“Well, during the press conference you said no one was to blame,” Stone started, “so, hopefully, the press will stop blaming us. If that doesn’t work, you’re probably gonna have to make another statement.”
“So we just have to wait for the next papers to roll out, and we should be in the clear.” The captain stated.
“Alright, well I gotta get back to Ponyville. If the situation worsens, you know where to find me.” Steve said. “See ya later.”
“We’ve gotta get back to the barracks.” The captain said.
“Oh yeah,” the lieutenant said, “come on, let’s go.”
The three followed Steve down the stairs and out of the castle. They opened the doors and were caught off guard by what was waiting for them outside. There were reporters and photographers, around 50 of them, waiting outside. The photographers took pictures of the crafter wither the guards, while the reporters tried to ask questions. No one could understand anyone over the yelling and clicking of the cameras.
“Do you think the only reason they believed you were a threat is because you were a non-pony?” Someone asked.
“Would this have happened had you been a pony?” Another pony asked.
“Are we one hundred percent sure he isn’t a threat to ponykind?” Another reporter questioned, this time directed at his friends.
He had gotten there by chariot, but he was told to leave by train. Steve continued to push through to the train station. He was eager to just get on the train and go home. They had a special train waiting for him, just to shield him from the reporters and photographers. He could see it. Several guards stood on the platform, waiting for the crafter. He continued to walk through the swarm, until he finally reached the platform. The guards held the crowd back while he got onto the train. He took a seat and sighed.
“Well that was hell.” He said to himself. The crafter looked out the window, and he watched as his friends got swarmed by the ponies. Then, the train lurched forwards, and they left Canterlot en route for Ponyville.
“Sir, we have reached Ponyville.” A guard said trying to wake the sleeping crafter up. The effect was immediate. Steve quickly shot up. He’d taken a second to take in the situation.
“Thank you.” He said to the guard. He rose up off his seat, and headed for the exit. He stepped off the train garnering the attention of the citizens of Ponyville. Steve knew most of the ponies that lived here. Shit went down all the time, so they were mentally stronger than ponies from most other places.
“And the weirdest.” He whispered under his breath. The reason he said that is because standing right in front of him was a unicorn with a mint green coat and a light cyan mane lined with white stripes. She was flanked with a golden lire auto represent her cutie mark. The reason this caught Steve’s attention was because she wore a huge, creepy smile. She smiled like a clown ready to murder some kids. The crafter approached her.
“Hello. Can I hel-?” He tried to ask, but was cut off. Not by her, but by her friend.
“Lyra!” She yelled. “Leave him alone!” Steve looked up to see a yellow mare with a navy blue mane that had with a pink stripe running right through the middle.
“But-.” She tried to say, but was cut off by Steve.
“Please listen to your friend.” He said politely. “I’ve had a really shitty couple of days, and all I wanna do is go home and relax.”
“Well-.” The mare, now identified as Lyra started. But she was cut off by her friend. She grabbed Lyra by the hoof and started pulling her away.
“Sorry about her, sir, she’s just exited.” The yellow mare apologized.
“Okay. Scared I understand. But excited? That’s new.” Steve stated.
“She’s a curious mare.” She told him. “She gets excited by new people.”
“Oh, okay.” Steve said. “By the way, I never caught your name.”
“Sorry, I’m Bon Bon.” She said.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Steve.” Bon Bon nodded, but then looked around, as if she was checking if anyone was watching her.
“Is it true that a couple of guards still believe you’re a threat?” She whispered.
“No, that’s just a baseless claim made by the media.” Steve clarified.
“Baseless?” Bon Bon asked. “I read that there were a couple of guards and ponies who believe you are still a threat.”
“Really? Where did you read that from?”
“Here.” She said handing him a newspaper. “We’ve gotta get going. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.” Steve said. This article was by “The Guardian” and was released after his press conference. He walked to a nearby bench, so he could sit and read the newspaper.
’The Creature of Everfree May Still Be a Threat’ Several Guards Claim
He began reading the first article.
The Creature of Everfree, now identified as Steve, was cleared of all charges by Princess Celestia’s official pardoning on this morning. However, multiple guards believed that he didn’t deserve it. In an interview with a guard who was on the hunt for him said, “I’ve seen what he’s done. He doesn’t deserve to be let off so easy.” The guard, Iron Wings, is a Private First Class in the 10th Platoon the Equestrian Royal Guard. She is one of the biggest speakers against the pardoning. She’s quoted saying “I signed up to be a guard to protect Equestria. I believe...
The article continued on page three, but Steve already knew enough. He clenched the newspaper in his fists before putting it in his inventory. He turned to head back to the cave he and Jean called home. The sun had already set so he wanted get home as quickly as possible.
Lieutenant Stone Hoof awoke to a loud sound coming from outside. He was surprised what he saw when he pulled back the curtains. Protesters. Hundreds of them were in the streets, just outside the base.
“What the buck is happening?!” The Corporal asked, loudly.
“I don’t know. We should probably check the captain.”
“Good idea.” The two quickly ran down the halls of the barracks and flew out the nearest exit. They headed right for the captain’s quarters. They bursted through the door, and ran to the captain.
“Sir,” the lieutenant started, saluting, “why-?”
“Are those people in the streets protesting?” The captain finished. “Here.” He said handing Stone a newspaper. Stone quickly read the article and his face slowly transformed from calm to content.
“Get me Iron Wings.” He said to the Corporal.
Steve walked through Ponyville, whistling a happy tune. He watched as some town members looked at him with curiosity and others with fear. He didn’t really care. What he did care about was making it to the train on time. He didn’t exactly want to go to Canterlot, but Princess Celestia sent Twilight a message saying he needed to go there due to a surprise amount of backlash from a large amount of ponies.
“Hopefully, it’s not that bad.” He told himself. “Hopefully.”