Fact or Fiction

by Mocha Star

5) How Did I Get Caught Up With You? (part 1)

The pegasus gently moved out from under Pea and lay at the head of the bed. Before laying down she put part of the bed's covers over her friend and then fell asleep herself, hopeful of Pea wanting to stay. While one mare went into a troubled sleep the other slept like a rock sinks in water.

The next morning Pea awoke to her nephew jumping on top of her rather suddenly, "Wake up, wake up!" he cried, "Somepony came to the castle and she really wants to meet you!"

Pea rolled Tuff off her chest, "Do you have to crush my ribs every morning, little bolder?"

Daring woke up groggily, "Wha-? What's going on?" she yawned.

"Twilight said somepony called Celestia is here to visit Pea Gravel!" Tuff declared proudly. The two mares gasped.

Daring got off the bed hurriedly and grabbed a metal forearm,"Come on! If the princess, not one of the little ones...the big one wants to meet you, you have to hurry!"

Tuff took the other arm and they both sat Pea up. She pulled her hands away and made a grumpy morning thank you to the assistants. She made her way for the door and Tuff called after her, "She's in the six-chair room with Twilight. I think there's some breakfast ready."

Pea rolled her eyes and trudged through the halls to the main room where the princess were waiting. Seeing the fabled 'Sun Goddess' for the first time snapped Pea to her senses. Twilight sat next to this massive and elegant alicorn as if she had known her for years. Pea on the other hand stood gawking several feet away.

"Come and sit with us," Celestia's charming voice blanketed the air, "There is breakfast waiting here and we have much to talk about."

Deja vu, Pea thought.

She walked forward and the morning sun's rays reflected off of Pea's legs, causing the sun princess to half flinch in surprise. The cyber mare took a seat at the table and found a small but filling breakfast awaiting her, it wasn't as extravagant as her first breakfast at Twilight's. Pea targeted a wonderful smelling bowl of oatmeal with daintily sliced fruits on top of the morning soup, Celestia sipped a mug of coffee tensely. For how pleasant of a morning it was something felt tension between the royal and the foreigner.

"So I've heard that you've made a name for yourself, Boatswain," Celestia said.

Pea half choked on an apple slice, "Oh, so you've read the book A.K. Yearling and I wrote?" She found a glass of orange juice nearby and sipped it, "Did it deem tolerable, your highness?"

Celestia chuckled,"I've read it. It's an interesting book, but I'm not to fond of the hoof-full of violent stories some ponies write."

Pea leaned forward in her chair, "My apologies, princess."

"No need," the alicorn smiled. She looked over to Twilight, "I hope you don't mind, faithful student, but I need a word with Miss Gravel… alone."

"Alright Celestia, I'll be in my room studying if you two need anything," and with that the lavender alicorn left.

Celestia's maternal look turned icy. Her magic aura glowed atop her long horn and before Pea knew it they were on the mountain that looked over Canterlot. The sudden thin mountain air lashed Pea's lungs, the alicorn seemed unaffected. The grey mare looked around at the snowy area so high above the rest of the land, and somehow Celestia's stare was as colder than the air biting Pea.

“I welcomed you to my land with wings wide open,” Celestia said with a troubled brow,” not a cross word between us.”

Pea didn’t know how to react. If did this alicorn know about her background or was she just paranoid?.

“I haven't any idea of what your talking about, your highness," Pea said numbly.

"Do not play ignorant with me," The sun princess glared, "I know of what hunts you out there. I will have none of that, you should never have come here."

"So you do know what's going on out there," Pea spat.

Celestia smiled, "Indeed.I've been a ruler for far too long to be careless.”

"Have you done anything about them?" Pea dug her fingers in the snow,”Equines like us?”

Celestia stood silent for a moment, "I'm doing what's right, leaving it alone. It’s best to not get involved."

Pea snapped. She lurched forward and grabbed the alicorn's collar, "Ponies like you and I are dying out there!" She shouted, "Plague and war is eating our kind alive...how can you do nothing?!"

Celestia looked down at her, "Ponies like you are dying. You cling to hate and anger, why are you patronizing me?"

Her aura grabbed Pea and flung her away in the snow. The mare rolled several feet then shot up to her feet, Celestia had a cold smile on her regal face. Pea gritted her teeth and clenched her fists into the snow.

The princess laughed, "Oh, you plan on fighting me? Don't do that to yourself."

Pea sprung forward with a fist ready for a swing. Her blood boiled as her jump neared her to the 'Goddess'. Inches away from her regal face Pea's dangerous fist was caught with a yellow cloud of magic. Pea moved her other fist but it too became snared, then her feet locked to the ground against her will.

Celestia looked at the angry statue of a mare with a entertained malice, "So this is what a pony must be like to survive out in the world, a blood thirsty mongrel? How disgusting."

Pea strained her body to move but it was locked stiff, she watched as Celestia paced around her, "Now this is a mess, what will I do with you? You've made some friends and removing you would cause an issue, but a pony of your kind would have some valid excuse to become absent. 'Ran away because you didn't belong here' would suffice."

"You pretentious bitch!" Pea shouted, "You have godly powers and yet you keep a few ponies safe while the rest lay in fear… how do you sleep at night?"

"I've grown accustomed to it," Celestia shrugged, "Since you'll be destroyed in a moment I suppose I could tell you why I'm so liberal of the foreign ponies. I made a deal when I received the crown."

"A deal?" Pea asked furiously," A deal with who?!"

"Tztalm, the king of Tartarus," Celestia said simply.

Pea was awed at the princess's mistake,"A deal… with the Devil?"

"Indeed. I can't let you live though, Land-crawler," A yellow cloud encased Pea and crushed her limbs against her body. Celestia stood only a few inches away from her victim.

The seemingly innocent cloud pushed against Pea's body like the pressure of the blackest pits in the ocean. The mare could barely breath with the pressure and her body quivered in pain. Celestia had a face of stone as she performed the dirty deed. Pea's right arm inched against from the cloud's force with all of the mare's might. This strength surprised Celestia so much that her grip slipped only once, much to her regret.

Without the cloud, Pea pounced on Celestia like a hungry wolf. With her legs locked around Celestia's neck Pea rammed a fist into her nose. The alicorn reared and thrashed to get the cyber mare off of her but to no avail. Pea curled with her torso, lifting Celestia over her head and smashing her white face into the now reddened snow. Pea crouched next to the trembling princess with small rivers of blood coming from her nose.

"Been awhile since ya got a real nose bleed, eh?" Pea smirked.

Celestia's wing sprung out and smashed into Pea. She jumped up and jabbed her horn at Pea, barely missing. Celestia swung her horn-ended head skillfully like a fencer while Pea was pushed back, only her forearms as shields. On her hind legs Pea blocked the stabs from the now furious alicorn, the grey mare was pushed back on the snowy peak. This went on for some time until Pea noticed the alicorn was showing signs of fatigue in her jabs. The cyber mare side-stepped and the horn sailed past her, she took advantage with a downward ax-kick to the alicorn's temple. The princess stumbled forward a foot or so and then collapsed.

"Funny thing," Pea said popped her neck, "Where I'm from, ponies call you a god," She knelt next to the dazed alicorn's head with a vicious smile,"I did too, at one point. I can't call you that now...gods don't bleed."

Pea was about to make the finishing blow but a speck in the distant sky stopped her. There was a resounding boom then a midnight blue alicorn rocketed like an arrow toward Pea. The mare had a fraction of a second to react and instead of being impaled she was sliced over the shoulder. The midnight blue alicorn flicked her head and Pea knocked the mare to the ground. She stood closer to Celestia with a dangerous look to the cyber mare.

"Sister, is this foreigner an assassin?" Luna's commanding voice asked.

"No, but she knows of the Deal, Luna," Celestia choked.

"I see, she's a fire that must be quenched?" Luna asked. Her sister numbly nodded.

Pea stood on her fore-hooves with fists ready for the next contender. The midnight princess accepted her challenge. Her dark blue aura produced a halberd with a crescent shaped blade, it began twirling in place as Luna stared down the earth pony.

Pea smirked, "Hardly fair, isn't it? Or are you just scared of me?"

She ducked as the blade swung over her head. Luna stood in place as her weapon became locked in a deadly dance on the snow with Pea. The mare ducked and blocked as the blade was gripped in its master's cloud of magic, whirling through the air with it's sharp edge. Pea noticed a pattern in the attacks, with the way it was spinning around it could be slingshot Pea's strike back. Once the handle was placed just right, she grabbed it. It swung just the way she thought it would and she went flying at Luna, who was taken by complete surprise.

Her head was knocked back by a kick to the jaw followed by another. Luna staggered back and swung downward with her horn as an executioner would swing an ax. Pea held against the blow with both hands grabbing the blue spear. Her metallic limbs strained against the force of Luna's.

"Surrender, pony! If you do not I will have to use force!" Luna shouted.

The horn was being pushed until it was level with her neck. Luna expected the mare to plead and beg but a devilish gleam shown in Pea's emerald eyes instead. Without warning she leaned back only half a foot and swung her arm's along Luna's downward strike, causing Luna to smash face first into the ground like her sister had.

Pea looked at the pair with bloody noses. Luna grabbed Pea with her magic and forced Pea back several feet as she stood to her regal height. The frosty mountain air whipped around the three fighters. Pea rolled her shoulders and began walking back to finish her fight. Just then, almost in a divinely placed pattern another unexpected fighter entered.

A small black cloud burst ten feet above the ground and a figure in dark wrappings dropped out of it, facing Pea. His size matched that of an alicorn but far more dangerous looking. Once it stood up the shape was unmistakable, it was a centaur. An assassin from The Torrent.

His face was hidden by a bronze mask with many tiny holes under a dark hood. At either side of his horse torso was a long curved sword in it's black scabbard. On his back was a hefty crossbow. Along with back facing bull horns sticking out on the sides of his head, his maroon skin shown out under the black wrappings on him. He seemed taken back that someone was on the mountain top, he turned to the princesses.

He shouted in a foreign tongue and pulled a crossbow aimed to them. Pea took no time on interfering on the shot. In a fraction of a second she jumped on his back and yanked one of his arms causing him to miss fire. He reached behind and grappled the mare with a vice grip. The assassin threw Pea in front of him and reared back, his fore-hooves hammered Pea's torso with his body weight, cracking her ribs. The assassin trampled over the injured mare as he ran to the two alicorns.

Luna was up and ready, however Celestia's head wound kept her from a stable getaway. Celestia attempted to fly into the air but the centaur had a grappling rope and latched it to her ankle skillfully. She crash landed like a clipped bird while her sister circled the assassin in the air. He reloaded his crossbow and aimed for Luna, she dived at him, horn ready for blood. The crossbow's bolt fired and dug deep into her chest and a moment later she cried out crashing to the ground. She struggled as her life blood oozed into the snow. She looked up to see the shadow of the centaur blocking out the mid-morning sun.

"Lord Tirek protects, Lord Tirek punishes," The assassin chanted as he drew a curved sword from a sheath strapped to the side of his horse torso. He continued chanting as he readied his sword for an executioner's swing.

While this was going on Pea staggered over with Luna's halberd. As the centaur rose his sword, Pea rose the weapon. Luna winced but no blow came. The centaur cried out, dropping his sword as Pea's swing chopped his back legs off at the knee. His body slumped back and he looked at Pea. His gaze was cut short when the crescent blade became lodged in his horse torso, he pawed at the blade as blood gushed out. Pea ran it further into him as she pushed him to the ground. He grabbed his sword and swung at Pea, she blocked it by pulling up one of his front legs as a meat shield.

The centaur's hands shivered at the sight of his only remaining hoof. Pea pulled out the halberd and without a word threw the fight's last swing, ending with the masked head dropping away from it's body. The princesses looked in awe at the grizzly sight, Pea took a deep breath and smiled at them. The grey mare staggered and then fell backwards, fainting from her crushed ribs. She lay in the snow, the adrenaline ebbing away and the frigid air biting her skin as she fell into unconsciousness.

It was dark and warm, Pea sat in a empty field. Pea knew it was a dream inside her unconscious state so she enjoyed the peaceful scenery, her cyber limbs were gone, the sight of her skin-toned hooves again fascinated her. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she noticed she was atop a hill in a warm, flat island. The hill was steep and high above the field where small campfires was crackling, Pea's nerves calmed even further as she remembered that the campfire was her friend's. She sat in the warm grass listening to the sound of the breeze and her friend's laughter. She saw the faint look of tents and the few hundred members of her old mercenary band, The Breakneck Bevy. She was so lost in the nostalgia that the soft sound of hoof-steps made her ears shoot up.

In the dim night light she saw him, Rochi. His light brown fur shown in the moonlight around his well toned muscles. Instead of a mane to flow in the wind he had a dark green bandanna over the top of his shaved head. Rochi's teal eyes shown like the tropical waters he sailed through his whole life and his cutie mark was an anchor with a simple crown above it. On his left ear was a hoop ring like Pea had, as a sign that they were slaves to no one. Rochi seemed hesitant, standing before Pea Gravel in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry, I just came up to check on you," His voice though usually brash, sounded sweet tonight,"I'll… I'll be going back to camp now."

"Hang on!" Pea said, reaching out a hoof for him, "Won't you stay, just for a while?"

"If you insist," He smiled. Rochi walked over and sat next to Pea,"Lovely night isn't it?"

Pea scooted closer to him,"Mmhm, lovely."

Rochi looked up at the moon, "It's not the night that's the only thing lovely," He chuckled,"I once heard a legend that's there's a mare on the moon. She fought the sun goddess and was banished there," He sighed, "I wonder how somepony could do that."

"Stories are stories Rochi. I know plenty where they are simply used to teach foals morals and to scare them to bed," Pea yawned.

"Did I bore you with just that?" Rochi joked.

Pea yawned again, "No, it's just that...I feel like I haven't seen you in awhile."

Rochi looked confused, "I had the sentry shift before you. You saw me an hour ago."

Pea sighed, "It's a long story...more like a dream..."

"We've got time," The sailing stallion said intently,"Don't worry, I won't fall asleep on you from boredom," He nuzzled her cheek.

Pea punched his shoulder playfully, "You big meanie! Alright I'll tell you..."