//------------------------------// // 525 - Keeping the Faith // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “I still can’t believe you tried to steal one of the Elements of Harmony.” Feathercap’s statement brought a smile to Cleansweep’s lips, but she couldn’t maintain the expression. “Fat lot of good it did,” she muttered, looking down at her hooves self-consciously. “All I ended up doing was getting myself captured. If Trotsworth hadn’t come and gotten me…” “Then we would have,” murmured Fiddlesticks, her voice soft so as not to wake Tiddlywinks, her baby brother sleeping next to her. “She’s right,” nodded Straightlace, his words clipped. “The Night Mare’s Knights don’t abandon one of their own, especially not to one of those, those…cowards. Tell her, Fruit Crunch.” But the colt in question didn’t say anything, lying flat in bed as he stared up at the ceiling. “Crunchy?” called Cleansweep, her voice uncertain. Being the only member of their group whom Doctor House Call had said should be moving around, she crept over to her best friend’s bedside, reaching out a hoof to give him a gentle shake. “You okay?” “Huh?” Blinking, Fruit Crunch looked over at her, his blank expression making it clear he’d been a million miles away. “Yeah, I’m fine.” “We were just saying that if Cleansweep was still captured, we’d have gone to rescue her.” The testy tone in Straightlace’s voice was impossible to miss, giving the leader of the Knights a reproachful look. “Well yeah!” shot back Fruit Crunch, sitting up so he could frown at the pegasus colt. “Of course we would have!” But his indignation only lasted for a moment before he sank back into bed, staring up at the ceiling again. “Then we all could have been useless together,” he muttered. “Just like with Starlight Glimmer.” The comment made Cleansweep fold her ears back, hating how despondent he sounded. He hadn’t been like that when he’d woken up a half-hour ago, the very last one of her friends to do so. And while Doctor House Call had said that they were all in “very rough shape” – at least before he’d called her mom and dad over to confer with them privately – Fruit Crunch’s first question, after seeing that his friends were okay, had been about what had happened with Lex and Starlight Glimmer, clearly ready to charge back out onto the battlefield if there was a need for it. But Cleansweep had been expecting that from him, and knew what to do. Having already relayed the battle’s end to the rest of the Knights, Cleansweep had launched into the incredible story of how Lex, together with Sonata, had defeated the madmare in a struggle that was easily as epic as when they’d fought the army of ghouls. Fruit Crunch’s eyes had sparkled during the story, and only Fiddlesticks giving him a pointed look – not wanting Tiddlywinks woken up – had kept him from raising a ruckus, barely restraining his whooping at the news of his hero’s victory and moaning at having missed seeing it himself. But his disappointment at not having witnessed the showdown with his own eyes had vanished at Cleansweep’s confession that she couldn’t remember what had happened while she’d been under Starlight Glimmer’s control. That had prompted Fruit Crunch to relay that portion of the battle himself, wowing his friends a detailed description of his one-on-one fight against the sinister unicorn. By the time he’d finished, they’d all been grinning and cracking jokes, visibly relieved. The bad guy had been defeated, their spirit animals would be back tomorrow morning, and everything was going to be okay. Cleansweep hated having to ruin that by telling them what had happened next. She’d kept that bit of news to herself up until then, not having the heart to tell them how Rainbow Dash had showed up out of nowhere and injured Lex severely. Unfortunately, she’d been made to do so shortly thereafter. By the time Crunchy had finished talking, Doctor House Call had been on his way out, having more patients waiting. Her mom and dad had left a few minutes later, a loud rumble from their daughter’s belly prompting them to go find some dinner for the foals (or rather, prompting her mom, who had then dragooned her husband into helping instead of practicing the new flying tips he’d recently received). Left alone with her friends, Cleansweep hadn’t been sure how to break the news, only for her to be put on the spot barely a minute later. “So, Dust Bunny, what’d Lex do to Starlight Glimmer after he kicked her flank?” Fruit Crunch had been grinning as he’d asked the question, causing Cleansweep to fight down the urge to flinch. “He and Sonata together, you mean,” corrected Fiddlesticks. “And he probably put a curse on her so she lost most of her power, just like Princess Luna.” “Do you think maybe he turned her into a different kind of pony? I mean, if he can turn an alicorn into a unicorn, I bet he can turn a unicorn into something else. That way she won’t be able to cast spells anymore.” Feathercap had rubbed his horn as he’d said that, clearly intimidated by the idea. “I don’t know,” mused Straightlace. “Remember, Sonata and Aria can cast spells without a horn. I bet Lex did something more severe, just to be on the safe side.” “Or we can just ask the pony who saw what happened,” drawled Fruit Crunch, before giving Cleansweep an excited look. “C’mon, out with it! What’d he curse her with?” When the rest of her friends had looked at her expectantly, Cleansweep had known that there was no more avoiding the topic. “Actually…” To say that her friends hadn’t taken the news well was an understatement. Feathercap had turned so pale he’d looked ready to faint, shaking all over. Straightlace had been furious, swearing that if he ever met Rainbow Dash in person he’d tear all the feathers off her wings. Fiddlesticks hadn’t said a word, just rocking her little brother while tears had run down her face in silence. But Fruit Crunch’s reaction had been the most pronounced, flatly refusing to believe that anyone, let alone a single pegasus, could have defeated his idol. Instead, he’d vaulted out of bed and strode toward the door, intent on going to see Lex for himself. He’d made it almost two steps before his injuries caught up with him, sending him crashing to the floor. Cleansweep had flown to his side immediately, but she’d needed the help of the rest of their friends – since they weren’t injured as badly as their leader – to get him back into bed, the earth colt protesting the entire time. Even then, only the fact that he’d exhausted himself in the attempt had kept him from trying again, lapsing into a sullen silence as the rest of the group tried to process what they’d just been told. His brooding had worried Cleansweep, but what he’d said just now worried her even more. “Hey, c’mon Crunchy. None of us were useless, especially you.” Smiling, she put a hoof on his shoulder. “You saved me from Starlight Glimmer. Twice.” “She’s right.” Feathercap managed a shaky smile. “You were a real hero, the way you wouldn’t stay down no matter what Starlight did. You even ate her magic staff!” But Fruit Crunch’s reaction to the compliment came with a disgusted snort. “What are you, an idiot?” He gave the unicorn colt a harsh look, making Feathercap quail before he glared at the rest of them in turn. “Do you guys really not get it? We lost! All we’ve ever done is lose!” Straightlace looked outraged. “That is not-” “Yes it is!” snapped Fruit Crunch, raising a foreleg and slamming it against the mattress underneath him in frustration. “Wake up already! Ever since we became the Night Mare’s Knights, we’ve never actually won a fight!” “Keep your voice down,” muttered Fiddlesticks, the reproach in her voice almost completely drowned by depression as she softly stroked the short fuzz of Tiddlywinks’ mane. Fruit Crunch’s lip curled, but when he spoke again his voice was softer, though no less bitter. “Think about it. The only thing we could do against that Silhouette guy was keep him busy long enough for the princesses to fix everything. When we fought the Royal Guard, they rounded us up before seeing Celestia and Luna lose made them go to pieces. And Starlight Glimmer…” He couldn’t finish, staring up at the ceiling with a dark look on his face. “We lost. Again.” Cleansweep shook her head. “That’s not fair. You know we stopped Silhouette from ruining Lex’s ritual, and we stopped those guards from getting in the way of his fight with the princesses. We did a good job then, and we did one now too. You most of all.” “Don’t start with me, Dust Bunny,” growled Fruit Crunch, still staring upward. “We gave it our best and got our flanks kicked!” “Okay, fine!” she huffed, starting to feel a little angry herself. “We got our flanks kicked! And ten minutes ago, we were all laughing about it anyway!” That earned her a glare. “Ten minutes ago we didn’t know-” “That Lex is hurt?” The way he flinched at the question made Cleansweep feel awful, knowing the pain of hearing what had happened to the pony he admired most was still raw, but she kept going. “Well guess what: he’s been hurt before, and he’s gotten over it! Feathercap told us all about what happened when he fought that three-headed monster! And I know you know what Sonata said about how injured he was when he fought that dragon! Not to mention that he could barely move after he cursed Princess Luna! You weren’t angry about how hurt he was then!” “Because it wasn’t my fault then!” The words came out of Fruit Crunch’s throat in a tortured voice, and it made Cleansweep’s heart break to hear it. “Crunchy…you aren't responsible for what happened.” But Fruit Crunch wasn’t finished. “I almost had her! I almost had her!” He couldn’t look at any of them. “Starlight was on her last legs! She was already tired and injured! If I had just been a little stronger, or a little faster, I could have beaten her! I could have beaten her! But no matter how many times I got back up she just wouldn’t go down! She wouldn’t go down and Lex had to deal with her himself! That's why he didn't have enough strength left to take out Rainbow Dash! If I'd just gotten the job done, she wouldn't have gotten the drop on him, but I didn't and now Lex…Lex is…” He couldn’t finish, and his muffled sobbing was loud in the silence that engulfed the room. “Lex is proud of you.” All five foals looked up as the door opened, a single pony stepping inside. Fruit Crunch immediately reached a hoof up to wipe his face, blinking as he looked at the newcomer, only to frown a second later. “You’re that mare from before,” he sniffled. “When we were trying to find Lex.” The mare – a pegasus with a white coat, pink mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a house made out of clouds – nodded, giving the colt a kind smile. “My name’s Cloudbank. And unless I've been misinformed, you guys are the Night Mare’s Knights.” “You’re the one who could hear Venin!” added Cleansweep. “You and that other lady attacked Starlight with that storm cloud!” “From what I’ve been told, you guys did a lot more.” Closing the door behind her, Cloudbank walked over to the side of Fruit Crunch’s bed. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but I could hear you from outside.” Putting a hoof out, she gently pushed Fruit Crunch back down so he was lying down again. “I know we don’t know each other very well yet, but trust me when I say that Lex would be proud of you.” The compliment made Fruit Crunch’s lower lip quiver, and he looked away from her with a huff. “What do you know?” “I know that you protected your teammate,” replied Cloudbank, nodding toward Cleansweep. “And I know that’s exactly what Lex would have done…because that’s what he did for the mare I love, Thermal Draft, when I almost killed her.” Several sets of eyes widened. “You almost killed your special somepony?” asked Feathercap fearfully. A pained look crossed Cloudbank’s face, but she didn’t lose her smile as she nodded. “It was a little while ago, during the battle on the docks-” “I heard about that!” interrupted Straightlace. “There was an army of sea monsters, and Lex led a group of ponies out there to hold them off while he annihilated their leader!” “Sort of,” chuckled Cloudbank. “But it was a little more complicated than that. The monster leading the others was a kraken – a squid the side of a skyscraper – and even though Lex was holding it off, it took control of me with a spell.” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I couldn’t stop myself, and it made me try to kill Lex. Thermal Draft threw herself in the way when I swung Severance-” “You used Severance?” This time it was Fiddlesticks who interrupted, a surprised look on her face. “Lex entrusted me with it,” nodded Cloudbank. “And even though I begged, it didn’t do anything to stop me from almost killing the pony most important to me. I can’t say I was surprised when I asked around just now and found out that it killed somepony else, or that I’m sorry that Lex banished it for that.” “But how did Lex protect Thermal Draft?” pressed Cleansweep, caught up in the story despite herself. “It sounds like she was the one who protected him.” Shaking her head as if to clear away bad memories, Cloudbank gave her another smile. “After the battle was over, Drafty was clinging to life by a thread. The doctors couldn’t do anything, and I was beside myself. That was when Lex came to me…and taught me about the Night Mare. When I prayed to her then, she reached out and gave me a healing spell, which saved Drafty's life. All thanks to Lex, because he couldn't bear to let anything bad happen to somepony if he could prevent it.” She gave Fruit Crunch a kind look as she brought her story to a close. “Just like you couldn't.” Cleansweep’s eyes widened then, recalling what her spirit animal had told her about why her mother couldn’t hear the serpent’s telepathic voice. “Wait, that’s why you could hear Venin! Because you’re a follower of the Night Mare like we are!” Nodding, Cloudbank stood up. “That was my guess, after I heard your group's name. And since my praying at Lex's bedside hasn't done anything to help him, and there’s still several hours until midnight, I wanted to talk to you a little more about what you all can do…”