Hexes and Horsepower

by ShadowFall

Ch. 7

Vegas was as lively as ever. The night sky had no stars in sight from the overbearing light pollution that emanated from the various hotels and casinos that literally made up the entire city. As the posse drove through the packed and crowded streets, Pinkie couldn’t help but gawk at all of the famous and huge hotels that littered the city of sin.

Rainbow Dash had heard about “From Scratch” before. The body shop had only sprung up a few years ago, but from their work on cars advertised in magazines and online, the custom shop gained a massive influx of business off of its reputation and quality.

Almost any car was welcome there. From old yet firm classics, to the most high-end luxury machines, and even motorcycles, From Scratch customised and tweaked them all, and with outstanding results to boot.

It had secretly been one of Rainbow’s biggest desires to have work done on her Mustang from this very shop. But with the combination of trying to get her race track out of disrepair, as well as the hefty price tag that shop charged, it was hardly a possibility.

Then, after delving deeper into the city, driving past all of the neon plastered everywhere, they found a huge spike in cars that sported custom paint jobs, hydraulics, and accessories. As the street next to them was empty for whatever reason, the girls quickly realised why. Two cars, a Corvette Z06 proudly wearing a chrome wrapped coat of paint, and an Audi R8 with a simplistic, yet attentive wash of white barreled down the road, with people cheering and hollering on the sidewalk.

“Woah!” Applejack couldn’t help but shout as the roar of the cars shot past them, “Guess we’re in that part of Vegas.”

“Yeah, looks like it. Hey, just around the corner here.” Sunset pointed, and Applejack turned.

Coming around a bend, a solid concrete structure with a sign sporting “From Scratch” in blue neon on a white background presented itself. Open garages revealed sparks flying from cars and the incessant sound of power tools. Unlike many buildings in Vegas, the neon on the outside hardly distracted from the real eye-candy on the inside. A clean and very well lit interior presented the slew of cars being worked on or displayed. Other vehicles were parked on the streets surrounding it, as well as a crowd of people hanging around as well.

“Pretty busy…” Twilight noted mentally as her Corolla felt out of place in a land of Challengers and GTs. She could see the dirty glances some members of the crowd were giving the group as the beat-up pickup and the plain Outback rolled up the the renowned shop.

“Pull over there.” Sunset pointed once again to six free parking spaces.

“Those say ‘reserved’, Sunny.” Applejack rose an eyebrow.

“It’s for us. Trust me.” Sunset glanced back at her. Applejack shrugged and pulled in. If some asshole keyed her truck, it really wouldn’t subtract much from the already aged pickup.

The Rainbooms hopped out of their vehicles, with Fluttershy trying not to cover her ears at the sounds of drilling and engines revving all around.

“Alright, we’re gonna go talk to the owners!” Sunset motioned towards the shop.

“Are you kidding?! This is From Scratch! What makes you think you could walk up and just demand for them to work on our cars?!” Rainbow Dash yelled through the noise.

“Just come on!” Sunset already started to walk towards the shop. Noticing that the drivers of those (mostly) shabby vehicles were women, and very fine looking ones too, some of the men in the crowd turned their heads and followed them with their eyes, either hollering or getting disapproving glances from their girlfriends right beside them.

“How rude.” Rarity snorted as she turned her head away from the crowd, heading into the interior. The sounds of drilling only got louder as they went inside, various mechanics in welding visors modifying all sorts of cars. An impressive clientele awaited the group inside. A Ferrari 458 was the centerpiece of the cars being worked on, surprising the girls as usually the company itself would often handle modifications and work done on their prized car line. A Bentley Flying Spur was just having its logo polished, as well as a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud from the fifties and sixties having its paint restored inside.

“Oh my god. Look at all of this!” Rainbow Dash gawked at the assortment of automobiles, “Look at that Ferrari!”

“Well ah’ll be damned. Looks like we’re pretty far out of our league here.” Applejack scratched the back of her head.

“Even I have to admit, it’s incredible!” Fluttershy witnessed a Dodge Challenger roll away from the shop as the mechanics did a final check, then gave a thumbs up.

Then, one of the mechanics walked up after popping up his visor, a blue skinned man sporting a double toned grey hairdo, “Can I help you?”

Sunset nodded, “We’re here to see the owner.”

“You got an appointment?”

Sunset came up and whispered into his ear, then after that was done, the mechanic looked over the group and nodded, “Hold on a sec. Hey boss! They’re here!”

Then, one of the mechanics in a white jumpsuit turned their visor towards the group that had arrived to their shop. Upon standing up, it was clear that it was a woman from the way the jumpsuit hugged her body, the curves and breasts noticeable apart from the men. The owner walked towards them, looked over the group, then took off her helmet.

Revealed to them was the all too familiar blend of white skin, striking dark and light blue hair in a spiky and wild style, and those unmistakable red eyes.

“Hey guys! Long time no see, huh?” Vinyl Scratch greeted her old High School and University acquaintances.

“Vinyl Scratch?!” the Rainbooms, save for Sunset stammered.

“You run From Scratch?! How-... oh. Well… I guess I should have expected that.” Twilight gave an awkward smile, “How did you get all of this?”

“Heh, long story short: DJing was fun and introduced me to a lot of people, and I figured out that there was a higher demand for my technical skills in cars than DJ music, and… hey, remember my old car?” Vinyl mentioned.

“Oh yeah, the… ‘Wubmobile’ was it?” Rarity remembered far back from the Battle of the Bands.

“Yeah! Turns out that when people saw that online, they said I should open a sort of car shop! I mean, it was really more of a promotional thing, but I decided to give it a try, and…” Vinyl then motioned to everything around her.

“Wow. You really found your success. I’m happy for you.” Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“Aw, thanks. Yo, Tavi’! Our old friends are here!” Vinyl called to another mechanic, who upon walking over and flipping up her visor to reveal her grey skin and black hair done into a bun, turned out to be her roommate and best friend.

“Oh my, I thought you all were coming next morning.” Octavia wiped her brow, “It’s great to meet you all again!”

“Still play the cello?” Applejack asked as the sounds of machinery droned on.

“You bet she does! She’s even part of the Las Vegas Philharmonic!” Vinyl came over and put an arm around her waist.

“Oh Vinyl, it’s really not that-”

“Come on! Bloat your ego once in awhile!” as the two intermingled, Twilight suddenly popped the question.

“Wait, are you two dating?” Twilight asked and couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the sight of the two.

“Well…” Octavia slipped off her glove and revealed a wedding ring.

“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Rarity nearly squealed as she took the two into a hug, “I’ll have you both know that you have my best wishes!”

“Wait, you two are actually married? How come I never got invited to the wedding?” Sunset laughed a bit.

“Oh, I thought you were still working at-”

“Who wants drinks?!” Octavia suddenly burst out.

“U-uh… yeah! You girls must be parched from all that driving! And hungry. In fact, after the shop closes, I’ll get you all some dinner.” Vinyl offered.

“Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie nodded and followed them off along with Sunset. The other five girls stood there, shrugged, and followed them deeper into the shop.

---

Closing down the shop, and with the crowd gathered before now gone, the girls settled themselves in a break room within the shop. Some beers were handed out, and each girl, even Fluttershy were aching for some booze after the previous events and labor.

“So, what brings you all here?” Vinyl asked, taking off her glasses and setting them down on a countertop.

“We need help.” Sunset declared before any of the others could answer.

“Well, yeah. Not to sound rude or anything, but I think all of your rides could do with some extra ‘omph’. That, and maybe just a touch up.” Vinyl shrugged, “Sure, I’ll help. But ya guys shoulda made an appointment first. You know how busy we can get?”

“She’s right, you know. Though we appreciate the reunion after all these years.” Octavia sat down after getting out of her jumpsuit and undoing her bun on her head, “What have all of you been up to?”

“Oh, well I’ve been trying to start up an animal rescue project housed in the Everfree Forest.” Fluttershy started, “It’s been tough to get some volunteers, but I think with some dedication it could become a national park.”

“Bought some run-down race track to restore.” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “Guess I’ll kinda see where it goes.”

“I manage Sugarcube Corner now!” Pinkie explained, “Still, I kinda missed the Cakes. They both went into sales to support their kids.”

“Well, I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’ve climbed the ranks of the fashion industry and have become a leading designer in France and Britain.” Rarity only took a few sips of the beer before putting it down, “Hence where the Jaguar had come from.”

Octavia turned her head, “Really now? It sounds that success has found all of you as well.”

Applejack scratched her head, “Well, don’t know about me. The farm’s kinda been hard work after Granny passed away and Applebloom went off to the University of Canterlot. Mac’s still around, and maybe he’ll marry Sugar Belle. Hopefully she moves in if she does.”

“Granny Smith passed away? When?” Sunset turned her head back to Applejack.

“Round’ three years ago. Bout’ a week and a half after New Years.” Applejack pursed her lips.

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Sunset acknowledged.

“It’s alright. Gran’ would be more than happy to know that the farm’s still gonna live on.” Applejack nodded.

The room was a tiny bit silent before Applejack turned to Twilight.

“Tell em’ about what you’ve been up to.” Applejack nudged her.

“Oh! You sure? Okay.” she cleared her throat, “I’ve been given an internship for Wendigo.”

Vinyl and Octavia’s eyes widened, “Really?!”

“Yeah… but…” Twilight glanced to Sunset, who completely started her with what she said.

“Tell them. It’s why we came.”

“Huh?”

Vinyl rose an eyebrow, “Something I don’t know here?”

“Yeah, and let’s hope you’re way past the legal limit for what I’m gonna tell you.” Sunset handed them another beer from the table.

---

“You can’t be serious. Wendigo is this private army that’s trying to create magically enhanced super soldiers? What in the name of fuck?!” Vinyl turned to Octavia, “Do you believe any of this?”

Octavia shook her head, “It’s impossible. They’ve strived so much for breakthroughs in magic to further our lives and future. Though… it does explain why their facilities are shown to have top-level security… but that still hardly justifies these claims.”

“But it’s true! We didn’t even believe Sunset at first until we almost died trying to dig deeper!” Twilight fought back.

“What other proof do you have?” Octavia put a finger on her chin.

“Destroyed. They attacked us at a bank when I was trying to get it.” Sunset admitted.

“Wait, that was YOU?!” Vinyl shot up, “I saw you yesterday on the news! I thought those sketches were just coincidences but- holy shit.”

Vinyl sat back down, “I don’t think it’s good for you all to be here. What if they’re tracking you and come to the shop?”

“It’s inevitable no matter where you go. But I’ve managed to throw them off for quite some time. I was part of their project too, remember?” Sunset reasoned.

“Well, what do you want us to do about it?” Octavia asked.

“We need your help. And I’ll be willing to pay handsomely for it. Over five year’s work of the most well-paid private military company and the funds that come with it could be yours,” Sunset offered.

“Forget the money, they’ll probably have a sniper waiting for us when we walk out the door from what you’ve told us about them.” Vinyl shook her head.

“Well, consider this. How about you help us out for the sake of the entire world. If Aurora Aether finished her project and had magic equipped soldiers, what’s going to stop her from selling them to the highest bidder like animals? Imagine what North Korea could do with that shit,” Sunset fought.

“No one in their right of mind would ever give super soldiers to-”

“For fuck’s sake!” Sunset threw her hands onto her forehead, “Look at us. Do you know who we are? Do you know what we’ve done? We’re the Rainbooms. They pulled me back from being a goddamned demon with a zombie army, we stopped sirens from another dimension, and don’t get me started on what happened in the Everfree.”

“And your point is?” said Octavia.

“They sound dangerous enough even without magic,” added Vinyl.

Sunset put her hands up. “You’re right. They could kill us all even without magic. You’re already involved. They could come for you even if you don’t help us. Not to mention, the longer we argue this, the more national and even global security is jeopardized.”

Vinyl and Octavia glanced at each other.

Octavia stood and gestured to the door. “Vinyl, come out here with me.” The two of them left the room.

The break area had gone silent. Yet, none of the other Rainbooms dared call Sunset out on her underhanded persuasion. They too agreed on the merits of the greater good. That, and friends stuck with friends. Even after roughly ten years have gone by.

The Rainbooms at one point heard a shout come from outside, but quickly followed up by an apology. The voice had both come from Vinyl. Sunset exhaled through her nose. It wasn’t like she was enjoying this as much as they were.

The door opened back up, and Vinyl and Octavia came back in. They stood still for a few moments before Octavia spoke up.

“What’s the plan?”

Comments

[Speedy Silverstreak]

(EQG) I'll get my welder ready

[ShadowFall]

8409457
(EQG) You'll have your work cut out for you.

[Speedy Silverstreak]

8409464
(EQG) you kidding?! I used to build Pro 2 trucks and rally cars. I can handle six cars. Maybe I can turn the farm girls truck into a Pro 2 truck like my Chevy.