Sweetie Belle stared out the window as the train started to slowly move down along the tracks, She wasn't quite sure how she felt about returning home yet and she still hadn't found a place to stay until she was ready to either return home (Which was unlikely) or until she has enough evidence to press charges against Rarity. Both options didn't sound good to her, Blue Streak did say that she could stay in holding for a few days but, he did mention that it could raise suspicion, she could also stay with her friends for a few days but, she wasn't sure how long she could stay for.
After looking at the rapidly passing environment She started to get dizzy so she decided to look at the others on the train. She realized that Night Shade wasn't on the train. She figured that it was a good enough silence breaker. "Where is Night Shade?" She asked. Blue Streak looked at her and shrugged.
"I don't know, He said he had some stuff to deal with," Blue Streak said. Sweetie Belle was puzzled, what could he be doing if he and Blue Streak were sent back to Ponyville?
"What kind of Business?" Sweetie Belle asked. Blue Streak rolled his eyes.
"I don't know, I didn't ask," Blue Streak said. She was confused by his response, why did they just leave without him?
"So, we just left him?" She asked.
"Yeah," Blue Streak answered.
"You left your partner behind just because he had some stuff to do?" Sweetie Belle asked, sounding angered.
"Yes," Blue Streak said.
"And You see nothing wrong with that?" Sweetie Belle asked angrily.
"Nope," Blue Streak answered. Sweetie Belle let out an exasperated sigh.
"What if he is looking for you? What if he is worrying that someone came after you?" Sweetie Belle practically shouted. Blue Streak decided to play along for a little longer.
"Sweetie Belle, Night Shade is an adult, he knows how to take care of himself," Blue Streak said.
"Bu-" Sweetie Belle was cut off by AppleJack. "That's enough, What is the meaning of this?" She said looking at Blue Streak.
"I saw an opportunity, She is in the angry phase and I was trying to help get some of her anger out," Blue Streak explained.
"Oh, Ah guess that makes sense," Applejack said. Blue Streak looked down,
"Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have been trying to anger her after all that she has been through," He said.
"No, It's alright, I appreciate it," Sweetie Belle said. Blue Streak smiled.
"Thanks for understanding kid," He said.
The train would quickly fall back to silence. Sweetie Belle went back to staring out the window, still feeling slightly embarrassed about her outburst. Sweetie Belle looked at the clock that hung over the entrance to the cart, much to her dismay it had only been about four minutes since they left the train station, at this rate the thirty-minute train ride would feel like three hours!
But, Sweetie Belle didn't worry about that for too long, as she realized that there would probably be some welcome back party or at least a crowd of people awaiting her return, the thought of that made her wish that the train ride would be three hours, all of this in addition to her friends, what was she going to say to them? The last time she saw either of them was catching them hanging out without her and her last interaction with either of them was a quiet lunch on the last day of school, both of these in combination with their argument over her trying to tell them what Rarity was doing to her, confirmed that they were detaching from her, Would they even be waiting for her? She assumed that they would but, probably only because Applejack and Rainbow Dash were also returning to Ponyville. But, that made her question her logic, If Rainbow Dash and especially Applejack cared enough to come to Los Pegasus to search for her could they allow their sisters or #1 fans to remain angry with her? Sweetie Belle figured they probably ignored them or the two of them were just doing this to seem like heroes. She glanced at AppleJack, could someone like her even be capable of doing something like that? She figured that Rainbow Dash would do it and to her knowledge, Twilight had no clue of her prior altercations, But, she knew that Rainbow Dash was aware of the incident because she heard Scootaloo telling her about it a few days after it happened.
Sweetie Belle didn't like thinking about that, returning to Ponyville and possibly having to deal with Rarity again was enough and now there was the possibility of having no friends sounded like it would be absolute hell. With these thoughts, Sweetie Belle was already planning out her next escape, This time it would have to have a ton more planning than her last attempt, She would probably have to get someone else involved to help her with the finances at least because with the Boss on the loose she couldn't be alone on the streets for too long. The boss the name distracted Sweetie Belle from her thoughts, would he come after her? She figured that he had killed people for knowing far less than she did. But, she was able to shake off these thoughts, all she could tell the police was stuff about two dead guys and one that was in custody and already looking at many years in prison and she didn't even know his name. Bringing up another point, Would he ever be caught? She didn't know his name and Walker probably knew better than to tell the police (If he even knew it).
She looked up at Blue Streak. "Will they come after me?" She asked. Blue Streak looked at her.
Blue Streak sighed and looked at Sweetie Belle. "I'm not one-hundred percent sure but, I don't think they will go after you in Ponyville Unless you know more about their operation than you are letting on," He said. Sweetie Belle couldn't completely sure how to respond to this, She probably did know more than she was letting on, She just didn't know what it was.
"What makes you think that?" Sweetie Belle said She thought about clarifying her question but he was already answering.
"Why would they come after you in your backyard?" Blue Streak said. "Now if you go somewhere like Manehattan or even Los Pegasus again You need to watch your back," He said. Sweetie Belle mentally sighed in relief that he didn't think she was hiding something.
"Why would it matter where I was if they wanted me gone wouldn't they just come and get me no matter where I was," Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Fine, You probably have to watch your back, especially in cities other than Ponyville," Blue Streak said. Sweetie Belle still didn't quite understand why he thought Ponyville was so safe, She had thought it was safe too until this happened.
"Why not In Ponyville?" Sweetie Belle asked. The combination of Sweetie Belle not understanding a word he was saying and Night Shade not being there to stop him, Blue Streak snapped.
"You know what? They aren't the only ones that will come after you, there will be copycats, people looking for rewards, and People who just think you are an easy target," Blue Streak said.
"Hey now, You shouldn't be saying that to her," Applejack said. Blue Streak glared at her but, somehow kept himself together.
"She wanted to know the truth and I told her," Blue Streak said. Applejack glared back at him.
"Ah don't recall her asking that," Applejack retorted. Blue Streak rolled his eyes.
"That's what she insinuated," He replied. Applejack didn't think that it was a good idea to continue arguing with him, despite this, she continued.
"How did you get this job?" She asked. Blue Streak looked at her, there were so many things that he wanted to say but, decided not to for professional reasons.
"Hard work and dedication," He said. Applejack went to retort but she was stopped by Twilight.
"If you two keep arguing I might mistake you for a married couple," She said. Blue Streak rolled his eyes and Applejack wretched.
"Come on, I'm not that bad," Blue Streak joked.
"Says you," Applejack said. Blue Streak wanted to say something but, he figured it would be best to let the argument die.
Rarity impatiently sat at the dining room table. She had called a semi-emergency meeting with her right-hand stallion, Dark Horse he was a good-looking young stallion who she mainly kept around for the dirty work, sure he was hot but she just led him on so he would continue to do the hard stuff for her.
She was broken from her thoughts as Dark Horse strode through the door. "Took you long enough," Rarity said. Dark Horse smirked.
"It didn't sound urgent to me," He said, still smiling. Rarity glared at him.
"We need to start building my case for innocence," Rarity said. Dark Horse raised his eyebrow.
"We don't even know if Sweetie Belle is going to press charges," Dark Horse said. Rarity gave him a look.
"That is true but, Just in case we need to be prepared," She said. Dark Horse nodded.
"What can we do? I don't think they have very much evidence so it shouldn't be too hard to prove that you are innocent," Dark Horse said.
"Yes but, since those police officers used Applejack's honesty to form this case in the first place there is no telling what lengths they will go to make sure that they have evidence," Rarity said.
"Fair point," He said. "So I assume that you only called me because you already have a plan," Dark Horse said.
"You know me too well," Rarity said. "So, some inside news sources tell me that there was another stallion inside the factory," Rarity continued. "And from what I have been told he was a completely random person that I assume that her captors put there, and I need you to somehow convince him to testify that Sweetie Belle was the one who assaulted him," Rarity explained.
"And what will that do to help our cause?" Dark Horse asked.
"Well, I assume that she has already been interviewed and I presume that she told them about him and provided the fact that she didn't actually assault him, she probably told them that her captors did," Rarity said. "So if we can convince this mystery stallion to say Sweetie Belle did it, we can make a case that she is insane and she made the abuse story up," Rarity answered.
"Wouldn't that Walker guy contradict us in his interrogation?" Dark Horse asked. Rarity looked at the table, She hadn't thought of that. She looked back at Dark Horse.
"Well take a detour, I'm sure you can bribe yourself into his room," Rarity said. Dark Horse gave her a look.
"He is still in police custody, How in the hell do you expect me to bribe my way in there?" Dark Horse said. Rarity looked at him and smirked.
"I suggest you find a way, Your job could depend on it," Rarity said. "Take Diamond Thread with you, She needs some guidance from my best con artist," Rarity said with a wink.
Dark Horse sighed, "Do you at least know what hospital they are in?" He asked. Rarity rolled her eyes.
"It's a few buildings down from the westside police station, I think it's called Westside general," She said. "And the other one is in the Central hospital,"
"I guess I better get going," Dark Horse said. Rarity agreed and he started to leave but, before he left he turned back to face Rarity. "Oh and Rarity, You should go to Sweetie Belle's return to Ponyville," Rarity glared at him.
"And why is that?" She asked, sounding irritated.
Dark Horse smiled, "It makes you look good," He said. He could tell she was angry.
"Who are you to tell me what is good for my reputation!" She shouted. "Get lost!" She commanded.
Dark Horse exited the Carousel Boutique and headed for Diamond Thread's house, She was the new addition to Rarity's PR/Legal team and Dark Horse wasn't sure if she was even aware of their sometimes illegal tactics to save Rarity's public image.
Diamond Thread didn't live too far away from the Carousel Boutique so it didn't take long for Dark Horse to reach her house. He knocked on the door. The door was opened by a Blue mare with white hair who went by the name Diamond Thread.
"Oh, hey Dark Horse, What's up?" She asked.
"Rarity requested that you accompany me on an assignment," He said. She gave him a confused look.
"Well I was working on something, Can it wait?" She asked. Dark Horse felt bad for her but, knew that it couldn't wait.
"You wanted to be on the PR team so you got to be ready for anything," He said, She still looked confused. "In other words, no it can't wait," He said. She sighed.
"Ok, let me get ready," She said. Dark Horse watched her walk back inside her house, She was a beautiful mare, he wondered if he had any chance with her. He chuckled knowing that even if he thought he had no chance he could probably coerce or maybe even threaten her into getting what he wanted.
Diamond Thread returned to the door. "Alright, let's go," She said. Dark Horse nodded and started walking to the train station, Diamond Thread followed close behind.
She was very confused when they made it to the train station and even more confused when they boarded a train to Los Pegasus. As they settled in the first-class private cabin, Diamond Thread decided that she needed answers.
"Why are we going to Los Pegasus?" She asked. Dark Horse looked at her, He decided that it was best for him to tell her the truth.
"Was wondering when you would ask that," Dark Horse said. "We are going to have a little talk with Walker and a Mystery Pony," He answered. Diamond Thread looked shocked.
"Walker! The one who kidnapped Sweetie Belle?" She asked.
"Shhh! Yes that Walker," He said. Diamond Thread gave him a look. She wasn't sure what she had got herself into but, she was pretty sure it wasn't anything good.
"Isn't he in a police hospital? Would that be illegal for us to try and talk to him?" She asked. Dark Horse sighed, his suspicions were confirmed, she didn't know that the PR team sometimes did illegal things to get what they wanted.
"Yes, but we must uphold Rarity's public image," Dark Horse reasoned. Diamond Thread went to say something but she realized, There was no way out of this and She was pretty sure that she couldn't just quit after she figured this out because, if they were willing to do illegal things to protect Rarity then they were probably willing to do illegal things to stop people from finding out about these activities.
'I guess," Diamond Thread replied. She knew that playing along was probably her best course of action.
Dark Horse smiled, he was happy that she didn't try to resist, arguing on a train wasn't ideal because he didn't know who could hear them.
The train jolted to a stop, Sweetie Belle looked up, a thousand thoughts started coursing through her mind, She looked out the window and saw the crowd of ponies that were packed into the Ponyville train station, She tried to take her mind off of her situation by trying to pick out the ponies that were there to catch a train, she couldn't help but internally chuckle at the ponies with annoyed looks on their faces. Her heart dropped as her eyes landed on the last pony she expected to see, Rarity. She looked away from the window as she started getting dizzy, Blue Streak looked at her.
"What's wrong kid?" He asked. Sweetie Belle tried to speak but no words came out, All she could do was point her hoof out the window. Blue Streak smirked, He figured that she was scared of the large crowd that had gathered outside the train until he looked where she was pointing. Blue Streak nearly choked as he saw Rarity Standing near the back of the crowd of ponies. "Just follow me as close as you can and nothing will happen," He assured, Sweetie Belle didn't look convinced. "I promise," He added.
Sweetie Belle knew that she had no other choice, she got up and started following Blue Streak. Once they exited the train Sweetie Belle felt Blue Streak's hoof on her shoulder, She was slightly less nervous.
It was almost impossible to decipher words in the train station, Sweetie Belle looked at the ground and let Blue Streak guide her through the sea of ponies, Sweetie Belle was briefly worried as she felt another hoof on her shoulder but, she was relieved to see that it was only Rainbow Dash. Sweetie Belle looked up as they were exiting the crowd and spotted Rarity staring at her from a distance, she had a disingenuous smile on her face.
"Hey! Stop!" Someone yelled. Sweetie Belle didn't need to look to recognize Scootaloo's voice. "She's our friend! Why won't you let us speak to her!" Scootaloo screamed over the crowd.
Blue Streak stopped and looked back at Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. "Look you two, I understand you want to speak to her but, we have to get her out of the crowd first!" Blue Streak responded. They resumed walking, Sweetie Belle assumed that they were going to the police station but, honestly as long as they weren't going to the Carousel Boutique, she didn't care where he was leading her.
Diamond Thread didn't stop worrying the whole train ride, She knew that this mission would probably fail, and she wouldn't make it in jail. Her train of thought was broken by the train coming to a stop.
"Let's go," Dark Horse said. He got up and started to exit the room before Diamond Thread even had a chance to think. She shook her head and practically galloped out of the train car after him.
"Where are we going first?" Diamond Thread asked. Dark Horse looked at her.
"Not so loud, You trying to get us caught or something?" Dark Horse said. Diamond Thread looked at the ground and apologized. "We are going after Walker first," He said. She nodded. "Wouldn't want to convince the mystery stallion only to figure out that Walker has already given his statement," He added with a chuckle. She nodded and continued following Dark Horse into the city.
After a relatively short walk, they found themselves standing outside a relatively modest-looking building that Westside general in big letters. She reluctantly followed Dark Horse up the steps and into the building. They were immediately greeted by a blue mare. "How can I help you two?" She asked.
"Yes, We are with a news outlet and we were wondering when we might be able to talk to Walker," Dark Horse asked. The mare raised her eyebrows.
"I don't think that will be possible as long as he is in this hospital," The mare said. Dark Horse internally sighed.
"Come on," Dark Horse said. He pulled a bag of bits out of his saddlebag. "Can't we work something out, I have about a month's salary here, all for you," She looked between Dark Horse and the bag of money.
"N-No it's not worth my job," She said.
"Are you his nurse?" Dark Horse asked.
"No," She answered. He smiled.
"Then it will fall on her not you, This is a chance to knock off your competition," Dark Horse said. The mare seemed to think about it for a second.
"No, I'm not going to get one of my coworkers fired," She said. "Now get out of here before I report you two," SHe commanded. Dark Horse put his hooves up defensively before, leaving the room and exiting the hospital.
"Now what?" Diamond Thread asked. Dark Horse thought about his options.
"Let's go to the alleyway, see if we can catch someone back there," Dark Horse said. They walked around the building and into the alley. Sure enough, there was a rough-looking stallion sitting near an exit to the hospital.
"Hey," Dark Horse said. The stallion looked up at the duo.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"You work here?" Dark Horse asked. The stallion nodded. Dark Horse once again pulled out the bag of bits. "This is probably more than you make in a year," He started. "It's all yours if you just give me a copy of the schedule and a map of this place," He said.
"What kind of schedule do you need?" The stallion asked.
"Everything from Lights out to what doctor is assigned to what patient and even if the prisoners ever get fresh air," Dark Horse said. The stallion nodded and held out his hoof, Dark Horse dropped the bag into his hoof and the stallion entered the building.
After a surprisingly long wait, the stallion returned with a few pieces of paper in hand. "That's everything," He said. Dark Horse nodded and thanked him while taking the papers. Diamond Thread followed Dark Horse out of the alley. They once again stood out in front of the hospital.
"Follow me," Dark Horse said. Diamond Thread obliged and followed him around the side of the building. He came to a sudden stop near what appeared to be an Air conditioning unit. He looked at her. "You hear that?" He asked.
"I guess?" Diamond Thread said. He looked at the AC unit.
"It's way too quiet," He said while reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out a mini crowbar. He managed to pull off the board that was covering the AC unit. This revealed a fan and a locked gate. "Bingo," He said with a smile. He slowly opened the gate and slipped into the alleyway, He looked back at Diamond Thread. "You stay here and stand guard," He commanded. She nodded.
Dark Horse stopped and peered into the first window, He was shocked to see Walker laying on his bed. He had caught the hospital at the perfect time as they were letting the patients get some fresh air by slightly opening the windows.
"Walker," He whispered through the window. Walker looked at him with a surprised look. Dark Horse held out a note for him to take. Walker shook his head. "What?" Dark Horse asked. Walker pointed at the bed. Dark Horse went to ask Walker to just tell him what was wrong but, he remembered that Walker was stabbed in the neck. He figured that he couldn't leave the bed. Dark Horse reached through the window as far as he could, Walker took the note and read it over, He looked up Dark Horse, Eyebrows raised.
"I can promise you this," Dark Horse said as he pulled out another, larger bag of bits. "And your choice of Rarity's best lawyers," Walker knew that this could reduce his sentence and he had nothing to lose so he didn't hesitate to nod his head. Dark Horse knew that he didn't have all day so he took the note back from Walker and exited the alley. He and Diamond Thread shut the gate and put the plank back over the box.
"Let's get going," He said. They started walking to Central Hospital. "Now, when we go in here I want you to give your best attempt to bribe them," Dark Horse said. Diamond Thread's eyes bulged out of her head.
"A-Are you sure? I mean this is pretty high-profile what if I mess up?" She asked. Dark Horse laughed.
"It's a public Hospital I doubt even you can mess this up," Dark Horse said. "Just make sure to mention the bits and you will do okay," Diamond Thread was barely able to keep herself together, she wanted to cry, knowing that she would have to possibly ruin someone's life.
They approached the massive structure that was Central Hospital. Before they entered Diamond Thread looked at Dark Horse. "Do you even know this stallion's name?" She asked. Dark Horse looked at her and then the ground. "You don't, Do you?" He shook his head. "And how in the hell do you expect us to pull this off if we don't even know his name?" She asked.
"I think he has red fur and a grey mane," Dark Horse said. "But, I suppose that we could just ask them about the stallion from the factory, Rarity authorized us to use as many bits as we need," He said. "Let's just go see what we can do," He said.
They entered the building and Dark Horse started looking for a good candidate to bribe, He spotted a stallion who looked like he was new to the job. "Let's try that guy," He said, pointing at the stallion. Diamond Thread nodded and followed close behind Dark Horse as they approached the strange. He pulled the stallion into an empty room he started to fight back but Dark Horse spoke up. "Hey, we just need to talk to you," the stallion continued to try and leave the room but, he was grabbed by Dark Horse, He looked at Diamond Thread.
She hesitated before speaking. "We need to talk to the third stallion from the factory incident this morning," Diamond Thread said. The stallion looked between them.
"I can't do that," He said.
"We got a bag of bits with your name on it," Diamond Thread said. "It's probably equivalent to a few months' pay," She added. She was disgusted with how well she was doing it made her want to cry.
Dark Horse pulled out the bag of bits. "Alright, fine he is in room 33," The stallion said. Dark Horse nodded and dropped the bag of bits into his hoof.
As they were exiting Dark Horse turned to the stallion and said. "Oh, and if you tell anyone about this interaction, You're dead," Dark Horse threatened. The stallion frantically nodded.
Dark Horse made sure the coast was clear before he entered the room. When they entered the room the red stallion looked at them from the bed. "W-Who are you guys?" He asked.
"We are here on behalf of Rarity, What is your name?" Dark Horse asked. The red stallion raised his eyebrows.
"I'm Fleetline, What are you guys here for?" Fleetline asked. Dark Horse looked at Diamond Thread and nodded.
"We are here to strike a deal with you," Diamond Thread said. Fleetline motioned for her to continue. "Well, you probably have pretty high medical bills and even if you have healthcare, I'm sure you could use a little extra money," She said.
"Cut to the chase," Fleetline said. Diamond Thread was slightly taken aback but, she pushed onward.
"We have some bits for you, as long as you do a favor for us," She said.
"Quit beating around the bush," Fleetline said, sounding irritated. Diamond Thread didn't want to continue, she just wanted to run out of the room, she just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened or, better yet, she would wake up and figure out that this was just a terrible dream. Dark Horse hit her in the ribs, She took that as her cue to continue talking.
"All you have to do is tell the police that Sweetie Belle is the one that assaulted you," Diamond Thread said. Fleetline nearly fell off his bed.
"What the hell is the matter with you guys?" He nearly yelled. "You want me to ruin that poor girl's life even more?" He went to continue but, was stopped by Dark Horse jingled a bag of bits. Fleetline stopped and stared at the bag, He didn't have healthcare and he knew that his bill would probably be upwards of thirty-thousand bits.
"I can tell that you are considering it, I know you need the bits," Dark Horse said. "All you have to do is tell a little lie to the police and possibly testify in court and these bits are all yours," Dark Horse said.
"What if we get caught? I don't want to take the fall for this," Fleetline said. Dark Horse smiled.
"We won't get caught, But if we do, you will have your choice of Rarity's best and most trusted lawyers to defend you," Dark Horse said. "What do you say Fleetline? One little lie for a huge payday?" He asked.
"I'm in," Fleetline said.