Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

357 - The Hooves of Fate

When Lex had decided that it would be imprudent to try and forcibly subdue Celestia and Luna, he had felt certain that meant there’d be no chance of a violent altercation during his meeting with the alicorns. After all, the Royal Sisters had a history of refusing to take any sort of decisive action until a crisis was already underway. The idea that they would preemptively attack him was a possibility that Lex had dismissed completely; if they’d wanted to do that, they could simply have done so when he’d been performing his ritual on Aria. It would have been simplicity itself for them to herd everypony to a safe distance and then simply fire beams of magic at him from a safe distance away while he was powerless to defend himself.

But they didn’t, which means they won’t now, Lex knew. That knowledge made the pair’s approach, which might have seemed aggressive in another circumstance – the alicorns’ wings were held open while the Royal Guard members they’d brought, save for Silhouette, formed a perimeter around them – come across as pathetic. They’re either posturing, or Celestia thinks that I’m going to attack them even after I said I wasn’t. Both possibilities were encouraging; it meant that the alicorns were wary of him. But either way, it’s a wasted gesture. He knew that there’d be no fighting during their meeting.

That was why what happened next took Lex completely by surprise.

The Royal Sisters and their entourage had just come to a stop a few dozen feet away from him. Behind him, Lex could hear the crowd of ponies that had lined up for their noontime distribution of food turning their attention to the arrival of the princesses…and to him. For his part, Lex didn’t say or do anything, wanting the public to see Celestia and Luna being the first ones to speak, since that would emphasize how they were the ones coming to him rather than-

Without warning, Severance flung itself up from its position on Lex’s back. Exploding forward as though it had been launched from a canon, the scythe spun end-over-end in a deadly arc, just barely clearing Lex’s head as it rocketed through the air. The weapon’s action was so fast, so unexpected, that Lex couldn’t react in time as it flew…directly toward Princess Luna.

---

Luna’s thoughts were a jumble as she watched death rush toward her in the form of Lex’s weapon.

She’d known that this was going to happen, had personally witnessed her sister’s vision that Lex was going to attack them, and yet she’d still been taken by surprise. Celestia had told her about Lex’s promise that he wouldn’t attack them during their conference, and while they’d both known that it would happen anyway, Luna had found herself believing Celestia’s theory that Lex’s peaceful intentions were sincere. That something else would be the impetus for his lashing out at them.

But there had been no such catalyst. Instead, Lex had attacked them without cause and with no warning, even being so bold as it do it in front of everypony here. Liar! she thought wildly, watching as his weapon rapidly continued to close what little distance remained between it and her. I knew you couldn’t be trusted! But that thought was just one of several rushing through her head, trying to make itself known even as her instincts screamed at her to dodge the incoming strike, making her tense her legs and raise her wings higher in anticipating of a powerful upward burst that would move her out of the way in time even as she tried to think of a spell that would stop the incoming blow from landing all the while knowing that it wouldn’t hit her anyway because she’d seen this happen in Celestia’s dream and it wouldn’t hit her it would hit Silhouette because he was going to save her at the cost to himself and it couldn’t be stopped even though she’d warned him about what she saw she had to stop him had to tell him not to had to look at him and order him not-

“GODDESS, NO!”

But before Luna could translate any of those thoughts into action, a strong jolt hit her from the left, knocking her off-balance and sending her stumbling. Panicking, Luna tried to catch herself, tried to concentrate enough to use her telekinesis to pull Silhouette out of the way, tried to do anything before the inevitable happened. But inevitable was exactly what it was, with the scythe now mere feet away from Silhouette…

No! I won’t let this happen! Time seemed to slow down as Luna’s confusion suddenly fell away, replaced by righteous indignation. I am walking the path to godhood! I cannot, I will not be bound by my sister’s visions! Her horn glowing as she called upon her magic, Luna reached out a wing as she fell. I will not allow one treacherous unicorn to slay my most devoted worshiper right in front of me! Straining, Luna poured everything she had into the spell she cast, calling upon her alicorn magic to augment and strengthen the spell above the considerable power she already poured into it. I WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN! Reaching out with everything she had, the tip of Luna’s wing barely managed to brush against Silhouette, discharging her spell.

The effect was immediate. The air around Silhouette grew murky as thick shadows, independent of any source, enveloped him from head to hoof. Though an observer would have thought that she’d simply cast a spell to obscure him from sight, Luna knew better. The darkness conjured by this spell was the very essence of the night itself, distilled and refined to the point that it impeded not only the flow of light around it, but motion itself. Though not solid, it nevertheless created a powerful defense that deflected incoming attacks as reliably as any armor, and that was before Luna had used her alicorn magic to augment it. Now that she had, it should have been a force capable of defeating Lex’s attack, and Luna felt a surge of hope run through her. This will do it! she cheered silently as she hit the ground. I know it will! I can change the fate that Celestia foresaw!

A split-second later, the scythe completed its strike, punching through the armor of darkness, through Luna’s hopes, and through Silhouette in a single unbroken motion.

---

Lex could only stare in horror at the scene playing out before him.

The entire attack had taken less than a second from start to finish. In that time, Severance had flung itself at the princess, only for Silhouette to knock her out of the way at the last possible instant. Luna had somehow managed to cast a spell on him as she’d fallen – wrapping him in shadows in what had to be some sort of protective enchantment – but it had done no good, and now…now Lex could only watch as Silhouette wavered for a moment, looking down at the scythe that was currently buried in his chest, its tip protruding from his back. He lifted a hoof weakly, as through intending to try and push the thing out, but before he could make the attempt Severance suddenly yanked itself from his body, a fountain of blood erupting from where it had pierced him.

As though that had been a signal, screams erupted from everypony around him, and Lex saw everypony that had been gathered around the train station begin running in all directions. Cries of “he killed him!” and “he’s gone mad!” and similar shrieks of fright reached his ears as the crowd scattered, but Lex barely heard them. Instead, he simply continued looking at the unreal scene in front of him, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

Luna, he thought dazedly. Severance tried to kill Luna. That the scythe had done something like this was inconceivable…and yet, at the same time, was entirely plausible. After all, the weapon had asked him just a few minutes ago – when he was leaving the train station for this meeting – what he planned on doing about Luna’s “heretical” endeavor to become a goddess of the night. Lex, of course, had made it clear to the weapon that he couldn’t have cared less about such a thing, but Severance had held forth that Lex had a duty to prevent Luna from challenging the Night Mare’s divine hegemony over the darkness. Naturally, Lex had disagreed with that, making it clear to the weapon that his only concern was fulfilling the letter of his bargain with the Night Mare and nothing more.

The consequence of which was that Severance had apparently decided to deal with Luna on its own.

“What have you done?” whispered Lex as he watched the scythe hover above Silhouette for a moment, as though admiring its handiwork. A second later Luna screamed Silhouette’s name, and the sound was enough to shock Lex back to full awareness. Reflexively, he wrapped his telekinetic aura around the blade, barely feeling the strain that coursed through him as he poured additional power into his magical grip, yanking the scythe upward and away from the pony that it had likely just murdered. “What have you DONE?!” This time his voice was a roar.

Now that he was grasping it again, Severance’s voice flowed into his mind clearly, calmly stating that it had struck down a worshiper of a heretical would-be god…and that said would-be god would follow in a moment. The answer was punctuated by how it pulled against his grasp, trying to turn toward Luna, who was still calling Silhouette’s name as she grasped him, heedless of the blood she was getting all over herself. Off to her side, Celestia was shouting instructions at the guards, a pair of them rushing forward to assist Luna. The rest of the guards split into two groups, one trying to direct the crowd while the other moved to surround Lex himself.

But he didn’t care.

The only thing that mattered to Lex right now was making Severance pay.

---

“Don’t move in!” yelled Celestia to the guards forming a circle around Lex. “Hold your positions until I say otherwise!” The instructions were for their own safety more than anything else; Celestia had no doubts that if they tried to move in before she engaged Lex personally, they wouldn’t last very long at all.

Turning her attention to where the others were trying to prevent the crowd from trampling each other, she took a deep breath as she slipped into her Royal Canterlot Voice. “EVERYPONY! HEAD SOUTH, TO THE RIVER, AND REMAIN THERE!” There was no particular significance to sending everypony there, except that it was an obvious landmark that was far away enough that everyone would be out of immediate danger.

Sparing a glance for the two guards that were in the process of lifting up Silhouette to rush him to the nearby medical tents, Celestia could only hope that he was still alive. If not, Cadance will hopefully be able to bring him back, but we'll need to get him to her as quickly as possible. Putting that out of her thoughts for now, Celestia looked back at her sister. Luna was climbing to her hooves, her face marred with blood and tears as she watched them carry her worshiper away. Of more concern was the scythe still rising into the air for what had to be another attack, held aloft in Lex’s purple aura.

Why did he do this?! She had been so sure he wouldn’t, so certain that he’d been honest when he said he hadn’t intended to attack them. But he’d done it all the same, flinging that scythe of his toward Luna, and then screaming “what have you done” at Silhouette in obvious frustration when he’d interfered. Except… No, wait. His aura wasn’t around the scythe when it flew forward. That means-

Lex isn’t trustworthy.

Those three words ran through her mind then. That had been what that pony, Aria, had said – or rather, had sung – when she’d run into her back at River’s manor. It had seemed like an odd thing to say at the time, since she had simply sang those and smirked at her before leaving, but now…now it seemed like sound advice. She was trying to warn me, decided Celestia. It didn’t matter that Lex’s aura hadn’t been around the scythe. Mihr had told them it could fight on its own; Lex had simply ordered it to attack, and now that it had missed he was taking control of it himself. Luna was right. He’s another King Sombra.

As if to prove her correct, at that moment Lex gave a scream of utter fury. “I’LL DESTROY YOU!” he howled. Around him, black crystals exploded out of the ground, scattering the guards that had been surrounding him. “I WILL WIPE YOU OFF THE FACE OF EQUESTRIA!”

The scream caught Luna’s attention, and she bared her teeth as she glared at Lex in utter hatred. “No,” she swore softly. “You won’t.”

Luna looked at her then, and Celestia knew that her sister was asking her if she had any more reservations about fighting. Shaking her head, Celestia moved to stand next to her. “I’m sorry, Sister. I should have listened to you.”

Another scream of rage from Lex turned both alicorns’ attention toward him. More black spikes were shooting up from the ground, and his eyes were solid green as the purple contrails sprouting from their corners fluttered madly. Overhead, the scythe spun in his aura, as though he were eager to bury it in both of them.

Celestia grit her teeth as she banished the last of her doubts. “Let’s go.”

Author's Note:

Celestia's vision comes true! Severance strikes down Silhouette, leaving the black-and-white pony red all over!

Will Lex be able to deal with his rebellious scythe and Celestia and Luna at the same time?

Comments

[Bast]

Lex is doomed to failure it seems. Always something going terribly wrong every few steps of progress.

[James Fire]

Ah, misunderstanding on both sides. Lex oblivious to how others will react to him yelling, in public, at a seemingly inanimate object. The Sisters assuming everything is about them.

Wonderful. If a bit short.

[terrycloth]

9630438
Because he ignores his underlings' motivations.

[Not so New Brony]

I'll give Aria the credit she is due for her seemingly small and yet impactful action and you for the shock factor at what actually triggered the events in Celestia's vision, I honestly did not see it coming at all since I had assumed that Severance was on Lex's side this whole time until it's statement hammered into me that the only side it is on is the Night Mare's. Guess I should have viewed the scythe's actions without the rose-tinted glasses.

Still, I doubt Lex, especially with his personality can salvage the situation on his own since he will need to contend with both the royal sisters and destroy the scythe at the same time, especially since he didn't have the chance to replenish his full arsenal of spells. And regardless of the aftermath, I doubt he'll be able to do so after it but I can see Severance using that against him though given how furious Lex is, I don't think he cares all that much anymore.

[Booster Spice]

Ah, the classic Only Your Ego exists and all others are but imaginary bit players scenario.

Wonder how many civilisations manage to survive the effect long enough to kill themselves off with the next civilisation they meet?

[harts fire]

ok so what is really going on here?
who or what is really controlling things?
I smell a plot twist heading our way.

[Alzrius]

9630438 It's almost as if, when you try to work against the magic of friendship while in Equestria, you suffer constant setbacks or something...

[Alzrius]

9630445 Celestia and Luna have now committed to assuming the worst about Lex, while he finds out that ignoring the spirit of his deal with the Night Mare has dire consequences. And of course, it seems that Aria decided to give Celestia a little "push" just to make sure things went south. Once again, disaster looms large.

The chapter might be a bit short, but there's no reason why there can't be more of them going forward to compensate for that.

[Alzrius]

9630618 That's just one of the ways that he continues to self-sabotage.

[Alzrius]

9630679 I'm glad you liked the twist! After twenty chapters (and two months of real time) building up whether or not Celestia's vision would come to pass, and if so how, I hope that this was worth the wait! Lex has, indeed, pushed Severance as far as the scythe is willing to go with his lack of faith in, and lack of action in support of, the Night Mare. Had he been even a little more pious, tried to advance her interests a little more, then this likely wouldn't have happened, but he didn't so now it has. Of course, Aria pushed things along too, but that's also because of how badly Lex hurt her feelings. She's spiteful by nature, so naturally she wouldn't just sulk; she'd go looking for payback.

Of course, now Lex has to deal with the consequences of his decisions. That's likely to be a very bitter pill for him; he can go on as much as he wants about causal chains and delineations of responsibilities, but he knows just as much that he has vicarious liability for what Severance does, since it's there under the auspices of being his subordinate. Even by his own standards, Lex is likely to feel some responsibility for what's happened, which is probably why he's enraged beyond all reason now. Of course, that won't matter if the Royal Sisters can seal him away for a thousand years the same way they did to King Sombra, or something equally as bad.

[Alzrius]

9630680 Well, to be fair, the misunderstands happening right now seem plausible, wouldn't you say?

[Alzrius]

9630857 What, this one wasn't enough for you?

[harts fire]

9631443
sure it is.
i just tend to look at things a bit differently and see things or changes in the wind.

[howard035]

Of course Severance would do this! I'm kicking myself for not seeing it coming. Will Lex feel obligated by his own code to try and defend Luna against Severance, even as Luna and Celestia do their best to take him out?

[Alzrius]

9631771 Well, I can neither confirm nor deny your hunch.

[Alzrius]

9631834

Of course Severance would do this! I'm kicking myself for not seeing it coming.

I was hoping that this twist would be 1) very difficult to predict, and 2) completely obvious in hindsight. I'm glad that it seems to have cleared both of those criteria!

Will Lex feel obligated by his own code to try and defend Luna against Severance, even as Luna and Celestia do their best to take him out?

I suspect we're about to find out.

[Bast]

9631411
Oh god now i just want to see twilight come in and smack him with a friendship book Lol. Learn Friendship Lex!

[harts fire]

9631845
and yet you just did.