//------------------------------// // Reality of Danger // Story: Strangers in a familiar world // by iMan203 //------------------------------// I woke up, hugging Twilight Sparkle in a spooning position. She had brought me back to her library after the party because she didn't want to leave me. I didn't want to leave her either, not after such a good day. I had promised her that I would not leave her side after that fateful afternoon, but I had a station to uphold back at the mansion, being on the guard and all. I could not be absent from my post very often, and Twilight also knew that. I had been assigned commanding position by Princess Celestia, but Silver Dust had the capability to command on the spot if I was absent for any reason. I snapped from my thought and came back to Twilight. I was laying in her bed, with her close to my body, locked in my forearms. Spike was actually sleeping in his bed across the room by a small bookshelf, I wouldn't want to make a love scene in front of him. Twilight was sound asleep, I didn't want to move from my position, snug against her backside, with my head resting on her mane. Her body was so close to mine, I've never felt anything like it. I could feel her soft breathing, along with her steady heartbeat faintly pulsing through my chest. Her coat was soft, and there was a central warmth I could feel from within her, probably her source of magical energy in her spirit. I knew the similar feeling of my own, its what keeps me warm during a cold, misty night down by the river. It wasn't exactly magical energy, but a fiery charge within myself, which gave me my power and fire capabilities. This fire grew stronger when I was with Twilight, as if our two central powers were bonded into a magical flame, one to reflect our fiery passion, hidden behind a mortal body, so nopony else could see its beauty. This wasn't the case for our relationship, at least, it didn't have to be. I told the other ponies about Twilight and I, and made a point to let Pinkie know about it. I didn't know what ponies were going to think about us, being together and all. I had just come from a different world, it seems a bit rushed. Then I remembered that it didn't matter. All that did matter was within my grasp at the moment, as long as she was happy. At that moment Twilight broke my train of thought. She had started to move about, slowly coming from her slumber and back to the real world. She turned over, still locked in my grip, my iron grip. Her eyes looked into mine, and I brought in for a single kiss, to say good morning. She didn't argue, letting me do so as she lay in bed, still half asleep, wandering through the dream world lightly. A single spark flew from her horn, a spark of fire, dancing through the air. I thought back to my metaphor and how this spark resonated the idea of what I had stated. "Good morning, gorgeous." I had said, rolling out of bed. "Good morning to you, too! I don't think I've ever slept like that in years!" Twilight yawned and got out of bed also, fixing the sheets with her magic. "That's all you needed was a bit of comfort, I feel well rested, too." I smiled. "You should come by more often, whenever you aren't on duty." She frowned. "Yeah, I know. I'll make a point of putting you to sleep in my arms whenever I get notice that you've over worked yourself!" I smiled and went down the stairs after Twilight. "That shouldn't be your only reason to see me!" She laughed. "We could always just go out for an actual date, whenever you aren't on duty, of course." "Alright, before I head back to the mansion, lets go out somewhere together for breakfast, just you and I." I suggested. "Let's go, I'll leave Spike a note and we can go down to a quiet cafe at the edge of Ponyville." Twilight said, as she wrote a note for Spike to see. We had left the library fairly early, nopony was up and working at sunrise on a Saturday morning such as this, we would practically be to ourselves at this simple diner at the edge of Ponyville. It would be perfect. We were walking down the cobblestone road, side by side. The sun was just coming out from the hillside, warming Ponyville with its rays of light. Twilight stared into my eyes, mesmerized by the vivid colors of green shining in the sun. I could see the outside of town, the cobblestone road leading into a field and through a forest. The diner was sort of a welcoming stop for anypony coming into Ponyville. This wasn't exactly the Equestria portrayed from a show in my own world, this world had its flaws and dangers as its own. This included rogue, dangerous ponies coming into Ponyville for trouble. I might have to keep an eye out for this stop, in case I find anything out of the ordinary around here. "Oh good, there it is!" Twilight started off for the diner. "Wait for me! I don't know if I could exactly trust a place so close to the edge of Ponyville." I had a troubled look. "Don't worry, not many bad ponies come wandering down this side of town. We should be fine this morning." She tried to calm me. "Alright, if you say so, but nopony in my town is going to cause any trouble, I'll have my eye open on this way in, along with some of the other roads into Ponyville." I said. "Well you aren't on duty right now, so enjoy yourself while it lasts! Enjoy it with me." She smiled, trying to cheer me up. "Well, it doesn't look like a bad place, but looks are deceiving sometimes." I said. "Yes, I know, but you need to stop worrying! Save it for when you're on guard!" She walked into the diner, there was nopony there like we guessed. "Huh, this place has changed quite a bit, last time I remember being here." Twilight examined the room. "It looks like it was fitted to serve ponies coming from the outside, not leaving the inside." I looked around. The place looked like a casual diner, booths around on the sides of the walls, with a bar sat up along the kitchen side of the room. There was a single waitress serving the diner, it was small enough for her to handle, even on a busy day. There was a bartender behind the counter, a small, fit young stallion. He had a welcome smile as he greeted us to his diner, asking us to take a seat at one of the smaller booths. It wasn't exactly the most romantic location for breakfast, I could've done much better myself, but it was a start. The one thing that really added to the room was the quiet, shady stallion sitting at a booth, eating pancakes and drinking a hot cup of coffee. He was reading the head article of the paper, the head article about the new Ponyville guard. He gave a glance my way and back to his pancakes. I didn't like the look of this large, shady stallion, but like I said, looks are deceiving. Twilight and I took a seat at the smaller table near the corner of the room. The waitress came over to us and took our orders. "Now what are a couple of nice ponies like you doing in a quiet little diner like this?" She asked. "Well it's sort of a first date, we just wanted to go somewhere that wouldn't be so crowded." Twilight said. "You've come to the right place, there's almost nopony here except for the stallion at the bar." She said, motioning to the big pony drinking his coffee. "Does he come here often? I'm not to fond of his look." I said nervously. "Yeah, I'm with you, mister. He doesn't seem too friendly by Jim's experience talking with the guy." She said. Jim must've been the bartender. "Well, if he causes any trouble, call me up and I'll have somepony take care of it, if not myself." I winked at the waitress. "So that's where I've seen that face before, your the new Ponyville guard!" She smiled. "Yeah, this is a nice diner, I'm not going to stand for any trouble being caused here." I said. After a bit more talking our food finally came out. We enjoyed a good breakfast and a bit of small talk, with a cute remark and a small kiss at the end. The only thing that bothered me was that the strange stallion was still at the booth, just sitting there. I was watching him like a hawk now. We got up to leave and walk out the door. Twilight was going back to her library to check on Spike, while I was going to the mansion to suit up for today's work. I saw the shady stallion walking towards the door, so I told Twilight to come with me, down the trail out of Ponyville and towards the forest. She didn't question my motive when she saw the look in my eyes, and we did so. We walked through the pasture at a leisurely pace, the stallion coming up behind us. "Oh my Celestia! He's coming right for us! What do we do?" Twilight was getting increasingly nervous. "Just prepare for the worst. I'm not sure what's going to happen." I said I would've turned around and bucked the stallion into oblivion, but he hasn't committed any crime yet. As we got close to the forest, the shady character broke into a trot for us, then a silent gallop, which wasn't going to end well. He knocked me to the ground with a takedown that threw me off the trail and into the field. He grabbed Twilight. I was going to rip him in half. "Now whats a pretty little unicorn like yourself doing out here with such a scrawny little stallion?" He chuckled and held his hoof over Twilight's muzzle. "Don't worry darling, lets go into the forest, I'll show you how a REAL stallion treats a mare!" He laughed. He started to drag Twilight towards the forest, with an evil grin on his face. He didn't go very far, when a hoof was placed on his shoulder. He didn't have time to speak when he turned around, because my other free hoof was thrust into his face. Twilight was dropped free and the stallion slide a good two meters across the field. He immediately got back up and charged for us again. This wasn't a very good idea, because I kicked his front hooves from under him and held his head against the ground, on the cobblestone. "Listen, pal." I whispered into his ear, "if I see you again, anywhere near Ponyville, I'll take from you something you tried to take from Twilight. I'll take every single bit of your pride away and throw it down the river." His eyes widened at the thought, but he didn't feel threatened that his own life was in my hoof. "What're you gonna do, punk? Lock me up? Banish me from Ponyville? You couldn't do anything to keep me from doing what I want!" "I'll come right back to Ponyville when you ain't lookin' and cause as much trouble as I want!" He chuckled. "Not when you're dead." I grinned at the thought, my merciless draconian side shining in my eyes. "Ironclad, it doesn't have to come down to that." Twilight said, "just send him to the Canterlot dungeon!" "Alright, but only if you insist on such a simple punishment." I resisted my urge to snap his neck and burn his body to a crisp. I didn't want Twilight to witness such a thing. After I knocked his head unconscious against the cobblestone, I took him back our holding room in the mansion, waiting for royal guards to escort him to Canterlot. I had recently found a basement room in the mansion. There was an old trap door leading down to a very roomy storage room, it would be perfect for holding criminals, Bronze Hammer would be at the forge to smith some bars, to help hold down anypony who resisted or tried to escape while the royal guard came by to escort them out. The stallion that I encountered at the diner did not resist, he was unconscious for the entire wait. The guards arrived shortly and took him to the Canterlot dungeon on the next train out. Now that breakfast was over and the stallion was taken care of, I suited up with Tiki and prepared for the first roundabout of the town. Tiki would patrol the town from the air, I would make a roundabout through the entire town, exploring Ponyville's strong points and weak points of entry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bronze Hammer was at the forge, preparing for a long day of work. One of the ponies lent him a certain metal, metal he mentioned to only use once, for the strongest weapons he was going to create. It was a large rock, it took a cart to escort it to the forge. With one skilled smash of a hammer, Bronze broke the ore into sections, with the core still perfectly in tact. The core had maintained a roughly circle shape, and guessing from its glossy appearance, it should be used for a smaller craft, for more strength and endurance, and he knew exactly the pony to use it for. The other fragments were laying on the ground, each seemed to have slightly different properties from the other. The first to start on were short swords, Tiki had requested two short swords as his weapon of choice. The piece of ore chosen was melted down into long bars of glossy metal, with an orange tint, sort of a copper color, but resembled a gold shine to it also. The main color of the metal was a dark grey, silver color. This didn't matter, as long as the metal was strong as promised. Bronze began right away, pounding out the shape of the two swords. The fire was extremely hot, but wasn't unbearable. It had a certain characteristic. Of course I lit the fire with a spark from my central flame, this may have something to do with it. The fire burnt hotter than anything, the glow of the embers was almost a greenish yellow glow, a certain characteristic of a dragon's flame. The ore melted fine, and allowed for good flexibility when it was heated. With the pounding of the hammer, sparks flew and the swords took shape. Next was the grind stone. Spike suggested layering it lightly with some of his dragon scales. Of course, he outgrew them a while back, but they were still stronger than any metal and wouldn't wear down from any of the constant grinding that was going to be done. It was a very good idea, and so the grindstone was plated with small dragon scales. It showed in Bronze Hammer's work too, the scales had brought the two short swords down to a fine point, the double bladed edges good enough to cut through many things, wood, softer metal, even certain rocks. The metal was extremely strong, as tested by Bronze himself. The sword did not show any sign of dulling against cutting through wood, severing metal chunks, or cracking through rocks. This metal was truly a valuable, and powerful material. Next was a design that he had thought of for Silver Dust. He may be a combat medic for us, but he needed some form of weaponry when everything else goes wrong. Bronze was designing a retractable blade to bond the the end of Silver's tail, incase a whip-around slash was needed. A smaller fragment of metal ore was selected. It was melted down in the blazing pit of flame of the forge. This next part took skill and concentration. This wasn't a broad sword being pounded out into shape, this was a thin, needle-like blade that needed to be in perfect shape to fit the rest of the contraption. Bronze switched out his hammer for a different shaping tool. This was used to form the bar into a sleek blade, double edged for effective puncturing capability. It was such a unique design, the blade was thin like a knife, but the width of the blade made it look like a needle, a long, deadly needle that could pierce through a small creature, due to its impressive length. The blade had a hook and groove at the end, allowing it to prop in place in the sash that had been designed to allow a flick of the tail to whip the blade out and into the target effectively. Rarity had supplied a durable, yet comfortable fabric for such a design, even though the color scheme was just "horrendous" as she described. It didn't matter, it was designed to be concealable and portable for all purposes out on the field. The sleek design of the blade itself allowed for quick retraction with little or no trouble, it could pierce bone without fracturing or locking in the bone itself. It was finished, a genius design that will certainly come in handy for many uses. It could even pick locks, or cut rope out of a sticky situation. The next design was a hammer, for Bronze Hammer himself. The larger, more oddly colored piece had been saved for the hammer, since it was going to be a full-metal hammer, to prevent breakage of the shaft. Of course there would be a wooden or fabric grip at the bottom, but the entire hammer would be metal based. As Bronze heated the fire back up to melting capability, Applejack showed up at the back of the forge, near the river. "That sure is a mighty blaze you got goin' on there!" She said. "Sure is, Ironclad insisted lightin' the fire for me. He claims it won't burn out as easily and burns hotter than wood fires." Bronze shielded his face from the blaze. "Well he sure was right about the blaze! It's hotter than the sun in here!" She frowned. "Yeah, ah think ah might go take a dip in the river to cool down." Bronze walked towards the river. "That sounds like a swell idea, ah might as well join ya!" Applejack darted for the river. Both the ponies jumped into the river and took a dive out into the middle. As Bronze broke the surface of the water, the back of his neck was steaming. It was a fairly cool day out, but the forge was blazing hot inside from the fire. Both the ponies swam up and down the riverside, enjoying the fresh flow of cool water on their coats. After a while, each of them started talking. "AJ, aren't you busy this time of day? Workin' the farm and all?" Bronze asked. "Sure am, ah just came down to check up on the forge, and to see if ya needed any help." She smiled. "Well if you wanted, ah was just about to start workin' on a mighty big hammer. Ah could always use an extra pair of hooves." Bronze said. "Sure thing! Ah'm glad we gave ya more than one pair of gloves. It's gonna get mighty hot on a big hammer like that." Applejack smiled. "Sure is, lets get to it right now, ah have plenty more to do after it." Bronze said. "Alrighty then, maybe after this, ah might go get somethin' to drink, y'all should take a break and come back to the orchard with me." Applejack offered. "Sounds like a good idea." Bronze left the river and started back to the forge. Applejack and Bronze Hammer started melting down the ore right away. The fire grew extremely hot, with such an amount of metal to refine. Bronze Hammer kept a hoof over Applejack's eyes and face, to keep her from getting burnt by the heat. Bronze didn't think much of it, as far as a friendly gesture went, but Applejack appreciated what he did. Bronze brought the metal bar from the fire pit and laid it out on the table. As the shaft cooled, it took form from Bronze Hammer, guiding it into shape. As the metal cooled, it became darker silver, almost to a black color. The different metals in the ore were just separating and cooling. After a dip into a cold bucket of water, the shaft had a smooth feel to it. A gripping material would be needed at the end, since the material was so slick. The rest of the metal was swimming around in a group in the fire pit. Bronze took Applejack's hooves and guided them over the bar to remove the metal from the flames. She hesitated at first, but Bronze's grip was strangely calming and reassuring. The metal was removed from the flame and immediately started taking shape. Bronze selected another unique tool, to shape the hammer's head into a more square form. Before the metal cooled and set, bronze set the head into the shaft, letting the metals melt together and solidify with a dip in the water bucket. The head of the hammer turned to a deep copper color with a golden gloss to it. "Thanks AJ, I'll remember us now when ah'm out there crackin' heads with this baby!" Bronze took the hammer in his grip and gave it a good swing. "Aw, it was nothin'! But ya really don't have to remember me by that." She smiled awkwardly "Lets just go back to the orchard, ah'll get us some cold apple juice to cool down on." Applejack suggested. "That sounds mighty fine, lets get going!" Bronze said. The two ponies went off towards the orchard after another cool down in the river. At first it was just a trot down the field, which turned into a gallop when Bronze started to break ahead of Applejack. The two country ponies galloped all the way to the estate of sweet apple acres. Both were out of breath when they arrived, but they calmed down after a bit when Big Mac brought out freshly made apple juice on ice. They all had a cool drink and sat in the shade. Applejack fell asleep with her hat shading her face. Bronze Hammer went into the kitchen with Big Mac to take the platter inside and cool down. Big Mac stopped Bronze from leaving the kitchen, he had a serious look on his face. "Ah wanna talk to you 'bout Applejack." He said with a serious look. "Yep. Ah see where this is going." Bronze smiled. "Nothin' bad or such, but ah know whats goin' on. Ah've seen the looks in both of y'all's faces." Big Mac chuckled. "Ah don't mean any harm, but if Applejack is really that happy bein' with me and all, I'll make her a happy mare." Bronze winked. "That's what ah'm afraid of." He frowned, "ah don't want y'all to go hurtin' her, just keep your hooves where they should be, we won't have a problem." Big Mac said sternly. "That's mighty fine with me, ah'll let her make the first move." Bronze said. "Mighty fine with me, as long as she's the one makin' the move." Big Mac stepped out of the way, and proceeded back to the tree they were under. Applejack woke up shortly after the two stallions came back from the kitchen. Bronze Hammer went back to the forge with Applejack and continued to craft with the strange metal he received from the stranger in the town square. "Alright, last bit of work for our armory, then ah can start on more conventional things." Bronze said, relieved. "Sounds dandy. Let's get to work." Applejack went over to the ore on the ground. "Yep, ah'm gettin' the fire heated up. Toss that hunk of metal in when you're ready." Bronze said. And at that, Applejack gave the orb of metal ore a buck into the fiery pit, right into the mold in the middle. The fire became increasingly hot, and the orb started to glisten. There was a problem though, it wouldn't melt down, the fire couldn't get hot enough. Only one pony in town could get this fire blazing hot enough for the orb to melt down, and that was the dragon blooded stallion who made the fire himself. Lucky for the two ponies, I had finished dealing with the rapist from the diner and made my roundabouts of the town, starting from the mansion, going to the forge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tiki was flying through the skies, looking over the houses and through the streets filled with ponies, doing everyday things. He was supposed to be keeping an eye through Ponyville from the sky, but he couldn't see anything other than ponies and streets from the sky, not with the detail he would like. If only he had a scope of some sort, or an amazing eye trick that would let him see fine detail from high altitudes. He was trying his best to pick up on every detail, not looking where he was flying, and crashed into Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was sitting on a cloud, taking a nap in the afternoon sun. "Hey! What gives! I'm trying to get some rest here!" Rainbow Dash looked up and saw Tiki, who was trying to recover from the crash. "Yeah. Sorry about that, I'm trying to focus on the ground right now, I'm on patrol." Tiki returned to his original altitude. "Oh, I guess you figured out the old Pegasus trick then?" Rainbow smirked. "What trick? Will it help me see from all the way up here?" Tiki asked. "Yup, its an old trick I picked up off of an eagle, Fluttershy helped translate for the eagle and it taught me how to see detail from anywhere I want." Rainbow gloated. "Well, can you teach me? It would definitely be helpful at a job like this." Tiki asked. "I don't remember the EXACT process it took to learn the trick, but I bet Fluttershy has a falcon or something that would be willing to help." Rainbow said. "Ok, sweet, off to Fluttershy's house then." Tiki flew off in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, soon followed by Rainbow Dash. After a short flight, the two pegasi arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. There was no answer after Tiki had knocked on the door. After a bit of waiting, a soft voice could be heard from the back of the cottage. Fluttershy was tending her chickens in the back, and wasn't there to answer the door. Tiki and Rainbow flew back to the chicken coop and waited for Fluttershy to walk out. "Fluttershy! We need you to do us a favor." Rainbow Dash said. "Oh, of course, anything." The pink maned Pegasus replied. "Great! I was wondering if you had a falcon that could teach me how to see from far away?" Tiki asked. "Yes, I have just what you're looking for, I'll be right back." Fluttershy went into the woods behind her house and brought out a falcon on her back. "He can teach you how to see from great distances." Fluttershy said. "Well that isn't all, I need your animal skills to help with the process, since I don't understand falcon." Tiki said. "Alright, I'll walk you though the steps, as the falcon explains it." Fluttershy was ready. After a half hour of different processes and training, Tiki was able to focus his vision to whatever he needed, even from 300 feet from the ground. Everything was crystal clear now, its like he had a new pair of eyes, which he sort of did have. His eye color darkened considerably. They were still his green eyes, but the outer ring of green was almost black, turning lighter green towards the center. This effect was natural, and would wear off after a while. Rainbow's eyes had the same effect when they first adjusted to this new skill. After the training, Tiki thanked everypony for the hard work, and the falcon for such a skill taught. For the rest of the afternoon, Tiki was observing Ponyville through new eyes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Silver Dust was the doctor of the group. He was the helper, the support. That isn't enough for him though, he wanted to protect so he didn't have to fix so much. He had suited up this morning and went out on his first patrol, like the rest of us. As he made a roundabout of Ponyville early in the morning, Octavia stopped him in the garden of Ponyville. Of course who could resist the invitation to join two mares in a morning wake up of coffee and kink. After that he had continued his day at the clinic, where his services were asked of by Dr. Hoof again. The time he spent in the hospital, healing other ponies after their mishaps. Silver Dust didn't want to do this after a while. He enjoyed helping others feel better and all, but if he were able to prevent such things from happening to his friends... One of the patients overheard Silver muttering this to himself, an old mare being treated for a sickness that just came with old age. She told him about an old antique shop that might have a special amulet that could help him with his problems. Silver Dust jumped at the idea and went straight to the small antique shop that the mare had described, after finishing his shift at the clinic. It was close to the center of Ponyville, but nobody ever really went in to shop. The sign on the door said open, and Silver Dust entered with caution. There was an old stallion sitting in a rocking chair, dozing off into the afternoon. "Excuse me, sir. I'm wondering if you could help me with something?" Silver Dust politely asked. "Sure thing, son. Just tell me what you're lookin' for." He said in a gruff, quiet voice. "I'm looking for an amulet, used by unicorns to boost magic capability." He hoped for a good answer. "Of course, I got what ya need." He smiled. "Go behind the counter and grab a dark wooden box from the shelf on the bottom." The old stallion said. "Alright, I've got it right here. It's pretty light, whats in it?" Silver asked. "It's an amulet, just like the one you wanted. Go ahead, open it." The old stallion closed his eyes and started to doze off again. Silver Dust opened the box and found a small amulet, golden chained with a small diamond in the middle. The gold chaining was gleaming with bright magic capability, as if the power was circuiting through the chains. The diamond was a clear color, but within the center, colors and shapes flowed in a small pool of visions. The amulet was extremely light, but was emulating magical power, you could feel it in the room. When the box was opened a pulse of light-hearted energy filled the room, everything was brightened and refreshed. The old stallion looked as if he was young and abled, like Silver Dust himself. Everything faded back to normal and the old stallion jumped at the sight of the box. "Ah, ya got it! Go ahead, put it on!" He looked on anxiously. Silver Dust guided the amulet around his neck with his magic. The gem made contact with his coat and locked around his neck, like it wanted to be with him. It then glowed a white aura and absorbed within him. Silver didn't panic, he couldn't. There was so much light and happiness within him, it was better than anything he had done since he arrived in Ponyville. Everything calmed down, and the amulet appeared on his neck once more, it shined silver within the diamond, matching the color of his glossy eyes. "What just happened? I feel so enlightened!" Silver Dust had an amazing smile on. "The amulet, it likes you and your intentions, it wants to be with you." The old stallion said. "Alright, what's the cache with this thing? What do I have to watch out for?" Silver Dust asked, seeming concerned. "The only cache is its power limitation, there is none, but you can't use it as a weapon, only a method of protection. You can conjure protective spells, you can create illusions to fool your foes, but you cannot harm with such an amulet of happiness." The stallion smiled. "No wonder it enjoys my intentions, because those are my exact intentions." Silver smiled. "Alright, I could never charge you for such a destined object that you posses. You can leave if that's all, I won't keep you any longer." The stallion smiled and dozed off to dreamland again. Silver Dust walked through the door with the small amulet around his neck. He felt so light hearted and joyful with such an object. He needed to test the object. He went to a quiet field near the edge of the Everfree forest. Silver Dust stood there for a moment, meditating to focus the power of the amulet. After a minute of focus, he released the energy felt within the amulet, he wanted a barrier between him and the forest. When his eyes opened, there was a crystallized barrier surrounding him half way from the Everfree forest. It was amazing, massive, and impenetrable. The crystal wall was clear and beauteous, as his intentions to protect and serve were the same way. Silver Dust needed to show his friends his new capabilities. The barrier retracted into the gem within the center of the diamond, and he was off to the forge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I was making my roundabout through town, it was late in the afternoon, the sky tinted a golden orange, and I was coming up on the forge where Bronze Hammer was at. He'd been working all day so I thought he might've finished all of the weaponry we asked for, maybe he was working on the bars we needed for the cell room in the basement. I had walked up to the forge, but something was wrong. Nopony was anywhere to be found, and everything was jumbled or out of place, it looked as if Bronze had worked his tail off. I went into the back near the river to find Bronze Hammer with Applejack, kissing in the river. I didn't want to interrupt, and since Bronze had filled in all the orders we needed for today, I let them have their reward. About 5 minutes later, Silver Dust showed up at the forge with amazing news, and an amulet that reacted strangely to me and my glowing eyes. I didn't like this amulet, and it didn't like me. After about another 5 minutes, Bronze Hammer came around to the front of the forge with Applejack leaned against his side. "It's about time, you two. I certainly enjoyed the show." I winked at Bronze. "Oh, yeah, ah guess we were a bit busy with each other to notice you walkin' up and all." He sighed and then smiled. "Don't worry about it, I came around to the front and waited it out with Silver." I laughed. "Yeah, but that's not important right now!" Silver exclaimed. Bronze Hammer went in to sock Silver in the face for saying such a thing, but a crystallized barrier came between them and threw Bronze back to the ground. Everyone was in shock to see such a spontaneous act of powerful magic. Silver Dust was gleaming with excitement for his new power. "I can definitely play a stronger defensive role for you guys on the field now!" Silver said. "Yeah, you can bet your flank! That'll be useful against a group of dull goblins running around." I laughed at the idea of goblins poking at a crystal barrier with sticks and stones. "Ah don't know about this. Ah mean, it's nice and all, but where'd you get the power from?" Bronze was skeptical, as was I. Silver Dust explained the story of the old mare in the clinic and the antique shop where he found the amulet. I thought it was a great addition to the team, and that it didn't seem bad one bit. I guess the amulet itself reacted to my dragon blooded side and didn't like it. I guess this makes me the evil artifact. Now that everything was explained, there was one thing that needed to be done. That core of ore needed to be smelted in order for my weapon of choice to be crafted. I walked over to the fire pit with the glistening ore still smoldering the fire. I brought a flame from within my central power, and let loose a spark onto the ore. One spark turned into two, two into four, and so on, until flames danced across the orb and it started to liquidate. This flame was extremely hot, everypony had to leave the room, even Bronze Hammer himself. I took the mold in which the liquid core was pooled in. I took my front hooves and placed them in the molten metal. Anypony who did this would have to be hospitalized for such extreme burn wounds, but I was dragon-blooded, I felt no heat when I was in the forge and no pain in the liquid metal, I only felt warmth. The metal started to cool and take form around my hooves, I went to work quickly, shaping grooves and cuffs into the knuckles of the glowing hot horse shoes. I soon made clamps after reheating the leftover metal to make clamps, to secure the knuckled horseshoes I was creating. The design gave me a blunt side to neutralize a target unconscious, and not harmed severely. Around the edges and base though, were grooves and pointed edges, which made contact with a face or head lethal if I applied enough force. The knuckles were for taking down targets that I didn't want to kill or injure severely, just disable them or knock unconscious. I still had my hind legs for a lethal buck to he upper body if I wanted to really get some work done on goblins. The metal had cooled into place and taken shape perfectly, they couldn't have fit myself better than now. Everypony was excited to see their new weapons, except for Tiki, who was missing out on all of the action, somewhere in Ponyville. Beside that, we were all excited to see the force of the knuckles I had crafted from the most solid material in Ponyville. Bronze showed me the way to a large grounded rock in the river bed. It needed to be cleared in order to continue making a water pool on the side of the river. I took the knuckles without worry, and brought down a front hoof on the rock, shattering it half way down into little pieces, the pieces rolled down the river with the current. I came down once more on the large half of rock still showing from the ground and fragmented the rest of the rock down the river, no more was needed because the pool would be deep enough for a bathing area and water collecting area. Silver Dust fastened his whip blade to his tail, easily being able to accurately penetrate the targets set up before him, and retracted the blade without any trouble from the tough oak wood targets. Silver Dust and I left after receiving our new toys, off for the rest of the day. Silver left to go practice with his new power at the mansion, while I went to see Twilight once again, while there was still daylight out. I should've been there for her, even if my duties called for me to be on guard. After what happened this morning at the diner, I should've been there to comfort her. I don't want to leave her alone any longer, but I have to remember that she's a strong independent mare. Even a mare such as her would be upset and panicked after such an experience, though. I had to be there for her, and before I knew it I was at the front door of the library, my hoof ready to knock at the door. Before I ruined the wood on the door, I stuck the metallic hoof knuckles into one of the pockets of my uniform. I knocked on the door and Spike was there to answer the door. "Oh, Ironclad, I heard about what happened this morning. Twilight is upstairs writing a note to a friend." He opened the door and allowed me in. "Twilight, how are you doing, after this morning at Ponyville's edge?" I asked. "I'm fine, that was crazy this morning, I'm really glad we got rid of him before he had the chance to get to any other mare without protection like you around." She smiled and continued to write. "I told you, nothing would ever lay a hoof on you... Even though that stallion had the privilege of grabbing you, I repaid the favor, and hard." I smirked. "So, are you off duty yet? Or do I still have waiting to do before I have you to myself?" She smiled, waiting for a reply. "I'm not off the hook yet, I've still got some land to cover, but tonight I want you to come down to the mansion, I have a surprise for you." I smiled and walked toward her. I wrapped my hooves around her shoulders and gave a kiss on the cheek before leaving to finish my roundabout of the town. She was quiet when I went down the stairs, a good sign on the kiss goodbye. As Spike closed the door behind me, I heard Twilight sigh and immediately start talking to Spike. I chuckled at what she might be saying. I continued my patrol of Ponyville, even stopping at sugar cube corner for a banana-topaz milkshake that I like so much. After that, it started becoming dusk out, so I went back to the mansion to talk to Crisco. I needed his help for the surprise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Earlier that day, Tiki was at Fluttershy's cottage with Rainbow Dash, learning the old Pegasus spotting trick from a falcon's perspective. Of course, it only took so long for Tiki to learn the skill, and when he did he took off instantly. Tiki went on observing the world with such great detail and clarity, he didn't bother noticing Rainbow Dash tailing him for a good while. She could've caught right up to him and dragged him back, but he seemed like he was having such a good time and all. After finally catching up to Tiki and his new vision, Rainbow Dash told him that Fluttershy was going to prepare a simple lunch for them all, and that they should head back soon. While they were eating lunch in Fluttershy's cottage, a certain object caught Tiki's interest and he had to ask about it. "Fluttershy, could you tell me more about that bow you have mounted on your wall?" Tiki asked, eyeing the longbow. "Oh, yes... That was just a gift I received from a friend a long time ago... I never use it though, I just have it mounted for display." She said. "Well if you aren't using it, I could always put it to good use on the guard, unless it really means a lot to you or something." Tiki took a bite of his sandwich. "Oh no, it was a long time ago, it would be nice to see it being used again." She smiled, thinking back to the original owner of the bow. After each Pegasus finished their meal, Tiki removed the bow from its mount and grabbed a single arrow to test it with. The group walked out the front door and started to the old target mounted on the tree out in the field across the bridge leading to Fluttershy's cottage. Without hesitation, Tiki enhanced his vision and took a single, faithful shot with the one arrow he had selected from the sling. The bolt traveled through the air and struck the target right on the bullseye. If it had been a tad higher, it would've re-entered the last hole an arrow had made on the target. Both girls applauded his achievement, as Rainbow Dash bolted over to retrieve the arrow from the tree. Tiki had thanked Fluttershy for such a gift as a longbow and sling of arrows, along with a wonderful lunch and a new skill learned from her falcon. The pink maned Pegasus waved goodbye as her two friends flew off into the clouds, each going in different directions. Tiki was off to patrol over Ponyville, now that he was equipped with a weapon and a useful skill for the job. He spent the afternoon gliding overhead leisurely. He even spotted Silver Dust near the center of town, Applejack and Bronze Hammer working at the forge, and even me at the door of the library. He spent the afternoon honing his new skills in the air, and even spent time at dusk and as the moon rose. There was a glowing light coming from the Everfree forest, maybe a large fire. Now that it was night, this light source could be identified easily. Tiki flew to the source, making sure there wasn't a large fire hazard that could threaten the town. It was a large fire, but it wasn't a forest fire, it was a camp. Located deep into the Everfree, the goblin camp was well hidden from ponies, unless you could identify it from a birds-eye view. The central fire was huge, surrounded by many creatures feasting on a roasting body in the center. It might've been a pony, but the body couldn't be identified. What was identified threatened everything and everypony in Ponyville. The camp was massive, an army of goblins was being raised. There were countless numbers of them, probably in the hundreds. The scariest part was not the numbers, but the organization, something had brought them to order. The squadrons of green monsters marched in organized groups, each with their own pair of armor and weapon of choice. Tiki could make out one large tent near the back of the camp, probably housing the leader of the organization. This job was about to get risky. Tiki had to get down there and investigate who was behind this army. It was dark out, which gave a sense of cover and secrecy to Tiki's position. The Pegasus came down outside the camp, in a small opening of the tree line. After a bit of struggle through the vegetation, he was able to move into a position of the tent of interest. Tiki removed one of his arrows from his sash and slashed a small hole into the side of the tent, allowing him to see through to one of the main rooms. He identified a larger, green goblin, who spoke English fluently and seemed very advanced for his race. "Commander... Everything is ready to start your plan into action..." A smaller goblin grunted. "Oh no, not yet. I am training these men to their finest capability. We will be up against something far more powerful than an army of ponies." The leader seemed displeased. "This one pony. Ironclad. He doesn't know what he is fully capable of. He doesn't understand that combining friendship with a dragon's greed is a weapon of mass destruction." The leader laughed. "If we can strike and kill this single pony, none of the others will question my strength. I will make the dragon blooded warrior fall to his knees. I'll slaughter his men and his mare, crushing his spirits and making him a walking stick of sorrow." He continued. "With such a display, Ponyville will fall under our control. Nothing will question our grasp on the town, not even Celestia herself." He laughed at the thought. "Oh man... If Ironclad was here... He would've just flattened everything within a two mile radius..." Tiki said, resisting the urge to assassinate the marauder in front of him. "I'm gonna save this bastard for Ironclad. He needs to suffer and a dragon blooded pony is the only one who could do it." Tiki whispered, now gritting his teeth together. "Commander Blunt..." The goblin addressed him. "Please, my highest and most loyal assistant, call me by my name, Blunt Will." He chuckled. "Yes... Blunt Will, why do we not strike now? Finish the Draco pony while he is still weaker?" The assistant asked. "I have seen most of your men perform well in the field, but not all of them are ready, some still have potential." He explained, "I want our fullest capability when we go up against the most powerful weapon in Equestria." "Of course, commander. I will assign the lowest performing soldiers to a training session, whip them into shape..." The assistant grumbled. "Now, we just wait. As long as we have the element of surprise, victory is inevitable..." Blunt grumbled in a booming deep voice. The goblins started to chuckle, which turned into a heinous laugh, loud enough to echo through the tent and keep them from hearing Tiki's take off for the mansion, everypony had to know about this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was now dark out, stars were shining and the moon was a glorious pearl white color. There was a small wooden table set out back on a wooden platform near the river, lanterns were set around to slightly illuminate the area. Twilight and I were sitting out there, to ourselves, enjoying a special dinner prepared by Crisco himself. He had prepared a light steamed spinach plate with a bowl of sweet, creamy tomato soup to go with the delicacy. I initially questioned him on the choice of food, but he knew exactly what he was doing for two lovers on a summer night. He was right, the spinach didn't taste like spinach, it was sweet and leafy, with a soft moist touch from the steamer. The tomato soup was really wonderful with the spinach. It was quite thick and creamy, complementing the spinach in such a strange, but perfect way. This was the surprise that I mentioned to Twilight at the library. The breakfast date went well, but was mostly spoiled by the stallion who attacked us on the road side. Twilight enjoyed the setting I created and the dish prepared by Crisco, but we both enjoyed each others company the most. We were able to talk a bit, and the table was short enough for me to reach over and kiss Twilight if I needed. Of course, Bronze Hammer and Applejack were in the living room alone, getting to know each other better. This only meant explaining each others lives and why they liked the other so much, the rest was exploring each others bodies, like the dirty country stallion I had come to love and know. After they were done with the lot of that, they would peer out a window on the second floor with Silver Dust and check up on Twilight and I. This was interrupted by Tiki, who bolted home in such a hurry, he needed time to cool down so he could even talk, but he only kept trying to say something. Something about goblins and danger. "Tiki. I'm telling you right now, if you don't let your body catch up with you, I'm gonna knock you down and let it before you hurt yourself." I said sternly, worryingly. "It's... It's ok... I just need some water..." He panted. "Alright, I want a report, tell me what happened, but not all at once." I said, handing him a glass of water. "Ok, there's an army being raised in the Everfree." Tiki said. "How large is the army you're explainin' to us?" Bronze asked. "It's hundreds of goblins, I'm not afraid about the numbers, but something has them organized, trained for combat!" Tiki had an outburst. "This isn't good, did you see who the leader was?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, big guy, goes by the name of Blunt Will." Tiki informed "I'll write to the Princess when I get home, see if she knows anything about this goblin." Twilight flashed home. "Ok, here ya go, Tiki, ah had these incase ya came home tonight." Bronze Hammer said, giving Tiki his requested short swords. "Oh... My babies... We're going to kick so much flank as a team..." Tiki said, taking his hoof down each of the blades. "Alright, now all we need to do is..." Everyone stopped. It was Julie, panicking about something, saying that there's nothing to fear, and that we can't leave the simulators. She tried to keep calm and explain everything, but all that went through was white noise. At the start of the white sound fuzzing through our brains, each of us felt something snap, a bond broken. We felt free now, in this world, as if we weren't visitors any more. Our heads weren't flooded with pictures and lists created by Julie, there was no more connection to the lab, or the human world for that matter. Something terrible happened and I didn't know what. Silver Dust had gotten white noise after we did, and mentioned something about an explosion at the last second. There was a timed explosion that went off in the lab, a bad experiment of some sort. Whatever this explosion was, it killed our physical bodies and trapped our conscious minds in another universe, which only meant one thing. This wasn't a simulator, it was truly another dimension, a dimension of ponies, it was all real. The only problem now is that we were stuck in Ponyville forever, with a dangerous threat on our hands, and no external support from Julie on the other side. This was the reality of our danger.