Some years ago…

Bronze Bolt packed up her school books after what arguably was the longest week of her career. Between a new project that was due on the following Monday, another one that required a partner for which she had none, and the usual antics of the other school kids. The bell dismissing them for the weekend had been very long in waiting for the young earth filly.

Stowing away her sketch book, Bronze simply paid little attention to her other classmates as they filed out of the room and chatted about the plans for the upcoming weekend. With everything in its place in her backpack, the filly slung her belongings across her small frame and started towards the door.

“Now just a long walk back…” she mumbled to herself as she passed by the other kids, trying to draw as little attention to herself as she could.

Leaving the school yard, the filly managed to avoid any contact with those she was taught with, as she entered her own little world. Blindly walking past the other town folk while they went about their own business, none paid Bronze any heed as she made her way down a side street onwards to home.

‘However, what should I do for the project?’ Bronze thought to herself as she reached the small towns’ boarders.

To many of the other kids who made a similar trek, a simple walk down a dirt path seemed more inclined to torture by their parents. Rather than a simple way of getting from point A to B. However, for the young mare the long walk to and from school gave her the alone time she very much desired at times.

That is, when she could get the time alone.

“Hey small stuff!” the piercing voice called out from the still spring wind to her ears. Bronze didn’t really even have to turn around to know which one of her tormentors this one was.

“Y-y-yes Marble?” she flinched by pure instinct as she looked behind her shoulder to see the colt a few grades higher than her, with a few of his pals, slowly closing the distance from where he stood.

“You know very well ‘what’ you little snot!” the far larger colt shouted out at her, once they were safely away from adults’ ears, “how dare you show me up like that with the report we had to do.” Marble huffed from his nostrils drawing mere inches from Bronzes’ own, “I worked all week on it! yet here you go, in one day I hear, put together a report talking about Fancy-Dancy technology that no pony has ever heard of, and blow mine out of the water!”

This is what her life has come to. The ritual that plagued Bronzes’ existence every time she did her school work, and did it just a little better than the class president… okay, maybe a lot better. However, that’s not the point. Bronze turned her work in, scores higher than Marble, then Marble and his friends (who she personally thinks are either just afraid of him, or really, really stupid) hunt her down after school and

give him her weekly beatings.

‘I just do my work and get it done,’ she thought while looking up at the older colt, watching out the corner of her eye as the others with Marble surround her, ‘it’s not my fault that I just out do him with less work.’

“Well?! Have you nothing to say?” the enraged colt ground his teeth till they hurt, waiting for a reply.

“I-I-I just do my work Marble,” Bronze tried to explain for the hundredth time, “it’s not my fault that it just come natural-”

Without another word from her mouth, a hoof was sent in to her chest, and skipped the filly across the ground as she gasped for breath. For being such a large pony for their age, Bronze even had to admit that Marble moved pretty fast, but then again that didn’t seem as surprising considering that Marble from even a young age as a unicorn, learned to teleport. Still, he was fast enough that before she even stopped on the ground. Marble was over top her once more.

“Natural? Aint nothing natural about you, you hear me?” he insulted his lesser once more, pressing down in to Bronzes’ ribcage to keep her steady, “for an earth pony such as yourself, how can you be so smart? You shouldn’t even be an earth pony by all counts.”

Yet another thing Bronze had to admit. Her fathers’ side of the family was heavy in unicorn genes, while her mothers’ were scattered with Pegasus ponies and unicorns. At the very least she should be able to teleport her away from this little encounter, but no, fate has punished her with just legs to keep her up. Yet even they weren’t that strong.

The only thing it seemed that she got from her parents was the same low cut black mane of her father (that barely met her shoulders) as a similarly tinted tail graced her hindquarters, and the metallic bronze coat and eyes from her mom for which she was aptly named. Yet that subtle reminder that she was their little filly did little to bolster her, as Bronze took another hit to the ribs.

With the air retreating from her body faster than she could suck it back in, Bronze didn’t even have time to call for help before Marble picked her up in a magical aura and threw her across the road way in to a tree. If her bones weren’t logically stronger from being an earth pony, they probably would have broken, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“Mrpmh!” Bronze yelped out under a tight jaw from the impact as she slumped to the ground.

“Nice toss there, Marble,” one of the bullies’ fellow unicorns commented.

“Why thank you, Crab Apple,” he acknowledged with an overly polite bow, “Crosswalk, any pony coming this way?”

The Pegasus colt leaped up in to the sky to check around them for a moment before he touched back down next to their ringleader, “nope, you still got time to play.”

“Excellent…” Marble sneered, moving in closer to his prey. All the while he watched the very young filly lay there in a slump. Not even trying to get away, or move for that matter.

‘This isn't going to stop,’ Bronze thought back to all the teasing she had gotten throughout the years of being in this school.

Whether it was her parents being both a unicorn and a Pegasus, and her only being an earth pony. Bronze having a fairly ‘coltish’ sounding name, and being better in most fields that colts’ normally specialized in. Heck even her scoring higher than pretty much every other student, and yet being an earth pony. Bronze knew that this is how every school year would be, even as this one drew to a close in a few months.

“I’m talking to you, twerp!” Marbles’ voice broke her train of thought as she felt the cold hoof of her attacker on her shoulder. Turning her over, Marble wasn’t met with the pity filled filly he attacked on a regular basis. Instead the only thing that greeted him was a hammer being swung in to his face.

Bronze never left home without it, it was her trusty tool, and one that got her out of a few sticky situations. Mostly with small projects that she had, this is the first situation she ever used it as a weapon, a rather effective one at that.

Marble landed face first in to the ground, while a thick stream of blood pooled on the ground as he tried to pick himself up. As he did, he only saw the tear filled face of a young filly he had made fun of one to many times. With her hammer clenched firmly in her teeth, Bronze stood there as Marble remained only on his fore hooves staring up at her. Even his friends were unsure what to do from the sudden turn of events that they just saw with their own eyes.

“This… stops… now!” Bronze shouted out as she swung the hammer as hard as her neck would allow in to her oppressors’ leg. The impact caused only the gut wrenching crack of bone to fill all their ears, soon followed by the screams of a colt as Marble fully collapsed on to the ground on his side.

“You. Little. Wretch!” he bellowed between sobs and tears, as he fought up to his legs and stabilized himself on only three.

Bronze simply stood there, unsure what came over her. Whether it was that the torment had just piled up over the years, or if she finally saw her hammers’ handle sticking out of her bag. Something just clicked in the fillies’ mind that told her enough had been enough, though it didn’t seem like this would be the end of it. Bronze slowly started to back up away from Marble, as Crab and Cross closed in.

“You aren’t getting away that easily…” Marble growled as his minions got closer.

With a single flash from Crab Apples’ horn, Bronze could feel her body being lifted up off the ground in a telekinesis spell.

The colt wasn’t much older than her, and clearly hadn't been practicing his gift that much. Crab was barely able to use magic to move a pencil, let alone another pony. With a flick of her neck and a bit of luck, Bronzes’ trusted tool found its mark on the muzzle of the opposing unicorn. Causing him to break the spell just as the hammer nearly broke his nose.

Landing on all fours, and not waiting for the flag to drop, Bronze ran by the two unicorns on the ground. Picked her hammer up in her teeth, and galloped down the dirt path to home. Not before though she managed to pick up the tell tail whoosh of a pony taking off from the ground. Glancing over her shoulder, Bronze looked up to see Crosswalk flapping fast to catch up to the nimble filly.

They all may be stronger than her… but she was faster, more agile, and smarter.

With a quick duck, Bronze rolled off the path in to the woods, hoping to lose him in the canopy as she galloped across the grass. But with the day light at its highest, Cross still saw a clear path leading him to the young pony, as he stayed on her hooves from above.

Looking around the forest, Bronze recognized these parts all too well. They’re close to her home finally, here she had the home field advantage. ‘Now where are you… I saw you a few days ago,’ she mumbled to herself, before eyeing her prize just in front of her.

The fresh spring flowers that have popped up this year brought around a critter that one would expect, bees, and thanks to her parents having a home off the beaten path. Many of them decided to make their hives in the surrounding area, so as not to be disturbed by many ponies. Eyeing one hive that was closest to her reach. Bronze leaped up off the ground and landed on the branch next to is as the sounds of her pursuers wings grew in her own ears.

Her mother taught her how to respect the stinging insect, just so much so they could gather what honey they may want, and leave the rest for the bugs. A simple little trade off, bees aren’t bothered much, and they get some honey. It’s the little lessons that a mother gives, that can help you out when you most need it… such as now.

Using the claw end of her hammer, Bronze leaned out and hooked on to the end of the branch. Pulling it back as much as she could, before she counted the seconds between flaps, and how fast her heart was racing. ‘One… Two… Three!’ she went off in her head, finally releasing her bio weapon against torment.

Just as his friend Marble, Crosswalk didn’t know what hit him. Only the sudden feeling of splinters being shoved in his face, along with the rest of his body back flipping in midair until he hit the ground filled the colts’ mind. Looking up in a daze, he eyed the filly still up in the tree.

“Is that all you got?” he questioned, “a little comic book trick?”

“That’s not all of it…” Bronze mumbled under her breath.

All of a sudden, Cross realized that she stayed up there not because she was afraid of him, but what she had done.

The first sting he barely felt, the colt was far more focused on picking wood from his face, but by the second, third and fourth. Needless to say the colt soon found himself sprinting faster on his hooves from the damaged hive than he ever could have with his wings. Leaving Bronze to slowly crawl down from her perch, listening to the cries of her enemy as they fled. With a smug smile across her face, the young filly trotted her way through the rest of the woods to the clearing of her home.

A simple little cottage built in to an old oak tree, with several additions built in as her parents had her, and her fathers’ work grew. As off the beaten path as it may be, Bronze would rather be nowhere else when it came time to relax and rest her mind. Coming up to the front door, the filly opened it with ease and stepped inside to find her mother in the kitchen making supper.

“Hi sweetie!” Aurora called out to her daughter over her shoulder as she filled a pot pie to get it ready for the oven, “how was your fri-” the mother cut herself off upon seeing her babies face.

Dropping the pie on the counter, Aurora rushed over to Bronze and instantly started cupping her body amongst the feathers of her wings holding her close. “Bronzy what happened to you!” she asked while slowly stroking her offspring’s form. Making note of all the scratches and bruises, “did you have a run in with those mean colts again?”

“It’s… alright mom,” she winced when one of her moms’ wings went over her ribs, “I-I fell, that’s all.”

“Bronze Bolt,” she scorned her daughter, watching as her child shrunk down a little in her lap, “it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes ponies just have the need to pick on other ponies, but it’s not something that can be allowed still.” Sitting her daughter in a stool by the kitchen counter, Aurora set out in the cabinet, before she brought out some bandages and ointment.

“I know mom,” Bronze lowered her head a bit, “I tried to be nice to them, it just doesn’t work. The class president-”

“So that’s who did this?” her mother cut her off.

“Yes mom,” Bronze sighed, “he gets so mad that I score higher than him without even trying, so he just takes it out on me.” The young filly shuddered as the cold sanitizing cream was applied to her wounds.

“That still doesn’t make it right,” her mother reminded her as she wrapped the injuries in some bandages to keep the ointment on.

Cradling her child in her lap, Aurora ran her hooves across her daughters’ ribs, already able to tell from the ting of pain that stained Bronzes’ face that there was bruising to be tended to. With a firm grip on the bandages, the mother opted for a different care. As she picked up a bottle of liquid heat to help relax it away. The mare was used to patching another up, after being married to a blacksmith for years, you learn how to treat a wound or two. A trait that just carried over when Aurora was born in to motherhood.

“There… that should keep you together,” Aurora winked at Bronze as she giggled, watching her daughter leap off the stool and on to the floor.

“Thanks mom,” Bronze beamed back at her, even if her side started to burn a bit.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Aurora playfully rolled her eyes, “however, your father will want to see this…” Bronze froze in place as she walked through the kitchen.

Knowing full well that her dad will have no colt laying a hoof on his little girl, she can only imagine his response.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to face her mother, “Where is he?”

Chuckling from ear to ear, Aurora simply started to snicker at her, “Do you really have to ask that question?”

Giggling, Bronze headed out back to the shop her father had set up for himself.

Being a master of many trades, Anvil became the local handy colt for those that have the little home projects that need fixed up. Whether it’s a leaking sink, a fence post replanted, or even a new wood stove forged and welded. Her father had always been able to find a way to mend whatever problem he may encounter in his average working day. With this type of freelance work, it allowed him flexible hours to do his own projects around the house, and teach his favorite daughter (and only one) a good trade or two.

“Dad!” Bronze called out loud enough so he could hear over him welding a few pieces of metal together with his horn.

Pulling the mask up, Anvil looked around and saw his little girl standing there before him. With bandages across parts of her body. “Oh dear what happened to you?” the moderately built colt asked, using his magic to set her down lightly on the counter next to his tool shelf, “you look like you just got in a fight with a dragon.”

“Well not exactly…” Bronze bit her lip. Unsure what to say next, or how to tell her father what she did. He instead beat her to the punch.

“Colts at school still giving you trouble I take it?” he asked the obvious. A simple nod confirmed his suspicions, as he plopped himself on to the work stool next to her, “jealous about you being smarter than them?”

“Yep.”

“Giving you a hard time because you weren’t given any additional traits like wings or a horn?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“How’d you know?” she asked, watching her father got up from his seat and walked over to his other work bench, before he pulled out a pair of lollipops for them both.

“Meh call it a fathers’ intuition,” he chuckled with his daughter as she enjoyed the strawberry flavor washing over her tongue, “and I’ll probably sound I a broken record from your mother, but some ponies are just mean…” the little glare he got from Bronze told Anvil that it’s exactly what his wife had said moments ago, “though I have one question.”

He paused for a moment to watch his daughters’ ears perk up from the change in tone that he dropped, “What is it dad?”

“Did you give them something in return for the beating they gave you?”

Bronzes’ body shut down for a second as the last word left his tongue. Had her father really just asked her if she fought back against them? ‘Well what would they expect me to do after so long?’ she asked herself, ‘they’ve tried talking to Marbles’ and the others’ parents, but it just doesn’t seem to work.’ She reasoned. Lowering her head, Bronze accepted full responsibility for what she did.

“Yes I did father, and I’m sorry.”

A moment or two passed between them, at first Bronze thought that her dad would have beaten her for sure for hurting another pony. Even if they had done the same to her, both her mother and father have said on many occasions that violence wasn’t the answer. So what gave her the right to raise a hoof to them?

But instead all she felt was the warm embrace of her fathers’ hooves, as he held her in his chest, “That a girl, Bronze…”

“W-W-what?” Bronze called out surprised by his words, “but I thought you and mom said before that fighting wasn’t the answer?”

“Aye I have there Bronzy,” Anvil acknowledged, before setting her back on the counter, “however as much as me and your mother have tried to reason with the parents of those colts, it just doesn’t seem to be working. Your mother would want no part in what I’m about to say, that’s no lie, but mark my words, Bronze Bolt,” he said, making sure he had his little fillies’ full attention, “if they don’t leave you alone when you’re minding your own business, then make it your business, to make them leave you alone.”

Bronze looked away from her father, not fully able to think what he just told her. It went against everything that she’s ever known and was taught. But with a gentle hoof under her chin, she looked back up in to her fathers’ eyes with a single tear about to fall.

“There there sweetie…” he said as he brushed it way, “it will all be alright. Those colts will either learn the easy way, or the hard way not to mess with my little girl,” he left her with a little wink, “That I’m sure of.”

“How can you know, Dad?” Bronze wondered out loud, as her father picked her up and brought her alongside his project.

“Because I know ya, my little filly,” he winked at her, “you’re a smart little one, and you’ll find a way to settle things with those ponies, I know you will.”

Bronze hopped down from her fathers’ back as she watched him once again go to work. Silently having the many memories of her watching him build over the years, teaching her what tools to use for what, and helping her with her own little projects as time had passed by. How she wished that time could just go back to when it was much simpler. Instead of all this drama with other kids at school… but alas, ‘it’s just part of growing up I guess,’ she summarized. Unknown to her, a frown started to grow her face, but the ever wary eye of a parent picked up on it.

“…Hey,” she heard called out softly from her fathers’ breath. Looking up just in time to catch a screwdriver in her mouth, Anvil lifted her once more atop his project as he looks in to his only child’s eyes, “Child of mine, you’re going to do great things in life… you just don’t know it yet,” he watched as her frown started to fade, only to be replaced by the eager smile of the daughter he has loved and cared for over the years, “now how about help me with this, like old times?”

Leaping in the air with glee, Bronze was barely able to contain her excitement, “sure dad!”