As they turned right at the end of Main Street and the Tomorrowland entrance came into view, Rarity was giggling as Sunset swiveled around to face her and made ridiculous hand motions while declaring "Welcome to the world of TOMORROW!"

"Goodness, I had no idea the world of tomorrow would look so dilapidated and aesthetically confused. Perhaps we in the designing profession shouldn't be so forward-thinking after all."

"Aw, c'mon, it's supposed to look kinda retro, they can't just constantly overhaul the place to fit every new definition of the future."

"No, but I mean just look at the state of this area!" Rarity exclaimed as they began to circle around the Astro Orbitor. "You've got all these concrete pillars from an old ride simply left in place to rot in plain view!" She motioned to the abandoned PeopleMover tracks running through the middle of the land. "It's absolutely garish! Not to mention the blue and green of the Buzz Lightyear ride completely clashing with the black of the Star Wars ride just across from it — neither of which seem especially futuristic to me as much as mere space fantasy — but I digress, it's just plain-"

"I'm sure they'll take all your concerns into consideration, Rares. I hear Disneyland loves to hire people whose first day working at an amusement park ended with them getting their manager fired."

"Pffff- That wasn't my fault! She's the one who decided to act like a supervillain in front of a crowd of people! I can't control it if the park owners didn't find us making friends with her onstage enough to compensate for her reckless endangerment of visitors!"

"And hiring managers are well-known for their nuance. Anyway, let's get in line," Sunset said, motioning to the entrance for Astro Orbitor.

Rarity looked up at the tall, rotating, Jules Verne-inspired ride structure. "Ah yes, speaking of conflicting design elements... why would they ever make this ride the focal point to the entrance of this land when it's so clearly out of sync with everything around it? The design has plenty to admire on its own terms, but it's just such a visual clash!" She made a gagging sound as Sunset laughed.

"Alright, come on, you can complain more in line," the redhead responded as she motioned Rarity into the entrance.

---

After getting through to the ride platform, the girls sat down in adjacent rockets, Sunset in front and Rarity behind. They looked back and forth at each other and waved as the loudspeaker played the safety instructions, and the ride started shortly after their seatbelts were inspected. Naturally, Sunset instantly raised her seat all the way to the top while Rarity elevated herself more gradually as the rockets began to spin around. The view of the castle courtyard was nice, but every time she was facing Tomorrowland, Sunset couldn't help but agree with Rarity a bit. Why didn't they just tear down all that old ugly track?

After the ride came to a stop and they'd both disembarked, the two walked over to each other and headed for the exit. "How was it for you?" Rarity asked.

"Honestly... less than I hoped. Just didn't feel like we were high up as I’d wanted to be. And every time we were facing away from the castle I was thinking about what you were saying on the ground. It is kinda ugly."

"Really? I completely forgot all about all that silliness," Rarity said with a goofy grin. "I was just enjoying the thrill of being up in the air!"

"Of course you were." Sunset internally rolled her eyes at herself for letting herself get so distracted from simply having fun. "Don't I feel ridiculous."

Sunset felt Rarity's hand on her shoulder. "It's nothing to fret about, darling. If everyone experienced these rides the same way, they wouldn't need to have so many different ones. And I’m sure I’d have felt differently if I was from a world where I could take a chariot to a city in the clouds."

"I guess you're right.

"Of course I am, dear. And I'm flattered you were thinking of me."

"Cute. I'm meeting Twilight over by Snow White next. Want to follow along?"

"Why not? I've no idea where Applejack's gotten off to, I suppose I can follow you while I wait for her text. Lead on!"

And the two of them strode back toward the castle.

Next Chapter: it's a small world (Rainbow Dash & Bulk Biceps) Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes