“So what do we do with Slate now that we have him secured? What purpose is he to serve?” Twilight Sparkle asked as the library basement slowly came into view around them and reality reasserted itself. Auras of rainbow light flickered around the three of them as they materialised in the dim room.
“That is the question, is it not?” Luna replied inquisitively. “We learn everything we can from him. We see if his kind and our kind can live together peacefully, coexisting. Freed from the hive mind, he does not seem like a bad sort, he has no hostile or malicious intents, he is mostly just empty headed.”
Twilight looked over at Slate, who was standing in a corner looking fearful and she felt genuinely bad for the creature. She went to comfort him and he gently pushed himself into her touch eagerly, acting very submissive and very much like a wild pony would, which made Twilight feel confused.
“I have learned to respect your hunches even if so many others do not,” Luna admitted. “The entire Canterlot invasion could have been avoided had my sister listened to you and trusted your instincts. Tell me Twilight, I know you do not know everything just yet, but what are your instincts regarding Buckminster?”
“If he is who Celestia believes him to be, then I do not think it can be avoided. Whatever will happen will happen. Fate has a way of catching you by surprise. I still think of that last moment when my body was being consumed by raw magic. The pain. The feeling of my own death,” Twilight said as she closed her eyes and shook her head. “It was really weird Luna, just before I found myself on the astral plane, I could have sworn I saw a zebra, an earth pony, and a unicorn standing in the room with my friends, but I had trouble seeing them. I think there was an aversion spell on them.”
“Do not speak of them lest you draw their attention, and you must never attempt to learn their names. There are some Fates better left alone and mysterious,” Luna warned. “And they are probably responsible for Touching poor Slate over here.”
Twilight continued to gently stroke Slate, and the grey earth pony made a happy sounding nicker of approval. She turned to look at Luna. “Do we have any choice in anything? I used to believe in free will. And then I had my eyes opened. Is everything predetermined? Predestined? Do I have no choice in anything? Did you have a choice in becoming Nightmare Moon?”
“I believe I met fate halfway on that one. I wanted to usurp my sister and be rid of the day. I was in pain Twilight. So much had happened. Discord and his end. The creation of the lunar pegasi. Sombra… poor Sombra, whom I loved like a brother. His betrayal hurt me more than I could ever put into words. Imagine if Shining Armor suddenly turned upon you, attempted to murder you while speaking rationally about why he must do it, and that you were a threat to all ponykind,” Luna answered. “And then imagine if you saw wisdom in his words…”
“So do we meet fate halfway? Did I bring all of this upon myself? Did Slate do something to deserve being mindwiped and then dumped by a mysterious force in a muddy ditch? Now he is a plaything. A pawn. One of the many game pieces upon a board in a game I don’t understand and there are no written rules for and I don’t like things that don’t have written rules,” Twilight muttered angrily.
“Rules can be bent or broken. I went to help Buckminster after my sister expressly forbade me from doing so. She said that I was not to assist him in any way, shape, or form. I fear that sometimes, in her efforts to avoid becoming a tyrant, Celestia can be a little too hooves off. She doesn’t want to interfere too much in any situation because she is too worried in whose fate might be tied up in it. So she lets trouble continue to happen and things spiral out of control because she does not want to rob the experience from the poor soul destined to clean up some mess or another,” Luna explained.
“Well that approach worked out so well! All of Equestria has fallen! There are no more recognised noble houses! The courts are gone! The banks are gone! Celestia is at war with most of Canterlot! Most of Fillydelphia has been burned to the ground and there are rampaging gangs of angry orphans roaming the ruins learning the fine art of savagery as they try to survive from day to day during the collapse!” Twilight snapped.
“There is good to be found in all of this. Even now, many are discovering their destinies. In these troubling times, many are having their mettle tested and new leaders are rising up to replace those who have fallen into disgrace,” Luna replied as she watched Twilight stroking Slate. The grey earth pony was making happy snorting sounds and whickering from Twilight’s touch. “We should get him outside. I doubt he is potty trained.”
Roseluck, Lily Valley, and Daisy all looked at Twilight Sparkle doubtfully and then glanced at the plain looking grey earth pony named Slate. The three mares seemed cautious about the idea, but did not reject it outright.
“So he is feral,” Roseluck said.
“And he knows nothing,” Lily commented.
“Which means we have to teach him everything,” Daisy remarked.
“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle said patiently.
“That doesn’t seem so bad. We can train him to be the perfect stallion,” Roseluck announced.
Lily giggled as Slate mounted her, wrapping his forelegs around her middle. She slipped away from beneath him, gently bucking him away, her tail swishing as she departed, and she turned to face him with an embarrassed blush upon her cheeks.
“He’s friendly!” Daisy observed.
“And while he is frisky, he isn’t overly aggressive,” Lily said. “Aw, he looks flustered. I think he was trying to say “hi” in his own special way, he wasn’t actually trying to be a jerk. Look how sad and submissive he is.”
“He’s confused,” Roseluck said.
“You must teach him how to fit into our society. And it is important that if you take him in that you love him and are affectionate with him. He… he… he deserves to be happy and I will not stand for him to be neglected. Also, you are to be watched with him. This is a great chance at a social experiment to see if a feral pony can be reintegrated into society, so you must understand that there will be a level of observation. You will be studied, watched, and your interactions observed,” Twilight dutifully explained. Twilight privately wondered what Applejack would think about all of this and she felt a twinge of guilt.
“So he is as his name suggests, a blank slate and we get to shape his development into the sort of stallion we want in our herd?” Roseluck said, not believing her good fortune.
“Yes,” Twilight responded.
“How can we say no?” Daisy quipped.
“He is to be educated, this means reading and writing. He is not to be kept stupid for the purposes of breeding stock,” Twilight instructed. “Everything is outlined in the contract.”
“Aw, look at him,” Lily said as Slate rubbed the side of his face against her ribs. “His ear is tickling me and it feels so good!”
Twilight wondered if Slate was feeding, and it made her feel uncertain. “Anyway, you have a week. You may be his custodial guardians for a week on a trial basis and then you may inform me of your decision. Do not let him wander off. Princess Luna or I will be dropping in time permitting and checking up on all of you. If there is a problem and we are not available, send a runner to Barley O’Blivion, he has the means to contact Princess Luna in the event of an emergency.”
The three mares nodded and then continued to giggle, obviously all of them happy, which made Twilight feel odd. She sighed and resigned herself to her task. She sat down in the soft grass and watched as the three mares delighted in their delirious happiness.
“Did we do the right thing?” Twilight Sparkle asked, a question she found herself asking more and more these days. It seemed to be the question. She looked over at Luna and Barley, who were spending a quiet peaceful moment together, cuddled together on a couch.
“So yon grey pony is a-”
“Shush Barley,” Luna interrupted, placing a hoof over Barley’s mouth.
The old ivory stallion fell silent and eased himself into Luna’s side. She nuzzled him affectionately and the pair took comfort in one another during this brief moment of downtime.
“Slate seemed really happy with them,” Twilight reported.
“I wish I could have been there, but those three still faint when I draw near,” Luna said regretfully.
“Bah, those mares spook entirely too easy,” Barley grumbled as he tried to ignore the pain in his legs.
“Ponyville just became a little odder. One more resident in a town full of some of the strangest ponies in Equestria. Here, we have herds, openly gay couples, Shetland ponies, weirdoes, crackpots, a pegasus who might still be infected with vampirism, and it is currently flooded with refugees who have added their own flavour to the local culture,” Twilight stated.
“I am all for gay couples, provided that both mares are lookers,” Barley remarked.
“Barley!” Luna cried, slapping him lightly with her wing. “How could you?”
“How could I? Well, I could if they weren’t lesbians,” Barley chortled.
“Barley! You rapscallion! Behave yourself or I shall be forced to chastise you!” Luna scolded.
Twilight rubbed her muzzle with her fetlock. “I swear Luna, I do not understand how you two are friends,” she muttered. “No offense meant Barley. You do so much. I mean, you help so many but at the same time you are such a cad… a princess should not associate with a cad.”
“I am a princess shagging cad,” Barley said with a chuckle.
“Have you contacted my sister yet and informed her about Slate?” Luna inquired as she slapped Barley in the back of his head with her wing, making the stallion blink a few times in surprise and fall silent.
“Yes, but I haven’t heard back from her. I hate to say it, but I think magical communications are being interfered with or blocked. Celestia has the palace shielded and sealed off completely,” Twilight replied.
“Well, the plan remains unchanged. My sister intends to release a major heat focused upon the Equestrian population. The rest of the world might feel a little extra amorous, but she feels it was worth the risk, at least the last time we spoke. I am adjusting the moon for maximum effectiveness in timing with the perfect lunar cycle,” Luna explained.
“Seems wrong using nature as a weapon,” Twilight stated.
“We feel that it would make ponies calm down and become a little more family oriented. The earth ponies might cease in their revolt and begin to produce food again knowing that they are going to have many little mouths to feed. A pregnant mare wants stability and calm. It will be in their best interests to settle down, grow food, and return to order,” Luna said.
“Aye, ain’t nothing a good shag won’t fix. More shagging, less fighting, now if only we could make it rain whiskey and porn magazines,” Barley muttered as he winced and flexed one of his legs.
“Barley, your poor legs… you spend too much time going from camp to camp, I am going to get you a chariot,” Luna said. “And if you tell me no again, I will become most infuriated with you.”
“Okay, fine, I give,” Barley grumbled. “I am too old for this shite.”
Twilight blushed furiously at the profanity and at Barley in general. Truth be told, she could not stand him, but she understood how valuable he was and how much Luna loved him as a friend. Barley was the only thing keeping the refugees from rioting by giving them a voice and a direct means of communication to the princess for emergency needs.
“I can’t stop thinking about if we are doing the right thing,” Twilight stated. “What is the right thing?”