//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Work to Make It Work // Story: The Descendants // by Gherkin //------------------------------// Nothing will work unless you do. ~ Maya Angelou Ponyville, Equestria, 24th May 1002 C.R. 9:32AM "God, this is so cool!" Rainbow Dash watched with benign amusement as her 'student', as she liked to put it, rocketed through the sky, barreling into the clouds and laughing with child-like delight when they dispersed. Dash hasn't seen Drake as happy as this before, but she had a sneaking suspicion that, on the inside, the stallion was no more mature than an average schoolcolt. Giggling slightly, she decided to join him as he continued to demolish the rain clouds that had formed around Ponyville during the night. It was the morning after Nate and his friends had arrived in town, and, as always, work was the first order of business. Dash had ordered the rest of the weather team where to go, before setting off towards a slightly less cloudy part of the morning sky so that Drake could squeeze in a little practice. So far he had been doing good, effortlessly clearing the skies better than most new weather ponies she had seen. Dash guessed he just liked to destroy stuff, or something. "Looks like we're almost done here!" she called out to Nate as he bucked a cloud, which spiraled away. "Good job!" "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself!" Nate called back, smirking. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, very funny, smart guy. We're just getting warmed up here." "You call that warming up?" Drake chortled. "I can hardly feel my blood pumping!" "I guess that's just 'cause you're not getting shot at!" Dash shot back, grinning. She liked Nate. He was always joking, but shared her adventurous attitude and, as the last few minutes had proven, her love for flying. "Come on," she told him. "This area of the sky is done, so let's see how the rest of the weather crew is doing." "Alright, I'm game," he agreed, his checkered scarf flapping in the breeze. Nodding, Rainbow Dash led him back towards Ponyville at a steady, leisurely pace. The sun had fully risen by now, so Drake could bask in it's morning glow as he watched the ponies that ran market stalls set up, placing their wares on display, among other things. In the distance, he could make out the other weather ponies, who Dash had introduced as Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Thunderlane, finish clearing the clouds near Sugarcube Corner. As they both approached, Dash bolted forward to greet her team, while Drake trailed behind. When he reached them, he heard Rainbow compliment the three on their work, before the attention shifted to him. "Anyway, Drake here is a natural," Dash explained to them. "Managed to clear the skies near Sweet Apple Acres in about twenty seconds, give or take. Not bad for a beginner." "Wow, that is pretty good," Thunderlane commented. "Nice job." "Ah, it was nothing," Drake replied modestly. "Anyway, what's the plan now?" "Well, it looks like everypony's done, right?" Dash looked towards the rest of her weather team, who nodded. "Then it looks like we got the rest of the day to ourselves, Nate. We can do whatever we like!" "See ya later, Rainbow Dash!" Cloudchaser called out as they went to leave. "And good work with the weather this morning, Drake." Rainbow waved them off, before turning back to him. "Alright then, Nate. What do you wanna do?" "I dunno." Drake shrugged, looking around at the town beneath the two of them. "Maybe we should go see how Applejack and Marston are doing. Maybe they might need some help." "You want to do more work?" Dash scoffed. "Alright then, I'll race you there." Nate chuckled. "Oh, you are so on." She smirked at him. "Fine. On the count of three..." Nathan tensed as she began to count. As soon as the final word left her mouth, he was off, flapping his wings as fast as he could. He could feel the wind rippling through his hair, futilely trying to hold him back as he rocketed through the sky. He felt on top of the world. Flying gave him an adrenaline rush that simply couldn't be matched by any other activity. For a moment, he was almost sad at the thought of returning to his old human body once this was all over. Certain that he was winning, he opened his eyes to see Rainbow Dash already quite a way ahead of him. Aw, come on, he thought, pushing himself harder, trying to keep up. He felt as if he had closed the gap a little, but it ultimately amounted to nothing as she held her steady lead. Still, he wasn't going to give up so easily. He dipped slightly, hoping to let the extra momentum increase his speed enough to pass his would-be opponent. For a brief moment, it seemed to work, as he steadily closed the distance between himself and Dash. Unfortunately, she sped up even more, and left him behind. They had practically arrived at Sweet Apple Acres by now anyway, so, in a huff of frustration, Drake admitted defeat. Dash turned around to face him after they landed near the barn, bearing the same smug smile that she always did. "Not quite fast enough, eh Nate?" she chuckled. "It's okay. The important thing is, you tried." "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Nate rolled his eyes. "Anyway, where do you reckon Applejack and Marston are?" Dash thought for a second, scanning the apple fields around them. "I think I heard her mention something about the north fields yesterday. Let's start there." "Alright then," Nate said, taking to the air. "Shouldn't be too hard, right?" "Nah," Dash agreed as she began to fly northward. "Just listen out for the loud cracks. I swear, when she's applebucking, everyone on the farm knows it." "Huh." Shrugging, Nate quickly following her. *** "Ah, questa è la vita." Ezio Auditore sighed contently, sleepily staring at the ceiling. It had been a while since he had been given a chance to lie in, and now he had one, he was going to relish every single moment of it. He was lying peacefully on a surprisingly comfortable 'sofa bed', as Twilight had put it, in her guest room. It was a remarkably simple yet useful invention. A seat that unfolded into a bed, it was genius. I bet Leonardo would love to hear about it, he thought to himself. The afternoon of the previous day had been rather eventful, to say the least. After lunch, Twilight had led him to another part of town to meet Orion, Celestia's personal advisor. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the sharply dressed unicorn. He seemed friendly enough, but he had a small feeling that something was off. Either way, there were more important things to worry about right now. After that he and Twilight spent the rest of the day tending to the library. A few ponies came in every once in a while, usually looking for some sort of guide book. Meanwhile, he had used the time to read up on some of Equestria's geography and history, hoping to find some information that might prove useful. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could help. He should have known that a dusty old history book wouldn't have any information about an ancient precursor race that was banished to the stars anyway. Resigned, he had eaten some supper, and hauled himself upstairs and into bed. A small knock at the bedroom door caused the assassin to look up. Wiping sleep from his eyes, he called out, "Come in." The door opened to reveal Twilight, magically levitating a tray of food. "Good morning, Ezio," she greeted him cheerfully. "Spike made breakfast, so I thought I'd bring yours up." The thought of food made Ezio's stomach rumble. Looks like I'm hungrier than I think. "Grazie, Twilight," he said, sitting up as she placed the tray on his lap. He stared at the food on the plate for a second, before cautiously looking up at Twilight. "Forgive me if I sound rude, but these are?" "Pancakes," she answered simply. "They don't have pancakes where you come from?" She shrugged and pointed to the mug next to the plate. "And I made coffee. Milk and one sugar, I hope it's to your liking." "Caffè?" He took a sip of the hot beverage. It certainly tasted a lot less bitter than the last time he had tried it. "It is wonderful, Twilight. Thank you." He nodded and smiled at her as she left the room, leaving him to eat. Hearing his stomach rumble once again, Ezio picked up the fork on the tray, skewered a small piece of the pancake, and tentatively popped it into his mouth. To his surprise, it actually tasted quite good. Thankful to be given such an appetizing breakfast, he continued to eat. *** There was no doubt about it. Cole MacGrath probably knew almost every pony in Ponyville by now. Pinkie Pie had spent the entire afternoon after lunch leading him around the quaint town, giving him the ten-dollar tour, so to speak. From what he saw, it seemed that she made an effort to remember everything about everyone in town, and she wasn't afraid to share any of that information with him. In about an hour he had learned the birthdays of about twenty ponies, how many parties Pinkie had thrown for birthdays in the last month, the names of every market stall owner in town, and what the town's schoolteacher as going to be teaching that week. In an hour. Needless to say, keeping up with his hyperactive friend was hard work, but she was so innocent and happy that everyone in town couldn't help but love her, even if she went too far at times. Some might say that she was the heart and soul of Ponyville, and, honestly, they wouldn't be wrong. Many dreaded to imagine a Ponyville without a Pinkie Pie to brighten up their days. Right now she was taking him to Sweet Apple Acres, eager to introduce him to the rest of the Apple Family. It was a bright sunny morning, and as Cole stretched his neck, basking in the warmth of the sun, he could swear he could see Nate and Rainbow Dash flying towards the farm as well. Probably going to see how Applejack's doing, he figured. They soon arrived at the farm, and were greeted by Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh. Even with his powers, Cole was sure that he didn't want to get on the burly stallion's bad side. Still, he was friendly, if soft spoken. He and Pinkie introduced Cole to Applejack's grandmother and little sister, who were, unsurprisingly, just a friendly as everyone else. After the pleasantries, Big Mac directed the two of them to the north field, where he mentioned Applejack was doing her work, and could use the help. "How long has this place been running?" Cole asked Pinkie as they both trotted through the expansive orchard. "Oh, almost a hundred years, I think," she answered. "Ever since Granny Smith was just a teenager." "Impressive," Cole commented, before something clicked in his head. "Wait, just how old is she?" Pinkie stopped for a second. "Huh. I'm not sure, actually. Pretty old when you think about it though, right?" "Right." Their conversation was cut short by the sound of a loud crack not too far away. "Oh, that's Applejack," Pinkie exclaimed, trotting slightly faster. "Let's go see if she needs help!" As they cantered closer to the source of the noise, the two of them began to hear voices. Finally, they reached a clearing, where Applejack, John, and Rainbow Dash were gathered around Drake, who was lying on the floor. "What's going on?" Cole wondered in confusion. Dash was barely managing to stop herself from laughing. "Nate just tried his hoof at applebucking. Turns out, he's not too great." Drake groaned in pain. "Think I sprained my leg. And, to top it off, I get hit in the head by a bunch of damn apples." "Great job, Nathan," Marston commented, bucking a tree behind him. It shook, and its contents fell near perfectly into the baskets beneath. "Looks like you've got the whole thing down, John," Cole told him. Applejack grinned. "You bet. Why, I'd say he's a natural." Drake groaned again. "Okay everyone, we've said hello. Can we get back to work now. There can't be too much left to do." Applejack glanced into the sky, checking the sun's position. "Actually, I think we've still got a few more hours left to go." There was a prolonged moment of silence. "Ah, crap."