Fact or Fiction (v2.0)

Applejack was just outside the farmhouse emptying a pot of water onto a sapling when she noticed Pea, Tuff, and the three fillies.  She wasted no time setting the bucket down and galloping over to greet the newcomers.

“Howdy, name’s Applejack,” Applejack said as she offered her hoof and shook voraciously when Pea bumped it, “Pleased ta make yer, uh... Sugarcube?  Ya feel alright with them gold legs?”

Pea rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we skirted the outside of town to avoid that question.  Nice plantation you have here, are your slaves in for the day?”

Applejack gasped in shock and trembled in sudden rage for a second before forcing an annoyed smile. “This ain't a plantation," she said deeply before realizing her tone, "Ah’m rightly sorry, ma’am, Ah didn’t think before Ah spoke...”

“I’m not a ma’am,” Pea retorted loudly, sending Applejack’s ears flat to her head, “I mean, I’m Pea Gravel and this’ my nephew Tuff Boulder.  We’re here in Ponyville to find his cousin who’s supposed to be here.”

“Well, mighty nice ta meet ya too, Boulder,” she said extending her hoof to him.  He retracted his hoof quickly and placed it behind him. “Oh, don’t fret none, Ah won’t shake ya hard, Sugarcube.”

“Tuff.  Call me Tuff, and we’re gonna be staying in the barn.”

Pea turned to scowl at Tuff, who cringed and leaned back. “Don’t tell adults what we’re doing,” she scolded.

“Sorry, Auntie,” he apologized and turned to look at Applejack again, “can we stay in the barn?” he asked sweetly.

Applejack sighed and looked to Apple Bloom who lowered her ears and took moved her left rear leg back in anxiety.  “Well, t’ain’t kind ta turn away travelers and if ya just wanna stay in the barn Ah don’t see a problem with it.  Now, we got hay fer bedding and extra pillows, blankets, and towels fer bathin’.  Dinner’s at sunset right inside with mah family,” Applejack finished with a tip of her hat and a friendly smile.

“Oh! Miss Bloom said I could have apple snacks!”

“Did she now?  Well, A.B. ain’t one ta lie, so get at it,” Applejack stomped her forehooves on the ground playfully, “ya whippersnappers.”

With a chorus of giggles the youths ran into the house, Tuff in the middle and following the group in, vanishing into the shadowed insides of the Apple home.  Once the children were gone Applejack turned to Pea with a more stern look. “Now I'm gonna let you two in on the rules. Ah don't want y'all messin' with things that don't belong to you, inside or outside the barn.

“Fine, now about-”

“Ah’m not done,” Applejack snorted in frustration, “next and most important is don’t hurt anypony.  Ah don’t know what y’all’ve been through, but ya don’t make me feel yer in harmony with the land.  That applies to the town, too.  Break a rule and we’re gonna hafta reevaluate yer stayin’ here.  Now, if ya need anythin', reasonable, just ask any Apple that lives here," Applejack sighed and cleared her throat.  “Ah reckon we’re off to a bad start and Ah’d like to start over.  Name’s Applejack,” she extended her hoof again.  Pea glanced at the hoof extended to her and sighed herself.  She extended her limb and grasped Applejack’s hoof in her fingers and squeezed. “Uh, excuse me,” Applejack winced.

“Now for my rule.  Don’t, hurt, my, nephew,” Pea finished with a final pinching squeeze that sent a sharp pain into Applejack’s leg.

They separated and with a trade of glares. “Reckon we have an accord, ma’am,” Applejack finished as she placed her strained hoof to the ground.

Pea turned to leave and return to the barn, a moment later the fillies and colt ran past, each carrying some form of bedding or pillows and food bits across their backs.  With a smile, Pea watched as the children all made their way into the barn.  Pea caught up and waited by the barn door, staring at the smaller entrance door, still opened.  The sounds of children laughing made her uneasy.

Pea took a deep breath and went inside. The afternoon light from the sun left a warm glow to the inside of the barn. Inside there were crates, barrels, and stacks of hay. Next to a stack of crates with apples painted on them she found Tuff laying his blanket out in a little cave he dug into a straw pile. He pranced over to his aunt.

"I checked Auntie G, no nails!" the colt grinned.

"Thanks, Kiddo!  Say, did you hear what the mare in the cowpony hat said?" Pea asked the colt. She moved over to the hay and slipped her pack off her hips.

"Applejack? No, what did she say," the colt asked.

"She said this wasn't a plantation or anything.  This is a farm, an everyday ‘normal’ farm. Can you believe it, Tuff?" Pea said in awe as she lay on a straw bed.

"Really?  It's so clean and… and nice," Tuff said looking up at the apple labeled crates, "how can a pony put so much effort into her farm? Aren't they afraid that something may come by and destroy part of it or steal all those apples?"

Pea sighed happily. “You know, I don't think ponies have to worry about that here.  I hope to the gods it's like that.  It'd be a shame if someone raided a place like this."

Tuff lay in his impromptu made cave near Pea. "I hope so too, everyone is so nice here. I even met some bullies in town but they weren't after money or trying to beat anyone else up, they were just being mean to some fillies. Calling them poor or something like that."

Pea sat up. "You met bullies in town?  Tuff, tell me you didn't fight em."

Tuff nestled a little deeper in the straw cave. "No, just one was just being mean and I...” he trailed off leaving a brief silence.

"Tuff, tell me. Now," The gray mare commanded in a maternal tone.

"I called her a bitch, okay, I'm sorry," Tuff blurted and winced before he saw his aunt's reaction.

Pea reached over and grabbed Tuff's ear to drag him out his little nest. He squirmed as she pulled him closer to her face. Pea kept her grip on his ear as she interrogated him.

"You called a girl what? I thought I told you not to get into trouble!"

"I didn't!  Nopony came after me at all!" Tuff pleaded as a tear formed in his eye.

"Yet,” she intoned, “what do you think her daddy's going to think about your little smart ass comment, or her brother, boyfriend? She's bound to tell someone what you said and they sure as hell are not gonna like it!" Pea fumed.

"She's just some rich brat, Auntie! Rich ponies don't fight!"

"Doesn't matter. Rich or poor you should treat your own kind with respect," Pea finished. She let go of Tuff's ear and the colt promptly began rubbing it while whimpering softly.

Part of the open barn doorway's light was blocked by the shadow of a large red stallion. Pea and Tuff looked up to see him, both assuming he was Big Mac due to his size. He leaned on the door frame with a piece of straw in his muzzle.

"Ya sure know how to talk to kids," he chuckled, "Mah name’s Big Macintosh. But most just call me Big Mac. So, Ah hear that y’all are new in town?"

"Yes sir," Pea said. She brushed her bangs to the side.

"Ah really didn't have much to say, just wanted to get acquainted. Somepony else wanted yer attention," he said as the Crusaders slid into view. Sweetie Bell was holding something aloft with her magic, just barely.

"Howdy," Apple Bloom said, "me an' mah friends brought a little something for ya," the yellow filly motioned the little unicorn over.

"We baked you a pie," Scootaloo declared, "I, uh, we hope you two will like it!"

Big Mac chuckled to himself as he turned and walked out of view with his heavy hooves. The pie floated over Apple Bloom’s back as the three fillies walked carefully, each filly was ready to catch the pie if it fell.

They sat in a semicircle in front of the grey mare and the red colt while the pie settled in between them all.  Pea eyed the pie suspiciously while her nephew eyed it hungrily.  Pea brushed a hoof on her vest before taking a slice. She bit it cautiously while the young ponies around her watched intently. She chewed slowly and then swallowed the morsel.

"Very good!” she beamed a true smile, “Did you three make this yourself?" Pea asked. Tuff took no time to stick his face in the pie pan while Pea rolled her eyes.

"We had a little help from Granny Smith," Sweetie Belle admitted. The other two squinted at Tuff with puzzled expressions.

"So, Miss Gravel," Scootaloo looked up at the grey mare with bright eyes, "Where did you and Tuff come from? He said something about being across the ocean but, that's just not possible."

"Why not?" Pea asked, "I've seen a lot of impossible things."

"Well… it's just not," Sweetie rubbed the back of her neck, "There isn't any land out there, at least nopony ever said there was."

“We know the librarian and she said it’s just water for as far as anypony can travel, full of monsters and things,” Scootaloo added.

"That's silly," Pea laughed, "You didn't think Equestria was the whole world… did you?" Her smile faded when she saw the almost hurt looks from the fillies.

"It's not our fault," Apple Bloom said, "nopony ever told us there was," she pursed her lips, "could you?"

"Do what?" Tuff asked from the pie pan.

"Tell us about where you're from, your home town?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.

Pea rested her chin on her steel hooves. She looked at different things in the barn as she thought. She then pulled her legs under her torso on the straw,"My home town?  Well, to be honest, I lived out in the middle of nowhere with my parents.  We all lived in a mud brick house in a scrub desert.  We loved that house," her eyes began to water, she wiped her hoof below her eye to no avail as there was only metal to spread the moisture, "oh, I'm sorry girls. It's just been such a long time since I thought about that."

"Then why’d ya leave?" Applejack's voice could be heard from outside the barn, "if it was so nice, why are you here?"

Pea sighed, "Oh, we were run out of it,” she said taking a strong tone again, “a dragon drove us out and wrecked it, burnt our gardens-"

"You have dragon problems out there?" Applejack asked with angst as she looked through the open door, "why don't you just yell at em’?  It works here."

Tuff happened to look up from the pie pan when this was going on.  He shrunk down and backed away from Pea and what was left of the pie when he saw the dark look in his aunt's eyes. She lifted herself up and her metal hooves thudded against the ground as she walked outside the barn. The young ponies thought it was best to leave the mares to themselves.

Applejack took to leaning on the barn wall with a less than impressed look as Pea moved into the open. The orange mare flinched slightly when she saw the same look that Tuff saw.

"What's the matter? Did Ah strike a cord that Ah shouldn't’ve?"

"Look, lady, I appreciate that you let me and my nephew stay in your barn, but if you want to fight me all you have to do is just ask."

"Beg your pardon?" Applejack asked raising an eyebrow.

"You and these, Equestrians.  You all live such sheltered and peaceful lives. 'Yell at a dragon’? Are you trying to piss me off? Where I come from dragons would rip you apart as soon as look at you," Pea snarled.  Applejack's once cool as stone face now had hints of fear and anger on it.

"Me, sheltered?" Applejack stood straight up. She looked Pea straight in the eyes, "Ah'll have you know Ah've had my share of hardships. Ah've helped reform Discord, defeat Nightmare Moon, and dethrone King Sombra, to name a few," Applejack smiled confidently.

"Heh, that's sweet," Pea made a predatory grin, "Helping the kingdom, eh? Well Applejack, have you ever heard another pony scream in agony?  Do you even know what the word 'famine' is?  Have you had to kill another creature so another of the same would eat… only to die of starvation the next week?  What about having your best friends murdered next to you while you slept?  Huh?!"

The orange mare's face went pale. Pea stamped a metal hoof into the dirt. "I doubt you ever had to watch another of your kind get eaten alive before your eyes,” Applejack shrunk back from the stranger's words.

"Get out!" Applejack whispered hoarsely, "get out of my farm, ya varmint." Applejack stood still and tall as her breathing became labored. The stranger stared back at Applejack with eyes that made the hair on the back of Applejack's neck stand on edge.

Pea drew her chin up and snorted as she turned, returning to the door. "Tuff, come on. We're leaving, get our stuff."  The colt walked slowly out with their saddlebags in tow a moment later with a defeated look, pie crumbs and filling dropping from his chin. They strapped their bags on and walked away from the barn. The three fillies looked out from it with shocked looks.

Before leaving earshot Pea turned her head back. "Thanks for the pie, girls!" and then she and Tuff were gone.

...

Apple Bloom was the first to look at her sister who was slumped against the wall shaking. The stranger's words still burned painfully in her mind. The yellow filly rushed over and untied the bow in her mane. She wiped the sweat from her sister's face and called for Big Mac. In moments the burly red stallion rushed over from the orchard.

"What's wrong?" Big Mac panted, "where did those two go?"

Applejack threw her weight on her brother's foreleg. She looked up Mac with wide eyes, "That mare,” she gulped, “she terrifies me.  She’s no good here, the look in her eyes."

Mac huffed. "Her? Scare you? Ah know she's got metal legs, but that ain't no reason to be scared of-"

"Those eyes!  She looked at me with the same green eyes as a, a timber wolf!" Applejack cried aloud startling the fillies, “she was ready ta pound me like a stake inta the ground.”

Mac sat down and hugged his trembling sister. "There, there. She didn't hurt you did she?"

"No," the orange mare sniffled, "What she said though… it can't be true can it?  Ponies, killing each other, over food?"  Big Mac smiled comfortingly as Applejack rested her troubled head on his shoulder. "And dealing with famine, she must've thought we were some sort of rich family; she said herself that she mistook our acres for a plantation. She thought I was a slave owner for Celestia's sake," she whimpered.

"Shhh, she was probably just tryin’ to scare ya.  You just need to calm yerself down," Big Mac said as he helped her to her four hooves.

"T-thank ya, Mac.  Ah need you to stay here,  Ah'm gonna go tell Twilight about this Pea Gravel… she'll know what to do!"

Applejack said her goodbyes and gave hugs before she entered a fast trot toward town.  Big Mac stood silently, watching his sister leave while hoping that the things Applejack said the stranger spoke of were just lies.