The White Phoenix

by Quick Fix

Recap

It didn't take long for word of Spoiled Rich's arrest to spread throughout Manehatten. Within hours everypony within five miles of the city knew that something had occurred and had their own opinions of just what had happened, though details had still not been released by the MPD. Sweetie Belle had little idea about just how quickly things had escalated though, the rest of her day was spend in the Equestria Today building, gathering evidence from Spoiled's office. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed or shocked to find out that not only had she been serious about trying to blame her for being The White Phoenix, she had evidence about it that even the police didn't have. The idea that she had been willing to withhold something so important for either blackmail or framing somepony had finally been one to many to go unshaken by though. She'd done her best to keep working but by early evening she couldn't manage much more.

"I just...You ever have those moments where you think you've seen the worst and then...Pow, it escalates just like that?" Sweetie said to nopony in particular. She was leaning over Spoiled Rich's desk, staring at the evidence she'd uncovered, doing her best to commit it to memory so she could update Rarity's investigation board at home. Her hat lay to one side, feeling somewhat stifling with how worked up she was.

"Actually, yeah," Sky Eye replied as he gave the room another sweep for anything that the other investigators might have missed. "I kind of didn't have the easiest time in school back in Canterlot, the kind of pony that got picked on for being too smart, you know? One day when I was twelve, I was getting more of it despite thinking I could get away at a weekend. Got so bad I ended up running to a royal guard for help. Despite how busy he was, he let me stick with him on his patrol to make sure I didn't have any more trouble. I'd found some measure of safety and an idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up, thought I might have a way to be past the worst."

"And what happened?" Sweetie asked, looking up at him with curiosity.

"All this happened on the planned day of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's wedding," Sky shuddered slightly at the memories. "One minute we were trotting through the residential district and discussing how I could join the guard, the next the shield over the city collapsed and we were running for our lives from a dozen changelings falling like meteors. Everything was in chaos, we just kept running, hiding, running more. They had us cornered and looked set to cocoon us before the shield came back up and repelled them."

He looked up at her and paused, tensing slightly by the sight. Sweetie was rigid, staring forward blankly, her breathing slowed almost to a crawl. She had her own memories of what had happened that day, memories she'd hidden away for decades...

---

Canterlot Castle
September 30th, Year 1000 of the Celestial Era

"You think this is safe enough?" Apple Bloom whispered, doing her best not to quiver in worry. The Cutie Mark Crusaders hadn't know what to expect when they had been invited to take part in the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but it was pretty likely that going from flower girls at the ceremony to hiding for their lives from an invasion of the capital wasn't supposed to happen. The three of them had fled upon the first appearance of the monstrous Queen Chrysalis and had currently bunked down in a small alcove, behind a statue that stood just next to the castle library. They could hear the sounds of fighting throughout the city outside, and coming from within the castle itself.

"It's gotta be, I didn't see any better options." Scootaloo commented quietly, huddled down against the floor and making herself as small as possible.

"I want my mommy." Sweetie Belle whimpered, curled up on herself and sounding like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. The combination of being the most sensitive member of the crusaders and only being six years old meant the shock turn of events was taking its toll on her harder than any of them.

"Hey, I'm scared too," Scootaloo whispered, gently placing a hoof on her shoulder. "You're with us though, and we're Cutie Mark Crusader Camouflage Experts right now. We just gotta wait until Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity save the day like they always do."

"Exactly, we're getting through toget-" Apple Bloom's attempt at reassurance died in her throat as they heard rapidly approaching hoofsteps.

"D-dad? Sis?" Sweetie squeaked before the others could stop her. They held their breath for a moment and she dared to raise her head before somepony...No, something came into view no more than three feet away. From their gap between the statue and the edge of the alcove it looked so much like a unicorn but, so wrong at the same time.

Covered in a rough, dark blue carapace on its top half that gave way to sleeker but no less unpleasant black bone plates that covered its head and underside. A horn curved forward like a scimitar. Sharp blue eyes that seemed to glow slightly and faded into a soulless white where the pupils should be. Faded, transparent, chitin wings and a pair of razor sharp fangs that seemed to be coated in a putrid green substance. A changeling from this close was the creation a filly's nightmares. Then it stopped and noticed the trio of fillies, trapped against the wall with no way out. Its mouth opened and gave a dark hiss, spittle flying through the air between them as a porous hoof reached toward them for who knew what purpose.

Scootaloo gave a yell of fear at the sight, freezing up in place. Apple Bloom was shaking like a leaf but still tried to put herself between the changeling and the others. Sweetie Belle shrieked in terror and tried to pull herself away, desperately pounding at the stone wall behind her as if she could break through to safety. Time seemed to hang eternally before the sound of another pair of hooves made themselves known, coming from the same direction. The changeling was blindsided by a silver unicorn guard and tackled out of sight further down the hallway, adding to the chaotic sounds around them.

"Oh no. We gotta move!" Apple Bloom called to the others, glancing out from their hiding spot through a nearby window and wincing at the sight of the on-going battle outside. Sweetie Belle gave a sob and sunk back to the floor, the other crusaders looking at her in shock.

She couldn't do this, she couldn't escape. Her body curled up again and she buried her head in her hooves. She couldn't think, could barely breathe. This was an unending nightmare for her more vulnerable self and the fighting taking place just meters away was one shock too many for her to cope with anymore. She could only hear her own breath rattling around against her legs, numb to the hooves trying to pull her back into motion, her mind locking down as her friends voices rang out above her.

"Sweetie Belle, come on! We can't stay here...Sweetie Belle, please! Sweetie Belle!!!"

---

"Sweetie Belle?"

"Gyah!" Sweetie Belle felt a hoof on her shoulder and snapped back to reality, staggering backward and nearly tripping over a chair as she looked round quickly. The office around her came back into focus as she steadied herself, the same as she'd been in before zoning out. Sky Eye was standing next to her with a concerned look, a hoof raised to try and rouse her before that momentary snap.

"A-are you...?"

"Tell me you're not one of them, please!" She panted, shaking slightly as she fought to get herself under control again. Sky stood for a moment before letting his hoof drop and ears fold back as the realisation set in.

"Not a...Oh. Oh sweet Celestia...I'm sorry." He said softly. The awkward moment hung between them before being mercifully broken by the sound of Babs Seed entering the room.

"Everypony alright? I heard a yell from downstairs." She asked quickly, steadily calming down as she saw everything seemed in order here.

"Yeah, just...Bonding over bad memories." Sweetie answered quietly, looking down and scuffing the floor slightly with her hoof. Sky looked away from them both, downright ashamed of himself for letting this happen.

"Oh...I err, I was gonna come up anyway since we need to wrap up for the day. Sweetie Belle, you want us to give you a lift home?" Babs waited for her friend to give a sullen nod and recover her hat before trotting over to her. "Hey, come on, just breathe. You're going to be okay, promise. Oka, can you bring any evidence left back to lockup?"

"Yeah, no problem. See you both later." Sky watched the two of them go and shook his head slightly, deeply disappointed in himself for being so careless with his words. While most ponies would be willing to shake it off or be content with his apology, his zebra heritage expected fitting atonement for wounding another's spirit. He only hoped he would have time to do so before he had to return to Canterlot.

---

The trip back to Hayway Road was quiet at first. Sweetie Belle was still rattled by her memories but with time to calm down, and Babs' unique style of reassurance, she was most of the way back to her old self by the time they reached their destination. Her hoofsteps were steadier and she was making eye contact again as she thanked the carriage driver. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon as she stepped up to her house, casting a gentle orange glow over the street. Babs was about to head back to the police station when she noticed that her friend had stopped just in front of the door, not going in. She got out herself and trotted over, catching up quickly.

"Sweetie Belle? What's wrong?" She asked softly, knowing that she was still likely a little tender despite being in a better place than before.

"The lock," Sweetie replied quietly. "I know I locked up before leaving today, but it's been opened up, still unlocked too. Rarity has the spare key but she'd have said if she was returning anytime soon."

"The door doesn't look forced though...Lockpicks aren't that common but..." Babs waved the carriage off and put a hoof to the door. She slowly pushed it open and peeked inside, taking the lead as they carefully moved in, keeping it quiet.

The interior of the house was cloaked in a light shadow without any lights on right now. The downstairs was uncomfortably silent, though even worse was that there were clear sounds of life coming from the floor above. Somepony was still there. Babs looked back at Sweetie and nodded, their expressions sliding back into a professional look as they both acknowledged time to unwind would have to wait. The two of them went to the wall and steadily made their way up the stairs, making as little noise as possible with each step. Whoever was there didn't seem to hear them coming and they kept following the noise to its source, the guest bedroom. That fact only set off more alarms in Sweetie's mind, since that was where Rarity had been keeping all their investigation notes on the Phoenix.

They stacked up against the ajar door and peered in. The lights were off in there as well, the light coming from the window shining onto Rarity's investigation board while leaving a long shadow over the room itself. A figure was shrouded in this darkness, its figure difficult to make out through the clothing they were wearing. It paced alongside the bed in the room, completely focused on the board. Babs and Sweetie glanced at each other, both making the same assumption. One of Spoiled Rich's goons, trying to exact some kind of misguided revenge by breaking in here? It seemed all too likely considering everypony in the city had at least heard a rumour about what had happened. On the plus side, it was something to focus on, go in hard and bring them down. The were no words needed, they both knew what to do.

Babs backed up slightly and charged, shoulder barging the door open and using the time granted by the shock value to let Sweetie follow her in. The figure jumped with a gasp at the door slam, the voice indicating it was a mare. They clipped the bed as they came back down and lost their balance, falling down out of sight. Sweetie charged round and planted a hoof firmly on the intruder's chest, grinning at how easy that had been.

"MPD Missy! You just stepped into the...Wrong...Oh." Her proclamation degraded into embarrassed muttering and she stepped back to let the mare up, her white coat and now dishevelled purple mane much more visible up close.

"Well that's no way to say welcome back, is it?" Rarity replied in irritation.

---

"I said I was sorry." Sweetie Belle said for what felt like the hundredth time, looking down at the cup of hot cider she held in her magic rather intently.

"Sweetie Belle, precious star, it was a simple mistake." Rarity said reassuringly, smiling softly and taking a sip from her own cup. She'd recovered from their surprise reunion quickly and the two of them were sitting on the spare bed now, simply letting the atmosphere warm up again. Babs had left once the misunderstanding had been cleared up, saying she'd promised Solo Act that she'd be home on time today.

Rarity had explained that she had been intending her return to Manehatten to be a surprise, which explained why the lights had been off, after managing to finish up her business in Ponyville. It turned out the Diamond Dogs really had taken a more isolationist stance and she had been forced to abandon her gem imports from them entirely, turning to the dragons for an alternate source. Thankfully it was a relatively painless transition due to her previous contact with Dragon Lord Ember and she had even been able to make the most of the extra time she had while the deal was secured to do some investigating outside of Manehatten. She had results as well, results she planned to share with her sister as she put her cup aside and moved over to her investigation board, clearing some space on it next to her note about the magic at the warehouse.

"Alright sis. I'm guessing you want to get back to it then." Sweetie remarked, a little surprised at the drive being shown but silently thankful that the issue of before had been dropped.

"I was able to pull a few strings with some friends in Canterlot and they had a look into the magic I felt at our first crime scene," Rarity started, going to the bedside table where her new outfit was placed, a burgundy coloured milford coat with a black belt along with a phthalo blue slouch hat that sported a sleek, light grey band, both easy enough to be hidden in the darkness of the room before. She pulled a notebook from one of the coat pockets with her magic and looked through it quickly. "In summation, they think they have a name."

"Really? Who?"

"...Sunset Shimmer." Rarity paused and looked back at her sister, likely for dramatic effect. It worked. Sweetie froze up slightly and stared back, gobsmacked. Sunset Shimmer was only the personal student of Princess Celestia, or to be more accurate, had been. She'd disappeared without trace from the public eye over a year ago, nopony knew exactly why but the most common stories involved a pony with mental health issues and a diplomatic incident with the Crystal Empire.

"But, what would she be doing there? And how would she get there? Is she actually the Phoenix?"

"Sorry darling, but that was all they were able to find. Hopefully we'll be able to find out ourselves." Rarity took a paper and quill placed by the board and wrote Sunset's name with a question mark by it before pinning it to the board.

"Well, at least we both found something then," Sweetie commented, pausing herself for dramatic effect as Rarity waited for her to continue. "Odds are you'll see my source in the headlines tomorrow, but turns out somepony did a bit of the work for us and was holding out with it for their own gains. Their notes indicate two new confirmed facts. All the acts of The White Phoenix have been between eleven and three o'clock at night, and that the first case that was definitely down to them took place on the ninth of July."

Rarity nodded and wrote those facts out on some more paper, adding them to the board. It wasn't much, but it was more than she'd had to go on an hour ago.

"So if we could only look for ponies who are only about at night, or seem tired during the day...Speaking of which, how is Coco by the way?"

"She's doing a lot better actually."

"Good. I'll have to see her tomorrow," Rarity pinned the new notes to her board and stepped back, picking up her cup again. "Well, we're making some progress now. Though I didn't see anything in the news about the Phoenix making any new moves while I was gone...Maybe we're lucky and they've decided to make an end to it."

"Yeah, here's hoping." Sweetie replied, shifting nervously in place. She couldn't really tell why, intuition, gut feeling or just being a plain cliché, but she couldn't shake the sense that they were far from done.

Author's Note:

One of the problems with bringing up canon events in these stories, the timeline of the Quickverse means that the entirety of S1-3 takes place over about 8 months, so things might seem a little close together.

Anywho, the majority of the clues are in place now. Place your bets on the identity of The White Phoenix now!*

*Bets are purely for fun and there are no prizes for correct answers, winners will be announced upon the reveal.

Comments

[Jesse Coffey]

SPOILED RICH COULD BE THE WHITE PHOENIX.

[Quick Fix]

7472543 It's an option for sure. Out of curiosity, what's your basis for thinking that?

[Menti Ardenti]

I feel like Coco, something with her not getting enough sleep despite going to bed early and the White Phoenix attacks happening at night.
She could perhaps be mind controlled or there could be something else going on. I don't think she is bad, but it's suspicious.

[Quick Fix]

7477985 An interesting hypothesis, we'll see how well it holds up in time.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

I've read the other stories in your AU so I have enough info to guess

Coco, but she is being mind controlled by Sunset. It is part of Starlight's plan to disrupt Equestria by causing food riots.