Disclaimer: I don't own anything of any published fictional work. All My Little Pony names and places, belong to Hasbro, The Hub, and Lauren Faust. Any names, characters, places, or anything else in this story in relation to any person or persons, living or dead, or characters from anyone else's work is strictly coincidence.
Note: This is my first pony piece ever. Don't be too harsh.
Tales from Cavalla:
The Story of Jamie, Alyssa, and Clever Clarke.
It was nighttime in the forests of Central Cavalla. Grey clouds swirled up above, the sign of an upcoming storm. The clouds hid the stars and dimmed the light of the moon, making an already dark night seem even darker. Gusts of wind were blowing from the north, sending a chill air as it rustled the trees. The wind sent a creepy howl through the woods. Other than the wind however, the forest was quiet. Not a sound could be heard for miles. Suddenly, something breaks the routine silence of the forest. It was an unusual sound, the sound of an engine.
Jamie Montgomery sat in the back of a van as it went through the winding, muddy roads in the forest. The brown, lanky earth pony sat cradling his legs, uneasy, and a bit scared. Jamie was not alone the van. Of course there was the driver, and another stallion, a unicorn, in the passenger seat. Another unicorn was with him in the back, and along with him, over 30 barrels of cider. Jazz music played out of the radio in the front. The music brought a little ease to Jamie's worried mind. The unicorn in the passenger seat spoke up. "I can't wait ta get all dis cider to Ft. Gary. Dere is gonna be a big payout for all of yous, if yous can get it done." The remarks reminded Jamie why he was even doing any of this to begin with, for the money. Jamie let out a big sigh, and tried to focus on the reward instead of the risk. The ride was a bumpy one. The barrels were jumping, and bouncing off each other, but just a little.
The driver of the van pulled up to a fork in the road. "Take a left here." said the unicorn in the passenger seat. "Yes, boss." said the driver. Then the unicorn in the passenger seat used his magic to pull a cigar out of his coat. "Y'know… dis cigar was rolled with only da finest tobacco from da remote mountains of El Puerto Del Rio. Of course, we took over dat place over 20 years ago in The Great Cavallian War. Sure, thousands of ponies died, but for cigars like this, it makes it a war dat was worth fightin'." The used his magic to put the cigar to his nose. He took a big sniff then continued. "Just one of dees babies is over 60 bucks. I just bought a pack of 24 of 'em." He chuckled. "Y'see? "Dis is the life you can have in dis bidness. I'm pullin' out all the stops right now. I got da money, da cars, da mares, all you could ever ask for. Dis could all be yours; all yous gots to do is keep your mouths shut, and your eyes ahead, and do EXACTLY as I tell you." The unicorn then lights a match, cutting through the darkness in the van. As he lit the cigar, his face becomes illuminated. He was a dark blue, husky fellow wearing a trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat. He had thick eyebrows and a mean scowl on his face. He was Al Malone, the most wanted criminal in Cavalla.
Jamie had worked for Malone in one of the underground cider warehouses in the City of Lakeshore for a couple of months now. Cider has been illegal in Cavalla for about 20 years now. So, cider is illegally smuggled in from Equestria. "Everything is legal in Equestria." Jamie once heard Malone say. "Everything from cider to salt licking. If I could learn to put up with all those goody-two-shoes ponies, and dat awful princess of theirs, I'd probably change my name to 'Sunshine Sparkle' or something fruity like dat, and move dere." The cider is secretly imported from harbors in Liberty City, and Independence. It is then sent east to the warehouses in Lakeshore, and then distributed all over the country. This particular mission was from the city of Lakeshore to the town of Ft. Gary. In between the two, is the city of Riversdale. It would be near impossible to drive through Riversdale with 30 barrels of cider without getting caught. So, they detoured south through the Central Cavalla National Wildlife Preserve. The journey was longer, but completely incognito.
Malone himself was a mean fellow. He had the entire cider business under his hoof, everything from the docks, to the warehouses, to the ponies buying, selling and drinking. Even some of the police forces in some cities, where under his complete control. Everypony knew and feared Al Malone, so when he asked Jamie to go with him to Ft. Gary to drop off some cider, it's not like he had much of a choice.
"How's the new kid holdin' up, Muggsy?" Malone said with annoyed tone in his voice. "Oh, he's holdin' up just fine, boss. Just fine." said the pony riding in the back with him. The pony named "Muggsy" had a low, deep voice, and a tall round figure to match it. Muggsy didn't look like the cruel guy that Malone was, but it wouldn't be the first time that things weren't what they looked like. Muggsy gave Jamie an evil grin, which didn't make him feel any better. Just as Malone said, Jamie was the 'new kid' and had never been on one of these drop off missions before. He had no idea what would come of it. That is why he was so antsy. "How are we gonna get the cider into town once he get to Ft. Gary, boss?" belted Muggsy. "I told you a thousand times already, it's easy. I know a guy dat works for the FGPD, an' he's gonna make sure dat no one lays a hoof on us." Al sounded confident in his plan. "It's a good thing that you have a good cop on your side, this time around." added the driver. "Now you listen to me, George! Ain't no such t'ing as a 'good cop'! Sure, he's doing me a favor today, but t'ings can do south really quickly. Remember tis, the only 'good cop' is a dead cop." Malone took a puff from his cigar, and blew some smoke circles. Jamie sat there in silence. That was the last thing he wanted to hear.