//------------------------------// // Double Dinner Date Dare // Story: Even In Other Worlds // by Rytex //------------------------------// Even In Other Worlds Chapter 07:  Double Dinner Date Dare Nova sighed, leaning back against his teacher’s chair as she tousled his hair.  This was an old favorite position of theirs, particularly after a long personal session of studying.  Nova would collapse against her pouf and she would gently tousle and style his mane, and occasionally massage his shoulders after a particularly grueling session. “I don’t know, Princess,” Nova sighed heavily as she ran her bony fingers through his hair.  “I just… wish I knew what I was supposed to do.  I mean,” he waved a hand vaguely, “I know what to do, but I don’t know how to go about doing it.” “Did you not already have a plan?” Luna asked, managing to untangle a messed up portion of his hair. “Well, yes and no,” Nova said, closing his eyes.  “I had a general idea at what to do, but in no way did I have a clearly-thought plan on how to do it properly.” “Explain,” Luna commanded, moving her fingers down toward his neck to get the lower sections of his hair. “Well, for starters, I think I majorly disrupted the status quo last night.” Luna paused for a moment, but grunted. “Things never stay the way they are; change is to be expected if progress is to be made.” “I just didn’t know if it was one of the triggers to cause the curse to become undone, or something,” Nova admitted. “But that’s just it, Nova.  You said one of the triggers.  I assume there must be more, though Sombra’s curse unraveled with the right stimulus; namely, the Crystal Fair and the Crystal Heart.  But ponies had to break out of the curse themselves before the whole curse came undone.  As it stands, you remain the only pony we all know of to have broken out.  The fewer ponies you reawaken, the better the curse will stay in place.” “So it’s like a shirt then?” Nova asked. “I don’t follow,” Luna said, as she managed to untangle another clump of hair. “You pull out one string, it’s not so bad.  You pull more out, the shirt falls apart after a while.” “A good metaphor,” Luna said, removing her fingers from his hair.  “You know, I could get used to having these ‘fingers.’  They really are quite useful.” “They are, aren’t they,” Nova nodded.  “Certainly something I’ll miss about this world when we’re gone, but anyway--” A sharp knocking sounded at the door. “That’s probably him,” Nova said, getting to his feet and going to open the door for Mike.  As expected, Mike was standing outside, wearing a red wife-beater and khaki work pants.  Nova saw the pickup behind him had its bed full of different boxes of fruit and vegetables and he was instantly that much more grateful for Mike’s willingness to help. “This the place?” he drawled.  “Didn’t ‘spect ta see yeh here, Nathan.” “Needed to talk to her about something,” Nathan said, stepping aside so Mike could see in.  As soon as Mike saw Luna, he inclined his head toward Nova. “A’right, Ah believe ya now.  Mahnd helpin’ me unload the food?” “Oh, you only believe after you’ve seen it with your own eyes?” Nova teased. “Trust, but ver’fy,” Mike answered. “Good point,” admitted Nova, as he and Mike started grabbing small crates of food and hauling them inside. “Where d’you want the food, Miss…” “Selene,” Luna said, standing up and moving to help as well.  “If you do not mind, allow me to help too.” “‘Ennnope,” Mike said, shaking his head.  “‘Fraid Ah can’t let a purdy woman lahke yerself do the work fer us.  Doesn’t sit well with me.” Luna’s cheeks went slightly pink.  Nova smiled to himself, remembering the time Luna said she had visited a carnival in Ponyville and had run into Big Macintosh and that they had spent a good amount of the day doing things together. “Very well, then,” Luna said, sitting back down.  Nova did notice the look of irritation that crossed her face and he could only empathise.  Luna was never the princess who could sit and do nothing when there was something to be done. He gave her a sympathetic look as he passed back from the small kitchen on the way out, which she only returned with an annoyed eyeroll. The food was all unloaded in a matter of minutes, and Mike was on his way immediately after that.  Nova thanked him for donating the food, and Mike just waved it off with the comment, “Surplus.”  Still, free food was free food. “An’ Nathan, Remember, yeh’re workin’ with mah sister come Saturday.” “Wouldn’t miss it,” Nova responded with an ironic fistpump. As Mike drove back to the Appleby farm, Nova returned to his earlier position with his teacher, and she resumed preening his hair. “I know how you feel,” Nova remarked.  “Like you’re sitting on the sidelines and you’re just in the way, right?” “Sort of,” admitted Luna.  “I would say I know more how Twilight Sparkle felt before Tirek attacked.  All she could do was sit around and look pretty for our guests.  Patience was always a difficult lesson for me to learn as a child,” she sighed.  “At this point, I must admit, I’m practically looking for an excuse to do something.” “Eh, that time will come,” Nova assured her.  “It may be a while, but it will come.” “Speaking of which, what is this I hear about you working with that man’s sister?” she queried. “Oh, I promised Mike an afternoon of farm work in exchange for the food.  It’s his day off, so I’m going to be working with Ashleigh, his sister.” “I don’t see why you call them by their human names,” Luna said.  “Why can you not call them ‘Macintosh’ and ‘Applejack?’” “To get in the habit,” Nova explained.  “I’ve had a few instances where I’ve let slip their pony names out loud.  Called Tracy Twilight at one point, and I’ve called Spike… well, Spike.  His name’s Sam on this world, but I didn’t know that.  I’d rather not contribute to the unraveling of the curse just yet.  I don’t need Envy providing me with physical setbacks when I have this period to only deal with Queen Chrysalis and Sombra, who have been surprisingly quiet as of late.” “Hmm,” Luna pursed her lips.  “I can only wonder what is happening.” “Mike did say the police are starting to get into more frequent scuffles with the townspeople,” Nova added.  “I wonder if Chrysalis has something to do with this.” “Do you think she knows you’re the same one that rescued her from Silverblood back in the Old Times?” “Well, according to Discord, she doesn’t.” Nova answered, feeling slightly sad at the thought.  “I’d figure if anyone in this town would suffer the brunt of her anger, it would be Shining Armor and Cadance.  Still haven’t met them yet, by the way,” he added.  “I suppose Shining’s probably Tracy’s older brother on this world too, so I get the feeling we’ll run into each other at some point.” “Are they suffering the brunt of her anger, though?” “Well,” Nova said, reaching back and scratching behind his head, “I don’t know.  I doubt it, honestly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.” He glanced up at the clock.  He still had a few minutes before he had to leave, and he wanted to ask about a particularly troubling issue. “Say Princess,” he asked, “have you ever heard of ponies whose eyes flash red?” He felt her stiffen against him. “How do you mean?” she asked, and Nova heard a sharp sort of worry in her voice.  “How do they turn red?” “Well, I don’t know.  I haven’t seen them.  Tracy told me last night that my eyes flickered red for a moment.  I thought it might have been magical residue, or something but--” “Nova Shine, explain no more, only answer my question,” Princess Luna interrupted him.  Nova knew that tone.  He had bucked up big time somehow.  “Were you in a particularly angry mood when it happened?” “I… yeah,” he said.  “Natalie had just demanded that I kick Tracy out into the storm, so I yelled at her to leave.” Princess Luna inhaled deeply and exhaled it slowly.  “Nova Shine, I said in my mind that we would have to work on your anger issues, and I see now that I was right.” “What do you mean?” Nova asked, scoffing slightly.  “How does anger make my eyes red?” “Because if you let your anger blaze unchecked, Nova, you may very well one day find yourself treading down a dark path.  A unicorn or an alicorn is particularly at risk, because if the anger is left unchecked, they are at risk of indulging in Black Magic.” “Black Magic?” Nova asked, surprised. “Yes,” Luna said.  “My sister and Twilight Sparkle are both able to cast Black Magic with no fear of side effects, because they are both able to cast it only when necessary.  But you, however, have difficulty keeping your emotions in check.  In some ways, you experience life better than we do, but in others, you are more at risk of falling into traps.  As I understand it, you threw away your entire plan to rescue Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon and dashed straight into the Everfree Vaults when Twilight was captured.” “Well, yeah,” Nova admitted.  "But that was the whole plan, so--” “Irrelevant,” Luna interrupted him again.  “You wear your heart on your fetlock, and certain ponies have exploited you for it.  You may have once upon a time acted aloof and cold, but when you began to embrace your feelings, you just let that habit go.  It is a habit you would do well to work up again.” “What’s so bad about casting Black Magic?” Nova asked, veering away from being lectured on keeping his emotions in check. “Have you not seen what Sombra looked like at the height of his power?” Luna queried. “Of course I did,” Nova said.  “But I’m not Sombra.  I wouldn’t fall that far.” “‘If you give Tirek an inch, he shall take a mile,’” Luna recited.  “If you lose control even for a second, Nova, you may find yourself irrevocably steeped in it, with no way back to purity.” “But what about Twilight?” Nova asked, resigning himself to losing this part of the argument. “What about her?” “She bursts into flames when she’s angry enough,” Nova pointed out, remembering one incident where he had found Spike sneaking out of the library to come to drinking night when it just so happened that Rarity and her usual Gossip Group were going to be there that night.  It took Spike a week to clean the scorch marks from the floor. “She is a Fire Elemental; her passion is tied directly to her magic, so it is to be expected.  But even so, she still keeps it in check,” Luna said impatiently.  “In many ways, you are better than she, but in this way, you are so far behind her.  You are undisciplined, and you are in danger of being ruled by your own emotions.  And with you being a Wind Elemental, this is even more dangerous.” Nova said nothing, only staring at the ground while Princess Luna continued to pick at his hair. “Nova Shine, we are not angry at you,” she added, and Nova heard almost a sort of pleading note in her voice.  “We only want the best for you, and take it from somepony who has been corrupted by darkness and hate before, this is not a path you want to tread.” Again, Nova didn’t respond.  He knew Princess Luna only wanted to help him; when had she ever given him a reason not to trust her? “Thank-you for bringing this to my attention, Princess,” he said, getting to his feet.  “I honestly didn’t know what it meant, but now that I do, I’ll be more careful,” he promised. “For your own sake,” the Princess said, giving him a stern look, “We hope you make good on your word.” “Yes ma’am.  By the way, you slipped into Royal We again.” “Did we-- I?”  Luna facepalmed, but smiled in sheepish amusement. “Good day, Princess,” he said with a wave, and he left the cottage. Princess Luna sat, staring at Nova through the window as he walked off, whistling something she couldn’t hear. “Hmm,” came a voice from her right, “Nova’s having anger issues, eh?” “How long have you been there?” she asked in irritation as Discord jumped out of the floor in her shadow. “I was in Nova’s shadow, actually,” Discord said, plopping himself down in front of Princess Luna and leaning back, as though he expected her to pick at his hair too.  “When the streams crossed, I switched.  Been meaning to chat with you, to inform you on the state of things.” “Mmh,” Luna grunted, rising from her easy chair and walking into the room where her five Nightmares would stay.  Three of them had been rescued from the spells of Nightmare Moon, but Starstep and Nightmare Crisium remained comatose, completely unresponsive on their beds.  Frigoris, Imbrium, and Serenitatis were sleeping on their beds, but as Serenitatis was the one most recently brought out of the spell, she was the on dealing with dream trouble. Luna walked over to her sleeping form, placed a hand on her forehead, and whispered a soft incantation.  Within minutes, what had been a terrified, pained expression eased as Serenitatis’ dreams ended, leaving her in blissful, dreamless sleep.  She had already cast a spell on Frigoris and Imbrium to make sure neither of them dreamt until she could be sure the influence of the Nightmare’s spell was gone. “The curse on my Nightmares ends, the aftereffects begin,” she observed, shaking her head sadly. “But in the week since you’ve been freed, you’ve made excellent progress,” Discord said.  “Three freed, and this while you’re learning the magic of your form?  As well as the physical capabilities, too,” he added, noting the slight quiver in her legs that was certainly progress compared to her needing to lean against the walls, as she had after she was free. “I haven’t had much else to do,” Luna admitted sheepishly.  “I sound like a child.  I’ve nothing else to do; might as well learn how to walk.” “Let’s return to the matter of Nova and his red eyes,” Discord said as Luna made her way back to her chair.  He had already turned the couch into his own personal tempur-pedic relaxing pad, and he was making full use of it.  “I’ve just had a particularly troubling thought.” “Oh?  How so?” Luna asked, curious to see what could trouble Discord. “The day Nova broke out of the curse,” Discord said, stroking his little goatee, “I had been walking with Sombra to a game of golf.  Appearances, you know.  Gotta look like we’re not supernatural Big Brothers to the townspeople,” he explained, seeing the look on Luna’s face.  “Anyway, before we went to our little game, Sombra called for a little detour, saying he had an investment to check up on, before leading us both toward the university, where lo and behold, Nova’s human cursed self was starting to break out.” “You’re saying Sombra has plans involving Nova?” Luna asked. “Don’t be ridiculous, Luna.  I’m not saying it; I’m theorizing it.  But that’s a problem, because Sombra is nothing more than an Echo of the real one, whom we both know has been destroyed by our favorite Super Saiyan Princess.” “Our… what?” Luna was utterly bemused. “Dear dear, I need to show you Netflix.  Wonderful way of passing the time,” Discord said, veering off-topic for the moment.  “But anyway, thanks to Twilight Sparkle’s efforts when restoring the Crystal Empire, Sombra is gone.  I looked into it shortly after Tirek was put back in Tartarus.  A shard of his horn had been flung away, and given its regenerative properties, I felt compelled to look into it.” “And?” Luna asked.  If Sombra was still alive... “Nothing,” Discord said, shrugging.  “I found the horn shard, and the amount of Black Magic radiating from it was enough for me to tell it was the real thing, but without its master, it was completely useless.  Still, can’t be too careful.  I stuck it in Tartarus as well, just in case.  He’s completely gone from Equus as far as I’m able to tell.” “But then how could Nova be an investment of his?” Luna asked, troubled.  “The only time he came into contact with any associate of Sombra’s was when he defeated Lord Silverblood in the Crystal Caves of Canterlot.” “Correct me if I’m mistaken, but did not this Lord Silverblood cast a spell of Black Magic on Nova as a last ditch effort, a move which cost him his horn?” Luna’s jaw fell open. “But… how did you--” “Your sister keeps the report from Princess Platinum in the Canterlot Archives,” Discord replied.  “I read it and I felt quite strange about it for some reason.  Now I know why.  Sombra’s planning something to do with Nova.  Or rather, he was before he was destroyed.  And this Echo won’t be able to do anything on his own, since he’s just that:  an Echo.  But that spell of Black Magic troubles me, considering we have both been in close proximity to Nova, and yet he doesn’t seem to be radiating any kind of Darkness.” “You don’t know what it is?” Luna asked, surprised. “I don’t,” Discord admitted.  “When we get back to Equestria, I might just go and interrogate my old friend Tirek on what it could be.” “Hmm…” Luna said, tapping a finger on her cheek as she thought.  “We’ll need to talk to Tia about this.” “We’ll need more facts first,” Discord said.  “I’ll have to keep an eye on Nova to see if he starts displaying any more symptoms before we can nail down what the spell really is.  In any case, good day, Princess.”  He tipped his hat, got up from his couch which changed back into its usual material. Before he reached the door, he turned back and, faster than Luna could react, he hit her with a sleeping spell that caused Luna to fall unconscious in her chair.  Discord smirked. “So simply beaten, my dear,” he mused.  “But then again, I should have expected nothing less from the inferior Princess.” Discord strode over to Luna and covered her closed eyes with his hand.  In short order, he had gone into Luna’s mind and removed any trace of the conversations she’d had with him and Nova about Nova’s red eyes.  The less she knew, the better. Satisfied with his work, Discord left her sleeping in her chair and walked back toward the town, whistling to himself as he went.  The town wasn’t all that far from the Appleby farm, so his walk lasted only a few minutes.  Once he was back in the city’s limits, more specifically once he was closer to City Hall, he strode into an alley surreptitiously.  Once sure he wasn’t being watched, he brought his hand up, and a black, purple, and red aura of magic appeared in his palm, before wrapping around his body.  After a moment, the shape-shifting spell ended.  A muscular man, with shaggy black hair, sideburns that came very close to his jaw, and a neatly trimmed beard stepped out of the alley, and continued on his way. So Nova Shine is already starting to exhibit the effects of the spell? Sombra thought.  Excellent.  With Nightmare Moon defeated, Nova Shine now has most of the freedom needed to reawaken the Bearers of Harmony, and Envy remains blissfully under the curse’s effects.  Everything is progressing nicely.  And with the spell continuing to grow in strength, it will only be a matter of time before he falls and I return to power. {E} {I} {O} {W} “So why are we out at the football practice fields again?” Alex groaned as he and Nova sat in the bleachers, watching the girls practice. “Need to talk to Rachel about something important,” Nova answered, eyeing the rainbow-haired girl as she rocketed a beautiful shot past the keeper in a set piece rehearsal. “You do know the rumors going around about the two of you, right?” Alex asked.  “This certainly isn’t helping things.” “I’m well aware of those rumors,” Nova responded, thinking back to his and Mike’s little chat.  “Let them be rumors.  They aren’t true, and I personally don’t care.” “I’m sure you will if Natalie finds out,” Alex warned.  “I notice you seem to be avoiding her today.  What’s going on?” “I’m not avoiding her,” Nova said, half-truthfully.  It was true, he wasn’t going out of his way to not end up in the same hall as where he knew she would be, but every time she called his name, every time she tapped him on the shoulder, he just ignored her and kept moving as though she didn’t exist. “Suuuure you aren’t.  What happened, Nathan?” “We had a row,” Nova answered quite casually.  “I found Tracy stuck in the storm after I left the Council and brought her back to my place to spend the night since she doesn’t have a car.  Natalie showed up and demanded I throw her back out.” “She what!?” Nova hadn’t heard Alex get angry often, or even Aegis for that matter.  But DAMN, did he sound pissed. “Just when you were starting to not strongly dislike her, too,” Nova added. “That bitch,” Alex growled through gritted teeth. “So I don’t care if Natalie sees me with Rachel.  If anything, the only person she ever minded was Tracy, but now I say buck her and everything she cares about.” “Uhh, ‘buck?.” Alex asked, giving Nova a raised eyebrow. “You know what I mean,” Nova said, rolling his eyes.  “Damn, that was a good shot,” he crowed as Rachel put home another shot from several yards out.  I wonder if she ever thought about being a Mare’s Premier League player back home… The coach blew his whistle at that, and the entire team huddled up for the last-minute announcements, pep talk, and dismissal.  Alex and Nova watched for a few seconds, but then Alex got up. “Need to go, Trisha and I have a dinner date in an hour.” “Oh, so you’re calling them dates now?” Nova asked, giving Alex a teasing grin. “Well, I am, after Saturday.  But her?  No idea.” With that, Alex walked off, heading back towards his dorm room.  Nova just shook his head at the idea of the two of them.  Not for the first time and not for the last, he simply wondered how the hell it happened. I mean, he knew she, for some reason, had found Aegis quite interesting after he proved to be one of the few ponies to do as she said, even if it was in annoyance.  And he knew Aegis for whatever reason found Trixie just as interesting as she found him.  Naturally, it had developed into casual events where two best friends can hang out in a completely platonic manner, and from there, it had evolved into actual dates. Even if Trixie only called them sources of free food and moral support. “‘Sup Nathan?” came the trademark, slightly-scratchy voice of Rainbow Dash. “Good afternoon, Rachel,” he answered, turning to see her standing a few bleacher rows down.  Despite her tiredness, evidenced by the sweat-stained white practice kit of their university, Rachel looked quite energetic all of a sudden. “Any particular reason why you were watching us practice?” she asked.  “Or didja come to see me score more awesome goals like that on at the end?” Nova laughed, but shook his head. “Actually, I came to ask a favor from you,” he said.  “You know how you always are insisting you owe me after I saved you from the Sha-- Hellsings?” He had almost slipped up yet again, and he was really starting to anger himself with his own inability to get it right.  If he was going to make any progress at not alerting the Changelings, he was going to need to practice with Discord if he ever wanted to get this right. “A debt that you, mister,” she poked him in the shoulder, “have been saying doesn’t actually exist?” “Yeah, that one,” Nova said, starting to walk out of the bleacher section with her in tow.  “Well, I’m here to call it in.” “Just here for that?” she asked, sounding slightly disappointed.  “Well, what do you want?  I’ll do just about anything, you know.  Long as I’m not doing something stupid and boring like--” “I need you to come with me to do a little work on the Appleby Farm on Saturday,” Nova interjected. “No.  Fucking.  Way.” Nova had expected this sort of resistance.  It made sense that the curse was designed to keep the ponies believing they could never get along with each other. “Dash, you owe me.  You can’t exactly refuse,” he said, continuing despite Rachel’s flat refusal. “Like hell I can’t,” Rachel responded angrily, running ahead of him and turning to look him in the eyes while walking backwards.  “I’m not going to work on some stupid farm to make up for you saving, Nathan.  That’s beneath me.  And quite frankly, I think it wouldn’t be worth it.” “I’ll decide if it’s worth it or not, Rainbow,” Nova said.  He had actually said it on purpose this time, as he had with “Dash” a moment ago.  “You’d be surprised how important this is to me.” “I’m not going,” Rachel said flatly, giving a glare that was just asking him to challenge her.  “I don’t want to have to deal with Ashleigh’s snide self the whole day.  It’s bad enough I have to deal with her when Sierra hangs out with Andrea and Susan, and she’ll go off on how I’m a bad influence on them and that I should stay away from her little sister!” “Rachel, how about I make you a deal?” Nova asked.  He knew how Rainbow Dash could get.  Maybe if he offered her something out of it...? “A deal?” she asked, giving him a skeptical look.  “What deal can you think of that would get me to go to the farm on Saturday?” “How about I leave that up to you to decide?” he asked.  “I’ll owe you a favor after, anything you want from me within reason.” “Within reason?” she asked, stopping so she could walk alongside him instead of ahead.  “You could just use that to turn down everything I ask you for.” “Why does that bother you?” Nova asked, giving her a serious look.  “I’m a man of my word, trust me, so you don’t have to worry about me not holding up my end of the bargain.  Which means you must be considering something you don’t know if I’d agree to.” Rachel had no answer for that question, so she just changed the topic. “Can’t you have me do something else?” she whined. “Look Rachel,” Nova said impatiently, “I’m actually trying to repair a relationship between you and Ashleigh.  Don’t interject, I know you’ve had one in the past.  Seems to me it would do you some good to fix it.” “Since when do you care about my relationships?” she asked sourly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Nova replied. “But seriously, isn’t there something else I can do?  I really don’t want to pay you back by doing a bunch of farm work.  It just doesn’t seem all that fair.” “Well, what sounds fair to you, then?” Nova asked, looking over at her.  She was staring at the sidewalk as they walked past the squared Language Arts building. And Nova noticed she was blushing. “Well?” he asked. She responded by mumbling something completely unintelligible. “You’re going to have to speak up,” he said. She mumbled something again, but went scarlet. “I’m still not getting it,” Nova said.  “Do you not want to talk about it in public, or something?” “N-no,” she said softly, shaking her head.  “It’s embarrassing… can I tell you in my dorm? Gretchen won’t be back from the track meet until much later tonight.” “Sure,” Nova nodded, and they immediately changed course toward one of the small, motel-esque dorm buildings about a hundred yards away. Nova had said to himself multiple times that he was prepared to do just about anything to get everypony back to Equestria.  As such, he walked into Rachel’s room confident that he would be able to use what she wanted as part of the deal to get her to go to the farm.  To him, it would be a very fair trade if it helped get him closer to reuniting with Twilight Sparkle as herself in Equestria. However, upon entering Rachel’s poster-riddled messy dorm room and sitting in one of her wooden chairs, he had to break that promise to himself that he would do anything. “What is it you want, Rachel?” he asked again. She looked incredibly embarrassed and sheepish for some reason.  Nova figured if she had to say it in private, and she was still embarrassed about it, it really had to be something sappy. Oh, how right he was. After a moment spent, apparently contemplating whether or not she should tell him what was nagging her, she lunged forward and kissed him.  For only a few seconds, she let it linger, before she pulled back to see what he would do. Nova could only sit there, surprised.  His hand automatically reached up and touched his lips lightly. “How.. how long?” he asked in a weak voice, staring down at his fingers, as if they had something on them. “Ever since you saved me,” she said coyly.  “I dunno.  I just sort of used to think of you as that unflappable guy who wanted nothing to do with almost everyone, but now… it’s like you’ve changed completely.  I liked the new you, but I, well, started to like like you after you saved me from the Hellsings.” Nova sighed. “Rachel, I’m sorry, but--” “What do you mean, ‘you’re sorry?’” she asked, sounding quite accusatory.  “I know you broke up with Natalie-- hell, just about every girl I know seems to have heard about it-- but I know you wouldn’t be the kind of person to just jump right in a few days after breaking up.” “So, why kiss me then?” Nova asked, feeling quite perplexed. “Well, because I’m not good with words, being sappy, or being an egghead--” “Oh, thanks,” Nova remarked. “--but I just wanted you to know I’m here, and I want to date you.” Nova had to be honest, he didn’t think he would ever have another touching moment like this with Rainbow Dash ever again.  While he would normally savor this opportunity for petty and embarrassing blackmailing purposes, he wasn’t going to be a moron and ruin a moment with the mare least likely to have said moments. “Rachel,” Nova began, and he knew he had sounded more disappointed about having to say no than he actually was, “I’m sorry, but even when I finally get around to wanting to date again…” “It’s okay Nathan,” she said, and Nathan felt his heart sink when she sounded like she had been extremely let down, “I… I understand.” “You understand?” Nova asked, making his skepticism very noticeable.  “Why do you think I don’t want to ask you out, Rachel?” “It’s obvious isn’t it?” she snapped, glaring at him.  “I’m a tomboy.  No one wants to date tomboys.  They always assume my door swings the other way, whether it be because of my hair or how I like sports.  I don’t like being pretty or wearing frou-frou things like Regina,” she spat, “and even when they don’t assume, they still don’t want to date us.  Typical.” “Oh hush, Rainbow,” Nova said.  “It’s not you, it’s me.  There’s a terribly long list of complications and reasons why I can’t pursue you, but you wouldn’t believe half of them.  Or all of them.” “Not much different,” she sighed.  “Either way, I don’t get the guy I like.” “When did you even start wanting to date me, anyway?” he asked. Rachel went a little pink and looked at a pair of dirty cyan pyjama pants on the floor. “After you rescued me,” she mumbled.  “I mean,” she got louder, “I thought I was being obvious about it, what with us hanging out more.  Figures, you couldn’t see it.” “Well, it’s not a matter of whether or not I couldn’t see it,” Nova said, scratching the back of his head.  “I was kind of still dating Natalie at the time.” “Yeah, and now that you’re not dating her, you still don’t want to date me,” she said, pointing an accusing finger at him. “Don;t want to sound cruel,” Nova said, shrugging, “but that’s life I suppose.  Buuuut…” he added, trailing off significantly and giving her a meaningful look. “But… what?” she asked. “How about I make you a deal, Rachel?” Nova asked.  Twilight might not like his implementation of this idea when he got back, but even he had to admit, Equestria comes before his love life.  “If you’ll come to the Appleby farm and work with me, I’ll owe you one date.” When she glanced up at him in disbelief, Nova knew he had her. “You’ll go on a date with me if I go work on the farm with you?” she asked. “Sure,” Nova said.  “Trust me, it’s more important than you think it is that you work with me this Saturday.  So, you coming now?” “Hell yeah I am, with an offer like that!” she said, grinning broadly.  Nova, however, knew this would only lead to disappointment on her part.  One date, and he would keep his word, but he would actively try to make sure it didn’t evolve into anything beyond that. “Good.  Saturday, seven AM, Appleby farm.  Now, I have things I need to work on,” he said, getting to his feet and heading for the door. “Wha-- what about the date?” Rachel asked, sounding indignant. “Work first, dinner later,” Nova replied.  “Don’t want you skipping after you’ve gotten your end of the bargain.  Don’t worry, though, I’m a man of my word.” “Fine.  I’ll be there,” she promised.  “Might be a little late, but I’ll be there.” “Good,” Nova said, exiting the dorm.  “I’ll see you then, Rachel.” {E} {I} {O} {W} The Appleby farm was a large expanse of land that covered at least a square mile outside of town.  While it was far from a simple apple farm, despite the name, Apples were 75% of their crop.  As a result, they put the extra effort into getting it just right for their cider and various apple-themed wares.  They usually had hired farm hands help with the other crops, but the Appleby Apple-Hammering Technique was a closely-guarded family secret. Which is totally why Ashleigh was breaking it out today.  Nathan Samuel wasn’t exactly a friend of her’s, but she wanted to get this work done as soon as she could.  Besides, it’s not like they’d get it absolutely perfect enough to show everyone on the first day. Ashleigh Appleby was up at the rooster’s crow, was dressed in minutes in her usual work clothes of a short-sleeved, tight orange T-shirt and slightly-ragged jeans, and her favorite scuffed working gloves. Ashleigh yawned widely as she walked past her sister’s bedroom, grabbed her stetson from the hat hanger it was placed on, slipped on her boots, and jogged on out to the barn to grab three sledges.  Big Mike had said Nathan was bringing a friend, so she had to make sure there was plenty of work to go around. With three people, they might get the entire eastern orchard done by noon, which would be exactly what the family was hoping for.  A quarter of their usual harvest done in one morning. She hefted three sledgehammers off of their racks and onto her shoulder effortlessly, then briskly walked out to the front of the barn where he knew Nathan and his friend were going to show up. Ashleigh never really liked nor disliked Nathan in all the time she’d known him.  He’d always seemed rather cool and aloof towards everyone but his girlfriend.  Normally, she would not like him for that, but there were those moments where he went out of his way to help someone, such as what he did with Deborah Hoover, or how he saved Rachel, Tracy, and that Lucy Selene lady from the Hellsings.  Those moments always redeemed him in her eyes. Then it had seemed like he’d suddenly changed into a different guy altogether.  He even threw out his own girlfriend when, so the story went, she tried to make him throw out Tracy in the middle of that storm a week ago.  Ashleigh never had any feelings towards Nathan, but it sure satisfied her quite a bit when she heard Natalie had gotten exactly what she deserved.  Nathan could do so much better than her. Of course, there were those rumors about him and Tracy and Rachel, which apparently her brother knew weren’t really right, but they could have a shred of truth to them.  She didn’t really care for Tracy all that much, considering she was just a little bookworm who kept herself distant from anyone else, but she was certainly better for Nathan than Rachel.  That girl hadn’t done an honest day’s work in her life, choosing to focus on playing instead of doing what needed to be done. As if she stood a chance of making it into… whatever it was she was trying to get into.  Didn’t she know that only the best of the best, of which she was not, ever made it past college level?  She needed sense.  She needed a sensible job that she could realistically do for the rest of her life instead of just having fun for twenty years and then blowing her money for the next forty. Ashleigh noticed someone trudging along the dirt path that led up to the farm.  The telltale blue hair gave Nathan away no problem.  What she was not expecting was to see a rainbow-shaded ponytail standing out in the morning darkness. He didn’t… she thought.  Did he seriously bring Rachel? If he did, she’d at least work one honest day in her life. But sure enough, as they got closer, the figure of Rachel Dillon became so much clearer.  She’d at least come prepared to work.  She was wearing an athletic tank-top, shorts, work gloves, and she seemed to be having second thoughts about it. Ashleigh could only wonder what kind of deal Nathan had made with her to get her to show up. “Ah can’t believe you actually got her t’come,” she drawled, indicating Rachel, who had already crossed her arms and was giving Ashleigh a look of immense dislike.  Nathan just rolled his eyes at the pair of them. “Took some doing, but I figured this would be beneficial to both of you in the long run.” “Beneficial?” scoffed Rachel, giving a skeptical sort of smirk.  “What, you’re trying to play friend matchmaker now, or something?” “Yep,” Nathan answered firmly.  “I figured the two of you could use the time to air things out.  Preferably when you’re smashing hammers against trees.” He walked over, took a sledge from Ashleigh, and headed over towards the closes orchard. “Wrong one, Nathan,” she said.  At his inquisitive glance, she gestured over toward an enclosure on the other side of the dirt road.  “An’ Rachel, you’ll be needin’ this,” she added, tossing the sledge quite carelessly at Rachel, who caught it easily, but with a very audible growl at her. “Girls, can we go twenty minutes without arguing?  Try to set a personal record, perhaps?” Nathan asked over his shoulder. “No promises,” Rachel said, stomping after him while Ashleigh jogged ahead of Nathan to open the gate. “So what’s the day’s quota?” Nathan asked, a little loudly and obviously, trying to steer them away from these dangerous topics. “The whole East Orchard,” Ashleigh said.  “‘Snot as much as it sounds.  With the three of us, doubt it’ll take more’n the mornin’.” “Oh, good,” Rachel said, sounding quite pleased.  “I thought we were gonna be here all day.” “We were, if it were jist me an’ Nathan,” Ashleigh replied.  “But seein’ as how yer an athlete an’ all, Ah reckon yeh’ll get the hang of the sledgin’ soon enough.” “Finally,” Nathan exclaimed, “something that could be taken as a compliment!  We made progress, and we’re only thirty seconds in!” Ashleigh punched him as he walked through the gate.  Nathan just smirked and moved to stand next to a tree, flipping his hammer off his shoulder to rest the hammerhead on the ground.  Were it not for the fact that he bashed his own shin by accident, Ashleigh would have thought he’d been doing that sort of thing before. *snrk* “What’s so funny, Rachel?” demanded Nathan, giving her an indignant look. “You!” Rachel replied, starting to guffaw unashamedly at Nathan’s failure to be cool.  “Swinging that hammer down, then smashing your own shin?  Nice try, Nathan, but you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that to be cooler than me.” “To hell with coolness,” Ashleigh interrupted, stepping over to a tree, rearing back, and letting the hammerhead sort of fall into the tree’s sweet spot.  With a plonk, all but one of the apples came loose, tumbling to the ground. “I guess here’s where I redeem myself,” Nathan said, walking over, leaning against the tree, and casually elbowing it.  The single apple fell into his waiting hand and he took a bite, one of the biggest shit-eating grins Ashleigh had ever seen working onto his face. “Well, let’s get workin’, y’all.  Ah wanna get this done,” Ashleigh said, choosing to ignore Nathan’s antics.  “Lemme show y’all how it’s done.” She motioned for Rachel to come over, and when she was close enough, Ashleigh started pushing against the trunk with two fingers. “You need to find the tree’s sweet spot, a softer spot than the rest of it.  When you’ve found it, alls you gotta do is pull the hammer back, then let gravity do the rest.” To show everything off, she walked over to another tree, prodded until she found the softer bark, then reared back and let the hammer swing again.  With another plonk, all the apples fell out, where she started to pick them up and toss them into a waiting wooden bucket. “Get to it, y’all,” she instructed, waving a hand as she went off to get another tree. Nathan plodded back to his tree and immediately started poking at the tree, looking for its soft spot.  Rachel, however, seemed genuinely confused. “So, this is the big Appleby family secret?” she asked.  “Just hitting them down with sledgehammers?” “Yep,” Ashleigh said, having already knocked down all the apples from another tree.  “Sorry to disappoint.” “Not really disappointed.  Well,” Rachel said, before making a “so-so” motion with her hand.  “I guess I am a little bit.  I always thought you, like, made them fall by kicking it, or something.” Ashleigh guffawed openly at Rachel’s words.  Rachel, however, was having none of it. “H-hey!  What’s so funny?” “Oh nothin’ sugar, it’s just, we get that a lot.  It never fails to make me laugh.  I don’t mean to insult you with the laughin’ or anythin’.” “Yeah, best saving the insulting for when i’m done knocking half the trees over, huh,” Rachel said, walking back to her tree and starting to poke at the trunk. “Now why would Ah do that?” “I know you won’t lie, since it’s not like you,” Rachel started, before raising her hammer, “but you’re pretty brutal when you’re honest.  Too brutal.  Doesn’t the Bible say ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything?’” “Nope,” Ashleigh said, shaking her head.  “Never says that anywhere.  The line’s from Bambi, actually.” “No kidding?” Rachel asked, surprised as she let her hammer fall.  With a solid plonk, almost all of the apples fell out. “Nope, no kiddin’.  Nice job, by the way,” Ashleigh added, noting that Rachel had certainly done better than Nathan, who hadn’t even gotten half of his out.  Maybe she wouldn’t be so bad after all. “Thanks,” Rachel said, swelling a good inch or so.  “Maybe with some practice, I might get better than you.” “That a challenge?” Ashleigh asked, an eyebrow arching and smiling deviously. “Depends,” Rachel said, hefting her hammer onto her shoulder, but grinning just as deviously.  “What are we doing and what are we doing it for?” “Oh come on,” Nathan complained.  “I’m the only one doing work here!” He still hadn’t gotten all the apples down from one tree yet. “Well, since you're gonna do so well at sledgin’ apples, Ah say we do just that.  Whoever can sledge the most apples down bah the time we git all the trees done wins.” “Wins what?” Rachel asked. “I swear, it’s like I’m not even here,” Nathan grumbled. “Shut up, Nathan,” Rachel commanded. “Yes ma’am,” Nathan said obediently, resuming his attempted knocking down of apples. “Oh, well, Ah think Ah just got me an idea,” Ashleigh said, having witnessed this exchange.  This would easily be the best way to get under Rachel’s skin, bragging that she’d gone on a date with him when Rachel was the one who liked him.  “Winner gets to take Nathan on a date.” “What?” Nathan asked, looking up from his fourth consecutive failed attempt. “Question,” Rachel said, “Nathan’s already agreed to take me on a date.  What, does that mean a second one?” “Ah guess,” Ashleigh said, shrugging.  “Hang on, you’re datin’?” “Nah, I just promised her one if she came out to help,” Nathan answered, finally managing to knock them all down from one. “Well, that answers how he managed ta git you here,” Ashleigh said, “but sure, Ah guess ya get two.” “So, how’s this gonna work?” Rachel asked, clearly anxious to win a second date with Nathan. “Well, all the buckets are already out by the trees,” Ashleigh said, looking out over the entire orchard.  “Ah guess you claim a tree, knock ‘em all down, mark your bucket, or somethin’ like that.  Try to fill the entire thing up, it’ll make it easier ta count.  Each bucket holds 50 apples.  Put the incomplete bucket off ta the side when we’re done.  Sound good?” “Fantastic.  ReadysetGO!” Rachel said, shooting off towards her next tree. “BE CAREFUL WITH THE TREES!  AH DON’T WANT ANY O’ THEM HURT!” But the contest had already started.  Nathan could only watch and feel emasculated as these two athletic women ran about knocking apples out of trees and filling up the buckets.  Ashleigh almost laughed at how comically ineffective Nathan was at this.  He might have only gotten five trees bare in the first hour, while she and Rachel were going on thirty each. “This isn’t fair,” he whined as he stomped off to his sixth tree while Ashleigh and Rachel took a five-minute break. “Damn right it isn’t,” Rachel said, looking at how she and Ashleigh had apparently gotten about the same number of buckets.  “She’s going easy on me.” “Sugar, Ah know it’ll kill you to hear this,” Ashleigh said, wiping her brow and fanning herself with her stetson, “but Ah ain’t goin’ easy.  ‘Snot exactly somethin’ that can be rushed, and we’re both takin’ it at the proper pace.” “Unless you’re Nathan,” Rachel said, which caused both of them to chortle at Nathan’s expense.  Nathan had just managed to knock an all-time low of three apples down from one hit.  “Guess some people aren’t naturally good at this.” “Well, back at it, Ah guess,” Ashleigh said, picking up her hammer.  Rachel did the same, and within minutes, they were both deadlocked yet again, leaving Nathan to just complain and whine the whole time. But Nathan wasn’t complaining.  He just seemed to be observing Rachel’s and Ashleigh’s competition with a smile on his face.  It was almost as if this had been the plan from the beginning.  By the end of the second hour, Ashleigh and Rachel were taking good-natured jabs at each other and returning fire in kind.  By the end of the third hour, they were chatting while they continued their work.  And by the fourth, they had nearly finished everything up in record time. “Well, Ah’ll be damned,” Ashleigh said, taking deep breaths after having hauled all of her buckets to one pile.  Rachel was busy moving her’s into her own pile as well.  The piles looked to be quite even, but Ashleigh was confident she had won.  She wasn’t going to let some dumb jock beat her at her own game. “You know, if I didn’t know better,” Nathan said, hauling his last bucket into place, having gathered apples from a paltry twenty-six trees, “I’d say the two of you were friends.”.  He had sped up towards the end, once he (finally) got the hang of it, but Ashleigh had, at her own personal count, gotten over a hundred twenty on the day.  This was about how many she normally got, having had a lot of experience. “Friends, huh?” Ashleigh repeated, giving Rachel a look.  “Ah’ll admit, Ah misjudged you, Rachel.  Thought you were just some stupid jock who’d never do an honest day’s work in her life.” “Me too,” Rachel said.  “Always thought you were some super-serious no-fun-allowed kind of people.  This little contest was fun, I gotta admit.  You’re pretty cool, Ashleigh.” “Ah’m cool?” Ashleigh asked, snorting slightly.  “Well, thank you kindly, Rachel.  Ah guess you're pretty cool yourself.” “Well, duh,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.  “I am only the most awesome person in the entire city.” “Well, let’s count the buckets,” Nathan sighed.  “Better find out who I’m going on a date, or second date with.” He yawned and stretched for a moment, relishing in the slight soreness.  Probably wondering how Ashleigh did this every day.  But then he set to work, counting the full buckets in their piles, which didn’t take long.  What took long was his counting of the one bucket that didn’t have a flat fifty in it. After he counted Ashleigh’s, he moved on to Rachel's.  Ashleigh could see they had gotten the same number of buckets, which she thought was pretty impressive.  Rachel had done pretty well for her first day. “It’s a tie,” Nathan announced. “What?” “No freaking way.” “‘Fraid so,” Nathan said, gesturing over to the buckets.  “Forty-seven complete buckets each, and eighteen apples in the incomplete one.  It’s a draw.” “H-how?” Rachel asked. “How’d she tie me?” Ashleigh asked, completely surprised by this. “I presume by working as hard as you did,” Nathan replied, shrugging.  “So, how’s this working?  Am I not taking either of you?  Both of you?” “I like the both of us option, and Ah’m sure Rachel could agree.” “Second date’s always nice,” Rachel said, nodding.  “Even if I do have to share it.” Nova looked between the two girls as they huffed from the day’s work.  He felt he had succeeded quite nicely.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash seemed to be on a lot better of terms.  Maybe it was too soon for the Spirits of Harmony inside of them to awaken, but at least it was a good start. He glanced into Rainbow Dash’s eyes… and there was a strange little gleam in them.  A gleam that seemed familiar to Nova.  Upon glancing at Applejack, he saw that same strange gleam in her eye as well. Did this mean the Spirits had awoken? “You okay there, Nathan?” Rachel asked.  “It’s not too hot out here, is it?” “Nah,” Nova replied, shaking himself from his thoughts.  “Well, gotta say, Dash, I thought you and Applejack here wouldn’t get along well, bu here you are chatting and laughing like you’re the best of friends all of a sudden.” “Did you just call me ‘Applejack?’” Ashleigh asked. “Well, he called me Dash,” Rachel answered.  “He’s been calling me Rainbow and Dash a lot for some reason.  Not that I mind.  Rainbow Dash sounds like an awesome nickname.” “It does have a nice ring to it,” Ashleigh admitted.  “Fair ‘nuff.  Ah’ll tell Mike you did y’all’s work.  Y’all go on home and-- Winona!” Applejack’s dog came bounding around the barn, but Nova could tell something was wrong.  Winona was limping along, yipping whenever something so much as brushed her left front leg. “Oh lord, her leg’s hurt,” Ashleigh said, running over and scooping up her dog into her arms.  After some probing, and some rather loud whines from Winona, Nova thought she must have broken her leg doing something. “Ah don’t know what’s wrong with her leg,” she said, her voice sounding about as concerned with Winona as Nova would be if Twilight were in any danger.  “Do either of y’all know a good veterinarian?  Our old one moved.” “Actually,” Nova said, struck by another idea.  Two for one today?  “I know a good one.  Mind if I take her?” “Please be careful with her, Nathan,” said Ashleigh nervously, walking over and handing her dog to Nova.  “Ah’d hate to see anythin’ happen ta her.” “I’ll be careful,” promised Nathan.  “I’ll need to get her there quickly.  Rachel, you going to come with, or do you plan on sticking around and helping out here?” “I think I’ll hang here for a bit,” Rainbow Dash replied.  “Gotta help Ashleigh finish up the work.  Wouldn’t want to leave her hangin’.” “Very well, then,” Nova said, turning and starting the walk back to the city.  “I’ll be back as soon as I can with my friend.  She ought to help you out.” “Please be back soon,” said Ashleigh pleadingly. Nova walked off, carrying Winona and doing his best not to jostle the injured leg. “It’s alright, girl,” he said, stroking her behind the ears.  "Do you happen to remember?” Winona’s eyes lit up and she licked Nova’s cheek, which made him laugh. “I’m going to take that as a yes,” he chuckled.  “Well, in that case, let’s go see about making an appointment with our dear friend Fluttershy.”