Lex fought down a surge of panic as he continued the ritual.
Celestia and Luna showing up now, at the worst possible moment, couldn’t be a coincidence…and yet, it had to be. His anti-scrying spell hadn’t activated, which ruled out the possibility that they’d been magically spying on him. Likewise, the train that had left here for Canterlot had only departed three nights ago, and should only be arriving at the city now, thus ruling out that somepony on it had directed them here. Plus, he hadn’t told anyone on board what he’d be attempting tonight anyway. But what other possibility was there?
Could someone on board have told them about what’s happened, and they teleported straight here? It wasn’t impossible, at least not in theory, but it was still unlikely in the extreme. Native Equestrian spellcasting, with its reliance on physical modes of manipulating magical energy, had teleportation as one of the most difficult spells a unicorn could learn. Even when done correctly it was typically only used to transport one’s self short distances. Taking another person along and/or increasing the distance traveled would have been taxing in the extreme, to the point where it would – by Lex’s calculation – have required both prodigious training and a cutie mark in spellcasting. Even then, to have teleported halfway across the continent and brought multiple guards with them….
No, even they can’t be that strong, he decided. There had to be an alternative explanation. But whatever it was, he’d need to find it later; for now, he had to deal with the fact that they were here, and they were in a prime position to disrupt the ritual he was conducting if they felt so inclined. The thought made him want to grit his teeth, but he knew he didn’t have that luxury, continuing to chant as he made the proper gesticulations in time with his words. Even then, he couldn’t help but analyze the current situation, weighing the options he had if worse came to worst…only to conclude that he had none.
As much as he hated to admit it, it was all up to Sonata now.
“Hey, is your armor made out of chocolate?” Sonata peered at the golden armor the pair of burly stallions in front of her were wearing, looking for a seam. “I mean, if you get hungry can you peel back the foil and nibble on it a bit?”
Neither of the guards seemed to appreciate her question. “Miss, please step aside immediately,” ordered the one on her left.
“The princesses wish to speak with Lex Legis at once,” added the one on her right. “Clear a path for them.”
Sonata glanced over her shoulder just once, looking back at where Lex was still chanting and gesturing, the glowing form of Aria hovering in the air in front of him like a big nightlight. When he didn’t pause or give any indication that he’d heard what the guards had said – despite being close enough that she was sure their words had reached him – she turned back to the armored pegasi. “Yeah, sorry. That’s gonna be a big no-go. Lex is in the middle of something right now, and totes can’t quit now.” The two stallions frowned deeply at that, but Sonata stood her ground, completely unfazed; Lex’s normal expression had more glower-power than either of these guys.
Nosey, however, seemed a bit more worried, gulping slightly as she made herself stand next to Sonata. This is no big deal, she reassured herself silently. I’ve interviewed plenty of Royal Guards before, this isn’t any different. Except for the part where she was deliberately defying their princess-given orders, because if she didn’t they could cause severe harm to her hero and her best friend’s sister. Right, no pressure. Fortunately Sonata had used her calming spell on her before now, otherwise Nosey felt sure that she’d be fighting the urge to throw up from anxiety. “Listen,” she piped up, drawing both guards’ attention, “she’s not kidding. Right now Lex is casting a really powerful spell to help her” – she nodded her head toward Sonata – “sister. If something interrupts him before he’s finished, they could both be seriously hurt.”
Both guards registered hesitation at that, glancing at each other uncertainly, and Nosey felt the tightness in her chest loosen. “But our orders…” murmured the rightmost stallion, clearly not sure what to do.
Nosey had no intention of letting them make up their minds. That’s right. This is just like interviewing a reluctant source. I’ve just got to make my way sound more reasonable than what they’re thinking. “Look, you said to make way because the princesses are headed here, right?” When both of them nodded, she continued. “So how about we wait here until they arrive, and then explain the situation to them then? I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to hurt anypony, right?” The guards hesitated for just a moment, then nodded slowly, making Nosey sigh in relief.
“Great!” cheered Sonata, rearing up and clapping her hooves before falling back to all fours. “So, can I have some of your chocolate armor in the meantime?”
Nosey resisted the urge to laugh, glancing around past the guards. The crowd was still watching the exchange, but it wasn’t them that Nosey was focused on. The guards had emerged from around the side of the train station, which meant that the princesses would almost certainly be coming from that direction also. But it’ll be okay, she was sure. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna won’t want anything bad to happen to anypony. I’m sure Sonata and I can fill them in on whatever they want to know while Lex finishes his spell. She wasn’t sure if it was because of Sonata’s spell, or because she’d witnessed the princesses so often – albeit always from afar – from having grown up in Canterlot, but the thought of talking to them was only the tiniest bit intimidating, and Nosey found herself standing up straighter as she heard hoofsteps approaching.
Too many hoofsteps.
She had just enough time to feel confused, before a half-dozen guards rounded the corner, marching in unison. There wasn’t a princess with them, however; rather, at their head marched an earth stallion who was also wearing the armor of the Royal Guard…except that it wasn’t gold, but rather a deep purple. Set against his pitch black coat and his white mane and tail, he cut quite a figure. But that wasn’t the most notable thing about him: that particular distinction went to the way his right hind leg was gnarled, the limb shriveled and twisted as though some monster had used it for a chew toy.
“I don’t think that’s one of the princesses,” Sonata stage-whispered to Nosey.
The strange stallion’s leg was clearly as bad as it looked, causing him to limp slightly as he led the other six members of the Royal Guard forward. Despite that, he didn’t seem to be in any particular pain, his features collected as he reached the two guards that had preceded him. Both snapped a salute, holding the pose and making it clear that whoever the newcomer was, he outranked them.
Nosey found herself holding her breath as the purple-clad stallion looked at her. It would have been easy to mistake his unsmiling expression as being like Lex’s, but she could see the difference. Lex’s perpetual scowl was one of disapproval, as though he was passing judgment on whoever he was looking at and found them wanting. It had taken her a while to realize that was his way of indicating that he cared about the ponies around him; he expected them to hold themselves to the same level of personal excellence that he strived to meet, and couldn’t understand why they not only fell so consistently short of the mark, but seemed to be uninterested in trying to do better. That wasn’t an attitude you had unless you were invested in other people, even if Lex was terrible at expressing that.
The unsmiling stallion looking at her now, however, didn’t give her the same impression. Whereas Lex was brimming with restrained passion, this pony felt cold. No, not cold, she corrected herself a moment later. Disinterested. That was it. His eyes looked at her the same way he would have looked at a pothole in the street: she was only worth noticing because she happened to be in his way. His eyes moved over to Sonata after a moment, and Nosey saw her frown at the look on his face, knowing that her best friend – who wanted to be adored – wouldn’t appreciate being looked at like that.
Then the newcomer looked past them. His brow furrowed slightly as he gazed at the glowing form that was Aria, before turning to look at Lex. It was only when his eyes fell on the latter pony that Nosey saw a flicker of genuine emotion appear in his eyes: anger.
“Report,” he snapped, not bothering to look at the pair of guards still holding their salute.
“Yes sir, Commander Silhouette sir!” chorused the guards, before the one on the left continued speaking. “We were attempting to clear the way for the princesses, but these ponies refused to move.”
“We ordered them to stand aside,” added the guard on the right. “But they said that Lex Legis is performing a delicate spell on somepony, and interrupting it could cause injuries.”
“Mm,” grunted Silhouette, not taking his eyes off of Lex. Nosey bit her lip, not liking the vibe she was getting off of this guy. Apparently Sonata didn’t either, because she was glaring at him, and Nosey had the distinct impression that she was about to give him a piece of her mind. Fortunately, she caught Sonata’s eye first, and silently shook her head. Please don’t! she thought as hard as she could, trying to will Sonata to understand what she was trying to say. If we start a fight, this will go from bad to worse in an instant, especially for Lex and Aria! Fortunately, Sonata seemed to read her mind, giving a huff but no longer looking like she wanted to tell this guy exactly what she thought of him.
“Our orders have changed.” Silhouette’s voice dragged Nosey’s attention back to him, seeing that he’d turned his attention back to the guards. “I have beseeched the goddess to leave this task to me, so that I may prove myself worthy of continuing to bask in her presence, and in her boundless mercy she has granted me this.” Again, Nosey could see an emotion working its way onto his face as he spoke, and this time it was rapture. Whoever his “goddess” was (and that he knew that term was surprising in and of itself), he was quite clearly enthralled with her. “She and her sister will remain at their present location,” he continued, “and we shall bring Lex Legis to them.”
“Um, guess again, Limpy,” sneered Sonata. “I dunno which goddess you’re talking about, but you and she can take a number, ‘cuz this guy,” she raised a hoof over her shoulder, pointing at Lex, “isn’t going anywhere.”
Silhouette gave Sonata another glance, his lip curling ever so slightly, before he returned his attention to Lex. “Fall in,” he ordered softly, and the two stallions immediately gave a grunt of affirmation, turning and trotting back to join the six Royal Guards that had accompanied him.
Alarm bells were going off in Nosey’s head, and she licked her lips – now completely dry from anxiety – before speaking up, trying to avert what she knew was coming. “Those guards weren’t kidding! If Lex’s spell gets interrupted, then the consequences could-”
“Lex Legis,” announced Silhouette, cutting Nosey off as he spoke in a loud voice. “My name is Silhouette! I have been given orders by the Mother of the Night, known to you as Princess Luna, to bring you into her divine presence and that of her sister immediately! Cease whatever sorcery you’re performing at once and submit yourself to the will of the goddess, and you will be treated gently! Fail to do so…” He smiled thinly at the prospect of that. “…and we will take you to her by force!”
An anxious murmur ran through the crowd at that, more than a few ponies backing away from Silhouette. Sonata was also increasing her distance from him, moving to place herself directly between Silhouette and Lex as she widened her stance. “Trust me, you really don’t wanna do this,” she growled.
Silhouette waited, just long enough to make sure that Lex wasn’t going to respond to his declaration, and then glanced back at the guards under his command.
“Get them.”