Sweetie Belle opened the door to the boutique with her magic with barely a thought. She had grown quite a bit better at using her unicorn magic and only then thought about it with a smile. "Rarity!? I'm back!" She trotted inside with Apple Bloom and Sunflower trailing behind her.
"Back from Manehattan already?" Rarity came trotting out from her design room and stopped, staring at the foals and their kitten friend. "S-Sweetie! Whatever happened to you!?" She rushed to close the distance, snatching Sweetie off the ground and crushing her in a hug. "Are you alright? Does it hurt?"
Sweetie squeaked into the embrace, wriggling around until she didn't have her face buried in her sister's fur. "I'm perfectly fine, sis. Uh, we weren't exactly in Manehattan."
"I should think not!" Rarity gently set Sweetie down and looked from her to the others. "You all look... You didn't! You couldn't have!? Please, tell me you didn't visit that dreadful place!"
Apple Bloom scratched behind her head. "Well, we really shouldn't be lyin', Miss Rarity."
Rarity snorted loudly, "That place is unfit for any proper lady, or gentlecolt..." She tilted her head, looking Sweetie over again. "What is that you're wearing, darling. It looks... exquisite."
Sweetie grinned triumphantly and did a slow turn as she willed her garment to transition through a few styles she had learned by watching Rarity. Rarity's face pinkened as her trained eyes noticed immediately the way the dress showed off her little sister's body provocatively. "Sweetie, my little innocent angel, that dress is astounding, but don't you think, hmm, it's a little forward? Why, you'll attract all the wrong kinds of gentlecolts with it."
Sunflower stepped forward. "Too late, uh, ma'am. She captured my heart long before she found the dress, and now that she has it, I have little, uh, choice, but to do as she commands."
Sweetie tittered at Sunflower's words as Rarity gawked. Rarity put a fetlock over her face as her fainting couch was pulled in from another room and slid into position for her to collapse on.
Apple Bloom tilted her head. "She took that better than ah thought she would."
Sweetie pointed at Sunflower. "I got my own knight, and he's brave and loyal."
Rarity sat up like a bolt as Sweetie said the word 'knight'. She looked at Sunflower in a whole new light, frowning a little. "You aren't going to go crusading and leave your lady friend behind, are you?"
Sunflower's ears wilted under the sudden change in tone. "Uh... no ma'am... I mean... I just want to be with Sweetie Belle."
Rarity gave a gentle smile. "Good... good... Run along, Sweetie. Go say hello to our parents. I have some work to finish up." She slipped off her couch and went off to the kitchen, returning with a tub of ice cream.
Apple Bloom eyed the tub hungrily, but Sweetie ushered her friends out the door and closed it behind them. "What'd ya do that fer? Ah wanted some."
Sweetie shook her head quickly. "She only gets that when she wants to get out a good cry. We should give her space."
Rarity's muffled sobs came through the door and Sunflower winced. "You know your sister really well, but why is she sad? Does she hate me that much?"
Sweetie shook her head. "No, I think it's something else... I mean... she had her own coltfriend that was a knight and he..." She trailed off, putting the pieces together in her head. "He died..."
Apple Bloom made quite a face. "Oh, ow... Do ya need some time with her?"
Sweetie waved a hoof. "She doesn't want company when she's like this."
Sunflower frowned. "I disagree. Sing for her."
"What?"
"Sing for her." He waved a paw at the door. "Sing your feelings, sing her feelings. You're really good at it. You can lift her heart."
Sweetie shuffled nervously a moment before giving a stiff nod and turning back to the door. She wouldn't abandon her sister.
Twilight smiled nervously to the royal sisters. "Er, well, yes. I have read over his theories, and many of them are refreshingly progressive and could ease some of the troubles that parts of Equestria suffer from." She pulled out a copy of the notes and began analyzing them, pointing out with equal fervor their boons and banes and how they might apply. She had fallen entirely into analysis mode, barely breathing as she went through the notes, giving herself no time to think about where she was or who she was reading it to. It took quite some time before she reached the end, lowering the notes down. "Of course, I add the caveat that these reforms would require a skilled bureaucrat and spokespony to ease the political and social unrest that would undoubtedly occur during the transitional period."
Luna gave a light nod, looking a bit stunned at the information overload. "I... see. And lo, the fates have blessed us with a politician and a spokespony precisely." She waved a dark-purple hoof at Lex and Sonata.
Lex managed to keep his feelings contained as he listened to the Princess of the Night's response, but inside he was roiling with both excitement and indignation. Twilight had given them a speech that was little different than his own - though he disagreed with her points regarding the possible failings of the systems he'd invented - but where he had been utterly rebuffed, she was being welcomed!
Still, that was less important than the fact that they seemed to be receptive, even if they were proving that they were more concerned with who delivered the message rather than what it contained. Now, to press for concessions...
"Tell them that the more territory I can administrate in this manner, the greater the results will be," he whispered. These policies were tailored to take effect at the macro level. He needed a major population center - such as Manehattan or Las Pegasus - in order to make them work...and even then, that was the absolute minimum necessary.
Sonata nodded at what only she could hear. "We would be delighted to showcase these changes. Give us the most troubled city, but it, like, has to be a city, not a little town. These are big changes, and won't really show benefits with just a handful of ponies." She made a broad gesture. "We'll turn it around, and make it, like, a total example for other cities to follow, for the good of every, uh, pony."
Celestia gestured at Lex. "Color me intrigued, but Sombra's horn still worries me. He is and was a creature of shadow. Having a part of him grafted to you is hardly a healthy decision. Will you not let us remove it and restore you to wholeness? What does it give that you covet it so?"
Lex blinked at Celestia's proposition, clearly caught off-guard. He had found Sombra's horn when he had fled from the Crystal Empire just after the tyrant's destruction. That it still had some active magic had made it a curio, but he hadn't given it much thought after picking it up.
That had changed after Tirek's rampage. His own efforts to thwart the beast had failed miserably, and he hadn't been able to stop his magic from being drained. Having already lost his home and his parents, he had descended into near-hysteria at the prospect of losing his magic too, when he remembered that the red horn he'd picked up was still magically-active.
Chopping off his original horn had been the single most painful event of his life, but it had been worth it. Sombra's horn had grafted to the stump of his original one on its own, and he's known instantly that not only had it restored his ability to use magic, but had opened its original owner's dark magic to him as well.
That dark magic had since become the power he used the most, since his primary magic - the restructured spellcasting he'd spent his youth inventing - was still deeply flawed, needing a major external source of magic to recharge. Until he repaired that, he needed to conserve his energies, and other than a few minor resources that let him tap small amounts of those energies without depleting them, that left Sombra's horn as his go-to for using magic outside of dire emergencies.
He couldn't tell that to the alicorns though. Telling them would mean admitting his single greatest weakness to the ones who were still his greatest potential enemies, and that was unthinkable. At the same time, lying was unacceptable as well, which meant that there was little choice but to offer them the truth without revealing too much of it.
"It gives me power, and I will not give that up." Again he let Sonata be the sole recipient of his words. He doubted that there was much that she could do to make that more palatable, but he was willing to let her try.
Sonata did her best with a soft smile. "He, like, would rather keep it. He has it totally under control and it lets him do things he couldn't without it. It's alright." She swayed her tail as she looked at Celestia, but the look back wasn't quite as happy.
Celestia gave a light nod. "I'm certain this is true, to an extent, but we worry for him. It is my responsibility. The shadow that makes up Sombra is an insidious force, that corrupts from within in subtle ways."
Luna raised a hoof. "Our recent explorations have revealed new healing magics. We would be proud, nay, eager to put them to use and care for you while you recover." She locked her eyes directly on Lex. "You wish for us to extend faith in you, but trust is often a road traveled both ways."
Lex felt his stomach tighten at the way things were suddenly turning. He had always pictured this conversation as the alicorns crumbling under the weight of his unassailable reasoning. That they would have conditions of their own had never occurred to him.
"I am not their responsibility!" He hissed the words angrily. "I formally declared myself in rebellion against them, which means that I reject any notion that they have authority over me!"
He wanted to go on, but cut himself off. He had to change the direction this was proceeding in...he had to demand something equally unlikely from them as a counterpoint. If nothing else, that would buy some time to think. "If that's what they want, then I want half of all Equestria, with myself as the supreme ruler, not subordinate to them or anypony else."
Sonata tilted her head, then held up a hoof. "A moment, please." She turned around and closed the distance between herself and Lex, speaking to him directly. "You are not doing that. They're trying to be good people, not attacking you. I'll tell them you're not interested, but you are not rebelling again." She stomped a hoof softly. "We're this close to getting what we came for, let's not drop the ball now. Please believe in me."
"It's not a rebellion if they cede the territory to me willingly," he insisted. "Sonata, they want my horn! Do you know what that means to a unicorn?! Even if they can regenerate my original one, that's still an invasive and crippling assault on my person! Not to mention that they still clearly expect me to be subordinate to them in whatever accord we agree on, which I am not comfortable with!"
He was seething softly. Maybe this entire line of thinking had been a mistake...it was only for Sonata's sake that he didn't call it off right there. "You can refuse them if you want, but they're turning this entire process into what they expect me to give them, instead of the other way around, which is what it's supposed to be!"
Sonata leaned in and stole a quick peck from Lex's cheek before turning back to the royal sisters and returning to her place. "Lex wishes to do what is best for, like, the people of Equestria, but doesn't want his horn, or any other part of him, handled at this time." She raised a hoof to her chin. "To be an innovator, he has to feel like he's not under your hooves, even if you mean it in the, like, nicest possible way."
Twilight frowned at this, but Celestia gave a soft smile. "I understand. Then know this. The offer stands, but I will not force it on you. I think you are a strong and clever unicorn, and do not require the aid of fell creatures like Sombra. You will eventually decide to stand on your own hooves, and I we will lend you our aid to get you there, but only when you feel ready."
Luna clopped her hooves together and a pony scurried forward, spreading out a map of Equestria in the middle of the room. "I actually have a place that may suit perfectly for this demand. This place has been nothing but a pain in our sides, but it could become something great. If you can turn it around, as the Lady Dusk suggests, it will go far to prove your ways have merit."
Lex grit his teeth at Celestia's statement. She had clearly made up her mind that he was some sort of puppet under the influence of his horn, a sentiment that grated on him. But Luna's pronouncement was enough to get him past it as he looked to the map she laid out, waiting for her to continue.
Luna indicated Vanhoover, to the west. "Vanhoover has been rife with unrest since the... incident involving our new contact with the other planes. Ponies are restless and seeking stability. If you can deliver this while building them towards something greater, you would be doing a favor for all of Equestria."
Sonata leaned forward, looking at the city curiously a moment. "Like, what's wrong with it? I mean, you wouldn't be suggesting it if it was an issue you could solve easily yourself." She half-lidded her eyes. "What's the catch, your majesty?"
Luna quirked a bit of a smile. "You're more clever than you appear and sound. The ponies there have lost some faith in the right of alicorns to rule. This troubles not my sister greatly, she would prefer they ruled themselves, but they are hesitant to select a mayor worth half his weight in beans. We will send you both to rule over them, both pure bloods of your own tribes, however exotic your own may be. With no formal ties to our personages known to the world at large, they should accept you, if reluctantly. The rest is your doing."
Lex glanced at Luna, and then her sister, before returning his gaze to the map, turning their offer over in his mind. He was terrible at reading others, but strategic thinking - outside of the realm of interpersonal relations - was a place where he excelled. That same insight went to work before Luna had finished speaking.
He knew that this offer was only being made because it let the alicorn sisters deal with two 'problems' at once. From their point of view, either he and Sonata would pacify an unruly, and potentially dangerous, city before it got out of hoof, or they would fail to bring it under control and thus 'prove' that his methods lacked viability. Either way, they stood to gain something.
But that was fine, because he stood to gain more. Once he had brought the city under his control and restored order and prosperity, he would have the perfect platform from which to show the rest of Equestria why he was more fit to lead. This was exactly the chance he needed.
"They could have saved us all some time and started with this." Just because they'd given him what he wanted did not mean that he was pleased with them; their demand for his horn, and the implication that it had somehow 'tainted' him, was not something he'd easily forgive. "But no matter, this is more than enough."
Sonata quickly chimed, "It's not the most ideal place, but we will make it work." She dipped her head. "Thank you for the opportunity, it will not be, like, wasted and stuff."
Twilight let out a bit of a sigh of breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Let me go over what I know of the situation, this way please, let's get out of their way." She moved to escort the supplicants to the library, where some research could be done.
Whoops, that should be "I formally declared myself in rebellion against them."
6029074 Typo found in contempt of court!
Since "miss" is technically a title, it should be capitalized.
That really should be two sentences, e.g. "What is that you're wearing, darling? It looks... exquisite."
There should be a comma after "why" at the start of the sentence.
Put quotation marks around "knight" here.
Under the sudden change "in" tone.
Go say hello to "our" parents. They're Rarity's parents too.
Likewise, capitalize "lady" here, since it's attached to her name as a title.
6029195 Typos uninvited to Pinkie's welcome party.
Rest in peace, Long Road. You were a hero to the end.
Wow. It's almost like both parties in a negotiation go after what they want, instead of what Lex wants. What madness is this?
I realize what looks like arrogance and egocentrism are at least partially the product of an atypical mind, but it's moments like this that make me astonished that that Lex is capable of modeling any kind of viable form of governance. How can he rule ponies if he can't comprehend how they think?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone. Since when did that ever matter? And how would Luna even know that?
In any case, Lex has a quest, and I have absolutely no idea how this could go. Vanhoover seems like the perfect place for him to organize a rebellion against the Diarchy... but the unrest and irrationality could very well eat him alive. Sonata's going to have her work cut out for her.
My conditions are simple: Address this typo.
Looks like you'll want to delete that "I".
6029218
Lex is using "supposed to be" as shorthand (shorthoof?) for "how I want/need/demand it to go." In other words, he's complaining that the alicorns have suddenly gotten the upper hand on them in their negotiation.
You have no idea how happy it makes me that this point is coming across.
There are two points to be made in this regard.
The first is that - and here I don't think I've done as good as job showcasing this as I should/need to - Lex has little problem understanding how most ponies think/feel in the abstract. It's actually communicating with them that leaves him confused and frustrated. This leads us into the second point, which is - since governmental policy has a large abstract component - he can model what's best for the citizenry just fine. After all, even if he can't talk to them without upsetting them, Lex can readily understand that anypony wants things like a safe environment, a good job that pays enough money, enough food to eat, etc.
I think that matters purely in the context of the situation in Vanhoover. She said that the ponies there were upset with the alicorns' rule. Alicorns, by their very nature, are blends of different tribes; the only instances of such blending in Equestria, as it stands. In other words, she's saying "you're not alicorns (and as such, you'll be more accepted there than we are right now)."
He'll start thinking about rebellion after he's stabilized the local area, and that's quite possibly - and I'd call it likely - a ways down the road. There are likely to be many steps between "I claim Vanhoover as my own" and "now we march on Canterlot!"
Given her boyfriend's nature, I'd say that'd be the case no matter what the situation is.
fetlock (the forelock is the part of the mane in front of the ears, basically pony bangs)
suffer
That's not fair, she's been quite eloquent this whole chapter
How can Lex stay mad at Celestia after this? She is pretending the whole previous incident didn't even happen, and she agreed to everything that Sonata allowed him to ask for. She's really bending over backwards to make peace. If anyone else was in her position, Lex would be on the moon by now.
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That's a fair way of looking at it, and that might very well come up in later chapters if he keeps referring to Celestia and Luna with such disdain. Simply put, he holds grudges, even if things are smoothed over later, and he had a chip on his shoulder towards Celestia and Luna since before that first meeting. That, and that suggestion that he be de-horned clearly touched a nerve with him, regardless of whatever mitigating circumstances (e.g. regenerating his old horn) she attached to it.
6029283 More fixes? Yes please. Thanks.
Hmm, a town needs a new Mayor, and the dark magic psycopath is offering to do something about it.
Road Trip. Lex and Sonata are off to Canukistan to meet, The Family.
6029214 The CMC (minus Scootaloo and plus Sunflower) check in on Sweetie Belle's sister, and the results caused Rarity a surprising - though not inappropriate - amount of stress, for a variety of reasons.
Rarity is clearly quite distraught that her little sister and her friends were in Everglow, though now that they're all back safe and sound I suspect that Rarity might be able to avoid having a heart attack. At least, a heart attack over that, considering how she reacted to seeing Sweetie Belle's dress. Given that it works to highlight Sweetie Belle's body - and that her Everglow-ified body is larger (and, as a generality, more adult-looking) than that of an Equestrian pony - I'm amazed that Rarity let that issue lie as easily as she did. That's particularly since, in Equestria, going naked is normal. Wearing a sexy dress like that has no other purpose, not even basic modesty, besides turning heads.
Of course, it helps that Sweetie Belle has a boyfriend now, but the use of the word "knight" was enough to send Rarity into a flashback, which was rather heartbreaking. At least, unlike Rarity's friends, Sweetie knows what's going on with Rarity (though I still find it rather odd that Long Road's ultimate fate was presented as having escaped the realization of the rest of the Mane Six, even if Rarity is hiding her feelings). It was good of Sunflower to remind Sweetie Belle that she wasn't helpless in the face of her sister's grief. Hopefully, Sweetie will be able to coax out the real reason why Rarity is so heartbroken (e.g. her mistaken guilt over having "caused" his death), since burying it is clearly not helping her.
Meanwhile, the Lex and Sonata vs. Celestia and Luna debate continues! Lex and Sonata were clearly taking the initiative, but the alicorn sisters brought that to a screeching halt by implying that a deal would require Lex to give up Sombra's horn. Wow did that rock Lex back on his hooves! The implication of his words about "what that meant for a unicorn" were telling - I'd equate being de-horned with having one's hands chopped off (or maybe being castrated), so between that and how he felt that dark magic was necessary to keep functioning while dealing with the limit on his "normal" magic, it's little wonder that he turned them down, offer to regenerate his original horn or no. (That and I wonder if he was having flashbacks to chopping off his own horn to begin with...that just sounds painful.)
As it was, Lex very nearly came undone right there, and it was only because of Sonata that things were able to turn around...which is rapidly becoming a theme. The degree to which he needs her is being showcased quite clearly here, though it's not one-sided; while it's not on display nearly as much as how much Lex requires Sonata for his plans to make any headway, that works both ways - without Lex, Sonata would be directionless. I doubt she misses giving swimming lessons, for example. Hopefully, she'll play that part up in the near future, since I worry that Lex might think that he's too dependent on his new girlfriend.
As it was, it was surprising that an accord was reached! While the alicorn sisters are wrong to suspect that Lex is under Sombra's influence (certainly there's been no hint of that so far), Lex was likewise wrong about how Celestia and Luna "should have" opened with the offer about Vanhoover. To their eyes, he's tainted, and it would be inexcusable not to give him a chance at being "restored." The different points of view, particularly in how the alicorns see Lex, was interesting to consider.
Of course, Lex was almost certainly right in that they gave him Vanhoover to kill two birds with one stone, but at least everypony was relatively satisfied with the deal. Of course, now Lex has a new quest...and the prize at the end of it is a chance to show all of Equestria, and the world, that he really knows best. Will he be able to pull it off? Only time will tell...
6029442 He's not a psychopath, he's a high-functioning sociopath (Sherlock reference!).
6029471 Ah poor Rarity. She wasn't the most exposed to Everglow, but it certainly left a big, donkey-shaped, mark on her. Her mental balance was knocked quite off kilter long before she could go further on about Sweetie's fashion choices. Sweetie reduced her to tears and she just wasn't thinking about the dress anymore. Maybe it'll come up again later, after Sweetie gives it her all to cheer her up a little.
The court drama is concluded for now, and Sonata is quite excited! She really has something to do now, and a title, and responsibilities. It's exciting, and scary, but she's looking forward to it with her precious Lex at her side. <3
Now where were Applejack and Willow hiding out this chapter? Up to no good, likely.
6029517 Sonata has a title now? I thought that Luna was just being formal (or rather, polite) when she called her "Lady Dusk"?
6029533 Sure, she's a mayor. Mayor Dusk. Sonata could enjoy that. Taco Tuesday is officially mandated.
6029471
The alicorn sisters do well to suspect Lex. He may not actually be Sombra's puppet, but there have been several hints that seem to suggest that he is, including his ambition, aggression and use of dark magic.
Uh, is that princess-speak, a typo, or Celestia starting to say I and switching to we?
6029571
I approve this message.
rarity is missing her night her true love.
good chapter good story line. it is looking as if lex is going to get a chance to prove his plan will work.
Harts Fire
6029584 Oh sure, it's completely understandable that they'd come to that conclusion. It's just that his saying "you're wrong" isn't convincing them, and while it's easy to understand why that is from their perspective, Lex has always been lousy at seeing things from other ponies' perspectives.
I feel like Lex dodged a bullet here. Sure, Vanhoover has problems, but I think if Twilight hadn't spoke up and convinced the Sisters Lex's ideas have merit, he would have gotten handed Detrot. Detrot.
Did I miss something, Long Road dead? What on earth happened in equestria to kill him. If he could take on things in Everglow Equestria should of been a walk in the the park.
6035513 Right at the end of the last story. He faced off a demonic incursion with only himself and Equestrian guards, securing them victory and paying the price.
6035641 Arrr I just got back to A dangerous Sparkle and didn't see the Epilogue, looks like will be reading this now.
6029471
Ok, leaving aside the question as to whether he's being influenced by Sombra or not, ( All signs point to no, but he is being influenced by something at least as a result of his messing around with god tier summoning spells), the sisters aren't exactly unjustified in suspecting he is. Again, looking at him from an outsiders view, he has Sombra's horn, makes extensive use of dark magic, declared himself as Sombra's heir, and their only interactions with him thus far have been him demanding control of Equestria, and reacting violently when rejected, something which would have repeated itself here if not for Sonata's mediation. That may not exactly scream 'evil overlord' but it sure sounds enough like someone on the road to becoming one to give them cause for concern.
On a meta level, I would love to see a side fic detailing Lex's journey from 1000 years ago Equestria to current Everglow, so we might see what he was like before the horn. Because, again, whether or not it is corrupting him, any decently read PnP RPGer would find Sombra's horn and the way he's using it disconcertingly similar to a couple of artifacts known as the hand and eye of Vecna, which DO have corrupting influences on their weilder, even if only using one.
6181685
That depends on how you look at it. I said that the alicorns were "wrong" to suspect that Lex is influenced by Sombra simply due to the fact that the reasons you give are entirely circumstantial; they're based on similarities, rather than judging whether or not that influence is actually at work. To put it another way, the idea that Sombra's horn has the ability to influence its wearer in the first place is something entirely predicated on the idea that "it's (dark) magic."
However, just being magical isn't enough to say that something it therefore has X ability, where in this case the "X" is some sort of consciousness of its own or other ability to influence the personality of its host. That would require some sort of direct, conclusive examination, or at least some sort of direct evidence of Lex's personality being altered (which no one is in a position to give, since no one knew him before he grafted it onto himself).
On the other hand, if you go purely by similarities, then it becomes much easier to see where the two sisters are coming from...but then, that's intuition, and Lex himself clearly scorns such things.
(I should also note that his "god tier summoning spell" was a ritual, rather than a spell - that's an important distinction to be made, mechanically - and that it largely only worked because the Night Mare allowed it to work. It essentially nudged open a tiny entrance to Kara's realm, and the Night Mare forced it open the rest of the way herself. Lex does not have anywhere near the power to summon a god via his magic on its own.)
I've been toying with the idea of writing a fic about Lex on my own, but I confess I hadn't thought of making it a prequel. That bears consideration...
Ironically, I didn't think of that when I wrote down the Horn's powers, though in hindsight it seems overwhelmingly obvious.
6029079
Thirteen-week-late-Hold it!
But it actually should be, "I formally declare myself in rebellion against them." Lex is speaking about what he's wanting to do in the present.
6384112 Fixed!
6384112
6384645 Er, no, that wasn't in reference to what he wants to do in the present. He was using the past tense because he was referring to how things ended between him and Celestia in "A Dangerous Sparkle," when he did in fact formally declare himself in rebellion. He's invoking that here to basically say "I stopped being their responsibility at that moment."
It wasn't a typo.
6385610
6384112 More fixing!
6385610
6385650
This was the line that made me think Lex was speaking about what he was wanting to do in the present. I suppose it depends on what the characters intended it as also. The question here is, did Lex consider rebelling again and Sonata correctly picked up on that? Or did Lex refer to the first meeting and Sonata (and myself) misinterpreted?
6393072
You're not wrong about that being confusing (I didn't write that particular line), since the way Sonata's phrasing it does make it sound like something Lex is threatening to do now, rather than invoking his prior declaration.
Technically speaking, it's the latter. I say "technically" because while that's what was literally happening, the effect of that exchange between them was somewhere in the middle of the two possibilities that you mentioned. The entire meeting has all parties essentially pretending that the last, rather disastrous, meeting never occurred. Lex, feeling threatened by the alicorn sisters' pressing him to give up his (or rather, Sombra's) horn, was prepared to dispel that unspoken consensus by invoking what he'd said back then, which would essentially be rebelling "again," as Sonata put it.
In other words, Sonata might have misunderstood what Lex was literally saying, but she intuited what it meant, and responded correctly...another example of how her social insight balances out Lex's utter lack of social graces.
It feels like Sonata's speech patterns have been drastically shifted in this chapter. Before she was the somewhat bumbling but well-meaning ex-siren; her words were simple, but clear and direct. Here, she's speaking more like a vacuous cheerleader. With, like, the word "like" thrown in, like every sentence, in, like, the most obnoxious way I've like, ever seen. -_- I thought better of her than that.
7719912 Maybe she's stressed?
So, Sombra's Horn is giving me a real Hand/Eye of Vecna kind of vibe. Is that what you were going for?
8255226
That's not a bad comparison.
8255226 As embarrassing as it is to admit, I completely overlooked that similarity when I came up with the idea of Lex having King Sombra's horn.
The main reason for that is that the Hand and Eye of Vecna (in most incarnations throughout the various editions of D&D) result in the host becoming mentally unstable over time as they fall under Vecna's influence. By contrast, I hadn't planned for anything like that to be the case with Lex; he was always like he is now. As such, the idea of Sombra's Horn being akin to Vecna's Eye or Hand simply didn't occur to me. I didn't want a character who could be blasted with "good" magic and return to being a nice little pony.
That said, several people have since pointed this parallel out to me, and I'm wondering if I should do something with it going forward...
Interesting how Lex is creatively interpreting everything the Princesses say. "We're worried that your horn, since it was once a body part of a dangerous enslaving warmongering tyrant, might be a corrupting influence on you. We understand you grafting it on to replace your damaged horn, and if you'd like, we can re-grow your horn, so you won't need dark magic any more. Now, of course this is major surgery, so we'll only do this with your explicit permission. And we feel your reforms would be a good idea if you can put them in practice, so here's a test run."
Lex-O-Vision: "Sombra's horn is so evil that you're irredeemably evil because you put it on, so we will pin you down and saw it off with a red-hot saw to cauterize the wound and prevent evil magic infection. Then we will hurl it into the sun, just to be on the safe side. Also, we are threatened by your proposal of democratic government, so we'll kick you off to this dump and hope it kills you before you can do something with it."
Frankly, the princesses are being quite reasonable here. Anyone possessed of Standard Gamer Paranoia would probably do what the other commenters here have done and connect it to the Hand/Eye/Head of Vecna and similar artifacts of doom, and probably would pin him down and saw it off before tossing it into the sun, to be on the safe side. They'll probably try to test whether it's evil first, but better safe than sorry.
8632096
The princesses endeavor to be good ponies.
8632096 Lex is definitely taking everything the princesses are saying in the worst possible light. But that doesn't necessarily mean that how he's taking their words is unreasonable. To him, what it sounded like was: "We have absolutely no reason to assume that you grafting on Sombra's horn is causing mental corruption, and there's absolutely no evidence to suggest such a thing anyway. Even so, we'd prefer that you undergo a crippling amputation for our peace of mind. Although our last talk ended in a violent altercation, you can trust us that we'll regenerate your original horn afterward. Also, we agree that your political/economic reforms are good ideas, but we're going to restrict them to one distant city as a test-run, even though you've explained that they're meant to work at the national level."
This is without Lex knowing, of course, that Celestia and Twilight have used the same dark magic during the events of The Crystal Empire, which further calls into question their worrying about his possessing dark magic in the first place. That's particularly notable because, from an in-character standpoint, there isn't much to suggest that grafting on a body part from an evil individual will make the recipient evil as well. We might know all about the Hand and Eye of Vecna, but the princesses don't.
Thia part
seems to be worded awkwardly at the best. Maybe it should be
or who she was reading it to
I'm pretty sure a brain dead zombie has more social etiquette than Lex does. And gods are the only beings with egos larger than his.
That he cannot grasp the fact that he is the source of all his own problems and not those around him is beyond me. I said it before, I'll say it again. High INT stat, negative Charisma and Wisdom. If he didn't have Sonata there as someone to translate for him and keep him in line, he wouldn't even be getting this chance. It's only his relationship with Sonata that gives me any hope for him since it shows he does have something under that Bitter and surly exterior.
I'm glad Sonata made it back to Equestria. I truly do hope she can keep Lex inline and that they can find happiness together. I hope she keeps in touch with the others also.