143 - Here to Help
Fifteen long minutes passed before Lex finally ran out of patience.
“Enough of this,” he growled softly, looking in the direction that the border patrol ponies had fled. “We’re moving out.” He whispered the command, letting his spell carry it to the others. “We’re going to follow those ponies back to wherever they’re encamped.”
Aisle was the first one to reply. “Is that a good idea? If we march right in and cause a panic-”
“We are not going to stand here in the dark waiting for them to get their act together!” replied Lex harshly. Next to him, Sonata winced, but he ignored her, still looking at where the fleeing ponies had disappeared into the distance. Now that the sun had gone down completely, it was murky enough that they could no longer be seen, but that mattered little; in another few minutes it would be dark enough that some sort of light would be necessary to see, and then wherever they were headed would be clearly illuminated.
In the meantime, Lex had waited for them to activate whatever rapid-response plan they had for when they met a hostile force their meager detachment couldn’t overcome. Seeing that would have given him a better understanding of the overall situation among these survivors, and hopefully shed some light on the nonsensical “quarantine” they were trying to enforce. But as the minutes had slowly trickled by and nothing had happened, Lex eventually realized the truth: they didn’t have a plan, or at least not one that could be put into effect with the immediacy that such an occurrence should have warranted. That had been enough to set his teeth on edge; he had his answer about what those ponies would do if their so-called quarantine was in danger of failing, but it had only made things less clear, rather than more.
“I see lights,” came Cloudbank’s whisper, and Lex reflexively glanced up at her before looking around. Sure enough, a few points of light were visible, though it was hard to tell exactly how far away they were, and as Lex watched more started to appear. As he’d expected, they were in the same direction that the border-guard ponies had run towards.
“We’ll head there,” ordered Lex brusquely. “Stay in formation until I tell you otherwise. I want every unicorn that isn’t already using their horn to create a light. Aisle, have Cozy start using her light spell on whatever she can. Cloudbank, have Severance illuminate itself.” He’d dispatched the living scythe back to its position at the rear of the group after the other ponies had fled, refusing to take a chance that some ghoul would rush at them in the encroaching nightfall. Now that they were moving away from the city, they would probably be safer, but Lex had no intention of letting their guard down until he had a better handle on the situation. Speaking of which…
Letting his own horn glow with deep purple light, Lex glanced at where Sonata was lingering next to him. “Go back to the inner group of ponies. You’ll be safer there.”
“Nuh-uh!” She shook her head, keeping pace with him as he led everyone forward. “We’re about to run into a whole bunch of other ponies again, right? That means you totes need me front-and-center to speak for you.”
Lex frowned. They’d had this little exchange several times over the last few minutes, as she’d worried that the ponies that had fled might come back, and on that account refused to leave his side. Her sudden devotion to fulfilling her role as his spokespony was odd, particularly in light of his recent breakthroughs in social interaction. “Sonata, if these ponies turn violent, you could get hurt. We’re heading into a situation where everypony is acting irrationally, based on what we know so far, which means that right now it’s important to-”
“To let them know that you’re a totes reliable guy that everyone can believe in,” she cut in. “And that’s my job, so let me do it.” She was frowning now as well, and there was an underlying tension in her voice that he hadn’t noticed before. He was about to ask her if something was wrong when she spoke up again. “Listen, have you…how’s it going? With Aria?”
He blinked, confused by the sudden change in topic. “What? How’s what going?”
She looked away from him then, keeping her eyes in front of her. “You know. Making her into a pony.”
For a moment he didn’t understand why she was bringing that up, but then the obvious answer came to him: for all her antipathy towards her sister, Sonata was still worried about her. After all, she knew firsthoof how much better a proper pony body was compared to that mutated aquatic form, and so it must have pained her to see her Aria stuck that way even though the two of them had such a tumultuous relationship. The realization was enough to cause a sliver of guilt to run through him; other than some basic conceptual groundwork, he’d made no real progress on designing a ritual to fix Aria’s body, having to deal with too many other things for that to be a priority. But I can’t tell Sonata that. Just the thought that she would be disappointed with him was a knife in his heart. But lying to her was completely out of the question. Luckily, there was a third option.
“The preliminary stages are going well,” he said, which was technically true. Abstract design was an initial step in creating any magical effect, and so far he hadn’t run into any problems with his basic theory. “I should be ready to make an attempt very soon.” Fortunately, “very soon” was a completely relative term, which meant that he’d bought himself some time. He’d have to fast-track this now…all the while continuing to deal with Vanhoover and its attendant problems.
“Oh. I mean, um, great! That’s, you know…really great.” She smiled at him, and he returned the expression, too pleased with himself to notice how strained her grin was.
With that resolved, they walked in silence for a time, making their way towards the lights that slowly grew larger as they neared them. Eventually they got close enough for Lex to see that they were campfires, and he could almost make out the ponies huddled around them. Behind them he could see…it was hard to tell, but they looked like structures of some kind? The sight made his brow furrow, as the shapes seemed wrong for any sort of buildings. But as they marched closer, he saw that his earlier guess hadn’t been completely accurate. What he’d noticed hadn’t been buildings, at least not unless one was extremely generous with the term. Rather, they were a ramshackle collection of rumpled tents and rickety lean-tos, most of which looked dirty and dilapidated, with unpatched holes and sagging supports being a common feature.
And the ponies that were living in such deplorable conditions…
A stone’s throw away from the nearest campfire, Lex stopped in place, deactivating the aura around his horn (and quelling the green-and-purple glow from his eyes, since he knew how frightening it could be) as he signaled the others behind him to come to a halt, spending a long moment looking at the survivors. They’d quite clearly seen the lights from his band approaching – indeed, he knew that they’d be impossible to miss – but although they were backing away with frightened expressions, none of them had run. For a split second he thought that it was because they had nowhere to run to, but then he realized that wasn’t the case either.
One pony, a pegasus stallion with a grass-green coat, was trying to help an withered old pegasus mare with matching colors – his mother, perhaps? – to her hooves, shooting panicked looks at the Lex and company between whispering urgently to her. But the old mare couldn’t seem to get up, legs shaking and wings trembling as she tried in vain to rise. Nopony moved to help the pair…they all had their own problems. An earth pony filly, young enough that she looked like she still should have been in school, was cradling a crying baby, bouncing and shushing it in a futile effort to calm the child. A unicorn mare was coughing so hard that Lex could hear her raggedly gasping for breath between each bout, unable to clear her lungs. An earth pony stallion with both of his back legs bandaged was trying to crawl further back, whimpering in agony every time his injured limbs jostled against the ground. And it didn’t end there, a quick glance showing that every nearby fire had ponies in states of similar misery, all directing terrified looks his way.
Sonata gaped at the scene in horror. “Th-this is awful!” She looked at Lex, barely able to process the sight of so much abject suffering. “We have to help them!”
“I know.” His own face was stony, keeping his emotions firmly in check so that he could focus on what needed to be done. He started to step forward, but caught himself in mid-stride, remembering what Sonata had said before. It was obvious that everypony here was afraid of the new ponies that had just marched into their camp, and in order to implement the relief effort as efficiently as possible, he needed to put his best hoof forward. “Tell them that we’re here to rescue them, that we have food and doctors and supplies.”
“What? Oh! Right!” Shaking off her initial shock, Sonata turned around, gathering herself up as she started to approach the camp. “Everypony! We-”
“Go away!”
The shout came from the green pegasus stallion, stepping away from the old mare he’d been trying to help. Stepping forward, he spread his wings out as he gave Sonata a look that was as much desperation as it was defiance. “Go away! You’re going to make us all sick!”
“Wha-, no! Listen to me!” Visibly caught off-guard, Sonata tried to rally. “We’re, like, here to help!”
“You’re going to make us all sick!” repeated the pegasus stallion. “You’ll spread the disease and we’ll all turn into those things!”
“NO!” Sonata couldn’t believe that people in such dire straits were refusing help. It made no sense! “We have doctors! And this pony here,” she waved a hoof towards Lex, his face still a tight mask of control, “has magic that can cure anyone who’s sick! And, and we have food!" But it wasn’t working. She could hear the fearful murmurs spreading across the camp, the ponies around the fires making renewed efforts to try and get away from them. The sight was enough to bring tears to her eyes. I need to sing! It, it won’t be wrong if I enchant them just a little, for their own good! But she could feel her throat closing up, the reality of the situation being too heartbreaking for her to bring her voice to bear.
She reflexively glanced back at Lex, seeking guidance about what to do, but knew even as she did it that he didn’t have any answers. This was supposed to be her area of expertise, after all, and yet right now – when it was more important than ever – she was failing miserably. Biting her lip in frustration, she took a deep breath, getting ready to try agai-
“Can you help my little brother?”
The question came from the earth pony filly holding the crying baby, and it made everypony in earshot stop, looking at her. She kept rocking the baby as she spoke, looking at Sonata with watery eyes. “He cries all the time and I c-can’t make him stop,” she sniffled. “He doesn’t want to eat anything either, and when I try and feed him he just throws it up and I d-don’t know wh-what to do.” Her voice started hiccupping as she spoke, her composure breaking down. “You can help him, right?”
It was all Sonata could do not to burst into tears at that, instead giving the little girl a shaky smile. “Of course we can, sweety. Just…just come over here and we can have our doctors fix him right up, okay?”
Sniffling, the filly nodded, and started to trot over to her. The green pegasus looked for a moment like he wanted to stop her, but couldn’t bring himself to do so, his wings drooping as she passed him. She kept trying to soothe her brother the entire time, still rocking him as she walked. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Tiddlywinks. Everything's going to be alright.” Reaching Sonata, she held the child out. “Here. Please, make him all better.”
“O-of course.” Hastily wiping her eyes, Sonata gingerly took the baby, giving the little girl another smile, this time warmer. “My name’s Sonata. What’s yours?”
“Fiddlesticks.”
“Well, Fiddlesticks, you don’t have to worry anymore. You see that pony right there?” She pointed at Lex again. “His name is Lex Legis, and even though he looks totes scary he’s really a superhero, and he’s come here to save everyone, starting with you and your brother.”
Having been caught up in the spectacle, Lex came back to himself as he heard his name, immediately whispering. “All of you, break formation. House Call, bring whatever you need and get up here. Aisle, have everypony start unpacking the supplies. Cloudbank, let the pegasi know they can land. We’ll need them to help organize things here. Aria, keep watch in case anyone becomes violent. If they do I want you to subdue them without hurting them.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” came the sneering reply, but Lex ignored her as everyone started to move.
The process of saving Vanhoover had finally begun.
A short distance away, Block Party frowned. Implanting a suggestion into the minds of those ponies that these newcomers would make them sick should have ensured that things ended in hostility, or at least forced that group to demonstrate some of their abilities in quelling the fearful crowd. Either result would have given him something to work with. Instead, that little girl had managed to slip his influence due to that mare’s – Sonata, she’d said her name was – plea reminding her to be more worried about her sibling than herself. Worse, her example had inspired the rest of the crowd to stand down as well; even though his telepathic suggestion used magic to make an idea seem appealing, it was still just a suggestion, and so couldn’t compel behavior that the targets didn’t want to do.
As he watched the nearby ponies begin to crowd around the newcomers, several crying with relief as food was passed to them while others were examined by doctors, Block Party considered what to do next. This had to be the group that defeated the so-called Great Lord of the Deep, and in doing so closed the aperture to the Elemental Plane of Water, but that wasn’t enough information to let him know what he was dealing with. If he was going to keep them from disrupting his plans, he’d need to know more about their capabilities.
Which means, he decided, I’ll need to get involved directly. He’d start by speaking with that pony that the other mare had indicated was in charge, and who apparently had some sort of curative magic. The one who Spit Polish had said was going to arrest him, as amusing as that idea was.
It was time to go meet this Lex Legis.
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Something very nasty is oozing its way in here. Will Lex be able to pick up on it with sonata, Aria noticing mental control maybe?
8426878 Hopefully so. Based on what just happened in this chapter, this might be a very different type of enemy than the ones Lex has fought before.
Lex's ignorance continues to make me groan and yet make me smile at the same time even if it's made wearily.
Still, him turning off the 'Eyes of Evil' before approaching the other group shows he's improving a little though as you've stated before, he still has a long way to go. At least Sonata was on top of things this time or Block Party's plan would have worked which is essentially summed up as follows:
1. Leave the wizard and his group alone until they lose their patience make them just move in.
2. With their patience run thin, they'll be more belligerent and agitate the encampment more.
3. Pretty much what Block thought, either they get attacked by the ponies in his group and drive them away or reveal their abilities to him to use later.
Thankfully, it seems Lex didn't do anything of the sort though it's likely done more to avoid wasting his magic in case of conflict with the one in charge rather than keeping his abilities hidden. Still, at least we know more of Block's powers now and even if his command over it is limited, he can still cause a lot of damage if used correctly. Though if he more advanced levels of it, then Lex will have more trouble than he needs right now.
this was a vary interesting out come and vary easy to defuse.
i am wondering what Block Party will try next?
Just one typo. It's a stubborn one, refusing treatment.
in another few minutes?
8427608 Whoops! Fixed now!
8427274 For once, Lex and Sonata were lucky. Lex managed to remember why he wanted Sonata to be his spokespony in the first place, and Sonata managed to get the job done, even though she was caught off-guard by things being so horrible and receiving unexpected pushback. She, in turn, managed to reach somepony who inadvertently reminded everyone else what it meant to look past their fears and trust someone else.
It's almost as though this "friendship" thing was acting as some sort of magic, counteracting Block Party's influence.
8427205 If Lex is trying to intuit someone else's state of mind, he's virtually always going to get it wrong. But he never gives up, if for no other reason than he wants so badly to master a skill that everyone else seems to have, and which is apparently absolutely necessary for functioning in a social setting. But insofar as his glowing eyes go, he was reminded of how terrifying he can look when those border-patrol ponies freaked out over seeing his shadow, so he's at least trying not to look quite so fearsome. As Fluttershy said, baby steps.
But at least he knew to let Sonata handle things, if only because she's been hammering him about that. Fortunately, although she was horrified to see a crowd of victims rather than adoring fans, she managed to do what she needed to.
At the beginning, Block Party was doing the same thing as Lex, which was sitting back and waiting for the other party to make the first move so as to observe, evaluate, and formulate a response. In this case, when Lex and co. finally marched in, he tried to engineer a situation where they'd have to showcase their powers and/or lose the public trust by stirring up a mob against them. Thankfully, it didn't work, but now we know that Block Party has that sort of power - almost like an evil(er) version of what Sonata can do. Given that, and his apparent tactical proficiency with psychological warfare, things are likely to start heating up soon.