//------------------------------// // 91 - The Consequences // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Lex’s eyes followed Nosey as she walked away, a deeper frown than usual adorning his face. She’d been trying to tell him something about social dynamics, of that he felt reasonably confident, but the substance of her message remained maddeningly obtuse no matter how he looked at it. She had, in the space of a few breaths, invoked the principles of reciprocal altruism, burden-sharing, and the axiological merit of industriousness, and then somehow tied all of that back into friendship without any sort of specificity, let alone an explanation of the causal linkage. It was enough to make him very nearly gnash his teeth. The only thing that made the frustration bearable was how utterly familiar it was. After all, that had been the result of every single attempt he’d ever made to dissect social relationships. Why should this time be any different? As it was, he’d half-expected his shadow to interject with a biting comment, but it had remained silent. As much as Lex wanted to think that it was due to him having developed more control over the thing, he knew that was a lie. This latest failure simply hadn’t been upsetting enough to rouse it. Sighing as he put the matter out of his thoughts, Lex instead turned his attention to more practical matters, specifically rest. Although it had only been a few hours since he’d woken up, he felt exhausted, and had little doubt that if he laid down right now he’d quickly fall asleep, probably for quite some time. Although he normally hated the prospect, since it meant unpleasant dreams, right now that was preferable to the amount of pain he was in. More importantly, sleep was necessary before he could replenish his magic; once he was well-rested, his divine and dark magic would renew themselves automatically, and he’d be ready to draw power from Severance again to restore his thaumaturgical spells. Getting up, he slowly made his way over to the sleeping area he shared with Sonata. The thought of her made him instinctively glance around, but she wasn’t to be found…probably having gone with the group that was repairing the outer door, since that was the more dangerous area. Although he approved of her choice, as he laid down he found himself wishing that she’d stayed anyway, if only so they could resolve their current fight…no, so she could resolve whatever insanity had temporarily gripped her. He had done nothing wrong, and so had nothing to feel bad about. Of that he felt entirely certain. But as he closed his eyes and felt sleep creep over him, that knowledge brought him no comfort. “Wait, so that thing back there was your sister?” asked Cloudbank, her voice thick with incredulity as she led everypony through the fog maze. “I gotta tell you, I really didn’t see the family resemblance.” “I know, right?” agreed Sonata. “It’s because she’s, like, always frowning. I bet she’ll totes get lines in her face one of these days ‘cuz of how scowly she is.” A series of awkward looks were exchanged in response to Sonata’s statement, before Drafty spoke up. “So, um, where did you grow up?” Sonata shrugged, giving a grunt that sounded like a half-formed “dunno,” before elaborating further. “The ocean, I guess. And then we tried to take over Equestria, but some pony with a really big beard sent us to Earth, and we hung out there for, like, a super long time.” “I-I see,” lied Drafty, giving a strained grin. “Well,” interjected Cozy, “maybe you two can try and patch things up now? I’m sure your parents would be upset if you kept fighting.” “Oh, we don’t have parents,” replied Sonata matter-of-factly. “At least, I don’t remember us having any.” She stopped walking for a moment as she frowned, putting a hoof to her mouth and concentrating with visible effort. “Come to think of it, I’m not even totes sure that the three of us are related.” She pondered that for a second before shrugging the entire matter off. “But we probably are. I mean, I've never heard of any other Sirens, and besides, I think of them like my sisters anyway, so it’s not like there’s any big dif.” “Did she say ‘Sirens’?” muttered Aisle. “Hang on. The ‘three’ of you?” asked Drafty. “Mm-hmm,” nodded Sonata. “Me, Aria back there, and Adagio. I’m not sure what happened to her. Probably causing trouble back on Everglow.” She paused, then added, “That’s the other world we were sent to.” “I thought you said that it was called ‘Earth’?” asked Cozy, making a pained expression at trying to keep up with what their companion was talking about. “Oh, it was. Everglow was the other other world.” “‘Other other world’?” echoed Aisle, unable to keep from looking dazed. He risked a glance behind him, where several other ponies were carrying tools and supplies, wondering what their reaction was to the conversation. Unsurprisingly, everypony made sure to avoid his gaze when they realized they were being looked at. Sonata, of course, didn’t notice any of this. “The toughest part was getting used to having a pony body. It’s, like, super different from being a human.” She paused, then glanced around conspiratorially. “Don’t tell Lex this – even though he’s a big jerk and I don’t care what he thinks – but sometimes I miss being human.” She put a hoof to her chest, glancing down at herself. “It was really fun having b-” “We’re here!” exclaimed Cloudbank, unable to keep the relief out of her voice as the fog parted to reveal the broken warehouse doors. Everypony else looked similarly grateful as they immediately started to get to work. “So, do you think she’s crazy, or just exaggerating?” asked Aisle quietly as he walked with Cozy, who was glancing around to make sure that there were no undead ponies nearby. “I don’t know,” she murmured in response. “Maybe both. I mean, we are talking about a mare who’s in love with a bad copy of King Sombra.” “It makes you glad that, even after everything we went through, we came out of it with all of our marbles still in the bag.” “Hey! You guys!” yelled Drafty, waving at the two of them from near the door. “Come help me make some deathtraps!” Smiling at the prospect, the two moved to join her. The blood in the water did little to soothe Sitkra’s anxiety. “I don’t care how many more eggs were laid today!” she snarled at the underling priestess, who was currently cradling her slashed face. “The important thing is how many of them survive the Rite of First Hunger after they hatch! Now unless you have something important to tell me, get out of my sight before I make a meal out of you!” The underling immediately fled, knowing that Sitkra’s threat was not an idle one. While members of the Holy Ones were only supposed to devour each other as a result of a duel for advancement – a challenge that in theory only a junior priestess could invoke – lower-ranked Holy Ones who were too openly ambitious or otherwise earned a senior priestess’s ire tended to find themselves “sponsored” for such a duel by another senior Holy One. At that point, their fate was sealed, since they either had to accept that “honor” and issue a challenge to a higher-ranked priestess immediately, or refuse the sponsorship. Of course, refusing would be tantamount to cowardice, which was not only an affront to sahuagin values, but also blasphemy, and so warranted an immediate death sentence. Sitkra considered issuing such a sentence as she watched the junior priestess flee, but let it go, knowing that her underling’s conduct wasn’t what was bothering her. Lirtkra should have been back by now. It had been several hours since he’d gone. Although there was still plenty of time before the sun rose, let alone before the spell of air breathing that she’d cast on him wore off, Lirtkra shouldn’t have needed so long. Even if the poh-nees had maa-jik – just the thought made Sitkra growl in anger – their city was overrun with itkul, which meant that they had very likely taken refuge somewhere near their ship. Finding them should not have taken much time; even if they had used maa-jik to hide, the Cripple should have been able to root them out, since that disgusting creature had similar powers of its own, and even Monitor was a hunter of adequate skill. Just thinking of the other two made Sitkra bare her teeth in hatred. After he’d killed the poh-nees, Lirtkra should have killed both of those freaks before returning. With them dead, the Great Lord of the Deep would have to rely on herself and the other Mighty Ones – and through them, the sahuagin – even more, which was a very high priority for Sitkra and her peers. Even better, their deaths could be attributed to the maa-jik poh-nees, which made this an opportunity that could not be wasted. So what was keeping Lirtkra? The obvious answer was that he was dead, but Sitkra couldn’t imagine that to be the case. The idea that he had been killed by mere poh-nees – the weakest and most cowardly race Sitkra had ever seen – was beyond ludicrous. Perhaps the Cripple and Monitor had gotten the best of him? Possibly…but they hadn’t returned either, and Sitkra couldn’t imagine them not returning to rub their victory in her face; it’s what she would have done, after all. Besides, where else could they go? “Sitkra.” The voice rumbled through the water, so deep and resonant that it was almost tangible rather than audible, and Sitkra’s body stiffened in controlled fear. The Great Lord of the Deep was calling her! Swimming as fast as she could, she exited the shrine at the center of their community and made her way to the Great Lord’s grotto. “Great Lord of the Deep!” she yelled towards the cave entrance, spreading her limbs wide to show her exultation. “I am here, as you have commanded!” “I have received a communique from that fool on the surface, informing me that the ship which arrived yesterday remains intact.” The voice paused for a long moment, then drolly added, “He made it clear that he’d like me to destroy the thing. Apparently, he still thinks that his missives can compel me.” “Great Lord, that anything dares speak to you with anything less than praise and fear is the highest insult!” yelled Sitkra. “Such disrespect can only be remedied by rending that infidel limb from limb!” To all appearances, Sitkra was very nearly in the throes of religious ecstasy. In actuality, it was all an act, but a necessary one to secure her life. She would not die the way her one-time comrade had, slowly baking to death in the sun and then being buried – uneaten! – in the dry ground of the surface world. The chuckle that came in response to her plea made her shiver, knowing that the Great Lord of the Deep had likely seen through her. “I have no doubt that the day that event occurs is fast approaching. But what I want from you is far simpler: were you aware of that ship’s continued survival?” Sitkra froze at the question, and the Great Lord elaborated. “After all, you were the one I initially informed of its existence, and you assured me that you would send a raiding party to slaughter its passengers.” Sitkra gulped, suddenly very nervous. Inwardly, she cursed Lirtkra again. He was supposed to have successfully returned before now! If he had done so, she’d have been able to take credit both for proactively dealing with the problem and for successfully resolving it! Now she either had to admit failure or plead ignorance, neither of which would make her look good in front of the Great Lord! “I…only recently received such news, and was planning to take action just now, when you summoned me.” “Then you’re unaware that the Cripple and Monitor are currently missing?” Sitkra struggled to maintain her outward calm, trying not to panic. One of the other nameless freaks must have reported their fellows’ absence to the Great Lord, but that didn’t mean that there was anything to connect that to her. No one had seen her talk to the Cripple, and that creature was spiteful enough that it wouldn’t share information easily. And of course, Monitor didn’t talk. She should be completely without blame. She should be…but there was no way to know for certain. Better to offer some information and divert any possible suspicion away from herself. “I had no idea, Great Lord! But in fact, our warrior Lirtkra is also nowhere to be found! Perhaps he and the others heard that the surface-dwellers were still alive, and went to challenge them?” “Perhaps…” Sitkra tensed as the Great Lord’s voice trailed off, as though considering the thought. After a long moment it issued forth again. “I will be going to destroy that ship in one hour. You have that long to make preparations, and then we’ll depart.” Sitkra’s relief at the change of topic lasted only for a moment. “‘We,’ Great Lord? You and I?” The laughter that issued forth from the dank recesses of the grotto was mirthless. “Yes. You and I and everyone else.” Long tentacles emerged as the Great Lord of the Deep exited its undersea home, causing Sitkra to shudder at the sight of her master. “In one hour our full forces will attack the pony city. They must be shown the consequences that they reap for daring to defy a kraken.”