//------------------------------// // 574 - Highs and Lows // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “Constance? A word?” The mare in question blinked as Stuffed Shirt called her over, rolling up the scroll she’d been penning as she stood up from the table that dominated the center of the royal servants’ living area, leaving the biscuit that Puff had made that morning on her plate half-eaten. “Stuffed,” she called cordially. “Does His Highness need something from me?” She couldn’t imagine any other reason why the Royal Valet would call her aside, particularly since she wouldn’t be joining Prince Legis on his trip to Las Pegasus. That made sense, of course; with all of the carousing he’d be doing, there was no need for the Royal Magician to be there. Tranquila and Coat Tail made much more sense; being the Royal Leisuremeister, the former pony would know how to eke every ounce of recreation out of the trip (especially in the city that was Equestria’s most luxurious vacation spot), while the latter would make sure that His Highness looked appropriately fashionable during his time there. Normally Stuffed Shirt would have gone as well, but he’d already announced that he’d be staying behind to work on the prince’s upcoming coronation, along with the rest of the royal retainers. But just because she understood the prince’s reasoning hadn’t meant that Constance had been happy about it. Prince Legis was, from what she knew of him, a veritable font of new magic. Not just the dark magic that King Sombra had been famous for, but also some sort of heretofore unknown variety of spellcasting that relied upon gestures and incantations! And rumor had it that his “Night Mare” goddess was also a source of mystical power! But while Constance suspected that last one was just a rumor – she’d shown up at midnight the previous night to listen to that Cloudbank mare lecture about the goddess, and had come away with nothing to show for it except an hour of lost sleep – the first two were most definitely true, which was more than enough for her! After all, it had been only yesterday that Constance had been able to see an actual instance of dark magic up close! Witnessing His Highness’s umbral transmogrification had sent her into a tizzy, and she’d spent the rest of the day furiously writing down everything she’d witnessed. The postulations and hypotheses she’d subsequently formulated had ranged from where the displaced mass of his corporeal form had gone to the significance of his ocular organs being the only distinguishable feature post-transformation. She’d ended up filling an entire scroll – on both sides – and going through two inkwells before she’d finally run out, losing the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening in doing so. For Constance, it had been like a sip of cold water after years spent trudging through the desert. Blueblood had made it clear from the outset that he had no real use for her; his only reason for wanting a Royal Magician in the first place was because the position was a traditional part of the royal household, and not filling it would have made him look bad. As a result, all he’d ever used her for were mild magical conveniences – chilling his drink, repelling insects, hiding the occasional rash or pimple with an illusion, or any of a hundred other tasks that any third-rate wizard could have done – and a source of magical trivia that he could trot out at parties in order to sound smart. If not for the fact that her position gave her ample free time and considerable access with which to work on her own theories regarding various non-traditional magical disciplines, she would have been sorely tempted to quit, even knowing that her mother would start setting her up on blind dates again if she did. But now there was a new prince in town, and while Constance still felt excited by the possibilities he represented, her enthusiasm had been dampened by how he seemed just as intent on pushing her to the side as Blueblood had been. Unless, of course, Stuffed Shirt was about to tell her that Prince Legis had changed his mind… But the Royal Valet’s answer wasn’t what she had expected. “Actually, His Highness wanted me to give this to you,” he replied, levitating a book over to her a moment later. “He did?” Puzzled, she took hold of the tome in her own telekinetic aura, turning it over as she examined it. “What is it?” The book was a comparatively thin folio; judging from the thickness it couldn’t have had more than a hundred pages at most. Even so, it was slightly heavier than it looked, suggesting that the pages were made from high-density paper, the expensive sort that was resistant to tearing or bleed-through by the ink. For that matter, the scent of the ink – though the lack of the distinctive chemical tang told Constance right away that whatever had been used to pen this particular monograph hadn’t been the cheap printer’s ink that most books used – still clung to it, as though whatever was written on the pages had just finished drying. Most curious was the cover, which lacked any title or listing of authorship. The examination took only a second, after which Constance flipped the book open, just as Stuffed Shirt spoke up again. “I believe His Highness called it a ‘spellbook.’ He said he wants you to study it while he’s gone and present your findings to him upon his return…” His voice faded out then, not because he’d stopped speaking but because Constance was no longer listening. Indeed, her awareness of everything that wasn’t written on the pages before her had completely fallen away. Instead, her whole world now consisted of the diagrams, equations, and formulae that filled her vision. Each entry was a puzzle, but one written in a language she recognized, her brain shaking off the years of rust that had accumulated under her previous employer as she began deciphering what was written, translating the alphanumeric symbols and abstract measurements into recognizable concepts. A moment later she began to link those concepts together, forming a chain of understanding as she pieced the conjectural representations together and comprehended the full meaning of what she was looking at: A completely new type of magic, one that used thoughts – rather than physicality – to cast spells. In the instant before she fainted from sheer joy, Constance Halation’s last thought was that it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. “He’s sending me away?” croaked Thermal Draft, horrified. “For a couple of weeks, to someplace called Trottingham,” replied Aria, the bored expression on her face making it clear that she either didn’t know or didn’t care that the news she’d so casually delivered had left Drafty reeling. “Lex wants you to go there and investigate the disappearance of some donkey named Long Road. There’s a place for you to crash-” “I want to speak to Lex!” This had to be some sort of misunderstanding; Drafty felt certain of it. All her outburst got her, however, was a snicker from Aria, the mare giving her a condescending smirk. “Not gonna happen. He’s already busy getting ready for our vacation to Las Pegasus, which is why he sent me here to deliver the news.” Stalking forward, she got to within a foot of Drafty, her expression oozing smugness. “So while we’re drinking, dancing, and getting it on, you’re going to be slumming it looking for some dead donkey dude.” “But…but we’re supposed to go on a double date.” Drafty could feel a hollow pit forming in her stomach, stung by how the stallion she admired hadn’t even bothered to dismiss her in person. “Me and Cloudy together with him and Sonata; he agreed to it back when we were all camping out in that warehouse on the docks. I thought we could all go with him to Las Pegasus and do it there…” Aria scoffed, making a show of rolling her eyes as she turned away from the heartbroken pegasus. “First of all, there’s no way he’d go out on a date with Sonata and leave me behind. Second, that Cloudy chick of yours is staying here anyway; Lex wants her to make sure the Night Mare gets a big sendup when he has his ‘I’m a prince now’ bash in Tall Tale. Third” – she glanced over her shoulder at Drafty then, and her smile was cutting – “you’re dreaming if you think that Lex even remembers that agreement.” The pegasus all but recoiled at that, her eyes watering. “He wouldn’t forget!” “Maybe not,” shrugged Aria as she sauntered toward the door, “but if he hasn’t then he certainly doesn’t care.” A furious rebuttal was on Drafty’s lips before Aria had even finished speaking, ready to point out that not only had Lex saved her life – as well as Cloudbank’s – more than once, but that he’d even gone out of his way to resurrect them, to say nothing of all of the hardships and adversity that they’d been through together. But she didn’t have a chance as the other mare stopped at the exit, one hoof on the doorknob as she turned to glance at Drafty again. This time, however, the Siren's expression was neither sardonic nor vindictive, instead fixing her with a piercing gaze. “I don’t mind that you’ve got a crush on him, but you need to keep it to yourself from now on.” “Excuse me?!” “You heard me.” Although her expression didn’t change, the look on Aria’s face became unmistakably colder. “I was there in that warehouse too, so I know you’ve been into Lex for a while, and I’m telling you that it’s not going to happen. If you just want him to bang you, that’s no big deal; then you’re just a sex toy with a pulse. But if you even think about trying to start a relationship with him, you and I are going to have a problem.” The corners of her lips turned upward then, but her smile was terrifying to see. “And that’s not something you want.” This time Drafty couldn’t stop the tears gathering in her eyes, but it was frustration rather than heartbreak that filled her voice. “That’s not fair!” “Life isn’t fair!” snapped Aria. “It’s not fair that I had to get my throat cut in order to meet the guy I love! It’s not fair that he’s had to suffer so much just because he wants to help people! And it’s not fair that that selfish, four-eyed blonde nag betrayed him after he fell for her! That’s not happening again while I’m around!” “That’s what this is about?!” seethed Drafty, suddenly furious that she was being punished for someone else’s mistakes. “I’m not like that other mare! I love him!” “You say that now,” shot back Aria. “But what’ll happen when your girlfriend tells you that she’s not down for whatever threesome you’re hoping for? Because she’s pretty clearly not into guys, not into sharing, and not someone Lex can easily replace if you screw things up so bad that she can’t bear to stay here anymore. That’ll mean that either you leave Lex to go back to her, or he dumps you in order to keep her around, and either way he’s the one who ends up hurt. Again.” Shaking her head, Aria clenched her jaw. “Bad enough I had to watch him act like he was fine after Blondie left. I'm not going to let him go through that a second time. He’s got me, he’s got Sonata, and he’ll have Adagio, and we’ll make him happy.” Letting out a slow breath, the Siren turned back toward the door. “Go to Trottingham, and do whatever you need to do to get Lex out of your system. Come back and play kissy-face with Cloudbank, and maybe one day I’ll let him take you for a ride if he feels like it. But give up on trying to work your way into his heart, or I’ll tear yours out.” And then she turned and left. For a moment Drafty just stood there, shaking as she stared at where Aria had so casually crushed her hope for the future. “Kara!” I’m here, cooed the voice of the goddess in her mind. Tell me how I can help. “You can guarantee that Lex will love me if I follow your advice? That even if I can’t get Lex and Cloudy to love each other, they’ll both still love me, without it ruining their working relationship?” Of course I can, sweetheart. I’m the goddess of love. Have faith in me. “I do,” nodded Drafty, determination welling up in her chest. “And I’m ready to do whatever you say in order to make my dream come true.”