The large pony dusted herself off as the other foals clustered around her. Applejack hugged Apple Bloom close and demanded, "Would somepony explain to me what in tarnation is goin' on?"
"We were across town and Apple Bloom thought we wouldn't be able to get back here in time for the party!" shouted Scootaloo, still so wired that she was continuing to circle the new pony's hooves. "So I said they could get in my wagon and I'd scoot them here. But we hit a bump and Firelock set my scooter on fire, and when I tried to put it out I crashed into this really big pony and broke a wheel. Apple Bloom was upset because she thought we'd never get here on time, but then she asked if the pony wanted to be real nice and pull the wagon so we could make it, and she said she didn't need the wagon 'cause she could just take us on her back!"
Raindrops raised an eyebrow. "And that seemed like a good idea?"
"Da. It no problem." The pony drew herself up to her full height and examined Raindrops. "My name Juggernaut. I--"
Applejack stepped forwards and cut her off. "Well, then, Miss Juggernaut, I appreciate you helpin' my little sister get back here, but that's no excuse for darn near rattlin' the brain out of her head." She nodded at Apple Bloom, who still looked unsteady. "I think an apology might be in order."
Juggernaut frowned. "Why?" she asked. "She said she late, so I go fast."
The farmer opened her mouth as if to press the point, but Apple Bloom shook her head and said, "It's okay. I mean, we got back to my party on time, and that's what matters, right?" She grinned woozily. "Oh, AJ--Juggernaut said she knows sword tricks! Maybe she can show us a few!"
The foals began chorusing their approval, Snails' voice among the loudest. Raindrops hesitated, but before she could do anything, Juggernaut had drawn her sword. "Da!" she said. "I show you little ponies fun trick!" She swept a hoof towards them. "First, I need volunteer."
Raindrops' heart froze as every single foal, Snails included, raised their hooves. "Me!" shouted Snails in unison with all the others. "Me me me!"
"Wait!" Raindrops grabbed Snails and hauled him backwards. "Snails, stop!"
"But I wanna see the trick!"
Applejack quickly got between the foals and Juggernaut. "Why don't we have the treats first?" she said in a strained voice. "I know I for one don't want to keep that delicious chocolate-marzipan birthday cake waiting. And maybe later this evening--"
She didn't need to continue. The foals cheered and stampeded past her in a little herd, each rushing to be the first to get a slice of the delicious cake.
Applejack and Raindrops exchanged glances before Raindrops sighed and approached Juggernaut. Before she could say anything, though, the massive pony looked at her and smiled. "You are Dame Raindrops, da? Is good luck you here. I come to town just to find you!"
A cold sweat prickled on Raindrops' coat. "And why is that? We've never met."
"No, but you know my brother Goliath." Juggernaut's smile faded. "You hit him on head, and make him cry, and send him to jail."
Raindrops grimaced as she thought back to her battle against the Canterlot vigilantes, which had included a massive pony named Goliath. He had some kind of mental disability and hadn't really understood that what he was doing was wrong, but Raindrops had still been forced to fight him to save his potential victims. "Juggernaut," she said in a low voice. "I'm sorry about your brother. But he was trying to hurt a lot of other ponies. I had no choice."
Juggernaut was silent for a long moment. "I know. But still, you hurt my brother. Now we must fight." She pointed her sword towards Raindrops. "Dame Raindrops, I challenge you to duel."
This is supposed to be a party! Raindrops screamed to herself. She was half-tempted to take the other mare up on her offer, lead her away from the foals, and pound some sense into her, but one look at her bulk gave her pause. Besides, Raindrops was remembering the things she'd heard about Goliath's mysterious older sister when she'd been trying to hunt down the vigilantes in Canterlot. That she led the elite security forces of Bobbing Fisher, Equestria's former Minister of War. That Fisher had scoured the land to fill that position, offering a munificent salary which attracted thousands of elite mercenaries, soldiers, and warriors, and Juggernaut had been the greatest of all of them. That the Guards came to her for training.
She looked at Juggernaut and thought to herself, I might be able to win, but not without getting hit really bad. I can't risk it.
"Now, take it easy," said Applejack. "Look, whatever bad blood there is between you two, it ain't no reason for fightin', is it? Especially not with foals just o'er yonder?"
Juggernaut frowned. "I have duty," she said. "I not wait. And because Raindrops is knight, under law, I can ask for duel."
Raindrops scowled. "And it's also legal for me to say no. Which I am. I get that you want revenge for Goliath, but still, I refuse to fight you." She took a breath, trying not to panic. "And if you attack me, you'll be arrested for assault. Then who will look out for your brother?"
Juggernaut flinched back as if genuinely distressed. "I not fight you if you not agree," she insisted. "I not break law."
"Then we won't fight." Raindrops stepped closer to her. "Because I. Say. No."
After a moment, Juggernaut nodded. "I see you later then," she said. "Maybe you change mind."
"I won't," snapped Raindrops.
Juggernaut smiled, as if this was a challenge, but did not respond. She just turned and left, soon vanishing as the road back to town curved around a hill.
A few moments later Snails ran up to Raindrops and Applejack with a big slice of cake balanced on a plate levitating next to his head. "Hey! Where'd that big pony go? She was gonna show us cool sword tricks!"
"I think she had something else to do," said Raindrops. "Sorry, squirt."
Snails, as she'd hoped, took the bait. "Hey! I'm not a squirt!" he protested, huffing when Raindrops smiled. "I'm a pony!"
Raindrops scratched her chin, as if deliberating this statement, and glanced at Applejack. The farmer mouthed 'thank you' to Raindrops and then turned to the other foals, who were starting to return with cake. "Alright, colts an' fillies. Miss Juggernaut had to go do somethin' else, but don't worry! We've still got loads of fun games an' treats for y'all. Now, who wants to play pin-the-tail-on-the-pony?"
The foals cheered again and followed Applejack towards the game area. Raindrops took a few moments to stop her heart from pounding, then followed, unable to stop herself from glancing over her shoulder a few times before stepping inside the barn.
#
"I really appreciate you gettin' rid of that pony," said Applejack as she and Raindrops trotted into town. "Wasn't sure what I could do 'sides callin' for Big Mac an' hopin' he got there in time."
"No problem." Raindrops sighed. "I'm really sorry. If I'd known some lunkhead with a grudge was going to show up, I wouldn't have agreed to help you look after the foals."
"Aw, don't worry 'bout it. Ain't like it's never happened before. Every now an' then somepony shows up mad 'bout some bounty Big Mac collected. Granted, most ain't that large, but still, you get used to it." Applejack chuckled. "Snails okay?"
"Think so." The party had gone on for a few hours, and the sun was just starting to set by the time it broke up. Big Macintosh had volunteered to walk Snails home; this usually would have been unnecessary, but Raindrops wanted somepony strong to keep an eye on him just in case Juggernaut tried anything while she, Raindrops, went to see if Trixie could whip up some legal rationale to have the gigantic mare removed. She would have taken Snails with her, but the foal seemed to be having a really good time at the party, and she didn't want to have him in the room while she told Trixie about the new mare that was threatening to ruin her life. "Thanks for having Big Mac take him home."
Applejack nodded. "Let us know if this Juggernaut don't want to leave quietly. She's big, but ain't nopony stronger than our Big Mac. An' I know a thing or two bought wrestlin'." She grinned. "The lasso ain't just for show."
"I'll... keep that in mind." Raindrops chuckled as she approached Trixie's house. "See you later. I'll let you know if I need help."
"Wait, hold up." Applejack hurried ahead of Raindrops. "Look, long as you're goin' to see Trixie, maybe you could ask her somethin' for me. You know that rocky field just south of Sweet Apple Acres?"
Raindrops thought for a moment. "Yeah. Carrot Top said that Duke Blueblood took advantage of some bylaw and appropriated it when he was the Representative here. She knows because Green Grape once tried to buy it but couldn't."
"Right. He told me four or five times he was gonna give it to us just as soon as he was done doin' his 'rock farmin' or whatever the Hay he was using it for, but that never happened. He hung on to it till he left town an' even after. Well, there was finally an audit last week, an' they found that Duke Blueblood don't live here anymore an' can't keep the field. So now it goes back to Ponyville, an' Mayor Ivory Scrolls has to give it to one of the local farming concerns. We've asked for it, but so has the Farmer's Union." Applejack sighed. "I know Trixie's friends with Carrot Top an' probably wants to lean on the Mayor to vote her way, but Duke Blueblood promised the field to the Apple Trust. It's owed to us. An' besides, when I think of what we could do with that land... it's been fallow for years, just get all the rocks out an' fertilize it a little an' it'd be perfect for all kinds of crops..."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Applejack said, "Look, you're friends with Trixie too. Could ya just mention to her that Duke Blueblood swore up an' down he'd give us the field? That's gotta have some weight. I've got his letters if she needs the proof."
"I'll tell her," said Raindrops. "I can't say what she'll do, but--"
"I know. Tellin' her's all I want. Thanks." Applejack smiled at Raindrops, then turned. "I'm gonna track down Mac an' make sure Snails made it home okay. See you soon, Raindrops."
Raindrops waved goodbye and then trotted up to the Representative's House. It was a cozy home, no more than two stories and a few rooms, and Raindrops heard sounds from the living room as soon as she entered. She poked her head in and grinned at the sight of Trixie, who was sitting next to a grumbling Carrot Top on the couch and gesticulating wildly. "Have no fear!" the unicorn was proclaiming. "The brilliant and wondrous Trixie will devise a solution to all your woes!"
"That's good," said Carrot Top, whose frown was crumbling under a suppressed laugh. "I'm feeling very woeful today."
Raindrops knocked on the doorframe and stepped inside. "What about my woes?" she joked as she approached the liquor cabinet on one side of the room. "I've got woes that need solving too."
"But I'm not done telling Trixie my woes yet," protested Carrot Top, no longer able to hide the bright grin on her face. "You need to wait your turn."
"Girls, girls!" Trixie's horn flared and shot a few illusory fireworks into the sky. "Rest assured, Trixie is so incredibly brilliant that she can solve the problems of all her friends! Or, at the very least, she can listen to them and provide bourbon. Which is considered the same thing in Neigh Orleans."
"Sounds like my kind of city," said Raindrops, balancing a bottle of bourbon and a few glasses on her wing as she walked over. "I'm guessing this has to do with Duke Blueblood's field? I was just talking to Applejack and she said that he promised it to the Apples in writing--"
Carrot Top shook her head. "He promised it to everypony in writing! Whenever somepony complained about him hogging it and never getting around to doing anything with it, he promised he'd give it to them next year. Green Grape, Red Onion... I'm pretty sure he promised it to Pinkie's alligator once!" She paused. "He may have been drunk at the time."
Raindrops chuckled. "Figures. Didn't he tell you to spend most of your time in an alcoholic haze, Trixie?"
"Something like that." Trixie grimaced. "But it's a mess. Every farmer in town has claims on it. The Union says they'll be fine with Carrot Top getting it because most of them owe her favors anyway, but Applejack won't back off. And to be fair," she held up a hoof at Carrot Top's look, "She does have an actual claim on the property. I don't think she needs it, but she's got it. So now Mayor Scrolls has to make a decision based on what she thinks is best for the town."
"But even if she rules in my favor," said Carrot Top, "Applejack can take Ponyville to court and try to prove that it'd be better if Sweet Apple Acres had the field. Cheerilee did some research and she thinks Applejack would have about a 1-in-4 chance of overturning Mayor Scrolls, if she argued that Sweet Apple Acres could leverage the Trust's resources to produce more fruit and taxable sales then I could."
Trixie held up a hoof again. "Conversely, if she rules for Applejack, you could take the town to court. Your business is local; it doesn't ship a lot of its produce to other villages and cities like Applejack's farm does, so it's arguably more important to the town. You're also a prominent member of a community business association, which means that when you do well it affects the whole community. And, you know, you are a national hero. That has some weight."
Carrot Top sighed. "Cheerilee thinks I'd have about the same odds of overturning Scrolls as Applejack. One chance in four."
"Oh." Raindrops frowned. "So if Scrolls rules against you, then you can't justify suing because you're probably lose and waste a lot of money on lawyers. But if she rules in your favor, Applejack--who has money to spare--will probably sue anyway, since she can afford to lose and she really wants the land." She paused. "Alright. I'm pouring you extra bourbon."
"Thanks." Carrot Top smiled as Raindrops passed her the glass.
The three drank in silence for a few moments before Raindrops ventured, "Can't you work out some compromise? Like, maybe she gets the field and you get something else? Or--"
"No!" Carrot Top's face flushed, and Raindrops stepped back. She couldn't recall ever seeing the farmer look so determined. "I always compromise! And I'm tired of always being the pony to back down. I really want some new land, so I can expand my farm, and grow really tasty new vegetables for Ponyville, and... and because I want it! And it's not fair that Applejack's going to take it from me!"
"She won't," said Trixie, rising and lifting her glass. "Because I, the eloquent and silver-tongued Trixie, will convince Mayor Scrolls that the field would do far more good for Ponyville in your hooves than Applejack's! And when she gives it to you, if Applejack sues anyways, I'll go to any court in the land--even the court of Luna Herself--and convince all and sundry that you are the only acceptable choice!" She beamed. "Nopony in the land will dare rule against us!"
Carrot Top laughed as Trixie posed by the couch, and Raindrops couldn't help but smile. "I'll help too if I can," she said. "Nothing against Applejack, but yeah, I think it'd be better if you got the field--and I'll talk to whoever I need to so that it happens." She clapped Carrot Top's hoof. "Nothing to worry about."
The farmer let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into the couch. "Thanks," she said, sipping her bourbon. "You two are great friends."
"Was there ever any doubt?" Trixie grinned and turned to Raindrops. "And what friendship problem can Trixie help you with?"
"Not really a friendship problem." Raindrops sighed, her good cheer vanishing as she remembered why she was there. "Remember how two weeks ago Carrot Top, Cheerilee, Snails and I almost got killed by a bunch of nutjobs in Canterlot? And one was this giant named Goliath?"
Carrot Top nodded, but Trixie frowned. "Which one was he?"
"The really big one with mortar spells. He almost killed Twilight when he ambushed her underground, and then he almost killed me when we fought in the airship docking bay." Raindrops winced at the memory. "He has the mind of a foal, so Luna had him sent to an asylum instead of jail like the other guy, And--"
"Did he break out?" Trixie immediately set down the bourbon. "Is he coming for you?"
"Not him. But while we were in town, we learned he had a big sister. Some kind of super-warrior Fisher hired to head up his factory security. She's in town, and she wants revenge for me putting Goliath away." Raindrops scowled. "She interrupted Apple Bloom's birthday party and challenged me to a duel. I said no and she went away, but she said she'd be back later."
Nopony spoke for a moment, but then Raindrops continued. "I don't think she'll attack me as long as I keep refusing--I mean, she could have just jumped me without asking to duel first if that's what she wanted. But I still don't want her here. Especially with what Snails just went through in Canterlot, when the mafia and the vigilantes both tried to kill him. The last thing he needs is to be worrying about some giant pony coming after me, so I want her gone before he finds out. Besides, she's..." Raindrops thought for a moment. "Thoughtless. She didn't care if she worried the foals at Apple Bloom's party by challenging me to a fight there. Or, y'know, waving that huge sword of hers around."
"Can't you just fight her and win?" asked Carrot Top. "I mean, you're... you."
Raindrops smiled at that, but said, "She's huge, armed, and I'm guessing she's good with magic too. I'd fight her but I'm pretty sure she'd hurt me even if I won. Of course, if I don't fight her, she'll hang around town forever, Snails will get worried, and somepony might get hurt."
"Maybe she was bluffing," said Trixie in a hopeful tone. "To annoy you. She might be ready to leave. And--"
Something pounded the front door hard enough to rattle it in its frame.
The three mares looked at each other before Trixie grumbled something, magically summoned her hat and cloak, and trotted to the door. Raindrops and Carrot Top followed as she swung it open to reveal the bulky Juggernaut. Trixie started to say something, then froze as she gazed at the massive, heavily-muscled pony. "Oh."
"Dame Raindrops!" said Juggernaut in the same tone as before. "I challenge you to duel!"
"I said no," growled Raindrops.
Juggernaut frowned. "Then I come back," she said. "If you change mind before I ask again, find me at apartment over Noteworthy Music store."
"You rented an apartment?" demanded Trixie.
"Da! Fisher once tell me Raindrops very stubborn. So I think, if I in town for many moons waiting to duel her, it make sense rent room." Juggernaut hesitated. "But I think it not take long. We duel soon, Raindrops."
"Or what?" hissed the mare.
Juggernaut did not answer. She just turned and trotted away.
Raindrops muttered something inarticulate and looked at Trixie along with Carrot Top. The showmare sighed. "Alright," she said. "Maybe she isn't ready to leave."