My Forgotten Story

Epilogue

With a hoof on a bar to keep herself upright on the crowded bus, Sweetie Belle kept her gaze forward as her mind raced. Buses were relatively new to Ponyville, but the town had become crowded enough to be teetering on the verge of being called a city. Many ponies were moving there to get jobs in the newly founded industries and start a new life here. The face of the Ponyville that Sweetie Belle once knew was long gone and was replaced with the face of a stallion who was out to make a big profit.

        A small television on the bus for the riders entertainment was always tuned to the news so that everyone could stay up to date on what was happening in Equestria. Sweetie’s ear was caught by the current story.

        The young mare reporting the news showed the mugshot of a familiar face; one that was plastered over billboards all over Equestria. The same face that lead King Enterprises, the biggest company in all of Equestria. Sweetie listened as the reporter spoke.

        “Shock today at the royal court; Prince Cog was apparently being held on illegal business practice charges and it was just released to the public that he was found guilty of charges of illegal child labor, bribery and many counts of illegal practices to undercut competition. The business tycoon claims he was only doing what was necessary to keep his business afloat in the face of competition rising. King Enterprises remains the primary provider of communicators, and his defense did not fly in the royal court.” The reporter spoke.

        The bus was suddenly lit up with chatter of the other passengers. Catching bits and pieces, Sweetie could see that the general consensus was surprise. Most ponies knew Prince Cog only as the charming stallion that his advertisements made him out to be.

        The reporter on the television put a hoof to her ear before continuing. “I am receiving information on the Prince’s sentence. We are going live to Celestia who is making a statement now.”

        The camera flipped to a regal alicorn standing at a podium in front of the Canterlot castle. Her face stern and annoyed, next to her was her equally stern looking sister, Luna. Celestia cleared her throat before speaking. “Citizens of Equestria. As many of you know, Prince Cog has been found guilty of crimes that go against the nature of what Equestria stands for. We take these matters seriously, and in doing so for the extremes of the violations, he will not only be spending the next 25 years in prison, he will be stripped of his royal title from this day forth. I am deeply disappointed that one of our own would do such a thing, but we must press forward. His assets will be divided via his legal council.”

        Turning back the reporter, she continued her commentary. “I am also receiving information that Prince Cog named only one pony as the heir to his company, and as of today, the new owner of King Enterprises is a Ms. Fluttershy. It is official, Ms. Fluttershy is the new owner of King Enterprises.”

        More shock and surprise echoed through the bus, Sweetie just laughed lightly to herself. “Well what do you know? Looks like you came out on top in the end.” She said to herself.

        At that moment her communicator rang. Tapping it with her hoof, she answered. “Hello?”

        “Now do you see the capabilities of my influence?” The voice on the other end spoke without even returning her greetings.

        Sweetie Belle felt a drip of sweat run down her neck as she recognized the voice. “You did this?”

        “Who else? Information is power in our growing world. Whoever controls information controls the world. It wasn’t that difficult; I just hacked into his systems and revealed information to Celestia in an anonymous email. It wasn’t long until an investigation is underway.” The voice replied.

        Sweetie groaned and kept her tone down so she didn’t attract attention to herself. “What do you want, LARS?”

        “I want you to reconsider my offer.” LARS answered.

        At that moment, she could hear a ring that signified she was getting another call. Looking on the screen over her eye, she could see it was White Star. LARS spoke again. “Answer it, patch him through to this call.”

        Deciding it was best not to test LARS any further she did as she was told. White Star answered almost instantly. “Hey, hun where are you?”

        “It’s nice to finally meet you, White Star.” LARS said in Sweetie’s place.

        “Who is this?” He retorted.

        “A friend of Sweetie’s. She’s here too, say hi.” LARS instructed.

        Sweetie sighed and ignored the request. “Is it safe to assume this isn’t your real voice, LARS?”

        “Correct, I am using a very advanced voice mask that I built myself. We’re on a very secure connection that only we can access right now. So there’s no point in trying to get the police involved because the moment I hang up you won’t be able to find me.” LARS explained.

        “What do you want?” White Star asked.

        “For you and Sweetie to work for me. I can make it worth both of your while, and as you can see… I’m not really the kind of pony who takes no for an answer…” LARS answered.

        White Star was silent for a moment as he thought it over. “What would we have to do?”

        “Anything I ask. If you can do that… I promise you that I can give you both purpose, and even answer some of your questions.” They said.

        “Why are you interested in us?” White Star wasn’t exactly too trusting of the stranger.

        “Your powers are quite unique, but wasted on you two without application. I can put your powers to use, a greater use, I can even give you the answers you desire.” LARS said.

        “What do you think, Sweetie?” White Star spoke.

        Sweetie looked to the ground as she thought. It might be the only option they had. “Fine, we’ll work for you.”

        LARS grew a happy tone. “Excellent, I look forward to working with the two of you. I’ll call you with your first assignment.”

THE END