Waters: Equestrian Gangster (Original Version)

by King Genesis

Waiting for Ludmila

Author's Note:

Hey guys, after a long, long, wait, finally Chapter 7 of Waters is here.

I am sorry for my delay at writing this... I'm very busy at the moment because of school and other secondary projects..

Enjoy the chapter!

W

Motel. 9:35 P.M.

"ABE! ABE!" I shout while getting the Blue Note's LP out of the record player before going into his room. He is surprised.

"What happened, W?" he says, angrily. "You took Blue Note out very fast! Is the LP ok?" says Abe, surprised while checking the LP.

"Yes, but..." Now the time has come. What should I say? I'm scared... uh... COME ON! I must not be a coward! "Uh... look... it's bad, really bad. Rarity called me... she told me that she was being followed by someone and then..."

Abe's face is now white. His orange moustache seems to be falling and losing its colour. His lips are now dry, and his mouth can hardly open. "Wh... Where was she?" He asks with a broken voice.

"She was near us, I don't know... How did she call here, in the first place?"

"I... I gave her the phone..." he answers. "Now, we must save her... if she is in danger."

"Now?" I ask. Sorry, sometimes my idiotic side gets his turn to ask things.

"Of course, you fucking idiot!" he shouts. "What were you going to do? Wait for the next day?"

Jack appears on the scene.

"Oh, what happened now?" He asks.

"Rarity is in danger." Answers Abe.

"Oh my... What happened?"

"We think that she was kidnapped... near the motel," I say.

"Kidnapped?" Says Jack. "Oh no... we must hurry up!"

Abe immediately dresses up and opens the door. We finally get out of the motel and run into the street.

Street

Jack, Abe and I are now in the cold street at night. The moon is so beautiful right now. White, shiny, and looks like a magic god or something. "She was near... she was near." I hear from Abe. Jack is illuminating some backstreets with a lantern. There is another backstreet filled with blankets, which is not being illuminated by Jack.

"Shall I look at those blankets?" I ask. Abe does not answer me and I go anyway.

Backstreet

The backstreet is long and narrow. There is also someone sleeping, so I try not to wake him up and keep walking. I find out that there is a dumpster in the backstreet... a locked dumpster, covered with chains and a lock. When I turn around, I hear someone sobbing inside the dumpster. I approach it and try to break the lock, but suddenly, I look at a man waking up.

"Who in the hell are you, dumb?" He asks. His voice is raspy and the way he speaks is weird, he doesn't pronounce the words too well and talks very slow.

"Is this dumpster yours?" I ask him.

"Yeah."

"What's inside the dumpster?" I ask again.

I grab my flashlight, which is inside my pocket, and I illuminate him. When I look at his physical appearance, I find out he is... very familiar. He has grey skin. His hair is dark and it is disheveled. He is wearing a worn-out coat and black dirty jeans. He also has trainers filled with holes. I know this man... Lerrick.

Lerrick works for Ron, like me, like Jack and Abe... but his job is to take care of Los Mantos' poorest zones, except for La Lima. One of those places is Bormoth Street. Oh gosh... Bormoth Street. My ass cheeks feel cold every time I say those two words.

Bormoth Street is a place filled... sorry, wrong word... dominated by drug dealers. It is the place where everyone consumes drugs for the first time. The last time I was there, I bought LSD for a party. Lerrick, who is the king of Bormoth Street, has a nickname inside... Mother Pharmacy, because he has all the drugs you need.

"Hey... Mother Pharmacy Lerrick." I say, with a smile. He starts laughing.

"The Bedmaker, Waters." He answers. "What are you doing here? On Canterlot?"

"Holidays. I am looking for Abe's granddaughter right now. I also heard some sobbings inside the dumpster." I hear sobbings inside the dumpster again. Lerrick looks at it with an angry gesture. "What's inside, Lerrick?" I ask him.

At the same time, I realize that three guys are behind me. They seem to be with Lerrick.

"You see, W," he says. "Canterlot's Lerrick is way different from Mantos' Lerrick. We were friends there, and here... we are rivals."

What the fuck? He is an idiot. How can he think that stupid thing?

"Hey, Lerrick, calm do--" I couldn't finish the sentence because of the three guys who grabbed me from the back and threw me to the floor. What can I do now? Think, W. You don't have much time. "JACK! ABE!" I shout. Seconds later, I rise and I try to defend myself, but I can't fight against three men. I beat up one of them, but the other two are still breaking my mood. I kick one of them's face and he falls to the floor. While I was fighting with the third guy, Lerrick appears... with two machetes. The third guy runs away and hides from Lerrick and me. The second one walks away and the first guy gets up and leaves the backstreet with his partner.

Lerrick leaves one of those machetes on the floor. I know what he is trying to do, and it will be dangerous and totally stupid. "Do you think that we will fight to death with machetes?" I ask him.

"I didn't think about it," he says with a big smile. "I did it... and I'll do it."

"Come on, man... don't be such an idiot."

A light appears from nowhere and I cover my eyes from it. The guy that hid behind the dumpster climbs a wall and escapes. Lerrick turns back and looks at Jack and Abe.

"Lerrick?" Says Jack. "What are you doing on Canterlot?"

"Holidays," he answers. Abe approaches him and the dumpster's sobbing is heard again.

"What's that sound?" Asks Jack, while he discovers all the chains that are protecting the dumpster. Then, he illuminates it and discovers the lock. Abe looks at it and grabs Lerrick by the neck.

"Where is the key?" He asks.

"Won't tell ya, Abe!" He answers, laughing.

"Stop with this shit! This is not a joke!"

"Why?"

"My granddaughter is lost, Lerrick! Go and unlock that dumpster!"

"I won't!"

I grab Lerrick's machete from the floor and I touch his back with it. His laugh just stops and he starts moving his arm with the machete. He tries to attack Abe but fortunately he dodges it. Jack grabs Lerrick by his chest, and Abe and I get the machete out of his hand. He is now on the floor, while Abe touches his neck with a machete.

"No time for games. Where is the key?"

"Where?" he answers.

"No time for games, Lerrick! Where... IS THE KEY?"

He doesn't answer. Jack grabs something from Lerrick's pocket in the coat and looks at it.

"A small bag of cocaine. Normal Lerrick... There is also what we need."

Jack gives Abe a small key. He opens the lock and throws the chains away. When he opens the dumpster, he recognizes something.

"Grandpa!" she shouts.

Abe's face turns into complete shock. Jack and I are also impressed. Lerrick tries to escape, but the grandpa grabs his coat and puts his shoe on Lerrick's neck.

"Thank Star Swirl you are safe, Rarity. Now he will pay."

"Please..." says Lerrick.

"Hey, hey... shut your mouth." says the grandpa while trying not to kill him.

Lerrick punches Abe's foot and gets up. He grabs a machete and throws it at me, I think I'm about to die but then... something happens. A white, shiny shield appears in front of me and grabs the machete, making me fall to the floor in pure shock. A shield? Is it... the moon? Or what the fuck? S-Seriously, what the fuck has just happened?

Abe and Jack are also looking at the white shield that instantly disappears. The three of us are now silent. Lerrick tries to escape but Jack grabs him by his back on time.

"You bastard!" says Rarity, while punching Lerrick's face. She seems that she didn't find out that a magical shield appeared from nowhere and saved my life.

"H-Hey, Rarity... Could you tell me what happened?" I say. She looks at me and lends me her hand. She tries to get me up.

"I saved your life, moron," she whispers to me. "And I should thank all of you for saving mine. I truly appreciate it."

Then, she hugs her grandpa while crying... but, wait a moment... She saved my life? How? With a magical shield?

"What happened, Rarity?" asks Abe. "Did you... make that shield?"

Rarity thinks about her answer. I think she doesn't want to tell his grandpa the truth. "I think it was the moon, grandpa. The moon saved Walter."

She looks at me and winks an eye. She doesn't want to tell the truth to his grandpa. Maybe because he would turn into Equestria's most annoying babysitter if he knew.

"What the fuck..." I whisper. This is not normal. I think... I should talk with someone I do know about this.

---

Motel. 11:00 P.M.

"I... I just don't understand how the moon saved you, W." Says Jack. "I think Rarity's lying. She may have created the shield."

"No, Jack." Says Abe. "Rarity never lies to me. She is telling the truth. Besides, she doesn't have powers or that kind of thing."

"Maybe today it is the first time your granddaughter lies to you. Who knows?" I say. He looks at me with anger.

"Ok. Can we leave this topic aside for a moment? We have a Lerrick in front of us." He says, and then he starts slapping the junkie's face. "Wake up, you bastard."

Lerrick finally wakes up. He is being tied to a chair while Abe is looking at him. The grandpa is now holding a wrench on his hands... he is gonna do some nasty stuff.

"What the fuck? Abe? Jack? W?" says Lerrick. "Where am I?"

"Looks like someone recovered his sobriety," says Jack.

"Um... yes. Sorry if I did something... bad."

"You did something bad, indeed. You kidnapped my granddaughter."

"What? Did I do that? Oh, my Solaris..."

"I should kill you and leave you in the ground, but I'm not so evil, Lerrick. However, I should punish you anyways."

Lerrick closes his eyes and Abe holds the wrench, but suddenly, someone knocks the door.

"Hey, dad! Are you there? I've heard ya, buddy!"

I recognize that voice. He's good ol' Hondo... Abe's son and Rarity's father.

"Why in the hell is he here?" he says, angrily. He opens the door with rage and looks at his son, who is smiling and with a chocolate box.

"Hey... long time no see," he says.

"Now? You appear now? This is not the best moment, Hondo."

Meanwhile, Jack unties Lerrick and leaves him in the bathroom. Hondo enters the house and leaves the chocolate box on the chair where Lerrick was being tied.

"Why, dad? Oh! Jack, Walter! Long-time no see, fellas!" he shouts.

"Man, the last time I saw you, you had a larger mustache," I tell him.

"Why are you here, Hondo?" says Abe, interrupting our conversation.

"Um... I missed you, dad. Come on, the last time I received a text message from you was... two months ago! I looked for you everywhere until I finally found you thanks to the hotel reception!"

"Oh, I thought you came because of your daughters."

"Yes, of course. I missed them too."

"At least you know what happened, right?"

"Uh... no."

Abe starts smiling, but his smile is not a happy one. It is one that looks like it was born in the deepest pits from hell.

"You know that both of your daughters were kidnapped, right? And you also know that they had sequels because of it? I don't remember you in those bad situations... you didn't even make a fucking call, Hondo."

Hondo's face is now blank.

"What?" he asks.

"Yes. Say what. What makes me angry is the fact that you never called them to check if they were OK..."

"Sorry... I had a new job in Phillydelphia and I had to move. These weeks were very heavy to me."

"But you always had your cellphone in your pocket, don't you? Your head is always in the same fucking thing, Hondo. Work, work and work. You always forget about Rarity and Sweetie. Do you know that Rarity told me she does not call you because she knows that you won't answer her? Because you are always focused on your damn job, for Star Swirl's sake."

It seems that those words destroyed Hondo from inside. His face is now a devastating grin. Meanwhile, Abe grabs a bottle of whiskey and drinks one shot.

"I admit that I'm a little bit guilty," says Abe. "Sweetie Belle's one was because of me. Rarity's one has just happened hours ago."

"Oh my god... is she OK?" answers Hondo.

"Yes, but she will have a stain for all her life, Hondo."

"And what happened with Sweetie's one? Why are you guilty?"

Abe didn't even answer that question. He just looked Hondo in his eyes. Now, his eyes are filled with anger. Abe's son is now furious.

"You... You son of a bitch," says Hondo. "I knew it... I knew it since the moment I looked at you with your two friends. You are still in that freakin' gangster world. Did you tell Rarity and Sweetie Belle about this? Or are you still hiding the truth?"

"I am still hiding it and I will, Hondo."

"Do you know that all of us... Rarity, Sweetie Belle, my wife, and her relatives and also me are in danger because of you? This is the last straw, dad. I have no other choice. I'll leave you alone with your friends as mom did."

"HEY!" shouts Abe. "Don't talk about your mom."

"I will talk about my mom, Abraham. You ruined my world, and now I'm ruining yours. All these years, hiding in the shadows because of you and your fear of getting caught by those idiots. You are ruining my life, ruining my daughters... Oh! Guess what! You are also ruining yourself, dad. The gangsters are making you old."

Hondo grabs the box with chocolates while crying.

"Fuck you, dad. Fuck yourself."

Hondo goes away. Abe stays looking at the door for a whole minute, and no one says anything. Meanwhile, we hear that Lerrick is escaping through the bathroom window, but nobody moves.

---

The Next Morning. 8:30 A.M. A house. Near Canterlot High.

I woke up early just to look up for information. I want to know what happened yesterday... and Abe and Jack are not so useful for this problem. I think that this man is the only one that can help me.

He opens the door and reveals himself. An old, hoary man with vintage glasses and a small, grey beard. He is wearing his characteristic brown pullover and brand-new jeans. His cutie name is Arpeggio, although I always knew him as Mr. Alfred Fletcher, his original name from Los Mantos. He was a friend from my father, and when he found out that I survived that whole situation, he took care of me while Jack, Abe, and Ron were doing their things. He moved to Canterlot in the early 2000s and decided to leave his name aside and start using his cutie name. Now he works at a music store called Arpeggio's, one of the most famous ones in Canterlot, where he taught me guitar and piano lessons.

"Walter?" he says. "What are you doing here? I thought that you hated Canterlot."

"Look, it's a long story, Fletchy... Can I pass?"

He sighs: "Yes." He says.

Fletcher's Living Room.

"What happened, Walter? It is so strange to see you in Canterlot. Did you come because of guitar things?"

"No, Fletcher. I came for another thing... do you still have those strange books?"

His face is more serious now.

"Yes... but you told me lots of times that you didn't believe in them..."

"Maybe not, but yesterday... something happened."

"What?"

"A shield appeared in front of me, and... do you remember Abe's granddaughter? Rarity?"

"Uh... yes. The fashionista. Isn't she?"

"She told me she saved my life, but... how did she make that shield appear from nowhere?"

Fletcher's face now is covered with a smile. He knows that tale is something big.

"I think that means only one thing," he says, while going to a room and, seconds later, coming back with an old, enormous book. He leaves it on a table and I read the cover:

"ELEMENTS OF HARMONY."

"This book is older than everything... even older than Equestria, maybe. Anyway, I think that the magical shield is related to this."

"The Elements of Harmony?" I ask him.

"Yup. Let me check..."

He opens the book and dust falls to the floor. There is also a very old and stinky smell around the place. It looks like the book is taking a shit. He looks at one of those pages, where seven black stones are drawn with a word above them. Those words are colors... Orange, Purple, Blue...

"Here it is, Walter. Read this..."

I approach the book and start reading:

"The infamous elements of harmony may be represented into various objects in different worlds.

Inside the world is known as Mirror World, elements may be represented as stones, whose localization is completely unknown. Unfortunately, only one pony, Moonlight Columbus, has survived the misfortunes that only she and the mirror world may recognize. Her declarations are the only ones that can verify the existence of these famous "element stones".

Other declarations from Madam Moonlight Columbus, say that these geodes may offer "powers" or "abilities" to their lucky holders, such as an enormous increase in their strength, speed and also self-defense, with the creation of "magical shields"...

"So... you think she has a stone?"

"Yes, Walter. Have you ever seen her with a stone, a necklace on her neck?"

I remember specific situations where Rarity was the protagonist, and in some of them... I remember she had a necklace... um... a stone. A purple, round stone.

"A purple, round one. Is this important?"

He does not answer to me. He only makes a very suspicious face. "Holy shit..." he says. "I think we have just found a holder."

"A holder? Of what?"

"A holder of an element of harmony, W. Oh my... this is historical."

If she has an Element of Harmony, that means... we would use her for the robbery? Oh no. That's bad. BAD.

"So... is there any way to, I don't know, use the stone's power... even if you are not the holder?"

Fletcher gives a strange look to me. "What are you planning, Walter?"

"Nothing, I just... want to know. I'm curious." I say, with a small grin.

"I think if you use the geode and you are not the holder... nothing will happen. You won't obtain the powers if you are not the holder, unless..."

He opens the book and looks up for information on another page. Then, he finds what we wanted to know.

"...Oh, you can use a small portion of those powers if the holder hasn't discovered the stone yet. That may verify the Everfree thing I read some time ago..."

"And... is there any way to become a holder?"

"No..." he answers to me, quickly. "Wait... I think there is a way... but... I don't remember it. I think this book hasn't got the answer too."

"Uh-huh... Where can I find the answer, then?"

He raises his shoulders, leaving me with no answers.

---

Street. 9:15 A.M.

I am now sitting on a bench while drinking a warm coffee. I've been trying to realize that Rarity has an element of harmony on her necklace. Come on, how is that possible? Abe is everything but harmony, Hondo is an idiot and her wife... meh, I don't know her wife. How can Rarity turn into a holder of these elements? And also, is there another holder here, on Canterlot? On Canterlot High?

Besides, if Rarity has this, it means that she is in danger. Oh my god. This situation has just turned into a chaotic one. Abe's reaction will be bad... very bad if he is still devastated because of last night's argument with his son. Oh, what would happen if Ron finds out? Will he abandon the project he has been working for a long time? And what about Gordo, Mr. Blueblood and the others? Will they capture Rarity and use her for their benefits? Will they... oh, no... will they get rid of her after the heist? What would Abe say in that situation?... Shit. If Abe finds out, he will protect Rarity and this whole Pegasus Fort project will be destroyed... That means only one thing: chaos.

I have to relax. I finish my coffee while I start walking... and I find out Jack is coming out from a building.

"JACK!" I shout. He looks at me while I approach the building. There is a big statue of a tall, strong man with a very neat beard, wearing an armor. There is a sign next to the statue that says:

"This place is being secured by Lord Solaris and Star Swirl, the Bearded."

"What were you doing?" I ask.

Then, I find out there is another sign above the statue... Canterlot's Cemetery.

"Oh," I say. I know what he was doing... he was visiting Susan.

"What are you doing here?" he says.

"Just passing around, I visited Fletcher too... I missed him a little bit." I say. "You...um... you came for Susan, right?"

He nods his head. I feel guilty, and I know why. I haven't visited my parents last year. I didn't even give them flowers. I feel... bad.

"Yeah..." says Jack. "I don't know, W, I tried to forget her... but I can't... how can I forget my wife? The love of my life? That's why I came here today... I haven't given her flowers since last year when we came because of that Crystal Prep shit..."

To be honest, Jack is right but... being alone your entire life does not mean that you will forget your late wife. I know that losing your love and becoming a widower is not an easy thing to overcome but... come on, man... life keeps moving. You need to keep moving. You can leave her flowers, but you can't think about her all day, Jacky!

Besides, there is something that reminds me of... wait for... Crystal Prep. Hmmm... drugs, a guy called Flash... oh, shit. I remembered.

"Jack," I say. "After this thing, we need to go to Canterlot High."

"Why?"

"There's someone who needs me."

To be continued...