//------------------------------//
// 53 - Welcome Home 
// Story: The Apple Falls Far from the Tree 
// by David Silver 
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Applejack trotted towards her fields, to find Big Mac working on tending to the orchard as quietly as he usually did. She moved over to him and he looked up with a bit of quizzicalness in his eyes. "Welcome home," he said simply enough, not voicing the questions in his mind.

Applejack moved up and hugged him tight, and he returned the gesture. "Ah done missed ya sorely, brother. Ah'm mighty sorry ah keep leavin' ya alone like this. It ain't right."

Big Mac nodded lightly. "Where's Apple Bloom?"

"Oh, she's fine, just with her friends and already up to no good." Applejack smiled gently. "She's really growin' up ya know. Ah... Ah'm really proud of her..."

Big Mac pointed a hoof at the scythe on his sister's back. "What's that fer?"

Applejack tensed. She knew the question was coming, but it didn't make it much easier. "Funny thing about that... It's kind of a magic thing. Ah'm holdin' ta it so nopony else gets tempted. Supposed to be a right powerful weapon, fer good or evil. Reckon ah can make sure it's fer good."

Big Mac looked thoughtful, though he usually did. He sat on his haunches and shook his head. "Ya should put that away somewhere nopony will get it."

Applejack rolled a hoof. "Ah got no objection ta the idea, but ah ain't seen no place that somepony hasn't eventually found, on purpose or by accident. At least on mah back it won't end up in the hooves of somepony wicked, or even a curious Apple Bloom."

Big Mac gave a slow nod, seeming to surrender to Applejack's logic. "Why ya... ya know... look so funny?"

Applejack snorted softly and smiled. "Ah'm still dudded up like one of them fancy Everglow ponies. Ah'll ask Twilight if she can fix that up fer me. Ah'm quite ready to go back ta normal. But first, ya done earned yerself a break." She moved up and nudged against Big Mac. "Just relax and tell me what needs doin' and let me take on the burden fer a while."

Big Mac shook his head, a soft smile spreading on his face. "Ah just want ta work with ya at mah side right now. Come on." He set the pace, and soon it was back to old times, working side-by-side, and neither could find any faults with the world for the moment.





Lex nodded as he listened intently. When Twilight had finished outlining the current scope of things, he spoke up again. "I can guess the answer to this, but did they bother asking Tall Tale for assistance?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of."

Sonata huffed softly. "Of course they didn't."

Giving a derisive snort, Lex mentally reviewed everything Twilight had told him. None of the information was very surprising, but it painted a grim picture. Luna had been right in her implication that Vanhoover was a mess, but the problem wasn't the state of the town; it was the state of the ponies in it.

A natural disaster and an influx of creatures that they didn't understand and had no idea how to fight had been enough to cause order to completely collapse. While the planar conjunction had eventually ended, causing the waters to recede and - Lex hoped - taking most of the creatures with it, the devastation had still been immense. Worse, the city's isolation had kept there from being any coordinated response from the rest of Equestria, since most other locales were still recovering from their own invasions.

Faced with damage of cataclysmic proportions and no help in sight, it wasn't surprising - at least not to Lex - that the situation had deteriorated. While the townsponies had doubtlessly been inclined to work together to repair their city, disaster relief was an area that nopony had any experience in, which meant that while everyone had been willing to pitch in and help, there had been no clear idea about what to do.

Without coordination and direction, the goodwill which could have immediately been put to work rebuilding Vanhoover had instead been squandered, depleting as the citizenry began to realize that things weren't getting any better, and weren't likely to anytime soon. As such, it was not unexpected that the ponies there were beginning to turn on each other as their desperation mounted.

"We should go there as soon as we possibly can." This wasn't a situation that should be allowed to linger. Indeed, it had already gone on too long. "I have one or two errands that need to be seen to, but I can be ready to leave by tonight. Sonata, does that work for you?"

Sonata nodded firmly at Lex. "I have everything I need, including you." She moved to steal a kiss from a cheek without hesitation. "Let's go rock their socks off and get that city back up on its feet before the royal sisters even know what happened."

Twilight looked less confident, but nodded. "Good luck then. I'll leave you two to it. You're welcome to contact me if you need anything. I know you can do that." She rose to her hooves and moved to depart from the room.

Waiting until Twilight had left the room, Lex glanced at the map again before turning to face his girlfriend. "Sonata, about this...I mean, I wanted to, um..." he trailed off as he realized that he wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

He was keenly aware of the fact that her help in securing this had not only been invaluable, but absolutely vital. The knowledge that she was supporting him, not just willingly but eagerly, was something he was still very cognizant of. But unlike a half-hour ago, it didn't make him feel giddy; instead, he felt almost pensive. It was like...he had to make her know that he wasn't taking her help for granted. That he had to tell her that he felt...he felt...

Grateful. He blinked in surprise as the answer came to him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt genuine gratitude towards somepony else.

"Your idea," he tried again. "Your spokespony idea...it worked better than I expected."

Sonata reached out and put a hoof on his shoulder. "You have amazing ideas, Lex, they were just hiding behind an ugly mask. People are like that, they won't take medicine that's too bitter until they're, like, half-dead. Let me be your sweetener." She grinned a bit goofily. "In more ways than one." Her face became a tiny bit more serious, though still clearly cheerful. "It's going to take a lot of work to get these ponies moving the way they have to."

He felt himself flush, both at her touch and her words, but fought it down. "You know that that won't always work, right? Some of the ponies we meet in Vanhoover will need a show of force to make them back down and do what they need to do."

Sonata shook her head. "Of course, but..." She rolled a hoof. "You don't have to look like a person ready to use force. You can lure out totally yucky people to make the first move, then they look like the bad guy, and you..." She leaned towards Lex. "Get to be the hero."

"I'm more interested in doing what I can to make things better for everypony in Equestria than being a hero, but I understand your point." He punctuated his statement by leaning towards her as well, nuzzling her softly. "We should get going. I'll need to stop in Ponyville before we go to Vanhoover."

He started towards the door, then paused as he realized that he had no money for the train fare, having given the last of his funds to Willow.

As if reading his mind, Sonata came up beside Lex. "We're proud employees of Equestria. Let's go get a bit of starting funds before we go. Like, I dunno, a thousand bits? What are bits worth exactly?" She was just getting used to the value of a gold piece, ugh. "Let's go find out." She cheerfully led Lex away, his returned affection making everything right in her world. They'd have to work hard, but they'd work hard together.





Rainbow landed on a fluffy cloud and Scootaloo came in beside her easily. "That was great, Dash! We have to do that more!"

Rainbow reached out a hoof to pat Scootaloo. "I'm really glad you had fun, but we need to talk, like, serious face time." She frowned in an attempt to be serious, but her smile returned with a sad hint.

Scootaloo shrank a little, wondering what could even phase her idol. "What's wrong?"

Rainbow pointed a hoof at Scootaloo's wings. "You know you can't... keep those right? They're not... you. If you're supposed to fly, you'll grow into your real wings, or not, but you're awesome either way."

Scootaloo clenched her teeth a moment. These thoughts had gone through her own head at one point, but the idea of giving up her precious wings after taking to the sky beside her hero... She couldn't stand to face the thought and turned away, trying her best to hold in the sudden tears that threatened to spill from her traitorous and closed eyes.

Rainbow's hooves reached for Scootaloo and pulled her in close, squeezing her. "Did I tell you about the time I lost a wing?"

Scootaloo twisted to face RD. "What? When? What happened?!"

Rainbow began to retell the tale, of how she and Spike snuck off to fight, for the fun, and for the money, and how their last bout turned ugly, and a life was taken, and her wing. "I... thought my life was over. I thought I'd never get up here again." She patted the cloud lightly. "I was so angry I wanted to punch the world in the snout! But my friends wouldn't let me be sad. They dragged me along, moping and being a big foal until I remembered that I was still Rainbow Dash, and awesome comes from all of me, not just my wings. I had some righteous battles without them and you know what? I was still Rainbow Dash." She poked Scootaloo lightly. "Just like you are Scootaloo, the most awesome filly I know. Don't tell the others."

Scootaloo smiled up at Rainbow, happy at her words, and yet the tears wouldn't stop. She wanted to just fly with her idol... "Why can't I keep them? What's so wrong with it?"

Rainbow ran a hoof slowly over Scootaloo's subtly altered anatomy. "This isn't you. I mean, it's totally awesome, but it's also kinda cheating. Besides, you look odd, and it might wear off on its own eventually, and if that happens while you're in the air... I'd rather a living ground Scoots than a dead air ace. You are not even one tiny bit less cool as your normal self. You'll either grow into them or not, on your own, using your own cool, but you're... Ugh... I'm not really cut out for this kinda thing, but I'm serious!"

Scootaloo squeezed Rainbow tightly, hugging her. "Will you help me?"

Rainbow smiled gently. "Yeah kid... yeah... We'll keep right on trying. But you have to keep on doing your thing. I've seen you on that scooter, and jumping off of things, swinging around, and all kinds of other crazy stunts. You're a natural, and that's awesome. You like... maybe you'll never fly like an eagle, but you sure float like a butterfly."

Scootaloo pushed away from Rainbow, looking down over the cloud with her wings spread wide. "Alright... I won't let you down. I'll be the most awesome butterfly you ever saw." She turned and smiled at Rainbow, even with the tears staining her snout. "You'll come and watch me fly?"

Rainbow bobbed her head. "Whichever way you fly, Scoots, I will be there, cheering you on."