> [displaced] tales of the forge > by knight-ajax > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > iron > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thank ye for the purchase," I said as a customer dressed as Dante walked away, a new rebellion in hand You want me to explain don't chee. (sigh) fine, my names Arthur and I'm a weaponsmith, that means I make weapons, any weapon you could imagine I have. And that's the problem, I have too much, so I needed to sell at least 70% of my stock, and what better place to do so than a comic-con'. I of course dressed as something, a maker from the Darksiders franchise to be exact, the only thing different about me from the real makers is my tattoo's, ya see I'm a vet, no not a veterinarian, a veteran, marine artillery to be exact, they called me Krampus, as I had a habit of "decorating" the shells with stuff like smiley faces and "hi there"s stuff like that, but after I stepped on an I.E.D. Lost two toes and my left eye I got medically discharged. But I'm not complaining if anything I'm happy to have served. What do I look like? Well, I'm 6'8", 34 years old, dirty blond hair and beard, with a tattoo over my left eye to hide the scars, I'm wearing a pair of blue overalls, leather boots, and gloves, a tool belt, and an eye patch made to look like Odins, my beard also had braids in it tied together with leather straps. "Well then looks like it's time for lunch," I said as I looked at my pocket watch. I was about to leave when I heard someone speak "Greetings good sir. I don't believe I've seen you before?" I turned to look at who said that as it came from my left. And by turn to look, I mean through a punch. With thankfully missed. "Woah! Easy there. I mean no harm!" the man said holding his hands in the "surrender" posture " I just came to browse your wares" he was wearing a perfect bo2 merchant cosplay " Sorry. But you snuck up on me. If you could not tell I'm blind on my left." I said in apology "It's ok. With that eye patch, I would be surprised if you weren't blind... Oh, wait wait, you're saying you are actually blind on your left?" he asked his eyes widening "As a bat" "Damn, well 'nuf bout that what you got?" he asked he demeanor shifting to be more professional I just looked at him like he was crazy "your kidding right? Kid, I have five of ANY weapon you can think of. Pick one and I'll give you a fair price" I said as I gestured to the shelve and chests behind me "Woah that a lot of weaponry," the man said in awe. He shocked me with what he said next "I'll take it all" "(choke hack) w-what?" I asked stunned "You heard me I'll take it all" I did some quick math "(hack) that'll be $1,895,250.5 plus(choke) tax" "Hmm, it appears I don't have the money. Tell you what I'll trade you." the man said as he searched his pockets "I'm only selling to empty my stock, sure, what you got?" The man then pulled his pack off and opened it showing off some really cool items, a power fist from fallout, a few potions from Minecraft, and more. But what caught my eye was a decorative forge hammer, and a pair of books bound in chain, "I'll take these. And it's all yours thanks for the business" I said as I pointed at what I wanted "Oh no, I can't leave you with only those. Please take the bag, it's the least I can pay you" he said as he handed me his bag "Err thanks, you need help with the stuff?" I asked him as I zipped the bag up and put it over my shoulder "No no, I can do this you go get your lunch" I nodded as I got my cash box and left for the food hall. I got 50 feet away before I felt lite headed and fell... Into a bloody portal... Fuck you reality, fuck you "Gaa whozit whatzit? What the fuck?!?" I yelled as I awoke on the ground in the woods, leaping to my feet I stumble a bit as I had just rapidly ascended to my full hight "Woah, ok, why I am I taller?" true to my word I'm taller I can feel it plus the pine tree nearby, it must be at least 15 years old but to me it looks like a thick 5-year-old, odd "(sniff sniff) what's that smell?" i asked lowly as I looked around the smell became more prominent (snap!) I spun around as fast as I could with a punch already flying, as the sound came from my left. (CRACK, YIPE!) I looked to what I hit and paused, it was a timber wolf, from mlp:fim, in front of me, wat? I did not have time to think more about it as more came from the underbrush. And I could tell they knew about my blind spot. They growled at me in an attempt to scare me, I was more confused than anything. One of them, the Alfa if I had to guess, leaped at me and on instinct alone, I went for a gun that was not there, but I grabbed something, and as he was close I just blindly swung, (CRACK, smash!) "huh?" I looked at where the wolf was, and then to where it is... 200 yards away. Wat I looked at what was in my hand, and it was the hammer I got from that guy, but it's bigger now, big enuff to be an oversized Warhammer. cool, "heh, well wolfy's looks like you made me angry, you don't like me angry. ARTHUR SMASH! I went ham on those wolfs. it must have been an hour and one king wolf of fighting before I found myself on a cliff looking over the woods, I could see canterlot, but when I looked to ponyville I saw, ruins old ruins and no trains or airships." what the fuck?" > into steel > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been a week since I had arrived here I set up a little camp in the castle, which if the stone is any indicator it’s only started falling apart 5-600 years ago, I also took inventory, and I have a lot of stuff. I have 6 books on magic, necromancy, geomancy, pyromancy, re-equip magic(from fairy tale), chaos magic(which is confusing as hell), and justice magic(which acts like ghost riders powers). I also have the doom slayers super shotgun (and it’s 8ga. skweee!), a book on mythical metallurgy, and what had to be 7 tonnes of rare and impossible metal ingots (gold, adamantium(40k), ceramite, promethium, vibranium, etc), as well as normal ores (cool thing, after I tossed the uranium away I found that it just respawns in my bag and the stuff I tossed stays there, so nigh-infinite resources!), and the reloaders kit from my house… wat!? anyways as I'm stuck here I decided to do something constructive, so I made a forge and started work… on nothing in particular! tho I did find a use for the Timberwolves that keep showing up, they’re wood is tough stuff, so I made a few things with it, not much but I made a new hammer, just in case. and a bed. Anyways I’m just minding my own business when all of a sudden I hear someone scream and the main door slam shut. Now, of course, I’m curious about who’s busting in my home, so I grab my hammer and light it up, yes my new hammer can light on fire with enough heat to melt steel, I then made my way through the halls to the main hall from my forge. As I went I heard voices and when I came to the door I could hear them talking, it was muffled but I could tell it was a man a woman and a young boy. “Hurry storm, get me that board,” said the man “Yes papa!” the boy then said back I heard some of the TW wood being dragged along the floor, I then got up to the door and looked through a crack in said door. What I saw made me pause, an anthro stallion by the main doors bracing them with himself and some wood that I left in the main hall. He was a steel gray, with a graying coal black mane and cobalt eyes, wearing a simple pair of rust red pants and a tunic of matching color I then saw the woman I heard earlier, and she was in bad shape. She was being tended to by a little girl I didn’t hear. The woman or mare I suppose was a sunflower yellow, with turquoise mane, and one emerald green eye the other was scratched all to hell and milky white, she was wearing a simple green dress with a white apron but that was all torn up exposing some of what lies beneath including her left breast. But I didn’t linger on that. I did linger on her wounds, and I know if not treated soon she will die The young boy and girl were identical, steel coat, white mane with a turquoise stripe, the girl wearing a torn blue dress, and the boy wearing a set of denim jeans and he was missing his shirt I then heard the main door crack, and when i looked I saw the stallion get hit hard by a large paw, and not one made of wood but flesh! The stallion was sent flying back as a pair of manticores came barging in, making a beeline to the woman and her children...this will not stand! I then charged through the doors my hammer swinging and a war cry on my lips “have at thee bastards!!” I yelled as one of the manticores was thrown back, his face on fire, I then grappled the other one. My large calloused hands against his sharp claws “go get to the forge I’ll be right behind you!” I yelled at the family as I kicked the beast between the legs causing it to back off only for his friend to try to take his place. You can guess how that turned out, with him meeting my fist to his face, I then roundhoused him into his buddy, and started running back into the hall the stallion and the mare were lagging behind, so I picked them up throwing the mare over my shoulder and the stallion under my arm. When I got back to my forge I set the mare down on the bed and the stallion next to her, before I grabbed the kids and set them by their parents. “Cover your ears!” I yelled as the two manticores made it to the door and I pulled the super shotgun off the counter and hip-fired (KRAK-BOOOOM) the sound of the super shotgun alone caused manticore #2 to panic. Which was amplified by his buddy turning into pink mist by two 8ga. Shells. I then in a snap put two more shells in, and before Manticore #2 could think about running I pulled the trigger again (KRAK-BOOOOM) he too was no more “ha! How you like that? They do feel fear.” I said as I reload out of instinct “now then, let's get you all patched up,” I said as I turned to the family only to see the stallion, barely conscious holding a machete and pointing it at me. “I… won’t let… you… hurt… them.” he said shakily I just tapped him on the head and he fell to the floor in exhaustion and pain “ I don’t intend to harm them, I intend to heal them”I said as I stepped over him and got to work (I'll skip the details but she was in bad shape) I had to amputate the mares arm to stave off an infection “There, ”I said as I laid back on the floor my back against the wall “that should do it. Time to sleep.” “Thank you for saving iron glory. My name is steel bolt, and this is storm steel, and steel rose. What should we call you?” the stallion now known as steel bolt said I thought about that the fog of sleep fading for now “call me, Arthur. Arthur ironbeard.” I eventually decided “Odd but nonetheless fitting. Thank you Arthur ironbeard, thank you so much we owe you our lives” Bolt said after a while “You owe me nothing. Now get some rest this has been a stressful day” I said. He nodded and laid next to his wife and dozed off instantly. I followed soon after > Some new friends and new opportunities > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (bolt’s pov) I awoke suddenly to the sounds of somepony manning a forge, looking around I saw the giant, Arthur ironbeard, working away with the biggest hammer I ever saw (cover) it was as big as a pony and almost entirely golden with a strange skull on the sides, it was also on fire, That’s new. the metal he was working… I have no idea what that stuff is! Arthur then put the strange metal in the forge and turned to me “ah your up. Good, food is on the counter over there.” he said as he pointed to a counter off to the side, storm and rose already eating away at the food “Thanks,” I said “No problem. now eat up, you spent up a lot of energy” Arthur said as he returned to the forge As I went to eat I heard Arthur singing, looking back as I sat down and listened to the song as I ate. The song when something like this (Arthur pov) As I sang I brought my hammer down to the beat of the song. Until I finished, I brought the piece of metal up to my eye for inspection, it was a concave disk with many runes inlaid on it, the metal itself was a crimson in color and had three locking grooves. This was a bionic attachment plate made of a soul-steel alloy, the soul-steel being synced to iron Glory “There. Done”I mumbled to myself. I then went over to Glory, I removed the corner of the blanket covering the stump of her arm “What are you doing?” I heard Bolt say, but I ignored him simply saying “Helping” As i brought the plate to Glory’s shoulder i pulled a soul stone out of my pocket and put it in the locking grooves, when i did this my sight changed so i was now seeing Glory’s nervous system. I started working automatically, drawing runes in the air out of blue energy, and doing a incantation under my breath. Part ways though Glory awoke with a shout of pain, but i keeped down and said “please miss Glory stay still, i’m almost done.” I then set the plate against Glory’s stump causing her to shout again and hiss, as the bandages around and over the wound burned away and the flesh grew at a rapid rate to meet the plate, her bones fused to the plate with the smell of burning flesh followed by the flesh and skin, and then I watched as her nerves reached out and connected to the plate as the runes glew to a dazzling brilliance! And then it was done, my vision returned to normal, and Glory was no longer in pain    She reached over and felt around the plate as i looked it over, to make sure nothing was out of place, the flesh had melded perfectly as the runes glow to signify that they are working, i stand up and walk back to my forge to sit down, as i do i hear glory ask me “what-how is it suppose to help?” “That miss glory, is a connection plate for a magi-tech arm.” I replied leaning back on the forge “oh I'm getting to old for this” That's when storm piped up “ mister Arthur, how old are you?” “Storm! mind your manners!” bolt said in a harsh whisper “I don't mind bolt, and last I counted somewhere over 20,000” “Woah!” Both storm and rose said at the same time “Indeed. Now go bring your mother some food, while I whip up a arm” I said finding my second wind The New arm needs to be something durable, lightweight, and pretty, we are talking about a cybernetic arm for a woman here. After some thought I decided to go for something like this Something fancy yet practical, a nice balance everyone should have. But what to make it out of, I know how about some of that adamantium as the skeleton, ceramite and plasteel for the outer casing, and to make it move a combination of solenoids, servos, and pseudo muscles, and now to make it "Honestly this thing's going to take awhile to make maybe 3 or 4 days, sorry guys looks like you're staying here for that time"I say apologetically "It's fine Mr ironbeard, I thank you for your assistance but we wouldn't want to impose any longer" steel bolt said as he finished his breakfast "Nonsense young man, I insist, that I at the very least give your wife a new arm" I said putting on my best stubborn Grandpa voice "(Sigh) fine. But at least allow me to help with the creation of my wife's arm." Bolt said at first dejected but then his voice transitioned into one of determination I just smiled as I said "very well boy, grab a hammer and that ingot over there" I pointed towards the adamantium ingot sitting on the counter with a couple other ingots "Right" he said nodding as he went to grab the ingots and picked up one of my spare hammers