“Son of a- ughhh.”
Sunset looked down at her motorcycle, already having felt a small loss of power beforehand. However, the damage had caught up to her, and the Kawasaki’s radiator failed. The girls pulled over to the side, with Applejack getting out of her truck to help inspect the damage.
“Yep, looks like yer’ radiator’s done for.” Applejack bit her lip, “No thanks to a couple of bullets it might seem.”
Gone unnoticed before were two small holes in the front of the bike. Tiny, but the Uzi bullets had done their job, damaging the radiator until it had overheated from prolonged use.
“Welp, just toss the thing into the truck’s bed and you can ride shotgun with me.” Applejack offered.
“Yeah, that sounds- shit. Forgot. This thing is like five hundred pounds.” Sunset scratched the back of her head.
“Hey girls! Get out here!”
After that was said and done with an enormous strain and possibly a thrown out back from Twilight, Sunset clambered in the truck’s passenger seat, and looked at the expanses of the desert as Applejack started the truck up again.
The pack continued down the road, absolutely no scenery to relieve their aching eyes.
“Hey. Applejack.”
She looked over to Sunset, “Yeah sugarcube?”
“Just… again. Thanks. Thank you so much for helping me out. And-”
“And you’re sorry that I had to shoot those two.” Applejack exhaled out her nose.
Sunset stopped talking, and went back to staring out at the barren wasteland.
“Ah’d just leave it at that. Someone was going to pull the trigger at some point.” Applejack’s eyes fell to the glove compartment just above Sunset’s legs where her revolver still was.
“But it bothers you still.” Sunset asked, but quickly regretted pressing.
“It bothers me that you’ve probably killed quite a bit more than at the bank.” Applejack shot back, her eyes still on the road, “And yet I’m still doin’ this. Still doin’ this because there really is somethin’ big that’s gonna happen.”
Sunset nodded. Applejack agreed simply to stop Wendigo. At least that was the most logical conclusion for why she’d want anything to do with what happened back at the bank. Perhaps, that was why all of them were going along with this. It wasn’t for Sunset, it was to stop Wendigo. And she would be fine with that.
Well, maybe save for Pinkie. Sunset suspected that she was coming along to hang out with Sunset again after eight years. And probably thinking that this was still a massive “adventure”.
Oh how Sunset missed those back in Canterlot High.
“Just… thanks.” Sunset couldn’t help but let her lips move without a thought.
“Ya’ keep sayin’ that when you know I already got the point, Sunny.” Applejack turned to her. Sunset swore that she gave a tiny smile, but given the circumstances, it was probably unlikely.
“Hey, gas station coming up. Should we?” Sunset gave a slight point of her finger towards said station.
Applejack gave a quick glance at her fuel gauge, “Yeah, might as well.”
Sunset stuck her arm out of the window, and waved towards the gas station on their approaching right just as Applejack turned on her blinker. The others got the idea, and they started to slow down as the station drew closer. One by one, they turned off of the highway and went into the station, seeing no other cars present. Applejack pulled her truck up to a pump, opted to go to the clerk inside to pay with cash, and started to fill her tank.
“So, would you mind telling us now why we’re driving around in the middle of nowhere in Nevada?” Twilight downed a five hour energy bottle.
“Oh! Are we gonna go to Vegas? I know that they throw some of the biggest parties there!” Pinkie asked, carrying an armful of Twinkies out of the convenience store.
Sunset Shimmer made the motion with her hands for everyone to quiet down a bit, “Keep it down a tiny bit, girls. We don’t know if anyone could be listening in.”
“Out in the middle of nowhere?” Rainbow Dash rose an eyebrow.
“I don’t think we should take any chances, dear.” Rarity offered her concerns, “But following back with Twilight, I think it would be nice to know where we’re going.”
Sunset nodded, “We’re going to Vegas.”
“YES!” Pinkie threw up her arms in celebration.
“Wait, really now?” Applejack’s face was scrunched in puzzlement.
Sunset nodded once again, “Alright girls, time for some more stuff you need to know about Wendigo. That, and who’s running it.”
“Your car, Miss.”
Aurora Aether looked over the red Bentley Continental Supersport. Not the favorite of her collection but still a fantastic car for traveling. The keys were placed in her snowy white palm, her fingers closing around them.
She opened the door, and started up the engine. Aurora let the car idle just a bit. The sound of a resting machine always sounded different from the hundreds of thousands of different cars that existed. The adjustment of the seat, angling of the mirrors, tasks that anyone would overlook and not pay any mind to. It was always something she loved to do. It was an incredible machine being handed to her, and every little modification she did, it was like saying “you are mine”.
Then, she lightly and slowly put her foot down on the gas pedal. With the car in neutral, the Bentley growled into a fierce roar. It almost sent a shiver down Aurora’s spine. Almost.
With that, she drove away from the airport. The Bentley was one of the most economic and comfortable cars in her collection, and so came along on her travels via a cargo plane. She took a look back, and several Land Rovers started to pile out of the plane off of the ramp.
Then, her car’s hands free device alerted her to an incoming call.
“What is it, Jacket?”
“Everything’s been deployed. Your men are awaiting your orders.”
Aurora kept her eyes on the road, “They don’t need any other orders right now. Just leave that worrying to yourself. I have a poker tournament, and a car to win.”
Whatever prize vehicle they were cooking up at the Venetian, it had to be enough to come to the city of sin for. More than enough.
The seven of them stood in a circle near the cars after filling up at the gas station. Sunset finished telling them who they were up against.
“Aurora Aether is the head of Wendigo. I know her personally, and… she’s as cold-blooded as they get.” Sunset explained, “One of the wealthiest people in the world, and an eye for having soldiers at her disposal. That, and cars.”
“Cars?” Rarity asked.
“Oh yeah. Aurora is the biggest car enthusiast you will ever meet. It’s the one thing she likes more than money and the possibility of her commanding an army of magic-pumped super soldiers.” Sunset kept going on.
“Alright, and she’s behind what happened back at the bank?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Sort of. The guys we fought back there were with Full Metal Jacket. He’s her right-hand man, and ex-Delta Force. He’s essentially the brawn to her brain, but knows how to use his own to the best of his deadly ways.” Sunset pointed out.
“Wasn’t that the man staring down at you from the second floor of the bank?” Rainbow Dash asked another question.
“Yeah. The big, bald, and muscular guy.”
“Oh boy…” Twilight nervously tapped her feet on the concrete.
Sunset said, “But there’s some places we gotta get to. One before Vegas, and one while we’re there. For the one in Vegas, we’ll be going to From Scratch.”
At this, Pinkie gawked, “From Scratch? You mean the body shop that only the head honchos get their cars all flashy and cool from?!”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I have a feeling that the owners would be more than happy to help us out. That, and I got the funding for what we’ll need.” Sunset cracked a smile.
“That sounds awesome! Hear that Rarity? After a round in that shop, there’s no way anything will beat my Mustang!” Rainbow Dash pointed smugly back to her muscle car.
“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised. A Mustang is a pretty open car for modifications.” Rarity gave a small grin back.
“Dang, don’t know what they’ll do to my truck if I leave it in there.” Applejack patted her tried and true pickup.
“Trust me. If it has wheels, it’ll turn out great. Now let’s get back on the road, and I’ll find us a hotel or something.” Sunset then looked over towards Pinkie, “May I?”
“Oh, sure thing Sunny!”
One Twinkie was exchanged before the girls headed back onto the road again. The store manager watched the girls pull away, and leave his gas station to its own once again. He gave a small sigh, and sat back at the counter, watching the small television that was suspended in the corner of the store. Just as he started to settle himself into his chair behind the counter, a news bulletin flashed.
“This just in, a botched bank robbery and ensuing gang violence leaves a rather lively community panicked and outraged that this could happen in their own town.” the news reporter was standing in view of a bank that had broken glass thrown everywhere, “One witness claims that a group of women looking around the ages of twenty to thirty were responsible, but no license plates have been taken down.”
The store clerk decided to pay attention a bit more, “The police have just released these impressions on the suspects. Be warned that they are still at large, and are considered armed and dangerous.”
The clerk squinted his eyes at the television. The drawings looked… very similar to the women who just filled their cars at the gas station. His hand twitched as he looked towards the phone to dial for authorities, but stopped himself.
They gave him just enough business to make his quota for this month out here in the desert, and besides. The girl who came in and bought all of the Twinkies? As if she was capable of harming a fly.
“Alright girls, this is our stop before Vegas.”
In the darkness, Sunset walked the girls out to a dried out cactus sitting on a small sand dune.
“Um… can you remind us what’s here?” Fluttershy asked as she exited her Outback.
Sunset Shimmer looked at the cactus carefully, from every single angle. Before the girls could start to question what exactly was so interesting about a cactus in, once again, the middle of nowhere, Sunset found what she was looking for. There was a gash that had been made in the cactus with her own Wakizashi, years ago when it was still dying.
“This is the one. Fluttershy, get the shovels I told you to bring. We’re digging for treasure.” Sunset motioned.
“I don’t see an ‘X’ anywhere.” Rainbow Dash cracked a joke.
“Yeah, but Indiana Jones said that ‘X’ never ever marks the spot. Here, it’s a cactus, so he’s right,” Sunset came out with two shovels, “Now help me dig.”
Dash shrugged as she took her own shovel, and the girls started to shovel loads of sand from the dune.
“How deep are we digging?” Twilight asked as the night sky hung overhead.
“Until you hit something! Maybe a while, don’t know how much sand’s been blowing around!” Sunset spoke through the sound of grunts and shovels flinging sand.
They group kept going at the dune, more and more as they stuck in their shovels, and flung their load of sand behind them.
“I think we’re almost there!” Sunset stomped on the side of the shovel to bury the head nice and firmly into the ground. The girls thanked the lord that it was night, and that the sun wasn’t cooking them alive. Nevertheless, it was tireless, and sweaty work.
Then, Twilight hit something.
“Hey! I think I got it! That wasn’t all that hard.” she said as the girls then took to digging around a green metal box, until it was fully exposed for the girls all at once to heave out of the hole. As they did so, they found another green metal surface just a few inches away from the box they hauled out.
Through more and more digging until the girls nearly collapsed from exhaustion, three crates were unearthed and brought to the surface. Green, and with the uncanny resemblance to military supply cases, the girls watched as one by one, Sunset Shimmer unlocked them with a key she pulled from underneath her shirt, suspended around on a piece of string like a necklace.
She opened up the crates, and smiled. The other girls had a reaction that contained the mix of uneasiness, and rather dangerous curiosity.
“Alrighty… now this is what we need.” Sunset nodded.
Within the first crate was an assortment of handguns, as well as the magazines, ammunition, and even a couple of suppressors.
“Those are… guns…” Twilight pointed out, “So… we’re gonna kill people, then.”
Applejack looked over towards her, “Yeah, ah’ think that was kind of what was gonna happen when we went along with this.”
Twilight bit her lip, then nodded, “Okay. It’s just… what if we get caught with these?”
“I think we got bigger problems. Does ‘Wendigo’ ring a bell?” Rainbow Dash reached in and grabbed a firearm, loaded in a magazine, and racked the slide, “Besides, just think of it as ‘self-defense’.”
“Well then, Rainbow Dash, way to throw out any moral sense.” Rarity huffed, but still found herself looking over a handgun from the crate. A Glock, it would seem.
One by one, the girls each took their firearms, surprising Sunset with how well they handled the weapons. Never pointing them haphazardly at each other, loading the weapons smoothly and efficiently…
“You guys shot before?” Sunset rose her eyebrow.
“One of our favorite things to do at AJ’s farm. Blow some rotten apples up.” Rainbow Dash admitted.
“Well, that simplifies things,” Sunset said.
The others dug in. Pinkie found it neat that the sights of her pistol glowed in the night. Soon, the crate was picked clean, save for one more pistol. Fluttershy was the only one without a weapon.
“I’m sorry… I just can’t. I couldn’t bear the feeling of taking someone’s life, even if they would try to take mine.” Fluttershy admitted.
“Hey, Flutters, it’s alright. We’ll keep you safe, just like we’ll keep each other safe. Alright?” Applejack reassured her.
“But… then again… what if you all need me when everyone else is in danger? I’d be useless.” Fluttershy now started to have a conflict within her own mind.
“Here, I’ll hold onto the gun for you if you end up changing your mind-” Sunset held up her hand, but found her friend picking up the handgun anyways. Fluttershy inspected the pistol, and nodded at it, as if she signed some sort of forbidden pact with the weapon.
“I pray that I won’t have to use this.” Fluttershy bit her lip as she loaded in the magazine.
Sunset could easily see that Fluttershy was still having doubts, but decided to move on. She opened up the second crate. This one was noticeably larger than the other, and much heavier as well when they brought it out of the ground. Opening the crate, much larger weapons were housed inside. On the top layer of foam, an MP7 and an MP5SD rested on top. Several magazines were at their sides or below the personal defense weapon and the suppressed submachine gun. The next layer of foam housed two even larger weapons.
A Kel-Tec KSG shotgun rested on its bed of foam, already housing a reflex sight and a vertical grip on its pump. Accompanying it was an HK416 rifle, decked out in a SOPMOD complete with laser, flashlight, grip, hybrid sight, and a suppressor. More magazines were found deeper in the box, as well as boxes of ammunition was well.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Rainbow Dash brought the rifle up, inspecting it.
“Easy there, partner. These aren’t toys.” Applejack lifted the shotgun and gave it another look, “But ah’ll admit. Feels kinda empowering.”
“Quite a lot of suppressors, don’t you think?” Twilight loaded up the MP7, and held up the currently unattached modification for her gun.
“Well, the last crate has much… louder stuff.” Sunset cracked the box open.
Inside was an assortment of explosives. Fragmentation grenades, stun grenades, smoke canisters, and tear gas, all resting in rows next to each other. Layer upon layer of grenades rested inside, until the very bottom was revealed.
“Girls, this is a specially made Heckler and Koch forty-millimeter grenade launcher.” Sunset held the odd and compact device up to view, as well as a bandolier of grenades.
“Ooh! I call that one!” Pinkie pointed at the grenade launcher.
Before anyone else could object, Sunset handed the weapon to her.
“An explosive weapon for an explosive personality. Just… aim in the general direction of the bad guys.” Sunset smiled.
“Okie dokie loki!” she checked to make sure the safety was on, but loaded in a grenade anyways, “Just in case!”
“Uh… no offense to Pinkie, but are you sure that’s a good decision?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Sunset winked, “If everything goes well, we won’t need it. Or perhaps any of these guns. But you know, like what Pinkie said. Just in case. Now let’s get to the body shop, and I’ll explain the rest. You girls tired?”
They all nodded.
“Well too bad. Time’s a luxury we don’t have.”