//------------------------------//
// 515 - Infiltrate to Ameliorate 
// Story: Lateral Movement 
// by Alzrius 
//------------------------------//

“Okay, I think we’re in the right place this time.”

“I hope so,” muttered Soft Mane, trying not to sound annoyed. 

But some of her irritation must have leaked into her voice, because Pixie glanced back at her with a guilty expression. “Sorry. This is my first time actually visiting River’s home. I knew she lived in a huge house but I didn’t think it’d be this huge!”

“Oh, it’s not your fault,” insisted Fluttershy. “I’m sure we would have gotten even more lost on our own if you weren’t here to guide us.”

“And we did manage to find a bathroom, at least,” sighed Soft Mane. “Now if we could just manage to talk to River Bank or Sonata, we’d be all set.”

“Or,” offered Fluttershy after a moment’s hesitation, “we could still go back and talk to Twilight instead, and-”

“I knew it!” Pixie’s triumphant cry cut Fluttershy off as the unicorn mare pointed at something on the ground, which on closer inspection turned out to be a discarded bandage. Further down the hallway a pair of cylindrical caps – the kind used to cover a syringe – littered the ground, with some used swabs on the floor further beyond them. “I knew this hallway looked familiar! I was following along when the doctors were rushing everypony back here, which means that they should be further ahead, and I bet River is still there too!”

Squinting as she peered as far as she could down the hallway, Soft Mane crouched down. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Now we just have to figure out how to get to River or Sonata without anypony else finding us first.”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose at that. “We do?” she asked, her voice full of doubt.

Pixie rubbed her chin, clearly intrigued by the challenge. “Hmm, if I had a couple of full-size mirrors and an hour to arrange everything, I bet I could pull that off. If only I knew what room they were in…”

Not liking the turn things had taken, Fluttershy moved forward and put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Soft Mane, I don’t mean to be disagreeable, but I don’t think that sneaking around like this is a good idea. Maybe, instead of acting like we’re trying to slip into someplace we don’t belong, we could have Pixie walk us in and politely inquire where River Bank is? That way nopony would think we were trying to do something bad like that filly thought we were.”

“That won’t work,” insisted Soft Mane, shaking her head. “Fluttershy, that old butler already told us that River and Sonata don’t want our help when he threw us out the first time.”

“But those other ponies we met-”

“That sea captain owes Lex her life,” interrupted Soft Mane. “I know you guys are celebrities, but if push comes to shove, I don’t see her or her crew insisting that we be allowed in if River tells them that she thinks we’re a threat to their savior.”

Fluttershy’s ears folded back at that, discouraged. “They might,” she objected weakly. “We told them about what Rainbow Dash did, and how we’re trying to fix it now.”

“I know, but our best bet is to plead our case directly,” replied Soft Mane, her voice firm with conviction, “and we can’t do that if we never get to meet with the ponies in charge, which is what will happen if we run into some butler or doctor or someone who insists on escorting us back to that parlor to wait for River or Sonata or whoever to make up their mind. If we want to have any chance of helping Lex understand the magic of friendship, we have to do this.” A smirk crossed her lips then. “Plus, I’ll be able to rub it in Spike’s face that I was getting stuff done while he was moping over his old crush flirting with someone else.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at that last part. “That’s really not a good reason to-”

But Soft Mane was already moving on to the next part of her plan. “Pixie, can you figure out what room River’s in and let us know? There’s probably a lot more people that way, and since Fluttershy’s famous and I’m…different, you’re the only one who can poke around without raising concerns if you’re seen.”

Pixie nodded, smirking a little. “That’s no problem. If someone asks what I’m doing, I’ll just say I got tired of being stuck in a room with River’s son. If he treats the staff here the way he did me, they’ll understand.”

Fluttershy was practically trembling now, her heart hammering in her chest as what had started as a simple excursion to go freshen up had somehow turned into a clandestine infiltration mission. “We really shouldn’t be doing this,” she whimpered.

But it was already too late, as Pixie moved out into the center of the hallway and began to trot forward, leaving Soft Mane and Fluttershy to try and hide behind a small console table hugging the wall. Fluttershy held her breath as Pixie casually made her way over to a door and – glancing each way – opened it, sticking her head inside. When she drew back a second later and shook her head, it was all Fluttershy could do not to collapse, the tension almost making her dizzy.

The next door yielded the same results, with Pixie again closing it after only a second’s perusal. At that point the only way for her to go was around a corner, and it was with a quick glance back that she turned and moved out of sight, leaving Fluttershy biting her lip and shaking like a leaf, already imagining the numerous ways this could go horribly wrong. What if somepony gets suspicious and follows her back to us without her knowing? What if somepony finds us hiding here while we’re waiting for her to come back? What if Lex Legis had already recovered and makes Pixie tell him that we’re here and curses us before we can get away?! What if-

Her panic-spiral was cut off as Pixie suddenly ran back around the corner, causing Fluttershy to gasp. A moment later she heard Soft Mane do the same, the human/pony hybrid’s clouded vision hiding Pixie’s approach for a fraction of a second. But unlike Fluttershy, Soft Mane calmed down immediately, likely because of the crucial detail that Fluttershy had, in her fright, initially missed:

Pixie was smiling.

“You guys!” whispered the aquamarine mare as she ran up to them. “You’re not going to believe this!”

“What?!” blurted Fluttershy, not able to handle the suspense. “What is it?!”

Pixie waited just an instant before speaking, unable to help but let the drama build before the big reveal. “I think I’ve found where Lex is recovering!”





Fluttershy felt like she was going to throw up as the door closed behind them, leaving her and Soft Mane alone with the most dangerous pony in all of Equestria.

It had been less than thirty seconds since Pixie had told them about how she’d spotted a pair of doctors exiting a room, the pair taking no notice of her as they’d conversed among themselves. She, however, had distinctly heard them say “still hasn’t regained consciousness” and “severe horn trauma.” Knowing who that sounded like, she’d hurried to check the room the medical ponies had just vacated, hoping that River would be at Lex’s side.

“But there wasn’t anyone else in there,” River had told them in a rush. “Still, with what you guys said about wanting to use your magic to help Lex, I knew I had to tell you where he was!”

Fluttershy had been ready to bolt at that, and had tried to convince Soft Mane to join her in doing so. For a moment Soft Mane had wavered, looking like she wasn’t sure what to do, and Fluttershy had dared to hope that she’d realize just how dangerous this was. But that hope had been dashed a moment later when her friend shook her head. “Twilight was right. Maybe Lex won’t change his ways if I help him now, but we’ll never know unless I try.”

That was how the two of them found themselves standing in Lex’s room, Pixie remaining outside to keep watch and alert them if it looked like anypony was coming.

For her part, Fluttershy couldn’t bear to look across the room, curling up behind Soft Mane as she squeezed her eyes shut. Not that she would have been able to see much anyway; the curtains were drawn and the lights were out, leaving the entire room shrouded in darkness. The only glimpse she’d gotten of the room’s sole occupant had been the bandaged form that she’d glimpsed on the bed that hugged the far wall when Pixie had ushered them in a moment ago. Now, she could almost imagine those awful green-and-purple eyes she’d heard about suddenly lighting up, turning to face them before unleashing-

“Ropes?” Soft Mane muttered, her voice confused.

“Wh-what?” gulped Fluttershy, cracking one eye open.

“They’ve got him tied down,” replied Soft Mane quietly. “There’s ropes securing all four of his legs to the bedposts.”

Fluttershy blinked at that, curiosity momentarily overpowering fear as she glanced toward the back of the room. But without any lights on, it was all she could do to make out the outline of the bed, let alone any details. “You can see that?”

“My distance vision is almost completely gone, but if I’m looking at something nearby I can see fine even in the dark,” explained Soft Mane. “I think it’s Lashtada’s way of trying to make up for what happened to my eyes when she first made me her oracle. Although colors are still completely washed out if there’s no light.” 

“Oh.” Fluttershy digested that for a moment. “So, um, can you see why they’ve tied Lex up?”

Soft Mane peered ahead for a long moment before shaking her head. “No. Between the bandages and the blanket covering him, I can barely see him at all. But they’ve definitely immobilized him for some reason. Maybe they’ve realized he’s the bad guy after all?”

“Or maybe he’s still dangerous even when he’s unconscious,” whimpered Fluttershy, remembering everything she’d been told about what Lex could do. She couldn’t imagine what horrible powers he could have that would require him to be tied up even when he was out cold, and she definitely didn’t want to find out!

But Soft Mane was apparently made out of sterner stuff, taking a deep breath. “Here goes.”

It took only a few seconds for her to murmur the quiet liturgy to Lashtada and make the requisite gestures, holding her hand out when she was finished. “This is one of my stronger healing spells,” she explained. “Judging from what Rainbow Dash said, I doubt it’ll heal all of his wounds, but when I touch him it’ll almost certainly be enough to wake him up, so be prepared, okay?”

Licking her lips, which had gone completely dry, Fluttershy nodded. “O-okay,” she squeaked. “I’m r-r-right behind you.”

Slowly, Soft Mane crept forward, Fluttershy following her despite the overpowering urge to run away. All too soon, they were at Lex’s bedside, with Fluttershy’s eyes adjusting to the gloom enough that she could just barely make out her friend reaching out and drawing back the blanket covering Lex with one hand, the other one held at the ready to reach down and deliver her healing magic…

Soft Mane suddenly stiffened. “Oh no!”

“What?!” Fluttershy felt her blood run cold. “What is it?!”

“It’s not him!”

That hadn’t been what Fluttershy had expected to hear. “Huh?!”

“It’s not Lex!” repeated Soft Mane, her voice frantic. “I don’t know who this is, but she’s a mare!”

“W-we’re in the wrong room!” realized Fluttershy, not sure whether to feel relieved or horrified. “We’re-”

Across from them, the door to the hallway suddenly burst open. “Somepony’s coming!” hissed Pixie. “Hide!”

But the sudden entrance had been more than Fluttershy’s poor nerves could take. Before Pixie had gotten her second syllable out, Fluttershy had already leapt forward, instinctively trying to get away from whatever was happening. And since she was behind Soft Mane, that resulted in her barreling into the back of her friend’s legs, letting out a muffled groan as the two of them went down in a heap, Fluttershy collapsing next to the bed as Soft Mane pitched forward onto it.

And causing her to accidentally put her hands on the bound pony beneath her, discharging her healing magic into the comatose mare, who immediately began to stir…