Heavily Inspired by LotR, the Hobbit, and a bit of Skyrim.
When a dragon is sighted near the Misty Mountains, in the center of Equestria, a young unicorn by the name of Malik is offered to join a company of seventeen other ponies. During their journey, trust is tested, blood will be spilled, and friendships will be broken. (Medieval Equestria with a bit of Skyrim and LotR. Updates every two weeks.)
… Allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Malik, and right now, as I speak to you, I am one hundred and fifty years old. I’ve lived a very profitable life up until this point. A blacksmith, a warrior, a trader, and even a musician when it came time for me to give up my trading business, hang up my sword, and live out the rest of my years peacefully.
But, enough about that, you want to hear about something else, I assume? The look on your face says it all. You’re probably wondering, who is this pony, and why should I care about what he has to say? Well, I’m not just any pony, my friend. I assume you’ve heard the tales of the Misty Mountains, correct? A mountain completely covered, and surrounded, by snow and mist; and, at the highest peak of the mountain, is the Grand Palace of the Alicorns. Before we settled into the Palace, it was nothing but a derelict ruin from the old eras; a place of nothing but dust and cobwebs.
Well, my friends, around two thousand years ago, the Alicorns ruled over Equestria. They had several castles built all over Equestria, but the biggest, and grandest, one of them all was the castle atop Misty Mountain. The Alicorns were masters in the art of magic, and their armies overwhelmed the entire population of unicorn, pegasi, and earth pony cities. Five hundred years before the Alicorns were wiped out, Misty Mountain was attacked. A dragon, not known to anypony, attacked the Alicorn capital, forcing them to flee into the wilderness; and, for five hundred years, unknown to all of ponykind, the dragon has sat there, protecting a stockpile of gold which the Alicorns protected.
So, you’re wondering, what am I going to say to you? Am I going to ramble on about what the dragon did for five hundred years? No; in fact, I am going to tell you the complete opposite. My friends, you might not have known, but one hundred and twenty nine years ago, a pony by the name of Sacrament recruited some of the best, most talented warriors, mages, and helpers he could find, in an attempt to kill the dragon and take control of Misty Mountain. What if I were to tell you that he party of ponies, ranging of all races and both genders, and racking up to seventeen travellers, came to this little town we live in? Well, my friend, they were looking for somepony; and that somepony was me.
They needed a blacksmith; one who could forge anything from anything. Well, my friends, this is the tale of the Misty Mountain Expedition.
Burrow. Don’t laugh at it; the actual name of the town was Burrow. It was your average, usual backwater town that lived, and traded, off of hunting and mining for relics and ores. It was a usual winter morning in Burrow, and I was going to be tending to the forge at Steele’s Steel, a weapons store which opened itself to travellers, guards, and other ponies alike; was even a forgery just next to it, which Steele also owned. At the moment, however, I was at home, just waking up from my slumber.
My room consisted of many things; a bed for me to sleep on, a night stand next to that, with a red coated book lying on top. A bookcase, filled with several other books, coloured in different coloured coats such as blue, green, black, stood firmly by the window. A mirror, made out of glass and wood, was placed on the wall next to the door. Lastly, there was the small table with a candle on it; the candle being blown out to prevent a fire breaking loose.
My bed was made out of wood and furs, which was what many of the beds were made out of during these times. It might not have looked like it, but we hunted for money, and traded the goods we made, mostly the meat, to other cannibalistic groups or groups that actually needed the meat to live. Out of those groups, our main customers were Griffons, who rarely passed through earth pony territory, on their way to their shrine high up in the mountains to the north. Griffons come from the south, but at young ages they make a pilgrimage to their shrine; that happened once every year, but at least they carry enough money with them.
Looking in the mirror, I started to take in the features of my every morning face. Dark, almost murky, green coloured coat, brightly coloured ocean blue eyes, long flowing chocolate brown mane, which was braided in several areas, and lastly was my horn that sat on top of my head. Unicorns weren’t accepted in earth pony territory that much; half of the earth ponies downright hated us for the advances we had in sorcery and magic. If anything, they should hate the pegasi as well. Aside from us being magical, and the earth ponies being stronger, the pegasi are more of a militaristic race of pony. Nestling high in the sky to the east, these pegasi ponies would endlessly recruit other pegasi into their armies, making them even stronger. Whilst they may look tough, it doesn’t take more than an Ursa Minor to scare the living daylights out of them. I was dressed appropriately for the occasion; a tattered grey shirt with a few patches of different coloured fabric. That’s what happens; when you live in a backwater town, you really can’t get much from here. Most of the clothes are tattered, torn, and burnt here. It was, as we’d put it, life here; it wasn’t perfect, but it beats being out in the wild.
Everything was ready. I was ready to begin the day as usual; go to the forge, work, go on lunch break, go back to work, go to the Inn for some cider, and then return home for some sleep. Turning towards the door and walking towards it, I placed one of my hooves onto a piece of the woodwork, pushing it open with little strength required. The outside, when the door fully opened, was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Little fillies and colts, all of the earth pony race, played around in the snow, throwing snowballs and making snow angels in the snow; much to the fact that the town might be attacked by bandits, these children just played like they didn’t even have a care in the world.
“Morning Malik,” one of the guard ponies, a tall hulky earth pony clad in steel armour, sword sheathed by his side, greeted walking past on the usual routine. I only replied with a nod back to the guard, telling him to ‘watch himself out here.’
The forge was literally down the road. Half of the forge, which was the actual forge, was made up out of stone and wood, whereas the house next to it, which was where the owner slept and sold weaponry, was made completely out of wood with a straw roof and stone foundation. From the looks of things, Steele was already up and starting to work on today’s weaponry. So far, from a distance, it seemed that the older earth pony stallion was already at work at the forge.
Steele was one of the village’s most trusted members, and is also a member of the small council our mayor put together long before my father immigrated to these parts. Steele’s coat was dark grey, clearly pointing out his greying mane and tail; and, from examining his flank, his cutie mark resembled a forger’s hammer crossed with a sickle.
I hate to say this, but I don’t actually have my cutie mark; astonishing, right? Twenty-one years old and I still haven’t gotten my cutie mark, what a life of sorrow it must’ve bought to me, right? Wrong. Not having a cutie mark meant that I could go down whatever path I wanted; and, in my family, there were two ways. Being a barmaid like my mother, or an alchemist like my father.
Soon as I reached the wooden stairs to the forge, Steele stopped hammering on a heated blade, turning attention towards me. “Malik, glad to see you’re awake,” Steele greeted, watching me carefully with his dark gold eyes. Steele put a hoof on my shoulder, pulling me closer and closer to the forge, “didn’t think you’d actually show up today; where in the world have you been?”
I chuckled, “I woke up a bit late, Steele; when am I ever late?” I replied, forcing myself to get out of the earth ponies embrace. Earth ponies were strong, so their grip on something proved a challenge. “Hey, um, Steele; do me a favour, please let me go,” I asked, starting to choke a bit from the grey earth pony stallion’s grip. Old or not, he was a strong and stubborn old coot.
Steele loosened his grip, not entirely letting go of me. “By the gods, Malik, you seem a bit…off today. Anything troubling you?” I shook my head. “Are you sure? You know you can trust me with anything, right?” “Yes, Steele,” I responded. “And, I assure you, it’s nothing, really.”
Steele nodded in conformation, “well, I suggest I’d better let you get to work. The forge is yours, Malik,” Steele said as he began to trot away from the forge, leaving me to do my daily business. “Oh, and Malik, remember to direct any customers that need extra compensation. Such as the usual guards, mercenaries, or kinsponies of the earth pony kingdom.” I nodded, “I know, master; just the usual drill.” I replied, moving my hooves to rest upon the flat surface of the wooden table, which stood in the corner of the room not too far off from the wall. Several tools were laid out on the wooden, splintered table; including a forging hammer, massive forceps to move pieces of molten steel from one place to another, and some engraving tools in case somepony wanted a name or something engraved into the sword; it can even be a pattern, to make the sword more unique to their character.
Steele disappeared to the inside of the shop, turning the closed sign to open with his hoof. This meant that I should get to work in producing weapons for Steele to sell tomorrow, or even today. With no time to dawdle, I set my magic to work. Now, with unicorns, we could hold objects in two ways; with our hooves, or with our levitation spells. Over my levitation abilities, I chose to handle crafting of swords with my hooves; so that I could actually set myself a challenge.
As I began to ready myself for another day of forging, I looked over to the entrance to Burrow; looking at a passing patrol of earth pony kinsponies from Winterfell, the earth pony capitol city in the western hills, overlooking most of the landscape. Earth ponies were known for their brutality in battle, and their advantage from using the mountains gave them an upper hoof in battle.
But the biggest mountain of them all, shrouding its surrounding area in complete shadow, was Misty Mountain. A complete mystery, that mountain is. I overheard tales in the inn, from travelling ponies that the mountain is home to the Palace of the Alicorns, which were the first race to exist in Equestria in the first place. No one knows what happens up there, and to put it quite frank nopony really cares so much about what happens. Some tales were about a secret cult of vamponies planning to shroud the world in darkness, or a pack of vicious wereponies plotting to slaughter everypony in Equestria. Those were all old pony tales to me. Ignoring those thoughts of Misty Mountain, I started to smash the hammer off of a molten sword.
…Meanwhile…
Sacrament. Sacrament was the name of an earth pony war hero from the Battle of Winterfell ten years ago. Sacrament was believed to have been killed long ago by bandits. Sacrament was, surprisingly, alive. Standing under a shroud of frosty trees, an old, not too old, earth pony stallion was sitting down, eyes closed, meditating. His coat shone a deep brown colour, whilst his mane, which was tied up, and his tail stayed a dark jet black with bands of white. The earth pony was clad in a dark tan coloured set of leather armour, and over that was a black fur pelt, with several golden trinkets dotted on it. In a sheath by his side, was his sword. A sword which was made entirely of steel, and crafted for only the most skilful of swordsponies; light, versatile, and quick as a flash, the sword could bring even the biggest of enemies down. The pony’s eyes were shut, focusing heavily on his breathing and mental state. Meditating was one of the many ways in which the earth ponies, and pegasi, could connect to the spirit world; a place where everypony, after death, is taken to in order to live out an eternity of peace.
“Sacrament,” croaked an old, raspy voice from behind. The earth pony, known as Sacrament, broke from his concentration, opening hi eyes to reveal nothing but dark green irises. Bringing himself to all fours, the earth pony turned around to face the new speaker. Behind him, clad in dark navy blue robes, was an old unicorn. The unicorn was shorter that the earth pony, and possessed a wrinkled grey coat, completely greyed out mane and tail, complete with a matching coloured beard, and lastly a pair of completely light brown eyes. The unicorn’s horn was showing signs of old age, which could be seen by almost anypony; especially from afar. The unicorn spoke again, “the party is awake. We require you to finish our recruitment with the last pony.”
“Calm yourself, Dawnstar,” Sacrament replied, moving towards the older unicorn’s side. Dawnstar, the unicorn, was not an average unicorn; he was a drenmar unicorn. These drenmar were ponies which could live to they’re three thousand years old, even in some cases they can live until they’re a bit older. The drenmar come from their homes in the outer parts of Equestria, most of them being unicorns like Dawnstar. “Our recruitment journey is close to an end; all we need is the final piece of the puzzle.”
“But will this Steele pony actually sign on with us, Sacrament?” Dawnstar asked, informing Sacrament about the other possible outcome with the recruitment. “What if he denies coming with us, what will we do then?”
“That won’t happen, Dawnstar,” Sacrament retorted, turning all attention onto the smaller unicorn. “I’ve known Steele for the past few years, he still owes me a favour, and this is what I’m using that favour he owes on. He can’t deny, me,” Sacrament chuckled, “I’m one of the most reliable ponies he’s ever met.”
Dawnstar took the information into consideration, then nodded, “understandable, Sacrament.” Dawnstar agreed, continuing to walk back to the campsite where the other ponies were. “So, what’s the plan?”
Sacrament laughed, “Plan? There’s no real plan, Dawnstar. All I’m going to do is waltz into his room, then tell him to come with us; might even have him sharpen my blade whilst I’m there,” Sacrament added, pulling out his sword with his hoof and using it to slash at the air. “Old girl’s getting a bit blunt.” Sacrament mentioned, sheathing his sword back into the sheath. “Where will we meet you?” Dawnstar asked.
Sacrament pointed to the town wall, which stretched from where it started, at the base of a small mountain, to the edge of the river. “Meet me at that wall, by then Steele would’ve given us his answer. For the time that I am gone, have Bolter secure the perimeter; I don’t want us to get jumped like we did last time.” Sacrament ordered, referring to the last time he entrusted somepony to stand guard, only to fall asleep and have Bolter keep their flanks safe at night. “I trust Bolter to keep you all safe, unlike the last pony I trusted to keep us safe at night.”
“Agreed, Sacrament,” Dawnstar replied, nodding to the earth pony stallion. “Have a safe trip to Burrow.” Dawnstar said before turning around and walking into the middle of the camp, leaving Sacrament to travel by himself. Back before he formed this party, Sacrament travelled alone, but to do it now, after so many years of being around other ponies, Sacrament started to feel a bit odd with the fact that he was entrusted to travel by himself.
Sacrament looked back to the old unicorn pony, seeing his navy blue robes fade into the treeline. With a sigh of loneliness, Sacrament turned to begin his journey to Burrow. Sacrament trekked down the frosty path, not looking back at the camp he left behind.
…30 Minutes Later…
I bought the hammer down again and again on the molten blade, trying to bend the molten blade of the sword into the correct shape. It was hard, half the time; to properly bend the sword into the exact shape needed to make it effective in battle. The wrong strike of the hammer, and the blade could still be in the right shape, but would be less effective in battle, marking it unreliable for use. But, with the methods Steele taught me, I rarely made a mistake with hitting the wrong part of the blade.
After constantly hitting the hammer off of the blade, I used my levitation ability to lift the molten blade and dunk the heated part in the bucket of water by the side of the metal table. Soon as the sword was completely submerged in water, the air around the forge was filled with the sizzling sound of hot metal touching cold water. Across the village, little fillies and little colts carried on playing through the streets, amusing some of the passers-by. Some of the smaller foals, ones looking aged five or six, looked in awe at the gentle snow falling to the ground from the sky.
Those days where I, as a young colt living with my mother, would gaze out to the roads of Burrow, on an evening just to see how beautiful the snow was when it fell. Nowadays, the snow at night comes harsh, resulting in massive snow storms across the land. “Malik,” the voice of my master called, immediately telling me to lift up my head to see what the old earth pony wanted. The older pony was standing in the doorway of the open forge, his coat covered by a coat made out of the fur of a wolf, to keep himself warm. “I’m going to see if everything is set for tonight, Mal; be sure to keep the forge, and the store, safe. Okay?” Steele asked, only receiving a nod from me.
Accepting the nod, Steele turned and trotted down the wooden stairs to the cold hard ground of the stone road. It didn’t take long for him to disappear out of my line of sight; after all I was, after Steele left, beginning to get back on track with the forging. My mind pondered into thought, thinking about what Steele was on about when he said ‘I’m going to see if everything is set for tonight.’
“Excuse me,” grunted an older voice from behind, snapping me out of my little thought trance and snapping me out of my work task. Grunting myself, I turned around, only to see yet another earth pony. His coat was covered by a suit of dark tan leather armour, but through the breaks in its design, which there were many of, I saw traces of a dark brown coat. Over the leather armour was a black wolf pelt, with several golden trinkets dotted on it. His mane, which was tied up, shone a black colour with bands of white. His tail had the same colour as his mane, but wasn’t styled in the same way. The eyes of the pony were a dark green colour, and by his side, covered by a sheath, was a sword. The pony walked further up the stairs, walking into the dim warmth of the forge; “is there a pony by the name of Steele, here?”
I shook my head, “Steele went to check up on something. I’d imagine he’d be back soon, though.” I replied, hammering the sword into place as I turned to face the metal table. “Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?”
The pony chuckled, “please, call me Sacrament; sir makes me feel old.” The pony, who introduced himself as Sacrament, bought his sheathed sword up to the table. “And yes, you can. I need my blade sharpened; being out all over Equestria has made her a wee bit blunt.”
I took the sword out, seeing the several cracks and the bluntness of the blade. From what it looked like, it seemed to be a fine blade before Sacrament used it to bang against a wall or something. “Gods,” I exclaimed, “What have you been doing with this? Banging it off a wall, or something?” I snapped, making Sacrament chuckle. Soon after, the chuckling turned into a small fit of laughter. After he finished, I moved myself over to the grindstone. “The sharpening of a blade, in this condition, would take around one hundred bits to restore it to fine condition.”
Sacrament sat by the side of me, staring down into my eyes; “no, I’ve been slaying creatures to ensure my safety. Now,” he said, pulling out a small tan bag, “will one hundred and fifty bits make you shut up and get to work?”
I took the bag in my aura, “yes.”
“Good.” Sacrament deadpanned, taking back the bag and tossing the bag of bits on the wooden table to the side. Immediately, after setting the sheath down on the floor, I place myself on the seat of the grindstone. Putting one of my back hooves on a small pedal, I placed the blade on the round stone, blade pointing at a small pane of grass just barely visible due to the snow. Pressing down on the pedal, the round stone started to roll. “Winter is fast approaching; especially up in these areas.” Sacrament noted.
I ignored his irrelevant comment, focusing on sharpening the blade. Out of the first thirty seconds of use, the blade was beginning to shape up nicely. The blade was still dull in some places, but it should only take a few more turns of the grindstone for it to be actually finished. “So, what’s your business with Steele?”
“What’s it to you?” Sacrament snapped.
I chuckled, still focusing on the blade; “not much. Just asking what you want to see my master about is all.”
“Master?”
I nodded, “eeyup. He taught me how to work a forge over the past…eleven years.” I added, much to the earth pony’s surprise.
“You ever have a family?” Sacrament asked, his questions starting to get a bit too personal.
I stopped the grindstone, “listen, we’ve only just met. I’m not in the mood to trade life stories with some pony I have only known for less than five minutes,” I snapped, levitating the sheath and sword up in the air. Smoothly and gently, I used my magic to sheath the earth pony’s now sharp sword. I passed it back to Sacrament, who immediately took it and placed it where it belonged; at his side.
“Thanks.” Sacrament thanked, turning away from the forge. “I’m going to be outside the door of the store, waiting for Steele. Don’t bother me.”
I nodded, hammering another sword into place. “Wouldn’t dream on it, pal.”
That pony, Sacrament, I knew his type all too well. He probably knows my type all too well, as well. He proclaimed that he was a friend of Steele’s, but, to put it bluntly, I didn’t trust him. He had that look in his eye; a look that could only mean trouble, and or death. Steele was still out, at the moment, and Sacrament had informed me that he was going to wait outside of the shop for him to return. Countless times I found myself peaking around the corner to see what this pony was up to, but all I ever saw him do was shift himself countless times, trying to find that one patch of land where he could sit. Fidgety pony, I had to say. Never stayed in a single place for far too long. Ponies who usually fidget a lot most likely means that they’ve been travelling a lot, or have just been born like that. There were a few of those said ponies here in Burrow, always causing a bit of ruckus in the town.
Returning back to work, I placed the molten tip of the sword I was working on into the bucket of cold water provided, again filling the air with the soft sound of sizzling molten metal touching ice cold water. Steam furiously blew into my face, clouding my vision for a short moment before I bought my hoof up to clear my field of vision.
Sacrament, the travelling earth pony warrior who turned up at the forge for Steele, and for his weapon to be sharpened, was still standing outside of the door to the shop, admiring the beauty of his newly sharpened blade. This gave me a chance to look at the blade he carried. A diamond incrusted hilt, brightly polished steel blade and a leather sheath to keep it in. He swung it around in the wind, slashing the wind time and time again. Snow fell again, the icy breeze of the wind nipping at my coat, digging into the skin beneath my warm coat. I was freezing.
Earth ponies, like Sacrament and Steele, have a big resistance to the extreme weather conditions here in the southern part of Equestria; here, the summers were harsh, the winters were harsher, and the autumns and spring were pretty mild. Again, I walked away from the corner, picking up a leather quiver from underneath the table. Nothing too bad was done to this; just a few pieces of the leather coating, and the strap, had parts of the leather chipped away, leaving it weaker than before. It was just a simple job of replicating the quiver, reinforcing it with more and more strips of leather. But, to me, that’d take time to do; and would take a full stomach of food to assist with that. My stomach rumbled time and time again, craving for something to fill up my system. I could always go get an apple from Sugar Cane, one if the ponies that work on the farm, and simply just walk back here, but then again I don’t want to leave the forge, or the store, unattended with Sacrament around. I brushed off the first few rumbles of my stomach like it was nothing, but it continued to get louder and louder each time I kept it under wraps. If I did got to get some food, I’d probably get my flank kicked by Steele, but if I stay I might end up starving myself until I get leave. Wherever in Equestria Steele was, he’d better hurry up.
“You know something, you’re a lot different to any other unicorn I’ve ever met,” Sacrament complimented, walking back into the forge. “You don’t see to talk as much as many of them, let alone do you live in a place like this. You unicorns live up north, but here you are; a young unicorn living in an earth pony town. So, if you want, tell me why you’re here.”
“My parents split up when I was young,” I complied. “My father was a unicorn alchemist, and my mother was a barmaid. They stayed together for two years after I was born, but split up due to an argument; but I was…too small, and too young, for it to really affect me, personally. I haven’t heard much from my father, but I know that he’s not just any old alchemist now; he’s the court alchemist, specializing in various remedies and potions for use of the guard and the royals.”
“And your mother?” Sacrament asked.
Instantly, my head hang low, “after my father left us, my mother couldn’t keep the household for very long. Soon as it was taken aback by my father, my mother and I trekked the very breadth of Equestria, ending up in several towns at once. We’d get help, once in a while, by travellers who’d been travelling Equestria for years. By the age of five, we arrived here; Burrow.” I took in a deep breath, feeling tears come to my eyes at the very thought of thinking about what happened years ago. Never the less, I continued; “we weren’t widely accepted at first, but as the years went by we began to fit in with the community.” “Continue,” Sacrament pleaded, wanting to know a bit more. No one, in my entire life, has been more interested in my story more than Steele; but this one, this pony, wanted to know more about me as well.
I screwed my eyes shut, trying to keep my tears from flooding out as I began to prepare myself to say the next sentence. Reluctantly, I declined, “I’m sorry, but like I said, I am not willing to share my whole life story with somepony I just met.” Sacrament nodded, “understandable.”
I returned that with only a single nod, wiping away the tears and continuing to move around the forge, hooves wanting to get hold of some metal which I could make into a sword or an arrowhead. “Your father, if I must say, sounds like a complete jerk.” I nodded, “from what my mother told me, he was. Always wanting to work, always wanting to lock himself away from the world so he could continue projects in secrecy; it’s a mystery to me at the fact that I don’t know what he was doing locked away in his room.” I hung my head just thinking about a few thoughts, “then again, I was too young to even think about that; but, looking back on it, it’s always been a wonder to me.”
“Sometimes, you’re a mystery to me, Malik,” a too familiar voice commented. That voice, the one I knew all too well; Steele. Steele, when I turned around, in sync with Sacrament, was standing at the open mouth of the forge, a saddlebag placed on his back, weighed down with whatever he needed. Steele got close, setting the saddlebags aside for the moment; “you’re not just any pony, Malik; you’re a mystery.” Steele turned to face the other earth pony, “and you, Sacrament, what are you doing here?”
I was confused. So, if Steele knew Sacrament, wouldn’t have they met up with each other before? “I’ve come here to talk to you, Steele; in private,” Sacrament added, turning his head to the door of the shop. Steele complied with a nod, picking up the saddlebags and following the other earth pony inside the shop. My curiosity got the better of me. When he entered the shop, with Steele, I quietly moved myself over to the door, placing one of my ears on the wooden door. I listened carefully to the conversation; “Now then, let’s get down to business.”
“Is this about those bits I borrowed? Because I can pay them back, right now.”
“No, Steele; I’m not here about those bits. I’ve come, to you, with an offer that you cannot refuse.”
I heard a slight banging noise emitting from the inside of the shop, “oh, I see. This is about Misty Mountain, isn’t it?”
My eyes opened wide at that name, “yes, yes it is. Signs have been shown, Steele; signs to show that the dragon of Misty Mountain has its days numbered.”
“But you’ll need a team to get inside the mountain, Sacrament; and I don’t want to be a part of it. I’m not that adventurer I used to be.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, in one way. I’ve been travelling Equestria for the past ten years, searching for the raw talent needed to mend this team into a full-fledged force. I’ve gathered many physical, and mentally, capable for this task; few like Dawnstar of Isenberg, the Enchantress Krados, the valiant warrior Bolter, and many more with those talents.”
“And what do you need me for?”
“We need your talent in blacksmithing, Steele; for Dawnstar knows the location of a particular blade, and we’ll need somepony to mend it if necessary.”
“Listen, Sacrament, I’ve known you for fifteen years now. I’m too old to continue like this, but if you only need me for that, then I’ll come.”
The sound of clapping hooves was heard, “excellent. Myself, and the others, will be at the inn tonight, to discuss our first move on our journey. We need you to be there tonight.”
“I can’t do tonight.” Came Steele’s immediate reply.
“Elaborate.” Sacrament spat.
“The young one, my apprentice, Malik, and I get together each week for a drink at the inn. It just so happens that we arranged for tonight to be the night of our weekly drink, so I’m afraid we’ll have to reschedule.”
“We have no time to reschedule, Steele,” boomed Sacrament. “This is more important than just some drink with another pony!”
“Malik is more than just another pony, Sacrament!” Steele yelled in my defence. “He’s been in my care for six years today, Sacrament. You don’t know what he’s been through,” a silence fell in the room, “but I do.”
“Care to justify what he’s been through, Steele?”
“No,” Steele deadpanned, “I swore an oath to him that I wouldn’t tell anypony about what happened six years ago. After all, earth ponies are known to keep to their oaths, no matter what.”
“Whatever,” Sacrament replied. The sound of hooves getting closer and closer made my heart skip a beat. In a few seconds, I dashed from the door to the shop back to the forge, pretending to still be working on a sword which I picked up. Sacrament swung the door open, walking out in fury. “Be there tonight, Steele; and bring your unicorn with you.”
And with that, Sacrament furiously walked down the road, exiting the town in less than a minute. From what I gathered, it seemed to me that this Sacrament pony was nothing but trouble. And, to be quite frank, I didn’t really like the way he talked about me; referring me to as Steele’s unicorn, and not using my proper name. “He seems a bit mad,” I stated, not adding much to continue.
Steele nodded, “yep, that’s as made as he’ll ever be.” Steele shook his head, walking up to me and looking down at me. “And, I knew you were listening in to the conversation, Malik.” How in the god’s name did he know? “But, I’ll let it slide, for now. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”
“But first, a quick bite to eat.” I said as my stomach rumbled, causing the older earth pony to chuckle lightly.
…Outside of Burrow…
Sacrament waited at the wall surrounding Burrow, cooling off after his little argument with his old friend Steele. Sacrament though that after ten years of travelling, Steele would’ve welcomed him with open hooves. But, instead of that, he was greeted with little retaliation from his old friend. Despite Steele agreeing to join him, he didn’t really see the reason why he’d waste a second of time with his unicorn co-worker.
To the east, Sacrament spotted several ponies, ranging of different races and genders, approaching the wall surrounding the small trading town. Leading them, at the front, was Dawnstar and an earth pony. The earth pony was coloured grey; holding a more muscular tone than a few of the other ponies, save for one of the dwarven ponies that followed. A completely black, messy mane, complete with a black goatee and black sideburns, reaching down to his jawbone, were all that was really notable about his appearance, save for a pair of dark blue eyes.
Aside from his appearance, the earth pony carried several personal items. For starters, he was dressed in a bronze cuirass, bronze greaves which only appeared on his back legs, and a bronze helmet, shaped like a helmet from one of the earth pony kingdom’s military, and atop the helmet was a headdress coloured in a dark shade of blood red. On the earth pony’s back was a bronze round shield, with a spike sticking out of the shield, and held in one of his hooves was a long spear, personalized with several skulls of fallen ponies; a quarter of them being earth ponies.
The party of ponies reached the gate, Dawnstar and the unnamed earth pony approaching the earth pony, who stood at the edge of the wall. The earth pony greeted Sacrament with a nod, whilst Dawnstar cleared his throat to speak; “so, Sacrament, has he agreed to join us?” Dawnstar asked, motioning for the earth pony beside him to let his guard down; after all, they were in the presence of several earth pony guards surrounding the walls of the town.
Sacrament shook his head. “Sort of. He has said that he’ll join us, but he says that he cannot meet up with us tonight.” “How come?” Asked the earth pony, ignoring Dawnstar’s order to let his guard down. “He does know that we need his expertise in smithing, correct?”
“Yes,” Sacrament replied. “All I’m saying is that he cannot meet up with us tonight; due to him going to have a drink with his only other co-worker.” Informed the earth pony, with a little bit of irritation evident in his voice.
“Co-worker? Well, what shall we do?” Dawnstar asked.
Sacrament bought his head up, “we’re still going to meet with him, regardless of what he says. He wants to have a drink with his co-worker, then to the divine with it; we’ll still be there.” Sacrament turned to the grey earth pony, “Bolter, I want you to lead us into Burrow. You’ve been here once, or twice, before, so you’ll know where the inn is.”
The earth pony, Sacrament identified as Bolter, nodded; “aye, Sacrament. We’ll get moving tonight.”
…Eleven Hours Later…
The Drunken Traveller. The only inn within a few miles of this region, and me and Steele were sitting down at a table, having the time of our lives. It’d been, like every week, a hectic week; what with the work piling up every day, and let alone the surprise visit from Sacrament, we’ve been at work non-stop every day. Tonight, though, was the time where I and Steele would get our stress relief.
The bartender, a pale yellow earth pony mare, slid a tankard full of apple cider in my general direction, causing me to act upon instinct and stop the sliding drink with my right hoof. The bartender winked at me, and instantly after that I felt my cheeks turn bright red; out of all the males in Burrow, why pick me? I turned my gaze to Steele, who was gulping down a full tankard full of cider. Finishing his drink, Steele turned to face me, not noticing the few spots of cider that stayed in his beard. Looking away from the old earth pony, I began to take several small swigs of the cider, instantly refreshing my throat after a long day of work. Setting my drink down with my levitation abilities, I asked, “so, Steele, what did that Sacrament pony want to talk to you about anyway?”
Steele’s expression turned sour, possibly just from thinking about what Sacrament wanted from him. “You should know, you listened into the conversation. But, I guess it doesn’t hurt to shed a bit more light onto the subject,” Steele said bitterly. “He wanted me to go with him, to go and slay some dragon that lives atop Misty Mountain, hiding itself inside the Alicorn Castle that lies atop Misty Mountain.”
“I’ve heard stories about that place; but never before have I heard the presence of a dragon up there. I thought they were extinct.” I stated.
Steele chuckled. “Well, Sacrament has. When I was deemed too old to continue travelling, he said that there were rumours about a dragon living up there, nesting in pools of gold and silver. He had to confirm these rumours, first; and so, he set out to find anypony with any information about it. Now he’s here; looking for somepony else to join up with him for this adventure.”
“Why don’t you go with him?” I asked.
Again he chuckled, “I’m too old to carry on travelling, Malik. I’m not like you young ones, today. If you were my age, and somepony wanted you to come on one last adventure, would you turn it down?”
That thought pondered in my mind for a brief moment. After a few brief seconds, I looked down, “well, I guess that I would.”
Steele took another swig of his cider, “exactly.”
I heard the door of the inn open. In the doorway, clad in bronze armour, was a grey earth pony, wielding a spear and a shield; the shield having a medium sized, well sharpened spike in the middle of the round shield. His face was, mostly, covered by the helmet; the only thing I could actually see was his soulless dark blue eyes, giving off that gaze of fear, dread, and mistrust. The earth pony walked in, allowing more and more ponies to enter the inn. Many were earth ponies; but there was a notable amount of pegasi, unicorns, and dwarven ponies.
Two figures walked in side by side; one pegasi, the other unknown due to the figure being covered up by an entirely back cloak. The pegasi pony was a mare, with a bright yellow, almost pale, coat along with a bright blue mane and tail. A matching pair of bright blue eyes nestled in her skull, and wrapped around her barrel was a quiver of arrows, and a longbow. The mare’s cutie mark resembled that of just a simple bow and arrow crossed together in the shape of a cross. The figure next to her, though, was completely ominous; her appearance was a mystery, the only thing notable was a pair of green eyes which stuck out from the darkness of the hooded cloak. Wrapped around her barrel was a smaller quiver of arrows, and a small crossbow, decorated with several tribal patterns. Aside from that, I noticed that strapped to one forehoof, particularly the right one, was a sheath; containing, as she placed it back in the sheath, a dagger entirely made out of a substance known only as Ebony.
As those two figures walked in, another figure entered; another pegasus pony. The pegasus pony held a light brown coat, along with a dark blue mane and tail, not styled in any particular fashion. His eyes, however, were the one thing that I noted was different about him. One eye was a dark shade of cobalt, whilst the other was a dark shade of ruby. He was dressed in a midnight blue leather vest, and over that was a black cloak, without the hood. Another thing I noted were his weapons; two scimitars tucked underneath the cloak in two separate sheaths, and wrapped around his barrel was yet another quiver of arrows and yet another crossbow.
Those ponies looked awfully…suspicious in my opinion. Very rarely did you find several armed ponies walking into a tavern, let alone this one. But, there was one which stood out from the rest; walking through the door way, aside an old unicorn and that pony from earlier, Sacrament, was a graceful looking elven unicorn. Her pale cream coat contrasted with her dark peach mane and tail, which was long and flowing in the faint wind. Around her neck was a pendant, and in the middle of that said pendant was a clear sapphire. Two sheathed daggers were placed on either side of her flank, covering her cutie mark right up. Finally, wrapped around her barrel was a silver shortsword; the light from the candles above dancing around the sword’s blade.
Sacrament spotted Steele from the door, motioning for the old unicorn and the graceful elven unicorn to wait there as he walked over to mine and Steele’s table. Sacrament placed a hoof on the table, gaining the much needed attention of me and Steele. “So, you decided to show up; and bring your unicorn with you.” Sacrament hissed.
Steele sighed. “As I’ve stated, Sacrament, I was going to be here; just not with you.”
“Is that so,” Sacrament hissed again. “Well then, it’s tough; we need to leave tomorrow morning, and you’re the only pony I trust with this task. So, whether you like it or not, we’re going to be here with you, and your unicorn.”
“Listen pal,” I retorted, catching Sacrament off guard. “If Steele doesn’t want to join you, he doesn’t have to join you; so take a hike.”
Sacrament only laughed. “Kid’s got some fight in him,” Sacrament laughed, pulling out his sword which I sharpened earlier. “Do you think you have the guts to fight me, kid?” I shook my head, wincing in fear as the blade drew closer and closer.
Steele yanked the sword out of Sacrament’s grip, “Sacrament, leave him alone. It’s me you want.”
Sacrament smiled, taking his sword out of Steele’s grasp. “I thought so as well.”
Why these ponies were here, at this time as well, I’ll never know. Sacrament spoke of them coming tonight, but I never actually thought he’d show up, with an entire caravan of ponies as well; ranging from many races and both genders. I was uneasy at this; Steele doesn’t want to go with them, so why is he sitting down next to Sacrament talking about it? My head hurts so much with all these thoughts; and the fact that the cider is starting to take its effect. Constant racket from talking, and the never ending slamming of tankards on tables was enough to put me off coming here for a week. Why here? Why now? There’s got to be reason for Sacrament’s intrusion of our little get together.
Many ponies in the room I didn’t trust, especially that bronze armoured one; the one pony guzzling down tankard after tankard of pure, strong earth pony ale. There was something about him; something which I didn’t like so much. Some of the others, however, I did start to think differently of; the pegasus mare and stallion for example. They don’t seem to just talk about killing or whatever, they seem to chat about important matters; such as life, what they’re going to do with it and where they were going to go. The cloaked pony, the one who didn’t remove the hood, didn’t say anything really; the figure just stayed silent the entire time. Definitely one I’d have to watch carefully, otherwise I might get stabbed in the back.
But one stood out; the elven pony. She didn’t look as if she was a traveller, or a warrior; she looked more…gods what’s the word? That’s it, regal. She looks more regal than many other ponies in the room; her coat being much cleaner than many, and her accent, when she spoke on occasion, was more royal than common. There was obviously something about her that got me interested into speaking with her; then again, she’d only be here with the others for a set amount of time. I hung my head over a half empty tankard of cider, faintly seeing my own reflection in the liquid; tears didn’t stream down my face at the fact that Steele might be leaving me by myself, but I was feeling rather…disheartened at the fact that my guardian wouldn’t be with me longer.
Sighing, I took the final swig of the cider from the tankard. Setting the empty tankard onto the table I was sitting at, I buried my head into my forehooves, trying to block out the other ponies in the room from my vision. I just wanted to be alone. Steele was the last pony I have left for a true, real family; if he goes, then I’ll have nothing left in reality. I’d be left alone to work in the forge, and will be expected to run the store as well; it’s just…all so sudden.
“You look troubled,” a voice said from seemingly out of nowhere. I looked back up, seeing the male pegasus stallion from earlier; the one who had mismatched eye colours. “Care to share your troubles?”
I shook my head. “No, not really,” I replied. “I’m fine.” I, stubbornly, lied.
The pegasus shook his head, shooting me a grin as he did so. “I know that trick, you know. Saying nothing’s wrong when, in truth, there is something the matter. Now, care to explain?”
I sighed. “Sure; pull up a stool.” I muttered, motioning my hoof over to a collection of stools just in the corner of the room. The pegasus placed a tankard, filled with 100% pure ale, down on the table, leaving it so he can use both hooves to lift up the stool and bring it over to the table. In no more than thirty seconds, the male, unnamed, pegasus put the stool on the ground, sitting on it soon as the wooden legs touched the ground.
The stallion took a large swig from the tankard of ale. “So, what’s got you all…distraught?”
“I don’t like giving a story out to somepony who either asks or is a pony I’ve never met; besides, I don’t even know your name.” I informed.
The stallion chuckled. “Sorry, guess that my curiosity got the better of me. My name’s Arias Swift Ace, the III to be precise.” The stallion introduced, holding out his hoof as if he wanted me to shake it. I took his hoof in my grasp, “but my friends, and party members, call me Arias. And you?”
Arias. Fitting name for a stallion like him. “Name’s Malik,” I complied, shaking Arias’ hoof as I took in a slow steady breath pace. Soon as Arias let go of my hoof, he took another swig of his drink, slamming the tankard with heavy force onto the wooden table. Soon as the tankard made contact with the table, I shot up, instantly looking around the room to find the source of the banging noise.
I could’ve sworn I heard Arias chuckle. “Calm yourself, kid,” Arias chuckled. “Anyway, what’s up with you?” I hung my head. “Well, my master, the pony you and the others came for, is being forced into joining your party for a trip up to Misty Mountain.” I started. “He constantly told me, ever since Sacrament showed up here, that he’s too old to continue travelling Equestria.”
“Ah, I see,” Arias remarked. “You’re worried about him dying or something, correct?” I could only nod at his statement. “Well, don’t you worry, kid. He’ll be in good hooves, I’ll say.” Arias said before he jumped off of his seat, grabbing the half empty tankard of ale in hoof and walking away from my position. I stayed there for a time, looking at the party members Sacrament gathered. The mysterious figure, the one who entered wearing a cloak, stood over in the shadows, watching everypony like a predator. But, the graceful elven unicorn from earlier was sitting next to Sacrament, the grey earth pony, and the older unicorn. Steele sat next to the old unicorn, obviously not enjoying this night.
Sacrament lifted his tankard, “may I have your attention, please.” Sacrament asked, gaining the much needed attention from everypony; aside from me, that is. “I’d just like to say that, after this night is over, we’ll be able to begin the real journey. That’s correct, everypony; the blacksmith is the final piece of the puzzle, and is the only way in which we will be able to ensure the success of our goal.”
I didn’t want to continue hearing the speech Sacrament was giving, not with Steele looking at me with those eyes that obviously showed to me that this would be the last time we’d ever see eye to eye. I wandered out of the inn, letting the gentle snowfall and biting winds sooth my emotions. I wanted my tears to flow, but something was refusing them to even peak out of my eyes. The moon above loomed over the town, drowning the town and surrounding areas in nothing but a light, thin blanket of moonlight.
One peaceful night like this…one peaceful night, where I’d wish that all of my troubles would be solved; unfortunately, none of them will be solved.
“You’re out here too, huh?” An elegant, feminine voice asked from behind, alerting me to turn right around almost instantly. There, standing in plain view, was the elven pony from earlier. From afar she was beautiful, but from up close she looked more…elegant; no she was the most beautiful pony I’ve ever seen, her beauty illuminated by the moon’s rays of light. I couldn’t find my voice, eyes and voice lost in her ever flowing beauty. The elven pony looked up to the moon, “sometimes I just like to get away from Sacrament and the others, and just lose myself in the skies.” I only huffed. She turned to face me, eyes meeting; “you know something, you’re different to some of the others in there. You’re quieter than most, I like that about you.”
I smiled. “Thanks, I guess.”
The unicorn smiled in return, then turned away to focus her gaze on the moon and the stars. “You’d never get a more perfect view of the moon from down here; where I’m from, I’m prohibited to even leave the safety of the inside. I’m only let out if I have some protection.” The unicorn sighed, “but now, here I am, standing in an earth pony town, with a unicorn, gazing at the stars.”
I nodded. “Why are you out here? Shouldn’t you be with Sacrament, and the others?”
She shook her head, “no. I came out here to get away from Sacrament and the others, just to stare up at the skies and be alone. I wished not to be disturbed by anypony,” she added.
I nodded, backing away from her slowly. “Well, if I’m disturbing you, then I best take my leave.”
I felt her hoof gently fall onto my shoulder, just before I could walk away. “No, I don’t want you to leave. You’re troubled, just like I am; that we both have in common. I want you to…stay with me, for a while, and just let us lose ourselves in the night.” The mare spoke, her voice flowing through my ears like a river of the sweetest honey. “You have problems with…something, I can tell by the look on your face. Is there something you wish to say?”
I nodded, hanging my head afterward. “Yeah,” I inhaled. “I don’t want Steele to leave the town, is all.” I admitted. The elven pony took in that sentence, then motioned with her hoof for me to continue. “It’s just that…he told me, time and time again, since Sacrament showed up, that he’s too old to carry on travelling Equestria. Because of him being too old, he’s decided to settle here, begin a new life; a life that led him away from danger. But now,” I swore to the gods I could feel the tears begin to form in my eyes, “but now he’s being forced into something he doesn’t want to do, and it just…drives me mad at the fact that he won’t stop and listen to him for a total of what, sixty seconds maybe?”
The elven mare nodded. “Sacrament can be stubborn sometimes, heck he only listens to a few ponies; and I don’t think that Sacrament, or you, are ponies that he listens to.” She stated.
I could only reply with a sad nod before I looked back up at the sky, “is there a way in which he can stay? I’ll do anything to make him stay here, safe.”
The elven mare’s head perked up, “actually, yes, there is one way.” This made me turn to face her, eyes and face showing clear determination. “However, it’s also one of the more tricky ways, but it’s the only one in Sacrament’s case.”
“What is it? I’m up for anything,” I enthusiastically replied.
The mare giggled. “You’ve got spirit, kid; another thing I like about you. Anyways, as I’ve stated before, Sacrament only listens to three ponies; these ponies being myself, Dawnstar, and Bolter. You convince us to vouch for you, and we’ll deliver; besides, Sacrament always listens to us. So, if you want to do it that way, then we’ll do it.”
I nodded. “Yeah!”
The mare, again, giggled. “Well then, we’d better go convince Bolter and Dawnstar,” she informed, causing me to cock my head to the right. Wasn’t she one of the ponies I had to convince? “And, before you ask, I’m choosing to vouch for you because…well, I like your nobility and your…enthusiasm, kid. Your nobility to take Steele’s place, even if we’re going into certain death and your enthusiasm to take his place speak to me.”
“Thanks,” I said as we began to walk back inside the inn. “Hey, I never got your name,” I called.
“It’s Ivory. And you are?”
I smiled, “my name’s Malik.”
…
Dawnstar. The elder unicorn, the one dressed in blue robes, sat over by the inn’s bar, obviously deep in thought. My eyes couldn’t tell what the unicorn looked like; my only first glance of him being when he walked in not too long ago. Ivory, the elven pony, approached the older unicorn. The elder unicorn knew she was approaching, but he didn’t even move his head to even great her.
“Dawnstar,” Ivory started. Dawnstar turned his head, his attention obviously focused on what Ivory had to say. “May I talk to you, over there?” Ivory asked, pointing over to an unoccupied table in the left corner of the room. Dawnstar only nodded, getting up from his sitting position and slowly trotting over to the unoccupied table.
Dawnstar, as he sat down, opened his mouth to speak first. “What is it you need, Ivory? You know as well as I do that Sacrament doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Dawnstar reminded, looking back over to see Sacrament shoot a glance over to us.
Ivory pointed her hoof at me, “Malik here wishes to take Steele’s place in the party. And, you and I know, that he needs to have the three of us to vouch for him; he’s already got me convinced, I’ll just need to get you and Bolter aboard.” Dawnstar pondered for a moment. “Well, I suppose I can allow for me to vouch for him; however, his skills must be seen. Now, Malik was it? If you are to take your friend’s position, I must see your talent,” Dawnstar, flatly, stated. I frowned. “Excuse me, but I can’t magic up an entire forge just like that.”
Dawnstar look unimpressed. “You’re a unicorn, aren’t you? I thought you’d know at least a few spells, but I was mistaken. Anyway, I wasn’t saying that you have to conjure up a forge; you didn’t even let me finish. You, me, and Ivory are going to the local forge, and you’re going to demonstrate your talent in front of me.” Dawnstar said, getting up from his sitting position, joining Ivory and me in a full standing position. “It shouldn’t be too hard for you, am I correct?”
I gulped, face showing false determination. Reluctantly, I gulped again, solidifying my expressions. “No, sir. It’s just a mere, petty little task you need me to do; it’s not going to be difficult for me to do.”
“Well then, let’s not waste any time.”
…
Have I ever said that I hated working in the presence of ponies I didn’t know? If not, then let me tell you. Sometimes, not all of the time, I can be very sceptical on whom I trust; and these two ponies, despite their physical features, could turn and kill me when they get the chance. These two, however, were different; I didn’t feel the same spark of mistrust that I did with other ponies.
Ivory stood over by one of the wooden supports that held up the roof over the forge, whilst Dawnstar stood next to me, waiting for me to start work on forging a weapon to show my talent. Even though my flank was barren of any sort of cutie mark, I was particularly skilled in forging anything from iron or steel; however, I have no idea as to why it hasn’t earned me my cutie mark.
The weapon of choice, which Dawnstar instructed me to recreate, was a small dagger. Not really much of a challenge, in my eyes; just the fact that somepony I never knew was watching me make the weapon, now that kind of kept me off of doing it. ‘Come on, I can do this. It’s just a simple dagger creation, nothing much right? Well, the fact that somepony is watching, two to be precise, one being darn well beautiful, is kind of distracting.” I ‘mentally’ argued, causing a conflict in the back of my mind.
Deciding that I should do it, for Steele of course, I set to work. There was already some steel fuming in the pool of hot inferno, so it was starting off rather well. Pulling the dagger out with my telekinesis, after an extra ten minutes of it heating up, I moved it over to the table where the hammer lay waiting. I could literally feel the heat of the dagger in my aura; it felt warm, yet burning at the same time. Soon as the molten mess hit the iron table, enchanted so that the blade couldn’t melt parts of it, I could’ve sworn I heard the blade sizzle on the enchanted iron table.
I grasped the hammer in my aura, levitating it high enough, and ready to strike the molten material. Not looking at the other two ponies in front of me, I struck the hammer once, twice, and thrice. After each hit, the clang of the metal hammer echoed through the night, causing myself to be at ease. I breathed in, and then out, keeping to this pattern as I continuously hit the molten dagger.
Within a matter of minutes, the dagger began to slowly take shape. I stopped, every now and then, to catch my breath and consume a small drink to quench my thirst. Ivory, from looking out of the corner of my eye, looked rather interested in the process of what I was doing; she didn’t seem to take her eyes off of the process. It wasn’t the most exciting process, but she, aside from me, was one of the only ones who actually took interest in what I was doing. Soon as the dagger was shaped, using my aura, I dunked the dagger into the bucket of water.
Soon as the dagger was completely submerged underwater, I wiped a bit of sweat off of my brow. “The dagger will take some time to cool off, and when it does it’ll be able to be used afterword.”
“I don’t plan on using it,” Dawnstar informed. Surprisingly, I was kind of shocked; a pony, who asked me to create a weapon for them, didn’t wish to use it. I cocked my head in confusion. Dawnstar only chuckled, “I only wanted to see if you’re skills with creating weaponry is good. And, as I can see, you’ve got the skill. So, what I’ll say, is that yes; I shall vouch for you.” Ivory smiled, draping a hoof around me. “Congrats, Malik. Now you’ve only got to convince Bolter, and boy is that going to be a challenge.”
I pulled myself out of her grasp, “why? Why will it be a challenge to get him to vouch for me?” I asked, seeming to understand the concept as to why this Bolter pony was going to be a challenge to convince. Ivory looked down for a moment, shrouding her eyes from my vision with her dark peach mane. “Ivory, there’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?” Ivory sighed, bringing her head back up. “In order to get Bolter on your side, I’m afraid you’ll have to…fight him.” Ivory informed, “and, with what’s going on at the current moment, he’s in a fighting kind of mood.”
…
Never, ever in my life have I ever even thought about fighting some other pony. Yes, many ponies have prompted me to attempt to fight them, but I resisted my hardest to do so; and, in the end, it always ended with me walking away unscathed. Fighting just isn’t in me; it’s not in my blood, it’s not even a thought in my mind. So why, in the name of all that is good and mighty, do I have to fight Bolter? I don’t even know what he looks like! He could be bigger and stronger than me, or smaller but still stronger than me.
Ivory, Dawnstar, and myself re-entered the inn, walking into what we walked out of; same old ponies getting blind drunk, having the time of their lives. Ivory and Dawnstar directed me over to that grey earth pony from before, still clad in his bronze armour. The stallion was sharpening the spear he had with him, not only that but he began to sharpen the shield and a shortsword he kept as a back-up weapon; smart move, if you ask me. The armour he was clad in reminded me that of a fully polished set of earth pony guard armour, and the headdress on the helmet would represent the wearer as a high rank; so perhaps this pony was a leading commander in the earth pony military.
Ivory came close, and whispered, “that, over there, is Bolter.” She said, pointing a hoof over to the grey earth pony. Well, it’s been nice being alive. The stallion was twice the size of me, and was most likely even stronger and more durable in a fight; and me? I’m a weakling and it doesn’t take much to knock me down. There is one thing I have, that he possibly doesn’t have; speed. Due to his bulky looking exterior, I wouldn’t expect somepony of his size to have a wide moving speed. If I could just wear him out, I can then surprise him; then again, that was if he didn’t have a good moving speed.
Looking up at the taller, muscular stallion, I tried to suppress my feelings of fear. “So, you’re expecting me, a smaller and, let’s face it, weaker pony to go up against that pony?” I exclaimed. “I’m just going to say it, how am I supposed to defeat him? He’s got the strength advantage, I have not!”
“Size doesn’t matter in a fight, Mal,” Ivory reassured. “To Bolter, it only matters about the size of the fight in the pony. Sure, he may be stronger, but he shows his appreciation to those who have the guts to stand up and fight him.” Ivory explained, brushing a part of her dark peach mane out of her right eye. “Isn’t that true, Dawnstar?”
“Aye,” Dawnstar replied.
“See,” Ivory stated. “You survive with him, in a fight, for more than a minute, he’ll be impressed.”
I sighed, bringing my hoof to my right cheek. If I were to fail this test, I might not be able to take Steele’s place so that he may live. ‘It’s a longshot but, if I can actually beat him, I may have a slim chance. Then again, there’s also the chance that I might be completely humiliated in front of everypony.’ Needless to say, my mind, at the moment, was conflicted with thoughts; either of cowardice or of bravery. ‘Come on, Steele is depending on you, even if he doesn’t know it!’ I ended, slamming my hoof down on the wooden floor of the inn. “Well, I suppose if that’s the only way, then I suppose I’ll have to…” I gulped, “fight him.”
Ivory draped her leg around me, pulling me tight and using her other hoof to bump me lightly on my chest. “Now that’s the spirit, Mal,” she said. This was the first time, in a long time, I actually felt the embrace of a female. Last time I ever had a female…well pull me close was six years ago, for reasons of which I already explained earlier. She pulled her leg out from the embrace, using all four legs to walk over to the hulking mass of the pony known as Bolter. Ivory hit the stallion on the shoulder, “sup, Bolt?”
Bolter grunted, “don’t ever call me that, Ivory. Now, what do you want?” Bolter deadpanned, not adding much to his sentence. Jeez, he needs to lighten up a bit. She only wanted an answer, not a low deep answer. “Please make it quick, you’re wasting my time.” He bellowed, taking a long, well deserved, drought from his tankard. Surprisingly, I could hear their whole conversation due to the fact they were only a mere few feet away from me and Dawnstar.
Ivory sighed, “well, to start with, there’s this pony called Malik who wants to take Steele’s place on the team. He knows what he has to do, and well…”
“He already roped you and Dawnstar into siding with him, hasn’t he?” Bolter asked, only getting a small nod from the elven unicorn. Bolter set the tankard down, the impact resulting in a small clap of metal on wood. “Well, if that’s the case, then I don’t want any part of it. Sacrament’s mind is already made up, he should just quit whilst he’s ahead.”
Bolter stood up, only for Ivory to use her hoof to pull him back down onto his seat. Ivory pulled the tall, bulky stallion closer to her face; “listen, Bolter, he’s determined to take Steele’s place. He’s his student, for the sake of the gods! Doesn’t that appeal to you?” She exclaimed, flailing her hoof over in my general direction.
Bolter grunted, “yes. Fine! If he survives a battle with me, he’ll be worthy of my word. If he fails, he stays here; no exceptions.”
Ivory nodded, trying to mask her doubt in me. “Of course, where will he fight you?"
Bolter got up, walking towards the door. He sheathed his sword, picked up his spear and shield, and approached the door; grinning, he turned back to face the three of us. “The river…now.”
…
Well, I suppose this was my final test. Defeat Bolter, then I’ll earn his word as he says. Ivory filled me in on some of the small details she discussed with him as we walked up to the river; she said it was hoof-on-hoof combat, no armour, no magic, no interferences. Any of those, and I’ll be immediately be deemed unworthy of his word. It was a stroke of luck, really; I couldn’t use weapons or magic at all.
However, he still held the height and strength advantage. But, as Ivory stated, it’s not about the size of the pony in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the pony; that’s all that mattered, and was the only reason why I agreed to this fight. Bolter stood, unarmoured, at the other side of the river, using the water to wash his face before battle; a tactic the earth ponies used to keep themselves hydrated during their battle.
Me, on the other hand, I only took a small drink from the river, quenching my now hydrated throat. Soon as Bolter finished, he stood in his ready position. Ivory and Dawnstar watched over from the small hill just over from the river, making sure that no dirty tricks were performed. Dawnstar spoke first, “Bolter, are you ready?” He asked, only getting a grunt of reply from the earth pony.
Ivory then spoke. “Malik, are you ready?” She asked, in which I could only nod in reply to.
Dawnstar’s horn glowed a deep purple colour, shooting a bolt of purple energy into the sky; signalling the beginning of the battle. Bolter stood there, still as a statue, possibly waiting to lure me into a trap. I, soon as the energy bolt shot up, readied myself in the most ready position I could think of; which meant I was pointing my horn forwards, in Bolter’s general direction. We both stood there, eyeing each other for little more than five minutes. When those five minutes ended, Bolter charged, screaming wordless fury as he charged at me. I took this moment to dodge, but it didn’t work out. I felt Bolter’s teeth grip my tail, flinging me with all his might into the icy cold river. Soon as my entire body was completely submerged underwater, I pulled myself out of the water, droplets of water running down and dripping off of my now wet mane.
No way, no how was I going to let him beat me down; I have to fight back. I readied myself again, waiting for him to try to attack once more. He charged again, this time approaching from the right instead of coming at me head on. This gave me time to react; I dodged out of the way again, this time using my back left hoof to strike Bolter across the face. Bolter reared back a few paces, brushing his face with his right hoof, then bringing it back down onto the ground. He charged again, just before I landed back on the ground, and barged into me, dragging me along with him for little more than six seconds. He threw me off of him, throwing my body into the trunk of a tree, sending rapid ripples of pain through my body.
I groaned in pain; my back was completely damaged by that throw, and not only that but I was beginning to get less and less determinated to continue the fight. I couldn’t just give up; I had reason to continue this fight, and I’ll be damned if I can’t finish it. Even though my back rebelled for me to stay on the ground, I staggered to pick myself up from the ground, leaving Bolter, who watched from afar, to grunt in annoyance. “Why do you insist on continuing?”
I wheezed, trying to straighten my breath before I stood back in my stance. “Because, my master is being forced to do something he doesn’t want any part of; and it’s my duty to ensure that he doesn’t have to do that.” I shouted, fully readying myself for another attack. “Now, let’s continue.”
Bolter smiled. “Gladly,” was all he could say before he charged with all his might at me. I dodged, however when I turned around something rather unexpected happened. Bolter had managed to channel his running energy into force, and using his rear legs was able to deliver a buck right into my face. Needless to say, the crevices of both his hooves were all I saw before everything went black.
