The Informant's Job

by Im a B O X

The Associates We Have

After the trip from Canterlot to Ponyville had been made, the party said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, with Rarity of course headed to her boutique with Loose Winger at her side (with Formosa’s permission) to check out different attires and to do a bit of sight-seeing to get used to his job as a bodyguard (knowing the place and such), Hatt on the other hoof was asked to find the three of them (him, Formosa and Loose), plus an entirely different complex for Write, to stay for the night. Unfortunately, plans would change since Formosa would attend a ‘conversation’ concerning legal matters. As for talks about Write’s future and the future of this ‘new’ company, Hatt could only speculate for her, from what Formosa had eluded towards, his company (with others like him) will spearhead and set a new revolutionary standard to follow, at least that’s what Formosa kept on telling (and sometimes changing) to them, but for them too truly know would be delved into in the next chapter.

But let us actually see what went down, let us follow Formosa as he meets some... associates of his.

---

“Mr. Hatt, could I ask you a question?” Write asked.

The trio had just made their way through the fairly busy town of Ponyville, doing a bit of sightseeing, or at least, it was mostly just Formosa as he led the group, with Hatt and Write trailed behind by his side.

“Sure, go ahead, Write,” Hatt said, the façade of professionalism having never left for as long as Write had known this stallion, “I'm sure I could answer most of your questions.” He said.

“Well, it’s just that…” Write trialed of, reminiscing her life in Canterlot,

How this stallion seemingly out of nowhere had picked her up from what could have been a financial ruin, deep down, she felt as though she wasn’t the right pony, dozens of others like her could have done the same job as she could, even better enough, she felt as though she hasn't proven her worth yet to warrant this opportunity. She remembered what the nobles, individual nobles, said about her presentation back in Canterlot, it was, somehow scary and disappointing at the same time to fail like that, fail in the sense that those nobles would never admit it straight at her face.

“I find Mr. Formosa very… odd, so to speak,” She finally said, a bit of doubt in fear that she may have insulted him, “I still haven’t given him my full capabilities yet and I still don’t have a proper essay and introduction on myself and what I could do for him, and yet he acts as though I could do more than what I could see, not in the traditional way of motivation where we try to encourage better, he’s more of like a pony who tells pony’s they could do better because it was proven, a given, a matter of fact per se.”

Hatt, for a moment, took a moment to remind himself of the first time he had to work with Formosa, and by extension, in Equestria “Oh, your partially correct on your last point, he doesn’t do it just to ‘motivate’ you, he just enjoys stroking the ego of others, a sort of ‘catharsis’ for him, and as for the essays and whatnot, I heard he had a different way of testing those he would eventually set under his wing in business.”

“Really?” Write asked, curiosity now settling in.

But before another word could be spoken, Formosa interjected with a quick message,

“Hey, Hatt,”

“Yea boss?”

“Please take Miss Write here to a place where she could rest properly, I need to make a quick visit with old friends and businesses, concerning the company, nothing for you to worry about of course.”

“Um… fine by me, sir,” Hatt said with a reluctant voice, since usually, those things, especially in the Equestrian branch of the railway, were usually handled by him.

“Good." Was the final response as the trio now became a duo.

“So, Hatt,” Write began again, eyeing her future boss as they parted ways, at least for now, “I must ask another question in regards to the business, what is Formosa’s goal? I mean, no offense and all, but I find it hard to believe this job was destiny for me, and I’m sure there are reasons beyond just ‘expertise’, I really do feel as though this experience would be different.”

“Hmm… yes." He bluntly replied, "there are usually extra layers upon dozen others, but as it stood, it’s up to the boss to tell you those reasons, because once he tells you those, you would be under an oath and a member of the company proper, since right now, your just what most in the company would call a ‘trusted associate with privileges’, and I really do recommend you uphold this oath once that time comes, even if it’s against a royal decree. Then again, the boss is unique in nearly every sense, at least compared to other ponies like him in this business, don't take my word of it, since changes would and could be made, but as the boss always said, 'it would be your choice, remain in the status quo or be part of something bigger.' he'd say.”

‘Oh, oh that’s a massive red flag,’ Write thought to herself, ‘I actually have to use what I’ve learned in school to get the most of this, can’t get tangled up in a shady business.’

---

Down an alleyway Formosa went until he reached to a door that he knocked, entering when no response came, he entered what seemed to be a maze-like complex, he eventually found himself in the room where, as fate would have it, also contain some familiar faces, one that Formosa knew all too well that their gathering had a reason, one that all four of them in the room, The ‘Big 4’ were all here to answer to a calling, one that, as they hoped, would be resolved.

“Hey! Formosa, over here!” Shouted a voice in a mostly empty room, save for three other ponies, who knew Moses well, and in return, he too knew of them and held them all in high regard.

“Robert! Miles! And looky here, the tired bastard finally returned! What’s up Conner, I see you’ve returned from the trip.” Moses said, as he slowly ignited his horn to make a small illumination to light up the room a bit. A big sly smile formed as he saw his closes friends.

The three ponies, now fully visible to Moses, only smiled as they waited for him to reach them and take a seat beside them at their table.

“Now what did I tell you Moses about using our names while were still in Equestria? Or any nation for that matter? I thought we were only supposed to refer to ourselves when we're at somewhere secluded…” One of them said.

Moses simply laughed at that, true, it was risky to place it as if he held all the cards, but how could he resist it? He was in a world where, for the most part, certain things could be done without getting caught or any serious repercussions from this world. That is not to say he will not face any repercussions at all, since there were humans beyond just those in Equus watching and overseeing this world, and they would give him a lecture on the secrecy of this project in the first place.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Moses said, once again just being glad that he was able to meet up with old faces, “So I just refer to you under assumed names?”

“It’s more than that, Moses, since this would be another meeting concerning ‘rumors’ between our companies.” One of the ponies said.

“So, when will this pony show up at? The one that asked us, through Fine Print here, to meet us here.”

“She should be arriving juuussst about… now.” Another said.

And the moment he said so, the doors to the room opened to full when two ponies barged in, all for ponies knew beforehand that these ponies were probably in it for a good talking or so, what surprised them, however, was who these two ponies would be.

“FREEZE! NO PONY MOVE, NOT UNLESS YOU WANT A HARD BEATING!” Shining Armor said as he barged into the room, horn at the ready and at a battle stance, ready to take down all four ponies in the room should anything happen.

“S-sir Shining Armor, no need to be brash or to offend, but I had already planned this out with my colleagues, so please don’t get too worked up about them escaping, a trap, or us losing track of them after they leave this time, I’m sure we could speak to them without this becoming violent.” The voice of a mare said, as Bon Bon came into view of the room, or to be correct, Agent Sweetie Drops said in earnest.

“Ah, Agent Sweetie Drops, what a pleasure to meet you again, and Prince Shining Armor, a pleasure meeting you this fine day, glad to meet another pony of royalty once again.” A stallion said, surprising the Prince of the Crystal Empire.

After the initial surprise, Shining immediately went back to being cautious, “Well I'm sorry for being a bit ‘tense’ today, it’s not every day I could go and do something beyond just managing the finances of a nation.” He said with a hint of vigor and venom in his voice, “and by the way, I don’t think we have had an introduction, Agent Sweetie Drops here was very vague when she asked me to join her.”

The last part instinctively made Sweetie Drops hoof her face in annoyance, one that she quickly recovered from, “Yes, let’s get names out of the way, please, state your name and business, this is for the record, you know, Fine Print.” She said as her hoof placed a recorder crystal.

“Of course,” the stallion, Fine Print, said, “so that means I'll go first and set the stage for a quick introduction.”

Preparing himself and a few stretches later, and Fine Print began to speak once more, “Good day to all, I would like to formally introduce myself as Fine Print, a lawyer, amongst other things, in a law firm that I helped create, going as ‘Thee Fine Print Firm’, currently, my firm is one of the top-rated firms out there and I am currently in collaboration with my friend here with a project of his, and the paperwork process and legality of said project.” He said, and as he finished his introduction, pointing towards Formosa with a hoof, who was the second to introduce, interjecting Fine Print by the end of his intro.

“Thank you Fine Print, as for myself, I am Formosa Box. Former designer and Engineer for the Crystal Express and is currently the Director for the High-Bridging Railway company which ran from the Crystal Empire to Griffonstone across many bridges, lovely sights such as Rainbow falls, amongst others branch lines. After the expansions and merging of several other national railways, not only here in Equestria mind you, I am currently in the paperwork process of making the merge official and have recognized as such, the new company would be named the ‘United Intercontinental Railway Networks’, or UIRN for short. I am, of course, going to be the Head Director of the new Company, but this is just one of many jobs I have performed throughout my careers.” He finished, a gleeful smile as he was clearly proud of the fact that he could brag about his achievements, it’s one thing to stroke an ego, it’s another if you have evidence and a right to backup that ego.

After his speech, the next stallion came forth, “I guess it’s my turn,” he said as he wore a fairly modest suit of his own, a smile adorned on his face, “I am Turncoat, but please refer to me as ‘Mr. Turncoat’, I am the owner of the ‘Phantom Fortune’ casino in Las Pegasus, as well as being the current designer and head engineer for the Flim Flam Brothers and their projects based in Las Pegasus as well. I also manage several other businesses, all under my supervision, and the same as Mr. Formosa here, I too am currently in the process of uniting my business under one parent company to ease the flow and progress of it all, but as it stands, progress on that subject matter is slow and won't see any real fruition as it stood now.”

The final stallion to speak looked as though he was really weak and meek, but the former 3 knew better, as he simply waited, the stallion in question was, of course, putting up a front, a facade that was, for the most part, pretty good to fool probably most ponies, maybe even the princesses.

“Good day every pony,” the stallion said casually, clearly uninterested, despite arguably having the most controversial position out of the big 4, “I am known as Hard Flick, director of the Private Military Company known as, ‘The Flickers’, we handle several different operations, including but not limited to counterinsurgency, search and rescue, and escort. We do everything for the right price, and legal reasons, as it stands, my company is currently in a contract with the ‘High-Bridging Railway’ to secure and escort their goods work, although, as you could probably guess, in due time that will change.”

“Oook, I think we have everything down for the induction on your part, so a quick introduction to myself and Sir Shining here then we're going to discuss matters concerning the current holdings of all four of you, fine?”

A multitude of nodes was what Sweetie Drops received as she spoke onto the recording crystal, “For myself, I am Agent Sweetie Drops, currently lead-investigator for the case of the ‘Rising 4’ and the rumors and legality of their entire operations under direct orders from both the crown princess of Equestria and international requests concerning such.” A short pause as she breathed a heavy sigh, and she continued, “With me is Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, to serve both as a bodyguard and partner for the duration of this meeting and any future operations concerning them and this recoding, furthermore, this recording will serve as the baseline for comparison of any testimonies, be it for or against any motion later on. Such claims must, of course, be related to this case and any that may arise soon after this recording.”

“Well, since we are done with our introductions, what’s the business exactly?” Fine Print asked as he raised his wings to write with a notebook and quill that he brought with him, and with surprising dexterity, rivaling that of a unicorn using their magic, began to write and listen with intent.

“Well, I’m sure that with your time in the Law industry Mr. Print, you could say that some, if not most, unfortunately, of your competition, amongst other individuals, suspect false play between all 4 of you, and are trying to invalidate, or more properly, incriminate, well, the progress of your group as a whole, despite having a…” She stopped for a moment as she reviewed a folder she brought with her, most likely known information about the companies and of the Big 4, “mostly sound and, as far as the most of your competition is concerned, legal and lawfully abiding rules, that even I must admit, surpass the current international guidelines in place, not to mention the lack of any false play, at least compared to those that we were initially asked to investigate.”

“So what’s more to ask them?” Formosa asked, clearly unable to follow the line of thought of the agent.

“What Agent Sweetie Drops is saying that although you are, as far as we could tell, in the clear, the fact that most international figures, such as the Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan and Princesses Ember of the Dragon Lands, strongly support the idea of false play or sabotage, well, let's just say that for me, it really is surprisingly as is. In short, the powerful and nobility of several different nations abroad have both been strongly against the supposed ‘Rising 4’ movement that you 4 have seemingly ignited for yourselves, stating that it is unlawful, and as of the moment, they are sending us to investigate and find anything incriminating.”

“Hmm… well, what is it that you would actually want to see or even hear from us?” Turncoat asked, speaking for all four of them this time, “because from what I could assume from the progress, all you have are loose ends, nothing solid to go by, and even then, all four of us have proven ourselves in both legality and our abilities of service, amongst other aspects.”

“Well, that’s the thing, we don’t know enough to justify all four of you going free without supervision, at least proportionate to what you 4 are cable of, meaning if even the basic information’s are available, it won’t be enough to cover the entirety of your operations, and if it ain't us, someone else probably will find something to use against you.” Shining Armor said, although knowing their background, he was a little bit more passive in his stance against them.

“No offense, your Highness,” Fine Print interjected, but his voice becoming a bit more assertive, before, he was clearly being patient, now he was clearly losing it with the insistence of false play or sabotage on their parts, “but if I remember correctly, it is up to the individual to choose what they see as fit in both business and management, correct? And only when evidence that is both compelling and sufficient for the prosecution will they be taken to court, or am I wrong on that assumption?”

“Oh, no no no, as far as we should be concerned, instead of the usual lacking business information, the problem with the 4 of you is lacking information proportionate to the available and needed information.”

“Meaning?” Hard Flick asked, unable to follow where the conversation is going.

A sigh was shared between them before Sweetie Drops continued, “I don’t know how to simplify it for you, sir, but I do know this, the majority of those in the who are in business and law are against the expansion of all 4 of you, even if you aren’t going for 1 particular market”

“So what’s the problem?” Formosa asked as he for the notebook that Fine Print held with his wing and read it, “because as far as we could tell, all our assets, individually to our names, are under any known limit, be it international law or otherwise, and the services we provide are excellent compared to the standard that most had given or are competing against us.”

"This is exactly the problem, as officials, we are facing, all 4 of you who are in businesses that are either in the bottom half of what generates the entire international economy before you arrive or had a sufficient standard before then. Now, when all 4 of you arrived and ‘officially’ took hold of your businesses, you have propelled your individual sectors to new heights, setting a golden bar that is yet to be reached by any competition.”

“And so?” The 4 stallions asked.

“And so with the merging, and assumed mutual alliances between all four of you, the business sectors felt threatened as a whole that they started merging their own businesses to have a chance to rival any of you four.”

“Wait, so hold on,” Turncoat said, displeased by this revelation, but one all 4 of them had expected, “let me get this straight, you fear where we are because we seem to be creating a monopoly?”

A quick stare and nod from Sweetie Drops and Shining Armor and they both responded, “Yes.”

“That’s the general gist of it.” Sweetie Drops continued.

“Well, I'll say, you don’t even need to worry about that because even if we make use of services of other business, we still need to make a profit, that’s the basics of our motto. And really, businesses compete for all the time, this time, our business just needed an extra layer and help to improve upon.” Formosa remarked, a smirk formed as he spoke, although internally, he had hoped that this meeting could have lasted a lot quicker.

A short moment was shared between Shining Armor and Sweetie Drips as they discussed and whispered to each other their next moves.

“Alright, I think we could wrap this little meeting of ours.” Shining Armor said, a bit hesitant about letting these 4 ponies go, he had wanted to take them into custody, but he knew public opinions are very… sensitive, especially when there is a change of power in Equestria, the leading nation, about to happen, and for now, he knew there were other things to worry about.

“But before we let you go,” Sweetie Drops said as she gave the notebook to Shining Armor to keep for later, and the crystal she used for the recording, tapping it a few times as the crystal dimmed in the light it emitted, presumably being turned off, “I think it is in the best interest of everyone that we know what all 4 of you have planned, nothing confidential in nature I hope.”

“Oh, no no, it would be in our pleasure to inform the both of you, if it would help ease your minds.” Fine Print said, “But in truth, there isn’t much to talk about, Mr. Formosa and I would be working in his own project and legal matters, while Mr. Turncoat and Flick would are in a little, shall we say vacation, away from their jobs for now, of course after Mr. Formosa and I finish the majority of the work, we would join our friends in catching up, the business and industry haven’t been kind to kind with our time.” He said as all 4 of them went into a brotherly embrace, one that Shining Armor and Sweetie Drops respected for a moment.

“Oh, that’s completely understandable, and we hope you have a fine stay here in Ponyville, and thank you for your time and sorry for the inconvenience and short mattered nature of this meeting.”

“None taken.” All 4 said, but a hint of bitterness could be noticed, one that Sweetie Drops failed to notice, but Shining Armor did, although he did not acknowledge it.

After this, they all exited the room, going their own separate ways, but before they did so, some small talk was shared.

But as Formosa trotted to… somewhere, doing a little sightseeing he had initially hoped, he was still unsure of something. Sure he could have everything, the ‘Big 4’ could take everything, but why was he hindering himself? Why are they hindering progress? He really didn’t know, initially, it was the feeling of doubt, but then reasons started to arise, these ponies, they are a reflection of what humanity in some ways, one side of the same coin, they are mostly harmonic in their nature, while humanity was chaotic.

Reason… reasons, he had to think deeper, but he hoped this won’t turn him into a philosopher.

“Oh goodness me, I really do need to prepare.” He said, a bit somber, but it was too early for that, so he decided to try and find something to do, at least before sunset.

Author's Note:

(AN after proofreading)
I actually apologize for the initial publication of this chapter (I'm sure you probably didn't notice), I accidentally misclicked publish instead of saving an edit, but after the past few days, I proofread it several times (probably missed a few things) and is ready for publication...

As always, I do hope you find this recent chapter as another good read,

Later!

(AN while writing this story)
To explain why I decided to add, like, three more OC’s, they serve the purpose of both world-building and (in the future) serve important plot points and roles, furthermore, I wanted it to be clear that the management of this monopoly that Formosa would (mostly) lead is built upon tested trust and ability, after all, in order to make the most out of profits, you also must also have some friends, better if they are in high places, that are there for you to both help and be helped by, and they will serve as important key pieces in building a connection between worlds these two worlds, since, by this point in time, humanity had decided that, they would indeed treat Equus as something more than just an experiment, making a formal connection with their own creation and, hopefully, come into terms and agreements for the better.

Something like, say, watching your own child grow and having to refer to them as adults sooner or later, or maybe like old mythologies where gods would 'interact' with their own creation, be it directly or not, something like as I said.

Comments

[yonalkaru]

awesome chapter dude, keep up the good work!!! (if you're wondering why i always put the same comment its that i dont know what to say but i still like the story so i just put this)