//------------------------------// // 394 - Source of Inspiration // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “We…we’re going to be your students?” breathed Fruit Crunch softly. Lex’s response came with a curt nod. “It’s clear to me that you all require further instruction with regard to the proper manner in which your abilities should be utilized. Since there’s no one else here capable of providing that level of guidance, I will-” “OhmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH!” squealed Fruit Crunch. Prancing in place, he turned to his friends, eyes shining. “We’re Lex’s apprentices! We’re Lex’s apprentices! Do you guys know what this means?!” “That we’re Lex’s apprentices?” asked Fiddlesticks dryly. “YES!” Leaping into the air, Fruit Crunch let out a whoop of pure joy, too excited to contain himself. Nor was he alone in his elation, as Cleansweep cheered and flew in several tight loops while Straightlace and Feathercap hoof-bumped each other. Even Fiddlesticks was giggling as she rocked Tiddlywinks. Their animals, by contrast, were far more subdued. This is undignified in the extreme, groaned Altaer, putting a wing over his face. Relax, chuckled Nemel. Just look at how much fun they’re having. Recreation is necessary for reducing stress and maintaining good health, agreed Ulespy. Maybe slow down just a little? called Venin, clenching tightly around Cleansweep’s middle as the filly completed another fast loop. I’m really starting to feel dizzy! Letting out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sigh, Lyden padded over to the flying filly and, with a deft motion, caught her tail in his jaws as she swooped down for another pass. Play is good, but it should be done in moderation, he chastised as he pulled Cleansweep down gently. Chuckling and rubbing the back of her neck as she landed, Cleansweep glanced between the wolf and where Venin was uncoiling herself from around her chest, the snake’s motions unsteady as she slithered back down to the ground. “Sorry about that.” It’s alright, Venin assured her. Just…warn me the next time you’re going to do that. Cleansweep was about to promise that she would, but her mother was suddenly there before she could get the words out. “Sweetheart, are you sure this is a good idea?” Feather Duster murmured the words, clearly concerned about Lex hearing her. But she wasn’t quiet enough, and Fruit Crunch was the one who answered. “Are you kidding?” he laughed. “Of course it’s a good idea!” Rearing up on his hind legs, he pointed a hoof at Lex, who had watched the spectacle with a neutral expression. “We’re going to be studying under Lex Legis! The pony who saved this entire place! The pony who defeated both princesses at once! The pony who-” “Is going to fall over if this goes on much longer,” interjected Aria, pushing off from where she’d been leaning against the wall of the station. Lex gave her a sour look at that, which she answered with an impatient glare. “Look, this has been fun, but can we wrap it up already? Bad enough this interrupted our make out time, but I don’t want to have to drag you back inside if you collapse.” Lex scowled, but didn’t have a chance to say anything as Cleansweep suddenly gasped. “Oh yeah, I forgot!” Flapping her wings, she zipped over next to Lex. “You’re still hurt, right? Now that Venin’s back, I can heal you.” She held out a hoof, but paused before she made contact with him, silently asking for permission. But rather than look grateful for the offer, Lex shook his head. “If you’ve regained your healing magic, then I want you to report to the nearest member of the medical crew immediately. We still have sick and injured ponies here. They’re the ones you should be offering to help, not me.” “Great. The selfless tough guy routine again,” muttered Aria, rolling her eyes. Cleansweep retracted her hoof, an uncertain look crossing her face. “Are you sure? You really don’t look so good…” “Consider this your first lesson,” snapped Lex. “Those who have the ability to administer to the common good have a moral duty to do so, so long as such actions do not place an undue burden on others nor cause them impermissible harm. Given that there are ailing ponies who have neither my resilience nor my magical resources, the common good is therefore best served by you helping those least able to help themselves.” Cleansweep blinked. “Oh, um…” Behind her, Fruit Crunch squealed quietly into his hooves. “That’s so cool!” Fiddlesticks raised an eyebrow at their team leader. “You understood that?” “No!” Fruit Crunch shook his head, his eyes still sparkling. “But he looked so cool when he said it!” Feathercap, by contrast, was starting to turn pale. “Is this going to be on a test? Should we be writing this down?” He looked back and forth, gulping. “Is somepony writing this down?!” Cocking his head, Straightlace lifted the hoof that Altaer was perched on, setting the eagle to flying before he tentatively approached Lex. “Excuse me,” he called. When Lex’s eyes fell on him, he gulped, but stepped forward. “Wouldn’t it serve the common good better if you were the one who was healed? I mean, what if something else attacks this place and you’re too hurt to stop it?” Despite himself, Lex couldn’t help but feel mildly impressed. That was almost an intelligent question! “What you’re asking,” he replied easily, “is what factors should be taken into account when a particular resource – in this case magic used for medical purposes – in lacking in quantities sufficient to meet the current level of need for them. Although the optimal answer is to find a solution that rejects that premise outright, while still taking into account the previous stipulations regarding undue burdens and impermissible harms, practical circumstances will often conspire so as to make this option unavailable. Given how this would apparently result in no choices whereby all moral duties are fulfilled, such instances demonstrate the need for a moral framework that’s structured based around tiers, so that when an unavoidable conflict occurs between competing impetuses you have an inherent method whereby their ranking is determined, guiding you to the least-wrong answer. In order to do that with regard to your question, we must first examine the situations that would arise from each scenario wherein someone goes without timely medical attention and cross-index them with the likelihood of each situation occurring based on our current awareness of the present circumstances as well as-” “Kill. Me. Now.” Aria’s tortured moan was punctuated by her sinking to her belly and pantomiming banging her head on the floor. Nor, Lex realized a moment later, was her reaction exaggerated; everyone else was simply staring at him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Wincing as she saw Lex’s expression darken, Feather Duster slunk forward. “I’m, um, sure you’ve given everypony a lot to think about, Master Legis.” Forcing herself to smile, she nudged Cleansweep and Straightlace back toward their friends. “Why don’t you let the children sleep on that for a little while, and I’m sure they’ll have some more questions for you when, uh…when classes start.” Turning, she started ushering the foals back toward the edge of the platform. “Come along, children! We’re heading back! Say goodbye to Master Legis!” A chorus of dazed goodbyes came in response to her call, and a moment later the foals – their animals in tow – were led out of sight, leaving Lex and Aria alone again. “My brain hurts,” griped the latter pony as she climbed back to her hooves. “You really couldn’t have given the kid a simple answer?” “That was the simple answer,” huffed Lex. Aria just rolled her eyes. “Right.” Silence fell then. Seconds passed by as Lex simply stared out into the night, while Aria kept her gaze fixed on him. Finally, after several minutes, she let out an annoyed grunt. “Alright. That does it. What’s going on with you?” “As I said, those children need guidance,” answered Lex. “Without it, they’re prone to misusing their powers, which-” “Yeah, you’re gonna teach them. I got that part.” Aria didn’t try to hide the annoyance in her voice as she walked over and planted herself directly in front of him. “And if that gobbledygook you were spouting is any indication, I’m sure your lessons are going to be a barrel of laughs, but that’s not what I’m asking.” She raised a hoof then, lightly poking him in the chest. “What I want to know is what’s going on with you.” Lex narrowed his eyes just a little, not liking where this was going. “If you’re bored by what I’m doing, then you should feel free to go back to sleep.” Aria, however, didn’t rise to the bait. “What exactly are you doing, huh? Why aren’t you going back to sleep? Those kids told you what you wanted to know, so…come to think of it, why did you want to know all that stuff in the first place?” “I needed to know what Severance had told those children about the Night Mare’s teachings,” explained Lex. If this were Sonata, that answer would probably be enough to mollify her. But Aria wasn’t her sister. “In the middle of the night?” she scoffed, raising a brow at him. “You can barely move. Why was this so important that it couldn’t wait until the morning?” When he didn’t answer, she gave him a level look. “What’s this all about, Lex?” Cursing inwardly, Lex’s mind raced, looking for an answer that he could give Aria without telling her the whole truth. Because he didn’t dare let her know what was really going on. He had no doubt that if Aria found out about the Night Mare’s demand that he end his relationship with her and the others, she’d tell Nosey and Sonata immediately, and the three of them would hound him about how this had happened and what he planned on doing about it, making it even more difficult for him to actually figure out a solution. And that was the best-case scenario. More likely, Aria would fly into a destructive rage, Nosey would fall into a deep depression, and Sonata…just the thought of how she’d react to the prospect of his leaving her made his heart clench painfully, as though the barbed wire were wrapped around it rather than his leg. Fortunately, he’d already come up with an answer. “I’m planning on holding a ceremony in the Night Mare’s honor tomorrow evening,” he explained slowly. “In order to do that, I needed to know more about her religious practices, and I was concerned that I’d be too busy overseeing the camp’s functions to be able to devote sufficient time to that once the sun rose.” “Hmm.” Aria tilted her head, examining him as though looking for the truth on his face. “A ceremony in the Night Mare’s honor, huh?” “Yes.” Aria was quiet as she looked at him again. Not knowing what else to do, Lex simply returned her stare. After several seconds, Aria let out a sigh. Sitting back on her haunches, she crossed her forelegs over her chest. “Well?” Lex had no idea what she was asking. “Well…what?” “Did those kids tell you what you needed to know?” It was better than if she’d asked him why he was so intent on doing this tomorrow, but it was still a penetrating question nonetheless. “No,” he admitted. “Well, sucks to be you, I guess,” replied Aria flippantly. She raised a hoof and examined it idly, as though she’d lost interest in the whole affair. “So what’re you gonna do now? Magic yourself to Everglow and ask someone there?” Lex grimaced. He had a spell to do that, but even if he’d had a method of recharging his thaumaturgical magic now that Severance was gone he wouldn’t have been able to use it. “The material focus for that spell was destroyed in my fight with Xiriel.” That item, a tuning fork made of specific materials, set to a precise vibratory frequency, and attuned to that realm’s unique planar energies, was not something that could be constructed easily here on Equestria. Aria shrugged, still looking at her hoof. “Then just cast a spell to bring someone from there here.” “That’s not…” Lex paused, Aria’s words sparking an idea. He couldn’t cast a spell to summon someone from Everglow. He didn’t know any summoning spells to begin with – the closest that he had were to gather and shape astral matter into crude constructs – and even if he had he wouldn’t have been able to prepare them now that Severance was gone. But a summoning ritual was different…after all, he’d been using one to speak to the Night Mare directly for some time now. Of course, that ritual was designed specifically to contact her, but that wasn’t anything he couldn’t modify. It would take only a few minor alterations to make the ritual summon, say, one of her lesser servitors, some denizen from her realm that had nowhere near her level of power, but still possessed an intimate understanding of her nature and disposition. That would guarantee that he’d be able to acquire all the knowledge he needed to find a way out of his current dilemma. “You’ve gotten all quiet,” noted Aria, glancing up at him. One corner of her lip curled into a mocking grin. “Don’t tell me you hadn’t thought of that?” Normally the needling would have annoyed him, but now Lex felt almost as jubilant as those foals had earlier. Slowly, he turned and walked toward Aria, who moved back onto all fours as he approached her, her smirk fading into a look of confusion. “What’s up with y-” Lex didn’t give her a chance to finish, pressing his lips against hers. He felt her body tense up in confusion, only to relax a moment later as she kissed him back. When it ended a moment later, her grin was far less mocking. “Wow. Was my idea that good?” “Yes,” answered Lex honestly. “It was.” All of a sudden, there was hope.