//------------------------------// // "The Basis of Division" // Story: The First Re-Mark // by iowaforever //------------------------------// “The Basis of Division” More rain had started to fall, a faint drumming on the roof that Starlight felt compelled to ignore. Rain was normally a calming experience, but in the face of the mare that called herself Revelation it gave her little comfort. Starlight did her best to appear composed as Revelation poured more tea, the mare silently passing the cup to Starlight before speaking. “Now, you were going to convince me that cuties marks bring division, and Equality is the natural state of all things.” Revelation said. “Yes,” Starlight took the cup before continuing. “I will show you why cutie marks do more harm than good, and why here in our town we are the model of perfect Equestrian living. Once you are convinced, perhaps you will come to appreciate all we have to offer.” “Perhaps...” Revelation took a sip as Starlight began. “Cutie marks appear when a pony discovers his or her so-called ‘special talent’.” Starlight resisted the urge to do hoof quotes as she continued. “From there, a pony is expected to live out their special talent in all they do, in the hopes that they prove themselves productive members of society. But tell me, do you know just how much pressure is put upon a pony to find that special talent? Do you know how much pressure they must endure to fulfill that talent?” “I am no stranger to such tribulations,” Revelation said. “But then you must also know that not everything is universal; some may receive enormous pressure, others may not.” “All the more reason why cutie marks are no good.” Starlight said, stamping her hoof. “Why do we just arbitrarily judge based on who has a mark on their flank and who does not? Why must young foals be driven apart because they have no cutie mark?” “The judgement of others is a tricky subject indeed,” Revelation said. “Certainly education and breaking of old norms can remedy this. And sometimes the lack of a cutie mark, the pressure and trepidation, can be common ground for ponies to bond over.” “I doubt it. Under pressure, a pony is liable to withdraw into themselves and never seek to break out. If all ponies are equal, the pressure is gone, and a pony is free to be whoever he or she wants to be.” “Not true.” Starlight blinked as Revelation continued. “Pressure is a prime motivator of ponies to break from the norms in which they live. Would Equestria itself have been founded had the Hearth’s Warming Ponies merely fallen back on what they knew?” “That’s just an old fairy tale mothers tell their foals to get them to behave.” Starlight said, waving her hoof dismissively. “Not once have I found a situation where a pony has prospered under the pressures of not having a cutie mark.” “And yet I can provide you with three examples, all of them drawn together by their struggle.” Revelation’s horn shimmered before a picture appeared before Starlight. It was the mare, laughing at the antics of three young fillies. All of them were blank flanks, yet to see such joy in their eyes... “Who are they?” she asked. “They called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Revelation said, taking the picture back. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo. None of them, as far as I know, have found their cutie mark, yet they continue to try new activities, new adventures, to try and find that special talent.” “They should not have to struggle in the first place,” Starlight said quickly. “Under Equality, they would have no need to struggle. They would have a place waiting for them when they came of age, and they would be happy for it.” “Would they?” Revelation asked. “Look at these fillies. Their search has been fruitless in the sense that none of them have found their special talent, but the memories they’ll share and the lessons they’ll learn will last their entire lives. Yes, there is struggle, but the bond they build in this time will never be broken, even by the deepest of disagreements.” “That’s not possible!” Starlight cried. “Weighed down by the pressures of modern society a young pony is broken until she does not trust anypony. She withdraws, shuts down, becomes useless in the eyes of all. Only with Equality can she become who she truly is.” “Sounds like you have had a personal experience with that.” Starlight’s jaw tightened. She was slipping up, and Revelation had noticed. Just a few words and everything would be undone. Stable... calm... orderly... that was what she needed to focus on. “That is not the topic we were discussing,” Starlight said, doing her best to unclench her jaw. “I was talking about how cutie marks divide us.” “Yes.” Revelation nodded. “You believe that the presence or lack of a cutie mark is enough to cause unmendable division.” “Yes.” Starlight said, closing her eyes. “I saw it too many times to ignore; friends driven apart because of irreconcilable differences, competition between one pony and another, all because of a cutie mark.” she looked up. “Is that really a society that we need to live in? Where everypony is trying to outdo one another?” “Perhaps not. Such rivalries have done great damage to Equestria in the past...” Starlight noticed Revelation’s eyes softened for a brief moment before she started speaking again. “But to force one down another’s path of thinking, that can do far more damage than even a simple disagreement.” “Who said I was forcing anyone?” Starlight frowned again. “Everypony who lives here voluntarily gave up their cutie mark once they understood what I... what we were capable of accomplishing.” “They helped you come up with this philosophy? Fellows who had been challenged and persecuted for their cutie marks?” Starlight fidgeted, trying to think of the right words to say, again. “They could all see what I meant,” she started, but Revelation was quick to cut her off. “There you use the word ‘I’,” she said. “That implies that you were the sole creator of this philosophy of cutie marks being the basis of division among our kind. You presented to these ponies and perhaps some believed, some did not, but all that matters now is that you could ‘educate’ these ponies to understand what you saw, not what they saw. That hardly seems equal.” “Everypony who lives here is here because they want to be here.” Starlight growled. “If you are just going to be stubborn and shoot down all of my points so callously, you can leave.” “Apologies, I did not mean to be rude,” Revelation looked away. “I have a bad habit of that... of not always listening to what other ponies are saying to me.” Well, at least she has the courage to admit it, Starlight through, but she was not going to stoop to Revelation’s level. “Have you heard of King Gorice?” “No, I haven’t,” Starlight said. “Why does it matter?” “Gorice was the third king of Griffonstone, ascending after his father King Gunther. Gorice was the model of any griffon: strong, handsome, wealthy. But his greed was far greater than a lust for gold and jewels; he desired the love of all creatures, griffons first and foremost. Plans for a great griffon empire formed in his mind, a realm where all would bow down and sing praises to his name. But first he needed the love and affection of his subjects. “To that end, he constructed a great statue in his likeness, a statue that stood taller than the tallest spires of Canterlot. ‘Bow before my likeness,’ he commanded. ‘I am your king, and your love shall be mine. Bow, and let us all stand united as one’. Every action, every day of every week, was punctuated by a griffon bowing to the statue, so that all would know that Gorice was king in Griffonstone. Any griffon that dissented, even if it was just forgetfulness for one bow, was dragged away to the king’s dungeons beneath his castle for ‘re-education’. “Within a month the statue was toppled, and Gorice was forced to abdicate by his son Gavin. The griffons could not find it within themselves to love a creature that did not respect their own desires, a creature who imposed his will and order so harshly upon them.” “That is an interesting story,” Starlight said, reaching for her now cold tea. “But it does not have a lot to do with anything. So one griffon tried to force others to love him? The exchange was not equal, and he suffered from it.” “You are correct, the exchange was not equal,” Revelation stood, moving towards the window to watch the storm. “But then the story is not meant as a warning against Inequality. Gorice demanded more than what his subjects could provide him, forcing them to bend to his will or suffer the consequences. Like Griffonstone, this town is one that forces ponies to follow one philosophy, one line of thinking above all others- a hypocritical line of thinking if you are to take the very basic definition of Equality, no?” “I am not forcing anypony to do what I want.” Starlight growled again, her tea cup trembling in her magic. “Then I suppose those two souls you have locked up in the building on the end of town are there by their own will?” Starlight’s magic cut out, the cup plummeting to the floor. It never struck, for the blue glow of Revelation’s magic caught it and the spilt tea before either had a chance to land. But so shocked was Starlight that she found herself unable to move, her breath coming out in short gasps. “Do not think I am a blind mare, Starlight,” Revelation looked back to her. “I have seen many things in my time, some far worse than what you have here. But can you justify locking away dissidents and ‘re-educating’ them, as Gorice did?” “... Get out of my town.” Starlight fixed Revelation with a glare. The other mare returned one of her own, Starlight doing her best to match stare for stare. “No,” Revelation said. “Not until you understand just what you have done.”