//------------------------------// // 157 - What's Left Unsaid // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// This isn’t good enough. Lex glared balefully at the field hospital, staring at the patchwork collection of tents as though it were to blame for his current problems. But it wasn’t the makeshift medical center that bothered him so much as how it seemed to perfectly encapsulate the jury-rigged, barely-adequate solutions that he had managed to implement ever since he’d arrived in Vanhoover. No matter that he had been hamstrung from the very beginning by those imbecile princesses, no matter that the situation had turned out to be far more dire than he had been led to believe, no matter that he’d faced deadly opposition at multiple points…because the end result was that the ponies he’d come here to help were only barely receiving adequate care. He’d done everything right, he knew, but that knowledge brought him no solace. The same way that improper activities undercut any righteousness that their results might generate, righteous activities that didn’t make a difference were ultimately pointless. Correct actions needed to be paired with correct results in order for an undertaking to be brought to a proper resolution. Anything less was a failure. And if he didn’t figure out how to generate enough food to feed over a thousand ponies in the next, by his estimation, fifteen minutes, then he was going to fail. Again. A quick glance behind him underscored exactly what was at stake, as a crowd of ponies were already starting to gather. That they didn’t join the line of ponies waiting to enter the field hospital was more than enough to make it clear that they had shown up in response to his declaration that food would be provided. The sight was almost enough to make him regret his hasty announcement, but he pushed that thought away. Whether he’d announced it or not, the issue of feeding everypony here was one that had to be dealt with. “Hey.” The familiar voice caused Lex to look over reflexively, and he gave a silent curse as he saw Sonata coming around the bend of the large medical tent. Reading facial expressions had never been something he was good at, but her lack of her usual carefree smile led him to believe that she was still upset about what had happened with Nosey. Just the thought of it was enough to make his jaw clench, but he knew he couldn’t afford to deal with this right now. Not when he had to figure out how to answer much larger problems. “Go find Cloudbank,” he ordered her, his tone clipped. “Tell her that she needs to deliver her sermon immediately.” But Sonata didn’t move, except to close her eyes and give a small sigh before opening them and stepping closer to him. “Listen, I know that this totes isn’t the right time, b-” “For once you’re right,” he replied coldly. The way her ears folded back at his reply sent a mild surge of guilt through him, but it was drowned beneath the sense of bitter satisfaction that he felt at the sight. She had hurt him deeply by lashing out at him out of nowhere, and at that moment he had every intention of making her pay dearly for it. “This isn’t the time. So shut your mouth and do what I tell you.” Although Lex loved Sonata dearly, as he watched her eyes close and her head droop, turning and slowly trudging away from him without another word, he found himself hoping that she felt utterly miserable. Since that was how she’d made him feel before, it seemed only fair now. Sonata idly kicked a rock as she walked through the camp, not bothering to look where she was going. Although she was supposed to be looking for Cloudbank, she had no idea where the pegasus mare was and so didn’t know where to look, instead wandering randomly. Not that it mattered very much, since she was pretty sure Lex had said that just to make her go away. Which was fine by her, since if that was how he was going to be then she didn’t want to be around him anyway! The thought came with a sharp burst of anger, but she couldn’t sustain it, and found herself sighing again. I knew that was a bad idea, she lamented to herself, but no, I just HAD to make sure he was mad about what happened before. Like there was any doubt. She kicked another rock, mad at how Lex seemed completely determined to make everybody – everypony, she silently corrected herself – hate him. First it had been everyone in their group, thanks to what he’d done to Garden Gate. Then it had been Nosey, with how he’d treated her after what she’d gone through. And now it was her turn. And coming up next, everypony here, she thought grimly. She could see it clearly. Lex would pull off some super-impressive magic and make enough food to feed everyone here, and they’d cheer and applaud and call him a hero, and then he’d open his mouth and call them a bunch of dummies for not knowing proper table manners or something and ruin it all. That was why she’d wanted to bury the hammer with him before he did it, so she could at least be his spokespony for that and make sure he didn’t make even more of a mess of things than he already had. But apparently even that was too much for Mister I-Want-To-Do-The-Right-Thing-And-Get-Absolutely-No-Credit-For-It. Sonata had no doubt that by the time Lex was done, he’d have saved everypony here and made himself into Public Enemy Number One. Except with Aria, Sonata thought bitterly. Her sister had made sure to crawl by a little while ago, smirking as she’d let Sonata know that Lex was going to change her into a pony in one week, and making sure to give her a big, sarcastic thanks for encouraging him to hop to it. Honestly, the two of them are perfect for each other. They’re both big jerks who- Her thoughts were rudely interrupted as she collided head-first with another pony. Barely managing to keep from falling over, Sonata rubbed her sore head as she looked at who she’d run into, needing a second to realize that she knew this pony. “Aisle?” “Sonata, I’m so glad I found you!” The earth stallion practically leapt to his hooves, a panicked look on his face. “Why?” blinked Sonata, confused. Had something happened? Glancing left and right, Aisle gestured towards an empty tent a few feet away, one of the run-down ones that the camp ponies were using. “Can we talk privately?” Sonata folded her ears back. Oh no, is this another love confession? That was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now. She and Lex might have been going through a rough patch…again…but that didn’t mean that she wanted anyone else! “Listen,” she started. “I’m, like, totes flattered, but I really don’t-” “What are you talking about?” Aisle was barely listening, craning his neck around as he tried to look in every direction at once before dashing over to the tent. “C’mon!” Wondering if maybe she’d misread the situation, Sonata followed him, albeit at a much more sedate pace. When she’d crossed the threshold, Aisle reached to undo the tent flaps…only to find that there were none, the entire structure being little more than a blanket propped up on some sticks. She couldn’t help but smirk at the way he looked flummoxed for a moment before apparently deciding to let it go, turning to face her with a serious look. “I need you to cast a spell on one of the doctors,” he declared suddenly. Sonata’s smile fell away in an instant. “Okay, how about this?” suggested Drafty cheerily. “‘The Night Mare: she’s like Nightmare Moon, except she gives out candy instead of taking it away.’” Cloudbank’s only response was a tortured groan, not looking up from where she’d collapsed, her head buried in her hooves. “Yeah, that’s not that great,” admitted Drafty, though her smile diminished only faintly. “I mean, if there isn’t any candy in that food Lex conjured up, you’ll look kind of silly.” Cloudbank managed to raise her head at that, giving Drafty an evil glare. “You’re enjoying this,” she said accusingly. Drafty had the grace to look guilty at that. “Sorry, but can you blame me?” she asked, her grin returning. “You’re really cute when you’re flustered.” “I’m…really?” Cloudbank couldn’t help but blush slightly at the compliment, her doldrums over not knowing what to say momentarily forgotten. “Really,” nodded Drafty. “Normally you’re all tough and strong, like you’re ready to take on all of Equestria by yourself. So it’s adorable seeing you fizzle out over having to give a speech.” “Y-yeah, well, it’s not like it’s any old speech,” muttered Cloudbank, but there was no heat in her retort, unable to help the warm glow spreading through her. It felt great to be the apple of Drafty’s eye for once, instead of having to watch her swoon over Lex! “I mean, this is going to be the Night Mare’s big introduction to everypony here, so I really don’t want to mess it up, you know?” “Aw, I think you’ll be fine.” “But what if I’m not?” Cloudbank stood up, starting to pace a little as her anxieties began to return. “What if I do something dumb like…like bite my tongue? What if I call her Nightmare Moon by accident? What if…” Her ears folded back as she thought of the worst thing that could possibly happen. “What if everypony laughs at me?” “Aw, Cloudy.” A moment later Cloudbank found herself wrapped up in Drafty’s embrace, soothing her worries. “No one’s going to laugh at you.” “They might.” “No, they won’t.” Drafty released her girlfriend, stepping back just enough so she was looking at her eye-to-eye. “Listen, I know you’re under a lot of pressure, but you’ve handled things a lot worse than giving a speech. If you can kill a giant squid-monster, you can do this.” “That’s not the same,” muttered Cloudbank, the comparison making her feeling ridiculous. Drafty immediately picked up on the other mare’s reaction. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Turning around, she rubbed her side against Cloudbank’s affectionately. “What I meant was that I have total confidence in you. You’ve always come through when you had to, and I know you will now.” “Drafty…” Cloudbank couldn’t help herself, leaning in to press her lips against Drafty’s, and for a moment nothing else mattered. When the kiss ended a moment later, both of them were smiling. “Feel better now?” “Yeah,” answered Cloudbank, before giving a teasing grin. “But I still have no idea what to say though, since you’re distracting me and all.” “Well, excuse me!” Drafty rolled her eyes, but her good mood didn’t diminish even a little. “Seriously though, say what’s in your heart. Say why you started worshiping the Night Mare in the first place. If you tell them what she means to you, then I bet everypony will start thinking about what she could mean to them.” “What she means to me…” Cloudbank let out a breath as she turned the idea over in her mind. “That might work.” “I hope so, because you’re pretty much out of time.” Drafty glanced skyward. She wasn’t an expert at telling the time from the angle of the sun, but she was still pretty good at it. “If I’m right, you’ve got maybe five minutes left.” “Great…” Biting her lip, Cloudbank forced away the nervousness she could feel threatening to return. Stretching out her wings, she shook her head, psyching herself up. “Okay. Showtime.” Giving a powerful flap, she rose up into the air, looking back at Drafty, who was still on the ground. “You coming?” Drafty waved in reply. “In a moment, I need to take care of one quick thing first.” “Okay. Wish me luck!” Wanting to get this over with before her nerves failed her, Cloudbank didn’t wait for a reply, flying off towards the field hospital. “Good luck!” yelled Drafty, waving some more. When Cloudbank was out of earshot, Drafty lowered her hoof. She felt bad about keeping this a secret from her girlfriend, but she knew Cloudy wouldn’t exactly approve. While she doubted that worshiping a different goddess was a big deal – Cloudy and Cozy hadn’t been butting heads about their respective faiths, after all – the specific thing that she was praying for would probably have led to a fight. But it’ll be okay, if what Nosey said was right. After all, it had worked for Sonata. Clasping her hooves together, Drafty closed her eyes and spoke in a quiet voice. “Kara. Please hear my prayer. Help me find a way to be in a relationship with Lex and Cloudy at the same time.”