//------------------------------// // A Day of Fun // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls 7 // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 3 A Day of Fun Opening day at Equestria Land was in full swing. All over the park, guests were having a blast at all the various rides and attractions. Among the most obvious of these rides was the large roller coaster at the far end of the park. This roller coaster started with a climb to the highest point on the track, followed by a steep drop and turn, a pair of vertical loops, a wide banked turn, and a few more smaller hills and drops and two more turns before returning back to the station. The track was painted in consistently short segments of all the colors of a rainbow, the train cars were shaped and painted with bright swirls to resemble clouds caught in a strong breeze, and there were large scenery boards shaped like large clouds with a hole in the middle for the coaster to pass through located at the apex of the initial climb, atop the two loops, and in the middle of the wide banked turn. For the ultimate thrill seekers visiting the park, this was the one ride they had to try. Why did I have to go with Rainbow Dash? thought Fluttershy as she stared up at the roller coaster in terror. I should’ve known she would go straight for the biggest and scariest ride in the whole park. While Fluttershy cowered in fear while holding her park map up in front of her face, Rainbow Dash was casually slurping a drink as she watched the train of cars run through the course of the roller coaster. “Pretty great, right?!” shouted Rainbow over the noise of the cars rattling along the track and the screaming people riding on it. While still shuddering in fear, Futtershy was unable to understand what her friend said, so she shouted back, “What?!” “Can you hear me over all the screaming?!” Rainbow responded. “I can’t hear you over all the screaming!” Fluttershy shouted back. Thankfully, it was at this point where the train cars had moved on to part of the track that was further away and thus reduced the background noise near the two girls. Fluttershy remained cowering behind her park map as she muttered fearfully, “Oh, I wish I’d gone with Sunset, or Twilight, or Pinkie, or anyone else in the entire park.” “Look at it this way,” assured Rainbow Dash. “It’s the perfect opportunity to conquer one of your greatest fears.” The train of cars arrived at the station and came to a stop, then the riders began to climb out. “Can’t I conquer something a little smaller first?” begged Fluttershy. “Hey, good idea!” agreed Rainbow excitedly. “A warm-up before the big game! Oh! What did you have in mind?” She stretched out the crumpled map in Fluttershy’s hands and began pointing at some of the other rides that interested her. “Dragon Lands Drag Racing? The Appleloosa Runaway Train? Neighagara Falls Barrel Flume?” Fluttershy shook her head at all of those suggestions. She glanced down at the map and when she noticed one ride that seemed more suitable for her level of intensity tolerance, she smiled and pointed at it on the map. Fluttershy screamed in absolute terror as the ride made its first descent. It was actually a kiddie roller coaster, with each individual rise and drop never exceeding the height of a minifig and each turn was comfortably wide. Riding in the dinosaur-shaped train cars were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in the back, Spike and Scootaloo in the middle, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in the front. Once the slow-moving train leveled off, Fluttershy relaxed and remarked, “Oh, these kids are so brave.” “You know it!” Spike proudly replied. “Believe me, after you’ve survived a ride with Pinkie Pie, you can handle just about anything else.” Scootaloo was unamused by Spike’s boast as she rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Ugh, why are we even on one of the most boring rides in the park?” “When Ah said we were gonna try every single ride, Ah meant it,” replied Apple Bloom. “Except for that big roller coaster,” Sweetie Belle pointed out. “We’re too short to ride that one.” “But hey,” assured Spike, “at least this way we can say we got to ride a roller coaster today.” Rainbow Dash simply groaned and facepalmed. “I must say, I’m surprised you chose to accompany me backstage,” said Rarity as she and Applejack headed towards the hangar building where preparations for the parade were well underway. “I would have naturally assumed that you would be enjoying all the festivities in the park with the rest of the girls.” Applejack chuckled and remarked, “An’ Ah probably would’ve, but Ah came here promisin’ mahself that Ah’d support ya through whatever struggles you’re goin’ through. If there’s anythin’ ya need help with, Ah’d be more than happy to lend ya a helpin’ hand.” “I appreciate the offer, Applejack, but I’m afraid I must politely decline,” responded Rarity. “You’re not on the payroll, and permitting unauthorized outside assistance could lead to some serious disciplinary consequences, most likely resulting in my termination.” “Ah guess that makes sense,” said Applejack in understanding. “But Ah’m sure there ain’t any rules against havin’ a friend ‘round for moral support.” “Technically, you are correct,” acknowledged Rarity, “though I would highly advise that you please try your best to not interfere with my work.” “Understandable,” agreed Applejack with a nod. Once they arrived at the building, Rarity threw open the door and proudly proclaimed, “Behold the backstage room, where all the magic for tonight’s light parade is taking place as we speak!” Aside from an enclosed office room to the left, the entire building was one massive open room with a high ceiling. Nearly half of the building’s floor space was covered by large objects under tarps — presumably the various floats that were already completed. And scattered all over the remaining floor space were open boxes filled with either rolls of fabric or finished costumes, with various workers running back and forth as they rushed to bring everything where they needed to be. Applejack let out a long whistle and remarked, “Wow… You’ve really got your work cut out for ya.” As Rarity walked ahead of her friend into the building, she proudly stated, “Applejack, this parade is going to be a living, breathing dance of light and sound.” Three assistants immediately ran over to Rarity and each held up an object; a blue top hat, a pair of purple sparkling pants, and a red shirt with gold trim. “Love it, lock it, stitch it,” Rarity quickly listed off. Four more assistants immediately ran over to Rarity and each held up an object; a red bowler hat, a white walking cane, a banana costume, and a pair of pink roller skates. “Beautiful, perfect, I just threw up, love it,” Rarity quickly listed off again. “Now hurry up! I need these done yesterday!” Despite the unease of witnessing Rarity’s impatience, Applejack smiled and said, “You were born for this, Rarity. Still sure there’s nothin’ Ah can do to help?” “I suppose you could try your best to play a great show tonight,” replied Rarity. “As pleased as I am that I managed to arrange for our band to be included, it’s still a last-minute addition I hadn’t quite accounted for. That reminds me, I’ll need to determine which float we’ll be performing on so I can have the set builders make some quick modifications.” “Ah’m sure you’ll figure it out,” assured Applejack. Rarity glanced around and her attention suddenly focused on one of the performers currently dressed up in a costume that resembled some kind of sea serpent. “Excuse me!” she scolded. “I know I am not seeing a lapped zipper on that faux fur!” “Is that a problem?” asked the performer, his voice muffled by the mask over his head. “A lapped zipper is simply a stuck zipper waiting to happen!” Rarity sharply replied. “Well, we’re doing this only once, right?” asked the performer in the sea serpent costume. “Can’t I just tear this thing off when we’re done?” Rarity immediately gasped as if she had just heard something very highly offensive. “Over my shattered pieces!” she furiously shouted. She then snapped her hand and called out, “You there! Help this nincompoop out of his costume so I can make proper adjustments!” One of the assistants quickly rushed over to the costumed performer. Rarity facepalmed and grumbled, “Ugh! This is what I’m up against.” She then walked over to another group of assistants gathered together nearby. Seeing Rarity’s stressed behavior, Applejack spoke up, “So, uh… wanna take a break an’ go get a caramel apple?” “I’d love to, darling, but I am a tad super-insanely busy,” replied Rarity with a nervous giggle. She didn’t even bother glancing at Applejack and instead had her attention focused on the things the assistants were holding out to her. She inspected a red and yellow striped scarf and dismissed the assistant holding it, she carelessly discarded two sketches and dismissed the assistant holding the third and only one remaining, and she slapped a pirate hat with a yellow feather out of the hands of another assistant. Applejack held up her hands and politely responded, “Oh, of course ya are. Ah just thought…” She sighed and added in disappointment, “Uh, never mind. You’re right. Ah wouldn’t wanna rain on your parade.” “Rain?!” Rarity suddenly exclaimed in shock. “I didn’t plan for rain!” She immediately grabbed the nearest assistant within reach and shoved him forward as she shouted, “Get me one hundred ponchos, stat!” “Ah was speakin’ metaphorically,” Applejack pointed out irritably. “An’ when Ah checked early this mornin’, the weather forecast was callin’ for clear skies tonight.” “One never knows, darling,” Rarity emphasized as she walked off to check on progress elsewhere in the building. “One never knows.” Applejack sighed in disappointment, then turned away and began walking towards the door out of the building. “An’ here Ah was hopin’ to spend some time with one of mah best friends…” she muttered sadly to herself. After riding the kiddie roller coaster, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy returned to the big roller coaster. Despite Fluttershy’s obvious fear, she knew she promised Rainbow Dash that after the small one, they would both ride the big one together. As much as Fluttershy didn’t like it, she was willing to face it because what mattered most to her was spending the day with one of her best friends, and if this was something Rainbow Dash wanted to do, then they would do it together. Naturally, Rainbow Dash chose to ride in the front car, leaving a very reluctant Fluttershy to climb into the seat beside her. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” assured Rainbow Dash. “And even if the worst happens…” She pulled out a small paper bag and handed it over to Fluttershy. “I got ya covered.” Fluttershy hesitantly took the offered bag. Understanding what it was intended for, she gulped nervously and shoved it into her pocket. It wasn’t long before four more people climbed into the two remaining cars. With the ride now full of passengers and the lap bars lowered into place over their legs, the train was released from the station and slowly rolled forward until it latched onto the mechanism that would lift it all the way to the top of the highest point on the track. Halfway up the climb, Fluttershy was noticeably shivering in fear, so Rainbow Dash spoke up, “I’m proud of you, you know that? You’re facing your fears head-on, just like I always did as a kid. I mean, look, a four-hundred-brick drop right into these loop-de-loops and a corkscrew?” Rainbow glanced over the side of the car to look down at the track ahead, and very quickly got hit with a sense of vertigo. She immediately sat back in her seat with a stunned look on her face. In an attempt to not show her own nervousness to her friend, she continued with forced confidence, “You’re probably super-nervous about that, I bet. And that next part where it goes backwards? Uh, how are you feeling, Fluttershy?” By this point, Fluttershy had shut her eyes tight and held a very strong grip onto the lap bar in front of her. She was so terrified that she didn’t dare utter anything at all. Rainbow’s confidence grew even more fragile as she watched a seagull fly right beside the gradually rising train of cars. She turned to Fluttershy and continued more nervously, “Is it even safe to be this high up? You’re probably thinking, ‘Stop the ride! I wanna get off!’ That’s what you want, right? Right now? You’re about to yell it?” As the train of cars finally reached the apex of the climb, Rainbow completely lost it and shrieked in terror, “Stop the ride! Seriously! Please! Somebody stop the ride! STOP THE RIIIIIIDE!!” The train of cars plunged over the first drop, then rushed along the tracks through the double loops, around the corkscrew turn, then rose and fell a few times before going around a banked turn, some more climbs and drops, then one more wide turn before finally slowing to a stop at the station. By the time the ride was over, Rainbow Dash was shaking in her seat and her face had faintly turned a shade of green, while Fluttershy seemed more relaxed and was actually smiling. Once the ride was over and the lap bars lifted away, Fluttershy climbed out on her own, while Rainbow Dash had to be assisted out by the ride’s operator. The two girls then walked away from the ride through the cloud-themed entryway, with Rainbow Dash wobbling in an unsteady balance with every step. After the two girls passed through the entryway and stopped not far in front of it, Fluttershy remarked with a giggle, “That was actually kind of… fun.” Rainbow Dash forced a smile and bluffed, “Totally! That’s why I didn’t wanna get off! I was just saying what you would’ve said, that’s all.” She suddenly wobbled and began to fall over, but Fluttershy quickly caught her and held her upright. Fluttershy gave her friend a sly look and politely remarked, “You were very brave.” Rainbow smirked and responded, “You too… by the way.” She let go of Fluttershy and managed to take a step back before she suddenly started to gag. With that knowing smile still on her face, Fluttershy pulled the small paper bag out of her pocket and held it out to Rainbow. It was not difficult for Rainbow Dash to see the irony of this moment, but in her current condition, she was not about to make any arguments. “Th-thanks…” muttered Rainbow as she grabbed the offered bag. She then turned around, pressed the bag’s opening against her mouth, and began retching into the bag. Fluttershy sighed and rolled her eyes, but then she heard a ping from her phone and felt it vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and read the text she had just received. By the time Rainbow was sure her nausea had passed, she turned back to her friend and asked, “What is it?” “It’s from Vignette,” replied Fluttershy as she put away her phone. “She wants to speak with me one-on-one about our show tonight.” “In that case, go on ahead,” said Rainbow as she crumpled the opening of the barf bag and tossed it into the nearest trashcan. “We already know what we’re gonna do, so just tell her we’re all set for tonight.” Fluttershy nodded in agreement, then began to walk away as she said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” “No need to rush,” assured Rainbow. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be ready for another go whenever you are.” Once Fluttershy had walked away, Rainbow wobbled over to the nearest bench and sat down. As much as she wanted to prove she wasn’t scared of any of the big thrill rides in the park, she secretly dreaded the thought of going on that insane roller coaster one more time. Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight were exploring the other end of the park, where all the various concession stands and carnival games had been set up. On one side were the stands and carts that served all the usual amusement park food such as cotton candy, corndogs, slush drinks, and funnel cakes. On the other side were the booths that held all kinds of various carnival games such as a ring toss, a pyramid of bottles, a wall of balloons, a basketball hoop, a gallery of targets, and a strength-testing tower and bell — all of which were surrounded by various stuffed animals being offered as prizes. Twilight and Sunset were sharing a box of fries as they walked around the game booths, curious to see what kind of fun activities were being offered. As they reached the end of one row of booths, they both suddenly stopped as they recognized that booth was being operated by a familiar pair of minifigs with yellow skin, red and white hair, and one with a mustache on his face. “Step right up! Don’t be shy!” called out the one without a mustache. “You like prizes? We got prizes!” continued the one with the mustache. “Toss this ring onto any one of these bottles!” challenged the first guy as he demonstrated the game by casually flinging a green ring towards a table completely covered in large upright bottles, where the ring landed perfectly onto the neck of one of those brown bottles. “Easiest game in the park!” finished the other guy. “Flim and Flam?” asked Twilight as she approached their booth. “What you doing here? Aren’t you still running that business selling Lego parts in the Steampunk Region?” The two brothers turned to Twilight and smiled. “Well, if it isn’t our old loyal customer, Twilight Sparkle!” greeted Flim. “A real pleasure to see you again after the Shadowbolts were disbanded,” added Flam. “And to answer your questions,” continued Flim, “while normally we would be operating our Pick-A-Brick distribution warehouse, we’ve been forced to close it down for the next few weeks due to extensive repairs.” “Who knew a burst steam pipe could cause that much damage?” remarked Flam with a shrug. “As you might expect,” continued Flim, “this unfortunate disaster has left us without our usual daily occupation or means of income.” “But when we heard about the numerous job offerings with the opening of Equestria Land,” continued Flam, “we knew that this was just the opportunity we needed to help us get through these hard times.” “And seeing as you’re here and we have a job to do, care to give our ring toss game a try?” asked Flim as he offered one of the green rings to Twilight. “For a dear friend like you, the first toss will be on the house!” added Flam. Twilight glanced over at the bottles, then smiled and replied, “This game does look easy, and a free trial run is hard to resist.” Sunset set the box of fries she was carrying down on the booth’s counter as she suddenly grabbed Twilight by the shoulder and spun her around so they were both facing away from Flim and Flam, then quietly cautioned, “Twilight, they’re just giving you the old bump-and-tingle to lure you in. These games are rigged.” “Slanderous!” exclaimed Flim, sounding offended. “Libelous!” exclaimed Flam in a similar tone. Sunset frowned and rolled her eyes at their over-the-top antics. “Do you know what’s not rigged?” explained Twilight with a smile as she adjusted her glasses. “The laws of physics. Assuming no air resistance and a vertical displacement of zero, horizontal displacement equals initial projectile velocity squared times the sine of twice the launch angle divided by the acceleration due to gravity.” Sunset stared at Twilight with a blank expression and blinked once. “Wow!” remarked Flim with enthusiasm. “Now there’s somebody who knows a thing or two about a thing or two!” “But actions speak louder than words, so let’s see if you can put your money where your mouth is,” stated Flam as he handed one of the rings over to Twilight. “Gladly,” declared Twilight proudly as she grabbed the ring and held it up towards the bottles. She took her time to get her aim just right, and once she was confident she had the ideal trajectory, she tossed the ring. The ring hooked onto the neck of one of the bottles and ended up rapidly spinning around it, but not yet quite landing as required to win. “Oh, the suspense!” shouted Flim dramatically. “The drama!” shouted Flam in a similar tone. “I can’t watch!” “Hold me!” The two brothers hugged each other tightly and shuddered in mock fear. Twilight and Sunset watched eagerly as the ring continued spinning around the neck of that bottle. The spinning ring soon began to slow down, but just as it seemed it would finally land, it suddenly bounced right off the bottle and landed on the ground. Twilight’s jaw dropped, then she groaned in frustration and pounded the booth’s counter. “You were pretty close, though,” assured Sunset with a smile. “Maybe we could try just one more time?” Twilight smiled back at Sunset and nodded. “Totally worth another shot,” she said in agreement. “And seeing as I’ve used up my free first toss…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a strip of tickets. “I’ll need to use some of these.” Flim and Flam turned to each other, smiled slyly, and gave each other a light fist-bump. Not far away, Applejack had wandered aimlessly though the park to end up near some of the concession stands. As she walked, she stared at the park map in her hands, occasionally turning the map around and scratching the back of her head in confusion. Eventually, she let out a huff of frustration and sloppily folded up her map and shoved it in her pocket. “This place sure ain’t much fun without a friend by mah side,” she grumbled. “Apples! Caramel apples over here!” called out a guy from one of the nearby concession stands. “We’ve got red and green and everything in between!” Applejack froze on the spot as she realized she recognized that voice. She turned to where it came from and saw a stand that seemed to be serving caramel apples. It briefly occurred to her that, had she and Rarity gotten the jobs they had originally applied for, this was where they would’ve been working. But what really caught her attention at this moment was seeing a rather familiar face standing behind the service counter. “Micro Chips?” she asked in confusion as she approached the caramel apple stand. Instead of his standard clothes, Micro Chips had dark green on his legs, pale green on his torso and upper arms, a red bowtie piece around his neck, and printed on his torso were brown suspenders and apples all over the shirt. The lavender guy with blue hair and black glasses turned to the approaching apple farmer and offered, “Caramel apple?” “Uh, Ah’m Applejack,” said Appelajck. “Caramel Apple is the name of one of mah cousins.” “I wasn’t trying to identify you by name,” clarified Micro Chips. “I was offering to sell you one of these delicious caramel apples.” “So you’re who they hired to be the caramel apple… girl?” asked Applejack. “Ah thought you were one of those tech specialists who work for the LEGO Team.” “That and being one of the core members of the reserve team who are called in whenever you and your friends are unavailable,” acknowledged Micro Chips. “Originally, I came here to offer my tech skills when I heard they would have a server room on the park grounds. But before I got a chance to inspect whatever they had set up, Vignette Valencia came over and offered me this job for the summer, claiming that she was looking for ‘cool nerd chic’. Not exactly my area of expertise, but how could I resist an opportunity to look cool in front of everyone?” Micro Chips decided to smugly demonstrate his coolness as he dipped an apple on a stick into a vat of caramel. But when he tried to pull the apple out, that batch of caramel proved to be a little too sticky. He struggled to pull the apple free, and when that sticky caramel finally snapped off, the force of achieving that was enough to throw him back into one of the other caramel apples on display and end up with it stuck on his arm. As he then struggled to pull that caramel apple off his arm, he stumbled backwards into some more caramel apples on display. Applejack couldn’t help but flinch and cringe as she watched Micro Chips become increasingly entangled with caramel and getting apples on sticks stuck all over his body. Eventually, Micro Chips stopped struggling, sighed in defeat, and reluctantly asked, “Do you by any chance have a knife or samurai sword or several tiny but very sharp nail clippers?” Applejack facepalmed at the epic fail she had just witnessed. She was about to say something when she faintly heard a familiar voice in the distance. She glanced back and saw Vignette walking with Fluttershy towards the candy-themed attraction. She was suddenly curious about what they were discussing and wanted to follow them, but the sound of a thud brought her attention back to Micro Chips, who had now disappeared behind the counter. “And now I’m stuck to the ground,” muttered Micro Chips. Applejack sighed and grumbled, “Lucky for you Ah always carry a pocketknife.” She then hopped over the counter and began to help free the nerd entrapped in caramel. Meanwhile, the conversation continued between Vignette and Fluttershy as they walked behind the giant candy structure with a tunnel through the middle. Vignette excitedly continued, “I know what you’re thinking. ‘But, Vignette, how can I ever thank you for coming up with such a brilliant idea for the parade?’” “Actually, I’m thinking more along the lines of ‘I don’t understand,’” responded Fluttershy hesitantly. “You want me to pretend I’m someone else tonight? No offense, but if you’re advertising the Rainbooms as the main attraction of the parade, wouldn’t it make sense to just let us do what we normally do? I mean, that’s what everyone will be expecting from us.” Vignette scoffed and replied, “Expected is boring! If we’re really gonna wow the crowd, what we need is something totally new and never before seen. Everyone in the band has a new role. It’s part of my bold, new, vision! All caps, Helvetica, sixty-five. For you, you’ll be ‘Fluttershy: Bad Girl’!” Fluttershy froze in shock at that suggestion. She was already hesitant enough to perform in front of a massive crowd, but to do so in an image she was completely uncomfortable with was downright paralyzing to her. “Spiked hair, ripped tights,” continued Vignetted, oblivious to Fluttershy’s reaction. “I’ve already commissioned and A-list graffiti-slash-sneaker artist to tag up a custom guitar for you to play. How do you feel about skulls?” Fluttershy’s shocked stance and stare had remained unchanged. In her view, there were so many things completely wrong with that entire description that she had no idea how to even react. “B.Y.B.B.” insisted Vignette. Fluttershy thought of many ways to respond. She could’ve told her that none of her friends would ever approve of that. She could’ve told her that she can’t force such a drastic change on someone and already make plans without her permission. She could’ve told her that she should better recognize the “be yourself” part of her philosophy before coming up with such wildly out there ideas. But, being the kind and shy girl she was, Fluttershy nervously responded, “Uh, maybe I, um… shouldn’t do it. Like… at all.” Vignette immediately frowned. She was so convinced that her ideas were the best thing ever that she couldn’t believe that one of the performers would refuse to give it a full endorsement. She glanced down at her magically enhanced phone in her hands, then smiled as she came up with a new plan to make things much easier. “You’re right,” she said contently. “If collab-ing isn’t your thing, that’s your life decision to make. But I just thought of a way for us both to get exactly what we want.” “You did?” asked Fluttershy, now starting to feel a little more optimistic. “Of course!” declared Vignette. “Getting what I want is what I do best, sweetie.” She then held up her phone and pointed it at Fluttershy. “Now say ‘Cheese!’” Fluttershy’s expression turned to confusion just before Vignette took a picture of her. This quickly transformed Fluttershy into a holographic image which was then pulled into the phone and vanished. “Sorry, Fluttershy,” remarked Vignette with no remorse at all. “You’ll thank me later.” In a featureless white area, the holographic image of Fluttershy suddenly materialized and transformed her back into a regular minifig. She glanced around in confusion and worriedly called out, “Um, excuse me? Vignette?” She hesitantly took a few steps forward. “Where am I?” “Huh? Wha…?” Fluttershy immediately spun around to see what appeared to be some kind of security guard sitting on the ground, who seemingly had just woken up from a nap. “Aw, man,” groaned the tired security guard. “Am I ever gonna wake up from this weird dream?” Fluttershy uneasily replied, “Uh, I’m afraid this isn’t a dream, mister…” “Cranky Doodle,” replied the security guard. “And what makes you so sure I’m not dreaming?” “Well, my friend Pinkie Pie says subjecting yourself to pain is a good way to know for sure,” replied Fluttershy. “Not that I’d want to hurt you in any way.” Cranky shrugged and decided to test the theory by placing his hand under his rear and sitting down on it. “Ow!” he shouted as pulled his hand out from under his butt. After shrugging off the crushing pain in that hand, he asked, “So if this isn’t a dream, what exactly happened to us?” “I don’t know for sure,” replied Fluttershy as she stared down at her feet. “I was just talking with Vignette Valencia when she suddenly decided to take a picture of me with her phone, and then… I’m suddenly right here.” Cranky crossed his arms and grumbled, “Next time I see her, I’ll be sure to have a word with her about this.” Fluttershy hesitantly asked, “Um, if you don’t mind me asking… how long have you been here?” Cranky shrugged and asked, “When’s opening day for Equestria Land?” “That’s today,” replied Fluttershy. “Then I’ve been stuck in this weird place for two days now,” stated Cranky in a resigned tone. After a brief pause, he looked up at Fluttershy and asked, “Do you have any snacks with you? I considered trying that stress salad over there, but, well… I don’t wanna take my chances on something that’s been sitting around for so long.” Fluttershy glanced around and soon found the salad bowl Cranky was referring to. She walked over to it and saw that the salad inside had indeed started going bad from sitting around for likely many days. She sighed and sadly remarked, “I sure wish it was still fresh. I’m feeling stressed right now…”