A Made Man

by chillbook1

High Crime Unit

Octavia took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself for the task at hand. She watched the church carefully, stalling for an excuse to back out. Every opportunity that presented itself, Octavia talked herself out of it, finding some reason to wait. A new car pulled in, or an Apple slipped out for a smoke. Anything to avoid what was, in her opinion, the most detestable thing she had ever had to do. Yet, as much as she hated it, she knew that it was far preferable to angering Limestone Pie.

“Lord, please forgive me,” mumbled Octavia, folding her hands together in a quick prayer. “Forgive me for what I have done, and for what I must do. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life, amen.”

Octavia sighed, then stepped out of her car. She went around the back and popped open the trunk. Her eyes lingered on her cello case for a moment before she disregarded it and scooped up the gas canister and headed for the church just up the block. She moved with purpose, coming up on the building in just a few seconds.

The building was decrepit, barely standing of its own accord. All of the windows were boarded, save for one at the front, which let Octavia see through into the church. From her viewpoint, she saw two men conversing in the single room, near the altar. There were three cars parked outside, which meant there was at least one Apple that Octavia couldn’t see. The opportune thing for Octavia to do would be to board the doors and prepare the fire.

Instead, Octavia snuck around the side, looking for the extra gangster. She told herself that it was to ensure the job would go quickly and cleanly, with minimal risk. That extra gangster could cause complications, sneak up on her and cause her problems down the road.

“So, Ah ask the lady, straight up, are you outta yer fuckin’ mind? If y’all wanna dance the dance wit’ Psycho Pie, be my fucking guest, just don’t expect to come out with with all yer men in one piece.”

Octavia peered around the corner of the building, drawing her pistol and holding it at the ready. Behind the church, sitting on cinderblocks, were two men and one woman. One of them, with freckles and a large hat, was taking a swig from a jug that Octavia thought must’ve contained moonshine. If the Apples posed any threat to the Pie family, it was due to the potency of their booze. Octavia could understand why Limestone was concerned by their presence. If the sober masses of Manehattan had to choose between Pie cider and Apple hooch, the Pies would take a serious hit to their bank accounts.

“And she let’cha walk out after that?” The man nearest to Octavia spoke, snatching the moonshine from his friend. He spoke slowly and his voice was low, deep. “Ah wouldn’t even think of talking to tha boss like that.”

“Ah’m callin bullshit, Brae.” The woman who spoke was on the young side, nineteen or so by Octavia’s best guess. “We all know that the boss would break yer leg before she let’cha run yer mouth like that to her.”

“Shit, okay, so maybe Ah didn’t say it like that. Ah did warn her that this was a bad idea.” It was the first Apple, a smaller man with blondish hair and a brown leather jacket. “This shit is crazy! What in the sam hills is we even doin’ here? Y’know, besides throwing ourselves off a cliff like some damn lemmings!”

“We got our orders. Disrupt Pie business, get money flowing down south,” said the woman. “If y’all wanna go up to AJ and say ‘fuck this’, be my guest. Personally, Ah like bein’ away from the business end of mah sister’s gun.”

“Funny how y’all are so concerned with Applejack’s orders when Ah happen to recall her ordering you to stop cussing so damn much. And to stay away from the hooch.”

“AJ ain’t here, Mac, and you ain’t the boss of me.”

Octavia frowned slightly, trying to decide what to do next. When Limestone sent her to burn the church, Octavia had to believe that she didn’t know who was there. From what she could tell, she wasn’t just dealing with the Apple Family. She was dealing with the Apple family. At the very least, the woman was directly related to the boss.

“What to do, what to do?” Octavia bit her tongue gently in thought. This was a particularly sticky situation.

“Ah’ll be back, gang, gotta take a piss.”

Octavia held her gun at the ready, backing herself away from the incoming Apple and diving behind a large, nearby bush for cover. He didn’t seem to see her, which was good news. He whistled as he did his business, which gave Octavia the sound cover she needed to draw her Broomhandle and carefully aim it at his head.

“Hey, Braeburn, hurry yer ass up!” called the woman. “We gotta get back to work!”

“Ah’m comin’, Ah’m comin!” Braeburn finished his business and was about to return to his cohorts when he paused. Octavia watched him tensely, waiting for him to make a move. Then, a faint shriek of a siren cut through the air, freezing Octavia in place. It was a police cruiser, and it was coming nearer.

“Fuck,” she hissed. It seemed Braeburn had much the same reaction, immediately taking off to join with his family.

“Shit! Mac, Applebloom, go get the boys ready to go, I’ll move the product!” said Braeburn. “Why the hell are the cops coming?!”

“Just shut up and move, Braeburn!”

Octavia stowed her gun away for the time being, focusing her attention on retreat. She hurried from behind her bush, hoping to sneak out and make it back to her car.

“Breach the front doors. I’ll circle around, pick off stragglers. Back-up will be here soon.”

Octavia leapt back into the shadows, pressing her back against the wall. The cruiser was already upon the church, much quicker than she would have predicted. The car itself was brand new, as were the uniforms of the two officers that were leaving it. To Octavia’s surprise, they didn’t carry the standard issue handguns, instead carrying military-grade automatic rifles. Whoever these two were, they weren’t typical cops.

Octavia couldn’t see much of either of them, but she did manage to view a bit of the lead woman’s face. Not much, just a bit of her porcelain skin, a few locks of her platinum blonde hair. She carried herself with authority as she instructed her partner. The partner ran into position, standing at the front door with her weapon at the ready. The lead cop did as she said she would, which was circle around the side of the church opposite of Octavia. The lead cop signalled to her partner, who kicked in the front door and slipped into the church.

“Freeze! Manehattan PD, put your hands in the air!”

Octavia grabbed her gas can and hurried away from the church, making it to the street before the bullets began to fly. She dropped behind the cop cruiser to observe for a moment. The lead cop hurried from behind the building to aid her partner, allowing Octavia to glimpse more of her face.

The entire right side of her face was scarred, horribly. Octavia wasn’t sure what could have possibly maimed her like that, but it made her own scars look like a bad rash. Octavia didn’t spend any more time than necessary watching the cops act, instead running as quickly as she could to her car. She pulled off and gunned it home, part of her dreading the upcoming conversation with Limestone Pie.

The other part of her, however, was sighing in relief that she had somehow dodged this particular bullet.

---

Octavia stood on the corner, smoking her cigarette in wait. She glanced at her watch, confirming that the time was 3:30, which meant Vinyl would be making her way along any minute now. She hoped that Vinyl had something she could use, or else she’d be going to Limestone empty handed and with no information. If that was the case, she wasn’t sure that she’d be leaving Limestone’s office by her own volition. She’d be dragged out in a rug.

She watched Vinyl approach, the Doctor by her side. As they neared, he handed Vinyl a cigarette, which she appreciatively puffed on. Octavia said nothing when the two were upon her, deciding to save the conversation for when they were away from the open ears of the Manehattan streets. She gestured to her car, slipping into the driver’s seat while Vinyl took the passenger side. The Doctor took the back seat for himself, and Octavia took off for home.

“So, how was your stay?” asked Octavia. “Learn anything useful?”

“Something like that. Had to put in some work for it though,” said Vinyl with a tiny grimace. “You got any gum?”

“Eugh. Sorry, love, you’ll have to tough it out for now. Now, what did you find?”

“Well, I was only there for the night. Didn’t have a whole lot of time to talk to people, but I heard talk about a new department. Something called the HCU. The High Crime Unit. I don’t know everything about what they do, but they make the regular cops look like the Boy Scouts. Military weapons, new cars, and, on top of that, they can do things cops normally can’t.”

“Like what?” asked the Doctor.

“From what I can tell, they can walk up to a house, kick in the front door, and turn the place over,” said Vinyl. “No warrant, no probable cause, nothing.”

“So we’ve got a bunch of cops with big guns and no bothers to give about the typical law,” sighed Octavia. “I think I ran into a few last night. Fuck me, this isn’t good.” The main advantage that the Pie family had over the police was that the Pie family didn’t care about the rules. The Pies could do anything they wanted to reach their goals, while the cops had lines they couldn’t cross. Now, those lines were starting to disappear. “Who’s in charge?”

“The whole operation is run by one lady. Sylvia Crystal. She’s got it out for you guys, like you fucked her personally.”

“Well, it’s very possible,” said the Doctor. “We do make a living off of ruining people’s lives.”

“Just a right ray of sunshine, that one… What do you know about Crystal?” asked Octavia.

“Nothing. The guy I was… interrogating… Well, he wasn’t at the top of the ladder or anything,” said Vinyl. “He just knew some people who were involved in shipments and reassignment and shit.”

“You couldn’t have found out any more?”

Vinyl glowered at Octavia. Why did she have to be such a hard-ass about everything? Vinyl had tried her best, sacrificed her own personal wishes, and Octavia was sounding a bit ungrateful. It really started to get under Vinyl’s skin.

“Look, I got what I could. I was only there for the night, and I only found one guard interested in buying what I was selling,” said Vinyl sharply. “So how about you cut me some slack?”

“I’m sure you could’ve been more persuasive if you wanted. If he wasn’t giving you what you wanted for what you were selling, perhaps you should’ve offered him the top-shelf merchandise,” suggested Octavia. She glanced at Vinyl, taking note of her scowl. “Oh, come now. It’s not like you wouldn’t do it if money was involved.”

“He didn’t have a rubber,” said Vinyl through gritted teeth. “And I’m not taking some pig bareback just so you know what color panties his boss wears. So perhaps you should go shove it up your ass.”

“I suggest you mind your tone, Scratch. Remember your situation. I saved your life once, and I can’t guarantee that I can do it again.” Octavia gave Vinyl a stern glare. “Don’t make it so I won’t care to try.”

“Easy, ladies, easy,” said Doctor. “Why don’t we just calm down? I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. How about lunch? The three of us, we can grab a bite, start planning, relax. My treat.”

“Rain check, Doctor, I’ve got an appointment.” Octavia spared a glance at the fuming, seething woman beside her. “Matter of fact, we’ve got an appointment, Scratch, and I hope you know how you’re going to break this disappointing news. For your sake.”

“Can I ask where you’ve got your appointment?” asked the Doctor.

“You can ask if you like, but you won’t get an answer.”

“You know, Mel, I don’t like being lied to like this. I’ve been loyal to you for a long time now. If you can’t trust me, who can you trust?”

Octavia sighed, turning down the street that would eventually lead them to the Doctor’s home. She considered bringing her friend into the know, but beat the idea to death at once. Maud had directly ordered her not to, and Octavia wasn’t about to disobey Maud Pie. Besides, the less the Doctor knew, the better.

“I’m not lying to you, Doctor. I’m just not telling you what you want to know, and I do this for your benefit,” said Octavia. She flicked her cigarette out of the window, exhaling a puff of smoke. “And as for your second question… Well, I don’t much trust anyone these days.”

That was all that was said between the two for the time being. The car was silent for the duration of the drive to the Doctor’s house. When he had exited, giving his farewells as he left, Octavia took off to see the Boss.

Octavia sighed. She really needed Limestone to be in a good mood today.

---

For the first time since coming under Limestone’s employ, Octavia was able to walk into the factory without fear for her life. She and Vinyl made their way past the machinery and to the foreman’s office with no incident. The door to Limestone’s office was opened, so the two cautiously strode in.

“Yeah, of course I've got the money.” Limestone glanced at her employees, but said nothing to them for the moment. She was too enamored in her phone call. “You calling me a liar? Yeah, didn't think so. When do you wanna make this happen? I can go whenever. Yeah, yeah, fine. Eleven. I'm sending one of mine. I expect only one of yours. If she sees two, they get a bullet in the head. Hm. Tonight it is, then.” Limestone hung up the phone, finally able to devote attention to Vinyl and Octavia. “I've had a damn good day so far, you two better not ruin it. Melody, did you burn the church?”

“Unfortunately not, ma'am,” said Octavia, a bit thrown off by Limestone’s calm behavior. “I would have, but the police ran a raid on the place. I barely escaped captivity.”

“Hm. Burning down the church was a stupid fucking idea, anyway. I just wanted those damned Apples off of my streets.”

“They were arrested, ma'am. And, from what I can tell, they'll be gone for some time. I don't know if they'll be bothering us anytime soon.”

“Hm. And the slut? She get anything good?” asked Limestone. Vinyl cautiously nodded, then relayed the HCU information to the boss. Limestone kept uncharacteristically calm throughout the whole thing. “Alright, well, your next job is to clip this Crystal bitch, Melody. I want her dead, and I want her body delivered to the police station in pieces. But, in the meantime, you’re going to do a hand-off.”

“What sort of hand-off?” asked Octavia.

“Mind your fucking business, is what sort of hand-off. I don’t pay you to ask me questions, Melody.” Octavia winced at her mistake. In Limestone’s temporarily calmed state, Octavia had mistaken her for her sister. “I said jump! You say?”

“How high, ma’am.”

“Good. Now, onto the whore…” Limestone swivelled to face Vinyl, staring at her silently for several moments. In that short time, she just about reduced Vinyl to a quivering, trembling mess. “No hard feelings about last time, right?”

“N-no. None at all,” said Vinyl. “Water under the bridge!”

“Good, good. You’re making up for snitching on me, so I won’t kill you. Yet. What I am gonna do, though, is cut your pay clean in half.” Vinyl gulped audibly, but couldn’t even consider arguing. “You fucked up, and these are the consequences. You step out of line again, and I’ll use your spine for a coat rack!”

“Y-yes, ma’am. Of course. Won’t step out of line ever again. I promise,” vowed Vinyl, crossing her heart.

“Good, cause I like you, Scratch. I’d hate to have to pick your brains out of the bottom of my shoes.” Limestone chuckled at the idea, which caused Vinyl to shudder. “Plus, I don’t want that Deepy bitch taking your place. I like the way you run your girls. So, for now… You get half-wages. And whatever else I decide is punishment for you, for opening your stupid whore mouth.”

“Yes, Miss Pie. Sorry.”

“Heh. You will be. Melody, your job is to deliver a briefcase to my guy at the warehouses. He’s gonna give you a truck, and you drive that here, and unload it. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am. Eleven o’clock, correct?” asked Octavia. Limestone nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Good. Now get out of here. We’ve all got shit to do, so let’s do it.”

---

Octavia yawned as she approached her apartment, absolutely exhausted. She hadn’t slept in over two days, with work getting in the way in ways Octavia formerly thought impossible. But, now that she had done the hand-off for Limestone and Vinyl was out of her hair, she was able to head home for a good night’s sleep.

Octavia’s eyes grew wide as she parked outside of her apartment, a scowl creeping to her lips. To her massive annoyance, there was someone waiting for her that would no doubt interfere with her plans for sleep.

“What the hell are you doing here?” demanded Octavia, stepping out of her car. She pulled her coat back a bit to show her Broomhandle pistol threateningly. “I’m in no mood, Scratch.” Vinyl didn’t immediately respond, which added a layer of concern and intrigue to Octavia’s general annoyance.

“I got evicted,” said Vinyl after a moment of dead silence. “After you dropped me off, my landlord kicked me out.”

“Bullshit. You get 30 days minimum.”

“Not if Limestone Pie was the one to make it happen. This is the punishment she was talking about. She threatened to kill the guy’s family if he let me back in.” It got quiet for a spell as Vinyl tried to get her words together. “And she had me blackballed. None of my girls will even consider letting me stay.”

“What does this have to do with me?” asked Octavia, eyebrow raised.

“You’re the only person left I can depend on. Would you mind letting me crash here?”

Octavia knew that the question was coming, and she had her response ready. A simple, firm, unwavering “no” should’ve sent Vinyl on her merry way. Octavia made things very clear; her home wasn’t a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast. But, for some reason, Octavia struggled to get the words out. She pitied Vinyl. She didn’t deserve this, not for what she had done. All Vinyl was guilty of was panic and, while that trait wasn’t allowed in Octavia or any other member of the Pie family proper, Vinyl wasn’t a made man. She was just a street walker who was afraid of what this big, brutish wiseguy might do to her. Octavia couldn’t fault her for putting herself in such an unsavory position.

“I expect rent,” said Octavia.

“Done. I’ll work my ass off,” promised Vinyl.

“Keep the place neat. You don’t conduct your business in my home. And I don’t want to see one of your hooker friends taking shelter when she owes her pimp money.”

“I do laundry, I work in clients’ cars and motels, and fuck those girls,” huffed Vinyl. “They turned their backs on me, so they better have a safe house ready for when Daddy comes to collect.”

“Well, then. I guess that makes us flatmates.” Octavia grabbed her keys from her pocket and headed for the door. “Care for a cuppa?”

Comments

[chillbook1]

Fun fact: In the original draft of this story, Vinyl was not a prostitute. She was a down-on-her-luck musician who needed money to pay for her grandfather's funeral. The prostitute sidekick role was originally played by Rarity.

[redsopine]

Great work and nice twist putting ab big mac and braeburn into the picture and by having them aressted it avoids a full scale war

[OConnerGT-R]

8425471
Interesting note! I love it when writers tell the readers little bits of trivia like this. Will Rarity be making an appearance later, or is that something you don't want to spoil?

upcoming conversation with Limestone Pie

I'm sure she'll understand. Who am I kidding? She's going to go psycho, again. Oh, she was actually calm. Way to throw a curve ball.

Military weapons, new cars, and, on top of that, they can do things cops normally can’t

Oh sweet Celestia, this team sounds like fun! I hope Octavia can handle this kind of team, they don't sound easy to take down.

[chillbook1]

8427243
Well, I'm glad you like these little trivia posts, because I'm making them a regular addition. The original iteration of A Made Mare is so different from the final product that they're nearly unrecognizable as the same core project. It'd be a shame to let all those ideas just go to waste, so I figured this would be a good way to get it to the people.

Currently, no plans exist for Rarity because her plot thread no longer exists. In fact, I can't even remember what it was (something about Octavia owing her a favor and then searching for a kidnapped Sweetie Belle). That can all change, though, so don't be surprised if Rarity does end up making an appearance.

Thanks for reading!

[Cinder Vel]

Huh I expected Twilight to be the one running the Untouchables, or at least be the one behind cleaning the city of crime (ironic considering the other story you wrote). Though the HCU probably aren't modeled after that group anyway.

As for our darling Rarity well I am sure she will pop up in a most unexpected place.

[Conflict]

8439055
That other story he? she? IT? THEY wrote was AMAZING. Made me consider reading this one and I like it less, but they still work! I like it! Is it the same universe, well no, cuz the apples. but it could've been that've been cool

[chillbook1]

8686572
I'm a dude, just FYI.

Glad you liked it, even if you find it lesser than Crime Pays (can't say I really blame you for that). No shared universe, I'm afraid, but I wish I could've made it work. Would've been neat.

[Conflict]

8686753
Agreed. Good job on the stories, I look forward to more.(wow that sounded conceded. oops. I'm no good at writing stories, and do not view me better than anyone,) but good luck and good job on writing to keep even a ginger entertained!

[Vaguely Demented]

Kinda have to wonder if there has ever been an explicit measurement of burning down a church vs murder on the sin scale.

[chillbook1]

9675566
Biblically speaking, the church thing is probably worse

[Vaguely Demented]

9676325
Probably, religion tends to take the sins that directly target it a bit more seriously. Still have to wonder if there is a chart somewhere for it.