Zargan continued to stare up at the pink mare who seemed rather desperate to find her way through his forcefield that he had barely been able to bring up before she collided with it. Somehow, this mare was even faster than the princess who had broken through two of his shield domes just a few days ago. Then again Pinkie Pie was an…odd sort of girl. Rules of reality sometimes didn’t apply to her actions.

“C’moooooon, lemme iiiiinnn!” she whined as she pawed at the dome like a cat trying to reach a bird on the other side of a window. Zargan tilted his head to the side as he watched her behavior. She seemed like she didn’t mean any harm. But, at the same time, he didn't really know her all that well “Look, lass. It's rather sweet of ya to go around just offerin’ hugs and such. But, you shouldn’t just be doin’ that to any stranger ya see. That could pose trouble for both parties. And ya wouldn’t want that would ya?” he asked as he watched her sulk a bit as he explained.

“However, I am willing to start with a handshake if that will make you happy. Now, I am going to lower this shield. Are ya goin’ to be a good girl?” he asked as he hovered his finger over his gauntlet. For some reason, the pony lowered herself onto her knees as if she were a canine sitting in front of her master before nodding rapidly. Zargan blinked a few times at the odd action. Nonetheless removed his shield and held out his hand. The pink mare smiled widely before taking the large hand into both of hers and shaking it firmly “Nice to meet you! I am Pinkie Pie! I like to make friends with everyone I meet and throw parties for them!” she said as she started to vibrate with excitement.

Zargan had expected the other ponies around them to stare at the kneeling pony with confusion. But, they all just kept about their business. She must have quite the reputation of being an oddball, so they considered her actions normal at this point. Zargan released his hand from her grip before responding to her “My name is Zargan Runespear. A pleasure to meet ya, lass.” he said as he now stared up at her as she got back to her hooves.

As the two walked and talked, the was a scream off in the distance before a masked stallion came running through the crowd of ponies with a purse in his hand. Zargan hated pickpockets and thieves more than anything. If you didn’t earn your money through work, he had no respect for you at all. He then reached behind him and pulled his revolver from his belt before casually unloading two rounds into the back of the pony’s knees. Luckily for the pony, the rounds didn’t cause any major damage. There were going to be some large bruises for sure, but Zargan decided not to use a lethal amount of mana this time.

The pony cried out in pain before falling to the ground and dropping the purse. The dwarf walks over to the groaning stallion and simply looks down at him with disdain in his eyes “If ya need money so bad, get a job and stick with it.” he simply said before picking up the purse and returning it to the mare who had caught up to them “Here ya are.” he said as he held it out to her. The mare thanked Zargan profusely, the dwarf holding up his hands with a smile as he told her the thanks weren’t necessary.

Pinkie Pie watched all this happen before her. And it made her quite happy to see such a selfless deed done for someone who was a stranger to the dwarf. She knew he was going to like him straight away. Zargan placed his gun back into its holster before looking up at Pinkie who was smiling widely at him. The dwarf arched a brow in confusion before asking “What?”. Pinkie giggled and shook her head “Oooh nothing. Not the way I would have handled things. But, at least you did it with minimal damage.”.

Zargan shrugged his shoulders a bit “Don’t think of me as some kind of hero or do-gooder, lass. I simply don’t abide by folks stealin’ what they haven’t earned. You don’t deserve the reward if ya haven’t worked for it.” he said as he and Pinkie continued walking along the street, just conversing about random things at this point.

As they walked along getting to know one another, Zargan’s gauntlet started beeping and flashing blue before he lifted it up and a small crystal slab embedded in it showed a moving image of what appeared to be someone skulking around his new shop. It appeared to be someone in rather fine looking royal armor who looked to be a rather young stallion. He looks up at the pink mare “I need to go and take care of some business, my dear. It was a pleasure to meet ya.” he said as he headed right back home.

The stallion paced around in circles as he rubbed his chin in thought. He had knocked on the door a few times but no answer had been given in return. He huffed slightly before he waited a few minutes more before reaching up to knock once more. But suddenly, the metal slit in the door slid sideways before a pair of glowing blue eyes looked out at him, giving him a bit of a startle “Whatcha need, lad?” Zargan asked as he looked the stallion up and down.

“Good afternoon, sir. I was told by somepony that this was a new blacksmith, and one of your specialties was weapons. Would you by chance be taking any commissions at this time? If not, then maybe fix up my current sword?” he asked as he took out his blade that rested on his hip and held it up. Zargan took a look over the blade without saying anything. He simply closes the slit and unlocks the door before opening it and welcoming the stallion in “Follow me, we will get her lookin like she came right off the anvil.” he said as he waited for the stallion to come in before locking the door behind them.

The stallion followed Zargan down the stairs and into the main chamber where he noticed the six female golems going about and maintaining the place. His eyes looked at the very well detailed life-like quality of the moving structures. “Are..these your creations, sir?” he asked before he was caught staring at the curvaceous golems by the dwarf, the stallion blushing hard at the embarrassment. Zargan chuckled lightly before standing at his workstation “Aye, these beauties are my latest reactions. I still need to give them proper names. After all, I want them to have their own individuality. Now then bring me your sword, son.”

The stallion nodded before handing the weapon to the dwarf handle first. The dwarf’s eyes thoroughly scanned over the blade as he let out a few thoughtful ‘hmmmmm’s before placing the blade atop the anvil “Might I enquire as to who ya smith was for this weapon?” he asked as he picked up his smithing hammer. “It was one of the castle smiths who made it. It was made for my promotion to the royal guard captain,” he said as he watched Zargan raise his hammer, only to bring it down with great force and shatter the whole sword into hundreds of pieces.

The stallion’s face went from intrigue to horror as he watched his blade shatter into many pieces. The dwarf shook his head before sweeping the remnants of the blade off his anvil, one of the golems coming by to scoop up the mess and toss it into the trash “What in the name of Celestia have you done?!” the stallion shouted in anger and shock and he placed his hands atop his head. The dwarf pointed his hammer at the stallion “Settle down, boy. If ya took one swing in combat with that cheap piece of metal, it would have shattered on impact just like this. That thing had so many flaws in its structure that I couldn’t even pity it.”.

Zargan walks up to the stallion and yanks the sheath from the stallion’s hip before making his way back to the forge and placing a couple of mithril ingots on the table next to the sheath “Come back in a couple of days, I will have something far, far superior to that piece of shite you call a sword.” he said as he placed one of the ingots on the anvil before he began hammering away on it. “I can’t just leave without a sword! What in the hay am I supposed to do if something happens?!” shouted the stallion as he was starting to freak out.

Zargan pointed his hammer to the wall of weapons “One hundred bits for a weapon of your choice. That can be your replacement until you get this one finished. Don't worry, any of those is fifty times better than what you came in here with. I promise.” he said as he didn’t even look up from his work. The stallion huffed before making his way toward the wall and picked up a broadsword similar to the style that he had originally come into the store with. He removed the sword from its sheath and gazed over the blade.

At first, he just thought it to be an ordinary sword just like any other. But once he gazed upon its detail, he noticed that the metal quality was far more pure and strong than anything he had ever laid eyes on. He even performed the bending test on it. It withheld its straightness with no issues whatsoever. If this was something that was just hung on a wall, the stallion could only imagine what the dwarf was making for him now.

The stallion walked towards the countertop that one of the golems stood behind while still watching Zargan work. He reached into his coin pouch and passed off the money to the golem before making his way out, giving the dwarf one last look as one of the other golems escorted him out. “Your master certainly is a rather odd one isn’t he..?” he asked the golem, not really expecting her to answer back. “They said that the eccentric ones are the most intelligent in their own right. But, he is my master. And he brought my sisters and me to life. And we love him for that.”.

–Two Days Later–

The stallion returned at the time requested by Zargan. This time, he was greeted by one of the golems when he knocked on the door and was let in. As he made his way down into the main chamber, Zargan had just wiped down the blade thoroughly to give it a proper shine before turning to face the stallion with a proud smile “Here she is, lad. Take good care of her. Ya here?” he said as he slid the blade into the sheath he had taken off the stallion when he came in before.

The stallion took the sword in both hands before slowly pulling out the blade and starting to examine it thoroughly. He was amazed at its craftsmanship…the straight and sharpened age, the tang of the blade, and its balance were pure perfection. He walked out into an open area and gave the blade a few test swings. It felt so right in his hands like the blade was literally meant just for him.

“This feels so light…but it is so sturdy. The smithy at the castle has never come across metal this superior before…” he said as he looked over at Zargan who was busy cleaning up his workstation. Zargan simply shrugged his shoulders at first but then looked at the stallion with a side eye and large grin “Aaaah, but quality like that comes at a price, lad/ Should you ever need any maintenance done with ya new weapon, I am afraid I am the only one who can help ya. A little insurance policy and a safeguard should it somehow ever fall into the wrong hands…or you try to sell it.” he said as he glared at the stallion.

“Are you kidding me?! No way I am letting anyone else have this fine piece of metal!” he said as he clutched it to his chest in a defensive manner. Zargan smiled warmly at that before he motioned the stallion over “By the way, young one. I need to make sure that yablade cannot be stolen from ya. Bring it here, please.” he said as he now stood at his workbench. The stallion nodded before handing the sword back to Zargan before he carved his own signature rune on the blade.

Once he finishes carving the rune, he motions the stallion to stand closer “Put ya hand on the hilt.” he said before placing his hand on top of the stallion’s once he did it. Zargan closed his eyes before he opened them back up, pushing mana into the sword and through the stallion which gave the pony a rather light shock throughout his body. Once the process was complete, the dwarf removed his hand from his and smiled up at him “Congrats, lad. Ya weapon is now soulbound to ya. The only folks who can use this beauty are either ya or me. The other would may as well be liftin’ a mountain if they tried to.” he said as he then went back to cleaning up his forge.

The stallion looked at his new weapon with awe. Something so incredible was made for him, and only him. “I imagine that this is going to set me back quite a bit, isn’t it? Then again, with this kind of quality, I will gladly pay you what you ask,” he said before placing the sword lovingly back into its sheath. The dwarf thought about it for a moment before waving his hand dismissively “Ya are my first customer and the captain of the royal guard. I think ya have earned that weapon. Simply let everyone else know what I did for ya and direct them towards me should they ask about it. You will be able to pay it off that way. Do we have a deal?” he asked as he held his gloved hand out. The stallion grabs Zargan’s hand firmly before shaking it multiple times “You got yourself a deal, sir! You will have so many customers that you won’t ever have to worry about money ever again! Thank you so, so much!” he said as he started to make his way out the door quickly before turning back around “Sir, I never did get your name. What was it?” he asked. “I am called Zargan Runespear. A pleasure to meetcha. And yours, lad?”.

“Shining Armor, sir. And it is an honor to meet such an amazing blacksmith such as yourself.” he said before disappearing up the stairs.

Author's Note

Not much to say here for today. Enjoy though!

May the darkness grant you peace.