Scene 2 – A Don’s ballad

Caballeron sat in his chair in Don Colteone’s office, surrounded by the Don’s men. He sipped at his cider, as he awaited Don Colteone to enter the room. The room itself was actually nicely decorated, even though it was situated inside a larger warehouse, near the heart of Manehattan. Finally, Don Colteone entered the room, and sat in the chair across from Caballeron. Caballeron wasted no time on subtleties, and began speaking, as soon as the Don was settled.

“Don Colteone. I need one million bits from you sir. The future and capabilities of artificial apple production and sales, is a very huge, and ever growing endeavor. Ever since the notorious Flim Flam Brothers first conceived of the idea, it’s been a very beneficial business route. I guarantee you Don Colteone that both you, and your family, stand to gain from this business.”

Don Colteone adjusted himself in his chair, before speaking.

“What exactly would be the take away for my family?”

Caballeron leaned forward, raising an eyebrow to the Don.

“For the Colteone family, 30%, with three to four million bits expected in the first year alone. And it will only grow from there.”

Don Colteone took a sip of his cider.

“And what about you and the Tarttaglia’s?”

Caballeron settled himself back in his chair.

“You would receive my compliments.”

Don Colteone gave a nod to the answer, as if he was considering it.

“However.” Caballeron continued. “We would also need access to the legal connections, and law enforcement ties, that you and your family keep so nicely tucked away in your pockets. To ensure that the business will have a guaranteed smooth operation.”

The Don stood up from his chair, and made his way to the bottle of cider on the side of the room. He popped the cork from the bottle, and brought it over to refill Caballeron’s glass.

“I agreed to come here today, to hear your offer, and because I was told that you would treat me with respect.”

The Don then sat down in the empty chair next to Caballeron, wiping off some dust from Caballeron’s shirt.

“But why me? Why do I deserve such an offer?”

Caballeron gave a slight chuckle to the Don’s statement.

“Well, if you consider a few million bits to just be part of the business, then you are quite the stallion Don Colteone.” He finished by taking a swig of his Cider.

Don Colteone looked away in thought, before turning back to Caballeron.

“I’m afraid that I must decline your offer.”

Caballeron looked at the Don for a minute, before setting his glass down on the small table in front of him.

“If you’re worried about security Don Colteone, then you need not fear. The Tarttaglia family will be more than capable to handle any troubles.”

Don Colteone started to speak, but was interrupted by his daughter Sunny, sitting behind him.

“How can we be sure that the Tarttaglia’s will actually…”

Don Colteone quickly raised a hoof to silence his daughter, turning to her to emphasize that he wanted her to remain quiet. He then turned back to Caballeron.

“You must forgive my children. They have a habit of talking when they should be listening. That aside, my answer is still no, and I’ll explain why. The business that you are getting yourself into, is a dangerous one. Now, I’m not against anypony doing whatever they must to make a living, but it is a venture that I want no part of. It’s true though, I do have many connections in the law and legal sections. However, they may be quick to abandon me, if they knew that my business was supporting artificial apples, rather than just bribes and other happenings with the Apple Family, and their apples. As long as the business offer revolves around artificial, rather than real, my response will always be no.”

Caballeron seemed disappointed in the Don’s statement, but maintained his composure, as if he wasn’t feeling anything else.

“I’m sorry to hear that Don Colteone. I could have handled the Tarttaglia for you, if they were your only concern, but if your disagreement is more on the business itself, then I guess this concludes my business with you today.”

All the ponies in the room stood up, as Caballeron and Don Colteone shook hooves. Caballeron was then escorted out of the building by Don Colteone’s men. Sunny was about to leave the office as well, but the Don called her back to him.

“Sunny. Never voice your opinions outside the family ever again.”

Sunny grudgingly nodded in agreement to her father, before turning and walking out of the office.

Don Colteone started to loosen his tie, as he breathed a sigh of relief that the meeting was over. However, his attention was quickly alerted, as Prim walked back into the office, carrying a large bouquet of flowers.

“What’s all this then, Prim?”

“They’re flowers from Vinyl father. She got the DJ slot in Las Pegasus.” Prim told the Don.

Don Colteone gestured to have them put in the corner of his office, before motioning Prim over.

“Find Looka, and bring him in here, I need him to do something.”

/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\

Snow had begun to fall in Ponyville, as Octavia and Apple Cinnamon walked out of one of the stores, their saddle bags starting to get full.

“Aren’t you glad I gave you those earmuffs early now?” Cinnamon told Octavia. “They do complement your coat perfectly don’t they?”

Octavia reached up to feel them on the sides of her ears, keeping them quite warm.

“Yes, I suppose. This just means you’ll have to get me something special to take their place on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

Cinnamon gave a little chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Although, you could just give me one of my presents early to make up for it.”

Octavia gave Cinnamon a sweet smile and kissed him on the cheek.

“Don’t waste it now dear.”

Cinnamon blushed, as he touched his cheek.

“Oh, I won’t. So what did you decide to get your family?”

“I still need to find the right gifts for my parents, but so far I’ve found a nice new bowtie for Affero, and I think Prim will like this new pen.” Octavia responded.

Cinnamon let out a little laugh.

“What?” Octavia asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing Octavia. I just think it’s kind of cute how you always seem to know exactly what to get any pony. What about your friend Vinyl?”

Octavia gave a giggle at Cinnamon.

“Ah, I think Vinyl is the only exception to that. It’s not easy to get something for a pony who receives everything most of the time, but I think a copy of Neightoven will be nice for her.”

Cinnamon raised an eyebrow.

“Beethooven huh? I would’ve thought you’d get her a pair of headphones or something.”

Octavia gave another giggle.

“Oh, you’d be surprised at what Vinyl will listen to.”

/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\

Back at Don Colteone’s office in Manehattan,

Looka walked into the Don’s office, as the Don took another sip of his cider.

“Looka. I want you to follow Caballeron, and see what you can figure out about this artificial apple business of his. Get them to trust you, and get rid of them if things get to hot.” Don Colteone told Looka.

Looka nodded, and walked out of the office.

Don Colteone walked back over to the flowers that Vinyl had sent him, smelling one of them. He found it a little strange that Vinyl would send him flowers of all things, but then he noticed a card amongst the flowers. He opened it up and read it.

“Hey thanks Donnie!

That producer changed his mind real quick about me, and now I’m spinning that club around like a boss! I was gonna send you a copy of my latest track, but Octi convinced me that you’d like flowers better. You’ll have to come by so I can play it for you live sometime!

Equestria’s best DJ Pon-3,

Vinyl Scratch”

/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\

A short time later, in a hotel room somewhere in Manehattan,

Looka zipped up the bulletproof vest on his chest, before pulling his coat over himself, so that he could see that the vest would be completely concealed. He picked up his revolver off the table, and made sure that it was fully loaded, before sticking it in one of his coat’s pockets. Looka then walked out of the room, and headed for the elevator. He road it all the way down to the ground floor, exiting when the doors opened. He walked past all of the ponies in the lobby, and headed down a dark corridor.

The corridor eventually came across a dimly lit bar. The bartender inside was starting to close up for the night, but Looka walked in before he could close the door. Looka walked up to the bar, and asked for a hard glass of cider, to which the bartender began to make. As Looka sat and waited for his drink, he didn’t notice Caballeron walk in, but saw him step behind the bar with the bartender.

“Looka. You’ve worked for Don Colteone for a long time, yes?”

Looka just eyed the stallion.

“Why not ditch that old horse and come work for me? I can guarantee you 50,000 bits to start, and I’ll even ensure that you have a permanent spot alongside the Tarttaglia family to boot. What do you say?”

Looka continued to eye Caballeron, until the bartender returned with his drink. Looka picked up the drink, and gestured to Caballeron in an agreeing manner, before downing the drink in one go. He then placed the drink back on the table, and asked the bartender for another. The bartender reached to take the glass from Looka, but instead grabbed his hoof and the rest of his limb. Looka tried to pull his hoof away, but was immediately stabbed in his other hoof by Caballeron. Looka started to scream, but his voice was quickly silenced by a pony who had snuck up behind him, and wrapped a rope around his neck, choking him. Looka struggled as much as he could, but soon found himself blacking out. He then let out his last breath, and died.

/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\

A little later on in the evening,

Prim made her way out of a shop in Manehattan, a new sled in her hooves. She began to make her way down the street, looking for the closest cab, when she quickly finds herself surrounded by three menacing looking stallions. She starts to open her wings, ready to fly away, when she’s stopped short by a voice behind her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Prim Raining.”

Prim turned to the pony who had spoken to her, now approaching from her side, only to find that it was Caballeron.

“My men and I would not want to hurt you out here in public, so why don’t you take a ride with us?” Caballeron told Prim.

Prim began to look for another way out, tucking her wings back as she thought, until a large cab pulled up alongside her and the ponies with her. The door opened, and Caballeron directed her to it.

“Just get in the cab, and I promise no harm will come to you.”

Prim angrily eyed Caballeron, but made her way into the cab, followed by Caballeron’s men, and finally, Caballeron himself.

/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\

The next day,

Don Colteone walked out of his office, closing the door behind him. One of the workers in the warehouse told the Don to enjoy his day, and the Don nodded back. He walked out of the building, and was greeted by Affero, one of his bodyguards, outside by his personal carriage. Affero stood and waited patiently for the Don to get into the carriage, but instead, the Don decided to stop by one of the small food stands on the other side of the street. Don Colteone walked up to the vendor, looking over the different produce he had for sale, and decided to buy a few oranges. As he paid the pony, and the pony began to put the oranges in a bag, Don Colteone noticed a couple of stallions walking up the street. He couldn’t put his hoof on it, but he knew something wasn’t right about them.

The Don took the bag of oranges from the vendor, and started to make his way back across the street, to his carriage. He looked over at the two stallions still walking up the street, watching them. Suddenly, he saw them reach behind their scarfs, and each pull out a small revolver. Don Colteone started to run back to his carriage, when the two stallions began opening fire on him.

Seeing and hearing the shots, Affero quickly reached into the carriage, pulling out his own gun, but fumbled trying to point and fire, dropping it in the process. Meanwhile, the Don continued to get shot by the stallions, until the last shot was fired, and he collapsed on the side of his carriage. The two stallions ran off, and scared pedestrians started to make their way closer to the scene. Affero could only look on in horror, as he watched the Don slide off from the side of the carriage, and appear to drop dead on the street. A few ponies in the crowd screamed, but all Affero could do was sit on the sidewalk and cry. The crowd drew closer and closer, as the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.

Author's Note

Pony references, in order of appearance

Caballeron= Dr. Caballeron
Don Colteone= S04E08 Unnamed Earth Stallion #6
Sunny= Sunny Smiles
Prim Raining= S04E10 Unnamed Pegasus Mare #3
Octavia= Octavia Melody
Apple Cinnamon= Apple Cinnamon
Looka= S04E06 Unnamed Earth Stallion #7
Sneaky pony with rope= S04E04 Unnamed Earth Stallion #11
Caballeron's men= S04E04 Unnamed Earth Stallion #9, S04E04 Unnamed Earth Stallion #10, S04E04 Unnamed Earth Stallion #11
Affero= Affero
Pony shooters= S04E04 Unnamed Earth Stallion #9, S04E04 Unnamed Earth Stallion #10