//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 21: Plans and Connections // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further adieu, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Crunch. Clink. Crunch. Rainbow Dash stared at her companion as she ate her cereal. He sat across the table from her, looking down lazily at his own bowl. The pair sat in silence. No one spoke for a few minutes, before he broke the tranquillity. “So…?” She didn’t respond, instead looking up at him with slightly narrowed eyes. The pair fell in silence once again. After a few moments, she sighed. “So what?” “So, what do you think about me meeting with your friends?” She slapped a hoof to her face in exasperation at his question. “I think it’s a stupid as buck decision and I question your mental health. But that’s just my opinion.” She stated honestly. Steve chuckled. “Yeah, if I’m being honest, it was more of a split-second choice, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.” She raised an eyebrow. “How so?” “Look, I’m not trying to be mean, but let’s face it, you are the main reason why I’m feared in the town.” She flinched and looked away, an expression of guilt on her face. “But you and I, we’re sitting here, talking, despite the fights, the hits and insults. If you and I can become anything close to friends after our, history, than it might convince the others, the guards, the town, your friends, that I’m not the horrible monster they all think I am.” Rainbow put a hoof to her chin in thought. Sighing, she responded. “Maybe, but with all the rumors about you, most of which are not my fault, it might be more difficult.” “Yeah, but maybe if you could group your friends together, like for maybe a picnic or just a little get-together, then I can show up. As long as I don’t get blasted to kingdom come a few second later by Miss Sparkle.” Steve spoke, rubbing a hand to his face. Rainbow winced at the implications behind his statement. “Well, I don’t think you have to worry about that. She isn’t really the kind of pony to just, fly off her rocker.” She told Steve, smiling. He scoffed. “Yeah right. She was the same unicorn to smack me sideways when I was trying to defend your town from the Ursa Minor a while back.” She gasped. “Wait, you helped to stop that thing?” At his nod, she continued. “But, I didn’t know that! When I asked her what had happened, she only said she had managed to take care of it. She never mentioned you.” At this, he shrugged. “Well, she did take care of it. After she knocked me off of it, she made it fall asleep, then levitated it away. My way of taking care of the problem was choking it to death.” Dash’s eyes widened. “You tried to kill it?!” She asked incredulously. He sighed. “Look, at the time, I was not prepared for such a fight, with such a tough creature. I wished killing wasn’t the last option, but sometimes, you don’t have a choice. Besides, it had tried to kill me more than a few times, and could have destroyed the town.” She looked like she wanted to argue, but she thought about it for a moment, then sighed in resignation. “Fine, guess you have a point. Still, even if Twilight couldn’t take it down, I would be there to stop it.” She said proudly. “Oh really? Then where were you that night? I don’t recall seeing you around at the time.” “I was helping everypony get a safe distance from the town, in case things went bad.” “Oh. Makes sense. Anyways, getting off track. How about it? Think you can do it? Get them all together, I mean.” She didn’t respond at first, hoof to her chin as she thought. Finally, after a few moments, she looked up, a small smile on her muzzle. “Absolutely. Look, in two days, there’s gonna be this competition called “The Running of the Leaves. AJ and I are gonna be competing against each other, and all my friends are gonna watch and cheer. I think Pinkie is gonna be spectating, even. Anyway, we are probably all going to Sugarcube Corner to celebrate my obvious victory. I can’t think of any other place where we could all meet, without looking really suspicious. What do you think?” “I know where Sugarcube corner is, and I’ve heard of the Cakes. As long as there’s not too many bystanders, it should be fine.” Steve spoke, getting up and grabbing both their dishes, walking over to the sink. Putting them in, he plugged the drain and started running some water. “What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Washing the dishes.” He stated simply, grabbing some nearby soap. “Uh, no.” She said, trotting over to him. “After everything I’ve done to you, your not gonna make me feel worse by doing my dishes. Move over.” Complying to the mare’s command, he rinsed his hands and moved aside, allowing the prismatic mare to take over the task. Sighing, he walked back over to her table, sitting down in her too-short chair. Sitting back (as much one could in a tiny-ass chair), he sighed, looking blankly up at the ceiling. “You alright?” Turning his head at the inquiry, he saw Rainbow looking at him from the sink, concern in her eyes. Sighing, he shook his head. “No, not really.” He responded. “I’m scared. Not for myself, but for the ponies I care about. Derpy, and Dinky, and Zecora. And, as much as it surprises me, I’m scared for you too.” Her eyebrows creased. “Why?” “Why am I scared, or why does it surprise me?” He asked. “The first one.” “I don’t know!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Letting them drop, he sighed and continued. “I guess I’m just scared that the few ponies I’ve actually become friends with are going to be taken from me. Just like.” His voice dropped to just above a whisper. “Just like everyone else.” Dash looked at him, a mixture of worry and sadness filling her barrel. Slowly trotting over to him, she gently placed a hoof on his shoulder. Looking over his shoulder, his eyes made contact with her. She saw the beginnings of a tear forming, but it was swiftly wiped away by his hand. “Thanks Rainbow.” “No problem, Steve. After all, it’s the least I could do. Y’know, all things considered.” Steve chuckled in response. “Yeah, guess so. Anyways!” Steve said as he stood, walking to her front door. “While I enjoyed talking to you, I think it’s time I headed out. I have some things to do.” He finished as he opened the door and stepped out onto her porch, the only thing between him and a long fall, Rainbow following close behind him. “Wait, I know how you got up here, but how exactly are you gonna get back down?” He didn’t respond, instead looking down off the edge of the cloud. He muttered quietly to himself. “I could, uh, let you fly on my back, y’know, if you wanted to.”She said quietly, looking up at him. He didn't seem to hear her, as he didn't respond. She was about to continue, before he suddenly explained, “I got it!” She jumped back slightly. “Uh, got what?” She questioned. “I figured out my way down.” He whipped out his fishing rod, before flicking the hook onto her roof. The string went taught as it latched. Looking at Rainbow, who wore a confused expression, he smiled and waved. “See ya!” Then he jumped off the edge. * * * * * “Are you BUCKING INSANE!!!??” Rainbow Dash yelled at the confused Crafter. They sat upon a large grassy field, Steve in a cross-legged position, while Rainbow stood a few feet from him, a look of anger present on her muzzle. “What? I knew what I was doing.” Steve stated simply, not seeing how he was in the wrong. “Yeah, you did. But to me, when you just jumped straight off, it scared the bucking daylights out of me! I thought you were gonna…” She trailed off, not wanting to think about it. Steve looked at her in confusion. “Why did it scare you so much? I’m not made out of glass.” She sighed. “I know that. I’ve seen you fight. It’s just, I’m so used to helping out other ponies. I like helping others, as well as the praise that comes with it,” She admitted. “But I bucked up, badly, when I attacked you and hurt you and all that other stuff. I wanna make it up to you, if I can.” She looked down, avoiding his gaze. “Cause if you can’t forgive me, how can I ever forgive myself?” Steve looked at her with compassion in his eyes. It suddenly made sense. Her actions were haunting her. He knew exactly what that felt like. After all, he gone through the same thing after the final battle with Herobrine, when everyone had, well, yeah. She wanted forgiveness, not just from him, but from herself. Stepping forward, he placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him. “Look, Rainbow Dash. I understand what you’re going through. I went through the same thing myself a long time ago.” “Why? What happened?” She asked. He flinched slightly at the question. Upon seeing his reaction, she realized that wasn’t the best or most comfortable question for him to answer. “Sorry, you don’t have to..” “No, it’s fine. You didn’t know. Besides, if Derpy knows, it’s only fair that you know too.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “Back home, on my world, there was a being, a god, named Herobrine, the god of the Night. Herobrine, the evil bastard he was, created monsters, terrible monsters, to fight my kind, the Minecraftians, or Crafters, for short. After many years of fighting, I rallied all of my kind, into one last war, which ravaged the land for six years. It finally ended with one final attack on his fortress. We gathered every single Crafter left alive, a total of 6,000, and stormed his base and fought his army. There, I fought and finally killed him. But, in the battle, everyone died. Everyone except me. So now, as Derpy knows, I am the last of my kind.” He finished, tears trailing down his cheeks. He heard sniffling from in front of him. Looking up, he saw tears pouring down her face. Before he could react, she latched herself onto him, hooves wrapped around his torso, two words on repeat as she hugged him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry....” * * * * * General Trench was feeling pretty good. Not particularly ecstatic, just happy. He’d finally been released from the hospital, with a package of meds in his saddlebag and reminder to come back in case he started suffering from headaches or if his memory ever came back. That being said, he had to get back to the barracks, as he needed to see what had come up in the recent weeks he’d been incapacitated. He’d also been informed about a small group of mercenaries had been hired to aid them in their mission, and he’d have to talk with them. He adjusted his saddlebag as his mind went to the loss of memory he was suffering from. The doctors, even the Princesses themselves had confirmed it hadn’t been by magic, as no trace was found, but that left more questions than answers, as his memories were completely wiped. If it hadn’t been magic, what had caused it? He sighed. “No use worrying about it now. Just gotta get back to..!” He was interrupted as he accidentally bumped into another pony. Stumbling back slightly, he looked at the pony he come across. It was a gray colored pegasus mare, with a golden mane, and equally golden eyes. Her cutie mark resembled a bunch of bubbles. She was staring at him with wide eyes, seemingly petrified. ‘Must be one of the nervous types.’ Trench reasoned, seeing no other reason why the mare would appear to be so scared. “Hello miss. How may I help you?” He asked. She stayed still for a moment, before, in the blink of an eye, she was gone with little but the swirling dust to tell she been there moments before.