507 - Diplomatically Gathering Information
“You stay away from Lex Legis if you know what’s good for you.”
The angry reply to her question about where Lex was made Fluttershy wince. It had been that way with every other answer she’d received over the last ten minutes of asking, and judging from the dark looks she was getting from passersby, that probably wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Just the thought of being subject to this much negativity, from strangers no less, made her want to run back to the train and curl up under one of the seats until it was time to go home.
But it had been only a short while ago that Soft Mane had broken down, worried that Lex would turn Equestria into a place where someone like her would face this kind of harsh treatment all the time. That was enough to make Fluttershy marshal her courage. Reaching deep, she called on every lesson she’d ever learned in conquering her shyness, determined that this time everypony would see that she would not take no for an answer!
“Pretty please?” she squeaked.
“Nothin’ doin’,” came the flippant response as the pony she’d been talking to walked away.
Fluttershy could feel herself deflating, as much from relief that the confrontation was over as from disappointment over yet another failure. But what else could she have done? Word had already spread through the village about Rainbow Dash’s attack on Lex, and seemingly everypony was upset about it. Worse, they all knew who her friends were thanks to them being famous as the now-former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and blamed the rest of them by association. Despite Fluttershy’s earnest pleas that they only wanted to help Lex now, no one was willing to trust her on that.
I wonder if I should use the Stare. That would almost certainly have worked, but Fluttershy could feel her stomach tie itself in knots at the thought. Some of the ponies she’d spoken to had proudly recounted how Lex was their community’s protector, and would show no mercy to anyone who attacked them, even other ponies. While they’d usually mentioned that in reference to someone named “Starlight Glimmer,” Fluttershy had been able to read between the lines. As such, she had no desire to potentially earn a curse of her own by trying to bully the ponies here into talking to her.
I hope Pinkie Pie is having better luck than I am, she thought mournfully, turning back to glance at a nearby house. Pinkie had knocked on the door and presented herself as the “Official Housewarming Party Inspector,” there to make sure the residents had a proper celebration when they’d moved into their quite-obviously-new home. That had been a few minutes ago, so hopefully now-
“And stay out!”
The voice was accompanied by the front door of the house Pinkie had disappeared into suddenly opening, the pink party pony flying out of it a moment later, launched upward as somepony’s hoof connected heavily with her backside. Arcing into the air, Pinkie landed on her rump a moment later, bouncing three times – each impact marked by a loud squeak, as though from a child’s toy – before landing abruptly on all fours. Huffing, she turned back and glowered at the now-closed door. “Oh yeah?!” she yelled, reaching back to gingerly rub her posterior. “Well maybe you should move those beds around, because you all clearly woke up on the wrong side of them!”
Biting her lip at the spectacle, Fluttershy crept back toward her friend. “Are you alright?”
“I’m okay, but everypony in there’s got a bad case of the grouchies,” pouted Pinkie. “When I asked them if they knew where we could find the big bad wizard who’s working with the evil dark goddess to try and make the entire world into their slaves, they got really angry and started throwing their lunch at me!” Grabbing her tail, she gave it a firm shake, scowling as several baked potatoes fell out. “I should report them for a salt and buttering!”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, fighting down a giggle. “I guess we should keep trying,” she conceded, her spirits buoyed by her friend’s antics.
“Absolutely!” cheered Pinkie, her usual exuberance returning in force as she looked at the next house on the street. “And I know just what to do!”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in alarm a moment later, her peace of mind dissolving as she saw what Pinkie was planning. “Um, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…”
“What’re you talking about?” chuckled Pinkie as she wheeled her party cannon over to the next residence and aimed it at the front door from a few feet away. “Who doesn’t love a great big surprise party exploding in their face out of nowhere?”
Fluttershy gulped as she watched Pinkie knock on the door and then rush behind her cannon, quivering in anticipation. Maybe it’s not too late to run back to the train and hide under one of the seats after all…
“He killed a dragon?!” croaked Spike, his face twisted in horror at the news.
Behind him, Soft Mane grimaced. When word of how Lex had slain a dragon in Tall Tale had made the papers, she’d worked with her mom, Rarity, Fluttershy, and several other ponies to keep that from Spike, knowing it would upset him deeply. She’d even managed to keep him from overhearing that tidbit of information during Princess Celestia’s conference, thanks to a well-timed bluff about needing him to show her where the bathroom was. But the prospect of dealing with Lex’s prejudice again had been so upsetting that she’d forgotten to come up with a way to keep that bit of news from Spike during their trip here, and now the cat was out of the bag.
“Yep, saw it myself,” nodded the pegasus mare, not looking up from where she was helping to unload a stack of lumber next to a half-finished barn of some sort. “I’d never even heard of a pony fighting a dragon all on their own before then, but he didn’t even blink at the prospect, let me tell you! We were all scared out of our minds, screaming and hollering fit to beat the band, but not Lex! He just stands there, cool as a cucumber, and starts using the most incredible magic! First he zapped one of its wings off, and then he made some kinda humungous see-through moving statue of a pony all around himself, and it boxed that dragon’s ears but good let me tell you! Then-”
Seeing how Spike was trembling, clearly imagining himself as the unfortunate dragon in the scenario that was being described, Soft Mane cleared her throat. “Actually we were just trying to figure out where Lex was right now, so…”
But the pegasus mare refused to take the hint. “Now hold on a second there, this is a great story,” she insisted, pulling the last of the planks down from her wagon. “My name’s Tender Tree by the way, and I’m happy to tell you all about…oh.”
Pausing as she finally turned around and saw who her audience was, the middle-aged mare scratched the back of her neck. “Um, well…the, uh, the dragon got a few good licks in too, I suppose.” Smiling awkwardly, an uncomfortable silence fell for several seconds before she gestured back toward her wagon. “I should probably get back. All that wood’s not gonna unload itself.”
“Yeah, we should go too. Thanks.” Somehow, Soft Mane managed to keep herself from being too sarcastic on that last word as she ushered Spike away.
“I…I can’t believe it,” whimpered Spike, his eyes haunted. “Why would anyone do that to an innocent dragon? We’re such noble creatures.”
Sighing, Soft Mane steered them toward a quiet area away from everypony else. As important as she knew it was that they find Lex, Spike had been there for her when she’d had her breakdown a short while ago. She owed it to him to do the same for him now.
I’m sure the others will figure out where Lex is in the meantime.
“I did not overreact!” snapped Rainbow Dash. “Lex got what he deserved for what he did to Princess Luna! Not to mention all the other awful stuff he’s done! Now tell us where he’s slunk off to so we can-, erk!”
“Dagnabbit Rainbow!” yelled Applejack as she tugged on her lasso, dragging the irate mare back down to the ground and letting the stallion she’d been interrogating – a nervous-looking pegasus fellow by the name of Disc Jockey – beat a hasty retreat. “You’re not helpin’!”
“I’m not helping?!” countered Rainbow hotly as she glared at Applejack. “That guy was gonna spill his guts, and now he’s getting away!”
“He wouldn’t be runnin’ in the first place if you weren’t actin’ crazier than a June bug at a jamboree!” shot back Applejack. “You really think that gettin’ all up in ponies’ faces and yellin’ at them is gonna make them wanna tell you anythin’?!”
“Well nothing else is working!” Rainbow threw a foreleg out to indicate how the ponies nearby were deliberately moving to give the two of them a wide berth. “It’s not like anypony has been cooperative when we’ve asked nicely!”
“That’s because you-” Cutting herself off, Applejack forced herself to take a deep breath as she lowered the brim of her hat over her eyes, needing a moment. She knew that Rainbow could be more stubborn than a dozen mules when she made up her mind to be, and that arguing with her would only make her dig her hooves in. It was something they couldn’t afford since they needed to meet back at the platform in less than an hour.
When she lifted her hat a few seconds later, she was calmer. “Listen sugarcube, I know that you and I don’t see eye-to-eye on this, but Twilight came up with a plan and we all agreed to it. So can you at least try to act like you’re followin’ it?”
“Fine,” groused Rainbow after a prolonged paused, her expression looking like she’d just bitten into a rotten apple. “But I still say this is a bad idea.”
“You mean because Lex beat you in a fight twice now?” Applejack was quite proud of how she managed to keep herself from smirking as she said it.
Rainbow’s fracas with Lex just now had actually been the second time they’d mixed it up. The first one had been in Canterlot a few weeks prior. Lex had been returning from Everglow with them, and he’d taken their reappearing in the castle as an opportunity to demand that Princess Celestia step down. When she’d refused, he’d declared himself in rebellion, using his magic to create a diversion while he turned into a shadow to escape. Rainbow had gone after him, but had accomplished nothing except getting herself caught in black crystals while Lex had gotten away. Applejack knew Rainbow was still steamed about that even now, and having her rematch go so poorly had no doubt gotten under her skin, as Rainbow herself confirmed a second later.
“He did not beat me!” she retorted hotly. “That first time, when we were in Canterlot, all he did was run away! And this time I was still standing while he was down! If it wasn’t for Sonata-”
To Applejack’s mild surprise, Rainbow stopped in the middle of her ranting. But when she turned to glance at her, she saw that it wasn’t because of any effort at self-control on her girlfriend’s part. Rather, Rainbow was staring at something off to her left, her eyes wide and her jaw slack. Blinking, Applejack looked in the same direction…
And beheld the gaudiest mural she’d ever seen.
It was Lex in some sort of action-hero pose, wielding Severance (the sight of which made Applejack frown) as two beautiful girls – one of whom was clearly Sonata – in skimpy rags clung to his back legs, with some unicorn mare wielding knives in the background as a horde of undead ponies surged toward them all.
“Ain’t that a kick in the teeth,” muttered Applejack.
“And ponies think I’m bad for my trophy collection,” snorted Rainbow Dash.
The two of them glanced at each other then, and for some reason everything just clicked. Applejack wasn’t sure which of them started snickering first, but a second later it grew into chuckling, then full-blown laughter, until the two of them were barely able to stand as they howled with mirth, unable to reconcile the seriousness of everything they were doing with the utter ridiculousness of the picture in front of them.
By the time they’d settled down, the two of them were sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the sky, the tension from a few minutes ago gone completely. For a little while neither spoke, just enjoying the companionable silence.
But the moment couldn’t last forever.
“We’ve been on a losing streak lately,” murmured Rainbow at last.
That hadn’t been what Applejack had expected to hear. “How do you figure?”
Rainbow shrugged, but it wasn’t the carefree motion she usually used. “We were doing fine up until Tirek, but then everything went sideways. First we lost Twilight during the Elemental Bleeds, not to mention that monster that tortured Fluttershy. Then Lex attacks Princess Celestia in her own throne room and gets away with it. Then Severance messes with your head, throws Pinkie and those fillies into that other world with no way to find them, and almost kills me. Then that lhak-whatever. Then my rematch with Lex.” She let that hang in the air for a moment. “We’ve been on a losing streak, and I’m worried about what’ll happen if we don’t break it soon.”
“C’mon Dash, you know that ain’t the whole truth,” protested Applejack softly. “We got Twilight back, and Fluttershy’s on the mend. You healed up after that darn scythe stabbed ya, and you helped me get my head back on straight after that. We found Pinkie again, and we know that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are alright for the time bein'. Now we’re gonna take care of things with Lex.”
“I hope so. Because I just keep remembering what that Mihr guy said, about how Lex is working with the Night Mare, and if they succeed then she’ll become not just the strongest god here in Equestria, but also on Everglow. So if we mess this up…”
“We won’t.” Standing up, Applejack offered Rainbow her foreleg, pulling her to her hooves. “So long as we all stick together, I’m sure that we can make it through anything.”
Rainbow answered her with a nuzzle, which turned into a kiss, and when they resumed their search for someone who knew Lex’s whereabouts a moment later, they walked through town with their sides gently touching.
Glancing over at Rarity, Twilight couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous on her friend’s behalf. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Rarity. I know the two of you have a history, and I don’t mind talking to him on my own.”
The offer made Rarity smile, but she shook her head nonetheless. “I appreciate that, darling. But as much as I hate to admit it, this might be our best bet for finding out where Lex Legis is, and even though your title is what’s getting us in, I’m the one with the…personal connection, which makes me the better candidate to follow up on this particular avenue. Besides,” she smiled wryly, “exploiting a regrettable romantic encounter to follow up on a lead is exactly what Shadow Spade would do.”
Twilight smirked at the mention of Rarity’s favorite fictional detective. “Daring Do would just sneak in and read his diary while he was out.”
“Well, I suppose that tells us which character has more class now, doesn’t it?” teased Rarity.
Twilight opened her mouth, but didn’t have a chance to reply as the door opened, admitting them into one of the larger rooms on board the yacht they were on, a skinny unicorn standing aside as he announced them.
“Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Lady Rarity to see His Highness, Prince Blueblood.”
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Pfft, asking for Blueblood to tell them unbiased information? Yeah, not the smartest thing Twilight has done. Still, considering how much the ponies of Vanhoover are backing Lex now and protecting him in return for his protecting them up to now, I'm not surprised with their choice. I would have expected some of the recently returned refugees would be more eager to assist the Mane 6 though I suppose after the display he put up against Starlight, they're probably singing a different tune now.
Still, I can't help but think a certain overly-friendly and dense stallion be the one to show Twilight and her friends the way to the manor...
Putting that aside, I actually enjoyed the interactions the Mane 6 had with the ponies of Vanhoover...well, not the yelling bit with Rainbow Dash and Applejack but the part where they made up and kiss after laughing at the silly mural(totally expecting it to somehow end up at a museum when Vanhoover is back up and running in the future, likely at Sonata's insistence)
...Really Spike, REALLY?
How many dragons do you know that fit the 'noble' or 'innocent' descriptors? Ember and Torch might fit the former, and only you really fits the latter. No others really count, and especially all the others YOU know don't count. The first dragon you ever met (that we know of) tried to kill you and Twilight, and Garble and co.'s definition of a good time is smashing pheonix eggs. And these are just Equestrian dragons, not Everglow ones, of which the Chromatic varieties are far, far, worse.
Stonewalled at e'ry bend
Hope to give Lex Legis a mend
But misinformation
Gathers in bunches
And I'd say that Blueboiled
Has all the wrong hunches.
Poor Yacht. Its going to end up a shell of its former glory.
The problem with people describing heros, is describing the hero in detail, and not what they actually did.
Spike is looking at Lex as Seven In One Blow, from the point of the Flies.
Pinkies second attempt is greeting by cannon? Lex is going to be very upset about gunboat diplomacy, and thats if the populance try to save him the hassle by running the girls out oftown on the rails within the hour.
ok this is going to sound strange from me,, most here know how i feel about the mane 6 and dip shit dragon!
i am hopping not for a good old fashion ass whipping but more along the lines of as Pall Harvey use to start his show with , and now for the rest of the story.
they need a good slap in the face with the hole truth and made to really listen to it.
if that means frozen so they cant move well that is good also.
10393975 At this point, the majority of the ponies living on the outskirts of Vanhoover have a positive view of Lex, and the Mane Six (plus two) have only started searching, so it's not implausible that they just haven't managed to meet anyone who doesn't think much of him yet. But as you noted, after seeing Lex just throw his all into defeating Starlight Glimmer, those ponies who didn't approve of him might be rethinking their position at the moment. So it's not too farfetched (as you noted) that Rarity and Twilight decided to turn to Blueblood for information. Of course, it's not like he ever made it to River's manor either...
That said, I'm glad you found the various shenanigans enjoyable! Writing the Mane Six is something I'm always a little nervous about, since they all have such strong personal voices, meaning that it's easy to identify when they're written badly. Fortunately that works in reverse also, i.e. if what I'm writing doesn't fit with their existing characterization, I can "hear" that it sounds wrong, though it's harder to correct the dialogue for some characters rather than others (e.g. Pinkie Pie).
By the way, did you remember that Tender Tree was a character that we've seen before? She's a resident of Tall Tale, present in chapters 15-16 and 37-38 (and mentioned briefly in chapter 39). So clearly she's come here as part of the lumber that Lex is buying to help build temporary housing.
10394071 This is one of those areas where the show is pretty clear: Spike knows very well that dragon culture doesn't have very many redeeming qualities, and yet he simply flat-out ignores that as it suits him.
Although Spike is attacked by a full-grown dragon in Owl's Well That Ends Well (season one, episode twenty-four), and flat-out rejects dragon culture in Dragon Quest (season two, episode twenty-one) to the point of flat-out identifying as a pony, these lessons don't really stick. By the time Spike at Your Service (season three, episode nine) comes around, Spike is talking about his "dragon code" so that he can be a "noble dragon." While it's easy to rationalize that as his reaction to how bad "non-noble" dragons are (or perhaps to avoid another round of greed-induced bigness like what he went through in Secret of My Excess, season two, episode ten), consider the song he sings when trying to convince Applejack not to dismiss him:
Even as late as Father Knows Beast (season eight, episode twenty-four), Spike is eager to learn "how to be a dragon" lessons from Sludge. And while that can be viewed through the lens of him seeking to bond with his (perceived) father, it's still him eagerly accepting the premise that being a dragon is a good thing (even when Sludge's lessons are blatantly awful and self-serving).
And of course, this fic is just barely starting where season five began, so Spike hasn't had much time to mature away from wanting to believe that dragons are awesome anyway (an opinion which I think he kept under the idea that Garble and some teenage jerks - who didn't seem like they were trying to kill him and the other ponies in their debut episode - don't represent their kind as a whole; I mean, aren't teenagers of all stripes generally accepted as being awful?)
Ironically enough, this isn't the case. Dragons of Everglow specifies that on that world, dragons' alignments aren't determined by type. In the case of Moss, the evil green dragon from the early chapters in this fic, I'll point out that those chapters were posted almost three years before the aforementioned book was released. Maybe he was a traditionalist at heart?
10394112 Hopefully, Rarity and Twilight know that enough to sort the wheat from the chaff where his information is concerned...presuming that there's any wheat there at all.
10394261 What can I say? When Pinkie throws a party, she really blows the doors off the place. Sometimes literally.
Spike is probably going to be a bit less easygoing where Lex is concerned now, I suspect.
10394394 If anything can convince them to give Lex a chance, it'll be testimonials from the ponies who have come to believe in Lex, though at this point the tension is high enough that most people seem more interested in keeping the Mane Six away from them rather than talking them down. I suppose having back-to-back-to-back interlopers appearing will do to frayed nerves.
10395213
I admit that while I have Dragons of Everglow I haven't had a chance to totally read through it. I mostly browsed through to see what applied to Luminous Dragons. Gonna make a point to read through it now.