Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic

by onekface

First Encounter

If there was ever a feeling of being a fish out of water, Pinkie would’ve felt it here at the Huffs and Hooves. She had heard of these fancy restaurants before from Rarity. That girl would drag on and on about how one day she would come to one of these establishments with a young gentleman and woo the other patrons with her beautiful trendsetting dress. If only she could see her now, Rarity would be clawing the chalkboard till her nails were spent.

Pinkie didn’t know about the restaurant. In fact, she’s never even heard of the name until her parents mentioned it the other day when they planned this whole date with their friend. They say that it was one of the finest bistro in the city with all of the top quality services ranging from food, to the band playing on stage, down to the waiters and waitresses.

That also meant that the food here was outrageously if not criminally expensive, which would explain why some of the patrons were looking at them with a curious eye. Apart from the staff here, they were most likely the youngest pair in the whole restaurant while everyone else were middle-aged adults and older couples.

How did Flash Sentry of all people even afford to come here? Granted she knew little about him other than seeing him a couple of times in school. But other than his crush on Sunset and Princess Twilight in the other world, he was pretty much just that lead guitarist guy in that 3 man band of his. Never really had much of a reason to know more until now.

And now she was being forced… well not really forced, but rather… pushed to go on an outing with him. Really mom and dad. Of all the people they had to force their daughter to go out with… it had to be him of all people?

This was like playing with dynamites with a lit torch! One way or another it was gonna blow up in her face.

“Pinkie? You alright?”

She nearly hyperventilated when he spoke up. “Whaaaaa? Me?” Her teeth gritted together. “I’m fine. Perfectly perfect. Ahehehehe…”

“Really? Because… you’re acting kind of… weird.”

Was she? Did she do something Pinkie-like without her even knowing it!? Oh gods, was her subconscious already taking over!? Was her mentality this weak!?

“I… am?” She shrunk down into her blouse feeling the stares from the patrons dig even deeper into her soul.

“Yeah. Normally you’d be more… energetic. You know? Jumping around, with that big old smile you wear all the time.” She plopped back up, confused. “Yelling out something like cake or sweets or… even quoting a line or two from a movie.”

“Aha… haha… hahahaHA! You… heard that?” Ok that might be true. She did have a habit of being spontaneous when the situation called for it. It was fun to just flow with the wind and never have to worry about people judging you.

“Hard not to.”

Haa… this is what she gets for becoming aware of people. And to think Eiknip would’ve become such an awesome persona.

“Well I guess I’m trying my best to, stay mellow.” Her reasoning wasn’t really stellar but that’s how she described it. “This isn’t exactly the place for me to go all… Pinkie. Maud said I should go on a quieter note. The uh… opposite of Pinkie.”

Flash laughed. “I guess that’s nice of her to look out for you. But… honestly I still prefer the original Pinkie.”

“Really?” Her face beamed with stars glittering in her eyes.

“Really.” He nodded. “You’re practically the life of every party. Remember Bulk’s birthday celebration?”

“Remember it?” She yelled. “I was the one who set it all up! The balloons, the giant cake, the inflatable huggy bears! The giant cake balloons that doubled as inflatable huggy bears! Even the gift cannon! That was my best work yet.” And it really was. Even Bulk, the overly muscular guy who bench press weights for breakfast, shed a tear of joy when he arrived home to find all his friends there, throwing a lavish party.

“That’s right. So chin up. Our parents are probably trying to set this whole thing up for their hidden agenda and all. But try not to think too much about. Just try to have fun. Think of this as another party. Just… a bit different from what you’re used to.”

“Okie dokie lokey.” And just like that, the tension she had been holding dropped and that bubbly smile of hers returned like an eclipse. “Woo hoo! Partay!”

“Would the next pair come forward, please?” The doorman announced with his hand gestured forward. He was a well-dressed lad leaning on a podium where the reservationists were listed down. As expected, his eyes narrowed suspiciously when they stepped up, but thankfully held his professionalism to a tea. “Good evening young sir and madam. Do you have a reservation with… oh!” His neck suddenly snapped towards her date with his eyes nearly budging out of their sockets. “You must be Flash Sentry.”

The boy looked back puzzlingly. “Uh… yeah. I am? How…?”

This felt oddly familiar for him.

“Yes of course! We have been expecting you.” The doorman practically cooed to the young boy, acting like some kind of employee brown-nosing his superiors. “You should’ve told us that you were here already. If we knew we would’ve brought you forward. There’s no need for you and your date to wait outside.”

Pinkie wasn’t really what caused the man to have a change of attitude and she never really got the chance to ask when several waiters and waitresses were brought from behind then ushered them in, taking their coats and blazer without much of a fuss. They tried to speak but were hushed by the doorman leading them through the filled hall, now earning even more stares from the other patrons due to how much special treatment they were being given. They noted an empty table near the stage that they thought they were being led to but instead they were led to a raised platform that was finely decked out with flowers and red tapestries. One might guess that the empty spaces would’ve had other tables put on but it seemed like they were removed purposefully for this night. It was like they were given a whole room, if not a whole wing all to themselves.

Flash’s mouth dropped when they were put on their respective seats with the waiters vigorously placing napkins on them. On the small round table was a candle holder with three freshly lit candlesticks, a fine assortment of plates and utensils and glasses so fancy that it would be a crime to drink anything out of them. On the side of the dining table was a couch with a clear line of view to the stage, should they wish it.

“Your appetizers will be here momentarily.” The doorman/butler-guy said with a practiced smile. “Should you require anything else at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Uh… ok?”

“And if you wish to request any particular song or music. Simply press the button and we’ll have someone attend to you immediately.”

Pinkie waited for him to leave before finally leaning over to Flash. “Psst! I don’t really come here often but~~ is this normal?”

“Nope. No it is not.” She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a premonition for something worse. “Dad said he had a table reserved for us. Not… this.” He groaned lowly when he remembered that this was their parents setting them up. This was probably his insurance. “I’m guessing he’s… trying to get us together.”

“So your dad too huh?” Pinkie said once they were finally left alone with their non-alcoholic drinks. “My parents are pretty much the same. Though mostly my mom. She’s uh… pretty direct too. Why don’t we just take advantage of this? Since we’re already here we might as well taste some of that super fancy food Rarity keeps bragging about.”

“Yeah… you’re probably right.” But she would immediately regret that decision when she opened the menu and saw its contents arrayed before her. She practically gave up at the first glance having absolutely no viable way to pronounce any of them. At least not without losing a portion of her non-existent dignity. “See anything you like?”

“I’ll uh…” Sweat began to form around her face as she began pointing at stuff on the menu. Nope. To heck with it all. She’ll just go with the saving grace. “I’ll just have what you’re having.”

The waitress who was taking their order gave a snarky look noticing her cheap answer.

When they were finally done with the menu, they were finally given some privacy. Pinkie Pie resisted the urge to face plant herself on the table. She never knew that a date could be this exhausting. And they’ve only just begun.

“Sorry about that.” Flash tried to find a reason to smile but honestly his face was getting tired from doing so. “I didn’t think my dad would make things so… awk…”

“Weird?”

That sounded rather perfect.

“Yeah. Awkweird.” He nodded. “I’m gonna have to have a talk with him after this. Maybe even a lecture.”

“Ha! Yeah. I think I should have a sit-down with my parents too.” Perhaps even an intervention. Maybe she can get Maud to plan it. She could probably bribe her with some rock… or sweet treats. But that’ll be for another day. “Speaking of parents. I don’t think I’ve ever met your dad before. Even during the Parent-Teacher conference thing. Is he like… super small that we can’t see him or is he invisible?”

“Uh… none of the above.” Flash replied shyly. “He’s more of a… away-from-home kind of dad. You know? He’s at home a couple of times and gone most of the time.”

“Oh…”

“But I’m not lonely.” He added quickly enough to avoid that daddy’s boy lone rock star trope. “He keeps in touch all the time and I can call him whenever I want. I’m actually kind of happy that he’s staying a while longer. I just wished he didn’t have to go the extra mile to set all this up.”

“This is an extra mile?” Pinkie gestured to everything around them. “What does a regular mile look like?”

“You don’t wanna know.” Flash sighed, eyeing Pinkie before joining a bizarre laugh. The sudden topic of their parents had tickled their humor in such a way only they could understand. “Can I offer my lady a toast?”

She raised her super-fancy glass in reply. “Why yes you may.” The colorful drink foamed at the edge as they clinked them together. “To good friends! May they never find out about this night!”

“And to our parents?”

“And to our family! May they never do this ever again!”

The streets of the city was a completely different place at night. While it bustled with people from dawn to dusk, when the moon and stars come, folks would say that it looked like a ghost town. The roads would be sparsely populated, if at all. Very few cars would travel here other than the late night workers, street lights that were in disrepair would show up, flickering and buzzing. And on some nights such as this, the whole district would be covered in a thick sheet of mist, giving it a haunting yet mystical feel.

Twilight was completely oblivious to the time as her attention was all focused on her scanner. For some bizarre reason, the source of the magic had become clearer. It was as if the energy had all decided to focus on one point. She had two theories how this could happen.

One: She was a genius.

Or…

Two: Whoever used that magic has decided to use it again only on a smaller scale.

She’d have to go on the latter theory.

“Uh… Twilight. Maybe we should call it a day.” Her little brother in the bag whimpered. “It’s getting kind of dark and this place is getting kind of… creepy.”

“I know it’s late Spike. But I’m getting close now. I think I can finally pinpoint the source of this magic.” The beeping from her device grew stronger and strangely enough it directed her to a certain structure at the end of the road. “And I think I finally found it. It’s… the… Natural History Museum?”

Twilight recognized the building. She visited it before with Pinkie and Rarity during a school fieldtrip. It had a collection of various items from ancient history on display. Some of them looking like… well… ordinary rocks.

She got closer to the building and her scanner began to beep louder with every step she took.

“There’s no doubt about it Spike.” The egghead said to her dog. “This is the place. Whatever’s creating that strange magical energy is definitely in there.” She reached for the door and unsurprisingly found it locked. The museum wouldn’t be open at this time. But thankfully there was a giant sign placed atop the ceiling. “Hmm? The Ancient Wonders of the Mystical Yaztec Civilization?” She gasped.

Spike gave her a confused look. “Ancient Wonders? More like the Boring Wonders. Why would anyone pay to see some silly old vase or some writing on the wall? I write stuff on the wall all the time. Don’t I get a spot in the museum?”

“This explains why this energy just showed up today! The museum must’ve gotten a new addition! There must be an item in there that’s causing all this phenomenon. They probably don’t even know it’s magical.” She reached for the door again and struggled on the handle. “But it’s locked for the night. And it looks like they’re preparing for some kind of event too. We’ll have to wait another time to get inside.” The girl then hastily reached for her phone. “I should probably call Sunset. Wouldn’t want her to worry about me.”

But right before she could send a message or press the call button, her device acted up again. The beeping changed, slowly drifting from one side to another.

“Whoa… that’s weird. My sensor is picking up another energy signature. It’s… the same one as the one we found but it’s… moving? And it’s really close by.”

A shadow whisked pass her startling the girl and her dog. She couldn’t clearly see what it was but she could make out its shape. It was a four legged creature the size of a cow with fur as dark as the night sky. Its hazy form danced around the area matching its rhythm to the strangely flickering lights.

…

…

……

Clang!

Twilight’s felt her body leap upward when a score of trash bins suddenly tumbled, dropping its disgusting contents. But that didn’t matter as her eye caught sight of the beast.

“There it is!” She shouted.

“Why are we following it?” Spike asked as he hopped onto her. “We aren’t supposed to follow monsters into dark alleys!!!”

She chased the creature through the streets of Canterlot as it tore through public property like a rampaging bull. It ran through benches, stop signs and even more trash bins before finally cutting through an alleyway at a remote intersection.

Twilight didn’t stop for a moment to think as she pursued the beast, following it to a decrepit three storied parking lot. It was old with many of its walls having been broken three times over. And judging from the looks of it, the place seemed like it was scheduled for demolition. It was also the perfect spot for her to lose track of the creature.

Thankfully however, that beast didn’t take into account of her tracking device in her possession. It didn’t matter how fast it was or how many corners it took, the tracker kept its mark on it.

“You can run, but you can’t hide from me.” The girl followed that threat up with a spell lighting her amulet to give her a better sight. “I know you’re in here.”

And she was right on the mark too. Because the moment her amulet lit up she saw the silhouette of the creature in the dark corner, giving off a toothy growl.

“Ooookay…” Twilight said, suddenly regretted her decision. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Ahehehe.” The beast inched closer towards her with its hind legs, swapping the role between prey and predator in an instant. “N… nice doggy? Good doggy. No need to be scared. Because I am pretty much scared for the both of us.” She forced a smile on that last part.

It snarled with its two brightly yellowed eyes, its mouth suddenly parting to reveal a pair of sharp fangs underneath. Was it a dog? No. It was too huge. In fact it was almost four times her size perhaps even bigger than a grown lion. Could it be an escaped animal from the zoo? Was it a timber wolf? No that can’t be it either. There are no timber wolves here in Canterlot. Not even in Everfree forest. At least… she didn’t think so. She’ll have to ask Timber about that when she can – or… if she can.

“B… back away!” She warned, trying to throw the most threatening voice she could muster. And if the creature felt threatened at all, it didn’t show it. It simply inched closer, its massive body growing larger and far more intimidating.

Twilight gasped. She was certain that this thing definitely wasn’t an animal and it didn’t belong on this world.

Without much warning, the creature pounced bearing its teeth at her. But Twilight flimsily dodged it slamming her back against the broken wall.

The girl immediately fought back, using her telekinetic ability to grab some loose debris and tossed it. Fluttershy would probably give her the disapproving look later but she wasn’t here so to heck with that! Her life was on the line for crying out loud! But much to her shock and fear, the objects that she threw at the monster all missed. She tried again with a few more objects on the ground but the result was the same. She missed.

No. She didn’t miss. It was almost like they simply… passed right through the thing. Was this creature ethereal? A ghost?

No. There are no such things as ghosts in this world. Come on Twilight. And you call yourself a scientist?

“That’s… not good.”

Sounding rather humored to the girl’s attempt of resistance, the wolf-like creature snorted and turned its head back at her. She quickly reached for her phone to call for help but the creature pounced once more, faster and stronger. And this time it did not miss.

Twilight let out a grunt as tried to dodge but she was too slow. Its claws tore through her sleeves scratching her forearm. Her phone dropped with the monster as it crashed onto the wall, taking a good portion of the parking lot with it. The whole structure trembled right to its foundation wobbling dangerously.

She wasn’t sure if that was the end of the beast and Twilight decided that she wasn’t gonna wait around to find out. She bolted away from the parking garage, panting heavily and holding her scratched arm in pain.

Hearing the howl and the sound of objects being throw, Twilight knew that she made the right choice in this fight or flight situation. But that wasn’t gonna save her just yet. Because right now that beast had a taste for her and it was coming to finish its meal.

Scared witless out of her life and without a way to call for aid, the young girl did the only thing she could do in this situation.

“Help! Someone! Anyone! HELP!!”

It was the same fun loving Pinkie Pie who skipped down the streets of the city, a wide eyed smile on her face and a song in her head. “Thanks again for letting me take home the cake. I wasn’t sure if that place had doggy bags.”

“No problem. I saw how you were looking at it.” Flash shrugged beside her, wearing nothing but his inner shirt, having removed his coat for Pinkie to wear. “I take it you had a good time?”

“I had a great time!” She gleefully answered. “The food was ok but the entertainment was spectacular!”

“The music?”

“Pfft! No. The waiter.” Pinkie nudged him by the elbow. The two of them were now free from that restaurant having completed their family obligations. Surprisingly enough, the supposed date went off a lot better than she could’ve hoped for.

“Ah. Yeah.” Flash stifled a laugh. “Remember how he fell and the spaghetti spilled all over him?”

“Or how he got covered in sauce and totally looked like one of those horrifying clowns in that movie AT!” She might’ve gotten the name wrong but it was close enough.

“Tell me about it. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or run away screaming.” The poor guy was soon helped by his co-workers who also slid off the food that was spilled doubling the mess. “That was probably the highlight of tonight. I didn’t think I’d laugh so hard.”

“Are you kidding? Did you see the juice coming out of my nose!?”

“Pinkie. I think the whole restaurant saw the juice come out of your nose.”

“Even better!”

“That’s one way to leave a weird impression.” The blue boy shrugged, still smiling. “Hey… anyway. Sorry for this whole… date thing. My dad can be pretty…”

“Blunt? Eager? Doting?”

“I was gonna say ‘Direct’ but those work too. But he does it out of love. He probably thinks that getting you and me on this date will bring us closer together. I’m sorry if it was… kind of awkward at the beginning.”

“Awkweird.” She corrected chuckling with him. “And no big. I told you. My parents are totally the same. It’s always ‘Pinkie, why don’t you go out there?’ or ‘Pinkie, your sister has a boyfriend already. Why don’t you get someone special?’ or something like that.”

“Heh… I guess parents will be parents after all.”

“And besides, I had totes fun!”

And honestly enough, Pinkie wasn’t lying. While the initial cringeness and horror left her bones rattling inside, she enjoyed most of the evening. She thought that she would humiliate herself by doing something wrong or mess up in some way with the food. But thankfully the waiters’ clumsiness broke the ice and she and Flash spent the rest of that night talking and mostly ranting about family and possibly overbearing sisters. They also had some close taste in music, finding more common ground with him than she ever thought possible. All in all, she enjoyed her date, both the food and the entertainment that came with it.

“I’m glad.” Flash said rubbing the back of his head shyly. “I honestly never visited a place that fancy before either. The only fine-dining experience I’ve ever had was back home. And believe me, it was a nightmare.”

That last bit came as a surprise to Pinkie as well. It was only recently that she discovered how loaded Flash’s family was. Even Rarity went on and on about the gaudiness of that place and how expensive their food can be.

“Meh. It was a good change of pace. Having parties every day is fun but taking things slow once in a while can be good for you.”

“Well I’m glad you see it that way. It’s nice to see the other side of Pinkie Pie. You’re really cute, you know that.” They arrive at his car that was parked at the corner of the street.

“I uh… aheh.” Her face suddenly warmed up to the compliment. It’s not every day people call her cute or adorable. “Thanks.”

“We should really hang out more often. I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun with your friends along for…” He paused so suddenly when his ears perked to a familiar voice in the distance. “Did you hear that?”

“Oh! Sorry. That was probably my tummy rumbling. I had loads of ice cream earlier and I think it’s catching up to me.”

“No. Not that. Listen.” The two of them put their ears out into the wind trying to get a gist of the voice. There was something… or someone… calling.

“Help! Somebody help!”

They gasped. “Someone’s in trouble!”

The pair quickly took action and bolted off. They followed the cry for help which led them to a dark alleyway.

“Hello?” Flashed called out. “Is someone there?”

“Help!”

“Stay back!” Pinkie warned as she jumped in front of the boy, opening the doggie bag containing her pastry before dropping to a combat stance. “I got explosive cake and I’m not afraid to use it!”

They heard a ruffling noise from the alley followed by loud trampling footsteps. Whoever it was, was running as fast as she could. The two of them braced but quickly dropped their stance when they recognize the person running.

“Twilight?” Flash barely got a word out when the frightened girl jumped from the darkness and into his arms, hugging him desperately.

“Help! It’s right behind me!” She pointed to the shadows, trembling at whatever it was that chased her. The pair wasn’t sure what was going on but it didn’t matter. If it was threatening their friend, it was an enemy. They quickly got back on their stance and even Spike decided to make a stand for himself, leaping from his owner’s backpack.

They braced and waited, with Flash grabbing a trash bin lid and raising it up like a shield like a certain hero of old.

They waited… and waited…

But nothing came.

No growl, no barks, no man or monster. Only the shadow and the wind that blew with the stench of garbage.

“I… don’t think it’s there.” Pinkie stated, squinting her eyes just to make sure. “Nope. Nothing. Nada.”

“What was chasing you?”

Twilight shook her head furiously. “I… I don’t know! It was some… giant shadow ghostly… wolf thing!” A giant what now? “I know it sounds strange but it chased me all the way from the old parking garage. It was huge and I think it tried to eat me and… ow!”

“Twilight! You’re hurt!” Flash panicked when he noted the nasty gash on her forearm. He looked at the condition and shook his head. “That’s a bad one. We need to get it treated right now before it gets worse. I got a first-aid box in my car. Follow me.”

She did so without a complaint. And thankfully Flash had some skill in first-aid, applying all the necessary medicine before wrapping the wound with bandages. They kept their guard up all the while, making sure that whatever chased Twilight wasn’t going to take them by surprise. But they doubt that the attacker would come here seeing how many people were around.

From there, the girl explained her situation to them though a few of those details were blurred out from all the fright.

“So… you were attacked by an animal?” Flash inquired, adding the final touches to her bandages.

“I don’t know what it was.” Twilight said, finally calming down from her earlier fright. “From what I can tell, it’s not from this world. It was a magical creature. Made from the same magic that Sunset and I felt yesterday.”

“Oooh. Ominous.” Pinkie stated, gorging into her cake which she was planning to use as a weapon earlier. “So… what was it?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know.” Twilight grunted. “I couldn’t even see it… or even touch it. It’s like… it wasn’t even there. But it was there because I have the scar to prove it.”

“Easy Twilight.” Flash insisted on that matter, pulling her arm back for him to finish. “There. That should do it. Feeling any better?”

The girl flexed the wound a bit and flinched. “Much better. Thanks Flash.”

“Hey no problem. Who knew that all those First-Aid lessons with Ms. Cheerilee would actually come in handy? But… we should probably go to a hospital and get that checked out just in case.”

“No!” She covered her mouth holding the yell back. “I mean… no. I’ll be fine. I have a fully functioning lab back home. I’ll be sure to treat it properly when I get back. If I go to a hospital, they’ll have to notify the school and Principal Celestia. And I’d rather keep her and the other students out of this. At least for now.”

“You sure that’s such a good idea? I mean if this thing is dangerous, shouldn’t we let people know?”

“The winter holidays are coming up soon, not to mention Applejack’s family reunion. I don’t want to start a panic or getting hurt because of this. Besides, if this thing is magical, then the only ones who can fight this thing is us. Anyone else involved will only get in the way.”

“I…” Flash opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t find much reason to fight back. Twilight always has been the best when it came to arguments. And she was right. Other than the seven of them, everyone else was pretty much an unneeded burden. They had no magic like these girls. No powers to move objects with your mind, super strength or even make sugary sweet explode on a whim. These girls were special. Individuals who were specifically given these powers to fight the evil that came at them. And him? He was nothing compared to them. “Alright Twilight. Since you guys are the magic expert on this, I’ll let you handle this. Just… please be careful.”

“Thanks for understanding.” She nodded in gratitude. “And… sorry for ruining your suit.”

The boy looked down to his slightly stained outfit where a hint of red dotted his shirt. “Huh? Oh this? Pfft. This is nothing. It’s just some rental. I’m sure it’ll come off with a bit of washing.”

“Speaking of washing. What are you two doing here?”

They froze at the question. “No reason!”