Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

829 - Cast Adrift

Death wasn’t what Lex had thought it would be.

He’d known what would happen to him in the afterlife. The Night Mare had made the fate of his soul abundantly clear when he’d formally contracted with her back on Equestria, and he’d gotten a glimpse of its final destination during his recent journey to Darkest Night. So it wouldn’t have surprised him to find himself in that lightless realm again upon opening his eyes.

But even at a glance, Lex knew that he wasn’t in any part of the Night Mare’s realm.

The silvery illumination all around him made that very clear.

A soft argent in hue, the void – for lack of a better word – spread out around him in every direction. Including below him, he confirmed with a glance down, revealing that he was floating in place. Though “floating” didn’t feel like the right term. There was no sense of pushing against gravity, but at the same time no feeling of weightlessness either. It was as though he was standing on solid ground...except without the ground.

Nor, he realized, was the void around him empty. Peering into the distance, he could dimly make out pinpoints of color against the dull background. Turquoise, mauve, chartreuse, amaranth, and countless others, all speckling the silver in no pattern that he could determine. It was almost like looking at some bizarre parody of the night sky, save for the fact that none of the prismatic “stars” were twinkling.

Still, it was enough to make Lex question if he’d been hasty in assuming that he’d lost his life to Hvitdod’s poison. Indeed, the fact that he could remember what had happened to him – the overwhelming cold spreading through him, and his inability to do anything about it – attested to his survival, since he knew that the spirits of the dead lost their memories of their mortal lives. Had he somehow managed to survive the dragon’s final attack?

But he couldn’t bring himself to put any faith in that idea.

After all, he hadn’t taken a breath – nor felt any urge to do so – in the time since he’d regained consciousness.

Nor, upon putting a claw to his throat, could he feel a pulse.

And while his wounds had all vanished, along with his clothes and gear – save for the barbed wire around his left leg – that only furthered the idea that he was some sort of spiritual incarnation now, similar to how he’d left his body upon entering the Confluence. Except this time, he noted as he glanced at his back, there was no lifeline indicating a way back to his body.

And while his missing foreleg and tail were restored, the fact that they’d been returned at the cost of his life was no comfort to Lex at all.

It had finally happened. After triumphing over so many enemies, and managing to survive those few he couldn’t overcome, he’d met his match at last.

Hvitdod had killed him.

The thought sent a wave of bitterness through him. Only a short while ago, he’d been prepared to give up on his life, sinking into despair after learning the truth about how empty his dream of understanding others was. But he’d overcome that, renewing his dedication to bettering Equestria, a goal that he’d never achieve now!

Intellectually, Lex knew that death didn’t have to be the end. Resurrection magic was arguably the pinnacle of what Everglow’s magical development had achieved. Princess Cadance had, through her faith in one of that world’s lesser deities, been granted the power to bring the dead back to life. He himself had been given that power, albeit via a magic item, by the Night Mare. There was no reason why that same magic couldn’t be used to bring him back.

But that won’t happen, he knew.

Just because a possibility existed didn’t mean that it would ever be actualized. Having examined the one and only resurrection spell the Night Mare had given him, Lex knew that it was an exceptionally complex piece of magic, the sort that only a caster of prodigious power could make use of. Moreover, it was the exclusive domain of divine spellcasters, meaning that whosoever received such a spell would be predisposed to use it in a manner that benefitted their god’s interests.

But there was no one who fit that intersection of ability and desire. At least not when it came to bringing him back to life.

Lex knew that there were ponies back on Equestria who’d resurrect him if they could. For all the false starts that he’d had to deal with, he’d managed to set up a fledgling government back on Equestria, one which had ponies who’d approved of his rule, and a small number of which who had begun receiving spells from the Night Mare. But unless a few of them turned out to be magical prodigies on par with himself or Twilight Sparkle, it would take them a lifetime to gain sufficient power to handle a resurrection spell...and it was far more likely that they never would.

As for those who already had such power, Lex could count the ones he knew on one claw and have talons to spare.

Princess Cadance, from what Garden Gate had told him, needed an intact body to be brought before her in order to bring someone back, and could only do so a few days after they’d died. And given that she was one of the alicorns whose political dominion he’d aligned himself against – and that she’d once been menaced by the unicorn tyrant whose horn he’d grafted onto himself – likely meant that even in the unlikely circumstance that his corpse was somehow dragged in front of her in the next few days, she’d refuse to revive him.

Queen Iliana, the ruler of Everglow’s Pony Empire, doubtlessly had someone at her disposal who could use divine magic. But Lex had never met her, and found it doubtful in the extreme that she’d ever even heard of him, making the question of her resurrecting him moot. Not knowing that someone had died was one thing; not knowing who they were in the first place was quite another.

Sanguine Disposition might have been able to bring him back – even if he didn’t have divine magic at his disposal, the ability to bend reality with pure spellcraft the way he had made it hard to imagine that he couldn’t use that same spell to restore the dead to true life – but Lex couldn’t see the vampire agreeing even if he had that power. Kara’s so-called blessing might have made the leatherwing partial to him, but it had been in a possessive manner, trying to lure him into staying in Eigengrau so as to tip the balance of power in his own favor against Steel Soul. Even if the bloodsucker possessed the means to revive him, he had much more to gain by not doing so.

Which left no one.

His death wouldn’t be undone, leaving his life’s work unfinished, his enemies triumphant, and his accomplishments waiting to be dismantled. Equestria would return to the path of slow stagnation that Celestia had charted for it. The ponies there who’d put their faith in him would be punished. Sissel’s mysterious mother would complete whatever plans she’d had which required Hvitdod dead. Thermal Draft’s soul would be completely destroyed. And Solvei-

Master!

As though his thought had summoned her, Solvei’s voice suddenly appeared in his mind. It was so unexpected that Lex whirled in place, though that came with no sense of dizziness even as the colored spots spun wildly against the silvery background. Lex ignored it, his attention turned entirely toward the awareness of Solvei that was now at the forefront of his thoughts; had she not been in his thoughts until he’d thought of her just now, or had his death and mysterious afterlife left him so disoriented that he hadn’t noticed her?

It was a question that he didn’t even consciously register, however, as he instead reacted on impulse, calling her to his side-

And then she appeared.

Like himself, she was completely naked, and if there was any significance to the fact that she was in her adlet form rather than her winter wolf body he didn’t know what it was. Nor did he care, as her presence sent a wave of relief through him. He knew it shouldn’t have; that her being here not only meant that she’d died, but that she was the one and only being who would have strived to bring him back...but at the moment none of that mattered.

All that mattered was that she was there with him.

“Master!” Throwing her arms around him, she pulled him to her chest, and Lex returned the embrace, holding her close. “I was so worried!” she wailed. “Hvitdod’s poison was spreading and I didn’t know what to do! And then you went still and I...I...um...”

Her grip on him slackened as he registered her relief turning into confusion. “I...can’t remember what happened after that. The next thing I knew, you were calling for me, and then I was here...” She paused then, turning her mismatched eyes toward the bizarre scenery. “...wherever ‘here’ is.”

“The Astral Plane,” murmured Lex, slowly releasing her. “I’m not certain that’s where we are, but this place matches the description for the Astral Plane given in the Libram of Ineffable Damnation.”

“Oh.” Lex registered only a minor lessening of her bewilderment, which wasn’t surprising given that he’d shared only a little of that tome’s contents with her, having been too busy with other projects. “Does that...I mean...are we...?”

Dead. Yes. And we should switch to telepathy just in case. The book spoke about this plane extensively, but it didn’t mention how far sound traveled.

R-right. Now it was nervousness that filled her mind. But if we’re dead, how come we aren’t in Darkest-, AHH! Why am I naked?!

Embarrassment came from her even as she crossed her arms over her chest, bringing her legs up and curling her tail between them in mortification. What does the afterlife have against me wearing clothes?! she mentally yelped as she turned into a winter wolf.

And if Lex had been capable of breathing, he’d have gasped at that. Solvei, what did you just do?!

She blinked at him, still curled up. Huh? Nothing! I mean, I covered myself, but besides that-

No! You changed forms!

Solvei blinked. I did? Looking down at herself, she slowly untensed, more comfortable with her nudity in her quadrupedal incarnation. Huh, that’s strange. I usually have to deliberately try to do that in order to make it happen.

Change back, demanded Lex.

A renewed sense of embarrassment came from her then. But...

Just do it!

She nodded once...only to finish changing back into an adlet before she’d completed the gesture. Again she moved to cover herself, but Lex didn’t care, swearing softly. Something’s wrong. I'm not sensing any magic when you change!

That was enough to make her head tilt to the side. But that doesn’t make any sense! The Night Mare gave me the power to change back and forth like this, but it’s still magical!

Lex, however, wasn’t listening. Instead he concentrated on using his dark magic, trying to turn into a shadow.

Nothing happened.

It was like his dark magic had vanished completely. There was no sense of it being depleted or suppressed; it was like his respiration and heartbeat, simply absent.

With a growing sense of unease, Lex turned his attention toward his mental catalogue of spells...only to find that he had none. All of the knowledge was still there, of course, but for the first time in years there wasn’t a single prepared spell at the ready, his mind completely devoid of the conceptual architecture that represented his strongest magic. And the same was true for the allotment of divine spells that the Night Mare had given him, he confirmed a moment later.

For a moment he held out hope that he could still use the Charismata, pointing his left fore-claw at Solvei. “Cryomancy,” he murmured, trying to grant her the power to manipulate the cold again.

Unlike before, he could feel that the goddess’s power was still there...but it didn’t respond to his command, instead simply lying dormant. But while that wasn’t a complete surprise – that power, like his magic, required a body (whether corporeal or not) to channel it through – it was disappointing nonetheless.

It was almost as an afterthought when he tried to personally use the cryomancy that Solvei had so recently given him, unable to bring himself to be surprised when it didn’t work. Still, he knew he had to exhaust every possibility, just to be sure. Are you able to use any magic?

The question made Solvei – now back in her wolf form again – blink, before she concentrated for a moment. But the only effect was that Lex registered anxiety from her a second later. I can’t! I don’t understand, I can’t make anything cold...or change size...or take to the wind...or anything! Master, what’s happening?!

Exactly what it seems like, answered Lex grimly. Dying has apparently stripped us of our magic.

But I still switch back and forth between being an adlet and an utvalgte!

Had he been breathing, Lex would have sighed. I’m guessing that has something to do with you being two souls merged into one. We don’t have physical bodies here, so the way we look must be...some sort of inner reflection of who we are, or how we see ourselves, or something... Though that carried some notable implications for why he was still in his new body.

Of course, there was no way of knowing what those implications were, or how important they were in this circumstance, which caused Lex to silently curse the anonymous author of the Libram of Ineffable Damnation. The treatise had gone into the nature of the soul and its progression after death in great detail, but subtler aspects such as this hadn’t been mentioned!

For that matter, the book hadn’t said anything about souls becoming waylaid in the Astral Plane like this.

Does this have anything to do with why we’re not in Darkest Night?

Lex shook his head in response to Solvei’s question. I don’t know. According to what I read, the Astral Plane is the bridge between the mortal world and the Outer Realms, where souls go after they die. But the Libram of Ineffable Damnation and the Night Mare herself made it sound like my soul would be drawn through this plane and to her realm of its own accord. Not...stranded like this.

He didn’t mention that the trip through the Astral Plane was supposed to filter out the soul’s memories of their mortal life. That was a loss he found himself dreading, even more so than their being deprived of their magic, and given that Solvei was already nervous, adding to her worries would have been counterproductive. Presumably your soul is here with me because of our connection, but beyond that, I’m not sure what’s happening.

This is kind of like when I died before, and was following you around as a spirit, murmured Solvei, her worry slowly ebbing as she glanced around the color-dotted space again. I know it’s not exactly the same, but it was like being...stuck, you know?

Lex didn’t answer, focusing instead on the hued points in the distance. According to the Libram, those were “color pools,” natural portals which led from the Astral to one of the myriad planes of existence that it touched. The only problem was that the vast majority of those portals were one-way only, and even a light touch would send you through completely; you couldn’t simply stick your head through to check out the other side and then pull it back.

Worse, there was no telling what was on the other side of any particular color pool. Supposedly the chromatic value of a given pool indicated where it led, but the Libram’s author had termed that idea more folklore than fact. More than that, each color pool was only visible from one side; the reverse was completely transparent, which meant that traveling through the Astral Plane – which was apparently done by thought rather than locomotion – was extremely hazardous, since it was entirely possible to slip through a color pool and head to a random plane without meaning to.

Of course, his ability to alter his vision meant that he likely would have been able to find a way around that problem, at least...but he no longer possessed that power.

Or any other power, now.

Master, what are we going to do?

The only thing we can do: wait.

Wait? For what?

Lex raised his left foreleg, showing her that the wire was still wrapped around it. The Night Mare is a goddess of loyalty. She won’t allow her faithful to remain stranded like this. Especially one in possession of one of her most potent blessings.

Solvei gave a hesitant nod. I hope she gets here soon. I don’t like this place. Everything here feels...exposed. How big is the Astral Plane supposed to be?

It’s a plane of existence. A universe unto itself.

So pretty big then?

The question reminded him of Sonata for some reason, and despite his heart not beating, Lex felt an ache in his chest. If Sonata, as well as Aria and Nosey, were still alive, he’d never see them again. And if they weren’t, then it was the same; they hadn’t worshiped the Night Mare, and so wouldn’t go to Darkest Night. One way or another, they had just joined the list of people he cared about who were lost to him forev-

Master! Look!

Turning in place, Lex turned his attention toward Solvei, who was staring out into the void. Following her gaze, it took Lex only a moment to see what had captured her attention:

There was a figure approaching.

A moment later, Lex corrected his initial impression.

There were multiple figures approaching.

Despite how clear the plane seemed, the shapes were hazy, as though there was some sort of invisible fog bank blurring their features. But they were slowly resolving themselves, and Lex could see that they were four-legged in shape. The size was impossible to determine, as there was no appreciable depth to compare them to, and their details were still obscured, but the closer they got, the more he could see of them. Just a little closer...

Then he was able to see their faces.

Besides him, Solvei growled softly. They’re not with the Night Mare, are they?

No, answered Lex as he raised his claws. They’re not.

Author's Note:

Lost in the Astral Plane and bereft of their magic, Lex and Solvei have nothing to rely on but each other!

Who are the mysterious figures approaching them now? Are they friendly, or hostile?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Lex appears to recognize them while Solvei doesn't so they're probably not Sissel nor her sisters coming for payback which I somehow doubt they'd be able to anyways given their mother's deal with the demons. Regardless, I am hoping that whoever they are, they're not hostile to Lex cause without their magic or equipment their options in combat will be rather limited.

Then again, the aurumvorax side of Lex is not something to be underestimated and Solvei and Akna's own physical strengths are not to be dismissed either.

p.s: Akna still can't catch a break with her lack of clothing XD

[Booster Spice]

Not the Alicorn Celestia and Luna part of the Astral Plane then? Or it is, and its those that are approaching, but with Solar magic useable?

[Alzrius]

11585552 Well, I doubt Luna would be there, what with her suffering under Lex's curse and all.

Although if it was Celestia, that might not be so bad. The Astral Plane has much worse creatures to encounter.

[Alzrius]

11585530 While it wasn't the most unbiased source, Lex has at least read the Libram of Ineffable Damnation, so he hopefully has some working knowledge of whatever it is that's approaching them. Not that he and Solvei are in a position to do much, since as postmortem spirits they're without the powers that they commanded while alive. The greater mystery is why they're stuck in the waystation between the mortal world and the afterlife, instead of going from one to another.

Of course, if what they've encountered is hostile, that might not matter. The Astral Plane isn't an inherently evil place the way some planes (e.g. Hell) are, but it's still a dangerous environment for those who're unprepared. Maybe they'll catch a break and this won't be a hostile encounter? It could happen.