Lex narrowed his eyes at River’s declaration, taking it as a challenge. Heedless of the girls cuddled up to him, he rose to his hooves and stepped down from the bench, turning so that he was facing River head-on. “I have nothing to say to you,” he rumbled. “Now leave, before you try my patience further.”
“No, wait!” Rushing to place herself in front of Lex, Sonata frantically tried to calm things down. “River’s cool now! She, like, totes regrets how she acted before, and wants to help out!”
“That’s entirely correct,” added River smoothly. Stepping forward, she moved to within a few paces of Lex, waiting for Sonata to step aside before she continued. “I feel terrible about how I acted the other day,” she began, her smile fading into a look of remorse, “and want to apologize for the things that I said. I never should have insulted you the way that I did, and I shouldn’t have threatened to disrupt the good work you’re doing here.”
She paused then, taking a moment to gauge how Lex was receiving her apology. But the stallion’s face hadn’t changed, regarding her with cold dispassion. Not allowing herself to become discouraged, River continued. “I’m sure you’re still mad at me, and I don’t blame you. Even so, I hope that you’ll give me a chance to make up for things.” She touched a hoof to her chest then, giving him a look of earnest determination. “As of right now, I’m placing everything I have at your disposal. My fortune, my manor, my servants. All of it, yours to use as you see fit for as long as it takes for Vanhoover to recover.”
Despite her impassioned exterior, River couldn’t help but feel nervous. While she hadn’t yet given him Feather Duster to play with – an idea that she felt more certain of now that she’d caught a glimpse of him cuddling with his bevy of beauties – the mouthy little mare was never supposed to be anything more than the icing on the cake. This was her trump card for getting into Lex’s good graces.
But other than a single, slow blink, Lex’s expression didn’t change, and River could feel herself starting to sweat. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? she thought to herself anxiously. It’s what you told me before! She could still hear Lex’s angry shout from when he’s cursed her – “You already had an obligation to lend me your assistance in helping everypony, and you abrogated it!” – and now she was giving him everything she possibly could to fulfill that so-called obligation. She hadn’t expected that it would be enough for him to remove her curse, but with how he’d already been knocking off the banks she owned she’d felt sure that he’d accept her offer, and in so doing let her get at least a little closer to him. But if she was wrong and he didn’t accept-
Her thoughts were interrupted as a sneering voice cut through the silence. “Hang on, what’d this old lady do that she’s trying to buy her way out of the doghouse?” smirked that mare that Lex had transformed less than an hour ago. “I gotta hear this.”
A lifetime of practice allowed River to keep her poise. “We haven’t been introduced,” she noted cordially. The little sexpot was as abrasive as she was attractive, but anything was better than standing there waiting for Lex to react to her offer. “I’m River Bank, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?”
The other mare snorted, clearly not liking how River hadn’t risen to her taunting. But her smirk returned a moment later as she climbed down from the bench, sauntering over to Lex and pressing herself against his side, showing off how she, unlike River, had his favor. “Aria Blaze,” she drawled. “And for somepony begging for forgiveness, you’re really going light on the begging, don’t you think?”
“Knock it off, Aria,” frowned the third mare, the one with the glasses and curly blonde mane. Walking over to River, she gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about her, she’s-”
“A huge nag,” interjected Sonata cheerily from her spot on Lex’s other side.
“-been under a lot of stress lately,” finished the blonde mare quickly, her smile turning strained. “I’m Nosey Newsy, by the way.”
“I thought so.” River smiled as though greeting an old friend. “Sonata spoke very highly of you when we were talking to Princess Celestia, so I feel like I know you already. Apparently you’re an ace reporter for the Canterlot Chronicle?” The question came easily, knowing that the more of Lex’s little girlfriends she could butter up, the more likely they’d be to help convince him to forgive her. “You’ll have to tell me all about that sometime, it sounds fascinating!” she lied.
Nosey smile turned more genuine then, apparently taking the compliment at face value. “It can be a real adventure sometimes, especially lately…” For some reason she trailed off at that, her features darkening for a moment as though remembering something unpleasant. Not that River found that surprising; given what she’d learned from Sonata, Nosey had apparently been through quite an awful experience. But the bespectacled mare forced herself to keep talking, glancing over River’s shoulder for a second before looking back at her. “So, who's your friend?”
River couldn’t have asked for a better cue. “Oh, I almost forgot!” Turning, she glanced back at the pony she’d brought with her. “Feather Duster, come here.” She made sure to keep her voice light and casual, but in the instant she turned around to look her servant, her gaze hardened into steel, sending a silent message the other mare’s way: don’t you dare screw this up. Since her big effort to win Lex over wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped, giving him his own pet maid was her last chance to try and win his goodwill.
As it was, River wished she’d been able to doll the little twit up more. If only there’d been enough time to take her back to her manor, she would have been able to have the other maids give Feather Duster some makeup and a fetching dress to wear. Nothing too suggestive, just enough to make sure that her appeal was on display. But making her pitch to Lex tonight meant that was out of the question, leaving River with no choice but to present Feather Duster in her natural state, without clothes or cosmetics to enhance her looks. That, River admitted silently, and I don’t want her anywhere near the princesses, just in case she has another bout of rebelliousness.
Fortunately, Feather Duster didn’t seem to be inclined to do anything stupid now, stepping forward slowly until she was standing next to River, who smiled radiantly as she looked at Lex again. “Allow me to present Feather Duster, a maid from my household staff. I brought her here because I’d like to loan her to you, as a gesture of friendship on my part.”
River shot a glance at Feather as she finished, and the other mare gulped as she took a step forward, giving a halting curtsy. “I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to assist you,” she said, the words coming out just a little too quickly. “If you’ll h-have me, I’ll gladly do…do w-...w-…”
Standing less than a foot from the sputtering pegasus, River could feel her tension returning. She’d told Feather Duster exactly what to say when she introduced her, and the words she was currently tripping over were, “I’ll gladly do whatever you want me to.” It was a perfect line, being suggestive while still plausibly innocent, except now she was messing it up! Get it together! snarled River internally, even as she kept her smile plastered on her face. I won’t have my chance at grasping my dreams be undone by some weak-kneed little girl!
But the words that came out of Feather Duster’s mouth a moment later weren’t the ones that River had told her to say.
“…do windows!” she blurted.
River felt her smile waver, since she was now grinning around a clenched jaw, but she didn’t have a chance to do anything else as Sonata jumped back into the conversation. “Oh wow!” she gasped, eyes widening. “That’s, like, super high-level maid stuff!”
Aria snorted, peering around Lex to give Sonata a scornful look. “How would you know? The only thing you’ve ever cleaned is your plate at dinnertime.”
“For your information,” shot back Sonata, raising her nose in the air as though disdainful of her sister’s ignorance, “whenever they introduce a maid character in cartoons, she always says, ‘I don’t do windows.’ So if Feather Duster here does do windows, then she’d gotta be, like, totes skilled.” She stuck her tongue out at Aria then, before adding, “Duh.”
Nosey, however, seemed more skeptical. “I don’t know.” She paused, looking back and forth between River and Feather as though not sure who to address. She finally settled on River as she continued. “I mean, this is a nice gesture and all, but…” She waved a hoof at the empty lobby. “There’s really not much here for a maid to do. It’s not like we have any furniture that needs polishing or anything.”
Fortunately, Sonata’s outburst had given River time to recover, her features relaxed once more. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. Feather Duster here is a mare of many talents. She can wash your clothes,” she nodded toward Lex’s ratty old cloak as she said that, “carry your things,” this time she sent a pointed look toward his saddlebags, resting next to that bench he’d been laying on, “cut your hair,” her eyes slid up to Lex’s rather unkempt mane then. “Really, she can do…whatever you want her to. Isn’t that right, Feather?”
“…yes. That’s exactly right, Miss.”
“Works for me,” announced Aria. “After everything we’ve done for this place, it’s about time we got someone to dote on us.” The words had barely left her mouth when shot a condescending look at Feather. “Alright, maid-girl, it’s a little hot in here. Start putting those wings to use.”
“Ah, of course.” Stepping to the side so she was clear of River, Feather began to flap her wings gently, sending a soft breeze washing over Aria, as well as Lex and Sonata beside her.
Closing her eyes, Aria let out a pleased groan. “I like her already.” She cracked one eye open, giving Feather an unfriendly grin. “Now, keep doing that all night.”
“Stop teasing her, Aria,” scolded Nosey lightly before giving Feather a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, she’s not being serious.”
“This is kinda nice though,” admitted Sonata, before looking up at her boyfriend. “Whaddaya say, Lex? Can we keep her?”
As all eyes turned toward him, Lex knew that he’d run out of time. Although the girls’ bantering had given him several minutes to think, he still hadn’t been able to reach a decision. Even as everypony waited, he found himself still struggling with the question that he’d had ever since River had made her apology.
Should he remove her curse?
His instinct was to say no. Having punished her barely thirty-six hours ago, he found it hard to believe that her behavior could have changed so much so quickly. Far more likely, to his thinking, that she was being insincere and simply presenting a remorseful appearance in hope of clemency.
Except that was what he’d thought about Fencer at first.
Of course, Fencer had earned her reprieve through exemplary supererogatory actions during a crisis, but the same could conceivably be said for River Bank now. After all, he’d cursed her for making what he’d decided was a credible threat to his recovery operation. For her to place the sum total of her apparently considerable assets at his disposal was something else again. He’d planned on confiscating what he’d needed as circumstances demanded, of course – to be repaid or returned once the recovery was over – but having her cooperation could potentially make resource acquisition much easier, at least in the short-term. And if she really had been rehabilitated, then her contribution in the face of an ongoing crisis might very well warrant a commuted sentence.
Of course, justice demanded more than just her reformation. It also required that her punishment fit the crime (of which duration was a factor), and that it serve to deter further infractions among the public. But the cases for each of those were weak; even if she still had her manor and her staff, the state of Vanhoover was such that River wouldn’t be enjoying the same level of luxury as she would normally, especially with him drawing upon her resources as he saw fit. Likewise, her role as a public deterrent was mitigated by the fact that her crime had been committed in moderate seclusion; even now, it was uncertain how many ponies knew what she had even done.
But more notably, Sonata, Nosey, and even Aria seemed to be responding to River’s entreaty positively. Given how Sonata and Nosey had both tried to tell him that he’d misread the situation with Fencer, whereas they’d responded positively to his cursing Spit Polish, that meant that their reactions here were likely insightful as well. If they were all in agreement that River’s apology was legitimate, then given the comparatively lighter nature of her crime compared to Fencer and Spit Polish, removing her curse wasn’t necessarily inappropriate here.
His mind made up, Lex nodded once before he strode toward River, closing the distance between them. “I accept your apology. And…”
A thought was all it took as Lex reached up and wiped the scythe blood-mark off of River’s cheek. “I absolve you.”
I feel like the maid could become an interesting character that might actually not be involved in the shenanigans directly. Only time will tell how that shapes up.
Lex is learning to trust his subordinates! Will wonders never cease?
9406280 Servants have a way of existing in their own world, adjacent to but apart from those that they serve. Will this be the case for Feather Duster? Even I don't know, at this point...and that's part of the fun!
9406283 He is, but you have to wonder if he's applying that lesson correctly (at least here)...
9406288
Discovery writing is Magic.
9406289
Eh. I mean, we know she's evil but her crime was basically talking back to him. The other people he'd cursed actually did (or did not do in Cozy's case) something first.
Lex you thick twit...
9406289
Yeah, basically what Terrycloth said. And we do know that she's sincere, at least in wanting to get into his good graces.
9406295 And how!
9406305 To be clear, her crime wasn't just getting in Lex's face. It was when she threatened to derail his recovery efforts that Lex cursed her. Threatening to commit a crime isn't necessarily a crime unto itself, but it can be, especially if the threat is deemed to be credible, and in this case that's what happened.
And Lex let River off the hook just like that? This will likely give River the impression that Lex can be manipulated though with the powers at his disposal, River would be unlikely to do anything too overt so as to avoid getting cursed with something worse.
On the other hand, Lex is improving on trusting those around him so that's a rather good trade off in the long run if he keeps this up.
As for Feather Duster, I can imagine Lex will largely leave Feather to her own devices though I doubt she'll have much free time if Aria has anything to say about it(Wonder if she'll see Aria as a younger River if she becomes more demandin).
Though with Feather now serving Lex(and his bevy of beauties, rather envious of their youth, eh River?), this does give the Night Mare's Knights a good chance of meeting with Lex in the future, or one of them at least since Feather wants Cleansweep to avoid them now.
Addition:The irony that River was absolved of her curse after she pledged her entire fortune to Lex is rather poetic. Sure she can enjoy luxury again but I wonder how much she'll be able to enjoy after Lex utilizes everything to maximum efficiency?
9406310 First he didn't have enough faith in other people, now he's having too much. He's just really bad at the whole "relating to others" thing.
Though to be fair, River is surprisingly good at dissembling.
9406311 Again, River's crime wasn't that she caught Lex on a bad day. She made a declaration of intent to interfere with his efforts to help ponies who desperately needed it. That might not be as bad as saying that you're going to plant a bomb somewhere, but it's of a similar nature, since the results of carrying through with the threat have the potential to be severe. It's not murder, or attempted murder, but it's still bad when you think about the possible consequences.
The real problem is that Lex is, once again, misjudging the situation and misapplying what he's learned.
9406328
Oh really? I thought you didn't like giving out spoilers?
If River thought she was cursed before, once Lex finds out he has been used like a second hand toilet roll, things are going to get very intresting?
9406325
What's almost funny is that the one he really should have listened to in this case is the one he probably shouldn't most of the time.
Aria had River pegged dead on the moment she opened her mouth...
9406323 The thing of it is, Lex can be manipulated; it's just difficult (since he doesn't respond to social cues the way a normal person would, and he has a different value system than most ponies) and dangerous (since he has a great deal of magic, and believes in punishing infractions, sometimes harshly) to attempt. But River is certainly willing to give it a shot, as we've seen. In fact, we even see her trying a more indirect approach here, working to win Nosey over to her side the same way she did Sonata, in an effort to get Lex to think better of her...and it apparently worked!
Of course, the irony is that Lex decided to give River credit that we know she doesn't deserve solely because he didn't trust his instincts, and decided to go with what Sonata, Nosey, and even Aria were indicating. In fact, we know that River isn't reformed, but it remains to be seen if Lex will figure that out.
As for what happens to Feather Duster now, I suspect that you're right and Lex will have little use for her. That's probably a good thing, since we know that she's terrified of Lex and is only barely suppressing it right now. More likely she'll interact with the girls for a little while first. Presuming that Aria can keep her selfishness at least somewhat in check, that might turn out to be better in the long run, though there's no way of being certain. That said, I'd be surprised if you weren't right about this dovetailing with the Night Mare's Knights somehow...
As for how much of River's assets Lex is going to use...well, I imagine she'll be biting her tongue quite a bit if he decides to start housing "vagrants" in her manor!
9406337 That's not really a spoiler; we know that River isn't reformed, and that Lex is reaching the wrong conclusion because he's deciding to trust other ponies' judgment. That's the irony of this chapter.
9406482
9406485 Yeah, who would have thought that the most selfish member of Lex's little band would recognize a kindred spirit so easily? Heck, they even look alike!
O Lex you are such a fool, even i saw threw this crap River is spreading.
me i would remove one curse and put in a tell the truth and keep no secrets curse.
but i hate lies and tend to spot them super fast.
9406598
Well, Lex can't exactly allow his ponies to stay at the camp forever and with the state Vanhoover is in, River's mansion would be ideal place to stay until Lex solves that problem(among many others) but there's no way it can house everyone. Still, it would be a far better location to house the children and elderly as well as the ponies who were too weak to be taken to Canterlot, especially since it is already staffed by ponies who could help care for them.
Mainly though, I really want to see how Trotsworth weathers through the situation while the staff tries their best to keep up. Well that and I want to see if Piggy either gets upset with all the ponies staying at his home, or glad that he can see his friends again (and show them how fabulously wealthy he is at the same time.)
9406715 Unfortunately, this is Lex's biggest weakness; he can't read people to save his life. Likewise, relying on the judgment of the people he's closest too doesn't do much good if they're fooled too.
Though what I find interesting to consider is how what's happening here would be interpreted differently by different people. Yes, River is being less than completely honest, but put in the context of what she's trying to do and what she's willing to do to achieve it, this could be viewed different ways by different people.
The Night Mare, for example, would view River's less than complete honesty as pointless. River's a slave trying to put her best face forward in hopes that she can convince her chosen master to own her. That she's in it for her own gain, rather than sharing her master's ideals, is irrelevant; what's important is that she's obedient and useful, nothing more.
Adagio Dazzle, by contrast, would view River's actions here as sly manipulation. She's playing on Lex's ego, stated goals, and social cluelessness to begin maneuvering him into giving her what she wants. Now she just has to keep worming her way into his confidence until she can convince him to shower her with everything she's dreaming of.
Princess Celestia, to take a third view, would feel disheartened if she knew what River was doing here, but still somewhat hopeful. She'd hope that by joining Lex in his activism, River will eventually come to truly believe the things that she's only saying now. By helping others and being selfless, maybe her persona of humility will grow into who she really is.
On a personal note, according to this website's word count, Lateral Movement now has more words than The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion combined (by just under fifty words).
When I started writing this, I never imagined it would grow so massive and still not be finished! I want to take a moment to thank each and every person who's followed Lex's journey this far, especially those who've taken the time to comment, favorite, and/or up-vote. You guys are my inspiration to keep writing!
Sonata and I are of one mind, there's nothing more precious than a maid that does windows. I doubt Lex will regret this course of action, River seems like she is planning to support Lex in the long term for her own self-interest. Having placed all her assets at Lex's disposal, she's effectively bought a pardon with almost everything she has. Depending on how aggressive and literal Lex is with his demands, the curse might as well be in effect, if Lex seizes all of River's luxuries tomorrow it's the same as if she didn't have them.
I suspect River thinks this will be like being in the golden circle of a charity where she gives generously and is invited to inner circle functions, I also suspect Lex will realize River now has a restored mansion and most people are still sleeping in broken-down tents.
I now look forward to more Aria, for two reasons: First, Aria taking advantage of the maid will be hilarious. Second, I'm sure Aria plans to squeeze as much wealth out of River as possible on general principles. It's Aria who's going to realize that River has just promised them use of a mansion with a nice master bedroom suite, while currently she's sleeping in a train station.
9407933 At the moment, River does look like she's hitching her fate to Lex's not so much out of any sort of admiration or philosophical camaraderie, but simply because she wants to ride his coat-tails while his star ascends. In other words, she wants to benefit from what she thinks he's going to accomplish, at least in terms of earning brownie points until he'll reward her for her contributions. Ironically, she may very well be right, as Lex has just removed her curse in exchange for her giving him everything she has.
Of course, Lex might very well utilize everything of hers to the point where she's not able to use much of it herself anyway, but I suspect that she'll be okay with that, at least for the short-term (and maybe even medium-term). After all, as we saw back in her debut chapter, she was well aware that even all of her wealth wasn't protecting her against the ravages of aging. She's worked hard to get where she is, and now that she's basically made her decision, she's probably going to go at it with that same level of determination. So I doubt that a period of hardship will be enough to make her have second thoughts anytime soon.
As for Aria, well, now that she's able to speak again - and has a cute new pony body, to boot - I expect that she'll be all the Aria she can be.
9408888
Ah yes, I had forgotten about River's belief that Lex can give her immortality. She'll do anything for him then, at least and unless he tells her he can't make her young again.