202 - No More Doubt
It took Lex almost two hours to find Nosey.
What should have been a simple undertaking had proven to be maddeningly difficult. Although the camp was a sprawling mass of haphazard sleeping arrangements, its tents and lean-tos arranged with no organization or pattern that he could see, it didn’t offer much in the way of privacy. Only a few of its makeshift dwellings had flaps in front of them, and those that did offered only imperfect concealment, usually being little more than torn blankets or dirty towels that had been draped in front of the openings. And yet Lex had walked the entire length of the camp without spotting the slightest glimpse of the mare he was looking for.
The obvious conclusion had been that she was either at the train station or the field hospital. But upon returning to the latter’s medical tent, the doctor at the entrance had assured him that he hadn’t seen the blonde mare. Despite his mounting frustration at Nosey’s apparently having dropped off the face of Equestria, Lex nevertheless forced himself to speak to several other members of the medical staff, hoping that they’d caught a glimpse of her while going about their business in the wider camp. None of them had.
Ironically, his visit had brought him face-to-face with Spit Polish once again, the injured pony right where Lex had left him. The sight of the simpering coward had not improved Lex’s mood, and he’d curtly told the doctor watching over him to continue doing so. As much as Lex wanted to curse the little mongrel right then and there, he’d refrained, wanting to conserve his strength in case his suspicions about Nosey were even slightly accurate… Still, the encounter had served to remind him of another contingency that needed to be made in case worse came to worst. Although the doctors had been stupefied at the sight of so many bits, they’d assured him, as he put the extradimensional device back in his saddlebag, that they’d watch over the money until he came back.
The next order of business had been to check the train station, but at that point Lex had faltered, settling for a surreptitious glance in the windows rather than unsubtly barging in. It had proven to be a wise decision; although Nosey hadn’t been there, Sonata was, to his extreme relief. For a moment he’d simply watched her – observing as she’d swayed to a rhythm only she could hear, her eyes closed as she mouthed something – before reluctantly departing without alerting her to his presence. It was for the best, he knew; Sonata almost certainly wouldn’t have left his side if she’d known he was back, and he didn’t want her or anypony else nearby when he confronted Nosey.
Of course, that had still left the problem of actually finding the missing mare. As it was, he’d very nearly gone to Aria to have her use her detection spell, except she’d made it clear that the two times she’d used it in Vanhoover were her limit. Which meant that there had virtually no options left except to start asking ponies at random if they’d seen a pony that matched Nosey’s description.
Doing so had driven home that something was wrong, as the camp ponies near-universally had no idea who he was talking about. Although he knew that there was no way Nosey could have interviewed even a fraction of the camp’s population in the two days they’d been there, for her to be so completely unknown was out of character for the irritating reporter. She should have made her presence at least somewhat known, he’d thought to himself. She’d have asked for interviews and corroborating interviews, and knowledge of her would have gotten around. After all, Lex knew, the rumors about himself had spread like wildfire; Nosey would certainly have made enough of an impression that somepony would have known who she was.
It had only been by dumb luck that, after nearly twenty ponies professed ignorance, one of them had finally admitted to having seen a unicorn mare with a black coat and a blonde mane and tail. That pony had directed him to a small tent at the southernmost edge of the camp, almost completely hidden behind three others and angled so that its interior couldn’t be seen from the center of the place. This was deliberate, Lex knew. She didn’t want to be found. Before, he would have taken Sonata’s word for it that Nosey was upset with him about their exchange yesterday morning. Now his thoughts were far darker.
Brushing aside some unidentifiable rags that were obscuring the entrance, Lex looked down at the tent’s sole occupant. Lying on the ground, they were covered by a dirty blanket, but the golden mane surrounding the black horn made their identity clear. “Nosey, get up. I want to talk to you.”
“Go away,” came the familiar voice. “I’d rather be alone right now, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“I don’t care,” retorted Lex. Grabbing her blanket with his telekinesis, he tugged on it. He could feel it meeting with some resistance, a crease near one end making it clear that she was holding onto it with her teeth, but he yanked on it again and succeeded in flinging it aside. “This is not a request.”
Sighing, Nosey gave him a sour look before slowly rising to her hooves, adjusting her glasses. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m still not exactly happy with you about before.” She held up a hoof, as though to forestall his replying. “I know you had to interview me about what happened with Block Party, and I get that. Really, I do. But that doesn’t mean that I’m okay with how you did it, you underst-”
“Shut up.” Lex’s voice was colder than ice. “Turn around and start walking, right now.”
“Huh?” Nosey gave him a look that was both angry and confused. “What are you talking about? I thought you said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Not here,” clarified Lex. “Away from everypony else.”
“I don’t believe this,” muttered Nosey, giving a disgusted sigh. “Fine. Where are we going?”
“East. Toward the mountains.”
“But there’s nothing out there,” protested Nosey.
Lex nodded. “That’s exactly the point.”
Rolling her eyes, Nosey gestured melodramatically toward the other end of the tent. “After you,” she said sarcastically.
But Lex didn’t move. “You will walk ahead of me,” he ordered flatly, “and keep walking until I tell you to stop.”
This time Nosey’s look was one of concern mixed with confusion. “Why are you acting like this? Did something happen? Is Sonata alrigh-”
“I said start walking,” growled Lex. “I won’t tell you again.”
Nosey paused for just a moment before turning in the direction indicated, giving him one last look over her shoulder. “You’re starting to scare me, Lex.” But when the only response she received was another glare, she bit her lip and started walking.
Several ponies glanced at them as they made their way through the camp, but neither pony paid them much attention. Nosey glanced back at him several times, but Lex’s expression didn’t change, and she continued marching in silence. It was only when they passed by the train station and started toward the open plain between the camp and the mountains that Nosey spoke up again. “I’d feel more comfortable if Sonata were here.”
“Keep walking,” replied Lex tersely.
Sighing, Nosey didn’t speak again. Long minutes passed as the two of them traveled further from the camp, and now it was Lex who glanced behind him at various intervals. Finally, when the train station was far in the distance, he raised his voice. “This is sufficient.”
“Finally!” sighed Nosey, turning around to face him. “At the rate we were going I was starting to think we were going to start climbing the mountains!” She paused then, twisting her head around to look at the featurelessness of their immediate surroundings. The place was completely flat for hundreds of feet in every direction, without so much as a bush or a rock to break up the monotony. Only the train tracks to the south, and the river beyond it, broke up the featurelessness. “So, why did you bring me out here?”
“Your glasses,” said Lex simply. “Give them to me.”
Nosey blinked. “Huh?”
“Give them to me,” repeated Lex. “Right now.”
“…you can’t be serious,” muttered Nosey incredulously. “My glasses? You dragged me all the way out here for my glasses?!” She stared at him for a moment, open-mouthed, but he didn’t relent. Her eyebrows rising, Nosey shook her head in exasperation. “You know what? Fine. Go ahead.” She reached up with a hoof. “You want ‘em, you got-”
“No!” cut in Lex sharply. “Not like that.”
Nosey froze. “Not like what?”
“Not with your hooves,” snapped Lex immediately. “I want you to use your horn.” He narrowed his eyes then. “Give them to me with your telekinesis.”
For a long moment Nosey made no reply, not moving an inch as she stared at Lex, who simply returned her gaze. Then, slowly, she lowered her hoof to the ground. As she did, her expression changed. Gone were the exasperation, frustration, and incomprehension. Instead, her features relaxed, her mouth settling into a faint frown as her eyes became hooded, seeming almost bored with the sight of the stallion in front of her. For his part, Lex watched the transition with a deepening frown of his own, and when it became obvious that she wasn’t going to speak, he began talking. “In the wake of Block Party’s death, I had you complete a series of tests to confirm your identity. One of them was to lift a candelabra, to prove that you were a corporeal being. And you did,” he paused then, and when he spoke next his voice was thick with accusation, “but not with your horn.”
For a moment Nosey didn’t respond, but then the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. “Which is unusual for a unicorn,” she concluded, a note of mild amusement filling her voice. “But not so unusual that you’d bring me all the way out here before conducting a second test. Something else put you on alert.” Her lazy smile stayed in place, but her eyes glanced upward, to the circlet that peeked out from under Lex’s mane. “And I think I know what it was.”
Lex tensed at that. Once he had confirmed Block Party's death, the very first thing he’d done had been to use his circlet to see if Nosey – or anything in the immediate vicinity of the body – had a magic aura. It was only natural, considering that the earth stallion had been radiating necromantic magic of considerable power when he was alive. But the scan had turned up nothing, and Lex had been forced to conclude that, if there had been any magic involved in Block Party’s death, it had ceased functioning by the time they’d examined the scene. Certainly, there had been no magic on Nosey.
But upon finding the location of her tent just now, Lex had been suspicious enough that he’d called upon his circlet again before approaching her. Unlike at the train station, this time he’d seen a magical aura around the pony inside the tent. By itself, the existence of a magic aura around a unicorn wasn’t that unusual. But the magnitude and type of it had erased all doubt from Lex’s mind that something was seriously wrong. Even now, a mere thought was all it took to activate his circlet and confirm it again.
Powerful necromancy radiated out from Nosey like a miasma.
Gritting his teeth, Lex wanted to demand answers, to know how she – or it, or whatever he was dealing with – had evaded his scan the first time around. But there were more important questions that needed to be asked. “Where is Nosey?” he growled.
The imposter in front of him smiled wider. “Dead,” she answered flippantly. “And now that you know that, so are you.”
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Ah yeah.... it's about to hit the fan! Dangit Lex, why did you have to leave Sonata behind? Don't you know you never split the part!?
8706852 Despite his analytical nature, Lex is also highly emotional. While he might intellectually know that it's better to approach a dangerous situation or creature with as many resources as possible - and the powers and abilities of friendly individuals are also resources - he can't bring himself to countenance such a thing unless there's no other choice. To do so would be to willingly endanger others, and that not only runs counter to his personal philosophy, but also, if they're people who matter to him, makes him worry for their safety.
He just lost (insofar as he knows) several ponies that, whether he admits it or not, were his friends. The last thing he wants is to put his beloved anywhere near danger.
Destroy the current host, it will just jump to those others its kept behind as useful vessels.
How to find the Puppetmasters Phylactery.
Nosey did not deserve this fate but at the same time i guessed right witch sedans me.
8707191 The logistical aspects of fighting this particular foe are sure to prove extremely vexing.
8708125 With the revelation about Nosey, on top of what just happened to everypony else, you have to wonder just how badly Lex is going to lose it...
8708253
i am going to say i have a good idea but i will keep it to my self as i think this will be surprising.
It is unlikely Lex would believe the imposters' words so easily without proof but he doesn't have anything to disprove it either. Given how emotional he is, it wouldn't take much for the fake to goad him into doing something she wants like making a mistake which she could capitalize on... or to do something that would take away everyone's faith in him...
Still, if the imposter's statement is true then it's possible that she could be Block Party who switched bodies with Nosey just as he put the noose around his neck. This would explain the marks on his hooves in the autopsy.While it is logical, I really hope I'm wrong on this one since Nosey is one of my favorite characters, even if she hasn't made a true 'appearance' in the story for a while now.
I've got a potential outcome and subsequent fallout of said outcome in my head but that theory is a tad dark-ish for my taste so I won't share it here. Though feel free to pm me if anyone is curious.
8710088 It's anyone's guess how Lex will react to this, but given that the metaphorical gauntlet has just thrown down, it seems like a safe bet to say that hostilities are imminent. But then again, as you noted, that seems to be the imposter's goal. Given that, we can only hope that Lex will be able to keep it together, otherwise things could turn very grim indeed.
See? POSSESSED! MWAHAHAHAAHA.
That was a good one too.
9217231 Yep! And now that the deception has been openly acknowledge, the battle is about to begin.