Carmino

The night had ended and the sun was beginning to rise over Big Apple. The Maine Street was still busy, but less then at later times of the day. The smaller parts of the city were just waking up, ready to start a new day. Birds sang as they flew over the growing crowds in the streets. Taxi cabs rolled passengers from place to place. And our three companions wandered through the streets, each with their own reactions to last night. Dew looked panicked as they walked on, Pea however seemed determined to get somewhere.

"Pea, you've seen whats going on around here...Pea?"

"What is it?" asked Pea flatly.

"Let's leave, Its dangerous here...I don't like it."

"No," Pea's voice sounded cold as she spoke," I'm going to find out what the deal is around here and find out out who Sponge is."

Dew shook her head," Why? Don't you need to find out where Ponyville is? What about your father's wish on finding Carmino?," She stood in front of Pea. The red mare blocked Pea from going an further," This whole thing is not our...your business! I-I'm leaving Pea...I don't want to be here!"

Pea looked Dew straight in the eye. Her demeanor became different, almost cruel," Then get the hell out of my way."

Dew complied, and looked to Pea with pain. Pea took a few steps then spoke to Dew with her back to the red mare," Dew...if you wanna leave, do it. I need to find out whats going on," She looked at Dew with icy eyes," Besides, you weren't my business either...remember that."

Dew slumped to the pavement. Oza patted her back as Pea kept walking.

"Dew...dragon sorry..." Oza said. He trudged as he followed the grey mare.

Dew looked behind her. She saw crowds of ponies, strangers. She looked in front of her, trouble waiting to happen. She took a shaky breath and followed the mare and the dragon.

The crew arrived at some sort of public square. The sun shown brightly over the park-like space. The low hanging trees showed a slight breeze. Some ponies kept their distance from Oza, thinking of him as some kind of threat. Along the streets in the park were stands. News paper stands, food stands, bar stands and even poker stands. Oza sat next to a tree as Pea took off to the news stand. Dew not knowing what else to do sat down next to the dragon. Once Pea was out of ear shot Dew clung to Oza.

"Why is she acting like that...Pea is such a nice mare..." Dew whimpered.

"This pony has right to be confused," said Oza with a comforting tone,"When Pea gets scared or feels alone...that Pony turns cold. She only acts happy when safe with friends, Dew saying she'd leave triggered that. Pea will turn around since you stay," the dragon said as he rustled Dew's mane gently. Dew felt safe and warm knowing she had a friend like Oza...and Pea too.

Pea glared at the stands in the park in search of one with news or something. There was a unicorn running the news stand. Her green curly hair shown out over her white pelt. She looked at Pea cautiously with her lime eyes.

"Excuse me, is there something you need?" she asked, off put by Pea's cold stare.

"Yes there is. Whats going on with Sponge?"

The newsmare now seemed panicked, but tried to keep calm," W-why do you ask?"

"He's a friend of mine, I've been out of town and since then everything gone down...hey look at me when I'm talking to you!"

The newsmare was now under the assumption that Pea was a Borgota Mobster, and a high ranking one too since she was apparently friends with Sponge. Pea kept her deadly gaze locked at the mare in the stand.

"Well...I-I'll assume you left a little before Officer Steel Shell started arresting a bunch of your guys?"

Pea played the mobster part flawlessly," That guy? Oh...he better be dead."

"He...i-is. Sponge killed him in his apartment two days ago. You guys never killed cops before-"

Pea slammed a hoof on the stand's desk. News papers fluttered around as she intensified her glare at the newsmare.

"I'm not here for conversation!" she leaned forward and the white mare began to sweat," Tell me where Sponge is, now."

"I...d-don't know where he is! He's been gone for days, no one knows where he is..."

Pea nodded a thank you as she took her leave. The newsmare nearly fainted out of relief. Pea walked to Dew and Oza who dozed peacefully under the tree. Pea looked at them, her one stone hearten demeanor melted away. She let them sleep and went from stand to stand. She passed by the white mare, who was now terrified of Pea. Pea didn't know exactly to apologize, so she tossed the mare a few Bits and walked off with a newspaper. She sat on a bench at some sort of cafe stand. She looked at the paper, glancing from picture to picture.

She saw that the homeless ponies were flushed out of town in attempt to find Sponge, and the old factories in the western part of town were now abandoned. The perfect place for a refuge. Pea took up the bench as she laid down in thought. All she could think of was how much Dew just wanted to leave and how awfully she had treated her. Pea decided that looking for sponge was looking for trouble. She walked back over to were her friends were sleeping and woke them gently. She told them that she decided to not have any part in the mess, much to Dew's delight.

The three travelers headed back toward the train station with much difficulty. There were so many streets and so many creatures in the crowds. Outside of town there was a river front with a wooden train bridge across it. It was near the station and they decided to risk it since it was clearer than the way they came. Also no trains seemed to be coming or going. They neared the wood bridge with all of its complex arced beams. Oza got on the bridge first and the mares followed. It was fine at first, but halfway across Oza spotted something walking along the tracks. Weather toward or away from them, he couldn't tell. Not to long after he saw the figure a train sped up in the distance behind it.

Pea led Dew to the beams under the track for safety along with Oza. They waited for a few moments, and Oza lifted his head back up to the track. The figure was still there and the train was dangerously close. The figure did nothing to avoid the oncoming speeding wall of metal.Oza sprang up onto the track and raced to save the stranger. He came close to it, so did the train.

"Oza! What are you doing?!" Pea and Dew screamed after him.

He grabbed the stranger and leaped off the bridge, Time seemed to freeze as Oza and the stranger plunged into the river. As the train roared above them, Dew and Pea shimmied their way across the support beams under the bridge.After the train passed the two mares raced as fact as they could on the tracks to the other side. They finally reached the opposite shore and sped to the bank, scanning the surface for Oza. His head popped up like a periscope near the center of the river.

"What is it Oza?" called Dew.

"Some kind of...Oza can't tell, to busy swimming!"

He arrived on the bank rather quickly but once on land he bent double from fatigue. Between breaths he slumped the stranger to the ground. Pea and Dew inched close to examine it. Whatever it was, it was big. It had a heavy coat along with clothes similar to what Lil' Shanks had scraggly hair covering his eyes. Pea was the first of the mares to be next to it. She hesitated before she pulled his hair away from his eyes. He was a pony of some kind, remembering back to Beamville he had a similar build to the mule Andre she had fought in the street. His pelt was a faded denim-like blue with an inky black mane. Even though he looked younger than Andre he looked like he could crush Andre with a single swipe. Dew was now next to Pea and Oza.

"I-I've never seen somepony so big...he's almost as big as Oza!" Dew said with awe.

"He's unconscious," said Pea. She looked at his jacket and gasped," Oza, he's bleeding! Quick, help me get this off of him."

Oza held the mule up as the mares took his heavy coat off. Dew cringed as she saw the wound that was hidden. It was a wide gash running up rom the base of his front leg to his chin, It looked like it had been reopened from the jump from the bridge. Once his wet, blood stained clothes were off Dew got dry blankets, Pea looked for fire wood on in the near by woods as Oza tended to his wounds.

The sun was high when Pea came back and she saw their make-shift camp. The stranger was under several blankets as Dew and Oza waited for Pea. She piled up the wood she found and Oza started a fire, once it kept he left off to find bigger pieces. Dew and Pea sat in silence listening to the small fire crackle. Even though the sun was up it felt cold near the river, but they had already made their 'guest' comfy.

What broke the silence wasn't Oza returning but the stranger shuddering in his sleep. The mares weren't sure what to do, should they risk wakening him or let him sleep, he stopped eventually. After what seemed like forever Oza came back with logs, carrying tree easier than their guest.  He set them over the fire and sat next to the mares. The camp was eerily silent save the sound of the river and the camp fire.  Dew spoke up;

"...Pea?"

"Yeah Dew, what is it?"

"Y-You don't think this is Sponge...do you?"

Pea looked at the mule, he certainly had similar bulk as Stonewall Steve, but as she looked at his face she saw something different. She saw a pain on his squared off face, more from just his wound. Dew shifted nervously.

"Pea...I can't be around those Borgota guys...I can't stand them..."

"Why, did they do something to you?"

Dew was silent for a moment, she wrapped a blanket around herself from her pack. She held back tears as she began to speak," Pea...a Borgota," she said almost sobbing,"...sold...sold m-me to Black...their the reason I w-was a slave..."

Dew slumped to the ground whimpering. Pea sat shocked on the sand, she looked with desperation to Oza. He looked forlorn as well. Pea turned back to Dew, she tried to comfort her but the red mare pulled away. The sun had lowered by now and was beginning to set. Dew and the stranger were fast asleep, leaving Pea and Oza. The dragon was dozing off as Pea stared at the stranger.

"Oza...what are we gonna do if...he's one of them?"

"Hmm?" Oza asked sleepily,"  Oh...Oza don't know."

Pea was about to ask something else but Oza had already fell asleep. She sat at the fire sadly. The day's events were cemented in her mind, especially how she had lashed out on Dew. Pea shuddered in an oncoming breeze that lowered the flames of the campfire. She got up to check on their guest. In the sun's dying light she saw one of his back legs sticking out from under the blankets. She lifted them to tuck his leg in but stopped when she saw his thigh.  His cutie mark was faint on his fur but she saw it, a pony skull with a fedora. She shuddered when she saw it. Was he really a mobster? Pea tucked his leg under the blanket and looked at his face skeptically. She was about to go lay down when the mule curled into himself slightly, Pea didn't pay attention. The mule's eyes lifted half open and darted from Pea, Dew and Oza.

His heart began to beat fast and his wound blared with pain. He waited until the travelers were asleep before he slowly got to his hooves. He crept softly away from the camp. He was about to leave until he caught a glance of the two mares. He gazed at Dew's sleeping face and his heart melted, the mule had a change of heart and sat back down next to the fire. He couldn't just leave them without repaying them for helping him...even though he didn't wan't it.

Pea woke up snuggled up in between Dew and Oza. She yawned lazily as she slid out from her spot. She wobbled over to the fire to restart it. She didn't notice the smell of food or a big blue thing in her way. She bumped into the mule who was huddled next to the fire. He jumped slightly as well as the mare. She blinked as her eyes shed their sleepiness off. The mule had two cooking pots over the fire. Pea giggled;

"Oh sorry," she straightened her vest," I didn't see you there..."

"Don't worry 'bout it 'mam," said the mule.

His voice was depressing yet kind. He scooted to the side so Pea had a warm spot by the fire. Pea sat down happily and looked curiously at what he was making, she could smell coffee. The mule handed her a cup and grabbed one of the pots.

"Coffee? I'm not sure what kind of blend you ladies had so I'm not sure how it'll taste."

"Sure," Pea said as the mule poured her some," So whats your name, stranger?"

"Ahhm...Joe," he said. Pea almost felt like he was lying about his name, but that didn't matter to her.

"So Joe, how did you get that gash? Its pretty nasty!"

"I'd rather not talk about it...it's not a nice story..."

"Oh, its fine," Pea said as she sipped the brew," I wont pry...ack! This is kinda bitter"

"Sorry, you didn't have any sugar, I made biscuits though, want one?"

"You made breakfast for us? That's to sweet!"

"Its the least I could do, now if you'd excuse me Ahm thirsty."

"You could drink some coffee-" Pea called, but Joe had already trotted a few yards down river. She had a few moments to herself to look at the crisp early morning. She noticed that Joe's coat was folded neatly next to his blood stained shirt. She munched on the biscuits he mentioned and she found them delicious. She ate four going on five when her other friends woke up. She poured them coffee and fed them biscuits, Dew crinkled her nose as she glanced around the camp.

"Wheres the mule?"

"You mean Joe," Pea said with a mouth full of food," that's a good question...he should've been back by now..."

TO BE CONTINUED...