Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

540 - Laying the Groundwork

From thirty feet apart, Lex and Twilight stared at each other.

Off to the side, River Bank glanced nervously between them, having won the coin toss for who would call the official beginning to the duel. Normally that wouldn’t have been the case, as the rules laid down in Conduct of Satisfaction called for a neutral third-party to provide the official commencement of hostilities, a proviso meant to prevent any suggestion, no matter how spurious, that the opening circumstances had unfairly favored one duelist over the other. It was only when no such third-party candidate could be found – as none had been now – that the coin-flip was called for.

The distance between them was likewise per the book’s official recommendation. Since most historical duels had been between ponies of different tribes, and the rules had needed to be written with any possible combination of duelists in mind, thirty feet had eventually been settled upon as the range that favored no one group of ponies over any other. From that distance, a pegasus might be able to take to the air and start maneuvering before a unicorn fired a bolt of magic before an earth pony was able to rush in with a tackle. And if that arrangement lent itself more toward “first to draw blood wins” dueling than the more severe types, then the authors of Conduct of Satisfaction hadn’t seemed to have a problem with it.

“Are you both ready?” called River, glancing between the two of them. Although she’d only raised her voice slightly, the silence carried it to everypony in range, the weight of what was about to happen robbing everyone watching of their powers of speech.

When Lex and Twilight both nodded, River – already stepping away – spoke again. “Then on my signal, you may attack at will! Three…!”

Twilight spread her wings, holding them aloft in readiness.

“Two…!”

Lex pointed his horn directly at Twilight, the aura around it churning more violently than before.

“One…!”

Standing off the to side, surrounded by his retainers and sycophants, Prince Blueblood was rapidly turning green, realizing too late that this confrontation that he’d pushed for – with its potential to cost him everything – was actually going to happen after all.

“BEGIN!”

---

Lex watched as Twilight launched herself into the air before River had finished speaking, her wings flapping heavily as she shot upward. Whether it was because she’d fallen for his bluff – pointing your horn directly at someone was an aggressive gesture among unicorns, and he’d wanted her to think that he was going to attack immediately – or because she’d always intended on taking to the air was irrelevant. What was important was that she’d put defense first, rather than pressing an attack before he could put his own strategy into place.

The snort of contempt he gave then was directed entirely at himself, his disgusted grimace going unseen by anypony else as he called upon his dark magic and changed into a shadow. As though this deserves to be called a strategy.

But as tactically unsound as it was to rely on a plan that was both impractical and untested, he hadn’t been able to think of anything better. Not when he had so few options, and his opponent had so many. And while there were numerous ways that this could fail, it represented his best – and quite possibly only – chance of defeating Twilight.

Focusing on that thought, Lex put his dark magic to use again, flooding magic into it through his body’s magical channels, still extant even in his incorporeal state. But he’d barely gotten started when he heard Twilight’s voice ringing out from above, a glance upward showing her gesticulating as she chanted. Despite needing to concentrate on utilizing his dark magic, Lex had no trouble splitting his attention, watching every motion Twilight made, listening to every word she enunciated, collating that with what his magical senses were telling him as he worked to decipher what spell she was-

Oh no.

Had he not turned into a shadow, Lex would have gritted his teeth. As it was, he rushed to finish what he was doing, knowing that once Twilight finished her spell, he’d have more immediate concerns than his rapidly-dwindling chances of victory…

---

Having ascended out of easy reach, Twilight watched as Lex turned into a shadow. For a moment she expected him to fly up after her, thinking that he’d changed so that he could follow her into the air. She’d been prepared to use her “dispel magic” spell on him if he had, remembering how Princess Celestia had told her she’d used that same tactic during their fight to send him plummeting to the ground, with a little bit of extra help from Luna. But Lex didn’t seem keen on giving her the opportunity, instead staying right where he was.

Abetted by her headband, her thoughts were already in overdrive, trying to anticipate what Lex was up to. Was he waiting for her to attack first, in order to better develop a counterattack? Or was he trying to capitalize on the unsettling way that everypony had turned against her and her friends just now, wanting her to strike first so she’d look like the aggressor? Or was-

The sensation of magic being used immediately sent her thoughts spiraling in a different direction, knowing that it was coming from Lex. He wasn’t using any thaumaturgical spellcasting; otherwise she’d have heard him chanting, and even in his bodiless state he would have needed to gesture somehow. Nor were the ioun stones circling his shadowy body acting any differently, making it unlikely that they were the source of whatever he was doing. Which meant that it was almost certainly his dark magic, and since there weren’t any black crystals rising out of the ground, that suggested a curse.

The thought made Twilight tense up, but there was no sensation of invasive magic crawling over her. Even with her cloak augmenting her body’s natural ability to fight off unwanted magic, she knew she should have felt something. But whatever Lex was doing wasn’t targeting her…

A brief moment of panic made her glance at her friends. Attacking someone other than the pony you were fighting was strictly against the rules of the duel, and Twilight couldn’t imagine Lex flagrantly violating the terms that they’d agreed to like that. But she still had to be sure, her eyes sweeping over them…and seeing nothing except them looking between her and Lex, expressions ranging from confidence to nervousness written all over them as they took the opportunity to start calling out encouragement, ignoring the dark looks being sent their way by the ponies of Vanhoover.

But if they were fine, then what was Lex putting a curse on?

Even with her headband on, there was no way of knowing; curses weren’t an area of magic where she’d had much study, and Lex was highly experienced with them. Short of casting some of the few information-gathering spells she’d prepared – which would have been strategically unsound, since it would have left her wide open to attack, and had no guarantee of finding an answer anyway – she’d just have to do the best she could without knowing what exactly she was up against. But if he was preparing some sort of trap, that didn’t mean she couldn’t make her own preparations for overcoming it.

And the key to overcoming adversity is friendship.

Although Twilight was sure that Lex would have sneered at the concept, she’d seen the power that friendship had. Not just in the raw might of the Elements of Harmony, but in the little things that had, over time, turned out to make the biggest differences. Fluttershy’s kindness had brought about a change of heart in Discord, giving them the literal key to defeating Tirek. Her human friends’ willingness to extend their hands in forgiveness had been the reason Sunset Shimmer had been there to help them defeat the Sirens. And Twilight’s reaching out to Willow after the lhaksharut’s attack on Canterlot had been the reason the purrsian had begun teaching her the spells that she knew, one of which was perfect for what was happening right now…

Chanting the requisite words as she performed the necessary gestures and added her alicorn magic to the mix in order to strengthen the effect, Twilight kept a wary eye on Lex, knowing that if he finished whatever he was doing before she could complete her spell, he’d have a perfect opportunity to attack her, likely ruining what she was trying to pull off. But maybe her luck would hold, and he’d need more time to put into motion whatever scheme he was hatching. Just a few more seconds…

As if Lex had heard her thoughts, Twilight felt him finish whatever he was doing, her own casting still only halfway done. It was no surprise when she immediately felt him using his dark magic again a second later, and this time it was followed by the unsettling sensation of it settling over her, and although there was no tactile element to it, she still felt her skin crawl, imagining that she could almost see the black aura that had manifested when he’d cursed Luna and Rainbow Dash.

And the resemblance to the latter didn’t end there. For a brief, heart-stopping moment Twilight felt her wings stiffen up, muscles locking into place as joints refused to move, causing her to begin losing altitude. But then the moment passed, and she shrugged off Lex’s curse, the enchantment in her cloak aiding her in flinging the repulsive magic away, her wings beating hard as she arrested her fall before it could begin. And all the while, she’d kept her spell going, giving an internal whoop of victory as it went off an instant later, looking expectantly down at where she’d taken off from even as she dimly registered a collective gasp sweeping through the crowd.

The place where she’d been standing before was now occupied.

Her summoning spell had worked.

The creature that she’d brought forth could have been described as diamond dog, but only if the person making that comparison had been feeling exceptionally uncharitable. Whereas the beasts that had once kidnapped Rarity were hunched, dumpy creatures with beady eyes and unkempt fur, the being Twilight had summoned was anything but. Standing at his full six-foot height, every inch of the bipedal canine presented a regal bearing, from the way his short coat of black fur seemed almost to glisten in the light to the immaculate press of his ochre breeches, the only article of clothing that he wore…save for the sword strapped to his back, which was almost as large as he was.

His muzzle scanning to and fro, it was only belatedly that he looked upward, his lips curling into a smile that was no less genuine for how small it was as he caught sight of Twilight. “Lady Sparkle,” he pronounced, his voice deep and possessing a rich timbre. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

“I’m sorry, Behemiel, but this isn’t a social call,” apologized Twilight. “I need your help. Long story short, I’m fighting a duel against that pony” – she pointed at Lex, the edges of his shadowy form twisting in agitation as he glared at her and her ally – “and I need to win.”

The explanation earned her a raised brow from Behemiel. “And you think it appropriate to summon aid to what I presume is a challenge of single combat?”

Twilight grimaced, but didn’t back down. “I know this is bending the rules, but we’re allowed to use the full scope of our magic, and it’s my spell that’s keeping you here, so it should be okay, right?” Moving lower until she was hovering just overhead, Twilight gave him a pleading look. “Please, Behemiel. I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important.”

She couldn’t hold back a sigh of relief when, after a moment, he nodded. “Very well. Though our friendship is still in its infancy, I’m willing to place my trust in you.” Reaching back, he drew his sword then, the five feet of polished steel glinting as it caught the sunlight from overhead. “Particularly when your opponent makes no protest of your use of summoning magic. Though I question how useful my sword will be against one who appears to lack a physical form.”

“I thought of that.” Fishing a scroll out of one of her saddlebags, Twilight unrolled it, a quick reading being all it took for her to activate the spell stored within. Touching a hoof to the sword, the blade took on a soft radiance, barely visible in the sunshine. “This should let you do some damage even when he’s incorporeal. But this duel is only to unconsciousness or surrender!” she added quickly. “No killing!”

“As I would expect from one whom the Angel of Friendship speaks so highly of,” noted Behemiel approvingly. But his expression hardened a moment later as he turned back to Lex. “I regret that our first meeting must be under these circumstances,” he called, meeting his foe’s green and purple eyes without flinching as he took a ready stance, blade held in both hands.

“But if the Lady Sparkle requires it, then Behemiel, hound archon of Proelera, the Second Heaven, will aid her in defeating you!”

Author's Note:

As the duel begins, Lex puts a plan into motion, only for Twilight to summon reinforcements with the magic she learned from Willow!

Will Lex be able to fight two enemies at once? Or will he be overwhelmed before whatever he's planning can pay off?

Comments

[WARGAMES]

SUMMONING FIGHT

[Not so New Brony]

Figured the Princess of Friendship would summon aid like and I did like how her friend pointed out the fact that she brought a friend to fight a duel that's meant for single combatants(bet quite a few of Lex's supporters aren't happy with that)

And WARGAMES' comment does make sense due to Lex not protesting about Twilight bending the rules like this which either means that he'll be bringing in his own summon(does he even have a summon in his array of magic?addendum:Aside from the being he briefly summoned to interrogate) or he already has countermeasures for this...or he's too preoccupied with his own magic to waste a breath calling Twilight out.(not that he'd bother anyways)

As for the magic Twilight used to enchant Behemiel's sword, is it magic that's used against ghostly foes or just intangibles in general?

[Booster Spice]

Oh dear, this guy is only a few typos short of Bahemut. Unless the name got changed because Mutt is Deogeoric term to canines, especially high level ones?

No Pokemon move? Aw, there goes Shadow Sneak.

I take it Lex doesnt know Posession, and couldnt use it even if he wanted?

Or Rock To Mud?Well, Twilights had two actions, summoning taking multiple rounds, so LEx has been Observing and Preparing?

[Alzrius]

10552379 Actually, Behemiel's name is a bit of a gag. According to Gustav Davidson's A Dictionary of Angels, "Behemiel" is the angel with dominion over tame beasts, which I thought fit nicely for a hound archon. Now, the D&D/Pathfinder tradition draws a distinction between archons and angels (the former being celestials who are exclusively Lawful Good, and are from Heaven specifically, whereas the latter can be any Good, and come from any of the good-aligned planes), but the mythological/theological distinction is less strict, so I figured "why not?"

As for the sequence of turns, it's actually a bit more equitable than it appears on the initial read-through:

Round 1 - Lex: Winning initiative, Lex takes a standard action to invoke The Umbral Form, changing into shadow. He doesn't bother with a move action.

Round 1 - Twilight: Twilight spends a move action ascending 15 feet upwards, and then uses her standard action to ready a dispel magic spell against Lex if he flies upward.

Round 2 - Lex: Again eschewing taking a move action, Lex spends his standard action to use Elfshot, laying a curse. We don't know the effects of it yet, though I'll let it slip that he's used his Amplify metamagic theorem (in conjunction with the Glory modifier, so he doesn't need to pay extra power points for doing so) to boost the effect, which doesn't require an additional action on his part.

Round 2 - Twilight: Twilight makes a Spellcraft check to try and identify what Lex is doing, which doesn't take an action on her part. However, the results are only high enough for her to realize that he's using a curse. Deciding to forgo her readied action, she instead casts a specialized variation of summon monster (for those who want the details, summoning a hound archon normally requires summon monster IV. However, Twilight's version of the spell has a duration of 1 minute per caster level (+1 spell level), can only summon this specific individual (-1 spell level), and gives up control over the summons (since Twilight's not a fan of how the normal version of the spell essentially enslaves the summoned creatures for its duration) (-2 spell levels). So it's essentially a 2nd-level spell; not coincidentally, this is the highest level of spells that Willow (a 5th-level unchained summoner), her teacher where planar-themed magic is concerned, can cast.) Additionally, Twilight uses her alicorn magic (i.e. spends a point of Mana) to increase the power of the summons, which the GM ad hocs as allowing it go off as though she had the Augment Summoning feat, since she wants to hedge her bets with regards to helping a hound archon stand up to Lex.

Round 3 - Lex: Since Twilight is still casting, Lex uses a curse to try and cause her to fall. Since he's not augmenting this, the curse has little chance of success, but it's a moot point anyway as Twilight makes her Will save.

Round 3 - Twilight: Twilight's summon monster spell goes into effect just before her turn this round, which means that she's free to take her normal suite of actions. Lowering her altitude by 5 feet (i.e. she takes a 5-foot "step," which she can do since her flight speed has a perfect maneuverability rating, and so is a free action), she takes a move action to withdraw a scroll (from a standard saddlebag, not from her nearly-at-capacity type II bag of holding), and spends her standard action to cast the spell on it, which is magic weapon, giving Behemiel's masterwork greatsword a +1 enhancement bonus. That means that his sword can now deal half damage to Lex in his incorporeal state.

Round 3 - Behemiel: With the summons taking effect this round, Behemiel gets to go immediately, which means that his action will almost certainly be what the next chapter opens with...

[Alzrius]

10552105 Is it still a summoning fight if only one side can summon?

[Alzrius]

10552145 Even when she's engaged in a one-on-one fight, it makes sense that Twilight Sparkle would have allies that she can call upon. Moreover, it's a subtle way of showing that Lex isn't the only highly-intelligent spellcaster who's able to make leverage loopholes to his advantage. Behemiel was right in pointing out Lex's lack of protest toward what she did; I suspect that if he'd known any similar spells, he'd have made use of them himself. Alas, his only instances of summoning are the Night Mare herself and Harrowing Ordeal, and both of those were via rituals instead of actual spells, requiring a large amount of time and no interruptions at all, neither of which he can afford at the moment.

At this point, whatever plan he's trying to put into motion had better be a good one, because he's now up against two enemies instead of one.

The spell that Twilight cast on Behemiel's sword was magic weapon. That essentially turns his non-magical sword into a magical sword for a short time, which is a smart move on her part; non-magical attacks can't harm Lex when he's a shadow, but magical ones can (albeit most of them only inflict half damage).