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// Chapter Six: The Ballad of Sweet Peach 
// Story: Hitmares 
// by Shane1108 
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Three days after getting out of the hospital Vinyl and Octavia sat in their apartment wrapped in blankets and enjoying some nice warm cocoa (with Vinyl’s having a little something extra in it) talking about everything that had been going on. They hadn’t really had much time to spend with just each other. Between being stuck in the hospital and doing interviews with the guards about what had happened, they didn’t have much time for anything. Today though they had planned on spending the day relaxing at home, the club was going to be opening up soon and they wanted to relax as much as they could before going back to work.

Their level of mobility was still very limited, especially Octavia’s. She had trouble walking and started to feel like she was becoming dependent on the pills she got from the hospital. That was an entirely different can of worms though that would have to wait for another day. For now she just needed to worry about getting her shoulder fixed and dealing with Sweet Peach. They had ponies watching her apartment for quite some time and she was still there as far as they knew, but was holed up with enough hired muscle that any attempt at a straight on attack would be another massacre that they couldn’t afford. 

She knew Sweet Peach had always been a bit too greedy for her own good, at least that was the impression that she got from her every time that they interacted, but she didn’t think she could possibly have been that stupid. No one robbed Sunset Shimmer, no one that knew who she was anyways. It was just a given. Almost an unwritten law that everyone knew. Either she was just getting too big for her proverbial britches or she didn’t know what was going on. Octavia figured that it was most likely the latter, but she couldn’t know for sure until she had Sweet Peach by the collar and could ask her herself before she put her down.

The only other thing weighing on her mind was how they were going to recover the club. There were rumors about it being connected to Il Cavallo Sconoscutio and now things were just multiplied. Plus even if people didn’t know about the mob connection, who would want to go to a place where 22 ponies (at least that was what the total was up to now) were massacred just a month prior? The whole thing was bad for business. 

Vinyl on the other hoof had less serious matters on her mind. She was just sick of not being able to walk anywhere and really sick of not being able to smoke. Every time she took a deep breath she felt like she was getting punched in the chest. She tried a cigarette once last week but she ended up coughing so hard that she almost popped her stitches out. To add to that, she was incredibly bored. She tried to compose a bit for a new song but she could barely use her magic without it turning into a headache after a few minutes. Mostly she just spent the days sighing and watching TV with Tavi and occasionally Rose when she had free time.

That was one thing that Vinyl was actually happy about. Things with Rose had only gotten better since she had been out of the hospital. She had stopped by almost every day and whenever she was there time seemed to actually not move at a snail’s pace. Fleur had been by a lot too and she and Rose had actually become good friends as well.

Tavi on the other hand didn’t quite see it that way. She was mostly just annoyed by Rose and wished that she wasn’t around as much. Fleur was even friendly with her now too, which was even more annoying. She blamed it on the pills though, they seemed to make everything around her annoying. She couldn’t help but feel a little jealous as well. After the crash and thinking that Vinyl was going to die, she realized how much she actually loved her best friend. If it wasn’t for her hurt shoulder she would have been the one waiting on Vinyl in her room instead of Rose and she would be in Rose’s place. She had convinced herself that it was nothing but a temporary setback though. Vinyl would grow tired of her eventually and then she would get her chance. She wouldn’t let it go this time though. All she had to do now was bide her time and the rest would follow.

And so things went like this for another week until she was able to walk around on her shoulder and Vinyl was able to limp around with crutches. It was time to get to work. There was a lot to be done and not much time to do it in. They had to find a way to get the club back in working order, find a time to get Sweet Peach away from her apartment and also find a way to get back their stolen goods from her. Without that money they would have to borrow from Sunset to get things back in order. She knew, of course, that Sunset would give them the bits without even a second thought but she didn’t want to have to ask that favor. 

It was another bitter cold morning in early January when she decided that it was time to get things working again. She started her day with a list of names of all of those who owed her bits or favors and got to work on the phone. One way or another she would get back to where their temporary success was before it was cut short. Nothing would stand in her way, there would be bodies rotting all over the capital if there had to, one way or another they would have what was theirs.

Across town on the 21st floor, Sweet Peach was on the verge of making a decision. Between her first call with Neon she had found out that not only had Sunset managed to work out that it was her who was behind the robbery, but that she was almost certain that it was Neon himself who tipped them off to her. This presented her with a tough scenario.

Sunset had ponies all around the city that were no doubt looking for her. If she attempted to leave her house she would most likely be shot on sight or kidnapped and tortured for hours on end until they eventually disposed of her. She had used a large chunk of that money to take some of her ponies off of the streets and have them guarding her inside and outside of her home around the clock, but eventually the bits would run out and there would be no barrier between her and Sunset’s well known ability for bloody retribution. 

There was pretty much no way to actually leave the city, not that she could think of anyways, so what choice did she have. As far as she saw it she had four options. Option one was to keep the guards around until her bits ran dry and hope that she could figure out something then. Not a great option by any means but still viable and would give her time to think, but that time wouldn’t last forever. A month or so at the most.

Then there was option two. Call up anyone who she knew for favors and start an all-out war with Sunset and hope to come out alive. Also not a great option. Even with everyone she knew at her disposal and that she could hire she would be outnumbered by Sunsets crew and her associates by at least three to one on a good day. If it came to it and she knew she was going to die one way or another she would go this way and at least try and take some of them with her.

Option three was the one that she personally detested the most but was probably the safest. She could get in contact with the royal guard and agree to become a witness in exchange for her protection. This would not only put her on everyone’s kill list for the rest of her life but it would be abandoning something her father taught her from a young age. Never go to the guard, if you can’t handle your problems yourself then you are worthless. Also who knew what political power Sunset held inside the guard? For all she know she could be mysteriously found dead via “suicide” in her cell before she could give any information to anyone.

Then there was option four. This was one that killed her pride but it seemed somehow the most sensible one, if only because it was absurd. She could call Sunset. Explain what happened. Offer to pay her back what she took (an amount she probably had but would most likely bankrupt her) and even give up Neon in exchange for her life. Sunset was a reasonable mare and an excellent businesspony. She would jump at the chance to have a legitimate reason to get rid of Neon. He was her only major competition that had contacts in Sconoscutio and she was most likely itching for a reason to have him taken out.

With all of this on her mind she sat staring at her phone and looking at Sunsets number on the notepad on the table next to her constantly filled ashtray. She knew that it would be her only real shot to get out of this situation alive, she had to take it. She slowly picked up the phone and started dialing. 

When she heard the familiar voice of Sunset Shimmer on the other end of the phone she was scared stiff for a moment and was about to hang up and figure out a different way to do this, her courage came back to her though after a few seconds.

“Sunset Shimmer?” She asked warily, already knowing full well that was who she was speaking to.

“Yes.” Sunset answered with a slight hesitance. “Who is this?”

She took a deep breath, it was time for the moment of truth. “It’s Sweet Peach. We need to talk.”

There was no response for a few seconds and Sweet Peach started to panic again. Finally though, the silence was broken.
“Talk about what dear? Talk about what you did? We both know it, there isn’t really much to talk about anymore. Why should I talk to you at all?” Sunsets voice was as cold as ice coming through the phone and dripping with venom. A chill went down Sweet Peach’s spine.

She couldn’t lose her nerve now; she might not get another chance. “You have to believe me, I didn’t know it was your place or this never would have happened. I was hired to do a big money job and wasn’t given details, just an address. I can give you information that you will want on who did it, plus I can pay you back most of what I took from you. The rest I will give you later with interest. All I ask is that you let me get out of the city.” Her voice had started to break towards the end.

Another dead silence. The panic was rising in her every second until finally Sunset spoke again.

“Why should I believe you?” She asked coldly.

“I have proof. I swear it on my mother’s grave.” She spat out quickly. “Listen, just meet me at my apartment. Bring as many guard ponies as you like, just give me a chance to set this straight. I know you are a businesspony and you will want to hear what I have to say. If you still don’t believe it after that then you can just kill me.”

This time Sunset didn’t wait for a reply. “Okay. I’ll be there in forty-five minutes. If anything should happen to me there then I promise you will die slowly and screaming. Are we clear?”

Sweet Peach nodded. “Crystal. I’ll be waiting for you. I’m at 1204 East New Vision Street. Apartment 2104”

“Don’t worry” Sunset said with the same venomous tone she had before. “I know exactly where you are.”

With that she hung up the phone and lit another cigarette. This would either be the best or the worst decision that she had ever made, and could very well end up with her dead. There was nothing else that could be done though. Nothing else but to call all the guards in and wait.
Exactly forty-five minutes on the dot later she saw two black cars pull up in front of her building and thirteen ponies get out. Sunset was one of them and she among her crew she spotted the famed Fleur D’ Lis and some mint green unicorn who looked familiar too. She lit another cigarette in her non-stop chain and put a pistol beneath the cushion that she was on. 

About a minute later the knock on the door came and she took a deep breath and motion for one of the guards to open it. In walked Sunset wearing a black business suit and aviator shades. Fleur and the mint green one where immediately behind her along with seven other henchponies that filled the room, each locking eyes with one of her own guards.

She waved Sunset over to the couch. “Sunset.” She said with a small courtesy of her head. “Fleur.” She said as she glanced at the lanky unicorn. “It’s been awhile.”

“Not long enough I’m afraid.” Fleur said as she sat on the chair facing the couch with the mint green one sitting beside her. They both had a look of hatred in her eyes and she could imagine why. For all she knew they could both have been there that night and had barely escaped with their lives.

Sunset then spoke up. “Listen Sweet Peach, I don’t have a lot of time so I’m going to give you exactly five minutes to say what you have to say. If at the end of those five minutes I’m not convinced in what you have to say then I’m going to have my associate Lyra here (she motioned to the mint green one) break this big window and toss you out of it into the street. Are we clear?”

Sweet Peach audibly gulped. Now was the time for her to set things right, it was now or never. She cleared her throat.

“If that’s the case I’m going to get straight to the point. Like I told you over the phone I had no idea who we were going to be hitting. All I got was an address and what was potentially inside and that it had to be done that night. I got a group together as fast as I could when I saw the potential take and sent them over there. They were instructed to not injure anyone unless they absolutely had to but from reading the papers I can see how that was obviously not what happened."

She continued. "If I would have known you were in any way related to this I would have never gone through with this, not only do I have no ill will towards you but I’m not a madmare with a death wish either. I actually have a lot of respect for you and your organization.”

Sunset stopped her there. “Cut the shit Sweet Peach and tell me what I want to know. Who gave the call and where is my fucking money?”

Sweet Peach almost lost her nerve at the stare that Sunset was giving her. There was no doubt that if she didn’t say the right thing now she wouldn’t even live long enough to regret it. She cleared her throat again and scanned the room.

“It was Neon Lights that gave the call. He told me if I gave him the package and the money he would split the profits with me evenly. As for where your money is, I told you before that I don’t have all of it, only most of it and it will literally be bankrupting me to give it to you, but I will do it. All I ask is that you leave me with enough to leave the city and as I said before I will give you the rest with interest as soon as I can.”
Sunset just stared at her for a minute and she could swear that this was the end. Any minute now she would be taking a twenty-one story plunge to the icy street below. She almost started to reach for the pistol when Sunset finally spoke up.

“Here’s what I’m going to do for you Sweet Peach.” She started slowly. “You get Neon Lights to admit to this somewhere where I can confirm it either through a recording or near one of my associates. After that you will give me all of your money and anything valuable in your possession, including the deed to this apartment. Then I will let you out of the city. You will have exactly three months to come up with the rest of my money or I will send someone after you. This time though there won’t be any talking and you will die slowly. Do you accept my terms?”

She froze. Getting Neon out in the open would be tricky, especially since he had most likely found out that Sunset knew about her. She had no other option though, it was either this or die. She wasn’t ready to die, not quite yet. She just nodded her head.

“That’s good to see. You have one day to get me that information. I will not wait any longer and I will have my people watching you at all times. Good luck.” With that Sunset stood up and they all filed out of the room. 

Sweet Peach felt like a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and she took a deep breath in. She had to figure out a way to get this information. She figured the best way would be with a phone tap, but that would take some time to get a hold of. She sent a guard with instructions to a back alley merchant who could provide the service and started preparing what she would say.

Downstairs Lyra, Fleur and Sunset had just sat in the back of the long car that they came in and started driving away. “Do you believe her?” Lyra asked. “I mean, it just seems to easy doesn’t it?” She said looking at Sunset.

Sunset nodded. “I believe her. She has no reason to lie at this point and Neon had all the reason in the world to try and take me out of business. He failed though and now he is going to pay for it with his life. I can take whatever I get from Sweet Peach to the council and sanction a hit on him. With luck I’ll absorb his crew and we will double in size.”

Fleur scowled. “She did almost get Vinyl killed though. Can you just let her go after all that?”

Sunset didn’t say anything for a second; she grabbed a drink from the cars bar with her magic and took a sip. “For Sweet Peach it was just business. That I can forgive. For Neon though it was beyond personal and he will suffer for it.”

There was nothing else to be said between them as they continued towards the heart of the city back to the club to continue with reservations. Sunset dropped off Fleur and Lyra there and then headed back to her office to wait for the call. 

As the day stretched on Tavi had exhausted all of the names on her list and was still having trouble getting any help. It’s funny, she thought, how ponies were your friend when they needed something but were quick to turn their backs as soon as it was time to return the favor. She wasn’t completely shut out though as she had managed to get around a thousand in back owed bits from various ponies and even the offer to help with extra protection at the club for free from some of her former associates. She considered it breaking even and was going to retire from the phone and relax when she got a call from Sunset.

Sunset explained everything that happened and the gravity of the situation began to hit Octavia. If what Sweet Peach had told Sunset was true, then they were going to be going to the mattresses for sure. There was a full-on war coming between groups and she was about to get thrust right into the middle of it. Of course she couldn’t tell Sunset no. She just agreed to be on call and to start gathering the rest of the troops in preparation. 

She then went out to the living room to see Vinyl snuggled up on the couch with Rose. “Vinyl dear,” She started, trying to get her friends attention. “I need to speak to you in private please.” 

Vinyl sighed and slowly got up, hobbling with Octavia into the kitchen slowly, almost to exaggerate her wounds and how sore they were. When they got back she closed the door behind them and Octavia filled her in on what she had heard from Sunset.

“That fucking cocksucker!” Vinyl exclaimed, slamming her hoof down on the countertop. “I knew we should have killed that worthless bastard years ago. He is barely in with the families, he’s not even fully made for Celestia’s sake. Now he has the balls to pull this kind of move on us? He’s out of his fucking mind and I’m going to blow his mind right out of his greasy-maned skull!”

Vinyl was fuming with rage and started to cough from the drastic movement she was making. Octavia put a hoof over her shoulder. “Let’s not get too carried away here Vinnie. If it comes to war we’ll go, but we’ve never actually done anything like this before. If Sunset really wants to go to the mattresses over this then we need to get ready soon. Call anyone who you know, especially ponies who need protection if things get messy and get them ready to come to Sunsets compound. I’ll start making calls around the city to find apartments for us and mattresses for everyone. This could very well be the real deal and we have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

Vinyl was fuming but at least had calmed down enough to know what needed to be done, all while envisioning what she was going to do to Neon when they caught him. She had a lot of work to do, and somewhere in the back of her mind she was hoping Sunset gave the call. She was ready for blood, and she wasn’t going to stop until they were all dead.

As the day began to fade away and Luna rose the moon. Sweet Peach was getting ready to call Neon. She had everything set up and had let all but three of her guards go home. She had worked out exactly what to say and was ready to give it her best. She picked up the phone, staring out the large glass window in her living room down into the street below. Neon picked up on the other end.

“Neon.” She started and without waiting for a response, continued. “We need to talk. I need some extra cash from that job.” 

He scoffed through the phone and she could almost picture the smug look on his face. “Why would I do that Sweety? You already got your cut last month.” 

She stood up and started to pace about the room while holding the phone. “The situation has changed. I need to get out of the city and I’m almost certain that Sunset is on to me. These guards aren’t cheap and I need some extra cash. You owe me for not filling me in on what this Celestia-forsaken job was going to be in the first place.”

She heard him chuckle on the other end of the phone and her blood started to boil. “Sorry Sweety but I owe you exactly dick. You got your pay just like I did, no more and no less. Also you seem to have forgotten what I told you when this all first went down.”

She stopped still in her tracks. “What are you talking about?” She asked.

“I told you to never mention my name.” He said, with a deadly serious tone. “Don’t you remember what I said would happen if you mentioned my name?”

She started to shake. “What are you talking about? I never said shit! Don’t try and change the subject!”

He laughed again. “Sweety, Sweety, Sweety. Did you forget who found those guards for you in the first place? The only reason you are even still breathing is because I wanted to hear this happen to you.”

As each word came out she started to panic. Before she knew it all of her remaining guards were staring at her, looking ready to pounce. She went into action as fast as she could, hurling the phone at the closest one to her. He took a hit to the head and dropped but the other two lunged toward her immediately. One of them, a brown earth pony pulled a knife from his vest and came at her. 

She managed to duck under his dive but his knife cut her all the way up the back. She wasn’t going to go down that easily though. Her father taught her how to fight and she was going to fight until the end. She picked up the temporarily stunned earth pony in her hooves by the mane and slammed his head down on her hard granite coffee table, smashing his jaw and breaking his neck immediately. 

She didn’t have time to pause though as the unicorn who she had hit with the phone earlier was now up and the other dark blue earth pony was charging her at full speed. They connected and she went to the floor. They started wrestling and she could see the unicorn pulling out a pistol from his coat. She reacted as quickly as she could and flipped the earth pony on top of here as the unicorn started shooting. He took five bullets to the side. One came through though and hit her side as well.

She screamed in pain and then remembered that her own pistol was still tucked under the pillow. She reached for it but before she could get to it, the now empty pistol that the unicorn had came flying at her and hit her in the head, it bounced off of her and shattered her large living room window. She was dazed and started to lose consciousness, but she wasn’t going to give up yet. 

She finally reached the gun and pulled it up just in time to fire one shot, hitting the charging unicorn on tip of his horn. He came crashing down into her, knocking the gun out of her hand. She was fading out now but she tried her best to keep fighting. She knew that she could succeed. She just had to push. She was Sweet Peach and she would be damned if it was going to end like this. 

The Unicorn got on top of her and started punching her in the face. She blocked him as best as she could but she was losing strength. She had one last option. She reared up her back legs and bucked him off of her. As he was trying to get his breath back she turned and reached for the gun. The unicorn though, in a quick act of desperation grabbed a shard of glass from the broken window and plunged it into her back with all of his strength.

She couldn’t move. Her insides were on fire and she couldn’t breathe. She tried to buck him off again but he stabbed down even harder. She was fading fast and had no other option. If she was going, he was going with her. She took a second to think about how it had all come to this and how she wished she could have lived a different life, as most ponies do just before the end. 

Then without any hesitation she used the last of her strength and rolled over onto her back. She wrapped her front hooves around his chest and used her back hooves to push off from of the coffee table with enough force to send them both rolling out of the window and down to the cold ground below. In the last seconds she had in Equestria on her way down she felt content. She went out on her own terms. That was what they would say about her in the end. She could be happy with that.

Then with a loud thud the collided in a mess of broken bones and blood with the ground below, putting an end to the short and unfinished life of Sweet Peach and the chance that Sunset had for getting any evidence to use against Neon.

Sunset was in her office when she got the call just minutes later. Her boys heard gunshots and then saw the bodies coming out of the window. She didn’t say anything, just slammed the phone down on the receiver enough to crack the plastic. 

Flash was sitting on her office couch when she did and immediately stood up. “What happened?” he asked, clearly concerned.
She shook her head. “They got to her. I don’t know how, but they got to her first.” She said in a low voice. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It doesn’t matter though. These things will work themselves out. They always do. It seems like all my problems end up going well for me in the end. Just look at how the whole situation turned out with Lyra.”

She stood up, walking towards him “We took care of her wife and somehow she ends up not only working for me but is one of my best new earners. I don’t care what it takes, we are going to nail that bastard down and put him in the ground. Call in any of our friends and try and get a tap on where he lives and where his main place of business is. Sometime he is going to slip up and I need to be ready when he does.”

Flash nodded and stood up. He had work to do just like that all did. As he exited the room he almost ran into a surprised looking Lyra just a few feet outside the door holding coffee in her magical grip. He reached out one of his wings and took a cup from her. “Thanks kid.” He said without giving her a second glance. She wouldn’t have noticed either way, she didn’t even see who he was. She was too busy trying to process the information she just heard through the door about Bonnie. She was just coming in to bring the coffee but stopped when she heard Sunset slam the phone. It was starting to look like a long night ahead for everyone.