The Bystander

Chapters

Moving Day
Canterlot
Hello and Goodbye
Welcome To Ponyville
Mare in the Moon
The Ticket Master Part 1

Moving Day

13 Years Before the NNM Incident

In a room surrounded by boxes, a ten year old pegasus pony is packing up the last of his things. He doesn't have too many things because his father was always taking jobs that required the family to move. This pony is midnight black and has dark red mane. His cutie mark is an anvil with a hammer striking the anvil with sparks coming out of the point of impact

The black pegasus lives with his family that consists of his mother and father. His father is Flawless Thunder and he works with storm clouds. Flawless was always finding better and safer ways to produce storm clouds. With this special talent, he moved up the hierarchy which caused the family to move with him. The mother’s name is Virtuous Heart. She stays at home, doing house work like cleaning, cooking, teaching her son life lessons. She holds her values and morals close to her, and plans on installing them in the young colt’s mind.

Flawless has recently taken a new job that requires him to be close to other head pegasi that deal with the weather. Unfortunately, this means that they are moving to Canterlot. The young pegasus knows it is the capital city of Equestia, but neither he, nor his mother, have ever seen the city in person. Flawless has already moved there around three months. He is now waiting for the school year to finish so his son and wife could move. Virtuous just have to finish packing the last of their belongings and loaded on the carriage.

The colt was just alone with his thoughts and boxes until a voice killed said silence. "Iron! Are you done yet?" asked his sometimes overbearing mother. Iron never truly got along with his mother when it came to work.

*sigh* “Yes! I was just thinking a bit, but it is all here ready to go!" His voice sounded through the house with a tinge of annoyance, that could be detected by a deaf pony. ‘Is a moment to myself too much to ask for?’ he thought. Iron looked around for a final check to make sure he was right. He knew he would never hear the end of it if he was wrong. It never helped that he hardly ever was. Iron looked high and low and found nothing was missing and the room was empty.

Virtuous walked into his room and stood by the doorway, her yellow coat reflected the sunlight. Her mane was navy blue with aqua at the end. It was not an overly long mane, just long enough to pass her shoulders. Her wings have seen better days. Living in the city she hardly ever got any use out them. That did not stop her from teaching Iron how to fly. Cloudsdale was the last place she really flew before she moved to Fillydelphia.

She saw her son looking around for a final inspection. "You all set?" asked his mother. "The carriage is out front, and if you need help, the movers are just in the living room." She stated knowing full well he would be out there asking for some help.

"Alright." Iron said, not fully paying attention. "Now, will you tell me one more time where and why are we moving to Canterlot?" he asked feeling a bit of doubt about the whole move.

"Well" Virtuous began, "Your father is working for the Canterlot weather factory, teaching ponies how to improve the storm cloud production. Since he is working with some highly regarded ponies, we will be staying close to the castle. Now, why did you need me to tell you this.... again?" Virtuous asked.

"I just wanted to make sure it was a good reason to leave a place where I made friends and found my cutie mark. I mean, we have lived here for four years! Why do we have to leave when we have finally started to settle down here?" Iron asked a bit more upset than he would let anypony believe.

"Don't worry about your friends. You can always make new ones and I can promise you that there is no where else your father could possibly go that would be better than where he is right now." She reassured her son with a confident smile covering her muzzle. She has given this speech many times before. The only difference between this one and all the others in the past was the fact that Flawless had gone as high up as he could. Her son would not buy that so she decided to pull out her ace in the hole "Plus, I figured you would like to know that we will not be far from the royal forge."

Iron perked up a bit with this new information. "Really?" he asked with a small smile. He was still sad that he was leaving his friends behind but they already exchanged his goodbyes. However, the thought of being close to the royal forge filled him with a newfound hope.

"Really," answered his mother. She walked over and gave her son a meaningful hug. With a quick thank you, Iron was out the door to look for the ponies that were supposed to be helping with the boxes.

The movers walked into Iron’s old room and started to move the rest of the boxes to the carriage. Iron and his mother then jumped to the front while the drivers got themselves situated. Once hitched up, the drivers started to bring the carriage to the Fillydelphia train station. The trip to the station was spent in silence as both ponies said their own goodbyes to the city they have come to call home.

Once they arrived at the train station, the luggage ponies then unloaded the carriage while Iron and Virtuous boarded their correct train, each with their own saddlebags.

Iron spent five minutes looking out the window and talking with his mother till the conductor finally call the last chance to board the train. A few moments went by without a pony screaming to hold the train. The conductor climbed aboard and waved at the pony in the engine to signal that they were all set. The train started with a lurch and started to head down the tracks to the next stop. It would be a few hours till the train would reach Canterlot. With that in mind the young colt decided to doze off. He was falling asleep and the only noise he heard was the ringing of a hammer hitting an anvil.

Author's Note

So I went back and re-wrote this because it was down right awful. I hope this one is more appealing

This is my first story that I have ever tried to write. I would love it if anyone and everyone would point out every mistake that I made. Also, thank you for reading this. Depending on how this goes will really the thing determining how it often this will be updated. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. I can't get better without knowing what you think.

Canterlot

13 Years Before The NNM Incident (Canterlot)

The gentle rumbling of the train made it easy to fall asleep. The window was a bit warmer than one would like and was not very comfortable to lean on. Iron made due with what he had to sleep soundly. He was dreaming about working in his very own forge, creating some of the most spectacular suites of armor for the royal guard. He was working on finishing up a helmet when one of his apprentices walked over to commend him on his job well done. However when the apprentice opened his mouth the only words that came out were ‘Wake up’. The voice of his mother came out of the apprentice’s mouth.

“What?” Iron asked feeling really confused.

“Wake up.” It was a little bit more forceful. Iron started to feel a tremor throughout his world. He looked around and noticed his reality was being ripped apart. He was now aware that his dreams have ended and his mother was trying to wake him up.

“Mmmm, five more minutes,” he mumbled, hoping that his mom would take the hint. He stuffed his face into his forelegs to try and block out his mother and the sun that would shine in his eyes if they were open.

“Hey, we’re here,” she said, ignoring her son’s silent pleas. “Don’t make me have to wake you.” A mischievous smile spread across her face knowing the sure fire way to wake her son up whether he wanted to or not. Her son, however, did not have any motivation to wake up from his nap. “Ok, prepare to be awake!” His mother pounced on Iron, tickling him in several points on his body. Iron jolted awake, laughing his head off.

“Stop hahahaha p-p-please s-stop hahahaha,” he managed to get out while screaming in laughter. Virtuous did not let up on the tickle assault on her son. His pleas for help devolved into more laughter than coherent words.

After a minute of constant tickling torture, Virtuous stopped and let her son catch his breath. His breathing was a mix on large inhales mixed with giggles. He did his best glare at his mother, who threw up an innocent smile in return.

“Oh come on now,” his mother pleaded, “It wasn’t that bad. Besides, with the way you keep on laughing, I am starting to believe you like it when I wake you up like this.” She prodded her son on the shoulder. “Why don’t you look out the window. There is something that you might want to see.”

Iron rubbed the rest of the sleep out from his eyes and squinted out the window. His eyes slowly grew wider and widened with awe as he spied the capital of Equestia. The city was sitting on the side of a mountain with all it’s glory. Its ivory towers glistening in the sunlight. The tall white buildings giving the city shape. The streets looked packed full of citizens going about their busy day. Finally, the palace was towering over all the buildings and shops. Its towers giving off the feel of security while the guards walk on patrol. The armor the guards were wearing glimmering from the sun. Iron could only imagine how they were able to make such masterpieces out of the crude metal that the forge was probably given. Iron eyed every bit the city had to offer to a newcomer.

He continued to watch the city in nothing less than pure wonder until he was interrupted by his mother. “Come on and get your things. We will be at the station any time now,” Virtuous said.

They gathered their saddle bags and waited for the train to pull into the station. The station was a bit crowded because of the end of the school year. Ponies lined up and down waiting for the correct train to begin their vacation. The doors slid open letting the passengers exit the train. To say Iron was giddy with joy would be a massive understatement. He was ready to run around and explore his new home. Of course, being raised as a strict rule follower by his mother kept him right next to her.

As they left the train, Virtuous walked up to a desk to give some instructions to the ponies that were going to unload the luggage. She wanted the boxes to be loaded up onto a carriage that was supposed to be there. With a nod, the pony gave the instructions to the others that were supposed to unload the luggage cars. Virtuous said thank you and walked away from the desk to a bench. Flawless was supposed to meet them at the station, but with the amount of ponies there, it would be hard to find a specific pony in the crowd.

Eventually the crowd died down when they boarded the train. Virtuous and Iron got up from the bench and started to look for Flawless. After a few minutes of exploring, they found him standing next to the door of the station. He was a large brown stallion pegasus. His had a dark blue mane that was combed back. At a distance, his mane could be mistaken for black. He was looking back and forth hoping that he did not miss his family in the crowd.

“Hey dad!” Iron yelled. Flawless looked around trying to find the voice of his son. With a wave, Iron was able to draw his father’s attention. A smile spread across the father’s face. Flawless trotted over to his son and wife, drawing them in with a hug. Hello’s and how are you’s were passed around to catch up on the time they all spent from one another.

“Well, I bet you are a bit tired from the trip,” Flawless said “Come on, I will show you the house.” Flawless motioned for his wife and son to follow him to their new home.

Iron looked back at his saddle bag to make sure he was not missing anything. Satisfied that he did not misplace any of his belongings, he looked back at his parents. Virtuous and Flawless were already making their way down the street. A sense of urgency washed over Iron as he ran to catch up with his parents. When Iron was a comfortable distance from his mother and father, he began to take in the city.

There were shops of all sorts ranging from home decor to fancy clothing stores. They all seemed to match that ivory color the city was famous for. The color scheme gave off a high society feeling of perfection and cleanliness. ‘Man, I knew this place was supposed to be all fancy, but dang! I didn’t think it was THAT fancy,’ he thought to himself. He was not shy about dressing up in a suit but he never had that many chances to wear one. He then took in the sweet smells of food. Turning to his right, he noticed that he was passing by a bakery. “I’ll have to remember this place. It smells really good,” he murmured to himself, trying to lock in the location in his mind.

While eyeing the stores and restaurants, Iron noticed something that made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Almost every pony he passed was an unicorn. Iron looked to his left and right to confirm his worries. Walking up and down the street were brightly colored ponies, some with fancy clothing on, that all shared the same trait, a horn on their head. Iron shifted his wings, feeling uncomfortable without a sharp magical rod poking out of his head. Not to say Iron did not want wings. He loved his wings and would never think about parting with them, but in a city full of unicorns… he would feel a bit better if he had a horn.

Distracted by his silent wishes to Celestia for a horn, he caught himself before he ran into his no longer moving parents. Iron looked at his new home while his parents talked about ‘adult stuff’. The ‘house’, if you could call it that, was a three stories tall and painted in that ivory color Canterlot loved so much. The yard out front was nothing too special. It looked like any old lawn with a cobblestone path, that lead to the front door. There was a single tree on the right side of the house that was fairly close to one of the windows. He could see a small balcony on the third story near the tree. This thing was more like a small mansion than a house.

He looked around to see the neighborhood that his family would be staying in. He saw large houses that looked the same all around him. Being around realtors enough, he came to the conclusion that this was a cookie cutter type of neighborhood. Iron was not a fan on living in similar houses and doing similar things as other ponies. As he continued to look around he set his eyes on the castle. ‘I never thought the castle would be this big!’ He continued to eye the castle up and down till he felt a gentle nudge bring him back from his thoughts. He looked over to see his parents looking at him, as if waiting to have a question answered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” he admitted, giving a sheepish smile.

“That’s alright,” said his father. “I just asked for your opinion on the house.” Flawless pointed towards the house that they would call home.

Iron started to rub his forelegs nervously, trying to find a way to say his opinion without sounding rude. “I think the house looks great,” Iron replied. “Although, I don’t really care for everyponys' houses to look the same. It seems pretty… spooky” He recalled the horror movies he and his friends snuck off to watch. One in particular had the victims stranded and they took shelter in a subdivision where all the houses looked alike and there was a serial killer walking down the street. He didn’t get to see the finish movie having ran home because he was so scared. ‘Yeah… don’t want to end up like those ponies,’ he shivered in thought.

“Well, it may not look like much now, but with your mother’s touch. She will be able to separate us from the other houses on this street,” Flawless said. Iron dropped down a little and formed a small frown. He was not looking forward to his mother’s ‘touch’. The way his father said it implies that his mother will be doing work, but Iron knew he would be the one working while his mother simply pointed and did the small jobs. Flawless saw the drop in his son’s demeanor and sought to rectify his mistake. “Hey now, cheer up. I have a surprise for you tomorrow,” he said. Iron immediately dropped his frown and looked up at his father with pleading eyes.

“What!? What is it!? What did you get me!? Tell me!” Iron screamed, giddy with anticipation.

Flawless thought over if he should give the ‘then it wouldn’t be a surprise’ speech. He turned to his son who was making the biggest puppy dog eyes possible. If not to make matters worse, Iron started to quiver his lips only to add his assault on his father. ‘Damnit!’ Flawless made the mistake of looking at his son’s eyes. Flawless couldn’t leave Iron with nothing but he really didn’t want to spoil the surprise. As quick and witty as Flawless was, he was coming up short until it hit him. “I have someone I want you to meet.” Flawless was celebrating his small victory while his son pondered who would his want him to meet. “By the way, where is your mother?” he attempted a topic change. The last either of them remembered, she was right beside Flawless. They each took a quick look around wondering where she wandered off to, until Iron pointed at the open front door.

“I think she went inside,” Iron pointed out. He guessed his mother was a bit more tired than she let on back at the station. ‘If it wasn’t for my nap on the train, I would have been right behind her.’ “Could I get a tour of the house?” Iron asked his father.

“Sure thing,” Flawless responded with a quick nod. As they walked towards the door, Iron could tell his father did very minimal yard work. There were patches of crab grass sprouting scattered around the yard. He ,nor his father were very big on yard work. That was something, oddly enough, Virtuous would always do to help her keep in shape.

When they reached the open door, the first thing that came to Iron’s mind was ‘clean’. The house looked spotless. The wooden flooring reflected the light of the sun while smells of lemon found its way into Iron’s nostrils. Looking up from the floor, he saw a staircase in front of him, leading to the bedrooms. To his left he saw what looked like a dining room. They walked through the dining room and found themselves in the kitchen. It was attached to the dining room with an open layout theme. The kitchen was stocked with modern appliances and lightly stained cabinets. It looked relatively clean, but the counters could have been wiped a bit more.

They continued to walk through the kitchen and found the living room. It was a large room with a couple of La-Z-Colt recliners and a single couch. They each had their own end tables with a lamp on top. There were a few throw pillows on the couch and a single blanket draped down the middle where the two cushions met. Against the wall opposite of the chairs sat a bookshelf. The bookshelf was not that full, only a few books on each shelf, and the occasional knick knack. Iron knew those books were only some of the many books his dad decided to bring. Though there were only a few on the shelves, they were the only fiction books Flawless took with him.

The young colt asked to see his bedroom next, so he and his father headed towards the stairs near the front entry. When Iron almost reached the second floor, he heard a faint snoring. “I think I found mom,” he said with a small smile on his face. He was not going to let his mom live this down for a long time. His mother always complained about how his father would snore loudly during the night, but never once would she admit to snoring herself. ‘Looks like I have a bit of ammo against mom now,’ he thought to himself.

“Yeesh. I didn’t think she was THAT tired,” said Flawless. “However, it looks like I am not the only one that snores though,” he added with a smile of his own. He knew she would complain to Iron about his snoring, but now he was just waiting for the perfect time to get back at his wife.

The stallion motioned up the stairs towards the third story. As they walked up the stairs, the snoring became died down. When they reached the top, they could no longer hear the snoring of Virtuous somepony. “Your room is the last door on the right.” Flawless pointed down the hall. “I am going to take a nap along with your mother. See you at dinner” With a short wave and yawn, he made his way down the stairs to cuddle up with his wife.

Iron looked down the hall and headed for his room. There were three doors on the left side and only two on the right side. He trotted down the hall and stopped at his door. With a light push, the door opened and revealed his room. He had a queen sized bed with bright sheets and a brightly colored blanket. The headboard was made out of wood and shaped as a rectangle. He had a nightstand on either side of the bed, but they did not have anything on them. Across from his bed was a desk. It was made out of wood and stained a light brown to match the rest of the room. It had a lamp and what looked like a draw board laying on the top. Iron knew this was his father’s way to say he was sorry he had to move away for three months. To his left, a wide dresser sat against the wall. It was the same color as the headboard and desk. It could have supported a mirror but his father knew he would not like that. It would be to girly for Iron.

He noticed directly across the room, there was a double door with curtains opened to let the light in. There were a couple of windows next to the doors that also let some light in. Iron walked across the room, avoiding the boxes that the movers moved in while walking to the house. He opened the double doors and saw that he got the room with the balcony. He looked around to see the city and palace shimmering in the setting sunlight. An orange and yellow hue spread across the once blue sky. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The only interruption to this canvas was the tree he noticed when he walked in the house. It was close to the edge of the balcony but far enough that he would have to glide to the closest branch.

The colt walked back inside and started to unload his boxes. Most of them were just filled with sketches and books that dealt with working with metal. He didn’t like to read often but for some reason he would prefer non-fiction to fiction. He used to read a bunch about dangerous animals like timberwolves and manticores. Now, he tries to improve his craft, evens though he has no forge to use yet. The rest of the boxes were full of bathroom supplies and some nice clothing.

He walked across the hall to the closest door on the left side of the hall to find out this was the bathroom. The bathroom had a toilet, sink and a shower that had a sliding glass door. Iron brought back the box that had all his toiletries back in his room and stored all his belongings.

Iron was called downstairs for dinner. They had sandwiches that night since nopony waned to cook anything. The meal was short and Iron decided to turn in for the night. His parents said their goodnights since they had a nap already. Iron shut his door and drew the curtains to a close, making the room as black as his coat. He tucked himself in and drifted off to sleep, wondering who his father wanted him to meet.

Author's Note

So, I hope you enjoy chapter two. It is a bit dry but I plan on having some cool stuff happen next chapter.

Hello and Goodbye

13 Years Before the NNM Incident

Today was a new day. The birds were chirping. The ponies were out in the streets getting ready for work. The sun was shining… right through the curtains of an annoyed Iron. As closed as curtains could get, they always seemed to hit that one spot that shines right into anypony’s eyes. This was the case for Iron.

‘Why can I never sleep in? What did I do to you Celestia?’ Iron tossed and turned in his bed, trying to fall back asleep. After a few minutes of flipping, he gave up. Throwing the sheets off himself, Iron trudged to the bathroom. He turned the knob on the shower and jumped in. He, however, didn’t wait for it to warm up before putting his body under the stream of icy cold water. With a manly yelp, Iron jumped back out of the shower. ‘Well, I am awake now.’ After a few moments of waiting, he took a comfortable shower. The colt brushed his teeth and all his other bathroom needs after drying off.

He walked downstairs and poured himself a bowl of “Honey Oats”. His dad had already left for work. Iron munched on his oats, lost in thought. He put his empty dish in the sink and walked into the living room. His mother was sitting in one of the La-Z-Colt chairs, reading a book. He trotted in and flopped onto the couch.

“Hey mom.” Iron was looking up at the ceiling trying to figure out something to do.

“Hello Iron. How are you doing today?” Virtuous replied.

“Bored,” he stated. “Dad said he wanted me to meet somepony today, but he didn’t say when or where.” Iron was a bit annoyed from the lack of information his father held from him. ‘You would think that when trying to meet somepony that you would, at least, tell the pony when and where to met them.’

“Oh yes, your father did mention something about that,” she began. “He is going to pick you up for lunch.”

‘Oh… well nevermind’ Iron looked over to the clock at the wall. It was 9:21 right now. “When he gets home, tell him I will be in my room.” With a sigh, he got up and walked up to his room. He pulled out a pencil and paper on his desk and started to draw some metalwork designs.

Lunchtime rolled around faster than Iron would have liked. He was working on a spear that looked like what the royal guard used. Trying to finish up his sketch, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Iron furrowed his eyebrows and let out a sigh. ‘I was THIS close to finishing.’ He opened the door to reveal his father.

“Hey there. I hope I am not interrupting anything,” Flawless said.

“No no, you're not. It’s not like I can’t work on it later.” Flawless raised an eyebrow, but had nothing to say. A sudden wave of excitement crashed into Iron as he remembered that his father was going to show somepony to him. “So, who is this pony you want me to see,” Iron asked, trying to be as sly as possible. In truth, he could always come back to drawing. However, he REALLY wanted to know who his father wanted to surprise him with.

“Like I said before, it is a surprise,” Flawless teased. Anytime he would be around Iron, he would always try to tease him in some way. It was something they have both grown used to. Their father son bond was always strengthened by it. Iron knew his dad loved it when he squirmed cause of something his father said, but he also knew it was all in good fun.

“So why are you standing there? I want to know.” Iron all but pushed his father down the stairs and out the door. “DADISTAKINGMEOUTTOLUNCHSEEYOULATERMOM!” With a slam, Iron and Flawless were out on the streets of Canterlot to visit this secret pony.

“So, um… *gulp* H-He is in there?” Iron felt very nervous where his father was taking him. He thought he was going to a restaurant or maybe a shop in the city, but not here. This is the last place he would ever expect his father to take him. They were standing in front of the gate that lead to the royal palace.

“Well, you know I work here often. So, why wouldn’t he be?” Flawless had to work hard to not fall over laughing at his son’s sudden wave of nervousness. He, however, could not hold back the grin on his face. “Well c’mon. He won’t be waiting forever you know.” He nudged his son forward towards the gate. Iron hesitantly walked forward. The colt was sweating bullets as he walked by the guards. Flawless just smiled and gave a nod towards the guards. The armored stallions have seen Flawless enough to let him through without trouble. The only reason they didn’t stop him from bringing in the young colt was because the day before he told them he was bringing his son in. The guards returned the nod and returned to their emotionless stature.

With Flawless taking the lead, Iron was almost hugging his father’s leg. His ears were splayed back accompanied by his tail between his legs. The natural wonderment of the colt was all but canceled by the overwhelming fear and nervousness of being inside the royal castle. ‘Why am I so nervous? So what I am in the castle where every major decision in history is made. So what the princess happens to live here. So what… Ok, that isn’t helping.’ Iron was sweating so many bullets that he was afraid one might shoot off into an eye of a guard. He was always proud of the fact he was able to remain calm in tough situations, but this was on a whole new level. The only thing that brought Iron out of his self destructive thoughts was the fact that his father stopped walking.

“Well, if it isn’t Gallant Knight. What have you been up to?” Iron looked up to see his father talking to a strange unicorn.

“Flawless! I have been good you crazy stallion.” Gallant gave Flawless a high hoof before looking at the scared colt hiding behind his friend. “And who is this little guy?” he gestured towards Iron.

“Ah yes! Gallant, this is my son, Iron Smoke,” Flawless stated. He moved out of the way for Gallant to get a good look at his son. “Iron, this is Gallant Knight, captain of the royal guard.”

If Iron’s jaw could have fallen off, it would already be sitting on the floor. ‘C-C-C-Captain of the royal guard!?!’ His brain took a few moments to reboot in order to process the new information. After a quick system check, Iron gathered as much courage as possible. “H-Hello. It’s n-nice to meet you Captain Knight.” He didn’t quite know how to proceed. So, when in doubt, bow.

A chuckle broke the silence. Iron looked up to see Gallant, a smile spread across his face. “Please, I am not the princess. You don’t have to bow to me. As much as I appreciate the jester, a wave or hoofshake would be fine,” Gallant said, “It is nice to meet you to Iron.” The captain looked over to Flawless before starting again. “So is he here to see…” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence due to Flawless’s forehoof in his mouth.

“Yes, he is here to see him,” Flawless said, removing his hoof from his friends mouth. “And I would like it if you DON’T spoil the surprise.” Gallant was re-adjusting his jaw while Flawless doned a sheepish grin.

Gallant sported a smile of his own. “Well then, don’t let me keep you waiting.” He then turned his attention back to Iron. “And I am sure we will see each other again.” He kneeled down to be eye level with Iron. “If you ever need anything, just ask for Gallant Knight, and I will be there.” Iron smiled and nodded. Gallant stood up and walked down the hallway after saying goodbye.

Iron and his father started to walk down the hallway again. “Soooo, when where you going to tell me you knew, I don’t know, THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD!?” Iron was more than annoyed that his father decided to keep this tidbit of information to himself.

Flawless, once again, had to hold in the urge to laugh at his son’s misfortunes. That did not stop him from putting on a shit eating grin. “I was going to mentioned it later.” Iron was not satisfied with the answer. ‘And the father son bond grows stronger’ Iron thought.

As they walked down the maze of hallways, they could hear the faint ringing of hammers hitting metal. Flawless kept up his grin while Iron was wondering where his father was taking him. The hallway was starting to heat up and the hammers were getting louder. The gears in Iron’s head were turning. Then, he came to the realization that he was heading towards, “THE FORGE!?” Iron didn’t know how many more surprises he could take before his heart would give out.

“Well, where else would you want me to take you?” It was an honest question. The only place in the palace that Iron would ever want to go was the forge.

They kept walking towards the door. Flawless knocked on the door a few times. The hammering did not stop, but the door glowed an orangish color before opening. When the door opened, a wave of heat hit both ponies. After wiping their watery eyes, both ponies noticed a figure in the doorway. He had an reddish orange coat and a pure white mane. He looked a few years older than Iron.

“You the guys that Steel said was comin’?” the strange unicorn asked. Iron finally was able to tell that the unicorn was wearing a heavy apron. ‘Is he a royal blacksmith?’ Iron was full of so many questions.

“Yes, I spoke with him about a week ago,” Flawless spoke up, “and this is my son Iron Smoke.” Flawless pushed his son in front of him to take in the unicorn. Iron gave a small, almost sheepish, smile along with a wave.

The mystery unicorn put on a smile. “Ah, well, hey Iron. My name is Bronze weld, but you can just call me Bronze.” Bronze stuck out his hoof. Iron finished the gesture by connecting their hooves.

“Well, I can see you two hit it off. I have to get back to work,” said Flawless. He already knew that his son was in good hooves. He has been talking to Steel ever since he arrived in Canterlot. Steel was a good pony and Flawless trusted him with his son. He turned to Iron and said, “I will come after work to pick you up, is that ok?” As if he had to ask.

Iron gave a nod to his father. He may have been social around his friends, but the colt was shy around ponies he didn’t know. It took his father being there for him to say any words to Gallant. It didn’t help he was also captain of the royal guard. His father gave him a hug and a pat on the head, and with that Flawless was out the door. Now, Iron and Bronze were in the doorway eyeing each other. Iron bit his bottom lip and kicked his front leg. Trying to break the insufferable silence between the two ponies, Iron tried his luck.

“So… who is Steel?” asked the colt. Iron always hated silence. There was just something about the lack of noise that just didn’t sit right with the colt. True, there was still the ringing of hammers in the background, but it didn’t help when looking right at a pony.

Bronze waved for Iron to come inside. He then closed the door and waved for Iron to follow. “Steel is the one in charge of the forge. Me and Tin are his apprentices.” As they walked towards the ringing of the hammer.

“Who is Tin?” Iron asked.

“That would be me.” A scratchy female voice cut through the noise of the hammer. Iron turned around to see an off silver earth pony. She was Bonze’s age and had muscle definition. Not that Iron would pay attention to her appearance. He didn’t care for girls yet. Tin stuck out her hoof the same as Bronze did when he introduced himself. “The name’s Tin, Tin Strike.”

Iron returned the hoofshake. “I’m Iron, Iron Smoke.” He was still nervous, but he was already pushed out of his comfort zone. So, he decided to try and suck it up, and deal with it. ‘If I get lucky and get to work here, I will be seeing these ponies everyday. Might as well get to know these ponies.’ “So, how did you guys get to work here?” Iron was hoping for some tips for getting to work here.

“Well, Bronze here got in by getting caught by some royal guards after he broke into the forge.” Iron looked over to Bronze who sported a prideful grin and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah.. I really wanted to work on some designs I had but this is the only forge that has all the materials I needed. So I broke in and started working on a cool sword. Unfortunately, the guards didn’t share my… enthusiasm. They brought me and my sword to Steel. He waved the guards away and asked if I wanted to work for him. Obviously I said yes. So, here I am.” Iron’s attention never left Bronze as he recalled how he got into the forge.

“He still hasn’t learned to stay out of trouble yet,” Tin said, playfully hitting Bronze on the shoulder. “But, I still love him like a brother. Now, let’s see. How did I get in?” Tin tapped her forehoof under her chin trying to recall how she started working.

“Well, I was out at other blacksmith shops, looking for some inspiration. That’s when I found you and asked if you wanted to work for me. Of course you said yes, or how would you be hear now?” A new voice cut in the conversation. Iron just noticed that he no longer heard the ringing of the hammer. He turned to see an older looking unicorn with a hammer sitting in the unicorn’s tool belt. “Hello there... Iron?” He was looking down at the young colt who nodded. “I am Steel Hammer, the royal forge master. I see you have already met my apprentices Bronze and Tin.” The only thing Iron could do was nod in agreement.

“Yup! We were just telling him about how we got to work here.” Bronze stepped in for the colt. Iron was thanking Bronze silently for helping him out. As much as a pony could suck it up, Iron was still nervous around new ponies.

“Ah, well, did you tell him about that one pony who got in because his father is a friend of mine?” Steel inwardly chuckled. He hoped Iron would pick up on his meaning.

This hope was lost on the colt, who turned back towards Bronze with a raised eyebrow. Bronze only shrugged. He didn’t know who Steel was talking about. Bronze turned towards Tin, who was in the middle of a facehoof. Tin grabbed Bronze’s ear and whispered something into it. Bronze donned a face as he just had an epiphany, then promptly facehoofed.

While those two were working over Bronze’s problem, Iron tried to solve the problem himself. ‘Bronze said only he and Tin worked here. Bronze got here cause he broke it. Tin got here cause apparently she showed some kind of talent or something. The only other one here is me, and I got her cause my dad brought… me… here…’ Iron’s eyes went wide as he was also struck with an epiphany.

“W-Wait! D-Did you m-mean me?” Iron asked cautiously. He did not want to overstep his bounds. He was new here after all.

Steel nodded and hoofed over an apron that was Iron’s size. “I trusted your dad when he said you would work hard, and I will always welcome a pony who will work hard.” Iron put on the apron, mindful of his wings. “So, you want to help me with my project?” With a nod and a toothy smile, Iron agreed. “Alright, if you come with me I will…”

*Knock Knock Knock*

The knocks interrupted Steel as he turned towards the door. Bronze was already on his way to the door. The door took the orange color that Iron saw when he came in. As the door opened Iron almost threw up his forehooves and yelled in frustration. The universe was not kind to Iron that day. It was always one surprise after another. This time, the universe threw out it’s trump card… Princess Celestia.

Iron only heard the stories of what the princess looked like, but seeing it first hoof was something completely different. She was by far the tallest pony he has ever seen. She towered over everypony in the room. Her multi-colored mane flowed in the non existent breeze. Her coat was as white as new fallen snow and her regalia was a brightly polished gold. Iron looked away from her to see how the others were handling the situation. He almost cried out in horror to see he was the only one not bowing. Iron quickly lowered himself as close to the ground as he could possible get.

“Arise my little ponies. You know that you do not have to bow to me when I come and visit.” Her voice had a motherly tone to it. It made Iron feel safe and secure. Her voice seemed to rush all his anxieties away. That is, until she looked directly at Iron. “Oh! And who is this young one?” Her smile never left her face.

“This is Flawless’s colt. I am sure you heard him mention that he was bringing his son in today,” Steel spoke up. He has worked in the castle long enough to be able to talk to the princess like any normal pony.

“Oh yes. I do remember him mentioning something along those lines.” Celestia turned her attention back to the black colt. “What is your name little one?”

“I-I’m Iron… Iron S-Smoke.” Her voice helped push back the nerves, but they were still fighting for control.

“Well, let me be the first to formally welcome you to Canterlot. I do hope you have a pleasant time while you are here. You will be working for Steel I take it?”

Iron felt the nerves start to melt away under her gaze. The mention of working for the royal blacksmith filled Irons heart with glee as he responded. “Yes!... I mean… yes, he offered me to work for him.” Iron almost slapped himself for almost yelling in the princess’s face.

“That is good news. I hope that I will be seeing you around the castle then.” Her smile never faded in addition to being genuine. She looked back to Steel before starting again. “I am just wanting to know how much longer before my new slippers are done.”

Steel stared off into space for a moment before he answered her. “It should be done by tomorrow if all things go right.”

The princess was about to respond before a huge explosion sounded throughout the forge. The walls shook and some of the tools started to rattle against their hooks. Iron looked out the window just long enough to notice a faint rainbow disappearing into the sky.

“I am sorry to cut this meeting short Steel, but I must see to what caused that noise. I will be back to pick up my slippers tomorrow. It was nice to meet you Iron.”

“It was nice to meet you too princess.” Iron was still a bit phased from the explosion outside for his nerves to surface. She gave a small nod before heading out the door. Iron just sat there pondering over what he just saw. ‘A giant rainbow explosion? That doesn’t make any sense!’ Iron would have started thinking more of this if Steel didn’t pull him from his thoughts.

“Sorry bout that. She comes in here maybe once every few weeks to check up on something,” Steel said. Then he leaned over and added, “She can be a bit of a worry wort.” Steel chuckled at his own little jab at the princess, which brought out a small smile on Iron’s face. “So! If you want to help me out here is what you can do.” Steel started listing off all the things Iron was going to be helping out with for that day. As Steel was talking, only one thing was going through Iron’s mind. ‘This is going to be the best job ever!’

4 Years Before The NNM Incident

Iron was right that day. He loved every bit about his job. Iron found out his best job in the forge was shaping the raw metal into a usable shape for either Tin or Bronze to work on. Hitting the raw metal created sparks similar to how his cutie mark showed. Iron was the first pony to handle the metal when an order came it. He wasn’t limited to just forming the metal. Steel made sure Iron got the full experience and training to become a royal blacksmith.

Bronze and Tin became siblings to Iron while Steel became like a second father. Celestia made regular trips to the forge ever since they day Iron first showed up. She would always be there in case he needed some advice but was too embarrassed to ask either of his parents. He thought of her as the cool aunt that could relate to him, even though they were incredibly different. In a way, the forge became a second home to Iron. He made a few friends in school, but none as close are Tin or Bronze. Every day after school. The colt would go home, drop off his school saddle bag, grab a snack, and head to the forge.

The black stallion was now working on a more delicate project. As much as Iron loved to work with armor or weapons for the guard. Steel made a habit of giving his apprentices some work for the local jewelry store down the street. This was the one projects that Iron, Bronze, and Tin loathed to do.

Iron was shaping some of the last chains for the necklace that he was commissioned to do. ‘Of course I had to come in early and get thrown the pain in the flank project.This job is better suited for a unicorn. I don’t have the magic to be as precise as Bronze or Steel.’ Steel never let anypony in his forge use magic as an excuse. The voice of Steel echoed through Iron’s head, ‘If you can’t make it with your own two hooves, magic is not going to help.’ Iron was roused from his thoughts when the doors opened. A smug looking Bronze walked through the door.

“I should have known you would get here first,” Bronze said, giving a playful pat on the back. “You practically live here.”

Bronze was an interesting friend to say the least. He had a habit of getting into bad relationships. This would prove an interesting show when Iron and Tin watched the reddish orange colt run through the streets with an angry filly in tow. Just by leaning all the lessons from Bronze’s failed relationships, Iron was able to hold an encyclopedia of relationship information. How Bronze never was able to learn the same lessons was always a mystery for every pony around him.

“Had I known Steel was going to give me this to work on, I would have waited a bit before coming in.” It was good practice for detailing when working on jewelry. Even though Iron prefered to work on something guard related, he knew that he could use these talents to make elaborate patterns in the armor.

“I am with ya on that.” Bronze walked over to his station. After shuffling through his quota, Bronze decided to cut Iron some slack. “You know,” Bronze began, “I will need someone to form a couple of helmets…” Bronze trailed off, hoping that Iron would take the bait.

“Yeah, I could use a break from this chain.” Iron and Bronze had an understanding that only best friends could understand. Bronze hoofed over a list of what materials to use along with the dimensions that the helmets should be. Iron wasted no time heating up the forge till it was burning bright.

Iron was midway through the first helmet when he noticed somepony was missing. “Hey, where is Tin. I haven’t seen her all day.” Bronze responded with a shrug. It wasn’t like Tin to be late. “You sure? You guys usually get here around the same time.”

Bronze turned to Iron with an unamused face. “It is not like we set a time to meet up and plan on it. We just pass each other in the halls. Why are you worrying so much about this? I am sure she is fine.”

It was a good question. Why was he worrying so much about this? ‘I guess I just got use to her being here on time. You use to be able to set a clock to her.’ Iron felt like something was just… off today. He didn’t know why, but he had a bad feeling. Iron shrugged it off as working on Bronze’s task instead of the one he was assigned.

A few more minutes went by till the door opened again. Tin walked into the room with a conflicted face. It wasn’t the conflicted, “Should I tell my crush my feelings?” nor was it the, “What do I want to eat today?” The face she wore was of a mournful confliction.

She closed the door and walked over to where Iron was working. Her hooves were dragging across the floor as if she didn’t have the strenght to carry herself. “Hey Iron?” Her voice was raspy and just barely above a whisper.

Iron did not notice Tin when she walked into the room. After a few more swings of his hammer, Iron turned around to face Tin. “Hey Tin. Where have... you… Are you alright?” It wasn’t a question of if Tin was feeling bad. The answer was obvious on her face. Iron could see it clear as day. What Iron asked was a clever mask for the real question “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’m fine,” she lied. “The princess asked to see you though.” Iron raised an eyebrow at this. He knew she was lying through her teeth, but that is not what caught his attention. Princess Celestia never asked to see him. He always the one to search her out. If she ever wanted to speak to him, she would walk to the forge. She knew he practically lived there.

“Did she say why she wanted me?” Iron was feeling a little uneasy about how Tin was acting. She shook her head to say no. Iron hesitated for a moment, looking into Tin’s eyes. He put on a face full of concern. ‘Why is she acting like this? Did I do something wrong?’

As he turned towards the door, he felt her hoof hold him back. Iron was caught by surprise when she pulled him in for a hug. “Just remember that we are here for you. We love you.” This raised red flags in Iron’s mind. After a few confused moments, Iron pulled out of the hug and put a forehoof on Tin’s shoulder.

“Tin, you are starting to scare me.” Iron’s shaky voice was mixed with many emotions: confusion, concern, sadness, nervousness… nothing that set well with Iron.

“She is in her study,” Tin ignored him. Her expression never left her face. Without another word, she removed the hoof on her shoulder and made her way to her station.

‘Ok, she is starting to freak me out.’ Iron walked out the door, and headed towards Celestia’s study. ‘What in the world could have had her so… so… I don’t even have a word for it! She literally walked in like she had just seen a ghost. I have never seen her so… unnerved? No! She was just so… AAUGH! Am I overthinking this?’ Iron then recalled the face of Tin. ‘Not with the look on her face. That face just screamed… loss? What did she lose? Wait… she said “We will always be here for you.” What in the hay did she mean?... Did… Did I lose something?’ Iron was more than a bit scatterbrained over the matter.

Iron looked up to see he was at the princess’s study. He cautiously reached for the door and knocked. The entrance glew a goldish hue and the door opened only enough for Iron to walk through. The door shut behind him and the glow disappeared. Looking at the middle of the room sat two cushions. Celestia occupied one of these cushions.

“Come. Please sit.” She had no emotion in her voice. Her face held a neutral expression. Iron was able to tell something was bugging her. Celestia may have been able to forge a neutral face for noble ponies and dignitaries, but her eyes always gave her away, and Iron could tell. He slowly walked across the room and sat down in the cushion in front of the princess. “Iron… do you remember the day we met?”

To Iron, this was coming way out from left field, but he decided to take the princess’s lead. “Yes… You came in to check on your slippers.” Iron was trying to make the connection of what angle Celestia was getting at.

Celestia put on a sad smile. “You looked so cute that day. You couldn’t have been more than ten.” Iron would have blushed a bit if it hadn’t been for Tin’s face haunting his thoughts. “I also recall, a few weeks after you came and asked me for some advice.” He nodded in agreement. The advice he asked was what to get his parents for their anniversary. “Do you remember what I said that day?”

Iron remembered the conversation they had together. It was in the very room they were in now. The advice he asked for wasn’t life changing, but he was in a bind and had no pony else left to turn to. His memory wasn’t the greatest, but he recalled it was to give a gift from the heart. Iron was going to answer when the voice of the princess cut him off.

“I told you that you could come to me for anything. That anything said in this room would stay in this room.” Celestia’s eyes never met Iron’s. Her sad smile faded back to the neutral expression she had when he walked in.

Iron could now see the princess trying to find a way to avoid the elephant in the room. He decided to speak up. “Not to seem rude, but why did you ask me to see you?”

Once those words left his mouth, Celestia’s entire demeanor changed. Her neutral face turned to a frown. Her ever flowing mane wind stopped completely and fell over her shoulder. The colors faded enough to where one could still see three separate colors, but they were all hit with a touch of grey. Her eyes were starting to water. Iron felt terrified. He has never seen the princess this way before. She looked like she lost something very dear to her, and knew that it would never return.

“Your mother.” It was nothing more than a whisper, but that whisper caught Iron’s full attention. The face on the colt melted from scared to heartbroken. His mind raced with the thoughts of something happening to his mother. “H-Her… her heart failed…*sniff* S-She was taken... to the hospital. They c-” Celestia choked on the back of here throat. Iron felt himelf do the same, even though he was not the one talking.

“Couldn’t get her h-heart started again. T-They couldn’t save her. I… couldn’t save her.” Celestia’s eyes were now shedding tears. She no longer had the strength to carry on, but the hopeless look on Iron's face told her there was no need for her to continue. She wanted to cry out saying she was sorry. That she did everything she could to save his mother, but she lost her voice in the grief she and Iron were both feeling. The only thing she had the strength to do now was cry into her forelegs and blame herself for her failure.

That mare was her best friend for nine long years. They both shared secrets with each other. They both helped raise little Iron into the stallion he was today. They both were able to confide into one another… like a sister. ‘First I lost Luna… now I lost her.’ She was hit with flashbacks an emergency room where Virtuous had been operated on.

Celestia stood outside the hospital room that Virtuous resided. Her legs felt weak, as if they would collapse under her at any moment, her heart was alive with terror and felt as if it would burst from her chest at any moment. She remembered so vividly how one of her guards had rushed into the castle that morning, informing her that his patrol had witnessed the mare collapse in the middle of a street. He had sent the rest of the patrol to carry Virtuous to the hospital.

"Please mother, father. Not this one, please don't take her! She has a colt to look after. Please don't take her yet. Oh, please be okay, Virtuous! Celestia begged over and over in her mind. She wanted to bust through the emergency rooms doors, to plead and wail over her dying friend and beg her to stay. She wished with all her powerful heart that she could try every spell, technique, anything she could do to start the still heart of her friend. But she stayed, pacing the waiting room and feeling as helpless as a newborn foal.

While the minutes stretched into hours, and Celestia continued to pace and fight her own impulses, the doctors worked frantically to restart the mare's heart, but their efforts were in vain. When the doctors finally emerged from the emergency room, the only thing they could do was shake their heads, signaling that the mare had passed. Celestia let out a defeated wail.

"No!" she cried, pushing past the doctors and racing to Virtuous' lifeless body. "How could you!? You're supposed to take care of Iron! You promised him that you would always be there!" She wanted to be angry. She wanted somepony to blame.

“You!” she cried at the doctors. “You were supposed to save her! You were supposed to make sure she saw her family again! How can you call yourselves doctors if you cannot even save one mare's life!? You were… were supposed to... ” she tailed off in tears.The doctors, who stood solemnly off to the side of the room, looked at each other, full of regret, before leaving the princess with her lost friend. Celestia buried her muzzle in Virtuous' fur, feeling the warmth that had occupied the mare's body not minutes earlier start to ebb away. "I am so... so sorry," she wept in nothing more than a grief-stricken whisper.

She was brought back to reality by a small sniff. The look on the colt’s face shattered her heart. He wasn’t out right crying, nor was he screaming and getting angry like his father when she told him. She made sure to send Gallant to watch over Flawless in his weakened state.

Iron, however, looked broke, an empty shell of what he was that morning. ‘She is just… gone?’ Tears were welling up in his eyes, but none of them fell down his face. He was beyond crying. This was not something he could shrug off like all the times he and Bronze got into trouble. This was something far worse. This was something he could not even begin to deal with, but he didn’t have a choice. All he could do is stare blankly at the floor, while the thoughts of his mother lying dead flowed through his mind.

“Iron?…” He didn’t react to his name. He just looked at the floor with an empty expression. His blinks were long as if they were helping him block out reality. Celestia wanted nothing more than to run over and pull him into a tight hug, telling him everything will be ok. But she couldn’t. That was a job for a mother.

Without a warning, Iron stood up and walked out the door. His head was hanging low, looking at the floor. Celestia wanted to stop him and help him let out his feeling right now. She didn’t care if he would cry his eyes out to mourn his late mother, nor did she care if he would try to hurt her for not being able to save Virtuous. All she cared about at this moment was helping Iron come to terms with what she had told him.

Iron trudged down the long hallways of the castle. His eyes were permanently cast downward. He wanted to block the world out. The only thing that came into his vision, other than the floor, were lavender hooves rushing toward the study he just left. Iron had no destination in mind. He just needed to get out and be alone for a bit.

His path lead him to the gardens. The only thing going through his mind were the memories of his late mother. The first time he could remember hugging his mother. The first time he could remember saying ‘I love you.’ The last time he said ‘I love you.’ He wanted to be held by her, just one last time. For her to just run her hoof through his mane and hold him close, never to let go again.

His emotions were running wild with sadness and grief. All he could ask for right now was a bench and some time with his thoughts. He found a bench that overlooked a small pond. Where animals once came to splash and play became a silent oasis to be alone with one’s thoughts.

Iron stared into the water in front of him. His eyes were watering but only a single tear flowed down his cheek. ‘She’s just… gone...’ The lone thought haunted his mind, echoing the fact that he no longer had a mother. He didn’t know what else to think about. What could he think about? So, he just sat there, trying to grasp what he was told. That was when the dam broke. He sat there and cried into his forelegs. Nopony ever came by and the animals stayed away from the broken colt.

The afternoon drifted into evening as the sun hit the horizon. Iron was still sitting on the bench, staring blankly at the water. His tears have all dried up. He was just thinking of all the time he spent and would have spent with his mother.

He was pulled from his thoughts when a pony sat down beside him. Iron didn’t bother to look; he didn’t care. Through his peripherals he saw a grey color. The same grey color that matched his teacher, Steel.

“Pretty calm night.” Steel knew he was going to be the one to break the ice. Celestia told him of Iron’s situation. He never had to deal with that kind of problem before. His parents both left him when their time came. That fact was not going to stop him from helping a pony that Steel looked over at Iron to see that the colt still hasn’t moved an inch, or even acknowledge his existence.

“C’mon, it’s getting late.” Steel patted Iron’s back and got off the bench. Steel started to walk away when he noticed Iron was still sitting on the bench. “You can either follow me or I can carry you. Either way you are not staying out here tonight.”

Iron weighed the options in his head, or at least as much as he could with his shattered mind. He reluctantly eased off the bench and followed Steel to the palace. It was only a short walk till Iron found himself back in the forge he left that afternoon. Steel waved him over to a bench off to the side of the workshop. Iron walked over and sat down in the same position he was in when he was in the garden. Steel could be heard rummaging through the fridge they had in their personal breakroom. The forge master came back with two bottles in his magical grasp.

“Here, this will help you feel better.” Steel floated a bottle into Iron’s grasp.

Iron looked at the bottle to see it was a beer. He looked at the bottle with a confused look before glancing at Steel. The only response he got from his teacher was an understanding nod. Iron cautiously opened the beverage before taking a small drink. The legal age was eighteen but Iron never thought much about drinking. The taste didn’t set well with him, but he didn’t care. He just wanted something to numb the pain.

“I won’t say I know what you are going through, because I don’t. But what I do know is that you are hurting, and it isn’t good to bottle those feelings up.” Steel took a swig of his own drink before continuing. “You and I both know you are not the type to talk about your emotions, and I understand that. That doesn’t mean you have to push ponies away. If you don’t let us in that is fine, but at least don’t push us away. We all care about you,” Steel finished, as took another drink.

Iron was halfway through his drink when Steel finished his talk. Like always, Iron could tell his teacher was sincere about what he just said. It felt comforting to know that there will be ponies around to help him out in his troubles. With that in his mind and the beer in his liver, he could feel a bit of weight off his shoulders. Iron looked over to Steel and gave a small smile.

Nothing more was said between the two. Nothing more needed to be said. They both had an understanding of where each of them sat in this situation. The forge kept them warm as it passed later into the evening. Iron was now feeling the fatigue of the day hitting him. His eyelids grew heavier and he slouched more on the bench he was sharing with his teacher.

“Alright there sleepyhead. Let’s get you to bed.” Steel helped his student rise off the bench. Steel lead Iron back through the halls until they came to a door. Iron looked confused. ‘This isn’t my house.’ He turned to Steel for an explanation.

“I asked the princess to give you a room for the night.” Steel was one of the few ponies that could even think about asking the princess for something like this. “Her door is just down the hall in case you need anything.” Iron followed the direction Steel was pointing. Down the hall set a pair of golden doors with a sun detailed on the doors. A pair of guards stood at attention on each side of the double door.

“Now if is all the same to you, I will be getting some sleep of my own. Goodnight Iron.” Steel pulled Iron in for a hug. It wasn’t a long one, but it still held meaning.

“Thank you,” Iron whispered into Steel’s ear. Iron pulled out of the hug to see a smiling Steel before him. Without a word, Steel walked back down the hallway and disappeared around a corner.

Iron entered the room, caring little about the decor. He has seen many rooms in the castle. All he wanted to see now, was the side of a pillow. He pulled back the queen sized blanket and sheets and slid into the bed. His dreams tonight would surround his mother, and all the memories he had of her.

It was only a couple of weeks till the funeral was held. Iron was doing his best coping with the situation. His work suffered a bit, but he didn’t stop. He was now married to his job.

Flawless, however, didn’t adjust well initially. Gallant had to stop his suicide attempt. Flawless was now getting help from a psychologist. He showed vast improvement during the second week, but Iron knew his father was just burying his feelings… just like him.

The funeral was like one would expect it to be. There were rows of ponies dressed in black. A single open coffin in the front. The princess attended in the audience while a preacher pony gave the final blessing of Virtuous. Flawless and Iron both opted out of giving a eulogy. They were still hurting too much.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…” The preacher was wrapping up the ceremony while Virtuous was being lowered into the ground. Once she hit the bottom and the preacher finished his verse, the funeral was concluded. The crowed mournfully walked back to their respective homes leaving only four ponies left: Iron, Steel, Flawless, and Celestia. They were all staring into the tombstone at the front of the grave.

Here lies Virtuous Heart

A loving wife and mother

She will be missed.

August 10, 996

It was simple but meaningful. Just the way she would have wanted. She always liked the simple tastes in life, even though she would live in higher class places. ‘I may like to live in more expensive neighborhoods, but I don’t forget the simple life that I was raised in to get here.’ That would always be her excuse whenever somepony would ask her why she would act like a ‘commoner’.

Iron felt a hoof on his back. He turned to see who it was before getting pulled into a hug. His father was holding him close. The only thing Iron could do was rub and pat his fathers back. Once out of the hug, Flawless gave him a small smile before returning home. Celestia was next to show her affections as she also pulled him into a hug.

“Make sure you come and visit,” Celestia said quietly. It wasn’t a whisper but her voice was scratchy and didn’t travel very far.

“I will,” Iron replied. She gave him an affectionate muzzle. Celestia was the only motherly figure in Iron’s life right now, and she was going to be just that for Iron. A mother. She was the one to pull out of the hug and gave a small smile of her own. With that, Celestia walked down the path that would lead her back to the castle.

The only pony left with Iron was Steel. They didn’t hug or give each other heartfelt goodbyes. Steel just floated over a bag of bits. On the bag was a note that read “For the road.” He talked to Steel about getting out of Canterlot since the passing of his mother. The city was fine but it would remind him too much of Virtuous. Steel set him up in a town called Ponyville just at the base of the mountain. The town was in need of a blacksmith and since Iron was looking to set out on his own, Steel managed to pull a few stings and got a forge set up just outside of town. With a knowing nod, Steel returned to the royal forge.

Iron was now alone at the grave site. Iron laid down the flower he was holding throughout the ceremony. It was a single yellow rose that matched her coat.

“I’ll miss you.” Iron didn’t have anything else to say. He has already said all his prayers and praises for her since her passing. It was now his turn to part with his mother. He turned around and walked towards the carriage he had asked for to help move some bags. His journey in Canterlot began with a train ride with his mother. It was now going to end with a train ride and the thoughts of his mother.

Author's Note

Well here it is. The long ass chapter 3. I hope you all like it

I would like to thank PoniesLoveMe for helping me out in the sad section.

Welcome To Ponyville

4 Years Before the NNM Incident

The train ride to Ponyville was not a long trip since it sat at the base of the looming mountain that Canterlot rested on. Iron didn’t feel the need to nap during the ride. He was a little excited to start up a new blacksmithing shop in a town he had never stayed at. He was used to big cities like Fillydelphia and Canterlot. Iron heard from Steel that Ponyville was a nice quiet town and that it was a good place to be with one’s own thoughts.

‘This town is what I need right now. A place where I can work in peace and quiet.’ Iron thought when the train pulled into the station. Iron only brought his essentials with him since he did not like packing up a whole train car worth of things. He brought his toiletries and his favorite tools. The tools were a gift from Steel when Iron decided to move to Ponyville. His father gave him a photo of their family when they moved to Canterlot. Iron would always keep this in a safe place. Finally, Celestia gave Iron some funds so if buisness didn’t pick up. Iron was hoping to be able just to keep it for a rainy day instead of blowing it off on things like Bronze would.

When the train stopped, Iron grabbed his bags and made for the platform. It was fairly empty because it was in the middle of the week and Ponyville was a small town. Iron stepped off the train and grabbed his map Steel gave him. His new home/workplace was on the other side of the town. Iron put his map back into his saddlebag and trotted off towards his abode.

The main street was packed full of vendors mostly selling fruits and vegetables. Each stall was very basic. They were all made out of wood with a sign on the top with the picture of the product they were selling. Iron did not pay too much attention to the stalls, but he kept an eye out for an orange stand. His favorite fruit was oranges even though they were harder than Tatarus to peel since he wasn’t a unicorn. Sadly, he didn’t spy an orange stand walking through the street. He did, however, catch the strong scent of apples. Apples were his second favorite fruit. He didn’t mind them but he didn’t go out seeking them.

Behind the stand was an orange mare. She had on a stetson and had three apples as a cutie mark. Iron could hear the southern drawl in her voice as he passed the stand. She was haggling with a customer about the price of the bag of apples. He turned his attention back on the road he was on. The street ran straight to the town hall. It was easily the biggest building in the town, towering over every other building. It sat in the center of Ponyville with streets going out away from the circular center. From the sky it would resemble the shape of a spider web.

Iron looked around the the street that would take him towards his home. ‘This place is a maze.’ He pulled his map back out and tried to find where he was. ‘It looks like I am riiiiiiiiight here.’ he pointed at the map. ‘So if I cut down this road with the… colorful blob, I should hit my forge as long as I go straight down.’ Iron packed up his map for the second time that day and headed down the correct street.

This street was full of indoor businesses unlike the main street filled with vendors. He passed buy shops that sold dentist supplies, one that was a Hayburger restaurant, and oddly enough, a shop that sold only sofas and quills. ‘How could they possibly stay in business selling only couches and quills?’ Iron shrugged off the thought and went about his business. When he got to an intersection, he saw what the colorful blob on the map represented. ‘A giant gingerbread house?’ The sign out front read ‘Sugarcube Corner’. Iron realized that it had the same smell as his favorite bakery in Canterlot. He once again took a mental note of the bakery since he always in the mood for sweets.

The only thing else he passed after Sugarcube Corner was residential housing. After he passed the last house, he came across an open field. He continued down the dirt road till he came to a sign in the fork of the road. The sign had two arrows sitting on top of one another. The one pointing left had a picture of an apple while the other had an anvil.

“I guess I am going right,” he muttered to himself. The path was fairly open with only a tree here and there.

The path only took a few minutes before he was upon his house. It wasn’t anything too spectacular but it was home. It was two stories high with a balcony on the top floor. It was in the same style as the Ponyville houses he passed by. His home had a mailbox in next to the door. The mailbox had one letter sticking out from the inside. Iron walked up to the mailbox to open and read the letter.

‘Dear resident,

Hello, and welcome to our little piece of heaven. We invite you to come down to the town hall to fill out some housing forms and help start up your business.

Thank you,
Mayor Mare’

‘Huh. Well it looks like I get to keep my gift from Celestia.’ Iron checked the door and determined it was still locked. The forge sat next to the house. It was made of grey stone instead of the normal Ponyville wood. This workshop had an outside and inside area, each with their own forge, anvil, workbench, and places to hang his tools. Of course the forge was turned off and he had no tools on the racks so he turned around and headed back down the road.

As Iron came to the fork in the road he heard a voice calling out for him.

“Hey you!” The voice had a bit of a drawl to it. He turned around to see the same orange farm-pony from the apple stand. She was pulling a cart load of apples from the other side of the road. Her blond mane was, oddly enough, tied into a ponytail. ‘Why do we even call them that?’

“Yes?” He masked his voice to sound neutral. Iron didn’t feel like talking with anypony right now, but he was going to play nice and hope she would go away.

“Have ya heard anythin’ bout that new blacksmith? I saw ya comin’ down from the road that goes right to his place, and I wanted to catch ‘em,” she said, pointing down the road.

“That would be me. My name is Iron Smoke, but just call me Iron,” he said as he held out his hoof.

“Name’s Applejack,” she responded, shaking Iron’s hoof. “Nice ta meet ya. We have been needin’ a blacksmith for some time now.” They both let go of each other and headed back into town. Applejack was talking about some things she needed fixed up for the farm. She mentioned horse shoes, some tools needed sharpening, and she needed some tools made as well.

“I am sure once I get my forge going that I could fix those things,” Iron said. “They seem simple enough.” Iron hadn’t noticed it right away, but by the time the two ponies had finished their conversation, they made it back to the town square..

“Well thank ya. We have been needin’ those things done for a while now. I didn’t know how much longer we would have to wait on ya.” She looked around and saw that she now needed to get back to the main street. “Welp, best be gettin back to work. I’ll be seein ya once ya open up your workshop.” She gave Iron a small wave before heading down main street. Iron waved back before heading to the town hall.

‘Ok, she was nice. Nothing like the ponies in Canterlot.’ Iron entered the building and walked up to the secretary's desk.

“Hello. I am here about moving into town,” he said, looking at the secretary. She seemed bored out of her mind.

“Third door on the left.” That was all she said, not looking up from her magazine.

Iron was taken back by the lack of emotion in her voice. ‘So much for the ponies here being friendly and quaint.’ He walked down the hallway till he reached a door that had the name ‘Mayor Mare’ on the glass. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. There was a faint ‘come in’ from the other side of the door. He opened the door to reveal a spacious room lined with bookshelves and filing cabinets. On the other end of the room was a desk with an older mare signing some papers. The nameplate on her desk also read ‘Mayor Mare’. She set down her pen and looked up at the stallion.

“How can I help you?” Her voice was kind and caring, not unlike Celestia’s. It lacked the motherly quality that Celestia possessed though. Iron reached back and grabbed the letter he found in his mailbox.

“I was told to come here and fill out some paperwork about housing and my business.” He hoofed over the letter. She took a quick glance before looking back at Iron.

“Ah yes! You are the new blacksmith in town. My name, if you haven’t already seen is Mayor Mare. I have your paperwork right here.” She reached down and pulled a drawer back. The mayor then pulled some papers out of the drawer. The stack was only a few pages thick.

“These forms are for your housing and these forms are for your business. If you could sign on the dotted lines all will be in order.” She hoofed over the pages and a pen. Iron skimmed the forms before signing them. He didn’t see anything that would bother him. They just said to pay the taxes for his property and gave him the right to open his business. When he hoofed back the paperwork she handed him two keys.

“This is key if for your house, and this one is for your workshop.” The house key was a silver color while the key for his workshop was more of a bronze color. Iron took them from the mayor and set them in his saddlebag.

“Thank you. The letter did say something about promoting my trade here.” Iron knew he already had the mare Applejack for some business, but he wanted to know who else he could work with.

“Yes it did. I do believe a pony by the name of Rarity was looking for a blacksmith to shape some jewelry.” Iron inwardly groaned at this. ‘And here I thought I wasn’t ever going to have to make jewelry again.’

“Where could I find this Rarity?” Iron was not thrilled about the delicate work of making rings and necklaces, but business was business.

“You can find her at the Carousel Boutique. If you take a right at Sugarcube corner, you will find it easily.” Iron thanked Celestia he at least remembered the gingerbread house when he checked up on his house.

“Thank you very much Miss Mare.” He stood up to make his exit. Iron may have not liked the idea of doing jobs for Rarity but he wasn’t going to let an easy job opportunity go to waste.

“You are quite welcome Mr… Oh dear me! I didn’t get your name.” She looked embarrassed that she forgot to get Iron’s name.

“It’s Iron Smoke,” said Iron.

“Well if it is all the same to you, I am sorry Mr. Smoke. It is not very mayor like to not get the name of a pony asking for my help,” she stated. True, it wasn’t a good way to start of by not getting the name of the pony that came for help. However, Iron did not care so much for those type of social graces.

“It’s not a problem. I hope I can see you around town.” Iron gave the mayor a small wave before turning to the door. The only response he got out of the mayor was a nod.

Once out the door, Iron turned back down the hall towards the front entrance. He didn’t bother with the secretary. She wouldn’t have lifted a hoof anyway. So, Iron headed out the door to Sugarcube Corner. He didn’t run into Applejack again, and no pony bothered trying to talk with him. He just made his way down the street, undisturbed.

When he reached the intersection, Iron felt a little hungry. ‘Just a little bite to eat couldn’t hurt.’ He proceeded to walk into Sugarcube corner. It wasn't very busy. Only a few ponies were still sitting and eating their meals. Iron walked up to the counter to order a few muffins. There was a pink pony behind the register. Her hair was all poofy. It reminded him of cotton candy.

“Welcome to Sugarcube…” She finished the sentence with a large gasp and ran out the back door with super pony speed. The only thing left was a cartoonish dust cloud in the shape of the pony. Iron ruffled his feathers, feeling a bit confused and hurt that the pony ran away from him. Before he turned around a voice of a stallion caught his attention.

“Sorry about that. Pinkie just gets excited when she meets somepony new.” The voice belonged to a scrawny yellow earth pony. He had on a striped bowtie and hat along with an apron. He looked to be in his mid thirties. “My name is Carrot Cake, and I run this place along with my wife, Cup Cake.” He held out hoof. Iron shook Mr. Cake’s hoof, telling Carrot his own name.

“That’s alright. I’m Iron.” He was relieved that he didn’t scare off the poor pony. However, he was curious on why she would run away if she was excited to see a new pony.

“Well, what can I get you?” Carrot motioned to the counter.

“Could I get a couple of chocolate chip muffins?” Iron always had a weak spot for a good muffin. Mr. Cake pulled a bag out containing two chocolate chip muffins.

“That will be 5 bits.” Iron took out some bits and placed them on the counter before grabbing his bag of muffins.

“Thank you,” said Iron, with a nod.

“You’re welcome. Come back sometime soon,” responded Carrot.

Iron walked back out of the bakery chewing on one of his muffins. ‘Now which way did the mayor say?... Buck! I can’t remember.’ Iron looked up and down the streets looking for something that would resemble a boutique. Failing to see one Iron flew straight up in the air to get a better view. He found a cloud to sit on while looking around for the boutique. Iron still didn’t know what he was looking for. On a cloud not too far away rested a rainbow maned pegasus. ‘Maybe she will know where it is.’

He flew over to the sleeping pegasus. He noticed her coat was a nice cyan color and her cutie mark was a rainbow lightning bolt. Iron tapped the pony on the shoulder resulting in her mumbling to herself. He nudged her a bit harder this time.

“Hmmm, Soarin. Stop that. I’m ticklish.” Iron was conflicted by this. First, he wanted to outright laugh at the obvious fangirl and what seemed to be a “good” dream. Second, he felt a little invasive by hearing this. The loudest voice in his head, however, told him to play along with the dream. As tempted as he was, Iron decided it would be best not to encourage the dream.

“Sorry, but I’m not Soarin,” he said in the most neutral voice he could muster. A smile spread across his muzzle while he suppressed the laugh.

“Wha…” She slowly opened her eyes to a black pegasus instead of the aquamarine wonderbolt. “GAH!” She reared back and fell off the cloud. Iron was scared that he just killed a mare until she flew back up to the cloud she was resting on. She was now glaring at the stallion who disturbed her sleep.

“Why the hay did you wake me up?!” The fact that her voice was scratchy and tomcoltish made her a bit scarier than a normal mare. If she wanted to, she would have started a fight right then and there. Iron did not want to start up a fight. So, he tried to diffuse the situation.

“Sorry. I just wanted to get some directions to the Carousel Boutique.” Iron did feel sorry for disturbing her sleep, but he really needed the directions.

“I don’t see why I should tell you. You’re the one who woke me up from my nap. Plus, I thought dresses were for fillies.” Her gaze never lightened up on Iron, but she had a snarky grin.

“I said I was sorry. I’m looking for it because I was going to make some bands and necklaces for the owner.” ‘Oh Celestia! Did I just say that?’ He was hoping that she wouldn’t think he was a coltcuddler or something like that.

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with liking colts.” She patted his back with a shit eating grin.

‘Celestia damn it.’

“I am just making them to earn some money. I’m already making some farming tools for a pony named Applejack.” Iron sounded proud that he had other work than the delicate jewelry he would be working on.

“So you are the new guy AJ was talking about. I figured you would be a bit… bigger.” Now she was just poking fun at him. She liked to see pony squirm and get all huffy. However, she was disappointed when Iron didn’t move a muscle. It was his turn to throw on a grin. He knew what she was implying, so he decided to give a jab of his own.

“I’m bigger than Soarin.” It was small. It was subtle. It hit the mare right where she dreamed. Iron didn’t even try to hold back his grin.

“I… uh… well…” she struggled to find a proper response. There was a slight blush on her cheeks at the mention of Soarin. She coughed a bit before she found her voice. “Then how about a friendly competition?”

“I’m listening.” The mare reminded Iron of how Bronze would act. He missed the, more or less, friendly back and forth he and Bronze have grown accustomed to.

“Since you think you are sooo strong, why don’t we have a hoof wrestling contest. You win, and I will take you to the boutique. If I win, you have to be my slave for a day.” Her voice was dripping with ego. Iron couldn’t resist knocking her down a few pegs. He set his elbow on the cloud.

“Deal” Even though Iron was more reserved in his boasting, this mare seemed to bring out his ego. She set her own elbow down on the cloud and locked her hoof in with Iron’s.

“3. 2. 1. Go!” She pushed as hard as she could in order to get a head start. Sadly, she was built for speed not strenght. Iron, on the other hoof, was built for strength. Swinging a hammer and bending metal made Iron into a wall of muscle. His coat hid his muscles well but he wasn’t bulging like the bodybuilders he has seen.

Rainbow was huffing and puffing, trying to push down Iron’s hoof. Iron was straining a bit but not enough to bother him. After a few moments of the mare trying to overpower the stallion, Iron decided to end it. He slammed her hoof on the cloud. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

“How did you beat me?” She couldn’t believe she lost so easily. She was training and working out everyday, and this stallion just flew up to her cloud and beat her in a hoof wrestling contest. Granted, she was training to be fast rather than strong, but she was up to par with Applejack.

“Well, being a blacksmith most of your life makes you gain a bit of muscle,” he said, flexing his foreleg. “By the way, my name’s Iron Smoke.” The mare looked up from her funk and puffed out her chest, acting like the last five minutes didn’t happen.

“Name’s Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestia,” she responded. “So I better take you to the boutique now huh?” She was scratching the back of her neck, still feeling slightly embarrassed that she lost.

“That would be nice. Thanks.” Dash took off from the cloud and headed towards, where Iron could only assume, the boutique. They flew high enough so they would not bump into anypony else along the way.

“It’s this way,” Rainbow said. They both started to descend on a white and purple building. Iron was wondering if he could keep his stallion card if he entered the building. Everything about it seemed so… frilly. He was already dreading the jewelry work, but now he was dreading the place that the jewelry was being made for.

“My Celestia. Could this place get any more girly?” He turned towards Rainbow, who only gave a shrug in return.

“Yeah… Rarity is one of those high class ponies. ‘A lady should do this’, ‘A lady should always be that’, ‘It is not very lady like to do...’ well anything really.” Rainbow was striking poses that would resemble any mare in Canterlot. Iron chuckled a bit at her display.

“Well, would you mind helping me out? Safety in numbers.” Iron may have sounded snarky and confident on the outside, but on the inside he was begging her to come in. She smiled, wondering what she could get out of the stallion.

“I don’t know… what is in it for me?” Rainbow asked.

“I will let you be the first pony in my forge?” Iron was hoping she would take him on his offer. He didn’t really have anything else to offer her anyways. Dash acted like she was in deep thought before responding.

“I’ll take it.” She then opened the door to the boutique. It was an open space with some mannequins over to the side. The center of the room had a raised platform with a trio of mirrors. When the bell rang, a voice sang out from up the stairs.

“Comiiing~” Her voice sounded like it belonged to a pony in Canterlot. When she came into Iron’s sight, he only thought one thing. High maintenance. ‘It is nice when a mare pretties herself up for others but damn! She probably just got done with her mane and it is already close to five o’clock.’ The white mare noticed the two ponies in her shop. More importantly, she noticed the stallion. She immediately flipped back her mane before addressing Iron.

“Hello. My name is Rarity,” she said with her eyes half lidded. “What brings such a handsome stallion such as yourself to my humble boutique?” Rarity was completely focused on Iron, forgetting Rainbow Dash was in the room with him.

Iron turned back to Rainbow with a face that screamed ‘Help Me!’ Rainbow brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle the giggle fit she was having. He returned his attention to the mare who was eyeing him. A quick cough caught her attention again.

“I’m the new blacksmith in town, Iron Smoke. I was told that you wanted some help with fabricating some metal for your jewelry.” Iron wanted to keep this a professional as possible.

“Oh yes! I was hoping you would get here soon. If you would like I could make a list of what I need and deliver it to you tomorrow.” Iron saw an escape and took it.

“That would be great,” Iron said. He then looked down at his hoof. “Oh, would you look at the time! Dash and I got to get back home and unpack.” He may have not have been wearing a watch but he used the excuse regardless.

“Rainbow! How did I miss you there?” Rarity completely ignored the last part of what Iron said.

‘Damn it. So close’

“Hey Rarity,” said Rainbow. “He promised that I would get to see his workshop after we stopped here.”

“Oh that sounds delightful. Perhaps I should come too.” Iron was about to protest when he was stopped by Rainbow’s hoof. Her eyes responded to Iron’s silent cries for help with a look that said ‘Don’t worry. I got this.’

“Yeah, you should. We could shovel some coals into the forge and make some cool designs. It would make a great workout. We would get all sweaty and dirty. It’s gonna be awesome!” Iron was about to protest when he noticed the slight disgust on Rarity’s face.

“Oh… Well… Maybe some other time then.” Iron could have kissed Rainbow’s ass after she just saved his. ‘Ha, maybe later.’ He inwardly laughed at his own joke.

“Welp, we should be heading out then. It was nice to meet you Rarity.” Iron gave a little bow. He figured if she was anything like the high society in Canterlot, she would appreciate the gesture. Rarity gave a curtsy in response.

“It was quite a delight to meet you as well. I shall have the list ready for you by tomorrow.” She then turned her attention to Rainbow. “And I hope to see you again sometime soon. Perhaps for a new dress?”

“Yeeeeaaaah, no. Come on Iron. I want to see your place before it gets dark.” Rainbow didn’t wait for a response before she headed for the door. Iron finished up his own goodbye before trotting after Dash.

“Thanks for the help there. I don’t know if I would have made it out alive if you hadn’t come along,” Iron said.

“No problem. I’d never leave a friend hanging,” replied Rainbow

“So do you always ask for something in return, or just your friends?” Iron was having a bit a fun with this back and forth. He could tell Rainbow was too.

“Just the special ones,” she said, patting the top of his head.

“So I moved up from stranger to special friend all in a few hours. Wow, I didn’t even need to take you to dinner first.” That earned him a playful punch in the shoulder. “Well come on. My place is this way.” Iron opted to walk there instead of getting lost in the sky.

It only took them around fifteen minutes to reach Iron’s house. Iron took out the key to his house and opened the door. He saw shapes in the darkness. He reached for the light switch and turned it on to reveal… nothing but furniture.

“Cool. I didn’t know this place was furnished,” said Iron. He threw his saddlebags on the couch but kept his work belt on.

“It’s nice, but really plain dude.” Rainbow wasn’t impressed with the choice of furniture. “I prefer cloud couches and floors and beds and… Well, just cloud everything.”

“And why is that?” Iron asked while exploring the living room. The room wasn’t overly big, but it was empty. ‘Could get a grandfather clock in here. A few pictures there. Just needs to be filled a bit.’

“Well, you have slept on a cloud right?” she asked. Iron gave her a nod. “Then you know how amazingly comfortable they are! Why wouldn’t you pick a cloud over anything else?” Iron could tell where she was going with this, but continued into the kitchen.

“Because, I rather be closer to work and be able to get to bed when I am too tired to fly,” he reasoned. The kitchen was modernized with up to date appliances: a fridge, a microwave, and a stove. There was an island in the middle that had room for a double sink and a raised counter to sit and eat off of.

“So just bring one down and use it. It wouldn’t be the first time a cloud went missing. Plus, being the weather captain gives you and me a bit of leverage.” She was looking in the fridge that turned out to be empty. ‘Man! He’s got nothing in here!’ Rainbow continued her own tour of the house. There was a small dining room attached to the kitchen. The table in there could have set four ponies comfortably. Instead of a rectangle or square style, the table was round with four chairs. A chandelier hung above the table. It wasn’t anything fancy. It just had five lights shining straight down.

Iron was doing his own exploring after the kitchen. He saw Rainbow enter the dining room and decided to head up to the second floor. He saw four doors when he reached the top of the stairs. All the doors were open and revealed what they had inside.

The first one on the left was the guest room. It had a single queen sized bed with a nightstand. On the nightstand sat a lamp much like the one he had in Canterlot. There was a dresser on the other side of the wall. The window was directly across from the door Iron was standing in. He turned around to see a closet on the other side of the hall. Iron continued his upstairs tour by walking down to the next two rooms. On the right side was the bathroom. It was a basic white bathroom with a toilet, sink, and a glass door hiding the shower.

The last room he looked at was the master bedroom. It was bigger than the guest bedroom with a door leading to its own private bathroom. The bed was the same size as the guest bed, except it was floating. He walked over and pulled back the blanket to reveal a cloud. ‘Looks like I get a cloud bed after all’

“Hey Dash!” he yelled down the stairs.

“What!” she responded.

“Looks like I won’t need to steal a cloud.” Shortly after he said that, Rainbow made her way into his room. Upon seeing the bed, she ran over and jumped on the it, rolling around. Iron was giving here a weird look from the doorway. When they made eye contact again, she stopped rolling on the bed.

“What?” she said embarrassed at here display. “I said they were comfy.” Her cheeks were turning bright red. She jumped off the bed and headed out the doorway. “So you gonna show me your workshop or what?”

“What was that all about?” Iron asked, pointing at the cloud.

“What was what? Come on.” She hurried out the door. Iron just stood there, dumbfounded on what he just saw. He decided to let it go before chasing Rainbow outside. He found her walking around the outside workshop area. She was looking at all the different tools that had to be delivered: anvil, the forge, vices, etc. Iron walked right up to the door that led to the inside workshop. When he opened the door he found that the workshop was just like the one in Canterlot, but it was smaller since he was the only one that was going to be working there.

Rainbow let out a low whistle. “Sweet place. Whatcha gonna build in here?”

“Depends on who orders what,” Iron replied. He was now putting the tools from his tool belt in their proper place along the workshop. “My guess is necklaces and farm tools. I much rather be making armor but beggars aren’t choosers.”

“Pfffffff. Lame! What about the cool stuff like spears and armor? You know… the fun stuff.” She was now acting out battle scenes, fighting an invisible enemy in his workshop.

“Believe me when I say I much rather work on military gear than common metal objects. Armor and weapons were all I use to work on.” He was now eyeing the forge to see if it was ready to be started up. He would be up all night once he got started to make sure it stayed warm for the work days ahead.

“Then why don’t you go up to Canterlot and work there. They probably do more of that stuff.” Iron stopped what he was doing and leaned against the nearest wall with a sigh. His happy demeanor died and was replace by one of grief. Rainbow didn’t know what she said wrong, but she knew that her new friend was hurting at the mention of Canterlot.

“I actually was there before I came here. It was fun and all. I got to work with some great ponies but… I just had to get out.” He was trying to give her enough information so that she would just take his word for it and drop the subject.

“Why?” She didn’t take the hint.

“I rather not talk about it,” he replied. Rainbow wanted to push the topic further, but decided that it would be better if she didn’t. She opted to ask about his tools and how they were used. It may have been boring for her, but she would rather be bored than to hurt somepony’s feelings. Iron slowly grew out of his repine for each question Rainbow asked. When the conversation started to die down, Rainbow looked outside to see the sun getting close to the horizon.

“Hey. Want to do something fun?”

“I don’t know… I should probably get the forge started for tomorrow,” he replied.

Rainbow put on a big pair of puppy dog eyes. “Please~” she drew out. She figured this would draw any pony with a heart to do whatever she asked for. ‘I got you now,’ she thought as soon as they made eye contact. Iron put a hoof to his chin to think about it. ‘WHAT!? He should be puddy by now! What am I doing wrong? Big eyes? Check. Quivering lip? Check. Ears back? Check. Then why the hay...’

“Sure.” Rainbow pulled herself from her thoughts. ‘Chalk another point for Dash!’ she thought. “But not because of the eyes. Cause I want to. I have a natural resistance to those eyes,” he said. Iron gave a smirk while she stuck out her tongue.

“Then hurry up and lock up. I don’t like being slow.” Iron rolled his eyes before he set down the rest of the tools on a table. They both walked back to the outside area and Iron locked the door behind them. “C’mon. It’s this way.” Rainbow flew into the air, following the road. Iron jumped up and flew beside her. During the flight, Iron noticed more and more apple trees. The trees covered the entire landscape that Iron could see.

A few more moments of flying, he saw a red barn. Rainbow angled downward towards the barn and he followed suit. They landed in front of the doors of the barn and Rainbow looked back at Iron.

“It’s inside,” she said, pointing to the doors. Seeing how Rainbow wasn’t moving, Iron walked up and opened up the doors.

“SURPRISE!!!” Iron was blown back by, what must have been, at least half the town. Iron was still trying to calm himself down when a pink pony jumped in front of him.

“Hi,I’mPinkiePieandIthrewyouthissurprisepartyjustforyou.Whereyousurprisededhuhhuhhuh?Ibetyouwere-” A blue hoof saved him from the rambling pony.

“I’m pretty sure he was Pinkie,” Rainbow said. Iron was still trying to figure out exactly what the pink pony said.

“Soooooooooooo what’s your name?” Iron realized that she was asking him a question.

“Wha,” he shook his head to remove the cobwebs. “I’m Iron Smoke, but just call me Iron.”

“Hmmmmmmmmm, that won’t do,” Pinkie said thoughtfully. “You need a nickname. Let’s see… Irony? Too ironic. IS? Nah-” Iron turned away from the Pinkie and looked at Rainbow.

“Is she always like this?” He was confused about how hyper this pony was.

Rainbow just shrugged and said, “It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.”

“I got it!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I’ll call you… Smokey, and we can help all the little foals learn how to prevent forest fires!” The pink mare ended her sentence with a giggling snort and smiled expectantly at the two ponies in front of her. Rainbow and Iron stared at Pinkie for what seemed like hours. Pinkie’s smile, however, never faded. Iron was forced to reply.

“Uhhhh… Sure Pinkie.”

“Great. Well, have fun. This is your party after all.” She ended with a wink before hopping into the crowd of ponies.

“Ok…” he turned to Rainbow. “What should we do now?” Rainbow thought it over before face hoofing. She completely forgot about her best friend.

“You got to meet my friend Fluttershy,” she said, pulling on Iron’s leg. Rainbow and Iron searched for the pony. Well, Rainbow searched while Iron just followed. Eventually they found her in a corner of the barn. A butter yellow pony was sitting next too Rarity and Applejack, sipping on some punch. “That’s her,” Rainbow said, pointing at the yellow pegasus. When Iron and Rainbow walked up to the table, Applejack and Rarity gave a smile while Fluttershy hid behind her mane.

“Iron. This is my best friend, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, pointing to the cowering pegasus. Iron gave a hello, which was responded by unintelligible whisper. Iron looked at the other two ponies she was sitting by, silently asking if he did something wrong.

“She’s just shy round new ponies,” Applejack clarified. “She usually works with animals over on the other side of town.” Iron replied with an ‘Ah’ and a nod. He wasn’t around too many pets. The only pet he saw was Philomina, and that was only a few times with Celestia. Rainbow and Iron took the last two seats at the table. As soon as their butts made contact with the chair, Pinkie wizzed by. She dropped two mugs of cider for Iron and Rainbow. Iron took a sip of the cider. ‘I can taste the apples and the alcohol isn’t overpowering. This is some good cider.’

The ponies made some small talk about the town and business. Pinkie popped in every so often to give her random two bits. Rarity would talk about fashion while Rainbow would steer the conversation to stunts and the wonderbolts. Fluttershy would, at most, give a nod or a smile. She didn’t feel comfortable opening up in front of a stranger. Applejack finally was able to take her turn with talking about the apple business. She noticed that Iron was on his third mug of apple cider and decided to bring him back into the conversation.

“Ya like the cider?” Applejack said from across the table.

“This is some of the best cider I have ever tasted.” Iron wasn’t a drinker before his mother’s passing. He did have cider every-so-often before then. It wasn’t sweet like the one he was having. It had more of the cough syrup taste to it that Iron wasn’t fond of.

“Well thank ya. Made it muhself,” Applejack replied. She took another gulp of her drink. Iron was going to have another taste himself when he saw Rainbow chugging her fifth mug of cider. She finished with slamming her mug on the table. She let out a loud ‘AHHHHH’ before noticing every pony at the table eyeing her. Even Fluttershy stopped hiding behind her mane to watch the display. Rainbow responded in kind, with a blush.

“What!? I really like cider,” she finished in a mumble. Everypony around the table stared at her before bursting in laughter. Rainbows cheeks brightened and she buried her face into her forelegs. She didn’t come out till Iron gave her a pat on the back. He looked outside a window to check on the time. The moon was on the rise and the stars were shining bright. He decided to call it quits early.

“Well guys it has been fun, but I have to get that forge started so I can work tomorrow.” The ponies responded with a collective ‘Aww.’ “I will see you ponies later.” With a wave Iron was off to his forge. He was a little wobbly, but nothing too serious. ‘Gotta get that forge ready.’ He sighed. ‘This is going to be a long night.’

Back in the barn, the party dwindled down to five ponies. The same five ponies that Iron was just sitting with. They were running out of topics to talk about when Rainbow decided to bring up their new friend in town.

“So what do you guys think of Iron?” Rainbow wasn’t sure why she felt the need to bring up Iron, but she did anyway.

“Ah think he’s a hard workin pony and ah can respect that.”

“He is such a handsome stallion. I wouldn’t be surprised if somepony picked him up soon. Hopefully that pony will be me,” Rarity added, flicking her hair. Rainbow felt a flash of jealousy when Rarity said her last bit. ‘Wait? Why am I feeling jealous? So what if she wants to date Iron. I don’t like any stallion like that… Do I?’ While Rainbow was in her trance, Pinkie decided to jump in.

“I think he is super duper fun. He was kinda quiet though… I should throw him a Hey-You-Were-So-Quiet-You-Should-Talk-More-Party!”

“He seemed… nice.” While Fluttershy wouldn’t think bad of anypony she didn’t know,but she doesn’t feel comfortable around stallions that she doesn't know.

Rarity turned towards Rainbow. She noticed Dash’s reaction when she gave her opinion on Iron. She pressed the advantage she had on the pegasus.

“What do you think of him darling?” Rarity was giving Rainbow an all knowing look. Rainbow shot a defencive look back at Rarity.

“He’s pretty cool. Not as cool as your’s truly though.” Rarity chose a different approach. She leaned forward and supported her head with her forelegs.

“Then how was getting sweaty and dirty at his home? And don’t skip on the details.” Rainbow was in shock. Fluttershy let out a small ‘eep.’ Pinkie looked confused. And Applejack spat out her cider.

“What in tarnation do ya mean ‘gettin sweaty and dirty’!? Rainbow! Ya only knew em for a few hours!” Being the more reserved member of their group, Applejack was steaming mad. This was not something she or Granny would approve of.

Rainbow shot Rarity a glare, which Rarity responded with a smile.

“I told you we would get dirty and sweaty when helping him start his forge!” Rainbow turned back to Applejack. “I wouldn’t do something like that! I only just met him. E-Even if I wouldn’t mind.” Rarity was able to pick up on the last bit Rainbow mumbled.

“Oh ho! So you do like him.” Rarity was beaming ear to ear. Fluttershy perked up at this news while Pinkie was having her own internal party. Applejack calmed herself a bit, but was still a little peeved that Rainbow would say such a thing. “So, tell us why you like him.” Whether Rarity would admit it or not, she was a sucker for gossip.

Rainbow fiddled with her hooves, trying to figure out why herself. She had seen other stallions before and never felt a thing. She was even angry when she first met him. ‘Why do I like him?’ “I don’t know why. He just makes me feel a bit different. Like I have to impress him.”

“He beat me.” The ponies looked at her in horror. Before any of them could speak up, Rainbow waved her forelegs and finished her thought. “Nonono. Hear me out. He beat me in a contest.” The ponies relaxed a bit hearing it was a contest.

“But, It was how he did it,” Rainbow started. “First, he beat me in hoof wrestling. Which wouldn’t mean much since I still haven’t always won against you Applejack. But, he didn’t gloat, or rub it in or anything like a normal stallion would do. He just dropped the whole thing like it never happened.

Then, he was able to give some good comebacks at my jokes. No pony has ever been able to outsmart me with one liners. At least, not without trying to insult me.”

Rainbow collected herself before moving on. “I don’t know what I feel about him yet.” She turned to Rarity. “I know it is not this love~ that you are always talking about, but… I don’t know.”

“Sounds like this is your first crush,” said Rarity.

Rainbow choked up before responding with, “Pffff, I have had plenty of coltfriends. It’s just I haven’t bothered mentioning them.”

“Really? Like who?” Rarity called Rainbow’s bluff.

“I… uh… well there was…” Dash was sweating bullets trying to think up names.

“Um… It’s ok Rainbow. I’ve never had a coltfriend either,” Fluttershy threw in.

“Ugh! Fine! I have never had a coltfriend. Happy? I was too busy being awesome. A coltfriend would just slow me down.” Rainbow crosses her forelegs across her chest with a huff.

“Oh darling,” Rarity started. “A coltfriend would do anything but slow you down. You see a coltfriend is-” Rarity rambled off into the night with things a coltfriend would do for his marefriend. Most of the things she said brought a slight blush on all the mares around. She went on about how to get a coltfriend, what to do with one, why it is fun to have one, etc.

While the mares were talking about colts. Iron was shoveling more coal into the fire. He opened a bottle of cider he got before he left Canterlot. He then sat down and let his thoughts roam to the days ahead of him. He had a feeling that those days were going to be long and hard.

Author's Note

I would like to thanks PoniesLoveMe for editing this. This is the last prelude chapter. Next one will start the story I have been waiting for.

Mare in the Moon

Author's Note

No editor this time, but a really long chapter. Enjoy!

Mare in the Moon

Mare in the Moon

Iron was working on some horse shoes for the Apple family. He wanted to get ahead of the game when it came time to order them. They went through the shoes within a month. Applejack and her brother, Big Macintosh, didn’t need resizing all that often. Applebloom on the other hoof, Iron would have to measure her when it came time to order.

He hung up the shoes on a rack and took a break. The last four years have been ups and downs with a certain rainbow mare. He wasn’t blind to what she was doing when she asked him to watch her practice, or when she asked if she could help him with some work. She put him behind two weeks with her help. Rainbow laid off a bit after the rake incident. Iron wasn’t looking to be with anypony just yet. He just wasn’t ready. But that didn’t stop her from giggling and acting like a school filly around him.

He was sipping on some of the Apple family cider that he grew accustomed to.

Rarity backed down after his first day. ‘Probably because of Rainbow’. She no longer commissioned anything from him when the unicorn jeweler set up shop. Iron didn’t mind in the least that Jewel Crafter showed up. In fact, he was more than happy to give her Rarity’s contract.

Iron set his cider down and went to shovel more coal into the fire.

He never really did anything with Pinkie and Fluttershy. They never needed much from him when it came to anything metal related. He saw them whenever Rainbow invited him to a picnic or some other kind of outing.

Pinkie tended to irritate Iron with her rambling. She never gave him a chance to breathe and was always popping out of nowhere.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, grew a bit more accustomed to him. She still wouldn’t talk to him directly. Iron felt a little hurt when she would be talking to her friends and then choke up when he came around. He stopped trying after the first two years. Her friends said it was nothing personal, but Iron could never reach out to her.

Iron had other friends that he made. He got to know the local DJ, Vinyl Scratch. She had a club towards the outside circle of Ponyville. It was a nice place to get a drink whenever Iron needed to relax. She also needed a lot of work done since her entire setup had some kind of metal. It was mostly aluminum, which Iron was glad to work with.

He also got to know both Big Mac and Thunderlane. They would usually meet him at the club every Friday. They would talk about all kinds of things like work or home life. Thunderlane was on the weather team and was currently dating both Cloudchaser and Flitter. How he pulled that off, Iron would never know. Big Mac was married to his work. He never got out much, other than their usual Friday night meetups.

After he finished up his shoveling, Iron decided to call it a day. Nopony would be in today. Today was the Summer Sun Celebration, and Celestia herself was going to be in Ponyville. Iron and Celestia sent letters back and forth throughout the years. She would talk about her student. Celestia would also send some things over politics, mostly to complain though. Iron, in turn, would send her projects that he would be working on, and the friends he has made or has tried to make.

Iron walked into his home to take a nap. He would be up all night, as was tradition in Ponyville. He was going to have a nice breakfast with the only motherly figure in his life after the celebration.

Over the skies in between Canterlot and Ponyville, a royal chariot flew through the sky. On the chariot sat a lavender unicorn and a baby dragon. The unicorn was pouting over the railing, while the dragon was reading off a letter.

“My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends.” Twilight responded with a deep sigh.

“P.S. I would like you to check up on a friend of mine. His name is Iron Smoke and I would like to know how he has been getting settled in Ponyville. I miss him like a mother would miss her son. You would be doing me a great service by doing this task.” Twilight looked up in a confused manner after she heard the last part of the letter.

“Spike. The princess doesn't have a son. Even if she did, she would have told me since I am her personal student.”

“I wonder what she meant by that then,” Spike responded.

“I don’t know, but I am going to find out who this Iron Smoke is after I check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.” Twilight finished with a smack on the railings. She was determined to find out this mystery pony that she was just now told about.

“So, does that mean you will give up on this Nightmare Moon thing and go and make some friends?” Spike said full of hope.

Twilight facehoofed. She forgot about the Nightmare Moon prophecy that got her sent to Ponyville in the first place. “No. I will wait till after the celebration to find Iron and the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends. I'll just check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to a library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return.”

“Well, at least the princess arranged for you to stay in a library.” Spike inwardly groaned. His chances of a day just making friends and having a good time were thrown out the window. They felt the weight of gravity overcome the magic that held them onto the chariot as they descended towards the small town.

Iron woke up with a loud knocking at the door. He begrudgedly hopped off his bed and headed towards the door. When he opened the door, he came face to face with the town’s local hyperactive pony. Iron let out a yawn before he addressed the pony.

“Hello Pinkie Pie. What can I do for you?” Iron wiped the rest of the sleep out of his eyes.

“Hiya Smokey! I just wanted to invite you to a party to welcome the new pony in town!” Pinkie reached back and pulled an invitation out of nowhere. Rather than questioning where it came from, Iron looked it over. The party was going to be held at five o’clock at the library. He didn’t think anypony ever went to the library. The local librarian resigned a few months ago and the place has been empty ever since.

“Yeah. I’ll be there Pinkie,” Iron said, still half asleep.

“Okie Dokie Lokie! See you there!” She gave a bigger smile then hopped down the road.

Iron shut his door and laid the invitation down on the coffee table in the middle of his livingroom. He was still waking up, and was feeling a little bit hungry. Iron debated whether to go out to eat or just make something at home. He decided to make something here since some of his favorite places might not be open.

He walked into the kitchen and made himself a quick hay sandwich. He was eating his sandwich over the counter while thinking to himself. ‘No orders for today and I am bored out of my mind… I need to get out more.’ With the final bite of his sandwich, Iron headed out the door into town.

When he got into town, the streets were packed with ponies but no stalls or shops, just ponies who were going to their own parties and get togethers. Iron was walking through one of the less crowded areas when he heard the boasts of a certain pegasus.

“Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat.” He saw Rainbow bragging to a lavender pony with a mane that could rival Pinkie’s tangled mess. He also saw, what looked to be, a small purple lizard by her side.

“Prove it,” retorted the ignorant pony. ‘You did it now,’ Iron thought. With a whoosh, Rainbow took off into the sky, clearing all the clouds in sight. ‘One Mississippneigh. Two Mississippneigh...’ Iron began counting off the seconds that Rainbow was in the air. She eventually made her way back in front of the, now in awe, unicorn.

“Loop the loop around, and wham! What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd nev-”

“I counted eleven,” Iron interrupted her. Both ponies and a dragon turned to look at the newcomer. Rainbow gave a small gasp before landing next to the curly mane pony.

“H-Hey Iron. I didn’t see you there.” Rainbow was playing with her hooves and had a bit of a blush on her face. Normally, she wouldn’t be caught dead acting like this, but she couldn’t help it around her crush. There were times where she would act like he was just a friend and challenge him to more hoof wrestles... and races when she wanted to win after losing the hoof wrestle.

“Just watching the display. It is always funny when somepony tries to challenge your speed.” Iron ended with a chuckle, remembering the big race a couple years back. Rainbow snickered a little bit, also remembering the race.

“Yeah. Those guys didn’t know what hit them.” She looked over to see the unicorn coming out of her daze. “Oh yeah! Iron, this is Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is Iron Smoke.” She pointed at each pony. Twilight remembered hearing that name in the letter her mentor gave her.

“Iron Smoke? Do you, perhaps, know Princess Celestia?” She couldn’t see why he would know her teacher. ‘He isn’t even a unicorn. How could he know the princess?’ Twilight was confident in her own thoughts until Iron spoke up.

“Oh yeah. I know her. We send letters back and forth all the time. She talks about you a lot.” Twilight was as stupefied as when she saw Rainbow clear the sky. ‘The princess told him about me!? How come I never heard of him then! I am suppose to be her personal protégé!.’ While Twilight was steaming in jealousy, Rainbow decided to speak up.

“It has been fun and all but me and Iron have some errands to run. I think Quill wants us to pick up a few books.” Iron thought about what she meant and was about to ask when it hit him. ‘Party. Library. Books.’ Iron came to realize that this is the pony Pinkie was going to throw a party for. Rainbow probably was the first pony Pinkie came to first. ‘Probably asked her to help too.’

“Yeah. I remember Quill saying something about that. We better get going. I’ll see you around.” Iron gave a wave before heading in a random direction. Rainbow trotted up next to him after saying her own goodbye. Once they were out of sight from Twilight, Rainbow spoke up.

“So did Pinkie already tell you about the party?”

“Yeah, she came by my house and woke me from my nap. I am guessing she asked you to help her out?” Rainbow responded with a nod and headed towards the tree library.

Once they got to the library, she knocked on the door and waited for Pinkie to answer. The door opened up enough for the pink pony to stick her head out. She looked left and right before pulling both pegasi inside. When they found their balance, Pinkie, who was grinning like a madpony, let them know how happy she was that they showed up.

“I am so happy that you guys showed up! Why does that sound so familiar? Oh well. Here!” She hoofed over some streamers to Rainbow and Iron. “Could you guys hang these up? I can’t find a ladder anywhere in here.”

“Sure thing Pinkie,” Rainbow spoke up. Both she and Iron flew up and started to hang the streamers around the empty library. By the time the two were done, Pinkie has already set up the rest of the room.

Iron looked over to Rainbow and said, “If it were anypony but Pinkie, I would ask how she set this up so fast.” Rainbow giggled a little.

“Yeah. I learned long ago to just go with it.” She sat down on one of the chairs. Pinkie was finishing up the last of her games: Pin the Tail on the Pony. Right after she was certain that the poster wasn’t going to fall off the wall, there was a knock at the door. Pinkie walked over and performed the same ritual that she did with Iron and Rainbow, with one exception. The entire town seemed to funnel into the library. Iron got a glance at the clock before he was squashed against Rainbow. ‘It’s almost five so I guess they are here for the party.’ He was looking around, seeing the ponies fill the room, oblivious to the mare he was pushed up against.

Rainbow’s cheeks were burning a bright shade of red. On the outside, she looked like she was keeping her cool. On the inside, however, she was choking up like a school filly. ‘Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! He is touching me! Ok Rainbow. Play it co- His flank touched mine! Sweet Celestia. This is so embarrassing, but I don’t want it to stop.’ Rainbow’s mind was racing with thoughts ranging from being embarrassed about a flank touch to things that would make even loose ponies blush. Seeing that there was now no way out, she decided to enjoy the feeling and let her imagination run wild.For her, sadly, it ended when Pinkie let out a large gasp and shut off the lights.

“Shhhh! They’re coming!” Pinkie disappeared in the darkness while the rest of the town bent down, trying to make themselves a bit smaller. A few moments passed before the library door opened and slammed shut.

“Huh. Rude much?” Iron heard a male voice.

“Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?” Iron and Rainbow both recognized the voice of Twilight. Pinkie took that as her queue to turn on the lights.

“SURPRISE!!!” Twilight jumped back as she saw the whole town in the place where she would be staying at. Pinkie jumped up and put her face in front of Twilight’s. Pinkie began her ritual of welcoming the new pony. That is where Iron was able to scoot away from Rainbow, figuring she would rather not be squished. By the look on her face, he was wrong.

“Uh… Rainbow?” He waved his hoof in front of her face, which he could only describe as pure bliss. Iron saw no response to his waving and poked the dazed mare.

“Wha, wha, wha? Surprise!” A few ponies look back at her with confusion on their faces. Her ears splayed back and she heard Iron start to chuckle.

“I think ya missed your cue there.” Rainbow gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head.

“Yeah. I guess I kind of zoned out there.” She looked around and saw the party was in full swing. “Hey. I am going to look around. See you at the ceremony?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet you out front.”

“Cool, see ya then.” She hesitated a bit. What came next was a little forward, even for Dash. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing into the crowd of ponies.

Iron stood there, dumbfounded about what just happened. His forehoof made its way to the spot where she kissed him. He knew she had feelings for him, but she had never out right kissed him. To him, the kiss felt… good. It felt right. ‘Am I starting to fall for this mare?’ This rattled Iron just a bit. He didn’t think he would be a good coltfriend, and he doubted he could keep up with Rainbow. ‘I am not the right pony for her. This is just some crush.’

He made his way around the party. He played a few games but mostly stayed at a table, drinking some hard cider. Some of his friends came around and talked for a while, but he wasn’t the party type of pony. He was the sit back and watch kind of pony. A bystander.

The party drifted into the early morning hours. The sun would be raised soon and the ponies were making their way to town hall. Iron was standing outside, waiting for Rainbow. She was one of the last ponies to get to town hall. As she trotted up to him, he was going to question her about the kiss. Then, he thought it would be better if he just forgot about it.

“For being a fast mare, you were almost late.” She may have made him feel awkward, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t still act like friends.

“Yeah, I had to swing home real fast to get something.” She trotted past him. Iron could smell a sweet scent as she went past him. ‘Did she put on perfume? Wait? She HAS perfume? Smells like... strawberries.’ This night was just not Iron’s night. His best mare friend was now laying her feelings out on him harder than she has ever in the past. He followed Rainbow into the hall. They both found a spot in the crowd and waited for the ceremony to begin.

The lights dimmed and a spotlight hit the stage to illuminate the mayor. The ponies quieted down and waited for the mayor to start her speech.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” All the ponies in the crowd cheered. They were quite fond of this holiday.

“In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…” Fluttershy readied her birds for their fanfare.

“...Princess Celestia!” The mayor motioned up to the balcony above her. Rarity drew the curtains back to reveal… nothing. All the ponies started to talk amongst themselves at the lack of a princess. Rarity went to the back to look for the princess while the mayor tried to retain order.

“Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!” The mayor’s voice was frantic and above all else, nervous. Rarity came back to the balcony to deliver the bad news.

“She's gone!” All the ponies in the room let out a gasp. In the confusion, a dark blue mist started to appear on the balcony. The mist was moving in all kinds of directions before morphing into a tall black alicorn. The alicorn was obviously a mare and donned a blue helmet with a matching breast plate. She flapped her wings a few times before she spoke to the crowed of horrified ponies.

“Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces.” She had on a evil grin while she addressed the crowd. Iron looked over to see Rainbow about to take off. He quickly grabbed her tail before she got more than a couple feet off the ground. Even though he was able to stop her from physically attacking the stranger, he was not able to stop her from verbally attacking.

“What did you do with our Princess?!” Iron was able to bring her down with a sharp yank. She fell flat on her flank and turned to tell off Iron. She didn’t get the chance.

“I rather NOT die today!” He spoke in a loud whisper. “And I don’t want to see YOU die either.” He emphasized his point by poking the mare in the chest. Rainbow stopped everything she wanted to do and say at the stallion. One thought echoed through her mind. ‘He cares about me.’ The dark alicorn did not wait on them and continued to go on.

“Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?” In truth only one pony in that room knew who she was. But that didn’t stop Pinkie from trying.

“Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty-” She was interrupted by Applejack, who shoved a cupcake into Pinkies mouth.

“Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?” The alicorn was moving towards ponies, leaning uncomfortably close to Fluttershy. Then she leaned over and lightly slapped Rarity with her mane.

“ I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!” The ponies around Twilight moved away as she stated the facts. It was followed by a large gasp from the frightened ponies.

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here.” The alcorn's grin grew as she went on.

“You're here to... to... “ Twilight gave a gulp and looked around nervously. She knew what Nightmare was going to do but didn’t have the heart to tell the ponies. Nightmare gave an evil chuckle.

“Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last FOREVER!” Nightmare’s mane started to swirl above her and lightning started to shoot out. The thunder was mixed with maniacal laughter. Iron wasn’t feeling what the other ponies were. Instead of fear, he was feeling more angry than he ever had in his life. ‘I will not let another pony I love go without a fight!’

“Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!” the mayor cried out. The guards flew up to take down the alicorn.

“Stand back, you foals!” The lightning from the storm lashed out at the flying guards. Each one was struck back. Nightmare shifted back into her mist form and flew out the doors. Iron wasn’t able to react fast enough to stop Rainbow this time, but even at her speed, she wasn’t able to catch Nightmare. Rainbow looked down to see Twilight running out of the hall to her home. ‘How did she know this was going to happen?’ With that in mind, she chased after the unicorn, unaware that Iron was flying to his own home, revenge in mind.

Rainbow was able to catch up to Twilight as she was laying the dragon down to sleep.

“You've been up all night, Spike. You are a baby dragon after all. Elements, elements, elements... Ugh! How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?” Rainbow decided at this point to make herself known to the mysterious mare.

“And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy? Whoa!” She looked back to see the orange farm pony pulling on her tail.

“Simmer down, Sally. She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's going on. Don't you, Twilight?” The rest of the ponies that Twilight met that day funneled into the room. They all looked at Twilight expecting an explanation.

“I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!” Twilight was staring up at the “empty” moon when she heard a childish voice read off the book title she was looking for.

“Hmm "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide."” Pinkie was then butted out of the way by Twilight. She stared at the book Pinkie pointed out.

“How did you find that?!” She had been looking for that book ever since she left Canterlot.

“It was under E~!” Pinkie bounced along happily. Twilight then took the book out of the shelf with her magic and found the page she was looking for.

“There are seven Elem-” Twilight started before she was interrupted by Pinkie.

“Whoopsie! I left a smudge.” The pink pony hopped in front of Twilight and wiped off the smudge. Pinkie gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I had a lot of cake tonight.” She took her place back amongst the other ponies. Twilight let off a cough to clear her throat before she began again.

“Yes, well. There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now the Everfree Forest.” The ponies in the room gave off a gasp.

“Did ya just say the Everfree Forest? That is one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria!” Applejack pointed out. “Granny always said ta stay out of there. There’s all kinds of varmints in there. I hope y’all know how to fight, cause it’ll get rough if we run into any of them creatures.” When she warned them of all the dangers and how it might be handy to know a thing or two about fighting, Rainbow had an idea.

“What if we bring Iron along? He trained with the guards for a while.” The ponies looked at her with mixed expressions. Applejack and Pinkie seemed to agree with this idea. Twilight looked a little peeved at this idea, while Fluttershy seemed to visibly shrink at the mention of Iron. Rarity let out a sigh and shook her head.

“Darling, we all know why you want to bring him along. This isn’t the time or place to try and woo him over. This is serious business.” Rarity tried to reason with Rainbow, to which was responded with a groan.

“Look. It’s not about that. He said he trained with the guards for a while. That means he knows how to not only look after himself, but us too.” Rarity was about to retort when Applejack stepped in.

“Rainbow’s right. We could use all the help we can get.” Rainbow smiled at her friend that stepped in. Rarity lost the will to fight this out and conceded. “Speakin of which, where is he?” They looked around the room, thinking they just left him out of the conversation. Rainbow knew where he must have went after the event in the town hall.

“I think I know where he is. You guys go ahead and meet us at the front of the Everfree Forest.” Before any of them could respond, Rainbow made her way out of the library towards Iron’s home.

After Rainbow chased Twilight

Iron flew as fast as he could towards his blacksmith shop. He was more than angry. He was furious at the mare who dared to take another pony he could have called “mother” away from him. He wanted to hurt Nightmare. He wanted to hurt her so bad. To make her feel the pain he was being force fed.

The thoughts only intensified when he reached his shop. He threw the door open and made his way to a chest. Iron opened the chest to reveal a set of armor, wing blades, some straps, and a sword.

He was trained in the guard for a bit in his life. He wanted to get to know how the weapons and armor he made worked in the real world. Gallant was more than happy to help him learn how they used his equipment. He was trained among the other pegasus recruits. He did well with the wing blades but was better with a sword strapped to his foreleg.

He strapped on the armor first. It was made out of a slightly tougher material than the royal guards. It was also colored silver instead of the gold that ponies were used to.

When he finished strapping on the saddle armor and breast plate he looked up on a shelf and saw a picture of his family. It was the one that his father gave him. It had his mother and father standing tall while he was the little colt in between them.

He stopped everything he was doing and walked over the picture. Iron reached up and took the picture in his hoof. He held it in front of his face as a lone tear came rolled down his cheek and dropped on the ash covered ground. He stood there for what seemed like hours, just cradling the picture in his forelegs.

“I couldn’t save you,” he muttered to himself. He hesitantly put the picture back in its place. “But I can save Celestia.” He tightened his straps. He then attached the wing blades. They were specifically built for fast cuts that also didn’t hinder flight. The last piece of equipment he donned was a single sword. He placed it in its holster and headed for the door. Upon opening the door, he was greeted with the face of Rainbow Dash. Iron let out a frustrated sigh

“Dash, this isn’t a good time.” His voice had a growl to it. He ended up walking around her and headed towards town. Rainbow flew alongside him.

“I know. That’s why we wanted to ask for your help. You see, Nightmare can only be defeated by these elements of harmony and they are kinda in the Everfree Forest.” Iron stopped in his tracks and looked at the mare with a confused expression. “You can see where I am going with this. And seeing how you are already dressed up to slay a manticore, it would be helpful if you were there in case one did show up.”

“I have a better idea.” It was Rainbow’s turn to look confused. “How about all of you stay here while I go in search for these elements.” Now knowing a starting location, Iron wasn’t about to let anypony go into that forest. Rainbow however had different ideas. She landed in front of Iron and stomped her hoof on the ground.

“What do you mean “stay here”!? There is no way I am going to let you go in there alone!” She wasn’t going to budge on this. Iron brought a forehoof to his forehead and let out a frustrated groan.

“Dash, don’t make it any harder than it has to be. I have to do this.” He tried to walk around her but was stopped by a foreleg. Iron looked at Rainbows face. She was still angry but her eyes were starting to tear up.

“I’m not going to sit back and watch you get killed!”

“Rainbow.”

“What kind of friend would I be if I let you go in there?!”

“Rainbow!”

“What in Equestria would make you think this is a good idea?!”

“RAINBOW!”

“Well?! Why do you think you can do this to me?!”

“I CAN’T LOSE ANYPONY ELSE!”

Rainbow stopped her attacks on the armored stallion. Even through her tears, she could she Iron starting to tear up as well. His shoulders dropped and he lowered his head. He sat down on the path, staring at his forelegs.

“I can’t… I just.. can’t.” All his steam was spent. He was now weeping for his dead mother. Iron had been holding in this grief in for four long years, and in an instant, it burst out of him. He was crying like a newborn foal in the middle of the street.

Rainbow was shocked even further. She had never seen this side of Iron. She was used to seeing him happy or laid back. Now she was seeing the baggage he has been carrying ever since they met.

Rainbow was having her own little panic attack, trying to figure out what to do. She thought what Fluttershy would do if she found a crying animal. Without thinking any further, she pulled Iron into a hug. It didn’t take Iron long to wrap his own legs around Rainbow as he sobbed into her neck.

“It’s ok. Just let it all out,” she cooed while rubbing his back. It was a good five minutes before Iron started to calm down. His tears have stopped and he was reduced to sniffing. He pulled himself out of the hug and wiped his nose and eyes. Rainbow took this moment to see how he was doing.

“You feel better?” Even though it was an intense moment for both ponies, Rainbow felt happy that she was able to comfort her crush.

“Yeah… I…” Iron took in a deep breath before continuing. “I needed that.” He now had a small smile on his face. It wasn’t a Pinkie smile, but it still spoke volumes of thanks towards Rainbow.

“Like I said before. I’d never leave a friend hanging.” She got up and rubbed his back some more, getting rid of his shakiness. “Speaking of friends, do you feel alright enough to come with us?” Rainbow was shaking a bit herself. She was still trying to get over how the stallion, that she thought of like a brick wall, could just crumble in a second.

“Y-Yeah. I’m good.” Iron got onto all fours with shaky legs. Once they started trotting towards the Everfree, his legs got better.

They eventually made it to the entrance to the Everfree, where five mares were waiting to venture in. As soon as the mares spotted the duo, their reactions were very much the same when Rainbow brought up the idea to bring Iron along, with the exception of Rarity.

“Howdy there Iron. Seems Rainb… Ya’ll alright there sugarcube?” Even if his legs were no longer shaky, his eyes were still red from his breakdown.

“I’m better now. Thanks,” he said as he wiped his eyes. Applejack eyed him critically before moving on.

“Alright then.” She turned towards Twilight. “Now why don’t ya tell em where we’re runnin off ta.” The peeved look on Twilight’s face molded into a smug expression.

“Well, as Celestia’s personal student and closest friend, I found that they use to rule in a castle in the Everfree forests. That is where the Elements of Harmony were last seen.” Iron raised an eyebrow, along with Rainbow and Applejack, at the extra fanfare she started off with. “Now that you are caught up, we can get going.” She then turned around and trotted into the forest. Fluttershy scurried after Twilight like a scared puppy. Iron turned to the other mares.

“What was that all about?” They had their own eyebrows raised while they looked back and forth at Iron then to the spot where Twilight was standing.

“I don’t know, but it was kind of weird that Fluttershy went off with a pony she hasn’t even known for a day.” Rainbow spoke up what everypony was thinking.

Iron sighed. It didn’t surprise him that Fluttershy ran off to get away from him. She would always make excuses to not come to an event if she knew Iron was coming along, and if he did show up, she would excuse herself for the rest of the night. It always hurt him because he didn’t know why or what he did to cause her to act like this. He also didn’t want to bring it up and make her resent him more than she already did.

“C’mon. We don’t want them to get too far ahead.” Iron ignored Rainbow’s statement and walked into the forest. It didn’t take long for them to catch up. They were going at a snail’s pace. While they were walking, Rainbow trotted up to Fluttershy and started a conversation. Iron couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the head nods towards him gave him a good idea of the topic.

Just when it looked like the conversation between Rainbow and Fluttershy was starting to heat up, the ground crumbled under the pony’s feet. Iron, Rainbow, and Fluttershy were able to get airborne while the rest slid down the slope.

“Fluttershy! Iron! Quick!” The three pegasi raced after their falling friends. Rainbow was able to get Pinkie and Fluttershy struggled to get ahold of Rarity. Iron couldn’t see Twilight sliding towards the cliff and opted to help stop Rarity from sliding down with Fluttershy. Fluttershy would have flew away if it wasn’t for Rarity.

“I got her. You go help Rainbow.” Fluttershy was a bit reluctant to let him take Rarity, but looking over his shoulder, she could see Twilight in trouble. She flew out of Iron’s sight as he got a good grip on Rarity.

“Thank you Darling. No offence, but I thought she would pull my tail out before she would have gotten me in the air.” Iron was making his way over towards where Rainbow and Fluttershy were lowering down Twilight.

“No problem Rarity.” Iron lowed Rarity to the ground. She dusted herself off in a “ladylike” manner. Iron would have rolled his eyes at this, but his attention was back to the other two pegasi. Rainbow looked as if she just proved a point, but Fluttershy wasn’t convinced.

The group eventually got moving again. Iron leaned over to Rarity, who was walking beside him.

“Do you know what’s going on between those two?” Rarity let off a nervous chuckle. ‘That’s reassuring.’ Iron thought sarcastically.

“I’m sure it’s nothing Darling. Just a couple of friends talking.” She dismissed the thought with a wave of her hoof.

“Rarity, you are the town’s gossip mare. Don’t look at me like that. You know exactly what they are talking about.” Iron pressed further. Rarity was now starting to visibly sweet. Just when Iron thought she would crack, a roar permeated through the forest. Iron could swear he heard Rarity say “Thank Celestia”.

The roar came from a very angry manticore. It was easily bigger than Iron imagined. Its wings were spread wide and its scorpion tail was ready to sting. The part that gave Iron the most nerves was how its lion hide could take a lot of punishment before it would be down for the count. The creature jumped in front of Iron and Rarity then took a swipe at them. Iron rolled away while Rarity ducked then bucked.

“Take that, you ruffian!” The manticore responded with another roar, right in Rarity's face. The roar was so forceful that Rarity’s mane was blown straight backwards and then curled up the same way he first saw Twilight’s mane. Rarity was able to feel her mane curl up like Pinkie’s.

“My Mane! Wah!” She ran to the back of the pack. A faint wait came from Fluttershy when she ran past. Before Iron could react himself, Applejack found herself on top of the raging manticore.

“YEE-HAW! Git along, little dogie.” The manticore immediately started to jump around, trying to shake off the pony. Another faint “wait” came from Fluttershy, who at this point was sitting on the sidelines. The manticore got a good shake in and threw Applejack off.

“All yours, partner.” Applejack said as she sailed through the air. Rainbow gave her a salute.

“I'm on it.” Rainbow then started to make her own rainbow cyclone around the raging beast. Another “wait” came from Fluttershy as Rainbow started to speed up. The manticore’s response to the whirlwind was a quick tail whip. Luckily, the back end of the tail hit Rainbow in the stomach.

“Rainbow!” Twilight and Iron both cried out. ‘That’s it. No more nice pony.’ Iron drew his sword. He was taught in the guard how to take down these beasts in teams. He didn’t have the luxury right now. One thing in his training he could use was to go for the jugular. It is the weakest point on a manticore. He looked down at Rainbow, who was still struggling to get up. Their eyes met each other’s.

“You said I would be helpful if one came along.” Iron had on a snarky smile. Rainbow just groaned a bit more. Iron floated up a little and lifted his sword like a lance. He watched as the manticore challenged him by scraping the ground with its claw. Iron let of a yell and charged at the beast.

“WAIT!” Fluttershy flew up in between him and the manticore. Iron was thankful he was able to stop when she flew in front of him. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t be around anymore.

Fluttershy then turned around and walked up to the manticore. The beast raised its paw as if to attack. All the ponies turned away, not being able to bear what would happen.

“Shhh... It's okay.” The manticore looked confused and held out its paw. There was a rather large thorn stuck in the middle. “Oh, you poor, poor little baby.” She looked up at the now calm manticore.

“Little?” Rainbow looked confused.

“Now this might hurt for just a second.” Fluttershy reached up and took the thorn in her mouth. With a pluck the manticore screamed out in pain.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Everypony screamed, fearing the worst. Turns out the manticore picked her up and cradled her. It was licking her mane while she was giggling and cooing at the tame beast.

Everypony took a sigh of relief and trotted past the pegasus and her new friend. Iron hung towards the back of the group and heard Fluttershy and Twilight share some words.

“How did you know about the thorn?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.” Iron hurried back to the group. ‘Show some kindness my flank.’ Iron was steaming a bit to himself, thinking of how much of a hypocrite Fluttershy was. Rainbow and Fluttershy went back on with their conversation. This time, it was Fluttershy’s turn to look smug. He really didn’t want to be the product of two friends falling apart. It would kill him on the inside to take away somepony that really cared for Rainbow.

While Iron was tearing himself up inside, he failed to notice the ponies stop in front of him. He ran right into Pinkie. Iron pulled his head back and backed up a little.

“Sorry.” Pinkie turned around with her trademark smile. Of course she wouldn’t be bothered.

“That’s ok Smokey! It is getting a little dark here.” Iron looked up. True to her word it was getting darker. Twilight decided to also comment on the darkness.

“That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it.” Iron could barely see the end of his muzzle let alone a hidden castle. The mares started to bump into each other, each one apologizing to another.

“Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin'.” Applejack lifted her hoof closer to her eyes. Before anything else could be done, Fluttershy let off and ear piercing scream. “It's just mud.” Applejack turned around to reveal a scary looking tree. She screamed and ran back towards the other mares. Iron would have leapt up and attacked if it wasn’t just a tree.

“Girls… It’s just a tree.” Iron’s reasoning never reached their ears. They chose to scream and cower in fear. He looked up to at least see Pinkie just being her normal goofy self, making faces at the trees.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?! Run!” Iron shook his head at the frightened Twilight.

“Oh girls, don't you see?” Pinkie cleared her throat before she started to sing.

“When I was a little filly and the sun was going down…”

‘Done!’ Iron left the mares to their song and dance. He didn’t feel like singing or laughing at the moment. He was still trying to figure out a way to not break up Rainbow’s and Fluttershy’s friendship. It didn’t help that he didn’t know exactly what they were talking about. He sighed and leaned up against a tree. ‘Either way I’m screwed. If I cut things off with Rainbow, she will be heartbroken. But if I don’t… Fluttershy might abandon Rainbow. As much as I would hate to break her heart… Fluttershy is more important to her compared to some stallion.’

As regretful as he was, Iron made his choice. He wasn’t going to break up a friendship that has been going on a lot longer than his own.

“Hmm, why won’t this tree change? I have already laughed, giggled, chuckled, snickered, snorted… everything I can think of but this tree won’t change.” The voice of Pinkie brought him back to the reality he had been dreading. He looked around to see all the trees were back to what they should look like. He turned around to see the only tree left to change was the one he was leaning on. Iron got up onto his hooves and saw the tree instantly change into the others.

“Well that was weird, but it is gone now. Let’s get moving girls.” Twilight turned around and started back along the path. ‘Wow… she doesn’t even notice I am gone… or a male for that matter.’

“Now wait here just a sec! Has anypony seen Iron?” Applejack sounded a little worried. Before Iron could put her worries to rest, Twilight spoke up.

“I’m sure he’s fine. We need to keep moving.”Twilight was trying to urge the other ponies on. Applejack was going to say something else before Iron was able to speak up.

“I’m right here. We can go.” His head was hanging low and he didn’t make any kind of eye contact. He walked right past Twilight and proceeded down the path. Twilight had look of guilt on her face. The happy go lucky mood that Pinkie just got done setting was washed away like a sandcastle on a beach.

“R-Right. Let’s go.” Twilight was now feeling ashamed of herself for putting Iron on the backburner. Even if she didn’t have that many friends, she still knew that no pony should ever be treated like that. She trotted down the path to catch up to Iron.

When she caught up to him, she didn’t feel any better. Looking at how he carried himself, she could have sworn somepony stabbed her heart. His head hung low. His shoulder were drooped as far as they could go. His tail was dragging on the ground. There was only one word he could use to describe this stallion… defeated. She also felt like she had seen this before. Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on it but the way he looked reminded her of some other pony she had seen acting just like now. Before she could dive into it more, Pinkie spoke up again.

“How are we gonna cross this?” Twilight and Iron looked up to the rest of the group standing on the banks of a raging river. Twilight would have asked how they got in front of her but the distant cry caught her attention. The group followed the noise to reveal a purple river serpent. Its tail was thrashing around, making the river have a rapid feel to it. The serpent had a big golden hairdo with, what used to be, a matching mustache.

“What a world, what a world!” He continued to thrash around.

“Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?” Twilight spoke up, trying to get the attention of the crying serpent.

“Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid.” Iron couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling, even if he wanted to. He wasn’t in a mood for this. Rainbow voiced what Iron was thinking.

“Oh, give me a break.” Applejack was next to speak up.

“That's what all the fuss is about?” He reminded Applejack of how Rarity would act if her mane wasn’t done properly. At that moment, the mare in question made herself known.

“Why, of course it is. How can you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales.” She reached up and petted the serpent on the chin.

“I know.” He was able to sniff out.

“And your expertly coiffed mane.” He raised his head off the bank and pulled his mane back.

“Oh, I know, I know.” The serpent was petting his mane due to Rarity’s flattery.

“Your fabulous manicure.” Rarity continued to praise his fashion sense.

“It's so true!” He made a face that would rival Rainbow’s if a wonderbolt was nearby.

“All ruined without your beautiful mustache.” All the praise in the world couldn’t have stopped the serpent from falling back onto the river bank.

“It's true, I'm hideous!” He cried out. Rarity took a determined stance.

“I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected.” She then walked up and plucked a sharp scale from the serpent’s body. He let out a very unmanly yelp.

“What did you do that for?” The serpent was scared about what she was going to do with his scale. Twilight looked just as confused.

“Rarity, what are you-” She was answered with a large portion of Rarity’s tail being cut off. Rarity levitated her tail up to the ruined side of his mustache. With a bit of magic, she got her tail to attach and complete the mustache. Iron didn’t think it looked any better, but the serpent disagreed.

“Oh-hohohoho! My mustache. How wonderful.” The serpent was now stroking his new mustache. Rarity also agreed with him.

“You look smashing.” Iron could tell that Rainbow and Applejack felt the same way he did.

“Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail…” Twilight motioned to the now visibly shorter tail.

“Oh. It's fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides, it'll grow back.” Iron could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“So would the mustache.” Rainbow decided to throw that in. Twilight just smiled and shook her head. She looked back down to see the river had stopped raging.

“We can cross now. Let's go.” Twilight jumped into the river only to be lifted up by the serpent.

“Allow me.” He then dived under the water, giving the ponies a bridge to cross. Iron opted to just fly across. ‘I don’t know why we didn’t just do that in the first place.’ He continued down the path.

Twilight thanked the serpent when his head poked back out of the water. She then turned around and felt another pain of sadness. Iron’s mood hadn’t improved in the slightest. She kept thinking she had seen this somewhere before. Then it hit her.

Twilight was running down the halls. She was almost tardy to her lesson with Celestia. She was just so caught up in her reading that she lost track of time. If it wasn’t for Spike she would have been tardy.

She turned a corner. ‘I can’t believe I forgot to look at the clock!’ The study was only down a few more hallways. As she turned her last corner she almost ran into a pony.

He had a dark coat and a short mane. His head was hanging low. It looked like he just lost everything. But Twilight was in a hurry. She didn’t have time to deal with ponies.

“Sorry!” The stallion gave no indication that he heard her. She ran right past him and bursted into the study. “Princess! I am so…” Twilight trailed off as she saw her mentor crying into a cushion. Celestia looked up to see the confused and saddened face of her pupil.

“Twilight,” she sniffed, “I-I am sorry, b-but I h-have to cancel o-our lessons today.” She hated letting her student see her like this. She tried to use her years of experience to help her regain her composure. It didn’t work out so well.

“Princess, what’s wrong? Is it because I was almost tardy!? I’m sorry! It won’t ever happen again!” Twilight was freaking out, thinking it was her fault. Celestia gained as much composure as she could.

“It was nothing you did my faithful student.” She wrapped her student into a hug. She wasn’t about to tell her about a pony’s passing. She just couldn’t take away that innocence that Twilight possessed. “However, I am not able to teach you properly today. I hope you can forgive me.” Twilight would have scoffed if she wasn’t with her teacher.

“Princess, you don’t have to push yourself for me. We can pick up on our lessons when you feel ready.” She gave her teacher a little squeeze. Celestia returned the gesture then asked if she could be alone. Twilight nodded her head and left the princess cope with her feelings.

Twilight put the pieces together. She was too focused on her own worries that she didn’t even connect the two ponies. This only made her feel worse. ‘This isn’t the first time he has felt like this. And now it is my fault.’

She walked up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder. Iron thought she was asking him to move over, so he did. Since she didn’t get his attention, she decided to speak up.

“I-Iron?” He didn’t respond. That only made Twilight feel even worse about herself. Little did she know it wasn’t her that was causing him so much distress. It was the fact that he would have to hurt one of his friends in the near future.

She wanted to say how sorry she was and that it was wrong of her to try and axe the stallion from the group. She wanted to apologize for her jealousy getting the better of her. Before she could explain herself, she spied the ruins that they were looking for.

“There it is, the ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony. We made it!” She said it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She started to gallop towards the ruins, hearing Applejack telling her to wait up. “We're almost there. Whoa!” Twilight failed to notice the lack of a bridge covering the cliff. Iron reacted as fast as he could and pulled Twilight back away from the gap. She looked at her savior, even then, there was a lack of emotion on his face. “Thanks.” She gave him a small smile, to which he only nodded his head.

“What's with you and falling off cliffs today?” Rainbow tried to lighten the mood. The rest of the ponies caught up and looked at the empty chasm.

“Now what?” Pinkie spoke up. Iron walked to the edge of the cliff and was ready to take off when Rainbow put her leg on Iron’s shoulder.

“I got this. You don’t look so good.” Rainbow offered him a smile. ‘Quit making this harder than it has to be Rainbow.’ He wanted to tell her, but right now they had a job to do.

Rainbow removed her hoof and dived to grab the bridge. She few to the other side and started to tie the lines when the fog started to accumulate. Iron couldn’t hear what Rainbow was saying but she was on her back legs, shadow boxing some unknown enemy. Iron could eventually see a group of pegasi dressed like the Wonderbolts, except darker. He didn’t know what they were talking about but Twilight voiced her fears.

“Rainbow, what's taking so long? Oh no. Rainbow! Don't listen to them.” The pony who looked to be the leader gave Twilight a sinister frown. The pony’s eyes flashed and the fog closed in, completely cutting them off from Rainbow. Twilight looked around nervously before landing her gaze on Iron. “Iron! You got to save Rainbow!” Iron just looked at the mare with an empty expression.

“Don’t worry. She’ll come back. She wouldn’t leave a friend hanging.” Iron returned his gaze to the fog. He knew more about Rainbow than he would care to let on. That didn’t help him feel any better about trying to let her go.

The fog started to separate and revealed Rainbow standing proudly at the start of the bridge. The other mares cheered. They now had a way to cross.

“See? I'd never leave my friends hangin'.” Rainbow puffed out her chest before flying above the other mares. Iron, once again, opted to fly over the gap.

They crossed the bridge and walked up to the ruins. The door was already cracked open. Once inside, all the ponies looked up in awe at the interesting platform dominating the room.

“Whoa. Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?” Applejack motioned to the five orbs sitting on their pedestals.

“The Elements of Harmony, we've found them.” Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Iron took the liberty of retrieving the elements. They were urged caution as they brought each one down. Once they were all sat down, the ponies counted how many there were.

“One, two, three, four... There's only five!” Pinkie pointed out.

“Where’s the sixth?” Rainbow asked. They all turned towards Twilight.

“The book said “when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.” The ponies looked at each other. They were confused on what Twilight ment by a spark.

“What in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. Being a farm pony, she really didn’t know all that much about magic.

“I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back. I don't know what will happen.” Twilight started to light up her horn, letting her magic flow.

“Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate.” Applejack suggested.

One by one, everypony filed out of the building. Once they reached outside, Rainbow and Fluttershy continued their conversation while Applejack paced in front of the door and Rarity fussed over her shortened tail. Iron chose to lean against a broken wall of the castle.

It didn’t take long for a commotion to sound from inside. The mares screamed out Twilight’s name and ran in. The last thing any of them saw was a blue vortex with Twilight jumping for it. Then it disappeared.

The mares were running back and forth yelling for Twilight and asking what was going on. Iron spotted Rarity pointing out of a window towards another area of the castle. There were lights and noises coming out the window. Iron didn’t hesitate to jump out the window and rush towards, what he hoped to be, Celestia’s foal napper.

“Iron! Wait!” Iron heard the pleas of Rainbow behind him. He then heard Applejack say something, but he didn’t hear any specifics. When he reached the room, he saw the same alicorn that boasted about eternal night. Down on the ground was a scared Twilight. She looked to be frozen in fear as her eyes were aimed at the alicorn.

Iron had a different emotion running through him at the time. He was angry. He was angry at losing his mother. He was angry that he would have to break a friendship to save another. He was angry that this pony that had the audacity to take away the only other pony who he would consider a mother. And he wanted to unleash his rage at this pony. Iron unsheathed his sword and started to charge at Nightmare; his eyes seeing red.

Nightmare and Twilight looked up to see the charging stallion. Nightmare merely chuckled at the pony’s bravo. Before Iron could get into range to do anything, Nightmare caught him in her magic.

“Did you really think you could harm me you foal?” Nightmare laughed more as she threw his sword out the window. She tore off his wing blades and armor, then tossed them out as well. Iron was still struggling in her grasp. With a whip of her head, Iron was sent sailing towards the opposite wall. Iron tried to regain what little control he had. It didn’t help him. He struck the wall with a resounding crack and fell onto the floor, unconscious.

Twilight watched the whole thing through teary eyes. Twilight couldn’t tell if he was just knocked out… or worse. Twilight almost broke down at that thought. She, instead, looked back over to Nightmare. Twilight had a determined look on her face and prepared to charge at Nightmare.

“You're kidding. You're kidding, right?” Twilight then ran full force at Nightmare, her horn lighting up along the way. Nightmare responded with a charge of her own. Right when the two would have collided, Twilight vanished. Nightmare looked back at the elements to see Twilight reappear.

“Just one spark. Come on, come on.” Her horn started to glow. Nightmare teleported back in front of the elements, just as Twilight’s spell began to take hold. Just when it seemed to work, the spell sent Twilight flying backwards. “Aah!” She skid a bit across the floor. She looked up to see the elements sparking with magic.

“No, no!” Nightmare cried out. Just when it looked like the elements were about to work, the spell flickered and died.

“But... where's the sixth Element?!” Twilight was looking around, frantically trying to find the sixth element. Nightmare just started to laugh. She lifted both her forelegs and smashed the elements.

“You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!” Her mane started to swirl and storm just like in town hall. Twilight was looking around, scared that the elements were lost forever. Her ears picked up a noise coming fromt the stairwell. It was then, Twilight’s eyes widened as she felt a spark inside her. She turned back and put on a smug expression towards Nightmare.

“You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!” Twilight announced as her friends made it into the room.

“What?” Nightmare was confused. She already smashed the elements right in front of her. How could they not have been destroyed? She looked down and saw the shards begin to glow.

“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!” A few shards floated up and started to circle Applejack. Twilight was far from done. “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of...kindness!” More shards started to float up to their owners. “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of...laughter! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of...generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!” All the shards were now circling their respected owner. “The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.”

Nightmare started to sweat and look around the room nervously. She thought she won when the elements were crushed.

“You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!” She was trying to give herself false hope. Twilight wasn’t convinced she had lost just yet.

“But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!” She turned to the five ponies that were now wielding the Elements of Harmony. “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!”

A light shined above Twilight as the last element was summoned. The light grew brighter as the elements started to take shape around each pony. When each pony had their element finished, a giant rainbow was created, and was aimed right at Nightmare.

“Nooo! Nooo!” The rainbow engulfed Nightmare in a swirling vortex. She was flailing around, franticly trying to break free. The light grew brighter and brighter till it engulfed the entire room. When the light faded, everypony was laying on the ground. The ponies didn’t take long till they started to stir.

“Ugh, my head.” Rainbow complained. Slowly each pony got up, regaining consciousness.

“Everypony okay?” Applejack asked. Looking around she saw that all the mares were fine.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Rarity was now bouncing her now fixed tail up and down.

“Why Rarity, it's so lovely,” Fluttershy commented.

“I know! I'll never part with it again.” Rarity was now hugging her tail. Apparently short tails were no longer in.

“No. Your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark.” Fluttershy pointed to the new piece of jewelry around Rarity’s neck.

“What?” She looked down to see a purple diamond with a golden background. “Ooh. So does yours.” Rarity pointed towards Fluttershy.

“Wait!” The mares all looked at Rainbow, who was frantically scanning the room. “Where’s Iron!?” They all turned to Twilight. Twilight lowered her head and pointed at the end of the room. The ponies followed her hoof towards a dark crumpled mass. They gasped at the sight, and Rainbow wasted no time flying over to check on him.

She could barely take in the sight of the pony before her. She landed on her hooves and walked up to Iron. Due to Iron’s coat color, she wasn’t able to see if he was breathing or not. She then sat down cradled his head in her arms. Rainbow’s tears were starting to stain her coat.

“Shhh. It’s ok. E-Everything is going t-to be alright.” She started to pet the stallion, her voice choking up. Looking to his wings she saw that one of his wings was bent at an angle. She closed her eyes and started to hum, trying to take the pain away. She didn’t know who’s pain she was trying to take away: her’s or Iron’s. The rest of the ponies lowered their heads in respect.

Light started to shine in the room as the sun rose in the sky. The light only seemed to get closer, lighting up the room even more. It was so bright, it looked like the sun itself was in the room. And in a manner of speaking, it was. Celestia appeared as the light started to dissipate. The ponies in the room, with the exception of Rainbow, all gasped and made a hasty bow.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight galloped up to her mentor. Celestia gave her a reassuring nuzzle.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it. You and your friends have saved everypony.” Twilight lowered her head and looked over towards Rainbow and Iron.

“Not everypony.” Celestia followed her student’s a gaze and lost her smile at the look of Rainbow petting the head of Iron. The rest of the mares lowered their heads in respect. Celestia’s heart jumped to her throat. ‘Not you too! I will not let you go too!’ She wasted no time to check on the stallion’s well being. A golden hue strung across his body and a sigh of relief came from the sun princess.

“He is fine my faithful student. He just needs some rest. But he will need that wing treated.” Rainbow was able to stop her crying and nuzzled him on the cheek. She looked up at Celestia and mouthed a “Thank you”. Celestia gave a polite nod in return. “Now back to the matter at hoof.” Celestia walked up to a small alicorn. The remains of Nightmare’s armor were shattered around the pony.

“It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.” The rest of the ponies, minus Rainbow, dropped their jaws.

“Sister?” The ponies looked at each other in confusion. As Celestia walked up to the new alicorn, she flinched away. Celestia still had sad eyes, looking down at her sister.

“Will you accept my friendship?” The younger alicorn’s eyes started to tear up. She leapt up from where she was laying and nuzzled her sister.

“I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!” Celestia returned the nuzzle with her own teary expression.

“I've missed you, too.” The ponies watched the display of sisterly love. The sentiment was broken when Pinkie spoke up.

“Hey, you know what this calls for?” Everypony looked at Pinkie expectantly. “A party!”

The pink mare through the mother of all parties for the return of Celestia’s sister, who was named Luna. Everypony attended the party. Everypony but Iron and Rainbow. They were both in the hospital.

When the group returned from the forest, Rainbow wasted no time and got Iron to the hospital. All he needed was to have his bone set back into place and to wrap up his wing. Once they were done, the whole staff was let off for the day. Iron was the only patient left in the hospital and Rainbow offered to wait for him to wake up.

They both laid on the hospital bed, facing each other. She made sure that he kept laying on his good side and stayed off his injured wing. As much as she liked being a tough mare, her heart was fluttering. He was still unconscious, but that didn’t stop her from curling up to his chest. She then felt his leg shifting. Iron’s forelegs instinctively wrapped around the mare, hugging her like a pillow. Her head rested just under his chin. ‘This feels nice. I could stay like this forever.’

She soon drifted asleep next to Iron, head buried in his chest. She felt warm and at home, not noticing the yellow pegasus crying in the window.

Back at the party.

Twilight was having a wonderful time at the party, but she still felt a bit of guilt towards how she treated Iron. ‘I didn’t give him the time of day… yet he still didn’t hesitate to help.’ She wanted to talk about this with Celestia, but she figured her mentor would be too busy bonding with her long lost sister.

“What is the matter my faithful student?” Twilight turned around to see her teacher. She looked around to see if Luna was around, but she didn’t see her.

“Princess? I thought you were with your sister.”

“I was, but she is very tired and needs her rest. It won’t be long till she takes charge of the moon once again.” Celestia looked like she was reminiscing about her and Luna. She shook her head and looked back at her student. “However I did make some breakfast plans with Iron. Would you like to come along?” Twilight shifted her weight and pawed at the ground. She couldn’t make eye contact with her teacher. This worried Celestia a little.

“I don’t think he would want to see me. I didn’t treat him all that well. I was jealous of his relationship with you.” Twilight lowered her head in shame. The smile on Celestia’s face turned into a mournful frown.

“It is perfectly fine to be jealous. Although, I am disappointed on how you handled it.” Twilight winced at “dissapointed”. “However, the reason we are so close involves a sad tale. A tale that is not my place to share.” Twilight looked up to her mentor in confusion. “But know this. I will always have a special place for you. I would never forget about you or your heroic deeds of today.” Celestia finished with a smile. That smile reassured Twilight that she wouldn’t be forgotten. ‘I guess I have somepony to apologize to.’

The Ticket Master Part 1

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