The Friendship Mafia

by FlareGun45

The Chase

Annabelle and I eventually went out of the vents and started travelling on hoof through the corridors. These corridors were pretty clear, which made me feel a bit suspicious. “Clay, what’s the word?” I asked through my ear piece.

“The robbers are downstairs. The MDPD are outside.” Clay said.

“I told them to await the signal.” I said. “We have to reason with these ponies; otherwise, they might come back. We should make prison easy for them.”

“Doncha think this is a little useless, H?” Annabelle asked. “I mean, we’re doing a SWAT team’s job.”

“And risk these thieves to be killed by the SWAT team if they do anything stupid?” I asked. “I can’t have that. Plus, this is the best way for the Friendship Mob to be heard out there. You heard Poni, he wants to be on the Commission.”

“But the Commission is a CRIME organization. The Friendship Mob would never be able to be a part of it. It’s impossible.” Annabelle said.

“If we can persuade the Commission to do good instead of bad, this would create a new order for Equestria.” I said. “Poni said that the Commission would be able to contact mobs from all of Equestria, and if the other mobs were to gain harmony, Equestria would be a safer place. I mean, what the mobs want is money. That’s why they cause crime. If we were to turn them to crime-fighters, they could get funding, and the mobs will able to get whatever they want. Legal acts would be rewarded; that’s what Poni said.”

“Since when did Poni tell you all this?” Annabelle asked. “You just found out that he wants to be on the Commission after our game this morning.”

“I called him on the helicopter ride.” I said. “The Friendship Mob deserves to be on the Commission, and they could change the Commission into something greater.”

“Well, if we could get this job done, perhaps we can succeed in that quest.” Annabelle said.

“Then let’s head downstairs and try to talk to the head-thief.” I said. “If we can persuade him to come along quietly, this will make the Friendship Mob very known in the city; very powerful.”

“And power is what you Leafhorns wanted all along, am I right, H?” Annabelle asked.

“Yep! It’s a family trait that I cannot just let go.” I chuckled. So Annabelle and I snuck through the bank corridors and made our way towards the stairs. I pressed the elevator button, waiting for it to go up.

“Whoa, H! Not the elevator! They’ll notice something suspicious.” Annabelle said.

“Not big fan of stairs.” I admitted. “Makes me remind myself of the time I pushed Flare down the stairs inside a trash bin.”

“Forget about him, holms!” Annabelle complained. “Can’t you just accept the past and learn from it and just get on with your life?”

“It’s tough, man.” I said.

“I know it’s tough, but it’s all a thing in the past. Just… let it go.” Annabelle suggested.

“If you start singing that Frozen song, I swear.” I threatened him.

“I wasn’t planning to, H! Sheesh!” Annabelle complained.

So Annabelle and I both started walking down the stairs one floor at a time, and since we were near the roof, it got pretty tiring. “How much longer do we have to go?” I complained.

“We only went down two floors.” Annabelle reminded me.

“Spreadin’ the word of the Friendship Mob is really tough work, bud.” I said.

“Hey just be glad it’s me here and not the others.” Annabelle said.

“I know! Angel with his ‘streets’, Turnip with his jokes, and Clay’s super loud!” I complained.

“I HEARD THAT!” Clay yelled on my ear piece. “I’ll be sure to tell Angel and Turnip what you said too, you jerk!”

“Relax, Clay. My comment about you was probably the least insulting comment in the trio.” I said.

“I’m the only one that heard it, so perhaps you’re wrong.” Clay reminded me.

“Or maybe talking behind their backs is even more insulting. Ever thought of that, C?” Annabelle reminded him as he nodded at me mischievously.

“Wow… brother; you’re a saint with your logic.” Clay said.

“The way you talk, you sound like a church priest.” Annabelle said.

“I AM a church priest.” Clay informed me.

“Don’t you work at Galactic Studios?” I asked.

“On weekdays! Why else do you think I don’t work on weekends?” Clay reminded me. “I need the extra bits!”

“And so the Friendship Mob is considered a third job to you, huh?” Annabelle asked.

“No! I only have one job, and that’s Galactic Studios.” Clay corrected him. “Church is a favor from the Faust herself, and the Friendship Mob is a hobby.”

“Really now?” Annabelle asked.

“Yes, REALLY!” Clay said with an attitude. “Now how about you two shut your pie holes before you get caught?!”

“You’re right, H. He is loud.” Annabelle agreed with me. So Annie and I continued walking down the stairs. We were halfway down to the first floor, but we heard some hoof clops below us.

“Somepony’s coming.” I whispered.

“What are we going to do?” Annabelle asked. So as we thought out our plan, one of the robbers was walking up the stairs, but as he was walking to where we just wear, he looks up. Were we there? No of course not! So the robber shrugged and continued walking up the stairs. Annabelle and I opened that floor’s staircase door and walked back into the staircase corridors.

“See? I told you he’d be looking up. It’s never a good idea to hang above. Go the logical way. Like we just hid behind this floor’s staircase door.” I explained.

“Sweet thinkin’, holms!” Annabelle said.

“Let’s go.” I said as we continued walking down the stairs.

Meanwhile downstairs, some of the robbers were tying up the rest of the hostages on the honey explosives, including Devil. “Why are you doing this to me, man? We’re brothers!” Devil reminded Pear. “I mean, not biological brothers, but… you know.”

“You’re not my brother.” Pear said upsettingly. “He was taken away from us!”

“I’m still here though, Pear! I’m just a better pony now!” Devil said. Pear wiped the tears from his eyes and just walked to the other direction. “Please, Pear! Have harmony!”

“Oi vey.” Jerry Jam shook his head and said.

“You have a problem with this, buddy?!” Pear yelled at Jerry.

“Of course I have a problem with it.” Jerry said. “Somepony just force changed a pony. I mean, it’s nice that he discovered harmony, but ‘force’ change doesn’t sound right.”

“You got that right!” Pear agreed.

Annabelle and I made it to the second floor where Clay stopped us. “Stop there.” Clay instructed us. “Ok, to your right, there’s another vent. Go through it, and you should find your way on top of the vaults where the manager is being interrogated by the head robber.”

“Roger that, C.” I said. “Any resistance?”

“No, just the ones on the main floor and the one that walked upstairs a while ago.” Clay said. “Wait a minute… that robber is on this floor. Wait a minute. OH DANG!” Clay immediately turned around and saw the robber behind him. The robber pounces on Clay and holds him down by crushing his neck. Clay started to suffocate after the robber’s attack.

“Clay?” I called out on the ear piece. “Clay?! Clay are you there?”

Clay suddenly kicks the robber off of him and he yells, “THEY FOUND ME! Quick! Head into the vent!”

“We gotta help you!” Annabelle said.

“Forget me! I’ll be fine!” Clay yelled as he started fighting the robber. “Just go in the vent and head towards your objective!”

“Hey, boss, you’re about to have company.” The robber said on his ear piece.

“Ooooooh… me and my big mouth.” Clay complained.

So Annie and I crawled through the vents and we were right on top of the vault room. The manager was down there being interrogated by the head robber. “Now then… I’m going to ask you one more time.” The head robber started. “Punch in the code, or I’ll punch your shoulder so hard that it’ll break!” Man! Why is violence and weaponry so limited in this story?

“You’re robbing one of the greatest banks in Equestria, buddy. I hope you realize that this is a MAJOR crime.” The manager informed him.

“I’m willing to take that chance.” The robber said. “There’s probably billions of bits in that vault! This’ll make our clan very rich and powerful ponies! We’re making history here! This wasn’t a very easy heist to pull off, believe me. Lots of plannin’ had to be involved, like keepin’ an eye out for intruders is one.” The robber throws an explosive on the ducts we were in and the explosion caused the duct to fall. Wow, you can use explosives on objects, but not on other ponies? Just… wow. Annabelle and I groaned in pain after the duct falls. As we crawled out of it, the robber takes the manager on hammer-point to the shoulder. “Not another step!”

“I shoulda known that Clay wouldn’t keep his big mouth shut.” I said.

“I shoulda known that you and your clan would be the ones to attempt to stop us, Herb!” the robber said mischievously.

“How did you know my name? Who are you?” I asked.

“Dad’s new apprentice!” the robber as he unmasks himself. It was revealed to be my brother, Autumn.

“Autumn!” I yelled in surprise. “Y-you… you’re… you’re part of the Sharks mob?”

“Indeed I am, and I’m dad’s new apprentice!” Autumn said. “I’m glad you decided to turn good, bro, because if you haven’t, dad wouldn’t be payin’ much attention to me as it should be.”

“So how are we going to reason with him, Herb?” Annabelle whispered.

“Simple. I know him best. This should be a cake-walk!” I whispered back.

“If you’re plannin’ to use what the Friendship Mafia do best, to reason with me, you’re wastin’ you’re time, bro!” Autumn said. “You cannot reason with the Sharks mob. It may be simple to reason with ponies out on the streets, but that isn’t going to work for yours truly. You’re doing cop’s duty, bro. You may be able to stop hate on the streets, but you cannot stop robbers like us. The only way you could defeat us is to fight us.”

“Sounds fine by me!” Annabelle said mischievously. I didn’t say anything. I just stood there upsettingly.

“What are you waitin’ for, bro? Wanna fight me or what?” Autumn asked.

“I… I… I can’t fight my own brother.” I said upsettingly. “I mean… I already have to go against my own father, but my brother too?! This isn’t what I wanted. I wanted to bring peace to the streets of Mareami, not fight my own family.”

“Should’ve thought of that before, bro.” Autumn said mischievously. “You came all this way for nothin’ it seems! Well done!”

“Boss? We have a HUGE problem here!” Pear said on his ear piece.

“What’s wrong, Pear?” Autumn asked.

“The hostages are free, and they’re attac-“ Pear explained as his transmission cuts off.

“Pear? PEAR?!” Autumn yelled. He then turns to me and said, “Your distraction worked well, bro, but you foolishly revealed yourself. You won this round, Herb.” Autumn takes out a smoke bomb and places it on the ground and the room starts to get all smoky. Annabelle, me, and the manger all started coughing. When the smoke cleared, Autumn was gone.

“He’s gone, H.” Annabelle said.

“Not for long!” I said as I ran out of the vaults and started chasing my brother out of the bank. Clay was down there in the main hall with the freed hostages.

“Herb, where are you going? We won! We freed the hostages, and by the help of some purple blonde pony, we were able to free them without the robbers knowing!” Clay said excitedly.

“That’s nice, Clay, but I have to go after my brother!” I said as I ran outside. The cops all aimed their weapons at me, but the chief stopped them.

“Hold your fire!” M4 Gun ordered them.

“I’m gonna need to borrow your scooter, officer.” I requested.

“What for, citizen? What’s going on?” M4 asked.

“My brother, the leader of the robbers is getting away, and I have to stop him and find the leader of the whole Sharks operation!” I explained.

“Wait a minute, aren’t you a Leafhorn? A Leafhorn is the leader of that gang as well. Why are you against him?” M4 asked.

“He lied about my family’s history, now I have to get him before he gets away!” I yelled.

“Get on the scooter.” M4 said.

“But sir?” one of the cops asked curiously.

“But one question, Leafhorn: who are you really and what’s your deal?” M4 asked as I hopped onto the scooter.

“I’m Herb Leafhorn, Jr.” I said. “I’m a capo of the Friendship Mafia, and we just saved those hostages’ flanks!” I then started to drive off on the scooter. My brother was far ahead, but I could still see him. Using the scooter, I dodged carriages, and a lot of them were yelling at me and thought I was a reckless driver, but this was a personal matter I had to deal with. I’m just surprised the cops LET me go get him. The Guns are a pretty gullible family, I’ll give you that. It’s probably why Flare’s uncle over there gave me his scooter.

I was pretty good at driving scooters. I was able to dodge everything in my path; well… almost everything. I accidently hit a hot carrot dog cart and carrots, buns, and condiments were flying everywhere. “HEY! What do you have against the wieners?!” the merchant complained.

So I continued chasing my brother, and I eventually caught up with him. He looked back and saw me on his tail (not literary). “HEY! We’re scooter brothers! Scoooooooter brotheeeeeers!” I yelled out to him.

“You’re chasing me, huh?” Autumn asked. “Good! Pop would love to see you!”

“It’s what I’m hoping for!” I said. Just then, my phone started to ring. It was Annabelle. “Yo, Annie! What up?”

“Herb, I know what you’re doing! Don’t do it!” Annabelle begged.

“I have to do it, Annie! I’m not hiding from my dad anymore!” I said.

“At least get us to help you! We’ll form an attack!” Annabelle suggested.

“This is a family matter, A. I’m going to end this, here and now! Good-bye!” I said as I hung up. I knew I was getting myself into. I knew Autumn was leading me into a trap. It was the best way for me to see my pop and reason with him. I don’t want the Friendship Mob to start a gang war with his mob. I love my pop, but I have to tell him about what truly happened in the past, and why I’m in the position I am now.

“Still chasing me, Herb?” Autumn asked.

“I wanna see pop!” I said.

“That why you’ve been chasing me this whole time?” Autumn asked. “Well of course I’ll lead you right to pop! He’d be dire to see you! Maybe he can reason with you and you could join us, and be the second-favorite! I’m reasonable like that.” I knew he was jealous but I know he wouldn’t harm me either. I kept on chasing him all the way to a neighborhood in the Fort Mares district. He stopped right in the middle of the road and climbed out of his scooter. I eventually stopped a yard from him and got out of my scooter as well.

“So, Autumn, tell me… when’s the ambush going to start?” I asked.

“To be honest, it should’ve started already. Where are the Sharks?” Autumn asked. Just then, Autumn’s phone started ringing, and he answered it. “Hello?”

“Yeah, Autumn… umm… I think we’re in the wrong neighborhood.” The mobster on his phone said.

“I figured. The ambush should’ve started by now!” Autumn complained.

“No I mean… we’re at the wrong neighborhood.” The mobster said as he and his group were about to get beaten up by some neighborhood street gangstas.

“You’re darn right you’re in the wrong neighborhood, homie!” one of the gangstas said mischievously. Autumn hangs up the phone.

“Wow, you didn’t even say good-bye? You’re definitely not Friendship Mob material.” I complained.

“So you really want to see pop, huh?” Autumn asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s all personal, not business.” I said.

“I don’t think he’d want it any other way.” Autumn said as he chuckles evilly.

Author's Note:

The first chapter I made since I took a LONG break from this to remake FiE! Things are getting interesting aren't they? At this point is when I confirmed there'll be 15 chapters in this story, and they're mostly shorter than the FiE chapters; same goes with the FDA chapters I'm going to be making in the future.