Author's Note

Chapters whose titles are on caps (for instance, this one) are not related to the main plot and can be skippable, but can be useful to learn and know imformation and background about certain characters. For instance, this skippable chapter is about Alexei Ushin and his past.

SOMETHING IN THE WAY...

1993. Manehattan.

A grey-skinned man who is smartly dressed gets down from a bus and looks around him: buildings, brand-new cars and wealthy people walking on the streets. He is in Manehattan, Equestria's capital city.

"Holy..." whispers the man while looking at the biggest building out there, which has a horse statue on the top. It is the beautiful Golden Horse Hotel, which also has the Golden Horse Casino inside.

"Hey!" hears the man. He turns around and looks at a light-blue skinned man which carries the same suit as him and also has a trident tattoo on his right cheek. "The first time is surprising, yes, but you'll get used to."

Both men laugh and shake their hands. "Nice to meet you, Mr..." says the man.

"Montreal Plegovich, I am Nicholas' brother, and your name is...?"

"Alexei Ushin."

Montreal and Alexei start walking, heading to the Golden Horse Hotel. "Come with me, Alexei," he says. "You shouldn't be on a Manehattan street for so long..."

"Why?"

"We are more than a Manehattan street. Don't you know?"

"Yes, um... I know you..."

"Sshh! Don't talk about that right here. I'm already calling someone's attention with my tattoo. We should talk about you, your old days now... just relax... because it may be the last time you will be relaxed..."

Ushin looks at Montreal, shocked. "W... W-Why?"

"Being with Nicholas means you will have to work 24/7... From now on, you will never have free time to do what you want. Keeping up with the Plegovichs may mean being in the highest seats... but you will have to kick your ass if you want to be on that chair for a long time."

"That means..."

"You will never be calm again."

And with that phrase, Ushin's face completely changes from a happy grin to a shocking gesture.

Ushin and Montreal get inside a deluxe, marvellous living room in the Golden Horse. An old woman is sitting there, along with a young Nicholas Plegovich and a young purple-skinned lady with a black dress.

Ushin gets surprised while looking at the pretty lady's presence, but she only passes him by and leaves the living room with a glass filled with champagne. Meanwhile, Nicholas kisses the old woman on her forehead and laughs while looking at Ushin.

"Long time no see, old friend," says Plegovich. "Finally you listened to your father's words and came. You will be the second Ushin, along with Mr Glasnost, your father, to be on the Red Beast. This woman here is my aunt, Minerva. She's been on the business for years."

Ushin waves his hand at Minerva but she raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to give me a kiss?" she says.

"Um... why I..."

"Go ahead," says Montreal Plegovich. "Kiss her on her forehead."

"But..."

"Go ahead, Alexei..." says Nicholas, smiling. "We won't tell you the plan if you don't do it."

Alexei goes and slowly kisses Minerva's forehead. The Plegovichs smile and nod their head while looking at his action. "Very good," says Montreal, laughing.

"He has soft lips," says Minerva, the aunt. "I'd like him to kiss me one more time."

Ushin says that is not necessary, but the Plegovichs order him to do it again. He realizes that if he denies that the situation won't end up well, so he does it again.

"Ok..." says Nicholas Plegovich. "Sit down, Alexei. I'm about to tell you what my father was thinking for the past few years."

"The Red Beast's territories?" says Ushin. "I think if he does want the whole city of Manehattan..."

"No, no. We are not talking about that here," says Plegovich. "My father has a special project, don't you know? The project that wants the entire place."

Ushin raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean with place? A bank...?"

Plegovich smashes his hand against the table and slowly opens it. He touches his palm while Ushin looks at it, confused. "See this hand?" says Plegovich. "The thumb is Manehattan. The other four fingers are the other big cities: Canterlot, Las Pegasus, Los Mantos and Cloudsdale City. The palm is all of the remaining cities out there in Equestria. What my father's secret project says... this whole hand, every city, everyone... can be mine. Can be yours. Can be us."

Ushin feels shivers going down his spine and his whole body. The Five Cities? Is he crazy?

"The Five Cities?" says Alexei Ushin. "Are you nuts? That's impossible!"

"Not only the Five... we want the whole Equestria, and we are not nuts, Alexei... if you have a Plegovich on your back, you can do it."

1994. A Year Later. The Ushins' garden.

Alexei Ushin is looking at his father, who is smoking a cigar while looking at the plants on his garden. His father doesn't look him back, he is just concentrated on his problems.

"Do you know that thing you did may cause a war, right? On our hometown..." says Alexei. "Both of us knew that project was fucking crazy but... was that argument you had with them necessary? You know they will kill us, get rid of us, I don't know... shit, fuck... dad! Listen to me! We are dead men! They may be looking for us!"

"Son..." says Glasnost. "See those plants?"

"Why do you want to talk about the plants?" says Ushin.

"Look at them."

"But..."

"Just look at them, Alexei."

Alexei looks at the plants in front of him. "Why do you want me to look at them?"

"Those plants are you, Alexei." The son looks at his dad, confused. "You want to keep your mouth shut, and that's not the right thing to do. The Ushins always speak loud, no matter what. In my old days, our family was known to be the toughest around Luna Bay, and I won't change that because of a crazy old man with a stupid wealthy family that wants to kick my ass. I am not those plants, Alexei, because they don't move... they don't speak. I'll make my move, I'll speak... and I also want you to do that. You are an Ushin, Alexei... not a Plegovich."

"But... we are two. They are a hundred..."

"And what? You will join them because they are more than us?"

"Um... yes."

"You coward. I'll never be with them, no matter what... If I die, I'll die. If they kill me, they will kill me... but I will never change my opinion."

"Look, dad..."

"Stop," says Glasnost while touching his son's arm. "Do you want to be a plant?"

"Um... of course not."

"Then... why are you lying to yourself? Why are you giving yourself in, Alexei?"

"Because I don't wanna die..."

Glasnost sighs and goes inside his house, in silent. "You will regret that decision, kid," he says and leaves Alexei in the garden, alone. "Remember that I told you that."

1995. A Year Later. Butter Valley.

Ushin is in front of a door, waiting for someone to open it. His appearance has changed... he is not wearing wealthy tuxedos anymore, and he has now long hair and a full beard. He hasn't slept for two days and feels under the weather for real. Suddenly, someone opens his door: a young Sergei looking at him.

"What?"

"Um, hello... I am looking for..."

"No," says Sergei, unexpectedly. "Get out of here, We don't give money to hobos."

"Sergei," says Plegovich, wearing a purple tuxedo and showing for the first time his neck's swan tattoo. "That guy there is not a hobo. I know him. Come, Alexei."

Sergei raises both eyebrows and lets him in and both men sit in a cozy couch. "Champagne?" says Plegovich. Alexei denies it.

"Why... did you call me?" says Ushin. "I haven't received a call from you for a whole year..."

"Yeah, I know, sorry..." says Plegovich. "But that war started, your father was killed... and now my father has cancer. I've got to admit I almost forgot about you because of all that shit... and you know what? I want you again."

"Why?"

"Because I miss you, Alexei. Old friends shall not be betrayed."

Alexei laughs. "Your father killed mine... and they were old friends."

"No, that's different... they argued a time ago and the fight finished. If you look at our relationship, we never had an argument, so we never fought each other. That's why I have a job for you, to make you return."

"What?"

"I want you to rob a train."

"Sure," says Ushin, closing his eyes. "S... Sure... whaaat's... that about..."

"Ha, ha!" he chuckles. "You haven't slept, don't you?" Ushin nods his head, so Plegovich answers: "Then sleep my friend, this couch's comfy for you. Just relax... when you wake up, I'll tell everything for you... just relax."

Ushin doesn't answer anymore. He has just fallen asleep. Plegovich gets up and goes for Sergei.

"What, sir?" says Sergei, who is standing on the entrance door.

"It was easier than I thought. Come on, he has just fallen asleep. Grab him... go to the Train."

Twelve hours later, Ushin wakes up inside a train wagon. He is also tied to the wagon's floor with three ropes. He can't move either his arms or legs. Then, Plegovich gets in the wagon along with Sergei, his brother Montreal and a young Grey Blackle, being handled with a leash. Seconds later, ten men also get in the wagon with crowbars on their hands.

"What the hell?" says Ushin, trying to escape. "What the fuck?"

"You are not useful anymore, Alexei."

"No!" shouts Ushin. "You! YOU! You told me old friends should never be betrayed!"

"Ha, ha! You are not an old friend, Ushin... you are nothing. You are part of history."

"NOO! YOU MOTHER..." he shouts, and the ten men start hitting his chest with the crowbars and their feet. They beat them up and leave him almost dead minutes later. He has a concussion and his whole body is purple because of bruises. His nose and mouth are bleeding, and he also has lost two teeth and five of them are broken.

"Are you sure you don't want to shoot him in the head?" says Sergei.

"Nah..." says Plegovich. "Let him die of hunger and thirst," he says and everyone gets down from the wagon and the train starts moving.

"Holy shit... what happened to this wagon?"

Look at the coupling hook... it's broken. It looks like the wagon's hook broke in half and was separated from the train.

"Hey! There's something in the way..." hears Ushin while waking up. He is dizzy, he almost sees nothing but he can identify a human shape in front of him. "Look at this. What the hell?"

"Man, he is dead as fuck," says another man.

"No, wait!" someone shouts. "He's breathing! He's breathing! Get him out!"

Someone cuts the rope and a group of people get Ushin out from the train wagon. The victim realizes the train is not there... the wagon is the only thing that remains from it.

"Uh... uh..." whispers Ushin.

"Don't worry, my man," says one of his saviours. "Here in La Lima, we have medics everywhere. They can cure you. You will be alright."

Ushin realizes he survived and he is now in La Lima.