//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 18: Sin Runs Deeper // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further adieu, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Steve was thoroughly pissed. Upon seeing what was causing the dark shadow, which traveled down the path, scaring many of the town residents, he had hurriedly drunk an Invisibility potion, wrote a messy note to Dinky that he’d be back, and locked the door. Immediately, he set off, running down the street, past curious and scared ponies. As he ran, he quickly checked his inventory. Along with his weapons and tool, he had a single Potion of Strength, two Potions of Healing (Level 2), his basic set of Diamond Armor, and some spare materials. Sighing, he continued to run, dismissing his inventory, eyes following the black dragon flying over town. It was then, as Steve looked over it’s form. He noticed that, in terms of body size, this dragon wasn’t close to the Ender Dragon he’d fought. The Ender Dragon was absolutely massive, easily towering over Steve when they’d fought. This dragon, as far as Steve could tell, wasn’t nearly as big as that. Not to say it wasn’t big. It was surely big, probably the same height, if not taller than that large creature he’d met the previous night, the one with the griffon and thestral. It’s wingspan was big, easily covering the width of the road. But if the Ender Dragon and this newcomer got into a fight, Steve would bet his entire horde of diamonds on the first. Steve gave a small sigh of relief, having feared he was in for the fight of his life. Not stopping, he followed the creature as it flew, all the way over the town, to the guard’s campsite. Steve thought this would cause a stir and send the ponies running for their weapons, but while the dragon made them nervous, they made no move to fight it. As the large reptile landed, Steve’s eyes widened as he saw three familiar beings approach it. It was the trio from last night. Steve snuck forward, hiding behind a tent that was staked nearby the group. As he sat there, he listened in on their conversation. “Hey, Thorn! How was your flight?” He heard Riz speak. In response, Steve heard a deep voice respond in a bored tone. “Fine. Have you made any progress in the mission?” A nervous chuckle sounded through the air. “Heh, about that, we may have found and talked to the creature. And we were severely underprepared.”, Aura chuckled “Oh? I figured you would’ve already captured it. Seems like you need my assistance. Did you gauge its power at all?” Thorn responded. There was a moment of silence, before Riz spoke again. “It’s immune to Nog’s Intimidation and took care of three Timberwolves like it was nothing.” “Ah. So, a rather formidable opponent. Have you come up with a plan, or strategy?” Thorn spoke. Poking his invisible head out around the side of the tent, he saw the group slowly walking over to a particularly large tent, any further conversation hindered by their walking away. Steve considered following, but quickly trashed that thought as his mind went to what he’d heard. They’s been talking about the “creature”, which obviously was referring to him. For one reason or another, The group had been told and most likely paid to capture him, or worse. Steve narrowed his gaze at the tent entrance they’d just passed through, before backing away and running off. He eventually made it back to Derpy’s house, thoughts swirling in his head. Walking up to the door, he gripped the knob and twisted. Only for it to refuse to turn. Furrowing his eyebrows, Steve turned harder, but it refused to budge. Suddenly he remembered he had locked the door in a hurry before he’d left. Groaning in frustration, Steve backed up. He contemplated kicking the door down, but he didn’t want to have to replace it. Looking to the side, he saw the large front window, which lead directly to the front room. Getting an idea, he sighed. A few moments later, he was on the floor of her front room, shattered glass littering the floor. Groaning, he got to his feet, shaking any remnants off him. Looking down at the mess he had created, he sighed. “Geez, who knew one window could make such a mess.” Steve muttered to himself. “Mr. Steve, what happened?!”, a small voice yelped from the other side of the room. Looking up, he saw Dinky staring at him from the entrance to the hall-way. Her gaze switched from him to the glass on the floor. “Hey Dinky. Sorry, door was locked. You know where the dustpan is?” She looked only more confused for a moment, before shaking her head and walking over to their closet. Retrieving the dustpan from the closet, she walked over and hoofed it over to Steve. Grabbing it, he quickly cleaned up the mess, dumping the glass and dust into the trash. Putting it away, he walked over to the kitchen to grab a muffin or two, or maybe bake something, and saw Dinky sitting at the table, writing something in a book of some kind, probably a journal, quill held in her magical grip. “Hey Dinky, what are ya writing there?” Looking up, she gazed at Steve, a smile present on her muzzle. “It’s my school assignment from the other day. We’re supposed to describe and talk about one of our friends, or somepony we look up to. I’m writing about you.” Steve stared at her. His mind was having trouble processing what the filly had just said. “Uh, sorry, just making sure I heard you right. You said that, you’re writing about me?” She nodded. “What? Why? Not that I don’t appreciate it, but surely you have a friend or authority figure that would be, uh, what’s the word, more better?” Dinky chuckled. “Mr. Steve, ‘more better’ isn’t a phrase. And, honestly, no. There isn’t. You have faced hostility time and time again, but you always smiling. I don’t know of anypony else that could do that, except maybe the Princesses. So I’m proud of calling you my friend. Only, I don’t thinks it’s very safe to tell everypony that I’m friends with you, ‘cause of what happened to my mom. So I’m putting you down as my imaginary friend, if that’s okay with you.” Steve smiled. “Of course Dinky. I’m proud to call myself your friend as well.” Her grin widened and she nodded in happiness. Just then, they both heard the sound of a lock jingling, the front door opening, and hoofsteps, followed by a voice. “Hello? Steve? Dinky? Where are you?” Derpy spoke, looking all around. “We’re in here!” Steve called back. There were hoofsteps and Derpy trotted in. The sight of her made Steve gasp. Her normally gray fur was tinged black and some of her feathers were covered in soot. Her normally smooth blonde mane was frazzled and blown back. Even now, Steve saw a small crackle of electricity fizz and pop. “Derpy! What in the Nether happened!?” Steve asked, rushing to aid the seemingly injured mare. However, this theory was disproved when she simply waved him off. “Relax, Steve, I’m fine. Just a bit shocked”, she spoke, looking at Steve, a playful smirk on her lips. Steve sighed, in both relief and annoyance. “Well, if your fine enough to joke, you must not be hurt all that much.” Steve said, letting the concern fade from his voice. Reaching over, he rubbed her electrified mane, ignoring the small pang of pain as he made contact. Petting her mane, he walked over to her fridge, looking for her reserve muffins he knew she kept in the back. He never saw the faint blush that came to her cheeks. “Anyways, what happened? You look like you went through the ringer.” Steve asked. “H-huh? Sorry, what was that?” Derpy asked, snapping out of her thoughts. “What happened?” He asked again. “Oh, there was a malfunction with the thunder cloud machine. Ended making much more than we needed. Safe to say, the solution wasn’t the safest.” She chuckled. “Oh really? What happened? What did you do with the extra thunder clouds?” “Well, it went like this…” * * * * * Celestia sat outside the hospital room door, her sister beside her. They had come to Ponyville Hospital immediately when they’d heard the General had awoken from his mini-coma. They were conversing with Doctor Horse, as he informed them about all of the guards health and stay. Many had already returned to the Ponyville Barracks or Canterlot, while a few still remained with the more severe injuries. Finally, after a good 15 minutes, the report was given and the Princesses were given access to the room. After walking in, they trotted over to the conscious form of General as he lay in the bed. His eyes widened as he saw the alicorns enter, sitting up to greet them. “Hello Princesses. How are you both today?” They smiled back in response. “We are doing fine, thank you General Trench. How are you?” Celestia inquired. “Eh, still kicking, I guess. What can I help you both with today?” He asked. “We would like to talk about the night the Creature attacked.” At this, the General’s smile faltered slightly, something that didn’t go unnoticed. “Is something wrong?” Luna asked.The General sighed before responding. “Yeah little bit. I, can’t really remember the attack.” At this, both alicorns eyebrows raised. “What do you mean, you can’t remember?” Celestia inquired. The General sighed again. “Just that. I’ve had many hospital personnel come in here, talking about the attack, but I can’t remember it at all. I figured I just got hit pretty hard in the head and had some memory loss. I talked to the doc about it, and he said to wait, and if nothing comes back, that I’ll have to take some tests.” Luna’s eyes narrowed. The General wasn’t lying. She could tell. Getting an idea, she lit up her horn. “General, with your permission, I would like to take a quick search through your memories. If your memories are repressed by the concussion you suffered, I should be able to bring them back. There is no danger to you, as it will only just barely touch your mindscape. I wish we could wait for them to come back naturally, but now, time is most needed.” The General hesitated for a moment, before he nodded. Nodding back, she touched her horn to his head. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, Luna stepped back, her eyes showing confusion. “They’re not there.” She spoke quietly. Looking to her sister, she spoke in a low, cautious tone. “His memories are gone. Somepony, or something removed them.” Silence reigned.