The landscape that made up Equestria's western coast was rocky and violent; hundred meter high cliffs jutted out into the sea, waves bombarded the bases of said cliffs causing them to break apart, and little to no vegetation could be found along most of the coastline. It was these factors that turned many potential settlers away from this side of the country and build towns along Equestria's other three coastlines instead. All of this did have a bright side, however, to the owners of the DELOS corporation; the biggest privately-owned company to operate within Princess Celestia's jurisdiction. It gave them lots of free space which they had used to build what they touted to be the vacation resort to end them all.
DELOS was founded in the year 955 S.M. (Solar Millennium) by a small group of earth ponies for the purpose of bringing to their kind many of the abilities possessed by pegasi and unicorns through technological means. Now, 50 years later, their products are owned and operated by over 84% of Equestria's pony population. Such success led the company's owners to branch out into other areas, one of which being amusement and the DELOS resort being a by-product of this expansion.
Built little more than a year ago, the DELOS resort has generated over 1 million bits in revenue for the company thus far, with projections for the next year being twice as much. The resort rests on an island located about 5 miles off Equestria's western coast, with the only official method of transportation between said island and the mainland being the Kazum Airship, which makes exactly one trip everyday between the two destinations. Said airship was currently making its trip for the day to the DELOS resort, with about 50 out of a possible 80 seats being occupied by passengers. Three of these passengers, however, were quite special compared to the rest.
"Boy howdy, Ah can't wait to live like my forefathers did way back when," Applejack stated as she read from a DELOS brochure.
"Applejack, darling, you already do at Sweet Apple Acres," Rarity teased, reading from her own brochure.
Applejack huffed. "What the hay is that supposed ta mean?"
"C'mon girls," Rainbow Dash said from her own seat behind them, "we're here to have fun, not bicker and moan about each others' lifestyles."
The unicorn and earth pony sighed and returned to reading their brochures. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, returned to her fantasizing about becoming the speed queen of Aviworld. Between the three of them they had enough bits for three days each at the DELOS resort starting tomorrow, which Rainbow hoped would be enough to make an everlasting impression on the staff. After all, she wanted everypony she came across to remember that she was the fastest flyer in all of Equestria and always would be.
The prismatic pegasus was interrupted from her fantasies, however, by the flight stewardess' voice over the loudspeaker at the front of the airship. "Your attention please, we will soon be arriving at DELOS. Once you've exited the airship, head to the front gate of your selected world. Further instructions will be given once there."
"Best vacation ever, here we come!" Rainbow shouted, much to the annoyance/embarrassment of her two friends.
About five minutes later the airship Kazum landed on a concrete plaza overlooking the neighboring sea. As Applejack stepped onto the exit ramp, a sudden gust of wind blew her hat right off her head. Panicking, she frantically tried to grab it back, but to her disappointment it landed in the water out of anypony's reach.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who were just behind their blonde maned friend, were about to offer their services to retrieve AJ's hat when a lasso was thrown from beyond their peripheral vision by somepony unknown to them. The lasso landed right on the stetson hat, neatly wrapping around it in the process, before a sudden tug yanked it right out of the water and back up onto the ramp.
"Y'all might wanna be careful Miss, cause the winds around here can get mighty strong."
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all turned around to see a stallion holding the lasso's other end in his mouth. He had a goldenrod coat that shined brilliantly in the afternoon sun, a dark brown mane atop of which he wore a stetson hat just like Applejack's, and bright blue eyes. His Cutie Mark was, fittingly enough, a picture of a twirling lasso. Applejack extended a hoof out in greeting.
"Thank ya so very kindly sir; you have no idea just how important my hat is to me."
The stallion extended his own hoof and shook AJ's. "I reckon I can understand that. I'm Prickly Pear by the way."
"Applejack, and it's a pleasure ta make yer acquaintance."
"Well c'mon Applejack, let's walk and talk."
As the two country ponies set off toward the gates, Rarity and Rainbow Dash remained fixed to their spots in disbelief.
"When did we turn invisible!?" Dash exclaimed.
Rarity, meanwhile, simply shrugged and sighed. "Why can't I find a gentlecolt like him?"
Rainbow sighed herself and began flying towards the Aviworld gate. "See ya Rarity."
"Goodbye Rainbow Dash," Rarity called back. And with that, she began making her way to the Magicworld gate.
Applejack and Prickly Pear chatted the whole walk to Dodgeworld. The more they learned about each other, the more Applejack saw the potential for a strong friendship between herself and him.
Prickly lived on the outskirts of Hiddenite where he worked as a shepherd for his parents' sheep ranch. The story of how he got his Cutie Mark was remarkable; he had woken up extra early one day to check on the sheep, only to find them all gone and an entire side of the corral torn apart. His father had been teaching him how to use a lasso for herding, and Prickly decided then was the best time to see if he'd gotten the hang of it. Picking up a nearby rope and tying it appropriately, he set off to locate the missing herd. After a few minutes he found them, wandering aimlessly around a large outcropping of rocks. Using a stick to fling a nearby rattlesnake toward the rear of the herd, he managed to get the sheep running. Using his well-toned hooves, he managed to come up alongside the leader and, with one good swing of his lasso, got the rope around the sheep's body and began the nerve wracking (to him) process of guiding the herd back into their pen. By the time he made it back inside, his parents were up, who were quick to inform him of his newly acquired cutie mark. He'd been herding those same sheep ever since. It all reminded Applejack of the many times she stopped various herds from stampeding through Ponyville, with snakes being the most common provocation.
Applejack wasn't the only one interested in hearing about past experiences, however; Prickly Pear was just as (if not more) interested in hearing about Applejack's life as an apple farmer/Element Bearer. He enjoyed hearing the various stories of how she and her friends would wield the Elements of Harmony against every foe they themselves took down. Prickly was also interested in learning more about what the Element Bearers were like in their day to day lives, especially the two they had left at the gates: Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Applejack couldn't help but admire Prickly's uncommon interest in the smaller/simpler aspects of life.
When it came to talking about their destination, however, AJ realized she'd need Prickly's guidance if she wanted to make the most of her vacation. As soon as their destination came up in the conversation, Prickly took it upon himself to make it clear just how truthful all the advertisements about DELOS are. When they say everything is designed to feel as authentic as possible they mean it, and first time visitors can easily feel nervous or hesitant to trust all the safety regulations. Applejack, of course, made it clear she wasn't afraid of anything the resort had to offer and simply asked Prickly to help her have as much fun as possible. Prickly could do nothing but smile and agree to her request.
After walking for about 20 minutes, the country duo finally came upon the Dodgeworld reception building. With goosebumps spreading all over her body, AJ followed Prickly inside to check in to her room. Maintaining the front desk, AJ saw, was an older mare with a short white mane, light brown coat, and also wearing a stetson hat.
Figures, Applejack thought, Ah'll bet my left hind leg everypony here's gonna be wearing my hat's family members.
The mare was reading some papers out of Applejack's view behind the desk, and didn't even acknowledge the two of them until Prickly spoke to her.
"Hello, me and my friend here just arrived and need a couple 'uh rooms; preferably right next to one another."
The mare looked up from her papers and seemed to "analyze" them for lack of a better term. She moved her head and eyes all over both of them a couple of times before smiling and getting up from her seat to retrieve a couple of keys behind her.
"Enjoy your stay in Dodgeworld," she said to them, hoofing the keys over. "For food, dinner's at seven and breakfast's at six thirty; eat lunch on your own. It don't look like much here but, we have everything."
She immediately resumed looking over the papers. AJ couldn't help but be a little unnerved by the mare's monotone way of speaking, and she decided to speak to Prickly about it once they were back outside.
"Hey Prickly, Ah've got a question; what was up with the receptionist in there?"
"Whadd'ya mean?" he asked.
"Ah mean she's . . . not normal."
Prickly smiled. "Well AJ, she isn't exactly a normal mare in the first place."
Applejack blinked. "Ya mean she's one of them robots?"
Prickly nodded.
"Is the whole staff made up'a robots?"
Prickly laughed. "Almost. If ya want, I could point out all the real, live ones so ya have somepony to talk to other than me."
Applejack blushed. "Well, thank ya but no thank ya, I'll get used to it."
"Suit yourself," Prickly replied as they began making their way to the hotel.
Located about one mile above the island, Aviworld was the quickest to reach of the resort's three worlds. Like the old city of Pegasopolis, as well as all pegasi establishments that came afterwards, Aviworld was made entirely out of cloudstuff. As for keeping the floating world from leaving the island, pegasi technicians constantly monitored air currents swirling around the base and made adjustments whenever necessary. As to the appearance of the world itself, one thing was clear: the resort's designers had done their homework.
Rainbow Dash looked around Aviworld in awe of the sights. The entire world had been designed to resemble a giant colosseum, with the center used for aerial jousts and the surrounding wall housing the hotel, steam baths, dining hall, and armory among other things. All throughout the structure there hung replicate paintings of Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy as well as other pegasi soldiers who must've had some historical significance if they were featured alongside their leaders. Several statues of Commander Hurricane alone also adorned several spots around the world, to which Rainbow pondered the accuracy of in regards to the actual Pegasopolis before shrugging and making her way to her room.
"Let's see . . . 4 . . . 8 . . . 15, ah here we go, room 16."
Rainbow used the key to her room and went inside. Looking around, Dash found the room somewhat quaint compared to the outside structure. It consisted of the typical stuff one would find in a hotel room: a couple of mid-sized beds, a desk, a nightstand with a candle atop it, and a window looking out over the island while the bathroom consisted of a sink, toilet, and simple one-pony shower. All of this was, however, built to resemble an actual ancient pegasopolian hotel room.
With a grunt, Dash heaved her belongings against the wall and plopped down onto one of the beds, intending to take a good, long power nap. She didn't get the chance, however, as she heard a knock at her room's door before she could so much as blink.
"Oh for pony's sake, come in!"
-----
Received response: Come in.
Scanning for intent clarification . . . intent deemed positive.
Entry: Granted
Walking protocol initiated . . . walking protocol cancelled.
Initiate greeting protocol+query: "Good afternoon, would you care for a tour of Aviworld?"
Awaiting response . . . response received.
Received response: Ummm, no thanks; I was just about to catch some Z's.
Scanning for intent clarification . . . intent deemed negative.
Query: Denied
Initiate secondary query: "Would you like anything else then?"
Awaiting response . . . response received.
Received response: No thanks, just leave for now.
Scanning for intent clarification . . . intent deemed negative.
Secondary query: Denied
Exit: Granted
Walking protocol initiated . . .
The DELOS resort's two land based worlds took up the bulk of the island's space, with the CCC (Cyber Control Center) and the front gates filling in the rest. Between Dodgeworld and Magicworld, however, Dodgeworld covered more landmass. This was because in order to truly simulate the atmosphere and situations one would experience in the old Dodge settlements a vast expanse of land was needed to recreate the deserts surrounding said settlements, in stark contrast to Magicworld where the common nobility tended to stay indoors and idly chat with one another. As such, Magicworld was crammed alongside the island's eastern coast to make room for more desert.
Upon depositing her luggage in her room at the hotel, Rarity decided to stroll around the world and take in the sights before dinner started. Looking around, Rarity saw that (assuming Ye Olde Canterlot's depiction here was accurate) the capitol city of Equestria hadn't changed its aesthetics too much over the last millennium. The city's building motif still consisted of spiraling towers and everything was constructed with only the most exquisite of building materials. As she looked around, Rarity even saw some buildings that she immediately recognized from her various trips to modern day Canterlot, albeit with lower structural quality. The increasing sense of familiarity left Rarity wondering why the Princesses were so hesitant to change Canterlot's appearance by the time she arrived at the Royal Palace for dinner.
Even the home of Equestria's rulers was identical to its modern counterpart in design and aesthetics. The only noticeable difference, as far as Rarity could see, was that everywhere the royal insignia would be there was instead the stylized purple D of the DELOS corporation. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the Ds emblazoned on the uniforms of the robotic guard ponies, as it totally clashed with the golden armor they were wearing. Even funnier was the fact that the real Royal Guard ponies were every bit as robotic as these actual robots.
Making her way into the dining hall along with the rest of Magicworld's guests, Rarity was amazed at the glorious banquet provided to the guests: present were potato wedges, hay fries, apples, oranges, bread & butter, flower sandwiches, applejack, lemonade, and so much more.
It's official, Rarity thought to herself, I'm in paradise.
Before guests started serving themselves, however, a procession of trumpets played from the opposite end of the room from the food. Rarity looked over to see several robot-guards parting before . . . something. Craning her neck to see better, Rarity gasped at what she saw: an alicorn stallion strode behind the guards in a most dignified yet still joyful manner. He wore a purple robe adorned with several types of jewels and rimmed in white while a crown much like Celestia's sat atop his head. He had a black mane with a white streak splitting it down the middle while his coat was a moderate gray and his eyes a light blue. As the alicorn stallion came closer, however, Rarity saw something embedded in his leg that made her heart sink: a bolt.
He's another robot . . .
Sighing in frustration, Rarity stood attentive like all the other guests. Once the alicorn stallion was standing in the center of the room where everypony could see him clearly, he raised his right front hoof and began speaking in a monotone, yet surprisingly soothing in Rarity's mind, voice to them all.
"Greetings guests. For those of you unaware of my identity, I am King H.D. and I welcome you all to partake in this magnificent feast prepared by the castle chefs. You may now dine."
And with that, King H.D. turned around and walked back the way he came as all the guests began to take up plates and eating utensils and head over to the food, ready to fill up and chat idly.