//------------------------------// // 265 - Better Nature // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “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.”