//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 95: A Three-sided Coin (Part 2) // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further ado, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” The question visibly shocked the mare, as seen from her taking a step back. “Wh- what?” She asked, her smile now replaced with a hesitant frown.. “Why do you want to learn about Discord?” “Well, that’s a bit of a long story, so to make it short and sweet, I had a weird ass dream, and now I’m pretty sure I’m gonna end up fighting him, so I figured I should get as much info on the bastard as possible before said fight.” Twilight stood there for a few more moments, donning an expression of complete and utter bewilderment. “.........WHAT!!!!????” She yelled, the force of the shout blowing Steve’s hair back. He blinked. “Wow, that was loud.” He muttered as he brushed his hair a bit to get it back to its usual messy look. “Sorry.” The unicorn muttered. “It’s just, I, I have so many questions.” “Like what?” “Um, uh, well, firstly, what do you mean you’ll fight Discord?” She let out a chuckle, shaking her head. “Mr. Steve, while I know you are strong, Discord is, well…” “I know he’s powerful, Twilight.” Steve responded, expression turning serious. “Far more powerful than I am. However, I have defeated beings far more powerful than myself a few times, and I’ve come out on top each time. Granted, each time has nearly killed me, but regardless.” He sighed, rubbing his face with a hand. “I don’t want to fight him, but fate seems to have it out for me, and I’m probably going to end up duking it out with him anyways, so I want to be prepared. Now,” He kneeled down, evening his gaze with the mare. “What do you know about Discord?” She stared at him for a moment, her small grin falling as she did so, as if finally realizing just how serious he was. This was proven a moment later when she spoke. “You’re serious.” It wasn’t a question. He nodded. “Yeah. I had a dream, a vision, if you will, and whoever was talking to me told me two things.” He put up one finger. “One, that I would be fighting Discord.” He put up a second finger. “Two, that the Elements of Harmony are my only hope to make it out of the fight alive. I know that you, Dash and the rest of your friends are capable of using the Elements, and all of you just so happen to live in Ponyville. With that side of things covered, I want to figure out as much as I can about the bastard so I can be prepared. And that, Miss Sparkle, is where you come in.” “Me?” She squeaked slightly in shock. Steve nodded. “You. From what Celestia has told me, you know a ton, about a lot of things. And even if you don’t, you have the resources and drive to figure out more about the things you don’t know. Am I correct on that?” Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Spike called from the other room. “Just about!” “Thanks!” Steve yelled back before continuing the conversation. “Now, I am facing probably one of the most difficult battles I’ve ever fought, so any and all info about Discord that you have is invaluable to me, Twilight Sparkle.” He took a breath. “So, I will ask again. What do you know about a draconequus named Discord?” She stood there for a second or two, mouth hanging open in what was probably shock. After a moment, her jaw clicked shut as she shook her head. “Um, u-uh, well, i-is there anything in particular you would like to know first?” She asked. “The whole history might take-” “The whole thing.” Steve interrupted. “I want to know everything. Where he came from, what he did, what his powers are, everything. You never know what might help.” She hesitated, but conceded the point. “Alright then.” She cleared her throat. “It all started a long time ago, before the Unification of the Three Tribes, before the Ruling of the Two Sisters, way back, in the year 173 BC…” * * * * * She was scared. Ponies were shouting and rushing about. The sky was, yellow? Why was the sky yellow? And where was the sun? It was supposed to be noon, and yet the sun was nowhere to be found. She stumbled as a pony rushed by, clipping her shoulder. Upon righting herself, she looked around, desperate to find a familiar face. Where was-? “Celly!” A familiar voice cried. Whirling around, she saw a large silver-colored alicorn rushing towards her, a scared look on her face. “Mommy!” Celestia cried, running to meet her. The larger alicorn swept her into a hug. “Oh sweetie. I thought I’d lost you.” She murmured, nuzzling Celestia’s face. “I’m sorry.” She replied. “I, there was so much noise and I got-” Her mother shushed her. “It’s okay, dearest. I understand.” The two stayed like that for a few moments, hugging each other, before Celestia broke the silence between them. “Mom, what’s going on?” She asked, taking a moment to look at the chaos going on around her. “Why is everypony so scared? And where’s Daddy?” The larger alicorn hesitated for a few moments before responding. “Daddy, is busy. He’s, not going to be coming home for a while.” Her voice sounded pained, causing a feeling of worry to sprout in Celestia’s gut. “Why? Where is he?” “He...He’s-” “Your Majesty!! Queen Starshine!!” Both Starshine and Celestia glanced over to see a Royal Guard rushing towards, coming to a stop mere hooves from them. “What is it, Colonel?” The stallion took a moment to catch his breath before responding. “He’s coming.” The alicorn’s breath stopped. Celestia looked up at her mother, confused. “Who’s coming?” Starshine didn’t respond for a few moments. Eventually, she took a deep breath, then hoofed Celestia to the guard. “Mommy?” “Colonel, take care of my daughter. I will see to this, Discord.” She turned and began walking down the hall. “As you wish, Your Majesty.” The guard replied, depositing Celestia onto his back. “Mommy!? Mommy!!” Celestia cried out, one hoof outstretched, as if to reach out and grab her mother. Her hoof continued to reach out, even as the guard carrying her turned the corner, causing her mother to disappear from sight. She would never see her mother again. * * * * * Celestia stared out of the window, thoughts drifting back to reality. She blinked, then looked around, as if just remembering where she was. She was in her personal quarters, sitting on a very comfortable chair, with a simple, but elegant wood-carved table in front of her. A cup of tea, long gone cold, sat on top of a pale, white saucer. She sighed, then looked back out the window. ‘That happened so long ago.’ She thought. ‘And yet, I can remember what happened clear as day.’ She pushed the tea away, her appetite for it gone. Knock, knock, knock. “Yes?” She called. “Your Majesty?” Came the familiar voice of her assistant, Raven Inkwell. “It’s 10:00. You have a meeting with Cookie Crumb and Green Hoof regarding the produce dispute in fifteen minutes, then another meeting with Mr. Cruncher regarding that tax relief bill at 11:00.” Celestia sighed. It seemed her free time was up. “One moment!” She called back as she stood up from her chair. Trotting over to the door, she opened it with a flick on her magic, revealing the white unicorn mare standing on the other side. “Are Cookie Crumb and Green Hoof already waiting?” Celestia asked, closing the door behind her as her and Raven began walking. “Cookie Crumb arrived 30 minutes ago. Green Hoof hadn’t shown up when I’d left, so I don’t know.” “Well, hopefully, she found the time. I know how busy she can get with the gardens and greenhouses.” Raven gave a small hum in reply, nodding ever-so-slightly as she looked down at the clipboard in her magical grip. Celestia furrowed her brow in confusion. “Is something the matter Raven?” The unicorn hesitated, but shook her head. “No, nothing’s the matter, Princess. I’m just thinking.” “About what, if I may ask?” “Nothing much. What I’m going to have for lunch, about my bills, which are due in a week, about the possible end of the world. You know, just the normal stuff.” Celestia closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “Raven-” “I’m scared, Your Majesty.” The alicorn’s eyes shot open in shock at the other mare’s statement. Raven met her gaze, a firm expression on her face. “What?” “Discord is breaking free, Your Highness. Discord, one of the most powerful beings in recorded history, who has been trapped in stone for thousands of years, is now breaking free. And the one thing that we know for a fact can stop him can only be wielded by ponies that live in a town that’s a three hour train ride away. The very fate of Equestria is in the hooves of a librarian, a farmer, a caretaker, a baker, a fashionista and a weatherpony. Forgive me, but I can’t help but think something will go wrong.” Celestia winced. “I understand where you’re coming from Raven, but give the mares some credit. They did purge my sister of the Nightmare that had taken her over, something that I myself had failed to do.” Raven sighed, conceding the point. “That they did. Still, I don’t feel well with leaving it all up to chance. Perhaps if we-” “No.” Celestia interrupted, gaze narrowing at the mare. “I already know where you’re going with this, and my answer remains the same. I will not bring Steve into this.” “Why not?” Raven replied, sounding confused. “Mr Steve is tough, strong, a great fighter, and extremely resourceful. If you were to bring him in, along with the Elements, then-” “Raven.” The unicorn stopped. “Yes?” “I will be honest, from a completely logic-based point of view, I see your point. With all of Steve’s strengths and capabilities, along with his want to help others, bringing him into this fight would not only make sense, it would be easy to do so. All I would have to do is ask, and he would probably say yes, simply because of his desire to save lives.” “....I’m sensing a but.” Raven slowly interjected, to which Celestia nodded. “You’re right, because I will not. I will not ask him to continue fighting when the one desire he really seeks is to live in peace. He has suffered enough in his short life. He has done things that I could never dream of, faced down opponents without fear where I would’ve been terrified. When he told me of his past…” She sighed, shaking her head as she glanced down. “It, well, it shocked me that such awful things could happen to one so young. That somepo- someone could go through that and still make it out with any amount of their sanity intact. Because if I’m being honest, I’m not so sure I could.” She glanced up to see Raven looking at her with a confused expression. “...Your majesty, if I may ask. What exactly did happen to Steve?” She asked. Celestia hesitated for a moment before answering. “That… is for Steve to tell you himself, if he is willing. Safe to say, his past is one full of unspeakable tragedies. And it is for that exact reason why I refuse to ask for his aid. Because I refuse to ask that he fight any longer, when it’s clear fighting is the last thing he wants.” “And I...I understand that, Princess, truly, I do.” Raven responded, voice displaying her concern. “But what about Equestria?” Celestia’s breath hitched ever-so-slightly. “Because, I know you consider Mr Steve your friend, and I understand that you want the best for him, but what about your citizens?” She sounded hesitant and almost, apologetic. “Discord isn’t just a threat to you and Princess Luna, but to Equestria as a whole.” She sighed, waiting a moment before speaking again. “Should one life be the reason to put tens of thousands of lives at risk? …. …. …. The two stood there for a good couple of minutes, neither saying anything. However, Celestia eventually let out a heavy sigh as she hung her head. “Raven.” The unicorn mare perked up. “Yes?” “Take a letter.”