//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 65: The King Without a Crown (Part 2) // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further ado, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Celestia was, well, she was shocked, to say the least. Everything that she’d once known about the Crafter walking next to her had been blown out of the water by what he’d revealed to her not even ten minutes before. That he had once been a king. Though, as hard as it was for her to imagine, it actually made a decent amount of sense, given how he’d responded to what had happened over the course of the previous couple of months. His introduction to pony society, it was safe to say, had not been the best. Through no fault of his own, he’d been declared a monster and a villain, and had been hurt too many times to count. And yet, despite this, he asked for no compensation for his suffering. He’d been angry at first, yes, and he’d had every right to be. But after that, there was nothing. He’d been quick to forgive her and Luna’s horrendous actions, asking for nothing more than that they learn from what happened and ensure that what happened to him never happened to anypony, ever again, which Celestia fully agreed with. He’d been far too lenient, in Celestia’s opinion. If something like that had happened to her, she’d demand that those responsible be thrown in the dungeons for the rest of their days. ‘But he didn’t respond that way. Because he knows how stressful being a ruler of a kingdom is.’ Celestia realized. ‘He knows that those in power, especially those in power can make mistakes just like anypony.’ Letting out a silent sigh, she glanced at Steve out of the corner of her eye for a moment before turning away. He hadn’t spoken a word since his shocking revelation, choosing instead to stare at the floor as they walked. She wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the correct words. In all her years as a ruler and a leader, she’d never experienced a situation like the one she currently found herself in. Though, at the same time, she doubted anypony in the world had. “You okay?” She heard him ask. Turning her head, she saw him looking at her with a concerned expression. “I, I’m fine.” She answered. “Just thinking. About what you told me.” “Ah.” Steve responded with an unenthusiastic tone. Sighing, he rubbed his face with one hand. “Celestia, it was a long time ago, and honestly, I’m more than happy to just let sleeping dogs lie.” She winced and sighed. “I know, and I don’t blame you in the least. It’s just, as I learn more and more about you, I learn just how appalling your past truly is. You’ve been through so much in your life, from fighting in wars to losing your entire race, and yet, by Equestrian Law at least, you’re not even legally an adult yet.” Steve’s gaze snapped to her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What? What do you mean?” “Steve, by Equestrian standards, a foal isn’t considered an adult mare or stallion until they reach the age of 18. Though I doubt that will be much of an issue given your physical appearance, you did say you were around 17 years old. That means by law, you’re still a foal.” Steve stared at the Solar Diarch for a few moments, expression blank, before he turned away, looking straight ahead of him. “Of course. As if there wasn’t enough to worry about as it is.” He muttered. “Hmm?” He glanced back over at alicorn for a moment before looking away. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He responded with a shake his head. “Anyways, where are we heading? Do you have a place in mind, or are we just walking aimlessly?” “Oh. Well, there isn’t anywhere we need to be soon. But there is something you should know.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Your presence here in Canterlot has not gone unnoticed, unfortunately. Ponies from nearly every newspaper company in Equestria are in Canterlot today, and they’re all pressing to know more about who and what you are.” “Can’t you just, I don’t know, tell them to fuck off?” Steve asked with a wave of his hand. “You’re the ruler, it’s not like they’ll say no to you.” Celestia gave a small, frustrated sigh. “Trust me, I have heavily considered it. The papers have long since been a source of frustration for me, from their fabricated stories to their baseless theories. However, I fear that sending them away would not help you in the long run. In fact, it could make it worse.” “What do you mean?” Steve asked. “Well, think about it like this.” She spoke. “If I were to send them away, then just as you said, they would leave. However, the action would make them think that the Crown is hiding something, which would technically be true, but regardless. Sending them away could compel them to come up with a whole number of claims and theories.” “Which could make the situation a lot worse.” Steve finished. “I’m guessing you speak from experience when you say that?” The alicorn nodded. Groaning, he slapped a hand to his face. “Geez, it’s been so long since I’ve had to really deal with politics. It’s the one part of the job I never missed.” “Hmm.” Celestia hummed in agreed, though she didn’t seem too focused on what the Crafter had said. Glancing over the alicorn, he quirked an eyebrow upon seeing the preoccupied look in her eyes. “Hey. You there?” He asked as he waved a hand in front of her face, effectively breaking the Solar Diarch out of her internal reverie. Blinking a few times, she shook her head, coughing a bit to clear her throat. “Sorry about that, Steve. I was just lost in thought.” She quickly changed the subject. “Anyways, ever since you arrived here yesterday, I have had over a dozen newsponies come to Day Court to try and ask me about you. And, from what Lieutenant Cowl told me, quite a few have been caught sneaking around the castle trying to catch a glimpse of you.” Steve frowned. “Geez. I mean, I knew I was popular and all, but damn.” Celestia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Steve, you single-hoofedly made the front page news, from multiple outlets, on multiple occasions. It’s really shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.” “...Ah.” Steve said after a moment. “So, what do you suggest I do? You’ve dealt with newsponies more than I have.” “Personally speaking, a public conference has always suited me best, though they sometimes can become a bit chaotic.” Steve shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, I’ve dealt with chaotic situations numerous times before in my life. How bad can it be?” * * * * * Steve sneakily poked his head past the curtain, gaze wandering over the three dozen or so newsponies that were gathered inside. They loudly talked amongst each other as they waited for Steve’s inevitable arrival. “Me and my big mouth.” He muttered to himself as he stared at the ponies with a deadpan expression. Sighing, he glanced back at Celestia, who stood a short distance behind him. “How in the world did you manage to get them together so quick?” She gave him a raised eyebrow. He sighed and smacked a hand against his face. “Right. I forgot.” Letting his arm drop to his side, he took another look at the gathered stallions and mares, taking care to avoid being seen. “Geez. Didn’t realize there would be this many. I used to deal with politicians and news people back in the day, sure, but there was never this many at once.” Celestia’s grin fell at the Crafter’s worried tone. “...Will you be alright?” He didn’t respond for a moment, continuing to look out over the crowd for a second or two before turning back to the Solar Diarch and nodding. “Yeah, I should be fine. I just need to tell the truth, keep a level head and, if this place is at all like home, avoid strangling any moron who asks stupid questions.” She let out a chuckle. “Yes, I suppose you may get one or two like that.” “Where you wonder if they needed help writing their name down?” She stifled a laugh, less the newsponies nearby hear her. “Yes, I suppose.” The Crafter rolled his eyes. “Great.” He drawled, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Sighing, he looked at Celestia. “So, how is this gonna work?” “Well, the plan is for me to go out there first. I’ll speak for a few moments before introducing you. Then you’ll enter and the conference will begin.” Steve nodded. “Got it. How long should I talk for?” “As long as you want to. There’s nopony stopping you from leaving whenever you wish.” “Cool.” Steve said with a grin. “When are we going to start?” “As soon as you’re ready.” Celestia responded. The Crafter nodded, rolling his shoulders as he took a breath. “Well, I’m about as ready as I’ll ever be. May as well get this whole thing over with.” “Okay.” The alicorn spoke, nodding her head as she slowly trotted past him and out onto the stage. The moment she appeared, all movement in the room stopped and any talking ceased, every eye now focused solely on the Princess. She calmly made her way to the podium, which sat in the center of the stage. Sitting behind it, her gaze wandered over the newsponies sitting below and before her. They all stared back. After a moment, she cleared her throat and spoke. “My little ponies. You have all heard the story. The story of a creature, from origins unknown, that quickly made a name for itself, not only in the town of Ponyville, but in Equestria itself. Many thought this creature a monster. I, too, thought this for a time. But recent events have proven this to be the exact opposite. I brought him to Canterlot with the intention of showing everypony that save for appearance, he is no different from me and you. I know you may have heard some things about him. I ask that you forget about any bias’ you may have, and that you show him the same respect that you would show your fellow pony.” Taking a deep breath, she turned her head and met Steve’s gaze. ‘That’s your cue.’ Nightmare Steve spoke up. Steve nodded. ‘I know, thanks Nightmare. Hopefully I don’t fuck this up.’ ‘You won’t. Otherwise we’re screwed.’ Rolling his eyes at the Nightmare’s unhelpful comment, he took a deep breath before walking forward. As he did so, Celestia began to walk back off-stage. “Good luck.” She whispered to him, to which Steve gave a small nod. His footsteps thudded against the wood beneath his feet, echoing throughout the silent room. Coming up behind the podium, he looked up at the crowd of ponies, who all stared back at him. He swallowed thickly before plastering on a grin. “Hello there, everyone! My name is Steve. I’m a Minecraftian, or Crafter for short. I’m not sure how I got to your world, but I must say, the welcoming committee did not do their job very well, because I got the distinct impression that I was not very welcome.” This roused a few chuckles from the ponies. Steve’s grin began to feel a little less forced. “So, that’s enough of me talking, so I’ll start taking questions.” It was like Steve had opened a dam. Immediately, everypony began talking at once, raising hooves in the hope that they would get picked. Wincing a bit from the sudden noise, the Crafter looked over the sea of hooves before picking a small pale green stallion with a brown mane. “How about you?” Steve said, pointing at the pony in question. Everything went silent as the stallion, looking more than a little shocked that he’d been picked, stood up and spoke. “Oh, uh, Scrawl, Manehattan Times. Um, Steve, you said that you were a ‘Minecraftian,’ right? So, could you explain what that is, exactly?” “Uh, well, a Minecraftian is a being of power, really. We’re strong, fast and tough as diamonds. And, a Minecraftian is gifted with a wide array of powers and capabilities, from cooking and brewing, to crafting and smelting. We also have a special regenerative factor that allows our bodies to heal very fast. Overall, my species was very strange.” More hooves were raised. This time, Steve picked a rather short, pink mare, with a two-toned orange mane. “Uh, you.” She stood from her chair and fixed the Crafter with a hard gaze “Miss S. Records, Trottingham Gazette. What do you have to say about the numerous guard attacks that occured after you were first seen in Ponyville?” Steve, having been expecting that sort of question, merely gave the mare a level look as he answered. “I never attacked first, Miss Records. I only ever defended myself from the guards that were sent after me. I never sought to seriously hurt and I never sought to ever kill, which is why there has not been a single death since the guards were first sent after me. My one goal when fighting the guards was to keep them from hurting me too much until I could get away. It’s not my fault that they just kept throwing bodies at me, hoping they could take me down.” “So you admit you were the one who injured so many guards?” The small mare continued. Steve sighed. “Yes, that was me. Now, did I want to fight and hurt the guards? No. But it’s not like they gave me a choice in the matter.” Looking around, he saw many of the newsponies now wore nervous expressions. He frowned. “Look, I don’t give two fucks if you guys like me or not. I really don’t. But let me ask you this. If I was a bad guy, do you really think that I’d be here, doing this interview with you all? Do you think that your Princess would let me be here, without any form of restraint at all? Fuck no, that’s stupid! She’d have me locked away in the deepest dungeons available before any of you could blink! But I’m not. I explained to her what happened, I saved her life, she saved mine, and here we are.” Sighing, Steve’s gaze fell, his eyes studying the dark wood of the podium. “I am sorry, though.” He spoke, voice quiet. He glanced up at Record to see that her glare had morphed into a look of surprise. “I never wanted to fight. But,” Steve shook his head. “I couldn’t run the risk of letting myself get captured. I just couldn’t. Because… look, answer me this, Miss Records. If you just suddenly woke up in a world, that wasn’t yours, and the first sign of intelligent life attacks you without reason, what would you do?” For a moment, she said nothing. Then, her face fell, eyes looking down at her lap, and the note-pad which lay there. Sighing, she scratched out a few sentences with her quill. “I’d probably fight too.” She spoke softly, still not meeting Steve’s gaze. “Exactly. That’s why I fought. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Because letting myself get caught just wasn’t an option, not for me.” There was complete silence for a few moments as everypony in the room took in what the Crafter had said, even Celestia, who stood in the exact spot Steve had been standing only minutes before. Her heart felt heavy. The Crafter’s words had reminded her just how close she had come to killing the last member of an extinct race, one that had done nothing to her citizens. The grin she once wore, fell, and she stared at the Crafter with sadness in her eyes. Then, in the back, movement. A blue hoof slowly raised out of the crowd. Steve, noticing it immediately, called out the pony who raised it, a sky blue stallion with a mop of brown hair. “Yes?” “Um, Clear Shine, The Canterlot Weekly. Steve, what exactly are your plans, going forth from today?” Steve chuckled. “Plans? Uh, never really been one to plan. Life’s always had a habit of messing them up for me. I kinda just roll with the punches.” “Well, what is it you want?" The stallion reiterated. "What is your dream?” “My dream?” Steve echoed, to which Clear Shine gave a nod. “Huh. Never really thought about it, to be honest. Though, if I had to say, I suppose my dream is to live in peace with my friends and family.” Clear Sight looked at the Crafter with a confused expression. “Really?” Steve nodded. “Yeah. I’ve fought my fair share of battles, and frankly, I’m tired of it. I want to be able to put down my sword and never pick it up again. To be able to wake up in the morning and not have to worry about some dangerous threat on the horizon. To live in peace. That, Clear Shine, is my dream.” Steve sighed and frowned. “But that’s just it, isn’t it? A dream. The stupid, unlikely dream of a tired Minecraftian." "A Crafter’s dream.”