//------------------------------// // 548 - The Inner Circle // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “The guests from Las Pegasus have all been shown to their accommodations, and are ready to meet with you at your convenience, Your Highness,” reported River, grinning widely as she moved to take a seat at the far end of Lex’s study. From behind the desk that dominated the back corner of the room, Lex didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. “I would find it convenient to do this now. The sooner I can take out a loan from those ponies, the sooner I’ll be able to start repairing Vanhoover in earnest.” “If I may be so bold, Your Highness,” chirped Stuffed Shirt, the stallion who had been Blueblood’s – and was now Lex’s – valet. Throwing a suspicious glance at Feather Duster, who was standing behind his new employer in the traditional position of a personal attendant, he stepped forward from his position beside the study’s entrance, smiling deferentially. “I believe it may be helpful to keep the Las Pegasus ponies waiting. Doing so sends the message that they’re the ones here to serve your interests, rather than the other way around. That will help to quash any ideas they may have about taking advantage of your being new to your royal status.” “Anyone who thinks they can take advantage of Lex is in for a rude awakening,” snickered Aria. Seated on the edge of Lex’s desk, she shot the scrawny stallion a dark smile. “I tried it once, and I got spanked. Hard.” Shifting her weight in a way that was almost a wriggle, she grinned as she watched the scandalized servant’s face turn red. He wasn’t the only one, Cloudbank needing a moment to collect herself before she glanced at River. “Won’t they be upset if Lex makes them sit around and wait, though?” “Are you kidding?” Barely able to keep herself from laughing, River shook her head. “They get to be the first ponies to meet the new prince. If we told them to wait a month, they’d do it!” “Our finances won’t last a month,” rumbled Lex. “Which is why Vanhoover needs an infusion of bits as soon as possible. The time it will take those ponies to travel back to Las Pegasus, round up the first payment, and send it here will already eat into most of our remaining resources. And even if those ponies are as servile toward royalty as you’ve claimed, and agree to all of my terms without protest, securing the loan I want from them will still require hours – more likely days – of meetings.” “How come?” piped up Sonata. Seated on the other side of his desk, across from Aria, she tilted her head. “I mean, River made it sound like these guys are gonna do whatever you want, right?” The last word was directed at the mare in question, who nodded. “These ponies were all willing to kiss Blueblood’s flank in hopes of getting in good with him. I really don’t think our new prince will have any trouble keeping them in line.” River’s words came out amid an undercurrent of chuckles, making no attempt to hide how satisfying she found that prospect. “Right,” nodded Sonata, before turning back to Lex. “So how come this is gonna take so long? Can’t you just say ‘gimme the money’ and have them say ‘okay’ and that’s that?” “While simplistic, your, ah, paramour is correct, Your Highness,” noted Stuffed Shirt, giving Sonata an uncomfortable look before turning his full attention to Lex. “The traditional relationship between royalty and ponies of means is that the latter give gifts to the former, typically via oral agreement. When documentation is necessary, such as in the bequeathment of property, their respective staffs handle the details that their betters have already agreed upon. To personally haggle with your guests about the specifics, and over a loan, no less…” He let his voice trail away, clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of his new liege going into debt. “Actually, I’m a little curious about that as well,” added Cloudbank. “Lex, why ask for a loan instead-” “Your Highness,” cut in Stuffed Shirt, frowning in disapproval. “The proper term of address for a prince is ‘Your Highness.’ Or ‘Your Royal Highness’ if you want to emphasize your obeisance to the crown. ‘Sire’ or ‘Prince Lex’ are also acceptable. The only exceptions are family or those who have an intimate relationship with the sovereign pony in question. Seeing as you do not-” “That’s enough.” Lex’s rebuke was quiet, but it was enough to make Stuffed Shirt flinch. “But Sire, protocol-” “Matters only as much as I want it to, which right now is very little.” Although Lex’s eyes changed color only for a second, that was more than enough to quell Stuffed Shirt’s protests, the valet slinking backward until he was again standing next to the entrance to the study, murmuring apologies the entire way. As he did, Lex took a moment to calm himself. Stuffed Shirt hadn’t done anything wrong, he knew; as a royal valet, part of his job was to make sure that various conventions and formalities were observed. But seeing him dress down Cloudbank on his behalf like that had made Lex wince internally, still viscerally aware of how badly he’d failed the pegasus mare by not protecting her from being slaughtered by Xiriel. That one of her first acts after being brought back to life had been to assist him in his fight against Starlight Glimmer had only exacerbated his discomfort now. For someone who strove to live their life in an upstanding manner, it was an intolerable feeling. “To answer your question,” he continued as he turned his attention to Cloudbank, his lingering guilt driving him to indulge her, “there are several reasons I want a loan rather than a gift. First, because I suspect that these ponies will be more inclined to agree to a larger sum if I make it clear that I intend to pay it back, with interest. Second, because successfully paying back the debt will establish that my government’s credit is reliable. And third…” He glanced at Stuffed Shirt again. Everypony else in the room with him now was someone he trusted, with the stallion being the only one who hadn’t proven himself. But while Lex was tempted the send the gangly unicorn out of the study, he checked that urge. The Night Mare’s lesson about his needing to delegate responsibility among the ponies under his authority was even more fresh in his mind than his guilty conscience toward Cloudbank. Stuffed Shirt’s position as Blueblood’s valet meant that he doubtlessly had connections to the various retainers surrounding the princesses. It would be a simple matter for him to pass them sensitive information, be it disguised in otherwise-innocuous letters to friends and colleagues, meeting clandestinely with ponies who would run back to Canterlot with what he told them, or simply reporting to Luna in his dreams, something Lex felt certain she’d still be able to do since his curse hadn’t suppressed the magic of her cutie mark. Those risks – which extended, to a lesser degree, to all of the servants that he’d inherited from Blueblood – were all very real. It was all too easy for Lex to imagine his new retainers celebrating his downfall the way that they had celebrated their previous employer’s. But at the same time, this particular secret wasn’t really anything that Stuffed Shirt could act on. While what Lex wanted from the Las Pegasus ponies was exceptionally important to his future plans, the deal would be struck before they left Vanhoover, which would give Celestia no real time to react even if Stuffed Shirt told Luna everything in a dream tonight. So if the valet tried to use this information against him, he – or someone else among his group, if he told them what he heard here – would need to do it here, on their own, before the loan agreement was completed. Such subterfuge would be much easier to detect and defeat, thanks to the support of the ponies Lex already trusted, and would serve as a decent barometer of how reliable the newest addition to his inner circle was. “Third, the loan won’t be made by those ponies directly. Instead, I’m going to have them form a corporate entity, which they’ll finance, whose sole purpose will be to loan money to my administration. Doing so guarantees that Las Pegasus will come under my authority.” He leaned back in his seat then, pushing his suspicions and recriminations away in favor of a moment of self-satisfaction at how elegant his plan was. At least until Garden Gate, who had been silent up until now, spoke up from where she was sitting at the small writing desk opposite Stuffed Shirt. “…I don’t understand.” Frowning, his enthusiasm dampened, Lex tried again. “Once they agree to form a corporation for the purpose of loaning my government money, they’ll all be bound to the terms agreed therein, not just individually but as a group. Not only will they have a vested interest in the success of my rule – since that’s the only way they’ll get their money back – but the corporate structure will serve as an entity that polices its aggregate members against financial malfeasance or fiscal irresponsibility, assuring compliance.” Silence fell for a long moment, before Aria looked at River. “You’re a banker. Translate.” “This isn’t exactly my area,” mumbled River. “My institutions usually dealt with private accounts, safety deposit boxes, letters of credit, that sort of thing. This is…” “Let me try this again,” growled Lex after River trailed off. “Rather than having two dozen individual agreements between myself and everypony from Las Pegasus, I'll have one agreement with the group those ponies have formed. So now, instead of it being my problem if one pony can’t live up to their promises, it’s the rest of the group’s problem.” “Ohhh,” nodded Sonata, a distant look in her eyes. “It’s like how a big music contest judges your entire band, so if the drummer gets sick, you’ll all be disqualified even though everyone else showed up on time, since you still can’t play.” “So you better make sure the entire band shows up, no matter what,” nodded Aria. “That makes sense.” “…close enough,” sighed Lex disgustedly. “And that gives you control of Las Pegasus?” asked Cloudbank, trying not to sound overly skeptical. By now thoroughly irked that no one could see what was right in front of them, Lex’s response was more sardonic than usual. “This corporation will be composed of the richest and most influential members of the city, all of whom are now operating under a collective obligation that invests heavily in my success. When I declare that Las Pegasus is now part of an independent polity from Equestria – along with Vanhoover, Tall Tale, and the surrounding territories – under my absolute control, do you really think they’ll refuse to recognize my authority?” Cloudbank’s eyes widened. “Wait…” But she was beaten to the punch as Stuffed Shirt took a step forward, his jaw hanging open. “Y-Your Highness,” he began, needing a moment to find his voice. “Your Highness, are you saying…?” “You already saw that I have the support of everypony here in Vanhoover,” replied Lex flatly. “And the situation is similar in Tall Tale. Once this agreement is struck and I have Las Pegasus, every major city on the western coast will answer to me. Since the satellite villages and nearby townships depend on those cities, they’ll follow suit. I’ve repeatedly demonstrated that my administration will work to uplift those ponies it oversees, more so than the princesses have, so there can be no credible claim that I don’t have the requisite moral authority to rule on my own. And I’ve showcased that I can resist any challenges the princesses can throw at me anyway.” “So…so becoming a prince…?” gulped Stuffed Shirt. “Wasn’t part of my original plan,” admitted Lex. “I didn’t foresee Blueblood being as monumentally stupid as he was. But now that I’ve seized his title, I suspect that everypony will accept what’s going to happen even easier than they would have otherwise. After all, once it becomes common knowledge that I'm a prince, controlling territory will simply seem like a natural extension of that. Right now it's just a matter of waiting for word to spread that I've become royalty, along with letting the new corporation establish itself in Las Pegasus.” That brought a thin smile to Lex's lips, knowing that for once time was on his side. “But by this time next year, I won't be a prince anymore. I'll be a king.”