//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: Il Sono Eterno // Story: Hitmares // by Shane1108 //------------------------------// The next few days passed in a haze. Octavia had been preparing a solemn song to play with some friends at the wake. Sheen had always had a love for classical music. It was one of the things that they bonded over when she was still young. He supported her when she told him that she and Vinyl would be attending music school. He told her that he knew that someday she would be the most famous musician in all of Canterlot. While she hadn’t gotten there yet, she still planned on getting there someday. She was having a lot of trouble coming up with something but she knew she couldn’t let Sheen down. Vinyl, meanwhile, had been spending the days before the funeral trying to write a speech for the eulogy. Sunset was going to give one too but Vinyl wanted to say a few things too. He had always been there for her when she was a kid and he had taught her how to get information from ponies. He had taught her pretty much everything that she knew about Sunset’s operation and the life. She owed him so much, and she couldn’t actually believe that he was gone. Sunset had mostly stayed away from everyone else except for Berry as they planned Sheen’s funeral. On the night before the funeral she and Berry were in Sheen’s apartment. She owned the place and was going to clean it out to renovate it. She had planned on giving the place to Vinyl when she was ready to move out of Ovtavia’s. Thinking about Tavi made her blood boil a little bit. She knew that she never had meant for what happened to happen but she still couldn’t help but hold her responsible. She had known Tavi since she was barely more than a foal and she was Vinyl’s best friend. It was the only thing that had kept her alive after what had happened. She knew that Sheen would want her to forgive her but it would take time. Until then she would keep her distance and limit her interactions with Tavi to a minimum. Now that Vinyl was made she would be taking direct control of Tavi, Lyra and to a lesser extent, Fleur. She would also be inclined to start getting some new blood into the crew as well. She had hoped that this tragedy would at least do some good in getting those two sobered up and get Vinyl to learn how to take control. The plan was still on to put Vinyl in control if the rat situation got out of hoof and she had to go away. This could be a test to see just how well she could handle herself. She had a good feeling about her little niece but she knew that the road ahead would be difficult and it would either make Vinyl or break her, that was the price that needed to be paid to be a leader though. Sunset had earned her badge in blood from the war that stemmed from Tanterella’s death. She rose to the top by being more vicious than anyone else and willing to do whatever it took. Vinyl had the brutality streak in her that could put her on top of the pile if she needed to but what she had wanted for Vinyl was to make her way to the top by being smarter and having more cunning than the rest of them. She knew that deep down Vinyl had it in her to do it but she would have to be tested, and this was the perfect way. There was no better way to test her wit then by putting Vinyl on the trail of the rat. If she could take care of the situation with as little noise as possible then Sunset would know that she was ready. She would tell her at the funeral and set things in motion. She was looking around the apartment and she let out a deep sigh. It had been too long since the last time she had actually stopped by to visit him. She gave him this place more than ten years ago and it looked like it was barely lived in. Sheen was always a clean guy but she had never imagined it was like this. The living room was almost empty. There was a small TV in the corner by the sofa but other than that there was nothing in the room. There were a couple of pictures on the walls, paintings of nature and one of the two royal sisters but if she had remembered right, those were all here when he moved in. The kitchen was clean and there was a leftover half of an oatburger in the fridge and a few beers but not much else. She walked down the long l-curving hallway and into the bedroom. He had some clothes hanging on hangers against the mirror in the back and his bed was neatly made. There was an ashtray on the end table that was full of butts. Next to the ashtray she saw a picture. She looked down at it and immediately a tear came to her eye. It was a picture of her, Sheena and Tantarella that her dad had taken when Tantarella had graduated from college. She had a copy of this one too but she had long since lost it. She didn’t like keeping pictures of the ponies that she had lost around, especially ones of her sister. They just made her too sad. She picked it up in her magic and brought it to her face. As she stared at it the tears flowed. Those were happier times, everyone was still together then. Only four months from then the trial would start against her father and within three years she would be dead and the worst times of her life would follow, well at least she thought they were the worst times, but it had seemed the last few months were starting to look like they could be a contender. She noticed something below the picture when she had picked it up. It was an envelope that looked like it was old. It was folded but still well taken care of. She picked it up in her magic and pulled the letter out that was inside. She felt a little like she was violating Sheen’s privacy but her curiosity got the best of her. She unfolded it and started reading. She could instantly recognize her sisters writing. She had a unique style that she would notice anywhere. “Sheeny- I know that things have been hard for everyone since my pop passed away, especially too. You are pretty much family as far as we’re all concerned. It’s because of that that I need to tell you this. You know that I’ve always loved you, ever since we met. I also know though that after seeing what prison did to my father that I can’t continue this life any longer. Long Play is getting older and is almost out of diapers and I’m pregnant again. The thing is though, It’s not Wish’s. It’s yours. You have no idea how hard that was to write. And it is nothing in comparison to how hard the next part of this letter will be to write. I can’t be a mother and be a gangster, after the baby is born Wish and I are going to move into Ponyville with his mother and start life over. I know it won’t be easy but I also know that it’s what has to be done. This life is where you belong and to take you away from it would be a mistake, that’s why I have to leave you behind. I can never tell Wish about the baby and he or she will never know the truth either, but I at least wanted you to know. I’m postdating this letter so it should get to you sometime after we’re gone. I was too much of a coward to face you like this in person and I’m sorry. I will always love you Sheeny. You’ll always be the scrappy colt who I met wallowing in the gutter. The one who always had my back around ponies who were bigger and stronger. The one who told me that he would always be there for me. Unfortunately though, now is not the time to follow my heart, it’s the time to do what’s best for my family. I can’t have the kids growing up like Sunset and I did. It’s a cold and unforgiving world filled with death and destruction. You know that yourself all too well so I hope you will understand. Maybe someday we can be together again, I don’t know how or when but there’s always a chance. Until then though, this is how it has to be. Forever yours, anywhere in Equestria. -T” She was shocked. She knew that her sister had an affair with Sheen. She knew everyone’s dirty little secrets. That’s how she stayed at the top of her game, by knowing everything that was going on at all times. She had suspected that he may be Vinyl’s real father, she certainly looked a lot more like Sheen than she did Starry Wish. But until then it was only just a hunch. Sheen knew the whole time and had kept the secret to his grave. It was something that she was determined to keep a secret too. It would only make things harder for Vinyl. He really did love her. It was more than love though, something closer to infatuation. She had never known just how deep it had run in him. It was the only thing that he even kept in his apartment. It was why he was so gung-ho when T had died. She just sighed and shed a few more tears before folding the note up carefully and putting it back in the envelope and in her pocket. She kept looking around but didn’t find much else of any sentimental value aside from the picture. After that she took a small box of his things and left. Looking around the place one more time before closing and locking the door. In the days since Lyra had been at the doctors house she had spent most of her time trying to heal inside her apartment above the bakery. She had been lucky to be alive and couldn’t stop thinking about how she had killed all of those junkies. She was torn between knowing that it was wrong and also feeling like it needed to be done. They would have all killed her if they could. She had also been thinking about Vinyl and Octavia. They had saved her. She had been about to pass out. She was vomiting all over herself and had lost control of all of her legs. Then the next thing she knew she was waking up on the floor of a doctor’s house. Vinyl had told the guy that if she died that he would die too and she more than believed it. She knew that Sunset had to be stopped for what she had done to Bonnie, but she was honestly starting to question if it was worth the damage to all of her friends, especially since they had saved her life. She thought hard about what Bonnie would say if she could see her now. How ashamed she must be of her. The only thing that Bonnie had asked of her when they got married is that she would leave that life behind her. Now she had done unspeakable things. She had murdered at least a dozen others at this point and would no doubt have to murder more if she was going to stop Sunset. She knew it had to be done, for Bonnie, and aside from that there was no way that she could get away from the CSIU now even if she wanted to. They had footage of her killing Skag and she had no doubt that they would use it against her. She would have to push on, damn the consequences. Her friends had known what Sunset was capable of and they were more than capable of it themselves. She just wanted to avenge her wife. At first it seemed simple, and a noble goal. Now though the black and white world that she lived in was being contaminated by shades of gray. She would try and stay the course as best as she could, but she didn’t know how easy it was going to be. She knew that they would be hounding her for more footage soon and she figured that the best place to do it would be at Sheens funeral. There was something that felt dirty about the whole thing though. Sheen was one of the good ones. Or at least she had though he was. The truth was that she was a good guy to him but to others he was another ruthless killer on Sunset’s payroll. He had told her himself about all of the ponies whose blood he had on his hooves when Vinyl’s mom had died. Maybe some of those could be considered justified, he had really cared for her. Maybe it was the same as what she was doing for Bonnie. Sheen had told her to always be herself and this was who she really was. She just hoped that he would understand. The morning of the funeral found Vinyl standing in front of the mirror and trying on her new black suit that she had tailored for her specifically for the funeral. It had been a somber few days and she wanted to look her best one last time for the best mentor outside of her aunt that she had ever had. Rose appeared behind her. She was in a flowing black dress with a veil over her head. She had felt a little strange about the entire thing. She knew of course that sometimes Sunsets business was dangerous but she didn’t expect something like this. She hadn’t known Sheen very well but according to all of the things that she had heard from Vinyl over the last few days he seemed like a pretty decent guy. She had never seen Vinyl so devastated. She was crying at random times of the day and sleeping in late. And it was hot off of the heels of their engagement. She didn’t want to bring anything up though, it was best to just support Vinyl and let her greave her own way. She couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of her head though that someday she would dressed in black and wearing the veil while attending Vinyl’s funeral. She tried to push the thought down but it was still nagging at her. What had been eating at her even more though was Vinyl’s disappearance the night that Sheen died. She left in a suit but came back without it. She had smelled like she had been freshly showered but Rose noticed a patch of what looked like blood still on her coat. She didn’t want to ask many questions, especially when Vinyl had told her about Sheen’s death. She had images of Vinyl holding her dying “uncle” in her hooves as he slipped away. She would never ask, but then she never really fully wanted to know what had happened. They finished getting dressed and met Octavia in the car. She was wearing a black dress as well but didn’t have the veil. She had just managed to load her cello into the back seat when Vinyl and Rose came out of the building. They got in the car and she took off towards the funeral home uptown, stopping by the bakery to pick up Lyra. When they got there they could already see cars lined up around the block. It was a large place that was owned by some family associates of Sandy Shores and the entire upper echelon of Sconoscutio in Canterlot was out for the occasion. Vinyl saw ponies she had only seen when she was still a filly, now looking grizzled with age and sick with sorrow. She noticed Sandy Shores himself, surrounded by his cronies as he went into the parlor. They parked the car just behind Sunset’s and went inside. The place was packed. There must have been at least 300 or more ponies there and they were still almost an hour early. They had Sheen set up to view in another room towards the back and the ponies who were already there were forming a line to the back room to see him. Tavi could even see Fleur among the crowd too. Vinyl saw Sunset off in the corner talking with Sandy. Sunset noticed them walk in and quickly excused herself from the conversation she was in, walking over towards them. Vinyl stepped forward and embraced her in a hug. She could see that Sunset had been crying. “How are you holding up?” Vinyl asked. “Probably about as well as I look.” Sunset said with a small, forced laugh. “I’ve been here all damn morning trying to get everything set up.” Sunset scanned the room “It’s funny to see some of these ponies here. They aren’t much more than parasites, looking to get a leg up within the organization. I can’t tell you how many of them here would love to see me in the same spot that Sheen is in. They didn’t even know who he was, or if they did they were probably all afraid of him.” Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Have you seen him yet?” She asked. Sunset shook her head. “Not yet. I’ve been trying to avoid it for as long as possible. I know it’s something I need to do but I don’t want my last memory of him to be him lying in that box. I’m going to go in once the crowd clears out a little bit. I want to spend some time alone with him before we start the whole thing.” They shared another quick hug before splitting off. Lyra started walking around taking Rose with her, trying to get footage of as many ponies as she could and trying to pick up any errant conversations in her recordings and Octavia and Vinyl went to pay their respects to Sheen. Most of the crowd who was lined up cleared the way for them as they saw them approach. They walked into the back room and as soon as Vinyl saw the casket she started bursting into tears. She almost hung off of Octavia as they walked towards the casket. She looked down in and saw him. He looked cold and pale. They had stitched up all of the wounds and made him look normal enough but there was something off about him. She just couldn’t imagine that she would ever be in this situation. The tears flowed from both of them. “I’m sorry.” Octavia started saying over and over. I’m so sorry.” Vinyl wrapped a hug around her and they began to keep moving down the line. Vinyl couldn’t stand to look at him for more than a second. She just couldn’t process the fact that he was lying there and she didn’t want to face the truth. Before long, Lyra had moved through as well. She looked down solemnly at him. She didn’t know what to say or how to act. She just muttered a quickly. “Thank you. I owe you everything.” And then she moved on. She shut her eyes as a tear started to flow down her cheek and pictured his face one last time before the bullets rained down into the car. As Lyra was in the viewing room, Sunset was meeting with Sandy Shores in the back office. It was customary in funerals for made members that the boss was met in the back room with condolences from other high ranking members. This was more than the case with Sheen though as he had been around for so long. Pretty much everyone knew who he was and he was respected by most. He was one of the few remaining relics from the days before the last big war. “It’s a Celestia-damned tragedy.” Sandy said as he took a long puff from his cigar. “Who could have done such a thing? And to Sheen of all ponies.” He shook his head with disgust. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that.” Sunset started. “It was some nobodies who didn’t know who they were messing with. We got all of them but one and it’s only a matter of time.” She let out a bitter laugh. “And after everything we made it though. The war, the violence and blood of the last few months too. All of it just to be shot down by some filthy punks.” She let out a few tears. Sandy reached over the table and put a hoof over her shoulder. “Anything that my crew or any of our associates can do to help, you just let me know and it’s done.” She nodded. “Thanks, Sandy.” She said. Just then the door opened and a pony walked in that she never guessed would be there in a thousand years. It was Neon. She looked up at him and he could see a fire starting to burn in her eyes. “What in the fuck are you doing here?” She asked through gritted teeth. He sat down on the chair next to Sandy. “Relax, Sunny. I just wanted to pay my respects to Sheen. I’ve known the guy ever since I was a colt. He was a good friend to me then and something like this never should have happened.” She stared daggers at him. “It’s funny you should say that.” She started. “Because one of the shooters told me, just before I put him into a barrel of acid, that you were somehow involved in all of this. That you had backed him and his brother up in their little operation. So the way I see it, you are just as much to blame as anyone unless you can convince me otherwise.” Sandy got up and locked the office door, standing behind Neon and staring him down. He was visibly starting to get nervous but he started to speak. “That’s why I’m here actually. Or rather why I wanted to meet up with you anyways. I needed to clear the air. While it’s true that I knew the ponies who did this it is absolutely not true that I had any hoof in this thing happening. I brought you something as a gift. Just let me get it from my pocket.” He finished with a bit of a stutter. She nodded and he reached his hoof in, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He put it down slowly on the table and slid it over to her. She lifted the paper in her magic and unfolded it. There was an address on it. Somewhere outside of the city, up in the mountains. She looked from the paper back to him. “What exactly is this?” She asked. He got a small smile on his face. “It’s the location of the one who got away. After Vinyl and Tavi shot up the place they were in he came to me for help. He told me that you got his little brother and it would only be a matter of time before you came for him. He also told me that it was you who they hit. I had no idea before. I thought it was some small time punks giving them trouble and I told them that if they took care of it that I would back them up. There’s no way that I would have if I had known it was you. Especially after what happened over the last few months.” She nodded. “So why come to me with this now? Why not hide the whole thing and just pretend you had nothing to do with anything?” He coughed into his hoof. “Because, like I said, Sheen was a friend to me before and didn’t deserve this. Also I would like to think of this little gift as us getting even with the bits that I still owe you from before. Skag had a foal and I’ve been spending a lot of my extra money keeping him and his now single mother fed. I figured that this would be the next best thing.” She once again nodded. “And if I send my associates there. They won’t meet any kind of resistance or a trap?” He put his hoof to his chest “Sul mio onore” he said with a smile. She shook her head. “You need to brush up on your old unicornian. The accent is way off. Also I’m not sure you have much honor left. But for now we’ll see how it works. If you’re lying to me though, you’re going to be the next one having a funeral. Do you understand me?” He nodded. “Don’t worry. It'll be worth your while.” He said as he got up and walked out of the room. Sandy shut the door behind him and was going to lock it before he was interrupted by a knock on it. He looked out of the small window and then looked back to Sunset. “It’s some orange Pegasus. Should I let him in?” Sunset sat up straight. “Yes, please do. I’ll need to speak with him in private. I’ll catch up with you later after I give the speech. Thanks again for coming. I’m sure Sheen would be happy to see you here.” He nodded. Taking off his hat and tipping it to him. “I’m sorry that it had to come to this, Sunny. He was a good fella. One of the best.” With that he walked out and Flash walked in, quickly shutting and locking the door behind him. He was wearing a long coat with wing holes and a cap that was pulled low over his head. She gave him a stern look. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you come here? Do you have any idea what would happen if someone here recognized who you are?” He just sat down and took off his cap. “I’m sorry Sunset but I couldn’t wait. I’ve got some news about our situation.” “Well?” she said. “Don’t keep me waiting.” He pulled out a file rolled op from his coat and put it on the table. “I got some information on what we’re dealing with here. It’s not much but it’s a place to start. From what I could gather it’s definitely someone either in your crew or very close to it. Also they have most likely been using some kind of recording device. Something on their body that can magically transmit video and audio to the CSUI database. It’s something new that they just started with and I’m sure that they’ll be using everything that they can against you.” She nodded slowly while rubbing her hooves together. “So, what can we do about this?” He sat up straight. “I’ve been thinking about that. I heard from a friend in the labs that since the tech got invented about a year ago they have been trying to work on some anti-bugging technology to make sure that it couldn’t be used against the princesses. They have a fully working version, but only one. I think that maybe I can get a hoof on one of the prototypes though. I can’t say that it will work with a hundred percent accuracy but it’s better than nothing.” She lit a cigarette. “That’s great thinking, kid. It’s a good start if nothing else. Also we need to find out the name of the agent in charge of this thing. Any ideas on how to do that?” Flash thought for a moment. “Maybe we should just do to them what they’re doing to us. I mean, if we hire some outsiders or something to follow your crew around eventually one of them is going to meet with this guy. I think that would solve the whole problem.” Sunset thought it over. It was simple and yet genius. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t thought of it herself. She would need to play this one as close to the chest as possible though. “I’ll have to think about it.” She said. “It’s asking a lot. For now just try and get your hooves on that tech and get back to me when you do. Just be careful though. For all we know they might be expecting something like this. If you get caught we’ll all go down. For now though you need to get out of here. I gotta see Sheen before we get this thing underway.” He nodded and stood up. “Don’t worry. I won’t get caught. I’ll let you know as soon as I have it.” He said before tipping his hat to her and leaving. She waited a minute before leaving herself. When the ponies that were still in line to the viewing room saw her they all cleared out. She slowly walked into the back, finally bringing herself to look down at his cold and lifeless form sitting in the coffin. She knelt down and kissed him on the forehead. She had been alive for almost forty-five years and she had been to many, many funerals before. She had seen her father, her beloved sister and two of her former lovers come through this very parlor and sit in a box in this very room. It was something that she had never gotten used to and she knew deep in her heart that she would surely be here at least once more before her life was over. Someday, she thought, she would probably be here herself with Vinyl or maybe Berry standing here and looking down on her. It never got any easier. She looked down at her best friend in the whole world’s cold and lifeless body and the tears came again. “I guess we knew that it would end up like this, huh Sheeny?” She said, chuckling through her tears, bitterly. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you. We already got most of ‘em and the last one will be dealt with before the day is over. I owe you so much more than that, though. And I’ll never forget it.” She finished with another stream of tears. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the letter she took from his home. “Don’t worry about this.” She said, taking it out and tucking in his coat pocket. “I can’t believe that you never told me about this. I’m sure you had your reasons, but it would have been nice of you to at least let me know about it.” She had a small smile on her face. She sighed. “I think she would have accepted you, ya know. She would have felt like she had gained back one of the parents that she lost. Maybe it would have made her think a little bit differently of T though, I guess, but I still think she would have been happy.” She gave a long look at his face. “I’ll make sure I keep the secret until I’m meeting you on the plains though. Maybe then we can have a laugh about it.” She chuckled again but began breaking down in tears. “Oh, fuck.” She said, wiping her face. “I’m not sure that I can do this, Sheeny. I don’t think I can say goodbye. Not like this, not in front of all those faces out there.” She fully broke down, trying her best to keep the sound down. She knew deep in her heart though that Sheen would want her to do this. She knew that he would tell her to face her fear and show them all just why she was the boss. She would tell her that she needed to know when to let go, no matter how hard it was. And he would be absolutely right. She gave one last sniffle and composed herself. She walked back out into the hallway and stood up on the podium. She tapped the microphone to check if it was on. And on hearing the feedback all of the ponies turned to her and began to take their seats. Octavia, Vinyl, Fleur, Lyra, Rose and Berry sat in the front row and were surrounded by Sandy and the other heads of the Canterlot families. She cleared her throat before starting. “This day is one that I had feared would never come. Although, we all know that it comes for us eventually. I had hoped that it wouldn’t come this soon but only Faust herself has control over time.” She sighed. “I don’t even know where to start so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Sheen always hated long speeches.” A small laugh rumbled through the crowd. At this point there were probably well over 500 ponies in attendance. Most of which she recognized, some who she was sure she had never seen before. She took a deep breath and continued. “Sheen was the best friend that I ever had. My sister found him living on the street when we were kids and from that point on we were all inseparable. For those of you who knew my father, you will probably remember Sheen when he was still a scrappy young colt who would do anything to get ahead. His loyalty to my family was unquestionable and his devotion unending.” She paused for a second. “When my sister died, and we all gathered here, he was hit harder than anyone else. Because he was family. The things he did for us after that were above and beyond anything that anyone would have expected. From that day forward he was more than my brother. He was my confidant, my second in command, the only one I trusted for advice on how to handle the things that I knew were out of my grasp. He was truly the best of us. And I don’t think that there will ever be another like him.” Another pause. She could see the tears on Vinyl. They were coming down like a river. She started up again. “My family has kept the old unicornian language alive since the old days before the unification of the tribes. I know many of you speak it as well. Sheen knew it too. When he was younger, my sister and I taught it to him so we could have our own little secret language that the other younger kids didn’t know.” She sniffled again. “There is something we say in our culture when we lay one of our own to rest. I said it at my father’s funeral. I said it at my sister’s funeral and I’m going to say it now. For those who don’t understand, just know that it is a sign of respect and our hope that he is a better place.” She thought back on her father’s funeral and her sister’s when she had uttered these very words and hoped that she would never have to repeat it. She took a deep breath and recited in the strongest voice that she could “Ora il nostro fratello va nel suo eterno riposo. Speriamo che le sorelle sempre veglierà su di lui. Ora sta camminando sulla pianura infinita. Ai perduti” When she was finished she could hear the some of them in the crowd repeating “Ai perduti” with their arm crossed over their chests. With that she gave a quick bow and walked off of the stage. The tears were starting to come back and she didn’t want any of them to see her crying. After she had made her way back to her seat she could see Vinyl approaching the stage. She couldn’t focus much during Vinyl’s speech. She just kept thinking about how proud she was of her dear little nephew and how sad it was that she was reading a eulogy for the father she never knew that she had. She would now have to double down on her efforts of getting Vinyl ready for more responsibility. She would have to make sure that nothing like this ever happened to her. She had to make sure that Vinyl would always be protected. And that meant letting her in on the situation that they were in. When the rest of the speeches were over she was smoking and waiting for Vinyl in the back office. When she finally showed up and closed the door behind her Sunset could see that she was a wreck. She had been crying all day and the fur around her eyes was beginning to get tear stains. They shared a quick hug and Vinyl sat down across the desk, taking a cigarette from Sunset’s pack and lighting it. “What a fuckin’ day.” She said as she took a long drag. “One of the worst.” Sunset replied with a sad look on her face. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I think I’ve got some good news for you.” “Yeah?” Vinyl asked. “I’ve actually got some for you too.” Sunset was surprised. “Well then dear, you go ahead first.” She said with a small smile. “Well.” Vinyl started. “I didn’t want to tell you this way but I figured that we could all use some happiness after the last few days. Rose asked me to marry her, and…. Well…. I said yes.” Sunset’s face beaned. “That is absolutely wonderful news, dear!” she exclaimed with fresh tears coming to her eyes. She stood up and walked around the table to wrap Vinyl in a deep hug. “I can’t believe this. I’m so happy for you!” After the embrace ended Sunset sat down again and Vinyl asked her about what her good news was. “Well.” Sunset started. “Not quite as happy as yours but still good nonetheless.” She reached into her pocket and took out a paper, handing it to Vinyl. “Our friend Neon paid me a visit earlier and gave me this. It’s the address to where the other shooter is. It’s somewhere outside of town. He wants to use it to finish paying the debt that he owes me from the club. I want you to go out there tonight and finish the job. Take everyone with you, just in case.” Vinyl looked the letter over. “Can we trust him?” She asked. Sunset shrugged. “Probably, maybe not though. He does know what will happen to him if he doesn’t come through though so I think it should be on the level. Keep your guard up though just in case.” Sunset sighed. “There was some other news that I wanted to share with you that wasn’t as good. It’s a pressing issue that needs to stay between you and me. Do you understand?” Vinyl sat up, paying full attention. “Of course, What’s the problem?” Sunset leaned in close to her. “The ship is leaking, and it’s someone close.” Vinyl shook her head in disgust. “Son of a fucking bitch. When will it end? What can we do now?” Sunset looked at her sternly. “I want you get in touch with that outsider, Trixie and her associates and start following everyone, Tavi included. Keep Rosie close and watch her too. I’m not trying to insinuate anything here but we need to make sure that everyone is cleared. I want you to ask her to put someone on the CSIU building and follow every single agent that comes out for as long as we need. Eventually whoever it is will try and get in touch with their handler. When that happens we make a move.” Vinyl nodded with every point that Sunset said. “I’ll take care of it Auntie. I’m going to earn that badge that you gave me. You can be sure of that.” Sunset put her hoof over Vinyl’s. “I know you will. For now though just get out there and finish the job on whoever did this. I want him to suffer, nothing easy. He needs to pay for every bullet that went into Sheen. I know you can see to that.” Vinyl just nodded, folding the paper up and putting it in her coat before standing up to leave. “I’ll make sure he feels every ounce of pain we did. Down to his last breath.” With that she left. The funeral parlor started to clear out and she pulled Rose, Tavi, Lyra, Berry and Fleur aside. She told Rose she had some urgent business to take care of and asked Fleur to take her home. Once they were gone she informed the rest of what they had to do. They were all eager and planned to meet up at the club after dark to head out. By the time the sun was down, all of them had shown up at the club. Each had a weapon of some sort and were ready to move. The got in Tavi’s car and drove up into the mountains on the outside of town. The trip took a while and they chatted a little bit on the way. Mostly about Sheen, sharing their memories of him and building themselves up for what they needed to do. It had been a long day and they were all exhausted. At this point even Vinyl just wanted to grease this bastard and get it over with. But she still had a promise to keep, and she would do her best to make it happen. They saw the house at the end of a dirt road, miles away from any others. It was more of a shack than anything, really. It was old and barely held together and only consisted of one room. There was a car parked in the small, dirt driveway and two armed guards standing outside. They parked the car and grabbed all of the guns from the trunk and walked slowly up to the house. One of the door guards spotted them and pulled his gun. The other one walked over to him though and tapped him on the shoulder, whispering something in his ear. The guards approached them. “You the ones Sunset sent?” One of them asked. Vinyl only nodded. The other one spoke up. “Alright. We’re gonna go for a walk down the road. You do what you gotta do and then we’ll clear the car out of here. We don’t wanna spook him. He’s got a gun with him in there but I think he’s been here long enough that he’s comfortable. If you need our help just shout.” “Sounds good.” Octavia said as they walked past the guards to the front door. “So,” Lyra asked. “How are we going to play this?” Vinyl thought for a second. “Berry and I are going to go in. You two stand on either side of the front door and be ready for anything.” She looked over to Berry. “You ready?” She asked. Berry lifted her pistol in her magical grip. “As ready as ever. Let’s teach this prick a lesson.” Vinyl nodded and with a swift motion pulled open the door. On the other side of it they found an almost spitting image (if slightly taller) of the pony they put in the barrel sitting on the bed and staring at them, shocked with a full needle in his magic and just being plunged into his foreleg. “Goddamn traitor.” He shouted. He threw the needle at them and flipped over, reaching for the pistol that they saw on the table. Berry wasted no time and jumped on him, tackling him to the floor on his belly. His horn lit up but before he could use it she picked his head up and smacked it into the ground as hard as she could. The light around his horn went out and Vinyl came over. She kicked him twice in the ribs and then spit on him. She looked over at the door. “Get in here girls. Let’s tie this bastard to the bed.” Tavi and Lyra came in and between the four of them they tore the bed sheets and had him tied up in under a minute. After another minute had passed he opened his eyes and scanned around the room. “What in Celestia’s name is happening here?” He asked. “Who in tartarus are you ponies?” Vinyl cracked a smile. “The time for questions has passed. We already talked enough to your brother. You don’t have to worry about anything anymore. You’re mine now, that’s all that matters.” Vinyl looked back to the others. “Why don’t you gals wait outside for a bit and let me do my thing. It shouldn’t be too long.” They turned to walk out before Vinyl called to them. “Oh and Tavi, I’ve got a bag in the trunk with my tools. Can you bring those to me, please?” Tavi smiled. “Sure thing. I’ll be right back.” She shortly returned with an apron wrapped around various knives, a potato peeler, a rock hammer and a screwdriver. The other girls went outside and smoked a couple of cigarettes while having a chat with Neon’s guards. Even though Vinyl had put a gag in his mouth, over time the screams that escaped White Lightning were coming through louder and louder. After about twenty minutes, Vinyl opened the door. She was looking manic and her apron was covered in blood. “Let’s wrap this up. There’s a gas canister in the trunk. Bring it to me.” Lyra walked down the street towards the car to grab the gas and Tavi turned to Neon’s guards. “That will be all, then. You boys can clear out.” She said. They both nodded and turned to leave. As the car had left the driveway, Lyra had come back with the gas. They all walked inside and looked the destroyed body of White Lightning on the bed. He was cut all over, his legs were broken in more than one spot and one of his eyes had been gouged out. He was still alive though and staring at them. He coughed up some blood. “Is this it, then?” He asked. “Because I’m more than ready to be done with this.” “Don’t worry.” Berry said. “It’s almost over.” She took the can and started pouring the gas around the room. Dousing the drapes and the carpet. “What are you doing? Can’t you just fucking kill me? Please.” He said, frantically. “Put some on his legs too. I don’t want the smoke to get him before the fire.” Vinyl said while staring White in the eyes. Berry didn’t break her focus as she lifted the can up and doused his back legs. He shouted from the sting and shook his head around. “Please. I’m begging you. Just shoot me or something. Hasn’t all of this been enough already?” He said, his voice getting more desperate with every word No one answered him. Once the gas can was empty. Vinyl unceremoniously lit a match and tossed it on the carpet. As they walked out the whole room was coming up and the fire had just started catching on White’s legs. He let out a high pitched howl as they closed the door and walked out to the car, with only Lyra looking behind at the burning shack. Around two hours later they were back at the club. Vinyl had taken a shower and they were already seven rounds deep into a bottle of whiskey. Vinyl raised a glass. “To Sheen!” She said, sloppily before pounding the shot and slamming the glass on the table. “What a day, huh?” Berry said, her own voice starting to slur. “Well at least that bastard got what was coming to him.” Lyra remarked while pouring another round of shots. Vinyl then spouted up. “Ya know.” She said, her head bobbing around. “What happened to Sheen. It’s just so fucked up. I have this feeling that it’s going to happen to me too. One day, I’m gonna be the one in that box and you’re all gonna be sayin ‘Ai perduti’ to me. And my sweet little Rosie will be there with tears in her eyes, wonderin’ where it all went wrong.” Berry put her hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder. “Don’t think about it that way kid. You’re gonna outlast us all if Sunset has anything to say about it. If getting a bullet to the chest and a car crash didn’t kill you then I’m not sure what could.” Vinyl took another shot. “Whatever you say, B. I just know that it’s in…in…inevitable. At least there’s some good news though. Rose and I are getting married!” Lyra and Berry both gasped. “That’s great news!” Lyra said, putting her hoof over Vinyl’s other shoulder. She downed another shot. “None of it’s gonna matter though.” She said, sniffling, a few tears coming out of her eyes. “Because I’m gonna be in that fuckin’ box before too long. Or a jail cell. That would be the worst. Rose is gonna see just who I really am. It will break her heart.” Tavi looked confused. “What are you talking about, dear? Why would you be in a jail cell? I don’t understand.” Vinyl shot her head up. “Shit.” She spat. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but fuck it. I’m sure I can trust you. If you can’t trust your best friends, who can you trust? Sunset told… told me today that we’ve got a rat in the crew working for CSIU, and it’s someone close to us. If we don’t find out who they are soon then we’re all fucked.” Gasps again, all around. Lyra’s mind froze. She could hear the others asking questions. How did Sunset know? How long had it been? What did they need to do about it? She couldn’t talk though. Her mind just started thinking about all of the torture that she had seen Sunset put others through and pictured her in that position. Deep down inside her, at her core, she started to panic. Things were about to cross the threshold that there was no coming back from, and if she didn’t play her cards just right, she would end up dead.