Tex walked into Ponyville, looking at all the ponies that walked through town, each one minding their own business. She began to wonder that if she really couldn't be able to get a job as a mercenary, what would she do there. After a few minutes of thinking about what would happen later on, she realized that she was being followed. She did not turn to see by who, but instead kept walking. Soon the ponies following her began to walk slightly faster, trying to catch up with her.
"Are you sure that's her?" One of the ponies asked.
"Of course I am, just look at her cutie mark!" Another pony said.
"Then why's she runnin'?" A third one asked.
Tex turned around to see who was talking, but could not see anyone.
"Down here."
Tex looked down to see three filllies looking up at her. One was yellow with a red mane which had a red bow attached to it. The second pony was an orange pegasus with a purple mane. The third filly was a white unicorn, and her mane was both lavender and pink.
"Are you Tex?" The orange filly asked.
"Depends on whose asking."
"My name is Scootaloo."
"Ah'm Applebloom."
"And I'm Sweetie Belle."
"And we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" They all said in unison.
"Fascinating. Do you need something?" Tex asked abrasively.
"Not really, we just wanted t' introduce ourselves." Applebloom peeped.
"Then yeah, I'm Tex."
"Wow. You're already a legend in Ponyville!" Scootaloo said.
"I am?" Tex asked, not even slightly surprised.
"An earth pony who beat up three pegasi without any trouble." Sweetie Belle said.
"An' not just any earth pony. A mare! From th' Everfree Forest!" Applebloom laughed. "Ah bet those three won't ever show their faces 'round these parts again."
"Don't forget that she didn't have her cutie mark until she kicked their flanks." Scootaloo whooped, then raised her brow. "Waitaminute, I just realized. She didn't have her cutie mark until yesterday."
"And?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Maybe there just isn't a lot of things to do in the Everfree Forest."
"That's true. It's just that I thought Sarge and the other red and blue stallions were the only grown ups without theirs."
"I know Sarge." Tex said, interrupting their train of thought.
"Really?" Applebloom asked. "Sarge is stayin' over at the farm with me n' mah family!"
"So you're Applejack's, or whatever her name is, sister?"
"Yup." Applebloom nodded.
"Anything else you need to talk to me about?"
"Not really, why?" Scootaloo asked.
"Not to be rude, not that I mind being rude, but I'm kind of busy."
"Oh, sorry." Sweetie Belle said. "We just wanted to meet you, but we need to get going to find our cutie marks."
"Yeah!" Scootaloo and Applebloom said together, and the three of them darted away.
Tex watched as they disappeared around the corner of a house, gathering that cutie marks were a big deal. She shrugged the thought off and resumed walking until she wound up in an area with dozens of stands, each one with a sign or a symbol on it, and she quickly understood that she wandered into a market.
"If I become a Freelancer here, maybe I should make a stand." Tex said jokingly to herself.
Tex turned around to see Fluttershy grabbing some coins out of a satchel to place on a stand, where a mare gave her a large bag. Fluttershy turned around and bumped into Tex, causing Fluttershy to fall down to the ground.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't watch where I was-" Fluttershy began, but stopped once she saw who it was.
"Fluttershy, right?" Tex asked, to which Fluttershy responded with a nod. "What are you doing?"
"I-I'm getting food for the animals I'm looking after."
"So you're getting food for Grif, huh?" Tex laughed, but Fluttershy just stared at her. "How can you deal with that idiot?"
"Grif's not bad. He may be a lazy stallion, but he has a big heart."
"Sure he does." Tex snorted. Fluttershy continued to stare plainly at her. "You're not kidding..."
"No, I'm not. There was this one time when I asked him to watch some bunnies for me, and he accidentally fell asleep-"
"Right. Accident." Tex rolled her eyes.
"And then when he woke up he ran into the Everfree Forest to find Angel Bunny." Fluttershy continued, ignoring Tex's jab at Grif. "He almost died when he was in there too."
"Wouldn't have been a loss really. Lord knows I've tried killing that yellow asshat with no success."
"Why don't you like him?"
"What is there to like?" Tex retorted. "For starters, he's an idiot. He's also really lazy. He's a smart ass-"
"He's not really any of those things." Fluttershy interrupted softly. "Whenever we talk he seems to be really smart. He may be a little lazy, but he often helps me around my cottage. And as far as being... um..."
"A smart ass?"
"Yes. I think you're just mistaking his sense of humor. It may be a little rough, and I may not understand most of his jokes, but he means well. You just haven't gotten to know him."
"I can't fucking believe this place." Tex muttered.
"It was, um... goodbye." Fluttershy said quietly, before setting quick pace back to her home.
"Un. Fucking. Believable." Tex growled, before furthering her walk into Ponyville.
Tex wandered aimlessly through Ponyville for an hour, getting a feeling for her surroundings, until she came across the Carousel Boutique. She walked up to the door and opened it to see Rarity fiddling with a dress on one of the marequins.
"Hello, welcome to the Carousel Boutique." Rarity said without turning around to greet Tex. When Tex did not reply, Rarity turned to see Tex staring quietly at her from the doorway. "Oh, hello Tex. What brings you to my boutique? You wouldn't be happening to want a dress, would you?"
"No, just walking around. Getting a feel for the place just in case I have to stay here for any longer than I want to." Tex said, before adding quietly, "And I think that that time is just about up."
"Oh? And how are you liking Ponyville?" Rarity asked warily.
"I preferred the canyon."
"That's too bad." Rarity said, turning her focus back to the dress again. "I've heard of your reputation."
"And?"
"Well... I can't say I approve of that sort of thing, even to a group of ponies that deserve it as much as they do." Rarity said as she continued on her dress. "But I'm sure other ponies in Ponyville will look up to you to some degree."
"Where's Simmons?" Tex asked curiously.
"I believe Sarge wanted to speak with him, why? Do you need to speak with him?"
"Just trying to figure something out. See if he's changed at all."
"Changed?" Rarity repeated.
"Never mind, you wouldn't be able to help."
"Very well." Rarity said quietly. "So do you have any plans on what you intend to do here?"
"Find a way out of here."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. I'll just have to wait until Delta is up here." Tex mumbled as she walked to the door.
"Leaving already?"
"Yeah, I need to do a little detective work."
"If you ever need a dress tailored, don't hesitate to look me up." Rarity said happily.
"I wouldn't count on it." Tex said as she slammed the door behind her.