Bronze Tiara

Chapter twenty-six

Bronze and Marble both found themselves resting against a tree, content in watching Topaz have her fun with a few others her age in a game of soccer. Sticks formed the makeshift goal posts, and while none there likely knew who brought the ball. They were living in the moment, and that moment left the adults to relax, just as the pair had hoped.

“Your project, or Graces’ project I suppose,” Marble inquired, wondering what the princess might have of her, “care to explain?”

Bronze shrugged, already knowing exactly what needed to be done to start and finish it mapped out in her head, “Just a little something upon the princesses request, which reminds me,” she tried to forgive herself for that little blunder, “there are some plans tomorrow evening in Boralus.”

To the colt, knowing Grace called upon her skills could have been any number of things given her resume, though he was content to leave it at that and enjoy himself out here. Hearing of these plans however, was a different story, “and what might those be?”

“Oh… trivial evening time stuff,” Bronze sheepishly grinned at him.

All Marble could do was shake his head, knowing full well it’d been exciting lately, so a slipup on her part was more than excusable. “More time would have been lovely, but I’m flexible,” he rested his head back on the tree, and used his horn to pluck an apple from the basket they brought with lunch, “Just fill me in-”

“Give it back!”

Instantly the eyes of the adults looked to where the voice had come from, and there stood Topaz. Chest puffed out, face flustered, and hind leg shaking. The filly stared down the trio she’d pointed out to Bronze the last time they were here. This time around, the opposing fillies had gotten the groups soccer ball, and not even the few young colts in the group wanted to face them. Instead, that task was left to Marbles’ daughter.

“Or what?” Bronze already marked the little Pegasus as the ring leader of the group, as she bounced the ball back and forth in her wings, “You gonna get your dad to help you out, or try and use that dinky horn of yours to take it?”

Bronze couldn’t tell at first, but sure enough Topaz had her horn lit up and holding on to the ball, yet any time she tried to pull it back. The other filly just swiped it back with her wings, clearly being the stronger of the pair.

‘That’ll probably change in a few years,’ Bronze told herself, knowing how the tables would turn then.

But that was then, this was now.

Marble started to rise up to his hooves, before Bronzes’ newly repaired wing stretched out and ushered him back down, “No, no… I’ll take care of this,” her eyes rested on the Pegasus.

Like a waltz, the mare made her way casually over to the small group that were playing, and the ones that antagonized them. It didn’t take long for the leader to take note, “Well look at this fake flier,” the filly started to laugh, using one wing to spin the ball and the other to point at the appendages of the mare, “you couldn’t be born as great as us, so you had to go and do it yourself.”

Bronze stopped a few feet from the trio as the other kids, including Topaz, looked up to her. While the trio laughed with their ring leader. Their chuckles were soon joined by another, as the mare they tried to antagonize got in on it. “Ah… its been so long since I had to deal with something as simple as the likes of you,” Bronze glowered at the filly, and dug her talons in to the ground, watching the pair that supposedly backed her up fall a step or two behind, “After the time I’ve been having, this should be a breeze.”

The young Pegasus had only noticed the wings at first, not taking in the talons the mare brought with her, “What you trying to compensate for? Trying to be part gryphon too?” her giggle revitalized for a moment.

Then one of those talons was at the base of her chin.

It hadn’t taken much, a small flap of her wings had pushed Bronze right where she wanted, and that was as close to the filly as she needed to be. The fillies laugh stopped, and the mares’ own smile grew, “Talons are so much easier to handle trouble makers with,” her smile turned to a grin, widening with every instance she could recall when her improved limbs gave her an advantage.

Whether it be holding her own weapons, fighting with melee items, fixing herself up… or even draining the energy out of another.

“It’s a shame you aren’t a unicorn,” Bronze sneered, “that would make it so much easier… instead I have to leave the decision in your spineless hooves,” the end of her talon ran up and off the Pegasies chin with a flick, as she took a breath, “Leave the young ones alone, please.”

“Ugh, that’s it?” the leader scoffed, “you think please is going to-”

That’s when the filly noticed the mares’ smile hadn’t left, and the gems on her weren’t just for show. Steadily the stones that adorned not only her talons, but the horn and wings about her started to get brighter and brighter the more the filly stared. Soon dropping the ball in the process of backing up from the angered mare.

“Listen you underdeveloped fetal mistake,” Bronze got right back in the fillies’ face with every step the Pegasus took to put distance between them, “I don’t think please is going to do diddly squat, I was hoping it would, because I know you can’t understand the gravity of who you’re messing with,” still Bronze pressed the filly back against her hooves, and soon the Pegasus fell to their flank. “Young one or not, someponies child or not, it hasn’t stopped me in the past before… so why should it now?”

‘Granted I’m on good terms with the royalty, so that’s a decent reason,’ Bronze thought for a second just how many pardons she could get before Grace gave her to the chopping block, ‘mutilating a filly would probably cross that line,’ she sufficed and left it instead at a warning. “You think some ornate limbs is all I’ve created? HA!” she blurted out and quickly got back in to within a hairs breath of the young one’s muzzle, “I’ve leveled entire towns just as a test, to give a show of force… your house? I would do that on principal alone.”

As much as the Pegasus tried to close her eyes, trembling in their seat, and attempting to hide from the mare. It wouldn’t work, as the one who brought this upon themselves, still felt the breath of another close to them.

“What… what are you?”

“What? Oh, you’re mistaken child, it’s also who,” Bronze let her smile run wild, much to the eeriness of the filly, “My name is Bronze Bolt…” she said with a bit more pride now, “as for what, I’m a friend of this one here,” a wing from her back extended and ushered Topaz up front to join her at the range she created, and the Pegasus was the target, “and if I so much as hear the likes of you in the distance laughing at some others demise… well…”

A quick charge from the tip of her horn zapped the ground between the fillies’ legs with enough energy to make the ground smolder. Past that, said filly, and her entourage didn’t need a second display. Letting Bronze watch as their tails went just past the edges of the park and back in to town.

No sooner had they gotten out of sight, than Bronze heard the several laughs of those little ones that got to get back to their game in peace, and felt the hooves of another wrapped around her legs. Looking down, Topaz sat there embracing the mare, her usual smile gracing her just as the elder equine expected. This time though, as the filly looked up to her, she saw something different.

Bronze saw herself, the first time she’d gone to her parents about Marble. Sure, it didn’t play out quite how this little interaction did, but never the less. This filly wouldn’t have to deal with the same torment Bronze did for years after that first encounter.

“Thank you, for that,” Topaz squeezed a bit tighter.

“Tis nothing…” she returned the gesture and rubbed the top of the fillies head with a talon, ‘though I wonder if I’m gonna have to smooth things over with someponies parents… eh that can wait till another day, and if they’re anything like their kid…’ Bronze wasn’t worried about it, and the mare just shook her head to dispel the thoughts.

A tug from her wing garnished Bronzes’ attention, and there stood a young colt. The earth pony had to be the same age as Topaz, and given the display she’d just put on, Bronze was surprised he was even standing this close to her. Granted, he did look pretty awkward scratching his forehooves against one another.

“Ahh… Miss Bolt?” he asked, still unsure of himself, “considering we got the ball back… do you wanna be ref for us?”

‘Well… that’s unexpected,’ the sinister smile she wore was replaced by one of genuine gratitude that they’d even consider it, and to him all the mare could do at first was nod, “I’d love to.”

Meanwhile, over on his little slice of the park. Marble got to watch the whole thing unfold, from the Pegasus talking back to Bronze, to the mare outright getting in said Pegisies face. He wasn’t sure what she told the filly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but whatever it was got the job done. Now Marble just got to kick back, and relax.

Watching her run back and forth with those she helped protect, even if it was from a playground bully. The mare was having fun, and while she might have suggested this to be relaxing at first. She was relaxing in her own way, something even he could find gratification out of watching.

Acting like the filly, she never got the chance to be.

“Hmph…” the colt huffed, “surprised she didn’t use the hammer”

***

“So, this is going to be for the Princess?” Topaz asked as she stood on the workbench and looked over some of the drawings Bronze had been putting together.

After getting home, the mare almost immediately went to the workshop, and broke out some parchment and pencil. It was a design she had done dozens of other times before sure, but those were always suited to herself.

‘You might require something a little different,’ she mused looking over the drawing, as the smaller hooves above her plodded against the surface, “In a way, yes… it’s more of a gift to be given to another, a friend of hers.”

Once again, the filly looked over the designs that the mare had drawn out. At first glance, they looked nearly identical to the ones on her own back. Though there were the subtle differences she noticed the more her eyes glossed over the paper. Sections of the wing were larger for reinforcing, fewer gems were placed along the frame, but those present were larger than the mares’ own.

Even a few sketches drawn off on the side were very unlike Bronzes’, which just made the filly wonder, “What are those for?”

Bronze looked to the hoof, and below that were just a little addition to the wings, “Those, are for weapon holsters… something to help out the pony, should the need arise,” and something she neglected on her own set, ‘Maybe a pistol would be useful… just in case,’ it was an idea for sure. Something she was always on the lookout for was ways to improve herself.

A gentle knock to the door however, brought both the girls’ attention to the colt of the house. As Marble carted in a plate in his aura ahead of him, “I figured you’d be at this for a bit, so I heated up something real quick,” some of the casserole from the previous day slid to the side of her.

“Thank ya,” Bronze beamed at him, before getting back to the literal drawing board, “though I don’t see it being a total all-nighter…” she took a spoonful of what he’d brought.

“So, I can still expect some company by the end of the night?” he snickered to himself, bringing both a cough from her and an exacerbated giggle from the youngest in the room, before the colt turned to his kin, “Yours however, is in the kitchen, so I’d get it while it’s still hot.”

Considering the day she’d had in the park, after the trash was taken care of. Topaz about leapt up from the workbench and out the door, eager to fill her empty stomach. Marble however, kept to the mares’ side, looking over some of the design work she’d put in.

“Well now… that looks familiar,” his eyes rolled to the back of the mare.

“Similar design, just a little bit of additions for their line of work…” Bronze thought for a moment of how much time this would take in the end, and what she’d be pulling from the workshop to make it all happen, “You know I can go out and find a way to get these parts and materials elsewhere, you don’t have to supply them for all the crazy ideas that go through this head of mine.”

Without a word, Marble planted a simple kiss atop the base of the metallic horn that adorned her, “Lucky for you, I like that crazy head of yours,” he watched some of the heat from the previous day return to them, “and again, I’m literally my own supply… as long as you don’t make anything that will blow yourself up, I’m good.”

“You might regret that later…” though even her grin couldn’t dissuade the smile he gave her.

Letting the colt pull up a stool next to her as he watched the mare work. It didn’t take much longer for Bronze to go from drawing out the ideas, to physically putting hammer to metal and getting down to the gritty part of the process. While the mare did what she did best, so too did her colt, as Marble pulled out a few of the stones requested and put a decent charge in them.

Having set the gems down with their ambient glow, Marble helped out with her own side of things, holding flat the section of metal for the frame as Bronze took a few whacks with her tool to put a bend in it.

Matching the bend along the drawings she’d made, and to some extent even her own wings. The mare was satisfied with her work on that section, enough to carry on the process, ‘Now about a dozen more to go,’ she groaned, knowing this as one of the more tedious parts of the process.

“Oh, it’ll get done in time,” Marble remarked over to her, as she hadn’t realized the expression was playing across her face so legibly, “Although… what of these plans tomorrow?”

That was an eerie smirk the colt didn’t exactly like, and Bronze tried her best to keep her eyes off his own, “Well… we’d been invited to dinner…”

Marbles horn dropped the section of metal that would make up the next part of the frame, “Why do I already have a feeling about where it is, and who it’s with…”

“As weird as it is to say and think about, Grace had made the offer…” she tried explaining to him, and reminding him of one simple fact, “and let’s be real here, would I really be in a position to say no to her on literally anything?”

Marble let his concern subside, considering all that the princess had forgiven on Bronzes’ part, there really was no place to decline. Plus, if Grace really had wiped the record, was there anything to really worry about from a simple dinner?

‘A simple dinner with the Princess of the nation,’ silently the colt thought, glad that this time around the meeting was under better circumstances. One’s where his mine wasn’t being invaded, or himself literally having his chest opened up. “Well then… if you’d like to have something to show for tomorrow,” Marble picked up the same section he’d dropped, and brought it back to the bench, “shall we?”

From that alone, any tinge of worry about the following day left from the mare, and just like she would have with her dad in days past. Bronze and Marble got right back to work, with the mare wearing a smile from the memories brought up.