Attempted automated wordcount. Please use LibreOffice/MSOffice for an accurate count: 3033

thanks, author! If you wish to have this removed from this list, email ra.llan.pcl+complaints @ gmail.com, making sure to provide proof that you are the author.

Disclaimer: this is a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfic intended for Coalheart. Also, this is my first attempt, so critiques are accepted.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is © by Lauren Faust, 2010

Thanks for the help, Truthseeker and MetalHooves!

The Blacksmith

It was a sunny day in Ponyville, and at Sugarcube Corner, a certain pink pony was bouncing around in excitement, as her friends gave her surprised looks.

“Oh this is going to be so much fun! Why haven’t I thought about that before? Oh I know: because… well I don’t know, but it will be awesome and great and…”

“Hold on Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight Sparkle, “What are you talking about?”

“I have a new idea for a party!” Pinkie gushed.

“But we just had a party for Gummy’s second tooth yesterday. I don’t think I can stay awake any longer.“ said Rarity, “Besides darling, I have to wash my mane.”

“Um… what are you thinking about, Pinkie?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well, I need to prepare for it so… it’s a secret for now,” said Pinkie smiling widely, “I have to go now to make it happen, so bye!” with that, Pinkie Pie left her wondering friends and Sugarcube Corner behind.

“She is so random.“ murmured Rainbow Dash.

As Pinkie Pie trotted through Ponyville, she saw a cloud of black smoke at the edge of town. That was her destination: the old Ponyville forge. It had decayed and remained dilapidated until recently when it began to work again. For hundreds of years, it was just an old memorial of the past, but when a new pony had arrived with his family last year, he immediately sought to acquire it. It was a long and costly legal battle against the mayor, who wanted to withhold such a valuable piece of Ponyville’s history from some random newcomers, but the colt had the patience and the bits. After a month of struggling with the town’s First-Mare, he gained the rights to own the forge but with the distinct understanding that he had to take very good care of it.

At first, everypony thought the forge would only make horseshoes and heavy-duty equipment. That was true, but the new blacksmith was much more skilled than was known to the common pony. Rumor had it that he was some kind of weapon or armor smith, and he had to move to Ponyville from Stalliongrad, because he didn’t want to make any more war material for the unpredictable ponies who dwelt there. But whatever the case, Pinkie was convinced that he would probably be able to do what she had in mind to request.

She started to hear the usual sounds of a forge: hammers hitting melted steel on sturdy anvils, steam rising loudly from vats filled with water to cool the new pieces, loud speech and cracking fires.

“Good, he’s working!” she thought cheerfully.

              She then saw the sign of the building, which was a large golden horseshoe that had an engraving in it: “Lorem ipsum dolor sit solum bonum opus.“ (Hard work is the only good work.) She didn’t know the meaning of the strange words, but she wasn’t too curious about it either. Instead, she made her way to the entrance, but as soon as she looked inside, she had to take cover behind the wall. Peeking around the corner she saw two familiar ponies inside. One was a huge, red colt, accompanied by an orange filly with blonde mane and a cowboy hat.

‘Applejack? Big Macintosh? What are they doing here?’ thought Pinkie nervously, ‘What if they somehow know what I’m thinking? Do they know about my idea?’

But then she heard some words out of the noise,

“I’m mighty flattered of these new horseshoes ya made fer us! Ah think they’ll be great use on the farm, ain’t that right big bro?”

“Eeyup.”

“You’re welcome. I hope they will be of good use for you. Now, about that pay...”

“We brought a full cart o’ apples fer ya. That should do it.”

“Yep, that will be enough. If you need anything else, you know where to look.”

“Sure thing, sugarcube! Ok big bro, let’s go home. We’ve got an entire orchard of trees to buck!”

“Eeyup.”

Pinkie Pie remained at the wall as the two Earth ponies left the forge. She waited until they disappeared behind a hill, and then she made her way in, to talk to the blacksmith. He was watching one of his workers as he was making a new set of horseshoes. But Pinkie was so amused by the unusual surroundings that she wasn’t watching her steps, and she collided with a stack of steel rods. The rods teetered and fell to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and making quite a racket.

“What is going on here!?” came the blacksmith’s voice as he galloped up to Pinkie.

“Um, sorry! I Pinkie-swear this will never happen again!” she apologized.

“Pinkie-what? Never mind. Can someone clean this up? “ shouted the orange colt, who had an anvil as his cutie mark, “Anyway, my name is Coalheart. What can I do for you young lady?”

As they were talking, a worker rushed in to clean up the mess Pinkie made. He was a gray unicorn, and had a cutie mark that resembled a smith’s hammer. He lifted the rods with his telekinetic power, and soon there was no sign of the Pinkie-caused chaos.

“Thank you Slammer. Now get back to work! Those plows won’t make themselves.”

“You got it boss, I’m on it!” with that, the unicorn was gone to finish what he’d been doing.

“So... where were we? Ah yes, is there anything you want?” Coalheart asked.

“Oh hi! I’m Pinkie Pie. Is it true that you can make suits of armor?” asked Pinkie.

Coalheart raised his head proudly,

“Yes it is. I am one of the finest blacksmiths of Equestria. But why are you interested in armor? A filly like you is too weak and young to wear them. Besides, they are made only for colts and stallions.”

“But I’m willing to do anything to have a suit of armor! I have a new idea for a party, and for that, I need the armor. Why is it so strange huh?”

“I’ve just said it. They are too heavy for a filly like you.”

“Can’t you make a lighter one? Please? Oh please, please, please!” Pinkie asked making huge eyes at Coalheart.

Coalheart started to think. So far, he had only made armor suitable for stallions who risked their lives on battlefields and duels. And now, just when he thought that he could find some peace, a young pink filly was asking for something he did not want to create anymore. But seeing the enthusiasm and pleading in her eyes urged him to think the other way. Making a suit of armor for a much weaker and younger pony would put his skills to a new level of test.

As Coalheart mulled over the possibilities, he began to like the idea,

“Well, alright. Why not? Just provide me with the details, and then we’ll talk about the price. Sound good to you?”

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! It is going to be so awesome! I can’t wait to see my friends’ faces when they see me in it! So I would like something pink, with balloons similar to my cutie mark, and some wrapped candies and some white and blue candy-cane stripes and...”

“Please...”

“And ribbons and spangles and...”

“Please...”

“And something like a cake... oh no that’s not good, what about a cupcake or a muffin or...”

“Please Miss Pie, slow down! It’s hard to memorize all this stuff. One at a time please!”

“But I have so many ideas! I can’t keep them all inside!”

“Then why don’t you write about the armor you want? My wife will be happy to help you. You can find her in the office upstairs.”

“Would you please come with me? I don’t want to get lost... ‘cause if I get lost, I can’t make it to my party, and that would ruin the party because it’s my party, so if I’m not there it will be...”

“Ok, ok, I’ll go with you. Just calm down, will ya?”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” said Pinkie with a wide grin on her face.

“Then let’s go, shall we?” Coalheart asked. He was eager to begin his work.

To get to the office, they had to walk through the operating areas of the forge, such as the smelters, the workshops and the storage rooms. Coalheart was always keeping an eye on Pinkie Pie, who watched in awe as they passed the various areas of the building. It was clear that she has never been in a place like this. She kept questioning the blacksmith about his work, his family, his past. At the end of their trek, Coalheart was certain that even the workshop was quieter than the young earth pony.

“Here we are, Miss Pie. I think you can make it alone from here.”

“Thank you so much Mr. Coalheart. See you later, alligator!”

As soon as Pinkie trotted into the office, the blacksmith let out a sigh. With that taken care of, he turned around to get back to work, when suddenly a familiar pink pony rushed out happily from the office, leaving a shocked mare and a secretary behind.

When Pinkie spotted the orange colt, she bounced up to him again,

“I forgot that I had a wish-list for the armor, but thanks for the tour anyway!” she said cheerfully, making her way towards the exit.

“ Hey, don’t you need somepony to escort you?”

“Oh, nah, I know where to go.”

“Ok, bye then.” (‘Please Celestia, let my forge survive this!’) Coalheart prayed silently.

“See you later!”

Soon, Coalheart heard a loud bang, an “Ouch!”, and even more noises he did not want to know about. He could only hope that his workers could take care of the situation.

“Oh Celestia, what have I got myself into...“ he murmured as he entered his wife’s office.

Later that day, Coalheart was examining Pinkie’s list. He never made armors for mares – let alone fillies – before, so he had to think about everything he would need to do. First he had to look for something that was sturdy, but as light as possible. ‘Iron? No. Steel? No. Bronze? No. Dragon-scale? We don’t have any. What else can it be... titanium? Titanium! That’s it! It’s strong and light at the same time... and we’ve just received a new shipment. That should be fine.’ After that, he took the materials he needed, and went to his personal workshop.

Coalheart’s private workshop was the birthplace of the forge’s finest creations, and he made them all himself, with the aid of his personal apprentice, who would inherit the forge one day. But today, the apprentice was on a regular schedule with the other workers, so he was all alone. Knowing that Pinkie had the size of an average filly, he was able to proportion the pieces of the new armor using a smaller mannequin. When everything was set, he set to work.

Three weeks later, Coalheart was looking proudly at his ‘magnum opus’, his great work, his newest masterpiece. It took a long time to complete, and Pinkie Pie had been in the forge every day to ask about how long it would take for him to be ready. It was really tough trying to explain to her, every day, that she needed to wait a little longer. But now, it was finally complete. He was tired, but also excited. Normally, it would take at least a month to do something like that, but he was so eager to finish it, he could not sleep knowing it was not absolutely perfect.

It was nothing like the blacksmith has ever made before. The armor was made out of titanium and was colored in pink. It had a symbol of Pinkie’s cutie mark on the rear, candy-shaped gems on the layered chest-plates, white and blue stripes on the leg-guards and came with a cloak which perfectly match Pinkie Pie’s mane. It was a lot smaller than any of his works before, and he could only hope that his customer would be satisfied with it. After an hour of polishing and deep-cleaning, he called for Pinkie, who was waiting eagerly at the forge – just like she did every day.

“Alright Miss Pie, this would be it. “ said Coalheart with pride in his voice.

“...”

“Miss Pie?”

“ …”

“Pinkie?”

“ ...it...is...so...AWESOME!” she shouted with excitement, bouncing around her new armor, “It’s so fantastic and great and cool! I never thought this would be...”

“So, I think you like it...”

“I like it!? No! I LOVE IT!”

“Miss Pie, I think you shouldn’t jump around so much in here. Please stop before you hurt yourself or break something!”

But he was too late. Pinkie tripped over a tub of water, and fell to the floor. A moment later she was in the air again, hopping and jumping (and splashing) happily towards Coalheart. Before he could do anything, Pinkie threw her forelegs around him, and gave him a big hug.

“Thank you so much Mr. Coalheart! I can’t believe you actually did it! You’re the best!”

They stayed like that for a few moments, and after Pinkie released him, Coalheart pushed the armor out of his workshop so Pinkie could try it on. They ended up in the display room, which had enough space to store a small army’s equipment and then some. It was empty at the time, because Coalheart hadn’t made any armor since he came to Ponyville. He called for a unicorn to help Pinkie get equipped. While they were waiting, Pinkie watched in awe and couldn’t resist bouncing around in happiness (again).

A few minutes later, the unicorn finally arrived. She was a yellow mare with a silver mane and with some needles as her cutie mark. Her name was Silver Strip, and she was the seamstress of the forge. She had already made a pink tunic for Pinkie to wear under the armor. Together they dressed up the excited filly, who could barely stand still during the delicate process.

After twenty minutes, Pinkie Pie was standing in front of them in her new armor,

“How do you like it?“ asked Coalheart.

“It’s magnificent! But I think I’ll need to practice how to move in it, it’s a bit heavy.”

“You’ll get used to it sooner or later. Why don’t you try walking around a bit?”

“Okie-dokie!” said the happy earth pony, and began trotting in the room. At first she was kind of slow and clumsy, but after a short time, she started to get used to it. The blacksmith was happy to see the joy on her face.

“So, that’s about it. How would you like to pay?” Pinkie stopped dead in her tracks.

“Pay? Hmm… I know! Do you accept candy and sweets?”

“Well, maybe, but if you can’t pay in bits, I think we can arrange something else. You see, we don’t have much textile and cloth material. Don’t you know somepony who can give us some?”

“I do know one, in fact! She’ll be happy to hear that her talent is needed again. She’s a dressmaker called…”

“Rarity.”

“You know her?”

“Yes. She had the clothes and I had the bits. It was a fair trade.”

“I’ll see what I can do Mr. Coalheart. Thanks again for the armor!”

“Take good care of it!”

“I will! Bye!”

As Coalheart turned around to thank Silver Stripe for her help, he heard loud bangs and more “Ouch!”-s. He gave himself a face-hoof, but a small smile appeared on his face at the same time.

Luna’s night has already fallen on Ponyville when Pinkie’s friends stood wordlessly and shocked in Sugarcube Corner. Before them stood Pinkie Pie clad in her new, shiny armor.

“Is that yer new party idea?” asked Applejack.

“It is! Isn’t it awesome girls? Mr. Coalheart was soooo nice for making it.”

“Darling, why would you ever think to wear something like that?“ asked Rarity with a bit of disbelief on her face.

“Because she’s Pinkie Pie.“ said Twilight. The others nodded in agreement.

“Pinkie, um… how does it feel to be armored?” asked a timid voice.

“ It feels great Fluttershy! It’s like I’m unstoppable.”

“Well that’s all great, but what about your new idea? Why do you need armor for it?” asked

Twilight.

Pinkie’s smile was a mile wide.

“ Where is Spike? “ she asked.

“ He’s sleeping at home. Why?”

“Because I’ll need him for this game.”

“But what kind of game is this?”

“It’s a secret silly… I won’t spoil the fun as long as he’s not here!”

“ Pinkie Pie, you are so random.” said Rainbow Dash.

A few days later, Coalheart was standing outside the forge. He had worked hard to make up for the time he used to create Pinkie’s armor, and now he wanted a bit of fresh air. Stepping outside, he saw a big pink box next to the door. He wondered, who could have left it. They already made the arrangement with the Carousel Boutique, so it wasn’t sent by Rarity. But he was too curious, so he tried to open it.

But the box did not open. Instead it was like an explosion. Coalheart’s heart skipped a beat as candy, muffins, cupcakes and colorful confetti rained on him. Then a pink sheet of paper fell on his face. It said: “A million thanks from Pinkie Pie!” He was surprised, but a smile crept over his face. Suddenly, he heard screaming not far away. He galloped toward the sound to see if he could help, but as soon as he saw what was going on, he stopped and started to laugh. An armored pink pony was chasing a purple baby dragon, while her friends were laughing at them. “So it is true after all. Even something made for war can be a source of happiness.” As he watched the playing fillies, a single tear of joy appeared in his eye. He knew that this unusual request from a pink filly was the beginning of something new and wonderful.

He watched them silently, then trotted back to his beloved forge. He still had some work to do today, but he stopped at the entrance for a moment. Over the sea of sweets and candy, he saw the sign of the forge. The orange blacksmith read the engraving again and thought:

“Hard work really is hard, but it’s worth is invaluable.”