Domain of Friendship

by Cold Bolt

Episode 2-1

“Howdy, Tank Buster!”

The warm afternoon sun shone down on the main pathway into the Everfree Forest.

Tank set down the heavy mallet in his hooves and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he turned toward the source of the greeting. Upon discovering it to be a certain little red-haired filly, he smiled. “Hey, Apple Bloom. Heading off to see Zecora again?”

Apple Bloom nodded, grinning. “Uh-huh! Today she’s gonna teach me how to make a water-walking potion!”

Tank blinked. “Oh, wow. That sounds really cool, actually.”

“Yup!” Apple Bloom hopped up and down excitedly. “I don’t wanna be late though, so I’ll see you later!”

“Have fun!” Tank waved after her as she galloped on down the path.

Life in Ponyville had proven itself fairly idyllic so far. Granted, it certainly hadn’t been uneventful; an upstart performer, a drowsy dragon, and a rhyming zebra - just to name a few - had certainly seen to that. Still, Tank found it fairly difficult to stay worried for very long about being indefinitely stuck in Equestria; it was just too comfortable for that. Well, for the most part.

“Hey, Tank!”

The sun had just begun to skirt the horizon by the time the next interruption came along, this time in the form of a diminutive purple dragon.

Much as he had earlier, Tank lowered his mallet and glanced over his shoulder. “Oh! Hey, Spike. What’s up?”

“Twilight asked me to, um…” Spike stopped mid-sentence, scratching his head. “Wait, what are you doing again?”

Lifting it briefly over his head, Tank brought the mallet down onto a wooden post perched loosely in the dirt at the edge of the path, planting it firmly in place. “Applejack recommended I ask Mayor Mare if she had any jobs I could take. You remember that ruin we told you about? The old royal palace way back in the forest, where we found the Elements of Harmony?”

Spike pouted and crossed his arms. “Yeah. I can’t believe I slept through the whole thing…”

Tank chuckled. “Anyway, now that it’s been rediscovered, the Mayor wants to be able to explore the place; there are tons of old books and relics and whatnot in there that could be recovered and restored.” Setting the mallet down once again, he pulled another wooden post from a nearby cart and stood it up a few feet past the one he’d just pounded into place. “As I’m sure you’re already aware, though, the forest is a big dark maze full of monsters. It’s way too dangerous for most people to just waltz on in whenever they please, so she’s hired me to line the path with fencing and these magic lamps to make things a bit safer.”

Spike scratched his head. “But why have just one pony for such a big project? It’ll take you forever to build fences from here all the way to the castle.”

“For the same reason they need to be built in the first place,” Tank explained, lifting the mallet once again to strike the new fence post solidly into the ground. “The forest is dangerous; normally, she’d have to hire both workers to do the building and guards to keep them safe, but since I already have combat experience, I don’t need protecting.”

“E-Even from t-t-timberwolves?!”

Spike stumbled backward, pointing a trembling claw at something a ways past Tank. Immediately dropping his mallet, Tank whirled around to find two large canine creatures marching slowly up the path toward him. Their bodies were composed entirely of rotting logs and discarded twigs and branches; in spite of this, their eyes glowed a menacing green and they bared long rows of razor-sharp fangs.

“Oh, is that what those are called?” Tank rolled his eyes. “Ugh, I hate these things. They smell bad, and they won’t leave me alone.”

“W-We should probably run!” Spike scrambled to his feet and began backing away slowly.

Tank waved a forehoof in Spike’s direction, not taking his eyes off the timberwolves. “Chill out, dude. I got this.” With that, he began trotting toward them casually. “Afternoon, gentlemen! Enjoying the warm weather?”

As though annoyed by the flippant greeting, the timberwolves immediately broke into a run, charging straight at Tank.

“Tch, rude.” Tank held his ground as the timberwolves barreled toward him.

With a snarl, the first wolf took a mighty leap aimed at the spot where Tank was standing. As soon as it left the ground, however, Tank leapt forward in turn, a quick tumble landing him right underneath it.

WHAM

A well-placed kick to the belly sent the timberwolf flying apart, broken twigs and logs scattering across the path.

The second wolf, already bearing down on him, snapped its jaws shut just barely short of Tank’s face as he reared up on his hind legs to avoid it. The familiar bipedal stance gave him an idea, and as he toppled forward, he threw a hoof forward in a fair approximation of a punch, connecting solidly with the wolf’s mossy snout.

CRASH

The splintery remains of the timberwolf crumbled to the ground in front of him.

Tank gave an amused chuckle as he turned back around. “See? No big deal. All it takes is one good hit and they fall apart.”

Spike, having finally climbed to his feet, dusted himself off and pointed a claw at one of the fallen wolves. “Uh… you do know they regenerate, right?”

Tank sighed in irritation. “Yeah, that too. At the very least, I figured out a way to slow them down a bit.” With that, he hefted the largest log he could find from the remains of the second timberwolf, lifted it over his head… and with a grunt of effort, hurled it deep into the forest.

As if on cue, the remaining timberwolf debris clattered to life, tumbling end over end as it disappeared into the underbrush.

“Alrighty! Now that that’s settled…” Tank brushed the stray splinters out of his mane and began marching his way back toward Spike. “I think you said Twilight waAAUGH”

A cloud of dust accompanied Tank’s sudden disappearance as the ground beneath him gave way, his inquiry soon replaced with a fit of coughing.

Spike jogged forward, peering over the edge of the pit, at the bottom of which lay a sprawled-out Tank. “You okay?”

Tank sat up, rubbing his head. “Ow. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Spike reached out, grasping Tank’s hoof and hoisting him up as he climbed out. “What even was that, anyway?”

“Sinkholes. At least, that’s as near as I can figure.” Tank once again found himself brushing debris out of his mane. “This isn’t the first one I’ve found, and I doubt it’ll be the last. I think they were caused by that crazy storm we had a few days ago…” The thought made him shiver.

“That must have been while I was away in Canterlot.” Spike scratched his head. “I think Twilight said she had an unplanned sleepover with Rarity and Applejack that night.”

Tank quirked an eyebrow. “Wait, a… sleepover? How old are these girls, anyway?” After a moment’s pause, he shook his head. “Eh, whatever. I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

Spike nodded. “Anyway, Twilight wanted to see you. Somepony sent her a strange book in the mail, and she thinks it might be a clue about your Elements! She wanted you to have a look at it with her.”

Tank blinked. “Oh! Uh, sure. I just need to toss a sheet of plywood over this hole and pack up for the day. Tell her I’ll be along in a bit?”

“Okay!” Spike waved goodbye as he took off back toward town.

Author's Note:

Domain of Friendship also has a Tumblr! Feel free to have a look if you'd like to read ahead, or even ask the crew a question!

Comments

[Scarlet Hope]

Nice story so far keep up the good work

[Cold Bolt]

8075084 This is my first attempt at a writing project of this magnitude, so even after a partial rewrite the first episode was always going to be sort of formulaic; my plans for subsequent ones ought to branch out a lot more and give the characters some much-needed depth. Episode 2 will be a good example of what I mean, if you'd like to stick around for that - if not, I'm sorry I couldn't hold your interest. There are plenty of fics here from authors with way more experience than me anyway. Thanks for your time in any case!