//------------------------------// // 24 - Talking Shop // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “My name is Sonata Dusk, and this is Fireflower.” Sonata gestured to herself and her companion in turn. “We’d like to talk to you about the evacuation plan for Tall Tale.” Ribbon Cutter frowned. “Before we get started…I don’t mean to be rude, but who exactly are you?” Sonata blinked in confusion at the question, shooting an inquisitive gaze at Fireflower, who shook his head to signal that he didn’t understand either. “Er, I just said: my name’s Sonata, and he-” “I got that.” Ribbon cut Sonata off, making a sharp gesture with one hoof. “I mean, who are you in this city? I’ve lived here all of my life, and I’ve been meeting with all of the important ponies in Tall Tale, and I don’t recognize either one of you.” “Oh, um…” Sonata paused for a long moment, trying to think of a good answer. What would make them sound like bigshots that could crash a meeting with a mayor during an emergency? Glancing back and forth between Sonata, who was hemming and hawing, and the mayor, whose frown was becoming more pronounced, Fireflower jumped in. “We’re travelers,” he admitted. “We just came into Tall Tale earlier today. But it’s really important that we speak to you. We have information about what’s going on that you haven’t heard.” That was enough to make Ribbon raise an eyebrow, and she leaned back in her chair, putting her fore-hooves together thoughtfully. “Alright, I’m listening.” “Great!” piped up Sonata, glad that she didn’t have to try and come up with a story. “I was wondering, can you tell us how you came up with the evacuation plan that you were talking about earlier this morning?” An awkward pause fell as Ribbon blinked, tilting her head. “I thought you said that you had information for me?” “We do!” insisted Sonata. “We just need you to tell us how you came up with the plan to evacuate the city first!” Ribbon glanced at Fireflower, pausing just long enough to give him a chance to jump in with any additional information about why she had to explain herself before they’d tell her what was so important. When he didn’t, she sighed before speaking. “As I said during my address, the plan was formed as a joint venture between myself and several other parties with a strong vested interest in the disposition of Tall Tale and its ponies.” Fireflower looked at Sonata out of the corner of his eyes as the mayor spoke, wondering if she was detecting more of whatever had tipped her off that she was enchanted. For her part, Sonata had leaned forward, and was staring at the mayor with a thoughtful look. “Like, who were these other parties? Can you tell us more about them?” “With all due respect, I’d rather not.” “How come?” Fireflower had no idea if this was the angle that Sonata wanted to pursue, but if her expression was any indication, they needed to keep the mayor talking about this. Ribbon sighed. “Because, ultimately, I’m the one who signed off on this idea. While a lot of very dedicated individuals, with a deep and abiding love for this city, were involved, I was the one who made the call. If there’s a problem, I want to be the one who takes responsibility for it, instead of having things dissolve into a blame-game among everypony that tried to help out.” “That’s, like, totes understandable,” replied Sonata. “But it’s super important that we know who helped you think this idea up.” She was more sure of it now than ever; someone had put a spell on the mayor. It was subtle, and anyone else would probably have missed it, but Sonata had been one of the Sirens, creatures for whom enchanting had been as natural as speaking. She could see the tell-tale clues that popped up whenever the mayor talked about the “other parties” that had taken part in the decision to evacuate the city. She could see how, when that topic came up, her voice flattened ever so slightly, or her eyes would cease focusing on them for just an instant. One of those people had placed the mayor under a spell. She was sure of it. “Alright, that does it.” Ribbon stood up, now glaring at the two openly. “You said you had something important to tell me about what’s going on. Either do it right now or get out of my office.” Fireflower shot another look at Sonata, clearly asking her for direction. Sonata’s response was to bite her lip, not sure what the next move should be. She couldn’t help but realize that there was a total irony in her, who had spent centuries ensorcelling people, not being sure if it was a good idea to tell someone that they were under an enchantment. “You see-” “The spiders are innocent!” Sonata’s head snapped around at Fireflower’s outburst, her eyes wide. What was Fireflower doing?! Hadn’t she told him that this wasn’t a good idea?! Sonata’s incredulity was nothing compared to Ribbon’s, who was gazing at him in flat disbelief. “Are you kidding me? They’ve attacked our citizens multiple times now, without provocation! Several ponies have been seriously hurt, and everypony’s on edge! How could they possibly be innocent?!” “They’re under an enchantment!” insisted Fireflower. “They’re not fully in control of their actions!” “That’s the most cockamamie thing I’ve ever heard!” snorted Ribbon. “First of all, even if that were true, that doesn’t make them any less of a menace. Second of all, how could you possibly know that? And third, who would do something like that anyway?” “‘Cockamamie’?” echoed Sonata quietly. How much of an old lady was this mare? “A big green dragon, that’s who!” Fireflower could feel himself becoming agitated. He knew he was going further than Sonata had advised him, but he couldn’t help it. This was their chance to maybe do something to help his family; he couldn’t let it go without trying to do something! “I’m sure that awful monster is making them do this!” “That’s not true!” snapped Ribbon, slamming a hoof down on her desk. “They wouldn’t do something like that!” For a moment, silence reigned, and then Ribbon realized what she said. Eyes widening, she put a hoof over her mouth, as though she could un-speak the words. Turning slightly pale, she gulped before trying to regain her composure. “I mean…obviously what I meant to say was, um…” “Y-you know…” Fireflower felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “You know about the dragon. You’re covering for it…” Shaking her head, Ribbon refused to make eye contact. “I’m sorry, I’m going to need you to leave now.” Walking out from behind her desk, she started towards the doors, clearly intent on showing them out. “Lucy!” she called. “Hold on!” Fireflower jumped up, not willing to let this go so easily. “You’re going to tell us-” He stopped as Sonata held out a hoof in front of him. “She won’t. She can’t. That’s what the enchantment is doing; she thinks that dragon is her very best friend.” “What are you talking about?” Ribbon frowned as she glanced between them and the door, clearly wondering when whomever she’d called would arrive. Both of her guests ignored her. “So then, what do we do now?” asked Fireflower. “Leave it to me,” said Sonata, before taking a step towards Ribbon. The other mare opened her mouth, but paused as Sonata started to gesture and chant in an unknown language. It took her only a few seconds to finish, and as she did the mayor’s expression changed. Just like the waiter at the restaurant that morning, her features slowly softened, as though she was suddenly seeing Sonata in an entirely new light…which she was. “Now,” said Sonata in her nicest voice. “We both just want to help. So why don’t we sit down and try and work things out, ‘kay?” A second later, the door opened, and another mare stepped in. A pegasus, she was younger than the mayor, looking about Fireflower’s age. Her coat was a light orange, with her mane and tail being a rich chestnut color. On each flank was a cutie mark depicting a goose with a dreamy-looking smile on its face. Glancing between the mayor and the other two, she turned an inquisitive gaze to the former. “You called, Miss Mayor?” “Er, yes…” Ribbon paused for a moment, caught between what she’d been about to do and what she now felt. Uncertain, she pivoted to try and buy herself a bit more time to figure things out. “Ah, please allow me to introduce my secretary, Lucy Goosey. Lucy, these are Sonata Dusk and Fireflower, they’re here to, um…” “We’re consultants!” smiled Sonata. She felt a little bad about having to use her magic on a second pony in one day, but it was totally necessary! “We’re helping the mayor out with the plan to evacuate the city.” “Oh. Oh my.” Lucy produced a planner and flipped through it. “I don’t recall making an appointment for anypony with those names for a consultation.” She turned a distraught gaze to Ribbon. “Did I mess up again?” “No, not at all,” Ribbon reassured her with a smile. “I brought them in for an unscheduled meeting at the last minute. That’s why I called you. I need you to push my remaining appointments. Oh, and order some lunch for us.” She looked over at her guests. “What would you two like?” “Whatever you’re having is fine with us, right?” Sonata elbowed Fireflower, who nodded wordlessly. This was the second time he’d actually seen what an enchantment could actually do, and it was even more awe-inspiring – and even somewhat frightening – than the first time. “Alright then, three salads with all the trimmings.” Lucy nodded as she wrote their orders down. “Okay, and, um, do you want hay fries with those?” Ribbon closed her eyes for a moment, the long-suffering look that passed across her face making it clear that this sort of question wasn’t out of the ordinary. “No, Lucy, we don’t want fries with a salad.” “No fries, gotcha.” Pausing to write that down, Lucy looked up again. “What about cheese? Some salads have cheese on them.” “Those would be trimmings, so yes.” Ribbon’s smile was tight as she began to nudge her secretary back out the door. Lucy nodded, writing furiously as she was guided out of the room. “And to drink?” “Surprise us,” replied Ribbon curtly as she finally pushed her out of the door, closing it sharply. Letting out a sigh, she turned back to Sonata and Fireflower. “You’ll have to forgive her. She’s not going to win any awards for secretary of the year, but she tries hard.” “It’s alright.” Sonata waved a hoof as though to dismiss Ribbon’s concerns. “It’s really nice of you to treat us to lunch.” “No, no, it’s the least I can do for how rude I was earlier,” protested Ribbon as she returned to her desk. “I didn’t realize you knew about who had actually sponsored this plan, otherwise I would have been a lot more solicitous when you showed up.” Smiling more broadly now, she spread her forelegs in a welcoming gesture. “Let’s start over again, like you said. What would you like to know?”