Strange Bedfellows

Shock was written on Applejack and Rarity’s faces as Faust hauled himself to his feet with a sigh, shaking his head back and forth. Blood dripped from a gash in his wing, explaining why he hadn’t flown here.

“Applejack, Rarity,” he said with a nod, a facsimile of his usual polite behavior. “Good to see you two again.”

Rarity was the first to speak. “Faust, what in Equestria happened to you? You look like you were attacked by a bear!”

Faust nodded. “Might as well have been.” He snorted when they tried to move to help him, holding up a clawed foot. “I’m okay,” he said, “the injuries aren’t half as bad as you think they are. I’ve just got to let this cut in my wing heal and I’ll be right as rain.” He smirked. “But that’s not what you two are really wondering about, is it?”

The pair nodded. “Faust,” Applejack said, “I’m just wondering what could’ve done this to you. You’re not a small griffon, if I do say so myself.”

Faust sighed. “It was more than one—that’s what I can tell you, for now. Is Glow Star around? I seriously need to talk to her.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Faust, you know Glow Star? She doesn’t seem like the most social pony.”

The griffon nodded. “Yes, I do. Listen, we can talk about all this later—I have to talk to her and get this injury patched up. Then I’ll play twenty questions with you, alright?”

The pair could tell he wasn’t trying to be rude—after all, he had probably slogged through a mile or two of swamp to get here, and injured to boot. They led him back through the village and to Glow Star’s hut. The unicorn was surprised to see him but, strangely, not surprised that he was hurt. The two retreated into the hut, leaving Applejack and Rarity outside.

“Things just keep getting weirder and weirder,” Applejack said. “What’s next? Gilda flying down out of nowhere in some kinda battle armor, declaring war on us?” She paused, then looked around. “Let’s just forget I said that.”

Rarity sighed and shook her head. “Things have been moving so quickly since we arrived at this village. First we’re captured, then the manticore, now Faust. Is it too much to ask that we be spared a few moments to relax?”

“You’ve got that right now.” From the side of the hut, Blink emerged. Bandages were wrapped around his middle and back, along with several stiches over his eyebrow. “And pardon me for saying this, but since you’ve got this time to relax, I have to wonder why you’re spending it lamenting the fact that you don’t have any time to relax.” He smiled cheekily.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Blink, have you been back there the whole time?”

The stallion nodded. “I’ve been listening to them through the window. Normally I wouldn’t do something like this, but Star and Faust looked really serious. From what I could gather, they’re thinking that these attacks might be caused by The Great and Powerful Trixie, from the next village over—Derby.”

Applejack gasped. “You’re serious? But Trixie’s just arrogant—she’s not evil!”

Blink shrugged. “It’s not my place to say whether or not she is. I’m just telling you what I could gather. It’s also pretty likely that the griffons I mentioned earlier are behind some of this, too. They’ve been rotting from the inside out ever since Seth took over, not to mention since they started taking advice from that other griffon.”

Rarity’s breath caught in her throat. “Er, another griffon, you say? Who might that be?”

Blink shook his head. “We don’t know her name, yet. But trust me, she’s a nasty one. Rude, crude, and mean to the bone.” He snorted. “I’ve only seen her once or twice, but judging from her behavior then, there’s no reasoning with her.”

Rarity opened her mouth to inquire further, but Blink held up a hoof. “Look, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I’m more than willing to answer them, but not here, alright? I’m pretty sure Glow wouldn’t appreciate me spilling my guts to you two, so just follow me back to my hut.”

The three ponies made their way back across the village, trying to ignore the leaden air around them. Arriving at the hut, a tiny thing barely abler to fit them all, Blink’s demeanor turned serious.

“Alright,” he said, “you two need to know exactly how deep in this you are.” He picked up a book and flipped through it. “This is my personal log of the tensions in the village, alongside a verbatim account of everything I’ve been able to hear.” He stopped on a page and put his hoof down on it.

“Firstly, this hasn’t just started happening to us. That griffon I told you about? She got here some time ago, maybe a year and a half. We’ve always been pretty sure that she and Seth were causing the lion’s share of these attacks, but that never lined up. Seth’s perfectly capable of it, the other one honestly doesn’t seem like it. Like I said, she’s cold and rude, but to blindly attempt to massacre another species?”

Rarity piped up. “But Blink, how can you even have that theory in the first place? What attacks have been orchestrated on the village which would have absolutely required this other griffon’s help?”

Blink rubbed at the ground nervously. “It’s Seth that makes us think that, not the other one.” He flipped back through the book. “Seth is massive and powerful, several hundred pounds of angry muscle, but he’s not fast in the slightest. Before you two got here, there was an attack involving an extremely fast griffon zipping all around our village. We got out and threw rocks at her, since she was rending the trees and scaring the wildlife, and that’s when Seth and the others charged in through the brush, dragging several of us back with him ‘as a warning.’ It was sick.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “He sounds like bad news, alright. But what’s the other one’s name, Blink? I gotta feeling we know her.”

Rarity nodded. “Yes, there was a griffon who visited Ponyville several years back, named Gilda, who had the same kind of abilities that the griffon you’re describing does.”

Blink shrugged. “If her name’s Gilda, I don’t know that for sure, sorry to tell you. That’d be some coincidence if it was her though, huh? I mean, what’re the chances of meeting somepony you know all the way out here?”

The pair looked at each other. “Pretty darn good, actually,” Applejack said. “Trust us.”

Blink paused, “Okay, you’re gonna have to elaborate on that one. How can you have already met somepony out here you’ve met before?”

The two told him about Trixie, the matron of Derby, much to his shock.

“Madame Trixie, seriously? You knew her back when she was a performer?” His eyes were wide.

Rarity nodded. “We did, and she was as boastful back then as she is snippy now. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy to see Applejack and me—I fear that if we’d had Twilight with us, we’d have been kicked out instantly.”

Blink ran a hoof through his hair with a grimace. “Yeah, no kidding. I seriously can’t believe you two knew her back when she was still a traveling performer—most ponies only know her as being the best economic leader of Derby ever.”

Applejack snorted. “Yeah, well, it’s kinda hard to forget a nasty first impression like that.”

“I suppose so,” Blink said. “And I also suppose, with that in mind, meeting your griffon—Gilda, you said?—down here wouldn’t be so unlikely, either.”

Applejack’s eyebrow went up. “What makes ya say that, Blink?”

The little stallion jumped at the words. “Sorry, what? Oh, yes, right. Got a little lost in my own head, there.” He cleared his throat. “Well, this is just me musing, mulling around the possibilities, but what if—”

Hoofsteps from outside cut him off.

“Blink!” came Glow Star’s voice. “Blink, out now. Need you.”

The little stallion hesitated, but eventually nodded. “Alright, Star, I’ll be there just as soon as I say goodbye to Applejack and Rarity!” He turned back to them. “There’s more going on here than the naked eye would suggest, you two. I’d bet my left ear on it.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “She wants me to help plan an attack against the griffons, I’m certain of it. Just stay here and talk. Don’t raise any red flags. I’ve got a bad feeling about all this.”

He walked out through the tent—Star berated him as they walked away, leaving Applejack and Rarity alone.

Rarity was the first to speak. “Applejack, if he thinks something isn’t right around here, well, do you really think we should stay? I understand that we already agreed to, but the fact of the matter is that these Shetlands are preparing for war! We still have to get back to Ponyville.”

Applejack’s jaw clenched. “Ain’t a good situation, that’s for sure. If these griffons are as tough as they sound, especially their big cheese, Seth, then we might not even make it back home.”

They sat in silence for some time, Rarity rolling a strand of hair between her hooves, Applejack lying back against the wall with her hair falling all around her.

“But he wasn’t lying when he said something ain’t right here.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “The whole village is worried, and I don’t blame them. They’ve probably never even heard of what a war is.”

Rarity’s expression grew somber. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing, isn’t it? Going to war.” She sighed. “I’m a lady of fashion, Applejack, not a lady of war.”

Applejack chuckled. “Yeah, and I’m a farm pony, not a fighter. Don’t mean we can’t hold our own when the chips are down. Remember the Changelings? You knocked around your fair share of heads when it came to it.”

Rarity smiled. “Yes, I remember. And of course, there’s the time when Twilight fell over that cliff, and you had to hold her up until you could convince her to fall into Dash and Fluttershy’s hooves.” A small blush tinted her cheeks. “You’re very strong, Applejack.”

The earth pony looked up at the ceiling. “Thanks, Rarity. I’m mighty glad somepony out here has my back. And you ain’t weak, neither. Remember Tom? Or the Sisterhooves Social?”

Rarity frowned. “How many times must I tell you not to speak of that horrid rock ever again, Applejack? As far as I’m concerned, ‘Tom’ never happened. The Social, on the other hand…I displayed strength and agility that, to be perfectly honest, even I didn’t know I was capable of.” She grinned, determination glowing in her eyes. “And if it means getting back to Ponyville, I’ll do anything I need to.”

Applejack hauled herself up. “Darn right! If I gotta buck the beak off a griffon, then that’s what I’ll do to get back to Sweet Apple Acres and the girls.” She offered Rarity a hoof. “Now c’mon. How’s about we take a little time off from this dang place? Too depressing around here.”

Rarity gladly accepted, hoping she wasn’t turning bright scarlet again, and they set off toward a beautiful clearing filled with flowers to the south of the village.

Rarity lay back in the carpet of soft petals with a satisfied sigh, her hooves splayed out around her. It felt good to just be able to relax, for once.

She looked up at the canopy of trees, hoping to spot the sun shining through the leaves. Instead, she just saw dull green followed by dull green—the whole thing was impenetrable. She closed her eyes and thought of home, of Sweetie Belle and the spa, of Dash and Twilight and all the rest. Of her shop, her clients…

Rarity shot up.

“My clients!” she screamed. “I still have dresses and suits to make for the Gala! How am I supposed to do that if I’m stuck all the way out here? Princess Celestia is going to be so upset with me!” Her heart was racing—how had she not considered this before now?

Applejack stirred and stared groggily at Rarity. “Rarity, I know we both had jobs to do for the Princess and all—I mean, I’m missing out on a whole heap of bucking—but I’m willing to bet that she’s gonna understand that we got zapped out here.” A smile crossed her face. “There you go, frettin’ over nothing again.”

Rarity glared at Applejack, rising to a standing position. “Applejack, this is no joking matter! You may be getting paid by the Princess, but there’s no way I can get money from my clients without being there!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “For pony’s sake, Rarity, we have to be focused on survival out here, okay? None of this stuff’s gonna matter if we don’t make it home. You’ll get all the time in the world to worry about that stuff when we get back home, alright? Plus, I’m pretty sure Celestia’ll give you some kinda extra money.” She tapped the grass next to her. “Lay down. Quit worrin’.”

Rarity paused a moment, just standing there as Applejack swept her bangs over her eyes to block out the sun. Then it hit her. Their hair was growing—now Applejack’s was so long that, lying down like she was, it reached the curve of her flanks.
The unicorn reached up and felt her own hair, flinching at the texture of dirt and dust gathering in it once again, at how it was starting to curl and tangle into itself, forming mats. Her hair never got long without plenty of teasing and straighteners, and it was starting to show—rather than coming down almost to the ground, it was starting to recede, curling along her neck and back. They’d been away too long as it was.

But watching Applejack lay there, her chest peacefully rising and falling, Rarity felt that it was silly to be so worried. All she really wanted to do was lie down with Applejack—and she did just that.

She didn’t want to wake the earth pony up, since she appeared to be sleeping, so Rarity carefully lowered herself to the ground and snuggled into Applejack’s side, laying her head on Applejack’s chest with care.

Her coat was surprisingly soft against Rarity’s cheek, and the unicorn could hear her heartbeat thumping in her ears.

Rarity sighed deeply and rolled her neck, wincing at the crack resounding from it. Yes, they had certainly been out here too long.

Rarity let herself start to doze off, her breathing slowing and her eyes fluttering. She reached up and, almost unconsciously, put a hoof around Applejack’s neck. She looked into Applejack’s eyes—and found them open.

Rarity’s eyes shot wide open. How long had she been like that? Had she been watching her curl up by her side? Rarity was frozen in her position for what seemed like ages, staring into Applejack’s eyes.

Applejack raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Rarity felt painfully awkward just staring at Applejack, neither of them able to come up with the words to break the silence between them.

Rarity tried to scoot away from Applejack, her lips pulled back in a nervous smile. Silence still reigned. They just sat there in the meadow, the air between them stale and thick.

Rarity was starting to wonder exactly how she felt about Applejack. There had been a stirring in her back in the forest, something that couldn't be written off as a random occurrence, but was it just friendship? She ran a hoof through her hair and shook her head, looking away from Applejack.

Rarity knew that she cared about Applejack--after all, if she hadn't, they wouldn't have gotten this far in the first place. But some of the things she was feeling were beginning to break past that layer.

The unicorn shut her eyes, not feeling Applejack's on her back anymore. This didn't bear thinking about right now. It was like Applejack said--survival was more important than anything else out here.

Rarity and Applejack laid back down and snuggled into the grass with a sigh, the former’s tail resting over her stomach.