//------------------------------//
// Let me Take you for a Ride... 
// Story: A day at Equestria Land 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

It was now November in Canterlot, and for some reason the weather had gone a bit haywire. Normally the snow would be settling in by now, but settling in it was not, and instead the sun was high in the sky. It wasn't hugely hot, only pleasantly so, but at the same time it wasn't freezing, so wearing short sleeves was still fine. However, the climate experts had warned that this oddly warm cloud of weather would not stay for long, and so people were being advised to make the most of it whilst they could.

It was the afternoon at Sweet Apple Acres, only two weeks since Halloween and the big game they had played that had resulted in most of the residents dead (thankfully, it wasn't real). Harvest time was over, and the family were currently preparing the farm for winter, which included ensuring the trees were stable and not about to collapse from snowfall coming down upon them. Pear Butter was running one of the inspection trains, powered by a small Simplex petrol locomotive, as it looped around the entire site and back to the depot where they kept the locomotives and rolling stock. All looked to be in order, as the branches were not sagging under weight of snow (there being no snow) and the apples were safely away to be sold to market or for juicing. The train came back around to the front of the house and was brought to a stop. As Pear reached for the engine key, she suddenly sneezed and her foot flew off the clutch pedal, causing the engine to stall. It sputtered and then stopped, the belt stopping in place as the engine cut out.

"Darnit!" Pear said under her breath. She had heard stories that people sneezed when somebody else was talking about you far away, but it was far more likely a reaction to the amount of smoke the engine on the loco threw out. She reached to restart the engine when she saw Applejack trudging down the path to the farm. "How'd it go?" she called. Applejack had applied for a job at the new theme park down in Halfway, called Equestria Land, to generate some extra income for the family.

"Ah didn't get mah position," Applejack said sadly back to her, walking onwards. "Rarity got one, but not what she'd gone for."

Pear hopped out of the cab and walked after Applejack. "Hey, it's OK," she said to her eldest daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thin's don't always work out the way we wanted to, but that's just life. What did Rarity get?"

"She's lead fashion designer on the parade," Applejack replied. "Boy has she got her work cut out fer her, as it's openin' today!"

Pear thought for a moment. It had been a while since they had done something together as a family, and she did want to spend more time with her kids, especially with all the crazy shenanigans going on. This could be a perfect chance to do so. "Do ya wanna head down later today? Apple Bloom's been askin' about goin' for a bit."

"Kinda hard ta go ta a place that ain't open yet," Applejack smiled. "Haven't we got apple sauce makin' ta do? The manual way?"

Pear shook her head. "Has yer pa still not gotten around ta fixin' that thing? Whose idea was it ta do it manually?"

"Granny."

"We could be hear a while." The pair had reached the barn by this point, and Pear pushed open the door to find Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith already there.

"Where have you been?" Granny Smith addressed Applejack. "We've been waitin' for thirty minutes or so!"

"Sorry," Applejack replied. "Streetcar ran late due to a hot axlebox." She climbed over the side of the mixing tub, and the trio of Apple siblings got to work on the extremely messy work of making apple sauce. With their feet (and boots).

Pear went outside to find Bright Mac standing outside. "Hi there!" he said. "Ah was about ta go and fix that apple sauce makin' machine we have."

"Well, ya won't be able ta do that fer a while," Pear informed him. "They've just started manual production."

Through the door, they heard a phone ring, and Pear, whilst not normally the nosy kind, chose listen in on the conversation, or the one side of it she could hear.

"Rarity!" There was a brief pause. "Fantastic! I could not be happier... makin' foot-stompin' applesauce the old-fashioned way with my family."

"Less chatter, more splatter!" shouted Granny Smith.

Bright shook his head. "Ya know, if they just stopped and let me look at that thin', they'd save a lot of time and be able ta go ta that theme park everybody's talkin' about."

Pear nodded. "Ah was gonna take the kids if they wanted ta go. They deserve a break."

Momentarily, the conversation resumed. "And I'm happy for you and your new job, too." Another pause. "I'm sure you won't slip up. Whoa!" This was followed by a long silence indeed. "You bet your britches, missy! I wouldn't miss your big night for the world! Whoa!"

There was a loud splat, and Pear pushed the door open to see Applejack dripping in apple sauce, being pulled out of the gloop by Big Mac. "Watch yer step," he said sternly.

Seeing Bright Mac outside, Granny Smith motioned for the kids to get out of the vat. "Bright! Can ya fix this mixer fer me?"

"Sure thin', ma!" Bright called, and rushed in as fast as he could.

Pear spoke up to address the kids. "How'd you three like ta go ta Equestria Land?"

"Rarity's offered me and mah friends VIP passes," Applejack said.

"And Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are gonna be there too!" Apple Bloom cried. "Ah'd love ta go!"

"Count me in," Big Mac smiled. "Ah'll pay ma way, don't ya worry about me."

"When yer all cleaned up, we'll go, OK?" Pear said. "Ah can't even remember when Ah last went on a rollercoaster."





The journey from Canterlot Central station to Halfway was fairly simple, but the train was absolutely jammed by people, and the previously quiet station of Halfway was incredibly busy. The park had been built in the small town in an attempt to attract tourists there as well as locals from Canterlot and Crystal City (those who lived in San Fernando had Disneyland, of course), and it seemed to have worked. After walking through the ticket gates and paying for a season pass, as Pear suggested she'd be coming here a lot, Applejack went ahead to join her friends. Already so much was going on. Over on the left, a Drop Coaster plummeted three stories vertically, before the train went into a reverse section. Screaming could be heard from some of the other rides, whilst one was housed in a show building which looked suspicially like the Apple family's home.

"And that one on the left is Nightmare Moon's Revenge!" Apple Bloom was excitedly explaining. "That has a three story vertical shock drop!"

"Sounds like a prime way ta lose yer lunch," Big Mac said.

"Well, who goes on roller coasters straight after lunch?" Apple Bloom retorted.

Pear laughed. "Ah did that once when Ah was yer age," she said to Apple Bloom. "Ah looked such a mess at the end!"

They had caught up with Applejack, and Apple Bloom, seeing Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, went over to join them. Pear saw her other daughter talking to a rather odd looking woman. She had yellow skin and pink and white hair, combined with giant leaves in her hair, and a pair of blue eyes. She wore a white shirt with purple lining (which failed to cover her shoulders), a pair of blue shorts with a black belt, and a pair of black (or brown?) boots.

As she got closer, she overheard bits of their conversation. "I told you not to use the "B" word. I'm your... "friend"... who gets to boss you around!" the woman said.

"I don't get it." Pinkie was confused.

Pear soon lost interest in the conversation as it veered off into social media discussions, until she suddenly heard something catch her ear again.

"Rainbooms? Why is that familiar? A hundred thousand followers? Focused  consumer-centric demographic, too? Does your curated content  consistently aggregate across multiple platforms?" This woman was seemingly a social media giant, based on her comments.

A little more talking, and then the woman walked off, and the friends dispersed. Pear shook her head, and suddenly saw Cheerilee relaxing at a table, drinking a coffee. "Care if Ah join ya?" she called.

"Sure thing!" Cheerilee replied. "I'll finish this coffee, then I need to get after Scootaloo. Who knows where those three are know?"

"This place looks great," Pear grinned, as she sat down. "So, who runs this place?"

"That woman back there, Vignette Valencia," Cheerilee explained. "Self made business guru and social media phenomenon. Has more than 20,000 friends on Instagram. Also speaks mostly in hashtags and internet slang."

"Ah never heard of her," Pear replied. "Been on any rides yet?"

"A few," Cheerilee replied. "They're great. But get a Fastpass for the Wild Blue Wonder. The queue is currently two hours long!"

"Noted," Pear said, and got up again to head after Apple Bloom. As she walked along, she saw that Vignette character, looking at her phone more than anything else. As she looked closely, she saw a strange spark come off her phone. "What in the world? Somethin's not right here, and it ain't her Welsh corgi."