Lateral Movement

by Alzrius


193 - Gone Too Long

Lex awoke to the sound of Sonata’s voice raised in anger.

“-ime you try that I swear I will totes knock you into next week!” Her voice was a furious snarl, though even that sounded beautiful to Lex’s ears, and as he turned his head to look at her he saw that she had reared up onto her hind legs, waving her fore-hooves as if she were about to start throwing punches. Several feet in front of her, the object of her ire gave a theatrical yawn.

“You and what army?” Despite only being able to speak in a whisper, Aria still managed to fill her words with condescension. “I seem to recall you losing pretty badly the last time we fought.”

“That was ‘cause I had to deal with Scaly McFishman!” protested Sonata shrilly. “If it had just been you and me, I’d have totes stomped all over you!”

Aria sneered, abandoning the relaxed slouch she’d been in as she reared up. “Let’s go then. By the time I’m done with y-”

“Both of you, shut up.” Both sisters jerked in surprise at the sound of Lex’s voice, their eyes turning toward him immediately. The look he gave them as he climbed to his hooves was one of irritation; although he’d known that the two of them didn’t get along, he hadn’t anticipated that they’d react so poorly to being in one another’s presence. That they’d engage in petty bickering despite the severity of their present circumstances was enough to make him grit his teeth in exasperation. “Whatever it is you’re arguing about, and I d-”

But Sonata immediately interrupted him, falling back to all fours only to immediately point a hoof at Aria accusingly. “She tried to kiss you in your sleep!” she yelled. “Tell her that I’m the only one who gets to do that!”

“I thought it would be a nice way to wake him up,” replied Aria airily. She gave a nonchalant shrug as she crossed her forelegs, as though she couldn’t understand what Sonata was getting so worked up about. “He looked like he was having a nightmare, so I thought a kiss would be a nice way to start the morning. Don’t blame me if you don’t know how to treat your boyfriend right.” That last sentence came out with a sneer, putting the lie to her show of indifference.

Sonata tittered with rage, but Lex’s brow furrowed as he focused on the most relevant part of what Aria had said. “‘Start the morning’?” Frowning, he turned to a nearby window and telekinetically opened the shutters. The angle at which the light spilled in immediately let him know that Aria hadn’t been speaking metaphorically, and he turned back to the other two sharply. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Wh-, that’s what you’re going to focus on?!” sputtered Sonata.

“Almost a full day,” supplied Aria helpfully, unable to resist shooting a smug grin at Sonata as she did so.

But Lex didn’t notice, aghast at what he’d just been told. “A full day?!” He shot an outraged look at Sonata. “You should have woken me up before now!”

Frowning as much at his indignation as the fact that he was apparently going to let Aria’s behavior go, Sonata rolled her eyes. “You needed to rest. Besides, it’s not like anything’s happened.” She gestured toward another window, one that was still shuttered. “It’s all quiet out there.”

Lex frowned, needing more information than that. “Have Cloudbank and the others already used the money they procured to start purchasing food and supplies?” He didn’t look at either of them as he asked, instead telekinetically opening the shutters she’d indicated and heading to the window to peer outside. As he took a step, he felt his muscles seize up in a painful spasm even as the world swayed dangerously. But both the pain and the vertigo were less serious than they had been before, and he forced them aside as he made his way to the glass, looking out at the camp.

The sight that greeted him was little changed from how things had been yesterday. The camp ponies were milling about listlessly, their enthusiasm from yesterday having died down. The sight was enough to make him frown; shouldn’t there be more activity if they’d just received an influx of provisions? Or perhaps they’re still purchasing them, he thought to himself. He hadn’t inquired as to exactly how far away the nearest farms were, and convincing the ponies there that they’d come to make legitimate purchases instead of attacking them could-

Out of his periphery, he saw Sonata shrug. “They’re not back yet.”

Her answer caused him to nod to himself in confirmation before turning to face her. “When did they leave?”

A confused look crossed her face. “Huh? You know when: yesterday, just like you told them to.”

For a moment Lex didn’t understand what she meant. But a fraction of a second later her meaning became clear, and he felt a shudder run down his spine. “Are you telling me,” he asked softly, “that Cloudbank and the others haven’t come back since they went into Vanhoover yesterday?”

“Y-yeah.” Intuiting from how Lex was acting that something was wrong, Sonata couldn’t keep herself from looking worried. “Should they have been?”

Lex didn’t answer, his mind already going into overdrive as he tried to figure out what could have happened. And he was absolutely certain that something had happened. Cloudbank had lived through Vanhoover’s fall; she’d never be stupid enough to remain in the city after dark if she could possibly avoid it. For her and the ponies she’d taken with her to still be unaccounted for…

It could have meant any number of things, he knew. I don’t have enough information. Details such as the specific bank they’d gone to, what they’d taken with them, and other data that might be vital in assessing the situation weren’t known to him. That was unacceptable. More than that, it needed to be rectified immediately.

“Both of you come with me,” he ordered as he marched toward the door. This was not going to be another mystery like what had happened to Block Party. He was going to solve this right now.


By the time they’d reached the other side of the camp, the pair had filled Lex in on several salient details. Aria had told him exactly what bank they’d be headed to, since she’d overheard Drafty extracting that information from Piggy Bank (which apparently had been quite the spectacle). Sonata had told him precisely who Cloudbank had taken with her, what they were armed with, and about the spell she’d laid on them before they’d left. Of course, she’d mentioned most of that yesterday during the brief period between their reconciliation and her falling asleep, but Lex didn’t chastise her; far better, he’d decided, to review redundant information than risk missing anything, no matter how insignificant.

He came to a halt when they reached the medical tent, turning to face both of them. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” he announced, in a voice that made it clear he would brook no argument. “I’m going into Vanhoover to search for Cloudbank and the others. Aria, you’ll come with me and use that tracking spell of yours. Sonata, you will stay here and maintain order until I return.” Both of them looked like they wanted to protest his decision, but he didn’t give them a chance. “Stay here while I make one final preparation,” he commanded them brusquely, before turning his back on the two and walking inside the large tent.

A familiar stallion in a lab coat looked up and did a double-take as he saw him. “What’re you…I was just getting ready to come check on you,” blurted House Call, before frowning. “You really shouldn’t be up and about this soon, you might strain your injuries.” He started gathering some medical supplies as he stood up. “There should be some open exam areas in the back. I’ll have a nurse take you to one and we-”

“Where is Spit Polish?” interrupted Lex.

“Huh?” House Call paused in the middle of donning a stethoscope, giving Lex a blank look. “Where’s who, now?”

“Spit Polish,” repeated Lex with a frown. “That pathetic little pony who tried to assassinate me.”

“Assassin-, you mean the pony in the cage?” An uncomfortable look crossed House Call’s face, though whether it was with regard to what Spit Polish had done or what had happened to him for it was beyond Lex’s power to discern. “He’s in the back. There was some concern about possible sunburn if he was left outside…” He trailed off as Lex marched right past him, apparently uninterested in anything else now that he had the condemned stallion’s location. Grimacing at what he was about to do, House Call took a step after Lex. “Sir, we really need to examine your injuries again!”

“Later,” replied Lex dismissively, not bothering to look back at the doctor as he ventured further into the field hospital.

The jury-rigged layout of the place caused him to waste almost a minute before he found Spit Polish’s cage. The pony himself was apparently still asleep, huddled on his side with his back toward the bars. Nearby was the same mare who had examined him, looking up from a clipboard as she caught sight of Lex. “Uh-”

He ignored her, instead reaching out a hoof to touch the lock on Spit Polish’s cage. Just like before it fell open instantly, and Lex telekinetically yanked the door open before looking at the doctor. “Get him out of there,” he ordered her coldly. “Now.”

She hurriedly obeyed, rushing over to the injured stallion and shaking him lightly. Groggily, Spit Polish started to stir, and as she slowly carried him out of the cage – doing her best not to let his hooves touch the ground – he looked around blearily, as though not sure where he was. Then his eyes fell upon Lex and they widened with sudden terror. “N-no!” he whimpered, struggling and falling onto his backside as he managed to slip out of the doctor’s grasp. “Oh sweet Celestia, please no!” He scooted as far away from Lex as he could, shaking his head in terror. “I’m sorry! I swear I’m sorry! I’ll never hurt anypony ever again so please, please don’t curse me! I’ll do anyth-”

“Be silent!” snarled Lex, causing Spit Polish to let out a terrified squeal, tears of fright spilling down his cheeks. Lex couldn’t help but feel another surge of spiteful satisfaction at the sight, but this time he didn’t bother indulging in it, pushing the emotion aside as he looked at the quivering unicorn. Even so, he let him stew in his fear for several seconds before speaking. “Exigent circumstances have made it so that, for the immediate future, you won’t be confined to that cage while awaiting your richly-deserved punishment. But make no mistake, this reprieve is temporary. Once I’ve finished dealing with more pressing concerns, your sentencing is next.” He punctuated his statement by slamming the cage door closed, making Spit Polish jump as the lock clicked into place of its own accord.

Ignoring the worm, Lex looked at the doctor. “See to it that he’s kept under guard. I don’t care how injured he is, this pony is a threat to everyone here and will be treated as such. Do you understand?” The mare nodded quickly, and Lex turned to leave, pausing only at the last minute to glance back at Spit Polish. A thought was all it took to cause more black crystals to grow along the unicorn’s horn, sealing his ability to use magic. They would only last for an hour, of course, but that should be more than enough time for a competent guard to be found.

I should have saved everypony the trouble and simply cursed him now, thought Lex darkly as he headed back toward the medical tent’s entrance. But he knew that it was better to wait. Until he’d found Cloudbank and the others he needed to conserve his strength in case something unexpected happened, as it so often had since he’d come here. And if things take a turn for the worse and I don’t come back, at least now that miserable wretch won’t be trapped in that cage indefinitely. Even for a would-be murderer, that was too harsh a thing to do.

Exiting the medical tent, Lex didn’t hesitate as he turned toward Vanhoover. “Let’s go.”