But Wait...There’s More!
- 14: The Imaginarium -
The Imaginarium was a grand collection of exhibits showing off everything that unicorn magic had achieved since Canterlot was converted into Celestia’s capital, with the purpose of inspiring the next generation. Some of the exhibits were hundreds of years old, and were extremely fragile. For this reason, Pinkie Pie was on a very short leash, and Rarity made it clear that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would only be brought here as a last resort.
“That reminds me,” Twilight said. “Who did you get to watch them this time?”
“Zecora,” answered Applejack. “We owe her big time for this.”
~ ~ ~
The group wandered slowly from one area of the great hall to another. Pinkie Pie ooh’d and ahh’d at several exhibits that would probably inspire future pranks and inventions. Finally at one of the light displays she excused herself from the rest of the group, rushing out to begin a mad purchasing spree “for the best prank ever!” Rainbow Dash was rather disappointed when Pinkie pointedly excluded her from this plan.
Vinyl’s attention was naturally drawn to the musical exhibits. One cleverly-designed machine took the base magical states of nearby unicorns and converted them into musical notes. By stepping closer or farther from the machine, each participant could control the volume of their contribution and in this way Vinyl, Twilight, Rarity and a couple of strangers started playing “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”.
The song was eventually cut short, though, by a short burst of feedback. An attendant put a rope around the exhibit while getting to work recalibrating it.
“What happened?” asked Fluttershy, noticing that several other exhibits had failed at the exact same time.
“One of the Princesses must have flown too close to the museum,” the attendant explained over her shoulder.
Rainbow Dash, who had been quiet for several minutes now, suddenly snapped her hoof to the ground in realization. “Vinyl, you know what would be really awesome for you to play for Blue Bubble’s party?” she asked. Leaning close, she whispered her idea to the DJ pony.
“You’re right!” Vinyl exclaimed. “Nopony could possibly top that! But there’s so little time—I’m sorry, gals, but I’ve got to meet up with Octavia right now so we can get this prepared by tomorrow night. Oh, and I’ll need to send a telegram to Uncle Phil to get me some equipment and recordings. Wish me luck!”
“Good luck!”
“...’telegram’?” Rainbow whispered to herself, as one eye twitched.