//------------------------------// // 400 - Comings and Goings // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “Madam, I’m afraid there’s a problem.” Closing her eyes, River took a deep breath and silently counted to ten before exhaling. “What problem, Trotsworth?” “I’m afraid that we don’t have sufficient provisions to stock your yacht for the journey to Las Pegasus,” replied the old stallion apologetically. This time River had to count to twenty before she trusted herself to speak. “We’ve been preparing for this journey since yesterday evening,” she muttered darkly. “How did nopony realize this before now?” She didn’t look at Trotsworth as she spoke, instead glancing out the window of her master bedroom again. The sun was still at a low angle, having only recently cleared the mountains, but the fact that it was still up and she wasn’t ready to leave filled River with a vague sense of dread. Looking in the direction of that ghastly camp, she half-expected to see Lex Legis stalking toward her manor, his eyes glowing with rage over her not having left for Las Pegasus yet. This is my chance to prove myself, she hissed inwardly, and it’s already going wrong! “The fault was mine, Madam.” Even without looking at him, River could almost hear Trotsworth bowing. “I was preoccupied with making sure the staff fulfilled your instructions regarding the accoutrements you needed for your errand. It was only after those tasks were completed that I had them focus on more quotidian preparations, at which time we noticed the shortage.” Despite her displeasure, River couldn’t help but give a wry smirk at Trotsworth’s consummate professionalism. After Lex had ordered her to go to Las Pegasus and bring several of its richest ponies back to Vanhoover, she’d rushed back to her manor – stopping only to gawk in horrified fascination when the day had turned into nighttime for several minutes – and ordered her staff to start making preparations. Naturally, those preparations had focused around what she’d need in order to complete the task she’d been given. Outfits and accessories needed to be prepared. Jewelry needed to be polished. Her cosmetic supplies needed to be examined to see which of them were still viable after so many weeks of neglect. And that was just to start… If she’d had her wish, River would simply have taken whole of her ensemble with her and spent the journey figuring out what she’d need most. But that simply wasn’t possible. Even if she hadn’t sold her original yacht back in Las Pegasus – buying a smaller one and using the leftover bits from the sale to maintain her lifestyle there for a little while longer – there wouldn’t have been enough room for all of her “implements of elegance,” as she liked to think of them. That meant that she needed to choose what she did take with extreme care. None of her finery existed in a vacuum; not only were certain items only appropriate for certain situations, but they also needed to account for what other items would complement them, and she needed to tailor them to the specific tastes of each pony she’d be trying to convince to come back with her! All of which meant that the limited space on her yacht gave her almost no margin for error. Wearing her coquelicot dress without bringing the currant perfume and diamond earrings both would make it utterly impossible for her to show her face at the Palace of Prance, for instance, and River knew full well that’s where she’d have the best chance of meeting with Razzle Dazzle, since the old nag loved to watch everypony oohing and aahing over her showgirls there. But if she ran into her on one of her outings at the Emerald Feather, then River knew she’d have to be wearing her eburnean gown with her onyx necklace and essence of lilac. Anything else would make her look like a rube, putting her at a disadvantage right from the start…or at least, even more of one, considering she’d had to withdraw from Las Pegasus’ social scene a few weeks prior when her money had begun to run out. And everypony knew it, too, she remembered bitterly. Hence why it had been absolutely necessary to have her staff spend most of last night helping her figure out what to take. And there was Trotsworth, graciously blaming himself for the fact that her preparations had resulted in such a glaring oversight only being discovered at the last minute. Never one to let a servant show more poise than her, River forced herself to calm down, making sure her features were composed as she turned away from the window to regard her head butler. “Would reducing the size of the staff that I’m taking with me compensate for the lack of provisions?” Trotsworth maintained his bow. “I’m truly sorry, Madam, but I fear it wouldn’t. The bare minimum you’d need to pilot the yacht and see to your needs would be a half-dozen ponies, and even that would require more food than we can supply for a journey of that length.” River held back a wince at that. Showing up with so few ponies in her service would make her a laughingstock in the eyes of Las Pegasus’ elite. Not to mention it would be almost impossible to keep the ones she convinced to come back with her adequately staffed with such a small number of servants. Especially given that the trip from there to Vanhoover wouldn’t be a quick one, since a yacht was built for comfort rather than speed. “We’ll withdraw some bits from one of my financial institutions before we leave,” decided River after some hesitation. That wasn’t something she did lightly; even if there was a considerable chance that the ponies whose accounts she was raiding were no longer among the living, River hated the thought of borrowing money against herself like this. Not to mention that it would throw off the figures in the ledger that she’d given Lex. But there was no other alternative, not if she wanted this mission to succeed. “I’ll use them to buy supplies in Tall Tale,” her lip twisted in a grimace at the name of that hick town, “and then again in Las Pegasus for the trip back.” Trotsworth nodded, rising from his bow at last. “Very good, Madam. In that case, the preparations are finished. With your permission, shall we begin carrying your things down to the wharf?” Despite herself, River glanced toward the window again. From this angle she couldn’t see the harbor, but she couldn’t imagine that whatever yokels Lex had let commandeer her yacht hadn’t arrived yet. “Yes,” she said at last. “Be ready to set out immediately after everything’s been loaded. I’ll take some of the staff with me to make a withdrawal from one of the midtown institutions.” Those were on the way to the harbor, so it wouldn’t take much time to pop in there and take what she needed. Trotsworth nodded, but didn’t immediately leave, which was all the signal River needed. “Is there anything else?” “Master Piggy has emerged from his self-imposed isolation.” It was all River could do not to snicker, and although his expression didn’t change she felt sure that Trotsworth was doing the same. “Oh?” “Indeed. He’s apparently realized that Princesses Celestia and Luna have elected to take their leave, and is quite pleased with himself for having evaded their notice.” River rolled her eyes. He really was Mounte’s boy through and through. “How nice for him.” But her humor fell away as she remembered the lingering issue of that mare her son was apparently taken with. “If that Granola Bar tart, or anypony associated with her, shows up here…” “I’m sure that Master Piggy will be indisposed should that be the case,” replied Trotsworth smoothly. River nodded, only somewhat mollified. As disappointing as her son was, he could work up a head of steam about something when he had the mind to. Trotsworth might be able to play a shell game with anypony who tried to visit the manor while she was gone, but he was far too class-conscious to take more direct action. If her son was intent on going out to rendezvous with his little tramp, then there wouldn’t be much that her butler could do to stop him. But there simply wasn’t anything that could be done about that; taking Piggy with her to Las Pegasus was completely out of the question. When it came to operating in high society, her disappointment of a son was a liability through and through. “However,” continued Trotsworth, dragging River out of her thoughts. “Master Piggy seems to have noticed all of the activity this morning, and is quite distressed at the notion that you’re leaving again.” He paused for just a moment before adding. “Perhaps you’d care to allow him to see you off?” River almost dismissed the notion immediately, hesitating only because Trotsworth’s suggestions were always thoughtfully given. And, she realized a moment later, this time was no exception. At the speed her yacht traveled, the round trip to Las Pegasus and back would take a few weeks to complete, not counting the time she actually spent in the city itself. This would be her last chance to see Piggy until then…and despite how much of a letdown he’d become, the thought still sent a twinge through her chest, remembering how she’d felt when she’d realized that he could have died while she’d been gone. Besides, she told herself, shaking off the unwanted sentimentality that had gripped her, this will be a good chance for me to remind him why he shouldn’t fool around with some gold-digging nag from nowhere. “Very well,” she replied crisply. “Have him meet me in the foyer in ten minutes, along with a retinue to accompany us to the bank.” “At once,” replied Trotsworth with another bow before turning and leaving. River sighed, glancing out the window again. As before, there was no sign that Lex or somepony sent on his behalf was being sent to chastise her for her tardiness in departing. Taking that as a sign that she needed to calm down, River took another slow breath. “With any luck,” she murmured to herself, “Piggy wanting to see me leave will be the only surprise I have to put up with on this little adventure.” “Did we make it? Is everypony okay?” “I think so. Gotta say though, that was more dizzyin’ than fallin’ off a crate of cider blindfolded in a thunderstorm.” “Are you kidding? The Dizzitron at Wonderbolts Academy was worse than that!” “I’m just glad it worked. That was my first time casting that spell to move between dimensions, and I couldn’t have pulled it off without using my alicorn magic. If something had gone wrong…” “Now don’t ya start with all that frettin’ again, sugarcube. Ya ain’t never run across a spell ya couldn’t get a handle on before, and this time wasn’t any different.” “Seriously! After everything we went through on Everglow, it’s kind of late to start doubting yourself now!” “I know. I just wish that we’d been able to find Pinkie, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon.” “You ‘n’ me both…” “Oh come on you two! I keep telling you, they’re fine! Knowing Pinkie, she’s probably taking them on a whirlwind adventure to try and find native Everglow cupcakes or something and that’s why they never met up with us.” “I hope so…” “Look, I feel more responsible than anyone for what happened to those three, but right now worryin’ ain’t gonna help nopony. Instead, we gotta trust that Pinkie can take care of herself and those fillies, while do what we can to help Princess Luna.” “Now that’s what I’m talking about! So how about teleporting us straight to Vanhoover so we can kick Lex Legis’s butt and make him change her back!” “I don't think that's a good idea. I've never been to Vanhoover before, and trying to teleport somewhere without a clear mental image of the location and layout of the destination is risky. Besides, Princess Celestia’s letter said that we should meet her and Luna in Canterlot. If we can figure out what Lex did to her and then undo it, we might not have to fight.” “I hope you’re right, sugarcube.” “Trust me, it’s going to come down to a fight. And when it does, Lex isn’t going to know what hit him!”