Domesticity

by RangerOfRhudaur

The Unmarked

His lamp shone out into the darkness surrounding the inn and the camp that surrounded it in turn, a warren of tents and spent fires where the majority of the Unmarked slept. He smiled gently as he recalled his ignorance earlier, when he'd proposed they push on until they managed to find somewhere with enough rooms for all of them. It was unequal for only some to be allowed to sleep on soft beds, after all. Starlight had quickly shown him the error of his ways, pointing out that viewing soft beds as superior to sleeping bags was the real inequality, and he'd recanted. In a bid at humor, he'd even offered to demonstrate what Starlight had said to the other Unmarked, sleeping out in the camp while she used one of the rooms they'd managed to secure. She'd accepted, and he'd followed through, even though it had been a joke. Humor was serious, after all.

Of course, actually sleeping could wait for a while; it was his turn for watch, something that would doubtlessly confuse the elites they would confront soon. He was Starlight Glimmer's right hand, why should he sleep in a rough sleeping bag and have to take watch? That was a job for the collared, the poor, the commoners. And they were right, it was a job for the commoners, which all people truly were. All divisions of class, whether they be on social, economic, political, or ethnic lines, were simply illusions, attempts by the elite to fence the collared in, to scatter them and pen them so that they could be made useful. All people were commoners because all people shared one class in common, one class without demerit or credit, a class without mark, the class that gave their brave band its name.

Besides, he thought as he nodded to Minty, settling down to sleep, he liked taking watch, working for the others. Whether that meant standing guard through the night, sewing up a torn sleeping bag, or comforting poor Party Favor after his ingrained hierarchicality reared its head, he enjoyed helping others, though he was careful to avoid favoring any one of them too much; to love one too much was to hate the others, as Starlight would say.

Ah, how sad young him had been to realize what that truly meant. The boy from Snowdrift had spent years chasing the candle, dreaming of it, until its flame showed him how disordered his affections had been; hierarchicality had been the drive behind his desire for Starlight, trying to tempt him to take her for his own and deny her to the rest of the world. That realization had almost broken him, but another one repaired him; he realized he hadn't just followed Starlight because of his desire for her, but because of the light she showed, the truth she revealed. Hierarchicality had made a deadly mistake; in driving him to pursue her, it had driven him into the light that allowed him to see its evil, to see that what he truly desired was not her but its destruction.

He'd been brought back to life by equalism, and from that day on had done his best to pay back that debt. He'd given himself entirely to equalism, holding nothing back, and delightfully found himself with more than he'd given away in the first place. He'd emptied himself for equalism, and equalism had filled him back up until he overflowed. He was always at peace, because what was war but peace by other methods? He was always free, because what was slavery but the freedom to choose the choices another did? He was always wise, because what was ignorance but wisdom of what isn't? All opposition is merely superficial; lies are simply truths about things that aren't real, hate is love of what someone or something isn't, and inferiority is superiority when looked at in reverse. In the light of equalism, the truth became clear; all were equal.

He sucked in a breath; thinking about the grandness of equalism sent chills down his spine, chills that were equal to the warmth he felt in his stomach whenever he helped another. What was cold but a low heat, after all, or what was heat but a low cold? Nothing. Fire was ice, ignorance was wisdom, slavery was freedom, war was peace.

He sighed in awe; equalism was wonderful. He couldn't wait to show the elite its light, to destroy the hierarchicality that oppressed so many Homestrians. Some of those with him didn't, he knew, though he didn't hold it against them; it was difficult for a hierarchically-trained brain to think equalistically, and his love for the elite required a firm grasp of equalist thought in order to understand. Some thought they didn't love the elite for economic reasons, or social ones, or for their failure to properly restrain magic, the apex of hierarchicality. Double Diamond knew better, though; he hated the elite, just as the others did. And hate was love, so that meant he loved them, just as he loved the Unmarked. His march on the capitol was a labor of love, not, like the elite tried to make it out to be, of hate.

He thought (not dreamt; dreaming was a hierarchical attempt to impose inequality even on thoughts, a devious plan) of what might happen once the light of equalism was unveiled. He and Starlight had discussed it somewhat, though she was more equal in her judgements of whether or not their mission would resolve equitably (not succeed; success was an attempt to impose inequality on outcomes of events). She said he put too much faith in the elite's ability to see the truth, which was probably true: she had a more equal sense of things like that than he did, refusing to treat the ability of hierarchicality to maintain its grip on people's minds as lightly (and thus unequally) as he did.

But those who managed to shake off the shackles of hierarchicality would be welcomed as equals, and any unequal possessions of their's put to use ensuring equal property for the others. After, of course, being put to use spreading equalism; the revolution was not free, after all, and saying that one would rather enhance the living standards of those already practicing equalism than help others begin to practice it was hierarchicality, an attempt to introduce an inequality between equalists and non-equalists. Starlight had theorized otherwise before, but eventually she declared that expansion was more equalist than stagnation was, and records of those other theories were destroyed to preserve unity. They wouldn't need those possessions, though; Double Diamond could carry all of his possessions on his back, and he was the most content Man in the world, just like all the Unmarked.

Of course, even optimistic him knew that some wouldn't be willing to part with their possessions so easily, or accept freedom after spending so long enslaved. They would need to be reeducated and reconditioned, and if that failed, if they stayed hierarchical and a threat to the people, the Security Council would need to step in.

That was another reason he made his rounds on watch, stayed among the others; if he was their equal, they didn't watch their speech as carefully around him. Party Favor might lock up about his recurring bouts of hierarchicality to Starlight, but he would confess it to Double Diamond in a heartbeat, just as all those he knew would. It was easier for people to communicate without the artificial barriers of hierarchicality, Starlight had taught them that, and by working alongside the rest of the Unmarked Double Diamond made sure that those barriers stayed gone.

If he learned that they were trying to keep those barriers up, though, if they were trying to maintain or institute inequality, he would oblige them, and they would find themselves faced not with Double Diamond the equal but Double Diamond, Director of Security. None of the Unmarked, no matter how deeply hierarchicality might be ingrained in them, wished to face that. Some nights, Party Favor confessed, he had nightmares about what would happen if he faced that. And well he might have; Starlight had given him authority to take whatever measures he thought necessary as security director, authority that he'd used sparingly over the years. He hadn't needed to use it much; after a night without food or water, even the highest of horses felt equal to others.

He'd had to exercise it more thoroughly on their newest guest, though; a magic-user deeply rooted in hierarchicality, she seemed determined to defy the truth no matter what it cost her. He nodded to the Unmarked guarding her, Caramel, then stepped into the tent holding her. The flap was harder to move than the others, and with good reason; sound-absorbing fabric was quite heavy, and expensive: it had taken the proceeds from selling most of their guest's possessions in order to purchase the tent, though it had proven wise. The sounds might disturb the others.

"Hello," he greeted their guest again. "Have you thought about our offer?"

"I," her cracked, almost broken voice replied. "refuse."

His face hardened, though she couldn't see it under her hood. She was still obstinate, then. Hopefully, the gift he was about to give her would help remedy that. Putting his lamp down, he walked back out of the tent before returning, bearing a crude tea kettle, still whistling from the fire. He walked over to the guest, staying stoically still, and lifted up the back of the clothes they'd loaned her. Her breath hitched, and he paused; would this be the night she agreed to help them? Would she finally choose to be equal?

Sadly, no; instead, she snapped, "Get on with it. You're wasting time you could be spending mooning over your cult leader."

A scowl darkened his face. He opened the kettle and poured.

---

Being the Director of Security means that Double Diamond is privileged to know more of equalism, in order that his knowledge might be equal to his task. And one of the secrets entrusted to him is the Secret of False Opposition, the revelation that all seeming opposites are actually the same, simply reached by a different method.

Thus, war is peace.

Lies are truth.

Slavery is freedom.

Hate is love.

Ignorance is wisdom.

And, crucially for his line of work, wrong is right and injustice is justice.

Thus, when asked what he did inside that soundproof tent, he can truthfully answer that he loved their guest, and inflicted healing on her using right, just methods. She was so happy, he could say, she said she felt like she was in Paradise. And it would be true.

As true as equalism.

Comments

[Pete100]

His lamp shone out into the darkness surrounding the inn and the camp that surrounded it in turn, a warren of tents and spent fires where the majority of the Unmarked slept. He smiled gently as he recalled his ignorance earlier, when he'd proposed they push on until they managed to find somewhere with enough rooms for all of them. It was unequal for only some to be allowed to sleep on soft beds, after all. Starlight had quickly shown him the error of his ways, pointing out that viewing soft beds as superior to sleeping bags was the real inequality, and he'd recanted. In a bid at humor, he'd even offered to demonstrate what Starlight had said to the other Unmarked, sleeping out in the camp while she used one of the rooms they'd managed to secure. She'd accepted, and he'd followed through, even though it had been a joke. Humor was serious, after all.

At this point, do they even know what’s equal and unequal?

Besides, he thought as he nodded to Minty, settling down to sleep, he liked taking watch, working for the others. Whether that meant standing guard through the night, sewing up a torn sleeping bag, or comforting poor Party Favor after his ingrained hierarchicality reared its head, he enjoyed helping others, though he was careful to avoid favoring any one of them too much; to love one too much was to hate the others, as Starlight would say.

I’m sorry, what? Since when?

He'd been brought back to life by equalism, and from that day on had done his best to pay back that debt. He'd given himself entirely to equalism, holding nothing back, and delightfully found himself with more than he'd given away in the first place. He'd emptied himself for equalism, and equalism had filled him back up until he overflowed. He was always at peace, because what was war but peace by other methods? He was always free, because what was slavery but the freedom to choose the choices another did? He was always wise, because what was ignorance but wisdom of what isn't? All opposition is merely superficial; lies are simply truths about things that aren't real, hate is love of what someone or something isn't, and inferiority is superiority when looked at in reverse. In the light of equalism, the truth became clear; all were equal.

What is he talking about?

He sucked in a breath; thinking about the grandness of equalism sent chills down his spine, chills that were equal to the warmth he felt in his stomach whenever he helped another. What was cold but a low heat, after all, or what was heat but a low cold? Nothing. Fire was ice, ignorance was wisdom, slavery was freedom, war was peace.

What?

He sighed in awe; equalism was wonderful. He couldn't wait to show the elite its light, to destroy the hierarchicality that oppressed so many Homestrians. Some of those with him didn't, he knew, though he didn't hold it against them; it was difficult for a hierarchically-trained brain to think equalistically, and his love for the elite required a firm grasp of equalist thought in order to understand. Some thought they didn't love the elite for economic reasons, or social ones, or for their failure to properly restrain magic, the apex of hierarchicality. Double Diamond knew better, though; he hated the elite, just as the others did. And hate was love, so that meant he loved them, just as he loved the Unmarked. His march on the capitol was a labor of love, not, like the elite tried to make it out to be, of hate.

What is starlight teaching them?

He thought (not dreamt; dreaming was a hierarchical attempt to impose inequality even on thoughts, a devious plan) of what might happen once the light of equalism was unveiled. He and Starlight had discussed it somewhat, though she was more equal in her judgements of whether or not their mission would resolve equitably (not succeed; success was an attempt to impose inequality on outcomes of events). She said he put too much faith in the elite's ability to see the truth, which was probably true: she had a more equal sense of things like that than he did, refusing to treat the ability of hierarchicality to maintain its grip on people's minds as lightly (and thus unequally) as he did.

But, wouldn’t putting fate in starlight also count as inequality?

But those who managed to shake off the shackles of hierarchicality would be welcomed as equals, and any unequal possessions of their's put to use ensuring equal property for the others. After, of course, being put to use spreading equalism; the revolution was not free, after all, and saying that one would rather enhance the living standards of those already practicing equalism than help others begin to practice it was hierarchicality, an attempt to introduce an inequality between equalists and non-equalists. Starlight had theorized otherwise before, but eventually she declared that expansion was more equalist than stagnation was, and records of those other theories were destroyed to preserve unity. They wouldn't need those possessions, though; Double Diamond could carry all of his possessions on his back, and he was the most content Man in the world, just like all the Unmarked.

Unequal possessions like what?

If he learned that they were trying to keep those barriers up, though, if they were trying to maintain or institute inequality, he would oblige them, and they would find themselves faced not with Double Diamond the equal but Double Diamond, Director of Security. None of the Unmarked, no matter how deeply hierarchicality might be ingrained in them, wished to face that. Some nights, Party Favor confessed, he had nightmares about what would happen if he faced that. And well he might have; Starlight had given him authority to take whatever measures he thought necessary as security director, authority that he'd used sparingly over the years. He hadn't needed to use it much; after a night without food or water, even the highest of horses felt equal to others.

Is he that much of a threat?

He'd had to exercise it more thoroughly on their newest guest, though; a magic-user deeply rooted in hierarchicality, she seemed determined to defy the truth no matter what it cost her.

Who?

Being the Director of Security means that Double Diamond is privileged to know more of equalism, in order that his knowledge might be equal to his task. And one of the secrets entrusted to him is the Secret of False Opposition, the revelation that all seeming opposites are actually the same, simply reached by a different method.

What does that mean?

Thus, when asked what he did inside that soundproof tent, he can truthfully answer that he loved their guest, and inflicted healing on her using right, just methods. She was so happy, he could say, she said she felt like she was in Paradise. And it would be true.

As true as equalism.

If the rainbooms don’t put these unmarked followers in a bodybag, then this might happen to them.

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10863269

At this point, do they even know what’s equal and unequal?
I’m sorry, what? Since when?
What is he talking about?
What?
What is starlight teaching them?
But, wouldn’t putting fate in starlight also count as inequality?
Unequal possessions like what?
What does that mean?

Questions like these are the whole point of this interlude; equalism seems smart and complex on the surface, but beneath that it spirals into meaninglessness and contradiction. The only consistency in equalism is doing whatever Big Sister Starlight says; anything else is simply justification for whatever whim she wants obeyed now.

Is he that much of a threat?

He's blindingly loyal, willing to do whatever Starlight asks him to regardless of morality or ethicality, and empowered so that he's able to do that. He is a very dangerous Man, almost as dangerous as his master.

Who?

We shall have to see.

If the Rainbooms don’t put these unmarked followers in a bodybag, then this might happen to them.

Not if they stay loyal to equalism. Equalism that changes from one day to the next, the only consistency being the person deciding how it changes...

[Pete100]

10863699
And they don’t realize that?

Wouldn’t that also get him blindly hurt or killed if he runs into someone that can handle themselves?

We will?

But they aren’t gonna stay loyal to the equalism because everything they’re saying is complete nonsense.

[Eroraf86]

What the actual FUCK. This is a hundred times worse than the show version. This is beyond messed up on so many levels.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Fire was ice, ignorance was wisdom, slavery was freedom, war was peace.

So either Orwell doesn’t exist in this world, or he never wrote 1984. Either works; it’s clear that the historical circumstances that led to the novel don’t hold here.

In any case, truly disturbing stuff in its utter, unflinching madness. And I do have to wonder just who the captive is, poor thing. This coming tide will not be satisfied with mere political demonstration. We’ll see just what comes of it all. Pinkie’s stigmata still lingers in my mind...

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10863714

And they don’t realize that?
But they aren’t gonna stay loyal to the equalism because everything they’re saying is complete nonsense.

This is advanced equalism, upper-level thought that most Unmarked will never encounter. Most of them only know equalism as "everyone should be equal," which is just how Starlight planned it; have a popular message for the masses and a dense, confusing advanced level of thought in order to give the appearance of depth and complexity.

Wouldn’t that also get him blindly hurt or killed if he runs into someone that can handle themselves?

He can handle himself as well.

We will?

Yes, and soon.

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10863738

What the actual YAY. This is a hundred times worse than the show version. This is beyond messed up on so many levels.

It is, indeed. And it's on a collision course with the capitol.

...

Drums.

Drums in the deep.

[Pete100]

10863756
Are they that stupid?

That may be true, but it depends on a lot of things.

How soon?

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10863740

No Orwell expy, correct. And such a shame; like you said, it's not just that equalism is oppressive, it's that it's insane, riddled with doublethink and blind spots. She's managed to weaponize illogic, trapping her followers in a universe where the only law is her decrees. Ice is fire, hate is love, lies are truth, war is peace, wrong is right, and equalism is wonderful.

As for the poor captive, we shall have to see who they are, and just what manner of healing the Unmarked has inflicted on her.

Hopefully, Rarity and the others aren't caught in the coming tide; as you said, it's pretty clear they're not just interested in political demonstration. And Pinkie's stigmata (yay, someone got the reference!) indicates that whatever else they're interested in stands a good chance of going very, very badly for the Rainbooms.

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10863774

Are they that stupid?

Not stupid, simply ignorant. And the threat of Double Diamond cracking down on those who try to analyze equalism through too hierarchical a lens (and keep in mind, Starlight can easily declare whether something's too hierarchical or not) gives them an incentive to keep it that way (along with their bones' solidity).

That may be true, but it depends on a lot of things.

As does his opponents' ability to defeat him. The point is, he may be blindingly loyal but that doesn't mean he's incompetent in how he fulfills that loyalty.

How soon?

Hopefully next story, or the one after that.

[Pete100]

10863785
And they never stood up against them?

What do you mean?

Oh ok.

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10863801

And they never stood up against them?

The siren-song of "Everyone should be equal" held most of the Unmarked, and those few who stood up to Starlight were quickly crushed. By the time of the story, the majority of the Unmarked stood behind Starlight, either due to persuasion or fear.

What do you mean?

Double Diamond might be loyal to Starlight past the point of stupidity, but he isn't stupid in his actions as Director of Security. He's a dangerous Man with some blind spots as opposed to an all-around fool.

[Pete100]

10864189
Ok, I guess that makes sense.