//------------------------------// // 26) A Job Well Done // Story: Fact or Fiction // by Mocha Star //------------------------------// It was a few hours before dawn in the chilled forest. The night birds were singing their last songs and the midnight creatures crawled back to their hovels before morning came to the forest. From the blacksmith's cabin, the muffled sounds of a conversation were heard. Only two voices were speaking; Pea Gravel and Gunter's. "What do I need to do with this sword?" The cyber mare asked. Between the two as they sat on barrels was an array of weapons strewn about on the floor. Some broad swords, curved swords, axes and long swords. One sword stuck out, it was a slightly curving single sided blade that was as long as Pea Gravel was standing on her rear legs. Gunter shook his head. "These all are what I show to customers, not what I sell," he smirked, "Knowin' your history, imma be needin' strong metal to make a sword that'll hold itself together for you." The mare scowled. "You said you had a mine back further in the woods, right?" she asked in a deeper tone. "Don't tell me you plan on goin' back there?" the old man said with a squint. "It's suicide, Ah tell ya! The trek alone..." he trailed off. Pea Gravel looked down at her hands, "I need a weapon that's as dangerous as I am. Now, can you do that with metal from your mine?” Gunter chuckled dryly. "Fine. I'll give you a sword on loan. It'll be the same design as the one yer lookin’ at so your hands will get used to it," he reached down and picked up the one she was asking about, “it’s far lower quality but it might keep you alive ‘til ya get back.” He turned the handle toward her and she grasped it, her fingers firmly gripping. She began to examine it, feel its balance, and slowly wave it, the light of a candle shone beautifully in it’s polished veneer. Gunter had begun picking up his displayed weapons from across the floor with reckless abandon, hobbling to a workbench and laying them quickly, gently, across the table. “So,” Pea started as she stood tall and swung the sword hard once, listening to it silently slice through the air,” will this really survive long enough to get me there?” "Ahh, maybe," Gunter hooted, "but you'll still do it." He put the last weapon away before turning back around. “You’re a tough one, so once you get me the ore; I'll begin working on your sword. After that you'll have to do a couple mercenary jobs to pay off the debt," he said turning around to look at her. Gunter cringed when he saw her standing unnaturally tall, like a human. He scoffed then turned to leave. Alone, the grey mare stood there in the armory breathing lightly. Her heart beating hard in her chest. She was becoming antsy, like something inside was getting hungry at the thought of spilling blood again. She shook her head, clearing it of her impending bloodlust. She lowered the sword and walked, still upright, to the stairs. She navigated them with an ease one wouldn’t expect before she stumbled, landing on all fours, the blade still clenched in her fist. She continued up the stairs to the rooms on all fours. She found the Unicorn curled up in a ball in the center of the room, on the floor. He looked so peaceful; like a small child sleeping. She sighed contently and stepped into the room. Setting the blade on the floor she approached him. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she gingerly shook him awake. "Come on, we've got a big day ahead. Up an' at em." The still unnamed unicorn lifted his head and yawned slightly, covering his mouth with his hoof before looking up at Pea Gravel. "It is so early, can't I sleep just a bit longer?" Pea Gravel hooked a hand underneath his armpit and lifted him to his hooves. "Nope, we've got places to be, grab your saddle bags, too." The Unicorn stretched like a cat, a pleasurable groan escaped him as well as a couple pops from his back. "Oh alright, where are we going?" Pea smirked. "An outpost for supplies; I'm sick of those damn potatoes," she laughed and turned to walk away, “take a few to do your business, I’ll give you a minute and I’ll see you,” she turned her head and glared at him, “soon.” A chill went through the unicorn as her look pierced into his very soul. He nodded quickly, exhaling shakily as she left, having picked up the sword with her mouth on her way out. She returned downstairs to the armory to see a gift set on the floor, where her sword was. There was now a hoop sheath for the blade, the belt was tightened roughly to her size. Standing on her rear legs again with the new sheath in her hands she smiled at the gesture. As she slipped the belt over her torso like a bandoleer, sheathing the sword. It felt smooth and easy to work with. I can get used to this, just have to be careful to not cut myself while taking it in and out. She heard wood creaking and saw the unicorn coming down the stairs. He had a look of confusion. "What's the sword for?" Pea Gravel sighed. "The outpost. Let's go." The unicorn bit his lip. "Shouldn't we pack up some food, water? How long will we be gone?" Pea Gravel returned to her four leg stance and walked to the front door. “Just a day or so. You can eat grass, you baby," she said in a scolding tone. She pushed the door open with her nose and looked into the still dark forest, the colors of dawn on the horizon. Pea Gravel was in the lead with the unicorn trailing behind, careful to avoid branches snapping back and thorn bushes as the mare began a steady trot into the forest. "Where is this outpost?" the unicorn whispered, so not to alert any predators that might be lurking. "I talked to Gunter before we left," she whispered back, "he said it was back out in the plains a ways, we might have passed it on our way here,” she finished without looking back. "P-Pea Gravel, we might have company," the unicorn stammered in a hoarse whisper as he heard noises trailing them. "Just keep walking and don’t look back. We're getting close to the edge of the forest, if they follow us there, they'll have some company." The unicorn swallowed the lump in his throat and looked ahead, focusing on the silhouette of her frame. The further they went the denser the forest became. The unicorn noticed this with a frightful look. "Shouldn't the forest be clearing if we're going out of the forest?" Pea Gravel was silent. She kept walking as if the Unicorn wasn't talking. He asked again. "Warrior, where are we going?" Without looking back Pea Gravel answered in a hiss. "Quiet, he'll hear you." The unicorn gulped hard. The ground underneath them became rocky and barren, the trees began to clear and it began to lighten up. They walked into a clearing that was the remnants of a quarry. The unicorn scrunched in face in fear. "Why are we here?" he hissed, "This isn’t ‘out of the forest’.” In the middle of the quarry was a deep, dark mining cave. Pea Gravel stood up on her hind legs and readied her loaned sword. The unicorn looked up at her in disbelief. "Are you really going in there!?" The mare nodded wordlessly, a grin forming on her muzzle. The unicorns knees began to tremble. "Then, I will follow. You, didn't bring a torch..." he hesitated. Pea Gravel smirked at his remark. She tightened her fist around the grip and began to move to the cave's mouth. The Unicorn swallowed his fear and followed behind. The cave was deep with rooms carved and dug out; making it look like a maze. As the two walked the air became thick with dust, there was a smell that putrid and stale. “Hey, I brought a light, dumbass. Light your horn,” she said flatly. She could hear him wince. The unicorn's horn lit up like a blue lamp, illuminating their path until it dissipated several meters ahead. Pea Gravel held a very grim expression, she knew something was living in these mines. The minimal light showed how the tunnels had been 'lived in' as they trotted deeper in. There were piles of bones and dried hides piled by walls in various rooms; the meat that remained was what was creating the stench. Some fresher than others. They were now deep in the mine. Here, ore that was left behind by the miners shown in the unicorns light, ready for harvest. If they had a pickaxe they could mine some and be on their way, but the foreboding feeling of being watched was too much. Quickly she grabbed ore that was strewn across the ground and began to shove it into the unicorn’s saddlebags. The Unicorn was nothing short of terrified, his heartbeat was nearly audible in the silence and the light from his horn began to wane. Pea Gravel though, was ready. From ahead of them to the right, in a darkened room came a low croaking growl, like an enormous bullfrog: The tell tale sign that a Lepuric was near. The tunnel before them was tall and wide, perfect for combat. In the faint light they both saw the beast. It had a haunting resemblance to Volm. Unlike him it was huge and a grey-ish red. It could easily eat an ox whole with its wedge tooth smile. Two black, soulless orbs where eyes should have been stared out at them from the very front of the muzzle, most of it's body hidden in darkness. It's veins underneath it's thick throbbed with each of its heartbeats. It sat crouched, ready to pounce at any moment with its monkey-like arms, that ended in at least three fingers, each with a talon as long as her new blade; ready to grab its prey. Pea Gravel withdrew her sword silently. "I need you to get back," she said quietly as she exhaled to the unicorn. Before the unicorn could react the Lepuric's talons dug into the ground. It lunged it's body forward as the unicorn's light gave out from his primal fear. His natural instincts kicked in and he ran for his life, hooves pounding against the stone ground. He ran and he ran, completely dumb with fright and blind. Pea Gravel shouted for him to come back so she could see but it was too late, he was already gone and so was chance of light. The deathly pigmented beast was in an intense battle with the cyber mare. It was pitch dark in the cave but Pea Gravel knew where it was, she could see it's eyes dimly glowing in the darkness, the smell of it’s body, and the sounds it made. Odd gurgling and rumbling, the stretching of it’s tendons were like rubber bands, that was in addition to the stomps, growls, and steps it made as it attacked her. She had less then a second to hear it's eight talon paw swipe before it would hit the ground next to her. The lepuric tried to take up as much space as possible with it's long reaching arms, even though fighting blind Pea felt the thrill of battle, the bloodlust. She ducked and swiped the blade, feeling the resistance of flesh being rendered. It felt amazing how much reach the blade gave her and she grinned as she had heard a few fingers drop to the ground. By now her eyes could partially see what was going on. How can I see in such a dark place? The thought distracted her just enough so that one of the lepuric's paws violently gripped the mare's leg. She was swung around like a baseball bat, hitting the cavern wall. The pain was like a refreshing rain, it had been awhile since something had hurt her that bad. She took the sword's grip in both hands and drove the long blade into the beast's wrist. It exploded out from the other side and Pea Gravel saw her chance. She grabbed the extended blade and twisted the sword. The beast squealed in an ear piercing scream and howl as Pea was released from its grip. She used her strength to swing with the sword and fall to the ground with force; severing the beasts hand and tearing it’s muscles asunder. She crouched on the floor, ready for another round of beatings. The Lepuric looked at it's hand calmly. The artery was squirting out blood while the heavy hand was attached still with only a bit of skin and muscle. It looked at her with it's soulless black eyes. "So it is true," a child's voice said. Pea Gravel looked around, trying to find the voices owner. "Who said that?" she growled, “more for me to fight?" "It's only you and me," the voice of an innocent young girl said, "he has told me so much about you.” Pea Gravel looked at the Lepuric. It's maw was curled up in a twisted, toothy, disjointed smile, but the voice didn't come from it's mouth. There was a child’s giggle. "I'm talking to you in your mind, silly pony." The voice laughed again. Pea Gravel's lust for battle burned and became even hotter. She knew that voice wasn't the monster's, it took that voice from an innocent, like the rumors had whispered during her travels. "I can give you happy thoughts," the voice said. A flash of the child was shown to Pea Gravel. She was a little human and was running through a farm field of wheat with a yellow dog. The mare's stomach churned painfully. The voice rang sweetly in her head again. "I can also give you bad ones..." Pea Gravel's knees wobbled at the next flash. The dog's body was ripped apart, it’s flesh filleted in uneven patches. It’s organs were holding it, tied in place of a scare crow. Her focus was turned to the girl, standing in front of the dog’s body, looking at her, and holding a doll. "I met her brothers; Able, Cameron, Wilfred, Roy. His lovely mother, Mary. Her big strong father, Carl and, her little baby sister..." Pea Gravel shook with anger. "You bastard.” In her surprised state she wasn't prepared for what was about to happen. The monster's other hand grabbed the mare and pinned her to the ground with crushing force. She growled in pain as her sword dropped out of reach into the darkness. She beat at the massive hand with her own, even going as far as to bite it, but it held firm. The mouth slid open and a long slimy tongue trailed out with ropes of drool dangling from it. Pea Gravel tried to push the tongue away, but it moved like a python around her neck. She gazed furiously at the soulless eyes as the girl’s voice spoke innocently again, "Why are you fighting? For a sword? What good will a weapon do for you except cause more pain?" Pea Gravel's mental gears were in overdrive. How was she going to get out of this? She looked up at the lepuric's jaw, it was within arm's reach. She lunged her arm forward and grabbed a tooth in the monster's maw firmly. It couldn’t bite down since its tongue was in the way but its muscles tightened around Pea Gravel. Her face began to darken from the lack of air and exertion but she did it; she pulled the tooth free. It had a trail of flesh and veins anchoring it but she yanked it back to her quickly stabbing and cutting a chunk off the tongue around her neck sending spurts of blood to her body. The tongue coiled back up into the monster's mouth as it released her. She rushed over to her sword and picked it up. The Lepuric arched it's back and bared it's teeth in a gurgling scream and howl combination. Pea Gravel was up on two legs and rushed the beast. It tried to sweep her with it's stumpy arm and she jumped over the blind swipe easily. She arched back, the sword tip brushing her tail just before she swung forward and drove the sword’s blade between its eyes at the tip of its muzzle, splitting it’s face in twain. It thrashed around and bucked like a rodeo bull. Pea Gravel pulled the sword out with some difficulty and fell back onto the ground, ready to continue fighting, she was near the wall of the cave and she played that to her advantage. Feigning a limp she took two steps to her left. The Lepuric grinned and lowered its head to charge the injured mare. Its rumbling growl echoed in the cave as it launched its body forward. The top of it's head rammed into her like a freight train; faster than she could move away. She instinctively swung at it's still ducked head, missing widely. The pain racked her body as she was slammed into the wall with such force there was an echoed rumble further down the mines. The Lepuric pulled its head back to look at its victory. Pea planted her rear hooves against the ground and jumped up on the monster's head, scrambling to the top as quickly as she could she readied her sword. With one hand on the grip and the other on the pommel she forced the sword point into the base of its skull. It threw her off, she hit the floor rolling, losing her balance and falling onto her tail with a yelp. The Lepuric squealed and shivered with pain as paralysis took over it's body. It arched over itself until its head hit the ground behind it, then it collapsed limply. Pea Gravel stood for a moment watching it. Her sword gripped tightly in her hand. The girl’s voice echoed. "I am but a part of his plan, you can't stop him..." "Stop it. Stop talking," Pea Gravel said desperately. "We are all intertwined in this web of life and fate..." Pea Gravel stepped up to the limp beast. It's body was dying but the brain was still working, independently of the rest of its form. She took an executioner's stance and stomped at it's neck. "Your lot in life is to suffer, Pea Gravel. That is your purpose. Just like the little girl’s family who lived their whole lives; just to be eaten, just like your friend Joe. You are made to suffer..." Pea Gravel raised her leg and stomped at the meaty neck, covering herself in rotten, stinking blood. There was a crevasse of flesh torn away but she kept stomping, "Stop it! Just stop!" The voice was now very weak and faint, "Stop what? Telling the truth? You cannot escape your fate, Pea Gravel. You, can't, escape..." Pea Gravel's arms and legs were now still. The monster before was dead; mentally and physically. Finally. Her chest heaved with pained breaths, her body was shaking from the exertion and pain that was making itself known. The deed was done, she could now get her sword. With a blank expression she put her sword back in her sheath and turned to a wall, hoping she could follow it out of the mines. She took to her four hooves again since it was easier on her body. Hours longer than it took the two of them to get so and she was nearly exhausted when she smelled the fresh air of the surface. The pinprick of light gave her a personal rush as she left the wall and began a fast trot to escape the darkness. Once she was out the unicorn rushed up to her with very worried eyes and had her lean on him for support. She didn’t have it in her to fight the unicorn at the moment, she just wanted to get back with the ore. He carried her on his back, the whole way one thought remained in her clouded mind; Is this really my fate?