The Equestrian Mafia

by TheEveryDaySparkle

The Equestrian Mafia

A long, long time ago. When Equestria was in its younger years, the country was at peace. Its people loved their rulers, and they loved them in return. There were no wars, no evil, and most certainly no crime. Everypony was happy. They had everything they could ever want supplied to them by princesses who were more than happy to share their wealth with the less fortunate.

The ponies of Equestria were special. They were not just mere ponies. Some had wings or horns, and even those without either still had more natural physical ability than their more gifted brethren.

However, even the most peaceful of countries has its flaws. Some ponies did not see their talents the same way others did. While some saw their differences as a sign that they were unique and special, others saw this as an unfair mistake that needed to be fixed. They saw it as a way for those with greater ability than their's to flaunt their talents in the faces of the less fortunate.

Of course, this deviation from the ignorance of peace into the bitterness of enlightenment did not come for quite a while, and Equestria was peaceful for a very long time. When it did however, it came down hard.

Jealousy ran rampant throughout the minds of all three races equally. Earth ponies grew irritated at the fact that they would never experience what it was like to fly and be free from the chains that bound them to the ground. Pegasi were in turn jealous of the feats of sheer strength shown by their heavier counterparts, and the Unicorns, who showed no interest in either of those pursuits given the ease of which they could do them with their magic, attracted the jealousy of both races by simply being given an easier life overall than the rest of them. They were jealous that they didn't have to work to get what they wanted. Even against those who did, as they rose through the ranks of their respective areas with such ease thanks to their magic.

What was worse however, was what followed.

As the unrest and agitation among ponies towards their 'unfair treatment' began reaching a boiling point, protesters from all sides rose up to combat the problem. The princesses were able to quell and calm the rage of the masses for a while, but there's only so much two ponies can do about another pony's way of thinking, even if they are alicorns.

Thus, the protests began again. And they returned with a vengeance No longer were the bouts left to simple shouting matches or battles to see who could outlast the other. Now they were getting physical.

Earth ponies shot Pegasi out of the sky, Pegasi tied Earth ponies up by their hooves and hung them on trees, only to beat them like pinatas, and Unicorns were made to defend themselves from attacks from both sides. Those who could not get away from the persecution received the worst of it. Earth ponies chopped their horns off, Pegasi dropped them from extreme heights, and some of them were just beaten by their ground bound counterparts until either their horns broke or they died.

Ponies had even started forming groups of like minded individuals, which they would use to further oppress the race they were opposed to. They would disallow certain races to join them in events or activities, they would revoke all access to essential necessities for certain races, and they would accuse and berate other races whenever the chance presented itself.

It was like Tartarus had broken loose and was wreaking havoc on Equestria. Eventually the princesses had had enough. They wanted to stop all the violence in their beloved kingdom. But they knew that any attempt to placate them at this point would be met with stiff resistance from the groups that had formed.

They decided that a more aggressive approach was needed. One that they could not enforce alone. If they could not get their beloved citizens to see reason, then maybe somepony else could. Somepony who could operate in ways that they could not. Somepony who could do things that they could not. Somepony with the power to stop all this chaos.

They put together a group of the only ponies with enough sense to not get involved with all of the violence, and made a plan. They would create an organization that would operate separately from the princesses, outside of their laws and restrictions. This group would do things they couldn't, see things they couldn't, and know things that only the princesses themselves would. They would operate in the shadows and never reveal themselves to the public. They would serve directly under the princesses, but how they handled their orders was entirely up to their own discretion. They would have complete and utter freedom in that regard.

And so, with their plans made, they set to work, making sure not to clue the ponies of their now devastated country in on anything that was going on. It broke their heart to hide things from them, but this was for their own good.

Of all the ponies in Equestria, only six were sane enough to be considered for what came next. Celestia spoke in a tone that told of her mounting sadness and grief.

"Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The six of you are the only ponies left who didn't succumb to jealousy. Therefore, you are also the only ponies left besides my sister that I can trust to carry out my plan."

The six mares sat on their haunches and patiently waited for the princess to finish speaking.

"Now listen closely. This is extremely important. No matter what happens, you cannot tell anypony about it, do you understand?"

They all nodded in unison and she smiled at them. "Good."

She stepped up to a door with a hole in the center and veiled her horn in magic before placing it inside the hole and unlocking the door. Slowly, a shadowed figure could be seen hidden by mist. As it slowly faded and light returned to the room, a stand could be seen.

On the stand, kept inside a glass casing that had obviously seen better days with how dusty it was, were six amulets, set inside six pieces of gold jewelry. Each piece of jewelry looked exactly the same save for the one in the middle, which was shaped like a crown. The amulets inside looked exactly like the six mares' cutie marks.

"What is this place?" came Twilight's inquiring voice. Celestia smiled a bit, pleased at her students curiosity.

"This is the royal treasure chamber. Inside lies things beyond your wildest imagination."

"Then what are those?" She pointed to the jewelry in the case.

"These, are the Elements of Harmony. Throughout your lives the six of you have shown exceptional amounts of honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, and most certainly a lot of laughter." She winked at Pinkie Pie.

"But the one thing you were missing, the one thing that tied it all together, was magic. And now that you have it, you have proven yourselves worthy enough to bear the Elements."

She lifted the case with her magic and floated them over to the six mares, where she then proceeded to place them around their necks in succession.

"But that is not all the Elements represent." Garnering their attention once more, she continued, "These elements symbolize your positions as head of your house."

"Our house?" came Twilight's voice again. Celestia relished in the idea of teaching her most valued student about her plan.

"Yes, Twilight. As part of my plan, each of you will be given lead of your own house. You are free to do as you see fit with it once you receive it."

They all stared at her in awe at this. One by one she looked to each of them, choice words of wisdom ready to part on her subjects. Beginning with Apple Jack, she said, "Apple Jack, since you are the strongest of the group, you will be the main of the six houses, the House of Honesty." In recognition of the appraisal, the blonde-maned mare tipped up her hat.

Turning to the violet-coated unicorn, she declared, "Twilight, since you are the most intellectually inclined of the group, you will be in charge of the intelligence department and will gather information for the group."

In response, Twilight smiled at the prospect of being able to receive all kinds of new information.

Eyes then darting over to the rainbow-maned Pegasus, she stated, "Rainbow Dash, since you are the more courageous of the group, you will head the front lines with Apple Jack." A knowing smirk spread across Rainbow's face as she barely contained her excitement.

Stepping over to the shiest mare of them all and craning her neck to look at her eye-to-eye, she murmured, "Fluttershy, I would prefer to put you on the front lines as well, but since you are opposed to any such sort of violence, I cannot in good conscience put you out like that. Therefore, you will serve as the group's healer."

Returning her stare afterward, Fluttershy stopped quivering and gave a sigh in relief and murmured a word of gratitude.

Next, she glanced over to the fashionable appearance of the white-coated unicorn. "Rarity, since you are the one with the most expertise in the clothing department, you will serve as the equipment maker. You will also be the head of infiltration given your higher than average dexterity and skill with your hands."

Finally, she faced the overly excited pink-color-coated mare and said, "Pinkie Pie, given your...particular talents, you will be placed on the front line with Apple Jack. Are these positions okay with you all?"

They all nodded and said in unison, "Yes, princess!"

"Very Well then. One last thing though. As I said before, you must never tell anyone about this. You must remain hidden and never reveal yourselves to the public. You will operate in the shadows and serve directly under me. That being said, how you carry out my orders is completely up to you. Make decisions at your own discretion, but make sure that you truly believe it is the right decision. Am I clear?"

They all responded with a, "Yes, princess!"

"Good. Then from this moment forward you will be known as, The Equestrian Mafia. Use your skills to protect Equestria from itself, and help to rid it of its evils."

With that, they all left, returning to their homes for a good night's rest, and to prepare for whatever dangers awaited them the next morning.

Comments

[Cadiefly]

It was like Tartarus had broken loose and was wreaking havoc on Equestria.

Not sure how a place breaks loose. I think you mean the gates of Tartarus have broken loose, unleashing a torrent of devastation on Equestria. (replacing 'and was' with ',' would work too for the second half of the sentence.)

This was a much better chapter overall to read. It really puts into question the bearing the last chapter had on the rest of the story. I would honestly probably rehash the other chapter as a future scene between Celestia and her sister where they discuss the progress of her plans rather than a wager on who gets to decide which plan to use (I really did think the card battle was neat). That is an option if you aren't happy with how the first chapter turned out. If interested in that idea, let me know and I can help you with that.

I'll get to work on making edits on this story tomorrow, and will let you know if I think of any ideas to spruce it up any. Are there any other stories you want me to edit as well?

[CrossNail]

This is going to be interesting...
Very interesting...
Let's just hope that this doesn't follow the path that so many other efforts has, and become the tool that brings all of ponykind and Equestria, along with the kingdoms around it, crashing to the ground...