As Zargan and the two pony sisters walk into the house, the immediate smell of something sweet and refreshing hits the dwarf’s nose before the door closes behind him. He then looks around the home which had a rather cozy and rustic feel to it. Like it was a home off up in the mountains away from society. It made him feel rather homesick for a moment, but then he shook it off and followed the sisters into the room they were going to.

“Apple Bloom!” shouted two fillies who rushed their friend immediately upon seeing her. She gasped happily as her friends hugged her before she dragged them over to meet with her new mentor “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, this is Zargan Runespear. He let me into his home when I got lost in the rain. Good thing too as there were timber wolves out there prowlin’ around when he was so kind enough to escort me back.` She said as she looked at the dwarf again “Mister Zargan, these are my two best friends in the whole world.”. Zargan offered his large hands out to the two fillies with a smile “Nice to meetcha, lasses. I hope ya two made it here okay. Those creatures out there were a nasty piece of work.”.

They both nodded “We were all three together on the way here, but then the rain just suddenly came down to the point where we could barely see in front of us…we are sorry we couldn’t find you, Ab..” Sweetie said as she lowered her head in shame. “Yeah…we are really sorry..” Said scootaloo as she shared the same stare at the floor. All was quiet for a moment before the dwarf stepped in “Easy there, little ones.There was nothin’ ya could do in this current downpour. What matters is that all three of ya are safe and sound now.” he said as he placed his hands on Apple Bloom’s and Sweetie’s shoulder.

“Girls, y’all go on up to Apple Bloom’s room for now. We will call you down when the stew is ready.” said Applejack as she jerked her head back towards Zargan to follow her into the kitchen. “Okay, sis. Come on girls, I gotta tell ya everything that just happened on the way here!” she said as she and her friends climbed the stairs. “Remember lass, take good care of that blade. Give her a proper name and she will never let ya down.” he said before heading into the kitchen.

As he made his way in, he took notice of a large and burly stallion and an elderly looking mare sitting at the table with smiles on their faces as they saw him enter. Applejack taking a seat next to the stallion as she motioned for him to come and join them at the table “Come on, partner. Don’t be shy now.” she said in a friendly tone before he nodded and climbed into the only empty chair. He then reaches to his side and behind him to place his hammer and revolver upon the table in front of him, showing them that he has nothing to hide.

The three of them stare at him in confusion when he does this “Ah..pardon me. A force of habit from where I come from. My kind believes in laying out our weapons as a sign of respect and honor when we sit and converse like this.” he said as he looked between the group. They look between each other for a moment before nodding in unison. “First off, I’d like to thank ya again personally for bringin’ my sister back home. With all the timber wolf corpses that had been laid out by your hand, Ah can only imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t been with her…Thank you, thank you…” Applejack said with bow of her head

Zargan shook his head with a soft smile before rubbing at his beard again “It was no trouble. I wasn’t gonna let the wee one go out in this weather under my watch.” he said as he looked to the other two ponies “Ah, this is my big brother Big Macintosh, but you can call him Big Mac for short.’ She said befor the quiet stallion reached out with his hand, the dwarf reached out to slap his hand and squeezed it, giving it a firm shake “Nice to meetcha, lad. You got yaself a fine grip there.” hen said as he looked up at the stallion who only smiled in response with a smile “Heheh…yep.”. Once the handshake was done, Big Mac nodded reassuringly to his sister before the dwarf’s attention was turned to the elderly mare who was eyeing Zargan like a hawk.

“Let me see them hands, mister!’ She said as she made a ‘gimme’ motion with her hands. The dwarf tilted his head slightly before hesitantly and carefully placing his large hands in front of the elderly mare. She takes each one of them in her hands and examines them closely “My goodness. You got some mitts on you don’tcha? And they look like they have seen more then plenty of hard work.” she said as she then looked upon his face “Well, I am a blacksmith and a miner. Then again, it comes with the territory of being a gray dwarf. We mainly live underground after all.” he explained.

“My my, a stallion of many hats, Ah see. And from what Ah can tell, your eyes have seen much. How old are ya, sonny?” she asked not really ready for his answer “I think…I will be turning one-hundred and ten within the next couple months? I honestly lost track at one-hundred.”. With that response, all three of their jaws dropped and their eyes widened at this response “Oh my sweet Celestia. Ah am so, so sorry for callin’ you sonny! You look like you are in your mid thirties or late twenties, even with such a well kept beard. Please forgive me, sir!” Granny Smith said as she bowed her head multiple times.

Zargan chuckled lightly before waving his hand dismissively “Don’t worry ya pretty head about it, lass. You could say that in dwarven terms, ya’d be right. I am still quite young in terms of my kind and how they age. I mean, we start growin’ our beards a few years after we are born. The fuller the beard, the more respect is given to a dwarf. But, having a beard isn;t enough. Ya gotta prove yaself in many other ways.”.

As he explained the ways of his people, he couldn’t help but notice that Mac was eyeing his hammer and revolver. The dwarf smiled before lifting his hammer up and twirling it one-handed “You wanna give it a try, lad?” He asked before he stood up and placed the hammer head down on the floor in the open space in the kitchen. The stallion’s face, which was normally soft, lit up with excitement before he made his way around the table and wrapped a hand tightly around the hilt of the hammer. He tries to pull it up with a regular amount of strength, then a bit more, then moves to a two handed grip. Zargan couldn;t help but chuckle at his struggling before reaching up and patting his back “Eeeassyyy, laddy. Dwarven weapons are tailored to the user’s specifics. If you’d like, I can forge ya one that’ll work for you. Just give me the design of your desires, and I can make it so.”.

He then watched his attention go to the revolver on the table before smiling at the stallion “aaah, this beauty right here is my latest pride and joy. While Mishka has been with me forever and ever, Vixen here is one of my latest creations. She has an eight round cylinder and her ammunition is my own magic. I push my mana into the grip of the revolver and it flows into the chambers, forming into highly concentrated ‘magic bullets’ and fires them at range. Since I can’t use magic spells, I create tools and weapons that are magically enhanced that can put my large amount of mana to use.” he said as he spun the cylinder of his revolver before flicking it back into place, squeezing the grip and letting the mana flow through the gun as the runes lit up brightly and the chambers filled up instantly.

Big Mac stared at the weapon in deep fascination. He wanted badly to try it out. But, thinking now wouldn’t be the best time to do so. He wasn’t the only one interested in that revolver either. It seems that his skills had drawn the attention of Applejack as well “Oh my…a stallion that can craft things all his own and not have to worry about others stealin’ his work. You got it all figured out, don;tcha?” she asked with a narrowed gaze and smile.

Zargan chuckled lightly before placing his weapons carefully back upon the table “Well, unfortunately, I did have a few thieves try and pillage my home earlier today. Sure, they were trying to steal some of my less finer work. But, I don’t take too kindly to thieves. They even thought to try and lay a hand on my smithing hammer. The absolute audacity.” he said before taking his seat back at the table.

The group continued to talk until it was time for dinner. Zargan watched as all three of them got up from the table and began preparing the food and dishes. Not one to just simply sit and watch, he took the bowls and plates to the table once Applejack had gotten them down from the cabinet. And even taking the silverware to the table as well “Well thank you kindly, Zargan. But you are our guest. You shouldn’t have to do that.” Applejack said as she smiled as she was happy he helped out anyway. “Naaah, it is no trouble at all. Besides, the faster we get it done, the faster everyone can fill their bellies.

He was right after all. Applejack didn’t realize it yet, gut the way he showed proper manners, he had respect for those he met, had an amazing work ethic and the fact that he didn’t take offense to Granny Smith’s mistake from earlier made her respect him quite a bit already. Maybe even more than respect. Little did she know that the more she learned about him over time, the more she would really grow to like him.

“Girls, come down and get somethin’ to eat! Food’s ready!” called out Applejack before the whole group now sat around the table and began to enjoy the food. “Oh Sweet mornin’, this veggie stew is wonderful…it would pair nicely with some mead.” he said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a large barrel with a spout on it before placing it on the corner of the table. He was about to pour himself a full tankard before he looked at the group who stared at him with wide eyes.

“Ah…sorry. Mead really shouldn’t be drunk around young ones. As it is an adult beverage.” he said before placing the barrel and tankard back into the bag. They all stand up quickly as they watched the barrel just vanish into the bag like it was nothing! “How in tarnation do you get that big thing to fit in that tiny bag?!” Ask Applejack in utter disbelief. Zargan chuckled lightly as he realized that is why they had the bugged eyes stare before answering “Another one of my creations. I call it the hammerspace bag. Or a bag of holding. It can hold many times at once no matter the size and the weight is fully manageable even for young ones.”.

They all sit down and continue to stare at Zargan while shaking their heads “You continue to impress me, Zargan. Ah can’t wait to see what other magical items that you have created and will create. While unicorns here can cast spells and such. I don’t believe anyone in the world has creations like yours. Not that I am aware of anyway.”.

As the dinner continued on, the rain finally stopped and the cloud began to fade, letting the latte afternoon sun shine freely upon the land. After Zargan had helped clean up and wash the dishes, he had decided it was time for him to return home. He didn;t want to stay any longer than he felt he was allowed to. “Thank you very much for the meal. You are a wonderful cook.” he said as he made his way to the door. “You…are leaving already? YOu can stay longer if you want to!” Applejack said as she rushed to the door to meet him.

He turned his head up to her and smiled warmly before holding his hand up in declination “That is rather sweet of ya, lass. But, I don;t want to impose on ya more than I already have. Thank ya for havin’ me here though. I enjoyed dessert as well. I would definitely not say no to another invitation should it be extended, however.” he said as he then opened the door and made his way out. “It’s a date then!” said Applejack as she leaned out the door and waved him off.

Zargan made his way through the orchard and back to his underground home. He was ready to hang up his weapons for the day and crawl into bed. He still had to make chambers to add on to his new home after all. So tomorrow, he was going to get ol’ Bianca and Rosa out to work once more. It was going to be quite the busy day indeed.

As he made his way toward the trap door, the mana reader on his right gauntlet began to go crazy. It hadn’t gone off like this since he had picked up that statue and fallen into this world. It wasn’t until he heard something, or rather someone flying down toward him. Thinking quickly, he leapt back and crossed his arms in front of himself as a magically reinforced dome appeared over him, then another, then another. Whatever was heading towards him was about to hit him hard. Would his shield be able to hold it back?m Just in case it couldn't, a full-sized tower shield seemed to materialize out of nowhere and latched onto his right arm before he put all his weight into it, digging his feet into the ground firmly.

And soon enough, whoever it was made full impact with his shields, instantly shattering the first two layers, but the last one and the shield itself remained unphased. After the flying dirt had finally settled, Zargan peeked around his shield with an arched brow before his eyes laid upon a rather large amazon of a woman. Her mane and tail everflowing with a spectrum of colors and her beautiful purple eyes now gaze down at the dwarf.

“Oi, lass! You gotta be careful where ya land! You coulda really hurt yaself or me!” henshouted in annoyance before he dropped the last barrier, but kept the tower shield up. Little did he know that he was addressing one of the two rules of this land. And no one has ever talked to her in such a manner before…

Author's Note

Will do one more chapter after this one, then focus back on The Voodoo King

May the darkness grant you peace.