Equestria Girls: Magicless Troublesby Jmaster49ChaptersIntroductionTeam Apple FormsRound 1: Clay ShootingRound 2: Bigger TargetsTeam Candy FormsIntroductionThe strangest thing happened. Magic had completely disappeared from our geodes. We weren’t able to tap into their powers anymore. I can’t even read other people’s minds. Something’s wrong. Very wrong. I’m not sure if you’ll even get this message, Princess Twilight. I know you’re busy with loads of other stuff right about now. But if you do, I could really use your help. I stopped my bike, and took off my helmet. With a nervous gaze, I looked at (my) Twilight’s house. “Maybe she’s found a solution already. Only one way to find out.” I got off the bike, and knocked on the door. An exasperated voice called out from inside. “It’s open!” “Twilight? You here?” “I’m in the garage!” I was surprised to hear that. The garage door wasn’t even open. Eh, no big deal to me. I figured Twilight already knew what the problem was so I passed it off with a shrug. Though, once I entered the garage, I was in for an unexpected sight. “Micro? You’re here?” I asked. Indeed. My purple bespectacled friend was accompanied by her fellow bespectacled friend within the confines of the garage. “That’s unexpectacled,” I thought. “Hm? Oh, hello Sunset,” Micro Chips responded. He had on a lab coat just like Twilight’s, and was analyzing some sort of rock fragment under a microscope. “We were just trying to decipher what exactly has disrupted your magic. Twilight called me for the usage of my electron microscope.” “Huh.” That was unexpected. Though, as soon as he was done talking, Twilight came up to me and whispered. “To tell you the truth, he’s better at understanding the comprehension of extraterrestrial matter than I am,” she cleared her throat and spoke aloud. “Now, are you aware of the meteor shower that hit a few days ago?” Oh that one? Which one...oh yeah! We had a campout under the shooting stars! So fun. “I remember now! But wait, that’s that got to do with a rock?” “Not a rock,” Micro corrected me, “A piece of matter from outer space--in layman’s terms it’s a meteorite. But...it’s a pretty darn strange one. It seems to be emitting some sort of electromagnetic wavelength that can counteract other wavelengths.” I was doing a bit better in science class, so I had slightly more understanding of what that sort of terminology was than before. “But that...doesn’t make much sense. How can something from space affect our magic?” Twilight spoke next. She went over to a whiteboard that rolled on wheels, and flipped it around. “Tis simple, Sun-buns we believe that it may have been enchanted by an Equestrian magic portal.” With a pointer, she tapped the board that was filled with...all sorts of formulas and equations that I wouldn’t dare try and solve with a ten-foot pole. “This part here is what’s most important,” she pointed up to a diagram of the meteorite itself. There were little drawings of lightning bolts around it. “Oh? What’s that about?” “We believe it carried a natural electromagnetic field that somehow fused with Equestrian magic,” Micro explained, “As a result, it completely nullified all forms of magic within...a one-hundred mile radius. Given that it was a shower, that’s also not taking into account the possibilities of other meteorites that have caused the same incident.” Holy cow. More than one? This was bad. What if a threat rose up that we weren’t able to defend ourselves against? This had to be taken care of or else I couldn’t keep this world safe. “Damn...what can we do?” Twilight always had a plan, though. She never let me down. “Not to worry. We just need to find and destroy these rocks. No big deal,” she replied while she spun in a swivel chair up to her board. “Just gotta loop the exponent, carry the variable, and swoop the-” “...I would like to point out that dealing with magical threats without magic is...perilous,” Micro commented. He was right. We simply weren’t capable of dealing with enemies from magical dimensions without magic. “Hehe! Silly, that’s what you’re here for!” Twilight chirped with a sneaky little smirk aimed at the guy. Just what was she planning? “You know about these things to where you can help us take out anything that comes up.” “Heh,” I snickered, “Sounds like a solid plan. Though I wouldn’t peg you for a fighter upon first glance, MC.” “Hmph,” he straightened his glasses, and took some notes in a book, “There’s quite a lot you may not know about me. But that’s neither here nor there. What we should be focused on, is just how we intend to retrieve the magic. So, Twilight, what’s the plan?” These two were like a well-oiled machine. I was almost jealous. But nobody within our main friend group really shared the same level of intellect as Twilight did. It wasn’t like this all the time, but a small handful of conversations often resulted in awkward silences and the rest of us nodding our heads as if we understood. So it was nice to see that she found someone who she could relate to. Micro was always pretty trustworthy, but I couldn’t help but wonder just what he had in mind in case we ever fought otherworldly creatures. This guy was hiding something. “Simple. We split off into groups, and find out whatever we can regarding the disappearance of our magic. That way, we can cover more ground.” “Sounds good.” But I wondered. Maybe if we had the help of some of our other friends, could it help? “Which way do we head out?” Twilight smirked at me with a cat-like expression. She tapped Micro’s shoulder with the pointer. “Wouldja do the honors, Mikey?” “Right. Allow me,” Micro said as he pushed a button. From the ceiling, a display of watches dropped down on a sort of podium thingy...what the heck sort of stuff did Twilight rig her house with? “These will allow us to track the radiation given off by any of the meteorites. Each one contains a small fragment of the meteorite itself, so that it can track the others. Once we find it, we’ll go ahead and destroy it.” I could feel my eyes sparkle. “Ooh…” The watches looked pretty cool, and stylish too. They’d totally go with the biker getup I was looking into. “So I just...slip one on?” “Mm-hmm. I’d hope we can handle this fast,” Twilight said with a worried look as she gazed up at her board. “Not being able to levitate things is a real pain in the butt.” “Heh...well, not being able to tell what you had for lunch yesterday is just as much of a pain,” I shot back. Both of us giggled at our little joke. To be frank, this wasn’t a joke. The loss of our power wasn’t exactly something so trivial. We needed to act fast before any incidents we couldn’t handle rose up. “Okay…” I put one of those bad boys on my right wrist and it felt great! But then I had a question. “Uh...what are we gonna do with the other three?” “Hm? Oh, you can go ahead and pick whoever you deem fit to help us wear those. Only one person needs to wear that watch while others can follow along and assist,” Twilight spouted another description. Hm. This would be tough. Who would I entrust with magic nullifying tracker watches? Oh boy. “I see, and what about you and Micro?” The boy answered first. “Simple. Twilight and I will return to the initial meteorite site near the edge of the city. You recruit other individuals to help us out. Is that agreeable, Sunset?” “Eh, sure why not?” I hated to admit it, but I was hella excited. Fighting off monsters without the crutch of magic sounded super fun. “I’ll head out and find some good teammates, Twilight. See ya both later.” They both waved as I left. I got back on my bike, strapped on my helmet, and I was back on the road. Now just who do I give these watches to that’ll help me track these anti-magic meteors? Team Apple FormsApplejack. Yeah. She was reliable and didn’t tend to lose things, right? She was a great pick because she rarely lost anything. Plus, I figured she’d be able to handle anything that comes up since she was the most...physically capable out of any of us. Even without her strength buff from her geode. Shockingly, she wasn’t at the farm. Granny Smith told me where she was. The mall? Oh yeah! She got a job there, that’s right. It was pretty far so I took my car there. Alright, now to find that smoothie stand. “Howdy, Sunset!” I heard her voice from across the mall. There she was, serving up fruity drinks at that stand. That was unexpected. I crossed the mall’s intersection to meet up with her. “AJ? You’re working here? I thought the farm was a full-time thing for you.” “Kinda. Granny Smith always says that only a well-rounded apple rolls down the hill of success--er, somethin’ like that. So I decided to get muhself a side job. Wanna try a drink? I got some sweet grape-lemonade mix in today.” That was nice to hear. But wait. No. Now wasn’t the time for that. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’m sure you’re aware of the malfunction going on with our geodes? We can’t tap into their powers for some reason.” AJ was always steadfast, and relaxed. But she seemed a bit too laid-back about this incident in particular. “S’prolly a glitch. I’m sure they’ll be workin’ again soon,” she said with a relaxed smile while she mixed up more of those colorful drinks. “That’s...not quite what’s happening. Twilight and Micro Chips found out that some kind of space rock mixed with Equestrian magic and it’s disrupting our geodes. We need to find out where they are and destroy them.” Applejack paused, and slurped some fruit juice off of one of her fingers. She then went to the sink, and washed her hands. Oh no. Whenever she got quiet like this, it always meant she was thinking hard. “Alrighty--what’s the plan, Sunset?” I took my backpack off my back, and took out one of the watches that Twilight gave me. “Use this--track down the meteorite, and do what you can to destroy it.” She inspected the watch like it was some sort of strange alien device. “Hrm…” she took it in her hands, then put it on. “Seems simple, enough. Soon as I get off work, I’ll start lookin’.” As much as I trusted AJ, I still felt concerned. “You sure you can handle it?” But she scoffed at my words. “Pshaw. With all them classes I’ve been takin’, I feel like I can handle anythin’. Even without mah geode power.” Classes? Just what else did she start doing while she wasn’t at the farm? “What sort of classes? Like, martial arts?” “Yeah. Tae-kwon-do, Sunny. Kickin’ and stuff,” she said with a snicker. “Don’t suppose you’d know much ‘bout that?” “Well, I took a bit of karate for a time,” I responded, and pinched the air between my index finger and thumb to emphasize that it was only for a little while, “so I know a handful of basic moves.” My blonde friend simply giggled again. “Heh...the most simplistic of the arts. TKD is a bit more focused on ya legs. I’d love to show ya sometime, actually.” “Oh yeah, for sure.” It sounded pretty cool, but I didn’t have time to get distracted. I needed to find other people who could make use of these watches. They were extremely valuable, so they couldn’t afford to be lost. “Alrighty,” I said as I put my backpack back on, “I’ll leave you too it. The rest of our friends already know, so do what you can, okay? Twilight says we should all split up, so do your best!” “Alrighty! See ya, Sunset!” I waved, and took another look at that new-fangled doo-hickey that she gave me. It was pretty cool-lookin’ and it could track space rocks? This was gonna be fun! Work was killer today, that was for darn sure. I washed up, cleaned my station, and removed my uniform. Now back in my everyday clothes, I ran out of the mall to meet up with a certain friend of mine. “Now where is...eeyup, that’s her.” It took me literally zero effort to find Rarity’s limo. Easier than findin’ eggs from the coop. That super long, fancy-schmancy car was takin’ up half the dang parkin’ lot! “Yoo-hoo! Applejack, darling! Over here!” she cried out and opened the door while she waved at me. I sighed. “Ugh…” Did she really gotta be so theatrical? Anyway, I got into the limo, and shut the door. Some scrubbers automatically started washin’ my boots off from within the floor of the vehicle. Really? “How was work today, Applejack?” Rarity asked me. She grabbed a towel and started dabbin’ it on my head to get the sweat up. “You look absolutely ragged.” “I’m fine. But I just heard some pretty concernin’ news,” I showed her the watch I had on my wrist. She grabbed my hand to get a better look. “Ooh, how styli--wait,” she paused as she let go, “It’s to do with our powers going out, isn’t it?” I pulled my hand back. “Yup. ‘Ccordin’ to Twilight, it’s some kinda space rock that’s messin’ with our powers. We need to find ‘em and destroy ‘em fast as possible so we can git our magic back.” “Mm-hm…” Rarity tapped her chin. “So what’s our first move, then?” “Let’s see…” I looked down at the watch. It blinked with a red light that pointed south of here. That must be where the meteor-thingy was located. “South. That must be where it is.” In the amount of time I said that, she had changed into a completely different outfit. Her trenchcoat getup that she solved mysteries in. “Well then, darling. Looks like we have a game afoot. The Mystery of the Missing Magic.” As much as I hated to admit it, that kinda had a nice ring to it. You win this round madam chic. “Heh. Not bad.” She snapped her fingers with a proud smirk. “Driver, please take us--er,” she stopped mid-sentence to consult me again, “which direction did you say the detector was pointing us to?” “South,” I replied simply, “Hopefully it won’t take us that long to find it.” The limo was crampin’ me up, and I wanted to get free as soon as I could. Rarity was used to ridin’ in these things, but I wasn’t. “Due south, driver!” she squealed like a rooster on a Sunday mornin’. I completely underestimated how excited she was for this. And so we rode on down a few roads. I kept my eyes glued to the watch. It began beepin’ more and more. We must’ve got close. The watch stopped and turned green as it pointed us in a direction. “I think we’re near the thing. Let’s get out here.” We both exited the limo. Now we were in an area near the edge of the city near one of the parks. Well, it was more like a controlled area with a buncha trees and a pond near some hills. Wallflower actually had a garden planted around here somewhere. The limo took off. Guess Rarity’s time with it ran out. She had a magifyin’ glass at the ready. “Alright then, Applejack. What shall be our first move?” To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure how well Rarity could fight without her magic. If we got in a kerfuffle, things would be difficult since I’d have to watch out for her at the same time. So I decided to make a plan. “Tell ya what, Rarity. You start searchin’ for clues around here while I head up the path towards the hills. If ya see anythin’, hit me up with a text?” “Oh, that sounds perfect! We can cover much more ground if we separate. But don’t hesitate if you need my help,” she said with a confident tone, “I can assure you that I am more than capable of handling myself. Even without my magic.” Yeah...I initially didn’t think so for a second. But Rarity was fulla surprises, so I had faith in her. “‘Kay, then. Let’s git ‘er done.” So I went off on my own. I headed up through the park, and slid down a hill or two. It was kinda nice bein’ outside in nature that wasn’t just the farm. I started to realize just what Fluttershy meant. The birds that chirped, squirrels that gathered nuts, the snakes that...snaked? Anyhow, that don’t matter much right now. I need to find-- BANG! “What in tarnation?!” I flipped out for a split second, and tried to locate the source of that noise. Sounded like some kinda gun that was fired off. Near here? Wasn’t that against some sorta safety regulation? I found some nearby bushes, and peeked through. I saw a massive set of plains where targets were pointed towards the open field. Some guy was out there doin’ some skeet shootin’. He looked a bit familiar. Was he from CHS? Or Crystal Prep? Hm… Then I was interrupted yet again. BZZZ! “Gah!” My dang phone went off. Who could be callin’ me right about now, anyway? “Hello?” “Applejack? It’s me, Twilight. I’m on video call,” my purple scientist friend had called me. Must’ve been important. I turned my phone sideways and answered. “What’s up, Twilight?” “Each watch contains a tracking device so we can keep tabs on where you are,” she explained to me, and turned the phone to a map of Canterlot City. She tapped on a specific part, “You’re at the shooting range near the edge of the city, correct? It’s owned by one of our fellow students. I think one of the school paper editors.” “Uh...yeah?” “Okay. There’s someone there who attends the place frequently. His name is Double Diamond. You’ll recognize him due to his distinct purple scarf and snow-white hair. He’s a recent transfer student, so you don’t know him well. But he’s capable of using all sorts of weapons, so it’s best you stick by him in case things get crazy. You’re just a few yards away from where a meteor should have landed. Alright, Applejack? ….Applejack?” I stared at the screen for a minute. With all that info she had, I was mega creeped out. “Uhh...Twilight...just how do ya’ll know all that?” A drop of sweat rolled down her face. Her lips puckered up in a nervous sorta way, as if she just ate a raw lemon out of a cider barrel on a hot summer's day. “Hehe...um, you need to stay focused! Call me back if you need anything!” From the background, I heard Micro Chips comment. “...your lying skills are terrible.” “Shut it, Mikey!” That’s when I hung up. “Ugh,” I drew my open palm across my entire face while I shook my head. Oh well. The sooner I could get help, the better. I just hope this Diamond guy was willing to help out. Round 1: Clay ShootingMy options were limited so I had to approach him. “‘Scuse me! Scuse me!” I shouted loud as I could over the sound of the bullets. He must’ve noticed me since he had to put his gun down. Then he removed the goggles and earmuffs he had on his head. “Yo? What’s goin’ on, sis?” he asked me in a hefty surfer kind of accent. “Sorry to interrupt ya! But I was wonderin’ if you’ve seen some kinda meteorite near here?” “Meteor? Nope. Ain’t seen nothing like that, brah. There was this cool meteor shower a few days ago, though.” Rats. There had to be somethin’ around here that could tell me what was goin’ on. “Ya’ll sure you ain’t seen nothin’? Maybe a glowin’ rock of some kind?” That worked, because he immediately started thinkin’. “Hm...oh yeah! I did see this strange stone out near the edge of the firing range. Hecking weird, yo,” was his response. He pointed out to West towards a hill at the end of the field. “I see. Do ya mind if I take a minute and walk out there? My friends and I are lookin’ fer somethin’.” That caught his attention, I reckon. The guy seemed interested in guidin’ me out there. How nice of him. “Sure. I can take ya there myself, actually. I come by this place all the time. Name’s Double Diamond. My friends call me Double D, though. And you must be--” “Applejack, yeah yeah,” I passed him up. Wasn’t in the mood for no overly drawn out introductions, and I had a mission. “Are ya gonna help me out or not, Mr. D?” “H-hey! Was just trying to be friendly, man.” Guess I embarrassed him a little bit. He ran after me to catch up. “Anyway. It’s just up this way. Though, I’m not sure why you’d be so interested in a strange rock.” “It’s cuzza the fact that it’s messin’ with our magic. The rest of my friends and I can’t seem to do none of our abilities--like mah strength. It’s plum gone.” “Yikes...that’s a gnarly little situation there, sis. Don’t worry. I got your back. Just a few more steps down this slope here...” He went ahead and showed me the way. I had never been out here before, so it was cool to have someone show me around someplace new. How reassurin’. After about a dozen steps or so, we were finally at the foot of the hill that Diamond directed me to. “There it is, AJ,” he said. “Landsakes…” It was a stone about the size of a tire. Not particularly scary enough on its own, but I was still unsure how to approach it. “Lemme call Twilight.” I dialed the phone. “What’s up, AJ? Did you find it?” she answered quickly--thank goodness. I turned on the video chat mode, and turned the phone around so she could see the rock. “This what we lookin’ fer?” Twilight yelled out, and it nearly startled me. “Yes! That’s it! Now you just need to destroy it before something bad happens. Simple.” “Heh. That all? This’ll be nothin’. Even without mah mega strength.” I took a step forward, and reached out to touch it. “Wait, AJ! What are you--not with your bare hands!” “...” Somethin’ happened. My geode reacted as soon as I touched the weird rock. I felt a shock of sorts, and quickly pulled my hand back. “Yow! What in the--” Oh damn. Shouldn’t have done that. The darn thing started to shake and shiver like a jittery pig that wanted to escape. It shone a bright red, and somethin’ was clearly off about it. Diamond came from behind, and pulled my arm. “‘Kay, c’mon! Let’s go! Let’s go! This thing looks dangerous!” I hated runnin’ from danger. But in this instance, I ain’t had much choice. The thing was rattlin’ around violently and I had no idea what to do. “Yah! Keep movin’!” I turned my head back, and gazed. A red shockwave was emitted from the rock, and traveled along the ground. Now that was scary. My legs carried me fast as they could. “Aaah! What’s happened with that rock?! Is it really from space, dude?!” Diamond shouted as we ran, “This ain’t nothin’ like the games!” “Just keep goin’!” I shouted back. I had to think of somethin’ fast. We were close to the shootin’ range again. So that was good. But just what could we...aha! “Hide behind that there tree!” I yelped and dove behind the mighty oak that was near the range. Diamond followed, and took a deep breath next to me. “Whew...that was close yo.” About a minute or so passed. I didn’t hear nor see no sign of that magical shockwave. What made it disappear? “You hear that?” “I don’t hear nothin’, bro!” “Exactly...you stay here.” I took a step out from behind the tree, and walked back over to the shootin’ range. Huh. Nothin’. Strange. Just what did that magic do? “Now that’s odd. I coulda sworn it might’ve caused somethin’ to get all magical.” Turns out, my phone was still on the entire time. Twilight called out to me. “Applejack? Are you there?” “Hm?” I woke it up from sleep mode, and looked at the phone. My scientist of a buddy was worried sick. “I’m okay, Twilight. Don’t seem like there was anythin’ here.” That’s when I noticed that the sun was blacked out a little. Somethin’ cast a shadow on me. “Um...A-Applejack...b-behind you…” I turned around, and looked up. “HOLY PIGEONS!” Turns out that shockwave enchanted the clay pigeons that were used in the shootin’ range, and now, they were actual pigeons! But not just any old clay pigeons. Evil clay pigeons! They were each the size of massive roosters! A whole swarm of ‘em! Flappin’ in the air with their solid orange bodies lookin’ deadly. “Um...hehe...good birdies…” “AJ...listen up…” I wasn’t lookin’ at my phone no more, but I heard Twilight’s voice. “Don’t make any sudden movements. Pigeons have nearly 360-degree vision, and can attack you no matter where you move…” I had to think fast. Let’s see...ah! Ya shoot clay pigeons with a gun, right? Looks like I ain’t had much choice. My eyes darted towards the shotgun that Diamond was usin’ a bit ago. A good ol' Remington 870. I could use that. Hopefully all that trainin’ back home would pay off. “Twilight...I’ll call ya back.” “Wait wha--?!” I hung the phone up, and put it in my pocket. There had to be at least a hundred of them dang pigeons, but I wasn’t afraid. Just had to slowly...and carefully...now! “HA!” I dove for the gun, and the clay birds started flyin’ in like bats out of...ya know. With a few quick shots, I took down at least five of ‘em, and rolled out of the way. I fired off three more shots, and took down three more. But they didn’t stop comin’. I had to move. “Double D! I could use yer help here!” Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long for his help. I heard some more blasts of another shotgun, and he called out. “Hey! I just came back from the shop! Gimme a break!” “Whew…” I couldn’t relax just yet. I felt my feet leave the ground. “What the-?!” The damn things! Their beaks nipped into my clothes and they started peckin’ me! “Gah! Quit it, ya feather brains!” I shot one, punched another, and struck the last one with the barrel directly. They were forced to let go, and--damn. “Ahhh! Oof!” I hit the ground like a sack of taters. “C’mon, get up,” Diamond offered his hand, and pulled me up. “We gotta get outta here, bro! There’s too many!” he said before he fired off a few more shots. Never before was I more satisfied to see a clay pigeon explode into orange chunks. But sadly, ain’t much we could do here. Runnin’ would only bring ‘em into the city. We had to solve this here and now. “Naw, partner. We need more firepower…” That's when I heard a familiar voice scream to the heavens from behind us. "I'M BACK, DARLINGS!" Round 2: Bigger Targets“Rarity?! What in the heck are ya holdin’!” “GET BACK!” she screamed with a massive rocket launcher on her shoulder, “MAMA’S ABOUT TO STRIKE THEM DOWN!” Double Diamond shouted the same thing I was thinkin’ in that moment. “Woah, wait, do you got a license for that, bro?!” Rarity wasn’t in the mood. “DO YOU WANT TO ARGUE OR LIVE?!” There was no stoppin’ that drama queen when she was in a funk. If she was totin’ the thing around, I could only hope that she knew how to use it. Our options were heckin’ small right about now with loads of magical clay pigeons--that were now actual pigeons--tryin’ to kill us. “Let’s move!” I shouted, and retreated behind Rarity. I took a closer look at the launcher. It was an M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System--MAAWS fer short--or at least it looked like one. It had a laser for gudin’ whatcha shot, but that didn’t make it any better. “Rarity, are ya sure ya’ll know how to use this thing?” Diamond had fled behind her with me, just as panicked as I was. “I’m out of ammo! If you have a plan, shoot that thing!” “Darlings, relax. The adorable boy behind the counter at the shop said it was recoilless--whatever that means. Perfect for someone like moi, not to mention this fashionable set of earmuffs for ear protection,” she explained as she held it up and squinted her eye as she got ready to fire. Them earmuffs were pink and fuzzy. Not my idea of protection. “Now watch, and be amazed! Oh, but do cover your ears, this could be loud.” That put me a bit at ease. Recoilless meant--well--it ain’t got no recoil. Someone as delicate as she should be able to use it. And I guess the fact that she was able to even get it also implied that she did have a license. Well, it was all I could hope for. The clay pigeon swarm was closing in on us. Diamond and I crouched down and covered our ears while we hoped for the best. “FIRE!” Rarity shouted as she pulled the trigger. I opened one eye. Well now, that was somethin’. Instead of regular rockets, the thing shot colorful ones filled with… “Paint?!” SPLAT! A clay pigeon was hit and exploded into a steamy mess of blue ink. The trenchcoat wearin’ girl just giggled in response. “Well of course, darling. They weren’t going to let me use actual rockets. But they’re very effective against evil birds!” I couldn’t believe it. Rarity was actually doin’ it! Each bird was hit by a rocket that exploded into a paint-laced mess! It was like a massive school art project all over the shootin’ field! Whoo doggy! “To left! Up there!” Diamond shouted. And yet the whole time, Rarity was cool and collected. She guided them paint rockets and destroyed each and every one of them magical pigeons! “Yee-haw, ya got ‘em all!” Once it was over, the three of us could finally stop and rest. “Well hot damn,” Diamond commented as he looked at the mess of paint and clay pieces, “The last thing I would’ve pegged you for is a rocket launcher user, Rarity.” The enthusiast bone in my body couldn’t help but correct him. “Well technically it’s categorized as a recoilless rifle, partner.” “Pfft,” Rarity scoffed at my words, “details, details. Those ghastly clay birds are no more! No need to thank me, Applejack.” “Wait a minute--recoilless what?” Diamond asked me next, “That looks nothing like any rifle I’ve seen.” I decided to explain it to him. “That’s cuz it ain’t a rocket launcher, partner. Even though it looks like one, it don’t fire rockets.” I tapped the barrel of the weapon Rarity held onto. “It’s actually uses a massive shell--or bullet--and it’s propelled by a gas that don’t use smoke. Rocket launchers use--well, rockets that explode on impact. But I guess for this time, she used...paint bullets? I still don’t get that part.” “Hmhmhm!” she chuckled all smug-like, “There’s quite a deal you may not know about me, dear Applejack. Though I’m surprised you know so much about these weapons. Wherever did you learn it all?” “Oh, mah pa has a weapon’s cellar beneath the barn. Ever night I look into it and study one of the items inside.” Since we caught ourselves a break, I figured I’d sit down to explain this. “He was big into huntin’ out near the valleys at the edge of the city.” “Um...guys?!” Diamond interrupted me with another shout as he pointed to the middle of the range. “T-the...the pigeons, they’re…” Rarity and I looked up. The sun was bein’ blocked out. Turns out, the clay fragments of the pigeons started to put themselves back together! It was like some sorta magnetic sand thing as they all...bunched up. It was weird, freaky, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Once they were all put together, they became one supermassive gigantic magical orange pigeon! There weren’t enough words to describe it. It was as big as a barn! “Oh dear,” Rarity mumbled quietly, “I don’t think the paint really worked…” It tilted its head around like it was scannin’ the area. It was like, at any moment we could be scooped up by its beak, never to be seen again. C’mon, AJ, think. There’s gotta be somethin’ we can do... “Okay, okay, don’t panic,” Diamond was clearly panickin’, but tried to keep a straight face. “We just need...more firepower...but uh...how are we gonna--” Then another random voice came up from behind us all. Though thankfully it was much less loud and obnoxious. “Use these,” the guy said as he tossed us some shotgun shells. He was dressed up in a leather jacket with spikes, and red pants. But the strangers part was the fact that he had on a bandit mask and pitch black shades. Couldn’t see his eyes nor mouth. “These are incendiary shells. Burn the clay monster so it doesn’t get back up.” That was all he had to say before he upped and turned to head back inside the gun shop. “Hey wait!” I called out as he left, “Just who are you?!” Rarity gave a pretty quick answer. “Oh you don’t know? That’s the gentleman that runs the shop.” “Uh-huh…” Yeah I wasn’t trustin’ that. But Diamond wasn’t as patient as I was. He loaded up one of the shotguns with the fire-shells, and started blastin’! “Eat this, sucker!” The gigantic pigeon flew towards us, but it was slowed down by the shots that caught it on fire. EEEEE! It let out a loud screech that caused Rarity and I to cover our ears. “Uch! What a nuisance!” she yelled, “Time to fry this bird! Diamond? Would you be a dear and distract it by running that way?” Rarity pointed toward the field. Diamond pumped another shot, and started to run. “On it! I just hope you got a plan!” The huge clay bird followed him, and started flappin’ its wings around like a wild chicken without no head. “Uh...do ya have a plan, Rarity?” I asked as I saw her pick up the other shotgun and load it with a few of them shells. “...Wait, what are ya…” “You may not have your strength assistance from your geode, but I know you’re still strong, Applejack. With that said, I need you to fling me up there.” My eyes grew wide when I heard that. “Wait...what? Ya want me to throw ya on top of the crazy clay birdie?!” “We only have a limited time before Diamond will have no choice but to loop back to us! Now throw me, woman!” “Alright, alright, sheesh…” I couldn’t refuse that logic. Oh well, here goes. I grabbed ahold of Rarity’s arm, and ran up behind the orange bird. “Hyaah!” With all my might, I flung Rarity up to it. She must’ve been stickin’ to her diet, because she was pretty easy to throw. But I lost my balance, and found my face in the dirt. “Ugh…” But it was worth it. “HAHA!” Rarity cackled like a crazed little girl on prom night, “This goose is cooked! Or should I say...pigeon.” I had to stop and drag my open palm across my forehead. That line was so lame even a goose wouldn’t honk at it. BANG! But Rarity had the right idea. Soon as she landed on the bird, she blew its head off with a direct hit from those fiery shells. Coupled with Diamond’s efforts from below, the huge clay pigeon disintegrated, and disappeared into nothin’ but ash. “Landsakes…” I stood up and dusted myself off. We actually did it didn’t we? “I gotcha!” I heard Diamond shout as he caught Rarity who had fallen from the air once the big bird disappeared. “You okay?” “Hm? Oh yes, thank you, dear.” She stood up, and fixed her detective hat and her hair. Always gotta stay good-lookin’, eh? “Now...where is that meteor? We mustn’t waste time and destroy it immediately.” I caught up to them, and showed ‘em where it was. “Over here. It kinda caused a--” BANG! Rarity took the shotgun, and blasted the rock with it. “There we go, darling, can we move on now?” “...Bruh what?!” Diamond groaned, “You mean if we did that we coulda avoided all this? BRUUUUUH!” “Heh…” I rubbed my left arm. I felt mighty stupid for touchin’ that rock without listenin’ to Twilight. “Sorry, ya’ll.” As patient as ever, Rarity put a hand on my shoulder. “Oh don’t you worry. You didn’t know it would do that, did you?” “Well...no.” “So there you go! Accidents hap--” BZZ! Dang phone. Always at the worst times. “Yello?” It was a video call from Twilight. “Applejack! One of the watches has sent me a notification! You guys destroyed the meteor?” “Eeyup--wasn’t that hard, right Rarity?” “Not at all,” she said with a giggle. “Hehe! How’s everything on your end, Sparkle dear?” Twilight adjusted her glasses and looked down at her notes. “By my calculations. That’s only one of many. But don’t worry, Sunset is already--” “Aha!” I heard Micro Chips from the background again. “I knew it! They’d be able to take down whatever magical mishap without any need for us to go help them. You worry too much. Oh, and you also now owe me your copy of Astronomical Oddities, Twi.” “Ohoho no ya don’t!” Twilight looked back with a determined smirk on her face, “Best two out of three! You’re not getting my favorite new reading material that easy!” I did a double-take in my mind. Just what in tarnation was that about? “Are ya’ll...placin’ bets on our success?” Twilight faced the camera again and scoffed. “Well sor-ree! But when you’re stuck in your makeshift garage HQ watching out for everyone, you have to make your own fun. Stay alert, and I’ll update you soon on any more fluctuations.” She turned away, “Okay Mikey, let’s see you come up with a better strategy!” I hung up. “Oh my,” Rarity said, “They sounded a lot like what Sweetie Belle and I sound like when we tease each other.” I chuckled. It was easy to relate to somethin’ like that. “Yeah, ‘Bloom and I are the same way. But fer now, we need to search for more of these here space rocks so we can get our magic back.” “Aha! Rarity and Applejack are back on the case!” she squealed and put her arm around my neck. “Oh and thanks for your help, Diamond. Feel free to tag along with us if you wish.” “Heck yeah!” Double Diamond joined us. “I’m always down for that!” Meanwhile…near the shop… “Looks like they went for it. Hopefully things get better from here…” Team Candy FormsStill no answer from Princess Twilight in the other dimension. Rats. Is it possible that my journal has been nullified as well? Now I can’t even contact her! Okay, don’t panic. It’s okay, Sunset. Stay calm. You got this. You and your friends need to keep finding those weird meteor things and shut them down so you all can get your powers back. Simple, right? But I’m starting to think this is being done on purpose. As if someone knows that we’re powerless without magic... BZZZ! “Ahh!” I was walking down the street near the suburbs towards a certain someone’s house when my phone went off. “Hello?” I stopped to answer it--a video call. “Sunset, you there?” It was Micro Chips. In the background I saw Twilight scribble and erase furiously upon her chalkboard. “Yeah. What’s up, bud?” “Applejack and Rarity have successfully dispatched a meteorite. You made a good choice giving her one of the tracking devices. Where are you now?” Whew. That was a good sign. Nice to know that I was still doing some good for this world. Even if the magic did cause some problems, I felt good knowing that my friends were able to fight comfortably without it. Of course, I’d rather have it back. There’s no way we could handle everything without it...could we? Anyway, I had to focus. “I’m on my way to meet up with someone. She’s a bit of an...acquaintance that I can count on in situations. What about you guys? How’s things on your end?” “Not bad at all, actually. Twilight and I are doing our best to monitor the fluctuations of magical disruption around the city. In layman’s terms, it’s the reason why we haven’t left her house--” “HQ!” Twilight suddenly corrected him from the background. “Insignificant details,” he scoffed, and rolled his eyes. “The point being is that we’re fine here.” Well, I suppose that was enough to convince me. Still, I was worried for those two. “Well, alright. Just...be careful. I’m not sure how well you two would function on your own if you were attacked.” But Micro wasn’t worried, it seemed. I could tell by the way he pushed up his glasses and had that smug expression on his face. “Hehe...oh, Sunset. You underestimate our potential. Battles are not won with brawn alone. They’re won with brains,” he said as he tapped the side of his head. That was nice to hear, but I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Haha! Oh? And just what sort of mechanisms do you intend to make use of when you guys have to fight a magical being without magic? Teleporters? Mech suits? Electro music?” “Hey don’t bring my favorite style into this!” he snapped back defensively and calmed himself down. “Ahem...excuse me. No.” Wow. Come to think, I don’t recall having ever seen him even remotely close to being angry before. The nice ones like him, Fluttershy, and Wallflower were often the scariest. “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to upset you, Micro.” “Heh, it’s fine. This situation has put me a bit on edge lately. Anyway, in reference to self-defense, I’ve already devised several methods of counterattacking should we come into contact with any--” Twilight interrupted him with a gentle push of her hand on his face to make room for herself in the frame of the camera. “I meanwhile have already calculated one, guaranteed method to keep us safe should the need arise.” Micro countered when he pulled his phone away so he could get Twilight out of the frame and keep himself in it. “Ahem--contingency plans are always necessary in any situation. Regardless, you have no need to worry about us.” Twilight forced her way into the camera again. “Because my house is already locked down so tight it’ll make your lips pucker!” They glared at each other with competitive grins. Kinda like the sort of faces that Applejack and Rainbow Dash make at each other. It was both scary but a little bit cute at the same time. Sadly, they seemed to have ignored me for the last few minutes. “Um...gotcha,” I responded in order to diffuse their little contest, “I’m gonna get back to where I’m headed. Don’t choke each other out, you two.” I hung up, and exhaled. Whew. Glad I got through that. Now where was that girl’s house again? Ah. There. It was a normal looking house in a cul-de-sac. Bon Bon was her name. But according to several sources, she was more than just an average student at CHS. I figured that now would be a better time than ever to make use of her talents. I knocked on the door, but no answer. “Hello? Bon Bon?” I knocked again, nothing. Odd. She usually came right home after school, right? Then I felt the porch beneath my feet give way! “AH!” I was sucked up by it, and landed in a chair? “Oof! What the hell?!” A light came on, and the pink and blue-haired girl stood in front of me with a pair of shades on. “So...you finally decide to call on my help, huh? I’d never thought I’d see the day…” “Ugh…” I rubbed my head to recover from being disoriented. “Bon Bon? So the rumors were true! You are a--” She folded her arms, and cut me off. “Cut the crap. Talk to me. You want some help with some meteor nonsense, yeah?” Wait...how in the heck did she? “Um...yeah. But how did you?” “My house has loads of monitors to keep track of everything in the neighborhood. And you think I’d be a good candidate to help ya find all these anti-magic meteors so you and your friends can get your powers back, hm?” I put my hands together--fingers interlocked out of desperation. “Please, Bonnie. I need your help. You know the ins and outs of this city better than anyone.” I then took out one of the watches to track the meteors and offered it to her. “Hm…” she looked off to the left as she gave it some thought. Then she took out her phone, and tapped the screen. After that, she grabbed the watch, and put it on. I nervously pointed at her phone. “Uhhh...what did you just do?” “Call for backup.” Behind Bon Bon, to the left, a door would open up. A familiar green girl walked through. “Got your message, Sweets. Oh, hi Sunset!” “Sup, Lyles? Do me a favor and pinpoint who would be best to help us tackle this at the computer, would ya?” Bon Bon tasked her best friend with that while she fiddled with the watch. “Pretty sweet tech. You said Twilight made this?” I nodded with a smug expression. I always liked to boast about Twilight’s inventions because they were that good. Also because she refused to compliment her awkward self. “That’s right. She’s something of a genius. Not even the CIA has stuff like this yet.” “Well duh,” Lyra commented from the computer chair in the corner of the room as she typed furiously upon the keys, “the Intelligence Agency has no need for meteor-detecting watches. But us on the other hand…” Bon Bon walked over to the computer and connected the watch to it via a cable. “We should at least be able to get a read on the nearest one. Don’t worry, Sunset. If you guys have lost your powers, we’ll help ya.” I sighed with relief. Her theatrics scared me for a second because I felt like I was being interrogated in some kind of action movie where the main character is considered the bad guy until he proves himself innocent. “Whew...that’s good. So what do you guys have planned?” Lyra responded first. “Well, we’ve pinpointed the location of your nearest magic-cancelling rock. It’s...at the local TV studio.” “Is that the place where they film Bake Wars?” Bon Bon asked, “This’ll be interesting.” “Oh my gosh!” That show was so much fun that I had to speak up about it. “I love that one. On this one episode, there was this team who made a gingerbread cake that weighed a ton but didn’t fall over!” “My personal favorite was the episode where someone made a cake with trace amounts of fish oil. Lyra and I tried making it at home and it came out great. Right, Lyles?” The green girl rolled her eyes. I suppose she was intent on being focused. That was something I could respect. “Ahem--anyway. We need to keep track of what we’re doing.” “Alright, sorry about that. I guess I’ll leave you to it. So…” I looked around. Half the room was still too dark to look at. “How do I get out of here?” Bon Bon pointed to a spot on the floor--a metal tile. “Stand there and you’ll be elevated right back up to the porch where we dropped you in from--sorry again for that. It’s just standard procedure.” “No problem. I get you.” I got up, and stood on the metal square. “If anything happens, let me or Twilight know. You have our numbers.” “We got it, don’t worry,” Bon Bon replied with a push of a button that sent me back up and out of the underground bunker. “Ahh!” I was launched up and landed hard on my ass. “Damn...not again...oof.” But I was comfortable knowing that the device was in good hands. Now I just needed to keep going, and find others who were willing to help. “OKay...this’ll work, Sunset. Let’s go.” I was back on the road once more. Planning is key when you’re an agent. Things take time to understand and prepare for. That’s what my mom and dad always said. And I intend to show them that I was more than capable of being the best in the business. Too many people suffered from the shadows. Now it was time for us to rise up and make the world better. “Okay, Bons,” Lyra addressed me, “I’ve narrowed it down. These are the best possible candidates to sneak into that TV studio and find that rock.” I looked at the computer screen and stroked my chin. “Hmm...are you sure? Do those two even come off as ‘secret mission’ material to you?” But she brought up a good point that I couldn’t exactly refute. “If that space rock is in the TV station where they film our favorite baking show, who else would we pick?” “Fair enough...let’s text them.” I took out my phone, and sent out messages to those two candidates. It wasn’t long before I got a response. “YESYESYES! I’D LOVE TO HELP!” “Oh my...well...if you’re sure….”
IntroductionThe strangest thing happened. Magic had completely disappeared from our geodes. We weren’t able to tap into their powers anymore. I can’t even read other people’s minds. Something’s wrong. Very wrong. I’m not sure if you’ll even get this message, Princess Twilight. I know you’re busy with loads of other stuff right about now. But if you do, I could really use your help. I stopped my bike, and took off my helmet. With a nervous gaze, I looked at (my) Twilight’s house. “Maybe she’s found a solution already. Only one way to find out.” I got off the bike, and knocked on the door. An exasperated voice called out from inside. “It’s open!” “Twilight? You here?” “I’m in the garage!” I was surprised to hear that. The garage door wasn’t even open. Eh, no big deal to me. I figured Twilight already knew what the problem was so I passed it off with a shrug. Though, once I entered the garage, I was in for an unexpected sight. “Micro? You’re here?” I asked. Indeed. My purple bespectacled friend was accompanied by her fellow bespectacled friend within the confines of the garage. “That’s unexpectacled,” I thought. “Hm? Oh, hello Sunset,” Micro Chips responded. He had on a lab coat just like Twilight’s, and was analyzing some sort of rock fragment under a microscope. “We were just trying to decipher what exactly has disrupted your magic. Twilight called me for the usage of my electron microscope.” “Huh.” That was unexpected. Though, as soon as he was done talking, Twilight came up to me and whispered. “To tell you the truth, he’s better at understanding the comprehension of extraterrestrial matter than I am,” she cleared her throat and spoke aloud. “Now, are you aware of the meteor shower that hit a few days ago?” Oh that one? Which one...oh yeah! We had a campout under the shooting stars! So fun. “I remember now! But wait, that’s that got to do with a rock?” “Not a rock,” Micro corrected me, “A piece of matter from outer space--in layman’s terms it’s a meteorite. But...it’s a pretty darn strange one. It seems to be emitting some sort of electromagnetic wavelength that can counteract other wavelengths.” I was doing a bit better in science class, so I had slightly more understanding of what that sort of terminology was than before. “But that...doesn’t make much sense. How can something from space affect our magic?” Twilight spoke next. She went over to a whiteboard that rolled on wheels, and flipped it around. “Tis simple, Sun-buns we believe that it may have been enchanted by an Equestrian magic portal.” With a pointer, she tapped the board that was filled with...all sorts of formulas and equations that I wouldn’t dare try and solve with a ten-foot pole. “This part here is what’s most important,” she pointed up to a diagram of the meteorite itself. There were little drawings of lightning bolts around it. “Oh? What’s that about?” “We believe it carried a natural electromagnetic field that somehow fused with Equestrian magic,” Micro explained, “As a result, it completely nullified all forms of magic within...a one-hundred mile radius. Given that it was a shower, that’s also not taking into account the possibilities of other meteorites that have caused the same incident.” Holy cow. More than one? This was bad. What if a threat rose up that we weren’t able to defend ourselves against? This had to be taken care of or else I couldn’t keep this world safe. “Damn...what can we do?” Twilight always had a plan, though. She never let me down. “Not to worry. We just need to find and destroy these rocks. No big deal,” she replied while she spun in a swivel chair up to her board. “Just gotta loop the exponent, carry the variable, and swoop the-” “...I would like to point out that dealing with magical threats without magic is...perilous,” Micro commented. He was right. We simply weren’t capable of dealing with enemies from magical dimensions without magic. “Hehe! Silly, that’s what you’re here for!” Twilight chirped with a sneaky little smirk aimed at the guy. Just what was she planning? “You know about these things to where you can help us take out anything that comes up.” “Heh,” I snickered, “Sounds like a solid plan. Though I wouldn’t peg you for a fighter upon first glance, MC.” “Hmph,” he straightened his glasses, and took some notes in a book, “There’s quite a lot you may not know about me. But that’s neither here nor there. What we should be focused on, is just how we intend to retrieve the magic. So, Twilight, what’s the plan?” These two were like a well-oiled machine. I was almost jealous. But nobody within our main friend group really shared the same level of intellect as Twilight did. It wasn’t like this all the time, but a small handful of conversations often resulted in awkward silences and the rest of us nodding our heads as if we understood. So it was nice to see that she found someone who she could relate to. Micro was always pretty trustworthy, but I couldn’t help but wonder just what he had in mind in case we ever fought otherworldly creatures. This guy was hiding something. “Simple. We split off into groups, and find out whatever we can regarding the disappearance of our magic. That way, we can cover more ground.” “Sounds good.” But I wondered. Maybe if we had the help of some of our other friends, could it help? “Which way do we head out?” Twilight smirked at me with a cat-like expression. She tapped Micro’s shoulder with the pointer. “Wouldja do the honors, Mikey?” “Right. Allow me,” Micro said as he pushed a button. From the ceiling, a display of watches dropped down on a sort of podium thingy...what the heck sort of stuff did Twilight rig her house with? “These will allow us to track the radiation given off by any of the meteorites. Each one contains a small fragment of the meteorite itself, so that it can track the others. Once we find it, we’ll go ahead and destroy it.” I could feel my eyes sparkle. “Ooh…” The watches looked pretty cool, and stylish too. They’d totally go with the biker getup I was looking into. “So I just...slip one on?” “Mm-hmm. I’d hope we can handle this fast,” Twilight said with a worried look as she gazed up at her board. “Not being able to levitate things is a real pain in the butt.” “Heh...well, not being able to tell what you had for lunch yesterday is just as much of a pain,” I shot back. Both of us giggled at our little joke. To be frank, this wasn’t a joke. The loss of our power wasn’t exactly something so trivial. We needed to act fast before any incidents we couldn’t handle rose up. “Okay…” I put one of those bad boys on my right wrist and it felt great! But then I had a question. “Uh...what are we gonna do with the other three?” “Hm? Oh, you can go ahead and pick whoever you deem fit to help us wear those. Only one person needs to wear that watch while others can follow along and assist,” Twilight spouted another description. Hm. This would be tough. Who would I entrust with magic nullifying tracker watches? Oh boy. “I see, and what about you and Micro?” The boy answered first. “Simple. Twilight and I will return to the initial meteorite site near the edge of the city. You recruit other individuals to help us out. Is that agreeable, Sunset?” “Eh, sure why not?” I hated to admit it, but I was hella excited. Fighting off monsters without the crutch of magic sounded super fun. “I’ll head out and find some good teammates, Twilight. See ya both later.” They both waved as I left. I got back on my bike, strapped on my helmet, and I was back on the road. Now just who do I give these watches to that’ll help me track these anti-magic meteors?
Team Apple FormsApplejack. Yeah. She was reliable and didn’t tend to lose things, right? She was a great pick because she rarely lost anything. Plus, I figured she’d be able to handle anything that comes up since she was the most...physically capable out of any of us. Even without her strength buff from her geode. Shockingly, she wasn’t at the farm. Granny Smith told me where she was. The mall? Oh yeah! She got a job there, that’s right. It was pretty far so I took my car there. Alright, now to find that smoothie stand. “Howdy, Sunset!” I heard her voice from across the mall. There she was, serving up fruity drinks at that stand. That was unexpected. I crossed the mall’s intersection to meet up with her. “AJ? You’re working here? I thought the farm was a full-time thing for you.” “Kinda. Granny Smith always says that only a well-rounded apple rolls down the hill of success--er, somethin’ like that. So I decided to get muhself a side job. Wanna try a drink? I got some sweet grape-lemonade mix in today.” That was nice to hear. But wait. No. Now wasn’t the time for that. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’m sure you’re aware of the malfunction going on with our geodes? We can’t tap into their powers for some reason.” AJ was always steadfast, and relaxed. But she seemed a bit too laid-back about this incident in particular. “S’prolly a glitch. I’m sure they’ll be workin’ again soon,” she said with a relaxed smile while she mixed up more of those colorful drinks. “That’s...not quite what’s happening. Twilight and Micro Chips found out that some kind of space rock mixed with Equestrian magic and it’s disrupting our geodes. We need to find out where they are and destroy them.” Applejack paused, and slurped some fruit juice off of one of her fingers. She then went to the sink, and washed her hands. Oh no. Whenever she got quiet like this, it always meant she was thinking hard. “Alrighty--what’s the plan, Sunset?” I took my backpack off my back, and took out one of the watches that Twilight gave me. “Use this--track down the meteorite, and do what you can to destroy it.” She inspected the watch like it was some sort of strange alien device. “Hrm…” she took it in her hands, then put it on. “Seems simple, enough. Soon as I get off work, I’ll start lookin’.” As much as I trusted AJ, I still felt concerned. “You sure you can handle it?” But she scoffed at my words. “Pshaw. With all them classes I’ve been takin’, I feel like I can handle anythin’. Even without mah geode power.” Classes? Just what else did she start doing while she wasn’t at the farm? “What sort of classes? Like, martial arts?” “Yeah. Tae-kwon-do, Sunny. Kickin’ and stuff,” she said with a snicker. “Don’t suppose you’d know much ‘bout that?” “Well, I took a bit of karate for a time,” I responded, and pinched the air between my index finger and thumb to emphasize that it was only for a little while, “so I know a handful of basic moves.” My blonde friend simply giggled again. “Heh...the most simplistic of the arts. TKD is a bit more focused on ya legs. I’d love to show ya sometime, actually.” “Oh yeah, for sure.” It sounded pretty cool, but I didn’t have time to get distracted. I needed to find other people who could make use of these watches. They were extremely valuable, so they couldn’t afford to be lost. “Alrighty,” I said as I put my backpack back on, “I’ll leave you too it. The rest of our friends already know, so do what you can, okay? Twilight says we should all split up, so do your best!” “Alrighty! See ya, Sunset!” I waved, and took another look at that new-fangled doo-hickey that she gave me. It was pretty cool-lookin’ and it could track space rocks? This was gonna be fun! Work was killer today, that was for darn sure. I washed up, cleaned my station, and removed my uniform. Now back in my everyday clothes, I ran out of the mall to meet up with a certain friend of mine. “Now where is...eeyup, that’s her.” It took me literally zero effort to find Rarity’s limo. Easier than findin’ eggs from the coop. That super long, fancy-schmancy car was takin’ up half the dang parkin’ lot! “Yoo-hoo! Applejack, darling! Over here!” she cried out and opened the door while she waved at me. I sighed. “Ugh…” Did she really gotta be so theatrical? Anyway, I got into the limo, and shut the door. Some scrubbers automatically started washin’ my boots off from within the floor of the vehicle. Really? “How was work today, Applejack?” Rarity asked me. She grabbed a towel and started dabbin’ it on my head to get the sweat up. “You look absolutely ragged.” “I’m fine. But I just heard some pretty concernin’ news,” I showed her the watch I had on my wrist. She grabbed my hand to get a better look. “Ooh, how styli--wait,” she paused as she let go, “It’s to do with our powers going out, isn’t it?” I pulled my hand back. “Yup. ‘Ccordin’ to Twilight, it’s some kinda space rock that’s messin’ with our powers. We need to find ‘em and destroy ‘em fast as possible so we can git our magic back.” “Mm-hm…” Rarity tapped her chin. “So what’s our first move, then?” “Let’s see…” I looked down at the watch. It blinked with a red light that pointed south of here. That must be where the meteor-thingy was located. “South. That must be where it is.” In the amount of time I said that, she had changed into a completely different outfit. Her trenchcoat getup that she solved mysteries in. “Well then, darling. Looks like we have a game afoot. The Mystery of the Missing Magic.” As much as I hated to admit it, that kinda had a nice ring to it. You win this round madam chic. “Heh. Not bad.” She snapped her fingers with a proud smirk. “Driver, please take us--er,” she stopped mid-sentence to consult me again, “which direction did you say the detector was pointing us to?” “South,” I replied simply, “Hopefully it won’t take us that long to find it.” The limo was crampin’ me up, and I wanted to get free as soon as I could. Rarity was used to ridin’ in these things, but I wasn’t. “Due south, driver!” she squealed like a rooster on a Sunday mornin’. I completely underestimated how excited she was for this. And so we rode on down a few roads. I kept my eyes glued to the watch. It began beepin’ more and more. We must’ve got close. The watch stopped and turned green as it pointed us in a direction. “I think we’re near the thing. Let’s get out here.” We both exited the limo. Now we were in an area near the edge of the city near one of the parks. Well, it was more like a controlled area with a buncha trees and a pond near some hills. Wallflower actually had a garden planted around here somewhere. The limo took off. Guess Rarity’s time with it ran out. She had a magifyin’ glass at the ready. “Alright then, Applejack. What shall be our first move?” To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure how well Rarity could fight without her magic. If we got in a kerfuffle, things would be difficult since I’d have to watch out for her at the same time. So I decided to make a plan. “Tell ya what, Rarity. You start searchin’ for clues around here while I head up the path towards the hills. If ya see anythin’, hit me up with a text?” “Oh, that sounds perfect! We can cover much more ground if we separate. But don’t hesitate if you need my help,” she said with a confident tone, “I can assure you that I am more than capable of handling myself. Even without my magic.” Yeah...I initially didn’t think so for a second. But Rarity was fulla surprises, so I had faith in her. “‘Kay, then. Let’s git ‘er done.” So I went off on my own. I headed up through the park, and slid down a hill or two. It was kinda nice bein’ outside in nature that wasn’t just the farm. I started to realize just what Fluttershy meant. The birds that chirped, squirrels that gathered nuts, the snakes that...snaked? Anyhow, that don’t matter much right now. I need to find-- BANG! “What in tarnation?!” I flipped out for a split second, and tried to locate the source of that noise. Sounded like some kinda gun that was fired off. Near here? Wasn’t that against some sorta safety regulation? I found some nearby bushes, and peeked through. I saw a massive set of plains where targets were pointed towards the open field. Some guy was out there doin’ some skeet shootin’. He looked a bit familiar. Was he from CHS? Or Crystal Prep? Hm… Then I was interrupted yet again. BZZZ! “Gah!” My dang phone went off. Who could be callin’ me right about now, anyway? “Hello?” “Applejack? It’s me, Twilight. I’m on video call,” my purple scientist friend had called me. Must’ve been important. I turned my phone sideways and answered. “What’s up, Twilight?” “Each watch contains a tracking device so we can keep tabs on where you are,” she explained to me, and turned the phone to a map of Canterlot City. She tapped on a specific part, “You’re at the shooting range near the edge of the city, correct? It’s owned by one of our fellow students. I think one of the school paper editors.” “Uh...yeah?” “Okay. There’s someone there who attends the place frequently. His name is Double Diamond. You’ll recognize him due to his distinct purple scarf and snow-white hair. He’s a recent transfer student, so you don’t know him well. But he’s capable of using all sorts of weapons, so it’s best you stick by him in case things get crazy. You’re just a few yards away from where a meteor should have landed. Alright, Applejack? ….Applejack?” I stared at the screen for a minute. With all that info she had, I was mega creeped out. “Uhh...Twilight...just how do ya’ll know all that?” A drop of sweat rolled down her face. Her lips puckered up in a nervous sorta way, as if she just ate a raw lemon out of a cider barrel on a hot summer's day. “Hehe...um, you need to stay focused! Call me back if you need anything!” From the background, I heard Micro Chips comment. “...your lying skills are terrible.” “Shut it, Mikey!” That’s when I hung up. “Ugh,” I drew my open palm across my entire face while I shook my head. Oh well. The sooner I could get help, the better. I just hope this Diamond guy was willing to help out.
Round 1: Clay ShootingMy options were limited so I had to approach him. “‘Scuse me! Scuse me!” I shouted loud as I could over the sound of the bullets. He must’ve noticed me since he had to put his gun down. Then he removed the goggles and earmuffs he had on his head. “Yo? What’s goin’ on, sis?” he asked me in a hefty surfer kind of accent. “Sorry to interrupt ya! But I was wonderin’ if you’ve seen some kinda meteorite near here?” “Meteor? Nope. Ain’t seen nothing like that, brah. There was this cool meteor shower a few days ago, though.” Rats. There had to be somethin’ around here that could tell me what was goin’ on. “Ya’ll sure you ain’t seen nothin’? Maybe a glowin’ rock of some kind?” That worked, because he immediately started thinkin’. “Hm...oh yeah! I did see this strange stone out near the edge of the firing range. Hecking weird, yo,” was his response. He pointed out to West towards a hill at the end of the field. “I see. Do ya mind if I take a minute and walk out there? My friends and I are lookin’ fer somethin’.” That caught his attention, I reckon. The guy seemed interested in guidin’ me out there. How nice of him. “Sure. I can take ya there myself, actually. I come by this place all the time. Name’s Double Diamond. My friends call me Double D, though. And you must be--” “Applejack, yeah yeah,” I passed him up. Wasn’t in the mood for no overly drawn out introductions, and I had a mission. “Are ya gonna help me out or not, Mr. D?” “H-hey! Was just trying to be friendly, man.” Guess I embarrassed him a little bit. He ran after me to catch up. “Anyway. It’s just up this way. Though, I’m not sure why you’d be so interested in a strange rock.” “It’s cuzza the fact that it’s messin’ with our magic. The rest of my friends and I can’t seem to do none of our abilities--like mah strength. It’s plum gone.” “Yikes...that’s a gnarly little situation there, sis. Don’t worry. I got your back. Just a few more steps down this slope here...” He went ahead and showed me the way. I had never been out here before, so it was cool to have someone show me around someplace new. How reassurin’. After about a dozen steps or so, we were finally at the foot of the hill that Diamond directed me to. “There it is, AJ,” he said. “Landsakes…” It was a stone about the size of a tire. Not particularly scary enough on its own, but I was still unsure how to approach it. “Lemme call Twilight.” I dialed the phone. “What’s up, AJ? Did you find it?” she answered quickly--thank goodness. I turned on the video chat mode, and turned the phone around so she could see the rock. “This what we lookin’ fer?” Twilight yelled out, and it nearly startled me. “Yes! That’s it! Now you just need to destroy it before something bad happens. Simple.” “Heh. That all? This’ll be nothin’. Even without mah mega strength.” I took a step forward, and reached out to touch it. “Wait, AJ! What are you--not with your bare hands!” “...” Somethin’ happened. My geode reacted as soon as I touched the weird rock. I felt a shock of sorts, and quickly pulled my hand back. “Yow! What in the--” Oh damn. Shouldn’t have done that. The darn thing started to shake and shiver like a jittery pig that wanted to escape. It shone a bright red, and somethin’ was clearly off about it. Diamond came from behind, and pulled my arm. “‘Kay, c’mon! Let’s go! Let’s go! This thing looks dangerous!” I hated runnin’ from danger. But in this instance, I ain’t had much choice. The thing was rattlin’ around violently and I had no idea what to do. “Yah! Keep movin’!” I turned my head back, and gazed. A red shockwave was emitted from the rock, and traveled along the ground. Now that was scary. My legs carried me fast as they could. “Aaah! What’s happened with that rock?! Is it really from space, dude?!” Diamond shouted as we ran, “This ain’t nothin’ like the games!” “Just keep goin’!” I shouted back. I had to think of somethin’ fast. We were close to the shootin’ range again. So that was good. But just what could we...aha! “Hide behind that there tree!” I yelped and dove behind the mighty oak that was near the range. Diamond followed, and took a deep breath next to me. “Whew...that was close yo.” About a minute or so passed. I didn’t hear nor see no sign of that magical shockwave. What made it disappear? “You hear that?” “I don’t hear nothin’, bro!” “Exactly...you stay here.” I took a step out from behind the tree, and walked back over to the shootin’ range. Huh. Nothin’. Strange. Just what did that magic do? “Now that’s odd. I coulda sworn it might’ve caused somethin’ to get all magical.” Turns out, my phone was still on the entire time. Twilight called out to me. “Applejack? Are you there?” “Hm?” I woke it up from sleep mode, and looked at the phone. My scientist of a buddy was worried sick. “I’m okay, Twilight. Don’t seem like there was anythin’ here.” That’s when I noticed that the sun was blacked out a little. Somethin’ cast a shadow on me. “Um...A-Applejack...b-behind you…” I turned around, and looked up. “HOLY PIGEONS!” Turns out that shockwave enchanted the clay pigeons that were used in the shootin’ range, and now, they were actual pigeons! But not just any old clay pigeons. Evil clay pigeons! They were each the size of massive roosters! A whole swarm of ‘em! Flappin’ in the air with their solid orange bodies lookin’ deadly. “Um...hehe...good birdies…” “AJ...listen up…” I wasn’t lookin’ at my phone no more, but I heard Twilight’s voice. “Don’t make any sudden movements. Pigeons have nearly 360-degree vision, and can attack you no matter where you move…” I had to think fast. Let’s see...ah! Ya shoot clay pigeons with a gun, right? Looks like I ain’t had much choice. My eyes darted towards the shotgun that Diamond was usin’ a bit ago. A good ol' Remington 870. I could use that. Hopefully all that trainin’ back home would pay off. “Twilight...I’ll call ya back.” “Wait wha--?!” I hung the phone up, and put it in my pocket. There had to be at least a hundred of them dang pigeons, but I wasn’t afraid. Just had to slowly...and carefully...now! “HA!” I dove for the gun, and the clay birds started flyin’ in like bats out of...ya know. With a few quick shots, I took down at least five of ‘em, and rolled out of the way. I fired off three more shots, and took down three more. But they didn’t stop comin’. I had to move. “Double D! I could use yer help here!” Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long for his help. I heard some more blasts of another shotgun, and he called out. “Hey! I just came back from the shop! Gimme a break!” “Whew…” I couldn’t relax just yet. I felt my feet leave the ground. “What the-?!” The damn things! Their beaks nipped into my clothes and they started peckin’ me! “Gah! Quit it, ya feather brains!” I shot one, punched another, and struck the last one with the barrel directly. They were forced to let go, and--damn. “Ahhh! Oof!” I hit the ground like a sack of taters. “C’mon, get up,” Diamond offered his hand, and pulled me up. “We gotta get outta here, bro! There’s too many!” he said before he fired off a few more shots. Never before was I more satisfied to see a clay pigeon explode into orange chunks. But sadly, ain’t much we could do here. Runnin’ would only bring ‘em into the city. We had to solve this here and now. “Naw, partner. We need more firepower…” That's when I heard a familiar voice scream to the heavens from behind us. "I'M BACK, DARLINGS!"
Round 2: Bigger Targets“Rarity?! What in the heck are ya holdin’!” “GET BACK!” she screamed with a massive rocket launcher on her shoulder, “MAMA’S ABOUT TO STRIKE THEM DOWN!” Double Diamond shouted the same thing I was thinkin’ in that moment. “Woah, wait, do you got a license for that, bro?!” Rarity wasn’t in the mood. “DO YOU WANT TO ARGUE OR LIVE?!” There was no stoppin’ that drama queen when she was in a funk. If she was totin’ the thing around, I could only hope that she knew how to use it. Our options were heckin’ small right about now with loads of magical clay pigeons--that were now actual pigeons--tryin’ to kill us. “Let’s move!” I shouted, and retreated behind Rarity. I took a closer look at the launcher. It was an M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System--MAAWS fer short--or at least it looked like one. It had a laser for gudin’ whatcha shot, but that didn’t make it any better. “Rarity, are ya sure ya’ll know how to use this thing?” Diamond had fled behind her with me, just as panicked as I was. “I’m out of ammo! If you have a plan, shoot that thing!” “Darlings, relax. The adorable boy behind the counter at the shop said it was recoilless--whatever that means. Perfect for someone like moi, not to mention this fashionable set of earmuffs for ear protection,” she explained as she held it up and squinted her eye as she got ready to fire. Them earmuffs were pink and fuzzy. Not my idea of protection. “Now watch, and be amazed! Oh, but do cover your ears, this could be loud.” That put me a bit at ease. Recoilless meant--well--it ain’t got no recoil. Someone as delicate as she should be able to use it. And I guess the fact that she was able to even get it also implied that she did have a license. Well, it was all I could hope for. The clay pigeon swarm was closing in on us. Diamond and I crouched down and covered our ears while we hoped for the best. “FIRE!” Rarity shouted as she pulled the trigger. I opened one eye. Well now, that was somethin’. Instead of regular rockets, the thing shot colorful ones filled with… “Paint?!” SPLAT! A clay pigeon was hit and exploded into a steamy mess of blue ink. The trenchcoat wearin’ girl just giggled in response. “Well of course, darling. They weren’t going to let me use actual rockets. But they’re very effective against evil birds!” I couldn’t believe it. Rarity was actually doin’ it! Each bird was hit by a rocket that exploded into a paint-laced mess! It was like a massive school art project all over the shootin’ field! Whoo doggy! “To left! Up there!” Diamond shouted. And yet the whole time, Rarity was cool and collected. She guided them paint rockets and destroyed each and every one of them magical pigeons! “Yee-haw, ya got ‘em all!” Once it was over, the three of us could finally stop and rest. “Well hot damn,” Diamond commented as he looked at the mess of paint and clay pieces, “The last thing I would’ve pegged you for is a rocket launcher user, Rarity.” The enthusiast bone in my body couldn’t help but correct him. “Well technically it’s categorized as a recoilless rifle, partner.” “Pfft,” Rarity scoffed at my words, “details, details. Those ghastly clay birds are no more! No need to thank me, Applejack.” “Wait a minute--recoilless what?” Diamond asked me next, “That looks nothing like any rifle I’ve seen.” I decided to explain it to him. “That’s cuz it ain’t a rocket launcher, partner. Even though it looks like one, it don’t fire rockets.” I tapped the barrel of the weapon Rarity held onto. “It’s actually uses a massive shell--or bullet--and it’s propelled by a gas that don’t use smoke. Rocket launchers use--well, rockets that explode on impact. But I guess for this time, she used...paint bullets? I still don’t get that part.” “Hmhmhm!” she chuckled all smug-like, “There’s quite a deal you may not know about me, dear Applejack. Though I’m surprised you know so much about these weapons. Wherever did you learn it all?” “Oh, mah pa has a weapon’s cellar beneath the barn. Ever night I look into it and study one of the items inside.” Since we caught ourselves a break, I figured I’d sit down to explain this. “He was big into huntin’ out near the valleys at the edge of the city.” “Um...guys?!” Diamond interrupted me with another shout as he pointed to the middle of the range. “T-the...the pigeons, they’re…” Rarity and I looked up. The sun was bein’ blocked out. Turns out, the clay fragments of the pigeons started to put themselves back together! It was like some sorta magnetic sand thing as they all...bunched up. It was weird, freaky, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Once they were all put together, they became one supermassive gigantic magical orange pigeon! There weren’t enough words to describe it. It was as big as a barn! “Oh dear,” Rarity mumbled quietly, “I don’t think the paint really worked…” It tilted its head around like it was scannin’ the area. It was like, at any moment we could be scooped up by its beak, never to be seen again. C’mon, AJ, think. There’s gotta be somethin’ we can do... “Okay, okay, don’t panic,” Diamond was clearly panickin’, but tried to keep a straight face. “We just need...more firepower...but uh...how are we gonna--” Then another random voice came up from behind us all. Though thankfully it was much less loud and obnoxious. “Use these,” the guy said as he tossed us some shotgun shells. He was dressed up in a leather jacket with spikes, and red pants. But the strangers part was the fact that he had on a bandit mask and pitch black shades. Couldn’t see his eyes nor mouth. “These are incendiary shells. Burn the clay monster so it doesn’t get back up.” That was all he had to say before he upped and turned to head back inside the gun shop. “Hey wait!” I called out as he left, “Just who are you?!” Rarity gave a pretty quick answer. “Oh you don’t know? That’s the gentleman that runs the shop.” “Uh-huh…” Yeah I wasn’t trustin’ that. But Diamond wasn’t as patient as I was. He loaded up one of the shotguns with the fire-shells, and started blastin’! “Eat this, sucker!” The gigantic pigeon flew towards us, but it was slowed down by the shots that caught it on fire. EEEEE! It let out a loud screech that caused Rarity and I to cover our ears. “Uch! What a nuisance!” she yelled, “Time to fry this bird! Diamond? Would you be a dear and distract it by running that way?” Rarity pointed toward the field. Diamond pumped another shot, and started to run. “On it! I just hope you got a plan!” The huge clay bird followed him, and started flappin’ its wings around like a wild chicken without no head. “Uh...do ya have a plan, Rarity?” I asked as I saw her pick up the other shotgun and load it with a few of them shells. “...Wait, what are ya…” “You may not have your strength assistance from your geode, but I know you’re still strong, Applejack. With that said, I need you to fling me up there.” My eyes grew wide when I heard that. “Wait...what? Ya want me to throw ya on top of the crazy clay birdie?!” “We only have a limited time before Diamond will have no choice but to loop back to us! Now throw me, woman!” “Alright, alright, sheesh…” I couldn’t refuse that logic. Oh well, here goes. I grabbed ahold of Rarity’s arm, and ran up behind the orange bird. “Hyaah!” With all my might, I flung Rarity up to it. She must’ve been stickin’ to her diet, because she was pretty easy to throw. But I lost my balance, and found my face in the dirt. “Ugh…” But it was worth it. “HAHA!” Rarity cackled like a crazed little girl on prom night, “This goose is cooked! Or should I say...pigeon.” I had to stop and drag my open palm across my forehead. That line was so lame even a goose wouldn’t honk at it. BANG! But Rarity had the right idea. Soon as she landed on the bird, she blew its head off with a direct hit from those fiery shells. Coupled with Diamond’s efforts from below, the huge clay pigeon disintegrated, and disappeared into nothin’ but ash. “Landsakes…” I stood up and dusted myself off. We actually did it didn’t we? “I gotcha!” I heard Diamond shout as he caught Rarity who had fallen from the air once the big bird disappeared. “You okay?” “Hm? Oh yes, thank you, dear.” She stood up, and fixed her detective hat and her hair. Always gotta stay good-lookin’, eh? “Now...where is that meteor? We mustn’t waste time and destroy it immediately.” I caught up to them, and showed ‘em where it was. “Over here. It kinda caused a--” BANG! Rarity took the shotgun, and blasted the rock with it. “There we go, darling, can we move on now?” “...Bruh what?!” Diamond groaned, “You mean if we did that we coulda avoided all this? BRUUUUUH!” “Heh…” I rubbed my left arm. I felt mighty stupid for touchin’ that rock without listenin’ to Twilight. “Sorry, ya’ll.” As patient as ever, Rarity put a hand on my shoulder. “Oh don’t you worry. You didn’t know it would do that, did you?” “Well...no.” “So there you go! Accidents hap--” BZZ! Dang phone. Always at the worst times. “Yello?” It was a video call from Twilight. “Applejack! One of the watches has sent me a notification! You guys destroyed the meteor?” “Eeyup--wasn’t that hard, right Rarity?” “Not at all,” she said with a giggle. “Hehe! How’s everything on your end, Sparkle dear?” Twilight adjusted her glasses and looked down at her notes. “By my calculations. That’s only one of many. But don’t worry, Sunset is already--” “Aha!” I heard Micro Chips from the background again. “I knew it! They’d be able to take down whatever magical mishap without any need for us to go help them. You worry too much. Oh, and you also now owe me your copy of Astronomical Oddities, Twi.” “Ohoho no ya don’t!” Twilight looked back with a determined smirk on her face, “Best two out of three! You’re not getting my favorite new reading material that easy!” I did a double-take in my mind. Just what in tarnation was that about? “Are ya’ll...placin’ bets on our success?” Twilight faced the camera again and scoffed. “Well sor-ree! But when you’re stuck in your makeshift garage HQ watching out for everyone, you have to make your own fun. Stay alert, and I’ll update you soon on any more fluctuations.” She turned away, “Okay Mikey, let’s see you come up with a better strategy!” I hung up. “Oh my,” Rarity said, “They sounded a lot like what Sweetie Belle and I sound like when we tease each other.” I chuckled. It was easy to relate to somethin’ like that. “Yeah, ‘Bloom and I are the same way. But fer now, we need to search for more of these here space rocks so we can get our magic back.” “Aha! Rarity and Applejack are back on the case!” she squealed and put her arm around my neck. “Oh and thanks for your help, Diamond. Feel free to tag along with us if you wish.” “Heck yeah!” Double Diamond joined us. “I’m always down for that!” Meanwhile…near the shop… “Looks like they went for it. Hopefully things get better from here…”
Team Candy FormsStill no answer from Princess Twilight in the other dimension. Rats. Is it possible that my journal has been nullified as well? Now I can’t even contact her! Okay, don’t panic. It’s okay, Sunset. Stay calm. You got this. You and your friends need to keep finding those weird meteor things and shut them down so you all can get your powers back. Simple, right? But I’m starting to think this is being done on purpose. As if someone knows that we’re powerless without magic... BZZZ! “Ahh!” I was walking down the street near the suburbs towards a certain someone’s house when my phone went off. “Hello?” I stopped to answer it--a video call. “Sunset, you there?” It was Micro Chips. In the background I saw Twilight scribble and erase furiously upon her chalkboard. “Yeah. What’s up, bud?” “Applejack and Rarity have successfully dispatched a meteorite. You made a good choice giving her one of the tracking devices. Where are you now?” Whew. That was a good sign. Nice to know that I was still doing some good for this world. Even if the magic did cause some problems, I felt good knowing that my friends were able to fight comfortably without it. Of course, I’d rather have it back. There’s no way we could handle everything without it...could we? Anyway, I had to focus. “I’m on my way to meet up with someone. She’s a bit of an...acquaintance that I can count on in situations. What about you guys? How’s things on your end?” “Not bad at all, actually. Twilight and I are doing our best to monitor the fluctuations of magical disruption around the city. In layman’s terms, it’s the reason why we haven’t left her house--” “HQ!” Twilight suddenly corrected him from the background. “Insignificant details,” he scoffed, and rolled his eyes. “The point being is that we’re fine here.” Well, I suppose that was enough to convince me. Still, I was worried for those two. “Well, alright. Just...be careful. I’m not sure how well you two would function on your own if you were attacked.” But Micro wasn’t worried, it seemed. I could tell by the way he pushed up his glasses and had that smug expression on his face. “Hehe...oh, Sunset. You underestimate our potential. Battles are not won with brawn alone. They’re won with brains,” he said as he tapped the side of his head. That was nice to hear, but I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Haha! Oh? And just what sort of mechanisms do you intend to make use of when you guys have to fight a magical being without magic? Teleporters? Mech suits? Electro music?” “Hey don’t bring my favorite style into this!” he snapped back defensively and calmed himself down. “Ahem...excuse me. No.” Wow. Come to think, I don’t recall having ever seen him even remotely close to being angry before. The nice ones like him, Fluttershy, and Wallflower were often the scariest. “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to upset you, Micro.” “Heh, it’s fine. This situation has put me a bit on edge lately. Anyway, in reference to self-defense, I’ve already devised several methods of counterattacking should we come into contact with any--” Twilight interrupted him with a gentle push of her hand on his face to make room for herself in the frame of the camera. “I meanwhile have already calculated one, guaranteed method to keep us safe should the need arise.” Micro countered when he pulled his phone away so he could get Twilight out of the frame and keep himself in it. “Ahem--contingency plans are always necessary in any situation. Regardless, you have no need to worry about us.” Twilight forced her way into the camera again. “Because my house is already locked down so tight it’ll make your lips pucker!” They glared at each other with competitive grins. Kinda like the sort of faces that Applejack and Rainbow Dash make at each other. It was both scary but a little bit cute at the same time. Sadly, they seemed to have ignored me for the last few minutes. “Um...gotcha,” I responded in order to diffuse their little contest, “I’m gonna get back to where I’m headed. Don’t choke each other out, you two.” I hung up, and exhaled. Whew. Glad I got through that. Now where was that girl’s house again? Ah. There. It was a normal looking house in a cul-de-sac. Bon Bon was her name. But according to several sources, she was more than just an average student at CHS. I figured that now would be a better time than ever to make use of her talents. I knocked on the door, but no answer. “Hello? Bon Bon?” I knocked again, nothing. Odd. She usually came right home after school, right? Then I felt the porch beneath my feet give way! “AH!” I was sucked up by it, and landed in a chair? “Oof! What the hell?!” A light came on, and the pink and blue-haired girl stood in front of me with a pair of shades on. “So...you finally decide to call on my help, huh? I’d never thought I’d see the day…” “Ugh…” I rubbed my head to recover from being disoriented. “Bon Bon? So the rumors were true! You are a--” She folded her arms, and cut me off. “Cut the crap. Talk to me. You want some help with some meteor nonsense, yeah?” Wait...how in the heck did she? “Um...yeah. But how did you?” “My house has loads of monitors to keep track of everything in the neighborhood. And you think I’d be a good candidate to help ya find all these anti-magic meteors so you and your friends can get your powers back, hm?” I put my hands together--fingers interlocked out of desperation. “Please, Bonnie. I need your help. You know the ins and outs of this city better than anyone.” I then took out one of the watches to track the meteors and offered it to her. “Hm…” she looked off to the left as she gave it some thought. Then she took out her phone, and tapped the screen. After that, she grabbed the watch, and put it on. I nervously pointed at her phone. “Uhhh...what did you just do?” “Call for backup.” Behind Bon Bon, to the left, a door would open up. A familiar green girl walked through. “Got your message, Sweets. Oh, hi Sunset!” “Sup, Lyles? Do me a favor and pinpoint who would be best to help us tackle this at the computer, would ya?” Bon Bon tasked her best friend with that while she fiddled with the watch. “Pretty sweet tech. You said Twilight made this?” I nodded with a smug expression. I always liked to boast about Twilight’s inventions because they were that good. Also because she refused to compliment her awkward self. “That’s right. She’s something of a genius. Not even the CIA has stuff like this yet.” “Well duh,” Lyra commented from the computer chair in the corner of the room as she typed furiously upon the keys, “the Intelligence Agency has no need for meteor-detecting watches. But us on the other hand…” Bon Bon walked over to the computer and connected the watch to it via a cable. “We should at least be able to get a read on the nearest one. Don’t worry, Sunset. If you guys have lost your powers, we’ll help ya.” I sighed with relief. Her theatrics scared me for a second because I felt like I was being interrogated in some kind of action movie where the main character is considered the bad guy until he proves himself innocent. “Whew...that’s good. So what do you guys have planned?” Lyra responded first. “Well, we’ve pinpointed the location of your nearest magic-cancelling rock. It’s...at the local TV studio.” “Is that the place where they film Bake Wars?” Bon Bon asked, “This’ll be interesting.” “Oh my gosh!” That show was so much fun that I had to speak up about it. “I love that one. On this one episode, there was this team who made a gingerbread cake that weighed a ton but didn’t fall over!” “My personal favorite was the episode where someone made a cake with trace amounts of fish oil. Lyra and I tried making it at home and it came out great. Right, Lyles?” The green girl rolled her eyes. I suppose she was intent on being focused. That was something I could respect. “Ahem--anyway. We need to keep track of what we’re doing.” “Alright, sorry about that. I guess I’ll leave you to it. So…” I looked around. Half the room was still too dark to look at. “How do I get out of here?” Bon Bon pointed to a spot on the floor--a metal tile. “Stand there and you’ll be elevated right back up to the porch where we dropped you in from--sorry again for that. It’s just standard procedure.” “No problem. I get you.” I got up, and stood on the metal square. “If anything happens, let me or Twilight know. You have our numbers.” “We got it, don’t worry,” Bon Bon replied with a push of a button that sent me back up and out of the underground bunker. “Ahh!” I was launched up and landed hard on my ass. “Damn...not again...oof.” But I was comfortable knowing that the device was in good hands. Now I just needed to keep going, and find others who were willing to help. “OKay...this’ll work, Sunset. Let’s go.” I was back on the road once more. Planning is key when you’re an agent. Things take time to understand and prepare for. That’s what my mom and dad always said. And I intend to show them that I was more than capable of being the best in the business. Too many people suffered from the shadows. Now it was time for us to rise up and make the world better. “Okay, Bons,” Lyra addressed me, “I’ve narrowed it down. These are the best possible candidates to sneak into that TV studio and find that rock.” I looked at the computer screen and stroked my chin. “Hmm...are you sure? Do those two even come off as ‘secret mission’ material to you?” But she brought up a good point that I couldn’t exactly refute. “If that space rock is in the TV station where they film our favorite baking show, who else would we pick?” “Fair enough...let’s text them.” I took out my phone, and sent out messages to those two candidates. It wasn’t long before I got a response. “YESYESYES! I’D LOVE TO HELP!” “Oh my...well...if you’re sure….”
