Chapter 1: The Prophecy
Iron Foot walked into the base. It wasn't good but it would have to do for now. In his final days as commander of the Forshan army he had sent some of his most loyal soldiers to this place to prepare. If he was correct than he was about to experience revenge in the full. "Soon, Talon will pay with his life!"
Nails sat up in his bed, something wasn't right. He quickly got out and walked around the house. He went outside to his safe. He had recently bought a safe where he stored his gun and a few of his last cigars. He went over to the safe to get them out. He entered his combination and got out his gun belt for his .45 revolver and his 'special' cigars. These had been a part of his past and sometimes he would get them out when the night wasn't good. Also in the safe was an old tattered book. Reaching in and grabbing it, he smelled something in the air. It smelled like a small flame. Nopony was up at this time of night and he wasn't smoking which means either he left the furnace on or his night was about to get really bad. He smelled the air again, this time he caught a whiff of gasoline.
As if on cue, the building behind him exploded into a giant fireball. He quickly drew his gun and pulled the hammer back. Whoever had done this couldn't have gotten far. His eyes scanned the darkness until he saw a shape in the distance. He aimed his gun and waited for light to catch some part of the pony. It finally did. Applejack was sprinting towards the wreckage.
"Damn it." he muttered under his breath as Applejack got close. "They got away."
"What happened here Nails?" asked Applejack.
Nails ignored the question and began to walk away from the town. He didn't get far before Applejack tackled him and pinned him to the ground. "I said, what happened here?" there was a fire in Applejack's eyes as she held him there. Nails looked out towards a hill where he saw a flash.
"That bastard." he said as Applejack continued to hold him down.
"What did you say tah me?" asked Applejack as Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived on the scene.
"What are you doing Applejack?" asked Rainbow Dash seeing her friend on top of Nails.
"I'm tryin tah get an answer outta this stubborn pony." replied Applejack who got off at this point.
Rainbow ran right up to Nails placing him in a huge embrace. He didn't return it which made the ponies wonder why he was in such a bad mood. Suddenly, a pegasus showed up. The three ponies prepared themselves for a fight.
"Stand down girls, he's just a Canterlot messenger." said Nails who was sitting up on his own now. The three looked back at the pegasus that had just landed to see that he definitely had the Canterlot mark.
"Could you ponies please tell me where I could find a Nails?" asked the pegasus.
"That'd be me." said Nails holding up his claw. At this point Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were walking up to the scene.
"Uhm, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would like to see you right away." with that the messenger took off back towards Canterlot.
"Well, that didn't explain a lot." said Rarity as they watched the pegasus fly off.
"It did for me. But I'd rather not talk about it until I see if I'm right."
The six ponies eyed him suspiciously. Before Rainbow spoke up, "When do we leave?"
Nails' eyes shot open, "Oh no, you six aren't going anywhere. This time I'm going on my own." Nails turned to leave before he felt Applejack tackle him to the ground. This time he actually tried to fight it. As he began to gain height he felt even more pressure. He looked up to see Rainbow Dash pressing his shoulders down.
"Fine then." Nails said giving in, "Have it your way, but I'll promise you this. I doubt you will like anything that comes from this. We leave tomorrow morning. I suggest you go and get ready." Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all turned to go home while Rainbow Dash stayed behind. She walked over to Nails who was sitting on the cliff overlooking the lake.
"What's wrong Nails?" she asked putting her hoof around him. He just looked her. She didn't say anything more.
"I hope I'm wrong." said Nails suddenly. Rainbow Dash's ears perked up. "I hope that this wasn't what I think it was."
"What do you think it is?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"You've never heard the prophecy of the claw have you?" asked Nails looking deep into Rainbow's eyes. She shook her head.
"The Prophecy of the Claw says that there will be a time of great war between the lands of Equestria and Forshan. During this time a hero of Equestria would arise. They would be battle-hardened and have a reputation that exceeded their grasp, but there was one more trait about the hero that would make him stand out from ponies. He would have an abnormality in his right-front leg.
Rainbow Dash tightened her embrace. The prophecy was obviously talking about Nails and judging by the way he had acted earlier, the rest of the prophecy couldn't be bright.
"The hero is said to be not fully pony and have a dark past. He would pretend to join the army and would end up capturing the evil leader. Then he would do three things: first he would relocate to the town in which the elements of Harmony resided, second he would be reunited with a long, lost relative, and finally he and the pony which represented the element of loyalty would fall in love. After these things had occurred, his enemy would escape from the prison that held him and seek revenge. The hero would then take up his weapon to go and seek out and kill his foe, the elements of harmony would follow him."
"So, us going along is in the prophecy itself. Why did you try to keep us from going?" asked Rainbow Dash as she held onto him.
"I'm getting to that. When they finally find their enemy the element of loyalty with whom the hero had fallen in love with would be given a choice" Rainbow Dash leaned in closer to Nails. "She could let Equestria suffer and keep her love, or she could hand the hero over to the enemy and Equestria could live in peace for the rest of its days."
Tears began forming in Rainbow Dash's eyes, she had expected bad news but not this grim. She had just heard that she could either let her friend or her country perish. The news was too much and she buried her face into Nails bawling. When she finally stopped crying she asked Nails if there was any more to the prophecy.
"No, nothing. That's why I'm certain that I'll die. If I try to fight Iron Foot, he would kill me. That's why he was placed at the position of commander of Forshan, because of his skill. I would never be able to beat him in a fight unless I had an advantage he could never have."
"Why didn't you kill him when we captured him?"
"Because I couldn't. Strange things happen when you try to interfere with a prophecy. It would have been impossible for anypony to kill him that day. Any attempts would fail in ways that would have been called coincidence if you didn't know about the prophecy. For example, if I had tried to shoot him, anything could have happened except a successful shot. My gun could have jammed, the hammer could have broken, the powder may not have ignited. Like I said, strange things happen when you try to interfere with a prophecy."
"So, no matter what, I'll still have to make that choice."
"I'm sorry Rainbow, do me a favor and please don't tell the others. If they knew they may try anything to stop it and could get themselves hurt."
"I just don't know what I'll do when the time comes."
"Remember I'll be there to help you make the right choice."
"But how can I say I'm making the right choice if you have to die!"
Nails was silent for a moment, "When I told you I cared about you, after I had rejected you, I did so because of something that Delta told me at the Grand Galloping Gala. He said that I was faced with two roads. One that looked easier to take, but I also was faced with the right road. One that was more difficult but ended in a much better way than the other road. When the time comes, I'll help you to take the right road."
The two stayed on the cliff for the rest of the night. Neither of them slept or said anything until morning. At that point Nails made breakfast for the both of them. He had to light a fire and cook the eggs Fluttershy brought on some smooth rocks he found. When Twilight got there she spoke up.
"Nails, before coming here I hired a construction company to rebuild your home while we're gone."
"Twilight you really didn't-" Rainbow Dash was cut off by Nails.
"Thank you Twilight, you're always looking out for a chance to help me and I really appreciate it." Twilight went and sat down waiting for the rest of her friends to get there. While she did this, Nails turned to Rainbow Dash and whispered, "The less they know the better. Just like old times."
"Yeah, just like old times." said Rainbow as she lowered her gaze to the ground.
The seven ponies began their trek to Canterlot. They had decided that the best route for them to take would be to visit the capital city of Forshan. There they would meet up with Whiskey and try to gain any information possible. After they had gained any information they could they would try to set out for wherever they thought Iron Foot might hide. If they got enough they would go directly there. Nails had neglected to tell any of the others what would happen once they got there. They left Ponyville.
Nails's final journey had begun.
Gilda landed in Ponyville at about noon. She looked around, noticing all of the looks she was getting. None of them were friendly. She had come here hoping to mend her relationship with Rainbow Dash. She had left Ponyville with a sour taste in its mouth the last time she was here. She hoped that she could fix that and try living here. She walked up to vegetable stand where a mare was selling carrots. Luckily for her, this pony didn't seem to recognize Gilda.
"Hey, uh, I just flew into town and was wondering if you knew where Rainbow Dash was?" asked Gilda a little cautiously should this pony remember her.
"Ya, she left with her friends and that stallion Nails this morning. They didn't say where they were going, but it looked like they were heading for Canterlot." responded the pony, "Do you want to wait for her?"
"Nah, I think I'll see if I can catch up with her."
"Bye."
"Bye." with that Gilda flew off, if she was traveling with her friends she would have to be walking. This meant that in the air, Gilda would be able to catch her possibly before the day was over. Gilda hoped that Rainbow Dash would accept her back.