Good to be Bad
The hiss of spray paint being used echoed through an alley, cutting through the silence of the night. Only the slight glow of a streetlight lit the brick wall being painted by a shadowy figure. Beautiful, vibrant colors covered the once bland and boring red bricks of the building, a treat for the eyes. The shadowy figure sprayed with skill, smooth arm movements only broken by occasional stops to shake the can with the distinct spray paint clacking. “Just the signature…” The artist spoke aloud to no one, and swung their backpack around on one arm to switch paint cans. “Hmmm... Let's do purple today.”
A couple quick shakes and the painting continued with a few quick sprays to sign the art. “Flanksy.” Sunset Shimmer mumbled, enunciating each letter as she sprayed her signature, before taking a few steps back to admire her works. “Perfect.” An involuntary grin spread across her face, unable to contain her satisfaction with her work. She snagged her phone out of her pocket to check the time, smiling again at her lock screen photo of her friends. “12:37, I'm getting quick at these.”
Sunset was interrupted by the sound of tires on pavement, crackling over small pebbles on the roadway. Someone was close and driving by very slowly, and the headlights on the street were starting to get brighter. She stared at the entrance to the alley, watching in fear as the nose of the car appeared around the corner of the building. Her heart rate leapt up when the car suddenly turned down the alley, and she was blinded by headlights.
“Damnit!” She cursed under her breath, squinting as red and blue strobe lights flashed, bathing the small alley in a police light show. A spotlight turned on and shined at her, and a loudspeaker crackled to life. “Stay where you are, keep your hands visible!” The voice ordered Sunset, before it's owner stepped out of the police cruiser and cautiously walked towards her, hand on their hip, the light making them a shadow in her vision. She didn't visibly move, but her left hand very subtly reached into her pocket, pulling out a small object she held tightly in her fist. Sunset waited as the shadowy outline got closer, until the distance between her and the cruiser were roughly the same, and acted.
Her hand whipped the small ball at the ground, the little sphere exploding into a cloud of smoke on impact as she turned and bolted in the opposite direction down the alley. 'Thanks Trix.’ Sunset thought to herself, a small smirk on her face as she sprinted away, the officer coughing from the smoke bomb. She hoped the cop would hesitate for a split second on trying to decide whether to pursue on foot or in the car once they regained their bearings. She cursed internally as she heard heavy footsteps sprinting after her. The chase was on, and she had no intention of being caught. Her heart pounded heavily as she rounded the corner onto the street at full speed, making a beeline for the park. “Hey! Stop right there!” The officer shouted after her, also running as fast as possible.
A silent thank you to Rainbow Dash for making her participate in some of the school sports was said as she leapt onto the stone wall on the edge of the park, and dropped down on the other side. She glanced both ways before deciding to dive into a nearby bush, just seconds later a loud thud suggested the officer had made it over the wall too. Her leather jacket and black cap helped her blend into the night, letting her stop for a moment, freezing completely still as she listened for the cop. Breathing was all she heard, she had managed to shake them for the moment, but she couldn't stay in this bush forever and she used the time to tuck her phone back into her pocket. Her keys made a quiet jingle as she pulled them from her other pocket, and with her location revealed, the chase was back on.
The cop dashed to where the sound came from, just in time to see Sunset disappear behind the same wall they had just climbed. She had a lead, just enough she hoped, to get away for good. She had already covered a good distance by the time she heard footsteps again, this was her chance. Sunset put all she had into her sprint, crossed the street into another alley, and through to the next street where she dove behind a parked car on the far side. It was hard to keep quiet as her body demanded air, but the officer had missed where she had gone, and radioed in. “Adam-one-seven to dispatch I need back-up at Seventh Avenue and Whitetail Way, vandalism suspect fled the scene, attempting to locate.”
The cop's voice and heavy breathing was hopefully enough to mask her footsteps, and she snuck around the corner where her parked motorcycle was. On muscle memory alone she slid the key into the ignition and turned it, the bike revving into life without skipping a beat. She kicked up the kickstand as her pursuing officer ran around the corner to investigate, just in time for them to get a small wave from her as she went full throttle and blew past them.
Sunset gave a loud whoop of victory as she sped down the street back towards the park. She reached a stop sign right as a second police cruiser was pulling up to another stop sign on her right. “Oh you have got to be kidding me.” The now fleeing criminal stopped too in a brief moment of hope that it hadn’t been called in yet she was now on a motorcycle. The moment was dashed when blue and red light flicked on. “Damnit!” She was already in too deep, and she knew she had a good chance of getting away. Once more Sunset gunned the throttle and turned right, going past the stopped police cruiser, forcing them to do a time-consuming U-turn. The motorcycle screamed as Sunset held on the throttle, putting a few blocks between her and the pursuing officers before making a left and a right to throw them off her trail. Adrenaline rushed through her system as her heart pounded in both fear and excitement. “Wooo!!!” The thrill of the chase made her cheer loudly, not that it could be heard over the sound of her motorcycle.
Her black cap was coming off, and Sunset used her free hand to stuff it into her jacket, letting her hair get blown around the rushing wind. Her gold and crimson locks looked like fire blazing behind her as it whipped around, lit up in flashes by passing streetlights. Unsure where the cops now were, she doubled back towards the park, keeping quiet and obeying the speed limit to pass on the other side of the park without drawing unnecessary attention. No blue and red lights, no cop cars. Not wanting to lead them back to her apartment, she navigated the streets to find a highway on ramp. No longer worried about being quiet, she again gunned the sport bike, easily getting up to and well past the speed limit.
Adrenaline is a hell of a drug they say, and Sunset was enjoying the high, even if her speed would attract the attention of the highway patrol. She grinned like a girl possessed, her inner rebel was reveling in the moment, and she wanted a little more. Sunset Shimmer didn't like to take stupid risks, but right now she wasn't quite herself... Or maybe she had never been more herself, she didn't care right now, and she did a wheelie down the highway.
It was such a rush, but she still had to get home and avoid any more police encounters, so she doubled back again on surface roads until she was confident there was no chance of being caught. With one last look over her shoulder, Sunset pulled her bike up in front of the apartment and shut it off, hoping the darkness and speedy getaway left the police without a good description. A smug grin was plastered across her face while she unlocked the front door and stepped inside, dropping her bag of spray paint to the floor beside it. Adrenaline wearing off, she slid down the closed door until she sat on the floor with the paint. The silence of her home was suddenly broken as she burst into laughter at the whole situation, grinning the entire time. She ran a hand through her windblown hair, inhaling deeply before sighing happily. “Sometimes... Sometimes it's good to be bad.”