It was another cold and snowy day in the land of Equestria. The holiday of Hearth’s Warming was approaching, and the ponies of the land were getting ready with all their decorations and shopping. Even Zargan’s little smithing shop in Canterlot was getting a bit of business. Some wanted weapons, others wanted metalwork of different kinds. The dwarf had been known to create pieces of art from time to time. So putting together fancy pieces of metal wasn’t new territory for him. Plus, it was extra coin, and one could never have too much spendable income flowing in just in case it was needed.

While he was working in his shop, he saw a dark blue flash of light in his peripheral vision, knowing exactly who it was who had just suddenly appeared in his shop. “Welcome in, Moony. Come to keep my company today huh?” he asked as he pounded his hammer on a battleaxe that a client had commissioned him for his wife of all folks who wanted a heavy two-handed weapon. After all, he had seen the wife in question..and she was a lithe little thing. But, it was money. So he didn’t question it.

“Good morning, grandfather,” she said in a much more casual and pleasant tone than how she would normally address him if they were in public. Here, she could relax around him and treat him with the proper respect he deserved, and be at ease. She wasted no time in grabbing the broom that he had kept out for her to use should she be so inclined to help out around his shop. What started as a punishment eventually grew into something that the young alicorn wanted to do in her spare time to just come and spend time and watch the dwarf work his craft.

As Luna began sweeping the stone floor, Zargan could see a bit of worry across her facial features as he took a glance at her from his work “What seems to be botherin’ ya, lass? You know that out of all the time I have been spendin’ with ya I can tell when you are feeling happy or sad.” he said as he continued hammering away. Luna tensed up a bit before lowering her ears and gave a bit of a sigh “It's my sister. She is still trying to find ways to get you to officially become one of our subjects so she can monopolize your services and skills strictly for the kingdom. I know you don’t want to limit your customer base, and I have told her that time and time again. But…she refuses to listen to me. And I don’t want there to be any friction between you and her. Because it might cause you to leave. And I don’t want you to leave. I love coming here and just watching you. And you always give me such valuable advice.” she said as she gripped the wooden handle of the broom firmly as she feared what would happen if he did indeed leave.

Zargan gave the axe a few more thwacks from his hammer before placing it in the cooling trough and removing his gloves. He could see the genuine worry on the mare’s face before coming up to her side and placing a hand on her back in a comforting manner “Now now, my dear. I have too much invested in this place to just simply up and leave over somethin’ so trivial. Your sister can entice me and try to buy my loyalty as much as she can. But it ain’t gonna happen. She is gonna have to share my skills with everyone else. Because unless it is bad for business, I ain’t given up my business rights for some political struggle. So, she is just gonna have to deal with it. So you got nothin’ to worry about. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” he said as he patted her on the back reassuringly with a smile.

Luna gave out a sigh of relief as she took his reassurance with a smile of her own before leaning down and hugging the dwarf whom she saw as a grandfatherly figure more than anything. He actually reminded her of Starswirl in a way, except Zargan was a bit more gruff and less refined than the old stallion. But, she was fine with that. She never wanted to see this dwarf leave out of her life unless he had to. And if that day ever came, it would sadden her greatly. But, that wasn’t something she had to worry about. Although, she did have one thing to worry about now. “Well, while I came by to see you today just because I wanted to, it isn’t the only reason,” she said as she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a rolled up parchment with Celestia’s veal upon it. Zargan let out a soft “Hmmm?” before taking the letter once it was held out to him removed the seal with a flick of his wrist and unrolled the letter before reading it.

Dear Zargan Runespear,

I do hope that this letter finds you well. Your business exploits have made their rounds in and out of my castle. A few of my guards have been more than pleased with the work you have done for them. However, there are some...rather unsettling rumors going around that the smithies within the castle walls and other competitors are not pleased that you are taking away their business. So I urge you to take caution and stay safe.

On another note, the Yule Gala is going to be coming up soon. As a thank you for your services, I have enclosed an invitation to allow you VIP access to the event in question. This is also a thank you for letting my younger sister continue to come and visit and help you in your shop when she has time to herself. She can't keep the thoughts of such fine work out of her head and always can't wait to see what you will make next. Thank you so very much for showing her such kindness. I hope to see you join us for the event.

With warm regards,

Princess Celestia

Zargan saw the platinum accented invitation peeking out at the bottom of the letter before picking it up and examining the finely crafted ticket “Hmm..what exactly is…VIP?” he asked as he looked over at Luna for clarification. He was still learning much about this world and its ways. And never had the term VIP been used in his world…let alone his way of life. Luna gazed down at the ticket before gasping sharply while covering her muzzle a bit “She..she gave you one of THOSE?! What are you thinking, sister?!” she asked in genuine shock before shaking her head in absolute shock. She wasn’t shocked by the fact that he didn’t deserve such a thing. When in fact, he did deserve it with how amazing his craft and skills are. But it was the fact that Luna knew that he wasn’t swayed by fancy things like this. The dwarf was always hanging around the local bar or pub within the city if he decided to go out at night and let his metaphorical hair down.

“It's another way of saying someone of importance. An esteemed guest. She is really, really going all out to try and get your loyalty it seems. Do you plan on actually going? I don’t want to nobles and other guests to cause you any trouble, grandfather…” she said with genuine worry in her voice. Zargan appreciated her worry and concern for him. But he reached up and gently tapped one of her cheeks while rubbing a thumb of her soft flesh while locking eyes with her “Don’t ya go worryin’ about little old me, lass. A dwarf can adapt to any situation if they need to. Besides, if these highborn, hoitty toitty, soft skinned nobles wanna pick a fight with me, I ain’t gonna let polite high society rules hold me back from havin’ my fun. Your sister is gonna regret this little stun to get in my favor should thins’ go wrong.” he said with a low chuckle. Luna was a bit worried at that statement and watched as Zargan rubbed his hands together. But at the same time, she was really hoping that he would stir up the ever boring event that was held year after year…

–One Week Later–

Zargan flew towards the castle after having deployed the jet boots portion of his armor before coming to a slow descent in front of the event hall in the northern courtyard of the castle grounds before straightening his rather fancy black and white tunic. It even had the frilly sleeves and a snug neckerchief that had a beautiful red ruby in the middle of it and a long black cloak with a soft dark feathered hood that was made from the most pristine of raven feathers, and shiny brand new leather black boots that went up to his knees. He was dressed to impress for sure. But attached to his belt was a hanging flask which he might be needing for this night. And best of all? The flask automatically refilled each time it was emptied out. So unless the barrels that he had in storage back at home ran dry, it would pull from those.

As Zargan made his way closer to the line, he couldn’t help but notice all the eyes upon him as he got closer and closer to the bulk of the crowd. Some gazed upon him with disdain while others were more curious. He gave a soft sigh before reaching down and grabbing his flask before taking a nice and slow swig before patching it back onto his belt. Once he made it up to the guardsponies that were taking invitations, he couldn’t help but notice the guardsmare who had the very same battleaxe he had just recently finished. His gaze turned to the guard in question what was..a rather VERY large mare indeed. She looked like she stood about seven feet and was very muscular, but had curves in all the right places. However, the face did not match the body at all. She had a soft and adorable face with a long and straight crimson mane that hid half her face and beautiful bright pink eyes that gazed down at Zargan.

“Ticket, please,” she said authoritatively as she held out her armored hand. Zargan blinked a few times as he tried to register this large mare’s appearance before coming back to reality and reached into his tunic before pulling out the ticket and handing it off to her “Here ya are, lass.” he said before she took it and examined it. She gave out a soft gasp before bowing her head to him “I..I apologize for my rather brash tone, Sir. Had I known that you were given one of these..” she said as she began to fidget a bit.

Zargan held up a hand and gently shook his head “Not to worry my dear. I am still rather new to this kind of stuff myself. Ya are perfectly fine.” he said as he reached up and gently patted the armored thigh of the mare “Which way am I headin’?” he asked as if he had already forgotten the whole thing. The mare let out a sigh of relief before looking over at the other guard as she held up his ticket. The guard nodded without a word before taking over the line in her place. “F-Follow me, please. The VIPs are in the upper part of the event hall,” she said as she nervously led him along.

Once they had made it to the room, the mare bowed to him before turning to return to her post. Zargan reached up and grabbed her wrist firmly before smiling up at her “Ya take good care of that axe, ya hear? That pretty girl is one of mine. If ya need her to be tuned up, come find my little shop over in the east part of the city.” he said before releasing her wrist and making his way into the exclusive room. The mare was stunned at whom she had just escorted, and he was so polite and humble. Unlike most of the snobbish assholes, she had to walk to this room. And now, she knew who it was who crafted this wonderful gift that her mother and father had especially made for her. Zargan now understood why such a heavy weapon was asked for now.

As Zargan walked through the crowd of ponies, he noticed that they all had their own cliques. There were the big business owners, the elite nobles, the ambassadors, and even some royal family members of what Zargan assumed to be cusions or outer relatives of the princesses. He made his way over to one of the windows and watched the garden below fill with all sorts of ponies dressed in their best. He took another swig from his flask before letting out a sigh of delight as the mead hit his throat and his belly. He was simply here because he was invited. And that's okay with him.

He was sipping and watching until he heard the sound of hooves approaching him. He placed his flask back on his hip before turning his head to see who was approaching him. Who his eyes laid upon was a vision of absolute beauty. A mare wearing a black and whine red frilly dress whose cleavage was definitely out there for all to see. Her fur was a deep pink and her mane and tail were a deep purple and beautifully straightened and done up in a ponytail. But what really caught Zargan’s attention were the bright amethyst eyes that seemed to have a natural glow to them. Her face was framed by her perfectly parted bangs and the ponytail was held together by some kind of ornate hairpin.

He blinked a few times as he saw those very eyes were looking down upon him. But, not with disdain like most others, they were looking at him with genuine interest. “How can I help ya, lass?” he asked as he turned to face her fully. The mare said nothing at first, only staring down at him from behind her frilly fan before closing it with a flick of her wrist “Well, first off. It is refreshing to see someone greeting me in such a casual manner without putting on a fake smile or trying to rub elbows with me. Second, I have been watching you ever since you have come in. Tell me..that flask you are carrying. How is it not empty by now? You have drunk at least five or six containers worth from what I have been seeing…” she said as she now stood in front of him.

Zargan chuckled and lifted his flask from his belt and held it up to her so she could get a better look “This little thing? It is just somethin’ I put together for this kind of situation is all. Dealin’ with elitist snobs who think they are the next best thin’ since dwarven mead calls for such inventions.” he said as he was blunt about the use of his flask and the reason why he had it with him this evening. The mare continued to look it over with her keen eyes, but couldn’t exactly find what was allowing him to sip from a near infinite source.

She let out a soft “Hmmm” before handing it back to him “I see, quite fascinating indeed. My name is Grape Vine, by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance mister…?” she asked as she waited for him to respond. “Ah, Zargan Runespear at your service, my dear. A pleasure to meet ya as well,” he said with a polite bow of his head. Grape smiled from behind her fan once she opened it once more, her eyes narrowing as well “Hmmmm, I would very much like to learn more about you, Mr. Runespear. If you’d please follow me where we can discuss things a bit more privately, I have a business proposition you might find beneficial for both of us…” she said as she motioned him to follow her.

A business proposition? If there was money to be made, Zargan was all ears…

Author's Note

More money for the dwarf? He is all about increasing his earnings to be sure! How will this play out for him?

May the darkness grant you peace.