• Published 2nd Nov 2015
  • 4,030 Views, 10,118 Comments

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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527 - Dividends and Dead Ends

“Did it work?! He’s not waking up!”

“No, I think he is! See, he’s stirring!”

“Lex?! Lex, can you hear me?!”

“Cloudbank, use another healing spell!”

“C’mon, come back to us, Lex! We need you!”

“Okay, let’s hope this does the trick…!”


Lex’s eyes snapped open just in time to see Cloudbank removing her hoof from his chest. Immediately, his eyes flickered around the room, seeing numerous ponies gathered around him: Sonata, Aria, Cloudbank, Thermal Draft, Garden Gate, River Bank, C. Shells, House Call, Fruit Crunch, Cleansweep, Feather Duster, Fiddlesticks, Straightlace, Feathercap, and more were all surrounding him, filling the room he was in to capacity. Even as he took in their faces, his memory rushed in as well: Defeating Starlight Glimmer. Accepting Blueblood’s challenge. Rainbow Dash’s surprise attack. Being caught by Turbo. The Night Mare in his dream.

It all came back to him in an instant, and even as the faces of the ponies around him began to light up with smiles and gasps of relief, he struggled to sit up. “What’s the situation-”

He couldn’t finish as cheers erupted from everyone in the room, drowning out his attempt to speak. His attempt to sit up was likewise defeated as he suddenly found himself buried in ponies, with Sonata, Aria, and the Night Mare’s Knights all hugging him tightly enough that it drove the breath from his lungs. Everyone else seemed to be in a similar state, as C. Shells pulled her crew into a group hug, Thermal Draft and Cloudbank shared a passionate kiss, and Garden Gate hoof-bumped her friends…save Turbo, for some reason.

But there was no time to contemplate that as House Call stepped forward, chuckling as his horn lit up and he began prying ponies off of Lex. “Alright, let’s try to let him get some rest,” he chastised gently. “Healing his injuries is all well and good, but Mr. Legis has still been through a lot.”

“I knew some dumb old Wonderbolt-wannabe couldn’t take you down!” The words came, surprisingly, from Straightlace, the colt looking like he was struggling to hold back tears. “I knew it!”

“Of course she couldn’t.” Fiddlesticks pulled the colt into a hug, keeping her eyes on Lex as she spoke. “There’s no way the Night Mare would allow that, right?”

The question was directed toward Cloudbank, who almost missed it, lost in Thermal Draft’s eyes. “Hm? Oh, absolutely. The Night Mare knew that Lex is tough enough to take on everything Vanhoover could throw at him and then some. There’s no way he’d be beaten so easily.” Smiling, she gave a quick nuzzle to Thermal Draft before trotting over to the side of the ornate bed that Lex was resting in. “Are you still in any pain?” she asked softly. “I have another healing spell if you need it.”

“What I – stop that! – need is for – calm down! – somepony to tell me – that’s enough! – what’s going on!” snapped Lex, barely able to get a word out due to the ponies still crowding him.

On each side, Sonata and Aria were making no effort to restrain themselves, kissing his neck, nuzzling his cheeks, and nipping playfully at his ears. In sharp contrast was Fruit Crunch, the colt having resisted every effort to dislodge him from his hero. With his forehooves locked around Lex, he was burying his face in the older stallion’s chest, simply content to hold him close. And working around them was House Call, trying to examine Lex as best he could with the other three in the way. The sight made Cloudbank snicker, mostly because of the look of bewildered alarm on Lex’s face, clearly having no idea how to respond to so much affection.

Fortunately for him, River Bank was a little more pragmatic. “It’s currently midnight,” she murmured as she moved alongside Lex’s bed, raising her voice enough so that he could hear her over the numerous happy voices filling the room. “You’ve been unconscious for a little over fourteen hours.”

He gave a curt nod to that, though it might have been to prevent Aria from stealing a kiss, her lips landing on his nose instead. “Is everypony else alright?”

“You were hurt the worst,” answered Thermal Draft, coming up alongside Cloudbank, brushing her side against her girlfriend’s before continuing. “The rest of us who fought Starlight all had some injuries, but nothing too serious, thanks to you.”

Lex felt some of his tension easing. “What about-”

“Ooh!” squealed Sonata. “I almost forgot! Check this out!” Leaping up, she turned around, thrusting her backside toward his face and swaying her hips back and forth. “Doesn’t it look great?”

Lex’s eyes widened. “Sonata, what are you doing?! There are foals here!”

The rebuke made Sonata blink in confusion, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Huh?”

Sighing, Aria looked up from where she’d been planting kisses on the side of Lex’s face. “Stand in profile, you idiot. He can’t see it if you point your butt directly at him like that.”

“Ohhh! I gotcha!” chuckled Sonata, utterly lacking in embarrassment as she made a quarter-turn.

This time, Lex’s eyes widened for a different reason. “Your cutie mark!”

Grinning, Sonata nodded. “Yep! It just came back a half-hour ago! Those guys must have seriously booked it back to their village!”

Lex’s brow furrowed at that, causing River to step in ahead of the question she could tell was coming. “The ponies who came here with Starlight Glimmer were eager to return to their village and tell everyone else there what happened, as well as get their cutie marks back.” She paused just for a second before continuing. “I thought it would be best to let them go.”

Sweat beaded on her brow as Lex gave her a sharp glance at that, his face darkening. But her tension eased when he seemed to reach some sort of decision a moment later, nodding. “And Starlight Glimmer herself?”

River bit her lip, nervous for a different reason now. “Well-”

“Lex!” interrupted Cleansweep, not having been paying attention to what River and Lex had been conversing about. “You’ve gotta take a look outside!”

“Sweetheart,” murmured Feather Duster disapprovingly. “Master Legis is busy right now. We can show him that later.”

“Um,” piped up Feathercap nervously. “I-I think it would be nice if he saw it now.”

“I’d recommend against getting up anytime soon,” sighed House Call, stepping away and giving Lex a concerned look. “I’m still not sure how much that healing spell actually repairs, but you went into cardiac arrest on your way back here. More than once. Normally, that would mean no exertion this soon afterward.”

“I have a spell that can reduce strain on the body,” murmured Lex, looking at Cleansweep and Feathercap. “What’s outside that I need to see?”

“It’s a surprise.” The answer came from Fruit Crunch, lifting his head from Lex’s chest at last. Blushing at how clingy he’d been acting, he slowly climbed off the bed. “It’s nothing bad, and we didn’t set it up or anything, it just…kinda happened.”

“If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about,” interjected Garden Gate, “then you should take a look from one of the upstairs windows. That’s the best way to see it.”

“We can take you there,” offered C. Shells. “I mean, I know you’re a tough guy and everything, but maybe just this once you’ll let us help you out?”

“Is this the thing?” asked Sonata as she crawled back into bed, taking her place at Lex’s side. “Are you guys talking about the thing?”

“Obviously,” huffed Aria.

Frowning, Lex looked around the room for a moment. “Fine, I’ll take a look-”

“Alright everyone!” boomed C. Shells, not giving him a chance to finish. “You heard Lex! Earth ponies, fall in!” She was already moving as she spoke, going to one corner of the bed. As she did, Funshine, Scrubby, and Granola Bar went to the other three corners. Once they were all arranged, C. Shells spoke up again. “Okay, on three! Ready? One! Two! Three!”

Before Lex had a chance to ask what they were doing, the four of them lifted the bed into the air, each of them carrying a corner as though it were a palanquin.

“Make way, everypony!” yelled C. Shells. “Get those doors open and clear the space in front of us! Somepony go ahead and open the doors to an upstairs room with a southern exposure and a lot of windows!”

“What?! What’s happ-”

Lex couldn’t finish thanks to Aria, this time succeeding in silencing him with a kiss. “Just once, relax and let everyone else do something for you,” she murmured once she removed her lips from his.

“But-”

This time Sonata was the one who kissed him into silence. “For realsies, we can totes do this the whole way there,” she giggled.

“That’s-”

Once again, Sonata’s lips silence him. “Mmm!”

“Hey!” frowned Aria. “It was my turn!”

“You snooze, you lose!” snickered Sonata, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

“Oh yeah?” Giving an angry snort, Aria leaned down and kissed Lex again.

“Hey!” yelped Sonata. “No fair! He didn’t say anything that time!”

“You snooze, you lose,” mocked Aria.

“Oh, I’m totes telling Lex about how you started crying when you thought he wasn’t going to wake up!”

“HEY! That was supposed to be a secret!”

Underneath the bed, Scrubby gave a long-suffering sigh as he listened to the two Sirens argue over their stallion. “He gets all the good mares.”

Granola Bar gave him a wry look. “He also saved two cities, brought some dead ponies back to life, fought off monsters and power-mad ponies, and that’s just the top of the list. Do all that and I bet you’ll have beautiful girls throwing themselves at you too.”

Scrubby had the decency to look embarrassed at that.

“Less talking, more concentrating on where we’re going,” murmured C. Shells as they started up a nearby staircase. “We should be there soon.”

“There” turned out to be a large ballroom on the second floor, which Trotsworth waved them into. “The curtains have been lowered in anticipation of your arrival,” offered the old stallion with a bow as C. Shells and the others put the bed down. “The staff is ready to draw them at your order.”

“Can you stand up?” asked Thermal Draft, having followed Lex there. Nor was she the only one, as everpony who had been there when he’d woken up slowly filed into the ballroom, surrounding him with expectant smiles on their faces. “You’re gonna want the best view possible of this, and that means being right up in front of the glass.”

“I can stand,” muttered Lex defensively, albeit only after he was sure that Sonata and Aria were going to let him speak. But he didn’t immediately make good on his statement, instead chanting a quiet liturgy to the Night Mare, gesturing as he did. It took several seconds to complete, and when he finished he touched his hoof to his chest, just over his heart, and let out a slow breath as he felt a tightness he hadn’t been aware of ease. It was only then that he started to get up, Sonata and Aria staying close by him as he climbed to his hooves.

Even with the curative magic that had been used on him, the effort was more difficult than it would have been if he’d been at full strength. But that was fine; so long as nopony else had a more pressing need for it, he’d be able to recover in a fraction of the time thanks to Cleansweep and Cloudbank’s magic. Which might have been what the Night Mare was talking about, realized Lex as he nodded at the servants.

Then they drew the curtains back, and Lex realized that he’d underestimated what the goddess had told him.

Spreading out in front of the manor was a sea of glowing lights, each of which was carried by a pony. Some held candles, others lifted lanterns, and more than a few unicorns conjured a soft light at the end of their horn. But all of them held something, leaving the yard in front of the manor shining. There were hundreds of them. Thousands. Filling the entire view afforded by the huge picture window.

“They started arriving a little while ago,” explained Cloudbank. “Word got out that we were waiting for midnight, and ponies just started holding vigil.”

“It’s not just the ponies from here, either,” added Garden. “Some ponies ran back to Tall Tale right after everything happened, and they’ve been pouring in ever by the boatful since.”

“Why?” No matter how he turned it over in his mind, Lex couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. There was no practical purpose to this. It accomplished nothing. So what was the point? Why do all this?

“Because everyone wanted to show you how much they care about you,” smiled Sonata. “Duh.”

“How can you be the smartest guy on the planet and not realize how much everyone here loves you?” huffed Aria, before leaning in closer and lowering her voice to a quiet murmur that only he could hear. “I know they do, because…I love you.”

That was enough to earn Lex’s full attention, turning to look at her. “Aria…”

Blushing, she couldn’t meet his eyes, instead giving him a gentle shove. “Now get out there and go wave at everypony, moron.”

“Wave?” blinked Lex, trying to keep up with what was happening.

Trotsworth stepped forward. “If you feel so inclined, sir, the balcony is right this way.”

Lex felt almost lightheaded as he stepped forward, followed by Sonata and Aria. There was a sense of unreality to everything, as though he was dreaming. But that couldn’t be true, because his dreams were all nightmares now, reminding him of his failures and fears and humiliations. They’d long since stopped showing him things that made him feel the way he did right now.

Appreciated.

Vindicated.

Trusted.

Those feelings only few stronger as he stepped out onto the balcony, the warm night air wrapping around him. Down below, a murmur broke out as everypony realized that something was happening and nudged their neighbor. The sound left Lex staring, barely noticing as Garden Gate and Compass Rose moved to each end of the balcony, their horns shining brightly enough to illuminate everything between them.

And everypony below erupted into cheers as they saw who was up there.

“It’s now official,” murmured Aria, smirking as she watched Lex survey the crowd with a look of wonder on his face.

“Lex Legis, you are adored,” purred Sonata, lifting his foreleg up to wave to the crowd.

Lex had faced cheering crowds before. It had happened when he’d accepted the position as mayor of Tall Tale. It had happened when he’d given his tell-all speech to the ponies of Vanhoover a few short weeks ago. It had even happened that morning, when everypony had witnessed him defeat Starlight Glimmer. But now, for some reason – because of what the Night Mare had said, or because of the outpouring of affection from the ponies watching over him, or something else altogether – it felt different this time.

He knew there was more work to be done. Starlight Glimmer would need to be dealt with. Rainbow Dash had undoubtedly come with Princess Twilight and her friends. Funds had to be secured from the Las Pegasus ponies. But right now…

Right now, Lex stood and basked in the adulation of his little ponies.


Nosey sighed as she trudged up the stairs to her apartment. Not quite the welcome home I was expecting.

It had taken forever to get back to Canterlot. Mostly that was because Cloudsdale, after its emergency stopover in Vanhoover, had resumed its original northeasterly course toward the Crystal Empire. And while the floating city had stopped over quite a few other towns on its way there, Lens Flare – the photographer who’d been nice enough to let her crash on her couch and raid her fridge during the trip home – hadn’t had the spare bits to let the still-broke Nosey catch a train back to Canterlot. So she’d been forced to wait until Cloudsdale had reached the Crystal Empire, a city large enough that it actually had its own newspaper operation, unlike the numerous small towns where the entire news apparatus consisted of receiving distribution copies of larger cities’ papers. Fortunately, she’d been able to burnish her press credentials and beg a favor from the editor of Crystal Empire’s local paper, managing to get a train ticket home.

She’d arrived a few hours ago, just as the sun was going down. Although she’d desperately wanted to go home, take a shower, and go to bed – or even just stop by her folks’ place and let them know she was okay – Nosey was a reporter through and through. So it was no surprise that the first place she’d gone had been to see the editor of the Canterlot Chronicle, and her boss, Line Byline, bursting into his office ready to knock his socks off with what Lex was doing in Vanhoover.

But the meeting had quickly gone downhill.

It hadn’t been completely surprising that Line already knew some of what was going on. After what Lex had done to Princess Luna, there was no way he wouldn’t. But what had absolutely shocked Nosey was Line’s complete and utter refusal to accept even the slightest possibility that Lex could be a force for good.

“I’m not just talking about what he did to Princess Luna!” shouted Line, after they’d already gone round and round for what had to have been a few hours. By that time it had already been full dark, with everypony else having gone home. “That ‘Night Mare’ goddess he’s working with could put all of Equestria at risk!”

“Says who?! Some alicorn who appears out of nowhere and calls himself an angel?” retorted Nosey, having been filled in on the disastrous meeting that had taken place at the castle. “What makes him so credible?!”

“He saved everypony’s life that day, Nosey!”

“Lex saved a lot more lives in Vanhoover and Tall Tale! Line, I saw him fight an army of undead ponies practically all by himself! I know that what happened with the princesses looks bad, but I’m telling you, there’s more to the story than that!”

Line had sighed then, but although his expression had softened, Nosey hadn’t liked the look that had come over him then. “About that thing with those undead ponies…”

“What about it?”

“Nosey…have you considered the fact that maybe you didn’t see what you think you saw?”

Her eyebrows had gone up then, insulted. “Excuse me?!”

“Just hear me out.” Line had sat back in his chair then, the large wooden swivel chair that he’d so often joked about having slept in more than his own bed, and given her a piercing look. “You told me that this happened right after you were attacked by some sort of three-headed monster, a…” He flipped through the notes she’d prepared for him then. “…belier devil, named Xiriel.”

Fighting down the urge to swallow at the sound of her tormentor’s name, she nodded, suddenly glad she hadn’t said very much about how she’d been attacked. “That’s right.”

“So you’d already been in a high-stress situation right before those alleged ‘ghouls’ attacked.”

“What do you mean ‘alleged’? I told you, I-”

“You also noted here,” continued Line, as he flipped through her notes. “That Lex cast an illusion over everypony.”

Nosey had nodded again, still not sure why he was bringing all this up. “To stop the ghouls from seeing us.”

“And you know that how? Because Lex told you? Or was it Sonata, a Siren, who’re known for having powers to confound ponies’ minds.”

At that point Nosey had felt a cold chill running down her spine. “Where are you going with all of this, Line?”

It had taken him a moment before he’d tossed her notes back onto his desk. “Nosey, you had already been in an extremely tense situation. You were under an illusion whose effects you can’t personally confirm. And you were in proximity to someone known for manipulating minds. All right before these ‘undead ponies’ came pouring out of Vanhoover…if they were undead at all.”

She’d known where he was going then, and she could only stare at him, shaking her head slowly. “No.”

“Nosey, we have to consider the possibility-”

“No!”

“-that these were living ponies, survivors of Vanhoover, and that Lex slaughtered them.”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” She’d slammed her hoof down on his desk then, the pain it caused her only infuriating her more. “Line, Lex would never do that! He doesn’t kill ponies!”

“Right, except for Princess Luna’s guard,” snorted Line, holding up a hoof before she could protest. “I know, that was supposedly the scythe’s fault. Lex draws the line at cursing ponies, which he does with King Sombra’s horn.” He’d pulled out a file from his desk then, glancing through it before pulling out a paper. “Funny, the crystal ponies we interviewed after Sombra was defeated mentioned that he manipulated their memories too.”

By that point she had been shaking with rage, trying to fight back the tears gathering in her eyes, knowing that getting emotional would only make her seem even less credible. “None of that proves anything! You’re engaging in speculation and gossip, not news!”

“I’m pointing out,” replied Line calmly, “that the story you’ve brought me has a lot of holes in it. We’re talking about a pony who apparently loves his people, but seems to hate interacting with them. Who is working with a goddess that makes Nightmare Moon look warm and fuzzy, because he thinks she’ll make Equestria better. Who says this is his home, even though he seems to come from that Everglow place-”

“He’s not from there! He’s from here!” It had been all she could do to keep from screaming at that point, seeing her editor apparently ready to twist every single thing she’d written down, no matter how small the detail. “He was sent there before and came back, is all!”

“How?” Line had raised an eyebrow then, leaning back in his chair. “Did he break into Princess Twilight’s castle and use her portal? Because at this point, you haven’t given any alternative explanation.”

“Because what he’s doing in Vanhoover is more important than that!”

“Nosey, what he’s doing in Vanhoover is a coup.” He’d spoken to her slowly then, like she was a child. “He’s openly admitted to wanting to take over Equestria, and all you can write about is how he apparently deserves to do so. These,” he’d lifted her notes then, “don’t tell us what we need to know, which is what his weaknesses are and how to stop him. In all honesty, I’m concerned about how you seem to be under his thrall.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she’d spat, her voice cold.

Line had nodded then, but not in agreement. “I can see this is upsetting you. How about this? Take a week’s vacation, and when you come back, we can go over your notes some more.” He’d held up a hoof to forestall another protest. “I won’t publish any of what you’ve brought me before I talk to you again.”

“But you’ll take it all to Celestia and Luna.”

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” he’d corrected her crossly, before his expression had softened. “Nosey, I have to. This is too important.” He’d sighed, a paternal look crossing his face then. “I know you think that this is unfair, and that everything you've written down is true. And maybe, maybe it is. But we’ve talked before about how a reporter has a responsibility to more than just the truth. There’s also the damage that a story can cause-”

“Don’t, Line. Just don’t.” She’d turned and marched toward the door then, angrier than she could ever remember being, stopping just long enough to say one thing. “Everything I’ve written down there is the truth, and if the truth is too inconvenient for the princesses, then maybe Lex is right about being more worthy to rule than they are.”

She’d had the satisfaction of seeing his face darken at that before she’d stalked out, trudging home feeling utterly miserable.

She was still feeling that way as she reached her apartment, fumbling with her keys in the dark hallway. I can’t believe I didn’t lose these the entire time I was away, she mused as she let herself in, not bothering to turn the lights on. Thank Celes- She grimaced, remembering everything Line had said. Thank the Night Mare for small favors. It was a pointless bit of pettiness, but it made her feel better as she stumbled toward her bed. She knew the path by heart even after being away for so long, having worked late plenty of times before, and right now the allure of sleep was stronger than her need for a shower, especially after Line had been so-

A sudden rush of hoofsteps was the only warning she got before something – somepony – slammed into her.

Hitting the ground hard, Nosey didn’t have a chance to scream as the wind was knocked out of her. But her attacker wasn’t taking any chances, covering her mouth with a hoof. “I was wondering when Lex’s pet reporter would be back,” snarled a hateful voice.

A voice she recognized.

Leaning forward, his face illuminated by the moonlight shining in from a nearby window, Silhouette sneered at her. “Bet you forgot about me, didn’t you?”

Author's Note:

In this double-length chapter, Lex proves the Night Mare right as he comes to fully appreciate what he's accomplished in Vanhoover!

Meanwhile, Nosey returns to the story! But she has some new problems waiting for her back home!

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