//------------------------------// // 3 - End of the Line // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “Those miserable…treacherous…backbiting…nags!” Sonata fell back, caught completely off-guard at the sudden outpouring of anger from Lex. “Whoa! Like, what’s going on? What’s in that newspaper?” Lex didn’t answer for a long moment, and she was about to ask again when he practically shoved it at her. She took it gingerly, giving him a worried look. He was obviously furious, glaring straight ahead and breathing heavily, clearly caught up in whatever had so upset him. Lowering her eyes to the newspaper, she read the headline and sub-headline out loud. “‘Princess Cadance Declares Holy Mission. Pledges That Her Goddess’s Love Will Restore Equestria.’ Well that sounds nice of her.” Sonata tilted her head, unsure why that had set her boyfriend off. Maybe it was because this “Cadance” person was a princess? He really didn’t seem to like any of them. “Keep reading,” hissed Lex, his eyes still aglow with anger. “Okay, let’s see here. ‘Princess Cadance, the ruler of the Crystal Empire, announced on Tuesday that she would be sending ac-, um, a-co-lee-tes…” She stumbled on the unfamiliar word, trying to sound it out. “‘Acolytes,’” corrected Lex. “It means low-ranking religious functionaries.” “Oh, right. ‘…acolytes of her city’s new patron goddess, Lashtada, to outlying parts of Equestria in order to speed the rebuilding efforts. ‘As a pony who’s felt Lashtada’s gentle touch in my own life, I want every pony to have that same chance to find love,’ declared Princess Cadance in her speech. ‘But that can’t happen while so many ponies are still struggling to rebuild their lives after the disasters of the elemental bleeds. As such, I’m sending teams of ponies, blessed with the new magic that comes from accepting Lashtada’s love, to the distant regions of Equestria in order to help with the recovery efforts.’ While details were said to be forthcoming, her husband, Prince Shining Armor, stated that ‘we’re going to start with major cities that still need help, and then focus on the smaller communities that require assistance.’” Sonata looked up, still confused. “I’m still not seeing what the problem is. I thought you didn’t like the princesses because they weren’t being all active and stuff about running things. It sounds like at least one of them is, now.” “Think, Sonata!” Lex’s eyes were still off-colored, evidence that his anger had not abated. “It’s been two months since the disasters happened, and yet one of the princesses is just now launching a coordinated, nation-wide effort. Just now, when I’m trying to establish that there’s a better way to govern.” “Um, when we’re trying, you mean,” interjected Sonata. But Lex wasn’t listening. “This is not a coincidence. Celestia and Luna put Cadance up to this. It wasn’t enough for them to limit my ideas to just one city and in doing so cripple their efficacy. Now they’re trying to undercut even that!” He punctuated his last sentence with a stomp of his hoof, but the seat cushion swallowed the impact enough that it lacked any real emphasis. “C’mon, this doesn’t really change anything,” ventured Sonata. She had been hoping that he’d recover his good mood and they could go back to making out, but that was looking increasingly unlikely. Still, she gave it one more try. “I mean, okay so these eco-lites might show up in Vanhoover. So what? A couple of extra ponies won’t make a difference, even if they’re talking about how great Princess Cadance or Lashtoodles or whoever is.” “It will if they have sacerdotal thaumaturgy. Divine magic,” he translated that last part in response to the quizzical look on Sonata’s face. “Remember what the article said? She’s sending teams of ponies that were ‘blessed with the new magic of Lashtada’s love’? That’s her out-and-out admitting that she’s sending ponies that have learned how to channel divine magic.” “But you can do that too. I’ve seen you heal injuries and make food out of nowhere,” countered Sonata, but Lex was already shaking his head. “What little sacerdotal thaumaturgy I had is gone.” It was bitter for him to admit, but the trickle of divine spellcasting he’d been granted had been withdrawn ever since they had returned to Equestria. He had been receiving a hooffull of divine spells from a deity native to Everglow, that awful world that he had found himself stuck in on more than one occasion, called the Night Mare. But after invoking her when he and Sonata, plus several others, had been trapped in the realm of the manipulative goddess Kara, the Night Mare had withdrawn her power from him in recompense. Though he knew that it had been a very small price to pay, the loss of that power was still one that he felt keenly, as the spells that she had granted him had been directly focused on supporting others. Still, there was little that could be done about it now. The spells he’d received had been the Night Mare’s gift to him, rather than being the result of obeisance the way most deities granted their power to mortals. And god or not, Lex Legis groveled before nopony! That aside, this latest development had placed him at a severe disadvantage. With the power to heal diseases and produce food from thin air, these missionaries – and Lex had no doubt that’s what they were – would quickly enjoy massive popular support, leaving him with little in the way of public influence, even with Sonata’s considerable charisma. And the most important thing is that you gain a position of power? Are you not pleased that “your” city will receive dedicated healers to help all of the ponies suffering there? The words cut Lex to the quick, and he only barely managed to suppress a snarl. Without influence, he wouldn’t be able to direct the years-long recovery efforts, let alone demonstrate his principles of governance! The short-term gains that these clerics would bring would come at the cost of the long-term good that he could offer! “So, like, what do we do?” Sonata glanced out the window, where the sun had by now fully sunk below the horizon. That train attendant had mentioned that they’d arrive in Tall Tale by morning, so if Lex had been spending the last few days trying to come up with a plan before, he wasn’t going to have much time to make changes to it now. “I’m working on it,” Lex replied curtly. His eyes had changed back to normal though, indicating that he was finally getting his temper under control. When he didn’t elaborate any further, Sonata sighed. “Alright. I’m gonna go to bed, so I guess tell me whatever you come up with in the morning, 'kay?” A light nod was Lex’s reply, and Sonata paused just long enough to nuzzle him again before heading to the sleeping cars. She paused at the door, wondering if she should have asked Lex to join her. They had, at his insistence, rented two sleeping rooms, despite each one having enough beds for four ponies. She’d teased him about being shy, and even pointed out that that was an unnecessary use of their funds, but he had been adamant about not sleeping in the same room as her. It had been disappointing, but not totally unexpected. He’d been the same way back when they’d been staying in Drowsy’s inn back on Everglow. There, she’d rented out the entire inn just so they’d have some privacy, but he’d insisted on keeping a separate room. Before she’d thought that he was just old-fashioned. Now she wasn’t so sure. Entering her room with a sigh, she started getting ready for bed. By the time she slid under the covers, though, she’d recovered most of her earlier good mood. After all, it’s not like he’s not interested, after a kiss like that, she thought, lightly brushing her lips with a hoof. The thought brought a smile to her lips, and she was still smiling as she fell asleep. SCREEEEEEEEECH! “Waaaugh!” Sonata went tumbling out of bed with a cry, thrown from her mattress by the sudden deceleration. Tumbling into the opposite wall with a grunt that was more of surprise than pain, she was pinned there for a moment before the train completed its sudden halt, letting her slump over as the momentum abated. Kicking her way free of her blankets, Sonata unsteadily climbed to her feet. “What happened?” she asked, only to remember a moment later that there was no one else in her room to answer. Having a moment to catch her breath, she suddenly remembered her traveling companion. Rushing to the door, she stepped out into the hallway, where several other ponies were beginning to mill in fright and confusion. Pushing past them, she hurried to Lex’s room, throwing the door open. “Lex? Are you-” The room was empty. Biting her lip, she turned and made her way back to the car where she’d last seen him. Geez, what is it with us and trains? she mentally complained as she made her way through the rapidly-filling hallway. The very first adventure she had shared with Lex was when a train that they had been riding back on Everglow had derailed, and now it looked like history was trying to repeat itself! Finally, she reached the car where she’d left her boyfriend. “Lex, are you in here?” A pained groan was her answer, and she rushed over to the source of the sound. Slumped over in his seat, Lex was rubbing his head where a large bruise could already be seen forming. “Oh my gosh! You’re hurt!” Even though there was absolutely nothing she could do, she still rushed over to examine his injury. Lex waved her away. “I just hit my head when the brakes came on, I’ll be fine. More importantly, what happened?” “I don’t know! I was sleeping and all of a sudden I was thrown out of bed and then I came looking for you!” She glanced around as she spoke, as though the answer to the current situation would make itself obvious. Instead, all she saw was that it was still dark outside. “What time is it anyway?” “I think it’s a little after midnight,” answered Lex, bending down to start gathering up where his scrolls had been thrown in the sudden stop. He’d clearly still been working when the brakes had been thrown. He got the last of them back in his bags just as the door to the back of the car opened up, letting several shaken ponies enter. “Do either of you know what’s going on?” asked an older-looking pegasus mare, with her question being echoed by the ponies behind her. Apparently their current circumstances were enough to override their discomfort toward Lex. Sonata shook her head in response, and the small crowd milled forward slowly, clearly intent on reaching the front of the train to get some answers. Lex waited until they passed by before speaking. “Sonata, I’m going to go after them and see what caused this.” He could see her opening her mouth, doubtlessly about to insist on accompanying him, and he put a hoof up to forestall her objection. “I want you to go back and check on the other passengers. See if anypony’s hurt or otherwise needs help. If you think that there’s any sort of danger, anything at all, then use your magic to deal with it.” Sonata’s eyes widened at the instructions. “For realsies?! But you said that using my powers to mess with ponies’ minds was all, like, immoral and stuff.” “I did, and it is. But there are circumstances were coercive force is required, and imminent danger is one of them.” He turned away from her and started heading towards the front of the train, but not before tossing one last comment over his shoulder as he did so. “I trust your judgment.” The words brought a big smile to her face, especially after she’d screwed up the whole thing with the train tickets before. “I won’t let you down!” she called after him, saluting before turning and running towards the back of the train. For his part, Lex had made it two cars forward before the crowd became too thick to push through. He thought about using his own magic to make them part, before the obvious idea came to him, and he used one of the exits to disembark from the train, galloping alongside it until he reached the engine. He was about to climb aboard it and ask the conductor what was going on, when he noticed that the engine’s headlight was still on, and it illuminated a small group of ponies, all of them in railway uniforms, talking in hushed voices. Lex approached them, about to ask what was going on, but the question died in his throat as the subject of their conversation, and the reason why the train had suddenly thrown its brakes on, became clear. Up ahead, roughly fifty feet from where the train had stopped, a stretch of railroad track had been torn to pieces. The stone ballast had been scattered wildly, as had the timber sleepers that undergirded the rails. As for the rails themselves, the thick steel bars were not only snapped, but the ends curled in the air, twisted as though they were made of licorice instead of metal. Unable to help but gawk slightly at the scope of the destruction, Lex approached the group slowly. As he did so, he overheard one of them mutter a comment that, to his mind, perfectly summarized the situation. “…end of the line.”