Steel shaper's painby timoweicChapterspart 1Part 2part 3part 1The wind howled outside as Steel Shaper made his attempt at sleep. Sleep didn’t come easy to him anymore, not since the accident. Groggily, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Curse it, it’s been days since I’ve slept…” sighed Steel. Blinking a few times to clear his exhausted eyes, he looked around the room. Blank walls staring back at him, except for one which contained a picture. The picture of himself and his beloved, his black mane spiked at the front, halfway covering his left eye. His blood red eyes looking at his beloved Mystshade, a Pegasus, her light blue eyes seemed to gleam, even in the still frame, as they had so long ago. Her blue-black mane flowing down the sides of her face vibrantly standing out in contrast to her flawless white coat. The unrestrained smile on her face hurt him to look at. Wincing at the pain he felt in his heart, steel knew how great the love they shared was. Tears threatened to pour down his cheeks, almost losing the struggle to maintain his composure of breaking down again. Taking a deep breath he regained his composure, as much as there was to regain. “Myst,” he began, “I’m not sure how much more I can take without you, I can feel myself falling apart, piece by piece. I still love you, and think about you constantly. I feel lost without you… I’m sorry… I wasn’t fast enough to save you…” And he wept for an hour before managing to get his hoofing and sulked off to bed. Sleep came and so did the dreams… The Dream Part 1. Blankets of rain fell from the sky, soaking the coats of the curious onlookers. “It hurts, please…” thunder crashed and muted the rest. “You’re going to be okay, please stay with me Myst. Don’t go to sleep!” Steel Shaper pleaded. Lightning filled the sky behind him as Mystshade looked up into his eyes, red and soaking from tears and the rain. Feeling her eyelids grow heavier, quietly said, “I’ve always lov….” Part 2Steel shaper woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, he rolled to look out the window. The sky was starting to fade from the dark of night, to the warm golden color of early morning. "I love you too, MystShade, and you alone." Still shivering from the nightmare that came to him, every time he managed to sleep. Getting out of bed caused a cascade of cracks and pops throughout his body. This was nothing new to him, but was getting progressively worse with each passing dream. Judging by the amount of light in the sky, he estimated he had about an hour until sunrise, maybe an hour and a half. "Damn it," he muttered to nopony in particular, "that hour of sleep took more out of me than I had hoped.." he sighed, and began his normal morning routine. Brushed teeth, made his bed, and a breakfast of oats, with a touch of honey, Myst's favorite... He remembered all of her favorite things, couldn't forget them, it seemed. The last part of this ritual was no simple task. It's what kept him from going off the deep-end for so long. About half an hour remained before he had to make his way to work at the ponyville smithy. this time, he spent alone, confiding with the picture of himself and his beloved. "It came to me again, last night. You did.. but, it wasn't you, but the memory of you. Clear as water, I'm not sure why its always the same, unrelenting, dream. i don't know how long I will be able to keep it together, it is distracting me from my work, Causing flaws, I cant have flaws in my work..." Followed by a long time of silence. As the sun crests over the rolling hills Steel Shaper slowly makes his way to the smithy. down the dirt roads kicking up small puffs of dust as he walks forward, his head held down. As usual, the trip is uneventful, however today, something in the air puts him off.. Pushing these thoughts into the back of his mind, there was no time for them now, for what he saw at the door to his shop, was not normal. part 3Standing in front of his shop was the captain of the Canterlot Royal guard, Shining Armor. Steel Shaper took a quick breath and cleared his mind, business was to be done, so he thought. cautiously, but with confidence, he approached Sir Shining. "Good morning sir shining. What brings you all the way to my shop?" Steel said and made a quick bow. "Greetings Steel Shaper, How have you been holding up?" "I've been holding my own." a bitter statement that sounded false to his own ears, he resented the lie already. "That's good to hear, I've just got a quick order of business that I need tended to, if that's no problem." "Absolutely, what can I do for you?" Steel asked eagerly, work for the Captain of the guard, what an opportunity! "My chest plate feels a bit tight around the solders, I've heard of your skills, and would like to see what you can do." "Absolutely, let me take a look at that and get a measurement real fast." So he did, He was nervous to do so, but he swallowed his nerves and began to make the adjustments to the metal plates. "this is some fine armor you have here, sir. how did you come about it? If I may ask?" Steel asked astonished at the beauty of the forged steel. "it was a gift from somepony, that's all I can say on the matter." using his magic, Shining Armor took the completed breastplate and re-adorned it. "Ah, yes. this feels much better, thank you. What do I owe you?" "Nothing sir, it was my pleasure. Please feel free to stop by any time if you need any more modifications," with that said, Shining Armor left. Upon the sight of shining Armor vanishing on the other side of a hill, Steel felt that sensation of something wrong again. this time, worse than before. No matter how much he tried, this time, he could not push it back into the recesses of his mind. A cold wind started to blow, chilling him to the bones.. "Ive got to get a hold of myself.." he said quietly to himself, before his mind froze. He could not move, he could not breathe this feeling of wrong, became that of dread. 'no....' he thought to himself, 'NO...' the voice in his head grew louder, 'NO' it screamed again and again.... He blacked out, in a slump inside his shop.
part 1The wind howled outside as Steel Shaper made his attempt at sleep. Sleep didn’t come easy to him anymore, not since the accident. Groggily, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Curse it, it’s been days since I’ve slept…” sighed Steel. Blinking a few times to clear his exhausted eyes, he looked around the room. Blank walls staring back at him, except for one which contained a picture. The picture of himself and his beloved, his black mane spiked at the front, halfway covering his left eye. His blood red eyes looking at his beloved Mystshade, a Pegasus, her light blue eyes seemed to gleam, even in the still frame, as they had so long ago. Her blue-black mane flowing down the sides of her face vibrantly standing out in contrast to her flawless white coat. The unrestrained smile on her face hurt him to look at. Wincing at the pain he felt in his heart, steel knew how great the love they shared was. Tears threatened to pour down his cheeks, almost losing the struggle to maintain his composure of breaking down again. Taking a deep breath he regained his composure, as much as there was to regain. “Myst,” he began, “I’m not sure how much more I can take without you, I can feel myself falling apart, piece by piece. I still love you, and think about you constantly. I feel lost without you… I’m sorry… I wasn’t fast enough to save you…” And he wept for an hour before managing to get his hoofing and sulked off to bed. Sleep came and so did the dreams… The Dream Part 1. Blankets of rain fell from the sky, soaking the coats of the curious onlookers. “It hurts, please…” thunder crashed and muted the rest. “You’re going to be okay, please stay with me Myst. Don’t go to sleep!” Steel Shaper pleaded. Lightning filled the sky behind him as Mystshade looked up into his eyes, red and soaking from tears and the rain. Feeling her eyelids grow heavier, quietly said, “I’ve always lov….”
Part 2Steel shaper woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, he rolled to look out the window. The sky was starting to fade from the dark of night, to the warm golden color of early morning. "I love you too, MystShade, and you alone." Still shivering from the nightmare that came to him, every time he managed to sleep. Getting out of bed caused a cascade of cracks and pops throughout his body. This was nothing new to him, but was getting progressively worse with each passing dream. Judging by the amount of light in the sky, he estimated he had about an hour until sunrise, maybe an hour and a half. "Damn it," he muttered to nopony in particular, "that hour of sleep took more out of me than I had hoped.." he sighed, and began his normal morning routine. Brushed teeth, made his bed, and a breakfast of oats, with a touch of honey, Myst's favorite... He remembered all of her favorite things, couldn't forget them, it seemed. The last part of this ritual was no simple task. It's what kept him from going off the deep-end for so long. About half an hour remained before he had to make his way to work at the ponyville smithy. this time, he spent alone, confiding with the picture of himself and his beloved. "It came to me again, last night. You did.. but, it wasn't you, but the memory of you. Clear as water, I'm not sure why its always the same, unrelenting, dream. i don't know how long I will be able to keep it together, it is distracting me from my work, Causing flaws, I cant have flaws in my work..." Followed by a long time of silence. As the sun crests over the rolling hills Steel Shaper slowly makes his way to the smithy. down the dirt roads kicking up small puffs of dust as he walks forward, his head held down. As usual, the trip is uneventful, however today, something in the air puts him off.. Pushing these thoughts into the back of his mind, there was no time for them now, for what he saw at the door to his shop, was not normal.
part 3Standing in front of his shop was the captain of the Canterlot Royal guard, Shining Armor. Steel Shaper took a quick breath and cleared his mind, business was to be done, so he thought. cautiously, but with confidence, he approached Sir Shining. "Good morning sir shining. What brings you all the way to my shop?" Steel said and made a quick bow. "Greetings Steel Shaper, How have you been holding up?" "I've been holding my own." a bitter statement that sounded false to his own ears, he resented the lie already. "That's good to hear, I've just got a quick order of business that I need tended to, if that's no problem." "Absolutely, what can I do for you?" Steel asked eagerly, work for the Captain of the guard, what an opportunity! "My chest plate feels a bit tight around the solders, I've heard of your skills, and would like to see what you can do." "Absolutely, let me take a look at that and get a measurement real fast." So he did, He was nervous to do so, but he swallowed his nerves and began to make the adjustments to the metal plates. "this is some fine armor you have here, sir. how did you come about it? If I may ask?" Steel asked astonished at the beauty of the forged steel. "it was a gift from somepony, that's all I can say on the matter." using his magic, Shining Armor took the completed breastplate and re-adorned it. "Ah, yes. this feels much better, thank you. What do I owe you?" "Nothing sir, it was my pleasure. Please feel free to stop by any time if you need any more modifications," with that said, Shining Armor left. Upon the sight of shining Armor vanishing on the other side of a hill, Steel felt that sensation of something wrong again. this time, worse than before. No matter how much he tried, this time, he could not push it back into the recesses of his mind. A cold wind started to blow, chilling him to the bones.. "Ive got to get a hold of myself.." he said quietly to himself, before his mind froze. He could not move, he could not breathe this feeling of wrong, became that of dread. 'no....' he thought to himself, 'NO...' the voice in his head grew louder, 'NO' it screamed again and again.... He blacked out, in a slump inside his shop.
