Shimmer Run 1981

The streets were relatively empty along the main, seaside, drag of Neighami as Trixie pulled the Caravan along and Sunset Shimmer hung her head out the window, taking in the ocean spray. All of the activity was along the beach. Boats glided over the waves and ponies lay on the sand soaking in the sun. Confident young colts strutted along the water's edge with surf boards flirting with fillies along the beach- all a bright mask of lies to cover up the scars left by the illicit trade.

"Wait!" Sunset Shimmer shouted. Trixie brought the caravan screeching to a halt.

"What's going on?" Stygian stammered, waking from an afternoon nap. His tired image disappeared from the mirror as Sunset Shimmer grabbed the amulet and headed out.

"Well it's not like Trixie has anywhere else to be!" Trixie rolled her eyes and sighed.

Sunset Shimmer pointed a hoof down a nearby alleyway where beneath the shadow of a palm tree a young unicorn colt handed a bag of green plant matter to another young colt as he passed back a small bag of bits. Sunset Shimmer whispered to Trixie.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Trixie asked.

"I'm tired of sitting by and doing nothing. What if Deputy Vice's digging comes up empty? We need to have our own plan!" She urged.

"I hope you're not planning what I think you're planning." Stygian sighed.

Sunset Shimmer and Trixie trotted confidently up to the drug deal as the two colts looked at them nervously. As though reading the authority in their steps both colts turned and began to run. Trixie set off a smoke bomb and the young dealer found himself tied to her by a chain of different colored handkerchiefs.

"You know selling mare-ihuana is a class B felony." Trixie lectured. "The Great and Powerful Trixie could vanish you for a very long time. You'll be a tired old Stallion by the time you reappear." She waved her hoof for dramatic effect.

"Come on, don't we have bigger fish to fry, detective Trixie?" Sunset Shimmer pleaded disingenuously.

"I suppose your right." Trixie rolled her eyes.

"You don't look like cops to me!" The young colt taunted.

"Well you could call our bluff." Sunset Shimmer taunted back. "Or you could help us hook some 'bigger fish'."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The young colt rolled his eyes.

"Then watch as The Great and Powerful Trixie makes you magically reappear in a cell downtown-"

"She'll do it. But I'm after bigger fish. I know you're afraid of Shadow Whorl too. So I'll make this simple. If a pony were trying to score some magicaine who would they go to?" Sunset Shimmer quizzed.

"I don't know his name. But he works the corner of Main and Sea-breeze at 9 in the morning until noon." The young colt explained nervously. "But he can smell a cop from a mile away." he warned ominously.

"Well it's a good thing we're not cops." Trixie winked at him as she detached the handkerchief bond. The colt ran off.

"That's on our way down town." Stygian added as he fired a beam of red magic that projected a map of Neighami into the air. "But I still think we over-stepped our bounds here." he lectured.

"And this is why I don't take initiative often." Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes. "I just wish you would trust me on the job for once."

The next morning the trio proceeded down Main Street ready for their confrontation with the magicaine dealer. Sunset Shimmer shared the yoke with Trixie with the amulet floating between them. The two stopped as they saw a band of ponies with musical instruments at the side of the road by a broken down caravan.

"Hey could we like score a ride downtown?" One of the ponies asked. "We have a show at the Neigh-borhood Pub downtown."

"Of course!" Trixie waved them in excitedly.

"Are you sure this is wise?" Stygian asked.

"We're kind of on a mission." Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes.

"Trixie is always willing to help out a fellow caravan pony." She explained with pride.

"Do you mind if we like rehearse on the way?" The band pony popped his head out the window.

"Be our guest." Trixie cocked her head up and smiled smugly as the trio resumed pulling the caravan.

As they proceeded the band rehearsed a suspenseful sounding synth-pop instrumental. As the music reached a refrain the caravan came to a stop as they reached the corner of Main and Sea-breeze. Then trio detached from the yoke and quickly surrounded a gruff older brown earth pony.

"Alright the gig is up." Sunset Shimmer warned. "Tell us how to find Shadow Whorl." Sunset Shimmer commanded as she began conspicuously charging her horn up.

"She's crazy! She'll do it!" Trixie warned.

The earth pony bucked his legs back knocking Trixie down and began running as the refrain ended and the band's song began ascending into a dark, ominous crescendo. Sunset Shimmer fired a horn blast in front of the pony, knocking him down and leaving a small crater in the ground. Trixie pulled herself back to her hooves and the duo surrounded him again.

"I do think we're getting carried away." Stygian sighed.

The earth pony began cowering as Sunset Shimmer began charging her horn once more. "Alright, I'll talk!" He pleaded.

The band's song hit it's climax as a long black carriage pulled up along side the scene. Everypony took note as a bunch of unicorns hung their heads out the window and began unleashing a relentless salvo of horn blasts. Sunset Shimmer jumped and knocked Trixie to the ground as she erected a shield around the trio. The magicaine dealer took several horn blasts and fell motionless to the ground.

"NO!" Sunset Shimmer screamed.

The horn blasts stopped and one of the doors of the carriage opened. A very large and burly zebra pushed out the young colt from the other morning; the colt was battered and bruised and collapsed on the ground, alive still but taking shallow breaths.

"This is what will become of you and your friend- unless your investigations come to an end." The zebra slammed the door shut and the carriage sped off.

"We can't let them get away with this!" Sunset Shimmer cried.

The two mares hitched up to the yoke again and sent the amulet back inside where it connected to the mirror frame.

"Trixie's ready." Trixie sighed.

Stygian projected a beam at the mares and the band began rehearsing an electronic chase theme as the road melted away into a red laser grid. As they got close to the black carriage two more black carriages pulled up beside the caravan. Sunset Shimmer cocked her head to the side and fired a horn blast, knocking a wheel off the carriage on her side- it careened out of control and exploded at the side of the road. The duo wove back and forth strategically, dodging horn blasts from the carriage on the other side. Trixie cast her front hoof to the side and a salvo of fireworks exploded in the eyes of the carriage driver- it swerved off to the side and bumped the curb, exploding into a bright, searing fireball. Just as they began to close the gap to the lead carriage two more black carriages pulled up at their side.

"Where do they keep coming from?" Sunset Shimmer panted as one of the carriages moved in and slammed into the side of the caravan, knocking them off course slightly.

"Don't ask Trixie!" Trixie tossed out another salvo of fireworks out but it exploded behind the carriage on her side.

"Activating smoke screen." Stygian said as the two carriages moved closer in preparation to ram the caravan. Smoke bombs dropped from all corners of the caravan and exploded with a large puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared it was further up the road and the two black carriages smashed into each other, exploding on impact.

"Styggy. We need the turbo boost!" Trixie called out.

"I hate when you call me that." Stygian sighed and red lightning arced between the yoke and the mares as the caravan rocketed forward in a red and purple blur. Sunset Shimmer peered through the windows of the black carriage as they pulled up beside it. A tall unicorn in a dark cloak sat with his eyes glued forward, unconcerned as unicorn henchmen started firing out the window. The caravan weaved around, dodging. Sunset Shimmer took a shot at one of the wheels and missed.

"Trixie's getting tired..." Trixie huffed.

"We can do this !" Sunset Shimmer urged on. Her optimism was interrupted as a horn blast shattered one of the wheels of the caravan. It weaved precariously to a halt. Sirens approached from the distance as a small army of police ponies rolled up on the scene.

"Does this mean we're not going downtown anymore?" One of the band ponies asked as he peered out of the window.