//------------------------------// // 56. One Bad Hammer // Story: My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship // by Danieru //------------------------------// While still asleep in his bed, a loud and fast knocking could be heard on Star Twinkle's door, forcing him to get up and interrupt his sleep. “I'm coming...I'm coming...” He said annoyed while he rubbed one of his eyes. He opened the door with his eyes only half open and saw his boss Steel Hammer in front of him who looked like as if he was either in a pretty big hurry or being chased by something. Calling him being stressed out would be a big understatement. “Star Twinkle! You have to help me!” He said putting his face close to Star Twinkle. “Can I help you a little later? It's still early in the morning...” Star Twinkle replied half-asleep, pointing out that it is even earlier than when he had to go to work. “No! Later is too late! She is arriving in a few hours!” He exclaimed stressed. “Who?” Star Twinkle asked. “My sister!” Steel Hammer replied. Star Twinkle's eyes immediately popped open after that. He didn't say a single word and quickly shut the door in front of Steel Hammer, causing the stressed out Earth-Pony to knock like crazy on his door again. “Hey! Don't do this to me! I need your help!” He pleads as he knocked rapidly on the door. “Oh, no! I don't want to get caught up in the trouble between you and your sister!” Star Twinkle replied while he put his body against the door out of fear that Steel Hammer would actually smash it open. “But if you are around then she probably won't be so annoying!! You know how she can be!” Steel Hammer said before he stopped the knocking. “Exactly, now you know why I am not looking forward to it!” Star Twinkle exclaimed from the other side of the door. There was a silence after those words. Star Twinkle wondered if Steel Hammer left but he didn't open the door to check, in case that this was a trap. But it wasn't since Steel Hammer spoke up again. “You know...” Steel Hammer started while sounding a little more sinister this time. “I can always cut short your salary...” The door was instantly slammed open by Star Twinkle who looked at his boss before the door even opened all the way up. “You wouldn't!” He said with a stressed expression on his face now. “I don't have to. I just need you to support me...” Steel Hammer said with a grin on his face which wasn't a sinister one this time. That was probably due to the fact that he knew that he had Star Twinkle now. It was not like Star Twinkle was depending on money too much. He always had enough savings when it mattered but it was just a low blow from Steel Hammer's site. Star Twinkle knew that Steel Hammer's sister never stayed too long whenever she came to visit so he might as well just endure her visit. Still, he did regret to actually helping Steel Hammer in this matter. Later... “I can't believe this,” Star Twinkle thought as he looked into the distance annoyed by what Steel Hammer forced him to do. Both Earth-Ponies waited at the train station for Steel Hammer's sister to arrive. Steel Hammer kept a close look on the train rails while Star Twinkle could only let out some frustrated gasps every now and then as he waited for Steel Hammer's sister to arrive. He was not really looking forward to this meeting. He only met Steel Hammer's sister on one or two occasions but that was enough to get a picture of her. Ironically, her “character” wasn't even directed towards Star Twinkle but because of how he was forced to be around Steel Hammer, he was afraid that he would get involved in something really bad. Eventually, Star Twinkle's worries vanished once he heard some familiar voices calling his name. He instantly recognized the voices and turned around to find out that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as well as Applejack, came walking towards him. “What are you all doing here?” Star Twinkle asked. “My cousin Babs Seed is coming over for a visit!” Apple Bloom excitingly shared. “And she wants to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Sweetie Belle added with the same excitement. “She does?” Star Twinkle wondered. “So I assume that she doesn't have a Cutie Mark as well?” “No,” Apple Bloom returned. “Actually, she doesn't know that she wants to join us yet,” Apple Bloom further explained, confusing Star Twinkle in the process. “But if you don't have a Cutie Mark, then there is no way that you shouldn't join the Crusaders!” Scootaloo explained optimistically. “Yeah. I mean, you practically begged when you wanted to join us...” Sweetie Belle added to the bunch towards Star Twinkle. “What?” Star Twinkle replied confused by this statement. “That's not true! You did-” But his answer was denied by the three fillies, who jumped around in excitement not listening to Star Twinkle anymore who then gave up to remind them about the actual facts. Applejack did notice how Star Twinkle was having a hard time dealing with the three fillies and approached him in order to “normally” talk with him since she was a little annoyed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders constant jumping around. “So what drives you here to the train station? Waiting for somepony as well?” Applejack asked. “We are waiting for my sister...” Steel Hammer replied with his eyes focused on the train rails. Strangely enough, it didn't even look like as if he was paying attention to anything around him. “Oh! I never knew that you had a sister!” Applejack replied surprised. “She lives in Manehattan...has a jewelry shop there...very successful...but she decided to visit Ponyville for a week...” Steel Hammer explained, his eyes still focused on the train rails. “That's great! You must be pretty excited for her visit,” Applejack said with a healthy smile on her face. Steel Hammer only glanced his eyes over to Applejack for a few seconds in silence before he returned his eyes back to the train rails. Confused by this action, Applejack felt like finding out what caused Steel Hammer's behavior. “What's wrong with him,” she whispered towards Star Twinkle while making sure that Steel Hammer wouldn't hear her. “It's a little complicated...” Star Twinkle briefly explained. “Why? Are they in a fight or what?” Applejack asked directly. Steel Hammer turned his head towards the two Earth-Ponies and jumped in front of them with a serious expression on his face. “Oh, Noooo...she is only the evilest pony in all of Equestria!” He said overly dramatic but yet very serious. “You know it's not nice to say something like that about your own sister,” Applejack replied a little offended. Of course, Applejack would react a little offended by those words since family was something really important to her. "How would she react if she knew that you talk about her like that?” “She probably wouldn't care too much because she is busy making my life a living nightmare!” Steel Hammer explained before he focused his eyes on the train rails again only to realize that there was finally a train coming towards them. “There she comes...” he said overly dramatic while he narrowed his eyes. The train of Manehattan came to a hold at the station. Not many ponies came out of it and Steel Hammer patiently waited until the right pony walked outside. The Cutie Mark Crusaders on the other hoof, couldn't wait until Babs Seed would come out. Apple Bloom even went so far to look inside of the train to find out where she was. However, Applejack reminded her that she didn't meet her before, making it a little harder to find her. “Ah, that's her!” Applejack said as she pointed to a filly coming out of one of the doors of the train. An Earth-Pony filly with a dark orange coat, a pink-reddish mane, light green eyes and as expected, no Cutie Mark stepped out of the door with a nervous expression on her face. She was soon surrounded by the three Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Bloom greeted her in a very not personal-space-caring way.“Babs! Babs! It's me, your cousin, Apple Bloom! And this is Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo, and we are so, so, so glad you're here!” She said while they all had their faces close to hers, making her probably even more nervous as she already was. Babs Seed couldn't even get an answer out and was almost filly-napped by the excited three Crusaders. “Didn't even let her pick up her bag,” Applejack pointed out while she picked up the bag from Babs Seed. “At least they are happy for a family visit...” Star Twinkle said after this scene before he turned his face towards Steel Hammer who focused on the train, still waiting for his sister. This again, confused Applejack who was not sure why Steel Hammer was acting like this. She figured that he was not in good terms with his sister and attempted to walk up to him, trying to change that. But she was interrupted by a female voice that came from behind her. “Helloooo, Steely!” An Earth-Pony mare said in a cheerful and exciting tone in her voice as she waved towards the group of ponies who waited for her. An Earth-Pony mare with a yellow coat, a silver mane, light blue eyes and a sparkling golden hammer as a Cutie Mark waited at the train door as she continued to wave at the group with a friendly smile on her face. However, Steel Hammer didn't return the same friendly smile that his sister gave him. “Hey, Goldy...” He replied with a pretty forced smile on his face. Applejack, however, showed a little more hospitality towards Steel Hammer's sister. “You must be Steel Hammer's sister. The name is Applejack,” Applejack instantly greeted, causing Steel Hammer's sister to turn towards her. “Nice to meet you, my name is Gold Hammer but you can just call me Goldy,” Goldy returned happily. Goldy then turned her head towards her brother. “Steely, be a dear and take my bag,” Goldy said before she threw the bag on Steel Hammer without even waiting for a response, causing him to struggle a little because of his surprise. Without exchanging some words with her brother, she walked away with Applejack. They were talking and laughing along on their way. They seem to get along really well and completely forgot about the two Earth-Ponies who were waiting for Goldy in the first place. “This is gonna be a really long week...” Steel Hammer said in annoyance as he slowly followed his sister with her bags on his back while Star Twinkle followed behind. It was a little complicated when it came to Steel Hammer's sister. For some reason she was completely different around Steel Hammer, making it obvious why he wanted some support from anypony. What Star Twinkle feared the most was that this behavior of her would be rubbing of towards him. That would be too annoying for him. But since he agreed to help, he just had to pray that it wouldn't come to this. Later... Applejack already left the three Earth-Ponies while they were on their way to the Iron Hammer or rather, Steel Hammer's home that was inside of it. Steel Hammer went upstairs to place the bags of Goldy which only left Star Twinkle and her in the room downstairs. “We haven't got the time to talk with each other that much, right, Star Twinkle?” Goldy said in an attempt to start a conversation with Star Twinkle. “Yeah,” Star Twinkle briefly replied. “You still work here with my brother, is that correct?” She asked as she looked around in the Iron Hammer. “Must be a really good job, considering that you work with my brother,” she added with a sneaky smile on her face. Star Twinkle honestly never get what was up between those two. Steel Hammer seemed highly annoyed by his sister while she was talking down to him and treating him as such. She obviously thought that she was better than him and made sure that her brother was aware of that. Of course, that didn't give Star Twinkle the answer of what happened between the two. Steel Hammer returned from bringing Goldy's bags upstairs and instantly focused his eyes on his sister. He cleared his throat for a second and then pointed at her before he set some rules for her to stay in Ponyville. “Alright, listen, Goldy! Before you get yourself too comfortable, let me remind you that you are a guest and as such, you have to-” “Let's go to Carousel Boutique!” Goldy then interrupted cheerfully, leaving Steel Hammer with an open mouth in the middle of his sentence. “Applejack told me about her friend Rarity and how she is the best dress-designer in all of Equestria!” She said before she turned to Star Twinkle. “You need to show me where I can find this Boutique!” She added before she dragged Star Twinkle behind her in order to find Rarity and her Boutique. Since Star Twinkle was practically forced to tag along, he did follow Goldy outside. He could swear that he heard an angry scream from the inside of the Iron Hammer before he left though, making him feel a little bad. Especially, since Steel Hammer wanted him to be with him most of the time. However, Steel Hammer did trot behind the two as well slowly. While Goldy cheerfully hummed on her way to Carousel Boutique, Star Twinkle slowed down without her noticing to walk next to Steel Hammer. “So...I think this is the right time to ask...” Star Twinkle began, grabbing Steel Hammer's attention. “What exactly happened to you two? You both act so weirdly around each other...” “If by weird you mean, mean...” Steel Hammer replied while he focused on his sister in front of him. Steel Hammer didn't look like as if he was interested in talking about his sister so Star Twinkle thought it would be best to return to this subject once Steel Hammer's mood changed to the better. They arrived at Carousel Boutique and Goldy practically stormed into the building after spotting some of the dresses inside. It was like watching a filly who stumbled in a toy store. Rarity was not far away and noticed the excited customer in her store. “May I help you?” She asked friendly but also a little puzzled by Goldy's overly high excitement. Goldy stopped turning around to look at all the dresses in the room for a moment. “Those dresses all look so magnificent!” She replied in a singing voice which naturally, made Rarity feel really proud. “We don't have those beautiful dresses in back in Manehattan!” Before they knew it, Goldy and Rarity began chatting like two friends who didn't see each other for years. It was almost astonishing how well they got along. But again, she did get along with Applejack as well. Not to mention that she was friendly towards Star Twinkle too. This all made Star Twinkle even more curious why Steel Hammer was the only pony who she treated differently. At first, Star Twinkle guessed that sibling just treat each other differently. He couldn't compare it to personal experiences since he didn't have any siblings. The days passed quickly even though Star Twinkle was forced to spend most of his time with Steel Hammer and Goldy. For some reason, Steel Hammer was always on guard. As if he was prepared for something bad to happen at any time. But there was nothing like that. Star Twinkle would lie if he said that everything was okay between those two but he did notice the tension between them. As usual, Goldy would always talk down to her brother and made him do some stuff on her behalf. Whether it was carrying her stuff that she bought in Ponyville or making some other errands. Thinking back about all this, those things weren't all too bad, making it even more confusing for Star Twinkle. It's not like she was using him as a personal slave or anything. Those were just things that even Star Twinkle would have no problem with. It didn't make sense to him. However, there was one other thing that kept him busy over the last days and that was the preparation for the Summer Harvest Parade. Both Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer took part in this parade as well and planned to build a float for it. In the Iron Hammer, Steel Hammer shared his idea with Star Twinkle about the design of the float. “A giant pumpkin?” Star Twinkle asked confused. “A giant pumpkin!” Steel Hammer replied while he lifted up a drawing of a pumpkin shaped parade float. “With the Summer Harvest Parade just around the corner, we can make sure to promote the Iron Hammer and increase our business-Success!” Steel Hammer said confidently. “You really have a one-tracked mind, do you?” Star Twinkle replied. “Well, if an opportunity presents itself, you just have to grab it!” Steel Hammer returned, not letting Star Twinkle ruin is confidence. “Alright, but what about your sister? Do you even have time to get this done while spending time with her?” Star Twinkle asked. As expected, Steel Hammer's mood instantly changed once his sister was mentioned. “The parade was planned long ago! I won't let my sister ruin anything!” He replied trying to change the subject to the parade again. “What does he mean by ruin!?” Star Twinkle thought. “I don't think she would do something like that. What is it with him and his sister that makes him dislike her that much? I don't get it!” It started to bother Star Twinkle that Steel Hammer was almost fixated to not care about his sister. “Steel Hammer...we need to talk,” Star Twinkle began in a rather serious tone, grabbing Steel Hammer's attention. He was most likely aware that there was something coming out of Star twinkle's mouth that he wouldn't like. “Steel Hammer...don't you think you are overreacting a little too much?” Star Twinkle finally said after getting a picture about Goldy over the last days. “I mean, she does act a little strange around you but I don't think that she is a bad pony. Don't you think that you should start to not get bothered by her behavior that she shows towards you? I mean, you make it sound worse than it actually is,” Star Twinkle explained, though he had the feeling that he got carried away a little too much. Steel Hammer took a moment to take all those words in. Star Twinkle could feel how he was not liking to hear this words. He did regret saying them too. After all, it was not his problem. Maybe his friend's actions rubbed off him and he felt like helping for once. Finally, Steel Hammer replied with a depressed tone in his voice which Star Twinkle never heard from him before. “She looks down on me...” he said quietly, almost as if he didn't want Star Twinkle to hear those words. “What?” Star Twinkle replied confused. “Whenever she looks at me, her eyes are filled with despise and anger...This is not how you should look at your own brother...” he explained further while trying to keep his face away from Star Twinkle. “You do realize that you look at her like that too, right?” Star Twinkle replied, even though he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say now. “Of course!” Steel Hammer replied much to Star Twinkle's surprise. “I have to! I won't let her think that she is superior or that I am weak!” To think that Steel Hammer would be upset about something like this was very unexpected for Star Twinkle. After all, Steel Hammer was not really known for getting emotional about things like that. However, it did explain his behavior towards his sister a little. But the real question now was, how this problem could be solved. At the Summer Harvest Parade... Star Twinkle was on his way to the parade. There was still some time left but Steel Hammer wanted him to be early. On his way, Goldy was coming towards him and greeted him cheerfully like she did with everypony else besides her brother. "Are you on your to the parade as well?" Star Twinkle asked. "I sure am!" She replied excitedly with a bright smile on her face. Again, Goldy was really friendly towards Star Twinkle and a completely different pony when she wasn't talking to her brother. Star Twinkle couldn't get a straight answer from Steel Hammer so his next best solution was to talk with Goldy. "I know it's a little off-topic but...what is it between you and your brother?" Star Twinkle asked out of the blue. Goldy widened her eyes in surprise. She was not expecting a question like this to pop out of nowhere. She turned her head around to hide her facial expression from Star Twinkle but quickly gave an answer. "You worry too much, Star Twinkle," she said with a smile on her face which was most likely fake. "I think I go ahead, see you later," she said before she walked away from Star Twinkle to completely avoid the subject. This situation frustrated Star Twinkle a little. Neither Steel Hammer or Goldy want to talk about this matter, even though something was definitely wrong. Later... The last days were a little busy with Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer being busy working on the float but their work did pay off. The float didn't look half bad and Steel Hammer was more than proud of it. “Are we all ready?” Star Twinkle asked to make sure that they are all prepared for the parade. “All set! Now we just have to get in and wait for the parade to start and-” but he shrugged in surprise after he heard a shrill voice in the distance. “Steely!” Goldy exclaimed cheerfully as she walked towards the parade float of Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer. “Why didn't you tell me that you would partake in the Summer Harvest Parade?” She added with a worried facial expression which Star Twinkle couldn't tell apart from a fake one. “Because I made sure to not tell you...” Steel Hammer mumbled quietly which Goldy didn't hear thankfully. “I would gladly invite you to take part in the parade with us but sadly we only have enough space for the two of us so I'm afraid that you can't join, sorry,” Steel Hammer explained Then, an idea suddenly hit Star Twinkle. “How about you take my place?” “Huh?” Both Steel Hammer and Goldy replied heavily confused but Steel Hammer seemed to be the one who was more shocked by this. “You mean, I should ride in the float with Steel Hammer?” Goldy said puzzled. “You mean, she should ride in the float with me?” Steel Hammer added in the same shocking way than his sister. Steel Hammer quickly dragged Star Twinkle along with him a few steps away from Goldy with an angry look on his face. “Star Twinkle, what are you doing?” Steel Hammer asked, clearly angrily but also very restrained. Star Twinkle did not have a good answer for that himself. “This could be the perfect opportunity for you and your sister to get along,” “Since when are you so meddlesome in that kind of things?” Steel Hammer said annoyed and frustrated. “Recently...I guess...” Star Twinkle replied quite nervously and unsure. “I mean...maybe she would like it and you two would both get along better after this,” Before Steel Hammer could reply to this, Goldy once again interrupted. “Come on!” She said cheerfully as she waved at her brother while already sitting in the float. “We don't want to get late for the parade!” Steel Hammer took one small glance towards Star Twinkle, who could only smile nervously. He didn't say a word and slowly walked up to the float to join his sister. “I really hope this works,” he said while he smiled to the two with a nervous grin on his face. The two of them sat next to each other inside of the pumpkin float in an awkward silence. None of them even attempted to start a conversation and waited for the parade to start to get this all over with. Meanwhile, Star Twinkle joined his friends who also waited for the parade. Twilight was the first one to ask why Star Twinkle wasn't with Steel Hammer in the float. Star Twinkle didn't feel like explaining that in great detail and just said that Steel Hammer's sister was taking his place. “That's really nice of you to let his sister ride in the float,” Twilight said happily. “We'll see about that...” Star Twinkle replied, still not being sure if his so called plan would work to improve the relationship between those. The parade did start a few minutes later and some of the floats began to move. Steel Hammer and Goldy's float was a little further right in front of some golden apple. Star Twinkle remembered that the Cutie Mark Crusaders worked on this one. But the pony who was inside of this apple was Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's cousin. “Looks like the three let her ride on the float,” Star Twinkle figured as he watched the float driving past him. Meanwhile, Steel Hammer was driving the pumpkin float and waved to everypony on the way while Goldy stood next to him, both of them smiling to the citizens of Ponyville. Steel Hammer saw some of his friends who cheered for him and his float which made Goldy a little mad for some reason. “You sure are popular in Ponyville...“ she said in her usual down-looking tone. “I am a well-known carpenter in this town after all,” he proudly rubbed into Goldy's face. “Good for you...” she replied in disinterest. Meanwhile, Star Twinkle and his friends watched the floats driving by them but Star Twinkle's attention was grabbed by a familiar voice. “Star Twinkle!” Apple Bloom exclaimed in a panic as she and the rest of the Crusaders ran towards him. “You need to help us!” “What's wrong?” Star Twinkle replied confused. “The float! The one where Babs is in! It's booby trapped by us!” Scootaloo explained. “What!? Why did you booby trap your own float?” Star Twinkle questioned. “Because we knew that Babs Seed would steal the float! So we decided to get some revenge against her for bullying us all week!” Apple Bloom explained. “But now we found out that she just does that because she is getting bullied at home and that is why she is tagging along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and bullies us!” Sweetie Belle further explained. “What?” Star Twinkle asked because he still didn't fully understood the situation but from what he gathered is that they had to stop the float before somepony would get hurt. He saw how the pumpkin float was driving past him and decided to ask Steel Hammer for help “Let's go!” He said as he ran towards the pumpkin float. “Steel Hammer!” Star Twinkle screamed to get his attention. Steel Hammer opened the door of the float after hearing Star Twinkle outside screaming his name. After he was informed of the situation, he quickly took action and picked up more speed to catch up with the apple float where Babs Seed was in until he drove right next to her. “Little Lady, would you mind to pull over for a minute?” Steel Hammer asked politely in order to not let the little filly break out in panic. “Who are you?” Babs Seed asked confused. “Steel Hammer, owner of the Iron Hammer, here in Ponyville. Tell your friends about it,” he replied, getting some promotion out of the way as well. Naturally, Babs Seed did not understand what to make out of this and got confused. Suddenly, Babs Seed's float began to shake uncontrollably and began knocking the pumpkin float away a little, causing Steel Hammer and Goldy to be thrown around inside. The Cutie Mark Crusaders saw that and decided to jump in action themselves. Star Twinkle followed right behind and jumped into the apple float to save Babs Seed. Meanwhile, Steel Hammer found himself burying down Goldy below him who was definitely not happy about it. She quickly pushed her brother away from her and decided to take things in her own hooves. She opened up the top of the pumpkin from the inside and climbed on top of it. She then jumped over to the apple and climbed inside of it. Star Twinkle and the Cutie Mark Crusaders watched the whole scene while they tried to get the float to stop and had to admit that this was kind of awesome. Goldy didn't know what to do either but she pushed the fillies outside of the float to get them to safety, leaving only herself and Star Twinkle inside of the float. “We need to get out too!” Star Twinkle advised in his panic. “Wait, maybe we can stop it!” She said almost calm despite this situation. Needless to say, Star Twinkle was shocked to hear this right now. Suddenly, Steel Hammer came jumping into the float as well and tried to help out in some way. “What are you still doing inside of here? You need to get out!” Steel Hammer said. “I can still save this float. It would be a shame if a beautiful float like this would get damaged!” Goldy insisted while she tried to fiddle with the wheel of the float. “You can't be serious!” Steel Hammer returned annoyed. Meanwhile, Star Twinkle looked outside to see how they slowly approached a cliff that leads down to a river. "Um, you two we don't have time to argue! We-" “Stay out of this!” Both of them said in unison angrily before they kicked Star Twinkle out of the float and right into the road. Only seconds later, he saw how the apple float was driving down the bank and straight into the river. Star Twinkle could only imagine what happened to the two and quickly ran towards the river as well. To his surprise, the two Earth-Ponies already walked out of the water, their coats and manes soaking wet and their faces colored in annoyance and anger. “Great job, sis,” was the first thing that Steel Hammer said which instantly drove Goldy mad. “Me!? How was that my fault?! I tried to save this magnificent apple float!” She returned, hurt by Steel Hammer's first words. “A float is not more important than your safety!” Steel Hammer replied angrily. “Oh!? Since when am I important to you in the first place!?” “Well, I know that this is something you don't understand anymore since you are too busy looking down on me!” They both were going right at it with their insults and both didn't even think about stopping. Star Twinkle stood right next to them and felt like diffusing the situation a little. “Um...you two...” “Shut it!” Both of them exclaimed angrily to him like before. “Yes...” Star Twinkle nervously replied before he stepped away a little to let them talk. Instead of listening to Star Twinkle, they kept arguing with each other. “Ever since I left Manehattan, you completely changed and pushed me around while looking at me with those eyes. As if you despite me or as if I did something to you!” Steel Hammer said in his anger, finally relieved to get out those words against his sister. “Sorry if I am not thankful that you don't want me in your life anymore!” Goldy burst out in frustration. “That's why you left after all, didn't you?” She added while she turned around to hide her face from her brother. Steel Hammer might not see the face of her sister but Star Twinkle saw it. She was about to cry. Her lips were shaking and she tried her hardest to not let tears run out of her eyes. “Why do you think that?” Steel Hammer said in a caring voice as he approached his sister. “Do you even know how I felt? I know I was busy with my jewelry shop and that I didn't have much time to come home or spend time with you. Can you imagine when mom and dad suddenly told me how you left the city and went off to start your own shop somewhere else?” She explained while she turned her head towards Steel Hammer again. Steel Hammer had trouble to answer to that at first but he then admitted something. “I didn't know you were sad about me leaving...after all...it was you who motivated me to leave...” “What do you mean?” Goldy replied confused. “I was kinda sad that you didn't have much time left to spend with me, mom and dad. I always thought your shop was more important for you than your own family. Mom and dad understood that you were busy but I was a little...” Steel Hammer suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence. “Wait...” Goldy started as she might have figured out the problem. “Are you saying that I...hurt your feelings?” “What!? No!?” Steel Hammer denied, trying to keep up his non-existing macho attitude. However, once he realized how Goldy was looking at him with a worried face, he did give in. “Well...maybe a little...” he admitted quietly. “What I am trying to say is, after I saw how successful you were in Manehattan, I figured that I should start something on my own so that you would notice me again...” This explanation kept Goldy's full attention since she didn't say anything throughout Steel Hammer's speech. “Unfortunately, I was not as good when it came to setting up something in Manehatten because...well, it's Manehattan! I am not as smart or talented when it came to starting a shop on my own...but then I heard about Ponyville. A quiet little town. No full streets or ponies who were always in a hurry for nothing. I thought that I could start there since this town was more likely my pace. A place where I could start small and slow. But as you might have guessed, I grew a little fond of this little place and decided to stay here. I made some good friends here and I didn't want to abandon them, but I guess in exchange, I kinda abandoned my family...” Steel Hammer openly explained while he looked down to the ground in regret. Goldy also showed the same expression after that speech of Steel Hammer, clearly being affected by this. “Great...now I feel even worse, knowing that I made you hate me for nothing...” she said as her frown became bigger and bigger until it was so big that she was embarrassed to face Steel Hammer who was standing there with a frown on his face. “Oh, Goldy, don't be ridiculous...” Steel Hammer instantly corrected. “I may not have been on good terms with you because of all the things you did to me...but...” he stopped. “Never did I ever hated you for that! You are my sister for crying out loud! There is no way that I could ever hate you, no matter what!” Steel Hammer said with a smile on his face. Tears started to pour down on Goldy's cheeks and a smile formed on her face as soon as Steel Hammer offered his hoof to get her up again. But her face was still filled with regret because of the behavior she showed towards her brother. “I guess, once I realized that you like it here, I became a little angry,” she admitted as she avoided eye contact out of embarrassment. “I should have supported you instead of being angry at you...” “I think I should have explained things in the first place instead of just thinking that you intended to hurt me on purpose,” Steel Hammer admitted while he rubbed his neck in embarrassment. After some more apologies from both of them, Star Twinkle could finally watch how the two hugged each other happily and walked up to the two. “So...everything fine again?” Star Twinkle asked to make sure about what he saw in front of him. “Everything fine,” Steel Hammer replied with a bright smile on his face which Goldy also had on her face. At the Cutie Mark Crusaders Club House... “We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Babs Seed to join us as a sister, friend, confidaynte, alley, boss-om buddy, gal pal, compader, chum of chums...” Sweetie Belle read out loud while Babs Seed was standing in front of the three Crusaders and besides Star Twinkle who decided to let her join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Aren't you a little old?” Babs Seed asked being confused that Star Twinkle was a member as well. “Yeah, I get that a lot...” Star Twinkle replied almost annoyed but he kept himself together since Babs Seed didn't deserve to be talked to like that. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle continued to read out from her paper to keep the joining ceremony going. “Homegirl... Amiga..." Blah blah blah blah blah. Oh, yes, here. "...and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, in witness of your fellow sisters, friends, confidantes... boss-om buddies... compadres..." “Alright, we get it!” Star Twinkle interrupted being a little annoyed by this. “We also don't have any more time left until the train fro Manehattan comes,” he added, reminding them to how less time was left until Babs Seed would leave again. After the ceremony, the five Crusaders went to the train station to say they're good bye to Babs Seed. Steel Hammer and Goldy were also there. Coincidentally, Goldy left at the same time too, giving Star Twinkle the chance to see her off as well. “Have a good trip!” Steel Hammer said while he hugged his sister one last time. “Thanks,” she returned with a smile on her face. "And don't forget to tell everypony back home about the Iron Hammer!" Steel Hammer added with a smile. Goldy replied with a giggle and a bright smile herself before she stepped into the train. The train shortly left and Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer waved Goldy good bye. It was the complete opposite how they greeted her when she arrived in Ponyville. While still waving towards the train, Steel Hammer had a smile on his face. “Next time, I am going to visit her!” Steel Hammer said happily as he still waved towards the train. “That would be a nice surprise, wouldn't it?” “Sounds like a plan,” Star Twinkle replied with a smile on his face as well. To think that a little misunderstanding led to all this. But after talking about it everything was good again. Just like that. Maybe that is all that is needed. Or before you know it, somepony dislikes or even hates you for something that you are not even aware of. Who knows how their relationship would have ended if no one of them would have told each other how they felt... Maybe the situation would have gotten worse over time until eventually, they would have never talked to each other again. That would probably be the saddest way to part with a family member. This whole situation remembered Star Twinkle to his own family. It was basically the same. Star Twinkle thought his parents hated him for staying in Ponyville but in reality, it was nothing like that. His parents always loved him, no matter what and it was only after talking with them that he understood that. That could have also been the reason why Star Twinkle felt the need to fix this situation. Because it was relatable. “I should visit my parents again, some day...” he said with a grin on his face after imagining his next visit to his parent's house.