Love Shynessby CrafterChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1St. Petershoof was a cold, emotionless, industrial city. Located in the northernmost territory of Equestria, the constant snowfall and harsh wind sheer made it a rather inhospitable place to call home. However, the rich deposits of coal, iron, and other metals made the city a place where the desperate sought out work. Due to the harsh conditions and poor treatment of workers in the northern territory, it was little surprise that St. Petershoof was the birthplace of communism, the new political movement that was making its way into newspapers all across Equestria. Outside of factories and office buildings, protesters stood with signs with catchy slogans and the picture of a sideways horseshoe with a hammer overlapping it. When these protesters gathered, the groups were small and generally ignored. There was one pony that was also ignored; it was something the green unicorn was used to by now. Most of his life had been spent with very few friends. He was content to keep it that way, as hard as he tried, the unicorn could not overcome the crippling social awkwardness that plagued his life. Just like every other day, he was inside his repair shop working on a complicated piece of machinery. His shop was small, with a counter separating his work area from where the customers came in. The floor around the workbench was littered with spare parts and tools, living alone for most of his life lead to a messy lifestyle. He was currently working on one of the many blueprints for inventions he was developing to improve the overall quality of life for ponies, it was one of the few things he did to prevent himself from going insane. Hearing the little bell he hooked up ring, he wiped the engine grease from a more complicated job out of his blue and red mane, put his blueprints away in a safe, and turned to greet the arrival. “Welcome to Crafter’s repair shop. Picking up or dropping off?” No matter what time in the day it was, his voice was always tired and depressed. He also lacked the local accent that everypony else in the area had, being born in Canterlot probably had something to do with that. His repair shop was the only one in the area so he had plenty of traffic. “Picking up.” The orange pegasus mare replied. “What’s your number?” Crafter replied, crouching below the counter to look for the corresponding item. “Number 25.” A blender was levitated up with the dark blue aura of the unicorn’s magic and placed on the counter. “Mrs. Dew correct?” The mare nodded. “That’s me, now much do I owe you?” This was the part he found the hardest, the dreaded question of bits. “You don’t owe me anything, I don’t work for pay.” A look of shock and confusion donned the mare’s face, clearly not expecting free repair work. “Nothing at all?” So far so good. He thought to himself. “Nothing.” After a few seconds of silence, Mrs. Dew spoke up again. “You’re a communist aren't you?” Her tone was neither negative nor positive, merely one of confirmation. Crafter nodded, eager to get it over with. “Yes, I am.” More silence. “Y-you’re not going to try and convince me to join the ‘party’?” she asked in shock, honestly expecting a conversion attempt. “Why would I do that?” “It’s just that… oh never mind. Thank you for fixing my blender.” With that, she put the appliance in her saddlebags and left. Crafter sighed a breath of relief. That had been one of the better reactions he got. Most ponies gave him disapproving looks and left, others yelled threats at him then stormed out. Very few left without some form of negative feelings towards him. Thinking it would be good to close up early for the day; he locked up the shop, placed a ‘closed’ sign on the door, and walked upstairs to the living area. Just as he reached the top of the stairs, there was a sound of shattering glass from the shop floor. “What in Celestia’s name?” Rushing downstairs, he found a rock had been chucked through one of the windows, attached to the rock was a note. Slowly picking up the note with his magic, Crafter opened it up to read it. Your days are numbered commie, watch your back! Terrified beyond comprehension, Crafter threw the note to the ground as if it were a cursed relic from the Daring Do series. Threats were something he was used to, but this? All he wanted to do was run away. “Calm down Crafter,” he said to himself “it’s probably some teenage pegasus out for a laugh. No need to panic.” After taping a plastic bag over the window that was shattered, Crafter went upstairs to try and get some sleep. None came. *** Getting no sleep that night, Crafter’s mental awareness was questionable at best. Cross eyed and loopy, he stumbled his way into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Mornings were worse when he had a long night, his ADD played havoc with his mind. When he took the first sip, his teal eyes slowly uncrossed themselves. After finishing his coffee, he put on his coat and lucky ushanka, and then left for breakfast at the bakery around the corner. The instant he opened the door, he was blasted in the face with a gust of wind driven snow. Oh great he thought another blizzard. Crafter wasn’t physically active by any means; the doctors diagnosed him with low muscle tone at a young age. Due to this, he was huffing and puffing by the time he reached the bakery. “Morning Crafter.” The owner said in a thick Stalliongrad accent once Crafter entered the shop. “Same thing as usual?” Crafter sleepily nodded. “You know it.” He said with a light chuckle. The baker slid over a chocolate glazed doughnut and a mug of coffee, in reply, Crafter slid him some bits. “You never told me how you manage to get bits; I thought communism meant ‘freedom from economy’ or something.” “Well it’s impossible to live like that when the majority of Equestria is still capitalist.” “True, but if you don’t charge for repair work, how do you get money?” “I'm also an author,” Crafter said with pride “I have a deal with the local library where I get some of the income from when my books are rented.” “Ah, I should have known by the ink quill on your cutie mark. But don’t blame me for not looking at your butt.” The baker joked. Crafter just chuckled, still too tired for small talk. His cutie mark was a quill overlapped by a wrench, forming a likeness to the communist logo. After a few minutes, a small family walked in to the bakery. They took a seat next to Crafter and placed an order. Their filly, which Crafter recognized as the one who constantly needed their sled fixed, sat next to him and tapped his shoulder. “Cwafter?” she asked in an adorably small voice. Turning to greet the filly, he saw there was sadness in her eyes. “What's wrong?” Crafter asked with concern. “When we walked by your wepair shop, all da windows were smashed in.” Crafter’s pupils shrunk and his ears splayed back. “W-what?” She handed him a note. “I found this on your door.” Slowly, he took the letter from the filly and opened it. You got lucky this time. Crafter could feel his heart stop in his chest; he had narrowly avoided being killed by whoever sent the first note. The baker took note of Crafter’s state and looked at the note, earning a similar reaction. “Little filly, where did you find this?” “On his door, all his windows were smashed in.” “Crafter do you hear me?” he asked urgently. “You can’t stay in this city anymore, it’s not safe.” He didn’t need to be told to leave, that was already what Crafter was planning on doing. Chapter 2Taking the Train anywhere out of St. Petershoof might as well have been a journey across Equestria, given how the industrial metropolis was about a million miles away from just about everywhere. In his haste, Crafter put his home up for sale and packed only the essentials and a few personal belongings. He had two suitcases full of parts, tools, blueprints, and other miscellaneous things that he wanted to keep and a cardboard box which held his most prized possession, his lifeblood: his typewriter. He had been on the train for about a week and was getting anxious; he decided to take the train to the end of the line. “Next stop Ponyville, end of the line!” The ticket master called suddenly. “All remaining passengers must get off here.” Ug finally! Crafter thought, gathering his luggage. Once the train pulled into the small station and came to a stop, Crafter stepped out into the town of Ponyville. As soon as he left the car, he was blasted in the face by a wall of heat, despite it being the end of summer. Being from the north, he was accustomed to the arctic environment. Sweating profusely, Crafter walked about town, trying to find an apartment with an open room. He noticed a very pink pony walking down the street, humming a happy tune. When she reached him, she opened her eyes and let out a huge gasp. “Ohmygosh!” “What?” Crafter asked, confused by the random outburst directed at him. “You’re new!” “Yes….” This mare seemed very hyper; her very presence gave him a headache. Now would be a good time to mention Crafter had a difficult time processing auditory information. She ran off, leaving the green unicorn very confused. Before he could walk off again, she came back with a strange wagon. “What is that?” He asked cautiously. “I'm glad you asked!” She pushed a button on the wagon, causing it to open up. Several horns and flags popped up with an explosion of confetti while a cheerful song started up. “Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you. Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do?” The pink pony started singing and dancing. As sporadic and headache inducing as the song was, Crafter found himself enjoying the welcome and tapped his hoof in tune with the beat. “Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say hip hip hooray. Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Ponyville today!” she finishes with a drawn out note. “Wait for it…” “Wait for wha-” but before Crafter could finish asking, he was blasted in the face with cake batter. “Dang it, I mixed up the confetti cannon and oven again!” Crafter simply licked the batter off his face. “I'm not complaining.” “That’s the spirit! By the way I'm Pinkie Pie what's your name?” she asked, sticking her hoof out in greeting. “Crafter, I'm moving here from St. Petershoof.” He answered after shaking himself off, then accepted her hoof. “St. Petershoof eh? So THAT’S why you’re so sweaty!” she exclaimed. “So where are you living? You need a party to PROPERLY welcome you to Ponyville.” Folding his ears back, Crafter simply looked at the ground. “I um, don’t have any place to live yet.” Pinkie gasped again, put his luggage on her back, grabbed him by the hoof and darted off. *** Mayor Mare was walking up the steps of town hall to start her busy day when she was stopped by a familiar voice. “Mayor Mare! We have an emergency!” Turning to greet Pinkie, she was startled to see her with a new pony and his luggage on her back. “Who’s this?” “His name is Crafter and he doesn’t have a home!” This whole ordeal was giving Crafter a migraine, and on top of that, being pulled across town at light speed left him dazed. “Hi.” Was all he could manage. The mayor chuckled, “I think you broke him Pinkie, I’ll take it from here.” Pinkie gave Crafter his luggage back and darted off to do… something. After his belongings were returned to him, Crafter walked inside (albeit dizzily) with the mayor. Once in her office, Crafter put his suitcases and box by the door and took a seat in front of Mayor Mare’s desk. “So Crafter,” the mayor began, walking towards a filing cabinet “what is your budget?” Crafter’s ears folded back as he shrunk into his chair. “Well, until somepony buys my old house in St. Petershoof, I have almost no money. I was hoping to find an apartment or something to rent.” Mayor Mare stopped in her tracks. He’s broke? “Well Ponyville isn't large enough for any apartment buildings…” She started, when she turned to look at him from the filing cabinet, she saw his cutie mark and instantly made the connection to his ideology. “But….” She added. Crafter’s ears perked. “Ponies aren't exactly lining up to move in, and ponies in your predicament are rare. So here’s what I'm going to do.” She had Crafter’s full attention now. “By the look of your cutie mark, I’d say you’re a repair pony and that's something we don't have; there is a small, fully furnished shop-home combo that would be perfect for your needs.” She smirked as she saw Crafter’s face light up with hope. “It’s yours, free of charge. Think of it as a way to welcome you to our community.” Mayor Mare was sure to put emphasis on the word ‘community’. At first, a look of confusion was on Crafter’s face. Then, once he processed what she had said, realization with a mix of fear hit him like a train. How did she know?! “Um, Th-thank you.” “Relax; your secret is safe with me.” She said reassuringly. “I-I don’t know w-what you’re t-talking about.” He lied horribly, eyes shifting about left and right. Mayor Mare rolled her eyes, and decided to play along. “You're right, I must have been mistaken. Regardless, welcome to Ponyville.” *** After receiving his house keys from the mayor, Crafter quickly left to find his house. As he walked, he took in the sights around him. The town of Ponyville was a much brighter place than St. Petershoof, both physically and emotionally. Although he found the tiny town incredibly cheesy in some areas, he felt it was lifting him out of the depression that had always been present within him. When Crafter found his home, he was shocked by how new it looked; the exterior of his home looked brand new. The paint wasn’t faded, the two large display windows were as clean as could be, no cracks in the plaster, and not the slightest sign of decay on the wooden cross beams. When he unlocked his house and walked inside, all the lights had been shut off, but that would make sense given how nopony lived there. Crafter flipped the light switch and the room was flooded with light, and something else. “SURPRISE!!” a dozen voices called out as ponies jumped out from behind various hiding places, most of them from behind the counter. Aside from when he got the second note, Crafter had never been so frightened in his life. He fell backwards with a less than dignified scream and lay clutching his chest. “I think we broke him.” a concerned voice said from somewhere inside the mass of ponies. “You know that’s the second time I've done that.” Pinkie said, helping Crafter to his hooves. After giving the ‘all good’ sign, Pinkie resumed the party. The loud music, the dozens of ponies introducing themselves, and the background chatter instantly gave Crafter a killer migraine. Once the introductions died down, (he wouldn’t remember a single name) he snaked his way to the back of the room where the food was set out and action wasn’t. Crafter was content to stand by the table the food was set on and eat; he couldn’t stand social gatherings like this one due to his headaches. As the party started to die down, he saw her, a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane. The mare’s eyes were a golden yellow and stared off in opposite directions, just like his did in the morning. Crafter got lost in her eyes as she danced without a care in the world. Pinkie, who noticed his staring, looked to see what he was looking at so intensely. She saw who Crafter was looking at and grew a sly smile as she bounced over to him. “Go introduce yourself silly.” She said once she reached him. Jarred out of his trance, Crafter simply replied with “Huh, what?” Pinkie just giggled. “I said to go introduce yourself, she won’t bite, unless you’re really a muffin.” Crafter noticed the mare of interests’ ears perk up at the word ‘muffin’ and she looked towards him. Frantic, Crafter just waved slightly. She smiled and waved back, then went back to her dancing. “What are you waiting for?!” Pinkie urged. “I-I can’t.” he said sadly. This just confused Pinkie, “Why not?” The only reply she received was Crafter’s ears splaying back and he shrank into himself, just like a certain yellow pegasus Pinkie happened to know. Knowing what that body posture meant, the party pony bounced off to the grey mare. “Hey Ditzy, what's up?” Ditzy stopped her dancing, “Hey Pinkie, just dancing.” Her voice screamed ADD. “Have you introduced yourself to Crafter yet?” “Well, n-not yet.” She said hesitantly, the faintest blush on her cheeks. “He looks too overwhelmed right now, maybe later.” “Alright, but don’t wait too long.” Pinkie said sternly, and then proceeded to bounce off elsewhere within party. *** As the party came to a close late in the night, only two ponies stayed to help clean up, Ditzy being one of them. “So how did you like the party Crafter?” Pinkie asked. “I had a great time.” He lied, not wanting to hurt Pinkie’s feelings. “Great!” she happily exclaimed “Well I got to get back to Sugar Cube Corner for work tomorrow, see ya Crafter.” And with that, she bounced happily out the door into the night, leaving Crafter alone with Ditzy. As he nervously kicked at the floor and avoided eye contact, Crafter spoke. “So uh… you already know my name, er, what's yours?” “M-my name is Ditzy Doo," she said nervously "I deliver the mail around Ponyville.” “Oh, cool.” Crafter said, then fell into nervous silence. “So uh, I'm going to go now. It was nice meeting you.” She said, feeling the awkwardness rise. “Nice meeting you too.” After she had left, Crafter let out a sigh. He was tired, sore, and had a killer migraine. Crafter picked up one of his suitcases with his magic and brought it upstairs, once in his room he pulled out a dartboard with a picture of a heart taped to it. The picture had several puncture holes in it, as if it had been used many times before. After hanging it on the wall, he brought up a dart with his magic and launched it at the board, landing a bullseye; as the dart struck the paper, Crafter felt the familiar pinch of pain in his heart. “There.” He said sadly “Now she doesn’t have to.” Crafter could feel the source of his depression slowly returning as he lay down in bed. Most ponies his age have had a special somepony at some point, but try as he may, Crafter could never get a marefreind. He had been shot down so many times, he started throwing darts at a picture representing his heart every time he felt a crush developing. He did it to save them the trouble of shooting him down. 'If you don't ask, they can't break your heart' had become his motto. Crafter had given up on ever finding a mare who would love him, he was a broken pony. Chapter 3The 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. Chapter 4Crafter sat at a table inside the bakery around the corner from his home, nervously shifting about in the seat. He had every right to be nervous; he had asked a very close friend of his to meet him for lunch and was afraid she wouldn’t show up. He was starting to make himself sick. “Hey Crafter, what's up?” a light brown unicorn mare greeted in a warm stalliongrad accent as she walked in, brushing aside her long, chocolate mane out of her eyes with a hoof. “Hey Cocoa,” Crafter replied, signaling her to have a seat across from him “I’m glad you could make it.” Cocoa took the seat without hesitation, glad to be out of the St. Petershoof weather. “Yeah me too, it’s freezing out there.” she greeted warmly. “Well, more so than usual.” She added with a chuckle. Crafter chuckled too, he loved her since of humor, it was a rare trait in the industrial city. “Anyway,” she said after they had both finished enjoying the joke “what did you want to talk about?” Shifting about in his seat again, heart pounding in his chest with fear, Crafter steeled his nerves and spoke. “I-I was just wondering if you had a special somepony for H-Hearts and Hooves Day.” He asked, blushing slightly. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “I…uh….” Cocoa stammered. The look of hope in his eyes was unbearable. “Well I don’t… but….” When Crafter heard Cocoa say ‘but’, his fragile heart shattered. “I'm sorry I wasted your time…” The bitter cold of the arctic air was nothing compared to the pain in his chest. Getting up from the table, Crafter slowly walked out into the raging blizzard. *** Crafter’s eyes shot open, bloodshot and full of tears. He could still recall the dream --or nightmare in his case-- quite clearly; it was the last time he allowed a crush to develop, the last time he had his heart torn to shreds. It was a Semi-regular nightmare; one that would only come if Crafter was reminded of how miserable he was being alone in the world. He looked at the clock on the nightstand, it read 5:23. His biological clock saved him from the rest of that horrible memory. He groaned as he got out of bed, all four of his knees letting out audible cracks as he rose. Crafter stretched his back, earning more loud pops. He had found memories of tormenting his younger sister by cracking his knees, hooves, back, and just about every other joint he had. Allowing a small, nostalgic smile to form, Crafter made his way to the kitchen for his coffee. Oh yeah… he mentally grumbled, he still didn’t have a coffee maker OR food. He opted that Sugarcube Corner would suffice, remembering the blissful muffin, the warm coffee, Ditzy’s wonderful smile… wait… As that last thought entered his brain, Crafter took the dart, again, and launched it at the board. This was the most he’s had to use the board on one mare, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind would always float back to her smile. After locking his house, Crafter turned to start the trek to the bakery. He was instantly greeted by the sight of the mare herself, Ditzy. She was sporting her mailmare uniform, which consisted of the signature post hat and a rather large mailbag. “Mail call.” She happily chirped, her voice having reverted to its natural ‘loopy’ tone. Ditzy reached into the bag with a hoof and pulled out a few letters and held them out to Crafter. “Good morning Ditzy.” Crafter managed, taking the mail with his magic. “How-” He covered his mouth with a hoof as a yawn was let loose. “How are you today?” Ditzy’s eyes, albeit crooked, glowed with pride. “I'm doing fantastic! I delivered all the mail to the correct houses for once!” “That’s-” Another yawn. “That’s great.” Crafter replied honestly. It concerned him that she said ‘for once’ but decided not to ask about it. The last thing he wanted to do was bring up painful memories, he had his fair share as it was. “Sorry if I don’t sound interested, I'm still-” A third powerful yawn escaped his mouth. “Still a bit sleepy.” Crafter said, letting his eyes wander for emphasis. Ditzy let out a giggle, then yawned herself. “Stop yawning darn it, it’s contagious.” She playfully complained. Crafter proceeded to let out the most obnoxious, fake yawn he could muster. He was rewarded with the desired reaction, a playful shove and that wonderful laugh. “I assume you’re going to Sugarcube Corner. Mind if I tag along?” Ditzy asked innocently. “I wouldn’t mind at all,” Crafter happily replied after he yawned again “but what about your mail roots?” Ditzy blushed again, which as usual, went unnoticed by Crafter. “I start early on Saturday’s so I can be home when Dinky wakes up. I also made sure to deliver your mail last so we could… you know… spend some time together.” “Oh ok, shall we-” Yet another yawn interrupted him as he spoke. “Get going then?” Ditzy nodded shyly. “Yes.” They wasted no time making their way to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast, both eager to get some food in them. It didn’t take long to reach their destination; Crafter didn’t live that far away from the bakery. When they reached the front door, each of them slammed into the door frame, Crafter was beginning to see this as a regular event. “Are you two alright?” Mrs. Cake asked, rushing to help them up. “Yeah I'm fine.” Crafter said, rubbing his sore nose. Luckily it wasn’t bleeding this time. “And you know I'm alright.” Ditzy said casually, brushing off the collision entirely. Mrs. Cake just sighed; it worried her that Ditzy didn’t feel the pain anymore. “Well let me know when you’re ready to order dears, I have to take care of the Twins.” “Twins?” Crafter asked Ditzy after Mrs. Cake entered the kitchen. “She had foals not too long ago,” She clarified “a unicorn and a pegasus.” Right on cue, a khaki pegasus foal burst out of the kitchen and started buzzing around the main room, giggling like a maniac. “Pound Cake!” his mother called. “You get back here this instant!” The tiny colt ignored her, and instead focused on the face he had never seen before. He slowly ‘flew’ over to Crafter, full of curiosity. Crafter just gave a warm smile and waved, inviting the foal closer. “Hey there little guy.” He said softly. Pound smiled back and imitated his wave. Without hesitation, the small pegasus foal landed on Crafter’s back and started to climb all over him. Mrs. Cake came in soon after to find that Crafter had become a living jungle gym, displaying infinite patience. Once Pound had expended his excess energy, he hovered in front of him and outstretched his arms. Understanding the universal gesture of ‘please hold me’, Crafter sat down on the floor and let the foal land in his arms. Ignoring the ‘Awwww’ from the mares behind him, Crafter slowly rocked the foal to sleep. Ditzy walked around to get a better view, not wanting to miss a single second of it. “That was amazing.” She whispered. “I’ve always had a way with foals,” Crafter replied, offering the sleeping colt back to Mrs. Cake “makes me wish I had one of my own.” He added with a sad undertone. “I’m sure you’d make a great father dear.” Mrs. Cake said reassuringly, taking her son back. Ditzy nodded in agreement. “I’ve heard,” Crafter said with a chuckle “been told that since I was a teenager.” As Mrs. Cake took Pound upstairs for a nap, Crafter and Ditzy looked at the selection of baked goods in the counter display case. “What are you going to get?” Ditzy asked. Crafter scanned the pastries, none really stood out. “I might get what I had yesterday.” “And what was that?” she asked, curiosity rising. “A blueberry muffin,” Crafter said, mouth starting to water “it was soooo good.” “Ohmygosh, I LOVE blueberry muffins!” Ditzy exclaimed, her wings flaring up in excitement. “I can see that.” Crafter chuckled, having barely avoided being slapped in the rib cage by her wings. Ditzy slowly folded back her wings, blushing horribly. “Sorry…” Crafter gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it.” Right then, Mrs. Cake came down from upstairs. “Are you two ready to order?” “Yes! Give us two Blueberry Supreme Muffins!!!” Ditzy excitedly ordered, placing her bits on the counter. “Oh, and two medium coffees please.” She added more calmly, blushing slightly. “Do you want it to-go dears?” she asked, turning to prepare their order. Ditzy turned to Crafter expectantly. “Wait you’re ordering for me too?” Crafter asked after he realized why she was looking at him. “Um, we can eat here I guess.” “Then no thanks Mrs. Cake, we’re eating here.” Ditzy said to the baker. Mrs. Cake nodded and entered the kitchen to make their breakfast. “Why did you pay for both of us? I had no problem paying for my half.” Crafter said, taking a seat at a booth with Ditzy. “Because I wanted to…” she answered, shrinking into herself and folding her ears back slightly. “But won’t your husband find it odd that you’re being so nice to another stallion?” Crafter asked, slightly nervous at the thought of getting the tar beaten out of him by an angry stallion. Ditzy’s ears perked back up instantly, losing any sign of shyness she previously had. “What made you think I was married?” she asked bluntly. “Um… your daughter?” Crafter was starting to get very confused. “Oh…” Her ears folded back completely this time and a single tear dripped down her cheek. “Well I-I'm… n-not married… I-I never have been.” Crafter felt as though he had been slapped across the face, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what she meant. “I'm so sorry, I didn’t mean to--” He was silenced by Ditzy holding up her hoof. “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t know.” She said, giving him a forced smile. “But Dinky means the world to me; I can’t imagine my life without her.” “Here’s your breakfast dears.” Mrs. Cake said, placing the food on the table. “Enjoy.” After she left, the two just sat in silence. Crafter felt horrible about bringing up dark memories and sank into his seat in shame. In an attempt to distract himself, Crafter decided to open his mail. Bringing the letters up to his face with his magic, he read the return address of each one. “Looks like somepony bought my old house, I have some money now.” “Wait you’re broke?” Ditzy asked in shock. “Well… not anymore.” Crafter said, sinking further into his seat. “Why didn’t you tell me you were struggling? I would have gladly lent you some spending money.” Ditzy asked, trying to recover what was left of their conversation. Crafter shook his head. “It would feel weird to me, asking for money from a mare I just met.” This was partially true, the other reason was his political alignment, but he dare not tell her about that. “I guess that makes since.” Ditzy said, a little disappointed. “What other mail did you get?” Resuming where he left off, Crafter looked at the rest of his mail. Most of it was junk, pointless advertisements for things he had no interest in. One letter however, had no return address. “This is odd…” Crafter said, putting the other letters down. “What is it?” Ditzy asked, curiosity peaked. Opening the mystery letter, Crafter slowly pulled out its contents. In all honesty, he was expecting a threatening letter, most unmarked ones were. To his surprise, he pulled out two coupons to a free movie at the theater. “A free movie?” “Can I see the envelope for a second?” Ditzy asked, holding out a hoof. After turning it upside-down and shaking it a few times with his magic to make sure there wasn’t a letter inside it, Crafter sent over the now empty envelope. “…No I got the address right, it’s definitely for you.” She confirmed. “I’ll have to remember to use these.” Crafter said, placing the coupons on the table next to the rest of his mail and taking a sip of his coffee. Ditzy removed her mail cap and twisted it nervously in her hooves; she was obviously debating something with herself. She took a sip of her coffee to clear her mind. As the caffeine took effect, she made up her mind. “P-perhaps we could s-see a movie this evening?” She asked nervously. “Dinky has a sleepover tonight and I don’t like being alone.” Crafter thought about his plans he had for the day, which didn’t include much. “That sounds fun, probably better to use these sooner rather than later. I would forget I had them if I waited too long.” “Great.” She replied, seeming much happier. “So what do you do for a living?” Ditzy asked after taking a bite of muffin. “I do repair work mostly; it was pretty handy in an industrial city like St. Petershoof, never a time when I didn’t have something to work on.” Crafter replied after swallowing his own bite. Ditzy tilted her head in confusion. “If you always had work, shouldn’t you have had more money?” OH BUCK I FORGOT ABOUT THAT PART!! Crafter’s ears pinned back as far as they could go and his eyes shifted about as he frantically tried to come up with a believable story. “Um… it was… for charity?” He said, unsure of his own words. At first it didn’t look like she was going to buy it, Crafter could feel the suspicious stare Ditzy gave him digging into his mind, searching for any sign of deceit. “Well that’s very noble of you.” She said, instantly returning to her normal, bubbly attitude. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Crafter agreed after heaving a sigh of relief. “But how did you get by? Surely you did SOMETHING for money.” Ditzy asked, propping her head on her hooves as she rested her front knees on the table. Luckily, Crafter could easily answer this one. “I'm a writer. I had a deal with the library where I got paid a percentage of the rental money.” Ditzy perked up instantly. “You’re a writer?” Crafter nodded, taking a bite of his muffin and another sip of coffee. “Self-published, but St. Petershoof doesn’t exactly have the highest literacy rate.” He said sadly. “Everypony there is too busy either working in the mines or factories to read.” Just then, the clock tower chimed 6:00. “I’d love to stay and chat,” Ditzy said hesitantly “but Dinky will be up any minute now. If it weren't for those cartoons I'm sure she’d sleep later.” “Hey, Saturday morning cartoons are quality programing.” Crafter defended, sticking his nose in the air. “You and Dinky would get along wonderfully.” Ditzy giggled. “Well I’ll see you this evening?” “Sounds good,” Crafter confirmed “see you then.” Ditzy nodded, saying one last goodbye to her friend. Crafter remained at the table, calmly sipping his coffee and finishing his muffin. It was still early so he could enjoy the calmness of the morning for a little bit longer. Then it dawned on him. “Did I just get a date?” Chapter 5Due to how busy my editor Pinkydash has been recently, i have decided to post the unedited version now and updated it when he gets the chance to look at it properly. Consider this a collector's edition of Chapter 5 :) Humming happily, Ditzy trotted home without a care in the world. She didn’t know who had sent those coupons, but thanked Celestia that they did. Ditzy had been trying to find a way to ask him on a date without actually admitting her feelings; it was a stroke of luck that Crafter received those coupons when he did, she thought she was going to explode trying to ask him. Before she had met Crafter, Ditzy had all but given up on love; her last coltfriend abandoned her after finding out she was pregnant. At first, she didn’t want to admit to herself that she had a huge crush on the new arrival, afraid he would leave her at a time of great need. But the way Pound Cake instantly took a liking to him, and Crafter’s amazing display of patience, made her realize that perhaps Crafter was worth taking the risk. The hug he gave her yesterday didn’t hurt either. After Crafter had returned the foal to Mrs. Cake, she had fully embraced her filly-like crush on the green unicorn. As she continued to think about Crafter, her carefree trot turned into a gleeful skip. “Looks like somepony had a good breakfast.” Chuckled a familiar voice from Ditzy’s side. “The muffins must have been really good today.” “Hey Carrot Top.” Ditzy said, turning to face her best friend. “The muffins today were the best.” The yellow, earth pony mare came out from behind the market stall she ran and gave Ditzy a friendly hug. “So who is he?” “I beg your pardon?” Ditzy asked, startled by Carrot’s bluntness. “Ditzy, I've known you since kindergarten; I know when you’ve got a crush.” Carrot Top clarified, releasing Ditzy from her hug. “That and you were doing ‘the school filly skip’. So are you going to tell me or not?” A blush grew on Ditzy’s cheeks; she had been doing that a lot recently. “H-he’s that new pony in town.” She began. “Hold on, you have a crush on the new guy?” Carrot Top asked, shocked that Ditzy had chosen him instead of somepony she actually knew. “Are you sure about this? I mean, considering what happened last time?” “I'm not going into this blindly Carrot; I know what I'm doing.” Ditzy defended. “It was only before breakfast this morning that I even accepted the fact that I had a crush on him.” “I just want you to be careful,” Carrot Top said in a defeated tone “but if you say you know what you’re doing, I won’t stop you.” Ditzy gave her longtime friend a reassuring hug. “Don’t worry about me. Besides, if he tries anything, Rainbow Dash will have his head.” Despite how much younger Rainbow Dash was compared to Ditzy, she was a loyal friend; sometimes a bit too loyal. Carrot Top laughed lightly, brushing her curly orange mane out of her eyes. “Yeah, I pray for anypony that gets on her bad side.” “Yeah me too, but she means well.” Ditzy giggled. “Well I should get home before Dinky wakes up and starts rotting her brain; it was nice talking with you.” Ditzy said, letting go of her friend and spreading her wings. “Good luck with sales today.” “Thanks, good luck with your crush.” Carrot Top said with a smirk and a wink. With another blush, Ditzy took off to the sky. The talk with her best friend may not have been expected, but was welcome nonetheless. She wanted to get home to catch her daughter before she dove into the land of cartoons; Ditzy hoped that flying would make up for the lost time. *** The landing in her front yard was much more graceful than previous attempts; normally she would have crashed into the small tree just outside the property line, or made a small crater in the grass. This time however, she landed on all fours without a hitch. Allowing herself a proud smile and a mental pat on the back, Ditzy approached the small cottage that was her home. It wasn’t very big, or very fancy, and had definitely seen better days. It might not have been the nicest place to live, but it was home. Ditzy opened the door into the living room, whose walls desperately needed a fresh layer of plaster, but that was the price of living from paycheck to paycheck. The sounds of fast hoof steps were heard galloping down the stairs as soon as she closed the door. “That was your best landing yet mommy!” a small lilac unicorn filly squealed as she charged towards her mother. “Thanks sweetie.” Ditzy said, placing her mailbag on the floor and catching her daughter in her forearms for a massive hug. “Now before you start turning your brain into mush, do you have any homework?” Dinky groaned. “No mom, I don’t have any homework.” “Are you sure?” Ditzy asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. “Yes I'm sure, now let me go.” Dinky started squirming in an attempt to free herself from her mother’s grasp. “So what you’re saying is,” Ditzy started “that if I were to look in your saddlebag, I won’t find any assignments?” “Uhh… Let me go and see if I have any homework.” Dinky smiled sheepishly, getting the point her mother was making. Ditzy released her daughter and sighed. While Dinky dug through her saddlebag, Ditzy trotted upstairs to her bedroom. Once she was upstairs, the sounds of obnoxious theme songs filled the house, along with Dinky singing along. Ditzy just rolled her eyes; it was a Saturday so she would give her daughter a little leeway. Upon entering her room, Ditzy trotted over to the closet and threw open the doors. She didn’t have the biggest wardrobe, but then again ponies didn’t normally wear clothes. Ditzy rummaged around the closet for a few minutes, she was looking for something special. Finally she found what she wanted, a small, old cardboard box. Ditzy opened the box to confirm that this was indeed what she was looking for, inside was a neatly folded simple black dress, given to her by her mother for her very first date. Ditzy had worn it to every ‘first date’ she had ever since, it was a tradition she had decided to start just for the heck of it. Knowing her daughter was already lost to the shrine in the den, Ditzy decided to see if the dress would still fit after Celestia knows how much time in the closet. Placing the box on her bed, Ditzy gingerly lifted the dusty dress from its resting place with her forearms; she made a mental note to visit Rarity to get it refurbished. “Here goes nothing…” she said to herself. Ditzy cautiously lifted the dress over her head and slowly lowered it down. The gown slid past her head with ease, Ditzy took a deep breath to make herself skinnier as she lowered the rest of it around her body, poking her wings out of the two holes specifically designed for pegasi in the back. The dress fit just as she remembered: perfectly. Ditzy squee’d when she saw her reflection in the mirror; it was like looking directly into the past, the black dress as smooth as silk along her light grey body. Most mares her age had a hard time fitting into clothes they wore once upon a time, she was thankful that her job kept her in shape. Carefully removing the dress and folding it neatly back up in the box; Ditzy placed it on her back and trotted downstairs. “Dinky, I'm going out for a few minutes. I’ll be back in time to make you breakfast.” She called once she reached the front door and put on her saddlebags, placing the box inside for safety. “Kay.” Was Dinky’s only reply, she was lying on her back on the couch, lazily watching a show called ‘Foals Next Door’ or something. With a sigh, Ditzy left the house and began the trot into town. Normally she would have flown, but considering the contents of the box she carried, Ditzy didn’t want to risk it. As much as her coordination had improved, she didn’t trust herself just yet. *** The little bell over the door to the Carousel Boutique rang as Ditzy entered, startling her slightly and causing her to let out a small yelp. She had to sneak past the area Crafter lived, she didn’t know what his habits were and didn’t want to risk bumping into him, least she ruin the surprise. “Ditzy! Darling, what brings you here?” A white unicorn mare with a very stylized purple mane greeted suddenly, earning another frightened yelp from the grey pegasus. “Oh I'm so sorry; I didn’t mean to frighten you.” She apologized. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Ditzy returned the welcome. “Hello Rarity, I just had something I wanted restored. It’s a bit old, but it’s very important to me and I want it as good as new.” She took the box out of her bags with her mouth and offered it to Rarity. “Most certainly my dear, I will have it looking better than new in no time.” Rarity took the box from Ditzy with the light blue aura of her magic; she then opened the box to take out the gown in question. “Uhg, you weren’t kidding, this… dress… has definitely seen better days. I'm putting this at the top of my to-do list.” Rarity said, recoiling slightly at the faded, musty fabric. “How much will it cost?” Ditzy asked, reaching into her saddlebag for her purse. Rarity gave her a serious look. “This is an emergency case: I don’t charge for emergencies.” “Oh.” Ditzy said, taken back by Rarity’s strange act of generosity. “Thank you?” “Think nothing of it darling.” Rarity said, returning to her previous mood in an instant, smiling warmly. “Now who is the lucky stallion?” she asked as she started working on the dress. Of all the ponies in Ponyville, Ditzy expected this question from Rarity the most. It was no secret that Rarity was a romantic, always demanding to be in the know about whom was dating who. But that didn’t mean it was any less embarrassing to talk about. Ditzy blushed horribly and looked down to avoid eye contact as she dropped her rump to the floor, her reply just barely audible. “I'm sorry dear, I didn’t catch that.” She mumbled again, only a little louder this time. Rarity sighed, shaking her head in disappointment, causing her over-stylized mane to sway. “And here I thought I’d be able to give you sound advice.” Another thing about Rarity was that dating advice from her was highly sought after, and she knew it. Ditzy sat up straight in an instant, eyes wide and wings twitching with excitement. “Oh. Well. H-he’s th-that new pony in town, you’ve met him right?” “Oh I have,” the fashionista said in a knowing tone “he’s quite handsome that one. A little shy though. Have you asked him on a date yet?” “Y-yes, we’re going to the movies this evening.” Ditzy answered shyly, blushing madly. How cute, she’s head over hoof for him. Rarity thought. “Now this next question is very important, does he know it’s a date?” “I, uh, don’t know.” Ditzy said, a little unsure of herself. Rarity just smirked, suspecting that answer. “Did you use the words ‘date’ or ‘go out with me?’ at all?” Ditzy shook her head. “No, I tried to avoid them actually.” “In that case I don’t think this dress would be appropriate.” The snowy unicorn replied, placing the fully restored gown, neatly folded in its box, into the pegasus’ saddlebag. “If he’s as awkward as he looked during his welcome party, he has no clue this is a date. Probably won’t even notice your advances unless their blunt.” Ditzy nodded as her saddlebags were secured. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Ditzy said gratefully, dipping her head slightly. “Oh, just a heads up, there’s a massive cold front scheduled to move in this evening. It’s going to start getting much colder from here on out.” “How wonderful, I finally get to wear all those scarves I ordered last week.” Rarity said, skipping off to another room. Chuckling to herself, Ditzy just shook her head as she turned to leave. Typical Rarity, always concerned with fashion. When she was gone, Rarity poked her head out of the room to make sure she had left. After confirming that Ditzy had left, she quickly darted over to the kitchen telephone and dialed the desired number with her magic. “Hello? ... Yes, she just left… I was just getting to that dear, calm down. They have a date planned for this evening… Oh I quite agree, those two are perfect for each other… Alright darling, I have to go now; do let me know how it all works out… bye.” With her part of the plan completed, Rarity allowed herself a feeling of pride, knowing that she helped bring two very shy ponies together. *** “Wait you finished already?!” Crafter asked, completely dumbstruck. “I thought Spike was joking!” It was late in the afternoon when Twilight Sparkle, baggy eyed and bed-headed, knocked on his door. “I told you I’d come by when I finished.” She said tiredly, desperately trying to keep herself standing upright. “But I gave you my entire collection, how in Equestria did you finish all those books in 24 hours?” Twilight smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “I'm a fast reader.” Crafter just sighed, trying to fathom how she had managed to do that much reading within such a small amount of time was just making his head hurt. “Alright, fine. I'm just not going to question it.” He stepped aside and pointed a hoof to a door in the back of the room. “Come on in, my study is in the back room, behind the counter.” Bashfully, Twilight walked inside and made her way to the door behind the counter. Crafter let her into the small room, the study was sparsely furnished; the only furniture consisted of the desk, a table lamp, a typewriter, a filing cabinet, an office chair, and a waste basket. “So uh, where so I sit?” Twilight asked upon entry. “Um. Be right back.” Crafter said hastily, rushing out of the room. He came back thirty seconds later with a dining chair in his magical grasp and placed it in front of his desk. “Here you go. Sorry, I didn’t think you would be back so quickly.” “It’s my fault, I should have called ahead.” She admitted, sitting down in the chair and placing her saddlebags next to her. “Shall we get started?” Crafter nodded, taking a seat at his desk. For the next hour, he and Twilight discussed the details of how much each book was worth (she wanted all of them) and what percentage of rental fee’s Crafter got. Eventually they settled on 20 percent, of course Crafter felt like he was extorting bits from the librarian, but apparently that was a fair deal. Capitalism was very stressful. After Twilight gave him the check for the books, she made her departure. Once Twilight was gone, Crafter slumped back into his chair, mentally exhausted. Part of the reason he didn’t talk with very many ponies was because of how hard it was for his brain to locate words, and it had been in overdrive for over an hour. Just before he fell asleep in his chair, there was a knock on his door. Letting out a sigh of frustration, Crafter got up to answer the door. All of his frustration and mental fatigue vanished when he saw Ditzy standing at the door. “Hi, you ready to go?” She happily greeted. Then he remembered their conversation earlier that day. “Oh!” He folded his ears back in embarrassment, how could he have forgotten something like this? “Yeah, let me just get my saddlebags then we can go.” He invited her to wait inside while he fetched his bags, after all it wouldn’t be polite to make a guest wait outside. After he retrieved his bags from the kitchen table, they left for the movies. “So what movie do you want to see?” Ditzy asked after they started their journey into town. Crafter’s ears splayed back again in embarrassment. “I probably should have checked the movie listings before we left.” In his mind, the green unicorn was berating himself for not being even remotely prepared. Ditzy just chuckled, not bothered by his lack of planning in the slightest. “Well it’s a good thing I did then.” She said, trying to put Crafter’s mind at ease. “The theater’s owner is a huge nerd; always has the original ‘Hoof Wars’ trilogy playing. Perhaps we could see one of those?” Suddenly Crafter stopped trotting, eyes wide with an unreadable expression. “You like ‘Hoof Wars’?” Oh no. Ditzy thought, her own ears folded back and she averted her face from his gaze. He probably thinks I'm a huge geek for suggesting that. Then a massive grin was plastered onto his face, eyes aglow with delight. “I LOVE ’Hoof Wars’, it’s one of my favorite movies.” “It is?” Ditzy asked, still not believing he could possibly enjoy a movie so nerdy. “Yep,” Crafter said, nodding vigorously “but ‘Back to the Future’ holds the title of the best movie ever.” Now it was Ditzy’s turn to smile brightly, it was rare to find somepony equally as nerdy. They started talking about all of their favorite parts of all three movies in the trilogy, debating which one they were going to see as continued their trot into town. Eventually they decided on ‘The NLR Strikes Back.’ By the time they reached the theater, the sun had started its descent, giving the bright blue sky a slightly orange hue. Crafter held the door open for Ditzy with his magic, letting her enter the neon covered building first. It must have been a slow day because the lobby was practically empty, save for a few colts in the arcade off to the side. “Odd, normally this place has a lot of business Saturday evenings.” Ditzy pondered, looking around the empty lobby. “That means we get the theater to ourselves.” Crafter said with a smile as he approached the unoccupied ticket booth. “Hello? Is anypony here?” “I'm coming I'm coming, keep your horseshoes on mate.” An Oatstralian voice called out from a room behind the booth. “So what’ll yah be see’n?” The black and blue spotted pegasus greeted as he exited the room. “Two for ‘Hoof Wars: The NLR Strikes Back’ please.” Crafter ordered. The spotted stallion pushed a few buttons on the register with his wings, adding up the total. “Always nice to meet a fellow fan of th’ classics mate, want popcorn and drinks with it?” “One large popcorn and two large drinks!” Ditzy cut in. “Free refills?” She clarified as Crafter and the spotted stallion gave her a strange look. What she really wanted to do was increase the chances of physical contact. “Alright then,” the spotted pegasus said “that’ll be 20 bits for the movie and 15 bits for the snacks.” Crafter fished around in his saddlebags for the coupons with his magic. “Hold on, I know they're in here.” He said after a few seconds of looking. “Can’t find your bit bag mate?” “No, I had some coupons for a free movie. I think I forgot them at home.” Crafter said, stuffing his face into the bag in hopes of finding it. Then the spotted stallion’s eyes went wide. “Oh so YOU’RE the couple she told me about,” he said as he placed a full tub of popcorn and two empty soda cups on the counter “don’t worry about it mate.” “Wait what?” Both Ditzy and Crafter said at the same time, both for different reasons. Who is ‘she’? Ditzy thought. He thought we were a couple? Crafter thought. “Oh bugger!” He exclaimed, throwing both hooves over his mouth. “Let me go start up your projector, room 14.” Then he was off. Crafter grabbed the popcorn and drink cups with this magic, doing his best not to think about Ditzy and him as a couple. “What kind of drink do you want?” “I’ll take an orange soda…” she said shyly, avoiding eye contact. Ok, there is no way we can have this much in common. He thought, filling up Ditzy’s cup with soda. After he put on the lid and inserted the straw, he filled up his own cup with the same drink. They walked to room 14 in an awkward silence, both a little self-conscious about their closeness. Of course it was instantly forgotten as soon as the opening credits started rolling, the iconic theme song blaring as loud as possible. Crafter and Ditzy instantly became overwhelmed by their inner child and sang along, it was a good thing they were alone in the theater.
Chapter 1St. Petershoof was a cold, emotionless, industrial city. Located in the northernmost territory of Equestria, the constant snowfall and harsh wind sheer made it a rather inhospitable place to call home. However, the rich deposits of coal, iron, and other metals made the city a place where the desperate sought out work. Due to the harsh conditions and poor treatment of workers in the northern territory, it was little surprise that St. Petershoof was the birthplace of communism, the new political movement that was making its way into newspapers all across Equestria. Outside of factories and office buildings, protesters stood with signs with catchy slogans and the picture of a sideways horseshoe with a hammer overlapping it. When these protesters gathered, the groups were small and generally ignored. There was one pony that was also ignored; it was something the green unicorn was used to by now. Most of his life had been spent with very few friends. He was content to keep it that way, as hard as he tried, the unicorn could not overcome the crippling social awkwardness that plagued his life. Just like every other day, he was inside his repair shop working on a complicated piece of machinery. His shop was small, with a counter separating his work area from where the customers came in. The floor around the workbench was littered with spare parts and tools, living alone for most of his life lead to a messy lifestyle. He was currently working on one of the many blueprints for inventions he was developing to improve the overall quality of life for ponies, it was one of the few things he did to prevent himself from going insane. Hearing the little bell he hooked up ring, he wiped the engine grease from a more complicated job out of his blue and red mane, put his blueprints away in a safe, and turned to greet the arrival. “Welcome to Crafter’s repair shop. Picking up or dropping off?” No matter what time in the day it was, his voice was always tired and depressed. He also lacked the local accent that everypony else in the area had, being born in Canterlot probably had something to do with that. His repair shop was the only one in the area so he had plenty of traffic. “Picking up.” The orange pegasus mare replied. “What’s your number?” Crafter replied, crouching below the counter to look for the corresponding item. “Number 25.” A blender was levitated up with the dark blue aura of the unicorn’s magic and placed on the counter. “Mrs. Dew correct?” The mare nodded. “That’s me, now much do I owe you?” This was the part he found the hardest, the dreaded question of bits. “You don’t owe me anything, I don’t work for pay.” A look of shock and confusion donned the mare’s face, clearly not expecting free repair work. “Nothing at all?” So far so good. He thought to himself. “Nothing.” After a few seconds of silence, Mrs. Dew spoke up again. “You’re a communist aren't you?” Her tone was neither negative nor positive, merely one of confirmation. Crafter nodded, eager to get it over with. “Yes, I am.” More silence. “Y-you’re not going to try and convince me to join the ‘party’?” she asked in shock, honestly expecting a conversion attempt. “Why would I do that?” “It’s just that… oh never mind. Thank you for fixing my blender.” With that, she put the appliance in her saddlebags and left. Crafter sighed a breath of relief. That had been one of the better reactions he got. Most ponies gave him disapproving looks and left, others yelled threats at him then stormed out. Very few left without some form of negative feelings towards him. Thinking it would be good to close up early for the day; he locked up the shop, placed a ‘closed’ sign on the door, and walked upstairs to the living area. Just as he reached the top of the stairs, there was a sound of shattering glass from the shop floor. “What in Celestia’s name?” Rushing downstairs, he found a rock had been chucked through one of the windows, attached to the rock was a note. Slowly picking up the note with his magic, Crafter opened it up to read it. Your days are numbered commie, watch your back! Terrified beyond comprehension, Crafter threw the note to the ground as if it were a cursed relic from the Daring Do series. Threats were something he was used to, but this? All he wanted to do was run away. “Calm down Crafter,” he said to himself “it’s probably some teenage pegasus out for a laugh. No need to panic.” After taping a plastic bag over the window that was shattered, Crafter went upstairs to try and get some sleep. None came. *** Getting no sleep that night, Crafter’s mental awareness was questionable at best. Cross eyed and loopy, he stumbled his way into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Mornings were worse when he had a long night, his ADD played havoc with his mind. When he took the first sip, his teal eyes slowly uncrossed themselves. After finishing his coffee, he put on his coat and lucky ushanka, and then left for breakfast at the bakery around the corner. The instant he opened the door, he was blasted in the face with a gust of wind driven snow. Oh great he thought another blizzard. Crafter wasn’t physically active by any means; the doctors diagnosed him with low muscle tone at a young age. Due to this, he was huffing and puffing by the time he reached the bakery. “Morning Crafter.” The owner said in a thick Stalliongrad accent once Crafter entered the shop. “Same thing as usual?” Crafter sleepily nodded. “You know it.” He said with a light chuckle. The baker slid over a chocolate glazed doughnut and a mug of coffee, in reply, Crafter slid him some bits. “You never told me how you manage to get bits; I thought communism meant ‘freedom from economy’ or something.” “Well it’s impossible to live like that when the majority of Equestria is still capitalist.” “True, but if you don’t charge for repair work, how do you get money?” “I'm also an author,” Crafter said with pride “I have a deal with the local library where I get some of the income from when my books are rented.” “Ah, I should have known by the ink quill on your cutie mark. But don’t blame me for not looking at your butt.” The baker joked. Crafter just chuckled, still too tired for small talk. His cutie mark was a quill overlapped by a wrench, forming a likeness to the communist logo. After a few minutes, a small family walked in to the bakery. They took a seat next to Crafter and placed an order. Their filly, which Crafter recognized as the one who constantly needed their sled fixed, sat next to him and tapped his shoulder. “Cwafter?” she asked in an adorably small voice. Turning to greet the filly, he saw there was sadness in her eyes. “What's wrong?” Crafter asked with concern. “When we walked by your wepair shop, all da windows were smashed in.” Crafter’s pupils shrunk and his ears splayed back. “W-what?” She handed him a note. “I found this on your door.” Slowly, he took the letter from the filly and opened it. You got lucky this time. Crafter could feel his heart stop in his chest; he had narrowly avoided being killed by whoever sent the first note. The baker took note of Crafter’s state and looked at the note, earning a similar reaction. “Little filly, where did you find this?” “On his door, all his windows were smashed in.” “Crafter do you hear me?” he asked urgently. “You can’t stay in this city anymore, it’s not safe.” He didn’t need to be told to leave, that was already what Crafter was planning on doing.
Chapter 2Taking the Train anywhere out of St. Petershoof might as well have been a journey across Equestria, given how the industrial metropolis was about a million miles away from just about everywhere. In his haste, Crafter put his home up for sale and packed only the essentials and a few personal belongings. He had two suitcases full of parts, tools, blueprints, and other miscellaneous things that he wanted to keep and a cardboard box which held his most prized possession, his lifeblood: his typewriter. He had been on the train for about a week and was getting anxious; he decided to take the train to the end of the line. “Next stop Ponyville, end of the line!” The ticket master called suddenly. “All remaining passengers must get off here.” Ug finally! Crafter thought, gathering his luggage. Once the train pulled into the small station and came to a stop, Crafter stepped out into the town of Ponyville. As soon as he left the car, he was blasted in the face by a wall of heat, despite it being the end of summer. Being from the north, he was accustomed to the arctic environment. Sweating profusely, Crafter walked about town, trying to find an apartment with an open room. He noticed a very pink pony walking down the street, humming a happy tune. When she reached him, she opened her eyes and let out a huge gasp. “Ohmygosh!” “What?” Crafter asked, confused by the random outburst directed at him. “You’re new!” “Yes….” This mare seemed very hyper; her very presence gave him a headache. Now would be a good time to mention Crafter had a difficult time processing auditory information. She ran off, leaving the green unicorn very confused. Before he could walk off again, she came back with a strange wagon. “What is that?” He asked cautiously. “I'm glad you asked!” She pushed a button on the wagon, causing it to open up. Several horns and flags popped up with an explosion of confetti while a cheerful song started up. “Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you. Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do?” The pink pony started singing and dancing. As sporadic and headache inducing as the song was, Crafter found himself enjoying the welcome and tapped his hoof in tune with the beat. “Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say hip hip hooray. Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Ponyville today!” she finishes with a drawn out note. “Wait for it…” “Wait for wha-” but before Crafter could finish asking, he was blasted in the face with cake batter. “Dang it, I mixed up the confetti cannon and oven again!” Crafter simply licked the batter off his face. “I'm not complaining.” “That’s the spirit! By the way I'm Pinkie Pie what's your name?” she asked, sticking her hoof out in greeting. “Crafter, I'm moving here from St. Petershoof.” He answered after shaking himself off, then accepted her hoof. “St. Petershoof eh? So THAT’S why you’re so sweaty!” she exclaimed. “So where are you living? You need a party to PROPERLY welcome you to Ponyville.” Folding his ears back, Crafter simply looked at the ground. “I um, don’t have any place to live yet.” Pinkie gasped again, put his luggage on her back, grabbed him by the hoof and darted off. *** Mayor Mare was walking up the steps of town hall to start her busy day when she was stopped by a familiar voice. “Mayor Mare! We have an emergency!” Turning to greet Pinkie, she was startled to see her with a new pony and his luggage on her back. “Who’s this?” “His name is Crafter and he doesn’t have a home!” This whole ordeal was giving Crafter a migraine, and on top of that, being pulled across town at light speed left him dazed. “Hi.” Was all he could manage. The mayor chuckled, “I think you broke him Pinkie, I’ll take it from here.” Pinkie gave Crafter his luggage back and darted off to do… something. After his belongings were returned to him, Crafter walked inside (albeit dizzily) with the mayor. Once in her office, Crafter put his suitcases and box by the door and took a seat in front of Mayor Mare’s desk. “So Crafter,” the mayor began, walking towards a filing cabinet “what is your budget?” Crafter’s ears folded back as he shrunk into his chair. “Well, until somepony buys my old house in St. Petershoof, I have almost no money. I was hoping to find an apartment or something to rent.” Mayor Mare stopped in her tracks. He’s broke? “Well Ponyville isn't large enough for any apartment buildings…” She started, when she turned to look at him from the filing cabinet, she saw his cutie mark and instantly made the connection to his ideology. “But….” She added. Crafter’s ears perked. “Ponies aren't exactly lining up to move in, and ponies in your predicament are rare. So here’s what I'm going to do.” She had Crafter’s full attention now. “By the look of your cutie mark, I’d say you’re a repair pony and that's something we don't have; there is a small, fully furnished shop-home combo that would be perfect for your needs.” She smirked as she saw Crafter’s face light up with hope. “It’s yours, free of charge. Think of it as a way to welcome you to our community.” Mayor Mare was sure to put emphasis on the word ‘community’. At first, a look of confusion was on Crafter’s face. Then, once he processed what she had said, realization with a mix of fear hit him like a train. How did she know?! “Um, Th-thank you.” “Relax; your secret is safe with me.” She said reassuringly. “I-I don’t know w-what you’re t-talking about.” He lied horribly, eyes shifting about left and right. Mayor Mare rolled her eyes, and decided to play along. “You're right, I must have been mistaken. Regardless, welcome to Ponyville.” *** After receiving his house keys from the mayor, Crafter quickly left to find his house. As he walked, he took in the sights around him. The town of Ponyville was a much brighter place than St. Petershoof, both physically and emotionally. Although he found the tiny town incredibly cheesy in some areas, he felt it was lifting him out of the depression that had always been present within him. When Crafter found his home, he was shocked by how new it looked; the exterior of his home looked brand new. The paint wasn’t faded, the two large display windows were as clean as could be, no cracks in the plaster, and not the slightest sign of decay on the wooden cross beams. When he unlocked his house and walked inside, all the lights had been shut off, but that would make sense given how nopony lived there. Crafter flipped the light switch and the room was flooded with light, and something else. “SURPRISE!!” a dozen voices called out as ponies jumped out from behind various hiding places, most of them from behind the counter. Aside from when he got the second note, Crafter had never been so frightened in his life. He fell backwards with a less than dignified scream and lay clutching his chest. “I think we broke him.” a concerned voice said from somewhere inside the mass of ponies. “You know that’s the second time I've done that.” Pinkie said, helping Crafter to his hooves. After giving the ‘all good’ sign, Pinkie resumed the party. The loud music, the dozens of ponies introducing themselves, and the background chatter instantly gave Crafter a killer migraine. Once the introductions died down, (he wouldn’t remember a single name) he snaked his way to the back of the room where the food was set out and action wasn’t. Crafter was content to stand by the table the food was set on and eat; he couldn’t stand social gatherings like this one due to his headaches. As the party started to die down, he saw her, a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane. The mare’s eyes were a golden yellow and stared off in opposite directions, just like his did in the morning. Crafter got lost in her eyes as she danced without a care in the world. Pinkie, who noticed his staring, looked to see what he was looking at so intensely. She saw who Crafter was looking at and grew a sly smile as she bounced over to him. “Go introduce yourself silly.” She said once she reached him. Jarred out of his trance, Crafter simply replied with “Huh, what?” Pinkie just giggled. “I said to go introduce yourself, she won’t bite, unless you’re really a muffin.” Crafter noticed the mare of interests’ ears perk up at the word ‘muffin’ and she looked towards him. Frantic, Crafter just waved slightly. She smiled and waved back, then went back to her dancing. “What are you waiting for?!” Pinkie urged. “I-I can’t.” he said sadly. This just confused Pinkie, “Why not?” The only reply she received was Crafter’s ears splaying back and he shrank into himself, just like a certain yellow pegasus Pinkie happened to know. Knowing what that body posture meant, the party pony bounced off to the grey mare. “Hey Ditzy, what's up?” Ditzy stopped her dancing, “Hey Pinkie, just dancing.” Her voice screamed ADD. “Have you introduced yourself to Crafter yet?” “Well, n-not yet.” She said hesitantly, the faintest blush on her cheeks. “He looks too overwhelmed right now, maybe later.” “Alright, but don’t wait too long.” Pinkie said sternly, and then proceeded to bounce off elsewhere within party. *** As the party came to a close late in the night, only two ponies stayed to help clean up, Ditzy being one of them. “So how did you like the party Crafter?” Pinkie asked. “I had a great time.” He lied, not wanting to hurt Pinkie’s feelings. “Great!” she happily exclaimed “Well I got to get back to Sugar Cube Corner for work tomorrow, see ya Crafter.” And with that, she bounced happily out the door into the night, leaving Crafter alone with Ditzy. As he nervously kicked at the floor and avoided eye contact, Crafter spoke. “So uh… you already know my name, er, what's yours?” “M-my name is Ditzy Doo," she said nervously "I deliver the mail around Ponyville.” “Oh, cool.” Crafter said, then fell into nervous silence. “So uh, I'm going to go now. It was nice meeting you.” She said, feeling the awkwardness rise. “Nice meeting you too.” After she had left, Crafter let out a sigh. He was tired, sore, and had a killer migraine. Crafter picked up one of his suitcases with his magic and brought it upstairs, once in his room he pulled out a dartboard with a picture of a heart taped to it. The picture had several puncture holes in it, as if it had been used many times before. After hanging it on the wall, he brought up a dart with his magic and launched it at the board, landing a bullseye; as the dart struck the paper, Crafter felt the familiar pinch of pain in his heart. “There.” He said sadly “Now she doesn’t have to.” Crafter could feel the source of his depression slowly returning as he lay down in bed. Most ponies his age have had a special somepony at some point, but try as he may, Crafter could never get a marefreind. He had been shot down so many times, he started throwing darts at a picture representing his heart every time he felt a crush developing. He did it to save them the trouble of shooting him down. 'If you don't ask, they can't break your heart' had become his motto. Crafter had given up on ever finding a mare who would love him, he was a broken pony.
Chapter 3The 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.
Chapter 4Crafter sat at a table inside the bakery around the corner from his home, nervously shifting about in the seat. He had every right to be nervous; he had asked a very close friend of his to meet him for lunch and was afraid she wouldn’t show up. He was starting to make himself sick. “Hey Crafter, what's up?” a light brown unicorn mare greeted in a warm stalliongrad accent as she walked in, brushing aside her long, chocolate mane out of her eyes with a hoof. “Hey Cocoa,” Crafter replied, signaling her to have a seat across from him “I’m glad you could make it.” Cocoa took the seat without hesitation, glad to be out of the St. Petershoof weather. “Yeah me too, it’s freezing out there.” she greeted warmly. “Well, more so than usual.” She added with a chuckle. Crafter chuckled too, he loved her since of humor, it was a rare trait in the industrial city. “Anyway,” she said after they had both finished enjoying the joke “what did you want to talk about?” Shifting about in his seat again, heart pounding in his chest with fear, Crafter steeled his nerves and spoke. “I-I was just wondering if you had a special somepony for H-Hearts and Hooves Day.” He asked, blushing slightly. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “I…uh….” Cocoa stammered. The look of hope in his eyes was unbearable. “Well I don’t… but….” When Crafter heard Cocoa say ‘but’, his fragile heart shattered. “I'm sorry I wasted your time…” The bitter cold of the arctic air was nothing compared to the pain in his chest. Getting up from the table, Crafter slowly walked out into the raging blizzard. *** Crafter’s eyes shot open, bloodshot and full of tears. He could still recall the dream --or nightmare in his case-- quite clearly; it was the last time he allowed a crush to develop, the last time he had his heart torn to shreds. It was a Semi-regular nightmare; one that would only come if Crafter was reminded of how miserable he was being alone in the world. He looked at the clock on the nightstand, it read 5:23. His biological clock saved him from the rest of that horrible memory. He groaned as he got out of bed, all four of his knees letting out audible cracks as he rose. Crafter stretched his back, earning more loud pops. He had found memories of tormenting his younger sister by cracking his knees, hooves, back, and just about every other joint he had. Allowing a small, nostalgic smile to form, Crafter made his way to the kitchen for his coffee. Oh yeah… he mentally grumbled, he still didn’t have a coffee maker OR food. He opted that Sugarcube Corner would suffice, remembering the blissful muffin, the warm coffee, Ditzy’s wonderful smile… wait… As that last thought entered his brain, Crafter took the dart, again, and launched it at the board. This was the most he’s had to use the board on one mare, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind would always float back to her smile. After locking his house, Crafter turned to start the trek to the bakery. He was instantly greeted by the sight of the mare herself, Ditzy. She was sporting her mailmare uniform, which consisted of the signature post hat and a rather large mailbag. “Mail call.” She happily chirped, her voice having reverted to its natural ‘loopy’ tone. Ditzy reached into the bag with a hoof and pulled out a few letters and held them out to Crafter. “Good morning Ditzy.” Crafter managed, taking the mail with his magic. “How-” He covered his mouth with a hoof as a yawn was let loose. “How are you today?” Ditzy’s eyes, albeit crooked, glowed with pride. “I'm doing fantastic! I delivered all the mail to the correct houses for once!” “That’s-” Another yawn. “That’s great.” Crafter replied honestly. It concerned him that she said ‘for once’ but decided not to ask about it. The last thing he wanted to do was bring up painful memories, he had his fair share as it was. “Sorry if I don’t sound interested, I'm still-” A third powerful yawn escaped his mouth. “Still a bit sleepy.” Crafter said, letting his eyes wander for emphasis. Ditzy let out a giggle, then yawned herself. “Stop yawning darn it, it’s contagious.” She playfully complained. Crafter proceeded to let out the most obnoxious, fake yawn he could muster. He was rewarded with the desired reaction, a playful shove and that wonderful laugh. “I assume you’re going to Sugarcube Corner. Mind if I tag along?” Ditzy asked innocently. “I wouldn’t mind at all,” Crafter happily replied after he yawned again “but what about your mail roots?” Ditzy blushed again, which as usual, went unnoticed by Crafter. “I start early on Saturday’s so I can be home when Dinky wakes up. I also made sure to deliver your mail last so we could… you know… spend some time together.” “Oh ok, shall we-” Yet another yawn interrupted him as he spoke. “Get going then?” Ditzy nodded shyly. “Yes.” They wasted no time making their way to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast, both eager to get some food in them. It didn’t take long to reach their destination; Crafter didn’t live that far away from the bakery. When they reached the front door, each of them slammed into the door frame, Crafter was beginning to see this as a regular event. “Are you two alright?” Mrs. Cake asked, rushing to help them up. “Yeah I'm fine.” Crafter said, rubbing his sore nose. Luckily it wasn’t bleeding this time. “And you know I'm alright.” Ditzy said casually, brushing off the collision entirely. Mrs. Cake just sighed; it worried her that Ditzy didn’t feel the pain anymore. “Well let me know when you’re ready to order dears, I have to take care of the Twins.” “Twins?” Crafter asked Ditzy after Mrs. Cake entered the kitchen. “She had foals not too long ago,” She clarified “a unicorn and a pegasus.” Right on cue, a khaki pegasus foal burst out of the kitchen and started buzzing around the main room, giggling like a maniac. “Pound Cake!” his mother called. “You get back here this instant!” The tiny colt ignored her, and instead focused on the face he had never seen before. He slowly ‘flew’ over to Crafter, full of curiosity. Crafter just gave a warm smile and waved, inviting the foal closer. “Hey there little guy.” He said softly. Pound smiled back and imitated his wave. Without hesitation, the small pegasus foal landed on Crafter’s back and started to climb all over him. Mrs. Cake came in soon after to find that Crafter had become a living jungle gym, displaying infinite patience. Once Pound had expended his excess energy, he hovered in front of him and outstretched his arms. Understanding the universal gesture of ‘please hold me’, Crafter sat down on the floor and let the foal land in his arms. Ignoring the ‘Awwww’ from the mares behind him, Crafter slowly rocked the foal to sleep. Ditzy walked around to get a better view, not wanting to miss a single second of it. “That was amazing.” She whispered. “I’ve always had a way with foals,” Crafter replied, offering the sleeping colt back to Mrs. Cake “makes me wish I had one of my own.” He added with a sad undertone. “I’m sure you’d make a great father dear.” Mrs. Cake said reassuringly, taking her son back. Ditzy nodded in agreement. “I’ve heard,” Crafter said with a chuckle “been told that since I was a teenager.” As Mrs. Cake took Pound upstairs for a nap, Crafter and Ditzy looked at the selection of baked goods in the counter display case. “What are you going to get?” Ditzy asked. Crafter scanned the pastries, none really stood out. “I might get what I had yesterday.” “And what was that?” she asked, curiosity rising. “A blueberry muffin,” Crafter said, mouth starting to water “it was soooo good.” “Ohmygosh, I LOVE blueberry muffins!” Ditzy exclaimed, her wings flaring up in excitement. “I can see that.” Crafter chuckled, having barely avoided being slapped in the rib cage by her wings. Ditzy slowly folded back her wings, blushing horribly. “Sorry…” Crafter gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it.” Right then, Mrs. Cake came down from upstairs. “Are you two ready to order?” “Yes! Give us two Blueberry Supreme Muffins!!!” Ditzy excitedly ordered, placing her bits on the counter. “Oh, and two medium coffees please.” She added more calmly, blushing slightly. “Do you want it to-go dears?” she asked, turning to prepare their order. Ditzy turned to Crafter expectantly. “Wait you’re ordering for me too?” Crafter asked after he realized why she was looking at him. “Um, we can eat here I guess.” “Then no thanks Mrs. Cake, we’re eating here.” Ditzy said to the baker. Mrs. Cake nodded and entered the kitchen to make their breakfast. “Why did you pay for both of us? I had no problem paying for my half.” Crafter said, taking a seat at a booth with Ditzy. “Because I wanted to…” she answered, shrinking into herself and folding her ears back slightly. “But won’t your husband find it odd that you’re being so nice to another stallion?” Crafter asked, slightly nervous at the thought of getting the tar beaten out of him by an angry stallion. Ditzy’s ears perked back up instantly, losing any sign of shyness she previously had. “What made you think I was married?” she asked bluntly. “Um… your daughter?” Crafter was starting to get very confused. “Oh…” Her ears folded back completely this time and a single tear dripped down her cheek. “Well I-I'm… n-not married… I-I never have been.” Crafter felt as though he had been slapped across the face, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what she meant. “I'm so sorry, I didn’t mean to--” He was silenced by Ditzy holding up her hoof. “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t know.” She said, giving him a forced smile. “But Dinky means the world to me; I can’t imagine my life without her.” “Here’s your breakfast dears.” Mrs. Cake said, placing the food on the table. “Enjoy.” After she left, the two just sat in silence. Crafter felt horrible about bringing up dark memories and sank into his seat in shame. In an attempt to distract himself, Crafter decided to open his mail. Bringing the letters up to his face with his magic, he read the return address of each one. “Looks like somepony bought my old house, I have some money now.” “Wait you’re broke?” Ditzy asked in shock. “Well… not anymore.” Crafter said, sinking further into his seat. “Why didn’t you tell me you were struggling? I would have gladly lent you some spending money.” Ditzy asked, trying to recover what was left of their conversation. Crafter shook his head. “It would feel weird to me, asking for money from a mare I just met.” This was partially true, the other reason was his political alignment, but he dare not tell her about that. “I guess that makes since.” Ditzy said, a little disappointed. “What other mail did you get?” Resuming where he left off, Crafter looked at the rest of his mail. Most of it was junk, pointless advertisements for things he had no interest in. One letter however, had no return address. “This is odd…” Crafter said, putting the other letters down. “What is it?” Ditzy asked, curiosity peaked. Opening the mystery letter, Crafter slowly pulled out its contents. In all honesty, he was expecting a threatening letter, most unmarked ones were. To his surprise, he pulled out two coupons to a free movie at the theater. “A free movie?” “Can I see the envelope for a second?” Ditzy asked, holding out a hoof. After turning it upside-down and shaking it a few times with his magic to make sure there wasn’t a letter inside it, Crafter sent over the now empty envelope. “…No I got the address right, it’s definitely for you.” She confirmed. “I’ll have to remember to use these.” Crafter said, placing the coupons on the table next to the rest of his mail and taking a sip of his coffee. Ditzy removed her mail cap and twisted it nervously in her hooves; she was obviously debating something with herself. She took a sip of her coffee to clear her mind. As the caffeine took effect, she made up her mind. “P-perhaps we could s-see a movie this evening?” She asked nervously. “Dinky has a sleepover tonight and I don’t like being alone.” Crafter thought about his plans he had for the day, which didn’t include much. “That sounds fun, probably better to use these sooner rather than later. I would forget I had them if I waited too long.” “Great.” She replied, seeming much happier. “So what do you do for a living?” Ditzy asked after taking a bite of muffin. “I do repair work mostly; it was pretty handy in an industrial city like St. Petershoof, never a time when I didn’t have something to work on.” Crafter replied after swallowing his own bite. Ditzy tilted her head in confusion. “If you always had work, shouldn’t you have had more money?” OH BUCK I FORGOT ABOUT THAT PART!! Crafter’s ears pinned back as far as they could go and his eyes shifted about as he frantically tried to come up with a believable story. “Um… it was… for charity?” He said, unsure of his own words. At first it didn’t look like she was going to buy it, Crafter could feel the suspicious stare Ditzy gave him digging into his mind, searching for any sign of deceit. “Well that’s very noble of you.” She said, instantly returning to her normal, bubbly attitude. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Crafter agreed after heaving a sigh of relief. “But how did you get by? Surely you did SOMETHING for money.” Ditzy asked, propping her head on her hooves as she rested her front knees on the table. Luckily, Crafter could easily answer this one. “I'm a writer. I had a deal with the library where I got paid a percentage of the rental money.” Ditzy perked up instantly. “You’re a writer?” Crafter nodded, taking a bite of his muffin and another sip of coffee. “Self-published, but St. Petershoof doesn’t exactly have the highest literacy rate.” He said sadly. “Everypony there is too busy either working in the mines or factories to read.” Just then, the clock tower chimed 6:00. “I’d love to stay and chat,” Ditzy said hesitantly “but Dinky will be up any minute now. If it weren't for those cartoons I'm sure she’d sleep later.” “Hey, Saturday morning cartoons are quality programing.” Crafter defended, sticking his nose in the air. “You and Dinky would get along wonderfully.” Ditzy giggled. “Well I’ll see you this evening?” “Sounds good,” Crafter confirmed “see you then.” Ditzy nodded, saying one last goodbye to her friend. Crafter remained at the table, calmly sipping his coffee and finishing his muffin. It was still early so he could enjoy the calmness of the morning for a little bit longer. Then it dawned on him. “Did I just get a date?”
Chapter 5Due to how busy my editor Pinkydash has been recently, i have decided to post the unedited version now and updated it when he gets the chance to look at it properly. Consider this a collector's edition of Chapter 5 :) Humming happily, Ditzy trotted home without a care in the world. She didn’t know who had sent those coupons, but thanked Celestia that they did. Ditzy had been trying to find a way to ask him on a date without actually admitting her feelings; it was a stroke of luck that Crafter received those coupons when he did, she thought she was going to explode trying to ask him. Before she had met Crafter, Ditzy had all but given up on love; her last coltfriend abandoned her after finding out she was pregnant. At first, she didn’t want to admit to herself that she had a huge crush on the new arrival, afraid he would leave her at a time of great need. But the way Pound Cake instantly took a liking to him, and Crafter’s amazing display of patience, made her realize that perhaps Crafter was worth taking the risk. The hug he gave her yesterday didn’t hurt either. After Crafter had returned the foal to Mrs. Cake, she had fully embraced her filly-like crush on the green unicorn. As she continued to think about Crafter, her carefree trot turned into a gleeful skip. “Looks like somepony had a good breakfast.” Chuckled a familiar voice from Ditzy’s side. “The muffins must have been really good today.” “Hey Carrot Top.” Ditzy said, turning to face her best friend. “The muffins today were the best.” The yellow, earth pony mare came out from behind the market stall she ran and gave Ditzy a friendly hug. “So who is he?” “I beg your pardon?” Ditzy asked, startled by Carrot’s bluntness. “Ditzy, I've known you since kindergarten; I know when you’ve got a crush.” Carrot Top clarified, releasing Ditzy from her hug. “That and you were doing ‘the school filly skip’. So are you going to tell me or not?” A blush grew on Ditzy’s cheeks; she had been doing that a lot recently. “H-he’s that new pony in town.” She began. “Hold on, you have a crush on the new guy?” Carrot Top asked, shocked that Ditzy had chosen him instead of somepony she actually knew. “Are you sure about this? I mean, considering what happened last time?” “I'm not going into this blindly Carrot; I know what I'm doing.” Ditzy defended. “It was only before breakfast this morning that I even accepted the fact that I had a crush on him.” “I just want you to be careful,” Carrot Top said in a defeated tone “but if you say you know what you’re doing, I won’t stop you.” Ditzy gave her longtime friend a reassuring hug. “Don’t worry about me. Besides, if he tries anything, Rainbow Dash will have his head.” Despite how much younger Rainbow Dash was compared to Ditzy, she was a loyal friend; sometimes a bit too loyal. Carrot Top laughed lightly, brushing her curly orange mane out of her eyes. “Yeah, I pray for anypony that gets on her bad side.” “Yeah me too, but she means well.” Ditzy giggled. “Well I should get home before Dinky wakes up and starts rotting her brain; it was nice talking with you.” Ditzy said, letting go of her friend and spreading her wings. “Good luck with sales today.” “Thanks, good luck with your crush.” Carrot Top said with a smirk and a wink. With another blush, Ditzy took off to the sky. The talk with her best friend may not have been expected, but was welcome nonetheless. She wanted to get home to catch her daughter before she dove into the land of cartoons; Ditzy hoped that flying would make up for the lost time. *** The landing in her front yard was much more graceful than previous attempts; normally she would have crashed into the small tree just outside the property line, or made a small crater in the grass. This time however, she landed on all fours without a hitch. Allowing herself a proud smile and a mental pat on the back, Ditzy approached the small cottage that was her home. It wasn’t very big, or very fancy, and had definitely seen better days. It might not have been the nicest place to live, but it was home. Ditzy opened the door into the living room, whose walls desperately needed a fresh layer of plaster, but that was the price of living from paycheck to paycheck. The sounds of fast hoof steps were heard galloping down the stairs as soon as she closed the door. “That was your best landing yet mommy!” a small lilac unicorn filly squealed as she charged towards her mother. “Thanks sweetie.” Ditzy said, placing her mailbag on the floor and catching her daughter in her forearms for a massive hug. “Now before you start turning your brain into mush, do you have any homework?” Dinky groaned. “No mom, I don’t have any homework.” “Are you sure?” Ditzy asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. “Yes I'm sure, now let me go.” Dinky started squirming in an attempt to free herself from her mother’s grasp. “So what you’re saying is,” Ditzy started “that if I were to look in your saddlebag, I won’t find any assignments?” “Uhh… Let me go and see if I have any homework.” Dinky smiled sheepishly, getting the point her mother was making. Ditzy released her daughter and sighed. While Dinky dug through her saddlebag, Ditzy trotted upstairs to her bedroom. Once she was upstairs, the sounds of obnoxious theme songs filled the house, along with Dinky singing along. Ditzy just rolled her eyes; it was a Saturday so she would give her daughter a little leeway. Upon entering her room, Ditzy trotted over to the closet and threw open the doors. She didn’t have the biggest wardrobe, but then again ponies didn’t normally wear clothes. Ditzy rummaged around the closet for a few minutes, she was looking for something special. Finally she found what she wanted, a small, old cardboard box. Ditzy opened the box to confirm that this was indeed what she was looking for, inside was a neatly folded simple black dress, given to her by her mother for her very first date. Ditzy had worn it to every ‘first date’ she had ever since, it was a tradition she had decided to start just for the heck of it. Knowing her daughter was already lost to the shrine in the den, Ditzy decided to see if the dress would still fit after Celestia knows how much time in the closet. Placing the box on her bed, Ditzy gingerly lifted the dusty dress from its resting place with her forearms; she made a mental note to visit Rarity to get it refurbished. “Here goes nothing…” she said to herself. Ditzy cautiously lifted the dress over her head and slowly lowered it down. The gown slid past her head with ease, Ditzy took a deep breath to make herself skinnier as she lowered the rest of it around her body, poking her wings out of the two holes specifically designed for pegasi in the back. The dress fit just as she remembered: perfectly. Ditzy squee’d when she saw her reflection in the mirror; it was like looking directly into the past, the black dress as smooth as silk along her light grey body. Most mares her age had a hard time fitting into clothes they wore once upon a time, she was thankful that her job kept her in shape. Carefully removing the dress and folding it neatly back up in the box; Ditzy placed it on her back and trotted downstairs. “Dinky, I'm going out for a few minutes. I’ll be back in time to make you breakfast.” She called once she reached the front door and put on her saddlebags, placing the box inside for safety. “Kay.” Was Dinky’s only reply, she was lying on her back on the couch, lazily watching a show called ‘Foals Next Door’ or something. With a sigh, Ditzy left the house and began the trot into town. Normally she would have flown, but considering the contents of the box she carried, Ditzy didn’t want to risk it. As much as her coordination had improved, she didn’t trust herself just yet. *** The little bell over the door to the Carousel Boutique rang as Ditzy entered, startling her slightly and causing her to let out a small yelp. She had to sneak past the area Crafter lived, she didn’t know what his habits were and didn’t want to risk bumping into him, least she ruin the surprise. “Ditzy! Darling, what brings you here?” A white unicorn mare with a very stylized purple mane greeted suddenly, earning another frightened yelp from the grey pegasus. “Oh I'm so sorry; I didn’t mean to frighten you.” She apologized. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Ditzy returned the welcome. “Hello Rarity, I just had something I wanted restored. It’s a bit old, but it’s very important to me and I want it as good as new.” She took the box out of her bags with her mouth and offered it to Rarity. “Most certainly my dear, I will have it looking better than new in no time.” Rarity took the box from Ditzy with the light blue aura of her magic; she then opened the box to take out the gown in question. “Uhg, you weren’t kidding, this… dress… has definitely seen better days. I'm putting this at the top of my to-do list.” Rarity said, recoiling slightly at the faded, musty fabric. “How much will it cost?” Ditzy asked, reaching into her saddlebag for her purse. Rarity gave her a serious look. “This is an emergency case: I don’t charge for emergencies.” “Oh.” Ditzy said, taken back by Rarity’s strange act of generosity. “Thank you?” “Think nothing of it darling.” Rarity said, returning to her previous mood in an instant, smiling warmly. “Now who is the lucky stallion?” she asked as she started working on the dress. Of all the ponies in Ponyville, Ditzy expected this question from Rarity the most. It was no secret that Rarity was a romantic, always demanding to be in the know about whom was dating who. But that didn’t mean it was any less embarrassing to talk about. Ditzy blushed horribly and looked down to avoid eye contact as she dropped her rump to the floor, her reply just barely audible. “I'm sorry dear, I didn’t catch that.” She mumbled again, only a little louder this time. Rarity sighed, shaking her head in disappointment, causing her over-stylized mane to sway. “And here I thought I’d be able to give you sound advice.” Another thing about Rarity was that dating advice from her was highly sought after, and she knew it. Ditzy sat up straight in an instant, eyes wide and wings twitching with excitement. “Oh. Well. H-he’s th-that new pony in town, you’ve met him right?” “Oh I have,” the fashionista said in a knowing tone “he’s quite handsome that one. A little shy though. Have you asked him on a date yet?” “Y-yes, we’re going to the movies this evening.” Ditzy answered shyly, blushing madly. How cute, she’s head over hoof for him. Rarity thought. “Now this next question is very important, does he know it’s a date?” “I, uh, don’t know.” Ditzy said, a little unsure of herself. Rarity just smirked, suspecting that answer. “Did you use the words ‘date’ or ‘go out with me?’ at all?” Ditzy shook her head. “No, I tried to avoid them actually.” “In that case I don’t think this dress would be appropriate.” The snowy unicorn replied, placing the fully restored gown, neatly folded in its box, into the pegasus’ saddlebag. “If he’s as awkward as he looked during his welcome party, he has no clue this is a date. Probably won’t even notice your advances unless their blunt.” Ditzy nodded as her saddlebags were secured. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Ditzy said gratefully, dipping her head slightly. “Oh, just a heads up, there’s a massive cold front scheduled to move in this evening. It’s going to start getting much colder from here on out.” “How wonderful, I finally get to wear all those scarves I ordered last week.” Rarity said, skipping off to another room. Chuckling to herself, Ditzy just shook her head as she turned to leave. Typical Rarity, always concerned with fashion. When she was gone, Rarity poked her head out of the room to make sure she had left. After confirming that Ditzy had left, she quickly darted over to the kitchen telephone and dialed the desired number with her magic. “Hello? ... Yes, she just left… I was just getting to that dear, calm down. They have a date planned for this evening… Oh I quite agree, those two are perfect for each other… Alright darling, I have to go now; do let me know how it all works out… bye.” With her part of the plan completed, Rarity allowed herself a feeling of pride, knowing that she helped bring two very shy ponies together. *** “Wait you finished already?!” Crafter asked, completely dumbstruck. “I thought Spike was joking!” It was late in the afternoon when Twilight Sparkle, baggy eyed and bed-headed, knocked on his door. “I told you I’d come by when I finished.” She said tiredly, desperately trying to keep herself standing upright. “But I gave you my entire collection, how in Equestria did you finish all those books in 24 hours?” Twilight smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “I'm a fast reader.” Crafter just sighed, trying to fathom how she had managed to do that much reading within such a small amount of time was just making his head hurt. “Alright, fine. I'm just not going to question it.” He stepped aside and pointed a hoof to a door in the back of the room. “Come on in, my study is in the back room, behind the counter.” Bashfully, Twilight walked inside and made her way to the door behind the counter. Crafter let her into the small room, the study was sparsely furnished; the only furniture consisted of the desk, a table lamp, a typewriter, a filing cabinet, an office chair, and a waste basket. “So uh, where so I sit?” Twilight asked upon entry. “Um. Be right back.” Crafter said hastily, rushing out of the room. He came back thirty seconds later with a dining chair in his magical grasp and placed it in front of his desk. “Here you go. Sorry, I didn’t think you would be back so quickly.” “It’s my fault, I should have called ahead.” She admitted, sitting down in the chair and placing her saddlebags next to her. “Shall we get started?” Crafter nodded, taking a seat at his desk. For the next hour, he and Twilight discussed the details of how much each book was worth (she wanted all of them) and what percentage of rental fee’s Crafter got. Eventually they settled on 20 percent, of course Crafter felt like he was extorting bits from the librarian, but apparently that was a fair deal. Capitalism was very stressful. After Twilight gave him the check for the books, she made her departure. Once Twilight was gone, Crafter slumped back into his chair, mentally exhausted. Part of the reason he didn’t talk with very many ponies was because of how hard it was for his brain to locate words, and it had been in overdrive for over an hour. Just before he fell asleep in his chair, there was a knock on his door. Letting out a sigh of frustration, Crafter got up to answer the door. All of his frustration and mental fatigue vanished when he saw Ditzy standing at the door. “Hi, you ready to go?” She happily greeted. Then he remembered their conversation earlier that day. “Oh!” He folded his ears back in embarrassment, how could he have forgotten something like this? “Yeah, let me just get my saddlebags then we can go.” He invited her to wait inside while he fetched his bags, after all it wouldn’t be polite to make a guest wait outside. After he retrieved his bags from the kitchen table, they left for the movies. “So what movie do you want to see?” Ditzy asked after they started their journey into town. Crafter’s ears splayed back again in embarrassment. “I probably should have checked the movie listings before we left.” In his mind, the green unicorn was berating himself for not being even remotely prepared. Ditzy just chuckled, not bothered by his lack of planning in the slightest. “Well it’s a good thing I did then.” She said, trying to put Crafter’s mind at ease. “The theater’s owner is a huge nerd; always has the original ‘Hoof Wars’ trilogy playing. Perhaps we could see one of those?” Suddenly Crafter stopped trotting, eyes wide with an unreadable expression. “You like ‘Hoof Wars’?” Oh no. Ditzy thought, her own ears folded back and she averted her face from his gaze. He probably thinks I'm a huge geek for suggesting that. Then a massive grin was plastered onto his face, eyes aglow with delight. “I LOVE ’Hoof Wars’, it’s one of my favorite movies.” “It is?” Ditzy asked, still not believing he could possibly enjoy a movie so nerdy. “Yep,” Crafter said, nodding vigorously “but ‘Back to the Future’ holds the title of the best movie ever.” Now it was Ditzy’s turn to smile brightly, it was rare to find somepony equally as nerdy. They started talking about all of their favorite parts of all three movies in the trilogy, debating which one they were going to see as continued their trot into town. Eventually they decided on ‘The NLR Strikes Back.’ By the time they reached the theater, the sun had started its descent, giving the bright blue sky a slightly orange hue. Crafter held the door open for Ditzy with his magic, letting her enter the neon covered building first. It must have been a slow day because the lobby was practically empty, save for a few colts in the arcade off to the side. “Odd, normally this place has a lot of business Saturday evenings.” Ditzy pondered, looking around the empty lobby. “That means we get the theater to ourselves.” Crafter said with a smile as he approached the unoccupied ticket booth. “Hello? Is anypony here?” “I'm coming I'm coming, keep your horseshoes on mate.” An Oatstralian voice called out from a room behind the booth. “So what’ll yah be see’n?” The black and blue spotted pegasus greeted as he exited the room. “Two for ‘Hoof Wars: The NLR Strikes Back’ please.” Crafter ordered. The spotted stallion pushed a few buttons on the register with his wings, adding up the total. “Always nice to meet a fellow fan of th’ classics mate, want popcorn and drinks with it?” “One large popcorn and two large drinks!” Ditzy cut in. “Free refills?” She clarified as Crafter and the spotted stallion gave her a strange look. What she really wanted to do was increase the chances of physical contact. “Alright then,” the spotted pegasus said “that’ll be 20 bits for the movie and 15 bits for the snacks.” Crafter fished around in his saddlebags for the coupons with his magic. “Hold on, I know they're in here.” He said after a few seconds of looking. “Can’t find your bit bag mate?” “No, I had some coupons for a free movie. I think I forgot them at home.” Crafter said, stuffing his face into the bag in hopes of finding it. Then the spotted stallion’s eyes went wide. “Oh so YOU’RE the couple she told me about,” he said as he placed a full tub of popcorn and two empty soda cups on the counter “don’t worry about it mate.” “Wait what?” Both Ditzy and Crafter said at the same time, both for different reasons. Who is ‘she’? Ditzy thought. He thought we were a couple? Crafter thought. “Oh bugger!” He exclaimed, throwing both hooves over his mouth. “Let me go start up your projector, room 14.” Then he was off. Crafter grabbed the popcorn and drink cups with this magic, doing his best not to think about Ditzy and him as a couple. “What kind of drink do you want?” “I’ll take an orange soda…” she said shyly, avoiding eye contact. Ok, there is no way we can have this much in common. He thought, filling up Ditzy’s cup with soda. After he put on the lid and inserted the straw, he filled up his own cup with the same drink. They walked to room 14 in an awkward silence, both a little self-conscious about their closeness. Of course it was instantly forgotten as soon as the opening credits started rolling, the iconic theme song blaring as loud as possible. Crafter and Ditzy instantly became overwhelmed by their inner child and sang along, it was a good thing they were alone in the theater.
