“Yes, I will.”
Ribbon smiled at Lex’s answer, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly in relief. “Alright then.” Straightening up, she moved on to the next order of business. “In that case, I’d like you to join me when I make the announcement. Word of what you’ve done is already getting around, but this will be a good opportunity to make your formal debut. Is three hours from now alright with you?”
“That should be fine,” replied Lex.
“Hang on,” interjected Sonata. “We-”
But Ribbon was already moving ahead. “I’m sure you’ll want to prepare some remarks of your own for the event. Also, I’d like to formally offer my services during the changeover. I’ve been mayor here for years, and I think that there’s a lot that I can offer to help you get settled in.”
“I completely agree,” nodded Lex. “In fact, I’d like to discuss exactly what I’m going to be expecting from y-”
“HOLD UP!” yelled Sonata. Upon seeing that she’d captured everyone’s attention, she looked at Lex. “What about Vanhoover?”
He raised a brow at her question. “What about Vanhoover?”
Sonata looked confused at that, and she wasn’t the only one. “What’s this about Vanhoover?” asked Ribbon.
“That’s partially what I wanted to talk to you about.” Lex turned back to Ribbon as he spoke. “Immediately prior to my coming here, I struck a deal with the princesses wherein they ceded rulership of Vanhoover to me.” He paused long enough to let that sink in, before adding, “I fully intend to honor that arrangement.”
Ribbon Cutter was clearly taken aback. “But…you just said that you’d take over as mayor of Tall Tale!”
“I did, and I intend to do that also.” Lex’s voice was calm, speaking with quiet confidence that served to heighten the gravity of his words. “I will administrate both cities jointly.”
Both mares’ eyes were wide, clearly not having expected that. Paying their surprise no heed, Lex continued. “My first order of business is to tend to the situation in Vanhoover, which from what I understand is currently still in a state of disaster. What do you know about the situation there?”
Ribbon blinked, knowing that the question was directed at her. “Uh, not very much. Some of its ships came here a few weeks ago, crowded with ponies, saying that the city had flooded and that order had broken down. A few pegasi made the flight here afterwards, talking about how bad things were getting with trying to procure food, and...um…wait, what are we talking about?”
Realizing that she’d momentarily lost the flow of the conversation, Ribbon squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head before looking at Lex again, brow furrowing. “How are you going to be the mayor here if you’re going to go to Vanhoover and try to fix things there?”
“By appointing an interim deputy to run Tall Tale on my behalf while I do.”
Ribbon’s eyebrows rose, an incredulous expression on her face. “And just who’s going to do that? Her?” She gestured to Sonata, who was quite clearly struggling to keep up with what was going on. “Because, and I say this with all possible respect for what you two have done for us, that’s not-”
“No, not Sonata,” interrupted Lex. “I have somepony else in mind. One that knows the city very well, and is known by its ponies, and has experience with governing.”
Ribbon looked baffled. “Who could that possibly be? The only pony that fits those criteria is…oh.” Her expression changed to one of surprise, and Lex nodded.
“Precisely. I want you to run Tall Tale for me while I deal with the situation in Vanhoover.”
“Oh, so that’s what you all are talking about!” exclaimed Sonata with a smile. “Wow, you could’ve just, like, said that from the start, you know?”
Lex rolled his eyes, but Ribbon looked angry, frowning at him. “So this is all, what…some roundabout way of trying to stop me from resigning?” She stomped a hoof. “Because that’s not going to work. After everything that happened, a change needs to be made!”
“I don’t disagree.” Lex’s reply was immediate, giving Ribbon a sharp look. “Things are going to change, because I’m going to change them.”
He slowly stepped closer to Ribbon, his eyes never leaving hers. “You said that what happened before wasn’t your fault, and you were right.” He stopped right in front of her, his gaze pinning her in place. “It was the princesses’ fault.”
Ribbon paused, clearly disturbed by what Lex was saying. “That’s…I don’t know that I agree with that. They’re all the way in Canterlot and Ponyville and the Crystal Empire. I’m sure that they had no idea what was going on.”
“And that is why they’re at fault!” insisted Lex. “Their entire attitude towards governing is to do nothing, to be completely unengaged unless there’s an imminent and obvious crisis.” Now it was his turn to stomp a hoof, his irritation with Equestria’s rulers made clear. “Such a degree of quiescence is unbecoming of a leader, and what almost happened here is the result of their abdication of responsibility!”
“And you don’t think that any blame rests with the dragon?” There was a wry element in Ribbon’s voice.
Lex snorted. “The dragon was simply following its nature, which is to prey on others. It is responsible for its actions to be sure, but the princesses are responsible for not having thwarted those actions.” He pointed a hoof at Ribbon. “You said that the princesses almost certainly had no idea what was happening. I agree. But that does not absolve them of responsibility. It indicts them! They should have known! But that’s not the most egregious aspect of just how completely they failed this city.”
“What is?” This time the question came from Sonata. She wasn’t completely sure what he was saying, but she loved watching him get so worked up. He was so incredibly hot when he was this passionate…when he wasn’t yelling or declaring war or anything like that.
Lex rose to the bait easily. “Their failure to implement a robust series of systems and processes that would have prevented, or at least minimized, this kind of situation from ever happening in the first place.”
Ribbon looked skeptical. “I’m going to be honest. I don’t know what that means, and I work in politics.” Her response caused Sonata to snort with suppressed laughter, and she gave Lex an apologetic smile as he shot a glare her way.
“It means,” he said slowly, trying to keep his temper in check, “that this city’s utter inability to respond to attacks by what turned out to be three individuals, who from what I’ve seen have only modest magical abilities, is a shame that falls squarely on the princesses’ shoulders. It was their lack of leadership that caused Tall Tale to have no defenses in place, no way to investigate what was happening, and no plan for how to respond.”
Ribbon opened her mouth to reply, but Lex wasn’t finished. “If you’re going to say that these circumstances could not have been foreseen, don’t bother. The metric by which the kind of systems I’m speaking of are measured is not by their ability to divine the future, but by their robustness and flexibility in the face of unforeseen circumstances.”
A pensive look settled across Ribbon’s face, in contrast to Sonata’s expression of utter bafflement. After a long moment, the older mare spoke up. “What would you have done differently, if you had been in charge?”
“I would have created a municipal organization whose members were trained and equipped to actively engage with threats. I would have made sure that they knew how to coordinate their efforts with other institutions, both public and private. I would have seen to it that they’d proactively deal with developing situations rather than maintaining a perpetually-reactive position. I would have made sure that they had a way to contact me immediately if the nature of the threat was greater than they could handle. And I would have had all of this in place before there was a need for it.”
“We do have a police force, you know.” Ribbon’s defense sounded feeble, even to her own ears.
“Oh please,” Lex scoffed. “When’s the last time they were able to deal with anything worse than somepony’s party being too noisy?”
Ribbon didn’t answer, looking at the ground, and that was answer enough.
Sonata sighed. “You know, that sounds great and all, but next time can we make a song out of it? That would be a lot more fun.”
Now it was Ribbon’s turn to laugh softly. “That would be a lot more fun,” she agreed. “I apologize, I didn’t think that this would turn into a discussion on policy. I know from experience that those can be rather dry.”
Sonata smiled, springing to her hooves. “Aw, that’s okay! Besides, listening to all of that is something I’m going to have to get used to if I’m going to be his spokespony.”
Ribbon tilted her head. “Spokespony?”
Sonata nodded. “Yep! This guy,” she pointed her hoof at Lex, “talks like that all the time, and especially when he’s going on about government and stuff. So it’s my job to make it easy to understand!” She paused, then tapped her chin. “Though he’s, like, usually a lot grumpier about it.”
“I am not ‘grumpy’,” growled Lex. “I’m simply expressing justified frustration over most ponies stupidly refusing to act in what is quite often the self-evidently most cogent manner.”
“See? Like that!” enthused Sonata. “Except he’s supposed to whisper it to me with a spell so I can filter out the nasty parts and make it easy to understand. Now let’s see…I’m pretty sure he said ‘I get grumpy because I don’t know why nopony gets me.’”
Lex glowered at her, but Ribbon burst out laughing. She rubbed her eyes with one forehoof for a moment before getting control of herself. Her tension dispelled, she favored the two of them with a smile. “Alright, I admit that I was a bit uncomfortable with what you were saying about the princesses, but if you have such a good spokespony to make your ideas more palatable to the general public, you’ll probably be fine.”
Sonata beamed, moving over to nuzzle Lex, who despite his mild exasperation returned the gesture.
Waiting until the two had completed their romantic gesture, Ribbon spoke up. “One last question: are you sure you want me to be the one who does this for you? You’re right that I have the most experience with this, but…” she paused for a moment, then pushed ahead. “But everything you said about the princesses, about them not showing enough leadership, applies to me too.”
Lex was already shaking his head. “It’s not the same. The princesses occupy the highest political position that it’s possible to attain in the current order, and so they bear ultimate responsibility for what happens in their kingdom. They have magic that far outstrips that of ordinary ponies, so they have greater impetus to innovate with it. They have a lifespan that’s potentially endless, so they should be able to draw upon greater experiences when exercising their judgment. All of these are reasons why you can’t be held to the same standards as them.”
“And you can?”
“I always hold myself to the highest of standards,” Lex answered immediately. “I demand nothing less of myself.”
“So I’m the best choice because my failures are smaller than theirs?” asked Ribbon ruefully.
“I wasn’t finished.” Lex moved closer to her again, until he was almost with hoof’s reach of her. “There’s one other quality that makes you the best choice to run this city, my city, for me.”
Ribbon quirked a brow, curious despite herself. “What’s that?”
“You’ve impressed me.”
Sonata’s eyes widened. Had Lex actually just paid someone a compliment?!
“I have?” Ribbon looked only slightly less surprised.
“Yes. You want to take responsibility for what happened, even though the circumstances were beyond your expectations or your ability to control. More than that, your insistence on abdicating in my favor has shown me that you want to do what you think is best Tall Tale, even if that’s not what’s best for you personally. Finally, that we’re having this conversation at all tells me that you’re willing to entertain new ideas based on their merits, rather than any ideological standpoint, also unlike the princesses.” Lex looked her dead in the eye as he spoke. “You’re not just the best pony to run Tall Tale in my name, you’re the only pony.”
Ribbon couldn’t meet his gaze, looking down. Ever since she’d heard what happened earlier that morning, she’d been working to accept the idea that she was going to have to resign in disgrace. Now she was being told, by the same hero who’d saved her city, that Tall Tale still needed her. “…Thank you…”
Lex blinked. Why was she thanking him? Everything he’d said was merely a statement of fact.
Sonata moved up to Lex’s side, whispering in his ear. “Hoof-bump her.”
“Hm?”
“Go on. Hoof-bump her.”
Not sure why she was suggesting that, Lex nevertheless held out a hoof towards Ribbon. For a moment she looked at it, then smiled and pressed her hoof against his with a soft “clop.”
“Alright!” whooped Sonata. “This calls for a toast! Do you have any cider?”
“I keep a bottle for special occasions,” Ribbon replied, going over to her desk and opening a drawer. “Do you two mind if I call Lucy back for this? She’s the only other pony who knows what I was planning, and it upset her pretty badly, so I’d like her to be here for this.”
“You two seem pretty close,” observed Sonata.
Ribbon smiled as she poured four glasses. “I was her foalsitter when she was little, and I gave her this job after I became mayor. Since her sister moved to Manehattan after getting married, I’m basically the only family she has here.” Putting the bottle down, she called out for her secretary.
The door opened a moment later. “Yes, Miss Mayor?” Lucy stuck her head in, her expression still slightly distraught from before.
Ribbon beckoned her inside. “Come join us, we’re having a toast.”
Lucy looked confused, even as she entered the room and let Ribbon thrust a glass into her hooves. She was about to ask what when she saw Lex’s eyes glow as he telekinetically lifted a glass. “Eep!”
“That’s…unusual,” observed Ribbon, unable to help but stare.
“Nah, he does that every time he does anything magical. You get used to it,” said Sonata lightly, taking the last glass.
“It’s a slight side-effect of some of the new magic that I’ve acquired,” added Lex.
“It looks scary,” replied Lucy, looking a bit shaken.
“Lucy! Don’t be rude,” admonished Ribbon. “That’s the new mayor of Tall Tale that you’re talking to.”
“‘New mayor’? So you’re still going to resign?” asked Lucy, crestfallen.
“I am,” nodded Ribbon, “and then I’m going to start my new job.”
“New job?”
“Mm-hmm. As interim deputy mayor of Tall Tale.”
“Interim deputy mayor? Wait, so that means…”
Ribbon smiled. “It means that for right now, I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing...with a few changes being made.” She glanced up at Lex at that last part.
“You realize that these changes won’t happen overnight,” he replied. “What I outlined before was just one example of what needs to be done. There are countless more. This will take years at the very least.”
“Which is all the more reason to get started right away! So less yapping and more drinking!” Sonata raised her glass, looking at Lex. “To Tall Tale’s new mayor!”
Lucy grinned up at Ribbon, raising her own. “To the new interim deputy mayor!”
Ribbon copied the gesture, smiling as she looked at the other three ponies. “To a better Tall Tale.”
Lex raised his glass to gently clink against the others’. “To a better Equestria.”
It was the best cider he’d ever tasted.