//------------------------------// // Ch. 8 // Story: Hexes and Horsepower // by ShadowFall //------------------------------// “Hello? Texas Armoring? I’d like to call in that favor now.” The sounds of heavy machinery and drilling drowned out whatever conversation Sunset Shimmer was having on her phone in the room away, as Scratch Customs had once again come to life. Even though the shop was supposed to be closed, there was work to be done. Work that came out of nowhere. “Alright, hey Fender Bender, roll those tires here!” Vinyl called to one of her mechanics, flipping up her visor. “Gotcha boss.” the gruff man extinguished his cigarette and started off with his task. Then, Sunset Shimmer came back from the break room. “Alright girls, I called a buddy of mine. We’re gonna be modifying your cars to help out with what we’ll do a bit later.” Sunset tucked away her phone, “In the meantime, I gotta run off to do an errand. Fluttershy’s Outback, Twilight’s Corolla, and Rarity’s Jag will be up first.” “What kind of mods are we lookin’ at here?” Applejack crossed her arms. “Mods that you’ll want to cherish after they save you from a rifle round. Oh, and some that might fire some as well.” Sunset winked. “So, are we getting like, machine gun turrets on our cars?” Rainbow Dash asked, her interest renewed in the conversation. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous-” “Maybe.” Sunset cut off Twilight. “Well, ah’ don’t want to come back to Sweet Apple Acres in a tank.” Applejack bit her lip, “But if that’s what’s necessary, ah’ won’t complain no more.” “Well, I’ll be going now. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” Sunset waved as she exited the shop. She had chosen to go on foot, as her motorcycle was still undergoing repairs from being stricken by an Uzi. With that, the girls found themselves willing to help Vinyl and Octavia with their duties. “So, any of you girls feel like hitting some slots?” Rainbow Dash asked, “I mean, after this all blows over. We are in Vegas.” “Slots? Ah’ think a nice game of Texas Hold’em would be great.” Applejack handed a wrench to Octavia, who slid underneath Rarity’s Jaguar with a creeper. “There’s so much to do in Vegas, I’ve always dreamed about coming here!” Pinkie smiled, but shrugged when she wiped some grease from her forehead, “Although, I didn’t expect it to go over like this.” “You think Sunset will be okay?” even Rarity was getting down and dirty with working on her car, “She did go off alone. In Vegas after all. With Wendigo probably lurking around.” “This is Sunset we’re talking about. I’m sure we have nothing to worry about.” Twilight reassured. Sunset had taken a taxi a considerable distance away from the body shop, finding herself walking through some of the lower-end apartments, and the alleyways they seemed to endlessly draw everywhere. Finding the right one, however, was a bit more of an easy task. She had chosen to hide her goods near some graffiti, with three prominent racial slurs spelled in red. Ducking into the correct alleyway, Sunset scanned her surroundings. No windows in the rising apartments looked down at her, and she had no followers. She could tell, as the shadow stretched from the corner of the entrance, revealing any who stood there. Choosing the correct day and time, the dumpster was free of trash, having been emptied just minutes ago. Sunset pushed the metal on wheels to the side, and after kicking away a cockroach, she started to feel the brick wall behind the dumpster. It didn’t take long for her to find the correct one, with her remembering that it was three bricks up from the right-hand wheel of the dumpster, then two bricks left. With a little pull, the masonry come out, and a tiny plastic case was tucked away in a hidden compartment. “Three years of work, all in this little box.” Sunset ran over in her mind, securing it within her jacket. Then, it was off to making a visit to an old friend. Within the same apartment complex walling the right side of the alley way, she made her way up the stairs. The pungent smell of tobacco and dampness infested the apartment, even when she was out of the rooms, climbing the stairs. Fourth floor. Room 4-E. Already with an eviction notice on the door. Damn. Sunset knocked on the door. “Fuck off!” a gruff voice came from within. Sunset knocked again, prompting the sound of footsteps approaching the door. She could swear that she heard the sound of a revolver's hammer cocking in place. Then, after a few seconds, the door opened, revealing a man in a tank top, camouflage cargo pants, and tattoos on his arms. “Hey there, Mess Hall.” Mess Hall looked over Sunset, then looked back at her face. “So, it’s time now?” Sunset nodded. “Alright.” Mess Hall went back inside, and after a tiny bit, came out with two duffel bags. “They’re heavy. Can you carry them?” “I’ll manage.” The two were standing there, face to face. “Why don’t you come on in?” Mess Hall offered. “Sorry. You know what’s going down. And why time’s of the essence.” “Right. Wendigo.” Mess Hall exhaled, “Kinda wish I knew what there were all about before I settled with Blackwater.” Sunset rose her eyebrow. “Jesus, it’s a joke.” Mess Hall ended up cracking a smile, “You know I’d help you if I could.” “Well, you already are.” Sunset nodded, “What’s with the eviction?” “Lost job. Apartment’s gonna go. But it’s all good. Got a new job as a crane operator. I’ll be moving into a slightly less shitty place now.” Mess Hall nodded.  “Maybe I’ll finally be done and twelve will be it.” Sunset shifted her feet.  “I’m at twenty eight, plus...two or three from yesterday.” “Jesus fucking christ.” Mess Hall whistled, “You better stay away from Johnny Law.” “I think I’m his best hope of making sure the world doesn’t fall apart.” Sunset shrugged, “That, and probably my friends too.” “Yeah. I’ll try and see you around. Keep your head down.” Mess Hall chuckled. “You too, bud.” Rainbow Dash had gone off and gotten lunch for everyone, and upon coming back, Sunset had arrived at the shop as well. “Huh. Nice timing. Didn’t know what you wanted, so I just got you a meatball sub.” Rainbow Dash handed her the sandwich. “Thanks.” as the crew took a break from working, Sunset then dropped the duffle bags on the ground, and opened them up, “Alright girls, this is what’s going to keep you safe, providing that you don’t go and stick your head out.” Sunset Shimmer started to take out vests upon vests of body armor, laying them along a couch in the break room, as well as the table, “This is a custom made multi-curve body armor. One of my old friends made this himself, and I even helped him test it out.” “Huh. Bullet-proof-” “Resistant.” Twilight corrected Rainbow dash, “How much does this weigh?” “Try it on.” Twilight slipped on the vest, adjusting it a tiny bit, “Huh. Not as bad as I thought. Feels like… fifteen or so pounds?” “Give or take. These things can stop armor piercing bullets from an AK-47. Though, the trauma afterwards will always be a concern.” Sunset patted the vests, “You guys should know that these are not a substitute for your brain. You want to be safe? Don’t go flailing your body in front of a machine gun. That also goes for sticking your head out.” “So, we have automatic weapons, and body armor? Are we going to literally fight an army?” Twilight asked after taking off the vest. “Think of it as… insurance.” Sunset compared. “Well, I am in favor of staying safe,” said Rarity, fingering the material of the vests. “But you aren’t gonna wear that in the casino,” said Sunset. The girls deadpanned. “Huh?” Applejack asked. “Yeah… you all might want to take a seat. Here’s what’s gonna go down.” Sunset Shimmer made sure everyone was at ease, including Vinyl and Octavia themselves as well. “So, remember what I said about Aurora Aether, the head of Wendigo being a massive car lover? Well, back when I was working for Wendigo, she was going to attend a poker game at the Venetian, sponsored by an unknown car company to win whatever they put up for a prize. Whatever that car turns out to be, the prospect of it alone has gotten Aurora to come away from her army to attempt to win it here.” Sunset started off. “Dang, wonder what that car is.” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud. “I think we have some more pressing matters. So what do we do?” Twilight asked. Sunset then placed a small plastic box on the table, then opened it up. Inside were four devices with three looking similar to each other, and a single USB drive. “Ooh, what do we have here?” Pinkie scanned over the little devices. “These three right here are a personal invention of mine. ‘Skeleton Keys’. Just as the name says, it scans the interior of a car’s ignition, three dimensionally prints the corresponding key inside, and inserts in electronics to override security locks in a car.” Sunset smiled, “If you can’t tell, I’m really proud of these babies.” “Oh my god, that is so fucking awesome!” Rainbow Dash took a key and inspected it. “Careful! They’re good for one use!” Sunset snatched it back, “These are just another form of insurance should you need to get away. Get into a car, plug this in, wait a few seconds, and you’re good to go.” “Wow, you made these all by yourself?” Fluttershy couldn’t help but be impressed at the ingenuity. “Heh, yeah. Took a while to perfect it. And a lot of trails as well.” Sunset admitted. “What about this?” Applejack motioned to the USB. “Wendigo-grade software for cyber warfare. Stole this one a while back. Now the question is…” Sunset looked over to Twilight. “Can you hack?” The group looked at her. “Uh… well, in high school I discovered magic and then designed and built my own electronics to study it.  Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can figure out some computer code,” Twilight explained. “Okay, that’s all said and done, but what do we actually do?” Rarity asked. “I’m very glad you asked. You see, out of the players coming into the poker game, there is one who can’t make it. A woman from the UK with an extensive car collection known as ‘Miss Violet’.” Sunset showed a picture of her face on her phone. “My word, she looks almost like me.” Rarity then felt her heart sink as realization dawned, “Oh no, you cannot possibly expect me to-” “Oh yeah. You go in, and play at that tournament. Get any information you can out of Aurora. Get close to her. Get me her room number wherever she is staying,” Sunset explained. “Oh dear god, I…” Rarity started to fumble with her hair. “Hey, think of it like you’ll be a spy! Like… uh… right! James Bond!” Vinyl pointed out. “Really?” Octavia rose her eyebrow at Vinyl. “Rarity, we’ll all be there to bail you out should something come up,” Sunset reassured her, “Right girls?” “Of course we will.” Fluttershy put her hand on her shoulder, “I’m sure you can pull it off beyond all odds.” “Yeah! Plus, you’ll have the excuse to wear something really nice!” Pinkie smiled. “Well… as long as you’ll be watching over me… okay. Now someone get me a drink. Something hard.” Rarity felt as if she was about to faint.