Heavy Metal Part 1

Rainbow Dash woke up early in the morning. Even though she had been out late last night at the wedding and coming back home she still had a few weather jobs to do before she could take her first nap of the day, but first she needed some breakfast. Pinkie Pie was usually awake at this time with the cakes so they could open Sugarcube Corner so she got ready to head over there. She took a look in the mirror. Her mane was messy so she quickly brushed it and was about to take off towards Sugarcube Corner when she remembered that Nails had promised to meet her first thing in the morning. She poked her head out from her home and looked down and sure enough Nails was sitting down there just staring at the house, or at least he had been until Rainbow poked her head out which was when he looked directly at Rainbow Dash and waved. Rainbow Dash smiled and glided down to him.

"Took you long enough." He said as she landed on the ground.

"How long have you been waiting here?" she asked.

"Uh, since about four." He responded.

"You've been there since four in the morning?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Well, I did promise to see you first thing in the morning and my morning starts really early." Nails responded with a smile.

"Ok, new rule. First thing in the morning means my morning." Said Rainbow Dash, "Not yours."

"Well excuse me for being exact, but to me first thing in the morning means that it is the first thing I do in the morning." Nails said as his stomach began to growl, "hehe, you can excuse me for that as well." He said rubbing his mane with his claw.

"You didn't eat any breakfast?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, like I said, first thing in the morning means the first thing I do in the morning." Nails responded.

"Well, I was going to Sugarcube Corner anyway so why don't you tag along and get something to eat there?" Rainbow Dash asked already knowing he would say yes.

"Ok." Nails said, "I don't have anything that I need to do today really. The builders did a good job with my shop and house and I don't have any work to do yet."

"Don't worry, that means that we can spend more time together." Rainbow Dash said.

"Ya." Nails said as he looked towards Ponyville, "Hey, we're about a few hundred yards from Ponyville right?"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash responded, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, how about a race to Sugarcube Corner?" Nails said, "The last time we tried racing you crashed into Applejack remember?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that, and you are so on!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she got into a running stance. Nails got into a stance as well.

"On the count of three. One… two… Three!" and the two of them were off in a sprint towards Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash looked to her side and saw that Nails was right next to her running at her speed. He looked at her and smiled before pulling ahead. Rainbow Dash suddenly realized what she had done wrong.

"You didn't let me stretch!" she exclaimed as she continued to run.

"You didn't ask to!" he said as he looked back smiling. That's when he saw Rainbow Dash on the ground clutching her leg in pain. He immediately stopped and started running back to her hoping it was only a cramp. "What's wrong?" he asked when he reached Rainbow Dash. She looked at him and smiled.

"You were winning." She said before she kicked him in the leg and was immediately back onto her feet sprinting towards Sugarcube Corner. Nails had been caught off guard and had been knocked down.

Nails got up and watched Rainbow Dash for a second before he said to himself, "That's my mare." And with that he sprinted after her trying his hardest to catch up.

It wasn't long before the two of them reached Sugarcube Corner and they burst into the shop at the same time.

"I won!" Rainbow Dash said as soon as they were inside.

"We tied." Said Nails as he walked up to the counter, "and we both cheated in our own way. I cheated by not letting you work at one hundred percent and you kicked me."

Rainbow Dash smiled as she walked up beside him as he rang the bell.

"Hey!" shouted Pinkie Pie who had stuck her head out from the back room, "Just give me one smidge second and I'll be right with you two!"

Rainbow Dash looked over at Nails to see him sniffing the air. "I smell bread baking back there."

Rainbow Dash sniffed the air and smelled it herself. "That does smell good." She said, "Hey Pinkie Pie? What is that bread that I smell?"

"Oh! You mean our new bread that we're trying out! It's got cinnamon baked into it!" Pinkie Pie said poking her head out from the back room again obviously excited about the bread. "Do you want to be the first ones to try it?" she asked them.

"Pinkie Pie, it would be an honor for us to be the first ones to try it." Said Nails.

"Great! Let me finish baking it and you can be the first ones to try our Cinnabread!" she said as a bell was heard from the kitchen. "It's done!" she exclaimed as she rushed back into the kitchen to get the bread. When she returned she had the bread on a pan and the smell had grown increasingly tempting causing Rainbow Dash to drool a little bit.

"That smells delicious." Said Nails as he looked at the bread. "How much is it going to cost me?" said Nails.

"Well…" Pinkie Pie said, "The Cakes are running a few errands so it's on me. Call it a welcome home present for Nails."

"Thank you Pinkie Pie, but I don't want to do that. I'd feel better if I paid." Nails said.

"Nails, you don't have to do that." Rainbow Dash said, "You can accept one gift can't you?"

"Well, alright I guess I can take one." Nails said finally giving in, "but don't expect me to accept more gifts just because I accept one."

"Okie dokie Lokie!" said Pinkie Pie as she gave the bread to Nails and Rainbow Dash who headed over to a table. They instantly started eating and they both instantly loved the taste of the cinnabread.

"This is delicious Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the two kept eating.

The bell by the door rang and a mare walked in who seemed to be lost. She walked up to the counter.

"Can I help you?" asked Pinkie Pie, "You don't seem to be from around here so you must be new to Ponyville and I would know that because I know everypony in Ponyville. I would go plan a party for you but the Cakes aren't here so I have to do all the work until they get back but at least I have my friends to-"

"Pinkie Pie!" shouted Rainbow Dash, "let the pony talk."

"Okie dokie lokie!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah," said the mare, her voice was kind of rougher sounding, "I'm looking for a pony by the name of Nails. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Right here." Said Nails who raised his claw into the air to let the mare know which one he was.

"Great my name is…."

"It's the claw isn't it?" Nails asked, "I was born with it."

"Really? That's interesting." Said the mare, "Anyway, my name is Sprints. My husband and I are planning to move into Ponyville and open up a gym here. We need you to make some weights because we heard that you were the town's blacksmith."

"Ok, it may take a while since I need to get some metal into my shop, maybe a week or so until I'm finished." Nails responded, "Do you have any designs or am I going to have to wing it?"

"I can get you the designs for them tomorrow. Does that sound good?" Sprints said to Nails.

"Ok, I can send the letter in to get the iron for it today then. I can give you the bill after I'm finished with the weights and equipment."

"Sounds good" Sprints responded, "I need to get back to Trottingham and help my husband finish packing up our stuff. We should be here in a few days. I'll mail the designs to you later today."

"Sounds good to me as well." Nails said as he stuck out his claw. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Sprints shook his claw with her own hoof, "Same here." And with that Sprints walked out of the shop and started heading home.

"Looks like you got some work." Rainbow Dash said as she finished her breakfast.

"Well, sending in the order is all I have to do today so other than that I should be free for the rest of the day. I can go do that as soon as we're done here so you can go do your weather jobs and we can meet back up later. Sound good?" Nails said as he finished his meal as well.

"Ok, Where do you want to meet up at later?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We could meet up at my house." Nails responded, "I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day so I might as well start getting stuff for heating the furnace. Some wood and all that."

"Ok, see you later then." Rainbow Dash said as she left to go do her weather jobs.

"See you Rainbow!" Nails said after she left. Nails quietly dropped a few bits on the table and was about to leave before Pinkie Pie spoke out after him.

"Aren't you forgetting something Nails?" she asked pointing at the bits.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said as he smiled and left Sugarcube Corner.

The next day, Nails was sifting through his mail when Rainbow Dash showed up at his house.

"Did the designs for that equipment come in yet?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, they came in alright and I got news for you. I recognize every single one of them." Nails responded.

"How do you recognize them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Simple, I've used every single one of them before." Said Nails, "Shoulder press, leg flies, The Motherbucker."

"Excuse me?" said Rainbow Dash, unsure if Nails had actually meant his word choice.

"Well that's what we called it back in militia training." Nails responded, "It hurt so bad, although Applejack may be pretty good at it with all the apple bucking that she does."

"Wait, so you're saying that Sprints was in the militia?" Rainbow Dash said shocked.

"That or her husband… he just might be… no it couldn't be him." Said Nails who was a little bit lost in thought.

"Be who?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, back when I was in training I was at a certain camp. There were rumors that in the next camp was some massive bodybuilder like pony that would have supposedly been an amazing soldier if he wasn't so passive." Nails responded, "It might be him though, you never can tell."

"What will you do if it is him?" Rainbow Dash asked Nails.

"Thank Celestia that we were at different camps. I wasn't exactly popular at the camp I was at. That's a story for a different time though." Nails said, "Right now, I need some help getting my shop ready. You wouldn't mind helping me out with that would you?"

"If it means that we can spend a little more time together than I am perfectly fine with it." Rainbow Dash said with a smile as the two headed into his shop. They talked for the rest of the day and Nails wondered if he was indeed about to meet the pony he had heard about in militia training.