Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

308 - Second Verse

Lex didn’t allow himself to relax as the ritual neared its conclusion.

Rather, he sharpened his focus, refusing to allow the anticipation of reaching the end of the procedure to dull his attention to the remaining details lest he make a mistake. In his current condition, he knew, that would have been all too easy. His throat ached from hours of chanting, and the soreness in his muscles had returned with a vengeance, reminding him of how many times he’d ignored Doctor House Call’s advice that he rest and recuperate. All of it contributed to the fatigue that hung over him, lethargy and discomfort threatening to erode his concentration if he didn’t fight them off.

Instead, he kept his thoughts fixated on the task at hoof. Long minutes passed as he continued to gesture and chant, his eyes firmly focused on the luminous form that was Aria’s body, noticeably smaller now. The light shining from it had grown dimmer as well, the energy that he’d needed to channel through it lessening now that most of the major physical alterations were complete. As a side effect, her unmoving form slowly floated down toward the ground, no longer caught in the groundswell caused by having so much power rushing through her.

A few minutes later, the procedure came to an end. Lex pronounced the final word of the incantation, a single motion from his hoof accompanying it, and then it was over. The last of the light faded away from Aria’s body as she gently touched down, unmoving save for the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

Murmurs went up from the few ponies that had stayed to watch the entire thing, several of them nudging companions that had fallen asleep at some point. The only illumination came from several unicorns that were using their magic to conjure lights from their horns, the eastern sky still showing no hint of the coming dawn. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to let him see the results of his magic.

The pony lying unconscious on the ground in front of him was a vision of beauty. Like Sonata, her body was perfectly sculpted, having a trim frame that was replete with generous curves. Her coat was a pale, light grayish fuchsia, the color accenting the soft yet brilliant aquamarine highlights in her moderate purple mane and tail. On her flank was her cutie mark: a five-pointed star superimposed over a musical note. Nor did he miss what wasn’t there: her neck was now smooth and unblemished, with no trace of the scar that had been there before.

But what struck Lex most of all was her face. Even in her original form, he’d been able to glimpse a slight resemblance to that of Sonata. Now, that resemblance was more pronounced, catching his eye and making him pause as he mentally compared her looks to that of her sister…

“Oh my gosh, it worked!”

Sonata’s voice made Lex start, embarrassed as he realized that he’d been staring. The feeling skyrocketed a moment later as he looked up and realized that Celestia and Luna had returned from wherever they’d gone off to, standing apart from the crowd as they looked back at him. Nor were they alone, with Nosey and River Bank nearby. The latter made Lex narrow his eyes, realizing that she must have been talking to one or the other of the princesses. The prospect of that was unsettling enough that he barely noticed one of the foals that had stood up to the Royal Guard – the small colt with the binoculars – going over to where Fruit Crunch and Fiddlesticks were sleeping, quietly rousing them.

Heedless of all the eyes on them, Sonata galloped over to them, stopping just a few feet away from Aria as she examined her with great interest. “Oh wow! You really did it! She’s really a pony now!” She grinned, looking up at him. “Is it okay for me to try and wake her up? I don’t want to mess things up if you’re not done! Come to think of it, are you done?”

A look of uncertainty crossed her face then, and despite being barely ten feet away from him, Sonata reared up on her hind legs and waved her forelegs in the air, as though trying to signal him. “Lex!” she called, her voice louder now, enunciating each word carefully. “Lex! Is the ritual over? Can you talk and stuff normally now? If you can’t, give me a signal-, no, wait.” She looked down then, her voice changing to a mutter as she frowned in thought. “If it’s not you totes wouldn’t be able to signal me. Oh! I got it!” She looked up, all smiles again. “If it’s not over, sit there and keep doing nothing like that!”

For a moment, Lex wasn’t sure if he should be annoyed by Sonata’s antics or grateful that the spectacle she was making of herself was overshadowing how he’d been momentarily caught up in Aria’s looks. Instead, he put the matter out of his thoughts, knowing that there were more important things he needed to be doing. Not bothering to answer Sonata, he instead stepped forward, crossing the few feet between himself and the unconscious pony in front of him. “Aria,” he called imperiously. “Wake up.”

When she didn’t immediately respond he felt a flutter of anxiety. The spell Sonata had used to render her unconscious should have worn off by now, but he didn’t dare reach out and try to jostle her awake. The ritual had ended without any problems or irregularities, but he’d still never done this before, and so wasn’t willing to take it for granted that she was alright.

But there’s one thing I can do now, he realized. Gritting his teeth, he channeled magic through himself and into the circlet on his brow, ignoring the burning pain the effort sent through him. Instead, he called upon its magic, utilizing its ability to let him see into the magical spectrum as he looked Aria over, kneeling down beside her as he began examining the magical pathways in her body.

He was barely cognizant of Sonata circling around and moving to crouch beside him. “So, like, is she okay?”

Lex didn’t immediately answer, his eyes moving across Aria’s body again – spending several seconds staring at her cutie mark – before giving a crisp nod. “From what I can tell, the ritual was a success. She-”

“Great!” gushed Sonata. “Now let’s get her up and at ‘em! I bet she can’t wait to start singing again!” Springing to her hooves, Sonata scooped up Aria in her forelegs and started shaking her like a ragdoll. “HEY ARIA!” she bellowed right in her face. “WAKE UP ALREADY! LEX SAYS YOU GOT YOUR VOICE BACK!”

Aria’s eyes snapped open. Instantly, her legs began flailing as she struggled to extricate herself from Sonata’s grasp. “Get off me you idiot!” The words – spoken rather than whispered – made Sonata freeze, giving Aria the opportunity she needed to wrench herself free. Stumbling, she lurched unsteadily before falling over, glaring at her sister. “I swear, I’m gonna pound you for th-”

“It worked!” Suddenly teary-eyed, Sonata couldn’t help but smile. “You sound like you again!”

“Of course I do,” groused Aria. “Who else would…would…” She trailed off as she suddenly realized that she was speaking out loud, her eyes going wide. One hoof went to her throat, rubbing it softly. “My voice…” she murmured, as if afraid to speak too loudly lest she lose it again. “I can…my voice…” She took a shuddering breath, blinking her eyes. “It’s really back. I’m really back!”

“You sound totes like you did before!” nodded Sonata. “I’m, like, super happy for you!”

But Aria wasn’t listening. Instead, she slowly climbed to her hooves, legs wobbling as she figured out how to distribute her weight. Once she was steady, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, opening her mouth as she began to sing. The melody that came out of her mouth was wordless, her pitch rising and falling as she scaled through a variety of notes and back again, moving rapidly through some while holding others for several seconds. She stopped only when she ran out of breath, immediately inhaling to start again.

“That’s enough,” ordered Lex, holding out his left foreleg toward her, the one with the barbed wire around it. At the command, the Night Mare’s power lashed out toward her…to no effect. It passed right through her as if she wasn’t there, and Aria didn’t respond to him as she began to sing another wordless tune.

Frowning, Lex put his leg back down. This hadn’t been unexpected; he hadn’t been able to take control of Sonata like that either, so it made perfect sense that Aria would become immune to it once he’d changed her into a pony. But although that did give him some small insight into why this power only affected certain creatures and not others, the more immediate concern was that Aria was now back at her full strength, and he’d just lost his primary method of controlling her. No matter, he decided after a few seconds of consideration. If she tries to challenge me, I’ll just find another way to subdue her.

Having confirmed his resolve, Lex moved over to where Aria was still vocalizing. He was about to tell her to stop again, only for her to quiet down on her own, turning to look at him. “You kept your promise.”

“I told you I would,” he replied flatly, vaguely irritated that she’d apparently still had some doubts. “Now, you’ve confirmed that your voice works, but there are a few other things I want to make certain of. First, I want to make sure that your ability to perceive tactile sensation was properly restored after your body was reconfigured. Are you able to feel a sense of touch?”

“Hmm?” Other than the mildly inquisitive grunt, Aria didn’t answer. Instead, she was just looking at him, her eyes hooded as she smiled.

For some reason the sight seemed to put Sonata on edge, her own smile diminishing. “Um, Lex, maybe you can ask Aria about her taco-tile whatever later?” She moved to put herself between him and her sister, trying to usher him away from her. “You’re probably really tired, right? I bet some rest would totes hit the spot right about now. We can go back to the train station, lay you down on a nice, um…hard bench, and pick this up later.”

But Lex refused to be moved. “I want to verify that the ritual worked as intended with no side effects, Sonata. Even a small imperfection could have grave consequences.”

Fidgeting, Sonata bit her lip. “Yeah, but-”

“You heard him,” interrupted Aria, pushing Sonata to the side as she stepped closer to Lex. “Now get lost. Lex and I have some unfinished business to take care of.” She turned back to him then, smirking. “You were saying?”

Lex found himself tensing. He’d only heard Aria’s voice for a few seconds now, but there was a tone in it that hadn’t been there a moment ago, a tension that he couldn’t place. Was she getting ready to attack him? If so, I’ll make her regret it! he swore silently. “Your sense of touch,” he repeated. “Are you able to feel things normally?”

Aria took another step closer to him, closer than was polite, and this time her voice was practically a purr as she spoke. “Let’s find out.”

Lex had been expecting her to use magic, to quickly sing or chant a spell at him from extremely close range. As such, he was caught completely by surprise when she lunged forward and pressed her lips against his, kissing him with a passion that made it clear she was thinking about the bedroom rather than a battlefield. Barely hearing Sonata’s outraged cry over Aria’s hungry moan, Lex realized that he’d only been half-right about Aria’s intentions.

She fully intended to go on the attack, just not at all in the way that he’d anticipated.

Author's Note:

After two hundred nineteen chapters, Lex fulfills his promise to turn Aria into a pony!

But is he ready for the consequences of having done so?

Comments

[James Fire]

So, Lex has finally figured out Aria's feelings. Or is he too dense to see this too?

[Alzrius]

9362504 Well, she was flirting with him pretty hard before (remember her whole "he's stallion enough for all three of us" bit?). But he clearly didn't put much stock in it before, though whether that was because he thought she was being insincere or because he was just too embarrassed by it to want to think about it very much is uncertain. But now...well, we can hopefully cross "insincere" off the list.

[Not so New Brony]

That was...unexpected, and hilarious There's no way Lex can misconstrue Aria's intentions now. Can he?

While Aria's actions here will keep the rumor mill turning, it is a far better alternative to her utilizing her powers to do something sinister like say mind controlling everyone in the vicinity and taking over Equestria one song at a time. Or repeat what the Sirens had done in the Everglow and sequester herself away in a luxurious mansion like River's where she'd be served by her mind controlled slaves with Lex as her beau and enforcer.

If this is her stealing Lex from Sonata, it's unlikely to succeed. To her, it could be her one way to gain power through Lex. It would certainly secure a lavish life without the need to mind control people and risk Twilight and the other Elements coming in to ruin her fun again.

Regardless, I think any doubt River might have had of aligning herself with Lex has been quashed in its entirety. Provided Lex lets her do so that is...

[harts fire]

O now this is the kind of thanks i can get behind.

[howard035]

And Celestia and Luna are probably snickering at this point. Great Sonata as always. Aria will almost certainly stick around and serve Lex for the long term now. Not gratitude, she's not big on that, but if she gets threatened or harmed again now she knows who can protect/restore her.

[Alzrius]

9362552 Hopefully, this will clue Lex in that Aria isn't just flirting with him for her own amusement. Of course, given his inability to read social cues, we can't rule out the possibility that he'll somehow manage to misinterpret her actions. Of course, even if he does pick up on what she wants, I doubt that he has any idea what to do about it.

What Lex won't forget, in all likelihood, is that his turning Aria into a pony and restoring her voice was to incentivize her into agreeing to work for him. Back in Chapter 89 - Mind Games Ponies Play, Lex and Aria discussed what was going to happen to her after he defeated Tlerekithres' forces, and Lex flat-out told her he had no intention of letting her go free, not only because of how she'd tried to kill him and Sonata both, but because her selfish disposition and her magical abilities meant that letting her go would likely cause problems for innocent ponies in the future. Instead, he wanted her to work for him; when Aria balked, he sweetened the deal by saying that he'd restore her voice and turn her into a pony. All of that is still in effect; Lex has no intention of letting her do as she likes.

Of course, I suspect that Aria no longer sees that as a leash around her neck. It's almost like the Night Mare's statement about him nurturing her interest in him as a method of reliably using her power for his purposes was an insightful take on the situation.

As for River...I suspect we'll get her take on what just happened shortly.

[Alzrius]

9363005 The nature of the Sirens are to be temptresses, after all. Given how much Aria had been flirting with him before, Lex really should have seen this coming.

[Alzrius]

9363528 You can always trust Sonata to be herself.

That goes for Aria too, of course. I somehow doubt that everypony is watching is an issue for her; if anything, it's probably the opposite. You're probably right about her sticking with Lex for the long haul now, not that he'd allow for her to do otherwise. Remember, he offered to turn her into a pony in part because he refused to allow her to go free after his initial fight with her. He knows that she'd abuse her powers at the expense of the ponies around her.

That said, I think there'll be a bit more to it than pure convenience on Aria's part. In the time that they've known each other, she seems like she's starting to feel something deeper than the spiteful sense of amusement she initially had for Lex. Even her flirting with him, which started out as being purely to irritate Sonata and fluster him, seems to have a deeper meaning to it now.