280 - Best Hoof Forward
Lex spent almost ten whole seconds staring at the boat before he took action.
“How long before it arrives here?” he asked, not taking his eyes off of the distant vessel. But when several seconds went by with no answer forthcoming, he tore his gaze away from it, sending an irritated look toward the pegasus who’d first spotted it. “Ocean Spray!” he snapped.
“Huh?!” The pony in question fluttered his wings in surprise as his name was called, almost falling out of the air before he turned to look at Lex. He knows my name? “Er, what?”
“When will that ship reach the harbor?” growled Lex, not liking that he had to repeat himself.
“Uh…” Ocean Spray grimaced, squinting his eyes as he looked back at the craft. “It’s hard to say, but…probably tomorrow morning. I mean, it might be earlier if it can really kick up the speed, but to be able to see it as this distance…” He paused for a moment, brow furrowing. “It’s only a little past Tall Tale right now, so it’s not exactly some little rowboat, which means that there’s only so fast it can go. It doesn’t have sails, so that means it’s using an engine, and if they keep it running all night…” He gave a confident nod. “Yeah, tomorrow morning.”
Which means there’s no need to recall the pegasi, Lex decided as he glanced at Vanhoover. He’d ordered them all to return to the camp by sundown, not wanting to risk them being in the city after dark. Although all available evidence suggested that there were no more monsters, he didn’t want to take any chances where other ponies lives were concerned. Besides, given how the city had been up until now no survivors would be willing to venture outside during the night, so having the pegasi continue to shout that sanctuary was available after nightfall would be a waste of time anyway. “I want you all to spread the word,” he declared in a loud voice, making the nearby ponies look at him. “Nopony is to approach that ship before I make contact with it.”
“Is that really necessary?” piped up a voice, and Lex glanced over in irritation as Scrubby sent him an apologetic look, even as he kept speaking. “I mean, you said that about the train, but there was nothing to worry about there, right? So why can’t we go welcome whoever’s there?”
Lex’s lip curled at the question. Because over a half-dozen ponies have already died while under my watch due to unforeseen circumstances, you simpering imbecile, and I refuse to let it happen again. Intellectualy, he knew that Scrubby’s point was a valid one. Just like with the train, the odds were extremely high that the people on that boat were ponies, which meant that there was almost certainly no danger. But after everything that happened, being drawn into desperate battle after desperate battle, Lex refused to take a chance. The boat would need to be met by someone capable of defending against an unanticipated act of aggression, and that meant him. Nor was that the only reason. “That ship is currently the only means of direct transportation between Vanhoover and the rest of Equestria now that the train has departed. As this place is still in a state of emergency, it will need to be commandeered, which means that I’ll need to be there to quell any potential opposition to that by its crew or passengers-”
“Wait!” yelled a familiar voice. “Totes let me do the talking!”
Lex grimaced as he glanced behind him, just in time to see Sonata smile and wave as she made her way to his side. The nuzzle she gave him then wasn’t anything too intimate – they’d shared that particular gesture numerous times over the course of their relationship, oftentimes in public – but it was enough to immediately send his thoughts back to last night, straining his composure as he fought to keep his eyes from running down the length of her body. Sonata, however, either didn’t notice the effect she’d had on him or ignored it, giving him an easy grin. “Sorry I’m late. I was, like, getting into a super-big argument with Aria about what happened, which I was totes winning even though Aria kept acting like she was winning, which she wasn’t, and then Nosey came in and I realized you were gone and I was like ‘oh hey, I can go hang out with Lex right now while you’re stuck in here,’ – Aria I mean, not Nosey – and then I sang a little to help Nosey calm down, and you could just see that Aria was, like, dying of jealousy that she couldn’t do that, even though she probably wouldn’t even if she could have since she’s too much of a jerk to help other people, and then I just smirked at her and walked out the door before she could say anything which totes means I won!” She beamed up at him, apparently very pleased with herself. “So, what’s going on with you?”
Lex intended to sigh at her inane rambling, but what came out of his mouth instead was a relieved snort that was very nearly a laugh. Seeing her acting like her usual self, going on at length about meaningless nonsense, was enough to make his inner turmoil about what had happened recede. It didn’t vanish entirely, but unlike with Nosey it had faded to tolerable levels, leaving him feeling suddenly grateful that Sonata was here with him now. The feeling was strong enough that when he turned to point out the distant image of the boat, filling her in on what was going on, he took the opportunity to press his side against hers, enjoying the sensation without thinking about what had happened last night…mostly.
Once he’d finished briefing her on the situation, Sonata bit her lip. “Uh-huh…”
Lex blinked. In the light of her recent bout of incessant prattling, her lack of any greater reaction now was extremely conspicuous. “What?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” She let out a breath. “Look, I’m totes sure your plan to go down and meet whoever’s coming into the city and be all ‘hi, I’m Lex and I’m stealing your boat’ is, like, a great plan. I’m just thinking that maybe, just maybe, there’s a different way to go about it. One that doesn’t have you telling them that their stuff is now your stuff, and you’ll curse them or something if they don’t go along with it.”
Lex frowned, feeling his sense of tranquility starting to fray. “Sonata, this needs to happen. Having a method of transportation between here and Tall Tale will facilitate-”
“Look, I get that you need the boat!” interrupted Sonata. “I’m just saying that taking it from them isn’t the best way to do things. It’s, like, a gazillion times better if you make them want to give it to you instead. Which, you know, is kinda my thing.”
She gave him a pointed look then, and his frown deepened. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“Let me go meet whoever’s on board, while you stay here. I’ll head down to the dock-”
“Absolutely not.”
“Lex…”
“Absolutely not,” he repeated. “The situation-” He cut himself off, leading her away from the nearby ponies, walking until they were distant enough that they’d be unheard so long as they kept their voices down. “The situation with regard to who’s on there and why they’re coming here is completely unknown! I am not sending you down there when there’s a chance that something could happen to you!”
“But that doesn’t mean that it will,” she protested. “Look, I get it. We’ve had, like, a really rough time lately. We made one little mix-up getting here in the first place-”
“You put us on a train to the wrong city,” corrected Lex flatly.
“-which led to you fighting a dragon. Then we get here and all of a sudden it’s like we’re in ‘Revenge of the Bad Movies,’ with the fish-people and the zombies and the body-snatcher guy. So now you’re wondering if this boat’s the next disaster – like, if it’ll be run by pirates that are secretly werewolves from outer space or something – and I’m trying to tell you that it won’t be.” She pressed her side to his again. “You don’t have to keep worrying that everything’s about to blow up and something terrible will happen if you’re not there to stop it.”
But Lex was already shaking his head before she’d finished. “That’s my job, Sonata. What you just described, anticipating a worst-case scenario and taking preventive measures to safeguard the general public, is one of the primary functions of governance. To do nothing-”
She stomped a hoof, not hard but with enough force to demand his attention. “Sending me down there isn’t nothing. I know my magic can’t do all the stuff that yours can, but this is right up my back alley.”
The unusual turn of phrase, combined with the events of last night still being on his mind, was enough to give Lex pause, trying to parse if there had been a double entendre there. “…what?”
But Sonata kept going. “Like, think about it. You’re still recovering, right? So you’ll have to turn into a shadow to go down there, and that’ll already be all freaky-looking. So that’ll make things awkward right from the get-go. Then they’ll get off the boat and have you tell them you’re taking it, and that’ll be super-upsetting. Worse, if they say ‘forget you, dude,’ you’ll have to smack ‘em around to stop them from leaving, right?”
She moved away from him then, gesturing as though putting something down on her left. “Let’s call that ‘Plan A.’ Now, the alternative is Plan B: I go down there, and they get to be greeted by a hot little number who’s all smiles. I totes make it sound like they’d be helping everypony here a lot if they let us use their boat, and if they say no, then…this is one of those situations where it’s okay for me to use magic to mess with their heads, right?”
“Yes, albeit-”
“Great! And if things go really bad and it turns into a fight, then I’ve still got a bunch of spells that’ll let me knock some sense into ‘em. Let’s call that ‘Plan B.’” She gestured again, mimicking the action of putting something down on her right side. Then, smiling at him, she stood up on her hind legs, holding her fore-hooves out on either side of her. “So, which one sounds better? Plan A,” she gestured to her left, “where everyone is freaked out right from the get-go and it goes downhill from there, or Plan B,” she gestured to her right, “where I totes charm the stuffing out of everyone, either with magic or without?”
Lex gave her an unhappy look. “This is unusually well-considered for you.”
He hadn’t meant it as a compliment, but she seemed to take it as one, grinning again as she fell back onto all fours. “Just another brilliant idea, courtesy of the best spokespony ever.” She tossed a wink his way as she said that, before giving him an eager look. “So, whaddaya say? Let me handle the meet ‘n’ greet?”
Lex sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Sonata’s argument was a cogent one. The odds of this being some sort of dangerous encounter – at least on the level of what they’d dealt with so far – were slim, which meant taking defensive measures was less of a priority than securing further resources and assistance for the general welfare of the camp ponies. Given that, Sonata and her outgoing personality were far more likely to secure the voluntary cooperation of whoever was headed for Vanhoover than he could manage on his own. Even so…
“I’m sending Severance with you,” he announced bluntly.
“Wha-, no! No way! Lex, the entire point of this is to not scare whoever’s coming! Having a giant bladed thingy floating around on its own won’t help!” She took a step forward, until she was almost nose-to-nose with him. “Trust me that I can do this on my own, okay?”
“This isn’t an issue of trust, Sonata.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Right. And neither is you rubbing down my sister and my best friend right in front of me?”
“That has nothing to do with this!” All of sudden things were awkward again, and he turned away from her, jaw clenched in frustration. She didn’t say anything, but he could feel the weight of her gaze on his back, and he finally sighed. “I’ll give you until noon, but if you’re not back by then, regardless of what happens with the boat, I’m coming to retrieve you, with Severance, and I won’t care how intimidating either of us looks.”
“Thanks!” she chirped, all smiles again. “Just you wait, I’m totes gonna make this work!”
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Are these guess Royal? Only time will tell! I look forward to finding out.
I like it when Sonata takes the reins in their relationship. Especially when it means less of a PR issue down the line though given how River Bank managed to pull the Banks from the brink of bankruptcy with her own merits, I can't help but wonder if she'll try to outwit Sonata into telling her everything she wants to know.
Or like howard035 mentioned a couple of chapters back, arrange a marriage for her son though instead of Aria, it'll be Sonata, especially if she sees her powers in action and manages to resist it. Mind-controlling the competition would be a rather convenient way to get everything she wants, including access to the unicorns with their de-aging spells.
If that is the Ship Of Fools, then Lex is so going to be down there tomorrow afternoon, quite possibly feeling good enough to have a Clearence Sail.
Everything must go, go, go, half off.
9203618
... so it does.
9201896 Well, I suspect that the alicorn sisters are on their way to Vanhoover via another method. Though you have to wonder if they'll arrive right after River does...
9201937 I get the feeling that Sonata is finally starting to realize (though maybe not consciously) that Lex isn't inclined to share authority if he can help it. His instinct is to take everything onto himself, regardless of, well, any other factors unless there's simply no way to do so. To that end, she's starting to become a bit more assertive in saying "no, let me do this; you have other stuff to worry about." It helps that Peachy Keen tipped her off that being a spokespony means doing more than just parroting what Lex whispers in her ear.
Of course, that just means that she gets to take point on this. Now she has to actually get it done, and, River is, well...River. Seeing those two meet will be interesting, I can tell you that much.
9202439 Oh, the puns. Most people hate them, but I enjoy them so.
I mean, Sonata is pretty diplomatic...
Yeah, I can see this working out. Piggy's Mom came home because she needs money and has nowhere else to go, really. Assuming she gets an IOU from Sonata, there's a good chance she'd be willing to give up the boat. Unless she gets a really good look at the city and realizes she should just sail back to Talltale herself immediately.
9206639 Well, commandeering something isn't really the sort of thing you need to give an IOU for, since you're not so much buying it as you're saying "I'm using this to deal with an immediate emergency, I'll give it back when I'm done." Of course, in this case that might take a little while, but only until he can secure the use of another watercraft. River might want something in writing in the meantime to guarantee she'll get it back, but that shouldn't be difficult.
Of course, River might - as you said - just take one look around and decide to leave, but I suspect that Sonata knows that if that happens, it's singing time.
9206809
The nice thing about being a bard with fascination in Equestria is, in a normal setting it's easy to realize after the fact that someone enchanted you with bardic magic if they spontaneously started singing at you until you agreed with them. In Equestria that seem perfectly normal for any pony to do.
9206825 I'll admit it, that made me laugh.
It's also an interesting point to consider, though it comes down to judging just how in-character the musical numbers are. There are references aplenty to them in the series, but the reason those are funny is because they break the fourth wall that those musical interludes are presumed to be on the other side of. This is most notable in the montages; there's no real way to suggest that, during a long sequences of events or lengthy task, the ponies involved will spontaneously sing a bar or two and then stop, waiting until later and only then singing the next lines, until the entire song is repeated. But of course, some of those songs are entirely in-character, without a montage.
I know some of the secondary materials (which I maintain are non-canon) call them "heartsongs" and have them being entirely in-character, but that doesn't solve the underlying problems with how that could be. Ultimately, it's one of those things that don't have any easy answer, and since outside of Sonata's powers and similar explicit magic, I find it easier to simply ignore (save, perhaps, for the occasional knowing reference).
Oh, there is.
Just not intentional on Sonata's part.
Lex is learning social cues, Sonata is having good ideas, what is the world coming to?
9225332 Both of them are slowly, slowly getting better at, well...life.