//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 46: When Two Suns Meet // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further ado, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” The Mindscape, roughly three days ago (Celestia’s POV) Steve, last of the Minecraftians, stood with his sword drawn. By his side was General Trench, Abyss the dragoness, Princess Celestia, Aura Blackhoof, Rizworth Ironfeather and Rainbow Dash. In front of them was their opponent, Herobrine, god of the night. The deity chuckled. “You had an army when you last defeated me, Steve. What do you hope to accomplish with only seven?” Steve glared at the god as he responded. “Seven people can do miraculous things Herobrine. Seven people can save a town from invasion. Seven people can stop the world from ending. Seven people,” Steve raised his blade as he glared at his opponent. “Can kill you, once and for all. “Perhaps.” Herobrine spoke, his voice sending chills down everyone’s spine. “But how will your friends have time for me, when they’re so busy fighting you?” Celestia couldn’t even track the deity’s movement as he rushed at Steve, plunging his now smoke-covered fist into the Crafter’s chest. Steve stumbled back from the attack, seemingly unhurt. “What did you…?” The Crafter began to ask, only to cry out in pain and fall to one knee. “Steve!” Abyss yelled as she rushed to his side. Looking him over for a moment, she glared angrily at Herobrine. “What did you do to him?!!” The god of the night smirked. “I awakened the Nightmare.” Only a few moments later, Steve fell onto his back, twitching for a few seconds, then going still. Gritting her teeth, Celestia turned her gaze from the fallen Crafter, back to Herobrine. Horn glowing, she shot an ice spell at her opponent, hoping to keep him from moving. The deity easily dodged the attack, leaping towards the alicorn, fist pulled back. Quickly summoning a shield, Celestia blocked the attack, then pushed backwards, sending Herobrine staggering backwards. Taking advantage of the opening, Rainbow Dash sped forward to attack, only for Herobrine to catch her in mid-air and throw her aside. Trench, rushing forward and spinning, managed to kick the deity in the side with his back-hooves. Unfortunately, the attack barely fazed the god of the night. Glaring down at the gray stallion, he grabbed Trench by the leg before swinging him around and throwing him into a nearby building. Seeing her chance, Celestia managed to grab Herobrine in her magical grip. Lifting him up, she slammed him into the ground multiple times, creating a deeper and deeper impression in the road with each collision. After the seventh time, she threw him up in the air and swiftly shot him with powerful bolt of magic, causing a giant explosion. The detonation made Herobrine shoot downwards, slamming into the ground with impressive force. Abyss left the unconscious Crafter’s side as she rushed forward towards Herobrine, claws outstretched. Bringing back her arm, she swung at Herobrine’s head with all her might. Unfortunately, the deity managed to grab her wrist. Gritting her teeth, she swung her other arm, only for this one to be caught as well. Grinning, Herobrine rolled backwards, causing Abyss to slam face-first into the cobblestone road. Using the dragoness as a launch-pad, he leaped off her towards Celestia, fist pulled back. Horn glowing, she shot a beam of magic at the deity, only for him to twist in mid-air, dodging it. Punching forward, his fist connected with the alicorns cheek, knocking her head to the side. Following up with a heavy kick, sending her rolling. Upon coming to a stop, she gave out a small groan as she charged up her spell. Suddenly, a cold, fleshy hand gripped her horn, cutting off her magic. She gaze was yanked upwards to look into white, glowing eyes. Herobrine grinned. “That’s enough out of you.” Bringing back his arm, he punched her horn. The hit connected with all the kindness of a TNT blast at point-blank range. Pain erupted from her forehead, like a hot spike had pierced her skull all the way through. Before she could even hope to recover, another punch connected with her horn. This time, the pain was too much for her, and everything went black. * * * * * Princess Celestia woke up on a beach. She wasn’t entirely sure when she had arrived, either. One moment she was unconscious, the next she was standing on an empty beach, the only noise being the soft splashing of waves against the sandy shore. She blinked in confusion, having no memory of how she had arrived in wherever she now found herself. “Ah. You’ve finally awoken.” Suddenly, a very masculine voice spoke from her left. Snapping her head to the side, Celestia’s eyes widened when she saw what had spoken. He was bipedal, clothed with gray pants, a dull brown shirt, and black boots, which reminded the alicorn of a certain Crafter. Unlike Steve, however, this being had no hair on his head. He stood with his arms crossed behind his back, gazing over the water and towards the horizon. “It’s good to see you are alright.” The being continued to speak, interrupting her inner dialogue. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she gave him a puzzled glance. “I apologize, but I don’t think we have met before.” The being sighed. “No, we haven’t. The reason most likely being that I am not of your world.” Celestia’s mind suddenly went blank at the implications the being’s words had brought. “...What?” The being turned to look at her, deep gray eyes peering into her own. “I am not of your world, your Majesty. I am from a different dimension, an alternate universe. One that is very different from your own.” Celestia remained silent for a few moments, before she hesitantly walked forward, stopping just beside the being. “From another world, you say? If I may ask, what is it you want? Why am I here?” Looking around, her gaze wandered over the sandy dunes and clear water. “Where are we, for that matter?” “You were in a comatose state due to the injuries you received from the battle. Once you were well enough, I brought you here to talk with you.” The being sighed as he took a small look around. “As for this place, we’re in the Void plane.” Celestia gave the being a questioning look. “Void plane? I’m afraid I don’t know what that is.” “The Void plane is the thing that connects, well, everything. Every world, every dimension, every person, every creature, we are all connected by it, though few actually know of its existence. It’s how Steve was transported from his world to yours.” The mention of the Crafter’s name made Celestia’s ears perk up. “You know Steve?” The being gave a small chuckle. “I would hope so. I am the one that created his species, after all.” The alicorn’s mouth was open, as if to say something, but no words escaped her lips. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, then spoke. “So, you are the maker of his species?” The being nodded. “Yes. My name is Notch. Steve’s kind used to think of me as a god of sorts. I suppose when one thinks about it, they were right.” Letting out a sigh, he shook his head before looking at Celestia with a serious expression on his face. “But that is beside the point. I brought you here because I wanted to talk with you.” “Alright. What do you wish to talk about?” Sighing, the being stepped closer to the alicorn until he was right in front of her. Then, much to her surprise, he bowed his head and knelt in front of her. Celestia’s eyes widened and she backed up slightly from the unexpected action. “What are you…?” “I’m so terribly, terribly sorry, your Majesty.” She gave him a confused expression. “What? What for?” Notch stood up and looked at her with a sorrowful expression. “For all the things Herobrine has done since he arrived in your world.” When Celestia’s confused look didn’t fade, he decided to explain a little. “Let me explain. Since he has arrived here, Herobrine has, directly or otherwise, caused a great number of injuries. He influenced Miss Dash’s increased aggression when Steve first entered town, as well as a few times afterwards. He took control of General Trench in order to torture Miss Derpy, then wiped his memories afterwards, most likely to hide evidence of his existence. While I’m not completely sure, I have strong suspicions that he is behind a lot of strange occurrences revolving around Steve. More often than not, those occurrences has led to your citizens being hurt. For that, I must apologize.” The alicorn shook her head with a sad expression, looking down. “Please, don’t apologize. Yes, Herobrine may be the reason behind it all, but that doesn’t heal the injuries Steve has received from my guards. It doesn’t make the scars he has fade away. It doesn’t erase the guilt of being the one responsible for his pain. It just doesn’t.” Taking a deep breath, she looked at Notch with damp eyes. “I’m so used to knowing what the right thing is. So to find out just how wrong I was, and how Steve suffered for it…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I should be the one apologizing. Especially to Steve.” Notch gave the Princess a small smile as he chuckled. “You don’t need to say sorry to me. However, I agree that Steve definitely deserves more than a few apologies.” Celestia nodded. “Definitely. But,” The alicorn looked Notch straight in the eye. “I can’t do that here. If there is nothing else to discuss, I would like to return, please.” He smiled. “No problem.” Reaching out his hand, Notch gently tapped the alicorn on her forehead. A few moments later, Celestia’s vision began to fade as everything went white, and she knew no more. * * * * * Present Time (Steve’s POV) To say Steve was shocked was a huge understatement. One second, he was ready to kick the shit out of some Elite guard fucks that had hurt both himself and Trench, the next, the literal Princess of the Sun, who was supposed to be in a coma, appeared in the alley like it was no big deal. Yeah, he was a little startled. So he responded as such. “How the fuck are you here?!” He asked incredulously. “I thought you were in a coma or something!” The alicorn gave a small smile as she nodded. “Up until roughly an hour ago, I was. The doctors were absolutely ecstatic when they found out I had awoken and insisted I stay in bed while they took some tests. However, when two of my guards informed me of the situation with you, I decided I needed to help you.” “Your Highness?” A voice spoke from further back in the alley. Celestia turned around and saw the squad of Elite guards standing there, confused and dumbfounded expressions on their faces. The mare, Ellie or something, stepped forward. “Forgive my vulgarity, but what the buck is going on?” “Ah, Sergeant Emerald Lilly. I apologize for your confusion. Rest assured, explanations will be given at a later date. I assume you are under orders from my sister, Princess Luna?” They all nodded. “Good. As of now, any orders to capture and/or detain Steve have been revoked. Please return to the barracks. Oh, and please release General Trench from his bindings. Thank you.” “But, but your Majesty, you can’t be serious!” The sergeant protested. “Surely you haven’t forgotten the crimes that thing,” She pointed a hoof at Steve. “has commited!? You can’t just…!” Any further objections from the red mare were silenced by the harsh glare Princess Celestia sent her way. “Yes, I am aware of the things he has done. But, due to recent events, I am now also aware that he merely acted in defense of himself and of those he cared about. We don’t punish self-defense. Now return to the barracks, Sergeant.” While she looked like she wanted to continue to argue, Emerald knew it would be a fruitless endeavor. Letting out a sigh, she gave a small nod to one of her fellow guards, the pegasus. Nodding back, he walked over to Trench and removed his chains. Sighing, the General rubbed his forehooves and neck. “Ugh, those things suck.” “Thank you.” Celestia spoke, before her horn began to glow. “Now, if you will excuse us, I must speak with General Trench and Steve.” The next moment, there was a flash of light in the alley. When the light faded, Steve, Trench and Celestia were gone.