The Silanos

by Kama and Hallie

Digging

At sunset on the outskirts of Ponyville, Rarity and Roberto along with his sons walked along the flat rocky and muddy ground. The three humans followed the white unicorn as she led the way through the mostly barren grounds.

"An' this, this right 'ere, this where ya find the gems?" Roberto asked with a cigar in his mouth, one he lit up immediately after exiting the Boutique.

"Yes, just around here. Like I said, you might want to watch out for Diamond Dogs, but they're not as dangerous as they look."

"How the hell do ya find the gems anyway? Are they really that easy ta find?" Gabriele asked.

"Of course! Watch," Rarity said as she pointed her horn to the ground and cast her gem-finding spell, and she continued walking along with the three humans following behind.

As the Silanos followed the white unicorn, Gabriele mostly watched her with confusion and skepticism, while Roberto and Ainsley paid close attention to what she was doing and observed with great interest. While Gabriele may have inherited his father's ruthlessness, Ainsley was the one who got his father's more calm and open-minded calculating nature, despite being far from being a crime genius. He was not too different from his father as he or anyone else might've thought.

After a few moments, Rarity stopped in her tracks and pointed her shining horn at one specific point in the ground. The Silanos walked around her to see what made her stop, and became shocked at what they saw. The ground which Rarity's horn pointed at became transparent like glass, and through it, they saw a pile of gems of many colors just lying there waiting to be dug up. Rarity grabbed a small shovel from her saddlebag using her magic and dug out the gems in no time.

"There we go. See?" Rarity levitated the gems into the air for the Silanos to see.

"No way. Ya can find gems that easily 'round 'ere?! What's that that ya jus' did? Some gem detector spell or somethin'?" Gabriele asked in disbelief.

"Yes, something like that," Rarity answered.

"Damn, that's amazing! We can collect as many gems as we want whenever we want!" Ainsley said in amazement as he grabbed the gems in mid-air out of Rarity's magic.

Seeing all this, and hearing his sons' words, an idea fully formed in Roberto's head. "You know what, Miss Rarity? I 'ave another business offer," he said with his cigar still in his mouth.

"Another one? What is it?"

"As anotha' form o' repayment, how 'bout I find and dig up gems fa you and send 'em ta you personally, an' then we can also take some gems fa oursleves fa our own businesses. How's that sound?"

"You'll deliver gems to me? Why that's awfully kind, darling, you really don't need to do that."

"Don't be ridiculous, I want ta do this. Please, I insist. It's a win-win fa both of us," Roberto said.

"Well...if you insist. I suppose I can't turn down such a kind offer," Rarity said. "Alright, I need to return back to the Boutique, Sandbar and Yona are waiting for me. See you soon, Mr. Silano! And of course, your sons too."

Just as Rarity was trotting away, Ainsley called out to her which caused her to slow down. "Wait, Miss Rarity! I wanna talk to you real quick!"

"Oh! Of course, darling! What about?" Rarity and the feminine young man walked beside each other.

"Well, I've actually heard about you quite a lot about you, and I think you're really amazing. I mean, the way you can be such a stylish diva and still help save Equestria from danger many times. I admire someone like that, I kinda wanna be that way too," Ainsley said.

"Why thank you, darling. Always nice to be an inspiration to others. Just don't try to be exactly like me, it's important to still be yourself."

"Of course, of course. I actually wanted to ask you...can I learn to make clothes with you?" Ainsley asked.

"Are you interested in fashion too?"

"Well, fashion's not exactly my dream job or anything, but I do like making good outfits for myself. See these clothes I'm wearing? I designed them myself! I mean, I didn't make them myself or anything, but I came up with the design and had it made for me."

"I must say, darling, your design is quite good. It's only all white and pink, but they're placed and compliment each other very well," Rarity analyzed the young man's clothes. "Did you dye your mane too?"

"Yup! Dyed it myself as well," Ainsley ran his fingers through his hair.

"If you want to learn to make clothes, then sure, you can come over to my Boutique. You can learn with Sandbar and Yona!"

"I'll probably only come like, twice a week. Busy helping my dad and all that. But if our schedules happen to align, sure, that sounds good to me!"

"We can discuss this more tomorrow, darling. Right now, I really need to get back to my students," Rarity chuckled.

"Oh, right! Of course, of course! See you tomorrow, then!" Ainsley waved goodbye to the white unicorn.

"See you, too!" Rarity waved back as she trotted away.

After the unicorn was gone, Ainsley walked back to his father and brother, who were still busy contemplating while looking at the ground as well as the gems Rarity had found.

"So, guys, whaddya think?" Ainsley asked.

"I think this presents us with a huge new business opportunity," Roberto answered.

"If that fashionista horse was able ta find a pile o' gems as easily as findin' flowers in 'er own damn backyard, imagine just how many gems are waitin' for us right underneath our feet!" Gabriele added.

"You know, I shouldn't be too surprised gems are so easy to find around here. I heard dragons eat these things as a snack!" Ainsley said.

"What?! Seriously?! Those scaly fire-breathin' bastards eat these things?! Damn, they're scary," Gabriele eyes widened upon hearing that.

"That means Gabriele is right, gems really are as easy ta find as flowers in ya own backyard. That means we can mine as many gems as we want and not 'ave ta worry about ever runnin' out! We can collect gems 'ere, give a handful ta Rarity as a form o' my repayment, an' the rest we'll deliver an' sell on Earth!" Roberto declared.

"But, Dad, if gems are that common here in Equestria, wouldn't that kinda decrease their value?" Ainsley asked.

"People don't need ta know how common they are 'ere, an' I doubt they'll care either. A lotta jewelry stores an' bratty millionaires back home will pay a fortune ta get their hands on Equestrian gems, jewels from another world. Just the idea of gettin' alien gems will drive 'em insane enough ta give us everythin' they 'ave. Plus, I've heard that even gems back home aren't as rare as people think, the big companies are jus' lyin' their asses off ta people ta get 'em ta fill up their pockets. I don't know if that's true or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was."

"Ya think this'll make more money than our narcotics business?" Gabriele asked.

"Probably not. People care more about wastin' their money ta slowly poison themselves than wastin' money on pretty rocks, an' I honestly don't know which is stupider," Roberto answered. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take advantage of it! This'll still bring us loads o' fortunes an' new opportunities!"

Roberto then turned to Gabriele. "Son, I want ya ta help send a message to our union workers back home. Tell 'em ta come 'ere tomorrow afternoon an' begin digging." He now spoke to both of his sons. "The three of us will meet here again tomorrow before they arrive, capiche?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Yes, Pops."

"Good, now let's go home. We all had a long day," Roberto said, and the three of them began walking home.

"We still have two more o' the Princess's friends ta talk to, right?" Roberto asked Ainsley.

"Yeah, we do. There's, uh...Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt, they're this aerobatic pegasus team, and Fluttershy's this animal caretaker who owns an animal sanctuary around here," Ainsley anwered.

"So she's one o' those animal lover freaks? Boy, she's gonna be a pain," Gabriele commented.

"I've already talked ta three o' these horses today, so tomorrow, after the diggin' begins, why don't you two go talk to 'em? Ainsley, ya talk ta this Rainbow horse, an' Gabriele, ya talk ta this Fluttershy."

"What?! I have ta talk ta the animal freak?! C'mon, Dad, can't I talk ta the rainbow one instead? She at least sounds more bearable," Gabriele complained.

"Gabe, stop whinin'. Ya can't always get everythin' in life. If ya wanna conduct business, ya gonna 'ave ta learn ta talk ta people ya don't like. It can be unbearable, sure, but it's necessary. Let this be a learnin' fa both o' ya, ta learn how ta conduct business an' form partnerships. Ainsley, you're already a friendly likeable kid, now ya gotta learn how ta negotiate with people an' assert yaself, an' Gabriele, ya gotta learn ta not think with brute force all the time, be friendly ta people. If ya both can learn this, ya both can make excellent businessmen."

"But, Dad, I can understand the use for the other three, but what can we possibly do with an aerobatic and an animal caretaker?" Ainsley asked.

"Not sure yet, but they're still friends o' the Princess, so it's good fa us ta get close ta all of 'em. Ya don't 'ave ta conduct business with 'em when ya talk to 'em tomorrow, ya don't 'ave ta try an' get somethin' outta them the minute ya see 'em. Just 'ave a friendly conversation, get ta know each otha', an' if an opprtunity presents itself, ya take it an' give an' offer they'll like. That's when ya get 'em, an' they'll be indebted ta us, an' the partnership is formed. Then, maybe one day, we'll find good use for 'em."

The Silano Brothers just nodded quietly at what their father said, and after that remained quiet for a while. After moments of just walking silently, Ainsley spoke up. "By the way, Dad, how's your murder investigation going? Still convinced someone is trying to kill you, or have you finally given that up?"

"I 'aven't. In fact, I'm now more convinced than before," Roberto answered.

"Really?" Ainsley asked with dread.

"Yeah, I found out that those three fillies that caused the entire thing were released from school early today, an' were suggested ta go ta the bakery. That's a pretty damn interesting coincidence that it happened along with everythin' else that would set the stage fa me chokin' on that cherry. Now I know someone set it up!"

"Do ya know who?" Gabriele asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't know that yet. What I can conclude is that it's definitely someone on the inside. Someone who set up my schedule so that I'll be in the bakery at the right time fa all o' that ta happen."

"Who could it be? It couldn't be Vincenzo, could it?"

"Nah, Vincenzo's a good henchman but he's not smart enough ta pull off somethin' that complicated. It's someone else. So we gotta keep our eyes peeled an' be careful."

Ainsley just stared at his father and brother in disappointment and shook his head. "Sometimes I worry about you two."

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

The Silano Brothers just nodded quietly at what their father said, and after that remained quiet for a while. After moments of just walking silently, Ainsley spoke up. "By the way, Dad, how's your murder investigation going? Still convinced someone is trying to kill you, or have you finally given that up?"

"I 'aven't. In fact, I'm now more convinced than before," Roberto answered.

"Really?" Ainsley asked with dread.

"Yeah, I found out that those three fillies that caused the entire thing were released from school early today, an' were suggested ta go ta the bakery. That's a pretty damn interesting coincidence that it happened along with everythin' else that would set the stage fa me chokin' on that cherry. Now I know someone set it up!"

"Do ya know who?" Gabriele asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't know that yet. What I can conclude is that it's definitely someone on the inside. Someone who set up my schedule so that I'll be in the bakery at the right time fa all o' that ta happen."

"Who could it be? It couldn't be Vincenzo, could it?"

"Nah, Vincenzo's a good henchman but he's not smart enough ta pull off somethin' that complicated. It's someone else. So we gotta keep our eyes peeled an' be careful."

Ainsley just stared at his father and brother in disappointment and shook his head. "Sometimes I worry about you two."

I actually agree with ya there.

I wouldn't be surprised if the CMC once again, or even one of Pinkie Pie's antics was highly mistaken as another "assassination attempt".