Meanwhile over at the Bank of Equestria, Annabelle was still trying to get a hold of me, but I haven’t been answering my phone for him. “Idiot!” Annabelle mumbled angrily to himself.
“Still not answering his phone?” Clay asked.
“No!” Annabelle said.
“Then what?” Clay asked.
“I meant no as in he hasn’t.” Annabelle corrected him.
“It’s weird that ‘no’ in that context could mean two different things.” Clay said.
“What up my peeps?” Turnip Orange asked as he joined the duo along with Angel.
“C’mon, man! It ain’t Easter, man!” Angel reminded him.
“Will you two quit foolin’ around?” Clay asked. “Herb’s not answering his phone!”
“Does it ring and go to voice mail, or go straight to voice mail?” Turnip asked.
“Goes straight to voice mail.” Annabelle said.
“His line is probably busy.” Turnip thought.
“No it’s not. He probably turned off his phone so he wouldn’t hear the ‘garbage’ I have to say to him and how much of an idiot he is to go after his brother.” Annabelle said.
“He’s going after his brother, man?” Angel asked. “Why?”
“Turns out he was the leader of this pack of robbers. The cops are arresting them now, but the leader, Autumn Leafhorn, has escaped.” Annabelle said.
“He journeyed to the dark side, man.” Angel said upsettingly. “I always thought of Autumn as a good guy, man.”
“Herb never trusted him.” Annabelle said. “He’s been wanting Herb Senior’s attention since childhood, but nope, he mainly focused on his son, Herb Jr.”
“This is deep, man.” Angel said.
“Indeed it is.” Clay nodded. “I know for sure that Herb is being lured into an ambush.”
“Did he say where he was going?” Turnip asked.
“He didn’t, brother.” Clay shook his head. “He could be anywhere in the city, and we have to find him.”
“I think I might have one idea.” Turnip said.
“Oh? Do tell.” Annabelle listened.
“Give me your phone.” Turnip instructed him.
“Get your own phone!” Annabelle whined.
“It’s only for a second.” Turnip said.
“How do I not know you’re going to steal it?” Annabelle asked.
“You don’t.” Turnip smirked at him.
“Fair enough.” Annabelle said as he gives Turnip his phone and he starts playing around with it. “What are you doing?”
“Do you have a call location app on your phone?” Turnip asked.
“Actually I do.” Annabelle said.
“Perfect!” Turnip said. “With it, we can trace the location on the place you talked to Herb. We’ll be able to know the spot where we last hung up on you, and that’s where we’re going to start.”
“Excuse me? Are you Clayton Cement?” one of the cops asked.
“CLAY Cement. I don’t like to be called Clayton!” Clay complained.
“We realized you hacked into the bank’s security mainframe.” One of the cops said.
“And what proof do you have on it?” Clay asked.
“You didn’t log out of your Facebook.” The cop said.
“Oh… right.” Clay said embarrassingly.
“We’ll need your assistance in fixing up the mainframe.” The cop said.
“And if I don’t?” Clay asked.
“You’ll be arrested for hacking a bank’s security system.” The cop said.
“Oh c’mon, that’s not fair!” Clay complained. “I helped stop the convicts!”
“That is police business, my friend. It’s either you help, or you’ll have your part in the court case, as well as your friends.” The cop said.
“UGH! Fine!” Clay groaned.
“Good choice.” The cop nodded.
“I’m sorry, brothers. I have to do this.” Clay said to the others.
“Go ahead, Clay. We’ll be able to find Herb by the time you’re done.” Annabelle promised.
“Hope so.” Clay said as he followed the cop inside the building.
“Ok so Annabelle,” Turnip started, “you’ll be using your phone’s tracking device to let us know where to go. Angel and I are going to go find Herb. Once we find his location, we’ll call for the mob’s help.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Annabelle asked.
“You did very well on this bank job, Ann.” Turnip said as he patted his shoulder. “You deserve a well needed rest.”
“Well since you put it that way, alright.” Annabelle nodded. “I’ll keep you in touch via ear piece.”
“Got it.” Turnip nodded.
“Let’s go save our man, man!” Angel said excitedly. Angel attaches himself onto the mob carriage he and Turnip used to get to the bank, and Turnip hops onto one of the carriage seats. “You sure he deserves that rest, man?”
“Sure he does! I mean, it’s not like he and Clay NEEDED our help in the bank job and have him go further up the ranks before we do!” Turnip said.
“Good point, man.” Angel nodded as he starts pulling the carriage away from the bank’s parking lot, and he started riding along the downtown area.
Meanwhile, inside one of the houses at Fort Mares, Autumn took me to see my pop, Herb Leaforn Sr. He was sitting down in front of an ice-place, which is like a fireplace, but instead of warm, it’s cool. That’s Mareami for ya!
“Pop.” I said.
“Son.” He said as he turned his chair around. “I was wondering when you’d come back. How’s my loving ex-wife?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her in weeks.” I admitted.
“It’s a pity.” He said. “I do miss her so very much.”
“She knew you were a criminal.” I said.
“Oh she did, did she?” he asked. “Hmm… interesting. She knew I like to rob places, whack ponies, deal with wiseguys… it’s all part of the mob business, son. Unlike that Friendship Mob of yours. It ain’t even a real mob! They ain’t even mercenaries! They’re just a bunch of wiseguys tryin’ to save lives to cry out for attention, deal with karma, or maybe work along side feds and become the most powerful mob in the history of mobs.”
“The Friendship Mob is powerful because of its spirit.” I said. “We don’t care for money or crime. We want to set things straight. We’re tired of bullies, hatred, and disharmony. Ruining the lives of the Guns was a big mistake.”
“They deserved it. They ruined everything for us Leafhorns! Marerami belonged to us! Then the Guns came and killed our ancestor, Weed, and took over like the stubborn dogs they are!” my dad explained.
“Mareami never belonged to the Leafhorns.” I corrected him.
“Right, right, yeah bring those foolish Jams into this! Look I don’t even think those Jams actually came here first! If you ask me, they came in at the middle of our clan war and just fed us all lies!” my dad explained. “Maybe instead of picking on the poor Gun kid, you should’ve picked on that Jam kid instead that went to the school.”
“That Jam kid was actually the voice of reason.” I said. “I should’ve listened to him from the start. The Jams own Mareami’s land, they’re a powerful family, and they know best. They’re a reasonable family. If they weren’t around, it’s either the Leafhorns or the Guns that would’ve been wiped out of Equestria.”
“As it should be… for the Guns that is.” my dad said.
“Our ancestors have been passing down lies for centuries!” I said. “The Leafhorns were always an angry family, full of negativity. The Guns, however, was such a positive family, and then we’d have to get to get in the way and crush their spirit for something that happened in the past!”
“You talk like you’re not a Leafhorn.” My dad said. “You’d betray your family for these urban legends? The Guns killed Weed Leafhorn in cold blood! Their happy spirit is only a front to make us Leafhorns look bad! Now the Guns are spreading! That kid you bullied moved to Ponyville and has befriended the ponies who hold the Elements of Harmony, as well as a Wonderbolt, an astronomer, a replica from a game, and two others! He’s becoming a greater threat to us!”
“You mean a greater inspiration.” I corrected him.
“AN INSPIRATION!?” my dad yelled as he slammed his hoof on the table beside me. “HOW DARE YO- oh woops. My drink fell.”
“I’ll get it pop!” Autumn offered as he walks over to the spilled drink and cleans it up.
“See Herb? Autumn is a good son! He’s the best son I could hope for!” my dad said. “It would’ve been you if you just listened to me, but nooooo, you decided to play nice.”
“I did NOT play nice.” I corrected him. “I did something worse than just physical pain. I gave Flare a friend and a marefriend, and then I made them both betray him, and they were ok with it! That is worse than any type of physical pain I could think of!”
“I’m surprised you’re even thinking, Herb.” Pop said. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’ve graduated school. You’d be stuck in Kindergarden learning to count. I gave you everything! I let you cheat your way out of school, I give you money, I give you power, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!”
“Our ways are wrong, pop! Our history is wrong!” I said.
“I’m gonna make you eat those words!” my dad threatened me.
Meanwhile outside, Angel and Turnip were riding along the streets (as Angel likes it), and they reach the fork of the road where my signal was last dropped. Wait, was it a fork in the road, or was it a round-about? I forget. As I said in the beginning of the story, I’m not the smartest fella out there. Well, when Angel and Turnip reached the… location, Annabelle said on the ear piece, “That’s it! That’s the location! That’s where I lost Herb’s signal. The trail should be cold by now.”
“No it’s not.” Turnip said. “There’s only two possible roads to take that leads into two different neighborhoods. Herb has to be one of them.”
“HONK! HEY! HONK, HONK!” a carriage driver yelled angrily behind them. “You’re holdin’ up traffic over here!”
“Sorry, man!” Angel yelled as he pulls his carriage over to the side of the road so traffic could flow through. “So which neighborhood do you think my man Herb is?” he asked.
“Well I’m showing tire marks going in both directions.” Turnip said. “How about you search one neighborhood, and I search the other?”
“I guess I’ll take the left.” Angel said.
“Sweet, I’ll go right.” Turnip said.
“I’m taking the carriage with me, man, because I don’t want it towed, man.” Angel said.
“Go ahead, take it.” Turnip offered. “If I find Herb, I’ll need a getaway driver.”
“And if I find Herb, we’ll pick you up, man.” Angel said.
“Sounds like a plan. Good luck!” Turnip said as he walks over to the neighborhood on the right, while Angel takes the left neighborhood. “I do hope Herb is alright.” Turnip said to himself. “If he’s gonna die…. I hope he lets me have his TV.”
Back with my pop and I, I explained to him everything; even about how wrong he was about our past. “So… it was all an act of self-defense, huh?”
“It’s true, pop. It opened my eyes. The Guns are innocent!” I said.
“They killed your ancestor and yet you call them INNOCENT?!” my dad yelled. “You’re more of an idiot than I thought.”
“No, pop, for once you’re the idiot.” I said.
“How dare you?!” my dad yelled as he slammed on the table and stood up from his chair. “The Friendship mob has brainwashed you blind! The Friendship mob is not a mob that could get jobs done! They won’t mind their own businesses! The Friendship mob is a stubborn gang, Herb. Do you want to be selfish just like them? They can’t leave everypony alone?”
“But your gang is a crime family! You’re running an illegal business!” I reminded him.
“At least we don’t interfere in other pony’s personal lives! We’re straight with other ponies!” my dad said. “All we do is destroy shops for protection money, loan shark, bomb carriages, rob places, smuggle, sell illegal animal crackers, and destroy other gangs that get in our way! We don’t care about the other pony’s lives, son. We just ruin them.”
“Well the Friendship Mob is different.” I said. “We fix shops and give them money, we don’t loan because we just suggest ponies to going to banks if they want loans, we don’t bomb carriages we clean the mess other thugs do to them, we don’t smuggle we legally ship, we sell legal foods, and we reason with other gangs that get in our way. We care about pony’s lives, pop. We make them better.”
“You just said exactly what I said but opposite.” My dad pointed out.
“Yeah we did it in reverse.” I said.
“No you idiot, if you did in reverse you would’ve said exactly what I said but in the opposite order. Good Faust, you’re dumb!” my dad complained. “This is why your brother is my apprentice instead of you now.”
“I get the job done, bro.” Autumn said. “I earned pop’s trust after I told him you used Swinebutt and Blueberry Pie to ruin Flare’s life instead of doing it the way he told you.”
“Wait… IT WAS YOU! You were the one that taddle-tailed on me!” I yelled. “It was you that told pop about my plans! YOU were the reason I lost his trust with him!”
“That I did.” Autumn nodded. “But why do you care? Do you want his trust? He’s a criminal and you’re a crime-fighter. You’re two complete opposites. I did you a favor, bro.”
“You ruined my relationship with him!” I yelled angrily.
“Herb... you never had a relationship with him.” Autumn corrected me. “You always wanted to go your own path. You were always soft. It happened before, Herb. You’re not the only one that betrayed the family. It has been that way for generations. Every time a Leafhorn betrayed the family, they thought they could make a difference, but they didn’t. They ended up disowned and banished. That’s what pop’s going to do to you.”
“Not yet.” My dad said. “There’s still a little hope for you, Herb. You can redeem yourself to me. You still have a chance to redeem your family name.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’ll bring you back into my life, but you just have to do me one favor.” My dad said.
“I’m not a criminal, pop. I don’t want to ruin any more lives.” I said.
“You must.” My dad said. “What you want is to redeem the Leafhorn family name, and make the name mean something here in Mareami. Don’t worry about the Guns, son. I’ll handle them now.”
“No more ruining the lives of the Guns?” I asked.
“No, you won’t have to do that anymore.” My dad said. “I realize how hard it was for you, but I’m a reasonable fella. I’m your father, and I’m supposed to be there for my kid. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, son.”
“You are?” I asked.
“Of course!” my dad said. “You’re probably right. Whatever the Guns did… it was all a thing in the past. Time’s have changed now. All I want now is to be rich and powerful. Forget the Guns! Whatever happened in the past stays back there. The Leafhorn name just has to mean something in this town, and we’re going to show this town what the Leafhorn family name is all about!”
“That’s true, pop.” I nodded. “I really want to redeem our family name out there. I always did.”
“And you will, after one more job I have for you, and then you’re free.” My dad said.
“Free as a bird now!” Autumn said.
“Ok shut up, I know you’re my apprentice, but no one likes a suck-up.” My dad complained to Autumn. “Now then, Herb, lemme explain to you on what you have to do to get off my hit-list!”
“I’m listening.” I said. So after my dad explained what I needed to do, I was free to go. I left his house and I walked out into the street, where I met up with an old friend.
“HERB!” Turnip cried out. “Are you alright, bro?”
“I’m fine, Turnip.” I nodded upsettingly.
“Are you sure? You seem a little down.” Turnip said.
“I’m fine.” I said. “How did you find me?”
“A true genius never reveals his secrets!” Turnip said mischievously.
“I should tell all of you to uninstall the phone tracking app from your phones.” I said with an attitude. “Did anypony else come?”
“Angel checked out another neighborhood.” Turnip said. “I should give him a call and tell him I found you.” So Turnip takes out his phone and gives Angel a call.
“Yo!” Angel said on the other line.
“Hey, Angel! I found Herb. We’ll be heading back to the HQ in a bit.” Turnip said.
“That’s nice, man, but can I have a little help with these streets, man?” Angel asked.
“And why is that?” Turnip asked.
“YO IN THE WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD AS WELL, PLAYA!” a gangsta pony yelled from the phone.
“MAN! These streets are dangerous, man!” Angel yelled.
“We’ll come and get you. Bye.” Turnip said as he hung up. “Can you help me out, Herb?”
“Of course I will.” I nodded. “I’m gonna need all of you to help me out anyway.”
“For what?” Turnip asked.
“I… I need to see Poni.” I said.
“For what reason?” Turnip asked.
“If I’m to get my pop to stop hunting for me, I need to take care of something first.” I said.