Let’s see what you do now, Lex Legis.
River had planted herself right in front of him, slightly closer than was polite, her features set in an imperious frown as she waited for Lex’s response to her ultimatum. Out of her periphery, she could see Sonata biting her lip, a worried look on her face. It was enough to make River smirk inwardly, certain that she’d been right to take this approach.
That little performance these two had just put on in order to manipulate those other ponies had been very well done. Lex acted like he was about to start berating somepony, leaving them nervous and defensive, at which point Sonata stepped in and smoothed things over. With him using that little ventriloquism trick to tell her what to say (doubtlessly disguised as some bit of magic, hence the whole gesturing and whispering act), she’d then take advantage of the fact that they were grateful to have been spared his wrath to get them to comply with whatever Lex was having her say. It was a smart tactic, and it quite clearly got results.
Except now you can’t use your little inamorata for that one-two routine, laughed River silently. All she’d had to do was insist that they speak directly, and that was the end of that; even if Lex was rude enough to ignore her polite request, his “tough guy” routine would make it harder for him to insist that he hide behind his girl now that he’d been called out. Which means that you’ll have to deal with me yourself. Now, show me what you’re made of. His response would make it clear how he responded to adversity, and since he had already fled Canterlot after finding out that he wasn’t able to play with the big boys, River was betting that he’d-
“Your finances have been seized as part of the recovery efforts for this city. They’ll be returned when the situation permits, and not before.”
River’s brow furrowed. Lex’s response had been delivered in a cold, matter-of-fact tone, stated while looking her dead in the eye with that irritated glare of his. That hadn’t been what she had expected; based on how he’d been conducting himself before, she’d expected him to either fly into a rage in an attempt to intimidate her, or he’d have backed off since Sonata wasn’t able to act as his shield. Instead, he’d riposted.
Nor, it seemed, was he done yet. “I’m also commandeering your watercraft. Until such a time as the state of emergency on this city can be lifted, I will be administrating its use, along with any other material goods or possessions you might have that can be used to facilitate Vanhoover’s recovery.”
River couldn’t stop herself from letting out an incredulous laugh at that, her eyes widening as she glanced at Sonata in disbelief. Who does this little twerp think he’s talking to? “Oh, I don’t think so,” she chuckled, still unable to believe what he’d just said. “I think what’s going to happen is that you’re going to apologize to me immediately for your rude conduct, and then we’ll discuss my lending you certain funds and provisions, and what you can do to pay me back for what you’ve already stolen.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” muttered Sonata from the side, her eyebrows arched as she watched the exchange.
“Otherwise,” continued River without missing a beat, “you’re going to have a very hard time doing much of anything around here.” She let that hang in the air for a moment, making it clear that she wasn’t playing around. “You might not realize this, since you’re new here and all, but my family-”
“-is irrelevant,” interjected Lex. His voice was filled with scorn now, talking to her in the same tone that she’d used when Piggy was misbehaving. “I have assumed total authority over Vanhoover, which means that my declarations are absolute. Whatever influence you had here now exists solely under my auspices, and are dependent on your compliance with the laws and regulations that I promulgate.” He took a step closer to her then, putting himself practically nose-to-nose with her. “This city and its ponies have endured catastrophic hardships, and now that all of the immediate threats to their existence have been dealt with, no effort will be spared in repairing the damage and restoring an acceptable standard of living for everypony. As you are in possession of things which can facilitate that process, they are hereby confiscated until such as time as the circumstances permit them to be returned or recompensed. You do not have the right to refuse.” With that, he stepped past her, curtly calling out to Sonata as he started to walk away from her, the other mare trotting to catch up with him.
For her part, River just stood there, openmouthed as she felt her blood begin to boil. The last time anypony had spoken to her like that, she’d been a filly who could only dream of one day becoming someone important. Even those selfish snobs in Canterlot had maintained an air of sophistication when they’d rebuffed her attempts to find a wizard to use an age spell on her. For this, this…nopony to talk to her like that…it was utterly insufferable!
“I won’t.”
Behind her, she heard the pair’s hoofsteps come to a halt. “Listen, River,” came Sonata’s voice. “I’m really thinking that you don’t want to say anything else. I mean, I’m getting that you didn’t really listen to me before, but if you talk to Piggy-”
“I won’t give you anything,” continued River, turning around to look at them. Sonata was giving her, of all things, a look of pity. Lex still had his back to her, but as she watched he slowly turned around, and River’s eyes widened as she saw his face. It wasn’t the look of severity on it that made her flinch, however; it was that his eyes had changed. The white parts had turned a brilliant green, and even under the bright sunlight she could tell that they were glowing. More than that, from the outer corner of each eye sprang a spectral contrail of purple, flickering slightly as he moved.
For just a moment the display left River feeling unsure of herself, wondering if maybe she had miscalculated. After all, there apparently really had been some sort of cannibal zombies roaming the streets of the city until recently. If everything else Sonata had told her about was true, then… No, decided River. That’s just not possible. This is some ridiculous bit of legerdemain that he’s using to try and look frightening, that’s all. He’s in over his head and trying to act like he’s in charge, but he’s really just some brat who can’t do anything except bloviate and use a few small tricks.
Having reassured herself, River looked at Lex steadily as she spoke. “I’m going to have two of my staff take my yacht to Tall Tale, where you can’t reach it. That will be after I load as much of my family’s money and valuables on it as I can. Then I’m going to have the rest of them come here and collect the food that my money purchased, so those vagrants out there can work for me if they want to eat. I’m also going to instruct everypony who lives or works on any property my family owns not to do business with you unless they want to find a new residence or place of employment once they move back into the city. And that’s just for starters.” She shot a triumphant sneer at him then, her lip curling. “When I’m through with you, the only way you’ll be able to earn any bits in this town is if you fish them out of the fountain in the square.”
It was a shame that she wouldn’t be able to turn the McNeighs’ little pawn against them the way she’d hoped, but it probably wasn’t much of a loss. It was clear now that Lex was either arrogant beyond all belief or completely delusional, but either way one thing was clear: the McNeighs wouldn’t support him after this. None of the Big Three families had wanted any sort of open conflict between them – that would have done nothing but turn the public against all of them, and at worst would have brought the Princesses down on them – which meant that they’d never stand up for Lex now. Instead, they’d cut their ties with him, and their losses as well. He’ll run back to them now, telling them what I’m about to do and demanding that they support him with whatever retaliation he’s probably already dreaming up, and they’ll have no choice but to end things. The thought made the corners of her mouth turn up. It was such a shame she wouldn’t be there to see the epic temper tantrum he’d have when he realized that he’d been outmaneuvered. Then you and your little trophy mare can run along to some other city and try agai- “Ouch!”
Lifting her foreleg off the ground, River peered down at what had just pricked the underside of her hoof. There, growing out of the ground, was a small black crystal. Even as she watched, it continued to grow, sharp points springing out from it and reaching upward like a flower. Nor was it the only one. All around her, from the ground and even from the back wall of the train station, more black crystals were sprouting. “What the…?”
“Oh, you are so in for it now.” The wry note in Sonata’s voice made River look up, confused as to why neither of them was alarmed by what was happening. Instead, Lex was still glaring at her, while Sonata sent her a surprisingly cruel-looking smirk. “Spoiler alert,” she jeered, “this only happens when he’s, like, really mad.”
“What are you…?” River trailed off as she realized what Sonata was implying, feeling the blood start to drain from her face. She didn’t know very much about magic, but even she could figure out that this wasn’t some piddling little prestidigitation. And if Lex was doing this…
“You misbegotten, wretched, pathetic excuse for a pony.” Lex didn’t shout the words, but although it was tightly constrained, the fury in his voice was still audible as he stalked toward her. “You were told what happened in this city. You saw the conditions that everypony here has to live in. And your response is to threaten to interfere with their assistance unless your own situation is guaranteed?!” His control seemed to snap then, the last few words coming out as a snarl. “You will suffer the consequences for your perfidy!”
River had been confident that whatever magic Lex had was inconsequential, only slightly more notable than the average unicorn possessed. But the crystals growing around her now suggested otherwise, and she had no desire to find out exactly how wrong she’d been now that Lex had reached the point of screaming at her. Turning, she bolted between the black crystals, making a break for it. If she could get back to her manor, she could instruct her staff to grab whatever they could and hurry to the yacht. Piggy would be fine here, he had been so far-
“Severance!”
A moment after Lex’s odd cry rang out, the huge scythe that Lex had been carrying swooped down in front of her, causing River to cry out in alarm as the blade swung right in front of her face. It didn’t make contact, missing her by inches as it cut a huge gash in the ground. Then, in complete defiance of common sense, it picked itself up again and hovered in place, turning to point its blade at her all by itself. There’s no aura around that thing, thought River in a panic, so why is it moving on its own?! But there was no time to figure it out. Instead, she turned and ran in another direction, trying to get away-
Only for a shadow with green-and-purple eyes to rise up out of the ground directly in front of her.
River couldn’t help the scream of terror that she gave then, falling to the ground as she skidded to a stop, barely noticing as her dress was stained and her hat fell from her head. Shaking, she started to crawl backward, trying to put more distance between herself and that…thing that Lex had become. But it was futile, and a moment later the free-floating shadow was hovering over her, those eyes seeming to pin her in place. “W-wait!” she pleaded. “We can make a deal!”
“You have nothing to offer me!” hissed Lex, the edges of his shadowy body writhing in agitation. “You already had an obligation to lend me your assistance in helping everypony, and you abrogated it! That level of moral turpitude requires a curse of equal magnitude!” He moved in on her then, and she felt another scream rising in her throat. But Lex’s angry roar drowned it out.
“NOW, YOU WILL PAY!”