"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

First off, I would like to thank my good Chengar Quordath and company for providing us with such tales that not only entertain and enthrall but when seen, challenge us. Kudos sir, and on with my findings.

Now, while I've only begun actually log onto and writing on site recently, I've actually been about this verse for some time. I'm not even particularly fond of the show, but can appreciate it for its merits. Anyway, in my wanderings about I've been chewing over a particularly spotty area that is quite obvious, but not often expressed:

How are clan ponies, and clans, meant to actually function? And if they have, as I believe they have, failed in that area by both areas, why would one continue to actively engage in such a social staple? From here, this is that how things came to be and are seen by the story. Please fell free to correct me

As put before us in the verse, pegasi were at one point in something of a moral quandry: They had become betrothed, much to many's surprised joy, to their tribe siblings the unicorns and earth ponies and had begun in this joy to their house, the nation of Equestria, a place relatively ideal in its start by the simply merit of beginning entirely without any form of ill will or blood shed, whatever would follow later. But sadly, they also began too see much of what they loved being either forgotten or outright tossed in favor of building this nation. They wanted their fellows, but could find no means to retain Pegasopolis as well. It had to be lost, as heart breaking a prospect such a thing was.

But a plan was formed. One done under rather aggregious assumptions mind, but done for the other tribes benefit and pegasis: The Clan. A self sustaining community of suitable mares and stallions who most greatly exemplified the crucial qualities a tribe had used to see themselves through seemingly centuries of misery while still being unified in a front unseen before, and after whatever befell the pegasi for them to lose this solidarity and by far and large disolve said entity, would see no equal to them until after the Lunar Rebellion with the establishment of The Royal Guard.

These ponies, who would be supplied by the governing body for the purpose, or granted leave to functionally rent out its own as sell swords and weather ponies, would seek out others in this new land, and bring them to their clan, and then with a new generation on its way as these mares and stallions paired off, would find comfort and a more familial enviroment then the cold barracks of old, but also one made to be protectors for but apart from the tribes inevitable failure, a place where the weakness inherent and gained by unification to once and for all be purged and its finest and strongest colts and filly's be raised as gently as one could in this new world to still adhere and exhonerate the glory of Pegasopolis away from their beloved but naive and often childish tribe siblings.

This of course is a rather insulting premise made on the notion that Pegasi were inherently right while the others were simply raised to soft to really ever be instruments in their nations defense. Because of course no one had ever thought to develop methods and strategem against a soft world that was somehow the same world that forge Pegasopolis to its first glory. But ponies, I suppose, wouldn't have seen it so. First, the ponies of this verse seem largely friendly, cooperative, and slow to wrath if rather quick to bickering much like close people often do. The pegasis plan was hardly much of a burden given the circumstances. And it would have stroked all the right places: for earth ponies a common ground to the pegasi for a love of family and community, for the unicorns a chance for a prestige boost with a elite guard that would allow them more ample time to their own peoples esoteric studies.

But the reasoning is flawed: The clans, as proposed, functioned more like a family then anything, but would have the standard structure within of family units largely independent of each other. They would of course engage in drills as to instill morale and familirize foals with national defense, but would also be allowed to tend to the raising of foals sired by the couple or small herd. Still ones who benefited from pony kinds inherent trait of communal foal caring, but who would be unable to properly or for that matter politely inquire and ascertain the extent of that family's progress adhering to their communities ideal of ponies of better stock then outside.

It would seem that in the wake of the pegasi guard the clans would also develop differing strategem and personal traditions within each hold, ones unique to each clans collective accomplishments, history, and even preferences there in. As an example, the Kicker's adhered, by and large, to the stated goal of the proposal to best see to the honing and upbringing of exemplary ponies, and as such, had many times allied with outside tribes and exchanged its members in marriage, thus gaining both a wider pool of blood lines to grow from, but a wider and more adaptable means of meeting the cries of Equestria's citizens with a more flexible array of strategy and weapons, the Doo's, from what I've seen, were largely ones based in gathering intelligence and recon, and surprisingly, the Strikers who I theorize were once meant to form ideal soldiers to defend Equestria, seeking quality as opposed to the standard of training as many as could be feasible to maintaining those clan members as abled and willing soldier in greater numbers, then the Strikers more brutal methods which assured fewer guards but ones of more skills and resilience.

And thus we see a easily spotted foible: a uniting quality. Pegasi clans had seemed to have entirely isolated themselves from their follows while still demanding their due supplies while interpersonal conflicts and infighting. The clans themselves remained strong, but would fight others with point word shivs and just be nasty at times. This was what seemed to what till the sisters, where they united under Luna. And from there Luna, more then likely overwrought by her guilt not being the Queen her little pegasi cried for, became Nightmare, an event that if were to labeled a grade a clustermolest it would be like saying the Titanic was a bit of a whoopsy.

And one hundred years later, we see the Rebellion and its nightmarish happenings. I have a theory as to why pegasi had trouble in their civilian lives, but thats for another post. And from there, the Royal Guard.

So, if the Kicker's had managed to maintain a standard despite these events, and done so to its current degree of its people praise, they still have a problem thats been there since day one: never making ponies stop being ponies. And moreover, failing to see that this bit of herd instinct in essence creates ponies only able to function in the Guard or clan, and nowhere else, or making ones unable to discertain cause and effect on behavior. The Clan was a family to their family, and so a pony is largely insolated from any opposing view point and more importantly learning any methods of meeting any foreign and potentially harmful with an idea what that was or even its purpose.

In short, the allude to the apple allegory: If given to them, and told of it, would it even truly be understood and thus weighed in a ponies mind, or would they simply chomp down? And from there, since the clan also seems to train soldiers who can both be grunts and warriors able to function outside society's standards of ethics and morals, isn't it quite possible a scenario of Kicker's, away from this support system, being much more susceptable to things like substance abuse and using their functions in justice and punishment as guise to be killers? And more to the point, if a killer found, if they'd only acted against criminal and enemy peoples, would they allow it to continue because a Kicker is a cut above the average equestrian?

Yours Truly
Perpetually Confused

TL:DR

6270817
I think I understand what you’re saying but over all I think you need to edit your post for clarity.

6271071
Then I shall be as plain as I can.

As I read, I thought of Assassin's Creed, of a single phrase: Nothing is true, Everything is permitted. To the clans, things true were things based in the inconsequential feelings of silly hearts who attributed to rutt, a thing whose sole tenable reason of function was foals, some worthless semblance of meaning. Everything is permitted. To the clans, the were made to act in Equestrias defense. To make the hard choices no pony had the heart or stomach for or were so undisciplined as to perish before their task was done. They, these gathered mares and stallions, were gathered to be rid of the judgement of their fellows, to be allowed to be... monsters.

From my eyes, I see family as a thing held sacred to ponies. Do you not realize how cold they had to have become, how perverse their own morality and ethics code had rended their little hearts, how much their clan had roont them as to see a stallion see his whole world, a filly weeping and torn of her marriage to the sky and the son betrayer who simply didn't know what he'd done, and to one not give a single word of kindness or even see them away himself and the other he gave the chance to end it on his terms then to sully the clan, the fucking clan, with a trial or having to answer for it. And with a whole room of witness, not a one made nary a whimper or did a thing that was not ordered

6272439
Interesting that you bring up the Assassin's Creed. I shall respond in two parts; first I will look at the Creed itself and then I will make another, later comment where I will look at how it relates to Pegasopolis.

First, it is important to truly understand the meaning of the Assassin's Creed. This understanding eluded Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad for most of the first game, and some later assassin protagonists never truly understood it.
The first line of the Creed is a statement on objectivity, rationalism, scepticism and epistemology. Nothing is true. Taken literally, this statement sounds slightly silly; of course something is true, reality cannot be other than it is, somewhere there is an objective reality. But it is beyond human understanding - we inevitably see reality through our own viewpoints, our own biases, even our own senses cannot give us a completely clear picture. So we cannot hold that anything we believe, or anything anyone else believes, is completely and objectively true. Like modern scientists, Assassins never assign a 100% probability to anything. A 99.999...% probability, maybe, but never 100%.
"You cannot know anything. Only suspect. You must expect to be wrong, to have overlooked something." ~ Malik Al-Sayf
The second line of the Creed is a statement about responsibility. In the absence of morality or law, how does one define the correct actions? The answer is that you can't; everything is permitted. But also attached to that statement is the instruction to be mindful, as the action you choose to take is not made in a vacuum and will affect many other decisions. It was precisely to account for this that the three subordinate tenets were added to the Creed, to moderate excesses and promote precision and stealth (and to promote control of the reactions to one's actions). Assassins are well aware that they are capable of creating either great dreams or great destruction. In essence, this corollary commands one to take responsibility for one's actions towards oneself and society at large.
"...it is merely an observation of the nature of reality: To say that nothing is true is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic." ~Ezio Auditore da Firenze
"...laws arise not from divinity, but reason. I understand now that our creed does not command us to be free - it commands us to be wise." ~Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

Expect part two of my analysis later, I need to go AFK right now. Sorry about this break in my writing, but I have limited time IRL.

6272804
An interesting and astute analysis. Again, it was just a thought on my part with it, and the original meaning wasn't my point. But please. I'd like to hear more

6272804
I should also mention that the Creed is more a of a call to casual nihilism, which ponies, as portrayed here, is a process of philosophy most there in would find repugnant. They're more Consequentalist or Objectivist then anything

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6271071

6272804
Or, alternatively, it was bits like this that made the whole of pegasi to throw up their hooves and cry "okay, buck this, time for surnames!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er9eVETxbIU