//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Love Shyness // by Crafter //------------------------------// The next morning, Crafter awoke the same time he always did: 5:23am. After a quick shower and an unsuccessful hunt for a coffee machine in the kitchen and no food in the pantry, he stumbled downstairs in an attempt to leave the house and find the bakery. It took Crafter fifteen minutes to get out the door, his unfocused eyes made it hard for him to lock his house up. Stupid crossed eyes… he grumbled in his head. After walking down the road for a few minutes, Crafter realized he had no idea where the bakery was. In fact, he was pretty sure he had gotten himself lost. He was up pretty early so nopony else was awake to ask for directions, “Figures...” Crafter grumbled. But before he could vent his frustration, he saw the grey mare from last night fly overhead. Maybe she’s going to the bakery too. He wondered. Crafter followed her flight path from the ground. Lucky for him, that was exactly where she was going. When she landed at the bakery and went inside, Crafter purposely waited outside and let his ADD take in the sight of the bakery, as to prevent himself from bumping into Ditzy and feeding his depression. “Why did they make it out of gingerbread?” he asked himself. Once he saw her leave the bakery with a takeout bag and the biggest smile he had ever seen, Crafter walked inside, but not before crashing into the doorframe with his face. “Are you alright dear? That looked like it hurt.” The mare at the counter said after he walked in, nose bleeding. “Let me get you something to clean yourself up with.” She was a blue earth pony with a pink mane which resembled frosting. “Yeah I'm fine.” Crafter said when she came back with a few napkins. “I'm just a little clumsy in the morning.” He wiped the dripping blood off his muzzle with a napkin, and then stuffed another one in his nose to stop the bleeding. “Are you sure you’re ok dear?” The mare asked with concern “Your eyes are….” She paused to find the right word. “Crossed?” “Well, yes.” she carefully agreed, afraid she had offended him. “Don’t worry about it, they're like that every morning.” Crafter reassured the baker. She stared at him. “Are… Are you related to Ditzy?” That took him off guard, why would she think that? “Um… no, why?” “The poor mare is like that all day, but I digress, I'm sure you’re hungry.” The baker said, trying to change the subject. Crafter nodded vigorously, “I'm starving.” Having just talked about Ditzy, he thought back to the enormous smile she had when she left. “I’ll take a medium coffee with extra cream and sugar, and whatever Ditzy had.” “I hope you like muffins, because she sure does.” She said with a smile. “I’m Mrs. Cake by the way.” “You can call me Crafter.” He said as Mrs. Cake went into the back to prepare his order. Mrs. Cake put a brown paper bag and a cup of coffee on the counter. “Here you go dear, enjoy your breakfast.” Suddenly Crafter realized he forgot his saddlebags at the house, he kept what little money he had in them. “Horse-apples….” “What's wrong?” “I forgot my money back at the house… I’ll be right back.” Crafter said, turning around to leave for home. “Don’t worry about it dear, I still feel bad about your bloody nose so this one is on the house.” Mrs. Cake said, waving a hoof. “Oh.” Crafter said, dumbfounded. “Th-thank you.” He took his breakfast and went outside to eat at one of the tables. *** “You may be right Pinkie.” Mrs. Cake whispered as Crafter left. “Well duh.” Pinkie said, exiting the kitchen and rolling her eyes. “You should have seen him at the party; the way he looked at Ditzy was a dead giveaway.” “I just hope you know what you’re doing Pinkie, this is dangerous territory.” Mrs. Cake warned. “Don’t worry Mrs. Cake; this won’t be the first time I’ve played Cupid.” Pinkie said with a wink. *** “Oh Celestia this muffin is good!” The muffin which Crafter had received for breakfast was possibly the best one he’d ever had, a perfect blend of blueberries, sugar, and cinnamon baked into a pastry fit for the Princesses. After a few sips of coffee, his teal eyes slowly started to uncross themselves. Now that he could (somewhat) see straight, he was content to sit at the table and simply enjoy the morning. His nose had stopped bleeding so he had removed the napkin. The muffin had been devoured right after he took the first bite. He smiled. If he had remembered his money, he would have happily purchased another one. Crafter sighed, lifting the coffee cup to his lips. "LOOK OUT!" Crafter raised his eyes from his cup for half a second before something crashed into his side, knocking him over. Next thing he knew, Crafter was laying on his back in the dirt. From his angle, he could see his cup falling towards him. He frantically caught it with his magic, unfortunately he grabbed it upside down and the cup emptied the lukewarm liquid all over the ground, inches from his face. “Ohmygoshimsosorry!” A frantic voice exclaimed. Crafter was taken by the hooves and lifted into a sitting position. “Are you alright? Please don’t be mad at me.” When his eyes refocused (again), he was greeted by the sight of a very worried Ditzy Doo. Something about seeing her this upset tugged at his heart; he had to do something to make her feel better. “Y-yeah I'm fine, don’t worry about it.” He saw her face light up. That smile, oh Celestia that smile. Then the rest of what she said sank in. “Wait, why would I be mad at you?” The smile that she had not moments ago vanished completely, replaced with a look of sadness. “Some ponies yell at me for crashing into them. I do my best, I really do, but because of THESE” she pointed a hoof towards her now moistening, crossed eyes “I can’t help but be clumsy.” Oh no please don’t cry! Crafter thought as she started to whimper. Without thinking, he wrapped her in a comforting embrace. This indeed startled Ditzy, but she found his embrace oddly calming. That’s when Crafter realized what he was doing. He immediately let go and directed his gaze to the ground, afraid she might hate him for the sudden physical contact. “S-sorry…” Ditzy had yet to regain composure, she just sat there, wide eyed and blushing ever so slightly. Not seeing the blush, her facial expression only made Crafter more uncomfortable, he was certain she hated him now. *** From inside Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was waiting for the opportune moment. After the two ponies broke the hug, she almost decided not to act, but then she saw the doubt forming in Crafter’s mind. Pinkie had no time to lose; she had to act before the doubt consumed him. *** Seclusion was starting to look like a really good idea to Crafter, Ditzy had yet to respond and what little self-confidence he had was dwindling away. Only problem with that plan was that Crafter didn’t have any food in his house, and didn’t have too much money for groceries. “Free refill?” Pinkie asked cheerfully, walking outside with a coffee pot and a few empty cups balanced on her back. “No thanks…” Crafter said sadly, “I was just leaving. Give my refill do Ditzy.” With that he stood up and walked back to where he thought his house was, head held low. “WAIT!” Ditzy cried out suddenly. Crafter stopped in his tracks, but kept his head held low. “Th-thanks for the support, perhaps we could talk a bit over a cup of….” Ditzy turned to Pinkie for clarification. “Coffee.” She whispered. “A cup of coffee.” Slowly but surely, Crafter returned to the table and sat next to Ditzy. He still avoided eye contact though. “S-so you d-don’t hate m-me?” he asked quietly. “Of course not,” Ditzy answered reassuringly “it just took me off guard is all.” Allowing himself a glance upward, he saw Ditzy’s wonderful smile, which in turn made him smile. Pinkie placed the pot and two cups on the table. “Have as much as you want, I already put the cream and sugar in it so no worries.” After everything was on the table, she zipped off. “Is she always that, um, hyper?” Crafter asked once she was gone, pouring some coffee for both Ditzy and himself. “Mmhmm, you’ll get used to it.” Crafter chucked “I doubt it.” Ditzy tilted her head in confusion. “Why’s that?” “Well… you see…” Crafter started, “I don’t handle auditory information well.” “Ah, that would make her rather hard to be around.” Ditzy said, nodding in agreement. She then looked at her cup of coffee, “I’ve never had coffee before, what does it taste like?” “On its own, kind of bitter, that’s why I put extra cream and sugar in to sweeten it.” Cautiously, Ditzy raised the cup to her mouth and took a small sip. She immediately recoiled with a look of disgust. Crafter couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s an acquired taste; it took me awhile to get used to it.” “Why would ponies even consider drinking this?” she asked, pushing the cup away. “To wake up faster.” he replied with a shrug. “The caffeine helps with my ADD as well, I can’t even see straight in the morning it’s so bad.” He let his eyes wander as an example. Ditzy’s crossed eyes looked down at the cup, then back to Crafter. “So what you’re saying is…” she started to ask carefully, “is that coffee could fix my eyes?” “What do you mean? Your eyes are fine.” “You’re just saying that.” Ditzy said with a small blush which thankfully went unnoticed by Crafter. “No I mean it, your eyes are beu-” Crafter stopped himself mid sentence, Where did that come from? “Your eyes are fine.” In an attempt to hide her growing blush, Ditzy took another sip of coffee. It didn’t taste as bad this time. She also noticed her vision clearing has her eyes focused, something which Ditzy had been trying to gain control of for a very long time. “Hey, are my eyes still crossed?” Crafter shook his head “Nope, straight as can be.” She wanted to see for herself, Ditzy turned to face the window of the bakery to see her reflection. For the first time in Celestia knows when, Ditzy’s reflection stared back, with normal eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek as she looked at herself. “Hey, are you ok?” Crafter asked, instantly noticing the tear. His reply was a massive hug of thanks, Ditzy didn’t say a word, and just hugged him tightly. *** Pinkie Pie watched from the counter as Crafter and Ditzy shared a second hug, a warm smile gracing her lips. “I must say I'm impressed Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake said, walking up to Pinkie “but I still caution you. One wrong move could ruin it all.” “I am fully aware of the risks Mrs. Cake, but those ponies need each other. When I looked into Crafter’s eyes, I saw so much loneliness… so much sadness.” Pinkie had to take a breath to calm herself. “He needs my help.” Mrs. Cake placed a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder, giving silent support. *** When Ditzy released Crafter, she wiped a stray tear away and gave a happy smile. “If you’re not too busy, I can show you around town if you want.” Ditzy said shyly. Still not able to formulate a reply, Crafter just nodded. After all, Crafter still didn’t know his way around town. The two ponies stood up and left the table to begin the tour. The next few hours were spent showing Crafter around town so he wouldn’t end up getting lost; they shared a good laugh when he told her he got lost trying to find Sugarcube Corner that morning. As the tour went on, they started swapping stories about times they got horribly lost, laughing good naturedly. “And here’s the library, if you ever need a book, Twilight is sure to have it.” Ditzy said, gesturing to the tree it was built into. “Especially if you read fiction; for every research book, there are three fiction stories.” “She must be a big reader.” Ditzy just chuckled “You have no idea.” I’ll have to remember to stop by here later. Crafter thought, he was hoping Twilight would be willing to supply the books he wrote. Just then, the clock tower signaled noon. They had spent the entire morning touring around Ponyville, ‘time flies’ as the old saying goes. “Oh nimbus I'm late!” Ditzy suddenly exclaimed. “For what?” a very confused Crafter asked. “I have to pick up Dinky from school,” Ditzy clarified “they had a half day today.” “Who’s Dinky?” Crafter asked, no less confused. “She’s my daughter; she’s still too young to walk home by herself.” I knew it was too good to be true, can’t have a daughter without being married. Crafter’s depressed half thought. If he hadn’t thrown that dart the previous night, that discovery might have actually broken his already suffering heart. “Oh, well I’ll see you later then?” No harm in staying friends. “I’d enjoy that, it was wonderful spending time with you.” Ditzy said shyly. She gave Crafter a quick hug, thanking him again for showing her coffee, and set off to pick up her daughter. Once she was gone, Crafter walked away from the library to make his way home. He was intending to show the librarian his books and see if she was interested in adding them to her selection. He was glad Ditzy had showed him around town, if she hadn’t, Crafter would still be wandering around trying to find his house. He was pleasantly surprised when he successfully made it home, usually his bad memory would have already forgotten the way. After retrieving the books he wrote from his bedroom suitcase, Crafter left to make his way back to the library. Again, he was expecting to have forgotten the way, but made it successfully. He just chucked it up to still being fresh within his brain. Because the library was a public building, Crafter just walked in. “Welcome to The Books and Branches Library. If you need help finding anything, just give me a shout.” A small, purple and green dragon greeted from atop a ladder. Crafter, with his omnipotent abilities, deduced that this young dragon was Twilight Sparkle. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d be interested in supplying some of my books.” “You’d need to talk to Twilight about that, I don’t handle that stuff.” He replied, not looking away from the shelf he was restocking. “Aren’t you Twilight?” Crafter asked, dumbfounded that his flawless reasoning was wrong. The dragon froze, processing what he just heard. Slowly he started snickering, which quickly grew into a hearty laugh. “What’s so funny Spike?” A female voice asked from the other room. “This guy thought I was you!” Spike managed to reply from between laughs, nearly falling off the ladder. A lavender unicorn walked into the room to see who Spike was talking about. Upon seeing who it was Twilight turned to her assistant. “Spike, give him a break. He’s new in town.” After a few deep breaths, Spike hopped of the ladder. “Sorry Twi, couldn’t help it. If you need me I’ll be upstairs.” With a sigh, she dismissed him. “I apologize about Spike; he can be a bit rude at times!” She turned and yelled that last bit in the direction Spike left in. “Anyway, what is it you need?” Keeping his embarrassment under control, Crafter pulled out his collection of books from his saddlebag. “I was wondering if you would be interested in adding my books to your selection.” Twilight took the books from Crafter, the aura around them shifting from his royal blue, to her soft violet. “This is quite the collection you have, what genre are they?” “As a whole: a little bit of everything, but I specialize in adventure.” Crafter said proudly. “Interesting, I’ll have to look at these before I approve them. I’ll stop by your place once I finish reading them and we can talk business from there.” “That means tomorrow!” Spike yelled from upstairs. “That dragon is SO grounded…” Twilight grumbled. “Anyway, let me review your books and I’ll get back to you.” “Alright, see you tomorrow.” Crafter said, doing his best not to laugh at Spike’s antics. After saying quick goodbyes, Crafter left the library to head home. Crafter spent the rest of that day unpacking what little stuff he had from his suitcases and making a list of things he still needed to buy. He budgeted his list on the assumption that Twilight would only take half of them, that way if she did take all of them he would have some money left over. Before he lay down for bed, Crafter took the dart off the dartboard with his magic and threw it again; just to be sure he didn’t get his hopes up only to have them crushed later. He preferred to be alone sure, but he didn’t want to be alone. Crafter wanted somepony to love and accept, and to have them love and accept in him return. But he knew from experience there was nopony out there for him.