//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 48: Making Amends (Part 1) // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further ado, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Steve was, well, he was nervous. And honestly, it was starting to piss him off. The entire trip down to Ponyville had been spent reassuring himself that Celestia would work everything out. While he hated having to sit back and let her do it, he also knew that very few of the citizens of Ponyville would actually listen to him, not to mention that the guards would probably try to capture him on sight. His fears were proven correct when the chariot landed in the main square, after which roughly three platoons of guards approached the chariot. Just behind them, a crowd began to form. Almost on instinct, Steve’s hand slowly reached over his shoulder for his sword, only for Celestia’s hoof to stop it. Looking up, his gaze met the alicorn’s. She shook her head softly. “Please Steve, let me handle this.” Her voice was quiet but confident as she spoke. Her eyes silently implored that the Crafter trust her. At Steve’s subtle nod, she smiled and stepped forward. Raising her head, she stood tall and regal, in the kind of pose that demanded that attention be given to her. Taking a deep breath, she spoke. “Citizens and guards of Ponyville!!” Her voice rang loud and clear. “I come bearing important news!! Over the past few weeks, you may have heard about the strange creature that has been seen here on multiple occasions!! That creature, who now stands behind me, is called Steve!!” At this, many of the ponies began to mutter among themselves, looking at Steve with curious and fearful gazes. “Many of you may think he is dangerous, but that is not the case!! He is…!” “Bullshit!!!” A voice shouted from the back, causing everyone to snap their heads in the direction the voice had come from. Pushing past the rows of guards, a single stallion stepped forward, the sight of which instantly made Steve narrow his gaze and grit his teeth. The stallion was an earth pony, with white fur and an azure mane. His eyes, milky and unseeing, glared in Steve’s direction. He steadily approached, an obvious limp hampering his progress. When he got within about ten feet of the carriage, he stopped. “And who are you?” Celestia asked, returning the glare the stallion was giving Steve. Her words made him look over at her, glare persisting. “My name is Sure Shot!” He answered loudly, allowing those around to hear him clearly. “And I know for a fact that that, thing,” He pointed a hoof at Steve, “is a beast! A monster!” He turned to face the already large crowd of ponies that had accumulated just behind the guards. “I was there that night! The night that thing attacked the barracks! I was there when he ruthlessly took down an entire squad of guards without even breaking a sweat! He broke seven of my bones and put me in the hospital, along with dozens of others! He attacked without warning or provocation and…!” At that word, Steve’s patience snapped. “Without provocation!?!?” He roared, stomping towards the blind stallion. “You knew she was going to be raped and didn’t do a damn thing about it!! Not one fucking thing!! That’s more than enough provocation!!” Silence reigned. No one spoke, keeping silent as they stared at the furious Crafter, the guards with their weapons and horns at the ready. Steve glared down into Sure Shot’s milky white eyes. He wanted nothing more than to forcefully pluck the stallion’s eyes from their sockets and shove them down his throat. To Sure Shot’s credit, despite the obvious fury in the Crafter’s voice, the stallion hadn’t flinched, though Steve could see his body shaking ever-so-slightly. “Steve.” Celestia spoke from behind him, voice firm and unyielding. Glancing back, he saw Celestia with an unreadable expression on her face as she approached him. “What?” He asked, one eyebrow lifting in confusion. She didn’t immediately respond, instead stopping directly in front of him, looking deep into his eyes. “What are you talking about?” Her tone, while calm, demanded answers. It was then that Steve remembered that he had never actually informed Celestia what had occurred all that time ago. He’d only said that Derpy was involved and that he had seriously fucked up some guards. Letting out a groan, he rubbed a hand against his face. “I, well, you see…” Steve tried to think of a subtle way to tell the Princess what happened, but he couldn’t come up with anything. Eventually, he just sighed. “Can we maybe talk about this later? In private?” He asked as he gestured to the murmuring crowd. Looking at the mass of ponies, Celestia nodded. “Indeed, this seems to be the type of discussion to be had in private. However,” Her horn suddenly glowed, and Sure Shot was unceremoniously lifted in her magical grip, “it will not wait. We will discuss this now.” Not a second later, Steve’s vision fluttered and darkened as he felt a deep tugging sensation in his gut. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of what appeared to be a literal treehouse. Not the traditional kind either. It looked like someone had taken a giant tree, hollowed out most of the inside, and turned it into a home. Windows were firmly planted at random intervals in the trunk and branches of the tree. There was even a freaking balcony in the upper canopy. He glanced at Celestia with a confused expression on his face as he gestured to the treehouse. “What’s this?” She didn’t respond, instead choosing to step forward and knock on the door. Trench, who had apparently also been teleported, answered in her stead. “This is the Ponyville Public Library. Coincidentally, it’s also where Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon live.” Steve raised an eyebrow questioningly. “The bookworm lives in a freaking library?” Trench nodded, causing Steve to let out a sigh as he smirked. “Well that must be Aether-on-Earth for her.” “What?” Trench asked. Before the Crafter could respond, the door to the library was opened by a familiar-looking dragon. Spike blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting the Princess of the Sun to be at the library door. “Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?” The drake inquired, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Celestia managed to give him a small smile. “Hello Spike. I apologize for not giving you or Twilight prior warning before my arrival, but something was brought to my attention that could not be put off. May we come in?” “Oh, of cour…? Wait, we?” At this, Spike leaned over to look past the Princess, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of Steve, Trench and the still-levitating and silent Sure Shot. After a few moments of silence, the young dragon eventually gave a tired sigh before nodding his head. “Yeah, come on in.” Smiling, Celestia thanked him before stepping inside, Sure Shot and Trench following close behind, the former still in Celestia's magical aura. As Steve walked past Spike, he swore he could hear the drake mutter something along the lines of, “not getting paid enough.” but he ignored it, choosing instead to look around at the library’s interior. There were a lot of books, which should go without saying. What looked like hundreds of them lined the shelves of the library, from bottom to top. A few tables were scattered around the room, with a few chairs accompanying each. There was a door over to his left that lead off to some unknown room and some stairs that presumably lead to the second floor. “Spike?” Celestia suddenly asked, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “Where is Twilight?” “Oh, she’s still asleep, far as I know. She got a new book yesterday, something about pony anatomy or something, and pulled another all-nighter.” He put a clawed hand to his chin in thought. “That makes it, oh, the third night in a row? Something like that. Anyway, should I go get her?” Spike asked. She shook her head. “No, let her sleep. I will discuss it with her later. In the meantime, if you could, would you please make some tea for us?” “Uh sure. Be right back.” With that, Spike walked off towards what was presumably the kitchen, going through the doorway that Steve had seen earlier. Moments later, the sound of pots banging and water rushing could be heard. As soon as Spike had left, Celestia’s smile dropped. “Now, while we’re waiting for the tea, let us discuss the purpose of coming here.” With that, Sure Shot was planted firmly in one of the chairs at the nearest table, the magical aura around him dispersing. He didn’t move or speak, instead looking at Celestia with a blank expression on his face. Steve nodded, eyebrows furrowed in anger. “Yeah, let’s.” Letting out a sigh, he glared at the stallion. “You know something, Sure Shot? I thought the hospital trip would’ve made it clear that I don’t like you, but apparently, you didn’t get the memo, because at the first chance you get, you try to get the town to turn on me, more than they already have. Not cool. Oh, I should also mention that I met your brother.” At this, Shot’s blank expression formed into shock as he his head snapped to look at Steve. “He may be missing a few teeth the next time you see him.” “You mother bucker!” Shot snarled. “I’ll end you!!” He tried to leap forward, only for Celestia’s horn to flare and he was forcefully shoved back into his seat. Teeth grit, the stallion looked up at her with a furious glare. “Sure Shot," Celestia spoke, voice firm. "You are already on thin ice as it is. Please don’t make it worse for yourself.” The white stallion's expression changed to one of disbelief. “But Princess, why do you trust that thi…?” He didn’t even have time to finish his question before her hoof slammed down on the table with enough force to make a large crack in it. “He has a name, Sure Shot! I suggest you use it!! And the reason I trust him is because he has saved my life, not once, but twice, along with the lives of seven others!” The stallion’s sightless eyes grew wide in shock. “What?” Steve let out a humorless chuckle. “Yeah, didn’t see that one coming, did you? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I actually have something resembling a heart in my chest.” Any further conversation was stopped when Spike walked back into the room, tea-pot and four cups on a tray, accompanied by a small bowl of sugar. “Uh, Princess, the tea is ready.” He spoke softly, body visibly tense. She smiled down at him. “Thank you Spike.” The young dragon returned the expression. “Heh, no problem. But,” He hesitantly looked around at the other occupants of the room before gesturing to Sure Shot. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did this guy do?” No one spoke for a short while, not sure how to answer Spike’s question. Celestia especially, for whatever reason, seemed to be the most uncomfortable, shifting in her chair and refusing to make eye contact with the young dragon. Eventually, Steve let out a silent groan as he opened his mouth to answer. However, before a single word could escape his lips, Trench spoke up. “Well, you see Spike, when a pony joins the Royal Guard, they have to take an oath. Among other things, all guards must swear to protect every citizen of Equestria, no matter the cost. Sure Shot here, well, he broke his vows.” Trench stared at the blind stallion, with something akin to disappointment in his eyes. “He knew a pony was in danger, but did nothing about it.” “Wait, are you talking about what happened to Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked, eyes darkening slightly with sadness. At this, they all looked at the young drake with confused expressions. “What are you talking about?” Steve asked, eyebrows furrowed in worry. “What happened to Dash?” Spike gave a small sigh. “She was found knocked out in a field near Sweet Apple Acres. She was hurt, pretty badly. Last I heard, she’s recovering at the hospital, but she still hasn’t woken up. It’s why Twilight’s been pulling all these all-nighters. She’s been trying to find a way to help her, but so far, her searching has turned up nothing.” “Oh no.” Celestia spoke in a soft voice, eyes wide in shock. Steve grit his teeth, fists clenching as guilt began to well up in his chest. Without a second thought, he rushed towards the library door. “I’ll be back later.” He was outside before they even had the chance to respond, the wooden door slamming shut behind him. * * * * * Nurse Red Heart was having a good day. She’d woken up on time, meaning she didn’t have to rush to get ready before heading to work as she usually did. She didn’t have patient duty for the first time in forever, meaning she could finally catch up on the paperwork she’d been lagging behind on. It was boring but peaceful, something Red Heart hadn’t had in a long time. Then, Nurse Gauze had to leave for some reason or other, and Red Heart was called to the Reception desk as a substitute until Clip’s shift started. Frankly speaking, the mare expected the remaining hours of her shift to be rather bland and unmemorable. So it’s safe to say what happened next caught her off guard. Sitting on a swivel chair, she had her back turned to the hospital entrance as she looked through a file cabinet for some papers. “Berry Punch, Berry Punch. P-U-N-C…” Her ears flickered slightly as she heard the sound of the front doors opening. Sighing, she closed the drawer and put on a smile as she turned around. “Hello, and welcome to… to…” Her words died in her throat as she saw what, or rather, who exactly had walked inside. It was tall and bipedal, wearing a light blue shirt and blue pants. It looked down at her with a pair of indigo eyes before speaking in a masculine voice. “Hello. I’m here to see Rainbow Dash, please. Could you tell me what room she is in?” Her mouth hung open for a few seconds as she stared at the being. Eventually, she realized that it had, in fact, asked her a question. “O-oh. Um, *ahem* excuse me, but what did you say?” “I was just wondering what room Rainbow Dash is in. I’m a friend of hers, and when I heard she was hurt, well, I wanted to check up on her. But, if I can’t see her, can you at least tell me how she’s doing?” Red Heart’s stomach twisted. Rainbow Dash. The prismatic mare had arrived at the hospital a bloody mess, carried there by Big Mac. It had taken multiple hours and more than a few close calls, but Doctor Horse finally managed to get her condition stabilized. Red Heart herself had changed Dash’s bandages a few times, allowing her to see the damage up close. She’d seen many grievous injuries since she’d started working at Ponyville General Hospital, but some of the wounds Rainbow Dash had sported were undoubtedly some of the worst. The being in front of her must’ve seen the look in her eyes, because his lips contorted into a grimace. “That bad, huh?” His voice… Red Heart wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but the being before her sounded very, well, tired. Tired and sad. She let out a small sigh. “Yes. When she was brought in, she had several cracked ribs, torn muscles, sprained ligaments, the whole she-bang. But, that wasn’t the worst of it.” Pausing, she rubbed her face with a hoof before continuing. “Whatever did this to her specifically targeted her wings. They were severely mangled, missing over half of their feathers. Most of the bones in her wings are either broken or shattered entirely. If she ever does recover, well,” She gave him a sad look. “She may never fly again.