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.
“Your stallion had better come through with the bits,” muttered Coal Hopper as she siphoned off some milk from the tank car, filling the oral syringe that she’d been given.
“He will,” replied Sonata with an easy smile as she took the milk-filled implement from the other mare, walking over and handing it to a nearby filly that was cradling a baby as she waited. “Now, remember what Doctor House Call said, okay? You don’t need to press down on the end of this. Just let him drink from it like it was a bottle.”
“I will,” nodded Fiddlesticks as she carefully placed the blunt tip of the device in Tiddlywinks’ mouth. For a moment the toddler turned his head away from the foreign object, but a moment later he seemed to realize what it was, because he settled down and started drinking greedily, the milk in the syringe beginning to drain away. In less than a minute he’d emptied the whole thing, and Fiddlesticks had barely taken it out of his mouth when he let out an adorable little burp and closed his eyes. A moment later he was snoring, causing Sonata and Fiddlesticks to giggle and coo softly at the sight.
“Thank you.” Fiddlesticks whisper was quiet, but her smile was radiant as she looked at Sonata, before directing the grateful look toward Coal Hopper as well. The other mare managed to give her a pained smile in response, as though turning the corners of her lips up was difficult, and Fiddlesticks wandered away, gently rocking her little brother as she did.
Sonata waited for the filly to get safely out of earshot before looking back at Coal Hopper, speaking normally now that there was no chance of accidentally waking the baby. “You see now why Lex wanted you to start unloading everything now instead of waiting for him to get back?” She tried not to sound smug as she said it, but she couldn’t help herself. Coal Hopper had complained bitterly the entire time that she and the rest of the train crew had started unloading everything, and even though those complaints had grown fewer and fewer as she’d seen numerous needy ponies filling their bellies, she hadn’t completely ceased her grumbling. Sonata could tell that the grouchy mare was just keeping up appearances by that point, but she couldn’t resist rubbing it in a little bit.
“Hmph.” Coal Hopper’s response was to pout so deeply that it was almost a sulk. She held that expression for several long seconds before she couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “It’s not like we would’ve just left or anything if they couldn’t pay,” she mumbled, her expression softening. “It’s just that a lot of ponies back home are counting on us.”
That was good enough for Sonata, who put a friendly hoof on the other mare’s shoulder. “I know. And Lex knows too. That’s why he didn’t do anything to make sure you guys couldn’t leave before he went into Vanhoover.” She felt, like, ninety percent sure of that.
That was enough to make Coal Hopper’s frown return, glancing at Sonata. “How…” She trailed off as she remembered the dark look Lex had given her when she’d objected to unloading their cargo before he’d paid for it, causing the question to die on her lips. All of a sudden she didn’t want to know exactly how Lex would have forced them to stay.
Instead, she voiced a different question. “What happened here? I’d heard that Vanhoover was flooded during the elemental bleeds, but that was a while ago. Why does everypony look like they’ve been through a war zone?”
“Because they have. Some more than others.”
The voice wasn’t Sonata’s, and both mares glanced over at the newcomer. She was a unicorn like Coal Hopper, but taller and leaner, her grayish cerulean mane and tail contrasting sharply with her vermillion coat. Bandages were wrapped around her, the most prominent of which encircled her horn. The sight of her made Sonata falter for a moment, before plastering a smile on her face. “Hey, Garden.”
“Fencer,” she corrected with a shake of her head. “I’m still Fencer.”
“Okay,” muttered Sonata with a roll of her eyes. Although she knew that the mare in front of her had saved their lives last night, she couldn’t bring herself to feel completely at ease around her. The memory of how Fencer had coldly described crippling and abandoning Cozy’s husband was still fresh in her mind. But I guess I’m not the only one that’s true for, she decided, seeing the uncomfortable look on the other mare’s face.
Letting out a sigh, she decided to try and let bygones be bygones. “So,” she started, making herself adopt a friendly tone. “What’s up?”
Fencer shifted uneasily, seeming to find the ground rather interesting for a moment, before glancing at Coal Hopper awkwardly. The other mare caught the hint, and looked over at Sonata. “I’m gonna go check in with Ticket Stub. It’s been a little while, so I’m sure he’s found something else to lose his cool over by now.” She started walking before she’d finished speaking, stepping into one of the train cars and vanishing from sight.
The abrupt departure left Sonata slightly perplexed, turning her gaze back to Fencer. “Okaaay…”
Wrenching her eyes up so that they met Sonata’s, Fencer licked her lips before she started speaking. “Listen…I wanted to talk to you…”
That was enough to earn a confused blink from Sonata. “For realsies? How come?” She couldn’t imagine what Fencer wanted to talk to her about, unless… Her eyes widened as it all suddenly made sense. “Oh! Wait, I totes get it now!”
Now it was Fencer’s turn to blink. “You do?”
“Yeah…” Sonata’s face turned solemn then, giving a world-weary sigh before finding it within herself to continue. “And I’m, like, totes sorry to say…no.”
Fencer’s ears folded back as she cringed a little. “No?”
“No.” Sonata shook her head sadly. “There’s no fruit punch on the train.”
Seeing Fencer's jaw fall open at that, she nodded in commiseration. “There aren’t even any ingredients to make some. No orange juice, no pineapple juice, no cranberry juice, no grape juice. Though, pro tip: a little bit of grape juice goes a long way.”
A snicker escaped Fencer then, one hoof coming up to cover her mouth. “N-no, Sonata. That’s not what I was going to say.”
“For realsies?” Sonata’s eyebrows raised, having a hard time believing that. It was the very first thing I asked about when we started unpacking the train. “Then, what?”
Fencer’s mirth faded away, but her previous discomfort didn’t return, a look of resolve covering her features instead. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
That hadn’t been what Sonata had expected. “You’re…wait, to me?” Shouldn’t she be saying that to someone else?
But Fencer seemed to understand why she was confused. “I know there are ponies I did worse things to, but Lex isn’t here right now, and I can’t find Comfy Cozy…” She trailed off slightly then, but brought herself back to the topic at hoof. “But they’re not the only ones I owe an apology to.” She put a hoof over her chest as she gave Sonata an earnest look. “I wasn’t very nice to you, back at the warehouse. You were asking me about what happened…about what I’d done to Cozy’s husband, and I treated you like you were my enemy. I knew you were only asking because Lex asked you to, because he wanted to go save him, but I was so wrapped up in not feeling guilty about all the terrible things that I did…” She stopped then, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m so sorry for how I acted back then.”
Unable to keep herself from smiling, Sonata waved a hoof. “Aw, don’t worry about it. My sisters used to be, like, a zillion times worse every single day. I wasn’t even…well, no, I was kinda upset, but it’s all good now!”
“Really?”
“Totes!” Sonata beamed at her then, holding out a hoof. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re A-okay in my book! Plus, you know, the whole ‘running out there and saving everyone’s lives’ thing last night really helped too, even if I was kinda pumping you up with my magic. Also, FYI, Aria was totes nowhere near as cool as you were when she tried the same thing later on.”
Fencer’s smile was small, but genuine. “Thanks.” Reaching out, she touched her hoof to Sonata’s, the two connecting with a soft “clop.” She held the gesture for just a moment before lowering her foreleg, glancing around. “Okay, well…Lex still isn’t back yet, so I don’t suppose you happen to know where Cozy is?”
Grimacing a bit, Sonata shook her head. “I saw her and Aisle in the food line a little while ago, but I think they went to one of the other cars.” For which she’d been grateful, wanting nothing to do with the crystal mare. “You want my two cents-, er, bits. Whatever. She doesn’t deserve an apology.”
Fencer winced slightly at that, her ears flickering. “I killed her husband, Sonata. If I don’t try to make amends for that, or at least tell her how sorry I am, I’ll never get to be Garden Gate again.”
Sonata frowned at that, but didn’t argue. “Yeah, well…you’re going to have to look around I guess, ‘cuz I don’t see her.” She paused to glance to the west, where the sun was almost touching the horizon. “But Lex should be back pretty soon, I bet. He totes wouldn’t want to stay in Vanhoover any longer than-, wait, I think I see something!”
She apparently wasn’t the only one, as several ponies were raising their voices and pointing toward Vanhoover. Squinting against the remaining sunlight, Sonata peered toward the city. There was a mass of ponies headed toward them…and above them, just barely visible at this distance, was an inky black mass. “Lex!”
Abandoning the train, Sonata ran toward the other side of the camp, relief that everything had gone okay mixing with eagerness to see her boyfriend again. In a minute, she was almost at the body-strewn battlefield that was the sight of last night’s debacle. Rearing up on her hind legs, she waved at the returning ponies, barely cognizant of the sound of hooves from behind her as the camp ponies wandered closer, though still keeping a distance away from her (or perhaps from the gory remnants of the ghouls).
But a few minutes later, as the returning ponies grew close enough for their details to be visible, Sonata’s waving foreleg stopped in mid-motion, a confused frown marring her face. Behind her, whispers broke out among the camp ponies, not sure what to make of what they were seeing. Blinking, Sonata rubbed her eyes to make sure that they weren’t playing tricks on her, but when she looked again the sight remained the same.
The ponies in front of the returning group were pushing beds on wheels…and on them were a bunch of ragged-looking ponies that didn’t look familiar at all.
Above them, the black shadow that was Lex surged ahead, moving closer to the ground as it outpaced the group. “Sonata, fetch the doctors!” he ordered as he closed the distance between them. He turned back into a pony a moment later, and almost stumbled, Sonata rushing forward to catch him. Even then, he didn’t cease issuing commands. “Tell them we’ve retrieved the drugs they needed, but several of these ponies are in critical condition, and need immediate-”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down!” urged Sonata. “What happened?! Were you guys attacked?”
“The doctors, Sonata!”
Knowing that she wouldn’t get any more out of him before she did what he said, she turned around and yelled for the crowd to get the medical ponies. With that done, she turned her attention back to Lex. “What was it? More ghouls?”
“Just the opposite,” replied Lex tensely. “More survivors.”
Fencer begins to make amends to the ponies she's wronged, but will she be able to find the redemption she's seeking?
Meanwhile, Lex brings back the mysterious ponies he glimpsed last chapter. What does this mean going forward?
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Guess Cozy and Aisle have found a ride out of Vanhoover though I wonder how the crew are going to take it when asked if they could bring a dead body along. It would be ironic if they left just as Lex decides to absolve them of their curse as he did with Sonata.
I'm honestly surprised that no one from the train crew has heard anything about the ghoul attack from the camp ponies yet though I suppose the crew is busy offloading the food while the camp ponies are just happy to be getting some more food. Though we've only seen Coal Hopper in this chapter so Ticket Stub, having heard Sonata's retelling, or some of the other crew might have wandered off to investigate though with Lex's return, they might have another reason to investigate.
Given the urgency in Lex's tone, I'm guessing these survivors aren't far off from the condition Pillowcase was in when Lex found him in and is trying to avoid a repeat of the tragedy. Hopefully the medicine Lex brought back can be of use to the doctors to stabilize these ponies. It would be a blow to his morale if he lost these ponies after he had saved those in the camp.
Wonder if he'll blame himself for not locating these survivors earlier or something...
In which Lex starts to realise he has to implement Operation Burning Mare?
9113302 Remember that the ghouls attacked from the west, and the train station is on the east end of camp. So that explains why the train crew (who's stuck with the train this entire time) hasn't seen the field of body parts yet. Now, to be fair, Sonata did talk Ticket Stub's ear off about their adventures, but he quite clearly didn't believe her. That might change if any of the train ponies takes a walk around, though...
As for these new survivors...Lex's agitation doesn't make it sound like they're in a very good state, does it? Hopefully they won't end up like Pillowcase.
9113723 Sorry, but I don't know what you're referencing there.
9114483
Oh yeah, that was pretty awful. I get they wanted a beginner level for outer planar adventures. That's why they should have kept the great wheel! Concordance was perfect for that, with the cities for each plane around each gate.
I always wanted to see a magicless high tech society built on the spire under Sigil.
They probably wanted it to be easier to move from Oerth to Abeir-Toril than you do, or they would have made it the Far Realm. I mean, they're all in different crystal spheres anyway, it might be easier just to ride a spelljammer between worlds.
True. I've heard theories that Sunset could overhear stuff through the portal even when it was closed, but there are still a ton of plot holes. That said, we still do see her get that crown to activate, which is pretty darned impressive.
True.
We've seen Pegasi jousting uniforms, so the dark answer is probably Sombra killed all the Pegasi, since if they broke free it would probably be easier for them to escape him.
I like what we're seeing with the Vanhooverites. It feels like as their edge of desperation finally wears off, their essential pony goodness is starting to reassert itself.
9114484
aww yes i saw the post of the new chapter but at-last i have 5 more chapter of a story i have started 2 days ago first.
9114491
Sorry, its a play on Burning Man, where a massive hyndred thousand occupant tent city springs up, all serviced, then disapears after a few days.
a grate chapter, things turned out really good for everypony.
you should really close this story off and start on a new one in everglow.
Lex is not main character quality.
9114569
The issue of "the planes being (just) high-level dungeons" was always one of those divisive issues in the community. There were a lot of people out there who really didn't like the idea of the planes being innately inhospitable, both in terms of environment and denizens; presuming I understood them correctly, they considered it to be something akin to "wasted space." That, or it was something to do with not charting out the ecologies and societies of what they considered to be the apex of exotic realms.
I confess I was never too certain about this, because for me it always seemed self-evident that there would be planes that were naturally inhospitable to mortal life to varying degrees. Mortal life is notably fragile, and so having places like the Inner Planes be incredibly hard to survive in made sense. So did having realms where everything was out to get you, such as the Abyss. Pushing back against those changes too hard is what gave us the 4E cosmology, where things were blended to a much greater degree to make everything more approachable, as well as consolidating the "tougher" parts into one (hence why the Abyss and the Elemental Planes were fused into the "Elemental Chaos"). Personally, I think Planescape handled it much better.
The problem with that is that such a society's inventions would, across the near-endless span of time that Planescape seemed to imply, proliferate (unless there was a very good reason for them not to. It's the reason why you don't find many places in the classic D&D cosmology that has technology that we'd consider "modern," let alone "futuristic;" it's self-evident that, barring exceptional circumstances, such things would eventually spread outward until they became the norm in most places. It's the same principle as to why "modern fantasy" games (and other media) that feature classical entities (e.g. legendary mythological creatures, classical gods, etc.) often have them utilizing modern conveniences and weaponry, in defiance of their typical depiction. If you have particle cannons in your game, then you better believe that Ares will have one, and it'll likely be better than yours! Hence why D&D never really went that route.
Except for the times when it did and just ignored the wider implications, I mean.
It's worth noting that crystal spheres were only really a thing in AD&D 2nd Edition. 1st Edition never really dealt with the concept of fantasy space, Basic D&D took a much more realistic (though still with fantastic elements) attitude toward the idea (when it dealt with it at all), and D&D 3rd Edition obviated the need for them by making each campaign world have its own cosmology. I don't think that 4th Edition ever dealt with fantasy space either, and 5th Edition...I don't know enough about it be sure, but I think it's importing some of the aspects of Spelljammer, but not all of them.
Insofar as moving between cosmologies goes, I should note that my prior suggestion was only if you wanted to make the journey via crossing coterminous planes. I'd still hold that powerful magic (a gate spell, dead minimum, or perhaps an epic-level spell) could make the journey all at once.
As a general rule, I prefer theories that don't require adding all sorts of new material in order to reconcile what's there. Of course, that means admitting that there are things that can't be adequately explained, short of using the meta-explanation of "it's an error on the show's part." That's rather unsatisfying, but so is warping your understanding of the original material in order to try and make everything make sense.
As for Sunset activating the crown...that'd be more impressive if we had more information about what she was actually doing. She alludes to its functionality being warped by being in another dimension, but that's all. Princess Celestia says in The Return of Harmony - Part 1 that Discord escaped because she and Luna are no longer connected to the Elements, so there's that, but that's really it. That gives us not much to go on with regard to someone else trying to activate them. For all we know, Sunset just got the equivalent of a very good Use Magic Device roll.
Personally, I'm less inclined toward that answer, simply because Sombra always struck me as wanting to subjugate rather than kill or destroy. We really only saw one battle, so there could still be other enslaved crystal ponies elsewhere, or perhaps they can't fly with the helmets on? Of course, in the end if makes little difference; he seemed to be doing just fine without them, since he had half of Equestria (showing why Celestia is as bad at being a military leader as she is at being a princess).
Notwithstanding the ones who were badly traumatized, that does seem like the way they'd go.
9114821 Sounds interesting. I'll have to watch it one of these days.
9115151 Thanks! Things finally seem to be on an upswing for everyone!
How long do you think that'll last?
9116650 I disagree.
At least they weren't ghouls.
9221637 Yeah, this is a much better turn than if they had been.