23rd August 2012
20:32 GMT -7
I.. cautiously approach Luna as she stands looking out over the Canterlot falls.
"L-."
"You were not precisely
fulsome in your defence of Our status."
"The first day we met,
you told me that you weren't able to be an effective ruler. You told me that you wanted to fix that. It hardly surprises me that other ponies were put out by you suddenly skipping ahead of them in the order of precedence."
I risk taking a step closer, rustling my wings.
"For you, it was a stressful and despondency-inducing situation. For other ponies it was a slap in the face. They don't see what it was doing to you, they see what it was doing to them and theirs."
"And what was Starlight Glimmer's position?"
"She's the founder and mayor of a small town. Though honestly, it sounds like she isn't a fan of alicorn tyranny regardless of who sits on the throne. Refreshing, actually. I'd been beginning to think that all ponies were Celestia-cultists."
"
Tyranny? Do We truly seem tyrannical to you?"
"You didn't inherit the throne or get elected to your position. You're not a queen or a president. There's no
Witen, no parliament and no senate. You and Celestia define your own offices. Legally, you are personally empowered to do whatever you want unless Celestia gainsays you. The average pony has no say in how the nation is governed, however far removed. The average Crystal Pony had no say in having Princess Cadance and Shining Armor imposed on them. You're better than Discord and they're better than Sombra, but that's a pretty low bar."
She takes a deep breath, her eyes still focusing ahead.
"Neigh, Grayven, prithee tell Us how you
really think."
"I thought we were at the spinach teeth stage. If you just want me to act the toady-."
"We do not." She turns her neck to regard me with her left eye. "'Spinach teeth'?"
"The first part of a romantic relationship is about mutual reassurance. You want to know that the other person desires you and likes you. But after a certain point, honesty is more important than flattery because you trust them to stop you doing something you'd rather avoid doing. 'You look gorgeous, darling' gets replaced with 'you've got spinach stuck between your teeth, might want to fix that before you go out in public'."
"And precisely how have We utilised our office in a manner befitting a tyrant?"
"When Celestia freed Discord, did she consult the courts? If petrification was no longer required, is he going to be tried and punished for his crimes in accordance with the Equestrian Code of Law? Or was it an arbitrary decision?"
"Discord is rehabilitated far beyond Our expectations. We do not see this as a
problem."
Gun.
By your command.
A glowing copy of G1 Megatron's cannon
appears in the air next to me, and I
point it at the city.
"Would it be alright if I pulled the trigger? The beam's fairly thin and the city's not
that wide. I
might not hit anyone."
"We would rather that you did not."
"'
If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.'" I
dismiss the construct. "I'm perfectly aware that Sunset doesn't treat me with anything like the deference I could demand as her employer. This is
intentional. I want people willing to gainsay me because I'm perfectly aware that I'm not perfect. Celestia's used a form of government where no one does that for at least a thousand years."
"How would you feel in Starlight Glimmer's position?"
"
Me? I'd either be rabble-rousing or leaving the country. But I'm only a pony by magic. She's the only local I've heard espouse such sentiments,
including Sunset."
"Doth that mean that they respect Our abilities, or that they are so slavishly devoted that they do not think to question?" She sighs. "No, do not answer. We already know the truth of it. It is simply uncomfortable to be confronted so directly."
"But when she sees what you have become a few years from now, having her admit it will make it all the more worthwhile."
She tilts her head to the side. "You think we should take her onto Our staff, then?"
"Dunno. Honestly, I think she might just be kind of crazy. You should have heard what she said about Celestia's school after you left."
"Doth she also hate kittens and rainbows?"
"I didn't ask. Though rainbows
are pretty unequal."
"How are rainbows-?" She inhales sharply. "No, We will not stick our forehoof in
that rabbit hole. Why is she so ill-disposed to the School?"
"Surface level analysis stuff, really. There's a School for Gifted Unicorns but no equivalent for earth ponies or pegasus ponies."
"And your retort?"
"Well, the name of the school is misleading, but the fact is that magic-talent unicorns have specific educational needs that aren't going to be met by a general education system. Because while most unicorns only ever use thaumokinesis and a couple of spells their special talent whispers to them in their sleep-"
"That is most certainly
not how it works."
"-the-." I wing-shrug. "How would
you describe it, then?"
"You make the process sound
sinister, when in fact it is simply their special talent applying itself to their understanding of their magic."
"You know… I'm.. honestly not entirely convinced that special talents
aren't sinister."
"Grayven, do you not recall how astonished We were when first you told Us how long humans spend in full time education?"
"Yeah, and I'll admit that it's
convenient, but at least they know where the knowledge is
coming from."
"We have never seen evidence proving beyond doubt that special talents grant knowledge. If that is truly what transpired, magic talents would be able to cast any spell that could be cast without the need for study, and your argument concerning Our Sister's school is that they cannot."
"Right, but Sunset said that she could intuit parts of magic theory without being taught them. Being able to learn a lot of spells is a side effect of the magic talent, not its primary focus." I shake my head. "We could argue this forever. The subject has never been studied with sufficient rigour to draw firm conclusions, and… After today, I can see why."
"We will expect you to make good on their injuries. We saw one of Our ponies try to tear off his own hind legs."
"Alright, but only
after they've calmed down. There's no point in healing them if they're just going to injure themselves again. I've already called in some g-gnomes to check their mental states." I sigh. "But most of them are just the sort of people we
need to actually carry this research
out. And if they're going to do fainting goat impressions whenever they look at their own work, we're going to get
nowhere." This time I sigh with a little more
frustration. "These ponies lived through the Changeling Invasion. How are they this…
Fragile?"
"Wouldst not the people of Apokolips react poorly to learning that their god-powers doth not flow from Darkseid?"
"Yes, but they wouldn't try to claw them out of themselves. And they'd probably just inform on the one telling them that, or kill them themselves."
"Ponies are not naturally predators."
"
And? Predators attack the weakest because they can't afford to risk challenging the strongest head on. Prey species are far more savage, because their instincts tell them that if they
aren't then they'll die
anyway. I don't believe that was biology for a moment. Most ponies need to toughen the heck up-."
Oh.
"I think I need to…" Ugh. "Talk to..
Discord."
"No." Luna turns around to fully face me, walking over to me. "You have traumatised Our ponies enough this eve. Now, We wish to speak more with Starlight Glimmer. Lead Us to her."
"Your wish is my command."
