As the morning sun shone down onto her face, Twilight shifted in her sleep. Finally, her body gave up on remaining dormant and she opened her eyes. After a few moments of adjusting her eyes and getting the sleepy feeling out of her system, the unicorn sat up and stretched before looking around the room.
As expected, Spike was still sleeping peacefully in his bed down below. However, the bed off in the corner of the room was empty. Scratching her head for a moment, the purple mare figured that the human must have already gotten up.
Deciding to let Spike sleep a little longer, Twilight carefully got out of bed and walked down the steps to the bedroom door. After quietly exiting the room, the unicorn walked down the stairs to the main room of the library. She immediately noticed Tom sitting at a table with a book in his hands.
“Wow… you’re up early.” Twilight said in an amazed tone.
“I usually am.” Tom replied while glancing over to the purple mare and setting the book down.
“Oh yeah, I forgot that you don’t need as much sleep as the rest of us.” Twilight nodded as she remembered the odd sleeping patterns the human had. She then turned her attention to the book that the boy was reading. “What are you reading there?” She leaned in closer with a curious expression.
“Oh, this?” Tom said while picking the book up and showing it to the unicorn. “This is an old classic I used to read when I was a kid. I saw it in your pile of books over there, so I picked it up. Unless you have a time machine lying around somewhere, I assume this is from the mansion?” He asked while looking over to the pile of books on a nearby table. The pile was so large that there were a few stacks placed on the floor.
“Yeah… the princess let me catalog all of the books from the mansion. I’m sending them to the palace as I finish them.” Twilight explained while chuckling nervously at the absurdly large pile of books.
“Good lord Twilight… I hope you don’t intend on reading all of them. There were a lot of books in that library.” Tom said while thinking back to his brief time in the mansion.
“Well, I probably shouldn’t say all of them. As much as Spike and the others think I’ve been reading too much, I did send most of the collection to the palace right away. Anything I couldn’t fit on that table had to go… I can’t exactly store hundreds of books in this place now can I?” Twilight said while looking around at the shelves that held the normal books of the library. Most of the shelves were already full, so they couldn’t hold the large collection of human books from the mansion.
“Anything that couldn’t fit on that table eh?” Tom raised an eyebrow while looking at the stacks that were placed on the ground next to the table. “I guess you were a bit lenient with that definition.” He chuckled slightly.
Twilight chuckled nervously and looked down at the floor with an awkward expression. She clearly remembered overshooting the limits of the table and still picking more books to keep.
As they heard the sound of the bedroom door opening upstairs, the two looked up to see Spike descending the stairs slowly. The young dragon yawned and scratched his chin as he sleepily continued on his way. Once he got to the bottom step, he finally turned and addressed the pair in the main room.
“Hey, guys… morning.” Spike mumbled in a drowsy tone. He could barely open his eyes any more than half way.
“Morning Spike.” Twilight said with a passing smile while looking at the sleepy dragon. She always found it amusing to watch her assistant trying to keep himself steady and walk around after just waking up.
“So… what are we doing today?” Spike asked curiously while turning his attention to the pair.
Twilight paused for a moment and hummed curiously as she thought about what she could do that day. There weren’t any important matters to attend to, so she pretty much had free reign with what she wanted to do. “Hmm… I’m not sure.” She stated while deep in thought. “I guess we could go do something with the others.” She finally suggested the best thing she could come up with. Now that the unicorn actually had the freedom of choice, she wasn’t sure what to do.
“That sounds good to me… anything that doesn’t involve fighting monsters is cool with me.” Tom said with a relieved smile.
A sudden knock at the door shifted the group’s attention forward to the door. Twilight glanced at her two friends curiously. She wasn’t expecting anybody, and she had no idea who would want to see her this early in the day.
“Who could that be?” The purple mare said pensively while walking up to the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled the door open to greet her new visitor.
Standing outside, was a familiar blue alicorn. Princess Luna smiled at the unicorn as she opened the door. Twilight was surprised to see the princess of the night in Ponyville. She wondered what she could have been doing.
“Princess Luna…? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Hello, Twilight. My sister and I had something we wanted to talk to all of you about, so I came here to tell you in person.” Luna explained while glancing behind her to a small tote bag she had on her back.
“Oh, ok then. Please, come inside.” Twilight said while opening the door and beckoning the princess inside. Princess Luna followed the unicorn into the library and closed the door behind her. Once Spike and Tom saw who the strange visitor was, they smiled and walked up to the alicorn to greet her along with the purple mare.
“Hello, Princess.” Spike said cheerfully.
“Hello Spike, hello Tom.” Luna said while smiling at the two. She watched as Twilight walked up to her two friends and turned to see what she had to say with an intrigued expression.
“So, what did you have to talk to us about?” The unicorn asked curiously.
“Well… my sister and I have a job for Tom and the others to do.” The blue alicorn explained with a hidden smile. Twilight and Spike glanced over to the human sadly. The disappointment on their faces was clear as day.
“A job…?” Twilight asked while trying to hide her sadness. Tom didn’t seem to be any more pleased by the news.
“Don’t worry… I think that you will like this one.” Luna said with a brief smile while using her horn to open the bag on her back. The princess lifted a small piece of paper up and levitated it over to the purple mare.
Twilight used her own magic to grab the paper and leveled it to her eyes. The paper appeared to be a flyer advertising some sort of water park and resort. As she read the name of the park, she was surprised to see that she recognized it.
“Fun Land…? Hey, wait a minute… I think I’ve been there before.” The unicorn stated in a surprised tone.
“Really? Let me see that.” Spike said while reaching up and taking the flyer out of the purple mare’s grasp. He read over the flyer curiously to ascertain the general idea of the park. “Hmm… says here it’s a water park and resort… Fun Land huh? That’s an odd name for a water park.” The dragon stated with an intrigued tone as he read off the large text at the bottom of the flyer.
“Yeah… I used to go there when I was a filly. It used to be a regular theme park a long time ago if I remember correctly…” Twilight muttered while looking down in thought.
“That is right. The park closed down many years ago after an earthquake destroyed much of the property. It reopened years later as a smaller water-themed resort, which is probably where you know it from.” Luna explained while glancing to the unicorn.
“What does all of this have to do with a job?” Tom asked curiously. Twilight and Spike joined the human in looking at the blue alicorn with puzzled expressions. They all wanted to know where the princess was going with this.
“Well… the park closed down a second time a while back. It has remained closed, up until recently. The daughter of the previous owner is trying to start the family business back up, but there have been some complications to opening the park back up.” Luna explained while looking between the three curious listeners.
“Complications…?” Spike asked curiously.
“Let me guess… complications of the supernatural variety.” Tom said with a confident smirk. He had a feeling that the alicorn wouldn’t just send him to take care of a run of the mill problem.
“Precisely… however, this is where it gets interesting. The park has been experiencing some low-level paranormal events… things like cold spots, disembodied whispers, feelings of being watched, and other such things.” Luna continued.
“Hmm… sounds like a simple cut and dry ghost haunting. That shouldn’t take much effort to take care of.” Tom stated with an intrigued tone.
“That is exactly what we thought. We were going to just let Glimmer Shine and the others take care of it in a few weeks, but then the owner made an offer that we thought you would like.” The princess said with a warm smile. “The park doesn’t have very much money, and they need all the resources they can get to work on the park before it opens, so they can’t pay you in bits. However, they have agreed to give you and anyone you decide to bring along an all-expenses-paid stay at the resort for one week if you take care of their problem.” She explained in an excited tone. The alicorn smirked as she saw Twilight gasp in surprise and look around at her two friends eagerly.
“So you’re saying that we could go stay a week at a water park, and we can bring the others?” Twilight asked to clarify what she just heard. Luna smiled and nodded in response, eliciting the unicorn’s already bright smile to grow tenfold.
“Woohoo! That sounds amazing!” Spike cheered happily while thinking of all the fun he could have at a water park with his friends.
“Judging from your reactions, I would assume that you’re ok with this, but I feel like I need to ask Tom to clarify if he wants to do this. I know how much you didn’t want to be doing any more jobs for a while… so how about it?” Luna asked in a playful manner while glancing over to the human.
“You know what? I think I can make an exception this one time. Sign us up!” Tom replied eagerly.
“Splendid! I will arrange for your transportation. You should go ask the others if they want to go with you. Come find me when you’re all ready to go.” Luna said before turning and walking to the door. She turned and waved to the three before opening the door and heading outside.
Now that the princess had left, the trio could let out their excitement properly. Twilight and Spike cheered happily, while Tom simply smiled in excitement.
“We should go tell the others about this right away!” Twilight exclaimed eagerly.
“You guys can go do that. I’m gonna go pack!” Spike stated with equal eagerness before scampering upstairs. Twilight and Tom glanced at the dragon rushing away before chuckling slightly and looking to each other.
“Well… I guess we are going to do something with the others after all.” Tom stated lightheartedly while walking to the door with the unicorn. Twilight smirked and nodded before opening the door and stepping outside.
Without delay, the pair went around town to find their friends and tell them about the momentous news. Stopping by Sweet Apple Acres first, Twilight and her human companion walked through the apple orchards in search of their orange friend. Finding no sign of the cow pony out in the orchards, the pair decided to check by the farm house. Sure enough, as they got closer they could see Applejack and her brother talking over by the barn.
Once they noticed the pair approaching them, Applejack and Big Mac turned and smiled at their visitors. The red stallion seemed especially happy to see the human walking alongside Twilight. He hadn’t seen Tom ever since he left Ponyville several months ago.
“Hey, guys.” Twilight greeted as she walked up to the siblings.
“Howdy Twilight. What are you two doing here so early?” Applejack asked curiously while observing the pair.
“We just got a visit from Princess Luna, and she has some great news for us.” Twilight replied eagerly.
Applejack could tell that the unicorn was enjoying leading her on a little more than she should have. “Really? Well, don’t just clam up on us now, tell me what the news is!” The orange mare replied anxiously.
“Well, you see-“ Twilight started another vague explanation until she was interrupted by Tom speaking up in her place.
“The princess offered us to come stay at a water park and resort for a week if we deal with a small paranormal problem they have while we’re there. She said that we could bring you guys along… if you want to go that is.” The human explained, much to the dismay of the unicorn beside him. Twilight pouted slightly in disappointment at the boy ruining her fun.
“That sounds great!” Applejack exclaimed excitedly. Suddenly, her excitement shifted to disappointment as she frowned and looked at the ground sadly. “Well… that would be great and all, but I’m afraid I can’t go with you guys.” The orange mare shrugged uncomfortably, much to the surprise of Twilight and Tom.
“What?! But… why not?” The unicorn asked in a disappointed tone.
“I would love to go… don’t get me wrong, but there is so much work to do around here.” Applejack explained sadly while motioning around her. “We still need to harvest apples, we need to fix a leak in the roof, and we need t-” The orange mare started listing off all of the chores she had to do around the farm until she was nudged by Big Mac.
“*Ahem*” The stallion cleared his throat while looking at his sister sternly.
Applejack was confused as to why he interrupted her. “What’s wrong Big Mac?” The orange mare asked curiously.
“You’ve been working yourself ragged around here Applejack. You need to take a break, and when opportunity comes a knockin’, you should answer it.” Big Mac explained while glancing back to the unicorn and the human.
Applejack shrugged as she felt the strain of fatigue on her body. She had been working extra hard to get things done around the farm, but she didn’t want to shirk her duties. Still, it was hard to argue her point with bloodshot eyes and strained muscles. “But… what about all of the chores? The orange mare asked curiously. Even if she did need a break, there were things that still needed to get done around the farm.
“I think I can handle things around here myself for one week while you and Applebloom have some fun.” Big Mac offered with a small smirk.
“Really? Are you sure we shouldn’t bring you and granny along?” Applejack asked while glancing towards the house.
“I don’t mind… And do you really think Granny Smith is the type to go to a water park?” Big Mac replied knowingly.
Applejack glanced over to Twilight and Tom as she thought about the matter further. The sight of her friends smiling back at her only made her feel happier and more willing to go with them. She felt a warm smile building on her face as she considered the prospect of spending a week with her friends at a water resort.
“Are you sure?” The orange mare asked courteously while glancing to her brother again.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac replied stoically.
Applejack turned to the unicorn and the human again and smiled in excitement. “Well, then it’s settled!” She cheered happily. Twilight and Tom shared in the farm pony’s excitement, although the human couldn’t match the enthusiasm and energy of the two mares as they celebrated. “I’m gonna go tell Applebloom. She’s up in the clubhouse with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. You want to come with me?” Applejack asked while motioning with her head for the pair to follow her.
“Sure, we can ask Scootaloo if she wants to go with us… and I’m sure Sweetie Belle wants to come too, but that’s Rarity’s decision to make.” Twilight stated while thinking back to how busy the white unicorn was yesterday. She hoped that she would be able to come along.
“I’m sure she will agree to come with us… if not, we can just tie her down and carry her with us.” Applejack suggested with a slight smirk. Twilight wasn’t entirely sure if the orange mare was joking or not.
Without any further delay, Twilight and Tom followed the farm pony around to the back of the house. The group kept walking for a while until they spotted the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse up ahead. The three fillies used a small treehouse as their base of operations. It let them play and hypothesize their next attempt at getting their cutie marks, while also keeping them far enough away from the house to not disturb the Apple family.
As they drew closer to the clubhouse, the group could hear the three fillies chatting and playing from above. It was a few weeks into their summer vacation, so they usually spent their downtime together at the clubhouse.
“I don’t know Scootaloo… didn’t we already try that?” The muffled voice of Sweetie Belle could be heard as the trio gathered underneath the clubhouse.
“Yeah, I guess we did… oh! Maybe we could try pogo sticks!” Scootaloo suggested eagerly.
“We tried that last week…” Applebloom shrugged in a bored tone.
“Girls, could you come down here for a minute?” Applejack spoke up.
“Ok, we’re coming!” The three fillies replied in unison. The group waited anxiously while watching the ladder of the treehouse for any signs of movement.
Soon enough, Scootaloo started climbing down the ladder, followed by her two friends. Once the fillies got on solid ground and gathered in a line, they brightened up once they noticed Twilight and Tom standing beside Applejack.
“Hey, guys! Did you come to see us?” Applebloom asked curiously while smiling warmly at the human.
“Sort of… we’ve actually got something to tell you.” Tom said while glancing to the orange mare.
“Really? What is it?!” Scootaloo chimed in excitedly.
“Twilight and the others are headin’ to a water park for a week, and they’ve asked us to come with them. Big Mac volunteered to handle things around here, so we’re free to go.” Applejack explained with a wide smile while glancing to Applebloom.
“*Gasp* that sounds amazing!” The yellow filly cheered in excitement.
“Ooh, can I go too?” Scootaloo asked in a pleading tone.
“You certainly can Scootaloo.” Twilight said with a slight smile as she watched the young pegasus explode with excitement.
“Yes!” Scootaloo cheered happily while bouncing up and down.
“What about me? Can I come too?” Sweetie Belle asked with a hopeful expression.
“We will have to ask Rarity if she wants to come, but as long as she is alright with it, you all can come with us.” Twilight explained.
“Ooo! I need to go ask my sister! I think she is over by Sugar Cube Corner.” Sweetie Belle said while preparing to dart off eagerly.
“Don’t worry Sweetie Belle. We’ll go ask her for you. We’re heading down that way anyway to see if Pinkie Pie wants to come.” Twilight said while stepping in front of the young unicorn before she rushed off.
“You mean to tell her about it so she can come… I may have only known her for a few months, but since when has Pinkie Pie ever turned down something as potentially fun as a water park?” Tom asked with a slight chuckle. Twilight and the others giggled at the thought of the pink mare’s reaction when she found out.
“Well, we’ll see you later Twilight. We’re going to get ready to go, so we’ll come to the library later on.” Applejack waved to the pair as she gathered that it was time for them to leave.
“Alright, bye everyone!” Twilight waved back while turning to walk away. Tom waved to the four before following the unicorn as she walked back towards the front of the farm.
A short walk through town later, the pair arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. As expected, there were ponies going in and out of the store in irregular intervals. After all, it was early in the morning, and this was the best place to get sweets and baked goods in Ponyville, and arguably the surrounding area.
Twilight opened the door and walked inside, closely followed by Tom. As she looked around the interior of the store, the unicorn saw a couple of ponies walking up to the counter where Mr. and Mrs. Cake were taking their orders and dispensing them.
Off to the side of the room, Pinkie Pie was sitting down at a table along with Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Sunspot. The group was chatting happily while enjoying a few cupcakes. They seemed to be catching up with the orange pegasus and asking her about what she had been up to with Glimmer Shine and Glitterball.
“Hey guys, come on over and take a seat!” Pinkie Pie suggested while waving the pair over. Twilight and Tom nodded before walking over to the group and sitting in two empty chairs.
“So what are you two doing over here?” Sunspot asked curiously. Twilight was surprised to see the pegasus without her iconic suit. Usually, she wore her Wonderbolts outfit everywhere she went. Then again, the unicorn hadn’t really seen the orange mare too often when she wasn’t on the job.
Taking a quick glance downwards, Twilight noticed a small holster strapped to Sunspot’s back leg. The holster held a single vial with blue liquid inside of it. Even when they weren’t on the job, Glimmer Shine and his team always kept their strobes with them just in case. An understandable practice, Twilight thought.
“We have something important to talk to all of you about.” Twilight said while looking to Tom knowingly.
“Really? Well, we’re all ears.” Rainbow Dash said in an intrigued tone while leaning forward and resting her forelegs on the table.
Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out the rolled up flyer. He placed it on the table and scooted it forward for the group to examine.
“Fun Land…?” Rarity read off the flyer in a curious manner.
“Hey, I know that place! I used to trade party planning tips with the owner Berry Swirl.” Pinkie Pie stated while examining the flyer closer.
“What’s with the flyer Twilight? You don’t seem like the kind of pony to go to theme parks.” Rainbow Dash stated curiously while eying the purple unicorn and waiting for her to divulge more information.
“Princess Luna just offered Tom and the others a small job at Fun Land. In exchange for helping them out with their problem, they will let us stay there for a whole week!” Twilight explained excitedly. The others seemed eager to hear about the offer.
“A whole week at a water resort for free?! That is so cool!” Rainbow Dash said happily while looking around at the others for their opinion. Sunspot was just as excited, Pinkie Pie was just as giddy and energetic as usual, and Rarity and Fluttershy seemed open to the idea.
“And they will just let you bring all of us?” Fluttershy asked curiously.
“Yep… they don’t have the money to pay us, so they are giving us a free all-expenses-paid stay instead.” Tom stated with a pleased smirk.
“What job did they have for us? If I’m going to be heading to a water park on a mission, I would at least like to know what I’m getting into.” Sunspot said with a slight tone of paranoia.
“It didn’t sound like anything too bad. Just some minor ghost activity… shouldn’t take more than a day to clear out, and then we have the rest of the week to ourselves… literally. The park is opening up again sometime in a few months, so we will be the only ones there.” Tom explained.
“Wow! I’ve never had a water park all to myself for a week!” Pinkie Pie stated with an amazed expression.
“So how about it girls? Will you come with us?” Twilight asked while glancing around at her friends.
“Well… I would have to find someone to watch Angel and the other animals while I’m gone, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I would love to go.” Fluttershy said with a cheerful smile.
“Heck yes, I want to go! This is like the best summer getaway I’ll ever have!” Rainbow Dash stated eagerly.
“Hmm… I suppose it couldn’t hurt… ooh, I wonder if they have a spa there!” Rarity perked up at the thought of having access to a free spa for a week. Even if they didn’t have a spa, the thought of relaxing poolside with her friends was enough for the white mare.
“I would love to go! But first I need to go ask Mr. and Mrs. Cake if it will be ok for me to take the week off.” Pinkie Pie said while glancing over to the couple manning the counter.
“What about you Sunspot? Are you and the others coming with us?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously while shifting her attention to the orange pegasus. Sunspot thought about the matter for a moment before speaking up.
“Well, I guess we might as well make the most of our downtime. I’ll go ask Glimmer Shine and Glitterball if they want to come, but I’m pretty sure the answer will be a resounding yes.” Sunspot stated confidently.
“Alright, well I’ll see you guys tonight.” Twilight said while getting up from her chair.
“Hold on Twilight. Why don’t you guys stay for a while and celebrate with us! I’ll go get you some cupcakes.” Pinkie Pie suggested while getting up and rushing to the kitchen. One look at the rest of her friends told the purple mare that they didn’t want her to leave just yet.
“Ok… I guess we can stay for a while longer.” Twilight said with a slight chuckle while settling back into her seat. Everyone smiled eagerly as they prepared to celebrate their big plans.
Throughout the course of the day, Twilight and her friends all prepared for their vacation. After getting permission to leave work for a week, Pinkie Pie proceeded to pack all of the things she would need, which mostly consisted of anything she thought would be fun to play with at a water resort. Fluttershy quickly found someone to take care of her animals so she could spend the rest of the day packing and spending time with Angel before her big trip. Rarity and Applejack had their hooves full dealing with their younger siblings’ concentrated energy and excitement while also trying to pack. Rainbow Dash decided to take a nap after she got done packing. After all, she had a big week of excitement and fun ahead of her, and she needed the energy. Sunspot had managed to convince her two teammates to come along, though it was hard to turn down an offer to spend a week at a water park for free.
Once the sun was setting, everyone made their way to the library as they had agreed. The ponies were greeted by Twilight, Tom, Spike, and Princess Luna standing outside waiting for them. Twilight and Tom had bags on their backs and around their shoulders respectively. Suspiciously, Spike wasn’t carrying anything, even though Tom had an extra bag. Perhaps the dragon had convinced the human to be his pack mule for a while.
“Is everyone ready?” Princess Luna asked while looking out at the sizable gathering of ponies.
“I would say so.” Rainbow Dash stated eagerly. Even at the end of the day, the excitement in the air was too great for the cyan mare to be bored.
“Splendid. Now then, if everyone will please follow us to the train station, I have arranged for a first class car for all of you.” The blue alicorn explained with a pleased smile as she watched the shocked and excited reactions from everyone in the crowd.
“A first class car?! Sweet!” Rainbow Dash could barely contain her excitement as she looked around at her friends in disbelief. She contemplated pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t still napping.
“I would say that you all deserve a little extra luxury for your vacation. The train will take you straight through to where you need to go.” Luna said with an amused chuckle at the excited pegasus.
After looking back to Twilight to make sure that she was ready, the princess walked forward and started on her way to the train station. Everyone quickly followed the blue alicorn through town, all the while chatting with each other about all of the things they would be doing in the following week.
By the time they arrived at the station, it was already night. There was a single train on the tracks, doubtlessly the one that the group would be departing on shortly. Once they gathered in front of the train, Luna handed each of them a ticket and told them where their train car was located.
“You all be sure to enjoy yourselves.” Luna said as she watched the group preparing to enter the train.
“Oh, I’m sure we will.” Twilight said while looking around at her friends. It was nothing but bright smiles and excited expressions as far as the eye could see.
“Thank you so much for doing this for us Princess… and please, thank Celestia for us when you get back to Canterlot.” The purple mare said with a grateful tone.
Luna smiled warmly at the unicorn while nodding. “I’ll be sure to let her know… now go on. You should probably get going now… the train will be leaving soon.” The alicorn said while glancing up at the clock on the main building of the station. Twilight nodded and turned to her group. Everyone started filing into the train and finding their way forward to their car.
As she was about to enter the train, Twilight turned and waved to the princess. Luna waved in return as she watched the unicorn walk forward to join her friends. She felt good knowing that the ponies were getting the break they deserved.