322 - After Dark
“I’m, like, totes proud of you.”
Glancing over at Sonata’s smiling face, Lex frowned in mild irritation. He felt vaguely confident that she was referring to his accepting River Bank’s act of contrition and subsequently removing her curse – given that Sonata had responded positively to the exchange, that seemed like a reasonable inference – but he couldn’t help but feel slighted by her choice of words now. After all, for her to say that she was “proud” of him carried the connotation, as he understood it, that his actions had exceeded her expectations. Which means she was expecting me to misread River’s sincerity the same way I did with Fencer.
That was an upsetting thought, mostly because he knew that Sonata’s lack of faith in him in that regard was warranted. Just remembering how pleased with himself he’d been after cursing Fencer sent pangs of embarrassment through him now. He’d been so confident at the time that everypony’s rush to obey him immediately after he’d done that had been because they’d perceived his rejection of her apology as righteous, when in fact they’d simply been afraid of him. In hindsight, it was clear that he never should have thought that he’d read everypony correctly, but at the time he’d been buoyed with self-confidence, having successfully utilized several platitudes in conversation with the ponies he’d lead into battle against Tlerekithres. While he doubted that Sonata was intentionally trying to highlight his previous failings by comparing his actions with River now to how he’d acted then, he couldn’t help but tense at the implication. “My pardoning River was entirely consistent with previous instances where I’ve dispensed justice,” he snapped defensively. “The curse I laid on her was meant to be punitive, not coercive, which means that her voluntary abdication of the totality of her resources, both material and otherwise, was entirely supererogatory in nature, warranting-”
“Huh?” Sonata tilted her head, giving him a blank look. “What’re you talking about?”
Lex’s frown deepened, not sure if she didn’t understand his explanation or if he’d misread her initial statement. “What are you talking about?”
Sonata scoffed, as though she couldn’t take his question seriously. “Um, duh. That River can get dressed and stay dressed now, instead of having to make a show out of taking her clothes off. Which reminds me,” she added, smiling guilelessly as she gently elbowed Lex, “no more undressing girls who make you mad, okay? If you really wanna do that, tell me. I’ll find something that you can cut off or magic off me or whatever you like.” She said that last part in a slightly heavier voice than normal, punctuating her statement with a wink.
Lex could only stare at her.
“Hmm, so that’s what you like, huh?” smirked Aria, pressing up against Lex’s side again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Look, can we just go back to sleep, please?” interjected Nosey, though the look on her face made it clear that she was trying to fight down a blush. “There’s an important meeting in less than twelve hours, and we have a lot of stuff to go over before then, so I really think we should turn in.”
“Suit yourself,” replied Aria, her voice now much cooler as she gave Nosey a dismissive look. “I’d much rather stay up and play.”
“Yeah, that’s ‘cause you were sleeping while Lex was making you into a pony,” snorted Sonata. “The rest of us are pooped.” Her eyes slid over to Feather Duster then, smiling as something occurred to her. “Hey, do you have some sort of maid magic where you can, like, conjure up a nice soft bed out of thin air? Maybe one that’s just big enough for two?”
Feather Duster, who had been staying as still and quiet as possible in the hope that maybe, just maybe, everypony would forget about her, gulped as all eyes turned to her. “I…um-”
But she didn’t have a chance to reply as Aria snorted. “‘Maid magic’? Really?”
Huffing, Sonata gave her sister an indignant look. “What? We’ve seen all sorts of other magic, so why can’t maids have their own too?”
“Both of you, be quiet,” growled Lex, the banality of Sonata and Aria’s fighting having finally eaten away at his patience. Turning his back on everypony else, he made his way back to the bench that had become their de facto resting place. “Nosey was correct in her assessment. Settle down and go to sleep.”
Alternately pouting, sighing, or rolling their eyes, all three mares made their way over to where Lex was already lying down, taking their usual spots around him. It was only after they’d all settled down that Sonata realized that Feather Duster still hadn’t moved. “Oh, hey,” she added. “You should probably get some rest too. Just, you know, not here with us.”
She tried to say that last part gently but firmly, wanting to make absolutely sure there was no chance that the new girl would try to get in on the Lex-action too. Just need to make sure that’s clear right from the get-go, she told herself. Though she was probably worrying over nothing; everyone knew that maids were always prim and proper, which was why no one ever thought of them as doing anything naughty.
Proving her right, Feather Duster immediately shook her head. “Of course not!” she blurted, before catching herself. “F-forgive me. I meant, uh, I’ll s-simply retire to, um…” She looked around the lobby, trying to figure out the furthest distance she could place herself from whatever indecency the four of them were about to engage in without seeming rude about it, not wanting to give them any excuse to lash out at her. Something far away, preferably out of sight, but without making it seem like I’m trying to stay away from them…
But she didn’t have a chance to think before Nosey spoke up, giving her a sympathetic look. “You can go back outside if you want. I’m sure you’re still worried about your daughter.”
Feather Duster didn’t hesitate to take the offered out, having to stop herself from immediately galloping toward the door. “Thank you, Miss Newsy!” Immediately trotting toward the door, she didn’t dare look backward as she slipped outside, breathing a sigh of relief as she immediately spread her wings and flew away.
Blinking, Sonata watched the maid leave before looking back at her bestie. “She has a daughter?”
Nosey nodded, her instincts as a reporter – recently stoked back into some semblance of normalcy after her conversation with Princess Luna – kicking in at the request for more information. “Cleansweep. She was one of the foals that saved us from that Silhouette guy.”
Sonata’s eyes widened at that. “For realsies? Wow, that’s awesome! How did I not know that?”
Nosey smiled a little, laying her head back down. “You’d already gone to talk to Princess Celestia when she came to,” she paused slightly, choosing her next words carefully, “collect her daughter.” As good as it felt to be reporting the news, there was no need for her to make Feather Duster look bad in the process.
But her good mood was interrupted as Aria let out a snort, not bothering to lift her head from where she was resting it on Lex’s middle. “Oh yeah? Well if you know the new girl so well, how come you acted like you’d never met her before when what’shername was here?”
Nosey blinked, not knowing what Aria was talking about. “Huh?”
“That rich lady. The one who looks like the older, less hot version of me,” explained Aria. “You were being all ‘oh how kind to make your acquaintanceship’ or whatever, and then you asked ‘who’s your friend?’ about the maid.”
Rolling her eyes as she realized what Aria was asking, Nosey didn’t bother to keep the wry tone out of her voice. “I was being polite, Aria.” You should try it sometime, she added mentally before continuing. “River Bank is an important pony in this city, so I wanted to give her an opportunity to introduce someone that she’d obviously brought with her.”
“And now that River knows how important Lex is, she was totes polite too,” smirked Sonata. “And I bet the princesses will be the same when we talk to them later. At least, so long as that Silhouette jerk isn’t around.”
This time Aria did turn her head, glancing at where Sonata was curled around Lex at the end of the bench. “Okay, that’s, like, the third time somebody-”
“Somepony,” interrupted Sonata with a smirk.
“-has mentioned a guy with that name,” finished Aria, ignoring her sister’s verbal jab. “Did I miss something?”
“It’s one of the things we can go over tomorrow,” yawned Nosey. “We really should go to sleep, right Lex?” Soft breathing was her only answer, causing her to glance his way from her position opposite of Sonata. “Lex?”
“He’s asleep,” confirmed Sonata a moment later, her voice now coming out as a whisper. Taking that the signal that they were done for the night, she laid her head back down. “Goodnight Nosey. Goodnight Aria.”
“Goodnight Sonata,” replied Nosey. “Goodnight Aria.”
“Hmph,” was Aria’s only response.
In his dream, Lex couldn’t do anything but watch, powerless and humiliated, as the mares in his life were brutalized right in front of him.
With no choice but to keep casting, Lex could only look on helplessly as Silhouette smirked, signaling the other guards with one hoof as Nosey and Sonata tried to back away. But they didn’t make it two steps before large, strong members of the Royal Guard pounced on them, driving both mares to the ground. Only a stone’s throw away, Lex had a perfect vantage point as powerful hooves took hold of the girls’ smaller bodies, spreading their limbs and holding them down as they struggled impotently.
Lex…
Both of them were looking at him, mouths open in silent cries for help. But there was nothing he could do, knowing that if he stopped gesturing or chanting for even a moment, the gathered energies of the ritual would lash out indiscriminately, putting everyone at risk. They knew that too, they had to know that, but they were still looking at him with eyes that were begging for him to save them, to use the powers that had overcome dragons and devils to rescue them now. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t even explain to them why he couldn’t.
Lex.
The Royal Guards were smirking as they looked down at their captives, and although Lex couldn’t interpret expressions he somehow could detect the lascivious undertone to those smiles, the guards fully cognizant of their captives’ beauty. The sight made Lex’s blood boil, wanting to howl in fury at the sight of other stallions treating his mares like that. But he couldn’t, not without losing the other girl that belonged to him, and that was equally unacceptable…
Lex!
Lex knew that his desperation was obvious as Silhouette, the architect of his misery, strode toward him. It was written all over the black-and-white stallion’s spiteful grin. That grin grew wider a moment later as he raised a hoof and began to cast a spell, one that Lex knew would disrupt the ritual. The knowledge brought with it a surge of panic, knowing that he had to do something, had to find a way to fix things in the next few seconds or he’d lose them all…
LEX!
Lex awoke instantly.
In the time it took for his eyes to fully open, he’d already completed the jarring transition to full wakefulness, processing that he was still in the train station, still lying on the bench where he’d lain down before, and that someone had been whispering his name with greater and greater urgency. An instant later, he identified the one who’d been calling out to him, looking at Aria. “What is it?”
“It’s about time!” she whispered harshly. “I need to talk to you!”
“Has something happened?” He kept his voice at a whisper to match hers, idly noting that both Nosey and Aria were still asleep. He was already imagining possible emergency scenarios and countermeasures that would need to be taken in response. But if no one else had woken up…
“It’s my body!” The tension in Aria’s whisper was audible. “Something’s wrong!” Without any preamble, she got up and started walking away from him, snatching up a lantern and lighting it as she headed deeper into the lobby of the station.
His heart lurching as he thought back to his nightmare, Lex got up after her, only barely managing to disentangle himself from Nosey and Sonata without waking them. “What is it?” he hissed, moving after her. He had been sure that he hadn’t made any errors during the ritual, but if he was wrong…if he’d mispronounced a word or made a gesture wrong…
Trying to keep his tension down, Lex let Aria lead him to an area at the far end of the lobby, heading into a recessed alcove that had been set aside for tourist information, brochures and leaflets still tucked into a rack on the far wall, above a small table. “Aria!” hissed Lex. “What’s wrong with your body?”
Standing facing away from him, Aria put the lantern down on the table before she glanced back over her shoulder…and her sultry grin was back in place. Slowly, she widened her back legs, letting her front half sink toward the floor as she lifted her tail, showing him everything her new body had to offer. “It’s still a virgin,” she purred, her voice turning husky.
“You’ll fix that for me, won’t you?”
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Aria, as aggressive as usual and while Lex is undoutedly going to stay true to Sonata, Aria knows how to push his buttons to her favor or she could resort to her powers to seduce him as a last resort. Not going to end well if she tries that.
Not so nice to see that the tulpa is at it as usual too but since it technically is part of Lex, I suppose it also wants some form of retribution against Silhouette and the other guards(even if they were just following orders).
I can imagine Lex bringing up the topic during the meeting and escalating the tension but that's for later. Right now, he has a very aggressive Aria to deal with.
Personally, I bet Lex is just going to walk away and leave Aria furious.
Hmmm, I wonder if that's safe for the teen rating you have.
too - two
and then suddenly the rating get more red
9437111 Typo fixed. Thanks for catching that.
And yeah, things are getting rather steamy. Add mosaics, lightbeams, and cut-aways, stat!
9437109 If Aria has her way, it won't be.
9437120
Quick, split the continuity! One 'safe', one well, not.
9437108 Lex isn't the sort of pony who'd do something that he believes is wrong, and we can presume that he knows that cheating on your girlfriend definitely falls under that category. The problem is that Aria seems to know that about him too, and I suspect that's a major reason why she's been pushing the whole "you can have multiple girlfriends" angle. She's figured out that he won't leave Sonata, but if she can advance the idea that relationships don't have to be binary...well, maybe that could work?
Of course, the problem is that while Lex is a creature of intellect, he has the same emotions, instincts, and desires as anyone else. He's still a healthy young stallion, one who's hungry for respect, admiration, recognition...and female companionship. That's sort of what his nightmare was putting forward, as a side effect of its taunting him with how powerless he was when Silhouette went on the attack. Remember, Lex had it rubbed in his face that Aria, Nosey, and Sonata would have let him have his way with all three of them, all at once and in front of each other. He's been doing his best to ignore that fact, since he doesn't know how to deal with it, but on a much more visceral level he's decided that he wants them, in ever sense of the word. When he's being honest with himself, he already considers all three girls to be his.
So now we have a situation where he wants something, but knows he shouldn't have it. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be enough to make him step outside of his code of conduct, but if Aria's whispering that he can just refine that code a little bit, then it's not really a breach...well, we'll have to see what (or who) he does now.
And instantly it became that kinda story...
Srsly though, Lex has the ditzy waifu, the maid waifu, The ditzy waifu's tsudere sister. The reporter... all that's missing is an embarrasing loli waifu....Wait... maid waifu has a daughter... Seriously it would be more weird if Clean Sweep DIDN'T develop a one sided crush on Lex at this point.
Once more unto the britches dear freinds, once more.
If Aria is that hot and bothered maybe a n,ice spell or fire extinguisher would work?
9437297
Aha! I knew I was forgetting something!
Ironically enough, I'm only being half-serious here. I actually didn't forget that. It's just still too soon.
...I kid, of course. Or do I???
(Though I'll note that so far, Cleansweep is on the record as being a bit put off by Lex due to how he flattened Spit Polish, something she briefly mentioned back in Chapter 279. Likewise, Feather Duster is quite afraid of him, and he doesn't seem like the type to mape the raid.
)
9437504 Heh, an excellent pun, but inapplicable here, since ponies don't wear britches! Or much of anything else, for that matter. But if the show can conveniently ignore the ramifications of a world where everyone goes naked with regards to visually sexually appreciating someone, so can I.
really Arial you wound have better luck with piggy.
9437643 With her looks, I suspect that she'd have better luck - to the point of getting lucky - with almost anyone she wanted. But she's already decided who she wants, and if he says no, well...I'll just say that I'm not sure how well Aria handles rejection.