//------------------------------// // 520 - Conflict in the Corridor // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “Get back here!” yelled River. “Get back here this instant!” Her command went unacknowledged, causing River to grit her teeth as she broke into a gallop, circling around and placing herself directly in the path of the recalcitrant mare who thought she could ignore her so blithely. “I said STOP!” Years of political maneuvering had taught River to never lose her temper in public. Doing so was a surefire way to lose respect, which in turn diminished her influence. But despite being aware of how many maids, doctors, and butlers were watching her right now, River couldn’t bring herself to remain calm. Not when the pony she’d pinned all of her hopes for the future on was at death’s door and his enemies were gathering! “You and your cohorts are staying here and helping to fortify this place!” she hissed, her words carrying the weight of someone who had decades of experience issuing orders. But C. Shells didn’t look the least bit intimidated, glaring at River with a cold command all her own. “Move,” she growled softly, “or be moved.” River did move, walking forward until she was almost nose-to-nose with C. Shells. “Captain,” she said, her voice filled with quiet menace, “I understand that you’re worried about your crewmate-” “His name is Sandbar,” interjected Compass Rose coldly. “-being left in Princess Twilight’s company now that we know why she’s really here,” continued River. “But I need you to focus on the bigger picture. Lex is critically injured, and the majority of our strongest ponies aren’t much better off. So right now, we need to dig in here and do everything we can to keep Lex safe until Cloudbank can begin healing him. That has to be priority one!” “Sandbar is a member of my crew,” retorted C. Shells. “I don’t leave one of my own behind.” “I’m not suggesting that you leave him behind.” River’s reply came through gritted teeth. “I’m suggesting that your crewmate is-” “Less valuable than Lex?” sneered Ocean Spray. Despite knowing that it was beneath her to reply to the impertinence of someone else’s servant, River couldn’t help but give the pegasus stallion a condescending glare. “Face facts: he is.” “Oh you did not just say that!” growled Scrubby, stomping forward and glaring at River as he raised a hoof to give her a hard poke in the chest. “Look lady, you might think you’re some kinda big shot, but you-, OW! OW! OW! LEMME GO!” His face remaining impassive as he twisted the sailor’s foreleg behind his back, Trotsworth looked over at River. “Madam, Master Piggy and Miss Pixie have been made comfortable in one of the recovery rooms as per your instructions. Is there anything else that you require in the meantime?” “Standby, Trotsworth.” Fighting down a smirk, River kept her gaze locked onto C. Shells. “Well, Captain? Are you going to listen to reason, or is your little thug going to need a recovery room of his own?” “Let me tell you something.” Far from being cowed, C. Shell’s voice was now thick with fury, her eyes blazing, as were those of Ocean Spray and Compass Rose as they took up fighting positions. “My crew and I fought alongside Lex when the sea monsters invaded. Sandbar and I personally went back into Vanhoover at Lex’s direction. So if you think one stuck-up old nag and her butler can threaten my people and get away with it-” “Alright, that’s enough!” The words were accompanied by a kitchen knife – held in a glowing green aura – darting out to slash the empty space between C. Shells’ and River’s muzzles, causing both mares to draw back instinctively. As soon as they did, Garden Gate marched forward, planting herself between the two and glaring at them both in equal measure, her friends moving to either side of her in a silent show of support. “What are you two doing?! We’ve got a princess problem, not to mention Starlight Glimmer being back in the game, and the two of you pick now to start bickering over who’s in charge?!” C. Shells stomped a hoof. “Sandbar is with Princess Twilight, and this old lady’s trying to stop us from going to get him!” “I’m trying to organize a defense for Lex!” scowled River. “That selfish nag doesn’t seem to realize that we need everypony here for that!” “You two…” Garden couldn’t finish, closing her eyes as she swayed, suddenly unsteady. Instantly, hooves reached out to steady her. “You okay?” whispered Turbo. A rush of gratitude mixed with guilt came over Garden then, appreciating that the stallion whose heart she’d just broken was still supporting her, giving him a grateful look. “Yeah.” He managed a smile. “Okay. Anyway, the answer here is pretty clear, so go ahead and tell these crazy ladies how it’s going to be.” Fighting back the urge to snicker, Garden straightened up, taking a deep breath as she glanced at River first, then at C. Shells, holding the latter’s gaze. “Listen, I understand wanting to run out and rescue your friend. But right now we need to focus on protecting Lex first and foremost-” “Wait, what?” interrupted Turbo, giving her a shocked look. “Turbo?” Caught off-guard by the interruption from the pony who had just been backing her up, Garden faltered. “Garden, we need to let them go,” insisted Turbo, pointing to C. Shells and her crew. Garden looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “We need to keep Lex safe!” Out of her peripheral vision, she noted that Funshine, Granola Bar, Slip ‘n’ Slide, and Hopscotch were watching the exchange with worried looks on their faces, and the warmth she’d felt for Turbo suddenly fled, replaced with frustration. “After everything he’s done for us, how is that not obvious?!” “A few ponies leaving won’t make a difference!” As it realizing that he was getting too worked up, Turbo took a slow breath. “Garden, listen to me. I know Sandbar. He was there with me when we went back into Vanhoover, you know…before. If he’s in trouble now, I can’t just sit back and do nothing.” “And who brought you both back when the worst happened, Turbo?” countered Garden quietly. “Who’s the pony responsible for you being here right now?” “The same pony who sent us there to begin with!” snapped Turbo. Under any other circumstances, he felt sure he would have been able to keep his cool. But right now, after what had just transpired between the two of them… Garden seemed to sense that, because she gave him a penetrating look. “Is this about what just happened?” she asked, lowering her voice further. “With us?” “Of course not!” The words came out with more force than he’d intended. “This is about what’s important, and why you and that rich nag can’t see it!” “Call me a nag again,” growled River, “and the next time you want a place to hide like a coward while your leader is out facing some deranged magical mare, it won’t be in my manor.” “Right, because you really got your hooves dirty, chatting up a prince while that Starlight lady was going on a rampage,” jeered Ocean Spray. Slip ‘n’ Slide raised a brow at the pegasus stallion. “Didn’t you guys just show up, like, ten minutes ago, saying that we should let Princess Twilight and her friends come strolling on in?” “And none of us were hiding,” added Funshine, frowning at River. “We were searching this gigantic maze you call a manor to find Lex and tell him what was going on.” But C. Shells had run out of patience. “Every second we waste here puts Sandbar in more danger! I’m not going to tell you again, step aside or be stepped on!” “You need to calm down.” Granola Bar kept her voice firm without being aggressive, trying to reduce the rising tension. “Right now getting angry is only weakening our position.” “What do you mean ‘our’?” shot back Compass Rose, her normally-calm voice thick with frustration. “It’s not your friend who’s in danger!” “We were in Vanhoover after the city fell,” noted Hopscotch. “We know what it’s like to be worried about the ponies you care about, but this-” “Is why you need somepony who’s used to managing others calling the shots,” interrupted River. “So all of you need to stand back and follow my lead until Lex wakes up, at which point-” “Stuff it, lady,” snapped Ocean Spray. “I’m going! And if you don’t like it, then try and stop me!” He flapped his wings then, rising up off the ground in a rush of air, only for his sudden acceleration to pause as a green aura flared to life around him, Garden Gate grimacing with effort. “Down!” she snarled. “Let him go!” yelled Compass Rose, rushing forward to swat at the unicorn. But River wasn’t about to let some irritating tradesmare ruin things. “Trotsworth, stop her!” “Very good, Madam.” Releasing Scrubby – who immediately fell back, whimpering as he rubbed his sore foreleg – the old butler hurried toward Compass Rose. But Funshine, having heard River’s order but misunderstood whom she’d told Trotsworth to subdue, moved to intercept him. “Back off, old-timer. I don’t want to hurt-, whoa!” The larger stallion couldn’t hold back a yelp as Slip ‘n’ Slide suddenly knocked him off-balance, clearing the way for Trotsworth. “Slip, what are you doing?!” “Me?! What are you doing?!” his brother shouted back. “I’m trying to-, oof!” He didn’t have a chance to finish as C. Shells knocked him aside, trying to barrel her way through. She almost made it, only for River to grab her tail in her teeth and drag her back. “Oh no you don’t!” Everypony watching stepped back as the altercation descended into an all-out brawl, yelps of surprise and roars of anger and cries of pain filling the air, growing louder by the second. A few doctors tried to approach, hoping to break things up, but were forced back by the fury of the conflict. Helpless, all they could do was watch the buffeting of wings, flashes of magic, and heavy swinging of hooves as bedlam reigned. Peering out from where she’d cracked a door open, Feather Duster’s eyes widened as she beheld the chaos. From behind her, Cleansweep raised her voice. “Is it Princess Twilight?! Is she attacking?! I’m gonna go help!” “No, sweetheart,” replied Feather Duster quickly, closing the door firmly. “It’s just the grown-ups having an, um, animated discussion. A very animated discussion. You should stay here with your friends. I’m sure they’ll want to see you when they wake up.” “Geez, babe, let the kid have some fun,” chastised Tryout with a chuckle. “I bet she’d get a kick out of-” “Tryout, my love,” interrupted Feather Duster as she closed the door firmly behind her. “Shut up.” “Alright, break it up! Break it up! I said BREAK IT UP!” The scream, augmented by magic, was loud enough that it sent the majority of the combatants sprawling, falling over each other in a tangle of limbs. Dazed, they slowly climbed to their hooves, shaking their heads and groaning as they looked at the owner of the voice that had so effectively ended their battle royale. Most winced when they saw who it was. Striding down the hallway toward them, Sonata couldn’t have looked more furious if she’d tried. Following after her, Thermal Draft looked more bewildered than upset. “What the heck is going on out here?!” “Sandbar is with the princess, and we-” “I’m trying to protect-” “NO!” shouted Sonata, stamping a hoof. “You know what? Just no!” She glared at C. Shells and River in turn, and when neither dared to say anything lest they upset her more, she kept going. “Lex is fighting for his life right now, and I should be in there with him, but instead I’m out here because you guys totes can’t get your act together! So I’m gonna do like he would and pick someone at random to tell me what’s going on, got it?! Good! Now: eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a pony by his toe-, er, hoof, no, wait…you know what? Forget this. You! What’s this all about?” “U-um, well,” gulped Hopscotch, having been the one Sonata pointed at. “It was like this…” By the time she was finished explaining what had happened, Sonata looked calmer, though still very upset. “Okay, look, I don’t know who’s in charge while Lex recovering, but since Aria doesn’t care about what happens to the rest of you guys right now, how about we all pretend that I am, okay? Anypony have a problem with that?” Everyone shook their head. “Terrific! Now, you guys,” she looked at C. Shells and her crew then. “Go ahead and go rescue your friend.” “But…!” Unable to help herself, River took a step forward. “This is what Lex would want,” interjected Thermal Draft quickly, before Sonata could say anything. “If he could talk to us right now, this is what he’d say to do. Even if it wasn’t one of the ponies he went out of his way to resurrect, he’d never suggest leaving someone else in danger just to protect him.” River couldn’t protest that, folding her ears back as she looked down. Letting out a sigh, Thermal Draft turned her attention to Sonata. “Why don’t you head back in there. I’ll keep an eye on things out here for you.” Sonata bit her lip, glancing back at the door to Lex’s room. “You don’t mind?” Smiling, Thermal Draft shook her head. “I’ll be fine. And tell Cloudy to stay there with you guys. Since she’s the one who’ll get healing magic first, she needs to keep right next to Lex until she does, just to be safe.” Clearly relieved to have someone else handling things, Sonata nodded, giving the other mare a grateful smile. “Thanks, Drafty.” She didn’t wait for a reply before hurrying back, the situation with everyone else already forgotten. Once she’d disappeared back into Lex’s room, Thermal Draft let out a breath, turning to look at C. Shells. “Alright, let’s get ready to do this.” The nautical pony blinked. “Wait…you’re coming with us?” “Turbo’s not the only one who was with you and Sandbar when you guys went into Vanhoover, remember?” Drafty was already moving as she spoke, motioning for the others to follow her. “He’s my friend too, and I’m going to get him back.”