Reforging a Broken Blade

by ElkinFencer10

Chapter 2 - Dinner at Twilight's

As he pulled his now empty cart from Canterlot back towards Ponyville, Razor Blade thought to himself, I'll never understand how the Royal Guard manages to break so many solid steel swords just training....Gods forbid they actually have to fight a battle... He looked down at the ground as he walked along the path, kicking the occasional pebble that happened to be in his way, and sighed. At least they keep me busy with my work. I can't spend too much time thinking if I'm busy working, right?

As he approached Ponyville, he looked up to the sky. Razor Blade had always found himself easily lost in the vast openness of the sky. It always made his problems and his sorrows feel so much less significant. The swirling mix of the beautiful, vibrant blue with the puffy white clouds always left him in admiration of the gods' handiwork. Hehe...Or, as most ponies would say, Celestia's handiwork. Either way, it's beautiful. Unlike most ponies in Equestria today, Razor Blade did not follow the dominant religion of the day that held Luna and Celestia to be deities. Instead, Razor was one of the few remaining followers of the pagan religion that worshiped the three gods. These gods were Erez, the god of justice and virtue; Concordia, the goddess of balance and harmony; and Dysmondis, the god of wickedness and strife. Hardly anypony still held onto this ancient beliefs, but Razor firmly believed in the old ways. The princesses - the goddesses of the newer religion - have never commented publicly on their religious views. Luna has remained completely silent, and all Celestia has said is that "as long as harmony is preserved and fighting does not arise between the two religions, it is the right of everypony in Equestria to believe what he or she wishes."

Before he knew it, Razor Blade had arrived back at Ponyville. His religious beliefs had grown much stronger in the past year, so losing himself in spiritual and philosophical trains of thought was not uncommon for him. Well, I guess my prayer to be saved from the typical boredom of that walk was answered, at least. As he made his way back towards his shop, Razor stopped at the piazza and looked at the fountain memorializing the Element Bearers, the town's six heroines who bore the legendary Elements of Harmony. The engraving on a plate affixed to the front of the fountain read "In Memory of Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter." The fillies and colts in town had taken to throwing bits into the fountain and making wishes. Maybe this is where I'll find happiness the pegasus thought as he flipped a bit into the fountain and continued on his way back to his shop. Once his delivery cart was secured, he took flight and made his way to Fluttershy's cottage to get his dog.

When Razor knocked on the wooden door of the cottage, the soft spoken yellow pegasus answered the door only to be knocked flat on the ground by the overly energetic dog he had come to retrieve. "Damn it, Rush, where are your manners? I'm terribly sorry. Are you all right, Miss Fluttershy?" Razor Blade said with an irked tone, swatting with his dog's nose with a hoof. Rush lowered his head and whimpered.

"Oh, I'm fine, and you can just call me Fluttershy. Rush was no trouble at all. He's such a sweet boy," Fluttershy said with a warm smile, using a hoof to scratch behind his ear. She noticed that, similar to their encounter a couple days prior, Razor Blade kept his gaze down towards the ground, a distant look in his eyes. "Um, my friends and I are getting together at the Ponyville library for dinner in a few days, if you'd like to join us. They're all very eager to meet you."

Razor Blade raised his head, a look of slight surprise on his face. "You and your friends want me to come to your dinner? Are you sure they wouldn't mind? I wouldn't want to intrude or impose."

"Oh, absolutely. Twilight was the one who suggested it when I was telling her about you. Oh, I hope you don't mind that I was telling my friends about you...."

Razor gave a weak smile. "I...I'm actually flattered that you told them about me. I think I'd like to meet your friends. Nopony wants to be 'that new guy' longer than he has to, right?" he joked. He paid Fluttershy for taking care of Rush and made his way home, smiling his first real smile in almost a year.

---

Over the next several days, Razor Blade stayed busy in his shop. Since there was little demand for weaponry in the peaceful town of Ponyville, he had begun to offer fencing lessons to help make ends meet. Upon learning about this new opportunity, Ponyville's famous (or perhaps infamous) Cutie Mark Crusaders raced to Razor's shop, suddenly positive that fencing had to be their special talent. They worked hard in their lessons, and Scootaloo actually proved to be quite a natural, but after a week without a cutie mark, the three got discouraged and retired fencing to the ever growing list of failed cutie mark pursuits.

As the night of the dinner party got closer, Razor began to get nervous. Maybe this isn't such a good idea, he would think to himself. It's been years since I've tried making friends. How do I act? What do I say? What if I make a fool of myself? He asked himself these questions with more frequency and with more anxiety as that night loomed ever closer. When the "day of reckoning," as he'd taken to thinking of it, finally arrived, he decided that if were going to be making multiple first impressions at once, it would behoove him to ensure that he was looking his best. He spent longer than usual conditioning his mane during his shower and brushed and combed it for what felt like hours. "Ugh, no, that looks too formal. No, that looks too messy. DAMN IT, hair, cooperate!" He finally settled on what he felt was an acceptable middle ground for his mane style and left it. He applied a conservative amount of his cologne - "Liquid Magicks," the newest scent for stallions in Photo Finish's new line - just enough to be noticed but not enough to be obtrusive.

As he walked towards the library, his heart was pounding in his chest. Gods, they can probably hear my heart beat from in there. Alright, Luna, you wanted interesting things to happen during your nights? I hope you're ready for this night, because I'm probably about to make a complete fool of myself...

When he knocked on the door, a unicorn with a mane of brilliant indigo answered. "Good evening! You must be Razor Blade. I'm Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy has been telling me about you all week. Come on in."

He walked into the library to see seated at a table Fluttershy, another unicorn, an Earth pony, and a pegasus he recognized as Rainbow Dash, the newest member of the Wonderbolts. If he hadn't been nervous before, he was now. Damn. Not only am I about to have dinner with five mares, but they're five gorgeous mares, not to mention a freaking Wonderbolt. I wonder how I'll put my hoof in my mouth tonight...?

"You already know Fluttershy. This is Rarity, the town's tailor and fashionista." Twilight began going around the room to make introductions, stopping at the other unicorn. She went down the side of the table, introducing ponies as she passed them. "This is Applejack. She and her brother, Big Macintosh, own Sweet Apple Acres. I'm sure you've heard of Rainbow Dash. She and Applejack were just married a couple months ago."

As he coyly walked towards the table in the library's dining room, he noticed a purple baby dragon. "And last but not least, this is Spike. He's a baby dragon whose egg hatched during my audition for Princess Celestia's magic school. Since then, he's been my assistant and one of my closest friends," she said as she gave the dragon a quick nuzzle. Twilight sat down at the table, motioning to the empty chair between her and Fluttershy. Razor Blade, still feeling incredibly nervous and unsure of himself, sat down.

"So Fluttershy said you're a blacksmith? That's pretty awesome. You don't see many of those these days," Rainbow Dash said as she began to eat.

"Uh, yeah, there's not a whole lot of demand for it. Most of my business is from the army in Canterlot and the occasional order from the allied nations that Princess Celestia has given me permission to supply. I also teach swordplay and fencing on the side to make ends meet," Razor Blade said, trying not to let show the how nervous he was, at which he failed miserably. The other ponies, fortunately, were kind enough to pretend not to notice.

"Oh, my, how impressive! A master of the rapier, the most regal and gallant of all weapons? I bet you have mares chasing after you left and right. Why, any mare would be positively privileged to be with a pony like you," Rarity said.

Razor Blade's face fell a bit at the mention of romantic involvement. "Haha, o-one would think..." His voice trailed off, the preceding laugh obviously forced and faux.

Noticing his demeanor change from nervous to forlorn, Rarity said "Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry if I've upset you. It was only meant as a compliment." She and Applejack glanced at Fluttershy, thinking now that perhaps she had been right about Razor's demeanor the previous week. Ah, yes, I know the problem. This poor fellow is shy around mares! It's a shame, too. He's really quite handsome Rarity thought to herself.

"Oh, no, y-you're fine. It's, um, it's just that I've...not had the, uh, best of luck with mares...." He trailed off, beginning to drift back to the memories he'd spent many months fighting to ignore. Snapping back to reality, he quickly said "Anyway, enough about my boring life. I want to learn more about you ladies." For the next hour, the six ponies and Spike shared inconsequential small talk, discussing the recent appearance of parasprites in Baltimare, the absurd conspiracy theories that Princess Luna is really a changeling in disguise to usurp the Equestrian throne, and the Wonderbolts' upcoming tour schedule.

When they had finished eating, Rarity said "Oh my, look at the time! I really must be getting home. It was a pleasure to meet you, Razor Blade. I hope to see more of you around town. Feel free to stop by my boutique any time!"

"Yeah, I reckon Rainbow Dash and I had best be headin' on back to the farm. It was good to meet ya, Razor. Ya know where to come if ya ever get a cravin' for apples," Applejack said, turning to walk towards the door of the library.

"Yeah, you're a pretty cool pony. I might have a custom order for you before too long," Rainbow Dash said with a wink as she walked out the door.

Once Rarity left, Spike decided that the interesting portion of the night had come and gone and went on to bed. With Rarity's, Applejack's, and Rainbow Dash's departures, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, and Razor Blade were left alone to talk in the library. The three sat in an increasingly awkward silence until Fluttershy spoke up, saying "So what kind of dog is Rush? I usually only deal with forest animals, so I don't know very much about dogs."

"I don't know, actually. I just found him in the woods one day back when I was living near Appaloosa." Razor smiled as he remembered the day he met his dog. "I was at my workshop one afternoon rushing to get an order for Princess Celestia's personal guard finished whe I kept hearing what sounded like growling coming from a clearing about a hundred yards behind my anvil. I was afraid it was a bear or a timberwolf, so I grabbed one of the axes I had just finished forging and went to investigate. When I got to the clearing, I saw that it wasn't a bear growling but a dog snoring as he slept in the sunlight. The sound of my hoofsteps' crunching the leaves woke him up. Without even lifting his head, he looked up at me with his eyes and started beating his tail against the ground. From that moment, I knew that I had to keep him. He was just too damn adorable." His smile got bigger the longer he talked about the dog. Laughing, he continued, "When I got home with Rush, and Flame saw him, she..." He began to trail off, and in an instant, his smile was gone, replaced by a look of intense melancholy.

He dropped his head and began to stare at the wooden floor. That's the same look he had both times he was at my cottage... Fluttershy thought.

"Well anyway, that's how Rush and I met. That was almost three years ago. He's been my best friend, and I his, ever since." Mentally kicking himself for ruining his first comfortable conversation of the night, Razor decided to excuse himself and retire before he said something else he would end up regretting. Well, something ELSE he would end up regretting. "It's always a pleasure, Fluttershy, and it was very nice to meet you, Twilight, but I think I ought to be heading home. Thank you for inviting me tonight and making me feel so welcome in town. I've had a wonderful time."

"It was great to meet you, Razor. Feel free to stop by any time. Have a good night," Twilight said with a smile, and she and Fluttershy bid Razor good night as he walked out the door.

Stupid, stupid, stupid..... Razor thought to himself as he walked home. You had finally gotten comfortable enough to carry out a conversation without stuttering or saying "Uh" every other word, and you had to go and blow it. Damn it, even now, she's keeping me from making friends....

---

"I think you were right, Fluttershy. There's definitely somepony or something that keeps troubling him. He actually seemed to be getting pretty comfortable until a few minutes ago. I wonder if there's anything we could do to help? He seems like he'd be such a charming pony if it weren't for whatever's bothering him," Twilight said to the yellow pegasus once it was just the two of them.

"I don't know. I wouldn't want to pry, but he looked so sad when Rarity mentioned mares' liking him and when he mentioned that other pony in the story about Rush."

"I bet I have a book about psychology somewhere in here! Maybe we can get him to open up, and then I can help him try to get past whatever's bothering him," Twilight said as she got up to begin digging through the library's many bookshelves. Time for another full night of studying! Twilight thought with far more excitement than studying should ever evoke.

Author's Note:

Please keep the suggestions on how to improve my writing coming. Also, 20 points to whomever can guess from where the inspiration for the dog's name came.

Comments

[thedarkprep]

If you want longer chapters, I find that being in the scene helps a lot. Conversations, for example, fill up text because there are statements, reactions, and descriptions of movements and emotions. Then there's actions. For example, you could have had the scene of him finding his dog play in real time, having it come back to the present for him to say the last two lines. That being said, I thought the conversations were very natural and that you exposed as much as needed (no need to say more than you did on the crusaders for example, since they're supplementary to the story). I really enjoyed this chapter

[ElkinFencer10]

AHHHHHHHH I JUST NOTICED A COMMA SPLICE AT THE END.

#disgrace

(it's fixed now; crisis averted)

[Lord Charles]

Ah the b.s. filler that has plagued writers...DAM you high school egl

[Twilight Best Pony]

im late but still.
and nobody noticed that pinkie was fucking dead? how did she die? when and where?
and now the elements wont work. so equestia is fucked.

[Crystal Static]

3226077 I didn't read the thing about what happened to pinkie pie, but if I were to guess...

Diabeetus.

[the space marine brony]

"hearing what sounded like growling coming from a clearing about a hundred yards"
100 yards = ~90 meters
...
god dam, thats either some loud ass growling or some god dam good hearing you got there for someone working as a smith.