November 2nd, 900 BC.
A blizzard was showering through the valley as the Wendigos called from above. Each howl from one sent another shower of snow down to the valley below. Within that valley was a small little town built from the ground up by Earth Ponies. The town had several wooden houses surrounding a few stretches of land that held stores and restaurants. Even with the snow battling for dominance against the air, several Earth Ponies trudged through the streets, trying to reach their destinations.
Amongst a crowd of stallions, a small colt with glossy white fur and a black mane and tail dashed across the street and into an alleyway between two shops.
Even with a slightly above normal in length scarf, the colt shivered as the snow blew through the alleyway and into his face. He set down a brown sack that he had been carrying on his back and quickly checked the contents inside to see if they were ok. Once he was sure nothing was ruined, he wrapped the sack back up and put it back on his back, before taking off down the alleyway.
The colt emerged from the alleyway to a street that was dimly lit by a few street lights, there flames dancing inside there glass cases. The colt went over to a dark wooden two story building with the words Horseshoe Repair and Polish along a hanging sign stretched out in front of the door. The colt reached the door and opened it, before diving inside and shutting the door behind him, cutting off the snowy ocean outside.
"Whew! Rough storm outside," The colt told himself as he took off his scarf which was covered with snow and hung it up next to the door. He shook some snow off of his fur coat and went down the hallway, the sack in tow.
The colt soon ended up in the living room where a fire was roaring in the fireplace. Sitting in a rocking chair next to the fire was a greyish earth pony stallion with a greying black mane and tail. His cutie mark was of a hammer and a horseshoe.
"Dad! I got those horseshoes that needed repairs!" The colt stated happily, putting the sack down at the base of the chair.
The older stallion got up from the chair and went over to the sack. He opened it to see a pair of broken horseshoes with a note on it that read:
Mr. Rowans, could you repair these as quickly as possible? Once done please return them to this address, 1943 Sicily road, thank you for your time. Signed Sweep Step
The stallion took one of the horseshoes and rotated it in his hooves, examining the whole thing top to bottom. Once he was done he gave it to his son and smiled. "Alright Silver, let's get some horseshoes repaired."
Silver gleamed as he took the shoe in his hooves and put it on his back. He had gotten used to doing it so keeping the shoe balanced on his back was a simple as pouring a cup of water.
Silver and his dad went down a hallway towards a wooden door at the end which had a rusty handle that squeaked loudly whenever touched. Silver pulled the handle down with his mouth and pushed the door open, revealing a dark room behind. His dad went in front of him and ignited several lamps that surrounded the room.
The whole room was shaped into a workshop with a furnace next to the door, a cauldron ready to be filled with magma next to it. A tool rack was next to the furnace which had several types of tools inside. To the left of the doorway was a small counter with shelves behind it and under it. To the right was a massive outstretched wooden door that was opened by pulling a metal chain next to it. A few windows were spread across the door.
Silver smiled at the sight of the workshop. He always liked working in here, even more so when he discovered his cutie mark (An open furnace with a tool resting inside it) when repairing a shoe with the furnace.
"Ok son, normal temp with C-grade metal. Take this as a quiz as I will be timing you. Give me a reason as to why I should think this store will be in good hooves when I retire." Silvers Dad stated, taking a seat next to the counter with a pocket watch next to him.
"3,"
Silver took a deep breath as he took his position next to the counter, his silver white eyes locking onto the furnace.
"2,"
Silver made sure that the horseshoe was balanced on his back. If it fell off then that would be more time and possibly damage it further.
"1,"
"Here we go." Silver muttered under his breath.
"Start!" His dad shouted, pressing down on the pocket watch, revealing the clock.
Silver rushed over to the furnace as quickly as he could without losing the horseshoe. He stopped next to the a bucket of water and picked it up with his mouth. He poured the water into the cauldron and set the fire below it. Silver then put the horseshoe down next to the cauldron, before rushing over to the counter where the metal was stored. Silver opened up a cupboard labeled C and took a small chunk of metal out of it. He shut the door with his back hooves then took off over to the metal cutter. He took the metal and put it on a trey which he then shoved into the furnace. Silver turned on the furnace which quickly roared to life and began to heat the metal up.
Silver then rushed over to where the horseshoe was resting and put it on an anvil. After he had positioned the shoe perfectly on the anvil, he dashed over to the cauldron where he scooped a sizable chunk of water into a cup which he then put on a table next to a can. Silver took the can and sprinkled some brown flakes into the cup.
With a grin, Silver shook the cup a little before returning to the furnace and pulling out the metal tray which held the now orange metal. Silver put on some mitts to protect his hooves as he pulled the very hot tray out of the furnace and over to the anvil. Silver slowly poured a little of the red liquid metal onto the shoe and put the tray down. He grabbed a hammer and with one swift motion, hit the shoe which positioned the red metal into place where the cracks had been on it.
Once that was done Silver took the tray over to a window which he quickly opened and dumped the boiling metal out onto the snow.
Silver put the tray down and rushed over to the shoe which was now cooling. He picked it up, ignoring the slight burn that shot against his hoof, and dumped it into the cauldron. A low Whush was heard as the metal cooled. Silver took out the now soaked shoe and put it on the tray, along with the cup he had shook earlier, and put it down at his Father's hooves.
The grey earth pony grinned as he stopped the timer and looked down at the finished product. "Good job son, and I see you added my favorite coco with it." He stated, picking up the cup of brown swirling coco. He took a sip of the coco while he examined the horseshoe. He tested the weight of the shoe, before giving it a quick feel all the way around, testing the texture of where the holes and cracks had been.
"Nice job son, i'm proud of you. So proud that tomorrow I think you and I will take a trip to that toy shop you've been wanting to go to." Silver's eyes widened at his Dad's statement and his smile grew.
"Really!?"
"Yes son, really."
"THANK YOU!" Silver said in excitement as he jumped into his Fathers chest and hugged him.
The two stood there, hugging for what felt like hours, before a knock from the front door caused Silvers Dad to break the hug and answer it. Silver followed his Dad out of the workshop and over to the front door.
The wooden door creaked open as a brown earth pony with a yellow mane and tail entered the house. He was wearing a faded green hat and saddlebags that had several patches on them. His cutie mark was of a closed letter.
"Mr. Rowans?" The stallion asked.
Silvers Dad nodded.
"I have been sent here by the mayor who has issued a wide alert," The stallion stated.
Silver's eyes widened and his Dad narrowed his eyebrows. "Why is that?" He asked.
The stallion then said one sentence which chilled Silver to the bone, and to this day, he still hasn't forgotten them.
"Something's approaching from the south."
