Ah, such a wonderful morning.

I had just woken up, refreshed myself, and gotten myself out of my cozy little domicile/workplace so I could take in the scenery.

The air was fresh, but it also carried the sounds of a building city. Dogs pulled minecarts around filled with various materials. Ponies were working hard to build thatched roof homes, with pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns all pitching in to raise framework. Griffons flew overhead carrying various work-related items, and they were hard at work building their own dwellings, as were minotaurs, who heaved under the morning sun.

Wait... what?

Someone greeted me with an "Ah, good morning, Sir Ty!"

I looked up and saw Mayor Bronzehoof approaching me with a smile on his muzzle, which he held high. He then said, "How are you today, sir?"

I must've looked flabbergasted, because he then asked, "You feeling alright?"

I bit my lower lip, arched an eyebrow, looked around some more, and then wondered aloud, "Where did everybody come from? For that matter, why are you still here? Aren't you still Mayor of Bronzehoof?"

He rubbed the back of his neck (the impossibility of the feat made me cringe inwardly) and said shyly, "Well, word travels fast of the creature that broke the sword of Bandit-Chief Bullheart!"

I looked at him incredulously and said, "Don't tell me it's supposed to be all caps."

He then looked at me incredulously and replied, "...What?"

I waved that thought off, and then I told him, "Nevermind. Go on."

He became cheery again and beamed, "Well, all these weary travelers stopped by our little town, and they decided they like it here."

I scratched the back of my head and wondered, "That doesn't explain why you're here."

He looked downtrodden for a moment, and reported, "The Bandit-Chief was very thorough."

I pursed my lips and said, "Ooh. Sorry about that."

He perked back up, and sputtered, "B-but now that you're here, S-Sir..."

I looked up and saw none other than Bullheart along with several other minotaurs carrying lumber. I pointed him out, then said to Bronzehoof, "That's him right there, isn't it?"

Bronzey looked and saw the guy, and then he just said, "I don't think so. Why would he come back here again?"

I told him, "No, see? He's just not wearing his armor."

"Oh."

I recognized what was about to happen, so I tucked my left arm under Bronze's bronze forelegs, hoisted him up to my eye level, then, with my other hand, I clamped his mouth shut as he was sucking in a breath to shout out something, then swiveled on my feet and walked into Vulcan's Forge. Kicking in the door, I told Bronze-scared-hoof, "Calm down. He's here without his armor and his weapon... well, I broke his toy already, hah!"

Bronzehoof still squirmed in my grasp, so I said, "Look, if he was here to infiltrate the city, he's already failed. He's about as subtle as a bull in a china shop."

He finally relaxed in my grip, at which point I dropped him, and he fell to the floor, limp and unconscious.

Oh.

I checked his condition, then I moved him into a slightly less undignified pose on a bench I was just sleeping on. I didn't bother to pull my blanket over him.

Walking outside, I lost sight of Bullheart, so I walked in the direction he was traveling. I looked around and saw not a single idle person around. The noise made from the work being done was kind of loud, but I didn't mind the racket. It was kinda nice, actually. All the buildings going up, all the businesses starting. And to think it was my doing. I stopped for a second to really ponder that thought.

It couldn't really have been all my doing... could it?

Whatever my theory on the matter, the folk just keep coming, the buildings kept going up, and I was just standing in the middle of the sawdust, thinking.

Wait, what was I doing?

I looked over and saw Bullheart nailing... boards or something. I don't know. I walked up to him and said, "Hey, you."

Bullheart took sight of me and froze. And I mean froze. The very model of a deer in headlights. I almost laughed. Almost. But with no small amount of mirth, I asked, "What's your name?"

"Uh..." he murmured.

I took that as a chance to shout, with a giant shenanigan-causing grin, "Oh, it's Bullheart, isn't it?"

And then everything stopped. Stopped cold. Hammers were paused mid-swing, everyone was staring. It was awesome.

I then dropped my smile and ordered, "Come with me."

Like a Calf being scolded by his Udder... I mean Mother, Bull-hunched-over followed me back to Vulcan's Forge. Our footfalls were the only thing breaking the silence. Finally, we walked into the cramped space, and I slammed the door, waking Bronze-snore with a start. He smacked his lips, saw Bull-humbled, and he moved to scream before I pinned him to the wall, being sure not to suffocate him a second time. I said, "See? I'm learning. I don't always accidentally choke out people."

I looked behind me; Bull-frightened looked ready to bolt. I flashed him my sharp teeth in a grin, and told him, "Long story."

I dropped him, and as Bronzehoof caught his breath, I giggled, "I'm in complete control of this. Don't worry."

I turned around, saw Bull-about-to-have-a-heart-attack eying my Ulfberhts, a contemplative hand on his chin, and joked, "Hey. My face is here. Stop looking at my junk."

I was pretty sure that he might have been able to overpower me at this juncture, maybe, but he didn't know that, so I had his undivided attention. I questioned, "Okay. Why did you come back?"

It was at that time he broke down and started sobbing, his big form hunched over onto the ground.

Well, I certainly didn't expect that.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Bull-tears started talking again, in a broken up, teary voice.

"You-hoo-hoo bro-hooke my-hi-hi swo-ho-ho-hord," he blubbered.

He took a moment to half-compose himself, then explained,

"I paid over 500 bits for that sword."

Before he could continue, I cut him off by blurting, "Wait, what?"

He went further, saying "It was a creation from a master smithy. Granted, he was a little... shorter... than the descriptions of him tell, but..."

I doubled over in laughter. I took a moment to compose myself, then I said, "Sorry, dude. You just got scammed."

Bull-heart-broken just stuttered, pointing at nowhere and everywhere, and I said, "That sword was made from... what, pig iron or something? That is to say, the quality of the steel used in that blade is so poor that it's almost not steel. The reason your legendary blacksmith was shorter than he should've been was because he was a hack. A fake. A phony. Just as much as your big sword was."

Bullheart then gave off a roar that was part fury and part mourning for his purse. And his pride. And his reputation as Bandit-Chief. He broke down again and just sat on the floor, crying his namesake out. Bronzehoof stood next to me, just as puzzled as I was. I muttered to myself, "Jeez. He really needs a hug."

Apparently, I wasn't as quiet as I thought I was. Bronzehoof just gave me a look, and I shrugged my shoulders. He sighed and went over to hold the still-rather-intimidating minotaur that dwarfed the earth pony. The minotaur then turned in Bronzehug's grasp and returned the gesture. It was between sobs that I learned Bullheart's tale.

Before Bullheart was Bandit-Chief Bullheart, he was just Bandit Bullheart. The life of a bandit was not an easy one if not one that was chosen because of the fact that apparently minotaur cows like tales of adventure or something.

He had saved enough from his work to finally afford a greatsword to challenge the hierarchy of the Banditry, as a bull worthy of his horns is wont to do. With his bullheadedness and a sword that made others envious, Bullheart eased up the ranks with a significant, signature lack of bloodshed because he was just that intimidating. Seriously.

He was having a grand ol’ time when he heard about some creature who took over some Diamond Dog slums that wasn't quite a diamond dog, or a minotaur, or a griffon, or even a pony. The cocky bandit warlord decided to pay a visit to the new kid in town.

Look how well that turned out for him.

I stopped reflecting on Bullheart's story as he realized that he and Bronzehoof had let go of each other and were looking at me with dried tears on their faces.

I asked, "...What?"

Bronzehoof then asked me, "What do you mean, 'What'?"

"Well, what do you expect me to do?" I mused.

"Determine his fate," explained Bronzehoof with big eyes looking up at me.

"Oh, because..." I realized, "he's at my complete mercy, yeah."

I looked at the broken Minotaur before me. Such a massive specimen. Tan with a red tint, he certainly was a sight to behold. Or he would have been if he wasn't such in a miserable state.

Hoo boy. Guess I gotta be the wise guy. I rolled my neck, causing it to pop a few times.

I mean, I don't hate the guy, but they almost expect me to.

What to do... hmm.

Ooh. That might work.

I lifted up Bullheart's chin, looked him in his defeated eyes, and said, "Hey. You made a pretty good bandit chief."

I grinned, and proposed, “How'd you like to be a Captain?"

Author's Note

Pig iron

Pig iron

He tried to match Freytara's master using the pig iron in his hands

Pig iron in his haaaands