//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Badger // Story: Rogue Sun // by Jninja15 //------------------------------// Sunset and the Crusaders arrived at New Pegasus. Several traders were living on the outskirts, and Sunset took the opportunity to do some trading with them, to fill up on gas, supplies, and favors in case things got ugly. Sunset left Apple Bloom and Scootaloo at the hovercraft to make sure that no one would steal it; they were told to “kill anyone who even tried,” and for a backup precaution, Sunset enchanted the ignition so that if she doesn’t lift the enchantment first, the engine will not start. The Spam she carried with her had little bargaining power except as a sort of standard form of currency, aside from bits but she reserved the few bits she had on hand for emergencies only since she didn’t get paid for her last job. Sunset would have to trade 8 cans for one box of ammunition (whereas she would just have to pay 3 bits for the same amount). Fortunately for her, she currently did not need ammo so much as some extra gas for the car. She could trade about 3 cans of Spam per gallon of gas. Since they weren’t in any real need for gas, it was easier for to haggle the vendors in the added ability for her to simply walk away from an inadequate deal. In the middle of her search for a good gasoline vendor, with Sweetie Belle in tow, Sunset spotted an old unicorn man selling lacrima crystals, and vials of Dust (the powdered form of lacrima). Sunset walked over to the lacrima vendor. The old man selling lacrima crystals spotted them. “Hello there,” he said in a warm, welcoming tone. “Come here, my friends.” The man wore a large brown cloak with a hood over his head, hiding the upper half of his face. The skin that one could see was of a light gray, and his beard was of short, blue and cerulean hair. “Is there anything of interest here that you’d wish to purchase?” Sunset approached the stand, “What intrigues me more than the purchase of a few lacrima crystals is the fact that you have so many out in the open in a place like this and you still have all of them. How come it don’t look like you’ve been robbed yet?” “Oh, believe me. They’ve tried. And they quickly learned that robbing my stand is as foolish as robbing a fully stocked ammunitions store.” Sunset raised her eyebrows in intrigue. “Really?” she pointed to the crystals on the table. “These are weapons? I thought lacrima crystals were for utility and medical purposes?” “True, but I have many of them installed inside mechanisms that allow the lacrima to be used in more... offensive ways.” “Show me something,” Sunset said, crossing her arms, pretending to be unimpressed. The man pulled out a rapier from underneath the table. The entire sword was made of a snow white steel. There was a six-round revolver cylinder in between the grip and the blade with an arrowhead-like guard encompassing it. “This sword, named ‘Myrtenaster,’ is designed to be able to use Dust to imbue elemental properties into the blade,” he said as he split the grip from the cylinder, opening it like a Webley revolver and inserted a small vial of white Dust into one of the chambers. He closed it, flipped the sword over in the air, grabbing hold of the blade to hand it to Sunset with the hilt facing towards her. “Try it for yourself.” She took the sword in hand, weighed it and swung it around to get a feel for it. As Sunset was assessing the sword, the old man turned to Sweetie Belle. “Is there anything of interest here for you, little one?” “Not from what I can see.” The man sifted through a box he had at his side. “Well, how about this?” The man held out his hand. In it was a bracelet with three little, light blue, elongated diamond-shaped lacrima crystals linked together at the sides with a small silver chain. The cut of the gems had a circular shape in the center with eight faces radiating from the circle. These crystals, as they were laid out in the man’s hand, sparked something in Sweetie Belle’s mind. Suddenly, she eagerly spat out the words, “How much?” The man gently grabbed Sweetie Belle’s hand and placed the bracelet in her opened palm. As the jewels glowed brighter, he wrapped her fingers around the bracelet and whispered, “No charge.” He smiled as Sweetie Belle clenched the bracelet close to her chest. Then Sweetie Belle was hit with a bit of inquiry, “What exactly does it do?” “Not much of anything, really.” the man responded, “It just looks pretty,” Sunset finished appraising the sword and handed it back to the man by placing it on the table. “Interesting, but swordplay ain’t my forte. What else you got?” The vendor brought out a short, gold arm bracer with multi-colored lacrima crystals embedded into it like decorative jewels. “This is designed to consistently cast a spell that is programmed into it without conscious input from the wearer.” “And what kind of spell is programmed into it?” “Nothing yet, but I would advise you not to use any projectile spells...” They spent a few minutes going through the old man’s inventory and Sunset walked away with having purchased an automatic spell casting bracelet, and 2 boxes of hollow-point bullets. Usually, she doesn’t use hollow-points, but these bullets, however, were filled with Dust in their hollow tips, allowing for a special yield to be added to these rounds. (She had one box of fire Dust points and one of ice Dust.) Sweetie Belle walked away from this with her new favorite bracelet. As they were walking back to the car, Sunset noticed at how Sweetie Belle was looking at her new bracelet. She was in a sort of trance, it was as if she was looking at something far away that used to be so close, she had a look that was a mix of happiness and sadness, a look of longing, and of hopelessness. Eventually, Sunset’s curiosity got the better of her, and she asked what was eating Sweetie Belle, knowing full well she’d probably regret asking. “Huh? N-nothing. What makes you say that?” Sweetie Belle responded rather abruptly. “I’ve seen that look before. You miss someone.” Sweetie Belle stopped, frozen in her tracks. tears started to form in her eyes. “It’s just that...” she said, “This just reminds me of my sister...” “Oh great. Not again.” Sunset thought to herself as she stopped and turned around to pay attention, or at least pretend to. “She was obsessed with gems like these, and would often put them on many of the dresses she made. Beautiful and elegant, just like her dresses and the gems she collected.” a tear fell down Sweetie's cheek. “And these gems, in particular, look just like her cutie mark.” “Her cutie mark?” Sunset asked. “Yeah, three gems that look just like these on the back of her hand. What’s yours?” Sunset pulled down the collar of her shirt, partially revealing a shimmering sun on her right shoulder, under her collarbone. “I always thought cutie marks were a silly thing.” “How’d you get it?” Sweetie Belle asked eagerly. Sunset glared at her. “That’s none of your business.” she turned around to walk off, expecting Sweetie Belle to be done talking, but Sweetie Belle continued to speak. “Rarity was the best...” At this point, Sunset just droned out the rest of the conversation as they walked back to the car. But one thing stuck in her mind. “Rarity... Why does that name sound familiar?” Eventually, Sunset, with the Crusaders in the passenger seats, reached a building with a sign that read, “Mos Equus Cantina.” “So, yer’ friend works in that there building?” said Apple Bloom. “No, he owns ‘that there building.’” Sunset responded, mocking Apple Bloom’s accent. “And I wouldn’t call him much of a ‘friend.’” She unbuckled her seatbelt. “OK. Now, Red, you’re coming with me.” “I’ve told you before, mah name is Apple Bloom.” “And I thought I’ve clearly expressed myself that I. Don’t. Care. Now get a move on. I have business to attend to.” Sunset and Apple Bloom entered the cantina. The place smelt of old cider. There were various groups of people sitting around tables, in booths, and at the bar discussing different things with each other. The band in the cantina was playing some kind of jazz. The bartender, a tall, pudgy man, was polishing a glass cup when he spotted Sunset and Apple Bloom. “Hey!” he said in a slightly gruff voice. “We don’t serve their kind here.” he pointed at them. Sunset was puzzled by this and said, “Excuse me?” “That earth pony filly,” he replied, and pointed at Apple Bloom again, and nearly everyone in the cantina paused their conversation to look at the commotion. “She’ll have to wait outside. We don’t want them in here.” Sunset noticed everyone staring at them but replied to the bartender, “Well, if you could just mind your own gorram business and ignore the kid we shouldn’t have a problem, now should we?” she said, ending with a smile. The bartender scowled and went back to polishing his glass. “‘Sides she’s not here for a drink, so you shouldn’t have to serve her anyhows.” Sunset said walking up to the bartender and continued in a hushed tone, “And I’m here to see Badger.” The bartender paused for a moment and quirked an eyebrow at Sunset. “You sure you want to do business with Badger again?” Sunset winced at this. Taking a deep breath as if she had experienced a jolt of pain. She recovered her composure as she said, “He knows where to get somethin’ I’m looking for.” She glanced over at the glass the bartender was polishing and nodded towards it. “Pour me a Clydesdale, Jack.” He put the glass in his hand away as he pulled a slightly smaller one out and poured out a bottle of Clydesdale Whiskey into it. “I heard he bailed out on a deal with you last time.” he handed the glass to Sunset. Sunset shot a glare at him. “You know what I said about minding your own gorram business?” She took the glass and chugged it down. “You should really get that through your thick skull.” she handed the glass back to him and took a seat on a stool further down the bar. Apple Bloom followed Sunset and sat on a stool next to her. The bartender gave an angry glare at Apple Bloom. When Apple Bloom noticed this, she recoiled a little bit, startled by the man’s expression. Sunset glanced at Apple Bloom, then the bartender and said to Apple Bloom, without facing her, “He don’t like you sitting there Red.” Apple Bloom did a sort of double take as she tried to face Sunset, as her fear was trying to keep her attention back on the bartender, he looked ready to reach over the bar and grab her by the neck and throw her out. “OK?” she finally said facing Sunset, but her eyes still on the bartender. “He don’t want you here in the first place, but since you are here, and you ain't gonna buy anything, he doesn’t want you sitting in a seat that could be filled by someone who WILL buy something. Dǒng ma?” “Uh...” “Just get out of the chair.” Sunset exasperated. Applebloom complied with Sunset’s command, and she sat down at the foot of Sunset’s stool, leaning up against it. The bartender relaxed and said, “I’ll go get Badger for you.” and he handed Sunset a refilled glass of Clydesdale Whiskey and called for a coworker to man the bar for him while he was away. Apple Bloom took in a deep breath, smelt the cider in the air and, much to Sunset’s dismay, spoke, “This place smells like old cider. Just like what my siblings and I used to make...” Sunset grimaced chugged the glass of whiskey she had in hand, then called to the temporary bartender, “Joe,” she said as placed the glass on the other side of the bar from her. Joe came over with a bottle of Clydesdale Whiskey to refill the glass, but before he left Sunset placed a hand on the bottle, and said, “I’m gonna need you to leave the bottle.” She slipped three bits over the counter, and Joe discretely picked the bits up and placed them in his pocket. Sunset was working hard to make sure she was walking the fine line of being on the edge of drunkenness so that  A: she would not pass out before negotiations. B: recover quickly when she started to deal with Badger, and C: drone out whatever the Hell Apple Bloom was saying at the moment. After a while Apple Bloom stopped talking and Sunset started to relax and nurse her headache she gained in the middle of all that, and yet, still no word from Badger. Meanwhile, a bald man wearing a flannel shirt with torn sleeves, revealing a cutie mark of two crossed shotguns over a beer bottle on his right shoulder, a pair of jeans with holes at the knees and mucked up dress boots, and holding a mug of beer in one hand. He yelled at the band playing to shut up because, apparently, he had something important to say. It really wasn’t. “A toast! For today is an auspicious day,” he said when he got the band and to room to quiet down, waving the mug he had in his hand around. “Today was the day when Empress Twilight Sparkle killed that incompetent Princess Celestia and defeated the bunch of scumbags that called themselves ‘The Wonderbolts,’ along with her. I’m talking Elysia day!” A random man in the room responded with a half-hearted “Yeah!” when he finished, and the speaker took a seat next to Sunset. “Joe,” Said Sunset. “‘nother glass.” Joe filled up Sunset’s glass. “You gonna drink to Empress Twilight Sparkle’s achievement with me?” the man said. Sunset said nothing and simply downed her glass, and she didn’t even give the man a look. “You didn’t toast.” he said. Sunset smirked at this and turned her head to face the man when she saw Jack signaling her that Badger was ready to see her. She gave a deep sigh. “Love to carry on this conversation, but I’ve got business to attend to.” she got up and kicked at Apple Bloom to get her to stand up and walk with her to meet Badger. As Sunset and Apple Bloom walked over to Jack, Sunset spotted a Pegasus woman, with hot pink skin and electric blue hair, with a cutie mark of two blue lightning bolts on her right cheekbone, wearing a brown fliers coat, pants and combat boots, walking in her direction. Sunset put up her hand to the woman’s shoulder as they met to stop her. Sunset pulled out four bits from her pockets and held them up to the woman she just stopped. “Four bits to go punch that guy in the face for me.” Sunset offered the stranger, and she dropped the coins into the woman’s open hand. The woman raised an eyebrow, scoffed and said, “Honey, I aim to misbehave.” and she put the coins into her pocket. And she walked away, giving a pat on Sunset’s shoulder. “What was that about?” asked Apple Bloom. “Nothin’ you need to concern yourself about.” Sunset said as she turned around for a brief moment to glance at the woman she just paid to go beat up that man as she took a seat next to him, then continued to follow Jack to Badger. They followed Jack into a weakly lit room, almost all of the light that illuminated the room was coming from the outside through the heavily shaded windows. Any artificial light was reserved for the corners of the room and a desk. Behind the desk sat a short pegasus man. His face had a 5 o’clock shadow except for his chin. He was wearing a dark suit and necktie, without an actual shirt underneath the tie, with a small branch of cranberries pinned to the lapel of his suit, and a black bowler hat. Spread throughout the edges of the room were burly men armed with automatic weapons, all had their eyes on Sunset and Apple Bloom, in case either of them decide to do anything funny. “Sunset.” the man in the bowler hat said with a slight Braytish accent. “Badger.” she replied, crossing her arms and leaning on one foot. “What brings you on by? Still complaining about the payment from last time?” he said as he started to idly rotate an apple peeler, slowly skinning the red apple that was placed in it. “Hard to complain about a payment that I didn’t receive.” Badger chuckled lightly. “I’m here looking for some information.” Sunset said as she shifted her weight to her other foot “I was hoping you just might have it.” “And just what kind of... information... are you askin’ for?” She shrugged. “Rumors, mostly. Rumors about the ‘unopenable canister.’ The ownership of which has a tendency of changin’ from time to time.” Badger stopped peeling the apple and raised an eyebrow. “Treasure hunting again are we? I thought you gave up on that.” “Yeah, well. Difficult to resist the prospect of money. Am I right?” Badger simply sat there with a critical look on his face as looked at Sunset up and down, then he looked at Apple Bloom. Leaning forward, putting his elbows on his desk, he said, “This has nothing to do with the kid, does it?” Sunset shot a quick glance at Apple Bloom, returned to Badger and said, rather quickly, “No. Why?” “Well, I was just curious. What’s an earth pony doing in my bar where I have explicitly said ‘No Earth Ponies Allowed’?” “That ain’t none of your gorram business.” Said Apple Bloom confidently. “Well now.” Badger said as he sat up, got up out of his seat and walked towards Apple Bloom. “Looks like the little one can talk.” Apple Bloom nervously backed up a bit as he approached. Badger stopped short of where Apple Bloom originally stood and knelt down some to get closer to her eye level. “And she’s got a sharp tongue.” Sunset stepped in between the two and brought Badger’s attention back to her. “You’re supposed to be dealing with me, Ǎi.” Badger stood up straight and, still shorter than Sunset, looked up at her in the eyes, shrugged and said, “I got nothin’ for you.” and he returned to his desk. “Aw, come on Badger.” Sunset said indignantly. “You’ve always got something.” “Last I heard of it, it was in Alliance hands.” he sat down. “Then some random fellow came by and stole it.” “He didn’t leave some kind of name, or tell? He didn’t brag about stealing from the Alliance?” “Nope. All my intel could gather is that he was wearing an all-black suit and helmet while riding a motorcycle.” Sunset held her hands up in frustration. “That’s it?!” she shook a little violently. “You have given me dozens of useless information before, and now all you give me is a man in black on a motorcycle!?” “Oi!” he said. “That was the last confirmed location of the can, and now it is lost to the winds. Besides, I thought you didn’t like getting involved with the Alliance.” There was a moment of silence as Sunset returned to a neutral stance, only now noticing that the guards had their weapons raised by her little outburst. Badger broke the silence with, “We’re done here. Men, escort these ladies out.” The men around the walls broke their formation and walked towards Sunset and Apple Bloom. Sunset started walking aggressively toward Badger as she said, “Oh no. We’re not done yet-” and she was interrupted by two men grabbing her upper arms and picking her up, walking towards the door. “You haven’t told me everything you know!” she finished. As the two men carried Sunset out, Apple Bloom shrieked as a third man picked her up by the back of her jacket with one hand and carried her out with Sunset with ease.