//------------------------------// // 429 - Sharing Information // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// By the time lunch was being served, Aisle had completely lost his appetite. The beginning of the meeting had been innocuous enough. While Luna’s appearance had been a bombshell, Princess Celestia had quickly gotten order restored. After a brief round of introductions – with everyone saying who, and in a few cases what, they were – the senior princess had promptly gotten down to business. The next several hours had been one big sharing session, as – at Princess Celestia’s direction – they had gone around the room, with each person volunteering what they knew about Lex Legis. Princess Celestia had gone first, describing her initial meeting with the stallion in question and how it had concluded with him attacking her and fleeing Canterlot when she had refused to turn Equestria over to him, their second meeting where she and Luna had reached an agreement to send Lex to oversee Vanhoover, and then their disastrous third encounter only a few days ago. That last one had left Aisle reeling, and he hadn’t been alone in his shock and horror: Cozy, who had been sitting between him and Pillow, had pulled both of them close, shaking like a leaf. Others had similar reactions to the story. Shining Armor had a grim look on his face, surreptitiously looking between Luna and Cadance, clearly imagining his wife in the fallen alicorn’s place. Line Byline had looked positively green at Celestia’s description, though the pencil in his telekinetic aura continued to scribble in his notepad. Spike, Princess Twilight’s dragon, had openly stared at Luna with wide eyes, until Soft Mane had sharply elbowed him. Luna herself, however, had remained perfectly composed while her sister had described what had happened to her. Remaining silent until Celestia had finished, her only contribution had been to add that Lex’s dreams were sealed somehow, preventing her from intruding upon them. After that, the spotlight shifted to each of them in turn. Princess Twilight had described meeting Lex on Everglow, talking about how he’d helped her and her friends liberate a group of slaves from bondage…and the date he had insisted on taking her on afterward. Soft Mane had angrily relayed how Lex had belittled her at every turn, calling her a freak right to her face and ridiculing Lashtada, her goddess. Spike hadn’t had much to add after the two mares, saying mostly that while Lex had acted like “a real grouch” he hadn’t seemed like that bad of a guy (something which earned him an angry glare from Soft Mane). Applejack had confessed to being unsure about Lex’s true nature, saying how he’d been “meaner than an Appleloosan rattler with a headache,” but had fought hard to protect everyone when she, her sister, and her sister’s friends had been pulled into the realm of the dark goddess, Kara. Not everyone had something to add, of course. Rarity and Fluttershy had never met Lex before. Neither had Grass Patch, Soft Mane’s mother. Line Byline had briefly recapped what had been printed in his newspaper before apologizing for not knowing anything else, since the story had been submitted by one of his reporters who had yet to return to Canterlot. Zecora, the zebra who for some reason always spoke in rhyme, had likewise nothing to contribute. “Each of these tales is quite a surprise, but upon this dread pony, I’ve never laid eyes,” as she’d put it. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor had been in the same boat. By the time all eyes had turned in their direction, Aisle had largely worked out what he was going to say. It had been encouraging to hear that there were others here who didn’t think that Lex was evil incarnate, an opinion which matched Aisle’s own. Lex had been dour, humorless, and intimidating, to be sure, to say nothing of being incredibly harsh with anyone who crossed him…but he had still used his powers selflessly for everyone’s sake, putting himself at risk time and again to protect the ponies of Vanhoover and never asking for anything in return. As humiliating as it had been when the uncompromising stallion had cursed him, Aisle was quite aware that the only reason he was alive right now was because of Lex. Pillow had stood up first, adding himself to the list of attendees who had never actually met Lex, and Aisle had taken a second to glance at Cozy. He’d long been aware that she had a far less charitable opinion about Lex than she did, but maybe she’d be different now? After all, she’d forgiven Fencer for what she’d done to Pillow; maybe she’d found it in her heart to forgive Lex as well? Especially after how Pillow had reminded her about what Lashtada said about hating people… But that hope had died a dramatic death a few seconds later, when Cozy had leapt to her hooves as soon as Pillow had sat down. “Lex Legis is a monster!” “Cozy…” The disappointed sigh had come from Pillow; Aisle himself had been too busy feeling surprised by the vehemence in his wife’s voice. “I’m sorry, Pillow,” Cozy had continued then. “I know that Lashtada tells us to find it within ourselves to love those who wrong us, but…I just can’t. Not for him. Not after seeing him act so cold and so cruel to so many ponies. Lashtada forgive me, but I can’t.” Ignoring everyone else watching them, she’d given her first husband a pleading look then, as though begging him to understand. “Did Aisle tell you that Lex wouldn’t even let me mourn you the way I wanted when you died? How I tried to pray for a miracle over your body and he wouldn’t let me, telling me it was hopeless?” “He actually said that?!” asked Soft Mane, her voice outraged. Cozy nodded miserably. “He disguised it with some babble about how god-given magic works, but that was what he meant. When I wouldn’t stop, he had Sonata use her magic on me to make me fall asleep.” “What an atrocious thing to do!” Rarity’s face had been a mixture of indignation and sympathy. “I can’t believe anypony could do something so cruel to a mare in mourning! You poor dear, you must have been absolutely shattered!” “I was,” admitted Cozy, before turning and giving Aisle a look. “If it hadn’t been for Aisle, for my other true love being there for me when I woke up, I would have taken my own life shortly after.” Gasps rang out at that, and Aisle felt like he needed to say something then, but Cozy hadn’t been finished, turning to look at Princess Celestia. “That’s how I know Lex is a monster. Aisle was always there for me, even when I didn’t appreciate him for it. Even when I lashed out at him for it. And that made me realize how much I love him. But Sonata…Lex uses and manipulates that poor mare, making her do his bidding, and he doesn’t show her the slightest bit of kindness in return.” Princess Twilight had winced at that, her ears folding back as a guilty look had crossed her face. “They looked like an okay couple to me,” she’d murmured. But Cozy had simply shaken her head again. “Did you ever hear him say anything nice to her, instead of just barking commands or insulting her intelligence? Did he ever bring her flowers, or write her a poem, or even just say that he loves her?” “I don’t think Lex is a poetry kinda guy,” had been Spike’s response, his voice wry. “He doesn’t care about her,” Cozy had insisted, “or anypony else! I’ll admit that he’s a good protector and a decent provider, but he uses other people for his own goals and desires. The way he treats Sonata is a sin against Lashtada, and the way he treats everyone else is an affront to basic pony decency. He gave me orders to work only a few hours after Pillow died, and when Aisle convinced Sonata to tell a little white lie to spare me that horrible stallion’s wrath when I wouldn’t, Lex found out about it later and cursed all three of us, just like he did to Princess Luna!” She’d pointed at the mare in question then, and Aisle had winced, seeing the way Luna closed her eyes at that, and how Princess Celestia’s had narrowed. But Cozy had kept on going. “I know some of you think that his actions make him a good pony, but if you saw what was in his heart the way I have, you’d know that he’s not! He’s-” “Thank you, Comfy Cozy,” Princess Celestia’s voice had cut in then. “You’ve been very helpful.” “But-” “Thank you.” There had been steel in the princess’s voice that time, and Cozy had sunk into her seat at last. “I think for now we should break for lunch,” continued Celestia, “and then we can hear from everyone else and move on to the next topic for discussion.” Unsurprisingly, there had been no objections. Lunch had been a tense affair. Although the castle staff had laid a magnificent feast by any standards – containing a wide selection of vegetables, various dairy products, eggs, oats, fruits, an array of spices, seasonings, and sauces, and a dessert selection with every sort of cake imaginable – nearly everypony had eaten in silence. Aisle hadn’t bothered to eat at all, instead concentrating on soothing Cozy, who seemed to have finally realized that she had gone too far, while Pillowcase had spent the majority of the meal talking to the princesses, trying to smooth things over. Aisle could only hope that he’d managed to succeed; the last thing he wanted was for this conference to end with their wife being thrown in the dungeon. Out of the corner of his eye, Aisle saw Pillow stand up and – after one last smiling exchange with Princess Celestia – trot back over to them, sitting on Cozy’s other side. He’d barely had a chance to put a foreleg around their wife before Aisle spoke up. “How did it go?” “Everything’s fine.” Pillow’s response came with an easy smile, giving Aisle a reassuring nod before turning to Cozy. “Sweetheart, everything’s fine,” he repeated. “The princesses aren’t angry at you.” “They should be,” murmured Cozy, unable to raise her head. She’d spent the entire meal too embarrassed to take her eyes off of the carpet. “I went completely overboard.” Aisle slowly stroked her mane. “You’re being too hard on yourself.” Pillow nodded. “The princesses understand that you went through a very tough time, and that pressuring you to talk about it so soon after it happened wasn’t a good idea on their part. If anything, they’re the ones who feel embarrassed right now.” Cozy shook her head. “I didn’t-” “Everypony,” began Princess Celestia suddenly, rising from her chair. “If everyone’s finished, I’d like to resume our discussion. However, before we proceed, I want to make something clear.” Her eyes flickered over to Cozy then, and Aisle saw her ears flick down for just a moment before she continued. “As much as this is a situation of grave importance, no one here should feel pressured to participate if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. Your presence here is voluntary, not mandatory, and-” “In that case, I’d like to excuse myself.” Everyone stopped and stared as Willow, the purrsian, stood up from her chair and bowed to the princesses. “I appreciate the hospitality, Your Highness, but I need to go back to Ponyville. It’s a long journey and my son is going to be home from school soon.” “Are you sure you need to go?” ventured Fluttershy hesitantly. “I know Miss Cheerilee wouldn’t mind watching him for another night.” But Willow shook her head. “I’d prefer not to impose. Besides, there’s no reason for me to be here.” She nodded at the pony next to Fluttershy. “Applejack was present for almost all of my interactions with Lex. There’s little I could add that she hasn’t already covered.” The mare in question frowned. “Now hold on there, sugarcube. I understand bein' concerned about your little one, but you ain’t even said two words since you got here. Don’t’cha at least wanna offer some advice on what you think we should do about Lex?” “That’s easy,” replied Willow, already turning for the door. “You should kill him.”