//------------------------------// // When You Believe in Magic... // Story: Taco Quest // by MrAskAPirate //------------------------------// “I don’t get it,” Sonata shook her head in disbelief as she stared at the cold, grey cell wall. “All I wanted to do was get some tacos. Why did it end up like this?” “Well,” Pinkie said, gently rubbing the side of her neck, “I’m still a little fuzzy on what happened between getting chased out of MacMaren’s and the fire, but I think it all started when… ~~8 hours and 59 minutes ago~~ “So how’re we gonna get downtown?” Sonata asked. In response, Pinkie pulled her phone out of her pocket and twirled it on the end of her finger as if she were a Globetrotter spinning a basketball. “Liiiiike this!” She said as she hit a speed dial option and held it up to her ear. At first she just ignored it. She didn’t give her number out to very many people, so whoever was on the other end of the ringing cell phone on her nightstand probably knew full well that she was an ‘early to bed, early to rise’ type of person. After a few more rings, the device went silent as the caller was sent to voicemail. She sighed with relief, turning over to get comfortable, and had just settled in when the phone started ringing again. With a huff of irritation, her arm snapped out, knocking a small lamp from the nightstand and onto the carpeted floor with a ‘thunk’ before she managed to close her fingers around the phone and draw it under the covers with her. “Hello?” she said with a profound yawn. “Pinkie? What’re you doin’ callin’ me at… wait, slow down, what?” There was a brief pause as she listened, but a moment later Applejack sat straight up in her bed, covers falling away to reveal a messy tussle of long blonde hair and a face that was suddenly wide awake. “You’re goin’ where with who?” “See?” Pinkie grinned to Sonata as Applejack’s aging red pickup truck pulled up about fifteen minutes later. “Toldja she’d come!” “Well what else was I s’posed to do?” Applejack asked as she stepped out of the truck and shut the door. “You call me up in the middle of the night askin’ fer a ride, and then tell me you’re in the worst part of town hangin’ out with… one of them.” Sonata inched behind Pinkie Pie as Applejack fixed her with a withering stare, but Pinkie herself waved it off. “Nah, that was the old Sonata; she’s totally different now.” “It’s only been two hours!” Applejack protested, holding up the clock on her phone for emphasis. “Duh,” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Two hours since we blasted her and the other Sirens with the Magic of Friendship the same way we did to Sunset Shimmer, who instantly went from being a mean meanie-pants to a nice nicey-pants, remember?” Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but stopped short. “Ok, fine, you got a point… but I still don’t trust her. How do we know it ain’t all just an act?” Pinkie looked over her shoulder at the still-hiding Sonata. “Sonni, tell us the truth: are you evil?” The former Siren shook her head. “No, not all the time.” “Good enough for me!” Pinkie grinned. Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Fine, but I won’t believe it until I see it. You said somethin’ ‘bout needin’ a ride?” “Yup! Sonata’s on a taco run to try and cheer up her friends, and I’m going with her! Can you give us a lift?” “That’s it? Why didn’t y’all just take the bus?” “I couldn’t get on ‘cause I don’t have any money,” Sonata admitted. “And Pinkie couldn’t just spot you a buck?” Pinkie and Sonata’s eyes widened and mouths dropped open as they turned to look at one another, each raising a finger in realization. “Ugh, nevermind. C’mon, let’s go,” Applejack massaged her temple and turned back to her truck. “I’m already here so I might as well help.” “YAY!!” Pinkie and Sonata shouted in tandem as they high-fived one another. Applejack shook her head. “Besides, somebody’s gotta babysit these two,” she muttered under her breath. “Who knows what kinda trouble they’d cause if they just went off on their own?” Sitting in a CCPD squad car somewhere in downtown Canterlot, Shining Armor yawned for what felt like the fifth time in as many minutes, listening to his police scanner drone on with the usual scattered, inconsequential chatter. It was turning out to be another quiet night, just like always, until his radio spat a burst of static at him, the frequencies distorting into unrecognizable noise. He started playing with the dials, trying to clear up the signal, when it suddenly quieted on its own and a familiar voice came through loud and clear. “Bookworm to Badge… Badge, come in!” Shining rolled his eyes and picked up the handset. “Twily, we talked about this, you can’t just go around intercepting police frequencies; it’s against the law and we could both get in big trouble.” “That’s why we’re supposed to be using codenames, Badge!” the voice shot back. “Besides, I’m not intercepting anything, I’m merely piggybacking the existing signal.” “Twily…” he warned. A sigh could be heard through the radio. “Fine, I’m sorry and I promise I won’t do it again unless it’s an emergency," “Twily!” “All right! I won’t do it again, ever! I just really needed to talk to you and your phone is off.” “That’s because I’m not supposed to take personal calls while on duty, you know that,” he sighed. “What’s wrong?” “Maybe nothing… maybe everything,” She suddenly sounded very distant and unsure. “Have there been any strange reports tonight? Lights in the sky, unusual sounds, things like that?” Shining thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so... there was a noise complaint earlier. Something about some concert getting out of hand, but by the time the nearby officers responded things had apparently calmed down on their own.” “Where was that?” “Why? What is this all about?” “Ugh, will you please just answer the question, Shining?” “It was from the Starswirl Amphitheater in Canterlot Park.” The sound of someone typing on a keyboard followed by the shuffling of papers crackled through the radio. “Just as I thought… that’s precisely where the finals of CHS’ Battle of the Bands were being held tonight.” “A loud rock concert, huh? Never would’ve expected that,” he deadpanned. “Shining, this is serious business! I recorded a major thaumaturgical disturbance earlier this eve-” “Oh, Twily, c’mon, not again,” Shining cringed. “We’ve been over this, there’s no such thing as magic! You’re a super-genius prodigy with an IQ higher than the number of donuts my department goes through in a year; how do you still believe in stuff like this?” “It has nothing to do with belief, it has to do with empirical evidence and research,” she replied with practiced calm. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Good night, Officer Armor.” Before Shining could reply his radio emitted another burst of high-pitched static that hurt his ears a little, something he was sure had been done intentionally. He sighed as he tossed the handset into the passenger seat. “Great. Now I have a pissed off little sister to look forward to when I get home. This night is getting really sh-!!” Shining jumped as a rusted red pickup truck came from behind and flew past just inches from his door, smashing his side mirror clean off and barreling down the street. He looked on in partial shock as the truck swerved, its wheels squealing as the driver narrowly avoided a pedestrian crossing the road before its course evened out and it sped away. Shining Armor stared at the departing vehicle’s tail lights for a long moment, his heart pounding in his chest. He shook his head and quickly started the car, flipping on his lights and siren in the process. “So much for a quiet night...”