673 - Blind and Blinded
“I’m pretty sure it’s all clear.”
Thermal Draft’s announcement earned a scowl from Lex. “‘Pretty sure’ isn’t good enough.”
Biting her lip, the pegasus let out a slow breath before replying. “Lex, I just flew over the entire village, pointing this thing” – raising her hooves, she held up the metal rod that detected hostile intent – “in every direction the whole time, and I didn’t get so much as a blip out of it. You trusted me to use this to monitor where all of those creatures were before and tell you their positions, right? Well, I’m telling you that I’m not picking up anything now.”
Lex didn’t answer, struggling to contain his urge to snap at the pegasus. From the rod’s limited range to potential magical countermeasures against its detection abilities, he could think of dozens of reasons why they weren’t safe despite her finding no enemies. It was only because berating her would have been a complete waste of time that he instead turned his thoughts toward Solvei. Have you found anything?
Their trail was easy to locate, Master, came the winter wolf’s response in his thoughts. But it won’t stay that way for long with how heavily the snow is coming down. If it doesn’t let up, their tracks will be completely gone by morning.
Follow their trail as far as you can, decided Lex after a moment’s consideration. Even if you can’t find where they came from, there might still be some worthwhile information to be found.
Understood! came Solvei’s response, clearly meant to be a signoff.
But Lex wasn’t finished, a twinge of concern managing to break through his worsening mood. Exercise caution. Just because those yetis were no match for you doesn’t mean you’re not potentially heading towards danger. If you find yourself imperiled, inform me at once so I can summon you back. Is that clear?
Across their link, he registered a sudden spike of joy coming from the winter wolf. I will! I absolutely will, Master!
Frowning in confusion over why Solvei was so delighted by his warning, Lex didn’t have any time to ponder the mystery as Thermal Draft spoke up, nodding at something behind him. “We’ve got company.”
“Pardon me.”
Grimacing, Lex glanced over his shoulder, seeing the smiling form of the lute-wielding mare who called herself Spinner. She’d separated from the rest of her friends – who were huddled together a short distance away, speaking in low tones – and had stopped about ten feet away from himself and Thermal Draft.
“Hi,” she called as soon as he made eye contact with her. “Listen, we got off on the wrong hoof before. Understatement of the century, I know, but…we’re all good now, right?” Her eyes flickered between his own and Thermal Draft’s. “Bonds of friendship forged in battle, you know?”
“Is that what you think?” hissed Lex, turning to face the blonde mare, his eyes lighting up as surge of frustration shot through him. “That immoral actions are somehow imbued with virtue when they occur proximate to even greater atrocities? That the conduct of your associate – conduct which you and the rest of your group made only the most token of protests against – toward Thermal Draft is no longer deserving of indictment simply because we all experienced a shared threat?”
At his side, Thermal Draft winced, stepping closer to him as she lowered her voice. “Lex, I’m angry about what happened too, but that other mare already said she was sorry.” She nodded toward Valor, who caught her gaze and held it for a moment before nodding back. “Maybe, after what just happened, this isn’t the time to make more enemies.”
“I am not the one making enemies!” seethed Lex, incensed. “These ponies made themselves our enemies when they assaulted you! I am simply pointing out the extant nature of that state of affairs!”
“Lex…”
Thermal Draft gently placed a hoof on his side, only for Lex to knock it away, glaring at her. “This is how the ponies here are! They cloak their unethical natures behind veils of pragmatism, or claim that a lack of greater iniquity is comparable to righteousness, or simply reject moral accountability altogether!” He turned back to Spinner then, his voice rising as his temper continued to flare. “Ponies like you are the reason Everglow is in the state that it is!”
“You’re a gods-damned hypocrite, you know that?” Stomping forward, Shadow Star met his glare without flinching. “Okay, sure, Valor was out of line before. And you know what? I’ll cop to the fact that the rest of us should have stopped her. But you’re kidding yourself if you think you’re any better than we are!”
Wincing, Spinner closed the distance between herself and the masked mare, trying to nudge her backward. “Not helping, Shadow.”
But Shadow wouldn’t be moved. “No! This guy thinks he can look down his nose at us, when he’s no different!” Pointing at Lex accusingly, she kept going. “You talk about how ‘immoral’ it was that our friend got physical over a spilled bowl of stew, but you were the one who turned things into an all-out fight! You could have tried talking things down or cast a spell to defuse the situation, but instead you came out swinging! So where do you get off acting like we’re the only ones who’re to blame for what happened?!”
“That’s because he was defending me,” pointed out Thermal Draft coolly. “Your bear-buddy wasn’t defending anyone. So no, that’s not the same.”
“And we shouldn’t forget that this is also the guy who called a truce when he realized that things were about to get a whole lot worse,” added Spinner, giving Shadow Star a warning look. “So maybe we should all take a few deep breaths and remember-”
“Yeah, no. He’s blameless, and we’re all worthless. Got it,” muttered Shadow, turning and stomping back toward the others, cursing under her breath.
Sighing, Spinner turned back toward Lex and Thermal Draft. “I’m sorry about her. She’s not a bad pony, but she really hates being looked down on.”
“She is a bad pony, and she should be looked down upon,” shot back Lex immediately. “The same can be said for you and the rest of your group.”
Seemingly taking her own advice, Spinner drew in a deep breath before replying. “…listen, I understand that you’re still angry about what happened, and I won’t say that you’re wrong for feeling that way-”
“Real generous of you,” snorted Thermal Draft.
“-but right now, we need your help,” finished Spinner. “Specifically, Mystaria needs it.”
She gestured back at where her friends were clustered. Woodheart was in the process of tearing a few leaves off of her cloak, popping them in her mouth and chewing on them for a moment before spitting the soggy concoction into an empty glass vial that Shadow Star passed to her. Stooping to scoop some snow into the clear tube, she shook the container, encouraging the frozen water to melt and mix with the rest of the vial’s contents before turning her attention to Mystaria.
The mare in question was looking straight up, Valor holding her steady. The reason why became clear a second later, as Woodheart said something before moving closer, holding the vial over Mystaria’s upturned face. Carefully, the druid turned the vial over, pouring a few drops of the mixture it held into each of her friend’s eyes.
Squeezing her eyelids shut, Mystaria grimaced, one hoof coming up to curl around the symbol of Luminace hanging around her neck, lips moving in what was almost certainly a prayer. It wasn’t until she’d finished whatever plea she’d been making that she opened her eyes…only to shake her head a moment later, biting her lip as her ears folded back, causing her friends to slump in place.
Turning back to Lex, Spinner made no effort to hide her disappointment. “She took one of those blasts of cold right to the face,” explained the bard. “It injured her eyes, and nothing we’ve tried has been able to fix them. Mystaria says that there’s a special spell for repairing sensory damage, but she hasn’t learned it yet. And since it’s a clerical spell, they probably won’t have anyone who knows it at Bright Night, yes?”
“Bright Night?” echoed Lex, recognizing that it was a place name, albeit not one he recognized.
Spinner cocked her head. “The wizard school? Couple days’ travel from here?” When Lex gave no reaction, she glanced at Thermal Draft, looking more puzzled when the pegasus only shrugged. “I thought…nevermind.”
Shaking her head, Spinner returned to the topic at hoof. “I don’t know if you know the spell she needs, but you’ve obviously got a great deal of magical power, and Mystaria said before that she saw you wearing the Night Mare’s holy symbol. If there’s any chance you can fix-”
Lex didn’t let her finish, having heard enough. With no warning, he strode right past her, making his way directly toward the other four mares, leaving Thermal Draft and Spinner rushing after him.
Shadow, Woodheart, and Valor all stiffened as he approached, with Littleknight meeping loudly in alarm. That was enough to alert Mystaria that something was occurring, her head turning as her sightless eyes swept the area in front of her. “What’s happening?”
“That Lex guy is headed this way,” answered Woodheart curtly, fiddling with the hem of her cloak as though preparing to cast it off.
“He is?” Mystaria’s ears picked back up then, and her breath quickened. “Point me toward him.”
“Mysty…” Valor seemed like she wanted to say more, but instead shot Lex a worried look before gently turning her friend so she was facing him. “Okay. Count to five, and by the time you’re done he’ll be right in front of you.”
Mystaria nodded, lips moving as she silently mouthed each number. When she got to five, she cleared her throat. “I, um…I know we haven’t been properly introduced, but my name is Mystaria, and I wanted to apologize for what happened-”
“Shut up,” ordered Lex, his voice filled with contempt. “Your pathetic little band has been offering empty apology after empty apology, and I’m sick of hearing them.”
Mystaria winced, and the other three mares all glowered. “You bastard,” growled Valor, raising her shield-bearing foreleg. “If you-”
“I’ll repair your vision,” continued Lex, not bothering to so much as glance at angry mares flanking Mystaria. “And then, I want nothing more to do with any of you.”
That was apparently enough to mollify the rest of her friends, something which only made Lex angrier. Valor, at the very least, deserved a curse for what she’d done to Thermal Draft, and there was a strong case to be made for giving the rest of them maledictions of their own as well. But as much as it galled him, Lex knew he couldn’t afford to pass judgment over the earth mares; not under the current circumstances, at least.
Despite the thrashing they’d received, these mares had recovered to the point of being at least somewhat combat-capable again, which meant that if he had to fight them a second time – something which would certainly happen if he tried to curse them – he’d need to either dip into his reservoir of thaumaturgical spells in order to subdue them, or call back Solvei to do it for him. Neither option was acceptable, not when Grisela remained the more dangerous threat by far.
That left Lex with no choice but to choke down the bile that rose in his throat as he started to chant the liturgy to the Night Mare, making the necessary gestures even as he inwardly raged over how he was morally bound to help the blinded pony in front of him even while being unable to punish her for her transgressions. It was yet another cruel joke from a cruel world filled with cruel ponies.
When he finished the spell a few seconds later, he immediately pressed his hoof to Mystaria’s face, discharging the magic. “It’s done,” he spat, turning and walking away before he’d even finished speaking; now that he’d fixed her sight, he wanted Mystaria and her friends out of his as soon as possible.
Behind him, Mystaria gasped. “It worked! I can see!”
She’d barely gotten the words out before her friends began whooping in joy, laughter and relieved sighs filling the air. For a moment their voices overlapped with one another, before Mystaria’s rose above the others. “Thank you!”
Lex didn’t reply, instead stalking toward a house across the street. He’d caught a glimpse of a face peeking out from a window there a minute ago, and he’d recognized it as being that of the innkeeper he’d spoken with earlier in the evening. Given how Grisela – when he’d observed her through Solvei’s senses before the hag had reached the village – had referenced the red light shining from the inn’s steeple, noting that they’d be abducting ponies from the second floor of the building “like always,” it was easy to infer that the colored light had been some sort of signal, with the innkeeper’s conspicuous absence from his place of business further indicating that he’d known what was coming.
That thought was enough to make black crystals sprout up around Lex as he strode toward the unassuming house, ready to tear it apart if need be in order to get to the stallion hiding inside.
Mystaria and her misbegotten friends had managed, at least for now, to escape his judgment. So had Grisela, for that matter.
Nopony else would.
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Uhh, why is all of this italic?
11109625 Because I input the various tags to change the font manually, rather than with the buttons, and accidentally omitted one / mark to end the use of italics (and then forgot to review the chapter after posting, which I normally do in order to catch things like this).
Fixed now.
Something tells me that despite his statement, nay, demand to Fail Forward to have nothing to do with each other again, they will probably encounter each other again later down the line, or immediately clash again after if they think Lex is just venting his anger out on the 'innocent' villagers.
It's a shame that Sonata isn't here to fully translate the meaning behind Lex's words though given the circumstances and the outright venom in his words against Fail Forward, I have doubts that even Sonata could turn them into anything remotely positive. However, it made me wonder if his views on Everglow's ponies was more due to how he was treated when he first came here(I vaguely recall Lex referring to his time here though not in great detail) or if it was just extreme exasperation at the ponies of Everglow for allowing the Pony Empire to fall so far from grace.
Can't say I really blame Lex, haven't really been that impressed with Fail Forward myself, especially if this is any indication of their standard operating procedure. They've obviously been running on a BARREL of dumb luck that finally went dry when Valor decided to go after Drafty.
11110651 Whether or not Lex and the mares of Fail Forward will have anything to do with each other after this remains to be seen, but given that they're all still stuck in the snowed-in village, I doubt they'll be able to avoid each other completely until at least one group departs. Presumably Lex will want to make good on his promise to kill Grisela, while I suspect the Fail Forward girls might realize they're in over their heads and bail. Or maybe not; at this point, there's no way to say.
Of course, given how acrimonious Lex is feeling at the moment, things are likely to be fraught if the two groups do continue to interact. For all that she's enamored of Lex, Thermal Draft is quite not up to the job of presenting him in a better light, and Solvei (were she there) seems even less likely to know how to do that. Which means that all of Lex's worst tendencies have free reign to come to the fore and push everyone away. One can only hope that he can manage this crisis with just Drafty and Solvei backing him up, otherwise things are likely to become even more difficult, given what we know is going on with the bad guys right now.
11110791 To be fair, they managed to make a decent showing of themselves against an overwhelmingly superior force. We also know that they're not exactly at their best at the moment, as we've gotten repeated references to Mystaria not having prepared some of her most optimal spells, Woodheart not inviting an animal spirit into her body, etc. Even then, they weren't exactly incompetent bumblers; they were just in over their heads.
Though, given their group name, that's clearly something that happens fairly often with them.
These Hags definitely sound to be L20 or close given their increasing world eating abilities?
11113468 While I confess that I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "world eating abilities," I'll say that it's not so much the levels you have as it is how adroitly you use the powers you've gained with them.