It was only a few minutes before Sonata came galloping back, the items he’d requested held in her grinning mouth.
“You weren’t kidding!” she blurted as soon as Nosey telekinetically took the bell and wire from her. “All I had to do was say that Lex needed that stuff and like, a whole bunch of ponies started rushing to get it!” Excited, she pranced in place, shifting her gaze to her boyfriend. “Everypony totes adores you now!”
“Told you so,” smiled Nosey as she placed the objects onto Lex’s waiting hoof.
“Yeah! Oh my gosh, it was incredible!” Sonata sat down, but the joy radiating off of her didn’t diminish in the slightest as she pointed at the items she’d brought back. “Lex, you should’ve heard it. The old lady who gave me that wire said that it was from the jewelry store she opened with her husband after they got married, and that it’s thanks to you that she has hope that she’ll be able to reopen it again. And that bell…” She paused then, her eyes starting to water. “The guy who gave it to me said that it was his daughter’s, and that he hopes it’ll help you protect everyone else the way he couldn’t protect her.”
“Aww!” Nosey couldn’t keep from letting out a heartfelt cry at that, placing a hoof over her heart reflexively as she visibly fought back tears.
But Lex’s only response was to shift in place awkwardly. He knew that Sonata was conveying heartfelt gestures from the camp ponies, but the proper response to that eluded him. Was he supposed to make some sort of maudlin display of, what, gratitude? If so, should he make it to Sonata, as the one conveying the message, or was he expected to track down the ponies in question and personally acknowledge their feelings? Or maybe he was supposed to have Sonata go back to them and do it on his behalf, since she’d already interacted with them previously? There were too many possible permutations and no indicators as to how he should even begin to narrow them down.
This is the last thing I need right now, he cursed internally. He’d just wanted Sonata to collect two simple items so that he could cast a spell and move on to the next thing, and now she’d brought him back another inscrutable social dilemma! I’m already struggling to do what needs to be done, and now I have to deal with this too? The thought was bitter, knowing that finding the right answer was extremely unlikely, and would probably cost him whatever goodwill he’d apparently managed to accrue. Just like every other time something like this had happened…
“Lex? What’s wrong?” He looked up belatedly, seeing that Sonata’s countenance had changed to one of concern. Out of his periphery, he could see that Nosey was wearing a matching expression.
“…nothing.” Mentally, he washed his hooves of the whole thing. Let Sonata figure out what to do; that was her job. Instead, he turned his attention to the collection of food, chanting the spell to place a ward over it. “If anypony gets too close to this, an audible alarm will go off,” he explained. “I trust that will make it obvious to anyone within earshot what’s happening.”
“Yeah, probably,” murmured Nosey, still sounding vaguely perturbed.
“Good. Now, both of you come with me.” Without another word, he turned and headed for the train station.
Nosey immediately followed, moving so quickly that she didn’t break contact with Lex, but Sonata hesitated. “Wait, shouldn’t we be headed back to our tent?”
“We’re not staying there tonight,” replied Lex with a backwards glance. “There’s not enough room.”
“Right. Silly me,” muttered Sonata with a pout before following him.
Aria woke up with a yelp – or rather, what would have been a yelp, if she’d had her voice – as she felt a sharp kick impact her side. Blinking, she looked around before her eyes settled on the smirking face of her sister, irritation immediately replacing her drowsiness. “What’s the big idea?” she whispered, grimacing at the rude awakening.
“Um, hello?” jeered Sonata, her expression immediately making it clear that she was in a bad mood. “What kind of bodyguard falls asleep on the job?”
“Bite me!” snapped Aria as she picked herself up off the floor. Belatedly, she realized that the interior of the place was brighter than when she'd gone to sleep, several of the wall-lamps having been lit. A moment later she caught sight of Lex along the far wall, that blonde mare – Nosey somethingorother – from that morning still clinging to him, watching the exchange. “I did my part,” she continued, whispering as much to Lex as to Sonata. “I kept watch when that train got here and was ready to go if they tried anything funny. They didn’t, so after you finally brought my dinner in I ate it, laid down, and took a nap. That okay with you?”
“Sorry? I didn’t catch that,” taunted Sonata, holding a hoof up to her ear. “You’ll have to speak up. Oh that’s right! You can’t!”
The barb made Aria’s eyes widen in outrage, her lips pulling back in a snarl. “Okay, now I’m mad-”
“Stop it, both of you.”
Lex didn’t raise his voice, but Aria immediately quieted down, still nervous that he’d go back on his promise despite what he’d said that morning. Sonata had no such reservations, pointing a hoof at Aria. “She started it.”
“I don’t care,” answered Lex in a surprisingly level tone. “I don’t want to hear another word out of either of you.” He waited another moment, and when neither replied, he turned to Nosey. “Go stand next to the two of them.”
She blinked, clearly not having expected that. “Why?”
“There’s something I want to try,” was the answer she received.
Reluctantly, she pulled away from him, walking over until she was right next to the others. “Now what?”
Lex didn’t reply, instead closing his eyes as he silently raised a hoof to his head. For a moment he grimaced, as though he had an awful headache, but then it passed, and he slowly lowered his hoof to the floor. Then he opened his eyes…and Aria heard herself, along with Nosey and Sonata, take a sharp breath at the look that came over his face then.
Desire.
The sight was enough to pin all three of them in place. All of a sudden, Lex’s typical expression – the mixture of fatigue, haughtiness, and bitterness that he’d perpetually worn – had vanished. In its place now was a look of hunger, his eyes opening slightly wider as though he was only now appreciating the sight of the mares in front of him, the corners of his lips turning upward in a smile that was at once both reassuring and predatory.
Long moments passed as he silently looked them over, his eyes running over each girl in turn, starting with Sonata. When his eyes turned to Aria, she couldn’t stop herself from shivering at the weight of his gaze. She’d had more men than she could remember look at her like that, and more than a few women as well, but somehow the fact that it was coming from him, from the stallion who’d so thoroughly brought her to heel, was enough to make her…make her…
Then Lex’s eyes slid down to Nosey, and Aria managed to regain a little of her composure now that she was free of his immediate attention. What’s going on? she thought dizzily. The way he was acting right now was completely contradictory to his usual self, and she couldn’t figure out what was happening.
But Lex was already advancing on them.
Slowly, like a lion stalking toward wounded prey, he sauntered up to Sonata first. The other two watched as she shrank back, uncertainty written all over her face. But he didn’t stop, moving closer to her until the distance between the two of them could be measured in inches. Licking her lips, Sonata tried to form a question, but didn’t have a chance as Lex – still not saying a word – reached out a hoof and gently pressed it under her chin, raising her face up for a kiss.
Not wanting to watch but unable to look away, Aria saw alarm, embarrassment, and excitement all flit across Sonata’s face. For a brief moment her sister’s eyes flickered over to where Nosey was, and then she looked up and made eye contact with her, causing both of them to redden as Sonata immediately yanked her gaze away. For a moment she looked like she was going to protest what Lex was doing, but then Lex leaned forward…but he didn’t kiss her. Instead, lowered his head past her face, his lips passing within an inch of her neck, as though taking in her scent.
The sensuous gesture, as provocative as it was playful, was enough to leave Sonata panting, her eyes fluttering closed in silent surrender. A whimper slid past her lips as Lex reached out and gently prodded her body, gently repositioning her as he moved his face within an inch of her chest, then down her side, and then to her flank, pausing for a long moment over her cutie mark, his nose close to her shuddering tail. A soft touch right on the image on her flank was enough to bring a strangled whimper from Sonata’s throat, and she slowly started to lower her head, moving her tail to the side…
And then Lex turned away from her, moving to Nosey.
The blonde mare was shaking like a leaf as Lex rounded on her, but at the same time she didn’t even try to resist him. He gave her the same treatment, looking deeply into her eyes before silently reaching out and positioning her to his liking, making her present herself to him. A soft moan escaped her as Lex made her move how he wanted, baring all of her body for his examination. Aria watched as, just like before, he ended with a long look at her cutie mark, Nosey’s back legs parting more in anticipation of what was about to happen…
Only for him to turn to the last remaining female there.
Aria was only peripherally aware of both mares looking at her, each of them showing disappointment mixed with relief as Lex left them without doing anything else. But she couldn’t process that as Lex slowly circled around behind her. Swallowing despite her throat being dry, she tried to turn in place, refusing to allow him to get the better of her like this, but a single wave of his hoof and a softly-murmured command kept her still, her paralysis sending a thrill of excitement through her that was immediately followed by a sudden bout of shame. But even that wasn’t unpleasant, and Aria could feel herself heating up as Lex moved out of her line of sight.
Even then, she could still feel him. His breath was hot against her as he slowly looked her over. A touch that was as firm as it was gentle moved her just a little. The end of his tail brushed against hers as he circled her. It was enough that she barely realized that she was lying on her back, and he was alongside her. When he reached out to touch her chest, right over where her gemstone was, electricity ran through her, knowing what he would have been touching if she’d still been human. Then he gently traced upward, along her throat and over her scar, pausing to lightly trace the marking, and the shudder that went through her then was enough to erase the last of her resistance, unable to bring herself to move even when the paralysis wore off a moment later.
Like that all three mares held their positions, waiting for their stallion to claim them…
Stepping back, Lex looked them over, a satisfied smile on his face as he nodded.
Then he turned around, went to a nearby bench, and lay down to sleep.
Lex couldn’t help but revel in a deep sense of satisfaction as he closed his eyes. It had worked! He hadn’t been certain that it would, but for once things had turned out exactly like he’d predicted.
It had been painful to channel additional magic through his body and into his circlet, of course, but the results had made the momentary pain worthwhile. With its functionality enhanced, he’d been able to see into the magical spectrum like never before. Far beyond just seeing the energy structure of active spells and magic items, he’d been able to see the innate magical channels in Sonata, Nosey, and Aria’s bodies!
He’d theorized he’d be able to do that when he’d come up with this idea, of course.
Ever since he’d sent Aria to the train station that morning, he’d been working on how to keep his promise to her while he’d dealt with the other issues that had needed his attention. The result he’d come up with had been simple: by enhancing his circlet’s ability to let him see magical energies, he’d be able to examine the channels by which those energies flowed through Aria’s body. By comparing her to Nosey, who was the control group for what a normal pony’s magical channels were like, and Sonata, who was the test type for a Siren-turned-pony, he could develop a working model for a spell that would change Aria’s body.
Of course, actually seeing those channels once he’d enhanced his circlet had been beyond fascinating. The sheer number of possibilities for what he could learn by being able to view the magical pathways throughout a pony’s body had been dizzying, and he’d barely been cognizant of anything else as he’d looked each of the girls over, examining the ways that their innate magic moved through their physical forms. It had been an effort of will to drag himself away afterward, knowing that he needed to keep his priorities straight. Tomorrow, he’d start putting what he’d learned into a practical context and begin designing a spell to make Aria into a pony.
Though that might require examining the girls again.