“This is weird.”

“Doesn’t have to be.”

“But it is.”

“Only because you’re letting it be.”

In defense of Scootaloo, it was kind of weird. Part of me wished I would’ve found something for myself to do while Spike and Rarity were out. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and got roped into babysitting duty. Worse still, I sent Dash and Rift off on a job pushing over a small bank a few towns over. I felt a bit nervous, sending Dash on her first job that wasn’t under my supervision. I probably shouldn’t have worried. She was smart enough to know the basics by now.

Scootaloo and I were sitting across from one another, playing chess while Sweetie Belle showered. Scootaloo was surprisingly decent. Better than Dash, but still not as good as Spike, and nowhere near good enough for me. Still, she insisted we do something since I refused to go to the arcade with them (and Rainbow made me swear not to let her out of my sight).

“It’s weird,” repeated Scootaloo. “You’re my big sister’s boss, and we’re playing chess.” She moved her golden rook over. “Check.”

“Don’t think of me as Dash’s boss,” I said, capturing her rook with a glistening platinum bishop. “Think of me as a family friend.”

“But you’re not. You’re Rainbow’s boss.”

I sighed. She was right. This was awkward.

“Well, maybe we should stop talking to each other like we don’t know each other,” I said. “How long have we lived under the same roof? A few months? We’re basically friends already.”

“Yeah… Sure.”

“Okay, look. There’s a few ways you could look at me. You could see me as Dash’s boss. You could see me as her close friend.” I correctly predicted that she would capture my queen with a knight, which I then captured with a rook that put her in check. “Or, you could see me as Dash’s teacher. But, right now, Rainbow isn’t here. So just talk to me like you talk to her.”

Scootaloo shrugged, then blocked check by moving her other knight. Sloppy move.

“Whatever. Where is Rainbow, anyway?” she asked. I shrugged.

“I dunno, she’s not my kid. Probably exploring this dusty old craphole,” I said. Scootaloo chuckled, which certainly made me more comfortable. “Anyway… How do you like it here?”

“It’s fine. I was kinda… Scared, I guess. That everything would be all weird and fucked up.” She looked over her shoulder for a second, no doubt looking for Dash. “And it is, y’know? But it’s not so bad. I still have Rainbow. Plus, at least there’s someone actually my age.”

“What do you think of her?” I asked. I pointlessly moved a pawn forward. Had to make it at least a little hard for myself. “Are you getting along?”

“Uh… Sure. She’s kinda weird. More bubbly and sunshine-y than people I normally hang with,” said Scootaloo quietly. “But she’s fun. Naive, but in a cute kinda way.”

The girl didn’t pick up on how creepy and potentially dangerous Sweetie could be. Not altogether surprising, but still vaguely annoying. Sometimes, it was annoying to be the smartest person in the room.

“That’s good,” I said.

“EEP!”

I jumped up from the table, instinctively reaching for my gun. I took a few steps toward the bathroom, the source of the scream, but was stopped in my tracks when the bathroom door burst open. Sweetie Belle stepped out of the bathroom dripping wet and naked, save for her towel. She held up that towel with one hand, the other one delegated to clutching a kicking, thrashing, snarling raccoon by the throat.

“What in the world?” I said. Sweetie grinned.

“He jumped in my shower!” She spoke with the excitement of a soccer fan during the World Cup. “Little guys like him sneak in sometimes.”

“What’re you gonna do with it?” asked Scootaloo.

“Kill it. Duh.” Sweetie’s eyes glistened with anticipation, much like her big sister. “Gimme a knife.”

Scootaloo shot me a look that screamed for help; help that I wasn’t able to give her. For a few seconds, it was silent, save for the snarling of the possibly rabid raccoon that Sweetie held. Then, quietly, Scootaloo got up, walked over to the kitchen area, and returned with a small vegetable knife. She handed it to Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie started by slicing off its little paws. The poor creature screamed, which was actually rather sickening. I didn’t exactly have a weak stomach, but this girl was fifteen years old and killing an animal just for the fun of it.

“Do you really have to do that?” asked Scootaloo. Sweetie either didn’t hear her or didn’t care. She was too busy pinning the raccoon to the floor to split it down the chest. She stabbed it, then stabbed it again, and then stabbed it a third time. It gave me flashbacks to what Rarity did to Fancy Pants. It was an unnecessary, horrific, gratuitous amount of violence and anger.

Sweetie Belle giggled almost the whole time.

“I gotta… Gotta hit the bathroom,” said Scootaloo after the first two minutes of pointless stabbing. The girl stumbled into the bathroom, haphazardly slamming it shut behind her. I hardly heard her retching over the sound of Sweetie screaming.

“Die! Die! Die!”

It was at that moment when something occurred to me. The way Sweetie handled the raccoon, the way she stabbed it, the way she shouted, it all felt too familiar. She was a spitting image of Rarity, down to the intimidating look. It was as if Sweetie studied Fancy’s murder. Which wasn’t possible, considering Rarity got rid of the recording after she sent it to the client. Unless, of course, she kept it.

Why would she do something like that?

“Whoo, that was fun!” said Sweetie, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Again, she carried herself like Rarity so much that it was almost spooky. “Hey, do you know when Big Sis is supposed to be back?”

That was something peculiar about Sweetie. She never called Rarity by name. Always Big Sis or Widow, or, when talking directly to Rarity, just ma’am. It was strange. Sweetie claimed it was out of respect, but I wasn’t so sure. Rarity, the brainwasher she is, may have had her own, more nefarious reasons.

“I’m not sure,” I said, eyeing the massive splatter of blood across the floor. “Spike said he would be grabbing some pizza for dinner on the way back, so I assume they’ll be gone for a while.”

“Great! Means I have time to clean this up,” laughed Sweetie. She looked down at her bloody towel, and the blood that now coated her chest. “And take another shower. Oh, well. Big Sis says that if you don’t get into your work, you’ll never have any fun with it. Do you think I got into it?”

“I’d say,” I muttered.

“Thanks, Ms. Twilight! I better go get this mess cleaned up before Big Sis gets home.” Sweetie grinned, then scooped up one of the raccoon’s paws. She clutched it tightly, then disappeared into her room. I looked to the chessboard, my game forgotten. After glancing at it a moment, I moved my rook to capture Scootaloo’s knight and put her in mate. I tipped her king, then headed for the ladder to the surface.

“Scootaloo, Sweetie, don’t go anywhere,” I called. “I need a smoke break.”

“Are you fucking serious?” asked Dash.

“You think I would make that up?” I whispered into my phone. I constantly looked over my shoulder to make sure that Rarity Lite wasn’t climbing up the ladder with another rodent to butcher. “I’m telling you, that girl is crazy. I’m starting to doubt whether I should be worrying more about Rarity or her.”

“Jesus fuck… We need to get the hell out of there as soon as possible,” said Dash. “Is Squirt okay?”

“Yeah. A bit shaken up, but she’s okay.” I tapped my phone twice with my finger out of nerves. “Anyway, how are you and Rift doing?”

“He keeps asking me when we’re gonna give him a mask and a codename.” Dash chuckled. “So he’s still an asshole.The bank went so well that we’re thinking about hitting another one. We might stay out till tomorrow or the day after. That cool?”

“Just don’t get caught and make sure you put the loot in the pit,” I said. “Behave yourself, Ms. Dash. I gotta go.”

I hung up my phone, then took a long, much-needed drag of my cigarette. This was so tiring and stressful… I needed to figure out what was up with Sweetie Belle. I needed to understand how her mind worked. I needed to figure out how her sister’s mind worked. I needed to find out if Rarity actually did keep the tape, and why.

“Son of a…” I muttered. I hated when I forgot things. I sent out a text to Dash, typing as quickly as my fingers would move.

Put a hold on that second job. I need you back home to look for something.

What I really needed, more than anything, was a drink.

Author's Notes:

Hey, everybody. Sorry about the shorter chapter this time around. Don't worry, though, this won't become a regular thing. Just a bit less to go over this time around.

Now, for the real reason this note is here: The next chapter. See, I wanted to do something, but now I can't decide if I want to do it. I wanted to implement Applejack in the next chapter, and I think I have a decent way to do it. But what do y'all think? I made a Strawpoll, so you guys can tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!