My Little Pony: Amor Esta Magica

by WarThunderBrony

Good-bye Alvaro

I quickly excused myself from Snips's presence and ran down to answer Mama. "Que pasa?" I asked.

"Apparently your in-laws have suffered a huge loss in money and intended to auction off their assets," said Mama, pointing to an article in the papers. "Is that why you ran away?"

"Mama, I already said, sad movies make me cry," I replied. "Why do you need to ask any further?"

"Well, because your wife was not responsible for it," said Mama; "it was your brother-in-law. He's currently being punished. Also, Don Ferrando just called and asked for you to go back."

Taking Mama's advice, I went to my room and packed my stuff again before returning in a cab to my in-laws' residence. I just never expected that worse stuff was to happen upon arriving there.

When I came in, no-one was to be found. I made straight for Donita's room, having to pass by Alvaro's room along the way. From within, I could hear Alvaro watching another match -- apparently it was Real Madrid vs Bayern Munchen, in which the former appeared to be winning -- and he was cheering them with that famous football cheer playing on his hi-fi set:

Ole, ole ole ole!
Ole, ole!

I trembled a little and then knocked on Donita's door. She opened up. "Come in quick," she said. "Papa found out that my brother was responsible and is punishing him now. Nevertheless, Papa also mentioned that he would have to get Alvaro to safety. Mi amor, I know how much you hate football; but at least have some compassion on Alvaro, he's only a boy and still has lots to learn."

"Donita, I think Alvaro should be punished," I said to my wife. "You know that he framed me back then."

"Even then, should you still blame him?" cried Donita. "He's a minor and his responsibility is diminished, surely you know?"

"That I know," I said, "and so, with all due respect, I think his legal guardian, namely his father, my esteemed brother-in-law, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

"Alberto, Papa is currently in a horrible mood with regard to the lost 82 million quetzals," said Donita; "and it was not easy pleading with him to call your mama to ask you to come home. The last thing you'll want to do is provoke Papa. Alvaro is his only grandson by a male offspring, and he is the apple of Papa's eye. For the sake of our love, por favor, do not hurt poor Alvaro."

"Then tell me this," I countered. "I hear from Mama that our assets were all auctioned off. Are you going to let everything be auctioned off just for the sake of saving Alvaro?"

"Well, even if that were to be so, what is that to you?" Donita asked me. "Does not our love matter more to you than anything else in quel mundo, mi amor?"

I hesitated.

"Answer my question, Alberto," said Donita, looking me in the eye. "Tu me quieres?"

"Si," I replied.

"Then for the sake of our love," went on Donita, "are you willing to put aside every difference between your family and mine?"

"Let me be honest with you, Donita," I said. "The thing is, I do care. I know now that your family is very respected and honoured here in Bolivia. The last thing you and I want, is for your family's reputation to be tarnished because of Alvaro's wrongdoings. No matter how far he runs, the law will surely catch up with him and he will be caught sooner than you think. Better for us to be the ones to turn him in than for the law enforcers to catch him red-handed."

"But, Alberto...." Donita began.

"Tell me now," I demanded, "where is your brother?"

"He.... he is currently preparing Alvaro's escape," said Donita. "It's the only thing we can do now, credimi. Alvaro will need to go overseas and assume a new identity in order to avoid detection. And Napoleone is arranging everything at the consulate, sponsored by Papa. I thank La Santa Virgen Maria Madre de Dios, that the auctions of our assets were successful enough to replace the 82 million quetzals we'd lost. If it weren't for my suggestion of that to Papa, he wouldn't have called your Mama to ask you to come back here to stay."

Mixed feelings welled up within me; I was now not so sure as to whether I should laugh or cry....

* * *

BIG MCINTOSH: While Snips was observing Alberto, and Snails observing Huascar, I was assigned my own role, just given me by Braeburn -- to take care of Alvaro lo Pescadoro. News had arrived in Ponyville that Alvaro was going to escape Bolivia and assume a new identity, and that Alberto had his reservations about Alvaro's character -- partly because of the fact that Alvaro had once gotten Alberto into trouble in All Lee merely a few years before.

Everypony of us here in Equestria were aware of Alvaro lo Pescadoro's furtive character. For starters, he was an underaged gambler -- he was still one and a half years short of turning 18 -- and had never let his family know nuts about it. He was also a fanatic about football, a die-hard supporter of Real Madrid; and had already lost the family quite a bit of money in betting on the recent Bolivia vs Ecuador match, in which Bolivia lost 2-0.

Could it be -- and it wasn't for sure, but just a speculation on my part -- could it be that ridding Alberto of Alvaro's menacing presence, could be the solution to all the problems that the former was facing?

During the one night that Alberto had lived away from Donita following their marriage, I followed Alvaro lo Pescadoro incognito. I realised he was at a huge opium den in the eastern part of the outskirts of La Paz, where lots of slums existed. This opium den, it turned out, was run by some foreign expatriates from Syldavia, a small absolute monarchy in the Balkan Peninsula of Europe. It was known as "The Bracing Breeze", and it attracted lots of youths from all over Bolivia, mestizo and Amerindian alike. Not surprising that Alvaro, a hardcore gambler, was among those attracted there.

The sight I beheld when I saw Alvaro, was just beyond verbal description. Alvaro had apparently tried to gamble with a couple of Syldavian youths who were sons of expatriates. The Syldavian youths were led by two hot-headed young boys; their names were were Yemile Czarlitz and Nikolai "Niko" Staszrvitch, and both were experts at in-line skating, each having been the youth champions of the Syldavian skating contests twice before due to their excellent "triple axels" -- and here they were, squandering away their winnings from the championships on gambling.

Alvaro and his men were standing on one end of the gambling table, about to play a round of poker. On the other end, stood Czarlitz and Staszrvitch. 20-year-old Czarlitz was blond and a lanky six-footer, while Staszrvitch, only 17 years old, stood five feet four in height and was brown-haired. Both youths looked like kids half their age.

"OK!" shouted Alvaro. "Let's get ready! Loser will have to dunk himself on the head with three liters of tequila!"

"You're on, Don Alvaro!" shouted Staszrvitch. "Let's see which country produces the better men!"

The group of Syldavian youths broke suddenly into the chorus of their national anthem:

Syldavians unite!
Praise our King's might;
The scepter his right!

"OK, come along children, playtime is over now!" Czarlitz silenced his compatriots. "The game is about to start!"

The game proceeded furiously, with both Alvaro and Staszrvitch dealing out the cards as quickly as they could. I admit I know nuts about gambling myself; however I do know that the picture cards have values, in ascending order being jack, queen, king, and ace.

I did notice toward the end of the round, Alvaro had a full hand of two jacks, one queen, and two kings. Staszrvitch turned over his five cards -- two jacks, one queen, one king.... and once ace.

"Sorry, Don Alvaro; I'm just that wee bit luckier than you," smiled Staszrvitch. "Please keep to the agreement that you yourself proposed, por favor." His Balkan-accented Spanish could have made Thunderlane laugh.

Alvaro opened three bottles of tequila and poured them all on his head. He then nodded to his men.

"KILL THEM!" shouted one of Alvaro's men. The Syldavian mob and Alvaro and his men immediately broke into a fight, as they sang:

Don't get too close to me! Don't overreact!
You're not the enemy as a matter of fact!
You got your pretty face and you got anything you want;
Gotta stick by you, gonna stumble over what to do!

I want it, good loving! Wanna be your plaything!
I want it, good loving, bring out the beast in me!
I want it, good loving! Wanna make your heart sing!
In the shadows we are free and I take you through it!

It's my neighborhood, that's where I belong;
You're in trouble if you disagree with me!
It's my neighborhood, that's where I belong;
You'll find out why!

I nearly burst out laughing; to think those people could still sing as they battled. But nonetheless, tragedy followed. The entire Bracing Breeze nightclub was eventually in ruins. Alvaro and his mob got away somehow in the midst of the commotion, and separated for the night; I saw Alvaro hail a cab back to his home. I continued to follow him incognito.

Alvaro was apparently badly wounded, bleeding from his right ear after having been punched by Staszrvitch. When he got home, I found that his father Napoleone, as well as his aunt Donita and his grandfather Ferrando, were quick to rush to his aid; all of them, clearly oblivious to the fact that he was ultimately the reason for the 82 million quetzal loss, were spoiling him silly.

I overheard Don Ferrando saying, "Do not worry, Alvaro mio; we will surely find a way out for you. Go to the emergency bunker immediately and stay there." Alvaro did as he was told.

Don Ferrando then turned to Don Napoleone, saying, "Sell all the shares we have, and use the money from the auction to send Alvaro to a distant land where he may assume a new identity. We don't want any further trouble from the police."

He spoke just in time. There was a knock on the door of Pescadoro Manor. Two plain-clothes policemen came in looking for Alvaro. Don Napoleone defended his son and his family by saying that Alvaro was not at home at the moment. After the policemen left, I looked around the manor for where that bunker could possibly be, still keeping incognito. I eventually found it, hidden beneath the grass in the back-yard garden of the manor; it was after all up high in the hills, so it was pretty easy to build emergency underground shelters like that.

I brought the word back to Braeburn. "Well. You got more information than I'd expected, Big Mac," he said. "Now as you can see, it is pretty clear that the reason why Alberto can't get along with his in-laws, is because of Alvaro lo Pescadoro, his nephew. Until and unless the situation is resolved, Alberto may not have peace, because Alvaro is certainly going to harden his heart and continue his furtive acts; and poor Alberto, who is already looked-down-on enough by his in-laws as it is, is going to once again get the blame. It's just another human sign, as you can see.

It's a human sign,

When things go wrong,

When the scent of her lingers,

And temptation's strong.



Into the boundary,

Of each married man;

Sweet deceit comes calling

And negativity lands.



Cold cold heart,

Hard done, it's true.

Some things look better baby,

Just passing through.



And it's no sacrifice,

Just a simple word;

It's two hearts living

In two separate worlds.

But it's no sacrifice,

No sacrifice,

It's no sacrifice at all.



Mutual misunderstanding,

After the fact

Sensitivity builds a prison,

In the final act.



They lost direction,

No stone unturned;

No tears to damn them

When jealousy burns!

Thus Braeburn softly sang, as he put his hoof on my right flank. "Be prepared," he said, "now is not the right time to intervene, but be prepared. The minute Alberto is told to hit the road, that's where we step in." He gave me a friendly wink...

* * *

ALBERTO: Donita failed to see my point. In the end I was really disappointed, but I kept it to myself. However, trouble came much faster than expected.

I burst open Alvaro's room door, in the hope of exposing him. But he was not there; his TV was on, and the "cheering voice" that I'd heard earlier was actually a pre-recorded voice. Apparently the police had come the other night looking for Alvaro and my brother-in-law had told them that he was not at home. I knew Alvaro had to be hidden somewhere here, because his very showing of his face anywhere would surely get the cops after him.

When everyone had gone to sleep that night, I tiptoed around the house secretly, hoping to expose Alvaro's hideout. No, he certainly wasn't in the house; I was sure about that. There was, however, a little bit of a hollow sound when I walked over a certain part of the backyard.

It was official; Alvaro was hidden there. I opened up the hatch in the ground -- dirtying my whole body in the process -- and went inside. Well, at least I tried to go inside; but after only a few steps climbing down, I felt a whack on my head and then I blacked out.

When I came to, it was daytime, and I found myself bound and gagged, dangling in mid-air by a rope tied on the branch of a huge tree, that hung over a high precipice that overlooked Lake Titicaca. There, standing right in front of me, was Alvaro lo Pescadoro, holding a knife.

"The game's over, amigo," he smiled. "You bronies have dominated my family so long. It is about time you plunge to your death!" He laughed a laugh that made me tremble all over.

I felt around me. The rope wasn't half as tight as I'd expected. Besides, having worked as a manual laborer for so long, this would be nothing to me.

As Alvaro put his stiletto next to the rope in the hope to cut it, I used my head and head-boxed him away, then using my intuition, I broke the rope and jumped at the right instant -- just nicely onto the precipice. "Now tell me," I said to Alvaro, "why did you do this?"

Alvaro did not reply, but he rushed at me, and the two of us got into a duel, neither of us gaining on the other, but I admit I had a hard time defending myself. Suddenly we heard sirens in the distance.

"Come with me! Aqui vamos!" screamed Alvaro, gagging my mouth with his hand and dragging me -- yes, he had pretty much a good physique for someone his age -- and pushed me into a lorry, apparently the property of Brony Pony Enterprises, his family business. Alvaro bound me and gagged me again, much tighter this time; and for a few minutes I was defenseless.

We soon found out that the entire Pescadoro family, as well as the local police, were after Alvaro and me. Alvaro drove faster and faster away from them. Suddenly, just when I'd thought all was lost, I heard a familiar neighing sound in mid-air.

I looked up and saw Derpy. She was flying down, her eyes squinted as usual. "I'm here to save you!" she neighed, as she nibbled my ropes loose. Upon finding myself free again, I knew the time had come for me to get physical with Alvaro.

"No, Alberto! NOOOOOO!" yelled Derpy. But it was too late. Alvaro and I were already engaged in physical combat. Unfortunately for me, Alvaro was a lot fitter, younger, and thinner than I; he easily gained on me. In desperation I took out my revolver as a last-resort, but he kicked it to the floor and grabbed it. "Too late!" he proclaimed.

"Now look what you've done, Alberto; you've rendered my efforts futile!" cried Derpy. She flew away with those words.

I raised my hands as Alvaro pointed the revolver -- MY very own revolver -- at me. "Muy bien! Hands up!" he said, smiling triumphantly. "And don't bother looking at your caballo friend, she's gone. Just be a good Uncle and go where I tell you to go. Walk straight!" he ordered, pointing his gun at my head every step of the way. Alvaro forced me to walk, with my hands raised, all the way back to the precipice.

"Bolivian police!" came a sudden shout from behind. "Surrender! Alvaro lo Pescadoro, you are surrounded!"

I had no time to react. Alvaro grabbed me by the mouth and put the revolver to my temple. "Don't come any closer!" he yelled, "or I swear to La Santa Madre de Dios that I will KILL him and all of you and myself!"

While my mouth was gagged by Alvaro's muscular hand, I could still see the Bolivian Special Operations Police officers coming up with sniper rifles in their hands, and also my wife and in-laws, all looking really desperate.

"Alvaro! Be a good boy and hear me out!" said Napoleone, my brother-in-law. "I've already arranged for your passage. If you kill yourself, you'll be ruining your chance!"

"I give you all a final warning!" yelled Alvaro. "Stand back or I will KILL you all today! And put down your guns!"

The police officers put down their guns; but suddenly without any warning, some yet unidentified stray bullet from goodness-knows-where landed very near us, shocking both Alvaro and me -- so much so that both of us accidentally fell off the precipice into Lake Titicaca. I could hear the shocked gasps of my in-laws in the background as we plunged.....

* * *

DERPY: Alberto's stubborn behavior made me doubt his credibility. It was his own doing that led him to what would happen later.

The "stray bullet" was actually me, hiding behind some bushes and shooting out a half-chewed date which I'd been nomming on from a nearby tree to the lake. If I hadn't done so, Alberto would probably have been killed by Alvaro long ago. It was the one way to save him from Alvaro's grip. While I was disappointed in Alberto's stubbornness, I nevertheless was bent on saving his life come what may.

Nevertheless I admit that I did somewhat miss the right point a little. Had I hit the right point, Alberto would not have fallen off the precipice together with Alvaro his nephew.

I flew over from where I had been hiding and saw the two blood-stained bodies lying on some rocks jutting out from the lake. While Alvaro was most certainly dead beyond words, Alberto was still hanging on to life. I carefully picked him onto my back and then flew over to a small clearing in the forest, where I revived him successfully with a few affectionate nuzzles.

"Donde.... estavo?" asked Alberto, as he came round.

"Don't worry," I said. "You're safe and sound now. You'll need to go back to your wife soon."

"I.... love .... Donita," murmured Alberto, who was clearly very weak from all that had just happened.

"Take it easy," I said, nuzzling Alberto again on his cheek. "You'll be fine. I do need to inform you though, that Alvaro is dead."

Alberto looked a little grief-stricken at those words I'd just uttered.

"Come, stand up slowly," I urged him. "You'll need to go back and see your wife and comfort her."

Alberto slowly stood to his feet, and while I knelt down, he climbed onto my back and we flew off back to Pescadoro Manor. After I dropped Alberto off there, I went back to Equestria to give word to Big McIntosh, Braeburn, Snips, and Snails.

"You did well by reviving Alberto," said Big McIntosh, "but sadly I don't think anypony could have saved his nephew. Alvaro Pescadoro was himself a delinquent all right. I honestly was a little shocked that Napoleone Pescadoro and his son Alvaro had been hiding this from the authorities all along, and when the law finally caught up with them, this just had to happen."

"Was it you who regurgitated that date out at them both?" Braeburn inquired me.

"Yeah," I replied. "It was the only way to save at least one person's life. If I hadn't done so, Alvaro Pescadoro would most likely have done what he'd promised -- to kill his uncle Alberto, his whole family, and himself. Furthermore, had Alberto just run away with me and not stayed to get physical with Alvaro, things would not have turned out so tragically."

"Well, to add to that, I discovered that they did have a secret chamber in Pescadoro Manor," said Big Mac. "It was a place where Napoleone lo Pescadoro would hide his son whenever the authorities came looking for him. And now -- the son died as a result of his own actions. Serves him right."

"Wait first," said Snails. "Derpy, what happened to Napoleone?"

"I believe the police are looking for him, because he is after all Alvaro's legal guardian under the law," I replied.

"So I guess Alberto's going to get it big time," put in Snips.

"From what I see, most likely so," I agreed. "After all, it was mainly his stubborn and hostile nature that caused this to happen. As I mentioned earlier, he could have just flown off with me after I freed him from those ropes, but he chose instead to stay and fight with his own nephew. Now Alvaro is dead as a result of Alberto's stubbornness. So don't be surprised if something tragic happens in his marriage."

"Tell you what, I'll take over Alberto's case from here," said Big Mac. "I think I know what to do."

* * *

ALBERTO: After Alvaro lo Pescadoro's death, things were no longer the same for me. Derpy dropped me outside my in-laws' home, and I knocked on the door. No-one answered, so I just opened the door and went in.

Papa Ferrando was quietly sitting on the sofa, dressed in black and drinking hot green tea. Napoleone my brother-in-law was at the dining table reading the obituaries, and my beloved wife was in the kitchen cooking hot porridge. No-one was saying a word to one another. It was a really tragic moment, and I could clearly understand why.
"Papa Ferrando," I said, walking over to my father-in-law, "would you like me to buy you some food?"

Papa Ferrando said nothing in reply, but looked at me with a severe glare that clearly showed how he felt about me.

I turned and went to Napoleone. "Kor," I began, but Napoleone turned and walked away without saying a word.

The only one I had left now was my wife. "Donita," I said, walking up to her, "what's going on?"

"YOU STILL HAVE THE CHEEK TO ASK?!" Donita burst out suddenly, completely upstaging me. "You already know everypony is very pissed off with you, so why don't you just make yourself scarce, for goodness's crying out loud?!!"

I retired to my room and sat down looking out the window. A few minutes later, Donita opened the door and came in.

"What sort of husband are you?" she asked me. "You don't even care a bit about our family; what help have you given us, tell me?! A little bit of scolding from Papa, and you run away back to your Mama -- what kind of husband is that?!! And today my nephew Alvaro, who was YOUR nephew too, is now dead because of YOUR stupidity! I honestly curse the day I first met you!"

"But Donita, por favor..." I tried to say.

"Get out!" screeched Donita, her tensed index finger pointing at the door.

"Escuchame Donita, yo te quie...." I pleaded.

"AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!" Donita just managed to scream -- purple with rage.

Papa Ferrando and Napoleone came into our room and burst into song together with Donita:

Hit the road Jack,
Don't come back no more, no more, no more, no more!
Hit the road Jack,
Don't come back no more!

Knowing they meant business, I pleaded:

Now baby, listen baby, don't you treat me thisaway;
Cos I'll get back on my feet someday!

To which Donita replied:

Don't care if you do, cos it's understood;
You ain't got no money, you just ain't no good!

It was clearer than any other words that she wanted me to pack up my things and go. As the singing voices of my in-laws faded into the distance, I took the first train away from Pescadoro Manor back to my old hometown of La Paz.

While on the train, I did some soul-searching. I could clearly see that my life was a waste. All the efforts I had taken with Donita over the past years had all proven all but futile. I sang of my feelings.

Got on board a westbound 747,
Didn't think before deciding what to do.
All that talk of opportunities, TV breaks and movies,
Rang through, sure rang through.

Seems it never rains in southern California.
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before.
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya:
It pours, man it pours.

Out of work, I'm out of my head,
Out of self respect, and out of bread,
I'm underloved and underfed,
I wanna go home!
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya:
It pours, man it pours.

I reached home crying. Out of work, out of love, out of everything. Mama greeted me at the door. "Alberto! Que pasa?" she asked.

"Muy bien, gracias," I answered, walking straight into the hacienda without bothering to look Mama in the eye.

"Vamo ya, Alberto, you're in tears," said Mama, "are you really muy bien?"

"I just think," I said, "that I need some time to myself. Kindly allow me, por favor."

I went into my room and sat down to cry. While alone, I heard a hoof-sound tapping on my window sill. Though this one did not sound very familiar to me.

"Come in," I said. "The window's open."

A big red caballo -- a male -- stepped into my room. "Alberto, you ok?" he asked me.

"Si," I replied. "E como tu te llamas...?"

"I'm Big McIntosh, but you can call me Big Mac," said the red caballo, gently nuzzling my tear-stained face. "I'm here to tell you that you're fine. The Pescadoro family actually did have dirt on their minds with regard to Alvaro. It was clear that they loved him more than they love you. They had never intended you to be their successor."

"So... how can you help me?" I asked, still very grief-stricken.

"Well, I saw in your local newspaper ads that there's a game show coming up soon in your town," said Big Mac. "First prize will be a trip to Syldavia. Hopefully the temperate climate there will be of some help to your emotions, and you'll find more job opportunities there. Would you like to take part in the game show to win the trip?"

Now THAT sounded familiar. "You're referring to the Pyramid Game?" I asked.

"That's the one," said Big Mac. "All you need to have for this game show is general knowledge, which I think you have a lot. Go, take part in it. This is your big chance to prove yourself."

I immediately took out my mobile phone to dial the Corporacion Media de Bolivia....

Comments

[WarThunderBrony]

4011333 Thank you. I have removed that already.

[WarThunderBrony]

4011280 Just thought it would be necessary. But yeah, since you told me that it was too much information, I've updated the description as you've requested. Now all you see is the first paragraph and not the rest.

Was there an editor on board? Well, for a couple of episodes, yes. Just out of curiosity, are you going to ask me next as to who this/these editor(s) was/were?