Having been granted rulership over the city of Vanhoover, and confessed their feelings for each other, Lex Legis and Sonata Dusk have started a new life together. But the challenges of rulership, and a relationship, are more than they bargained for.
River sighed as she closed the door to Piggy’s room, rolling her eyes for what had to be the twentieth time in as many minutes.
After Lex’s abrupt dismissal, she’d returned to her manor, having barely made it in the door when Trotsworth informed her that her son hadn’t come down to breakfast. That had been plenty unusual in and of itself; Piggy never missed a meal unless something was wrong. But the fact that he’d apparently barricaded his room had been enough to leave the staff at a loss, which explained why Trotsworth would bring something as mundane as a simple parenting issue to her attention.
In another circumstance she would simply have told him to have some of the servants force their way into the room and deal with whatever tantrum her son was having, but under the current circumstances that would have been a bad idea. While River had seen Princess Celestia out and about on her way back to her manor, Trotsworth had confirmed that Princess Luna hadn’t left. If the staff had to break down the door or if Piggy made a ruckus then the princess might be disturbed, and that was something River wanted to avoid if at all possible. Even with Vanhoover’s old power structure gone, it was still prudent to save face in front of the alicorns if at all possible, especially since she didn’t want them looking too closely at little things like why she didn’t have the scythe-shaped mark on her face anymore…
So she’d resigned herself to personally dealing with whatever problem Piggy was having. She’d known that it wasn’t really a waste of time; since Lex had dismissed her, she was basically just waiting for him to call on her again so that they could go over the ledger of the Banks’ family finances. But it had still been irritating that she’d needed to deal with such a minor inconvenience all by herself.
That feeling had been compounded by how it had taken nearly five whole minutes of coaxing to get Piggy to let her in, and then another ten to get him to open up about what was bothering him. “The p-p-princesses are g-gonna throw me in-T-T-Tartarus!” he’d wailed, before recounting how he’d apparently fallen in with some kind of street gang after the floodwaters had receded. River hadn’t known whether to be horrified at the knowledge that her son had apparently become some sort of thug in her absence or burst out laughing that he thought that Celestia and Luna had come here specifically to punish him for it.
Of course, she knew better than to do either; after all, his staying in his room like this nicely kept him from being underhoof while the princesses were here. That, and this was a chance to remind him of who the most important mare in his life was, in case that Granola Bar tart dared to show her face here again. Thus, she’d gently reassured him that the princesses wouldn’t do anything to him so long as she was here, wiping his eyes and tousling his hair and asking a few pointed questions about the ruffians that he’d fallen in with. She hadn’t been able to learn much about Granola Bar though, since she’d avoided asking about her directly; she’d already intercepted and countermanded Piggy’s order to the staff to tell him if that mare ever showed up again, so there was no reason to broach the issue otherwise.
After a few minutes she’d managed to calm Piggy down to where he was no longer trying to turn his room into a fortress, but was still too intimidated to venture outside, instead asking for food to be sent up to him until the princesses left. That was an arrangement that River had no problem with, since it kept him from being underhoof while she tried to manage things. “Speaking of which…” she muttered to herself as she caught sight of a nearby grandfather clock. Looking at it for a moment, she turned down a nearby hallway and made her way toward the guest quarters. Her manor was spacious enough that it took her a minute to reach her destination, but as she rounded the last corner she came to a halt.
A black-and-white stallion with a withered hind leg was standing guard outside of the princesses’ room.
Slowing her pace just for a moment as the two-toned pony looked at her, River plastered a smile across her face as she strode up to him. “Hi there,” she began, her voice warm and easy thanks to years of practice. “You’re Silhouette, right? I’m River Bank, and-”
“Keep your voice down,” interrupted Silhouette. “The goddess is resting, and I won’t have you disturbing her.”
River chuckled in a manner that had nothing to do with humor and everything to do with showing him how little she thought of his warning. “That’s the thing. You see, it’s going to be noon in a little while, and Princess Luna has an important meeting then.”
“I’m fully aware of the time,” replied Silhouette, the disinterest in his voice making it clear that “fully aware of” meant “couldn’t care less about.” “Now,” he continued, “if you have no other business here, you’ll need to leave.”
If things had been how they were before Vanhoover had flooded, River wouldn’t have hesitated to tear the little twerp a new one for thinking that he could order her around in her own home. But she had already made the mistake of thinking that way with Lex, and it had resulted in her being cursed horribly. She wasn’t about to make that blunder a second time. “You’re not concerned that she’ll be late for her appointment?” she asked, putting just enough of an edge into her words to make clear the implication that if that happened, it would be his fault.
But Silhouette merely snorted. “She is the goddess Luna. If others have to wait for her to grace them with her presence, then they should do so thankfully. Anypony who thinks that she should inconvenience herself for their benefit…” He turned so that he was facing her directly then, taking a single step in her direction, “…will have to answer to me.”
A single, mocking laugh was River’s response. She had learned her lesson about throwing her weight around so carelessly, but that didn’t mean that she needed to roll over either. “And I’m sure you’ll do a very good job of it, unless you have to deal with a group of unarmed children.” She hadn’t seen last night’s debacle, having arrived shortly after it had ended, but Sonata and Nosey had been happy to tell her all about it over breakfast that morning.
Silhouette stiffened in indignation, the barb quite clearly striking a nerve. “You need to leave,” he growled. “Right now.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Putting a hoof to her chin, River pretended to consider his words. “I certainly wouldn’t want to defy a member of the Royal Guard.” She looked him over then, slowly and deliberately. “I mean, you are a member of the Royal Guard, aren’t you? You were wearing that armor last night…”
The look of outrage that crossed his face then was priceless, pearly white teeth appearing as his lips curled back in a snarl. “You…!”
“I suppose I’ll be off, then. Do give the princess my regards when she wakes up, won’t you?” Her voice was sweet, but the smirk that River gave Silhouette was one of pure triumph as she turned around and began walking away. She didn’t think that he’d actually use his magic on her – Nosey had emphasized how Luna had taken him to task for going too far last night, hence why he wasn't dressed like a member of the Guard anymore – but it was better to play it safe. Besides, even if he had kept her from scoring any points with Princess Luna by making sure she was able to get to her conference with Lex on time, River knew full well that she’d won the exchange they’d just had. I might not have any magic, she congratulated herself silently, but I’m still somepony you don’t want to take lightly.
She was still smiling about what had just happened as she walked through the hallways, turning a corner-
And almost colliding with Princess Celestia.
Her eyes widening at the near miss, River immediately bowed. “Your Highness, forgive me. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
Princess Celestia’s smile was genuine, rather than the belittling smirk that River so often used. “It’s perfectly alright, River, I'm just as much at fault. I admit that I was having a little trouble finding my way back to the room you so generously lent to Luna and me.”
That was enough to make River frown slightly. “I apologize. One of the servants should have offered to show you the way. I’ll have a word with Trotsworth about this.” Someone, in all likelihood, would lose their job over this.
But while she hadn’t let her emotions show on her face, Princess Celestia seemed to know what she was thinking, a look of mild concern crossing her face. “Actually they did, but I said that wasn’t necessary. I didn’t want to take them away from what they were doing.” Her expression changed into one of mild embarrassment then. “Though I suppose that’s why I got lost.”
“I understand,” replied River diplomatically. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the princess had just indicated that she didn’t want anypony disciplined over this incident, and River had no intention of denying her such a small indulgence. “Your room is down this hallway,” she pointed behind her, “and to the left.”
It didn’t escape Princess Celestia’s gaze that River was pointing out the hallway she was coming from. “Is everything alright with Luna? I thought she was sleeping.”
“Oh, she is. I thought she might need to be woken up, but Princess Luna’s, er…retainer, Silhouette, is there and, well…apparently I’m not welcome.” River made sure to give a pained smile at that, wanting to make sure that Princess Celestia picked up on the impropriety of one of her entourage denying her access to her own house.
Apparently she succeeded. “Please allow me to apologize for Silhouette,” insisted Princess Celestia. “He cares about my sister a great deal, but he can get a little…overzealous at times. I’ll have a word with him.”
River bowed again. “Thank you, Your Highness.” She kept her head dipped until she heard the princess pass her by, glancing back just in time to see the princess turn the corner. For a moment River was tempted to hang back and listen to the exchange between the Princess Celestia and Silhouette, but she pushed that urge away. There was no need to be petty in victory, and besides, if Princess Celestia told Silhouette to get lost, she didn’t want him to bump into her in the hallways, at least not without plenty of witnesses around in case he tried something.
Now all that’s left to do, River decided as she headed back toward the dining room in search of an early lunch, is to figure out if I should ask Lex if I can join in this noontime conference of his. He’d woken up in a bad mood for whatever reason, and the last thing River wanted to do was tick him off more, but at the same time this was quite clearly going to be an important meeting. Missing out on it would be missing an opportunity to make herself relevant in Lex’s future plans. But I probably shouldn’t attend unless he asks for me, decided River. Now that I’ve repaired my relationship with him, it’d be smarter to play it safe for the time- Her train of thought came to an abrupt halt as she walked into the dining room and saw the scene in front of her.
Sitting at the head of the table – the space that was reserved for River herself – was a very familiar-looking mare. Sitting back with her hind legs up on the table, a half-dozen servants dancing attendance on her, making sure that her every need was met and then some. One was massaging her shoulders over the back of the chair. Another was gently rubbing a file over one of her fore-hooves, giving her a hooficure. A third was combing her mane, while three others concerned themselves with the meal set out in front of her, making sure the food was cut into bite-sized chunks and spiced correctly before carefully raising the fork to her mouth. Altogether, it was the very picture of opulence…and it was happening to somepony who wasn’t her, in her own house.
“What exactly is going on here?” River snapped. Her irritation skyrocketed when the servants barely seemed to hear her, continuing to lavish attendance on the pony seated in their midst. The only one who paid attention to her was that pony herself, opening her eyes and giving her the same mocking smile that River herself had so recently given to Silhouette.
“Hey there, older uglier me,” smirked Aria. “Fancy meeting you here.”
River deftly deals with Piggy, Silhouette, and even Princess Celestia as she works to secure her status.
But will she have as much success with Aria?
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Aria certainly didn't waste time chasing after Celestia and enchanting everybody in the mansion into her servants...that's pretty much something Aria would do and given her hatred towards Lex, I doubt she cares for Lex's opinion on using her magic on others. She could probably get away with it if she doesn't enchant Celestia...she totally did it, didn't she?
P.s:Guess Piggy is somewhat traumatized by Lex an his punishments if he's gone so far to treat Celestia like a ghoul. I.e. barricade himself away and pray that someone else saves him.
Though given his near constant dismissal of Lex and his actions. I'm guessing his imagination is far more active than season 1 Twilight though for a transgression far more damning than a missed friendship report.
Regards
In regard to River not having the mark, she could just have it painted back on or something.. Surely she knows about makeup?
9603467
True and even if one considers her own vanity. It would be a paltry price to pay for the benefits it could bring.
Though she could just say she washed it off after a bath or some other excuse.
I just know that betrayal soon
I wonder if you could post a joke chapter on the intricate 15 minutes on how the pie family wakes up
Rivers ego damage isnt so much of Death by a thousand cuts, as occasional Dwarf Beserker with bread?
O this is going to be interesting Aria will show River what is it like to be a controlling witch.
9603467
Doggone it. Fixed now.
9603516
River is quite cognizant of the issue of no longer having the scythe-shaped blood-mark on her face. From chapter 320:
But by chapter 338, she's changed her mind:
The reason for that wasn't explicitly laid out, and that's entirely because I wasn't sure how much outright explanation River's thoughts on that needed. It's one of those authorial dilemmas with regards to "what needs to be spelled out" versus "what subtext is obvious." In this case, I think I might have made a mistake, so I'll say it forthrightly: River isn't trying to recreate the mark on her face because she doesn't want to get caught in a lie. Lex and Sonata both know the truth about what her mark was, yet River told another story to Princess Celestia; Sonata heard her lie to the princess, but Lex doesn't know anything about that.
If River were to show up with a new mark on her cheek, it would likely confuse Lex, since he removed the original one, and he'd certainly ask about it. Naturally, he'd then react badly to finding out that River (and Sonata, and even Nosey) were trying to hide his use of curses from the princesses. That's pointless now anyway (save for the princesses not knowing just how much he's done that), but River doesn't know that. So she's decided to just leave off making another mark and simply modifying her story if the princesses ask about it...which, fortunately, they haven't.
Hopefully that all makes sense.
9603294 Looking at Aria now, one gets the feeling that this is more of her acting rebellious with regard to Lex. Her plot to make him jealous by getting it on with another guy didn't exactly work out, so now she's looking for another way to lash out at him. Of course, enchanting the maids will almost certainly provoke a backlash, because unlike sleeping around - which Lex's rules don't strictly prohibit (notice how he never told her that she was wrong to get together with Disc Jockey) - this is something he's expressly forbidden. So she's kicking it up a notch in her petty revenge.
...though whether or not she just used her magic on Princess Celestia is, at this point, very unclear.
As for Piggy, he's being true to himself: namely, completely self-centered. He can't imagine that the princesses are here for any reason besides they've heard how he and his group preyed on other ponies after Vanhoover fell, and now they're going to punish him for it. Naturally, this means that he's cowering in his room and can only be soothed by his mother telling him that everything will be okay. River, of course, is incredibly disappointed at how spineless her offspring is, even as she takes advantage of that to keep him in line. One wonders if she quite realizes whose fault Piggy's poor upbringing is...
9603598 BETRAYAL!!!
9603599 I doubt they need anywhere near a whole fifteen minutes. Remember when Pinkie Pie ran back to the rock farm in The Maud Couple (season eight, episode three)? The sun comes over the horizon, Pinkie wakes up and has just long enough to remember what happened to make her go back home, and then Limestone is telling her to get out of bed and that being there requires working. Now, I suppose we could assume that some time passed between then and the next scene of Pinkie Pie talking to Marble and Limestone (the sky does seem bluer after the transition), but given how Limestone runs the place, I wouldn't be surprised if she insisted that everyone (save for their parents, since they own the place) immediately gets up and starts work before breakfast.
9603603 When she keeps her head on her shoulders, instead of getting caught up in her sense of entitlement, River can cut somepony to the quick with a word quite easily.
9603789 It'll be interesting to see, that's for sure. You have to wonder if Aria is going to just make River into another fawning thrall, or has something else in mind.
Those were some sweet burns River gave to Silhouette. I'm curious to see how Piggie responds to River's new actions once he notices Granola is not being brought to him.
Can't wait to see River and Aria cutting deals.
9604253 I suppose how Piggy deals with his mother running interference between himself and Granola Bar depends on what sort of relationship Piggy had with the earth mare (Granola Bar, I mean). Or at least, what sort of relationship he thought they had, since we've never been entirely sure on what GB thought of it.
That said, River has mastered the art of cutting someone down to size with a quip of the tongue. But Aria can do quite a bit more with her voice. So it'll be something to see how things unfold between them...
9603935
back in the old days we were being taught about activation energy (it was spelt ea)
A teacher asked us so everyone what does EA stand for, and some said "Challenge Everything)
I was teaching a class recently, and the class jackass said "I stole your fucking wallet"
I am aware that this was stolen from the internet but still, It is true.
Also, one of the slides was from red alert 3 which was just average