“You can’t do this. This is majorly fucked!”

“I know. I’m out of options.”

“Twilight, just think it through for a second.”

“I’ve been thinking it through all night. This is the only thing I can do.”

I had to protect Dash. I had to protect Spike. I had to protect my image. Those are the things I kept telling myself in hopes to justify my next job. Job, I called it. It was just business. An unpleasant, strategic move to protect myself and my allies. I brought Dash into this, and her sister. I was honor-bound to protect them. If I got caught, Dash would get caught. If Dash got caught, so would the girl, and she’d be charged as an adult. If that happened, I was certain that she would incriminate herself far more than she needed to in an attempt to protect Dash. Spike would go down with me, just like the girl would for Dash. I couldn’t let them throw away their lives for me.

I wasn’t doing it for myself. I was doing it to protect my friends.

“We can run,” suggested Spike.

“He’d find us,” I said, my voice shaky.

“He hasn’t found us so far.”

“He didn’t know it was us. Now he does.” I slipped my revolver into my concealed side holster, then covered it with my suit jacket. “He will find us.”

“Then… I don’t know, Twi, but this is insane!” Spike slammed his hands on the wheel. “We can’t really do this, can we?”

“No, we can’t. That’s why I’m going to do it,” I said. “Just stay in the van and be sure to leave when you hear the cops.”

Spike wasn’t quite clear on the plan, mostly because I was sort of making it up as I went along, so he nearly had a conniption upon hearing the word “cops”.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” He turned to face me. “Cops?! You’re gonna kill him and then call the cops on yourself?!”

“Think about it. After the deed is done, I can ditch the gun in his collection,” I explained. Shiny had a large collection of firearms, a whole section dedicated to revolvers. “Then, I’ll call the cops, tell them that I found my brother… Like that, and immediately throw any suspicion off of myself. As far as anyone knows, we were on good terms. I have no motive. But Shining has enemies. He must, after all the guys he’s put away. They’d never suspect me.”

“Fuck, Twilight. I can’t believe…”

“I know.” I slid open the van’s door. “I’ll call you when everything is done.” As I stepped out, I felt Spike’s hand grab my shoulder.

“Twilight… Are you sure that this has to happen?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t be here if I thought there was another option,” I said.

“Then let me do it. You shouldn’t have to…” I peeled his hand off and stepped out of the van, a small, sad smile on my face.

“This is my mess. I’ll be the one to clean it,” I said. “I’ll call you when the job is done. Go home.”

I closed the door, then walked up the street to Shining’s house. I had a lot of fond memories of the place. I helped him househunt for the place. I was there when he proposed to Cadance, on his thirty-ninth birthday. I was there for Flurry’s first birthday. Now, I could hardly look at the place without throwing up.

It was a nice two-story place. Eggshell white. The front lawn was immaculate, something that Shining took great pride in. I couldn’t see it from the front, but I knew the backyard was equally neat and tidy. If I knew Shining, which I did, he would be expecting me out back by the pool. A beer in his hand, his lucky chip on the table, and a chess board between us. Shining loved chess as much as I did. He's the one who taught me, after all. He believed it to be the ultimate icebreaker. Behind his house was nothing but empty houses that have yet to be sold.

The front door was unlocked, just as I expected, and I walked into the house just as I did a million times before. This time, I felt as though I was walking to my own execution. I was seriously doing it.

The living room was empty, save for Flurry’s toys that littered the floor. It made the whole place feel eerie. Haunted, almost. Not that I was superstitious. With everything I've done, I couldn't afford to believe in ghosts or demons or God. I wouldn’t be on good terms with any of them.

I entered the kitchen, which was devoid of the sounds and smells I remembered it for. Cadance was always busy there, every time I visited. As soon as she saw me, she offered me a coffee and a piece of cake, or a cookie, or whatever she happened to be baking that day. Cadance had a knack for making you feel safe, regardless of how terrible your situation was. Even though she didn’t know it, she comforted me when Moondancer and Lyra went under.

Traitor. I thought I could trust her. We’d been through it all together, and she just stabbed me in the back. I gave her everything she could’ve wanted, and then she does this! All she had to do was be patient, and I would’ve gotten her out. But no… The selfish, spineless coward couldn’t hold out for a bit longer.

My angry train of thought was broken when I stepped out onto the patio. Just next to the pool, beer in his right hand, poker chip in his left, was Shining Armor. If he noticed me, he sure didn’t show it. All of a sudden, my gun weighed a thousand pounds. It was very much there now, very real. I could do it. Just pull it out, aim, and…

“Hello, Shining,” I said instead. He didn’t look at me. How could he?

“Sit down,” he said sharply. I did as I was told, slowly, to ensure that he didn’t see my gun. We stared at each other for a few moments, neither of us knowing exactly how to move on from here. After about two minutes, Shining finally got his words together to speak.

“When did it start?” he asked.

“I… That’s not easy to answer,” I said. “I don’t know exactly when it started. My first… I was seventeen when I did my first. But I didn’t get to anything of any sort of scale until later.”

“Do you understand what you’ve done?” asked Shining. “I’ve been chasing you for the better part of five years, and you were right underneath my nose the whole time. Do you know what you’ve done to me? How much time with Flurry I’ve missed out on? How many fights with Cadance are because I wouldn’t let you go.” My stomach folded over on itself. Could that be true. “My marriage almost ended because of you, Twilight. And for what? For money? How much is my family worth to you, Twilight?”

“It’s… It’s never been about the money…” I whispered. Shining exploded, slamming his hands onto the table.

“Don’t fuck with me! It’s not about the money?!” he snapped. “What do you mean?! How can this not be about money? You’re a thief, Twilight. It’s always about money.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” I said. Shining stood up, freezing my blood as he did. He turned on the spot and put a cigarette into his mouth.

Now. Right now. I could do it. Pull the trigger right now, get it over with. I didn’t have a choice. I had to protect my friends.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t. There’s no way in God’s green Earth that I’d understand,” said Shining. “To be frank, I don’t want to understand. I just want a list of everything you’ve ever done, directions to the rest of your Crew, and an apology. The order is up to you.”

I could at least apologize. I owed him that much, at the absolute least.

“There is no combination of twenty-six letters that could put together a word to describe just how sorry I am,” I said. “I never intended for my actions to impact you or your family. I want you to know that, regardless of what happened in the past, I’m still your sister. I still love you. I never meant for this to happen.”

Now. I had to do it now. It was simple. Pull, point, squeeze. Three steps to avoid prison. It’s not like I’d never killed anyone before. Shining wouldn’t be the first life lost by my hand, and he likely wouldn’t be the last. Why was I freezing up so much? Just do it!

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” asked Shining. “Hm? Is that supposed to change what you did? You think you can put a gun to my head, invite me to dinner, and then just get off the hook with a ‘my bad’?”

“In defense of me, I never intended to fire that gun,” I said. “It was a scare tactic. One that I maintain was a better option than shooting you.”

Shoot him.

“I thought you were in danger. I thought I might have put you in harm’s way.”

Shoot him now. Do your job.

“Again, better than shooting you.”

Now.

“Depends on what you’re trying to do. If you wanted to keep your operation going, you should’ve pulled the trigger.”

Pull the trigger.

“For the record, I’m unfathomably sorry,” I said. Shining sort of shrugged, flipping his chip like a coin. Just like Dad used to.

“Alright, I got my apology,” he growled. “Now I want my confession. What have you been up to, Medusa?”

Normally, being referred to as ‘Medusa’ felt good. It made me feel powerful, dangerous, scary. The way my brother said it made me feel the exact opposite. For a second, he made me hate the name. Made me hate what it stood for. Made me hate myself.

“It’s a long list,” I said.

“I’ve got all day.”

I sighed. I couldn’t do it. My revolver may as well have been a water pistol. No matter how much my brain screamed at my hands to move, they refused. But I couldn’t just sit there. I had to shoot him. There was no alternative.

“I’ll spare you the liquor stores and pawn shops. For now, let’s just focus on the bigger scores,” I said. It didn’t matter what I told him, though. He’d be dead in a few minutes anyway. “The swords from the airplane hangar, as you know. Before that, rifles from a museum. A guy hired us, we only knew him as the Historian. I pissed him off during a meeting, and he sent a guy to kill me during the job.” I paused for a beat, searching Shining’s face for sympathy, pity, anything. He was blank. “I convinced the hitman to kill the Historian instead.

“We robbed jewelry stores, because it was quick, easy, and fun,” I continued. “The biggest pull in recent memory was the Las Pegasus Bank.”

“You roped those poor girls into this,” said Shining. Somewhere, buried beneath my anxiety and self-loathing for the task at hand, I was angry.

“Those girls were crooks before I met them,” I said sharply. “They would’ve ended up behind bars anyway. Especially Tiara. Sneaky little devil tried to stab me in the back.”

“Gee, I wonder what betrayal feels like.”

I wasn’t sure if Shining was doing it intentionally, but every word of his made me feel like turning my revolver on myself more than him. I’d do just about anything to get this feeling in my gut to stop.

Shoot him.

“Shiny…” I couldn’t manage much more just then. “I’ve done horrible things. I won’t argue you that. I deserve to be buried under the prison. But I’ve never done any of it to hurt you. All the steps I took to ensure that you never found out, it wasn’t just for my sake. I didn’t want you to feel… Whatever it is you’re feeling.”

“You wanna know what I’m feeling, Twilight? You wanna understand what’s going on in my mind?” The answer was “no”, but my tongue seemed to freeze in my mouth. “I’m feeling grief. I’m mourning. I’m mourning because my sister is dead and you decided to start wearing her skin.”

Tears rolled down my cheek, and that was when I knew. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. It wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth this. I trembled, all of the energy seeming to leave my body. I lowered my head down to the table and just… cried.

“Don’t,” said Shining bluntly. “I don’t care. Just give me the names of your Crew members so we can get this over with.”

For the record, I wouldn’t have told him even if I wasn’t interrupted. I wouldn’t betray the others like that. I would’ve maintained my silence even if my phone didn’t ring at that very moment.

“Answer the phone,” ordered Shining. “And put it on speaker.” I nodded, then pulled out my phone. It was Spike. I tried, then failed, to calm my breathing, then answered it and put it on speakerphone.

“Twi?” he said.

“Yeah. You’re on speakerphone,” I said. “Spike… I can’t do it. Change of plans.”

“Oh, I know. But this time, we’re going with my Plan B,” said Spike. “Sorry, Shiny. Nothing personal. And Twi, remember that I’m doing this for you.”

I didn’t have time to think about what he meant before I heard the ring of a gunshot, followed by Shining’s anguished scream. I gawked, mouth agape, at my brother writhing on the floor, cluthing his hip. Blood gushed from the wound, pooling around him. He swore and grunted, fighting to remain conscious while I just sat and stared.

A second later, when reality had washed back over me, I screamed.

“Twi, I need you to calm down. Apollo is coming to get you out,” said Spike. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You shot him!” I screamed hysterically. “Shining! Shining!”

I felt a hand grab my wrist. In a fit of panic, I shook free and swung blindly at whoever grabbed me. The masked figure, wearing a griffon mask, fought to keep me still. She shouted something I couldn’t quite make out, and a young girl ran to her with a syringe in her hand. She handed the syringe to Apollo, who stuck it in my neck as slowly and carefully as possible given my thrashing. I flailed, getting weaker and weaker with time, until my arms felt like they were filled with lead. It became impossible to keep my eyes open, and a cold, dark, silence soon took me.

I was moving when I woke up. I was laying down, but I was definitely in motion. I felt sick. What just happened? Where was I?

“Uh… Rainbow?” I recognized the voice, but couldn’t tell who it belonged to, nor could I tell where she was. “She’s waking up.”

“Get her some water.” Rainbow. Rainbow Dash. Slowly, everything began falling into place. I slowly sat up in the back of my van, looking around both the inside and the outside. Within the van’s walls was the girl, Scootaloo, sitting just beside me. I looked through the rearview mirror to see Rainbow’s panicked, frightened eyes. Outside of the van… We were pulling up to a laundromat. I shook my head at the thought. Not a laundromat. My laundromat.

“Spike…” I whispered. “Where’s Spike?”

“Lay back down,” said the girl. “When Thunderlane’s guys drugged me, I sat up too fast and gave myself a hell of a headache.” She pressed a bottle of water into my hands. “And you wanna stay hydrated. Your stomach will hurt really bad otherwise.”

“Where’s Spike?” I repeated.

“He’s coming,” promised Dash. “Said he’s picking stuff up.” A short few seconds later and the dragon in question ran from the laundromat. He had a duffel bag slung over each shoulder and a laptop in his hands. Scootaloo pulled the door open for him, sliding it shut when he was securely inside.

“Spike…” My head still swam. “Shining is…”

“Not dead, just as I intended,” said Spike. “I shot him in the back, it should only put him in a wheelchair for a while. We’ll talk later.” He unfolded his laptop and immediately began typing on it. “Dash, drive.”

“Where to?” she asked.

“Literally any-fucking-where!”

She pulled off, gunning it for a destination that nobody seemed to know. Spike frantically typed on his laptop, then, after about five minutes, pulled out his phone and made a call.

“Widow, shut up for a sec, let me ask you a favor,” he said into his cell. “Shit is hitting the fan up north. Please, for the love of God, please tell me you have somewhere safe for us to stay. It’s four of us.” Silence. “Fuck, thank you so much! Is it the same place? Have you changed the lock?” Another short pause. “We’ll be there in a couple of hours. Look, you know I wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important. I have nowhere else to turn. Thank you, thank you so much! Alright, Hydra out.” He closed his phone, then punched the passenger seat angrily.

“What was that about?” asked Dash.

“I just had to call someone I never wanted to speak to again,” growled Spike. “And now we’re gonna have to live with them. Dash, head south.”

“It would help if I knew where the fuck I was going!” snapped Dash.

“We’re going to Appleloosa. Someone is going to give us a place to stay, and hopefully some work.” Spike flipped his laptop open again. “We’re gonna get cut off from our offshore accounts soon, we need to start thinking about money.”

“Why’d you do it?” I asked, my heart pounding in my chest. “Why did you shoot him?!”

“Because you wouldn’t, and it was the only option,” said Spike. “If we would’ve just ran… But, no. You had to talk to him first. Now, we have to relocate… Fuck, this isn’t good.”

This was my fault. I couldn’t make a decision, and it was falling back on my Crew. That was, simply put, unacceptable. Time for me to step up to the plate. I looked at my friends, all of whom were scared, confused, and a million other things. It was chaos. Some part of me made the choice to force some sort of order.

“What did you grab from the laundromat?” I asked, slipping back into Leader Mode.

“A couple of guns, our masks, and as much money as I could stuff in there,” said Spike. “Only things that are gonna last are the masks.”

“Good,” I said. “That’s all we’ll need.”

“Why run to Appleloosa?”

“I had no clue. I certainly wouldn’t have picked the place.”

“No, you misunderstood me. Perhaps it’d be better to ask why you ran at all.”

Twilight had been speaking for quite a while, and she was actually kind of glad that she was interrupted. It gave her a moment to recover from talking about the hardest part of her story so far. Even with all the time that passed and all the things that happened in between, this still managed to choke Twilight up.

“I see. Well, I definitely did intend to turn myself in,” said Twilight tiredly. “But Spike stepped in, and it couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t about to waste his interference.”

“Are you glad that Spike shot Agent Armor?”

Twilight didn’t answer at first. For several seconds, she was quietly contemplating. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, then sighed.

“I’m glad that Spike acted. At first, I resented him for shooting my brother, but I soon began to appreciate what he did,” said Twilight. “He showed courage that I never could, and took a risk to pull me out of the fire and back into the frying pan. For that, I may never be able to repay him.”

“Interesting. So, you went to Appleloosa. What exactly did you intend to accomplish?”

“We just wanted to wait until things calmed down a smidge. I wish we would’ve gone somewhere else, though.”

“What’s wrong with Appleloosa?”

“Too hot and dry. Not much to do, legal or otherwise, unless you’re a fan of cocaine. Oh, and then there was the cartel, which wasn’t exactly what I’d call a fun time.” Twilight grinned slightly. “Worst part was our roommate. What a pain in the neck.”