Harmony’s Hate

Jewel shut the door behind him, his heart racing as he leaned against it. He dropped down on the floor and curled into a ball as he watched his hooves shiver.

The fuck is going on?

He grasped his head and sat like this for a minute until his breath stabilized. He never ran this much in his life and now that he finally was out of a stressful situation, all of the exhaustion immediately caught up to him. He realized his lungs felt as if they were on fire. Every breath like a knife cutting through his throat while taking any moisture away with it. Not to mention the hot and heavy air in the room he was in made it difficult to breathe.

Now that he noticed it… it was really hot. He lifted his head to look up and around the space he was in. A giant rectangular room with tools made out of crystals and metal alike hanging along the walls. Two long tables with hinges on the side designed to hold objects in place and a big fireplace on one end with coal still glowing hot.

Even though though there were lamps, they were dim and no windows that would let in natural light were present. It was cluttered, barely any room to move around and it felt… familiar. That place may look differently but no matter what exactly it was made for, the essence of it was the same. It was the place of a craftspony. It felt like home.

Jewel stood up, taking in the air of the forge. It lacked the grease, oil and the smell of wood of his workshop in Ponyville. Neither did he smell the pungent and burning aroma of cosmetics he learned to love in his parents’ shop, but this was still a place for someone who toiled to create something worth existing.

It made him miss his workshop, even though he was there just that morning.

He walked along the walls, looking up at the hanging tools. Hammers of various sizes, shapes and surface areas neatly organized and numbered. He slowly approached the forge, getting used to the heat emanating from it. Jewel sensed some kind of energy emanating from its crystal walls, like a current of water flowing constantly within.

It was at this moment he heard a sound, a rhythmic hum coming from down the stairs across the entrance. His ears perked up attentively trying to focus on the sound.

Cold heart and crystal skin…
Our memories but a prison of time.
With my soul, I promise thee…
I shall set you free…

The song became louder and louder as Jewel went down the stairs. His footing unstable due to exhaustion. He went down until he peeked around the corner to see the one singing. It was an white elder unicorn, he sat on a chair polishing a crystal dagger with a cloth. Every time he hit a beat while singing, he wiped the dagger once.

The stallions ears perked up and he stopped his singing. “I know you are there!” He called out to Jewel and turned to look towards the staircase. Jewel retreated behind the corner. “No need to be shy, I don’t bite.”

Jewel slowly turned the corner and stepped down from the stairs. The stallion studied him for a moment before sighing. “So that’s what all the fuss is about. Do you like tea, child?”

“Yes… If that’s not an issue.” Jewel gulped and tightened his cloak around himself.

The stallion mumbled to himself while shaking his head, and pointed him towards a small table. “Make yourself comfortable, child. I’ll be right back.” He smiled and went through a door.

Jewel sat down as instructed and took a moment to study the room he was in. It was much cooler than the smithy upstairs. It was a simple room with barely any furniture except a table and a few chairs. There were four doors, the one the stallion went through must have been the kitchen. However there was one door that seemed to be barricaded with some metal rods, keeping it closed. Right next to it was a stand with a vase full of violet petunias on it. Besides that, there was not much in the room. No pictures, no carpet. Compared to the workshop upstairs, this place felt strangely empty.

“Sorry for the wait.” Jewel barely jumped back in surprise at the sudden appearance of the unicorn.

The elder placed down the tea set on the table and poured both of them a cup. He gave one of them to Jewel. “T-thank you…” he said and blew on the tea to cool it down.

The tea had a vibrant yellow tint and was so dense, he couldn’t see the bottom of the cup. Jewel carefully sipped the beverage, taking in the strong taste of rosemary and the faint sweetness of… apples?

The unicorn smiled at his reaction. “It seems you noticed. I add a little bit of freshly pressed cider as a sweetener. Can’t really stand the processed stuff, so that’s the next best thing in my opinion.”

Jewel watched the older stallion sip on his tea in satisfaction. Just now he realized how crazy this whole situation was. Mere moments ago he was running for his life from the guards and now he was calmly sipping tea with an old unicorn. What was going on with this empire?

“Alright,” the unicorn said after he finished his tea. “I can tell you have a lot of questions. I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability, just please answer some of mine in return. Okay?”

Jewel thought for a moment. “Who are you?”

The unicorn burst out into laughter, his Adam’s apple visibly shaking. “Of course! I totally forgot! My name is Hot Hammer,” he said after composing himself. “Im the empire’s Forgemaster.”

“Forgemaster?” Jewel asked but Hot Hammer just shook his head.

“As the name implies.” Hot Hammer took out a pipe and lit it up, lazily puffing on it. “So? What’s your name child?”

“Jeweled Hoof.” Hot Hammer froze for a second before continuing to puff his pipe.

“Hoof, eh? To be honest you don’t look like someone with Hoof as a surname.”

“Who do I look like?” Jewel asked, slightly offended by the remark.

Hot Hammer looked Jewel directly into his eyes and took away the pipe from his mouth. “I took you for a Heart!”

Jewel jumped back, knocking down the chair and tea cup as tea spilled on the floor. Hot Hammer managed to catch the cup with his magic before it hit the ground. “Careful, Sonny! The teacups are not cheap!”

“How do you know that name?” Jewel spoke, his mind racing.

Hot Hammer simply took another puff from his pipe. “Just as easily threatened. You are not helping your cause, child.”

“What do you know!?” Jewel demanded stomping with his hoof.

“A lot. Possibly more than anyone else in the empire.” Hot Hammer put down his cup and clasped his hooves together. “Now sit down, we have quite a few things to discuss.”

You can’t trust him!

He is the only lead I have for now! Weird things have been happening since I got here and I need answers.

He might be the one who orchestrated this meeting!

He might have told that mare to bring me here…

Exactly!

I still need answers, so I have no other option.

Jewel used his magic to put the chair back in its place and sat on it as told. “What is happening here? Why was I being pursued by the guards?”

“Ah, straight to the point!” Hot Hammer exclaimed. “The short answer is because you look exactly like Blackheart.”

Jewel blinked. “What?”

“Well… except your eyes are different. Blackheart’s were golden, not blue.”

“Why would they go after me because of it?” Jewel watched as Hot Hammer poured him another cup.

“Come on, you know why,” Hot Hammer said smiling. “Listen, you are in no actual danger. You just need to hand yourself over to the guards and let them realize their mistake. They’ll treat you much better after the whole ordeal is over.”

“What else do you know?”

“Listen, kid. I am sure you are related to Blackheart and I’m positive he is the reason you came here. So let me give you an offer; you do a little something for me and I give you the answer you are looking for. A favor for a favor.”

“What if I refuse?”

Hot Hammer chuckled. “My offer would still stand. I know for a fact there are no records of Blackheart in the whole empire, so your best bet is with me.”

He stood up. “Well… whatever you decision will be, I can wait till you make it. However it’s best if you don’t force the whole empire into hiding by merely existing, eh?” He reached out his hoof and gave Jewel a small smile.

Jewel looked into his eyes for a moment. The aged pony looked at him intently, almost desperate.

He wants to use me!

But for what?

I don’t know, but right now I’m at his mercy.

Jewel sighed and took Hot Hammers hoof, resigned to his fate.

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“Okay but seriously, did you have to hoofcuff me?” Jewel complained as Hot Hammer escorted him along the empty streets of the empire. “It’s difficult to walk when you can’t separate your legs from each other.”

“Oh, quit your bitching,” Hot Hammer exclaimed. “It’s necessary so no one would think of you as a threat. They are an invention of mine. They have a magical seal implanted in them, that causes the unicorn they are on to completely loose control of its magic. Try it, use a spell.”

Jewel looked down at his hooves. He tried to channel the current inside him, a constant river of energy that moved through his whole body. Yet it wouldn’t budge, no matter how much he tried he couldn’t channel this energy towards his horn and release it as a spell. It felt as if the connection between his horn and his magic has been severed.

“It’s like an artifact!” Jewel exclaimed. “I thought the means to make one has been lost ages ago! How did you make them?”

“It’s no artifact, or anything as powerful as that,” Hot Hammer explained. “It’s just an item I enchanted with my will while forging it.”

“What kind of enchantment? Do you still have the formulas?”

“No, no formulas. I’m not a mage or wizard or whatever they are called nowadays, I can’t read nor write magic formulas. I’m just a smith.” As if to prove a point, Hot Hammer pointed at his flank that was adorned with a cutie mark of an anvil with a glowing aura around it.

“Didn’t you say that you were a—“

“Oh, look!” Hot Hammer interrupted him. “The pegasi patrol noticed us.”

Jewel looked up and saw a pegasus circling above them. It will only be a matter of time until the guards catch up to them. The idea of someone going out of their way to catch him specifically scared him.

“Now listen,” Hot Hammer began, as a couple of ponies came from around a corner farther down the street. “If you make up your mind on my offer, you know where to find me. I rarely leave my forge.”

Jewel nodded as the group of ponies that caught him before approached them.

“Hot Hammer!” A blue unicorn that seemed to be the leader spoke. He looked at Jewel intently before turning towards Hot Hammer again. “Care to explain?”

“Oh please, Sapphire!” Hot Hammer lamented. “Spare me the charade! You know very well he’s not Blackheart. Look at his eyes!”

“Just because they are different doesn't mean it’s not him, he might have used a spell to change his eyes. Also you cuffed him, so you yourself must have some doubts.”

Hot Hammer face-hoofed. “I cuffed him so you wouldn’t jump on him the moment you saw him! You traumatized the guy!”

Sapphire sighed. “Alright, we will have to confiscate his belongings and detain him. After which we will figure things out about his identity.”

Jewel turned towards Hot Hammer, unsure if it’s a good idea to go with them. Hot Hammer simply smiled at him. “Don’t worry, they might seem a bit harsh but they are huge softies. You’ll be in the right hooves.”

Jewel approached the unicorn Hot Hammer called “Sapphire” and let himself be escorted up the street towards the palace in the distance.
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