//------------------------------// // Vacation Truncation // Story: Cheerilee And The Rise Of The Monarch // by Green Akers //------------------------------// "AAAAAHHHHH!" Rarity screamed, staring down in horror at a copy of Vanity Mare magazine. "'A clashed mishmash of trash?'" she read. "'Reflects the style sense of a three-year-old?' 'Makes Hoity Toity roll over in his grave, even though he isn't dead yet?'" She flung the magazine against the wall and collapsed onto a nearby couch. "Of all the things that could happen to me," she sobbed, "this is the...worst...possible...thing!" "Rarity?" Fluttershy peeked her head in through the front door. "Is everything okay? I heard you scream, and..." WHAM! Rarity wrapped her copy of Vanity Mare around Fluttershy's face. "Look!" Rarity instructed. "Just look at what Ravishing Ruby wrote in this month's 'Critic's Corner'! She...she called my summer collection an absolute disgrace, and said it wasn't fit to make a mule wear!" "Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped. "That's just awful!" "That isn't the half of it!" Rarity lamented. "Why, once this gets around Canterlot, my reputation as an up-and-coming designer will be ruined! I'll...I'll never sell another dress in Equestria ever again! I'll go down as the most reviled fashionista in history!" "That's terrible!" Fluttershy declared. "Is there anything I can do?" Rarity wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I'd just like to be alone for a while, if you don't mind," she requested. "Oh...okay then," Fluttershy agreed, "If you need me for anything, just let me know." Fluttershy turned to leave, looking back sorrowfully at a depressed Rarity as she exited. "I know what I can do," Fluttershy decided, as she approached the entrance to Sugar Cube Corner. "I'll pick up some sweets for Rarity. I know I always feel better after having a cookie or two." Inside the shop, however, Fluttershy found the shelves and cases bare, with not a shred of edible goodness in the entire store. "I don't understand," Fluttershy wondered, spying Mrs. Cake as she entered from the back room. "What's going on?" she asked. "Are you making room for new inventory?" "I'm afraid not, dearie," Mrs. Cake replied despondently. "We're shutting down for a few days to take care of some business in Canterlot." "Business?" Fluttershy inquired. "We just found out that somepony has filed a lawsuit against us in Canterlot district court," Mr. Cake elaborated as he entered the room. "Apparently he came here a lot for snacks as a foal, and now he weighs 400 pounds and is suing us for making him overweight!" Mrs. Cake shook her head sadly. "We don't have the money for a court fight right now, with the twins and all...but if we lose, we could lose everything!" "Gosh!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "That would be horrible, just horrible!" She watched as Mr. Cake tried in vain to comfort his wife, then wiped her eyes and left without saying a word. "Gol-lee," Applejack commented, after listening to Pinkie Pie recount the Cake's tale of woe. "Seems like everypony in town's come down with a case of bad luck lately." "Tell me about it!" an exasperated Twilight muttered, sticking her head out from behind a huge stack of papers. "I have to write a fifty-page essay for the new Dean of Finances at the princess's school, explaining why it's so important that I stay here in Ponyville exploring the magic of friendship! They're threatening to cut off my funding and drag me back to Canterlot!" "And I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do to keep the farm afloat," Applejack chimed in. "Somepony contaminated a bunch of our apples and made a few ponies sick, and now no one wants to buy our food! We can't even give our crops away!" "And Rainbow's still all mopey after having to sell her tickets to the Wonderbolts derby to pay for that streetlight she broke," Pinkie added. "Oh yeah, and the wall she crashed through...and those dishes she broke when she hit that cabinet...and the cabinet..." "Girls! Girls!" Fluttershy called out, dashing into the library. "I really need your help - Rarity's feeling really bad about some critic saying bad things about her dresses, and..." She noticed the glum expressions looking back at her. "...oh...I'm sorry...am I interrupting something?" she asked. "No, not really," Applejack answered. "It just sounds like Rarity's havin' the same kind of day we are, I guess." "Argh!" Twilight flung her quill across the room. "What's wrong with people these days?" she demanded. "Scathing critiques? Tainted apples? Pithy lawsuits? Endless bureaucracy?" Twilight smacked her head down on the papers in front of her. "Sometimes it feels like we're just surrounded by a bunch of...of...trolls!" she complained. "That's just the way it is these days," Applejack observed with a sigh. "Well, I best be gettin' back to the farm - those apples ain't gonna shake themselves out of the trees! ...even if we can't do anything with 'em once they're picked..." "Is there anything I can do?" Fluttershy asked, as Applejack and Pinkie Pie headed for the door. "Not really," Twilight concluded. "Like Applejack said...it is what it is." "It is?" Fluttershy watched as her friends trudged off to their homes. "Well...it shouldn't be," she finally declared. The next morning, Twilight awoke to the sound of somepony knocking at her door. "Who could that be, at this hour?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "It's probably Pinkie Pie inviting us to a send-off party for the Cakes," Spike offered, without looking up from his bed or even opening his eyes. Twilight sighed, climbed out of her bed, and made her way to the door. Standing there, however, was not Pinkie Pie, but the local schoolteacher Cheerilee. "Good morning, Twilight!" Cheerilee exclaimed happily. "Good morning, Cheerilee," Twilight responded in kind. "What brings you here this morning?" "Oh, nothing much, really," Cheerilee answered. "I was just on my way in to prepare today's lesson, and I remembered that I wanted to get a copy of Hoovington's 'History of Equestria' to show to the class!" "Great idea," Twilight agreed. "It's a fantastic reference guide. I know we've got a copy of it here somewhere..." "Twilight! Twilight!" All of a sudden, Fluttershy came racing into the library, bowling over Cheerilee in her exuberance. "Look at this!" she exclaimed, pulling an envelope from her bag. "I won! I won!" she declared. "Won what?" Twilight inquired, using her magic to pull a letter from the envelope. "Dear Ms. Shy," Twilight read aloud, "congratulations on being selected as the winner of the Equestria Travel Bureau's Super-Fabulous Vacation Sweepstakes!" "The grand prize is 7 days and 6 nights at the Berry Breeze Hotel for me and 6 friends!" Fluttershy squealed happily. "I can bring all of you along, even Spike!" Suddenly, she realized that somepony she hadn't planned on bringing along was listening. "Oh...um...well..." she stuttered as she looked over at Cheerilee, not exactly sure what to say. "I...I guess you could go too...if you wanted..." Cheerilee smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid my vacation isn't for another month!" she pointed out. "I wouldn't be able to go anyway. You and your friends should go - it'll be fun!" "Gosh, Fluttershy, I don't know," Twilight hesitated, looking back at the piles of paper on her desk. "I've still got a lot of work to do for this essay, and you know how I feel about being tardy..." "Oh, please come," Fluttershy implored. "It wouldn't be the same without you there." "I think you should go, Twilight," Cheerilee encouraged. "Princess Celestia knows how hard you work and how seriously you take your studies - I think she'd understand." "You think so?" Twilight considered the idea for a moment. "You know what?" she finally decided. "You're right! I've been working my tail off these last few months, and studies show that ponies who take occasional breaks are far more productive than those who don't. I deserve a rest!" "Me too!" Spike declared, bouncing up from his bed and joining the conversation. "Do you know how hard it is to keep this place clean when somepony keeps reading all these books?" The comment drew an unamused glare from Twilight, but Spike ignored it. "Thanks, Fluttershy," he offered, giving the pegasus a hug. "You're the best." As luck would have it, the hotel reservations were scheduled to begin the very next day, leading to a frantic 24 hours as Fluttershy spread the word and her friends hastily prepared for their getaway. In no time at all, the ponies found themselves waiting for a train to take them to paradise. "Aw, yeah," Rainbow Dash declared, "this is gonna be epic! The only thing better than a day at the beach...is a week at the beach!" "What are you going to do, Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "Swim? Surf? Play beach volleyball?" "Heck no!" Rainbow pointed to her bag, which a pair of bellhop ponies were struggling to load into a luggage cart. "I've still got, like, 25 more Daring-Do books to read!" "What about you, Applejack?" Twilight inquired. "Are you sure the rest of the Apple family won't need you here at home?" "Are you kiddin'?" Applejack answered, gesturing towards a huge bushel of apples sitting next to her. "This here's gonna be a working vacation for me! Why, if I can drum up some business with the vacationing crowd, we'll be able to stay in business and save the farm!" "That's great! ...Even if it kind of misses the point of the trip," Twilight commented. "I plan on working through this trip as well," Rarity added, looking absolutely stunning in one of her new summer designs. "Once those other ponies see my designs in person, they'll be clamoring for their very own copy, and forget all about Ravishing Ruby and her petty little prose." "And how about..." Twilight stopped short upon seeing Pinkie Pie wearing an inner tube and a pair of oversized sunglasses. "Never mind - I know what you'll be doing," she observed. "Hello, girls!" Cheerilee called out, walking up to the train platform to see her friends off. "Are you all excited for your trip?" "Oh, yes!" Fluttershy answered. "We're going to have a great time, I just know it!" "It's always a great time when your friends are around," Twilight declared, as the sound of a whistle in the distance announced the arrival of the ponies' train. "It's almost here!" Twilight shouted happily, turning back to Cheerilee. "Now, Cheerilee, are you sure you'll be okay running both the school and the library while we're gone?" "Of course!" Cheerilee replied with a smile. "You just go enjoy your trip, and don't worry about a thing!" Finally, the train pulled up to the station, and Twilight and her friends hopped on board. "Don't forget to send me a postcard!" Cheerilee requested, waving as the train left the station and set off for the Berry Breeze Hotel. On the train, the seven vacationers found themselves riding in a luxurious private car. "Now this is what I call traveling!" Spike declared, jumping up on one of the beds. "I agree," Rarity announced, feeling the sheets with her hoof. "This fabric is simply luxurious!" "Check it out!" Pinkie Pie shouted, pointing at a glass skylight in the ceiling. "We've got a sunroof!" Twilight looked out the window, and couldn't help but smile as she watched the landscape fly by. "You were right, Fluttershy," she remarked. "This trip is so gonna be worth it." Fluttershy simply smiled in response. From outside, however, two buzzards sitting in a dead tree watched stoically as the train passed by. Spying the fillies' cabin, the birds exchanged a nod, then leaped into the air and glided over to the train, picking up some mysterious sacks hanging from a nearby branch as they flew. Cracking open the first of her Daring-Do books, Rainbow Dash suddenly found her light obscured by a large shadow. "What the hay?" she wondered, looking up to see the first buzzard as he aligned himself with the cabin's skylight. Finding himself in position, the buzzard released his cargo. "Whoa!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, diving out of the way as the sack smashed through the skylight and landed hard on the floor of the car. "What in the world is that?" Applejack asked, as the group stared nervously at the sack. "Maybe it's room service!" Pinkie Pie suggested, drawing an eye roll from everyone else in the room as she stuck her head in the sack. "Aw..." Pinkie groaned, pulling out a huge rock. "It's just a boring old sedimentary rock." She tested it with her teeth. "Ugh!" she declared. "It's not even a quality rock, either. We grew much better rocks on our farm back home." "Why would some bird drop a huge rock into our car?" Twilight wondered. Unfortunately, her question was quickly answered by a second shadow appearing from above. "Incoming!" Spike shouted, pointing up as the second buzzard dropped his sack through the shattered skylight. "Another rock?" Twilight hypothesized, as the bag hit the floor. Pinkie Pie stuck her head into the bag, but immediately pulled it back out. "GET DOWN!" she shouted, jumping at Rarity and knocking her to the ground. "SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" "Oh no!" Twilight shrieked. "Is it a bomb?" "Worse..." Pinkie Pie explained, just as a pair of skunks emerged from the bag. "AAAHHH!!!" The combined screams of the ponies quickly dissolved into a cacophony of coughs as the skunks proceeded to do what skunks do best, filling the car with their foul odor. One by one, the ponies collapsed, overcome by the powerful scent. "Put them in the bags," a voice rasped from above the action. As the skunks complied and began collecting their victims, a new shadow appeared through the skylight, as a frightening-looking pegasus pony, clad in tight black leather from head to hoof, stood watch on the roof of the train. "Excellent," the pony declared, tapping their hooves together evilly. "With the wielders of the Elements of Harmony out of the way, there is no one left who can stop me." A flock of buzzards now swarmed around the train car, landing on the roof and jumping through the skylight to collect the pony-filled bags (with a dragon thrown in for variety). "Come!" the evil pony ordered, leaping into the air and flying off towards the horizon with their buzzards in tow. "Now...on to Canterlot!" the pony screeched. "Our pretty princess is in for an unpleasant surprise..."