Strange Bedfellows

Sent off to speak to the stallion named Earthfruit, Applejack didn’t waste any time looking for him. She searched through the village, asking ponies here and there where she could find him, and they all pointed her to the muddy fields used for harvesting potatoes. They all spoke with the same queer dialect as Glow Star, and rather loudly at that. She steeled herself for working next to Earthfruit who, the second she saw him, surprised her with his size—he was taller than all the other Shetlands, and thicker to boot.

“Howdy partner,” she called. She looked around at his working crew. “I guess y’all are working the potato fields? I ain’t too versed in how harvesting potatoes goes, but I’m a quick learner, so no worries about me getting it down.”

The stallion raised his head from a vine and stared intently at Applejack for a few moments before giving her a dismissive grunt.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Uh, pardon me for asking, Earthfruit, but ain’t you supposed to tell me how to harvest the potatoes or something? I’ve only ever done it once or twice.”

The stallion shook his head with another grunt. Applejack narrowed her eyes—it was like they were playing some kind of trick on her!

“Well then, I guess I just gotta learn all by myself?” She snorted. “Your Glow Star sent me out here and you ain’t even gonna talk to me?”

Earthfruit closed his eyes, a look of annoyance crossing his face. When he reopened them, he tilted his head up and pointed to his throat a few times. It was only then that Applejack saw the terrible, ugly scars running across Earthfruit’s throat.

The ragged marks started above, near the left base of his jaw, running down and across his Adam’s apple, straight down to his strong collarbone. In the dim light filtering through the canopy, she could also make out another thick line of scar tissue which cut along his chest, and a matching line across his cutie mark.

“By Celestia,” Applejack whispered in disbelief, eyes widening. Without thinking, she also said, “What happened to you?” Earthfruit shot her a look, but another stallion, much smaller, stepped in.

“He can’t answer that,” the stallion said in a high, reedy voice. He held out a hoof, which Applejack shook. “I’m Blink. Three-quarters of the time, I’m Earthfruit’s right-hoof stallion and speaker, and the other quarter I’m Earthfruit’s scout and speaker.” He beamed. “Please to meet you, Applejack. I was told you were coming, and sorry I wasn’t here sooner—the left quadrant of the field needed work done.”

Applejack, trying to process the fact that Blink could speak normally at all, looked him over. He was thin and relatively tall, with only a passing resemblance to the other ponies around him—the closest thing to the Shetland stature about him was his untrimmed bangs. He also looked to be in his middle age.

Blink chuckled. “You’re wondering why I can speak normally, aren’t you?” He tapped his chest proudly. “I’m a fifth-generation Shetland, formed down the line from a progressive union of ponies and Shetlands.” He paused. “Not that Shetlands are born without speech, mind you. I just study the books that Glow Star lets me read, and take notes from the ponies passing through. When I’m not working out here, of course.”

Applejack nodded at Earthfruit. “If it’s not too personal, what happened with, er, you know.”

Blink raised an eyebrow. “He’s not offended by it, I assure you. His scars came from a Timberwolf attack on the village. Earthfruit was already big and very strong, but I must say, he’s lacking in tactical ability. That’s why he needs me, right Earth?” A sharp smack upside Blink’s head sent him reeling. “Well,” he slurred, eyes rolling, “maybe he doesn’t need me that badly.”

Applejack chuckled at the pair and smiled. “Well, I’m mighty happy to meet y’all, but if you don’t mind me saying it, time’s wasting.”

Blink shook his head back and forth, clearing the stars from his eyes. “Right, right. There’s plenty of time in a day and yet never enough, wouldn’t you say?” He turned to Earthfruit. “Tell me, big guy, what needs doing right now?”

Earthfruit raised an eyebrow, pointing back at the fields with a blunt hoof—practically every potato vine was already taken up by a Shetland, diligently harvesting.

Blink considered this for a moment, then nodded his head knowingly. “Right, right,” he said, turning back to Applejack. “The fields have more than enough ponies working them at the moment, so you’re going to be joining us out in the field to do a sweep of the village!” He beamed. “Won’t that be exciting?”

Applejack was confused. “Pardon me asking, Blink, but this village looks pretty peaceful to me—what kinda things are you used to seeing out there that could threaten y’all?”

Blink’s face darkened. “Plenty of things, sorry to say. A few weeks ago, Earthfruit was recovering from a fight with a manticore when a group of Timberwolves attacked us. The working Shetlands are strong, but the Timberwolves were so much faster than they were…” He shook his head. “We lost a few that day. That’s why we have to stay sharp. They need us.”

Applejack felt her heart jump into her throat. “Did you say manticores?” Sweat started to gather on the back of her neck.

Blink chuckled dismissively. “I wouldn’t worry much about that,” he said. “They’re uncommon at best, and we’ll be taking a well-traveled path, the one my father always used to use. They rarely attack out there—Earthfruit’s scuffle with that one happened to be an unlucky occurrence.”

The big stallion shot Blink a look, and he smiled nervously. “Well, I mean, maybe not just unlucky.” When Applejack raised an eyebrow, Blink elaborated. “We think it may have been led there. When I say a manticore attack is ‘uncommon’, I really mean that that’s the only manticore either Earthfruit or I have ever seen. They’re around, sure, but they almost always keep to themselves, way off in the reaches of the forest nopony explores.”

Applejack nodded. “Question is, who do you think might have led it here?”

Blink hesitated, but after a nod from Earthfruit, said, “Well, probably the same one who incited the Timberwolves once they knew that Earthfruit was injured. Probably the same one who, once those attacks subsided, sent in some kind of horrible flying creatures to attack us.” He sighed. “We keep beating these attacks back, but there’s going to be one that we can’t stop, eventually.”

Applejack stopped a moment, looking at the trees overhead. “You think we’ll get attacked out here? If these things keep happening all the time, ain’t that enough reason to be wary?”

Blink chuckled and waved his hoof towards the forest. “I doubt it. There hasn’t been any reason to think about things like that recently, what with quite a few of our workers receiving lessons from Earthfruit pertaining to wrestling and other methods of fighting. Plus, with you, a mare who, might I say, is extremely strong-looking, and that Rarity around, I doubt we have much to worry about.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Us? We’re just a couple of ponies from Ponyville. I’m a farm pony, not a big ol’ pony like Earthfruit. And Rarity’s a fashion pony, not a powerful unicorn like your Glow Star. Whatever we bring to the table can’t be enough to make a difference if there’s another attack.”

They were nearing the edge of the forest now—Blink tapped one of the trees. “Trust me on this—Shetlands are perfect in a forest. With you and Rarity backing us, especially if I teach you a thing or two about fighting in a forest and Glow teaches Rarity some more advanced magic, it’s unlikely anything can stand up to us.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Not that y’all haven’t been hospitable or nothing, but were you told that we’re not staying here too long? We got a home to come back to.”

Blink smiled. “I know. But it’s been a while since I’ve spoken to another pony who looks like me in quite a while, outside of business terms, so you’ll have to forgive me if I seem a little too excited. I’ve read a lot about other ponies from Glow’s books, but this is pretty much my first opportunity to work with one.”

That was good enough for Applejack and, with Earthfruit and Blink walking ahead, she followed. The forest was much less dark than it had been before, with a hoof-beaten path lined on either side by foliage. As a matter of fact, it was quite a pretty forest once the foreboding air was removed from it.

Light filtered in through the canopy, shining through leftover dew droplets floating in the air to create thick pearls of light. The grass curled in on itself and made a thick carpet everywhere except the main path. The trees were tall and verdant, with heavy green vines hanging from the branches to form curtains along the path.

As Applejack walked, a thought occurred to her.

“Blink, didn’t you say that you were bred down the line from a Shetland? How’re you so ponylike?” Blink shrugged.

“That’s not important really, is it?” He looked back at her, the light shining through his thick hair. “Pony genetics are crazy enough without further complicating things, wouldn’t you say? I’ve tried to study biology before and come to the conclusion that it’s not even close to worth thinking about.”

Applejack nodded. “And how can you talk like that? I only ever heard Twilight talking like that before, and it doesn’t seem like your village has much in the way of studying materials.”

Blink’s pace hitched. “Is that really important? The way I came by my manner of speech really isn’t that interesting, I assure you.”

Applejack felt like she’d been stung, and Earthfruit nudged Blink, giving him a stern look. A pang of hurt crossed Blink’s face and he sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you like that. I just don’t really like to talk about it.”

Applejack accepted that, going back to listening to the sounds of birdsong wafting through the trees—they almost sounded like they’d been trained. One warbled a tune that went up and down in pitch wildly, yet sounded so sweet and clear that Applejack felt relaxed almost immediately.

That relaxation died in her chest at the realization that one of the birds was singing a song she barely remembered. The mare skidded to a halt.

It was a tune she’d been taught by Granny Smith a very long time ago, when she was just a filly. It carried a dangerous and terrible message despite how upbeat it sounded. Blink and Earthfruit stopped and turned, giving Applejack confused looks.
“Are you okay, Applejack?” Blink asked. “We should probably keep moving, but if you need to take a rest, we can.”

Applejack shook her head. “Nah,” she said, her voice quivering, “it ain’t that. It’s just that I could swear one of those birds is singing a song I know. It’s supposed to be a warning for when one of the Everfree Forest’s most dangerous critters comes out.”

Blink waited a moment, looking around, then asked, “Well, what is it supposed to warn of, Applejack?”

Applejack’s voice was tiny as she said it, eyes going wide at the sight of a thick, barbed tail emerging from the brush. “Manticore.”

Earthfruit and Blink spun around, but not quickly enough to avoid the lashing tail, which took both of them in the chest with a wide sweep. The smaller pony crashed into a tree, slumping winded to the ground. Earthfruit whirled through the air and landed hooves-up, but lost his balance due to the momentum and skidded jaw-first through the undergrowth, only able to raise himself once the dirt cloud had subsided.

Applejack put her hooves to the ground and bared her teeth, a cloud of steam shooting from her nostrils. Earthfruit wiped a stream of blood from his nose and joined her, panting heavily.

The manticore sized them up, its dark, merciless eyes filled with thought. Finally, it raised a blunt paw and swept it towards Applejack, the smaller of the two. The mare skipped deftly out of the way and bucked the manticore’s slow paw, causing the beast to recoil in pain with a roar. Earthfruit and Applejack looked at each other, then at Blink, and split off, the larger distracting the manticore while Applejack got Blink back to his senses.

The smallest pony had a hoof on his chest, his stomach heaving as he gasped for breath. Applejack propped him up against the tree and raised his hooves above his head, opening up his airways.

“Thank…you…” He gasped between breaths.

“Hush up,” Applejack said, “that manticore’s got Earthfruit’s number right now, so you need to get back on your hooves before it realizes you’re easy prey, sitting here like this.”

Blink nodded, trying to control his breathing while Applejack spun around, checking how Earthfruit was doing.

The big stallion was definitely faster than the manticore, but not by much. He was having trouble avoiding its claw and tail swipes—the barb would rake his skin here, the paws would catch his heavy flanks there, and occasionally the manticore would get in a good hit that would leave Earthfruit reeling for a moment before the fight resumed.
But the stallion was gaining ground here and there—the manticore’s thick skull was bruised in several places from being bucked so powerfully, and several of its claws were scattered on the ground, shattered by Earthfruit’s hooves.

As Earthfruit dodged another swipe from the paw, the manticore saw an opening, bringing its barb to bear. The cruel point drove down and towards Earthfruit’s shoulder, but the stallion caught it in his hooves, muscles standing out in thick ropes on his arms as he forced up against it, sweat pouring down his face.

As the tail advanced inexorably downward, Earthfruit made one last push to try and halt its progress, his mouth opening wide in what was supposed to be a scream, but came out as a squeak. His right eye filled with blood as a vessel exploded. Despite his push, the manticore’s tail sunk deep into his left wither, and Earthfruit’s grip loosened enough that the monster could whip its tail up and outwards, tossing the bleeding stallion into the bushes.

Applejack was still blocking Blink with her body as the manticore turned to them, its white fangs dripping with thick saliva. As it neared them, Blink tapped Applejack on the shoulder.

“Go,” he said, “get out of the way. I’m more than quick enough for this thing.” She turned and saw a confident grin on his face.

“Alrighty,” she said, “but if you go and get yourself hurt for me, I’m gonna be mighty upset with you.”

The stallion chuckled. “Noted,” he said, standing as Applejack moved to the side. At the sight of a smaller, weaker meal, the manticore shifted its focus, raising a paw high over its head. Before it could even start to bring it down, however, Blink was gone, the undergrowth rustling with his departure.

Applejack watched in amazement as the monster swept through the bushes with its tail, searching for the little pony, but never once coming up with him. With it distracted, Applejack started to move back when she felt a hoof on her flank.

“Applejack,” Blink said, his eyes the only thing visible in the greenery. “Go check on Earthfruit—although I’m sure he’s fine—and then climb the tallest tree you can find. When I give you the signal, jump onto the manticore. Well, don’t just ‘jump’ on him, mind you—find a way to disable him from that height.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, prompting a sigh from Blink.

“Elbow drop it or something.” His teeth showed in a smile. “And try to make up a cool name for it or something, like ‘Mare Bomb Supreme’ or ‘Shining Elbow Blast’, I dunno. All the stuff I used to watch as a kid had stuff like that.”

Applejack was utterly perplexed, especially considering he’d said “watch as a kid”, but Blink waved her away before she could think of anything. The small stallion slipped back into the forest and emerged several yards away from where Earthfruit lay, the manticore giving a roar of rage as it charged the spot.

Applejack’s mind was in a haze as she made her way through the bushes, sweat pouring down into her eyes at the merest movement. When she finally reached Earthfruit, she winced at the sight of his shoulder.

The puncture wound was deep, the only saving grace being that manticores weren’t poisonous. The flesh and hair around the wound was ragged, thick blood leaking from the area. Earthfruit looked up at her as she inspected the wound, shaking his head back and forth. To the mare’s surprise, he gave a shoulder a roll and grinned at her. She smiled back—apparently he was a lot harder to stop than most ponies.

With her help, he got to a standing position, making slow progress back towards the clearing, where the manticore’s frustration was apparent at the state of the torn undergrowth. Applejack thought hard on what to do next before remembering Blink’s instruction to climb the tallest tree she could find. She frantically searched for a few moments before locating a massive one on the edge of the clearing, and started towards it, keeping an eye on the pair of defenders as she inched up.

They weren’t having much trouble now that they could team up on the manticore, Blink flitting around it while Earthfruit delivered crushing blows to its legs and jaw—the monster was practically reeling now, but doggedly kept on the offensive, lashing out with every limb it could use.

When Applejack reached the highest point on the tree, she whipped her ponytail out of her face, staring down at the ground from her perch on a thick limb. She waved a hoof and Blink, barely a dot, gave an acknowledging nod, signaling Earthfruit.

The huge stallion snorted and reared back as the manticore lunged forward. Hooves slammed into paws and Earthfruit’s jaw clenched tight, his wound spurting a little blood at the strain. Blink desperately waved his hooves around and, taking a deep breath, Applejack lept from the tree, her elbow thrust outwards.

As she fell, one more thought came to mind, the ground rushing up beneath her giving her an odd creative spark. She opened her mouth and, into the whipping wind, issued a cry of,

“Earth-Breaking Applesmash!”

The impact shook the earth, clods of dirt flying up around them as the manticore was driven into the ground. Applejack herself was thrown from the beast as it thrashed about, spraying soil everywhere as its mind tried to cope with the intense pain radiating from its head. The mare landed in the soft grass, her arm smarting.
What came next, she couldn’t even believe.

Earthfruit jumped back from the manticore as it struggled to rise, thick liquid running down its shaking face as it delivered a bone-chilling roar of fury, though it was clearly on its last leg. Blink jumped up into his arms with a determined, grim smile, and rolled into a ball. As Earthfruit cocked his arms back, panting heavily, Blink screamed,

“Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-It Cannonball Special!”

With that, Earthfruit hurled the little stallion through the air. As the manticore tried to grasp what was happening, Blink smashed straight into his face, an ear-splitting crack resounding through the woods. The monster’s eyes rolled back into its head as a wash of red dripped from its mouth. Blink spun in place for a few seconds, in the curve of the manticore’s face, before sticking out his back hooves and shoving off, flipping through the air and landing with a thump.

He turned to Applejack, whose jaw was practically on the ground, and gave a triumphant smile, as did Earthfruit.

And, several yards away, the manticore gave its last breath.