A Night at the Movies

by Mr Movie Magic

Two: The Train Ride to Applewood

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were the first to arrive at the train station. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were second to arrive. They were followed by Applejack and Apple Bloom.

“Who’s ready to go to Applewood?” Sweetie Belle asked with excitement in her voice.

“We’re so ready!” said Scootaloo.

“Did y’all bring your ghost hunting gear?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I sure did.”

“Me, too,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Here we go, y’all,” said Applejack. “Ah got us our tickets tuh Applewood. Hold tight to ‘em. The train’s gonna be here any minute.”

It wasn’t long before the Friendship Express rolled into the station.

Phssh! hissed the air breaks.

When the train came to a complete stop, the car doors opened and the passengers disembarked.

“A-a-all abo-o-oard!” the conductor called out.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom gathered their luggage and boarded.

“Ah wanna sit by the window!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.

Aboard the passenger car, the six ponies took their seats. Once everypony was on board, the whistle blew, and the Friendship Express slowly pulled away from the platform. Chug, chug! Chug, chug! As the train cleared the platform, leaving the station, the whistle blew again. Whoo! Whoo! The train began to pick up speed and they were well on their way to Applewood.

Along the way, the six ponies played games to pass the time. They played fun parlor games, guessing games, told riddles and knock-knock jokes, and played “I spy with my little eye.”

“Your turn, Rarity,” said Scootaloo.

“All right, let’s see. Hmm…” Rarity searched for something that would be a challenge for her friends to find. Bingo! She found it. “Okay, I’ve got one. I spy with my little eye something shiny.”

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo looked all around for something shiny.

“Is it the conductor’s pocket watch?” asked Scootaloo.

“No. Try again,” Rarity replied.

“Is it his glasses?” asked Applejack.

“Sorry.”

After several unsuccessful guesses, Rainbow Dash requested, “Could you tell us what it is?”

Rarity responded, “It was that stallion’s cuff links.” She pointed her hoof to a stallion asleep in the corner window seat, his fedora lowered over his eyes. The cuff links he wore caught the rays of the sun and glistened brightly.

“Great job, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle complimented. “You won the game!”

“Oh, it was nothing really.”

“So, what game are we gonna play next?” asked Scootaloo.

Before anypony could answer, Apple Bloom announced, “Hold up, y’all. Yippie-Yi Yokel’s show is about tuh start. Saddle Song always sings on his show.”

She tuned the radio to the right station, and when the static cleared and the music began to play, she turned up the volume.

The voice of the radio personality rang through, “Well ho-o-ow-dee, everypony! This is Yippie-Yi Yokel comin’ at ya right here on FIM Radio, home of Saddle Song the Singing Cowpony. And here he is with Donkey Gray. Now let’s open the gates and let ’er buck!”

“Thank you, Yippie-Yi Yokel,” said Saddle Song, “and thank you all for tunin’ in.” After his greeting, the Singing Cowpony began to sing his theme song:

I’m a singing ol’ cowpony,
Along the trail I go
With rhythm in my hooves
And a song inside my throat.

How everypony gathers
As I strum my old six string.
They come from miles around
Just to hear me sing.

Apple Bloom really enjoyed listening to Saddle Song perform on Yippie-Yi Yokel’s radio show. Every time his show would come on, she and Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith would gather around the radio in the family room and listen to the Singing Cowpony croon. Saddle Song had quickly become a singing sensation, not just in the Apple family household, but all over Equestria. He had cut several records in Manehattan and, while on a small tour, came to Applewood where he was featured in a Roo Buckaroo film titled, The Pride of the San Palomino, in which he sang “The San Palomino Polka” in the barn dance scene. This led him to star in his own series of films and he started to become a frequent guest on FIM Radio, and a regular on Yippie-Yi Yokel’s show. It soon became a joke that the show was Saddle Song’s, not Yippi-Yi Yokel’s!

The radio show was a half hour long. As they were wrapping things up, Yippie-Yi Yokel mentioned, “So before we go, Saddle Song, Ah understand that y’all have a new picture comin’ out.”

“That’s right,” Saddle Song replied. “It’s called, The Rodeo Rustlers. It’s a very exciting picture, sure to leave ya on the edge of your seat!”

“And could you tell us when we might be seein’ it come out?”

“The actual release is next week, but the big premier is tonight at the Palatial Movie Palace in Applewood.”

“Tickets done sold out in record time,” said Saddle Song’s loyal sidekick, Gray.

Oh, how Ah wish we could go to the premier, Apple Bloom thought to herself.

“Tuh say you fellers are doin’ a mighty fine job, Ah reckon is an understatement,” said Yippie-Yi Yokel. He directed his attention to the listeners, “Y’all heard it here, folks! The premier of Saddle Song and Donkey Gray’s new film, The Rodeo Rustlers, premiers tonight right here in Applewood at the Palatial Movie Palace. Well, that about does ‘er. Thank you all for tunin’ in. We hope to see y’all next time here on FIM Radio. Until then, keep the tumbleweeds tumblin’ and the water cool!”

When the show had ended, Apple Bloom clicked off the radio.

“Wasn’t that a great show?” Apple Bloom asked with excitement in her voice.

“One of the best Ah’ve heard,” replied Applejack.

The Friendship Express had made a few stops at the train stations along the way. Passengers had come and gone. At a railway depot en route, the conductor and the engineer took on supplies to make sure that the train continued to run smoothly and that it would arrive at each station right on time.