Now, without further ado, I present,
“A Crafter’s Dream”
“Sorry Princess Moonbutt, but it’ll have to wait. I got a friend to check up on.” Steve spoke in a level voice before turning and walking towards the library entrance. However, he was quickly stopped as a glowing blue wall appeared in front of him.
“Do not turn thou back on us, creature!” She snapped, anger rising in her tone.
“Luna! What did we just discuss!?” Celestia said loudly, garnering the blue alicorn’s attention.
“We are sorry Sister, but we cannot simply ignore such blatant disrespect!” The Lunar Princess exclaimed, pointing a hoof accusingly at Steve.
“Respect?! Why the hell would I respect you?” Steve snarled as he turned to look at the blue alicorn, voice deadly quiet as a heavy frown appeared on his face. “You’ve nearly killed me, both directly and indirectly, more than a few times. In fact, let’s count, shall we?” He put a hand to his chin in mock thought. “The time I fought Nightmare Moon, that one time you tried to kill me in my dreams, all of the guards you’ve sent after me, which counts due to association, the Black Claw for the same reason, the time you worked with the Black Claw, that time when I was in Celestia’s nightmare, even though that wasn’t technically you, and then when you sent the Elite Guards after Trench and I. And that’s just the ones I can think of!”
“That is quite a lot, when you think about it.” Celestia commented.
Steve sent a deadpan expression at the Solar Princess. “No kidding Celestia. But regardless, that’s not the point. The point is…” He spoke, looking back at Luna, “I really don’t have any reason to respect you. And I sure as the Nether don’t have any obligation to stay here and talk with your dumbass, especially since I have two friends here in Ponyville that need my help. So, unless you have any further objections, drop the barrier please, otherwise I will knock you the fuck out.”
Luna glared at him for a little while, an expression Steve readily returned. Eventually, she sighed and her horn lit up for a moment. Looking behind him, Steve saw the barrier fade away. Nodding his head slightly in thanks, he walked over to the library door and opened it. Sighing, he was about to leave when Celestia’s voice stopped him.
“Steve?” She said, hesitation in her voice. He glanced back at her, an expression of confusion on his face.
“Yeah?” He inquired.
“I know this may be a strange thing to ask, but how would you feel about coming up to Canterlot with me in a week?”
At her sisters words, Luna’s head snapped to look at the Solar Princess, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Sister, what are you doing?” She asked. Celestia didn’t respond, instead continuing to look at Steve with a questioning expression.
“Why?” Steve asked.
“I’m going to be making a statement to the public about you soon, and I feel that it would only be right if you were to attend. While Ponyville has been made aware that you aren’t a, well, a monster, the rest of Equestria is still very much in the dark.”
“And you’re hoping that that will be enough to make it so I don’t have to bring my sword and armor with me if I ever want to go to any place other than Ponyville?”
She winced slightly, but nodded. “Yes.”
He thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure, I’ll go. As you said, it makes sense that I should be there. However, it’ll have to wait. Like I was saying, I have some things to take care of here before I go anywhere.”
Celestia smiled. “Of course. If it works for you, I will send a carriage to pick you up in, say, three days?”
He nodded with a smirk. “Works for me. See ya then.” With that, he walked outside, allowing the library door to swing closed. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.
And immediately got sidelined.
Damage Received - 2 damage. 18 health remaining.
“Waaaaaaah!!”
“Ahhhhhh!!”
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
“Aieeeeee!!”
His surprised and pained yell was dwarfed by three others, all three much higher pitched than his own and much more feminine sounding. Landing roughly on his back, he slid on the ground for a few feet before coming to a stop. Only moments later, three screaming objects landed on his stomach, slightly knocking the wind out of him. Groaning and coughing, he propped himself up on his elbows to see what had hit him, only for his eyes to widen in surprise.
There, sitting on his chest were three fillies. The first was a white unicorn filly with a pink and purple mane. The second was an orange pegasus filly, fuchsia mane wild and unkempt. The last was a red-maned earth filly, with bright yellow fur. It took him a moment, but he eventually remembered their names. They were, in order, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom. All three sat on his chest with wide eyes, seemingly frozen with fear, which was evident from the horror he saw in their eyes.
For a moment, there was silence. Steve stared at the three fillies with a raised eyebrow, lips pulled into a thin line. The fillies, in turn, continued to stare at him in utter terror. After a moment, Steve decided to speak.
“Uh…”
No sooner had he spoken that the three fillies screamed, instantly jumping off his chest as they hugged each other and continued screaming. Steve grit his teeth and put a hand over one ear, trying to keep the ear-piercing shrieks from destroying his hearing.
“Hey!!” He yelled, “Could ya shut it please!!? You’re gonna make my eardrums bleed!!”
It took about half-a-minute, but the screams finally calmed down, replaced by heavy panting. Dropping his hand, he sent a deadpan glare at the trio before getting to his feet.
“Now.” He began, brushing himself off. “If I may ask, what exactly did you three hit me with?”
“I believe it was this.” Steve heard a familiar voice speak. Looking up, he saw Princess Celestia standing a short distance behind the trio of fillies, with the dented remains of some foreign device lying broken on the ground. The three fillies whirled around in shock, each giving an exclamation of surprise.
“Princess Celestia!!” Applebloom shouted, immediately bowing to the Solar Princess.
“Your Majesty!!” Sweetie Belle yelled, doing the same as her country friend and bowing.
“My scooter!!” Scootaloo cried out, rushing past her friends to cradle said scooter, whispering sweet nothings to it as she looked over it broken form. Her two amigos stared at her in abject horror, probably fearing Celestia would smite their friend out of existence. Steve, however, knew that she would never do that, and merely watched the scene play out.
The Solar Princess smiled down at Scootaloo, who only now figured out who exactly had arrived. Looking up, the young filly’s eyes widened.
“Hello my little pony. What’s your name?”
“Uh, Scootaloo. A-and these are my f-friends, Applebloom and S-Sweetie Belle.” She pointed a hoof at the still-bowing fillies behind her.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. Please, rise. The whole bowing thing is more of a formality than anything else.” The two bowing fillies nodded and sat up, moving over to join their friend.
“Uh, hello Princess.” Sweetie Belle began nervously. “W-what are you doing here?”
“Well, it was brought to my attention that due to outlying circumstances, Steve here wasn’t what you would call very welcomed by the citizens of Ponyville. I assume from your reactions that you’ve heard about him?” They all nodded simultaneously. “Well, it pleases me to inform you that Steve isn’t some horrible beast. In fact, he is exactly the opposite. He is a hero, one who fought with everything he had to save us all from a terrible threat.”
“Whoa. Really?” Scootaloo asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. The Princess nodded.
“Yes. It was a terrible and hard-fought battle, but in the end, we emerged victorious.”
“Wait, we?” Applebloom asked. “Did ya fight that thang too, Princess?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes. I fought alongside Steve in the battle. We were accompanied by General Trench, Aura, Rizworth, Abyss the dragoness and Rainbow Dash.”
The pegasus filly’s mouth dropped open in awe. “Wait, you mean Rainbow Dash fought in a battle?!” It was after she had said this that a look of realization passed through her eyes and her expression darkened. “But, that’s why she ended up in the hospital, isn’t it?”
“. . .Yes, it is.” Celestia respond after hesitating for a moment.
“It is true, Princess?!” Scootaloo asked frantically. “Is it true what the doctor said, that she won’t be able to fly anymore?!”
This new information caught the Solar Princess off-guard, her eyes widening as she processed what she’d just heard. “Wha..?”
“Apparently,” Steve cut in, drawing everyone's attention to himself. “Herobrine didn’t just hurt Dash, he crippled her. He broke, cracked or otherwise shattered most of the bones in her wings, as well as giving her one heck of a concussion and more than a few broken ribs. Frankly speaking, the fact that she's still alive is a miracle.”
The Solar Diarch stared at the Crafter, sadness and shock evident in her eyes. But, that was quickly replaced by determination as her jaw set. A strange fire danced in her eyes.
“No.” She spoke softly, her words causing Steve’s eyebrow to raise. “No, I will not let that stand. I will not let Rainbow Dash suffer the injuries given to her, not for another moment.” She looked down at Scootaloo. “I promise you Scootaloo, Dash will fly again.” With that, her gaze turned to the Crafter. “Will you accompany me to the hospital, Steve?”
Steve almost immediately accepted. Make no mistake, he really wanted to go with Celestia so he could see Rainbow Dash healed. Truly, he did. But he knew that he had to check on Derpy. So, regretfully, he shook his head. “I want to, but I can’t. I talked with Dinky on my way out of the hospital and from what I heard, Derpy needs my help. Something’s wrong with her. I’m sorry, but I have to help her.”
Celestia smiled. “I understand. And I wish you luck.” With that, her horn glowed, causing a bright flash of light. When it faded, the Princess of the Sun was gone.
* * * * *
Steve sprinted down the street, ignoring the stares from various pony bystanders as he hurried over to Derpy’s house. He’d been there so often that the way was essentially burned into his memory.
Skidding into a turn, the Crafter sent dirt flying as he sped off, feeting pounding as he ran. Eventually, he came to a stop as he finally arrived at his destination. Brushing himself off, he walked up to her front door. Taking a deep breath, he reached up a hand to knock when he noticed something strange.
The front door was ajar.
Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he hesitantly pushed on the door, which swung open with a quiet squeak. Slowly stepping inside, he looked all around him for anything suspicious. He opened his mouth to call out for his friend, but stopped when Nightmare Steve spoke up.
‘Steve, I’m sensing a presence directly above us. It’s magical aura does not match that of Derpy Hooves.’
Steve decided to not question how Nightmare Steve could sense other beings and just rolled with it. ‘Thanks Nightmare. Do you recognize the aura at all?’
‘No, the magical signature is unknown to me.’
The Crafter sighed. ‘Damn it. Thanks for the head-up, though.’
‘You’re welcome.’
D-Pad Up: Sword
Steve unsheathed his sword, holding it by his side as he slowly approached the stairs to the attic. Looking up, he saw darkness shrouding the doorway up above him. Step by step he walked up the stairs, eventually arriving at the door. Stopping for a moment, he put his ear up against it and listened. For a moment, there was nothing. And then he heard it. It sounded like mumbling, followed by the sound of shuffling and things being moved around. After a few moments, Steve stepped silently past the door. Whoever was inside didn’t notice, as the mumbling and shuffling didn’t stop.
Reaching over, Steve found the switch that turned on the only light in the attic. Taking a deep breath, he switched it on.
“Okay who the fuck are you?!!”