Scribblegroove

"Well well well... That is a bit dissapointing. But you use your talent for a noble cause! Curing the guards of their PTSS is quite vital to the morale of the troops..." Runedawn looked through the window to the horizon for a while, forgetting that he had company in his vincity. He drifted off for a short while, but in that time a lot flashed by in his mind. "I used to be a guard when me father was still alive. He called me back to teach me the ways of the earthstriker just before really bad things started happening. I made a lot of friends in the guards, and I lost many of them to their insanity..." Runedawn looked back at Hypno and gave him a grim smile. "I've seen some things, but ye could say that I was lucky not to be 'round when things went down for real..." Runedawn sighed. "A lucky coward that is..." he thought.

Runedawn, still lacking all sympathy and subtlety in the world said: "It was mostly your whining yes, but me eyes are pretty good at spotting even the most carefully hidden treasures... And you girl, you look like quite the treasure." Runedawn was dome with her wounds and had packed everything back in the kit. "I'm afraid ye won't be able to walk or fly for a while... At least for now. I'll carry you back to the campsite, or whatever's left of it..." Runedawn dragged the small mare onto his back with ease. "We need to be careful though. When i left lookin for ye me friends were being attacked by diamond dogs... I'm sure they can handle themselves, but I'm still a bit worried."

Runedawn heard the pony weep softly. "There you are." He said, before noticing she was seriously injured. "Oh boy, thats not good!" He quickly ran towards the mare. "Oh geez thats not goos at all. Don't you close your eyes! Open them up and keep looking at me!" He saw the mare's wounds and the blood that had already gushed out of it... "I'm going to have to rebandage those, but it's going to hurt like hell. I'm accurate with a hammer, but not with me hooves!" He tried to softly unfold the old bandaging, clean the wounds and rebandage them, but gis rough smith's hooves didn't help with not hurting the mare. "Eyes on me, you are going to be fine, you hear me?" Runedawn kept struggling with the old bandages, but eventually managed to get them off. He tried to clean it with some water and desinfectant, but then he saw the thirst in the mare's eyes. "Drink this if you need to, the desinfecting is going to hurt a lot!" He then proceeded as careful as he could...

"Aah, luna's royal guard. I rember those fellas. I used to make armors for their generals... Decorating those was a pain, they requested all sorts of weird inscriptions." Runedawn looked out of the window to see if the train would be leaving anytime soon. "Well, your eyes sure are interesting. How does that hypnotising even work..? And what do ye use it for? The mind is a lot more delicate than steel i presume, how do you tame one's mind like i tame the alloy's in my forge?" Runedawn looked into his eyes again. "I betcha can't fool me, my mind is as sharp as the daggers i make!"

"Well then Hypno, my name is Runedawn Earthstriker. I'm a smith that dares call himself gifted." He pointed to his new hammer and nodded. "I made that." Runedawn looked at Hypno's cutie mark. "Well, yer mark doesn't give away much... What be your purpose in this world Hypno! Tell me 'bout the Shades, and yer eyes as well. You have sparked my curuosity!" Runedawn looked into the ponies strange eyes... Strange...

"ha, a roof, my talent would be wasted on something as simple as that... That drink looks really nice though..." Runedawn, being the giant that he is, simply picked up the rooftiles that were lying on the ground, put them in place on the roof, reaching up to it from the inside and hit them in place properly with a few perfectly aimed strikes of his hammer. "hold on, got ta check if the outside fits." He ducked and walked out of the tavern, only to return in a few seconds saying. "Well, It doesn't look pretty, but it only took me five seconds, and it'll keep out rain and wind just fine." He sat dowm again, the barstool creaking under his weight. "I'll have that drink now." He said grinning, and popping open the bottle, taking a tug and instantly putting it down again. His eyes almost teared up. "wow seth, i knew you had eye for quality brandy, but where'd ye get a badlands barbed brandy in these days! Those things either cost a fortune, or you've got a supplier!" He then had a go at drinking again, this time drinking a fourth of the bottle. He coughed. "this stuff be made for dragons you know. It's like bubble water to them!" Runedawn thought about chugging it, but instead decided to sit back and enjoy the good drink sip by sip.

as soon as runedawn had put some distance between him and the dogs, he knew they couldn't hear him if he didn't scream too loud. "oi! Where you at filly, its ok, this bearded giant won't hurt ya!" He said loudly (which is practically screaming for other ponies than runedawn) while looking for the survivor.

runedawn saw the paxk too. His eyesight was good enough to see them in the moonlight. He quickly kicked out the fire. He then took the light shining metal rod out of the ground and threw it up to steel. "steel, catch!" then he said loud enough for everyone around to hear (but not the dogs). "there is a pack of dogs right over that hill there. Steel, fly over to them with the light so we know where they at and what they want. Then we can decide if we hide or fight or talk... I don't feel like fighting dogs without a plan" Then he heard willow. "oh great, another dying survivor. You ponies fifht off the dogs, i'm going to check up on the damsel in distress" he said sarcasticly, while grabbimg the med kit and running in the direction of the screams. (((ffs i got ninja'd 3 times in a row now, fuck my slow phone typing skills)))

"I 'ain't sleepin, i just closed my eyes for a second and you ponies started fightin'!" Runedawn turned to chilly again. "don't you ignore what I said about the beard boy! I mean it! It'd do a real good job covering up those red cheeks of yours. A man's beard represents his experience and wisdom... And it grants you some form of instant respectability for some reason... The advantages are really too great to disagree." Then runedawn thought for a moment. "actually, ye can't really not grow a beard right now... It's not like ye can shave! Ha!" Runedasn laughed, but then remembered that he had to keep his voice down. "sorry" he whispered...

Runedawn frowned "So, we're just gonna leave wanderlust behind. I am not proud of what happened to belle, so I'm not letting that happen again. You go if you want, but this stallion is sticking to 'teamwork'... Ye ever heard of it?" He then turned to Chilly. "You may look like a little colt, but yer logic and wisdom is clear like a stallion. Really, ye should try growin' a beard..." Runedawn was not joking, he had a straight face while saying it. He then turned to star struck. "ye know what's worse than a useless mare? A whining useless mare! Stay strong girl, your time will come. You are right, sometimes little boys need a hug to keep them goimg from a pretty mare like you!" Runedawn stroke his beard. "not me though, I don't cry like a baby when things go badly... No hugs for me then."

"There was a stallion... On a dark, scorched plain. All around him were demons... Monsters... Spirits of embers and flame. The plains below him began to glow. The dark slowly became red, then orange, then yellow. The stallion was surrounded... Nothing that he could do. But the stallion in the middle was not a regular stallion. This was a tamer of flames and steel! He raised his hammer above his head and screamed... "STRIKE THE EARTH" The hammer hit the ground, a clear, humming noise could be heard from all di rections. The sound of metal hitting metal in its purity. The ground under the stallion changed. It began to form tall statues of brave knights around him, protecting him from the monstrous demons." Runedawn Earthstriker saw this vision as he struck the red hot metal that lay on his anvil. Yet again the metal changed shape, twisting, squirming and fighting against the forced deformation. Another hit with the hammer, another humming clang and again the metal changed shape. Slowly, Runedawn tamed the metal into the shape he wanted it to be. A true creator sees his work as a living being, and Runedawn took that saying very seriously. He tamed the steel, and then forced it into the glowing inferno of his ovens, braving the tremendous heat that came off it. As soon as the metal shimmered red again, he put it back on his anvil and started hammering away at it again. Slowly but surely, a hammer head began to take shape. It was a strange hammer, and it was supposed to be. He made it look exactly like the hammer on his cutie mark. Hours of work by forgelight had been spent on this particular piece. Weeks of experimenting with metals for the perfect alloy. Years of practice in the arts of forging. It had all led up to this. The hammerhead was fished, and it fit like a glove on the poplar handle that he had made for it. There was a knob on the other end that balanced the weight of it perfectly, so that it was an extent of himself. The metal shimmered slightly red and purple on the edges. Runedawn picked a chisel and a hammer from his shelf and started to inscribe runes into the hammer. Beautifully, with the delicacy of a painter, yet quickly and accurate, like the smith he was. Runedawn kept going until he was absolutely certain that he was content with the result of his work. He did not even notice the mailmare dropping off a letter in his mailbox. The forge-lit room turned awfully cozy, and Runedawn realised he was getting sleepy. He sat up straight and looked at his work from a distance... "Wonderful, it looks perfect" He thought. He picked it up and felt how it swinged in his hand. He fought the air in different styles in quick succession. First like a musketeer with his rapier, then like a barbarian, swinging his axe with both hooves, and then like a knight, stabbing and slicing away with his broadsword. The swing worked perfectly. The handle was perfectly the right size. He looked at the hammer for a minute, checking if there were any imperfections. When he was sure there weren't, he swung it above his head with two hooves and struck his anvil with the hammer. The humming noise from this hammer was different. It could be heard longer, and it was a clear, perfect pitched A note. Unlike the usual clanging of metal, that sounded more like shrieking then singing, this sound was pleasant to listen to. "Perfect! I have truly outmatched myself this time!". Runedawn grinned. He couldn't keep his joy in so he laughed. It was a rough, old man's laugh, filled the weight of age. Yet it didn't sound weak, like a real old man's voice would. It was a strong, powerful voice still full of life... Runedawn stroke his braided beard. It was a habit that he had picked up over the years. He always did it when he felt proud of himself, or when he was particularly happy of flattered. Then he noticed the letter, and then he noticed the time. "Oh geez, what's this" He said. He read the letter... then read it again... then read it again. Then he stroke his beard AGAIN. "So finally even the royals respect the ancient bloodline of the earthstrikers. Acknowledgment... after centuries! Better not keep 'em waitin' then..." Runedawn immediately packed his regular stuff. Maybe he wouldn't be away for too long, but he'd always take his hammer and runes, and a tiny pack of magical metal powders that he combines with steel to create his own special alloys ("Ne'er leave without me toys!"). Alongside that he packed a few of the normal necessities (a beard grooming kit, a bit of food and some bits) and he left for the ponyville station. He walked all from his secluded smithy at the edge of the everfree, to the station where'd the train to the crystal empire would arrive. When he saw that the train was already there, he upped his pace to a little trot. As always the mechanical works of it interested him immediately, yet he was quickly disappointed, everything on the train was manufactured industrially. So was most of the station. "No passion for this kind of art I see..." he thought while looking at the hammer that he had strapped to his saddlebags (which was, by the way, nearly as long as the full length of his torso...). He stepped onto the train and looked for a seat. He nearly hit his head when he was trying to enter the compartment. "What's this, a train for ants?" He asked himself, loud enough for a few ponies around to hear, which looked up at the giant of a stallion. @ He sat down next to a strange looking pony. He didn't really mind it though, he was actually kind of interested in what he was reading... He knew it wasn't polite to look at other people's letters, but he couldn't keep himself from reading it. When he saw the signature, he was surprised. "You got a royal summon too I see? Are those a collectible thing nowadays, they don't seem very rare to me now..." He laughed. "What's yer name boy? You don't look like any of the other ponies 'round here" ((AND THAT, ladies and gentlemen, was my epic introduction of epicness... I hope it fit in and that you liked it... I'll fix any mistakes later, please notify me if you find some...))

Runedawn said loudly but calmly, so that steel could hear him "Steel, you are going to get down from there right now or I will personally make a crossbow to shoot you down right now! I'm telling ye, i work fast, so you better get down RIGHT NOW, OR I'M GOING TO START BREAKING THINGS, STARTING WITH THE WEAPONS THAT YOU LEFT HERE!" Runedawn walked over to the metal weaponry that lied on the ground. Steel had left them there after he finished sharpening them. He grabbed the rune of destruction, put it on his hammer and held it above the daggers, ready to destroy them in one hit. "I'M DONE WITH ALL OF YOU PONIES SHIT! DO YOU NOT RESPECT EACHOTHER? YOUR CHILDISH FRICKITING WILL KILL ALL OF US!". Runedawn was speaking so loud that it hurt his own ears. It made his own skull tremble. @ everyfuckingpony "AFTER WE SETTLE THIS AND WANDERLUST HAS RETURNED, WE'RE MOVING TO CANTERLOT TO SEE LUNA!" Runedawn grunted after that "I'd sure like to know what she has to say about all this... If she saw you ponies like this..." ((( OOC: Everyone in about 10 miles has heard runedawn for sure... This might attract some trouble... )))

"Actually embers, now that the so called APOCALYPSE is over, we have all the time in the world to be nice. We have food, there's water in the river over there and we have a fire. Calm down willye, everything is going to be as fine as it can be..." Runedawn tried to smile at him, but it turned into a forced grin. He then looked at sapphire. "Embers thought that too, but then he got this nasty little wound on his leg. Not little actually, it is quite big! I don't like losing anypony, so please, at least tell if yer leavin'." Then steel jumped at embers. "HOLD ON THERE BOY, QUIT YER YAPPIN!" He shouted, and he stood between the two ponies, who were actually very small compared to the giant that runedawn was. "We need to work together, so be nice or get out, and that counts for both of you! I don't want to hear anythin' about this again, or I'll smack something else than steel!"

Runedawn jumped up from his seat. "WHAT THE... what happened." In his confusion, he knocked over the bin of ice, spilling the now ice-water on the floor. "Why can't I feel my hoof? Where am I?" Runedawn looked around and started to remember the events of before he passed out. "Geez, I guess I worked too hard today, so tired..." He then noticed that all sorts of ponies had left and entered. "Well then, to everyone who hadn't noticed the giant stallion sleeping on the bar table, me name is Runedawn, strange way to introduce myself, but what the hay this is a tavern for bucks sake..." He then looked at seth. "What do you say about my offer seth, I didn't hear what ye said, I passed out right there and then."

Runedawn had fallen asleep after he had made the sword. He opened his eyes and suddendly saw that the ponies accompanying him had changed. "OI, What happened, I slipped away for a teensy little while." Then he saw belle. "Oh geez, there you are. I already thought we lost you. Steel was supposed to lead you to us, guess you guys lost eachother on the way... Runedawn is the name, I think I haven't told you that short, long distance converstation we had back in manehattan." Runedawn looked around. "WHAT, where'd wanderlust go NOW! I thought I told you ponies not ta leave on yer own!"

"sounds beautiful" he said sarcasticly, and whispered to the mare, loud enough that connor could hear is. "great originality,too, if i might say so myself, heh heh" runedawn took his hoof out of the ice and had a look. It was a bit thick, but it didn't hurt as much anymore and he could stand on it again. "look connor, i don't want to start a fight, and neither do you. You don't look so tough, pick someone your own length... Which is a lot smaller than me." Runedawn grinned at connor and chugged another pint. The strong scotch dripped down his beard. "good stuff seth, you sure you don't have anything stronger? Somerhin' that burns in your throat like that brandy that you had once?" Runedawn tried to reach into his pouch of bits, but it was empty. He groaned. "I 'ain't got bits for i though. You need anything a fine craftsman like myself can helo you with? I can use my mafic too if ye want... I need that drink." He put his hoof back in the ice. ""can't be too sure"" he thought... (((ooc: i don't think i'll be posting a lot after this, it's getting late. If i quit posting, pretend i passed out or something)))

Runedawn burst out in laughing again... "oh connor... You and your maremagnet skills... I was just messin' with ye. I just noticed that ye complimented this mare with her mane, which is pretty lame to be honest. You say that to every mare that sets hoof in here!" Runedawn turned to the mare again. "honestly though, don't fall for this guy, he is just as much of a failure as anyone that'd be in a bar like this!" He looked at his empty pint. "oi seth, I thought I asked you for a drink... Must've drank it already. Pour me another will ya?" He looked at shamrock and connor. "don't mind me, i'm just an old drunk labourer... Heh heh... Labourer is a funny word."

Runedawn answered. "well, who are we waiting for then. I feel like embarking on an adventure, so why not right now? Who are we missing?" Runedawn looked around... "where's frost at, i thought you invited everypony..." He turned to epic. "You mind calling frost again?"

"yeah, smooooooth move conn, real nice way to compliment a lady." Runedawn turned to the mare next to him. "when you really want to impress a lady, you take her hoof in both hooves, and then say 'ye mane is like the blazing fire of passion that resides in me hart. Yer voice is like the wind softly breezing me troubles away. Oh praise be my poor soul, i have found the mare of gods!' And then you look into her eyes and declare your eternal love and loyalty. Dont ye know classic courtsey connor!" Runedawn then burst out in laughter. "ye seem like a nice pony, whats yer occupation, and where'd ye ge that beautifull accent of yours!" Beforw she could answer runedawn turned to seth. "one clear hit with the rune of breaking did only do this much, so my hooves be stronger than stone! It hurts like hell though, a strong drink will drown the pain" he chugged down the entire pint at once... And burped. "pardon me for my germane" he chuckled...

Runedawn grabbed the sword and walked to the fire. He tossed the sword in and grabbed his hammer. ""this is what i was made for"" he thought. He first took the rune of restoration out of his bag, and attached it to the hammer. He stood in front of the fire, the sword glowing a little bit, but not enough to actually smith it. ""that'll have to do." He thought. He swinged his hammer with both hooves into the air and onto the sword, in the fire. He didn't burn his skin though, as it had become near fire-resistant after the years of working in the forge. The fire gave a golden aura to the sword. It was the most beautifull thing in the world for him. In one hit, the sword was back to the state it once was, in perfect shape. He then proceeded to attach the piercing rune to his hammer. Yet again the magic-imbued granite of the rune hit the steel. Sparks flew high into the sky, and the klang could be heard loud. It was a clear, perfectly pitched A note. ""thats my note, perfect"" he thought. He knew it had worked... He rolled the sword out of the fire with his hammer. And waited for it to cool down. It shimmered cyan blue... Softly, nearly unnoticable. "I think it worked embers! 't might not be yer color though, but what do ye do 'bout that... It should be sharp as hell now, bit the spirit of your sword maintained its experience and personality... Well, if you believe im stuff like that like i do that is." Runedawn smiled, but then said "see it as my gift out of compassion for your terrible accident. This thing should slice through any kind of timber, wolf or not without trouble" Then he saw wanderlust approaching with the new mare. "there ye are... What took ye so long! I saw what happened to embers when he left all alonr, so i was scared somthin' might happen to you! No one is leavin' on his own from now on!" He looked at star struck. "a mare... We haven't got much of those as you can see" he said grinning... "i hope you can take the amount of testosterone in the area... It wont be decreasing in a while, so you best get used to it... Name's runedawn. Come join us by the fire" Runedawn sat down in front of the sword, and waited for the others to come sit down next to him. "y'all come here actually. We need to make a plan. Are you hungry? Are you cold? You need medical assistance*chuckles*? We need to plan where we are goin' next!"

Runedawn stuck his hoof into the bin of ice and sighed. "ah hell, just in time... Thanks mate, i owe you one." Runedawn looked around. "This place is more of a mess than last time i was 'ere. Did someone start a fight or somethin. Not that it matters. All ye need in a bar is a place to sit, alcohol to drink, and a whole lot 'o fellas 'round to talk to..." Runedawn looked at the shots that had been drunk by the ponies around. "Ha, seth, give me the strongest scotch ye got, a pint of it. Now that I'm here I might as well enjoy myself." ((( runedawn has been here before, and is known to be nice enough if you give him something to drink. He never starts a fight, but he always contributes to one if someone else does. Runedawn is very large and strong, as he is a mature smith. Either runedawn is the peacekeeper in the bar, or the one to end it last man standing.)))

Runedawn looked at chilly. "Dead parents ey? Sad stuff... Sad stuff..." He looked back to see what was going on behind him, and saw embers with a pool of blood around him, and Grell bandaging him. "Oh for buck's sake, just what we needed." He wispered to chilly. "Oi! Everything going A-OK over there? Ye sure you arent bleedin' to death?" Runedawn didn't feel like leaving the warmth and light of the fire, but he still walked over there to listen what they were saying. "My sword should have takin off its head...But it...it just wouldn't go through" "Maybe steel could help you with that. He seems to know his way around blades, maybe he could sharpen it up for you? " ((( OOC: please write like this from now on @dashian500, it makes it way easier to read...))) Runedawn heard the last sentances of the conversation. "Sharpening. Ha! No need for sharpening. I have a rune of piercing right here! Just let me smack it on to your blade and it will cut through stone!" Runedawn grabbed his hammer and the rune he mentioned from his bags and imbued the hammer with the rune of piercing. "Give it to me, I feel like making things! Don't worry, I know what I'm doing! I wont break it or anything!" "As long as it is proper steel, that sword" He thought. "Or you could let Steel sharpen it for ye, a loong, frustrating and mind breaking process..." Runedawn chuckled and thought "Amateurs, might as well help em out!". "Hold on, where's that Wanderlust fella? He seemed nice, where'd he go!? Fetch that other pony right? He's taking awful long!" Runedawn turned to the direction that wanderlust went to. "Oi, Wanderlust, don't take too darn long will ya? Yer scarin us!" "No...I dont think it is how sharp the sword is, something else. They hat some weird shell on them. My best idea is something from the firestorm" "I dont know what they did to me, but it ant just a cut" "Now let's not jump to any conclusions all of the sudden. There's nothing a sharp blade can't do. And those timberwolves got all sorts of weird diseases on their teeth. You should check the wound if theres some sort of infection in there..." Runedawn laughed. "Not the sharpness of the sword... Please."

@@Doc. Volt Runedawn couldn't see seth anywhere, and nearly started to panick. He tried not to show it by calmly but firmly asking. "Oi, you there, blue fella, would you be so kind to get me some ice real quick! I burnt my hoof and I can't work for a month if it swells up!" Runedawn tried to find where the storage is and saw a door leading to the hindquarters of the tavern. "Can ye have a look over there?"He pointed at the door and tried to go there himself but groaned of the pain. "I can barely walk!"

Runedawn watched embers as he left. "Ah, he'll come back I'm sure...". He turned his head back to the now remaining 4 ponies. "What about you Chilly? Whats yer' contribution to these stories?" Runedawn closed his eyes and enjoyed the heat of the fire that had drived the cold of the night away. It reminded him of home. Of the forge. Runedawn almost never sheds tears, but he was very close to shedding one at that moment. "My talent will help us get through this time, I'm sure. My smithing days arent over yet. The earthstriker bloodline has not yet been wiped out... But I'll have to continue it."

@@Thepumpkinking "Then ye got to grow some meat boy... My eyes are fine! And a beard is ne'er wrong either! But please... accept my apologies, i did not mean to offend you!" Runedawn looked around at the group, which now basked in the light of his magical torch. He could see all of their faces, and he could see the grief that this time had caused them in their eyes... "I am glad i didn't have anyone relatives or friends that I'd have to mourn about now..." "Why don't you all sit down with me here... We aren't in a hurry! It is the end of the world after all, and i would like to know who I'm spending this grim time with! We've got plenty of time to check all the corners of equestria for food, but first impressions, you will ne'er get a chance at somethin' like that again..."