A Crafter's Dream Ch. 37: Divide and Conquer
Now, without further ado, I present,
“A Crafter’s Dream”
The first thing Riz knew, he was lying on what felt like dirt or sand, which was a bit strange, considering the last thing he remembered was being dragged underwater by those tentacles, then everything had gone dark.
Riz groaned at the soreness blossoming in his chest. Coughing a bit, his eyes fluttered, then opened. His gaze was immediately met by six different faces looking down at him with slightly worried expressions.
“Rizworth, you okay?” A vaguely familiar voice spoke. Squinting his eyes, the griffon managed to make out the owner.
“Steve? What the buck are you doing here?” He asked, slightly groggy. Riz pushed himself to his feet, though his muscles protested heavily.
“Saving you, as it turns out. Though Dash was the one who brought you to shore, Trench cleared the water from your lungs and Celestia healed any injuries you had. So, all in all, a team effort.” The Crafter answered while shrugging.
Rizworth’s eyes widened. “That’s right! I saw you just before I got pulled under by those, things.” He finished his statement with a shudder as the memory of their cold, fierce grip on his legs resurfaced.
“Yeah, I had to cut you loose from their grip. And let me tell you, those things were tough! If I didn’t have this sword, I’m not sure if you would’ve made it out of this alive. Me neither, for that matter.” Steve spoke as he shook his head. Riz let out a shuddering sigh and looked up at Steve.
“Thank you Steve, and everypony as well, for saving me. But I have some questions.”
Steve sighed in understanding. “As you should. I’m sure there’s a few things you’ve noticed that doesn’t make sense.”
The griffon nodded. “Yeah, just a few things.” He took a deep breath. “Where are we, what was that thing under the water, why is the Princess here and who is that?” He pointed at Abyss with a talon.
Celestia decided to answer. “In order, we are currently in your nightmare, we have no idea what monster is lying beneath the waves, I am here because Steve freed me from my own nightmare and that is Abyss, a powerful ally and close friend of Steve’s.”
Riz looked at the princess with a raised eyebrow. “My nightmare? What do you mean?”
“Long story short, you, along with Trench, Aura, Dash and Celestia were trapped in your own nightmares.” Steve responded. “I’ve been going through all of them, fighting whatever they are, one way or another, and freeing you guys one by one.”
There was silence for a few moments. Then Riz spoke.
“That’s, actually kinda cool, in a weird, scary way.” He looked up at Steve in curiosity. “What were their nightmares like?”
The Crafter opened his mouth to respond, but closed it as he thought about his answer. Memories of him fighting the horde of mist-wolves and almost dying flashed through his mind. Of him narrowly managing to save Aura from her attempted suicide. Of him, tired and hurt, facing down the tyrant, Daybreaker. Of Shining, bleeding out from the sword piercing his chest. He remembered the horror and pain. Steve took a deep breath before answering.
“Terrifying.”
Rizworth’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh. I’m sorry dude. I didn’t…”
Steve interrupted the griffon. “Nah, it’s fine. Just part of the job, I guess. Besides, I’m still kicking.”
“Despite your best efforts.” He heard Abyss speak from behind. Sighing, he was about to respond to the dragoness, before…
BING!!!
Turning to the side, he saw, just as always, the wooden door had appeared, facing towards the group on the sandy beach. Riz looked at it in confusion.
“What just happened? Why did that door just flipping appear out of nowhere?”
Steve answered the griffon. “Well, whenever we defeat a nightmare and free the victim of said nightmare, this door shows up. Stepping through will take you back to main area where the rest of the doors are.”
The Crafter walked up to the door, gripped the handle, then opened it to the all-too-familiar swirl of darkness on the other side. But before he could step through, he was stopped.
“Steve.” Celestia spoke, causing him to look back at the alicorn with a questioning expression. “None of us here know how you will fair should you step the portal, not even me. While I haven’t checked, I’m sure the Nightmare has grown in the short time since we first discovered it. So I would like to try something first, if you will let me.”
“What do you mean nightmare?” Riz questioned.
“A little while ago, we discovered that Steve has been infected by a Nightmare, and has slowly been converting into one. Since the process is normally slow, we would’ve had enough time to cure the infection after escaping this place, but it turns out that because of his constant traveling from one nightmare to another, it has grown exponentially.” Celestia explained.
“Yeah, so now I have a black parasite in me, no racism intended.” Steve spoke with a sigh before turning to the princess. “Anyway, what exactly do you want to do?”
“While I don’t know of any way to protect you from damage caused by the Nightmare, I may be able to temporarily reverse it.” Her horn glowed. “It’s called the Spell of Great Reversal, though a few of my students have been calling it the No-You Spell, and I am unsure as to why.” If she had heard Riz or Aura snickering, she made no notion of it. “Regardless, it was originally a defensive spell, but it was modified and changed to have a more medicinal use, used to reverse damage caused by injuries. The two downsides is that it requires a level of magic capabilities not many unicorns are capable of, and can only be used on a single being once. Anymore than that and there will be terrible side effects”
“And you’re sure it will work?” Steve asked, still unsure. Celestia took a moment to respond.
“Yes, but since I don’t know the extent of the damage, I’m unsure as to how effective the spell will be.”
Steve sighed and shrugged. “Alright. Do it. Not like it can make it worse.” She nodded and pointed her horn towards him. A few moments later, a beam of yellow light erupted from it and shot towards him. Steve braced himself, but found it was unneeded as when it made contact with him, he didn’t feel pain. Instead, he felt a warmth fill his body, flooding his senses with a feeling of calm. The pain in his gut swiftly disappeared and the feeling of dread faded. A short while later, the beam cut off and the warmth disappeared, but now he felt great, strong and refreshed.
“How do you feel?” Celestia asked, stepping closer to him. He smirked at her.
“Fan-fucking-tastic, Princess. That spell really works.” The Crafter responded, stretching. “But if you don’t mind me asking, not trying to sound rude and all, but why did you only mention that spell now and not before?”
“By the time I remembered the spell and thought to use it, we had already entered Rizworth’s nightmare.” The Solar Alicorn answered. Steve shrugged in response.
“Fair enough. Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’m just gonna yeet on outta here.” With that, Steve, quite literally, yeeted himself through the doorway, into the darkness.
* * * * *
When Steve came around, he was standing back in the main room, the two remaining doors lying a short distance from him. Immediately, a wave of nausea washed over him, forcing him to double over and groan. After a few seconds, it passed. Coughing, he righted himself, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly.
“Ugh, that sucked. Still, better than unbearable spikes of agony.” Coughing once more, he started walking over to the two doors. However, his ears picked up the faint sound of feet/hooves hitting the ground. Turning around, he saw everyone appearing in the room, one by one. Abyss first, Dash next, then Celestia, until everyone had arrived. Abyss immediately locked eyes with the Crafter.
“Steve, how are you feeling?” She asked, a slight tone of worry in her voice. Steve smirked and gave her a thumbs-up.
“I’m alright. Just a small wave of nausea at first, but that came and went. Besides that, I’m fine.”
“Good.” Celestia spoke, glancing over at Steve. “Have you already decided what door to enter?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking the one on the right. Not really sure why, but…”
“Wait, where the buck are we?” Riz asked, looking around in confusion.
“This is the room where I started this bullshit scavenger hunt.” Steve responded. “Every door lead to someone else’s nightmare. At first, there were seven doors. Now, after a lot of blood, sweat and whatever other bodily fluids have been beaten out of me, there’s only two left.” Everyone looked at the Crafter with blank expressions.
“Okay, gross. Really didn’t need to hear that.” Aura spoke with a slight hint of disgust. Steve shrugged with a smirk.
“What can I say, I’m a sarcastic piece of shit. Anyone who’s spent a certain amount of time with me would know that.”
“I can second that.” said Abyss.
“That’s not what… Nevermind, let’s get going.”
Steve nodded and was about to turn around before Trench’s voice made him stop.
“Steve, wait.”
The Crafter turned to face the stallion, a questioning expression on his face. “Yeah? What is it Trench?”
The general hesitated for a moment before answering. “Look, I know you’re going to be against the idea, but first, hear me out. “Steve’s eyebrow raised in confusion, but he remained silent. “There are seven of us, and only two doors left. If we were to split up into two teams, maybe we could take both doors down at once. Three on one side and four on the other.”
“And who would go on which team?” Steve inquired.
“Well, for the optimum team, we need at least one attack type, one support, and one tank at least. I play a lot of O & O on the weekends, so I know these things.”
“Nerd!!” Dash spoke loudly.
Trench sent the prismatic mare a glare. “Anyways, for team 1, how about Steve, Dash and me, while team 2 has Aura, Princess Celestia, Abyss and Rizworth?”
Steve thought about it for a moment and found the logic in Trench’s plan was solid. Sighing, he nodded in agreement.
“Alright. I may not like the idea of splitting up, but since time is of the essence, I don’t think I have much of a choice.” The Crafter looked at everyone. “Are you guys good with your teams?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Then let’s get going. Team 1, we’re taking the right door, while Team 2 takes the other.”
Walking over to his respective door, he swiftly opened it and stepped through, followed closely by Dash and Trench.
* * * * *
The next thing he knew, he was standing in a rather familiar place, Ponyville main square. Shaking his head, he ignored the soreness that had blossomed in his chest as he looked around. It seemed that they were alone, no ponies in sight. Glancing up, he saw the sun was on the decline through the sky, meaning it was going to get dark soon. Looking behind him, he saw the rest of his team was looking around as well, seemingly confused by the lack of life in the town.
“Where the hay is everypony?” Dash asked in her traditional, raspy voice.
“I don’t know. From what I’ve seen, it varies from one nightmare to another.” Sighing, he readjusted the strap across his chest. “C’mon, let’s get moving. We gotta find whoever’s suffering from this nightmare and fast.”
* * * * *
A few hours later, night had fallen on the land and the trio hadn’t had any luck. They had searched pretty much the entire town, but had failed to find whoever was trapped. The fact that nothing had happened didn’t help either.
They sat on a bench on Alfalfa street, contemplating what to do next.
“Ugh, this is so boring!” Dash exclaimed.
Well, Steve and Trench were. Dash had been complaining about being bored for roughly half-an-hour, and it was getting irritating.
“Well, if you’re so bored, why not make yourself useful and do another fly-over of the town. Maybe you can spot something.” Steve spoke.
“But I’ve already done that three times! And I never found anything!” She responded loudly, throwing her front hooves up in exasperation.
“Well, maybe this time you will.”
She sighed but nodded. “Fine. I’ll check again. But I probably won’t find anything.” SHe crouched down, wings flaring as she prepared her take-off. However, she was interrupted.
“Help!! Please help!!” All three of their heads snapped in the direction the shout had come from, Steve getting a small feeling of deja vu. “Please he…!!” The voice was suddenly cut off. Without a word, Steve shot from his seat, taking off down the road, Dash and Trench close behind. Taking a right at an intersection, they continued running, searching for the source of the screams. After about a minute of straight running, they found their target.
Steve’s eyes widened in fear as his mouth dropped open.
There, on the ground in an alley, lay a mare. Her gray fur was matted, with red blood pouring out of multiple wounds. Her wings appeared slightly mangled, with large amounts of feathers missing. Her eyes were closed. It was his friend, Miss Derpy Hooves. But she wasn’t the only pony in the alley.
Standing beside her, spear raised, was a stallion Steve easily recognized. After all, the very same pony was currently standing behind him. It was General Trench, about to kill his friend.
D-Pad Up: Sword
Without even thinking, Steve had his sword drawn, the noise attracting the Trench copy. It turned around, lowering it’s spear as it’s gray eyes met Steve’s. Then, it smiled, a cold and evil smile, before it launched itself at Steve.
Circle: Block
Square: Slash
Steve raised his sword and blocked the attack. Pushing back, he slashed his blade at the copy. It leapt back, avoiding the attack. Trench, the real one, made his move as he threw his spear. It managed to dodge the attack, only for Dash to swiftly buck it in the chest, sending it rolling.
X: Jump
Square x 4: Slash Combo
Leaping forward, Steve brought his blade down with crushing force. Disoriented thanks to Dash, it barely managed to block the attack with it’s spear, though it weapon snapped in two. Not stopping, Steve slashed it twice more, cutting deep into it. Gripping the copy by the throat, he pulled back and plunged his sword into its chest. The blood-coated tip exited out it’s back
Taking a deep breath, Steve withdrew his sword and dropped the lifeless body to the floor, blood pouring onto the floor. Looking up, his gaze landed on Derpy’s unmoving body. Stumbling forward, his blade dropped from his grip as he fell to his knees. Taking her into his arms, he gently pressed his ear to her chest, listening desperately for a heartbeat.
Only silence met his ears.
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Derpy NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
MONSTER HOW COULD YOU I DONT LIKE THIS AT ALL HOW COULD YOU HARM DERPY ILL KILL YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY.
;(
"it's" is short for "it is", "its" is the possessive form you're looking for.
DONT YOU DARE!
wait for it...
NOO! Please don't leave us hanging!
On a brighter note, tbh, the Pop culture joke (the 'No you' reference) had me in stitches.
No, NOT DERPY!
(demon voice) HEROBRINE YOU HAVE BROUGHT DOWN A MONSTER WORST THAN YOU DOWN UPON YOUR HEAD FOR YOU HAVE COMMITTED THE MOST UNSPEAKABLE ACT IMAGINABLE. AND WHEN THE MONSTER IS DONE WARMING YOU UP I WILL GIVE YOU THE FIGHT OF YOUR SOON TO BE VERY VERY SHORT LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!
No you
Great chapter
9628620
Which Demon Voice do you prefer?
Oh hell Derpy...
...Unless this is Dinky's dream and her nightmare was her mother dying.... hmmm...
9628868
a combination of 1 and 4
9628897
That seems pheasible.
9629413
he'll just spawn at the world spawn then
Thank you for using the correct past tense of yeet.
Fantastic chapter by the way.
9630211
The past tense of yeet is yote. The Lord yeeteth and the Lord Yote away.
9630842
Never said it was the right word. Just stated it was French!
I have a feeling that Herobrine purposely made it so that Derpy wasn't found until later
No...
I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR PLAN IS BUT YOU DO NOT, I REPEAT YOU DO NOT! HARM! DITZY!!!
Awwwwwww FUCK! Dammit Herobrine! Your a dick!!
Celestia’s students know what they did.
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/511714157364772864/651692254586470401/1575445921181.jpg
"It’s called the Spell of Great Reversal, though a few of my students have been calling it the No-You Spell, and I am unsure as to why." - Celestia
Fucken excuse me xD
Comedy gold right there 😂👌
Virus: TIME TO DIE
Magic: No-u
Magic:*Pulls uno-reverse card*
Virus: Gets reversed to nothingness.
They say it gets