(Beakbreak City) Equal but opposite [PM for invite]

[FlimFlam]

Amber Flare was feeling quite herself today. After all, she had just been able to trek through the mountains, where she had felt quite at home. Although it was a long journey, she had found more than enough gems to make it worth while, and she had just arrived at a city she had never been to. Actually, the city was a nice bonus. Amber was just going on vacation in the mountains, but she must have gotten terribly off course.

As she approached the first buildings, she noticed several different airships in the distance. Stopping and staring for a few seconds, she realized she had never seen very many airships in her life. Oh well, she mused, plenty of time for that later. As she continued walking into town, she patted her bag out of habit. Perhaps she could even find a nice market where she could rid herself of some of her more common gems, or something like that.

[RarityDash]

Sierra had the subtlest of smiles on her face as she strode through town. Beakbreak had become her home. The industrial town situated a stone's throw away from the Gates of Tartarus was hardly the most illustrious city in Equestria; most ponies back East toward Canterlot probably didn't even know where it was, and for Stalliongrad and Aquelia it was treated just as a place to stop and refuel airship. However, for those who actually lived there it had a sort of character other cities lacked.

Something in it suited Sierra at the least. Canterlot had been her home for years, and as a baby dragon, small and cute, following after Hammer Spark, eyes wide and smiling, she had felt nothing but comfortable. Once Hammer entered the force and she started to grow to the point where she was bigger than the ponies around her, she had started to feel less comfortable there. She could feel eyes on her at all times wherever she went, making her aware that she didn't belong. It was for that reason that she had tried to go north to the dragon lands for the first time to find her place, only to instead find a gulf between herself and others of her kind that was impassible.

Which was maybe why she ended up in this town. It was Equestria, but the badlands were just beyond it. it was the last vestige of pony civilization. Being a teen dragon, even if she was a small one, she didn't fit in in much of Equestria, but having grown up amongst ponies she didn't fit in with her own kind either. Beakbreak was the best working compromise she had so far found.

Sierra had just returned home from a dangerous excursion to Everfree where she had helped guide and protect a research scientist conducting experiments there, and was eager to get some rest before finding her next job. She was also eager to find some gems. She had lived her entire life amongst ponies, but the one thing she never had developed much of a taste for was their food, or at least the greener varieties of it. For her, nothing beat the taste of gems, and being just north of a mining town like Bareback Gulch, Beakbreak had an easy access to them.

That settled, Sierra headed into the market, hoping to find somepony selling some cheap gems she could procure at a reasonable price.

[FlimFlam]

Sadly, Amber hadn't managed to find anywhere to sell her gems just yet. Not that she hadn't found any markets, quite the contrary, really. In fact she was walking in the middle of one right now, as she looked at the various stalls and vendors. Rather, she was unable to find anyone interested in buying her more common gems. She probably could have easily sold some more valuable ones, but those one were hers. Looking around, she saw a few food carts stand out, and she was reminded of hungry she was. Checking her bag, she realized she didn't have any bits, so local cuisine was out of the question. No matter, she had found a rather tasty looking emerald about a mile out that she was rather excited about.

Finding a nice corner to sit in, she took a quick bite of the gem (uncaring of any glances she got - it was to good for her to care). It certainly was quite delicious, that was for sure. About halfway through, she saw a dragon. In the market. Staring for a bit, she stored the rest of her gem in her pack, and put it back on in a protective manner. She hadn't seen another dragon since, well, since she left her mother's cave, which certainly seemed quite a while ago. eventually, curiosity outweighed her desire to protect her horde, and she approached the dragon. How often do you get to see something that was such a blast from the past?

Stopping a good distance, she realized she had no idea how to great this dragon. Should she just say hello, like a pony, or perhaps a more draconic greeting was required. Wait, dragons mainly chased each other off. Pony greeting it was!

"Hello over there, Ms. Dragon!"

[RarityDash]

Sierra was surprised to hear somepony call out to her. It was rare that ponies called out to dragons by choice. Even in a fairly integrated city like Beakbreak, dragon's were considered pretty intimidating. She wasn't sure the call even was to her at first, but a quick look around revealed there were no other dragons nearby. It had to be her this pony greeted then. Very well, she supposed she'd see what she wanted. She nodded and stepped forward.

She was a pegasus mare. Fairly young. Messy golden mane, bright orange coat. She had a flaming gem for a cutie mark. That was kind of a good sign. Gems and flames certainly were things she could appreciate as a dragon.

"Yes? Is there something I could help you with?" Sierra asked, a little unsure what to say to this pony.

[FlimFlam]

Oh dear, she probably should have thought this through a bit more. Amber was just excited to see a dragon, after all, and in the excitement, she started speaking in a quick manner.

"Oh no, you probably couldn't help me with much. Your the first dragon I've seen since my childhood, and it's just rather nice to have such a trot down memory lane! Especially another sky dragon. Why, I always thought I'd find an empty cave of gems before I'd get the opportunity to do this!"

Amber's voice certainly conveyed her joy, as her eyes sparkled. Yup. This made her day.

[RarityDash]

Sierra was baffled by the pony's response. This pony knew dragons in her childhood? What kind of foal socializes with dragons? Sierra hadn't met another dragon in Equestria until she was an adolescent, and she was a dragon. This was just odd to her. Not to mention she just had to go and mention a cave full of gems when Sierra was hungry...

"This far north, this close to the dragon lands, you'll find one of us on occasion," Sierra said in a quiet voice, nodding, intending to just leave it at that. Sure, it didn't exactly explain why she lived here being she hadn't migrated from the badlands, but it was the simplest reply to give.

Sierra's head tilted after a moment; she wasn't typically one to pry, but she had to say she was seriously curious about this pony's words. "You mean to say you knew dragons in your past?" the teen dragon asked, tentative.

[FlimFlam]

Amber nodded and smiled at the dragon's response. Yup, that definitely made sense. Without a map to go by, she wasn't aware the city was so close to the badlands, but that was terrific! Perhaps that even went so far as to explain why she had been lucky with gem finding recently, but that was a stretch. She continued to listen as the dragon asked about her past.

"Well, I suppose yes. I spent a good deal of my childhood being raised by one, so I should certainly hope so!"

She responded in a rather chipper manner. This dragon hadn't been mean or anything like that, so Amber saw no reason to be dishonest. She didn't really consider that this would invite more questions, but she really didn't find her past strange, no matter how many places she went.

[RarityDash]

"You were raised by a dragon?" Sierra asked, almost immediately.

This was just odd for her. A pony raised by a dragon? The thought was almost absurd to her. Most of the dragons she had met didn't think very kindly of ponies, after all. As a dragon raised by ponies, she just couldn't imagine a dragon raising ponies. It sounded completely backward to her.

"How might I ask did that happen?" she started, even more curious than before. She needed to hear this story.

[FlimFlam]

"Well, it just sort of... happened, really. Apparently it was some sort of big mishap while I was barely a few days old. Besides that, I've been raised by my dear old mother since then. Well, until I decided to leave the cave, obviously. Its not really that much of story, or it would be a bigger one if I remembered it."

Amber frowned as she tried to explain her past. It didn't really seem strange to her, but she didn't know very much about what life would be like had she not been raised by dragons. Still feeling a bit peckish, she pulled out the half eaten gem from her, without considering the fact that a pony eating a gem was like... was like... actually, it wasn't really like anything else. Realizing she was talking to a fellow dragon, she swallowed a bit of her pride and pulled out another one.

"Oh dear, that was inconsiderate of me, wasn't it? Would you like a gem, I have a spare or two to share, especially for such an occasion."

[RarityDash]

Sierra listened, somewhat alarmed. This pony was like her. Or she supposed like her mirror image. Just as she had been abandoned near pony lands as an egg, this pony had found herself in the company of dragons as a newborn. Now this was interesting. It still just kind of surprised her.

But nothing could surprise her more than what happened next. out of her bag the pony suddenly pulled out a gem and proceeded to eat it. Sierra's eyes widened. Since when could ponies eat gems? Now this was just bizarre. Sierra didn't know how to react, even when the pony offered her some gems. It took a moment for her to remember she was so hungry.

"I-I... I'd love one. I actually came into market today to find some gems," Sierra said with a nod. "i'd be willing to pay you if you like," she added.

Sierra went quiet for a moment, but then found herself too curious not to ask more. "I didn't know ponies could even be capable of eating those... I've never seen it at least." She tilted her head as she stared. "Something you learned from your mother, I take it?"

[FlimFlam]

Mentally, Amber sighed. She always forgot normal ponies never ate gems (she didn't know why - they were really tasty). But she managed to look upbeat as the dragon seemed surprised. To be honest, she didn't mind it at all; she's gotten worse receptions to this. "Yes, I suppose my mother did teach me this one, although I can never eat to many. Still quite a nice party trick, really." To be honest, she really couldn't blame the dragon.

She did take a moment to consider the dragons offer to pay for the gem. That certainly seemed like a nice way to make it seem she wasn't just giving away her gems, so it certainly made her feel more comfortable. "Yes, I suppose you can buy it. How does.... oh, about 10 bits for this gem sound?" giving a hasty appraisal of the gem, she looked at it for a second. It actually seemed pricier then the 10, but that would be enough for her to buy something from around town, so she could save the rest of her gems.

"If I may ask, why are you shopping for gems? Certainly you must have collected at least a small horde around here. The areas outside town seem to at least have a good amount of them hidden about."

[RarityDash]

Sierra listened and nodded along to the unusual pony, now even more intrigued then before.

"Well, I'm no good at finding them. I have no sense for it. I'd be digging blind," Sierra said with a small shrug. "And I know some dragons have no qualms about just taking them from others, but that's not me. It's said that size and greed are linked for our kind, and if that's true it might explain why I'm so small."

She gave a sigh. She was small for a dragon; only just slightly bigger than a large adult griffon. Still larger than a pony by some some measure, but compared to other dragons her age, much diminutive. She had some conflicted feelings about her size, but most of the time she didn't really mind it. She kind of feared growing to a size where she would no longer fit into the world she had grown up in. She sometimes hoped she never got any bigger.

"You see, I'm not actually from the homelands north of here. My situation is not unlike yours in reverse. I was raised up from an egg by ponies who found me abandoned. I learned to adhere to their society's rules and customs. It was just how I was brought up."

Sierra gave a small laugh and the slightest smile. "Never had much of a stomach for their food though, which is why I still need gems. That's why I work for pony currency and buy them in markets like this. Maybe it's a roundabout way for a dragon to get her gems, but for me it's just what makes sense."

Her explanation said, Sierra pulled out a bit purse and retrieved from it ten bits, which she handed to the pony. "Ten bits is more than fair for that gem. I'd be delighted to take it off your hands."

[FlimFlam]

Amber smiled and traded the bits out for the gem. That certainly worked out nicely. She also nodded as the dragon explained her past. The irony was not lost on her, meeting something of an opposite of her. "Well, I can certainly agree with your size problem. I spent the first few years of my childhood thinking I would get bigger, but I never really did get that much larger."

She did understand the greed problem. Having struggled with the same thing, she sometimes couldn't even help herself from stealing a thing or two.

"So wait... you were raised by ponies? I can only imagine that one. Being the small fish in a big pond is one thing, but being the large fish in a small pond would be frustrating"

Perhaps this was the main irony, but she never really saw herself living in a pony city. She never really completed related anywhere, and she certainly loved caves...

[RarityDash]

Sierra gave a steady nod at the pony's words. "Eh, well, we dragons don't really get bigger than ponies until adolescence. Until fairly recently, it hasn't really been about size for me so much as just being generally different," the dragon explained.

"But yeah, I was raised out in Canterlot by a unicorn family. I guess I'm fairly defanged for a dragon as a result. I've been north to meet others of my kind and I find I don't really fit in with them," she admitted with a sigh. "But that's how it goes, I suppose."

The dragon took the gem and eagerly ate half of it, savoring the sharp crunch and the rich, dense flavor of it all. She smiled. "Thanks for this. It's better than the cheap junk I can usually buy down here."

[FlimFlam]

"Well, I do pride myself on the gems I pick. Only the best get in my collection!" Amber beamed as she spoke. She really did pride herself on her finds, figuring if she couldn't eat them often, she might as well enjoy the ones she did eat. She then chuckled as a realization hit her.

"Wait, if your defanged for a dragon, would that make me fanged for a pony?" Now there was an amusing thought. After she was done with this, she decided to follow up on the 'raised by unicorns'. That would an interesting tidbit of information to know, and she was still interested to know how that would work.

"Errmmm... I can't quite wrap my head around being raised by unicorns. Would they just have treated you normally, as if you were a pony? I mean, dragons do have different needs. Surely the gems must have been a hassle to get, at least."

[RarityDash]

"I'm not sure our needs are that different. We dragons can digest pony foods after all," Sierra said with a shrug. "They're bland and just in general pretty unappetizing, but we can eat them if we have to."

"Gems for me were pretty much only given out as a treat on special occasion," she added in a casual tone. "Other than that, yeah, I was pretty much treated like a pony by the ones who raised me. Taught me the same stuff, expected the same things from me. All that stuff."

Sierra laughed as she remembered what the pony had said before. "But yeah, a fanged pony is probably a good term for you. Something has to be up with your fangs if you're able to eat gems like a dragon after all."

[FlimFlam]

Amber chuckled along with the dragon. "True, true. My teeth are a bit pointier than they should be."

Pausing for a bit, she took in the information. Clearly it wasn't as difficult as she had first thought for a dragon to be raised among ponies. The bit about pony food was a touch interesting. Being raised by a full blown cave dragon, she had never really seen her mother eat much besides gems, although in retrospect Amber realized she could have easily eaten anything she wanted.

"So, how's Cantorlot? I've always wanted to go there, really... Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. You don't even know my name and you know more about my past then I usually share. My name's Amber Flare."

It was only fair to give her name, after this amount of time

[RarityDash]

Sierra nodded and laughed. Yes that went for her too. Rare was it she ever said so much about herself in conversation period, and she likewise hadn't given her own name either.

"Nice to meet you," Sierra said with a steady nod. "And I'm Sierra."

She paused a moment and then returned to the question. "As for Canterlot, it's a nice town with a lot of class. Not entirely comfortable though. Some ponies there don't think highly of dragons while others are just obsessed with us. Both can be a little hard to deal with. A town like this isn't as nice to look at, but it's a lot more low key."

[FlimFlam]

"Oh, that may not be quite for me then. I still struggle with low key, after, well, you know." Amber shuffled a touch. Then she was happy again. Sure high key might be difficult, but just imagine the reward! Oh well, that was an adventure for another time.

Taking a look around, she wondered how this town was difficult to look at. It was no mountain, but it was decent looking compared to a few other towns. So Sierra must have a high view on Cantorlot then. She started to dwell on this, before she realized idle chit-chat only occupied her attention for so long. Already, she was making brief glances around for something eye-catching. Deciding she should at least try to remain kind, extending an offer to this dragon couldn't hurt.

"Erm, its been lovely talking and all, but would you happen to know any of the sights-to-see around here?"

[RarityDash]

"Well, Beakbreak is hardly the place for tourists," Sierra said with a nod. "If you want to see sights here in the ridge, you want the Las Pegasus on the other end. Even the Gulch in the center of the ridge has its famous obstacle course. This town... not as much."

Sierra looked up and then gave a sound nod. Thinking about it from the outside perspective, maybe there were a few things to see around Beakbreak after all.

"Though I suppose if you've never been around them, the airship yards can be pretty impressive to look at. Failing that, a quick climb through some mountains and you can go stare at the Gates to Tartarus if you're so obliged," she started.

[FlimFlam]

Amber thought for a moment. Airships were fun, they kind of intrigued her, but at the same time she was mostly apathetic. That part about Tartarus sounded ominous and potentially dangerous. Of course, she supposed that gates were meant to keep things in for this case, so she reasoned it was probably safe. Still... she gave a brief thought.

"Well, what it is you do for fun around here?"

An honest question. After all, sightseeing was never really her thing, especially after living in the Everfree, trekking through mountains, and lying by mountains of gems (not for a while, but still). Perhaps she'd relate better to what a dragon found as entertainment, rather than open tourist areas.

[RarityDash]

Sierra considered this question for a moment, not sure how to respond. After a moment, she nodded.

"Well... social situations are kind of awkward when you're a dragon amongst ponies, and I'm kind of not the best in conversation in the first place," Sierra said with a shrug. "To be honest, I mostly just use this town as a place to sleep and regain my strength between journeys. I only spend so much time here."

Figuring a better explanation was needed, the dragon gave a nod and continued. "I'm an explorer by trade. I get paid to accompany ponies into the more wild parts of Equestria, Aquelia and beyond and guide them using my knowledge I've gathered in my travels. Fun for me is mostly found in nature, taking in the beautiful sights of the land."

[FlimFlam]

Amber nodded. What Sierra said certainly made sense, and that was something which was hard to argue with. She gave a brief smile, after all exploring was rather fun. Most of the exploring Amber did often roped itself into a gem hunt, to the point where she couldn't remember the last time she'd explored just to explore.

"Oh, I can certainly relate to that! I never really stop traveling, in fact I'm doing it right now!" She hopped a enthusiastically to emphasis the point. She had quite a bit of energy really, to the point where she felt rather excitable. Not to mention the fact that this dragon actually manged to earn bits by exploring. That actually seemed like an excellent system.

"Now that you mention it, I really do need to explore the area around here. Who knows what's just lying around? Not to mention, you know, the scenery. It always seems to get prettier the farther you get from all the towns."

[RarityDash]

Sierra nodded at the pony, happy to see she had found a kindred spirit and fellow lover of nature.

She spoke, "I could show around. I know the area around here well. You have breathtaking mountains on either side, and if you go north there's a pretty lovely forest. East and you can find a pass which leads into Everfree, and west you can find a way into the desert. Even if you just go south and follow the ridge toward the Gulch, the scenery is pretty impressive."

"That's another reason I like this town," Sierra said with a nod. "It's kind of ugly itself, but its surrounded on all sides by something exciting and beautiful."