Strange Bedfellows

Some time later, Applejack’s eyes fluttered open, and she found herself lying face-down in a pile of leaves, a string of drool hanging from her lips. She reached up to wipe it away with a pained groan—her mouth felt extremely dry.

As she hauled herself up, she caught sight of Rarity lying a few feet away, the gash in her side re-opened—blood had leaked into her hair, turning the bottom section of her purple curls crimson. The earth pony gasped and galloped toward her, but tripped over the prone form of Seth, who still had an expression of agony frozen on his face.

“Rarity!” Applejack cried from the ground, once more pulling herself to a standing position. “Rarity, if you can hear me, answer me!”

The unicorn panted as she rolled over, weakly moving the hair out of her eyes. “Applejack?” she said—her voice sounded a mile away. “Applejack, I feel extremely ill. What’s happened?”

Applejack looked Rarity over, noting that, although the gash had reopened, the blood wasn’t pouring out anymore, and it didn’t look infected, which could probably be attributed to Rarity’s quick treatment of it.

“Rarity, snap out of it,” Applejack said. “You gotta get up. Can you walk?”

Rarity squinted at Applejack, coughing. “Applejack,” she said, “where is Blink with the help we asked for?”

Applejack pursed her lips, forming a thin line. “I’ve got no idea. He should’ve been back a long time ago.”

Rarity’s expression shifted to worry. “Was he hurt, you think? Maybe he was ambushed?”

Applejack shook her head. “I dunno, Rarity, and frankly, I don’t think we got time to worry about it right now—you’re hurt pretty bad, I’m all worn out, and as far as I remember, there’s still a war going on. Now come on—can you walk?”

Rarity shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Taking Seth down with me, all the magic I was using—I’m completely drained, not to mention wounded.”

Applejack sighed, then nodded. “Fine,” she said, “but I ain’t leaving you here.” The earth pony offered a hoof and, helping to haul Rarity to her feet, Applejack unceremoniously slung the unicorn over her back.

Rarity squealed with indignation. “How rude!” she cried. “Applejack, I understand the gravity of the situation, but how can you carry me around like common luggage?”

Applejack rolled her eyes and began the arduous process of walking back in the direction that she thought led to the Shetland village.

“Pipe down, Rarity,” she said. “Do you think this is any nicer for me than it is for you?” She chuckled. “I’m just countin’ myself lucky that it’s probably fashionable to be thin.”

“Oh, you did not just imply what I think you did!” Rarity tried to shout, but the pain in her ribs forced her to drop her tone.

Applejack snorted. “I guess the meaning of ‘pipe down’ must’ve changed since I started using it—in case ya didn’t know, it means ‘be quiet’. We got a lot of walking to do—or I guess I do—and it ain’t gonna do you any good to go fussin’ at me because I made a joke.”

Rarity opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it. She merely tried to relax, letting the sway of Applejack’s walking aid her in that endeavor. Try as she might, Rarity got curious and had to ask, “How are you carrying me, anyway?” she asked. “The battle with Seth was completely exhausting! It’s enough trouble for a pony to carry a foal, let alone a full-grown mare.”

Applejack smirked back at Rarity. “Easy,” she said, “there’s the three reasons: One—I grew up on a farm, and hay bales weigh about as much as you do. I’ve carried two or three of those at a time. Two—I think some of your magic is still making me stronger. Three—I care about ya, Rarity. I don’t mind doing it if it means you’re gonna be okay.”

Rarity cocked her head, raising an eyebrow. “And what exactly does that mean, hmm?” Rarity flashed a teasing smile at Applejack, who frowned and looked back to the front, her cheeks burning.

“Means I care about you, Rarity, nothing else,” she said, her tone no-nonsense.

“Very well,” the unicorn said. “I care about you as well, Applejack.” With that, she fell silent once more, closing her eyes to try and relax.

The two stayed silent for some time, neither wanting to address the tension in the air. The forest seemed to go on forever—all the bushes, trees and grasses looked exactly the same as each other. It was a wonder anypony could find their way through the forest without a map.

Perhaps it was because of Seth’s downfall, but the wildlife was slowly starting to return to the area—Applejack could hear birds tweeting in the trees above, and the bushes rustled around them.

The earth pony sighed—in truth, this place was beautiful, and she wasn’t entirely excited about leaving it behind when the time came. Despite the rude welcome, they’d met several good ponies and Shetlands here.

It was also here that she and Rarity had grown even closer than before. Applejack looked back at the unicorn—she’d fallen asleep. A smile slowly crawled across Applejack’s face—even disheveled and wounded, Rarity still managed to maintain some air of beauty, of refinement despite her circumstances. Not that Applejack would ever dare to tell Rarity such a thing to her face, but it was nice to drink in the unicorn’s lovely appearance when she wasn’t awake to make note of it.

Applejack sighed and looked forward. This journey was teaching her lots of things, but chief among them was just how much she appreciated Rarity, how much she valued Rarity’s friendship. If it hadn’t been for her, Applejack wasn’t sure she’d have even made it past the hydra in the mountains, let alone found the Shetland village and defeated Seth once and for all.

The earth pony bit her lip. Beneath all of her feelings of friendship and togetherness, however, lurked something more complicated. Something with claws of sugar and teeth filled with warm venom that spread through Applejack’s body whenever she looked at Rarity.

Applejack wasn’t entirely sure if it was love, some misguided feeling that had cropped up in the absence of her other friends, or if it was something that had simply arisen because of the circumstances, because of how close Rarity and Applejack were forced to be in order to survive.

Whatever it was, Applejack enjoyed the feeling. She didn’t mind admitting—at least internally—that Rarity was probably the prettiest and most graceful pony she knew, and that the unicorn knew things about fashion and high-society living that Applejack would never be able to grasp. The earth pony’s thoughts were interrupted by a call from the brush.

“Applejack! Rarity!” Blink hollered, trotting out from the undergrowth. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness! Sorry I took so long. Er, where’s Seth?” Blink’s head snapped in several directions as he frantically looked for the huge monster.

Applejack looked back at Rarity, who shifted a little, her brows furrowing at Blink’s loudness. “Blink,” Applejack said, “mind keeping it down? Rarity got hurt pretty bad, and she’s trying to get some rest.” The earth pony smirked. “As for Seth, he ain’t coming back to fight, I can tell you that much. Rarity and me put him down for good.”

Blink seemed alarmed. “You what?” His mouth opened and closed wordlessly before he regained his composure. “You beat Seth?”

Applejack nodded proudly. “Took a lot of work, but he’s finished.”
Blink paused for a few moments, looking up at the sky, before closing his eyes and smiling joyfully. “By Celestia…” he said. “You really did do it, didn’t you?” He sniffed. “Seth terrorized our village for so many years, always making sport out of the Shetlands. To think he’s finally dead…” Blink seemed to catch himself, and shook his head. “Well, that’s good and all, but we still have a war on our hands, girls. Earthfruit and his group managed to make it out of the area with only a few casualties—they’re off in the village, fighting the bulk of the griffon forces.

“I can try to sneak you into the back of the village so that Glow Star can treat Rarity’s wound, but I can’t guarantee Star will care enough to bother, honestly—hopefully knowing that Seth is dead will allow her to deviate her attention.” Blink waved a hoof. “C’mon, we’d best be going.”

It was likely due to nerves, but the entire way home Blink wouldn’t stop talking—he wanted to know everything about how Rarity and Applejack had defeated Seth, how they’d pulled off such an epic maneuver, how the Shetlands were probably going to write stories about them for generations to come.

When the questions were turned back on him, Blink explained that, in his bid to get back to the village and find backup, he’d encountered Earthfruit and his cadre, who were running away from the hunting party Seth had sent after them—a group of elite griffons, half again as big as a normal specimen, and rippling with muscle.

He went on to clarify that Earthfruit’s stallions were injured, and therefore wouldn’t have been able to provide adequate backup—sending them in to fight alongside Rarity and Applejack would have resulted in a senseless slaughter. So, in the interest of reaching the village and getting the others in to be healed by Glow Star, Blink had joined up with them, trekking all the way through the forest until he could find a path.

The village was embroiled in battle when they arrived—griffons fought Shetlands in the streets, and it seemed that the Shetlands were surviving only through their natural will, their stubborn refusal to give up. The group had had to sneak in through the back of Glow Star’s hut.

After leaving the injured Shetlands in Glow Star’s care, Blink had headed back out into the woods, trying to use memory alone to find the place he’d left Applejack and Rarity—with the village in such chaos, finding help would have been impossible, and so he’d resolved to simply get them away from Seth, regroup, and fight him another day.

It was pure luck, he admitted, that he was able to find them at all. His journey was harried by griffon patrols of every stripe—they all shared the lust for Shetland blood.

“I never would have imagined you two would be able to beat Seth all by yourselves.” Blink shook his head. “To be honest, with how long I was forced to dally, I was worried that the scene I would find wouldn’t be pretty, to put it lightly.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said, “I was a little worried myself. But I guess that’s what Seth gets for counting out two of the six Elements of Harmony. We’ve gotten through worse than him before.”

Blink raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you two are part of the Elements of Harmony?” His jaw dropped. “Oh my goodness, that’s amazing! Wait until I tell my friends back home! Er, back in the village, that is.” He smiled. “I got to meet two of the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful set of ponies in all of Equestria! I bet everypony will be so jealous.”

“Uh, Blink,” Applejack said. “I think this a good time to ask you a question, ‘cause it’s been on my mind for a while now.” She looked Blink dead in the face. “Are you really a Shetland? I never thought you really looked like one.”

“Of course I am!” Blink said, “I’m just a little, well…I’m just not as thick as the others. I dunno, maybe it’s a birth defect or something.”

Applejack wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure?” she asked, “I mean, seems to me like Shetlands don’t really look too different from one another.”

Blink bit his lip. “Look, Applejack, I’d rather not discuss my origin at the moment, alright? There’s enough going on that I don’t think that’s pertinent. I’ll tell you all about it, gladly, when we get everything cleaned up back home. Besides, it’s probably going to factor into getting you two on your way.”

Applejack wasn’t satisfied with Blink’s answers, but decided it was best to drop it, for now—it seemed they were getting close anyway.

Not long after the conversation died, the group carefully picked their way through some brush and found the village—they immediately made for Glow Star’s hut and walked inside.

“Glow Star!” Blink called, walking ahead of Rarity and Applejack. “Glow Star, are you here?”

“Here,” came Glow Star’s voice, from above, in the loft. “Blink, good news?”

Blink looked up to respond. “Yes, Star,” he said. “Rarity and Applejack are, well…they’re mostly fine, in any case. I’m happy to report that, according to them, Seth was defeated in battle, by them alone, and won’t be around to lead the griffons on the front lines.”

There was the sound of a creak, followed by hooves on stairs as Star came into view. She eyed Applejack curiously.

“Unicorn,” she said. “Hurt?”
Applejack nodded. “Pretty badly, too, Glow Star,” she said, “Seth got her before we were able to take him down. Blink was telling me you could fix it.”

Star stepped forward, her gaze darting from Rarity’s wound to Applejack’s eyes, then back again. “Killed Seth?” she asked. “True?”

Applejack nodded with conviction. “Sure did, Glow Star. He ain’t gonna be around to terrorize y’all ever again.”

The seconds passed like hours as Star looked into Applejack’s eyes, studying them for a crack, a dent in the truth that would give her away. Finally, the old Shetland smiled, the first Applejack had seen of such a thing and, using her horn, levitated Rarity off of Applejack’s back and onto the floor.

“You, Rarity,” Star said. “Great service. Done impossible. Thank you.” The unicorn turned away to tend to Rarity, leaving Blink and Applejack standing alone. Blink was the first to break the silence.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “It must not have been easy, carrying Rarity all that way.”

Applejack’s back was very sore, and she was tired enough to pass out on the spot, but she raised her chin and gave a confident smile. “Shucks, Blink,” she said, “ain’t nothing in Equestria that can stop me helping my friends.”

Blink raised an eyebrow. “But you’ve gotta be in pain.”

Applejack nodded. “Sure I am—but if y’all still need me to help around here, I’m more than happy to. I ain’t just gonna lie down and watch you fight.”

Blink chuckled and shook his head. “Listen, Applejack, I’m sure that you mean every word you said, but I simply wouldn’t be willing to accept your help with you in your current state.” He glanced over at Star and Rarity. “Besides, I’m sure you want to help get Rarity back on her hooves. You two seem to care about each other quite a lot.”

Applejack paused, trying not to blush, and nodded. “Yeah, Rarity and I have been through plenty in these past couple of days. Don’t think I could’ve made it without her—she’s really important to me.”

Blink smiled. “Well, it shows. Tell you what—if we need any help moving things around, I’ll come and get you, but as it stands, now that Seth is dead, I think this war is going to turn in our favor more quickly than anypony could have anticipated—after all, Earthfruit was already worth five of those griffons, and even he couldn’t take on Seth.”

Applejack nodded. “Thanks, Blink. Don’t hesitate to come and get for anything. I won’t be doing much.”

The stallion nodded and trotted off.

Left alone, Applejack walked over to Glow Star. “How is she?” she asked.

Star sighed. “Bad. Hurt. Will live though.”

Applejack grimaced. “How bad is she hurt?” she asked. She leaned over Star’s shoulder, catching sight of the mare sewing up Rarity’s skin.

Again Star sighed. “Said bad. No more.”

The earth pony furrowed her brows. “So why’re you giving her stiches? I figured you’d just use your magic to close it up.”

“Magic not fix this,” Star said. “Lucky it closed at all. She will scar.”

Applejack’s jaw dropped. “She’s gonna scar? Rarity’s all about her looks, Glow Star—she’s not gonna accept it if she gets a scar, especially such a bad one.”

Star shrugged. “Scars or die.”

Applejack opened her mouth to rebut, but decided against it—Star probably knew what she was talking about, though Applejack knew Rarity was going to pitch a fit.

Star grunted. “Bother. Leave.”

The earth pony raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, what? I can’t leave—Rarity’s my friend. Wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t stay around to make sure she was okay.”

Star turned, spitting a piece of string out of her mouth. “Said she lives. Good enough. Come back tomorrow. May be awake.”

Applejack tried to argue, but she only made Glow Star madder and madder until finally she just left, deciding it was best to let the unicorn work in peace.

She only hoped Rarity really would be alright…