500 - Without Peer
“This time, I wanna help you do some of the heavy lifting, okay?”
A rebuke was already on Lex’s lips when inspiration struck. Without realizing it, Sonata had just stumbled onto their one chance to not only survive this encounter, but defeat Starlight Glimmer. It was extremely risky, and even the slightest misstep would mean death for both of them and quite likely a lot of other ponies as well, but if it worked…if everything went perfectly… “That’s it!”
“Lex?”
“I have a plan!” Looking at the mare who was quite literally his saving grace, Lex knew there was no time to waste, not when what was left of his barrier would be gone in seconds. “Sonata, listen very carefully and do exactly as I say!”
By the time she started carrying out the instructions he’d given her, there was less than five seconds left before Starlight blasted his barricade to pieces. But that was enough. Turning back to what was left of the wall of black crystals that he’d raised, Lex ceased his efforts to maintain it.
Or rather, ceased his efforts to maintain most of it.
His original barrier had been over ten feet thick, with Starlight’s massive beam of energy cutting it down to just under half of that size before he’d realized what was happening. After that he’d tried to maintain it despite her onslaught, repairing the damage that she’d been inflicting. But that had been a losing proposition; without channeling more energy through his body to augment his dark magic, Starlight’s assault had broken it down faster than he’d been able to keep up.
So instead, Lex narrowed his focus. He couldn’t create black crystals fast enough to reinforce the entirety of the barrier, but he could create them fast enough to maintain a portion of it. Barely six inches thick, the remainder of the wall was of a small enough area that he could repair all of it at once, effectively allowing him to recreate it again and again even as Starlight’s beam tore it down, at least until he ran out of dark magic.
It would buy them a little more time…but there was a reason why he hadn’t done this earlier, telegraphed by the loud cracking sounds that almost immediately rang out.
Knowing that they were about to be put to the test, Lex reared up on his hind legs and put his fore-hooves against what was left of his wall – letting the gauntlet he’d made dissolve into nothing, since he’d need his grip unimpeded for what was about to happen – bracing it with his body even as he also grabbed it with his telekinesis. “Get ready!” he called back to Sonata.
If she replied, it was lost in the loud splintering sound that rang out a half-second later, the base of the wall breaking apart completely.
That hadn’t been unexpected, of course. With the thickness of the barricade cut down so sharply, its base had been under enormous pressure. Not only was it under the same intense assault as the rest of the structure, the force the beam was placing on the upper part of the wall was magnified there. Like a tree being bent too far by a heavy wind, the foundation of the barrier was simply too thin to stand up to the stress being put on the upper portions, tearing free from where it had been anchored to the ground.
The rest of the wall, still intact, was immediately propelled backwards. Or at least it would have been if not for Lex bracing it, holding it in place with his hooves and his horn against the pressure of the beam even as he kept repairing the makeshift shield that his barricade had become, refusing to let it break down or be blown away under the intense bombardment of magic that Starlight was somehow still keeping up.
For a half-second Lex managed to hold his ground. But physical strength had never been his forte; while he knew his stamina was above average, a contest of muscle power wasn’t something he was confident he could win, especially when he was already so overtaxed. Even so, he tried anyway, straining with everything he had to hold the black crystal shield in place…only to feel his hind legs start to slide backward, losing a half-inch of ground. Then an inch. Then-
“I’ve got you!”
Sonata’s voice rang out just as he felt her fore-hooves press on his shoulders, stabilizing him and stopping his backward slide. A glance back confirmed it, seeing her also standing upright as she reached out to brace him. “Did you cast the spells you needed?” he called back, wanting to be sure.
Despite the seriousness of their situation, her smile was carefree as she nodded. “Yep! I totes used every pump-you-up spell I know on myself, just like you said!”
Her announcement reassured Lex only a little. He was very familiar with Sonata’s magical capabilities, and based on what he’d seen when he’d looked at the equals sign on her flank in the magical spectrum, most of her powers were sealed. That she still had some spells that could artificially induce an adrenaline surge – and which she could only use on herself in their current situation, since attempting to use them on him would just cause his remaining dark magic to automatically counter the attempt to influence his mind, leaving him with less power to repair the shield – was helpful, but there had been no way to know if they would give her enough of a boost to keep them both from being blown away. That they hadn’t already was a encouraging, but the real test would be what came next…
“We need to get closer,” he called back to her. “Each time you take a step forward, I’ll create some small crystals right behind your back legs so that you have something solid to push off against! We’ll keep going until we’re right in front of Starlight! Then it’s up to you!”
“But won’t she just back away?”
“She can’t!” called back Lex. “With the injuries to her legs, and the recoil from this attack, she’d lose her balance if she tried!”
“That’s great!” Sonata gave him a toothy grin then. “We’ve got her right where we want her!”
That wasn’t how Lex would have characterized their situation, but he didn’t argue the point as he turned his attention toward the shield, preparing himself to push forward. Now comes the hard part. “Ready?”
“Let’s do this!” came Sonata’s happy reply. “I’ve totes got your back! Get it? ‘Got your back’? ‘Cuz I’m standing behind you making sure you don’t fall over? Lex? Did you get the joke? Should I explain it agai-”
“Go!” Pressing forward with everything he had, Lex felt Sonata do the same, grunting with effort as he struggled to push the shield back against the force of Starlight’s beam. Immediately his muscles began to quiver, his body making it clear that it wasn’t up for further exertion, but he forced himself to keep forging ahead, feeling Sonata doing her best to propel him forward as well.
And it was working! Slowly, he took a step forward. Then another. And then a third, maintaining the ground they were gaining as Sonata braced herself against the black crystal hoofholds he was creating. Despite the sweat that was already gathering on his brow, the shield shuddering and shaking as the energy blast threatened to tear it from his hooves, Lex couldn’t help but feel a sudden surge of exhilaration. It was actually working! “Keep going!” he yelled back at Sonata. “Keep it up!”
“Whatever – nngh! – you say!” she grunted, already breathing heavy.
Each step that followed was a hard-fought battle, the two of them pushing with everything they had as the distance between them and Starlight slowly shrank. More than once, disaster threatened to put an end to what they were doing, as Sonata’s hoof slipped from its place behind Lex’s shoulder, or one of Lex’s legs almost gave out under the strain. But somehow each of them managed to salvage things before their mistakes turned into catastrophe, recovering and pushing forward, aware that they were, little by little, succeeding.
Starlight Glimmer was aware of it too.
“YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!” Her angry scream reached the ears of everyone watching, nearly as loud as Sonata’s had been. “I WAS GOING TO MAKE A BETTER EQUESTRIA! TO MAKE TRUE HARMONY! AND YOU TOOK IT ALL AWAY FROM ME!”
“IT’S WHAT YOU DESERVE!” roared Lex. He barely had the breath to holler, still struggling to advance, but he couldn’t stay silent. The rage that he’d been suppressing ever since he’d set hoof on the battlefield and seen what Starlight Glimmer had done to the ponies most important to him was bubbling up now, impossible to restrain any longer. Fear might have been what drove his shadow to aid him, but it was fury that had always pushed Lex to keep fighting in the face of adversity, and he let it wash over him now, driving him to keep moving forward, one hoof in front of the other. “YOU TOOK AWAY PONIES’ TALENTS! THEIR MAGIC! THEIR DREAMS! ALL BECAUSE YOU WANTED THEM TO BE THE SAME!” A vicious sneer crossed his lips then, and though no one else could see it, it was audible in what he said next. “NOW YOU’RE THEIR EQUAL IN WHAT YOU’VE LOST!”
The howl that Starlight gave then was almost painful to hear. “THAT’S NOT HOW EQUALITY IS SUPPOSED TO WORK!”
“IT DOESN’T WORK AT ALL!” Despite his anger, Lex hadn’t let it get the better of him. He could tell from Starlight’s voice that they were closing in on her. Although the thrum of the energy blast made it hard to be certain, she sounded roughly fifteen feet away from them now. With grim determination, Lex kept going, Sonata steadily supporting him as he crossed the remaining distance. “PONIES AREN’T MEANT TO BE THE SAME! WE’RE SUPPOSED TO STRIVE! TO BETTER OURSELVES!”
“NOT EVERYPONY CAN DO THAT!” There was a catch in Starlight’s voice now, one that Lex couldn’t place. “SOME PONIES WORK HARD AND STILL FAIL!”
“THE ONES WHO SUCCEED HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP THE ONES WHO FAIL!” Ten feet now. Just a little closer…
“AND WHO’S GOING TO MAKE THEM LIVE UP TO THAT RESPONSIBILITY?!” The tone in Starlight’s voice was thicker now, sounding almost bitter.
“THE PONY IN CHARGE! THAT’S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A LEADER!” Five feet away. Close enough. Bracing himself, Lex reached called on more of his dark magic – now almost completely gone – to make black crystal hoofholds behind his own legs, knowing he was about to need them. “Sonata! Now!”
“Okeydokey!”
Her forelegs left his shoulders then, and Lex struggled with everything he had to keep the shield up on his own, knowing he’d only need to do it for a few seconds if everything went according to plan.
For once, it did.
“Hey Starlight!” yelled Sonata as she darted out from behind the shield, almost within hooves’ reach of the other mare. “I got a little something for ya!”
When Lex had outlined his plan to Sonata, he’d needed her to do two things to prepare. The first had been to use all of her self-enhancement spells on herself in order to help him walk the shield forward against Starlight’s energy beam. And the second had been to collect the orange prism – still augmented to act as a powerful magic dampener – that had fallen from Thermal Draft’s hooves when she and Cloudbank had been downed, landing near Aria and Garden Gate. Having been almost directly behind where Lex had raised the black crystals, Starlight hadn’t been able to see Sonata scamper over and retrieve it, and so she was taken completely by surprise as Sonata tossed it into the air now, the stone taking up orbit around Starlight’s head.
Instantly, her massive energy beam shrank, collapsing to a fraction of its size even as Starlight’s eyes widened in horror. “NO!”
Lex didn’t miss his opportunity. Before Starlight could even think about raising a hoof to knock the gemstone away, he surged forward, crossing the few feet between them in an instant now that the pushback from Starlight’s energy beam was negligible. Swinging the shield upward, Starlight let out a cry as the mass of black crystals hit her horn, disrupting her ability to use magic and causing what was left of the blast to fade away into nothing.
“AND THAT’S THE OTHER WAY YOUR PHILOSOPHY IS FLAWED!” boomed Lex as he tossed the shield away, its purpose served. “IT DOESN’T ACCOUNT FOR ME!”
Starlight tried to back away, cast a spell, and dislodge the floating gemstone all at once. But in her haste, she accomplished none of those things, leaving her flailing as Lex – still standing on his hind legs – advanced on her.
“AND I!”
He cocked his right foreleg back, pivoting at the waist.
“HAVE!”
His horn flared as he grabbed Starlight in his telekinesis, dragging her forward, leading with her chin.
“NO!”
Another gauntlet formed around his hoof, the crystals thick and heavy.
“EQUAL!”
His hoof impacted Starlight’s face with a crack like thunder, echoing across the battlefield as she flew backward, body arcing through the air. Landing bonelessly, she skidded across the broken ground before coming to a halt several feet back, eyes closed and legs akimbo.
A pin dropping would have been audible in the silence that followed, everypony holding their breath as they watched Starlight for any sign that she would get back up. But other than the gentle expansion and contraction of her chest, and the orange prism still circling her head, she remained still. As the seconds passed and nothing happened, the truth slowly dawned on everypony watching: she wasn’t going to rise again. The crazy mare who had terrorized their community had finally been defeated.
It was over.
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*Insert dramatic music here* While the fight was not on the scale of the previous battles he had in the past, it was still spectacular and impactful to those who witnessed it. I'm sure that if any one of the new arrivals had doubts of his abilities, he has just proven them wrong and with his next action likely being tending to the wounded, he'll establish once again that he cares.
However, I'm sure he'll be interrupted again once more by either the prince's 'grand entrance' or Rainbow Dash's abrupt arrival. Neither a welcome thought after what Lex has just been through. Hopefully, Sonata can dissuade either party from doing anything to earn Lex's ire though I'm not too sure on how effective she'll be.
Boss battle complete, but.. Incoming Zap, and the Ponce.
Sorry, Prince.
10354193 With the fight against Starlight finished, Lex is now free to move on to the next fight, and the one after that. No big deal, right?
10353856 The battle against Starlight was set to be a contest of attrition right from the start. With Lex at a serious deficit of power thanks to not having Severance around and being debilitated from resurrecting several ponies, and Starlight having fended off wave after wave of defenders all on her own, it basically came down to who could outlast the other. Starlight bet everything on her last big attack, and thanks to Sonata's timely intervention, Lex was able to hold it off long enough to bring her down. Thankfully, Starlight's hypocrisy and selfishness were highlighted as the battle went on, making a backdrop for Lex to (inadvertently) display his nobler qualities.
Of course, we know that there are two other ponies of note incoming, neither of whom are predisposed to think well of Lex, so it might turn into a case of him winning the battle but losing the war. That is, unless he can keep counting on Sonata to handle things. She was the reason he defeated Starlight, after all, putting forth a nice little lesson about how no one does it alone (and those who try, like Starlight, tend to come to a bad end). Not coincidentally, that's something that the Night Mare has been pressing Lex to learn for a while now.
Won the battle
Now time for war!
Though that was surely
Remembered before.
A pompous prince
And a well meaning group.
And it seems Lex Legis
Has no time to recoup.
10355599 Well, hopefully Lex will be able to resolve things peacefully with the ponies that are making their way toward him, ending things without any further animosity...