Cherry took a deep breath, looking over the restaurant. Her parents were right; apparently, she really would do anything for her sister.
The style of the place was probably meant to be a modern spin on classical-era Prench, although Cherry didn't know enough about architecture to be sure. Maybe modern Reneighssance? The familiar chill of expensive air conditioning wafted through the restaurant, making her squirm in the itchy dress Lemon had forced her to wear even more spasmodically. About a fourth of the diners had ties on their hats so they wouldn't fall off when they stuck their noses up.
Was she at all surprised? Nope. Did it nevertheless give her a horrifying sense of self? You bet it did.
Suddenly she was running down a mental checklist. Haughty stance? Check. Fancy outfit? Check. Important company? Check, kind of. Make-up? Check. Perfume...?
Too late. A waitress was already leading them to the table seating a surprisingly large group of waving, laughing doctors. Lemon gave a polite smile to the diners she passed, the picture of perfection, while Cherry marched behind her, silently withering in her perfumelessness.
When they reached the table, her first instinct was too hide. Slide under the table and just curl up until she disappeared. But no, Lemon would never let her do that, at least not without a lecture on manners.
The next option was to go to the bathroom and sneak out a window, or at the very least just not come out until everypony was gone. She gave her sister a glance, trying to convey her need to leave. Instead of permission, she received an equally sympathetic and scolding look.
She shot her sister a scowl, but sat down anyway. Boy, this would be a long day.
The mare sat a few tables away, fiddling with her hooves. Her tufted ears popped up, twisting towards the subject. Every time they found their target, she forced them back down to a calm position before they could betray her intentions.
She reached up with one hoof and scratched her chin, then her right ear, discreetly activating a pair of speakers. "She's here, kid. Nothing special, pretty out of place in a fancy-schmancy restaurant like this." That comment earned her a few looks of curiosity from nearby diners, but she waved a hoof and pulled out a pen and notepad, dispelling their attention. Now she just looked like a novelist or something, voicing ideas aloud.
"Take it back!" The sudden outburst from the speaker in her ear sent the batpony reeling. That was the one thing she truly hated about these devices: feedback. "Of course she's special! How many others would've helped me?"
Harvey grimaced. "Good point. Very few, and she's not one of 'em. I can tell from here. Whatever you did messed her up real bad."
There was a long beat of silence, then a click. The lack of a reply from her client wasn't all that surprising, but for a second there was an unsettling feeling in her chest. It had been a while since she'd felt guilt, but she knew if she'd tried to soften the blow for him it would just hurt more. The poor creature had been through enough already, and things weren't about to get any better; it was best to just barrel through it while he could.
A moment later, another click sounded. The voice came through audibly exhausted. "I understand. The deal still stands."
"You sure about this? She doesn't care anymore. I promise," she replied, her gaze floated back to the rosy mare, who was too busy fidgeting in her seat to notice.
"I don't care. If I don't meet this new Cherry personally, I'll... I..."
Harvey let out a stale sigh. "Fine, fine. The deal stands." She was about to put away the notepad when an idea popped into her head. Just like any good writer, she needed to figure out his motivation. "Y'know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you like her."
"Of course," he replied. She grinned on the other end before he finished. "If I wasn't her friend, then I wouldn't care."
Her grin widened, not of satisfaction but of how innocent that was. He didn't know! "Wrong 'like', Silver. I mean to say you think she's pretty." Among other things, she thought, chuckling internally.
He stayed quiet for a second, but that just gave the batpony more time to laugh at his expense. She shut her internal dialogue up when he started talking again. "I guess so. She's smarter, though. And nicer. And funny. I think you'd like her if you met her, too."
"Never mind, kid. This isn't my division." She waved the subject off, almost ready to turn back to work. "Glad to see you're feeling better. There's nothing worse than a case of the grumps."
"Actually, there are a lot of things that are worse. Cancer, tuberculosis, smallpox, hepatitis B... Lots of things."
Harvey leaned back, rubbing her forehead. "What are you, a walking library? No, don't answer that. Just trust me. I'll be back in a half hour." She reached up towards the speakers, despite his protest. She tapped the one on her chin, but left the other one on - she wanted to hear his response. There was no such thing as useless information. At least, she'd been taught as much.
The changeling sighed, giving up on reaching the dealmaker. "Fine..." She could hear him lie down on the concrete floor, still listening intently to the radio in front of him. Unlike Harvey, he didn't have access to high technology. Another long silence echoed in her ear, and she was worried he'd turned off the microphone part of the radio, even though she hadn't been allowed to show him how. Then he spoke up, worn out again. "What will she think of me now..."
Harvey was tempted to reach up and tell him it would be okay, that this girl would understand. But that wasn't the truth; in Cherry's eyes, he would be a monster. Maybe she would remember, but memories could be hard to trust, especially with magic involved. It would take some time to see things the way he needed her to. Still, she couldn't just let him think he was alone. She reached up once more. "I heard that. Don't worry about a thing, kid! That won't get you anywhere. I'm out, for real this time. Promise me you won't spend the whole time sulking, okay?"
More quiet. "... Okay."
"You're lying. Now promise."
"I promise!"
She smiled, satisfied. "Good enough. See ya." Then she turned off both speakers, back to the job.
Now came the hard part; getting close to the subject. She surveyed the tables nearby, looking for access. She could probably explain herself as a writer researching the upper class, again, or she could go for a more specific subject. The tables around the subject's were all pretty full, and her table had a few open spots. Unfortunately, one was right next to her and the other on the opposite end.
Still, that would have to be good enough. She got up from her seat, slid a pen on top of her speakerless ear, then marched over to the subject. When she reached the table, she turned to the other diners rather than Cherry. She'd done her research, and knew these ponies were very influential in the medical world. That was her way in. "Hiya, everypony!" She chirped, already in-character.
Suddenly she had the eyes of the entire table, who were surprised to have a visitor, but luckily very happy for a distraction. she could sense their stress from a mile away, and it was extremely lucky the other diners hadn't. "I'm doing some research for a book I want to write," she explained, pulling out the notepad with her teeth and mouthing the word "see?". the she dropped it on the table so she could finish speaking. "You guys seem to be the perfect subjects for my study! Can I sit with you, just for a little while? I won't be a bother, I promise!"
A cheer sounded at the other end, originating from a very tired-looking mare who had clearly been censoring most of her thoughts for these other folks. Some others carried it through with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The rest, besides Cherry, just nodded politely. The rosy mare let out something between a yawn and a growl and pulled out the chair next to her.
She sat down, pulling the pen away from her ear to draw some lines on the paper, frantically enough to make everypony think she was writing and organized enough to assure any of them who bothered to check her progress. She quickly realized that wasn't necessary, as Cherry had situated herself away from the diners who were actually paying attention to their surroundings, besides the pony she recognized as the subject's sister, who was distracted by the meeting.
Seeing as everypony was preoccupied at the moment, Harvey jotted down a note among the lines she'd already scattered across the paper. Don't tell anypony about these notes. I need to talk to you, and you have to trust me. She tore it from the notepad, eyes glued to the meeting. After a short moment of thought, she wrote on the back, it's about the changeling. Now rip this note up if you'll listen. The batpony had never been the most elegant on communication's front, but she wasn't about to lie about anything. This would have to be enough.
She crumpled it up, then nudged the mare beside her and dropped it in her hooves. At least Cherry had the manners to keep them off the table. She watched out of the corner of her eye as the mare in white picked it up, unfolded it, and read the note, a look of boredom giving way to morbid curiosity.
Cherry gave the younger mare a sideways glare, but Harvey had seen this many times before. She just made a flipping motion with her hoof, and the subject turned the note over, curious again. Her expression sunk for a split second when she read the next part, but she straightened up and shredded the paper between her hooves, taking care to be silent about it.
Harvey nodded with a grin, already writing the next note. When you're ready to leave, tell your sister there's an emergency and lead her to the east end of the building. I'll be there, and I'll try to explain things on the way. Keep this note, as you might need it to convince her. She gave Cherry the new note, and a few seconds later received a nod of agreement. Her grin widened, and she took the chance to bid farewell to the table and leave.
A half hour later, the three mares met at the designated wall. Just like the batpony had said, Lemon had initially refused to follow, but when Cherry pulled out the note, the older pony begrudgedly obeyed. Still, when they stepped into the shadow of the east end, Harvey knew she was right about this being a delicate operation.
Before she could explain, though, the unicorn stepped forward, blocking her view of the subject. Her voice, usually sweet like molasses, turned cold. "I hope you have a good reason to drag my sister back here." The mare puffed up her chest, nostrils flaring lightly.
Harvey didn't let her surprise show. Such a blatant show of defiance would not be trifled with. "That's a pretty brave tone, seeing as I'm her only chance for real recovery. You don't have to like it. You don't even need to come with us." She copied Lemon's stance, but couldn't quite reach that height. Instead, she pulled the most official-looking glare she could. "But I'm not leaving here without my objective."
Lemon shrunk back slightly, concern bright on her face. The anger wasn't gone by any stretch of the imagination, but there was still potential. Then again, the rosy mare behind her took a full step back. She looked ready to bolt.
The batpony lowered her stance again, maintaining the glare. "Good to know you'll cooperate. I'm not answering questions, but I won't hide anything. There is no room for change in these rules. Now follow me." Then she turned and began towards the street. The sisters lagged behind for a second, but after the initial surprise they started moving too.
Harvey grinned, reaching up to her headgear. Per her deal, she made no effort to hide her speech. "Hey, kid. We're on our way."
There was a sudden shuffle of activity, then the ring of feedback as the changeling shouted unintelligibly into the radio. She grimaced. "Hold on, you're too loud. Bring it down a notch."
He quieted slightly, but not enough to help her make sense of anything. She rolled her eyes, letting her grin resurface and drown out the painful noise. "Turn down the volume or I'll turn up the speaker."
That shut him up pretty quickly. Whether he recognized it or not, the idea of having his crush hear him before he was ready was mortifying. Harvey chuckled, earning more strange looks yet. Finally a comprehensible phrase made its way through the speaker. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
"Oh, it's nothing, Silver. Just remember it won't get you anywhere if I don't understand. Anyway, we'll be there in just a mo, so be prepared." He didn't say anything in response, but she guessed he probably had nodded and forgot she couldn't see the gesture. Oh, well, social skills would come later.