6. Scratching Post
My Farrier Lady, Sunspot
Scratching Post
Their farrier shop catered to the wealthy unicorns of Canterlot, so it was only normal for Hammer and Nails to have royal customers of all kinds, from the very bottom of the scale and up. Today, Hammer was talking with a return customer, one who had not graced his shop in several years, as well as another customer whose visits could skip over centuries.
“I’m afraid these shoes are done for,” said Hammer once he had gotten all of them removed from Twilight’s hooves and stacked in a box. “You’ve outgrown them and worn them out and burned out nearly all the protective runes. Let me get your hooves filed properly first, we’ll get a set of blanks shaped and enchanted, and get you all taken care of today. Has the palace farrier been resetting your shoes on a regular basis?”
Twilight Sparkle nodded vigorously. “They don’t do student shoe enchantments, just a trim and re-nail, then they slap on a layer of colored shellac. It doesn’t seem very proper.”
“Twilight,” chided the very tall and impressive Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia. Hammer had just gotten comfortable enough with her presence due to her silence during the process, but having her speak so close nearly made him drop the file he was using to shape his customer’s small hoof. Well, not so nearly.
“Sorry,” said Hammer, scooping the file back up. He normally would have proceeded to inform his young client about the technical differences between the Royal Farrier Corps and his own job, but Celestia’s looming presence was discouraging. Or at least until she nudged his side to get his attention, then gave him an encouraging nod.
Even so, it took Hammer a few sentences to get into his usual description about how the Royal Farrier Corps was mostly a superficial… well, glamor was the word he settled on, service for the palace. True, they had enchanters to put elegant spells on the delicate silver dancing shoes of the nobility and polite sound-muffling spells on the shoes of the countless servants. The gentle tap-tap-tap of their hammers was easy on tender ears, and small silver nails did as little damage to pampered hooves as their expert wielders could manage.
But when it came time for the Royal Guard, or Princess Celestia herself, that was his job.
Well, except for Celestia recently. Those tough alicorn hooves went decades between shoeing, and her golden hoof-boots protected the steel shoes from wear. Starswirl the Bearded had written the book on the first of her shoes, and generations of enchanters since had added their own postscripts and codicils. It said something that Silver Nails and Tap Brad could make heads or tails out of the whole book when most of the unicorn scholars could only manage sections, although they wrote the most elegant of theses and papers on those parts. Still, there would come a day when Her Highness would put her hooves one at a time into his brace, and it would be his time to do what a thousand years of farriers had done before.
Although this was one task that would not be passed down from father to son, because at this rate, Hammer would never find a mare. Well, one who could have children.
The gentle touch on his shoulder jarred Hammer out of his distracted woolgathering. He was grateful for the restraint she showed, because Princess Celestia was rumored to be able to smash mountains and crush monsters with those restrained hooves. The touch had been gentle, almost loving, and he blushed so hard Hammer was very glad Twilight was out of the room. Thankfully, she had gone with Nails into the enchanting booth to deal with this year’s enchantments for Celestia’s favorite shoe-breaker, leaving Hammer alone with his thoughts and the divine ruler of the country.
“I’m so glad I can trust my precious student into your experienced care,” said Celestia with a radiant half-smile. “Trust is exceedingly rare.”
“And should be spent only when needed,” finished Hammer automatically. “My father told me that. Particularly, when billing the nobility,” he added.
He did not expect a laugh from Her Divine Highness, but her quiet giggle echoed around his humble forge like the tinkling of fairy bells. “Oh, my dear boy. Don’t take this wrong, but you sound just like your great-grandfather.”
“Thank you, Your Highness?” he managed in return, caught somewhere between familial awe and divine deference.
“Take it as the compliment it was intended, Mister Hammer.” She tapped one golden hoof-boot against the stone floor of the forge. “He was the most exacting of all of the farriers I’ve ever met. Had me in this shop for positively hours at a time for three different fittings.”
“Perhaps he enjoyed your presence?” suggested Hammer.
That earned him a second laugh, although he did not dare add that the presence of Her Highness was truly quite interesting to look at, with her impeccably groomed coat and flowing magical mane. Her impressive height was less impressive to Hammer, because he was almost as tall at the shoulder, and considered that he might outweigh her on the appropriate scale. Or maybe not.
“Oh, I wish I could stand around here all afternoon and talk with you, Mister Hammer.” Celestia let out a frustrated huff. “There are always so many things to do back at the palace, and—” she lowered her voice “—my aides keep my schedule so full that sometimes I don’t know if I’m coming or going.”
“Spot says she’s never at a loss for things to do.” It just slipped out despite Hammer’s intent on keeping things formal while Nails and Twilight were in the enchanting booth and out of earshot.
“Spot?” asked Celestia with a puzzled expression that shifted into a subdued smile. “Oh, Autumn Sunspot. Yes, she’s been taking more time off lately, whenever she can get an evening free. It’s been good for her. She smiles more, and I’ve actually heard her humming at times.”
As much as he tried not to show it, the warm glow that started under Hammer’s ribs must have shown on his face, because Celestia looked him straight in the eyes and shook her head slowly. “Before I leave, I have to ask. Do you have anything to do with her newfound happiness, Mister Hammer?”
“I… um… I hope?” he managed, held transfixed by that violet gaze.
Celestia laughed again, a relaxed motion that made the centuries slough off her shoulders and gave her a youthful twinkle in her eyes. She turned to depart in one smooth motion, passing through his sliding door into the backstreet behind the forge before turning back as if she had forgotten something important.
“I shall leave Cadet Periwinkle at your shop to escort my student back to the palace once she has completed her task. And I’ll try to reduce the workload on my staff so your young mare has more time to spend with you, if you wish.”
Unable to say anything, Hammer merely nodded.
And when Celestia turned to leave again, he could have sworn that she flicked her tail at him.
* * *
“You’re being quiet tonight,” said Spot with a nudge to her booth-companion. To be honest, Hammer never spoke much anyway except when Spot was around, so this was more backsliding than an unusual shortage of his words in their traditional table at the bar, maintaining the World of Away.
Thankfully, Nails picked up the conversation, because Hammer was still at a loss for words, even after being prodded. “He’s probably still a little stunned. Little Miss Skybreaker stopped by the shop, and she brought a beautiful mare along with her.”
“Nails!” Hammer scowled, or at least tried. Remembering that last tail-flick made a smile creep onto his face despite his best efforts. “She’s not… She’s our ruler,” he managed in a low whisper, frightened of being overheard despite the bar’s comfortable susurrus of surrounding sound.
“You are smiling,” stated Spot plainly. “Does this mean you’ve found a nice noble mare like Nails managed? Ready to settle down, raise a few foals in the palace, rule over half the country?”
“No,” protested Hammer despite his continuing smile. “Would you two stop, please? I’m just glad to meet Twilight’s teacher again. She’s… nice.”
“Nice?” For a short mare, Spot still managed to look down her nose at him, although Nails did not take the hint.
“Jealous much, Spot?” Nails floated his tankard up in a mock toast. “If you don’t make a move on my buddy soon, you may lose him to the big lady.”
“That’s ridiculous,” scoffed Hammer, putting his nose down in his own tankard.
“No, no. Not at all.” Nails used his magic to brush back a lock of Hammer’s mane that was falling forward into his eyes again. “A handsome lug like you. I can see why you’d be attracted to a goddess instead of plain Spot here.”
“Hey!” Spot straightened up and wiped one greasy forehoof across her mane to get it out of her eyes. “What does she have that I don’t have?”
“Well, she has… terrible breath,” managed Hammer.
“What?” Spot glared at him much like a terrier puppy facing a particularly troublesome squeaky toy, although Hammer promptly sniffed the air.
“Not like you,” he continued. “You always smell a little like roses every night.”
Settling down again, Spot snapped, “There’s this rosebush by the path I use to come here after work. Can’t a girl have a little snack without some stallion making a comment about how rosebuds go straight to her flanks?”
Nails glanced at Spot’s rear with one upraised eyebrow, but did not say anything. Since he was both married now, and within reach of Spot’s sharp elbows, that was understandable. Besides, Hammer preferred a mare with comfortable padding.
“You steal from Celestia’s garden?” he asked instead. “I should turn you in. Maybe there’s a reward.”
“I’m sure she’ll give you a kiss,” said Spot, rising up from her seat and demonstrating by placing one warm damp kiss on his nose, which was a bit of a shock because it had been months since their kiss in front of the fountain.
“Maybe… I better not,” he ventured after the moment of shocked silence had passed.
Thankfully, Spot did not seem to be upset, and merely giggled. “I just thought I’d try to do something to get you thinking about me instead of her.”
“Why would I be thinking about her?” Hammer held his hooves at about size 22W distance apart. “I mean she’s got immense hooves, even bigger than mine.”
Leaning forward, Spot kissed him on the edge of his hoof, despite it being rough and chipped from work. “You have nice hooves. Working hooves, not all polished and buffed until they gleam.” She turned around and leaned up against him. “Scratch, right there between my shoulder… ahhh. Good hooves. Nice and scratchy.”
“It’s a better topic than flanks,” said Hammer flatly, although he did not stop scratching. “There’s no way to talk about a mare’s flanks and stay out of trouble. Dad told me so. Repeatedly. Let me simply state that our beloved ruler has extraordinary bodily dimensions which do not compare to any other mare, present or absent, and leave it at that. Would you like another kabob, Spot?”
The scratch-ee let out a satisfied groan. “Evil seducer.”
“Some evil,” grunted Hammer. “I could be replaced by a rough timber at the right height and a bag of bits.”
Spot shook her head. “Never underestimate the value of a good back scratch. I’ll bet Celestia never has anypony to scratch her back. Or other itches.”
“We are so not going there,” declared Nails.
“Are too.” Spot grunted and shifted her weight to lean more into her scratcher.
“Are not either,” said Hammer. “Or I’ll quit scratching.”
“Spoilsport.” Spot hunched her back and gave a short shudder. “Ooo, a little higher.”
All in all, it was a glorious conversation long overdue between three friends. Nopony knew when they would be able to meet like this again, and it really did not matter, because they were together tonight, and that was all they wanted in the glorious place called Away.
Or at least until far too late in the evening, when the bartender threw them out and locked up.
* * *
The night was pleasant and cool, the kind of evening that he wished could last forever. Once Nails had been escorted to his wife’s respectable townhouse and bid good night, that only left Golden Hammer and Sunspot wending their way home along the starlit streets. It was a time of very few words, because words were not needed. The walk from Away to Home had become a tradition between them, always ending outside of the pool of light that the palace lived inside of like it was being protected by Celestia’s own sun. Hammer knew why they had to part there, and never pressed the issue. Even when visiting his shop for a shoe adjustment, some of the nobility who strutted around were vicious social predators.
But tonight, their path wandered more than normal.
“There are times when the years seem to slip past like falling raindrops, and other times when they don’t seem to be moving at all.” Spot gave him a friendly shoulder-nudge. “When I’m with you, time stops. Every moment seems to be a lifetime, and the hours between our meetings are like days. Your turn.”
“Stars,” said Hammer. “Being with you is like looking at the stars. At first when you come out of the house, you only see a few, but as your eyes adjust to the darkness, there are more and more, until it can be difficult not to see somewhere without one.”
“So I’m stars?” asked Spot with another shoulder-nudge.
“Hey, I’m raindrops, apparently.” They walked in silence for a while, rubbing shoulders, before he added, “And an anchor.”
“I’d rather you be stars,” said Spot. “I don’t like to admit it, but I’ve always been afraid of the darkness. Afraid it will wrap me up and carry me away. I’ve seen it. The stars guide our paths and light our way. They’re beacons of hope in a stormy ocean, shining to reveal a refuge from the deadly gale. Everypony needs hope, particularly when they’re frightened.”
“Then I’ll be a star.” Golden Hammer looked at his dark reddish coat which was almost black in the shadows. “A quiet, anchoring kind of star with a warm hearth that will always be open to you, no matter what.”
A slow shudder passed down through Sunspot’s side, and she pressed herself against him so hard they nearly fell over. They stood in place in the middle of the street for a time, then Spot lifted her head and nuzzled Hammer under the chin.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For just being… you.”
“Likewise,” said Hammer with a slow nuzzle across the top of her head. Once the pressure of her side had eased enough for them to move again, he added, “As much as I would love to walk with you until dawn, we should be getting you home. Which way do we need to go?”
“I have no idea,” said Spot, who had buried her nose into his thick chest coat and stifled a giggle. “I’ve been lost for at least an hour.”
It took some time for the two of them to find their way back to the palace, despite the way it towered over the city. The night was pleasant, the company exquisite, and although the stars guided their path, there were many detours on their trip.
And as Hammer walked back home alone, he never regretted a single step.
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Poor Spot. She needs scratches. Any volunteers?
10044604
Waddaya looking at us fer? That's Hammer's job.
A bit of an earlier chapter today, eh? I've not seen you make mention of the length of this story, or if it is already fully written, but I sure do hope this keeps up. Reading the new chapter of this story is a real bright Spot of my day.
"In Celestia we trust. All others pay cash."
"Hmm. I should probably check my personal accounts."
And this is shaping up to be a beautiful romantic tragedy. I find myself hoping something or someone wrenches it off that script.
10044673
You and me both. 🙁
10044713 10044673
Fear not, friends; Georg is writing this one! We’ll find that happy ending.
Provided he hasn’t lost it already, I mean. Just to be safe, we’d start looking. I’ll check the sofa cushions. Someone else get started on his sock drawer, and someone else get started on breakfast. This is sure to be hungry work.
10044634
I'm happy to say that a majority of the time, Georg's stories are completely written before he even publishes chapter one. There's the occasional exception, but it's usually the case— that's why we're blessed with daily updates.
10044794
Glad to hear it, but why tell me?
10044604
Gladly! Where do I sign?
Incredibly sweet.
Dawwww.
Also, Celestia's playing her role in all of this pretty well.
Hehehe
10044804
Sorry, meant to respond to njits23 on that one, but hit the wrong reply button. My bad.
The more I read of the story the more I love the slow burn and intensity of Hammer and Sunspots relationship. The are somewhere between friend and special somepony. It's so heartbreaking, so sweet and very intimate in the the most beautiful of ways.
Nice work as always, Georg.
I'm not normally big on romance, but the writing here is good enough to sway even me.
10044931
Ah well, such is life. No worries mate.
Celestia, you better treat your man *right*!
10044634 10044794 Twelve chapters. I could have gone thirty, but twelve seemed to fit the scheme for doing speeches. Stand up, be brief, be seated.
10044673 10044713 What kind of romance doesn't include some heartache. Just don't roll a critical fumble
10044722 Honestly, anybody who wants an unhappy ending to most of my stories with romance in them only need to stop reading at the next to last chapter. (or this one, *two* chapters before the end)
10044829 Page 519.
10044907 For real role-playing, you want Estee's most recent story. Really good.
10044942 I've reached the age where I no longer burn with energy, but simmering is just about as good.
10044944 I've got a few of those.
10045026
Oh, do you mean the one presenting the excellent and detailed analysis of the true intelligence of young cattle?
Because I've already read that one.
Oh Celestia, you trickster you.
10044722
Ok, will start with the drawers
10044673
I don’t care if you’re Starswirl the Bearded, Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance, or Twilight frinkin’ Sparkle…
Time travelers strictly cash.
10044673
Celestia did jump into retirement awfully quickly...
10044673
I take encouragement from the fact that there's no Sad tag.
You’re obscuring the truth regarding certain identities so totally... Jake The Army Guy is right, you’re much too sneaky and subtle for your own health.
10044604
Sign me up, I'll also preemptively volunteer to give ear scritches to Twilight Sparkle.
10045553 10045038 Me? Sneaky? Remember, Tek had me write this. (whistles quietly)
10045198 All Love stories have Tragedy.
10045196 Poor Twi. She's going to be kingdom-sitting while the Royal Sisters go out and get frisky. She needs a coltfriend too.
10045037 Nope, the recent one on Role Playing. Um. Yes, both kinds.
10045101"So that will be seventeen bits."
"Here you go. Twenty-seven Kilozorts. The bit collapses in a few centuries, and this becomes the currency of the land."
10045747
Clearly, it needs a codicil:
I blame Spider Robinson.
Time travelers strictly cash (of the realm and era).
10045026
So chapter ten then? Ominous
And so, Equestria suddenly blew up when Palpatine was resurrected again because unnatural Sith powers fix everything AND break everything simultaneously.
The romance went uncompleted and shippers went wild with rage.
10045981
What?! Noooooooo you monster! Not the ship
10045981
At least until someone breaks out the bilge pump, directs Palps to the next largest source of Force Users to get him outta the way, and begins the repairs... And fortifications.
10045981
My kinda troll. Bahaha!