Forged of Gold

"Ohnononononono!!" Twilight rushed into the kitchen to save the would-be lunch from its unsavory demise.  But alas, where there's smoke, there's fire and the food was beyond saving.  An annoyed growl was made as Twilight dumped the burnt hay-fries into the garbage.  "I'm really sorry Gold, I totally forgot I had those on the burner..."

     As dissapointed as Gold was that his favorite food was just incinerated, he simply shrugged and heaved a sigh, "Uhh... It's alright Twilight... just the... daffodil sandwiches are alright..."

     "You sure? Because I can make some more..."

     "D-don't worry about it" Gold said as he got up from the table.  "Umm... when do you think you can get that...uhh ...order placed for the forge...?"

     Twilight poked her head out from the kitchen, "Oh! Right! Let me just tidy up a bit then we can go talk to Applejack, she'd probably know where we can get that forge ordered!"  She stood there, looking at Gold for a bit before clearing her throat, "You think that uhh... you could go downstairs while I get cleaned up?"

     Gold's face lit up like a tree decorated for Hearth's Warming Day, "Oh! Uhh... Yeah! Of course...!" Scrambling off the chair he quickly rushed to the door.  "S-sorry!"  Was all he could say before walking through the door and closing it quickly behind him.  "Such a moron...! Why couldn't I ha-AAGH!!" Too caught up with bashing himself, Gold misstepped and tumbled down the stairs to the first floor.

CRRRRAAASSSHHH

     "Ouch... I didn't see that step there..."  Gold layed flat on his back, staring at the ceiling.  "...Welp... so far... things have been... okay... I guess..."  Heaving a sigh, he remained at the bottom of the stairs.  His gaze drifted from the ceiling to the rows of books on the shelves.  "Maybe I should read something while I wait..."  Gold paroused the shelves once again, "Letsee... no... no... no... AHA! Here we go!"  Lifting the book of the shelf and plopping it on the floor, he said the title out loud, "Basic Forging: Learn the basic forging styles and alchemy spells to help you perfect your craft!"  Opening the book, he began to review what had been drilled into his head as a young colt,  "Heat the forge to 1300 or 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare the metal to be used in the forging process... Take care to use gloves or some kind of wrappings to protect your hooves from the heat."  He chuckled as he took a glance at his forehooves, his preferred method was the hoof wrappings, it kept things comfortably loose while still protecting them from the heat.

     Gold flipped through the pages of the old book, completely oblivious to the lavender mare tapping her hoof in front of him.

     *Ahem*

     Gold's ears fidgeted as she cleared her throat, "Oh... uh... you must be ready then... huh...?"

     "Mhm, I see you've taken a liking to my books, and as much as I like to see somepony else taking joy in reading, we do have some errands to do so lets go."

     Gold closed the book and returned it to its spot on the shelf, "A-alright... lead the way then..."

     With a giggle, Twilight opened the front door and motioned for Gold to follow.  Gold sheepishly heeded her call and walked out, closing the door behind him.  She happily trotted along, while he followed behind her quietly.  Not a word was said between the two, except for the occasional answer to questions Twilight would ask; But even then Gold's answers were vague.

     The two pressed on to the edge of town, Gold spotted a sign that said "Sweet Apple Acres ahead".  Judging from what Twilight had said earlier, it only made sense that somepony with the name "Applejack" would be found here.  "Makes sense..." he mumbled to himself as they neared a small ranch surrounded by miles of apple orchards.

     They were almost immediately greeted by an orange mare with a heavy southern accent.  "Howdy Twilight, what can 'ah do  ya for?  And who's the stallion you brought wit' ya?"

     Gold dreaded the situation he was in, but much to his relief, Twilight answered instead of himself.  "Applejack, this is Heart Gold.  He's a blacksmith from Canterlot and we were wondering if you know where we could find a smithy or even better, have one built?"

     The southern belle shook her head sadly, "As much as 'ah'd like to help ya'll, some varmit ran off into the Everfree with Big Mac's harness and 'ah was just about tah go hunt the rascal down."

     "Oh... well maybe later the-"

     "I can go get the harness back." Gold said aloud.  Although he never meant to say it aloud, the words somehow made it from his brain to his mouth.  "I mean, uhh... if you don't mind... I-I'm sure if I went to g-get the harness back... y-you and Twilight could work s-something out... r-right...?"

     Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances for a moment, "If ya can handle it 'ahm alrigh' with it, what about you Twi?"

     "I'm okay with it, we'll see about the forge, you go and get Big Mac's harness back.  Just be careful alright? The Everfree is a dangerous place."

     Gold simply nodded in acknowledgement and headed off in the direction Applejack pointed to.  "What the hay did I get myself into..." He mumbled, "Just think to yourself that you did it in order to be able to get to work on the project you were given... not because you felt inclined to help them..."  Kicking himself mentally for opening his mouth, he made his way to the Everfree.