//------------------------------//
// 1 - Twilight's Birthday 
// Story: The Minotaur, the Princess and the Train Tracks 
// by Beware The Carpenter 
//------------------------------//

Pinkie Pie was having one of the bestest days ever! The Cake twins were behaving, Pinkie’s reflection was cooperating with her again, The Tooth Fairy had promised to let Pinkie take over for a day, (next century), if Pinkie promised to stop calling in the meantime,  and the Cakes still hadn't shown any signs that they had found out about the secret pets that Pinkie kept locked in the basement, (shhh, don't tell anyone)! But the really super duper special thing was that today was Twilight Sparkle's birthday! 

Rainbow Dash and Rarity were coming back from Canterlot meaning it would be the first time all the girls had been together in a while, and Twilight's old bestest foalsitter Cadance was coming, and Pinkie couldn't wait to meet her for the first time. They were going to need a lot of food for that many ponies, but Pinkie wasn’t worried. Pinkie had done some snooping, and found out that Twilight’s favorite kind of pies were ones that were three-point-one-four feet in diameter and three-point-one-four inches high; the pie was in the oven now, and by the time Twilight’s party began that afternoon, it would be ready and scrumpdidlyumchious!

Everything was looking up; everything except that big, huge, red minotaur who was sitting on Sugarcube Corner's floor because none of the chairs were big enough for him and eating two of everything on the menu. Mrs. Cake seemed happy because he was spending a lot of money, but Pinkie couldn't help thinking that for someone with so many goodies he still looked like a grumpy old grump and so she decided to go over there and turn that frown upside down.

"Hi, my name is Pinkie Pie." she said cheerfully bouncing around the minotaur as he swallowed half a dozen doughnuts in one gulp.

The minotaur grunted.

"What's your name?" asked Pinkie, glad to see someone else around here showing a healthy appetite.

"Stone Resolve. When I require service I will call for it."

The minotaur reached for a fritter and Pinkie noticed something strange, "You're hand is metal!" she gasped, "Did you lose your hand in a cupcake accident and replace it with a robot claw?"

Stone Resolve paused half-way to the fritter and stared at her, "How could I lose my hand in a 'cupcake accident?’"

Pinkie chose to ignore such a stupid question and ask one of her own, "Did your hand run away and leave you?"

"It's a gauntlet, little mare!" roared Stone Resolve as he tore the metal hand off to reveal a normal red minotaur hand underneath.

"Ooooo! What are these?" asked Pinkie jumping up on the table. There was a tattoo of a chain that ran all the way up his arm (which was really long) and dissapeared under his big heavy cloak.

Stone Resolve shoved Pinkie off the table, "They're Drekarr tattoos; one for each ritual I've performed."

Pinkie landed in the seat across from Stone Resolve and leaned forwards, "So Drekarr is like a game and every time you play you add a link to the chain to remind you of how much fun you had?"

"Something like that, now please go away, I need to find someone and am running out of time.”

"Maybe I can help" offered Pinkie, "I know just about everypony around here."

"Unless you know a minotaur named Iron Will, you can’t help."

“I know Iron Will!” 

“… You do?”

"Ya ha. He visited Ponyville about a year ago, and last week he came back. He does these assertiveness seminars where he tries to teach ponies to become more assertive."

Stone Resolve stared at her a moment in disbelief, "Could you repeat that?"

Pinkie complied and a moment later Stone Resolve placed a bag of bits on the table, pushed it away and rose like a mountain of tense muscle, scraping his horns against the roof. "Show me."

"Okie doki oiky!"


............................................................................................................................................................


"That's no joke, friends. Iron Will is so confident that you will be one hundred percent satisfied with Iron Will's assertiveness techniques, that if you are not one hundred percent satisfied; you. Pay. Nothing! But I pity the foal who doubts Iron Will's methods!" Iron Will stood on the podium, surrounded by his goat supporters and the eager cheers of his audience, "Iron Will guarantees he can take even the cowardly of pushovers and, with his easy, three step plan, turn them into a lean, mean, assertive machine!" he began flexing his giant muscles for effect. "Who would like to see a scrawny, scardy cat doormat, turn into a warrior overnight?"

"I would" answered a voice from the back of the audience, sending shivers down Iron Will’s spine as a hooded figure slowly advanced through the crowd, followed by a small pink pony. "Though it’s not me who needs to prove himself a warrior… it’s my runt brother. He fled a battle six years ago, leaving his war band to be torn apart by a dragon, and now he hides himself among ponies where he brandishes a virgin sword as he proclaims himself a warrior, bringing shame and disgrace upon his family." Iron Will stepped back as the hooded minotaur reached the hoof of the stage, and began searching for the most effective escape route. "The Supreme Battle Priest has died and now father has the opportunity to take his place. Only one stain to family honor blocks his path and so I have come, to either remove your shame from you, or to remove you from the mortal plane."

Stone Resolve threw off his cloak, revealing his Drekarr chain had grown; passing his shoulder and was now spiraling around his chest. Stone Resolve drew one ritual claymore from its sheath on his back and lofted it towards Iron Will, drawing an identical sword as the first buried itself into the stage between Iron Will’s hooves. "I evoke Drekarr; pick up the blade!"



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