Ethan and Scootaloo walked through the Everfree Forest on their way back to Zecora's. The forest was eerily quiet for some reason which worried the orange filly. Eager to focus on something else she turned to Ethan.
"How ya holding up Ethan?"
"I'm fine, except my face hurts a little."
Scootaloo stopped and looked at him.
"Yeah, you got a bruise during the scuffle, riiiiiiight here."
"Ow, don't poke it."
"Sorry." she said sheepishly "Anyway, are you sure were going the right way? I mean, I'd REALLY hate to go through that again. That was enough excitement for one day...or a month..."
Ethan looked up, spotting Navi high above them mapping out a safe route through the forest so they didn't run into anything else. Navi suddenly turned right and then called down to him.
"There's a bit of trouble ahead, we're gonna have to go around it."
He nodded and then looked back at Scootaloo with a smile.
"Don't worry, we'll be safe."
The two of them arrived at the hut after after a short while.
"There you two are!" Apple Bloom shouted. "You took so long out there to get here that we all started to worry something terrible might've happened to you."
"Something bad did happen!" Scootaloo said excitedly "I got attacked by a timberwolf with glowing eyes and saliva dripping from it's razor sharp teeth! It chased me all around the forest until I ran into Ethan. Just as I was about to get eaten, he scooped me up and ran off carrying me! But we couldn't outrun it and things were starting to look really bad!"
"What happened next?" the two of them asked, spellbound by the story.
"Then we got cornered with no where else to go and then it started stalking us..." Scootaloo said crouching down, moving towards Sweetie Belle as if she were the wolf. "And the timberwolf got closer...and closer..."
Sweetie Belle nervously backed away as Scootaloo stalked her.
"AND STRUCK!"
"Eeep!"
Sweetie Belle let out a squeak and fell backwards.
"But Ethan jumped out and fought against the wolf, you should have seen him. Bam! Pow! Crash!"
She jumped around, mimicking the fight.
"Hey." Navi said speaking up while the others were listening to Scootaloo. "That was a really brave thing that you did back there. I didn't know you had that in you."
"You and me both, I must've been out of my mind." Ethan muttered. "But...I couldn't just run away and leave some crying kid to get eaten, I don't think I could live with that."
"Who knows Ethan, maybe you do have a little hero in you."
"Please, not this again..."
Chuckling as they walked back, Navi couldn't help but feel that the evaluation of Ethan had risen quite a bit after what happened. And one year was a long time, who knows what might change in that period.
"We should probably be getting back to Sweet Apple Acres." Apple Bloom said piping up."We're still putting the finishing touches on all that work to make the cider."
"Aw, but what about the club?"
"Sorry Sweetie Belle, we'll get back to crusading right when we get finished."
"Okay...yeah, sorry Zecora, we gotta get moving.
"Ethan, I can discern that you are quite busy then. Come alone sometime, I wish to speak with you again." the Zebra said with a smile.
He lifted a brow. "What do you wanna talk about that can't be said here?"
"That is indeed a mystery, come by again and you will see."
The four of them left Zecora's heading back to the farm.
"Seriously...does Zecora plan her sentences in advance, or is rhyming completely normal for her?"
"I'm pretty sure it's normal for her." said Sweetie Belle
"I dunno." Scootaloo added. "Could you imagine how funny it would be if she had this big list of topics ponies might talk about and how she could rhyme and still make sense."
"The crusaders giggled and laughed at the idea.
"Well, as funny as that might be, I don't think she does that. Why do you bring it up Ethan?"
"Meh, just not a fan of it."
"Yes! Yes! Yes! This is gonna be awesome!"
Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof in the air in excitement. In about a week was the big book signing in Manehattan. Normally she'd scoff at such at such an event, but this wasn't just any book signing. Daring Do was going to be there IN PERSON giving away a signed version of her new book. Obviously the line was going to be huge so you HAD to be on time or else you might not get a copy, she'd have to make the trip today if she wanted to be there on time.
"And two days after that..." She walked to the calendar and flipped it over.
"Cider day!" The blue pegasus couldn't help but grin. She flew into the air and did a back-flip. Twilight saw her and walked over.
"Hey Rainbow Dash. You seem pretty excited."
"Uh YEAH! How could I not be? The new 'Daring Do' book is coming soon and Cider Day is two days after that!"
Twilight chuckled then her face became confused.
"Wait, doesn't Cider season start in about a week?"
"What!?" Rainbow shouted, causing Twilight to cover her ears in annoyance. "That CAN'T be right!"
"It's true, Applejack told me a few hours ago."
"That's impossible! I've been planning this for like a month, why is this happening?!"
"Well I don't know, maybe you should talk to Apple-"
*ZOOM!*
"Jack..." Twilight said blankly as Rainbow Dash had already left.
Applejack finished pulling a cart to the barn and sat down for a bit, taking one of the apples for herself. She squinted as she spotted something off in the distance.
"Now what the hay is that..."
The small speck in the distance quickly grew larger, showing Rainbow Dash flying for all she was worth. She tried to slow down but was moving too fast and ended up landing in one of the trees. Applejack walked over as the pegasus fell out of the tree and shook her head.
"Whoa there Rainbow, you okay?"
"SAY IT AIN'T SO!" she said ignoring her friend's question.
"Okay...uh, what ain't I sayin' is so?"
"The cider Applejack! Tell me about the cider!"
"Oh that? Now don't you worry a thing, everything is fine."
Rainbow Dash breathed out a sigh in relief.
"In fact, we're gonna be able to release our cider even earlier than expected."
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Rainbow yelled frantically.
"That's not exactly the reaction I was expectin'." Applejack said scratching her head.
"Can't you move the date back? I have plans on that day!"
"Sorry Rainbow, already announced that it's coming early and I can't just take it back. The Apple family can be ahead of schedule, but NEVER behind it. Besides, feels a little wrong making everyone wait just for you."
Applejack grabbed one of the baskets and continued working, Rainbow Dash however decided to keep trying.
"Okay so maybe you can't delay the whole event, but could you let me order ahead of time? Then you could just save me the cider."
"Ya know I can't do that either. I can't let people order ahead of time. Because then, everyone's comin' in like crazy tryin' to order ahead, makin' a mess. Worst of all, even when they order ahead, I don't know when we'll run out of cider. Lots of folks are gonna get excited, only to be let down when they've ordered and it's ain't enough. You know the rules. First come, first serve."
"That's not fair! Why are you guys ahead of schedule anyway?"
At that moment, Ethan walked by pulling a cart full of apples while whistling a tune. Instead of unloading the cart like Applejack did, he pulled the cart into the barn and grabbed a different one. He was still trying to empty his side of the field before Applejack, so he wanted to find a more efficient way. Applejack chuckled as he pulled the cart away.
"That's why we're ahead of schedule."
"Him?"
"Yup, thanks to him, I ain't gotta worry about Granny sweatin' in this heat. Work's been movin' along faster too. Now if ya don't mind, I best be gettin' back to said work."
Applejack trotted off to tend to other things.
"I can't believe that guy!" Rainbow Dash said raising her hooves in exasperation. "This was so perfect before HE came along!" She flew off in the direction he had walked in the fields.
"I'd say I'm making pretty good time." Ethan said proudly. He kicked the tree and gathered the apples as they fell. "Navi, what do you think?"
"Well, you're faster than before, I'll give you that."
"What's the score between me and Applejack?"
"Before, she was 9 trees ahead of you. Now she's 13 trees ahead of you."
"What?! That's even worse than before! Shouldn't I be catching up?"
"This Applejack has been doing this for years. For every tree you finish, she does more, anyway don't feel bad. Last time, she gained a 9 tree advantage, this time it was only 4 trees."
Ethan stopped for a second and started thinking. At this rate he'd never finish before Applejack. Even if he somehow managed to work as fast as her she already had a good lead. Now how was he going ma...wait a minute. Ethan rubbed his hooves together and an evil smile appeared on his face.
"I've got an idea, a pretty simple one too. Heh heh heh."
"I don't like that look you've got on your face..." Navi said cautiously.
"Hey! You!" yelled a voice.
Ethan turned around in surprise, both he and Navi had been too busy talking to notice anyone approaching. Looking behind him, he saw a pair of light blue legs hovering in front of him.
"Huh?"
"Up here."
Ethan looked up to see a light blue pegasus with rainbow colored hair looking down at him with her hooves crossed and a sour expression.
"Do I know you?"
"I'm Rainbow Dash, THE Rainbow Dash. Maybe you've heard of me?"
"Actually...yes, I have." He remembered Pinkie and Fluttershy mentioning her back at the store
The girl's narrowed eyes widened.
"Wait really? Awesome, I knew that everypony would sta- wait, no! Don't get distracted!" Rainbow told herself. She continued scowling at him. "I hope you're happy!"
"Thank you, I hope you're happy too."
"Wait...that's not what I meant."
Ethan cackled. "I know, I'm just messing with ya." he continued working while Rainbow followed him. "Well? Let's hear it."
"Hear what?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.
"You're obviously mad at me for something right? What is it?"
"Oh right, ahem. Listen here...um..."
"Ethan."
"Right. Listen here Ethan! You caused Cider Day to come early!"
"And that's bad because...why again?"
"I had plans that day! Now I have to choose between this and a book signing I was going to!"
Ethan dropped the basket he was carrying. He turned back to Rainbow Dash and gave her a strange look.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing it's just...you don't look like the bookworm type."
"I'm not! But this book is different, it's filled will all sorts of awesome action, not like those other boring books. Best of all, these books are written off of REAL adventures that happened!"
"Look, I'm sorry me working here makes you miss your book signing thing, but it's not like I can see into the future. At this point it's too late to stop, so you'd better just figure out which one is more important to you."
'Choose...ONE?' Rainbow Dash thought with horror.
"Getting a signed copy from Daring Do herself is amazing but...Cider Season only comes once a YEAR!" The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. "I CAN'T choose!"
"Well..." Ethan hesitated for a second. "It is SLIGHTLY my fault you have to miss one of these things. How can I make this up to you?"
Rainbow Dash started thinking for a moment, and then a sly smile crossed her face.
"You work here right?"
"Yeah."
"Could you...maybe...save me some cider?"
"Is that all? Sure, I'll just ask Applejack if we can-"
"YOU CAN'T TELL APPLEJACK!" Rainbow yelled frantically, shaking him back and forth.
"W-why not!?"
"Because she wouldn't allow it! I already asked her and she said no."
"Really?" Ethan said thoughtfully. He took Rainbow Dash's hooves off of his shoulders. "Then I'm afraid I can't help you." Ethan picked up one of the baskets and loaded it into the cart. He began walking over to another tree when the blue mare dashed in front of him.
"Whoa whoa whoa! I thought you were gonna help me out, what happened?"
"Listen, I don't just work here, I LIVE here too. If I get caught breaking the rules I could get fired, and if I'm not working here, they won't have a reason to keep me around. Do you get what I'm trying to say? You're on your own."
Rainbow Dash fell backwards on the ground and covered her face.
"Noooo..." she whined "How could I possibly choose between the two?"
"Come on, it's not THAT bad is it?"
Rainbow Dash ignored him and continued moaning. Ethan tried not to listen, taking a basket under a tree and bucking it. But she didn't stop, and it was starting to get to him.
"Lalalalalala. I'm not listening, I'm not listening..." he picked up a basket in his mouth and ran to a tree a good distance away from her. Ethan set down the basket and listened, but couldn't hear her anymore.
"Ah, much better."
Ethan got to work for about an hour, eventually returning to the spot he ran away from in order to finish the work there. The second he got there, his eyes widened in surprise.
"You've to be kidding me."
Laying sprawled out of the grass was Rainbow Dash, not having moved an inch since he left.
"You're still here?!"
Rainbow Dash groaned sadly in response.
"Does this REALLY mean that much to you?"
"Yeah..."
Ethan was quiet for a moment before sitting down next to her. He seemed to be having a hard time deciding on something. Ethan looked at Rainbow Dash sadly laying there and sighed.
"Look, I can't promise anything but..."
"Yeah?" the blue mare said with hope creeping into her voice.
"I will TRY and hide some cider for you, no guarantees."
"You mean it?!"
Rainbow Dash immediately jumped back up, grabbing his hoof and shaking it up and down really fast.
"Thanks man! Ethan right? I think you and I are gonna get along just fine." she said giving him a rough pat on the back. "Why haven't I seen you around before?"
"I'm new to town."
"Oh, well maybe I can show you around sometime. Though, it might not be that exciting considering you just met the best thing about Ponyville." Rainbow Dash said with a cocky grin.
Ethan sputtered and started laughing. "Is that right?"
"Remember, I'm counting on you."
"I said I would try, I can't guarantee I-"
"Hold that thought." she interrupted. "I gotta go meet up with Rarity." She jumped and flapped her wings leaving behind a rainbow colored streak. "SEE YAAAAAA!" she yelled back at him waiving. Ethan watched her soar off, eventually becoming a dot and disappearing.
"Well that was unexpected." Navi said piping up. "Why'd you agree to give her a hand?"
"I can't help it." he muttered. "I can't stand seeing a girl be sad or cry. Somehow it makes me feel like I'M the bad guy. Seriously, that's not fair."
"Well I'm sure whoever you help is very thankful."
Ethan snorted. "Is that so? My sister pulls that whole fake crying thing every so often when she needs something. I'm sure she's very grateful." he said sarcastically.
"How are you gonna hide some cider right under the Apple family's noses?"
"I'll let you know when I figure that out."
Rainbow Dash happily soared through the open blue sky as the clouds rushed past her. She laughed, dropping down and zigzagging to dodge trees that were in front of her until the town came into view. Pulling higher into the air, she grabbed some small clouds without stopping.
"And now..."
Rainbow Dash circled around the clouds that she gathered, making a rainbow colored blur. When she finally stopped, the clouds had been molded into a sculpture of Rainbow Dash with her signature grin.
"Who says I can't have my cake AND eat it too?"
Satisfied, Rainbow Dash finally touched down to the ground chuckling as she entered Carousel Boutique.
"Sup Rarity."
"Oh Rainbow, good timing, thank you for agreeing to help me."
"No problem, what am I doing anyway?"
"Come on, I'll show you."
She led her friend through the boutique. She passed one of her customers who was quietly looking through a rack of outfits.
"I'm sorry darling." she said to a female unicorn. "I'm going to be busy for a little showing a friend a personal project. If you need anything, I'll still be close by."
"Oh alright, I'll just keep looking." the customer responded.
Rarity continued to a corner of the shop where there was a mannequin with a big cloth covering it. Rarity giggled happily as she looked at it.
"You're making blankets?" the pegasus asked with a confused face.
"No Rainbow dear, it's about what's UNDER the blanket."
Her horn glowed blue and the blanket lifted off the figure.
"Feast your eyes."
"Whoa..."
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but be surprised by what she saw. On the mannequin was a slim, athletic looking outfit. Light blue with various rainbow stripes near the hooves and neck area to match Rainbow Dash's mane, on the chest was a lightning bolt to match her mark.
"You MADE this?!" Rainbow said incredulously.
"Do you like it? I absolutely knew you would."
"When did you start making COOL stuff?"
"I'll take that last part as a compliment." Rarity said raising a brow.
She walked forward and pushed the figure closer to her friend.
"About two days ago, I was commissioned by some health and fitness business to make something for them. Now they're always doing difficult exercises that are not only difficult on themselves but also their clothes. They asked if I could make something durable, but not too restricting. I figured, if you're the one who's going to help me with this, I might as well make it match you."
"This is so cool!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly as she ran around the outfit looking it over. "So I get to wear this?"
"Yes, I'd like you to wear it whenever you're on your little daredevil routines. This would be a good test, if they can withstand your rough and tumble exercises-"
"Then they'd be able to take just about anything." Rainbow finished with a cocky smile.
Rarity smiled back and playfully rolled her eyes. "Something along those lines I suppose."
"I'll do it. I'd be glad to help you with something like this."
"I say Rainbow, you seem a tad more upbeat than usual, did something good happen?"
"Something maybe DID happen..." she said cautiously.
"Oh come now, you can trust me."
"Well...I guess you're right, but this has to stay a secret alright?"
"Of course dear, my lips are sealed."
The yellow unicorn still shopping behind the racks perked up. Secret?
"Okay, so get this. Sweet Apple Acres moved Cider Season up two days, but you probably have heard about that yet."
"Oh yes, I've heard about it."
"Seriously? Was I the last pony to know? Nevermind. Anyway, because they moved up the day I was gonna miss out on the Daring Do book signing. But now, even if I don't go, I'll STILL have some cider waiting for me when I get back."
"How did you manage that?" Rarity asked curiously.
"I've got a friend working on the inside, and now I don't have to worry about that kind of stuff." Rainbow Dash said casually dusting her hoof on her chest. "I bet I could even get cider early if I wanted." she bragged. "Maybe I could hook YOU up. What are friends for right?"
The customer listening intently, widened her eyes in surprise after hearing that.
"Thank you Rainbow dear, but I don't think I'll be needing any extra. I do appreciate the gesture though."
"Alright, hey, I'm gonna take this thing out for a test flight." she said grabbing the clothing off the mannequin.
"Good luck." Rarity called to her friend as she left. "Oh!" she said turning back to the racks. "I do believe I've kept you waiting for a while."
Rarity looked around but she didn't find the customer anywhere.
"Hello?"
"Okay, it's alright, you're not doing anything wrong right now..."
Ethan pulled his cart back to the barn while nervously looking left and right.
"I'm just taking the apples back to the barn, and if I just so HAPPEN to see the cellar there's no problem."
He half expected the barn to somehow be heavily guarded or for others to be waiting for him. But no, as usual, it was empty with the others off doing their tasks. Somehow, this made him feel even more nervous. Ethan debated with himself over whether or not to check it out before dropping the cart and running into the barn. He took grabbed the wooden door on the ground and opened it. With one final look to make sure no one was watching him, he took his first steps inside.
"Now maybe just a quick look before- cough cough"
Ethan coughed and waived his hoof around as the dark room was filled with dust. As his eyes adjusted, he saw with wonder that there were row upon row of barrels lined up on shelves. Aside from the dust, there was a slight apple smell too.
"This was too easy...maybe they're waiting for me to come out..."
He pushed aside those thoughts and traveled further in the cellar. The room was dead silent, there wasn't any noises from the chickens or other animals or anyone else. As he neared the end, the row of barrels finally ended, replaced by empty spots of shelf. Ethan reached out and grabbed one of the barrels, all of the sudden, a mouse ran across his hoof.
"FDGDGFSFDRHRGTEDG!" Ethan shouted something unintelligible and fumbled with the barrel, just barely saving it from smashing into the ground. He needed a moment after almost having a heart attack.
"Stupid mouse!"
Ethan eventually caught his breath and continued. He reached out, but his hoof stopped midway from reaching the barrel.
"The others could come by at any moment, I need to do this NOW!" Despite what he told himself, his hoof refused to go any further. Ethan vainly struggled to take the barrel and run before giving up with a sigh and dropping his hoof.
"I can't do this." he muttered in defeat. "I can't just steal it from them."
Ethan turned around with a sigh and traveled up the stairs back into the barn and shut the trap door. He took a minute to catch his breath when...
"Hey Ethan." Applejack said to the unaware stallion.
"I DIDN'T DO IT!" he said whirling around.
"Didn't do what?"
"Ah...nothing..."
"You alright? You look like you're sweatin' up a storm. Maybe I ought to see about gettin' you your own hat."
"Y-yeah, that would be nice."
Ethan glanced behind Applejack and saw she had brought her cart back to the barn as usual. If he had come out just a little later, who knows what would have happened.
"Anyway, I'm glad I caught ya, it's about time to call it a day. I reckon you wouldn't have heard the bell in ya went back out to the fields."
"Bell?"
RING DING RING DING RING! A chiming sound came from afar.
"Soup's on everypony!" Yelled Granny Smith.
"Ah, speak of the devil. Well, why don't we call it a day for now? Food'll be ready not too long from now, guess I'll see ya then."
Applejack walked off towards the house, leaving Ethan by himself. Well, almost by himself.
"That was close..." he said letting out a deep sigh. "I thought she caught me for sure."
"I'm glad you decided not to steal from them." Navi said. "Looks like I was right in not trying to stop you."
Ethan fell back on the hay, mentally exhausted.
"Well now what am I supposed to do?"
"The one named Zecora wanted to talk to you when you had some free time on your hands remember?"
"...I guess I don't have anything better to do."
Ethan took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Zecora came over and opened it, upon seeing him she smiled.
"Ethan, I hadn't thought I'd see you quite so soon. Certainly not before the rising of the moon."
"I had some time on my hands, so I thought I'd come over and see what this was all about. What was it that was so secret you called me here alone for?"
"Enter and sit, you will soon see. While you do that I'll make some tea. "
"If we're gonna have a long talk, could you cut back on the rhyming? I can't take you seriously when you sound like Dr. Seuss."
She lifted a brow in surprise. "If that will make this chat easier for you, then rhyming is something that I will not d..."
Zecora stopped mid-sentence and coughed uncomfortably. "This is harder than I thought..."
Ethan sat down while Zecora made some tea and then sat down across from him. The two of them sat there just staring at each other without saying a word. Zecora took a sip of her tea and looked at him with a patient smile. Ethan forced a fake smile and took a drink so he wouldn't feel out of place. His nose wrinkled as the bitter tea entered his mouth.
"Blegh." he said making a face.
"Do you not like the tea?"
"No, no, it's good."
"Well, if you say that is the case, it must be true then." Zecora said with a mysterious smile.
The awkwardness continued for what seemed like an eternity. Zecora sat back drinking her tea not speaking a word, and Ethan sure didn't know what to say. Finally, he broke the silence.
"Are we gonna talk about anything?"
"That depends on you."
"Well, I don't really have anything I need to talk about."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"Because I'm doing fine."
"Your outburst would say otherwise."
"That was...I was just cranky from work."
"Well, if you say that is the case, it must be true then." Zecora said taking another sip.
Ethan's eye twitched in irritation but he just smiled. "Are you suggesting otherwise?"
Zecora sighed and put down her tea. Ethan clearly wasn't planning on opening up any time soon, so she decided to start first.
"You know, I consider anger to be one of the purest emotions. It often comes out when something happens and we don't want it to, a natural response to unwanted things. When somepony finally unleashes their anger, they speak their mind. Their thoughts and problems are laid bare, and they stop hiding the truth because they've reached a breaking point."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying when someone has an outburst like yours, there is a reason for it. They would've have to have gone through quite an ordeal while being unable to vent those feelings until they built up."
"I suppose they would have." Ethan said indifferently.
"So what is yours?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Wouldn't I?"
"Lady, I've got problems you couldn't even dream of."
Zecora turned around giving him a faint smile.
"Like how you're from another world?"