> The Silanos
>  by Kama and Hallie
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> Prologue
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Several years ago, Earth and Equestria have successfully made a connection with each other. After a portal was formed between Equestria and Earth, Princess Twilight Sparkle, the ruler of Equestria, has met up with the President of the United States, the country where the portal was formed on Earth, as well as several other world leaders, and agreed to have a partnership. Since then, humans and ponies have been free to travel to each other's worlds as they pleased, ponies and other creatures going to the human world, and humans going to the pony world, all for different purposes like residence, vacation, business, and education. But among these humans, there are some with less than favorable intentions.

With a portal between two worlds that's free to be accessed by anyone at any time, there are bound to be individuals or groups who'll use this newfound opportunity to commit nefarious acts. While the portal has only been open for a few years so the criminal activity around them isn't high yet, there seems to be a slow but steady rise of it as the years go by. 

The rise truly took a height when a notorious crime family from Earth began expanding their business and influence into Equestria, becoming one of the first, or at least the first biggest mob activity between two worlds.

This is the rise and fall of the Silano crime family in Equestria.
> The Cherry Incident
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sugarcube Corner was having quite a few customers today, both ponies and humans, and Pinkie Pie was serving all of them with excitement and a smile on her face. Not too many humans have moved into Ponyville compared to somewhere like Canterlot, but despite that, business has been booming since humans have moved here. Sugarcube Corner seemed to be very popular for a lot of the humans who moved or travelled to Ponyville, many even declaring Sugarcube Corner as their favorite bakery now, and now become regular customers, which Pinkie was more than happy to see. 

Some of the humans who moved to Ponyville have even started either helping around in different jobs around the town, or even started their own jobs and businesses. One of the notable ones Pinkie can think of is a new restaurant called "Giovanni's", which served food from a country on Earth called Italy, and Pinkie was surprised to see the food wasn't entirely different than food around Equestria like spaghetti and pizza. Around the restaurant, there were even small stores owned by it which sold other Italian products like olive oil, wine, pasta, and cheese. Pinkie has eaten there a couple of times, and she had to say, the food there was actually pretty darn good, she had at least four servings of spaghetti on her first time there. The weird thing was, Pinkie has never met the actual owners of the restaurants and stores, who the employees said were often away, which was a shame since Pinkie really wanted to throw them a welcome party for them. Oh well, she made sure to make a mental checklist to properly greet them when she saw them.

Today was a particularly special day in Sugarcube Corner, as they have just recieved a very large order of cherries, and Pinkie was excited to put them on top of every cake in the bakery, even the cookies. Pinkie was satisfied seeing the result of her work, all the cakes and pastries were officially cherry-decorated, which she thought really gave them a special touch that really completed them. She couldn't really decide why, maybe it's the dash of color, but she was really excited to serve these, even putting up a "Special Cherry Day" sign in front.

So far, everything about this day was going smoothly and perfectly normal. Customers were lining up, enjoying their food, and they and Pinkie were all happy. Pinkie took care of the cashier and the oven, while Mr and Mrs. Cake were in the kitchen. Then, a very unusual customer came up to the counter. This one was a young human male, except he looked and dressed very femininely, all in white and pink, except for his heeled shoes which were black over his white long socks. The young man was fairly small as adult human males came, and had a very thin build. He had hair that was dyed white, while the tips were dyed pink. His face was oval-shaped, and he had thick eyelashes, and he wore a white crop top as well as a pink mini skirt. 

"Hi, there! What can I get you today?" Pinkie asked in her usual happy voice.

"Well, I'll have one of those cupcakes and chocolate-chip cookies, my dad'll have the tiramisu, and my brother wants the banana cake," the feminine-looking young man said. He then turned from the display counter and observed Pinkie. "I really like your hair, by the way, maybe I can try doing mine like that," he said with a smile.

"You like my mane? Aw, thanks! I like yours too!" Pinkie said back with a smile as well.

"Thanks, I did it myself. Excuse me for asking, but you're Pinkie Pie, aren't you?" the young man asked.

"Yup, that's me!"

"Yeah, I saw you on TV with Princess Twilight Sparkle! Y'know, I actually really admire you. God knows our world needs more parties and laughter."

"Aw, shucks. I just like making others smile! And I hope our pastries can do that."

"I'm sure they will. Thanks!" the young man said as he walked away back to his table.

"Thank you too! Enjoy your meal!" Pinkie waved at him.

Pinkie never took her eyes off the young man as he walked back to his table, even while she served the next customers. She saw him arrive at his table, and there was someone else sitting with him. Sitting across from the feminine young man was a much older man, probably middle-aged, that Pinkie guessed from his order might be his father. Pinkie was quite perplexed by just how different the father and son looked. While the son was a small thin feminine figure dressed in bright colors, his father was a very large-built man, with a very square-shaped torso, wearing a hat and fancy striped suit that had a little red flower pinned on it. The father had a very round face as well, with a large nose, squinted eyes, wrinkles, and having a double-chin, barely having a visible neck, and under his hat was greasy black slickback hair that was greying, with several white streaks showing. As Pinkie continued serving the customers, she decided to eavesdrop on them from the counter.

"Here ya go, Dad," the young man set down their orders on the table.

"Damn, they really put cherries on everythin'?" the father asked, who Pinkie noticed had an accent that for some reason the son didn't have.

"Well, it is 'Special Cherry Day', after all. Here's your tiramisu," the son set his father's order in front of him.

"But when we have our "Special Pasta Day", we don't put pasta on everythin', do we? I mean, look at that, cherry on a chocolate-chip cookie? Whose stupid idea was that?" the father said, which kinda took Pinkie aback a bit.

"Alright, Dad. Just eat your cake."

"Hope the cake here is as good as ev'ryone says it is. Maybe I'll eat the cherry first," the father said as he picked the cherry off the tiramisu and ate it.

Suddenly, the doors to the bakery slammed open as three fillies came in, revealed to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders. 

"Hey, Pinkie Pie!" the three of them shouted, startling everyone in the bakery, including the father who was eating his cherry.

The large man in the striped suit suddenly held a hand to his neck and gasped for air, getting up from his seat and looking as if he was trying to spit something out.

"Dad?! Oh my god, he's choking! Someone do the Heimlich Maneuver! He's too big for me!" the son cried out in distress as his father began gasping for air even more.

"Gabe! Vincenzo! Where the hell are you guys?! Get in here! Dad's in danger!" the son shouted out the door of the bakery.

Pinkie Pie realized what was happening, and gasped. "A cherry emergency! Don't worry, sir! Pinkie Pie to the rescue!" she declared as she put down her tray and took off her apron, jumping out from behind the counter.

Pinkie then jumped onto the man's back and wrapped her hooves around his midriff like two rubberhoses and squeezed as hard as she could, causing the man to spit out the cherry pit stuck in his throat with such force that it shot out all the way to the counter and whizzed past Mr. Cake's head and stuck itself in the wall.

The man coughed and finally began gasping in air, and after a moment he finally restored enough air in himself to form words again. "Marone! That was a close call! I think I almost saw grandpa back there," he said before he turned to look at Pinkie Pie, who has let go of him. "Why yous doin' this favor fa me?"

"Well, I couldn't just stand there and let a customer choke in my bakery, could I?" Pinkie said with a friendly smile.

"Ya mean ya work in this bakery?"

"Yup!"

"Good thing fa you too, 'cause if ya weren't I woulda considered suin' the hell outta this place," the father said.

"C'mon, Dad. She just saved your life!" the son said, happy to see his father safe.

"I know, son. Don't worry, I won't give trouble ta someone who jus' so selflessly saved my life. I owe you a lot, kid."

Two other men then ran into the bakery. One of them was fairly young in age, only being a few years older than the man's son, and he had a big nose, greasy black hair, and wore an unbuttoned yellowish brown shirt over his white undershirt where Pinkie could also see he had a gold chain necklace. The other man was a lot older, being of similar build and shape as the father, though he was more fat than just naturally large like the father, and was probably at least a decade younger. He had tanner skin compared to the other three men, he a double chin just like the father, wore a buttoned-up dark purplish-brown shirt, and even had greasy black hair and wore a gold chain necklace like the other young man.

"What's goin' on 'ere?! Is everythin' alright?!" the young man asked, having the same accent as the father.

"Where the hell were you guys?! Dad almost died back there and I couldn't see you guys anywhere!" the son yelled at the two men who came in.

"I told ya, we was on a smoke break outside! It ain't my fault!" the young man retorted.

The son then shifted his attention to the three fillies who caused the incident in the first place, whose ears were all drooping in shame. "You kids! My dad could've just died! Do none of you know how to not cause trouble?!"

"We're sorry..." the Crusaders whimpered, recoiling in fear.

The father then put a hand on the shoulders of the two young men. "Kids, kids, please. I'm perfectly fine now. 'Sides, they's just children, they don't know no betta'. Ya should all be thankin' this little pink horse. What's ya name, horse?" he asked.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you!" Pinkie greeted.

"Remember her, Dad? She's one of the five ponies alongside Princess Twilight that we saw on TV!" the feminine young man said.

"Really? Well, it's an honor ta meet ya. Ya mus' be a pretty powaful figure," the father said with a smile.

"'Powerful figure'? Oh, silly. I'm not powerful. Sure, I'm friends with Twilight who's now ruler of all Equestria and I'm on the Council of Friendship, but other than that I'm just regular ol' Pinkie Pie."

"'Council o' Friendship'? What tha hell do ya even do there? Is that jus' some get-togetha' fa famous people or somethin'?" Gabriele asked.

"No, well, sort of. Anyway, what's your name?" Pinkie asked the man this time.

"Roberto Giovanni Silano, but ya can jus' call me Mr. Silano." the man greeted himself before gesturing to the other three around him, first to the black-haired young man. "This is my son, Gabriele."

"Ay, how ya doin'?" Gabriele greeted.

Mr. Silano then gestured to his other son, the feminine-looking young man. "This is my younger son, Ainsley."

"Happy to meet you!" Ainsley greeted with a cheery attitude.

Gabriele then spoke up. "Somethin' ya should know about Ainsley 'ere is he's, uh...he's a little off to the side, y'know? He's...foofy. Up to the knuckle. An' he likes to dress up as the other team."

"Huh?" Pinkie said, not understanding a word Gabriele just said.

"Gabe, Mom's not around. You don't need to use confusing descriptions about me." Ainsley said, looking frustrated at his brother.

"Well, Dad's around." Gabriele retorted.

"Dad's fine with it now, remember?"

"Eh...'fine' is kind of a strong word." Mr. Silano said.

"Dad! You know what? Let me just say it myself, because I'm not ashamed of it! I am a femboy and I like sleeping with men! There! See? Easy!" Ainsley declared, before realizing he's now getting stared at by everyone in the bakery. "What are you all looking at? You gotta problem with it?!" he shouted, which made everyone stop staring and went back to minding their own business.

Silano took a deep breath before continuing, now gesturing to the older man. "Anyway...and this is my most trusted henchman, Vincenzo De Luca."

"Hey there." Vincezo greeted plainly.

"Vincenzo De Luca?" Pinkie asked.

"Well, I'm not actually the Vincenzo De Luca, I'm jus' someone who also happens to be named Vincenzo De Luca."

"Who?" Pinkie asked again.

"Ya know, Italian politician? Eh, neva mind, fahgettaboudit." Vincezo said.

"I've never seen you guys around Ponyville. What do you do?" Pinkie asked them.

Mr. Silano answered while taking out a cigar from his coat pocket and lighting it. "Well, I'm a businessman, an' I run...several businesses. But my main one is that Italian restaurant named 'Giovanni's', as well as the other Italian stores. We actually 'ave that restaurant in a lotta places, back on Earth, an' even on Canterlot."

Pinkie then gasped in shock. "You're the owners of that restaurant?! Oh, I've been wanting to meet you for so long! YouseeI'vebeengoingtothatrestaurantacoupleoftimesandthefoodwassodeliciousandIthoughtIjusthadtothrowawelcomepartyforyoubecauseIalwaysthrowasurprisewelcomepartytonewcomersinPonyvillebutforsomereasonIcouldneverseeyouanywheresoIjusthadtowaitforyoutoshowupandnowyou'refinallyhereandIcanffinallythrowthatsurprisepa-!"

"Shut up!" Mr. Silano suddenly shouted, causing Pinkie to go quiet immediately. "Sorry, but please just say one thing at a time."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry." Pinkie chuckled. "I was just saying, how come I never see you around?"

"I'm a very busy man, Pinkie. Like I says, I run several businesses, some o' whcih involve gettin' outta Ponyville." Mr. Silano answered.

"Ah, okay. Your restaurant, 'Giovanni's', is that named after you?" Pinkie asked again.

"No, it was actually named after my grandfather, Giovanni Silano, who immigrated to America from Sicily in the early 1900s, an' he opened up his own Italian restaurant in New York, an' even opened up several stores sellin' stuff like olive oil an' wine. He was the firs' Silano ta come to America, now I'm the firs' Silano ta come an' open up a restaurant in another world! If only he could see me now!"

"Aw, that's so nice." Pinkie smiled.

"So ya see, I've been thinkin'. As repayment for ya savin' my life, how about we help each other's businesses out? I can help earn ya more money for this bakery from my large restaurant chains, an' you can let us sell ya pastries an' cakes as dessert  fa our restaurants? How's that sound?"

Pinkie gasped again. "Would I?" Pinkie turned to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who have been standing behind her the whole time. "Mrs. Cake! Mr. Cake! Can we?"

"Well...I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Mrs. Cake answered hesitantly.

"Yipee! It's a deal!" Pinkie excitedly shook her hoof with Mr. Silano's hand.

"An' who knows? Maybe in the future, we can even start helpin' each other do...special jobs, y'know?" Mr. Silano winked with his squinted eyes.

"Ooh! I love special jobs! Sure!"

Gabriele then cleared his throat, bringing all the attention to him. "Look, pops, it's nice you an' Pinks over 'ere are gettin' along, but can we talk about the whole 'you almos' dyin' thing'?"

"What about it?" Roberto asked.

"Don'tcha think it's kinda odd that the timing in which it happened is pretty conveniant? Y'know, this bein' a cherry day, happenin' right on me an' Vincenzo's smoke break schedule, an' the fillies comin' in at the right time after school is over?" Gabriele said.

"C'mon, guys. It's obviously just an accident. Accidents happen. Not everything is an assassination attempt." Ainsley said.

"In my line o' work, son, you can never be too careful. Anythin' can be an assassination attempt." Roberto said to his son.

"Someone's trying to hurt you?! Why?!" Pinkie gasped in disbelief.

"If there's one thing ya learn as a businessman, Pinkie, is that business can be very dangerous." Mr. Silano answered.

"You know, I was going to throw you special Pinkie Pie welcome party, but now I think I'll need to put on...a Pinkie Pie welcome investigation!" Pinkie said in a mysterious tone.

"Yeah, sure." Roberto said, mostly just confused.

"Think, Mr. Silano! Who would want to wish you harm?!"

"Well, that'd be a pretty long list ta go over, but there is one that springs to mind. A certain client involved in our recently opened horse-racin'...or I guess here it's just racin', who is a little late on his due payment."

"Who could that be?"

"Ya don't need ta get involved, Pinkie. But lemme ask ya, 'cause this could be another lead, who sends in the cherries?"

"Well, they're sent in from Cherry Hills at Dodge Junction. I hear there's a human from Ponyville who freelances there named Leroy!"

"Leroy, huh?" Mr. Silano rubbed his chin while his cigar was in his mouth. "What a damn coincidence, I was jus' thinkin' o' the same guy! Guess we gots ta pay 'im a visit now, boys."

"See ya 'round, Pinks." Gabriele said as the four men exited the bakery.

"Come back soon!" Pinkie shouted.

As the Silanos along with De Luca walked down the street, Ainsley then spoke up to his father.

"Look at that, Dad. You just became good friends with one of the most important ponies in the land, and friend to the Princess herself!"

"Friendship is good fa business. It makes it stronger and thrives more. An' y'know? Considerin' that pink horse is one o' the Princess's closest friends, it seems we mighta jus' gotten a bit o'...political influence. That sounds like it could help us a lot. Maybe later on, we should pay a visit ta the otha friends o' the Princess." Roberto suggested.

"Sounds good ta me, pops!" Gabriele exclaimed in agreement, with excitement written all over his face.

The Silanos laughed with each other as they walked down the street, planning their next move.
> The Interrogation
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The Silanos' car, driven by Vincenzo De Luca, stopped directly in front of Cherry Hill Ranch. This farm stood out from the rest of the landscape of Dodge Junction, being the only patch of green in the middle of nothing but orange rocks and sand. It took a little while to get to here from Ponyville by car, but Roberto thought it was worth it to figure out if their is a plot against his life. The four of them stepped out of the car and walked into the farm's fields, but not before Gabriele took out a baseball bat out of the car's trunk to carry with him. 

Cherry Hill Ranch's fields were quite a pretty sight. Surrounded by many pink trees with blossoms falling down and cherries ripe for the taking, and especially knowing this was in the middle of a pretty barren desert, gave a pretty peaceful feeling to Roberto. After a while, they found their target.

On a ladder leaning against one of the cherry trees was a red-haired human man picking off fresh cherries off the branches, it didn't take a genius to figure out that was Leroy. As soon as the red-haired man climbed down the ladder and saw the men heading toward him, he dropped his baskets full of cherries in surprise.

"You guys?! H-hey! What are you guys doing here?" Leroy said nervously.

"We are here about two pretty important issues, Leroy," Roberto answered, his mouth still having the cigar in it.

"We're here 'cause one o' the cherries from ya farm nearly killed my father," Gabriele said while repeatedly hitting the bat into his hand.

"An' ya still haven't paid the four-'undred bits ya owe me fa ya bet on the pony-racin'," Vincenzo added.

"Oh, we're still concerning ourselves about that? C'mon, it's been two months, Vincent," Leroy said, desperately trying to defuse the situation.

"Yeah, that's the point, jackass! Ya wrote it down on paper that ya bet on that stallion, Fast Track, ta win, an' ya bet four-'undred bits on 'im! I got it all in writing! Now pay up!" Vincenzo started to lose his patience, and Gabriele was as well.

"C'mon, man! He was the most reassuring winner I could think of! I mean, with a name like that. Plus, I was planning on betting on the one who eventually did win, Quick Sprint, but you said that he had arthritis or something like that, so I swithced my bet," Leroy explained.

"What? No, I was talkin' about Fast Track. He was the one who had arthritis. Ya musta misheard me."

"No, I'm pretty sure you were talking about Quick Sprint. Also, why'd you even let a stallion with arthritis compete in-" Leroy tried to say before Vincenzo suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at Leroy's head.

"Ya gettin' smart with me, huh?! Little punk!" Vincenzo shouted.

"Ya wanna break ya neck fallin' from one o' these trees?! Have an accident in ya pathetic freelancin' life?!" Gabriele added.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, man!" Leroy pleaded, as he got down on his knees with his hands raised.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Vincenzo said as he put his gun back.

This time, Ainsley and Roberto stepped forward towards Leroy. "Besides, we're not here about the racing, we're here to ask you about the recent large delivery of cherries to Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville today! God, I can't believe I'm going along with this," Ainsley whispered under his breath.

"Who's this guy?" Leroy asked, pointing at Ainsley.

"I'm his son," Ainskey sighed, gesturing toward Roberto.

"You're his son? What? No way, man. You don't even look li-"

"We ain't here ta talk about my son's geneology! We're here ta talk about ya recent cherry deliveries!" Roberto interrupted.

"Why? What about it?" Leroy asked.

Roberto spoke this time, now taking the cigar out of his mouth. "It jus' seems like a pretty damn interesting coincidence, that ya should jus' so happen ta send a large shipment o' cherries from ya farm, to the place I was scheduled to eat today, where I'd potentially choke on one o' ya cherries. An' while you's so deep in debt as well. Pretty damn conveniant, ain't it?"

"What? Are you suggesting I was trying to kill you by sending in a large delivery of cherries to a bakery? That does not make any fucking sense. Besides, you're forgetting that this isn't even my farm. This place belongs to Cherry Jubilee. I think she's on the other side of the fields somewhere. I'm just staying here for a few days to help her out."

"An' how long 'ave ya been stayin' 'ere?" Roberto asked.

"A couplea days, I guess." Leroy answered.

"Then that still gives ya enough time ta research my schedule fa today, pick enough cherries, an' try ta set things in motion."

"What?! That's ridiculous, man!"

"That's what I've been saying!" Ainsley blurted out.

"Shut up, son. I'm talkin' right now." Roberto gestured at Ainsley.

"But even if that was a hit, which it wasn't, why would I rely on you choking on a cherry to assassinate you? That's leaving a lot of things to chance. I'd just go with a more traditional approach. Besides, if there's any one of you I'd try to kill, it'd be Vincent over there. The one who's been breathing down my neck these past two months," Leroy said.

"Watch ya mouth, punk," Vincenzo growled.

"Ya'd also have ta try an' ta infiltrate me ta figure out my schedule, maybe by someone from inside. Then you'd have ta get those three fillies ta arrive at the bakery at jus' the right time when I'm eatin' the cherry, since ya'd also get inside information that I always eat the cherries first," Roberto continued, his tone completely serious.

Leroy's face just looked even more confused than before. Unable to process what he just heard suggested to him. "I'm sorry, which three fillies?"

"Uh...hey, son. Ya know about these horses betta' than us. Ya know their names?" Roberto asked Ainsley.

"Oh, those three call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Pretty popular around town, turns out. They apparently help other ponies with their cutie marks or somethin," Ainsley answered.

"What the hell is even a cutie mark?"

"Y'know, those tattoos all the ponies have on their asses?"

"That's what they's called? Yeesh, what a terrible name. What's the deal with those?"

"They apparently represent a pony's special talent. They just kinda appear when you discover what you're good at." Ainsley answered again. "Dad, how do you not know this stuff? We've been here long enough to open up a restaurant. Wait, no, two restaurants! The other's in Canterlot!"

"I only know what I need to know."

"This is basic pony biology and culture, Dad! I'm pretty sure you should at least know something like this."

"Um, guys? Are you forgetting about me?" Leroy interrupted.

"Oh, right." Roberto cleared his throat. "So ya coulda jus' talked ta these Crusader Girls or whateva' the hell they's called, an' made sure they came to the bakery at jus' the right time."

"Man, how the hell could anyone set up a hit like that? I've never even talked to the Crusaders before in my life! Okay, maybe I've ran into them a couplea times, but I've never actually talked to them. What you're suggesting right now is a pretty near-impossible elaborate plan that would leave a lot, and I mean a lot of things to chance!"

"See, Dad? Even he agrees," Ainslet said again.

"Son, fa the last time, stop bein' a smartass," Roberto silenced Ainsley again. "I've had a lotta hits attempted on me back on Earth that seemed ridiculous an' defied logic, an' now we're in a world of dragons and talkin' horses that can fly or move stuff with their minds, even move the fuckin' sun an' moon! So no, I don't think someone tryin' ta kill me with a cherry an' a conveniantly timed schedule is too far fetched ta believe in our current circumstances," he continued, which only caused Ainsley to groan in frustration.

"Besides, maybe you should try talking to the Crusaders. Since, from what you've told me, they're the ones who caused your choking," Leroy suggested.

"I was actually plannin' on doin' that. Ay, Ainsley, ya know the names o' the three fillies?" Roberto turned to Ainsley.

Ainsley nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. I'm pretty sure two of them are the little sisters of the Council of Friendship members. There's uh...Apple Bloom, she's Applejack's sister, the orange one with the cowboy hat..."

"Of course. Apple-themed," Gabriele commented.

"...there's Sweetie Belle, Rarity's sister, the white unicorn with the stylish hair. And lastly there's Scootaloo, I don't think she's related to any of them, but she's pretty close with Rainbow Dash. Pretty sure I don't need to tell you which one she is."

"Alright then, Leroy. I'm gonna leave ya alone fa now, but don't think I won't keep my eye on ya," Roberto turned to the red-haired man who was kneeling on the ground, who got up to his feet again when he heard this.

"Oh, thanks, sir. So we're done here?" Leroy asked.

"Almost. You two can continue with the business about the racin' money now," Roberto said to Gabriele and Vincenzo as he and Ainsley walked away.

"What?!"

"Ya heard 'im. Four-'undred bits. C'mon, where is it?" Vincenzo asked.

"Look, man. I've got four-hundred bits in my pocket, but it's literally all the money I have, I'll go bankrupt. Just gimme at least one more month to also earn some money for myself."

"There isn't gonna be a fuckin' next month! I want the money now!"

Gabriele chimed in, baseball bat still in hand. "Look, it's one or the other, Leroy. Either ya lose ya money or ya lose ya kneecaps."

"Well, I still need to have some money to feed myself, man. And also some to help me to get back to Ponyville an-"

Suddenly, Gabriele swung his bat and hit Leroy's right knee, causing him to scream in pain and fall to the ground.

"I warned ya, jackass! Last chance, or I'll aim for ya head this time!" Gabriele warned, preparing to swing his bat again.

"Alright, alright! Here! Just take it!" Leroy cried as he pulled out the a bag full of bits and threw it towards Gabriele, wincing from the pain in his knee.

"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Vincenzo said. "Don't try pullin' shit like this again, capiche?" Vincenzo warned Leroy one last time while he walked away.

"Fine, I won't," Leroy answered weakly as he tried to get back up on his feet.

"If Cherry Horse asks ya what 'appened, jus' tell 'er ya fell off the ladder," Gabriele told the hurting man.

"Don't worry, I was thinking the same thing."

Gabriele now turned around and walked away to join the others.

"Hey, uh...why don't you try having mares compete in the races?" Leroy suddenly asked.

Gabriele turned around and just stared at Leroy with a confused look on his face. "What? What kinda question is that?"

"I'm just saying, mares seem to be the more...top-dog ones here compared to the stallions. Ya see them a bit more often than the guys. Why don't you have them compete in the races too?"

"'Cause a stallion is still bigger, faster, stronger, an' more biologically fit fa racin'. Doesn't matter whether the females are more in charge 'ere or not," Gabriele answered, with a clear frustration in his tone.

"Well, I guess I'm just trying to say it wouldn't hurt to have mares participate in your races. The choices are mostly Earth ponies, right? I mean, Ponyville is a mostly Earth pony town anyway, so you'd have limitless choices. And y'know, adding mares would make the race and the betting more...diverse, y'know? The mares here are pretty damn fast too, as far as I know. Or they could still be weaker, and maybe that could make betting for someone like me easier, y'know?" Leroy smiled innocently at the end.

Gabriele just silently stared at Leroy, his face clearly saying he was not amused by Leroy's suggestion in the slightest. He then pulled out his stiletto switchblade and pointed it in Leroy's direction. "How 'bout I jus' cut ya fuckin' balls off an' ya can jus' fill in that part an' race yaself?! That sound good to ya?!"

Leroy's eyes widened at this. "Never mind! Never mind! Forget I said anything!" he chuckled nervously.

"Jackass," Gabriele whispered under his breath as he put his stiletto back in his pocket and walked away, leaving Leroy all alone.







As the Silanos drove back to Ponyville, Roberto continued doing more research on information of their next suspects, mostly from what Ainsley knows. On the three fillies, as well as their sisters and what their importance is.

"So these three fillies are related to three of the Council of Friendship members, each o' them bein' extremely famous an' influential in one way or anotha'," Roberto analyzed the information given to him. "One owns the biggest farm in Ponyville an' has a family spread throughout the country, one is a famous an' successful fashionista, an' one's a famous athlete o' some kind an' influences the weather?"

"Don't forget all of them saved Equestria from doom several times," Ainsley added.

"Y'know, son, like I says before, if we continue this investigation an' manage ta get close ta all these council members, we'll not only figure out if someone out there out ta get me, we'll also expand our business ta massive lengths by teamin' up with the members, an' if we really gain their trust we'll also able ta get ta the Princess. Then we can run things from the shadows, an' make it easier to do our more...secret businesses behind everyone's backs, an' with the Council o' Friendship an' Princess by our side, we'll be hard ta touch by the authorities."

"I told you, Dad, nobody's out to get y...you know what? Forget it. But I agree with what you just said. We'll become richer than before!"

"Yeah, we'll double our money an' influence by havin' it come from two worlds! Plus, it'll be easier considerin' these horses probably don't know any betta' about our kinda business an' products," Gabriele added.

"Exactly. Not sure how well this'll work, but ya can't improve business without takin' a few risks, right?" Roberto said.

The car continued driving back to Ponyville, as the Silanos continued planning their next steps.
> The Offer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours after arriving back at Ponyville, Roberto decided to go up to Sweet Apple Acres on his own, while the other three took care of other things. Besides, Roberto has always been the best at negotiating and forming partnerships with others, Gabriele and Vincenzo were men who mostly spoke with action rather than words and weren't really the best at getting people comfortable, and Ainsley was still inexperienced in his father's business, still a lot to learn. It wasn't like Gabriele and Vincenzo's assistance were needed anyway, as this was simply a talking matter, no jackass debtors who needed convincing or anything like that, and Ainsley seemed like he was getting frustrated with his father trying to look into the "mystery" of his near-death experience. But Roberto had always been somewhat superstitious, maybe not to the degree his wife was, or his father and grandfather were, but it was still there. Roberto always knew that in his line of business, there'd always, always, be someone who wished death upon him, one way or another. So if Roberto felt that if his life was nearly taken in any way, he'll take that as a warning that someone bore ill intent upon him, which is something that happened nearly all the time, and he'd take that as a warning that his life could be in danger.

Roberto walked through the gates and saw the big red farm and acres upon acres of apple trees that stood before him. Roberto had to admit, while Equestria was personally not his favorite place, it still had a lot of things to be enjoyed. Roberto personally thought that the views of Sicily could never be beat, which made him realize he couldn't remember how long it's been since he last visited his ancestral home, or Italy in general. Roberto shook the thoughts out of his head, focusing on the task at hand. He wandered past the barn and into the fields, trying to find some any form of life that was there. The mob boss thought it was funny how he managed to visit two different farms on the same day. Earth ponies did seem to have a natural talent for agriculture and "taming the land" as they say, which is something Roberto can respect. 

After a few minutes of walking through the trees, Roberto finally heard some noises that indicated that someone (or "somepony", as they say in Equestria, something he would never get used to) was nearby, and he found his target. Among the trees was an orange mare with a blonde mane and tail wearing a cowboy hat, and Roberto immediately knew this was Applejack, exactly the pony he wanted to see. It never occured to Roberto how little he knew about Ponyville and its residents despite it being pretty much his headquarters here in Equestria. He was known as a man who knew everyone back on Earth, so he thought he needed to fix that mistake. Can't do business if you don't know anything about the place you're conducting business in, can you? And what better place to start than some of the most famous and influential figures in town?

Roberto approached Applejack, who was in the middle of bucking one of the apple trees, which caused all the apples from the tree to fall perfectly in place in the baskets she had placed underneath. Roberto took the cigar out of his mouth and cleared his throat, which got the orange farm pony's attention.

"Nice farm ya got 'ere," Roberto greeted.

"Oh, howdy there, stranger! Ah'm Applejack, an' you are...?"

"Mr. Silano. Ya mighta heard o' me," the mob boss answered.

"Wait...aren't ya the feller who had that accident with the cherry down at Sugarcube Corner?" the farm pony asked.

"That would be me. I was hopin' I could talk to those three fillies."

"Well...look, Ah already confronted the girls about what happened, gave 'em a talkin' to, they apologized, an' I told 'em ta be be more careful in the future."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have absolutely no hard feelings about what happened, they are jus' children after all," Roberto reassured. "I actually jus' wanted ta ask 'em some questions regarding the incident."

"Questions? But tha whole thing was jus' an accident, weren't it? What questions do ya even wanna ask 'em, an' why?" Applejack asked, starting to become a little concerned.

"It's alright, Apple Girl, they's not in any trouble. I'm jus' startin' to have a suspicious feelin' that my so-called 'accident' wasn't that much of an accident," Roberto explained, which he could see was not helping her understand any better.

"Are ya sayin' the girls had somethin' to do with the accident or somethin'?" Applejack asked again, clearly becoming a lot more defensive.

"No, of course not, not really, it's complicated. Look, like I says, they's not in any trouble, an' I have no hard feelin's. I jus' wanna talk to 'em. Ya know where they are?"

Applejack still looked pretty skeptical with Roberto, but decided to play along. "Sure, they're in their clubhouse. Lemme take ya to 'em."

"Why, thank you."

Applejack led Roberto through the trees. Roberto decided to keep looking around him, at all the apples growing around him, all managed by this one apparently small family from what he heard. This orange mare, her older brother and his wife, her little sister, and her grandmother who's probably retired by now. Roberto always had an appreciation for farmers, as his ancestral home of Siciluy was full of them, and they were the backbone for his main businesses. Roberto could tell that Applejack was eyeing him suspiciously, so he decided to defuse the tension by starting to talk about the other reason he came to the farm.

"So ya grow apples, huh?" Roberto asked.

"Yup, best apples in Ponyville," Applejack answered with a friendly voice, though still with a hint of wariness underneath.

"Ya know, my business is also kinda in farming as well."

"Really? Ya don't seem like the type." the farm pony gestured at Roberto's whole being.

"Well, I'm not that much of a farmer myself. I mean, I do grow a lot of my own things, mostly in my garden, but I don't really try to get my hands dirty often. But my business does involve a lotta farm-grown things, all o' which I own."

"So whaddya grow?" Applejack asked.

"Many things, but we mainly farm grapes, olives, an' tomatoes. Y'know, ta make wine, olive oil, an' sauce, all the essentials fa Italian cuisine. Ya make somethin' like that with ya apples, don't ya?"

"Yeah, we do. We make the special Apple Family Cider, best cider 'round these parts. We even grow some of our own grapes, too. Why do ya ask?"

"Y'see, I didn' jus' come here ta talk ta the fillies, Applejack. I wanna talk some business as well," the mob boss answered.

"Business? What kinda business?"

"I know you's never met me before, but ya mighta seen my new restaurant around town. It's called 'Giovanni's'," Roberto gestured his thumb in Ponyville's direction behind him.

"That's yer restaurant? Then how come Ah've never seen ya 'round town before?"

"I'm a very busy man, that's all I can say. The point is, I wanna make ya an offer."

"An' what's that?" Applejack began eyeing Roberto again, as if trying to spot anything off about him.

"Like I just says, I own many farms myself that grow many things important fa my business. The thing is, since my chains have only recently opened up 'ere in Equestria, the products fa my business still need ta be delivered an' shipped from Earth through the portal. Not only is this slowin' down my business 'ere significantly, but there are also certain products important fa my business that would have a hard time gettin' through the portal's authorization," Roberto explained.

"Uh-huh..." Applejack said, trying to follow along, waiting to see where all this was going.

"So, I was thinkin', in order ta help my business, how 'bout we form some kinda partnership with our farms?"

"How d'ya mean?"

"Well, yous already got yaself a pretty damn big farm 'ere, probably takes half o' this town. I was thinkin' maybe I can also use some o' ya acres ta grow some o' my own crops an' other products 'ere. That way, not only will it be a lot easier fa my restaurant businesses 'ere in Equestria, but ya can even get extra profits from my businesses as payment fa me usin' ya farm. Ya can use it ta fix or renovate the barn, expand the land, help ya own business. How's that sound?" Roberto asked.

Applejack pondered about it for a moment, taking in everything that was just said to her. "So ya jus' wanna use some o' our acres ta grow yer own stuff fer yer restaurant, is that correct?"

"Correct."

"Why d'ya need our farm?"

"It's mostly jus' a little boost ta help our startin' businesses 'ere in Equestria, make it easier ta access the tools an' make things go smoothly, an' maybe, one day, we'll open up our own farm 'round 'ere somewhere. But until that day 'appens, I'd be happy if ya can accept my offer, because I need to grow these things immediately if I want ta keep my business 'ere stable. Plus, where better to trust to grow them than the best farm in town? Plus, you an' ya family are still gettin' paid fa this, I ain't jus' gonna leech off ya land."

Applejack gave it another thought, and after a moment of silence, accepted. "Well, Ah've never tried growin' olives mahself, but shoot, why not? I'd be glad ta help an honest growin' business like yers."

"So it's a deal?" Roberto asked, extening his hand.

"Sure," Applejack extended her hoof into the human man's hand, and just like that, the farm pony and the mob boss formed the partnership. 

"Ah'll make sure ta talk ta the rest o' the family before we make this really official."

"Of course, it's always important ta talk ta family. They're the backbones of any honest business," Roberto said with a smile.

"Well, c'mon. The clubhouse should jus' be right 'round 'ere," Applejack gestured to Roberto, as they continued walking.

After a few more minutes of roaming the fields, they finally arrived at the clubhouse. A small wooden house perched on a tree with a green staircase leading up to it, and there was what looked like some sort of watchtower at the very top of the tree, judging by the telescope sticking out of it.

"Maybe ya should stay down 'ere, 'cause ya look like ya might be too big ta go up there," Applejack said to the mob boss.

"Don' worry,  wasn't plannin' ta go up there, anyway."

"Hey, girls! Come down 'ere!" Applejack called out at the treehouse, afterwhich three small heads poked out. "There's someone 'ere ta talk ta y'all," she gestured at Roberto.

When the three fillies saw who was with Applejack, their faces immediately turned to worry and fear, and after exhanging looks with each other, they reluctantly walked out of the treehouse and came down to the ground, in front of the mob boss.

"Hi, uh...we're...awful sorry about what happened back in Sugarcube Corner. Please don't be mad at us," Apple Bloom apologized nervously, rubbing her foreleg.

"It's alright, girls. I'm not mad about that. I jus' wanna ask ya somethin' about the incident," Roberto reassured.

The Crusaders looked at each other again. "What about it?" Scootaloo asked.

"I jus' wanted ta ask...why did ya three come ta the bakery at that time?" Roberto asked.

"Uh...we just wanted to go there, I guess," Scootaloo answered, she and the other two Crusaders looking very confused about the question being asked at them.

"No, I mean what caused ya ta go to the bakery at that specific time?" the mob boss asked again.

Now, the three of them, including Applejack, became even more confused. It was clear that the three girls were having a hard time trying to come up with a proper answer, and were worried what might happen if they didn't give an answer that satisfied the large human man. Roberto supposed he couldn't blame them, if someone suddenly asked him a question like that, he'd have thought they were either insane or stupid too.

"Well, uh..." Sweetie Belle spoke up this time. "We were released early today from school, an' Miss Cheerliee said that there was a Special Cherry Day at Sugarcube Corner, so we immediately went there after school. I mean, Sugarcube Corner wasn't too far from our school anyway."

"So ya got released early the very same day, huh? Isn't that an interesting coincidence," Roberto said out loud to himself, which did not help the already confused states of all the ponies around. "Well, thanks for ya time."

"That's it? That's all ya came ta ask?" Applejack asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Yup, that's all I needed ta know," Roberto confirmed as he threw his cigar to the ground and put it out with his shoe, which Applejack looked at with a sour face for his littering.

"Well, glad we can be of assistance, ah guess."

"Ya certainly have been," Roberto was about to walk away, but suddenly stopped himself. "Actually, there's one more thing I wanna ask. You, unicorn! What's ya name again?" Roberto pointed at the white unicorn filly.

"Uh...Sweetie Belle, sir," she answered.

"Ya sister's the fashionista isn't she? What's 'er name? Rareness? Rar..."

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, Rarity, that's 'er! She's ya sister, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I've noticed there've been a few tears formin' 'round my suit 'ere, an' I can't 'ave that. This is an expensive first-class suit! I'd stitch it up myself, but fa a suit this expensive an' fancy, I think I'd rather 'ave a professional fashion seamstress do the work instead. I know she'd do a hell of a lot better job than me. Is she in today?"

"Yeah, she is. She's pretty busy, that's one of the reasons I'm over here," Sweetie Belle answered.

"Well, I'm sure she can spare some time fa me. I pay good money fa my suits, an' she'll definitely get some good money. Plus, I might also wanna discuss some things with 'er."

"Like what?"

"Ya don' need ta concern yaselves with that. It's strictly business talk," Roberto said as he grabbed another cigar from his pocket and put it in his mouth. "So 'er place is the uh...Carousel Boutique, right? The one surrounded by all the tents?"

"Yup, that's the one," the filly confirmed.

"Alright then," Roberto said as he turned to Applejack one last time. "Hope our partnership can be a good one, as two honest individuals o' business." And with that, Roberto walked away.

Applejack couldn't help but feel at least a little suspicious of the large cigar-smoking human, with how he kept asking the fillies those strange questions as if they were purposefully involved in his accident, to the sudden offer of having his business use her family's farm, and now, based on what he said, it sounded like he was going to discuss business with Rarity right after he did with Applejack. The farm pony couldn't exactly put her hoof on it, but something felt off about Silano. But before she could dwell on these thoughts further, she had to answer Apple Bloom's question about what the human man meant about their "partnership".

As Roberto walked out of Sweet Apple Acres in the late afternoon, he enjoyed the view around while he struck a match to light his new cigar. The mob boss smirked proudly thinking about all his accomplishments today so far. 

Two friends o' the Princess down, an' three more ta go, he thought to himself as he walked into the town.
> The Suit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roberto arrived in front of the Carousel Boutique. He'd seen this building several times during his time in Ponyville but has never actually been inside it, mainly because he never really needed to as he felt the boutique's choices would not be to his liking and he always kept his suits in good condition. Plus, the boutique mostly sold clothes for ponies, which Roberto always thought the idea of ponies wearing fancy clothing to be ridiculous, but he heard that ever since more humans started moving into Ponyville, the boutique started selling human clothes as well, so at least there's that.

Just today, Roberto noticed some tears on his suit, though he had absolutely no idea what caused them as with everything that happened today, they could've been caused by anything. Roberto was not happy about it, as this was one of his favorite suits which he always took great care of. So coming to the Boutique was killing two birds with one stone, as he could talk with another one of Princess Twilight Sparkle's closest friends and get his suit stitched up, it was a win-win. 

Roberto knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique, with one hand still holding his cigar, and from the other side, he heard a reply.

"Come in!" a very posh-sounding, sing-songy voice answered from behind the door. Roberto hadn't even seen this pony named "Rarity" yet, but he could already tell everything about her just from the way she spoke. It wouldn't be the first time Roberto met this kind of person (or pony in this case).

Roberto opened the door and entered the Boutique, and inside he saw three figures occupying themselves with a dress on the table. The other two seem to only be observing what's going on, while the one in the middle is the one doing all the seam work. the two figures standing up and watching the work process was a young yellow stallion with blue hair with a "cutie mark" (Roberto still hated saying that) depicting three sea turtles, and the other was a creature Roberto hadn't seen before in his time in Equestria, only being aware of their existence, it was a yak. The figure in the middle was definitely the one Roberto was looking for, a white unicorn with a stylish purple mane and tail, that was obviously Rarity. Roberto had to admit that Rarity was one beautiful pony, from her clean white coat and her dazzling mane. If she weren't a thinking being who had rights and could talk, she'd probably be a prize possession of his.

The white unicorn looked up from the dress she was working on to see Roberto standing in the doorway, and she greeted him with a smile. "Welcome, sir." Rarity turned to the pony and yak stood beside her for a moment, "I trust you two can do this by yourselves now," she told them before turning back and walking towards Roberto, taking off the glasses she was wearing. "What can I do for you today?"

"You're Rarity, right?" Roberto asked.

"The one and only, darling," Rarity answered while striking a pose and flipping her mane.

Yup, she's exactly as I expected, Roberto thought to himself.

"The name's Roberto Silano, ya can jus' call me Mr. Silano," he said. "I've noticed a few tears formin' on my suit 'ere, I was wonderin' if ya could help stitch it up. Ya'd obviously do a much betta' job than I would."

"Oh, dear! Such a nice suit, too!" Rarity gasped when she noticed the small tears before turning back to face Roberto with a smile. "Why, I'd be happy to help you stitch it up. Don't worry, I'll have it done in no time!"

Rarity's face then winced and scrunched up when she took a whiff of the smoke coming from Roberto's cigar, which was starting to fill up the room. "Pardon me, sir, but could you please put that thing out? It bothers our productivity, and it's making the store smell absolutely dreadful."

Roberto just raised an eyebrow at what Rarity said, but he wasn't going to argue. Roberto would not want to disrespect someone in their own home, and he'd be a total asshole if he did it to someone who was already being kind enough to happily stitch up his suit. So the mob boss opened the door slightly and flicked the cigar out, and when he did he could swear that he heard the mailpony yelp in pain, but he couldn't be sure as he immediately shut the door again and didn't care enough to check.

Rarity smiled again once the cigar was gone. "Wonderful, darling. Now come over here, take off the suit, and I'll fix it right up for you."

Rarity trotted across the room while humming to herself as Roberto took off his suit and followed her. As soon as the suit was off, it was grabbed by a blue aura which caught Roberto off guard until he saw it was Rarity doing it. Despite all the time he's spent in Equestria, magic still managed to make him jump. When you lead a magicless life for so long, something like that is bound to catch you off guard a lot. Rarity placed the suit on the table and put on her glasses again, observing the suit closely.

"Luckily for you, sir, these are very small tears. Shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes," Rarity said as she used her magic to gather all the stitching equipment she needed onto the table. "It's still such a shame, though. Where did you get this lovely suit?"

"I bought it a few years ago in this small store in Little Italy. Nice little place, and had the best suits and shoes you've eva' seen. I liked the place so much that I bought it an' partnered up with the owner. Nice guy, fantastic tailor, we became pretty good friends. Bought quite a lotta suits from 'im eva' since that day. Funny ya so amazed with this one since I don' even think this is my best suit, though this is my personal favorite," the large mob boss explained.

"I see you're someone with an eye for fashion too," Rarity smirked at him as she stitched up the tears. "What happened to the store, then?"

"Well, I helped with business, I gave it my funds, which helped it grow a lot bigga' than when I first saw the place, and it now even has several chains across New York. Now the owner gives me any suit I want fa free."

"How generous of you, darling. I'm sure the owner is very thankful."

"Yeah, I don't like ta toot my own horn, but I like ta think o' myself as a pretty generous guy, especially fa someone who's done me a favor. See, that's what I'm all about, y'know? Favors. Whether it's fa me or someone else, I always make sure it gets repaid."

"It's always good to repay someone's generosity, lets them know you're thankful for what they've done, and you'll always help each other out," Rarity commented.

"Amen ta that," Roberto said.

The mob boss then started looking around the boutique, from the dresses displayed to the two creatures who are trying to stitch their own dress. One thing Roberto noticed about the shop was that most of the mannequins are pony-shaped, not surprising, but he also noticed a few human-shaped ones, two man-shaped and two woman-shaped. They looked pretty new compared to the others, which meant that Rarity was trying her hoof to make human clothes now too. While the clothes on the human mannequins didn't look bad, they didn't feel as perfect as the pony ones, and Roberto concluded that Rarity was still experimenting a bit with her human clothes.

"Ya mind if I ask ya some questions?" Roberto asked the unicorn.

"Why, of course not, darling. Ask away. I live for questions," Rarity answered.

"Who're those two?" Roberto pointed at the two young creatures.

"Oh, that's Sandbar and Yona. They're students over at the School of Friendship, and they've been coming here to help me and learn to make dresses. They've been doing a wonderful job."

"School o' Friendship? What's that?"

"It's a school Twilight opened up to teach ponies and other creatures about the Magic of Friendship. Starlight's the headmare there now."

"The Princess opened up a school ta teach friendship?" Roberto asked. It seemed like the more he learned about these ponies, the less he understood them. Roberto's always been someone who's all for friendship, but he never thought anyone, especially a princess, would be crazy enough to open up an entire school for it.

"Yes, she did. I'm sure you've seen it, it's right across the Sparkling Lake beside the Castle of Friendship."

"'The Castle of Friendship'?" An entire castle? These ponies were crazier than Roberto thought. "Is that the giant crystal tree across town from 'ere?"

"Why yes it is," Rarity confirmed.

"Yeah, yeah, I've seen it. Pretty amazin' architectures, I mus' say. I've always been plannin' on visitin' those places, jus'  'aven't found the time. Been kinda busy establishin' business 'ere an' takin' care o' stuff from home an' visitin' other places around 'ere like Manehatten. I own the 'Giovanni' restaurant," Roberto explained.

"Ooh! You're the owner? I must say, darling, your restaurant is simply divine! The tidiness, the music, the fine dining, it's all so romantic. It'd be perfect for a date between two lovers," Rarity commented with wonder in her sparkling eyes.

"Why, I'm glad ya think so. That restaurant has been a part o' my family fa three generations, an' four once I pass it down ta my sons one day," Roberto explained. "Ya know, I've neva' seen a yak 'round 'ere before. I 'ave heard there's a yak country called Yakistan or somethin' like that."

"Yakyakistan, darling," Rarity corrected. "I haven't been there too many times myself, but I feel that thanks to Yona over there, the yaks are starting to gain a lot of interest for my fashion designs."

"Well, that leads me to my second question. How big is ya business exactly? From the outside, this place seems pretty small, but I've heard ponies talk about ya all the way in Manehatten an' a few otha' places," Roberto asked.

"That's actually quite a story to tell, Mr. Silano. The Carousel Boutique's beginnings were quite humble, starting as just this small shop in Ponyville, but I was quite happy with what I did, and still do. But after just a few years after meeting Twilight, my business has grown quite exponentially. Now my designs are being enjoyed all over Equestria, and I couldn't be happier," Rarity smiled as she held her hooves to her chest.

"Is that so? Y'know, my business started out not too different from yours," Roberto commented.

"Really now? How's that?" Rarity smiled and raised an eyebrow with intrigue.

"My grandfather was a simple immigrant from Italy who came ta New York, he didn' 'ave much with 'im when he came ta the country. One day, he found his passion fa cookin' traditional Italian dishess which caught everyone's attention fa jus' how damn good they were, ta the point he even got hired by a restaurant ta cook for 'em. After a while, he earned enough money to build his own restaurant under his own name, Giovanni's, an' even opened up several stores sellin' Italian products because he wanted everyone ta be able ta cook their own Italian dishes at home. Eventually, the business got bigga', he even started ownin' an' partnerin' up with other businesses, an' now his restaurants are not jus' all ova' New York, but all over the whole damn country! Then the businesses got passed down ta my father, an' then ta me."

"That's quite incredible, darling! I guess fashion and culinary aren't as different as they seem."

"Course they aren't! Both of 'em require skill, practice, an' a good eye fa the right ingredients ta make the perfect final product. They're an art form! An' they can neva' be replicated by corporate bastards tryin' ta make a quick buck outta that product. I've seen so many pizza restaurants around New York, a lotta them aren't even made by Italians. an' the pizza tastes like absolute garbage! I don' understand what it is with Yanks an' alterin' perfect Italian recipes, always addin' unnecessary ingredients that don't belong! I mean c'mon! Pineapple?! Stuffed crust?! What, are our toppings an' crusts not good enough fa you?! Is the recipe practiced fa centuries not suited to ya likin'?!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't know much about Italian cuisine, but I can understand how you feel, darling. I've seen a lot of stores around Manehatten that are so shamelessly trying to copy my designs, and they don't even do it very well. The materials are never right, and the colors, oh the colors, they are always the wrong shade. It's simply ghastly to look at!" Rarity ranted as well, before she then calmed down and smiled again. "But, the more I thought about it, it was a great way to promote my own products, because you know what they say, 'imitation is the highest form of flattery'."

"I suppose so," Roberto said. "But still, when my sons were little, I always made sure they only ate authentic Italian pizza. I didn't want their taste buds gettin' corrupted by those cheap fast food pizzas that 'ave no heart or soul put into 'em."

"I'll say, it is always nice for there to be creatures like us to help spread some beauty and fine delicacies onto the world. Helps add a lot of color, wouldn't you say?"

"We really do," Roberto answered. "Speakin' o' spreadin' stuff, that reminds o' the otha' thing I wanted ta ask."

"What may that be?"

"I couldn't help but notice ya got some human mannequins ova' there. Look pretty new, too."

"Oh, those. Well, ever since humans have started moving into Ponyville, I knew I'd have to start learning to make clothes for them. Would be a bit unfair if I made clothes for every other creature except for them, and I always love a challenge of designing new things. At first, I thought it would be difficult to design clothes for humans considering how different their body shapes are compared to us ponies and many other creatures. But then I remembered I've already tried making clothes for dragons and even made one for Capper, though I haven't expanded my business to the rest of Klugetown just yet, and their bodies aren't too different from humans, so I already got some good practice, and it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Though the clothes on those mannequins over there are still failed experiments, I must say. The combinations are dreadful, I suppose I was trying too hard to be creative. Sometimes simplicity is the best route to take."

This was the moment Roberto decided to finally get to the point he's been waiting for. "Y'know, maybe I can help ya out a bit with ya clothes."

"Pardon?"

"Ya wanna learn ta make more clothes fa humans, right? Well, what betta' way ta do it than ta learn from the best clothes? I mean, ya like my suit, right?"

"Oh, I very much do. Normally, I don't do stripes but I think the ones here compliment it very well," Rarity observed the suit she was nearly finished stitching up.

"Damn right, and there's more where that came from. Italian suits are the best ya gonna get, that's why so many men's fashion stores sell 'em. Can't get any betta' than these," Roberto said. "So I was thinkin', maybe I can offa' ya Italian suits ta sell."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Remember that guy that owns the store I buy my clothes from? I can get 'im ta come over 'ere, ask 'im ta teach ya how ta make these Italian suits, he's an expert. Though he mostly makes clothes fa men, an' from what I can gather, ya mostly make clothes fa women, or mares, right?"

"Well, I do mostly focus on mare's clothing, but I'm always willing to expand my horizons. Like I said, darling, I do like a challenge," Rarity smirked.

"Good ta know. Who knows? Maybe later on, I can partner up ya businesses, an' ya can help each otha'. He helps expand ya business ta Earth, I'm sure New Yorkers would love ya stuff, an' ya can help expand his stuff over 'ere. An' maybe besides just 'im teachin' ya, ya can also teach 'im the stuff you know, in case he's interested. I don't know, just a suggestion."

Rarity thought about what he said before finally answering. "Well, I'm not sure about most of that just yet, but I'd be happy to learn from this friend of yours, and I'd be more than happy to teach him a thing or two. Yes, maybe he could teach me about making clothes for humans, and I could teach him about making clothes for ponies. I do hear there are quite a lot of ponies now living in Earth's Manehatten."

"It's called 'Manhatten' where we come from, but yeah. So, you interested?" Roberto asked.

"Sounds good to me, darling! When shall I expect him?"

Three down... Roberto thought.

"He's a pretty busy guy, so I'll 'ave ta ask 'im, but I'll make sure he comes 'ere...at least by next month? How's that sound?"

"I don't think I have too many schedules for next month, so...yeah! Sounds good to me!"

"Great. Trust me, Rarity, you'll make a killin' sellin' Italian suits, an' ya gonna make double the profits."

"Oh, profits, schmofits," Rarity blew a raspberry at that. "It's not about the profits, darling, it's about bringing style to Equestria. Not  saying the money isn't important, it's just never been my main concern."

"That's good. People, or ponies, who let themselves get too greedy often end up shootin' themselves in the foot."

Just then. Rarity had finished stitching up the last tear, and she held up the suit with her magic to show it to Roberto. "Ta-da! Good as new!"

"Wow, it really is. I can barely even see where the tears used ta be," Roberto said in awe. He grabbed the suit from Rarity's telekinesis and put it back on himself, and he pulled out a handful of bits from his pocket to pay Rarity. "Here, fa all ya troubles," he said as he placed the load of bits on the table.

Rarity became wide-eyed at just how much money Roberto was giving her. "Oh, this is far too much, Mr. Silano. I only stitched up a few small tears."

"Please, I insist you take it, as a personal 'thank you' from me," Roberto said.

Rarity was shocked by the man just giving her this much bits that easily. She felt pretty bad for accepting the payment, especially since it was far too much from what should be paid. It made her feel like she was ripping him off, stealing from him. But she knew he'd be far more insulted if she rejected it, so she accepted the payment.

"Why thank you to you too, darling. This is very generous of you," Rarity said.

"You're welcome," Roberto replied.

Just before Roberto was about to make his leave, he noticed behind a curtain a mannequin that wore an outfit riddled with colorful gems of all kinds, from red to blue to green and purple. It was unlike anything Roberto had seen before, easily the most dazzling outfit he'd ever seen. He knew a lot of stuck-up nouveau riche millionaires who'd pay a fortune for an outfit like that.

"What is it, Mr. Silano?" Rarity asked, who noticed  Roberto had frozen in place and gone quiet.

"That outfit behind the curtain ova' there, ya made that?" Roberto asked.

"Oh, yes. Quite fabulous, if I do say so myself."

"How much did it cost ya to make that outfit?"

"Didn't cost too much at all, darling. I made it all with my own materials," the white unicorn answered.

"What about the gems? That musta cost quite a bit ta get,"

"Not at all, I collected all those gems myself."

"What? Ya found these all by yaself? Where?"

"Where I usually get my gems, on the outskirts of Ponyville. The Diamond Dog mines are still there, but they never try to mess with me anymore."

"Can ya show me where it is?" the mob boss asked.

"Why, certainly. Sandbar, Yona, please watch the shop while I'm away. Won't be long!" Rarity told her two apprentices and the two of them nodded in response, then Rarity trotted out the door. "Follow me, Mr. Silano!"

"Yeah, hold on a sec. I wanna call my sons first," Roberto said as he pulled out his cell phone and followed Rarity through Ponyville.
> 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."
> Mining For Gems
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, the Silanos have gathered up on the same spot Rarity took them to the day before on the outskirts of Ponyville. The three of them just stood in the middle of the field of barren dirt and rocks as if waiting for something, as Roberto kept checking his watch. After a while, the thing they were waiting for finally arrived. Many trucks and construction vehicles were headed their way, one of which included an excavator, and they stopped in the large patch of flat grey ground they were standing on. Out of the trucks, the union workers all stepped out and walked in front of the Silanos.

"We got your message, Mr. Silano. So what are we dealing with?" the foreman asked.

"Ya see all this ground we's standin' on? Right underneath our feet, is a large mine filled with more gems than you can count or even take. An' we're gonna dig 'em out," Roberto answered.

The foreman and the other workers all nodded, a lot of them with excitement and enthusiasm riddled on their faces. "Alright, you all heard 'im. Bring the excavator over here! Let's start digging!" the foreman told the others.

The excavator drove forward and extended it's long metal arm into the ground and began digging into the earth, scooping out tons of dirt out of the ground by the hour. But even in the early stages of digging around the area, they've already managed to find multitudes of gems to carry. If this was only what the surface had to offer, then they could only imagine what will await in the actual underground. 

"Look at that, we just scratched the surface and already we've dug up enough gems to fill up an entire jewelry store!" Ainsley said.

After a few more hours of digging, that already turned up quite a lot of gems, the excavator finallly hit something, or rather nothing, as they finally reached an underground tunnel in the earth beneath them. After around an hour more of digging, they finally dug up a hole big enough for the Silanos to enter, and even formed a giant dirt pile that allowed them to safely walk down into the hole. As they did, the Silanos took a look at the tunnel they were in, and were awe-struck like never before.

Along the walls of the rocky tunnel, there were hundreds of gems of many colors sticking out of the walls of the tunnel as far as the eye could see. They could only imagine the uncountable amout of gems that awaited them in the rest of the mines.

"Holy cannoli! We jus' hit the fuckin' motherload!" Gabriele cried out in amazement. "This could set us up fa life!"

"Looks like now we can begin the real work," Roberto smiled with his cigar in his mouth.

They called the other union workers down who began setting their mining equipment in the tunnel. There were many tunnels the more they ventured, with the entire mine almost feeling like an underground labyrinth, so one of the workers was tasked with placing markers so nobody, especially the Silanos got lost. The workers also began dragging down carts or using carts that were already in the tunnels to put the gems they dug out, which would be dragged outside and dumped into the trucks.

Ainsley, along with his father and brother, continued looking around the mines, and he had sparkles in his eyes from all the gems he saw were being dug out. "Oh, Dad, can I keep some of the gems for myself?"

"Sure, son, there's enough to go fa everyone. I'm keepin' a few myself as well, which I wanna give ta Rarity as promised, an' I wanna give some of 'em as a gift fa ya mother," Roberto answered.

"I'm sure Mom would love that. That is if you can get her to come out of her room and stop praying. Is she praying for you going to another world, or because she's still upset about me and my lifestyle?" Ainsley asked.

"Both, I guess. But probably more about you."

"Of course she is. It's been months, Dad. You'd think she'd get over it by now."

"Well, y'know ya mother. Very sweet woman, but can be very overdramatic at times. Don't worry, I'll try ta talk 'er out of it."

"You probably should, dad."

"But don't think that that gives ya an excuse ta talk ta ya mother howeva' ya like, Ains. I want ya ta treat ya mother with the respect she deserves, even if she is disagreein' with ya lifestyle. Alright?"

Ainsley just sighed. "Alright, I'll try, Dad," he said. "I mean, I don't hate Mom or anything, it's just that she's a really hard woman to get anything through once her mind is set. Remember the time I tried to convince her to try using an iPhone?"

"Oh, I sure do."

"I kept insisting she should try having one to make her life easier and she'd be able to contact us anytime. But she kept refusing for no clear reason, and we got into a heated argument that I didn't even realize was happening until she just started getting emotional and ran out of the room."

"Yeah, she kept causing a damn scene that day," Gabriele chimed in.

Roberto chimed in as well. "I can't fully blame 'er. I still don't understand the fuckin' things. All these fuckin' pointless apps on one device, I neva' know where ta go or how the damn thing works. I also neva' wanted 'em used by anyone in my business, the things are nothin' more than portable wire taps."

"Well, you're not wrong there," Ainsley said.

Suddenly, the Silanos and the workers heard a noise coming from the tunnel in front of them, which caused Ainsley to jump in surprise and hide behind his father, who was large enough to hide Ainsley's small figure, in which his father told his son to get off. Then, out of the tunnel, appeared three figures. One small and brown, one medium and dark grey, and one large with a light grey color. As they got a better look at the figures, they could see that they were anthropomorphic dogs, who were wearing vests and collars, each having gems on them.

"Are you guys the Diamond Dogs? Jeez, you guys are uglier than I thought you'd be," Ainsley said.

The medium-sized dark grey dog named Rover spoke. "Ugly?! Who are you?! Humans? What are you all doing in our mines?!"

The small brown dog named Spot spoke as well. "Yes! These are our mines!"

"Betta' question 'ere would be, why the hell do ya guys sound like Gollum?" Gabriele retorted.

"Well, if ya wonderin' what we're doin' down 'ere, we're tryna build a sewage system through ya caves," Roberto answered, which caused the dogs to have shocked and horrified expressions on their faces, which got a chuckle out of Roberto. "Gotcha, didn't I? Nah, nah, I'm jus' kiddin'. We're lookin' fa gems down 'ere, genius. What the hell did ya think we'd be doin' 'ere?"

"Gems?! This is our mine, humans! These are our gems!" Rover shouted.

"Yes, ours!" the large dog named Fido chimed in.

The foreman leaned in and whispered in Roberto's ear. "Should we do something about them, boss?"

"Nah, let's not resort ta anythin' too harsh jus' yet," Roberto whispered back.

Roberto put his cigar in his mouth and took a deep breath before speaking, causing puffs of smoke to blow out of his mouth with every word he said that filled up the tunnel. "Yous guys got yaselves a real nice minin' facility down 'ere. It'd be a real shame if it were all ta go up in smoke. So maybe, if ya'd try workin' fa me, there won't be any problems between the two of us, an' we won't 'ave ta take all the gems fa ourselves."

"I don't know what you are saying, large human, but please stop blowing smoke in our faces..." Rover begged as he and the other two dogs put their large paws in front of their heads in an attempt to shield themselves from the onslaught of Roberto's cigar smoke breath.

"I ain't blowin' smoke in ya face, mutt! I'm bein' dead serious."

"Why should we want to work with you, human?! Or share our gems?" Rover asked in anger.

"Yeah, you humans are trespassing!" Fido added.

Gabriele sighed in frustration. "Alright, I'm tired o' this. Let me put this in a way you mutts can understand," he said as he suddenly pulled out an uzi out of his shirt and fired at the ground in front of the Diamond Dogs, causing them and everyone else in the tunnel to jump back in surprise.

"Jesus Christ, Gabe! We're in a tunnel!" Ainsley shouted as he covered his ears.

"If you dogs don't do what we fuckin' say right now, I'll put ya down like the mongrels ya are right where ya fuckin' stand! Is that what ya want?! Huh?!" Gabriele shouted.

"N-no...o-of course not, human. We'll help you find the g-gems..." Rover and the other Diamond Dogs huddled together quivering in fear.

"Y-yes, w-we will! All the gems the humans want!" Spot said as well.

"Good dogs. Now get ta work, an' if I hear own word o' whinin' comin' from ya mouths, I'll shoot ya fuckin' tails off ya asses. Am I clear?"

"Oh, yes!  So very c-clear!" Fido said as he and his companions smiled nervously.

"And, hey, if you help us enough, we might even give you special treats! You guys eat treats, right? Actually, what do you guys eat anyway?" Ainsley asked, which the Diamond Dogs only gave a nervous silence in response. "You know what, never mind, forget about it. Just get to work."

As the Diamond Dogs went off to help, Roberto approached Gabriele who was putting his uzi back in his overshirt and gave his a pat on the back. "That was pretty impressive, son."

"Why, thanks, Dad. I thought so too," Gabriele smiled proudly before his father suddenly smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

"But don't eva' fire a weapon in a place like this without warnin' us first!"

"Alright, alright! Sorry, Pops."







A few hours later, the union workers were digging all over the mines, with the help of the Diamond Dogs and their guards. By this time, they were pulling dozens of carts filled to the brim with hundreds of gems. In the middle of the mines, the Silanos were all standing together discussing business.

"Now, if we're gonna ship these gems back ta Earth, it's best we only send a small portion of our findin's at a time, 'cause if we send too many at a time, it's gonna draw too much unwanted attention," Roberto said.

"Makes sense to me," Ainsley commented.

"An' if things go accordin' ta plan, we should be able ta make around, say...at least a few hundred thousand ta a couple million by next month, if we price them correctly."

Gabriele chimed in as well. "An', ay, if things go really well, we'll be able ta even ship these gems ta otha' states! Maybe ta the otha' side o' the country!"

"Though I gotta wonder, are there any other creatures an' places in this world we can sell these to? Jus' ta try an' double the sales. The firs' obvious ones would be Rarity an' 'er fashion business, then Canterlot an' Manehatten as well, maybe some otha' cities here an' there. Where else can we sell 'round 'ere? I mean, there are a lotta otha' creatures in this world besides ponies, right?" Roberto asked.

"What about the dragons? Ya said they eat gems, right? We can try sellin' ta them!" Gabriele proposed.

"Son, try thinkin' a bit, will ya? We can't sell ta the dragons! If they eat gems everyday, they wouldn't wanna pay as much as we an' everyone else would 'cause it wouldn't be that valuable to 'em, an' why would they if they're already eatin' them everyday fa free anyway? An' that's assumin' they even 'ave currency. Do they?" Roberto asked Ainsley.

"I don't think they do. As far as I know, they all mostly live in caves and volcanic wastelands. The only 'currency' they've got is the gold and gems they hoard," Ainsley answered.

"See? They don't even 'ave a proper civilization! There's no point sellin' to 'em. Though that gives me an idea. Maybe we should also try minin' near the dragon territories from a safe distance, 'cause if they eat gems then the place they live would obviously 'ave a fuckton o' gems. We can mine those places dry an' 'ave years worth o' gems! Sure, we may deprive 'em o' food, but who cares? They're savages, anyway, let 'em starve ta death."

"Probably not a good idea, Dad. The dragons are pretty fierce creatures, and Princess Twilight and her little dragon, Spike, are close friends with the Dragon Lord. They probably would not appreciate us mining on their lands."

"I dunno why people care so much fa those fire-breathin' ova'grown lizards. There's a reason Satan took the form of a dragon in the Bible, an' it's certainly not because they're nice," Roberto said. Ainsley just stared at his father, not believing his father just unironcially used the Bible to talk about creatures of Equestria. "But we'll talk about this later, the point is that dragons are off the list ta sell gems to. So who else we got?"

"Let's see.." Ainskey took another look at his list, "We've got the griffons, they're just as big of assholes as dragons but they at least have a functioning society, though it's a pretty poor one from what I've heard. They're also known for being greedy as hell, so that's one thing we can use. Though I think they're more greedy for bits than they are for gems."

"Alright then, scratch 'em off too. Though, if they really are as greedy as ya say, I feel we can take advantage o' that. Greedy people are always easy ta control. Maybe we can get 'em ta partcipate in our gamblin' circles, or we can get 'em ta do jobs fa us, since they'll probably do anythin' for a few bucks. Let's keep 'em in mind. Anyway, who else?"

"There's the hippogriffs, but they're all about seashells, pearls, and ocean stuff, they wouldn't care about gems too much."

"Ugh, beach bums."

"There's changelings, but they're a buncha hippe bugs, so they'd be useless. Yaks, probably not. Saddle Arabians, they're horses too, so we can probably sell to them. Klugetown, probably yes too, though that place is kind of a shithole. Crystal Empire? Well, that entire place is already crystal anyway so no point selling to them. Farasi, don't know too much about it. We can probably also try selling to the Abyssinians and other Diamond Dogs, they seem like potential buyers, though I have no idea if they actually have money to pay us for it."

"Unbelievable, such a big world yet so few ta sell gems to. I suppose in such a magical world like this, gems kinda lose their value compared ta our world. No problem, though, gems aren't the only things we'll be sellin' in this world. Alright, Ainsley, make sure ya do some more research on those potential buyers, see if they can actually pay us back in any way," Roberto told his younger son.

"Okay, Dad," Ainsley said.

Just then, Roberto's cigar had completely burnt out. He took it out of his mouth, threw it to the ground and stepped on it, before pulling out and lighting up another cigar he grabbed from his coat pocket. "By the way, we still got those two council members left ta talk to. Ya two should go try talkin' to 'em, let it be a learnin' experience ta try gettin' otha's on ya side. Plus, those two don't really run businesses like I do, so I wouldn't really know how ta talk to 'em too much. Remember, Gabriele, ya talk ta the Fluttershy girl, an' Ainsley, ya talk ta the Rainbow horse."

"Yes, Dad," the Silano Brothers said.

"I'll stay 'ere fa now, keep an eye on things an' plan our businesses. By the way, where's Vincenzo today?" Roberto asked.

"He's takin' care o' some gamblin' debts, an' he's gonna watch ova' the restaurant today while we're gone," Gabriele answered.

"Ah, okay, good ta know. We've barely spent enough time in our own restaurant since we came ta Equestria, now that I think about it."

"Oh, yeah. We haven't, have we?" Ainsley chimed in.

"We'll think about it later. Right now, jus' talk ta these two flyin' horses, get ta know 'em, see what ya can find out about 'em, offer ya services or somethin' like that, get 'em on our side. Oh, an' Gabriele?"

"Yeah?" Roberto's older son responded.

"Try not ta say or do anythin' too harsh when talkin' ta Fluttershy. Remember we're tryin' ta be friends with 'em, not antagonize 'em. So keep ya anger in check an' don't do anythin' ta upset 'er too much. Alright?"

"Alright, Pops."

"Good, now get outta here," Roberto said.

With that, Gabriele and Ainsley Silano walked out of the Diamond Dog mines and walked back towards Ponyville.
> Gabriele and the Yellow Pegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriele walked up to the entrance of Sweet Feathers Sanctuary, the supposed "animal sanctuary" belonging to the yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. Gabriele had never been to an animal sanctuary before, mostly because he never cared and never had the time for one. The eldest Silano son also didn't know what to expect from this Fluttershy pony, as all he knows about her is that she's obsessed with animals, and as her name suggests, she's probably shy. He remembered seeing her on the television back when Equestria made its official partnership with Earth, a small yellow winged horse with long pink hair. Gabriele has seen girls with her kind of hair before, and they were usually pretty shy, using their hair to hide their faces. But considering what he saw on TV that day with her talking confidently in front of a large crowd of humans, not to mention that she's a hero that helped saved Equestria countless times, she's probably not as shy as her name suggests, not anymore at least. He's also heard that Fluttershy hangs around some guy named Discord. Gabriele's never seen Discord before, but he's heard quite a bit about him, about how he's the "Spirit of Chaos" and is one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, apparently once been evil, and how he nearly caused the suffering and destruction of Equestria several times. How Fluttershy managed to be friends with a guy like that, and why anyone in their right mind would let someone like that run around freely was beyond Gabriele.

The young Italian-American man walked into the sancutary, and as he walked over a green grassy hill overlooking the place, he finally got a full view of it. It was a pretty big place, with many fancy things to make it as natural as possible. There was a large rocky slope with a waterfall flowing off it into a crystal blue pool and river, a hammock tied between two palm trees, and a tire swing hanging off a log on a rock edge. Around the place, there were even many tropical trees and plants that were clearly not native to Ponyville's ecosystem, and on some of the trees there were wooden platforms with many animals resting on them. Gabriele could see a multitude of different animals all over the place, from rabbits, ducks, flamingos, racoons, beavers, goats, deers, snakes (that Gabriele noticed were kissing), koalas and toucans atop the trees, and even a bear (which was sleeping in the hammock), an elephant, and a giraffe. All the animals were just living peacefully alongside each other without a care in the world. Gabriele wondered how none of them have started killing each other yet.

Gabriele felt relcutant to walk into the sanctuary. He'd never been someone who liked animals all that much, and now he was going to enter a place where he'd be completely surrounded by them, and unlike the zoo, there would be no railings or moats to keep the distance between them. The young man thought about how odd it was to be so uncomfortable and disliking of animals considering he's literally living in a world where he's constantly surrounded by talking horses, but after months of living in Equestria, he often forgot to think about the inhabitants he talked to as talking animals. He stopped paying attention to that fact by this point.

He looked around the sanctuary some more, and in the middle of it, he could see who he knew to be Fluttershy feeding a little white rabbit. Gabriele sighed, reminding himself that he has a job to do that his father asked him to do, and he would not disappoint him. The task was literally only to talk to the mare, befriend her, and maybe partner up and strike a deal with her if the opportunity presents itself, so it shouldn't be hard to do. But the problem was that Gabriele was not exactly known for being a friendly person, something he himself can admit to. 

Gabriele was someone who mostly thought with brute strength rather than intellect, with his only smarts being street smarts, and with his line of work, he'd usually have to be angry and violent to do his job. He was never someone who really ever tried to, or ever needed and wanted to, be nice to anyone. But Gabriele wasn't exactly lonely, he was pretty close to his Dad's top henchman, Vincenzo De Luca, who he always sort of saw as a mentor and maybe even uncle figure in his life, which might explain why he wore a gold chain necklance same as him and almost always had his hands on his hips, something Vincenzo was always known to do. They almost always did jobs together, with him accompanying Vincenzo and help him with the jobs his father gave him or vice versa. He also hung around a lot of the people who worked under his father, but he was never really too close with any of them, and they all mostly respected and feared him because of his short temper and the fact he was the Don's son. He didn't really count Ainsley because he was his brother, so they were close by default.

But Gabriele didn't really care about barely having any actual friends in his life, because as far as he was concerned, his life was the best it could possibly be. His family ran a successful restaurant franchise, his father ran many businneses, they never had to worry about running out of or not having enough money, many people knew him, and he could do whatever he wanted because he knew nobody would be brave enough to cross him anyway. He didn't need friends. But if he was going to help his father's business, he'll have to learn how to actually be friendly with others, especially since these soft colorful ponies were all about "the magic of friendship", something he knew the Princess never shut up about.

The young human sighed before he walked down the hill and walked in Fluttershy's direction. As Gabriele walked through the sanctuary, he looked around nervously at all the animals surrounding him. This was probably the first time in his life he was surrounded by so many animals that weren't behind a cage. The only animals he'd ever interacted with were your standard cats and dogs, and occasionally farm animals, usually either for restaurant supplies or for doing some clean-up business (he may have helped feed some poor souls to the pigs). But now, he was surrounded by so many different kinds of them of all shapes and sizes that freely roamed wherever they wished. He felt even more defenseless now that he did not have any firearms on him. He put away his uzi as requested by his father because carrying a lethal weapon when meeting with a pony who's known to be shy and sensitive was not a good idea. The only weapon he had on him was his stiletto switchblade which he carried everywhere and never took out of his pockets, not like it would do anything against all the animals here in case they all ever tried to do anything to him.

Gabriele now stood right behind Fluttershy, who was too busy occupying herself with feeding the white rabbit in front of her that she didn't even hear the human approaching her.

"Ay, ya Fluttershy?" Gabriele asked, which caused Fluttershy to jump in surprise and make an 'eep!' sound.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you were there. You scared me," Fluttershy rubbed the back of her head as she turned around to properly face her visitor.

"Uh, sorry about that, I guess," Gabriele just raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Anyway, i was askin, ya Fluttershy, right?"

"Oh yes, I am. Who are you?"

"The name's Gabriele," the human answered as he extended his hand for Fluttershy to shake, which she did.

"Nice to meet you, Gabriele. What brings you here? I've never seen you before. Are you with a TV crew or another animal conservation group from Earth? You don't seem like one."

"No, no, nothin' like that. I'm not involved with anythin' related ta TV or animals. Never really cared for either o' those things. I work at a restaurant in Ponyville, 'Giovanni's', maybe ya've seen it?"

"Oh yes, I think so. I've never eaten there, though, because I heard they serve meat there, and I just don't like the idea of eating other animals. I've been trying to maintain a more vegan diet for me and my animals, unless they need to eat meat," the yellow pegasus said, which only caused Gabriele to narrow his eyes at her. He and his family could never stand vegans. 

"Well, we do have a vegetarian an' vegan menu. We made it when we came to Equestria an' knew ya ponies don't eat meat that much, an' also 'cause a buncha dickhead customers back home kept harrasin' us ta add one."

"Well that's nice to know," Fluttershy smiled. "Anyway...but what brings you here? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Do fa me? Oh no, nothin', not yet. Y'see, my father, Roberto Silano, he's been talkin' ta a lotta ya friends yesterday."

"Silano? Is he the one who almost choked at Sugarcube Corner? I heard about that. Oh, I hope he's alright."

"He's fine. He's a tough guy, don' worry about it. Anyway, my father has been talkin' ta some o' ya friends yesterday. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, an' Rarity, I think. He even partnered up their businesses with his."

"Well, that's nice. Good for them."

"Well, now my father sent me down 'ere ta talk ta you."

"To me? Why me?" Fluttershy asked, "I don't even really own a business."

"Is this sanctuary not a business?"

"Why, no. I opened it and built it myself. Well, I didn't build it, but I came up with the architecture and design and my friends helped me build it."

"But I mean, ya gotta have income comin' in. Otherwise, how are ya gonna keep this place renovated? Or keep buyin' food an' medical supplies fa the animals?" Gabriele asked.

"Oh, well I do most of those myself, and also with the help of Discord and Dr. Fauna, and my friends if they have the time."

Is the importance of money really that little ta these damn horses?! Gabriele thought.

Gabriele just continued with the reason he came in the first place. "Yeah, anyway, I didn' really come 'ere purely fa business."

"But?"

"My father's a respected businessman, he has a lotta friends from all places, an' ya guys are all heroes of Equestria an' Princess Twilight's closest friends, it'd be his highest honor ta get ta be friends with all o' ya. I mean, he's already befriended Pinks over at the bakery an' Rares over at that boutique, so might as well get ta know the rest o' ya. Though he couldn't really make it today, he's kinda busy with otha' things," Gabriele explained.

"So your dad told to meet me...just to make friends?"

"Uh...yeah, pretty much."

A smile formed on Fluttershy's face and she flapped her wings and flew up to Gabriele's eye level. "Well, I'd be more than happy to. Why don't I show you around?"

Gabriele just looked around hesitantly before giving Fluttershy an answer. "Sure, I guess." He was supposed to make friends after all.

"Wonderful," Fluttershy said happily. "Let me introduce you to all the critters around."

Fluttershy led Gabriele through the sanctuary and showed him all the animals in it. The first she introduced was the white rabbit she was feeding named Angel Bunny, though Gabriele could tell that the name did not match the character. Fluttershy then introduced all the other animals around them, which he was amazed that she could even remember who was who, and she showed him all the details of the sanctuary, though Gabriele already noticed everything she was showing him the moment he stepped into the place.

"So ya really jus' use up all ya resources ta put all these different animals in this place?" Gabriele asked once Fluttershy stopped showing him around and they stopped walking.

"Why, yes. Sweet Feathers Sanctuary is meant to provide a safe haven for animals of all kinds. We want to make sure every critter feels as safe and comfortable as they can be, and always take care of them whenever they are in need of help," Fluttershy explained.

"What's the frickin' point? They're jus' gonna die anyway," Gabriele said, which got a gasp out of Fluttershy and caused all the animals around, especially Angel Bunny, to glare at him. "Why're ya lookin' at me like that? I mean, c'mon, they're frickin' animals. Killin' an' dyin's part o' their life. Plus, their life expectancy is short anyway, within a few months they'll already be witherin' away with one foot in the grave."

"It is not about that! Every creature deserves to be helped and taken care of, because they should be treated with respect too!" Fluttershy said in a stern but calm voice.

"But what're ya doin' that fo'? What do the animals even do fa us that's worth savin' their lives an' pamperin' them like this so much? Like, seriously, what do they do? They eat, sleep, make more o' themselves, an' they die, that's it. But what do they contribute ta society? D'they pay our taxes? D'they help get rid o' prejudice an' discrimination in society? D'they help better our economy? Give ta the poor? Like, I don' get it. What's the point?" Gabriele argued.

"It's not about what they can give back to us! It's about showing respect and care to all living creatures!"

"'Respect'? C'mon, they don't even respect each otha'. Look, nature's all about survivability, right? The strong thrive, an' the weak get left behind ta sit on their asses an' rot. If ya don' 'ave what it takes ta keep on livin', well then too fuckin' bad. That's jus' how life is, y'know? Ya fail ta get through life properly. Boom! Ya dead! Ya cross a dangerous bigger meaner guy. Boom, ya dead! Ya can't do what ya need ta do ta survive. Boom, ya dead! Boom, dead! Boom, boom, boom! Dead, dead, dead! That's how it is. So what's the frickin' point?" he asked again.

Gabriele also didn't understand why a lot of these types of people waste so much money just to take care of sick and dying animals. If it were up to him, he'd just let nature run its course and let it do what it needs to do. It's not like nature was any of his business anyway. Or if the animals really in irreversible sickness or pain, he'd just put the damn thing out of its misery. It saves both money and time. Animals were all about life or death, so why would he try to disrupt that?

Now Fluttershy and all the animals around them glared even harder at Gabriele, and even the rabbit and the bear began crossing their arms at him. Gabriele didn't show it, but deep down, he was getting pretty nervous. Before this, while he was already nervous, he could count on Fluttershy to keep the animals in check, but judging by how unhappy she looked at the moment, there's a very small chance she might let loose her animals upon him. 

Suddenly, something happened with Fluttershy that neither Gabriele or the animals expected. The upset look on Fluttershy's face slowly disappeared, instead being gradually replaced with a more sympathetic look, which confused both parties watching her.

"Oh dear, you must not know too much about animals," she said.

"I...what?"

"Do you have experience with animals at all?"

"Besides some dogs an' cats? Absolutely none."

"Well, Gabriele, how about you try helping me in the sanctuary?"

"Woah woah woah, wait. Me? Help you here? Why?" Gabriele asked, the animals around him looking just as shocked and dumbfounded as him.

"It's just that...the way you talk about animals was very negative. It seems you view them in a very bad light and one-sided way. Maybe something about your life taught you that that's how eveything, including animals work, when it's not!" Fluttershy explained, which caused a feeling of worry to strike through Gabriele, fearing that the pegasus was seeing through him too much. "But maybe if you tried working in the sanctuary, you can get to know animals much better, and see they aren't as bad and their lives aren't as worthless as you think."

"Eh, I don' know, Flutters. I kinda have otha' things ta take care of, an' I gotta help Pops with his errands, an--"

"Oh, don't worry! We don't have to do it everyday. Maybe you can just come over at least once a week, and you can help me around the sanctuary, and I can teach you all about how to work here and everything about the animals. I promise that you will not regret it!"

The animals then all started making noises of all kinds in complaint, not happy that she's even considering letting Gabriele, someone who clearly doesn't see any value in their lives, help around on the sanctuary. But Fluttershy calmed down their complaints and arguing and began to reassure them. "Now, now, everycreature. I know what Gabriele just said earlier was very mean and inconsiderate, but if we give him a chance, maybe it can help him to also give all of you a chance." 

The animals began to chatter to one another over what Fluttershy said, most of them pretty reluctant, but eventually agreed despite still being wary and untrusting of Gabriele.

"That's good," Fluttershy said to them before turning back to Gabriele. "So, do you want to?"

Gabriele just looked around nervously so he wouldn't have to stare into Fluttershy's sparkling cyan eyes, just saying "uh" and "eh" while he tried to decide an answer. He was about to refuse the offer, but he then remembered that the whole point of what he was doing was to befriend the Council of Friendship members, and that by spending some time to help the sanctuary, he will have gained Fluttershy's trust and put her in their debt. Like his dad said, once an opportunity presents itself, you should take it.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Gabriele answered with a smile, the first time he's smiled since finding the gem mines, though this one was less genuine.

"Oh, wonderful! Are you free today?"

"Oh no, no. This was all I came ta do 'ere, anyway. I wanna go back ta my dad, see how he's doin'. Maybe some otha' time."

"Of course, I understand."

Gabriele nodded silently. "Well then, I'm gonna get goin'," he said before he turned around to walk away, before suddenly stopping dead in his tracks and turning back to Fluttershy to say one more thing. "Oh, by the way, I also wanted ta let ya know, that if you're havin' any trouble with this Sanctuary, like anythin' at all, whether it's money or property damage, ya can alwas come ta me or my Dad, alright? We can get it fixed right away."

"Oh, I'm sure we can manage on our own. But thank you for the offer. I'll make sure to keep you in mind of we ever need you," Fluttershy said.

"Hope ya do, 'cause I assure ya, no company for those issues does things faster than ours. We 'ave more than enough money ta help ya out with anythin' that can happen 'ere. Plus, we'll be hangin' round town fa the next weeks, so ya'll be able ta find us easily. Even if ya can't, we 'ave many workers ya can talk ta an' the message will be delivered straight ta us, so don' worry 'bout a thing," he said. "Alright then, that's all fa today. See ya, Flutters," Gabriele waved goodbye and walked away.

"See you too!" Fluttershy waved back happily.

As Gabriele walked away from the sanctuary and had plenty of distance between himself and Fluttershy, the smile he put on himself disappeared and reverted back to his usual angry serious face.

Neva' understood these animal lovers.
> Ainsley and the Cyan Pegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ainsley was having a hard time trying to find Rainbow Dash compared to his brother finding Fluttershy. The pegasus wasn't exactly someone who spent a lot of time on the ground, so it was hard to tell where she could be most of the time. Plus, considering the fact that she was a Wonderbolt, that would mean she would not be around a lot of the time, since she'd probably be staying over at the Wonderbolt Academy. Luckily, when Ainsley asked around, they have confirmed that Rainbow Dash is indeed in town, all that was left to do was find her.

Ainsley spent at least another half hour walking around Ponyville trying to locate Rainbow Dash, but just when he was about to give up, he saw a small cloud floating above him and noticed a cyan figure lying on top of it.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Ainsley called out.

The cyan figure atop the small cloud started moving and raised its head, revealing a rainbow-colored mane. The cyan pegasus named Rainbow Dash rubbed one of her eyes, seeming as though she just got up from a nap, and looked down at the one who called her name.

"Yeah? Who are you?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm Ainsley! I've been looking for you!" Ainsley answered, having to raise his volume a bit due to being on the ground.

"Why? Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you!"

Rainbow Dash then shook herself awake and began flapping her wings, jumped off the cloud, and slowly descended to Ainsley's eye level. "Sure, dude! What's up?"

"Well, I've  heard about you quite a lot. Almost everypony talks about you. I remember a few years ago, when Earth and Equestria first united, I saw the entire thing on TV. I remember you and all your friends standing on that huge stage, Princess Twilight shook hands with the President and all the other world leaders, former princesses Celestia and Luna were there as well to see the entire thing, I kinda wonder how they're doing nowadays, and all the crazy speeches you guys made."

Rainbow chuckled. "Heh, yeah, that was a pretty crazy day."

"And then the final show you put on for everyone!" Ainsley's smile widened.

"Aw, yeah!" Rainbow grinned back.

"THE SONIC RAINBOOM!" the both of them said in unison.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life! I remember the faces of the President and all the other world leaders when that happened. The internet wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks!" Ainsley said gleefully.

"Even when I got back down, everyone still had that look on their faces! I gotta say, I did pretty awesome," Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves.

"You sure did, Rainbow Dash. Actually, what do I call you? Just Rainbow? Or just Dash?"

"Eh, either one's fine, but most ponies call me Dash."

"Alright, Dash. Do you wanna find somewhere to...talk? Is there anywhere you can think of?" Ainsley asked.

Dash put a hoof up to her chin to think about it. "Hmm...actually, I think there is a place."







"Oh my gosh...the spa?!" Ainsley exclaimed.

Ainsley and Rainbow Dash stood in front of the Ponyville Day Spa, a double tent-shaped building with tulips planted along the walls, and a heart-shaped wooden sign hung up above door depicting a mare with luscious hair.

"Yeah, you don't mind, do you?" Rainbow asked with a smile.

"No, not at all. I couldn't imagine anywhere better," Ainsley said with enthusiasm. "Didn't expect someone as tomboyish and athletic as you to wanna hang out at the spa of all places," he said with a sly smile.

"Yeah, I know. But it's fine for somepony to like more than one thing, even if they don't fit your image."

"True, true."

Dash's smile then disappeared and she now had a more hesitant-looking face as she stared at Ainsley. "Hey, uh...Ainsley, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry if this is kinda coming outta nowhere, but you're...a guy, right?"

"Yes, actually. I am," he answered plainly.

"Oh, okay. Just making sure. Not tryna judge or anything, ponies have thought I was a guy several times in my life, so I know the feeling."

"I can kinda see why. You are kinda boyish."

"What?! Okay, maybe I don't always like typical frou-frou filly stuff, but I'm still clearly a filly! I'm smaller than a guy, I don't even have a guyish face!"

"Maybe it's your voice. It is kinda raspy, kinda like a little colt's voice," Ainsley pointed out.

"C'mon, AJ's got a way deeper voice than me, and nopony ever confuses her for being a guy!" Dash complained before smiling at Ainsley again. "Besides, you're one to talk. You sound way more like a filly than I do a colt."

"Jokes on you, I purposefully talk this way! I mean, I've always had a pretty feminine voice, but I try to add a bit more to complete my image."

"Yeah, you even dress like a filly, too! Even I don't always go out of my way to dress up like a colt!"

"Hey, it's just my preference, Dashie. Don't be hating on me just because I look fabulous," Ainsley ran his fingers through his white and pink hair.

"Alright, alright, enough talk. Let's just get into the spa," Rainbow Dash chuckled as she flew off the ground and pushed Ainsley through the door.

Behind the counter of the spa's waiting room, stood the sisters Aloe and Lotus, one was a blue mare with a pink mane, the other being a pink mare with a blue mane. The two mares smiled widely and had sparkles in their eyes as they saw Rainbow Dash walk towards them.

"Rainbow Dash! How nice to see you again!" Lotus exclaimed with a heavy French ("or would it be Prench?" Ainsley thought) accent.

Aloe continued the greeting. "Would you like-?"

"My usual, yeah. I also wanna treat this new friend of mine, Ainsley here to your special treatments! On me, of course," Rainbow Dash said.

"Ooh, this is gonna be so much fun! I can't remember the last time I've been to a spa," Ainsley was jumping giddily.

"Trust me, dude. You're gonna love this place!"

Rainbow Dash was right, Ainsley did end up loving the place. It had everything one would expect from a spa, massages, hot rocks, warm baths, but a massage felt entirely different when it was being given by hooved creatures. Ainsley really had to give these spa ponies credit where credit was due, they really knew how to deliver the right amount of pressure with appendages as hard and solid as hooves. It was hard, like rocks being hit against your back, but it was also somehow soft enough to not hurt. It was a very different experience from being massaged with fingers, honestly hard for Ainsley to fully describe.

After all the other spa activities, the cyan pegasus and the feminine human man both laid down on the spa beds wearing robes, with towels on their heads, face cream, and cucumber slices on their eyes. Aloe and Lotus were both doing manicures, or hooficures in Rainbow's case, on the two of them. Human toenails were very different from pony hooves, though, they were smaller, significantly thinner, and there were ten of them instead of four, twenty if they did the fingernails as well. But Lotus did Ainsley's nails surprisingly well, which she revealed she did indeed get some practice, some of it through doing Spike's claws way back when.

"Ah...what'd I tell you? Is this the life or what?" Dash sighed.

"Yeah, you weren't kidding," Ainsley sighed as well. "So, Dash, tell me more about yourself. I mean, I've heard quite a bit about you already, but I wanna hear it straight out of the horse's mouth. Hehe, 'horse's mouth'," Ainsley chuckled at his own accidental pun.

"Well, there's tons o' stuff for me to tell ya. Whaddya wanna know?"

"Let's start with...what do you do?" Ainsley asked.

"Oh, I can do lotsa things! I am easily the fastest pony in all of Equestria! And I--"

"No, no, I mean...what do you do for a living? What do you work as? Y'know, that kinda thing."

"Ooohhh, okay, sorry. Well, as you probably might know, I am a member of the Wonderbolts, the best flyers in Equestria! I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Yeah, I have. So, they're some kinda aerobatics team, am I right?"

"Yup! Won't find anypony better. Even if Lightning Dust tries to say otherwise," Dash grumbled under her breath. "I also help manage the weather here in Ponyville."

"Oh yeah, the weather here is controlled by the pegasus. Back where I'm from, the weather acts completely on its own," Ainsley said.

"I've remember that! Man, it's so weird to think about. The rain just happening randomly when you least expect it without anypony actually making it happen, plus the fact that the clouds are so much bigger and so far away from the ground than here! It's all just so weird."

"Yeah, scheduled rain probably would make things a but easier back home," the feminine human commented.

"Oh! I also teach at the School of Friendship! I teach all about loyalty there, and also a bit of physical education."

"The School of Friendship? That big building across the lake from the Castle of Friendship, right? My dad's always wanted to look in that place. I'm kinda curious, too," Ainsley said. "By the way, you said you teach loyalty? Because you're the Element of Loyalty, right?"

"Yup!"

"What's the deal with those 'Elements of Harmony', anyway? I know you and your friends, including Princess Twilight, represent each of the elements. You're Loyalty, Princess Twilight's Magic, Pinkie Pie's Laughter, et cetera, et cetera. But how did you guys even become an element, anyway?"

"Aw, man, this brings back memories. I remember it was the first day me and everypony else met Twilight. She was sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia to learn friendship, which was on the same day Nightmare Moon came back, who's actually Princess Luna in case ya didn't know."

"I may have heard about that."

"Yeah, so right after Nightmare Moon seemingly destroyed the Elements in the Castle of the Two Sisters, Twilight revealed that we were all the Elements of Harmony, because we all represented each element. So we got some cool necklaces made from the shattered Elements, Twilight got a cool crown thingy, we shot out a rainbow laser, defeated Nightmare Moon, and yeah, that's that."

"And where are the necklaces now?"

"Oh, they don't exist anymore. They got destroyed when King Sombra destroyed the Tree of Harmony," Dash answered.

"The Tree of Harmony? Oh, I didn't do too much research on that."

"Eh, it's fine, it's a long story. And it's all good, 'cause now we got the Treehouse of Harmony."

"'Treehouse of Harmony'? Never thought I'd hear about something like that in my life."

"Yeah, it's all pretty crazy. Plus, we don't need the Elements, because the Elements are already inside all of us!"

"That's good to know," Ainsley said, trying to process what he's hearing. Equestria was a pretty crazy place. "So you've obviously saved Equestria a lot of times with your friends, didn't you? What was the craziest one out of all of them? I mean, with so many country-threatening dangers constantly attacking all the time, they're all bound to be crazy in a lot of ways."

"Ooh, that's kinda tough to answer. They were all really crazy in their own way. I mean, Discord was a whole nutty experience, along with that thing with the Plunderseeds, and that attack on Canterlot by Chrysalis was weird, and then when she came back with Tirek and Cozy Glow by her side, that was really insane. I guess I really enjoyed fighting all those changelings in Canterlot, even if the changelings are all cool now, and fighting along with Flash Magnus and the Pillars against the Pony of Shadows was also neat. But, hey, enough about me. What's going on with you?" Rainbow turned to face Ainsley despite the cucumbers still covering her eyes.

"Me? Eh, I don't know. My life is nowhere near as interesting as yours."

"Aw, come on, Ainsley. Maybe you didn't have to fight a bunch of crazy bad guys and save Equestria from world-ending threats from time to time, but that doesn't mean your life is boring! So, c'mon, what do you do?" Rainbow asked the human.

"Uh...well...I work part-time as a waiter in my dad's restaurant. I know my attire doesn't really fit the whole mood of the restaurant, but hey, it makes the place more interesting and gets customers to come in," Ainsley shrugged as he answered.

"Ooh! Your dad owns a restaurant? Which one?"

"It's the new one here in Ponyville, 'Giovanni's'."

"Cool!" Rainbow said. "Wait, you said 'part-time', then what's your other job?"

"Uh...it's kinda awkward to talk about here. I mean, I'm not ashamed of it or anything, but...y'know, public area."

"Hey, it's okay. We're the only ones in this room right now, and Aloe and Lotus aren't the gossipy type. You can tell me, if you want to, that is."

"Well...I actually work as a sex worker," Ainsley answered, which caused Rainbow Dash to stare at him with her jaw dropped and the cucumber slices on her eyes fell off, and even Aloe and Lotus paused for a moment before continuing the manicure as if they didn't hear anything.

"Woah...really?" Dash still stared at him in shock.

"Yeah. I told you it'd be kinda awkward in a public place. Are you...against that kinda stuff?"

"No, no, it's just...wow, I've never actually met anypony who's a...ahem, worker. I mean, we have ponies here like that too, but I've never actually met one in person! At least, not that I know of."

"You'd be surprised how many of the everyday people around you actually does stuff like that."

"Heh, yeah. So...what's it like? Working a job like that? I can't imagine having to make yourself...pleasure complete strangers like that," Dash said with a shiver.

"Eh, it's different for everyone. I personally don't actually mind it that much. I actually like being with a guy, or even a buncha guys, an the pays actually pretty good, especially now after Dad's help. Sure, it's pretty nasty job, but it's honest work and money."

"Wait, your dad helped? Your family's fine with what you do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, kinda, it's complicated. Dad was pretty upset about it when he first found out. You see, after I turned eighteen, I moved away from my family and never tried to contact them, and surprisingly, they didn't try to bother me either. I only came back to them several years ago, way before Earth made contact with Equestria, on my dad's birthday out of respect, and as you'd expect I was very different from before I left."

"You're the only one in your family like you, huh?"

"Yeah, I look and act nothing like the rest of my family. They're all traditional and old-fashioned. Unless someone told you, you'd probably never guess I was related to them. Just wait until you see them, you'll know what I mean. Anyway, my dad was pretty upset when he found out about my lifestyle, both the way I dress and what I do for a living, but he was mostly upset because my mom was so fucking distressed the moment she saw me."

"Yeesh."

"Yeah. My brother didn't care as much, not saying he defended me or anything, he mostly chose to stay away from the drama as much as possible. So you know, I talked to my dad about it, and at first he tried to talk me out of doing what I was doing, that was until I told him how much I earned for a living, that he agreed to help me out. My dad still didn't 100% like or understand my lifestyle, but he did everything he could to help me get through it better and improve it. He gave me a weapon and taught me how to defend myself, he demanded that I get paid three times as much as I did even though my pay was already pretty decent, but I'm not complaining, and he helped get rid of my old boss and made me the new boss."

"Really? What happened there?"

"Well, my old boss was...really bad. Luckily, I didn't have to put up with him everyday since I worked in a completely different place than he was usually in but still owned, and the guy running my  place was much nicer than he was. One day, my dad found out about my boss's terrible treatment towards me, and he decided to do something about it."

"What did he do?" Dash asked again.

"My dad and my brother talked to all the workers about him, turns out everyone was not happy with the workplace treatment, and we all...um...voted him out, right after we gave him a piece if our mind. So my dad made me the new boss, and everyone was happy with it." Ainsley answered.

"Woah, your dad actually sounds pretty cool."

"'Cool'? That's a word I've never heard anyone use to describe him," Ainsley chuckled.

"So, how's the, uh...business going?"

"It's going fine. Unfortunately, I can't be around all the time all the time since I'm usually helping my dad with some things, especially now that we're expanding business to Equestria. So I'm kinda more of an overseer, and someone else actually manages the place for me. It's a win-win, to be honest. I've never really been that much of a 'boss' kind of person."

"So your dad's cool with what you do now?"

"Eh, like I said, it's complicated. He's not as against it now as he was when he first found out, he's definitely calmed down a lot and is always helping me with the business. But while he tolerates it a lot now, he's clearly also not completely on board, like he and everyone in his business still make snide remarks at me, but never really in a way that's meant to put me down so much, they pretty much talk to everyone like that, but I know that if my dad had the power to make me stop what I'm doing, he definitely would. My brother never really cared and still doesn't care too much now, he did help overthrow my boss so that's one thing, but like my dad he still makes snide remarks at me a lot, but I've gotten used to it now. My mom's the worst, though."

"Oh no, what did she do?"

"She didn't do anything, exactly, but that's kinda the problem."

"How?"

"My mom's a traditional Catholic woman, no surprise for any Italian kids, so I never expected her to take this easily. But she is still distressed about it to this day! I remember on the first week I came back to my family, she got so upset that she ran out of the house and locked herself in the local church the whole time! Even the priest couldn't get her out. Eventually, we finally managed to talk her into getting out the church, but that didn't solve anything because now she just locks herself in her room all day doing nothing but praying! My dad tried all month to get her out, but eventually he just gave up. I don't think I've ever seen her in the flesh since that first week. Now she's still back in our house on Earth."

"You don't think she could be...?"

"Dead? No, she's not. Judging by some of the food and cleaning products we never touched being left out when we got home, it's pretty clear she only comes out of her room when nobody's home. The moment she hears us coming, though, she runs right back in."

"Jeez, she sounds more dramatic than Rarity," Rainbow commented. "Wait, your mom and dad sleep in different rooms?"

"Yeah, my dad insisted on it. For business reasons," the human answered.

"Oookay. By the way, are you actually doing your...business stuff here?"

"Oh, no, no! Of course not! I'm not interested in sleeping with ponies, that's a line for me. Even if I was, Dad would never let it happen. He's already tolerating my current state as much as he can anyway. Hehe," Ainsley chuckled. "How about you, Dash? Are your parents anything like that?" he asked this time.

"No, actually, the complete opposite! My mom and dad never stop supporting me for literally anything! They were so supportive, that I didn't even tell them I became a Wonderbolt, because I knew they were never gonna stop bothering me about it. I mean, we're all fine now, but still! They cheered me just for hanging a towel! In my Wonderbolt locker room!"

"Yeesh, I can see how that'd be pretty annoying."

"Yeah. Scootaloo got pretty mad at me when I told them off, though."

"The orange pegasus filly?" Ainsley asked.

"Yeah, that's her. You've obviously seen her a few times around Ponyville, of course?"

"I have. I actually saw her and her friends the other day in Sugarcube Corner."

"The Crusaders? What were they up to that time? They're always up to something crazy."

"They actually caused my dad to choke on a cherry, by accident of course, and now he's going on this crazy investigation because he thinks it was deliberate."

"What?! Your dad doesn't seriously think they were trying to kill him, right?" Rainbow asked worriedly.

"No, thankfully he doesn't. Instead, he thinks that some mastermind orchestrated a web of events that would eventually cause him to choke on that cherry," Ainsley answered in a mockingly spooky voice. "Dad's always been a pretty paranoid guy."

"Hehe, wow, your family sounds pretty crazy," Dash chuckled.

"Trust me, you have no idea. But one thing my dad's good for is helping people, doing favors for them. He usually does ask for favors for him in return, but he's always happy to help if he thinks it's worth it."

"That's nice. How does he help?"

"He usually deals with business and protection. So if someone's having business problems or they feel like they might be in danger, or sometimes both at the same time, they go to my dad and he immediately straightens the whole thing out. Because of that, and also because of how good his restaurant is, he's a pretty popular guy."

"Heh, nice."

"So you know, just wanna say, if you're ever having any kind of trouble like that, or you just need help with something you and or your friends are having a hard time solving, our door is always open."

"Thanks, dude. I mean, me and my friends can handle things just fine, but it's always nice for others to offer help too."

"Yeah, it sure is."

After a half hour or so, their treatment was completed. The cyan pegasus and the feminine man dried and brush themselves off, and after the pegasus paid the spa ponies for the treatments, the both of them exited the spa. The pair were still talking with each other, chuckling and giggling the whole time. Suddenly, as they were walking away from the spa, they heard a voice calling Ainsley's names.

"Hey, Ains! There ya are!"

Walking toward them was another young human man, several years older than Ainsley, and he had greasy black hair, a yellow unbuttoned shirt over his undershirt as well as a gold chain necklace. Despite looking very different, Rainbow Dash felt this might be AInsley's brother, a thought that was immediately after.

"Oh, hey there, Gabe! How did you know I was here?" Ainsley asked.

"I didn't. I was walkin' 'round town, lookin' fa the most frou-frou places, I saw this place, and I made a strong guess," the young man answered.

Ainsley turned to the pegasus. "Hey, Rainbow, let me introduce you. This is my brother, Gabriele. Gabe, this is Rainbow Dash."

"Ay, how are ya?" Gabriele and Dash shook hand and hoof. "So ya the rainbow flyin' horse, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty obvious, I guess," Dash chuckled.

Gabriele turned back to his little brother. "Hey, Ains, Pops' finished with the mines today. He's expectin' us fa dinner."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, Dash, I gotta go."

"It's alright. I'd love to hang out some more, Ains!" Dash said as she flew off the ground to the humans' eye levels.

"I'd love to! Now I'm hanging out with you and Rarity!"

"You've met Rarity? Guess I shouldn't be surprised, you two do look like you'd get along."

"Yeah, I've actually asked her to teach me to make clothes, too! Guess I'll be one of her students now too."

"With Sandbar and Yona, right? They're learning with her too. Hey, if you and your family wanna visit the School of Friendship one day, you're always welcome. I'm sure you'll love it!"

"Will do, Dash!" Ainsley winked at the pegasus.

"Hey, uh, Ains. We gotta go?" Gabriele cut in the conversation again, gesturing to the direction they need to go with his thumb.

"Oh, right. See you, Rainbow!" 

"See ya too, Ainsley!" Dash waved goodbye and flew away, and the Silano Brothers walked away.

As Ainsley and Gabriele walked side by side in the evening, Ainsley asked his brother a question. "So, Gabe, how did your meeting with Fluttershy go?"

"Fuckin' nuts! That yellow bitch is a weirdo!" Gabriele exclaimed.
> The Dinner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Silano House rested near the outskirts of Ponyville in the dead of night. It wasn't as large as how some would imagine a mansion to be, but it was still easily the second largest residence in Ponyville right behind the Rich Family Mansion. The Silanos have not interacted too much with the Rich Family despite both being business owners and easily the richest residents in Ponyville, since despite Roberto setting up his house and first restaurant in Equestria in Ponyville, essentially making the town his base of operations, he spent most of his time since coming to Equestria trying to also establish business in other more major cities like Canterlot and Manehatten, which was why he was absent from Ponyville for quite some time. But Roberto Silano and Filthy Rich have bumped into each other for a moment during Roberto's early days in Ponyville, and after Filthy Rich introduced himself to the human and what he does for a living, Roberto proposed to maybe one day supply the businnesspony's stores with some of his own products, despite already planning to open up his own stores, probably to help give a little "seal of approval" to the ponies of Ponyville as well as help each other earn a bit more profits.

But on this night, a while since that short interaction with Filthy Rich, Roberto was not discussing business with anyone but his family. The Silano House was a wide two-story building with tiled roofs, unlike most of the other houses in Ponyville that had roofs made of straw. The house was clearly made with Italian architecture in mind, as per requested by Roberto, who was very insistent on making all his properties as Italian-based as possible. The mansion had four main bedrooms for each of the family members, the fourth being for Mrs. Silano who never came to Equestria but Roberto still had built just in case she changed her mind (which she never did), two guest bedrooms, an office room for Roberto to conduct his business, a large kitchen which was to be expected, a storage room for all kinds of meats and cheese, and most importantly, a wine cellar. But Roberto's personal favorite part of the house was easily the back garden, in which he spent a lot of his free time at home when he's not busy. The garden was fairly vast, with wide open grass fields, large trees to provide shade, and Roberto's personal little plantation. While Roberto did tell Applejack he was no farmer, he wasn't clueless when it came to gardening, as he grew his own tomatoes, grapes, and olives in a little corner of his garden. Roberto always used the produce from his personal garden to make his recipes instead of using the crops from his farms, as those were reserved for his restaurants and stores, and his personal rule for himself and his family was to never consume any of the products they intended to sell, legal or illegal.

Right now, Roberto sat with his children and Vincenzo De Luca in the dining room of his house. While Vincenzo did not live in the Silano House, instead living in the houses around the edges of Ponyville along with Roberto's other men (they preferred to keep a distance from the ponies, especially after learning just how hectic they can be), he was still allowed the honor of dining with the Silanos every night before going back to his house. Vincenzo has worked for Roberto for a good many years, even having a hand in raising and teaching Gabriele who became close to him, so it would be unfair if they did not allow him to sit alongside them as a member of the family.

The Silanos and Vincenzo had a dinner consisting of spaghetti with meatballs and sausages, salad, and many side dishes of bread, meat, tomatoes, and cheese. Last but not least, for the drinks, were two bottles of wine, mandatory for any Italian lunch and dinner. Roberto and Vincenzo, being the largest men of the group, had a lot on their plates, literally, and refilled them the most. Gabriele ate quite a lot too, but with a more reasonable amount for a young man his size. Ainsley, as usual, ate the least out of all of them, having only salad and tomatoes on his plate, and despite every dinner his father kept trying to insist him to eat more considering how thin he was compared to everyone else, Ainsley always refused because he wanted to maintain his weight and body shape, which Roberto thought was ridiculous. Roberto also did not have his cigar during the dinner, as there were only two things of the day that would ever cause Roberto to not be seen with a cigar in his mouth or hand, and that was when he was eating and when he went to sleep, but once one of those two things were over he immediately lit up a new cigar. The dinner was mostly quiet for the first twenty minutes, with everyone at the table quietly enjoying their meals, as all the Silanos as well as Silano were fantastic at cooking so they always took time to enjoy their hard work, but eventually Roberto broke the silence to start discussing business.

"So, kids, how did it go?" Roberto asked, still looking down at his meal.

"What?" Ainsley asked back, a little surprised at the sudden question that interrupted his quiet meal.

"The talks with the otha' two council members, Fluttershy an' Rainbow. What else?"

"Oh, right. It went pretty well, actually. Dash is a really nice mare, easy to get along with, easy to make friends with. We spent the day at the spa, and I gotta say, one of the best times of my life!" Ainsley answered and raised his arms as he did so.

"Strike any deals with 'er or whateva'?" Roberto asked again, this time with food in his mouth.

"Not really. I did tell her she can come to us anytime if she's experiencing any trouble, but nothing specific. I did consider maybe trying to get something out of her Wonderbolts job, but I couldn't find any reason to. She seems pretty satisfied with her life, so y'know," Roberto's younger son answered again.

Roberto nodded at his son's answer and swallowed his food before speaking. "Hmm. Ya did pretty well, son. Ya got close with 'er an' earned 'er friendship, trust, an' respect; an' ya may not 'ave struck a business deal with 'er, ya still made 'er an open offer that she can accept anytime an' bring 'er ta us. That's pretty good."

"Why, thanks, Dad!" Ainsley felt flattered at that.

Roberto now turned to his older son. "What about you, Gabriele? How did yours go?"

Gabriele stared back at his father and chewed and swallowed his food first before saying anything. "Well, if I'm bein' a hundred percent honest, that yellow broad was a weirdo. She seems ta have a borderlone unhealthy obsession with animals with how she talks about them all tha time an' talks about 'em like they actually 'ave rights an' they need as much respect as we do. I mean, fa Christ's sake, she frickin' let's 'em roam around 'er damn sanctuary unchecked! If ya ask me, animals like the ones she keeps need to be kept behind a cage, not roamin' around alongside us! I mean, they're violent an' unpredictable, ya neva' know when they're gonna attack! One minute they'll be all gentle an' sweet like a fuckin' puppy dog, but then the next minute they're brutally tearin' ya ta piece! Jus' like that, at the drop of a hat! Creatures like those shouldn't be allowed ta be walkin' freely beside civilized folks like us."

"Alright, but we ain't 'ere ta talk about how ya feel about 'er sanctuary, we're talkin' about how things went with 'er. Ya didn' actually say any o' that stuff ta her, did ya?" Roberto asked.

Gabriele stuffed some spaghetti in his face and talked with the food in his mouth. "O'course I did! Well, not really, actually. I jus' asked 'er what the frickin' point of a fuckin' animal sanctuary. A place like that is a waste o' funds an' taxes if ya ask me. I mean, c'mon, how long do those damn animals live anyway? A couplea years at best! So ya rescue those animals from dyin' out there in the wild, then they die immediately after anyway! Ya coulda jus' used all that money ta give to a...I don't know, an orphanage? All I did was pose the question ta Flutters, challenged 'er ideals, ya know? An' right after I did that, ya know what she did?"

"No, I don't. Enlighten me."

"She invited me ta one day help around with 'er sanctuary an' animals, in orda' ta 'teach' me that animals aren't jus' the way I think they are."

"An' what did ya say?"

"What else? The whole point o' this was to try an' be 'er friend an' get 'er on our side, so I accepted. I even told 'er that if she eva' had any problems with 'er sanctuary or anythin' else, she can come ta us. But if I'm bein' completely honest 'ere, I am not lookin' forward ta dealin' with 'er an' 'er sanctuary. Maybe if we could get the animals ta battle each otha' ta the death, I'd be interested, but we're obviously not gonna do that," Gabriele said as he rested his head on his hand and put another forkful of spaghetti in his mouth.

Roberto stared silently at his son for a moment and nodded at what he was just told. "Ya didn't do too bad, son. I gotta say that. Sometimes business is like that, ya 'ave ta deal with a lotta people ya don't like at all but ya gonna need ta keep ya business goin'. It's painful but it's necessary. But ya still need ta overcome ya greatest problem, ya need ta stop tryna insult an' look down on everyone 'round ya. While that might be useful on the streets, especially when ya roughin' up some jackass tryna screw his way outta payin' us, it's not gonna be useful when ya tryna negotiate with someone, especially if ya wanna partner up with 'em an' be their friend. I think ya should definitely take 'er offer an' help 'er out."

"What?! Seriously?"

"Well, ya already agreed to it when she asked ya today, can't go back after that. Plus, if we wanna get 'er by our side, we need ta show 'er that we are willin' ta be by her side. If all ya did was jus' make a mockery outta her job an' passion an' not fulfill a promise ya made 'er on the first day, that's not gonna leave a good impression on 'er. So, I suggest that ya try ta fit into ya schedule aa day where ya can go ova' ta the animal sanctuary an' help Fluttershy out, get closer to 'er. Ya've already sorta got the business part down, but ya need ta improve on the relations part. Ainsley's the opposite. If any o' ya wanna help run this business, ya gonna 'ave ta learn both o' them," Roberto explained, pointing at his son with his fork.

"Alright, Pops," Gabriele said.

"So, Dad. How did things go with you today?" Ainsley asked this time.

"Me? Oh, nothing ya didn't expect, but things went pretty well. We've successfully managed ta mine a hundred wagons worth o' gems on our first day! Those Diamond Dogs sure helped speed things up. Best part is, we've only scratched the surface, and there's obviously many more places in Equestria ta mine as well. But that's a thought for anotha' day. I personally had three wagon's worth o' gems delivered ta Rarity, which she was obviously thankful for, a wagon or two fa us an' ya mother who I'll personally gift 'em to, an' the rest are fa sale. Now, a quarter o' the gems we mined will be sold right 'ere in Equestria, an' we'll 'ave 'em delivered ta the major pony cities like Canterlot, Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, an' maybe Baltimare. The rest o' the gems will be delivered ta Earth, an' they'll be sold ta all the major jewelry stores in New York an' maybe the otha' cities in the state since we are discoverin' a shit ton o' gems right now. But we won't deliver all of 'em at once jus' yet, maybe jus'...five ta ten wagons a day fa now? I don' wanna attract too many unwanted attention, whether it's Portal Patrol guards who suddely get a little too nosy, or other families an' rich guys who easily get greedy an' wanna piece o' the action. So fa most o' the gems, we'll 'ave ta store 'em safely before they're ready ya be delivered, an' with how many gems we keep findin', I don't think we's gonna run out anytime soon!" Roberto said.

"For sure!" Gabriele cheered for his father as he, Ainsley, and Vincenzo raised their wine glasses to Roberto.

"Oh! I forgot ta mention. There's somethin' else I've been doin' today while ya two 'ave been gone," Roberto said with a cheeky smile.

"What's that?" Ainsley asked.

"This gem minin' business got me thinkin', Equestria is a new world with lotsa untapped business potential at every turn, an' I figured we should scour the land fa anythin' fa potential business exploit. So I asked my guys from every place we've established business 'ere ta try ta recruit ponies ta help us, since they'd obviously know the land much betta' than us. While not strictly necessary, I did ask fa most o' the pony recruits ta be unicorns an' pegasi since they'd be betta' security an' musclework in my opinion. I mostly asked the guys over at Manehatten ta do this since that city would obviously 'ave a lot more ponies willin' ta do shady stuff. The job fa the ponies is simple, jus' guide our guys around Equestria, help look fa potential exploits, educate 'em on Equestia, get close ta the otha' kingdoms as well an' see what we can get outta the otha' creatures as well," Roberto explained.

"Wait, I thought we scratched most o' the otha' creatures off our list," Gabriele spoke up, confused.

"Fa sellin' gems to, but that doesn't mean we can't get anythin' outta them. Those hippogriffs an' those changelings would obviously 'ave some things ta offa' even if they aren't the richest out there money-wise. Plus, Klugetown, sure it's a shithole, like Ainsley said, but from what I heard they'll still be good customers. Plus, there's still many lands an' kingdoms out there we, or heck, maybe even a lotta the ponies 'ere, don't know nothin' about!"

"'Anything', Dad," Ainsley suddenly said.

"What?"

"It's 'don't know anything', not 'don't know nothing'."

Roberto just stared at his feminine youngest son silently for a few seconds, not appreciating having his way of speaking be corrected, and simply said "Shut up, son."

This time, Vincenzo finally decided to speak up as well. "I've been talkin' to our guys over at Manehatten as well. By letter like ya dad, o'course. Besides the restaurant an' the stores, we're also makin' a racin' track there jus' like the one here in Ponyville too, ta expand our gamblin' circle. Obviously, Manehatten wouldn't be too different from Manhatten back home, any damn idiot can figure that out, so obviously the ponies there would be jus' as greedy an' stupid as New Yorkers back home, so there'd be no question a lotta them would participate in gamblin', way more than the ponies here in Ponyville."

"Hey, uh, speakin' o' gamblin', are we still goin' along with the narcotics business 'ere?" Gabriele asked, again with his mouth full.

"Of course we are. If ya gonna do business in two worlds, might as well double ya money by sellin' ya products in both worlds. We should expect shipment in a few days," Roberto answered.

"But what about the Portal Patrol? Won't they check for those things?" Ainsley asked this time.

"Don't worry about those guys. I've already made sure our guys'll mix the coca seeds into every package containin' seeds o' different crops an' plants. Plus, the Portal Patrol guards are lazy an' pretty incompetent. They 'ave ta watch hundreds o' humans an' ponies comin' an' goin' from the portal everyday, so I doubt they'll ever bother ta check every seed in every package ta see if it's actually illegal. They ain't exactly on the same level as airport security."

The Portal Patrol was a pretty new group appointed by the United States government to guard and watch over the portal that connects Earth to Equestria, with the hundreds of humans and ponies passing either entering or leaving Equestria and vice versa for Earth. Fortunately for the Silanos, as Roberto said, because the group was still in its infancy, they weren't as strict and tight as international, or in this case interdimensional, security ought to be. Plus, with how many humans and ponies pass through every day, the guards couldn't be bothered to check everyone thoroughly. They were, at this point in time, pretty much useless, which opened a huge door of opportunity for illegal activity, like the one the Silanos were about to commit, to happen very easily.

"We'll be growin' all our produce, both the narcotics an' the stuff fa our restaurants, will be grown over at Sweet Apple Acres. I already spoke ta Applejack about it, told 'er I wanted use some o' her unused acres ta grow my crops. She's still discussin' it with 'er family, so we'll 'ave ta wait fa that ta be over with, but once she does, we can commence. I'll 'ave our workers build an underground facility under the greenhouse tent we'll have pitched up ta grow some of our other crops, an' this hidden underground facility is where we'll grow an' process our narcotics," Roberto continued.

"One thing, Dad. The ponies and other creatures here probably don't even know what narcotics are. So how are we supposed to sell it to them?" Ainsley asked again.

"That's simple, son. That's one o' the reason I wanna learn what makes every pony and creature tick. Everyone has a different reason fa wantin' ta consume cocaine an' otha' drugs, but eventually, their reason all becomes the same, an' that's jus' ta keep havin' more drugs. Same as money, keep givin' 'em endless riches, an' eventually their only reason fa comin' back will be ta jus' keep havin' more riches. So if we can figure out how ta convince 'em ta take our product in the first place, then we'll 'ave new regular customers. So ya see, if we can't find potential customers, then we'll make the potential customers!"

Gabriele and Ainsley stared at their father in shocked silence for a moment, and Gabriele was the first to speak up. "So we're really gonna turn a world of magical creatures into desperate druggies? I like the sound o' that!"

"Wow, that's just...wow," Ainsley said, not knowing what to say.

Roberto nodded at his sons' responses with a proud smile for himself. Now, his mind shifted to the other important topic as he and everyone else at the table finished their dinner. "So, we've managed ta befriend the five members o' the Council o' Friendship. That just leaves one more...the Princess herself."
> The New Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning arrived to Ponyville and the Silano House, and everyone inside the mansion awoke to the sound of crashing coming from the hallway of the second floor. Gabriele was the first to get out of his room, wearing his white undershirt, and he ran out to the hallway to see what caused the noise. Gabriele was about to pull out a weapon as he approached the spot where the noise came from, but he stopped himself when he saw what caused it.

"God dammit, you again?! This is the third time this week!" Gabriele yelled at the intruder.

On the floor, surrounded by fallen photograpgh, broken vases, and scattered mail from her saddlebag, laid a cross-eyed grey pegasus mare with a mailman uniform, shaking her head due to crashing hard through the open window. Gabriele has seen this mare several times around Ponyville, the locals called her "Derpy", though he'd heard some ponies also call her "Ditzy Doo". The grey cross-eyed mare smiled innocently up at the human, who only scowled at her in return. Derpy grabbed some envelopes out of her saddlebag with her mouth and offered them to Gabriele, who stared at them for a moment before angrily swiping them from her.

"Look at the fuckin' state o' the hallway! Can ya not fly properly or somethin'?! What's the matta' with ya?!" Gabriele scolded Derpy, who only rubbed the back of her head and continued to smile innocently. "Watch where ya goin' next time, 'cause next time'll be ya final warning! Ya understand?!"

Derpy nodded nervously in response.

"Good, now get the fuck outta here!"

The mailmare got up back onto her hooves and flew out of the open window that she came through, leaving Gabriele alone in the hallway as he just shook his head at the mailmare before turning to the letters he held in his hand.

A moment later, Roberto and Ainsley appeared in the hallway, the former still wearing his red silk pajamas and his slickback hair somehow managed to stay tidy as usual, while the latter wore mint-green pajamas. "I heard a noise. What the hell happened?" Roberto asked.

"It's that damn mailpony again, Pops," Gabriele answered his father.

"Again? Jesus, these horses are nuts!" Roberto said as he grabbed a cigar out of the pocket of his pajamas and began to light it, despite just waking up.







Later that noon, after all the Silanos have had breakfast and dressed up for the day, the three of them headed out to Ponyville. Today, instead of his usual black suit with stripes, Roberto instead wore a white suit and hat. The mob boss had over fifty different suits in his wardrobe, it'd be a shame if he only wore one.

The Silanos walked through Ponyville, heading to a specific destination that Roberto requested, and as soon as they saw it, they stopped to admire the view. All three of them, even Gabriele, though he did not show the same face of awe as his little brother, were amazed by what they were looking at, despite seeing it everyday at Ponyville.

"Would ya look at that? 'Ave ya eva' seen a view like that?" Roberto asked his sons. "I've always wanted ta visit those places eva' since we arrived 'ere in Ponyville, but neva' really got the chance ta. But now I do!"

Standing ahead of them was the giant crystal tree-shaped castle known as the Castle of Friendship, the landmark of Ponyville and a reminder of Princess Twilight Sparkle's impact on Equestria. It stood there, sparkling against the light of the noon sun, towering over every other building in Ponyville, its size and colors making it stand out like a sore thumb in the small town mostly comprised of straw-roofed houses. And to the right of the massive castle, on the other side of the Sparkling Lake, resting on a green slope and surrounded by many waterfalls pouring into the lake was another purple castle, it was the School of Friendship. With both of these castles being so near each other, sharing Princess Twilight's motif of stars and the color purple, and the fact they both centred around being about "Friendship", Gabriele and Roberto couldn't help but wonder if the known-for-her-benevolence Princess Twilight didn't at least have her head a little bit up her own ass.

"So that's the castle Princess Twilight used ta live in before she moved ta Canterlot?" Gabriele asked.

"Yep, that's the one," Ainsley confirmed.

"Well, holy fuckin' cannoli! So she really jus' left this miracle gifted to 'er standin' 'ere after she moved ta Canterlot?! I mean, didn't this thing jus' allegedly sprout outta the ground from a rainbow after her battle with that bad guy named T-Rex or somethin'?"

"Yeah, that's what ponies say."

"Then why did she leave it behind?! It looks fuckin' awesome!"

"Pretty sure movin' the capital afta' a thousand years would require tons o' paperwork an' infrastructure change. Plus, can ya really imagine a small town like this bein' the capital of an entire country?" Roberto asked back.

"Eh, good point. But if Princess Twilight no longer lives 'ere, then who the hell does?" Gabriele asked again.

"The owner of the castle now is her student, Starlight Glimmer I think her name was. She also runs the school too," Ainsley answered yet again.

"Huh, good ta know," Gabriele simply said. "Ya know, if we're eva' in need fa some crystal ta sell, we can always take some from that castle. Nobody'll notice anyway, since the the entire place is made o' crystal anyways."

"Are ya stupid, Gabriele? That's a national landmark! We're not gonna be able ta desecrate it in any way, not that I'd wanna," Roberto scolded.

"I know, I know, I'm jus' jokin', Pops. Jeez, sometimes ya 'ave no sense o' humor."

"I do 'ave one, you're jus' not a funny person, Gabriele."

"Alright, fair enough,"  Gabriele simply said. "But about that school, is there anythin' we can do with it? I mean like, get it under our control? Maybe we can get it ta give ta our funds, and we'll fund the school in return!" he suggested.

Roberto and Ainsley stared at Gabriele for a moment, completely confused by his suggestion. "Gabe, the school was built and is owned by the Princess herself, I don't think they need out funds. If we wanna do something like that, we might as well just go to the local school house," Ainsley said.

"Son, you're a good worker an' enforcer, but you're a fuckin' terrible businessman. Maybe I should jus' make Ainsley the heir ta the family business," Roberto said to his son.

"Well, if that 'appens, I'd be fine with that. Business has neva' been my strong suit anyway," Gabriele told his father. "But, actually, ya know what? Maybe the students in that school can be potential drug buyers fa us!"

"What? The students? Of the School of Friendship? C'mon, they'd be the last creatures in Equestria to ever wanna buy drugs from us," Ainsley dismissed his brother's idea again.

"C'mon, Ains, think about it for a moment. That's clearly a private school by the looks of it, an' private school students are some o' the biggest druggies out there. Believe me, a lotta our customers back home buyin' coke an' heroine offa us were students from private schools. An' they neva' get caught 'cause their parents are all rich folk who're able ta pay off any cop an' judge like they're givin' away to a homeless person!"

"Still, Gabe, these two students go to a school that's literally all about friendship and love and respect. If you ask me, all those students are already pretty high. High on life, that is."

"But think about it anotha' way, Ainsley! This is a government-owned private school that's literally centered entirely 'round teaching friendship! Friend-ship! I mean, jus' think about how ridiculous that sounds!" Gabriele put heavy emphasis on the 'friendship' parts.

"Is it really any more ridiculous than anything else we've seen and heard about Equestria? This is a land where the sun and moon are moved telekinetically, and ass tattoos magically appear when you find your special talent. Plus, you're forgetting that the literal Magic of Friendship has saved Equestria from danger many times in the past. So from everything I've heard, making friends is a literal superpower around here."

"But has anyone otha' than the Princess an' the Council o' Friendship members actually displayed those legendary friendship powers everyone talks about?"

"Yes, actually. There's the Pillars, who came before them, and I guess there's the six students over at the School of Friendship who are the newer ones," Ainsley answered.

"Alright, but my point still stands. Otha' than those guys, who else is performin' friendship powers? 'Cause I certainly ain't seein' any super saiyan Harry Potter X-Men shit goin' on ova' there."

"I mean, we are pretty far away."

"Shut up, Ains. Ya know what I mean. I doubt any kids goin' inta that school 'cause they actually expect they're gonna get superpowers. The only parents who'd actually bother wastin' their money ta have their kids spend their education there? They're either stupid or jus' wanna get away from 'em. C'mon, who'd actually be this obsessed ta wanna dedicate years o' their life ta learnin' about friendship? Only Princess Twilight would. Ya can tell that bitch was really serious about this school too, she clearly used up a lotta royal government money jus' ta build that place. Jus' look at it, it's a frickin' castle! How much o' these ponies' taxes go ta that place?"

"What's your point, Gabe?"

"The point is that I 'ave a strong feelin' that the students that go 'ere aren't actually that obsessed about friendship as they're lettin' on. I'd understand if they were like...elementary school kids, but look at 'em! They're in their late teens, at least!" Gabriele pointed at some of the students walking outside the school. "If ya ask me, this school sounds like it'd be a good place fer a buncha high school or college kids ta spend the rest o' their educative years jus' hangin' around not 'avin' ta do any actual studyin'. Like, can ya really get a fuckin' degree or diploma fa makin' friends? No way, man."

"Well, the biggest flaw in your argument is that you're assuming everyone's as much of a selfish asshole as you are," Ainsley told his big brother. 

"Yeah, but at the same time, not everyone's as big of a do-goodin' moral fantasist as Princess Twilight. I'm jus' sayin' that there might be potential business in that school. It is the Princess's passion after all."

"Ainsley's got a point, Gabriele," Roberto suddenly said, which took his sons by surprise because he was just standing there listening for so long as they were busy arguing that they forgot he was even there. "While it's nice you're enthusiastic an' always tryna see new business opportunities, ya really shouldn't jump ta conclusions about a place when ya haven't even seen what the inside looks like. Let's take a look inside that school, I'm quite curious about what the hell a 'School o' Friendship' even teaches."

"Well, it's kinda in the name, Pops," the eldest son said.

"Be quiet, Gabe."

"I kinda wanna see what's inside it too!" Ainsley said excitedly.

"Then what are we standin' 'round 'ere for? C'mon, let's move it! I've been wantin' ta visit those place fer a while now!" Roberto gestured his sons to follow him, and the three of them walked towards the school.
> The School
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Silanos stood on the other side of the Sparkling Lake, across the School of Friendship. Now that they were right in front of it, the Silanos saw how big the purple castle that is the school, but it was nowhere as massive as the Castle of Friendship which stood looming right behind them. Roberto stared up at the tall towers of the school, the Elements of Harmony symbol, as well as the stained glass window depicting Princess Twilight Sparkle that rested above the front door with his squinted eyes, analyzing everything he could about the stucture. After a minute or two of silence, Roberto took his cigar out of his mouth and blew out the smoke he inhaled, then gestured his kids to follow him inside. 

Roberto opened up the double doors that led into the chateau, which he noticed had a gold plate that had the symbol of the Elements of Harmony, and the mob boss and his two suns entered the lobby of the School of Friendship. The lobby had many grey pillars with purple crystals at their bases, blue and purple pathway carpets, and on either side of the carpets were stone busts on historical ponies. The lobby was filled with many ponies walking or flying around, but once in a while the Silanos also saw other creatures that they've rarely or never came across before, only being aware of their existence. There were some creatures that looked like ponies but had scales, bushy manes, and strange-looking horns that Roberto and Gabriele had absolutely no idea what they were, but Ainsley knew them to be Kirins; there were a couple of dragons, which Roberto was visibly not happy to see; there were changelings, which looked absolutely nothing like what Roberto and Gabriele imagined them to be (Gabriele looking pretty disappointed by how they look), who from what they were told about them, expected them to be very horrifying-looking, but that might've applied more to when they were still under Queen Chrysalis's rule; then there were the expected griffons, hippogriffs, and yaks (who the Silanos, mostly the father and eldest son, thoight were the least interesting creatures around there).

In the middle of the lobby, they saw a trio of ponies that stuck out from the rest, mostly because they were obviously the only adults around. One was a light purple unicorn mare with a dark purple mane that had an aquamarine highlight on it, the other was another unicorn mare but was instead blue with a very light blue mane and tail, and the last one was an orange bespectacled unicorn stallion with an unkempt vermillion mane and a long beard growing out of his chin, and he also wore a blue cape with stars on it.

"Good afta'noon, teachers!" Roberto greeted loudly, which got the attention of the three ponies.

"Oh, why...hello. Who are you?" the purple unicorn asked.

"Roberto Silano, an' these are my sons Gabriele an' Ainsley, an' I'm guessin' by ya...cutie mark that you're Starlight Glimmer?" Roberto asked, attempting not to physically gag at saying 'cutie mark'. 

"Yup, that's me. Sorry, it's just...pretty surprising to see you here. We don't get too many humans around here," Starlight said.

"Well, we do have some humans who came to us who considered applying here," the orange bespectacled stallion said.

"Oh yeah, we do! We should probably try getting back to them later."

"So, what are ya, like the principal 'ere or somethin'?" Gabriele asked Starlight.

"Yeah. Well, Headmare, to be more accurate." Starlight then gestured to the orange stallion and the blue mare. "This is our vice headmare, Sunburst; and this is our guidance counselor, Trixie."

"H-hello, nice to meet you!" Sunburst greeted awkwardly, extending his hoof which Roberto shook.

"The Great and Powerful Counselor Trixie is happy to meet you," Trixie greeted with smug confidence, extending her hoof just like Sunburst which Roberto also shook.

"Hold on, why is he called 'vice headmare' if he's a guy?" Gabriele asked.

Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other, clearly not sure of the answer too. "I...never really thought about that, actually. Guess it's just a title that stuck," Starlight tried to answer.

Ainsley leaned in and whispered in his brother's ear. "It's a pretty matriarchal society, remember?"

"But c'mon, a guy bein' so subserviant to a female, that he's even 'avin' a female job title? That's a disgrace!" Gabriele whispered back, though his whispering was loud enough to be heard by everyone near him.

"What are you, Andrew Tate?" Ainsley asked.

"I'm jus' sayin' it's pretty embarrasin' fer 'im ta be emasculated like that!"

Roberto continued the conversation, trying to get himself and the ponies to ignore what his sons were talking about, as he couldn't afford to have potential friends pushed away right as they were getting to know each other. "Anyway, it's very nice ta meet all o' ya as well."

"So...what brings you here, Mr. Silano?" Starlight aked. 

"Ya see, I've already been in Equestria in Equestria for...many months now, an' even built a house 'ere in Ponyville. But I still 'aven't been able ta explore every inch o' this lovely little town, includin' this magnificent-lookin' school o' yours as well as that majestic crystal castle out front! So seein' these majestic landmarks everyday, an' hearin' a lotta great things about this school, I figured why not try ta take a look an' find out everythin' about it," Roberto answered.

"So you're here to take a tour of the place?"

"If ya not busy, that is. Plus, I've been gettin' ta know a lotta the Princess's close friends these past couplea days, an' I take it ya one as well?"

"Yeah, aren't you Princess Twilight's personal student?" Ainsley asked.

"Oh, I was, but that was years ago," Starlight answered.

"And I heard you were once an evil cult leader and nearly destroyed the timeline?"

"That..." Starlight inhaled through her teeth nervously, "...was also years ago."

"What? Then how the hell are ya even runnin' free right now?! Much less runnin' the Princess's frickin' school!" Gabriele exclaimed, in which he only got shushed angrily by his father in response.

"Twilight's always been...very understanding I guess," Starlight hesitantly answered.

"Movin' back ta the topic at hand...I've become very close acquaintances with the Princess's closest friends, so I figured why not try an' get ta know all of 'em?" Roberto said, again trying to make everyone ignore what his son just said. 

"I'm even trying to learn with Rarity now! Alongside with two students from this school, Sandbar and Yona," Ainsley added.

"You've met Sandbar and Yona? Well, that's great to hear, they are great students. Maybe you can attend here too! If you want to," Starlight said.

" So tell me, what exactly d'ya teach in this 'ere School o' Friendship?" the mob boss asked.

"Yeah, d'ya literally jus' teach fruendship 'ere? 'Ave some whole classroom lecture an' curriculum on how ta socialize or somethin'?" Gabriele added.

"Well, kinda, yeah. It's all about, in Twilight's words, teaching creatures about respecting differences and communicating," Starlight answered.

Each of the Silano family members had varying reactions to Starlight's answer. Ainsley was pretty interested, albeit a bit confused; Roberto was listening intently but was also trying his best not to disrespect Starlight by expressing his confusion too much; Gabriele did not hide what he was feeling, as he stared at the purple unicorn mare with the most confused expression he could muster.

"Ya serious right now? What, is there like a diploma or degree fa makin' friends 'ere or somethin'? Those are the kinda things I learned about in fuckin' grade school! Look at all these creatures 'round us, they're all like, what? Highschool? Grads? Why are ya seriously teachin' people this old about fuckin' friendship?! Do they pay fa these lessons? How much time do they spend 'ere? Is this all so they unlock their secret rainbow powers or somthin'?! 'Cause if it was, I'd prolly understand!" Gabriele kept asking, as while he knew what the school was about beforehand, it was a completely different experience when the principal conformed that the school really was as ridiculous as it sounded.

"It's not just about rainbow powers..." Starlight tried to answer before Gabriele cut her off and continued his rant.

"I mean, if it's really jus' about makin' friends, I can do that easily! No need ta apply like Ainsley would!" Gabriele gestured to his younger brother.

"Why am I being used as an example?!" Ainsley asked in outrage, which only got ignored by his big brother.

Gabriele pointed to two random young stallion students walking through the lobby. "Look there! I'm gonna make friends with those guys an' see if I can manage without the help o' this school's education!" The young Italian-American man then walked away from the crowd he was with toward the two young stallions. "Ay! You two!"

The two students stopped their chatter with each other and stopped dead in their tracks as the human stood towering in front of them. "Uh...yes?" one of them spoke.

"The name's Gabriele. Wanna be friends?"

"Um...sure?" the other stallion answered.

Gabriele immediately turned back to Starlight. "There! See?! Easy! I just aced this damn school in ten seconds! Where's my diploma?" he said as the two students he spoke two snuck past him while his attention was occupied.

"That's not really how it works," Starlight pointed out.

Upon hearing this, Gabriele immediately marched in front of Starlight and the other two teachers. "Oh, what? So, ya sayin' that there now are rules on how ta make friends, Glim-Glam?! I thought friendship was supposed ta be diverse an' not follow a rulebook!" Gabriele leaned his face closer to Starlight's with every sentence.

"That's not what I--"

"Also, anotha' thing I gotta point out. What's up with ya hair? Why the hell does it look like one o' those pride flags?" Gabriele asked.

"A pride flag?" Starlight asked back as she looked up and touched her own mane.

"Yeah, like the ones those queers wave around." Gabriele turned to his little brother, "Ay, Ainsley! You're queer, tell me ya don't see it too."

Ainsley was about to start an argument with his big brother, but stopped himself when he actually took the time to analyze Starlight's mane. "Actually, now that you mention it, it kinda does look like one."

"See?!"

"Well, when you think about it, a lot of the manes of the ponies we've seen kinda look like pride flags. Princess Twilight's kinda resembles the bisexual flag, and Rainbow Dash...well, seems pretty obvious."

"Ya think it's all natural? Or d'they all dye 'em ta--"

"Kids! Please!" Roberto scolded his sons, which caused them to immediately stop talking. "Can we please focus on what we came 'ere for?!"

"Sorry, Dad," The Silano Brothers apologized in unison with their heads bowed down.

"As I was tryna say, we jus' wanna take a look around this wonderful school o' yours. See what the fuss's about," Roberto continued.

"Why, sure! I'd be glad to show you around!" Starlight said. "You three have obviously met all our teachers, so let's take a look at their classes, shall we?" she gestured the humans to follow her.

Roberto took a puff of his cigar before answering, causing him to blow out large amounts of smoke in Starlight's face while he spoke. "Sounds good ta me. Ya've gotta really nice schoolin' facility up 'ere, I'd love ta see it all."

Starlight wheezed and coughed from all the smoke blown in her face before speaking again. "I'm sorry, sir, but can you put that out?"

Roberto's face suddenly turned sour as he silently stared at the unicorn with his squinted eyes. Roberto always hated it when someone told him to put his cigar out, it always felt like a part of him was missing whenever he didn't have a cigar with him. He made an exception with Rarity when she fixed his suit, since it was only respectful for him to do so with the pony who was fixing his favorite suit, plus the boutique was a very small space and smoking in such a place surrounded by hundreds of flammable fabric wouldn't be a good idea anyway. The school on the other hand was a much larger place and more open, so it wasn't like a little cigar smoke would hurt anyway. Roberto never understood when schools, or any public place, freaked out so much about him smoking around the premises, it wasn't like nobody there didn't smoke (or at least not yet).

But since this was Starlight's building and not his, Roberto forced himself to comply. A good businessman and friend should have to respect his host's wishes, after all. Though that didn't stop him from visibly expressing his displeasure, whether he realized it or not.

"As you wish then, Miss Starlight," the crime boss said as he put out his cigar on the horn of the stone bust of Starswirl the Bearded without even looking at it, which gained some uncomfortable looks from the ponies in front of him.

"Uh...you really shouldn't do that, Mr. Silano. That's Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most respected heroes of Equestria?" Starlight told the man, trying to hide her frustration.

"My apologies, Miss Starlight. I didn't know," Roberto said without a hint of remorse in his voice as he took the cigar he put out on the bust and put it in his pocket. "Now, shall we?"

"Oh! Of course," Starlight just remembered what they were there for. She took a deep breath to calm herself down about the Silanos' previous behaviors, and she looked at them with a smile. "Right then, if you would just follow me."

Starlight led everyone through the school, with Sunburst and Trixie tagging along. They first showed their offices, which the Silanos were clearly not interested in at all, and after which Sunburst and Trixie split up from the group to continue their works while Starlight continued the tour. Next, Starlight showed them to each of the classes, and like she said, the Silanos have already met the teachers before. But what the Silanos weren't expecting was just how off the wall their classes actually were.

The first class they visited was none other than Fluttershy's class, who, as expected but somehow still took the Silanos by surprise, has a lot of wild animals in her class, some that seemed way too big and dangerous to be in a classroom environment, and some that were obviously only native to Equestria since the Silanos couldn't tell what the hell they were supposed to be. Roberto and Gabriele seemed to be the only ones who were taken aback by this (Ainsley was already used to seeing the ponies do stuff like this), while Starlight just smiled at it like it was an everyday occurance, and all the students in the class were smiling and laughing as well.

"See?! I told ya this yellow bitch's crazy!" Gabriele whispered to his little brother.

"Oh! Hi, Gabriele!" Fluttershy suddenly greeted when she noticed the familiar-looking human by the door. Gabriele seemed scared that the yellow pegasus noticed him, partly because he didn't want to be seen associating with her, and the other reason was the one she mentioned right after that.

"Are you still coming to my sanctuary to help out like you said?" the yellow pegasus asked with everyone in the vicinity listening.

"Uh..." Gabriele looked back and forth between Fluttershy and his father, who while despite staring at his son blankly, Gabriele knew exactly what he wanted him to say, "...sure, why not?"

"Oh, wonderful! We can learn all about animals together!" Fluttershy said giddily.

"Oh, no..." Gabriele said while Ainsley just snickered at his brother.

As Starlight closed the door to Fluttershy's classroom, she gave a smug look towards Gabriele, who did not seem amused by the situation in the slightest. "Looks like someone here has gotten pretty close to one of our teachers."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, Glim-Glam."

Next, they visited Rainbow Dash's class, which the Silanos noticed was pretty much phys-ed as her classroom wasn't even a classroom, but more of a gymnasium. There were wooden baskets suspended on poles (which the Silanos assumed was meant to be Equestria's version of basketball), and there were huge hoops hanging down from the ceiling which many pegasi, and even a blue griffon and orange dragon were flying through. Up in the air, they could also see a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane they knew to be Rainbow Dash, who was teaching as a coach. Rainbow and Ainsley quickly greeted each other from afar before they moved on to the next class.

Pinkie Pie's class was exactly what one would expect it to look like, as it was full of balloons and other party decorations, the shelves were filled with ingredients to make cake, and it was way more hectic than any classroom the Silanos had ever seen (one that had a teacher in it, at least). As Starlight was explaining the class, Gabriele whispered to Ainsley again asking how the hell laughter was even a legitimate lesson to be taught at a school, in which Ainsley replied that by the looks of the class it could also be teaching how to be a party curator which is a legitimate job. Pinkie noticed the visitors and hopped happily towards them.

"Hey, Mr. Silano! Nice to see you again! Did you find out who it was?! I did my own investigating and I pulled up a list of possible suspe--"

"Nice seein' ya again, Pinks. But don't worry about that, we've got situation handled. I've been doin' a little investigatin' of my own, actually," Roberto smiled at the pink earth pony.

"Ooh! Really?! Didja figure out who it is?!" Pinkie jumped in place excitedly.

"Ssh! Not so loud!" Roberto tried to say in a hushed tone while looking at Starlight, who in turn was looking at Roberto and Pinkie weirdly. "Unfortunately no, I still don't actually know who it was. But we're makin' pretty huge progress if I do say so myself."

Roberto leaned his head closer to Pinkie to make sure no one can hear what he's about to say. "An' jus' between you an' me, I suspect it might be someone on the inside."

Pinkie Pie gasped loudly. "An inside job?! Who could it b--" she tried to exclaim before Roberto put one of his big fat fingers on her lips to hush her up.

"I told ya! Not so loud!" he said in a hushed tone again. "Like I says, I don't know. But the point is, ya don't 'ave ta worry about it. We've got it unda' control. So ya can jus' go back ta teachin' ya class an' bakin' ya birthday cakes. Nice li'l class ya got 'ere, by the way."

"So ya teach people about...havin' fun?" Gabriele asked.

"Righty-roony!" Pinkie answered.

"That's weird, 'cause usually when students wanna 'ave fun, it's outside the classroom."

"Well, that's what makes this class so special!" Pinkie replied, looking back proudly at her classroom.

"I guess."

Pinkie then turned back to Roberto. "By the way, Mr. Silano, thank you so much for the partnership offer! I've been delivering so many cakes to your restaurant, and it's really been helping the bakery!"

"Why, ya welcome, Pinkie. That's jus' what I do, y'know?" Roberto said with a smile.

"Okie-dokie! I gotta get back to class. See you again, Mr. Silano!" Pinkie said as she bounced away back to her class.

The moment the pink earth pony's back was turned, Roberto's smile instantly faded away, and he turned back to Starlight to continue the tour.

Applejack's classroom was easily the weirdest looking one out of all the ones the Silanos have seen so far, as it looked like a barn than anything else, with its wooden structure painted red. There was a massive apple tree growing in the middle of the room, and there were long wooden tables with various tools on them. So this was more like a workshed than it was a standard classroom. Applejack was there teaching her students, and when she saw Roberto standing by the door, her expression went uneasy, which was very different from all the other teachers before. Applejack told her students to continue their lessons before walking towards the visitors.

"Why, uh, howdy there, Mr. Silano. What brings you here?" the farm pony asked.

"Jus' lookin' around the place. So, Miss Glimmer 'ere tells me this is ya Honesty class."

"That's right."

"What the hell does any o' this have ta do with honesty?" Gabriele asked.

"I'm sorry, an' you are...?" Applejack asked the young man, as well as looking at the other one by Roberto's side.

"Oh right, ya 'aven't met 'em. These are my sons, Gabriele an' Ainsley," Roberto gestured to both his children.

"Well, uh, nice ta meet ya both. So yer...Gabriele?" Applejack asked him. 

Applejack's face became uncomfortable when she looked at Gabriele's face. There was something about the young human man that felt very...off. Besides his intimidating posture, when Applejack looked into the young man's eyes, she saw they were very...cold, and full of anger. Applejack thought there was something not right with Gabriele. Despite these feelings, the orange farm pony decided to shrug them off at the moment, and she was also helped to snap out of her trance when Gabriele spoke.

"Yeah, that's right. So whaddya teach in this class?" he asked.

"Oh! Uh...well, I teach mah students all about honesty and hard work. As ya can see here, Ah'm teachin' agriculture an' handiwork," Applejack gestured to the class behind her.

"Alright, again, what does that 'ave ta do with honesty? Or friendship?" Gabriele asked again.

"Maybe the working together part?" Ainsley suggested.

"But that's jus' basic workin'! How exactly does honesty fit into it?! An' why does friendship need ta be applied to it?! This whole school makes absolutely no goddamn se--!" Gabriele ranted before his father raised a finger telling him to stop. Though Gabriele noticed the way he did it was less stern than how he'd usually do it, less of a 'shut up' and more of a 'wait a moment', which told Gabriele that his father was starting to share his thoughts.

"Uh, sorry. Shouldn't 'ave gone off like that," Gabriele apologized, though Applejack could clearly tell it wasn't genuine.

Applejack instead turned to Roberto now. "Mr. Silano, about that offer ya gave me, can we meet up later in the evenin' over at Sweet Apple Acres, ta discuss it properly?"

"A'course, Applejack. Can't wait for it," Roberto said with a smile.

With that, Applejack went back to class, and Starlight led the Silanos to the last of the Coucil of Friendship members' classes. While Starlight led them to Rarity's classroom, the Silanos began to whisper among themselves.

"Tell me ya thinkin' what I'm thinkin' now, Pops?" Gabriele asked his father.

"I sure do. These horses are fuckin' weirdos!" Roberto whispered back.

"Finally! Someone sees it too! This school is fuckin' horseshit! No pun intended. This all feels like a fuckin' scam! I mean, the only way a school like this would be built is if the owner is either scammin' people, or they're a fuckin' idiot themselves! What does any o' the stuff they teach 'ave anythin' ta do with what this school's supposedly about?!"

"Well, the first three classes seemed pretty on-brand with what they were about. Kindness to animals, loyalty in sports, laughter in parties, that kinda thing. Don't know about the honesty one, though. Being honest in business, I guess?" Ainsley suggested.

"I guess that's true," Gabriele said.

" I do think loyalty is a pretty good thing ta teach, as well as honesty, 'cause y'know, our business relies on loyalty an' honesty. Though the honesty part has a few exceptions," Roberto commented.

"Also, the teachers here still seem to teach legitimate jobs in a way," Ainsley added.

"But that brings me back ta my point! A lotta those stuff can be taught at any other, probably betta' schools! The fact that a school this fuckin' big an' majestic is wastin' its time an' money ta teach fuckin' friendship is ridiculous! I'm startin' ta get the feelin' that Princess Twilight, despite bein' famous fa bein' a nerd, isn't as smart as we think," Gabriele continued.

"Yeah, a lot of ponies do say she has a bit too much of a hard-on for the 'Magic of Friendship'."

"Then she's naive too. And this is the horse that saved and is running the country? Are all o' them stupid or somethin'? Whaddya think, Pops?" Gabriele asked his father.

"Well, here's what I think; I truly respect someone who prioritzes friendship above all else, that means I know that person's gonna be loyal, honest, an' trustworthy, an' in turn by givin' those things back to 'em ya keep 'em in ya debt. But Princess Twilight is clearly still young, naive, an' too carin'. I think we can use both o' those things to our advantage," Roberto answered.

"How?" Ainsley asked.

"It's quite simple, she's a simple pony, an' the solutions also simple. Afta' we gain the trust of all 'er friends, on the day that comes where we finally meet 'er face ta face, we jus' come to 'er as a friend. Once we've softened 'er up, we jus' ask 'er fer a little help with our businesses, 'cause I don't think someone like 'er would ever resist helpin' someone out, especially a friend o' her friends. Once she does help us an' we show her our gratitude, that's when we'll be safe unda' her protection! An' she won't even realize it! She's the mos' beloved an' respected pony in all of Equestria, no one would try ta poke their nose in our business if they knew we were indebted ta the Princess."

"An' we'll 'ave 'er precious subjects attatched ta our strings right unda' her nose! Dumb purple bitch won't even know what hit 'er!" Gabriele said with a sadistic smile. Moments like these were one of the few rare occasions he'd ever have a grin on his face.

"Don't get too excited jus' yet, Gabriele. The business an' negotiations 'ave barely even started."

They arrived at Rarity's class, and while it wasn't the stragest looking class they've seen in the school, it definitely fit Rarity's whole thing. The walls had diamind patterns and were scattered with sketches of dresses, the couches were fancy looking, and there were shelves filled with all kinds of fabrics of all colors. Rarity was stitching together a dress in front of the class, and the students were following her example, though also doing their own thing with their creations. Rarity looked up from the dress she was working on and smiled.

"Ah, Mr. Silano! How nice to see you again!" Rarity greeted the human.

"Nice ta see ya too, Miss Rarity," Roberto greeted back.

"I see you brought your sons with you. Hello there, Ainsley, darling! Oh! Do you want to join our class? You did say you want to learn with me," Rarity asked the feminine younger son of Roberto.

"Sure! I don't see why not. You don't mind, do you, Dad?" Ainsley asked his father.

"Of course, son," he answered.

"Hey, Gabe. Why don't you join us?" Ainsley asked his big brother.

"What? Why the hell would I join some boring fashion class?!"

"'Cause I think you really could do with a nicer wardrobe," Ainsley gestured at his brother's clothes. Gabriele wore the same outfit nearly every day, which is his white sleeveless tank top undershirt, his unbuttoned yellow shirt he wears over it, his gold chain necklace, as well as his jeans that he also almost never changes.

"What's wrong with my clothes?!" Gabriele complained, looking down at his outfit.

"Ainsley's not entirely wrong, Gabriele. A son o' mine deserves ta at least try wearin' somethin' a little more fancy than this," Roberto said while pulling at the sleeve of his son's shirt.

"Yeah, just wait 'till I ask Rarity. I guarantee she'll say the same thing."

"Plus, whether or not ya wanna inherit the family business, if ya wanna help it, ya gonna 'ave ta learn ta get along with otha' people, or creatures in this case. Intimidation an' fear's only half the battle in our business, y'know?" Roberto added.

"C'mon, it's only for a little while."

Gabriele just sighed in frustration. "Fine, I guess I'll try ta get involved in the fashion class. As long as nobody makes me wear any dresses!"

"No promises," Ainsley stuck his tongue out.

"I'm fuckin' serious, Ains!"

"Well, I'm glad that our class has interested you...Ainsley, right?" Starlight asked, who the Silanos almost forgot was with them the whole time.

"Yup, that's me."

"Well, I sure hope you and your brother have a fun time while you're here," Starlight said, which Gabriele raised an eyebrow at. The unicorn turned back to the mob boss, "There's just one more class to see, Mr. Silano. My class! I teach magic and history there. Twilight used to teach there, but I filled in for the role after her coronation. Do you still wanna see?"

"Sure, I did say I wanna see every inch o' this place. Plus, I hear you're quite a powerful unicorn yaself, so I'm quite curious ta see what ya capable of. Though, I'll 'ave ta leave afta' that, I jus' remembered there's somewhere else I need ta be today," Roberto answered.

"Of course, Mr. Silano. Just follow me," Starlight gestured and walked down the hall.

"Try not ta cause any trouble, kids. That means you, Gabriele," Roberto pointed at his sons.

"Alright, Pops."

With that, Roberto walked down the hall, following Starlight Glimmer, and Gabriele and Ainsley walked into the classroom to join Rarity and the rest of the class.
> The Class
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two humans sat on one of the couches of Rarity's class, one of them looking more enthusiastic than the other was. Gabriele just sat there with his arms crossed, clearly not having any excitement for whatever lesson was prepared for him. Many of the students in the room occasionally glanced at the human brothers in the middle of their activities and lectures. The two humans really stood out compared to everyone else in the room, besides the obvious reason, as the both of them were at least several years older than the other students. Not to mention the Silano brothers looked very odd, as despite them supposedly being related, the two of them look absolutely nothing alike, with one looking like a brooding thug while the other looked more friendly and colorful.

Ainsley had to get a little personal help from Rarity since he had very little experience in designing. In his only experience designing clothes in the past, which were the ones he wore today, while he did design how he wanted the clothes to look like, he left everything else to the professionals. It turns out, actually creating an outfit from scratch was a whole different league than just deciding the colors and size you want. 

Rarity was using an anthropomorphic mannequin for today's class, both as a way to help teach Ainsley and Gabriele, as well as to teach her other students how to make non-quadruped outfits. Rarity stood by Ainsley's side through most of the class, explaining each fabric and tool, while Ainsley picked out which colors he liked and tried to do the cutting and sketching and outlining on his own, all while conversing with the unicorn. Gabriele, on the other hand, did next to nothing to help his brother with making the clothes, instead spending most of the time just sitting back sulking on the couch and playing around with his closed switchblade by tossing it in the air and catching it in his hand repeatedly, waiting for this whole thing to be over.

Gabriele absolutely hated having to play nice with the ponies, in fact he hated having to play nice with anyone in general. Gabriele was never someone who particularly found any enjoyment in being friendly to people, which was one of the main reasons he always felt more suited into doing his father's dirty work with Vincenzo De Luca. There was always a huge catharisis in him just roughing up and or torturing some pathetic jackass who tried to screw him and his family over, or at least insulted him in any way. Teaching an arrogant asshole a lesson and showing them who's boss in the situation was something that brought great satisfaction to Gabriele's violent mind.

The only thing that could surpass that was killing. Gabriele was no stranger to murder. In fact, he's killed countless people in various ways ever since his late teen years. Gabriele was always aggressive even when he was little, very often getting into physical confrontations even as a kid, and they would often end up very bad for the opposing party (who knows how many have had a broken nose in their childhood because of him). As he got older and more involved in his father's business, it was only natural that his father paired him up with his capo and right-hand man, Vincenzo De Luca, who did a lot of Roberto's dirty work. Gabriele and Vincenzo have always gotten along since his childhood, and they were both equally as ruthless as each other, so they were the perfect pair to work together as the Silano crime family's top enforcers. Both he and Vincenzo have been sent out to take care of many clients and enemies throughout the years, and they've threatened and or killed people in every single way imaginable. Gabriele's favorite thing to do was threaten people with his stiletto switchblade, often cutting or slicing off body parts in the process, while Vincenzo's signature method to rough up someone or kill them was to strangle them with a garrote wire, but most of the time it was to threaten them into doing something for them, usually paying. These things earned themselves nicknames among their associates in his father's business, that being "Stiletto Gabe" and "Vinny the Strangler".

But ever since they moved to Equestria, Gabriele hasn't gotten too many chances to do what he did best, at least not as much as back on Earth, since the first few months in Equestria were more focused on establishing business than enforcing it, as they were literally starting from scratch in this new world. . Especially this week since the whole "Cherry Incident", there has barely been any action, with the only action he got was breaking Leroy's kneecap with a baseball bat. Now he was expected to try to play nice with all these ponies, which he was not having a good time with. 

Gabriele both admired and hated the ponies of Equestria. On one hand, everything about them as a species and culture were amazing; the unicorns with their magic spells, the pegasi with their flying and ability to control the weather, and the earth ponies with their...strength? Farming skills? Gabriele didn't really find earth ponies to be  all that interesting, just regular fucking horses for all he knew. But at the same time, the ponies always digusted him in a way he could never really fully put his finger on. They weren't like humans, that much is obvious, but they were so hard for someone like him to fully understand. Maybe it was their cuteness, their colorfulness, their overly friendly nature, the fact they were all so soft in more ways than one, maybe it was one of those things, maybe it was all of them, he couldn't know for sure. It's all best represented with Princess Twilight, the so-called "Princess of Friendship", who the more Gabriele learned about the more he couldn't stand. 

Who even was she? Ainsley was the most educated of the Silanos when it came to Equestria, and Gabriele had heard from his  brother about how Princess Twilight was nothing more than some nerdy bookworm student of the former Princess Celestia who was a complete antisocial recluse, but ever since she came to Ponyville and made friends and defeated Nightmare Moon, she's suddenly gushing all over the idea of friendship and now she's making the whole damn country form its identity around it, it was completely ridiculous. Some know-it-all nerd gets a taste of the real world for a moment, defeats a few bad guys with her magic friendship powers, and now she suddenly thinks she knows everything and was trusted to run the entire kingdom. Gabriele couldn't know for sure if doing business with the ponies would be hard or easy considering how stupid they all seemed.

Now he was stuck in Rarity's class in the School of Friendship, having to try and get along with her. Ainsley was doing just fine, he'd always been the friendliest and most approachable of the Silanos, even Gabriele can admit that, but he himself definitely wasn't. He had no interest in getting involved with fashion and its painfully tedious process of work. All he could do to entertain himself was toss and catch his switchblade, and looking around at the other students. The fact that they all willingly signed up to join a school of friendship, they were all ridiculous, all of them were pathetic idiots. What were they all doing with their lives?

"What do you think, Gabriele?"

Gabriele was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Rarity's voice address him directly. He looked up to see both the white unicorn as well as his brother looking directly at him. He could only look at them with a confused expression.

"What do I think o' what?"

"Your brother's idea to make a fancy suit for you!" Rarity answered with excitement.

"What? Why?"

"Well, no offense, darling, but your outfit is very...dreary."

Gabriele looked at Rarity with an even more confused expression, then to Ainsley, who gave him a smug smile as if to say 'i told you so'.

"Why the fuck is everyone tryna criticize the way I dress today? Dreary how? Whaddya mean?"

"C'mon, Gabe, if you weren't wearing that yellow shirt you'd look like some drunk husband who beats his wife," Ainsley said.

"Well, at least I'm fuckin' wearin' somethin', unlike everyone around 'ere who's just struttin' around naked without a care in the world. Ya know how many horse balls and cunts I gotta ta see everyday jus' goin' outside? Way more than I can count, an' that's jus' talkin' 'bout today. It's a fuckin' nudist colony out 'ere. I'm pretty sure I've seen yours at least a couple o' times in this class," Gabriele told Rarity, who's face turned red and she shifted her tail slightly upon hearing him say that.

"Just look at all these naked fuckers sittin' in class all naked, all shamelessly showin' off their fuckin' genitals like it's no big deal. Look at 'em all sittin' around like that," Gabriele addressed all the students in the room, who all went silent out of pure awkwardness, none of them knowing what to say in this situation.

Rarity knew that humans were always very sensitive around the subject of nudity. Despite Rarity being someone who's centered her entire life around clothes, even she was quite surprised by how nudity-shy humans were. Ponies often wore clothes too, but most of them only wore them for special occasions, whether it's an event or any specific activity that requires some form of clothing. Most of the ponies who very often wore clothes were the higher-ups in Canterlot and Manehatten, but even then they were few and far in between. The only other creatures in Equestria and beyond Rarity could recall that wore clothes frequently as well were the residents of Klugetown, and maybe also the parrots of Ornithia, and they still weren't as fanatical about it as humans were. Humans literally wore clothes nearly all the time, there wasn't a single hour of the day that they weren't wearing clothes, except when they were bathing or, depending on the human, even when they slept. Though, in regards to sleeping, they usually took them off if they were...sleeping together.

Now, it wasn't just societal taboo that drove humans to always wear clothes, there were other more natural factors too. Unlike ponies and other Equestrian creatures, humans did not have a coat of fur covering their body, they were all very bare-skinned, and even those that did have large amounts of hair on them, mostly the males, still did not compare. For the past hundred thousand years, due to their lack of fur, humans relied on clothes for survival needs, including absorbing sweat, protecting them against cold weather and extreme sunlight, insect bites, and every other element that can harm their bare skin. Not to mention since the males don't have a sheath like stallions do, there'd by a much higher risk of their privates being harmed in some way if they didn't wear any clothing. 

Rarity wasn't against the idea of humans always wearing clothes, in fact she admired it to a level, because since humans have to wear clothes everyday, they always try to wear something that suits them as an individual. While ponies had their cutie marks to signify who they were, humans had their clothes. You could always tell a lot about a human based on the way they dressed, it was easy to tell who's rich and who's poor, who's more masculine or feminine, what they worked as, what their lives were like, what their favorite things were (mostly thanks due to the fact that humans very often wore printed t-shirts), how they felt about themselves, and many more. While not all of the clothes looked great, or even any good, they still helped tell a lot about that person. Rarity could even make an example of it with the two humans right in front of her. Ainsley was easy to figure out, a male who dressed in a very feminine manner, with his white and pink crop top and pink mini-skirt, it was easy to tell he was very colorful, cheery, bright, was very fashion-conscious, and generally very approachable. Gabriele on the other hoof, was the complete opposite, he was someone who did not care very much about his looks, at least not to the extent his brother does. His outfit was very simple and kind of sloppy, as it had barely any effort put into it and looked very quickly put together, and judging by how exposed his hairy arms and chest were, he seemed to really want to make himself look tough and essentially put up a sign warning anyone not to mess with him. The only thing about himself that Gabriele put even the slightest bit of effort into was his hair, which was oily and greasy and looked to be combed quite frequently, but that's about it.

But still, Rarity couldn't for the life of her understand why humans were so insistent on having to wear at least three pieces of clothing nearly all the time. Many of them begin to panic or cease to function if you merely suggested them to getting naked in the presence of others. Ponies never really thought much of nudity, it was barely even a thought that entered their heads most of the time. Heck, even their princesses barely wore any clothing. Nudity was just the natural form of the body, it wasn't really anything to ashamed of or make a big deal about. Humans were often amazed and confused as to how ponies can be so nonchalant exposing themselves in public or being exposed other ponies, but honestly, Rarity and most other ponies thought that unless somepony was intentionally making sexual signals in public like raising their tail for all to see, especially with foals around, then there's nothing really that inappropriate about it. Everypony went about their day regularly, treated each other normally, and it wasn't like they were constantly peeking their heads under each other's tails to stare at their private parts, same goes for every other creature in Equestria, so they really didn't know why humans made such a big fuss about it.

Humans seemed really ashamed and embarrassed about their own natural bodies, especially when it came to showing it to others. They only ever truly got nude without any feelings of shame with a very specific few, mostly with their lovers and mates, which seemed to be one of the ultimate forms of trust to them. Though Rarity also learned about the existence of nude beaches and nudist communities on Earth, so it seemed they could let go of their nudity taboo should they choose to, but for most it's already deeply ingrained.

Rarity cleared her throat before speaking, quickly getting rid of any slight feeling of embarrasment she might've still had. "First of all, Gabriele, I do not want that kind of vulgarity in our class, and secondly, it's not a matter of who's wearing clothes or not, darling. It's a matter of style," she said with a dramatic flair. "Don't you think a handsome young man like yourself deserves to dress up in something much more dashing?"

Gabriele's expression then changed significantly for the first time that day. Instead of being his usual angry expression, now it was now more one of...slight surprise.

"You think I'm handsome?" he asked, his tone quieter than before.

"Of course! Has no one ever called you handsome before?"

Don't be ridiculous, Rares. Broads are always all over me back home. It's just...kinda weird hearin' it come from a horse."

Rarity thought that Gabriele was trying to hide his insecurities by making himself look cooler than he actually was, which was how these situations usually went, but when she paid close attention to his tone and body language, while he may be exaggerating a bit, he definitely wasn't lying.

"Another thing, Gabriele, I would appreciate it if you didn't call me 'a horse', I am a lady, you know, and your teacher for the moment as well," Rarity said with a smile at the end.

"I'd still appreciate it if you talked to me as an equal and as a friend. Unless of course you want me to call you 'human' for the rest of the class," Rarity smirked.

"Fine, hateva' ya say, Miss," Gabriele said with a shrug. "So, uh, what was the thing with the fancy suit again?"

"Well, I was just thinking, Dad wears like a million different suit everyday, right? So wouldn't it make sense for us to at least have one of our own?' Ainsley said.

"A suit? I dunno, I've neva' really pictured myself wearin' any kind o' those fancy-schmancy clothes. Plus, they're really tight 'round the neck, which I neva' really liked."

"So...is that a 'no'?"

"Eh, not really. Despite my personal feelin's 'bout them, I still think they look cool. They make ya look real good, an' the ladies love a man in a suit. So yeah, go ahead, ya can make the suit."

"Really?! Alright, then!" Ainsley said with enthusiasm.

As Ainsley was making the clothes, Rarity sat beside him the entire time, so they could work twice as fast since they're planning on making two outfits, one for Gabriele and one for Ainsley. Rarity designed Gabriele's suit while Ainsley worked on designing his own, but they both still helped each other whenever the other needed something. Gabriele still did not do anything to help, mostly just watched the other two do all the work, but Ainsley didn't mind, he didn't expect his brother to get invested in the class anyway. 

After Rarity finished with making a sketch for Gabriele's suit and taken all his measurements, she asked the brothers what color the suit should be. Gabriele simply said he was fine with any color that isn't anything bright and pink like Ainsley's, so Ainsley decided to go with the color grey. Rarity was a bit skeptical at first, as she thought grey was a very dreary color to choose for a fancy outfit, but Ainsley thought it would fit Gabriele quite well. Ainsley always joked about how his brother had a very striking resemblance to Michael Corleone from the Godfather movies, with the big nose, oval face, and jet black combed hair, so it was only fitting that he should wear a suit just like one of Michael's most famous ones, the grey suit. Rarity was reluctant, but eventually decided to trust Ainsley's decision. He may have been an amateur in fashion, but he had an eye for colors.

This was essentially Rarity's first time making an Italian suit, or at least something resembling it. Gabriele and Ainsley's father, Mr. Silano, had promised Rarity to have a friend of his to teach her how to properly make them, but she hasn't heard any news about that yet. So Rarity considered this as a sort of self-taught practice. Italian suits weren't that different from any other human three piece suits Rarity had seen before, they just had an extra pizzazz in fanciness and style. Who knows, maybe Rarity could use this experience to help follow along with Mr. Silano's tailor friend and show her what he knows, or maybe she'll just end up looking back at it in the future with disappointment and disgust. But still, better to hae tried than never.

Rarity went to one of the cabinets to grab some grey silk fabrics, and Gabriele was very insistent that the suit be made out of silk, saying how that's the best quality material for a suit to be worn by someone like him. Rarity agreed to that, she always did love using silk herself from time to time. She took a look at what Ainsley had sketched up, and was a design that was very...Ainsley. It was a bright pink suit with white stripes, very similar to the suit his father wore the day he and Rarity first met, it had a very slim figure and was quite small around the waist, fitting Ainsley's build, and lastly, instead of pants, it was a tight pink skirt, which was to be expected from Ainsley.

"Why, darling, I must say, that is quite a fabulous design you've made!" Rarity

"Really? You think so? Thanks! This is literally only the second outfit I've ever designed in my life," Ainsley said before turning to his brother. "Hey, Gabe! Whaddya think?" he showed Gabriele his sketch.

Gabriele was lost in his own thoughts and busy playing around with his closed switchblade again. He did not move at all when Ainsley addressed him, merely glancing at the drawing with half closed eyes and simply saying "It definitely suits ya."

With that, Ainsley began working on his own suit too, working alongside Rarity. Rarity was making much faster progress than Ainsley was, obviously since she was the professional and Ainsley had literally never done this before, so Rarity often had to assist the human in stitching together the suit, which she didn't mind, it was always nice to teach someone new.

After a few hours, both of the suits have been completed. Rarity finished Gabriele's suit far sooner than Ainsley did, so she spent the remainder of the time assisting and teaching Ainsley in making the outfit. While not one hundred percent perfect, Ainsley turned out to be a natural at making his own clothes, as his suit looked pretty professional. He said that when he was a kid, he'd often help his mother out with sewing and stitching clothes, so he at least knew a bit about what he was doing. Gabriele did not contribute anything to the process other than letting himself be measured, but that didn't bother his brother or the unicorn, considering someone like him would somehow find a way to make things worse, especially since it seemed he was someone who had a short fuse.

Gabriele and Ainsley changed into their suits, and since all the students have already left the class a couple of hours ago, it was less awkward for them to do so. Once they were in their suits, they stood in front of the mirrors to get a good look at themselves, and the both of them, as well as Rarity, had to admit, they did a pretty good job.

"Wow, this looks...pretty snappy, actually," Gabriele thought out loud as he looked at the grey silk suit he wore. 

He rarely ever had to, or even wanted to, wear anything fancy in his life. While he wouldn't be considered athletic, Gabriele was someone who always enjoyed doing some any form of physical activity, whether it's helping out in the kitchen, fixing vehicles, or brutally roughing someone up, so Gabriele never liked the idea of wearing an outfit that he felt would reduce how freely he could move.

"Huh, I guess I kinda do look like Michael Corleone," he commented again after fully analyzing himself.

"I must say, Gabriele darling, grey looks surprisingly good on you," Rarity chimed in.

"I gotta say, I'm surprised too. I mean, I already knew grey would be the right color fa me, but it's an entirely different thing actually seein' it in front o' ya."

"I'm kinda surprised you didn't go with yellow, the color of your shirt. Y'know, to remain consistent?" Ainsley said, still looking at himself in the mirror.

"A yellow suit? Ya kiddin'? I'd look fuckin' ridiculous! I ain't The Mask or Curious George's owner," Gabriele retorted while trying to loosen up his collar and tie, as he'd just remembered how uncomfortable those things were to him.

Ainsley was busy admiring his own creation, which contrasted significantly with Gabriele's own outfit, with his being grey but had a certain shininess due to the silk material, Ainsley's was bright pink and very colorful. It refelcted the brothers' personalities quite well.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it actually turned out this good!" Ainsley said gleefully, admiring his outfit in the mirror.

"It looks fabulous, darling! The both of you look absolutely fabulous!" Rarity wrapped her hoover around the two human brothers and stuck her head between them, a gesture that Ainsley smiled at, but Gabriele didn't seem to be enjoying all too much. "You did a fantastic job, Ainsley! You are quite good at this!"

"Why, thank you, Rarity."

"Ta be honest, I don't think I'll be wearin' this everyday," Gabriele said, having unbuttoned two buttons on the collar around his neck and loosening his tie significantly, trying to give his neck more room to breathe. "But, I look pretty cool in it, so I'm definitely keepin' it."

"Good to know, darling," Rarity said. "Oh! Ainsley, I've been meaning to give you something!" she suddenly exclaimed, trotting off to another side of the room where a small desk rested. She opened it with her magic and pulled out something, which she then gave to Ainsley after she trotted back to them.

Ainsley held the object in his hand, taking his time looking at what was in front of him. It was a turquoise handbag, and it had a gold latch, as well as his name engraved into it in bright pink lettering.

"I decided to make that for you yesterday, I thought its colors might compliment you quite well."

"Really? You made this for me? Thank you, you shouldn't have," Ainsley said in disbelief, not really knowing  what to say.

"Oh hush, darling, it was my pleasure! Not try it on!" Rarity gestured to the human, excited to see it on him.

Ainsley did exactly that as he pulled the strap up his arm and rested it on his shoulder. He stared at it in the mirror, trying to see how he looked with it, and judging by his big smile, he was quite satisfied with it.

"This is wonderful! Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome, Ainsley," Rarity responded.

"Hey, Gabe! How do I look?" Ainsley asked his brother.

Gabriele just stared at the handbag with a weird expression before looking up at Ainsley. "Why the hell d'ya keep askin' me? Y'know I don't understand any o' that fashion crap."

"Well, you requested your suit to be made of silk, so you must have some care and understanding."

"A lotta guys in our business wear silk suits! It ain't exactly like I jus' came up with somethin' new, did I?!"

"Well, regardless, I'm definitely gonna try carrying this with me everywhere from now on. It really does compliment my colors very well," Ainsley turned back to see himself in the mirror. "Though I think these would go better with my casual clothes. They kinda look weird when I carry it wearing this suit."

"Yes, they were intended to go with your casual clothes," Rarity confirmed and chuckled. "I think that's about enough for today, the teaching hours are almost over and I have other work to do. I hope you had fun today."

"I sure did! He's a bit debatable, though," Ainsley said gesturing a thumb at Gabriele, who only shrugged in response.

Rarity giggled before continuing. "I'm glad you did. Hope you enjoy your new handbag!"

"I'm sure I will!"

"By the way, do we 'ave ta...pay fa any o' this?" Gabriele asked.

"Oh, no! Of course not, darling! It's all free of charge! I was only trying to teach you, and besides, your father has already helped me a lot."

Ainsley then elbowed his brother's left arm, as if gesturing him to do something. Gabriele reluctantly agreed and reached into the pockets of his jeans that were lying atop one of the couches along with his other clothes as well as Ainsley's. After he found what he was looking for, he tossed the object in Rarity's direction, who caught it with her magic. It turned out to be a fairly large brown pouch, and when she opened it, it was filled to the brim with bits, which really took the mare aback.

"Fa ya troubles," Gabriele said flatly and nodded, with no emotion present in his voice. "Welp, see ya again, Rares. We gotta be goin' ourselves too." 

With that, Gabriele and Ainsley said their goodbyes, Gabriele put their previous clothing into Ainsley's new handbag, and the two of them exited the classroom. Rarity stood in the middle of the empty classroom for a couple more minutes, staring at the pouch full of bits. There had to be at least a hundred bits in it, and she was pretty surprised someone she was teaching just suddenly tossed it to her so casually. Did Gabriele really just carried around a bag full of bits wherever he went? Rarity really appreciated the gift, she really did. It was nice for someone else to be generous to you after you'd been quite generous to them yourself. Still, she couldn't help but feel taken aback a bit. It shouldn't have been surprising, though, since Rarity just remembered that his father was a successful businessman, it was easy to forget that when you took a look at Gabriele's appearance and clothing, that suit really helped his image.

Rarity shrugged things off and put the pouch of bits into her saddlebag before exiting the classroom herself and continue her other daily routines.
> Roberto and the Schoolteacher
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the other side of Ponyville, away from the School of Friendship, Roberto Silano stood in front of the Ponyville Schoolhouse. It was a small red wooden building that looked pretty much like how you'd imagine a typical schoolhouse to look, right up to the small belltower. The one thing that made this stand out from your typical schoolhouse was the heart patterns that are painted and etched onto literally every nook and cranny, from the windows, the entrance, and even the weather vane atop the belltower. It gave the school a very girly look. Roberto noticed that these ponies seemed to really loved girly designs, but considering the larger female population, he supposed it made sense.

It certainly made Roberto wonder how much violence he would allow his business to commit here. Roberto was a crime boss who always tried his hardest to keep any women and children out of he and his business's affairs, that was one of the reasons he and his wife, Isabella, slept in seperate rooms and her room had no windows, in case anything like an assassination attempt were to happen to him. It was a difficult code to live up to since none of his henchmen, even Gabriele, ever cared much about the safety of women and children, and would gladly kill them without question if they had to. And considering how nosy women and children could be in this day and age, that code had to be broken quite a few times whenever some dumb wannabe journalists and internet kids who thought they were much braver than they actually were decided to fuck around and think they could be much more clever than guys who have bribed and even killed professional journalists far more competent than them hundreds of times.

While Equestria isn't exactly short on stallions, mares did take up a majority of things around here, with the exception of the Royal Guard who until several years ago have been mostly male-dominated, and also most jobs that required more physical labor. Roberto was slightly relieved by that because if a male couldn't help protect and assist physically, then what was the point? Though these are ponies, not humans, so he figured he shouldn't get too worked up about it. Roberto figured that unless the mares were mothers of young children, he could allow violence and murder upon them, as the mares here were just as capable, if not more capable than the stallions. Plus, Equestria was a very egalitarian land anyway, so it probably wouldn't be shamed as much as it would be back on Earth.

Roberto continued watching the school, quietly smoking his cigar while leaning slightly against the short roadside fences. It was late afternoon, and already a full hour since he left his sons back at the School of Friendship, as he had other things he needed to do after looking around over there. He could only hope Gabriele did not cause too much trouble while he was there, as he knew that if Gabriele was forcefully thrown into a situation he didn't want to be in, he will cause some disaster to happen, which was why it was always a good idea to have Ainsley accompany him to keep him in check, because if he was on his own, Roberto could only imagine what would happen.

He thought it was a good thing leaving his sons alone with the ponies again, as the further the friendship between them is strengthened, the better the chances of Roberto and his family will have in not only gaining Princess Twilight's friendship, but also turn their backs to Silanos' illegal businesses and if possible, get as many resources they need for their business should they ask Princess Twilight or the Council of Friendship for them. Equestria was a land of infinite possibilities that they knew nothing about, so it was necessary to get all the help they could, especially to cement their power there in case any other crime families and groups decide to come along.

When the portal between Earth and Equestria opened and they officially partnered up, Roberto was the first to decide to expand his businesses there. All the other mob bosses and heads of other crime families, as well as leaders of none-Italian gangs, did not dare to expand their businesses to Equestria. They thought it was not worth the risk, because Equestria is a very alien world that did not function like human societies, and they did not think that magical horses would make good customers or associates, especially after Princess Twilight's whole sappy speech about friendship that she gave at the United Nations, which told the other bosses ponies would not be compatible with their businesses. So they all decided to play it safe and keep their businesses back on Earth where it was guaranteed to at least not end in complete disaster, since they felt humans could be trusted with their businesses a lot more than ponies, especially when it came to narcotics.

But Roberto was someone who believed that when it came to business, if you didn't adapt with the world around you, you'll get left behind in the dust and buried. Roberto always believed in taking risks and being progressive, maybe even bending the rules a bit, if it meant keeping the business alive, which was ironic since outside of work, Roberto was the most traditional and old-fashioned Italian you could come across, but he was willing to make an exception for his son, Ainsley. 

The only other boss besides Roberto that actually expressed some interest in expanding business to Equestria was none other that his biggest rival in the mob underworld, Don Giorgio Cicchino. Don Cicchino was a short balding tan-skinned wine-bellied man with a pencil mustache, and his high-pitched raspy voice sounded similar to a cartoon character. He was a very ruthless mob boss, much more than even Roberto, as he ruled all his businesses with an iron fist and made sure he struck fear into everyone who worked for him, and anyone who even thought of stepping out of line got killed immediately. Cicchino ran his own wine-selling business, and his illegal businesses mostly included the gambling business, but his biggest was easily the prostitution business. Cicchino was a straight-up pimp. 

Despite Cicchino being more ruthless than Roberto was, he has always been far less successful, since as Roberto said to Gabriele, getting people to fear you was only half the battle, you needed to earn their respect to, and barely anybody truly respected Cicchino. The rival don harbored a deep resentment and jealousy towards Roberto because of how much more successful Roberto was than him, which was helped a lot by the fact that Roberto was heavily involved in the narcotics business, which Cicchino never got into since he did not want to take the risk of one of his henchmen rotting their brains and end up getting arrested and then ratting him out to the authorities, thus destroying everything he worked so hard to build. Roberto was not particularly fond of Don Cicchino either, as Roberto has never been a big fan of the prostitution business, and the way Cicchino treated all his workers did not help either. Cicchino had a lot of sex workers, but he paid them very little money, he was known to bed many of his workers, very often against their will, and despite being against the drug business, for some reason he was perfectly fine with getting his workers hooked on drugs and alcohol as part of their payment in order to keep them dependent on him and they would not stop working for him. It wasn't like walking away was an option anyway, since anyone who tried would get killed immediately, either by a staged robbery or by purposefully overdosing them, so that no one would suspect a thing, if they even cared enough to suspect anything at all.

When both Roberto and Cicchino announced their interests in going to Equestria, Cicchino wasn't exactly happy hearing the fact that his more successful rival had the exact same idea he did, and he certainly made sure Roberto knew exactly how he felt as all the attention in the meeting of all the crime families were drawn to the two of them, but Roberto didn't bother wasting his breath on him. When it came to the rivalry between the two of them, Cicchino was more bark than bite despite his reputation, as despite the fact they were enemies and hated each other, they always tried to avoid killing each other as a war between the two crime families would be bad for business and end up doing more harm than good.

Roberto, naturally, ended up beating Cicchino by traveling to Equestria and set up business there first, which Roberto could imagine Cicchino was not happy about. By the time Roberto and his family were setting up business in Canterlot, Roberto had gotten word that Cicchino had arrived in Equestria as well, and was setting up his business in Manehattan, which Roberto already got to first. Apparently, aside from successfully opening up his wine-selling businesses, Cicchino had even started not one, but two prostitution businesses there, one that hired human men to sleep with pony mares, which proved to be pretty successful due to the low male count in Equestria so there were many mares who were more than happy to hire out their own man to satisfy their needs, and the other one was a smaller one that hired mares to sleep with human men, usually important men who could never be hired themselves. Roberto was honestly very disgusted by Cicchino's new business, as if prostitution wasn't enough, Roberto found the idea of humans sleeping with horses to be extremely deplorable and sickening, and he had no idea what man in his right mind would ever find these colorful ponies to be sexually attractive in any way.

Now that Cicchino has established his wine and prostitution business, the only thing left was the gambling business. Recently, Roberto got word that Cicchino was thinking of building a casino (that doubled as a hotel that Roberto couldn't help but feel might be used for trafficking purposes) in Las Pegasus, which Roberto happened to also be planning to do, and Roberto had a strong feeling he would get to Las Pegasus first just like he did everything else Cicchino wanted to do because Cicchino spent more time trying to keep his workers in their place by beating them around rather than being an actually smart businessman. 

After Roberto thought about all those things concerning Don Cicchino, Roberto now couldn't help but feel a strong sense of suspiscion that Cicchino could be behind the assassination attempt against him in Sugarcube Corner, as if there's anyone who wouldn't pass up the opportunity to kill off his main rival in such a way that could never be traced back to him. But while Cicchino had the motive, that still left the means and opportunity. With opportunity, Cicchino definitely had a high chance of having it, as Cicchino could've just sent many of his men to all the different places that would set off the Cherry Incident at any time, so that meant he had the means too. Although, Cicchino could only have had half of the means, since that still left how Cicchino would have even known Roberto's schedule in order to time all the chain of events precisely to when he'd enter Sugarcube Corner. That reinforced Roberto's hunch that the only way Cicchino could have pulled this off is with someont on the inside, someone who has betrayed Roberto. But first he needed to properly confirm his theories, and the first thing he wanted to do was talk to none other than the teacher of the three fillies who caused his choking in the first place.

Why did their teacher release them early that day? And why did she (Roberto knew the teacher had to be a mare) tell them about Special Cherry Day? If there was someone on the inside working for Cicchino, then they would've had to talk to the teacher to convince her to cut school early and to tell her students to go to Sugarcube Corner. If Roberto talked to the teacher and she confirmed that someone came to her and told her about Special Cherry Day, then that would confirm his suspiscion, especially if it was a human (the man on the inside could have hired a pony to do his dirty work for all Roberto knew). That was exactly what Roberto was waiting for standing in front of the Ponyville Schoolhouse.

After a few minutes, Roberto heard the school bell ringing, and soon after, a crowd of colts and fillies flooded out from the front doors. Roberto saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they walked out of the schoolhouse, and the three fillies noticed him too. They stared at the human with worried eyes, and Roberto stared back, but not one word was spoken between them, and soon after, the Crusaders decided not to linger around too long and went home.  The mob boss waited a several more minutes until every foal has left the premises, and once the school was completely empty of any children, Roberto finally moved from his spot, put out his cigar on the fence (he didn't want to go through some pony coughing and  telling him to put it out, he hated someone telling him to put out his cigar far more than just putting it out himself), and he walked into the schoolhouse.

The mob boss entered the classroom quietly, and on the other end, behind a desk, he saw a dark fuschia-colored mare with a cutie mark depicting three flowers with smiling faces getting ready to leave after a day of teaching. She didn't seem to notice the large human man in the room with her due to her being busy packing up her stuff.

"Good afta'noon," Roberto broke the silence by greeting the mare, who jerked up in surprise.

"Oh my goodness! You startled me, sir!" the mare exclaimed, her eyes wide and her forehoof rested on her chest.

"Sorry about that, miss. Didn' mean ta do that."

"So, uh, may I ask who you are, sir?"

The mob boss extended his arm. "Roberto Silano. An' ya are...?"

"Cheerilee. Nice to meet you," the teacher extended her hoof and shook Roberto's hand.

"Cheerilee, huh? Nice name," Roberto said, as he felt that her name was one of the less weird ones he's heard in Ponyville.

"I must say, it's quite a surprise, Mr. Silano. We don't usually see humans come around here, except for some of the ones I invited to teach the foals about Earth and human culture." That was the second time today Roberto heard those words upon entering two different schools, which he felt was a pretty funny coincidence.

"I'm jus' 'ere ta ask a few questions. I won't take up too much o' ya time."

"What about?" Cheerilee asked.

"About the day ya let ya students out early fa Special Cherry Day ova' at the bakery. Remember that?"

"Oh yes, I do. I heard a man choked there that day, caused quite a scene," Cheerilee said.

"News sure spreads," Roberto said to himself. "Well, I'm kinda curious about that. About why ya released ya students early and told 'em ta go ta the bakery."

"Really? Why?"

Roberto didn't feel like explaining his whole situation all over again, so he decided to just keep it short and get straight to the point. Also, Cheerilee was ready to go home for the day, so he didn't want to keep her there too long. "The three fillies who caused the whole incident said they were released early from school. I jus' wanna know what caused ya ta do that,"

"Well, I don't know why you want to find out about that. The whole thing just seemed like an accident. The early release was just part of our schedule for that day." Cheerilee then put a hoof on her chin and narrowed her eyes, as if remembering something. "Although, now that I think about it, there was something strange relating to the whole Special Cherry Day thing."

"And what's that?" Roberto asked, a glimmer of excitement forming in him.

"That morning, when I arrived here, I saw a human man standing outside on the side of the road, leaning against a tree and smoking a cigarette. As I was passing him, the man greeted me and asked about my job. We talked for a few minutes, and before I left he told me that there was a Special Cherry Day at Sugarcube Corner, and that maybe the foals would wann hear about that, since he thought they'd love it. So when school ended, I decided to tell my students about it, just for their fun on an early release day, and the Crusaders looked very excited about as they were the first to leave, and that's that. 

"I didn't think about it at first, but now that I'm thinking about it, it seems very strange that a man like that was just standing in front of the schoolhouse, and it oddly feels like he was...waiting for me. I'm not sure," Cheerilee explained.

"Is that so? That is very strange indeed." A smirk creeped onto Roberto's face. On the outside, he was calm and quiet, but on the inside he was jumping with absolute cheer. His theory has been proven true.

"Can ya describe what the man looked like?" Roberto asked the schoolteacher.

"Well...he didn't look too different than you, I suppose. He had peach-colored skin, or white as you'd say..." Cheerilee and many other ponies had no idea why humans called the light peach-colored ones 'white' and called the dark brown ones 'black', none of them were even close to either colors, it never made any sense to Cheerilee. "He had a big nose, and he also wore a suit."

Roberto didn't find the mare's description very helpful. He was white? Had a big nose? Wore a suit? That essentially described most of his henchmen, except for the suit part, only a portion of his henchmen and their associates wore suits, but there was still too many for Roberto to properly narrow down his options.

"Is that it? Is there anythin' else ya can tell me about 'im? Any otha' notable features?"

"Uh, no, sorry. We didn't talk for too long, and we didn't even ask each other's names. And those were all the notable features I could remember," Cheerilee answered. 

Cheerilee didn't want to say it out loud out of worry that she'd offend Roberto, but one of the other reasons she couldn't really say anything notable about the man's physical appearance was that Cheerilee often had a hard time telling a lot of humans apart. Unlike ponies that have a huge range of body colors, humans have very limited skin color, only ranging from dark brown, to light brown, to tan, to light peach, so it became hard to differentiate them from many other humans. It becames exponentially harder if the humans were in a crowd. If the human was someone she knew well, she'd probably be able to tell them apart easier, but if she was asked to describe any random human, her description would not help set them apart from other random humans.

Roberto simply nodded in response. "Hmm, alright then." 

Roberto then got up from his chair and offered his hand to shake again, which Cheerilee took. "Well then, thank ya fa ya help, Miss Cheerilee. Ya've been really helpful."

"Um...well, you're welcome, Mr. Silano," Cheerilee said with a forced smile, though Roberto could tell she was still pretty confused by the whole thing.

"I'll be leavin' now. Ya 'ave a nice day," Roberto said as he walked towards the exit.

"Thanks, uh...you too," Cheerilee replied, a bit hesitant.

As Roberto walked away from the schoolhouse, he lit up a new cigar, and a smile creeped back onto the mob boss's face. His suspiscions were correct. If this wasn't confirmation the whole Cherry Incident was planned out, he didn't know what was. The man who planned out his hit thought he was so clever, but little did he know that Roberto was hot on his trail. But now it returned back to the matter of who actually arranged it. With a hit attempt this complex, it'd be quite a challenge to correctly pinpoint who the mastermind was, and there were too many of his own henchmen to choose from. But time will tell, he knew it would. Time will tell.

Suddenly, Roberto saw a figure running towards him down the road. The figure revealed itself to be a short fat man with tan skin and black greasy hair wearing a purple shirt and gold chain necklace, it was none other that Vincenzo De Luca. 

Vincenzo was out of breath from all the running, which wasn't surprising since anyone could see he wasn't exactly a fit person. His shape really made him contrast with Gabriele, his taller thinner apprentice. When he arrived, he took a few seconds to catch his breath before speaking to Roberto.

"Ay, boss. Thank god I found ya," he said while panting.

"Vincenzo, what brings ya out 'ere? What is it?" Roberto asked.

"So ya remember all those scouts ya sent out to explore Equestria for potential resources an' business opportunities?"

"Yeah, of course. Why?"

"Well, one of our teams jus' came back with somethin', an' ya really gotta see it!"

Upon hearing that, Roberto's curiosity piqued. The mob boss then followed his caporegime back to the Silano House.
> The Discovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roberto followed his right-hand man, Vincenzo De Luca, all the way back to the Silano House. The two men were exhausted by the time they arrived since they both walked faster than what they were used to. The two men were pretty overweight, and one could easily tell they weren't what you'd call physically active. The two of them entered the house, and they went through the door that led to the basement.

Despite Roberto conducting most of his businesses in his offices, he also chose to coduct a lot his illegal activities and meetings, usually meetings with his henchmen, in his basement, which also had an office of its own. He kept most of his files and documents of his illegal businesses sealed away in a hidden safe in the basement that only he knew the exact location of, just in case anyone decides to come snooping around the basement for nefarious purposes. The basement office did not really look all that special, mostly just consisting of a single desk and two couches for any visitors to rest on, and it looked much gloomier than Roberto's main office with its grey walls with visible bricks and cold cement floor, as opposed to the main office's fancier wooden paneling. 

As Roberto followed Vincenzo down the stairs, he couldn't help but feel a little paranoid, as mob guys getting led down to a basement usually did not mean anything good. Roberto always knew he could trust Vincenzo, but considering how easily best friends in the mob usually turned on each other, one could never be too careful. Roberto almost felt the urge to place his hand on where he hid his gun in his suit, so that if anything happens he'd be prepared, but he decided to wait first. When the two men entered the basement, Roberto didn't notice anything strange, as everything was exactly how it normally was, that was until he looked to his left and saw something that definitely wasn't there before.

On the wall to his left, Roberto saw a long corridor that lead to a single door at the end, and to its right was another door. Roberto was already weirded out by what he was seeing and wanted to see what was going on with the new corridor, but Vincenzo stopped him before he could take a step and warned him to never go through the door at the end of the corridor. When Roberto asked why, Vincenzo simply said that he'll see pretty soon and gestured his boss to follow him.

Vincenzo led his boss through the door on the right of the corridor's entrance, and behind it Roberto saw a winding staircase, and despite his growing confusion and worry, he decided to follow his capo, but this time placed his hand near his gun. 

While the two men climbed up the staircase, Roberto thought this was the perfect time to ask one of the obvious questions. "This definitely wasn't 'ere yesterday. How the hell did ya build all this so fast?"

"Those unicorn an' earth pony construction workers, boss. Lemme tell ya, they work fuckin' magic, those guys, literally! They probably could build Rome in a day," Vincenzo chuckled.

The men finally arrived at the top of the stairwell, in which Roberto just saw a very empty room, all accept one huge window that took up the entire wall in front of him that seemed to be looking into whatever room was behind the door at the end of the ominous corridor. Vincenzo face seemed to indicate this is what he wanted to show, and when Roberto slowly approached the window to see what was on the other side, he saw somthing he couldn't believe.

"What is that?!"

"I have no idea, but what I do know is that is definitely very fuckin' valuable," Vincenzo answered.

Roberto took another minute to take in what he was seeing, and after the feelings of awe washed by, his mind then shifted to what he knew best: business. 

"This is certainly very, very interesting. This could certainly be extremely useful fa our business development," he said as a smile creeped onto his face and he continued watching through the window.

"Ya think we'll be able ta buy any business we want with this?" Vincenzo asked.

"Business? We'd probably be able ta buy the Princess and the frickin' President with this."
> The Gift
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun was setting upon Ponyville, Roberto walked up to the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Roberto was feeling very confident right now, even more so than he usually is, because he was carrying two sacks in his hand, and he knew for sure their contents will win over the Apple Family. If his gift won't win them over, then he didn't know what would.

As he approached the house and barn, Roberto saw a familiar-looking orange earth pony in a hat walking around, just finishing up some extra chores after returning from the School of Friendship before she went in the house. Applejack saw the large man in the white suit walk towards her and greeted him, though for some reason she still looked uneasy.

"Oh! Hey there, Mr. Silano! I almost thought ya weren't comin' today."

"Hello to ya too, Miss Applejack!" Roberto greeted back. "I'm 'ere as ya requested."

"Well, uh, jus' come inside. The whole family's preparin' ta make dinner, ya can talk ta all of us," Applejack gestured to the door. She then noticed the two sacks Roberto was carrying in his hand. "What's that ya got over ther?"

"Trust me, ya'll see," Roberto answered, a smirk appearing on his face.

Applejack looked at the man with a mixture of skepticism and uneasiness, but decided to let him inside anyway and wait before she makes any judgement. Applejack still could still not exactly place what it was about Roberto and his family that made her not fully trust them. From how Roberto asked the Crusaders all those questions like they're part of some sinister plot to kill him, to his son, the one named Gabriele, who Applejack could tell was very off.  There was something not right about the Silanos, but the farm pony couldn't properly figure out what it was, and as much as she tried to brush it off as while Roberto acted strange and his son certainly gave off a bad vibe, there was nothing to indicate there was anything particularly nefarious about them (maybe not yet), but the feeling still lingered in the back of her mind.

The orange mare led Roberto through the door into her house, and they walked through a narrow hallway that Roberto almost couldn't fit into due to his wide size. They arrived at the kitchen and dining room, where all the members of the Apple Family were preparing ingredients for their dinner. Roberto paid attention to every member, the only one he recognized was the yellow filly with a bow in her mane and Applejack's little sister named Apple Bloom, there was an elderly green mare seated at the table who Roberto guessed was their grandmother, there was a large red stallion who he assumed was the older brother of the farm pony, and lastly was the member that easily stood out the most, a light purple unicorn mare with a fluffy dark purple mane and a cupcake cutie mark. The unicorn was obviously not actually a biological relative, and judging by how she was always by the red stallion's side, was probably his girlfriend or wife.

"Hey, everypony. There's someone here ta see us," Applejack annouced, which grabbed the attention of all the ponies in the room and all eyes were now on Roberto.

"Is this...?" Big Mac asked.

"Yup, the feller who wants ta use some o' our acres," Applejack answered. She then turned to the human behind her. "Why don't ya take a seat, Mr. Silano?"

"Of course," Roberto said as he went to his spot on the table.

Roberto just remembered that ponies rarely ever used chairs, which made sense since their bodies weren't exactly designed for them, so every dining table he's come across in Equestria always had cushions in place of chairs. Roberto never liked sitting on those cushions that were practically just on the ground, it felt very uncivilized for someone like him and his family to sit on the floor, which was one of the reasons he prefered to eat in his own house than outside. Granted, ponies don't always use cushions, as they do sometimes use stools, and sometimes there were sofas but those are a different category than chairs. One thing Roberto had to say was that using pony seats for his Italian restaurants just felt...wrong, like they felt so out of place. But this was Equestria, not Earth, and he was in someone else's house right now, so there was no use complaining.

Roberto took his seat, while all the members of the Apple Family sat opposite to him, all of their eyes just fixed on him. Applejack sat in the middle, right beside her grandmother, so she was cleary going to be the family's speaker right now.

"Ah've discussed yer offer with mah family, an' we have come to an agreement," Applejack said, pausing for a second before announcing the answer. 

Roberto felt a bit anxious, though if you looked at him at the moment you would never guess. Roberto was always someone who was good at hiding his emotions and what he was thinking. He really hoped the answer was "yes", as by having his crops be grown in the Apple Family territory, it should garner a bit of protection than if he used a property entirely in his own name. Maybe it wouldn't happen immediately, but maybe several years from now, if Equestria ever started their own "War on Drugs", or had any Earth agencies like the DEA come over, there'd be a high chance his property would be the first in Ponyville to get raided. So by having all his products grown in the property of not only the most respected family in Ponyville, but an Element of Harmony as well as a best friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, it'd keep his products at least a bit safer, as he doubted many would want to cause problems with Applejack, thus causing problems with Princess Twilight herself.  Of course, Roberto wouldn't grow his illegal products alongside his legal restaurant products like his olives and tomatoes and grapes where everyone could see, he wasn't stupid, which was why he planned to have an underground facility right underneath the acres that would be offered to him where he could freely grow and process his narcotics. That way they'd still be on the Apple Family property and thus protected, but won't cause the Apples any problems since they'd be none the wiser. If this went successfully and everything else went smoothly, he might be able to start multiple drug factories across Equestria, but he'll have to wait and see.

"We've decided that ya have our permission ta use some o' our acres ta grow yer crops fer yer restaurant business," Applejack finally announced the answer.

Roberto was relieved to hear that, because while he still had many other options, this seemed like the best option to start his very first narcotics factory in Equestria. Plus, since this factory would be the closest to his house and could easily be linked back to him, it was extra necessary it was hard to locate.

"Well, that's nice ta hear. I'm sure this'll be the beginning to a great partnership," he said with a smile.

"So, ya say ya'll be sharin' yer profits with us?" the green elderly mare asked, which judging by everypony's face, was the question that was lingering on their minds.

"That's right. It's only fair that I give good payment fa the ponies that are helpin' me start my business 'ere in Equestria. All the crops that I grow on ya land will be harvested fa my restaurant business, an' that isn't just 'ere in Ponyville, but also in Canterlot an' Manehatten. Also, all my my crops are gonna be imported from Earth, 'cause y'know, I wanna make sure my ingredients are one-hundred percent Italian. So with all the crop harvestin', the imports, the deliveries, an' the profits of all my restaurants an' stores 'ere in Equestria, I think it's only fair I share with ya...a third of our monthly profits. How's that sound?"

All the members of the Apple Family's eyes widened and they all exchanged looks before turning back to Roberto. "A third?!" they all asked in unison.

"An'...how much would that be, exactly?" Applejack asked.

"Well, ta be honest, I'm not too good with my understandin' of the Equestrian currency an' economics. I usually 'ave otha' guys ta do it fa me. But, if my memory serves me right, an' my calculations are correct, that should be around...a hundred an' fift thousand or so bits a month. Which would also mean that you'd earn, uh..." Roberto exhaled while he attempted to calculate the numbers in his head, which caused him to blow out a huge puff of smoke from the cigar in his mouth that caused Apple Bloom to cough. "...I'd say between six 'undred an' eight 'undred bits annually."

The Apple Family went silent once again, trying to process what they were hearing. 

"Eight hundred bits?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

It seemed almost too good to be true. Applejack was initially a bit suspiscious, but she didn't notice any hints that Roberto was lying, so it seemed like a safe offer to make. Of course, Roberto was only counting the profits made from his restaurant business, he decided to leave out the potential profits from the narcotics processing out for now. Leave the money laundering for later.

"So, whaddya say? Is the deal official?" Roberto asked.

Applejack looked at her family before taking any action, and after all of them nodded at her (Apple Bloom nodded very energetically), she looked back at the human. "An' this is jus' ta let ya grow yer crops on our land?"

"Yes," Roberto answered.

"Well then, it's a deal!" Applejack announced. The farmpony spit on her hoof before extending it to Roberto, who looked at it with a disgusted face. "Oh, uh...yer probably not the type ta do that, huh?"

Aside from the obvious reason of why Roberto was reluctant to shake Applejack's hoof, Roberto had never tried spitting in his life. Unless it was out of necessity or disgust, he never actually tried properly spitting, as he thought it was digusting and below someone like him. But for the sake of fully gaining Applejack's trust, he reluctantly decided to make an exception this one time. He brought up his hand up to his face, trying to figure how he wanted to do this, because he knew if he tried spitting he'd only make himself look like a complete idiot. Roberto then decided to build up the saliva in his mouth and instead of expectorating like Applejack did, simply brought his hand up to his mouth and sort of kissed it and poured his saliva out onto it. It was obvious from his face that he absolutely hated doing this. He looked up at Applejack as if asking for her approval, and Applejack simply shrugged in response as if to say 'good enough'.

The two of them then shook on the deal, which Roberto visibly cringed as he felt his wet hand touch Applejack's wet hoof. Immediately after they finished shaking their hand and hoof, Roberto pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hand free from Applejack's and his own saliva.

"Alright then, it's settled. Oh, uh, jus' one more thing ta make it official," the mob boss said as he pulled out from one of the sacks he was carrying a contract and pen, and he placed it on the table in front of Applejack. "My restaurant business is pretty huge so there's gotta be some paperwork involved, y'know?"

Applejack read the contract in detail, to make sure there was nothing fishy going on in it, as in scenarios like this the contracts usually contain things that go against the signing pony's wishes. But thankfully, when Applejack finished reading it, there was nothing suspiscious within its contents at all, it pretty much just read everything that she and Roberto have just talked about. With that, Applejack grabbed the pen and signed her name on the paper with her mouth. When Applejack returned the contract and pen, Roberto also looked at the pen with a disgusted look as it was just in the farmpony's mouth, and he took out his handkerchief again to wipe it clean.

"Well, consider this partnership started!" Roberto announced, and the entire Apple Family smiled at each other.

"By the way, ya haven't told us what ya got in those bags o' yers," Applejack pointed out.

"Ah, yes. Those are meant as complimentary gifts fa you an' ya family as a show o' my thanks fa the partnership," Roberto answered. 

Despite the fact Roberto was a little worried Applejack might reject his offer, he had no reason to. Because with the gift brought with him, there was no way the Apple Family would reject it. He pulled up the first sack and placed it on the table, and then opened it for the Apples to see its contents.

"My first gift, one that's pretty much standard business procedure, one thousand bits ta start!" Roberto announced, gesturing at the large bags with many gold bits pouring out of it. 

The Apples all gathered around the large pile of bits, amazed at the generous gift the human just gave them. Applejack then looked up again. "An' what's the second one? I saw two sacks."

"Well, this...this is the really special one. Ya gonna love it," Roberto said with a grin on his face, as he could already imagine the faces on the ponies when he revealed his second gift.

Roberto then pulled up the second sack, which strangely enough did not look as full as the sack of bits, which made the Apples even more curious as to what it could be. As Roberto untied the string and opened the sack up, the Apples leaned in to see what was inside, and what they saw completely shocked them into utter silence.

"A-are those r-really...?" Applejack stammered.

"Yup, those are exactly what ya think they are," Roberto answered, still smiling with his arms crossed.

Inside the sack was a dozen golden apples. It was unlike anything Applejack and her family had ever seen before. Applejack took one of the apples in her hoof and brought it up to her face to analyze it closer, and she could see it was legit. It wasn't an apple painted gold, and it wasn't a fake apple made out of gold, it was a straight-up organic apple that was golden. It was like something out of one of her dreams.

"Well, if that ain't the prettiest darn apple ah've ever seen," Applejack's grandmother murmured as she stared at the golden apple with sparkles in her eyes.

"B-but...how did ya get these?" Applejack tried to ask.

"I've got a lotta connections goin' on throughout Equestria, an' they tend ta find some pretty interestin' things," Roberto answered. "Y'know, I heard that these apples 'ave some magical power ta them. I'm not entirely sure what is though 'cause everyone says somethin' different. Some ponies say that these apples grant prosperity an' rejuvenation, some say they grant the wishes of whoeva' eats 'em, an' some say they grant immortality! I'm not entirely sure I believe the last one, but what do I know?"

"Immortality?" Apple Bloom repeated what Roberto said.

"Ya should consider yaselves very privileged right now. Not only are ya the first ponies ta eva' recieve these golden apples, ya probably one o' the only ones who'll get this many at once. Even the richest millionaires an' billionaires out there, I'd only give 'em like three or five at most."

"I-I don't know what ta say..."

"So...d'ya want 'em?" Roberto asked.

"Of course!"

"Eeyup!"

"Yes! We want 'em! We want 'em!"

"Yes!"

"Darn tootin' right, we do!"

Every single one of the Apple Family answered at the same time, causing Roberto to chuckle. The whole thing went exactly how he thought it would.

"Then they're yours!"

"So, then...what should we do with them?" the purple unicorn asked the rest of her family.

"Do whateva' ya want with 'em, they're yours anyway. Use 'em wisely, though. They're very, very rare," Roberto told them.

"Yeah, Applejack! What should we do with 'em?! There's only twelve of them! Ooh! Maybe we can make 'em into jam like the zap apples!" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Y'know what I think?" Applejack said. "We can plant them! An' we can make a new special apple orchard fer all o' Ponyville ta enjoy!"

"That won't work, I'm afraid," Roberto said.

"What?"

"Believe me, I tried doin' that myself. I mean, it's pretty much the obvious thing ta try ta do. But when I checked inside 'em, there were no seeds if ya can believe it. An' I even tried gettin' one o' my unicorns, she's a pretty talented magic user, ta try an' use one o' those fast-growin' spells or somethin', and still nothin'. So sorry ta say, but those golden apples can only come from one place."

"An' where's that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That's strictly only fa me an' a select few o' my workers ta know," Roberto answered.

"What?! Why?!"

"I'm afraid that if too many people know where these apples come from, it'll attract too much unwanted attention an' probably cause more harm than good. Ya unda'stand, right?"

Apple Bloom just pouted, while Applejack simply nodded. While it wasn't the answer she hoped for or wanted to hear, she could kind of understand where Roberto was coming from. Plus, the man was already kind enough to partner up their businesses and give them a priceless gift, so it really wouldn't be right to argue with him right then and there.

"Well then, that's all I came 'ere ta do. I'll be goin' home now," Roberto said as he got up.

"Don'tcha wanna stay a bit? We're about ta have dinner," Apple Bloom said.

"No, it's fine. I'm havin' dinner back at my house. My sons are probably waitin' fa me anyway. So ya take care o' yaselves, an' I'm sure our partnership will go very well." And with that, Roberto walked out of the dining room and out of the house, leaving Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack and her family then continued staring at the golden apples, still wondering what they could do with them. As Roberto said, these apples are obviously very rare and priceless, so they want to make sure they spend them properly. And while Applejack's feelings of uneasiness about Roberto have died down for now, her feeling of suspiscion still lingered in the back of her mind.

"D'ya think these apples really make ya live forever, Applejack?" her little sister asked.

Applejack rested her head on her hoof, still stared at the apple she held in her other hoof. "I really don't know, Apple Bloom."
> Drinks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roberto arrived home just as the sun was setting over the horizon. It still amazed the mob boss that the sun and the moon in this world were actively being controlled by a pony, it was just such a crazy concept to wrap his heaad around. It'd be like if the President of the United States was given control over the Earth's rotation, which was honestly a really terrifying thought. 

One thing he'd have to give Ponyville credit for is that ever since he moved here, he's easily walked more in these past few days than he ever did in the past several years of his life. Ponyville wasn't exactly a town that was built to have cars driving around (though that didn't stop Gabriele from cruising around in his convertible like a madman), so while the Silanos kept several cars in their garage (they have quite a few cars), they rarely ever had to use them unless they're going somewhere outside of Ponyville, which resulted in Roberto having to walk everywhere for once. Ponyville wasn't a big town, so it wasn't like he was trekking across the big city. And it was obviously nothing like New York or New Jersey, so not driving was no big deal anyways.

Roberto entered the Silano House, and he saw in the living room was Gabriele and Ainsley sitting on one of the couches talking to each other, and there was Vincenzo who was wearing a dark purple tracksuit and was busy reading over papers he held in his hands. As Roberto walked into the living room, the first thing he noticed about his sons were their outfits, which were not the same ones they wore when he left them over at the School of Friendship. Gabriele was wearing a fancy grey silk suit, which was very unlike him, and Ainsley wore a pink suit with a skirt. He was looking a little bit more like a mafioso than every before. Just by a little bit, though.

"Well, well. When did you kids get so fancy?" Roberto greeted his family.

"Hey, Dad! You're finally home!" Ainsley smiled up at his father.

"Ay, Pops! Whaddya think of our new suits? Pretty cool right?" Gabriele asked as he got up from the couch to present his outfit better.

Roberto smiled proudly while tidying up his son's suit. "Damn right it is. Ya look like a proper gentleman, Gabriele. Don'tcha look good!"

Ainsley also got up from the couch to show off his outfit. "This is my suit, Dad! Whaddya think? I designed and stitched it together myself! With Miss Rarity's help, of course."

Roberto looked up and down at his son's new suit, only instead of the proud smile he gave his brother, he now instead had a more hesitant expression. "Well...it's certainly very...you," he answered the best he could.

Ainsley knew that the only reason his father said that instead of insulting him or glaring at him judgingly was purely because he was his son and made an exception for him, otherwise Roberto would not hesitate telling that person exactly how it felt, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Ainsley didn't feel offended, though, as his father putting in the effort not to judge or insult was something he usually reserved for business partners, so it was a sign that he did care about him, in his own way.

"But still, I like the look o' you two! You both look like you'll make great heirs ta the family business!" Roberto continued.

"Aw, shucks, Dad," Ainsley said while blushing slightly.

"Thanks, Pops. But don't expect me ta wear this suit every day, alright? I mean, don't get me wrong, I look fuckin' cool in it, but I prefer ta wear somethin' that isn't so tight around my neck," Gabriele said with a strain as he tried looseing up his tie. "Plus, I think it's betta' fa me ta wear somethin' that's more fit fa action."

Roberto nodded, then turned to Vincenzo, who was still busy looking over the papers he held. "Hey, Vincenzo! How's our gem business goin'?" he asked.

Vincenzo looked up from his papers and at Roberto through his reading glasses. It was always strange seeing him wear eyeglasses considering the tough violent guy he was. But considering his age, while he was younger than Roberto, he was at an age where eyesight was beginning to fade.

"Oh, it's goin' great, boss. We delivered ten carts worth o' gems back ta Earth as our first export delivery, an' those jewelry stores an' millionaires ate 'em right up! We've earned close to forty million dollars on our first day!"

"Forty million dollars?!" Ainsley exclaimed.

"Yeah. All those gems we collected exist back on Earth, so they already have some set value, but the large amount of 'em, plus the fact they're all from Equestria kinda increases the value fa a lotta people. Honestly, next time we sell those gems, I think we could increase the price a bit," Vincenzo suggested with a sly smile.

"I suppose we could," Roberto contemplated. "But like I says, don't send too many of the gems at once, an' don't send 'em too frequently, otha'wise it'll not only grab unwanted attention, but it could screw up our business sales when they realize how common they are an' all the buyers are gonna feel like they's gettin' scammed."

"I mean, technically we are scamming them in a way," Ainsley chimed in. "We're hiding the actual amount of gems we actually mine, and with how ridiculously common they are here, they probably shouldn't cost as much as we're charging." Ainsley went silent for a second but immediately broke it afterwards, "But who cares?! Here's to making good business!"

Ainsley raised his cocktail glass, inviting everyone in the room to toast together. Gabriele grabbed his whiskey glass, Vincenzo raised his wine glass, while Roberto didn't have a glass yet which forced him to have to get up for a minute to grab a glass for himself, pour the wine, and continue on with the toast. Once he was done, the glasses all clinked together, and the Silanos all started drinking.

"So, kids. Did any trouble arise at the School while I was away?" Roberto asked as they all sunk back into their seats.

"Nothing much, except for Gabe being an asshole, of course," Ainsley answered.

"What?! Why am I the one gettin' blamed?! I'm the one whose fashion choice kept gettin' attacked!" Gabriele complained.

"We were just trying to make you look better, and now you do! You were the one who needlessly insulted and embarrassed everyone in the class! Do you just keep forgetting our mission here is to befriend the ponies, not treat them like a buncha jerks?!"

"I was jus' callin' out the hypocrisy of 'em criticizing my fashion sense while most of 'em strut around in the nude with all their fuckin' genitals hangin' out! I mean, c'mon! The double standards on these horses!"

Roberto then decided to chime in. "Yeah. Y'know, I remember when we first came to Equestria, we stood behind this crowd o' ponies in a line, an' I could see all their genitalia jus' out in the open barely bein' covered by their tails. I felt like I was committin' a sin lookin' at them. So shameless!"

"Dad, they're horses. You really can't try to apply our ethics to them," Ainsley said.

"I know they're horses, but they're supposed ta be civilized horses that can talk too, you'd think they'd show a little more decency."

"Yeah, I 'ave ta put up with lookin' at horse balls everyday, it's disgustin'," Gabriele added.

"What? Are you jealous of them or something?"

"Of horses?! Shut the fuck up, Ains. Don't be ridiculous!"

"I mean, they are pretty bi--"

"Ainsley, I said shut the fuck up!" Gabriele shouted.

Vincenzo then finally chimed in as well. "Y'know, I also noticed the princesses neva' wear clothes. So like, does everytime she walk past a crowd, she jus' shows herself off sayin' 'Hey, loyal subjects! This is my royal pussy'!"

Gabriele and Ainsley snickered hearing Vincenzo's joke. "You're pretty funny, Vinny," Gabriele commented.

"Funny how? How am I funny? Funny like I'm a clown? I amuse you?" Vincenzo's face suddenly became serious, his hand gestures mimicking Joe Pesci's during the scene he was referencing.

"Eh, the Goodfellas reference kinda works more when I do it," Gabriele said.

"Yeah, Gabe's scarier," Ainsley added.

"What? An' I'm not? Everyone starts shittin' bricks when I come up behind 'em an' strangle 'em like the pigs they are."

"Yeah, but physically, I think Gabe looks scarier. I mean, he's taller, more muscular."

"That's right, I am," Gabriele smiled smugly.

"You look a bit more big and squishy and cuddly. Kinda like the Ciceros in Goodfellas."

"I always thought he looks more like Vincent Pastore. I mean, they even kinda share a name."

"I gotta agree, he kinda does," Roberto chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, ya damn kids. I look all squishy an' cuddly until you're the ones on the receivin' end, then we'll see who's cuddly," Vincenzo joked as he took a sip of his wine.

"Also, you may scare humans with your strangling, but I don't think it's gonna work with ponies," Ainsley added.

"Why not?" Vincenzo asked.

"Well, earth ponies are ridiculously strong, pegasi can fly, and unicorns have psychokinesis. That might make strangling them a lot harder."

"'Ey, I could strangle a world-class wrestler if I wanted to. Ya jus' gotta know how ta do it right, an' they'll drop dead gaspin' like a fish outta water."

"Okay then, do you know how to stop a unicorn from performing magic?" Ainsley asked.

Vincenzo wanted to answer but stopped himself when he realized he didn't know the answer. "Alright, fine, how?"

"I heard that if you whack them on the horn, it'll incapacitate them long enough from trying to perform any magic on you. The horns essentially the source of their power channeling, and it's really sensitive, so whacking it will disorient them pretty badly."

Vincenzo simply nodded quietly and said "Hmm, I'll keep that in mind."

Ainsley turned back to the rest of his family. "All of you kinda seem to keep forgetting that the ponies don't exactly work the same way we do. We gotta remember that ponies and humans aren't the same."

"We know ponies an' humans ain't the same, Ains.  We ain't fuckin' stupid," Gabriele said.

"What I mean is, we shouldn't go up to them thinking they'll behave and react the same way humans would to us back on Earth. Like, they have a very different way of life. I bet most of the ponies in this town don't even know what the hell the mafia is, or even what narcotics are!"

"'Not know what narcotics are'? No way! There's no way a civilization like this has existed fa thousands o' years an' they neva' got addicted ta somethin'. I mean if cats have catnip, the ponies probably have their ponynip or somethin'," Vincenzo commented.

"Vinny, have ya seen the horses in this town? They're all crazy or fuckin' stupid! An' considerin' Equestria has a fuckin' Princess o' Frindship leadin' them, they all obviously got the minds o' children! They're either gonna be stupid enough ta buy from us, or too stupid ta buy from us!" said Gabriele. "An' concernin' the 'mafia' thing, it don't mattah. Like Dad said, all we gotta do is gain the respect o' the ponies around us, an' if they try ta screw with us in any way, we do things my way."

"Is it really a good idea ta rough up an' whack ponies with the Council o' Friendship around 'ere?" Roberto asked.

"The Council o' Friendship don't need ta know, Pops. They ain't the police, they don't got time ta check up on everyone in the town."

"Also, all the council members are gone out of town to meet with Princess Twilight every once a moon. Rainbow Dash mentioned that I think," Ainsley added.

"Moon?" Vincenzo asked.

"It means month."

"So that's one day o' every month where we don't have ta worry about gettin' watched by the Princess's cronies. I mean, ay, that makes things easier. We can scare the shit outta any o' the humans an' horses 'ere who tries ta cheat us out. An' if they even think about goin' ta the council members fa help, we tell 'em we'll whack their asses before they can even go out the door. It's an old method, but it works every time." Gabriele took another sip of  his whiskey.

"But ya shouldn't use it on everyone 'ere," Roberto said. "There are some ponies that are off limits, which includes anyone that's directly connected ta the council members, like those Crusader fillies, or the Apple Family, things like that. If anythin' happens ta them or i front of 'em, they're gonna squeal an' rat us out ta the members, an' we can't 'ave that happenin' when we haven't even talked ta the damn Princess yet."

"Also I guess that Glim Glam from the School o' Friendship, but she's probably jus' locked in that school for most o' the time anyways so no need ta worry about 'er, or her boyfriend an' 'er...uh...actually, was she datin' that bearded orange four-eyes, or that blue Trix mare?"

"Oh, they're all dating each other," Ainsley answered.

Roberto nearly spit out his drink hearing that. "What?!"

"Yeah, what? All three of 'em?! How d'ya know this?" Gabriele asked.

"Didn't you notice the way they all looked at each other?"

"No? I was too caught up with the bullshitery of the school ta pay attention ta somethin' like that."

"It happened pretty quick, but some of the glances they gave each other, you'd only ever give if you were in a relationship."

"But how is that possible?!" Roberto asked, still in disbelief.

"Polygamous relationships aren't uncommon here in Equestria, actually. I mean, there's a lot of monogamous relationships here too, obviously, but polygamy is still practiced by some, just not as much as it was in ancient times when literally everyone did it, since the number of stallions was way lower back then than it is today. Not too surprising, though. Horses are herd animals, so it makes sense the ponies would be too."

"So they just have a bunch of horse orgies runnin' around?" Vincenzo asked.

"Well, I think 'harem' is the more accurate term you're looking for."

"'Harem'?! Jesus, what are they Arabs or somethin'? Or Mormons? They do practice that, right?" Gabriele asked.

"So what, ya condone that kinda stuff?" Roberto asked his Ainsley.

"I never said I condoned it, I'm just explaining a fact about Equestria. Why are you always jumping to conclusions, Dad?"

"It's jus' that from the way you said it, it sounded like you're perfectly fine with them practicin' somethin'...like that." Ainsley noticed his father trying to restrain himself from saying something really bad.

"Dad, I told you, they're horses! They don't follow the same societal rules as we do! There are more mares than stallions, so it'd make sense they'd resort to that!"

"But these are supposed ta be civilized horses. I thought they'd 'ave moved on from the primal instinct of jus' fuckin' everything in sight."

"That's not even what polygamy is. Plus, monogamy's importance is mostly something we humans made up anyway. Every species functions differently. You can't just dismiss their social norms just because you yourself don't like it, Dad." 

"It jus' sounds to me like an excuse fa the guys ta fuck all the mares they want."

"It's the mares who made that decision. Did you forget that horses are matriarchal? They're the ones who decide to make their mating rituals that way to ensure their survival!"

"Yeah, but the guys obviously still use it as an excuse ta fuck everyone they want. That's what makes 'em guys."

"Ainsley groaned in frustration. "Jeez, you and Gabe are exactly the same, always causing arguments and never listening to other arguments that challenge your views." He then took a sip of his cocktail.

"I jus' think it's a very immoral thing ta do, bein' in a relationship with more than one person. It's probably all jus' pure lust an' self-gratification without any real love or commitment. It's very destructive behavior," the mob boss said.

"I don't know what ya talkin' 'bout, Pops. I've been in many relationships an' slept with many different broads, an' I'm still fine.  An' honestly, if it weren't fa the fact that they're horses, I'd totally jump into that whole harem thing," Gabriele said with a smirk.

Ainsley and Roberto stared quietly at him, with Roberto not looking at all pleased with what his son said. "That's not good eitha', Gabriele. Ya should learn ta settle down with someone, someone special, that ya didn't jus' pick up in public ta sleep with fa one night. Trust me, you'll be a lot happier that way.

"I mean, d'ya know how hard it is ta find a boss like myself that didn't cheat on his wife an' slept around behind everyone's back? Very rare. I've only fell in love an' slept with one woman in my entire life, ya mother, an' I don't regret it one bit. Sure, ya mother is way too dramatic an' hysterical an' she can be a huge pain in the ass ta deal with, but I don't care 'cause I love 'er, an' I wouldn't dream of bein' with anyone else."

Ainsley remained silent for a moment. "Wow, that's...very romantic of you, Dad."

"Yeah, we always make sure to never talk about anything relatin' to wives an' marriage 'round 'im, he always gets so damn sappy," Vincenzo told Ainsley.

Ainsley chuckled and then he and the rest of them took another sip of their drinks, bringing the conversation to a pause and leaving the room quiet for a moment. After some pondering, Ainsley spoke up again.

"Y'know, there are aspects of the cultural differences between us and Equestria that we could use to our advantage."

"Like what?" Roberto asked.

"Like the fact that ponies don't often wear clothes!"

"What about it?"

"I mean, think about it. Most ponies don't usually wear clothes unless it's a special occassion or something, right?"

"Right."

"Which means that since wearing clothes is way more special for ponies than it is for us, we could sell clothes to them for twice the price they were on Earth! You said that your friend who makes Italian suits is coming over here, right?"

"Yeah, Giuseppe. He's comin' ova' fa a week or so ta work togetha' with Rarity. She wants ta learn about makin' human clothes, especially Italian suits."

"I thought she makes women/mare clothing. Doesn't Giuseppe specialize more in men's clothing?"

"Eh, she's willin' ta learn. Pretty sure she's tryna make men's clothin' too now. Doesn't hurt ta expand ya horizons. Rarity can learn ta make men's clothin', and Guiseppe can learn ta make women's clothin', it's a win-win."

"Okay then. So yeah, if we can get Giuseppe to make Italian suits for stallions here, we can sell those suits for double the money they would usually make for humans back on Earth! Maybe even vice versa too!"

"That does sound like a pretty good business opportunity if done right," Roberto pondered with a smirk.

"And, ay, if we eva' need ta make some extra cash, we can jus' rob her dresses an' sell 'em for a cheaper price. I mean, she does 'ave ta ship those dresses ta Canterlot an' who knows where else she set up shop, right?"

"I guess," Ainsley said.

"Yeah, so we jus' steal those dresses, pay the delivery pony to lie, an' we sell those dresses maybe in some otha' town in Equestria. Nothin' ta worry about."

"I suppose we can do that. But if you're eva' plannin' on doin' anythin' like that, ya betta' consult me first. Rarity's lookin' like she'll be a good friend an' business partner, so I wanna make sure that nothin' damages that. Capiche?"

"Yes, of course, Pops."

The Silanos and Vincenzo took a break from the conversation again to take more sips of their drink, with Ainsley being halfway done with his cocktail, and Gabriele refilling his whiskey glass. Suddenly, something popped into Ainsley's mind.

"Oh, Dad! I was wondering, what did you do today after you left the School of Friendship? You haven't told us about that."

"Oh, right. I actually went ta two places today. First, I decided ta pay a visit ta the otha' school. The Ponyville Schoolhouse. Y'know, where those Crusader fillies go."

"Why did you decide to g--" Ainsley halted when he realized what it was about. "Oh God, don't tell me you're still--"

"I decided to ask the teacher there, her name's Cheerilee, about why she decided ta release 'er students early an' made 'em go ta the bakery."

"Dad, for the last time, it wasn't a--"

"So what did ya find out?" Gabriele interrupted his brother before he could finish his sentence.

"Well, the whole early release thing was jus' part o' the school schedule. But what she told me afta' that was really interestin'."

"What was it?"

"She told me that that mornin', some weird human guy standin' outside the school told 'er about Special Cherry Day ova' at Sugarcube Corner, an' suggested she told 'er students about it."

"A human guy?"

"Yeah. I have no doubt this is the same guy who arranged all those otha' things ta make the chokin' happen!"

"Okay then, so who is it?" Ainsley asked with a skeptical look and crossed arms.

"I still don't know, but it has ta be a guy on the inside! That's the only explanation as to how they'd schedule everythin' out so well!"

"Or maybe it's just some random weird guy who gave a recommendation to the local schoolteacher! You're looking too deep into everything, Dad! It's just a coincidence!"

"That's a pretty damn crazy coincidence if ya ask me."

"Coincidences can be that crazy!"

"Ains, Pops has been in this game fa literal decades before either of us were ever even conceived. I think he knows what he's talkin' about," Gabriele argued as well.

"But this is all really crazy! Vincenzo, please tell me you think this is crazy too!" Ainsley turned to the man in the purple tracksuit who was stirring his wine.

Vincenzo just looked back and forth between Ainsley and Roberto, not knowing who to side with, so he just answered as honestly as he could. "Well, it's not really my place ta say. I jus' follow orders. I guess it is pretty crazy, but we are in the magical world of Equestria, an' ya can neva' be too careful."

Ainsley just had a defeated look on his face as he stared at Vincenzo and heard Gabriele laughing mockingly at him. The younger Silano son sunk back into the couch with his drink in his hand, looking tired. "I give up..."

Roberto ignored his son's mood and decided to continue the conversation. "Y'know, I also remembered somthin' else while I was there."

"What?" Gabriele asked.

"I thought about one o' the guys most likely ta wanna kill me: Don Cicchino."

"Cicchino? The guy who runs the prostitution business?" Ainsley asked.

"Yeah, the same."

"It makes sense, that son of a bitch has always been out ta get ya. D'ya really think it could be him?" the eldest brother asked again.

"I mean, motive-wise, he makes total sense. But the question is how he would he have been able ta do this? Because he's currently in Manehatten which is way too far fa him ta come all this way, an' there's no way he'd know my daily schedule, so I'm stickin' by my original theory that it's someone on the inside. I'm not ruling him out entirely though, I feel like he might still be connected in some way, like maybe he paid this guy off."

"By the way, that prostitution business o' his, I heard he's hirin' out human guys ta fuck mares an' vice versa, right?"

"So I've heard."

"I jus' really gotta wonder, how the hell did he convince so many guys to wanna bang horses?! What the hell is wrong with those people?" Gabriele said in disbelief.

"Don't ask me. I already 'ave a hard time toleratin' prostitution, no offense," Roberto quickly said to Ainsley, "But sellin' yaself ta horses, an' bangin' horses, it's disgustin'! Cicchino's seriously draggin' his business down to the level of bestiality? What the fuck is goin' on in that guy's head? What's the world comin' to?" Roberto ranted and took another sip of his wine as he finished.

"Well, I wouldn't really consider it bestiality," Ainsley said, which caused his father and brother to immediately turn their heads to him.

"What?" Roberto asked.

"I mean, the ponies aren't dumb animals who don't know what's going, they're thinking feeling and sapient creatures like us too. Plus, if there really are human men sex workers paid to sleep with ponies, then obviously those ponies gave their consent and actively seeked out these guys, it's not like these guys just randomly decided to hump some horse minding its own business. I've even heard and seen humans getting into relationships with ponies! So it's obviously not one-sided," Ainsley explained.

"That doesn't really make it any betta, Ainsley."

"I'm just saying that if the two parties love each other and they both consented, then it's not really that big of a problem, and it doesn't count as bestiality."

"Oh, so what, so you condone this stuff too?" Roberto asked in an accusing tone.

"God, there you go again, Dad. I never said I condone this stuff! I'm not even attracted to ponies myself! I'm just trying to clear things up and explain why it doesn't count as bestiality!"

Gabriele spoke up this time. "Doesn't really mattah. If ya ask me, those guys are all just a buncha losers who couldn't score any broads back on Earth so they resorted ta tryna bang these friendship horses outta desperation ta make themselves feel betta'."

"Exactly what I think," Roberto said. "It don't mattah if they both love each otha' or not, it's still unnatural! They're two different species! They're not meant ta be togetha'! They can't even reproduce!"

"Love isn't just about reproduction, Dad. I mean, I doubt you got together with Mom just for the sake of making babies, right?" Ainsley said.

"Ya gotta point there, but still! We're not even from the same frickin' universe! Nature an' God made it abundantly clear ta seperate us, an' say we aren't meant ta be togetha'! If ya aren't able ta reproduce with 'em, then that should be a clear sign that it's not meant ta be an' that it shouldn't happen!"

"Uh huh, and you'd use the same argument against gay people?" Ainsley asked, which caused Roberto to go silent once he realized what his son was doing.

Roberto stammered for a few moments, trying to find an answer to Ainsley's question. Roberto was obviously far from the most progressive person out there, but he knew better than to say something he knew his son would find demeaning. After a few moments of being unable to answer, Roberto just groaned. "Ugh, why d'ya always feel the need ta say somethin', Ainsley?"

Ainsley just smiled smugly, knowing he was finally able to shut up his father's ranting, and took another sip of his cocktail.

"So anyway, back to topic, what was the second thing you did today?" he asked his father.

"Oh yeah, I paid a visit ta Sweet Apple Acres ta discuss the business with Applejack. Y'know, about us usin' 'er land ta grow our produce?" 

"Yeah, what did they say?"

"They accepted."

Ainsley and Gabriele cheered when they heard their father's answer, while Vincenzo raised his glass.

"That's great, Dad!" Ainsley said.

"Not only that, I noticed that Applejack still seemed a bit suspiscious of me, so I decided ta give 'em a gift I knew they couldn't refuse."

"What's that?"

Roberto smirked, put down his wine glass, and got up from the couch. "Come with me, I wanna show ya somethin'."

The Silano Brothers both got up and followed their father, while Vincenzo stayed seated to enjoy his wine as he already knew what Roberto was going to show them. Roberto led his sons down to the basement, and once they were down there he walked towards the wall behind his desk and opened up a secret compartment. Roberto had several secret compartments in the basement to store things he didn't want anybody else to see, though only two of them were used right now, one being a hidden safe to store all the documents of his illegal businesses, and the other was for containing what he was about to show his sons. 

When Roberto opened up the compartment, both his sons were frozen in awe at what they were seeing. In the compartment was a big stash of golden apples, looking like something straight out of fantasy and mythology.

"No way, are those real golden apples?!" Gabriele asked, his eyes still fixated on the apples.

"Ya bet they are," Roberto answered.

"Where did you even get these?" Ainsley asked this time.

"Some of our guys who were scoutin' across Equestria an' beyond jus' suddenly bumped into these an' brought them ta me. Don't know where they found 'em, though."

"Unbelievable."

"But this isn't even the entire thing."

"What?!" the brothers asked in unison.

"This is merely a very small portion of the golden apples we got. The real stash is in there," Roberto pointed to the door that rested at the end of the long narrow dark corridor at the wall to their left. Gabriele and Ainsley wondered how they didn't see it before.

"Woah, let's take a look," Gabriele said, but his father stopped him before he could take a step.

"No. Neva' go through that door! This is very important, kids. Neva', under any circumstances, eva' go through that door. Ya understand?"

"Uh, okay," Ainsley said, confused. "But why?"

"Let's jus' say that it's not jus' golden apples waitin' behind that door."

"So what's in there?"

"I can't tell ya yet. I'm afraid I'm limitin' the people who know about what's inside that room fa now, ta not attract too much attention. Also, it'll help flush out anyone who's thinkin' about stealin' from us."

"Ooh, smart thinking, Dad."

"But don't worry, one day I'll show ya what's in there."

Their heads all turned back to the golden apples. "Those are real fuckin' beauties, Pops. How much d'ya think they're worth?" Gabriele asked.

"I don't know, but what I can say is that no price is enough for 'em. They're fuckin' priceless! I'll tell ya, there's no way anyone in Equestria or Earth would eva' resist these things. They'll owe their fuckin' lives ta us when we give 'em these beauties," Roberto said.

"Heh, I can only imagine how the Apple Family felt when you showed them these. These apples are things apple farmers think they'd only ever see in Paradise!" Ainsley said.

"Oh, I saw their faces. It's like they saw the face of God Himself. There's no way they'd eva' go against us usin' their land this time."

"We can finally begin with our biggest money-maker! Is our narcotics shipment comin' 'ere soon?" Gabriele asked.

"Yeah, it should be comin' 'ere tomorrow, and once they arrive, we can declare that business in Equestria has officially started!"

The Silanos all chuckled together as they closed the door to the compartment of golden apples.
> The Shipment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the middle of the new afternoon, the Silanos were waiting for the shipment they've been expecting for the past several days. The truck that had their shipment was expected to have already gone through the portal and arrive at the Silano House in Ponyville at one o'clock sharp, which should mean they only had five more minutes to wait.

Inside the Silano House, Ainsley was seated on the couch reading a book on Equestria and pony society while also filing his nails, and on the other side of the room, Gabriele and Vincenzo were busy counting all the bits they've earned from both the pony race gambling. It was surprising they managed to attract quite an audience to horse/pony racing in such a small town like Ponyville, but they've managed to earn quite a bit of money, especially from the humans, though they did still have to deal with late payers like Leroy. They were now in the middle of building a racing track in Manehatten and start another gambling circle there, where they were guaranteed to make more money. Citizens of big cities, whether on Earth or Equestria, have always been huge degenerates who were easy to take advantage of, so it was guaranteed this would be a money-maker, along with their upcoming narcotics.

Many of Roberto's men always wondered why the hell Roberto didn't just set up base in Manehatten since a big city was more familiar territory and easier to make money in. But Roberto always insisted that while their main businesses would be focused in the big cities, he preffered having his headquarters be in a small town, where it was less stress-inducing, he didn't have to constantly look behind his back, it would be a less likely place for people to search for someone like him, and he could also keep his distance from Don Cicchino who was always a royal pain. Plus, setting up base in Ponyville turned out to be a smart move since he's able to get close to the Council of Friendship members and Element Bearers, which would obviously be a huge advantage for his business.

After the five more minutes of waiting, Ainsley, Gabriele, and Vincenzo heard the distinct noise of an arriving truck, and they were certain Roberto would have heard it from his office too. The three of them got up and went out the front door, where the truck was backing up in front of their house. The truck's final desitination was supposed to be Sweet Apple Acres, but it made a quick stop at the SIlano House per Roberto's orders in order to do a quick inspection of the shipped products.

Shortly after the big white truck finally stopped in place, Roberto came out of the house and joined his sons and right-hand man. The driver of the truck opened up the back, and all the men looked inside to see its contents. Before them, they saw many crates filled with seeds and produce of kinds, as well as things like fertilizers, everything needed to start the farm, but Roberto and the others knew some of the crates carried way more than they claimed.

Roberto told the driver to bring out one of the crates that carried the "stuff", and the driver carried it into the house to ensure no one would be able to see what was happening. The crate was carried into Roberto's office in the basement, and once it was placed down, Gabriele and Vincenzo grabbed a couple of crowbars and opened the crate up. Inside the crate were many seed packs for Italian tomatoes and other crops, everything you'd expect to be delivered for a farm for a restaurant business. But ince they dug through the big pile of seed packs all the way down to the bottom of the crate, they found what they were looking for.

Hidden beneath all the ordinary seed packs were several bags of cocaine and heroine, each bag probably worth at least tens of thousands of dollars. The Silanos and Vincenzo all grinned down at their business's main money-maker, finally arriving in Equestria. Roberto clenched his cigar in his teeth and reached for one of the bags of cocaine, analyzing the plastic filled with a kilogram of the special white powder. 

Roberto turned around to face the rest of the men in the room with him, holding the ziplock bag in his hand to display it to the others, and raised his other hand to gesture to it as he began his little speech.

"This is merely the first chapter in interdimensional drug trafficking. We're gonna be the guys behind the guys, between two worlds! An' the best part is, the cops can't touch us. No jurisdiction 'ere."

"Now we jus' gotta start sellin' it ta these horses!" Gabriele said enthusiastically.

"Yeah," Vincenzo chimed in, "I think the best place ta start is gonna be Manehatten. Not only will it have the most potential customers, but big city folk are the most likely ta wanna seek out a piece o' this stuff."

"Totally, especially guys who work in big businesses. Whether it's the depressed schnooks workin' their nine-to-fives, or their degenerate greedy bosses. Either way, they're gonna want in. Then we can start sellin' over at Canterlot! Those stuck-up nobleponies would probably pay good money fa this stuff," Gabriele suggested.

"Aristocrats do do really weird shit," Ainsley commented, earning a nod from his brother.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll think about that stuff later. Right now let's just celebrate our advancin' business," Roberto grinned, and the rest of them men nodded in agreement. "But I do wanna lay down one ground rule first."

"What's that?" Ainsley asked.

"Obviously we're gonna sell this stuff, jus' like we've been doin' fa years now, an' I know ya kids are probably tired o' hearin' me repeat this rule over an' over again, but it really needs to be said," Roberto said, his smile disappearing and having a more stern face put on. "I  don't want any o' you, or any o' the guys workin' for us, to be usin' any o' this stuff. Alright? If any o' you, this especially goes to Gabriele and Vincenzo, if ya see or even suspect any of our guys usin' this stuff, I want ya ta take them out immediately. We don't need a Henry Hill situation on our hands. This stuff is only fa sellin', not usin'. Am I makin' myself clear ta you?" he asked.

Both Gabriele and Vincenzo nodded in agreement, both putting on a serious face for Roberto, to show that they fully understood the stakes of what he was saying. Any mobster knew how dangerous of a member of theirs fucking around with drugs could be. The entire crew, or even the entire family would be pinched and spend the rest of their lives rotting in jail just because of the mistake of one fuck-up junkie.

"Good."

Ainsley then spoke up. "Uh, Dad, I just wanna ask. Hypothetically, if me or Gabe here were to start using drugs...not implying we have! Again, hypothetically...would you not hesitate to have us killed too?"

Roberto did not say anything at all at first. The mob boss just stared silently at both of his sons, his expression completely empty, the only thing on his face that was moving being the smoke from his cigar. Ainsley and Gabriele were both getting quite nervous with how long the silence went and how intently their father stared and never took his squinted eyes off them.

"Well...let's just hope it neva' comes ta that," Roberto answered plainly before turning away.

Their father's answer only made the Silano brothers feel more uncomfortable than before. They did not like how long their father took to answer Ainsley's question, and even then he still didn't even give a proper answer.

Roberto returned a moment later with a wine bottle and four wine glasses in his hands. He laid them down on the table and poured the contents of the bottle into each glass before giving them to each of the men in the room. Roberto then raised his glass in salute, with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Consider our business in Equestria officially started!" the mob boss declared.

Gabriele and Ainsley looked at each other for a moment, and any nervousness they had before immediately disappeared as they smiled at each other and raised their glasses too, followed by Vincenzo. Their glasses all clinked together and all four mobsters began drinking.
> The Many Saints of Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The restaurant Giovanni's was quite a sight to see in the quaint little town of Ponyville. It, just like the Silano House, really stood out from the rest of the buildings surrounding it. It had a very old-fashioned feel to it, with it's yellowish brown walls and visible bricks. Above the main entrance was the big green wooden sign of the restaurant's name in gold metal letterings, with the words 'Italian Restaurant'  written below it is smaller lettering, and above the sign waved the Italian flag hanging from a metal pole sticking out of the wall.

The restaurant had many tables sitting outside it, all covered with red checkered tablecloths, usual things expected to be seen from an Italian restaurant.  The outdoors section was the most popular spot for customers during the day, as they were usually the ones to get filled up first. Something about eating Italian cuisine outdoors in the sun just hit different, probably. 

The inside of the restaurant was most popular at night, probably because it was a very ideal spot for new couples and herds to have a romantic dinner together. The restaurant had a very warm yellow light illuminating it, not too dim, but not too bright, giving it just the right mood for dinner dates. The walls really felt the inside of an old Italian building, with it's yellow and yellowish-brown colors painted onto them, and in certain areas, the walls were covered in wallpapers that depicted photographs of the many beautiful sceneries of Sicily and other spots in southern Italy, from the old colorful buildings, the green hills and cliffs, to the crystal blue sea and skies. There were many decorations on the walls too, such as many old black-and-white pictures of Italian and Italian-descent celebrities, photographs of the restaurant's founder, Giovanni Silano, and of the current owner, Roberto himself.

Past all the tables and near where the kitchen was was a door that read 'Employees Only', behind which was the room where Roberto and his men often met up, either just for a little get-together and lunch or dinner, or to discuss any business plans or problems. It was a very plain room, consisting of one long table with many chairs surrounding it, two hanging lamps above it,  backdoors, and brick walls that weren't even painted over. One special feature of the room was the small kitchen resting along the wall not far from the table. It consisted of a simple stove, a sink, a few cupboards, and an empty reserved to place the cutting board. It was used by the Silano members to cook up a little lunch or dinner for themselves without using the restaurant's actual kitchen, since it would greatly disturb the cooks working there.

Today was a day where Roberto and all the important Silano Family members in Ponyville gathered for an important business meeting. Everyone took their seats around the table, with Roberto sitting at the end of table where he could see everyone, Gabriele and Ainsley sitting on either side next to him, and Vincenzo sitting next to Gabriele. The other members looked up at Roberto, and he looked back at all of them, keeping track of who sat with him today.

Next to Vincenzo was Al Pecci, a soldier who acted as the Silanos' hitman. He was a pretty quiet, round-faced man, often sporting a brown two-piece suit like he did today, with well-combed dark hair. Al was a very loyal soldier, rarely ever speaking unless he needed to, and was always quick and effecient in doing a hit. Unlike Gabriele and Vincenzo, who really made sure their victims suffered before their untimely demise, Al Pecci never wasted time or messed around. He comes in, delivers the kill, and immediately disappears like he was never there.

Across from him sat an old man in his early-60s wearing a turquoise tracksuit named, Paulie Sirico, another soldier, who was also often a partner-in-crime with Gabriele and Vincenzo. He was a thin tan-skinned wrinkled man, with two big white streaks going through his dark hair. 

Next to him sat Salvatore Manzoni, also called 'Delivery Sal' by his friends and coworkers. A soldier in Vincenzo's crew who handled the deliveries of the Silano Family products, both legal and illegal. A man who wore a grey suit with a black tie, and wore a gold necklace over his tie, a fashion choice nobody around him understood, as well as several gold rings on his finger. Sal loved splurging all the money he earned, and liked making himself look richer than he actually was. He often got yelled at by Vincenzo to not spend all the illegal money he earned as to avoid suspiscion.

Finally, across the table from Roberto was Anthony "Tony Casino" Santoro. He worked under Vincenzo and often watched over their gambling rings, keeping book and kept track of anyone who was trying to screw them out of payment. Anthony was a master at gambling, and always went to Las Vegas as his favorite vacation spot. He often played in the casino owned by the Silanos, but he also very often played in every other casino he could find just to show that he could win anywhere and everywhere. It got to a point where many casino bosses suspected him of cheating and tried to teach him a lesson, but once they found out who he was with, they left him alone. Anthony did not just have a talent at winning, but he also learned every casino cheating tactics in the book in order to spot the cheaters better. A quick glance from Anthony was all that was needed to sniff out any jackass who thought they were smart enough to screw over the casino and gambling ring they were in. It made Anthony a very valuable asset for the Silanos for their gambling rings, as probably saved them from losing thousands of dollars many times.

After a few moments of silence, the large mob boss in the pinstripe suit spoke up. "Welcome, everyone. Nice to meet up like this again."

"It sure as hell is, bein' around normal fuckin' people again. These horses are such a pain in the ass to be around," Paulie commented. The old man wasn't exactly known for his cheery attitude. "You know how many times I've had the same cross-eyed mailpony crash into my fuckin' house?"

"Oh, believe me, I know exactly what you're talkin' about," Gabriele chimed in.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Paulie," Sal spoke up this time, "these horses may be pretty weird, but they're probably some o' the least ball-breakin' clients I've ever had. I jus' still don't understand how the hell these fuckin' 'bits' they use for currency even fuckin' work! But, hey, I ain't complainin', these gold coins are fuckin' beauties!" he said as he admired a bit he held in his fingers.

"Yeah, yeah. We can discuss those kinda things later!" Roberto stopped whatever aimless coversation could've started. "Right now, I wanna focus on discussin' recent developments. I'm sure you all know why we're all 'ere today?"

The men around the table nodded and murmured 'yeah' in response.

"As you know, we've just recieved our shipment o' goods yesterday. We got the seed fa the crops we'll use fa our restaurants, which we'll grow near Sweet Apple Acres, on the property o' the Apple Family. An' most importantly, we recieved our first shipment o' narcotics through the portal. Millions o' dollars worth o' cocaine an' heroine! This'll really start the launch of our business 'ere in Equestria. Fa both the crops an' narcotics, Salvatore will be the one handlin' the shipments to the other cities we've established business in."

"You can count on me, Boss!" Sal smiled in response.

"The first shipments will go to Manehatten, our biggest hub. Then we'll do shipments to Canterlot, the to some other cities like Baltimare an' Vanhoover, and soon, anotha' city. This is where Anthony'll come in," Roberto pointed to the man sitting across the table from him. "Just like we did in Vegas, we're plannin' to open up a casino over at Las Pegasus. As soon as we strike a deal with the guys runnin' the place ova' there, Anthony 'ere'll be promoted to captain."

The men around the table all turned their attention to Anthony, all of them impressed with what they heard, and they clapped proudly.

"It'll be sad to see 'im go. That guy made me a lotta damn money," Vincenzo said after taking the cigar out of his mouth. 

"Don't worry, Vinny. Maybe one day you'll be able to find some other poor gamblin' prick to do your books," Anthony chuckled.

"Hopefully he'll be less of a pain in the ass than you were," Vincenzo laughed in response.

"Something you should know about Las Pegasus," all eyes turned to Ainsley this time, "the guys running that place aren't exactly what you'd call...ideal business partners."

"What about 'em?" Gabriele asked.

"They're the Flim Flam Brothers, and those two are notorious con-artists. From what I've heard, they also have quite a bit of history with the Council of Friendship, especially with Applejack.

"The apple farmer? What the hell would two guys like that want with someone like her?"

"Well, they didn't always run Las Pegasus from what I know. They were once traveling salesponies, and they tried to take Sweet Apple Acres using this fancy cider-making machine. As you probably guessed, they didn't succeed. They tried again with some tonic and scammed Granny Smith, snake-oil salesmen style, and that old lady almost jumped to her death because she thought she was some athlete from drinking that stuff. After Applejack outed them again, they went over to Las Pegasus and worked under this stallion called Gladmane, who made them fight each other to keep them under control, until Applejack came along again and they actually worked together with her to expose Gladmane, after which they took over Las Pegasus. It didn't stop there. When Princess Twilight opened that school, they tried opening up their own friendship school to scam ponies out of their money, they had to return it all once they were found out by the Princess."

"How do you know all this?" Gabriele asked.

"I talk to the ponies around town. You should try it sometime."

"Jesus, conmen. Disgustin' assholes, all of 'em," Paulie commented. "Y'know what I do to fuckers like this? One time, my Ma got scammed by this jackass into buyin' this fake diamond ring from 'im, so I broke all this bastard's fingers an' kneecaps an' made 'im give my Ma three times the amount o' money that he scammed her out of."

"Jeez," Ainsley murmured. "Well, anyway, what I'm trying to say is that these guys can't be trusted easily. They turned on their previous boss, they've attracted the Elements' attentions multiple times, and they will side with them if the situation calls for it. I guarantee they'll probably try to screw us over one way or another sometime in the future."

"Relax, Ains. That's what ya got me for. No asshole's gonna screw me over. It's literally my job an' hobby to see past other people's bullshit," Anthony reassured with a smirk.

"Exactly," Roberto said, "once our casino is built, Anthony will be the one overseeing our business there, makin' sure everythin' goes smoothly, and no one, not even those Flim Flam Bastards, will try to fuck us."

"Shouldn't be too hard warming the ponies over there to the idea of a casino. The Las Pegasus resort owned by Flim and Flam is already filled to the brim with dumb tourists losing themselves in its endless arcades and carnival rides. The idea of an arcade where you can earn money? And for the Flim Flam Brothers, one where all their customers just give them their life savings for free? How could anyone resist an idea like that?" Ainsley asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Vincenzo agreed, "whoeva' came up with the idea of casinos was a fuckin' genius! I mean, jus' look at Vegas nowadays, all filled with a buncha demented old farts an' fat middle-aged fucks sittin' around like fuckin' zombies in front o' the machines hopin' in vain to become a millionaire while their life savin's get taken away without 'em realizin'. Fuckin' hilarious!" the fat man in the purple shirt laughed. "Still a shame what 'appened to Vegas, though. Used to be a much nicer place when us wiseguys ran it, but eva' since Howard Hughes an' all these corporations took over, it looks like fuckin' Disneyland with murders happenin' everyday on the streets," he said in a disappointed tone before taking another puff of his cigar.

"Well, that's one o' the best parts o' this project, Vinny. In a new world, we could rebuild our own Vegas, and it'll be jus' like the good ol' days when we ran things," Anthony said.

"If we can manage. These Flim Flam Brothers don't sound any different from any otha' corporate bastard out there," Roberto chimed in, before a smile crept onto his face. "Luckily for us, we've recently discovered the perfect thing that would get any greedy corporate bastard grovelin' at our feet an' doin' or bidding."

Roberto pulled up a sack from under the table and opens it to reveal a sack of golden apples, which made many of the men around the table's eyes widen and lean in for a closer look.

"Jesus Christ, it's like King Midas's daily breakfast," Paulie murmured in awe.

"W-Where did you get these?" Sal asked, who Ainsley noticed was easily the most fixated on the apples out of everyone, looking like he's seeing Heaven itself.

"Some of our guys an' a buncha ponies Vincenzo hired who were scoutin' across Equestria found these, an' we're gonna use 'em to buy out anyone we want. I mean, c'mon, who in their right mind would eva' say 'no' to these?" Roberto gestured at the fruits in front of him. "Doesn't matta' if Flim an' Flam are genius con artists who own an entire town, conmen are still greedy assholes, an' greedy assholes are some o' the easiest guys to influence."

For a moment, Ainsley noticed Sal frown and look down after Roberto said that, but a second later he shook it off and his expression returned to normal. Ainsley thought it was a little curious, but thought nothing of it.

"Anyways, back to the narcotics business," Roberto said, "our main hubs are gonna be Manehatten an' Las Pegasus. A big city, an' a sleepless vacation spot? No way, they'd turn these down. Then we have Canterlot, an' I feel plenty o' those posh elite assholes would pay good money to get a taste. Then we'll 'ave to figure out how to sell in Baltimare an' Vanhoover, an' see what otha' cities an' towns we can sell--"

"Hold on. Before you continue, Dad, I gotta say something," Ainsley interrupted, "I think there's two things we need to make sure we've thought about before we actually go through with any of this."

"An' what's that?"

"Okay. First of all, how do we even get a world that's never even heard of illegal narcotics before to wanna buy our products without dragging unwanted attention to ourselves? And second, how do we determine how much narcotics would be worth in a world where illegal narcotics don't exist?"

Everyone around the table went silent for a moment, which made Ainsley proud of himself since that meant what he said was really getting through to them. 

"Y'know what? Your finook son raises a good point, boss," Sal broke the silence, pointing a finger at the feminine young man.

"You know what my name is, Sal," Ainsley said with a displeased expression on his face,

"Yeah, but you are a finook."

"But I'm the consigliere, so you should try to address me with a little more respect!"

"Alright, that's enough! Both o' youse!" Roberto interrupted before the argument could get more heated. "We're gettin' off topic! Ainsley, quit startin' a debate, an' Salvatore, watch what you say about my son! Anyways, Ainsley, those are very good questions. I've actually been ponderin' those exact things fa the past few days. It's true that it's gonna be a bit tricky gettin' a whole new world that's unfamiliar with narcotics to buy our stuff, so we gotta really approach this carefully. We gotta make it sound enticin' enough fa them to get 'em interested in buyin', but we also gotta make sure they know not to tell anyone about it, but not to the point it'll scare 'em off."

"I suppose it wouldn't be too different from tryna sell it to children," Gabriele spoke up.

"What would ya know about sellin' it to children?" his father asked.

"Well, I've neva' sold it to kids personally, but I knew some jackasses who did. Ya remember, Paulie?"

"What are ya lookin' at me for?!" Paulie asked defensively.

"I'm not accusin' you, ya idiot. Remember that one guy we whacked ova' at the river back on Earth afta' we found out he was sellin' drugs to one of our beloved chef's kids? The guy wore that dusty black hoodie, I broke 'is legs with a metal pipe, an' you shot 'im in the face an' dropped 'im into the water?"

It took a moment for Paulie to gather his memories of the event, but eventually it clicked in his mind. "Oh yeah, I remember! The guy had a really creepy fuckin' face. Paler than fuckin' Lord Voldemort."

"Yeah, anyway, while we were roughin' the guy up, I asked 'im how the hell did he even manage to convince kids to buy the stuff. I mean, how d'ya convince a kid to put a buncha white powder into their nose?"

"A lot of kids out there sniff glue all the time, Gabe. I don't think it'd be too hard convincing them to sniff a strange white powder," Ainsley told his big brother. "But we're not talking about kids here, we're talking about adult ponies. They may be ignorant to narcotics, but they're not stupid enough to just put in any strange substance into their body."

"Just because they're adults doesn't necessarily mean they're smarter about what they put in their bodies. If that was the case, we wouldn't have so many druggies out there, would we?" Gabriele retorted.

This time, it was Ainsley's turn to go quiet for a quick moment. "Okay, you've got a point there. But still, how do we advertise our stuff without drawing too much attention to ourselves?"

"Does it really need to be kept a secret? I mean, ya did say this world ain't never heard of drugs before, so it wouldn't be illegal since there wouldn't be any laws against it anyway. We could probably just sell the stuff like a regular fuckin' drug store," Paulie suggested.

"Yeah, but you're forgetting that Equestria has humans living here now too, and they'd know that cocaine is illegal and shouldn't be used. Plus, many ponies, especially all the high-ranking ones, including the Princess, have been to Earth before, so there's a high chance they'd at least pick up information that this stuff is bad," Ainsley shut down the tracksuit-wearing old man's idea down.

"And c'mon, Paulie, in a land this colorful an' magical? Why would anyone need to get high?" Sal joked.

"Stop tryna be funny, Sal," Paulie said unamused before turning back to Ainsley. "An' so what if they know it's bad? Our government knows it's bad, but the drug business is doin' just fine!"

"The difference is the Equestrian government actually gives a shit about its citizens," Ainsley retorted.

"Alright, alright, calm down. I don't wanna 'ave to keep makin' sure arguments don't 'appen on this table," Roberto said. "But you're forgettin' one important thing, Ainsley."

"What's that?"

"No matta' how good a government is, it's neva' perfect. Even the best governments won't be able to stop every bad thing happenin' in its own country. The Princess obviously would have loads o' things to do everyday. An' even if they did notice a drug problem, so what? America's been tryna fight drugs fa decades, an' d'ya think it's gettin' any betta'? Especially with all these cartels an' such? The most important thing to think about is gettin' the ponies to buy 'em, keep it unda' the radar, an' makin' sure it can neva' be traced back to us. An' I don't think it's gonna as hard as we think."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So here's the plan. Obviously, we focus our first sales in Manehatten. A big city like that is always the best place to start a business. Harder to notice, a lotta depressed assholes, also a lotta shady creeps everywhere, an' not to mention dance clubs, those places are always huge drug dens. We'll slowly introduce it there, an' it shouldn't take long before sales start to rise, we already 'ave a lotta guys who help distribute our narcotics to the streets. So we start out slowly an' let it spread, then we do the same with some o' the otha' big cities like Las Pegasus, Fillydelphia, an' Baltimare. Canterlot's one we'll 'ave to be a little more careful with since it's the Princess's personal neighborhood, so there's a much higher risk o' gettin' caught there. Then, once those are outta the way, we can try sellin' 'em at otha' places like Klugetown. I bet they'd be more than willin' to get their claws on the stuff."

"Okay, but wait, you still haven't answered my second question. How much could we actually sell our drugs here for? How much would they be worth?" Ainsley asked again.

Roberto though about the answer for a moment. "Well, like I says, I'm not too good with US Dollars to Equestrian Bits conversion. But since we'd naturally keep the price the same, coupled with the fact that there are no narcotics source available 'ere in Equestria and the fact that we 'ave to ship all our goods though the portal from Earth, I'd say we'd sell 'em fa maybe...fifty percent more."

"Fifty percent?"

"Woah, fuck! We'd be triplin' the money we already make!" Sal exclaimed.

"Don't get too excited too quickly, Salvatore. We 'aven't even started yet. But yes, we would," Roberto said. "An' as you all know, we'll be storaging all the narcotic products underneath our farm ova' at Sweet Apple Acres. All the shipments, packagin', processin', an' shipments, will be done from there along with our otha' crops fa our restaurants, afta' we finish buidin' it all. Any more questions?" the mob boss asked.

Everyone around the table shook their heads and murmured 'no' or 'nah' in response.

"Good. Guess that concludes the meetin' fa today," Roberto said, relaxing back into his seat and taking a puff of his cigar. "By the way, I 'ave some otha' interestin' news. Some o' you probably already know about it. Besides the Apple Family, my sons an' I 'ave been gettin' pretty close with each o' the Council o' Friendship members."

"No shit! You three 'ave been befriendin' these horses?" Paulie asked in disbelief.

"They're not jus' any horses, they're the personal friends o' the Princess 'erself! Which means we 'ave a good chance at gettin' close to 'er, an' it could help a lot fa the business. I struck a business partner with the horse who saved my life, Pinkie Pie, an' anotha' one with this nice little unicorn named Rarity. My sons 'ave been befriendin' a couplea them too."

"No way. You too, Gabe?!" Sal asked.

"Unfortunately, yeah. This crazy yellow bitch named Fluttershy, who runs her own personal zoo or animal sanctuary as she calls it. Apparently, she wants me to come ova' there an' help 'er take care of 'er animals with 'er. But I won't do it alone! If I'm goin' down, I'm takin' one o' ya with me! Paulie, ya comin' with me!" Gabriele pointed at the old man.

"Ohhh! Why am I the one who has to help you shovel animal shit?!" Paulie exclaimed.

"Uh, because I'm the fuckin' street boss, an' I jus' said so."

"Oh yeah, that's true..." Paulie murmured to himself. "But why can't you jus' get Sal or Al to do it?!"

"Sal's got betta' things to do than that. An' d'ya reall think I'd waste Al's talents an' energy on somethin' that stupid?"

"He don't even do much every day!"

"On the contrary, Sal. I do a lotta imporant things every day," Al Pecci chimed in, the first time anyone heard him spoke throughout the entire meeting.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Paulie asked.

"I don't gotta tell you."

"Ugh, you cocksucker," Paulie grumbled under his breath.

"I got to spend the day at the spa with my pony friend," Ainsley said smugly.

"The spa?! Aw man, why couldn't I just've been doin' that?"

"Cuz we can't always have nice things in life, so stop complainin'!" Gabriele ordered.

"Yes, Gabe," Paulie answered while rolling his eyes, like a frustrated bratty kid answering an upset parent, despite the fact Gabriele was around forty years younger than him.

After that whole argument, Vincenzo checked his gold watch, put his cigar out, and got up from his chair. "Well, now that the meeting's ova' with, an' it's nearly lunchtime, whaddya all say I go into the kitchen an' get 'em to cook somethin' for us?"

Everyone around the table agreed, all of them more enthusiastic than they were before.

Usually if any of the members wanted to eat, they just cooked in the small kitchen beside the table, but that's usually when there's only one or two people cooking something for themselves. But right now, for a room currently filled with eight men, it was better to just order straight from the restaurant's kitchen.

"Thank fuckin' Christ we're still able to eat meat in 'ere. I'm gettin' tired of seein' all the fuckin' horse food everywhere in this town, an' I could really go for some gabagool right now," Paulie said.

"It's capocollo," Roberto corrected.

"The correct way to pronounce it is capocollo. That's the Italian way."

Paulie stared at his boss for a moment and chuckled. "An' you say Ainsley's the smartass."