CRYPTID PARK

CRYPTID PARK

Chapter 1: Lawsuits and Apple Farms

The noise and bustle of the city was enough to drive ponies crazy. Carts and taxis filled the streets, and stretched the patience of those caught in the middle of it. But that’s what comes with living in Manehattan.

However, things were turning out worse for others.

In the center of the city, near the large central park, sat a very tall skyscraper. The outside was pitch black, and the ground floor was just as bare as the road. The only thing in front of it was a large sign. It had two lights on the bottom, which lit up the words written on it: GenMag.

A few ponies is business suits were either walking around the area, of reading notes on some benches. Ponies walking along the sidewalks usually gave the building a quick look, before looking away and moving on.

But just then, the two large doors at the front of the building swung open. Two ponies, one in a white suit and the other in a blue suit, walked out. The one in the white suit was dark grey, had a styled purple mane, and a briefcase cutie mark. The one in the blue suit was light brown, had a dark black mane, and a mallet cutie mark. They were talking quietly to each other.

“Four million bit lawsuit from the family, as well as the emotional and physical damages to boot,” said the white suited pony. “And with the bits needed to keep them quiet, we’re facing some major debt.

The pony in the blue suite sighed. “How could security let this even happen? Not only did they allow an unauthorized ship to enter the surrounding area, but two ponies were able to get onto the island and come in contact with the animals.”

The two stopped at the edge of the street. The pony in the blue suite held out a hoof, and soon a taxi pulled up to the curve. “Manehattan Train Station,” he said as he a the other pony climbed into the carriage. The driver nodded, then pulled back onto the road and headed towards the train station.

“Getting back to topic in hoof, we seem to have an even bigger problem than lawsuits. The recent incident has caused the investors to question the safety of the island. I’ve tried to sway them otherwise, but they have good reasons. But eventually I was able to keep them from backing out...on the condition I conduct a thorough inspection and examination of the island. And if they see that the park is not within safety parameters, then we can forget our funding,” said the blue suited pony.

The two held onto their seats as the taxi turned a corner at high speeds. “And who exactly are you planning on getting to inspect the island?”

“I’ve already acquired a mare who has a history of cages and strict rules. Her names Trixie; an illusionist who has been held in some pretty secure prisons in her life.”

The white suited pony raised an eyebrow questionably. “You hired a criminal to inspect and island full of creatures?”

The blue suited pony shook his head. “She’s not a real criminal. She just….gets into scrapes sometimes. Plus I’ve read her resume, and she’s apparently had some experience dealing with animals before. It said she once protected an entire village from a swarm of bees.”

“I judge ponies on their actions, not their words. But is she the only one who’s going to be inspecting?”

The blue suited pony sighed, keeping his eyes on the floor. “When I told Hooves who I picked, he wasn’t too thrilled. ‘We need ponies who have experience in what we are doing.’ I tried talking some sense into him, but he wouldn’t go for it. He wants Fluttershy.”

The white suited pony rolled his eyes. “That mare? He’ll be lucky to even get her out of Ponyville. She may be good with animals, but she’s more scared than a cat in front of a mouse.”

“I tried explaining that to him, but he’s dead set on getting her approval. It just got worse when he said he had another pony he wanted to get approval from too. He wouldn’t even tell me who it was.”

“Sometimes I wonder if that stallion is right in the head. Not even telling us who he’s pinning the success of this operation on?”

The taxi pulled up to the side of the road. To the right of it sat the Manehattan Train Station. Ponies from all across Equestria walked in and out of the large building. The white suited pony jumped out.

“Well we’ll just have to deal with this as it goes. I’ll be in contact in a few days; hopefully this’ll all be over by then. I want a full report once the inspection is complete,” he said.

“Don’t worry, this’ll all work out fine. We’ll get them on the island, show them around, get their approval, and we’ll be back on track. Take it easy now,” said the blue suited pony.

“You do the same,” said the white suited pony, and he turned to walk into the station.

“Are you getting out or not?” asked the Taxi driver.

The white suited pony looked at the driver, but then tossed him another small sack of bits. “I need to go to Manehattan Luxury Apartments. As fast as you can please.”

The taxi driver nodded his head, then ran back into the streets towards the apartments.

***

THUNK!

The sound of hooves colliding with the trunk of a tree spread throughout the entire orchard. The apples that hung on the branches broke off and fell neatly into baskets at the base.

The pony doing the bucking stepped back from the tree, wiping some sweat from her forehead. The pony was a nice sized orange earth pony mare with a blond mane, a cowboy hat, and three apples as her cutie mark.

The mare lifted the baskets onto her back, before walking over to a cart filled with similar baskets. After loading them on, she attached herself to the front and began walking towards a large red barn not too far away.

As she walked, she looked around at the many apple trees that surrounded her. They seemed to have a certain shine to them, and the apples all looked round, red, and juicy. And seeing the same thing over acres and acres of land, it just made the mare smile.

But she soon reached the barn, and unlatched herself from the cart. “Another batch of apples, another hard day's work,” she said. The mare walked behind the car and began unloading the baskets of apples.

“Looks like a big haul Applejack,” said a voice.

Applejack looked towards the barn, and saw a large red earth pony with a blond mane and a split open apple cutie mark. He looked into the cart and smiled at all the baskets. “You’ve been busy.”

“Had to Big Mac,” said Applejack as she walked towards the barn. “Our main job now is getting as many apples out as we can. If they rot, we’ll lose money.”

Big Mac gave his eyes a slight roll. “If you can remember, we’re already losing money.”

Applejack set down the baskets and sighed sadly. “Yeah, I remember Big Mac.” She still had trouble believing that their apples, once very popular, weren’t selling very well this year. Even cider season hadn’t been as popular as it normally had.

Big Mac walked over and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go inside; take a break. I’ll unload the baskets.”

“....thanks Big Mac,” she said, and then slowly walked over to a small door. Pushing it open, she found herself in a fairly big kitchen. The stove was on, cooking something that had a delicious aroma flow through the room. Applejack took in a deep breath.

“Oh wee, that smells good. What’s cooking?” she asked as she approached the stove. But as she lifted her hoof up to the pot, something smacked it away. “Ouch!” she screamed, gently rubbing her hoof.

“No hoofs on the pot until it’s ready!”

Applejack looked over at the attacker next to her. “Did you really have to hit me so hard Granny?”

Granny placed her spoon into the pot, then gave Applejack a stern look. “Knowing you have the appetite of a full grown stallion, I’m not taking any chances.”

“Still,” said Applejack “Is there anything in here that I can eat?” She knew she could have taken an apple from the cart on her way here. But she didn’t feel like the plain taste of apples at the moment.

Granny pointed a hoof at the pot. “You can eat that….in ten minutes.”

Applejack groaned, but decided not to argue. Instead she sat down in a chair and laid her head on the table. “So is Apple Bloom home from school yet?” she asked.

“Haven’t seen her, so I guess not,” said Granny, who had the wooden spoon held in her mouth.

Applejack wanted to say more, but was interrupted as the outside door opened. A small yellow filly with a red mane tied with a bow walked inside, carrying a small letter in her mouth.

“Bout time you got home pint-sized,” said Granny, giving Apple Bloom’s mane a rub. “What took you so long?”

Apple Bloom spit the letter onto her hoof. “I ran into this pony on my way up the road. He asked me if I was going here, and when I said yes, he asked me to give this letter to Applejack.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow “and what did this pony look like?” If some strange pony was stopping her sister and asking her to take things to the farm, then it could be bad.

“He wore a white suite, and had that sort of ‘Big City’ feel to him. He definitely didn’t like all the dirt that was getting on him,” said Apple Bloom. She walked to the table and placed the letter in front of Applejack.

“A city pony delivering a letter to us, and right when our farm is struggling. I don’t like the sound of that,” said Granny. She gave the letter a look like it was a pile of rotten apples.

Applejack looked at the letter, not sure weather to open it or throw it away. If it was something about the farm, there was little they could do. But, if it was something else….well she couldn’t think about any other options. She thought for a moment before picking up the letter and ripping open the side.

She pulled out the paper and unrolled it onto the table. It wasn’t very long, but had some of the nicest handwriting she had ever seen. She began to read through it.

Dear Miss Applejack,

This letter is being sent by GenMag Industries; leading organization in the fields of Genetics and Magic. We have a business proposal we would like to discuss with you as soon as possible.

If you are interested, please report to Sugarcube Corner at 11 PM tomorrow. One of our staff members will go over the details with you then.

signed,

GenMag Industries.

When Applejack finished reading the letter, she looked over at the two. “Well, what did it say?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It….says that some company called GenMag wants to talk to me about a business proposal. They want me to meet with them tomorrow at Sugarcube Corner to discuss the details,” said Applejack.

“What kind of business proposal?” asked Granny. She didn’t sound too happy about the whole thing.

Applejack looked over the letter once more. “It doesn’t say, just that he’ll explain everything when we meet.”

The whole room was silent for a few moments. Normally the Apples didn’t like business proposals. The last time they had considered one, they had almost lost their farm. So safe to say, they were worried about this one.

Apple Bloom looked up at her sister, keeping her face as neutral as she could. “So what are you going to do?”

Applejack gently rubbed her chin as she thought it over. Normally she would have said no, but now with their recent financial troubles, they had to think about the good of the farm. She looked over at her sister and Granny.

“I’m going to go talk with this pony. I’ll see what he’s proposing, and only then will I make a decision.”

Apple Bloom smiled at Applejack, but Granny still didn’t look very happy. “I just hope you know what you’re doing dearie,” she said before going back to the pot on the stove.

Applejack looked towards an open window, and the acres of apple trees she could see beyond it.

“Yeah….so do I.”