//------------------------------//
// 9 Tickets? 
// Story: The Radical Vacation at Monta-Kai 
// by RandomExpert781 
//------------------------------//


The Radical Vacation at Monta-Kai
RandomExpert781
Chapter 1: 9 Tickets?





3:43 PM; Friday, May 14; Ponyville Public Library

It was a normal day in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, protégée of Princess Celestia, was doing everything she normally does - play board games with Spike, helping and hanging out with her friends, attending a party -
Oh, wait, I lied. She's studying. My bad!
Twilight was studying a book on physics, Fundamentals of the World We Live On, which was, for maybe the first time in her life, boring her. Usually, such a thing would never deter her; she would keep reading until Spike forced her to sleep or until she fell asleep on her own. But today . . . today, Twilight just wasn't in the mood to study; or even read, for that matter. Letting out a groan in frustration, she closed the book she was reading with a 'SNAP!' and banged her head on it. Loudly.
Hearing the noise, Spike casually walked down the stairs from his bedroom. "Hey, Twilight," he said, grinning happily. His smile faltered when he noticed her with a dazed and frustrated expression. "Twilight? Is something wrong?"
Twilight sighed and looked up, straight at the baby dragon's eyes. "Spike . . . I'm bored."
Spike raised an eyebrow, then shook his head in amusement. "That's a new one," he said plainly as he continued walking toward the kitchen. "You've never been bored as far as I can remember."
"I know!" Twilight said, giving another sigh of distaste. "I'm not in a studying or reading mood, which is weird-"
Spike froze, and turned to face the scholar, mouth agape. "Not in the reading mood? But . . ." He was still trying to comprehend the new piece of information. "You're always in a reading mood!"
"I KNOW!" Twilight shouted, banging her head on the desk again. "Ouch," came the inevitable call of pain.
"Wait," Spike said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Are you on that perigro stuff again?"
Twilight was taken aback by the accusation. "That prescription drug? I got over that a while ago."
"Hot sauce?"
"No!"
"Whipped cream?"
"That's not addicting; it just tastes too good.'
"Trashy romance novels?"
"I'M NOT ADDICTED TO ANYTHING!" Twilight shouted, suddenly exhausted. "I'm just bored, okay?"
"Fine," Spike said defensively. "Calm down. Geez, don't get so frantic." He suddenly paused, looking down at himself. "I feel a letter coming -" 
A huge burp, ball of fire, materialization and one royal letter later, Spike cleared his throat, took a deep breath - And paused when he saw the heading at the top:

For Twilight Sparkle's eyes only.
That means you, Spike.

"Uh," Spike stammered, unsure what to say. "Wow. Didn't see that coming."
"Spike," Twilight asked. "What is it?"
"Apparently," Spike explained, placing the letter nicely on her desk, "Celestia does not want me to see the contents of this letter. So, you read it."
The now-confused Twilight silently took the letter and walked upstairs to her bedroom, slowly. Spike could only wonder what the contents of the letter were. Is it some new discovery? Spike wondered. Maybe Twilight could be . . . moving again? No, that's too pessimistic. Something happened in Canterlot? Some important meeting? Some sort of pending disaster that only the Elements can -
"Eek!" came the excited squeal from the scholar's bedroom.
"What is it?" Spike calls.
"It's incredible!" Twilight called back. "Get the Mane Six and the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Tell them to meet here!"
"Okay!" Spike called. "Wait, now?"
"NOW!!!"
Spike almost had to cover his ears. Darn, she screams loud, he thought, rushing out the door. Yet his mind was asking himself:
Why the Crusaders?
Why am I rushing?
And what's so important for an emergency meeting?

4:51 PM; Friday, May 14; Ponyville Public Library

In the main part of the library, the last of the Crusaders was entering the library. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the Crusaders were waiting impatiently for Twilight to appear and tell them the apparently exciting news.
"Oh, dear," Rarity said worriedly. "I hope she's okay."
"Of course she is, silly!" Pinkie Pie said, smiling wide as she always does. "She's probably just sooooooooooo excited that she can't come down, since she's so nervous, or ecstatic, or anxious, or jittery, "
"How about all of the above?" said a voice behind her. Twilight was finally walking down the stairs, the letter being held by her telekinesis.
"It's a royal letter!" Rarity gasped over-excitedly. 
"Is this some sort of royal thang you want us to go to?" Applejack said worriedly. "I hope not."
"Why are we here?" Scootaloo asked anxiously. "Isn't this some sort of thing-"
"No, it's not," Twilight interrupted. 
"You didn't even let me-"
"I don't care, now hold on a moment." Still smiling, she faced the small crowd in front of her. "Girls, we're going on vacation."
"WHAT?" They all cried in surprise. Twilight proceeded to open the letter and read it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Have you been studying too hard? Are you bored for the first time? Are all your friends bored, too? I think all of you deserve a break from all your hard work.
Therefore, attached to this letter are nine tickets, enough for you, your friends, and the Crusaders. Yes, I know about the Crusaders, and I think it could be a good crusading experience for them. Just tell them not to get into too much trouble. It's pre-paid, first priority trip to the vacation spot. Spike is going to come with me, since he doesn't like the place you're going to. Don't worry, he'll be fine, as usual. Me and Celestia have a surprise for him, anyways.
Where is this special place, you may ask?: Look on the ticket. You will find the answer there. We shall leave on Saturday at 11:30 AM by carriage, then by boat.
Make sure you pack everything!

Best Regards,
Princess Luna

A few moments of silence followed before Dash spoke up. "C'mon, kill the suspense! Where is this 'special place' she's talking about?"
Twilight smiled. "I'm glad you asked." She placed the letter down, and picked up a golden ticket. "This ticket gives an exclusive VIP and First-Line access to anywhere on the vacation spot of Monta-Kai."
Everyone in the room was rendered speechless. Monta-Kai was one of those vacation spots that ponies reached only if you lived there, know somepony who lived there, or was very rich. Such an opportunity came once-in-a-lifetime.
Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. "Wait . . . like that island with a snow-covered mountain resort-"
"-and the tropical beach paradise?" Pinkie Pie jumped in.
Twilight nodded, her grin widening from ear-to-ear. "That's the one!" Twilight agreed. "I've seen pictures of it in books, and . . . it's the most beautiful place I've seen."
"So," Fluttershy said. "We get to stay there . . . "
"From this Saturday afternoon to next Sunday morning," Twilight answered.
"When will Celestia be coming here again?" Scootaloo asked.
"It's Princess Luna," Twilight corrected. "She'll be here at 11:30 tomorrow."
"What time is it now?"
"About 5:00."
"THEN LET'S GO!" Rainbow shouted, scaring everypony. "I'm gonna go get packed first." She proceeded to burst out the door of the library in the direction of her house.
"No you aren't!" Pinkie Pie and Applejack said together, also rushing out of the house.
"Everypony else," Twilight said, "try to get your packed stuff here by 11:00 tomorrow. I want to make sure we're prepared when the time comes."
She watched as everypony filed out of the room. Satisfied, she started to walk upstairs to her bedroom. Tired, she plopped on her bed and tried to fall asleep . . .
- Only for her to shoot up in wide-eyed realization. She grabbed the letter beside her and opened it.
"How did Luna know I was bored!?"

11:26 AM; Staurday, May 15; Ponyville Public Library

"Are we ready? Are we ready?" Twilight said quickly, running around the house, clearly stressed and in a manic state - as usual. "Is everything prepared? Oh dear Celestia, I hope everything goes well."
"Twilight, my dear, calm down!" Rarity said, grabbing hold of the frenzied mare. "Everything is fine. We are taking a vacation to relax, after all."
The time had come. Everypony had met in Twilight house with their stuff packed. All they had to do was triple-check everything, making sure they have everything they would need - and wait. Impatiently.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were arguing on who reached the house first with all their stuff. "I got here before you, and you know it!" Rainbow was saying.
"No you didn't!" Pinkie Pie retorted. "You cheated!"
"How did I cheat?"
"You used the top window!"
"That's not cheating!"
"Yes it is!"
Rainbow turned to Twilight. "Twilight, does going through the window of your house count as cheating?"
Twilight opened her mouth to protest about their 'silly game', but decided to play along. She knew what Rainbow had already done to that window this morning. "Depends," she said, smiling mischievously. "Did you break it?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to shoot out an answer, before realizing that the question was a set-up. "Yes," she whimpered, hanging her head in defeat.
Twilight shook her head in mock disappointment before giving a soft chuckle. "I know you so well, Rainbow," she said, walking away. She stopped and turned around. "By the way, Pinkie won," she added, before walking outside, leaving the ecstatic Pinkie Pie and the bewildered Rainbow Dash to battle it out.
The clock changed to 11:30. Almost on cue, three huge carriages, pulled by royal guards, rolled up in front of the house. A flying carriage followed, carrying no other than Princess Luna herself. She confronted Twilight. "Hello, Twilight," she said, smiling warmly.
"Hello, Princess Lu-"
"Title . . ."
"Oh, yeah, right. Hi, Luna."
Luna leaned in. "Let's see who else remembers to drop the title," she whispered in her ear. Luna walked into the unsuspecting room of ponies. "Good morning, everypony!"
"Good morning, Princess Luna."
Seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie jumped up to the center of the room, scaring everypony. "Don't you remember? Luna doesn't like to be called by her title!" She then proceeded to bounce up to the Princess of the Moon, yelling "HI LUNA!"
"Pinkie Pie has the right idea," Luna admitted, before putting a hoof on her head and grounding the bouncing mare. "Just try doing it without jumping so much." Turning back to the other ponies, she shouted, "Now who's ready to go on VACATION!" Her response was a LOUD bunch of cheers and clapping of approval. "Good. Now listen up."
"There are three carriages outside. The first one is for all the Elements. The second one is for all their luggage. The third one is for the Crusader's and their luggage." She turned to the three fillies. "That's a nice group name, by the way," she added, making the fillies blush. "The sooner it's done, the sooner you can head out. Let's go!" With that, everypony set to work, carrying their luggage to the carriage.
Luna, however, was observing the Crusaders carefully. Now which one is it? Luna wondered. Oh, there she is! She approached behind the certain filly, and whispered, "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment on the side, please?"
Scootaloo felt for sure her heart skipped a few beats. What did I do? she wondered as they walked aside. But before Luna could even open her mouth, she blurted, "Whatever the police said I did, I didn't do it!"
"Calm down!" Luna comforted. "You're not in any trouble." Luna waited for her to relax before continuing. "But I want to ask you a question. I've heard you've been to the island before; is that true?"
Of course, Luna already knew the answer. "Uh, yeah," Scootaloo answered hesitantly. "A few times. Why?"
Luna pulled out something from behind her back. It was a bunch of orange-and-mahogany tickets, each with an elastic band hanging out. She gave them to Scootaloo. "I want you to put these on your bags," she explained. "And I don't want you to tell anypony until you get to the island."
"But why?"
"I think it would be a nice little surprise," Luna answered deviously. "Surprises are good, right?"
"I . . . guess?"
"Great!" she replied cheerfully, before pausing suddenly. "Oh, I almost forgot! Can you keep another secret?"
"Well, you already have me in suspense," Scootaloo said. "Tell me, tell me!"
"Okay, okay," Luna gave in. "I'm going to be on the island all day on Friday. I’ll be able to do whatever I want on the island that day. But remember; don't tell a soul."
Scootaloo did the 'my lips are sealed' sign with a hoof, bringing a smile to the Princess's lips. "Good! See you then!" She proceeded to her own carriage, where she flew off into the sky, back in the direction of Canterlot.
Scootaloo smiled. So relaxed for a princess, she thought to herself. She looked down at the tickets - and were shocked at what they said.

Scootaloo; Luaole Kamaaina
Tour Guide of the Alii

Scootaloo had already translated the Monta-Kaiian words in her head:

Scootaloo; Incomparable Native-Born
Tour Guide of the Special Guests

I'm a tour guide? she asked herself. Wow. What will everypony else think? Will things be the same as they used to be? What if-
"C'mon, Scootaloo, hurry up!" Sweetie Belle shouted from the carriage, breaking Scootaloo's train of thought.
"Wha? Oh, coming!" she shouted back, running towards the designated carriage.
Well, she reasoned. This is gonna be interesting.