Bronze Bolt sat at the desk in her room with school work thrown askew around her from the start of seventh grade, while the start of the new year may have brought around her twelfth birthday, it also brought with it the dreaded new year at school. However, even with this pile up of work that has to be done for the youthful filly, she can only listen to the sounds of her father packing up a bag in the room across from her own.

It happened last week, a single royal guard came to their front step with an official scroll from the king and queen. She wasn’t sure exactly what it said, her parents wouldn’t let her read it, all she knew was that it called at least one able bodied colt to serve the crown in their time of need. With her being an only child between her parents (and a mare at that), the logical volunteer was her own dad.

Her dad wasn’t a soldier, or even a guard for that matter. Anvil simply went and served one contract under the crown so he could get money to further his studies, and pick up a few new skills along the way. Though with that one enlistment, it put his name almost ahead of the line when it came to finding volunteers for whatever the crown was looking to do.

“Did they say you had to be there so soon?” Bronze heard her mother Aurora ask, for nearly the fifth time in the last hour.

“Yes they did, dear,” Anvil responded coolly, recalling how this thing would work during his time in.

“And they absolutely need you,” even through the walls, the filly could hear the worry in her mothers’ voice, “I mean they can't go get any other volunteer? Ones without… family?”

“Because of my prior service, me and many others were put on the top of the list…” he responded, lowering his head a bit, so he didn’t have to see his wife start crying.

Thankfully they both were facing away from the door, otherwise they would have noticed their daughter slowly making her way out of her room and to the door frame so she could listen in on their conversation. Aurora stood there, a single hoof covering her mouth as she tried to hide some of her tears from her husband. Though even with that, it failed her miserably from the start, leaving her only to soak her hoof in tears.

Turning around to finally face her, Anvil put on his best caring smile he could muster while hiding his own concerns. As he embraced his wife and calmly stroked her mane, “Don’t worry dear, it will be alright,” he tried to settle her, “the nations neighbors are simply bickering over goods like they always have done, no pony thinks there will be a fight. The gryphons will fluff their feathers, the dogs with dig themselves in the dirt, and the king and queen will simply stand strong till they settle themselves… that’s how it works with them.”

“But what if they get upset?” they heard the familiar voice of their daughter ask from her little vantage point. Slowly Bronze stepped in to the room, trying to read the uneasy expression across her mothers’ face, while her fathers’ held firm. “What if the dogs and the gryphons don’t settle with the king and queen?”

Smiling gently to try and wipe away any worry, Anvil reached down, and scooped up his daughter in his hooves. Holding her gently to his chest, he sat back on the bed while his wife stood opposite of him, stroking their daughters’ mane like he had done for her moments ago.

“They always fuss about how they are being treated, my dear,” he eased her fears, as best he could that is with the little knowledge of the situation he had, “yes there have been little fights here and there, like you had with that one colt last school year…” he reminded her with a gentle tap on her muzzle from his own.

Yes, the memory was still quite vivid in her mind. After so long of torment she finally dished out the same sort of treatment that she received all those times from Marble and his ‘friends’, if you could call them that. After that day, she never really saw much of them other than the occasional passing in the hallway. Anytime they even thought of trying to get a little retribution, their nerves seemed to always fail them after seeing the hammer sticking out of Bronzes’ back pack.

“Like that scuffle, this one will be over quickly,” he kissed the top of her head, a last little gesture of reassurance to the filly.

“Where do you have to go now?” she asked, beaming slightly from the tender touch of her father.

“Boralus, the king and queen want the volunteers to group there before they join in with the rest of their army. Plus, then the young Princess will be able to see how some things are run,” he said while packing the last remaining items. Not that there was much to pack, after all they would be supplying what he needed for war. Though with the soft sound of hooves scraping against the ground, Anvil looked to see his daughter scampering out of the room.

In a few seconds time, Bronze rejoined them, though this time with her trusted tool in her mouth. Getting up on the bed, she deposited the gift in to her dads’ bag, while she watched both of her parents look at her with an air of curiosity.

“The hammer will keep you safe…” she said patting the handle with a gentle hoof as she said goodbye, for now, to her old friend, “…just like it did me.”

With that sweet gesture bringing tears to both her parents eyes, they all embraced once more. Anvils fore hooves wrapping around the two most important females in his life. Kissing them both as he hopes it won’t be the last time doing so, the clock in their room struck, ringing the bell inside five times before silence took over the family once again.

“I…I have to get going,” Anvil said, wiping away the tears quickly for his daughter and wife before slinging the bag across is back, “the train will be leaving soon and I don’t want to miss it if I’m to get to the capital on time…” he said as they all left the room and followed him down the stairs to the front door.

Opening up the door to the evening colors of gold and orange glistening across the sky, Anvil took a moment to pause while he took a deep breath, savoring the moment. Turning back to his family he kissed his wife once more while whispering their I love you’s, allowing the soft breath of her to exhale across his face before turning his attention to his little filly.

Leaning down on all fours to be at eye level, the colt tapped the handle of the hammer in his bag, unable to keep the sweet grin off his face. “Do you recall what I told you that day? When you came home after using this?”

Bronze stopped there for a moment, having a flash back to the exact moment she opened the door to his little work shop and started talking to her dad. Though his words are the first thing to come to mind, ‘Child of mine, you’re going to do great things in life… you just don’t know it yet,’ she repeated once more to herself like she had done so many times before. Nodding to him, Anvil smiled as he placed a tender hoof to her chest over her heart.

“Remember that for me, my little Bronze Bolt… I love you,” with that before it got too painful to leave. Anvil walked down the path, not daring to look back to his daughter and wife while they stood at the door watching him leave for the time being.

Although she didn’t say it while he was there with her. Bronze opened her mouth just as he was going down the path and starting to cross over the hill out of sight, “I love you too, dad.”