//------------------------------// // 320 - Profits and Prizes // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Unable to contain herself any longer, River let out a heady laugh of triumph, prancing in place. Fortunately, there was nopony around to see her undignified behavior. Halfway between her manor and the refugee camp that abutted the train station, her only companions were the night sky and the grass beneath her hooves, and neither said anything as River flopped carelessly onto her back, rich chuckles still escaping her throat. I did it! she cheered silently. I got what I wanted, and then some! Intellectually, she knew she shouldn’t feel as giddy as she did. She’d given Lex everything that she’d worked her entire life to achieve, all so that he’d forgive her for their disastrous first meeting. That he’d seen fit to remove the curse he’d laid on her – which had been more than she’d dared to hope for – only meant that now she was truly back to square one in his eyes. By any measure that was a bad bargain, and that she’d needed to sacrifice so much simply to earn a second chance with Vanhoover’s new overlord should have left her feeling bitter and resentful, she knew. But instead, she felt exhilarated in a way she hadn’t in years. And she knew why… “I seduced you,” she whispered, and hearing the words out loud sent a shudder through her. Lex wouldn’t have removed her curse if she hadn’t taken action, of that she felt sure. Which meant that he had removed it because she’d convinced him to. I had something I wanted you to do, and I was able to make you do it. The thought made her grin wider, wriggling on the grass. That was a completely ridiculous proposition, of course. What had just happened was nothing more than a business transaction, one where the other party had simply seen fit to be more generous than she’d expected. But the fact that she’d be able to engage in such a transaction with someone like Lex – someone who was at least as powerful as any of those stuck-up Canterlot wizards, if not even stronger – was an incredible boost to her self-esteem. He had the power to steamroll her completely, but she’d still been able to tempt him, to capture his interest and entice him into giving her what she wanted in exchange for what he could otherwise have taken. And if I can do it once, I can do it again. Of that she felt certain. True, figuring out how to make him restore her youth and beauty would likely be monstrously difficult – somepony who demanded such great sacrifices for a mere apology would undoubtedly require far more in order to grant such a hefty favor – but River found herself positively gleeful at the challenge. Fighting the McNeighs and Hoofingfords to a standstill had long since become unfulfilling, and her life at home had grown disappointing and bland. But now greater gains were within sight, and even if they would be extremely hard to win – with the consequences for failure being catastrophic, as her brief time being cursed had made clear – she knew that attaining them was possible. Tonight had proven that beyond any shadow of a doubt. Still, the irony of how she was embarking on such a dangerous path wasn’t lost on her. “Is this how you felt when you made all those risky bets, Mounte?” she murmured softly, looking up at the stars. She’d known that her late husband had gotten a thrill out of high-risk, high-reward enterprises, but she’d never understood why. Far better, to her thinking, to stick to more reliable endeavors, even if they required more time for less payoff. But now that she had no real choice but to gamble everything on a slim path to victory…she found herself appreciating the rush that Mounte must surely have felt when he’d done the same all those times. Of course, he had almost ruined the Banks family in pursuit of that thrill. But that’s because he let it control him, River told herself as she climbed to her hooves. I won’t make that same mistake. No matter how good it felt to live on the edge, she wouldn’t forget why she was doing this, rather than engage in risk-taking for its own sake the way Mounte had. “And now,” she sighed, “I’m going to go reward myself.” Since her curse was lifted, a nice hot bath was in order. One with scented candles and a tall glass of something smooth, to be enjoyed leisurely while her servants washed her hair and scrubbed her coat. Maybe with a nice massage afterward. She’d need to do it all quietly, of course, to avoid disturbing the princesses- The thought made River freeze in mid-stride, eyes widening. “The princesses!” she moaned, an anguished tone filling her voice. She’d told Celestia that she was giving up the benefits of her wealth voluntarily in order to hide the fact that Lex had cursed her, not wanting him to get into a conflict with the alicorns before she’d found a way to convince him to give her everything she wanted. And now I have to keep living like that, since Celestia and Luna are staying at my manor! Biting her lip, she rubbed her cheek where the blood-mark had been, knowing she’d probably need to have it painted back on since she’d told Celestia it was a symbol of solidarity with Lex’s efforts. Worse, River had no doubt that Lex would quickly move to capitalize on everything she’d given him. Although she’d quickly removed herself from his presence after he’d “absolved” her – not wanting to risk ruining everything she’d accomplished by wearing out her welcome – Lex had called out to her as she’d left. “Be prepared to make a full accounting of your assets in the morning,” he’d warned her, and his intent to put them to immediate use had been quite clear. At the time River had simply smiled and nodded, but now she could feel herself deflating, certain that her manor would be one of the things Lex took control of. Between that and the alicorns, it meant that her impoverished lifestyle was going to continue for a little while now. The realization made her heave a sigh, her earlier giddiness now completely gone. Slowly, River started walking back toward her manor, shaking her head at her circumstances. There was probably quite a bit more hardship in her immediate future, she knew. Likely more sacrifices too. “But it will be worth it,” she vowed softly. “I’ll make sure of that.” Cleansweep smiled as she watched Fruit Crunch describe their recent fight to Severance. “And then I was all like, ‘do your worst! I’ll cut you down to size!’” recounted the colt, scowling ferociously at an imaginary Silhouette. “And you could see that he wasn’t taking me seriously, because he started casting a spell, so you know what I did then?” He paused, grinning toothily at the free-floating scythe. Severance made no response that Cleansweep was aware of – and she was sure that had to be true for Crunchy as well, since he wasn’t touching it – but the tip of its blade remained pointed directly toward her friend, who apparently took that to mean it was paying attention, because he continued a moment later. “I leaped forward, and wham!” He jumped up and swung his hoof savagely. “I punched him right in the face!” “It was really impressive, Crunchy.” Her compliment made the colt blush, and the sight warmed Cleansweep’s heart. Less than two days ago, he’d been tormented by what Block Party and Spit Polish had done to him, but now he looked the way she’d remembered from before the city had flooded, upbeat and carefree. It’s funny how getting into another fight made him feel better, she mused. That would have been the last thing she’d have thought would help, after how he’d bullied Spit Polish before. “Aw, you were pretty awesome too, Dust Bunny,” Fruit Crunch smiled. “The way you charged into those guards and knocked them all down? You were unstoppable!” “I know, right?” she smirked, deciding that maybe she understood why Crunchy felt so good after all. But her good mood was spoiled as she remembered what happened after that. “I just wish my mom saw it that way…” “She’ll come around,” insisted Fruit Crunch, walking over to her and giving her a friendly pat on the back. “Like, remember that time we tried to build a submarine out of a barrel? I’d never seen somepony as angry as she was then, but after you were done being grounded, it was back to business as usual.” “To be fair, we did mess that up pretty badly,” pointed out Cleansweep. “I mean, we accidentally caused all those other barrels to roll into the harbor, and you had to wash all the saltwater off each and every one of those apples that were in them, remember? Not to mention the submarine never actually worked.” Fruit Crunch waved a hoof, as though he couldn’t be bothered with the details. “I’m just saying, your mom will calm down eventually.” Cleansweep sighed. “I hope so. My dad was usually the one to calm her down about that stuff, but he’s still not back yet. I wish he’d hurry up.” Shifting uncomfortably at his friend’s certainty that her dad had survived, Fruit Crunch was saved from replying as Severance floated over, the bottom of its haft touching his side, causing the colt to blink. “Huh? Oh, right! So then, Silhouette got back up, and he gave me this incredibly wicked glare, but I was just like ‘how do you like it?...” The story continued to unfold, with Fruit Crunch giving the blow-by-blow of what had happened, Cleansweep adding in salient details every so often. But when he got to what had happened afterward, she fell silent. After her mom had hauled her off, she hadn’t been able to see the end of Lex’s ritual, and she was still ticked about that. That she’d apparently missed a bunch of really cool stuff only made it worse. “Wait, so Aria kissed Lex?!” “Yep!” grinned Fruit Crunch. “Right in front of Sonata too! And let me tell you, she was mad! They actually started fighting over him!” Cleansweep gave a girlish shriek of delight at the news. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! And Feathercap got to go talk to Princess Luna in private?!” “With that mare, Nosey. They were back there for a long time!” Too energized to sit still, Cleansweep flew in a quick loop, emitting another whoop of excitement. “I’m so jealous!” Of course, she would have preferred to talk to Princess Celestia, but getting one-on-one – or rather, two-on-one – time with a princess was still huge! But there was still one thing to look forward to. “And that Nosey lady said that Lex would reward us?” “Uh-huh!” Fruit Crunch’s eyes shone at the prospect. “I don’t know if we’re supposed to think of stuff we want, or if he’ll give us medals, or something else altogether, but I can’t wait! Especially since that’s not our only reward!” Cleansweep stopped in mid-air at that, turning to look at her friend with wide eyes. “It’s not?” “Nope!” Smiling so wide that it had to have hurt his cheeks, Fruit Crunch beckoned her over. “I know we should wait until the others are here, but I can’t help it!” He reared up on his hind legs, kicking his fore-hooves in excitement as Cleansweep trotted over. “We’re finally going to get magic powers from the Night Mare!” Her eyebrows shooting upward, Cleansweep almost tripped. “W-we are?!” “Yeah! I’m sure of it!” Turning to look at Severance, Fruit Crunch stated his case. “I mean, we won that fight and protected everypony all on our own. We showed that we have what it takes. So now the Night Mare will reward us, right?” Moving forward, he reached out with a hoof, touching Severance’s hilt. A moment later, Cleansweep did the same, both foals gazing up at the weapon’s blade in silent expectation. A moment later, the scythe’s answer flowed into their minds.