“The truth is, when I consider all that you’ve done since you came to Vanhoover, I feel ashamed.”
Lex’s words left Sonata gaping in horrified disbelief. What was he doing?! He’d just seen everyone here clapping and cheering for him, and his reaction was to say that he was disappointed in everypony? Didn’t he want everyone to like him?
That thought was familiar, and Sonata suddenly found herself flashing back to a few days ago, after the battle at the docks. They’d all gone back to their warehouse hideout to rest and recover, but while everyone had been celebrating their incredible victory, Lex – the one who had made it all possible – had ignored them. At first no one had minded, since he was trying to figure out how to cure those ponies that had turned all icky because of that big tentacle-fish-thingy. But even after he’d finished with that he’d completely neglected everyone in favor of working on some new spell instead of acknowledging their success.
After two or three days, Sonata hadn’t been able to take it anymore, confronting Lex and trying to tell him that he was taking everyone for granted and that even though he’d done something amazing, no one would like him if he kept acting like that. But Lex had dug his hooves in. “Wanting to be liked is beneath me,” had been his response.
Even when she’d finally cajoled him into talking to everyone a little while later, he hadn’t congratulated them. Not really. Instead he’d just repeated the same insincere “you did well” line over and over instead of really appreciating how brave everyone had been. And yet he’d been shocked to find out that no one had given him the benefit of the doubt when he’d punished Fencer so harshly a little while later. The entire thing had left Sonata sad and confused and frustrated, unable to understand why Lex kept sabotaging himself.
Just like how he was right now.
“He’s ashamed?!” groaned Aria, her eyes wide. Her voice was soft enough that the words didn’t carry, but loud enough to be above a whisper, which Sonata knew meant that Lex’s spell wouldn’t relay what she was saying to him. “He’s ashamed to be saying congratulations to a bunch of doctors that’ve been helping everyone here?!” She looked at Sonata then. “Does he not realize how bad that sounds?!”
Sonata gave a helpless shrug. “You heard what he told us,” she murmured. “We’re not here to tell him what to say, just to make it sound better.”
Aria’s response came with a derisive snort. “There’s no making this sound better!”
Sonata sighed. “Maybe…maybe he’s got some sorta plan?” She desperately wanted to believe it, even though she knew this was the one area where Lex was dumber than her. “Maybe he’s just, like, setting everyone up for a big surprise. Like, they’re all thinking what we’re thinking right now, but in a second he’ll say something that’s totes the opposite of how that last bit sounded. Something like…like…”
“I feel ashamed because your actions deserve greater recognition than I’m able to confer.”
Sonata blinked, her despair suddenly giving way to confusion, then to hope. Was he…? Did he just…?
“Am I dreaming right now?” muttered Aria. “Did Lex Legis actually say something nice about someone?” She glanced at Sonata then, still looking like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Has he ever done that before?”
Slowly, a smile blossomed on Sonata’s face. “Yes. He has.”
A different memory came back to her then, of when she and Lex were on the boat taking them from Tall Tale to Vanhoover. She had been feeling down about the role she’d played during the first leg of their adventure, having broken Lex’s heart when she’d left him and then been absolutely useless while he’d fought that dragon. But Lex had insisted that she’d been vital to what had happened – calling it their victory rather than his victory – because she had bought the wrong tickets for the train, sending them to Tall Tale in the first place. “If it hadn’t been for that,” he’d said, “we’d have gone to Vanhoover and everypony in Tall Tale would have died.” The words had gone straight to her heart at the time, and even remembering them now made her chest ache in the most wonderful way. And now, from out of nowhere, he was doing it again, except this time it was for the ponies that had followed him here instead of just her…
Licking her lips, Sonata started to whisper, letting Lex’s magic carry her words straight to his ears. Just like he’d said, the words were advice on how to say what he obviously wanted to say, but she couldn’t fight down a bout of sudden nervousness that he’d ignore what she was telling him. Silently, she sent out a plea to Kara, and the Night Mare, and whoever else was listening that Lex would pay attention to her now. Please Lex! Please trust your spokespony!
Apparently, one of those gods was listening to her, as the words Lex spoke next proved that he was too.
“I had no idea that Vanhoover was so far gone before we arrived,” admitted Lex somberly. “If I had, I never would have subjected all of you to such danger by bringing you here. But despite the fact that all of you were thrust into a situation where your lives were placed in continual jeopardy, where you were forced to fight in order to survive, not one of you abandoned your duty. In the face of overwhelming need, inadequate supplies, and relentless hostility, each and every one of you persevered. You continued to minister to the wounds and illnesses of everypony as best you were able, never complaining nor asking to be sent home. And you all saved numerous lives that would otherwise have been lost.”
Spontaneous cheers erupted from the crowd then, forcing Lex to stop as the noise temporarily drowned everything else out. For her part, it was all Sonata could do not to join them, feeling so giddy that she wouldn’t have been surprised if she suddenly started floating. Lex was listening to her! He was listening and he was winning everypony over! She could practically feel the adoration pouring off of the crowd now. The fact that it was all directed at him and not her was utterly unimportant; seeing the stallion she loved finally getting the recognition he deserved was more intoxicating than any concert or performance or show that Sonata had participated in during her millennium on Earth, leaving her feeling like she was about to swoon.
Aria was quite clearly feeling the effect also, as a glance to the side showed Sonata that her sister was smiling, for once without any sort of sneer or mocking edge to her grin. It was enough to make Sonata wish that Nosey was there with them, so they could all share in Lex’s long-overdue reward for everything he’d done. But even her bestie’s absence wasn’t enough to bring her down, leaving Sonata to revel in how she was feeling. A second later she heard Aria whisper more guidance to Lex, smiling as she waited for him to run with it.
He didn’t make her wait long, starting once the crowd’s cheering began to die down. “Some of you are here because I conscripted you,” he began again. “Others of you are here because you volunteered to be. All of you, however, were promised compensation for your efforts before you embarked on this voyage. Looking back, I find that promise mortifying now, because although I fully intend to keep it, I have no choice but to acknowledge how utterly inadequate it is in light of everything you’ve done.”
His gaze swept over the assembled doctors then, and Sonata didn’t miss how his eyes stayed on House Call a second longer than the others. “You all deserve more than a bag of bits for what you’ve gone through,” he said after he’d looked at all of them, his expression remorseful. “And you deserve more than a short speech from me for all that you’ve done. But these things, wholly inadequate, are all I can give you. Even so, I hope that you’ll continue to endeavor to perform so admirably for the sake of your fellow ponies.”
This time the crowd’s reaction was more subdued, not for a lack of enthusiasm, but out of respect for the gravity of Lex’s feelings. It was for that same reason that Sonata struggled to rein in her grin, which was currently so wide that it was making her cheeks hurt. But she forced herself to do it, not wanting anything to ruin this. “Hoof-bump them,” she whispered.
Lex turned his head just enough to glance back at her. “What?”
“Hoof-bump them,” she insisted. “Or shake hooves! Or whatever! You, like, totes did a super-awesome job wrapping that up, but now you have to bring it to a close!” When he didn’t respond, she kept going, sensing his reluctance. “It’ll just take a second for each of them, I promise! They’ll shake your hoof, maybe say something, and head back. You don’t even have to reply! You can just, like, nod or grunt at them or something and that’ll be good enough! Trust me!”
For a moment he looked like he wasn’t, but to Sonata’s profound relief he stepped down from the platform and moved toward the assemblage of medical ponies, stopping a few paces from them and holding out a hoof toward them. Sure enough, the next minute played out exactly as Sonata had predicted, with each pony moving forward to shake or bump his hoof before going back to the crowd, some taking a moment to say something to Lex, which he answered with a stiff nod each time. Several times she caught him glancing at her, clearly baffled by her having been able to guess how things would go. The sight made her giggle.
“Okay,” whispered Aria, looking equally pleased, “now let’s do that again for the other ponies who’ve helped out.”
Both mares heard Lex’s sigh, but he didn’t protest as he climbed back onto the station platform and faced the crowd again.
The next hour or so was filled with Lex calling out various groups of ponies for their achievements and contributions. The ponies who had fought with them at the docks were mentioned. So was River, and by extension the ponies who worked for her, for the assets she’d contributed to recovery effort. So was Fencer and her group, currently absent as part of their task to bring critically ill ponies to Canterlot for treatment.
In each case, Lex managed to phrase their achievements in terms of failure. Their triumphs were all highlighted in the context of the tragedies that they’d endured, all while he excoriated himself for not having been able to do more to protect and provide for them. Sonata knew that if she and Aria hadn’t been there to help, his words would have come across as scornful and condescending rather than poignant and appreciative.
Finally, they came to the last group to be lauded. At Aria’s suggestion, that was going to be those foals that called themselves the Night Mare’s Knights, since that way Lex would be able to get in a few more good words about his goddess, just to be safe. After that, Sonata reminded herself, they’d fill everypony in about what had happened with Block Party, and Lex’s side of the story about that fight with the princesses, and then maybe a little Q&A, and then they’d be done! And it’s all because of my super-brilliant idea! I’ve finally got this whole spokespony thing down! Sonata couldn’t help but preen a little, already thinking about how she’d want Lex to thank her after they were done. So long as there aren’t any more surprises out of right field, we’re home free!
It would, she knew, be just like with Tall Tale, where everypony had cheered for Lex after he’d become mayor. The memory was still quite a happy one, remembering how Ribbon Cutter had announced that he’d take over, leaving everypony celebrating. She could almost see the redheaded mare now…in fact, she could see her again now, approaching the back of the crowd with several familiar-looking ponies, including those kids!
It took Sonata a moment to realize that Lex must have seen her too, since he’d fallen silent, staring at Ribbon. The rest of the crowd was starting to murmur in confusion, several ponies glancing behind them to see what Lex was looking at. The sight made Sonata bite her lip, trying to figure out what was going on that Ribbon was suddenly here. Hadn’t Lex left her back in charge in Tall Tale?
So much for no more surprises.