746 - Inner Demons
For all that Lex had wrung out of Akna when it came to the Rite of Sublimation, her store of useful information had ended when it came to the nature of the test involved.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t been able to describe what she’d gone through – under the command of divine authority (or should he call it the Charismata now?), she’d had no choice but to recount everything that she recalled, without exception – but that the ordeal was so personal as to be unique to each individual. Certainly, her own experience upon entering the Confluence had lent credence to that idea, as she’d described what had sounded to Lex like an altogether bland scenario where the yetis were attacking her tribe, resulting in her being ushered off to safety while the rest of her people, including her grandmother, went to fight them.
“It was because I was too valuable to be put in danger,” Akna had recounted at the time, ears flattening as she’d spoken. “Not because I was a shaman; my grandmother had a stronger connection to the spirits than I did, and she went to fight. No, it was because I hadn’t fulfilled my duty to breed a new generation of shamans. Since my grandmother was no longer fertile, that job was mine.”
Despite being wrapped thoroughly in the Charismata’s power, the memory had made her bristle with anger, straining against the bonds holding her. “I can wield a spear as well as any adlet my age, and I can summon a snow spirit to fight just like my grandmother! But they still treated me like a weakling, just because they wanted to protect my womb!”
For Akna, passing the Rite had meant going back to fight, despite having been almost torn to pieces. “It was the worst fight I’d ever been in,” she’d admitted. “I lost my spear early on once the battle started, and since I’d been given no armor, I was slashed and torn to the point where my clothes were reduced to bloody rags. But I remembered what my grandmother had told us of our ancestors, the winter wolves. How they were savages who fought naked with nothing but their teeth and claws. So that’s how I cut down the yetis, shredding them with the body my kin thought needed to be safeguarded. And when it was over, I’d become a winter wolf myself...and everyone else, my grandmother included, turned their backs on me even though I’d saved their lives.”
The maudlin nature of her tale had almost made him roll his eyes.
But if there was one thing that Lex had taken away from her story, it was that the Rite’s trial was likely to involve some sort of violent altercation. Or rather, some instance where personal determination was necessary in the face of both severe pushback and serious consequences for failure. Such things went to the very heart of the Night Mare’s dogma, he knew, and so it was no surprise that a spiritual struggle – which was what the Rite of Sublimation was, with the Confluence being a concentration of her power leaking into the physical world – would involve such things.
That was why Lex had felt no real trepidation at the prospect of undergoing the Rite. After all, he had overcome many such trials. Even overlooking the torments that he endured every night in his dreams, he had faced numerous instances where he’d needed to defeat a seemingly-unbeatable foe, lest unbearable consequences fall not only upon himself, but others whom he was bound to protect.
It was almost as though the last few months of his life had been in preparation for this.
As the Confluence enveloped him, and the blackness swallowed everything – wiping out not only his vision, but also his senses of hearing and smell, the numerous aches and pains assailing his body, the ambient coolness of the cavern, his awareness of gravity, and everything else – Lex pulled the familiar aegis of his anger around him, remembering all of the hardships he’d endured and pain that he’d suffered, daring the Night Mare to throw more at him.
Bring it on! he roared, unable to hear himself except in his own thoughts. Xiriel! Prevarius! Tlerekithres! Bolverk! Grisela! Lirtkra! That dragon! Throw them all at me! I overcame them before, and I can do it again! I CAN DO IT-
“-AGAIN!”
Pausing as he realized that he could hear the sound of his own voice, Lex looked around...
And found that he was no longer within the Confluence.
In fact, he was no longer within the Shrine of the Starless Sky at all.
Instead, he was standing on a lush red carpet laid out in a spacious hallway. The ceiling was several dozen feet overhead, and tall windows lined one of the walls, showing a cloudless blue sky above an expansive lawn. On the other wall were several ornate doors, the generous distance between them indicating that they led to rooms or other hallways that were no less extensive than where he was now. Flowers lined wall sconces between them, giving the entire place a pleasant floral odor, and outside he could hear the soft chirping of birds.
But that wasn’t the only sound he could hear, his ears turning toward an open door at the end of the hallway, from which voices were audible. But they weren’t talking.
Instead, they were laughing.
Pausing as he tried to orient himself, it took Lex a moment to realize that he recognized this place. Canterlot Castle, he noted, fighting down a surge of surprise to find himself here. He’d only been in the building once before, for a short time after he’d come back from his first sojourn to Everglow, but there was no mistaking the distinct style of the place. Which means those voices belong to...
Holding still as he turned his full attention toward open door, through which the sun shined brightly enough that nothing else could be made out, he paused for a moment, listening harder.
Sure enough, one of the laughing voices was that of Princess Celestia.
Another few seconds of consideration also revealed that Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were also joining her in her mirth. But there was a fourth voice also – this one male – that he couldn’t immediately place, despite being struck by a powerful sense of familiarity.
Silhouette, he decided after a moment. He’d never heard that vile stallion sound so relaxed and easygoing before, but there was no one else he could think of who would fit with the situation that was making itself known. So the Night Mare wants me to fight the ponies who’ve stood in my way up until now.
That wasn’t what he’d expected, but a moment’s reflection was all it took to understand the implications. The goddess didn’t simply want him to kill monsters; she wanted him to demonstrate his commitment to mastering Equestria, which would mean subjugating its current rulers and their servants, overcoming them and forcing them to pledge their allegiance to his new regime.
It was enough to earn a snort of disdain from him as he strode toward the door. His physical aches and pains were gone now – suspended, he knew, since this was a spiritual place rather than a physical one – but he could still feel that his dark magic reserves were almost totally depleted. Not that it matters. With how weak the alicorns are, my thaumaturgical spellcasting will be more than enough to lay them low.
After all, he’d done exactly that before.
Still, this time he’d be facing the Royal Sisters together with Twilight Sparkle, so it would likely be more difficult than facing them individually. And of course, Silhouette would doubtlessly try to disrupt his spellcasting at inopportune moments. And the other Elements of Harmony might be nearby as well, he mused silently as he reached the doorway, along with Princess Cadance and her husband. He’d never actually met the rulers of the Crystal Empire – having only caught a brief glimpse of them during King Sombra’s takeover attempt – but given how their polity was little more than a client state of Equestria, it made sense that-
Lex stopped dead in his tracks as the door swung open, his train of thought grinding to a halt as he caught sight of the ponies beyond it.
Sitting on a balcony overlooking Canterlot, clustered around a table laden with cake and teacups, four ponies were laughing. Three of them were whom he’d expected: Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.
But he’d gotten the identity of the fourth pony completely wrong.
Lex stared, wide-eyed, at the stallion – an alicorn – who was laughing with the three princesses around the table.
Lex stared at himself.
“Ah, there he is!” exclaimed the other Lex, his laughter settling down into an easy grin as he nudged Twilight, nodding in the direction of the door. The announcement caused the three princesses’ mirth to subside as well, though like their male counterpart, they were still smiling as they turned to look at him.
“Come and join us,” continued his alicorn-self, one wing gesturing toward an empty chair that was set between himself and Luna. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“I want to make sure I’m understanding you correctly,” began Spinner, her voice strained. “You’re saying there’s a gigantic creature right outside the doorway, with the body of a crocodile and seven wolf heads, each of which has flames where the eyeballs should be?”
“That about sums it up,” murmured Thermal Draft, speaking softly so as to not trigger another coughing fit.
“And Lex was riding on it when he came back?” continued the bard. Even with their room being once again completely shrouded in darkness, her awe was impossible to overlook. “I can’t believe I missed that!”
“What I can’t believe,” growled Akna, “is that you actually made a light here in the Shrine! Do you have any idea how much that offends the Night Mare?!”
“Oh come off it,” snorted Shadow. “Lex’s eyes were glowing every time he so much as used his horn, so what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that this is a holy place!” growled Akna. “Your actions are an offense to the goddess!”
“We weren’t trying to be disrespectful,” interjected Mystaria, her voice apologetic. “But it’s really hard to be kept in darkness for so long, since my darkvision spell only lasts for a short time, and we don’t want to make Drafty strain herself casting her version of it over and over.”
“Doing something hard is what builds strength!” huffed Akna, not sounding mollified in the least.
“It also makes it difficult for us to take care of Woodheart when we can’t see how she’s doing,” noted Valor, before an indignant meeping caused her to sigh. “When none of us except Littleknight can see how she’s doing,” she corrected.
“That’s still no reason-”
“Will you shut up about the damned light already?!” snapped Shadow. “Yeah, fine, it’s a sin; big freaking deal! We’ve been sitting here in the pitch black for I don’t know how long, meanwhile Woodheart is comatose, Solvei is dead, and Thermal Draft is dying!”
“Shadow,” groaned Spinner.
“All while we’re surrounded by monsters, including the one Lex just brought back and left right on our doorstep, who’re probably really hungry and are painfully aware that we don’t worship the same goddess that they do, which means that we’re not protected by the ‘no violence’ rule here! Sure, Lex, being the big tough alpha stallion that he is, is protecting all of us, except for the fact that he’s not here right now!”
“Shadow,” sighed Valor.
“Instead, he’s off chasing some right that may grant him some ultimate power, except that it might turn him into a monster too, in which case all we can do is run away! Probably right into the arms of the other monsters who’re no doubt waiting outside to pounce on us as soon as we come up for air!”
“Shadow,” pleaded Mystaria.
“So yeah, I can’t really give a damn that the Night Mare might be offended that we made ONE LITTLE LIGHT IN HER SHRINE!!!”
In the aftermath of her last, frustrated scheme, silence fell...until an inquisitive barking came from outside.
“That’s Teyu,” murmured Thermal Draft, clearing her throat softly. “The seven-headed beast that Lex brought back. I’ll go t-tell...” She couldn’t finish, breaking out into another coughing fit.
“I’ll go tell him everything’s alright,” volunteered Akna. “And then I’ll check and see if there’s any sign of how Lex is doing with the Rite of Sublimation. You all should use that time to figure out how you’re going to make up for your transgression, because I can promise you that show of disrespect for the goddess whose hospitality you’re taking advantage of won’t go unanswered for.”
Waiting until the sound of her footpads had left the room, Valor fumbled her way over to the sound of Drafty’s coughing. “Easy,” she murmured, reaching out to gently pat the pegasus on the back. “Easy. Breathe slowly and deeply.”
“Are you talking to Drafty, or to Shadow?” muttered Spinner, her voice biting. “Because I think our team’s cutpurse needs to work on her anger.”
“Maybe our resident filidh could sing me a song next time,” shot back Shadow, “since compared to her crooning, I’m sure my voice sounds like a chorus of angels.”
“Stop it, both of you!” snapped Mystaria. “Spinner, your comments aren’t helping! And Shadow, I understand that you’re frustrated, but blowing your top like that only makes things worse! Just listen to Drafty; what if you upset her to the point of coughing so hard she miscarries?!”
“Wait, miscarries?!” came Valor’s shocked voice.
“She’s pregnant?!” yelped Shadow.
“Real smooth, Mysty,” noted Spinner dryly. “And after she specifically told us that she wanted it kept secret.”
“...oops,” gulped Mystaria. “Sorry Drafty.”
Managing to get her breath back under control, Thermal Draft could only groan. “I just hope Lex is handling things better than we are.”
“...so it’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about,” finished Akna, hoping that Teyu understood what she was telling him.
When two of his heads barked, and then he laid down and closed his fourteen eyes, she took that as a sign that he did, backing away slowly. She had no idea how Lex had tamed that monstrosity, but she didn’t want to hang around it any longer than she had to. Instead, she turned around and headed for the cathedral. She’d deal with those ponies’ blasphemy later.
Now that the Rite was finally underway, it was almost time for her to make her move.
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A pasado un tiempo espero que todo te allá ido bien en estas semana. Por acá ah habido lluvia y baja temperatura hay agrigarse bien.
Cuídate mucho y suerte en todo bye.
11336051 ¡Qué bueno verte de nuevo! Las cosas me van bien. Espero que sigas encontrando interesante esta historia. Como siempre, disculpe mi pobre español, ya que estoy usando Google Translate.
Tranquilo amigo aquí me pasa algo parecido del español al inglés. Bueno acabo de llegar del trabajo ando agotado.me iré a dormir cuídate mucho, te escribo en otro momento bye
Lex thought he was going to enter a physical or magical fight.
He is entering a mental fight with his absolute weaknesses being targeted. As well as anything else to trip him up etc?
Outside interference Akna?
I expected his tulpa but It was something way worse... Him having social skills
I figured Lex's trial would be more mental/emotional rather than physical since he's been in many altercations where he's more often than not at an disadvantage and he has already proven himself in that regard so the trial focusing on his emotions is to be expected though the form of said trial was completely unexpected.
My best guess is that it's going to show Lex how his efforts in changing Equestria could have been much more smoother had he been more diplomatic and amicable with the princesses instead of the trials and tribulations he faced that had nearly killed him on multiple occasions.
11336127 Lex was expecting a test of his personal resolve in the face of hardship. Instead, he looks to be on the receiving end of a test that's aimed at something else, which means that he's going into this unprepared. That's not a good sign, even before taking into account that the nature of what's about to happen is no doubt going to be personal in some other way, which likely won't end well for him. Here's hoping he can adapt on the fly.
11336205 That certainly seems to be indicative of what he's facing now. The question is exactly what sort of test this is supposed to be; Lex is brilliant, but his conceptual thinking skills do much better with systems and processes than they do with other people...of course, these aren't people, but representations of whatever test he's being put through, so maybe he'll be able to figure it out?
11336446 It seems presumable, at this point, that this isn't going to be a test that requires combat to resolve. But exactly what he's supposed to do now is up in the air. While there's no particular method of easily determining what's going on, Lex will hopefully keep a cool head, analyze the situation, and put what he can determine to good use. Of course, that might involve reading the other ponies present (or their facsimiles, as it were), and that's not exactly his strong suit. Maybe there's a hint in that?