//------------------------------// // 259 - Fit the Crime // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “…to become the degenerate that you acted like.” A purple aura flared to life around Lex’s horn as he spoke, his eyes turning green-and-purple to match, and he reached out a hoof toward Spit Polish. The sight was enough to shatter what little self-control the other stallion had left, his eyes going wide as a scream of pure terror erupted from his throat. Desperately, he flung himself backward, out of Lex’s reach, before stumbling to his bandaged hooves and trying to run for it. He needn’t have bothered. He hadn’t made it more than two steps before black crystals sprouted along his legs, forming cuffs that instantly stretched out and attached to each other, becoming fetters and sending him sprawling into the dirt. Even then, he tried to crawl away, wriggling and rolling along the ground in a futile effort to put more distance between himself and what was about to happen. Behind him, Lex slowly stalked forward, relentless. “You’re only being sentenced for your attempt on my life,” he said darkly as he advanced on the helpless stallion. “But the things you did here, in this camp, mark you as being among the worst of ponykind.” “No!” sobbed Spit Polish, still trying to crawl away. But even in his weakened state, Lex was able to catch up to him easily, and it took only a few seconds before he was standing in front of Spit Polish again. “So now you will be the worst pony here, in every way imaginable.” With that Lex raised his hoof again, and before the other pony had a chance to react, he pressed it against Spit Polish’s forehead. Instantly, the purple aura around his horn flared as he channeled additional magic through his body, enhancing the curse to the level he needed it to be. The effort sent an ache through him that almost made him sway, but he fought the urge down, striving to eliminate any appearance of weakness. “Every part of you will be debilitated,” he intoned, speaking as much to the crowd – whom he could see out of his peripheral vision, still watching closely – as to Spit Polish. “Muscle tension. Reflexes. Stamina. Cognitive function. Perception. Wit. You will spend the rest of your life with all of them dampened. Only your memories will remain unimpeded, so that you can remember how you brought this upon yourself.” Lex removed his hoof from the other stallion then, stepping back from him. A thought was all it took to make the black crystals binding Spit Polish’s legs turn to dust, and a moment later the other stallion started to get up, shaking like a leaf. “Wha…wha’d yoo doo ta me?” The words were slurred, as though he’d had too much to drink, and the sound of his own garbled voice caused Spit Polish’s eyes to go wide with alarm. “Wha’d yoo doo ta me?!” He lifted a hoof to his throat, as though the problem could be found there, and that alone was enough to send him sprawling, limbs flailing in a failed attempt to keep his balance. Murmurs broke out from the ponies gathered around them, and that seemed to remind Spit Polish that he wasn’t alone. “Th-thome pony halp me!” he wailed. “Pweathe!” But no one approached him, and a moment later his eyes filled with tears again. “Th’not fair,” he moaned, making no move to get up. “Th’not fair! I juth…I juth din’ kno wha’da do…I din’ kno wha’da do…” The last part came out even harder to understand, a fresh round of weeping slurring his words even worse. “I know you didn’t,” replied Lex, his eyes returning to normal. The crowd instantly quieted down as he moved toward Spit Polish again, not that the stallion noticed, having covered his face with his forelegs as he cried. “Look at me.” The words were unmistakably an order, and yet they lacked the harsh edge that he’d had just a moment ago. “Look at me, Spit Polish.” The sound of his name made the other stallion lower his forelegs, sniffling as he looked up at Lex, who stood over him with a neutral look. “I am not indifferent to the harshness of what you went through, nor to the full scope of the forces that were arrayed against you. While the things you did were horrible, and your punishment is fully deserved…overcoming your circumstances required strength of will that was quite clearly far beyond you. To that end, I have elected to show you leniency.” As he finished, Lex lifted a hoof again, lightly placing it on Spit Polish’s belly. The earth pony’s eyes flickered between the hoof on his belly and Lex’s face, finally settling on the latter. “What sort of len-” Spit Polish’s eyes widened as he realized that he was speaking normally again. “I-, I’m okay!” He almost laughed with relief, looking up at Lex with eyes full of gratitude. “Oh, thank you thank you thank-” Lex removed his hoof from the other stallion’s body. “-yoo fank yoo fa-, huh? Wha’ happent?! Wy’m I- Noo! Yoo thaid wenienthy! Yoo…yoo thaid-” “I did,” nodded Lex. “But its application will not be decided by me.” He kept his eyes on Spit Polish, but raised his voice as he spoke again, wanting to be sure everypony nearby heard this. “You are hereby condemned for your crime, and your curse will follow you for the rest of your life. But so long as a living, sapient being is touching you, its effects will be suspended until they cease to do so.” He swept a hoof outward towards the assembled ponies watching them. “How much leniency you receive will be decided by those ponies that you’ve wronged. They will be the ones who determine whether you live as one of them, or as a wreck that can barely function.” With that said, he turned to the crowd as he made his final pronouncement in the matter. “Justice is served.” Lex deliberately turned and walked away from the crowd then. Despite what he’d said to Nosey about not caring about what everypony thought of him, he couldn’t help but want to glance back and try and gauge their reaction. But he didn’t bother, knowing it would be futile anyway; he’d never been any good at reading others, as his embarrassing misinterpretation of everyone’s reaction to his cursing Garden Gate had so recently reminded him. Instead, he stalked back over to where the newsmare was waiting, trying to conceal just how exhausted he already felt. “Go find out where Garden Gate is being treated,” he ordered her tersely, not wanting to continue the conversation they’d been having. “It’s important that I check on her status before I go into Vanhoover.” Nosey didn’t immediately reply, looking at him with a small smile, and Lex felt himself tense up. Was she laughing at him? Or was that a look of pity? “What?” he snapped, suddenly feeling defensive. He was taken completely by surprise when her response was to lean over and press her lips softly against his cheek. It was so completely unexpected – given how acrimonious their previous interaction had been – that it left him nonplussed for a moment, which was all the time Nosey needed to settle back into her place beside him, her side against his once again. “Thank you for listening to me,” she murmured warmly. It took Lex several seconds to respond, struggling to evaluate and interpret Nosey’s actions. Was she declaring that she’d won the adversarial exchange they’d just been having, and was trying to be magnanimous about it? If so, that made no sense; her position had been that he should forgive Spit Polish, and he had still condemned and cursed him. Or was she attempting to be conciliatory, pleased at the idea that her opinion had been taken into account in any regard? Or maybe she was being congratulatory, and her statement about his listening to her was meant to be ironic in some regard? Or perhaps all three of those ideas were wrong, and something else altogether had prompted her unexpected reaction. There was no way to be sure, especially with how she had been acting since he’d rescued her, and that inability to understand her motivation left him feeling awkward and frustrated. “I’m open to all input regarding the workings of my administration,” he muttered. “Oh yeah?” grinned Nosey, her voice sounding something like her usual outgoing self. “Glad I could help out, then.” She nodded back toward the series of outpatient tents. “C’mon, Garden’s being treated back there.” Lex frowned, finding something else to think about and immediately latching onto it. “How do you know that? You haven’t moved since House Call was here.” Nosey seemed pleased by the question. “Ace reporter, remember? While we were talking before, I was looking around to see where most of the doctors were going, while also listening to nearby conversations to see if I could pick up any interesting tidbits, not to mention sniffing the air for anything with an antiseptic scent.” She paused for a long moment before continuing. “Plus, I saw where they took her last night before I went to go join you and Sonata.” That last part was punctuated by sticking her tongue out playfully. Lex rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he muttered irritably, upset at not having figured that out on his own. “Just tell me you’re not going to curse her for not obeying your orders to stay inside your big illusion-thing from last night.” That statement earned Nosey a glare, and she gave him an apologetic smile in response. “That was a joke.” “I already removed the maledictions I laid on her,” answered Lex humorlessly. “The circumstances were extenuating enough that her actions warranted an act of clemency on my part, both for her sake and that of everypony else. There’s no need to reapply them.” “You should tell everypony that, you know. You made a big spectacle out of cursing her; after what just happened with Spit Polish, letting them know that you’ve forgiven one of the ponies who helped you save everyone’s life last night isn’t a bad idea.” Lex glanced at her sidelong. “The implication being that everypony disapproved of the sentence I handed down?” “Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about that,” smiled Nosey, giving a pointed nod back at where they’d left Spit Polish. His brow furrowing, Lex couldn’t help himself, looking back at where he’d left the criminal. A pair of doctors were around him, changing the dirty bandages wrapped around his hooves. They were both speaking to him, and Spit Polish was shaking his head in response as he said something back. But he wasn’t looking at them as he spoke. Instead, he was looking off into the crowd of nearby ponies, which was already starting to disperse. Following his gaze, Lex saw that he was looking at a familiar-looking unicorn mare with a bright orange coat and a soft yellow mane and tail. For a moment he couldn’t place her, but then he saw her cutie mark – a pair of peaches – and he recognized her as the pony who had been the first to castigate Spit Polish for trying to kill him. Peachy Keen. As Lex watched, she hesitantly made her way over to where Spit Polish was, saying something. When the doctors lifted him up and started carrying him off a moment later, she kept pace with them. Lex watched them go, before turning a questioning glance toward Nosey, not sure what he’d just witnessed. She shrugged, but was still smiling. “I don't know if the ponies here will ever forgive him or not, but that's not as important as the fact that you gave them a chance to. Now it's not about you cursing him, or even his dealing with it, but about what everypony else will do, deciding for themselves whether or not they want to help him out." Adjusting her glasses, Nosey gave him a warm look before continuing to lead him toward Garden Gate's tent. "Now that's what I call justice."