Two weeks.
Two weeks of hiding in these caves. Struggling to grab some sustainment from the local fields. Staying out of sight like a common criminal. Licking my wounds.
Two weeks since those pesky strangers have destroyed the bud of my perfect dream, my flawless vision! And only because they could not see the greatness of it, the singularity of its perfection, stuck in their false, outmoded beliefs! Self-righteous paragons of... of this parody of true unity!
This lie!
They are blind! Equality is what we need to finally embrace our destiny, the true meaning of Friendship! What else would we desire? What else can we desire?!
What else but this ultimate state of balance, where Harmony can flourish without the danger of random, fortuitous talents causing us only... only misery and pain!
And our town, my town, was the prime example of what this vision could bring! Peace! Tranquility! Unrivaled and joyous serenity! Without competition, without judgmental stares left and right, without endless critique and boundless appraisal!
And now... now it’s ruined! Ruined!
Getting a little overdramatic, aren't we, Starlight Glimmer?
For a good reason! Months, years of planning, of preparing, of training! All for naught! All gone, because of that... that Princess Twilight Sparkle!
Oh, of course, of course... She is the source of your calamity. But is it really her fault?
I-it is! Why would that be questioned?
You blame a random, meddling pony for this failure, am I right? That pony is an alicorn and a Princess, obviously. But you did take her cutie mark, didn't you?
Yes, but—
You took her power, her strength, her special talent. You made her equal.
I di—
Shouldn't you be capable of overpowering her then? Ruining her scheme without a hassle? She was a talentless pony after all. And yet you were bested.
Wait, no, n-no! It wasn’t just her, it was that whole group of... dissidents! Recusants! Rebels without a cause, opposing the perfect society!
Ah, so you do believe that it’s indeed the group’s fault? So... their connection has granted them the means to defeat you, yes? Their friendship saved the day?
D-don’t be ridiculous! Their pitiful display of fraternity had no power! It’s not true friendship if it’s tainted by and bound by arbitrary cutie marks! It’s an abomination! A joke!
But you do acknowledge your defeat, am I right? Friendship or not, they have beaten you fairly and squarely.
...what?! No, no, I-I wasn’t defeated, my plans are merely suffering a-a setback!
“Setback”? Is that what you call starting from scratch – a “setback”? And here I thought you said that everything is ruined.
No! No, s-stop it, stop it! I will not listen to any of this!
Yes, you will. “Setback”, that’s rich! Aren't we indiscriminate, Starlight Glimmer...
I-I am indiscriminate! Yes, I am! I do not discriminate, right? So, I am indiscriminate! I accept everypony as equals, as long as they open their eyes to the truth!
So... indiscriminate and judgmental, hmm?
No! No, I am not judgmental! Not like the others!
Ah, yes, the mythical Others – the race of judges and pundits, waiting to comment on your every misstep, every blunder, just so they could express their dissatisfaction and have their twisted idea of fun.
But... but...
You are exactly like them, you know? Just think about it. Those that follow you are good. Those that oppose – bad. Simple, basic, evaluating logic, really. Then again, would you expect anything more complex from the likes of you?
You... you are wrong, it’s not simple! It’s very, very complicated. It requires of me to take their marks and retain mine until I can free all the ponies from their boundaries of talents! And I refuse to be compared to—
Face it, your parents were right.
...
You are a failure.
...no. No, I am not. I—
Just accept it, Starlight Glimmer. ”Open your eyes to the truth”, your own words. You say you were born with this talent, this incredible gift to harbor the cutie mark magic and...
...and...?
Exactly! “And...?” And nothing! Absolutely nothing! Despite your efforts, despite all those hours of reading, studying, practicing, you have achieved nothing at all!
That’s—
Naught! Nil! Zero! Your talent is not having a talent!
That’s not true!
Is it not now?! How come you were beaten even by “talentless” ponies then?
I—
What happened, Starlight Glimmer?!
I-it wasn’t my fault! I’ve tried my best!
As always. “Tried”. Never “done my best”.
Stop it! Stop twisting my words!
To prove my point I wouldn't even have to.
Y-you don’t understand!
I clearly don’t! Nopony has ever understood you, right? They could only evaluate you.
Y-yes! Yes, that’s what they were doing! Comparing me! Measuring me! All my life, they were but claiming that the bar is higher and higher, never believing that I could jump it! Never happy about my successes, always claiming others to be better than me!
Well, you were a recurring failure.
I wasn't! And I am not! I am not a failure!
No? What about those cards you and your “bestest friend” did for “Mother’s Day”? How old were you, six? You poured your heart into it, using all the colors, all the crayons! But, lo and behold, your work was rubbish in comparison. Hers was the talent to draw and her card was astonishing. Oh, it appeared like you did not care for yours at all, it was so inadequate in comparison. Your mother was heartbroken that evening after she saw the other, marvelous card...
S-stop, I don’t want to recall this!
And how about that one math test in primary school, do you remember that one? You got... 94 percent, correct? Nopony was better, not even that one colt, that childhood sweetheart of yours, who was storming through all the exams usually. And what did your father say?
He... he said...
Let me refresh your memory! “But it is his talent! You couldn’t have been better than him! You must have cheated, young lady!”
...he did say that...
Indeed. Another “friend”, another talent, another wound.
It... it hurts...
And, of course, the crown jewel of your incompetence! After all the struggles, all the perils, when you finally had your greatest chance to prove yourself. Your entry trials to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.
N-no, don’t! Please, I don’t want to go through that again! Please!
One spot left, two little ponies. Starlight Glimmer and your alleged “newest friend”, Sunset Shimmer.
I-I beg you... stop...
You gave it your all. Your effort was heroic. And the professors were more than impressed. Your talent shone so brightly... but hers even more so.
...and... and she... She did not even...
“Sorry, Starlight. It’s a competition after all.”
...you...
Your father had such a cold voice, no? “You disappoint me, Starlight Glimmer. Again. I feel ashamed to have such a daughter.”
...enough...
And your mother, do you recall? “You should have known it was impossible, Starlight, others are simply better than you. Perhaps you could at least be a hairdresser and avoid living on skid row.”
Enough.
Oh, I am just getting started!
No! We are finished.
Never, Starlight Glimmer. Not until you show that you are worth anything at all!
Shut up!
I can’t shut up, foolish mare. I am you! And, just like your parents, I am disappointed to be burdened with such a worthless excuse of a pony!
Silence!
***
I punch the rock so hard I feel the bones in my foreleg bending and pain surging through my brain. I sit on the cold rocks, near my extinguishing campfire, as I feel tears filling my eyes. I grab my head, the anguished echo of the strike finally making my thoughts silent.
I am not useless. I am not a failure. I, Starlight Glimmer, am not a “worthless excuse of a pony”. It is they who are wrong, they who are always trying to compare me, show me that I am nothing. But their tyranny is at an end.
It doesn't matter that I have stumbled. It doesn't matter that some Princess opposes me. It is time for a new order to arise in Equestria and beyond. A new world, a better world. For all the ponies. A reality in which talents do not hold dominion over hearts and minds, putting us into an imaginary hierarchy.
A perfect world... An equal world that I am and will be the harbinger of, until everypony grows to share my vision.
And in that world without talents... I will finally mean something.
And nopony shall judge me anymore.
