848 - Stirring Up Fallout
The look on Lex’s face was one of unbridled joy.
It was so incredibly different from his usual expression that it almost made him look like somepony else entirely. There was no trace of his usual scowl. No calculating look in his eyes. No hint of hurt feelings or lingering anger.
Instead, as he lowered the half-dozen pages – and an equal number of quills – from his telekinesis and gathered them up in his hooves, an excited laugh escaped his lips as he looked them over one last time before laying them atop a stack of papers on his desk. It made him look much closer to his actual age, which from how he could barely see over the top of the desk despite sitting in a chair with several cushions piled atop it, couldn’t have been more than three or four years old.
Even before he’d finished, his horn lit up again, a silvery aura surrounding a single quill and a blank page as he scrawled one final addition to the manuscript he’d written.
A Comprehensive Elucidation of Socioeconomic Methodologies a Hegemonic Authority May Utilize for the Propitiation of Ponykind.
Sitting back in the overly-large chair, he stared at the title for a long moment, only for his smile to diminish as he looked at the title. Lowering the page, he glanced to the side, where an open backpack lay across the bed. From the top of it, several pages spilled forth, across which several notes had been added in red ink. “Too wordy!” read one, while another had “Verbose!” underlined several times.
The sight was enough to bring Lex’s usual scowl back, and his horn lit up again as he shoved the papers back into his knapsack, lifting it and tossing it to the floor angrily.
His good mood soured, he turned back to the title page he’d written, staring at it for several long moments of silence.
Then, he took up his quill again, and scribbled an additional line:
How Those In Charge Can Do More to Help Everypony.
Reading that over, his joyful smile returned, and he gave a crisp nod before making one final addition.
By Lex Legis.
With that, he laid the final page atop the others...and then he began to glow.
Rising up into the air, his eyes closed as the light shining from him grew brighter, turning into a blinding flash that filled the small room he was in.
When the light died down, Lex fell back onto the cushion, bouncing off them and collapsing with a yelp. Blinking, he shook his head as he climbed to his hooves...and did a double-take as he caught sight of his flank, which had been unadorned only a moment ago.
But now it sported a picture of a podium in front of an amphitheater.
He had just gotten his cutie mark.
Another carefree laugh escaped his muzzle, prancing in place before lifting his treatise in his telekinesis and galloping toward the door. “Mom! Dad!” he yelled as he ran out of his room. “I did it! I know how I can make a difference!”
And as she watched him go, Twilight couldn’t help but giggle, moving to follow him...
...only for the potion to suddenly wear off, the disorientation causing her to sway as the white glow faded from her eyes.
“Easy there,” came Starlight’s voice as Twilight felt a hoof reach out to steady her. “Remember what we said before? Take a second and let it fade.”
“Right,” mumbled Twilight, blinking her eyes a few times to help the dizziness pass. “Thanks, Starlight.”
It was only when she finished that Zecora spoke up. “I hope it’s not too soon to ask, but what did you see when you drank from the flask?”
Twilight sighed. “It was Lex again.”
Her answer caused Zecora and Starlight to share a quick glance, making Twilight grimace. “I wasn’t thinking about him this time,” she protested. “I was concentrating on what you told me about when you got your cutie mark, Starlight. But instead I saw him getting his.”
“Twilight, the reason we’re experimenting with Zecora’s retrocognition potions in the first place was because you wanted to figure out if they showed you what you were thinking about when you drank them, or if there was some other factor that determined what you saw,” Starlight reminded her. “This might be a clue in that regard.”
“If cutie marks were in your mind’s eyes, to have seen one is perhaps no great surprise,” agreed Zecora. “Especially of the stallion whom you’ve often mused, ever since his passing made the news.”
Giving Zecora a reproachful look at the blunt reminder of how morose Twilight had been ever since the news of Lex’s death had made the papers, Starlight lifted a paper and quill. “Let’s go ahead and record the details of this last vision while it’s still fresh.”
Nodding, Twilight recounted what she saw, answering a few questions as Starlight made notes. “...and that was where it ended,” she finished, sighing again. “It’s strange. Even though it looked adorable at the time, talking about it makes it seem so sad.”
“You said his expression was one of joy,” noted Zecora. “Surely finding his destiny pleased the boy?”
Twilight nodded, but her gaze fell to the ground as she did so. “It did, but...he was all alone when he got his cutie mark, even though his special talent was helping people. Maybe if he’d had a friend...”
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Starlight heaved a sigh of her own as she put the report aside. “Listen, Twilight, you’re five for five on seeing glimpses of Lex’s life. Maybe we should quit for today? You can try the rest of Zecora’s retcog potions some other time.”
But Zecora shook her head before Twilight could say anything. “I’m afraid they’ll be no more viewings of the past. Of my ‘retcog’ potions, those were the last.”
Both unicorns’ eyes widened at that. “You don’t have any more?” blurted Starlight.
“Can’t you make another batch?” asked Twilight in the same breath.
Slightly startled by the pair’s reactions, Zecora gave a helpless shrug. “That would be rather hard I fear, since that potion must be aged for many a year.” She waved a hoof at the empty bottles lying on the nearby table, next to her empty satchel. “I only brought these here for your examination, because they were nearing their date of expiration.”
Twilight slumped in place at that, and Starlight grimaced as she looked at her mentor’s forlorn expression. She’d been hoping that Zecora’s unexpected visit would be just the thing to help Twilight forget the guilt she’d been struggling with ever since she’d heard about Lex’s death. Instead, it had only made it worse.
But as far as Starlight was concerned, that was perfectly in keeping with the sort of pony Lex had been:
Even dead, he brought misery to those around him.
Knowing better than to say that out loud, Starlight instead put a hoof around Twilight’s shoulder. “Listen, you taught me that a pony’s cutie mark doesn’t mean that they can’t be friends with someone who’s different. But maybe the opposite is true also. Even a cutie mark in philanthropy might not be enough to save someone if they’re...broken inside.”
“The Princess of Friendship you may be, but it’s not your fault Lex Legis chose villainy,” added Zecora.
“I know,” sighed Twilight. “And I know that moping now won’t help anypony, but...I still wish I could have done something to help him.”
“Well, maybe you can help some other ponies on his behalf.” Telekinetically picking up the transcriptions that she’d made of each of Twilight’s visions, Starlight glanced over them. “We’ve got five glimpses into Lex’s past here: his losing his magic to Tirek, his chopping off his horn and replacing it King Sombra’s, his visiting the Crystal Empire and getting caught in Sombra’s stasis curse, his fighting some fish monsters in Vanhoover, and when he got his cutie mark.”
Pausing as she tried one last time to find any common thread – other than Lex himself – in the disjointed series of vignettes, Starlight quickly gave up, deciding that she didn’t want to spend more time thinking about that awful stallion than she had to. “Spike’s out on a date with Soft Mane, but I can have him send these to Princess Celestia when he gets back,” she offered. “Maybe she’ll be able to find something in them that can help her with Luna’s curse.”
But Twilight was already taking the papers in her own purple aura, either overlooking or ignoring Starlight’s reminder about who else Lex had hurt. “Thanks, but I’d rather go over these myself first. I’d hate to get the princesses' hopes up over nothing. Besides...”
Another frown crossed Twilight’s face as she glanced out a nearby window, one which showed the mountain Canterlot sat upon.
“...I think Princess Celestia has other things to worry about right now.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Willow made no reply, unmoved by Princess Celestia’s quiet show of distress. As much as she appreciated being able to raise her son in such an open and accepting country, she was growing less and less comfortable with being a catspaw for the alicorn’s dirty work. That the job kept taking her away from Sunflower was bad enough, but Willow was keenly aware that if word of her involvement in Lex’s death got out, the peaceful life she and her son were enjoying would come to an end.
Quite possibly a violent end, if recent events were any indication.
“What was Shining Armor thinking?”
Knowing that this time an answer was expected of her, Willow shrugged. “His wife was attacked. Or at least, that’s what he thought was happening. Sonata and Aria didn’t exactly make it clear that Blueblood was the one they were after, and since he and Cadance were on a date at the time...”
“I understand Shining Armor rushing to Cadance’s defense,” replied Celestia in a clipped tone. “Especially after what happened to her during the Elemental Bleeds. But I deliberately told him to leave Lex’s followers alone, not-”
She slammed a hoof down on the newspaper in front of her, over the headline which read “CALAMITY ON THE COAST!” above a picture of crystal ponies in Royal Guard armor fighting a mixed group of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies...all of whom had barbed wire designs painted on one foreleg.
“-to mount a full-scale invasion of Vanhoover!”
Willow didn’t flinch at the outburst, having been through far more intimidating meetings back on Everglow. “He was worried there’d be another attack on Cadance if he didn’t. Sonata and Aria are extremely popular there, for obvious reasons, and he was afraid that when they didn’t come back, someone would come looking to avenge them the same way they did Lex.”
“Which wouldn’t have happened in the first place if you hadn’t left a trail of breadcrumbs right back to Blueblood,” noted Celestia darkly. “What were you thinking, paying that assassin in IOUs with his signature on them?”
“They were promissory notes,” corrected Willow. Not that it mattered, but the accusation left her feeling rather petty. “And I didn’t have a choice. Dark Streak’s asking price for killing Lex was exorbitant, and she was prepared to walk if I didn’t meet it. I had to go looking for outside funding, and Blueblood was the only game in town. It would have been better if he’d cashed those notes instead of signing them over, but we were pressed for time.”
Sighing, she couldn’t keep up her irritation as the anxiety she’d been trying to clamp down on flared up. She’d known plenty of guys like Blueblood back on her home world, and was certain that beneath his arrogance and conceit was a large reservoir of cowardice. If he was cornered about the role he’d played in Lex’s death, she had no doubt he’d reveal her as a co-conspirator.
Thankfully, that hadn’t happened, but she couldn’t help but curse Dark Streak. “I really thought she’d take better care of those notes. Money is all assassins care about.”
“Which means that she wasn’t very good at her profession,” snapped Celestia. “Which was doubtlessly why she got another pony killed in the crossfire, despite my explicit instructions to the contrary. Now, an innocent mare is dead, my sister is still cursed, and further outbreaks of violence are happening!”
“I agree Dark Streak could have done a better job,” agreed Willow tersely. “And I’d tell her that if she hadn’t lost her own life in the battle. But at least she took down Lex with her. The question now is how do we deal with the aftermath before it gets any worse?”
The reminder that things hadn't improved in the wake of Lex's death drew Celestia’s eyes back to the newspaper headline, her expression turning pensive. “Did Shining Armor say anything about how they were repelled?”
“Only that the ponies in Vanhoover were much more organized than he expected, and had a lot more magic,” murmured Willow. “Oh, and that it ended with him signaling a retreat, rather than being routed. But I’m pretty sure that was just him being sore about what the newspaper is saying.”
“The fact that this made the papers at all is a bad sign.” Willow couldn’t be sure, with Celestia’s fur being white and all, but that admission seemed to make the princess turn slightly paler. “This is from Whinnyapolis, and the entire news industry there is run by old money. If they’re willing to print this, it’s because they’re coming down on Vanhoover’s side of things.”
Willow frowned at that. While she hadn’t spent too much time studying Equestrian geography, she was fairly certain that Whinnyapolis was nowhere near the west coast, where Lex’s followers were concentrated. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” murmured Celestia. “But I’ve sent somepony to find out.”
That was enough to make Willow raise a brow. “To Whinnyapolis?”
“To Vanhoover.”
“Wait, you mean...?”
Celestia nodded, her expression grim. “I’ve got an inside mare.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.101 seconds
Total duration
870 users online
568,384 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
quit
Shame Zecora ran out of those really handy potions cause that would have allowed her to see the things he saw, including what had really happened with Severance. Then again, even if she did, the Princesses would have still blamed Lex for wielding such a dangerous and willful weapon. Well that and what Starlight did to the NMK but they already forgave and accepted her so there's not much impact. Well, except for Starlight's own fear of rejection from her friends for her actions that they only knew by word of mouth.
Regardless, it seems Lex's 'death' has caused Equestria to fall into chaos and it was ultimately of their own doing due to Shining Armor's own paranoia winning out.
As for the news from Whinnyapolis, it seems that the deal Lex had made with the rich elite seems to be intact and working against the Royals. Then again, Aria and Sonata likely told them that Lex was still alive and are likely trying to endear themselves to the sisters so they'd speak favorably of them when Lex returns. Well that or Aria decided to convince them not to renege on their deal with a song or two.
Still, the fact that the Night Mare's congregation in Vanhoover seems to have exploded in number is a surprise, especially if they were able to repel Shining Armor's invasion. Then again, the ponies of Vanhoover do have some access to Everglow magic courtesy of the Night Mare so it's a force multiplier in itself.
Plus, the ponies of Vanhoover have experienced and survived the events that had transpired in their city thanks to Lex so they're more experienced with conflict and hardship compared to regular ponies at this point. And speaking of which, I think I know who might be the ones keeping them organized enough to repel Shining Armor and the Crystal Empire's Guards.
Personally I'm rather glad to see Celestia's scheme has blown up in her face. Now I'm really looking forward to Lex's return to Equestria.
11636214 Typo fixed now. Thanks for catching that!
Touching on Zecora's "plot device" potions (as I've heard them called) is something I've wanted to do for a little while (though in the context of this story, "a little while" is "several years of real time"), as I never quite got over how the show so conveniently introduced them once and then never referenced them again. So this is my take on that; that they're the sort of potion that takes years to prepare, and goes bad fairly quickly. And, of course, whose ingredients are rare, but honestly I think that rare ingredients are the entire reason that Zecora lives in (and immigrated to) the Everfree Forest in the first place.
That said, the impact that Lex made on Equestria hasn't blown over the way Celestia was clearly hoping it would. If anything, this seems to be her worst-case scenario, as his "death" has only inflamed tensions. Worse, the fact that Vanhoover managed to withstand an invasion from the Crystal Empire is not only a signal of the former's military strength (which is shocking considering that they just survived a disaster that flattened the place), but has the potential to signal the beginning of a larger, more drawn-out conflict. And given that a newspaper from a city nowhere nearby is apparently throwing their lot in with Lex's followers...well, it's bad news all around.
Celestia may have gotten rid of Lex, but she's paying a very high price for it. And while she's not taking it lying down, apparently having dispatched somepony to the city to try and at least get some better information, I suspect that she's going to find things getting worse before they get better. After all, I doubt that Coat Tail and Tranquila have kept quiet about the communique they received from their prince. And even without Lex's presence, worship of the Night Mare seems to have continued to grow.
Overall, Equestria seems to be on its way to becoming a land divided, with Harmony being seriously (perhaps irreparably) damaged.
One can only wonder what will happen when (since "when" seems much more likely than "if," now) Lex comes back.
11636335 Celestia has managed to make quite the mess of things, hasn't she? Ultimately, she got what she wanted (i.e. Lex is gone), but it hasn't solved any of the problems she seemed to think it would. If anything, it seems to be the starting point for quite a few new ones.
Vanhoover is really becoming a chunk of grit in the harmonic operation of Equestria. Wonder if Lex will eventually end up coming to a compromise equivalent to the event horizon of a Pearls surface, as given time, the pearl continues to grow?
Finally caught up. Pretty great to see everything come together. Now I only need Lex to go back to Equestria and tell them that he is not dead. Their reaction will be hilarious, Rather than die after the assassin ‘killed him’ he just became stronger and immortal with another Siren (if possible) in the bag.
11636443 There's no doubt that Lex's actions have damaged Harmony (with a capital "H"), though the fact that he's propagated the worship of an evil goddess probably has a lot to do with that on a metaphysical, Harmony-is-an-actual-form-of-energy level. As for what the end result of that is, well...that depends on what happens between now and when he returns (since that seems increasingly likely), and what he does when he finally comes back to Equestria.
11636454 Given the power difference between Lex when he "died" and Lex now...yeah, it's going to be quite the second coming.
And we don't even know exactly what the Night Mare meant by his prize being immortality...yet.