//------------------------------// // 247 - Abandonment Issues // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “GET LOST!” The scream pierced the night, waking Aria, Cozy, and Aisle immediately. The two ponies sprang to their hooves before they’d fully woken, the lessons they’d learned from Vanhoover’s fall immediately kicking in. “What’s happening?!” yelled Aisle, his voice one of controlled panic. “Where did that come from?!” “It was…I think it was from the camp,” muttered Cozy, turning her eyes back toward the distant lights that marked where they were trying to get away from. She frowned as she peered at them, trying to see what could have caused somepony to yell so loud, but they were too far away to make out anything with any certainty… “I think I see movement, but-” “That was Sonata’s voice,” interrupted Aria, and the frown in her whisper was audible. Aisle glanced at her. Although his eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, and the curtain of stars overhead provided some dim illumination, he could only barely make her out despite being only a few feet away from her. “Do you think she’s somewhere nearby?” he asked, keeping his voice low in case Lex’s girlfriend was closing in on them, knowing that if she was then Lex himself wouldn’t be far behind. “Is she looking for us?” “If she was looking for us I don’t think she’d be screaming ‘get lost’ like that,” replied Cozy, though she also kept her voice low just in case. “Even so, I think we sh-” “Both of you, shut up!” snapped Aria, keeping her eyes trained on the distant lights from the camp. Neither pony argued with her, holding still and listening for any follow-up sounds. After several seconds, Cozy let out a slow breath as her heart rate started to return to normal. “Okay, whatever that was I don’t think it’s going to happen again.” The words had barely left her mouth when Sonata’s voice rang out again, this time in a wordless shout, the sound quite clearly emanating from the distant camp. “She sounds angry,” muttered Aisle. “Did she sound angry to you guys?” “Yes,” murmured Cozy, hoping the darkness hid the small smile on her face. “She sounds like she’s fighting with someone.” She didn’t bother to say who, knowing that if Sonata was so upset that she was yelling that loudly, then it could only be with one pony. Lashtada willing, she’s finally realized that Lex doesn’t truly love her, she prayed silently, a sense of hope rushing through her as she reached up to touch her holy symbol. Maybe I got through to her, there at the end. “She is fighting with someone…” Unlike the crystal mare, Aria had a very different take on what her sister’s yelling meant. She knew that in order for Sonata’s voice to cross such a long distance so clearly, it had to be magically enhanced to a significant degree. By itself that wouldn’t have meant anything to Aria, but she’d seen Sonata use a spell to increase the power of her voice in just such a manner a few days ago, when the little ditz had actually managed to punch Monitor’s ticket. But if that was the case, then she was almost certainly in another dangerous battle right now. Which means I got out of there just in time, Aria decided. The last thing she wanted was to be dragged into another life-or-death fight. Between the sahuagin and then Sonata’s stick-in-the-mud boyfriend, she’d had enough of those. Besides, this was what that little ingrate deserved. All that time on Earth we spent having to put up with your idiocy, and when we got to that Everglow place you ran out on us at the first sign of things getting tough. Let’s see how YOU like it, she thought bitterly. “I think we should get moving.” Aisle’s voice cut into her thoughts, and for a split-second Aria was grateful for the distraction. “We’re not totally sure what’s happening, so we should change locations just to be extra safe, don’t you think?” “I agree.” Cozy felt her way over to where Pillow’s body was, grunting as she took the rope in her mouth. “If there is something going on, we don’t want to get caught up in it.” “Whatever,” snorted Aria. For some reason the idea of ditching Sonata the way that little imbecile had done to her and Adagio wasn’t as gratifying as she’d expected, and that was upsetting her. “Let’s find a farm someplace, get some food, and hurry up and get my voice fixed.” She could only just make out her traveling companions in the gloom, but that was enough to let her see Cozy starting to drag her husband’s body along, Aisle moving alongside her supportively. Aria rolled her eyes at the sight, before moving to pull herself forward as well, already feeling her tail starting to ache as it rubbed against the coarse and uneven ground. The familiar pain made her grit her teeth, her mood turning even fouler. I hope whatever she’s fighting rips her throat out without killing her, she thought darkly. I hope she can’t talk or sing or do anything except whisper, and that I can meet her again after Princess Whatshername fixes me up so I can rub it in her f- “SCRAM!” Sonata’s third scream brought the entire group to a halt, looking backward again. “Wow, something’s really got her cheesed off,” murmured Aisle uncomfortably. “Yeah, well, whatever it is must be tough if she’s using that much attack magic on it,” snorted Aria. “All the more reason to get out of here as fast as we can.” “Hang on, attack magic?” Cozy took a step toward Aria, peering at the Siren as best she could in the lightlessness. “Isn’t she just yelling really loud?” “What are you, some kind of an idiot?” scoffed Aria. “She’s using magic to turn her voice into a weapon. How else did you think it would sound so loud from so far away?” “I thought she just had really good lungs,” mumbled Aisle. “Wait…so you’re saying she’s in trouble?” Cozy’s voice was suddenly wracked with uncertainty, a wave of guilt sweeping over her. What if finding out that Lex never cared about her made Sonata attack him? The thought was chilling; Lex had never attacked another pony that Cozy had seen…except for when he was attacked first, like with that Spit Polish guy. In that case, Lex hadn’t hesitated to cut loose, practically torturing the offending stallion in front of everyone. That meant that if Sonata had, in a fit of heartbreak, attacked Lex, then he wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate…and Cozy had little doubt who would win a fight between those two. He’s going to make her suffer, and it’ll be because of me! she realized, her heart giving a lurch as she fully comprehended just how badly she’d erred. Lashtada forgive me, this is my fault! Cozy took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but it was no good. She knew that she was making assumptions, knew that she didn’t have all the facts, but this was still the most likely scenario. There simply wasn’t anyone else in camp that could drive Sonata to use three attack spells like that, and with how Cozy had made her case about Lex’s cold heart just a few hours ago, what other explanation was there? Which meant that there was an extremely high chance that Sonata was in trouble, because of her! “We have to go back!” “Wait, we do?” croaked Aisle, flattening his ears at Cozy’s proclamation. “We are not going back!” snarled Aria. “We’re going to the Crystal Kingdom or whatever it’s called and fixing my voice!” “What are-, she’s your sister and she needs help!” Cozy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Don’t you care?!” Aria blew up then, lashing out with a hoof and only barely missing striking Cozy’s head. “Why should I?! Why should I?! She doesn’t care about me! She doesn’t care about how hard I had to struggle to survive when I was with the sahuagin! She doesn’t care about how I can’t sing or dance or do anything except whisper like this and drag myself everywhere all the time! She doesn’t care that all of this happened to me because she abandoned us in the first place! So why should I care about her?!” For a long moment, neither pony replied to her outburst. Finally, Cozy went back to where Pillowcase’s body was, picking up the rope again. “If that’s how you really feel, then maybe it’s better if you don’t see Princess Cadance after all,” she said quietly before beginning to turn around, headed back towards the camp. It took a second for Aria to properly process what Cozy had just told her, but when she did Aria’s jaw dropped, her blood turning to ice water in her veins. My voice…! She grit her teeth so hard then that they almost cracked, starting to breathe heavier. The thought that she had just lost her chance to regain her voice was more than she could bear, and Aria found herself calling an attack spell to mind as she looked at the dark shape that was Cozy. She didn’t have a chance as another shape moved in front of her, dimly recognizing it as being Aisle. “Listen,” he gulped, quite clearly trying to marshal what little courage he possessed. “We talked to Sonata before, back when we were all hiding in that warehouse, and she told us about how she left you guys…” He faltered then, but managed to rally a second later. “What she did, the way she just up and walked away from you, it was thoughtless, and selfish, and hurtful. But she wasn’t trying to be cruel. She just wanted to stop being picked on all the time.” “Don’t you dare say that she’s the victim here,” snarled Aria. “Don’t you dare!” “I’m not,” Aisle assured her. “I’m just saying…” He sighed then, putting a hoof to his head for a moment before trying again. “She’s your sister, Aria. She’s your sister and she’s in trouble. Do you really want to do the same thing to her that she did to you, knowing how much it hurts?” “It’s because it hurts that I want to do that to her!” She would have screamed if she could, slamming a hoof on the ground in impotent rage. “I want her to know how awful it feels! It's what she deserves!” She turned toward Cozy then, her whispers almost choked on her rage. "I'm the one who needs your help! Me! Not her! Me!" Cozy didn't answer, and neither did Aisle except to shake his head – giving her what might have been a pitying look – before turning and walking away from her, headed toward Cozy's side. The sight just made Aria's rage flare even higher. How dare you?! How dare you do this to me?! I'm better than her AND I'LL PROVE IT! She was almost too angry to cast a spell, but somehow she found it within herself to gesture and chant, spitting out the words to another flight spell and rising up into the air before casting a second spell, this one designed to increase her speed. With that done, she flew toward the camp with all possible haste, not bothering to give a backward glance at the pair of ponies she'd left behind. Seething, she readied an attack spell for when she arrived, intent on barbecuing whoever or whatever Sonata was fighting. I'll show them! I'LL SHOW THEM! They want to act like she's so great?! Well, if I go back there and save her now, then they'll HAVE to admit that I'm more deserving than she is! I'll rub their noses in it and make them apologize and then they'll HAVE to help me get my voice back! Or so help me I'LL KILL THEM BOTH! Intent on proving her superiority, Aria sped toward the camp, determined to save her sister out of spite.