169 - The Bottom of Sadness
Cozy rounded the medical tent only to stop and stare at the sight that awaited her.
She’d heard what sounded like a crowd gathering when she’d been praying for death, but hadn’t paid it any mind, too intent on begging Lashtada to let her painlessly leave this life. She’d simply assumed that it was more of the camp ponies showing up to receive medical treatment – though, now that she thought about it, the medical tent had been rather empty – or have more food distributed to them. I guess I was half-right, she thought to herself as she took in the scene before her.
Long tables, each of them piled high with food, had appeared out of nowhere. Gathered around them were hundreds upon hundreds of ponies, all talking and laughing as they ate their fill. More than a few had apparently already finished, and were loitering in groups ranging from two or three to several dozen. While some of these ponies were simply conversing, others appeared to be in a more celebratory mood, having set up some makeshift lawn games that were already going in full swing. Nearby, a small group of ponies were singing “Sunshine Beyond the Mountains,” and several couples were slowly dancing in time with the melody. The sight made Cozy’s heart ache, and she was suddenly very cognizant of the pouch on her back, still containing the syringe full of some unknown drug.
The sensation reminded her why she’d come out here in the first place, and she started to trudge towards the tables. Everypony in the camp looked like they were here, which meant that Aisle probably was too. I want to see him again… She scanned the assembly as she made her way closer to it, but didn’t see the pony she was looking for anywhere. Biting her lip, she turned to the nearest pony, a unicorn mare who was conversing with two other ponies. “Excuse me…”
The mare turned to look at her. “Yes, what is-, oh wow!” Her eyes widened as her mouth fell open, staring at Cozy for a second before she came back to herself, covering her mouth with one hoof. “Oh, I’m so sorry, dear! That was incredibly rude of me! It’s just…I’ve never seen a crystal pony before. I mean, I’ve heard all about the Crystal Empire and everything but…wow!”
Slightly nonplussed, Cozy somehow managed to smile awkwardly. “W-well, um, here I am…”
The unicorn mare tittered, as though Cozy had made a joke. Behind her, her two friends – an earth pony and a pegasus – smirked lightly, though Cozy wasn’t sure if they were laughing at her or their friend. “Oh, you are just a peach!” smiled the mare. “What can I do for you, dear?”
“I’m looking for a friend of mine. His name’s Produce Aisle. He’s an earth stallion, green coat, brown mane and tail. His cutie mark is a scale weighing a cabbage.” She let her eyes wander over the three as she spoke, hoping she’d see recognition cross their faces.
To her disappointment, they simply glanced at each other and shrugged, shaking their heads lightly. “I’m sorry, dear,” answered the unicorn mare, a contrite look crossing her face. “We haven’t seen anypony like that.”
“Oh…” Cozy couldn’t help but look down, her ears folding back in discouragement. She meant to say goodbye then, but when she opened her mouth what came out was, “Where did all this come from?”
“Where...?” The mare looked confused by the question. “You didn’t see that unicorn make all this food?”
“Unicorn?” For a moment Cozy felt confused, before the obvious answer came to her mind. “You mean Lex?”
The unicorn smiled, and her friends nodded as well. “That’s right, dear! He had that other mare-”
“Cloudbank,” interjected the pegasus.
“-Cloudbank, right, give a speech about somepony called ‘the Night Mare,’ and then he did some sort of big magic and FWOOSH!” She waved a hoof to indicate the tables a short distance away. “All of this appeared!”
“Except then he collapsed,” noted the earth pony, losing her smile as she spoke. The other two looked similarly perturbed as well.
“I don’t understand,” admitted Cozy, her eyes flickering between the three mares uncertainly. “He collapsed?” Part of her wondered if she should talk about Lashtada, maybe try to spread the word that the Night Mare wasn’t the only goddess whose followers could help everypony…but the idea somehow made her uncomfortable, as though she were contemplating something extremely unpleasant. It was enough to make her shift her weight awkwardly, wondering why she felt that way.
Luckily, the ponies she was talking to didn’t seem to notice. “I’m afraid so, dear. He made those tables appear in three big groups, and after making the last ones he just fell down on the spot. He was rushed right to the doctors, though, so I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
“I heard he’s a superhero, like in the comic books,” interjected the pegasus mare. “So he’s probably recovered already, and is walking around right now in his secret identity.”
“That’s dumb,” scoffed the earth mare. “Why would he put on some sort of disguise just to come back out here?”
“Okay, first of all,” answered the pegasus haughtily, “it’s not a ‘disguise,’ it’s a secret identity. And second, superheroes have them because they want to have a normal life too. Right now he can walk around and be all ‘hey, doesn’t this hayburger taste great? Pass the ketchup!’ without having everypony go all nuts over him for what he did.”
The earth mare rolled her eyes. “Oh, I think there are some ponies who are definitely nuts where he’s concerned.”
“Hey!”
The unicorn mare shook her head, an exasperated smile on her face as she rolled her eyes. “You’ll have to excuse them, dear,” she smiled at Cozy, gently leading the crystal mare away from the other two as they started to bicker. “I swear, those two are the nicest girls you’ll ever meet, but they don’t have a brain between them.” She glanced back, then leaned in closer to Cozy as she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I have it on good authority that Lex person is actually an escapee from Tartarus, like Tirek was. He’s trying to turn over a new leaf so that the princesses don’t send him back.”
“Ah,” nodded Cozy awkwardly. “Good to know. Listen, I’m going to go look for my friend.”
“Alright. Good luck, dear.” The mare waved before heading back towards her friends, who were still arguing with each other.
Sighing, Cozy halfheartedly returned the gesture before walking away. For some reason that encounter had left her feeling exhausted, despite having only taken a few minutes, and she wondered if she should just go back and lie down. But the idea of resting next to the wrapped bundle that was Pillow’s preserved body sent a wave of discomfort through her, and she suddenly wanted to be anywhere but there. And that thought horrified her. He’s my husband! I shouldn’t be feeling like that!
Fighting back a fresh wave of tears, Cozy went to the next group of ponies to ask if they’d seen Aisle. But they hadn’t either, nor had the next group, nor the one after that. It was at that point that she went to go wander between the tables, thinking that he might have been there.
Although there were numerous seats that had been vacated – their haphazard positioning indicating that they’d had occupants until recently – there was still a great deal of food left over, some of it almost completely untouched. A serving bowl of honeyed pretzels was still half-full, next to which was a vat of potato salad that looked as though it had been completely overlooked. Further down, a chocolate cake had a large section cut out of it, allowing her to see the yellow material that the frosting covered, and off to the side was a large bowl of some pink liquid that had sliced lemons floating in it.
The sight, and the accompany smells, made Cozy’s mouth water, and she suddenly realized that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. It couldn’t have been more than a day, but she suddenly felt ravenous, and she licked her lips as she eyed an empty seat a few feet away. Slowly, she made her way over to it and sat down, looking around and half-expecting somepony to tell her that she couldn’t sit there. When that didn’t happen, she turned her attention to the feast spread out before her. I’ll just have a little, she assured herself, not stopping to wonder why she felt the need to justify eating something. Just enough to keep my strength up, and then I’ll leave.
Tentatively reaching out, she took a helping from the closest dish – a bowl of mashed potatoes – and took a bite. The taste was so exquisite that for a moment she couldn’t do anything except close her eyes and revel in the flavor, weeks of having lived on scavenged fare making it the best thing she had ever tasted. It was enough that she was already reaching for more before she swallowed what was in her mouth, and in moments she’d cleaned her plate, looking around for the next dish. She had just reached for a slice of a nearby pizza when something occurred to her: this is the first meal I’m having as a widow.
The thought made her freeze in place, crushing her under the weight of its enormity. Here she was, eating what tasted like the best food she’d ever had in her life, and she was doing it all alone. No matter that she was surrounded by ponies; her husband wasn’t there. He’d never be there again, and this meal and every other meal and everything else she ever did would be completely by herself. If we had just found him a little sooner, he’d be here right now, sharing this with me.
Tears started to fill her eyes again, and this time she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to stop herself from crying. Lurching backward, she practically threw herself out of her chair, heedless of the stares she drew as she stumbled away, a sob forming in her throat. Blindly, she stumbled between the long rows of chairs, her vision blurring as she started to weep. She could feel herself wanting to sit back down and eat her fill, and she hated herself for that. Pillow’s gone, and all I can think about is stuffing my face! she wailed internally. It’s like I don’t even care!
For long moments she ran, not looking where she was going, until she suddenly felt an explosion of pain as she hit something head-on, causing her to fall backward into a heap. Dimly, she registered hearing another voice cry out right in front of her at the same time, and she realized that she’d collided with someone. The knowledge made her feel even worse. All I’m doing is causing everypony trouble, she berated herself. I should have just killed myself when I had the chance! “I’m, I’m sorry,” she hiccupped, rubbing a hoof across her eyes. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, and-”
“Cozy?!”
Sniffling, Cozy blinked as her vision slowly came back into focus, revealing that the pony she had originally been searching for was right in front of her. “Aisle!”
He leapt to his hooves, immediately helping her up. “Are you alright?! Did something happen?!”
The frantic anxiety in his voice startled her; she’d seen him tense, worried, even scared plenty of times before, but the way he sounded now – as though barely keeping panic at bay – was enough to command her attention completely. He didn’t sound like that even when we first met Lex, she realized. And it wasn’t just his voice, either. His mane was tangled and unkempt. His eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles under them. “You look terrible,” she blurted.
He started, as though pinched. “I-I look…?” He couldn’t finish, trailing off before, a moment later, giving a snort. A moment later it turned into a snicker, and then a full-blown laugh. For a brief instant Cozy felt confused, before she realized that she must have looked dreadful with how she’d been crying so much. For her to say that he was the one who looked awful…it was absurd enough that she started to laugh as well.
That set Aisle off even more, which in turn made her laugh harder, and for long moments neither was able to do anything except shake with mirth, their tension dissipating. Finally, both started to calm down, slowly regaining control of themselves. As the last chuckle died away, both ponies looked at each other, each of them smiling warmly.
Later on, when they looked back on that moment, neither would be sure which of them kissed the other one first.
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On an personal note, this chapter crossed a milestone: the word-count for Lateral Movement has now exceeded the combined total of its predecessor fics, A Dangerous Sparkle and The Apple Falls Far from the Tree! Together, the three stories now comprise a grand total of over three-quarter million words!
As for how much further this story will go...even I'm not sure. The sky's the limit!
8549796
I never assumed that Block Party would have allowed himself to be possessed by an unknown being willingly. I just thought that the entity could have kept using Block Party without needing to jump hosts so quickly after confinement but I can see why you thought I did. Really should work on my wording more.
Still, I agree with your assessment that Block was disposed of to avoid warning anyone else about the entity. To me, this implies that whoever or whatever did this can potentially only possess one host at a time so that's something to work with. Though since you used creature to describe whatever possessed Block and now Nosey, I'm guessing you might have a better idea of what this is than I do.
8549852 Your icon made me realize how lucky Starlight and Trixie are they never met her, they seem like her perfect mark.
Same here, 'Nosey'
At first, I thought Cozy would miss Aisle since I assumed the stallion would have been with Sonata awaiting the news of the success of his plan and Cozy would sink back into her depression again. Now with her friend again, I'm hopeful that she'll recover though I'm worried her guilt for not getting to Pillowcase earlier is making her emotionally fragile.
And with Sonata busted and being asked to see Lex...if Sonata messes up her explanation then Cozy and Aisle might become the target of Lex's wrath.
P.s:Congrats on reaching this latest milestone and may there be more to come.🥂
Well, looks likes someones Brussles are going to get Jimmied.
Cozy is starting to morn,
and most all the pony's are happy.
things are looking good for the hole group.
8549921 Fortunately, Kara doesn't have much in the way of access to Equestria...yet.
8550432 Yes...things are looking optimistic, aren't they?
8550198 Oh behave.
8550129
Doggone it, this is what happens when you have characters whose names rhyme.
Fixed now.
Aisle apparently wasn't with Sonata, though why has yet to be revealed. I'd guess it has something to do with sitting around and waiting for that doctor Sonata enchanted to show back up and say that it was done would just look suspicious, though it might be that Sonata wants to be alone - or at least not bothered - now that she's done what Aisle wanted, since Lex was kind of a jerk to her. Either way, Cozy found him, and hopefully won't regret what just happened.
Thanks! I hope so too!
8550560
eeeyep
No obvious typos.
8720339 That's always music to my, er, eyes.