BPT: A Friendship Built to Last

by Wolven5

Chapter 8. Nocturnal Trickery

Stepping out of City Hall, Stencil took a deep breath and smiled, feeling great! Things appeared to be working out. Her boss was no longer pressuring her, she'd help Techorse solve a major problem for the city, and now they were about to go out and celebrate. With a perk in her step, she began trotting merrily on her way, passing by her favorite coffee shop-

"What business didja have in City Hall?"

-and came to a grinding halt, as she recognized that voice!

Stencil hesitantly looked towards the coffee shop, seeing a few cafe tables out, but only one had somepony sitting at it, as he lowered a newspaper, revealing Midnight with an unreadable look.

For a few long tense moments, neither said anything, until Stencil gulped and uttered out, "I can explain-"

"I sincerely hope you can," Midnight spoke up, "because I saw you talking to Redtape in there."

"But- I didn't see you!" Stencil flabbergasted, "Nopony saw you!"

"I saw you through the window," Midnight clarified, "and I was using an Aversion Spell so nopony would be able to notice me. So spill. Now."

Stencil stuttered, "Please let me sit down. I know this looks awful but, there's no reason to do anything horrible!"

Midnight gestured to the chair across from him, and Stencil took her seat before taking a deep breath. So far so good... she wasn't a magically-irradiated pile of ash yet.
"It's true, your Highness... I work for Mr. Redtape as his secretary. It's a good paying job, except..."

"Lemme guess, you got tired of him being a jerk," Midnight gathered.

"I wish he was just a jerk," Stencil replied, "I haven't been working for him that long, but just a week after I was employed in City Hall, he started... flirting with me. Giving me little gifts, which I thought he did for everypony... only the other employees never got anything. It was sweet at first, but he never took the hints I dropped him that I wasn't interested. That is, hints I could get way with without him firing me or something.”

Midnight let her take a moment to pause, but from the miserable look on the secretary's face he knew she wanted to go on, “There's more, isn't there?”

The unicorn looked to him for pity, “A week ago, Redtape stopped beating around the bush, and started dropping less than discrete hints that he wants me to marry him!"

"And you started seeing him in a less-than-flattering light, his true colors," Midnight had an idea of where this was going, “and naturally you were looking for a way out that didn't involve you losing your job.”

"I tried to let him down, but then..." Stencil stuttered, almost sobbing, "then he came into the office, looking livid! Then, he told me about the bet he'd made with Techorse, and... Oh Faust, I feel so bad! Mr. Redtape told me to spy on Techorse for him, to- to earn Techorse's trust, find out what he was planning to invent, report back to Mr. Redtape. I agreed because I wanted to avoid him as much as I could, but...

Seeing her lose vocal clarity from the phlegm clogging her head, Midnight conjured a humble paper tissue and let the mare blow her nose so she could keep talking with open sinuses.

"Then I got to know Techorse, and I saw all too quickly that this wasn't some trouble-making, crazy-headed maverick, like Mr. Redtape said! This was a kind, creative, sweet and gentle pony, driven to make new things to help the ponies around him once he knew what they needed! And the more I got to know Tech, the more I wanted to help him. After his sprinkler system didn't work out the first time, seeing him so despondent, it-it just made me feel so bad for him, and...”

She paused, then concluded, "Anyway, I knew I had to step in and do what I could to help."

"And you did," Midnight nodded, "Thanks to the improvements you made to the blueprints, the sprinkler system's second test was a perfect success... Well, Stencil, while I still don't approve of how you approached Tech under false pretenses, I can see that you're not out to hurt him. But you need to explain to me what you and Redtape talked about in City Hall. That information could be useful in saving Techorse."

"Well... that's the thing, your..." Stencil stopped when Midnight raised his hoof.

"Just Midnight, please," he requested, "No more titles! I let it go the first few times because I wasn't certain about your motives. But since I can see your connection with Redtape is unwanted, we're still friends here."

"Fair enough. Anyway..." Stencil relayed to Midnight everything she'd talked to Redtape about, noting the brand new desk and furniture he'd given her as an apology gift and a promise not to pressure her into marriage anymore. But with every word, though Stencil honestly believed what she was saying, Midnight couldn't help but feel that something stunk about Redtape's apparent one-eighty.

"...and he told me to go out and have a good time."

"I see..." Midnight said, still doubtful.

“You know, I honestly thought after you yelled at me the first time... that this wasn't going to end with you politely talking me through my story,” Stencil admitted, looking away from him, “I really thought you were going to toss me in jail... or worse.”

“That would never happen,” assured the Prince, “besides, I'm just... worried about Tech. He's an interesting friend to have, but he doesn't really know me as personally as he should.”

“I don't understand what you mean....”

Realizing he'd said too much, the alicorn made the dirty tissue still on the table vanish in a puff of light, and then pushed himself out from the table quickly.

“Nothing, I'm just trying to digest what I've been told,” he said, acting tired, “plus, I won't be able to join you guys today. Royal duties.”

Stencil excused herself from the table as well, and tried to break away, but Midnight had to have one more word with her.

“Stencil.”

Wincing and stopping her trot, she looked back at him, finding his incognito form.

“You gotta tell Techorse the truth. Please. Not just for me, but for you as well. Nopony who's put up with your situation ought to have a guilty conscious to deal with in addition to a creep.”

Agreeing silently with a nod of her head, Stencil departed to go change into something more 'friendly' for her day off with Techorse. Likewise, Midnight vanished quickly into the shadows to continue his investigation.

There's way more to this than what Stencil knows, he pondered, I just hope I can uncover the truth in time.

“Is she even coming?” wondered Techorse aloud, worried he may have gotten ready for nothing.

He was standing around outside of his home, showered and groomed to the best of his abilities. Sure, his mane hair was still its usual mess, but his goggles and saddle had been removed in favor of a nice button-up shirt with short sleeves and a pleasing red that complimented his holly light-green coat. He'd have gone with something even more complex, if the hot weather wouldn't have punished him for it.

“Well, I'll give it five more minutes, and then...”

His impatience was answered by Stencil approaching him with a side of her that Techorse had never seen before. Instead of the lab coat and glasses he had gotten used to seeing over the week, she wore a summer jacket made from light blue material over a white T-Shirt. Additional effort had been put into her makeup, just enough to enhance her happy expression. Her hair was the least changed, the bun on her head keeping her mane from tripping her up, but a brand new purple ribbon tied it in place, an amethyst topping a pin through the place where the well-kept mass of hair met her head.

“Hey Tech!” she said, “Ready to go?”

“Sure am! Are you sure you can't see without your glasses though?” he asked, curious about the lack of eyewear.

“I've got contacts,” answered Stencil, giggling, “I just rarely use them.”

“Either way's fine as long as you can throw straight,” joked the stallion, “we're bowling, remember?”

She could dish out the teasing just as much, “That's right! Prepare to lose!”

While talking to him on the way to the alley, Stencil remembered her promise to Midnight. But since Techorse was having so much fun just hanging out with her, she figured it would have to wait until later.

I hope you won't be too sad, Tech...

Meanwhile, Midnight, garbed in his shadowy cloak, watched Jester from a dark alley, his predatory pupils narrowed at the dragon with shrewd intrigue.
And just what is your scumbag boss up to, or you for that matter...?

After his talk with Stencil, Midnight had gone back to City Hall and almost missed Jester slipping away from the building in a shifty-eyed manner. Though Midnight had intended to search Redtape's office, he couldn't help but get a vibe from Jester that tugged at his mental awareness to the point of having to find out where this dragon was going and what sort of trouble he was looking to perpetrate.

He followed Jester to one of the ritzier sides of Fillydelphia, where he saw the dragon go into a place of class called Shaken Not Stirred. A simple bewitchment on the bouncer allowed Midnight to get in easily, along with his aversion ward keeping everyone in the tavern from noticing him. Stepping in, Midnight noted how the clientele comprised of some of the most wealthy and privileged amongst Fillydelphia, the types of which didn't do anything for anyone unless they got something in return. Finally, he saw Jester who had just seated himself at a table where he was apparently meeting an earth pony wearing an expensive suit and shades. The earth pony was a stallion, big and muscular that his suit seemed just a tad too small for him, which only accentuated his bulging muscles, and his coat was stony gray with a buzzcut mane the color of rust.

Sitting himself at a table, his back to Jester's, Midnight willed for two holes to appear in his hood for his ears to slip through and then began to focus. Recalling the lessons in controlling his enhanced hearing from his old lunobi master, Midnight filtered out the racket of a crowded restaurant, the chatty patrons, the drunken slurs, and focused on the conversation between Jester and this earth pony.

"...tell ya, I can't wait until I can kick Redtape to the curb," Jester grumbled, "I'm sick of kowtowing to that bureaucratic fool. He has absolutely no idea what he's doing."

"So tell me about this wager he's got with that inventor pony," the earth pony said in a rumbly voice, "the Duke mentioned it, and I just wanna cover my bases."

The Duke?! Now who could that be, I wonder... Midnight thought, already having a very good idea.

"Redtape was about to kick that strong-headed buffoon Techorse out of town until that meddling prince interfered," Jester started before he explained the whole thing, "...but now that gadget maker has this water... pump... thingamabob working and it's gonna ruin the water crisis Redtape's been setting up!"

Ah-ha! Midnight had been certain something stunk about the water problem plaguing Fillydelphia as of late, and now he had confirmation that Redtape was responsible.

"Hmm, the Lord of Lords ain't gonna be happy to hear that," the earth pony said in casual disapproval, "he might even reconsider setting up that big operation here in Fillydelphia."

"Well trust me, Redtape is gonna do whatever the heck he has to to be named the new kingpin of crime here in Fillydelphia," Jester said in a blasé manner. "That is, assuming he makes sure Techorse loses the wager, which would have been a shoe-in if that bleeding heart Stencil Guide hadn't taken pity on him!"

"Didn't you mention Redtape's assistant was supposed to be spying on this guy?"

"She was supposed to! But Redtape, the hot blooded stallion he is chose to try and court her... forcefully. So she helped Techorse instead, and now he is prepared to end the water problem, win the wager, and ruin the plan!" Jester hissed angrily, "And I tell you this, no nerdy little mare or loser tinkerer, or even that snooping alicorn is gonna get in my way of becoming the arms trade Kingpin of Fillydelphia! Redtape may think he's got me on his payroll... but after this wager is won and the Duke's plans for Fillydelphia are a go, he'll be the one 'jestering' for my amusement."

"And... what about this Stencil mare?"

"Oh don't worry about her," Jester waved off the concern, "Redtape's already seen to it; poor little Stencil is gonna find herself in hot water if she doesn't marry that guy. Frankly, I'm honestly not sure which is worse for her, but either way, it makes me laugh! Perhaps I'll go easy on Redtape... he is good entertainment!"

Having heard enough and finding Jester's laughter sickening, Midnight slipped away, thinking, I gotta warn Stencil and Tech!

With his plans set in his mind, Redtape had enlisted the assistance of a professional unicorn who specialized in voice spoofing magic to submit an “anonymous” tip to the local bureau of investigation that there was substantial evidence Stencil Guide was behind the missing money intended for the drought relief fund. His office would be raided and turned upside down by the forceful entry of the authorities, sure, but the documents stuffed in her new expensive desk would be found for certain. This was of course, only a victory if he could also manage to cheat his way to victory against Techorse.

Once the raid on the mayoral office had been set up, the devious stallion entered a private changing room normally reserved for the mayor, and forwent his usual dapper look of suit and tie in exchange for business casual clothes and a balaclava. Looking at his new intimidating appearance, he gave himself a haughty bat of the eyebrows from within the holes of the ski mask, and then went outside to meet his two 'hired professionals'. The spoofer was not the only crime goon Redtape was permitted by Buck Cheap to call on of course, so the bureaucrat turned robber had also enlisted the help of two more ponies garbed in their gear, a cat burglar mare who had stolen blue diamonds from underneath the muzzles of the Canterlot elites before, and a professional lockpick and break-in artist who had learned his trade by pretending to be a legitimate locksmith by day.

The three of them boarded Redtape's private carriage, and traveled to Techorse's house near the edge of town, making sure the neighbors weren't paying attention. Once the coast was clear, the three slipped behind the house and encountered the back door to Tech's home, no more than a few semi-enchanted dead bolts on the other side keeping the white painted entryway in place so long as the counter-spell wasn't known or the bolts weren't moved, which could usually only be done from the other side.

“All right, it's a very simple job,” whispered Redtape to his team, “we break in quietly, we find this invention of the little maverick, and then we disable it carefully. Don't touch anything else!”

“Relaaaaax,” said the pegasus mare in a teasing manner, “this place doesn't even have any real security. Watch this.”

Slipping the feathers of her teal wings up the side of the door, she successfully pushed the bolts out of the way, allowing silent entry. Anti-telekinesis infused metal was still useless against a variant of the almighty feather sweep trick the diamond thief had mastered over her career.

Redtape pushed into the doorway first, nearly laughing at how much of a dump Techorse's back room was, or at least in his opinion. It was still rather dusty from the engineering sessions necessary to build the pump, and spare parts were still scattered around, along with an open pizza box from when Midnight scarfed the rest of his leftovers.

“Of course Techorse lives like the little piggy he is,” snickered the earth pony as he pulled his ski mask off, growing tired of the heat, “hopefully we can still find his safe in the midst of all this filth.”

“It's over here,” said the mare, ushering over with her agile wings, “he's keeping it under this tarp.”

By moving the big sheet of tan fabric, a tall and formidable safe was revealed, the metal box likely intended to be used for weapons storage when originally manufactured. It showed no signs of age, being a fresh silver color and featuring a massive, complex code dial with three concentric wheels that were covered in numbers.

“Phew,” whistled the lockpick, “that's one heck of a safe, boss. But don't worry, every safe has a combination.”

Stepping up, the unicorn stuck out one of his tall ears and placed it against the safe, his horn glowing as he fiddled with the dials. Normally safes were made of materials to prevent the average pony from just listening to the tumblers moving around as the numbers were entered correctly, but this stallion had developed a spell that could let him hear the mechanics perfectly fine. After a few moments of his magic twisting the dials to the right numbers, a loud click came from the wheels, and the door to the safe swung open, revealing the pumping system within along with its blueprints!

“Great work! Now put it on the table!” Redtape ordered, pointing to the old workbench.

Once the surprisingly light machine was on the table for analysis, Redtape spread the blueprints and scanned over them, fishing out his glasses from within his shirt pocket. It was mostly nonsense to him, but then he happened to notice the fix Stencil performed earlier, which had been circled in white.

“Make sure the safety catch is in place,” he read out loud to his team.

They worked together to unbolt and open up the machine, after which Redtape pointed out the safety catch, “Here it is!”

“Well, if that's what destroyed this the first time... we should just take it out again,” said the pegasus, “easy peasy.”

“I'm afraid I must disagree,” grumbled Redtape with a snarl, “You see, Techorse may be a social idiot and a total menace to my town, but he did manage to scrape together the brainpower to build this thing. He's not stupid enough to not notice a removal of that component.”

“So what do we do?” asked the other stallion present.

“Simple. If the machine failed because of this part being absent, we'll leave it in place... but in the opposite position,” he declared, removing the safety catch with his hoof.

The simple catch only consisted of a small brass cylinder with a hook facing upward that latched onto the intake pipe. If the flow of water into the main processing tank was too much, the hook would be pushed by the expanding pipe into a position that triggered a circuit, reducing the speed of the pump until the flexible pipe shrank. But the hook only moved in one direction, towards the inside of the machine, so flipping it around prevented it from moving while still appearing to be attached to the hose. It would cause a repeat of the initial disaster if used on thick, muddy water again.

“Now this mechanism won't work,” he hummed, “Techorse is ruined by one simple design change! Now let's reseal this contraption and go.”

After the sprayer was bolted back up again, the burglar used her feathers to dust off all the hoofprints from the machine and its paperwork. Then the unicorn in the room returned it to its safe using his magic to avoid further evidence of tampering, and resealed the safe, locking the door again by twisting the dials back into the proper positions. After the tarp was back on the safe, the trio of thieves left the building and locked the bolts, confident in their sabotage. Just as quietly as they had come, they left in the carriage again, the neighbors none the wiser.

Comments

[grim dash]

Long live mlp