Fall Harvest debated whether or not he should go stop Apple Bloom from getting her sister involved. On one hoof, it might solve a lot of future headaches and issues and problems that would no doubt arise from being in Ponyville.
But on the other hoof, he was on vacation, being visible was not a massive issue. He shouldn’t have to work that hard if he was sent to enjoy himself on his down time, right?
Then again, it wasn’t the smartest ide-
“See sis; he’s an alicorn!” Apple Bloom shouted, causing Harvest to snap his head up as the two ponies came rushing towards him.
“No I’m not,” he said automatically, with enough conviction it was almost believable.
“But,” Applejack blinked, trying to reconcile his claims with what she could see with her own two eyes. “You’ve got wings and a horn; what else could ya be?”
“I, my good mare, am a winged unicorn,” he lied through his teeth and thankful for his connection to the Power of Death that allowed him to override that of Honesty.
The look of somewhat disbelief that Applejack gave him reminded him that he was not the Lord of Death, but merely an adjunct to the Role. He steeled himself, knowing this was going to be trickier than he’d expected.
“A what now?” Apple Bloom asked and if it were not for all the red flags in existence being raised, he would have kissed that little filly for giving him this perfect opening.
“A winged unicorn, my little friend,” he said as he kept eye contact with her while maintaining focus on her older sister. “Is exactly what it sounds like; I was born with wings.”
“So yer an alicorn,” Applejack said with Fall doing his utmost not to roll his eyes at her.
“Nooo, I am a winged unicorn,” he corrected her, flapping his wings in part to prove his point and in part to further confuse her. “I do not have the magic of an Earth pony, nor the unique powers of a pegasus. Just a unicorn’s magic and pegasus wings; I cannot fly with them, just glide, if I can get high up enough to be able to catch the wind under them in the first place.”
Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, and she looked like she was eager to ask him something more, but the older Apple was still looking skeptical. “Ah haven’t heard anything about unicorns with that sort of condition before, and Ah’m friends with one of the most knowledgeable ponies when it comes to odd stuff,” she said, eyeing him.
“Well excuse me for not hollering from the heavens about my condition, not giving out flyers to everypony passing by so they will know my story,” Fall did his best to act offended but he was enjoying himself far too much at her sudden embarrassment to hide his smile properly, something Apple Bloom caught right away. “Do you wish to know that I once almost took off my head with a scythe bringing in the harvest? Do you want to know how often I took leaps out of a window, only to regret it later on? Do you know-”
Applejack suddenly shook her head and gave him a stern look. “Do you really want to keep talkin’ about that sort of thing in front of an underage impressionable filly?”
Fall raised a hoof, tilting his head to the side as he thought on what she asked him. “The correct answer is… no, right?”
“You bet yer boots that’s the right answer,” Applejack replied. Giving her little sister a gentle nudge with one hoof, she looked down at her. “Go on back to the house now,” she said softly. “Ah’ll take this here fella to see Twilight, she’ll straighten things out.”
“Oh no no no,” he said, shaking his head as he danced in front of her. “I’m just passing through, no need to bother the princess for simple old Fall Harvest.”
“Ah insi-”
“I can tell these trees were grown with just a touch of Earth pony magic to help out; enough to spur some growth from time to time but not enough to make them grow so fast that they drain all the water and nutrients out of the soil like some ponies do if they’re in a hurry to get the product and don’t think about the long-term consequences, both for the land and the plants themselves, since growing them too fast can damage them on a cellular level and affect their ability to reproduce in the future.” He spat out, rambling as he tried to distract the farmer further by relying on a topic they both knew well.
“Er, yes, actually,” Applejack blinked in surprise. “Ah’m surprised that a… winged unicorn, knew all that.”
“Please, I might not look it, but I love growing stuff,” he let out a happy sigh. “That’s my special talent. Give me some good ol’ dirt, some stuff to grow and I’d be happy for days!” he said with a genuine smile gracing his lips, his wings fanning out.
“Heh, Ah’ll be honest, Ah didn’t take you to be a farmer,” Applejack said, looking at him in a new light. “Yall look too fresh and proper to be one; no offense.” She tipped her hat at him in the way that in farmer talk meant she was being completely honest with him.
“None taken,” he said, dipping his head into a small bow, flashing another smile at the two Apple sisters. “I’ve been working indoors for a while and my dragon of a boss decided it was high time I got outside again.”
Watch it, Fall Harvest
“Where did you work, mister Harvest?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Erm…” He winced inwardly; how to tell a little filly you were keeping an eye on ponies and waiting to deliver them to the next realm when their time was due? Then he had it. “Office work, mostly,” he said. “Data analysis, relating to lifespans of certain species… I believe some of my colleagues were trying to determine which ones lasted longest and if they could take some of the less hardier strains and improve them, replicating the longer lifespans to make these others be… not less hardier anymore.” He shrugged. “Really not my preferred thing, since I’d rather have been outside tending actual growths; and it didn’t help that most of my coworkers didn’t like the personal touches in my office, since so many of them had no sense of humor whatsoever.” He snickered, knowing that he was pushing his luck here but didn’t care all that much. “In fact, my former protegé Hollow Grave, hates when I stop by her office to offer some… advice. Last time, she threw so much stuff at my head when I just gave her one hour of my time.”
“Sounds like you’re a real laugh riot, Harvest,” Applejack said dryly, no doubt getting a picture of what he was like.
“Do you know any better kind?” he said, rubbing his chest with his hoof before realizing what he had just said and where. His eyes widening, he looked around, extending his view a full three hundred and sixty degrees, and seeing no sign of her, prompting a sigh of relie-
"Hieeeee!"
Fall Harvest almost literally jumped back out of his skin as Pinkie Pie appeared right in front of his face, and it took every bit of self-control to keep from turning around and running back to his office, Helheim’s orders be damned, and yes he could hear her laughing in his head as he thought that. He did not like Lords or Ladies of Laughter as they excelled at unpredictableness to perform their Role which meant it could foul up his own powers despite Laughter being weaker than Death.
“Um, hello,” he managed to say calm like with a replica of his original heart racing in his chest. “Erm, nice to meet you; I’m Fall Harvest.”
“And I’m Pinkie Pie!” she giggled as she bounced on the spot. “So what are you the alicorn of Harvesty? Oh wait, let me guess; farming, agriculture, scythes, changing the colors of the leaves in the fall?”
“None of them, miss Pie as I am not an alicorn but a winged unicorn,” he said, taking steps away from her while having flashbacks to Gelos messing with him and suddenly felt some guilt about his actions towards his fellow Reapers.
Some guilt, not all the way.
It is a start, Fall Harvest.
Pinkie’s eyes lit up, and she looked like she was about to barrage him with questions again, when he heard Applejack clear her throat. “Ah’m sure you’ll hear the full thing sooner or later, Pinkie, but for now, could you quit botherin’ the fellow?”
Her mane deflated at that, and Fall Harvest could literally hear and see the air coming out of it, which bothered him. As much as he did not care for certain aspects of her Role, he had certainly never meant to upset her.
“Miss Pie,” he said slowly and carefully. “I appreciate your interest in my story but I kinda like to keep to myself. I wasn’t even planning to come here, in fact. If you’ll excuse me-”
“Wait, you were just going to pass by Ponyville without coming to the Sugarcube Corner?” she gasped loudly, giving him sad eyes that were tugging at his soul and despite his better judgment that he should avoid Ponyville at all costs due to the off chance that Twilight saw him and brought Celestia in, something he desperately wanted to not happen; it had been ages since he’d last seen her in person and even cessation of existence would be preferable to facing the wrath she would bring down upon him the next time they crossed paths. He was dreading the day he would have to collect her soul; he knew that she couldn’t kill him but she would more than likely try her hardest.
“It is nothing personal, Miss Pie,” he said, trying to think of some way to get himself out of this mess but for once, no good lies came to his mind. “As I said before, I simply like to keep to myself and watch others from a distance.” She started to quiver her lip, and he was done; curse his soft nature.
He flicked an ear as he heard his mistress laugh her nonexistent head off.
“But I suppose I could pick up some eats before I make my way out of here,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.
Even though she was overjoyed by his simple actions, he had a feeling that this was going to bite him in the flanks before the day was through.