Once again, Applejack was the first to raise her voice in objection to Willow’s call for Lex’s death.
“So you’re just a lovin’ mother worried about her boy, is that it?” she snorted, giving the purrsian a disgusted look. “You know, you talk a mighty good game about how Equestria’s such a great place for Sunflower to grow up, but you don’t seem to get that that’s because we don’t go around killin’ folks just because we’re afraid of ‘em.”
“Except for King Sombra, the last pony who tried to conquer this world,” noted Willow flatly.
“That ain’t the same!” Applejack’s angry shout was punctuated by her pounding a hoof on the table, making it shudder under the force of the blow. “We weren’t sittin’ around talkin’ about ways to ki-, er…” Almost biting her tongue as she saw Rarity gesturing frantically at her from behind Spike, Applejack hurriedly tried to amend her words. “To ‘dispel him into the ether,’ we were just tryin’ to save the Crystal Empire! Everythin’ after that happened on its own!”
Zecora rubbed her chin at that, a thoughtful look on her face. “If King Sombra was undone by the Crystal Fair, perhaps the answer for dealing with Lex Legis lies there.”
Line Byline raised an eyebrow at that. “You’re suggesting that Lex’s dark magic is so much like King Sombra’s that he might react the same way to the power of the Crystal Heart?”
“Or maybe his magic would!” exclaimed Twilight, her eyes widening. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before!” She looked at Celestia and Luna, excited. “If Lex is using the same dark magic as King Sombra, and the Crystal Heart was able to overpower that, then it might be the key to breaking his curse now!”
Luna’s breath caught in her throat at that, her eyes widening as though she were afraid to hope. Celestia, by contrast, couldn’t have looked prouder. “That’s brilliant, Twilight!” Sparing a second to give her pupil a radiant smile, the elder princess turned to Cadance. “What do you think? Could it work?”
Cadance nodded, a determined expression on her face. “I think so. It’s definitely worth a try. But we’ll need as many of the crystal ponies there as we can. It’s their light and love that gives the Crystal Heart its power. The more of them there are, the better the chance that it’ll be able to undo Lex’s curse.”
She glanced at Pillow and Cozy at that last part, smiling as both crystal ponies immediately nodded. “We’ll do everything we can to help,” offered Pillow.
“This must be Lashtada’s will!” smiled Cozy, looking almost as relieved as Celestia. “I’m sure that everyone’s love, together, will prove stronger than that pony’s hateful magic!”
“Then there’s no reason to delay!” Twilight was already performing calculations for their departure in her head, murmuring to herself. “The Crystal Empire is pretty far. Teleporting myself, Luna, and two more ponies there will be difficult, even using my alicorn magic. Maybe a series of shorter teleports? Except that might still be dangerous if I can’t visualize each destination point. Maybe if I can build in a failsafe for if we accidentally arrive off-target-, ow! Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Rubbing her head where the muffin had hit her, Twilight glared at Shining Armor, who offered her an apologetic smile in return. “Sorry, sis, but I needed to get your attention before you went completely Twilynanas.” Twilight sputtered at that, but before she could protest Shining Armor’s expression turned grim again. “If we need as many crystal ponies as we can get for this, then we have a small problem,” he explained, glancing at his wife and then Celestia and Luna in turn.
Cadance frowned, only for her eyes to widen a second later. “Oh no! The missionaries!”
Applejack tilted her head. “The what now?”
“Missionaries. Ponies who go on a journey to tell everyone about their god.” Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy who spoke up, cringing as everypony looked at her. “It was in the newspaper a few weeks ago, while you and Twilight were gone. I, um…I saw it while I was using the paper to help some birds build their nests,” she confessed, giving Line Byline a guilty look.
“It’s quite alright,” chuckled the newspony. “There’ve been plenty of days when I think that everything we publish should be used that way.”
Fluttershy smiled back, clearly grateful that he wasn’t angry, but Princess Celestia was more focused on the issue at hoof. “Cadance, how many missionaries did you dispatch?”
“I asked everypony who’d begun receiving spells from Lashtada if they’d go, and almost all of them said yes,” admitted Cadance, her expression telegraphing how much she regretted that decision now. “Including Cozy and Pillow, there were thirty of them altogether. They were sent out in pairs, each to a different city in Equestria to spread word of Lashtada’s teachings.”
“Well, that’s not so many, is it?” Rarity’s voice was hopeful as she glanced at Twilight. “Surely thirty ponies out of the entire Empire won’t make that much of a difference.”
“I…don’t know,” conceded Twilight. She sent a questioning look at Cadance, but received an equally uncertain look in reply. Trying not to feel discouraged, she glanced at Line. “How long would it take to put a notice in the newspaper asking all of the crystal ponies to return to the Crystal Empire?”
“If I sent word to my deputy editor, we could get the message out by today’s evening edition,” replied Line, after glancing at his pocket watch. “But the problem is that it’ll take time to coordinate with other cities’ newspapers so that they’ll reprint the announcement.”
Celestia fought back a grimace. “How much time?”
Line sighed. “For a high-priority message like this, we send proofing copies out via express courier to every other major city’s local paper. Those won’t take too long to get to nearby cities like Baltimare or Fillydelphia, but for someplace like Las Pegasus, it could take almost a week. And there’s one other problem as well.”
“There would be no way to keep what we’re doing a secret.” Luna’s voice was soft, almost as though she were mourning the topic under discussion rather than celebrating it. And her next words made it clear why. “Even if we don’t say why, putting out word all across Equestria that we want the crystal ponies to return to their homeland would alert Lex Legis to what we’re doing.”
“How?” Spike scratched his head, giving Luna a puzzled look. “I mean, I thought that you guys said Vanhoover was almost leveled. Are they still printing newspapers?”
“Spike’s right, there’s no need to send anything to Vanhoover, especially since the crystal ponies we sent there are already back here with us,” noted Cadance, looking at Cozy and Pillow meaningfully. “And the missionaries we sent to Tall Tale came back a little while after they left because of how that dragon closed the city off. So we wouldn’t have to send word to the newspaper there either.”
Soft Mane still looked dubious. “But wouldn’t word still get around?”
“It might,” acknowledged Celestia. “Lex seems intent on opening up Vanhoover for trade as soon as he can, and from what little we saw in Tall Tale, it looks like that city is on the verge of restoring its connections to the rest of Equestria. But I don’t believe that word will spread quickly enough for Lex to take action to stop us.”
Shining Armor’s features tightened. “We should still put the Empire on alert, just in case he figures things out faster than we’re expecting. If he’s going to try and stop us from curing Luna, he’ll definitely come after the Crystal Heart.”
“If he does, I hope it'll do to him what it did to King Sombra,” added Cozy darkly.
“Sweetheart, please,” murmured Pillow, stroking her mane gently.
Aisle winced at his wife’s statement, but seemed to come to a decision, clearing his throat pointedly. “Maybe there’s another way.”
“You think that the possibility of provoking Lex’s wrath makes using the Crystal Heart on Luna too much of a risk?” asked Celestia, making sure to keep her face calm and her voice even.
She wasn’t sure if she’d succeeded at masking her feelings, however, because Aisle’s eyes widened and he immediately shook his head. “No! That’s not what I meant at all!” Grimacing, he took a moment to collect himself. But it was Luna that he looked at a moment later. “Your Highness, I said before that I don’t think that Lex is a monster, and I meant that. But I don’t approve of what he’s done to you. He cursed me and Cozy before we left Vanhoover as well, and I had no problem seeking to have them removed then, nor with helping you remove yours now. I just…I thought there might be an easier way to bring the crystal ponies back without telling everyone what’s happening…”
The ghost of a smile crossed Luna’s lips then. “I understand, Produce Aisle.” Her expression dimmed then, changing into one of resignation. “Please, ask your question. I believe I know what it is anyway.”
With one last nervous glance at Princess Celestia, Aisle started again. “I just thought that it might be easier if you contacted each of the crystal pony missionaries in their dreams and asked them to come back that way.”
Twilight and Cadance winced at that, and Celestia gave Aisle a cross look, but stopped as Luna touched a hoof to her side. “Do not chastise him, my sister. His question is neither prying nor insensitive.” Celestia gave an unhappy sigh, but nodded, closing her eyes and visibly calming herself. For her part, Luna looked around the room, and though her eyes settled back on Aisle she was clearly addressing everyone when she spoke next. “As a result of my…condition, it has become more difficult for me to use my powers within the dream realm. Although I can still touch the minds of sleeping ponies, not being able to call upon my alicorn magic to augment that power has left me struggling to perform feats that I found effortless before. As I am now, I fear that it would take me more time to reach out and touch the dreams of nearly thirty slumbering strangers than it would to alert them through the newspapers. And in truth, I question how much more secure communicating using dreams would be, as I suspect the dark goddess that Lex Legis is beholden to also commands some authority over the dream realm as well.”
That sent a visible wave of uncertainty through everypony, none more so than Celestia. “Sister, are you sure about that?”
Luna shook her head. “I confess that this is only my suspicion. But as things stand now, I believe that there is little to lose should we alert the crystal ponies through more traditional means. Particularly since…”
No one missed Luna’s hesitation, and Twilight stood up. “Er, I don’t know about anypony else, but that fruit punch always goes right through me,” she announced with an uncomfortable laugh. “Maybe this would be a good time to take a bathroom break?”
“No.” Her voice firm, Luna visibly gathered her resolve. “I appreciate your concern, Twilight, but please let me do this.”
For a moment Twilight hesitated, shooting an uncertain look at Celestia, but when the older princess nodded, Twilight did the same, sitting back down. Giving both of them a brief smile of thanks, Luna took a deep breath before she started speaking again. “There’s another reason why it would take longer for me to contact Cadance’s missionaries in their dreams. It’s because I’m already endeavoring to contact another group of ponies that way, in order to inform them of a decision I’ve made.”
Line couldn’t help himself, his reporter’s instincts kicking in. “What decision, Your Highness?”
Luna hesitated again, gathering her strength for what she was about to say. “The curse that Lex Legis has placed on me…it’s horrible. Although I’m not in any pain, not physically at least, the way it feels…the knowledge that his magic is within me even now, keeping my powers and my body restricted to suit his will rather than my own…it’s more repulsive than words can describe.” Her voice almost broke at that last part, and she took a moment before continuing. “But if there’s one bright side to what’s happened to me, it’s that I have a better sense of myself now than I did before.”
“Luna?” Celestia couldn’t keep the worry out of her voice.
“Yes…Luna,” sighed the pony in question, giving her sister a sad smile. “I’ve spent a very long time wishing I could be more than just Luna, princess of Equestria. And each time I’ve tried to act on that wish, it’s left me with less than I had before. First I tried to become the only princess of this land, and for that I spent a thousand years sealed within the moon. Then I endeavored to become a deity, and as a result I’ve lost my status as an alicorn.” She shook her head again, her expression rueful. “I’ve made the same mistake twice now. There will not be a third time. To that end, as of last night I began contacting my worshipers in their dreams, letting them know the same thing that I’m about to tell all of you now.”
A pin could have been heard dropping as everyone waited for what Luna to finish speaking.
She didn’t keep them in suspense.
“I’m renouncing my claims of divinity. From now on, I will neither seek to become, nor present myself as being, a goddess.”
Luna the divine Martyr?
Thats going to get her some serious power up points?
10014415 I wonder if any of her ex-worshipers will see it that way, particularly a certain black-and-white one.
Pfft, Twilynanas. That was cute.
Renouncing her desire to be part of the divine? Well, considering she did make a good point of what happened when she tried to pursue more power and subsequently attention and adoration from others, that sounds like like a good idea. Now I'm curious if the curse will break because she no longer challenges the Night Mare or at least start to unravel it depending on what the conditions Lex set were for it to break on its own.
Putting that and the logistics of getting the missionaries back to the Empire aside, the plan they came up with is rather clever since, from their perspective, would rob Lex of his control over Sombra's magic, leaving him with only whatever spells he stored away in his thoughts as well as as whatever minor spells he's stored inside his small collection of enchanted gems and after that, he'd essentially be a regular unicorn. Though this still depends on whether or not the plan works cause it'd be anticlimatic for the heroes if Lex is unaffected and wonders what had happened.
10014489
It would only do that if he tried to attack the Crystal Empire to stop them, which he has no reason to do? Breaking his curses didn't hurt him before.
Honestly I'm disappointed in the spellcasters in this group, especially Twilight. The Sending spell would solve both their communication problem and the need for secrecy AND should be doable in a lot less time to boot. And it should be well within Twilight and Cadance's abilities to cast, at the least.
Mixed feelings on Luna's decision. While Silhouette's example seems to make it a good idea, lest her potential church devolve into a cult determined to turn her back into Nightmare Moon, I do think she'd do well if she was just more careful in screening her applicants.
10014520
Ah right, I misread that part and subsequently misinterpreted the idea of using the Crystal Heart to defeat Lex instead of his curse on Luna. Silly me.
Still, should it work and return Luna to her status as an alicorn, using the Crystal Heart's energy would be a potential avenue to defeating Lex for Twilight and the other princesses. Of course, putting that plan into action would be problematic given how integral the Heart is to the Empire's survival.
10014489
Yeah, I couldn't resist.
As for Luna, she's basically announcing that she's trying to break out of what she seems to think is a self-destructive pattern on her part. That being: she reaches for more power, and ultimately ends up with less than she started with. Now, two instances of this might be a little thin to be called a pattern, but on the other hoof, every time she's tried to ascend even further than she currently is, someone else has stepped up and slapped her down. As such, she's decided that she's learned her lesson, and will be content to regain her alicorn-hood. I suspect that Celestia will approve, given that we knew she disagreed with what her sister was doing.
As for Lex himself, several ponies in this chapter seem to be betting that the Crystal Heart would destroy him the same way it did to King Sombra. But make note of what Cadance is saying, here: it's not just the Crystal Heart itself that does this. Rather, you need multiple components (one of which she didn't mention, but which is obvious if you go back and carefully watch the episodes in question). Specifically, those are 1) you need the crystal ponies to channel their "light and love," as a source of power, 2) into the inlaid structure of the Crystal Empire itself (i.e. its streets, that we see) which channels that energy, 3) into the Crystal Heart as a repository and focus. That's what we see happen in The Crystal Empire - Part 2 (season three, episode two), and why Sombra isn't immediately destroyed when it's used again in The Beginning of the End - Part 2 (season nine, episode one): because while Cadance puts the Crystal Heart at its focal point and activates it (presumably filling it with her own light and love), that's apparently not giving it nearly as much energy as the crystal ponies as a whole. (The fact that the Crystal Heart seemed to be slightly damaged from what King Sombra had been doing to it doesn't seem to be a factor, as the cracks disappeared once Cadance poured her energy into it.)
That means that the only way to use it as a weapon against Lex would be for him to go to the Crystal Empire, since even if they took the crystal ponies and the Crystal Heart to Vanhoover (leaving the Crystal Empire to freeze, as we saw in The Crystalling - Parts 1 and 2 (season six, episodes one and two), they still wouldn't have the Crystal Empire's inlaid mechanism for letting it absorb the crystal ponies' energies. (Hence why the Crystal Empire is apparently built where it is; whatever allows for the energy to be transferred is apparently specific to that location, even if it is a snowy wasteland without the Crystal Heart). So if they're right, and Lex does go running to stop them from trying to remove his curse from Luna, he might be in trouble...
10014750 The thing is, just because a particular spell exists that could do what everyone wants, and even could theoretically be cast by someone present, doesn't mean that they'll have it, or even know about it.
Insofar as Cadance goes, I've posted her stats here, and they're a custom build that makes her a spontaneous caster, with sending not being one of her spells known. Likewise, Twilight doesn't have that spell in her spellbook, and it's questionable if she even knows what it is. She's used to having Spike do that sort of thing for her, after all. Even then, there's some wiggle room in that spell's wording: "You contact a particular creature with which you are familiar," doesn't define what constitutes "familiar." Is it enough to know someone's name? To have seen them before? To have spoken to them once or twice? Even if Twilight had that spell, it's uncertain that she'd be able to use it to contact those missionaries; there's a reason why she isn't just telling Spike to do it, after all.
Likewise, Luna's decision doesn't have anything to do with Silhouette. We're not even sure if she knows about his having gone off the deep end, yet. It's because she's decided that every time she tries to become more, she ends up being less, and now she's finished. Whether or not that's a wise decision remains to be seen...