Chapter 8 - "Back in Business"
"It's been too long since I felt as happy as I did here," O'Malley sighed as the trio strolled through the streets of Ponyville. "To have everyone fear me yet respect me at the same time was truly fun. And the property damages I caused was a great stress reliever."
"You may need to rethink your strategy if you keep doing that," Delta said, surveying the building that surrounded them. "Applejack said that if you did anything out of the ordinary, there would be repercussions."
"But damaging the body and mind is ordinary for me."
"But not for Ponyville."
"Bah, this place just doesn't know how to have fun."
"I believe they do, they just prefer the wholesome fun rather than your kind. The ponies here don't enjoy causing pain to others, but rather prevent it."
"But I'm the one giving the pain, not them. They just have to learn to appreciate getting hurt."
"Pain is not usually enjoyable when you are on the receiving end, be it physical, mental, or otherwise."
"You always were such a bore, Delta," Gary grumbled. "Why do you side with the shisnos and not with the superior side? You know, with your AI siblings?"
"Because here we are not superior. We are the same as them in here. We need food, water, sleep, air-"
"Don't remind me. This body makes me closer to their kind than I've ever wanted to be," he shuddered. Shaking his head, he looked at Delta out of the corner of his eyes. "Besides, even when we were with the Freelancers you were always with them, treating them as equals."
"That is because we were designed to aid them, not destroy them."
"But destroying is so much more fun," O'Malley chortled as he kicked a rock at a window of a nearby building, cracking it. "Power is something that we deserve. Having others bow down to our whims shows our superiority."
"True power comes from having it but not abusing it," Delta said.
"You're a fool," O'Malley growled. "What is the point of power if you can't use it on those without it?"
"What is the point of power when you are without those to use it on?" Delta retorted.
O'Malley opened his mouth to counter, but shut it when he couldn't think of anything. Instead, he kicked another rock at another window, but this time it simply bounced off, making him scowl in frustration. The trio of fragments soon arrived at the mayor's office, where Gary pushed open the door without so much as knocking. Inside the office, Mayor Mare was sorting through a few large piles of paper, trying to sort them into multiple piles.
"Seems like I was right," Gary chuckled, glancing at O'Malley with a sly look.
"Oh, Neighoming, you're back," Mayor Mare said, looking up at him for the briefest of seconds to give him a friendly smile. "How was your time in Manehatten?"
"It was just fine. Met some old friends of mine and had a grand old time reminiscing about my past," he said, looking at his old desk. "Even visited the place I lived before coming here."
"Didn't you say you lived in Minneighsota when we first met?" she asked curiously, pausing to look up at him. Before Gary could answer, she focused on Delta and raised a brow. "And who are you?"
"I do not believe we have met," Delta said, walking towards her. "My name is Delta."
"Are you sure we haven't met?" she asked, shaking his hoof. "You look very familiar."
"I suppose you could say I am somewhat related to Gamma," he said thoughtfully. "I have been living with the Apple family for the past while, but I left with Omega and Gamma."
"Omega and Gamma?" she echoed, looking over to Gary with a strange look.
"O'Malley and Gary respectively."
"Ah, I see," she said with a smile. "Nicknames?"
"Code names would be more apt," he said calculatingly.
"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't have met you in a more professional state. My work just been piling up as of late. Most of it is still reports of property damage caused by Discord," she sighed, grabbing another piece of paper from the top of the pile. "You three are lucky that you weren't here for that. It was really quite upsetting considering this was the second time he had escaped in the past."
"I may be of service in that case," Delta said.
Before Mayor Mare could interject, Delta began using to work his literal and figurative magic at the same time. He grabbed the pile of sheets that were on her desk, including the ones she had already sorted, and made them orbit around him so he could read each one. Multiple papers darted towards her desk every second, forming multiple piles. O'Malley and Gary watched him passively, but Mayor Mare simply watched him, astonished. Within three minutes, the papers she had spent a while sorting through into a few piles were sorted by date into nearly a dozen more precise piles.
"That was remarkable. What took me a few hours, you did in just a few minutes," Mayor Mare chuckled breathlessly, thankful for the help, but embarrassed at the same time.
"It was nothing," Delta said. "Instead of the piles you sorted them in, I broke them down somewhat based on the magnitude of their importance. You have your complaints pile, property damages, mental damages, tax forms, business proposals-"
"Would you like a job?" she inquired, picking up a piece of paper.
"No thank you," he replied instantly, keeping his attention on the files. "You also have your business proposals, letters from other cities, requests, and finally, your junk mail."
"Thank you for the help, but may I ask why you don't want a job?"
"Because I already have a job," he replied.
"Oh, I see," she said. "Whoever it is you're working for, I hope they know how lucky they are to have an employee like you."
"What are we?" O'Malley asked.
"You are fine workers as well, but your friend Delta just finished what was supposed to take me the next few days. I've never seen anypony do that. He's practically a machine," she laughed, but the trio of fragments simply stared at her. "Anyways, I appreciate the help. And I am glad you two came back. Thanks to Delta here, we can take a few days off before getting back to work."
"And I was looking forward to working too," O'Malley pouted, frowning slightly at the misfortune he would not be the cause of today.
"Most ponies are keen on getting their taxes in nowadays anyways, so you wouldn't have much to do. Might as well let the end of the month roll by to see if anypony else forgot about their taxes."
"Very well," he said, perking back up. Turning around, he began walking towards the door. "This was a shorter visit than anticipated. Come on, you two. We might as well go back to the Apple's place now, as crowded as it is."
"Wait," Mayor Mare said, making the others pause. "You know, I believe there are some houses available in Ponyville."
"And?" O'Malley asked.
"I'm just telling you that should you choose to, there are many available houses for you to move into so you may be closer to your work. I understand if you choose to stay with Granny Smith and her family, but there are always options."
"I believe we will stay with them, thank you," Gary said instantly, surprising Delta and O'Malley.
"What?" O'Malley asked in a whisper, leaning next to Gary with a look of frustration.
"Shh, this is the best course of action. Trust me," Gary whispered back. Noticing the suspicious look Delta was giving them, he raised the volume of his voice. "Besides, the Apple's like having us around, otherwise they would have kicked us out. If we ever have reason to, we may take you up on your offer at a later occasion. Provided the choice is still there, of course."
"Okay, it's your choice," she said, continuing her smile as the trio made their way outside. "Thanks again for the help, Delta. See you boys next week."
Delta nodded towards the door, prompting them to leave with him, then exited the office with a smirking Gary and a frustrated O'Malley lagging behind him.
"Why didn't you take her up on that? We have a golden opportunity to no longer have to deal with those fools, and you choose to stay with them?" O'Malley growled quietly enough so Delta couldn't hear him.
"You know what they say, don't you? Keep your allies close, but keep rotten, dirty shisnos that you can take advantage of closer," Gary hissed. "Remember, we're technically like them, so why not let them make the food for us? We don't know how to take care of ourselves as well as they can take care of us. Besides, this is the nerve center of shisnos, and I know neither of us like being near so many of them. And don't forget, we still have leverage over those rotten Apples as long as they have the taxes they owe. Should they choose to kick us off the farm at a later date, we could kick them out as well."
"You brilliantly, evil, sneaky devil," O'Malley chuckled.
"Oh, do go on," Gary laughed with him as they made their way back to their so-called home.
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Its 11:18 at night, I have a massive homework assignment due tomarrow and I need to go to bed. Then you updated...
I AM LOVING BUT HATING YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!
I'm surprised Mayor Mare hasn't caught on yet...
Oh god I can't wait till O'Malley meets Discord!!
Gary still creeps the hell out of me.
Embodiment of deceit my ass, you obviously never met a good spy.
Ha the ponies are now shizno's.
I miss the days of just the Reds and Blues before you had to wonder how Gary is going to somehow take over the town. But it still makes it interesting!
I hope garys plan backfires on him
>National heroes
>Won't absolve them from crippling taxes
>
Damn you Gamma.
I highly anticipate Washington's arrival and sincerely hope you don't leave him in Church's old armor.
Completely out of context but.... Austin FTW!
Oh Gary, When You're Evil you can do many, many things with it.
Holda holda holda holda. Just thought of something.
Do we ever actually see Alpha Church? Like ever? Because Gary met Church waaay back when during Blood Gulch, meaning Church has always been Epsilon, if we assume Alpha is the original. Therefore, Washington is wrong, Epsilon is nonexistant, and the entirety of everything that has ever happened is irrelevant...
Therefore, Gamma can now go from being a chaotic evil to a big bad on the the graph of evilness.
2258534
Yeah, we see Alpha-Church a lot. He was Church up until the end of Reconstruction where Washington activated an EMP (or ehmp if you're going to be a smartass about it) that killed him. Epsilon-Church didn't come into play until Recreation.
Still hate Gary...
Meanwhile, Delta never ceases to amaze and show off his logical skill without even trying
I wonder if he'll ever find the time to talk with Zecora after so long. 
2258208
what would his name be Taxes man? XD
2258695
Yeah, I meant to bring her up in this chapter, but couldn't squeeze it in anywhere without it breaking the flow. Will try to get to her soon.
2258725 Looking forward to it!
2258617 Epsilon also tends to be angrier on the most part compared to Alpha because he remembers all the terrible things that people have done to him. Makes him really suited for that Element of Rage you picked for him.
I knew Gamma wouldn't forget about the Apple's situation.
2258341
Do you really think the Apple family would let them wave off the debt, or do you think they're going to do the honest thing and try to pay off what they owe in their own time?
2259717 There's a very, very thin line between being stubborn and losing the apple farm. I honestly believe that they would feel, through all the lessons they've learned with Twilight, that she would understand the need for help.
In addition, do you know how big that fucking apple farm is? The problem with kicking the Apples out is that they moved there in a time where it didn't cost anything to claim land. The town came to be around the farm, not the other way around. Ponyville simply wouldn't be able to handle the costs of the entire farm if the Apples were out, and no one would buy the land due to the cost mentioned above. So, the town would have to sell the land to the Equestrian Government, who, headed by Celestia, would give the land back to Applejack out of the kindness of her heart after a good fifteen-minute talk wearing down her stubborn pride, then all would result in a Friendship Report. There. We've come full-circle as to why, in Equestria, kicking the Apples off their farm would not work.
tl;dr: Sure, they would like to pay it off on their own, but, under dangerous circumstances, I'm sure help would come. Whether they like it or not.
2259950
There's a very, very thick line between canon and non-canon.
But you also proved another point that I meant to bring up. The town was based around the farm, so the town gives them leeway on account of it. The town doesn't need the money from them, and the Apple family notices that, but they don't ignore the fact that they still owe money. Whereas they COULD just wave the fees, they choose not to but would rather pay it off later since they're allowed to. There was no threat of losing the farm until the fragments showed up. It's just Gary and O'Malley being Gary and O'Malley that's causing trouble. I need to give an edge to the "evil AI" to make them be more interesting in the story, otherwise what's the fucking point in having them?
tl;dr: If I wrote everything "like it should be" then there would be no crossover.
2259979 This is true, but I could also argue for the point that the fragments' conception of their "plan" is misguided, as they have virtually no knowledge of Ponyville's economics. A misguided and untrue motivation is just as effective in storytelling as a completely true one, provided the circumstances allow. And, in this case, it does. Gary assumes Equestria, at least politically, to work the same as Earth. While partially true, Earth isn't a world from a cartoon that has all the properties of a utopia that actually works.
2260172
It can be effective, but it wouldn't be as interesting. Because again, if the information they had couldn't be used, there wouldn't be much point to them having it beyond a "you guys are idiots, it doesn't work like that" joke. And I can argue that you can't argue because it's my fic, and what I say goes.
Yay update!!!
2260485 I concede to your god-given trump card, and end this lighthearted debate, then.
I keep thinking of Gary's A.I voice when he speaks
gary if you bought a house you could have been in MEAN (Menacing Evil and Abusive Nieghbors) get it neighbors?
the term rotten bastards gets tossed around a lot these days...
2434381 what about honorless bad-bloods?
2871060
Doesn't have the same ring to it
O'Mlley's dream waifu is so darkness based off this line
if only she knew