//------------------------------// // First Physique // Story: Bronze Hoof // by cowboybird //------------------------------// First Physique I wasn’t always a bulking mass of muscle rising 10 feet from the ground, 12 if you add the horns. Once I was a dashingly handsome man, gallivantin about in the dry plains of Colorado. At least that’s how I believed I looked. In reality, I was a 20 year old beat-up work horse with hands. I spent most of my days on my parents ranch raisin’ and slaughterin cattle. Hell I knew so much about bovine I did a couple surgeries on the lumberin oafs. But that all changed when a business man came to my family’s ranch. Now I wasn’t a small guy, 6 foot 3 and decently chiseled. But this guy must have been 7 feet from toe to crown, and built like an ox. His onyx eyes drilled into me as he walked up to the porch of the house. I kept my distance, because, let’s face it, he creeped me out. He came to see my parents about selling the ranch to some cement plant lookin for a new place to build. They politely told him that they weren’t interested. And he left. A few days later as I was herdin the cattle back into their pen on the back 60 acres of my parent’s property when the man beast came ambling over a hill. I jumped off of Mack, my horse, and met him half-way. “Somethin I can do for you, hoss?” I asked when he came into earshot “When I was over the other day I saw something in you that I think we can both benefit from.” This caught me off guard as I wasn’t doing anything particularly special when he was over. “And what might that be?” “Well I noticed that your stallions name was Mack, that wouldn’t be short for Mackintosh would it?” he asked. “It might be, why would that be any concern of yours?” “Well I am a fan of a particular show, My Little Pony. Have you heard of it?” I stopped dead in my tracks. Of course I’ve heard of My Little Pony. Being a brony was something that I kept hidden from even my closest friends, the few of them there were. Somethin about him asking that made me think things were going to be gettin a lil intense in a few minutes. I hate being right. “Yeah I’ve seen it once or twice.” I answered with a bit of temper in my voice. “You wouldn’t happen to be a fan of that show now would you?” I needed to end this quick, and get back to work. “Listen mister, I don’t know what you want or what you’re gettin at, but I need to get back to work.” “Well, let’s say that perhaps there was a person that could send you there, not saying there is, just a thought, and perhaps that person could get you away from the tedious life style you live. Would you take the opportunity?” Somethin changed in his voice, and although I would love to go to Equestria, see all there is to see, and meet the characters of the show, I had a job to do. “I can’t say I would. I have work here that my folks just can’t do. I have friends and family here. I wouldn’t be able to go tourin a new world without them bein satisfied.” “Alright Dan, you drive a hard bargain. What if this said person could make sure that everyone here would be fine without you?” When did I tell him my name? “Well…Maybe. Yeah that would be somethin to see.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. I usually keep my mouth in check with these things. What in Sam’s hell is goin on here? I thought. “If you want to go there, all you have to do, is ask.” His voice deepened a few octaves. I laughed at this. What a stupid thing to say, ‘all you have to do is ask’ what a load of shit. “Sure hoss, send me to Equestria!” I was near hysterical, laughin at the idea. “Ask” he waved his hand at somethin outside my peripheral vision. “And you shall receive.” I looked to where he was waivin at, and god help me if there, on the hill where he came from, was the largest bull I had ever seen. It ran on four pillars of raw strength, and had horns the size of great swords. The size of its barrel would put a hummer to shame. Its eyes were burning with an unholy black fire. The noise coming from its muzzle sounded like screams from hell itself. It had a pearly coat covered in scars and a face that was black as night. And it was comin right at me. My first instinct was to get the hell out if there, but the speed this thing was puttin out let me know that I would never outrun it. Mack had booked it long before when I was talkin to the old man. And now I was sure that I would die at the hands of this hell beast. “You want to know what I saw in you, boy?” I had forgotten the old man was there. “It wasn’t your strength of arm, or the sharp sting of your eyes.” I was frantic, wonderin if I could take the living tank on. “It was your soul. The soul of a champion.” The bull was on me, I had jumped out of the way of its initial attack. But it was quicker than I anticipated and clipped me. Fire ran up my arm to my neck. I had just enough time to get back up and jump again before it plowed through me for a kill. I knew I had to end this soon, or I was a goner. But the damn beast was quicker than a dog on a hunt. As it was comin by for another shot at me, I managed to grab its horn and pull myself onto its back. Don’t ask me how, to this day I still don’t know. Miraculously it stopped chargin, probably just wonderin where I took off to. Just as I thought that I had calmed the beast, he started crow hoppin on me. Now I’ve ridden my fair share of bulls, but I ain’t never road a crazed elephant with horns. The whole time I’m runnin for my life the old man is just sittin there laughin. However, when I jumped on his pets back, he became very serious. Above all my hollerin and shoutin in pain (I figured my arm was broken), I heard the old man yelling at me. “Now I knew you would put up a fight Dan, but this has gone on LONG ENOUGH!” The bull stopped, and in one mighty leap, launched me into the air, and bucked me unconscious.