Willow’s casual suggestion sent shockwaves throughout the room.
“Now that’s colder than an ice cube in a blizzard!” exclaimed Applejack angrily, leaping to her hooves and stalking toward Willow until she was right in the purrsian’s face, blocking her path to the door. “Lex saved your life more than once back on Everglow, and now the first thing outta your mouth is that we should end his?!”
But Willow didn’t look the slightest bit phased by the orange mare’s anger. “You asked me for my opinion, and I gave it to you. If you want to stop Lex Legis, then he needs to die. It’s as simple as that.”
“Darling, you can’t be serious,” laughed Rarity uncomfortably. “I mean, this Lex character sounds absolutely beastly, but surely that’s going too far.”
“I’m not so sure,” interjected Shining Armor, his expression grave. “After what Princess Celestia and Cozy said, it’s clear that he’s a threat to Equestria. If we want to keep him from hurting anypony else, Willow might have the right idea.”
That statement earned Shining Armor a horrified look from Twilight. “This isn’t some monster we’re talking about here, Shining Armor! Lex Legis might not know very much about friendship, but he’s still a pony! A pony I know! A pony I went out on a date with once!”
“I know, Twily, and that’s what scares me!” Shining Armor’s expression was a mixture of fear and frustration. “What if you’d come back from that date with an awful curse of your own?! Or worse, what if you hadn’t come back at all?! If I lost someone else…”
Cadance put a hoof over Shining Armor’s then, whispering something to him that made him close his eyes and let out a slow breath. For her part, Twilight’s ears flattened, looking confused. “‘Someone else’…?”
“Lex wouldn’t do that.” Aisle couldn’t be quiet anymore, giving Shining Armor an apologetic look. “I’m sorry if I’m speaking out of turn, but I don’t believe Lex would do that. In fact, I know it for sure.” He gave Cozy the same look of apology then. “I’ve said it before, but I just can’t believe that someone who would risk their life for strangers can really be bad.” He glanced around self-consciously, before sinking back into his seat, giving Cozy a tentative smile. “Please don’t be mad at me for that.”
Cozy’s smile was small, but genuine. “I’m not.”
But the romantic moment was ruined as Line Byline’s voice interrupted them. “You say you know it for sure that Lex Legis wouldn't do something so monstrous,” he asked pointedly. “But Princess Celestia told us how he murdered that Royal Guardpony, Silhouette.”
Aisle bit his lip, not sure what to say to that. “I…I don’t know-”
“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Soft Mane crossed her arms over her chest, frowning bitterly. “Lex hates anyone who’s different from him. It was probably just a matter of time before he started treating other ponies that way.”
“Sweetheart,” murmured Grass Patch sadly, reaching a hoof up to rub her daughter’s back gently.
“Um, I’m sorry for interrupting,” stammered Fluttershy, despite the fact that no one else had been talking. “But do we know for sure that Lex Legis is a pony? I mean, when Manehattan caught fire during the elemental bleeds, there were…there were c-creatures there that…that looked like ponies, but…but also did t-terrible things…” She couldn’t finish, shuddering and taking deep breaths.
Rarity winced at that, remembering how one of those monsters had briefly captured the gentle mare and sadistically tortured her before being defeated. “Darling, I’m sure this isn’t like that. Twilight and Applejack must have verified that Lex is a pony just like us.” She finished with a questioning look toward her friends.
Twilight nodded quickly. “We did, and he is. Equestria’s planar-”
“No, he’s not.” Princess Luna’s voice was soft, but it cut through the commotion as she shook her head. “Lex Legis might be a pony, but he isn’t like us.” She looked at Twilight then, her expression carefully composed. “Neither was King Sombra, and no one shed tears when the Crystal Heart destroyed him after you helped retrieve it. There are some villains who cannot be redeemed.”
Spike blinked. “Wait, King Sombra was destroyed?” He looked at Twilight, confused. “You told me he was dispelled into the ether.”
His comment made Twilight cringe, Rarity grimace, Fluttershy wince, Applejack sigh, and Soft Mane roll her eyes. Across the room, Cadance giggled a tiny bit, knowing that her sister-in-law had been trying to protect Spike’s innocence. Grass Patch seemed to sense that too, leaning down to whisper to the little dragon. “Focus on the big picture, Spike. Girls like bad boys who don’t get preoccupied over little details. ”
Spike blinked at that, glancing up at where Soft Mane was pretending she hadn’t heard anything, before smiling and giving Grass Patch a sage nod. “Bad boys who don’t sweat the small stuff, huh? I mean, I don’t wanna brag or anything, but that does describe me. Just the other day, I realized I misfiled one of Twilight’s checklists, and I still haven’t gotten around to fixing it.”
A shudder ran through Twilight at that, but she forced herself to let it go…for now. “Luna, I understand that Lex has done something horrible to you, but listen to what you’re saying! You yourself were a pony who lost their way, but Princess Celestia never gave up on you, which is why my friends and I were able to change you back into who you really are! That same compassion just might be the key to solving everything now! If our magic can’t break Lex’s curse, then maybe our best hope is to convince Lex himself to undo it, but he can’t do that if he’s dead!”
“You may very well be right, Twilight,” admitted Princess Celestia. “But everything that we’ve heard here, both from those who believe in Lex and those who do not, suggest that he’s someone who never changes his mind once it’s made up.”
From where she was still barring Willow’s path to the door, Applejack frowned. “Beggin’ your pardon, Your Highness, but that don’t mean it ain’t worth tryin’. It’s like that there stallion said,” she nodded at Aisle. “Somepony who goes so far outta their way to help others can’t be all bad, even if some of the people he’s helped ain’t exactly grateful for it.”
But Willow ignored the barb, instead fixing Applejack with a steely glare. “Your princess said that I don’t have to be here if I don’t wish to be, so I’m going to tell you one last time: get out of my way, or-”
“Or what?” huffed Applejack. “You’ll kill me?”
“Or I’ll be late for my train,” answered Willow evenly.
“Actually,” came the voice of Line Byline, “the next train to Ponyville won’t leave for almost an hour.” When the purrsian and the mare glanced at him, he nodded pointedly at the pocketwatch in his hoof before putting it away. “Fifty-six minutes, to be exact. You tend to memorize the train schedule pretty fast when you work in the news, since quite a bit of it revolves around who’s coming and who’s going.” He gave Willow an even look then. “Of course, if you’re in that much of a hurry you could always charter an airship, but those are expensive even if you give them plenty of advance notice. And I wouldn’t recommend trying to make the journey on wing, since it’s a long way.”
“Applejack, please. This isn’t helping.” Cadance’s words were without reproach, and that was what made the apple farmer huff and slink back to her seat, though not without giving Willow one final glare. “Thank you,” smiled Cadance, before turning her attention back to the purrsian. “Willow, since there’s no need for you to rush, could you tell us more about why you think we should use such a…permanent, solution with regard to Lex?”
Willow paused for a long moment before sighing, turning around and looking at Cadance. “My son, Sunflower, never knew his father. He left me when he found out I was pregnant, and that I wouldn’t sell our child into slavery.”
Cadance’s eyes widened, and hers weren’t the only ones; everyone in the room looked sickened by what they’d just heard. “Y-your people-”
“Yes,” answered Willow simply. “And after I made it clear I wouldn’t do such a thing, he decided that the financial burden of raising a child would impose on his dreams of forming a business empire, and wouldn’t be conducive to attracting more wives, so he abandoned me.”
“Wait, ‘more’ wives?” blinked Spike, before glancing between Soft Mane and Rarity. “As in, more than one?”
“Don’t. Sweat. The details,” growled Soft Mane dangerously.
“Er, r-right,” gulped Spike.
Looking distinctly uncomfortable, Cadance cleared her throat. “Willow, I’m sorry for what you went through, but what does that have to do-”
“He admires Lex.” For the first time, Willow's mask of indifference slipped, allowing a flicker of concern to leak through. “I never dated anyone else after Sunflower was born, so he’s never had someone to look up to-”
“He has you,” interrupted Twilight. “The mother who always put him first, even now.”
But rather than looking flattered by the compliment, Willow waved a wing dismissively. “He’s never had someone male to look up to. A boy needs his father, and if he doesn’t have one, then he finds someone else he can idolize like one.”
“And for Sunflower, that someone is Lex?” asked Princess Celestia.
Willow nodded. “As Applejack said, the first time we met him, he saved my life when our train crashed. Sunflower saw him lead me back with the other survivors he’d rescued, and Lex didn’t stop there. He took charge of the situation, using his magic to create food and shelter and tend to everyone’s wounds, even fighting off local predators when they came to investigate the crash.” She shook her head, remembering. “It all made a powerful impression on Sunflower. He didn’t see someone with a bad personality and a need to control everything. He saw someone who was brave and strong and fearsome, without being cruel or greedy. That we met Lex again, and the way he saved us a second time by calling on a goddess, of all things, cemented Sunflower’s awe.” A rueful look crossed her features then, and she glanced at Line. “He’s cut out and framed that article from your newspaper. It’s hanging on the wall in his room.” She rolled her eyes. “Now he’s saying he wants to learn magic. He claims it’s because Sweetie Belle is studying how to cast spells, but I know the real reason why.”
Twilight couldn’t have looked more confused. “But why would you want us to kill Lex if your son admires him so much?”
Willow scowled at her. “Because Equestria is a paradise! Because I’ve never seen Sunflower as happy as he is now! He smiles and laughs more in one day here than he did in a week back on Everglow. He can go outside and play with his friends without me needing to worry that he’ll be attacked by a monster or touched by some pervert or grabbed by a slaver looking to make some quick cash. When he gets into trouble here, no one tries to hit him or take his money or throw him in jail. His biggest worry now is figuring out what to do for the school talent show. And this is the society that Lex thinks is being mismanaged so badly that he needs to conquer it for everyone’s own good.”
She seemed to deflate then, finally padding back over to her chair and sinking into it. “I’ve known bad people all of my life. They don’t just prey on others, they enjoy it. Lex Legis doesn’t do that, he doesn’t like how asserting himself over others makes him feel…but he doesn’t seem to like anything else, either. He doesn’t just want to be in charge, he needs it, and he won’t stop until he is. And if anyone gets in his way, well…” She waved a paw at Luna. “He’s not a bad person, but he’s not a good one either, and I’m worried about what will happen to Equestria if he takes control of it. I’m afraid that it won’t be the same place it is now, where my son can grow up safe and happy.”
She scanned the room then, silently asking if anyone else had any questions. When no one said anything, she let out a slow breath. “So yes, I think you should kill him before it comes to that.”