The team had eventually settled to going to Home Run's house to get some homework done, along with the possibility of some MLB '15 if they had the time. Flash had opted out, deciding to get back to school to practice with his band. Eclair had also left, needing to discuss more things with Loregiver about the Stalker, heading back down the street towards the school.
Home Run led the way in front, walking down the straight road with lots of small houses and cars outlining the sides, wheeling his bike along as the others followed. Some people didn't seem to know how to park their cars, forcing the group to maneuver around the vehicles. Some kids ran in and out of one of the houses, spraying water at each other from their water pistols, almost hitting Home Run in the face at one point. Applejack and Rarity walked with Rainbow Dash at the back, still trying to get her mind off the terrifying encounter.
"Are ya still not over it, Rainbow?" Applejack questioned, worried that the effects were lasting.
"Sorry," Rainbow admitted, still shivering a little from the experience. "It's still fresh on my mind..."
"Perhaps we need to change the subject," Rarity suggested.
The crew was momentarily distracted by the sight of an airplane flying overhead, towing a garishly pink banner with a heart and the CHS logo on it. It looped overhead twice before jetting off back toward the city.
“Did… that plane just have our school’s name on it?” Rarity pointed out, finger raised in confusion.
"Sure looked like it," Applejack whistled. "This Valentine's Day thing's a lot bigger than Ah thought it'd be..." she got an idea. “Hey, have any of ya got a date for the dance yet?”
"No, not yet strangely enough," Rarity told her friends. "I guess we've been rather busy, haven't we? What about yourself, Applejack? Anyone ask you yet?"
“Wha’? Uh, well, not really. Been too caught up with all the fightin’ and the jumpin’ and the hurtin’ to think about this here dance, y’know?”
“I understand completely. In fact, I’m still getting over the idea of someone like Mr. Pierce organizing an event like this. He never struck me as the romantic type.”
“Uh huh…” Rainbow nodded, joining in on the new conversation. She seemed to have gotten over the shock at last. “Maybe he fancies someone?”
“Mr. Pierce?” Rarity asked aghast. “Fancying someone? That’s one of the last few things I would ever believe. The only thing he seems attached to is his phone!”
“Dang right, Ah bet he loves it so much he glued it to his hand!” Everyone had a little giggle at that. "So none of ya have dates yet?"
“That’s right!” Rainbow praised herself. “I guess people think I’m more awesome than they are, so they haven’t asked.”
“Well, why don’t ya change it up a bit, Rainbow?” Applejack told her friend. “Why not ask someone to the dance instead of waitin’?”
Rainbow looked at Applejack as if she had just declared that the sky was yellow. “As if any guy at school is awesome enough to be on my level. Someone wants to go to the dance with me, they’ve gotta beat me at something.”
“Sounds like every guy in literature class has that down,” Sunset snickered.
“Something non-school related!” Rainbow shot back instantly.
“That’s kind of cheating isn’t it?” Rarity raised an eyebrow.
“Meh, if they want to go out with me, then I get to make the rules.”
“Fine by me,” Applejack looked like she surrendered. “We’ll just have to find a boy that can beat ya at somethin’, then. Simple is as simple does.”
“Good luck with that, Applejack,” Rainbow scoffed, folding her arms. “I’m awesome at everything!”
“Li-te-ra-ture,” Sunset sang.
“Oh, shut up.”
While the others bickered in the back, Fluttershy and Pinkie had matched Home Run’s pace and started their own conversation.
“You’ve never been to the animal shelter?” Fluttershy asked the baseball player.
Home Run pushed his bike around a hydrant. “Not yet. I wanted to check it out, you know, get a dog or something but all this excitement got me thinking that maybe now isn’t the best time for me to find a pet.”
“That’s right, Homey!” Pinkie bounced next to them. “Now with this Stalker trying to kill everyone, getting a pet would just make things worse! No offense, Fluttershy! But you know? I have a pet gator. His name’s Gummy!”
“Oh yeah,” Home Run thought back. “I think I saw it at your place a couple of times. I didn’t know you could get alligators as pets here.”
Pinkie grinned mischievously. “Oh, you can’t.”
Home Run nodded, but then realized what she had just said. “Wait… what?” He looked to Fluttershy for her input, but she simply shrugged.
“It’s better not to ask,” she whispered.
“If you… say so…?” Home Run semi-agreed.
Soon, Home Run stopped in front of his small blue house, wheeling his bike into the garage before meeting the others at the front door. It was a fairly standard two floor home, one which looked right in place on the suburbs.
“Looks just like my place,” Fluttershy eyed the building. “I guess all the houses down the road look the same.”
Home Run shrugged and led the way in, opening his door with his keys. “Well, come on in. My parents aren’t back yet, so there’s plenty of space for everyone.”
“Nice place, this,” Applejack whistled as she walked through the doorway. “Didn’t know you were a classy one, Home Run.”
The hallway after the door led straight into the main room, which was of a rectangular shape, with a TV, couch, and two tables, one with chairs, and one without. They students headed to one of the tables and pulled out their homework, getting right to work, starting with English. Their Warframes and Tenno unpacked themselves and headed to the other table to mingle, talking to each other about the usual business of combat. With good teamwork, the Rainbooms and Home Run managed to finish everything in less than two hours. The boy headed to the TV and fired up his Neighstation Six, putting in the disc for MLB ‘15.
“Games time, guys!” Home Run cheered as he handed out the controllers. “Sorry, but I only have two, so we’ll have to split it. Well, I mean split it more, since there’s more than four of us anyway.” Home Run explained the basic buttons for the game and taught them how to swing the bat and how to throw and catch the ball. “Anyone need me to repeat anything?”
“I think we’ll figure it out as we play,” Sunset told him, saving him the trouble of having to repeat the instructions again.
“Ha!” Rainbow Dash laughed at her friends. “This game’s pretty easy to get. Are you still having trouble remembering what does what?”
“I’ll show ya easy, Rainbow,” Applejack challenged.
Home Run watched as his friends tried their hands at the game, missing each other's shots or failing to throw the ball straight. Most of the others weren't as good, but Applejack and Rainbow seemed to know what they were doing, both of them keeping up to the other in points.
"You guys are pretty good at this," Home Run's respect for his two friends grew as he watched.
"I'm awesome at everything, really," Rainbow casually said, still focused on trying to take Applejack down. "You just can't beat me!"
Applejack’s fingers were a blur on her controller. “We’ll see ‘bout that.”
The cowgirl put up a good fight, but ultimately, Rainbow came out on top, beating her by two points.
"Woo!" Rainbow got up and launched her fists skyward. "Who's awesome? That's right! I am!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Applejack groaned. She turned to Home Run. "Show her who's boss, Home Run. This is your game."
"Yeah, Home Run!" Rainbow agreed, waving him over. "I'll beat you at your own game! Come on. Let's rumble!"
"Well, if you put it like that..." Home Run shrugged and joined her on the couch.
Home Run picked his usual team, the Fillydelphia Centaurs, his favourite team from Fillydelphia, while Rainbow picked the Seaddle Divers.
"You're so going down, Home Run!" Rainbow taunted as the match began.
He half-turned as Applejack put a hand on his shoulder. "Maintain that honour o' yours, Home Run. You've got to beat her at somethin' if ya want to... be awesome!"
“Oh, Applejack… are you…” Rarity began but Applejack silenced her with a cutting motion.
“Not here,” Applejack hissed. She got off the couch and headed to one of the smaller rooms on the other side, asking Rarity to follow.
Rarity and Sunset headed towards the other room, which was the kitchen. A counter stood in the middle of the room while other tables, cabinets and the stove were layered around the walls.
“You’re trying to get the two of them together?” Rarity cut to the chase.
“I knew it!” Sunset added. “That’s why you were asking all those questions before.”
“Hold yer horses,” Applejack tried to explain. “Ah’m doin’ this for Home Run. Don’t tell anyone else, but just the other day, he asked me if Rainbow would go to the dance with him. Ah wasn’t so sure myself, so here we are.”
“Aww. How sweet,” Rarity smiled at the thought. “I didn’t know you cared about such things.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Sunset asked, wanting in on all of this.
“Well, we just gotta make sure Home Run wins the game,” Applejack wore a smug face and crossed her arms.
“Home Run’s a baseball maniac,” Sunset started. “I mean, all he really ever talks about is baseball, right? And that game belongs to him. How could he possibly lose?”
“Just in case, Ah have a plan,” Applejack told her friends. “It’ll be a lot easier with y’all helpin’ too.”
Home Run mashed away at the controller, busily trying to catch the ball to get Rainbow out of the game. The captain was doing a lot better than Home Run had expected. She’d managed to keep up with him at every point, slowly getting better as they played.
“Just you wait, Home Run!” Rainbow taunted again. “You’re gonna mess up, and I’m going to pull ahead! That’s why I’m the captain of the baseball team!”
“But you’re the captain of every team.”
“Exactly.”
Home Run continued to do his best. There was no way he was going to lose at his own game.
"Hey did you guys hear?" he heard Sunset say behind him. "The Wonderbolts are coming to Canterlot for some performance."
"Oh I believe I saw a poster on that," Rarity added in.
"Wait, what?" Rainbow heard something she liked and turned around. "The Wonderbolts are coming?"
"Gotta focus, captain," Home Run smiled as he caught up to Rainbow and tagged her out, ending the match and winning the game. "Boom! Game over! I win."
"Woohoo!" Pinkie cheered from behind. "Way to goooo Home Run!"
"Looks like you're better than Rainbow at baseball!" Applejack whooped.
"What...? Hey!" she complained after realizing what had just happened. "Not fair! I was distracted!"
"You can't pause in real life, Rainbow," Home Run laughed at his joke. "There are no second chances."
"Yeah, like when you lost that baseball game?" Rainbow said without thinking, only realizing her mistake after the words left her mouth and the look Home Run gave her. "Home Run... I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking..."
"Clearly not!" Sunset ran up to the two of them. "Why would you say something like that? You know how much that baseball game is to him!"
"I'm... Sorry!" she pleaded again. "I don't know... I don't know why I did that. I guess... I guess I was just upset that I lost."
"Umm... Not to intrude, but..." Rarity joined them at the couch. "What baseball game?"
"I'll explain," Sunset motioned the others away. She turned to Applejack. "Give Rainbow and Home Run some time."
Applejack widened her eyes and nodded quickly. "Oh yes. C'mon y'all. Give 'em some space."
As soon as the others left, Rainbow moved closer to Home Run and put an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Home Run. I'm just not used to losing I guess. I didn't mean what I said."
Home Run sat there and nodded, but didn't say anything. What he and Rainbow said was true. There were no second chances in real life, and he really messed up in that game. Perhaps if he’d been more careful, he would’ve gotten his team to the next round before leaving for Canterlot.
"Huh... It's fine, Dash," he finally said. "You're right. There is no second chance. I failed my team."
"That's in the past, Home Run," Rainbow tried to make sense to him. She turned him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now you're here with us. This isn't Fillydelphia anymore. It's Canterlot. We're going to get you to that final game, and we're going to win. I’m sorry for what I said."
"Thanks, Rainbow," Home Run closed his eyes and hugged her back. She was right again. He had failed, but that was in the past. Things were different here. Never had he met anyone this good in baseball. "I’m glad that I moved here.”
“Good attitude, slugger,” Rainbow smiled. “Well, you beat me fair and square, Home Run. My distraction was my own failure.”
“You were very awesome yourself. You almost beat me.”
“Yeah… Listen, Home Run. I got something I want to ask you… ummm… well...”
Home Run raised an eyebrow. Rainbow never looked like she ever had trouble with speaking, and he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but her cheeks were turning red.
“You know… how do I put this…” she struggled with finding the right words. “I mean, you’re pretty awesome… for a guy, and… and… ”
“And?” Home Run held back a grin in case he was wrong, but all the signs pointed to Rainbow doing exactly what he thought she was going to do.
“Do you… uh… wannagotothedancewithme?” The team captain’s face flushed crimson and she immediately looked away.
Home Run let loose his smile and laugh, amused at this side of Rainbow. It was like she was a completely different person. “Yeah. I’d like that, Rainbow. You know... I was actually planning to ask... You."
“What…?” Rainbow’s eyes became that of an owl, before her face turned into a frown. “Then you should’ve asked first! You could have saved me the trouble and the embarrassment!”
“Hey, sorry,” Home Run raised his hands to ward her off. “You were going for it and I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
She ranted for a bit more, throwing her arms to the ground repeatedly, but eventually, probably realizing how silly she was being, laughter took over. Home Run soon joined her, as the two athletes bent back in laughter, clutching at their stomachs.
"Well, thanks for asking Rainbow," Home Run said after calming down. "I can't wait for the dance."
"Yeah, we're going to rock the dance floor!" she cheered. "Because of me, of course!"
Home Run couldn't help but smile. Rainbow Dash always had this overwhelmingly positive energy. It was something he needed. Suddenly the others returned from the other room, rejoining the two athletes on the couch.
“So, did one of ya ask the other to the dance yet?” Applejack asked as soon as she sat down, a wild smile forming on her face.
"Wait, you knew?" Rainbow's cheeks started to glow again. "That's why you were asking all those questions!"
"Hehe, yep," Applejack tilted her hat for Rainbow. "Glad to see it all worked out alright. So who asked who?"
"Rainbow asked, actually," Home Run nodded, getting a look from Rainbow. "What? She asked."
"Way to gooooo Rainbow!" Pinkie jumped in from the back, her two feet landing on the couch's arm. “That’s a hole in one!”
"Yes, and I must say," Rarity chuckled. "It was a splendid idea. And Home Run, I'm sorry about your baseball game. Trust me. It won't happen again. The team will look out for you."
Rainbow Dash clapped Home Run on the back before unpausing the game. “Pfft, yeah! What kind of team captain would I be if I couldn’t take care of my own crew? I’d be out of the job!”
The seven of them played long into the evening, their good mood following them as they left Home Run’s house. The boy grinned, waving goodbye to Fluttershy, the last to leave. He’d done it. He had a date, and a really awesome one at that.
Lightning Rain entered the kitchen, a bright smile on his face. He had a good sleep last night, not hearing a single ring from the phone in the house. Before he went to bed, he had made sure to unplug the power, preventing Jetstream from calling. There was no way he was going to let that windbag ask his sister to the dance. He happily made himself some toast, adding some ham and lettuce in between the bread slices. He started into it as Lightning Dust walked into the kitchen, her face still a little groggy from too much sleep. She headed to the coffee machine to get herself some before sitting across from her brother.
“Morning sis,” Lightning Rain greeted her with a smile. “Get any calls last night?”
Lightning Dust looked up from her mug of coffee, turning the page on her newspaper. “What’s that?”
The track star’s little brother sauntered over to the phone line and plugged it back into the wall. “Guess not.”
The two siblings went about their daily morning routine, eating breakfast and getting dressed before heading off to school. Lightning Dust seemed abnormally quiet on the drive there, though that may have just been the coffee not taking effect yet. Lightning Rain played with his baseball mitt in the passenger seat, tossing a ball from hand to hand.
Lightning Dust pulled up in front of the school, parking her car in the usual spot. Spotting Jetstream loitering in front of the doors, Lightning Rain slid out of her car and jogged over.
“Yo, Lightning,” Jetstream grinned around a lollipop. “How’s it hanging?”
“Oh, not bad. Did you have any… phone problems last night?”
Jetstream removed the lollipop from his mouth and stroked his chin. “Well now that you mention it, I did have trouble calling this one place… what was it again? Oh yeah, Heavy Wind. He needed me to help him with the homework but he was Neighgagging too much. Stinks for him, eh?”
“Oh. So I guess you didn’t ask my sister out to the dance after all,” Lightning Rain said, satisfied that his plot had worked. Jetstream raised an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Speaking of that, tell your sister that I’ll be dropping by tomorrow. You know, gotta make a good impression.”
“Tomorrow?” Lightning laughed. “That’s the day of the dance, you goof! You can’t ask my sister out on the night of the dance?”
“I know…"
“That’s why he asked me last night,” Lightning Rain froze and gaped as his older sister walked up and clapped Jetstream on the back. “See you then.”
To Lightning Rain’s credit, he waited until his sister was safely out of earshot before exploding, “You what?!”
“Well,” Jetstream reasoned with his palms up. “Your home phone was down, so I just called your sister’s cell. No brainer, really.”
“Wha-but-how… how did you even get her number?”
“I asked the captain! She’s got everyone’s numbers.” The bell rang, bringing an end to the discussion. “Well, Lightning, looks like we both have dates now. Should be fun, eh?”
“Just kill me now,” The white haired boy moaned as he trudged after his friend.
The rest of the school day played by like every other day. Classes went by per normal, every teacher handing out homework like candy on Halloween night. After school, the students cheered for the Wondercolts as they beat the opposing team at Soccer. From watching, Home Run realized why they were one of the best soccer teams out there.
“Go, Wondercolts!” he cheered, cupping his hands in front of his mouth. “Go, Rainbow Dash!”
The rainbow haired girl looked up and gave him a thumbs up before joining the others in a group high-five before they headed out of the field. Home Run and the others returned to the front of the school, except for Pinkie Pie, who said she needed to set up for the dance tomorrow.
“You guys go on without me!” she waved to them as she headed in the opposite direction. “Cheese and I have to help Mr. Pierce with the preparations! If we don't, who knows what kind of drab decorations he'll put up!”
"Cheese?" Home Run asked as they stopped outside the school doors. "Is there a kid named Cheese? Or is that a nickname?"
"Cheese Sandwich," Sunset told the baseball player. "Poofy brown hair, bright yellow shirt, almost as energetic as Pinkie?"
Home Run looked back in his memories, remembering the description of Cheese. "Oh yeah, I guess I've seen him before, but seriously? Cheese Sandwich? Is that his real name? Now I've got to be careful whenever I talk about eating cheese sandwiches."
"Beats me," Applejack shrugged. "Ah think that's his real name. Ah have no idea why that's his name, though."
"What're we still standing around for?" Rainbow asked impatiently. "We won the soccer match! Let's get to celebrating!"
The Rainbooms and Home Run started walking towards Sugarcube Corner, a place the girls generally hung out at after school. While Home Run was uncomfortably reminded of his old school as they approached, he pushed the thought aside and focused on tomorrow’s dance instead. Pushing open the glass door, the team found a table a few rows down and settled themselves on the cushioned seats after ordering some food and drinks.
"So..." Rainbow started. "Anyone else have dates for the dance yet? Home Run and I are going to be awesome!" She gave him a high-five.
Applejack shifted her hat and took a bit out of her donut. "Turns out, Ah'll be goin' with Caramel. He asked me durin' Readin' class."
“Nice!” the athlete gave a thumbs up. She looked around at all her friends, but stopped at the pink haired one. “Wait, what I want to know is Fluttershy? Has anyone asked you to the dance?”
The shy girl suddenly looked down at the table and darted her eyes around. “Umm… uhhh…” her face started glowing red as her friends looked at her. “...yes…”
“Woah!” Applejack would’ve fallen off her seat if it could move. “Nice one, Fluttershy! Who’re ya goin’ with?”
Fluttershy bent back a little to let her hair cover more of her face. “...uhhhh… B-Big… Mac…”
“My brother asked you out?” Applejack said before giving out a shrill yodel. “Did ya say yes?”
Fluttershy simply nodded her head. “I-If it’s okay with you?”
The farm girl let out a single bark of laughter before affectionately nuzzling Fluttershy. “Sugarcube, Ah think you an’ my brother’d make a great pair.” This earned her a squee from the shy girl. Applejack looked to her friends, finding it strange that Rarity wasn’t jumping up with joy from this juicy news. Instead, Rarity’s nose was buried in some kind of fashion magazine that had a vaguely familiar movie star on the front.
“Uh, Rarity?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and deftly plucked the magazine from Rarity’s hands. “Ebony Wings,” The sports captain read aloud. “This year’s top model? Huh, wasn’t she that cat burglar in the Daring Do movies? She was awesome!”
“Hey!” Rarity said indignantly, grabbing it back. “I was reading that!”
“I take it you’re a big fan of Daring Do, captain?” Home Run washed down the last of his milkshake and sighed. He remembered that one, Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet. The plot had been more or less standard, but the special effects and the actors had been outstanding and the film had won a lot of awards.
“Of course!” Rainbow put a fist on the table. “Daring Do is the best series ever! On paper and on screen!
After everyone finished their celebratory food, the team headed out, going their own ways.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Sunset waved as she and Rarity headed off. “It’s going to be a big day!”
“Guess Ah’ll be headin’ back to my farm now,” Applejack nodded and moved off. “Y’all take care now.”
Rainbow decided to fly home as usual, quickly unpacking Zephyr and blasting off with a jet of wind, leaving Fluttershy and Home Run to walk back together. “See you tomorrow, Home Run! We’ll make it a good one!”
Home Run waved goodbye before heading off with his shy friend. “So, you and Applejack’s brother, huh? From what I knew, I thought he only ever said two words. How’d he ask you to the dance?”
“Oh, he can say more than just two words when he wants to…” Fluttershy thought about Big Mac. “He’s… a nice boy.”
“Looks like it,” Home Run agreed as they crossed the street, him wheeling his bike along. They passed two more streets before Home Run mused, “Hmm... Didn’t you say that school events like this have a history of being crashed by bad guys or something?”
“Well… only the big ones… I think they’re only coincidences, though.”
“Do you think that Stalker will show up? We haven’t tangled with it in a few days.”
Home Run soon regretting mentioning the dark Tenno, as Fluttershy’s face lost most of its color and she fell back a step. “Oh, oh, no. I hope not…” She whispered nervously.
Vauban suddenly folded over half of Home Run’s face. “Always be ready, Home Run. You never know when that invader will show up again. It might very well be following us right now. Watching our every move. *Zzt*”
“Well, yeah, I guess,” Home Run agreed. If the Stalker were to show up now, they’d be in some serious trouble. Vauban was pretty much out of action, and Trinity alone wouldn’t be able to take down the rogue Tenno. “Uhhh… yeah, you know what, Fluttershy? We better head home faster, just in case. Here, hop on my bike. I’ll give you a lift.”
The Stalker hid in the shadows, inspecting the target that transformed into the Excalibur when the need arises. That Tenno proved to be a formidable opponent, matching it skill for skill, blade for blade. The dark Tenno decided to follow this target, viewing his ways and movement, learning so that it could challenge the Tenno again, but this time, win. Also, another Tenno was always nearby, hanging around the Excalibur. The Stalker had yet to determine what it was, but a great power radiated from it.
“Eclair?” the male one called from his table as he shuffled through some papers. “What do you think of this world so far? Are you adjusting well?”
“Oui, Loregiver,” the one called Eclair replied from her corner of the room. “The movement takes some getting used to, but I am managing okay. The humans are etrange I must admit. There is no magic, no wings, but their world is more advanced than Equestria. Fascinating how they succeed.”
“Yes well, I’ve been teaching history here for a month now, so I’ve had to learn a bit about this world,” the Loregiver spoke. “They’ve progressed from hard times. They’re a strong race. When we have more time, I’ll be glad to share their history with you.”
“Merci, Loregiver.”
The Stalker stood above, listening in on their conversation. So these two were from another world. The Lotus’ world. The one who started the destruction of the Orokin. The Stalker put a note in its mind that when it had the chance, these two would first feel its blade.
“Lotus… you and your Tenno cannot run from your past. Your reckoning is coming…”