The sun came again, bathing the Canterlot skyline in light. The air was cool and crisp as the city was brought to life. From Rainbow's apartment, it was easy to see Downtown, the park, and Canterlot High. It was a nice view to look at. However, as Sunset stood in front of the window with her arms crossed, the view only held a little of her attention.
"Morning." Sunset said flatly, keeping her eyes focused on the outside world as she heard footsteps behind her.
"Hey." Rainbow yawned, making her way into the little kitchen, "How was your sleep?"
Sunset turned away from the window and took a seat at the table, resting her good arm on the surface.
"I didn't sleep." Sunset replied, tapping her fingers on the tabletop, "With everything that's happened, sleep isn't easy to get."
"Yeah." Rainbow replied, making some coffee and toast, "Fluttershy and I didn't get a lot of sleep either."
As the toast popped out of the toaster and the coffee perked as it brewed, Rainbow made her breakfast and took out three mugs. Filling two with the dark liquid, she brought one over to Sunset.
"Rainbow..." Sunset said, breaking the brief silence, "All of us need to talk. Not just you, me, and Fluttershy. But, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack too."
"You already said that, Sunset." Rainbow replied, setting her plate of toast and coffee on the table, before taking a seat across from Sunset, "What's all this about, anyway? Even after all this time away from us, I still remember that you liked keeping us in the loop, most of the time."
Sunset looked down at her reflection in the coffee and sighed, trying to let the stress loosen. She glanced out the window again, letting her vision roll to the park.
"It would be easier if I showed you." Sunset said, looking back at Rainbow.
"Okay..." Rainbow replied hesitantly, taking a sip of her coffee, "Show me then."
"I can't. I don't have it with me. I hid it away for safety. But, if you can get the others to meet me at the park, I'll show you then. Plus, there's something in town I need to look into."
Rainbow didn't say anything as she looked at Sunset and eating her toast. Just then, Fluttershy emerged from the bedroom, ready and tidy for the day. She gave Sunset a quick glance as she walked by.
"Thank you for letting me stay, Rainbow." Fluttershy said, giving a quick hug before she grabbed her kit, coat, and shoes, "Sorry, I can't visit. One of the tigers is having cubs and I need to be ready to help if something goes wrong."
"Anytime, Flutters." Rainbow said, glancing back at Fluttershy, "Oh, after work, could you meet me and the girls at the park? Say, eight o'clock? We need to have a meeting."
Fluttershy stopped what she was doing and looked from Rainbow to Sunset, putting the pieces together. She frowned at the redhead, causing Sunset to look away again.
"I'll try to be there." Fluttershy sighed, resuming to tie her shoes, "Where in the park?"
"The old basketball court." Rainbow said, glancing out the window and spotting the court, "There shouldn't be anyone around there by then, so we could talk in peace."
Sunset knew that last bit was more for her benefit, than Fluttershy's. But, either way, it sounded a little intimidating to both of them.
"Alright." Fluttershy said, opening the door, "I'll see you then. Bye."
"Later." Rainbow called back, hearing the door close and making eye-contact with Sunset again, "I should probably get ready for work too. Do you need a ride anywhere?"
"No thanks." Sunset replied, holding up a hand, "I've got my own wheels. But, I'll follow you out."
With that, Rainbow and Sunset finished their coffee and start to gather their things. Rainbow had to take a bit longer to get ready than Sunset, who only had to grab her jacket and gun. Once both were ready for the day, Sunset stepped out of the apartment, followed by Rainbow as she locked the door. Neither of them said anything as they took the elevator down to the lobby.
"Nice car, Rainbow." Sunset commented, breaking the awkward silence as she admired the 300ZX, "I always figured you were a fan of Japanese imports."
"Yeah..." Rainbow replied, taking out her keys, "But, I'm also a fan of American muscle too. What about you? Where's yours?"
"You're looking at it. Well, for the time being, I'm riding it, anyway."
Rainbow watched as Sunset mounted the Ninja and started the engine, letting it idle. Rainbow just smirked as Sunset put on her helmet, opening the visor.
"I'll meet up with you later." Sunset said, looking back at Rainbow, "Just make sure the others are there. We're going to need all of them."
Without waiting for a reply, Sunset closed the visor and sped away, leaving Rainbow behind in a instant.
As she rode down the street, Sunset couldn't help but get the feeling she was being watched. Her head swiveled from side to side, watching for anything that seem odd to her. However, since she had been gone so long, Canterlot City had changed and most of the things she knew where different or gone. Sugar Cube Corner was no longer were it had been, instead there was some coffee shop with a fancy name that she couldn't pronounce. Further down, she saw Rarity's old dress shop that she worked at during high school, but now it was bigger and was called Canterlot Boutique, rather than Formal Threads. Sunset slowed a bit as she caught a glimpse of someone in the building, she could've sworn it was Rarity, but Sunset wasn't sure based on how quickly she passed the store.
Stopping at an intersection, Sunset saw a black '16 Dodge Challenger SRT with red racing stripes in the crossing traffic. She couldn't see the driver from her current distance, but the car scared her as she thought of Zero stopping and getting out to shoot at her. But, as the Challenger crossed, Sunset could see that the driver wasn't Zero. She let out a breath as she watched it drive further away, before her light turned green and continuing on. After riding a little longer, Sunset reached the industrial area and turned into the parking lot of an abandoned steelworks.
"This place is still creepy to look at in daylight." Sunset whispered to herself, rolling into the building through a large open doorway, "Hopefully, it's still safe."
She slowly rode parallel to the smelting irons and rollers. Finally, she stopped near a set of stairs that led up to the supervisor's office. Sunset dismounted and rolled the bike into a dark spot under the stairs, hiding it in shadow. Once she was sure it was hidden, Sunset ventured further into the steelworks, approaching the maintenance area. As she entered the little area, Sunset found what she was looking for.
Under a workbench, buried under various tools and machine parts, was the briefcase she had stolen from Zero and the Shift crew. The metal pieces scrapped and clattered as she removed the briefcase from its hiding place. Sunset groaned a bit as she looked at the combination lock on the case.
"If it had a keyhole," Sunset groaned, inspecting the numbers on the dials, "I'd be able to pick the lock. But, I don't know how to break combinations."
Looking around, Sunset looked at the tools that had been left behind. The electric grinder would've been a good choice, if there was power in the building. But, there wasn't, so she looked at a crowbar and sledgehammer to break the case with. However, she knew the gem inside might be damaged if she did that. There were wrenches, screwdrivers, and a ballpeen hammer.
"I might not be able to break the combination..." Sunset commented to herself, grabbing the ballpeen and a big flathead screwdriver, "But, maybe, I could break the locking bolt."
Scanning the thin gap between the two halves of the case, Sunset spotted the glint of metal that was the bolt. She lined up the head of the screwdriver with the bolt, wedging into the small space. Once it couldn't go any further, Sunset used the hammer, hitting the screwdriver with power. However, the vibrations of every impact rippled along her arm and stung at her injured shoulder. But, eventually, the bolt cracked and broke after a few more strong hits.
As she opened it, Sunset was relieved to see the gem inside unharmed. It wasn't glowing anymore, but it still held a strong energy around it. Carefully, she reached out and touched it, feeling the warm emerald green glasslike surface. The gem was not much bigger than her palm, which was good for carrying purposes. But, she had no clue what it was or what it could do. All she knew was that it was from Equestria. Sunset may not have been there in a long time, but being born there allowed her to naturally recognize the magic in it.
Sunset snapped out of her daze as she heard an engine sound nearby. Quickly, she pocketed the gem and slammed the case closed, before darting toward a staircase that lead to the catwalks above the production area. As soon as Sunset reached the top, a black Mercedes G Class SUV entered through the large door and slowly rolled until there wasn't any room for it to continue. Once it stopped, three men stepped out of it. They wore tactical gear and black clothing. Two of the men were armed with automatic weapons, while the third carried a shotgun.
"The tracker says this was the last known position." Sunset heard one of them say, watching him hold up a PDA and looking around, "But, I can't get a signal in here. Too much magnetic interference."
"Phoenix is smart, remember?" Another said, stepping ahead of his partners, "She probably knew there was a tracker on the case and picked this place on purpose."
"Do you think she's here?" The third one asked, looking all around the darkness.
"I don't know. But, watch yourselves. If she is here, she'll most likely be watching us. If you see her, don't miss."
From her vantage point, Sunset watched as they turned on the flashlights on their weapons and advanced further into the steelworks. In her black motorcycle jacket, pants, and boots, Sunset was easily concealed in the shadows. Even though it was almost midday, there were places were the light couldn't reach. Slowly, she crouch-walked along the catwalk, keeping an eye on the trio of gunmen on the ground floor. As she moved further, Sunset spotted a stray bolt laying on the catwalk and got an idea. Carefully, she grabbed the bolt and tossed it toward a steel rail on the other side of the floor.
All three men stopped upon hearing the loud clang of metal and aimed, but none of them fired. Instead, the leader signaled the other two to go in different directions, while he continued forward. Sunset watched through the grated catwalk, slowly advancing forward. She allowed herself to glance at the supervisor's office and was relieved to see that she was getting closer to her bike. Looking back, Sunset saw that they were almost at the spot where the bolt hit.
"She's not over here." One of them stated, looking around the little area.
"No." The second said, kneeling down and picking up a lone bolt off the floor, "But, she's definitely here. Spread out, find the case, keep your eyes open."
All three went in different directions, keeping their weapons aimed. However, none of them noticed as Sunset worked her way around the supervisor's office and down the stairs to where her bike was hidden. However, she remained in the shadows as her eyes focused on the SUV. She saw three exit, but that didn't mean the SUV was empty. Hugging the wall, Sunset drew her gun and advanced toward the vehicle, occasionally glancing back to check the three gunmen. Once she was close enough, Sunset got down on her stomach and crawled up to the SUV. And when she reached it, she took a low crouch and gripped the door handle, ready to start shooting if someone was inside.
But, when Sunset threw the door open, she was relieved to find that it was empty. However, she did find something useful in the SUV. Under the passenger seat, Sunset saw road flares, a butterfly knife, and a small first-aid kit. Glancing to look, Sunset saw the trio still occupied on the far end of the steelworks. Using that to her advantage, Sunset pocketed the knife, opened the first-aid kit and grabbed the bandage roll along with a flare. Quickly and quietly, she closed the door and went around to the gas tank cover. Opening the cover and removing the cap, Sunset unrolled the bandaging and stuffed one end into the tank and unrolled the other end to the back of the SUV.
"Hey. I found the case." She heard one of the gunmen say, "But, it looks damaged."
"Is the lock broken?" Another said, as she made her way back to her bike and mounted it.
As soon as she started the engine, Sunset heard three voices calling out. But, with her helmet and the sound of the engine, she couldn't make out what they were saying. Quickly she ignited the flare and tossed it onto the cloth, making it catch fire and burn. She didn't stay to watch as she opened the throttle and raced out of the steelworks, followed by the sound of an explosion.
"That was too close." Sunset said to herself, racing down the road and weaving between traffic.
She quickly patted her pockets, finding the gem in one of them and breathing a sigh of relieve. But now, she had the proof she needed to get the others to help her and that was good. However, given what just happened, Sunset was beginning to really wonder if asking them for help was a good idea. Especially if Saber and Zero got involved.