Today's Wednesday. I woke up early, almost 6 A.M. and I decided to go to Sandy Suburbs by taxi because I wanted to relax a bit. Besides, Abe stayed in the motel room calm because Sunset Shimmer told him she was going to carry every one of the girls to the school by car. Both Jack and he will be at the school at 7:30 AM.
That house is really scary, I admit. It is rotten, broken, and the wood seems to be thousands of years old. I knock the door while smoking a cigarette. A hoary, grey-skinned man opens the door. His face is completely wrinkled and his lips are almost black. He is also smoking a cigar and dressing a worn-out purple dressing gown.
"Yeah?" he asks.
I am completely shocked. Is this guy my grandfather for real? He looks like a veteran junkie. "Um... grandpa?"
"Oh shit, not again." He says while facepalming. I start laughing. "What you laughing at?" He says, angry.
"I'm not like William," I say. His gesture is a confused one now. "I am Walter, his younger brother."
He smiles and then releases a small chuckle. "Are you Bedmaker?" He asks. I smile at him and nod my head. He touches my shoulder and lets me in.
"Finally, after all these years, a G in my house," he says.
"A G?" I say. "We are not in 1985, grandpa."
"I prefer saying G rather than mafia dude. That nickname just sucks. Anyway... how's the business?" Um... shall I say the truth? I don't think that the Blueblood-Ron conflict is a fairy tale. "Nah... don't tell me anything," he says. "I know the Blueblood situation. The Pegasus' Fort... and I thought I was the craziest out there."
"We decided to leave that project, and now we are taking care of the Elements of Harmony."
"You're doing good... being here alone, not taking care of them."
Both of us laugh and that calls William's attention. "Walter? What are you doing?" says my brother.
"Small visit... to relax," I say. "Friday would be a long, long day."
"Why?" asks my grandfather, surprised.
"Um... there is a party at Canterlot High that will be administrated by Blueblood... and we think that their henchmen would be there to obtain the Elements of Harmony."
"You mean... there would be a gang fight on Friday," answers my grandpa. I look at him and I raise my shoulders.
"Where's Larry?" I ask, confused.
"The grey guy?" says my grandpa. "He escaped through the magical toilet. A coward... but that doesn't matter now. May a gang fight happen on Friday?"
"Maybe," I answer. "Who knows?"
Instantly my grandpa touches my shoulder while throwing the cigar to the floor. "Just think, grandson. Be smart," he says. "A party inside a school. Blueblood can't carry all his men to that place. It would be senseless and the only thing it would do is revealing the fact Blueblood was there to commit a crime. He will call three, four guys... Maybe five, but more than that... No." My grandpa is right... Lots of strange gangsters in a school... That would call everybody's attention. Goddamn, I love my grandpa! "Just wait, Walt... Let them in... Let them enter school and then... BANG! Deadman. BANG! Another dead man... "
"Are you crazy, grandpa?" says William. "Killing people... Inside a school? Filled with teenagers?"
"Why not?" answers Grandpa Wilbur. "Do you know who are Blueblood's ass-kissers?"
"Yes," I say. My grandpa grabs a notebook and an old pen.
"Name them."
"Um... Gordo..."
"That nasty prostitute!" says my grandpa. "He won't be in school. He won't even move an inch. His tummy doesn't let him."
"Lucas Plegovich."
"Oh... That's deep, but Lucas won't do it. Keep saying."
"The Dark Spikes."
"Ew! Those guys are really gross. They would call everybody's attention. Hell no."
"Um... The Barnes."
"Oh yeah... We found them. Barnes may be an option. The three of them... Bang bang."
"You mean... Kill the Barnes?" asks William. "In Canterlot High?"
"Hell yeah, grandson! Why not?"
"It is too risky," says William. "What would he do with the bodies?"
"Call me," says Wilbur. "Once you killed them, Walter, call me and I will help you."
Woah Woah Woah, what is this kind of offer? It looks like my grandpa never came out of this house for years and now he says he would help me on this project. "But... are you sure? How could you do that?" I ask him. "Besides, it's not only a body... there are three!"
"Just let me do the work, grandson," he answers. "The Waters never fail their promises."
Mortimer Blueblood is sitting on a bench next to his son inside the mall.
"Dad," says his son.
"Yes?"
"Are you sure about the Friday thing?"
"Yes."
"But... come on, dad! I don't wanna go there!"
"You will go there, no matter what."
"Why? And also... it is the first time you make a celebration in Canterlot High... you always made them at Crystal Prep... and Canterlot was founded in Ap--"
"I know, son!" says his dad... "I'm just... quite desperate."
"Why? Because of...?"
Blueblood covers his son's mouth with his hand and nods his head. His son understands what he is meaning and shuts up. Suddenly, a familiar figure appears and sits on the bench. He is Marcus Barnes. "I have news," he says.
"Tell me," says Blueblood and then he looks at his son. He knows what he's trying to say, so Prince Blueblood gets up and leaves.
"Plegovich answered," says Barnes. "He won't participate in the conflict. He believes in Pietro, not Lucas, but the young kid is still confused. He doesn't know in which side he wants to stay."
"Uh-huh..." says Blueblood. ", What about the allies?"
"Allies?" says Barnes. "You have the police on your side."
"No. Those guys from last Monday are not my allies anymore. The other cops don't know this side of me, and I won't let them see it... But there is a guy that knows me for real..."
"Percival?"
Blueblood nods his head. "We must get rid of him. Call the Dark Spikes after this."
"Sure," answers Barnes. "What about Friday?"
"My son invited a girl. He will go undercover. You and your brothers will work. You will call the elements' attention and kill them, one by one. Once you finished, call me. I'll be near." Barnes nods his head, and Blueblood Keeps talking: "What about that kid thing Gordo told me?"
"Oh," answers Barnes. "Gordo told us that he had a new ally under his sleeves. A young guy, fresh meat. He's not like Pietro, but..."
"Do you know him?"
"No. I think his name was Flash Sentry. Gordo had all the information."
Finally, we've woken up with Abe and went to Canterlot High. There are some innocent employees and workers (who don't know who is the real Blueblood) preparing the party at the gym. There is also Pinkie Pie telling the employees what to do to make a better party, while her friends are just looking at them, laughing. Suddenly, Principal Celestia and his sister, Luna, appear next to me. I know this party is not a party, but a trap. Someone will arrive here with a machine gun and will kill the Elements. I want to tell them that this party must be canceled, but now it's too late. Everyone is making their effort to help here. The party will be done, no matter what.
"What do you think, Jack?" asks Celestia.
"It seems pretty nice."
"Yeah, these employees are doing a magnificent job here," says Luna.
Meanwhile, Abe is outside, thinking about Friday night. We must prepare for battle. We don't know how many guys will arrive here and how charged they will be. Suddenly, my phone starts ringing and I realize W's calling me. He went this morning to the Sandy Suburbs... what may have happened there? I go outside, next to Abe, and I answer W's call. "Hello?"
"Jack! I've got some great news."
"What do you mean with great news? A great piece of news for you is often a problem for me."
"Why you have to be so pessimistic? I was talking about the Party for the Good Ol' Canterlot..."
"What happened?"
"I've talked with my grandpa about this... and he told me that Blueblood couldn't bring so many guys to the school, just think... it would be weird to see the Dark Spikes or Gordo in the school! He would only call three or four guys to look for the girls, including Prince Blueblood...
"Prince Blueblood?" I say, and I look at Abe's face now. He's looking at me, surprised.
"Yes! He will be there, he invited Trixie to dance..."
"Trixie Lulamoon? Holy shit, your girlfriend..."
"Fuck no, Jack! She's not my girlfriend!"
"Ok, ok..." I say, laughing. "Are you sure? Only three, four guys?"
"Yeah... and my grandpa also told me that we had to kill the guys, except for Prince Blueblood. If we kill him, the media will go crazy... On the other hand, nobody would cry for Barnes."
"The Barnes? Are you sure the Barnes would be here, on Friday night?"
"Not so much, but yes. They would be there."
"And what about the kill thing?" I whisper. "We can't--"
"Crazy Wilbur will take charge, don't worry. I've gotta go now! Bye!"
"Wait, W!" I shout, but he ends the call. Abe asks me what happened. "His grandpa made a plan," I say. He looks at me with concern.
"Schizoid... his plans were the most complicated things I've ever seen. That's why the Clock was so good at robbing things..."
"He told me the Barnes may come this Friday night."
Abe chuckles. "I wish," he says. "I'd love to kick their asses."
"I don't understand. W said... we would kill them."
"Kill?" asks Abe. "Inside a school? What is he planning?"
"I don't know. His grandfather and he are... truly special."
Commissioner Percival and his partner, Femur, are in a private office inside the police station, drinking a coffee and eating donuts. Splinterbone is on the entrance, doing some paperwork.
"How can he be a man like that?" asks Femur to Percival. They are talking about that day.
"I should have realized, Femur," answers Percival with anger. "He was in jail in the nineties... and now he is magically Canterlot's governor. He may have a relationship with Gordo or..."
Suddenly, they hear a gunshot outside their office. They open the door and they look at people running away, taking cover and Splinterbone with a bullet in her head. One of the Dark Spikes appears and starts firing his gun to the roof.
"Shit," says Femur. "Dark Spikes... that means..."
"Gordo," replies Percival. "And that means Blueblood. He's looking for me, Femur."
"Splint's dead... oh no."
"We must run away, Femur... but how?"
Percival closes the office door and hides under a desk. Femur draws his handgun, grabs a big blanket to cover the desk and waits for someone to open it. Suddenly, Disturbance opens the door. "You!" he shouts. "You piece of shit, hands up, gun down."
"Good morning too."
"Gun down, asshole."
"Sure, don't worry," says Femur, but suddenly Percival draws a handgun and starts firing to the roof. Disturbance gets distracted and Femur knocks him with the gun's grip. Both get out of the office very quietly. Suddenly, Turmoil looks at them and Percival points his gun at him, but surprisingly, the Dark Spike does nothing and Percival and Femur walk away, confused.
Both cops realize lots of their partners ran away from the place because there are several hats on the street. Percival grabs his face while Femur takes a long, deep breath.
"Splint died," says Femur.
"Yes, I know. Besides, we can't be here now. Blueblood may be looking for our heads."
"What do we do?"
Percival looks at his cellphone. He knows that guy is the only option to save his life for a long time. "I hope he's not with Blueblood..." he says.
There is a cheap store near Las Pegasus - Manehattan Highway called The Middle of Nowhere because it is literally in the middle of nowhere. It's the only store on the empty highway to Las Pegasus. Besides, it is a store with a long story, related to the most notorious gangsters of all time. Every gangster met each other there. It was (and still is) the mafia's favorite place for a special reunion.
The owner of this place is an old lady called Scotch. She is not a gangster, but everyone inside the mafia considers her a good friend. The police interrogated her lots of times about the gangster's meetings, but she was always saved or considered innocent. Now, Scotch is preparing some pancakes when suddenly Ron Delight and his brother Tom enter.
"Good morning, Scotch," says Ron while sitting on a bench.
"Ron? What are you doing here?"
"Long story... looking for the lady."
"Looking for allies, aren't you?" Says Scotch while chuckling. Ron nods his head with a serious gesture.
"Yes... I can say we are in a gang war," says Tom.
"Uh-huh... yes. You are doing well. Las Pegasus has brand-new meat."
"Seductive? Brand-new meat?" says Ron. "Are you joking?"
"I'm not talking about Seductive."
"And who are you talking about?"
Scotch turns on an old TV and changes to the news channel. There is an ad where a green-skinned, thin man with orange hair appears as the New Pegasus' Governor. He is Grey Footprints, a man that Ron recognizes pretty well.
"Yes," says Scotch. "It is him."
"How can be that monster as governor?" Asks Ron, surprised.
"Monster?" Asks Ron, confused. "He looks like a polite guy."
"He's Grey Blackle, for god's sake, Tom."
"Blackle?" Says Tom. "That son of a bitch? Patch told me he was worse than Plegovich... even Patch was afraid of him."
"The Devil's Fear," says Ron. "He earned and won that nickname." But then, all the conversation is interrupted by Ron's cellphone. He looks at the screen: Percival. He answers the call. "Percival?"
"Ron. We are in trouble."
"Why?"
"The station... has been attacked. They killed Splinterbone... the Dark Spikes did it. Maybe Blueblood..."
Ron facepalms and sighs. "Fuck."
"What can we do? Do you know someplace to hide or something?"
"Um..." Then, Ron sees a map of Equestria and looks at Los Mantos. "I need you to do something for me."
"Yes."
"Do you remember that project we talked about a week ago?"
Percival stays in silence. "Mantos for us?"
"Lerrick is dead and Hopkins is with Blueblood. I want you to control Warloff at least. Bormoth Street can be controlled by itself."
"But... are you sure?"
"Yeah. Look... I am busy right now. I need to end this. Sorry. Go to Los Mantos by car," says Ron and ends the call. Both Tom and he drink a cup of tea, pay and go away. Now, they will go to Las Pegasus to find Seductive.
To be continued...