Hey again. Sorry, this took a while. I've been working on other projects, and considering this isn't exactly "high priority," it got put on the backburner. Worst part is, my notes past the fight with Discord are kinda...well, ass. And by that, I mean that there isn't really a whole lot there.
I suppose that the plot holes are directly caused by that, my lack of foresight and preplanning. Because honestly, besides some tidbits, snippets of conversation and small fight scenes, there isn't a whole lot of planned story left.
I had some ideas for events. The fight with Sombra, where Onyx ends up getting wiped out by the Crystal Heart, was a good one. And the Canterlot Invasion. Oh, I was planning some Borimir-type shit with Trench for that. You guys get it.
I mean, hell, even the full on ending wasn't planned. At least, not fully.
Let me put it like this.
The ending scene I had planned was a full-on war against a resurrected Herobrine (of course) and his army. Long story short, Steve and Herobrine end up fighting in the depth's of Steve's soul, the Soul Chamber, where its essentially willpower vs willpower. And while both beings have insanely strong willpower, Steve's soul has been weathered and damaged over the years from constant loss and heartache. Steve's on the ropes, his soul-fire (another long story) is dwindling and nearly extinguished, and he has no backup. All looks lost until...
And there is where the ending's diverge. I actually had three possible endings. I was going to leave it to readers' choice at the time.
The first was called the Harmony's Champion ending. In this ending, the Mane Six manage to use the Elements of Harmony on Steve's body (remember, Steve and Herobrine are fighting in the Steve's soul, don't think about it too hard), making him remember all of his friends, both past and present, those he'd lost and those he still had, and all of the love they'd given him, and he them. Using that source of strength, Steve manages to best Herobrine once and for all, destroying him in his entirety, never to harm anyone else ever again. It's a "And they all lived happily ever after" type of ending.
The second was called the Fallen ending. In this ending, Steve tries his best to defeat Herobrine, but when it's clear that he can't, he instead opts to destroy his own soul, which would indeed kill Steve, but it would also kill Herobrine as collateral, as he was in Steve's Soul chamber. The last moments of Steve's life consist of him frantically bringing down his own Soul chamber, all while Herobrine tries and fails to either escape or stop Steve before the Chamber collapses and takes them both with it. Eventually, Steve is successful, and his final thoughts are that of sad thankfulness, as even if he was dying, at least his loved ones would be safe. Outside Steve's soul, in the real world, all anyone can do is watch as Steve's body breathes its last and ever-so-softly, fades into nothingness.
The third and final ending was called the Moving On ending. In this ending, as Steve is losing to Herobrine, memories of his life begin flashing in his mind's eye. The people he loved, the people he lost, all of the suffering he experienced. All of the things he wished he'd done, all of his regrets, etc. In the end, Steve's willpower is boosted just enough where he manages to kill Herobrine. However, the damage Steve received is too much, and his own life is slowly fading as well.
Excerpt -
It felt cold. A gradual cold, where you could feel the heat itself leave your body.
It was strange, but not entirely unpleasant. Like taking a dip in a lake during a hot summer day.
As Steve lay on the floor of his own Soul Chamber, lifeforce oozing from the dozens of wounds on his body, he briefly wondered if dying was like this for everyone, or if he was a special case.
His breathing was loud in his ears. His lungs felt heavy, and small.
'This is it.' He thought. 'After all these years, this is how it ends.'
He blinked up blearily at the ceiling above him. His vision was darkening.
For a moment, his thoughts turned to his friends and family. He wished he could've seen them, one last time, at least to say goodbye.
The open plains.
He wondered about how life would continue on without him, wondering if he would even be remembered in the years to come.
A house, there in the distance. He remembered it.
They'd be fine. They would be okay.
She sat there, on the porch. She was as beautiful as the day he'd lost her.
He smiled sadly, sweetly. He knew they'd be okay.
She smiled at him, and beckoned for him.
'I... love you guys.' He thought, willing his scattered thoughts into the void. 'I'm sorry...I couldn't...come...back.'
He wouldn't keep Lily waiting.
'Good...bye...everyone.'
-End Excerpt.
And that was Moving On Ending. I based it off the ending for Gladiator with Russel Crowe. Very good movie.
Anyways, that's about all of my notes and thoughts and ideas and shit that I had for A Crafter's Dream. Thank you all very, very much for reading and commenting and liking and all of that. Truly, thank you.
Also, I am curious. Which ending would you all have preferred for A Crafter's Dream? Comment which one and why, if you feel so inclined, I'm genuinely curious.
Anyways, until next time.
-This is Ruthim345 (Alex) signing off.
Harmony's Champion is my preference
Harmony's Champion. For me that seems like the happily ever after ending where Steve lives and gets to return to the friends and loved ones in the world outside his own soul.
Harmony's Champion for me as well
I'm a sucker for a dramatic happy ending. Thanks for taking the time to wrap this up.
reminded me of sonic.exe nightmare beginning
3 awesome choices.
but if you are going to make me pick i will say the rainbow cannon.
I would have like The Moving On Ending. In my opinion that would be the perfect ending.
And it would be an excuse to play Now we are free.
I'm torn between Harmony's Champion and Moving On, cause while I am a sucker for happy endings, sometimes a good bittersweet ending is the best way to close a story
Harmony's Champion.
Steve’s earned that ending
Well, I would have chosen Harmony's Champion of the three, but...
Wanting to leave it to the reader's choice. I suggest you could have done so in a different way... If you didn't consider it before hand or are just interested, read on. If not, great story and sorry to see it go like this.
The fight happens in the Soul Chamber with Steve's life force, Herobrine's life force, and the Soul Chamber taking alot of damage before the Elements of Harmony are used on Steve. Herobrine is purged and Steve is dying from the damage to his life and the Soul Chamber itself. Wishing he could have seen his friends one last time he hears a voice say he could, but there's a question of how to be answered. The magical surge of the Elements has brought Steve, Notch, and Harmony to a void space. This has created an opportunity for Steve to decide how things go from here.
Currently, Steve is fading and will pass but they can heal his soul enough that he gets to say goodbye if he chooses to let his life end as it is. But there are other options...
With Notch here Steve's Soul can be healed to where it will fully restore itself as well as his Life Force. But this will mean Steve will be as he was before, a human in Equestria. With all the limits and powers he had before (Eating food to heal, etc, etc) just as he was. Or...
Harmony can heal his Soul, while Notch heals his Life Force. Harmony doesn't know his Soul like Notch does so the healing will be imperfect. Good enough to give him one normal length lifetime in Equestria without the benefits of his healing factor and what not else that entails, but provide an new connection to Equestria's magic. So he would age and die a human in Equestria while learning to use his new magic connection. One last lifetime with his friends. Or...
Notch can heal his Soul while Harmony heals his Life Force, but this would have an after effect. Due to his Life Force pouring throughout his body it would be permanently changed and unlike Notch, Harmony does not determine or shape forms of new life. When a soul is ready to be born it naturally is attracted to multiple forms and eventually accepts one which determines into what race it will be born. As this will be a rebirth due to the change in his body Steve would be reborn/reshaped as whatever race form his Soul accepts (which cannot be influenced by the mind). So Harmony won't know what he will be reborn as, but he would be reborn with the benefits he has now (long life, etc) and no magic (outside of any that's been established). Or...
Harmony can heal both his Soul and Life Force. Meaning new unknown race body and magic connection, but no abilities like he used to have. A new magical life in Equestria with his friends.
Whatever he chooses Harmony thanks him for protecting Equestria and hopes that, after his life ends and if his Soul ever becomes ready for it, he might consider returning to Equestria and bringing some friends along... for a new adventure. (I recently watched The Lord of the Rings. I couldn't help myself. )
I feel like while majority people expect a happy ending, I prefer #2, as this would show the one moment in Steve's long life he control the outcome of his life by his own rules and that he drag down the one individual for his misery down with him.
Besides that, this story has been a grand read for start to end since I first found it - been inspired to write my own Minecraft story having read this one. While sad to see it go, it'll forever be in my collective list of re-readable stories whenever I feel like it, awesome story to the end!
11538061
Honestly, I never considered Steve losing his healing factor and such. It’s probably one of the better options, as his functional immortality would be more of a curse than a blessing later on.
Thank you for writing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it
11583811
#2 would be one of the few times Steve would be able to grab destiny by the neck and actually decide his own fate.