//------------------------------// // Apprehension, Transactions, and Cards // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Applejack parked the truck next to the curb and she and Sunset climbed out. The street they were on was quiet and dirty. Old brownstones lined the street, most of them defaced with one form of graffiti or another. Potholes were scattered across the asphalt, and just about every other streetlight was burned out, casting shadows over the building. “You weren’t kiddin’ about Klugetown bein’ rough,” said Applejack. Sunset looked around and nodded. “Yeah, you need to be sure you know where you’re going and what you’re doing or you might as well resign yourself to being mugged or worse.” Sunset pointed to a brownstone a few doors down. “That’s the one.” She started walking down the sidewalk, but Applejack grabbed her arm, stopping her. “You sure you wanna do this, sugarcube?” she asked. “Ain’t nothin’ says we gotta go lookin’ for more trouble than we already got.” “I don’t want to do this either, AJ,” Sunset answered. “But we need to find this thing as fast as we can before Agent Shadow gets a whiff of it. This is exactly the kind of thing she investigates and it could lead right back to us. I’d rather make sure she doesn’t have an excuse to stay around any longer than she has to.” “And you’re sure this ‘friend’ of yours can find this thing faster’n we can? Is he really that well connected?” Sunset sighed and grabbed her elbow. Her shoulders slumped. “How do you think I got all the paperwork I needed to enroll at CHS in the first place?” Applejack blinked as Sunset started down the street again. She quickly caught up and followed the redheaded girl to the brownstone indicated. Sunset took a deep breath. “All right, when we get in there, let me do the talking,” she instructed. “All you have to do is look mean.” “Right.” Applejack pulled down on the brim of her hat, hiding her eyes in shadow. Sunset nodded in approval. “Good. One last thing, try not to lose your temper. These guys play rough and for keeps, understand?” “Gotcha.” Sunset shook her head and grabbed Applejack’s shoulders. “I’m serious, Applejack, do you understand? Because the last thing I want is for you to get hurt if things go completely bad in there.” Applehack saw how serious her friend was and nodded. “I understand, Sunset.” Sunset let out a relieved sigh and let go. “If we’re lucky, we’ll get one of the lower level goons.” She reached out and rang the bell. After a few moments, they heard metallic clunks as deadbolts were unlocked. The door opened a crack and a part of a pale face with a large brown eye peered out at them. “What the hell do you want?” a husky feminine voice demanded. Sunset stepped fully into the porch light. “Hello, Caelano. Is he in?” The eye widened then disappeared before the door flew open, revealing a tall, willowy woman. Her skin was just as pale as her face indicated. She had short spiky green hair, with some feathers stuck in the back. She was dressed in brown leather: boots, pants, and vest. She wore no shirt. A knife was in a sheath at her belt, and spiked bracelets circled her wrists. “You’ve got a set of solid brass ones to show your face around here again, you little bitch,” Caelano sneered. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t slit your face right here and now.” Applejack growled and stepped forward but Sunset put out an arm and stopped her. She fixed Caelano with a grin. “I have money and I want to make a purchase. I’d rather deal with my old friends…” The sneer was audible to everyone on the stoop. “... but, if I have to, I could always go visit Grumm,” Sunset finished. “He’s still running things out of that flea market on Hsiao, right? Be a real shame if Capper didn’t get first crack at my money because someone’s still holding a grudge over something that happened years ago.” “You broke my goddamn arm!” “I paid your medical bills, didn’t I?” Sunset replied. Caelano grumbled and Sunset smiled again. “So we’re even. Now, why don’t you run along and tell him I’m here?” “Why don’t you go f--” “Of course, I could always send him a nice email telling him who tipped Verko off on that big score that could have wiped out his debt in one fell swoop. Where exactly were you that night again, Caelano?” Sunset folded her arms and looked at the lieutenant. Caelano’s face scrunched up like she had bitten into a rancid lemon. She let out an angry breath through her nose, then slammed the door. Applejack turned to Sunset. “What the sam hill are you doin’? She ain’t never gonna let us in now!” Sunset held up three fingers and slowly lowered each. When she got to her index finger, she pointed at the door, which opened. Caelano stood there, fuming. “He says he’ll see you. Get your asses in here.” “See? Was that so hard?” Sunset taunted as she and Applejack entered the brownstone. “Sunset Shimmer,” came the voice from the shadows of the large chair behind the desk at the end of the room. Sunset folded her arms and frowned. “Surprise,” she said flatly. Motion from the chair. “Now, what was it you said the last time we were in the same room together? Oh yes. ‘I’m outta here, you two-bit, know-nothing chisler.’” A form got up from the chair and slid around the corner of the desk. Applejack felt her fists clench. Sunset stood motionless as her eyes tracked her old acquaintance’s movements. “And now, here you are, just a few years later and Caelano here tells me you’re asking for a favor.” The minimal light in the room reflected off his eyes, causing them to glitter like emeralds in the darkness. “I just want information, Capper,” Sunset replied. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small cloth bag. “I can pay for it.” “Hm. Lemme see.” Capper held out a thin hand with long, narrow fingers into the light. Golden skin shimmered. Sunset tossed the bag and the crime lord caught it with ease. The hand disappeared into the shadows. There was a clap, and a light came on over the desk. Capper was slim, handsome, and surprisingly short, not much taller than Applejack. He wore a pair of black pants with a matching button down shirt. A red vest was visible under his darker red overcoat. Two shiny gold buttons were at the lapels of the coat. Green catlike eyes surveyed his visitors. He upended the bag, causing six gold coins and ten gemstones of various colors to spill out onto the desktop. Applejack stared and looked at Sunset, who glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and mouthed the word “later.” Applejack got herself under control and went back to trying to look menacing. Capper picked up one of the gold coins, studied it, then produced a jeweler’s loupe from his pocket. He screwed it into one eye and looked at each gem. He took his time, not saying anything. “They’re real,” Sunset said, annoyance in her voice. Capper looked up at her. “I know,” he answered, and went back to examining the gems. Eventually, he put the last one down and took out the loupe. “It’s not enough.” “You don’t even know what I’m asking for yet,” Sunset protested. Capper idly buffed his nails on the lapel of his coat. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not enough. Not for you.” “Oh for the love of -- what the hell do you want from me, Capper? I’m sorry I called you that when I left, all right? I was fourteen and stupid.” “Some would argue that coming back here is just as stupid.” “Maybe, but right now, something is out there causing trouble and I’m looking to head it off before it attracts the wrong kind of attention.” Capper’s head turned, a frown crossing his features. “What kind of attention?” “Federal,” Sunset answered. “There’s a fed snooping around town. Right now, it’s just her, but if I don’t take care of this soon, there may be more.” “Oh, please,” Caelano snorted. She started moving toward Sunset and Applejack. “Cap, this is just another of her bullshit stories. She’s wasted enough of our time.” She reached out to grab Sunset’s shoulder. “Caelano, so help me, you put one finger on me or my friend and I will break your other arm.” Sunset’s gaze didn’t leave Capper, but it did cause his lieutenant to hesitate. Applejack’s frown deepened at the threat. Caelano took another step forward and Sunset’s head turned to fix her with a cold, hard stare. “I can still do it. Don’t test me.” Caelano returned the stare, but soon glanced over at Capper, who was looking thoughtful. He waved Caelano off. She stepped away from Sunset. “You got lucky last time,” she snarled. Sunset shrugged. “Maybe. Whatever lets you sleep at night.” “All right, enough,” Capper said. He walked back behind the desk and sat down. He gestured at the chairs in front of it. “Sit.” Sunset and Applejack complied. Capper steeped his fingers and looked at them for a long while. “You hurt my feelings when you left, Sunset. Not smart.” “No,” Sunset agreed. “It wasn’t.” “But I chalked it up to you being a stupid kid,” Capper continued. He watched Sunset, who did her best not to react. “By all rights I should have Caelano call Boyle and Mullet in here to teach you and your friend some manners. However, I have a better idea.” Capper reached into a desk drawer and withdrew a battered pack of playing cards. Sunset held her breath as she saw the familiar black-backed deck. Capper grinned, letting his perfect teeth show. “I see you remember these. Do you still got it, Sunny?” “Don’t call me Sunny,” Sunset said quietly. “Are you serious?” “Deadly. I’ve been struggling to find a shark as good as you ever since you left. So, I propose a friendly wager. You win, I dig up whatever you want to know, for free.” “Capper!” Caelano gasped. Capper held up a hand, silencing her. “And if I win… three wishes.” “What do you mean ‘three wishes?’” Sunset asked. “Exactly that. You do me three favors, free of charge, no questions asked.” “Sunset, let’s go,” said Applejack. “‘Tain’t worth givin’ this polecat anything.” “Quiet, hayseed, the grown ups are talking,” Capper snapped. Sunset’s eyes flashed, and before Capper knew it she had snatched the cards from his hand and began shuffling. All eyes in the room watched in astonishment as Sunset made the cards dance between her fingers, sliding them up one arm and down the other, fanning them in intricate patterns before seeming to fly together of their own will and reforming into a neat and tidy deck on the desk in front of her. “Insult my friend again, and that pretty face of yours is going to be indisposed for the next month.” Sunset cut the cards then flipped the top three: the ten of diamonds, the 8 of hearts and the queen of spades stared up at them from the table. She looked over at Applejack. “AJ, I’ve got this.” Applejack nodded, but didn’t relax. Though her posture was tense, Sunset was smiling. But it wasn’t the same kind of smile she normally had. That one was friendly, open, and welcoming. This smile was colder, harder, more calculating. A mix of confidence and deviousness. It was a smile Applejack had hated to see when Sunset used to walk the halls of Canterlot High before the Fall Formal. It was one that she hated to see now, because it indicated something the farm girl was sure she didn’t like. Sunset was enjoying this.