“… He took a bite out of the food, so I told him ‘hey, that’s not pudding!’”
Both Pinkie and Vinyl fell into hysterics at the story Vinyl told. Pinkie’s laugh was a little stronger, and had a few snorts mixed in with it.
Pinkie had a hard time speaking while she was still giggling. “Then what… what did he… what did he say after you said that?”
Vinyl was still laughing as well. “Ha ha! He- he didn’t say anything. He just ran to the nearest bathroom!”
Both broke out into a second wave of hysterical laughter. Pinkie nearly collapsed on the stairs as she laughed herself to tears, and Vinyl leaned on the railing due to her legs weakening from hard laughter.
They both stood in line for another water slide they planned to board. They had gotten to catch up on interesting things that happened in each other’s lives as they waited. Vinyl told Pinkie a story about a prank she played on another customer of a restaurant she visited while she was in Canterlot on her tour as the famous DJ Pon-3.
The laughing soon started to ease as the joke died away. Pinkie wiped a tear away before she spoke. “Hehe! Oh, Wow, I haven’t laughed that hard in quite a while!”
Vinyl was calming down from her laughing fit as well. “Heh, well, you should have been there. I couldn’t stop laughing about it afterwards. It was just too funny!”
Just then, two ponies trotted up to them from the bottom of the staircase. Pinkie recognized both and smiled at them. Before she greeted them, though, she noticed one of the ponies in particular and gasped.
“Fluttershy?! Is that you?!” Pinkie asked, quite surprised to see the usually timid pegasus getting in line for the Swirling Hayseed with Lyra.
Fluttershy tilted her head at Pinkie’s words. “Uhh, yes it is Pinkie.”
“Wow, you’re getting in line for a water slide?” Pinkie asked, still surprised.
Lyra responded to her question. “She sure is. I’m getting her to try a few after I met her at the lazy river. She’s already been on a smaller one and she seemed to like it, so we’re stepping it up a bit.”
“Well, I’m sure Fluttershy’s gonna love this one. It’s big, and it’s fun, and we can all ride together!” Pinkie beamed at those last words before she turned to Vinyl. “You don’t mind if they ride with us, do you?”
Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof towards her. “Not at all, Pinks!”
Lyra glanced at the white unicorn that was with Pinkie. She believed that she's seen her before somewhere, but couldn’t quite put a hoof on where.
Suddenly, the thought dawned on her faster than the speed it takes Rainbow Dash to clear a sky full of clouds.
Lyra gasped. “Oh my goodness! You’re- you’re DJ Pon-3!”
Vinyl Scratch noticed Lyra’s excitement and smiled. “The one and only!”
Lyra was bubbling with excitement. “Wow! I can’t believe it! It’s really you! I have all of your CD’s! You’re my favorite DJ, ever!”
Vinyl chuckled at Lyra’s enthusiasm. “Hehe, it’s nice to bump into a fan of my work!”
“But, where are your purple glasses?” Lyra asked. “Don’t you usually wear them?”
“I didn’t want the chlorine in the water to ruin them. So I didn’t wear them today.”
Lyra tilted her head slightly while looking at Vinyl Scratch. “Wow, I’ve never seen you without your glasses. I almost didn’t recognize you at first.”
The four ponies continued to talk and move forward in line, until they finally got to the top and waited for a raft. Rafts were lifted to the top by a lift since they were too large to carry up the stairs by hoof. Once their raft was set in the small pool of water, the lifeguard directed them to get in.
All four ponies got on opposite sides of the raft and faced inwards while sitting on their flanks.
Fluttershy started to shiver once she sat down, which was an action that didn’t go unnoticed by the pink earth pony sitting to her left. Pinkie didn’t know whether it was from what was about to come, or whether it was from the cool temperature of the water that seeped into the raft.
Pinkie went with the first guess anyways. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, you’re gonna love this! Trust me!”
Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie’s attempt to calm her down. “Okay… if you say so.”
Once a stoplight signaled green, the lifeguard nudged their raft out of the station and onto the fiberglass flume.
Applejack’s vision became less blurred as she stirred from her long day slumber. She stretched out all four hooves while giving a great big yawn, and then adjusted her cowpony hat so it wasn’t in the way of her vision. She stood on all four hooves and surveyed the land around her, taking note of the sun’s change of position while she had snoozed.
“Well, I’m plenty rested,” she said to herself. “Might as well go find somethin’ ta eat.”
Applejack slung her saddlebag with her bits over her back and began to trot away to find a place to eat.
“I wonder how the others are doin’,” she mused to herself.
Rainbow Dash continued to wait outside of the Rainboom water slide’s entrance for the mechanic to fix the leaky pipe and open the slide. As normal as that sounded, something was off. Rainbow was no longer pacing back and forward and grunting every few minutes for the slide to open. Instead, she was trotting quickly in one spot. Her forehead had small droplets of sweat forming and falling down her face, and her eyes were wide and wildly dancing. She clenched her jaw shut as small whimpers escaped her mouth from between her teeth.
“Holditholditholditholditholdit!” she continuously told to herself in her head. “You can’t go now, the ride’s about to be fixed. You can’t leave your spot! You just can’t! You can’t! You-”
Rainbow stopped pacing and her eyes went to pin pricks.
“… uh oh!”
Before Rainbow realized it, she was galloping full speed away from her spot and towards the nearest restroom. She wasn’t able to think clearly enough to take off the wing restraining vest, which doing so would have allowed her to fly there.
“HOLDITHOLDITHOLDITHOLDIT,” she yelled as she zoomed past park guests.
She galloped full-speed over a bridge, past a few vendors, and made a few turns before she spotted the little filly’s room and busted through the door.
Water sprayed everywhere when the group rode through another turn on the long raft slide. Their raft would repeatedly ride down another dip before riding up the curvature of yet another turn as they progressed further and further down the flume and closer to the end.
Pinkie was whooping and throwing her hooves into the air, Vinyl and Lyra were laughing at how much water continued to soak everypony around each turn, and Fluttershy held on the edge of the raft for dear life. All riders were tossed and turned, and their boat spun around along the way which gave everypony on board the chance ride forwards, backwards, and sideways.
The raft came around one more high banked turn and rode down another dip before the raft finally reached the end with a splash. It floated across the pool to where a lifeguard pony stopped it to allow the riders to disembark safely.
Pinkie and Vinyl were the first to get out, and they did so while laughing at how soaked they got on the ride and how droopy their manes looked. Soon, their attention turned back to the raft for them to see Lyra assisting the yellow pegasus in slowly disembarking the boat. Her mane covered her eyes due to the amount of water that had splashed all over her.
Pinkie was the first to ask her the question on every other pony’s mind. “So, Fluttershy. How was it?”
Fluttershy delayed her response and spoke very softly. “…it.”
Pinkie cocked an ear towards her. “Yes?”
“…was.”
“Uh-huh?”
Fluttershy brushed her mane from her eyes before she continued.
“… That was… The most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced!” Fluttershy lit up significantly while giving her response. She extended her wings, raised her voice a little, and smiled wide. “I’m still buzzing with joy! I can’t believe how exciting that was! There was so much water going everywhere, and I was afraid I was going to fall out! It... It was so much fun!”
“Woo Hoo! Glad to hear you loved it Fluttershy!” Pinkie cheered at her friend before she put a hoof around Fluttershy’s neck.
“Yeah,” Lyra inserted. “It’s great to hear you liked it. I told you ya would!”
“You guys were right,” Fluttershy responded. “They are fun! I can’t wait to ride the next one!”
Suddenly, everypony was able to hear a loud and disturbing growl noise.
Fluttershy’s excitement vanished immediately, and she ducked behind Pinkie after hearing the grotesque sound pierce the air. “W-what was that?!” she asked while shivering.
Vinyl put a hoof on her stomach. “Hehe! Sorry! I guess we should eat before we get back on any rides, huh?”
Fluttershy stepped from behind Pinkie and blushed. “Oh, um, eating does sound nice,” she said in her normal inside voice.
“Okay then, time to eat everypony!” Pinkie said as she started trotting away, leading the group to where the concession stands were.
As they walked, Fluttershy looked back at the water slide she just got off of. She smiled at her accomplishment in having fun in a much different way that she had planned before she came, and she was glad to have friends that helped push her into finding that new way of having fun.
Fluttershy then directed her attention to the Rainboom. She was eager to hear any stories that Rainbow Dash might have of riding that slide. “It sure has been a while since I’ve seen Rainbow. I wonder how many times she’s been on the slide.”
Rainbow Dash opened the door and stepped out of the restroom with a big sigh. “Ah, now that that’s over, time to get back in li-”
She stopped mid-word once she saw the mechanic that was supposed to be fixing the Rainboom and Filly Flashes walk past the restroom with his tool box.
“HEY!” Rainbow yelled as she galloped to the old earth pony and stand in front of him, blocking him from wherever he was going to go. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m going to get me a meal,” he said. “I’m starvin’.”
Rainbow felt the urge to spread her wings to float above him in a threatening way, but couldn’t thanks to the vest she forgot to remove. She pointed a hoof at the mechanic instead. “Not until you go back and fix the Rainboom.”
“But I did.”
“I said go back and… Wait, what did you just say?”
The old man continued. “After I replaced the pipe, I came out to tell you that I fixed the slide. But you weren’t there for some odd reason. Where were you?”
Rainbow didn’t know what to say. First she was shocked, then she was happy, then she was absolutely euphoric and nearly on the verge of giving this old-timer a hug. She smiled an ear-to-ear grin before continuing. “You fixed it?! You fixed the Rainboom?! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it! I’m finally gonna get to be the first to ride the Rainboom!”
“Well, I don’t know about bein’ first though.”
Rainbow’s mood quickly changed to one of questioning. “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
The old man enlightened her. “Listen, if’n you want to be one of the first, ya’ll better high-tail it over there. Word got out fast, and ponies are linin’ up as we speak.”
Rainbow’s brain locked-up and she froze in place with a twisted expression on her face over the dreaded realization of the situation at hoof.
The old mechanic was nearly blown back by the ludicrous speed the cyan pegasus took off past him. “No, no, no-no-no-nonononono!” She sped past more ponies and eventually spotted the slide. This time, it was alive with water that flowed down the chute.
Past the water slide, she spotted the unmistakable rainbow colored mushroom cloud painting that adorned the large sign above the entrance to the Rainboom. There were now fewer vests on the rack available for pegasi. The ‘closed for maintenance’ sign was no where to be found. Worst of all, a plethora of thrill-seeking multicolored ponies had filled the line from behind the entrance sign, all the way up the long and winding spiral staircase to the top.
Rainbow decelerated her gallop until she was trotting slowly. She looked up at the full line with her mouth and eyes wide open as she slowly walked closer and closer to the entrance to where the back of the line started. She was moving at a snails pace by the time she crossed under the large sign and stopped behind the pony in front of her waiting to get on.
Rainbow flopped down upon her flank and continued to stare at the top of the structure and the line that wound into it. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and her mouth was open with her bottom lip quivering. She sat dumbfounded from the back of the line of the finally-opened Rainboom water slide. She was no longer able to claim the title of the first pony to conquer the tallest, fastest, most awesomest water slide in Equestria. Some lucky pony at the front took that spot instead.
Once the painful lump in her throat lessened, she uttered two words that summed up the way she felt about this situation.
“…no… fair.”
Applejack watched as her food was being processed. She had gone for a simple slice of apple pie to satisfy her hunger, which required the cook that maintained the stand to make a whole new batch and let it cook in the oven.
The stall Applejack was at was located at the concession stands area of the park near the front, but off to the right and hidden within a large semi-circle of trees. Here, ponies could take a break from all the watery fun and grab something to eat and drink. The stalls were lined up side by side and offered a variety of food like ice cream, sandwiches, pie, and pizza to name a few. The stalls were themed to look like thatch buildings from a tropical island, complete with straw roof, bamboo framework, and stone walls.
Applejack stood at the counter of the pie stall with her saddlebag full of bits she brought to spend on essentials like the park admission (which she never got to use thanks to Pinkie), and food. No bits were going to be unnecessarily sacrificed for souvenirs and gifts, and she made that clear to both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy before they left Ponyville to come to the park.
Applejack continued to wait for the pie to cook in the oven behind the counter. during the wait, she looked at her surroundings. She looked at the wooden tables that were scattered around in front of the stalls, and she looked at the many groups of ponies that occupied most of the tables. Many were sitting on hay bundles and either conversing with each other or were simply enjoying their meals.
Her attention started at a table that had a yellow mane, grey coat pegasus that was conversing with a brown mane, light brown coat earth pony stallion. Then her attention moved to a very old stallion with a metal red box he set on top of the table next to his food. Then her attention moved to a group of 4 ponies that were walking towards the stalls to order food.
Applejack easily recognized two of the ponies within the new group. She smiled and waved a hoof at them to get their attention, which worked since the pink earth pony of the group smiled back and began to trot in her direction with the group in tow.
Applejack spoke first. “Pinkie pie! Fluttershy! How’s the park been?”
“It’s been super duper fun,” Pinkie gleefully answered. “And you’ll never guess what we did!”
“And what’s that?”
Lyra spoke up this time. “We got Fluttershy to try a water slide with us.”
Applejack beamed at hearing the news. “Well I’ll be! That’s somethin’ ya don’t hear every day!” She turned towards Fluttershy. “How was it Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy was softly blushing at everyone’s comment on her accomplishment in riding a water slide. She didn’t hide her enthusiasm when she explained her thoughts though. “It was really fun! Scary, but fun!” She spoke a little louder then her usual inside voice, which clearly showed that she was still feeling quite energetic from the slide. “We all came off super soaked,” she chuckled.
“Well I’m proud to be hearing you finally tryin’ something new Shy!” Applejack smiled warmly at Fluttershy as she said that. “Say, why don’t I treat everyone to a freshly baked apple pie ta celebrate?”
Pinkie, Vinyl, and Lyra shared agreeing nods with each other at Applejack’s offer.
“Sounds great! I’m starved,” Vinyl responded.
Applejack turned around and told the cook that she would be purchasing the whole pie instead of just one slice. Right when she did so, the cook removed the thoroughly-cooked apple pie from the oven, placed it in a cardboard box, and brought it to the counter. Applejack paid for the pie and slid it onto her back to carry to a table.
Before they set off, Fluttershy said, “Oh. Umm, you guys can start without me. I’m, uh, going to go use the little filly’s room.”
“Okay Fluttershy,” Applejack responded. “But ya’ll better hurry back before this here pie gets cold… or your slice gets eaten.” She glanced at the white unicorn when she spoke those last few words.
Vinyl had been mesmerized by the pie ever since it left the oven, not taking her eyes off of it. She also had her mouth open and was near to drooling when she was able to get a whiff of the apple flavor in it. Once Applejack said what she said and glanced at her though, Vinyl snapped out of her daze and put a hoof behind her head. “Hehe, don’t worry Shy, I won’t eat your slice.”
At that, Fluttershy smiled and started walking in the direction where the restrooms were believed to be. The other four went to find a table to sit down at and start eating.
Fluttershy took another glance back at the group, whose attention was no longer on her. She turned another direction and started trotting down a path that did not lead to the little filly’s room.