//------------------------------//
// Twilight and Silverstream (Part 6) – On Utopia 
// Story: One on One Philosophy with Discord 
// by CrackedInkWell 
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I sighed deeply. Right below us was a beautiful looking ball of blue and green. A whole universe that out of the trillions upon trillions of possibilities, which contained the essence of the ugliest word in the Equine Language. One in which that it makes me feel dirty saying, let alone writing it down.

Perfect.

“Let me make something perfectly clear before we go down,” I told them. “This universe below us has an Equestria that is, in countless ways, the perfect country. It’s a country that doesn’t exist, and in our world, it may never exist. There’s a reason why this one is so tucked away in the corner of the multiverse. Because this, right here, is one of the few that was able to take the ideal country and make it work.”

“You mean that this is the only one?” Silverstream asked. I nodded. “Really? Out of who-knows-how-many universes, this is the only one that has a utopia?”

“Do you have any idea how many times creatures from every multiverse has tried to make the perfect society?” I asked her. She shook her head. “Your Headmare should know this perfectly well, that the school counselor had tried at making her own utopia.”

My boss shuttered. “Oh, don’t remind me.”

“Ah, and care to share with the class?”

Twilight frowned. “From what I’ve seen, Starlight tried to make a village in which everypony was equal. Everyone. From the same mane style to having not enough food, even to having the same cutie mark.” She turned to Silverstream. “Don’t get me wrong, Starlight has come a long way since then. But back then… she forced everyone to give up who they were just so that everyone could be happy by being the same.”

“Ah! Very good, boss!” I told her, “You’ve spotted the problem with a good chunk of utopias almost immediately. The philosophy that planted the seeds to their downfall lies with the idea that if you make sure that everyone looks, acts, thinks, and talks alike while getting rid of everyone that doesn’t equal perfection should be destroyed – then all the problems will finally go away! Every government, I repeat, every, government, that I’ve shown you today, came about because something was wrong with the old one and they must be replaced with how a country should ideally run. And I’m not just talking about the Dictators and Anarchists, the Monarchs and Communists – this includes Democracy, Constitutional Monarchies, and Republics as well.

“When one or both of you get into power, you’ll quickly find out that there is no amount of scapegoats in existence to help you wave a magic wand and make everything better without covering your name in blood.”

“If you really believe that,” Twilight pointed out, “why did you bring us here?”

“Because, in philosophy, there is a practical reason to have the idle daydream of utopia. To sketch one is to address the current problems that a country faces and give one perspective as to how to tackle them. By focusing on the ideal versions of what the ideal life could be like, they help us to clearly define what we feel is wrong with the society we have. Think of this world down there,” I pointed a talon towards the planet, “as a lens to help bring whatever plans into focus.

“Oh! And before we begin our descent, there’s one, very important thing to keep in mind.”

“What’s that?” My student inquired.

“Just because this world has managed to figure out how to get their stuff right, doesn’t mean that it’ll work in ours. What would work beautifully in one universe would prove disastrous to another. Got it?” They nodded and dawning the bell-hop outfit complete with a red hat, I flipped a switch. “Going down.”





The table landed before the School of Friendship with a noticeable ‘ding!’ Getting out, my boss and student noticed that Ponyville looks similar, but also… different. The architecture is similar to back home, with beams, white walls, and thatched roofs. However, by the looks of the town, it looks like they had only one architect which repeated the same pattern. Three-floor structures with large windows in contemporary forms, wide enough streets for trees, ponies, and enough carts to keep them lively. The only thing that made this Ponyville interesting in its slightly boring architecture is that each building has its own color.

“Is it me,” Silverstream said aloud, “or does Ponyville look… different?”

“Apart from the symmetry and being more colorful than I last remember,” Twilight observed, “this place is like if Canterlot and Great Northern were put together here. It’s certainly pretty looking. All be it different.” She looked over to where her usual castle was meant to be. “Even my crystal treehouse resembles the town and the school.”

“So, Mr. Discord,” Silverstream inquired, “are we going to go to some palace or-”

“Nope,” I told her, starting to float towards the school. “Here in perfect land, the schools here offer a reflection of the country they live in. Especially how it works. So, if you want to know how this universe works, this is the place to start.”

“But Discord,” Twilight interjected, “What does a school have anything to do with government?”

“Again, the school reflects how this Equestria works. Think of this as a cross-section of how this society functions so these youngsters would have a pretty good idea what to expect out of life.”

“Okay, but who runs this school?”

“You’ll see,” I told her as we entered onto the school grounds.

Almost immediately as we entered into its halls, we noticed that the vibe of this school was… both familiar and completely different at the same time. There was a mix of creatures for sure of both old and young, and many of them carried books and papers around. But there wasn’t boredom anywhere. If anything, the school was radiating in happiness and kindness. We struggled to find so much as a frown from any of them.

I lead them towards a particular place in the school. Mainly where the school faculty is. Especially towards the office of this school’s Headmare. Or, should I say, Headmaster. Behind the glass doors was a rather surprising sight for my boss. It was an old stallion with a wizard’s cap of stars and jingling bells. Sighing, I pushed open the double doors and he looked up. The bearded mage did a double-take before standing up from behind the desk.

“Son?”

“Before you start,” I told him, “I’m a Discord, but not your Discord. I come here with some friends from Universe: 465932178956261-75-A.”

“Does that matter?” He asked, going around the desk to hug me, “You’re back, and in most universes, you are still my son.”

I turned to my boss, her jaw already dislocated itself and was crashing towards the planet’s core. “Star Swirl the Bearded is your father!?”

“It’s more like a Fankenstallion situation with wanting a child of their own flair to it, but one thing at a time.” I gently pushed Da- Star Swirl away. “So before you say anything, we’re here because of these two,” I pointed a thumb at my boss and my student, “wanted to know about balancing power and government by the time it’s their turn to rule their countries. I’m not here for any tear-jerking family reunion. Nor am I to apologize over stealing the silverware. I still stand by in saying that those are mine.”

He blinked. “Oh… I see…” Clearing his throat he turned to the other two. “As much as you both resembled some creatures I know, you two are strangers to our world. So, if I may, allow myself to have the honor of welcoming you both.”

My boss thanked him but followed up with “You know, in the other universes we’ve visited, all of them are set in government buildings. Yet, we’ve been sent here to a school. Why?”

Star Swirl smiled. “I’d say you came to the right place. This school is one of many across the country that not only prepares our students for the real world but gives them things that teach them how to live their lives happily and wisely.”

“Excuse me,” Silverstream raised her claw. “What kind of government is this world, and how does it work?”

“Follow me.” So, we followed him out of the office and down the halls. “The most important thing to know,” he began, “is that the curriculum here has been reverse-engineered from the things that used to give creatures the most trouble in the old days. Here, we teach them four essential parts of life that no child or adult could live without. It teaches you to do four things: how to find your profession and settle in a job that you can love; how to be confident, defuse conflicts, and know your own mind; how to have satisfying relationships from family to the romantic; and most importantly, how to wind down and not lose your temper.”

“So… like a School of Friendship?” Twilight asked with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

“No, life.” He responded. “This school does teach other things too such as mathematics, languages, how to read and write. It also teaches history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, art, and literature in ways that are prescribed to many like medicine.”

“What does that mean?” Silverstream inquired.

“Unlike the past, we asked an important question: what are these subjects for? One can learn the ins and outs of Algebra, Biology, or History of Food, but it’s another when applied to the real world. It is unwise to shove someone out to sea by teaching them only physics. The education here, we believe, should be something that anyone could turn to for learning, not only what’s important in life, but to find practical knowledge and wisdom.

“Take, for instance, government.” Star Swirl pushed open a pair of double doors into an assembly hall full of students and teachers. All of them lively chatting at the moment. “What you are seeing is a reflection of how our government for the nation functions. The best way to help students not only understand how it functions but gives them experience and guidance in life if they become politicians, is to practice it on a small but important level. You see these students?” We nodded. “This class is an introduction to government, and we are about to witness their final exam. If they pass, if they choose, they’ll become the deciders for choosing events and teachers for the school to offer up to me for my approval.”

“So… this is a Democracy?” Silverstream asked. “But is that a good idea though? The last time we saw a Democracy in action, the voters there chose based on instinct.”

“Ah! But not in our country.” Star Swirl told her. “You see, we measure the success of our students not just on their grades with learning new things, but their wisdom too. This school, like so many others, teach students to not only think critically but to distinguish their reason from their feelings as well. The students who are in this room have proven that they are sound-minded and taught how to think what effect their decisions would have in the long run.”

I stroke my goatee. “Yeah? And what about the students who didn’t qualify? Are you discriminating against students based on their reason and wisdom?”

“Yes.” This shocked my boss and student.

“But how could you say that?” Twilight questioned. “How can anyone turn down someone based on what they think?”

“Are you referring to someone’s culture?” Star Swirl questioned. “Because their judgment of what’s considered right or wrong isn’t what is being judged here.”

“How does that make sense?” Silverstream interrogated. “Isn’t judging based on what’s right or wrong?”

“No. Because what you are thinking, that someone’s idea of what’s normal, their customs, traditions, morality even – they all obey borders. Reason, wisdom, and truth do not. These things are universal, but the mistake of the old days is that it was once thought that just forming so much as an opinion is as natural as breathing air. But we’ve come to accept that making one, especially to help you decide how to run a school or a country, is a skill to be learned.

“These students got here because they applied the method of Socrates. They question if choosing whatever policy or applying teacher is based on reason and not because they were persuaded emotionally. In fact, before they cast a vote, these students, like voters in the real world, are questioned if they made their decision based on rationality. None of these students are taught to conform to this way of thinking but taught to think for themselves with reason.”

“But how do you test if they’re qualified to vote on reason?” Twilight asked. “Especially when they might grow up to help run Equestria one day.”

“Observe.” Star Swirl pointed out as the class began.

For the sake of time, I’m going to give you a summary of what happened. A teacher called on the students to pay attention as two ponies came up. One was a pony that, the only way I can describe it is if Boredom was personified as a forty-year-old stallion who’s only exciting words he could muster is when he explains the tax system. The other was Pinkie. Unlike the other stallion that only presented what kind of teacher he would be with homework and tests, Pink’s motivated the crowd with confetti, free candy, and promises to have more fun.

Needless to say, Pinkie won the vote by 70 %. To which, even with the crowd cheering about this victory, this universe’s Pinkie delivered the greatest punchline that I’ve heard all day.

“Thank you everypony!” She began, “For those that have picked me to be the winner, I got news for you. Congratulations you guys! You failed! Yay!” The class became stunned quiet when the news hit them like Celestia not paying attention to where she was flying into while eating a whole red velvet cake.

“Uh…” We heard one of the students say. “What?”

“You failed!” She said smiling. “The 70 % of you that voted me in, you failed the class! I mean, seriously, what were all of you thinking? I don’t know a thing about running a school, or how to teach. I’m only a party animal that knows how to bake, cheer ponies up, when their birthdays are and such. But hey, you all thought that between the two of us, I was the most qualified because I seemed to be the most fun, right? Only, I don’t have much experience unlike this guy,” she pointed to Mr. Dull. “All I did was manipulate your emotional side, bribe you with sweets and longer breaks. I didn’t improve anything at all.”

Just when a good chunk of the class was showing some long faces, Pinkie added, “But hey, there’s no need to beat yourselves over it. Just because you failed the class, doesn’t mean that it was all a waste of time. This is an object lesson, after all. Just because someone sounds good, doesn’t mean that they’re good for you. You have to really look at what you vote for is actually helpful for you and will help others grow. Consider if those being elected are qualified for the job, or that policy is based on reason and not on prejudice or emotion. So, don’t feel bad that you didn’t pass, but in the future, do really think about what you are about to agree to.”

She added to the rest of the class, “And for those 30 % that voted for the other guy, congratulations! You’ve passed! This means that you guys are qualified to take a closer look at the government. But I warn you, what you vote on are gonna get a little tougher. But on the bright side, you’ve already faced the most difficult thing with this voting thing. So, give yourselves a round of applause!”

There was the expected sound of polite applause before class was dismissed. As we left with the students, my boss turned to Star Swirl. “So, what happens to the students here?”

“Those that passed that class will go on deciding on a policy, events and who is best qualified to run the school. And when they graduate, they will have enough experience to go onto have more ambitious roles in society in the realm of politics. Those who had failed, this is a good experience they should have.”

“But why?” Silverstream pointed out, “They seem pretty disappointed back there.”

“True. But this is an important thing to learn. Voting is a skill to be learned and not by blind guesswork or that what they say sounds good.”

“So, is this school teaching them to vote against their interests?” Twilight questioned.

“On the contrary. We’re teaching them to think if what they’re voting for is good for them and everyone in the long term. It takes time and practice, but with the right set of skills, they will have the experience on how to decide before being granted their voting license.”

“But isn’t a little… creepy?” My boss asked and both Star Swirl and I asked her at the same time what she meant. “I mean, being taught how to think carefully about voting is one thing, but do you have to do it in such a… uh… paternalistic way?”

“I don’t understand why it would be.” He replied. “Citizens accept that we need help with many things, so there’s no terror in being in a nannying culture. Since this is a complete Democracy, the voters know and trust that the government is always acting to defend them on their own best long-term interests. It’s a force that enables them to realize their potential. In Equestria, the only time that our government bans certain things and businesses is if they do quite unhelpful things and don’t show how to be kinder. There’s nothing spooky about it as it’s properly democratically sincere. After all, this school wouldn’t exist if this place didn’t prove that it is indeed helpful.”

“Even if that’s true,” Twilight asked, “what about other things like how to run an economy, the news, policy for raising foals, tolerance, or mental health?”

Mr. Know-it-all smiled, “Then you’ve come to the right place.”

From there, he showed us the more interesting classes where students, young and old go to. We saw an economy class where they not only talk about how a Capitalist system works but showed how to be more humane. That it helped students learn that by entering into the right sort of work where it is meaningful to them through assisting them to find what kind of work that best fits each of them. For those going into being an entrepreneur, they stressed that the most important thing to keep in mind is to properly and deeply satisfy their customers, even if it doesn’t flatter the balance sheet. That being a philanthropist is frowned upon as a sign of extracting too much money from their business and not being courageous enough to risk money investing in properly meaningful goals. Where respect in Perfect Land is given, not just for becoming rich, but for how serious the problem they fixed was while making their wealth.

In a class on relationships – especially for the romantic kinds – Twilight and Silverstream were stunned to find out that Romanticism is an idea that’s frowned upon. As they don’t talk endlessly of finding the right one as they came to realize there’s no such thing. If anything, the students in that class learn that it isn’t wise to marry based on instinct. Because of that, Star Swirl explained to them that Psychotherapy has become highly popular. That they’ve been taught from an early age that imperfection from their partners should be expected and be treated with sympathy. So much so, in fact, that it was entertaining to hear the students ask one another: “And uh… So, in what way are you crazy?”

Star Swirl also showed off how there are classrooms in how to raise and take care of foals growing up. The country became aware of the assumption that no one has a clue how to bring up a kid – just how not everyone knows how to perform brain surgery or steer a massive ship in a storm. Such training for students starts at an early age. When my Hippogriff student asked if this was necessary just so someone could have a baby, Star replied: “Of course you can have a baby without going through the training, but that would be like an explorer setting out to climb Mt. Everhoof in his slippers. It can be done, but it’s really difficult to do.” Twilight asked him how do they know if they raised a foal successfully, and he tells her that there is a nationwide parenting program that looks into this sort of thing. That in this Utopia, no child is considered successfully raised unless they grow up with hardly having the desire to be famous or supernaturally good looking.

The school does have a newspaper, one which does report bad news. But like some Universes I could name; this one pulls off an unusual skill. Where after one reads the news, nopony comes away terrified or burning up with pure rage. It is a reflection of most news sources in that Equestria, which is drawn up and edited by philosophers that make sure each article comes out with a profound lesson in maturity and calm. “The purpose of the news,” Star Swirl told us, “is that it’s not just about things that happened that day. But to guide those towards the information that can best help the readers, and their community to flourish. This is a branch in Equestria’s biggest industries – Wisdom.”

There is, of course, an art class in which Rarity is the lead teacher. But what we found, however, is that both student and teacher have given up on the idea that art should be for art’s sake. Because being an artist is a job that has a practical purpose. So, to make the best ideas to be vivid and persuasive. That they can be kept at the front of the viewer’s minds at all times. When we interviewed Rarity, she said that art is to remind all of us to be calm, forgiving, open up to experience, and be properly awed by whatever comes in our way. If anything, art in the Perfect country is part of the country’s Mental Health Service.

But you might have noticed by now that during all of this, I kept silent as we witnessed one thing after another that just added fuel to my content of this Universe.

By the time our tour of Utopia was through, I was more than ready to leave. So, within our first moment to finally hop on our Cafeteria Table to make the journey back to our home Universe, the girls took notice of my behavior. “Mr. Discord,” Silverstream asked, “are you okay? You’ve been sulking ever since we got to that Utopia place.”

I huffed as planets go by. “I’m just a little bit disappointed is all.”

“Why?” Twilight inquired.

“Have either of you noticed the biggest, glaring problem with Utopia. Something that I personally have a problem with.”

“Daddy Issues?”

My eyes narrowed at my boss. “You are walking on very, thin, ice,” I said between my teeth. “But no, did either of you notice something off? Something missing? Something that is the polar opposite of me?”

“Um…” Silverstream hummed in thought. “That it’s… practically perfect?”

“Exactly!” I threw my arms up. “That universe is too perfect! And what’s more, it’s sooo… sooooo… boring!”

“What?” They both asked.

“Think about it,” I replied, “once you have reached that state of perfection when those problems are solved, that conflicts are dashed away, when there is way too much harmony… that place irks me on a personal level because once they’ve reached that state, then what’s the point of life? Out of all of these governments and universes out there, that one is going to fall the hardest. As much as some don’t like it, the thing that every single one of these universes with their governments tends to overlook again, and again, and again, is that they need conflict! They need some chaos to grow! You can’t make something better if you don’t have anything worth fighting for! Even a story needs some kind of conflict to make it a little bit interesting! But that universe? It boggles my mind that out of the near infinity of wonders there are, that they’ve managed to invent and perfect boredom!”

I heaved. After cooling down from my rant, I looked over to Twilight and Silverstream and sighed. “So, that concludes the lesson,” I told them.

We returned to our home universe, and for good measure, I turned back time to the second after we left. And I returned the table back to the cafeteria, finished my lunch, and returned to class.





But that’s not the end of this part of the story.

Later in the day, I was called up to Twilight’s office. When I got there, she and Silverstream were there wanting to talk to me.

“Before we say anything,” Twilight told me, “we just wanted to say our thanks for taking the time to show us the many ways of what Equestria could have been with different ideas of government.”

My student nodded, “As well as to show me about power, and the extremes each one had. You showed us that not just creating a way to rule, but also doing all the ruling is a difficult balancing act. Something that not everyone can do.”

“Okay, so why did you call me in for?” I questioned.

They looked at each other for a moment. “For a few reasons,” my boss said, “firstly, to thank you for giving us the insight about the ways power could be done, as well as their pros and cons. In the future, when it’s our turn, we’ll look back on today and strongly consider if whatever we wanted to do is indeed what’s right for the countries we’ll serve.”

I raised an eyebrow. “But?”

“It’s just…” Silverstream touched the tips of her talons together. “We also thought about what you said with Utopia and… to some extent, you’re right. Although out of all of them, it was the most ideal, but it’s also the most unrealistic. You are right that conflict, while preferable not to deal with, is essential. As long as there’s room to disagree, then perhaps they could lend a claw into forming a better society then they first encountered it. Maybe, we’ll never get to Utopia, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give up or ignore problems altogether.”

I sighed. “Good… Good… Is there anything else?”

“Yes, one more thing,” Twilight said, leaning forward. “Discord, I know that this isn’t my place, nor is it my problem. And I don’t know what happened between you and Star Swirl, but clearly, I can see that there’s something in you that’s been left unresolved.”

I frowned. “What are you implying?”

She breathed in, “All I’m saying, as a friend, that whatever problems you have with him, it is best to straighten them out while you still can.”

“With that,” I told her, “I believe this conversation is over.” With that, I snapped a paw and returned home for the evening.