Mafia Octavia Act 1: Ashes to Ashes

Things had been pretty rough in Equestria for quite a while now, ever since the depression and prohibition started, a lot of good ponies had been forced to do… things. Things they would not have been proud of doing before the Revenge War against the changeling swarms about a month after they had hit Canterlot during the recent royal wedding. The fact of the matter was, ponies weren’t warriors, not usually anyway. There were exceptions of course, the Bearer of Loyalty was one such pony who could hold her own, but even she quailed during the war and disappeared soon after.

After the changelings were scattered and their queen destroyed, the pony society began to fall apart. The values of harmony that it had been based on no longer seemed to apply. Nopony explicitly trusted anypony else, not without incentive.

None of that however, was dwelling within the mind of Octavia Melody at that moment.

When the hell is this guy going to run out of ammo!? Octavia was currently taking cover behind a slowly deteriorating table in an underground speakeasy underneath the Ponyville barber shop. The owner of said speakeasy, an earth pony stallion with a beige coat and brown mane covered with a bowler’s hat, was currently unloading clip after clip of 9mm rounds into the surprisingly sturdy wood surface. Octavia tapped her hoof on the hardwood floor in time with the owner’s shots, three… two… one. A clicking sound filled the underground space as the stallion’s handgun came up empty.

Seizing her chance, Octavia vaulted over her now battered cover and bought her tommy gun to bear on the stallion hiding behind the bar, she squeezed the trigger… but instead of the chatter of the submachine gun’s characteristic sound, another audible click echoed into the awkward silence in the underground pub.

The smug bartender stood up on all fours and pointed his now loaded handgun at the defenseless mare, “Just give it up, Tavi!” he said in a heavily accented voice, “walk on out and I promise I won’t shoot you in the ba-” The stallion was silenced when a high-velocity tommy gun found it’s mark in his muzzle after being thrown by his assailant.

“Now, pay up”

Hey Octavia, who’s after you?

Damn it, not them again. Octavia fumed as she pulled her trench coat a little tighter around her, readjusting the strap on her cello case containing her gun. These voices had been randomly popping into her head ever since… that day. The day she too was forced to become someone she was never meant to be in this new version of Equestria.

“No one, everyone,” she muttered to herself, knowing full well that anypony who saw her would most likely think she was insane, which she probably was, she just wasn’t entirely sure yet. “Doesn’t matter, I was just collecting some debt. Things didn’t go according to plan but-”
“Octavia”

That one voice was enough to let Octavia know she was screwed.

Octavia turned to face the little yellow, red-maned filly. Applebloom craned her neck to look the gray earth pony in the eye, “boss says you’ve got a lot of explainin’ to do,” she said, amber eyes piercing her with a look that no filly should ever have on her face, “She ain’t happy, just a warnin’.” Octavia rubbed the bridge of her muzzle, “Noted, thank’s for the warning, Bloom.” Applebloom nodded, and trotted off without another word.

scratch that, she was absolutely, completely, genuinely screwed.

“Mind explainin’ this?” The orange earth pony mare behind the large wooden desk said, clasping her forehooves in front of her mouth and staring at Octavia with piercing green eyes.

“Well, I…”

On the desk was a copy of the Ponyville Chronicle, the local newspaper. On the front page was the title in large print: ILLEGAL BAR FOUND UNDER LOCAL BARBER SHOP AFTER SHOOTOUT. A small subtext also competed with its larger brother: Possible Mafia Ties?

“In just 24 hours you’ve gained the attention of over 100 pony folk in the general area alone. Ya go in to collect debt with a machine gun, y’all tryin’ to get noticed or somethin’?”

Octavia stayed silent.

“There’s a time for unorthodox methods, but until then, bribes before lives, kid.” Applejack “Jack” Apple lowered her hooves from her muzzle, fixing a look Octavia knew too well as her ‘I’m watching you’ look.

“Yes ma’am…”

Applejack sighed, “You’re a good kid Tavi, I don’t need y’all runnin’ around tryin’ to get killed.” Her gaze softened somewhat before continuing, “I’ve got another assignment for ya. Tomorrow mornin’ Just escort Mac in a run, make sure the delivery goes off without a hitch, and keep it low profile.”

“Consider it done.”

“Oh and one more thing,” Applejack said as Octavia turned to leave, “Ya might want to find somewhere else to sleep tonight, we got tipped off. Your home a’int safe for now. Stay here if y’all need, don’t matter to me.”

Exactly how much does the Apple Family control? Does anyone else have a stake in the mafia?

Octavia sighed, the voices usually annoyed her when nopony else was around, and it was better to answer them when they did come up with a question like this one.

“The Apples both make and ship their product, Applebloom handles intelligence gathering since she’s young enough to fly under the radar, “Mac” is a mover, and A.J. gives the orders. But she supposedly gets orders from somepony named “Smith”. Ponies like me are only here as security in exchange for assistance from the family.”

Do you have any sort of rival? Or arch-enemy?

Octavia turned in her cot so that she could stare at the ceiling, “There’s another rival mafia, run by two brothers. They’re a lot more aggressive but that just makes shipping their product harder. I wouldn’t trust those two snakes as far as I could throw them, and if I did, it would be into a lake.” Octavia said, her words dripping with venom.

What happened to Vinyl?

Octavia blew out the candle next to her cot, and let the darkness of sleep take her.

There had never been an expectation for her current life to be easy. It hadn’t always been this way, she had never needed to do anything like what was now a daily occurrence. Necessity is what drove her into this, the bittersweet irony of what her life was now struck Octavia again as she waited on her cot, holding her hat in her fore hooves, awaiting Mac’s arrival. The closing of the pubs is what forced her into this life, and now she was closer to them than ever before. It was truly the crown jewel of tragic jokes.

“Tavi, y’all ready? We’re moving” came the short prompt from the cellar entrance.

Octavia sighed as she rubbed her tired eyes with her hoof, “I’ll be up in a minute, Mac.” She called.

“Eeyup” came the even shorter reply.

Grudgingly, Octavia pulled herself to her hooves and put on her trench coat and hat, slinging her “cello” case over her back as she walked to the cellar stairs. The damn thing hadn’t carried a cello in about a year, but the cops didn’t need to know that, now did they?

“Mornin’ Big Mac,” Octavia said sleepily to the waiting stallion, ready and hitched up to a cart laden with barrels containing the highly illegal hard cider they were transporting today.

“Mornin’ Tavi.” Came yet another short reply from the stoic earth pony.

The pair didn’t say a word to each other, words weren’t necessarily needed or wanted in their line of work, you never know who might be listening. And besides, these runs usually went smoothly, the Apple family took every precaution to make sure nopony knew what moves they were making, and its members never did anything to get themselves caught, lest they face the wrath of one of the most honestly scary mares in Equestria. Yes these runs usually-

“Detective Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville P.D. This is my partner, Detective Pinkie Pie. Do you mind if we take a look inside those barrels?”

Octavia had to use every last fiber of willpower not to facehoof at just how much Murphy loved to be proven right.

Pinkie moved around Big Mac toward the barrels, and Twilight moved forward to intercept Mac’s objections. “I’ll give you a chance to tell me up front, what’s in the barrels?” Twilight asked pointedly, levitating a notebook and quill in her magic. Big Mac’s eyes darted to the side as he heard the sound of a barrel being opened. “Um… potatoes.” Mac said thickly, the red stallion was never known for his ability to lie. “Potatoes?” Twilight said, giving him a deadpan look, “there’s never been any records of any ground crop orders from the apple family acres, you’re lying!” Big Mac’s eyes visibly darted around as if searching for an explanation.

“Well uh, you see… we expanded our crop, times are tough y’know. because of the cider laws, not many ponies want- I mean need-”

“Apples.” Twilight finished, glaring at the uncomfortable stallion.

“Nothing but apples here, they’re free to go.” Said Pinkie Pie, walking past the pair munching on one of the red fruits. Twilight looked at her incredulously, “Pinkie, don’t you think we should be more thorough?” she hissed at her partner. “Sorry for the confusion, Officers” Octavia interjected, “Now if you’ll excuse us we’re running a little late, you two have a good day now.” And with that, both earth ponies quickly pushed past the two detectives, leaving a fuming unicorn in their wake.

When they were out of earshot, Big Mac leaned over to his escort: “Hey Octavia, we weren’t carrying any apples were we?” He said lifting an eyebrow.

“Eenope.” came her short reply.

“So does that mean Pinkie…” Mac let his voice trail off, understanding dawning on his face.

“Eeyup.” came another short reply.

Bribes before lives, after all.

Well, this place is as classy as ever. Octavia thought as she glanced around the pub that, technically, shouldn’t exist. The Drunk Donut was another ‘classy’ establishment that benefitted from the assistance of the Apple family: booze and security in exchange for protection money, which ponies like Octavia usually went to collect.
Octavia coddled her mug of cider closer to her chest and took another measured gulp, letting the soothing jazz music wash over her along with the unique properties of alcohol. It was times like this when her mind began to wander to things that were best left buried. Joining the mafia meant cutting away all liabilities from one’s life: her parents, friends, the rest of the Canterlot conservatory, they all most likely thought she was dead by now. All the better, because she could never know when her luck would finally run out and she reached the end of the line.

And then her mind began to wander to an even more dangerous place: Vinyl Scratch. She was likely faring much better than most pianists and DJ’s, piano players were in much higher demand than cellists nowadays after all. She could have easily gotten a job playing in a hotel lobby or…

Octavia shook her head, banishing all thoughts of her closest friend from her mind before taking a long pull from her mug, thinking of her would only make her decision more painful. Therefore the only course of action was to obliterate that train of thought the only way she knew how: with lots and lots of cider.

At least the family pays me enough to keep up with my new ‘hobbies’, Octavia thought ruefully, moving to take another drink before something hit her on the back of the head, causing her to lose consciousness faster than cider ever could.

“Next stop, Ponyville!” said the conductor, repeating the message in every car along his linear route. The blue earth pony’s bellows awoke a certain alabaster unicorn with a two-tone electric blue mane. Vinyl Scratch yawned stretched, causing her joints to crackle and pop, eager to move after her restless and rather uncomfortable train ride. Vinyl rubbed the back of her head, popping the joints in her neck as she levitated her overnight bag out from under her seat.

It had been a year, one full year since the most important mare in her life just vanished without a trace. No note, no paper trail to follow, no clue as to whether or not her best friend was still alive after all this time.

That was until yesterday, when a letter without a return address showed up in Vinyl’s mail.

Vinyl patted her shirt pocket to confirm that her only lead was still in its hiding spot, not wanting to lose it so easily. For the first time since her disappearance, Vinyl had a clue on where to look.

“Hang on Tavi, I’m coming.”

Octavia awoke to the sound of two ponies talking over her, she wasn't sure what they were talking about, but she was pretty sure they were arguing about something. And it’s also raining, lovely. She thought ruefully.

“Hey Tavi, you awake?” came the first voice, reacting to Octavia’s stirring.

“You hit her too hard, dear. Give her time.” Came the second, Octavia was fully conscious now, and praying that these two weren’t who she thought they were. “No, none of that, we don’t have time for a lost little mare to catch up on her beauty sleep. We need answers, now.” replied the first.

Octavia was suddenly roughly pulled up into a sitting position, a loud *click* coming from just behind her left ear, signaling the hammer being pulled back on her captor’s favorite .44 magnum revolver.

Octavia quickly took stock of her situation: her forehooves were cuffed in front of her, she was likely near the pier in the docks district in Ponyville if the sound of waves hitting the storm breakers was any indication, assuming she was still in Ponyville. She had two ponies behind her, ones she’d hoped she would never meet under these circumstances. And her favorite hat was gone, which was just the icing on the cake of the horrible day she was currently having.

“Good, she’s awake. Now let’s see if she can talk.” Her more aggressive captor said, jamming the barrel of her gun into the back of Octavia’s head, “Now then,” the mare said, obviously relishing this moment, “What’s the colonel’s secret recipe?”

This got a pause from Octavia, “What?”

This earned Octavia a new lump on her head as her captor pistol-whipped her, causing Octavia to crash down onto the ground again.

“Augh! what the hell!?”

“Equestrian motherbucker, do you speak it!? Say ‘what’ again…” Her captor trailed off as the barrel of her gun burrowed into the nape of Octavia’s neck.

“Lyra, I think you’ve made your point. Let’s get this done and stop stalling.” Came the emotionless voice of Bonbon. Lyra sighed, “Fine.” before reaching down and roughly pulling Octavia back up into a sitting position. Digging the barrel of the gun into Octavia’s cheek, Lyra asked in a commanding tone, “Where is the cider being made?”

Octavia glared at the teal unicorn, “You think they’d tell me anything? Your guess is better than mine. You've been in this town longer than I have.” Lyra screwed the barrel deeper into Octavia’s cheek, “Do you think I’m stupid!? TALK DAMMIT! TELL ME WHERE THE CIDER IS BEING MADE!” Lyra roared, all pretense dropped, drawing a sardonic grin from her captive.

“How cute, just interested in forcing an answer, right or wrong. You have no idea how to question anypony, you're weak. Just like the rest of Flim and Flam’s trash.” Lyra was shaking now, “BULLSHIT, you just don't wanna talk. Fine. I can just kill you now if you’re of no use, we can look elsewhere.”

An evil grin sliced across Lyra’s face, “Say… a certain blue-haired unicorn. You know her. She’s here Tavi… arrived two days ago. She’s looking for you.” Again, the gun twisted into Octavia’s jaw, “Liabilities… you just can’t shake them, can you? If you won’t talk, she will. And if she doesn’t…” Lyra let her voice trail off into the land of suggestion.

Octavia’s eyes narrowed, “Leave her out of this, she doesn’t know anything.” Octavia said, doing her best to try and keep her emotions down. Lyra’s amber eyes twinkled with glee as she scented victory at hoof, “You’re not exactly in a position to tell me what to do, now are you?” Lyra readjusted her grip on her gun, only to be interrupted by a certain gray earth pony skull crashing into her muzzle sending her reeling, allowing Octavia to roll onto her back.

Lyra squeezed off a blind shot, which whizzed past Octavia’s ear as she bucked her attacker in the stomach, hard. Lyra was sent flying by the force of it, dropping her gun next to Octavia. Octavia made to grab it, when a cream-colored hoof stomped down on both the gun, and Octavia’s hope of escape. “Octavia, enough.” Bonbon said, bringing her double-barreled shotgun to bear against the hapless earth pony.

“Tavi, enough if this already, no one is coming for you.” Bonbon said in her typical emotionless voice, her cold, empty eyes fixed directly on Octavia’s, “Things are heating up Octavia, a storm is coming. Vinyls’ going to get caught up in this if she’s not careful. Help us, for her sake. We’ll make sure to keep her out of this mess. Give us something to work with-” Bonbon was interrupted by her mint green partner, whose face was now a mask of savage fury, “Tell us where the shipping routes are, dammit! TALK BEFORE SHE BLOWS YOUR BRAINS OUT!” Bonbon sighed, “Lyra, please…”

Octavia went through her options, if she talked, she would betray the family and would likely be made to disappear. If she didn’t talk, then Lyra and Bonbon would surely go after Vinyl, which was something she couldn’t, wouldn’t allow. Octavia sighed in defeat, “Sewers. There’s a tunnel, leads to the well by the farm. We’d sometimes drop barrels down there and the lackeys would pick them up. Leave them by the warehouse, where the tunnels let out.” Octavia turned her glare back up to her captors, “Now hurry up and kill me, I gave you what you wanted. Just leave Vinyl out of this.”

Bonbon smiled sweetly, but her eyes remained cold and hard, like those of a doll, “Oh Octavia, I’m not going to kill you for working with us.” She said, lowering her gun, “However… you hurt my Lyra, and for that you’re going to die.” And with that, Bonbon bought her hoof down on Octavia’s head, a look of bloody glee tearing away at the emotionless mask she had on before.

Octavia’s last thought was: I’m getting sick of being knocked out.

“Room five, third floor. Haven’t heard from her in a few days, but a few boys came by the other night looking for her as well.” Said the weary earth pony receptionist of the Golden Horseshoe Inn. Vinyl Scratch mumbled her thanks before trudging up the steps to the third floor.

Reaching Room 5, Vinyl rapped her forehoof on the door, causing it to creak open with an ear-piercing squeal that filled Vinyl with an even greater sense of urgency. “Tavi? You home? …Hello?” Vinyl called as she slowly pushed the door open, eliciting an eerie protest from the hinges as they were forced into motion.

The room was a mess, as though a hurricane had been created right in the middle of the room. Clothes, medicine bottles, blankets, and various other objects were strewn haphazardly across the room, and on the walls was one repeating phrase, imprinted in dark crimson paint was the word: “TOUCHABLE”.

“Oh no…” Vinyl muttered as she walked into the ruined room, her worst fears realized by the state of the one lead she had on her best friend. Her forehoof struck something, Vinyl glanced down at the toppled picture frame before her and levitated it before her. It was their graduation picture from the Canterlot Musical Academy, the two young mares rejoicing as they looked toward what was supposed to be a bright future as musicians, but that picture was cracked and faded now, with several larger cracks passing through the younger version of Octavia. “Where the hell are you, Tavi?” Vinyl sighed, the hopelessness of the current situation filling her.

A metallic *click* sounded behind Vinyl, breaking the silence, “funny you should ask” said a voice behind her, an unmistakably male voice.

Octavia stirred from her slumped over position, her head was pounding and her tongue felt fuzzy, almost as if she had a bad hangover, “Ugh… what happened? Damn headaches…” she mumbled as she cracked her eyes open. She glanced up and did a double-take of what she saw: her own reflection. Her mane was clean and brushed, no longer the frazzled mess it was before, and she was wearing a long, black evening gown that she hadn’t worn since her final performance with… and just like that she had forgotten the two obvious contradictions in her appearance.

“Tavi, you’re on in 7, you ready?” a familiar voice said, its source coming from outside Octavia’s field of vision. Octavia continued to stare at her reflection, confusion taking hold, wasn’t there a problem with the current situation? Vinyl leaned into view of the mirror, dressed in a purple shirt and a black vest, her signature shades flashing in the light of the bulbs around the vanity mirror Octavia was staring into, “You alright? Don’t tell me you're getting cold hooves now.” “Y-yeah, I’m fine…” Octavia stammered, her mental alarms going off, unheeded. Vinyl walked off towards the curtain at the end of the hall, “Alright, just hurry up. Crowd’s waiting.”

Octavia got out of her seat and followed Vinyl to the stage. Peeking out from behind the curtain, Octavia got a good look at the crowd Vinyl had mentioned. She couldn’t see any faces due to the marquis lanterns shining towards her, but she could tell that there were a lot of ponies in the audience, onstage were a large piano and her cello, both tuned up and ready for playing. Vinyl was impatiently waving her out onto the stage from her seat at the piano.

Octavia stepped out to the sounds of hooves stomping quietly from the assembled audience, it was a sound she had been yearning for ever since… what? The small blank in her memories gave her a moment’s pause, it felt as if she had forgotten something incredibly important. Octavia quickly shook it off, she had a job to do, and standing in stunned silence wasn't going to accomplish it. Octavia stepped up to her cello, holding it upright, as if helping an old friend stand again.

The piano set the pace as bow met strings and the music began to dance.

Bullets whizzed past Vinyl’s head as she raced down the hallway towards the open window at the end of the hall, she had pegged the hit pony in the muzzle with the picture frame, the stallion, not too pleased with his newly acquired bloody nose, gave chase almost immediately, bringing his gun to bear against the fleeing former DJ. “She’s heading for the fire escape, stop her!” one of her pursuers shouted, continually firing his gun at Vinyl.

Vinyl vaulted through the window onto the cold metal of the fire escape and made a leap of faith into the dumpster below, bullets making scalding passes as she made her escape.

“She’s down there, get her!” said the now stuffy stallion as Vinyl slowly pulled herself up from her unceremonious landing among the trash bags. The sound of hoofsteps near the entrance to the alleyway heralded the arrival of another pony. Whether it was friend or foe, Vinyl had no idea, but she wasn't about to let herself find out. Scrambling out of the dumpster, Vinyl made a quick exit down the very alleyway she had fallen into.

Vinyl wasn’t sure where she was going. To her, any direction that lead away from her pursuers was good enough for her. She never looked behind her as the booming thunderheads above began to sound remarkably like gunfire, adding to her panic. Come on Vinyl, move! She screamed at herself, not sure if the sound of pounding hoofbeats were hers, or that of her pursuers. Gradually the hoofbeats began to fade away the further Vinyl lost herself in the maze of back alleys that made up Ponyville. Vinyl panted as she slowed down, attempting to calm herself. “I think I lost them,” she muttered to herself between gasps as she rounded a corner, only to stare down the barrel of a .44 magnum pointed directly at her muzzle.

Octavia heard the flames before she felt them, the crash of a molotov cocktail breaking open against the curtains acted as an early warning to their inevitable immolation. “Tavi! Get down!” Vinyl shouted, ducking behind her piano. The roar of the flames filled Octavia’s ears as she just stood there, cello in hoof, completely stunned as the gaps in her memories began to fill in. The prohibition, the mafia, her capture, all of it came rushing back to her in that moment. “No…” Octavia moaned, her eyes beginning to tear up, “This isn’t how it was supposed to happen…” Octavia gritted her teeth, “But I’m goin to kill each and every one of these fuckers if it’s he last thing I do!” Octavia dove for the piano, bow in her mouth, her face a mask of sheer rage as bullets from an unseen machine gun began to pepper the stage.

Octavia peeked around her cover, only to pull sharply back when a high-caliber bullet came too close for comfort. “Damn them to hell! how did they get in here any-”

“-Tavi.”

Vinyl’s voice cut through Octavia’s fury like a knife. “Just start shooting.” She said, slipping her shades over her eyes and grinning as she held up a matching pair of slim pistols. Octavia stared at her friend incredulously, “With what, exactly? My bow?” She said, waving the object in her hooves in front of the grinning mare’s face, but the cello bow was no longer there, in her hooves was a fully loaded tommy gun, its stock and grips were painted matte black and its metal parts looked brand new. An evil grin sliced its way across Octavia’s face as she ran her hooves along the beautiful weapon, “Perfect.”

The hail of bullets paused as the barrel of the machine gun was directed elsewhere, showering the unfortunate target with a hail of bullets. “Glad you’re alright,” Vinyl said, peeking around their cover, “Now lets do this.” Octavia’s grin widened, “Time to show them how to properly use a ‘bow’!” with that, both mares jumped out from behind the piano and began to fire in bursts toward the offending machine gun.

“That damn mare’s back, cover me!” Flam shouted above the sounds of gunfire, frantically slamming another clip into his BAR. Flim complied, bringing his revolver around to suppress the pair firing from the stage. Octavia barely registered the bullets whizzing past her as a continuous stream of bullets erupted from her gun, she barely saw the crumpled form of Big Macintosh lying just a little ways away from the table the Flim Flam brothers were taking cover behind, and she barely noticed Applejack as she fought off both Lyra and Bonbon in a mix of knife, gun, and hoof-to-hoof combat. All Octavia saw in that moment were the twins that were the current target of her hatred, cowering behind their wooden barrier. “Octavia what are you doing!? Get back to cover!” Vinyl shouted, only to withdraw as a bullet chipped off a piece of the piano next to her nose.

Octavia, think for a second! Your bow turned into a tommy gun, how the heck is that normal? Something’s very wrong here! Look at Vinyl, That’s not Vinyl!

Oh, they’re back again, huh? Octavia thought dryly, readjusting her aim at the chandelier hanging above the two brothers, “Just shut up.” the spray of bullets hit their mark. The effect was instantaneous, the chandelier came crashing down, demolishing everything in its path, the brothers, their weapons, and Big Mac’s barely conscious body.

Another gunshot was heard as Lyra crumpled to the floor, the bullet from Applejack’s long colt revolver hitting it’s mark, “I’LL END YOU!” Bonbon screamed, leveling her double-barrel shotgun at the orange mare. Applejack calmly placed her worn stetson back on her head as the chatter of submachine gun fire cut down Bonbon. “Hello Applejack.” Octavia said, lowering the smoking barrel of her gun and stepping off the stage, “Thought you might like some help, we should probably get out of here before the cops-” The clicking of a gun hammer being pulled back cut her off, “First you sell out your own, then you kill one of the family.” Applejack stated calmly, her piercing, green-eyed stare fixed squarely on the gray mare in front of her, “What?” Octavia spluttered in confusion, before finally noticing the discarded lever-action shotgun lying next to the fallen chandelier.

Another, smaller form stepped out from behind Applejack, revealing itself to be a teary-eyed Applebloom. “It’s true!” she choked out between sobs, “She cracked under Lyra and Bonbon, then killed Big Mac!” Applejack’s eyes hardened as she readjusted her grip on her long colt revolver, “at this point, you’re a liability. And I can’t let one walk.”

The sound of another gun hammer being pulled back broke the uncomfortable silence as Vinyl pressed the barrel of one of her pistols to the back of Applejack’s head, “Don’t even think about it” Vinyl said in a commanding tone.

Applejack slowly turned her head, regarding the ivory mare with the same cold glare that had made her infamous in the Ponyville underworld, “I shoulda figured,” she remarked softly, “Working with a unicorn. Conversin’ with the enemy ‘till the very end.”

At that moment, the sounds of sirens erupted just outside the pub, “ATTENTION!” a loud, booming voice announced, “WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED, COME OUT WITH YOUR HOOVES UP!” Octavia’s frantic eyes made contact with Applejack’s calm ones, “Applejack, just think about this for a second!” Applejack’s eyes narrowed, “We’re in this mess together, like it or not. How much more blood needs to be shed?” Applejack just stared for a few more seconds before sighing and lowering her gun, “we’re dead. Nothin’ gonna change that now.” Applejack turned and faced the young filly next to her, “Applebloom, stay low and out of sight. Run back to Granny Smith when you can and tell her what happened.” Applejack took her gun in both hooves, her face grim. “This ends tonight.”

“Damn right it does.”

A loud *bang* sounded through the pub as Vinyl’s bullet ripped into Applejack’s side, causing the orange mare to crumple in a heap. “Never trust a DJ.” Vinyl said, sneering at Applejack. “Applejack!” Applebloom cried, rushing to her sister’s side, “Don’t worry kid… takes a lot more to take down an… earth… pony…” Applejack gasped out before falling silent. Fury gripped Octavia at that moment, she brought her gun around and trained it on Vinyl’s head, “why? Tell me why Vinyl! Why did you do this!?” “Oh please…” ‘Vinyl’ scoffed, pulling off her signature shades as her face began to melt away, replaced by the turquoise coat and topaz eyes of Lyra Heartstrings.

“Think Octavia, did any of this seem at all too convenient? Your bow turning into a tommy gun that just happens to run dry when you need it most? Big Mac charging headlong into incoming fire? A piano, thick enough to stop .30 - 06 cartridges from a BAR?” Lyra grinned sadistically as the world around her began to swirl and swim as the drug-induced dream began to lift, “Your fragile mind deceives you.” Lyra closed the gap between them, her face once again taking the appearance of Vinyl, “time to wake up, sleeping beauty.”

Octavia’s eyes shot open, her field of vision filled with the image of a light blue unicorn mare with a baby blue mane. A cloak covered with stars and other celestial symbols was worn over her suit, with a matching wizard’s hat perched atop her head. “Time to wake up, sleeping beauty,” she said with a grin, as if she knew the punchline to a joke Octavia was currently missing, “Welcome to Manehattan, all expenses paid, courtesy of Flim and Flam.” And with that, she gave Octavia a stiff push off the edge of the harbor, kicking the large cinderblock tied to Octavia’s hind legs overboard as soon as the grey earth pony hit the water.

The water pressure hit Octavia like a ton of bricks, slowly constricting her barely-filled chest cavity as the heavy cinderblock dragged her down to the murky depths.

“Hey kid, get up. Those stallions are gone now.” Lyra said, lowering her gun an extending a hoof to the cowering Vinyl, “Who the hell were they? Who the hell are you?” the confused former DJ asked, using the added leverage to pull herself up to all fours. “An enemy of the ones who were after you, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You must know someone important if those guys were after you.”

“I was just looking for a friend, she sent me a letter a week ago, but I haven’t seen her in about a year. Her name is Octavia.” Lyra holstered her magnum, “well that makes sense…” she muttered, her pensive look attracting Vinyl’s attention, “What do you mean?” Lyra shot Vinyl a look of pity, “You’re caught in an underworld with no say in the matter, so I’ll tell you”

“Octavia herself is a rival crime lord, and you’re a loose end. She wanted to draw you out just to dispose of you.”

“But that would mean…” Vinyl’s eyes began to water as tears began to blur her vision, her question was answered by a single nod from the turquoise unicorn.

Vinyl slumped down to her knees in shock, It can’t be true, Tavi wouldn’t do that to me, would she? Lyra placed a hoof on her shoulder, “I know its a lot to take in, The underworld is a cruel place. I have my share of ‘friends’ that want me dead now too.” Lyra heaved a long suffering sigh, “look, you seem like a nice girl, so I’m gonna give you an offer you can’t refuse, not If you want to survive.” Lyra pulled Vinyl up to her hooves again and continued, “You’re neck deep in this mess without realizing it, Octavia won’t let you leave this town alive. So join us, we’ll train you, keep you safe, and help you survive.” Lyra held out a hoof, “So, what do you say?”

Vinyl sniffed, wiping a hoof across her eyes to dry them. Her former best friend had just tried to kill her, that was clear enough, Vinyl refused to give her stallions another chance at her, not without a fight. Vinyl’s eyes blazed with determination as she took Lyra’s extended hoof in her own, “I’ll do it.”

Lyra had to use every ounce of her willpower not to laugh at that moment.

It was an unusual night in Manehattan harbor,. The sky was clear, save for the few stray clouds hiding small pieces of Luna’s constellations from view, the pale face of the moon could be seen clearly against the glittering backdrop, and for once, the waters were deathly still. Any sailor worth his salt (and perhaps his cider, depending on who you asked.) would say that this was an extremely unlikely occurrence, usually the sign of a squall about to make landfall sometime in the near future.

But what made this night truly unique was the multi-colored streak that dove into the harbor, seemingly from orbit at a breakneck speed, as if it was trying to reach the bottom of the harbor for some unknowable purpose. A rowboat drew up close to where a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane surfaced, carrying her sizable bounty from the depths of the harbor.

“argh, for the love of Celestia, ye be heavy.” the mare grunted, slinging the unconscious earth pony onto the deck of the small craft, “Now let’s see if ye earth ponies be as tough as they say…” she muttered, compressing the unconscious mare’s chest several times, forcing her to cough up seawater violently onto the deck. “Well ‘captain’, looks like yer cellist’s last song went…” the pegasus covered one of her eyes with an eyepatch she had previously worn on her forehead, “swimmingly.” she finished with a devilish smile to the aggravated earth pony stallion gripping the oars.

“I don’t care who you are, and I don't care that you saved me. I swear to Luna if I ever hear another pun come out of your mouth, I will kill you.” Octavia growled, spitting the last of the brine from her mouth.

The stallion face hoofed, a vein pulsing in his temple, “Ah fer Pete’s sake, Dash… This be why we don’t do business that often.” The pegasus, ‘Dash’, crossed her forehooves and huffed in annoyance, “ye two have no sense of humor.” Then her smile returned, “Add in an extra barrel to sweeten the deal an’ mebbe I’ll keep me trap shut fer the remainder of the night.”

Octavia had enough, “alright, I want answers. Who the hell are you two?” Dash turned around with a look of shock, “WHAT!?” she exclaimed, turning to face the waterlogged earth pony with a look of dismay, “Ye’ve never heard of the infamous Captain Dash!? The Riot of Rainbow Colors! The Winged Wench! The Rainbow Reign! Captain of the dreaded Pirateworm!?” The older earth pony just sighed and extended a hoof, pulling of his sea pony’s cap as he did so, “Nautical’s my name,” he said in a gruff voice, fixing Octavia with a steely look from his storm grey eyes, “Former Navy Officer turned ‘dockworker’. Consider your rescue a favor from the family.” Octavia nodded her understanding and accepted his extended hoof as Captain Dash continued her tirade of titles, now hovering in the air with a look of sheer dismay on her face. “Personally ah would’ve left ye fer dead,” Nautical continued, placing his cap back on his head, “but I don’t call the shots.”

Octavia shot him a confused look, “Where are we even? The water under the docks in Ponyville aren’t this salty.” The dark humor bought a wry grin to Nautical’s face, “Aye, welcome to Manehattan girl. Consider yerself lucky, got the order all the way from Ponyville.” Nautical began to row the boat back to the docks, “Jack be furious with ye no doubt, but she still wants ye alive. So as I can’t fly fast enough to dive deep, we got a spot o’ help from Prate Dash.” The cyan pegasus flashed her signature grin, “’tis a tough task to ‘dive in’ and pull out a pony who’s ‘in the drink’. But, speakin’ o’ drinks, I don’t work fer free. Remember?” Nautical scowled at the brazen mare, “Right… four barrels o’ Sweet Apple Hard Cider.” Dash’s grin grew wider, “I think ye meant ‘five’.”

The remainder of the ride passed without incident, the creak of the boat was the only noise to be had the whole time. When the boat was tied off and the passengers had disembarked, Octavia fixed Dash with a sideways glance, “…so wait, you work for cider?” Dash trotted alongside her, grinning the whole time, “Aye. If I work fer bits, I’d just be spendin’ it on cider anyway. Ah’m basically the Element of Loyalty as well,” she chuckled a bit and lifted her eyepatch from her perfectly normal magenta eye, “customer loyalty that is.”

“Dash,” Nautical called from the boat, “be back here in 30, same as usual, and check the unmanned rowboat.” Dash turned, “Just make sure there be five barrels, and we’ll be…” Octavia’s expression turned to one of horror, “don’t you dare…”

Dash slipped the eyepatch over her eye again.

“don’t - ”

“rollin’.”

Octavia face hoofed, “I swear to Celestia, I’m going to kill you.”

Dash just cackled and flew away, she was on the other side of the docks faster than Octavia could reach out and throttle the offending pun-happy mare.

The city fell silent as the pair of earth ponies entered one of the high-end neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city center, the ones reserved for those who usually lived in Canterlot and those with lots of skeletons in their closets. “You still haven’t explained how you knew where I was, or who we’re meeting.” Octavia said, eyeing the surrounding buildings with mild disgust. “Ugh… fer the love of-” Nautical growled in annoyance, “The Oranges. We be meetin’ the Oranges, lass. By Celestia’s beard I thought ye were smarter than this Octavia.” Octavia glared at him, “Well excuse me for recovering from being knocked out and drugged beyond belief!” Nautical just shook his head and kept walking, “oh yeah, I almost drowned as well!” Octavia shouted at the stallion’s back.

“Don’t underestimate the family. They saw the whole thing, and just had ye tailed all the way here. Any more obvious questions?” Nautical said over his shoulder at the petulant mare behind him. “So instead of intervening, they just leave me to die…” Octavia muttered, picking up her pace to keep up with her old escort as they trotted up to a stately manor that must have been much older than any of the surrounding buildings.

Nautical turned to face Octavia in front of the gate, “Just watch yer mouth girl, as far as Flim and Flam know, yer dead. That’s a plus. Jack wanted ta’ make ye suffer for the slip-up considerin’ the headache ye gave her, but she still has use for ye.” His eyes narrowed as he pushed the gate open, “don’t blow it again.”

Nautical began walking towards the door to the manor, “Now come on, the oranges have been waiting long enough.” Octavia followed, albeit reluctantly, after the old stallion. Raising his hoof, Nautical knocked three times on the door, which was opened by a young, tomboyish filly with an orange coat, green eyes, and a light red mane. “Hello?” she said, cautiously looking at the two guests outside. “Ahoy, scalawag!” Nautical said in a booming voice, “Naut!” she cried, jumping out from behind the door to greet the old sailor.

“Did ye get the message to yer family n’ all?” Nautical said, smiling down at the little orange filly in front of him, patting her on the head with his forehoof. The filly grinned, “Yup! Is this the chump yous’ was talking about?” Octavia glared at the filly, “I have a name-”

“Ah, Miss Melody. I hope my niece wasn’t detaining you for long, we’ve been expecting you.” a pale-yellow coated mare interrupted, her pale blue eyes causing Octavia to forget about berating the ill-mannered filly. “There are family matters to discuss, but those can wait until morning. The servants have prepared a room and bath for you.” Madame Orange continued, holding Octavia in her icy gaze, “do make use of the latter mention, you smell like brine, and that’s hardly professional. The servants will take care of your garments.” Octavia took a subtle whiff of her lapel, it reeked of dead fish and seawater. Octavia lowered her gaze and gave a small smile, “will do ma’am.”

So, back to work now?

Oh good, they’re back. Octavia thought ruefully as she sank into the warm water of the bathtub. “Later, I figure I’d best take advantage of the break while I can.” she replied to the offending mental voice, as she sank her head beneath the soapy water.

Keep your eyes open Octavia, you can never know what these guys are planning.

Octavia resurfaced, “honestly, If they were planning something, they would have done it by now. Maybe they would have had the butler drop a plugged-in toaster to fry me while I relaxed. No, right now I’m more of an asset to them, considering I’ve been taken off the visible board.”

Octavia, a lot of things are going to change now. This may be your last chance to really rest. Indulge yourself a little, maybe ask if Madame Orange has a cello on hand?

Octavia sank down in the water a little, “I’m not sure if I could, even if she did, I’m not sure if I’d be able to. Not like this.” she muttered, blowing away a small bunch of suds that had gotten too close to her nose.

Aren’t you afraid of what’ll happen if the cops catch up to you?

“Shut up.”

You know what’s going to happen to Vinyl after this. Dead or not, Lyra won’t care as long as she can get a shiny new pawn.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!”

Octavia had gotten sick of the water. Toweling herself off, she left the bathroom and jumped onto the luxury, king-sized bed, courtesy of the Oranges’ white-collar crime syndicate.

How did the prohibition start anyway? Everypony didn’t just go crazy by drinking cider… right?

Octavia pulled the blankets over herself, hoping to shut them out, to no avail. “No one knows why. There were no talks, no discussions, nothing. Celestia gave the order and hasn’t spoken to the public since. Sure there have been rumors and conspiracy theories, but nopony has a solid answer, not even Luna.”

Out of curiosity… do you know who we are? How can you hear us? You’re not crazy, if that’s what you’re wondering.

Octavia grinned, “No, I’m fairly certain I lost my mind ages ago, why else would I join the mafia? You can’t exist, it’s simply not possible. Besides, can you imagine what it’d be like to expose myself to anyone? I’d never be able to do that. So you can’t be real.” Octavia began to hug her tail and rock back and forth, “You’re not real because it’s not possible. It’s not possible. You don’t exist. It’s not possible. It’s not possible. It’s not possible. It’s not possible.”

What a shame, watching yourself fall apart. You can never play the cello again, it will never be real to you ever again. You can pull the bow across the strings as effortlessly as you can end a life, but you won’t ever be able to return to the mare you once were. Tragic.

Octavia simply rolled over and let sleep take her, tears streaming down her face the whole time.

Author's Note

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of my first story ever! (Technically, it's just what was covered in the original tumblr with a few things changed, but it's important to future events, so bear with me please!) But nevertheless, if you enjoyed it, please comment below and share your criticisms please! That is all!