Finn's POV
Man, Klubbo wasn't kidding about the nasty wildlife in this part of the forest; first we run into a pack of Timberwolves, trapped them in a doggy pen of ice, then we cross paths with a chimera that wants to eat us, froze the freak of inhuman nature solid, should thaw out at some point...you know, probably, and lastly we meet a manticore, but this one didn't want to fight, so we just walked past it as it was guarding its nest from us, growling all the while. Maybe it was the one Fluttershy tamed in the Season 1 Premiere? Eh, whatever. Right now, we could a bit of light shining from the tree line and I think we were almost out of the woods, literally.
"I think that's the exit, Cozma." I say, pointing to the light.
"Are you sure?" she asked me.
"Pretty sure. C'mon, let's get outta here before something really bad happens."
Cozma held my hand like a daughter would do with a father and we walked towards the light...
"Hold it."
...I think I just jinxed us.
Someone stepped out in front of the path and...it was a human?! He appeared to be a white male in his mid 20s, with a buzz cut, and some mild facial hair, wearing what seemed to be clothing that is greatly resistant to high temperatures. Is he one of those blacksmiths from the "Man At Arms" YouTube series?
"First time I've seen another human since I got here, and with a pony kid to boot."
I stayed on my guard and kept Cozma behind me, she still can't use her Dark-Dark powers yet, so I gotta keep her safe. I know what you're thinking, "Dude, it's a fellow human! Why are you so tense?" Simple answer: he was brought here the same way I was, and that means he has a Devil Fruit on his side, I have to tread lightly here.
"Yeah..." I began cautiously, "And who are you, exactly?"
"My friends call me Khaine," he answered, "I'm a blacksmith, well, I was back on Earth before I came here. And you?"
"Finn. Finn Jackson. Just a guy trying to get by. And the filly behind me is my friend, Cozma." I didn't tell him of Cozma's amnesia, if this guy is evil, I can't take any chances.
"Okay, and judging by the fact that you're a human in this pony-filled land, I'd say you got a Devil Fruit like me."
Damn! He's got me figured out! "So what if I do?"
"As long as you're not bad, I won't forced to use my new powers on you, just laying those cards on the table now."
"And your Devil Fruit power is...?"
He waved his right hand outward, "Look to your left, and you tell me."
I did so, and gasped. Timberwolves, a massive pack, all frozen in solid gold statues, with terror stuck on their faces.
"...The Gol-Gol Fruit." I utter fearfully.
"'Gol-Gol'?" Cozma asked.
"A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to manipulate gold."
Khaine clapped a few times, "Bravo, very good. You're well informed. I was just digging for some ores when a Timberwolf pack attacked me, found a giant gold ore vein, and the rest is history."
"Wait." I began, confused, "Why were you looking for ores? Surely food and water are more important for survival out here."
"Easy, I knew what Devil Fruit I had, ate it, found some gold ore to make some of this world's currency, bought a smithy in town, and now I'm making easy money."
"A smithy? So you ARE a blacksmith."
He raised his hand with a smile, "Guilty. But how'd you know?"
"The outfit alone is a dead giveaway. I used to watch the 'Man At Arms' series on YouTube."
"Cool. So what Devil Fruit did you eat?"
Seeing as he hasn't tried to provoke or threaten us to a greater extent, I think we can trust him, "The Ice-Ice Fruit."
"Wow, a Logia-type? Impressive."
"And Cozma here ate the Dark-Dark Fruit."
"Yikes. But I thought humans were given Devil Fruits."
"I guess there are stray Devil Fruits in this world, because I was given this one by a toll bridge kiosk owner." I pulled out the Bomb-Bomb Fruit.
"Whoa! You better keep that on you unless you're going to give to someone you deem worthy."
"That's what I plan on doing." I put the fruit away, "So you said there's a town nearby?"
"Yup, Dodge Junction is just beyond the trees, that's where my smithy is, too."
"Good, we can restock on supplies. We got 99 bits on us, so..."
"Well...seeing the prices at Dodge, I doubt you'll get enough food and water to last you two a week."
"So what do we do then?"
Khaine walked over to the statues and morphed some of the gold off of them and turned them into bits, they even had the correct insignia and everything, "I took a little bit of gold off the statues to make you some more bits, 30 should give you enough. I can't take too much otherwise the Timberwolves will break free."
I look at the bits given to me, still unable to believe how perfectly accurate Khaine made the bits to be, "...You know, you scare me when you do that."
"A blacksmith must have a good eye, after all."
"Fair point."
"Now, let's head into town and get you two your supplies."
We began to leave the foreboding woods and straight to Dodge Junction...but if we stayed a little bit longer, we would've noticed the cracks forming on the statues and the growling of angry Timberwolves.
We entered the new town, and the first thing I did was take a good look around; luckily for us, I didn't see any wanted posters anywhere, guess Dodge Junction doesn't get news very fast. Khaine guided through town and helped with some of our shopping, suggesting some of the better, more filling foods we could grab, not to mention some more water. Since I didn't see any posters or the locals giving me the stink eye, I could finally relax for once as Khaine started leading us to his smithy.
"Welp, here it is, my smithy, 'The Golden Opportunity'!" he declared.
It was simple on the outside, plain wooden walls and doors, but on the inside when he guided us in was pretty complex; everything looked to be prepped with heat-resistant properties, blacksmith ponies working on the multitude of smelters, assembly lines to gather the metal pieces and put them together, and the air felt really hot, the perfect atmosphere for a smithy. I personally didn't mind it, I was born and raised in a state where it was really hot half the time and the weather was erratic on the other half.
"So, what do you guys think?"
"Very impressive, nice organization you got, and lots of ponies are helping." I compliment.
"It's little hot, though..." Cozma said, sweating like crazy.
"Of course it is, it's a smithy, it's always hot." Khaine added.
Seeing how Cozma was struggling to breathe the hot air, I spoke to Khaine, "I'll take her outside for some water, I don't think she likes very hot temperatures."
Khaine shrugs, "Eh, to each their own."
I took Cozma outside the smithy and immediately heard the shrieks of terror from the other ponies in town as a big pack of Timberwolves were hunting the townsfolk.
I knew exactly why they were here, "Uh, Khaine?! You're gonna want to see this!"
He ran out and saw the chaos in shock, "You don't think..."
"The pack you froze must've broke free and want revenge."
"Aw man..."
"Watch Cozma, I got this!" I pass her to Khaine and run into the fray.
"But why?" Khaine asked, but it was too late as I was already gone.
Khaine's POV
I don't understand, if Cozma has the Dark-Dark Fruit powers, shouldn't she be able to help?
"I can't use my powers yet." she utters.
"Huh? Why not?" I ask her.
"...I lost my memory a week ago, and I don't understand how my powers work. Mr. Finn has been helping me practice them, but I just can't do it."
I sighed, "Come with me. We're going to help him."
"Why?"
"The only way you'll find a way to use your powers is hands-on experience, you'd be surprised what you can learn in the heat of battle. At least, that's what I've heard."
"...Okay..."
"Let's go, it's a hot day today, and I doubt his ice will last very long in this heat."
We ran after Finn to aid him in this fight.
He's gonna need all the help he can get.
Finn's POV
Okay, this is NOT going well; today is a very hot day in Dodge and my ice pens are melting to the point that the Timberwolves are breaking free in minutes, I don't know what else to do and my powers are still limited! I was caught off guard by a random Timberwolf leaping at me and pinning me to the ground, but I was quick enough to freeze certain parts of my body before it could chew them off in its hunger. Unfortunately, the ice was beginning to melt and crack under the sun's heat and the pressure of the Timberwolf's jaws clamping down on my arm.
"It's times like these that I wish I learned the 'Iron Body' technique instead of toting a kid around..." I began to think for a moment, "...On second thought, I like having Cozma around, she's a good kid..." I heard and felt my frozen arms crunching, "BUT I COULD SURE USE A MIRACLE RIGHT NOW!!"
Suddenly, the Timberwolf was blasted right off of me and I felt a slight weakness in my body. But why? I've never felt weak like this...unless...I turned to see Cozma, her body radiating a dark aura around her.
She had finally awakened her power over the Dark-Dark Fruit.
"Coz...ma...?" I wheeze out.
She ran to me and hugged me as hard as she could, "Daddy!" she screeched out.
"Daddy...?"
"Guess she sees you as a father figure now," Khaine remarked as he looked down at us with a smirk, "Don't worry," he turned to see the pack fleeing in unadulterated terror, "Cozma's display of power scared them all off, I don't think we'll be seeing them again anytime soon."
I sigh deeply, "That's a relief..."
The sound of cheering broke out as the ponies of Dodge came out of hiding once the Timberwolves were run out of town and saw mine and Cozma's power and bravery towards them. This was the first time since I've been here that I heard cheers of gratitude instead of cries of fear. I began to pass out with a smile on my face, hoping that this moment wouldn't end too soon...
It's going to end soon.
After spending three days in Dodge's medical infirmary waiting for my wounds to heal, the moment I got out, we had gotten word that the Royal Guard were coming to inform everypony of who I am, especially setting up the wanted posters, also I just found out that the Princess doubled my bounty, now it's up to 20,000 bits. Lucky me...
We were in front of The Golden Opportunity ready to say our goodbyes for now, but let's be honest here, I'm never gonna be able to come back to this place, which is a complete shame, despite its outward appearance, Dodge Junction was actually pretty cool and so were the ponies that live in it. Khaine finally stepped outside so we could wish him well and thank him for helping Cozma figure out how to use her powers, but we were shocked when we saw him lugging a rucksack over his shoulder.
I had a feeling what this was about, "So, you're getting the hell outta Dodge before the Guards show up, too? Wise idea, don't want the Princesses to find out you have the power of the Gol-Gol Fruit."
But he just shook his head at my words, "You haven't figured it out yet?"
"Figured what out?"
"I'm coming with you guys."
"HUH?!?" me and Cozma shouted out.
"I can't just leave you guys out there, besides, I've been wondering what the rest of this world looks like." I tried to persuade him not to come with us, that he'll only have a target painted on his back, but raised a hand before I could speak, "No takebacks either, already left the smithy to my righthand stallion." he turned to an ash grey stallion with a black mane and flame orange eyes, "Coal Burner, I leave The Golden Opportunity to you. Make me proud."
He saluted, "I won't let you down, chief."
He face us again with a smile, "Well, let's get moving. I got a map on me, and I have a powerful feeling where we're headed next."
I stared at him for minute before smiling myself, "Yeah, alright. You're the designated navigator, then."
We follow our newest companion to our next destination, and something tells me this journey won't as lonely as I thought. Khaine, you may have power over gold, but you're a diamond in the rough, and I don't say that about everyone.
3rd Person POV
The Royal Guard had just finished plastering most of Dodge Junction with wanted posters of Finn and even missing filly posters of Cozma, hoping to get a reaction out of the townsfolk, but unfortunately, nopony seemed to pay attention to them or the posters. One would think that they're just busy, but Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, seemed to think otherwise.
They're hiding something...nopony would just ignore a massive bounty like this on the wanted posters... Shining sighed, But I can't force them to tell me what I want to know. "Pack it up, men, we're going home."
Groans rung out from the ranks as they returned to the Pegasi-drawn chariots and flew back to Canterlot with Shining stewing in his frustration.
I WILL find you, Ice-Ice Creature...I swear it.