A Crafter's Dream Ch. 39: A Journey's End (Part 1)
Now, without further ado, I present,
“A Crafter’s Dream”
Steve wiped the blood off his blade with a spare cloth he’d found in the alley. Inspecting his weapon, he nodded to himself and sheathed it. Looking up, he saw Trench sitting beside Derpy, bandaging her wounds with a first-aid kit he’d gotten from, well, somewhere. Dash was helping him. Steve walked over to them, his footsteps drawing their attention.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hey Steve.” Trench spoke in a quiet voice, going back to his task. “I’m almost done, just need a bit more time.”
Steve gave a small smile and shrugged his shoulders. “No worries. Take as much time as you need. Besides, the door hasn’t shown up yet, so no rush.” Looking down at the unconscious mare, he winced at the white cloth, which was now stained red from the blood. “How bad are her injuries?”
Trench sighed. “I won’t lie, they’re bad. From what I can tell, she’s lost quite a bit of blood. Luckily, none of the injuries seem permanent and should heal with time.”
Steve nodded. “Good. That’s, really good to hear.” For a few moments no-one said anything, letting silence take over. Then Trench spoke.
“Steve?” The Crafter looked over at him with a questioning expression. Trench didn’t look up from his task as he spoke. “Why was I attacking Miss Derpy? Why did that copy of me nearly, kill, her?” Steve’s eyes widened at the question. He’d been so preoccupied with Derpy that he had completely forgotten about the very reason she had almost died. Glancing to the side, Steve saw the body of the copy, laying in a small pool of its own blood.
“Well, you kinda…” Steve was cut off.
“She’s your friend, isn’t she? The one that I arrested and threatened all that time ago.”
Steve hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, she is. Trench, meet Miss Derpy Hooves, my very first friend in this crazy world of yours. I just wish your first real meeting could’ve been under better circumstances.”
“Yeah.” Trench said quietly. “I do too.” Silence fell over the trio. After a few moments, Steve knelt beside the stallion and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him in some way. Dash simply stood back a few feet, unsure of what to do. Emotional things had never been her strong suit.
“It’s in the past now Trench, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Steve spoke, voice quiet. “The only thing you can do is move past it and hope you can somehow make it up to her.”
“But how can I?” Trench asked, not looking up. “How can I possibly make up for what I did to her? What I made her go through?”
“That’s up to Derpy and Dinky. They are the ones you wronged and they are the ones to decide whether they will forgive you or not.” Steve smirked. “And to be honest, after seeing how hard you fought to save her, I’d say you have a chance.”
Trench looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks Steve.”
“No problem.”
BING!!
The trio looked up and, just as always, saw the door appear a short distance from them. It glowed slightly in the darkness of night.
“Good, it showed up.” Steve looked down at Derpy. “Is she okay to be transported?”
Trench nodded. “Yeah, the bandages should hold.” Nodding, Steve reached down to pick her up, but the stallion stopped him with a hoof. “I’ll carry her. After all, if I want to make it up to her, I gotta start somewhere.” The Crafter smiled before nodding and backing away, allowing Trench to put the unconscious mare on his back. Walking over to the door, Steve opened it. Taking a deep breath he stepped through into the darkness, followed closely by his companions.
* * * * *
The next thing Steve knew, he stumbled and fell to one knee as he felt an enormous pressure on his chest. He heard his name being called but it seemed muted to his ears, barely perceptible. Falling onto his back, Steve clutched at his chest, trying to breathe.
Finally, after a short time, the feeling passed, leaving Steve coughing for air on the floor. Staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, he managed to get his breath back.
“Steve!! Are you alright!!” Abyss’ worried face appeared in his line of sight.
Cough, cough. “No.” He groaned. Pushing himself up, he managed to sit up. “That fucking sucked.”
“What happened?” The dragoness asked.
“Don’t really know. Felt like I had the entire weight of the world on my chest.” He coughed a bit, then cleared his throat. “We gotta get this nightmare out of me as soon as possible. But that’ll have to wait.” Looking up, it suddenly registered in his brain that Celestia’s group had arrived as well. After all, Abyss had been part of that group, yet here she was, worrying about him. “Oh good, you guys are back. Tell us, who did you have to save from their nightmare?”
“St-Steve?” A small voice asked from his right. Eyes widening, the Crafter turned his head in the direction the voice had come from. His mouth dropped open in shock as his gaze landed on the tiny violet filly, Dinky. Her large blonde eyes were wide, with tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.
“Dinky?” Steve asked in disbelief. Nodding slightly, she slowly trotted forward, stopping just in front of him. “Kid, what’s wro…?” He was interrupted as she launched herself into his chest, bawling into his diamond chestplate. Steve quickly wrapped his arms around to comfort the sobbing filly. Looking up, he saw the sorrowful expressions of Celestia, Aura, Abyss and Rizworth.
“What the hell happened?” He asked, anger in his voice. Celestia answered.
“Young Dinky’s nightmare was the, death of you and her mother. Your deaths were, very graphic, to say the least.”
Steve’s mouth dropped open in shock. “She, what?”
“When we found her, she was hugging both of you, crying. In fact, the sound of her sobs were what allowed us to find her in the first place.” Abyss spoke, not meeting Steve’s eyes.
The Crafter looked down at the filly in his arms. His heart ached to think of what she had to go through, of what she was forced to suffer through. All because of one man. Herobrine.
Steve’s teeth grit and his gaze hardened at the thought of it. Anger like hot lava blossomed in his chest. Everyone else quickly saw his mood change as Dash spoke in a nervous voice.
“Uh, Steve? You okay?”
He didn’t respond immediately, staying silent for a few moments. Eventually, he spoke.
“Herobrine is going to pay!” Steve’s voice was deep, dripping with anger and hatred. His very tone itself promised unending death and destruction. Everyone instinctively took a step away from the livid Crafter, despite knowing his anger wasn’t directed at them.
“I’m gonna kill him in the most painful way possible, then I’m going to bring him back, just so I can do it again! You don’t FUCK with my family!!”
“Steve!” Abyss called out, drawing the Crafter out of his death-filled thoughts to look at her. She put her clawed hands out in a placating manner. “Yes, I’m sure you want vengeance and all that, but can you tone it down a bit, please? You’re scaring everyone.” Her words made Steve look at his companions with a quirked eyebrow, only for his eyes to widen as he saw the nervous and scared expressions on their faces. Looking down, he saw even Dinky was shaking slightly in his arms. Taking a deep breath, he let his anger subside temporarily.
“Sorry about that everyone. Just, got a little angry.”
Trench let out a scoff. “Uh, no kidding dude. I thought you were going to explode.”
“Seconded.” Celestia spoke. “And though you are right to feel angry Steve, don’t make the mistake of letting anger and hatred consume you. It will only hurt you in the end, trust me.” Steve simply nodded in response.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” He looked over his companions with an apologetic grin, before his gaze landed on Trench and the mare that lay on his back. His eyes widened as he remembered what Dinky’s nightmare had been about. He looked down at the filly in his arms. “Hey, Dinky?” She looked up. “Do you know what I’ve been doing here?” She shook her head. “Well, you see, when I got here, this big bad dude named Herobrine had trapped seven other beings in their nightmares. I had to go into each person’s head and fight their various nightmares. Fast forward to a little while ago, while Celestia and her team were saving you, I was fighting somepony else’s nightmare.” He hesitated for a second. “It was Derpy.” Her eyes widened.
“What?! Where is she?! Where’s mom?” She squirmed, making him release her from the hug. Whirling around, she caught sight of the unconscious mare laying on Trench’s back. “Mom!!” Running over, she gasped at the multiple bandages covering her body. She looked back at Steve with wide, fearful eyes. “What happened?”
“She, got hurt. Really bad. But she’s okay now, in fact, with a little time, she’ll be right as rain.” Steve knew that was a lie. If the injuries received here actually transferred into the real world, Derpy would be out of commision for weeks. And even then, while there was no lasting physical trauma, he had no idea what kind of mental trauma had been inflicted on her.
Sighing, he rubbed a hand against his face before looking at the Solar Princess. “Speaking of which, do you know any healings spells that will fix her up?”
She nodded as her horn lit up. “Yes, just give me a moment.” Closing her eyes, a yellow aura surrounded Derpy as she was lifted off of Trench and placed on the ground in front of her. She began to mutter something in some unknown language. The glow around Derpy intensified for a few seconds, before it disappeared altogether. Celestia’s horn stopped glowing and she opened her eyes. “Done. She should be fully healed.”
Walking forward, Steve knelt next to Derpy as he removed her bandages. He smiled when he saw that her injuries were nothing more than a memory now. “Yep. All her injuries are gone.” He glanced at Dinky. “See kid, what did I tell ya? Your momma is A-okay!”
BING!!
His statement was followed shortly by the dreadingly familiar sound. Snapping his head in the direction the noise had come from, his stomach dropped when his gaze landed on a door. It looked the same as all of the others, except there appeared to be something written on the front. Getting to his feet, Steve walked closer, soon able to make out what it said. In red drippy letters, three words were written.
Come get me
Steve’s eyebrows furrowed in anger. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out why this door had appeared. He knew in his gut that wherever this door lead, Herobrine would be on the other side, waiting for him.
“Steve?” Abyss asked from behind him. He didn’t respond, continuing to look at the door. Quirking an eyebrow, she looked over the door herself, the words written on it making her eyes widen. After a few moments, she glanced over at Steve. “You know that’s a trap, right.”
The Crafter nodded. “Yep. And the only way any of us get out of here is if I spring it.”
She sighed, but nodded. “Yeah. But at least you’ll have me and the others, right?” He didn’t answer, making her give him a serious look. “Right, Steve?”
Steve gave a small sigh and turned around to look at everyone, who had gathered a short distance from the Crafter and dragoness. “Alright everyone, listen. This experience has been one of the weirdest, most terrifying of my life, and while it isn’t quite over for me and Abyss, this is where we must part ways.”
“What!?” They all asked simultaneously.
“You can’t be serious!” Trench spoke in disbelief. Steve nodded.
“I am. This threat is from my world, one you never should’ve had to worry about and I cannot apologize enough for what he has put you all through. As such, it’s up to Abyss and I to defeat him and make sure he never hurts anyone again.”
“No offense Steve, but that's a load of crap.” Dash bluntly stated with a deadpan expression. “Yeah, he may be from your world, but he’s messed with us, he’s hurt us, and he’s scarred us. For buck’s sake, look at Derpy!” She pointed a hoof at the unconscious mare. “She nearly died because of him!”
“And that’s the exact reason why I don’t want you near the fight! I don’t want you all hurt because of me!” Steve yelled.
“Steve.” Trench spoke, garnering the Crafter’s attention. “Miss Derpy and Dinky care for you. A lot. I already have much to make up to them, so I’ll be damned before I stand back and let you, their friend, die. Whether you like it or not, I’m going.” Steve opened his mouth to retort, but someone else spoke first.
“I’m going too!” Dash cried out, a smirk on her face. “I’m going to give that monster a buck he’ll never forget!” Steve tried to speak, but was interrupted when Celestia stepped forward.
“I will go as well. This villain has hurt my subjects without reason. I will not let that go unpunished.”
“We’re going too!” Riz and Aura spoke simultaneously. “It’s our duty to protect Equestria, after all!”
Trench looked at the ponies and griffon with a smile before turning his gaze back to Steve. “We’re going with you, Steve. For better or for worse. Besides, from what I’ve heard about this guy, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
Steve remained silent for a few moments, looking at them all with an uncertain expression. After a few moments, he chuckled and rubbed his face with a hand. “You’re all insane, you know that?” Sighing, he dropped his hand, a small smile on his face. “Alright then. But what about Derpy and Dinky? Dinky can’t fight and Derpy is still unconscious.”
“Not to worry, I will take care of that. Miss Dinky, if you would please stand beside your mother.” Celestia spoke as her horn glowed. The violet filly did so, a confused expression on her face. Moments later, a yellow shield appeared around both of them. Taking a step back, the Solar Princess sighed, slight hints of perspiration on her brow. “That is my strongest barrier spell, capable of enduring even the mightiest of blows. As long as I draw breath, it will endure.”
“Good.” Steve said, nodding. Walking over to the shield, he knelt in front of it and looked at the young filly. She looked up at him. “Dinky, can you do something for me?”
She nodded. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to stay here with Derpy until she wakes up. When she does, she'll be very confused and scared, so comfort her until I get back, please. Just like before.”
She smiled and nodded again. “You can count on me, Mr. Steve!” The Crafter grinned.
“I know I can.”
Standing up, he walked over to the door. Gripping the handle, he turned the knob and opened it, revealing the inky blackness behind it. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through.
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And that is the downside to being at least somewhat immortal. You can't die - even when you want to with every fiber in your being. Herobrine had better hope he was dead wrong about that whole immortal bit or he is going to be in whole new definition of pain for a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGG time.
And its statements like this that make both of us want to shove a stick up her ass.
9638625
Just making sure.
This was AMAZING! I, once again, can't wait for the next one!
Oh good, just the end of an arc. I was worried the story as a whole was about to wrap up.
I think the ponies are about to get a taste of an actually serious and angry Crafter. Herobrine is a dark god in contrast to Notch. Steve still killed him once. The only "backup" Herobrine has is the nightmare in Steve. That nightmare is fed by "negative" emotions from Steve. Herobrine is going to regret this whole event.
Herobrine, you have fucked up. I hope you DON'T Die as death would be to much of a Mercy for you
9641440
Heck nah bruh, I got way too much in store for this story to quit now.
So everyone's just 'bout freed from the nightmares, but I'm concerned more about what Herobrine has in store for Steve.
Even if he doesn't think so, I believe it's a good idea that for once, he's not fighting it alone anymore. Herobrine has a lot to answer for in this.
But now that I think about it, there's one more thing I'm wondering... I'll keep my guesses to myself but I just have to wonder this:
"Does Herobrine have a plan with that nightmare creature in Steve...? and was it his doing that got it there in the first place?"
9641965
No, please, tell me what you think might happen! This story, after all, is affected by what you all put in the comments.
Perhaps I'll make one of your guesses into reality, ya never know.
9641996
honestly, Herobrine here is a trickier one considering he made Steve go through all the possibly lethal nightmares.
Personally I guess that he's gonna pull something and tear out the nightmare from Steve at some point and it might hurt him quite a lot to do so. Although if Steve does manage to win against a nightmare version of himself... maybe then he can start to being able to openly talk with ponies rather than just a select few.
My guess is that Herobrine is gonna use the nightmare in Steve as an ally for the fight against him. He may be strong but from what I see of this, he's clearly got something big in store. More so since the door is daring them to come get him. I'm not sure WHAT it'll look like, or if it'll be looking like Steve to the point of evil doppleganger, personally I enjoy reading because it's interesting to see what happens next. Who knows, maybe someone else in the comments would have an even better guess than I do.
9643096
I'm sorry you feel that way about the story. It's your choice whether to read or not. Regardless, I find solace in the fact that I did my best, but my writing is mediocre at best.
9643114
meh they forgot that this is the early stage off dash when she was more kill first ask laiter and you handle the carakters well keep do your best and the herobrine part i exspekt an army off mobs waiting for them. After all herobrine is the master off all the mobs and posibly gonig to have an huge fotress they going to have to fight thrught and the world is more then likely going to be like the minecraft eqviveleant
do your best so far you have done well
I think that the nightmare is actually going to fight with Steve against Herobrine because it's fueled by negative emotions and almost everything about Steve's negative emotions comes directly from Herobrine the nightmares actually going to work as a second armor over his already diamond armor you could use a mod for emerald armor which is getting stronger or hell even obsidian armor which is even stronger than emerald armor doesn't make any sense though I understand if you're going straight vanilla with everything Steve uses
9642734
But the author said THEIR instead of them is what I was pointing out.
this is a great chapter i'm hyped as heck for the fight...hope to see it soon
time for revenge... mostly for Ditzy though, Honestly, who cares about the rest?
9682912
Herobrine 'bout tah git his ass kickified!!
Wouldnt it be terrible if it turned out that none of them were actually in danger, and white eyes the fast and furious made them as a distraction?
Now wait 'til you
10413728
Is your entire purpose just to type out the lyrics to Allstar? If is good job. I respect it
10441382
Gotta give credit where it's due, he's making a commitment and seeing it through
10497680
He’s a man of focus commitment and shear fucking will.
i.imgflip.com/5c2huw.jpg
Okay, I was really liking this story but it seems every character is just slogging through the motions of a saving quest.
Steve became a generic badass and he suddenly forgave and is friendly with the general ever four hours earlier saying he didn't trust him at all.
The saving of Derpy made my eyes roll out of my head almost.
You can't wait five minutes with a creature that's legally dead and then say, "Oh yeah, we can defibrillate her within five more minutes to save her."
She's gonna be brain dead with severe burn marks, not just be fine. C'mon. You're making Steve a Gary Stu.
I'm plugging on, but of Steve keeps being too much...