My Little Pony: The Next Generation
The Chapter with the Train Ride
Nearly a week had passed since school let out, and the seven ponies had done nothing spectacularly newsworthy. This, of course, had to change. The ponies sat in their favorite corner booth in Sugarcube Corner, trying to figure out what to do next.
“We could go swimming,” said Candy, nearing the end of her list of fun things to do.
“We did that yesterday,” said Gold, as he thought about the trouble he got into for shrugging off his afternoon duties to play with his friends.
“We could go for a nice, relaxing walk,” Candy sighed with a notable defeated tone.
“We do that every other afternoon,” Star countered, although she enjoyed her relaxing walks.
“Well, then I’m just out of ideas,” Candy blurted with a slouch. “Seems like we’ve done everything fun in Ponyville.”
“Yeah, but only in Ponyville,” Prism joked, but then his eyes went wide. “Wait a second…”
“That’s perfect!” shouted Candy, as she jumped from her seat. “We should go see Equestria! A summer road trip!”
“Too bad our parents won’t ever allow that,” Annie noted, with a slightly disappointed tone. “You would think they would like the idea, since they used to do those Harmony tours all the time.”
“Annie, you’re a genius!” Candy again shouted with glee. “We just have to talk our folks into doing the Harmony tour one last time and with them! It’ll be awesome! Imagine, traveling Equestria, meeting all kinds of ponies, having all kinds of fun, and our parents will think we’re just supporting their message!”
“I’ll admit, that’s actually pretty clever,” said Star, while still working out the details. “Still, that’s quite a bit of work to get our folks to just up and tour the country.”
“Nonsense,” stated Candy happily. “Misses Rarity would love an excuse to visit her outlet in Canterlot unannounced, Princess Twilight loves seeing Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, Misses Fluttershy would love to see the animals in the Los Pegasus deserts, Misses Dash loves visiting Cloudsdale, Misses Applejack hasn’t been to Appleoosa in a long time, and my mom would be happy just to sample the local tastes!”
“Actually, that all makes sense,” Prism observed, getting more psyched for the plan by the second. “If we each get our parents onboard, we could have the greatest road trip in the history of summer road trips.”
“Well, I guess we all know what needs to be done now,” said Gold, as the seven friends shared a nod and a smile, then went their separate ways back home.
Two weeks. It took two weeks for parents to be convinced, letters to be sent, arrangements to be made and the first few stops to be announced. After a long night of packing and goodbyes, the Elements of Harmony were boarding the nine A.M. train for Canterlot.
“What are you guys gonna do first? I’m going straight to Mom’s favorite doughnut shop for some snacks!” said Candy, bouncing with excitement.
“That sounds quite nice,” said Pinkie Pie, remembering her trips filled with fun and custard long-johns.
“I can’t wait to see Dad!” piped Prism, as the Wonderbolts had a tour stop in Canterlot as well.
“You and me both,” stated Rainbow Dash. The previous tour had run long, meaning the mother and son had to go without their dear Soarin for another few weeks.
“I wanna see if this royal golden apple is all it’s cracked up to be,” declared Gold never really believing the stories he heard as a child. Applejack simply chuckled and rolled her eyes.
“I’ve always heard there’s a beautiful view from the top of the grand tower,” voiced T. Surprisingly, Claire had a plan completely independent of him.
“I simply must visit an old acquaintance of mine,” she spoke with an air of nostalgia. “It has been far too long since the last time we met.”
“I can’t wait for my private tour of the Royal Guard training facility,” said Starburst. “I need to start getting ready to sign up next year.”
“I’m just glad we get to spend this trip together,” came Annie, bringing up a loud and caring “aww” from the entire car, which the group had rented out for the duration of the tour.
The rest of the train ride to Canterlot was filled with idle chatter, giggles, and complimentary peanuts. As the train pulled in to the station, the crew got off and about half of their numbers stopped and gawked up at the city. The seven younger ponies had never been to Canterlot, with the exclusion of Claire, who was born here but the family moved back to Ponyville before she began developing memories. The Elements simply chuckled, as they were sure they had similar reactions the first time they landed in the capital city of Equestria. Before the children could run off to discover the wonders of the urban sprawl before them, they were snapped back to reality.
“Come on, y’all,” Applejack spoke louder than necessary. “Let’s get these bags to the castle before my legs fall off.” The entire pack groaned at the thought of lugging all of Claire’s stuff to the rooms they were staying in, as she always missed the point of the term “Travel Light.” The gleamed their solace, however, in the fact that there was still plenty of time to do everything they had planned in the city, plus so much more.