Strange Bedfellows

Sometime later, Applejack woke up to the sound of birdsong overhead. She shook her hair out and ran a hoof through it with a sigh, looking over at the still-slumbering Rarity. Applejack wasn’t sure what Rarity had meant, cuddling up to her last night, but she didn’t want to think about it. There wasn’t time to take stock of any feelings.

Applejack rose to her hooves and shook Rarity awake—it was time to get back to the village before they were missed.

As they walked, Applejack struggled to get everything straight in her head—the griffons, Glow Star’s motives, where Trixie fit into all this, and perhaps most importantly, how this apparent aggression from the Shetlands was going to work out. Glow Star herself seemed like a decent pony, but there were two sides to every attack, and no matter who ended up winning, somepony had to lose.

“Applejack,” came Rarity’s voice, “about last night. I apologize if I was too forward. I was just cold, and—”

“Stow it, Rarity,” Applejack said, annoyed at the fact Rarity was bringing it up at all. She paused. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you. I’ve just got a lot on my mind, and talking about all that ain’t gonna make it any easier to think about.”

Rarity was silent for a few moments, but nodded. “Very well, Applejack. Though, again, I apologize.”

Applejack shrugged. “No problem. Don’t worry yourself over something like that—my sister and I do it all the time.” She chuckled. “Well, when she lets me.”

The pair walked in silence until the curves of the huts showed themselves over the hills, mud-crafted structures peeking from behind the grass. The signs of an upcoming battle were rampant—thick-bodied stallions brought rusted sickles and jagged stones to a blacksmith, begging for adjustments and sharpening so that they could survive against the cruel talons of the griffons.

Most of them weren’t getting what they wanted. With only one blacksmith, only used to crafting crude instruments, it was impossible. Applejack tried to ignore it when some of them started shouting about how they’d leave behind families if the griffons got a hold of them.

Halfway through the village, the pair spotted Faust walking towards them.

“Rarity, Applejack!” he called. “Where have you two been? Glow Star and I need to fill you in on everything that’s going on.” He motioned for them to follow, going in the direction of Glow Star’s hut.

Arriving there, Applejack and Rarity took note of the array of bulky stallions outside—none of them were quite as tall as Earthfruit, who was standing in the center of them, guarding the door, but they were all just as thick and strong.

Once Earthfruit saw them coming, he stepped aside with a silent nod, allowing them inside.

The chaos was even worse inside than it was outside. Blink and Glow Star were bent over a large map of the woods, their eyes roving back and forth. Books and bits of paper were strewn about, random-looking scribbles covering most of them.

“Star, there’s no way that’ll work,” Blink said, shaking his head. “The griffons are just too powerful, and even with Earthfruit and his stallions, it’s just…” He ran his hooves through his hair. “There’s too many of them, and they’re warmongers to begin with. I can guarantee you they’re more prepared than we are, by leaps and bounds.”

Glow Star sighed. “What do, Blink? Wait? Die? They not wait. Not die.” Her gaze grew hard. “Let Shetlands die? That what do?” She grit her teeth. “Fight. Not give up. What you say? ‘Odds not good?’” Her words were slow and deliberate. “Not care. Better fight, die, not just die.”

Blink nodded. “I’m with you, Star, believe me, but we have to think about this. There’s a way we can do this without sacrificing too many of our numbers.” Pain crept into his expression. “But there’s no getting around the fact that we’ll have to sacrifice some of our numbers.” He paused. “The ones with the best chance of surviving—” He stopped when he saw Rarity and Applejack. “Oh, hello, you two. Sorry about the mess—the planning session hasn’t exactly, well, gone according to plan.” He smiled.

Rarity looked around, then up at Blink. “What were you saying about needing to sacrifice some of our numbers? I’m not sure I agree with that.”

Blink grimaced. “You heard that, huh? Well, I don’t agree with it fully, either, but…” He motioned to the empty seats at the table. “Come sit down, you two. There’s a lot to tell you, and we don’t have a lot of time.”

Doing as they were told, the pair took their seats and looked down at the map. Lines were traced all around the village, showing possible angles of attack, manticore nests, and the location of the griffon village, several miles away, by the looks of it.

Glow Star looked over at Rarity and Applejack. “Not good. Many griffons.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hooves to show that they had overwhelming numbers. “Many. Deadly.”

Blink nodded. “The griffons are more populous than us, you see, and since they’re naturally built to be killers, they’re better equipped than us, too. By the looks of it, we don’t have any choice aside from throwing Shetlands at them and then destroying the village in a counterattack.”

Applejack held up her hooves. “Hold on there, Blink. What’s all this about needing to attack the griffons? Have you tried just talking to them?”

Blink’s expression darkened. “We have, Applejack. The griffons are merciless.” He sighed. “Well, that’s a blanket statement. Chances are there’s a few good eggs in there, but for the most part, Seth’s got them all on a power kick, and I may be a decent negotiator, but that hasn’t stopped me from getting sent back here with a broken nose and wounded pride before.”

“But there has to be something we can do without resorting to violence!” Rarity said, eyes full of worry. “This is insanity! I’m sure that the griffons want nothing more than to live their lives, just the same as we do.”

“Rarity, Applejack, there’s something you two don’t realize,” Blink said. “Allowing everypony to live their lives in harmony and peace is fine—believe me, I’m all for that ideal. But when others’ lives, when others’ ways of life threaten our own constantly, then it only makes sense to take a stand against them. There’s such a thing as defending our right to live, too.”

The pair fell silent, and the air in the room grew heavy.

“Faust gave us some information,” Blink said. “That was why he showed up.” The stallion put a hoof down on the map. “He’s recovering from his injuries, so I’ll fill you two in.” The hoof moved to Derby. “Apparently, following your visit, the villagers of Derby became restless. Word spread to them about the upcoming war between the Shetlands and the griffons, and they’re arguing over who to support. We have the better traders, the better agriculture, but the griffons…if we lose, they’ll destroy anypony who didn’t side with them. Trixie is trying to hem the situation in, so we at least know she’s not against us.”

Glow Star shook her head. “Not like Shetland. Not side. Not enemy, not friend.” She turned to Rarity and Applejack. “You know her. What think?”

Rarity was the first to speak. “Trixie is a mare with unbridled arrogance, trust us on that. She does whatever she can—lie, cheat, steal—to reach the top of the pile, and she has no remorse about it.” The unicorn sighed. “But that doesn’t mean she’s suddenly going to turn into some evil overlord like you’d see in a book and try to take you all over. She’d need a push. Something to make her truly believe that whatever vision she has for the world is the right one, and whoever gives her the push would have to make her believe that they can make it happen. Or evidence.”

Applejack nodded. “Right. Unless your griffons have a real convincin’ argument, she ain’t gonna turn on you.”

Blink breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good. Too many times I’ve heard of arrogance breeding insanity—it’s comforting to know that Trixie isn’t like that.”

Rarity nodded. “Trixie is selfish and conceited, but not stupid. She’ll…oh no.”

Blink raised an eyebrow. “Something the matter, Rarity?”

Rarity’s eyes grew wide. “I did say that Trixie would need evidence as to who to side with during this conflict, did I not? That means that, if the villagers decided to side with the griffons for whatever reason, or if we started losing in this battle, she’d—”

Applejack slammed a hoof on the table. “Well that’s why we ain’t gonna lose, right?” A confident smile spread across her face. “We’re gonna fight until what we say is good and right, and Trixie’ll have to side with us. We ain’t gonna give her the chance to think anything other than ‘the Shetlands are gonna win, so I better back them up.’”

Blink shook his head. “That’s all well and good, Applejack, but if the villagers decide that the griffons have the winning lot in this conflict, then not only are we outnumbered terribly, but Trixie won’t back us.” The stallion sighed and rubbed his temples. “Much as I hate to say it, this war may be won with politics just as much as actual fighting, if not moreso.”

Applejack was silent for a few moments. “Consarnit,” she said quietly, “I don’t know the first thing about politics.”

Blink smiled. “That’s why it’s nice to have ponies like me around. From what I’ve heard, Trixie isn’t a fan of either of you, so it’s probably going to be up to me alone to win her over. Trust me, you two, we’re not going to lose this war if we play our cards right.”

Glow Star piped up. “Not forget Seth. He know Trixie. Trick her.”

Blink raised an eyebrow. “Glow Star, you can’t be serious. Seth is a savage—he has no idea how to manipulate a mare like Trixie.”

Faust sighed. “No matter how small the possibility, Blink, we cannot discount the fact that Seth is a major player in all this. Tell us everything you know about him.”

Blink bit his lip, hesitating. “Seth is a griffon of unmatched brutality. Strong, fast, supremely deadly, and with an attitude to match—I’ve seen him cut down a subordinate of his just for delivering information late. And yet, somehow, he possesses this unnatural charisma—no matter what he does or how cruel and outright insane he is, the griffons love him.

“From what I’ve seen, he has this sort of cunning brutality going for him. Thick-headed, rash, and a little stupid, yes, but with every griffon behind him and completely loyal, he can get away with that kind of behavior, and he knows it.” He paused. “But, again, I don’t think he’s well-versed in the ways of manipulation, nor do I believe he has the charm and substance necessary to sway somepony like Trixie. It would take something bold.”

“Like an attack.” From the doorway came Faust’s voice. “An attack on Derby. A show of overwhelming force. That would definitely sway Trixie, and it wouldn’t take any more than a flick of Seth’s talons.”

The entire room grew silent.

Blink was the first to break the silence. “Faust, aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

The griffon shook his head. “You can’t ignore what I said. I told you before, and I’m telling you again now—somepony has to go back and warn Trixie of that possibility. We can’t leave her out in the cold like this.”

Star narrowed her eyes. “Not happen. Bad thing to do. Hurt image.”

“True enough.” Blink’s eyes were pleading. “Faust, come on, seriously. If Seth did something like that, he’d never win the love and respect of the ponies of Derby—they’d probably stage an uprising.”

Faust shrugged. “Seth wouldn’t care—he’s insane. He thinks in the now, not the later. And as for Trixie, she wouldn’t have much choice—it’d be help him or die. As for the other citizens, they’d be too scared without Trixie’s charisma backing them to do anything against Seth.”

Glow Star shook her head. “Nopony goes. Need here.”

Blink sighed through his teeth. “We can’t send anyone to warn Trixie, Faust. We have to have everypony here so that we can survive if an attack comes.”

Faust narrowed his eyes in return. “You can’t spare a single Shetland? Really? My village is about to go up in flames, brought under the talons of a monster, and you can’t spare one pony to help us? After all we’ve done for you?”

Glow Star snorted. “Done? Done? Bad leader. That what you do.”

Faust’s beak hung open in shock for a few moments. “You can’t say those things about Madame Trixie, Glow Star. Some ponies may not care for her very much, but I’ll defend her to the last—she’s revitalized our village and helped your village grow by giving you extra supplies.”

Star stamped a hoof. “Extra? Little enough. We make due. Survive either way. Trixie help some. Not enough. Bad to say that.”

Blink nodded. “What she means is that whatever ‘extra’ you’re talking about, Trixie’s supplies were unnecessary to our survival, and that you shouldn’t be holding that over our heads when Trixie wasn’t willing to give enough in the first place to help us do more than survive. She never helped us prosper. The Shetlands stay here—giving up even one could mean the difference between victory and defeat.”

“And so could going to talk to Madame Trixie.” Faust’s eyes were steely. “She’s a much more powerful ally than you give her credit for, with an entire village at her back. Winning her over, getting her on our side, can only do good things for our cause.”

Star snorted. “You so worried, tell her. We not go. You can.”

“She means that you should just go yourself if you’re so worried about it, Faust. It’s your village—help defend it yourself.” He paused, clearly uncomfortable with speaking for his leader, now.

Just as Faust spoke up to respond, Applejack cut him off.

“I’ll go,” she said. “Trixie may not like me very much, but if all y’all are gonna do is sit around and argue with the griffons gettin’ ready to attack, then I’ll go.”

The room was silent for a few moments until Rarity spoke up. “I agree. You’re all acting incredibly childish, and since you can’t decide amongst yourselves, Applejack and I will be the ones to go in your stead. Faust is injured—he cannot go.”

Star seemed to be getting irritated, but Blink spoke before she could. “Are you two sure? You just came from Derby, after all, and if you go back, it’s going to mean a little walking, not to mention it’s backtracking.”

Faust concurred. “He’s right. How long did it take you to get here in the first place?”

Applejack chuckled. “Five days, but I think we’ll be fine.” She turned to Blink. “If, that is, one of y’all can guide us outta here.”

Faust raised an eyebrow. “Wait, it took you five days to get here?” He couldn’t resist letting a smile cross his face. “You two might be upset to hear this, but Derby is only about a day’s walk away from here.”

Rarity and Applejack’s jaws dropped.

“One day?” Rarity’s voice sounded far away. “One day?” She shook for a few moments, her rage building, then sighed. “One day. Good.” It was clear she wanted to break something in half, but was barely retaining her cool.

Applejack wasn’t doing much better. “You mean we spent all that time in the forest for nothing? You gotta be kiddin’ me!”

Faust blinked. “I have to wonder why you two showed up here in the first place. The left fork is usually avoided unless we’re coming out here to trade—it’s the right fork that continues on the road back through the highlands. Heck, if you’d taken that, you’d probably be halfway to Ponyville by now.”

Rarity turned to Applejack, her eyes crackling with anger. If looks could kill, Applejack would’ve dropped dead on the spot. The earth pony tried to change the subject.

“Well, anyway, our mistake I guess. All the same, we gotta get back to Derby and talk to Trixie, otherwise that village might be in a world of hurt. But we’re probably gonna need a guide.”

Blink paused, considering the request, but Star piped up. “No. Nopony goes. All stay. You go, go alone.” Her eyes were full of malice.

Faust glared at Glow Star. “No, they’re not going alone. We all know this forest better than they do by a mile, and after all they’ve done—or at least tried to do—we owe it to them to guide them through the quickest route available. It’s in our best interest, too—the quicker they get back, the quicker we’ll have an answer.”

Star stamped a hoof. “No. No go. No Shetland leave. I see to it.”

Faust breathed in deeply, then sighed. “Fine. I’ll go, then. I should be able to get them out of the forest and back on the road by mid-afternoon tomorrow, no sweat.” He flexed his injured body pointedly. “Give me some slack if I go slowly, you two. I’m just not in a good way right now.”

Rarity resisted the temptation to shoot Glow Star a look—she knew the old mare was only doing what she was doing to protect her village.

“That is perfectly fine, Faust,” she said. “Let us know if you ever need to stop and rest, dear—we’ll be more than happy to oblige.”

The griffon nodded. “Good, good. Well then, I suppose we ought to get some sleep, hmm? I think it’s nighttime.” He gave Glow Star a smile. “Goodnight Glow Star, Blink. I hope your preparations for defense go well, and I’ll help however I can once I return.”

Blink smiled in return. “See you tomorrow, Faust.”

And so they all split off, Rarity and Applejack in decent spirits, Faust and Blink quite pleased with themselves, and Glow Star fuming. Returning to their designated hut, Rarity and Applejack lay down on the straw mats with a sigh.

“Sorry for volunteering like that without even asking you, Rarity,” Applejack said. “I know you wanna get home, and so do I, but I think we gotta stay and help with all this—I don’t feel right leaving them high and dry, not after how they helped us out.” She paused. “And I’m powerful sorry I got us into this mess in the first place.”

Rarity shook her head. “Think nothing of it, Applejack.” She giggled. “When you think about it, it’s really quite silly. We spent five days wandering around a one-day walk! We must be just awful at navigating.”

Applejack chuckled. “Yeah, I was always good at explorin’ with Big Mac—never too good at gettin’ back home, though. One time, after I got us lost, we thought we were never gonna get back home. We walked around for hours and hours, crying and asking for help. Then Granny Smith heard us hollerin’ and stopped bucking apples to come get us—turned out we’d been walking in circles in a really thick cluster of trees.”

The two of them laughed loud and long, savoring this moment before things came to a head tomorrow.

“Applejack,” Rarity said. “I don’t know how everything is going to turn out when we talk to Trixie tomorrow, but I want you to know that I could not have made it this far without you.” She rolled over and hugged Applejack, the contact far removed from yesterday’s awkwardness. “Thank you for being here for me. You really are a great friend.”

Applejack felt a blush creeping into her cheeks as she hugged Rarity back. “You too, Rarity. And don’t worry—no matter what happens, I ain’t going back by myself.”

Rarity released Applejack and smirked. “That goes double for me,” she said. It was at this moment that Applejack could truly appreciate how pretty Rarity looked, even without pampering.

She saw the sparkles of hope in her big blue eyes, the playful curve in her soft lips. The warm breath coming from her nose lighted across Applejack’s face, and she could still feel Rarity’s heartbeat—her hoof was still on her friend’s chest. Quickly, Applejack pulled it away and turned back towards the wall, trying to disperse the heat in her stomach.

Rarity stayed there for a few moments, just staring at the back of Applejack’s head. Finally, she too turned back to the wall and closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting all around, until she slept.