448 - Routine Activity
Routines were a luxury that Lex hadn’t been able to afford for some time.
When he’d been younger, living what in hindsight now seemed like a carefree life at his parents’ house, he’d proceduralized many of his daily activities. Breakfast had always been at a certain time, consisting of the same foodstuffs each morning, eaten in a particular order. The clock in his room, while it could go a week before it would start to lose time, would receive exactly three turns of its key at noon every day. The cloak he’d worn when he needed to go out in inclement weather was always hung on the third peg on the rack by the door, never the first, second, or fourth.
Those and a hundred other constants had helped to buttress his world against the chaos of everything beyond it. Having the things that were under his control operate in recognizable patterns each and every time he interacted with them allowed him to take them completely for granted, not having to spare any time or energy thinking about them and instead directing his attention toward larger issues, issues which actually mattered. The efficiency of it all had been both useful and comforting, and losing that in the wake of the series of upheavals that his life had become – starting with his ill-fated trip to the Crystal Empire that had hurled him a thousand years into the future, followed by being flung into the harsh world of Everglow, and now returning to Equestria only to have to fight a series of battles in order to rescue Vanhoover – had been just one of the many unpleasantries that he’d had no choice but to deal with.
But now, in the five days since he’d defeated Celestia and Luna, sending them fleeing back to Canterlot, he’d found himself able to start enjoying a routine once again.
Each day now began with his studying the gem imbued with the resurrection spell that the Night Mare had given him. Moving into the parlor that adjoined the bedroom of what Trotsworth had assured them was the largest guest suite in River’s mansion, Lex would spend the pre-dawn hours of the morning staring into the facets of the oversized ruby, quietly examining the interlocking lattices of magical energy inside it, mentally dissecting the underlying structure therein. Not that he needed to in order to use it; the activation method was simplicity itself, consisting of a lengthy but uncomplicated liturgy to the Night Mare. Once uttered, it would unleash the spell from the ruby and let him bring back any one individual whom he could name. But then it would be permanently expended, leaving him with no opportunity to revive anyone else; far better to unravel how it worked first so that he could add it to his mental repertoire of thaumaturgical spells. Then, the next time he had the chance to replenish them – which would be in several weeks now that he couldn’t use Severance as a battery – he’d be able to prepare several castings of the resurrection spell on his own. By augmenting it with additional energy channeled through his body, Lex felt sure that instead of bringing just one pony back, he’d be able to resurrect dozens of individuals – perhaps even hundreds! – with each casting. With that done, it wouldn’t be very long before he’d have Vanhoover’s entire population brought back to life.
The scope of such a thing, he knew, would be unprecedented. Even if Princess Cadance could bring slain ponies back to life (something that Celestia and Luna had let slip during their battle with him), resurrecting an entire city would demonstrate to all of Equestria why he was more fit to rule than the alicorns. It would also be a powerful testament to the strength of the Night Mare’s religion. But most importantly, it would help to ameliorate the myriad atrocities that had been visited upon Vanhoover’s ponies; after all of the misery and suffering and death that had been inflicted on them, a restorative measure of comparable amplitude was the very least that a just and capable leader should do.
Lex, however, intended to do more than the very least, which led to the next part of his routine: overseeing the nascent market.
Despite the fact that they’d only been gone a few days, both Ribbon Cutter and Sonata were achieving remarkable results. Only two days after Ribbon had gone back to Tall Tale, boats had started appearing in Vanhoover’s harbor, loaded with timber products ready to be sold. The rapid turnaround had caught Lex by surprise, but only until he’d gotten a look at the watercrafts; each of them was freshly-made, built in a hurry by ponies desperate to sell their backlogged goods. And if they were upset about Ribbon’s order that Vanhoover had right of first refusal on their products, their grumbling wasn’t enough to keep them from doing business, unloading planks and beams and boards and numerous other wooden supplies. Before the first transaction had even concluded, Lex had already put together a group of ponies to go into Vanhoover – overseen by Aria (complaining all the while), in case they ran into any ghouls – and collect hammers, nails, saws, and other tools. By the time the sun was setting, there’d been enough gathered to begin constructing some very basic temporary housing units, much to the joy of the camp ponies.
That joy had been multiplied several times over the next morning. The sun had barely cleared the mountains when farm ponies, pulling wagons loaded with food, had arrived at the camp looking to sell their produce. Lex had immediately set about spending the cash-on-hoof he had from River, procuring enough that he’d not only needed to send another team of ponies into Vanhoover again – this time to raid another one of her banks (with Aria once again unhappily overseeing them) – but also told the camp ponies to get to work building a storehouse to hold what had quickly become a large influx of provisions. Sonata, it seemed, was performing her role with vigor.
The camp ponies, by that point, had been ecstatic. Seeing that their time sleeping in the dirt and living on two thin meals a day was finally coming to an end, the camp had taken on a jubilant atmosphere as yet another party had been thrown. Groups of ponies had started singing and dancing, others had cheered, games had been set up, and there hadn’t been a frown or worried look to be seen.
But it had been what Lex had done next that had truly amazed the camp ponies:
He’d paid them.
Despite the fact that the timber and the food had already cost a significant amount of River’s wealth, Lex had called for everypony who’d ventured into Vanhoover under his direction or was working on the new construction projects to line up. He’d then proceeded to give them bits for their work, explaining that from now on everypony that performed a task at his instruction would be financially compensated for doing so. Taking the blank looks he’d initially received to be confusion, he’d proceeded to explain that they were free to use their money to engage in private sales transactions with the timber merchants and farm ponies – subject to his oversight and potentially voiding those sales if they were for materials that he judged necessary to continue administrating to everypony’s needs – and clarified that distribution of the stored food and temporary housing would remain free for the foreseeable future.
As far as Lex had been concerned, what he was doing was simply good economic policy. Vanhoover needed to engage in commerce if it was ever going to make a comeback, to say nothing of needing to accommodate the huge influx of ponies that he planned to resurrect. To that end, his administration needed to inject massive amounts of money back into the local market in order to stimulate business. That was unsustainable in the long-term, of course, which was why River was going to Las Pegasus, but for the short-term it was the right course of action. Once word got out – first to Tall Tale and the northern farmers, and then to the rest of Equestria – that there was money to be made here, both from his government and from private individuals, more ponies would show up looking to sell their wares, stimulating new growth that was vital to restoring the city. Creating jobs and paying ponies to work was the foundation of that, and was no ultimately different than any other aspect of good governance.
The camp ponies, however, hadn’t seen it that way.
Instead, Lex had barely had a chance to finish speaking when he’d found himself mobbed by the ponies he’d been talking to. He’d very nearly turned into a shadow, thinking that he was being attacked, before realizing that it was just the opposite. He was being thanked.
“I’m so sorry I ever doubted you!”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for everything you’ve done for us!”
“I knew all along you were a standup stallion!”
“Three cheers for Lex Legis!”
Those comments and many just like them had been accompanied by numerous hoofshakes, hugs, and even a few kisses planted on his cheeks. Tears had poured down the faces of more than a few of the ponies praising him. Others were asking for forgiveness for having thought ill of him before. Several ponies had mentioned how this, in conjunction with the speech he’d given a few days prior, where he’d explained what had happened with Block Party and the alicorns and everything else, had changed their opinion of him for the better. The entire situation had left him completely nonplussed, having no idea how to react to the effusive outpouring of praise and affection.
Some ponies had even asked him if he could teach them more about the Night Mare. That had resulted in him stumbling his way through an impromptu sermon about the goddess, reiterating the basic tenets of her dogma as he understood them. He’d even been asked to teach them some prayers to her.
It had been an awkward scenario, and one he’d only been able to muddle through thanks to the third portion of his new routine: spending his evenings training Fruit Crunch and the rest of the “Night Mare’s Knights.”
Unlike the satisfaction of unraveling the mysteries of resurrection magic, or the awkwardness of suddenly being exalted by everypony in the camp, instructing those children was an activity that Lex had decidedly mixed feelings about. He knew they needed training in the proper use of the magic that they’d been granted; the memory of Fruit Crunch’s wolf clenching a Royal Guard’s neck in its jaws while the colt threatened to kill him if his colleagues didn’t stand down was proof enough of that. But at the same time, he was still deeply uncomfortable with the idea of foals having dangerous powers; children their ages should be worrying about their homework, not how to use potent magical abilities without causing bloodshed.
To that end, once he’d established exactly what powers they had and how they worked, he’d elected to teach them the very basics: how to use their magic in a manner that was ethically and morally correct. That was a lesson that was paramount, given that Severance had given them bits and pieces of the Night Mare’s dogma that were least concerned with the proper ways in which to wield power. Fortunately, the foals seemed eager to learn, and Lex had spent the last few days giving them lessons in basic deontology, with Feather Duster watching in the background as she looked after Tiddlywinks.
But their essays will make it clear how much they’ve really understood, Lex thought to himself as he headed back toward River’s manor. The latest round of supplies and food stores had been purchased, and it was still early afternoon, giving him plenty of time to go over what the children had written in response to the assignment he’d given them last night: to write no less than five hundred words on the different tiers by which the morality of an action was judged. Fortunately River's manor had paper and quills-
The sound of a train whistle cut through his thoughts, and Lex turned in the direction of the sound. Off to the east, he could just make out the sight of an inbound locomotive, its boiler pumping out smoke. Behind him he could already hear the camp buzzing with excitement, and he knew that the Night Mare’s Knights’ essays would need to wait.
Routines were a luxury, Lex knew, and it looked like his were about to be disrupted yet again.
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Pay Day is the best day. It's nice to see the people smiling.
Good to know that Lex has been doing in the meanwhile. And it's even better to see the camp ponies finally acknowledging and appreciating his efforts in helping them and their battered city, even if he doesn't need it for something that he believes a good leader should be doing anyways.
Everyone would probably be satisfied with this and move on but should Lex somehow succeed and resurrect everyone then his reputation will skyrocket as will the following to the Night Mare's religion.
Still, the goodwill he has now will be helpful when the news about the princesses declaring him public enemy number one reaches Tall Tale and subsequently, Vanhoover.
Hopefully, the news won't get to Las Pegasus while River is in the middle of negotiating for the loan cause I doubt anyone will be willing to loan any money to an enemy of Equestria. But if this happens afterwards...well, I hope River can stress how much better it will be if Lex is their friend than a foe before they do something foolish like she had.
Back to Lex
the story has turned.
At least for a chapter
of this I have yearned.
But what is coming
Down the rail bend.
Will it be danger
Or beings to help mend?
Interesting to see the difference in priorities of the ponies in Canterlot and Vanhoover. Notable that the subject of the well being of the ponies of Vanhoover was never even broached at the meeting of the princesses...
I'm glad we skipped ahead instead of going straight back to where we left off. Seeing that Lex's efforts are paying off getting things rebuilt and how much people love him is great. At this point, Celestia and gang could smite Lex tomorrow and the ponies of Van Hoover would never accept her rule again.
Interesting to see where things go now. I didn't think this is where we'd be years ago (Well actually it is, but I thought the point of the story was for Lex to be governing not starting a rebellion).
Build now, pay now.
Repay is for later, when there is a later.
10096960 Lex has worked long and hard to do right by his people, even if he's had numerous setbacks (in addition to his off-putting demeanor). It's gratifying to see that finally bearing fruit.
10096983 Things seem to finally have calmed down in Vanhoover. No more ghoul attacks, scheming devils, meddling princesses, etc. Now Lex can, at long last, get down to the business of actually governing. Even better, he's starting to really win the trust of the people, thanks in no small part to Sonata pleading his case after what happened with the princesses (where it looked like Lex killed a pony without provocation) and her and Aria both walking him through his recent public address, where he explained everything to the crowd. That's not something Lex would have done on his own, but combined with how he's tirelessly working for their benefit, it's beginning to produce real results.
Now just imagine if he can start bringing ponies back to life en masse.
Hopefully this will, as you noted, convince everypony to ignore what at this point seems like an inevitable war of words waged by the princesses and their allies in the press. Lex has long counted on the idea that actions speak louder than words, particularly since the princesses aren't the type to take action, and it probably won't be long before that gets put to the test. Of course, one thing that Sonata and Aria (and Nosey, when she was still around) have been trying to teach him is that actions and words speak louder than either one alone. Hopefully that's clearly being demonstrated to him now.
As for what happens in Las Pegasus...well, I suspect that it won't stay in Las Pegasus.
10097090 In theory there's no danger left in Vanhoover (save for the odd ghoul that hadn't turned when Lex and co. defeated the rest of them), so the city and surrounding region should be on the mend now. But the problems with the princesses seem like they're only just starting. A lot will hinge on their plan to use the Crystal Heart to try and remove Luna's curse.
10098285 Heh, you've picked up on a salient detail, one that clearly demonstrates the difference in approaches to governing that Lex and the princesses have. To be clear, Celestia and Luna aren't indifferent to the plight of the Vanhoover ponies - remember, they were going to raise awareness and try and get some fundraisers started - but as far as they're concerned, the region is already on the mend with the power of friendship bringing everypony together now that they're out of danger. The priority is the evil wizard in their ranks. Lex, by contrast, thinks that it's his job to restore the place to prosperity, and is giving everything he's got to do so.
10098677 In general, I try not to backtrack across time that's already advanced, since it can be confusing to follow. That, and one of my bigger weaknesses as a writer is skipping over relatively unimportant things with a brief summary of what happened. Heck, it took me an entire chapter just to overview five days of relative inactivity in Vanhoover.
As for governing versus rebelling...well, who said Lex can't do both? Besides, the princesses brought this on themselves (or at least, that's what he'd say).
10098986 And then there's the payback...
10099422
In theory, perhaps
the goul danger has passed.
But the city met its end
It need much help to mend.