In sameness, there is peace.
Exceptionalism is a lie.
Free yourself from your cutie mark.
Choose equality as your special talent.
To excel is to fail.
Hey, this is pretty good!
Be your best, by never being your best.
We've gotta find a way out of here!
I can't take much more of that voice!
Oh, this is horrible!
There, there, Rarity…
It's not so bad…
Yes it is!
Look at those drapes!
I have no idea if they're tacky or not!
Well, I think they're nice.
So do I!
Oh, thank goodness!
Can you help us, little birdie?
Go on, now! Fly away and get us help!
Even tweets don't make sense anymore!
This door is shut tighter than a...
summer of... piglets in...
Shoot!
I can't even make countryisms no more!
I know now.
I don't know, maybe it'll be super fun to be all the same!
Sort of.
More pleasant than fun I guess.
Something's on about that staff.
I haven't studied eastern unicorns as much as I should've.
But I'm pretty sure Metalwork only had eight magical items, not nine.
And I don't remember any of them being a staff.
Well, it looks like you'll have plenty of time to try to think about it.
Choose eqality as your special talent.
Difference is frustration.
To excel is to fail.
Be your best by never being your best.
Conformity will set you free.
Accept your limitations and happiness will follow.
You're no better than your friends.
I've got it!
I know how we can get out.
Forget it, Twilight.
This door is not opening.
I'm afraid the window is much too small for escape.
But there is a third way.
Of course!
Eventually the wind and weather will wear down the walls until they start to crumble.
Then all we have to do is wait for [] so we can just walk out!
It's the perfect plan!
I guess.
We don't actaully have to escape,
They will let us out when they think we've accepted their philosophy.
But they're never gonna believe we switched over in just one night.
There's one of us they might believe.
Who, me?
You've been saying how great this place is since we got here!
But that's because everypony is so nice and their village is so pretty and...
Oh, you're right.
They probably would believe me.
I'd hate to lie to them.
They've been so welcoming and friendly.
Aside from locking us in here and trying to brainwash us into abandoning the things that make us special.
Okay, I'll do it.
Woohoo!
I mean, cool.
But what do I do once I'm out?
You've gotta find a way to get our cutiemarks back.
Oh, good morning.
I trust you had a pleasant night?
This way please.
There are some friends who would like to see you.
Gather round, friends, gather round!
We've come to ask if any of you are ready to join us.
There are so many friends to be made once you realize you don't need your cutiemarks.
Or the talents that come with them.
We have a welcome ceremony for new friends!
The whole village joins together to build you your own cottage.
Not interested!
You may have them now, but we're going to get our cutiemarks back.
Y'all don't understand, do you.
You can't force nopony to be friends.
It don't work like that.
Please, join us!
We love new friends!
It's allright, everypony.
This is a perfectly normal part of the equalization process for those who haven't...
quite seen the light yet.
We'll try again tomorrow.
Once you have a bit more time to consider our philosophy.
I'd like to join.
Fluttershy? How could you?!
If giving up my cutiemark means I get to stay in this lovely village with these lovely ponies, then I'll do it.
We have a new friend, everypony!
Now, there's one more order of business.
It seems some in our midst might be. Dissatisfied with the village life.
Unfortunately it's all too true, my friends.
Will you kindly tell us the names of those friends who so desperately miss they cutiemarks
that they would sneak around in the shadows talking to strangers about it?
Just so we can be sure your intentions are indeed pure.
I don't know who they were.
I'm sorry, I don't know your names and faces yet.
Nonsense!
Obviously these ponies must have asked you directly.
Kindly point them out.
It was me!
It was only me!
I only wanted it back for a little while.
And you're quite certain it was only you?
I just wanted to remember what it was like.
And no thought to the pain you cause your friends?
Such selfishness!
I'm sorry, everypony!
I never wanted to leave the village!
I love all of...
What was I thinking...
I can't believe I even considered asking for my cutiemark back.
Don't worry.
Fluttershy will have us out of here in no time.
Didn't you see what just happened out there?
Your friend has accepted our way!
You will all accept our way!
It's only a matter of time!
This guy's a barrel of laughs.
Laughs don't come in barrels, they come from inside you as your body's responce to delight.
So what are we gonna do while Fluttershy's out there looking for our cutiemarks?
We have to stay as positive as we can.
If Party Favours sees how much we really do like each other even though we're all different,
maybe we can use him to spread our message to the rest of the village.
To excel is to fail.
Let's just hope they don't convert any of us first.
Welcome!
Gosh, you really are the nicest ponies I've ever met.
Come.
All new friends stay with me until their cottage is completed.
Let's get you settled and then you can enjoy all that our little village has to offer!
Get the cutiemarks back, that's all you've gotta do, Fluttershy.
Just sneak through the dark to that spooky old cave with the scary magical staff
and get the cutiemarks back...
Okay, you're doing great, the cave's gotta be close now.
Excellent work, Double Diamond.
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.
This one belongs to a princess.
It could be very important to our cause.
But if Twilight Sparkle becomes our friend, then why do we care about this old cutiemark?
I just want to keep them close until everything is settled.
You may go, Double Diamond.
Oh, dear.
How am I ever get the cutiemarks back now?
Starlight, you clumsy fool!
Oh no!
I've got a good feeling about today!
So, do any of you have anything you'd like to say?
Oh, a pity.
So, let's try this again tomorrow, shall we?
No new friends today, I'm afraid.
Wait!
I'd like to lock them in.
Marvellous, Fluttershy.
That's the spirit.
Party Favor, would you join us, please?
I'm sorry, Starlight!
I'm sorry, everypony!
I've seen the error of my ways.
I never wanna look at my cutiemark again.
It seems there's cause for celebration after all!
Hurray!
They tried to break me, they wouldn't stop talking about how different they are,
and that somehow makes their friendship stronger.
Such backwards thinking!
But I didn't listen.
I knew what they were up to, and I didn't listen.
Well done, Party Favor.
We welcome you back with open hooves!
Uhm, Starlight. I think we might have one more friend joining us today.
Is this true?
I think so.
But I just wanna be sure.
If I agree to leave my cutie mark in a vault, I'll really be happier?
Just look around!
Equality has given us more happiness than you have ever known.
And you wouldn't let me just live here in the village with my old cutiemark.
Out of the question!
A pony with a diferent cutiemark in our midst would destroy our entire philosophy!
We are all equal here!
Then how do you explain this?
I knew you couldn't be trusted!
No! Get away!
What're you looking at?
They're the problem, not me!
How could you?!
You said cutiemarks were evil!
You said special talents lead to pain and heartache!
They do, don't you see?
Look at them!
Then why?
Why did you take ours and not give up your own?
I... I had to, you fools.
How could I collect your cutiemarks without my magic?
But, The Staff has all the magic we heed.
The Staff is a piece of wood I found in the desert.
It's my magic, that makes all this possible.
You'd all still be living your miserable lives, thinking you're better then everypony else,
if it weren't for my magical abilities.
I brought you friendship! I brought you equality!
I created harmony!
You lied to us!
So what? Everything else I said is true.
The only way to be happy is if we are all equal.
Except for you.
Everypony has unique talents and gifts.
And we share them with each other. That's how we...
Quiet!
You can't have the cutiemark, Starlight.
Either we're all equal or none of us are.
Come on! Let's have our cutiemarks back!
Come on, let's go get our cutiemarks!
Our cutiemarks aren't in the vault.
They're in there...
with her.
Stand back everypony!
Even without my cutiemark I can tell this is beautiful.
They think they can come to my village and disrupt my life.
Let's see how they like spending the rest of their lives without their precious cutiemarks.
Stand back, everypony!
They're gone. They were right over there.
Look!
She's headed through the pass.
If she makes it into those mountains, we'll never found her.
These are amazing.
There is a whole network of caves up there. Your cutiemarks will be gone forever.
Let's get moving, y'all.
Come on!
Are you all so willing to give up everything because of these strangers?
We gave up everything for you!
Because we thought you were our friend.
I can't believe we have to count on these other ponies to save our cutiemarks.
If we hadn't come to help them, they'd still be living under her rules.
Now it's their turn to help us.
And I know they can do it.
My newest recipe -
snow pie!
She's gonna get away!
Whoa! These are my old skis!
This is where I first met Starlight!
Maybe you can reminisce another time! She's almost to the caves!
Feel like an air drop?
Finally, I can buck like a five bit snake herder in an Appleloosa ranch house again!
And you got your countryisms back, too!
Wh- I studied that spell for years! How can you-
I studied magic for years too!
But what I didn't know then was that studying could only take me so far.
Each of my friends has taught me something different about myself.
It was their unique gifts and passions and personalities that helped bring out the magic inside of me.
I never would have learned that I represent the Element of Magic without these five.
And I certainly wouldn't be here to stop you now.
Spare me your sentimental nonsense!
I gave these ponies real friendships they never could have had otherwise!
How do you know that?!
You never even gave us a chance!
She's getting away!
We'll never find her in there!
We just have to hope that when she's had a chance to think it over,
she realizes that you all have taught her something.
It's you who have taught us something.
We all came to this village because we were searching for something missing from our lives.
We thought Starlight had given it to us, but now...
now it seems it was in front of us all along.
It's us!
Does that mean you'll stay in the village?
It's our home.
I'm not going anywhere.
This is a chance for all of us to get to know each other again,
for the very first time!
And I finally have a chance to bake something besides terrible muffins!
Now those are real smiles.
I'll never get used to that.
I think it's divine.
Does that mean that the map is calling us somewhere else?
I have a feeling it means our work here is done.
Looks like you were right, Twilight.
The map did have a reason for sendin' us here.
We brought real friendship to these here ponies.
Guess that's why you're the Princess of Friendship.
But the map didn't send me. It sent us.
You're a part of me, all of you.
And there's no doubt you're a part of my mission to spread friendship too.
This feels like an ending.
It doesn't have to be an ending yet, right?
'Cause that Sugar Belle can bake!
Maybe we can stay a little while longer. Come on!
Timing adjusted by: Rossa89