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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.