A pony awoke in a muddy ditch on the side of the road with no recollection of how he got there, or who he was. It was as though he was waking up for the first time, and there was no memory of anything before waking up in the mud. He knew that he was a pony, and he was aware of certain things, but he was completely clueless as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.
He stared at his own foreleg, looking at his muddy grey pelt, and stared at it as though he was seeing his leg for the very first time. He felt a strange pain in his body, which his brain told him was hunger. He lifted his head and looked over his body, and as he did so, he saw wings. He did not know what he was, or why he had wings. He had no memory of flight and no knowledge of how to fly.
The pony with wings struggled to pull himself out of the ditch and then staggered into the road. He didn’t know why it was called a road, he couldn’t recall learning the word, but somehow he knew what it was.
There was something falling on him called rain. He couldn’t remember experiencing it before or even learning what it was called. He wobbled around unsteadily upon his legs, and it was almost as though he was using his legs for the first time. He nearly fell into a mud puddle and his wings flared out reflexively, which somehow allowed him to keep his balance. He sloshed through the mud which squished and squelched around his hooves.
His mouth was dry, and he was thirsty. It was as though he was experiencing thirst for the first time. He stared down at the muddy water in the road, but did not drink from that. He stumbled ahead through the mud, finally figuring out a trot and making his way down the road. Ahead of him was a town. He knew what the town was without being able to recall ever seeing one before.
The air was filled with the flapping of wings and suddenly there were other winged ponies all around him. They landed, and stared at him curiously. The grey pony who awoke in the mud did not know what to make of them. He couldn’t recall ever seeing other ponies before.
“Halt, who goes there? We’re Luna’s Marauders, and we don’t take kindly to bandits. Who… what are you?” one of the winged ponies demanded.
“Wings and a horn? What am I looking at?” another asked.
The pony with both wings and a horn didn’t know how to respond. He couldn’t recall ever speaking before. He opened his mouth and no words came out, only a few odd sounds, guttural grunting sounds that held no meaning.
“Look at him, he don’t look well… we should take him to Luna. She might know what to do with this… alicorn…” a pony with wings suggested.
“Can you come with us?” a pony with wings asked politely. “We don’t want to hurt you… if you are a refugee on the run from one of the many failed cities, you may find solace here. We have refugee camps, food, shelter.”
The pony with wings and a horn who awoke in the mud stood there, not knowing how to answer or what to do. His mouth was dry and he stuck out his tongue trying to catch the rain. He stared down cross eyed at his own tongue as if he was seeing it for the first time.
“You think he’s gone feral?” one pony with wings asked another.
“I dunno Thunderlane, maybe one of those cultist weirdos running around did something to his mind, might explain how he has wings and a horn,” another pony with wings said.
“I swear, I catch one of those mind messing nutjobs and I am going to punt them into next Tuesday,” the winged pony named Thunderlane growled.
The pony with wings and a horn who awoke in the mud jumped when one of the winged ponies touched him. He let out a shrill startled cry and leapt away, slipped in the mud, and fell down. He was immediately helped up by the other winged ponies, who didn’t seem to care that they were getting muddy.
“Easy you… whomever you are. Luna would snap our spines and pluck our wings if we hurt another pony that we were supposed to be helping. You’re not a bad sort, so you have nothing to fear,” one of the winged ponies said soothingly.
The pony with wings and a horn who awoke in the mud and then fallen in the mud settled a bit, and one of the winged ponies gently nudged him forwards towards the town. He unsteadily trotted forwards, surrounded on all sides by the winged ponies who had helped him out of the mud.
Princess Luna and Princess Twilight Sparkle looked at the odd pony with both wings and a horn. He seemed to be mute, confused, and quite afraid. He was wide eyed and worried, timid, and appeared to be on the verge of having a panic attack.
“How odd,” Luna commented, studying her guest. “An alicorn. One would think that with them being as rare as they are, we would know about the existence of each one.”
Twilight Sparkle peered at the alicorn suspiciously and then looked at Luna pointedly.
“Don’t worry Twilight, I intend to get down to the bottom of this,” Luna said in reply to Twilight’s glance.
“We have something that is attacking unicorns, sucking them dry, we have those weirdo cultists that want to steal away control of the sun and the moon from you and your sister, and now he shows up,” Twilight muttered. Twilight smacked her lips nervously and then looked at the grey pony that was the subject of so much curiousity. She heard a loud rumble from the pony's stomach and some of her suspicion melted away. “Aw, poor thing sounds hungry.”
“First things first Twilight,” Luna warned. The night blue alicorn moved towards the mysterious pony and circled him slowly. “I’ve tried to cast several spells already to peer into his mind… it is most troubling. I cannot make a connection. No common pony should be able to resist me should I want to have a look.”
“Well, he is an alicorn,” Twilight responded in a dubious tone.
“Perhaps,” Luna muttered. “But I could peer into your mind with no real effort,” she said to Twilight, which made Twilight raise her eyebrow and stare at Luna.
“Luna there are times-”
“Not that I would, well, other than when I bring you dreams,” Luna interrupted. “But what we have here is a special case. He can’t talk. He behaves like he is slightly feral. I doubt he is an alicorn, and I have reasonable suspicion to believe that he has been tampered with by powerful magical forces.”
Twilight nodded and watched as their visitor studied his wings intently. His feathers were a mess and needed preening. He had been cleaned off before being brought into the library and down into the basement. “He acts as though he has never seen his own wings before,” Twilight observed.
“Probably because he hasn’t,” Luna replied.
“But how?” Twilight responded.
“That is the mystery Twilight,” Luna said and as she spoke, she let out a soft chuckle.
Upon hearing Luna’s chuckle, the pony with wings and a horn and was found by kind ponies nickered, apparently soothed by the sound. He looked at Luna with his head cocked to the side. After a few moments, he mimicked the chuckling sound and flapped his wings.
“Well, he is capable of learning, that’s promising,” Luna observed. She smiled broadly at the grey pony and then waited for him to smile back.
The grey pony did not smile in return, he merely sat down and stared at Luna blankly. Heaving a sigh of frustration, Luna rolled her eyes and snorted.
The grey pony mimicked the sigh and the snort, and then made a chuckling sound again.
“Sounds Luna, he is copying sounds,” Twilight stated.
“Zounds?” the grey pony asked.
“See!” Twilight crowed.
“Yes,” Luna replied.
Twilight’s horn glowed and she pointed it at the strange pony. After a moment, he glowed. Twilight grimaced in concentration, one eye squinting shut as she struggled to strengthen her focus, and then her spell fizzled.
Luna snorted from Twilight’s failed efforts and then the grey pony snorted, looking at Luna hopefully as he did so. Luna snorted back, and began to harbour a secret fear that she was going to need to create a snort based language if this kept up.
“Look, I specialised in divination… I should be able to do something,” Twilight whined.
“What were you trying to do exactly?” Luna inquired.
“Dispel illusion,” Twilight muttered in defeat.
“Why illusion?” Luna asked.
“Well, why not? Gotta start somewhere,” Twilight answered.
“Fascinating,” Luna quipped. She turned and looked at the grey pony. “He seems real.”
“I don’t know, I had a hunch that he might be something… look, never mind, it was a stupid idea,” Twilight grumbled in disappointment.
“You had a hunch?” Luna inquired, now suddenly serious. “Twilight, your hunches have always held out…” Luna paced now, her wings fluttering somewhat. She peered at the grey pony, glanced at Twilight, and then her horn ignited with brilliant intensity.
Twilight found herself in a familiar place. It was grey and misty, and seemed to stretch in all directions infinitely. This was the place where Celestia had rebirthed her to be an alicorn. She looked at Luna, and then she looked at the grey pony.
He was no longer a grey pony.
Twilight gasped in shock.
“This is the astral plane… all things are revealed for what they really are here. In this place I have far more power,” Luna explained.
“He’s a-”
“Hush Twilight, don’t say it. He doesn’t even know. His first memory is waking up in the mud. He’s been Touched. Just like you were Touched and Buckminster was Touched. Whatever he once was, he isn’t any longer,” Luna said in a soothing serene voice. “Something has a plan for him. As alicorns, we are agents of destiny, and we are obligated to help him.”
Twilight stared at the black form before her, noting the wings and the horn. The black chitinous carapace. The shiny eyes. The holes in his body.
Strange magic swirled around Luna and she restored the dark figure back to being a grey pony again. This time, there was no horn and no wings. He was a common simple grey earth pony now, unremarkable in every way. Grey pelt, grey eyes, and a slightly darker grey mane and tail.
“You are Slate,” Luna said to the now grey earth pony.
“Thunderlane and the others, they are going to remember him having wings and a horn. We are going to have to… edit those troubling memories,” Twilight Sparkle muttered in disgust. “I hate having to do that.”
“He is going to need a caretaker,” Luna announced.
“How do we feed him?” Twilight inquired.
“We need a loving caretaker,” Luna repeated.
“I have an idea,” Twilight blurted out as her face pinched in concentration.
“Go on. Do tell,” Luna said as she gently touched Slate with her wing.
“I know three very sweet, very loving mares. They are a bit skittish, but they have recently formed a herd and they are looking for a willing stallion,” Twilight responded.
“A herd?” Luna said in thoughtful reply. “Well, that is a lot of love, certainly. Slate would never go hungry.”
“I know that he needs love, but to fit in, can he eat actual food?” Twilight asked.
“Yes,” Luna replied. “But love is what is important. Am I correct Slate?” Luna asked of the grey earth pony.
Slate snorted and made a chuckling sound as he looked at Luna. He let out a whinny, lifted his tail, swished it from side to side, which seemed to startle himself, and then bucked out with his hind legs at whatever had just made his tail move.
“We’ll have to make sure that nopony ever finds out,” Twilight said in a worried voice.
“He is already powerfully protected. And I plan to add my own protections,” Luna replied.
“What about foals?” Twilight inquired.
“Good question. He’s a drone, and therefore, sterile. We are going to have to find a clever solution Twilight Sparkle,” Luna announced.
“This is going to mean more manipulation, isn’t it?” Twilight questioned.
“You’ve only recently seen the bigger picture, and now understand your place as an agent of destiny. We must guide those intended to go on to bigger and better things,” Luna answered.
“Seems terrible somehow… what Celestia and even you… you’re not innocent, what both of you have done to Buckminster seems to be so horrible and so loving at the same time. I am still coming to terms with what I now know… and now I am to take part in the manipulation of the lives around me as well. I suppose I will be responsible for keeping an eye on Slate and performing any clean up should there be accidents,” Twilight said to Luna. “What about love?”
“Once there is actual love and affection there, Cadance and I will step in and greatly speed up the process,” Luna replied.
“Just like the three of you did to Buckminster,” Twilight said bitterly.
“My sister guides through wisdom, I guide through dreams, Cadance guides through love, and you guide through the magic that flows through all of us. We are the agents of destiny Twilight. That is what being an alicorn is all about. It is what we do,” Luna explained.
“And what of Buckminster, when he becomes one of us?” Twilight asked. “What does the alicorn of war do in the greater role of things?”
Luna shrugged. “I do not know. I suppose his role will be to protect us from those who wish to corrupt destiny and corrupt what is meant to be,” she replied. “Should he survive…” she added in a sorrowful voice.
Twilight watched as Slate fell over and rolled in the grey mist, acting very much like a pony. He had his legs kicked into the air as he wiggled about and he snorted a few times before shouting “zounds!”
“I guess I will ask if the flower gang if they are willing to be caretakers of a feral pony,” Twilight muttered dejectedly. “Look at him. He doesn’t even know who or what he is, and he is so happy.”
“This will be a unique opportunity of study Twilight Sparkle, surely you can find some consolation in that,” Luna said in soothing tones.
“Yeah, whatever,” Twilight replied as she slumped and sat down in the grey mist. “I wish I was like him. Ignorant of everything around me and happy.”
“We live in troubling times Twilight,” Luna stated.
To be concluded…
Author's Note
There will be a second part.
See any typos? Let me know, I'll fix 'em!
Spike: Why don't you just use that memory spell you used to fix everypony when Discord was here?
Magical Mystery Cure might be the most troubling episode ever.
Also, if you downvote, don't be a coward about it, give a reason. If there is some problem, I can't improve my craft unless I know what is wrong. Unless of course, you are just being a dick about it.
“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?”
Author's Note
And so, it concludes.
See any typos? If you tell me, I will fix them. Thanks for reading. I hope this made you ask questions. If you have been reading The Chase, this should provide a bit of insight. It all comes down to perspectives.
