(8: Reforged)
Cadence and her chosen warriors were less than halfway down the central spire before they could hear the echoes of the forge below. The closer they got, the louder the sound of clanging furnace doors and hot iron striking metal became, drowning out the thunder of war outside. On any average day, a select few blacksmiths would work to create the empire's primary trade commodities in the form of crystal-based exports. But today, just as every day since the siege, every furnace blazed with the heat of a dragon's firestorm. The craftsponies within were either creating new armaments, or repairing old ones; an unending cycle of heating and cooling metal. Every time the enemy blasted away at the empire's defences, an identical number of hammers would slam on the anvils as a countermeasure.
Meteor Might was one such blacksmith. Not since her initial training had she been so focused on her work, setting aside no more than a minimal amount of time for all biological necessities before returning to her forge. If all the blood, sweat an' tears I've poured into these weapons are for nought, Meteor thought, a mantra she had been repeating to herself ad-nausea since her defeat in the first battle. Then I, along with the empire, am doomed. Hammering in one last bolt to fix the head of a pole-hammer in place, Meteor slotted the weapon on the rack beside her and called for the next round of would-be heroes to arm themselves.
“Good to see you're well, Meteor.”
Meteor didn't need to look up to know who the regal voice that was announcing his presence belonged to. It was Emerald, leading Stellar and Princess Cadence through the hall to see her, waves of hot air blasting through their manes.
“Good to see ya, too, Commander,” Meteor replied, dropping her hot tools into a barrel of water as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Though her vocal tone gave off an aura of confidence, both Cadence and Emerald could tell by her straight face and lack of eye contact that she wasn't a happy mare. “Be ya needin' me ta put more slackers back ta work again?”
“No, that won't be necessary this time,” Emerald laughed. “We do, however, still have great need for services, if you are able to provide.”
“What ye be needin’?” Meteor replied with a raised eyebrow, pointing her hoof to her flank. “What do ye think this is for? I ain't a specialist at gardenin', I can tell ye that!”
“So, you're the one named Meteor Might,” Cadence said, extending out her hoof, wearing her usual warm smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yeah, pleasure, sure,” Meteor huffed, paying little attention to the Princess as she pulled back a lever to open the furnace doors.
“At attention, soldier!” Emerald snapped, his calm persona suddenly flipping to one of relentless authority. “You will address the Princess with proper decorum. Now, take your bow and show some proper respect!”
“Ye really think I'm bein' disrespectful, huh?” Meteor's retort matched her commander's fury. “Then what in the bowels of Tartarus do ye think I'm doin' here?! My work, nae, this entire forge is my respect! I'm payin' me service to the empire by givin' everypony a sturdy weapon ta fight with. And in case ye haven't noticed, I'm pretty damn good at it, whether I take part in yer snobbish performances or not.”
“Why, you insubordinate little-”
“That'll do, Commander,” Cadence stepped between the two bickering ponies, bathing them both in the soothing light of her glowing horn. “Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary. I never much cared for protocols, anyway.”
“As you wish, my lady,” Emerald bowed and took a step back, but didn't miss the chance to shoot a harsh glare in Meteor's direction.
“Anyway,” Cadence continued, clearing her throat. “How are your wounds healing? I see nurse Rosebud has removed most of the bandages already.”
“Rosebud?” Meteor sneered. “Bah! That old mare dunnae know a thing about recovery. Removed the bandages myself the moment I woke up. They just get in the way of me work anyway.” By the burn marks on her shoulders and chest, it was evident that Meteor had also performed her own, 'traditional' method of treating wounds.
“It's quite impressive how quickly you've recovered,” Cadence gestured her hoof across Meteor's body. “Though I wish I could say the same for other soldiers.”
Meteor didn't respond. Instead, she pulled out a red-hot piece of metal from the furnace, placing it on the anvil in front of her.
“I've also been told that you were the first pony to kill one of the Phantom Stallions,” Cadence pressed, hoping that appealing to the blacksmith's ego would get her talking. “That's why I'd like to personally welcome you back into service for the Canterlot Royal Guard with open arms. Your deeds are already serving as an inspiration to everypony in the empire; you're the talk of the town!”
Again, Meteor said nothing, continuing to hammer away at the semi-molten metal.
“You'll do no good recruiting her, Princess.”
The nasally voice of a lanky, red-furred Pegasus with a scruffy black mane caught Cadence's attention. He stood with his back to Meteor, working on a separate anvil behind her. “You're right about one thing, though: we've all heard about what Meteor supposedly achieved in battle. But considering how she refuses to talk about it, I'd say she's just trying to make herself look good. You'd be better off tryin' to recruit a preschool filly.”
“I heard that, T.K!” Meteor growled through gritted teeth, spinning around and pulling the leaver to the Pegusi's forge; searing his backside with a blast of hot air. “I best not catch ye bad mouthin' me again, lest ye want me ta show ya what it's really like ta put yer back into a job like this. Do I make meself clear?”
“Yes m'am,” T.K grumbled in response.
“Excuse me, T.K, was it?” Stellar spoke up as he approached the Pegasus, having abstained from the conflict up until now.
“Yeah, short for Turbulent Katabatic,” the Pegasus replied, trying to act cool, despite the obvious tinge of bitterness in his voice. “What's it to ya?”
“I know of a particular saying that makes its rounds through Canterlot. It may be considered old fashioned, but I think could be useful for you to know.”
“Really now?” T.K placed his tools down, raising an eyebrow and folding his front hooves over one another. “Well I may be just a humble Cloudsdale Pegasus, but I do have a few links here and there to high society.”
“Well, it's something I learned from my grandfather when I was just a little foal,” Stellar said plainly, ignoring the smugness evident in T.K's voice. “Never speak ill of an earth pony's work, unless you want to turn it into a competition.”
Any retort T.K could have made soon died; the sound of Meteor snickering behind the unicorn at the back-hoofed insult striking a heavy blow to his ego. He couldn't deny that any crafting contest between him and a skilled earth pony like Meteor would inevitably result in his defeat.
Emerald cleared his throat, returning everypony in the room to his attention. “Now then, I think that's enough arguments for one day,” trotting over to the weapons rack, Emerald slid his hoof into the open end of the twisted, basket-shaped metal guard of a freshly repaired rapier. “Meteor, you magnificent mare, you have done it again! This is quite a spectacular repair job you've done on this blade of mine.”
Meteor blushed. “Like I said, it's what I do.”
“Allow me to introduce you to my comrade, Stellar Shine,” Stellar bowed as Emerald mentioned his name. “He could do with a new armament of his own. Perhaps you could show us one of the more specialised weapons you've come out with recently?”
“Well you've certainly come ta the right pony,” Meteor twirled her blacksmith hammer in her hooves and puffed out her chest with pride. “But I'm gonna need a wee bit more info if I'm ta give yer partners-in-arms the right tools fer the job. After all, these Phantom Stallions are rather tough nuts to crack, even fer me.”
“You are as wise with tactics as you are skilled at the forge, Meteor,” Cadence said brightly. “Shining Armour tells me that Stellar is excellent with long-ranged weapons. Perhaps you could apply your skills to a new bow of some kind?”
“Oh, how you lot flatter me so,” Meteor said with just a hint of sarcastic disdain in her voice. “I may not be think I have just the thing.”
Hopping over her anvil, Meteor pulled open the latches of a large wooden chest and flipped over the lid. After shuffling through a variety of weapons that were not-so-neatly packed inside, Meteor pulled out a waxed long bow, along with a quiver full of arrows to go with it. “This should do ye nicely. I know the best bowyer in the empire, and this is one of their best creations. Be warned, though; I've given this thing ta some o' the strongest of stallions for testin', an' even they struggle with the heavy draw weight. The only thing missing is the blood of yer enemies splattered across the tip of her arrows! Think ye can fix that for me?”
Stellar levitated the quiver's strap over his shoulder and turned over his new bow in his hooves, inspecting every inch of the weapon. While he was no craftspony, he had been fighting in the Canterlot Royal Guard long enough to know a sturdy weapon when he saw one. With a fine string held taught between the arching stave that was almost as long as he was tall, it was obvious to anypony that this was a weapon better suited to use by Unicorns than any other race.
Casting a levitation spell, Stellar strung an arrow and pulled it back as far as he could manage, calculating the specific amount of magic it took to apply the necessary pressure against the draw weight. Scanning his eyes across the room, Stellar took his time to choose an appropriate target to practice on. When a tiny glimmer from further down the hall caught his eye, Stellar cut off part of his spell, shooting an arrow straight into the centre of a dead phantom stallion's breastplate, the direct hit piercing through the gem.
All those who witnessed the shot stared in amazement, save for T.K, who had fallen several feet to the ground after being startled by the arrow slicing clean through the tips of his extended flight feathers mid-flap.
“I think that'll do nicely,” Stellar said with a satisfied grin. “I will wield it with all the skill I can muster. For the Crystal Empire, and for all of Equestria.”
“I have no doubt ye will,” Meteor dusted her hooves together, but before she could return to her work, Cadence spoke up.
“There is one more thing I would like to ask you, Meteor.”
“Oh, cut the crap, Princess,” Meteor slammed her hoof down on the anvil, sparks of hot metal flying off from the impact. “I know what ye want of me, but the answer is no. I ain't returnin' ta that battlefield, ever. In fact, ye should count yerself lucky that I'm still workin' me flank off in this forge ta begin with!”
“How dare you speak to the Princess that way?!” Emerald yelled, his own strength of will being the only thing holding him back from decking the disrespectful earth pony in the jaw.
“It's okay, Emerald,” Cadence was quick to respond, placing her hoof on the commander's shoulder and doing her best to keep herself calm despite the rising tension. “I can handle this.”
“Oh, I bet you bloody well can,” Meteor sneered, slamming her hammer down onto another hot piece of metal. “Gonna cast one of yer fancy love spells on me, so we all do a little dance and sing about how oh-so-wonderful our new-found friendship is? I don't think so!”
Cadence's heart sank. She had a feeling that she knew what this was about, but she had to ask to be certain. “Meteor, I'm not sure what I've done to upset you like this, but...”
“Don't ye start playin' dumb with me, Princess!” Meteor slammed her hooves on the anvil, the force of the blow cracking its surface. “Ye should know bloody well know what the problem is! Back when I was a wee filly, enjoying a welcome school holiday in the empire, ye were the one who stepped in when me parents started fightin' for the tenth time that day. Any sensible pony woulda seen how much me dad was suffering! Always getting' an earful for how every little thing that wasn't right in the world was absolutely his fault.
“He coulda gotten outa there that day, but no. You just had to come along and cast yer fancy little love spell and poof! No more arguments, no more yelling, no more conflict over anythin', ever. Even as a filly I knew it weren't right to force ponies ta be happy like that; turnin' them inta love-struck zombies through fake feelings pulled out of thin air. Now tell me, why should I be puttin' my neck on the line against an army of near-indestructible monsters? Read my lips; I will not die for you!”
The entire forge fell silent, all work halting in shock at the ensuing drama. Even Meteor had stopped upon finishing her rant, breathing heavily as she fought back the tears welling up in her eyes.
“I know that apologising for my actions will not make everything better,” Cadence said, her voice heavy with regret. “I freely admit that I was once incredibly foolish with my magic, thinking that I could solve all friendship problems with a simple flash of my horn. Nothing I say or do will undo the damage I have caused. I won't ask for your forgiveness. Nor will I ask you to fight for me. Instead, I'm only going to ask that you fight for what's most important to you; regardless of whether it's for the empire, or those who live within it.
“You are an incredible fighter who has contributed so much to this war already, not least because of how you discovered the Achilles hoof of the Phantom Stallions. If you are willing to lead my people along with these two brave fighters behind me, then I'm certain that the war will end that much sooner. But ultimately, that is your decision to make.”
As Cadence turned to leave, Meteor dropped her hammer and pulled open the forge door. Throwing the unfinished weapon hilt into the inferno, she stood and watched the pre-heated metal begin to melt. As she gazed into the dancing flames within, a storm of thoughts raged in her mind; a front of memories, good and bad, of all the times she spent in the Crystal Empire. Her first encounter with a blacksmith demonstrating their craft, her bickering parents; the day she got her cutie mark, the day her mother berated her father over his incorrect predictions. So many memories. So much hurt, yet so much joy.
How could she let that die?
Slamming the furnace door shut, Meteor flung open the chest once more, pulling out a war hammer that matched her original claymare in size. “Make no mistake, Princess,” she said as she swung her hammer over her shoulder. “I will not be fightin' for you. But if I really am that important to preservation of the empire, then I will fight until my last dying breath!”
Cadence turned back and bowed to Meteor. “I can't thank you enough for everything you've done.”
“Well then,” Emerald cleared his throat with a sly grin on his face. “That is all well and good, but if you are to serve alongside me, I think you could use a little practice first.”
Without a hint of hesitation, Emerald lunged at Meteor, stabbing his rapier towards Meteor's heart; only to have it deflected by a twist of her body and a flick of her war hammer to knock the lighter weapon right out of the crystal pony commander's hoof.
“Is that practice enough?” Meteor asked, a quip that had the entire forge erupting in delighted cheers.