Fields of wheat, as far as the eye could see.
That is the first thing that registered in his mind. The next sensation was that of feel, the feel of his weight on his hooves, of the wind on his skin, and the moss that had grown over his body. Then came the sound of the wind in the stalks, and the smell of fresh rain. Lastly, the taste of rust.
The odd stallion slowly turned his head, seeing a barn in the peripheries of his vision. He took a deep, grinding breath and sighed a long plume of dust, before firmly tearing the moss that clung to the ground, sending the colony of insects that had taken refuge under his frogs scurrying for cover, and began to slowly make his way to the building. His joints creaked, and his throat rattled as he inhaled, and he moved with an odd stuttering.
It was to be expected. He had been standing in that field since long before his name was forgotten.
He reached the barn shortly, and found a small house next to it. The gears in his head whirred as he dredged up memories, and came to the conclusion that knocking would be the wisest course of action.
So knock he did. His hoof made a muffled thump on the door due to the moss covering it, but received a response nonetheless.
"Oh mah stars, who could be out here in th' fields at this hour?" A light, feminine voice echoed from inside. The door flew inwards, revealing a chubby yellow mare with golden hair. "Well howdy, how can ah-" She caught sight of the stallion in the doorway and her eyes shrunk. "Ah- Ah- Ah-"
"Greetings." The stallion rasped. "Might this one bother you for directions to the nearest town?"
"Ha- Ha-Harry!" The mare bolted inside. "He's alive, Harry!"
The stallion tilted his head to one side. A large stallion came trotting up to the door moments later with an odd metal stick slung over one shoulder.
"Twilight's teats..." The stallion breathed. "The iron stallion comes to life... Wh-What is it that ya want?"
"Current destination is the nearest town. Long objective is the nearest civilization capital."
"Uh, a'right. Nearest town is Golden Falls, down that road a ways. And, uh, I guess from there you'll be headin' to Canterlot?"
"Destination: Canterlot. You have this one's thanks."
"Right, um, could you stick right there for a moment?"
The stallion blinked, and then looked at his hooves before returning his gaze to the farmer, Harry. "This one cannot stick here, for this one lacks adhesive substance."
"Uh, yeah, that's fine. So you, uh, just don't move."
"Acceptable."
Harry turned and trotted back into the house and muttered something to a pony out of sight. He came back with a smaller pony, slightly bigger than a colt. The colt wore denim overalls, and had a pale golden coat with a mane the colour of fresh spring grass. Harry slipped off the strap that held his metal stick to his back and carefully slid it onto the colt. He then kissed the boy on the forehead.
"Now, you keep him outta trouble, ya hear? Ah don' wanna hear about some iron pony gettin' arrested. Show him around, get him up to date and, most importantly..." Harry embraced the colt. "Be safe."
The colt returned the hug. "Ah will, pa. I'mma make you 'n gran'pa proud."
The mare appeared and joined the hug. "Oh... We knew this would happen someday. Ah just cain't believe that it's now. Mah little Golden Stalks, goin' out with th' iron stallion! You be safe now, ya hear? An' get home alive, so's you can tell us all about it! An' maybe find yerself a nice filly!"
"Yes ma."
"Ooh, things're gonna be tough 'round here without yer help, so get back quick, ya hear?"
"Yes ma."
The teary hug broke up with some kisses and a few more farewells, and Golden Stalks turned to the stallion. "C'mon, let's get going."
The stallion nodded and began walking beside and behind the young stallion. The first few minutes passed in silence.
"So, uh..." Golden Stalks started. "Ah'm Golden Stalks, but you can jus' call me Stalk. What's yer name?"
The stallion's head twitched, and one eye fluttered. "...This one cannot remember."
Stalk chuckled. "Well, Ah guess that's to be expected, standin' in a field for longer than anypony's been settled here. Been about... Hoo-ee, 'bout three thousand years we settled these parts? Gran'pa used to tell stories 'bout ya, ya know?"
"This one does not know this fact."
"Uh huh." Stalk looked nonplussed. "Well, he used ta say that his gran'pa's gran'pa told stories of the iron stallion, the greatest hero of pony-kind! Lots 'a stuff you did got lost you did got lost in the Chaos War, though, so there's no records of you, so our family took it 'pon ourselves to keep you cleaned! We, uh..." Stalk looked at the trail of moss left behind the stallion. "It's a yearly thing, an' we hadn't gotten to it yet this year."
"Your family has this one's gratitude."
"Now, we all thought that the stories of the iron stallion was jus' some neat tales 'bout the scarecrow in the fields, but at least one story was true! Great-great-great-great Gran'pa Far Sight used to say that one day, the iron stallion would rise up in defense of Equestria, and Hasbria as a whole one day! Gran'pa used to say that ponykind's reliance on fancy electronic stuff was just a sign of your awakening, you know?"
"This one does not know this fact."
"...Right. But now, we've got all 'a these fancy gadgets 'n stuff, an' unicorns power 'em with magic, an' pegasi power 'em with lightning, an' us earth ponies don't like 'em 'cause they make honest work dishonest, but when we do use 'em, we use coal."
The stallion's step faltered slightly. "...Machines."
"What? Aw, heck we ain't got any fancy machines yet, those're in the factories. We got trains 'n planes 'n phones 'n stuff."
"Troubling. This one will consult with the leaders of this world on the plans for the Machines."
"Yeah, you do that. We ain't got anythin' that can even come close to equine life! You're a marvel, that's for sure!"
"Noted for time scale."
"What?"
"Noted for time scale."
"...Right, so up here's Golden Falls. We'll be takin' the train to Canterlot from here."
The stallion watched as a small town came into view as they crested a small hill. There were a few ponies trotting around in overalls and large hats, and a few stores selling wheat and wheat products.
"Mah family started this town, 'bout three thousand years back. The Wheats have been here ever since, buildin' a trade hub an' water stop for tired travellers."
Stalk and the stallion walked through town, with the small golden colt pointing out the town's citizens and their trades as they walked. The stallion received many odd stares as he walked, and whispers seemed to follow wherever they went.
When Stalk and the stallion reached the train station, they were joined by a red mare with orange hair. "Howdy Stalk!" The mare exclaimed, galloping up to hug Stalk. She pulled away to eye the stallion. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh, uh, hey Sweet Potato." Stalk cleared his throat, blushing. "This here's the iron stallion that I told you mah gran'pa told me about."
"Really?" Sweet Potato circled the stallion, studying him closely. "He don't look so tough!" She smacked a hoof against the stallion's flank, eliciting a dull thump from his haunch. The stallion didn't flinch. Sweet Potato rubbed her hoof against her chest. "Ah stand corrected. Stallion's denser than Mammy's fruit cake!"
"Uh, yeah. So do you know when th' train to Canterlot is?" Stalk coughed.
"Canterlot?" Sweet Potato spun around to look at Stalk. "Are you runnin' away to be a city stallion? Ah thought your paw raised you better."
"No! No, I uh..." Stalk rubbed the back of his head. "Pa sent me along to make sure the iron stallion doesn't get into trouble."
Sweet Potato gestured to the rod of metal strapped to Stalk's back. "An' he gave you Ol' Bussy to do that?"
"Er, Ah think he wants me to use it on evil 'n stuff. Y'know, 'cause gran'pa said that the iron stallion'd rise up to protect Equestria?"
"Oh, yeah right. Sounds excitin' an' all, but Ah like my farm life just fine. Say, you come an' tell me all about it when you get home, a'right?"
"Uh, sure thing, Sweet Potato. I'll come back with all of the stories!"
"Thanks! See y'all later!" Sweet Potato turned and flicked the tip of her tail against the stallion's nose before trotting off.
Golden Stalks watched her go with a wistful look in his eyes. When he swung back to look at the stallion, he found that the stallion's eyes had been glued to the back of his head. He could almost see the calculations going on inside the stallion's head.
Actually, he could see some gears turning inside the stallion's pupils.
"That mare was attracted to this one, was she not?"
"Uh, Ah guess? Ah wasn't really paying attention."
"You are attracted to that mare, are you not?"
"Um- Ah- Well-" Stalk stuttered. "Kinda? Ah mean, she's the prettiest mare in town, so it's not like it's surprisin' that Ah might have a small crush on her, but it's not like Ah love her or somethin' 'cause I don't an' I'mma stop ramblin' now." Stalk's face had flushed almost as red as Sweet Potato's coat.
"Noted for future reference. Confirm: A firm strike on the haunch and tail flick to the nose actively conveys attraction."
"Sure, why not."
"Noted for future reference. Confirm: Uncontrolled stuttering and increased blood flow passively conveys attraction."
"Well, and embarrassment. That too."
"Correction filed." The stallion stood silently for a minute. "Golden Stalks, are you embarrassed because of me?"
"Well, shoot naw. Why'd you think that?"
"Possibility eliminated. Attraction or cause of embarrassment linked to Sweet Potato."
"Ah- Well-"
A horn sounded in the distance and a trail of smoke made its presence known on the horizon.
"There's the train!" Stalk exclaimed, relieved.
The stallion's eyes flashed green. "Non-hostile Machine detected. Train filed as non-hostile."
Stalk tilted his head at the stallion and blinked. "Well of course a train's not hostile! It's not like a manticore or anythin'. Ah think the only real hostile machine we've got is the local printer!" Stalk chuckled. "Thing's jammin' all th' time."
"You will learn."
The train pulled into the Golden Falls station and let a few of its passengers off and allowed Stalk and the stallion on board. The pair sat in a small stall, facing each other as the train began to move. Stalk swayed with the movement of the train, but the stallion kept himself rigid.
"So... Ah cain't just keep callin' you mister, or the iron stallion. Ah know that you can't remember your name, so Ah thought Ah'd give you a new one."
"Acceptable."
"Now, your name is your own, so Ah'm just tossin' out suggestion here. So jus' pick one that you like."
"Filters altered."
"Right. So, Ah was thinkin' as a basic one, Iron Stallion?"
"Reject."
"Okay... How 'bout Iron Hoof?"
"Reject."
"Iron Statue?"
"Reject."
"Iron Shoe?"
"Reject."
"Gah, Ah'm no good at this namin' nonsense. Ah fear for mah foals if'n mah wife don't turn out so good with names too."
"Ironborn."
"What was that?"
"New designation adopted: Ironborn."
"Well alright! It's nice to meet you, Ironborn!"
"Your acquaintance is also enjoyable, Golden Stalk."
"Heh, you got a funny way of talkin', did you know that?"
"This one did not know this fact."
"Right. It's all, Ah dunno... Monotone-y? An' you do all these weird talkin' thoughts out loud thing, except they don't sound like normal thoughts."
"This one does not know any method else of speaking."
"Well, Ah know that, Ah'm not askin' you to change. Ah'm jus' sayin' that it's weird."
"Noted for future reference."
"Ahuh."
The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes before Ironborn spoke again. "It occurs to this one that this one has been dormant for over three thousand years. Inference and implication suggest that this one is sorely lacking in knowledge of history and culture. It is this one's request that you teach this one, with a minimum curriculum of basic culture and economy."
Stalk sighed. "Hoo boy. This is goin' to be a long train ride. A'right." Stalk fished through a pocket in his overalls and produced a small golden coin. "Now this here's a bit..."