“Wake up! We’re almost here!”
A hoof shook Rainbow’s back, jolting her back into the conscious world. A few eye blinks brought the cabin room back into focus, brightened with rays of light coming from the window. When she moved her head up from the pool of drool on the table, there was Fluttershy sitting by her side. She bore a broad smile that said good afternoon – she spoke the greeting anyways.
“How long was I out,” Rainbow asked while yawning.
“About an hour,” Fluttershy responded. “How are you feeling, Rainbow?”
“Eh. Same old same old.” Rainbow then noticed a few open pieces of luggage and candy wrappers strewn around the room. “Where did everypony go?”
Motioning toward the half-open door, “They wanted to get a better view. I was going to join them but I didn’t want to leave you all by yourself. The view out of the window is rather small, but that’s all I really need.”
She muscled Fluttershy through the doorway, “That’s good and all but don’t worry about me. Go out there and enjoy the sights!”
“But what about you, Rainbow?”
“Um, give a few minutes, wontcha?”
“But—”
Rainbow shut the door and turned the locking knob. She heard Fluttershy jiggle the exterior handle and after a sigh, stepped away.
Sorry, girl, but I need some time alone.
Once she sat, Rainbow stared straight at the wooden paneling. Her final destination rolled past the window but she couldn’t muster the bravery to see this new world. There was no reason she could’ve been here earlier; Swift had offered at least three prior invitations to visit the area that he called home. With anypony else, Rainbow would’ve accepted on the spot, anything to hang out outside of work and to meet new ponies at a place with plenty of sand, surf and sun. Yet she had a lame excuse every time: too tired to make the trip, an appointment with a nonexistent doctor and weather work back at Ponyville. Now she had to face reality; the train had safely traversed the Stallihorn range. There was no turning back.
Rainbow let her face fall flat onto the table. Darnit. I hate feeling this weird. It’s not like I’m taking this trip alone. My friends are here, aren’t they? We’ll be doing lots of fun stuff together, me, Swift, my friends and his friends. It’ll be all right.
Her eyes shifted right, only to shift back down.
C’mon. You can do this. Swift and I settled everything on the train months ago. There’s nothing to worry about anymore.
Finally, she turned her head toward the cabin window.
“Whoa!”
Past the small glass pane were the same mountains the train had just crossed, their many peaks not as imposing from this far but they dominated the horizon. The range stood tall over the boundless rolling green hills peppered with lush palm trees, floral bushes and sprawling tropical trees. Dirt roads traversed the variable terrain, passing straw huts of every single color and farmland enclosed by picket fences or brick walls. Within this small square alone was full of life, from the blades of grass dancing in the breeze to the occasional ponies traveling down the paths with an extra spring in their steps. There had to be more than this.
Rainbow unlocked the door and went straight to the much taller and wider windows lining the hallway. She had more majestic purple mountains cocooning all but the edges of sparkling ocean water. Miles of pristine sand lined the shores with small piers jutting out into the water every few miles. Based on the track’s general direction, she was heading close to a concentration of buildings close to the water. Some stood no more than five stories but at least three achieved heights taller than Ponyville’s town hall. Close to the town center was another pier, this one much longer than the rest and with several vague structures on top of it.
“Is that a Ferris Wheel?” she whispered to herself. “Can’t tell from... wait a minute. Why am I looking through here? Duh! I’ve got wings.”
She galloped through the passenger car but after exiting the door, she ran into an orange wall.
“Ow!” The shaken mare staggered backwards. “Hey! Watch where you’re—”
Applejack laid belly up on the floor, stars spinning around her head.
“Oops!” She aided the cowpony to all fours. “Applejack, seriously! You really should watch where you’re going.”
“C-consarn it.” She took off her hat and rubbed her head, “Even when you ain’t flying, you’re crashing into everything.”
Rainbow scowled. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now, out of my way.”
She reached the caboose’s rear deck, where she found Fluttershy and Rarity impersonating professional photographers through chatter of angles and exposure.
Fluttershy tossed Rarity the camera before embracing Rainbow. “Oh, wonderful! I thought you’d be in there forever! Rarity! Take a picture!”
Pulling away as a light blinded them, “Easy there, Fluttershy. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Hey! You want to join me on the roof? You’ll get way better shots up there.”
“No, thanks. It’s much cooler here in the shade.”
“Tell me about it,” said Rarity, swiping out the camera for a paper fan. “I adore the scenery but why must it be so hot? I’m practically melting here!”
Rainbow’s eyelids closed halfway. “You call this hot? It’s only like, eighty or so. Perfect beach weather. You two can hide in the wimpy shade. I’m gonna soak in some rays.”
She flew up onto the sloped roof and then rested flat on her back, hind legs crossed. That’s when her nose noticed a scent of moist freshness with a pinch of salt; she just had to take in some more air.
“Ahhh! Oh, that smells awesome! Even Cloudsdale’s air scrubber can’t match this!”
Slowly, the burning orange sun sapped the cyan mare of energy. Rather than retreat indoors, she stretched her forelegs and watched the palm trees lining the track zip past her sights. The train ride still had a fair amount of minutes left, so squeezing in another nap was no problem at all. She shut out the light, exhaling contently.
“Heh. I can do this all day.”
“You might wanna put on some sunscreen, then,” said a young voice.
It couldn’t be! There was no way! Her eyes opened wide and Rainbow found a stallion – a shadowy figure under the sun’s glare – hovering above her head.
“Unless you wanna turn into a tomato.”
The newcomer moved to where she could see him clear as the Brayside skies. His aerodynamic frame, that grin with a touch of dorky and a cloud and inverted thunderbolt combination plastered on his flank was no mirage nor another fabrication made from memories.
“S–swift,” she stuttered.
“’Sup? Welcome to Brayside, Rainbow!”
Her vocal chords jammed shut, bottling up a torrent of mixed emotions. When she tried moving them, Rainbow managed a squeaky “Hey” while fidgeting which direction the corners of her mouth would move. She ultimately wanted up but they moved only a whisker.
Swift sat next to her, his optimism weltering under the heat. “Shoot. I thought you’d be excited to see me.” After a pause, the stallion ruffled loose hairs off his mane, “An–and the town, the town. I mean… being, um, here.”
“I am! I am!” Rainbow cleared her throat. “I am. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you so soon. I thought you’d be waiting for me at the station.”
“Oh. Oh!” Swift chuckled. “I gotcha. You got my message from Light Shower, then?”
“Mhm.”
“Well, you see, Blossom and Blitz are still stuck in that meeting. Widget left earlier than I did to the train station but I couldn’t find her anywhere. Thought I’d come and see you a bit early.” Another awkward pause later, “And your friends too, Rainbow! Y–you get my drift, right?”
His growing awkwardness was a feather brushing her sides. “You’re too much, Swift!” she said in between giggles. “I totally hear ya. At least, I think I do.”
Swift’s head moved slightly askew of center. “Eh?”
“There’s no reason to feel, you know, weird. We know how it is between us.” She looked right at his swirling blue eyes. “We’re totally awesome, um, what do you call that, um—”
“Friends?” he said in a calm voice, falling under the spell cast by Rainbow’s intensifying stare.
His answer went straight past Rainbow’s ears. “What did you… I… what was I asking you?”
Suddenly, a green jack in the box popped out of Swift’s hair.
“Ah!” Rainbow moved backwards, pointing at a small, beaming green turtle. “W–where did he come from?”
“Eh?”
The critter moved his leg across Swift’s eyes, breaking his stupor.
“Oh, shoot.” Swift snickered. “My bad. Sometimes, I don’t even feel him up there. Rainbow? I think I’ve mentioned him before.” Patting the reptile once, “This is Leo, my pet turtle.”
Leo bopped the stallion on his head.
“Ow! All right, all right. I can’t really call him a pet. He lives in the ocean but loves hanging out with me.”
His mouth opened, producing high octave squawking resembling a duck enjoying a swim.
Rainbow stared blankly. “Um, okay. Did he actually try to talk to me?”
Swift nodded. “Gotcha. Surprised me too the first time I heard him. Spend enough time around him and you start picking up what he’s telling you, somehow. Just now, he was saying he’s from off the shores of Ponyesia.”
Leo spoke again, this time bolstering his posture.
“What did he say now?”
Eyebrows slanted, “Between the two of us, he’s the one with the brains.”
Rainbow wagged her foreleg, “Now, now, Leo. Yeah, he’s not a complete egghead but if we were in a class together, I’d be copying off him. He’s just the right amount of bright.”
The stallion’s face filled with pink pride. “Ah, shoot. Thanks.”
“But you’re definitely the brawns, Leo. Swift’s got those flabby lumps he claims to be muscles.”
Swift snorted at both his laughing companions. “Not even five minutes together and you’re already shooting me down, Rainbow.”
Leo quacked a third time.
“Guess he likes you already, Rainbow,” said the turtle’s translator. “And that now he totally gets why I—” Swift’s mouth opened wide. “—um, w–what? Hey! No way! I’m not telling her that, Leo!”
“Tell me what, Swift?”
Before he could respond, Fluttershy hovered above their heads. “Rainbow Dash? I know this may sound strange but I thought I heard—” Her bulging, shining eyes zoomed in on Leo. “The cutest turtle I’ve ever seen!”
Leo leaped into the air, legs spread apart. Fluttershy snatched him mid-flight and then brought him in to a tight hug, sparkling hearts floating all around them. Both of them cooed their utter delight as they spun in slow motion.
“Nice to see you too, Shy,” Swift mumbled.
Fluttershy dropped Leo on top of her head. “Oh, I’m sorry, Swift. I just couldn’t resist myself when I saw your cute pet.”
Rather than striking the mare, Leo squawked his explanation.
“My mistake, Leo.” She stroked the turtle, “You’re a great friend to him, aren’t you? Yes, you are!”
Swift frowned. “What’s the deal, Leo? You don’t let me get away with that.”
Ignoring his whiny complaint, “Let’s go down and show you to everypony, Leo.”
The stallion stood up. “Right behind you, Shy! I haven’t seen everypony in months! You coming, Rainbow?”
“Um, you go ahead. I’ll be down in a sec.”
Swift and Fluttershy slipped in between the caboose and passenger car, leaving her with a few overhead pigeons as her only companions. Soon, the train tracks sloped downhill as the surrounding terrain rose, obscuring all except for the occasional wooden buildings standing on the rounded peaks. While deprived of a good view, she was too busy in deep contemplation to notice.
You see? That wasn’t too bad. Just like meeting any other friend. She fell backwards onto the sloped roof. Well, maybe I felt a little off. Ugh! It’s okay, Rainbow. It’s okay. Give it time. I’m sure it’ll pass, eventually.
She heard metal scrapping against metal, followed by the train bleeding its forward momentum.
Guess we’re getting closer. Maybe I should head back down now.
However, one simple yawn proved too infectious. With wisps of cooler air removing her accumulating sweat, she let her eyelids fall and welcomed a simple and relaxing fade to black.
Then, a poke on her forehead woke her with searing hot pain. She hissed, banging the caboose’s roof. “Owwwwwwww.”
“Didn’t I warn you about putting on sunscreen, Rainbow?”
In front of her was the cheery pony holding said product. “Sunscreen? Uh, oh. Swift? How long was my nap?”
“Ten minutes, give or take.”
“Ten minutes. How can I get sunburn so quickly?” She sat up, wincing. “Owie, owie, owie, ow! Darnit. Talk about a fast tan.”
“You’re lucky Rarity’s got an entire suitcase full of the really good stuff.” The stallion opened the cap. “Just a few dabs and you’ll be all good.”
She reached out for it, only for her foreleg to plop onto the roof. “Ow! Yeah, I’m not sure how I can do this.”
He oozed out some sunscreen onto the tip of his own hoof. “Hold on. One sec.” Swift patted some cold cream onto her hot hoof.
“Ahhh! Ohhh! Eeeee! Geez! That stuff’s worse than the sunburn!”
Unlike his friend, Swift became more relaxed the more he rubbed. Doing this was nothing out of the ordinary; he’d helped his fair share of ponies with sunscreen application. Then again, Rainbow Dash had a lot more curves, areas where he’d have to massage ointment at some point. His eyes drifted away from her singed hoof, the sunburns materializing on his cheeks.
Shoot! What am I thinking? I can’t do… I mean, she’s… um?
The bottle escaped his grasp. “Ah! No, no, no!” He juggled it in mid-air, unable to grip it.
Rainbow swiped it from mid-air. “Got it! I can handle it from here.”
“Eh,” he answered in a higher pitch. “Oh, y–yeah. Gotcha. Heh, heh. I guess you can handle… you’re good. You’re good.”
“Can I ask you something?” said Rainbow, as she plastered more cream around her body.
Wiping off sweat, “Yeah, sure. W–what’s up?”
Rainbow worked on her face, “Did you have anything planned for us while we’re all here?”
“Not really,” he said, ruffling his forelock. “I would’ve thought Twi would’ve done that already. She said something about taking a vacation from planning this trip from start to finish?”
“My idea. She needs to loosen up and just do everything on the fly. It’s way more fun than—” She adjusted her chords to that of a lecturer “—we must be at the museum entrance at exactly eleven thirty. I’ve drawn out the path we should take to see the greatest number of exhibits before heading over to the restaurant for our twelve fifteen reservation. I was able to get menus so that we can be quick with our orders. That way, we can catch the one o’clock scenic wagon ride. Please don’t be late, everypony.”
Swift neighed a laugh. “Shoot. Did Twi really say that? When was that?”
“I’ll tell you about it later,” she answered, tossing away the empty bottle over the side of the train. “Anyways, any good ideas on what we can do today? Surfing? A volleyball game?”
“I’d have to talk to my friends first.” He sighed. “That’s if they’re all at the train station. That meeting could still be going on for all I know.”
“Hey, what was the deal with that, anyways? Must be pretty important if it tied you up.”
Swift bit his lip. “Yeah, that’s…I’d rather not bore you with that stuff, Rainbow.”
“Try me.”
“It’s about the Aloha Summer Festival. Just a few small things popping up, that’s all,” he finished with a nervous chuckle.
Right as he finished his sentence, the train juddered from a modest pace to a tepid crawl. Surrounding them were palm trees and shrubbery obscuring everything past half a mile from the tracks. A teal bridge arched above their heads, high enough that the few ponies traversing the walkway avoided a smoky blast from the locomotive’s stack pipe.
Rainbow switched to hovering mode, “Guess I should get ready to get everything off the train.”
“No worries,” he assured her. “Your friends said they’ll take care of that so that you can spend more time with me alone.” Swift moved his head right, “Alone.”
Rainbow looked that direction, finding white ears and blue peepers sticking above the slanted roofline. “Rarity!”
The unicorn fell backwards onto the caboose’s deck. Before she could slink away, a scowling Rainbow descended to within an inch of her snout.
“Hello, darling,” said Rarity, waving hesitantly.
Hooves on hips, “Were you spying on us?”
“Me?” Rarity forced a giggle. “Oh, you’re quite mistaken, Rainbow Dash. I was, er, climbing my way up to inform you that we’ve arrived! You know how late these conductors can be with their announcements.”
Right on cue, the intercom buzzed with sound.
Attention, Stallihorn Zephyr passengers. We’re now approaching Brayside Beach, Great Palms Station. If this is your stop, please ensure you retrieve all your items before disembarking. Those continuing to San Prancisco, once we take on new passengers, we will be departing at three o’clock, sharp.
Rainbow crossed her forelegs. “You were saying, Rarity?”
“I suppose you know now,” she answered, springing to all fours. “Excuse me while I—” She took a step toward the door “—powder my… shoes!” She zipped into the caboose, leaving behind a dust silhouette.
The pegasus hovered back to the rooftop, covering her face. “Ugh! Sorry for her being nosy, Swift. I don’t know what’s up with… hey. Where did you go?”
Up ahead, he zipped all over a wide wooden platform occupied by two dozen ponies along with their many suitcases. Soon, a strawberry painted station came into view, its four walls slanting outwards from the ground in slightly obtuse angles. On both sides stood tall narrow sunshine triangles with clean holes drilled near the tip. Surely, the architect went for a more hip design than the traditional fare and for that, Rainbow gave her nodding approval.
Rather than wait on the train to stop, she flew the last hundred feet to tap on his shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on?”
His head swiveled left and right, “Looking for my friends—” Swift exhaled frustration “—and I don’t see them anywhere. Of course not. For once, I wish they’d be here on—”
Kaboom! One of the station’s side doors flew off its hinges and well into the palm tree forest. Grimy smoke billowed from the opening toward the platform, forcing a few coughing passengers to move closer to the tracks.
Swift facehoofed, “Never mind. I think I know who that is.”
Out of the dissipating dust walked out a coffee unicorn mare with a frazzled brown mane. With a fervent shake, most of the soot fell on the wayside and her hair straightened to a shape with a few deliberately styled split ends. Despite the stunned stares from nearby ponies, the pony walked away from the disaster zone as though being at ground zero of an explosion was nothing all. When she finally spotted the two hovering pegasi, the unicorn waved at them.
Swift landed in front of the dusted-up pony, as did Rainbow. “Wid-get,” he bemoaned, rubbing on a sudden headache. “What in Equestria did you do now? Don’t tell me you’ve already broken station equipment.”
“Now, hold on there,” she replied with a subtle twang. “Just to set the story straight, some silly bloke in that here station was gonna dump an old ice machine. I told him I could make her purr just like the day it was built.” She winked, “I’ve even told him I could double its capacity, so you see? I was trying to fix something that was already broken.”
“And so now there’s no ice machine to fix anymore,” Swift asked dryly.
She laughed off his comeback. “Well, there was nothing to lose by being a wee ambitious.” Then she noticed Rainbow’s puzzled stare. “Holy-dooley! Is this the mate you keep babbling about, Swi?”
“Yes… I mean, no! Um, Rainbow! She says that instead of—”
“That’s right,” the pompous pegasus proclaimed. “I am that Rainbow Dash. Yes, I know. It’s so awesome meeting somepony that has saved Equestria many times over, isn’t it?”
The unicorn scratched her head. “Really? I really should read the papers more.” She pulled out a screwdriver and extended it, “Widget Fixit, re—, oh, blimey! Wrong one!” Widget tossed the tool into an attached satchel and then gave Rainbow a wobbly hoofshake. “Repairpony!”
Does she have a few screws loose? Rainbow hid her reservations with a smile. “Something tells me you’re not from around here.”
“Aye! Born just outside of Sydneigh but living there was wee bit too hot for me, so I—” Widget’s jaw suddenly trembled, her swelling pupils gawking past the two present pegasus. “Oy! What is that?”
Both turned around to a stopped train with every door already opened. Rainbow’s friends were in the midst of removing their haul but what had Widget drooling was Pinkie’s party cannon. She pushed past everypony and straight to the pink machine.
“I must be dreaming!” The unicorn touched every nut and bolt. Then, she tapped on the painted metal. “My prototype P-133 festive propulsion device? Is that really you?”
Pinkie gasped as though the carnival had just rolled into town. “Oh my, gosh!” She grabbed tightly onto Widget. “P-133? Did you say P-133? But that’s what it says inside the barrel! That can only mean—” Stars spun over her pupils “—you’re the pony that built this!”
Widget matched her excited tone, “You must be the pony that found it! But where?”
“It fell out of the sky and into a river like, Whoooooooossssshh! Pooooosh!”
Bopping her head, “Silly me! I did use the wrong propellant after all! Does it actually work?”
“I had to fix a few things but—” Pinkie bopped the cannon, instantly exploding confetti and balloons to startled passengers.”
“It works! Something I built works!”
Just like that, Pinkie and Widget held hooves and danced in circles, celebrating the reunion between inventor and contraption.
“Heavens to Betsy, am I seeing double here or is it just me?” Applejack stammered, holding her Stetson in place.
“They’ve both been under the sun way too long,” Spike deadpanned.
Twilight let out an elongated groan. “Five minutes off the train and it’s already starting to get weird around here. Um, excuse me, but who exactly are you?”
Swift stepped in between the group and the dancing pair. “Twi? She one of my frie— oof!”
Widget nudged him aside. “Widget Fixit, fixer and builder from adapters to zeppelins at Fixit Up!” She handed out business cards with a screwdriver and magnifying glass logo that matched her cutie mark. “Fixit Up! On the outskirts on Sandbar Street near Citrus Way! You must be Swi’s other mates. Tell you what. Just because of that, your first service is on the house!”
Pinkie snuck up to Rarity’s luggage and from a glittering handbag, pulled out a golden watch. “Oh! You can fix this for Rarity!”
“Hold on just a minute!” The unicorn yanked away the timepiece. “First off, the only thing wrong with this is the minute hand occasionally jamming. More importantly, this was a special birthday present I received from my favorite uncle. The pieces within are rather delicate so I’d rather wait until I find a certified watch… hey!”
The timepiece hovered in the air, draped in sparkling yellow aura emanating from Widget’s horn.
“Oh, please be very careful, dear. It’s—”
Suddenly, the watch came apart in a slow motion explosion; Rarity’s shriek matched the volume of the train’s whistle. She fell back in dramatic fashion and Fluttershy saved her from hitting the platform.
“My watch! My precious one-of-a kind antique watch! All those years of cherished family history, gone, forever!” Rarity bawled uncontrollably, tears squirting everywhere.
Unfazed, Widget opened her pouch to allow two slim tools to join in with the rest of the floating debris. A few seconds of spinning around later, every microscopic gear and screw came back together faster than an eye blink. Back in one piece, Widget returned the prized watch to a speechless owner.
Rarity first rattled the timepiece. Then she opened the lid and watched the minute hand move without a judder. Finally, she held it up to her ear and picked up the faintest of crisp clicks and clacks. “My goodness! It sounds better than the day I received it but that’s impossible! How did you do it?”
“Small stuff is easy boring stuff for me,” Widget said while placing her tools back into her pouch. “Been doing it since I touched my first screwdriver. Big projects, now that’s where the fun really is.”
Pinkie pulled the unicorn in, smiling from ear to ear. “Then can I ask if you can build something big and special for me, friend?”
“Whatcha got in mind, mate?”
She moved her peepers between Widget and the cannon. In seconds, the duo developed a new form of communication through quirky face gestures and nods that nopony could crack. They had to wait fifteen seconds for the big announcement.
In unison, “Party Cannon 2.0!”
Twilight stared blankly as the duo continued a more normal verbal conversation. “Why does the sound of that scares me, a lot?”
“I really wanna say no worries to that,” answered a pale faced Swift. “I really do.”
“Quit your worrying, you two,” said Rainbow as she lifted a gym bag over her shoulder. “C’mon! Let’s dump our stuff at the motel so we can start our vacation.”
Luggage in tow, they walked straight to the station’s wide glass door. They slid open and allowed them inside the building, where the walls arched high above their heads. Baby blue paint covered the ceiling along with puffy white clouds and the top of palm trees stretching toward the center. Down on the floor, a blue mane mare added red stripes to a half-completed lighthouse towering above crashing waves. Her strokes were straight and neat despite some nearby stallions dragging a few curved sculptures across the tiled floor to their final resting place. Across from the painter, a small queue waited for the next open ticket counter. Nine listed destinations were on an overhead sign along with times and prices; Rarity snapped a photo of it.
“Everything in here’s modern but not overly flamboyant,” Rarity quipped. “Is this a new facility?”
Swift nodded. “The old station was kinda like Ponyville’s. Town didn’t need a large one since there was no direct route over the Stallihorns. Ponies would visit Las Pegasus, San Prancisco or even Seaddle over us. Now that we have the Stallihorn Zephyr line, who knows how many new tourists we’ll get, especially with the Aloha Summer Festival coming up?”
“I would say quite a lot,” said Twilight. “Half the train got off here.”
“And it’s only Wednesday too,” he added as they passed through a second set of glass doors. “We may have more ponies than the committee planned for.” He stopped short of a cobblestone runabout with a fountain in the middle. “But I’m sure Brayside can handle it. We’ve got everything under control.”
“Swift! Dude!” a loud voice called to him. “We’re in trouble!”
“Eh?”
He looked past the wagons traversing the roundabout to an earth pony galloping at full speed. The stallion’s coronets sent loose cobblestone flying behind him but lost no traction at all. Despite the approaching yellow locomotive, Swift stayed in position and watched the much taller and muscular stallion slam the brakes and finally stop short of a collision.
“Cool your jets, Blitz,” Swift said calmly. “What’s up?”
“Bad stuff’s going down at town hall!” With his thick forelegs, he picked Swift up to his eye level and shook him like a rag doll. “Blossom’s not very happy! I’m telling you! She’s gonna blow her top any second, bro!”
Between gasps for air, “I–I gotcha! L–let g–g–o!”
He let Swift plop onto the ground. “Sorry, dude. Hey! Did you find your fr—?” That’s when his eyes bulged at six unfamiliar mares. “— ahhhh, sweet!” The stallion brushed back his slick brown hair. “Ladies, today is your lucky day! I’ll make your heart fly and I’ll show you a good time! Why not take a ride with the Blitz!” His eyebrows moved suggestively. “Pineapple Blitz.”
A few circling birds cawed.
“Dude, that was just weak,” Spike retorted.
Blitz stroked his brown goatee. “Yeah, you’re totally right, dragon dude. Wimpy poetry ain’t part of my game. Should’ve gone with—”
“Hold on one apple picking minute!” Applejack marched right up to his chest and then glanced at his mark, a bolt over a pineapple. “You’re part of the Pineapple family, aren’t ya?”
He flashed a cheeky grin. “Sure am, pretty thing. Now, if you want to take a personal tour of Juicy Fruit Farms—”
“Can it, yellow belly!” Standing on her tippy hooves, “Don’t lie to me! It was you that convinced the organizers to give me such a lousy selling spot for the Aloha Summer Festival!”
Twilight stomped her hoof. “Applejack! Calm down, please!”
Blitz ignored the unicorn’s outburst. “Chill, girl. I don’t know—” Applejack’s name finally registered in his mind, widening his smug smile. “Oh, I see. So you must be part of the Apple Clan but you know what? No prob cause I don’t let things like rivalries get in the way of sweet honies like you.”
Applejack readied a buck to his chest, but a wrench to his head froze her in place. “What the?”
“Widget,” the stout stallion whined, rubbing the impact area. “Why you’d do that for? I was, like, on a rad roll.”
The unicorn simply smiled as she secured her tool back in her pouch. “Oh, before I left Town Hall, Blossom asked me to put you in line just in case she wasn’t around. She’s say you’d understand.”
He crushed a cobblestone under his hoof. “Why she gotta rag on me all the time,” he mumbled. “It’s not fair.” Blitz then faced Applejack. “All right. If you gotta know, Surfing Blossom’s my friend and the head of the whole party deal but did I get a primo spot? Nooooo. She put me—”
“Swift!” Applejack set her glare at him to destroy. “You couldn’t tell me that on the train?”
He raised a limp hoof, “Um, well. I thought that would, um, ruin your mood? Besides, Blitz is right. His stall isn’t that great either.”
Right on time, Twilight tossed him a scroll, which he immediately unfurled.
“See?” He pointed at a square across from one with drawn apples. “Blossom and the committee are trying to be fair to everypony by not letting friendships get in the way of their decisions.”
“And she’s playing unfavorites with me,” Blitz protested.
Swift rolled his eyes. “That’s pretty much what I just said. Anyways, nothing personal, AJ.”
Applejack tipped down her hat. “Ah, consarn it, Fly. I guess owe ya an apology. A thousand pardons.”
“Hey. Don’t I get one,” asked Blitz.
“I’m sorry you sell pineapples,” she mumbled. Applejack then addressed Swift, “Still, I can’t just let this go. I gotta talk to Blossom and at least try to get something going for me.”
“That’s fine and all but we’ll still need to stop by the motel first,” Twilight order. “Then you… hold on.”
This time, Twilight and Spike had their own nonverbal conversation. It took all but five seconds to convey the message.
“So, what’s exactly is going on at town hall,” Twilight asked Blitz. “Is it anything serious?”
Blitz gave a hearty nod. “It’s been nothing but bad news. If Blossom can’t fix it soon, the party’s gonna be toast!”
Gasps erupted, not just by the immediate group but also from anypony within earshot. Swift hovered above the stunned crowd and waved his hooves.
“No worries, everypony,” he shouted. “The festival’s still on! Just gotta work out some kinks, um, whatever they are!”
Spike swiveled a spotlight right onto a confidant Twilight. “And thank Celestia that you have the greatest organizer in all of Equestria right here to help!”
Twilight’s friends uttered confusion.
“But I thought we were finally going to have a nice and relaxing vacation”, said Fluttershy.
“Not when you have friends in trouble or in this case”— She gestured at Rainbow and Swift—“a friend of a friend, um, of a friend. I’m sure this is something we can take care of pretty quickly. Besides, what better way to get better acquainted with new friends through a little adversity?”
Swift scratched his head. “Are you sure about this, Twi? You really don’t have to do this. We can—”
“How about it, gang? How about we all go visit Town Hall today?”
Save for the grey pegasus, the amassed murmured their approval.
“Great! Now it’s just a matter of getting all our stuff to the motel.”
“Leave that to me,” Blitz chirped.
He trotted around the road until reaching a two-bench wagon with a fresh coat of yellow paint. Blitz hitched himself to it before pulling up to the front entrance.
“I knew I was gonna need this today,” he said, releasing the straps. “Mares first, of course!”
Six mares and small dragon began tossing suitcases and bags onto the cart. While Blitz and Widget aided them, Swift let his body limp in mid-air.
Rainbow eventually joined by his side. “Something wrong?”
The pegasus rubbed the strands running down his neck, “My bad, Rainbow. I wanted all you guys to have a fun vacation without dragging you into any of our messes. Guess that was asking too much.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She jabbed him on the ribs, “My friends and I jump into stuff way worse than this. I mean, we don’t have to save Equestria from monsters or change the season. It’s just some problems with a party. How hard can that be?”