//------------------------------// // Friends in the Right Places // Story: The White Phoenix // by Quick Fix //------------------------------// March 5th "Are you sure this is going to work?" Sweetie Belle didn't know why she was asking that, this was her idea after all. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she now had a small, potentially magically explosive rock ready to be strapped to her left side and magic conducting wires running round her barrel and up to her neck where the microphone was nestled between her scarf and coat. Right now she was holding the wire tap close in her hoof but not putting it on yet, her plan was going to subject it to a lot of magic as it was. If it was active when she did that, she felt it would likely backfire and go off in some rather unpleasant way. Sky Eye had claimed it had been stress tested vigorously, she was holding him to that but still opting for caution regardless. She tried to get her thoughts off what might happen there and onto something else related to this moment. She settled on the fact that just as she had needed to make something like this happen, the tools to do so had become available to her. That had been quite a handy coincidence but then again, they happened so regularly back in Ponyville that she didn't even draw attention to it anymore. It was no less of an adventure than when she was a filly though, considering now she was sitting in a plain carriage next to the Equestria Today offices, trying to keep her wire tap in place while keeping it all inconspicuous. As she finished double checking the microphone between her coat lapel and scarf, she glanced up at the other two occupants of the carriage for an answer. "Well given all the information that came with that thing, I'm about eighty percent sure this plan'll work. Plus you're the one that chose it." Babs Seed replied, doing her best to sound professional while still ribbing her friend. She was kitted out in a full body compression fabric that went up to her neck where it had the identifying emblem of the MPD, letting her be fast and agile while also taking a hit if needed. She'd opted for it since Sweetie's discussion with her about Spoiled Rich indicated that even with a week and a half to cool off, she was going to react badly to even the implication that somepony was moving against her. That was why it wasn't just the two of them going in for this one. "Just try not to worry about it, we're gonna be right there if things go south," Sky Eye reassured her, kitted out in the same outfit as Babs with some extra space for his wings and a utility belt with the basic police equipment on. "Assuming the wire tap doesn't break before you get what you need, it'll be fine. That said, it'll be drawing off a lot of your magic, so spells will likely be more taxing that normal." "Hmmm, love your optimism." Sweetie commented, getting a good natured smile out of him in response. This may have been her plan they were working on, but his input in the planning had been invaluable, even if he had a tendency to overthink the details. The hard part had been keeping him going once he realised who they were dealing with, he'd heard of Spoiled's reputation but thankfully he was still willing to proceed. "Ok, think we need one last run through the plan just to be sure?" Sky asked, glancing out the carriage window to make sure the street was quiet enough to not draw attention to them. Babs shook her head as she shifted in her seat, stretching her back legs slightly. "It's not that hard to remember, you go in," She pointed to Sweetie Belle. "Then me and Oka go in an-" "Okay I'm sorry but, seriously. Why Oka?" Sweetie interrupted, looking at Sky Eye in confusion. He stared back at her for a moment before twigging on that she wouldn't be fully focused until she got an answer. "Alright, Oka roughly translates to Eye in Zebra. I sort of adopted it as a nickname, because of my eye for detail, and the fact I'm actually about a quarter zebra myself." "Huh," Sweetie mused, suddenly missing the visits to Zecora she and the other crusaders used to make before they had to grow up. "So...Nevermind, I'll ask later. Where were we?" "You go in, we go in," Babs continued. "We make sure that Spoiled Rich doesn't know you're coming and then join you. Any questions?" "No, I think I can do this." Sweetie took a breath to keep herself steady. She was nervous, no denying that, but she couldn't let it get in the way, not now. "Alright then, deploy when ready. And good luck." Sky Eye attempted to sound professional and supportive at the same time, not quite managing to pull it off but Sweetie appreciated the effort nonetheless. "See you two on the seventh floor." She said to them as she finished adjusting her coat and scarf, put her hat on and focused. Her horn came to life and she teleported out of the carriage. The other two sat there in silence, watching the spot where she'd been moments before. Babs eventually looked at Sky Eye and poked his leg to break his focused stare. "So...How many unicorns do you think can do that?" He asked, sounding impressed. "Later. The sooner we move the better the odds this whole thing works." She replied, opening the carriage and stepping out, heading for the front entrance with him following right behind. Sweetie Belle took a breath as she reappeared in a flash, a quick look round confirming she was on the third floor of the stairwell inside the Equestria Today offices. Figuring that noise from her entrance would have alerted somepony, she quickly darted up to the fourth floor and paused, taking a few seconds to recover from the teleportation once she got there. As suspected, a pony poked their head out from the third floor officers into the stairwell for several seconds before going back with. Believing she was in without being detected, she checked the wire tap over. It looked like there had been no change inside or out so she took it in her magic and fitted the straps to herself, keeping the thin side pressed against her body. A brief but intense rush of her magic was all she needed to know that it was active and working. Thankful that things hadn't gone wrong straight off the bat, Sweetie started making her way further up. Nopony else was present and she reached the seventh floor without further complications. It was a lot flashier up here with decent carpets and various pieces of artwork adorning the walls. There were less rooms as well, letting her make her way to Spoiled Rich's office quickly. All she had to do now was stick with her plan and make a decision on how to go in. Deciding to use the classy approach in in this situation, she knocked before entering. Babs pushed the front doors open and headed through the lobby of the Equestria Today offices. Her stride oozed confidence and determination, a necessary trait from years of hoof patrols on the then-rougher streets of Manehatten. Even if she wasn't expecting trouble, having an air of being in charge could work wonders. She could tell that Sky was doing the same without even having to look round at him, Canterlot saw it's own fair share of trouble and the guards there needed to walk the walk as well. It seemed to be doing the trick, the receptionist pony already looked somewhat cowed by their presence as the stepped up to the front desk. "Hello, can I...Help you?" The receptionist asked, still trying to do his job even when he was this nervous. "Officer Seed, MPD," Babs replied, adjusting the fabric at her neck so he could see the emblem properly. "We're here to see Spoiled Rich." She could practically see the colour drain from his face at that, likely having orders to make sure exactly that didn't happen at the moment. "I...See. I'm afraid that unless you have a meeting already scheduled then-" "We have a search warrant for Mrs Rich's office." Sky Eye countered, bringing it out where it was tucked under his wing and presenting it to the receptionist, who looked even more flustered and stumbling over his words as he tried to think of another excuse to overrule this. It suited them for now though, he hadn't alerted Spoiled yet and they needed to let a little more time pass while Sweetie did her part. Sweetie paused slightly as she took in the office. Elegantly styled in the colours of the Rich family, pink and black, and filled with cabinets and art that managed to give the feel of a news office without clashing, the whole setup managed to feel benign while giving off a sense of intimidation at the same time. Spoiled Rich herself was seated at the desk in the center of the room, looking over a paper and completely failing to notice that she had even entered, likely another display of indifference toward what she probably thought was just another employee. She glanced up for a moment and went back to her reading, only for her mind to catch up with her eyes a moment later. She did a double-take and shot up with such force that the desk was knocked an inch or two away, staring down her visitor with a mix of disbelief and malice. "You!" She snapped, any pretence of pleasantries lost without time to plan them out. "How did you get in here?!" "I asked really nicely." Sweetie Belle replied with a small smile. It wasn't entirely untrue, she'd asked the police if she could come in after all. Spoiled Rich stared her down for a moment before managing to break into a small grin. "That receptionist is so much trouble when I'm done here. Now though, I'd heard that you might be a bit slow up there but, really? Coming back here after I made myself clear before what would happen if you showed your face in front of me again," She got up and made her way round to the front of the desk, leaning against it with a quietly returning confidence. "Why did you even come here?" "Because of your breach of our agreement regarding the interview. My rights toward the published version were completely ignored, and I still have the written proof." That wasn't really a lie either, she would have been coming back to protest that before the recent developments. Now though she was using it to keep the talk going and trust that her opponent would talk herself into a corner. Spoiled kept her gaze fixed on her several seconds before giving a low chuckle and visibly relaxing further. "Reaallly slow. You know, I was actually debating giving your insignificant life a chance to turn things around and go back home on your own. Now though, you don't seem to learn when you should stop bothering your betters, so here's the deal. You have two days to get out of this city and find yourself a nice hole befitting your miserable status before I set everypony in Equestria against you." Spoiled's voice was dangerously calm. She'd clearly been planning for this eventuality and wasn't holding back anymore. It meant little now though, that statement had further shifted the situation in Sweetie's favour. She'd got her talking, now all she had to do was keep her talking until Babs and Sky got here. She just had to act like she'd been put on the defensive, stay on topic and maybe bring up her friends at some point, that should be enough for the wire to record. Managing to keep her hope held on the inside for now, her ears folded back and she took a step backward, playing surprised and hurt on the outside. "Isn't that an overreaction?" She asked, managing to inflect some pleading emotion into her voice. "Oh, are you just now figuring it out? Sorry, but I save my ability to care for ponies that mean something to anypony of note. Now, which sounds worse for you. Embezzling from your own dear sister, or being The White Phoenix?" "Look, sir, I understand and I assure you that we're not interested in going through any corporate secrets, but you're starting to risk being charged with obstruction of justice." Sky Eye said with a weary sigh. He shouldn't have given the receptionist that opening about procedure, he hadn't budged on the matter since. "I know," The receptionist rubbed his head with a hoof. "Between you and me, I'm stuck no matter what and my hooves are tied. Spoiled Rich would have me out of here and ensure I'd never find work again within seconds if she found out and I really, really need this job." "Well between you and us," Babs replied, leaning against the counter slightly. "If we can go through and do our job, we could probably find enough evidence that backs up the testimony we had to have her arrested on the spot." She waited as he blinked at her, running it through his head. "...Seventh floor, end of the hallway on the left. Good luck." The two officers nodded their thanks and headed through to the stairwell, Sky flying ahead to ensure the way was clear while Babs ran up after him as fast as she could, hoping the delay hadn't cost her fellow crusader too badly. "Ok, are you just making this up now? It really sounds like you're making this up." Sweetie Belle asked, still doing her best to sound neutral but sweating bullets under her hat. How did she know about the problems at Manehatten Carousel? "Far from it. I happen to be on a first name basis with the manager of Manehatten's branch of the Bank of Equestria. I know he wouldn't mind me checking your accounts every now and then for the greater good. Whoever's bleeding your sister dry is good, even my contacts in Equestria can't track it down. It still shouldn't be too hard to pin it on you though," Spoiled Rich grinned at that comment before switching back to her dark look and her voice dropped an octave. "Now, I've been nice up to now. You have five seconds to get out my building before decide to make tomorrow's headline about how you're responsible for both options." "Wow. And I didn't even do anything this time," Sweetie commented, starting to struggle to take this over-the-topness seriously. "I mean, how would you have reacted if I'd brought Scootaloo with me?" She grinned slightly herself at that, which proved to be the wrong move to make. Spoiled gave up any pretence of restraint and lunged forward with a low, almost primal growl. Sweetie stepped back slightly and her horn flared up, aiming to pull a statuette she'd seen next to door in front of her for defence. As soon as she had it gripped and in the air though, she felt the effects of the wire tap's drain on her magic more than ever. She barely had time to try and adjust before a sudden throbbing headache, a familiar sign of magical over-exertion, left her reeling. As she dropped the statuette and tried to recompose herself, she felt Spoiled's hooves press into her chest and horn, nullifying any further magic use, before pressing her against the wall and leaving her squirming as the headache was joined by the wire tap painfully digging into her side. "I'd be wringing that...Thing's neck and doing everypony a favor. Maybe you'd like a demonstration, of what the faux-pegasus deserves and what happens to those who interfere with a pony who has the right friends to ruin you!" Sweetie struggled to gain some purchase against her aggressor. For all her age, Spoiled Rich was still an earth pony and her natural strength would be enough to pose a challenge even without the additional pain that was tipping the scales further. Just as she felt the hoof on her chest move up to her neck, the sound of running hooves outside caught both their attention. Moments later the door burst open and Sky Eye stormed in, followed by a slightly winded Babs Seed. Sweetie had never been so happy to see a pony interrupting in her life and she glanced back at Spoiled with a small smile. "You were saying?" "Sorry we're late, stairs." Babs panted a little, getting a small understanding nod from Sweetie as Spoiled relinquished her grip, thinking nopony had seen what she was doing. "Officers, excellent timing. I want this commoner arrested now!" Spoiled snapped, pointing an accusing hoof at Sweetie, who was discreetly using a little magic to undo the straps on the wire tap and letting it fall away from her body slightly, cutting out the spell and easing up her headache. "Yeah, that's not why we're here," Babs replied, waiting a moment for the realisation to set in on Spoiled's face before continuing. "Spoiled Rich, you're under arrest on suspicion of assault, social engineering with intent to inflict emotional abuse and conspiracy to commit murder by proxy." "You...WHAT?!?" Spoiled recoiled as Sky took some hoofcuffs off his belt and moved forward while Babs restrained her before she could react. "You have the right to remain silent, though it may harm your defence if you refuse to answer any questions asked, anything you do say may be given as evidence," Sky said, keeping it professional as he cuffed her. "Bu...I...Th-This can't be happening! You have no right to-Get your hooves off me!" Spoiled struggled as Sky put his hoof on the back of her neck and started escorting her out, passing the warrant papers over to Babs as he did. "You'll rue this, all of you! You hear me Sweetie Belle?! You and your filthy friends will pay for this!" "Well then, I've got nothing new to worry about when I testify in court." Sweetie countered, watching as Spoiled was taken away with nothing more than an enraged cry. "Well...Glad that worked out," Babs commented, sighing slightly as Spoiled's rage gradually got quieter. "Sorry we took so long to get here, you alright?" "Could've been worse, thanks to you." Sweetie replied, rubbing her side where the wire tap and been and noting not to lie on that side for a while. As her headache diminished further, her horn glowed again and she unwrapped the wires from around her body, bringing the wire tap out and passing it over to Babs. "No problem, busting jerks is what I do. Now, I should probably go make sure Spoiled Rich doesn't try anything funny. You can check for evidence up here until backup arrives." Babs passed the search warrant over with a small wink and headed out with the wire tap. Sweetie smiled to herself and glanced round the room, taking a few moments to just let the sense of satisfaction sink in. It may not be why she had come to Manehatten this time, but she had managed to put a stop to the slander against her and her friends. That was certainly a victory, hopefully one that had done some good for more of Equestria. Plus it meant she could devote herself fully to dealing with the Phoenix now. If nothing else, she couldn't wait to see what the headlines tomorrow had to say about this.