//------------------------------// // Night 2: Rumble On // Story: 8 Magic Nights // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// The next morning dawned and dawn it did, glorious beams of the sunny sun (and not with an 'I'. That only occurs in the town of Westbrook) rolling in through the windows and curtains. Then, an alarm went off in one of the rooms book out by our (when we last met them) heroines. As the alarm continued to sound, Tom murmured and got out of bed. "Am I back to normal?" he asked, before quickly glancing over himself. Yes he was. His pyjamas were the same as ever, but the skirt and shirt (back when he was she last night, which felt like an eternity ago) had changed back to normal, not to mention his normal footwear. He was nowhere near as new to this TFing lark as he suspected Katrina was, but nontheless it was still odd to him. "Wonder who I'll be today?" he asked himself. Something else confused him. Whenever these occured, it made a mess of his sexuality. He had dated girls when he was younger, but last night he had been attracted to a boy- whilst a girl! He sighed. "I suppose such questions will have to wait," he sighed, as he dragged himself into the shower. Which blasted a jet of cold water at him. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF-?!" Breakfast was, as you'd expect for a theme park, a mass catered affair. This being Disney, however, the food was of much higher quality than most theme parks, as fresh pancakes, waffles (naturally enough, in the shape of Mickey Mouse), sausage and bacon sat there, producing a beautiful aroma. Tom shuddered as he remembered a family trip to LEGOland Windsor many years ago which had been truly horrific, not only because of the old, broken rides and staff who clearly didn't give a darn, but they had stayed at the on site hotel. That had been a big mistake, as the mattresses were broken, the air conditioning didn't work (despite front desk's claims that it was), and he didn't even want to remember what he found in the toilet. Not to mention the breakfast was inedible there. But such things were irrelevant now. As he sat with his friends (as Jimmy and Katrina were now back to normal) he spoke to them. "So," Tom casually noted, as he bit into a pancake. "What does today bring for you?" "I'm off to Hollywood Studios," Katrina noted, looking closely at her coffee that sat in front of her. "Amongst other rides, I'm going on Slinky Dog Dash." "How'd you manage to get a Fastpass for that?" asked Jimmy, his eyes aglow and maple syrup dripping out of his mouth. "I got lucky, I suppose," their female friend (or should I say, consistently female friend) replied, looking back at her watch. "And you, Tom?" "The same park, actually," Tom admitted. "I've got the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. When that comes to the end of its life they'll probably retheme it as Mad Men!" "Why?" Jimmy asked, confused. "Mad Men was inspired by the Twilight Zone." "Oh," Jimmy replied. "Right." "Speaking of Jimmy, what ride and park are you going to today?" Tom prompted. "I'm also off to Hollywood Studios," Jimmy smiled. "Isn't that strange, eh? Indiana Jones Stunt Show." "Each of us going to the same park on the same day," Tom sighed. "You hit the nail on the head, Jimmy. Very odd indeed." He cleared his plate, and got up. "Well, I'll go brush my teeth. Jimmy, you may want to wipe that maple syrup off your chin." Jimmy reached up and felt it. "Oh," he said. He whiped it off, and then licked his fingers. "Eww! Gross!" Katrina exclaimed. "Where are your table manners?" Hollywood Studios is sometimes referred to as a 'problem park' by Disney fans. The original plan for the Florida project called for the Magic Kingdom to be situated to the north, and for Progress City (or the 'Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow', aka EPCOT) to be just to the south east. This vision was followed through with, and extending the monorail line proved to be fairly easy as a result. However, Hollywood Studios (or as it was rather grandly called back then, 'MGM Studios') was built to the west of Epcot, making it very difficult to modify the monorail line to serve it. This made it neccesary to catch a bus to Hollywood Studios, which was a problem as the buses were not amazing. The bus Tom was on pulled to a stop at the front entrance to the park, and opened the doors. Tom emerged into the sunlight, blinking, and walked towards the entrance booths, looking around at the vista of Hollywood opening up before him. "This place sure is pretty," he said. "Though I do miss the Streets of America." "Not to worry!" said a security guard, as Tom handed his bag to him. "You can still see them where the muppets live." "Thank you." "So, where are you from?" the guard asked Tom. "Just north of London," Tom replied. There was a pause. "I love your accent. My daughter once told a British dude he 'sounded just like Harry Potter'." "That must've been awkward," Tom sighed, as his bag was handed back to him. "Oh, it was," the guard admitted, "as this guy had never even heard of Harry Potter." There was another pause, as seemed to be fairly common around here. "Well sir, you're cleared to go. Have a nice day." Tom walked onwards, scanned his magic band against the scanner, and walked into the park. He had an appointment at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Katrina and Jimmy had headed off their own ways; the former had headed by the Hyperion Theatre toward Pixar Plaze, to get to Toy Story Land. Jimmy, on the other hand, went toward the stunt show round Echo Lake. This left Tom on his own, wandering down Sunset Boulevard, though luckily he wasn't a down on his luck actor rekindling his glory years on the silver screen. The little acting he had done had been at school, and none of it was spectular. He walked into the queue line, past the Theater of the Stars, and stopped when he saw the Fastpass line. He clicked he had gone the wrong way, and got into the correct line and scanned his magic band. The queue line led him straight into the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which looked a complete mess. Cobwebs were everywhere, the paintwork was faded, and the walls were beginning to crack. A porter ushered him past the entrance kiosk, and he joined a large crowd in the foyer for the preshow video. The door closed, the lights dimmed, and thunder boomed outside. A television abruptly switched on, and the intro to the Twilight Zone began playing. "You unlock this door with the key of imagination" intoned the voice of Rod Serling over the speakers. "Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into- the Twilight Zone." Dramatic music played as the scene came up on a hotel. "Oh yeah," Tom noted to himself. "They parodied this one once." He then stopped. His voice sounded wrong. Too high pitched. "Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie talent at the height of its golden age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. A beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that." Something was indeed changing, as Tom's shoes changed into heavy black boots, and his slacks into khaki shorts. His shirt turned black with white trim and piping, and a pair of goggles with khaki trim appeared on his forehead. On screen, the hotel was hit by lightning, and an entire section of it vanished into nothing, taking an elevator car with it. "The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed. Tonight's story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard because in tonight's episode you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to . . . The Twilight Zone." Moments before the lights came up, everything seemed to happen at once. Tom shrank in height to less than 5 feet, and his clothes shrank to fit his smaller body. His eyes turned purple, his skin turned grey, and his hair turned black in two tone stripes. The screen flashed off, and Tom looked over himself in confusion. "I'm... Rumble?" he asked. "He hasn't even appeared in Equestria Girls!" "Move along, please!" the porter asked. "You're elevator is ready to go." Rumble wandered along through a maintenance room, and eventually came to a set of elevators. Another porter guided him forward to a waiting elevator, and he buckled himself in. "So, you like thrill rides?" asked a voice next to him. Rumble looked to his right to see a girl buckling herself in. She had peach skin, purple eyes and hair, and wore grey boots, green cargo shorts, and a turqoise shirt. "I'm Scootaloo. Nice to meet you!" "I'm Rumble," Rumble replied. "Good morning," said the bellhop. "Remain seated at all times, and keep all hands, arms, feet and legs inside the elevator at all times. Do not remove the safety belt at any times- the management would prefer you returned in one piece." He leaned closer. "If you need anything... don't forget to scream." He stepped back, and the elevator doors slammed shut. The elevator slid backwards. "You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator," Rod Serling continued, "about to ascend into your very own episode of The Twilight Zone." Lights flashed in front of them, and the elevator shot upwards before stopping. The doors opened, and the elevator suddenly began moving horizontally! "This is so weird!" Rumble commented. "I've only been on the California Adventure version before." "Shame you can see the drop shaft up ahead," Scootaloo noted. The elevator stopped moving, and suddenly went upwards. "One stormy night long ago, five people stepped in the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again and this time, it's opening for you." The voice paused. "You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination . . . in the Tower of Terror." The car suddenly dropped 6 stories, then shot up 3. The doors opened briefly, and then the elevator dropped 2. Up, down, up, down, like a demented squirrel. Then it rose all the way to the top. The doors opened. "Hello Hollywood Studios!" Scootaloo called. Rumble groaned. "I'm gonna be sick," he said quietly. Just then, the elevator dropped. Down and down and down it went, as if it would never stop. It then hit the ground, with a loud crashing sound. The lights then came up. "A warm welcome back to those of you who made it, and a friendly word of warning, something you won't find in any guidebook: the next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you're filling, or you may find yourself a permanent resident . . . of The Twilight Zone." "Which is now full of Rumble's vomit," said Scootaloo, quietly. Rumble staggered outside, with Scootaloo helping him along. "You feeling better?" she asked. "I wasn't expecting it to be so rough!" Rumble replied, looking about. "It was pretty wild, though!" "Yep!" Scootaloo grinned. "The drop sequence is different each time, so that's cool too!" Suddenly, Rumble's phone went off, and he checked it. Katrina: come to Toy Story Land, STAT! I've TF'ed again! Rumble texted back. On my way! He sped off, calling back; "A friend of mine's in trouble; I'm going to help her!" "I can help!" Scootaloo called, and ran after him.