships,” Twilight said with a sigh. “The event that led to me getting mine helped me make new friends, for the first time in my life. Like my teacher. And my son.” She nodded to Spike, who smiled.

“...” Starlight stared. “I’m not going to ask how that’s even possible,” she said. “But if you can find Sunburst… how do we start?”

“With their student records,” Twilight said. “And if all else fails, the census records should list him, and point us to his current location.”

“That fast?” Starlight looked a little skeptical.

“Starlight, if there’s one thing about Twilight that you should know, it’s that nothing can stop her once she’s set her mind to doing something,” Spike pointed out from his seat. “She almost single-hoofedly rebuilt the ties between most of the nations of the world this past year, just from visiting and showing genuine interest in their cultures, and respect for their ways.” He grinned. “There’s only one place that doesn’t want her back, and that’s because she did better at their job than they did, so they’re jealous.”

“... Should I even ask?” Starlight said nervously.

“How much do you know about griffon history?” Twilight asked her.

“Not much,” Starlight admitted.

“Well…” Twilight began explaining, and as she did, Starlight’s eyes went wider and wider.

“And that’s why I’m no longer allowed in Byzantion,” Twilight finally concluded.

“... I don’t know if I should be impressed, or scared,” Starlight said after a moment’s silence.

“Like I said, once she sets her mind to something, nothing can stop her,” Spike said with a shrug. “So if she says she can find this Sunburst guy of yours, she’ll do it.”

Starlight nodded slowly. “I get your point,” she said before shaking her head and yawning.

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked.

“Just a bit tired,” the other mare replied. “For a while now, I’ve been having bad dreams about Cutie Marks and my former town, but last night, after you and your friends came here, was the first time I didn’t have any and didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. I’m still trying to catch up on all the sleep I’d lost since they started.”

Twilight’s ear flicked. “I see…” she said. “Should we give you some space, let you take a nap for a bit?”

“I’ll manage,” Starlight said. “One or two nights of uninterrupted sleep should do it. I think.”

“So… if you hated Cutie Marks so much, how’d you get your mark?” Spike asked curiously.

Starlight looked at him in surprise. “Nopony - er, body, has ever asked me that,” she admitted.

“Well, we’re asking now,” Twilight said gently. “I’d like to know too.”

“Would you believe it was because of a kite?” Starlight asked somewhat hesitantly.

“Really?” Spike asked.

Starlight nodded. “After Sunburst left, I went off by myself for long periods at a time, just to be alone. One day though, I was off practicing my magic, when all of a sudden I saw this kite stuck in a tree. I figured I’d get it down, good practice for my telekinesis, but it was all tangled up in the branches. So, I figured out how to work it loose, use my magic to make it drift out without getting caught again. And as it was floating down, this came in.” She gestured to her mark. “Magic and a light stream of air together. All representative of a subtle touch with my skills. I had a surgeon’s touch, almost… part of how I was able to work my way around the specific magic of other pony’s marks and replace them with something different.” She looked down. “Of course, eventually I figured out how to use it for harder-hitting spells too, but the softer and trickier ones are my specialty.”

“That’s an incredible talent,” Twilight said. “You must have been so happy.”

Starlight nodded. “I thought I was… but then every time I saw it, I’d remember what happened with Sunburst, and I got mad about it all over again.” She sighed. “And eventually, I figured out my removal spell and decided to use it to show everypony what life would be like if nopony was any different from anypony else and thus wouldn’t have reason to ever leave one another.”

She fell silent. “I’d like to rest now,” she said.

Twilight nodded. Lifting Spike onto her back, she left the compartment, leaving Starlight to her musings.

Once they were back into the main compartment Spike turned to Twilight and asked, “Do you think it was really just nightmares?”

“I… hmm,” Twilight tapped her chin to think it over. “While Pharynx just got his new status, maybe he and Luna were practicing for a while beforehand? I mean, she told me that she’d made the offer soon after he proposed.”

“Could be,” Spike said. Then he looked at her. “Twilight, are you sure you should have told me about some of that stuff? I mean, it’s kinda supposed to be top secret…”

“After the whole meeting was over, I asked Luna if I could tell you, and if I could fill in Trixie and Moondancer when I had the chance, since they’d already figured out some of it,” Twilight said. “She said it was okay.”

“Just checking.”

“And in any case, I would have told you regardless,” Twilight said. “You’re my son and I wasn’t going to keep a massive secret from you when you already knew so much.”

“Ah…” Spike smiled and hugged her. “Thanks, Twilight.”

“No problem, Spike.”

“So what do you think will happen when we do find this Sunburst guy?” Spike scratched his head.

Twilight frowned. “All I can say is, he’d better have a good reason for not staying in touch with his closest friend,” she said.

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I will give him the nose-honking of a lifetime, and then I’ll call Mom in to have words with him.”

Spike shuddered. “Wow. You’re serious about this.”

Twilight nodded. “If he really didn’t care about her, and was just stringing her along, it’s the least he deserves.”

“Here’s hoping he had a reason then,” Spike said. “For Starlight’s sake, at least.” He glanced back in the direction of the other compartment. “To snap, and go as far as she did?” He shook his head. “That mare’s suffered enough.”

“I know, Spike.” Twilight looked in the same direction he had. “I know.” She sighed. “Though I will need to ask her more questions to how she learned to remove Cutie Marks. Princess Celestia told me last year that even when the unicorns that moved the sun and moon burned themselves out, they still kept the little magic that maintained their marks. What Starlight described sounds almost like… psychic surgery, except on magic rather than flesh.”

“Sounds creepy when you put it that way,” Spike said.

“You saw how those ponies acted before and afterwards,” Twilight said softly. “Night and day; you remember how the girls were when I accidentally switched their Cutie Marks, but this was completely different. The girls at least still acted like normal ponies, and they had their own little behavioral quirks like they normally did. But the ones at the village had everything about them just… suppressed. No unique traits at all. Even their colors were flat. It was just… well, creepy is exactly the right word.”

“Will she be punished for what she did Twilight?” Spike asked.

“I… don’t know,” Twilight said as she rejoined her friends. “I don’t think she forced anyone to give up their marks and came with us voluntarily. But like I said before, she’s going to be given a lot of time in therapy to deal with this.”

Spike nodded, saying nothing more while Twilight resolved to continue to learn more of her new acquaintance’s (she was hesitant to call her a friend at this point) history.

Still, Twilight was happy she had resolved this issue without too much drama and was looking forward to returning to normal life.


“Work faster!” the slaver snapped, cracking the whip over Neighsay’s head, the former noble biting back the pained whimper as he brought the pick down into the rock he had been mining. He had long lost track of the days he had been in this mineshaft, captured by that centaur monster but he had learned quickly in how to survive in the depths.

Namely, don’t ever fight back against the overseers.

He, along with countless others, had been captured by their oppressors and drained of all of their magic, and now were being forced to dig and mine the tools being created to overthrow the very government he once served.

However, Neighsay hadn’t gotten to such a high rank by being stupid.

When they least expect it, he silently vowed, I will escape. That monster didn’t drain everything. He still had his drive, his cunning mind… and the one piece of magic that hadn’t been detected.

And with the knowledge that his teleportation pendant was safe and still empowered, he threw himself into his work again.

He caught the look of the slaves next to him and nodded his head. He was becoming somewhat a leader among them, the highest rank captured so far and the most educated among them, given the little they had spoken before the taskmasters came down with the whips and beatings to discourage such chances for planning. It was still fitting that other captured inhabitants would believe in him as their emerging leader as it was his right as a noble; he just needed more time to convince them to take the risk to allow him the time to use his pendant to escape and get the guards down here, wherever here was. He was certain there were enough clues from the rocks that the Equestrian Geology Association could figure it out for the Princesses.

But for now, he would bide his time.

And soon enough, he would be free.

Next Chapter: Chapter Seven Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 49 Minutes
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