Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

758 - Eyes of Red

In the instant that his hoof made contact with White Wraith’s tail, Lex could already feel the ghost pony trying to resist his magic.

That was to be expected, of course. This spell was empathic in nature, moving wounds from the caster onto an unwilling target; there was no helping the fact that the target would instinctively try to resist. The same way a living creature had innate methods of fighting back against infectious diseases, or ways of trying to purge harmful substances that were ingested, their body’s natural magic would inherently try to repel an infusion of hostile magic from a foreign source.

Indeed, Lex had tried to do exactly that a few seconds ago, when White Wraith had hit him with his stolen wound-transference spell. In that case, Lex had been in no position to resist his own spell; the much greater damage inflicted by Breakdown’s shattering his spine had made it impossible for him to muster the level of resistance necessary to shrug off even a portion of the spell’s effect.

In hindsight, that had doubtlessly been why White Wraith had chosen to deliver it via that method, instead of a simple touch. As much as Lex looked down on those who only dabbled in magic as a supplement to physical combat, delivering a spell via a weapon’s strike had an unexpected efficacy to it, since an opponent hit by both at once would have a harder time withstanding either.

But White Wraith had nothing to distract him from bringing all of his resistance – both innate and via whatever supplementary spells and magic items he was using – to bear now. Even the distraction of seeing Akna’s naked body had already been wearing off when Solvei had pulled him the last few inches toward the guard captain. As such, it had been no real surprise when, in the moment his hoof had made contact, White Wraith’s head had turned toward him, those white eyes meeting his own green-and-purple ones just as the magic was released.

All that was left now was to see which was stronger: his magic, or White Wraith’s ability to withstand it.

In the split-second clash of wills, Lex could feel the strength of the guard captain’s determination. This wasn’t a pony whose spirit would break when things turned against him, nor be frightened by the prospect of defeat. White Wraith might have been conceited to a fault, but that conceit was borne of a deep well of inner strength, pushing him to fight back with everything he had.

By contrast, Lex’s own resolve was flagging. After what he’d gone through in the Rite of Sublimation, the convictions that he’d based his life around – the source of his supreme confidence that the choices he’d made and the principles he’d lived his life by were correct – were now in tatters. With his sense of purpose shattered, to the point where he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to return to his body, a part of him couldn’t help but wonder why exactly he was bothering to try so hard now.

So often before, he’d been able to push past an obstacle or overcome an enemy through a sense of righteous purpose. If it wasn’t because of the future that he’d so firmly believed that only he was capable of bringing about, then it was his unflagging conviction that there were ponies he needed to protect. Now, all of those things seemed like little more than distant memories that he didn’t even want to remember, unable to look past the misguided beliefs that those ideals had been built upon.

But for all that the Rite of Sublimation had taken from him, he realized that there was one thing it had given him that he hadn’t had before. That in losing so much that he’d held dear, he’d still come away with something new. Something which had driven him to slaughter the alicorns in that illusion, as well as all the ponies who’d come to their aid.

Hate.

It was hate which drove Lex past his limits now. Hate for the ghost pony who, at that moment, existed for no other reason than to make his already-miserable life that much harder. Hate for the stallion who had taken such perverse pleasure in injuring Solvei, humiliating Akna, and wounding what little pride he had left.

In that moment, the same way he had when facing his double in the Rite’s test, Lex pushed all of his hatred toward the pony across from him. With no dark magic to shape into a curse, and being too injured to lash out physically, he focused that spite the same way he had when facing his alicorn-self, throwing it all into his magic now, pushing it against White Wraith even as the other pony fought with everything he had to ward it off.

It took only a moment for the contest to be decided.

First, a bloody hole appeared through the knee of White Wraith’s left hind leg, causing a strangled grunt to escape his lips. He made a similar sound a moment later, when another such wound appeared in his left shoulder. Then a hissing groan came from his throat, as the burns and frostbite that he’d so recently transferred to Lex reappeared across his abdomen.

When his entire foreleg was pulped a moment later, he finally screamed, the agonized cry lasting only for a moment as his spine shattered, blood erupting from his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

And Lex – his injuries now completely gone – slowly stood back up, his eyes blazing brighter now as he stood over White Wraith’s defeated form.

Or rather, almost defeated form. Even as Lex rose up to his full height, the ghost pony spat out another mouthful of blood, gasping and wheezing as he tried to draw air into his lungs. But as soon as he managed to draw a breath, he began to rasp the words to a spell, his one uninjured foreleg starting to trace a mystic pattern in the air-

Only to come to an abrupt stop as Lex stomped down hard on the other stallion’s hoof. “What was it you said before?” he asked, his tone light and conversational. “Something about wanting to see if I’d crawl with my chin if all of my legs were broken?”

His horn lit up then, as he took hold of Breakdown – the hammer having fallen from White Wraith’s magical grip when he’d collapsed – in his telekinesis. To his mild surprise, the massive hammer offered no resistance to his grasp, neither attempting to wrench itself free nor voicing a telepathic complaint. Instead, all he registered from the weapon was a vague sense of disdain – the psychic equivalent of a sneer – but whether it was for himself or his former wielder, Lex couldn’t tell, and after a moment decided that he didn’t care.

“I find myself curious, captain.” Taking his eyes off of the hammer, Lex lifted it up high as he stared down at the ghost pony, the weapon surprisingly light given its size. “Are you the sort of commander who has others do what you wouldn’t do yourself?”

White Wraith opened his mouth, but Lex didn’t give him a chance to speak, removing his hoof from the other pony’s foreleg as he swung Breakdown.

The crunch of bone filled the air a moment later, along with White Wraith’s pain-filled bellow.

But even with the last of his limbs shattered, the ghost stallion wasn’t ready to stop fighting.

“SHOOT HIM!” roared White Wraith, using the pain of his broken leg to put as much volume into his voice as he could. “SHOOT HIM NOW!!!”

“Yes, shoot me,” murmured Lex derisively as he looked up at the guards on the wall. “See what happens when you try to save your captain without putting yourselves at risk.”

Unable to hear him from that distance, the guards – having already recovered from their surprise at seeing their captain go from victorious to defeated in an instant – didn’t hesitate to draw a bead on him, their crossbows twanging as they fired en masse.

And Lex laughed as he telekinetically grabbed White Wraith’s throat and hauled him upright, using the ghost pony as a living shield.

Cries of alarm and dismay immediately came from the wall, but it was too late, and White Wraith’s eyes widened as several bolts slammed into him. Most bounced off, his protective spells still in place, but his body twitched as one caught him between the ribs, another lodging deep in his thigh.

Smirking as he saw the guards lower their crossbows, Lex dropped White Wraith like so much garbage.

With his lower half unresponsive, the stallion couldn’t control his fall, only barely avoiding landing on the bolts now jutting from his back. Even then, he groaned as he reflexively tried to catch himself with his shattered forelegs, shuddering as the broken bones splintered more from the impact. Rolling onto his side, he drew in a slow breath, and from the squelching sound that came from his back then, Lex knew that one of his lungs had been punctured.

Before, he would have been worried about another pony being so badly injured right in front of him. Now all he felt was a grim sense of vindication, his lip curling as he stared down at the shattered form of his enemy. “Well?” Lex asked with a cruel laugh. “Aren’t you going to crawl? Or are you less than even a worm?”

Despite looking like he was on death’s door, White Wraith glared up at him. “Kill...you...” he rasped. “Gonna...kill...you...”

“Then you’d best do so quickly, captain,” answered Lex as he lifted Breakdown again, its head positioned directly over White Wraith’s skull. “Because otherwise, you’re about to retire your position. Permanently.”

Again, Lex didn’t bother to wait for a reply, swinging Breakdown as hard as he could.

At the same moment, White Wraith narrowed his eyes, grit his teeth, and murmured a single word. “Aris-”

“I think that’s sufficient, don’t you?”

As the new voice – having the masculine lilt of a stallion – reached Lex’s ears, and he registered a figure in his peripheral vision even though no one had been there a moment ago, he changed the trajectory of Breakdown’s swing without thinking, intent on annihilating whatever new threat had snuck up on him.

But the hammer had other ideas, stopping in mid-swing before it came anywhere close to the pony who had quite literally appeared out of nowhere.

Giving Breakdown only the briefest of glances, the newcomer shot Lex a wry grin, as though he regarded the attempt to crush him beneath the destructive power of a divine artifact as nothing more than a harmless prank.

The incongruous reaction, along with the interloper’s unexpected appearance mere feet from him, was enough to leave Lex momentarily nonplussed, looking the new arrival over.

A leather wing, his appearance couldn’t have been more different from the gate guards. Where their coats were dull brown and dark blue, his was caramel in hue. The color stood out sharply against the flowing mane and tail of deep black, the former tumbling past his shoulders almost to the point of reaching where his wings were folded at his sides. Nor did he wear any armor, instead clad in a burgundy vest that had a deep cut, showing off a large portion of his chest. His trousers were of the same make, leaving his cutie mark hidden from view.

Strangest of all were his eyes. Unlike the pale irises that White Wraith possessed, the new pony’s were bright red.

Throwing a wink Lex’s way, the red-eyed leather wing turned his attention to White Wraith, kneeling down next to the mangled stallion, who was looking back up at him with a grim expression. “Not...over...yet...”

“Oh, I’m afraid it is,” answered the leather wing with a soft smirk. “And this one goes to our distinguished guest, who performed remarkably well, wouldn’t you say?”

“I...can...still...fight...!”

The leather wing nodded his head. “Of that, I have no doubt. But anyone who can push you to the point of using aristeia despite having one of the Umbral Regalia at your disposal is someone I want to meet. Especially,” he purred, giving Lex another look, “when Her Dark Majesty has given them the Charismata.”

Standing up, he raised a wing toward the pair of guards standing at the gate. “You two! Get the captain to one of the clerics!”

The pair hesitated for a moment, then began galloping closer. But they wavered when Lex held a hoof toward them in a threatening gesture, glaring at the red-eyed stallion. “I’m not done with him.”

“Ah, how thoughtless of me!” chuckled the leather wing. “Interrupting the moment of your dramatic victory, please accept my deepest apologies!” Folding a wing in front of himself, he gave a deep bow. “I can understand that our captain of the guard has caused you a great deal of consternation, but if you can find it within yourself to overlook his trespasses, I’d be more than willing to compensate you for your restraint.”

Lex didn’t reply immediately, instead taking a moment to look the verbose stallion over again, this time with his circlet. But he aborted that attempt almost immediately, nearly wincing at the bright interplay of magical auras – far stronger and more numerous than those White Wraith had – surrounding him.

Gritting his teeth as he reminded himself that he’d initially wanted to avoid a fight, Lex forced himself to lower his hoof, the two guards cautiously moving forward. When he didn’t prevent them from lifting White Wraith, the two quickly turned and rushed back toward the gate, which was already opening to admit them.

Lex ignored it, instead focusing on the stallion who had so abruptly ended his fight, who was already in the process of giving him another bow. “My thanks for your indulgence,” he smiled, standing up straight as he casually pulled Breakdown to his side, the hammer accepting the leather wing’s grasp without any apparent protest.

“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sanguine Disposition, and it’s my honor to welcome the Night Mare’s champion to Eigengrau.”

Author's Note:

Before their battle can reach a decisive conclusion, a new pony interrupts Lex's fight with White Wraith!

Is Sanguine Disposition someone who can be trusted? Or is this a prelude to an even greater danger?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Lex was just a millisecond away from breaking his no killing ponies rule though the rule and the rest of his moral framwork has probably been bent and battered after he slaughtered everyone in the Rite of Sublimation if not outright discarded. After all, illusion or not, killing so many will leave its mark on anyone, no matter who they are.

As for Sanguine, who is more than likely a vampire(not surprising given the Night Mare's religion), I can't help but be reminded of Prevarius for some reason. Though if he starts making offers that sound too good to be true, I think Lex and especially Solvei will be more than wary of him if not outright hostile.

Akna on the other hand...her desire for an Umbral Regalia might cloud her judgement though I think her more immediate concerns are to get some clothes. Or consign herself to stay in winter wolf form for the duration.

[Booster Spice]

Sanguine Disposition?

The Blood Must Flow?

For some reason Im remembering Stan the Used Ship salesman from Secret Of Monkey Island.

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

Well, that was tense but thankfully he did prevail. there is still a timer for finding the portals to their bodies but there is no way he can't refuse an offer from someone who the umbral regalia don't want to do harm to.

[harts fire]

poo were is my squishy sound of brains getting pulped.

[Alzrius]

11373113 I suspect that Sanguine Disposition's stepping in when he did probably had more to do with not wanting to lose one of the ponies defending Eigengrau than anything else, though at this point it's hard to say. As his name indicates, he seems to be of a rather cheerful bent, though that's certainly no indication that he's not dangerous; after all, he all but ordered White Wraith to stop struggling and go get treated, while Breakdown seemed to absolutely refuse to harm him (and that's after being fine with beating White Wraith to a pulp).

Now, his interference might be good for Lex for more than one reason. After all, White Wraith didn't seem ready to give in, and it's possible that Lex would have come to regret having killed an actual pony (though it's hard to say, there; is he going through some sort of personal crisis, or has he resigned himself to having thrown away what he's spent most of his life trying to achieve?). But just because he seems friendly doesn't mean he actually is (what with this being the Night Mare's realm and all), so we'll have to wait and see what happens next.

And yeah, someone get poor Akna something to wear!

[Alzrius]

11373210 No doubt he's completely on the up-and-up and not someone that anyone should be wary of.

[Alzrius]

11373370 Fortunately for Lex, he recalled that there were good reasons not to continue fighting (since he didn't want to fight in the first place), but now the person right in front of him needs to be dealt with. I suspect this will be a bit of a tightrope act, since there's no way someone would could order White Wraith around, and talk to Breakdown so casually, is someone to be trifled with. On the other hoof, it's not like they can afford to be waylaid either...though that's presuming that Lex wants to go back to his body.

[Alzrius]

11373935 Well, White Wraith's pride certainly took a hit, even if he's still mostly somewhat intact.