//------------------------------// // I want an Alien for Christmas... // Story: A day at Equestria Land // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Over at the Wild Blue Wonder, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were looking up at the ride in a mixture of confusion and fear. Confusion on the part of Rainbow Dash, who didn't have a clue where the entrance was, and fear on the part of Fluttershy. To say she had a fear of these sorts of rides constitutes something of an understatement, and she looked up at the ride, shaking as she did so. "Pretty great, right?!" Rainbow Dash called to her perpetually frightened friend. "What?!" "Can you hear me over all the screaming?!" Rainbow Dash responded, unable to hear Fluttershy's response. "I can't hear you over all the screaming!" Fluttershy yelled back, also unable to hear Rainbow Dash's words. To be truthful, Rainbow Dash wouldn't have heard her anyways, as Fluttershy shouting was two or three decibels above normal speech for most people. She looked away and sighed. "Oh. I wish I'd gone with Sunset and Twilight. Or Pinkie Pie. Or anyone else in the entire park." Rainbow Dash, noticing her friend seemed a bit down, walked over to her. "Look at it this way," she said, pointing up at the vast pile of steel and iron that was the Wild Blue Wonder. "It's the perfect opportunity to conquer your fear!" "Can't I conquer something a little smaller first?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash consulted her map. "Hey, good idea! A warm-up before the big game!" Her eyes scanned over many rides that were there. "Ooh! What did you have in mind? Dragon Lands Drag Racing?" She pointed to a Bolliger and Mabillard dual launch coaster. "Or how about the Appleloosa Runaway Train!" Indicating a Great Coasters wooden coaster with her finger did she. "Ooh, Neighagara Falls Barrel Flume?!" Fluttershy pointed to a much smaller coaster. "Really? A MACK Powered Coaster?" Rainbow Dash found herself cringing and facepalming the entire ride, as Fluttershy screamed in terror over the tiniest of drops. Pear was strolling through the park, admiring the work and effort that had gone into building it and creating a cohevise themed environment for patrons to enjoy. Apparently, the project had several former Disney imagineers working on it, and it had payed off, as everything seemed to be running properly and the park was full. Not a single detail or opportunity was missed. Even the food stalls and bathrooms were themed and integrated into the environments in clever ways, such as a barbeque restaruant being incorporated into a volcano. It was also a bit warm, so Pear went over to a vending machine to purchase a bottle of water for herself. She inserted the needed coins, and the drink soon popped out of the hatch at the bottom. Satisfied, Pear cracked the bottle open, took a quick swig, and continued on her way. Her progress was very suddenly interrupted by a person walking into her, a person that Pear observed appeared to be more interested in their phone than in where they were going. Both of them landed on the floor with a bump, and took a moment to recover, before standing back up. "Erm, excuse me?" Pear asked the woman, now revealed to be Vignette. "Could ya please watch where yer goin' in future? There's nothin' so important on a phone that cain't be checked later, ya know." Vignette waved her hands dismissively. "When you have no social media life, that's not a concern. When you have more than twenty thousand followers to communicate with and brands to influence, knowing what is going on at any time is absolutely crucial. It's important to stay in fashion." She then looked closely at Pear's clothes, her usual ensemble of a blue checquered shirt and jeans with brown boots. "Where did you get these? Falling in a ditch? These are SOOO last season, as is all hillbilly wear." Pear shook her head. "Farm folks need ta dress practical. Maybe you'd know that if ya didn't spend all ya time on a phone?" "Oh, smartphones are the future," Vignette snorted. "I doubt there are even telephones where you are from, not even landlines. Besides, do you know who I am?" "A woman absorbed in her own vanity?" Pear suggested. "When you set up and run a theme park succesfully, only then can you make comments such as that to me." Vignette looked closely at Pear. "Oh wait, I know you. You're Orange Crane's mother. It is rather obvious, after all, when you see her inability to use phones. BYBB. Be Yourself But Better, please TTKUWTL." Pear was getting thoroughly ticked off by this woman. "Ah'm from California," she replied, trying not to blow up in her face. "And Ah've fixed internet connections before. And Ah strongly advise ya don't talk nonsense about me or mah family." "Whatever," Vignette snorted, and turned around walking off. "Oh well. I've got far more followers than you will ever have. Goodbye!" Pear walked over to the wall and leaned on it, annoyed beyond compare by this woman. To try and find out a bit more about her, she pulled up Vignette's social media page and looked through the results. They stunned her, to say the least. "Welsh Corgis? Chillin' Sandy Style? U no how Ah do? Ah came Ah saw Ah vintaged?" She shook her head at the terrible English. "Vintaged ain't a word! Can ya 'vintage' somethin'?" She pressed play on one of the videos on the channel. Vignette's voice echoed from the speakers as she moved part of her hair to one side. "Hashtag Bangs." Scanning down, Pear saw the image count and her jaw dropped. "How can this clip that barely qualifies as a video have so many likes?" "Hey ma!" called a voice from nearby. Pear looked up from her phone to see Apple Bloom standing there giving her puppy eyes. "Hey there dear," Pear smiled, putting her phone away and crouching to her youngest child. "Wanna go on a ride together?" "Sure thin'!" Apple Bloom replied, bouncing up and down. "How about the Wild Blue Wonder? Ah got a FastTrack fer 15 minutes from now. It'll cut the wait time in half!" "Ya always think ahead, ya know that?" Pear grinned. "Let's go!" The mother and daughter hopped into the second car in the train, as the front row seats were taken by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. The latter had had to practically drag the former onto the ride. As the train began to climb, Pear checked her over the shoulder restraint, and turned to Apple Bloom. "So, what did ya say this was?" "It's a Gerstlauer Infinity!" Apple Bloom replied. "There's only two others in the world; The Smiler at Alton Towers, and Karacho in Germany. These feature steep drops, sharp turns, and amazin' airtime." "Let's hope it lives up ta the hype!" Pear grinned. "It's been so lon' since Ah last did a big thrill ride." This seemed to set the pair in front of them off, as Rainbow Dash began speaking. "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 foot vertical drop right into these loop de loops and a corkscrew?" Her voice suddenly began to sound nervous. "You're probably super-nervous about that, I bet. Heh. And that next part where it goes backwards? Uh, how are you feeling, Fluttershy?" Apple Bloom sighed. "This ride doesn't even have a backwards section, Dash! The only coasters in America that do are Revenge of the Mummy an' Expedition Everest!" This did little to calm Dash's nerves as she went on talking. They were almost at the top. "Is it even safe to be this high up? You're probably thinking, "Stop the ride! I want to get off!" That's what you want, right? Right now? You're about to yell it? Stop the ride! Seriously! Please, somebody stop the ride! STOP THE RIIIIIIIDE!" They flew into the drop, and were instantly hurled into a very steep (but not vertical drop). At the bottom, they launched up into an inverse loop followed by a corkscrew and two heartline rolls, before hitting a brake run. The cars came to a stop, and the hum of magnets could be heard. "Hold on tight!" a voice shouted over the speakers. "Cause here we GOOOOOOOOOO!" At that moment, the Linear Induction Motors engaged, and the cars accelerated from zero to eighty in 2.2 seconds, before flying up a steep climb, into a loop, and then down another drop. Up again they went, flying through a top hat for some massive airtime, before flying downhill again and through five heartline rolls, another corkscrew, a cobra roll, and then two loops, before the train hit the final brake run and slowed into the station. The over the shoulder restraints released, and the riders got out, Pear clutching her ears. "Mah ears are ringin' from Rainbow's screamin'!" she complained. "That girl's got a fine pair of lungs!" "Ah know," Apple Bloom nodded. "What ya wanna do next?" "How does 'Ember's Fury' sound?" Pear suggested.