The chariot set down lightly, the castle well in view. The soft noise of the city could be heard from most directions away from the edge of the city. Twilight stepped off of it with a nod towards the pullers. "Thank you." With a raised hoof, she pointed out the castle. "Here we are. The Princess requested we make our way to her as soon as possible, but if you haven't eaten?"
Sonata thought back. "We ate just before we totally went to that scary place. I'm OK." She looked to Lex for his view.
His response was a curt nod, already focusing on the meeting they were about to have. It idly occurred to him that this was the second time today that he was going to confront a mare that was unpleasantly disposed towards him while also being far more powerful. And just like the last meeting, failure could not be countenanced, not when there was so much at stake.
With that thought in mind, he looked at Sonata, remembering her idea from before. He wasn't sure about the efficacy of it, but his last attempt to negotiate with Celestia directly had failed spectacularly. That and he suddenly found himself wanting to demonstrate how he felt about his new girlfriend.
Turning to Twilight, Lex spoke. "Before we go in, I'm going to cast a spell so that only Sonata will hear my words. She'll speak for me once we're in there, as my spokespony."
Twilight raised no particular objection, but Sonata looked surprised. "You can do that?" Then it struck her again. "You want to do that?" She approached him and wrapped her forelegs around his withers, suddenly hugging him tightly with an obvious delight. "I won't let you down. We'll get around that big fat flank in no time."
"Hey!" objected Twilight then. "She enjoys her cake, but she's not fat."
Lex ignored Twilight, putting a foreleg around Sonata in return. "It's a mutually beneficial merger of talents," he murmured, echoing the words she had used earlier.
Twilight rolled her eyes with a little snort. "When you're ready?" She gestured forward and took a few steps before looking over her shoulder to see when the other two were coming.
Willow wandered the streets of Ponyville. She got plenty of curious looks, and some of them shied away, but most were just curious. The air was clear, with no sign of even fledgling industry in the small town. There were stalls, but they offered locally grown food and fare, and none of them were shouting or screaming. They just sat there with a smile and seemed to get enough business to get them by.
Willow found the train station, and even got a chance to see a train pull in, and then roll away. It didn't ride on a bed of lightning, but it seemed to go faster than the train she knew. She hoped it was safer for not flying, considering her recent luck with them. As she turned to finish her tour, a pony stood in her way. He smiled at her. "Excuse me miss. I can't help but notice you look a little out of place." He had a brown coat of fur, with darker brown mane and tail, blue eyes, and an hourglass for a brand of destiny. "May I be of any assistance?" The ponies of this world were remarkably-inoffensive looking. They were so round and cute and lacked any of the hard edges a real creature should have.
"I'm new to Ponyville," she confessed. "I'm taking in the sights, as it were. This seems like a charming place."
He bobbed his head. "Oh, it is, most certainly..." When she looked away, he pulled out an odd device and pointed it at her. She lashed out a paw, knocking it free of his mouth. "Whoa whoa! It's perfectly harmless, I assure you ma'am."
Willow scowled at the pony. "I don't appreciate having strange things pointed at me. I haven't lived this long by assuming. What is that?"
He moved over to reclaim the device and tucked it away. "Oh, nothing, just a little toy really. I really should be going, but nice meeting you, miss..."
"Longtail."
"Miss Longtail, a true delight." He dipped his head, then fled away. Thankfully no other ponies tried any funny moves on her, except a certain pink pony, but that's another story.
Stepping back from Sonata, Lex chanted a few words and pointed a hoof at Sonata. There was no visible effect, but he seemed satisfied. "With this, we'll clearly hear each other when we whisper, even if we're not right next to each other. You can still speak normally, and the spell won't transmit that. Otherwise, it's just whispering, and can still be overheard."
Sonata bobbed her head, then moved to follow Twilight. "We're ready. There's no way she's going to win today."
Twilight perked an ear. "You're not going to fight with Celestia. You aren't going to 'win' or lose'."
Sonata shook her head at Twilight. "Of course you wouldn't, like, get it Twilight. This is a fight, just without flashy magic and swords and things, and we will win it." She smiled lightly. "Together." She shot Lex a warm look before proceeding.
It took him a moment to catch up, Sonata's words having caught him by surprise. He had known her feelings ever since Kara had coaxed Sonata into admitting them, and he had suspected even before that, but it was only upon hearing her just now that he fully appreciated what that meant.
She was on his side.
It was the simplest, most obvious thought in the world, but it was powerful enough that it had momentarily stopped him in his tracks. The idea that he had somepony that would wholeheartedly support him, that would willingly - even eagerly - help him carry his burdens and fight his battles, was so monumental that it felt like the entire world had just shaken.
It was a good thing that the two mares had walked ahead of him, because that way neither of them caught the grin that spread across Lex's face before he managed to stifle it. All of a sudden he didn't feel like he should be nervous about facing Celestia. Instead, Celestia should be the one that was nervous about facing them.
Trotting quickly to catch up to Sonata, Lex prepared himself for their battle.
The Crusaders departed from Sugarcube, bellies full of sweets, to find a grinning Rainbow Dash waiting for them outside. "Looking good, guys." She tilted her head at them, noticing Sunflower, but her attention could not be held off of Scootaloo for long. She reached out and prodded the younger pegasus in the shoulder. "Race ya to the clocktower." She took off in a streak, and Scootaloo followed without hesitation.
Rainbow didn't put her all into it, wanting to talk to Scootaloo, and remembering that she was slower when she looked like that. "So, how's it feel, getting the wind under your wings for real?"
Scootaloo veered into Rainbow, almost crashing into her. "It feels great! I've been waiting so long to see you again after I could fly. Now we can practice together and you can show me all your awesome tricks! You shoulda been there, we were doing all kinds of crazy things."
"I can't wait to hear about it," said Rainbow with sincerity, carefully nudging against Scootaloo from the side. "We have a lot to catch up on." Her eyes were on Scootaloo from the side, watching the way she flew. Rainbow appreciated the enthusiasm, but could already see so many little things she could start tutoring Scootaloo about, and she would! She brought her hooves together in a loud clop. "We're just getting started."
Back at Sugarcube, Apple Bloom shrugged. "We shoulda seen that comin' a mile away."
Sweetie Belle giggled and grabbed Sunflower. "Let's go to the clubhouse!"
Apple Bloom wobbled a hoof. "We burnt that down, remember? How 'bout we visit Twi and show her our magic?"
Sweetie Belle frowned. "I think I saw her going off somewhere. Oh! Oh! My sister! I haven't checked in with her."
Settled on a course of action, they headed towards Carousel Boutique.
"Well, look who's come strolling in," came a familiar taunting voice.
"And they still don't have their cutie marks," came a second voice, revealed to be Silver Spoon as she emerged from the crowd. "But they do have another friend, and look at that..."
Diamond Tiara snorted. "He doesn't have one either, whatever he is."
"I'm a purrsian," offered Sunflower as he unslung his mace. "And you're a few more words from getting a clobbering right upside your oversized heads."
The bullies cringed back, not quite brave enough to face a hostile alien species. Sweetie moved between the two and Sunflower. "No! My knight must be a gentlecolt, which means no attacking the weak and defenseless, especially not with a weapon when they don't have one."
Diamond Tiara turned red with a new fury. "Who are you calling weak!?"
Silver Spoon stomped in place, throwing a little tantrum. "I am not defenseless!"
Apple Bloom giggled loudly at Sweetie Belle's insult, which only made them all the more furious. "Besides, they ain't nearly so scary without knives."
Diamond Tiara stomped forward. "You don't scare us. Leave it to a bunch of blank flanks to resort to physical violence to get your way." She reached out and prodded Apple Bloom's slung dagger. "What's with the new look? Is there a fair in town?"
Silver Spoon grinned. "Maybe they want to join the guard? The armor would cover up their huge blank flanks!" They shared a laugh together at their barb.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Whateva. Have fun being a pair of stuck-up noponies." She trotted past them, and her friends followed, leaving the mocking bullies behind.
Twilight, Lex, and Sonata arrived in Celestia's throne room, where both Sun and Moon resided, in the form of Celestia and Luna, watching the group curiously.
Sonata strode up purposefully. "A pleasure to meet you, your majesty. It has come to, like, my attention that there was some misunderstandings before, making everything a total bummer."
Celestia cocked a brow, amused by Sonata's mode of speech. "That is one way to speak it. That one." she pointed to Lex. "He is being corrupted by a very foul shadow of the north, and we worry for his own sake."
Luna nodded. "It is a great pleasure to see him come before us of his own will. Does this mean he has come to his senses and will allow us to help him?"
Sonata shook her head firmly. "He is his own man, and he has ideas, big ideas, but, like, a better way about it this time, promise." She reared up and held her hooves apart a little. "We want a chance to show his ways are good, starting small, and working up as it becomes, like, so obvious that it's working better."
Forcing his enthusiasm down, Lex focused on the situation at hand. Normally he would have snarled at the way the alicorn sisters had referred to him, but now he found it easy to ignore their condescension. Instead he whispered softly, letting the spell carry his words to Sonata's ears. "Remind them that Twilight has read the works that I left her and found merit in them."
Sonata inclined her head faintly. "Even the well-read and unarguably intelligent Princess Twilight has conceded she, like, sees merit in Lex's ideas, if only they were given a proper bed to grow and become something wonderful for everyone." She smiled brightly.
Celestia turned her gaze onto the suddenly-stiff Twilight. "Is this true?"