• Published 3rd Feb 2019
  • 20,259 Views, 3,199 Comments

A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) - ruthim345



It'd been years. Years since the war. Steve was the only one left. Everyone else was gone. He lived, he fought. Rinse, repeat. All he wants is a second chance. And now, he'll get his chance.

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A Crafter's Dream Ch. 87: She won...

Now, without further ado, I present,

A Crafter’s Dream

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Steve glanced over at the monitor standing, eyes tracing over the little green bumps that accompanied each, mildly irritating noise.

He sat in the chair closest to where Rainbow Dash lay, her quiet breathing filling the otherwise silent room. Steve stared at her rather peaceful form, taking a moment to glance at the wing that was stretched out to her side and covered in whatever it was they made casts out of.

Sighing, he turned his gaze back down at his hands, wringing them together in worry.

‘Steve, we both heard what the doctor said.’ Onyx spoke with a quiet voice. ‘Despite her injuries, Dash will be fine.’

“I know.” Steve muttered in reply. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

‘Then what is it that concerns you?’

“You saw how she was, before she passed out. She was, well, she was pretty fucking furious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that angry before.” Steve sighed and shook his head. “I just, she knows I would never think twice about risking my life if I had to. Nether, she’s seen it first-hand. So why was she so angry this time?”

‘I doubt there are any beings on this planet who can understand the mind of a mare.’

Steve chuckled slightly. ‘Yeah, I guess so.” However, only a moment later, the smile on his face fell once more. “Still, it worries me. What was so different this time around that would cause her to get so mad?” He thought about it, but his mind couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation. He shook his head. “Guess I’ll just have to ask her when she-” Steve stopped suddenly when he heard the sound of hurried hoofsteps quickly coming closer. He looked up just in time to see five mare burst through the door on the opposite side of the room.

“Rainbow Dash!” They all cried out.

“Shhhh!!!” Steve hushed, giving them a glare. “Quiet down, would ya? Dash is asleep, and based on what the doc said, she needs to stay that way for at least a few hours.”

“Steve!?” Twilight called out, completely ignoring his words. “What are you doing here?!”

“First of all, shut it!” Steve whisper-yelled. “Second of all, the heck do you think I’m doing here? I’m the one who brought Dash here after she pulled off that Sonic Rainboom.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked, tone displaying her worry. “What’s wrong with Rainbow Dash?”

“Well, besides the fact that just doing the Sonic Rainboom burned through all of her energy, both of her wings were damaged, though the left one was damaged much more than the other. The doc said she’ll be fine, though she won’t be able to use her wings for at least a week.”

“My name…” A voice rang out from behind the group of mares, causing them to turn around, finding a rather short pegasus mare, with an off-white coat of fur and dark gray mane. Her Cutie Mark looked like a small, orange, circular container of some sort. “is Peppin Pills, Mr. Steve. And I would really appreciate it if you started using it.”

“Not a chance. Doc is easier.”

Growling slightly, the mare trudged past the Elements towards the mare lying unconscious on the bed. Pulling out a small clipboard with a few papers on it, she looked over some of the various machines.

“Hmm.” She hummed, writing some things down with a quill as she nodded to herself. “Hmm. Okay.”

“How’s she looking, Doc?” Steve asked, sitting up slightly.

Peppin glanced over at the Crafter with a deadpan look. After staring at him for a moment, she sighed and shook her head. “Miss Rainbow Dash is doing fine, Mr. Steve. Thanks to Zyn’s spell, her wings have already begun the process of healing.”

“So why isn’t the poor dear awake yet?” Rarity inquired.

“Because she’s exhausted.” Steve answered. “According to Onyx, pulling off that Sonic Rainboom really took it out of her. Something about ‘depleted her magic reserves’ or something along those lines.”

“Well, this ‘Onyx’ was correct.” Peppin Pills continued. “Miss Dash here pulled the equivalent of an ‘overcharge.’ While uncommon among unicorns, it is almost unheard of with earth ponies or pegasi.”

“What’s an ‘overcharge?’” Steve asked.

“It’s when a unicorn uses all, or nearly all of their magic in one spell.” Twilight responded. “Generally, it results in an exceptionally powerful spell that leaves the caster unconscious.”

“Hmm. So, Dash will be fine?” Steve assumed, glancing over at Peppin, who nodded.

“Yes. As long as she gets proper rest and doesn’t use her wings for at least a week, preferably two, then she’ll be okay. Though I wouldn’t advise her doing another Sonic Rainboom, especially not with injured wings.”

“No kidding.” Steve chuckled. “I think I speak for everyone when I say we don’t want a repeat of what happened today.”

“Speaking a which, Steve, what exactly was that today?” Applejack spoke up. The Crafter looked up to see the orange mare glaring at him slightly.

“What was what?” Steve replied, confused.

“What was with ya jumping off the balcony afta’ Dash at the competition?”

“She’s my friend. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Maybe not jump to yer certain death!” Applejack exclaimed. “What were ya thinking, doing that!? Ya can’t even fly!”

“No, but I did have this potion that allowed me to fall really slowly.”

“What?” The orange mare asked, a look of confusion on her face.

“Yeah. It’s called a potion of Slow Fall. If I’d drank it, it would cause me to fall at a much slower speed, meaning I could survive any fall as long as the potion effect was active. When I jumped, my plan was to catch up to Dash, drink the potion, and then fall safely to the ground below.”

“...Huh.” Applejack commented after a moment. “So what happened?”

“Well, during the fall, when I’d gotten caught by one of the Wonderbolts, I think his name was Soarin, I was about to drink the potion as a precaution, but I slipped from Soarin’s grip when he got exhausted and dropped, and as a result, dropped the damn potion.”

“Oh no!” Fluttershy yelped. “What happened?!”

“Well, I realized that the two Wonderbolts still standing, or rather flying in this case, wouldn’t be enough to get me, Dash and Soarin to safety. So after finding a water bucket in my Inventory, I decided to make myself fall so that they could get Soarin and Dash to safety, while I used the water bucket to break my fall. Of course, this plan went out the window as well when Dash somehow managed to pull off the Sonic Rainboom, easily catching up to me before bringing us both to safety. After we landed, she passed out, and I brought her here.”

There was a moment of silence as the Elements digested his story. Even though Peppin wasn’t looking, Steve could tell from the ear pointed towards him that she was listening as well.

“How would a bucket of water break your fall?” Twilight inquired.

Steve quirked a brow. “Well, if I placed it down on the ground at the right moment, I would’ve landed in the water. I’m not sure if it works the same way here, but back home, as long as there was a little water between you and the ground, you’ll be okay. Can’t tell you how many times a bucket of water has saved my ass.”

“But… that doesn’t work.” Twilight shook her head. “Even if there was enough water to effectively break your fall, the speed with which you would be falling would make hitting the water feel like hitting concrete.”

“Wait what?” Steve asked. “Why would it be like hitting concrete? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, neither does using a bucket a’ water to break ya fall.” Applejack spoke, one brow raised. Steve opened his mouth to counter, but eventually decided against it. Shaking his head he glanced over at Peppin.

“Fair point. Hey Doc, do you know when Dash should be awake?”

The mare hesitated for a moment before answering. “Not sure. At best, she’ll wake up today. At worst, sometime tomorrow, or the day after. All I know for sure is, when she does wake up, she’s in for one hay of a headache.”

“Well, that's good.” Steve spoke. “Not the headache part, just that she’ll be fine. Given what happened, it definitely could’ve been worse.” His words roused mumbled words of agreement from the other occupants of the room as all eyes turned towards the unconscious mare. After a few moments of silence, Steve spoke again. “By the way, who won?”

“Hmm?” Twilight inquired.

“Who won the competition? I mean, I don’t particularly care, but figuring that it’s essentially the reason we came up here, thought I’d ask.”

“Uh, well,-” Rarity began, only to be interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at the door. Everyone in the room turned just in time to see three ponies enter.

The first two wore blue jumpsuits. It took him a moment, but eventually, Steve recognized them as two of the Wonderbolts who had helped him and Dash. The first, the one with a black coat of fur and two-toned gray mane, Steve recognized as Thunderlane. The other, a yellow mare with an almost flame-like mane, was one of the other Wonderbolts who’d come to assist, but unlike the other two, Steve had never learned her name.

The third pony to enter the room was none other than Princess Celestia herself.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called out, her and the rest of the ponies (with the exception of Steve and the two Wonderbolts) immediately bowing before the Princess. However, they were stopped a moment later when Celestia waved her hoof.

“Please, rise. There’s no need for bowing.”

“Oh, of course.” The purple unicorn nodded before standing up straight again, the rest of her friends, as well as Peppin, doing the same. “What are you doing here, your majesty?”

Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head, muttering something under her breath.

“...since she was a filly and she still…”

Sighing, the alicorn shook her head before focusing back on the group in front of her. “Well, I’m just doing a little friendly visit, checking to see how Rainbow Dash is fairing after what happened at the Competition. Sonic Rainbooms aren’t exactly easy to pull off, after all. Speaking of which.” She glanced over at Peppin. “How is Ms. Rainbow Dash?”

“U-um.” Peppin cleared her throat. “Overall, she’s just fine, your Highness. Her wings were damaged, but one of our few unicorn doctors cast a fairly powerful healing spell and they’re now in the process of healing. She won’t be able to use them at all for at least a week until they’re fully healed. Besides that, she’s just exhausted. Pulling off that Sonic Rainboom, especially with damaged wings, took a lot out of her, similar to when a unicorn overcharges.”

“Ah.” The Princess spoke, nodding to herself. “Any lasting damage?”

Peppin Pills shook her head. “Nope. Give her a week like I said, and she’ll be right as rain.”

Celestia let out a sigh of relief. “That’s reassuring to know. I know how much Ms. Dash loves flying. It would be awful if she lost the ability to do what she loved.”

“Agreed.” The fiery-maned Wonderbolt spoke. “The mare’s got skill. To be honest, her flying is better than some Wonderbolts I know.”

“Well, given how much she practices, it’s not really surprising.” Steve replied with a grin, causing all eyes in the room to shift towards him. The Crafter managed to watch as Celestia’s expression morphed from confusion, to happiness, to concern, then finally, to anger.

‘Oh fuck. What is it this time?’ Steve thought as the alicorn quickly approached him.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked, brows knit together in concern. She stared down at him with a narrowed gaze for a second or two before replying.

“Steve, do you have any idea at all how terrified I was when you jumped off the balcony today?”

The Crafter sighed. “Figures.” Rubbing his face with a hand, he glanced back at the alicorn. “Look, Celestia, I’m sorry for doing that, or at the very least, for not saying anything to you, but there wasn’t any time to really explain anything. I knew that if I was going to save Dash, I had to act quickly. Though, if it’s any consolation, I wouldn’t have jumped at all if I’d known that the Wonderbolts were going to intervene.” He glanced over at the two pegasi. “Speaking of which, how’s Soarin doing?”

“He’s fine.” Thunderlane replied. “He was just exhausted from carrying you.”

“Good to know.” Steve said, nodding at the stallion before turning back to Celestia. “Anyways, I’m sorry about scaring you like that, but I have to ask. Why were you worried?”

The alicorn furrowed her brow in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. Figured you wouldn’t be too worried, knowing that I can take care of yourself.”

“Yes, I do know that Steve. However, I also know you have a slight tendency to bite off more than you can chew.”

Steve thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Eh, that’s fair. Still, I ain’t dead yet.”

Celestia sighed. “It’s the yet that worries me.”

“...urg…” Came a quiet groan. Everyone whirled to look at the hospital bed, where Dash lay. As they watched, her closed eyes tightened up slightly before they opened.

Blinking a few times, the prismatic mare’s eyes looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds before they began to look around the room.

“...girls?” She spoke softly as her gaze landed on the other Elements. Her eyes shifted over to Steve, then to the alicorn and Wonderbolts standing nearby.

“Steve? Princess?” A pause. “...Captain Spitfire? What...?”

“How are you feeling Dash?” Steve spoke, coming to kneel next to the hospital bed.

“Like crap.” She quietly replied, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “I feel like death and the headache sure as buck isn’t helping.”

“Yeah, you pulling off the Rainboom really took it out of you. Plus, the fact that your wing was still damaged only made it worse.”

“Hmm.” Dash hummed as she laid her head back. After a moment, she took a breath before sitting up ever-so-slightly, being careful not to jostle her still-bandaged wings. She focused her gaze on Princess Celestia, as well as the two Wonderbolts standing beside her. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you three doing here? Like, don’t get me wrong, it’s cool that you’re visiting, but I don’t think you’d visit a random pegasus for no reason.”

Celestia answered first. “I was just visiting to make sure you were alright, Ms. Dash. After all, not only was your wing injured, you also pulled off the third Sonic Rainboom in recorded history. Something like that isn’t easy to achieve.”

Dash grinned. “Nope, but I did!” Her words drew a few laughs from the surrounding ponies. Steve chuckled at her antics. After everything that’d happened, he figured she deserved the chance to boast a little.

“And that wasn’t the only thing you achieved today.” The fiery-maned Wonderbolt, apparently named Spitfire, spoke, stepping towards Dash. The prismatic mare gave her a slightly confused look.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you were right in assuming we don’t normally visit random pegasi. However, if a pegasus were to, say, win the Best Young Flyers Competition…”

Dash squinted at the mare for a moment before realization hit her like a truck. Her eyes shot wide open. “Wait, do, do you mean, did I..?”

Spitfire grinned as she nodded. “Yes. Congratulations, Ms. Rainbow Dash. Due to your amazing flying skills and spectacular display, you have been chosen as this year’s winner of the Best Young Flyers Competition.” Walking forward, Spitfire withdrew some sort of long, golden circlet with a pair of golden pegasus wings on top, and placed it on Dash’s head.

It was only there for a moment before the prismatic mare reached up and gingerly took it off, bringing it down to look at it. After a few moments, she chuckled slightly.

“You know, it’s funny. I was so stressed out today over whether I would be able to pull off a Sonic Rainboom or not. Honestly, I think the worry took a year or two off my life.” She glanced up at Spitfire, agrin on her face. “And yet, just a second ago, when you said I’d won the competition, it took me a moment to figure out what the hay you were talking about. I was so caught up with how I’d nearly died, how Steve had nearly died, that I completely forgot why my friends and I were in Cloudsdale in the first place. Funny how something like that will change your priorities.” With a sigh, Dash placed the crown on a nearby table. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes with a hoof. “Boy, I’m tired.” She mumbled, thought still loud enough for those nearby to hear.

“That would probably be due to the healing spell Doctor Zyn used.” Peppin spoke. “It draws from a pony’s magic in order to heal injuries. That, coupled with what you did today, would make you very tired.” The mare turned towards the rest of the ponies, and Steve. “I’m sorry to have to do this, but Ms. Dash needs to rest. You all can visit later, if you wish, but for now, I need everypony out.”

They all heeded the doctor’s words and, one by one, began to leave the room, each one wishing Rainbow well as they did so. Dash lay on her back, though her head was turned towards the window.

Eventually, the only one left in the room besides Peppin and Dash was Steve. His gaze was narrowed at the mare, feeling very concerned for his friend.

Peppin took notice of his presence and moved to shoo him away. “Sir, I-”

“Hold on.” He muttered. Stepping toward the prismatic mare, he tried to speak hand reaching towards her. “Dash, listen. About earlier-”

“Just go, Steve.” She replied, not looking at him. “Like the Doc said, you and the girls can visit me later.”

The Crafter let his hand drop down to his side. His shocked expression remained for a moment before it turned blank. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Got it. Goodbye.”

Turning around, he quickly walked out of the room, the door closing behind him.






I’ᒲ ᓭ𝙹∷∷||

Author's Note:

I must say, it's surprisingly easy to find Standard Galactic Alphabet translators on Google. Makes my job a lot easier.

Anyways, as always, thank you all for reading and be sure to let me know what you all think in the comments.

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