Fact or Fiction (v2.0)

by Majikkstar

Rating: mature
Tags: Random, Adventure, Dark
Length: 17031

The land of Equestria, while having it's own dangers, is isolated from the rest of the world. The lands beyond Equestria aren't as peaceful as they may seem.

Pea Gravel isn't from Equestria, she's from another land across the sea, far to the east. Out there, ponies are low, if not the bottom, on the civil food chain. When she escapes to the mythic land of 'The Sun Goddess', she finds what she expected, almost.

When Equestrians ask to hear tales of the world outside it's romanticized fiction: To Pea, it's the cold hard truth.

Naive to this 'Old World', Rainbow Dash and Daring Do follow Pea Gravel both seeking adventure different to Equestrian life; perhaps they will bite off more than they canchew.

Review by BlndDog

Rated Mature for: Language, graphic violence, sexual themes and use of drugs

This story was originally created by Barnside.

[size=2em]Currently being edited and clarified with grammar and storyline fixes.[/size]

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-08-08 06:21:32 UTC

Chapter 1

The Equestrian moon glowed like a silver eye over the forest. The small campfire where two ponies lay under the dull green canopy brighter and larger than any other place across the world she’d been to.  Even the grass here was greener and fresher. It reflected lightly off her polished, yet lightly scuffed, metallic limbs.

Another pony was with Pea; A young colt that was nearing the age of ten.  She thought back to how he looked the first day she saw him as a newborn.  Tiny, wrapped in an overly used and torn sheet that her mother had found, she said, hanging on a clothesline in a destroyed settlement years before.

’What a world to come into’. Pea Gravel, thought.

She looked across the low crackling flames to see him snuggled in a blanket similar to hers, only a third the size, to accommodate him and take less space in their travel equipment.

"Auntie G?" his voice called out softly. Pea was somewhat surprised to find out he was awake at such a late hour.

"Yeah, kiddo, you need something?" Pea asked.

Tuff stuck his head out from under his blanket. His fur a deep crimson. His blue eyes and hair shone in the firelight. "I don't know if I need something or not,” he said firmly, “I'm just having trouble sleeping," he said as he laid his head on the grass between his forelegs. "I, had that dream again," he hesitated.

"Aww, come here, Tuff," Pea said gruffly.

Obediently, Tuff dragged the blanket with his teeth over to Pea.  Tuff shimmied around their stocky saddle bags and made sure his blanket didn't get too close to the fire.

He sat next to her and she helped him put the wool blanket over his slim shoulders. She looked at him with a sleepy expression.  "What, ya’ not gonna lay down?  You know my stories are long."

"Actually, I was wondering, Auntie,” Tuff hesitated while he tried to find the words.

Pea yawned. "Well, spit it out. If you take any longer I'll fall asleep."

"I don't know how to ask this,” Tuff turned his muzzle to the ground.  Pea sat up and the wool blanket slid off her back. The firelight glistened off her forelegs as she stretched her back and neck.  She looked at him and put one of her metal legs over his shoulder. The ends of her cybernetic legs had five actuated fingers that were attached to where the hoof wall would be, if they were normal.

Tuff kept his eyes on the ground, he still wasn’t comfortable seeing working fingers on a pony, even if he had traveled across the lands and oceans with her.

"Now listen here, Tuff Boulder, you can ask me anything. It's not like you're gonna ask me where babies come from, right?" she mused.

Tuff was quiet for a moment. "What, um, what happened that made you lose your legs?" He had a worried look on his youthful face that she’d be upset at the question.

Pea made a wry grin and pulled him closer to her. "Which ones? The front or the back legs?" Pea asked as she rubbed her steel knuckles in his hair.

"Auntie, I'm being serious," Tuff complained through a chuckle while in a playful noogie, "what happened to you?"

Pea released her grip and sighed. "It's a terrible story," she rose her legs slowly in the fire light with a wild look. "I sold them to the Devil,” she grumbled, “so now I can kick anypony's ass!" She laughed aloud

"Come on, I’m serious," Tuff said flatly.  Pea's face pouted to his response. "Did you lose them in a fight?" Tuff asked getting slightly excited at the prospect of the story.

Pea groaned as she punched Tuff's shoulder playfully.

"Ouch! Why'd you hit me?" Tuff complained.

"That was a love tap and you know it," Pea snickered.

"Stop playing games and tell me already!" Tuff shouted in frustration.

Pea's smile faded.  She began to look into the fire with a vacant expression. Pea flexed the finger-like extremities on her foreleg, each making metallic whirrs. Then tears built up in Pea's eyes; Tuff almost regretted asking. She kept her gaze at the fire and flexed her fingers in and out of a fist.

"You asked if I lost them in a fight?” she didn’t look to his response, “Well, that part is true." A tear rolled down her cheek, but her expression remained neutral. "The worst part though,” she blinked the tears out of her eyes, “is that I thought I could've won. I had it in my head that I could've conquered anything," she raised a metallic hand close to her face and chuckled dryly, "look how that turned out."

"So you lost?" Tuff asked quietly.

"In a way, yes, and in a way no.  I lost my legs, but actually, no,” she frowned, “nothing good came from it, from this," she growled at her clenched fists as she thrust them over the fire, waiting for feeling to make her scream.  A few seconds later she removed her hands and looked at them, with a sigh she placed them on the ground and inhaled deeply. “I don’t feel anything, not like I used to.

Tuff leaned over and hugged Pea. She had been taken completely by surprise and it took her a few moments to pull back into reality from the loss and regain of her limbs. Tuff hugged her tight and she patted the top of his head lightly once she realized he was hugging her.

"It's late Tuff; you should try and get to bed," Pea said softly.

"I'll sleep here," Tuff said with a smile.  He still held onto her tightly, even as she protested.

"Fine," Pea stifled a laugh as she wiped the tears from her face and muzzle. "But loosen your grip, eh? You're gonna break my ribs," she said feigning a wheeze.

A few minutes passed and Pea heard the sound of Tuff’s breaths steady and his body slumped. She looked down at Tuff and tucked his blanket around him with a few pokes from her snout. When she was certain he’d be warm and comfortable she stood up to get more firewood.

She had found a dead tree with perfect sized branches to keep the fire going for a few more hours.  She clamped her cybernetic hand onto it and twisted violently. It splintered where she grabbed, and the rest landed heavily down onto the ground with thuds and crackles that set her on alert for any predators that may have been alerted nearby. She waited and continued her work, spending several minutes finally broke it into smaller pieces before piling them on her back and returning to the campsite.

The fire, billowing once again, reflected in her eyes as she remembered her past.  The adventures, fights, and tales of glory that were slightly embellished and told around fires, just like this one.  She reached to her side and into her saddlebag with her hand, removing a jar that was down to it’s last three pieces.

“Jade cactus fruit…  Once you’re gone, you’re gone… just like everything from back then.”

With a slight smile on her muzzle she opened the jar and shook it, dropping a single one of the green, prickly, sweet fruits onto the ground before her.  With a sigh, she leaned down and licked it from the dusty earth and swallowed it whole.

“I’ll,” she yawned as the fruit began to work, “tell you a story in the morning, Tuff.”

…

Pea woke from her dream with a content sigh.  The colt had snuffed the embers of the fire with dirt while she slept.  She looked at his bright eyes and saddlebags, ready to go.  He leaned down and nipped her neck lightly causing her to nicker. “Okay, I’m up.  I’m,” she yawned as she forced herself up and bent her back, “up.”

“Yeah, now.  C’mon, let’s go!  And what about the story about your legs?  You told me you’d tell me and damned if you don’t do it.”  With a motion of her fingers, Pea flicked Tuff on his ear. “Ouch!  Fine, no dang swearing.”  He dodged the next strike, which would have been a whack on his mane.  After he stuck his tongue out he continued.

“So?  You’re the only mare with legs with fingers and all that.”

Pea slipped her vest on and buttoned it while sitting on her flank.  She patted her belly cleaner of grass and dirt as she cracked her neck. “I like the enthusiasm, but breakfast first, right?”

“Yeah, cuz it’s the best meal of the day, but I’m ready to go now,” Tuff said with a smile before baring his crooked teeth and exposing his slight underbite.

"That's my boy. All ready to go before breakfast," Pea yawed again," Speaking of breakfast, I'm gonna eat one of these oat packs… and so are you.  So, you want cinnamon with… Berry,” she hesitated, “or apple with cinnamon?"

"I already ate, Auntie. Thanks anyway."

"Huh, more for me I guess," she stuffed one bag worth of oats into her mouth, "let’s go, we’ve got a long way to go.”

"Yep, so where are we headed?" Tuff asked as he followed Pea down a rough, unbeaten path.

"Were gonna go, um... that way.  North East,"  she muttered, indicating the direction with her left metallic foreleg.

Tuff hopped on his hooves, prancing through the exposed roots and soggy forest floor as they moved ahead. “Where my cousin lives?”

“That’s what I think, anyway,” Pea truly smiled, “that’s what her letters said,” she finished hopping her rear.  Landing with the sound of something shuffling in her saddlebag.  “I feel dumb for leaving them next to the hatchet though,” she frowned.

“It’s okay, Auntie Pea; we’re only ponies.

Pea was still chewing while the carbon tendons in her limbs pulled and pushed as she stood up. She hoisted the larger of the saddlebags onto her back and began walking through the trees. The two earth ponies were walking through the forest for some time until a strange tree came into view. It was a knobby looking tree with only two windows and horse head masks outside. Tuff had a skeptical look but Pea put on a smug smile and trotted to the door.

"Wait, what if somepony dangerous lives there?" Tuff whispered loudly.

"Pffft, what? You think there's gonna be some Voodoo magic pony in there that'll curse us? Come on, Tuff, your Auntie has seen enough to handle some woodland hermit," She said as she neared the door. She knocked loudly on it several times.

"Who is making that noise?" A feminine voice called from inside the tree, "Are you a sales pony or some pesky boys?"

Pea looked back at Tuff with squinting eyes full of confusion. "Did she just, rhyme?"

Suddenly the door opened and a zebra stood in the doorway. "Yes, and I do all the time."

"Ah, hey there," Pea said, "me and my nephew are on our way somewhere and I was wondering if you could give us some directions?"

"Of course, I know the way to many a place.  Is there somewhere you have in mind?  The look on your face says you have no time for a bind." The Zebra smiled.

"Y-you're gonna keep talking like that, aren't you?" Tuff said apprehensively.  Pea just now noticed how close he had followed her to the stranger’s door.

“We’re looking for Ponyville; a family member lives there.”

“Ah, Ponyville is where you seek?  You may nearly see it if you peek, there, along the path that rocks do lie is where your destination resides.”

"That's exactly where I'm trying to get to.  Care to tag along?”

“I have no cause to go to town, and I can see from your… hooves on the ground that you are more than capable to trek, so I will wish you well, and perhaps to carry the little one on your back.”

"It's Pea Gravel, and this is Tuff Bolder. Thanks so much, but we should get going," Pea said as she went for the path, "thanks again!"

The zebra waved with a puzzled expression. "Her legs are made of metal? I hope by the goddesses and Celestia that she hasn’t dealt with the devil.”  Zecora shrugged and returned to her home, a boiling pot awaited her.

Pea trotted at an energetic pace through the overhanging foliage along the path while Tuff began to have trouble keeping up behind her.  “Auntie, slow down,” he said loudly.  Silence befell the area in an eerie scene.

“...I think the Zebra was right, I’ll carry you.”

As they sped through the forest path nature began to ebb into existence again.  A bright light shown through the trees, and with that, Pea's heart lit up. She began galloping towards the edge of the forest, bursting out of the wood's borders with a flutter of leaves following her into the bright sunlight that made Tuff wince and tighten his grip around Pea’s neck.

The sight of the valley ahead of them almost overwhelmed the travelers.  Pea’s knees buckled slightly as she slowed to a walked suddenly, entering a lush green field. The blue sky stretched above and clouds, with visible swirls, floated in loose patterns. Tuff jumped off Pea and gasped as he touched the ground.

"The grass! It's the softest, greenest, tastiest thing thing I've ever felt!" He giggled as he rolled around in it, licking some grass into his mouth.  Pea was going to stop him from grazing, but stopped herself to let him enjoy himself.

Pea leaned down and nibbled some grass as well. Her senses tingled at how sweet it tasted and she chomped down on more of it while Tuff rolled around giggling.  In all their travels she’d grown tired of grazing on the poorly nourished flora of the world, but this grass was nearly ambrosia to her hindbrain.  Pea stopped grazing when her nose hit the dark brown soil.  She rose her head up and saw the sloping Equestrian mountains in the distance and a cluster of thatch roofed homes.

She motioned Tuff to follow and the two advanced for the pony town. Once details of the outlying houses could be seen, Pea lowered onto the grass like a predator preparing to strike.

Tuff cocked his head to the side, "Aren't we gonna go in?"

"I can't," Pea sighed, "I'm afraid that they'll be too scared of me."

"Why's that?  Oh," Tuff's voice trailed off when Pea rested her chin on her metallic foreleg. Tuff shifted his weight around nervously between his forelegs, "So you want me to go in there, alone?"

"Sweetie, it's probably the safest place on the planet.  I just need you find a dry place for us to stay awhile.  Ask for the inn, or an open room, or something.  We have a chance to sleep in a real bed, with real stuff.  Let’s not waste it until we find our cousin.

Pea smiled reassuringly and ruffled his mane. "You'll be fine. Oh, and don't get into any fights.  You know most ponies in this land are wimps, okay?”

"Why not? Fighting is how you *fix problems," Tuff teased, knowing fighting was wrong.*

"Well, not always and certainly not this time, okay?  You don't need to fight these kind of ponies."

"Okay,” Tuff hopped to Pea and hugged her tightly, after she nodded he let her go and told her he loved her then turned and began prancing towards the town.  “Get a place to sleep and no fighting,” he began to repeat as the distance between them grew.

"I love you too, Tuff," Pea said as he left her.  Every few lengths he would look back and wave.  She'd wave back with a proud smile until he lost sight of her. After he was out of sight Pea ate her last Jade Cactus fruit, and slept the wait away.

...

As Tuff walked through main street, he looked with wonder at the clean buildings and lovely ponies. Their smiles seemed contagious in the early morning sun. Near a fence, the sight of five fillies caught his attention. Two of them seemed to be picking on the other three. Tuff's curiosity took the better of him and he moved over to see what was happening.

"Looks like the blank flanks aren't going to make it to the festival. Even though anypony who's anyponyis going to be there!" said one of the bullies as she flicked her silver braided hair.

"It ain't our fault," a yellow filly with a red bow in her hair said to the bullies, "Rarity’s got a cold’n she can't make us dresses."

"Then why don't you make your own, oh that's right," a pink pony with a tiara on her head snarked, "you can’t make your own, and you're too poor to buy them yourself!" the bully tittered after she gave the insult.

Tuff had heard enough.  He trotted over, with heavy steps, to the group of fillies and sat in the gap between them. All five stared at him with looks of bewilderment. He turned his head toward the pair of bullies and looked at them with his piercing blue eyes.

"Why are you making fun of these fillies?" he asked flatly.

"What are you doing?" the bullies scolded in unison. The pink one walked toward Tuff with a smug smile and an air of false bravado. "I've never seen you before, are you Scootaloo’s new coltfriend?"

"Nope, I don't know any of you.  But I know a bitch when I see one," Tuff folded his forelegs.  Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle snickered aside.

"H-how dare you?!" The pink filly asked aghast, "How dare you talk to a lady like that?!"

"I've seen ladies,” Tuff smirked, “and they smell better than a wet dog covered with perfume.”

Diamond Tiara scoffed, gasped, then trembled with rage. "Do you know who I am?!" the filly screamed, "Do you know the ponies who answer my beck and call!?"

"If you don’t know, how should I?"

The pink filly fumed. Her face turned a lovely shade of angry red as she stamped around. Tuff grinned and chuckled at the sight of her tantrum.  With a few whispered words from Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara glared daggers at Tuff, turned, and flounced off down the road.

Tuff stood on all four hooves and bowed slightly to the trio he had defended. "Morning ladies, my name is Tuff, Tuff Bolder.  It’s nice to meet you."

"’Tough’ is right," Apple Bloom said, "nopony back talks Diamond Tiara, but that was-"

"That was awesome!" Scootaloo blurted, "What is a colt like you doing here?  Are you here to fight crimes and protect the meek?"

"I'm looking for a place to sleep," Tuff said as he brushed himself off casually, "what are you three doing?"

The unicorn filly answered for the group. "We're working on our Dragon Repellent Cutie Marks."

Tuff looked around at the sky and the streets with admiration. "You're doing a good job at it. I haven't seen a single dragon since we got here."

"Why are looking for a place to sleep?" Apple Bloom asked, “Don’t ya have a place ta lay yer head?”

"No, we’re from out of town," Tuff said thoughtfully.

"How far out of town?" The Sweetie Belle asked.

“And who’s ‘we’?  I’ve only seen you, Tuff,” Scootaloo blushed lightly, “I mean, we’ve only seen you.”

Tuff locked eyes with Scootaloo before looking to the others. "Have any of you been to the ocean?" Tuff asked the trio.

"Not me," Apple Bloom replied, "but mah sister has been to Applewood, that's close to it... isn't it?"

"I, guess?" Tuff shrugged. "So, what are your names? You know mine."

The fillies eyes brightened and they lined up.

"Sweetie Belle, " the unicorn announced.

"Scootaloo, " the orange filly spread her tiny wings.

"Apple Bloom, " the yellow filly stood proudly.

"And we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they shouted in unison.

"Huh … neat," Tuff said as he nodded and began to walk past them.

“Wait a minute,” Sweetie shouted with a cracking voice before he finished passing and sending him hopping to the side in start, “why not stay with my sister?”

“Because… she’s sick, you said earlier, right?” Tuff asked, continuing his path.

“What about with me at the farm?” Apple Bloom added quickly before stumbling over her words.  “I-uh, Ah mean with mah family, that is.  We got a farm and we sell apples.”

“Ah, that explains the name,” Tuff commented as he began to ignore the fillies, “wait, a farm?  Apples,” he slowed to a stop, “would you have two bedrooms open?  We can’t pay, but-”

Scootaloo huffed loudly, interrupting. “Who’s we?  Your fillyfriend?”

Tuff inhaled sharply, his eyes pinned, and he shook his head quickly. “N-no, it’s my auntie!  She’s just...” he gulped, “different... and she needs a firm bed to lay in.”

“Is she hurt?” Sweetie asked as Apple Bloom moved closer and nodded in concern.

Tuff blinked at the fillies and slowly shook his head. “Not anymore.”

The cutie mark crusaders looked between themselves then back to him.

“Auntie, wake up, Auntie Pea?” Tuff asked the sleeping mare softly.

“Why’s her legs gold?” Apple Bloom asked Sweetie.

“I dunno, maybe it’s how nobility shows off where they’re from,” Sweetie guessed.

With a speed none of the fillies had ever seen, Pea had grabbed Tuff by the back of his mane in one hand and was holding him in the air above them all as she stood tall on her hind legs while the other held a knife she’d drawn from her vest, ready to strike.

“Auntie!  Let me go, sheesh,” Tuff whined as he dangled from her grasp, “you’re hurting me.”

Pea gasped, and released him, stumbling back and onto her flank.  Her cybernetic limbs clicking as she sat in stunned silence and stared at the three fillies who were hugging in fear, looking at the knife that had been tossed into the ground before them.

“Auntie, these are the Cutie Mark Crusaders… are you all okay?”

The silence was broken only by a light gust of wind that blew through the grass and knocked the knife over, breaking the fillies from their stupor. “Are we okay?  Are you okay?!  What was that?”

“That’s how she wakes up after she takes her sleepy fruit.  I’m fine, see.  She’d never hurt me, right Auntie Pea?”

Pea shook her head quickly and cleared her throat.  She smiled and looked at Tuff. “I’d tear a dragon’s heart out before I’d let you get hurt, Tuff.”

“Ugh, that story again?  I know about the dragon you killed already,” Tuff groaned in annoyance while the fillies snapped their attention to Pea in stunned silence, again.

“You killed a dragon?  That’s so cool!”

“Was it an adult, or just a baby like Spike?”

“I don’t think, they know who Spike is yet, Sweetie Belle.”

“Ah dunno, girls, she looks tough enough to do it,” Scootaloo finished as a flapping sound came from overhead.  A pegaus wearing a full body robe and thick reading glasses landed nearby with saddlebags packed, and overflowing, with books and scrolls.

“Hi, I’m here for the Literature Festival, do you know where I sign up?”

The five looked amongst each other. “Um, excuse me, miss, but why do you think we’d know anything about that?”

“Well, it’s going to be in this town and,” the pegasus poked the ground with a hoof in anxiety, “well, you’re the first ones I saw on my path into your town.”

“Ah know!  It’s on the other side’a town by mah family’s farm!  Best apples in Equestria, can’t miss it.”

“Thanks a lot,” the mare smiled and nodded as she opened her wings and took in a deep breath.  With a few flaps she took to a hover and looked to Pea. “My name’s A.K. Yearling, miss...”

“Pea Gravel, and this’ Tuff Boulder,” Pea pointed to the lone colt.

“An honor, and if you happen to meet me in the festival I’d love to know about your limbs.  I bet there’s a great story I could write with that.” With that she flew up and off, dropping a small cookbook as she left, accidentally.

Pea scoffed. “Damned pegasi...” the trio of fillies gasped, “Oh, your poor ears won’t bleed from my language, you’ll adjust after a couple days.  So,” she turned her attention to Tuff, “where’s our hotel?”

“Ah, yeah, about that, Auntie…” Tuff said as the book landed on Pea’s head with a soft whack.

…

“A barn is good,” Pea said as she stepped inside the red barn on Sweet Apple Acres, “it’s better than a pile of leaves, right Tuff?”

“Right,” he agreed.

“Now, where’re all the adults?  I need to make sure that it’s okay we stay here before we unpack,” Pea said to Apple Bloom.

“Right that way, at the farmhouse.  Granny and mah sister Applejack are there.  Mah brother, Big Mac, is in the orchard setting up for plantin’ a few new trees.”

Pea nodded and took a lead while Apple Bloom and the other crusaders stood to the sides of Tuff. “So, ya hungry, Tuff?  Ah can get some apple snacks fer ya?”

“I, think I’ll wait,” he hesitated to say.

“You can eat, Tuff.  This isn’t like the old place; no pony will try to drug or poison you,” Pea reassured him with a weak smile.

“Yeah, okay then,” he piped up, “I’d like to try some apple foods.”

“Best ones in Equestria,” Scootaloo and Sweetie droned in unison.

Apple Bloom grinned with pride. “What they said.”

Chapter 2

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.

Chapter 3

Applejack paced through the streets of Ponyville in the light of the sunset. Only a few ponies were out in the warm evening air and watched the orange mare walking by as though on a mission. Applejack quickened her pace to Twilight's castle when it came into view from behind various homes. Her head swam as she tried to keep her spirit up until she reached the door. Eventually she made it to the crystal structure and stopped at the doorway.  She stood with her knees shaking.

Spike opened the ornate door and gasped when she saw the cowpony that sported a saddened expression. "Applejack?” Spike asked as she entered and passed him, “I’ll get Twilight, we’ll meet you in the parlor,” he said as he closed the door and took to a quick run and left to find Twilight.

Applejack walked ahead, head low and hat set back to the parlor and, to the cowpony's surprise, Zecora and A.K Yearling were inside too.  The two mares sat at a table and had a pitcher of iced tea between them. Applejack nodded to the two and took a seat at the table as silence ensued.

A moment later Twilight entered the room and nodded to her friends and A.K. Yearling before she took a seat near the center of the longer table.  "So tell me," Twilight asked with concern, "what’s brought you three to me at nearly the same time?"

Applejack shook her head and smiled meekly. "I, Ah don't really know. Apple Bloom met some colt today and asked if he and his aunt could stay at the barn. I was keen on the idea… then I saw her.  Twi, she has metal legs. All four, Ah've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I," Yearling said, "Yet I saw her this morning, like you did. She's frightening if you provoke her, isn't she?"

"From what I've heard, dangerous would be a better word," Zecora said as she sipped calmly on her iced tea.

Twilight looked over to Applejack with a comforting smile and a slight ruffle of her wings. "Come on Applejack, I'll talk to this Pea Gravel. I'm the princess of friendship after all, aren't I? I'll see what's going on and sort it all out by tomorrow okay? Now, before I go looking for her, make sure you three don't tell anypony about her alright?  I don't want the situation to get out of hoof."

The three mares nodded and the alicorn smiled strongly.  Changing the topic the mares began to talk and, eventually, laugh over the next hour.  Finally Twilight bid them goodnight and made her way to the doorway with them.

The mares were leaving the castle as Twilight lifted herself into the evening sky in search of the stranger.  She circled the town twice until she found two ponies in the town park. They were laying next to a tree, well out of view from anypony on the ground, but not from pegasi or the single alicorn, Twilight. She descended softly and landed a few lengths from the strangers. The colt was leaning against the mare, both dozing off in the coming night didn’t hear her approach.

"Excuse me, miss?" Twilight asked in a half-commanding voice. Pea's eyes snapped open and gawked at the lavender alicorn, "are you new to town? I’ve never seen you before."

The mare lowered her muzzle to the ground. "Your grace, I am but a humble earth pony traveler looking for a place to keep my nephew safe. Is this task not in your liking?" she asked with true humility.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "From what I heard, you didn't speak like that to the other ponies you met today. You scared my friend Applejack half to death," she smirked.

Being the mare she was, Pea tied to keep the 'humble subject' act going as long as possible. She had talked her way out of trouble many times and planned on it again. She didn't expect to hear that a farmer was friends with an Alicorn Princess.  She sat up and looked with wonder.

"You're friends with a farmer? Isn't that,” Pea hesitated as Tuff blinked some sleep from his eyes, “uncouth?"

"Not here it isn't," Twilight said with a smile, "now, are you and your nephew going to sleep out here in the cold?"

Pea wasn't sure if she was being scolded or invited to something but she took the safest path. "I apologize, my princess.  We have no place to stay this evening and parks are free, to my knowledge.  Is that alright with you?" she asked, some snide coming through.

"Absolutely not," Twilight said promptly. Pea sunk down a bit with Tuff, "...you and your nephew can stay with me in my palace."

Pea’s expression turned skeptical. "What?  Even after I scared your friend?" Pea asked.

"She's a tough mare," Twilight reached out a hoof to Pea, "Now, pick up your bags, we're going to my castle."

"Are you sure, I can't repay you in money," Pea said meekly, "I can work. Do you need labor?"

Twilight sighed, "Perhaps, but you know what I'd rather be paid in?"

Pea kept her eyes on the princess as she moved and felt Tuff asleep on her side as she stood up. "What would you rather be paid in, if I'm so bold as to ask."

"You can tell me of your adventures from the outside world. No matter how happy or tragic, a mare like yourself is bound to have done some interesting things," Twilight said as Pea followed gathered her belongings and then Tuff onto her back.

"I suppose… but doesn't somepony like you know the events of the outside world?" Pea pried.

"Me?  No, I don't. Discord or Celestia maybe, but not me," Twilight smiled sheepishly, "Oh, Pea? Have you ever teleported before?"

Pea grimaced. "By my own will, no. I haven't had much experience with that kind of magic."

Twilight stopped Pea while her horn began to glow, "You can trust me. Besides, it doesn't hurt."

Chapter 4

Before the grey mare knew it, she was in a glossy throne room with the lavender princess. A chandelier made of tree roots was overhead in the high ceiling and six chairs were set in a circle with a table at the center. Twilight began walking down a nearby hallway and Pea took a moment to follow her, taking in the sudden change in scenery.

"Some place you got here," Pea gawked at the crystalline walls, "you live here alone?"

"No, I have my assistant and my friends come to visit often. Now, I have a few guest rooms down this hall, you can take your pick."

Pea was bewildered that a princess had invited her to a castle, giving her a room even. She followed the princess to a set of doors and opened the first to the left. Inside she found a dresser and a quaint twin sized bed. To the right was a door leading to a small bathroom. A clear crystal window was at the far end with the rising moons light showing through. She turned to thank the Princess but she was already half way down the hall.

"Once your done setting up, I'll be waiting in the throne room," Her voice echoed off the hallway walls, "we have a lot to talk about."

Pea felt like she was in a dream as she entered the simple room. She was used to sleeping under the stars after all her travels or in cheap rooms, rented for a night with hay and straw for bedding, not a bed and linens.  She lay Tuff on the bed and placed the blanket over him gently. She smiled as he snuggled deeper in the covers.

Pea placed their bags next to the dresser and went to the small bathroom.  She looked into the mirror and saw her face was a grubbier than it should be while in the company of royalty. She fiddled with the faucet trying to figure out which knob was hot or cold and eventually just splashed water in her face and scrubbed.

She saw the liquid fall back into the sink as a brown-ish color and huffed.  She looked over to the shower and sighed in defeat.  It had been years since her last shower and she was proud of it, now she felt obligated.  She closed the bathroom door and opened the shower curtain. She fiddled with the shower knobs like the sink's, mostly due to the fact that she was more accustomed to bathing in rivers, not bathrooms.

After learning the mystic ways of modern equestrian plumbing she took off her vest, and laid it on the sink. She stepped in the shower on her hind hooves, the hard rubber tips of her back legs kept her from slipping as she stood tall. She began to wash her front half, letting the water wash over the numerous scars from a lifetime of strife.  Her forehoof grazed a branding mark on her barrel in the shape of a compass.

She found a soap bar and with a series of clicks fingers protruded from her forehooves.  Grasping the bar as though it were a common task she washed her mane in the relaxing shower. She looked to her lower hooves and saw how brown the water was and smirked, "I was talking to all those ponies with this much dirt on me? No wonder none of those encounters ended well,,” she sighed, “and my attitude doesn’t exactly conform to these ponys’ standards."

Pea didn't realize how long she was in the artificial rain but she began to love the luxury, but knew she couldn’t stay in for much longer as she was getting sleepy.  She reached her metallic arm down and shut the water off before sheathing her fingers.

She took to her four hooves and shook her body like a dog to dry off, she laughed sheepishly when she saw a towel hung on the door.  She dried what was still damp on her body  then checked on Tuff before heading off to Twilight.

She entered the throne room and found Twilight sitting in one of three cushy chairs next to a fire place with her muzzle in a big book. Twilight looked up from her book and giggled. "So that's what took you so long, you washed up. You know, your mane is quite lovely when it isn't dirty."

"Thank you princess-" she began to bow.

"Please, call me Twilight," the alicorn interrupted with a slight frown, “and don’t bow to me,” she gestured to another cushioned chair, "come and sit. I want to talk to you."

Pea moved to the chair furthest from Twilight and sat up with her forehooves in her lap. She looked at Twilight's friendly smile, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"You said you wanted your nephew to be safe, correct?” Pea nodded, "well, I'll let him stay here and educate him if you like. From what Applejack told me, you two have it pretty rough out there. Famine and ponies killing ponies you said?"

Pea was taken aback at the generosity of the princess. She leaned into the chair, "I can't thank you enough, but nothing is free.  What can I do to repay the offer?"

Twilight's smile faded. Her gaze went to Pea's torso, "Tell me what happened that made you lose your legs, and the scars."

Pea sat quiet for a moment. "I can't say anything but the truth to you, Prin- Twilight." Pea looked aside, "his… no, it's name is Volm."

"Volm? I've never heard of him," Twilight replied cautiously.

"No one did, he just swung in out of the blue. Tirek's Crusade stopped short and Belial just-"

Twilight stopped the mare. "Wait, wait, Tirek? My friends and I put him back into Tartarus! There's no way he can be fighting."

"He's not.  In fact, when news of his short time on the surface reached the rest of the centaurs like him, The Torrent, as they call themselves who is led by their prophet, Belial, rallied an army and searched for the gates of Tartarus-"

"There's more like him?” Twilight asked loudly, “do they all consume magic like he does?"

"Not really, but Tirek is worshiped like a god by them. Somehow he obtained a higher level of power then the rest did, and Belial is looking for it-"

"How did you get mixed up in a holy war, Pea?" Twilight asked bewildered.

"Well, that 'higher level of power' is what I was looking for. If I found it, I could keep it from the grip of evil like Belial or others,” she shrugged, “it's not just him though, there's a dragon named Borox who's in league with him."

"And how does this Volm fit in?" Twilight asked.

"It found the power before everyone else. That thing of pure evil took everything from me," Pea said as she sneered.

"You still have your nephew, don't you?" Twilight said comfortingly.

"Yes, but the worst thing is that Volm separated me from my friends," Pea swallowed hard, “they weren't just my friends, they were the few I could trust my back to.  Now I'm not sure if they are still alive or not."

"So what brings you here, is the 'Higher Power' you mentioned in Equestria?" Twilight was now sitting on the edge of her seat.

"A part of it maybe, but I really came here to speak with the Sun Goddess.

"Princess Celestia?  Why?" Twilight asked wide eyed.

"Our kind is cannon fodder out there, food or slaves and what is she doing?" Pea gritted her teeth, "Sitting here playing princess."

"Pea, calm down. I'm sure she's doing something about the war-"

"No, I've only seen the sun out there,” Pea Gravel said with an edge, ”She’s the goddamned princess of the sun and she lives in a peaceful kingdom full of ponies like us."

"I'm not sure what you’re so upset with her about, but this story is getting confusing." Twilight groaned, "how did you learn about the 'Higher Power'?"

Pea's face softened slightly. "Oh, right, I was still back in a place known as Peron. My crew and I went to a harbor to get a boat after escaping a bunch of dragon worshippers and we got mixed up in a situation with pirates… that's where I met Rochi," Her face warmed up when she said his name.

"I take it you liked him?" Twilight asked with a smile. She was glad the mood became brighter then talk of war and monsters.

"Like him? I love Rochi.  He was a slave for the pirate captain Gumbo then, but when we came around, his thirst for adventure came back and he left them. Turns out they were after 'The most beautiful thing in the world', which is what Rochi went to sea to find."

Twilight rubbed her eyes sleepily. Her horn glowed and a stack of paper and pen floated next to Pea. The grey mare blinked in surprise but Twilight yawned. She placed the paper and pen onto Pea's lap. “I’m betting he found you?” Twilight teased causing the grey mare to blush deeply and look away.  "That's some story, but I need to know the whole thing. You should just write it all down while you stay here."

Pea smiled sheepishly. "I'd love to, Twilight. But I'm… I can't write."  Twilight looked at her for a moment. “You see," Pea continued, "A nomadic vagabond merc like me doesn't have space in her pack for books, I just keep the stories in my head."

Twilight got off her pillow and headed for the door. "I'm sorry, but I do have something to take care of, however I suppose I can start teaching you to write tomorrow, and Tuff also.  I hope you have planned for a long stay,” she said in a more firm tone that Pea took as a command. “Goodnight, and don’t let the parasprites nip your ears."

"Goodnight, princess," Pea said quietly as she bowed her head and stood, her metal hooves making less sound than a normal ponys thanks to rubber tips helped her leave in silence.

Pea walked to her room and opened the door, smiling to see Tuff safe in bed.  Her heart was fluttering, ‘I'm safe, and so is Tuff’, she thought, ‘but what about them? I need to find them, and Rochi.  Bring them here...’‘

Pea moved to the center of the moonlit room. She lowered to the floor and sprawled comfortingly on it. She felt tired mentally and physically, she welcomed sleep, but was unprepared for the big day tomorrow.

Chapter 5

Yearling took wing and hovered over to Pea's back and locked her forelegs under Pea's barrel. Yearling pumped her wings and sent them into the air at an inclined glide.  The ground and the crowd shrank under them as they climbed into the sky with the pegasi in the crowd deciding against chasing the duo. Pea held onto Yearling's hooves tight as she tried not to look down.

"You know, I thought you'd be a little heavier," Yearling chuckled.

"Hey, are you calling me fat?" Pea looked up at her with a sour look.

"No, don't be silly!" Yearling yelled, “it’s the legs that threw me off,” she giggled.

Pea rolled her eyes and glanced down, regretting it. "Well now what?"

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" Yearling peered off into the distance. Pea looked in the same direction and saw a trace of a rainbow line in the sky.

"...I thought rainbows made an arc, not a straight line."

"That's not a rainbow,” Yearling droned, “that's the trail Rainbow Dash leaves behind when she flies."

"Well I can see why they call her Rainbow Dash," Pea said as she saw the blue pegasus flying in arcs and loops. She began flying toward the mares and Yearling began descending quickly.

"Hey! Where are we going?" Pea said covering her eyes.

"I can't carry you forever, Pea.  Besides, I was meaning to talk to Rainbow today," Yearling said as they grew closer to the ground.

They landed and Pea sat with her forelegs crossed while Rainbow Dash followed up at the rear. The blue pegasus trotted up to the other mares and smiled to Yearling. Dash then cast a sour look to Pea.

"D-, er, I mean A.K Yearling, I'm so glad you're here!" Rainbow said gleefully then glared at Pea, "I see you caught the freak."

"Hey," Pea cast a sneer and bared her teeth at Rainbow, "I have skin and blood just like you. If anypony here is a freak it'd be you, with a mane like yours."

Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof and ignored Pea. "We've been looking for her all night. You know she scared Applejack to death and that colt of her's got Diamond Tiara's dad pretty upset."

"Rainbow, I don't think you understand," Yearling sighed," Pea Gravel here is a very  interesting mare once you get to know her. Oh, and she was staying at Twilight's and we’re writing a book together."

Rainbow Dash was shocked. "B-but you write Daring Do! How can you write something else, let alone with her?!"

Pea stood up which caused Dash to inch back instinctively. "Kid, I've got plenty of stories if you're willing to listen."

Rainbow Dash was dumbfounded and getting frustrated. Her favorite author and idol was sticking her neck out for a complete stranger, and a rather unsettling one at that.  She looked from Yearling to the Pea and her jaw worked to make words, silently.

Pea reached ahead and closed Rainbow’s muzzle with a smirk on her face. "You better keep that mouth of yours closed or you’ll catch a fly."

"Thanks lady," Rainbow Dash smacked Pea's hoof away from her face, "but you need to leave. Equestria isn't meant for somepony like you."

Pea pulled her metallic fingers and with a click and made a fist,"Well then, why don't you make me?"

Dash laughed in a cocky manner as she stood up into an aggressive position. "So you want to do this the hard way?"

"Show me what you’ve got," Pea Gravel said flatly with lidded eyes and a dull smirk.

Yearling looked from one mare to the other. "Hey, nopony is in the wrong here! What are you two doing?"

"I'm showing this punk how we outsiders handle our problems."

In a flash the blue pegasus rocketed to Pea with a hoof ready to swing at her face. Pea watched as Dash swooped toward her and felt the impact of Dash's swing on her muzzle. Pea staggered back and Rainbow hovered in the air, rubbing the hoof she connected with.

Rainbow started mockingly. "Heh-heh, a little taste of Dash Fu.  Was that a bit much for-"

Rainbow barely saw Pea spring back at her. Her boastful words and the rest of her hot air was forced out of her body as Pea rammed a metal fist into the pegasus' belly, just below her ribcage.

Rainbow fell like a tree onto the ground gasping for breath. Yearling had a grimace on her face while the cyan pegasus lay curled in a fetal position. Rainbow Dash looked up at the cyber mare with wide eyes as her attacker had a hand offered to pull her up. Rainbow began breathing normally again and accepted the cyber mares assistance up.  Rainbow took a moment to size up Pea and nodded.

Pea stood smiling as a trickle of blood ran from her lip. Pea wiped the blood off her muzzle. "You got some swing there, if you were any stronger I might've lost a tooth!"

Yearling looked to the cyan pegasus. "Are you alright, Rainbow?”

"She'll be fine," Pea Gravel answered, "I hit her diaphragm with a pulled punch. She's probably hit the ground harder than that from a flight crash."

"That was a pulled punch?" Rainbow asked. On the outside she still looked ready for a fight, but she was trembling inside.

Pea twiddled her fingers again as she glared at Rainbow, menacingly this time. "I really don't want to have to pull my fist out of another chest.”

Rainbow backed away from her as her face paled slightly and her wings opened at an aggressive angle. Yearling stopped her. "Rainbow, don't go! Just stay for a moment, please," she looked over at Pea with an icy look before stamping to her face to face.

"If you want that book written you're going to have to be more tolerant of others," she said firmly, "no more fighting with ponies, alright?" she poked Pea in the vest and sniffed the air with a wince.  “And clean your clothes,” she whispered.

Pea scrunched her face and was ready to shout but sighed in stead. She looked over Yearling's shoulder to Rainbow who was waiting, nervously poking the ground. Pea rolled her eyes and groaned before trudging past Yearling to the blue pegasus.

Pea rubbed the back of her neck. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I can be a jackass sometimes. A really big jackass. Can you forgive me Rainbow Smash, er, Dash?"

"Only if you let me help out on the new book," Rainbow Dash said quickly, "I've helped Daring Do, er, A.K. Yearling before, and I could help you too! As long as there's no more punching."

"You recovered pretty quick, Rainbow Dash," complimented Yearling," I hope we can all get along now," she glanced to Pea.

"Wait, isn't Daring Do a character in A.K. Yearling's books?" Pea asked, "Wait… is she," Pea pointed to the tan pegasus, "is she… Daring Do?" She looked to Rainbow who grinned proudly.

"You got me," Yearling smiled bashfully, "You haven't even read my books and you know. The Daring Do books are my personal adventures here in Equestria where I hunt rare and important treasures.  From what Twilight told me, you were looking for treasure too, and with some war going on every waking moment... that must be such an adventure."

Rainbow Dash was quiet again as her idol, Daring Do, was putting this stranger on a pedestal like Dash had done for Daring Do for so long.  Rainbow fainted coughed and wavered just before her eyes rolled back into her head and she landed on the grass face first. Pea and Daring looked at her with wide eyes.

"You know, I think a drink can wait. Let's just hang out here in the field, what do you think Yearli-I mean Daring Do?"

"I-I suppose?" She replied. “Do you think Rainbow’s okay?”

Pea promptly lay on her back in the grassy field. “Yeah, she was forcing herself to breathe normally after I hit her and she just passed out for a few from oxygen deprivation.  I’ve seen it happen before,” she chuckled.

Daring looked around in the empty field.  She saw the mountains, forest, and Ponyville all comfortably away in the distance. She lay on her legs near Pea while Dash lay unconscious near by.

Daring reached into the satchel she had carried with her and pulled out a notebook with a pencil clipped to it. She opened it and Pea turned her head to see the book. It was blank for the most part with a few scribbles on the first page. Daring held the pen in her mouth and looked closely at Pea. Pea  felt almost embarrassed under the writer's keen eye.

Daring made notes of the way Pea's mane reflected the sunlight like the orange of a morning sunrise, how her torso fur, on closer inspection, hid a well toned and muscled core and many scars, the metallic legs had a plated look and seemed to be designed for more than just helping a pony walk again. Out of her vests v neck a hint of her circular brand could be seen and then Daring's eyes went to the mare's flank, Pea pulled her tail over her flank's bare skin.

"Hey missy," Pea shouted, "we’re not writing a smut book!"

"Really, Pea?" Daring Do asked with a groan, "I was looking at your cutie mark, not your rump!"

"For you, I'll take that excuse," Pea moved her tail to reveal her cutie mark. It was a sandstone colored heart with a cracked center and a compass behind it. Daring made a note of it and looked with worry at the cyber mare.

"Why do you have a broken heart for a cutie mark?" She asked.

Pea moved on her back. She crossed her forelegs behind her head and looked up at the slow rolling clouds in the sky. Dash had begun to regain consciousness but kept her head low and watched the two adventuring mares through the short grass.

"Rocks are beautiful, yet I have a heart of stone," Pea said mostly to herself, "I've been forced by chance, or maybe fate, to be a wanderer, the crack is from my first kill. Or from how much of a bitch I became. I was an alright kid before then but after-”

Daring was writing down everything Pea said. "Go on, tell me what happened," she encouraged.

"She, it, was a carnihorse.  I was eleven years old and it kidnapped me when I was in the mountains, and it was going to eat me… I'll never forget those green eyes. They looked just like mine.”

Chapter 6

“...and that’s when Daring met him in the Quest for-”

“Ugh,” the mares and Pea, save for Rainbow, had finally had enough, “we’ve been at this for hours!  Enough is enough.  Twilight, Rainbow, take to the skies and search the area.  See if he’s nearby.  Fluttershy, check on Daring and Spike.  Applejack, I need you to make sure Rarity doesn’t faint again,” Rarity and Applejack frowned as Pea smirked.

“Let’s go, girls.  She’s more experienced than we are at this sort of thing.  I’ll take east, you take west and we’ll meet back here if we find anything or half an hour passes.

Rainbow nodded and took off through the open window, leaving her contrail behind her as Twilight took wing and left the same route at a far slower pace.

A few minutes later in the evening light Twilight returned and landed with a clatter as she stumbled, keeping her balance.  “I found some torchlight in the Everfree, near the edge.”

“Take me there, Twilight.  I need to see what’s going on out there.”

"Like carry you?" Twilight asked sheepishly.

"And drop me in there, you got a problem?" Pea's cold eyes pierced Twilight's.

"N-no, let's go," Twilight stammered.  She fluttered her wings and lifted up Pea in a cloud of magic. They teleported in the air close to the forest and a low conversation could be heard from their height. Twilight’s breathing quickly accelerated, causing her trouble keeping her elevation.

"Shhh, relax. It's easy," Pea encouraged, "just fly close by and drop me right in. You've played ring toss haven't you?"

"Y-yes, but I don't see how it helps here!" Twilight panicked as the thought of meeting Ahuizotl in real life.

"Just pretend that I'm the ring and the gap in the trees is the goal. The prize you win is your town's safety and Daring Do’s life."

"I'm not sure that made me feel any better” Twilight mumbled, “but okay," Twilight nodded.

She flew Pea over and saw a gap in the trees where torch light leaked out.  Twilight looked to Pea with concern while Pea just looked up at her and nodded. Twilight bit her lip as she let go of the mare, releasing her from her magic at a height that should have broken the leg of a normal equine. She watched with awe as Pea waved back to her as she mare fell to earth.

Pea extended her fingers from all hooves and grabbed the top branches of the nearest tree with all four limbs. She moved her hands and feet one after another silently as she made her descent. She saw the big blue beast that was named Ahuizotl, he fit the description the princess eventually had given her. She made her way to the the branches just out of view and above. There were several tribal looking ponies and a variety of tough, bruiser ponies as well. They all held torches as they looked at Ahuizotl.

"Treasure hunters!  Stallions of Fortune! The greatest treasure in Equestria is in that town. I want it and will pay any price to whoever brings it back to me!" he shouted and the stallions cheered.

Pea saw an unnatural look in his small eyes. She had seen that look before, it was a look of greed like this that led to lives being smashed like grapes for a beast's wine. She readied herself for a surprise attack on the blue ape monster.

The crowd began to rush to the edge of the forest and Pea took her chance. She jumped off the tree and slammed her hind hooves into Ahuizotl’s shoulder blades.  He coughed as he slammed onto the ground under her.  He hopped up and spun around, grabbing Pea with a meaty hand. His eyes had the look of murder in them, as did Pea's. The ape's crowd stopped dead in their tracks and watched the brewing fight with anticipation.

"What are you, a PONY, doing to stop me getting the King's Tear?" He hissed.

"I don't give a damn what is or who you think you are," Pea barked, "there are innocent ponies out there and I won't let you get that thing, even if that means killing you."

"And how will-" Ahuizotl smirked but stopped short.

Pea squeezed both fore-hooves on his thumb and bent it back in a nasty direction. The ape screamed and dropped Pea.  She landed like a cat on the ground and wasting no time tackling the ape's legs and pulled his ankles out from under him in awful positions as well, savoring the crunch they made.

Ahuizotl squealed and grabbed an ankle with his unbroken free hand. Pea stood on her hind hooves ready to strike again.  Out from the ape's back his tail, ending in a fist, whacked Pea in the gut. She grabbed it only for a moment then looked into Ahuizotl’s eyes.

"What did you do to Daring Do?" She asked coldly.

"She tried to take the King's Tear. I stopped her with a dart coated in the sap of the Orange Hart tree!" He chuckled wickedly, "She'll only have a few hours to live!  I shall be finally rid of her by morning!"

Pea pulled her arm back and stomped on her hind legs up to the blue apes leg, cracking the bone.  He squirmed as her metallic fingers wrapped around his tails fist and the crunching of his finger bones was audible. She moved next to his long torso and her coiled arm sprung out.  It sunk into Ahuizotl's chest and Pea strained to pull her fist out of the crater she made in his ribs.

He coughed up blood on the ground and the look of murder was gone.  He curled up as his damages would allow and rose a hand up to Pea in desperation.

"P-please, spare me!  I'm but a gold hungry fool," his plea were silenced when Pea's other fist pushed his bottom jaw to the ground causing him to piratically kneel. He tried to push Pea off his jaw but she stood like a rock against his struggle. Pea's grim face curled up into a smile.

"You think just because you're bigger and stronger than ponies that you can just take whatever you want. I'll tell you that he pigs and Gnolls I've fought would kick your candy ass and eat you raw for breakfast; these days they tuck their tails and run when I walk into town. You though… you tried to kill one of these ponies here,” she gestured to Ponyville.  “They were nothing but nice to me so I'll do them a favor."

She slid her hands between the ape's teeth on his top jaw and pushed up slightly.  He pulled back and screamed as the mare used her mechanical limbs to lift the ape's top jaw, tearing the sides of the ape's jaw open until there was a loud crack, then she twisted sharply and the ape went limp.

Pea stepped to the side and Ahuizotl’s jaws closed out of alignment.  His once berserk eyes had rolled back into his head leaving them blank and lifeless. Pea rolled her shoulders and cast a frightening glare at the torch bearing crowd.  Ahuizotl’s followers were completely dumbfounded.  They had never seen such brutality in their lives and whimpered as Pea walked over to them, blood on her hooves glistening in their torchlight while she sported a grim smile on her face.

"Alright boys, I'm going to need you to busy yourselves and bury our poor friend who has passed on.  Better make it snappy or I'll make your necks go 'snappy'," she ordered as she raised a finger to her lips and licked it.

The stallions ran in a mindless mob around the ape and frantically dug a trench next to the dead monster with their bare hooves.  Pea sighed and walked on all fours, fingers closed now, to the edge of the forest until she emerged into the field outside and found Twilight waiting for her. The princess sprung next to Pea with a barrage of questions.

"What happened? I heard a lot of screaming, are you alright? Is Ahuizotl still in there? Is he coming out?"

Pea held a hand to quiet the alicorn and sighed. "You and your friends won't have to worry about Ahuizotl ever again. Before I go lay down, tell me about Daring Do. Is she alright?"

"Yes, the doctor said she came in just in time," Twilight said reassuringly, "If she was any later a poison would have stopped her... heart?" Twilight paused as she looked closer at Pea’s hooves. “Is that… blood?”

Pea rolled her eyes and passed Twilight in silence.

Pea's mind was half asleep as she made her way for the town. Twilight quietly teleported them both back to the castle, in the guest room’s bathroom.  The grey mare glanced around for a moment before turned to look at Twilight, who grimaced at the bloody mare.  Without a word, Pea went into the shower, still dressed, and began to wash herself.  Twilight left her in peace.

She left the room and gathered her friends back up. They all waited outside Pea's room in the hallway while Twilight was obviously shaken up.

Applejack comforted the  princess. "We got Daring Do safe with the doctor. Did that mare tell you what happened with that ape fellah?"

"No, she didn't tell me, but she was…” she stopped and gulped loudly. “Is her nephew alright?" Twilight asked. Tuff jumped out behind Rarity.

"Right here, Princess Twilight, is Auntie G alright?" he asked.

"She's just in the shower. We'll talk in the morning," Twilight assured the group of ponies, “let’s get to bed, all of us,” she looked pointedly at Tuff.

They dispersed back to their houses with few words to each other on the way out, each shaken up by the sudden events. Twilight made her way back to her room with a head full of one thought, what did Pea do in that forest? She groggily opened her bedroom door and slumped to the bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

Chapter 7

Twilight awoke the next morning refreshed and ready to ask a few dozen questions of the grey mare. She gathered some fruit, muffins, cheese, and drinks before she walked to the guest room with a tray of breakfast in tow ready to prepare Pea for a long morning. She swung the door open to find an empty room. She checked the room next door and found Tuff snoring in the bed.

Twilight left the food in Tuff's room and searched the rest of the first floor for Pea. After  almost an hour of looking she checked Pea's room again and found something she didn't notice before, a small piece of paper on the pillow with a cross inside a circle. She slapped her forehead in response.

“Of course,” she grumbled to herself,  “Pea had left to visit Daring in the hospital and since Pea can't write she made Daring’s cutie mark on a note.”

“So, is auntie gone?  Did she leave me here alone?” Tuff asked from the doorway.

“Oh, certainly not,” Twilight stammered, “she’s only gone to the hospital to see Daring Do.  She won’t leave you just like that,” Twilight asked, “will she?”

“No, but it never hurts to ask,” Tuff replied with a slight smile, “wanna eat with me, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight nodded. “I’d be honored.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Pea refused to leave Daring's bedside until she got better and as Daring’s health returned to her she decided to begin writing Pea's book again while Pea stayed at the hospital with Daring Tuff stayed at Twilight's castle during the healing process.

Daring healed quickly and left the hospital with Pea a week later when Daring took a  long flight around the town.  Daring decided she and Pea should sit in a reclusive spot in the park on a hill with a single tree so they could relax and talk.  Pea had brought Daring’s satchel along for the trip, along with her own saddle bag. The park had a few ponies and foals playing, completely oblivious to the duo. The two mares sat enjoying the sun and silence for a while until Daring broke the silence.

She kept her gaze ahead of her, looking at the pond as she asked. "Pea, what did you do to Ahuizotl?"

"Excuse me," the grey mare snorted, "what makes you think I did anything?"

"He is one of the most persistent creatures I know," Daring Do said, "and that night he had the same look in his eyes as always; he'd never just give up.  So, I have to ask, is he locked up somewhere or did you kill him?" Daring asked quietly.

Pea gritted her teeth, "And why is it so bad that I killed someone who was a danger for everyone else?"

"After all you said about Equestria… how perfect and innocent it is,” Daring hugged herself remorsefully, "you bring something like murder into it. I thought you knew better, wanted to be better.  But, maybe you're just some brute from a far off warring kingdom after all."

Pea moved and placed a hoof under Daring’s chin, turning her head so the mare would look at her. "Look, what I did may have been,” she bit her lip, ”no, it was wrong.  Once I saw your injury I just-"

Daring smacked her hoof away. "I don't need your pity!  I only decided to write you a book because I needed to make more money!  I need it and ponies are suckers for things they don't understand."

Pea grabbed Daring by the shoulders, lifted her up, and slammed her against the tree. The grey mare was on her hind legs and held Daring against the tree. Daring had a panicked look only for a moment.  Then she looked at the furious mare with a wry smile.

"You were going to use me?" Pea fumed under her breath, "I was going to be a means to your end, for money?"

"So, what are you going to do this time?  Hit me, break my nose?" Daring wheezed, ”You said yourself that you fought for money, isn’t that being someone’s means to an end?”

Pea's foreleg was shaking.  Pea Gravel hopelessly gritted her teeth. "Just shut your muzzle! I've been bought and used all my goddamn life, I will not allow that to happen again. What's wrong with killing that bastard ape anyway?"

Daring placed a hoof onto Pea's gripping foreleg. "This is a place of caring souls and shelter from the cold.  Bringing a thing like murder in here will taint that, do you want this place to end up like where you're from?"

Pea let go of Daring and the pegasus slumped against the tree. She sat and looked up to see Pea Gravel shivering.  Pea’s knees buckled and her weight toppled to the ground. Her green eyes stared out wide and afraid.

"I did it again, even in a place so innocent as this I’m still the same,” Pea pulled up her hooves to her face, "you were right!  I murdered him in cold blood, and… I enjoyed it," her lip quivered.

Daring rubbed a bruise on her shoulder. "So, you're sorry?"

"W-what? Of course I'm sorry!"  She lay on her back nearly sobbing. She held her hands in the air, fingers extended, to look at the palms as if the blood was still there. Her face twitched and winced as she held back a barrage of tears, "It's these legs, these arms, these things! Before I lost them I had to think my way out of fights I knew I couldn't win, but now…" she pulled her arms back to her chest, "I'm just like them, a monster. "

Pea curled into a ball and shivered. Daring had never thought that a mare like Pea Gravel would cry like this.  Despite her lashing out at Pea, Daring still had a sense to stay next to her. Daring scooted over and ran a hoof through Pea's mane.  Pea looked up with watery eyes.

"Pea, if you're truly sorry… well, I'm not sure there's anything we could do," she smiled and placed a hoof on either side of Pea's head and pulled the grey mare to her chest. Pea was shocked and blinked in disbelief. "Shh, if you need to let anything out, go ahead," Daring said hugging Pea.

The cyber mare wrapped her forelegs around Daring's barrel and hugged tight. The pegasus patted her head gingerly as Pea Gravel let out choked sobs.  For her recklessness here, for the pain out there. It had been awhile since she had cried like that and it calmed her nerves to let out what was bottled up.

How much time passed there the two mares didn't know, but neither cared. Pea had only hugged a handful of ponies in her life and eventually pulled herself into a sitting position up next to Daring.

"Thanks. I um, I n-needed that," the grey mare sniffled.

"I'm sorry I lashed out at you," Daring Do sighed, "I was scared. For you and of you, a bit. When I said I was going to use you to make money,  you know I didn't mean it, right?  No hard feelings?" Daring smiled with a hoof around Pea's shoulder.

"Yeah, no hard feelings," Pea sat for a moment with Daring's arm over her shoulder, "oh, I meant to tell you," Pea said wiping the wetness from her face with her vest, "that thing you found, it's called the King's Tear. The ape mentioned something about it being an invaluable treasure, have you heard of it?"

Daring Do leaned on Pea looking up through the tree leaves, "The King's Tear huh? Very poetic sounding," she sighed. Pea looked down at the tanned mare leaning on her and blushed slightly.

"I’ve heard of it," Pea said, "It's something Volm is looking for, something I'm looking for, it’s the reason my lands are at war, and I have it now,” she grinned.

“We have it, and it belongs in a museum.”

“Well, it’s not even from here,” Pea smirked, “and if I leave it here a whole army of evil will find a way here to get it.  It’s safer with me, right?”

Daring relented. “Perhaps.  We’ll talk about that later.  The festival is next week and your book is nearly ready, I’ll have copies on the way to sell.”

“That sounds good,” Pea sighed as Daring sat up and grinned, “what?”

“You need an outfit.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

The night before the Literature Festival Daring Do, Pea Gravel, and Rainbow Dash sat in Rarity's boutique while the white unicorn was picking different dresses for the festivities. Next to the door was Daring’s satchel with a thick, newly bound copy of Pea's book.

"Are you ready to try out a dress?" Rarity called from inside a dressing room.

Pea eyed the cyan pegasus. "I dunno. What do you think, Rainbow, would I look good in a dress?"

"If it was made of sheet metal," Dash smirked, "Come on. I think getting a dress for you will be a fun," she smiled warmly as Pea rolled her eyes and trotted ahead.  Rainbow grinned wickedly. “Better you first than me,” she whispered as she pressed her hooves together.

"Oh goodness! I'm certainly glad you came here, I'd simply die if you went to the festival with that on," She cried pointing to Pea's worn vest.

The grey mare chuckled. "Promise?"  Rarity glared for a second before returning to her haughty smile.

Rarity proceeded to look over at all the dresses she had out. They all were beautifully colorful and ornate, each a work of art. Rarity and Rainbow went through most if not all of them, each making Pea feel less and less comfortable. When Daring saw her being stuffed into and pulled out of dresses she couldn't help but laugh; Pea stuck her tongue  at the mare in response.

After what felt like forever they had gone through every dress Rarity had in the mare's size and bigger.  Pea wasn’t pleased with any of them.

"Rarity?" Pea asked, putting a hefty necklace back into a drawer, "Do you have something perhaps more, oh, I don't know… humble?"

Rarity giggled, "Well, I suppose. A while back Zecora came in asked me if I could make her another cloak-"

"Could you?!" Pea asked excitedly for a moment before returning to her calm nature.  The other mares giggled.

Rarity went over to her fabrics and reached behind a stuffed shelf case. She pulled out a dark green fabric that looked like it had never been rolled out. She carried it over to her work bench and began making the stencils necessary for the cloak.  Several minutes later she beamed a smile and removed her red rimmed glasses.  “Finished~,” she sing songed.

Daring was in a dark blue dress when she walked up to Pea, "Do you think this one looks good on me?" she asked.

"You look daring!" Pea smirked. The pegasus chuckled.

Rainbow Dash's voice called over from the entrance door. "Hey, what's this?"

Daring scrambled over to the mare and snatched her bag that contained the novel. "Hey, no peeking!"

"Peeking at what?" Dash in a puzzled tone.

Pea waved a hoof for the mares to walk back over into the main room. Daring held the shoulder strap in her teeth, keeping the contents away from Rainbow Dash. Pea grabbed the bag when she had the chance and pulled the book out as she galloped around the room with Daring chasing her. She and Dash stared at how simple the brown and red bound book looked. Pea handed it over to Rainbow Dash who blinked in disbelief.

"Go ahead, read it."

"Pea, I wanted you to see it bound first," Daring said.

Rainbow took the novel and held it as if it were gold. Pea smiled back at the pegasus as she lifted the cover to see the first page. Dash cocked her head to the side when she saw there was no title.

Pea smacked her forehead. "We forgot to name it!"

"You know, I had an idea if you two want to hear it," Dash said quietly. Pea and Daring leaned forward with their ears turned to listen. Dash put the book safely under her wing, "Pea, you told me that there was so much out there a pony couldn't control, that creatures like us are at the bottom. It sounds like a story, like, not a real one, but it is real.  So, I was thinking of naming it ‘Fact or Fiction’."

Pea and Daring gasped. "That's a great idea!" they shouted in unison as they clapped their hooves, Pea’s making a tinking sound.

Dash stood in a proud position. "Of course it's a good idea, I thought of it!"

“Well, I got my dress and I’m good to go,” Daring said. Dash thanked the two mares  and Rarity then flew off into the sky to her home.  Rarity was too busy muttering over the silliness of Pea's cloak to pay much attention as Rainbow Dash exited the boutique.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Rainbow held the novel in her forelegs as she pumped her wings through the night sky. She raced through air currents and glided through clouds on her way back to her home, the perfect place to read the book. She slowed her pace once the door of her house was in view then she threw it open and kicked it closed on her way to her room.

Not very many ponies knew of her book collection. It was in her trophy room on shelves hidden by various banners of sports teams and Wonderbolt’s members, but in the center of that room was her very own LazyBuck recliner.  Dash flew into the room full of dart boards, pool tables, and hidden books and landed on the wide cushioned chair. She took a moment to catch her breath after the race home.

For some reason she couldn't calm down. She vaguely remembered the things Pea Gravel said in the field outside Ponyville, but to see it all and more there in black and white, the mare felt anxious before she began reading it.  Dash opened the cover and turned to the first page with text.

Chapter 8

It was written by A.K Yearling along with the short tempered mare, Pea Gravel, it was about the journey the stranger had from a dismal childhood to when she arrived on Equestria's shores.

The title page had nothing except the authors names; A.K. Yearling and Boatswain. Rainbow was puzzled of the seemingly random name. She soon realized it was just a pen name, like Daring's. She flipped to the first page and began reading the book she had waited two months to hear about.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Hello, my name is Boatswain.  This may seem strange, but the world you know of:  cupcakes, rainbows, princesses, and even friendship is nothing but a fantasy dream for ponies like me, and others who don't live alongside you.  If you'll let me, I'll explain it the way I lived through it and maybe you'll appreciate the world you know and live in a bit more when you put down this book.

Where I was from ponies had no chance for royalty, fancy dresses, nobility, or even property. It may be an alien word around here, but we sometimes weren't even seen as thinking creatures. We were seen as simple animals by many races and slave labor by others.

I grew up poor with my parents on a ranch in the desert.  My father was an earth pony,  had and orange mane and tail, red fur, and a face that showed the labor he did to feed my mother and I.  My mother, she was a pegasus and a rarity to find as a free pony.  Both were nomads until they met each other, my mother's fair grey fur and dark platinum mane caught his eye and the fact she had wings meant her children could fly free, too.  Sadly what came out of her was a little grey foal and fiery orange mane; Me.

Having a family to care for was no easy task for my father.  In addition to food and housing for us, which was just expensive enough to keep us stuck where we were, the desert was monsters called Lepurics, deadly scorpions, and worse of all carnihorses.  Now for you at home yes, a carnihorse is exactly what it sounds like, an equine with razor like teeth that can only eat meat.  And these aren’t even the worst of what was out there, running wild.

With all of these dangers and a brewing territory dispute between the Ridge Dogs and the Sand Boars, my father needed to find a place as close to safety and as far away from the brewing war as we could get.

That was when we found a plantation in the Sand Boars territory who was willing to let a family of ponies stay and work.  It was at the edge of a forest that led into a mountain and compared to where we were, in the desert, it was heaven to a filly like me.

That’s where another difference lies between the world out there.  A plantation out there is a farm like place, but with livestock.  Along with barley, wheat, and hay, they raised practically brain dead horses, pigs, and cows for carnivorous buyers.  Unfortunately, ponies who couldn't keep up with feeding and tending the herds were lobotomized and added to the herds as an example.  After they were slaughtered they were turned into food, clothing, and works of art.

This was life as we knew it and my father didn't want this this to happen to us, so he made a deal with the rancher, a sentient boar, that as long as my father does the his share of labor in the fields while my mother and I clean its house and cook, we’d be left in peace as laborers. The boar accepted with conditions of his own that I was never told of.

I know what you're thinking, "Boatswain, that's a horrible trade.  What happens if your father can't work anymore?"

The truth is, my father would rather work out in the fields under sweltering heat then fight the Ridge Dogs. These diamond dog like things have a massive and well organized pack.  All they would do with a pony is eat it, no question.  The Sand Boars on the other hand are a much more lenient to other hooved creatures.  This band of wealthy pig lords would rather pay ponies to work for them until their use is out, sell them to the lowest bidder or use us as cannon fodder.

I was about eight when I started noticing differences with my parents. My father became thinner and sun bleached while my mother came back to our house on the ranch later and later from the boar’s main.  The later she came home, the more silver she came back with.  This was a reoccurring thing and at the time I thought nothing of it, the only thing that kept the two going was the stories dad would tell late at night.

They were of fantastic things like wish granting fairies and ponies who could slay dragons, tales of hope for the pitiful things we were.  I became fascinated with things that weren’t real to them, and I was often caught daydreaming when I should have been scrubbing or dusting, but I

wasn't the only one. He often told stories to the ponies that worked with him and his stories gave them a sense of hope and sometimes, purpose.

One night not too soon after I turned eleven everything changed. The desert air was blowing in hot for the time of year while all of the tired ponies and whatever other creature that was unfortunate enough to be stuck in the ranch, they all slept dreamless, except me. I lay wide awake between my parents on our dirt floor with a single layer of old wood as a bed and a wool blanket over the three of us.

I stared at the crumbling wooden ceiling with a sense of unknown fear.  I tossed and turned for a while until I decided to go to the open window, look at the night sky, and gaze at the stars.  My heart froze and my eyes blinked in disbelief at what I saw slinking through the other ranch houses with terrifying silence. It was a dragon. Each house was made of thin material and was two stories tall to house all the laborers, and the dragon was crawling silently, reaching nearly two thirds of the way up a the buildings.

I would later come to know that this dragon's name was Wiktet.  His body was long and a rust red color with porcupine quills running down his wavy back, but no wings like the ones I heard of in stories. His teeth jutted out to make his mouth look like it was in a permanent smile.  Wiktet slithered around the ranch houses like a snake. He peered his pale yellow eyes into the houses with a hungry look, he drooled as his arm carefully reached into a window and shuffled his talons through the room while a small grey filly watched from across the housing complex.

His eyes lit up when he grabbed something and he pulled his tawny arm back out and held a labor worn pony between his talons. Wiktet licked the sleepy pony who cringed from the unnatural touch. She opened her eyes for only moment before the dragon shoved her neck back with a push of his thumb, killing her.

I couldn't believe what I saw, but what came next was just as shocking.

The boar rancher hobbled his fat girth down the path that ran along the fronts of the houses.  Wiktet crawled out to meet him and his massive size dwarfed the fat pig. I saw an almost mutual look between them.

"Gracias, cerdo," the dragon drooled, "Your workers have a sabor especial."

"De nada, boss," the boar looked around in the darkness nervously, "I have a favor to ask of you, if you'll listen," he said through his fat mouth.

"For a few bites, I may take it.   What does my little cerdo want?" Wiktet hissed.

"I have this one familia in a pueblo," the boar pointed to my house and I ducked out of view, "the father in there fills my workers heads with stories full of azúcar y mentiras. If he keeps going, they might get ideas."

The dragon wheezed an awful laugh. "You want me to eat some caballitos?"

I could hear the dirt scrape against his belly and claws as he crawled closer. I had to think fast, I ran over to my parents and shook them awake.

"Mamma!  Father!  Wake up!" I cried.

"Eh, what is it pequeño?”  My father asked groggily.  He saw how frightened I looked and held me close in his forelegs, "you just had a bad dream, Boat.  Come back to bed-"  his eyes shot open when he saw the talons of Wiktet's claws slip through the window.

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Rainbow Dash left the book open on her lap and leaned back into her cushioned chair finding it far more comfortable than when she started.  She remembered Pea Gravel telling her about this part of the story.  Rainbow leaned forward and fluttered her wings, she felt sick as she thought about what happened to Pea's mother.  That pegasus was clipped for life, she went crazy being stuck on the ground. Dash turned a few pages and found a part where Pea was wandering alone away from the ranch. She ended up in the mountains as the weather began to change for the worse.

Rainbow found where Pea wrote of her encounter with the carnihorse.  The pegasus grimaced at the daunting paragraph telling of the meat eating horse's untimely end. Rainbow Dash skipped past that part and found a paragraph a little ahead and found it much less revolting.