Silence of a Siren

Chapter Three

13 Hours 22 Minutes Until Execution

“So you and Shining knew each other… I have to say that’s quite a surprise. Given how close he is to the other Twilight, it’s amazing that the two of you didn’t run into each other prior to Shimmer’s murder…” The Princess rubbed her chin in thought, trying to fit the new information into her picture of how this all began. “What’s any of this got to do with the murder though? I’m assuming that’s where this story is leading, correct?”

I grinned and rolled my eyes at how predictable she was being. Princess Twilight Sparkle was too eager to know what she didn’t know, I imagined she would be quite the friend to bring along to the movies. I could already hear her audibly trying to guess the ending to whatever film was being watched; it made me laugh a little on the inside. “Way to try and spoil the ending, Princess. Though to be fair, given that my life ends later today, I guess in a story about my life that would be the most logical closing point wouldn’t it? The murder that lead up to my death and why I did it?”

Twilight grew serious for a moment and spoke with conviction. “Well… That was something at the trial that you simply refused to discuss… Why you did it… You said your plan was to kill Sunset to get your magic back, but somehow, the fact that you’re telling me this story tells me that there is way more to it isn’t there?”

“You’re impatient, you know that? It’s all going to make sense in good time, can’t you just let me tell the fucking story without wondering how it’s going to end or what direction it’s going to go along the way? Seriously, I’m fucking being put to death in a few hours, the least you could do is let me tell my fucking story without being so rude about it…” I complained, quite a bit of venom in my voice. I didn’t mean to snap at the Princess, but she definitely was getting on my nerves.

“Sorry… I’ll try and stop guessing what the point of all of this is, but do keep in mind that you pulled me out of bed late at night and I’m not obligated to hear any of this, so forgive my curiosity…” Twilight lectured.

She had me there. I couldn’t deny that her even humoring me at all was a testament to her kindness, though I wasn’t exactly keen on admitting such a thing, especially right to her face. I guess, I was always just stubborn that way, I refused to give merit where it was due, probably because very few ever did so for me. One only gives what they receive, I supposed.

Twilight Sparkle may have been an oddity as a princess, but she certainly cared. For some stupid reason, she cared.

“Fine, but try and not slow the story down too much, okay? It’s already bad enough that I have to relive some of these memories, so I’d prefer not to linger on some of them for too long if that’s alright?” I sneered at her, avoiding admitting I was wrong, of course.

She squinted and examined me thoughtfully. “Are you always this hostile, Adagio?”

“Yes,” I quickly retorted. “Is that the answer you were looking for?”

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “So, Detective Armor saved your life… Odd that he would come to testify against you yesterday, isn’t it? I guess his sense of justice is so strong that murder quickly flips his opinion of someone?”

I looked down and then away from her. “Shining is…”

Twilight leaned with curiosity. “Yes?”

“He’s… Not a bad guy… I would have probably testified against me too if I was in his position…” I admitted, closing my eyes in shame.

“Oh? Why’s that? Are you going to elaborate?” Twilight blinked.

“It’s all part of the story, I’ll get to it, just… Be patient, okay?” I sighed and sat back up. I looked to my coffee cup, realizing that I had polished it off. “Let’s get back to it then?”

“Yes, let’s.” Twilight nodded gleefully, her smile returning so easily. Part of me wished I could find something to smile genuinely about as she did. There was something inside her that made her genuinely happy with little cause for such.

“So, as I was saying, Striker had me doing the bigger stuff, and before I knew it I was pushing the top of the line shit… So let’s fast forward to a few days after I met Shining… I think this part will be of the most interest to you…” I spoke quietly.

“Why’s that?” Twilight asked.

My tone grew somber as I spoke. “Just… Pay attention, okay?”

“Yeah, I got it under control, Striker,” I spoke into my phone as I leaned casually against a building talking to the drug dealer that I would call a "business partner".

I had been working my usual spot, only just arriving. Despite being in such a crappy part of town, I was probably the best-looking thing there, next to the run-down old building complexes I was like an immaculate piece of art hanging in a gallery. No, that wasn’t just me being vain, Twilight. That was pretty much literal. What do you mean I’m misunderstanding the word? Oh shut up, what do you know? No, I don’t care that you read the entire dictionary, would you just shut it and stop ruining my story?

I was rocking my usual ripped skinny jeans, a tucked-in white blouse, unbuttoned slightly and a face that definitely shows I don’t give a shit combo like a master. If anyone could make a scowl sexy, it’s me. No, I told you it’s not vain if it’s the truth!

The point is, I was on the prowl to find potential customers, and I needed them to know that I was a serious dealer, not some shitty bus stop dime bag pusher, alright? I had just started my shift and had quite a few hours left before I could think about retiring. It’s exhausting work, standing there looking intimidating just to offer the pleasures of getting high to would-be passers-by.

Pot was their kingdom, and I, the gatekeeper holding the key. I merely asked them to pay the proper tribute and they could drink from the splendid waters of euphoria. Why thank you, I did just come up with that myself. Yes, I’ll consider a career in poetry. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to publish a few works before I die later today in a few hours. I could set a world record for the fastest literary publications.

Little did I know however that I was about to make the biggest sale I had ever made, and wrap up for the night in a single transaction. Prior to that moment, I had maybe sold about ten percent of what I was carrying, maybe less even.

“You know I don’t doubt you, Dagi, you know how to get the job done, but if you need more shit, you let me know, okay? I got you, girl,” Striker spoke in my ear.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was mostly just flirting. “Anything else, Striker?” I spoke, signaling that I wanted to keep the conversation strictly on business.

“Yeah, you sell this batch all up and I’ll talk about getting you some more money. You got expensive tastes, I’ll see to it that they are satisfied…” Striker spoke smoothly.

I grinned and nodded in agreement. “I take back what I said before, Striker… You really do know how to sweet talk a girl…”

“What can I say… A girl like you shouldn’t be wearing anything but the best. Anyway, I gotta get going, looks like Grass is fucking up again…” Striker groaned on the other end of the phone.

“What else is new? Anyway, I have to get going myself too, looks like someone is pulling up. Time to talk shop, I’ll call you later tonight.” I replied.

“Sounds good, go get ‘em, Dagi.” He hung up with those words.

The car that pulled up was a shining black that reflected the moonlight elegantly. Tinted windows, and a Mercedes emblem on the hood. I wasn’t too familiar with cars, but I knew enough to know that this was a luxury vehicle. Someone who owned a car like that didn’t belong in the boondocks.

Boondocks? It’s a human term, more or less means slums. Yes, you’re welcome for the slang lesson, Twilight. Put it to good use. Maybe you can find a career in rap music.

A car like this was something that I generally only saw in the rich part of town, though I didn’t frequent there too often.

Looking down at the tires, one could easily tell that the rims were custom, and probably cost more than everything on my person combined. A part of me wondered what someone like that was doing in a part of town like this, but a sale was a sale after all.

I’ll never forget the moment that window rolled down ever so slowly. Time stood still as I watched a face begin to appear from behind the window. Young, pale, but most importantly, fierce fiery red hair with golden streaks.

Those cyan eyes, both piercing but innocent looking at the same time, hidden partially behind a pair of glasses.

Her hands were partially covered in black lacy sleeveless gloves that allowed her fingertips to show, and flaunt her fresh black nail polish job.

I could only stare, completely dumbfounded by the sight. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

13 Hours 1 Minute Until Execution

“Holy shit!” Twilight gasped, before covering her mouth.

I broke into a fit of laughter at her reaction. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse before, Princess!”

Her face had turned completely red as she tried to hide her shame. “S-sorry… I try not to make a habit of it… It just slipped out, I was surprised…”

“Don’t be sorry, it was hilarious…” I found myself unable to stop laughing.

“It’s just… You and Shimmer… Had met before!?” Twilight asked.

I smirked and gave her a coy look. “At the time, I didn’t know she was the person you all refer to as Shimmer. Remember, I had never met her before this, and since she hadn’t met all of you, the nickname ‘Shimmer’ hadn’t been given to her yet.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “I suppose… that makes sense…”

“Naturally, this means for simplicity’s sake, I’ll be referring to her merely as “Sunset” from this point onward in the story, and I’ll be sure to differentiate when I am talking about the other Sunset,” I stated.

Twilight posed no objections, I think she was just still shocked that I had met Shimmer at all prior to the murder that I was just recently charged for. I could feel her anticipation in the room, Twilight wanted to know more.

“So what was Shimmer doing in a place like that? You said yourself it didn’t make sense for her to be there, didn’t you?” Twilight asked.

“Yes… Well… That’s where things get interesting…” I grinned.

I wanted to grab her hair and pull that bitch out of the car. I wanted to smash her face against the pavement so hard that she’d be unrecognizable after I was done. In my mind, there was Sunset Shimmer, the person who had fucked up my entire life, lost me my magic, and stranded me in the human world, and yet she had the audacity to come to my part of town, pull up next to me and roll her window down like nothing had happened, like she was completely ignorant to how much I hated her.

The girl eyed me up and down with rather uninterested eyes before speaking. “I was told you have some of the best stuff out here?”

Her voice was even as stupid as I remembered. Sweet Luna, I wanted to shove her face in the dirt until she ate it!

There was silence between us, causing her to raise a brow. My hands started to ball into fists. “Y-you…” I growled under my breath.

She squinted in confusion. “Do I… Know you…?” She asked.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Now she was mocking me, acting like we had never met, or at least that’s what I thought for a brief moment. Suddenly it dawned on me; if Sunset had come to this world through the portal, there was a good chance that she’d have a counterpart. Looking the car over again and the girl sitting in it, I was able to stop being blinded by pure rage for a moment and noticed this girl seemed genuine. She really didn’t know me.

I also recalled that Sunset didn’t wear glasses, and here this girl was with a pair. Not to mention she was clearly driving a car that was far out of Sunset’s price range. The logical part of me won out over the emotional part and I rationalized that this Sunset was a different person all together.

“N-no… Sorry… I guess I had you mistaken for…” I paused, realizing it was not a good idea to tell her about another version of herself living in the human world, “someone else…”

She nodded in understanding and leaned back. “I see… So… As we were talking about… I was told that you have some of the best stuff in town?”

I blinked and it took me a moment to remember why I was even standing out on the side of the street in the first place. Yeah, I tend to blackout a bit when I get angry. Fine, call it a character flaw or whatever, the point is that things can get a little hazy sometimes when I get upset.

“That depends on what you’re asking…” I Said, a bit suspicious of why a girl in a car like this would be buying from me in the seedy part of town.

“Look, I’m just trying to restock, do you have any or not?” She raised a brow, clearly running low on patience.

“Yeah, how much are you looking to buy?” I asked.

“All.” She gave me a stern look.

“You’re shitting me… This isn’t the cheap shit…” I reminded.

“Money isn’t a problem, so how much for your entire inventory?” She asked reaching into her purse.

“Fuck… You have to be shitting me…” I spoke under my breath. “Looking at around five grand for all I have…”

She nodded and retrieved a wad of one-hundred-dollar bills and licked her thumb as she began to count them out. I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing, this girl was walking around with that kind of cash out in the boondocks and didn’t even care what kind of target it made her. She had no discretion as she counted out a large sum and folded it in half between her two fingers offering it to me.

Taking the money I began to count it, a bit puzzled at why there was at least five hundred dollars extra.

“The rest is for you,” she explained.

“I don’t need your charity…” I growled.

She shook her head. “Consider it a tip, I like your face.”

“Are you making fun of me?” I raised my brow, ready to jump on the offensive.

I am not standoffish, Twilight Sparkle!

A smile came to her face and she shook her head. It looked so innocent, so child-like almost. “Nah, I mean it. You’re cute. So will that cover it?”

Realizing that I’d have to be crazy to turn down such an easy open and close night, especially with $500 on the top for myself, I nodded before I reached into my own bag and stepped closer to the car. I looked around to make sure no one was watching before I emptied the contents into her lap. Bag after bag of marijuana, enough to last most people a few months if they were sparing in how they used it.

After I had given her the last bag, she moved them over into her purse and winked at me. “Thanks, I’m sure we’ll see each other real soon…” She giggled.

I nodded and stepped back from the car, just staring, unsure of what to make of the situation.

She gave me another wink and a gentle wave of her hand. “Bye, cute stuff. See you soon.”

I could only think to wave back as her window rolled up and she drove away. It was safe to say that the first time I met Sunset Shimmer, I was completely perplexed. She struck me as a mysterious girl, whose motives were difficult to read. Who knew what was going on in that head of hers'.

12 Hours 55 Minutes Until Execution

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin as she chewed these new details, trying to make sense of it all. “So, you and Shimmer met prior to all of this… And she bought pot from you? Am I following this correctly?”

“So far, yes. However, it gets more complicated than that… it wasn’t the last time I was going to see that girl… Not by a long shot. Sunset Shimmer is the kind of person who doesn’t let you forget she is there…” I explained.

It was clear that Twilight had grown curious. “How close did you get to her?”

“Twilight, what did I tell you about letting me tell the story? I’ll explain it all in due time, but you need to not rush me,” I replied.

She sunk in her chair and nodded sheepishly, realizing that she was acting like a child being told to stop touching everything in the store. Twilight was definitely an inquisitive girl, but perhaps too much for her own good at times. She was an excitable person, and once you ignited that excitement, it was difficult to contain it.

“Sorry… I guess I sometimes let my excitement get the better of me…” She admitted.

“Sometimes?” I smirked.

“Okay, a lot of the time…” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“We’re getting to the good part of the story, I promise, Twilight, patience.” I grinned.

“Now… After I got home that night…”

Being able to retire early was always a nice feeling. I didn’t get to get out of working so quickly that often, so I decided to head home and enjoy the night off. It was still a while before I would go to bed, and the other two would actually likely still be up at that point. While I usually found conversing with the two to be a never-ending frustration, I was in a good mood for having finished up so quickly.

While I had my reservations about Sunset Shimmer buying all my stock, I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. No that’s not an intended pun, Twilight. Yes, I get why you’d think that because Equestria is… Never mind.

The walk home was uneventful, and when I came into the apartment, there was Aria in a white overly large tank top and her panties as she sat on the arm of a chair. Just by looking at her from that angle, I could definitely see why her manager at work was staring at her ass a lot, that thing was huge. No, not in a bad way, like in that she had the kind of ass that guys flocked to.

A cigarette was between her two fingers as she looked over her shoulder at me quizzically. Her brow rose as Sonata came out of the kitchen, wearing a pajama top and a pair of booty shorts, her hair tied up into a messy bun on her head. “Dagi? You’re home early!” Sonata exclaimed.

I shrugged. “Got everything done early, the boss said I could go home…”

“You should have stayed, we need the hours…” Aria reminded.

I waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it, I have that boss eating out of my hand. We’re more than set.”

“Come to think of it… You have been buying a lot of new stuff lately… I mean those gold bangles look expensive…” Aria’s eyes squinted as she eyed up my outfit. Up to that point, I was relying on their ignorance of human brand names to not notice how much more lavish my wardrobe had gotten.

“The boss likes me, so he keeps spoiling me with crap in the hopes that I’ll go on a date with him,” I lied.

Aria squinted once more as she processed the lie and tried to determine if she was going to accept it or not. Ultimately, she clearly so no reason to reject it or accuse me of deceiving her, so she went with it. “Well… Be careful… You know how guys are, eventually after enough shit that they buy for you, they expect you to put out…”

“I can string him along for a while, for sure.” I grinned.

“Isn’t that what we sirens do best?” Aria grinned back.

For once, I found myself in agreement with her. We both allowed our grins to turn into genuine smiles and then nodded at each other. “I can smooth talk my way out of it if he gets too grabby.”

“Ain’t much to grab on you…” Sonata chuckled.

“And what is that supposed to me?” I placed my hands on my hips and leaned in with a scowl.

“You ain’t got much tits, and your ass is okay at best…” Aria chuckled before taking a big inhale of her cigarette.

“First of all, I’ll have you know I’m a B cup!” I growled.

“Woooo, big deal. Girls in middle school are B cups here in this world. Hell, Sonata is a D cup…” Aria gestured toward the other siren in the room who had laid down on the couch playing some game on her phone.

Sonata perked up and looked up with a blush. “H-how did you know that!?”

“You leave your damn bras all over the place, it’s kind of hard not to know…” Aria rolled her eyes.

“The dumb ones usually do have giant tits, don’t they?” I spoke crossing my arms.

“You got me there…” Aria sniggered.

“And secondly, not all of us need an ass that can be seen from outer space like yours…” I smirked.

Aria looked over her shoulder at her behind and grinned. “Yeah, but it definitely comes in handy.”

Naturally, as you are probably aware, asses are more coveted in Equestria, but humans seem to have a thing for tits too. I suppose I can see why they are somehow aesthetically pleasing to look at. They kind of complete the whole look, you know what I mean? You don’t? Whatever.

“Anyway, I’m exhausted… I’m going to bed, no one wake me up, alright?” I groaned as I wandered toward my bedroom. The other two girls just nodded, saying nothing as I exited and locked the door behind me.

Stretching, I reached into my pocket and placed my phone on the beat-up old desk in the room, and began to unbutton my shirt. I shed out of the article before sitting on my bed and untying my boots to slip them off as well. I placed them neatly against the wall and tossed my shirt in a laundry basket. Before I knew it, I was wiggling out of my jeans and then just found myself laying on my bed in nothing but my navy blue underwear staring at the ceiling.

My encounter with Sunset Shimmer had me confused. It was clear that this Sunset was different from the one that I had come to loathe, but I wondered if there was a connection between the two. I even considered if there was a human counterpart of myself in this world somewhere.

Sunset Shimmer, the girl who destroyed my life. The girl who I have come to know as a person who made my blood boil, and yet I saw the face of the one that I hate on this girl, and it was the wrong girl. It took some time to wrap myself around that concept.

I wondered if our paths would cross again. What would I say? What would I do? All questioned that I needed answered.

12 Hours 32 Minutes Until Execution

“So Shimmer was a person that caused you a lot of confusion at first?” Twilight asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say she was a confusing girl overall. I don’t think I ever came to understand her fully in my entire time of knowing the girl…”

Twilight blinked at that information. “So… You continued to interact with her after that?”

“Why not just listen to the rest of the story without guessing?” I smirked.

“Right… Sorry… I could sure go for some more tea, want some more coffee?” Twilight asked as she came to a stand stretching her wings. Somehow I noticed that wings looked adorable on the Princess. She struck me as someone who didn’t know much about flying and likely needed lessons still.

Princess Twilight Sparkle was definitely the ditziest Princess ever, but no one could deny that she was genuine. She wore who she was on her sleeve, which I was somewhat jealous of.

“You’re lucky, Princess…” I thought out loud.

Her ear twitched at those words and she turned to me with a “hm?”, her face contorted to an adorable look of confusion.

“You’re just so… Unapologetically you…” I grinned.

“That’s… a good thing, right?” Twilight asked, blinking.

I nodded, my grin only growing as I thought about it. “It’s what I always wished that I could do… I’ve spent my whole life being forced to hide what I am and who I am… I’m kind of envious of those who just are so fully themselves without even thinking about it…”

Twilight stepped forward and smiled back at me. “Right now, you’re doing exactly that. You’re opening yourself up, being vulnerable…”

I chuckled and nodded. “I guess you’re right…”

Twilight giggled and nodded back. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a genuine smile on you, Adagio.”

“Oh?” I asked.

She nodded again. “You shouldn’t worry so much about being vulnerable. Part of my lessons as the Princess of Friendship has taught me that being vulnerable is necessary to form bonds and connections with others.”

“Yeah… Okay…” I replied.

There was silence between us before Twilight remembered her tea. “Oh right! I was going to get tea and coffee! I’ll be right back!”

She hastily ran out of the cell, locking it again behind her. I only stared at the door as I considered her words. Being vulnerable wasn’t exactly something I was a fan of, truthfully the only reason I was doing it at that moment was because I was going to die very soon and had no reason to protect myself. In the past, I had put up walls around myself, never wanting them to go down, never wanting to let anyone in.

Princess Twilight spoke of the importance of being vulnerable to others to make friends, but she had no idea yet how I had already tried that, and the results were far worse than what she was imagining. When you were a creature, a monster, like myself… There was no place for being vulnerable. Not with Twilight Sparkle, not with anyone.

“Hot damn, Dagi… The entirety of your wares in a single transaction? I’m beyond impressed.” Striker nodded approvingly as he shooed his subordinates from the table and gestured for me to sit down with him. “Please, take a seat.”

Shrugging, I did as I was told and pulled a chair out to take my seat. Striker reached into the front pocket of his shirt, retrieving a battered old pack of cigarettes, offering one to me. Nodding, I took the cancer stick and leaned in for him to light it for me. I took a gentle draw of it and then leaned back in my seat before removing it from my lips and letting it rest between my fingers, a small trail of smoke exiting my mouth. Yeah, I know smoking is bad for you. Well, there aren’t any kids listening is there? So a disclaimer would be kind of pointless wouldn’t it?

He leaned back in his chair, reminding me a bit of that movie, “The Godfather”. Oh, it’s a human film, basically this Italian mafia… Oh never mind.

Striker inhaled and exhaled through his nose, smoke filling the room. “Dagi… You’re earning a lot of my respect very quickly. I’m liking what you’re bringing to the table here…”

I remained silent and just drew from my smoke as I listened to his praise. Being told I was good at something wasn’t something I heard often, so naturally I kind of soaked it up.

“If this is about going on a date with you…” I began.

Striker shook his head. “No, though don’t think I’m not still interested. This is about how I am going to use you the best way I can. I’m going to have to shadow a few harder stuff deals… You aren’t going to be selling just pot anymore, I got a ton of other stuff that I need to be moved, and someone like you… You may have what it takes to do that for me. Pot is just our small-time cash.”

I raised a brow. “You mean like morphine?”

“I mean exactly like morphine. Since you asked, I have a deal that’s going down next week. I want you to shadow Brick and Boulder, watch how they do business and see what you can learn from them,” Striker instructed, using his cigarette to point in my direction.

I blinked at the mention of those names. Brick and Boulder were tough-looking, but pretty quiet the majority of the time. For the longest time, I just assumed they were hired muscle. They didn’t exactly come off as the most intelligent duo, so I was a little surprised that they had the aptitude for selling.

“Those two idiots? You can’t be serious…” I rolled my eyes.

He laughed, clearly seeing where I was coming from. “They may not look like it, but Brick and Boulder are good at what they do. They will teach you everything you need to know about selling the hard shit. Their methods are… Unique, but they turn results.”

“If you say so…” I shrugged.

At the time, I hadn’t a clue what I was getting myself into, but I really wish I had…

12 Hours 20 Minutes Until Execution

“Human fascination with drugs is odd to me…” Twilight admitted as she listened, sipping on a cup of tea.

I shrugged unsure of what to even say to that. “Humans often find the need to escape from their shitty lives… I can sort of relate to that sentiment… Part of why I could see the rationalization from all of my customers so well… When your life is nothing but shit, you try to find ways to escape it, you know?”

“Why don’t those people try to focus on bettering their lives?” Twilight asked.

I was a little surprised at how naive she was. How absolutely daft she was being, but then again I should have known better. In Equestria things like poverty were not the same as they were in the human world. Homelessness was not as rampant as a problem and in Equestria when you were in need, ponies would help you. There weren’t systems upon systems designed to keep the downtrodden in their place.

The days of persecution in Equestria had long since faded since my time there, and while sirens were still not accepted in Equestria, the kind of treatment that my mother received would never happen under the new order. Burning at the stake was outlawed, and the worst punishments were usually reserved for murder or treason. My own impending execution was an incredibly rare practice in and of itself.

In Equestria, the slums were almost optional. Those who live poorly were usually those who chose that path with few exceptions. While there were still problems in Equestria, it seemed almost like a utopia compared to what humans dealt with.

“Twilight… The human world isn’t like here… Those who live like… Well, that live like that, they generally have tried… They’ve reached a point where they have no options… Do you think I turned to selling drugs because I was passionate about it? It’s like I said before… For a girl like me with no skills, no experience, and no identification… It was the best option available to me…” I explained.

Twilight frowned as she listened, not wanting to interrupt, clearly.

“The reality is that their world is different from ours… It's dog eat dog and survival of the fittest… Their look on the world is a bit grimmer than Equestria’s…” I stated.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “I’m… I’m sure there are places outside of Equestria that are likely the same… I guess I just never thought about it because I’ve spent my whole life here… The idea of other places that are like that… are… foreign to me, I suppose…”

She frowned, clearly disappointed in herself for being so foolish. I sighed and reached a hoof forward, touching her forehoof and offering her some comfort. “It’s alright… Don’t feel bad, not many ponies in Equestria would know about this kind of stuff…”

“Yeah… But… I’m a Princess… I’m supposed to be less dense than that…” Twilight looked away, disgusted in herself.

I rolled my eyes. “No one can know everything. The important part is that you’re listening now and that you’ll be able to take this new perspective into account from now on, right?”

A small smile came across her face and it caused me to squint. Was Twilight toying with me? Was her little breakdown in front of me an attempt to get me to give her friendship advice? Was Twilight discretely trying to give me friendship lessons without me knowing it? It was hard to tell, and her poker face definitely had me guessing.

I wouldn’t get an answer to those questions as Twilight quickly changed the subject back to the story.

“So, you met up with Brick and Boulder to go and shadow a few of their deals… How’d it go?”

Blinking, it took me a moment to remember that we were sharing a story. “Oh, well a week or two passed and I was sent out to oversee a few deals by them until we got to around the fourth one… That’s when…”

Did I mention that Brick’s car smelled like a diaper from a dumpster? Yeah, it did. See, the guy had an obsession with Indian food which when left unattended in a car for too long… It’s bad, let’s just say that. The car reeked of it, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if Brick didn’t ever get pussy in his entire life… Oh right, getting off track, sorry.

Anyway, there I was in perhaps the smelliest car imaginable, and trying to withhold from commenting about the stench for perhaps the 12th time that day alone, but naturally, I failed.

“Seriously, Brick, it smells like something fucking died in here… I don’t give a fuck about your no smoking in the car rule, I’m lighting one up in the hopes that it either masks this smell, or I die of lung cancer so I don’t have to smell that shit anymore. Seriously fucking get this thing looked at, this isn’t fucking natural!” I yelled from the back seat.

Brick seemed to take my complaining very halfheartedly. The nerve, being so nonchalant regarding the fact that he was killing me with that terrible smell. He just shrugged and didn’t stop me when I lit my cigarette to make good on my threat.

I took a puff and rolled my window down to allow some of the smoke to escape.

Finally speaking up, I caught the big ugly bastard taking a peek at me from his rearview mirror, obviously trying to scope a look at my rather unimpressive cleavage that was barely exposed thanks to the top that I had left somewhat unbuttoned.

“Take a picture, it lasts longer…” I commented as I caught him in the mirror, giving him a stern look as I smoked.

He chuckled and nodded. “Maybe we should pull over then?”

“Oh? So I can show you my tits? Keep dreaming big boy…” I rolled my eyes and directed my attention out the window as I crossed my legs and focused outside. The mini skirt I had chosen causing mild regret in me as I realized how cold it was that night.

“I may not look it, but I can treat a lady right…” He grinned.

“First of all, I’m not a lady. Second of all, if your idea of treating a lady right is staring at her cleavage and then asking if she’ll show you her tits, I seriously doubt that… And for the love of fuck, if you expose any woman to this smell, I promise you, Brick, you will never so much as see a pubic hair on that bitch. Get this fucking car cleaned!” I screeched.

Boulder who had been relatively quiet as always let out a soft snicker at my outburst before siding with me. “It is pretty fucking bad, dude. Seriously… Lay off the Indian food…”

“You both are a couple of pains in my ass, you know that?” Brick rolled his eyes as he kept his attention on the road, his giant hands looking very odd on such a tiny steering wheel. Brick and Boulder were the kind of people that I imagined took up a king-size bed for just one of them. The idea of Brick even being with a woman not only was disgusting, but it made me feel bad for the poor thing, he’d crush her.

Don’t get me wrong though, while the terrible twosome were both dumb and ugly, they were excellent at getting sales somehow. They could move wares without any trouble and I had seen that over those past few weeks. While I busted on them a lot, there was a certain camaraderie between us all. I respected them for some reason, and they in turn respected me. It’s a weird feeling… Being respected for anything other than powers you are using to control people… It’s not a common feeling for us sirens.

Brick and Boulder though, while they didn’t quite understand my attitude, they accepted it. That is one of the best parts about being involved in illegal businesses, there is a level of mutual understanding in not asking questions on why someone is a certain way. I was a bitch, and my partners in crime never questioned why. There was no need for a backstory as to why I became that way, and no one cared enough to ask.

Boulder reached into his pocket and retrieved a joint that he set fire to and took in a long puff. “Man, fuck you…” He retorted to Brick.

Brick reached over and swatted the joint out of Boulder’s hand.

“What the fuck did you do that for?” Boulder grumbled and he leaned down and tried to get the marijuana off of the floor, bumping his large head on the glove compartment in the process.

“You need to be focused, you shouldn’t get high right now… What kind of lesson are you setting for our… Female friend…” Brick paused at those last words and took a glance at me from the rearview mirror.

His words caused a smirk to appear on my face. “Nice save, and it’s fine… I could give less of a shit if he’s high or not… We go in, we make the sale, and we get our payday. Same as always, right?”

“One thing you need to learn, rookie. Never assume a deal will go so smoothly… You have to be on your toes… Ain’t no law out here but what we bring with us. You’ll do wise to remember that, may save your ass one day…” He wagged his finger at me as he pulled the car over, coming to a stop and leaning his head back. He turned to me and gave a serious face, his big brow scrunched up as he spoke. I could see his red hair up close now and noted that his goatee actually had some white hairs in it, the mark of a man getting older.

“Listen, Dagi. Let us do the talking, you just observe, okay?” His voice came off as more of a command than a request.

I frowned and looked away with a scoff. “I’ve been observing for all this time… I want to get involved… When are you going to let me help with the deal…”

“It’s nothing personal, you’re just not ready yet. Shit out here can get real very quick.” Brick frowned, clearly not happy about disappointing me, likely because he still harbored some kind of idea in his head that he could impress me enough to get in my pants. It’s a human expression, Twilight… It means… Never mind actually, it doesn’t matter what it means actually…

“Fine, but you two better make this really fucking entertaining, got it?” I scolded as I opened my door and stepped out with the two big lugs. Standing next to them, I realized just how tall they were, both were nearly a towering seven feet and stood far taller than myself. They were big and broad, and I was skinny and somewhat lanky. If I had to describe my human figure, I think beanpole would likely be the most accurate. Not that I wasn’t absolutely hot, but there was a certain masculinity to me that blended so perfectly with my feminine features.

I imagined myself briefly for that moment as a male and what I might look like, but then dismissed the idea as I refocused on the task at hand. Brick and Boulder began the slow walk toward another car parked in the old abandoned parking lot, Boulder carrying a briefcase tightly clenched between his meaty fingers.

Across from us, moving in from a dark green pick up truck was two more men, whom I suspected were those who had met us to make the deal.

“So, gentlemen, where’s our money? Striker said we had to wrap this up quickly, he has to go babysit his sister’s kid and he wants his money before he has to go take care of that today…” Brick began.

The shorter of the two men standing before us chuckled. “There’s been a small change in our deal…”

“Oh? Striker doesn’t exactly like changes…” Brick stated with a raised brow.

Before I knew it, the short one and his companion both pulled out handguns and pointed them in our direction. “Yeah, see… That’s the thing… I don’t give a shit what Striker thinks…”