MLP : Shattered Heart

by gutterratt

MLP : SH - 5 Turmoil

Five : Turmoil

I sat on top of the bell with a mustang shard in my hoof. As I observed it, moving it around and watched the last of the sun's rays reflect off of the brilliant piece. As it sparkled, I felt some kind of connection to it. I had never felt something so odd from anything I had ever stolen before. Of course I have a need to care for everything I procured but, this was a different need. It was as if the stone were something ancient and primal; a living creature that was trying to communicate with me. Something so incredibly important but not just to me, important to… Well, I couldn't place it. The shards felt weirdly familiar and it made me uneasy. I grit my teeth and stuffed it back into the box.

My ear twitched and I hopped off of the bell, the floor beneath me giving a groan. I walked over to my clothes I hung on the railing to make sure they were dry. Hmm, still damp. It's fine, I don't exactly have another set of clothing but I wasn't about to head into town without anything on. Wet duds it is then. At least they no longer smell like manure. Judging by the oncoming rain clouds, I'm going to get wet later anyway. After putting my barding on, I fastened my saddlebags and put the box of mustang shards inside so I could bring them with me to Merchant's place.

I went downstairs to the kitchen and I spotted several of my friends poking their heads out of the mass of mattresses. I greeted them as I picked up a clay pot off of the counter. I then took a knife out of a drawer and headed to one of the dining tables. I set them down, opened the lid of the jar and pulled a couple of apples out. I turned the knob on the large wooden radio I had next to the table and it crackled to life.

As I began to cut my breakfast and share them with the rats who started to gather around me, I listened to the transmission that was put on the airwaves by the newscaster.

A soft melody concluded and the radio stallion began to speak. "Doesn't Star have just the sweetest voice?" Smile Cat asked his listeners, "She was definitely born to sing! I'm grateful that her master saw her for the beautiful gem she is, that's for sure!" There was a rustling of papers before he continued, "Me-ow we certainly have a lot of news tonight. Well, I suppose we'll start off with the hoity-toity business of the upper class that none of us commoners care about so we can get it out of the way."

I chuckled at the antics of my rat friends. The younger ones stealing food from the older ones who weren't fast enough. Some were play-fighting for dominance of the snacks. Winter was particularly smart, staying on my shoulder as she ate hers so none of the younger ones would disturb her.

"First up, the Blues are hosting a birthday party tonight for their youngest daughter who is turning three and none of us are invited! Wonderful, right?" he said cheerfully, "I honestly have no idea why they even paid me to broadcast that in the news but hey, they paid for it so there it is. Why they're having a party so late at night for a toddler is beyond me."

It's not surprising. The upper class only host soirees as a get together for business deals or to make powerful connections. Nopony of their company would actually throw a birthday party for a child because none of them care. It's rare to actually see anypony celebrating birthdays, not many can actually afford gifts or a banquet of food. I'm glad that's not my problem.

There was another rustle of papers and mutterings about no-good attention seeking upscale unicorns. "Next on my list," Smile Cat continued, "we have something from Canterlot's auctioneer who was robbed earlier today. It was a group of thieves around five or six ponies who ransacked his estate. Two of the assailants were killed when they got into a firefight with the guards. Both of the deceased goons were searched and found to have had Rouge Rogue membership cards on them."

It's not surprising that Cracker Jack's gang were dumb enough to get into a fight with the guards. They're not exactly all that bright, especially considering they didn't stash away their cards. That's really not good, that might lead to the investigation being brought into The Everfree if Markus decides to pursue it through the King's court of law. That would really fuck up the good thing I have going. Just another reason to keep an eye out and be cautious.

"One guard was killed and three were injured due to the explosion of Count Markus' electricity generator. Unfortunately for Mr. I'm-So-Important, whatever they were fighting over was not recovered after the smoke had cleared. He refuses to give a description of the stolen item so I'm not sure what he wants any of us to do about it."

That's because I have it and because he wants to keep the mustang shards a secret.

"Oh, he does want us to keep an eye out for his missing slaves." the pony mentioned, "Apparently the explosion damaged his wall and a few of them escaped during the chaos. As for the descriptions, there may have been a small fire in the studio involving the paper with those details on it. Due to this, I am unfortunately unable to give any information on the missing slaves. Sorry mister auctioneer!"

I am bewildered by the fact that he's still on the radio with how often he pushes the boundaries. Smile Cat really does enjoy poking the beast when it comes to the aristocracy or the King's laws. He does have to announce it when he gets into trouble but then he just pokes the beast again. I'm sure he'll be hauled off in chains soon enough. In the meantime, I do enjoy a couple of his jokes on occasion, not to mention the news is oftentimes helpful.

The radio stallion continued with a chuckle, "In all honesty though, I doubt anypony wishes to make a trip to Canterlot to assist in your missing slave search, Markus. Maybe you should get Miss Crown Jewels to finally do something about her city's massive sewage backup. Speaking of which, a dozen rebels were caught and arrested earlier today as they were destroying and blocking sewer drains under the city. Several were shouting the name of their leader, Wulf Song, and stating that he will liberate the land from the evil tyrant King Sombra, demanding others join in their fight. Her words, not mine."

He put on a lecturing tone of voice as he spoke to his listeners in the rebel camp, "Look, guys, with Canterlot's waterfall being the only source of water for Estuary Slums, do you really want to poison an entire town of good folks who are just down on their luck? I have no idea what you're thinking or what the purpose of stinking up the town is but, I really hope you've thought this through. At this rate, that poor little transient camp is doomed."

"Okay, now onto something we might care a little more about. Beach Side Road between Fillydelphia and Baltimare has had an increase in toll price. King Sombra has not commented on this matter but Discord had said, 'It's for your own good.' What that means… I have no idea! Your guess is as good as mine."

Probably the same reason why they increased the price of train tickets. I've heard several rumors ranging from they don't want folks to travel to they want to fund their domination of all of Equus and they need money to do it but I'm not sure I believe any of the speculation. I do, however, think it's stupid. I'd rather not spend any more bits than I have to in order to get around.

"Rumors have it that the ruler of San Palomino plans to speak with our King soon and arrange to merger their lands into Equestrian territory. I don't think that will benefit any of us but if the rumors are true and it does happen, stallions will finally be able to visit without immediately being put into chains. All my cool cats know you can't just waltz on over to Luxurant Matron lands. Well, the stallions at least. Unreasonable laws over there, that's for sure! It would be interesting to see if their pyramid is solid gold like the rumors say and not just a giant sand dune like the maps show. All the privileged ladies over there might be knocked down a peg or two when they have a stallion in charge. I'll keep everypony in the know as soon as I know more."

That's surprising actually. The Luxurant Matrons own the territory to the Southwest of Equestria including the gem farms and their massive quarries filled with gold. They always boast about their wealth and how great it is for the mares over there. Stallions, however, are slaves no matter if you just want to visit for a day or two which is why nopony of sound mind crosses the border. I don't know their full history but they used to be one country with those who live to the Southeast of Equestria. There was some sort of civil war a few decades ago and they split the lands, the stallions living to the East and mares to the West. I'm not sure who got the worse end of the split but if they do merge lands, I'll finally be able to explore and steal to my heart's content. I've always wanted to visit San Palomino and see if everything is made of gold.

"Now, I know that's a lot, my herd, but there's just two more stories to go and then we're back to your regularly scheduled broadcast so bear with me!" Smile Cat said, "A couple of griffon doctors were arrested today and a mental facility was shut down by Discord on the island of Trottingham. Apparently they were experimenting on patients by trying a new procedure that they claim would calm more… unruly patients. I have no information on what this supposed medical procedure is or, uh, was now, but if it had killed several patients and turned others into walking vegetables, I would be concerned too.

"And, last but not least, King Sombra is going to make an appearance in Los Pegasus next week. With the increasing number of plague victims in the city, he has ordered several new Soot Mills to be opened. As soon as he makes his final inspections in a few days, Los Pegasus will have their streets a little cleaner with a new place to burn the bodies. Then again they are just redistributing the bodies as ash floating in the air and spreading it all over the city so I'm not exactly sure if that's technically cleaner or not. I guess it is removing the corpses that are just rotting in the gutters but it certainly doesn’t remove the smell. Or the disgustingness because we’re all breathing in our dead loved ones. Hopefully some pegasus will figure out a way to freshen up our air a bit. Uh, sorry for the imagery, that was even grosser than the sewage problem.

"Anyway, we made it! That was quite a lot of talking so I’m going to turn to every foal’s favorite segment, Spades! Will Detective Shadow Spade finally catch that jewel thief and restore it to its rightful owner? We’ll find out on tonight's episode thanks to our favorite sponsors: 2B Pharmaceuticals, thanks for the tonic boys! We love ya!" he concluded.

The radio show began to play with a short theme song followed by different actors voicing each character. Finished with my meal and with no interest in the story that played, I decided it was time to get going. I put the lid back on the jar and returned it to the counter along with the knife I used. I went back to the third floor, gathered some extra arrows in my quiver and holstered my weapons. As I passed the second floor, I felt the usual sensation of my little passenger hitching a ride to join in on whatever mischievousness we were going to get into tonight.

A low rumble above me caught my attention when I exited my cathedral. I looked up to see the storm clouds had moved in quicker than I anticipated. As a mist-like rain began to sprinkle down, Thief decided to hide under my cloak and I pulled my hood farther down. The critters I passed as I trotted along the near-empty city scurried away into their homes to protect themselves from the oncoming shower. I soon reached the elevator and descended, making my way out of the King's Hoof.

It was little more than an hour later when I arrived in the mercenary town. The little bazaar they had open during the day was already packed up and closed. Nopony liked to stand around and wait to sell their wares without a roof over their head when the weather turned sour. Despite that, the town was packed more than usual with a massive crowd blocking most of the street. Several of them were having heated discussions amongst themselves. Others were waving their weapons around threateningly and even more were actually fighting. Infights such as this were a common occurrence but it was usually just a couple of ponies, not the whole town all at once.

I stayed on the edge of the mass, avoiding everypony I could. As I shuffled around them, I spotted a mare standing on a box and yelling out to the herd, getting more people riled up. "-And we're just going to put up with it? I think not! I don't care what the Eight have to say, they have no right! If the tom of bedlam really want to peek over our fence and see what we're rooton', I say we go pay them a visit and show 'em!" she squawked, throwing a hoof in the air.

"Fast Trick, get off of there before you hurt yourself!" a mare yelled at her in response.

"No!" she whinnied with a look of insult on her face and some of the crowd laughed, "Stuff it Quick Step! You wouldn’t be so quick to ignore their forced office if you had your whole shipment made too!" She pointed a hoof at an orange unicorn with a red and black striped mane who was hauling an empty waggon cage. "And I'm not the only one they've 'confiscated' stuffing from!"

Several looked at the stallion I was passing on the street. He looked tired and annoyed. Friendly Fire was always annoyed at everything, today even moreso. It was obvious that his entire stock of slaves were 'liberated' by the freedom fighters. I don't blame him, I'd be pretty pissed too if somepony stole valuable pieces from my stash.

The unicorn stallion gave Trick a flat look, "Bring me into another of your arguments and I will give you a broken hoof for violating the code Trick."

"Oh come on, the code isn’t really law, it’s more of a guideline. Besides, aren’t you pissed you had over a dozen good slaves made?" she responded over the noise of the crowd.

"Oh, I am." he assured her, "But I’m going to keep my opinions to myself if the Eight tell us we can’t do anything about it." He glared at her and snorted before trotting away.

The mare glared back in shock. "Friendly Fire, get back here! I’m not done yelling at you!" She took a throwing knife out of her satchel but was interrupted before she could throw it at him.

"Get off my booth!" a mare in the crowd yelled as she tackled the painted pony onto the ground.

As the two of them began to beat the shit out of each other, the hoard of creatures began to cheer them on. Whooping and hollering rose up as they fought in the thick mud and somepony yelled over the crowd about taking bets. Several others raised their money into the air with glee.

As everypony was distracted, I noticed a young colt who was slipping in and out of the crowd to steal coin purses. Smart kid, this would be the best time to make bits if that's what you need to do to earn them. That's the way I had to a long time ago. I used to try and cause scenes by getting two ponies to fight each other just so I could steal things.

A slate blue stallion decided to try and take charge by jumping up on top of the wooden structure. He was a known assassin named Genesis. He's not the most reasonable of ponies and he is very stubborn when it comes to his ideals but many respect him more than they do Fast Trick. Demanding everyone's attention, he raised his thundering voice above the noise. "The Eight have made their decision but do they really care what happens?" he asked them, "The only thing they care about, we all care about. Personal profit. They get a bigger score holding back. For us, the bigger score is to act. If we want the rebels to know how smart it is to deny us our plunder, we must show them!" His hoofstomp cracked the wooden counter.

Another voice rose up, "But the Eight’s words are law, we can’t just go against their commands."

"The Eight’s plans have always profited everyone, not just themselves." a griffon shouted.

"The code is law!"

"But they stole our yellow tin!"

"We have to give them a shoulder tap!"

"It is against the code!"

"We should give them the oaken towel!"

"The Eight have laid down the law, we can’t!"

As the crowd rose up in arguments again, Genesis stomped his hoof several times like a judge with a gavel. When the crowd settled some, he continued, "If any creature among us wishes to retaliate, prepare yourselves and meet by the Northwestern entrance at seven clean hooves. They will learn what it means to follow the curbing law of the Rouge Rogues!"

Some cheered while others demanded to follow the code. The Eight don't usually opt for conflict and so, more often than not, they tell the community to back down in situations like this. If I had a voice in the matter, I would be on the side of showing the rebels who's boss. They really need to be taken down a peg or two in my opinion. If they want to oust the King then we're next. I'm sure they don't want a large group of known criminals to run free on the land they just secured. The only reason that King Sombra hasn't destroyed this place yet is because he has a contract with The Eight. Food in exchange for wealth or escort work between Equestria and foreign countries. I'm not sure why he doesn't just use his Shade Knights. Odd if you ask me.

I moved on from the chaotic mass of creatures. As they dispersed, I watched several go into the general store, the blacksmith and the taverns. Some people just have to make sure they're not sober when they go off to war. Idiots.

As I passed the jobs board, I saw the same two pegasai stallions that I saw yesterday. A mare shoved them out the door, yelled, "We ain't tellin' jokes 'ere, go someways else!" and slammed the door in their face. The charcoal pony looked to his companion and complained how they were going to find somepony. Uninteresting, moving on.

I made a left turn and passed a massive camp of tents and decently built shacks. It reminded me of Estuary Slums but without the depressed expression on everypony's faces and more weapons. Very few dared to steal things in Shroud Shanty. This part of the town was reserved for the residents to make camp wherever they desired so long as they didn't claim too large of a space. If someone decided to join a gang, others were happy to switch spots so they could camp closer to their crew. It was actually quite civil on this end of town, unlike the market district.

At the very end of the sea of shelters was a large structure built of hundreds of trees that twisted and tangled together. Somehow, the massive knot of gnarled roots and tree limbs formed the shape of a large pony head. Two lanterns were attached high up to simulate glowing eyes and the open mouth had a curtain hanging down as the door. Outside was a small faded sign that read 'Merchant's Merchandise'.

I have no clue if this creepy thing was naturally grown or if the buck had something to do with the growth of the plants. Either way, I hated it and have always thought it was ugly. Whatever, time to go see the boss.

As I trotted closer, I could hear two ponies arguing inside. Sure, why not, because there hasn't been enough of that today. I grabbed the cloth door and pushed it out of the way. Before I was able to step a hoof inside, a little filly popped her head out. She had a rainbow colored mane that was braided, her coat was a bright red and she was giving me her best glare.

"Piss off, asshole!" she demanded of me for no immediately apparent reason.

I just stood there, staring at her. I've never seen such a foul mouthed child before. Do I berate her or just shove her aside and make my way through? This must be the new 'helper' Merch mentioned in his note. I guess I can't be mean to her, he'll kick my ass. She's so small I'm sure I can squeeze by.

"Excuse me!" she exclaimed as I tried to move past her, "The fuck do you think you're going? I told you to piss off, you want me to kick your ass?"

She quickly stepped in my way and I backed up. As she kept invading my personal space, I kept retreating backwards until she finally stopped. Now I was well away from the entrance, the opposite of where I had intended on going. My ears flattened and I tried to explain to her that I needed to talk to Merchant. "Look, I just came to–" I started but was interrupted.

"I said beat it!" she growled, "You want me to rip your balls off?"

As she took another bold step towards me I rolled my eyes. It's undeniable that she's trying to put on a tough act. You had to learn to be tough here in The Everfree or you got walked all over. Most foals who grow up here tend to adopt the attitudes of the adult residents, learning how to survive from them. I, however, was in no mood to put up with her demeanor. I'm wet since my clothes had not dried and the start of the rain did not help. Not to mention it's kind of chilly out here. Her glare told me she was not going to back down. That's fine, I know where the back door is.

I trotted away, letting her think she was an effective bouncer, and went around to the rear entrance of the shop. As I got closer, I could hear the voices clearer and I decided to eavesdrop instead of just barging in.

"--and I lost two good ponies! You owe me him!" one voice growled. I recognize that voice, it's Cracker Jack. He sounds pissed but I would be too if I ran a gang and lost two of my best ponies.

"I owe you nothing. Your venture was a non-contracted, personal visit to the neighbors. Any non-contracted rooton' is not covered under Rogue code. There is nothing to reimburse." a second voice said. Merchant should know spouting the code is not going to placate that asshole.

"Rose was long tongued about a calle'd pony with his description in the Muck and Buck when Snapdragon and Hoof Shine were in office, I know it was him!" Oops, did they notice I was there? Well, I'll have to be more inconspicuous next time.

Merchant sighed, "Look Cracker Jack, you don't have a smoking gun that he even did anything and if you did, I wouldn’t doubt it would be confect. Regardless, I still wouldn't be able to enforce any type of pulling, cramp word or reimbursement. There is no clause in the code against someone getting a quota before you if it is not part of a contract. Personal ventures reap personal boredom and dropping of a score. This is your problem to solve, not mine."

"Fine, I'll get my stuffing out of his hide." Cracker sneered. Yeah, like I'll let you catch me that easily.

"You know you can't do that. Everyone within Rouge Rogue territory is protected, guild member or not. You go after him and there will be consequences."

"Not if I mark him for a three legged mare!"

"Ugh, would you just go! I have bigger problems on my hooves to deal with than you thinking you're above the code!" Merchant shouted.

"Oh, you mean like that mass of creatures heading out just now to click the rebels?" I asked as I casually walked through the door.

Both stallions turned to look at me. My friend was clearly exasperated that I was here while he was in a meeting and C.J. bristled at the sight of me. He looked just the same as the last time I had seen him; more feline than pony from all the mutations he had. There's a rumor he purposefully seeks them out because he just wants to be a big cat but he denies it. Nopony believes him.

Cracker Jack's long, thick tail swung side to side and his ears were flat as he glared at me with his emerald green eyes. I clopped my rear right leg, signaling for Thief to disembark and she obeyed as quickly as she could. As expected, Cracker leapt over the counter and tackled me. We tumbled into a display rack and crashed into a wall of merchandise on the back wall. He was clawing at me with his rear legs as I wrestled with him. I wasn't one for hoof to hoof combat but on occasion I didn't mind it. Especially when it was with this idiot. I don't know why but he's always had it out for me, ever since Merch brought me here when I was a foal.

The little red filly then decided to join in our brawl and demanded we stop fighting or she would have to kick us out. Merchant was yelling too but we weren't paying attention. I didn't want to get into too much trouble for not listening so, I bucked Cracker hard with my rear hooves and sent him flying across the shop. As I got my legs under me, the little filly was still trying to assert her dominance by beating me up. Her blows didn't hurt but they were obnoxious.

I heard items crashing to the floor and figured the idiot had landed on a rack of stuff. I ignored the foal and turned my attention fully to the mutant across the room. His anger was now directed at Merchant who was refusing to let him past.

"How dare you! He's mine to use up and you deny me of my right?!" Cracker Jack yelled as a piece of the shelf fell off of his back.

"It is not your right to do anything. Especially not in my shop, Jack." the older stallion scolded, "I told you the last time this happened, if Clout was the one who got to your stuffing before you did, he did nothing wrong. Maybe next time don’t have your goons flag wave jokingly or make sure your rooton' is under contract!" He swished his tail in frustration. "Now get out, I'm no longer telling jokes for you!" he ordered, pointing a hoof at the exit.

The feline grit his teeth and growled, the end of his tail twitching as he stared daggers at my friend. "Fine. We're not done with this though, mark my words. I'm tired of this game. You'd better watch your back!" he said at me before turning and storming out the front exit.

The shopkeeper heaved a sigh and turned around to face me. "Seriously Clout, why. I have enough trouble on my hooves and you do this. To him. Why him of all ponies?" he asked as he rubbed his brow with a hoof.

I shrugged. "He just makes it too easy I suppose. Not a very smart gang leader to let his ponies have such a long leash." I said with a smirk.

Merchant gave me a flat look.

"What? Eventually he'll smarten up."

His ears dropped. "And in the meantime he complains to me about what you do to screw up his signals. The Eight aren't foalsitters, ya know." he scolded.

"How else am I supposed to make your day more interesting when I'm not here?" I chuckled.

Merchant's expression softened and he grinned at me. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too. It's been a while." I replied.

Comments

[Alexx08]

The Mane Six come into conflict with master thief Slinky Sly (who bears a striking resemblance to Pinkie) and her band of fellow criminals after the group robs Prince Blueblood on https://testmyspeed.onl/.