Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

160 - Breakthrough and Breakdown

“Take it away, Lex!”

Outwardly, Lex’s expression didn’t change as Cloudbank ended her sermon, looking up at her for a moment in stony consideration. He had no idea if she’d done a good job or not, but the crowd’s reaction strongly suggested that she had. Although he didn’t care for how she’d made it sound as though the totality of his magic was the product of divine munificence, the continued cheering and stomping of hooves made it clear that the assembled ponies didn’t dislike what they’d been told about the Night Mare. And that was the entire point of this, he grudgingly admitted to himself, letting his eyes fall to the barbed wire wrapped around his left fore-hoof.

His musings were cut short as Severance rose from his back of its own accord, starting to float toward Cloudbank, who had just touched down. Frowning at the weapon’s unexpected liveliness, Lex grasped it in his telekinesis, its movement immediately coming to a halt as his purple aura engulfed it. “What are you doing?” he demanded, voice thick with suspicion. Severance was typically content to follow the instructions he gave it, which made its actions now worrying. If it thinks that Cloudbank did a poor job of representing the Night Mare and wants to punish her for it…

But a moment came Severance’s reply, stating that it only wanted to speak to her. But the answer mollified Lex only slightly. “About what?”

“Um, is everything okay?” piped up Cloudbank, glancing between Lex and Severance with some trepidation. It was only partly due to her dislike of the weapon; a glance behind her showed that the crowd’s enthusiasm was dying down, and more and more eyes were turning towards Lex in anticipation of being fed.

Releasing Severance with a snort as it made its intentions clear, Lex let the weapon continue to lazily float over to her. “Severance is going to work with you on establishing the formal tenets of the Night Mare’s dogma.”

Cloudbank blinked at that, her brow furrowing. “Wait…hold on-”

But Lex was already turning away from her, having noticed that the crowd was focusing their attention on him. “Before you begin promulgating whatever it teaches you, bring it to me for review and editi-” He paused as the barbed wire around his hoof suddenly shifted, causing him to look at it sharply. It hadn’t drawn blood this time, but it had moved in a way that caused the sharp edges to press against his skin dangerously. Narrowing his eyes, Lex continued speaking. “For review and editing.”

The wire tightened, its points pressing into his flesh painfully…but still not enough to draw blood. Considering what that meant, Lex chose his next words carefully, speaking in a low voice that barely made it to Cloudbank’s ears. “The doctrinal canon that she utilized on Everglow will likely require amending in order to find greater acceptance here.”

“Huh?” Cloudbank was only half-listening, the bulk of her attention focused on Severance as it moved closer to her than she was comfortable with before stopping, apparently waiting for her to grasp it. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” murmured Lex distractedly, still looking at his hoof as the threatening pain slowly receded, the barbed wire shifting almost imperceptibly so that it was no longer digging into his skin. Apparently the goddess agreed with his reasoning, though Lex had the distinct impression that her approval had only been narrowly given; any alterations that he made to whatever Severance taught Cloudbank would likely be scrutinized closely. With a sigh, Lex pushed this latest irritation from his mind. He couldn’t afford to worry about that right now, not when he had a much more immediate problem to attend to.

It was time to make good on his promise to feed everypony.

Turning his back to the crowd, Lex faced north, looking over the vast empty plain that spread out in front of him. Of all the logistical problems that he’d faced in the last hour as he’d tried to come up with a plan to make sufficient food for everyone, having enough space in which to conjure the vast quantities of edible materials which would be required to feed the entirety of the camp was the only thing that hadn’t been an issue. But that knowledge was cold comfort in light of the hasty, uncertain course of action that he’d ultimately decided upon. In theory this will work, he was certain. But theory had, when put into practice, let him down far too many times to be reassuring now.

Pushing the last of his doubts away, Lex began to cast…but not the spell that would let him create food and water. Rather, this was a spell that enhanced physical hardiness, pushing its energy throughout the magical channels in the caster’s body and from there radiating out to the surrounding muscles and organs, augmenting them and increasing the strain that the caster’s body could handle. It was the same spell that the dragon he’d fought outside of Tall Tale had used, keeping itself active and fighting in spite of the incredible damage Lex had dealt to it.

Attempting to recreate the spell during the ocean voyage to Vanhoover had been little more than a pastime, and hadn’t resulted in anything useable. Despite having seen that spell even before he’d encountered that dragon – it was, like Aria’s fireball, popular among the wizards and sorcerers of Everglow – simply observing a particular magical effect wasn’t enough for Lex to be able to recreate it from scratch later on. It hadn’t been until he’d utilized that scroll during his fight with Lirtkra that he’d personally experienced the underlying principles that went along with that particular form of magic. It was only then, feeling the energy coursing through him and empowering his physical self, that he’d understood the intricacies involved with that form of spellwork.

Once the remaining monsters from the sea had been dealt with, Lex had finally managed to find enough time to put that knowledge into practice. Although he’d spent the first two days putting the bulk of his attention to the issue of curing the ponies that had been infected by that aboleth, devoting his attention to multiple projects simultaneously had been a trick he’d mastered a long time ago. When he’d finally figured out how to cure them, then he’d been free to spend the few days necessary to engage in active design, and by the time he’d restored the last of the afflicted ponies he’d had a finished spell, prepared in his mind and ready for practical testing. Of course, that had been disrupted by the arrival of Garden Gate and her group, to say nothing of the subsequent developments that had arisen as a result. But now it would be put to the test…and then some.

As he cast the spell, Lex drew ambient energy from the surrounding area, pulling it in through his body’s magical pathways and letting it augment the spell…even as the spell directed that energy back along those same pathways. He could feel himself convulse as the power whirled inside of him, looping upon itself recursively, and the sensation was sickening. It was as though someone had struck a tuning fork and then touched it to his teeth, except throughout his entire body. But he forced himself to finish chanting, made himself complete the last gestures, directing all of his thoughts towards making the spell work the way he’d theorized it should. Because if it didn’t, if his last-minute calculations proved to be wrong, then the energy would likely contort and fold back on itself while trying to move through him, likely shredding him from the insi-

And then Lex felt it all fall into place.

The sudden cessation of discomfort, and the ensuing rush of vigor, was enough that for a moment he felt almost lightheaded. But that paled before the sense of elation that filled his mind a moment later as he realized that he’d done it. It worked! It actually worked! He couldn’t help the smile that split his face then, glad that he’d turned his back on everypony else so they wouldn’t see him grinning like an idiot, feeling almost drunk on the sense of accomplishment.

With an eagerness like that of a foal on Hearth’s Warming Eve, Lex began to cast the spell to create food and water. The spell was an incredibly complex one, requiring ten long minutes to cast, but Lex rattled the words and gestures off easily, barely having to think about them. Instead, he focused on pulling in energy from the surrounding environment again, seeking to augment the spell…

The rush of energy that he pulled into himself was so great that he almost lost control of the spell. The dizzying feeling of massive quantities of power flowing through him was heady, and he only barely remembered to activate his circlet, letting its stored energy substitute for that of the spell’s original quantity so that he’d be able to cast it again, just in case this wasn’t enough. After all, he had no idea how much food the spell could create with such a massive amount of energy channeled through it, so it was still better to be safe than sorry.

Finally, as Lex reached the end of the spell, he held out a hoof before him…and the results were astounding.

Several long tables had appeared where there had been nothing before, each of them having enough chairs to seat scores of ponies. The pristine tablecloths were almost entirely hidden beneath the sheer volume of food that sat atop them. Even a casual glance showed what had to have been dozens upon dozens upon dozens of different dishes, ranging from neatly-sliced loaves of bread set alongside steaming pots of soup to massive platters of diced fruits and simmering trays of baked vegetables. Platters of baked pasta sat alongside sandwiches filled with hay, sprouts, potatoes, and so much more. Cakes and pastries that were covered with confections of every color were to be found with abandon. Spices and sauces were liberally strewn between the various dishes. Ice buckets of monstrous size contained a small army of bottled beverages. And each place had a plate, bowl, glass, and utensils set out in front of them, just waiting to be put to use.

Trying to bite back a roar of triumph, Lex looked around, estimating how many ponies could eat their fill at the feast he’d conjured…and felt his spirits dim only slightly as he estimated that there was enough food for five hundred ponies. No problem! he laughed to himself. I’ll just cast it again! Although his body-enhancing spell was about to run out, he’d prepared it a second time – practical testing often required multiple castings, after all – and this time poured more energy into it, straining to substitute enough energy to retain this second spell even while he enhanced it.

The result left his blood pounding in his ears, again feeling as though he’d touched a lightning bolt and bent it to his will. Barely hearing the jubilant shouting of the crowd from behind him, Lex started to cast the spell to make food and water a second time. He could see ponies already streaming towards the food, some racing ahead of their fellows while others helped nearby ponies to a chair, and the sight heightened his sense of triumph. After this, everypony would know who deserved to govern them, and it wouldn’t be those useless princesses!

In the ten minutes that it took him to cast the spell again, the mass of ponies managed to get to fill the available seats and settle down, starting to figure out that there weren’t enough for all of them. They had just started to look towards Lex when he finished the second casting, making a second set of food-laden tables appear. Another huge cheer went up from the assembled ponies as they realized that there was more, and those that hadn’t gotten a seat already swarmed towards the new set of tables.

Allowing himself a moment to stop and appreciate what he’d accomplished, Lex silently calculated that one more casting should be enough to feed everypony, reaching up to wipe the sweat from his brow. Panting – why was he panting? No, it didn’t matter – he cast the personal augmentation spell again, and this time didn’t bother to try and keep it retained; he’d performed all the field testing he’d needed, and it had been a success beyond his wildest dreams! When was the last time things went so well? he wondered to himself as he started to cast the spell to create food again…only to realize that he’d expended too much of the sacerdotal thaumaturgy that the Night Mare had given him. There was some left, but not enough to cast that particular spell again.

But no matter, he decided flippantly. If I pour even more energy into the spell, I should be able to make up the difference. He could do that now, he knew. With this much power, he could do almost anything. Smirking, Lex started to cast the spell again, drawing in as much power as he could possibly gather…

…and felt agony explode through him.

In an instant, the power that he’d commanded rebelled against his control, ripping through his body with an agony so great he could barely process it. It was as though his blood had been transmuted into razor blades, tearing him apart as they circulated through him in a mass of anguish. Through it, he somehow dimly comprehended that if he let the spell go, the pain would come to an end. All he had to do was stop casting. It would be so easy…most of the ponies had enough food now, after all. Only a few hundred would go hungry, at the very most. All he had to do was let the spell go.

All he had to do was let those remaining ponies down…

The next ten minutes were the most painful of Lex Legis’s life.

Author's Note:

Lex tries a new technique, and succeeds beyond what he'd hoped for...only to, in his triumph, push himself too far.

At least the ponies of Vanhoover are fed. For now.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Given how hungry and weak everyone was, the origional food for 500 normal wouldve easily gone towards feeding everyone, because the so called three meals a day is if youre burning rediculous amounts of energy doing heavy effiort by hand instead of light moving and rest and recovery.

Lex as usual has let his ego gleefully take his ability and run away with it. Without learning to control himself, the Tantabus or other mind walker would have no problem with him.

I wonder what happened to BlockPartys effect?

[Not so New Brony]

Looks like Turbo might be able to make good on his promise after all.

So Lex's plan was to brute force it with a combination of body enhancement and his ability to turn his body into fuel. Simplistic but rather ingenious and effective but the side effects seem rather bad if abused too much as shown here. Lex may be a powerful unicorn but his greatest weaknesses are his social ineptitude...and his pride. He'll probably believe that the price is worth the reward and he'll probably hide the consequences from the public so as not to show weakness...provided he doesn't outright collapse from the strain. (That ought to give Sonata a big scare and prompt her to lecture him.)

I'm curious on Severance though. If the scythe was capable of granting knowledge on the Night Mare's dogma, then why didn't it do so directly with Lex? (Or did I forget a detail again?) Either way, Lex will have access to it now so he'll have more guidelines on the goddess' religion. Editing it is a good idea since it'll likely not be suitable for Equestrians as it is since they're softer than the inhabitants of the Everglow. Though he'll probably need input from Sonata and Cloudbank since the latter will probably be the one to tell it to the potential new followers.

[Alzrius]

8528900 Given that most of the camp had already been living in some degree of starvation - as what we've seen so far indicates that there was not only insufficient food, but that at least some of it wasn't really fit for consumption - it was rather important to provide enough food for everyone to have at least one full meal. Given that the food created by create food and water creates exactly enough to "sustain" X number of people, that undercuts the idea that you can have it feed even greater numbers by having everyone eat less; if it creates enough for five hundred people, then it can keep five hundred people fed for a single day. It won't keep one thousand people fed if everyone just eats half as much as they'd like.

Insofar as Lex goes, he did let his ego run away with him here, and it cost him dearly, but I'm not quite sure I'd call that "as usual." He's certainly made plenty of mistakes up until now, but I'm not sure how many of them could be chalked up to his personal conceit leading him to make an error that he otherwise wouldn't have. Likewise, he knows how to control himself - he did finish that final casting, even while in incredible pain - it's just that in this case, he felt a sudden rush of joy after a period of pronounced stress and misery, and he let himself get swept up in it. That doesn't mean that a "mind walker" (whatever that is) would be able to manipulate him easily; his Will save is +16, after all.

[Alzrius]

8529065

Looks like Turbo might be able to make good on his promise after all.

I'm sure there must be some rolls in there somewhere.

So Lex's plan was to brute force it with a combination of body enhancement and his ability to turn his body into fuel. Simplistic but rather ingenious and effective but the side effects seem rather bad if abused too much as shown here.

That's roughly what it was. To put it another way, Lex was tentatively exploring trying to create a positive feedback loop, wherein he used magic to augment his body, and then used his augmented body to pull him more magic, which could then be used to further augment his body, which could then be used to pull in even more magic, etc. This is, needless to say, one of those things that - from a game mechanics-based standpoint - tends to drive me up the wall. Infinite power loops are the sort of thing that breaks a game completely, and so I admit that I felt a bit of "you're getting what you deserve" when Lex lost control of it and pushed himself too far. If that kind of nonsense worked, then plenty of other spellcasters should have tumbled onto it a long time ago. Bad Lex! Bad!

Now, there's nothing wrong with augmenting an augmentation, to be clear. It's just that there's a limit to being able to make them feed into each other in perpetually greater amounts.

Lex may be a powerful unicorn but his greatest weaknesses are his social ineptitude...and his pride.

To be clear, Lex's pride is his method of overcompensating for how insecure he feels. Growing up knowing that he was different, and being ostracized because of his inability to understand social situations, damaged his sense of self rather badly. It's not surprising that he developed such grandiose ambitions, since he's essentially trying to make a massive public appeal to be liked. But at the same time, he hates how petty that is, and so he's pushed that particular realization from his conscious mind, although it continues to lurk at the borders of it, ready to slip back into his thoughts whenever he lets his guard down.

This really isn't that much different from, for example, Princess Luna, who in Luna Eclipsed flat-out introduced herself as "A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration!" That's what Lex wants. The difference is that he can't - literally cannot - understand what he's doing wrong, to the point where he's lost interest in trying to modify his behavior, and is instead simply shooting for the moon (metaphorically) to win everypony's admiration.

He'll probably believe that the price is worth the reward and he'll probably hide the consequences from the public so as not to show weakness...provided he doesn't outright collapse from the strain. (That ought to give Sonata a big scare and prompt her to lecture him.)

Either of those are extremely likely.

I'm curious on Severance though. If the scythe was capable of granting knowledge on the Night Mare's dogma, then why didn't it do so directly with Lex? (Or did I forget a detail again?)

See, this is why I love feedback, because it makes it clear where the less-explicit messages come through, and where I've done a bad job; in this case it feels like the latter. Severance didn't bother to feed Lex any doctrinal teachings because it knew that Lex didn't care. Lex has never prayed to the Night Mare, nor made any demonstrations of faith - let alone public ones - the way that Cloudbank just did. He's essentially treated his dealing with the goddess like a political alliance, and that's not very conducive to divine worship. Trying to teach Lex about the Night Mare's religion would have been futile; his role is to act as an example of it, rather than a teacher. Cloudbank fulfills the latter role much better.

Either way, Lex will have access to it now so he'll have more guidelines on the goddess' religion. Editing it is a good idea since it'll likely not be suitable for Equestrians as it is since they're softer than the inhabitants of the Everglow. Though he'll probably need input from Sonata and Cloudbank since the latter will probably be the one to tell it to the potential new followers.

No doubt. I suspect that the Lawful Neutral interpretation of the Night Mare's religion will be more palatable to the ponies of Equestria, though even then I suspect that some of them will be uncomfortable with it due to its lack of any overt goodness. (Which makes me wonder what Cadance is doing with regards to Lashtada's religion, since Lashtada is a Neutral goddess.)

[James Fire]

No easily spotted typos.

Could Lex have used Severance here? He uses it to restore his spells, who's to say he can't use it to directly power one? Granted, Severance may see that as being "too dependent" on it, but still.

[Alzrius]

8547886

No easily spotted typos.

Woo hoo!

Could Lex have used Severance here? He uses it to restore his spells, who's to say he can't use it to directly power one? Granted, Severance may see that as being "too dependent" on it, but still.

Remember that Lex using Severance to replenish his primary form of spellcasting isn't due to any particular property of Severance, per se. Rather, he simply needs any exceptionally large source of magic to be able to siphon sufficient power in order to properly "compress" the ambient energies around him enough to store the requisite energy in his thoughts. Severance has that much power, but it's not the only thing that does; for a little while, before he went to Everglow for the first time, Lex used the Tree of Harmony to do the same. And on the solstices and equinoxes, the amount of naturally-available energy swells enough that he can do so then as well.

As for whether or not Severance has any sort of spell-enhancing capability, strictly speaking we don't know, but so far there's been nothing to indicate anything like that.