115 - Setting a Trap
Lex trotted briskly back to the shelter, refusing to break into a run despite Cozy’s repeated urgings that he hurry up.
As the building came into view, he started to walk in – Cozy having already darted ahead to go retrieve Fencer – and stopped dead, momentarily forgetting about everything else. It wasn’t surprising that the party everypony else had thrown was still going on. Nor was it unexpected that Sonata would contribute to the festivities by singing; she had been quite open about that. Even the fact that she was dancing wasn’t too surprising, since he’d seen her do so before when she got swept up in performing for an audience. But this was…!
“So stay with me tonight, keep me close and hold me tight,” she sang, her voice slightly huskier than normal as she carried the melody perfectly. With her eyes closed and her expression rapturous, the sight of her was captivating, and virtually all eyes were glued to her. “If you miss me baby, kiss me baby, make me feel alright.” Without missing a beat, she slowly rose onto her hind legs, her hips swaying sensually as she languidly drew her hooves up over her body before raising them above her head, tilting her neck back just enough to make it look like she was offering herself. “So stay with me tonight, keep me close and hold me tight.” Slowly her eyes opened, looking downward as she tilted her head forward and crossed her forelegs over her chest, a shy smile completing her transition from amorous to demure. “I need your love, sent from above, I’m yours without a fight.”
Lex could only stare, open-mouthed. Desire for her, jealousy that everyone else got to see her like this, and possessive pride that she was his girlfriend all warred for control of him. He was still struggling to put his thoughts in order when he felt a hoof cuff him across the shoulder. Dazedly turning his head, he saw Cozy and Fencer looking at him, the former with an impatient scowl while the latter wore a neutral expression. “If you’re finished drooling, maybe we could get started looking for my missing husband?” snapped Cozy.
Feeling his face heat up, Lex pointed towards the door to the larger warehouse. “Go outside. I’ll be there in a moment.” Cozy looked ready to argue, but Lex cut her off before she could. “Do it!” She paused for a moment to give him a dark look before she obeyed. Fencer likewise lingered, and although her face didn’t change Lex had the distinct impression that she was evaluating him, though for what purpose he couldn’t begin to guess. Then she followed Cozy.
For his part, Lex closed his eyes and took a moment to collect himself. Once he was sure that he could focus, he opened them again and moved towards the crowd that had surrounded whatever makeshift stage that Sonata was on. Catching sight of a familiar pony, he made his way over to them. “C. Shells,” he started without preamble. “When Sonata finishes this song, tell her I want to see her out in the warehouse.”
She shot him back a knowing grin, nodding. “I don’t blame you. Seeing her like that makes me want to spend some alone time with her, and I prefer stallions!”
“Huh?” Lex frowned, not understanding what she meant. Deciding that it didn’t matter, he turned away and headed outside, though not before casting one last look back at where Sonata was dancing. Just the sight made his heartbeat quicken, and he suddenly decided that they’d need to spend tonight apart from everypony else, preferably by using a spell to give them some privacy so they…they…
Suddenly realizing what C. Shells thought his intentions had been, Lex spun around, wanting to set the record straight. But she was already gone, lost within the shifting crowd of ponies that were beguiled by Sonata’s charm. Sighing at the prospect of having been embarrassed twice in as many minutes, Lex folded his ears back as he slunk through the door.
“Finally!” Cozy practically leapt at him as he exited the shelter. “Now can we please get going?!”
“Not yet,” answered Lex with a glare. Unlike a few days ago, however, the sight didn’t cow her into submission. Instead, she opened her mouth to argue, but again Lex beat her to the punch, turning to look at Fencer. “First, you tell me what you know.”
Fencer seemed to have expected that, because she answered immediately. “Cozy here was asking us if we’d seen a crystal stallion in the last few days. I told her that we had, near the other end of the pier.” She shrugged, as though the matter didn’t concern her. “I don’t know if that’s him or not, but he’s the only one we’ve seen before you brought us here, so it probably is.”
Lex paused as he digested that, taking a moment to look Fencer over as he did so. Slightly taller than himself, she was thin to the point of being lanky. Her coat was a brilliant vermillion, which contrasted sharply with grayish cerulean of her mane and tail. Clad in the dirty remnants of what might have once been a dress, her cutie mark was hidden from view…much like the details of the story she’d just told them. “Where exactly did you see him? How many days ago was it?”
“She can tell us on the way there!” interjected Cozy. “Come on!”
“No. Not yet.” Lex’s response was adamant, and caused Cozy to throw her hooves in the air in frustration.
“What is wrong with you?! You go on about wanting to help ponies, but now-”
“Enough!” snarled Lex, his eyes flashing green and purple as he looked at Cozy, causing her to blanch. Displays of dark magic were apparently still enough to frighten her. “One more word out of you and I’ll silence you again!” He waited a moment to see if she was going to be foolish enough to push him further, but she had apparently realized that she was going too far, since she looked away unhappily. Turning back to Fencer, Lex restated his earlier questions. “Exactly where and when did you see him, specifically?”
“It was three days ago, maybe four. He was near one of the warehouses at the other end of the pier when we saw him.” That he was demanding more details didn’t seem to concern Fencer, supplying answers smoothly. “We tried to talk to him, but he ran away when we did.”
“He ran away from you? How come?” Cozy seemed to have forgotten Lex’s warning, but he didn’t castigate her. He was still keenly aware that Fencer’s group had initially presented themselves as being survivors in need of help, only to reveal themselves as raiders as soon as they thought they had the advantage. He wasn’t about to blindly trust in whatever she said, and if Cozy started looking for inconsistencies in her story too then so much the better.
“I don’t know,” answered Fencer with another shrug. “Maybe he had some bad experiences with some other ponies? We tried to look for him, but it was no good.”
“Did he look hurt?” The worry was audible in Cozy’s voice.
Fencer’s only answer was another shrug. “We just saw him for a moment before he ran off. His clothes looked pretty ragged, I guess; some rips in his cloak and his pants looked pretty dirty, but that’s how it is for everypony that’s still here.” She moved a hoof to indicate her rumpled dress.
“Even if you only saw him for an instant, you should at least have seen the color of his coat,” said Lex, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“Green.” Fencer didn’t look the least bit rattled as she replied.
“And his mane and tail?” he pressed.
“Also green, but darker.”
“And his cutie mark?”
“Two heart-shaped pillows.”
“Look, those are all the right answers,” whined Cozy, her voice taking on a pleading tone as she looked at Lex. “I’m begging you, can we go look for him now?”
“We’ll go as soon as she tells us the truth.” Lex didn’t take his eyes off of Fencer as he answered Cozy, his voice suddenly much colder. His horn glowed as he pulled Severance from his back, setting it aloft. “If she runs or tries to use magic, subdue her. Non-lethally,” he instructed it. The weapon immediately floated around behind Fencer, who had tensed at the sudden shift in the conversation. For his part, Lex moved to Cozy’s side and forced her to step away from the other mare.
“What are you talking about?!” Cozy sounded near-hysterical, and only reluctantly let Lex move her back. “She got everything right!”
“I’m telling the truth,” insisted Fencer, her voice still level even as she tried to move away from Lex and Severance both. The scythe swung around to cut her off, preventing her from gaining any distance.
“That you got everything right is how I know you’re not telling the truth,” insisted Lex. “After all, if you only saw him for a few moments before he ran away, and you said he was wearing pants and a cloak, then how did you see what his cutie mark was?”
Fencer opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, her jaw tightening. Off to the side, Cozy looked shocked, her jaw hanging slack as she realized what Lex had been getting at. “But…but she knew all those things…she knew the color of his coat and his mane and tail…even his cutie mark! She MUST have seen him!” Her eyes shimmered as she took a step closer to Fencer. “You know where he is, right?! Please, PLEASE tell me!”
Fencer was quiet for a long moment. Her eyes moved from Cozy, to Severance, and finally to Lex. Finally, she spoke up. “If I do, what’s in it for me?”
Cozy looked like she’d been slapped, but Lex was less surprised. He still remembered the expression on her face when she thought she had him hostage. This was not a pony that would be moved by the thought of someone else being in trouble. “Let me tell you what’s going to happen.” There was a dangerous tone in his voice as he spoke. “You’re going to tell us everything you know about Pillowcase, and then you’re going to tell us what you hoped to accomplish by lying about him. Then, once I’m satisfied that you’ve surrendered all the relevant information that you have, I’ll decide what to do with you. The only choice you have in the matter is whether you turn over your information willingly, or if we extract it from you.”
His speech was more than enough to intimidate Cozy, who backed away from him with a look of controlled fear, but Fencer was apparently made of sterner stuff. Her response was to snort and roll her eyes. “Oh please. Before, when we were threatening to kill you and your friends, the worst thing you did was make a tiny tornado to knock us around. After that, you let us in here with just a talking-to.” The corners of her lips turned up in a mocking smirk. “So somehow I doubt you have what it takes to torture me for information.”
“Nopony said anything about torture,” replied Lex with a smirk of his own. “I’ve got somepony who’ll make you want to tell us everything you know.”
As if on cue, the door to the shelter opened and Sonata came trotting out. “Hey! C. Shells said you wanted to talk to me?” Apparently not noticing the atmosphere, she went right up to Lex and nuzzled him. “Does this have anything to do with seeing my show just now?” she asked, grinning.
“No…though I do want to talk to you about that later,” he admitted, causing her smile to widen. “But right now, there’s something else I need you to do.” He pointed a hoof at Fencer. “This mare has information about Cozy’s missing husband, and is refusing to share it.”
Sonata’s eyebrows went up. “For realsies? How come?”
“That’s what I want you to find out,” replied Lex. “Use your magic and make her talk.”
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Fencer is about to discover that she's WAY out of her CR...
Its a good thing Sonata is so nice, Aria doesnt have to ask questions, nowt with that kind of grip, and currently Lexx isnt being threatened, otherwise Sonata would just be like Beetlejuice and slurp all that juicy info out of her brain.
Who needs intimidate when you've got Charm Person?
Looks like Fencer underestimated Lex and played her cards too soon. Guess she was counting on Cozy blindly rushing into things and expected Lex to follow along without any issue.
Now to see what she spills and how Lex can use it to his advantage...oh wait, I caught up already.
Well, well, well, RIP Fencer's plan.
This is gonna be quite interesting...
8237486 Given that even mid-level D&D/Pathfinder characters are going to be so much stronger than 95+% of what you'll meet in Equestria, it's not unexpected that she's biting off more than she can chew. Fencer is presenting herself as being a tough pony, and maybe she is, but I'd be shocked if she was, in Pathfinder terms, 3rd level or higher.
8237577 Sonata is charming in more ways than one (so long as you stay on her good side).
8238111 That really does sum it up quite nicely.
8238816 Now to find out what she was up to (hopefully).
8238383 Fencer seems to be quite a canny pony so far. She was able to get an accurate read on Lex after seeing him fight, and was probably presuming that he'd go running out at the first indication that there was another survivor nearby, especially with Cozy being so frantic. Unfortunately for her, he's not that impulsive, and was able to find a hole in her story.
Now all that's left is to figure out what her real agenda was...and what she really knows about Pillowcase.
Yeah, the more details about a memory, the more likely it is to be a lie. Now, while that isn't true all the time, it is a good indicator.
8382987 I'm not sure I agree, though I understand the general point you're making.