A Vignette of Equestrialand 2.0

by Draxonos135

#FlyingLessons

A book opened, depicting a fighting between six Ponies and a giant Pony made out of shadows, all while Princess Twilight narrated:

"Over a thousand years ago, the Pillars of Equestria fought a great evil known as the Pony of Shadows, but as the fight raged on and their strength grew weaker against the Pony of Shadows' nigh infinite stamina, they were forced to seal the beast, as well as themselves, in Limbo, unaware that this would only be a short term solution to a long term problem."

The book flipped its page, now showing the Elements of Harmony, Princess Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, the Pillars of Equestria, and the Pony of Shadows in the middle of Ponehenge.

"One day, in an odd display of recklessness, the Princess of Friendship unsealed the Pillars, and with them the Pony of Shadows, who planned to continue with its original, enigmatic plan."

Another page flip, this time showing everybody blasting at the Pony of Shadows, who was about to be sucked into a portal.

"Luckily, with everyone's teamwork, the Pony of Shadows was separated from its current host, and sent to another dimension, putting an end to their machinations in Equestria. However, this would eventually also be another short term solution to a long term problem."

Page flip number three, and now the Pony of Shadows just... smirked, while looking at the reader.

"For in the other world, the Pony of Shadows found another host, and with the Princess being the only one capable of traveling to the dimension, and yet none the wiser about what was happening, the Pony of Shadows continued its rampage across the dimension."

Page flip number four, and now, it depicted Twilight talking with Sunset and a certain yellow-coated, pink-maned Pony.

And no, it wasn't Fluttershy.

"With another dimension at stake, the Princess was visited by a pair of natives from the other dimension, who devised a plan to deal with the Pony of Shadows once and for all."

The final page flip showed the Pony of Shadows' visage inside a gem, glaring at the container that served as its prison.

"The plan was a success, and thus the Pony of Shadows was sealed once and for all, never to be released again."

And with that, the book was closed by the hoof of Princess Twilight, who quickly followed with a cheerful question:

"So, what do you think?"

Twilight promptly turned to the only other two creatures nearby: Starlight and Spike. And while the former looked satisfied with the result, the latter was a bit skeptical:

"Did you really need to make a book about it?"

"It's the first time Equestria has teamed up with another dimension, Spike!" Twilight replied, Starlight nodding in agreement. "Such a monumental event needs to be recorded!"

"But a book?" Spike shrugged. "I mean, how did you even managed to convince the princesses to let you write it?"

Twilight scratched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. "Well, about that... the book's my punishment."

Spike tilted his head.

"After I told everything to the princesses, they told me that this was an event that needed to be an eternal reminder of what happens when we don't take care of our mistakes, so they had me write it."

Spike lowered his eyelids. "So, to punish you for being a small part of the whole fiasco... you had to write a book about it?"

"Yup."

"You, a legendary bookworm?"

"I was just as stunned as you are, but we can wonder about the princesses' thought process later," Twilight replied, waving her hoof while using her magic to levitate the book to a bookshelf. "For now, I'm gonna need you two to get ready. Sunset and Vignette are coming for a visit."

"What?!" the duo exclaimed in unison. "How do you know that?!"

"Sunset called me earlier and told me as such."

"And why did you wait until now to tell us?!" Starlight added.

"Because I was stuck writing the book I just showed you."

"Okay, but did she at least tell you why they were coming?" Spike asked. "I mean, last time they came, it was for a pretty big issue."

"Don't worry, Spike, it's nothing of that sort."

Starlight screamed and jumped into Spike's arms, dropping both of them to the ground as a certain Orange Unicorn and Yellow Pegasus walked into the room.

"Sorry for appearing out of the blue," Vignette blurted, scratching her head. "Sunset insisted it was better to tell you in person why we're here."

"It's okay, though pretty surprising regardless," Spike remarked as he stood up and dusted himself. "What brings you back to Equestria?"

"Well, I came here for flying lessons," Vignette answered with a shrug. "Sunset told me that, as a Pegasus, being able to fly is something essential, so, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

"Okay, but, Spike and I aren't the best teachers when it comes to flying," Twilight replied, Spike nodding in agreement. "I know friends who're much better flyers than me."

"Yeah, but we've never met those friends," Sunset argued.

"Well, it's funny you mention that," Starlight said as she got back up. "Because her friends are here right now!"

"They are?"

"Yeah, Twilight asked us to come see something, I took the liberty to invite them!" Starlight chirped. "And they'll be... right here!"

Starlight pointed... at an empty hallway, with a familiar voice calling from the hallway right next to it:

"Pst, Starlight, you got the wrong hallway."

"Oh, sorry..." Starlight moved her hoof to the other hallway. "Right here!"

It was then that a group of colorful Ponies entered the room, with a pink one in particular gasping and bolting to Vignette as soon as she saw her.

"New friend!" she exclaimed while right in front of Vignette's face. "I need to know and catalogue everything about you right now!"

"That's Pinkie Pie," Twilight chuckled.

"Yeah, I know, her counterpart in my world is pretty similar," Vignette giggled. "Although, I don't know if she's exactly the same as the other one."

"What's your favorite color?! Do you prefer the ground or the sky?! Do you have any pets?! Mustard or mayonaisse?!"

"Nevermind, she's a carbon copy," Vignette giggled as she gently pushed Pinkie Pie away. "So, do any of you know how to fly?"

"Oh, that would be Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie squeaked. "She's the best flyer in all of Equestria!"

"I mean, she said it, not me," the blue Pony with a rainbow mane spoke.

"Could you teach me how to fly?"

Rainbow Dash looked absolutely stunned at the statement, but she quickly gained a smile at the prospect of a challenge...

---

A little bit later, Rainbow Dash and Spike were working together to setup a course for Vignette's flying lessons, all while the Pegasus herself and Twilight's friends watched.

"So y'are the Pony who helped seal the Pony of Shadows?" Princess Twilight's Orange Pony friend asked, getting Vignette's attention.

"Well, I'm not really a Pony," Vignette smiled nervously. "I just turned into a Pony because I crossed the portal."

"Vignette here's what is called a "Human", and she's from the alternate world," Twilight explained. "As for what's a Human, Imagine a hairless yeti with more fingers and no claws."

"Alright, everypony! The course is set!"

Rainbow Dash flew down and landed right in front of Vignette, startling her.

"Are you ready to put your wings to the test?"

"Well, duh," Vignette replied as she got up. "That's why I'm here."

"That's the spirit!" Rainbow Dash walked to Vignette's side. "Now listen carefully, rookie!"

Everybody looked up to see a bunch of rings attached to large poles, forming a small circle that slowly went down.

"You'll start at that ring at the top: fly through it, and then go through the other rings while flying down until you land back here," Rainbow Dash spread her wings. "Let me show you what I mean!"

Rainbow Dash took to the skies, then dashed down the rings seamlessly until she landed right back where she began, flapping her wings one more time before landing with a confident smile.

"Now's your turn, rookie!"

Vignette frowned, and a second glance at the rings only made her more worried. But then she felt someone put their hoof on her shoulder, and she turned to see Sunset giving her a reassuring smile and nod.

Vignette returned the smile, and spread her wings before taking to the sky.

Once high enough, she flapped in place while scanning the course-

"We don't have all day, rookie!"

Or maybe not.

Vignette dived into the first ring, but once she flew through it, everything went downhill: she crashed on the very next pole, and she began bouncing from pole to pole, until eventually she crash landed right next to a stunned Rainbow Dash.

And the shock only grew when the poles tilted and collapsed, sending the rings flying elsewhere.

"Huh, well..." Rainbow Dash raised a hoof. "At least you flew through one of the rings?"

Vignette grumbled as her face hit the ground.

---

A couple more tries later, Sunset and Vignette began walking back to the portal while Twilight and her friends watched.

"Are you sure you don't wanna give it another go, rookie?!" Rainbow Dash called. "You were getting better and better with each course!"

"A.S.W.M.H.!" Vignette exclaimed, pointing at her head.

"Thanks for the offer, Rainbow Dash, but maybe another time," Sunset replied. "It was nice meeting you all! Come visit us anytime!"

The Ponies waved goodbye at the duo... except for Twilight, who scratched her chin and hummed as she got an idea.

Sunset and Vignette took a while to get to the house afterwards, but once they did, they headed in without missing a beat.

"I'm sorry, Sunset," Vignette sighed. "We had to cut our visit to Equestria short because I kept failing at the course."

"Hey, we came here so you could get flying lessons, and you did," Sunset argued. "You crashed harder than my relationship with Flash Sentry several times, but you still got some lessons. And sure, they didn't go well, but I'm certain you'll do better next time."

Vignette frowned. "You think so?"

"Of course," Sunset patted Vignette's back. "Now let's get back home so you can rest."

Sunset uncovered the portal, and the duo readied themselves before hopping right through it.

Once at the other side, Sunset stood normally, while Vignette looked like she was in the middle of neighing into battle.

"Oh hey, and you're not on all fours this time!" Sunset chirped. "This day's full of progress!"

"I guess so," Vignette sighed, grabbing her head as she sat down. "You mind if I stay here for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure, rest easy now, Vignette," Sunset replied before handing Vignette a remote. "Here, watch some TV while I go check a few things."

And with that done, Sunset went to her computer, leaving Vignette to turn on the TV...

Just in time to listen the worst news report ever:

"After several months of speculation and conspiracy theories, it has been confirmed that Equestrialand will reopen its doors in a week's time. It's believed that this time, the presence of Magic will be taken into account to not repeat the fiasco all over again, so all those interested in coming are heavily suggested not to worry. To paraphrase the owner of Equestrialand: everything is under control."

Author's Note:

And now, we kick off the new year with the sequel of A Vignette of Apples, and technically third entry to the Vignetteverse: A Vignette of Equestrialand 2.0!

All I can say going forward is, I hope you're ready, 'cause this is gonna be Vignette's biggest challenge yet.

Now, I was actually pondering what story to write next: a camping story, a demon story, and even an Equestria story were all considered to become Apples' sequel.

But I quickly realized that the best way to progress Vignette's story was to tackle Equestrialand and end that chapter of her life once and for all.

So, yeah, this'll be a fun ride.

Hopefully it won't take forever to finish. XD