Born in Ponyville, Hammer Hooves initially planned on becoming the political advisor of somepony in charge. Of course, Celestia and Luna were both more than competent without somepony with a low CHA score whispering in their ears. Despite being competent at friendmaking and countless attempts at “helping out” with Canterlot’s daily functioning, he was only able to get his cutie mark (a wrench) when he successfully repaired the local Mayor’s Office’s icebox. Knowing that his talent lie in areas outside of pony realpolitick, and keeping in mind that Celestia and Luna were gone, making a smooth entrance into the government impossible, he sadly quit his day job and left Ponyville in search of new opportunities.
Eventually he fell in with the house of a member of the lesser nobility. The scion of the house was well known to be a rule-breaker and a bit of a kleptomaniac, and understanding that such behavior was unbecoming the eventual heir of a line, Hammer Hooves was hired, ostensibly as a tinker around the house, but in reality was to be more of a guard ordered to keep Gold “Golden Gold” Lionheart out of trouble. It didn’t work so well, but when his ward left the house due to trouble brewing in Canterlot, Hammer liked him well enough to leave with him in search of something to do. And gold.
