You Say Tomato, I Say Tamater

by Scantrel

Pride and Prejudice

Two weeks later...

"Thanks for coming over this morning, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, smiling at her friend who had just touched down in front of the library. "I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to help me."

"You mean time out of my nap schedule?" Rainbow Dash shot back teasingly. Seeing Twilight's light flush in confirmation, Rainbow Dash gave a little laugh. "It's no problem, Twi'. I think it's totally awesome that you want to learn more about the Weather Team and how we do what we do."

"I have to confess, I haven't really given much study to pegasus magic outside of those elements that are directly necessary for flight," Twilight admitted as the pair walked around to the back side of the library where Twilight's garden had been sown. The small little plants had poked their way through the soil over the last couple of weeks, soaking in the warmth and light from the bright, sunny day.

"Yeah, most ponies don't really pay much attention to the weather. They just assume we'll handle it, and don't give it a second thought," Rainbow Dash mused. "But I suspect you'll be a faster study than Scootaloo was when I was explaining the basics of pegasus magic to her."

"How is she doing, by the way?" Twilight asked, genuinely interested in how the young filly was progressing with her training.

"She's doing good, I saw her and the other Crusaders just yesterday while I was visiting Sweet Apple Acres, they were driving Applejack crazy running around gathering wood to build apple barrels trying to earn their cutie marks as coopers." Rainbow Dash replied. Her expression grew a little more curious. "So, what was it that you wanted me to show you?" Rainbow inquired.

"Well, one of the variables that has the greatest impact on the success of my garden is proper watering and maintaining the correct moisture levels in the soil. What I wanted to learn was how to gather up a personal little rain cloud like I've seen you do so many times so that I can make sure the plants are getting enough water regularly," Twilight answered, nodding over the the neatly spaced rows of tiny plants.

"Oh, sure, that's easy enough," Rainbow Dash said. She turned her gaze upward, searching the sky for any stray cloud formations that were nearby. "Give me a moment and I'll..." Rainbow Dash's voice trailed off for a moment, before she turned to look at Twilight. "Wait a minute. You're still serious about winning this bet with Applejack, aren't you?" Rainbow asked pointedly.

Twilight nodded her head vigorously. "I sure am! I'm going to show her and everypony else that science can be just as strong as Earth pony magic."

Rainbow Dash just sighed. "Twi', I know you got your feelings hurt a couple of weeks ago, but that's no reason to carry a chip on your withers. And besides, you've used magic too as a part of all this, haven't you?"

Twilight shook her head. "Only indirectly. For example, I've levitated tools like any unicorn would. But I haven't used any spells that might directly affect the growth rates of the plants themselves."

Rainbow Dash gave Twilight an appraising look. "Why not?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

Twilight paused, she hadn't expected that question. "Well, if I were to use a spell to artificially produce an enlarged result, that wouldn't prove my hypothesis at all that the scientific method is just as adept if not superior for producing results in this test case."

"So it's egghead-ism over ethics, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little frown creeping over her muzzle. "It's more important to prove your point than worry about the consequences of how you go about it?"

Twilight balked a bit. "No, it's not that. It's..." Twilight paused, withering a little under Rainbow Dash's look. "OK, perhaps there is a bit of pride at stake. But it's not meant in any way to undermine Applejack or Earth ponies in general. I just want to prove to myself that the science can prevail."

Rainbow Dash's expression of skepticism didn't fade, though. "Prove to yourself, or everypony else?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You said that earlier, you know."

Twilight looked down and didn't answer at first. Rainbow Dash couldn't remember the last time she had seen her friend at such a loss for words. Rainbow Dash softened her voice and gave Twilight a friendly nudge. "Hey, I'm not trying to scold you Twi', and I know this isn't something you are used to hearing from somepony like me. Friendly competition is a good thing and can be a lot of fun, but not if you take it too far and you don't consider others feelings."

Rainbow Dash gave an embarrassed cough before continuing. "I remember during that one Running of the Leaves what Applejack and I did to each other and how bad we felt afterwards. I don't want you sprinting toward that same finish line over this bet. One of the things that you guys finally beat into my feather-brain is that nopony likes a lousy winner just as much as they dislike a sore loser."

Twilight looked up and gave Rainbow Dash a thankful smile. "You're right. I guess my belief in science blinded me that I was putting too much emphasis on the result without worry over what it might cost. Thank you, Rainbow, for reminding me that one type of magic will always triumph, the magic of friendship."

Rainbow Dash grinned, "OK, just don't get too sappy on me now. You still want me to show you how to grab a cloud?"

"Yes, please!" Twilight exclaimed. "And it's only fair that you make similar arrangements for Applejack, I don't want to claim any unfair advantage over her."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Oh, I've been offering for as long as I can remember to steer a little extra rain or whatever over to Sweet Apple Acres if she wanted. But every time I do, she just shakes her head and says she has her own ways to manage. I just roll with it, I've seen her do some weird things on the farm, but they always seem to work."

Twilight cocked her head curiously. "What kind of things?"

"Well, she talks a lot to the trees and the plants," Rainbow Dash replied, thinking over what she'd seen. "Sometimes she even sings to them. When she's about to start a planting season, I've seen her sniffing at the dirt, or smearing it over her hooves. And as far as the weather goes, she never asks for any special consideration from the Weather Team, she keeps a little diary of the patterns we do and the rogue storms that come out of the Everfree."

Rainbow Dash flared her wings, pointing up and to the northeast. "Let's go find you a little cloud. There should be a bank of cumulonimbus not too far we can go steal one from. Remember how I first taught you that pegasus magic is all about controlling the air around you? We'll just need to regulate the air temperature around the cloud so that it will sink lower to the ground without condensing the water vapor too fast as well as direct some micro-bursts very gently to steer it right over your garden."

Twilight nodded, taking mental notes. "That's a pretty good explanation, Rainbow Dash. Very scientific if I may say so."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "What, you think we all talk like 'Go kick the grey ones and push the white fluffy ones around' on the Weather Team?" Rainbow Dash teased. "You might want to come spend a shift or two with me, it's more involved than you think.

Twilight spread her wings and the pair took to the sky, soaring upwards towards the billowing grey tower of clouds in the distance that Rainbow Dash had indicated. "I think I will take you up on that, Rainbow Dash." Twilight replied once they had leveled off. "Just promise me you won't make fun of my dance moves when I hop up and down on the cloud to shake the rain loose."

"No promises, Twi', no promises," Rainbow Dash quipped, pulling ahead of Twilight. "C'mon, slowpoke, I need to get back to my busy schedule of naps!"

Comments

[BenRG]

Rainbow Dash as a perceptive and empathetic pony! Who would have thought it? The underlying lesson is, of course, that Twilight doesn't really yet know enough about all the magical and natural interactions that make plant growth work in Equestria to really know for certain what is the most important factor.

The strange thing is that talking to plants seems to work for humans too. I don't know if it's something extrasensory or if plants just respond to human good vibes in positive ways. So, Twilight would be advised not to dismiss certain things as 'magic' when it might not be.

[WildStallion]

Talking too plants. I think I remember a Mythbusters episode they did something like that. Forgotten which one though. And I think it was plausible or something.

[Dapper Guy]

Twilight's honesty reassures me she won't cheat on this wager but I still predict AJ pulling ahead of the competition by a mile.

4128280
Everyone has different strengths, what one person knows another could be ignorant of and vice-versa. It'd be like talking to a computer tech and a construction worker, one has certain skills and knowledge they can play on.

[OmniFox]

Um does Applejack buck the trees?!

[HB_DS2013]

4128280 Wait a sec, there’s science behind talking to plants!?