//------------------------------// // Chapter 89 - The Forging of a Sword // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// A cold dampness hung in the air as Iron Forge stepped into the early morning light. With a flare of his horn, an orange glow encased the unicorn stallion, wrapping him in magical warmth as he stepped through the snowy pathway and soon reached the manor’s gateway. “Forge,” a mare’s voice from behind him drew the cobalt unicorn’s attention. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the source of the voice was a familiar unicorn mare with a softer, lighter blue coat, Swiftsword. “May I accompany you to your place of work?” “Uh, sure, Swift,” he replied as he pulled the gate open with his magic. “May I ask why you’d like to come to the shop?” “It has to do with a family tradition of the Falchion clan,” Swift answered as she and Forge left through the gates and headed down the street. “It is expected of a Falchion to have a sword crafted for them specifically. To serve as their own specialized, personal blade.” “And I’m guessing that the Pony Rangers sword I made for you wouldn’t count?” Forge asked as his brow rose. “Verily, my friend. Besides, I know how to wield multiple swords at once and it may be useful to have an additional weapon if we run into this lemon stallion that’s been hounding Barrier,” the taller mare replied. “I had something rather special for my sword in mind and I’m certain you and the shop will be up to the task.” “Well, thanks for the compliment, Swift.” Forge offered the carolina blue mare a smile. “I’ll make sure this sword will be something you’ll be proud of.” A few minutes passed for the unicorns as they made their journey to the smithing shop. When the pair stepped inside and Forge dispelled his warming spell, two things immediately caught the pair’s attention. The first was the sickening sounds of someone vomiting from a nearby bathroom and the second was Silver Swirl wincing at the disgusting noise. “What’s going on?” Forge asked as he stepped closer to the bathroom door. “Well, I have a hunch,” Asta’s weak voice came from behind the door before she stepped into the shop entrance. “Either I had some bad eggs for breakfast or Einar’s condom broke, fertilizing mine.” “T.M.I., Asta,” Silver Swirl said from behind her counter. “You think you’ll be alright?” “Yes, after another minute or two,” Asta replied as she moved to a nearby chair and held some talons to her stomach. “Oh, good morning, Forge.” “Good morning, Mrs. Sorae. I hope your stomach feels better soon,” he said before he stepped up to the counter. “Ms. Swirl, my friend would like to commission something.” “Well, I’m sure we’d love to take your order,” she said as Swift stepped up to the counter, pulling out a clipboard and pencil. “What would you like to commission, Miss?” “Swiftsword Falchion,” the noblemare stated as she pulled a scrap of paper from her saddlebags. “I would like to commission an arming sword and scabbard. For the blade itself, I would like the entirety of it to be made of mystibane.” Forge fought back the urge to gasp while Silver Swirl’s jaw dropped and her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. The pencil that was once held in her mouth clattered against the counter it fell upon. Even Asta was slack jawed before she had to slam her beak shut and cover it with her talons as she turned green. Mystibane was a rather rare and expensive metal. The black substance was the same material used for the crafting of magic suppressing horn rings. A single ring could disrupt a unicorn’s magic well enough that most unicorns wouldn’t be able to conjure even a glow with their horns. A blade like that could probably serve to cut through nearly any shield spell, as well as dispel and negate almost any magic thrown at its wielder. Forge thought as he saw Asta fight against her sickness and swallow. “I’ll leave you to choose what materials will be used for the pommel, hilt and crossguard,” Swift said, ignoring the stunned expression on Swirl’s face. “As for decorative details, I’d like to have my cutie mark on both sides of the pommel and a five pointed star with a lightning bolt on each side of the star for the crossguard.” Silver Swirl blinked before she picked up her jaw. “Um… Swiftsword… Do you know how insanely expensive that’ll be? Like, just the mystibane for the blade alone would cost around two million bits.” “Rest assured, I’m well aware of mystibane’s rarity and price,” Swift calmly responded as she stepped up to the counter. “Suffice to say, I’m willing to pay the price for this weapon.” “Forge…” Silver Swirl slowly turned her neck to face the cobalt stallion. “Can your friend actually afford this?” “Yes ma’am, though it will put a major dent into her savings,” Forge said, still somewhat stunned by the outrageous request she had just made.  “Alright then…” Swirl sighed before pulling out a book with a wide assortment of listings for the prices of various services and materials. “Okay, that much mystibane and weapons grade steel for the handle, crossguard, pommel, custom engravings… Do you want anything covering the grip?” “Pleather, please.” “Right. All that, plus the work for this thing puts your costs in the ballpark of…” Swirl winced as she quickly calculated the price in her head. “Two million, three-hundred eighty thousand, eight-hundred sixty-nine bits.” “Very well.” A broad smile graced Swift’s face as she ignited her horn, pulled out a cheque book and a pencil from her saddlebags and quickly filled out the slip of paper. “And I shall also include a fifteen percent tip.” She then took the cheque from her book and floated it in front of Swirl. “Right,” the blonde earth pony replied as she slid the cheque behind the counter. “Hope you don’t mind if I wait for this thing to clear before we start making this sword.” “Naturally, my dear,” Swift said as she turned towards the door. “Take all the time you require. I wish for the best quality possible.” When she reached the door, she paused and looked to Forge and Asta. “Have a good day, Forge. I hope your stomach feels better soon, Mrs. Sorae.” “Thanks, Swiftsword.” Asta gave a weak wave as she felt another harsh churn in her belly. “Good day, Swift,” Forge said as she started out the door. “Remember, I’m the one that’ll be doing dinner on Friday.” Swift paused halfway in her step. Forge would’ve sworn that he saw a shiver run down her spine.  “I’ll be cooking canned stew.” “Oh thank you, merciful Faust,” She said in a quiet, relieved sigh before putting on a smile. “I look forward to it. Once the door closed and Swift vanished in a flash of teleportation, Forge turned to look at the hen near him. “Are you feeling alright?” “I’ll live,” Asta replied as she rose from the chair. “Besides, if my past experience is anything to go by, I should be fine within a few hours.” “Glad to hear that, Asta,” Swirl said from her spot behind the counter. “Thankfully, work’s gonna be more on the light side today.” *** The afternoon eventually crept by and true to Swirl’s word, the workload was somewhat light compared to the average day. As the clock struck five, the unicorn kept a close eye on Asta as she started to put her gear away. “How are you feeling?” “Thankfully, my stomach’s doing a lot better now,” the hen replied as she stretched her wings. “Still, I will be making a doctor’s appointment later.” “Probably a good idea,” Forge said as he placed his saddlebags onto his back and headed for the door. “Have a good evening, Asta.” “You too, Forge.” Asta smiled warmly and waved as Forge headed outside into the winter cold, a harsh contrast to the previous warmth of the forge he’d been basking in. Eventually, the cobalt stallion made his way to the gate of the house where Swift was standing, alongside Fruity Punch. “Are you really certain about this?” Forge managed to overhear Swift asking the pink pony. “Damn sure,” Punch replied sternly, as if trying to keep a growl out of her tone. “If this lemon stallion really did kill Spectral, I want to be able to defend myself in case I run into him.” “Might I ask what’s going on?” Forge inquired as he stepped up to the conversing mares. “Punch is hoping Barrier will teach her self-defense lessons outside of the classes he teaches,” Swift replied as she pushed the gates open with her magic. “You’ll have to ask him, but I believe he’ll allow it. “Here’s hoping,” Punch said as she and Forge started to follow behind Swift. “I want to tear that bastard to shreds for what he did.” An angry growl started to form in her voice. “Say, Punch…” Forge spoke up, hoping to alleviate some of her negative feelings. “Do you like stew?” “Hmm? Well, it’s been a long, long time since I last had stew.” Punch looked at the cobalt stallion with a hint of confusion on her face. “How come?” “Well, I’m planning on cooking up a big stew dinner later on Friday and I was wondering if you’d like to have some,” Forge said as they reached the front door. “Sure, it’s pretty much just gonna be me heating up canned food, but I’m sure it should still be good.” “Hmm… Well, it still sounds better than Sis’s cooking,” Punch said as they started to head for the living room. “Speaking of, can I invite her over?” “I don’t see why not,” Forge cheerfully replied. “And hey, no princesses should be showing up, so you won’t have a repeat of Hearth’s Warming Eve.” “What happened then?” Swift looked over her shoulder, seeing Punch’s face had turned crimson and sweat started to form on her brow. “Um… I don’t want to talk about it-Hey, Barrier!” Punch rushed away from Forge’s side, skidding to a halt by the sofa where the charcoal unicorn was reading a book. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to teach me some more self-defense stuff outside the classes.” “Normally, I would say no,” Barrier replied as he dog-eared his book and set it aside. “However, given recent circumstances and the fact that I could use some more exercise, I’d be willing to train you on… Tuesdays and Thursdays.” “Oh, thank you, Barrier!” Punch said as she pulled him into a hug. Her tail rapidly wagged before Barrier slowly returned the hug. The pink coated mare was practically beaming as she released Barrier. “Do you want to train today or—” “I’ll see you in class tomorrow,” Barrier interjected as he picked up his book. “After that, we’ll begin your extra training.” “Alright, no problem,” Punch replied before she started toward the door. “Bye, everypony! I’ll see you later! Looking forward to the stew, Forge!” “So am I, Punch!” Forge said before the sound of the front door opening and closing reached their ears. “I’m sure things will go rather well then.” *** Friday had come and the dinner was going rather well. The scent of hot stew filled the kitchen which now had a second table set up to accommodate all the guests. Besides the residents of the manor, Snow Sweeper, Erica, Fruity Punch and Sweet Honey were digging into their meals as well. “Gotta say,” Erica said between spoonfuls of the stew. “This turned out really well.” “I will admit, I wasn’t sure about this since it has meat in it,” Honey said from her spot. “But the little pork chunks actually go well with it.” “Thanks, both of you.” The faintest blush appeared on Forge’s face before Snow slung a foreleg around his shoulders. “Here’s to Forge, our chef of the evening!” Snow said before kissing Forge on the cheek, leaving a gravy lip print upon his face. “While I appreciate the praises, all I did was buy the stew and heat it up,” Forge replied as he used a forehoof to wipe the gravy off his face. “The real credit for the stew’s quality goes to the chefs at Hearty Time.” Suddenly, a clatter of spoons falling filled the room. Forge, his fellow former soldiers, Windy and Punch looked confused while Daring, Erica, Snow and Honey looked at him with horror and shock upon their faces. “What? What’s wrong?” Forge asked, utterly lost by the reaction of his friends. “Forge…” Snow said, his face somewhat green and his pupils dilated as he leaned closer. “Did you just say that the stew you fed us was Hearty Time brand?” “Yes, but I fail to see the problem.” Forge’s answer made Daring groan in disgust while she, Snow, Erica and Honey pushed their plates away. “Forge… Hearty Time’s a brand of dog food.” A new series of groans followed Snow’s words. “Oooohhh… That explains the cardboard cutout of the purple dog advertising it and saying it’ll give you a glossy coat. Sorry, everyone. I didn’t know.” A nervous sweat formed on Forge’s brow before he looked around the table. Wind Whistler, Fleet and Gem pushed their plates away while Barrier, Verdant, Hatty and Swift looked conflicted about what to do with their remaining food. To the shock of all the guests, Punch was continuing to happily enjoy her dinner. “Punch, what’s wrong with you?!” Honey’s right eye twitched as Punch continued to eat. The rose colored unicorn then pulled the spoon from her mouth and glared at her winged sister. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said as she scooped up another spoonful. “Mom said to never waste food, this tastes pretty good and it’ll give you a glossy coat. Who doesn't want a glossy coat?” A series of disgusted groans came from the two tables as Punch continued to feast. “So… who wants me to go get some pizzas?” Forge asked as he slowly looked over the tables. “AYE!” Nearly everyone said before stepping away from the table. “Say, can I have your Hearty Time?” Punch asked before taking another bite. “This is some damn good stuff.”