The Mission Begins Anew

by comicfan616


The Restaurant Row Mission

“Ready to receive magic?”

“‘Nah, Starlight didn’t ruin the map,’ you said. ‘We’d know if she did because we, i.e. I, know everything,’ you said.”

“How long are you going to harp on this? I told you, it’s not like ponies meddle with powerful, ancient relics on a regular basis.”

“We could have at least double-checked, though. Luck favors the prepared, right?”

“Look, what’s past is past, the princess and Starlight have figured it out, and now we’re fixing it. Now are you ready to receive the magic?”

“Yeah, yeah. Ready to receive.”

“Here it comes.”

“…”

“Magic received. Preparing the matrix.”

“On three. One… Two… THREE!”

“Magical Matrix restocked. Calibrating…”

“Just a few more hookups…”

“…Magic successfully integrated. The map is ready to go once more.”

“Let’s test things out first, though. I’d rather not have things go wrong now that we can finally send the girls on missions again.”

“Fair enough. Let’s run the marker system real quick. Just a few markers in random locations, done so quickly they won’t have time to process them. We don’t need them going on some wild goose chase just because they saw it on the map.”

“Okay. Let’s try… Fluttershy and Princess Twilight Sparkle at Appleoosa!”

“That worked. How about… Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in Las Pegasus!”

“Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight Sparkle in Yakyakistan!”

“I think we got it working now.”

“Just let me try one more. Princess Twilight and Princess Twilight and Princess Twilight’s Castle!”

“…”

“I don’t know what’s worse: that you actually suggested that, or that it worked.”

“At the very least, it proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that we have full control over the map again. Notice how it didn’t shut down at the contradictory information.”

“Ugh, whatever. If you’re done having your fun, we should probably focus on getting a mission ready. The backlog has only gotten bigger thanks to the hiatus.”

“That’s what we’re calling it now?”

“Just find something for them to do.”

“Okay, let’s see here… Um… Ah! Perfect!”

“What do you have?”

“Canterlot. Specifically, Restaurant Row.”

“Hmm. While I agree that removing Zesty Gourmand’s influence would be a good thing overall, I’m not sure I’m comfortable tackling another big city right now. Even with the hiatus, it hasn’t been that long since the Manehattan Mission. The Winds of Fate weren’t particularly happy with me when I went to ask for their help then; I doubt they’ll be any more charitable so soon.”

“And this is why I’m the creative one; you take things too simply.”

“Care to explain, O Master of Creativity?”

“If we send them now, they’ll likely want to take the next train to Canterlot. By the time they arrive, it’ll be close to lunchtime. Let’s face it: you can’t solve friendship problems on an empty stomach. All we’d need to do is send the right pony and she’ll lead them right to their goal without even realizing it.”

“That… is actually quite clever.”

“I know.”

“Okay, so maybe we have a suitable mission, but how exactly will they accomplish it? Timing for a lunchbreak is one thing, but what makes now such a good opportunity?”

“Way ahead of you. A new restaurant opened up a few weeks ago, and the proprietors are… less than amiable right now. Turns out doing business in a place where success is determined by reputation tends to stress a pony out.”

“So help their business, and get them back together in the process, and the entire district will set itself on the right course by following their example.”

“That’s the long and short of it.”

“Okay, I’m convinced. And on that note, I have to strongly suggest Rarity. For one, your plan hinges on them going to Restaurant Row as soon as they recognize their hunger. Rarity, being absolutely obsessed with Canterlot, would make it her first choice just on principle.”

“Well, by that logic, Princess Twilight would be even better; I mean, she only grew up there.”

“I’m not unaware of this, but keep in mind that, even if she does suggest it, we don’t want to make things too easy. The goal here is to get the other restaurants to stop following Ms. Gourmand’s ‘standards.’ But if Princess Twilight is the one who approves of this new restaurant, everyone will only look at it as a royal endorsement, not a signal for change. No, what we need is a pony whose standing in Equestria isn’t based on culinary knowledge or being royalty.”

“I guess I can see that, but what can Rarity do that doesn’t just involve pointing them in the right direction?”

“Rarity may be a fashionista, but she also knows how to run a business. Out of the entire team, she’ll know best how to draw a crowd and make a place inviting. If Restaurant Row has any chance of getting back on track, this restaurant is going to need customers.”

“Hmm, okay you might be right. But I do see one tiny flaw in this plan. Rarity’s not exactly open to unknown factors. Thanks to Zesty’s reputation, it will take some effort for Rarity to admit that her ‘approved restaurants’ don’t serve anything great.”

“True. We need someone who will recognize this particular restaurant’s value. Rainbow Dash or Applejack, perhaps? They are the least likely to take Rarity’s suggestions completely seriously.”

“I don’t disagree, but from what I’ve seen, the menu here is very… nonstandard. Applejack and Rainbow may not follow along with Rarity, but I doubt they’ll be any more open-minded. Whoever we send has to be willing to try anything and convince Rarity to do the same. And now that I say that out loud, I’m thinking Pinkie Pie is the best choice we can make.”

“True enough, I suppose. Out of all the ponies, she’s probably the only one who won’t have any problem denying Rarity’s more extreme opinions.”

“Not to mention the fact that Rarity may ‘make the place inviting,’ but Pinkie knows how to keep others’ attention. Plus, she does work in a restaurant herself, so she’ll know the ins and outs of presentation better than any of them.”

“Very well. Shall we send them?”

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time now. A really, really, really long time.”

“I told you to be quiet about that. Just call them.”

“Right, right. Calling Pinkie Pie.”

“Calling Rarity.”

“Your mission begins here.”

“…”

“Oh, uh, oops. Looks like that double Princess Twilight bit kinda did mess up the map a little. Give me a sec, I’ll fix it.”

“Oh, sweet deities.”