192 - Running on Empty
“Are you ready to fix my voice now?” whispered Aria, stretching languidly as she moved into a more comfortable position, resting her chin on her hoof. “Or is this just a social call?”
“Neither,” answered Lex coldly. “I have a task for you.”
Sonata’s sister was, he knew, the best suited to guard him while he slept. She had more than enough raw power for the job, and she needed him to restore her damaged voice, giving her a vested interest in protecting his well-being until he made good on his promise to her. More than that, the power that the Night Mare had granted him made it possible to take control of her with a thought. And besides, this will allow me to monitor her more closely as well. That was something that was going to be absolutely imperative going forward, he knew. Even if Aria’s conduct during their fight hadn’t amply demonstrated her ruthlessness – he still found her protestations of acting under duress to be flimsy – Sonata had never been shy about saying how awful her sisters had been. So far Aria had been fairly tame, being content to be left to her own devices once he’d recruited her into his service, but once she got her voice back that could change. Which makes it all the more imperative to remind her whom she serves now.
“Oh?” Oblivious to his thoughts, Aria cocked her head to the side, giving him a smirk. “Something that Sonata can’t do for you?”
“This is an assignment that you’re better suited for.” He hadn’t overlooked the possibility of having Sonata be the one to watch over him while he rested, but he had immediately dismissed the idea for practical reasons. Having her remain vigilant while he slept, and therefore rest while he was awake, would put a further strain on their relationship, and after what had just happened that was something he was loathe to do, especially when there was a viable alternative.
Aria couldn’t help but sit up straighter, taking his words as a compliment. “I’m listening.”
“A short while ago, one of the ponies here tried to assassinate me. I-”
He was cut off as Aria let out a series of rapid breaths, the closest she could come to laughing with her ruined vocal chords. “Is that what all the yelling was about before? Some little pony tried to kill you?” She didn’t try to hide her scorn. The idea that one of the half-dead ponies living in this shantytown had tried to punch the ticket of the guy who’d killed Lirtkra was hilarious. “What did they do, politely ask you to go jump off a building?”
Lex’s eyes narrowed slightly, not sure if she was making fun of him or not. “What matters is that I dealt with them-”
“I bet!”
“-but the fact that they were able to make the attempt in the first place is unacceptable. So from now on, you’re going to stay by my side to ensure my well-being.”
That was enough to bring Aria’s snickering to an abrupt halt, and she looked at him with an unreadable expression. “Really.”
Lex mentally frowned, hearing that she wasn’t asking a question but not otherwise able to gauge her reaction. He floated closer to her, so that only a few feet separated them. “I’m going to make this absolutely clear, so there’s no chance for miscommunication,” he said in a low voice. “Your welfare depends on my well-being. If anything happens to me before I can change you into a pony, no one else will repair your voice. Your only option will be to slither back into the ocean and spend the rest of your days living on seaweed.”
If Aria was intimidated, however, she didn’t show it. “Aw, no need to wave a stick,” she smiled, and her grin was almost…sultry. “I’m looking forward to us working more closely together.” She reached down and patted the ground next to her. “Why don’t you change back and lie down next to me? The sun is warm, the grass is soft, and I promise I’ll stay right beside you the whole time if you want to take a nap.”
The offer struck a pang with Lex. It wasn’t just that he was exhausted; although he couldn’t feel physical fatigue in his shadow-form – indeed, insofar as he knew it was impossible for him to feel anything when incorporeal, save for pain when struck by magical attacks – the memory of the sensory impression was still fresh in his consciousness, and he knew that were he to return to corporeality he’d immediately collapse. Rather, it was because her smiling at him and coaxing him to return to normal was reminiscent of how Sonata had very recently done the same thing. It was enough to make him keenly aware, in a way that he hadn’t appreciated before, that he was talking to the sister of the girl he was romantically involved with.
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, he turned away from her, not seeing her grin widen as he did. “I’m not sleeping with you here.” He knew that was awkwardly phrased even as he spoke, and he snarled internally as he tried to recover from his poor choice of words. “You’ll accompany me back to my tent.”
Despite having no voice, Aria’s amusement was audible. “I’m fine wherever you want to do it.” The lilt in her words was enough to make him glance sidelong at her, certain that there was some sort of double-meaning to what she was saying. But she gave him an innocent look, and he decided against pressing the issue, instead heading back through the camp.
By the time they made it back to the outpatient tent that he’d claimed as his own, he’d almost managed to push down his feelings of embarrassment. He was certain now that she’d been toying with him again, and he was determined to put an end to it. “You’ll stay out here. If anypony wants to speak with me, you’ll make them wait whi-”
“No,” interrupted Aria, shaking her head. “That won’t do at all.”
“I don’t care about your opinion,” growled Lex. “I am telling you what’s going to happen.”
For a moment Aria’s features darkened, but she kept going. “I need to be in there if you want me to be able to look out for you,” she insisted. “What if someone cuts the back of the tent open and slips in that way? I’d never see them coming.”
Her argument was a cogent one, and that was enough to give Lex pause before he decided that the point was moot. “You won’t fit inside here.”
“Then we just need to get a bigger tent,” answered Aria matter-of-factly. “You should have one anyway, since you’re the one in charge.”
“There are no other tents!” Lex could feel himself starting to lose his temper, making his voice rise. “These and the field hospital are the sum total of what’s available, and they’re all necessary to treat the sick and the injured! I will not take away from that!”
Aria’s eyes narrowed, her good humor falling away in the face of Lex’s tirade. But before she could make a sound a sleepy Sonata emerged from the tent, yawning. “Hey, what’s all the noise?” Pausing as she saw who was in front of her, she blinked several times, rubbing her eyes in a way that made it clear she wasn’t sure she entirely believed what she was seeing. Finally, her gaze settled on Lex. “Did I miss something? Why’re you back to being all dark and billowy? And why’s she here?”
“Your boyfriend and I were just discussing our sleeping arrangements,” answered Aria smugly before Lex could get a word in.
Her bombshell got exactly the reaction she’d hoped for as Sonata’s eyes widened. “What?!”
Lex glared at Aria, knowing she’d done that on purpose, before turning his attention to Sonata. “After what happened with Spit Polish, I’m going to have Aria keep a lookout to make sure nothing like that happens again.”
But for some reason, his explanation failed to reassure her. “Are you kidding me?!” She gave him a look that was equal parts aghast and furious. “How can you be, like, the smartest pony ever and still not get that this is a super bad idea?! And why are you asking her for help when I’m right here?!”
“That’s becau-”
But Sonata wasn’t finished. “And if you’re worried about staying safe, then we should totes just sleep in the train station! It has, you know, walls and doors that lock and stuff! That’s about a bajillion times safer than some old tent!”
“The train station is the site of an unsolved death,” sighed Lex. He could already feel the dark magic that was keeping him incorporeal starting to run out, and knew he’d be hard-pressed to maintain it after how much he’d already expended. More than that, he didn’t want to end up in another fight with Sonata, not after they’d just barely started to resolve what had happened earlier. I need to bring this to an end, quickly. “Sleeping there before we have all the facts about what happened would be unforgivably foolish.”
Aria cut in then, a sly look on her face. “Actually, you’re both right.”
Sonata almost bit her tongue at that. “We-, wait, for realsies?” Her amazement faded into suspicion a moment later. “Whaddaya mean?”
“Well, think about it.” Aria spread her hooves, pointing one at each of them. “The train station is more secure than the tent,” she nodded at Sonata, before looking at Lex. “But since it’s still a crime scene, you’ll want someone else there to keep an eye out while you rest up. So the best course of action is for all three of us to go there. I’ll keep watch, so there won’t be a problem. Everybody wins,” she concluded smugly.
“I dunno,” frowned Sonata. Aria’s idea sounded okay, but that didn’t mean anything. Aria’s last plan – the one about Sonata convincing Lex to make Aria into a pony sooner rather than later, and in exchange Aria would enchant some ponies to say nice things about Lex to everyone else – had sounded good too, but after what had just happened with enchanting that doctor Sonata had decided that Aria’s scheme was a crummy idea. So this one is probably a big mistake too, somehow. But on the other hand, or hoof, or whatever it was now, that did sound like an okay compromise…
Lex apparently felt the same way. “That’s acceptable.”
Aria couldn’t have looked more pleased. “Great! Let’s head back.”
Sonata looked like she wanted to protest, but Lex was already floating back towards the camp’s only permanent structure, Aria immediately moving after him. Sighing, Sonata started to trot after them, still not sure if this was a good idea or not…
The inside of the train station was exactly as they’d left it.
Lex gave the place a cursory once-over, but couldn’t bring himself to conduct a more thorough investigation of the place. He could already feel it becoming more difficult to maintain his current state, and knew that once he changed back merely sustaining his consciousness would likely be beyond him. He’d already pushed himself beyond his limits, and although there were still important tasks that needed to be seen to – contacting Cloudsdale for replacement rainclouds, procuring a loan from the rich ponies of Las Pegasus, and acquiring funds to buy food for the camp in the meantime – none of them were things that he could manage in his current condition with the resources and magic that were immediately available. Right now, resting and recovering were not only the responsible things to do, but the only things he could do.
No. There’s one other thing, he realized. There was still the mystery with what happened here. Again, there was an inexplicable certainty in the back of his mind that he’d missed something. That there was some relevant bit of information that he’d overlooked due to the numerous distractions that had kept cropping up. If he could just figure out what it was…
Sonata was waving at him from across the large waiting area that made up the bulk of the train station’s interior. She was saying something and pointing to the cushions she’d laid down side-by-side, liberated from several nearby chairs. Lex vacantly floated over to them, and just barely made it before his dark magic ran out, collapsing bonelessly onto the makeshift bed.
Less than five seconds later, he was asleep.
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The ratio on the story is completely unfair. Please keep it up!
Not much to say this except for how amused I was at Aria's flirting and Lex's realization and subsequent reaction to it made me chuckle. After the day I had at work, I was running on empty too and needed a good laugh. Thanks for that.
So how mad will Sonata be when Aria wakes Lexx up instead of her doing it?
8646076 I've been trying to think of how to promote it further, but other than getting serious about finding some cover art (which is, if I'm being honest, long overdue), I'm not sure what else to try. Spamming various groups about new updates seems like it would get old fast, since I'm keeping to a once-per-three-days schedule, and I've already put it in the queue at several reviewing groups.
If you have any tips to share, I'd receive them gratefully.
8646432 Oh, I'd say she'll be pretty mad either way; imagine how she'll react if she wakes up and finds Aria snuggling with Lex (while giving her a smug grin).
8646335 I have to say, I'm relieved that the initial reactions to this chapter are so positive. Between New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and returning to work, I didn't have as much time as usual to devote to outlining how this chapter would go, and so I thought that the quality suffered as a result when I sat down to actually write it. It's nice to hear that apparently wasn't the case!
i do not like the idea of using the train station it seams to be the center of what ever is going on behind all the crap going on.
8648441 Lex wasn't wild about the idea either. But he's exhausted, desperately needs some place that offers more security than a tent, and had both Sonata and Aria advocating for it. In the end, he decided to go with it before he collapsed on the spot. Hopefully he won't regret that later.
Well, Aria at least has every reason to keep him alive.
9185747 So far. But he better keep his promise to her soon...