Hold the Press

by Bunnybooze79

Chapter 2

Letters were sent back and forth.

Rarity had replied instantly and wrote that she would be overjoyed to have Fleur as a guest for a week. Fleur had replied that she would not impose on her hospitality and rather stay in a hotel. As was almost to be expected, Rarity wrote back that she would take care of everything.

The only thing left in Fleur’s path to vacation was the press. And for that problem they would have to rely on Dusty Feathers, one of their maids.

Dusty had been working for Fleur and Fancy now for nearly six years and was more than happy to help them out and keep quiet about the plan they had shared with her.

They had chosen Dusty as she not only had a very similar coat to Fleur, but also was nearly the same height. Dusty was a little bulkier than the model and being a pegasus also had the problem of having wings. Both of those things could easily be concealed by a summer dress that would also take care of the different cutie marks. Dusty’s mane was light grey almost white and could easily by dyed to resemble Fleur’s color. Her eyes could be covered up by sunglasses and hide the fact that they had a different color than Fleur’s. The last item on the list was Dusty’s absence of a horn, something that was fixed by simply wearing a hat.

Fleur put on the exact same outfit. Side by side there were still noticeable differences, but in the crowd at Canterlot’s main station it couldn’t be noticed. There was one last item on the list and it could possibly blow the entire idea up. Dusty’s voice was vastly different than Fleur’s. If things went as planned Dusty wouldn’t even need to say anything and Fleur could possibly catch a little break for once.

With the final steps discussed there was not much to do until the day after tomorrow. The day when Fleur could possibly finally relax for once and not have to pose constantly. She felt anticipation building up inside her and could hardly keep the smile from forming on her lips.

__________________________________________________________________

Fleur arrived at the main station early that morning.

As predicted a swarm of reporters and photographers followed her every step since she left her home. Unlike previous encounters Fleur answered some of the questions directed at her.

“Where is your husband?” A stallion asked.

“Fancy Pants has a few pressing issues he has to attend to before meeting me in Las Pegasus.” Fleur kept a straight face and briefly stopped to pose a bit for them. “It will give me some time to see some of the sights on my own.”

“Anything in particular you would like to see?” A mare called out.

“I hear the sight from Hooves Dam is beautiful this time of year.” Fleur turned slowly once around and posed for them some more.

“The water sprays all over the place up there. Did you bring an umbrella? If so which color is it?”

“I did not pack an umbrella.” Fleur held a delicate hoof to her mouth in mock shock. “Oh, dear. I might get my mane wet. Or even might get wet all over.”

Fleur expertly flicked her mane once and just ever so slightly flicked her tail. The effect was immediate as the flashes flared up once more and reporters began scribbling furiously into their notepads.

She barely managed not to grin. The bait she had laid out had been swallowed whole and she knew from experience that droves of reporters would now be waiting for her at that landmark hoping to catch a nice picture of her.

Too bad I won’t be there.

A few more questions were answered to wet their appetites and Fleur excused herself to go into the bathroom with only ten minutes to spare to catch her train. Some more obnoxious reporters tried to follow her inside, but after some very stern looks from nearby guards they decided against it.

Fleur grinned as she saw that only one other stall was occupied. She quickly tapped her hoof three times against it. Instantly the door unlocked and revealed Dusty already dressed up in the planned outfit.

“All set?” Dusty asked with a grin and donned her sunglasses.

“I have no doubt they will follow you.” Fleur replied at quickly began undressing. Years of being a model had given her plenty of experience switching outfits in only a few seconds. “You remember the plan?”

“Of course.” Dusty replied and stowed her boss’ old outfit into her own saddlebag. “Don’t say a word until I am on the train. Once there I stay in costume until we reach Las Pegasus. There I lose them by taking off the disguise. They’ll spend ages trying to figure out what happened.”

“Perfect!” Fleur donned her own pair of sunglasses. “Thank you, Dusty.”

“My pleasure.” Dusty nodded once to her boss and then confidently strode out the bathroom into the flashlights of waiting reporters.

As instructed she ignored all questions and took the direct route to her train. Fleur counted to twenty and left the bathroom. It was strange to suddenly be free of reporters. The feeling of being just another pony felt fantastic. With a slight bounce in her step she made her way in the opposite direction that Dusty had taken. She had a train to catch.

______________________________________________________________________

“Wait, wait, wait.” Scoop laid a hoof on her photographer’s chest and held him back.

“What?” Quick Shot frowned at his partner in gossip. “We still need to get tickets for the train. I ain’t gonna miss the opportunity to get some pictures of Fleur all wet…..if ya know what I mean.”

“Something isn’t right.” Scoop ignored Quick Shot’s innuendo and frowned. Ever since Fleur had returned from her trip to the bathroom something had been bugging her.

“Another one of your hunches?” Quick Shot stopped trying to move towards the ticket booth.

The other unicorn had a sixth sense sometimes when it came to all things worthy of gossip. He had learned to trust her instincts as it had led to some excellent material in the past.

Scoop rubbed her chin with a hoof and blew a lock of her bright blue mane out of her eyes. She glanced over some of the other reporters still trying to get answers from Fleur sitting in her compartment by shouting them and hoping she could hear them through the glass.

“It’s the hat.” Scoop finally said.

“What about it? It’s the same one as before.”

“No…yes…it’s….AHA!” Scoop thrust a hoof up as the answer came to her. “Don’t you think it's pulled a little bit too far down?”

“Uh…maybe?” Quick Shot was no expert when it came to hats or anything fashion related. He was just the photographer after all, thinking was not required and Scoop’s job for the team.

“Impossible to pull it that far down if you have a horn.” Scoop grinned and turned towards the ticket booth.

“So…what are you saying?” Quick Shot followed his partner closely.

“She switched places.” Scoop paused for a moment trying to piece the puzzle together. “No doubt she dressed up one of her maids. Dusty most likely, they are about the same height.”

“Why?”

“To get rid of us of course.” Scoop rolled her eyes. Her partner could sometimes be rather slow on the uptake. “Why else do you think she baited us with all those answers she gave us.”

“So…no wet Fleur?” Quick Shot sounded genuinely sad.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Why? That’s our job!”

“Hmm, I guess you are right about that.” Scoop had to admit that he had a point. She already had a few good lines prepared for a soaked Fleur, but that apparently would not happen.

Scoop waited in line in front of the ticket booth. Luckily only two other ponies were trying to purchase tickets.

“How do you do that?” Quick Shot asked as he watched other photographers still scrambling to get a good picture of Fleur.

“I have a nose for those kind of things.” Scoop answered and stepped up to the booth when it was her turn.

“How can I help you?” The pony in the booth asked friendly with a smile on her lips.

“Are there any other trains leaving soon apart from the one to Las Pegasus?” Scoop asked equally as friendly.

“There will be a train leaving for Manehatten shortly.” The booth pony informed her. “The train to Ponyville just left about five minutes ago.”

Scoop’s ears perked up at the last piece of information. “Ponyville? When is the next train going there?”

“In three and a half hours. Would you like to buy some tickets?”

“Two, please.” Scoop rummaged around in the bag around her neck for the bits needed to pay.

“Ponyville? What do we want there?” Quick Shot moaned at the thought of going to some tiny little village. He needed the busy life of a major city to feel at home and not some boring little town in the middle of nowhere.

“Fleur went there. I am sure of it.” Scoop nodded to herself to reaffirm her decision.

“What would she want there? Do farmwork?”

“Get away from us of course.” Scoop grinned an evil grin and took the tickets. “No way that’s going to happen.”

“Wait….Ponyville….Isn’t that where that Heartstrings mare lives?” Quick Shot asked as they moved towards the platform where their train would be leaving in a few hours.

“Yes, I think so. Why?”

“Don’t you remember the court order?”

“Pffft, I can’t be expected to remember every single court order.” Scoop slightly winced as she rubbed her left side in reflex at the memory of the mint green mare. “Besides, the court order states that she is not allowed to come closer than fifty trots near me. But I don’t care about her, I just care about Fleur.”

Quick Shot shrugged and followed his partner towards the platform on the other end of the station.

Despite priding themselves on having excellent perception neither of them had noticed that they had been closely observed by another pair of paparazzi.

“You see them?” Dirt Sheet nudged his photographer in the side. The beige pegasus mare lowered her camera to see what her partner was talking about.

“Who?” Rapid Flash blew a bubble with her chewing gum.

“Scoop and her lackey.” Dirt Sheet watched them trot away from the train where Fleur was supposed to be in. “Something is going on.”

“How can you tell?” The pegasus popped her bubble and noisily continued chewing her gum.

“I got a nose for these kind of things. Come on.”

Dirt Sheet casually trotted up to the ticket booth and was greeted by its occupant in a friendly tone.

“Those two reporters just now….” The unicorn hesitated to call Scoop and her partner reporters. As far as he was concerned they were just unprofessional hacks. If one needed a juicy story rich with totally unbiased gossip then he was the pony to turn to. Of course every single paparazzi had the same opinion about themselves. “Did they buy a ticket? If so….to where?”

“They purchased tickets for the Ponyville Express in three and a half hours.” The salespony saw no harm in passing on that piece of information.

“Two tickets to Ponyville then please.” Dirt Sheet dropped the bits on the counter and took the tickets a moment later.

“Ponyville? Really?” Rapid Flash arched an eyebrow.

“You can be sure there is something interesting going on there if those two leeches are going. Come on, let’s go.”

As the two reporters followed the first pair they were unaware that they had been closely observed by another pair. These in turn also asked the salespony in the ticket booth where the previous pair had been going. This chain of events continued for quite some time. Each reporter stating that they had a nose for those kind of things if asked why they were following the previous pair of reporters. A nosy bunch they were indeed.

Of the course of the next hour the salespony grew tired of having to repeat the same answer again and again. In the end a solution was found by simply sticking a sign in the window indicating that all reporters had been heading towards Ponyville.

Just as the salespony was beginning to think that no more nosy reporters would bother her with the same question over and over again a very tall, frightfully thin earthpony stallion appeared at the booth. He wore a black suit with a white vest and red tie. Strangely he had shaved his mane completely off leaving his head only covered in his perfectly white coat.

His eyes were a very light yellow, almost completely white. The salespony shrunk back at his unnerving stare. He very slowly directed his gaze towards the little sign and equally slowly took some bits from a pocket in his suit out with a hoof.

The salespony just quickly nodded and gave him his two tickets. Without another word he turned around and left towards the platform for the Ponyville train. As she watched him leave she briefly wondered if he really wanted two tickets as he seemed to be alone. The question was answered quickly as another stallion suddenly popped up in front of the booth slamming his front hooves against the window causing a loud bang. The salespony shrieked in fright and fell off her chair. The stallion with the greasy brown mop of a mane on top his head laughed cruelly and turned to follow the other strange stallion. While lying on the floor and clutching her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart the salespony decided that she needed a new job.

Comments

[muffinator]

goddesses I always hated reporters or "journalists" I hope somepony gets kicked in the squishy bits