//------------------------------// // Chapter 31: A Necessary Alliance // Story: The Lost Crafter // by Jeffrey1000 //------------------------------// Discord smiled at the chaos he had caused. He watched as Steve broke down in tears next to his fallen friends. “Oh, Steve. You thought the games were over? They’ve only just begun.” He laughed to himself before teleporting away, leaving the crafter alone. “Ok guys,” Captain Armor said, getting everyone’s attention, “what the buck happened?” “I don’t know.” Corporal Eagle said. “Everything was going to plan, but then he disappeared.” “Wait, where’s Steve?” Stone asked. They all looked around. “Should we look for him?” Jean asked. “Well we can’t all go looking for him.” Stone said. “You two,” Captain Armor said pointing at a pegasus mare and earth pony stallion, “go find him. Report back in one hour if you don’t find him.” “Yes sir.” They said in unison before leaving. “Everyone else,” he said, “keep an eye out for Discord.” “Yes sir.” Unbeknownst to them, Discord was watching from a hiding place. “Hmm. I think I should have some fun with them first.” Discord said to himself. “Remind me why we were chosen to find him.” Ivory Fire said. She, along with her partner, Master Hunter, had been looking for Steve for about thirty minutes. “I don’t know. I guess we were just the closest to the captain.” The earth pony stallion said. They continued to look through the town. Despite the amount of chaos Discord caused earlier, it was dead silent. Something both ponies didn’t like. “How much you wanna bet Discord’s stalking us right now?” The pegasus mare asked. “Fifty bits.” Master said back. “Good bet.” They heard from behind. They immediately lifted their spears into an attack position. There was nothing. They turned back around, and screamed when they saw what was in front of them. The draconequss himself was standing over them. He smiled at the pair. “Boo.” Stone waited nervously for Ivory Fire and Master Hunter to return. They had been gone for at least two hours and he hadn’t heard a single thing throughout the town. They had no choice but to assume that they, along with Steve, were dead. While they assumed that a long time ago, Stone held onto a little hope that they’d come back. “They aren’t coming back, are they?” Corporal Eagle asked. “Yeah.” Stone said. “I guess we’re down three.” “I’ll go find them.” Jean said. “Jean, wait.” Stone said. “You’re a sitting duck when you’re all alone. Stay here. We need to focus on Discord.” “But I have to protect Steve! That’s what Notch sent me here to do.” She shot back. “Notch? Who the buck is Notch?” Corporal Eagle asked, confused. “Notch is the God of Minecraftia. He created every single peaceful thing ever to exist, including Steve, although they weren’t peaceful for long, but that’s not the point. The point is,” she said pointing a finger at him, “I have to go find him.” Before she took off, Stone held a hoof out, stopping her. “What would Steve want you to do?” He asked. “Would he want you to die looking for him, or would he want you to protect Equestria in his shoes?” Jean stood still for a moment. She sighed. “You’re right.” She conceded. She turned away from Stone, and faced off into the distance. “I hope you’re okay, Steve.” She whispered. Steve left the carnage that was his friends behind. He began his search for Discord. Where could that asshole be? Surely he wouldn’t just leave Ponyville. Unless Steve wasn’t in Ponyville. Maybe he was just dreaming or trapped in some kind of simulation. He sure hoped none of it was real. He already lost his friends once. He’d rather die than lose them again. Suddenly, he heard a noise from behind him. He knew it was the sound of teleportation. Endermen in Minecraftia made it and so did unicorns in Equestria. He turned around and was relieved to see a familiar face. “Luna?” Steve asked. The lunar alicorn was standing roughly fifty yards away. Upon hearing that she whirled around to face the crafter. “Steve? What is thou doing here?” She asked. “I was about to ask you the same thing.” He said. “We felt someone trapped in a deep nightmare. It appears it was thou.” She said with a slightly annoyed tone. They approached each other. Only then could Luna see his face clearly. His eyes were red. His cheeks were wet with tears. Her face changed from one of annoyance, to one of compassion. “Steve, what happened?” She asked, tone worried. Steve stood still for a moment. A small tear fell down his cheek before he spoke. “It happened again.” Steve said softly. “What happened?” Luna inquired. Steve sighed. “You know why I never asked if you guys knew how to get me back home?” Steve asked. “No. Although, now that we think about it, thou has never asked to return to thy home.” “It’s because I lost everyone and everything. All my friends are dead, my town was destroyed, and civilization, as far as I know it, is gone. Here, I have friends and people that care about me. But here, in this nightmare, I lost them all again.” A few more tears rolled down his cheek. “I wished I never saw it happen again, and, even though this isn’t real, it doesn’t make the pain any better.” Luna stared at him in silence. She didn’t know what to say. Steve continued to cry, he didn’t care. It felt good to let all those emotions out. He took a seat and put his head in one of his palms. Then, he felt two hooves wrap around him. He was surprised to see Luna giving him a hug. He wasn’t complaining. It felt good for someone to finally be there for him. “It’s okay, Steve.” She said. He returned the hug, and they stayed that way for a minute. After a little bit, the silence was broken by Luna. “I-I was never the best at helping ponies with emotions. I never had any friends. The pony I was closest to was Celestia, but you know what happened.” It took a second for Steve to realize she was talking about the Nightmare Moon incident. “I don’t care.” Steve said. “I don’t care how good you are at helping me handle my emotions. I’m just glad someone’s finally here, by my side.” He said. He looked up at the alicorn. She had a wide smile as she stared back down at him. Her eyes twinkled like stars. He returned the smile through his bloody and dirty face. They felt as if they were in a trance, as they locked eyes for a second. “Well,” Steve said, snapping out of his trance-like state, “I think we should get going. My squad’s probably looking for me.” Luna shook her head and blinked a few times, snapping out of it, too. “R-right. Allow me.” She said.