//------------------------------// // Ch.5 Hitting the windshield // Story: Sunsets Wild Ride // by glory_dawn //------------------------------// The two men shook hands again and Sunset put her coins in her satchel as the got ready to leave. She stared at the man named Joe and saw how giddy he was to have the two coins now in his possession. It made her uneasy to see them in his greasy hands but the deal was done and she understood what that meant. She put the satchel on and put a hand on it as she thought about the amount she was given for the coins and wondered what they would have fetched on the Equestrian black market. She still and eight including the giant ones and that gave her peace of mind in the short term. “Very good Storm, I’ll get these to my friend so we can see what the actual value of these things are, if at all. I’ll give you a call if I find something out” Joe said as he smiled from ear to ear with the coins in his hand. “Ok, see ya later Joe. Thanks for the help” Mr. Storm replied as he was walking towards the exit with his daughter and Sunset in tow. Once they were outside the shop and standing by the old white Crown Vic did Mr. Storm turn around and looked at Sunset. He dug in his pocket for the cash and then held it out for Sunset to take. “This is for you” Mr. Storm said as he held a wad of currency out for Sunset. She grabbed the money and rolled it up and stuck it in her back pocket. The money felt like a lot but she wasn’t quite sure and she didn’t want to be asking if it was. It was already being hammered into her that this wasn’t the best of areas to be in so she wanted to be extra careful. Besides she wasn’t sure how she felt about all this help being thrust upon her and this made her wary of every move that was being made. “Thanks for the help sir.......again........” Sunset said as she thought about the money in her back pocket. “Don’t mention it, always glad to help. Now don’t go spending that all at once, havin a good time and all” Storm told her as he got into the vehicle and started it up. Sunset got into the vehicle and they were off once again at high speeds as Sunset bounced around in the back while Rain just continued to look at her at what now Sunset understood to be a phone unaffected as the car dashed through lanes. The sky was cloudy and it started to rain halfway into they’re drive. Sunset looked at all the tall buildings as the passed them on the freeway. Some of these things looked like long castles all sitting next to each other. It amazed her and it was all so much to take in. There were tall buildings in Equestria but none so magnificent as these that she saw before her. As the car ride went on Sunset took out the wad of cash and looked at it as she inspected the bills one by one looking at the numbers and the writing on them. Some had twenties on them, some had one hundreds on them but she didn’t know if it was good or not for this world. Just then she saw that Storm was taking a glance at her through the rearview mirror. “You don’t like the amount I got you? Think you could have gotten more or what?” Storm asked as he drove. “Oh, no that’s not it. I just thought that it was quite a bit.” Sunset said as she didn’t want him to know she didn’t get how much she can get with this amount. “I got the best deal since Joe is an old work buddy from way back. So don’t you fret”. The ride continued as they turned and got off the highway and started going through some dilapidated neighborhoods that looked in disarray. The phone rang and Storm took the phone from Rain as she was using it. “Ya, I'm nearby. Ok, let me head over then” Storm said into his phone as he got off the highway and made a crazy U-turn on the street. Sunset wasn’t wearing her seatbelt so she went flying to one side and then the other as the car righted itself. “Just gotta make a little stop you guys. It’ll be quick.” Storm told them Sunset wondered what was up since she noticed that Rain got more serious and straightened up in her chair and kept a tentative watch on the street as they passed neighborhoods. The feeling was a little more tense than usual and Sunset could feel it. After about the fifth neighborhood the cam to grimy looking cul-de-sac as Mr. Storm parked the car under a light pole. “Where are they?” Rain asked as not even five minutes had passed. Sunset didn’t know what was happening so she too kept her eyes peeled as she gripped the seat again. “I don’t know just give it a minute” Storm told Rain as he watched for something. “What are we doing he....”  “Look there he is! Fuck he’s kinda far!” Storm said as a skinny white male in tattered clothing walking over from between two houses that looked abandoned. The man gradually picked up his pace and started to then run towards the car. This made Storm look even more serious than he already looked so he put an arm across Rains chest while he looked at the man still running. “Stay here, lemme go out there” Storm told Rain more than the both of them. Mr. Storm got out of the vehicle and tried to speak to the man but before he could do anything the man was in front of him. In the moment before getting right up to Mr. Storm he looked to have taken out an item that he held in his hand, an item like the one she was interested in back at the shop. “He’s got a gun! POPS!!” Rain shouted with wide eyes as she crawled into the driver seat and put it in drive all in quick succession. The vehicle peeled out and quickly took off around the cul-de-sac. Sunset had fallen down and struggled to get up as the vehicle made a round trip around the situation. Once Sunset was up, she could see that out the window Mr. Storm was being held up by the skinny white male. Storm had his hands up and in front of himself as he talked and said something to the man as he moved closer bit by bit. Before Rain could turn the wheel, Sunset saw Mr. Storm with lightning speed grab the muzzle of the so-called gun and was now wrestling with the white skinny man. The skinny man had on a grey hoodie that Storm pulled over the man's head but still they fought over the gun. Sunset cowered down as she then heard several loud bangs all of a sudden. *BAM BAM!!! Went the weapon as it shot towards the sky. Rain put the car facing the two fighting in the street and then stepped on it. Sunset figured she was going to try and run the man fighting her father over but the notion was crazy because there was a big chance, she would hit her father. The two continued to fight as the vehicle hurled toward them. The man then pointed the gun towards the car as Mr. Storm hand his arm in his hand and the other on the man's neck. There were three more loud bangs and Rain Yelled as she turned the wheel and crashed into another light pole across from the scene. Sunset went flying into the front of the car and smashed her face on the windshield. Everything went black for Sunset as rain then started to be heard pouring outside with thunder in tow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Sunset came to, she found that the car was in motion as she found herself laying in the backseat. The car was moving along at an even pace as they made their way in silence. Sunset sat up in the backseat and rubbed her aching forehead which throbbed like some kind of beast. “What happened.....”Sunset asked as she sat back in the comfortable seating. Sunset soon got her answer as the silence was then broken by Rain. “WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?! THIS IS FREAKIN BULLSHIT!! WHO WAS THAT!?” Rain shouted as she turned to shout at her father. “Look it's just a deal gone wrong is all.....” Storm said as he was putting the car into park since they had reached the motel. “Oh a deal gone wrong, is that all!!!” “Calm down look no one got hurt so-” “No one got hurt!? Did you look at your arm!?” Rain shouted as she pointed to her father's arm that was bleeding. The shirt around his arm was torn and blood was dripping all over his arm. The three got off the vehicle and went inside the twos room. Mr. Storm went over to the sink and started to run water as he took off his shirt. Sunset found that walking felt a little funny and that she was a little wobbly on her feet so she sat on the bed with her satchel she fished from the bottom of the cars chair. Rain just went over to the counter and moved several items around till she found what she was looking for. It was a first aid kit and she quickly brought it over to her father who took it without saying anything. As Sunset looked around the whole scene looked rehearsed as if they had been through this before. The whole ordeal hadn’t really sunk in for Sunset since she was still in a bit of a daze from the hit. “ARRGHH!!” Storm could be heard yelling as he pulled something from his arm. Sunset only sat in her spot and watched the two as Rain brought moist towels and bottles of liquid for him to put on the wound. The grunts and groans along with all the paper towels that Rain was throwing away was more than enough to make Sunset start to question what in Tartarus was going on. She knew some kind of deal had gone wrong but it all happened so fast and it left her with everything spinning inside her head. After some more of Storm holding a gauze bandage on his lower arm to put pressure and then Rain was ready to wrap up his arm as it was now cleaned and ready. Rain just washed her hands from having dealt with all the bloody towels and such, the mood was still tense as no one had spoken since they entered the room. Sunset held onto her satchel sitting on the bed hoping that what she was feeling would subside. Rain came up and sat next to her on the bed and stared at the wall in silence. Storm came up and sat across from the them in the next bed and cradled his wounded arm as he thought about what to say. “Look, that was just a fuck up. A deal gone wrong is all, just gotta find see if that’s what it really was. I’ve only ever dealt with that guy a few times and so I thought it was just the usual delivery. I’m glad you weren’t hurt, the both of you I mean. I’m also glad that you took off in the car, but next time maybe don’t try and run us both over.” Storm said as he tried to get through to Rain who was clearly pissed off. “I didn’t know what else to do!! I just reacted! Besides you could have been killed regardless!!” Rain said as she threw her arms up in the air. “Ummm can someone tell me what happened and why? Sunset asked out of nowhere interrupting the moment the father daughter duo was sharing. Mr. Storm still cradling his arm looked at Sunset right in the eyes and stood up from the bed. “Look Sunset, seeing what just went down and from what you can guess I'm sure you know now that I’m a dealer. And being a dealer I'm sorry you got caught up in that whole ordeal, I'm just glad nothing happened to you two” Storm said. Sunset didn’t want to say something stupid that tipped them off but she had to know what it was Mr. Storm dealt in. “What do you deal? Is it something dangerous?” Sunset asked quickly before thinking. “All drugs are dangerous to a degree Sunset, but this one doubly so” Storm replied as he grabbed little baggie from his pocket and threw it at Sunset. Sunset caught it instinctively but didn’t know what she was looking at. The substance was a pink powder with tiny crystals shinning within it. Sunset looked at the baggie until Storm was in front of her and plucked it out of her hand. “This is that new designer stuff called X.C.-R356 or lovingly known as unicorn horn on the streets. You know the one, the one on the news and all over every cops radar, that one” Mr. Storm said as he tucked the baggie back into his front pocket. “POPS! WHAT THE HELL!??DON’T TELL HER THAT!!” Rain yelled as she pointed at Sunset blatantly. Sunset felt weirded out since it was clear she was supposed to stay in the dark about such things. Grabbing her satchel from the bed she walked towards the door. “Sunset wait....” Rain said as Sunset opened the door and stepped out to go to her room. She stuck the key in and went inside as Rain stood outside since she had followed her. There were a few knocks on the door as Sunset just sat in her bed trying her best to ignore Rain knocking away. Sunset went and turned on the television and left it on its high volume as it shouted away about something she needed in her life. After a little while the knocking stopped and Sunset was alone now with the t.v. On. she decided to spend the rest of the day in her room and try to see if she could make sense of everything that just happened. the name "Unicorn horn" for what she was just showed confused the hell out of her and so she wanted nothing more than to take a moment to herself. She sat in the middle of her bed and replayed the scene of the ordeal in her mind over and over until she was satisfied, she had all the details down. She then let her mind drift from that subject to that of Equestria since she still needed to figure out what to do. This whole time she has been spending with Mr. Storm and Rain was time she could be figuring out her situation. She scolded herself and sat down to see if she could at least focus enough magic to move a coin which she placed upon the bed. Nothing happened for the longest time, but after what seemed like an eternity with her eyes closed and sweat pouring down her brow something happened. From the tiniest little pin prick of a sensation, she could lightly feel the coin in her mind. She tried to expand on that feeling but found that it took all she had to just feel that tiny amount of it. Her eyes opened up as she exhaled and lost all feeling of the coin in her mind. This wasn’t working out in Sunset’s favor and she needed to speed things up. She immediately thought of the books she brought with her as a possible solution to her current problem. She thought deeply on the notion that the books would more than likely have a remedy for this predicament but also the fact that they might possibly drive her insane with such wild arcane magic. Sunset knew that one of the keys to possibly getting back to Equestria was to regain control of her magic, so that was something she was just going to have to work on. The rest of the day was spent trying to fully grasp the coin, but even feeling more than inch was seeming like an impossible mountain. The hours slipped by as sun gradually went down and Sunset was getting frustrated with everything. The fact that she was in some kind of robbery, the fact that she was now here in this world, and the fact that she couldn’t grasp a damn coin to save her life. She felt that she would be laughed at by everyone she ever knew back in Equestria, she’d be a laughing stock. She grabbed the coin and flung it across the room at the door as a knock came through. Sunset got up and opened the door slightly in her usual way and saw Rain standing outside by herself. She was in her usual black pants but with a plain white shirt this time. She stood there with her hair blowing in her face as the wind started to pick up. “Hey Sunset, I was gonna go and run some errands. Would you wanna come with me?” Rain asked looking a little iffy. Sunset looked back at her empty room and thought about continuing her endeavor with the coin but decided to take a break. “Ya sure, I guess I'll go since there’s nothing else going on right now” Sunset replied as she stepped out of the room and locked the door. “Ok, let's do this, let's get going cuz I got a few stops to make.” Rain said as she took out some keys from her pocket and unlocked the car door that was parked in front of the rooms. Sunset followed and got into the car, this time in a less suspicious manner. She sat there was Rain messed with her phone for a bit and plugged it into a cord that went into the car. Rain turned on the vehicle and pressed a button and as music blared, she was off. “Your dads not coming with us?” Sunset asked over the music that went on in loops. “Nah, he’s gotta stay back at the room and do something and make some calls. Sent me to go, plus I usually am the one to do this part!” Rain shouted over the music. “The what part?!” Sunset asked confused, since she couldn’t hear all that well over Rain’s choice of music. “Nevermind! We're almost to the first place, it's just around the corner here!” Rain replied as Sunset looked around at all the buildings they passed. Some building were covered in neon lights while others looked like they were barley standing. It was a weird contrast as every color she saw seemed so vivid and in your face. The car came to a halt in front of a building with lights up front spelling the words “GAS STATION”. “Wait here, ok.” Rain told Sunset as she left to go inside. Sunset watched Rain as she talked to some man behind a counter, the man laughed and gave and unamused Rain a backpack. She returned back to the vehicle and threw the backpack into the back seat. She started the car and took off in another direction, they were a little bit away from the gas station when Sunset decided to turn around and look at the back pack. “What did you get?” Sunset asked as she wondered what it could be. “Chemical agents. But we need a few more things so were going to have to make a couple more stops.” Rain told her. All this was painting a picture that Sunset wasn’t sure she was particularly fond of. Back in Equestria she had seen what drugs could do to ponies when she had to take a course having to with that. She wasn’t a prude she was just scared of the hard stuff. She would occasionally chew on “hazy leaf”, a plant that when chewed brought on a light euphoric sensation that would last for about an hour at a time. She always had to keep it secret since it was punishable with a fine. Sunset snapped back to reality from her thoughts on her own light drug use and looked at Rain. “Do you use the unicorn horn?” Sunset asked as she didn’t really know if prying in such a manner was ok.  Rain just sighed and turned down the music. “Well.........”