131 - My Kingdom
The group disgorged into Celestia's throne room. They had entered one by one in an organized procession, they appeared haphazardly, almost scattered across the room. Spike was the first to speak, "Aw nuts!"
The reason for his exclamation became clear as physical changes in those that crossed became clear, returned to their simpler shapes of older years. Soft Mane was not immune, her pony half looking quite fitting with an average Equestrian pony, though her human half seemed mostly unchanged.
Celestia was perched on her throne, watching them recover from their trip when she spoke, "Twilight, girls, it's a pleasure to see you again."
Twilight shook her odd-feeling body out. She had brought back all her trinkets with her, including her robes. They fit a little oddly on her modified form, but were undamaged by the journey it seemed. She smiled at Celestia, "Thank you for the ride. Was it hard to do?"
Celestia inclined her head faintly, "It was... interesting. I made use of a broken mirror portal and harmonized it with the song of Everglow. Is everypony through? I would like to stop focusing on it."
Glancing at himself, Lex breathed a silent sigh of relief. While he'd grown used to Everglow's cosmetic alterations to his physical self, it was pleasant to be back in his birth form. Or at least, mostly so, he amended quietly, glancing at his red horn for a moment before turning his attention to Princess Celestia.
He felt a thrill of anticipation run through him at the sight of her. It was finally time to make his move! Waiting until Twilight confirmed that they had all arrived and Celestia closed the portal, he stepped forward.
"Princess Celestia, my name is Lex Legis. I request an immediate audience with you and the other princesses regarding the state of Equestria's future."
Celestia raised a brow, looking over Lex, "You already have an audience with me, but I'm afraid Luna is resting for the night to come." She extended a wing towards Twilight, "Princess Twilight is already in attendance. Princess Cadance is in the Crystal Empire. Share your news, mister Legis, and we will hear it." Her eyes looked over Lex's horn curiously, trying to place it.
Rainbow was already flying circles around the room, "Aw yeah, the speed is back!"
Applejack looked herself over a moment, then took a solid stance. With a few odd words and a stomp, a disc of barely visible power flickered into existence in front of her, starting to circle lazily. She looked pleased.
Twilight approached Celestia, taking a place beside her and joining her in addressing Lex, "What's wrong, Lex?"
Lex frowned at the news that Luna would not be in attendance, nor was he happy that the rest of this motley crew would be here, but no matter. This was his opportunity, and he would not let it go to waste. "What's wrong is the state of Equestria. This land, my home, has been stagnating for over a thousand years under the current regime, and drastic action is needed in order to put it back on the path to prosperity."
He stepped forward, locking eyes with Princess Celestia. "For the good of Equestria and its citizens, I want you, and Princess Luna and Princess Twilight, to immediately and irrevocably turn over all political and temporal authority to me."
Applejack snorted and pawed at the ground with a hoof, "Yer kidding, right?"
Twilight looked baffled, "Lex, what are you talking about? Stagnating? I'm about to revolutionize magic as we know it!" She clopped her hooves excitedly, "Princess, Applejack can cast spells, and she's good at it!"
Celestia nodded mutely, "So I see." Her eyes rested squarely on Lex. "I would choose my words carefully, mister Legis. You tread on dangerous ground."
"Such is the ground that any who would achieve great things must tread," Lex retorted, completely undeterred, "and merely introducing new magic does nothing, unto itself, to promote the general welfare. Governance is more than simply inventing something and then letting it unfold of its own accord."
Raising a hoof to point at Princess Celestia, he continued. "The central aspect of governing is leadership, and the nature of leadership is action. You and your sister, by contrast, are marked by inaction. While you perform important duties in moving the heavens, there is little else that can be said of your administration. You pass only the most basic of laws, take part in civil disputes only when they're brought to you directly - and decide them by fiat, no less - and perform rare instances of crisis management. That's all you do."
Lowering his hoof, he gestured widely, as though encompassing all of Equestria. "Equestria and its ponies need more than that. They deserve more than that. They should have a leader who continually takes action on their behalf, who is willing to actively wield political power to regulate social and economic forces in ways that promote the general welfare, rather than hoping that the people solve all of their problems on their own. Government should be their ally, rather than merely a spectator."
Lex was just getting warmed up. Without waiting for their reply, he launched into a speech. It was one he'd practiced in his head many times before, outlining his vision for how Equestria should be run. He spoke of how inherent rights came with inherent responsibilities, and that because such responsibilities were innately burdensome, government had to make sure that the citizens worked to meet them. He spoke of how those responsibilities included burdens of taxation, which he would revolutionize to bring in greater revenue by leveraging small taxes not only on all market transactions, but proportionally to how much revenue a pony made.
He spoke of how those taxes would be used to fund new public works, to build new infrastructure and create jobs to stimulate Equestria's economy. About how that economy would be regulated dynamically to make sure that prices and costs were kept under control for the good of all ponies, greater than any one individual's self-interest. He spoke about how a compulsory census and records of biographical data would allow for greater projects in the future, more targeted to meet the needs of the populace. He also outlined how Celestia and Luna would still be part of his government, raising and lowering the sun and the moon and otherwise being free to hold whatever parties and social functions they otherwise passed the time with.
It was the most animated any of his companions had ever seen him, his voice rising and falling as he went over each point, gesturing dramatically as he explained his vision. Finally, after nearly a half-hour of nonstop talking, Lex brought his speech to a close. "That is my goal, my dream for Equestria's future."
Settling back down, he turned in profile to Celestia, ready to make his final point. Loosening the clothes he'd worn since growing accustomed to Everglow, he showed her his cutie mark: a podium in front of an amphitheater. "My destiny has always been to administrate, and to administrate is to govern, and in order to govern, I must rule." Fixing his clothes, he faced the white alicorn directly once again. "You and your sister perform vital tasks, but moving the sun and the moon is not the same as being meant to lead."
"Let us jointly conduct a peaceful and orderly transition of power," he concluded. "Let me fulfill my destiny and make Equestria a better place for all of its ponies." Finishing, he awaited her response, his heart beating madly despite his calm demeanor.
Celestia shook her head slowly, "I'm afraid you've been misinformed. There is a reason Luna and I are princesses, not queens. We do not rule Equestria, its people do. You are entirely correct that we do not administer our people. The city has a council, the armed forces has a general." She gestured at Twilight, "Ponyville has a mayor, as do most other cities. Each is allowed to govern autonomously, growing to meet the needs of its local population. It is with relief and joy, not shame, that few need to approach me to decide things. The needs of ponies in Manehattan are not the needs of those in Ponyville, nor Dodge City. You would take bits from them all and provide them distant benefits, removed from their local needs or desires."
Twilight looked a little baffled by the explosion of words from the normally reserved Lex. She raised a hoof with uncertainty, "You could become mayor of a city?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "So long as he isn't mayor of Ponyville."
The sense of disappointment Lex felt wasn't unexpected, but that didn't lessen its impact any. He hadn't thought it very likely that Celestia would listen to reason and agree to turn over power voluntarily, but he had had to try. "It is you who are misinformed," he pressed. One more attempt had to be made to make her realize her error. He had to know that all avenues for peaceful change had been exhausted before moving on to the next step.
"Equestria is a single nation, not a collection of population centers. What happens in one location affects other locations. Local areas of governance are not capable of seeing the larger picture, nor are they able to muster the concerted effort required to formulate national solutions. In order for this to happen, political authority must be concentrated into a single office, and those who hold that office must be willing to exercise that authority to the fullest."
He closed his eyes for a moment, as though preparing himself for what was about to happen. "I ask you again, for the final time: relinquish your throne to me."
"I do not see much," came a voice from the door. Eyes turned towards it, where a stout earth-pony with the purple armor of Luna stood, "but I know you trespass against the Mother of the Night's domain, and speak words of treason against her sister. Stand down and be judged in peace, or be taken by force." He stomped his hooves on the ground and a wash of silvery moonlight rushed from him, seeming to echo off the forms of the other guards around the throne room as he called down a blessing from Luna.
Celestia raised a hoof, "Speaking is not against the law, but your words carry dire intent behind them. My little ponies will not bow their head to a tyrant." It suddenly clicked for Celestia and her eyes narrowed. She rose to her hooves in a fighting stance, "Sombra! I should have recognized your foul tyranny long before." Celestia's reaction had the other weapons in the room leveling with Lex, ready to act.
Lex shook his head, but it was contempt rather than anger that colored his features as he glanced from the incoming night guard back to Celestia, recognizing the application of divine power. "So now you've even begun to cultivate cults of your own, rather than encouraging enlightened reasoning." He murmured the words, as though speaking more to himself than her, before raising his voice to a normal pitch. "You are mistaken. I am not Sombra, though I've inherited his power, which I intend to use to pursue just ends. But then, you've made it clear that you have no conception of what justice is."
Glancing around at the forces arrayed against him, Lex knew that there was no victory to be had here. In a direct match against Celestia herself, if he cut loose with his strongest magic, he had a chance - a small chance, in all likelihood - of killing her outright. More than likely though, it would go the other way... and that wasn't even taking her guards into account.
"As a patriot who loves Equestria," he announced, his voice suddenly stentorian, "and as a pony of unfailing moral character, I can no longer abide by a government that displays gross moral turpitude towards its citizens and depraved indifference to the issues confronting it. With all offers of peace having been rebuffed, and no alternative solutions made available, I do hereby declare myself to be in rebellion against the rule of the wicked Celestia and her sister Luna."
Shrugging off several of his saddlebags - the ones that contained the scrolls with his thoughts on governance, moral philosophy, and economics - Lex let them fall to the floor as he turned his attention back to Twilight, who was watching the proceedings unfold in horror. "I will reserve judgment towards yourself, Princess Twilight, as you have yet to take an active role in Equestria's government. These," he swept a hoof towards the fallen bags, "are my writings on the future I spoke of. Peruse them at your leisure, and I hope that your love of logic and rational thinking will let you see why I am the one who deserves to inherit the future."
"The rest of you," he looked around at the guards pointing their weapons at him, "mark this day. History will come to record it as the beginning of a bright new future for our homeland. And as for you," he sneered up at Celestia, "this is but a taste of the fate that you've brought down on yourself."
With that final pronouncement, Lex's eyes glowed green as purple contrails sprouted from the corners of them, but this time the effect was not limited to his eyes alone. His entire body became engulfed in roiling shadow, turning into a black morass that writhed and shifted hideously. Even as this happened he was not idle, spitting a word of magic that summoned nearly a dozen translucent ponies - the same astral constructs he had summoned when they fought the gnolls so recently. "Get her!" he roared, directing them towards Princess Celestia.
Even as the mindless things leapt to obey, and the guards yelled and rushed to protect their princess, Lex was already moving, surging back towards the doorway, intent on escape.
The rest of the group surged into action as things seemed to tip over the boiling point. Rainbow went crashing towards Lex as Applejack threw herself in the path of the stampeding constructs, ready to block them as best she could. Spike attempted a mighty lightning blast, though he got flames instead, a pittance with the effort he had put into it.
Twilight's wings went wide, "Lex! Stop it! This is not how civilized ponies behave!" Her horn flashed as she threw a powerful counter-spell, cutting the arcane cords that tied the constructs to the realm and sending many away abruptly. "This isn't how friends behave!"
Celestia watched with an eerie passiveness, remaining where she started on her throne as her guards moved for her, advancing on Lex with spirited charges.
Removed from the excitement, Soft had led her mother away from it all, "Sorry, not exactly how I imagined this turning out."
Grass Patch smiled patiently, "When is it ever? Your friends probably need you, go help them."
As Lex burst free of the throne room, shouts echoing behind him, Rainbow was hot on his heels, flying with the speed she was known for. She swatted his flank, "Stop running, ya jerk! Where do you get off acting like that?"
Lex ignored Twilight's plea, moving with all the speed that his shadowy, incorporeal body was capable of as he retreated. However, his speed was no match for Rainbow Dash's, who kept swiping at him as the roiling mass of shadows that was his body surged down the castle hallway. Her hoof blows were having little effect as they passed harmlessly through the mass of darkness with no apparent effect.
It was enough to draw Lex's attention, however. Dark green eyes opened against his black formlessness, and a tendril of shadows suddenly surged at her, taking on the shape of chains as it separated from the rest of Lex's mass and suddenly wrapped around her barrel. Caught off-guard, Rainbow tried to jerk away, but too late to stop her wings from being bound, sending her tumbling painfully to the ground as Lex continued his withdrawal.
It was good, he mused to himself as he hastened his way through the unfamiliar castle, that he had spent so much time exploring Sombra's powers. While not the strongest of magics, they were among the most variable he'd ever encountered. With no immediate pursuers, he passed through several more rooms before finally finding what he sought: one with a window.
Rushing through the thin glass, he exited the castle walls, making immediately for the cliffside at the edge of the grounds. The more distance he could put between himself and Canterlot for now, the better. Of course, they could try to track him magically, but he had a nasty surprise in store for them if they tried to scry on him...
Back in the throne room, Celestia settled back in her seat, "Scour the castle, though I have doubts you will find him here. Spread word through the city to report his presence, but do not engage." She took a slow breath and looked to Twilight, "Welcome home."
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Whoops, there should be a space before and after the dash that follows the word "saddlebags," rather than none before it and two after it.
I'm not surprised really. We all knew this day was coming, but I can't help wondering if this would have turned out differently if Sonata was there.
Well, that's what I ultimately expected from Lex, a polemic against the sisters' ruling attitudes, and a sudden declaration that he is the only one suited to rule the nation, which has had a thousand years of not dying or living in squalor and misery, and attacking them for it.
In the first part, before Lex goes nuts, I'd like it to understand better about Spike's change after going through the portal, since he is the only party member who's usefulness relied on him being a Sky Dragon rather than a Baby Dragon, and now it's unclear whether he's an pony sized dragon that's of his natural race or a foal sized baby dragon again.
Ack, that period should be a comma, making these one sentence.
odd-feeling
by
Yer
to
However, her hoof blows were
5810280 Fixed
You blew it, Lex. To the moon with you!
5810295 Fixed!
Since we're pointing out typos:
went wide
5810305 Thank you for doing your civic duty.
5810236 Probably why he made sure she stayed in everglow.
now can we kill him?
Yes, because the two are mutually exclusive. Which god's temple did they leave Blue and Yellow at again?
I can't say Celestia's faultless; she could've at least taken Lex's ideas into consideration, or debated with him beyond a flat rejection. She trained Twilight; she should recognize this kind of pony and know how to win him over, and that's logical counterargument.
Furthermore, everyone is unbelievably passive here. I mean that literally; my suspension of disbelief was broken by their passivity. At the very least, the guards should've acted to arrest Lex for treason the moment he declared his rebellion or when he was through speaking, not give him time to finish his monologue and cast spells after declaring himself hostile to Celestia. I'm assuming the princess herself has reasons for letting him go, but that fact remains that these are terrible guards. And that's not even taking the rest of the party into account! How did Dash not punch him long before that point? This isn't a video game; Lex shouldn't get cutscene immunity.
A rather undramatic typo:
The "mister" should be capitalized here and again shortly thereafter.
5810408
She listened to his despotic drivel for a full 30 minutes, that's more than I would do.
5810408 I think you're giving the guards too much credit. Purely in terms of their characterization, they've never once been shown to be effective, and seem to be as much for show as for actual military use. My guess is that they were very unsure of what to do when things started to go downhill - all the more so since Celestia had just flat-out stated that speaking wasn't a crime.
Insofar as Lex's spells go, I'll mention that he wasn't taking two rounds' worth of actions there - his summons was cast as a move action due to a character ability, while he took a standard action to turn his body to shadow. The constructs were able to act immediately, but prioritized stopping the constructs and protecting the princess, which Lex knew they would. On the next round, he had the initiative, and started to retreat.
5810420 It doesn't get more despotic than a progressive tax system, social services, and regulated economy!
Tired of the same old peace and prosperity? Lex Legis has promised to revise the legal code to make it more cruel and draconian. In addition, he will raise taxes on the working class and institute mandatory efficiency inspections. When life's too easy, there's only one candidate: Lex Legis! "I'm Lex Legis, and I approve this message." (Paid for by the "Lex Legis for Despot" fund)
5810429 Government for the sake of government with Lex as the sole arbiter = tyranny
5810427
What, no one readied an action in case the supsicious character pulled anything? Oh, wait:
They did.
Furthermore, the guards aren't even allowed to react to the unicorn's horn lighting up? I didn't realize the story had gone full RPG Mechanics Verse. And it was definitely more than six seconds between Lex declaring his rebellion and casting his spells. Talking is a free action; righteous oratory is not. Just ask bards.
And even if the guards weren't certain, the rest of the party probably was. The story seems to forget that they exist until after Lex summons his constructs. Again, at the very least, Rainbow Dash would've reacted somehow.
5810443
You'll notice that he never mentioned criminal law, and in fact was concerned that if Sonata fled Everglow she'd become a fugitive, something he didn't want for her.
He specifically said the taxes would be proportional to earnings, meaning that the rich would be taxed more than the poor. As for that latter item, you seem to be making it up.
Any government that has no mechanism for representing the will of the people is tyranny. Celestia is a tyrant, since she is the sole arbiter of Equestria at the moment (though she deigns to allow a few other alicorns to govern specific territories, albeit with the implication that she outranks them). Likewise, Lex made it very clear that he wants government for the sake of offering services to the people, not for its own sake.
5810474 When he was telling off Celestia, one of his objections was
as if a simple legal code was somehow a problem.
Which means the people who earn money (like Applejack) will pay more taxes than the people who have money (like Blueblood)
He has already said he plans to cause progress. If there isn't progress already, it means that nobody wants it. Therefore, he will have to force them, Nazi-style, to do the projects he thinks are important.
His whole attitude is that everyone should do what he wants because he knows better. That is the central platform of almost every evil despot in history.
5810462 I thought you were speaking with regards to the presumed RPG mechanics; if not, my mistake, but the reasoning does hold up.
As I noted, the guards weren't sure what to do. They hadn't readied an action, because that's preparing a specific response to a specific thing happening - the guards weren't sure what was about to happen, just that violence seemed likely. Again, they're not very good guards.
Insofar as measuring rounds' worth of time, that didn't actually start until combat had broken out with Lex casting that spell and sending his constructs at Celestia. Everything prior to that point wasn't being measured in terms of actions per round - once it was, you'll notice that Rainbow Dash did fling herself at Lex (who had used his five-foot step to "already start moving" back towards the exit).
In essence, it went like this for that first round:
Lex - move action to cast a spell, standard action to turn to shadow, free action to speak (directing the constructs), five-foot step away.
Constructs - double move towards Celestia to attack.
Applejack - moves action to come between the constructs and Celestia, attack one of them.
Rainbow Dash - move toward Lex, make an attack (ineffectual, thanks to his incorporeality).
Twilight Sparkle - Cast dispel magic on some of the constructs as a standard action, pleads with Lex as a free action (but doesn't use her move action, since she's already by Celestia's side).
Spike - Use flames as a standard action (with little effect), doesn't move (at least not enough to be notable)
Celestia - takes no action this round (for whatever reason)
Soft Mane and her mother - move away from combat, taking defensive actions.
They need to go get Sonata to guilt trip him
5810535 Or brainwash him. Guilt doesn't seem like a major factor with him.
5810543 He probalbly has too high a Will Save for that, but either way they need to go get Sonata
5810548 I agree that they need to get Sonata, because she needs them, if for no other reason.
5810512
To him it was, yes. But just because he wants a more complex legal system does not automatically make it draconian, or even harsh.
That depends on how you quantify "earnings." While it was too complex to display here, his system would not have limited itself to new revenue, and would have taken into account existing wealth and other assets as a form of continual investment that would have counted under that particular banner.
But I thought that was a bit too much to go into, hence why I glossed over it. But if you want to go deeper into his proposed tax system, I'm quite game.
Just because the people want or don't want something is not the most central factor on whether or not it should be done. Was it "Nazi-style" to force through important changes like desegregation in the United States in the 1960's? Because most of the people didn't want that either.
That's true of any non-representative government, including Celestia's. Even for representative governments, the entire idea behind having a representative to begin with is that they're the ones who speak on behalf of their constituents because they're presumed to know better. It's why there aren't any direct democracies today.
5810474
I doubt, given Lex's normal inability to accept other's opinions or consider their desires valid (even if this is because he "doesn't know why" they want what they want, instead of out of selfishness on his part), that his regime would wind up with something that legitimately advocated for the people. More than likely it would be a regime guided by what he already feels is important, and, like Celestia suggested, one that probably would cater to the perceived needs of "everyone" even though everyone is a collection of individuals and not a homogenous mob.
There are, for sure, benefits to some of the systems he proposes, and there may be good ways to implement them, but any state of bureaucracy I've ever seen is at least inefficient and often corrupt.
Make no mistake, though, what he is suggesting is a tyranny, even if he intends it to be one free of oppression and cruelty, because he is suggesting that the he be the possessor of power, unfettered by any standards save his own. Hell, he declares that he was destined to lead and that because of his destiny the power of the nation should be surrendered to him, which just makes him seem like a megalomaniac on top of a tyrant, and declares that the leaders not listening to his ideas and agreeing to them outright is reason for violent rebellion.
5810555 I highly recommend "The Law" by Frederick Bastiat. It's a very good book, short, straightforward and very insightful.
Lex is plain wrong about most of his ideas, but fimfiction is not the place to debate the issue.
I'm sort of conflicted.
He's got a point, but a hostile takeover isn't anywhere near an ideal solution.
I feel that the degree of autonomy Celestia allows is a double-edged sword. It's a great freedom, but has a lot of potential for abuse should the wrong ponies come into power locally. Lex is seeing real flaws in the system, but his approach to fixing them is itself flawed for several reasons.
Lex's solution has a few problems that I can see. First of all, he's an unknown in Equestria. Any sort of transitional period would be tumultuous, but given that he has no history to these ponies, the likelihood of rebellion against him in the face of "a stranger's sudden takeover of the government" skyrockets. If he's as moral and rational as he states, war ought to be avoided at most costs. Even the current state of affairs is preferable to a lethal conflict. The demand that Luna & Celestia immediately cede power to him is ridiculous because the immediate effects of such would be extremely chaotic, and would not in any way be guaranteed to eventually stabilize into a better future for Equestria than that which is currently projected.
Second of all, he himself is a weak link. A benevolent monarchy/dictatorship is only a good idea long-term when the leader is consistently moral & rational. Celestia & Luna may or may not be moral & rational, but because they are immortal, they are relatively consistent. A mortal ruler has little enough control over the nature of his successors for that to pose a significant problem. As for Lex himself, while he may think himself a proponent of logic and morality, and while he may pursue that goal, he is not yet sufficiently moral or rational to be the benevolent dictator he would like to be. Perhaps later in life, he would be ready for such a task, but he does not seem to be ready now, by any means. As seen, he doesn't even understand romance, a basic facet of everyday life. How can he fashion moral laws to govern crime in a facet of life he doesn't understand?
Lastly, he's ignoring the obvious solution, because it doesn't end with him in power. As a mortal, he has a set life-time in which to enact reforms and change in Equestria. Immortals on the other hand, have all the time in the world. If his true goal really is to transform Equestria into the vision of the future he dreams of, the obvious solution is to sufficiently convince as many immortals as possible to share in his vision. Even after his eventual death, they would still be working to bring it about. He clearly has made a token effort at this with Twilight, but he's poisoned his own gambit there by presenting himself as a hostile threat and rebelling against the regime.
The true fight is one of hearts and minds, and while he may have made a good case for himself, the demand that the world align itself to his will now, instead of coaxing it along with well-reasoned irrefutable truths, has prompted a reactionary response and sparked conflict. This is not the approach of a being who is sufficiently rational to rule a benevolent dictatorship. Even if Lex was right, he's not ready for this.
5810564
That's a presumption. Just because he's insistent that he knows better doesn't mean that he doesn't, in fact, know better, at least in certain cases. Nopony else thought of things like a public works program to improve infrastructure and create jobs, which are unlikely to be regarded as negative by any major portion of the populace.
There are some cases where the perceived needs of everyone does, in fact, match the actual needs of everyone. Not every perception is false. Likewise, there is a big middle ground between "collection of individuals" and "homogeneous mob."
Looking at what he proposed, what specifically do you think would be problematic?
This is an opinion, rather than a legitimate critique of what he's proposing. While it's true no system is perfect, that's as true of Celestia's reign as it would be of Lex's proposed system. That nothing is problem-free is not a legitimate disincentive to do something.
Which unto itself makes him no different than how Equestria is ruled now.
His declaration was that his cutie mark was indicative of himself being talented at rulership, and Equestria makes it clear that what your cutie mark is is a legitimate point for deciding what you should do with your life. Likewise, he then declared that the current tyrant had refused to entertain any notion of his reforms, and that there was no other way that he could change the government - isn't that a legitimate reason to rebel?
5810567 I'll look into the book, but with that said I disagree entirely that Lex is necessarily in the wrong about what he wants to accomplish. (You and I disagree? Say it ain't so!
)
5810526
And before that? I'm just saying, I'm amazed he wasn't spitting teeth by "the wicked Celestia," or that guards weren't already swarming him by "Sombra!"
I suppose my biggest issue here is that I can see the rails. The story needed Lex to try, needed to him to fail, and needed him to get away. But the way it went about fulfilling those necessities felt artificial with regard to the characters, and was thus unsatisfying. I admit, this is largely a matter of my vision against yours, but it's how I feel.
5810593
You said his cutie mark is a podium in front of an amphitheater, that would more likely mean he is good at talking or posturing.
5810589 Comments like yours absolutely make my day - I want to thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough and well-considered response.
I'd like to respond to a few points you raised.
Lex directly said "Let us jointly conduct a peaceful and orderly transition of power." He thought of this exact issue, and wants Celestia and Luna to work with him to avoid exactly the sort of chaos you mention here.
Because friendship and romance aren't the same thing as moral and ethical behavior. We've already seen that he's very concerned with the general welfare, whether it's Sonata finishing a sentence she deserved to receive, or Blue and Yellow having the money to survive. You don't have to understand how to talk to someone directly to understand the abstract values that make for a fulfilling life.
This is a very good point, and one that I (and Lex) have thought of, but wasn't able to address in the scene presented in this chapter. Simply put, Lex is arrogant enough to believe that he can find a way to cheat death - presumably by alicorn ascension, or if not that then some other manner. He takes it for granted (rightly so, I think) that he could already master an age spell to keep him alive for a prolonged period of time, and is of the opinion that with all that he's already accomplished in his relatively young life so far, that gathering enough power to find a way to live forever is virtually guaranteed.
5810616 As he said, it's "administration." He's taken that as "administration -> governnance -> rulership."
5810615 No worries, I was just explaining my thinking insofar as how it wasn't completely outside of suspension of disbelief as I saw it.
5810633 Who administrates from an auditorium?
5810643 Probably the person who had to figure out how to show "administration" in pictorial form.
That said, it's an amphitheater (e.g. like where the Greeks would hold forth when espousing their high-minded political ideas). It's also understood that the picture is at least somewhat metaphorical in nature, and that the pony intuitively understands what it represents, e.g. Rarity knowing that her cutie mark of diamonds are indicative of fashion design, rather than gemcutting.
5810593
To rebel because the ruling body didn't cave for his demands as a 'holier than thou' enlightened dictator is indeed NOT a reason to rebel.
BUT it's already stated that he's a complete and utter moron on interpersonal relationships, so that's par for the course.
He has NO IDEA whatsoever about what it takes to truly rule. He might be quite the speaker, but ruling is above all about politics. It doesn't mater if you have nice ideas, if you depose the loved rulers of the land and put yourself in their place there'll be revolts, assassination attempts and general clogging of the bureaucratic machine by disgruntled workers who liked it better before.
And poor Lex would be none the wiser, for he lacks a crucial thing needed for ruling. A reasonable understanding of what males people tick.
It will be a complete disaster, a beautiful train wreck we'll want to look away, but will be unable to.
5810759
That's one way of looking at it, but another way is that he was demanding reforms to serve the people that Celestia wouldn't grant, and that with no peaceful course of action, the only way left was rebellion. In that regard, his actions take on a very sympathetic view, at least to me.
Not really, interpersonal relationships are not the same as governance.
You seem to be implying that because he isn't personable, he wouldn't be a good leader. I think that those two have very little to do with each other (and that any conflation between the two we have now is currently due to mass media blurring those lines). You can be very savvy at politics, especially as an autocrat, without having to be pleasant to meet face-to-face.
On the contrary, he knows what makes people tick, insofar as being part of a community - he has a very astute sense of how people function in a larger society in the abstract. It's reading them while he's in the act of communicating that he's bad at.
I disagree, but it's a shame that we apparently won't get to find out.
Oh dear, Poor Lex beleives himself to be The Putinator.
5810742 A stack of papers in a box marked "out"
5810861 Seems a bit too clerical, I'd say. But the entire exercise is one of artistic opinion.
5810742 The ancient Greeks are a fascinating parallel to Lex; I can't believe I didn't see it before. Lex and some of the ancient Greek philosophers share a total confidence that logic alone can solve all problems. Unfortunately, the Greeks also demonstrated the weakness of this approach with their theories of gravity and the elements.
5810882 I'm not sure that that comparison (between logic and physics) follows - there's a difference between the physical sciences and the philosophy of governance. There are some problems where logic alone actually is the proper answer, after all.
5810888 Logic alone is worthless. Logic must be combined with data to actually solve problems.
5810895 Logic alone is not worthless - I presume you mean with regards to problem-solving, but your initial statement sounds dangerously categorical. It's likewise understood that the data is inherent (that is, it's already present) in the problems that are to be solved - the issue is one of methodology, rather than a lack of information.
5810898 Logic is an operation. Without material to operate on, it has no function. Lex is not operating with no data, but he is working with very limited data. His understanding of the situation in Equestria is based on his bad experience as a child 1000 years ago and his experience as a grown-up sociopath in the modern world. The only conclusions he can draw from his sporadic sampling will be skewed and inaccurate.
5810783
First, sorry for making some edits after you replied, but they were mostly grammar.
Now, in order because I don't know how to quote in this site's comments:
1st - He pleaded for half an hour to the ruler of the last thousand years of the nation basically saying that she's an idiot that knows s**t about what she's doing - do remember that Celestia is/seems to be quite savvy in politics, so reading the true meaning of what is said is probably second nature for her - for her to give power to an autocrat in a nation that values the people's right to rule themselves - see the "there are no queens" part. And then promptly declare rebellion when denied. That's quite a lack of foresight and refusal to seek alternative solutions or maybe trying to understand how equestria actually works - that apparently Celestia states that he doesn't
2nd - Interpersonal Relationships may not be the same as governance, but are a crucial part of it. How do you expect a ruler to mediate disputes withing the government or convince others of his point of view if he sucks at talking to people? Being a good orator does wonders for swaying the masses, but isn't worth s**t when talking one-on-one. If you can't understand what the other person thinks, what she values and - quite important - her current mood, you have no hope whatsoever of convincing or negotiating with her.
Prime example what happened in this scene. He couldn't understand that the freedom of ponies (including the right to rule themselves) is a core value of Celestia, something that she'd NOT give up. But he asks for it anyway, and believes her to be depraved & wicked for not listening (caving) to his plea. It makes one wonder, does HE value freedom?
3rd - If you don't meet anyone face to face, how do you rule? How do you convince those with political power to join your side? How do you cultivate loyalty on your troops? How do you avoid the knives in the dark, desperate to taste your flesh and blood? Also, we're not talking about being pleasant, but not being stupid. Just for chapters ago Sonata had to tell him PONIES DON'T LIKE BEING INSULTED, because he doesn't know that they can be offended by facts!! He has no tact, and I have severe dounbts on the capacity of one ruling when they think that saying that you're more intelligent than who you're talking to is a good idea. That's asking, nay, begging for a coup after a month of putting one's hoof in his mouth.
4th - No, he doesn't. It was stated many times that he does NOT understand people, that he thinks it's possible to model how they think in a orderly fashion in a way that we all know to be impossible. There's a reason that the only ones that he could make reasonable conversation too were the kinda ditzy conversationalist with a thing for him (that made quite the effort to help him), and the compulsive-obsessive neat freak with a wingbonner for checklists. And I do severely doubt he had any real chance with Twilight, once he started insulting her friends in conversations while having no idea of it. Oh, and by insulting her goddess, sooner or later.
5th - I think we'll, as he has just been set as the next villain.
Do note, he HAS good intentions and believes to be doing the right thing. He just doesn't know that he's going the wrong way about it.
5810905 Not necessarily so - remember, he said that he came back with the returned Crystal Empire, but has been mum about how he ended up in Everglow. There is something of a gap in time there. That said, part of his issue is that Equestria hasn't changed in a thousand years, so what he took away from it then still applies now.