//------------------------------// // Negotiations, Confrontations, and Idiocy // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Capper leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. Sunset folded her arms and returned the steady gaze. After a minute, the crime boss spoke. “What do you want?” “You can't be serious!” Caelano shrieked. “You know what she does! She cheated! Everyone in this room knows it!” Capper turned his emerald gaze on his lieutenant. “How?” Caelano blinked and sputtered. “Well, she... she could have... wait... no... I don't know! But I know she pulled a fast one on us!” “And if you can't figure it out and I can't figure it out, then I'd say that's just as good as a legit win, don't you?” Capper grinned and turned his attention back to Sunset. “You were saying?” Sunset resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. “There's something in the forest surrounding the city. Something big and powerful.” “And?” “And I want to know what it is. We spotted some of the destruction it caused in the woods behind Canterlot High. I'm willing to bet there's been other sightings around town. I want to know about them.” Capper idly buffed his nails on his lapel again. “Wildlife ain't exactly our bag, Sunnybun.” “Don't call me Sunnybun,'” Sunset growled under her breath. She continued at normal volume. “No, but you have connections with the police and other public services. If this thing has been causing trouble elsewhere in town, there's bound to be reports of it. I want to know where and when.” Capper nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows n the desktop. “Why do you care?” Sunset blinked. “I'm sorry?” “Why do you care about this? I find it hard to believe you'd come back here looking for help from me, of all people, for some wild animal that's roaming around.” “I don't think it's just some wild animal,” Sunset replied. She took a deep breath and let it out. “I think it's a monster.” “Monster?” Caelano laughed. “What are you, six? Cap, this is bullshit.” She reached down and grabbed Sunset's shoulder. Sunset's eyes flashed. Before anyone knew what was happening, she had gotten too her feet, grabbed Caelano's wrist, bent her over the back of the chair, with her arm pulled up painfully behind her back. “I warned you,” Sunset hissed between clenched teeth. “Keep your god damn hands off me.” Capper had jumped to his feet and was reaching for his pistol again, but Applejack reached out and touched Sunset's other shoulder. “Sunset, that's enough!” she said sharply. “Let her go!” Sunset didn't move but continued to glare down at Caelano, who was biting her lip. Tears were forming in the corner of the lieutenant's eyes. “Sunset! Now!” Applejack barked. Sunset looked at her and Applejack almost recoiled at the fury in Sunset's eyes. But she folded her arms and stood her ground, immobile as the trees that lined her orchard. “Let. Her. Go.” Sunset snorted and let go. Caelano got herself upright and rubbed her shoulder. She and Sunset stared each other down. “I'm gonna remember that,” Caelano hissed. “Anytime, anywhere,” Sunset retorted. She glared at Capper. “Are you going to help me or not?” Capper withdrew his hand from within his coat and smoothed his hair back. “Give me the weekend. I should have something for you by Monday.” Sunset nodded. “I'll call you after I get out of school. Let's go, Applejack.” The two girls turned to leave. Caelano snarled and started forward. “Caelano!” Capper shouted. All three women turned back to look at him. Capper glared at Caelano. “It's over. They can go.” The lieutenant let out a large breath through her nose and turned back to Sunset. “Don't come back here again.” “We'll see,” Sunset said, matching Caelano's cold tone. She stalked out of the room, Applejack close behind. When the door closed, Caelano looked back at her boss. “You can't be seriously helping her.” Capper shrugged. “It's harmless enough. And who knows? Maybe there is something out there we should know about.” “This is going to bite us in the ass, Capper,” Caelano replied. “She was trouble then, and she's going to be trouble now.” “We'll see,” Capper murmured. He folded his hands and rested his chin on them, lost in thought. “What in the hell did you think you were doin'?!” Applejack yelled as the two girls drove away from Klugetown. “Pickin' a fight with that... that...” “Bitch?” Sunset suggested. Applejack glared at her briefly before returning her attention to the road. “Quit bein' a smartass. You know what I mean. What were you thinkin'?” Sunset sighed. “I know, but something about her pushes my buttons. Always has. Back when Capper took me in, she had a problem with me.” She leaned against the window and sighed again. “What you just saw was us being nice to each other. We've been worse. Much worse.” Applejack glanced at Sunset again. “How much worse?” Sunset turned her head slightly to look out at the dark streets. “By the time I started attending CHS, I had actually mellowed out quite a bit.” Applejack blinked and silently went back to driving, not really wanting to consider what Sunset might have been like before she became the tyrannical terror of Canterlot High. There was a chime, and Sunset reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. She glanced at the screen and sat up sharply. “What the hell were they thinking?!” she shrieked. She thumbed the screen and stabbed Twilight's name on her Contacts screen. “What's goin' on?” Applejack asked. “Our idiot friends decided to do something colossally stupid,” Sunset growled as the phone began ringing. “They're at Pinkie's. I swear, for someone so smart, Twilight can be a real moron sometimes.” “Seems to be a trend tonight,” Applejack muttered. She hit the turn signal and began heading for Pinkie's house.