An odd family: The foundations.

by EdBoii

Rise Of A Hero

Death Of A Monster

I was running away from the shadow, running towards the tower,

It was ever so fast, ever so frightening,

Relentless in the way it hunted me, and I was afraid of its power,

In my arms I carried my family, all I had in this world,

Where the sun did not shine and all light came from fiery gold,

The streets of my home were broken and dirty, just as I recalled,

Cars were lined up around the road, no people were around,

The shadow followed and caught up to me, in a dark street where to all the gods I prayed,

The beast smiled and hollered, and I did nothing but laugh in its face,

For before me was not a demon or monster in all its glory,

In front of a man it was prey, poor creature I say, it was but a pony.

The sun entered the room in a flood of morning glory, illuminating the entire expanse of the children's temporary room.

Consciousness slowly returned to my brain, I opened my eyes with a newly found determination that I had never felt in my life.

Those bastards thought they could threaten my family? They think they can simply move into my town and risk my children's happiness? Well, I beg to differ...

Why do I call it my town you ask? Well, you see dear reader...

Ponyville was my town now! Why you wonder? Simple.

It was my town because it was now my children's home, and I was not going to let vermin walk in and take that away from them, last night I was full of dread for what could happen to my kids, but I let the past experiences of my world flood through my mind and settle themselves as the reality of this world.

Stupid me, nopony was as evil as a man.

The bastards that were threatening me had no idea who they were messing with.

I was a man, not a colorful fucking pony that eats rainbows and shits happiness.

I smiled as the thought crossed my mind, why had I been so afraid? Did I really worry about the threats a pony could make? No! I had grown in a filthy city full of murder and robbery, armed assault and death were daily occurrences in my day to day life.

The worst these ponies could do to me was stain my clothes with their blood after I beat them to a pulp.

Smiling grandly at how stupid I had been I stood up and looked down at my children, Aquilder was sound asleep beside his sister and Ectorius was happily snuggling closer to a pillow.

No bastard was going to take away the innocence from them, I was not going to let them.

My human pride and ego fully restored, I slowly walked towards a mirror by the wall.

My expression no longer showed a worried man, or a hurt one.

"And all it took for me to get my shit together was for those bastards to underestimate me? Bah! I'm ashamed of you son!" I pointed a finger at my reflection and laughed. "Oh, they have no idea what a world of pain I can rain down on their pitiful asses!"

You wonder about the sudden change my good reader? Do you ask yourself how can a man go so swiftly from weeping and shame of his own acts to a full fledged warrior ready to take on the world? Well, to comprehend my actions and transformation you must first position yourself in my shoes!

You, a strong human, fully understanding about the numerous ways of the world to inflict pain into the body and mind, you who has, oh so horribly, lived your life in a city were men tore each other to pieces in a daily basis, where morals and ethics were violated with such violence it was a marvel that mothers still tried to teach it to their children.

You, who despite living in luxury, has seen your share of pain and caused a modest part of it, how would you react if some colorful fucking talking mini horse came up to you, and in its complete innocence and ignorance of how to even mutter an insult, threatened you?

See? I had simply thought about what a man could do to a man when I worried about the pony's threat, it had never crossed my mind that the ones who opposed me and my family were ponies, but now, free of the mental restrictions of alcohol and lack of sleep, I could fully comprehend the absurdity of it all!

"Those fuckers have it all wrong if they think I'll let them go without a few broken bones..." I smiled with glee at my reflection in the mirror, joy fully returning as a side of me I hadn't felt in a long while occupied my mind.

I was actually looking forward to meeting the bastards, to fighting them, and when I won, to making them pay.

I ran a hand through my hair, it was dirty and in disarray, my eyes were different too, they shone with something I hadn't seen before, but it felt good.

"Can't kill fuckers without a shower though." I raised my arm and sniffed. "Shit!" I coughed and grimaced as the stench of sweat filled my nostrils, I needed a shower ASAP!

I walked towards the door, confident of myself for once, not worried in the slightest.

My hand pressed against the wooden door and I pushed it open, Twilight's library was small, but large enough to accommodate an incredible amount of books. The shelves and counter were full of them.

I looked around the building, big smile on my face, completely glad that I had seen the light of my own strength.

I was incredibly hungry though! Last night's brawl had prevented me from eating anything, and it was taking its toll.

I moved towards what I thought was a kitchen only to be stopped by a very irritated sounding pony clearing her throat.

"Ahem... Iron, ya have some splaining ta do."

I was slightly stunned by the sudden appearance of the voice, slowly turning around revealed a very upset Applejack and other five ponies, one of which I was rather surprised to see.

Smiling, I looked at Applejack and the other mares, they weren't as happy as I was, except for Pinkie, but then again she's always happy.

"Good morning Applejack," I nodded at her and to every single mare as I said their names. "Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie," Instead of nodding at Pinkie, I simply waved my hand happily at her, she complied with equal enthusiasm. "and Rainbow."

My gaze fell on the last mare of the group, Rainbow was looking away from me even as I called her name, she obviously wasn't comfortable being around me.

"What brings you all here today?" I asked, fully knowing why they were there.

"Well, this is my house," Twilight moved a bit closer, she was obviously mad at me for what happened last night. "and we wanted to give you a chance to explain what happened yesterday."

"Yeah! Everypony says you were a real big meany pants!" Pinkie Pie hopped closer to me and poked me were my ribs had been before Applejack sent them to bone heaven. "Don'tcha remember what happened last time you were a big meany pants Iron?"

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity snapped at her, thinking she had touched a delicate subject.

I stared at Pinkie, watching her ears lower as she started to apologize, but before the words could even leave her mouth I felt my own facial features contorting into a smile, which was immediately followed by a short laugh.

Crude humor was as difficult to come by in this place as fucking gold! It would be a sin not to enjoy it when it came!

Pinkie Pie immediately perked up, she smiled happily and smugly looked at Rarity, giving her a 'You were saying?' glance.

Rarity rolled her eyes and regained her unamused look.

"Anyway, Iron, what happened last night?" Twilight continued.

I smiled again and turned towards the kitchen.

"Well, I will gladly explain over a warm breakfast!" I motioned towards the kitchen with my hand and nodded for them to follow.

But unamused Applejack was unamused.

"Darn it Iron! Ya can't go round town wrecking shops and knocking ponies down and then just ask fer breakfast like it ain't nothin!"

I looked at Applejack, she was clearly the most upset pony from the group, I didn't know why though.

Raising my hands in an apologetic manner, I simply smiled at her, trying to calm her down.

"Hey come on, they were bad guys right? What's the big deal?" My smile wavered at their reactions, even Fluttershy looked at me disapprovingly. You know you have fucked up big time when Fluttershy says it to your face!

"That is not the point Iron! They are ponies! You can't go around hitting them! It isn't nice!" Twilight raised her voice if only slightly.

My good mood was being threatened by now, these ponies wanted me to admit that what I had done was wrong, and they thought it was, so I decided to simply call it quits and leave.

I had no money but if I met up with Snowflake maybe he would lend a few bits to a starving soul.

So I shrugged and made my way to the front door, trying to avoid a confrontation.

"I'll just come back when you guys chill out ok?" I was halfway out when Twilight surrounded the wooden door and locked it magically.

"We need to talk Iron."

I sighed, no getting out of this mess for me...

"Now, why did ya think it was a good idea ta go picking fights right after getting out of tha hospital? Ya could have hurt yerself!" Applejack was the next to speak, and I just couldn't resist the temptation of teasing.

"Why, that's so sweet of you Applejack! I didn't know you cared for me in that way!" I pretended to swoon and leaned against the wall.

Poor Applejack's eyes widened.

"What in tarnation?! No, Ah didn't mean it like that!" Applejack blushed and quickly denied my accusations.

Pinkie Pie giggled and wrapped her foreleg around her.

"Silly Applejack! You can't like Iron, he's not a pony!" The pink pony winked at me and played along, I immediately pictured her with a trollface.

"Darn it Pinkie! Ya know Ah didn't mean it like that!" Applejack kept on blushing and I kept on holding back laughter.

"Girls please! How unladylike of you Pinkie! You can't just tease Applejack for her taste in stallions... Or men!" The fashionista covered her giggles with a hoof and did her best to contain them. Oh god more trolls! Rarity was one too!

"Dagnabbit Rarity! Ya too?!" Applejack glared at both ponies and then at me. "See what ya did Iron? They'll never let it die!"

I was almost bursting from laughter by now, few things could have stopped me from an epic ROFL at that moment, weird how the one thing I expected the least to happen actually happened.

A third voice joined in the chorus of laughter, I looked up, wondering whether Twilight had loosened up to the joke.

She was facepalming... Facehooving? Whatever... The point is she wasn't the one laughing.

Fluttershy was smiling slightly and hiding it behind her mane, no laughter there.

That left only one pony.

My smile froze in place and so did my laughter, I was too surprised to see who it was that had actually managed to laugh along with me.

Rainbow was pretty much rolling on the floor laughing her ass off, her smile shining on the morning sun.

I was staring, slightly shocked by her reaction, I never expected her to join in on any activity I was a part of!

She eventually noticed me staring and gave me an odd look, asking me with her eyes what was I looking at.

I regained my train of thought and gave a small chuckle, smiled at her and hoped that I didn't come out as weird...

"Heh, well Twilight what's next on the agenda?" I looked over to the purple pony, she was looking at me with a face, a certain face that reminded me of a certain internet meme, and it spoke to me man, it truly did, and it said...

Are you fucking kidding me...

I smiled again, these ponies were a laugh! Applejack was still trying to get Pinkie Pie and Rarity to stop with the jokes, and Twilight was completely losing her patience, not that I cared much though, nothing she could do if I decided to break the door in half and let myself out.

But I was in a good mood today, finally realizing that I had nothing to fear from a bunch of adorable walking stuffed animals, I was practically a god among mortals!

"Iron please, stop fooling around! You are in serious trouble! Not only did you wreck an entire bar, but you also made enemies with the most powerful gang of ponies in all of Equestria!" Twilight seemed terrified at the idea.

I on the other hand, as a young and eager human male that had seen all the Rambo movies as well as Terminator and Resident Evil, was rather eager to get into some ass kicking action now that my previous worries were disproved by some logical thinking!

Badass mode activated, I looked Twilight in the eyes.

"Are you afraid little pony?" I asked.

She seemed taken back at the question.

"Iron, I'm worried for your kids and yourself, those ponies can do bad things to you and make life difficult for them."

I smiled genuinely, she was too innocent, they all were.

"Twilight, you have no idea of what 'bad' really is!"

"What will you do if they come for you then, huh? Are you just going to ask them to leave and hope for the best?" She asked me, slightly irritated.

I couldn't get mad at her, she had her reasons to believe that I was in trouble.

"Twilight, you think those ponies are bad right? But they are only pony-bad," I grinned wolfishly. "I can be human-bad, and trust me, as soon as those ponies place a hoof in this town they will regret it."

Twilight seemed frustrated at my poor planning, but decided to let it slide this time.

She obviously didn't believe me when I said I could be worse than the pony mafia.

"Fine, but if you're going out please don't make another mess like yesterday! And try to be polite and friendly to everypony, we had some serious explaining to do to the mayor earlier today because of what happened."

I nodded and smiled, then I turned around and walked towards the door, Twilight had stopped the magic flow that locked it a few seconds ago, so I was able to open it and walk out.

"I'm going for a walk, see you gals later!" I closed the door before any objections to my plan could be made and left.

Feeling the fresh breeze of the morning air was refreshing, shower and breakfast completely forgotten as a new idea flowed into my brain.

I was going to visit Snowflake and get to defending my home!

Walking through Ponyville in the early morning ensured that few ponies saw me, but it also meant that there were fewer ponies to ask about Snowflake's whereabouts.

I had no clue where he lived!

So I just wandered around the town, seeing the different sights and buildings, the ponies that walked past me slowly but surely took a different direction that led them as far away from me as possible.

I didn't mind, it only made me feel better about my current situation, if I was feared, then I was strong, if I was strong then I could not be stopped.

After a while though, I decided to approach one the locals for directions, a small pony was sitting by the road, her dirty coat making it obvious she wasn't the wealthiest pony in town.

I walked closer to her, making sure to make as little noise as possible so I didn't scare her if she saw me, the plan was asking, getting an answer and then leaving.

Simple.

As I got closer though, I became aware of two facts.

One, she had a traveling bag beside her which meant she wasn't from around here.

And two, the mark all the ponies seemed to have on their asses.

Her mark were two muskets crossed in the form of an X.

I stared dumbfounded at the mark, most ponies seemed to have their talent related to it, Applejack had apples on her ass so she worked an apple farm, Pinkie was a party addict so her mark were three balloons, Rarity was greedy as fuck so no wonder she had diamonds, and so on and so forth...

So what could this mark mean? This mare was some sort of soldier? A master swordsman? A gunsmith?

Whatever it meant, it might be useful. I could certainly use a gun if I was going to fight off the fucking mafia!

So I decided to make a friend.

I cautiously moved towards her, walking through the cobblestone road, I pulled off the friendliest smile I could and hoped it didn't scare her shitless.

"Err, hey there!" I called out to the mare as I got closer.

She stood up in an instant, startled at my sudden appearance, and looked up at me.

Her jaw hung open, her eyes grew wide and a faint gasp was heard. She stared at me in complete shock for a good two minutes, lost in thought.

I kept up the smile for the most part of the awkward silence, well awkward for me, frightening for her, but the whole business was going as poorly as possible.

I waved a hand in front of her face but I couldn't do anything to break her off the daze she was in, so I took the chance to get a better look at her.

The strange mare had a golden yellow coat, it shone brightly despite the dirt that stained it. Her mane, a mixture of greenish yellow and white, flowed freely, nothing kept it from flying with the wind as the soft morning breeze caressed it gently.

Her eyes were blue, not too dark but not light in the slightest, she seemed to be lost in deep thinking though, as she kept on staring.

Eventually I decided that this was getting too weird, I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes, immediately shattering her thoughts.

"I... Ah..." She stammered and blinked rapidly, trying to recover from the shock of seeing a human.

"No worries." I smiled and raised my hands reassuringly, she glanced at my fingers and her surprised expression returned, although not as strongly now.

"W-what are th-those?" She was shaking slightly, I wasn't sure whether meeting this pony was a good idea anymore, she seemed too fragile to be any use in a fight.

But I had already started a conversation so I couldn't just leave.

"These? They're called fingers, I use them to grab things and stuff, I guess."I shrugged but kept the smile, she seemed to relax a bit and smiled back, if only briefly.

"Are you the human?" No shit! What gave it away?

"Nah, I'm just a weird pony." I chuckled and sat down next to her, if I was going to live in this town I needed the ponies to know I wasn't a monster, besides, her mark was interesting.

She blushed, from embarrassment I think, and looked at me again, the curious look in her eyes was strange, interesting and intriguing, oddly so.

"My name's Flintlock Dust, may I ask yours?" She smiled faintly once again and kicked at the ground with a hoof.

My smile wavered a bit, there was something about this pony, something odd.

Her mark was something that shouldn't exist in a world of harmony, her name was a synonym for gunpowder, an invention of war and pain, yet she seemed so innocent and pure, so beautiful and fragile.

And her eyes, mesmerizing and deep, as if the world itself could sink into them and disappear, I had to get to know her better, she could be of use and seemed lost.

"Name's Iron, Iron Galley, pleased to meet you." I extended a hand to her, my smile slowly returning.

She accepted the gesture and we shook hands/hooves whatever...

"Are you a sailor?" She asked, she had a rather soft voice, not one to rival Fluttershy's though, but still soft enough that I had to pay close attention to hear her.

I smiled and shook my head.

"No, but you could say that I have gone farther away from my home than any other living being..." I chuckled and stood up, she did the same and secured her traveling bag on her back.

"How far?" She asked after making sure her belongings were safely attached to her.

"Really far, this isn't even my universe anymore." I smiled, this mare was curious, but my questions could wait, I was enjoying messing around with her mind.

"Oh." Was her only reply, she lowered her eyes to the floor and silence fell upon us for a couple of seconds.

"Hey, I was meaning to ask you..." I scratched the back of my head and wondered how to approach the subject with the minimum levels of weirdness.

"Yes?" She asked, looking at me with her blue eyes.

"What does the mark on-" I was interrupted by the sound of our growling stomachs, I had skipped breakfast and she obviously hadn't eaten in awhile, it was quite obvious that she was lacking in money.

She giggled softly and pointed a hoof to a nearby building.

"Skipped breakfast too?" She smiled.

"I know that feel bro." I accepted her offer and walked towards the restaurant.

The place was empty this early in the morning, but several ponies were starting to line up for it.

It was some sort of cafe or something, nothing too expensive but good enough for a pair of penniless souls.

We entered and the shopkeeper greeted us, after being reassured over and over again that I wasn't going to eat him or destroy his shop.

And still, we had to pick a table outside of the restaurant and sign a written document where we swore that no harm would befall the owner or his shop.

After finally getting through with all the formalities I was sure no pony had to go through, we finally sat down and ordered.

Flintlock Dust ordered a dandelion sandwich, nothing fancy but good enough I guess, I couldn't know, I didn't eat pony food.

"I'll take the daisy salad without the daisies and without the grass and no rose petals either, and..." I frowned and closed the menu. "Just bring me a bunch of lettuce covered in dressing please."

The waiter arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything, he just nodded and trotted off to the kitchen.

"Lettuce?" Flintlock asked, amused.

"Heh, not used to pony food." I smiled and shrugged.

"So, what did you want to ask earlier today?" Flintlock looked up from her glass of apple juice, I had ordered some cider.

"Ah yeah," I took a quick sip from my drink and looked at her, trying to phrase my question as delicately as possible. "The mark on your flank, what does it mean?"

She blushed and looked at the table, why did they get embarrassed if I mentioned their flanks? They walked naked the entire day goddamnit! What did they care?

She seemed to think over how to reply to my question, the answer she gave me was completely unexpected.

"I don't know."

Didn't ponies discover their marks when they found out whatever the hell they were intended to do for life? How could she not know?

"I was hoping you would know, I travelled so far from Fillydelphia because I heard a rumor about a mons-err, stranger in Ponyville, and I thought that it might have something to do with my cutie mark." Flintlock looked at me hopefully, she was really expecting me to know what her mark meant.

I knew what it was but I didn't know if she would like its meaning.

I leaned in closer and looked at her, her mark was something completely human, an invention of mankind that had no place in this world, yet there she was, a pony with a human talent.

"How did you earn it?" Applejack had mentioned something about earning the mark when you discovered your talent, if she remembered how she got it I might have been able to tell her what she was good at.

She fidgeted uncomfortably and reached into her bag, she searched it for a couple of minutes before pulling out a wooden case.

She looked at it as if it were a religious object, and placed it on the table, she gave me a look that screamed for me to be careful, that the object in that box was precious to her.

I nodded and reached for the box, it was small, about the size of a Kleenex box.

But it was heavy.

There was something unique inside it too, it was obvious by the growing tension between us, whatever this box held could change the world.

The air around me grew dense, breathing became an effort, sweat began to run down my forehead as I my hand got closer to opening the lid.

A final glance at Flintlock revealed that she was feeling equally nervous, this was the most important moment in her life, when she finally got to discover what her talent, no, what her purpose in life was.

This was a time for revelations to be made, for the world to tremble and for change to occur.

My finger opened the lid.

The box opened.

Its contents were revealed, and I knew at that moment that the world's future was in our hands.

Or hooves and hands if you want to be pedantic...

Comments

[Vinyl Scratch Jr.]

It's pandora's box!! Nah but it's most likely a gun the gun of the first!!

[MicroUltraMad]

TAKING BETS HERE!

DASHxOC! ANYPONY?
APPLEJACKxOC! ANYPONY?
TWILIGHTxOC! ANYPONY?
PINKIExOC! ANYPONY?
RARITY! ANYPONY?
FLUTTERSHYxOC! ANYPONY?
FLINTLOCKxOC! ANYPONY?

My vote's for FlintlockxOC.

[Detective Chmilewsky]

An interesting pony.

[Cortex]

My vote is for Flintlockshipping. Even in a nonsensual way. It shall be so, as I said so.

And stuff.

And the story is good.

And stuff.

But in all seriousness, the story is good. The human doesn't bend to match and fit the ponies, ain't changing his entire being to their whims just to be "like them" and other stuff.

And stuff.

Just keep writing more, will you?

Love,

-Cortex Repository

[Sassaflash99]

FUCKING CLIFFHANGERS!!! Other than that, good chapter.

[Husster72]

Nnnnnoooo!! Cliffhangers i hate you very much
More please

[Gilgamesh King of Heroes]

First guns then cannons then flame throwers then NUKES MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[FastShadow78]

1403366
What about NOONEx OC

[dashdlkashd]

That's quite the drop...
forwardedemails.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/dangerous-cliff-hanger-01.jpg
I'm guessing it's a gun, which makes me wonder if he's going to tell her what her cutie mark means...

[AliCentaur Br0ny]

Twilight was completely losing her patience, not that I cared much though, nothing she could do if I decided to break the door in half and let myself out.

Little does he know of the strength of her magic, or what she's needed to use it for in defense of her friends.

But I was in a good mood today, finally realizing that I had nothing to fear from a bunch of adorable walking stuffed animals, I was practically a god among mortals!

That's right: Become overconfident. Become cocky. There's absolutely NO way that that could possibly come back to haunt you.
Oh, wait.
Never-mind, yeah, that overconfidence is going to lead to your undoing.

I predict that Flintlock's special talent is protecting those close to her, through deadly force if necessary.

Great chapter.

[Corundum]

1403366 lol you just put rarity for one of em