City of Canterlot, California, 2014.
It was, as mornings go, a wonderful morning in Canterlot city. The sun shone upon the land and the sea, and a gentle breeze blew through the streets and avenues. There was not a sight to miss, and the town bustled with people and action. The streetcars rumbled up and down through the streets, gliding along their rails and keeping the entire city moving, preventing it from being jammed up with cars which would have contributed to local pollution, not to mention spread a number of different health problems all around the town. Many had been amazed when the city council had approved such a measure in the city, but it had emerged they had been inspired by the success of the similar system in New Orleans in moving people about and at the same time helping to keep cars off of the roads, which was always a good thing in Canterlot.
Everywhere you looked, people were having fun and running about, either in the streets, which were neither too hot nor too cold thanks to the pleasent breeze mingling with the sunlight that shone down from the cloudless sky, or in Canterlot Mall. On the coast itself, head and tail lamps burned in the glorious day as trains arrived and departed from Cloudsdale in the north, and Crystal City and Los Angeles to the south. Goods workings rattled through, a mixture of steam, diesel, electric, and battery powered locomotives and multiple units, as well as a handle of railcars and push-pull sets, moving back and forth as people were moved around the state and the coastline. And let us not forget the beach. This was always popular at this time of year, with the families of many prominent Canterlot citizens choosing to gather here and enjoy the sun and breeze, with the water bearing what is known as the 'Goldilocks phenomenon'. It was neither too hot, nor was it too cold. It was just right.
But we shall now shift our focus to three young girls in the park. Yes, you guessed it, these three girls were Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, the trio often referred to by locals as 'the Crusaders', due to their many adventures and misadventures trying to find out whatever their destiny was. This journey had taken many unusual turns and fascinating directions, which included restoring an old railway, unearthing a local cyberbully trying to frame local girl Sunset Shimmer, clogging up a yard with trucks, succesfully driving an experimental train, preventing a train robbery of diamonds, gold, and dollar bills, visited several railways across the globe, and in Scootaloo's case briefly gone to Heaven. Apple Bloom had also managed (somehow) to go for most of a night in a formal gown without tripping up, though a set of stairs had derailed this plan somewhat. Oh well, at least she had got a chance to dance with Pip. Admittedly, the sight of Button Mash with a monocle and moustache was too funny to forget, not to mention all the random musical interludes courtesy of the Wondertones.
Right now, the trio was engaging in rock climbing. Or, more accurately, two of them were. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were up on the rock face, attached into harnesses and with ropes snaking through wheels and pulleys. Sweetie Belle was down at the bottom, pulling Apple Bloom upwards, whilst Scootaloo was being assisted by Rumble.
Apple Bloom felt her rope go slightly slack at her end, and paused, looking down at Sweetie Belle. "Keep it tight, Sweetie Belle!" she called. "Ah can't climb safely if you don't keep the rope taught."
"Strictly," Sweetie Belle replied, going into boffin mode for a bit, "it's a cable, as it is much stronger than a rope and better suited for this sort of activity."
"Ah don't care what it's made of," the apple girl replied. "Ya need ta keep it tight! And Ah mean tight!"
"Yes ma'am! Right away, ma'am!" Sweetie Belle replied, pulling hard on the rope. Apple Bloom suddenly shot upwards and landed on another set of rocks, putting her feet into place on two of the grip points and looking back down.
"Not that tight!" she exclaimed. "That's rubbin' against' mah thighs!"
Sweetie Belle went red. "Oops," she said. "Sorry. Should I go a little slacker on the rope?"
"Ah was hopin' that would be obvious!" Apple Bloom snapped back, who sighed as she felt the ropes slacken slightly, relieving pressure on her... private area.
Meanwhile, Scootaloo was rocketing up the wall, with Rumble struggling to keep up as she flew upwards.
"Hey, slow down!" he called up to his girlfriend. "I can't keep up with you!"
Scootaloo went slightly red, and slowed her pace somewhat. "Sorry Rumble!" she called. "I got a bit carried away."
"Yeah, it's not as if you're racing Apple Bloom or anything," the boy joked. In the instant that followed, he regretted it, as Scootaloo looked Apple Bloom directly in the eye.
"Race you to the top!" she called.
"Yer on!" Apple Bloom replied with a confident smirk, and began to speed up the cliff. Scootaloo laughed and began to follow her up to the top.
"Please slow down!" Sweetie Belle called. "At this rate I'll get friction burns!"
"I knew this was a bad idea," Rumble sighed loudly.
Scootaloo won the climbing contest, and was lowered to the ground with a triumphant smile. "Looks like I win," she smirked, as Apple Bloom touched the floor shortly after her.
"It weren't a fair race!" Apple Bloom retorted loudly. "YOU were higher up the cliff face than Ah was, so you had a head start! Not ta mention Rumble's stronger than Sweetie Belle..."
"HEY!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "I'm not that weak!"
"I can second her on that," Rumble added, as both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo disconnected their harnesses and laid them down on the floor. "Have you ever experienced her grip?"
"Have you?" Scootaloo asked suspiciously, looking at him with a death glare.
"I'm not cheating on you, honest!" Rumble exclaimed. "Button Mash told me about the time he and Sweetie Belle rode a rollercoaster at a theme park somewhere and apparently his hand had gone white when they got off, she'd been gripping it so tightly!"
Sweetie Belle had gone bright red, and simply looked at her shoes. Apple Bloom suddenly spoke up, causing everybody to jump. "Ain't they buildin' that new theme park near Halfway?"
"OH, Equestria Land!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "It'll be larger than the Disneyland Resort when finished, and will feature several themed lands such as Dragon Kingdom, Appaloosa, Neighagra Falls, and Cloudsdale."
"Do you work for the park or something?" Sweetie Belle asked her friend, looking somewhat confused.
"No," Scootaloo replied. "I've just been on the website loads. Maybe we could all go together on opening day?"
"Ah can't see that workin'," Apple Bloom added. "Most parks have real technical issues on openin' day. Universal Studios Florida only had one workin' attraction when it opened."
"Which one was that?" Rumble asked.
"The Hannah-Barbera one," Apple Bloom asnwered.
"Won't it also be really full?" Sweetie Belle added also. She wasn't always great with big crowds, and not only that she suffered from crippling stage fright.
"Maybe," Rumble sighed. "There may also be birds."
"Don't mention birds!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, appearing from nowhere as she usually did. "Sunset gets really angry when you mention parakeets!"
"Why?" the four asked together.
Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Beats me. I gotta go, see ya!" and she vanished into nothingness.
Later that day, the four friends had to part ways. Scootaloo had something or other to do with her mother, Cheerilee, Sweetie Belle and Rarity were visiting family in Crystal City, and Rumble was predisposed at Cloudsdale yard as a huge shipment, consisting of apples, bananas (which were causing Marx no end of confusion and difficulty), oranges, pears, and myriad other fruits had just arrived. This left Apple Bloom with little to do, and as she walked back to her local streetcar stop, she saw her sister stopping at the station.
"Howdy sugarcube!" she called. "Why ya lookin' so glum?"
"Mah friends are all busy," Apple Bloom sighed, her face long.
"Why, you could come with me!" Applejack replied. "Ah'm headin' over ta Ponyville ta take some supplies ta Zecora in the forest."
"Who's Zecora?"
"Zecora's this real nice lady, some sorta shaman or somethin' like that. She often helps with herbal remedies, and helped get one of our horses back on his feet back in the old days." Applejack smiled. "You'll like her."
Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah'd love ta come with ya."
"What ya waiting fer then?" her big sister smiled. "Let's go and get our tickets!" They purchased two tickets, and got aboard the waiting diesel multiple unit, a Class 101. Applejack put her box on the overhead luggage rack, and sat down in one of the seats, letting the air conditioning wash over her body. The horn sounded, and the train pulled away. Little did anybody know that this day would bring horrors.