//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 10: The Talk // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further adieu, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Crash!!! Damage Received - 4 damage. 16 health remaining. Steve flew through the wall, making a massive hole in it. Crashing into a table, it broke under his weight, sending him to the floor. Groaning, Steve got to his feet, taking a deep breath. A scream from his right made his head snap to the side. There, a mare with violet fur and a pale pink-ish mane stood there, her lime green eyes wide in fear. She had curlers in her mane, as well as a strange green slime of her face. Steve formed a fake smile and waved at her. Suddenly, he felt his instincts flare up, screaming for him to move. Circle: Dodge Steve rolled to the left, avoiding the bolt of magic flying overhead. Jumping over a nearby counter, Steve took off, heading out her dining room, into the mare’s front room. Spotting a window, Steve immediately dove through, sending shattered glass flying. Circle: Dodge Landing on his back, he hurriedly got back to his feet, only to duck under another blast of magic that shot past him, scorching the house next door. The next thing Steve knew, he was back on the floor with a heavily armored unicorn trapping him on the ground, horn glowing threateningly. “By the power of of the Royal Sisters, I place you under arrest!” A pair of hoof-cuffs appeared in Steve vision. Square: Punch “By the power of my fist, your ass is grass and I’m a pair of fucking shears!” Steve yelled, slamming a fist into the guards muzzle, knocking him off. Triangle: Kick Shooting to his feet, Steve kicked the pony hard in the gut, sending him flying back, rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop, hurt but still conscious. Seeing the fight was over, Steve continued on, leaving the struggling pony in the early morning darkness. Steve had arrived early in the morning, with the intention of talking to the one pony that hadn’t attacked him, Miss Derpy Hooves. He’s had the hopes that if he came early, he could sneak by the guards no problem. Clearly, he’d been wrong in that regard. Rubbing his side, he gritted his teeth and suddenly jolted his arm. He let out a groan at the pain that blossomed in his torso as he pushed a rib back in place. That unicorn had a mean swing. Walking, he kept to the alley’s, keeping out of sight. It wasn’t long before he finally made it to a familiar looking home. L1 (Hold): Potion Select: Invisibility Potion. Pulling out the bottle, he gulped the carrot-flavoured liquid. Immediately, the effect took hold, turning his body invisible. While she hadn’t attacked him yet, Steve didn’t trust Miss Derpy enough to not scream if she actually saw what he looked like. Stepping forward, he knocked twice on her back door. After a few minutes, there was shuffling on the opposite side. There was the sound of metal clinking and the door open, revealing a gray pegasus with a mussed-up mane and tired looking golden eyes. “Hey Miss Derpy. Can I come in?” Her confused expression was filled with realizations as her mouth opened in an “oh”. She pondered for a moment, before stepping back in, leaving the door ajar. Steve stepped through the threshold, closing the door behind him. Walking close behind, Steve followed Derpy as she trotted into the kitchen, where a small unicorn filly was sitting on a chair, eating some cereal. She looked at her mom with a curious expression. “Who was at the door, Mom?” Steve decided to respond. “I was. Hi miss Dinky.” He expected her face to fill with shock or something close. Instead, excitement and small bit of nervousness poured onto her features. “Oh, Mister Steve, what are you doing here?” Steve raised an eyebrow. She was getting friendly fast. Then again, these ponies were naturally friendly, at least to their own species. But the small filly was already being friendly with him, something that Steve knew for a fact that wasn’t shared by the rest of her species, minus Derpy. “I’m here to talk with your mom. What about you?” Steve didn’t really care, but she had been rather nice, so he decided to humor her. “I’m going to school. Mrs. Cheerilee's the best! We’re learning how to write really good!” She exclaimed excitedly. Smirking, Steve gave her a thumbs up, before realizing she couldn’t see him. “Good for you kid, I hope you learn all you can. Knowledge is very important. Trust me, I would know.” Looking up, he spotted Derpy washing some dishes, smiling at the two of them. “Anyway, Miss Derpy, I…” “Just Derpy, please. I never liked formalities.” Steve raised an eyebrow, but shrugged his shoulders, and continued. “Alright, Derpy, I can wait a little bit, but I really need to talk to someone about what’s going on in this town, and in case you haven’t noticed, no-one in this town really likes me.” She looks at Steve for a moment, before nodding her head in confirmation. Walking to her front room, she called Dinky. “C’mon Dinky, we gotta go, or you’ll be late for class. Mr. Steve, I’ll be back in a minute.” Steve nodded from his seat at the kitchen table. Moments later, he heard the door close. Sitting back in his seat, he started the waiting game. * * * * * Just as Steve was chomping down a loaf of bread, minutes after Derpy had left, he finally heard the door open, and hooves trot towards him. Looking up, Steve saw the gray pegasus walk in, her misaligned eyes focused on the spot where he sat. “Hey.” Steve said simply. She didn't respond immediately, choosing instead to sit down across the table from where he sat. Looking up, her gaze focused, approximately, where his face was. “Would you like some muffins?” Derpy inquired. Steve thought for a moment before answering. “Uh, sure. Thanks.” She nodded in response, before getting up and heading over to a cupboard, retrieving a plate of blueberry muffins, similar to the one she'd given him a few days prior. She trotted back over to the table, setting the plate gently down. “Thanks for letting me in. And not reporting me to the guards. I already fought one today, I really don't want to fight more.” She smiled and nodded before responding. “I don't think you're as bad as the guards are making you out to be. But I really want to know what you did, or didn't do, that made it suitable to send 30-ish guards to capture you.” Sighing, Steve rubbed his hand on his face. “I don’t know, not really, at least. Things are just really messed up,and the worst part is that I’m not the one at fault for that. I’m pretty sure that the psycho Rainbow Dash and the nerd Twilight are the ones responsible for all this.” “Rainbow and Twilight!? That can’t be!” Derpy exclaimed. Steve gave her a confused look. “What? Why? Cause I know for a fact that both have tried to hurt/kill me at least once.” Steve huffed. “They’re heroes! They saved the world from Nightmare Moon! They saved the town a few times already, like from the Ursa Minor.” This made Steve grit his teeth. “I have fought, both the Ursa, and Nightmare Moon. The second one twice! Tell me, does anyone know I helped fight those monsters!? Do they!?” Derpy flinched back, nervous at his outburst. “W-well, no, I-I don’t think so.” Seeing her reaction, Steve flinched internally, and sighed. Reaching out a hand, he comfortingly rubbed her shoulder. She flinched slightly upon his hand making contact, but she didn’t move away from his grip. “I’m sorry. You haven’t done anything to me personally. It’s just, it seems that your town and fate are working together in screwing me over.” Retracting his hand, he stood, before making his way to her back door, her curiously following him. “Thanks for talking to me, Derpy. I, well, I really needed it. Your the only pony I’ve ever talked to that hasn’t tried to beat the stuffing out of me.” She winced slightly at the implication, but smiled none-the-less. “Your welcome. If you want, you can come by whenever you want. Maybe I can convince some of my friends to give you a chance.” Steve laughed. “If they’re as level-headed as you, maybe I have a chance in this place.” Steve chuckled, before leaving her home. * * * * * Steve parkoured through town, leaping across roof gaps and over unsuspecting ponies, still under the effects of the Invisibility potion. Luckily, the guards seemed to still be in a stir, probably because of that whole deal with the blanket of smoke that had descended on the town a few days ago. Steve had only caught a part of what had happened, something about a dragon, or something, but he had other priorities with gathering supplies for potion brewing. Regardless, that didn’t mean Steve was careless. If that blind pony had taught him anything, it was to never underestimate your opponents. Ever. So he stuck to the roofs and alleys, careful to keep out of sight, even with being invisible. Soon enough, he was hanging outside a restaurant, thinking about what to do next, when he heard a dreadingly familiar voice speaking from below him. “Yes waiter, I’ll take a daisy sandwich with extra sauce. What about you Spike?” “I’ll take some hayfries, extra crispy!” Peeking down, Steve felt a frown don his features as he watched Twilight Sparkle wait with her companion, Spike, at a table, eager for their coming food. Shaking his head, he was about to leave when something caught his ear. “What about the weird ape, Twilight?” Spike inquired. Stopping himself, he listened closely, hoping to glean something. “I told you Spike. General Trench said to leave everything regarding the bipedal to him and his troops. He was personally picked by the Princess and I trust her.” Twilight swiftly responded, almost automatically. “But I was there, Twilight. I heard Snips and Snails tell you about how that creature saved them, and for no reason. The monkey talked to them, so maybe it can be reasoned with.” Spike countered. “I know Spike. But you were also there when Rainbow Dash told us about it attacked her.” Twilight argued. “Yeah, but isn't it weird how the creature just attacks Rainbow Dash, then turns right around and saves two colts for no reason?” Twilight sighed. “I agree. Something doesn’t seem right. But until something comes up, I don’t know what to do. And while I don’t doubt the Princess, something is definitely up with General Trench. He seemed, excited, at the prospect of capturing the creature. I’ll have to look further into it.” Twilight stated. Any further conversation was hampered as the duo’s food had just arrived. Deciding he was done here, Steve leapt away from the building, heading off towards home. * * * * * Entering his home, Steve sighed, putting his extra supplies into storage. Checking his furnaces, he swiftly dropped a few lumps of coal in one, setting it running, before laying on his bed. Ready to sleep, he was about to drift away when he heard something he was definitely not expecting. Something knocked on his door. Three, quick knocks. Knock, knock, knock. D-Pad Up: Sword Shooting to his feet, Steve had his sword drawn in an instant, blue blade flourishing. He hesitated for a few moments, before the knocking came again. Knock, knock, knock. Stepping up to the door, Steve gripped the handle. Pulling back the blade, fast as lighting, he whipped the door open. To his horror and shock, there on his doorstep, stood the very pony he had been careful to avoid, the very mare that annoyed him to no end. “Creature, please, it has been a long walk. Now, I believe, we should talk.” the striped pony spoke. Steve groaned. “Aw, fuck!”