• Published 2nd Nov 2015
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Lateral Movement - Alzrius



Having been granted rulership over the city of Vanhoover, and confessed their feelings for each other, Lex Legis and Sonata Dusk have started a new life together. But the challenges of rulership, and a relationship, are more than they bargained for.

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172 - The Path of the Pious Pony

Cloudbank made it almost halfway to Lex’s tent before Severance made it plain that it wouldn’t be ignored any longer.

She’d been surprised when the weapon had objected to Turbo’s terms, but had managed to keep it off of her face at the time. She’d been getting good at that, as the weapon had been ceaselessly inundating her with information about the various rites and tenets of the Night Mare’s religion all morning. But when Turbo had made it clear that he wanted Garden Gate’s curses removed in exchange for his help, Severance had made its displeasure known, displeasure that had only increased when she’d told the pegasus stallion that she’d take his demand to Lex. Now, as the weapon leapt off her back and swung around to hover in the air in front of her, barring her path, it seemed that it was no longer content to simply have its opinion disregarded.

“Look, what’s your problem?” Cloudbank snapped, agitated despite herself. Although she’d decided to try and put her aversion to Severance aside when it told her, earlier that morning, that it wanted to instruct her on how to strengthen her ties to the Night Mare, that didn’t mean that she felt comfortable with it. The memory of driving the thing through Drafty’s body still haunted her. “I’m telling Lex what Turbo said so that he can decide what to do, so what’s the big deal?!” Her shout was enough draw the attention of several nearby ponies, their eyes widening as they beheld her arguing with a floating scythe.

Embarrassed to have made a spectacle of herself, and knowing that she needed to be touching Severance to “hear” its reply, she took hold of the scythe with her mouth. It didn’t resist as she flew upward, high enough that her speaking out loud wouldn’t be easily overheard. When she was far enough up that the ponies on the ground looked like colored dots, she started circling slowly. She would have preferred settling down on a cloud to talk, but the sky was clear in every direction. Huffing, she returned the scythe to its place on her back as she listened to its reply.

Upon hearing what it had to say, Cloudbank couldn’t help but snort. “Of course I know what he’ll say, but that doesn’t-” She stopped as Severance spoke up again, pointing out that since she was already certain what Lex’s answer would be, and since it was the same as her own feelings on the matter, she didn’t need to seek his approval. Instead, the scythe insisted, she should simply exercise the authority that he’d imbued her with and make a decision herself.

That was enough to bring an uncomfortable frown to Cloudbank’s face, reminding her of Drafty’s theory that Lex was putting his trust in her. “Yeah, well...I don’t know,” she muttered uneasily. “It might be that if he finds out that I made that decision without consulting him, he’ll get all upset that I was stealing his authority or something.” But Severance had a different outlook on the situation, arguing that Lex would approve of her upholding the decision that he had made. Moreover, to give in to Turbo’s demand would not only be foolish, but weak. And the Night Mare abhorred weakness.

It had just started to launch into a recitation about how there was no sympathy given to those who showed mercy and were betrayed for it when Cloudbank rolled her eyes. “Okay, look…I get that you want me to learn all this stuff about the Night Mare, and I’m okay with that. Really. But do you honestly think that right now is the best time for all this?”

Severance’s response was to bluntly point out that their situation left them with no “good time,” and so they’d need to use whatever time they had. Although Cloudbank had to admit that the scythe wasn’t wrong in its assessment, she wasn’t quite ready to abandon the argument. “Maybe you’re right, but why are you telling me all this? Since Lex is just going to edit it anyway, shouldn’t you just tell this stuff to him directly and cut out the middlemare?” She gestured to herself at that last word, irritated. Another thought occurred to her then, but this one she kept to herself. For that matter, if Lex has the Night Mare’s favor, why doesn’t he know all this already?

The answer that Severance gave her was so surprising, however, that for a moment Cloudbank forgot to flap her wings: Lex didn’t want to learn about the Night Mare’s religion.

“What…? Hold on, that doesn’t… What?” she sputtered, not sure what to make of what she’d just been told. “The Night Mare is his goddess, the same as me! Why wouldn’t he want to learn about her?” Although she hadn’t known Lex very long, she felt confident that he was the type who’d devour any new knowledge that was made known to him. The idea that he’d turn his nose up at any new information was hard enough to believe; the idea that he wouldn’t want to learn the prayers and rites and tenets dedicated to his own goddess was absolutely insane. And it also contradicted what he’d said about wanting to scrutinize what Severance taught her…didn’t it? “If he didn’t want to learn about the Night Mare’s worship, then why would he want to review this at all?”

But Severance had an answer for that too, asserting that Lex’s only concern with editing the doctrinal canon of the Night Mare’s teachings was how to best utilize them as a tool to strengthen pony society. Worship, the scythe assured her, was not something Lex was interested in. Nor did the Night Mare require it of him.

That last part had left Cloudbank’s head spinning, growing more and more confused as the conversation progressed. “But…I thought that was how all this worked. That gods reward those who worship them with spells.” She’d learned that much before she’d ever even heard of the Night Mare, during those weeks when she, Drafty, and Aisle had been hiding together with Cozy and Pillowcase. It had been the two crystal ponies who had first introduced them to the concept of “gods” and how they could empower devoted mortal adherents with magical powers. Lex had affirmed that when he’d told her to pray to the Night Mare for the power to heal Drafty in the aftermath of the battle at the bay. “If that’s not the case for Lex, then why is the Night Mare giving him so much power?”

For a few moments Severance was silent, and Cloudbank had the distinct impression that it was trying to figure out exactly what to tell her. Finally, the weapon’s voice filled her mind again, telling her that Lex honored the Night Mare and advanced her interests simply because of who he was; that the manner in which he thought, acted, and lived his life served as an example of everything the Night Mare stood for. Because of that, she had elected to reward and empower him so that he could continue to champion her ideals. Cloudbank couldn’t help but frown at that particular revelation. She’d known that Lex had a closer relationship with their goddess than she did, but finding out that the Night Mare apparently held him in such high esteem was discouraging nonetheless. First Drafty and now the Night Mare. Why does every mare I like seem to like him more than me? Out loud, however, all she said was, “Great, so in other words he’s her favorite and always will be, all without ever uttering so much as a prayer, is that it?”

She almost expected Severance to laugh at her, but to her surprise the scythe’s mental voice was almost comforting as it spoke, telling her that there were many different ways to serve the Night Mare. While Lex’s role might be to act as a living example of her tenets, there were ways that Cloudbank could enact the Night Mare’s will that Lex could never fulfill…and goddess-given powers that he would likely never be able to access. But, the scythe assured Cloudbank, she could, if her service was long and faithful.

The words sent a shudder down Cloudbank’s spine. Powers that even Lex wouldn’t have… “What sort of powers?” The thought was tantalizing enough that the question spilled out of her mouth of its own accord.

Spells, came Severance’s answer. Powerful divine spells that Lex – who had already conditioned himself to learn his own magic – was far too poor a channel to be able to use. Spells with enough power to rend the ground asunder, restore life to the dead, or even call upon the Night Mare to directly intercede in the mortal world. And those were only the beginning; there were other powers that she would be able to earn for herself if she devoted herself to working the Night Mare’s will.

For a moment, Cloudbank just imagined what it would be like, to be that powerful. To not feel helpless and afraid the way she had when Vanhoover had fallen apart. To be able to protect the ponies she cared about, and let them know that they didn’t need to be worried as long as she was there. The sensation was enough to make her chest tighten, and for a moment she wanted it so badly that it was almost a physical pain. Then the moment passed and she let out a slow breath. “Tell me what I have to do…”


Turbo was getting ready to toss the horseshoe at the stake when he spotted Cloudbank landing a short distance away. As she touched down she made eye contact with him, nodding her head toward the medical tent before turning and heading over there herself. Frowning, he watched her for a moment before glancing up at the sky, confirming that it wasn’t noon yet. She said to meet her then, so why does she want to talk now? This was obviously about his request that Garden be forgiven in exchange for his helping her raid the local banks, but he couldn’t decide if her getting back to him so quickly was a good thing or not.

I guess there’s only one way to find out. Dropping the horseshoe, Turbo turned to go after Cloudbank. “You guys keep going without me,” he called back to his friends. “I’ll be right back.”

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” asked Hopscotch.

“We can go with you, you know,” offered Slip ‘n’ Slide.

That brought a smile to Turbo’s face, but he shook his head. “I’ll be alright. You guys keep having fun.”

“Just be careful,” cautioned Garden. “And don’t do anything foolish.” The word “again” hung in the air, silent but obvious to everypony.

Smirking a little, Turbo nodded to her. Although she hadn’t been happy that he’d volunteered to work with Cloudbank in her stead, he was sure that Garden knew who the foolish one was. As though you could go on such a dangerous mission in your condition. Even now, she needed everypony to back away from her just so she could toss her horseshoe, using her mouth since her horn was still out of commission.

It took barely a minute to head over to the medical tent, where Cloudbank was waiting for him. Trotting up to her, he decided to get right to the point. “So, what did Lex say?”

“Nothing,” she replied, and Turbo had just enough time to feel confused before she continued. “I didn’t tell him, because I don’t need to. The answer is no.”

Turbo bristled. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Cloudbank’s face was neither angry nor mocking, instead showing a neutral expression. “Garden Gate’s curses aren’t going anywhere.”

Turbo grit his teeth, flaring his wings angrily. “Where do you get off… I want to speak to Lex about this!”

“You’re speaking to me,” answered Cloudbank coldly. “I’m the one Lex placed in charge of this mission, I’m the one you tried to cut a deal with, and now I’m the one telling you that it’s not going to happen.”

Turbo glared at her and seethed. “Then you can forget about my helping you with anything!”

Cloudbank’s lip curled, giving him a look of contempt. “We’re going to collect money so that we can feed everypony here, including you and Garden both. Whether or not you want to help with that is entirely up to you.” She didn’t wait for him to reply before she turned and walked away, snubbing him.

Turbo growled as he watched her go, knowing that she’d just called his bluff. He’d already told Garden that he’d go in her place, and now he was going to have to endure the additional humiliation of doing so after Cloudbank had shot down his perfectly reasonable request to lift Garden’s curses. Great. Just great, he thought bitterly as he headed back toward his friends.

Now we’ve got a second Lex that we’re going to have to deal with.

Author's Note:

Cloudbank has a talk with Severance, and reaffirms her commitment to the Night Mare.

Will this be a good thing going forward?

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