A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued)

by ruthim345

A Crafter's Dream Ch. 32: A Queen's Fall (Part 2)

Now, without further adieu, I present,

“A Crafter’s Dream”

Circle: Dodge

Steve rolled to the side as a blast of magic shot past him. Rushing forward, he raised his sword as two more bolts screamed past him.

Square: Slash

Triangle: Kick

Swinging his blade in a wide arc, Daybreaker managed to evade this attack. However, she was caught off-guard by the kick to the muzzle she received moments later, courtesy of Steve’s armored boot. Stumbling back slightly, she growled as her horn lit, sending out a large barrage of bolts. While Steve tried to dodge, he was unfortunately hit hard by one of the blasts, sending him flying back.

Damage Received - 3 damage. 9 health remaining.

Steve grunted as he hit the ground, sliding along the tiled floor. Rolling onto his stomach, he groaned and struggled to get to his feet, succeeding in falling to one knee. His blade dropped to the floor with a loud, “Clang!” as he supported himself with an arm.

A deep, malicious laugh came from in front of him. Looking up, Steve saw Daybreaker steadily approaching him, horn bathed in her magical flames. Her lips were pulled up in a sadistic grin as her hooves, coated in metal, clanged ominously on the floor.

Picking up his sword, Steve got to his feet and readied his blade. Daybreaker responded by shooting a large beam of magic at him.

Circle: Block

Stepping forward, Steve swung his blade, managing to deflect the beam to his side. However, due to his weakened state, he stumbled back from the force. Putting up his sword in a defensive stance, he took a quick glance around the room.

The room was a mess. Magical fires burned throughout the space, making the situation even more dangerous than it already was. Rubble littered the floor. To his left, one of his pegasi allies lay on the floor, either dead or unconscious, he was unsure. To his right, the other pegasi was struggling to his feet, aided by a barely-standing Shining. Steve grit his teeth, unsure of what to do.

“You are doomed.” Daybreaker spoke, the tone of her voice doing nothing to hide her boasting. “Did you really think you could defeat me, with such a meager force, no less?” She cackled, a cold, unforgiving laugh leaving her mouth. “Your deaths should do well to silence any more of your rebel friends.” Her horn glowed, and Steve prepared himself for the worst.

VOOP!!

Daybreaker’s victorious grin turned into one of confusion as she turned around. Her eyes widened. Directly behind her stood one very pissed off Abyss, with Luna by her side. Daybreaker’s mouth dropped open in shock, caught entirely unawares by the sudden appearance. Abyss stepped forward, her purple eyes burning bright with anger.

“Get away from my friend.” She stated simply, before punching the burning princess straight in the jaw, sending her careening through the air. Steve let out a laugh of disbelief as he witnessed the tyrant sail through the air, crashing down into the floor. Wanting to take advantage of the opening, Steve rushed forward, sword pulled back. Unfortunately, she recovered well, back on her hooves in an instant as she blasted him point blank with a magic bolt.

Damage Received - 6 damage. 3 health remaining.

Flying through the air, he hit the ground hard, crying out in pain from the impact as he rolled along the floor. Upon coming to a stop, he groaned and shakily got to his knees, pushing himself up with his sword.

“Steve!!”

Looking up, he saw Abyss rushing over to him with a horrified expression of her face. Just past her, Luna and Daybreaker were duking it out, either one focused solely on the other. When Abyss reached him, she gripped his arm and forcibly laid him on his back, though he did little to resist. Grabbing the bottom of his helmet, she lifted it off, revealing his bruised and scraped face, as well as his black eye. His chest plate followed soon after, tossed unceremoniously on the floor beside them.

Armor removed - Diamond Helmet. Max Health decreased to 37.

Armor removed - Diamond Chestplate. Max Health decreased to 29.

Steve let a small smirk grace his lips as he looked up at Abyss’ worried expression.

“D-don’t worry. I-I’m fine.” He muttered as he moved to get up, only to feel her clawed hand stop him. Opening his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by Abyss, who held her hand out over him.

“ᔑリᓵ╎ᒷリℸ ̣ 𝙹リᒷ, ʖ∷╎リ⊣ ⍑ᒷᔑꖎ╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ∴𝙹⚍リ↸ᒷ↸!” She spoke in a deep, powerful voice as the foreign words escaped her lips. Only a moment later, to Steve’s shock, four black pillars, only a few feet wide, rose out of the ground. Atop each of them sat a strange, familiar-looking, purple crystal. His eye’s widened as a violet beam shot out of them, directly into him.

Regeneration Effect gained. +2 health per second.

Steve felt a abnormal warmth flood his body. Looking over himself, he saw his wounds swiftly beginning to heal. Grinning in relief, he looked up and saw Abyss looking down at him, a small, relieved smile on her face.

“Sorry I’m late. Turns out the guards here are a lot more formidable than I thought. Our forces are mopping up the last of them as we speak.” she said softly. Steve merely nodded in response, feeling his strength returning. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and shouting, accompanied by more explosions, reminding the both of them of the fight going down on the other side of the room.

Sighing, he got to his feet, gripping the handle of his blade tight. Just as he did so, the crystals let out a quiet humming noise, before crumbling away, leaving behind little trace of their prior existence. Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed his chest plate off the floor and slipped it on.

Health Restored - 29 health

Armor equipped - Diamond Chestplate. Max Health increased to 37.

Readying himself, he took a deep breath, taking in the vicious fighting still going on between the two alicorns. Suddenly, he felt a presence step beside him. Glancing to his right, Steve was shocked to see a bruised and battered Shining, wielding an expression of determination. Just beside the unicorn was the pegasus, with his compadre, still unconscious, on his back.

“You guys look like shit.” Shining and the pegasus merely chuckled slightly at the comment. “Go with Abyss. She’ll take care of you guys. Me and Luna will take care of things here.” Steve continued as he glanced back at the dragoness with an unyielding expression present on his features, showing he wasn’t willing to argue.

“There’s no way in the Nether I’m letting you risk your life here. I lost everyone else back home, I’m not losing you too.” He thought.

She looked like she wanted to argue but after seeing his face, conceded, then nodded. The pegasus didn’t speak, instead limping over to Abyss. Picking up the pair, she disappeared in a dull flash, leaving a small cloud of purple particles behind.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Didn’t know she could do that. Makes sense though, since she’s so closely related to the Enderman.” Shaking his head, Steve turned around to face the fight, before realizing that there was still a pony beside him. He looked down at the unicorn with a confused expression on his face.

“What?” He asked, unsure why the stallion wasn’t moving. Shining looked up at the Crafter.

“With all do respect, I’m not going anywhere. Even with you, me and Princess Luna, I’m not sure we can beat Daybreaker.” The unicorn sighed, then continued as he turned back to the fight. “I’d rather be here and not be needed, than be needed and not be here.”

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but found he couldn’t refute his logic. Letting out a breath, he pulled out his last vial of healing potion. No longer needing it himself, he uncorked it and handed it to Shining. Without a word, the stallion gulped it down.

“Ready?”

Shining nodded.

“Then let’s kick some ass.”

* * * * *

Shining was scared out of his mind. There was never anything in the guard training about dealing with psychotic, super-pony tyrants. And here he was, running beside a creature he’d only met a few days before, straight at the said psychotic, super-pony tyrant. So of course he was scared. After all, he always believed that nopony was truly fearless, except idiots.

He narrowly ducked under a bolt of magic, his horn lighting up and firing a few of his own in return. He saw Steve sidestep an attack, whirling around and slashing, cutting deep into her side. Rolling back, he blocked an attack with his sword.

Getting an idea, Shining’s horn shot out a wave of ice, hoping to smother Daybreaker’s flames. However, it didn’t work, as her flames swiftly turned the ice to vapor upon contact. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he jumped to the side as a beam of fire shot past, slightly singing his fur.

Steve leapt forward, slamming his sword into the ground with surprising force, managing to knock Daybreaker back. Before she could recover, Princess Luna barraged her with blasts of magic. Not wanting to take any chances, Shining blasted Daybreaker with his own magic, ignoring the pain in his skull that signified he was overusing his magic. He couldn’t afford to let up.

After a few moments, the barrage finally ended. Daybreaker, heavily injured, fell to her knees. Steve slowly walked forward, wary of the alicorn.

“We are willing to accept your surrender, Daybreaker.” Steve said softly. “Do you accept?” She didn’t move, except for her horn glowing softly, causing Steve to take a step back. Suddenly, Shining saw something in the corner of his eye move. Glancing over, his eye’s widened as a longsword, the same one from before, was lifted up in her magical aura. In a split second, it was zooming towards the Crafter’s back.

Shining took a second to form a shield, only for his magic to sputter weakly and his horn throb, showing that it wasn't going to happen.

“MOVE!!” He yelled as he leapt at the Crafter, pushing him to the side, acting purely on instinct.

SLICE!!

* * * * *

Steve stared in horror at the unicorn that stood in his place, a longsword piercing his side, going all the way through. Blood began pooling out as Shining stumbled and fell, gasping loudly. Rushing to his side, Steve hurriedly looked over the stallion.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no.” He muttered to himself, trying to think of some way to remedy the situation. But the wound was too serious, and he had no healing potions left. Warm, red blood poured onto the floor.

Cough. “S-sir? How ba-bad is, cough, it?” Shining asked.

“Um, it’s just a scratch, don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Just stay with me, I’ll fix this.” Looking behind him, he saw Luna with a sad expression on her face as she held Daybreaker in her magical grip. “Help me! Heal him!” Steve begged. Luna merely shook her head sadly.

“We, doth not know of any spells to heal.” He looked at her with an indiscernible expression before swiftly turning his head back to the gravely wounded stallion. Shining’s eyes fluttered, making Steve’s heart begin to race.

“No, don’t do that! Stay awake!” He yelled, hoping the noise would help. It didn’t, not by much.

“Sir? C-could you d-do so-something for me?” Shining managed to ask.

“What?” Steve asked.

“P-protect Equestria i-in my s-stead. D-do what I c-couldn’t. Can y-you promise m-me that?” Shining’s voice was just above a whisper now.

Steve nodded hastily. “Yes, Shining. I promise I will protect your home, even if it costs me my life. I swear on my honor as a Minecraftian.” A small smile appeared on Shining’s features. A tear slowly trailed down his muzzle. He nodded slightly.

The duo sat there for a few moments more, until the unicorn breathed his last, and Shining Armor passed away.

* * * * *

Steve knelt, hunched over the fallen unicorn. The Crafter looked down at the stallion in silence. Shining’s eyes stared blankly off into the distance, glassy and lifeless. Steve gently placed his hand over them before shutting them, leaving the pony with a rather peaceful look on his face.

He heard a “Voop!” noise from in front of him, followed by a few soft gasps. Looking up, he saw Abyss was back in the room, a short distance away from him. Accompanying her were two, very familiar ponies, Trench and Aura. While they seems tired and slightly hurt, it appeared they were no worse for wear. They all looked at him, sad expressions on their faces. Trench and Aura slowly made their way forward, Abyss close behind.

“Is he..?” Trench began.

“Yeah.” Steve said quietly, still looking down. Trench sighed, then looked past the Crafter.

“What do we do with her?” He asked, gesturing to the tyrant. Steve glanced back to see Daybreaker, still trapped, looking at them with a fiery anger in her eyes. He sighed.

Steve had a hunch. While there was plenty of evidence proving it was correct, there was still a chance he was wrong. He just hoped he wasn’t.

Taking a deep breath, Steve gently laid Shining Armor on the ground and stood. Upon turning around, his gaze met Daybreaker’s. Clenching his fist, he walked over to the trapped alicorn. Looking up at her, he gripped her scarred chestplate and pulled her close.

“You are defeated, Daybreaker. Now release her, before I make you.” The tyrant’s eye’s widened. Her snarl turned into a smirk.

“Or what, creature? How do you plan on making me leave? We are connected in body and mind.” In response, he lifted his sword and pressed it against her neck. It seemed his gut wasn’t wrong.

“You seem to think I’m unwilling to kill you, and her. Let me make this very clear to you then.” He pushed, digging the point into her neck. “This mare is one of the reasons why I have to drink Invisibility potions whenever I have to go into town. This mare is the one that sent the guards that I have to fight on a daily basis. She sent a death squad after me, and put a kill order on my head. I have no cares for whether she lives or dies. The only reason I’m even attempting to keep her alive is because those two ponies behind me,” He gestured back at Trench and Aura, “care about her, to some degree. What will it be, Daybreaker?” He spoke, voice hard and unforgiving.

Daybreaker stood stock still, staring the Crafter. After a few tense moments, she let out a sigh. Something in her eyes changed as well. Gone was the fury, now replaced with something akin to respect.

“You are strong, creature. I concede.” was all she said. Then she closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. As she did so, the flames began to disperse, revealing a long, multi-colored tail and mane. Even her fur itself lost the orange-ish glow it’d had before. The metal armor she wore cracked, crumbled and fell away. A dark smoke rose from her fur, dispersing into the surrounding air. When her eyes reopened, the burning red was gone, now white with pink pupils.

Steve smirked at his hunch being right. Daybreaker was, in fact, Princess Celestia. The princess looked around in utter confusion.

“The Nightmare.” she spoke. “The Nightmare is gone. I, I’m finally free.” Her voice was soft, tone dripping with joy.

“Indeed it is sister.” Celestia whirled around at Luna’s words, eyes widening in shock.

“Luna?” She asked in disbelief, tears beginning to show on her face. The blue alicorn merely nodded, a smile on her face. Celestia jumped up and hugged her sister, crying freely into her mane. Steve merely stood back and watched as the two siblings hugged. Luna looked at the Crafter with a small smile and mouthed two words.

“Thank you.”

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading and tell me what you all think in the comments!!

(Also, got featured again! For some reason.)

Comments

[The Faceless Maker]

and then they woke up, because Herobrine's an asshat.

[Ephedianroyalty]

9588634
Uh... no. Remember that one villan who had control over dreams? i mean, she turned into the princess of dreams too.

[ShadedTz]

Poor shiny

[TheDriderPony]

Touching, although...I mean, he wasn't real. This is Celestia's nightmare (probably). Anyone except for her, Steve, Trench, and Aura are all constructs of the dream. I think.

[HB_DS2013]

Celestia's still an asshole.

[rikusorasephiroth]

9588951
I don't think Shining was even present when they got drawn into the Nightmare.

[Moonlit_Stardust]

9588951

Luna's a dream walker, so I am guessing THAT was the real Luna.

Shining wasn't real though.

Here's to hoping he gets a pardon and the Mane six get a black eye ...... Well maybe not RD as I think she has redeemed herself enough now.

[The Last Cold Fang]

Well, they freed Celestia. However, I have a funny feeling Shining Armor will still actually be dead. I'm also really hoping that with the end of the dream Steve is not longer hunted. Can't wait for the next chapter!

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

9592503
While I accept the fact that making the ponies deus ex machina would be a bad idea too, the same goes for their foes. It just feels very conflicting for me if either side wins pretty much every time and gets off scot free at the end. It just doesn’t feel like a real conflict if one side wins all the battles.

[ruthim345]

9592822
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "scot free"?

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

9592826
Scot free: no consequences, lasting or otherwise.

[ruthim345]

9592905
No consequences? Well, yeah, I suppose that's true for Steve. It's not like he's shunned from town. Or has guards attacking him on sight. Or that there's a death warrant on his head and a death squad after him. Nope, no consequences here!

Wait...

(Sorry for the sarcasm, I'm trying to get my point across.)

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

9592910
And how is that out of the usual for him? He lived alone in a blocky world filled with monsters trying to kill him every chance they get, only managing to survive by fighting and killing them first.

[ruthim345]

9592927
Those monsters weren't thinking creatures. These ponies, as well as other species, are very much thinking creatures.
And I must say, while fighting is a usual thing for Steve, the death squad, and subsequent warrant is a new thing for him.

[Ephedianroyalty]

9597142
what? i said that? dangit, now i look like a noob

[Gizmo Gear]

9597257
Well, it varies between stories. What ever the author says is true, anything I say is just speculation according to an angle I look at it from. Doesn't mean what I said is true. Just means that I think its a possibility. Wrong, right, or indifferent. It doesn't really matter in the long run.

[ruthim345]

9599133
Y'know, it's kinda funny. I knew I was getting it wrong, but I never gave it much thought.

[falconstrings]

why in the world did i wait to read this? i'm disappointed i didn't get to it sooner, great chapter hope to see more soon

[Themexininja]

Steve gets caught out by surprise so damn much... It's actually starting to really annoy me.

[Scoutboy25]

Ancientone, bring healing to the wounded!

Spoiler, translation of the text that abyss speaks, if you want to translate it yourself don't click!

[O24u]

When her eyes reopened, the burning red was gone, now white with pink pupils.

I'm pretty sure pupils aren't supposed to be pink

[bob1234567]

9774780
she is realy realy high