The Girls

Sunset Shimmer sat in the back of the van with The Girls, their eyes all focused on the laptop screen, her fists clenched. On the screen were Soarmaster and Z-Truck, now seated on the bed, just talking. Seeing Z-Truck just made her think of Pine and how unimportant she seemed to think he was. Pine wasn’t just some nobody she ran into on the street. He had been everything to Sunset and Z-Truck had taken everything away from her. And the worst part was, she didn’t even seem to realize her actions had caused pain to others. When Sunset had bumped into her earlier, she hadn’t even recognized her. So much for regret and remorse from her.

“Don’t you worry, Z.” Soarmaster put a hand on hers. “You’re fast. You’ve nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty awesome. But what happens if I lose? I can’t lose.” She balled her fists and grunted. “Still Well said I’m out if I lose. I can’t lose.”

“You won’t lose, Z. You’re the fastest supe out there. Sonicboom might be fast, but she’ll never be as fast as you. You’ll win.”

“What are they talking about?” Sunset asked the others. “There’s a race coming up?”

“Oui.” Prenchie nodded and tipped out a packet of crack on the back of a hand. “You haven’t seen the posters? The Race of the Century. People pay to see this.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not a stupid consumer, petite Sunny.” Prenchie sniffed the white powder into one nostril.

Father’s Coffee shook her head in disgust and went back to monitoring their feed.

“What if I use more of Hold X?” Z-Truck asked her boyfriend. “It made me faster the last time.”

“Yeah, it made you run through a guy. You can’t control it, Z.”

Sunset slightly flinched at this.

“I failed once, but I got this. I’ve had practice now. You of all people should know what it feels like, to have all that power coursing through your veins. It feels awesome!”

Soarmaster sighed. “Well, you do what you think is best. Can I at least come and watch?”

“Remember what Still Well said. We can’t be seen in public together. We’re not official.”

Soarmaster leaned closer, trying to kiss the superheroine, but she shifted away. “Come on, can’t you just ask for permission for us to be together? You’re a member of The Septet. I’m sure they would think about it.”

“Man, no, I don’t want to have to go ask Still Well about something like this.” Z-Truck got up and paced the room. “Hey, don’t sweat it, Soarin. You can watch me from here. We just need to be patient, okay? We’ll get to be in public together one day. I promise.”

The male superhero leaned back on his bed and groaned. “Okay, okay. You still have enough Hold X?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll just pop one before the match and hey, I’m gonna run like never before.”

“Just please don’t run into anyone else? You don’t want the hassle of clearing it up again.”

“You think I want to? I even had to apologize to the guy’s farming witch in person.”

Sunset swung a fist at the van’s door, creating a loud clang.

“Hey, woah, not my van, Sunny,” Mulcher said from the front seat. “Don’t ya worry, yeah? We’ll sort this supe cock out.”

Prenchie closed her laptop and put it aside. “Oui, mon amie, Z-Truck will be at the race soon. We just need to get that Hold X, whatever it is, just a sample of it and we can expose her.”

“Whatever this Hold X is, it seems to amplify a supe’s power.” Father’s Coffee rubbed her chin. “Sounds like a drug to me. Soarmaster said Z-Truck couldn’t control herself the last time.”

“Yeah, and she splattered Pine all over the sidewalk…” Sunset teared up again, just thinking about it. She wanted to strangle Z-Truck, but it probably wouldn’t end well.

“You know what?” Mulcher tapped the back of her seat to get their attention. “I’m sure if we go lookin’ at the race, we’re bound to find some of this Hold X stuff. We could use this to get ‘em supes and Vogel in some big trouble, I’d wager.”

“How are we going to get in?” Sunset asked. “Surely a place like that’s gonna be guarded, especially after all the attempted bombings at the stadiums.

Mulcher shifted her gaze to Prenchie. “Prench, how do we get in?” Then she smirked.

“I’m sure I can figure it out.” The pink haired woman sat up straighter. “Z-Truck will likely be leaving anything on her in the changing rooms. I can find a way to get in. Facile.”

“Alright. It’s settled then.” Mulcher turned back forward and started the van. “Off to the race we go.”

And the van went speeding off down the streets, almost hitting a turning car on the way.

Sunset Shimmer had zipped her coat up all the way to her neck as they walked about the Canterlot Stadium. She couldn’t believe that they had actually made it in so easily. There was security at every entrance, checking everyone’s bags and pockets. Because they didn’t have any weapons on them, getting through the checks was easy enough. She didn’t know what Mulcher showed them in place of tickets, but somehow, they managed to get in anyway.

The bleachers were packed to the brim with fans of both Z-Truck and Sonicboom, with the clear distinction between both sides. Z-Truck fans were decked out in blue holding up rainbow banners with her face on it and the Sonicboom fans were dressed in orange, with orange flags and foam fingers.

“Right, so…” Mulcher snatched a box of popcorn off a table when the attendant wasn’t looking. “We’re lookin’ to get into the changin’ rooms to steal something out of Z-Truck’s stash. Prenchie, you and Sunny will be on that. FC and I will keep an eye on things up here.”

“Wait, what do I do?” Sunset asked and gestured to herself.

“I’m going to sneak into the changing room,” Prenchie briefed her. “I’ll need a lookout, in case anyone needs to use it. You’re going to be that eye, petite Sunny.”

“Umm… right. Yeah, okay.”

“Race of a Century, eh?” Mulcher munched on her popcorn. “More like Race of the Farmin’ Supe Cocks. What a waste o’ time.”

Sunset followed Prenchie around the bleachers as Mulcher and Father’s Coffee went to blend in with the crowd. There were lines of attendees coming out, carrying towels and water bottles, and along the side was a line of people leading to a room, which was likely a meet and greet for Z-Truck and Sonicboom. Sunset was disgusted by that. These people were lucky they didn’t truly know their heroes.

They found the changing rooms quickly, but of course, the door was locked.

“You have a… a key or something?” Sunset looked at her friend and then around the hall to make sure no one saw them standing here.

“No need.” Prenchie pointed above. Sunset followed her finger to see an air vent above them. “Facile, petite Sunny. Just get me up there and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Uhhh, okay.” Sunset placed her hands low and waited for the pink haired woman to step on them.

Prenchie placed one foot on her palms, but Sunset couldn’t get her up. She tried it with her knee next, but she could’t stand up with Prenchie’s weight on her. The Prench woman shook her head, then stepped up onto Sunset’s shoulder instead. Sunset grunted and tried to fight off the pain, and it soon subsided when Prenchie tore the air vent grate out of the way and climbed in, her feet disappearing down the tunnel and towards the changing room.

Sunset took up position close to the changing room doors, standing against the wall and looking at her phone, like she was waiting for someone to come out of the nearby restroom. Every few minutes, an attendant passed by, and she would whisper the word, ‘Attendant’ to her earpiece. But thankfully, none of them entered the changing rooms and Prenchie could continue to search in peace, though she hadn’t radioed in any findings yet.

“Wait, I think I found it,” Prenchie said in her earpiece. “Let’s see what we have here.”

“Great, just hurry the farm up. We don’t got all day,” Mulcher’s voice came on next.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going as fast as I can, Mulcher,” Prenchie grunted.

Sunset wondered what Prenchie might find inside Z-Truck’s locker. Something incriminating, hopefully. This Hold X sounded like some kind of drug, seeing as Z-Truck planned to take it to win. It somehow boosted superhero powers according to Soarmaster.

There was the sound of snapping cameras coming from the hallway they had come from and Sunset looked down it to see what was going on. They had passed some cameramen on the way in and they were probably taking pictures of Z-Truck or Sonicboom.

There came more cheers, then Sunset saw a flutter of a dark cape rounding the corner. Someone was coming. She quickly pressed her back into the wall and looked busy on her phone, keeping on eye up every few seconds. It was a hero and she partially recognized him from his black and orange outfit and his cape. He was the new member of The Septet, Dark Sun. It seemed there were more heroes making an appearance at this race today other than Z-Truck and Sonicboom.

She hadn’t met Dark Sun before, but why did he look so familiar?

He rounded the corner and Sunset pretended to be focused on messaging someone when she realized two things. He was going for the changing room and he was also more familiar than she had first realized.

“Wait, F-Flash?” Sunset called out and put her phone down.

The blue haired man had just pushed open the changing room doors, but he flipped around to face her, missing the sight of a certain Prench woman dangling down from the ceiling vent on a rope, her face a mix of surprise and relief as the door swung closed.

“Wait…” Dark Sun approached her. “Sunset? Sunset Shimmer? From the bench?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Sunset nodded. “Y-You’re Dark Sun! I didn’t… How could I not have realized?”

“Blimey, Sunny, you know Dark Sun?” Mulcher’s voice said in her earpiece.

Flash shrugged. “Yeah, well… It’s not something I go around announcing. Actually, I think it was better you didn’t know.”

“Oh. Yeah, but wow. You’re in The Septet. That’s… really something.”

“I suppose it is.” Flash pointed to the changing room with a thumb. “Well, it was nice seeing you again, Sunset, but if you’ll excuse me.”

“Not yet, I need more time!” Prenchie said on the radio.

“Oh, oh, wait!” Sunset reached a hand out, then paused. She wasn’t sure what to say. “Uh, ah, would you… uh, hey you wanna, uh, get a drink? Or something? Umm, I’m buying.”

Flash wore an amused face. “You do know the drinks here are absurdly priced, right? You know, big event and all.”

Sunset averted her gaze to the wall. “Uhh, well… Once in a century, yeah? According to the race. I’ll get you some popcorn too.”

“Change that to tortillas and you got yourself a deal, Sunset.”

“Right!” Sunset grinned and looked between Flash and the changing room door. That had been close. “Uh, let’s go then.”

“These aren’t bad.” Sunset Shimmer stuffed another green tortilla chip into her mouth. When she had first seen them, she had thought they were weird, but they weren’t half bad.

“Yeah, they’re learning how to use green veggies to make these now.” Flash Sentry grabbed another piece from the plate. “Sustainable, plus it’s not too weird for the palate.”

“I suppose so.” Sunset looked at him. He didn’t have any face coverings to obscure his identity. How had she not noticed he was Dark Sun until now? The conversation on the park bench came back to her. “Hey, that day at the park. You said you had a problem with a co-worker, you were talking about this?”

Flash nodded. “Yeah. I thought, you know, I could make a difference. Saving lives, protecting people, bringing criminals to justice. But… It’s really not what I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, I get that. A lot of revelations have rocked my world too, in the recent days.” Sunset picked up another green tortilla and munched on it. “But I’m trying to get by now, you know? Because it’s not over yet.”

“Well said, Sunset. I take it things are better for you, then?”

“We’re getting there, I guess. I’m working on getting back up.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Sunset drank from her glass of beer. “Yourself? How’s it all going.”

“Well, you inspired me that day, Sunset. I’ve been trying to make good of the role I’ve been given. It’s just… the opportunities don’t always present themselves.”

Sunset agreed with him, though she didn’t know how much she should actually reveal to him of the events that had transpired over the last few days.

“Hey, well, it’s been nice, Flash, talking to you.” Sunset took another sip of her glass. “It’s nice to just… get away from everything for a while.”

“Yeah. Hey, uh… you know, if you ever want to talk, you know… uh, just like that, you could always let me know. You know.”

“Oh, uh, would you… like to exchange numbers, then?” Sunset asked. That seemed to be what he was trying to get at. She didn’t mind.

“Umm, yeah, yeah that’s what I wanted. To ask.” Flash nodded awkwardly.

Sunset smiled. It felt normal again for a few seconds. It was as though all the troubles of life had been forgotten by this one simple act and she appreciated it very much.

“Ferme,” Prenchie said in her earpiece. “Nothing here. Just clothes. Nothing on Z-Truck.”

“Farm it…” Mulcher exhaled. “Alright. Get out of ‘ere, Prench. We’ll find another way.”

Sunset was immediately pulled back to reality. There was nothing in Z-Truck’s bag to incriminate her or to give them a lead on what this Hold X really was.

“Something the matter, Sunset?” Flash asked and finished up his glass of beer. “You look a little… shocked.”

“Oh, uh, no no, nothing’s wrong.” Sunset tried to play it off. “Just, umm… thinking about it. How… normal it is, swapping phone numbers. Really lets you know that, uh, life still goes on and all that.”

“I guess you’re right,” Flash said and got up and dusted his cape. “Well, thanks for a good time, Sunset. But I’ve got to go prepare myself before the big race. Heroes have to make a good appearance and all that.”

“Yeah, yeah, no worries, Flash.” Sunset smiled to the best of her ability. “Hey, listen. I had a good time, just… catching up. Just let me know when, umm, you wanna… do something like this again?”

“Oh, sure. Of course.” Flash waved. “Well, I’ll be seeing you, then.”

And the superhero was off through the doorway to the bar, leaving Sunset seating by herself, gazing out the window at the racetrack below. What were they going to do now?