My Sixth Plot Pony: Friendship is Sufficently Advanced

[Jorlem]

nemonowan wrote:

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Well, there is the obvious Communism reference (via the fallacy that equality means homogeneity.Then there is the literary reference to the 1961 Kurt Vonnegut Jr short story Harrison Bergeron (which itself referenced the aforementioned fallacy to the point of absurdity)Then there are the more recent references to the methods used by religious cults to indoctrinate converts.
Of course, there is the question of just what exactly was Starlight Glimmer's game. What did she get out of this?
She wasn't going to conquer the world: her only defense was obscurity and her "troops" were so mediocre by design that even the usually useless royal guard would have walked all over them.She wasn't living the high life on the backs of her exploited minions like some dictators/cult leaders: we saw her living in the same squalor as everyone else (the only visible privilege was a cottage out of row), and It would be hard to get better food than those inedible muffins without giving up the game.The only thing left is a petty feeling of power and superiority over this little group of ponies, which is the most she could handle. That would fit the profile of a cult leader, although usually they use that power to get more benefits form the group. Now I am left wondering if the part about "all new members sleep in her house" was deliberately put there to reference the more unsavory predations of most cults' leadership...

Or she really believes in the philosophy she is preaching, and the only reason she kept her own cutie mark is because without her magic the goal of bringing equality to all of Equestria is impossible.  And as Meghan McCarthy has said* that Starlight Glimmer really thinks that being different ruins friendships, I'm of the opinion that she wasn't in it to hold power over others, or anything else like that.  I think what she wanted was exactly what she said she wanted: for all the ponies in Equestria to willingly give up their cutie marks, because she truly thinks that is better than the way things are now. 
*Source.  (Warning, spoilers for future episodes after 1:08)
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.