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."
did
on ta
We don't know who 'she' is in this context.
They should bring someone from Ponyville; they're all experts.
beside
Even if she goes back to being an Equestrian pony, Scoots can still tap into Everglow magic, now that she's seen it. Even fighters can fly eventually, so her prospects are good.
Well, if anypony can keep Applejack grounded, it'll be Big Macintosh. Big lunk barely knows the meaning of the word "rest."
Now that Lex has a PR specialist, he can put his methods to the test. We'll see how well they perform. Sonata may need more advanced forms of persuasion for that crowd...
And Scootaloo has to face the reality of her normally undeveloped wings. Whether or not she'll ever be flight-capable in her own body, she'll definitely be awesome. (Also, I think I see where you're going with the talk of butteflies...)
If the typos be merciless, let us show them no mercy in kind:
Was. Tense consistency.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, RD is best older sister.
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6044402 Typos sent to the rainbow factory. Thanks for reading!
Scootaloo with no fight or now I am Crying.
Harts Fire
Scootaloo is best pony
6044400 Obscuring Mist + Cloud Kicker + Buzzy scooter-wings = monkey king Scootaloo.
Or was it just 'Weatherpony' to be able to push clouds?
The typo god has returned with a vengeance:
"Just relax and tell me what needs doin' and let me take on the burden fer a while."
Might be better phrased like this:
"Just relax, tell me what needs doin and let me take on the burden fer awhile"
Just some advice , either way its up to you if you change it or not.
6044559 Or some ranks in sorcerer to get unification perks. I think she can already do the cloud-scooter trick according to Equestria rules, since weather control is an innate racial ability.
I think AJ should try and find out more about her blade, at the very least by giving it to Big Mac, or trying. Because its in the trying that you find out if its cursed, geased or otherwise just messing you over.
6045578 I think it's perfectly natural for Pinkie to try cheering Willow up. She hasn't succeded at it yet, just got her enough out of her shell to make a challenge, which we haven't heard yet. It could be something petty, or something out of Pinkie's scope, or something that won't really help, or all of the above! Only time will tell.
I... I'm not sure what to say on Sweetie. I was busy feeling feels while writing her section and I thought it came through as quite emotional and impactful, and it's a little sad you didn't agree, but I don't ask you to give your opinion to echo me (The worst kind of opinion really). Apple Bloom and Sweetie were a little immature to leap on Sunflower's idea for her to remain a Crusader, but it's a very harmless immaturity, in my opinion. They'll grow out of the club together, most likely, instead of leaving it pony by pony, until one pony is left to feel miserable.
Vanhoover! Well, we'll see how that goes. In a lot of ways, this could be the story gently winding down. Most of the actual strife is wrapping up nicely, and could be brought to a gentle halt for a change.
What happens with the scythe could be good sequel material, hrm.
Another tripartite chapter, this time revolving around Lex - doing more of the same thing as last chapter - Applejack, and Scootaloo.
Lex continues to analyze the likely situation in Vanhoover, and this sequence seemed to do a pretty good job of showing off his situational/political analysis. He's been saying for quite some time that he's smarter, especially when it comes to governing, that anypony else, but this seems like the first time we've seen him really start to prove it. What's notable is that this isn't necessarily contingent upon his being correct - if there's additional data that he's simply unaware of, then that can't be helped - but that he's drawing broad, plausible conclusions from a fairly limited set of data. As such, he can then formulate a response based upon said data, and act appropriately.
Of course, I suspect that his greatest weakness - at least for the foreseeable rebuilding of Vanhoover - was also foreshadowed here when he realized that he had no money, in that he has no real resources (at least in terms of money and horsepower) to bring to bear. Disaster relief is a massive operation, both in terms of boots on the ground and financial burdens. If Lex were concerned with getting the job done, he'd ask the royal sisters for a contingent of personnel and a loan, so that he can immediately go about with restoring order and dispatching teams for things like policing, search and rescue, rebuilding vital infrastructure, purchasing food and medical supplies, etc.
That said, I strongly doubt he'll do that, both because he'd hate having to ask the royal sisters for help (and right out of the gate, no less), as well as the (much more salient) fact that he's already divined that they simply have none of things to lend. After all, a major sticking point regarding the differences between his government and the alicorns' is that they don't levy taxes, and have no national services or standing teams of specialists (the sole exception being the royal guard, who seem to be a token force both in terms of their numbers and competence). As such, they have no supplies of money or horsepower (I use that term in lieu of "manpower") to lend him to begin with.
This lack of resources is not insurmountable, however, but it's going to make a difficult job ten times harder. He's going to have to acquire funding on-site somehow, as well as draft the local populace into performing jobs that need to be done. Given that he's surmised that order has already broken down, this is going to be a herculean task. He and Sonata are really going to have to give this all that they've got...and that's not even taking into account that monsters could very well still be present; it's not like they all necessarily had to go when the Mane Six ended the elemental bleeds, right?
...I'm also suspicious about why Vanhoover didn't ask for aid from Tall Tale. That worries me, because desperation will quickly overwhelm everything else when the situation is bad enough; that means that there's no reason for them not to have asked Tall Tale for help. So the fact that they didn't suggests that Tall Tale was so bad off that they knew it was pointless. Which makes me wonder...if Vanhoover was flooded, and Manehattan caught on fire, could something similarly bad - or possibly worse - have happened to Tall Tale?
Actually, Lex and Sonata's preparation for leaving bring up another issue, and this time it's a meta one as much as it is a narrative one. The party is getting ready to split up - at least insofar as Lex and Sonata are concerned - and this looks to be a fairly long-term split. As such, I'm starting to wonder how long the story can maintain its split focus. At the end of the day, this story is (supposed to be) about Applejack and the CMC. If Lex and Sonata leave town, it'd be awkward for subsequent chapters to spend half of their time showcasing what's happening in Ponyville, and the other half following the (attempted) rebuilding of Vanhoover.
To put it another way, since this is the story of AJ and the fillies, it honestly seems like Lex and Sonata are getting ready to leave the story...again. That's rather sad, since I'm (unsurprisingly) very interested in following their adventures, but within the context of the current fic, I'm just not sure how that's possible.
Moving on from there, AJ and Big Mac had a touching reunion, and while the scene didn't seem to advance anything in particular, I admit that it was nice to see them simply enjoying each other's presence. She clearly feels bad for having left him to carry the farm for so long (though I was a bit irked that she didn't ask why he made up a story about them being in Manehattan, rather than telling somepony that they were missing), whereas he's obviously relieved that she's back, safe and sound. The scythe is clearly s point of note, but he seems to have accepted her reasoning, at least for now. Still, that's a time-bomb waiting to happen...and the clock is ticking.
Finally, we see Scootaloo spend some time with her hero on Rainbow's turf (e.g. the sky), only for Rainbow to break the news that Scootaloo can't stay in her Everglow form forever. Here, I was rather dubious with regards to what Rainbow was saying. She was sending the right message ("you have to be true to who you are, warts and all"), but she tried to send it with some fairly poor reasoning ("your Everglow body might just wear off at some point...even though I have no evidence to support this claim"). Scootaloo obviously knew what Rainbow was trying to say, however, since that's the only reason I can think of for why she'd have been so quick to agree, even as it broke her heart to do so. Still, the scene worked, because the crux of the exchange wasn't about Scootaloo's wings, but was instead about her reaffirming how her sister-in-all-but-blood felt about her. In the long run, that's far more important than whether her wings ever work on their own or not, since affirmation from others is what helps one to find affirmation in themselves.
6045642 With regards to Sweetie Belle, I'm sorry to say that I do disagree. While the scene can be inferred as having emotional impact, I felt that there wasn't enough exposition - my perennial critique - to really do it justice. Without taking us inside the character's heads/hearts, what's left is direct dialogue and action-description, and while a statement or a gesture can be powerful, that wasn't the case here. Rather, this scene was moving for what it was the characters were feeling, but we were removed from that by only getting to watch how they reacted, rather than being shown their feelings directly.
That came across most strongly in that there was nothing with regards to Sweetie Belle's state of mind when her cutie mark was appearing. It's characteristic that earning a cutie mark is typified by a powerful sense of personal fulfillment and joy as they do what it is they're "destined" to do. The story doesn't give us any hint of that when Sweetie Belle is singing for her sister; her cutie mark's appearance is a complete surprise, since her singing doesn't seem to be any different than any other time she's used her song to rouse emotions in those she cares about, even if this time is a little more poignant.
That's contrasted with the scene with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, which I found to be highly moving, because there the emotions the characters were feeling were directly conveyed - rather than being indirectly presumed - by what they were saying. That and we did get some hints of exposition, such as when we were directly shown how Scootaloo felt when she was first told that she couldn't keep her Everglow wings.
6044406 I have to disagree. From my perspective and belief, she is being a bad sister. If it was flying in a competion? Then I would agree that it would be cheating. But living her life? the way SHE chooses to? That is NOT a bad thing. The way Dash explained it, is like saying any spell, surgery, or any none natural biological change is bad. In fact, by Dash's own logic, she shouldn't have regained her wing, because she didn't grow it back, she only got it back thanks to magic in another world, soemthing she is now telling Scoots is bad.
It's like telling Twilight to no longer study the magics of Everglow. In fact, that it's bad that AJ is doing magic is horrible and bad too, because it's not how it's meant to be.
Dash, you are a BAD person. A controling tyrant!
6046531 Not sure she can be a tyrant when she has not forced Scoot at all.
6046543 Hasn't she? She might not phyically forcing her, but is mentally. She used how much Scoots loves her to do something she want and not what Scoots wanted, because she personally sees it as wrong, and is a hypocrit about it when compared to herself, AJ, or Twilight, but forcing that view on Scoots.
Edit: I mean, looking at it a different way, she is saying anypony born in Equestria that goes into Everglow and comes out staying in the Everglow form, is bad. That sounds VERY racist... or Planist... very very bad.
6045642
More likely, they will stay a club forever and just find a new goal once they all have their marks
6046531 Dash is not a controlling tyrant; she didn't order Scoots to do anything. Scoots is living a lie, and Dash would be a bad friend if she didn't encourage her to be honest with herself.
6048090
6046762 It also paints an extremely dangerous precedent in the mind. If something happens to her ability to fly in the future, she will smash into a brick wall as hard as Dash herself did, and Rainbow doesn't want that for her super-awesome filly friend. Hence sharing the story of her own triumph in that regard. She wants Scootaloo to love herself for herself, not because of wings, cool as they are or not.
Also, Scootaloo had decided this long before, but she thought it wouldn't be a choice and she'd go back through a mirror portal and poof, old-scoot. The fact that she came back as Everglow-Scoot made the whole thing more complicated instead of just accepting the inevitable.
6048075
*All have their marks*
"What should we do now?" "Let's go to Everglow and crusade FOR GREAT JUSTICE!" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PALADINS, YAY!"
Huzzah for Lex getting a chance to make Equestria better, and for Sonata being super awesome at being, well... her! The entire story is being summed up fairly nicely so far. X3
(Not summed up, but... Things are starting to wind down now, it's clear, though there's still stuff going on. This is the kind of feel we were expecting for Twilight's story, which is why we had felt so shocked it was just done. You've definitely learned quite a bit since then, and I'm excited to see what you decide to write after this. Gotta finish catching up, though, now that the story is complete. X3)
6076556 I learn by doing. Planning and schooling is for other souls.