//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Long Trek // Story: A Tale of Crafters and Ponies // by Dolphy Blue Drake //------------------------------// Chapter 14: The Long Trek Year 8, Day 18 We woke up early, just like I had planned. We quickly ate some of the rations I brought along, and then I tore down the shelter. After that, I collected the train engine along with the passenger car. We set out for the East shortly thereafter, with me laying down tracks along the way. Every few blocks, I’d set down a redstone torch, but now that I knew how far we’d have to go, I knew that the power sources would run out before we got to our destination. I’d likely run out of track, too, but I needed to ensure a quick getaway, just in case we couldn’t destroy Herobrine. After about an hour of walking, Twilight broke the silence. “Dolphy?” “Yeah?” I replied. “What are those torches for?” she asked. “They give power to the rails, which in turn powers the train,” I explained. “Electric Locomotives rely on electric energy, and these rails convert redstone energy into electricity, and then feed it to the train as it passes over them. Without these torches, I’d have to burn redstone dust to produce energy. I’ll probably have to do that anyway, since I don’t have enough torches to power the rails all the way to our destination. I might not even have enough rails, either.” We continued in silence again after that. At around noon, we entered another biome: a Fungi Forest. Trees and giant mushrooms towered over us as we continued walking. ------Ponies (Shimmering Hope)------ Rarity sighed as she tried to teach the children the lesson Dolphy had planned for the day. The children were behaving rather well, but Pinkie kept interrupting the class every few minutes. The lesson was on dyeing wool and staining clay and glass. The decorative purposes were interesting enough, but Dolphy’s information on design styles was rather shallow. The main purpose he gave for colored wool was for something called “redstone circuits”, which seemed like a bit of a waste according to her, so she decided to improvise and teach the children about the possibilities for interior design. The class went by rather well, but Pinkie just had to interrupt one more time near the end of class. After class was over, the children dispersed, and the three ponies who stayed behind got together to talk about the day so far. “Why couldn’t you leave the class and I alone, Pinkie?” Rarity asked. “Those Crafters are just so cute!” Pinkie replied, bouncing up and down. “It’s fun to watch them learn!” Rarity sighed in frustration and was about to ask Fluttershy something when the rabbit-like boy—Hip—burst into the room. “Pinkie! Could you come with me for a sec?” the boy asked. “Okie dokie lokie!” the earth pony replied, and then followed the boy out of the room. Rarity sighed again, now she forgot what she was going to ask. ------Ponies (Dolphy’s Group)------ The three ponies stopped when Dolphy held up a hand. “I just realized that we’re going to run out of track a long time before we get to our destination,” the Crafter said. “I have a solution, but I’m going to need your consent first.” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked in confusion. “There’s multiple dimensions in this reality,” the dragon-like explained. “One of them enables those who traverse it to cover more ground in the Overworld in the same amount of time. One block there is equal to eight blocks here. However, this place is very dangerous.” “We can take anything this world can throw at us!” Rainbow Dash replied. “This world is called ‘The Nether’,” Dolphy continued. “It’s a place with no sun, no moon, and no sky whatsoever. There’s lava everywhere, and it’s crawling with monsters that are far more dangerous than the ones here.” “Ah say we go,” Applejack said. “We need to get there fast, right?” “Okay,” the blue Crafter said, “I’m going to open a portal. Be prepared to fight at any moment.” The ponies nodded, then watched as Dolphy pulled out some of the same black cubes that the portal that sucked them into this world was made of. He constructed a doorway in the same shape as the portal from before, and then struck the base of the inside of the frame with a flint and steel. The ponies gasped as a gently swirling mass of purple energy filled the doorway. “This gate leads to the Nether,” the Crafter said. “I’ll wait on the other side for you.” He walked into the swirling energy, and suddenly vanished. The ponies exchanged glances, and then they followed, one by one. Twilight was the first through, and she gasped at the scenery around her. There was some strange kind of pinkish-red rock making up most of the terrain, what resembled giant spines stretching from the floor of the cavern to the ceiling, and a lot of the ground was on fire. There were a few flowers and mushrooms here and there, but the flowers also appeared to be on fire. “Welcome to the Nether,” Dolphy said once all three had followed him through the portal. “The number of different biomes making up this dimension is a lot smaller than the number of biome types in the Overworld. We are currently in a Boneyard. I’m sure you’ve noticed the massive bones stretching towards the ceiling. We should continue in the direction we were already going.” Without saying another word, the Crafter resumed walking in the direction he stated, placing tracks along the way. The ponies followed, staying alert, just as the dragon-like told them to. After a few minutes, they heard some grunting noises, and Dolphy held up a hand to stop them. “Look,” he said, pointing to their left. They did, and what they saw was something unlike anything they’d ever seen. They looked like large bipedal pigs, but they were decaying, with some of their bones exposed. All of them were carrying swords made of gold, as well. “What are those?” Twilight asked in interest. “Zombie Pigmen,” the Crafter replied. “They’re usually passive, but if you hurt one—even by accident—they’ll swarm you and attempt to kill you. Be very careful around them.” The ponies nodded, and the group continued walking. After a few minutes, they arrived at a large expanse of some kind of dull brownish-gray sand that looked like it had… faces in it. “This is a Corrupted Sands biome,” Dolphy explained. “It’s covered almost entirely with Soul Sand. It’s also the most likely place to run into phantoms.” “Phantoms?” Rainbow Dash said. “They’re quite dangerous for the underprepared,” the Crafter said. “They look like… Actually, there’s one right there.” He pointed at a mass of black smoke heading towards them. It was making strange noises as it approached. Dolphy pulled out his sword and rushed the strange creature, slashing madly. The phantom growled and struck him, but he made short work of it. After he returned to the group, he sheathed his sword, and they continued walking. After a few minutes of nothing but Soul Sand and Pigmen, they heard what sounded like some kind of strange groaning, like some kind of cat or baby. “Shoot,” the Crafter muttered. “Not now!” “What’s wrong, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “That sound is a Ghast,” he replied. “They’re incredibly dangerous, no matter how well-equipped you are. They—“ He cut off as they heard a shriek from off to their right. “Run! Now!” Dolphy yelled as he put his boots back on. He dashed off at an incredible speed, with the ponies trying their best to keep up. They soon heard the sound of an explosion behind them. After about a minute of running, they stopped to catch their breath. “I’ll go back and take care of it so it won’t follow us,” the Crafter said. “Stay here.” With that, he ran back the way they came. ------Dolphy------ I pulled out my sword and looked around for the Ghast. I could hear it, but I couldn’t see it. Those things always creep me out. I switched to the Failnaught, and then resumed searching. Soon enough, the monstrosity came into view. It opened its fearsome red eyes and shot another fireball. I jumped to the side and drew back the bow’s string, and then let loose. The arrow missed, but I turned to look at where the Ghast had moved to, and the arrow redirected to follow my line of sight, striking the wretched creature. I’ve lost count of how many times that Homing enchantment has saved my life. The Ghast screamed in pain, and then it shot another fireball at me. Instead of dodging, I switched to the Liberator and knocked the fireball back at it. The creature gave its dying cry, and it dropped a single tear as it died. I picked up the tear and pocketed it, and then I returned to my companions. “It won’t bother us anymore,” I informed them. “Let’s go.” I searched my inventory for another stack of rails, and then realized that I had none left. “Darn. No more track,” I announced. “The only good thing about that is it means we should be close.” All of us fell completely silent at the sound of buzzing. “What’s that supposed to be?” Dash asked. “A hive,” I replied. “Nether wasps. They produce wild honey that’s similar to the honey our bees produce, but these insects are much larger than bees.” I pulled out more obsidian and constructed another portal and lit it. “You don’t want to deal with those things,” I told them. “Trust me.” We quickly took the portal back to the Overworld, and found that the sun was setting. We were also on the edge of an Ominous Woods biome. The trees with almost black leaves stretched for what seemed to be hundreds of chunks as far as the eye could see. There was a Bamboo Forest directly behind us, but we weren’t heading in that direction. I constructed another shelter, and we ate a quick dinner before retiring for the night. We’re getting close. I can feel it. Say your prayers, Herobrine. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done very soon.