• 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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70 - The Strong and the Weak

Lex glanced around the room as the ponies he’d subdued began to stir. To his right, the earth pony stallion was standing up, giving him a look of controlled fear as he did. In front of him, the crystal mare still looked like she was on the verge of breaking down again, her back still firmly against the wall and one hoof to her throat. Finally, to his left, the white pegasus mare was checking on her apparently-comatose friend.

It was the stallion that broke the silence. “What do you mean ‘rescue us’?”

Lex resisted the urge to sigh in irritation. He knew that this group was acutely hypersensitive to potential threats due to whatever they’d gone through up until now, but there was only so much terror-induced foolishness that he could forgive, and they were rapidly pushing that limit. “Exactly what I said before,” he replied evenly. “I’ve set up a temporary shelter near here, with food and medicine as well as defenses. You’ll be safe there.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll forgive us if we have a hard time believing some shadowy thing that slips in through the walls, beats us up, and then says that it wants to help us,” snapped the pegasus mare from across the room. She had gathered the unconscious pegasus up again, and was eyeing Lex warily.

Frowning at the thinly-veiled accusation, Lex turned his attention to her. “None of which would have been necessary if you had simply answered my initial announcement. Since you remained skulking in here, I had little alternative but to come in and retrieve you.”

Retrieve us?!” squawked the pegasus mare in outrage. “I don’t know who you think you are, but we’re not going anywh-”

“Yes we are,” interjected the stallion, a resigned look crossing his face.

“Aisle!” hissed the mare, directing a fierce look at the stallion, but his only response was to shake his head, which seemed to infuriate her. “We can’t trust him!”

“We don’t have a choice,” said the stallion. “We’re almost out of food, you’re risking your life every time you go to the river to get water, and Drafty’s getting worse.” He pointed to the unconscious pegasus on her back as he spoke. “If we stay here we’re just going to be prolonging the inevitable…probably not for very long, either.”

The pegasus looked like she wanted to argue, but settled for making a face like she’d bitten into something rotten. Without another word, she started to put her unconscious companion back into the makeshift bed she’d retrieved her from. Meanwhile, the stallion moved to where the crystal mare was still standing in obvious fright. “Cozy? Hey, Cozy? Hey, look at me.”

It took several more attempts at coaxing her before she finally tore her wide eyes away from Lex and looked at the stallion, still very clearly afraid. “It’s going to be okay,” said the stallion in low, soothing tones. “Whatever’s wrong, I promise we’ll get through it together, alright?” He smiled at her, trying to calm her down. It seemed to be working, as her rapid breathing started to slow and her trembling began to taper off. She worked her jaw for a moment, but nothing came out.

The stallion glanced at Lex. “Can you undo that silence spell, please?”

Momentarily wondering if he should correct him about it being a curse rather than a spell, Lex decided not to bother. “It should wear off very soon,” he said. “I set it to have a short duration, but if she begins screaming again, then I-”

“Sombra!” she suddenly spoke, her voice having returned.

“Huh?” replied the stallion and the other mare in unison, turning their attention to her.

“He’s King Sombra!” The crystal mare pointed a shaking hoof at Lex. “He’ll throw us in chains and do horrible things to us! Worse than horrible! He’s probably behind everything that’s happened here! We can’t go anywhere with him!”

Lex rolled his eyes at the accusations. This again. “Listen to me. I am not King Sombra.” He spoke in slow tones, as though talking to a particularly stupid foal. “The reason I can use his magic is because I have his horn.” Lex reached a hoof up to indicate it as he spoke. “Whatever depredations you suffered at his hooves are over. I’m not going to hurt you. Now, we need to get you to safety.”

But she shook her head immediately, moving to the side to try and put more distance between herself and him. “N-no!” Her eyes darted to the necklace that Lex had flung across the room, and she suddenly dived for it, scooping it up. As she did, she started to gesture and chant, casting a spell.

“Cozy! What are you doing?!” yelled the stallion. Across the room, the pegasus mare also let out a cry of alarm at her friend’s actions.

“I won’t let him get us!” yelled the crystal mare, her voice again slipping into panic. Rushing over to a corner of the room, she scooped up a hooffull of debris, picking up a small pebble that had somehow gotten mixed in with the dirt. With a quick motion, she flung it at Lex.

The small stone flew faster than it had any right to, crossing the short distance between Lex and herself so quickly that it was barely visible. Having no chance to move, the magically-enhanced rock hit him dead-center…and bounced off with no effect. Seeing the horrified look on the crystal mare’s face, Lex was unable to keep a superior smirk off of his face. She had no idea that he was layered in protective magic, which had only been augmented by the Night Mare’s gifts.

The memory of what the goddess had done for him reminded him that he owed her converts, and that was enough to decide his next course of action. Ignoring the other two ponies as they ran at their crystal companion and practically tackled her to the ground before she could attack him again, Lex turned his attention to the comatose mare in the corner of the room. He had been intending to help her anyway, but there was no reason not to make good on his promises to the Night Mare at the same time.

Dismissing the small tornado that he’d conjured before, Lex went over to the other pegasus, noting how she was flushed and sweating even though she was lightly shivering. Even without putting a hoof to her forehead to take her temperature, it was obvious that she was extremely sick. Pausing for a moment to consider her condition, Lex glanced back at the other three appraisingly, watching as they wrestled; none of them seemed in the least bit ill. “What happened to her?” asked Lex, pointing at the unconscious mare.

The trio glanced up from where they were fighting, and the white pegasus immediately yelped, leaping to her hooves. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” She started towards Lex, clearly angry that he was so close to her friend.

“STOP IT!” yelled the stallion, causing everyone to halt and look at him. “Both of you, just stop it already!” He stood up from where he’d been trying to hold the crystal mare down, and looked between her and the other mare, frustration evident on his face. “This is the first pony that we’ve seen in days, a pony that’s saying he can help us just when we need it the most, and the first thing you two do is go on the attack?!” He grit his teeth as he looked between the two mares, glaring at them. “I don’t care that he has weird magic! I don’t care if he’s King Sombra or not! We need help! Do you not get that?! I swear that the next one of you that attacks him without being attacked first is going to get walloped!”

An uncomfortable silence ensued, and no one spoke for a moment. Letting out a slow breath, the stallion looked back at Lex. “Let’s start over. My name is Produce Aisle. This is Cloudbank, and Comfy Cozy,” he waved a hoof towards the white pegasus and then the crystal mare as he introduced them. He moved next to Lex to look at the unconscious mare before speaking again, his voice softening with worry. “And this is Thermal Draft, but she likes to be called Drafty. She was helping me look for food a few days ago when we were attacked. We just barely managed to get away, but she was bitten in the process. Cozy healed our wounds, but the next day Drafty started saying she didn’t feel well.”

“We thought she was just stressed out at first,” added Cloudbank, joining them. “I mean, that seemed normal enough, after everything that’s happened. But then she started getting feverish.” She put a hoof on Drafty’s head, rubbing her softly. “We realized she was sick, but there wasn’t anything we could do about it. We kept hoping she would get better on her own, but every day she got worse…and then, yesterday morning, she wouldn’t wake up at all.”

Lex glanced back at Cozy, the only one who hadn’t joined them, and she tensed at the sight of his eyes on her. “You’re an acolyte of Lashtada. Why didn’t you use magic to cure her illness?” He already knew the answer, of course, but he wanted confirmation.

“I…I can’t.” She looked down, clearly ashamed. “I tried. I prayed so hard for magic that would let me save Drafty, but I wasn’t strong enough, or maybe faithful enough, to receive any.”

“Nopony blames you,” said Aisle softly, giving her a sympathetic look.

“Maybe you should,” said Cozy. “First Pillow, now Drafty…” she trailed off, seeming to remember something before biting her lip. She glanced at Lex for a long moment before blurting out. “Have you seen another crystal pony here? His name is Pillowcase, and he’s emerald green, with his mane and tail being a little darker. His cutie mark is two heart-shaped pillows. Is he…is he maybe at the shelter you mentioned?” She took a single step forward as she spoke, desperate hope showing on her face.

But Lex was already shaking his head. “You’re the first ponies I’ve seen since I came here.” Her face crumpled at the news, ears folding down in sorrow. Lex continued regardless. “As for not being able to cure your friend, you shouldn’t blame yourself. Lashtada is a weak goddess.”

Cloudbank and Produce Aisle both raised their brows at that, but Cozy looked as though she’d been slapped. “Wh-what?!”

Lex nodded. “Her philosophy revolves around love, if I recall correctly. I won’t say that’s not important, but a situation such as this shows the flaw in putting such a thing in a position of primacy. It’s little wonder that her followers on Everglow were wiped out, and now she’s leading you towards exactly the same conclusion.”

“That’s not true!” said Cozy angrily. “Love is the most powerful force there is! It’s the very apex of friendship! Of harmony!”

“That’s right,” interjected Cloudbank. “Cozy’s magic has helped us a lot over the last few days. She’s healed our wounds more than a few times, and those rocks that she enchanted usually knock a hole in whatever she throws them at.”

“And yet right now it’s unable to save your friend, or the rest of you,” retorted Lex calmly. “That’s the inherent limitation of that method of engaging with the world. It fails when you meet a hostile force that cannot be dissuaded. When that happens, you need to be strong enough to defend yourself and those you care about, and Lashtada will never help you find that strength. But there’s another goddess that will.”

Lex didn’t continue, but instead began to cast a spell. Unlike when he’d created the tiny tornado before, the words were notably different this time, being a liturgical recitation. Making the necessary gestures, Lex touched a hoof to Drafty’s forehead, then waited. A moment later she grunted, shifting slightly, and then began to breathe easier, tension visibly leaving her body.

Her eyes wide, Cloudbank reached down to feel Drafty’s forehead. “Her fever’s broken,” she said a moment later, her voice soft with amazement. She turned to look at Lex, and her voice was filled with disbelief. “You cured her.”

“I did,” acknowledged Lex with a nod. “And now I’m going to remove some of the strain that the disease put on her body.”

Chanting again, he brushed a hoof against Drafty a second time, and as he did so she stirred. A moment later her eyes opened, and she looked around blearily. “You guys?” she croaked hoarsely. That alone was enough to make Cloudbank cry out in relief, kneeling down and throwing her hooves around Drafty’s neck in a tight hug.

Lex turned to the other two ponies in the room, seeing that Produce Aisle was watching with unabashed relief, whereas Cozy looked disturbed. “You see?” he said simply.

“You’re saying that your goddess gave you that magic?”

“Aisle!” hissed Cozy.

“I’m just asking!” he shot back.

“Yes,” answered Lex. “She gave me the power to do that, not because I wanted to be strong, but because I already was, and so earned her favor. That is the difference between Lashtada…and the Night Mare.”

Author's Note:

Lex gives his first sermon, such as it is, about the Night Mare. Think he won any converts?

The answer may depend on if he can get them back to the shelter safely.

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