The girls weren’t coming back.
Or at least, they weren’t coming back in time for his meeting with the alicorns. Of that much, Lex felt certain. By his estimation, there was roughly an hour to go until he conferred with Celestia and Luna, and with each minute that passed the chances of Nosey, Sonata, and Aria coming back in time seemed more and more remote.
They’d have to return at some point, Lex knew. Even in the worst-case scenario, where they all decided to cut ties with him permanently (despite Sonata having assured him that she’d never do that again), there was simply nowhere else for them to go. With the trains not having resumed regular service to the city yet, and no boats available besides River’s, which he’d sent back to Tall Tale with the ponies most in need of hospitalization, Vanhoover was still very much an isolated city. Even the princesses had only arrived by taking a train to Tall Tale – apparently Nosey had sent in an article about his exploits there which had caused the repairs to the tracks to be expedited, particularly since she’d included what Sonata had told her about how the tracks had been broken three times over – and then having their guards pull pegasus chariots over the swamp between the cities in rotating shifts. The only way for the girls to leave now would be if they asked the princesses to take them along when they left, and that would at least be easy to monitor; Celestia and Luna couldn’t seem to go anywhere without a full complement of guards and more than a few ponies following them around and gawking. One way or another, Sonata, Aria, and Nosey were stuck here with him, at least for now.
Nor was Lex overly worried that the girls’ continued absence was due to some sort of threat to their safety. As much as he still felt responsible for having overlooked Xiriel’s presence, and had heightened his precautions accordingly, there were no indications of any further threats that he’d been able to find. Utilizing his circlet at random points when he’d looked around the camp over the last few days had turned up no unusual magic auras, River’s safe arrival and his using her boat to send injured ponies to Tall Tale lent further credence to there being no more seaborne threats around the city, and Severance hadn’t seen anything unusual during the times when he’d posted it at the edge of the camp…though it’s deliberately omitting how Fruit Crunch and his friends had been visiting it had left Lex more than a little skeptical of how much stock he could put in the weapon’s assurances. But with no remains around it to indicate that it had cut up any straggling ghouls, he’d let the issue go for the moment.
Which meant that the girls weren’t here now for only one reason: they didn’t want to be, despite knowing how important this conference was.
That wasn’t at all surprising where Aria was concerned, of course. The spiteful nag had, after seeing Princess Celestia head back to River’s manor, paused only long enough to throw several choice insults at him before trotting off in the same direction. Lex still had no idea why Aria was so intent on talking to the princess; most likely she’d either try and offer her some damaging information about him or would ask her for transportation out of the city. Neither possibility worried Lex overly much; Aria had no sensitive information to share when it came to him, and he planned on raising the issue of the princesses taking some ponies back with them when they left anyway. There were still sick and injured ponies here that, despite being labeled low-risk by the doctors, could benefit from being in a real hospital. And if that left no room for Aria to leave with them, well, that was just too bad.
Unless, of course, she tried to enchant the princesses. But Lex found it hard to believe that Aria would be that stupid. Even if she succeeded – which, based on the glimpse he’d gotten of Celestia’s power, seemed less than certain; the elder alicorn didn’t have his level of magical might, but she was still far stronger than the average unicorn – she had to know that he’d look Celestia and Luna over for magical auras once they were in his presence, and that her magic would immediately stand out. That was how he’d ferreted out Xiriel, after all, and Aria was one of the few ponies here who knew about the devil’s existence.
But if she did try and do something that foolish…
No, he decided at length. Aria will make a nuisance of herself, but that will be all she does. After all, she’d shown her entire hoof with that little stunt with Disc Jockey.
The memory of seeing the two of them together was still fresh in Lex’s mind, and it made him want to break something. He’d done his best not to telegraph how he’d felt, of course, but Aria had made it clear that she hadn’t been fooled. That was hardly surprising, since the jealousy he felt at the thought of her being with someone else was upsetting enough to make him snarl. Dark thoughts of cursing every stallion who so much as looked at Aria with the same impotence that he’d inflicted on Produce Aisle were still lurking in the back of his mind, and Lex found himself hoping that Disc Jockey was telling everypony about what had happened, warning them not to touch Aria – or Nosey or Sonata – lest they incur his wrath…
Thoughts of Nosey and Sonata filled him with a different sort of negativity. While Aria’s tantrum was no great surprise, Lex had held out hope that Nosey and Sonata would put aside their personal feelings about what had happened this morning and come back. But he hadn’t seen even a hint of them on his trip to retrieve Severance, and even though he’d known that there was very little chance that they’d have returned to the train station during his brief absence – since they’d left before he had – he’d still asked Feather Duster if she’d seen them in the time he’d been gone. That she’d answered in the negative hadn’t been unexpected, but it had been discouraging nonetheless.
Lex had briefly considered dragooning the pegasus maid into being his spokespony for the meeting, but he’d discarded that idea almost immediately. The simpering mare still shook when she looked him in the eye, giving him no confidence whatsoever that she could have performed Sonata’s duties adequately. But then, Lex doubted that anypony could have; as badly as she tended to mangle the precise phrasing of his statements, Sonata’s presence radiated such a vivacious conviviality that she was still able to communicate his sentiments to others despite her imprecise manner of speaking. Against all logic, she’d gotten others to listen to and accept his ideas without using the meticulous language that in theory should have accomplished the job better…even if it almost never had.
After all, Sonata had been the one who’d helped him broker his original deal with the alicorns for him to rule Vanhoover.
As for Nosey, what she lacked in charm she made up for in insight. While River and Sonata had eagerly told Princess Celestia most of what had happened in Vanhoover, Nosey had taken a different tact with Princess Luna, only offering information in exchange for information. It was because of Nosey that Lex knew about the angel that had informed Celestia and Luna about Severance's existence, for instance, and how that had been what finally convinced them to make the trip out here. While she might not have made the best interlocutor, she could have stood in for Sonata in a pinch.
But he’d apparently offended both of them badly enough that neither could countenance assisting him now, when it mattered most. It was the most stinging rebuke either mare could have made, and as much as Lex wanted to rage against them for letting their feelings interfere with something that was larger than either of them, he simply couldn’t summon up the righteous indignation to do so. Instead, all he felt was bitterness and regret that, when it counted most, this was what he inspired in the people closest to him.
Sighing, Lex moved to the center of the lobby and let Severance hang in the air in front of him. With barely an hour to go before his meeting with the alicorns, there was no longer any time to lament over what had happened. Instead, he’d prepare what magic he could in the time he had left, and then simply make do as best he could when the princesses arrived.
Beginning to gesture and chant, Lex put everything else out of his mind as he started to replenish his primary magic.
Once he was done, it would be time to face Celestia and Luna.
“…and then I returned here.”
Luna blinked blearily as Celestia finished relaying the events of her morning visit to Vanhoover’s refugee camp. Being a heavy sleeper meant that it was difficult for her to process so much information so soon after waking up, even when she knew it was important. Fortunately, her sister knew better than to press her for an immediate reaction, sitting back silently and allowing Luna some space to think. Seconds ticked by before Luna finally managed to make a reply. “So you still think that Lex Legis can be a force for good in Equestria?”
“I have to, Sister,” replied Celestia without hesitation. “I believe that he truly wants to help. Even if he’s going about it all wrong, his heart is still in the right place.”
Luna sighed. “You say that, Sister, but we both saw what’s going to happen.” She pointed to the door, having been told that Silhouette was standing guard on the other side of it.
Celestia didn’t need to ask what Luna meant. “Yes, but we don’t know what causes it, nor what happens afterward. That might make all the difference.”
“Do you think it will make a difference to Silhouette?” countered Luna.
Celestia had no answer for that, and Luna continued. “If Lex truly wished to help, he wouldn’t deal out misery so freely. Not to the ponies he’s cursed, and not to Silhouette, regardless of what sort of provocation he might face a short while from now.”
“I don’t agree with his methods,” answered Celestia softly, looking down. “But I worry that showing him hostility will only drive him further away from harmony.”
Luna was silent again, before getting up and wrapping a wing around her sister. “You showed me nothing but love and kindness, and I still turned into Nightmare Moon.”
Celestia looked up at that, her surprise at the comparison written all over her face. “Luna, that’s different!”
“No, it’s not,” replied Luna. “It’s exactly the same. I think that Lex Legis is exactly like how I used to be, and I don’t think that we can stop him from becoming a monster any more than you could have stopped me.”
“Luna-”
“But I know you don’t agree, and I don’t want this to become a point of friction between us. And…” She sighed before continuing. “And if there’s even the slightest chance that I’m wrong, then he deserves an opportunity to prove it."
That was enough to bring a smile to Celestia's face. "Thank you, Luna."
Luna, however, didn't return the expression. "You said that you saw that evil artifact of his at the edge of the camp, surrounded by a group of foals?"
"Yes." Cocking her head slightly at the abrupt change in topic, Celestia nodded. She'd gone back to the camp on hoof, wanting to enjoy the walk, and the crowd of ponies that had seen her coming had kept her from spotting the floating scythe and the children around it until taken to the air to fly back to River's manor. By that point, it had been too late to ask Lex about why there were children gathered around a weapon that had slaughtered legions of angels. But she'd intended to bring it up at the conference, and had told Luna as much, so why was she bringing it up now?
Her answer came a moment later. "Children shouldn't be anywhere near such a thing. Given that Lex is allowing them to get so close to it, and because we know that he's going to use it to attack Silhouette, I think that – if we can resolve what happens in your vision peacefully – we should ask him to surrender that scythe. If he's willing to do that, then I'll agree to support you in trying to reform him peacefully." Taking her wing from around Celestia, Luna stood up and turned so she was looking at her directly. "But if he won't do this, if he insists on keeping that weapon with him even after what happens to my worshiper, then I can't accept giving him another chance." Knowing how Celestia would feel about issuing an ultimatum, Luna gave her a pleading look. "Sister, I don't think this is too much to ask, not when we've seen what he's going to do."
This time it was Celestia's turn to be silent, weighing what Luna had said. After a long, heavy silence, she made up her mind. "Alright, Luna. If we can talk Lex down, then we'll ask him to give up his scythe. If he does, then we'll keep reaching out to him. And if he doesn't..."
Sighing, Celestia made herself say the rest of it out loud. "...then he's our enemy."