The Bystander

by Kerberos

Canterlot

13 Years Before The NNM Incident (Canterlot)

The gentle rumbling of the train made it easy to fall asleep. The window was a bit warmer than one would like and was not very comfortable to lean on. Iron made due with what he had to sleep soundly. He was dreaming about working in his very own forge, creating some of the most spectacular suites of armor for the royal guard. He was working on finishing up a helmet when one of his apprentices walked over to commend him on his job well done. However when the apprentice opened his mouth the only words that came out were ‘Wake up’. The voice of his mother came out of the apprentice’s mouth.

“What?” Iron asked feeling really confused.

“Wake up.” It was a little bit more forceful. Iron started to feel a tremor throughout his world. He looked around and noticed his reality was being ripped apart. He was now aware that his dreams have ended and his mother was trying to wake him up.

“Mmmm, five more minutes,” he mumbled, hoping that his mom would take the hint. He stuffed his face into his forelegs to try and block out his mother and the sun that would shine in his eyes if they were open.

“Hey, we’re here,” she said, ignoring her son’s silent pleas. “Don’t make me have to wake you.” A mischievous smile spread across her face knowing the sure fire way to wake her son up whether he wanted to or not. Her son, however, did not have any motivation to wake up from his nap. “Ok, prepare to be awake!” His mother pounced on Iron, tickling him in several points on his body. Iron jolted awake, laughing his head off.

“Stop hahahaha p-p-please s-stop hahahaha,” he managed to get out while screaming in laughter. Virtuous did not let up on the tickle assault on her son. His pleas for help devolved into more laughter than coherent words.

After a minute of constant tickling torture, Virtuous stopped and let her son catch his breath. His breathing was a mix on large inhales mixed with giggles. He did his best glare at his mother, who threw up an innocent smile in return.

“Oh come on now,” his mother pleaded, “It wasn’t that bad. Besides, with the way you keep on laughing, I am starting to believe you like it when I wake you up like this.” She prodded her son on the shoulder. “Why don’t you look out the window. There is something that you might want to see.”

Iron rubbed the rest of the sleep out from his eyes and squinted out the window. His eyes slowly grew wider and widened with awe as he spied the capital of Equestia. The city was sitting on the side of a mountain with all it’s glory. Its ivory towers glistening in the sunlight. The tall white buildings giving the city shape. The streets looked packed full of citizens going about their busy day. Finally, the palace was towering over all the buildings and shops. Its towers giving off the feel of security while the guards walk on patrol. The armor the guards were wearing glimmering from the sun. Iron could only imagine how they were able to make such masterpieces out of the crude metal that the forge was probably given. Iron eyed every bit the city had to offer to a newcomer.

He continued to watch the city in nothing less than pure wonder until he was interrupted by his mother. “Come on and get your things. We will be at the station any time now,” Virtuous said.

They gathered their saddle bags and waited for the train to pull into the station. The station was a bit crowded because of the end of the school year. Ponies lined up and down waiting for the correct train to begin their vacation. The doors slid open letting the passengers exit the train. To say Iron was giddy with joy would be a massive understatement. He was ready to run around and explore his new home. Of course, being raised as a strict rule follower by his mother kept him right next to her.

As they left the train, Virtuous walked up to a desk to give some instructions to the ponies that were going to unload the luggage. She wanted the boxes to be loaded up onto a carriage that was supposed to be there. With a nod, the pony gave the instructions to the others that were supposed to unload the luggage cars. Virtuous said thank you and walked away from the desk to a bench. Flawless was supposed to meet them at the station, but with the amount of ponies there, it would be hard to find a specific pony in the crowd.

Eventually the crowd died down when they boarded the train. Virtuous and Iron got up from the bench and started to look for Flawless. After a few minutes of exploring, they found him standing next to the door of the station. He was a large brown stallion pegasus. His had a dark blue mane that was combed back. At a distance, his mane could be mistaken for black. He was looking back and forth hoping that he did not miss his family in the crowd.

“Hey dad!” Iron yelled. Flawless looked around trying to find the voice of his son. With a wave, Iron was able to draw his father’s attention. A smile spread across the father’s face. Flawless trotted over to his son and wife, drawing them in with a hug. Hello’s and how are you’s were passed around to catch up on the time they all spent from one another.

“Well, I bet you are a bit tired from the trip,” Flawless said “Come on, I will show you the house.” Flawless motioned for his wife and son to follow him to their new home.

Iron looked back at his saddle bag to make sure he was not missing anything. Satisfied that he did not misplace any of his belongings, he looked back at his parents. Virtuous and Flawless were already making their way down the street. A sense of urgency washed over Iron as he ran to catch up with his parents. When Iron was a comfortable distance from his mother and father, he began to take in the city.

There were shops of all sorts ranging from home decor to fancy clothing stores. They all seemed to match that ivory color the city was famous for. The color scheme gave off a high society feeling of perfection and cleanliness. ‘Man, I knew this place was supposed to be all fancy, but dang! I didn’t think it was THAT fancy,’ he thought to himself. He was not shy about dressing up in a suit but he never had that many chances to wear one. He then took in the sweet smells of food. Turning to his right, he noticed that he was passing by a bakery. “I’ll have to remember this place. It smells really good,” he murmured to himself, trying to lock in the location in his mind.

While eyeing the stores and restaurants, Iron noticed something that made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Almost every pony he passed was an unicorn. Iron looked to his left and right to confirm his worries. Walking up and down the street were brightly colored ponies, some with fancy clothing on, that all shared the same trait, a horn on their head. Iron shifted his wings, feeling uncomfortable without a sharp magical rod poking out of his head. Not to say Iron did not want wings. He loved his wings and would never think about parting with them, but in a city full of unicorns… he would feel a bit better if he had a horn.

Distracted by his silent wishes to Celestia for a horn, he caught himself before he ran into his no longer moving parents. Iron looked at his new home while his parents talked about ‘adult stuff’. The ‘house’, if you could call it that, was a three stories tall and painted in that ivory color Canterlot loved so much. The yard out front was nothing too special. It looked like any old lawn with a cobblestone path, that lead to the front door. There was a single tree on the right side of the house that was fairly close to one of the windows. He could see a small balcony on the third story near the tree. This thing was more like a small mansion than a house.

He looked around to see the neighborhood that his family would be staying in. He saw large houses that looked the same all around him. Being around realtors enough, he came to the conclusion that this was a cookie cutter type of neighborhood. Iron was not a fan on living in similar houses and doing similar things as other ponies. As he continued to look around he set his eyes on the castle. ‘I never thought the castle would be this big!’ He continued to eye the castle up and down till he felt a gentle nudge bring him back from his thoughts. He looked over to see his parents looking at him, as if waiting to have a question answered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” he admitted, giving a sheepish smile.

“That’s alright,” said his father. “I just asked for your opinion on the house.” Flawless pointed towards the house that they would call home.

Iron started to rub his forelegs nervously, trying to find a way to say his opinion without sounding rude. “I think the house looks great,” Iron replied. “Although, I don’t really care for everyponys' houses to look the same. It seems pretty… spooky” He recalled the horror movies he and his friends snuck off to watch. One in particular had the victims stranded and they took shelter in a subdivision where all the houses looked alike and there was a serial killer walking down the street. He didn’t get to see the finish movie having ran home because he was so scared. ‘Yeah… don’t want to end up like those ponies,’ he shivered in thought.

“Well, it may not look like much now, but with your mother’s touch. She will be able to separate us from the other houses on this street,” Flawless said. Iron dropped down a little and formed a small frown. He was not looking forward to his mother’s ‘touch’. The way his father said it implies that his mother will be doing work, but Iron knew he would be the one working while his mother simply pointed and did the small jobs. Flawless saw the drop in his son’s demeanor and sought to rectify his mistake. “Hey now, cheer up. I have a surprise for you tomorrow,” he said. Iron immediately dropped his frown and looked up at his father with pleading eyes.

“What!? What is it!? What did you get me!? Tell me!” Iron screamed, giddy with anticipation.

Flawless thought over if he should give the ‘then it wouldn’t be a surprise’ speech. He turned to his son who was making the biggest puppy dog eyes possible. If not to make matters worse, Iron started to quiver his lips only to add his assault on his father. ‘Damnit!’ Flawless made the mistake of looking at his son’s eyes. Flawless couldn’t leave Iron with nothing but he really didn’t want to spoil the surprise. As quick and witty as Flawless was, he was coming up short until it hit him. “I have someone I want you to meet.” Flawless was celebrating his small victory while his son pondered who would his want him to meet. “By the way, where is your mother?” he attempted a topic change. The last either of them remembered, she was right beside Flawless. They each took a quick look around wondering where she wandered off to, until Iron pointed at the open front door.

“I think she went inside,” Iron pointed out. He guessed his mother was a bit more tired than she let on back at the station. ‘If it wasn’t for my nap on the train, I would have been right behind her.’ “Could I get a tour of the house?” Iron asked his father.

“Sure thing,” Flawless responded with a quick nod. As they walked towards the door, Iron could tell his father did very minimal yard work. There were patches of crab grass sprouting scattered around the yard. He ,nor his father were very big on yard work. That was something, oddly enough, Virtuous would always do to help her keep in shape.

When they reached the open door, the first thing that came to Iron’s mind was ‘clean’. The house looked spotless. The wooden flooring reflected the light of the sun while smells of lemon found its way into Iron’s nostrils. Looking up from the floor, he saw a staircase in front of him, leading to the bedrooms. To his left he saw what looked like a dining room. They walked through the dining room and found themselves in the kitchen. It was attached to the dining room with an open layout theme. The kitchen was stocked with modern appliances and lightly stained cabinets. It looked relatively clean, but the counters could have been wiped a bit more.

They continued to walk through the kitchen and found the living room. It was a large room with a couple of La-Z-Colt recliners and a single couch. They each had their own end tables with a lamp on top. There were a few throw pillows on the couch and a single blanket draped down the middle where the two cushions met. Against the wall opposite of the chairs sat a bookshelf. The bookshelf was not that full, only a few books on each shelf, and the occasional knick knack. Iron knew those books were only some of the many books his dad decided to bring. Though there were only a few on the shelves, they were the only fiction books Flawless took with him.

The young colt asked to see his bedroom next, so he and his father headed towards the stairs near the front entry. When Iron almost reached the second floor, he heard a faint snoring. “I think I found mom,” he said with a small smile on his face. He was not going to let his mom live this down for a long time. His mother always complained about how his father would snore loudly during the night, but never once would she admit to snoring herself. ‘Looks like I have a bit of ammo against mom now,’ he thought to himself.

“Yeesh. I didn’t think she was THAT tired,” said Flawless. “However, it looks like I am not the only one that snores though,” he added with a smile of his own. He knew she would complain to Iron about his snoring, but now he was just waiting for the perfect time to get back at his wife.

The stallion motioned up the stairs towards the third story. As they walked up the stairs, the snoring became died down. When they reached the top, they could no longer hear the snoring of Virtuous somepony. “Your room is the last door on the right.” Flawless pointed down the hall. “I am going to take a nap along with your mother. See you at dinner” With a short wave and yawn, he made his way down the stairs to cuddle up with his wife.

Iron looked down the hall and headed for his room. There were three doors on the left side and only two on the right side. He trotted down the hall and stopped at his door. With a light push, the door opened and revealed his room. He had a queen sized bed with bright sheets and a brightly colored blanket. The headboard was made out of wood and shaped as a rectangle. He had a nightstand on either side of the bed, but they did not have anything on them. Across from his bed was a desk. It was made out of wood and stained a light brown to match the rest of the room. It had a lamp and what looked like a draw board laying on the top. Iron knew this was his father’s way to say he was sorry he had to move away for three months. To his left, a wide dresser sat against the wall. It was the same color as the headboard and desk. It could have supported a mirror but his father knew he would not like that. It would be to girly for Iron.

He noticed directly across the room, there was a double door with curtains opened to let the light in. There were a couple of windows next to the doors that also let some light in. Iron walked across the room, avoiding the boxes that the movers moved in while walking to the house. He opened the double doors and saw that he got the room with the balcony. He looked around to see the city and palace shimmering in the setting sunlight. An orange and yellow hue spread across the once blue sky. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The only interruption to this canvas was the tree he noticed when he walked in the house. It was close to the edge of the balcony but far enough that he would have to glide to the closest branch.

The colt walked back inside and started to unload his boxes. Most of them were just filled with sketches and books that dealt with working with metal. He didn’t like to read often but for some reason he would prefer non-fiction to fiction. He used to read a bunch about dangerous animals like timberwolves and manticores. Now, he tries to improve his craft, evens though he has no forge to use yet. The rest of the boxes were full of bathroom supplies and some nice clothing.

He walked across the hall to the closest door on the left side of the hall to find out this was the bathroom. The bathroom had a toilet, sink and a shower that had a sliding glass door. Iron brought back the box that had all his toiletries back in his room and stored all his belongings.

Iron was called downstairs for dinner. They had sandwiches that night since nopony waned to cook anything. The meal was short and Iron decided to turn in for the night. His parents said their goodnights since they had a nap already. Iron shut his door and drew the curtains to a close, making the room as black as his coat. He tucked himself in and drifted off to sleep, wondering who his father wanted him to meet.

Author's Note:

So, I hope you enjoy chapter two. It is a bit dry but I plan on having some cool stuff happen next chapter.

Comments

[FoxfanMLP22]

The Story is Still Awesome than Ever!

[Kerberos]

4051903 Like?

[Kerberos]

4051993 About the names... I honestly get them out of an name generator :D Plus, if I ever get around to it, I plan on writing a story line for his childhood. So they will have a chance to earn their names.

On the fast bit. I thought I was going pretty slow to be honest. In 3000 words Iron went from the train station, to his house. Plus, I have not gotten to the meat of the story yet. This is still a sort of prelude.