Now, without further ado, I present,
“A Crafter’s Dream”
Steve opened his eyes.
A castle stood in front of him, tall, dark and imposing. The wind howled as it blew through the nearby treetops. Suddenly he was rushing forward, albeit without his legs actually moving. The next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of a rather large-ish room. There was a dilapidated stone staircase to his left and a massive hole in the wall to his right, the kinda hole that made it look like there had never been a wall there in the first place. In front of him, much to Steve's surprise, were a few familiar faces.
The first was Nightmare Moon. The alicorn stood with her back towards the previously mentioned hole in the wall, facing off against six mares. Those mares were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. All six of them floated in the air, each wearing their respective Element of Harmony. * Their eyes glowed as white at their respective element.
They seemed to be frozen in time, one moment away from purging Princess Luna of the Nightmare that had taken her over.
‘But, this was months ago.’ Steve remembered. ‘What am I-?’
“We see you, Steve.”
The Crafter’s eyes widened in shock as a mysterious voice suddenly spoke. It was deep and ominous, and seemed to be coming from nowhere at all.
‘Who…?’
“We know who you are.”
Suddenly the scene shifted again, and Steve found himself in the middle of Ponyville. He looked around to see none other than himself, running through down the cobblestone street. Dash was following after him, a furious look on her face.
‘My first day in Ponyville.’ Steve realized, just before the scene shifted again. And again. And again.
Each time it did, Steve recognized the scene. The night he’d fought to find and free Derpy from the Ponyville Guards.
Talking with Dash and her friends at Sugarcube Corner.
Facing off against Herobrine.
Standing his ground against the Nightmother.
Walking with Dash and her friends through Cloudsdale.
‘How-?’
“His power grows.” The voice spoke again, just as the scene shifted to something that Steve did not recognize. It was a large and nearly empty castle courtyard. Empty, save for the rather strange-looking statue in front of him.
It was tall draconequus, similar to the ones Steve had read about in some history book at Derpy’s house. This particular one stood atop a pedestal, one which his tail coiled around. One bear-like arm was crossed against his chest, while the other, which looked similar to a chicken leg, was flailed out to the side. His mouth was open wide, as if he was in the middle of shouting.
Steve took a step back, brow furrowed. ‘What the Nether?’
“The day draws near.”
Suddenly, all at once, the statue cracked, sending out a spray of stone fragments. The next moment, Steve found himself back in the first room he’d been in, with the six mares facing off against Nightmare Moon. However, this time, the six Elements of Harmony suddenly came off their bearer’s shoulders (and head), coming to float directly in front of Steve. One by one, each Element glowed, and the voice spoke with each one.
The first glowed orange. “Honesty.”
The second lit up pink. “Kindness.”
The third, red. “Loyalty.”
The fourth flared blue. “Laughter.”
The fifth, purple. “Generosity.”
And lastly, the crown, lit up magenta. “And Magic.”
“Seek them out.” The Elements slowly began to fade out of sight. “It is your only hope.”
Steve opened his mouth to speak, to say anything, but there was a sudden bright flash of light, and then everything went black.
* * * * *
Steve’s eyes shot open and he sat up, breathing heavily. Panting, he wiped his brow, which was soaked with sweat.
‘Steve? Are you alright?’ Onyx inquired, sounding worried. Steve took a deep breath, then nodded.
‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m-’
“Mr. Steve?” Came a small, worried voice from the Crafter’s right. Looking up, Steve saw Dinky watching him from the living room doorway. It was at that moment that Steve remembered where he was.
He was at Derpy’s house. After he’d given Celestia the full story, the Princess had thought for a little while before deciding that given what he’d told her, Trench would suffer no consequences for what had happened. However, when she asked Steve if she’d received help, and when the Crafter had shook his head, she had requested that Derpy seek help, which Steve agreed with. After arriving at Derpy’s house to talk to the mare about seeking help, Derpy had requested that he stay for a while. They talked for a while, Derpy agreed to try and find help, and Steve ate dinner with Derpy and Dinky. One thing led to another, and Steve found himself staying the night on Derpy’s couch. He’d slept fine, at least until…
‘The nightmare.’ Steve thought, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow. ‘What the Nether was that?’
“Mr. Steve? Are you okay?” Dinky asked, sounding even more worried due to the Crafter’s silence. Steve shook his head to clear his thoughts before looking at Dinky.
“Sorry Dinky. Just got lost in thought.” He responded. “Yeah, I’m good. Just had a nightmare.”
‘Wait.’ He thought.
“What are you doing up, Dinky?” The Crafter asked.
“Oh. I was gonna get some water, but I heard you making noises and talking in your sleep.”
Steve furrowed his brow in confusion. “Did I say anything, or was it just mumbles and stuff?”
“Uh, it was mostly just mumbling, but you also said things like, uh…” She thought for a moment. “Elements, rainbow and who are you? That last one you said a couple times.”
“Hmm.” Steve murmured, thinking back to the dream (or nightmare, depending on your perspective) that he’d had.
“What was it about?” Dinky asked. Steve hesitated for a moment, then responded.
“You know, I’m still not entirely sure myself. I think I got visited by some other-worldly being that told me that I need to ‘seek out’ the Elements of Harmony, since it’ll be my only chance to take on this probably powerful draconequus that was stone? For some reason.”
“You mean Discord?” Dinky spoke up.
Steve quirked a brow. “Discord? As in, ‘Lord of Chaos’, Discord?” The filly nodded.
“Yeah! Ms. Cheerilee taught us about him a little while ago, though I don’t remember a lot of what she told us. What I do remember is that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone, and his statue has been in the Canterlot Castle gardens ever since.”
“That makes sense, then.” Steve muttered, more to himself than to Dinky. “Discord is pretty powerful from what Onyx told me, and if I have to face off against someone as powerful as Discord is, then I should probably use what worked against him last time.”
“Wait, what!?” Dinky exclaimed. Steve blinked in confusion.
“What?”
“What do you mean you have to fight him, Mr. Steve?! He’s Discord! I mean, you’re pretty strong and stuff too, Mr. Steve, but Discord, he’s…” She trailed off.
“Powerful?” Steve finished. She nodded. “Well, you’re right. He is. But I’ve fought my fair share of powerful enemies. And, don’t forget, this time, said powerful enemy has an explicit weakness, one that just-so-happens to live here in Ponyville! Well, their bearers do, I mean.” Steve corrected. “Besides, given my luck and record, I’ll end up fighting him no matter what, so I should prepare while I have time.” Despite Steve trying his best to sound encouraging, Dinky still looked worried. The Crafter sighed, then put a hand on her shoulder. “Dinky.”
She looked up at him, and Steve put on his best smile.
“Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay in the end. I guarantee it!”
Dinky, after a moment, grinned back at him, and nodded. “Okay Mr. Steve.”
“Alright, good. Now, if I didn’t know any better, I would believe that it is way past someone’s bed time.”
Dinky’s eyes widened, then shot around to look at the grandfather clock on the wall to their right.
“Oh shoot, it’s late!” She exclaimed, then quickly ran out of the room with a quick “Goodnight Mr. Steve!” before she was gone. A moment later, Steve heard the quiet creak of her door closing. After a few moments, Steve’s smile faded and he laid back on the couch he’d been sleeping on with a sigh.
“Shit.” He muttered, rubbing his face with one hand.
‘Indeed.’ Onyx agreed.
Steve laid there for a while, thinking, pondering over what he should do with the information the dream/vision/message/whatever-the-fuck-that-was had given him. Eventually, Steve, seeing no better option, instead chose to go back to sleep.
“Hmm.” He murmured as sleep began to take him. “Maybe it’s about time I take Celestia up on her offer and pay her protege a visit.” *
* * * * *
Celestia sat upon her throne, looking down at the lime green earth pony before her.
“...is a good one.” She spoke warmly. “I shall send a letter to Mr. Keeper, and he shall see it done.”
The stallion bowed low. “T-thank you, your Majesty.” With that, the pony walked out of the throne room, the door shutting behind him with a heavy thud. The pale alicorn let out a small sigh, then glanced over at her assistant, who sat nearby.
“Is that the last one for today Raven?”
The earth pony mare looked down at her clipboard, then nodded. “Yes, you Highness. There was one more meeting, but it was canceled.”
“Alright.” Celestia responded, nodding as she began to get down off her throne. “In that case, send a request to Chef Baked Bean for a pot of tea to be brought to-”
The alicorn was cut off as she suddenly felt a wave of a dreadingly familiar kind of magic wash over her. It only lasted a moment, but it figuratively knocked her off her hooves. She caught her breath, one hoof gently pressed against her chest.
“Your Majesty?” Raven inquired, curious as to why she had stopped talking so suddenly. However, one look at her expression, which was filled with dread, and the mare understood.
“Did it happen again?” She quietly inquired. The alicorn, after a moment, nodded.
“Yes, it did. Have there been any updates from the guards?”
Raven shook her head. “No. Save for the initial cracking of it’s foundations, Discord’s statue has otherwise remained unchanged.”
“Good.” Celestia nodded. “That’s good. Though it is probably unnecessary, be sure to remind them to not let their guard drop for a moment. If there are any changes, I need to know.”
“Consider it done, Princess. Shall I send a summons for the Elements?”
The alicorn thought for a moment, but eventually shook her head. “No, not yet. Have the guards maintain their watch, and if the situation worsens, then the Element bearers will be summoned.”
Raven nodded. “Very well. It will be done.” With that, the mare turned and swiftly left the room, the heavy doors closing behind her with a resounding thud. Celestia sat down, pressing a hoof against her forehead.
A million thoughts raced through the alicorn’s head, though at the forefront of her mind was Discord’s inevitable return. But along with that was the thought of a certain Crafter. A Crafter who would, if his record was anything to go by, going to end up battling the Lord of Chaos. A Crafter who’d expressed a keen belief that he would die at the hands of his enemies.
And for the first time, Celestia found herself thinking he was right.