The train ride to Manehatten was for the most part fairly uneventful. The conductor had stopped by to inform passengers that it would be another three hours before they reached Manehatten. After some small talk with Cheerilee and a failed attempt at a nap, Heavy was getting antsy. Finally he declared that he was going to go stretch his legs.
Shortly after the cartwright left the car, Filthy Rich, who had been occupying himself with the business section of the Canterlot Times, placed his paper down and said that he was going to go find some refreshments.
Cheerilee and Big Mac simply nodded in acknowledgement as the second stallion left the car.
“It’s always the quiet moments that get to ponies.” Cheerilee commented.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac replied.
“So how’d you manage to be able to leave on such short notice?’” She asked.
“Told them I was heading to Manehatten to help a friend.”
“The family was fine with that?”
“Eeyup.”
“Ask many questions?”
“Not as many as they probably should have.”
Applejack was in the kitchen, pencil in her mouth as she was going through the winter inventories a third time to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
Big Mac walked in. "Hey sis, I'm heading up to Manehatten to help out a friend."
"Mmhmm," Applejack replied, never taking her eyes off the inventory.
"I've done my share of the winter prep but Caramel will be back in town in a few days so he can help if anything turns up."
"Mmhmm."
"I'll send word if it ends up taking longer than a week."
"Mmhmm."
"And it looks like somepony’s replaced the harvest from the south field with kumquats."
Applejack spat out the pencil in shock.
"THEY WHAT?!"
Big Mac smirked. "Just making sure you were paying attention."
After some idle wondering, Heavy Roller decided to go down to the bar car. Maybe a stiff drink would calm his nerves. He ordered a large single malt from the bar mare and sat down in a corner booth to sip at his drink. He drifted into a bit of a reverie while watching the scenery flow past the window, which he was abruptly broken out of when somepony sat down across from him.
"Mind if i join you?" asked Filthy Rich, setting down a lightly fizzing scotch and seltzer.
"Oh, sure, not at all." He replied.
They sat in companionable, if slightly awkward silence before Heavy cleared his throat, "Mr. Rich can I ask you something?"
"Of course, but please just call me Rich."
"Well Rich, I was just wondering why you're helping us, helping me."
The brown stallion raised an eyebrow.
"Not that I'm not grateful." Heavy said quickly, "But I have to figure that anypony who would just drop everything to run off to Manehatten to confront a stallion with his own private army has to have reasons of his own for doing so."
Rich’s eyebrows furrowed as he took a slow pull from his drink before replying, "Very shrewd of you, Roller. And yes, I do have my reasons."
"Which are?"
"Well I could say that it’s because Macintosh and Cheerilee asked me to. Or because keeping an innocent pony out of jail and his daughter out of an orphanage is the right thing to do, and those would be perfectly good reasons to be doing all this. But I suppose the true reason is because I despise ponies like Stone Wall!"
Heavy was taken aback by the sheer vitriol that had suddenly appeared in Rich's voice. The brown stallion took a deeper pull of his drink before continuing.
"Mr. Roller, I'm a businesspony. I pride myself on being able to play any deal or negotiation I'm in like a Stradivarius. And even though I stand by the belief that every pony has a price, there is some currencies and products you just don’t deal in. This Stone Wall character has descended to the tactics of gutter scum and that is precisely what he has proven himself to be in my eyes."
Heavy sat back, observing the fuming earth pony over the rim of his mug, letting him continue.
"I never knew your wife sir, but everything I have heard tells me she was an honorable soldier and a loving family mare. And to threaten your daughter's future like that!”
He paused to take a calming breath.
“I'm a father myself and there is nothing in this world more important to me than my little Tiara, and I can see how much you love that little hellion of yours." Rich said with a coy grin.
"As opposed to that bossy little princess of yours?" Heavy countered, with the commiserating smile of haggard fathers everywhere.
"Heh. I'm not blind to my daughter's behavior, sir and I do my best to raise her right though I admit that I have a bad habit of spoiling her sometimes. And regardless of her wild antics I have seen that your daughter is healthy, happy and loved. And I won't let gutter scum like Stone Wall destroy that, Mr Roller, not if I can help it." Rich declared, downing his drink and forcefully placing it upside down on the table.
The orange stallion sat silently for a full minute before chugging his own drink, slamming it down and holding out his hoof with a smile, "Call me Heavy."
When the group arrived in Manehatten’s Grand Central Station they found out that the train carrying the final member would be arriving fairly shortly. They decided it would be easier to wait.
Or at least that had been the plan until they noticed the way Heavy Roller was pacing back and forth, in fact, most of the station was starting to notice.
“Why don’t I take Heavy back to where we’re staying and you two wait for the train?” Mr Rich offered.
“Good idea,” Cheerilee agreed. “Though it does raise the question of where we’ll be staying while we’re here.”
“I can ask my Aunt and Uncle for a place.” Big Mac offered.
“No need, I have a place we can use.” Filthy answered. “When Sterling Silver and I realised we’d both be coming to Manehatten more and more often for business we decided buy a place to timeshare between us. I know I could have afforded to buy a place by myself but that seemed needlessly extravagant.” Filthy passed her a slip of paper with an address on it before he and Heavy left with their luggage.
“So will we be able to get help from your network while we’re in town?” Cheerilee asked when she and Big Mac were alone.
“For the last time it’s not a network.” Big Mac argued. “It’s just a group of friends and relatives that I make an effort to stay in touch with.”
“That you just happen to have in every major town and city.” She commented, rolling her eyes.
“The strongest tree is the one with the widest roots.” Big Mac replied sagely.
The teacher raised an eyebrow. “So on that strangely philosophical note, anypony that could help us?”
“Nope.” He admitted. “All my Manehatten connections are tied to the Orange family and I don’t really want to bring them too much into this.”
“Fair enough.”
The train finally arrived. Cheerilee and Big Mac watched the ponies depart from the train until they saw the one they had been waiting for.
A white mare stepped out of the train car, carrying a large suitcase. Admittedly the most remarkable thing about the mare was how incredibly unremarkable she was. She had a white coat, white mane, was of average build and had a quill and parchment for her cutie mark.
Frankly it was safe to say that her suitcase made more of a first impression than she did.
“Notary!” Cheerilee exclaimed as she ran up to give the mare a hug. “Thank you for coming.”
“What was I going to do?” Notary asked mockingly. “Not come? Besides I had some vacation time I needed to use.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it just seems to pile up without me realising it.” She then noticed Big Mac standing there. “So is this hired muscle yours?”
“Nope.” The stallion replied. “Doing this gig pro bono.”
The white mare stared quizzically at Big Mac until recognition struck. "You’re the apple farmer I met when I visited Ponyville.”
“And you're the mare that tried to alphabetise Cheerilee’s fish.” The stallion countered.
Notary’s mouth quirked slightly but she returned her attention to Cheerilee, “So will anypony else be joining us for this little playdate or is the crimson wonder the only help we’ll be getting?”
“The rest have already headed to our base of operations.” Cheerilee interjected before Big Mac could speak. “Let’s head out.”
As Cheerilee started to lead the way, the farmer picked up Notary’s suitcase, much to the mare’s ire.
“I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own luggage.” Notary said in a heated whisper.
“Figured you wanted to rest up,” Big Mac replied, “You look a little pale.”
Notary glowered. “Why are you actually here?”
“To make sure the team stays safe.” Big Mac answered. “And you?”
“To make sure the team stays…” Notary paused as she tried to find the right word. “Informed.”
Notary - Secretary
Notary was busy enjoying her afternoon off in a cafe, happily sipping her cup of tea. Her peace and quiet was interrupted by a well-dressed pegasus stopping in front of her table.
"You're a hard mare to find, Notary."
Notary sighed as she placed the cup down. "Apparently not hard enough, Mrs Finch. What can I do for you?"
Frantic Finch puffed up slightly. "A lot actually, starting with making amends for the damage you helped do to my husband’s reputation."
The white mare rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Mrs Finch, regardless of what my former employer has done, he has lost his title and his position, possibly forever. I no longer work for him and have left Canterlot all together hoping to make a fresh start. Isn't trying to get revenge at this point just a little petty?"
"Reformed" Citizen
"Don't you dare call me petty!" Mrs Finch snapped. "He might have nothing left to lose but you certainly do."
She then pulled out a thick file and laid it on the table.
"You may have managed to leave Canterlot unscathed but I've got more than enough on you to make sure that unless you do what I tell you the only place you'll be able to find work is the Griffon Empire."
Notary looked down at the file, which from the thickness seemed to be well researched and highly comprehensive, then back up at Mrs Finch. She finally let out another sigh.
"Mrs Finch, allow me to give you some candid advice. Blackmail is a dirty way of doing business that has the potential of backfiring. If, however, you are going to do it, at least be smart about it. Don't wave a file full of embarrassing factoids at the target and hope something will scare them into submission. Research your target, understand how they think and what they value."
She took a nearby napkin and wrote something on it. "And then find the one piece of information that will threaten them at their very core."
Notary pushed the napkin towards Mrs Finch. The pegasus nonchalantly picked it up and read it. Upon realizing what was written there, she visibly paled. She looked back up at Notary, her mouth open and bottom lip trembling.
The earth pony had the decency not to look smug. "I trust that there won't be any more visits like this." She waited for the pegasus to nod. "Good day Mrs Finch."
Without another word the pegasus took off. After a minute or so, Notary's curiosity got the better of her and she opened the file. She then scoffed.
"I really wish ponies would stop trying to use Neigh Orleans against me." She muttered. "It's just tacky."
Information Broker
The three ponies made it to the address Filthy Rich had given them. They barely contained their surprise when they entered the large multi room apartment.
“Of course.” Cheerilee commented dryly. “This is by no means what you’d call needlessly extravagant.”
As if on cue, Filthy and Heavy stepped out.
“Great, you’re here.” He said as he approached the three, he held out his hoof to Notary. “I’m Filthy Rich.”
“I noticed.” Notary replied dryly as she took the hoof.
“I’m Heavy Roller.” The orange stallion said as he held out his hoof. “Thank you so much for coming to help.”
“Notary,” the secretary replied. “And don’t take this the wrong way but how about we save the thank you’s for after we’re finished taking on the morally ambiguous CEO with a personal army.”
She then went past the stallions to a nearby table where she started to empty out various files from her suitcase. Filthy meanwhile approached Cheerilee.
“Not to sound ungrateful for the added help,” He said diplomatically. “But who exactly is she?”
“Her name is Notary, she’s an old friend of mine and she’s here to help.” Cheerilee replied. “Anything else is up to her to tell you.”
Four of the earth ponies sat at the table, various files and paper work in front of them, all centred around two things; Stone Wall and Stone Wall Securities.
Notary meanwhile stood in front of them, ready to present her findings as if she was a CEO at a stock meeting.
“The one thing you need to know about the Wall family is that there are only two fields its members excel in: construction and fighting. Every family member worth remembering either helped build the Manehatten skyline, got arrested on assault charges or in a few cases both.” Notary explained. “Stone Wall was no exception. Deciding that he didn’t want to pick up a 9 to 5 trade, but wanted to dignify his more aggressive tendencies, he decided to join the royal guard, then when he got sick of that he decided to turn to private security.”
“So instead of serving his country he decided to become some thug for hire?” Heavy asked. “As if I didn’t hate him enough.”
“Don’t lump all private security with him.” Big Mac stated. “There are a lot of decent ponies in the field just trying to make a living.”
“And the last thing he wanted to do was go be a battlefield mercenary.” Notary answered. “He sold most of the assets from his family's construction company get the starting capital and then used his family connections to grow his new business. Once he got Stone Wall Securities off the ground he sought to appeal to the rich and affluent. Selling them on the idea of peace of mind that could only be achieved buying the best protection money can buy.”
“Really?”
The white mare nodded “He promises the best to his clients; best training, best recruits, best equipment. Not only does he guarantee a high standard, he also invest time and resources into R&D in to make their equipment even better. At least, that’s what the business statement says.”
“And in reality?” Cheerilee asked.
Notary shrugged. “From what I can tell, if his operation is better than any other security company, it’s not by much. The only difference is that he puts more effort in the window dressing.”
“You seem to have a lot of information on this fellow.” Filthy commented.
“It’s not the first time he’s caught my attention.” The white mare admitted. “He never garnered enough to warrant further investigation though since his operation was mainly based in Manehatten. Most of what I gather on his business and his financials I got from what companies are expected to by law release to public, plus the whispers I could gather from the grapevine.”
Filthy Rich looked down at the company’s financials. “His private sector operation appears to have been highly lucrative.”
“Yes but it’s gaining major defence or military contracts that he’s really after. He keeps trying to get them but he’s constantly stonewalled, no pun intended, probably because he has yet to prove his company could handle military work. It doesn't help that most ponies think he's a jerk even when he's not blackmailing single fathers." She paused. "My sympathies."
"Thanks." Heavy said dryly. "But if they think he's jerk why work for him?"
"You don't have to like someone to be willing to work with them." Filthy commented. "You just have to believe they're going to help you make money.”
"And he was.” Notary interjected, wanting to get the attention back to her. “However in the last six months he has invested a fortune in things like buying mineral rich land for resources like metal and timber, hiring a lot more ponies and purchasing or signing deals with several other security/defence companies.”
“Really?” Filthy seemed genuinely surprised as he glanced over the information to confirm what Notary had said. “That makes no sense.”
“Why?” Cheerilee asked
“This really aggressive growth program,” Filthy explained. “Sure the private sector has been good to him but that can only take him so far. Their projected earnings don’t reflect such a growth and all these extra resources will only be wasted if he can’t find a demand for them. If he keeps this up, he’ll bleed this company dry before he even begins get a whiff of return on his investments.”
“Could we use that?” Heavy asked. “Maybe if we get him fired then maybe he’ll back off.”
“Easier said than done.” Filthy commented. “If he keeps running the company like this without some big payoff, the board of directors will probably come after him by the next fiscal year, but not in the time frame we need him out of the picture.”
“How about a thunder valley play?” Big Mac offered.
“A what?” Filthy asked.
“A thunder valley play is when you convince the target that they’re up against an opponent they can’t beat, thus getting them to back off without engaging.” Cheerilee explained, “It’s based on the battle of Thunder Valley where a smaller army got the larger one to surrender by making them believe they were up against superior numbers.”
“Won’t work.” Heavy Roller countered. “Even if we manage to convince him that I have an army that could take on his company, that would just give him more incentive to release the evidence, if only to eliminate the threat.”
“Could you find anything we could use?” Cheerilee asked Notary.
“Not really,” She admitted. “His operation is either genuinely clean or he’s just really careful. If I had a chance to look through his files I could maybe find something but to do that I would need to find a way to get into his office building.”
“And to do that we would need some sort of an in to at least scope the place.” Cheerilee added.
The business pony rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What do we know about him that isn’t related to his business?”
Notary paused.
“Well when he's not running his company he likes to play the role of Upper Class Manehattanite. He invests a lot into the arts, probably as a way to to look good to the socialites since I’ve found nothing to suggest he actually cares for it.”
She moved some of the papers to the side to reveal a newspaper of Stone Wall in front of a theatre .
“He purchased the Wall Flower Theatre, one of the many theatres found on Bridle Way, and I don’t think he knows what he’s supposed to do with it. Honestly the only thing more incredible than his attempts to gain favour is it’s mediocre success.” She concluded.
“Hmm.” Filthy said thoughtfully.
“What are you thinking Rich?” Cheerilee asked.
Filthy’s thoughtful expression turned into an almost sinister grin, “I think it’s time Stone Wall made a new friend.”