Beautiful Lies

The Stranger - Chapter 5

Suddenly she landed hard against a surface below her, it threw her eyes open. Pea was surrounded by a complete and utter darkness that shrouded around her, yet she was on a stark white pedestal that had a winding staircase below it. The cold white stone made her shiver intensely from both its chilled surface and her own fear. With a frame filled with anxiety she began to trot down the winding staircase, the crumbles of the stone left small cracks all over. Each step she took seemed to wear the white stone down, Pea feared for it to crack completely under her light weight.

Taking a final step onto a long grey floor Pea could finally exhale in relief. However the eerie shadows loomed around her not allowing her to feel at peace yet. Tossing her head from side to side she noticed a faint light from the far right of her side. It shined brightly like the sun, and she was drawn to its enticing calmness. Approaching the light she squinted to get a clear sight at what was in front of her. Right before her eyes stood an extremely tall horse with a mane flowing of stars as bright as a thousand suns. Pea could hardly believe her eyes, was this the infamous queen of the sun?

"W-who are you?" Pea stuttered filling up with anxiety.

Her beautiful green eyes sparkled as she nodded a light smile, "I am Queen Sunshine my dear one, but you may just address me as Sunshine if you wish."

Pea's jaw dropped in disbelief as she took in the marvelous sight, "I can't believe it's you! I have so many questions!"

"Unfortunately my pupil those questions will have to wait, you have a long journey ahead and with those freybugs on your tail I have feared that they may catch up" The marvelous queen of sunshine spread her huge wings whilst explaining, "You must keep in high spirits my dear, your mother is not to be in vain of her efforts. I only wish to give you the power you need to excel, you will see her again."

"Where's my mother, what do you mean?" Pea screeched while holding back tears, "I need to know she's okay!"

Queen Sunshine lowered her head revealing a sharp horn that twisted from her head. A sparkling magic turned into a matter of small sparks that appeared to look like stars. The sparks chased and collected around one another creating a shape, when it was complete Pea could recognize her mother in a form of stars. The strange form of Freya grinned a light smile that was much to how Pea recognized her. Unable to contain her excitement she dashed towards the figment of her mom and burst into tears.

Running at the same pace they met but Pea was unable to feel the warmth of her mother's skin anymore, rather as if she was not there at all. Even though the thought disheartened her, she was happy to see her. The illuminated shape was enough to prove to her that everything was going to be okay. The sparks surrounding Freya glowed faintly in front of Pea, she wished that she would never leave her again.

Pushing back her tears Pea began to speak, "I thought I would never see you again..."

"My sweet Pea, I have taken my place among the stars" Freya explained solemnly, "I will always be watching over you, I want you to be strong. I will be able to see you every step of the way and you will know because I'll always be there with you."

"I don't know if I can, I don't know if I can without you mama. You know so much more than me, you're so much more intelligent. You always know what to say and do and I just don't" Pea stressed out in a sorrowful pain.

Freya attempted to comfort her with a smile, "Pea, every step of the way you have been brave and stood up for what you believed to be right. You can do anything you put your mind to."

"I don't even know why I'm so important!" The younger horse cried out hysterically, "I need you here with me, I'm nothing! I'm not near the horse you are, I'm not near as strong, or large."

"You don't need to be large to be strong, all you need is your heart and mind to guide you, and that's what makes you different. You have the mark of a true leader, it will take time for you to understand, but your part will be understood with time" Her mother comforted her in a silky voice that began to fade.

Pea gazed around her as she watched the world grow darker and darker, and her mother began to fade away. The light sparks that made her moving body dissipated back into the shadows. In a frantic panic Pea raced forward attempting to catch the last of her mother but it was too late. Every last piece of her existence had returned to the sky, and now Pea had nothing but her faith to carry her. She collapsed to the ground with dismay her hooves clashing into the stone. In moments she was awake.

******

Jumping out of her slumber Pea was sent flying onto her feet. It was still night time, and the silent chill of the air caused each of her bones to shudder. Carefully she stepped over the bodies of her loyal companions Socks, and Melody. Plodding against the soft but cracked dirt she gazed deeply up into the sky for a sign. She wondered if Freya was really up there. A sudden glisten in a cluster of stars seemed to have her certain that Freya was indeed okay. It was a relief to know that she was okay, that she was not lost and her soul was safe.

"I will not let you down" Pea whispered up at the sea of stars above her.

With a warm heart she trotted quietly back to where she had been before, her friends continued to sleep peacefully. It seemed to be a calm sight to her, and even allowed her to let her gaurd down a tad. However the sudden crack of a twig sent her ears flying forward to listen, what could it be? Twisting her neck she examined a tangle of vines shifting back and forth and her stomach stirred a vicious sense of dread. Backing up she glued her eyes to the shifting greenery, perhaps it was nothing.

In a quick swift movement something not of tiny size dropped like a rock onto the ground. Kicking herself backwards Pea let out a loud but mouse like screech in complete fright. Attempting to collect herself she reluctantly went to investigate what thing had fallen above. In her head she rejected the idea, but she needed to keep her friends safe. Slowly walking towards a pile of leaves she was greeted by what seemed to be a bright white pelt. The creature was far from rabbit sized, and even bared a glorious pair of white feathered wings.

The creatured leaped onto its feet with haste and faced Pea with only a glimpse of two huge white fangs. The sight forced her to draw back from the thing, but slowly she realized it was not baring fangs of anger or hunger. Facing her with a eerily wide smile was a tall white horse with a curved messy black mane and tail. Its eyes were shining red of something she had never seen before, but what was more shocking was that he had two wings and a long horn atop its head. This creature was an alicorn! Unlike what Pea had imagined, its horn was slightly curved like that of a rhinoceros, and underneath its eyes were two black markings similar to Pea's spot over her eye.

"Hello there!" The alicorn greeted awkwardly in a strange accent.

Pea back peddled with a frightened grin, "Who are you? Why are you here? Why do you have such large fangs?"

He gained on her not wanting her to move back any farther, "Whoa, whoa! Do not be afraid, I seemed to have passed by and noticed what beautiful blue eyes you have! Wouldn't you say so?"

"It's just a defect..." Pea replied in a very anxious fashion as she backed into a tree.

The creature tilted its head innocently, "Oh? Well I guess you mustn't be the one I'm looking for, the one that needs to get the island I was sent to help. What a shame!"

Pea retracted her head not taking her eyes off him, "Did you come from the island? Who sent you?"

"Why Queen Sunshine herself of course!" The male smiled widely revealing two huge fangs.

After the mention of Queen Sunshine she softened her tone, "I saw her in a dream, did she really send you?"

He squinted his eyes and moved closer to examine Pea, "Yes, yes indeed."

"Okay, well I'm Pea. I guess you could say some horses think I'm important..." Pea mumbled nervously squirming away from the iron scent in his breath.

"Splendid! Well I am very much at your service my dear. My name is Draco, just Draco, like the dragon" The white colt declared while continuing to follow her.

Trotting away from him she watched the sun begin to rise and so did her friends. They had to get moving quickly, otherwise they could be food for the demons that tracked them. Sending a gaze at the eccentric horse known as Draco she swallowed her gut and hoped that he wouldn't cause trouble. Pea figured that if he wasn't trying to kill her yet, that it must mean he's on their side. Socks was the first to see Draco and he flew out of his comfort into the air like a cat. It must have been the fangs that sent him flying, he screeched foolishly and pushed himself up against a jungle tree.

Standing innocently under the shade of a tall tree Draco sent him his terrifying grin akin to the one he showed Pea. At least he was in good intention, but Socks was absolutely terrified. Melody yawned awake slowly and was surprised as well, but not nearly as scared. If anything she showed glittering eyes of curiosity as to what she was looking at. Flicking back her sandy blonde hair she greeted him with a shy smile and wide eyes. Upon seeing this Socks was not very pleased, a look of betrayal was plain on his face.

"What is this thing?" Socks yelled in both anger and fear.

Pea glared back at the white horse, "This is someone sent by Queen Sunshine to help us. He's an alicorn by the looks of it, his name is Draco."

Sock mouth dropped open with rage, "Pea are you an idiot or just horribly naive! This thing is not by any means a creature of good magic! The huge fangs, the red eyes, the terrifying horn? Open your eyes Pea!"

"That is very rude, I would do nothing to harm such wonderful companions of mine!" Draco scoffed in defense.

Socks' face went red with what appeared to be anger, "We don't even know you!"

Draco glared at him in a chilling way, "Well how will we ever be friends if you act like that?"

"Pea please tell me you don't believe this guy?" Socks begged with pleading eyes.

"There's no reason we shouldn't, it's not fair to judge someone so quickly when they haven't done any wrong" Pea claimed poking her hoof into the dirt.

The white colt sent a soft but confused gaze at Pea, "That is very kind..."

Melody tilted her head with suspicion, "He hasn't done wrong yet, and I like his attitude. If something happens Socks then we will make him leave okay? This colt could be a useful asset to our team. However I don't quite trust him yet..."

"Fine! Let's all just act like idiots and let a complete stranger into the group without at all wondering about his intentions!" The gray colt raged with a loud snort of air puffing from his nose.

"My mother always taught me to follow my heart... I think letting another of our own get hurt or left behind would be cruel. Even if his intentions are not good" Pea claimed with a silky voice, "He stays because I said so, and I am the leader. I am the second in line to Freya... She died because of our cowardice and I won't let that happen again."

The herd was entirely speechless, unable to work up a valid response. It was unclear if they were just afraid to offend her after her mothers death, or if they actually did understand. Pea figured they would never get her sensitive nature, that it would just have to be her against the world sometimes. Taking the first step forward onto the soft soil Pea remembered what she was told, she listened carefully to the wind and followed its direction. The rest followed hesitantly but did not speak out, Draco however became annoyingly close to her side. It was as if he had no concept of personal space, and he did the same thing with Socks and Melody. Melody however seemed to enjoy the closeness, did she have a crush on the newcomer?

Through the jungle they trudged, the mud grew deeper and deeper staining their clean hides. It was extremely difficult to walk through as it was now more than knee high. Pea had the most trouble as she was the shortest, and she could barely push herself forward. Her legs were useless to her as she fell deeper into the pit. She began to panic but the taller Draco nudged her out firmly setting her back into a steady pace. This was not unnoticed by Socks, who glared enviously at his oddly unnatural strength. Finally rising out of the dirt they took a short break and then continued to put themselves through the sticky hot jungle that spanned in front of them. In the very least Pea was glad that there was no shortage of shade from the tall trees, this in which Draco took full advantage of.

Once the herd was beginning to drain of exhaustion Pea stopped in her tracks for a moment. The rest of them heaved in exhaustion as Pea attempted to mimic her mothers prowess and attention to her surroundings. Twisting her ear lightly she picked up a noise of frantic nature. It was the scream of a child, and it sent shivers down her spine immediately. Without giving thought to the danger Pea bolted into the direction of the scream as her friends screamed her name behind her. They washed out as she gave no attention, she needed to save that child.