//------------------------------//
// Chapter 28: Words 
// Story: My Little Minecraft: At the End 
// by Journeyman 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 28: Words

It had been a very long time since I first entered this realm. Four hundred days? Five hundred? The distorted sense of time had wrecked utter havoc on my own internal chronometer. As an Overworld day and a day in this new land were so different and the time so skewed, I could no longer discern with uncontested accuracy the precise time. The days were long and warm, the nights were long and cool. Using my own clock, I no longer had any idea how long I had walked the earth; the margin of error was simply too large to produce an accurate guess. Judging solely on the slow rise and fall of the sun, however, I had just entered my seventh day. Why were the days and nights so long?

I knew not how, but those creatures, those... ponies, as they called themselves, did not seem to mind the distended days and nights. I routinely received visits from several of them in my impromptu prison. The cost of survival was losing my edge, and I payed with my freedom. I did not hold ill will toward the ponies in the slightest, and it took a long time to discover why. I fully understood the perspective of the damaged and violated parties. I had come into a world, sword swinging at phantasmal foes and ghostly apparitions that were no more than fearful constructs of my frightened mind. I had acted in poor judgement, and behaved with the mindset of a disgraceful cur. I had harmed more than one pony, both by accident and by intent. I had almost killed Barricade – I discovered that was her true name in the intervening four days, not Barrakade.

But that did not rationalize why I felt so calm about my own loss of freedoms. I had lived my entire life in the expansive Overworld, where I could command and create anything I wished. I had built cities to house thousands, massive domes that could swallow the entire meager town I was but a pearl’s throw away from. These ponies’ accomplishments paled in comparison to my own, but I did not really care. Building was just something I... did. I did it because I could, because I felt the slightest whimsy and acted on that impulse. There was little weight or emotional investment involved. That was why I admired their accomplishments, those few I had seen. The vision the goddess gave me told of a great city to the north built from stone. I had built hundreds myself, but the ponies did not have access to my powers. They could not command and conjure on a whim, which only served to accentuate the love, devotion, and care for their accomplishments. I could build a house in a minute, and they in a week. Both serve identical purposes, but one holds the love and care of those involved in its creation and for those whom it is intended.

I had put such little stock in my work. I always had the chance to pick up where I left off in the Overworld no matter what, but now that I was in a tent guarded by quadrupeds, that chance was suspended. I should have taken offense at not being able to do what I wished when I wished, but I didn’t. As I said, I had no emotional investment. I simply did not care.

I had nothing, but I did not know I had nothing. I was trapped in an endless cycle of monotony and boredom with only the desires of a madman to guide me. I did what I wished, but now no more. These creatures had freed me.

It was strange when I came to that realization. My grand cities, my massive constructs of work fueled by vanity and fleeting desire held no weight. I did not wish to make them now that I did not have the chance to do so again.

Why did that not bother me?

I suppose it was the fact I that was dealing with new impulses for the first time since... since forever. Since I had first seen an Endermen on the Overworld’s plains. Since I had first woken up in the grasslands with no name and an innate instinct to build in the back of my skull. Imprisonment. Subservience. Humility. These were all new and complex emotions that I had never before experienced. I was thrilled, despite the detainment.

For the longest time, I answered to no one. I did what I pleased, when I pleased. Now I was stuck alone in a tent all day, yet I was not bothered. Six ponies routinely met with me and they talked, while I did my best to communicate. Barricade and that pony in the coat she called Hemos met with me, but I couldn’t communicate with them to their satisfaction.

I was content to learn what I could from their words and books. The purple one, Twilight, if memory served, showed me books upon books of great monuments and cities. Through turning pages, I saw the city of Canterlot carved into a mountain. I saw the titanic griffonic airships hovering above turgid mountain ranges. I saw the constructs and buildings built by past builders, crafters, and architects.

Twilight’s thirst for knowledge was admirable. She was a young mind, brimming with life and curiosity. On the seventh day, she was in my tent reciting her world’s history.

“This,” she said while pointing at a pyramid construct atop a mountain. “Eye of the World.” It was a fascinating construct to be sure. A single glass orb was set at the peak. If I understood the concept correctly, one could look through the glass and observe very far away lands. Wonderful device, if only I could have seen how it it was constructed and build my own, if such a feat was possible.

Twilight turned the page. I did not understand the first word she said – Ohwayzotoll or something similar – but Twilight’s time with me helped me understand the second, “Temple.” It was a tiered building with an archway entrance shaped like the gaping maw of some great beast.

Our meetings progressed in the same vein most of the time, and I was happy. Content even. I was thrust into the embrace of living beings that did not thirst for my blood, and were even willing to help me learn about their world. Twilight stuck her tongue out in concentration when searching through the many tomes she brought with her every day. It was the most adorable thing my mind could possibly conjure.

I could only sit on my stone perch and watch her turn each page, a small smile on my lips. It was... fun. It was exotic and unbelievably exciting to experience this (mostly) one-sided banter. To be able to enjoy the company of another was a treat I had no concept of before Twilight and her friends stumbled upon my lowly self. After such a long, lonely life, I had those willing to talk to me. It had developed to such an extent that I was eager for their visits. Twilight had her unending thirst for knowledge. The others had... mixed reactions toward me at best.

Ah, Twilight’s friends. I expected as much from them. Actually, I didn’t but I should have. Easily the most approachable – if overly excitable – was a pony by the name of Pinkie. I was most curious if she runs on TNT explosions. Always curious, always in motion, she never depleted her unending well of enthusiasm. 

I was also intimidated by her. My benign nature gifted me with a calm demeanor and steady hand in all but the most discomforting of situations. Pinkie was happy. Always happy. That concerned me and made me uncomfortable. I was not quite sure why as of that moment.

Two others did not like me: one with a hat, and one with prismatic hair. The former just spouted nonsense that declared I was a mongrel and a ruffian. I expected it... but I expected her fears to have died down since my incarceration. My presence made her uncomfortable and there was little I could do or say to assuage her concerns.

The latter did little but glare as me. It was beyond simple anger and distrust, if my suspicions proved accurate. These creatures had a surprisingly emotive face. Loneliness had given me a practiced mask of apathy, wonder, and studiousness, but little else (except blind fear). That colorful creature with wings and angry eyes seemed almost... violated. I had wounded this creature on an emotional level without conscious effort, a feat that was becoming increasingly more common, if no less frustrating to understand. I did not quite understand what I had done to offend her. Little did I know I would find out soon, and the terrible consequences it would invoke. 

I am getting ahead of myself in my recollection. I digress.

Then there were the last two. I could pin down the others’ feelings easily, but the last two were an enigma. One was a snow-white pony with eyes the lightest blue confounded me. Her face was always artfully blank or marginally curious, never giving away her moods or thoughts. One moment, she would be lecturing me about her kind’s way of life, and the next she would stare into my eyes for minutes on end without a sound.

And she gave me a pet name. I didn’t like it. I still don’t like it.

“♫Big~Boy?”

I hated her more every time I saw her.

It was a few hours after Twilight had come early that morning. I could nearly predict the time of day by Twilight’s arrivals. She was punctual and always came with proper materials to teach me new things. That one however, Rarity, was something...

Special?

I’ll go with that.

She walked – no, strutted – in with a grace and dignity that really did not seem appropriate given our situation. It was not as if we were going to have casual dinner over milk, steak and fish. I’ve seen panicking chickens with a greater sense of propriety than Rarity.

Nevertheless, I performed the same motions she drilled into me a thousand times before. I brushed the dust off my shirt, straightened my back, and tried my best to smile without injuring myself. Complying was better than having to listen to her whine, even if I didn’t understand her half the time.

“Good,” she purred. “Miner,” that was another name for me others seemed to have adopted. That one I did not mind so much. It was apt enough. “are you well?” I nodded. “Good! Now dearie, we – ” I tuned her out afterwards. Rarity had a tendency to use words I wasn’t familiar with. Despite her willingness to teach me, I detected a reserved hesitancy within her, a carefully guarded caution behind the wall of sincerity and friendliness. I had long knocked down that wall due to my perpetual imprisonment. I could not expect the same out of everyone, but it was... nice. They were afraid of me, but they didn’t want to stay that way.

It felt... nice.

The last was one I did not yet know the name of. I had met her a grand total of four times, all without me saying a word. It was the same pale yellow pony with pink hair, whom I had nicknamed Shy Pony until I discovered her name.

I had seen little of the pony. The first time was back when I had raided the town four days ago. I had seen her wandering toward some designation before I fled. The second and third...

I still had no explanation. On that night, preceding and during my raid, I had received three visions, all through the eyes of some unknown creature. The first was overseeing the storm now waning in strength. The second was much more sinister. I was seeing through the eyes of something foul, some horrid abomination the likes of which I hoped to never exist. 

It is difficult to describe what... it was in words adequate enough to convey the scope and destructive potential I felt. It was less what I saw and heard, but more what felt that disturbed and disgusted me. Consider the antithesis of life, or joy, of everything I could possible hold dear. That was what that creature inflicted upon me. It was just wrong. My skin crawls just thinking about it.

That is the context for what I must impress upon my second encounter with Shy Pony. The creature I inhabited, whose soul I shared for a few brief moments, pursued Shy Pony. I did not know why, and I still cannot provide answers.

I had not seen Shy Pony in the flesh outside of those few brief moments during my first sighting, yet that did not explain her reactions whenever she saw me afterwards. That time when we first met during my initial incarceration, and those four times over the course of four days, did not cast me in an ill light. Of course, there was always the chance the rumor spread like a forest fire and she thought I was wicked in spirit. Understandable, but that’s not what I saw in her eyes whenever we met over those four days. She seemed... afraid, but curious. It resembled those looks I gave Endermen and Luna upon meeting them. Awe, fear, and wonder.

I don’t want them to be afraid of me.





The sun played a constant game of hide-and-seek behind the wall of clouds above. It was not raining, but I did not doubt such a thing could turn for the tempestuous quickly. It was later that same day, mere hours after Rarity had come and gone. I was outside for the first time since I was caught.

I wasn’t quite sure why at first. A pony with a coat the color of sand and eyes the greenest of grass walked into my tent flanked by Twilight and the pony with the hat. I had seen the one with the horn many times; his name meant diamond, if memory served. Diamond Solitaire. He and his ilk had been meeting me ever since I was caught, asking me questions after each session with Twilight and her friends. Hemos would ask me to stick out my tongue and prod me with all sorts of equipment. I could never fathom what drove them to do such things. Was it some kind of ritual or precaution? If so, I hadn’t the slightest clue what they were doing. It honestly made me uncomfortable to be around them.

I perked up a little when I saw Twilight. I had met the pony four time a day over the past four days. It was little time to develop a bond, but I felt safer in her presence then with Diamond.

“Miner?” she called. Twilight’s voice carried a tone of cautiousness. Curious; she was usually so enthusiastic and eager to get started teaching me. Wondering about the source of her discomfort, I conjured a wooden sign, and asked the question with a glyph.





“Uhhhh...” Twilight cocked her head to the side and scrunched her brow in confusion. “I – ” and she lost me behind a wall of confusing babble. Silly me, she still didn’t know my speech in full. Wiping the charcoal away with the back of my hand, I wrote one of her own glyphs, hopefully to convey my meaning.


?


“Oh.” Her ears perked up. I’m not sure why, but I found the action insanely cute. She swung her hoof, indicating the three of them. “We here are...” she chewed her lip, trying her hardest to remember words I was familiar with. Twilight seemed to remember everything I told her, every symbol I wrote. Her memory and recall was astounding, far beyond what I was capable of.

I got lost in my houses sometimes.

“We show you,” she said plainly. Don’t worry, Twilight; we can still work on that language barrier.

Sighing, I nodded and rose. I was finally let outside. Four guards clad in their violet armor trailed me silently into the early afternoon. The mountain castle far to the northeast was hidden behind distant waterfall, rolling hills, and the settlement I had entered on my journey’s beginning. That town was not where we were heading, however. The hat pony was oddly silent. In fact, her eyes were less hostile and more curious now. That, in turn, made me curious. She was far from amiable, but never this contemplative.

I had little time to admire my surroundings, but my brief time was eventful in spirit. Twilight and Diamond indicated a newly formed tent a hundred meters away from my own. It, my own tent, and the area in between were all saturated with ponies of various shapes and sizes. None were close to my bulk, and Barricade was nowhere in sight. Most were the typical ponies with leathery wings, all clad in violet armor. It was then that I noticed a peculiar fact: Twilight and Hat Pony were nowhere near as robust and lean as the soldiers. I had spent so much of time time with them, that I had seemingly forgotten the ponies came in several different shapes and sizes. Lierah was thin and green. The Sovereign, Luna as I now know her, was tall and slender. Twilight was short and carried pudge typical of a sedentary lifestyle. 

Standing there in the dying sun, breathing in the moist air as the wind tickled my beard, I realized just how many of them there were. And how they all reacted to me. The soldiers displayed little more than casual disinterest. I had seen them daily, some almost hourly. The novelty of seeing a whole new species wears away when the interactions become routine

Others were different. The unicorns, the ponies with horns, intimidated me. I liked Twilight well enough. Rarity, too, even though dealing with her felt as easy as controlling a litter of cats. The older unicorns with the black clothes always asked questions and performed their sorcery on me after every visit. Watching them alongside the soldiers was both comforting, and unnerving. I was unfettered, but their eyes were still as curious and eager as ever. I didn’t like it. I felt like some experiment dancing on silver strings whenever I was in their presence.

I did not have to endure their gaze much longer, for I was upon Twilight’s destination quickly enough. A flash of lightning wrenched the shadows out of their languor before the thunderous bang made Twilight flinch. She recomposed herself, an odd set of motions I supposed were typical of quadrupeds. Twitchy tails seemed to be a sign of nervousness; the stoic guards could stand for hours without the slightest fasciculation.

Hat Pony and Twilight parted the tent flaps. Huh; Hat Pony had a trio of apples on her rump. Fascinating.

Inside was a single pony I had become familiar with. Barricade was a large pony, more boulder than animal. She was quite neutral around me, neither aggressive nor friendly, but still carried the desire of mutual cooperation we both desired. Quite a stern soul, but one of the first to offer me a kindness. Upon seeing me, her lips curved into a smirk, yet her eyes remained vigilant and hard. Only one thing, to my knowledge, could make the soldier drop her guard. Shy Pony.

I was surprised it took me so long to discover the relationship. It was my fifth day in this world, or my second day of confinement. I have bred cows and pigs in the Overworld to harvest them, but Overworld animals always looked identical, save for sheep and their wool. Here, however, offspring did not enter the world as a clone of their sire and dame. Shy Pony was Barricade’s daughter. Barricade, dangerous as an Endermen and wily as a creeper, was soothed by the presence of her spawn. I just compared you to my deadliest foes, Barricade. That is high praise coming from me.

Once before, I had seen Shy Pony and Barricade nuzzle softly, the latter issuing soft nickering sounds. I couldn’t help but be the voyeur; it was a display of affection I was not used to, nor had never seen. Overworld livestock and monsters never so much as emote, let alone show any recognizable display of kinship or parental bond. Barricade loved her daughter dearly.

I shook myself out of my reverie. Contemplating affection was for another time. I needed to understand what Twilight was trying to show me. Panning my head around the tent, there was nothing. There was nothing of note, save for the unicorn, the four guards, Barricade, Hat Pony, and Twilight.

Confused, I gave Twilight a questioning glance. She, in turn, gave one to Barricade. the soldier only replied with a nod, and stepped to the side.

My breath caught in my throat. I knew exactly why I was there. Lying behind her in the dirt was a solitary helmet, gold in color with a single brush on top. It was exactly the same as the creature in the caverns. 

I now know that I saw a pony underground, but it was something more than that. Something underground frightened me to my very soul, simply because it could. It was a pony... but not any I had seen before. Something vile and wicked lurked behind its eyes, a monster wearing the skin of the familiar quadrupedal form. I would never forget that gold armor it wore. Not until the die I die.

My quartet of guards jumped to the side as I immediately backpedaled away. My eyes were wide with fright and my breathing came in quick, sharp pants. 

“Fella’, you scared o’ somethin’?” Hat Pony asked.

You’re damn right I was.

I backed up even further, making sure that my eyes remained locked on the helmet. It was foolish of me to not realize that a simple helmet could do little than just sit inert. I was not thinking clearly, my mind was plunged back into the cold and dark of the caverns below ground. It did not matter when I backed up into a barrier conjured by the unicorn. It did not matter that the four guards surrounded me and braced themselves for an impending attack.

The tension was broken like the snap of a faulty bow string. Barricade tapped the side of the helmet. The metal listed for only a moment before it collapsed on its side. The flush grass absorbed the sound and possible echo. I just stood there with everyone else in the room staring at me, all waiting to see how I would react. The light filtering through the tent flap reflected off the helmet’s smooth surface, a vivid contrast to the crown of light

...Why was I there?

That single thought ceased my rapid breathing and settled my nerves. I was brought into the tent for a reason. Barricade had understood my propensity to fear the golden armor on the night I was first captured.

I was brought to the room to acclimate, but acclimate to what? The helmet scattered a prismatic array of color across the drab military tent. The room was almost empty, barren of any life or distraction save for Barricade and those who came with me.

Barricade’s eyes were hard and cool when mine met hers. Not wanting to hold the stare, I looked to Twilight. She seemed curious, but she too was looking at me expectantly. Hat Pony wore a similar contemplative countenance. 

Each was looking at me, waiting, but for what? What morsel of information could I produce out of an empty helmet?

The realization hit me. Oh, I was an idiot. The fact that it was a helmet should have given it away the moment I saw it.

The bat ponies, the ones with the great leather wings, all wore identical armor. I saw the same engraved silver runes cast into each, all intriguing and uniform in design. There was another type of winged pony – pegasus – that I had seen but never given a second thought. Shy Pony and the one with prismatic hair all had feathers on their wings akin to chickens, only far more suited for flight. I had completely forgotten the fact until that very moment due to the trauma of the memory, but the monster, the pegasus, in the caverns also had the same type of wings.

Silver for leather wings, gold for...

Could it be?

My face must have betrayed some critical emotion, for Barricade smirked in victory and understanding. Whatever she hoped to accomplish, she believed she had achieved it. We both discovered the same fact. I was greeted by what I would come to know as a Royal Guardpony deep beneath the earth. The corps was kept away from me due to my own fear, but now the truth was discovered. There was a traitor in their midst. All they needed was for me to tell them what happened.





The rain had ceased on when the sun was a quarter way through the sky. Throughout the week, the storms that raged in the heavens ceased their struggle with violent, but deliberate steps. Storms in the Overworld could last for days at their worst, but my day was a pitiful excuse for a pony day. I don’t know what angry god this world was host to, but close to seven days of deluge was more than frustrating for me, especially because I was stuck in one place for most of it. By the eighth day, there was little more than the occasional sprinkle gracing the refreshed earth.

I was getting antsy, and my slowly darkening mood was becoming more and more apparent to my captors. I did not mind the captivity in concept, but it was not in my nature to stay cooped up. I was happy to interact with Twilight and her friends, but those tantalizing moments were interspaced with extreme boredom. What vigor and enthusiasm their or Barricade’s visits invoked were vividly contrasted with my bouts of solitude. 

It bothered me greatly, as it only showed just how much I had changed since I first arrived. Boredom and solitude were never in short supply in the Overworld. I had gone days, sometimes months, without producing a conscious thought other than building or mining. It was more muscle memory than anything; I could constantly swing my pickaxe, burrowing deep into the earth. I’d mine stone and precious minerals, all for the benefit of building better and grander objects. It required action, not thought.

I was denied that instinct to mine while inside the tent. I had long since emptied the ground underneath my tent of dirt and set up a small base of operations to keep myself busy, but I had little materials to work with. All I had on me upon my capture was some stone, diamonds, and a tiny smattering of wood. It was hardly enough to retain my focus for long, despite the abundance of diamonds. Speaking of gemstones, I still held chest upon chest of odd minerals underground.

Nevertheless, my increasing distress drew the attention and ire of my guards. I was courteous to the best of my ability and cultural sensitivity, but that did not staunch my frustration. I had become short and angry with my guards, and once I was close to pulling a blade from my own internal stores. Given my confinement and relatively consistent good behavior under confinement, that was likely the reason I was given a reprieve. Under surveillance, of course.

Once again, Twilight had led me out of confinement under guard, this time accompanied by Pinkie. I considered throwing the Ender Pearl and escaping, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t have helped evade her. 

“Follow, please.” Twilight gestured with a hoof to herself and Pinkie, who was bouncing up and down on her hooves without end. Curious, I expressed myself.


?


“We’re gonna have some fun!” 

I’m afraid of you, Pinkie.

I was deconstructing diamond cubes into its component nine diamonds and back. It was not as if I had anything else to do. I absorbed the cube back into my body, stood, and proceeded to follow Twilight out the door. Four guards slinked towards my flank, along with that unicorn named Diamond.

The sun was out, the first time I had seen it in full. I held a hand up to shield my eyes from the bright rays. Overcast skies had long obscured the sun’s warmth, and it was pleasant to behold. like most past sensations in this land, the feeling was distinctly more sharp and vivid than what I was familiar with in the Overworld. What had once been a dull blanket of warmth was now an omnipresent blanket that warmed my bones. It was becoming a pattern. Everything that I experienced was enhanced by several fold. The scent of water was fresh and light. The steady beat of pegasus wings left a distinctly different flutter depending on how hard they flapped. Everything sensation was enhanced.

It wasn’t an unpleasant warmth. The rain upon my first capture saturated my shirt and flooded my nose with the scent of water, but it did not bother me. I was strong. I still am strong. I could survive tiny distractions such as those, but that did not mean I wasn’t enthralled. Everything was just so colorful. So vivid and lifelike.

So much more real.

Diamond nudged the small of my back with his snout, jolting me out of my reverie. Twilight and Pinkie had already made progress in their trek. Unlike the day before, I was not being led to a solitary tent. I was being led north.

Into town.

Curious as I was to discover what Twilight was up to, I did not stop her and ask, instead deciding to let her take me there and discover it myself. My last experiences with the town were... less than ideal. I was nervous to be sure. Twilight was also, as her tail swished back and forth more than necessary. Pinkie’s exuberance was forever peaked.

There was little room for protest. I was still under guard. What could she possibly want?

“Peace, Miner.” Twilight had noticed my distress and turned to comfort me to the best her ability. “It is okay. We will be okay.” Her words were slow and forced as if she was unfamiliar with speaking in small words. Deciding to bite the arrowhead and get it over with, I steeled myself and continued walking by her side. 

My eyes were always on the approaching rooftops. Every step increased my growing unease. Twilight said a few more choice words of our shared dialect, even writing some words in my own script. I did my best to calm my breathing, but it, predictably, didn’t help.

I was under watch before I reached the outskirts. Ponies, both on land and air, observed me as I walked. I expected to be jeered and ridiculed... but the town was disturbingly silent when I passed. Granted, I was much larger in terms of height and body mass, but these ponies had sorcery beyond what I was capable of. Far beyond me. I tried not to stare, but I did notice the demographic leaned towards ponies without horns or wings. Okay then.

Windows and doors shut as I passed, but a few curious onlookers overrode their concerns and watched me.

Boing!

My ears perked. A pony was bouncing on their hooves. I glanced at Pinkie, but she had returned to walking, albeit with a skip in her pace.

Boing!

There it was again. 

“Hi, Twilight!” I knew that voice...

A mint green unicorn had been hopping up and down to see over some of her contemporaries. As if on cue, the skies released a few tears. My shirt was already damp with previous rains and my own sweat. Now the light sprinkle moistened it once again. Lierah scampered towards our fellowship, her eyes sparkling with whimsy and delight.

The guards shifted to block her passage to me. Lierah’s hooves clattered to a stop and appeared quite crestfallen at not being allowed to greet me. She gave a half-hearted wave, which I hesitantly returned.

Twilight approached Lierah and spoke to her in discreet whispers. My knowledge of their language was scant and incomplete at best, and their quiet words did little to assist my understanding of what was being said. The pair talked for a few minutes. While the guards remained immobile as always, myself, Diamond, and Pinkie, began fidgeting at the stillness. The lack of stillness was becoming a trait of the last in my eyes.

“Wah!” Pinkie’s body contorted in a singular yet massive spasm. Speak of Pinkie, and Pinkie doth do it. 

The spasm seemed to draw Twilight’s eye more than her conversation. Lierah’s jaw hung open in mid sentence as they both watched Pinkie with a mixture of fear and rapt attention. So Pinkie was sick? Despite my misgivings about the pony, I felt a lingering sense of guilt. I had long thought some very unpleasant things about Pinkie, the vast majority will never grace the pages of this diary, but I never wished physical harm on her.

Twilight exchanged some hushed whispers and quiet nickering with Pinkie. Whatever eclectic illness Pinkie may have had, it did little to tamper with her mood. Her cheer did not falter in the slightest when she replied, “Soon!”

Twilight was silent for the longest time. I wasn’t certain what Pinkie meant. Was she going to die soon? Was she poisoned? I had yet to understand the true nature of Pinkie’s unique abilities. Twilight was smart and mentally cataloged the incident for later, but I had dismissed it. If only I had known the horror she had just predicted, the spilled blood painting the ground in a morbid canvas. If only I, or any of us in that small town, had known what beast was coming for us with its mind set on murder.

...I am sorry for that. As always, I write in this journal after events have taken place. Something... bad happens soon after these events. Something terrible, and I regret not being able to stop it.

I must digress again. I will get to that soon enough.

Lierah and Twilight followed Pinkie who had resumed her bountifully happy nature and skipping towards our final destination. A small group of ponies were gathered around a house with a destroyed wall. Several stacks of lumber stood to the side and were covered with tarp, no doubt what was prepared to repair the hole. The dark hue of the wall looked familiar, and then it hit me; it was the wall that Barricade and bucked me through. Being kicked through a wall; it was yet another new experience, but one I would rather not have had and not have a repeat of.

Two ponies, one a very burly stallion with an orange coat and a female with yellow-orange coat and snow-white hair, were speaking together over a building schematic, one I identified as the very same building. It appeared that the two of them were sent to repair the damage Barricade and I had caused during our scuffle.

I could not understand the two as they huddled together in muted whispers and only when did the white-haired female look up did she speak loud enough for me to understand. “Twilight?” 

“Hello, Ambrosia.” Ambrosia embraced Twilight in a friendly hug before adjusting herself to face me. I was uncomfortable at first, but the hard edge that I had associated with danger in their eyes was not present, but it was still uncomfortable. I felt like i was being sized up, and my mind flashed back to the uncomfortable stares and apathetic smiles of the unicorns in the black cloaks.

“Hello.” I blinked. Her voice was pleasant, almost musical in tone. It contrasted with her youthful appearance and lean muscles hiding under a thin layer of fat. Ambrosia snickered and said a few words I didn’t understand, which caused Twilight to blush. 

Ambrosia turned around where she stood. The exaggerated motion she used to do so caused her tail to flick against my nose and she waved her rump at me enticingly.

Well... that was... unexpected.

Twilight’s purple fur framing her face was sunset red, but Pinkie and Lierah just giggled. The former nudged the small of my back with her head, prompting me to follow Ambrosia to the damaged building.

The ground had been cleared of the debris of my fight and only rivulets of water remained from the previous week’s storm. The scent of rain clung to the air, along with... Ambrosia smiled suggestively.

Oh my...

Lierah punched a hoof into Ambrosia’s side, causing the latter to pout. She, thankfully, ceased her suggestive advances and brandished a hoof at the destroyed wall for me to examine. Hesitantly, I examined it for myself. I was a little concerned turning my back on Pinkie and now this new Ambrosia character.

The hole wasn’t too large by my standards. It was me-shaped for the most part, more tall than wide. It had splintered and cracked the surrounding wood and damaged most of the interior framework. The wood paneling below the window would have to come out and be replaced, along with several portions of the wall to reinforce structural stability. The door on the far side of the wall was fine, but removing the damage would might cause damage to the door frame.

I was back in my element once more, back to building and planning. I wouldn’t have desired anything more, and that was why I was out. My enraptured look had garnered the attention of Twilight and Ambrosia. They wanted to see how I would react. They wanted to see what I would do. What I could do. My skills were being put to use.

I gave Twilight a questioning look, which she returned with an encouraging nod. “Go ahead.” I could feel the restraint in her voice. Twilight was never one to restrain herself, especially when it came to expressing her thoughts and beliefs, but that was the only way I could understand her.

I stepped forward and my guards didn’t follow, but still kept a close eye on me. I needed more wood to seal the breach, so I picked up several stacks of timber and absorbed them into my own internal stores. The big orange pony got irritated by that fact, but Ambrosia held a hoof to silence him.

I conjured an axe and hacked at the wall. Like other items before it, it soon became naught but a stream of energy for me to absorb. I continued across the entire wall, cutting and absorbing damaged wood. Cut, pull, cut, pull; it was a repetitious action that I had forged into legendary skill in the Overworld, even if there was none but myself to realize my achievements. In less than a minute, the entire wall was stripped bare of wood. It was easy for me, a process that was only briefly denied yet comforting as a warm fire. Inside my well of energy, I called forth the wood planks I had just absorbed from the pile. I placed my palm on the floor now visible to myself and my group. Inside was a long row of ovens and cupboards. The building smelled of sweets and burning coals. Although not the garish atrocity known as the cupcake building, I knew a bakery when I saw one.

A tendril of brown energy snaked down my arm and sprung upwards. It expanded, solidified, and hardened in the space of a blink and the flat wall of wood graced our eyes. Lierah gasped while Ambrosia whistled appreciatively. I couldn’t help but smile.

I made quick work of the rest of the wall. It was a simple project, barely requiring a minute to complete. I proceeded slower than I usually do, as I didn’t wish to move too fast or startle my audience any more than necessary. When done, I was greeted to the sound of applause, the sound of stomping hooves instead of colliding palms. I had garnered more than the grumpy pony, Lierah, and my guards for my impromptu job. Several ponies had come from their places of observation to watch me work. Mothers who had normally hid their children behind their legs, tails, and flanks were watching me with equal wonder as their spawn. 

I was the center of attention once again, and the added attention dulled my momentary boost in confidence and satisfaction. I was always a loner, and didn’t like being put on the spot. 

“~Coooooool!” both Lyra and Pinkie cooed in unison. From nothing but that glazed-eyed, slack jawed delight, a wave of laughter coursed through the small crown. There was little more than a dozen, but it was more than I had ever been exposed to before. I was used to soldiers, not the normal, everyday civilians in town. They were so much like the testificates in the small huts, but all carried a tiny facet of something more, something never before dreamed of by myself.

As the laughter died down and the applause faded to the steady sound of stomping hooves, my smile returned. I thought, perhaps it wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

In three days, I was proven wrong.





Minecraft/MLP:FIM crossover.
For chapter updates and my ramblings, visit my page on Fimfiction HERE.
Barricade is a character by KnightMysterio that I have been graciously allowed to use. Click the link to check out his stuff.
Chapter Commentary: LINK
Edited by: Material Defender, Cor Thunder, shuttershy, hyperbole