//------------------------------// // 531 - Feather Touched // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Feather Duster groaned as the alarm clock went off, her eyes fluttering open as she was dragged back to wakefulness. It took her more than one attempt to fish the hateful timepiece out from under her pillow and turn it off, her bleariness making her uncoordinated and clumsy. As it was, she stared at the thing for several seconds afterward, wondering why she’d put it there in the first place. It was only belatedly that she remembered not wanting to disturb anypony else, hoping that the pillow would muffle the accursed thing’s ringing enough that she – with her head directly over it – would be the only one it woke. A glance around confirmed that her plan had succeeded, as none of her fellow maids were stirring. Of course, having only gone to sleep four hours ago, that wasn’t particularly surprising. After how late they’d all been up, as well as the accumulated stress from everything that had happened yesterday, Feather Duster suspected that a dozen alarm clocks wouldn’t have woken them up. Still, she hadn’t wanted to be rude, especially since the slumbering mares had done her a favor by letting her bunk with them. Of course, she wouldn’t have needed to do so if not for her insensitive lout of a husband. “C’mon, babe!” “Keep your voice down!” Shooting a quick glance at the foals to make sure they hadn’t been disturbed, Feather Duster gave her husband a glare once she was satisfied that he hadn’t woken them. “Tryout, we are not doing it right here while the children are asleep!” He’d actually had the gall to look mildly exasperated at that. “Obviously!” he’d snorted, before his expression turned into the impish grin he so often wore, nodding toward the closet door on the far side of the room. “I was thinking that, since we’re talking about being naughty, that we could be put in ‘time out’ instead.” Feather Duster took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. “It’s been a very long day, and I’m exhausted,” she began. “We can do it some other night.” “You’ve been saying that since I got back!” His cheerful demeanor finally slipped then, revealing an undercurrent of frustration. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, his boyish smile returning. “C’mon, it’ll do you a world of good. You’ve been so stressed out lately, you’ll feel better after you’ve blown off some steam. And a few other things,” he added with a wink. When she’d been younger, the lewd come-on would have made Feather Duster blush and giggle, thrilled that somepony so wild was making a pass at a plain, soft-spoken girl like her. But the last few weeks had been stressful enough that renewing the conjugal part of her marriage had been the furthest thing from her mind. And after everything that had just happened – the anxiety of their home being attacked again, the heartache brought on by seeing their daughter’s injuries, and her lingering irritation at how Tryout had encouraged Cleansweep to go hang out with Rainbow Dash – the prospect of changing that now was utterly nonexistent. “If you need your steam blown, you’ll have to do it yourself,” she muttered, too tired to keep arguing. “It’s late, and I have to be up early. I’m going to sleep.” She’d headed toward one of the unoccupied beds then, but hadn’t made it more than two steps before Tryout was suddenly beside her, giving her a nuzzle as he’d pressed his side to hers. “Don’t be like that,” he’d murmured, his voice still filled with desire. “I know you need this. I need it too.” It was shock that kept her from reacting immediately, unable to believe how childish he was being about this. Then she extended her wing, pushing him away. “What are you doing?!” she snapped, barely managing to keep her voice down. “Get ahold of yourself!” But he apparently wasn’t willing to take no for an answer, slipping under her wing to resume rubbing against her. “Just let this happen,” he breathed, leaning in to nip at her neck, ignoring her squirming to get away. “We can make it a quick one.” She tried to put some distance between them, but with him under her wing flying wasn’t possible. And she’d taken less than two steps away from him when she hit the back wall, leaving her with nowhere to go as he’d continued to smother her with unwanted affection. “That’s enough, Tryout!” His wing slid down her side and across her flank then, flicking her tail up in a way that made the hem of her dress rise. She tried to kick the probing limb away, but her hoof only grazed his feathers, and he didn’t seem to notice, burying his face in her mane and inhaling deeply as he raised a foreleg to caress her chest. “I’m serious! Knock it off!” “Just relax,” he shushed her, refusing to listen to her protests. His wing was still moving, trying to work her dress up as he pressed himself against her more. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise.” Gritting her teeth, Feather Duster briefly contemplated just letting him do what he wanted. If she kept fighting him there was a good chance that they’d end up waking the foals, and that was something she wanted to avoid quite badly now. With how worked up he was, it would probably be over quickly anyway. But as much sense as it made to just stop resisting, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. After everything that she’d been through the last several weeks – not knowing what had happened to her family while she’d escaped to Las Pegasus with River Bank, seeing her home reduced to a ruin once she’d come back, the low-grade terror that she’d lived in after her employer had ordered her to offer herself to Vanhoover’s new ruler, and so many other events that had left her nerves completely frayed – this was more than she could take. Her husband was supposed to be the one pony she could always count on to help her deal with her troubles. Instead, he was so wrapped up in what he wanted that he was making them worse. This was the last straw. By that point Tryout had gotten the hem of her dress over her hips, moving behind her. “That’s my girl,” he purred, almost panting by now. “I knew you’d give me what I need.” Simmering in silent fury, Feather Duster waited until she felt his forelegs settle on her flanks, holding her steady as he brushed her tail to the side. In another second, she knew, she’d feel his weight settle onto her back. But she didn’t intend to give him a chance. This time, when she kicked out, her hind leg hit exactly what it was aiming for. A strangled groan of agony escaped Tryout’s lips as he crumpled to the floor, whimpering as he put his front hooves between his hind legs protectively. Fixing her dress, it was with no small amount of satisfaction that Feather Duster watched as tears slid down his cheeks, gagging as his face took on a greenish pallor. After several seconds of dry heaving, he managed to regain enough self-control to look up at her, his eyes filled with shock as much as anguish. “B-babe…” he gasped. “Why?” “I was just giving you what you needed,” she replied, her voice filled with icy sweetness. “And you were right. I really needed that too.” And without another word, she’d turned and left him there, marching out to go find someplace else to sleep. Shaking her head at the memory, Feather Duster sighed. As satisfying as it had been to put a stop to Tryout’s selfishness, she knew it didn’t really solve anything; his lack of understanding about why she’d lashed out made that perfectly clear. But she couldn’t afford to focus on the rocky state of her marriage right now. She had a job to do. Quietly, she hurried down the hallway toward the dining room. The staff on night patrol had told her that Master Legis had already gotten up, leaving Miss Dusk and Miss Blaze asleep in bed as he’d gone to take his morning meal in the southern dining hall. But as his personal assistant, Feather Duster knew she was supposed to be there in case he required anything, and while she no longer found herself terrified to be in his presence, she still found herself rattled by knowing that she had – no matter the circumstances – failed to fulfill her duty to him. Turning a corner, she paused to give herself a quick once-over, making sure she was presentable before giving the door to the dining room a soft knock. “Enter.” “Master Legis,” she murmured deferentially as she walked inside, keeping her eyes on the floor. “Please pardon my tardiness.” When he didn’t respond, she dared to glance upward. If Master Legis had heard her, he didn’t show it. Instead, he sat at the head of the long table, regarding several papers spread out in front of him. His eyes were shining green and purple, but Feather Duster had been around him long enough to know that was probably because of his telekinesis, a churning aura surrounding a spoon as he ate that same porridge as always, eschewing the variety of tasty dishes that the kitchen staff could have prepared for him. Realizing that he wasn’t going to say anything about her late appearance, she gave an inward sigh of relief, moving to stand behind and slightly to the left of him. It was the traditional place for an attendant, Trotsworth had told her. Unlike other servants, who were expected to remain at a distance when not performing a function, they needed to always be close at hoof so that their master could motion them closer in order to pass them something or whisper instructions that weren’t meant for anyone else’s ears. There were numerous exceptions, of course, and she’d strived to memorize them all, but eating alone wasn’t one of them. As she stood there, watching him eat the only meal he took in a day, she found herself comparing him to Tryout for some reason. Or more specifically, comparing how Tryout had acted last night to the way Master Legis had acted when she’d thrown herself at him on River Bank’s orders. Her husband, who was an affable pony by any measure, hadn’t respected her wishes, whereas Master Legis, who had no charm or elegance whatsoever, had refused to take advantage of her. True, he’d done so in a cold and off-putting manner, and most likely out of animus more than consideration, but he had still- “I’m given to understand,” began Lex abruptly. “That you authorized the release of a storm cloud on my behalf yesterday.” It took Feather Duster a moment to catch up to what he was saying, not realizing he’d known that. Somepony must have told him last night, after I put the foals to bed. “Y-yes, sir.” He’d turned his head slightly then, glancing back at her. “I’ll have you explain your actions now.” Nodding, her throat suddenly dry, she launched into the incident in question. It didn’t take her very long to recount what had happened, and why she’d acted the way that she had. When she finished she bit her lip, trying to fight the cold shiver going down her spine. He couldn’t possibly be mad about the loss of one storm cloud, could he? Especially when those two mares had used it to help him? Lex turned back to his food after she’d finished, but the page of writing that he slid away from himself, along with a quill and inkwell, made it clear that he hadn’t forgotten about her. “I want you to sign this.” Nervously, Feather Duster took a step forward. “What is it?” “Your statement of resignation.” The words stopped Feather Duster in her tracks. “What?” “I am, strictly speaking, unable to terminate your employment,” replied Lex, speaking as casually as if he’d been talking about the weather. “Despite acting as my aide, you work for River Bank. And while she works for me, my understanding is that she hired you prior to forfeiting her assets in my favor. To fire you myself would therefore constitute an ex post facto alteration of the terms of your contract of service, and since River herself is currently indisposed, I can’t direct her to release you either. Ergo, your resignation.” He glanced back at her again, his eyes still glowing. “Unless, of course, you refuse to sign.” Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, Feather Duster shook her head, shaking as she approached the table. What did this mean for her family? They wouldn’t starve without her salary, since Master Legis was still passing out free food to everypony, but she was sure that there’d be no place for her or Tryout here in the manor any longer. Cleansweep would probably be allowed to stay, since she was one of Master Legis’s students, but the thought of living apart from her daughter made Feather Duster feel sick to her stomach. Dimly, she dipped the quill in the inkwell and signed her name on the paper, not bothering to read it. He was really firing her over a single cloud? One that had ultimately been used to help him? She knew he’d worked hard to acquire those, wanting to make sure the region had sufficient rainwater, but was a single one really worth more than her service? She received her answer a moment later, as Master Legis withdrew the paper without a word, glancing at it and giving a nod of satisfaction before putting it aside. Feeling utterly wrung out, Feather Duster slumped in place, knowing that she’d just been dismissed. Permanently. “I’ll-” “Now,” interrupted Lex, “review and sign this.” A sheaf of papers, consisting of the other pages that he had been looking over, was laid in front of her then, and she stared at them dumbly, not knowing what was happening. “This is…?” “Your new employment contract.” “…huh?” An annoyed look crossed Lex’s face as he looked at her. “The necessity for this should be obvious. A contributing factor in River’s coercing you into making an inappropriate advance toward me was that she was your boss. This rectifies that situation. You will now work for me directly.” Pausing to finish the last of his porridge, he stood up, his usual sardonic expression reasserting itself. “Your wages reflect the increased salary that River offered to secure your cooperation with her repugnant scheme, along with an increase proportional to the open-ended nature of your work as my aide. Vacation times and benefits are likewise included, along with a buy-back option if you elect not to use them. Adjustments for the cost of living are similarly stipulated, as based on a market-relationship factor compared to the standard of living index which I’ll be rolling out subsequent to Vanhoover’s continued stabilization, prorated of course. And it comes up for renegotiation every three years.” He didn’t bother to look at her as he strode toward the door. “Read it over and let me know if you have any issues with what’s there. If not, sign it and return it to me as soon as possible. There’s work that needs to be done.” Feather Duster’s head was spinning as she looked at the stack of papers, and not just because she couldn’t follow half of what Master Legis had said was in there. “I…don’t understand.” Already halfway to the door, Lex stopped, looking back at her and sighing. “What don’t you understand?” Weakly, she waved a wing at the new contract he’d given her, only barely starting to register that, far from being fired, this was a raise – and then some – in all but name. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” She didn’t just mean the contract. He had to know that she’d spent a long time being terrified of him. That she was still uncertain about having him teaching her daughter, to the point of using her position as his personal assistant to monitor what he was teaching her. That her work as his maid was adequate at best, and nowhere near the level of somepony like Trotsworth. So why…? “Because you exercised good judgment,” replied Lex without pausing. Feather Duster blinked. “I did?” Lex nodded. “When Thermal Draft and Cloudbank ran into procedural issues with securing a storm cloud to use against Starlight Glimmer, you used your position as my assistant to resolve the problem. Given that we were in an emergency situation, one which required decisive action without clear direction, your actions can only be taken as evidence of prudence, which is a quality I require from those ponies in my service.” “O-oh…” Waiting just a moment to see if she had any follow-up, Lex resumed walking when she didn’t say anything. “I imagine you’ll want to talk with your husband before you make a decision,” he continued as he reached the door. “Do so promptly. I want you to get back to work as quickly as possible.” Then he was gone. When his hoofsteps had faded, Feather Duster sat down at the table, flipping through the pages of the contract. Most of it was completely unintelligible to her, despite Lex’s crisp hornwriting. But what she could make out made it clear that he hadn’t been exaggerating: the terms were generous in the extreme. With everything going on, he’d taken the time to write this out himself, wanting to keep her around – and give her more than he already had – all because she’d told Trotsworth to step aside and let those two mares take a storm cloud. “I imagine you’ll want to talk with your husband before you make a decision.” Turning to the last page of the contract, Feather Duster grabbed the quill and hurriedly signed her name before running to catch up to Master Legis.