Chapters Chapter 1: The summer email
BRIIIINNNNGGGGGG!!!
It was the last bell on the last day of school, everyone at CHS was rushing out the doors into the wonderful summer weather. They were all happy to be leaving school for the summer adventures that they would be having, some of them would just sit around their houses all day, some would be enjoying visiting their favorite places around town, others would be signing up for summer jobs, and some would even be traveling on long trips and vacations.
A certain group of seven girls in particular were very happy indeed to be leaving school and to be able to spend time with each other more often than during the time at school. Their names were Twilight, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. They started talking about what they would want to do over the summer.
"I sure hope that I will be able to invite you over for some cattle driving, it is quite a humdinger." Applejack spoke to Rainbow Dash.
"Are you kidding? Now a skate park meet up with you would be even better in my opinion." Rainbow Dash groaned. Applejack shot her a nasty look. "GOTCHA! JUST KIDDING!" Rainbow dash laughed. "Of course I would like to come on a cattle drive."
Fluttershy whispered to Pinkie Pie. "I would like some help over at the animal shelter if you could manage it Pinkie."
Pinkie Pie smiled in her eccentric way. "I would love to help you with your many animal friends, they can be so cute and fluffy sometimes. I could give them treats while you give them care."
Rarity started talking in her British accent to Sunset Shimmer. "Maybe I could ask both you and Twilight to come and try on some dresses that I will make over the summer, they are sure to bring out the best in you."
Twilight told Sunset that it would be fine to come and try dresses, they were some of the best one's ever made and they matched their personalities to a tee. "Myself and twilight would love to come and model dresses for you once you've made them." Answered Sunset Shimmer.
At a long last, each of the friends said goodbye to each other as they left in their own ways; Rainbow dash ran all the way home, Applejack was picked up by her big brother Big Mac in his 1980's Ford Pickup, Rarity was taken home in a Limo, Sunset got on the city bus bound for the neigborhood, Twilight headed home by foot, Pinkie pie drove herself and Fluttershy home in her Toyota Prius. They were all going to have a restful sleep tonight since they didn't have to wake up early the next day.
Three days later Sunset shimmer and twilight were both going to try on some dresses that rarity had just made at her place. Twilight and Sunset both used the city bus to get over to rarity's house (which was a stately Victorian house) and knocked on the door. Rarity answered the door and welcomed them in.
"thank you for coming over today, you are going to LOVE the dresses I've made for you two." She chirped happily.
Sunset Shimmer patted her on the shoulder. "Anything for a good friend Rarity."
Twilight spoke up. "Can we try out the dresses that you've made with expertise and fashionista style?"
Rarity beamed. "Go ahead Twilight, be my guest." She led her upstairs to the room that the dress was in. "Come downstairs once you've put it on." Rarity advised as she closed the door.
10 minutes later Twilight came downstairs in the dress. It was a wonderful thing that was to behold, it was colored light and dark purple and looked like a 50's style dress. "I really like it rarity, thank you." Twilight said as she styled in the living room.
Rarity did the same with Sunset, and when she came down she looked like a prom princess. "Great job rarity. Could i bring this to the next fall formal?"
Rarity snickered. "Of course darling, you would look good in it. I think it would also catch the eye of a certain blue haired boy." She added in a sing-song voice. Sunset blushed at the thought of Flash Sentry, who she had started dating again.
As the two girls modeled the dresses in the living room, rarity noticed that an email had come in on her laptop. She opened her gmail account to see what it was...It was an email from Principal Celestia. "I wonder what this is all about?" She wondered as she started reading the email. The email looked like this:
Dear students and parents,
This is principal Celestia speaking to all of you. I am glad to announce that my sister Vice Principal Luna and I have arranged a summer trip for anyone who would like to attend. We are going to take a group of 16 students on a two week vacation to the capital city of Great Britian: London. The payment for the trip will be 30$ a student, it will cover transportation, hotel fees, and luggage costs. We will provide some spending money, but we strongly encourage that each and everyone of you should bring at least 70$ to spend (We will be changing our American money for British money when we get their). We hope that you will come with us, please leave your name as a reply to sign up for the trip. The payment will be collected on June 2nd, one week prior to our departure. Sincerely, Principal Celestia.
Rarity shrieked in delight. "We Have GOT to go on that trip!" Sunset and Twilight came to see what she was talking about.
Once they had read the email again with her, Sunset was in awe. "Sounds like a very interesting trip. It's cheap enough for us, would you like to come with us Twilight?" She asked.
Twilight smiled. "Of course I would like to come, I have always wanted to go to London."
Rarity signed in her and her friend's names in the reply area. "LONDON HERE WE COME!" She shouted. She also forwarded the email to the rest of the mane 7 so they could be invited too...
Author's Note
The email for the London trip comes, and everybody is excited!
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Chapter 2: Inviting friends and paying for the trip
The other members of the Mane 7 all had their own reactions to the trip email that Rarity had forwarded. They all were different:
Rainbow dash was like this: "AWESOME! I can't wait to do this. I can see where they filmed Harry Potter and one of the Daring Do movies."
Applejack was like this: "This sounds like it will be good. I can try all the British food I could get like bangers n' mash, Bubble n' Squeak, and Apple Pie. I think that this trip will be good."
Pinkie Pie was like this: "I CAN'T WAIT TO GO ON THIS TRIP! WHAT A TIME THAT THIS WILL BE GOING OUT TO A NEW PLACE THAT I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE."
Fluttershy was like: "I can go out there and see all of the parks and the zoo animals at all those places."
At the same time or within the next few hours, more students were seeing the email. Micro Chips was the first one to see it after the Mane 7, he was ready for a good trip. "I can relate all of the exhaustive research that i have been studying about the great civilisation of London. I will inquire of Sandalwood's electronic presence to see if he would desire to intervene."
Sandalwood got a text from Micro chips right at that very moment. "Whoa, looks like Principal Celestia has been making a lot of plans for this. by the way Micro chip's grammar is written, I'd say that he is very happy to be able to go on the trip...I think I will tell him that I would like to come."
Flash Sentry got a text from Micro Chips as well talking about the trip, he had a different response. "If I do decide to go on this trip, I sure hope that Sunset is going too so I can spend time with her. I do really...really...like...her. I will send a reply and ask if she's coming." The reply came saying that she was coming. "O.K. I will come." He signed himself up for the trip.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon got the email and were excited. "I can ask my daddy if he would supply us with the money that we need."
Silver Spoon replied with. "And I can make sure that we have good spots on each plane and travel vehicle, and that we can all make good areas on each tourist attraction. Let's do it."
Derpy got the email and signed on, Snips and snails were both excited to spend time with each other in London, and even Photo Finish was coming to take pictures and videos. The week before the trip, all of the cash, credit, and check payments were made to both Principal Celestia and Vice principal Luna. They all sent out emails telling the students what they had to pack and that they all had one week to do it. They would all be meeting at the Canterlot Metropolitan Airport that next Saturday...
Author's Note
The students all invite others to come along on the trip, as well as ask them politely. They turn in their payments well and now they are packing up for the trip
That Saturday morning at 6:00 AM, the whole Mane 7 were knocking on Twilight's front door. Twilight had gotten used to sleeping in and was still knocked out, and now she was not getting up. The Mane 7 got inside the house and got Twilight up. Rainbow Dash was angered.
"TWILIGHT! HOW CAN YOU BE SLEEPING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?" Steam was pouring out of her ears. "WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE AIRPORT IN 30 MINUTES!"
Sunset Shimmer calmed her down. "We will get to the airport on time Rainbow, don't get hotheaded right now. We will get going." She kept Rainbow dash calm as Twilight quickly got out of bed and got her luggage that she had finished packing six days ago.
Fluttershy got the last of twilight's bags and helped her downstairs with all of it. The rest of the mane 7 were all helping as usual with all of their own bags and luggage, they all were helped along by both Sunset Shimmer and Twilight's telekinesis. They all packed into both Pinkie's Prius and Big Mac's Ford Pickup and took the 20 minute drive from the suburbs of Canterlot all the way out on the freeway to the Canterlot Metropolitan Airport. Once at the airport they met up with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.
"Good early morning girls, are you all ready for this trip?" Asked Principal Celestia.
"We are ready for anything and anything Principal Celestia, we are ready to go to London!" Rainbow Dash shouted enthusiastically pumping her arms in the air.
"Do you all have everything you need for the trip?" Vice Principal Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We all have our luggage and bags packed with all of the essentials and clothes that we will need for the trip Vice Principal Luna, we are all clear for traveling." Twilight announced.
10 Minutes later, Snips and Snails showed up in their parent's cars. They both brought a lot of luggage and carry-on's with them. "We are ready for the trip to London, I can't wait to see what that city has to offer." Snips chortled happily.
"London is gonna be so cool, I can't wait to see what is gonna happen out there." Snails added. "The plane trip is going to be good too, I can feel it."
"Well boys, you both seem to be very excited for this trip." Observed Principal Celestia.
The next group to arrive came on the airport shuttle. It was Micro Chips, Sandalwood, and Flash Sentry who had just come off the bus stumbling with all of their combined suitcases and luggage. "The Troubleshooting Trio has promptly arrived at this airport." Micro Chips announced.
"Dude, why did you call us that?" Asked Sandalwood.
"Well I had to find a synonym that would match up with a word starting with T, so I thought that troubleshooting would suffice." Micro explained.
"Fair enough, you have a good point." Sandalwood acknowledged.
"I am just glad that Micro knew what buses to take here, the city bus system confuses me so much. It takes a mind like his to get us here. Thanks Micro." Flash spoke.
"You are welcome Flash, any difficulty or hardship can be overcome with an intelligent mind. Remember that." Micro Chips stated.
The next three to arrive at 6:50 AM were Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Derpy. Diamond Tiara's father filthy Rich had called for a limo to get them to the airport, Derpy, however, came in another airport shuttle. They all arrived and got their luggage placed with the luggage pile that had been made. After the whole group entered the airport lobby, Principal Celestia called the group over to an introduction.
"We are so glad that you all decided to come on this summer trip to London. Now, myself and my sister will all tell you how we are going to get to London." Principal Celestia started explaining everything. "We are going to get tickets for the whole group for a Southwest Airlines flight to New York City's JFK Airport. The flight will take two hours to get from here to New York, once we get there we will go to terminal 4 and get tickets for a Transatlantic Flight on a British Airways 747 to London Heathrow Airport."
Vice Principal Luna took over. "Once we get to Heathrow, we will transfer our American Money to British Money and get our luggage. We will then buy you all individual Oyster Cards so we will all be able to travel around town on the London Underground, DLR, and Double Decker Buses. We will take the Underground into the heart of Central London to our hotel. Once we have checked into the hotel, we will get you split up into your rooms." Everyone understood.
After the wait, Principal Celestia and Luna gave plane tickets to all who were present. Once that was done the whole group went to check in their luggage for the flight, a few carry-on packages would have to go through security with them onto the plane. The group proceeded to pass through airport security to be checked if they had any dangerous accessories hidden in their clothes (they all made it through successfully). They all made it to the terminal and waited for their airplane to start boarding.
"SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT 654 TO NEW YORK JFK WILL START BOARDING AT THIS TIME." The announcement rang through the terminal. The whole group went up to get into the plane and took their assigned seats that their tickets all told them to sit in. The Mane 7 took up the first two front rows in the cabin, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna both sat behind them, Micro, Sandalwood, and Flash behind them, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon further back, Snips and Snails behind them, Derpy behind them, and Photo Finish bringing up the rear. Other passengers came on after them.
At 7:30 exactly the plane left the terminal gate. It slowly taxied out to the runway, turned onto the runway, and took of swiftly into the air heading east. "I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO LONDON!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted, she got shushed by the whole cabin.
"Try to keep your excitement down Rainbow, unless you wanna skydive." Advised Applejack.
After a whole trip was made for two hours, the plane finally landed at the JFK airport. The whole group got off the plane and headed into the terminal, they all headed to the baggage claim and got their bags. They all took the Airtrain to Terminal 4 to get tickets to the flight to London.
"I wonder what the next leg of this trip will be like?" Wondered Twilight.
"I think we are about to find out, here comes Principal Celestia." Sunset Shimmer told her.
Principal Celestia came back with her sister. "There is good news and bad news everyone."
"What's the good news?" Asked Pinkie Pie.
"The good news is that we have gotten tickets for Heathrow." Principal Celestia started. Her sister Luna continued.
"The bad news is that we have a layover here at this airport until the flight arrives."
"How long will we be here?" Asked Silver Spoon and Snips.
"Our flight will be arriving in three hours. So we have a three hour layover." Vice principal Luna replied.
A collective groan resonated throughout the group. They knew that they would not get on the plane until 1:30 PM and that it was now 10:30 AM. "We are just going to have to make the best of it in the terminal." Sunset sighed.
"Good idea SunShim," Rainbow started. "We can explore the terminal for three hours. Who's up for it?"
"I am!" The whole group chorused. It was settled, the whole group could explore Terminal 4 for three hours until the flight arrived. It was another great time for the group to explore...
Author's Note
The first flight is made from Canterlot Metropolitan Airport (CMA) to New York JFK airport (JFK). A three hour layover awaits them.
Chapter 4: The flight to London
Finally the layover was over. It was 1:30 PM in the afternoon in New York and the whole group was now rushing to Gate 7 A in Terminal 4, they were all now getting excited for finally taking off for London. The gate was opening to let the passengers that had just come from the trip before off the plane.
"I wonder what kind of plane this is? Its really big." Fluttershy gasped as she saw the very big jetliner outside on the tarmac.
"Go ahead and ask Micro Chips," Twilight advised. "I think he knows more about these things than I do."
Fluttershy walked up to the ultra-geeky nerd of a boy and asked the question. "Micro, what kind of plane is that which we are about to get on?"
Micro Chips as you may have guessed started a complete report about the specific type of plane that they were getting on. "Of course Fluttershy. Let me use my cerebral and neurotic intelligence to explain; The Boeing 747 is a jet airliner. It is made by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Boeing 747 has more than one aisle, which means it is a wide-body aircraft. The 400 passenger version can accommodate 416 passengers in a typical three-class layout, 524 passengers in a typical two-class layout, or 660 passengers in a high density one-class configuration. The newest version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production and received certification in 2011. The one we shall be traveling in is a three-class layout. I've checked the tickets and we are all going to be flying in second class."
Fluttershy's mouth was wide open, she was surprised to know how much Micro Chips knew about the plane. She told about the information to twilight. "I told you that he knows about a lot of things." She sighed.
"BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT 5678 TO LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT WILL BOARD AT THIS TIME. ALL PASSENGERS SHOULD REPORT TO GATE 7 A AT THIS TIME." The airport announcement echoed through the whole terminal.
"Here we go everyone, on to the plane to London. Can't wait ta see what it's like out there." Applejack spoke as she boarded. They all walked down the long tunnel bridge to the plane, once on board they all made it to their assigned seats.
"I finally get to have my window seat for this part of the trip!" Snails exclaimed happily as he sat down. "THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!"
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both liked the new seating arrangement. "We get to sit next to the snack bar Tiara, isn't that great?" Silver Spoon remarked.
"We can order vanilla ice cream to eat during the flight," Diamond Tiara chuckled. "What a jackpot."
The three boys all settled down in there seats for the flight, it was going to be a long trip ahead of them. "I won't be sleeping at this moment in time, I want to see the great Atlantic Ocean when we soar above it at 30'000 feet." Micro Chips exclaimed.
"I am going to listen to some rock music over my mp3 player, it will help me relax and think about where we are going." Flash Sentry yawned as he got it out of his pocket.
"I just hope that I will be able to be more connected with nature when I see the ocean below us, rad isn't it dudes?" Sandalwood stated.
The Mane 7 all sat down and went about their own activities. "I do hope that once we get there I will be able to read some Sherlock Holmes." Twilight perked up.
"I just wanna spend time with y'all once we get there, and try some British food too." Applejack said.
"Tourist attractions and fun stuff is on me when we get there. We be like 'THIS IS SO EXCITING!'." Pinkie Pie rollicked.
"Wembly Stadium soccer is on me, I can't wait to see Arsenal beat West Ham United! It's gonna be so awesome!" Rainbow Dash yelled in epicness.
"As for me, I would love to see the animals in Regents Park, the London zoo, and the Sea Life Aquarium." Fluttershy whispered."
"I just want to see some fashion trends in the West End as well as visiting Madame Tussands. It will be a capital experience." Rarity chirped.
"But as for me. Just being there with all of you will be great." Sunset spoke as she put her arms on the shoulders of Twilight and Applejack who were sitting on either side of her.
It was 2:25 PM and the plane now left the airport behind. It taxied out to the runway and became very swift in movement, it took off into the air with a roar of the jet engines. Outside the windows as the plane was ascending the whole group could see the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the distance before they disappeared behind the clouds as the plane made its ascent to 30'000 feet. Before long they could see the Atlantic Ocean below them sprawling out all around.
at 3:50 PM New York time, Snips and Snails decided to go and buy some goldfish from the snack bar. "They should be selling it here." Snips reasoned.
"And sprite as well as cheez-its should be here too." Snails retorted.
They both saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon ordering four vanilla ice creams (two for each of them). "Are you sure that you will eat both of those?" Snails asked.
"We have ordered what we have ordered Snails. We will eat it both at different times." Diamond Tiara grunted when Snails asked. Snips handed the person behind the counter some money and asked for cheez-its, sprite, and goldfish.
"See you when we get back." Silver Spoon waved as Snips and Snails headed back to their seats.
At 7:45 New York time the plane started to go into a descending motion. It was dark outside the airplane as the sun slipped below the horizon, the stars came out to brighten the night. "I do so love the night." Vice Principal Luna sighed as she gazed out the window. The plane continued eastward as it began to slowly go down below the clouds as its decent continued. After flying through the clouds for an hour the clouds went away as the plane went below them, a huge network of city lights could be seen below them as the plane kept descending.
The Captain came on over the PA system. "Ladies and Gentlemen, in just 13 minutes we will be landing at London Heathrow International. We all hope that you have enjoyed flying with us and that you will all come back soon with us again. We will be parking at Terminal 3 when we stop, it is the International Flight Terminal for flights that come from different nations. Once you have left the plane, please go directly to the Foreign Transfer and Customs center to be cleared for entrance to England. Once you've done that you may proceed to retrieve your luggage, and you may then make your way into London. Thank you for flying with us and welcome to London."
The plane finally reached the terminal gate at 10:30 PM New York time. They all had to change their watches and clocks to London time (UTC) which was 3:30 AM in the morning, they were all glad to be off the plane.
"Now students. Let's get over to the Customs department and get cleared so we can get our luggage and head into London." Principal Celestia spoke.
"ALL RIGHT, LONDON HERE WE COME!!!" The whole group shouted as they headed to the Foreign Transfer and Customs center (which was spelled out as 'centre' since it was Great Britian)...
Author's Note
After a 3 hour layover, the group finally takes off for London. They all have great times on the flight: sleeping, buying snacks from the snack bar, or just hanging with friends. They finally arrive at London at 10:30 New York time: which is 3:30 London time
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Chapter 5: The first of many trips on the London Underground
After a HUGE haggle in Customs the whole Canterlot High group met up in the baggage claim to get their luggage.
"I am so glad that my bags didn't get bumped around on the airplane." Exclaimed rarity.
"My hat is still intact after all this trip." Applejack sighed in relief.
"I just want to get into town to our hotel, I've been needing a good rest." Rainbow Dash yawned as she picked up her duffel bag from the conveyor belt.
"Are you crazy, I want to see the whole city!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Not that it would make any difference, but I think that we all need to get into town before too much longer." Fluttershy spoke calmly.
"We will get into town well before too much longer." Sunset Shimmer assured the group as Principal Celestia called the group over for an announcement.
Principal Celestia spoke. "We are now about to make our way into the heart of Central London to our hotel. It is located just across the river from the Houses of parliament, it is where we will stay for this whole trip. We have bought us all some oyster Travelcards that will allow us to travel on some public transit systems. To get to our hotel, we will be taking the London Underground into town to our hotel. My sister will explain everything."
Vice Principal Luna continued. "We will go to the Underground station and enter it here at the airport. Be sure to tap your Oyster Card on the yellow circle at the ticket barrier so you can get in. We will be traveling the majority of the trip on the Picadilly Line from here to Green Park, once we get to Green Park we will transfer to the Jubilee line which will take us the last remaining city blocks to Westminster station. Once we exit there we will walk across the Westminster Bridge to our hotel. Does everybody got that?" They all nodded. "Then let's get into London." Luna finished.
The Underground station was 30 feet below the airport. Once everyone had made in through the ticket barrier they all took the escalator down to the platform. It was a long platform that was very well lit and that had a yellow line running along the edge that dropped into the tracks. These tracks were not like regular train tracks...they had an electric third rail that gave power to the trains. Lights showed up in the tunnel as an announcement signaled the arrival of the train. The whole group got on the back car of the train where no one was sitting so they could get seats or stand by hanging onto the hand rail. The train departed after the doors closed.
At Osterly Station, Rarity was speaking about what she would like to visit in London. "I do hope that we get to see Picadilly Square, Madame Tussands, and some other wonderous attractions."
"You've been telling us that for the whole day if you haven't noticed." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Don't let her get to you, you've got your own things to think about." Derpy told Rainbow Dash who of which was sitting right next to her.
At Earl's Court Station the group was starting to either fall asleep or get restless. Principal Celestia tried her best to get everyone up. "We will be getting to Green Park soon." She spoke as she patted Silver Spoon awake.
"Ugh, alright." Silver Spoon moaned as she came out of her sleep.
"Don't you even try to mess with my sister." Vice Principal Luna scolded.
When they finally reached Green Park Station they all left the Picadilly Line behind and transfered to the Jubilee Line. The train on this line thundered into the platform at a speed that was much greater than the Picadilly Line train, it came to an abrupt stop and the doors opened. They all got onboard quickly and headed to the few seats that were available as the train started to travel very quickly through the tunnel. Five minutes later the train arrived at Westminster Station.
Pinkie Pie was excited to see what was towering above the station entrance as they came out. "It's Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament! I can't wait to see those places!"
"Calm down Pinkie," Rainbow Dash groaned with sleepy eyes. "We've got to get to our hotel first. Where is it?"
"It is just right there across the bridge. That circular one with windows." Sunset pointed out.
"Well everybody, let's get to that hotel and get some sleep." Applejack said as they went across the bridge...
Author's Note
The first trip on the London Underground is made by our group in this chapter on both the Picadilly Line and the Jubilee Line.
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Chapter 6: The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel
The group finally entered the hotel at 4:56 AM London time. They were all really tired after a long trip and were ready to go get checked in and sleep through into the morning, they would all be rested by that next day.
"Finally, We get to check into our hotel. I've had a long night already." Moaned Pinkie Pie in a somber tune.
"Pinkie, we still have to unpack everything when we get into our rooms, it's needed." Rainbow Dash told her in an unamused way.
The rest of the group was already pretty tired at this point from the time change and the long trip. The Mane 7 was yawning and groaning, the Three boys (Flash, Micro, and Sandalwood) were trying their hardest to keep their eyes open, Diamond Tiara was being held up by Silver Spoon and snoring the whole time, Snips and Snails were looking like they had lost their minds, and Derpy was looking like a zombie. The three people who were still wide awake were the two principals checking everyone into the hotel and Photo Finish who was taking pictures of the hotel lobby.
Principal Celestia came over to the quarter awake group and asked them to listen. "We are now going up to level 9 of which our hotel rooms are located at, we have decided to split you all up into groups of three people to each room (We will allow two people rooms if needed). My sister will give you room keys and hotel maps once she has sorted you all into groups, girls are separated from boys in hotel rooms for safety reasons. If you want to meet up with a boy or a girl, please bring a group with you so that you are not alone. The boy or girl on the other side should have at least one or two other members in the room with them, and remember to keep the door open."
Vice Principal Luna came to the students and started to sort them into groups. "Sunset Shimmer, you will be with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Applejack, you will be with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Rarity, you're with Photo Finish and Derpy. Flash, you have Sandalwood and Micro Chips. Diamond, you will be with Silver Spoon. Snips and Snails, you to will be on your own in your own room. That is all, I will brief you once you've settled in for the night."
The whole group advanced to the elevators (or lifts as the are called in Britain), and pressed the number 9 button inside. Separate trips had to be made to the ninth floor but everybody was able to make it. Each group got used to their rooms in their own special ways.
Sunset's Group:
"O.K. girls, this is our room. We have a wonderful view of the river and Houses of Parliament." Sunset cooed when she got in.
"I call this bed on this side with Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We'll have a sleepover. LOOK AT THAT! THERE'S EVEN A BALCONY!!!"
"I think I'm gonna like it here in this hotel. There is perfect lighting and electric features, and there is a good level of artwork." Twilight smiled as she took in the sights of the room.
Applejack's Group:
"WOOWEE! What a hotel room to stay in, the Brits have outdone themselves." Applejack exclaimed when she got into the room.
"Look at all the flowers in that vase, so pretty. The paintings look good too." Fluttershy whispered softly.
"I can't believe we are in here! LOOK! there are pillows in the beds that we can have a pillow fight with, and there's a refrigerator in the kitchen that I can put all of my whipped cream into! I hope you don't mind A.J." Pinkie Pie shouted enthusiastically.
Rarity's Group:
"Oh look at all of the chic paintings and color schemes! Not one painting or color out of place, and there is a perfect bed for all of us to sleep in. NO! Look at that walk in closet...I will be able to put all of my new dresses in there." Rarity spoke as she twirled around the room admiring everything.
"My cameras have perfect places to go, they will all be well functioning by the time we go and see all of the attractions that London has to offer. I should take pictures of the room." (click, click, click). "ENOUGH, I go." Photo Finish put her camera down and rushed into the bedroom.
"What a wonderful place to be staying. Nice work Rarity, you got us the jackpot on our room." Derpy commented.
Flash's Group:
"Cool room, if not acoustically perfect. I'll still be able to play music in here on the radio a few times and to play my guitar in the lobby." Flash sighed.
"The room is sufficient and adequate for our power and enjoyment needs." Micro Chips observed. "There is high bearing members in the walls and ceiling, the electric wiring is just what we need for the melodious vocals on the radio wave receiver and the Panasonic Color Television, and the rest of the hotel is like a retirement rest home."
"Great dudes, I can't wait to stand out on the balcony and look out over the river." Sandalwood beamed.
Diamond Tiara's pair:
"It doesn't look as good as my bedroom back home Silver. MY room has more paintings than you can count, plusher beds than what we are sitting on, and a bigger TV than that. The only difference is that MY room doesn't have a balcony." Diamond Tiara boasted as she looked around the room unimpressed.
"It's not that bad Tiara. You gotta remember, being in here is much better than sleeping out on the Westminster Bridge for two weeks." Silver Spoon spoke to Diamond Tiara in a meaningful way.
Snips' and Snail's room:
"We get to watch all the TV we want buddy Snips. We also get the balcony and awesome paintings to look at." Snails spoke in a swanky rich person tone.
"Yeah, and we also have bathrooms and kitchens all to ourselves as well." Snips told him.
"I call window bed!" Snails yelled.
"I call living room couch!" Snips shouted (He always did things that were pretty eccentric).
Vice Principal Luna came into each room and briefed every member. "Now that we are here in the hotel, this will serve as our home away from home for a good two weeks. Our agenda for the two weeks looks like this:
We will go to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abby tomorrow.
We will go to Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square on Monday.
We will go to museums in South Kensington this coming Tuesday.
We are going to go up to the top of the Gherkin and the Shard skyscrapers Thursday.
We will go to stand on the Prime Meridian next Sunday.
We will go and see some tourist attractions and 10 Downing Street next Monday.
We will watch Arsenal take on West Ham United at Wembly Stadium next Wednesday.
We will go to see some of London's train stations next Friday.
We will go home next Saturday.
We will allow you all to walk around and explore Central London on your own, but you have to have a group of
Author's Note
The whole group gets into the hotel rooms at The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel. Vice Principal Luna tells each group the agenda for their two week visit, and gives them safety rules for exploring Central London on their own. Now the vacation really begins.
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Chapter 7: Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abby
The next morning at 9:45 everyone had awakened from the good night's rest and had all gotten ready as they should. Now most of the groups were downstairs in the hotel's breakfast lounge eating an assortment of cereal, waffles, pancakes, and some British breakfast food.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight were talking about their favorite parts on the trip out yesterday. "All things considered, I think that the best part of the whole trip was being able to fly in second class on board that jumbo jet across the Atlantic Twilight. What was your favorite part of the trip coming here?"
Twilight replied. "My favorite was being able to walk around Terminal 4 at JFK Airport during our layover in New York. I could see all sorts of shops and restaurants like Shop of Styles, Times Square Gifts, and New York Gifts."
Rainbow Dash realized that. "Say, that's right. Applejack and I did some looking around at those shops too, we even bought 'I love NY' sweaters."
"That's good Rainbow. I didn't know you had such a liking for New York." Twilight found out.
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Well, I do like the New York Yankees and the Madison Square Garden."
At that time most of the groups were finished and headed over to meet Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna for their briefing of the day's activities. They were going to visit two famous UK landmarks that had been around since the medieval times that were located just on the other side of the Thames River from the hotel. Once they had all assembled, Principal Celestia started speaking again.
"We are all about to go to our first two attractions that we will see while we visit London. They are the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abby, now here are the rules: We do not want anyone wandering off (I'm talking to you both Snips and Snails). We will not be using the Underground since the two attractions are just across the river from here and they are literally across the street from each other. And we want everyone to be on their best behavior. My sister will explain the rest."
Luna started speaking thereafter. "We will be spliting into two groups, remember who you are with. One group will be lead by my older sister to go and see the Houses of Parliament first to watch an official Prime Minister's Questions meeting, the other will be lead by me to visit the main chamber and many tombs of Westminster Abby. We will alternate at lunch to go and see the places that we didn't see at first. Now here are your groups:
Celestia's group is like this:
Twilight
Sunset Shimmer
Applejack
Rainbow Dash
Rarity
Pinkie Pie
Fluttershy
Silver Spoon
and Micro Chips.
My group looks like this:
Diamond Tiara
Flash Sentry
Sandalwood
Snips
Snails
Derpy
and Photo Finish.
Now that we have our entire group in order, let's go see the landmarks."
Ten minutes after the groups had been organized they all left the hotel and walked across the Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament. Celestia's group bought tickets to watch Prime Minister's Questions while Luna's group proceeded to Westminster Abby. Within the building of the Houses of Parliament all of Celestia's group was being jostled into the public galleries in the House of Commons, they all took their seats above the Government side of the chamber and waited for the meeting to begin.
"This place is quite crowded, I wonder how we are going to be able to see what is happening." Wondered Sunset Shimmer.
"This meeting should be starting soon, the whole room is getting quiet." Rainbow Dash Whispered.
"There they are." Micro Chips gasped. "David Cameron, the British Prime Minister. Look, John Bercow is here to as the speaker to the House of commons. Boy this is gonna be good to observe."
The meeting started with a lot of debating and rowdy cheering from each side of the chamber as David Cameron was asked many questions about his current term. Many times during the meeting, each party (either Government or Opposition) would insult each other with class which would send up plenty of cheers as well as jeering and sneering. Some of them went like this:
David Cameron Started. "I know what my mother would say. She’d look across the dispatch box, and she’d say, ‘Put on a proper suit, do up your tie, and sing the national anthem!" Firing on an Opposition Party member which sent the whole chamber into laughter.
The next one went like this. "I have been following his review on desert island disks, and I think it is fair to say that he's no longer a follower of Marx, he's loving Angles instead." Sending up another loud rant.
David Cameron had one more up his sleeve. "OH! We have a new hand gesture coming from the Shadow Chancellor. This is a bone I'm throwing to the Opposition; The Shadow Chancellor's new hand gesture should be 'bye bye'. You don't need it to be Christmas when you know you're sitting next to a turkey."
John Bercow was trying his best to get the House of Commons under control. "ORRRRRRDDDDDAAAAAA!!! MR. CAMERON YOU ARE A VERY EXCITABLE INDIVIDUAL, YOU NEED TO WRITE A MILLION TIMES 'I WILL BEHAVE MYSELF AT PRIME MINISTER'S QUESTIONS'!!!"
Meanwhile across the street, Vice Principal Luna's group had just arrived at Westminster Abby. It was a famous cathedral in which royal people had been coronated, married, or even buried. The group was mostly allowed to walk within the main hall where the ceremonies took place.
"WOW! This room is really big to walk around in, and look at all those paintings of queens and kings." Derpy Admired the many paintings of past monarchs.
"Now we just gotta find out when the next ceremony is going to be held," Snails started.
"And then we try to get a selfie with the royal family!" Snips shouted as they both began to laugh.
"This palace design would look good in my room back home. I have got to find a way to take this idea back to daddy back home, maybe he could build this into my room back home." Diamond Tiara muttered under her breath
"I think that Twilight would love it in here. She loves this kind of stuff." Flash Sentry sighed sadly.
"DUDE! This place looks totally old but so good too, It looks like something out of Micro's Dungeons and Dragons." Sandalwood remarked thinking about his friend.
The whole group left the Abby after they had gotten the chance to look at some royal tombs of monarchs that had ruled long before Queen Elizabeth II. They all decided to meet Celestia's group once they had finished their time within the Houses of Parliament and to go and get some lunch, they promptly did that once they saw them coming out of the ornate buildings. After lunch both groups went to go and see each location that they didn't visit before lunch, they all had good times going to see the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Abby. After they had finished they all went back to the hotel to eat diner and to go to sleep for the night and to be ready for the next adventure the next day...
Author's Note
The two places that our groups visit today are the Houses of Parliament to watch a rowdy Prime Minister's Questions, and Westminster Abby to see pictures of previous monarchs, the main hall of the Abby, and to observe royal tombs.
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Chapter 8: Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square
The next day the whole CHS gang met up in the lobby of the hotel. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were already there waiting to brief them on what was to happen that day, they had two very special places to go to. Sunset was talking to Twilight at that time when they made it out of the elevator at level 1.
"Twilight, have you been loving this trip here to London so far? Are you missing home?" Spoke Sunset.
Twilight just shrugged and said. "I don't really know. I love London, I've always wanted to come here after reading a lot of books about it. But at the same time I do love living back home in Canterlot in my teenage life. I don't know what to tell you Sunset."
Sunset patted her on the back. "Don't let it drag you down Twilight, just keep going. Your loving this trip so far, I don't want anything to ruin it."
Snips and Snails at the time were trying to guess where they were going that day and this is what it sounded like:
"Snips, I think we might be going to the Gherkin today, I overheard Vice Principal Luna talking about it last night when we got back from Westminster Abby." Snails recalled.
"Nah, I think that we may be going to see some train stations today, I'm not sure but I think we might do it." Snips replied skeptically.
Principal Celestia called for the attention of the entire group of people that were now forming a place to listen to the two of them. She started.
"Everyone, we are once again splicing into two groups today, so if you want to be with your buddy stick close to them."
At that, both Pinkie Pie and Derpy leaped close to Rainbow Dash and Photo Finish. Principal Celestia continued.
"We are going to visit two places today with some alternating places at lunch. The two locations are going to be Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, one group will take a double decker bus from here to the Palace and another will take the Underground's Bakerloo Line from Waterloo Station to Charing Cross Station to look at the whole place including Nelson's Column and the National Gallery, be sure that you have your Oyster Cards ready."
Vice Principal Luna continued with the list of both groups.
"The groups are going to be split up like this for today: Going with my sister to Buckingham Palace are Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Sandalwood, Derpy, and Photo Finish. Coming with me to Trafalgar Square are Twilight, Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Rarity, Flash Sentry, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Micro Chips, Snips and Snails. We are all ready, let's go."
Outside the two groups split up. Luna's group walked up the street towards the curved glass roof of Waterloo Train Station while Celestia's group crossed the street to a bus station to wait for a double decker to come along. The wait for the bus lasted for 15 minutes, then a bright red and new double decker leaned around a corner and came to a stop to pick them up.
"Oh My GOSH! We get to ride in a double decker bus. IT'S LIKE A BUNK BED ON WHEELS!!!" Screamed Pinkie Pie. "Dash and I are riding up top, who's with me?" The whole group cheered and ran up the stairs to raid the upper level with Principal Celestia wondering what had just happened.
"This is very nice to be riding up high like a 18-wheeler at this here upper level." Applejack spoke as the bus began moving.
"I can get all zuh pictures that I vant. This will look good in zee Yearbook!" Photo Finish shouted as she began taking pictures all over the place. "ENOUGH...I go."
The ride on the bus was o.k. with everyone. It careened smoothly down the street with cars bypassing it in the opposite lanes, the bus softly swayed from side to side as it traveled. But everyone didn't like the turns so much because the bus would lean so far that you thought it may have toppled over, thankfully the bus didn't topple over and in no time at all they had all reached Buckingham Palace.
"Ohh why do we have to be down in the Underground again? It get's so hot in the train cars." Rarity whined when Vice Principal Luna's group was standing on the northbound platform of the Bakerloo Line at Waterloo Station.
"Well put it this way," Twilight started. "Even though you can get hot and sweaty on the Underground, it still goes relatively fast and can take us anywhere."
"Good point Twilight. I just hope I don't mess up my lovely new Union Jack t-shirt that I got yesterday." Rarity smiled as she showed it off to everyone.
"That's Rarity for you." Silver Spoon groaned.
"I'm with you on that Silver." Diamond Tiara said as she shook her head unamused.
Headlights could be seen coming up the tunnel as the announcement blasted through speakers talking about the train's arrival. The train barreled into the station at 30 MPH and squealed to a stop as the air brakes hissed. "MIND THE GAP!" The speakers blasted the famous public transit quote through the platform as people got on and off the train. The CHS group got on as soon as the door closed. The train started speeding up as soon as it entered the tunnel, but this was one of the slower tube lines and the train only traveled at 30 MPH. It took a total of 10 minutes to get to Trafalgar Square.
At Buckingham Palace, Principal Celestia's group was having a good time taking pictures and selfies in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial and trying there best to get the Royal Guards to break their serious stone face look. Once a tourist even tried to act like he was climbing the fence and the guard shouted. "Stay off the fence!" at him. They were having the best of times at the palace. Afterward they all walked up to Green Park Station and took the Underground from there to Charing Cross to meet up with the other group for lunch (transferring to the Bakerloo Line from the Picadilly Line at one of the stations when they did.
The group at Trafalgar Square during the same time had some similar fun times. They climbed onto the backs of the great metal lions at the base of Nelson's Column, They all gawked at incredible works of art in the National Gallery, Derpy splashed around in one of the fountains, and Rarity even got to play her keytar with a street band that was performing. They all met up at a nearby pub with the other group to have lunch and to alternate locations.
That evening they all returned to the hotel. Principal Celestia's group on the Underground and Vice Principal Luna's group on a Double Decker bus. They all shared with each other the great and incredible times that they had during the day and all headed back to their rooms after Principal Celestia called for curfew. They all went to sleep wondering what the next day would bring...
Author's Note
And so we go to other locations. Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar square
Chapter 9: Museums and Skyscrapers
The next morning Rainbow Dash was talking to Photo Finish and Derpy in the lobby's continental breakfast room. This is what they were talking about:
"So you're saying that you take pictures almost every single day and you find the best ones to put into the yearbook?"
"You are correct Ms. Dash! T art of Photography is very precise, you've got to have that right mind working when you get vat angles and color with brightness that you want or need."
"Sounds fair enough, I would probably be the same way if I was a picture taker like you." Rainbow Dash replied.
"AND IT IS PHOTOGRAPHER!!!" Photo Finish yelled.
Derpy asked her a question. "Have you gotten any pictures from this trip Photo?"
Photo Finish answered. "I have collected many wonderful and action-filled pictures from this trip Bobushka. I've gotten some from the airport, the Underground, this hotel that we are staying in, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square. I am making the best pictures into yearbook photos for this coming school year."
Derpy was surprised. "Sounds pretty good alright." and kept eating breakfast.
After breakfast was finished, Principal Celestia called for her group to meet in the lobby. It was the usual, there were two groups (one lead by Celestia and the other by Luna) and today they would be going to visit skyscrapers and museums. They would be traveling by the Underground to all attractions for today. Today's groups looked like this:
Celestia:
Luna:
The group lead by Principal Celestia would be taking the Circle Line of the Underground to Aldgate Station to see the first skyscraper known as the Gherkin, after the visit they would take a walk to the Shard and take the elevator to the observation decks at the top to look out over the city. They would then get aboard the Jubilee Line and take it to Canary Wharf and take a look at One Canada Square (known to some as Torchwood 1). They would then go back to Central London and meet up with the other group for lunch.
Luna's group, however, would go and look at some museums around London. They would start by visiting the Imperial War Museum and the Churchill War Rooms, They would then take the Jubilee Line to London Bridge Station and go to the HMS Belfast, a battleship from WWII. They would finish by taking the Northern Line up to Kings Cross to transfer to the Picadilly Line, and would take it down to Covent Garden Station and make it to the London Transport Museum. They would then meet the other group for lunch and alternate with them.
Celestia's group got to the Gherkin quickly so they could get in and see the top which was a cafe for tourists and guests to the building. Silver Spoon let out a cry of excitement when they looked out over the city.
"WOW! HA HA! We can see all of London from here!" She was amazed.
Pinkie Pie decided to look out to the west to see what she could see. From where she stood she could see the St. Paul's Cathedral down below, the Houses of Parliament in the distance, Trafalgar Square, and Buckingham Palace. "What an amazing view from here, It's like I'm flying in a plane again."
Rarity and some of the others were sitting down at a table just talking about how the trip was treating them the whole time, Silver Spoon and Pinkie kept looking out the windows all over London, and Photo Finish was snapping pictures the whole time. They finished about 30 minutes after and got over to the Shard.
The Shard was a skyscraper that was much larger and taller than the Gherkin, it was really nothing more than a skyscraper that was shaped like a shard of glass that jutted straight to the sky. The elevator ride to the top was very fast and adrenaline inducing, but once they got to the top they were met by an amazing sight of the view from the top of the shard of the whole of Central London. Some members like Rarity, Derpy, and Micro Chips couldn't stand on the edge at the handrail because they were too scared to get closer. That wasn't a problem for the rest of the group because they all loved
The last skyscraper they visited was One Canada Square. After a quick and fast ride on the Jubilee Line, they came out onto Canary Wharf and entered the great building. They couldn't go to the top of the building here because it was blocked by business turnstiles, but they still had a good time exploring the many parts of the skyscraper's lower levels. They finished and took the Underground back into Central London.
Luna's group started at the Imperial War Museum, which was filled with many artifacts from Britain's great military past. Some collections included suits of armor from the middle ages where you could see how the knights in armor fought back then. Other collections showcased many war machines from WWII like bomber planes, fighter planes which would defend the bomber planes, tanks, jeeps, and even battleship turrets.
The next place that they went to was the Churchill War Rooms in which Winston Churchill HIMSELF kept Britain alive and helped to plan battle strategies within the hidden armored rooms beneath London. Everything was very well made up to look just like it would have during WWII. A lot of the group members loved all of the detailed pieces from the past happenings beneath the streets of London.
The HMS Belfast was another location that talked about the war time strategies of Great Britain. It was a battleship that was at use during the great war that was kept in perfect shape for visitors to come and see what life on a ship would be like, everything was done authentically. The worst part was that when the group got down to the lower levels of the ship where a lot of hatches that they had to go through were very small, Luna and a lot of brave members were not scared and went through the hatches perfectly, but the other's who weren't so brave had to be helped through the hatches.
The last museum of their visit was none other than the London Transport Museum that talked about the rich history of London's great public transit systems. There were double decker carriages and double decker buses (some of which you could get inside), there were London Taxi's on display to learn a lot of things about the classic black cabs that zipped around the streets of the city, and there were some areas that were greatly devoted to the extensive Underground system: from the steam powered trains of the Metropolitan Railway to the first electric powered trains all the way to the present day tube trains. Sunset Shimmer loved the one exhibit where you could drive a London Underground train through a simulator. The group finally left the museum and went to visit the other group for lunch before they alternated for the skyscrapers.
That evening the whole school group came back to the hotel and all went back to there rooms. They were all excited for tomorrow since they were going to go to the separation of the two hemispheres of the world: The Prime Meridian...
Author's Note
Very Tall skyscrapers and intellectual Museums in this chapter.
Chapter 10: The Prime Meridian
The next day saw a very excited CHS group leaving the hotel for an incredible day today.
"I can't believe it!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We are going to the Prime Meridian."
Twilight spoke up. "Did you know that The Prime Meridian is where the whole world gets mapped from? It's true, we are going to Latitude 0 degrees today. It's also where all the world's time zones start from."
"That sounds great," Said Applejack. "Will all be at a place where time starts, I can see what time it is back home."
"It will be a very good and incredible time today, but I do hope that I see birds there." Fluttershy whispered.
Pinkie Pie perked up. "Are you all excited because I'm excited to be going to the center of space and time?" The others slowly nodded. "I KNEW IT!!!" Pinkie shouted loudly.
Sunset Shimmer was glad to be going to see what this place would be like as well as Rarity and everyone was looking forward to a good afternoon at the Royal Observatory. The whole group began their journey by taking the Jubilee Line all the way out to Canary Wharf Station, once they had come out of the station they took to the elevated rail system known as the Docklands Light Railway (or DLR) from Canary Wharf on a trip under the Thames River and back out onto the Cutty Sark Station which was for Maritime Greenwich. They walked the rest of the way to the Royal Observatory. There were no groups this time and everyone was free to see whatever they wanted at the Royal Observatory.
The Mane 7's first port of call was the prime Meridian itself. The Prime Meridian was really nothing all that impressive, it was just a steel line in the ground with a glass tube showing the beam of a laser shooting through it. On either side of the line were plaques showing how far away major cities were from the meridian.
"It looks like Sydney Australia is 10,553 miles from here." Applejack observed.
"Washington D.C. is 3,679 miles from here. If I had my geode I could get there in 2 hours." Rainbow Dash spoke confidently.
Twilight was surprised to see that their hometown of Canterlot was not mentioned. "Why is our home not mentioned on here?" She asked.
"Probably because Canterlot is not as well known as some of the other U.S. cities." Fluttershy spoke.
Rarity let out an excited squeal when she saw what was at her feet. "PARIS IS 698 MILES AWAY! I'VE GOT TO SEND SOME OF MY DRESSES THERE!"
Flash, Micro, and Sandalwood were all looking at the many clocks near the Observatory. The clocks were all very different, some of them were usual clocks, some of them had weather signals on them, some had 24 hours on their faces, and some even had a red ball above them. Flash and Sandalwood both asked Micro Chips a question.
"Micro, why are all of these clocks made differently?" asked Flash.
"Yeah, why are they so different?" Sandalwood asked.
Micro Chips explained "These many different specimens of time keeping machines are all made for the location of the world that we are standing upon. The usual 12 hour clocks that you see are for measuring time in the usual way that any analog or digital clock would measure time by. The clocks that have weather signals are used to measure the weather in the surrounding area as well as to be used to measure time. The clocks that have 24 hours on their faces are to measure time on a 24 hour time frame, this time frame measurement is commonly known as Military Time since it is used in armed forces to keep accurate timing. The clocks with a red ball above them are to be used as timing mechanisms for tourists or for passersby, as soon as it turns 1:00 PM the ball drops to signify that a new clock cycle has begun. People can use that drop of the ball to set their watches or phone clocks accurately to Greenwich Meantime."
Meanwhile at the prime Meridian Snails was challenging Snips to a most absurd competition. This is what it was.
"O.K. Snips, the first person to completely polish this entire part of the Prime Meridian gets to use both Oyster Cards for the rest of the day. Are you ready?" Snails asked.
"Ready Snails!" Snips shouted.
Snails began the countdown. "One...Two...Three!" The both of them completely went crazy trying to polish the Meridian line with just their t-shirts or their hands. They both were quite a sight to see for all of the people who were watching, at one point a man even tried to get the attention of a nearby Bobby (London Police Man) to get them to stop. In the end Snips was the one who won the competition and got to use both of their Oyster Cards for the rest of the day.
There were a lot of other great things that happened that day like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looking around some rooms of the Royal Observatory, Derpy asking Photo Finish to take a picture of her standing on the Prime Meridian, and finally Vice Principal Luna looking at the exhibit of the Moon's pattern through the night sky. They all finished by taking a school group photo in front of the Royal Observatory before getting on the DLR and taking the Underground back to the hotel for the night. Another day had been finished...
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Chapter 11: Wembly Stadium football (soccer)
Chapter 11: Wembly Stadium football (soccer)
It was the day that most of the members of the Canterlot High group (Rainbow Dash being the most enthusiastic) was waiting for on the trip. The trip was starting to come to a close now as they all had only three days left until the day that they would take the Underground back to Heathrow Airport and get on a plane that was heading back to America and home. The many groups were not sad, however, they were ready to seize the day's activities.
"I can't believe we are actually going to see West Ham United take on Arsenal at Wembly Stadium, I want to get a autograph from one of the players. Maybe if we get there early enough we will be able to sit right at the edge of the field." Rainbow Dash was ready for today.
"I hope that we all will have great times here. It should be cool to watch a game." Twilight replied.
"Let's just hope that Rainbow doesn't get too excited and starts yelling at the team she doesn't like." Applejack sighed.
"If she does, I could try to calm her down." Whispered Fluttershy.
"I can try to get her a few ice cubes to 'cool' her down. he he he he he he he he he he he!" Pinkie Pie giggled.
"At all costs I hope we do...Sunset darling, why do you look sad?" Rarity asked Sunset.
Sunset did indeed look very sad today. She held her head in one hand and was crying the whole time, and her new 'I Love London' shirt was being ruined by it. Rarity came to the emotional aid of her friend.
"What's wrong with you Sunset? Is something wrong...(gasp) A boy didn't get into the room...did he?" Rarity raised a brow.
"No." Sunset teared. "It's just that...I...Find...Flash...Sentry...Charming again like I did when I first saw him." She was crying the whole time.
Rarity put an arm over her shoulder and hugged her. "It's alright Sunset, we all see a boy after a long time and want to try to reach our original roots with them. But don't take it hard on yourself, embrace your liking for him and try to make amends again. I'm sure he would love to see you again...after all this...time."
"Thank you Rarity." Sunset said as she blew her nose into her sleeve.
"Any time darling. I'll be glad to tell you where to meet up with him." Rarity promised.
"Come on girls!" Vice Principal Luna called. "We don't want to be late for our train!"
The trip on the Underground was very swift this time thanks to the first half being covered by the Jubilee Line. The trains on this line were much faster than most of the other trains on the system, and the stops at the station were shorter than a minute. Once the train made in to Flinchley Road Station, they all transferred to the Metropolitan Line and took it the rest of the way to Wembly Stadium. Once they got there they all walked down to the gigantic soccer (football) stadium.
The inside was packed with sports fans from different teams all cheering for the game to start...but before that could happen an announcement came on as a giant British Flag was rolled out onto the field. "WE WOULD LIKE ALL AUDIENCE MEMBERS TO PLEASE STAND, REMOVE YOUR HATS, AND PAY RESPECTS TO OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN" BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS." The instrumental version of the music began playing as a good number of attendees all sang the lyrics. After the music had stopped the whole stadium erupted with national cheer. The game began as both sports teams made it onto the field.
"Welcome sports fans to the first game of the season here at Wembly Stadium." Said a commentator over the speaker system. "We are all gearing up to what will become the first determining factor of which team will be able to move on to the next game and so on to the semi-finals."
The next commentator came on, he was from Scotland. "We have today our two teams who have come to square off against each other on this battlefield of football. The West Ham United team of which is a Golden Globe winner of four consecutive seasons, and the Arsenal team who has never made it to a Golden Globe Level, but has monstrous determination to get there."
"Sounds like Canterlot and Crystal Prep." said Pinkie Pie.
"WEST HAM! WEST HAM! WEST HAM!" Rainbow Dash chanted.
The game began with two hard hits to Arsenal's goal from West Ham at the first quarter of the game, during that time Arsenal was also trying to make a goal, but West Ham's defenders proved to be indomitable from Arsenal's offense. The Arsenal Fans were all yelling and sneering at West Ham at this time of the game. "WHO CARES, WEST HAM IS THE BEST!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted, the West Ham fans all cheered when Rainbow yelled that statement.
The second quarter saw a huge leading of West Ham to Arsenal (10 to 4), but Arsenal was not short of determination. As soon as the first play was made Arsenal took the ball away from West Ham and started rushing across the field with the ball, West Ham just couldn't keep them down and Arsenal quickly tied with West Ham by the end of the quarter.
"What a crazy but well planed way to get back in the game. I do not know for sure yet if West Ham is going to beat Arsenal, because they already seem pretty determined to make it to nationals and to Golden Globe." The British commentator said.
"If this is right ladies and gentlemen, Arsenal could be on the way to winning their first Golden Globe if they beat anyone at the national level. But if West Ham can bring it back during the third and fourth quarters, it's all over for Arsenal again. Back to playing local for them in this season if that happens." The Scottish commentator said.
The third quarter is where West Ham really started to bring in heavy artillery to the game. Their defense and offense were all ready for the next big challenge coming from Arsenal. The first few goals were made by Arsenal, but West Ham brought their well-needed points back with a goal streak of 8 successful goals made. The teams were no longer tied as West Ham shot ahead with 34 points while Arsenal only had 23 points. "YYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted in approval as the quarter came to a close.
Now it was the moment of truth...this was it...it was the fourth and final quarter of the game. West Ham had a huge leading position at this time with 34 points, but Arsenal was now starting to catch up with 23 points shooting up to 29 points. West Ham managed to stay ahead of them if only by half a step with one goal made for every three of Arsenal's defense moves. West Ham and Arsenal were now once again tied at 39 and 39 with only 1 minute left on the clock. But as if Rainbow Dash actually Helped her team out by cheering, West Ham won the game with a shocking 59 point victory to a measly 46 from Arsenal. All of the West Ham Fans were rocking the whole of Wembly Stadium with their ludicrous cheering.
The whole school group headed back to the hotel on the Underground with Rainbow Dash talking to everyone (even to the principals) about the incredible victory that West Ham had over Arsenal. The Mane 7 knew as everyone else did that this was Rainbow Dash's version of Pinkie Pie being happy and excited for most of all the time of the day. As they got back to the hotel, they all hung out in the surrounding areas or just hung out in the elevators or their rooms, but they all had to be packed by that night...they were all going home the next day...
It had been a wonderful trip going out to London, but it was now three days later and the whole CHS group was once again down in the Westminster Underground Station getting ready to take the Jubilee Line up to Green Park to take the Piccadilly Line out to Heathrow.
"This has been such a good trip, it's to bad it had to go by this fast." Twilight had said.
"I liked it out here, I hope we come again." Sunset spoke as they got onto the train that would take them to Green Park.
"And everyone of us had a good time. Just like good friends do." Applejack sighed. "It's too bad it went by so fast."
"The Union Jack t-shirt that I've got will always remind me about this trip." Rarity spoke softly.
"And I loved all that we were able to do." Fluttershy whispered.
"I am glad that I was able to see the game at Wembly stadium with all of you guys." Rainbow Dash had stated when they had transfered to the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow.
"I loved seeing all of the sights and eating British Pastries!" Pinkie Pie shouted as the train trundeled through Acton Town and Hounslow.
Now they had reached Heathrow Airport and the whole group got off the train and headed into the airport to check in luggage and to show their passports to get ready to head back to JFK Airport and to finally head back to CMA Airport. After some haggle with Rites of Passage, they all went into the main terminal and waited for their plane to come. Principal Celestia spoke to the group before they got on the plane.
"I must say that I am exceedingly proud of all of you for such a wonderful trip and the support and respect that you showed while on the trip. We have made this trip a success for our school's international school trip program, and I think we will do this again next year to another city outside of America. Thank you all for such a good trip."
Vice Principal Luna spoke. "Now at this point we want to make sure that you all have your boarding passes for the plane trip home, once we've made sure that you have all boarding passes with you we will assign you to your seats on board and then we'll be going on smooth sailing all the way back home from this point."
Both Principals checked to see if everyone had their boarding passes and were all ready to go on the plane to head back home. Once they were all on the plane, they got to their seats and were all starting to rest as soon as the plane took off. This was the end of their trip.
