Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
The light of the vault is swaying and pulsing, a flickering wave of blue that licks the cave's stone walls. The only sound for miles is shallow, stunned breaths that echo faintly through the crevasses and across the curved walls. Every breath hitches to a stop at the sound of hooves stepping measuredly across stone. A long shadow stretches across the floor, shrinking with each step taken by its caster. Every eye drags away from the magnificent light and locks onto the unicorn passing expressionlessly through the crowd. A single mare releases a breath with a surprised 'pahf!', unable to hold her air any longer.
Starlight stops in front of the great light, stares for a moment, and turns. Some in the crowd can't help but gasp.
“This; my loyal, patient friends--is what you've all been waiting for! Today is the day; the holy and ceremonious day of your purification!” She announces, her heavy voice carrying across the entire hollow. The small crowd cheers feverishly.
She raises, with her magic, a piece of wood she found in the desert.
“This will be the very tool that changes Equestria. Now that I have shaped, honed, and perfected my talent; I may give it away for the betterment of pony kind!” She holds her head high, one hoof to her puffed chest. The pounding of excited hooves rattles the ground.
“All of you are burdened by the restrictive cages that are your cutie marks. Your entire life has been condensed into an image. An idea! A single, materialistic thing! This is not destiny! Your true destiny is to see beyond the illusion of the cutie mark, and embrace equality.” She preaches, her powerful words booming louder than the fervent worship.
“I am the bringer of destiny! I am your salvation! And with this staff!” She begins to hover, within the thralls of her own spell. She glows. “I! Starlight Glimmer! Will-” she screams, her body starting to seize and shine with white light. “Bring!” her cutie mark slowly, beautifully, excruciatingly peels away from her flank. “EQUALITY!” she cries a guttural wail, her silhouette obscured by a cocoon of blinding light as her own awesome power rips away from her.
She falls to the ground, her magic starting to flicker out, but manages to thrust her floating mark into the staff, combining the two and infusing the object with her very magical essence. As the two elements complete their wildly unnatural fusion, Starlight finally slumps down and lets go, smoke coming off from her horn.
The crowd, in shock and half-blinded, are only beginning to process what just happened as Starlight's blank flank--raw, hairless and smoking--glows gently, and is then bestowed a new mark--an equal sign.
Starlight lays there for a while, weak and groaning in pain as her followers murmur and ogle the staff. It's hovering, shifting slightly up and down in an idle position. It ripples with power. Starlight grunts. Starlight groans. Finally, she wills herself to stand up. Legs shaking, she takes the staff and aims it at her very first subject; Double Diamond.
The others step away from him as the staff eerily points. He stiffens with fear, but has half a mind to reject this. He lifts his head high and braces himself. The staff jolts with blue magic and beams the spell at him. He hovers, just as Starlight did. He screams, just as Starlight did, as his cutie mark strips off his skin, glowing and hovering like a bubble in the air.
Double Diamond hits the ground with a slap while Starlight seizes his mark, thrusting it into the glowing vault chamber. She carefully bars it in the stone’s glassy husk, sealing it off from its owner forever.
“This…is the beginning…of destiny.” Starlight begins, her voice barely a whisper. “I welcome you all…to the future of Equestria.”
And the crowd erupts with praise louder than ever before.
“Excellent work, Double Diamond.”
Starlight takes the crate of jars–glimmering with magical light–and leads her top disciple inside.
“Of course. But, I don't understand why you wanted me to bring them here. Fluttershy is one of us now. Surely she can be trusted.”
Starlight lifts the jar which possesses the brightest glow. “This one belongs to a princess;” she declares, “it could be very important to our cause.”
Double Diamond isn't so sure. “...But if Twilight Sparkle becomes our friend, then what do we care about this old cutie mark?”
Starlight smiles pleasantly despite her irritation.
“I just want to keep them close until everything is…settled.”
The stallion shifts nervously.
“You may go, Double Diamond.”
Dismissed, he slowly turns and leaves the founder’s cottage, his head heavy with doubt. Fluttershy quickly ducks behind the house as he triapses away into the night.
Fluttershy is horrified. How will she ever get the cutie marks back now?
A crash from upstairs catches her attention. Quietly, she flies to the second story window to observe Starlight. She’s crashed into something—splashed water on herself.
“Agh, Starlight you clumsy fool!” The unicorn hisses, taking a nearby towel to dry herself. Fluttershy watches her, mind racing for answers to her problem.
After an awkwardly long time the pegasus decides that spying on Starlight isn't going to give her anything more to work with, so she sneaks back down the chimney and into her bed. If she were a braver pony, she might have the sense to go for the jars when Starlight sleeps, but Fluttershy knows she is a coward. So she sleeps, helpless to change her fate.
Finally, she's fallen asleep.
Starlight can't begin to guess what would possess Fluttershy to spy on her. Well, she has a few ideas. The pegasus hasn't truly converted—that much was obvious from the start. A cult leader would have to be an arrogant fool to think they can take anypony overnight.
But what’s going on with this spying?
Starlight guesses she’s scraping for intel or weakness or something of the sort. Well, she's not going to find it. Starlight is a true and good leader. The prophecy demands it to be true, and so it is. She is the Harmonizer. The savior of Equestria; fated to free all of ponykind from the illusion of their Cutie Marks.
Her, of course, and her fated bride.
The holy bride character, Starlight admits, makes a bit less sense after her amendments to the old prophecy (considering that Sunburst the stallion turned out not to be the true prophet), but how can she just write it off without proof of its obsolescence?
She shouldn't be sure, but she is. There's just something about the pegasus. Fluttershy is in the prophecy too, and she's come to help Starlight complete it. Fluttershy has come, with a lovely royal gift, to become Starlight’s bride.
She just doesn't know it yet.
“I’ve got a good feeling about today!” Starlight announces cheerily as the town crowds around the Equalization cottage.
At her gesture, the guards let the prisoners file out one by one. They all line up, sullen and defeated. A much more subdued entrance than yesterday. Progress!
“So! Do any of you have anything you’d like to say?”
She doesn't really give them time to think about it, but she gives off the illusion of choice just by asking.
“N’aww, a pity. Well! Let's try this again tomorrow, shall we?” Starlight glances at Fluttershy, gauging her reaction. It's very important to get a grasp on the pegasus’ emotions if she wants to…form them into useful thoughts.
Fluttershy’s smiling, but she's barely hanging on to it. Not nearly as impressive a poker face as Starlight’s. She can read the anxiety easy as pie. No scheming glances between her and the prisoners, though. Good.
“No new friends today, I’m afraid!” Starlight announces to the town. They all frown, as she assumed they would. A perfect way to save the day with her next announcem—
“Wait! I’d like to lock them in.”
Well, this is interesting.
“...Marvelous, Fluttershy! That's the spirit!” She is quick to praise this behavior, whether it’s real or not. It’ll all count once she starts to turn.
Oh, right. Her next announcement. “Party Favor, will you join us please?”
The stallion rushes to Starlight, as she knew he would, groveling at her hooves.
“I’m sorry, Starlight! I’m sorry, everypony! I’ve seen the error of my ways! I never want to look at my cutie mark again!”
She smiles. This level of worship and neediness is refreshing after all the conversion troubles.
Starlight addresses the crowd. “It seems there’s cause for celebration after all!”
“Hooray! Hooray!” The crowd cheers. Oh, how wonderfully predictable they are.
“They tried to break me!” …Is he still talking? “They wouldn't stop talking about how different they are! And that somehow makes their friendship stronger?”
She tuts. “Such…backwards thinking.”
Party Favor stands. “But I didn't listen! I knew what they were up to, and I didn't listen!” Sweet Celestia, will this stallion ever shut up?
“Well done, Party Favor! We welcome you back with open hooves!”
Starlight lets the happy sounds of her people calm her. At least his brain is fully washed. He’ll be more annoying, but the last thing he’ll be anymore is a threat.
“Uh, Starlight? I think we might have one more friend joining us today.”
Starlight’s eyes just about pop out of her head. The princess? Now that’s a catch! Fluttershy is already useful and she isn't even done converting yet!
Starlight pushes Party Favor aside. “Is this true?”
The alicorn speaks up. “I…I think so? But I…just wanna be sure. If I agree to leave my Cutie Mark in the vault…I’ll really be happy?”
Starlight grins. She couldn't have worded it better herself! Agree to? What an illusion of choice! And such a perfect opening to reinforce the philosophy!
“Just look around!” She gestures widely. “Equality has given us more happiness than you’ve ever known.”
“And you wouldn't let me just live here in the village with my old Cutie Mark?”
Fluttershy must be a good luck charm.
“Out of the question! A pony with a different Cutie Mark in our midst would destroy our entire philosophy! We are all equal here!” Praise from the crowd. She deserves a nice dose of worship. This is a damn good morning.
Twilight and Fluttershy exchange a long glance.
“...Okay.” The alicorn says weakly. “If this really is true friendship, then I’m willing to accept it.” The crowd erupts with cheer. Starlight is certain that she and the pegasus are scheming something, but it doesn't matter. She’ll have them under control in no time.
Fluttershy can't mess this up. She really, really can't mess this up. She’s made it to the cave. Okay. Good. Now all she has to do is liberate her friends and the townsponies…right? No matter how much Twilight has reassured her that they’re helping these ponies, she can't help but feel guilty destroying the vault.
“I mean…they seem…happy…” she mutters to herself, fiddling with the jars. Maybe she should just release her and her friends’ Cutie Marks, and leave the townsponies be.
She can't keep dawdling like this. Think about Twilight, for Celestia’s sake! Taking the fall for the whole jar-snatching thing. Who knows what Starlight is doing to her?
Starlight is above senseless violence. But she believes in creative encouragement.
“I don't blame you for trying to take your Cutie Mark back.” She starts, pacing up and down the basement floor. “You've spent your whole life blinded by its false promise.”
She takes a deep breath.
“But that doesn't give you a license to disturb my way of life, does it?” Starlight approaches Twilight, lifting a thick rope. It’s makeshift, she’ll admit, but it’ll work just fine.
Twilight doesn't respond, so Starlight whips the rope at her until she crumbles to the ground.
“I can't send you back to Equalization…that would hinder my image as an inspiring leader. I’ll keep you down here. Say you’re…sick, or something.” She decides.
Starlight continues pacing.
“Where are they?” she finally asks, lifting the rope again. Twilight still doesn't speak.
Furious, she raps at the alicorn relentlessly.
“WHERE ARE THEY!”
She abandons the rope and starts kicking. Using her hooves is much more satisfying.
“It’s too late.” Twilight chokes out. Starlight doesn't care anymore. She’s not going to get answers, so she's going to figure it out herself.
She beats the useless princess until she’s broken and sobbing, and leaves her locked down there. Time to freshen up and make an announcement.
Fluttershy is doing it. Oh sweet Celestia, she’s doing it. She picks up the crate of jars, hooves shaking, and chucks it forward at the vault.
Glass breaks. So much glass. Shard in her wing. Shard in her leg. Worry about it later. So much light. Glowing. Bright. Beautiful. The Cutie Marks start floating. They start flying around like untied balloons. For a moment Fluttershy thinks she’s saved everyone.
And then the staff starts to float.
Fluttershy’s heart drops as the staff starts to jostle and jolt. It starts to glow with little thunderbolts of blue light. Before a single Cutie Mark escapes the cave, the staff grabs onto them.
Blue, leechlike tendrils seize every mark from the air and drag them into the staff, infusing it with their magic. Fluttershy is stunned. Fluttershy is horrified.
Fluttershy finally unfreezes and reaches for the staff as it sucks up the last Cutie Mark. She, not knowing what else to do, snaps the stick in half hoping it will release all the cutie marks.
A blinding white light steals her vision for a moment. She blinks her eyes open to see, instead of Cutie Marks, a single stream of white light flowing from out of the broken Staff and out of the cave towards the town. What in Equestria?
Starlight is all freshened up, and all the townsponies have been gathered.
“Friends! Today I have a very special announcement. Today is a very special day. We have joined with the Princess of Friendship. I have made the princess see the light. And that means something very special for us.” She begins. She’s still not entirely certain how she’s going to spin this, but she knows it’ll be brilliant.
“Today-” she can’t finish the thought, because all of a sudden she is struck by an overwhelming magical force. The townsponies stare in awe as she starts to float in the air and glow. Hey, this feels familiar.
And then with a gasp she realizes this is familiar! It's her cutie mark! It's coming back on! Somepony broke the staff!
But this isn't right. This isn't her power. This is more than her power. It’s so much more. In fact, it feels like a whole town’s worth of Cutie Marks.
It’s so much magic she can't even physically handle it, and then–
The white light cocoons her as it did once before. Starlight feels pain. Pain everywhere. She screams, but the hum of magic is so much louder. She feels something pulling on her back. Sprouting. Sprouting…wings! The alicorn! Her magic!
Slowly, she floats back down to the ground. Her ears are ringing so loud she can barely hear her townsponies cheering. She stumbles in place, and then does something so unexpected that the sensation feels almost phantom.
She unfurls her wings.
Starlight Glimmer…is a princess.