> The Mafia Life of Penny Pincher: The Unbelievably True Story of how I almost Died > by TheBronywiththeBowTie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Where It All Started > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey. Ya see that pony over there? That pathetic looking unicorn who gets ignored by everypony, even the Taxi Carriage ponies? Yeah. That's me. A Grade A Nopony. A plus, in fact. My name is Penny Pincher. Pen, for short, and I, am a bank teller. Sounds like a fun job right? Wrong. Imagine, sitting at a desk all day, with barely a bit to your name, watching much richer ponies come in every day, depositing and withdrawing over thousands in bits every day. Getting a small glimpse of hope, whenever you see that vault open, only to remember that you can't take any of the money....It's that kind of job. I'm almost glad they fired me! Huh? Oh, yeah, I got laid off today. Why? I lipped off at a customer by the name o' Blueblood. He wasn't givin' me the respect I deserved. My boss said, and I quote, "You're a bank teller! You don't deserve respect!" To which I then lipped off at him. He said it was my last warning. Wanting to get the one up on him, I decided to, give myself a raise, if you know what I mean. I stole from the vault. In broad daylight. While everypony was watching me. And then I got fired. Probably shoulda waited until night time.....nah! That'd be too easy! So, here I am....the biggest nopony in Manehattan....tryign to get a cab to go home to my apartment.....Oi, Nickles is gonna be pissed that I lost my job.....Huh? Oh, Nickles as in Nickles and Dimes. He's my older brother. O'course, he don't like to be called "Nickles and Dimes..." He says it's too childish....he likes tah be called "Nickle A. Dimes". He says it sounds more professional. I just nod, and take it whenever he yells at me for it. Finally, a taxi stops for me. I step up to the door, and climb inside. "Where too, Mac?" The cab driver rasped through his cigar smoke. "Skyline Apartments. Hooflyn." I said simply. "Will do, Mac." He said, after blowing his cigar smoke in my face, causing me to cough. "Aw, man up, ya filly! S'just a little smoke!" The cab driver chortled as he began to gallop down the street, pulling me along with him. Sure, I've lived in this city all my life, but still, the sights amazed me. Especially Bridleway. I cannot tell you how much I've wanted to see Hinny of the Hills while it's in town, but I never have enough bits....I did meet a member of the cast every now and again during my time as a teller....but they usually didn't remember me. Why would they? They were someponies... and I was....nopony. The cab stopped in front of the apartment buildings. How my brother was able to afford this place, I don't even know. The Skyline Apartments are a really nice place to live....well, for Hooflyn, anyway. Hooflyn wasn't exactly the....nicest borough in Manehattan....our parents couldn't support us here, so they dumped us at an orphanage the first chance they got. Nickle's been lookin' after me ever since. Oooh...he was gonna be mad when he found out I lost my job.....I payed the cab driver and walked up the stairs into the apartment building. The inside lobby looked just as grungy as the city outside. The guard next to the door fast asleep. I sighed, and walked to the elevator, pushing the button, and walking inside the doors when they opened. After the elevator opened on the fifth floor, I walked down the hall to my apartment. This hall was just as old as the rest of the building, wallpaper tearing a bit on the walls, dying plants on small decorative tables...it was sad what had become o' this borough. 'Apartment Number 10...' I thought to myself. I counted the numbers as I walked down the hall. "Eight....Nine....Ten." I mumbled to myself. The door was just as dilapidated as the rest of the hall. I was a bit surprised it didn't topple over when I knocked.... "'Ey, Nickle! I'm home!" I shouted through the door. "You got a key, don't ya?" A deeper voice said through the door. That was my older brother, alright. "Um....y'see, what happened was....." I began, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. "Don't finish that sentence." Nickle said, as I heard him sit up and walk over from the inside. What happened was, I had lost my key. At the bottom of the East River. Don't ask me how it happened, it's a very embarrassing story. Besides, that's not the story I'm telling you anyway. The door opened slowly, Nickle's horn glowing sort of a light green, using his magic to open the door. He was a unicorn, like me. He was much taller, and more muscular than I was. He had a dark blonde mane and tail, and a magenta-looking coat. His cutie mark was a pile of golden bits, a perfect compliment to mine, which is a dollar sign. "You alright, Pen?" He asked. "Ya look like somethin' cralled on ya and died." "Well...." I began, chuckling nervously as I stepped into the apartment. It wasn't much, but it was home. It had a couch, where Nickle and I would usually sit and talk, and two bedrooms, one for the each of us. And it gave us a good view of the street...good enough for Hooflyn at least...."What if....hypothetically.... I had come home, hypothetically.... and told you....hypothetically of course....that I had....hypothetically... lost my job at the bank? Hypothetically." I asked, smiling nervously. Nickle frowned at me. "Then I'd, hypothetically, knock some sense into your pea-brained skull. Why?" My eyes widened a bit at that. I coughed a bit, then smiled coyly. "Well....heheh....I.....lostmyjobatthebank." I mumbled. Nickle said nothing. I thought for sure he was gonna start pummeling me right there...he did that when I messed up. But no...no pummeling this time. He just facehoofed, sighed, and sat down on the couch. "C'mon, Pen....ya couldn't even keep that job?!" "Nickle, ya know that job wasn't for me!" I said defensively. "That's what you said about the last bank that fired ya!" He groaned. "Yer gettin' a reputation, Pen. And not a good one! Every bank in the city's starting to learn about how you constantly mess up on the job!!" "Well then, maybe workin' at a bank ain't right for me!" I shouted. It was true. I hated working at a bank. Seeing all that money come and go, while my brother and I barely had a bit to our names was something I couldn't handle anymore. All these rich ponies from upper Manehatten...they didn't give a Crag-o-dile's behind about us, and here they were, just coming and going, spending all the money they please, while Nickle and I were struggling just to get by. Maybe it was just me....I didn't even know what my brother did.....did he even have a job? I had never seen him work..... "Why are you gettin' on my case anyway?! Do you even have a job!?" I shouted. He said nothing. He simply looked away for a second. Then, he sighed. "I have a job." That was weird.....Nickle was never this hesitant to respond to me....was his job a touchy subject? Hoo boy, if I had known what I was getting into then, I woulda backed out as soon as I could. I would've just said, "Never mind", and moved on with the conversation. But I didn't. I was suspicious. My interest, had been peaked. "What job is this?" Nickle sighed again, looking away for a second. He looked back at me. "I suppose your old enough to know now. But we gotta get ya properly attired, first. C'mon, I'll buy ya a suit." "A suit?" I asked. "Why would I need a suit?" "Just trust me....my job has a very....strict dress code." He said. "C'mon, let's go." That seemed a bit suspicious. Ooho...if I had know then....nah, I already used that bit. Let's just move on. Where did my brother manage to get the money for this? Two pinstripped suits, a red tie for me, a blue tie for him. I bought a black matching fedora, but Nickle didn't. He wasn't a hat pony for some reason....what, he afraid a hat will break his horn or somethin'? "Thanks for the suit, Bro. Ya didn't have to." Nickle laughed at that. "Trust me, Pen. In my line o' work, ya wanna look presentable." "Presentable?" I asked. "Why?" "Just trust me, ya pea-brain." He said, lightly tapping me on the head with a chuckle. "I ain't no pea-brain!" I said, laughing along with him. We walked down the street from the haberdasher's, rounding a corner into an alley. Wait...why would we be going into an alley? Weren't alley's dangerous...? If only I had known......eh, I gotta stop sayin' that and just tell the story. "Uh....Nickle?" I asked. "What is this? Some kinda short-cut?" "You could say that, yeah." He said to me, looking at a wall. His horn glowed, as if he was trying to cast a spell. Then, three of the bricks on the wall glowed as well. After he made sure nopony was looking, he pushed in all three bricks at once. The wall then slowly slid out of the way, revealing a door. It was old, and I could barely make out the lettering on it unless I squinted my eyes. "The Crusading Cavalier....wait....Nickle....I didn't know you ran a restaurant!" Nickle facehoofed, shaking his head. "Sure, it's a restaurant. Lets get inside." He knocked on the door three times. A small slot slid open, and I only saw two eyes. "I'm not night. I'm not day. What am I?" The voice the pair of eyes belonged to croaked. "Twilight." Nickle whispered. The slot on the door closed right after. Then the door opened shortly after. The stallion behind the door was much taller than me, and Nickle. He squinted his eyes in the light of the son, and he grunted when he saw me. "He cool?" The pony asked. "Yeah, he's my little brother." Nickle whispered to him. He gave the pony two bits, and walked inside. "C'mon." Nickle said to me. I followed him inside the dark room, dimly lit by a few lights. It looked like your basic small time speakeasy. There was a bar, a few poker tables, and a billiards room in the back. There were three stallions sitting over at the poker table. Nickle sat down next to him. I just stood there awkwardly. "C'mon, Pen! Take a seat." He said with a smirk. Hesitantly, I trotted over and sat down next to my brother. The stallions at the other end of the table all seemed very gruff, like they had each seen varying degrees of action. "Ey, Swig! Five cups o' cider over here!" "You got it, Boss." The bartender pony croaked, as he began pouring the drinks. "That's Big Swig. He's the bartender here." Nickle said to me. "Yeah, I assumed that's why he was cleaning the glasses with that filthy rag..." I remarked sarcastically. "Who is this guy, Nick?" One of the stallions grunted. "He's got quite a mouth on 'im..." This pony had a blue coat, and judging by the wings on his back, I'd say he was a pegasus. He had his black mane slicked back with gel, and he wore a brown velvet jacket over a white T-shirt. His cutie mark was that of a brass horseshoe. "This is my brother, Penny Pincher." Nickle said, patting me on the back. "Pen, that's Donny Coltleone. A friend o' mine, now he serves as the Underboss of this outfit." "Underboss? Outfit? Wait...." The realization hit me like a sack of bricks flying out of a moving carriage. "This is a....sewing circle?!" I asked in shock. They all just stared at me awkwardly. "W-What? Your talking about outfits....." Nickle bapped me on the back of the head. "Outfit as in mafia, ya pea-brain!" He shouted. "Ow....ok...." I rubbed the back of my head. "Mafia....I suppose that's not as bad as a sewing circle....." I shuddered, the thought of all those needles, and all that fabric was enough to make my skin crawl. Nickle nodded. "Suppose I couldn't keep it a secret forever. Now before ya start flippin' out, just let me introduce you to the rest of our group so far." He gestured to the pony sitting next to Coltleone. "That's Scarface. an old mentor o' mine, and my Consigliere. A Consigliere is like, a right hand man." I looked over at Scarface. He seemed much older than the rest of the ponies in the group. He wore a faded grey pinstripe suit, a fedora to match, his horn poking through the hat. His coat was dark red, and his mane was an aged grey. His face was old and wrinkled, a big ol' scar stretching across it, cutting through one of his hazel eyes. His Cutie Mark was a deadly looking switchblade knife. "The underboss is in charge when neither me, nor the consilgliere is available at the time." Nickle said, continuing his explination. "Then of course you got your Capo, which means the captain in charge of the Soldiers. His name is Good Fella. We call him 'Goody.'" He gestured to the Unicorn pony sitting on the other side of Scarface. His coat was a minty green, he had a red mane to match his orange eyes. He wore a brown vest, and he had his hind hooves leaning up against the poker table. His cutie mark was just five tally marks. Wonder what that meant...? "You already met Mugsy." He gestured over to the large earth pony standing by the door. He wore a grey sweater, and his Cutie Mark was a boxing glove. "And you met Big Swig." Big Swig, the unicorn looked just about as old as Scarface, except he was much plumper. his coat was a creme color, and he had no mane to be seen. He wore a white dress shirt under a black vest with a red bow tie. His Cutie Mark a bottle labeled, "XXX." "Well...it's good to meet such a colorful cast of characters..." I said with a smile. "But...what does all of this have to do with me?" "Who said it had anythin' ta do with ya, Small Fry?" Scarface asked. "Well, my brother wouldn't just show me his secret underground organization just because I lost my job at the bank....there has to be another reason." I said simply. "Well, yer not wrong." Nickle said. "There is a bigger reason for me bringin' him here." "Y'mean...the job?" Donny asked. "The Job?" I asked as well. "What kinda job? Will it involve selling fine leather jackets?" Nickle facehoofed. "Job as in heist, ya pea-brain! We're gonna knock over the bank you used to work at!" Ohohoho, that got me on board instantly. I had a serious vendetta against that bank, as well as the poofy-shirted stuck up aristocrats that had accounts set up there. "So....whaddaya want me to do?" "Well..." Nickle began. "You know that building better than any of us. So you'll be our guide in there." He levitated a map of the bank out from one of his saddle bags and layed it on the poker table. "We'll be knocking the joint over at midnight tonight. Pen, You, Me, and Goody will be going in through the back entrance. I have an associate on the inside that'll drop us off a key to get in through the back door. Scarface, and Donny, you'll be waiting at the getaway carriage to help us load the bits. Mugsy's our getaway driver. Pen, you know the combination to the vault, right?" "Sure do." I said. Well...I didn't know it by heart....but I did see them open the vault enough times to know what positions to turn the dial to! "You'll also be carrying the sacks that we'll load the money into." Nickle said. "I;m sure you can handle that. I just got one more question for ya. Are you sure you wanna join us? Cause once you get in, there's no getting out. Capice?" Now, if I had known better then, I would've backed out. I would've said no, then gone into hiding. But I didn't know better.....back then, I thought I had a chance. A chance to get back at the fat aristocrats who were letting this city die for their amusement....a chance to actually make it in this town....a chance.....to be somepony.... I took a big swig of cider, and slammed it down on the table. "I'LL DO IT!" I shouted. > The First Job > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was about midnight when we had left The Crusading Cavalier. The streets were still as busy as ever, ponies walking on the sidewalk, carriages driving by, and so fourth. Mugsy had hitched himself up to a carriage, ready to take us to the bank. I loaded the empty loot sacks in the trunk, then sat up front with Nickle. Scarface, Donny, and Goody sat in the back. "Let's get movin', Mugsy." Mugsy grunted while nodding his head, beginning to trot down the street, pulling us along with him. Scarface tapped me on the shoulder from the back. "So, Penny, what kinda resistance are we expecting when we get there?" He rasped. "From what I can remember, not much." I said. "To be honest, I never worked a night shift...I heard they only got one security guard! You ponies of low moral fiber and ill-repute should be able to take care of him!" They all seemed slightly annoyed by that statement, while Mugsy just seemed confused. Nickle leaned into me. "Cool it with the sarcastic remarks.." He hissed. I rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine." "So not a lot of resistance then?" Donny asked me. "Sounds too easy...you're not setting us up, are ya, newbie?" "Setting you up for what? I could set you up for a dinner party if you want! I got connections!" I said with a smile. Nickle rolled his eyes. "He's askin' if yer wearin' a wire or somethin'. Which he isn't. He's my brother, you can trust him!" Donny sighed. "If you say so, Boss." Goody said nothing and just looked out the window. I supposed he was the strong, silent type. After that, everypony was silent as Mugsy pulled us to the bank. Soon, the carriage came to a stop. "We're here." Mugsy grunted. The bank looked even more depressing at night than it did during the day. It was large, marble columns decorating the outside, giving it a very ancient look. "Alright." Nickle said. "Everypony remembers their role. Pen, Donny, my associate is waiting for us at the back. Scarface, Goody, you wait here with Mugsy, and be ready to load on the money." Goody nodded, while Scarface just said, "Sure thing, Nick." "Pen, you lead the way." Nickle said, adjusting his tie with his magic. I nodded as I climbed out of the carriage. I looked behind me, and I saw Nickle and Donny were following just as they said they would. We rounded the bank at a quick pace, to see a pony waiting for us by the back door, dressed in a grey trench coat and fedora. Nickle pushed past me and whispered to the mysterious looking pony. "You got the key?" The fedora clad pony simply nodded as he handed my brother the key to to the back door. Nickle levitated the key to the door, and quickly inserted it into the keyhole, turning it and unlocking the door. "Alright, wait by the carriage for your cut." He said to the associate pony. "Now let's get inside, and keep quiet. Pen, you know the building. You lead." I nodded as I crept inside the doorway, Nickle and Donny following behind. On the inside, the bank looked even more like a prison at night. The lobby was huge, Teller desks evenly spaced all throughout, so as many ponies could access their accounts as possible. "Ugh..." Donny remarked in disgust. "I can see why you hated workin' here..." "Wait, how did you know that?" I asked. Nickle walked over and put a hoof on my shoulder. "I was planning on lettin' you into the outfit for a long time, Pen." He said nonchalantly. "Now, come on. Let's not waist any more time. Show us where the vault is." I nodded and walked past all the desks. I saw the one I used to sit at....it had a different nametag....they had already replaced me....I turned my back to it and kicked it over with my back legs. "What are you doing?! We're not here to trash the place!" Nickle quietly shouted. "We can't make any noise!" "Sorry!" I whispered. "I needed ta get that out of my system...." "Just show us where the vault is!" Nickle shouted. I nodded and walked past the teller desks, and rounded a corner into the main office. The door was locked, and I didn't have a key. "Any o' you know an unlock spell?" "Well, I ain't a unicorn, so..." Donny began. Nickle sighed. "Looks like we're gonna have to get loud...." He levitated a chair up from one of the desks, and threw it through the window of the main office, shattering it. He then stuck his hoof through and opened the door from the inside. "Now, let's get to that vault. Lead the way, Pen. We don't have much time....that wasn't exactly the quietest noise in the world." I quickly walked back to the head of the group, looking around for the main vault. Sure enough, it was there, right behind the manager's desk. Of course....the greedy punk loved looking at all that money.... "Dear Celestia....it's huge!" Donny remarked. "Imagine how much must be behind there!" "It's a shame we can only take what we can carry....." Nickle said with a smile. "Alright Pen, you know the combo. Hurry and open it so we can getouttahere." I nodded and stepped foreward. The truth was....I didn't know the combination of the vault....but, I couldn't tell them that right then....they'd murder me! So, my horn glowed, and a magical blue aura surrounded the dial. I tried my best to remember the positions the dial was turned to whenever I saw another teller open it..... "Well?" Nickle said. "Pick it up!" I said nothing, but I started shaking. C'mon....C'mon.... I thought to myself. Finally, I heard a click. I let out a sigh of relief as the door slowly opened.....it was beautiful.... There were piles, nay, MOUNTAINS of bits all over, as far as the eye cold see! And all of this money would go to waste....lining the pockets of the aristocratic tyrants who would only let it all go to waste...... "Alright, Pen....get the sacks. Take as much as you can carry!" Just when I levitated a sack over to Nickle, and a sack over to Donny, I heard a voice. "Hey! What are you doing here?!" I looked over, it was the security guard! "Shoot!" Nickle shouted. "I forgot about him!" "I'm on to you hooligans! I've called the police, and I'm gonna detain you until they arrive!" The guard shouted. "Pen! We'll take care of getting the score! You hold that guy off!" Nickle shouted. "W-What?! But I ain't ever been in a fight before!" I shouted back. "Just do whatever ya can, we don't have time to discuss this!" Nickle shouted as he gathered bits. The guard ran toward Donnie and Nickle, but I quickly stood in front of him, rushing forward and knocking him down. The guard pushed me off oh him, and brought his hooves down on my face. "OUCH!" I shouted as he stomped on my nose. He rolled me over and grabbed one of my hooves, taking a pair of hoof-cuffs out of his saddlebag. "Stop struggling!" He shouted. Oh no, there was no way I was gonna go to prison! I managed to rip my hoof away from him, smacking him in the face and pushing him off of me. I stood up, punching the guard in the face with a front hoof. "Not so tough now, are ya, huh?" I laughed as I hit him again. "Just back off, buddy!" He quickly took a billy club from his saddlebag and held it in his mouth, hitting me right in the face with it. I grunted in pain as I fell back down to the ground. "Ouch...That's it!" My horn glowed, ripping the billy club from his mouth. "I think somepony needs a time out!!" I managed to get the billy club behind him, bapping him across the flanks with it. "Ow!!" The guard shouted. "What the hay?!" I then cuffed him, and sat him down in a chair facing the corner. "Now stay there and think about what you've done!" I said. I then began rubbing my cheek. "Ow.....that really hurt!" Before I could turn back to the vault, surprisingly, I saw Goody running in. "Guys..." he rasped. I think this was the first time I heard him talk.... "Somepony tipped off the police! They're on their way!!" "WHAT?!" Nickle shouted. "Alright, grab the bags, we are getting out of here!" After I had finished my fight with the security guard, I had noticed that we had six bags, each filled to the brim with bits. Nickle carried two with his magic, I did the same, while Donny carried two on his back. We couldn't waste any time running around the building, so we just chucked a chair through the glass of the front door, causing the alarm to ring. The three of us quickly chucked the bags in the back of the carriage, while Goody climbed in front. Nickle, Donny and I quickly jumped in the back with Scarface. "What he heck was goin' on in there?!" Scarface asked. "No time now, the cops are on us!" Nickle said to him. "Mugsy, get us out of here! But don't take us back to the Caveliere! We can't risk em finding it!" Mugsy nodded, taking off in a full gallop as soon as we were all back in the carriage. We rode in silence for a few minutes. We all knew Manehatten's finest were after us, so we didn't feel we needed to discuss it. We all just....sat there awkwardly. No one spoke about the amout of bits we stole, and no one even talked about the security guard I left cuffed in the corner. Mugsy kept galloping, and Nickle would look out the back of the carriage every now and again to see if the fuzz caught up to us. I took a deep breathe. I had just robbed a bank.....and took Celestia knows how much money! Why wasn't I saying anything?! Was it the heat of the moment? Was it that I was afraid of getting caught? I didn't have time to think about it, as the silence was finally broken by a magic missile zooming past the carriage. "Horsefeathers, they found us!" Nickle shouted. "Keep us running Mugsy! Shake em off of us!" Mugsy grunted as he picked up the pace. Nickle poked his head out through the back window, I looked out through the side. We were being chased by three police carridges, the unicorns pulling them firing spells at us! "THIS IS CRAZY!!!" I shouted. "Just shut up and shoot!" Scarface shouted from the other side, firing his own magic back at the cops. "THIS IS THE MANEHATTEN POLICE DEPARTMENT!" One of the cops shouted through a megaphone. "PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE STREET IMMEDIATELY AND PREPARE TO BE DETAINED!" "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!!" Nickle shouted. He then looked over at me. "Why are you just staring at them!? You def or somethin'? Shoot em!" That got me out of my daze....this was so crazy....I was in the middle of a carriage chase turned into a fire fight with the police! Gulping down the lump in my throat, I fired two magic missiles at our pursuers, both being complete misses. My aim was never really that good....I gasped when one of my brother's shots hit the wheel of one of the carriages, sending it crashing right there on the street. "HOLY JEEZ!" I shouted. "Shut up and shoot, kid!" Scarface shouted, sending another one of the carriages crashing with his own magic. Something rammed into us, sending us swerving a bit, as Mugsy stumbled. It was the final police carriage. "PULL OVER, OR I WILL MAKE SURE YOU CRASH!" The cop shouted through his megaphone. Acting out of impulse, I shot a magic missile.....I don't know what happened...I meant to hit the wheel....it hit the officer square in the chest, sending flying out of his carriage....I doubt he survived that fall....I froze....."Penny?" Nickle asked. I said nothing. "PENNY?!" He shouted again, as Scarface shot the wheel, causing the police carriage to back off.....we were silent once we were clear.....Mugsy began to slow down..... "Let's head back to The Cavalier...." Donny said to Mugsy. He grunted, and began trotting back, breathing heavily from all the running. "Penny?" Nickle whispered again. "You ok, kid?" "I-I....killed a pony...." I said. Nickle sighed, placing an arm around me. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't my reaction too....in this business, you see death every day....ya just gotta get used to it.It'll take a while but in time..." "I get it...." I mumbled. I really wasn't in the mood to talk....After a few minutes, Donny started laughing. "We made it!" He shouted. "I can't believe we just did that!!!" "Believe it, kid!" Scarface said. "Our first successful job!" "Wait....first?" I asked. Nickle nodded. "Yeah....we were small time for a long time....we could never get our business off of the ground....but now, ponies are gonna hear about this...our reputation will grow....hahaHAHA!!!!" He slapped me on the back and hugged me close. "And It's all because o' you!" "M-Me?" I asked. "Yeah!" Nickle shouted. "You knew the bank, you stalled the guard, and now we have just enough start-up money to get some real operations going!" "Y'know what?" He said. "I've been running this gang for a long time....we need a fresh face. Pen, how'd you like to be The Boss?" My heart skipped the beat. "B-Boss!? B-But I only just joined!!!" "I'll still be here as a Consigliere." He said. "Givin' you advice when you need it....but I want you on full time....think of it....The Pincher Family Mafia.... What do you say?" This was all happening unbelievably fast......if I had known better then....no, nah, you know this bit. I didn't know better then. That's all you need to know. This was my chance...a chance to get back at the establishment, a chance to make something of my life.....a chance to be somepony.......I smiled brightly. "I'll do it!" "Haha!" Donny shouted. "Tonight, we celebrate!" "Of course we do! CIDER ALL AROUND!!!" Nickle shouted. Everypony except for Goody and Mugsy cheered. They both just, smiled lightly. I smiled too, laughing along with them. At the time, I was seeing a bright future....a future towards the money and power I deserved.....I was lost in my own day dreams as we rode off into the night......