We're Nakama!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

• Lao-tzu

"What the Hell did you think you were doing?!" Roared Tomic.

He was standing in front of the sitting girl, with a huge vein pulsing over his right eye. His shadowed eyes, that girl could swear somehow glowed red, and his sheer size made the towering over her old man a sigh to behold.

Rainbow Dash was sitting and nursing several large bumps on her head an wincing each time she touched them. She was dripping wet and looked like she couldn't decide to either look at the man with anger for the bumps, fearful because of his terrifying presence or guilty because she almost died if not the the retired pirate. Right now she was wearing a yellow top, blue shorts and black sandals.

It was almost two weeks since Ponies-turned-girls were throw in this world, and the girls didn't even begin to understand what the insane place they landed in.

The first thing was the problem of them getting around because they apparently never walked on two legs instead of four for a prolonged amount of time before. That actually caused Tomic to have almost an infinite source of entertainment. Him sitting, smoking and laughing his ass off while girls were trying to walk around his house and either falling or trying to dodge green beans that he was throwing at them for every attempt of cheating. Well, cheating was thing like using something to support them, trying to walk on all four, helping each other, or, for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, to use wings to stabilize  themselves upright.

Well, aside from having a couple of nightmares about being assaulted by giant green beans that were trying to kill them with smoking-pipes that they were carrying without actual limbs that were required to accomplish the act, girls learned to walk really fast.

And run too! The damn things hurt! How a bean can break a wooden branch as thick as a human arm?! That shouldn't be possible, but apparently Tomic didn't care and only threw more for each complain he got. In the end girls were tired, sore, annoyed and bruised in different places but very satisfied in their progress.

It actually surprised Dash and Applejack that even when she was hit with the 'Beans-of-Doom' Fluttershy almost didn't cry at all. Well, there were tears, but they were mostly from pain and from all the dust that got in her eyes from the amount of time she managed  to kiss the ground.

Fluttershy was actually more confused than her to friends. Yes, she was sore and her head was throbbing painfully, and that was considering that she got hit the least of the trio. Well, Dash and AJ wouldn't be hit that hard if they didn't try to give back a rude or cheeky comment for every bean that hit them. The formally shy girl was actually using this time to think things through. From the moment she woke up from that strange dream she felt... different, like she was free from some kind of a cage, where she was cramped and could barely move or breath and now she was free and could move without feeling restricted! Well, at least that what she felt happened with her emotions and some part of her... self.

Yes, she still could feel fear, but it wasn't an overwhelming terror that made her curl up in a ball and shake like a leaf from the sigh of her own shadow. She actually felt very stupid when she remembered that it actually happened once... or twice. The point here was that she felt like she wasn't afraid of everything around her anymore, the fear, that made her into a bit of a hermit who preferred the company of animals than other Ponies, was gone.

She didn't know what happened and she didn't care. Right now she knew only one thing for sure: the arrival here changed her and she was happy with the changes.

Right now Dash was being scolded by the old man for her attempt at performing Sonic Rainboom, the skill that, in Tomic's opinion, made her more-or-less a one-trick-pony, pun not intended. Yes, if everything that she told him about the thing was true, than it really was achievement to be proud of, but she really should have taken into account that her body was different right now, heavier and lacked the natural capabilities of her old one, so her first attempt ended with her crash landing into the sea. Which was actually a blessing, considering the speed she was going, maybe not even near her former limit, was enough to turn her into pancake if she collided with the solid ground.

"I would have been alright!" Argued Dash back, only succeeding in making the old man more angry. "I was this close to actually pulling it off!" For emphasis she showed him how close she was by her index and big fingers.

"This close you were only to the grave!" Roared Tomic and smacked her once more for a good measure.

Dash felt like a small filly being scolded for something stupid. Well, she probably deserved it, but still! Worse was only old man's lessons about eating like a human, where you either eat like a human, or starve. Yeh, old fart could came up with some pretty good motivators when it was needed.

And even through the pain, hunger and verbal assault, the trio could help but like the pirate. When they didn't screw up, he was funny to be around, dinners were always filled with laugh and stories of his past, that he apparently had an infinite amount. Even when Dash and Applejack argued with him, there was absolutely no malice or any other negative feelings between them. The fun that they were having was so much more... real than what they usually had in Equestria, there was just no way for them to compare the two. In Equestria, each party or fun-time they had was somehow less... fulfilling and felt like it should be there like a part of their life, not like routine but close. This was completely different: more draining, more physical and more real. It was very hard to explain, but that was what they could tell about it. And they loved it!

Applejack, Dash and Fluttershy were walking to Tomic's house with two full bags of food each that they bought in the local shop. Applejack was wearing white shirt, jeans, black shoes and her Stetson, Fluttershy was wearing black T-shirt with red vest over it, black pants and black boots, Dash was in her yellow top, blue shorts and black sandals combo with an addition of cyan bandanna over her forehead.

Well, they were carrying vegetables and fruits because girls still couldn't stomach the whole 'humans-eat-meat' thing very well.

They didn't have any prejudice about carnivores or omnivores, but the fact that each of them actually were one of the second group made them feel uneasy and relived at the same time. Uneasy because they had the potential to eat meat and their body will actually process it, and relived because it wasn't necessary for them to eat meat to survive like a carnivore.

The big surprise came when Dash wasn't actually against the idea of someone eating meat. Well, she explained that being former friend with Gilda, she had a discussion with the Griffon about her diet and actually understood her point about the differences in their culture and upbringing.

At least Miako was understanding about the whole thing a volunteered to be the one who bought meat along with Tomic, who just grunted in response, but didn't say anything.

"Grrrrrrrrrrar..." Girls heard something growing from the right.

The trot wasn't very well covered from the sides, so it was kind of hard to hide, but possible. They stopped and looked at the nearby bush. After about a minute it twitched and then three big wolfs stepped from it. First one was a big grey wolf with a a scar on its muzzle, but its size was only second in the group. Second was the smallest one but still pretty big, his fur was also grey, but a shade darker than the first one. The third one was the biggest and scariest of the three, with the amount of scars and the snarl on its muzzle. It was obviously a hunting group.

And apparently girls was on a menu.

Very slowly they lowered the bags down on the ground and released them, wolves didn't eat anything that was inside so girls wouldn't need to worry about it being ransacked.

Not it was only the question of who will attack first.

Without a warning the middle-sized wolf pounced on Applejack. She was able to jump back and to the left dodging the attack, She really had to thank whatever higher forces there were here, that all her bucking from the time at home gave her some really good back-legs' strength and that it apparently passed on in this form.

Wolf wasn't finished, and as soon as its, and Applejack was sure that it was male by the sheer size and rough appearance alone,  forelegs touched the ground it lunged, trying to catch her right ankle with its maw. Maybe she had only a couple of weeks worth of training at her disposal, but it was a couple of weeks with Tomic as her instructor, so there was no way that she would loose her footing that easily! Lifting her left leg up, making the beast miss, she brought it down hard on its head.

Wolf's head met dirt with a thud. Using her heel on its head for leverage she pushed herself back a little and landed on her feet, not even out of breath. Yes, she could buck someone anymore, considering that her body wasn't made for it, but using her legs to fight was still pretty much possible, but she was trying to learn how to use her arms which inherited her forelegs' strength with the same efficiency as before the transformation.

Wolf huffed and stood back up, shaking its head. When it finished clearing the little daze that her kick gave him, it looked at her, the stare wasn't a good on. This time it went for her neck and far faster than the first time.

'What with the animals here?!' Screamed Applejack in her head as she barely was able to save her throat from being ripped open.

The  damn thing was as tall as she was! That meant that it didn't need to actually loose contact with the ground to be face-to-face with her! From what Tomic and Miako told the trio, animals here was less than friendly and more times than not tried to kill each-other or humans that were either brave or stupid enough to enter the forest. Well, not that the last part actually happened often with how much meat was sold daily...

Wolf started to turn its head, while its neck was still outstretched but was met with punch to the left side of the head, that made it actually dazed for a second! While it was recovering, Applejack didn't slow down and kicked it with her left leg right in the nose. Wolf let out a yelp of pain from the attack, and jumped back being shaken from the daze by the pain in its snout.

'Well done, Applejack! You successfully pissed it off!' Mentally berating herself, she jumped back, trying to gain at least some distance from now enraged beast.

She was almost successful, as in the last moment wold jumped forward and slashed at her with its right paw. Sharp claws put a gash on her right shoulder, making Applejack gasp from sudden pain. Smelling blood that came from the wound, the wolf only doubled its effort to kill her, making it harder to dodge each blow.

Applejack was actually pretty even with the wolf in terms of speed. but the wound made it harder to concentrate. It was the first she was wounded that badly. Yes, working on a farm, she was subjected to danger of such profession, and she wasn't a stranger to some small cuts, light bruises or even a little blood, but a wound this big... It was first time she was wounded this serious.

She forced down the new level of pain and lashed out with a left leg, the kick connected to the wolfs right shoulder making it grunt in pain, but the beast wasn't dazed and lunged forward, smashing its head in Applejack's chest, making her loose her breath. She flew backwards and smashed into a tree, sliding down to the ground, a little blood could be seen on the tree bark.

Shaking her head to clear away the daze, the girl stood up.

'This is getting really bad really fast.' Thought Applejack, looking as wolf stood there, growling at her, waiting for its pray to give it an opening. 'This wouldn't be this hard if I had my real body right now.'

She took away her eyes from the wolf only for a moment to check if there was any hope of her escaping. The action was a mistake, because wolf instantly took the opportunity and dashed forward, aiming for her left shoulder. Applejack noticed the beast coming almost too late, but was able to react with enough speed to dodge. Wolf's jaws closed on a branch that was right behind his target.

Girl's eyes widened when the branch broke and shattered under the power of the wolf's teeth and jaw-muscles. That bite would have ripped her arm off! While her opponent was trying to spit out the splinters, she attacked. She delivered one powerful punch from her right one into it's left eye, making the animal howl in pain. But she wasn't finished.

While the wolf was trying to work out what happened with its eye, she delivered a kick into its neck, making it gag, Applejack's right leg making it hard to breath for the animal. Feeling that her luck was almost up, she jumped back right in time to  escape a very powerful bite from the half-blinded, enraged and slightly dazed animal, that just attacked what was in its way or causing it pain, and she was right on top of the list.

Dodging the wild swipes and bites from the berserk animal, Applejack tried to think of a way out of this situation. She really didn't have that many options right now, considering that getting away from it and running to the safety was out from the start.She wasn't sure she could outrun wolf on a long distances while carrying two bags with her.

Wolf tried to bite her in her right thigh and was too close to achieving the desired effect for her comfort. She didn't waisted an opening and punched it hard with her right fist right between its eyes. This actually turned out to be even better than she expected, as wolf jumped back from being hit and therefor left Applejack with room for maneuver. She lunged forward, punching with her left fist in its right temple, right one in the nose, and then kick from the right into the jaw.

She pushed so much force into the last attack that wolf actually was thrown back a little. Pressing her advantage she jumped up and pulled her left leg back.

"Get lost!" She screamed and kicked with all her power right into wolf's left side.

The was a cracking sound, the power of the kick apparently fractured several ribs. The wolf flew backwards and hit the tree.

Applejack landed on her feet and took several deep breathes. This was a lot harder than fighting a Manticore, that's for sure. She gazed at the wound on her left shoulder and blinked. The pain was still there was more in the form of a very strong but dull ache, sharp spike only caused by an attempt of actually moving her arm.

'My first battle-wound...' Thought Applejack, not knowing how to react to it.

Suddenly she heard rustling. With a sinking feeling of dread she turned around and saw that the wolf was getting up, a bit of blood escaping its mouth and spasms from the pain running through its body, but the beast was still standing on its pawns without sway. It slowly turned its head in her direction, the look of pure rage in its eyes wasn't something that the girl wanted to see right now.

She readied herself, and the wolf jumped forward.

Applejack in a better condition and could actually move with more freedom, at least in theory, but apparently the blind rage that drove the wolf forward making it forget about the pain and concentrate all its being on killing her. One thing that Applejack learned from her brief encounter with Manticore was that anger and pain make you sloppy, if not for the insane difference in physical power, the Pony wouldn't even need help with the Everfree Beast.

Wolf one the other hand was probably stronger than her, but their speed was pretty equal, end she was sure that right now she was the least wounded one.

Wolf suddenly changed his target, and instead of aiming for her torso, bit down on her left knee. Taken by surprise she wasn't able to actually dodge, and felt as the big jaws closed around her leg. The pain was far stronger than from the gash on her shoulder, the teeth penetrated skin and muscles like knife wet paper.

Applejack screamed.

Wolf apparently wasn't interested in killing her at the moment and with one jerk of its head and unclenching its jaws sent her flying into the nearest tree. The collision was far stronger than the previous one, the taste of blood in her mouth made Applejack choke. The pain in her back, her left knee and her right shoulder was stronger than any other that she could recall in her whole life. The blood that was flowing from the wounds started painting her shirt and her left leg red, her vision was blurry and her her head was spinning.

Her eyelids were becoming heavy. The idea of a nice nap to make it feel better was more and more appealing to her...

'Why... was I fighting in the first place?'

Suddenly one of the recent memories flashed before her eyes.

"What is the reason to fight?" Asked Tomic, while drinking his Sake.

This was the question that girls wanted to be answered. In Equestria fighting was the last thing you wanted to do, because of the peaceful lifestyle and the lack of any serious conflict in the history. The lessons can be learned from mistakes only if the mistakes were made in the first place. The real war wasn't something even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were familiar with, and the most conflicts were solved by simply talking thing through.

Here thing were different.

Blood was spilled for absolutely no reason, and fighting was the way to solve problems when they came up. The three girls were here for about four days now and still couldn't stomach it, the amount of violence was shocking for them.

"For your dream." Answered the old pirate simply and took another gulp from the bottle. "Everyone must find their own reason and fight for it no matter what. I fought for my dream and me friends, because I wanted to protect them both."

"You fought... to protect?" Asked Applejack.

"Yep, but I got a question for you now." Said Tomic,

"Ah, yeh?" Applejack suddenly received a very painful poke in the forehead.

"Who said you could rest?!" Roared Tomic, throwing his Beans-of-Doom at the retreating form of Applejack.

'Fight to protect, eh?' The thought stung.

She knew she was strong, that she could protect her friends from anything that could harm them... But that was back in Equestria. Here she wasn't strong, wasn't skilled and couldn't protect anyone. That dream that she had not long time ago came to mind, was everything that she said just a lie?

Like Hell!

She forced herself to stand up, with willpower alone forcing the nausea down and concentrating on the wolf, which was slowly walking towards her. So it thought that she was done for? Well, she going to disappoint the dumb beast then. Using her good leg she jumped forward, rising her left hand to shield herself from the raws of sharp teeth that wolf bared when saw her moving.

It bit down on the left elbow and the pain raced throw her whole body, but she forced herself to concentrate on dealing with the more serious problem than a bite-mark. Maybe it had her left hand, but her right one was still there and in a pretty good condition.

She put all her anger in it. Anger at herself for getting beaten by this fleabag, for even thinking about surrendering, for even considering defeat! She was responsible for her for her friends, she going to make sure they were safe and there was no way that she will give up that easily. All the anger boosted by the adrenaline running through her body and combined with her pretty impressive by civilian standards physical strength, was put into one punch that she delivered into wolf's temple.

*CRACK*

The sound of something breaking was heard and wolf released its hold on her arm from the force of the punch. The attack was strong enough to send it flying for several meters and even when it landed it rolled a couple of times and only then stopped.

Applejack was standing, taking deep breathes and looking at her opponent, it didn't move. Only after a minute she released a sigh and looked herself over.

She was a mess. He right shoulder was bleeding and the wound was seen through the torn clothes, three deep finger-wide gashes were there for everyone to see. The wound on her left keen was a bit better, considering that there was less torn flesh and the wounds themselves were punctured, meaning less blood were escaping her body through them. But her left elbow was a mess, considering that the wolf apparently had time to actually gnaw on it a little, leaving it in a poor state of a half-eaten steak. Her right fist was also in blood, but this was more wolf's than hers.

She sighed and limped toward the bags, it was time to get home and receive some damn medical attention.

When the first wolf went after Applejack, the smallest one ran at Rainbow Dash, but she wasn't the fastest Pony in Equestria for nothing, so the moment it moved in her direction, she took into the air and hovered several feet over the ground.

"What the matter furball, can't get me here?" She mocked the wolf that was standing on the ground directly under her.

It growled in response. Suddenly it looked forward and took of running full speed.

'What the Hay?' She thought.

That wasn't normal. Being the one who could fight in the air, meant that she had an advantage over some of the earth-walking predators, and sometimes she... abused this fact. Her arrogance, even if not pronounced, was still there, but for the last two weeks she was repeatedly broken from it by the old pirate, leaving her a fair bit less avid to boast. Still, old habits die hard.

When she flew up, she was sure that the wolf will try to jump up and catch her, so she could use her maneuverability and hit him, making the fall much more painful, but instead it ran towards the... tree? Yep, the wolf was running towards tree.

And then, when it reached the tree, the wolf started... to run up?!

Dash gaped. The wolf used it momentum to run up the tree and the use the branches to get higher. She was so shocked that almost missed the moment when her opponent used the tree to jump right at her.

'How the Hay it's so smart!' She thought frantically as she dove out of the way, making the wolf miss her. It landed on the branch of the nearest tree and jumped at her again. 'No way it is going to defeat me in the air!' She thought.

Bending backwards she let it fly over her, and kicked the wolf in the stomach, hard. The kick connected, but the result was less than what Dash was hoping for. The power of her attack just made the wolf flip over its head once and crash into the tree, that it intended to land on, but the branches were strong enough to not let the bugger fall down.

Not wanting to deal with the incredibly smart wolf more than it was needed, Dash shot forward reading her fist to punch the twerp's lights out. But apparently wolf was made from a tougher stuff and right before the punch connected, he used one of the branches as a joist and pushed itself backwards, making Dash miss and hit the tree instead. Th force of the attack mack that bark break creating a miniature crater, but girl's attention was more of the wolf who lunged at her with open jaw.

Using her wings' full power she pulled herself back, barely escaping the deadly teeth. Wolf didn't slow down and used the tree as a support-surface to push itself at her at blinding speed targeting her unguarded leg that was still in range of its jump. Dash, seeing her enemy's charge, twisted backwards in the air, making a full turn and avoiding the bite, but making the wolf respond by curling up in a ball and hitting her in the chest with it full weight.

She flew backward and hit the tree, crying out in pain and her wings were pinned down by her own body, but it wasn't even the worst part. The wolf was right after her as it landed a bit lower than her, almost falling but saving itself by biting the branch and stopping the descent.

Dash, stunned by pain from her wings and force of the collision wasn't fast enough to regain her bearings to get away but the new pain the bloomed in her ankle was enough to snap her out of her daze. She cried out again and tried to fly away, ignoring the ache in her wings, but something was holding her leg, looking down she saw the wolf bitting down on her ankle, blood dripping from it maw. Not waisting time she used her other leg to kick it right in the eye, making it yelp in pain and release her.

Flying backwards and stabilizing herself far enough to not be in wolf range, she looked down at her ruined leg. It was bleeding pretty badly and her sandal was now more red than black from blood.

'This is bad.' She thought.

Her stamina was as good as when she was a Pegasus but her body far heavier and she couldn't just fly everywhere without getting tired, so a wounded leg was pretty bad for her.

She heard growling and looked at her foe. The wolf, now on the ground, was looking at her with one good and one slightly swollen eyes. Then it turned to the side and Dash had to curse, as she noticed its new target, wolf was going to attack Applejack, who was having a hard time of her own.

She couldn't let that happen.

With a burst of speed she charged down at the wolf, trying to take it by surprise, but apparently it either heard her or was ready for the attack because it ducked right when she was going to ram into its side, making Dash miss. Wolf didn't let the opportunity pass and jumped after her, when she was turning around to face it again.

Dash wasn't ready for the full-body tackle, and wolf clamped its jaws on her left shoulder. She almost lost her balance from the pain and new weight, but evened herself in the air. It was hard to hold in the air with the additional weight and pain coursing through her body, but she wasn't the best flier in Equestria for nothing.

Wolf was trying to rip a peace of flesh while also scratching her with its claws, and Dash was punching it repeatedly in the side with her right fist, while using the left hand to choke the damn thing. Both were having hard time, wolf holding onto Dash while being punched into ribs and choked and she flying with bruised wings and a pretty big gatecrasher on her.

'This... is getting really bad!' She thought through pain and haze.

She couldn't let the bastard go, because it will go after her friends and the only thing that standing between them and it was her! She knew that with two wolfs teaming up, they will reap either Applejack or Fluttershy apart.

That will not happen!

She knew that she could be wounded pretty badly in this fight if she won't just fly away. She knew that there was a good possibility of loosing a wing or both because of the strain she was putting on them. She knew she could bleed to death.

Did she care?

"Now, what have we learned?" Asked Rainbow Dash, while frying in front of standing on the field Fluttershy.

"Loss of control." She answered.

"Good." Nodded Dash.

"Screaming and hollering."

"Yes." Another nod. "And most importantly?"

"Passion!" Answered the she Pegasus.

"Right!" Dash landed in front of her friend. "So, now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let's hear one."

Fluttershy took a deep breath.

"Yay." And basically said it.

"... Ugh." Dash facehoofed. "You're gonna cheer for me like that? Louder."

"Yay." A bit better.

"Louder!"

"Yay." No difference.

"LOUDER!"

Fluttershy took a very deep breath and...

"Yaaay." It was even quieter than before.

"Ugh..." Mumbled Dash as she...

*Thud*

...fell on her back.

"Too loud?" Asked Fluttershy.

No in the slightest!

Dash forced herself to ignore the pain, and started to rise higher, still punching the ugly bastard that was growling trying to rip a chunk of her flesh. Nearing the required height, she used her right hand to punch it right into the swollen eye, making it howl in pain and release her, but she didn't release it. Her left hand was still clutching wolf's throat, making it harder for the beast to breath, while it was trashing around.

Without holding back Dash punched the wolf in the stomach, hard. The beast choked and flew forward as Dash released her foe. Not giving the wolf a chance to regain full awareness, she flew forward at full speed, ignoring the burning pain in her wings. When she was right in front of it, she lifted her right leg and dropped it on the wolf's head with all her strength, sending it towards the ground.

*THUD*CRACK*

Its body reached the earth, creating a crated. Dash released a sigh and started lowering herself down, making sure to keep eye on the still form of her opponent. After she touched the ground and the wolf didn't even twitched, she took a so much needed deep breath and grimaced when the pain shot through her bruised chest, maybe even something was fractured.

She turned and looked as Applejack finished her opponent off with a hit to the head.

"Meh... Mine was twenty percent cooler." Chuckled Dash, but again grimaced as another wave of pain reminded her that breathing was a chore right now, never mind actually talking.

Fluttershy was staring at her opponent, while the big wolf stared back.

She really didn't like fighting, but seeing her dear friends hurt was the one that she actually hated. The idea alone made her angry and she will be damned if she was going to let them get hurt because of her. There was one thing that she learned in this two weeks, that took deep roots in her mind, heart and soul.

"What is more important to you? Your friends? Or the ones that will try to hurt your friends?" Asked Tomic, when he found out about her pacifistic outlook on life. "Fighting sometimes is the only answer and if you don't like it, you will hate yourself hundred times more for not fighting and your inaction resulting in your friends' deaths."

Old man was right.

The wolf readied itself.

Tomic was right and she knew that she will never forgive herself if her dislike for violence will lead to someone's dear to her death.

The beast jumped at her.

She will fight.

It was almost on her.

And she will win!

Faster, than wolf could react Fluttershy cocked her fist back and punched it in the temple with enough force to send it flying.

Because if she won't win, she won't be able to protect anyone!

Wolf flew for several meters, but was able to spin in the air and land on its pawns. It growled at her as a trickle of blood ran down from the place of the impact, Fluttershy stared back. Without any warning the wolf charged again, but more careful this time, making sure not to encounter its opponent's fist again.

In a sudden burst of speed wolf was right in front of the girl, but she was ready and dodged to the right. Landing, wolf used its powerful legs to launch itself after her. Fluttershy wasn't prepared for such agility from such a big creature and could only jump to escape its jaws. While in the air, she saw how it landed and instantly turned, ready to catch her on the way down. There was just one problem with its plan, there was no way down.

Fluttershy used her wings to launch herself right at the wolf, who was surprised by girl's speed and wasn't ready to receive a spinning kick to the side. It skidded on the ground, leaving trails with its feet on the ground, but still standing.

Most citizens of Ponyville would have been absolutely stunned by the display of fighting capabilities that demonstrated the former shy mare. She was fast, strong and determent to win, something that couldn't be seen in the former incarnation. There was only one answer.

Potential.

All three girls had potential for growth, even grater than some famous pirates of the Era. Rainbow Dash and Applejack was already tapping into theirs, while Fluttershy not far behind, and that was before they arrived in this world. Now, when the dying spark of their spirit, almost fully extinguished by the peaceful and tranquil air of Equestria, was brought out and flared into roaring inferno, they were growing faster, than anyone could imagine!

Wolf shook itself and turned towards, now standing on the ground, Fluttershy. Why Dash loved to fly and fight using air-maneuvers, Fluttershy had far more experience with walking and standing on her... legs. She wasn't going to waste any time and rushed forward, wolf responding not a moment later.

The two was on each other in a moment, Fluttershy punching wolf in the jaw, but it was able to shift to the right in the last moment, and bit down on her outstretched arm. Pain, like she never knew before, exploded in her elbow from wolf's teeth piercing her skin and muscles, tearing the flesh apart. Fluttershy cried out in pain, but didn't stop, because in this time slowing down meant loosing her arm forever.

Her left fist shot forward, impacting wolf's throat and making the beast choke and release her arm. She didn't stop and sent a kick into its muzzle with her right leg, wolf wasn't able to react while still getting its windpipe into working order. The hit connected and made wolf snap its head to the side, leaving it dazed, but not enough to not jump backwards from next punch that was aimed at its nose.

Getting its mind back on track, wolf rushed forward again.

Fluttershy jumped, flying up to dodge the attack, but wolf apparently was smarted than its appearance showed and jumped after her far faster than girl could think it could. She wasn't able to dodge and wolf's head made contact with her chest, making her ribcage creak dangerously and sending her into sailing towards the ground.

The impact with the earth was hard and made her loose her breath, but she wasn't too stunned to not dodge the wolf, which apparently decided to crush her under its weight and body-slammed down on her. Rolling to the side she heard to sound of its landing and was really glad for her well-timed escape.

Fluttershy jumped on her feet and looked at the wolf, which was already charging at her, the fall not even slowing the damn thing down. It was too close for her to try and fly away, there was now time to dodge, so the only thing she could do...

Fluttershy dove right into wolf's attack, surprising it with a bold move. She delivered a strong uppercut right into its chin, snapping wolf's mouth shut and making it rise its head, her left fist already on its way targeting beast's chest. The punch made the wolf stumble back and cough, but apparently it wasn't enough to stop the damn thing from attacking again, this time faster and more fiercely than before. Fluttershy was able to dodge the bite, that would've teared her throat out, but the wolf was apparently getting smarter because it cocked its head to the left and slammed its forehead into her temple, dazing her and leaving an opening for the beast to attack.

Next hit fell on Fluttershy's side making her fly for several meters and fall on the ground. The direct headbutt with a weight of one overgrown wolf behind it almost made her loose conscious. She was pretty sure something inside her was damaged, intact organs doesn't hurt like that! She was barely able to see the wolf jumping at her.

Rolling to the side and on her stomach, she pushed herself fast enough to be on her feet the moment wolf turned its head into her direction.

She was bloody, tired and almost out cold, while the beast was good enough to keep going till the night and maybe even longer! Fluttershy felt anger, it was like molten metal spreading through her body. She was going to loose to this thing?!

She was going to fail her friends again?!

She sprung forward, too fast for the wolf to dodge and punched it right into its right side. The beast actually rose from the ground from her strike and flew for several meters, but it wasn't enough. When it landed she was already on it, delivering a bone-shattering straight-kick right into its stomach, making it slid further forward.

She was going for the third strike in a raw, but apparently the beast had enough and turned its head and in a show of phenomenal back-legs' strength jumped forward, ramming its forehead into Fluttershy's chest. While she was stunned by the headbutt, wolf bit down on her left arm and with a powerful pull threw her into nearest tree, making it's bark actually break under the strain of the collision.

Fluttershy rose slowly, still in daze and pain from the last attack.

'I... can't hear?' She thought.

There wasn't any sounds reaching her ears, everything was quiet, the only thing that she could hear was the thunderous sound of her beating heart.

'What is this feeling?' She took a deep breath.

She could feel something, right under her skin. She didn't know what it was and didn't care, because right now the only thing that mattered was winning this fight. All doubts and uncertainties drained from her mind and she felt the strange feeling intensifying.

'I will *win*.' One line ran through her mind and like a switch turned something fundamental in her being on.

Like a small spring turning into a geyser, something snapped inside her and like liquid fire spread through her body. She wasn't tired anymore, she didn't feel pain or daze form the fight, she was standing and ready to fight again with new fire in her.

Everything slowed down. Wolf was moving like in a slow-motion, making its easy to dodge, to fly away. to even just sidestep the attack, but that wasn't what she did. She lifted her right arm, bending it in her abused elbow and clenched it into a fist. She took all her anger, all her frustration and annoyance and poured it into this fist. The wolf was almost upon her and ready to bite into her torso.

"Never again." Hissed through gritted teeth Fluttershy and punched wolf right into its head.

The blow was powerful enough to instantly send the beast down, its head colliding with the ground and creating a pretty big crated. The force was so big that it was seen to a naked eye as from the dent on wolf's head leaked a small amount of blood, it was obvious that it wasn't going anywhere.

Fluttershy made a couple of deep breaths and turned to walk back to where her bags were, not having any doubts about Dash or Applejack winning their fights, her right arm hanging uselessly to her side.

"And tell me why we couldn't interfere and help them?!" Asked Miako, while pulling Tomic's ear.

They were standing on top of the tree with a wonderful view on the place of the fight. Miako wanted to mutilate the old bastard for the stunt he just pulled, but at least wanted to hear his reason.

"Well, it was a good way to teach them a lesson and show the gab between them and the rest of the world." Answered Tomic, but the fact that the pain in his ear became worse told him that it was the wrong answer. "Do you know why I'm helping them?" He asked in a serious tone.

"You're finally going senile?" Asked Miako.

"As if!" He snorted. "They don't have a way back." He said after a pause.

"And?" Miako was getting frustrated, but released his ear hoping that it will make him think faster.

"Their Dreams, friends and families were left wherever they came from." He continued. "Now they are alone, in a world that would have teared them apart and spitted out the bloody remains without any remorse if they will try and live like they used to."

Miako could only nod, this was pretty obvious and actually a bit sad. But it still didn't answer her question!

"Get to the point please." She urged him.

"They won't stay here forever, you know." The smirk appeared on his face.

Miako saw this smirk a couple of times and she knew what it meant. He mind was working overtime trying to come up with the most devious and twisted thing that old man can come up with.

Suddenly it hit her.

"You wouldn't!" She wanted to throttle him right now.

"Oh, I most certainly will!" He said as a grin started spreading on his face, the glint in his eyes was downright scary.

"You're planning to..." She couldn't even say it.

"Yep!" She didn't have to, Tomic knew that she understood his intentions. "They will make it, I can feel it in my guts!"

"So, you are throwing them to the proverbial wolfs because of the indigestion?" She growled at him.

"Oh, stop it!" He waved her off. "I will make sure that they will pull through!"

"You better!" She hissed at him. "I wouldn't be able to live knowing that I helped you murder three innocent girls."

"I swear on my immortal soul!" He smirked.

"What soul? You sold yours to the Devil for the infinite stock of tobacco." She quipped. "But seriously, I will strangle you in your sleep if you will make me assist you in sending them to their death." She threatened.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" He laughed.

Miako was sitting on the bed and applying the bandages to Applejack's leg, while the other two girls were resting already taken care of. She at least was able to patch up the most sever wounds and make sure there won't be any infection, but the fact that girls could actually move around with such wounds spoke volumes about how tough they are!

"So, how was you little adventure?" Asked Tomic as he entered the room.

He got glares from all three of the girls.

"I feel like I flew right into a brick wall at full speed." Finally mumbled Rainbow Dash.

"Like a tree fell on me." Added Applejack.

"Like I was a chew toy to a wolf." Finished Fluttershy.

The other two looked at her but then chuckled, the joke was in the lack of the joke.

Tomic on the other hand looked them over. The wounds on them were pretty much harmless and only looked bad. Considering that they were in a fight with wolves that would have ripped any normal civilian or even a fresh Marine to shreds without even taking a hit, their wounds weren't even worth noticing.

But more importantly, Fluttershy used Busoshoku Haki. In her last attack she used a tiny amount of it to empower her fist and knock the wolf out. No normal hit with her physical strength could have caused such amount of damage to the wolf that big, she was tapping into it without actually noticing and that showed how great her potential was.

"And that was pathetic." Said Tomic. The three turned to him with wide eyes. "Your asses were handed to you but some puppies!"

"Hey! They were wolfs..." Started Applejack.

"That is not an excuse!" Barked Tomic with a smirk. "I saw rookies doing far better than that! You three were sloppy, wasted time and strength on pointless moves and couldn't even avoid being injured!" Well, he wasn't completely truthful here, the way the put down the wolves was pretty impressive for someone as weak as them.

"Hey, we kick their asses!" Argued Dash.

"And you look like it was you who got the ass-kicking!" Answered the old former pirate.

"... Than change it." Said Fluttershy. Tomic looked at her and saw the determined look in her eyes. "We're not stupid, we know that there is almost no chance of us returning home." The other two looked solemnly down. "But that doesn't mean that it is impossible!" She had that stern look that made plainly obvious what she was going to say. "We maybe a tad bit naive and optimistic, but it doesn't mean that we don't know when its time to face reality. When we first arrived here we were frightened and lost, we didn't know what happened and why we looked like this." She gestured to her body. "But the today I was afraid because I could loose my two friends because if I lost the wolf would have mauled them next. If I wasn't strong enough, I would have been even worse than dead, I would have been responsible for my friends demise. Before coming here I was pathetic, afraid and weak. Right now I'm still weak, but I'm going to do everything in my power to not loose anyone important to me anymore. I already lost three of my closest friends because of the accident, loosing two more will happen only over my cold dead body." She stood up from the bed and fell on her knees in front of Tomic, not having enough strength to actually stand. "We understand that our morals and usual ways of dealing with our problems will get us killed here, there is a lot of problems and situations here that can't be solved by simply talking things through and violence is the answer." She lowered her head and you could see as a tear fell on the wooden floor. "No matter how much you hide it, you're strong." She said, tears streaming down her face. "You moved faster than we could see and had enough force to break a tree with a bean. Please..." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Help us get strong too. I don't want to loose anyone again." The last part she whispered.

"For a shy brat you talk to much." Said Tomic and turned to leave the room. "Be ready, because the training will be far worse than actual fights! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" He finished over his shoulder and left the room laughing, not seeing the three smiling at him.

"So, you were planning this whole thing... how long?" Asked Miako, as she stood beside Tomic on the veranda.

"Eh, from the moment I saw the Pink-Brat using Haoshoku Haki." He answered, taking a drag from his pipe.

"So, what is your goal? I know that you're going to release them on the unsuspecting world to 'take it by storm', but what will you gain from it?" She was honestly curious.

"I was there." Said Tomic. "I heard him."

The sun was mercilessly beating down on the crowd that was waiting for one thing. They were all standing on the main plaza of Loguetown, watching as Gold D. Rodger, the legendary 'Pirate King' was climbing on the Execution Platform. His hands were in wooden cuffs and he was missing his hat, but the black mane on his head and curved black mustache along with a long red captain's coat. Beneath his coat, he wore a blue shirt and had a green sash around his waist. He had a white cravat around his neck, wore dark blue pants, and also he wore what appeared to be black sea boots.

His words from long ago still rang in the ears of the people.

"Inherited Will, the Destiny of the Age, the Dreams of People. As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of Freedom, this things will never cease!"

Tomic was sitting on the roof of one of the buildings, drinking from the bottle of the best Sake he could get his hands on and watching as the living legend was taking his final steps. On the top of the platform, two soldiers in a formal wear were holding a Nagamaki each. After a small chat with one of his executioners Rodger faced the crowd and sat down, the grin on his face didn't disappear even for a moment.

They were preparing for the final act. Executioners crossed the blade in front of him.

"Hey! Pirate King!" Yelled someone from the crowd. "What did you do with your treasure? Its somewhere on the Grand Line, Isn't it?" Tomic grinned at the question. "You have it, don't you? The greatest treasure in the world!?"

"Insolent! Hold your tongue!" Yelled one of the soldiers, that were going to execute Rodger.

"Your one special treasure?" The speaker ignored the order. "ONE PIECE!"

Roger chuckled, and then started laughing.

"My treasure?" He asked. Each of his words, even not loud, could be heard everywhere on the plaza.

"Alright, that's enough!" Barked the guard, reading the weapon.

"If you want it, I'll let you have it!" Roger didn't stopped, his grin getting wider. "Go look for it. I left all of it at** that place*!*"

"Execute!" Yelled the guard and both executioners stabbed Roger.

Silence. The whole plaza fell in silence. Everyone who came here to watch the end of the *Pirate King*, were shocked, because what was suppose to be the end of the greatest pirate...

... started The Golden Age of Piracy!

Tomic was laughing as he saw that even in his death, the *Pirate King** was still smiling!*

Soon the rain fell, as if the Heavens themselves blessed the new Era.

Tomic was smiling widely from the memory.

"You're planning to send them after that thing?" Miako was actually gaping like a fish.

Apparently the old man finally gone senile. To think that he could actually send the brats after the most wanted prize in the whole world was maddening! She will need to find some kind of a Doctor who specialized in mental illnesses...

"No, I'm planning on giving them the reason to set sail, and find their way home!" He smirked.

Miako though about the whole thing and suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"You want them to find their way around the sea and find the reason to move forward." She said. "The may never get home, and you want to bet on a chance that they will find something worth living for here..." She stared at him.

If Tomic will say to her that he came up with a method to make babies eat their way out of women's womb, she would probably look at him in less shock than now.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He laughed, but the became serious. "Also, can you do me a favor?"

Miako shook her head to snap from her daze and looked at him with a rised eyebrow. When he used this tone it meant business, and she really didn't want to know what he wanted from her at the moment.

"It depends on what do I get in return." She answered.

"A favor from me." He said simply.

Miako's eyes narrowed. If he was actually giving her a free favor, that meant that he wanted that will be pain-in-the-ass level of difficulty to accomplish.

"Alright." There wasn't anything she can bargain here on. "What do you need?"

"Well, I think that this three will need a... healthier diet." He smirked and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.

Miako took the paper and read it, her eyes bulged comically and she almost choked on her spit.

"Are you insane?!" She was able to get out of her mouth. "To get this you'll need to actually know where to look and be absolutely sure that no one..."

"I know both." He interrupted her.

"...How?" Miako was almost catatonic from the sheer shock of his request.

"I was keeping tabs on a certain warehouse." He answered with a smile.

"Oh, no... You're kidding!?" She wanted to pounder him so much. "It will be easier to break in Impel Down!" She was going the throttle him.

"Oh, don't be like that!" He was grinning at her. "I know that you can pull it off! They will never know what hit them and you'll be able to test how rusty you are."

And she punched him in the face, hard. The force of the strike made Tomic wobble on his feet, but only for a second.

"It will be my ass that will get itself killed, not yours!" She almost screamed at him, but making an effort to lower her volume to not wake up the girls.

"But the risk worth it!" Tomic did the best to dodge the next strike, that would have made him sing soprano, if it connected.

Miako was going to throttle him, and that was final. She really didn't care what insane idea was in his head, but there was no way she will try to pull it off! It was more than just impossible!

"Putting you down will be much easier!" She barked, trying to grab his throat.

"That wasn't a 'No'!" He quipped and dodged another her attempt at throttling him.

"Don't slow down!" Barked Tomic, making sure that three girls were doing push-ups without slacking off.

The rocks that were tied to their backs weren't helping them in holding the insane temp that old man wanted from them.

Two months passed from their encounter with the wolfs and girls were training under the former pirate like their lives depend on it. And they hated it with passion. Apparently Tomic was insane, because they had to ran around the house with rocks tied to their arms, legs, back and waist, do push-up and sit-ups with the same rocks and finally climb the trees with them! Whatever idea was in the old man's head apparently wasn't working, because even after weeks of training they couldn't adjust to the weight of the rocks on their bodies.

They didn't know that each time Tomic could see that they were starting to adjust to the weights, he will swap them for a bit heavier set.

One more thing happened, was that Miako left and didn't still didn't came back. When asked. Tomic answered that she was running an errand for him, and will return soon. Considering that she was the one that bought most of the food and cooked, girls had to learn to actually learn how to cook properly. Applejack wasn't familiar with any recipe that didn't have apples in them, Fluttershy was good, but her recipes were mostly for animals that she fed and Dash wasn't even asked because of her obvious lack in skill and talent in the field. Tomic only knew how to cook meat, so there wasn't any way for girls to actually get away from it beside start cooking themselves.

Tomic apparently made it a mission of his life to make girls try and actually eat meat, but that was more or less a war of characters. Girls were stubborn and told him that they could survive as a vegetarians, while he told that that they will always be a scrawny brats without help from proper food. Well, Tomic just started to put some mean into anything that was considered food in the house and bought food himself, so the girls won't have any alternatives.

Rainbow Dash broke first. She was too hungry to care and in her half-dazed state actually ate some pork that Tomic cooked for dinner. She was on her fifth piece when Fluttershy came in and gasped, while Tomic finally roared with laugh, seeing as he was holding back to not accidentally snap Dash from her zombie-like state. She was actually not that mortified by the whole affair and actually admitted that it was tasty. The point here was that the animals in this world weren't remotely as sentinel as in Equestria, with several exceptions. She was prideful enough to admit that she actually like the taste of meat and wanted some more.

Applejack actually was next in that regard, and followed Dash after some persuasion. His main problem was that she actually knew several cows back home and spoke with them, but here it was different. She was more that a bit green after first bite and had to force it down, but others came more naturally to her and soon she could eat meat without feeling like she actually was betraying herself. She was human now, and she was omnivore, she had to deal with it like a grown up and not some brat as Tomic said.

Fluttershy was as reluctant as ever and the sheer idea made her actually physically sick. When asked how she was able to fight a wolf, she answered that she was protecting her friends and wolf was attacking first, so it was in need of a lesson in good manners. Tomic wasn't really that upset, he took it more like a challenge and made some pretty big efforts to explain to Fluttershy that in a 'dog-eat-dog' world sometimes you need to actually eat meat, because there isn't anything else to fill you empty stomach, but she was unyielding in her position.

It was fifth month in their training and Tomic actually discovered a very interesting thing.

Apparently Rainbow Dash was very talented when it came to swordsmanship. He was actually testing if they could handle an opponent with a bladed weapon and used a training wooden sword to show them what happened with a unarmed person when they are fighting someone wielding a weapon. Fluttershy and Applejack refused and said that they preferred their own arms and legs to the weapon, while Dash actually took two swords and actually demonstrated some potential, considering that it was her first time with them, in the and she was hooked on the idea and asked for training in swordsmanship.

Tomic wasn't a Master, not by a long shot, but he knew basics enough to bring Dash on a level where she wasn't imitating a drunken monkey with a stick while having a stroke. She was restlessly training from then one in her new favorite art, that actually came second to flying.

"Are you nuts?" Tomic heard Miako's voice from Den Den Mushi he was using to tell Miako about kids' progress.

"Nope, it even wouldn't be that hard to get." He answered. "She obviously has a talent, why not to support it?"

"You know that I'll have to be away for another month or two to actually get them?" Miako asked.

"Not a problem, just make sure you'll come back whole and in a good enough condition to cook." He said with a smirk.

"... Asshole." She answered and cut the call.

"Alright brats! Today will be you test!" Said Tomic proudly, while walking into the forest with three girls following him. "I was trying to make something out of you and now I want to sea th result of six months of light training."

'He call that *light** training?!'* The thought ran through girls' heads.

"And how are you gonna test us?" Asked Applejack.

She became a tad bit taller and with some actual visible muscles on her frame, her curves were more pronounced and her hair was a bit longer than before and was pulled into a ponytail with a red bow. She was wearing a light yellow top with white outline, short cream-colored shorts and black sandals. Her Stetson was on her head.

"I really hope it's not another of his marathons." Mumbled Rainbow Dash.

She also grew a tad bit, but was still noticeably shorter than Applejack, her hair grew a bit and she actually liked it, her curves also was more pronounced, but without making her loose the athletic build. She was leaner than Applejack but still could demonstrate some tough muscles on her body. She was wearing black breeches, black boots, white T-shirt and over it blue sleeveless jacket. She was also wearing a dark blue goggles on her head that she bought in the local shop. On both of her sides were tied two training Katanas with white guards, black handles and sheaths that she took the habit of carrying around, her training was enough to actually use them with some proficiency, but she still would be considered a novice by anyone who trained more than a year or so.

"Or another survival training." Added Fluttershy.

She actually grew more than the other two and was now tallest in the group, with the most pronounced curves. She kept her hair the same length and made sure to cut it when it got too long. She also gained muscles on her frame and even more than Applejack, because she was actually training harder than other two. When Dash and Applejack were basically almost paralyzed from the hard training, she forced herself to make keep going, because of her determination to protect her friends and make sure that she will never loose them. She was wearing long black pants, black boots and red shirt, on her hands were black gloves that she like for some reason, even her friends couldn't get it.

"Oh, I think you'll like it!" Answered Tomic. "We will be able to hear it right about..."

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAWR!" Came a roar from the forest in front of them, its power actually making the leaves to fall from the trees.

"... now." Finished Tomic with a smirk.

'What the hell was *that*?!' Thought three friends as they heard the sound of someone very big coming their way.