Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy trotted eagerly through a tall pair of doors. Rarity was so excited, she actually started hopping up and down like Pinkie Pie. "I can't believe I've never had a chance to go here, all the times I've been to Manehatten!"

Twilight, nose in a map of the museum, nodded. "You've been saying that for the entire way here."

"I mean, this is only the biggest exhibition of modern art in all Equestria! It's sure to inspire me like nothing before!"

"You've been saying that too."

"It's just a shame Rainbow and Applejack didn't come. I suppose it's not really down their alley, but still..."

"And that."

Rarity snorted. "Twilight, I will do all the exposition I want, thank you very much, so stop complaining."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fine. Where do we want to start? Mondrian? Pollock? Picasso?"

"Ooh, let's go to Pollock!" Rarity squealed. "I love his designs!

Twilight checked the map. "This way," she said, pointing a hoof. As they trotted, she said, "It's interesting that you mention his 'designs'. From what I've heard, he didn't design anything at all. It was a completely random process of splattering paint on canvas."

Rarity tossed her mane. "Exactly! It was such a bold move, separating the artwork from all deliberate form! It frees the subconscious to express itself. Pollock believed there was great truth to be found in the subconscious, and he tried to let it out through his art."

They entered the exhibit. "I don't know," Twilight said, glancing around the room. "Call me crazy, but I don't see any great truth here."

Rarity snorted. "Well, to the casual observer, perhaps there is none. It takes a careful eye to discern it."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's just nonsense and complete randomness."

The two turned to Pinkie. She looked back at them. "What?"

"Well, it's just that this is usually where you would jump in and spout something neither of us really understands, but still somehow clears up the issue."

Pinkie waved a hoof. "No no no, this is a very nuanced topic! I can't just simplify it down to basic points! There are a lot of good points on both sides. I'm going to sit back and let you two handle this one, but I'll keep it from getting nasty. Sound good?"

"A debate?" Twilight grinned. "I'm in."

Rarity nodded. "Very well, then. How do we go about this?"

"We start by making our claims very clear, so we know exactly what we're debating about. I think Pollock paintings are overrated because they're just random splatters with no real meaning."

Rarity tossed her mane. "And I think they're saying something very profound about us as ponies."

"Well, then the next step seems pretty clear, right?" Pinkie asked.

Rarity shook her head, but Twilight nodded and said, "I think they have no meaning, Rarity thinks they have a meaning. So we have to ask one question..." A grin rose on her face, almost a smirk. "What is their meaning, Rarity?"

"I just said, they say something very profound about us as ponies."

"But what do they say?" Twilight pressed.

"They- um-"

"You said Pollock believed he could discover truth through unleashing his unconscious mind in these paintings. What truth, Rarity, did he ever discover? What did these paintings say?"

Rarity backed away. "Well... I..."

Twilight kept moving closer, like a predator stalking its prey. "Well? What is it? What do they mean?"

Fluttershy, quiet up until now, suddenly snapped, "Twilight!"

Twilight turned. "Yeah?"

Wordlessly, Fluttershy pointed to Rarity, and Twilight realized how far she'd gone. Rarity was backed into a corner, curled up tight. Twilight winced. "I'm sorry, Rarity, I guess I got a little carried away."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "A little?"

Twilight sighed. "A lot." She stepped closer to Rarity and offered her hoof. "If I'm honest, this kind of art has always been my pet peeve. It just seems really meaningless, but... if you think there's something of value there... you should be able to enjoy it without me complaining."

Rarity took her hoof. Twilight pulled her up and continued. "Different ponies have different interpretations of things, even different interpretations than the creator of that thing. I was so surprised at your opinion that I wasn't thinking, but you have the right to believe what you want, especially if it brings you joy."

Rarity's eyes widened. "Do you know, I think that might be it! I don't like them because of any deep meaning, but just because I like the lines and colors. They're aesthetically appealing, and they make me happy."

Pinkie Pie grinned and bounced up and down. "There you go, then! That's the answer to the debate!"

"Huh?" Twilight and Rarity asked in unison.

"The answer to the debate is that it's okay to disagree, and that art doesn't have to have a deep meaning in order for ponies to enjoy it."

Twilight nodded. "I think we can agree on that."

"Definitely, darling."

"Great!" Pinkie Pie picked up Twilight's map and glanced at it. "Now who wants to check out this exhibit of 'shock art'?"

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other. "...I think we'll pass."

Author's Note

Inspired by my art history lesson. It got me thinking, which is by far the easiest way to get me writing. I'll admit that, when I started this, I actually didn't know how it was going to turn out.

I chose not to make horse puns out of the names of artists, first because I didn't want to bother, and second because I don't think that historical-figures-with-horse-names thing has ever actually happened in the show. It happened with cities, sure, but that's not the same thing. If anybody can think of an example I'm missing, let me know! Otherwise, that trend is nothing but fanon and thus I am not bound by it.