Shield and Sword
Raindrops rested her muzzle on the sill of her bedroom window and stared out into the night. A distant peal of thunder echoed through the air, and when she strained she could even hear the sounds of rain falling in the Everfree Forest, but she knew from the weather schedules that it wasn't expected to get anywhere near Ponyville. Even if it had, though, she didn't think it would cheer her up like storms usually did. Morning would come in just a few hours, at which point Snails and Juggernaut would meet and everything would fall apart.
She didn't know if it was even worth keeping Snails home from school. Juggernaut could just call to Snails from an open window, or put up signs, or somehow lure the colt outdoors. Even if the massive pony played fair, Snails couldn't hide in the house forever. He'd have to go outside sometime, and since Juggernaut was apparently wealthy enough and obsessed enough to stay in Ponyville indefinitely, she could easily wait for days, weeks, or even months until Snails did so. Besides, telling Snails he couldn't go outside would probably scare him almost as much as telling him that Juggernaut wanted to beat her into a pulp because she'd laid a hoof on Goliath.
If she was stronger, she thought, she could have settled this already. A really strong mare could have taken Juggernaut's challenge, pounded her against a couple rocks, dumped her in a freight car, and shipped her back to Stalliongrad. But Juggernaut was too tough for her, which meant Raindrops couldn't get rid of her, which meant she couldn't stop the other mare from hurting Snails or anyone else she chose to. She was supposed to be his protector and guardian, but she couldn't keep one trumped-up mercenary away from him. Raindrops growled softly as she felt shame settling over her. She had failed, again, and it was her brother who would pay.
She tried to tell herself that she'd fought many enemies that she hadn't been able to deal with on her own, and that this hadn't bothered her before, but it didn't work. Those opponents--the golem, the windigo, the lich of Tambelon, Corona Herself--were literal monsters. No reasonable pony could expect to beat them alone. So she'd worked with her friends, used the Elements of Harmony, and won the day. But Juggernaut wasn't a monster. She was just a pony. And, Raindrops thought, that meant she should be able to deal with her before the brute hurt her family. Her friends, allies, and contacts in the government couldn't help force Juggernaut out of town, since the other mare had stayed just barely within the law and so denied them any legal reason to evict her, but that shouldn't have mattered. Raindrops should have been able to deal with the problem and couldn't.
Somepony knocked on the front door below. Raindrops' heart thudded against her chest and she wondered if Juggernaut was actually trying to get in at two in the morning, but then she realized that the knocking was a lot softer than Juggernaut's. She hurried downstairs and opened the door, blinking at the sight of one of her best friends. "Carrot Top?"
"Hi." Carrot Top smiled weakly. "I know it's really late, but I kind of need somepony to talk to, and... well, you know how Trixie gets when somepony wakes her. Can I please come in for a few minutes?"
Raindrops nodded and let Carrot Top inside, then shut the door and led the farmer to the kitchen. She lit a couple candles and then put a pot of tea on the gas stove. "What's up?"
Carrot Top slumped her head on the table, her mane spilling over her eyes. "Applejack and I spent most of the day trying to compromise on the field."
"It didn't go well?"
The other mare shook her head. "We tried to find a way to split it fairly, but we couldn't agree on how. I mean, you'd think we could just cut it in half, but the field's not uniform. There's parts of it that are rockier than others, and one corner's near a natural well, and a small part of it actually backs right into the Everfree so it's not really useful for cultivating most crops..." She trailed off. "So, yes, it didn't go well."
Raindrops awkwardly draped a wing over Carrot Top, who leaned into her. The weathermare frowned, not really being used to comforting friends in this manner, but just said, "What about some kind of contest? You both plant flowers or something, and the field goes to whoever gets more of them to grow?"
"We thought of that too, but the field's too rocky for us to do anything with. Applejack suggested we have the contest be whoever can more of the field cleared faster, but clearing rocks at high speeds is a really easy way to injure yourself. We both have spring harvests coming up soon and can't risk breaking our hooves on a rock. We'd need to hire ponies from out of town, which I guess would be fair since that's part of running a business, but Applejack would have a huge advantage since she could just grab the best Trust farmers who grow other crops that won't need to be harvested for a few weeks. Besides, that would take days to set up, and Mayor Scrolls needs to make her ruling tomorrow."
"Oh." Raindrops heard the teakettle whistle and rose, then poured two glasses. "Well... maybe Scrolls will rule your way?"
"She won't." Raindrops turned to see Carrot Top's long face. "I took a break from the negotiations so I could get dinner in town, and I ran into Cheerilee. She... may have convinced me that we should break into Mayor Scrolls' office and check her notes. We did, and she's already written her speech for tomorrow where she gives the field to Applejack." Carrot Top sighed. "Applejack can produce more revenue from the field. More revenue means more sales tax. After what happened last summer, when Corona attacked Ponyville with that party spell and the Night Court almost didn't pay the 900,000 bits we needed to fix the damage, she wants to increase the town's emergency funds in case that the government screws up again."
Carrot Top's muzzle sank down onto the table. "I know this isn't like the last time I went up against Applejack," she said. "I won't go bankrupt if I just give in. But I don't want to give in! I always roll over and let other ponies have what they want, but this time I wanted it to be different. To stand up for myself and win, instead of being like the other me from that other Equestria--the one who gave up, sold her farm to Applejack, and became an alchemist."
"I thought she was pretty happy with her life," said Raindrops.
"She was, and that's fine--I mean, she's a great pony and there's nothing wrong with her life--but it's not the one I want." Carrot Top looked up at Raindrops with steady eyes. "I'm a farmer. I want to grow things. That's my special talent and it's what I love to do. And I really wanted some more land to do it with. I'd be happy if I even got a little bit of the field, as long as I got something so I could grow some new plants. Maybe some magic herbs, so I don't have to go into the Everfree and wrestle Ursas every time I want to mix up a potion."
Raindrops was silent for a long moment. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "Is there any way I can help?"
"Probably not." Carrot Top sipped her tea. "But if you listen to me while I complain, then I'll feel better. That's something, right?"
Raindrops smiled at her friend. "I can do that."
They drank tea in silence for a few more moments before Raindrops asked, "Applejack doesn't really need the field, does she? Maybe this is just revenge for when you thrashed her at the farming competition last year."
Carrot Top immediately shook her head. "She wouldn't do that," she said. "She's not a bad mare. And we made up when we both went to cater Vicereine Puissance's birthday, remember?"
"Still. She's got more than enough land already, and I can't imagine that she couldn't buy a field which isn't covered in rocks if she really wanted to expand. Maybe she's just taking it because she knows you want it."
"If she wanted to do that," said Carrot Top, "She wouldn't negotiate with me. She'd just hope that Mayor Scrolls ruled her way and that I wouldn't sue the town over it." Her mouth quirked up. "Not everything is about revenge."
Raindrops sighed. "Guess I'm just thinking about that because... well, you know. The world's largest pony who's camping out in town and demanding that I fight her." She glanced out the kitchen window and wondered if Juggernaut were lurking in the darkness, hoping Raindrops would go on a late night stroll so she could challenge her to yet another duel. "I didn't even want to hurt Goliath. I mean, I don't think he's a bad pony--he literally didn't understand that what he was doing was wrong. I only fought him to save a bunch of lives. But all Juggernaut cares about is getting revenge because I hurt her precious little brother..."
"I don't really understand her, though," said Carrot Top. "If she just wanted to hurt you, why is she going to all this trouble? She could just break into your house and hit you."
"She doesn't want to go to jail."
Carrot Top shrugged. "So she does it at night when nopony's awake to see her. And she threatens to come back if you tell anypony who she was." She sipped her tea. "Or she hires mercenaries. I mean, Fisher's in hiding and his Factory Security forces aren't doing anything right now, are they? Juggernaut could have just hired them to abduct you and drag you back to Rushia."
Raindrops opened her mouth to argue the point, then paused. Carrot Top's argument made sense. And if Raindrops hadn't been so stressed about Juggernaut's incessant harassment, she would probably have realized it earlier. "Huh."
"She's probably here because of honor," continued Carrot Top. "You know, a 'you hurt my family so I have to hurt you back to restore my family's name' kind of thing."
"Fisher didn't hire anypony who cared about honor," said Raindrops. "Went against the whole point of him having his own private military that would do whatever he wanted without saying things like 'this might not be legal' or 'we might be acting like complete idiots.''"
"Hmm." Carrot Top finished her cup of tea and put it down. "But if it's not revenge and not honor, why does she want to fight you so badly? She wanted to do it at Apple Bloom's birthday party, right?"
"And threatened to scare Snails. But it wasn't like she really wanted to hurt them... or like she was reluctant. It was like she didn't even notice they'd be hurt." Raindrops frowned. "I don't think she really cares either way about the other ponies in Ponyville. They're just tools to her, and she wants to use them to get what she wants." She nodded. "Yeah. She's not trying to be cruel; she's just really, really self-absorbed. Only thinks about what she wants."
"And her brother." Carrot Top smiled slightly. "Maybe you two could bond over that."
Raindrops snorted. "I don't want to beat up ponies that hurt Snails. I just want to get rid of everything that's hurt him, like Juggernaut. I want to keep him safe and... oh." Her eyes widened. "Oh. I get it."
"What?"
"I know why Juggernaut wants to fight me." Raindrops rose.
"To keep Goliath safe from you?" asked Carrot Top. "But even if you wanted to fight Goliath again, he's in an asylum. You couldn't get to him."
Raindrops shook her head and took one of the candles, then blew out the others. "I'll explain on the way. Come on--let's find her. I want to settle this tonight. And then we--"
She heard a squeaking board as she passed the staircase and pointed the candle in its direction. Snails was there, Levi perched on his dimly-glowing horn, and was looking at Raindrops with a guilty expression. "Raindrops!" he stammered. "I, uh, just woke up! I wasn't eavesdropping or anything!"
Carrot Top giggled, and Raindrops smiled. She started towards Snails, who backed up as if afraid of being yelled at for spying. Levi hopped down onto his muzzle and raised his two front legs as if preparing to fight Raindrops, but the weathermare just shook her head. "I'm not mad," she said. "In fact, you can come with." She turned. "Climb on my back and we'll go on a trip."
"A trip?" breathed Snails. Raindrops stifled her laughter, knowing that the concept of being outside at two in the morning--a time when only serious, mature adults were allowed outside--would be irresistible. Sure enough, in a few moments she felt Snails climb onto her back. "Okay!" murmured Snails as Levi buzzed back onto his horn. "Ready!"
Raindrops pushed open the front door and led Snails, Carrot Top, and Levi outside. She looked hard into the darkness around them and soon spied the boulder-like thing that hadn't been there before, then stepped through the front gate and approached it. "Juggernaut," she called as she reached it. "Let's talk."
The bulky mass moved, and then Juggernaut lowered her head. "We duel now?"
"No." Raindrops sighed, then shifted so that Snails could get a better grip on her back. "I think I know why you're here, Juggernaut."
"I already tell you why I here. You hurt Goliath--"
"If all you cared about was that, you could have hit me while I wasn't looking."
Juggernaut snorted. "How that make Goliath not hurt?"
"Huh?" Snails crouched low over Raindrops and spoke directly into her ear. "I don't understand, Raindrops."
"I do." Raindrops looked up at Juggernaut. "When you say I hurt Goliath, you don't just mean physically, right? I frightened him. Made him upset."
"Da." Juggernaut's voice grew slightly darker. "He scared. He always very strong pony, but you beat him easy. He have nightmare. He worry you break into jail and hurt him. I try tell him you not do that. You only hurt him to stop him from hurting other ponies. He know, and he thankful you stop him from doing bad things. But he still scared."
Raindrops nodded. She should have seen it earlier, she thought; she had spent the past couple days worried about Juggernaut hurting Snails by scaring or traumatizing him. Of course Goliath, who had the mind of a young foal, would also be hurt if he were convinced that an unstoppable force could show up at any time to crush him. "And if you beat me, he won't be scared."
"I tell him he not worry; I keep him safe. He say maybe I not able to fight you." Juggernaut's voice caught for a moment. "He my brother. I protect him. I tell him, if he want, I prove I can fight you. No sneak attack, no hit you while you not look. I prove I can beat you fair. Then he know you never hurt him again, because you know I hurt you if you try, even if you see me coming."
For a long moment, nopony spoke. Raindrops glanced back and saw Snails watching with wide eyes, and reached up with a wing to stroke her brother's side. He calmed slightly and she turned back to Juggernaut. "I understand," she said. "I have a little brother too. And he's the most precious pony in the world to me. If I thought something was hurting him, I'd do anything to set things right."
"Then you understand." Juggernaut drew her blade. "We big sisters. We shield to protect brother. And we sword to cut anything that hurt them. You hurt Goliath. Now we fight, Raindrops."
"No." Raindrops shook her head. "Like I said, I have a brother. And if I fought you and got hurt, if you put me in the hospital--or killed me--that would hurt him too. Far worse than anything else you could do to him." Snails stiffened and then hugged her, and Raindrops embraced him with her wings. "I know you care about your brother, Juggernaut. Please accept that I care about mine."
Juggernaut looked flustered. "This not my problem. Snails not my brother. Why I care if he hurt?"
"Hey!" said Snails.
Raindrops thought for a moment. "You don't really deal with other ponies a lot, do you?"
"What you mean?"
"I mean, who were you actually friends with? You've worked with Fisher for years, right? Did you talk to him about anything besides business?"
Juggernaut tilted her head. "No. We talk when he give me order."
"How about other Factory Security employees, did you talk with them?"
"Only to give them order. I professional. I not waste time with chat."
"What about other workers in the factories?" pressed Raindrops.
"Why I talk them? That distract from work."
"Neighbors?"
Juggernaut sounded baffled. "Of course not. Factory Security live in factory; we have no neighbors. If we go home for night, how we protect factory?"
"Did you ever really talk to anypony?"
"Da." Juggernaut nodded. "My brother! I tell him stories and show him sword tricks to make him laugh. He have good laugh."
Raindrops nodded. "You're not used to thinking of other ponies, then, except for Goliath. You see everypony else as tools or enemies." She heard the other mare growl softly and tensed, but made herself continue. "You don't hate me, or feel anything at all about me; you just see me as an obstacle making Goliath unhappy. So I need you to do something for me. And then maybe we can find some way to make Goliath feel better."
"What?" asked Juggernaut in a taut voice.
"I need you to understand that I care about my brother just as much as you care about yours." Raindrops helped Snails down from her back and then hugged him with her front legs; Snails looked surprised but returned it. "Snails, you'd be upset if I got hurt, right?"
"Of course!" said Snails. "I'd be really really sad. You're my big sister!"
Raindrops nodded and held Snails close. "Juggernaut, wouldn't Goliath feel the same way?" When the other mare nodded, Raindrops continued. "So how you would feel if somepony stronger than you wanted to hurt you? Let's say the Tyrant Sun showed up and wanted a fight. Would you give her one?"
Juggernaut's reaction was instinctive. She shook her head violently and said, "No. I not let her kill me. Goliath--"
"Wouldn't have his shield and his sword. I know." Raindrops took a breath. "Think about how hard you would try to escape from that fight. I'm going to do the same, because I love Snails just as much--if not more--than you love Goliath. I'm not going to hurt him by getting myself beaten half to death in a pointless brawl. You could stay here for the next five years, and I wouldn't change my mind."
It was dark, but after a few moments, Raindrops could swear she saw Juggernaut's eyes gleam slightly as she thought. "I see," she said after a very long moment. "But then--you not say da then? No matter how many time I ask?"
"No."
"But..." Juggernaut sounded genuinely distressed. Raindrops was willing to bet that the massive mare wasn't used to being denied. "Then how I make Goliath better?" she demanded. "He sleep bad. He barely eat. He very scared you hit him again. If I not fight you because Snails become sad, how I show him I stronger than you?"
Raindrops smiled as she finished working out her plan. "Again--there's more ponies around than just us." She turned to Carrot Top. "Such as a couple of farmers who need some strong ponies for a competition to clear a field?"
"Well, yes, but we need two..." Carrot Top trailed off as she glanced between them. "Oh." And she smiled. "Yes. That could work."
"I not understand," said Juggernaut. "What you suggest?"
"A challenge," said Raindrops. "A way to see which of us is stronger without killing each other. That would calm Goliath, right?"
"Da?" Juggernaut hurried to keep up, hoofsteps pounding into the dirt road. "I think so?"
"It would solve your problem too," said Raindrops, turning to Carrot Top. "And lastly..." She looked to her side, where Snails was trotting along. "You're going to get to see your big sister being awesome," she said. "Happy?"
The little colt nodded. "And... you won't get hurt, right?" He frowned, and his beetle crawled out of his mane to give his muzzle a strong little hug. "I'd be upset if you got hurt."
"I won't." Raindrops smiled as she advanced down the road, and she draped one wing over his shoulder. "And neither will you. I promise."
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Ah ha! Merging the plot streams. Well played.
I still kind of wish that Carrot Top and AJ's thing was its own distinct fic - plus I'm not entirely certain why AJ would hire Juggernaut - but you're otherwise managing to bring to streams together fairly well.
6522907 : As CT says:
So AJ can't use herself, Big Mac, or any of her farmhands because they have harvests due soon and don't want to risk being injured in a competition which is going to boil down to "throwing heavy rocks around at high speeds." There's also the time constraint which prevents AJ from getting reinforcements from Trust central. They need somepony big and strong, without harvests to worry about, which is where Juggers comes in.
Summon the Muad! As referee
6523364
As long as all the work gets done--and Dash explicitly says she's covering Raindrops' shift--I don't think anyone would care. I mean, maybe the other weathermares would gripe that Raindrops is getting off easy by being assigned the 'follow Juggernaut with a cloud' duty, but I don't think they would have grounds for a legal complaint. At most they could just threaten to quit, which they wouldn't because it's ultimately not a big deal to them.
That's a good argument about Applejack and town sales tax. If the town needs to fairly sell the land, it's a pretty good argument to go with the option that turns it into the most public good.
Ah, so that's how the story is coming together.
6523384 Speaking as a government employee, if I did what Dash did and assigned tasks to a subordinate in exchange for gifts, I would be fired so fast, and it's pretty hard to get fired as a government employee. We're even required to report all work associated gifts over twenty dollars to prevent even the appearance of impropriety.
6523480 There's been a recent focus on that in the last ten years or so. Maybe Equestria hasn't gotten there yet?
Because, yeah, she straight up took a bribe. It was a bribe to do something that she was legally allowed to do and probably does all the time (take a special request for weather that doesn't interfere with the overall plan) but that doesn't make it not a bribe.
Its a good reason, although I can't help but feel that she might still have a second speech prepared for giving the land to CT.
Jugger is a bit less socialised that I hoped she would be, I did sort of hope she'd have a family of her own and act as a sort of role model for Raindrops to show how she can live her life without being afraid of her own strength. Oh well, maybe theirs still hope. It'll be interesting to see how the contest goes, I'd assume Jugger is stronger, however, given how much effort she puts into being strong compared to Raindrops who just seems to be strong it seems Raindrops would be potentially stronger if she chose to work at it.
Of course they might both get beaten by the little filly who casually lifted the school house with one hoof.
6523384
also, Dash is working there because Fluttershy's father "asked" her to keep an eye on her daughter, as long as she doesn't do something really big there is really little risk she would get fired.
Eh... so no jail for Juggernaut. Sad.
Gee, it's a shame that a similar scenario hasn't happened recently that could potentially work out for the better for both parties involved. Sarcasm aside though, I do like that it's not as simply as splitting the land evenly to share. That way, it makes more sense that they're having so much trouble agreeing on a solution.
And now Raindrops is gonna take that to heart and consider Juggernaut's offer, isn't she? Maybe even use that mindset to convince her to consider dropping the duel challenge.
Called it.
And there we have it.
If by 'easy', you mean 'nearly getting herself killed', then yeah, that was one of the easiest things Raindrops ever had to do.
I kinda saw this coming at the mention of a challenge to settle the dispute. But considering that part of the dispute feels like the beginning of the story, I feel like it's a missed opportunity. Was that similarity just a coincidence and wasn't even intended? Or was it a potential red herring?