Chapter 16: Escort Quest
Chapter 16: Escort Quest
Captain Barricade could not see the eyes of the creature due to its bowed head and mane of hair shielding its face. In respect of its submission, the very air itself seemed to quite.
“Now now, let’s get back to base.” Barricade tugged on the creature’s shirt.
The creature looked into Barricade’s own eyes with an unidentifiable expression. He clutched the pommelless sword handle tightly, nodded, and took a step towards Barricade. Its boots splashed in a puddle, but his intention was clear: he would follow. Around the building Barricade had thrown him through, he followed, the Night Guards following the unspoken command to keep a loose ring around the pair. Through one of the wider alleys, they walked nearly side-by-side, a hulking pegasus and her bipedal companion. Barricade scooped up her helmet and carefully placed it in her saddlebags, wincing as shifting her body aggravated the arrow wound under her left wing. The creature calmly observed Barricade, sword in hand but ready to follow. She nodded to the biped and he nodded back, a silent exchange of the incorporeal agreement between the pair. For whatever the reason, he switched his weapon to a pickaxe, but Barricade did not see reason to protest the switch; she would rather not have him possess an edged weapon anyway. Down the street she walked, the creature close at her side.
The creature walked next to Barricade, never straying too far from the Captain’s immediate vicinity. His behavior was not something that Barricade anticipated. Was it because she had defeated him in combat. Was he repaying a debt of some kind by listening to her?
‘No, he was still scared and hostile after he woke up...’ She thought. ‘Perhaps he has a cautious respect for those he deems his superior?’ That made more sense. While he was sticking closer to her, his eyes were still sharp and carefully trained on the ring of Night Guards encircling the pair. She would much rather fly back to base, but her injury, the lack of aerial mobility on the creature’s part, and his wiles proved enough reason to make the trip on hoof.
The Night Guards had not said a word since their departure from Ponyville proper, and Barricade was very grateful for that. All eyes, hers included, watched him for any sign of trouble or suspicious movement. The Guard watched him like a tiger stalking prey, and he watched them as a hunter would observe a tiger. Corporal Shade, as jumpy as he was, did not like the creature staring at him for extended periods. As he was guarding the flank, he took a few extra steps to get closer to the creature. As watchful as he was being, the creature noticed it right away.
As the creature turned on his heels, Barricade blinked in surprise as a blob of turquoise energy protruded from his chest and raced down his arm. It was one thing to see the event from a distance, but a whole another to view him up close. It happened unbelievably fast; Barricade wasn’t sure she saw what she did until she remembered the same events described in First Lieutenant Chaser’s report.
Lightning flashed across the sky as if to emphasize Corporal Shade’s foolishness. Although only about ten feet away, the creature’s sword was aimed directly at the Corporal’s head. The rain had longed turned the ground beneath them to mush, the storm had reduced visibility to almost nothing, and they were completely cut off from support and reinforcements. Now was definitely not the time to pick fights.
Barricade stomped towards the Corporal. The biped, whether out of understanding of her blackened mood or simple twitchy reflexes, backed away as she approached.
“Captain, I —”
Barricade cut the Corporal off by grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and yanking the helpless Guard up to her eyes once more. His helmeted noggin banged against her temple, but the ache in her side and her newfound fury overroad the brief flash of pain. “Listen here, Corporal.” Another flash of lightning lit up her face, shading every single contortion and iota suppressed anger. Whatever argument the Corporal had, it died on his lips upon seeing his superior’s wrath.
“We are alone with a creature of unknown origin, intent, and power. I’m bleeding to death, I defeated him with my own hooves, and somehow managed to get him to listen to me.” Corporal Shade’s legs floundered uselessly in the air as he instinctually scrambled away from her. Barricade’s deep voice complemented the thunder perfectly, harmonizing with the storm as a whole. Corporal Shade knew he had crossed the last line.
“The only thing keeping me going right now is adrenaline, the desire to get him contained, and the physical manifestation of rage. You will not get in the way no matter how far in the right you perceive yourself to be.” Barricade’s voice dropped even lower, if that were possible. “You will not interfere. You will remain at our flank and walk. If you deviate from those orders, if you do something to provoke this creature in any way, I will use his sword to geld you and leave you in a ditch until the following morning! Got it!?”
The Corporal rapidly nodded his head to convey that he understood perfectly. Barricade delivered an angry sigh and dropped the Corporal. The creature was staring blankly at her, trying to decide whether he should be impressed or frightened at her handling of events. As Barricade walked off, the creature soon kept pace at her side.
Nopony, especially Corporal Shade, made any more moves or complaints for the duration of the trip. Several Guards were beginning to shiver from cold. Barricade had not stopped to ask why they didn’t have rain cloaks before they came to her aid, and she did not intend to care until after the creature was escorted back to base. If they didn’t come prepared for the weather like she was, that was their problem.
What piqued her curiosity was the creature’s own resilience to the elements. The pouring rain made Barricade feel like she was drowning in an ocean. No matter what, the rain battered her cloak with a continuous, viscous ferocity that almost made wearing the garment a moot point. It, at least, gave some protection from the cold. The creature, however, was dressed in nothing more than a pair of pants and a shirt with accompanying chest armor, yet showed absolutely no signs of slowing from cold or the waterlogged clothing he wore. His eyes were set on what was in front of him and on Barricade herself. Barricade could only conclude that his mental fortitude must be tremendous to sustain such a casual attitude towards the weather.
His stamina aside, he had still not gotten over his cautious fear. The sword was still held firmly in his palm and his eyes darted to each Night Guard in a continuous cycle. Barricade dreaded actually reaching Site Command; with so many ponies there, tensions would be high. She did not want another Guard like Corporal Shade make a bad move and botch the creature’s safe capture.
“Corporal?”
“Yes, Captain?” Corporal Shade asked a little too quickly. Barricade couldn’t help but smile.
“Go on ahead to Site Command and alert them to our arrival,” The creature looked down at her, trying to puzzle out what was being said between the two. “Tell them to prepare an open tent staffed by no less than five Night Guards and a Magi, if they are still awake.” That wasn’t likely. Although the Night Guard were notoriously nocturnal, the Magi were not. “Roll one out of bed if they’re not. When that’s done, send a missive to Princess Luna about what happened and have a single Night Guard stand ready to meet us when we arrive to escort us to the tent. Make sure the way is clear between the messenger and the tent. I want nopony to interfere while we set up a secure containment facility. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Captain!” The Corporal immediately spread his wings and flew off, taking special care to fly as low as possible to avoid attracting any and all unwanted lightning strikes. Which was all of them.
Barricade started walking, but quickly stopped once she realized her companion no longer followed her. She looked back, on alert for any sign of trouble out of the creature, but he stood immobile. After watching the Corporal fly away, something had caught his eye: the partially demolished portal in the sky.
The structure reminded Barricade of massive stone sentinels built out of granite. Long ago, far before the founding of Equestria, Earth Ponies carved them into the sides of mountains, each one bearing the likeness of past rulers. The portal hung above the town like those sentinels, an ever-present reminder of recent events.
The creature gave an angry huff and tore his vision away from the portal, but abruptly stopped before he could take a step. He stared at Barricade as if seeing her for the very first time, appearing baffled and utterly confused. He pointed at Barricade and then put a hand about three feet off the ground.
“I do not understand,” she said. What was he doing?
Once again, he pointed at Barricade and held a hand above the ground. Barricade shook her head to convey her lack of understanding; she hadn’t the slightest clue what he was trying to impress. For the third time, the creature pointed at Barricade and then reached toward her. Barricade tensed and prepared to defend herself at the slightest wrong move, but he only ran a hand through her hair before holding a palm above the ground again. Barricade once again shook her head.
He exhaled angrily, this time due to the language barrier complicating matters. The creature’s blade vanished and was replaced by a book and quill. He quickly began tracing lines and curves on the pages, but the deluge washed away whatever he had started to draw.
The creature seethed, absorbed the book back into his body, and extended the middle digit of his hand toward the sky.
“What’s that mean?” Whispered one of the night Guards.
“You shouldn’t have to ask,” his companion replied. “Some things cross language barriers.”
The creature calmed down after a few breaths, slumping his shoulders in shame at his mute outburst. Barricade couldn’t stop the amused smile that crossed her lips.
They soon continued and creature was back to observing the Night Guard surrounding the pair. After nearly half an hour under watch, he still persisted the notion to watch his guards. As they walked in the storm, the ground only becoming more and more muddy as they progressed, but the creature trudged through the downpour and mud as if nothing were wrong. Occasionally, if he did not like the returned glare from a certain Guard, he would switch back and forth between pickaxe and sword, as if he were struggling to conceive the best way to slay attackers.
“Captain...” One of the Night Guard warned.
Barricade turned around, making special care to keep her right, unmarred side towards the creature. As she prepared a defensive stance, she saw the reason for the Guard’s alarm: in the creature’s hand was a single, iridescent pearl.
Barricade froze; she read the reports and knew exactly what that stone could do once thrown. It was hard enough to capture him once, but scrambling to do so again in the dead of night and in the middle of a thunderstorm? The odds were most definitely not in her favor.
The creature, silently weighing his options, stared back into her eyes once more. The pearl shined with blues, reds, and greens with every flash of lightning. Barricade could get lost in the vivid beauty of the orb if she didn’t know what was crossing the creature’s mind at that moment. That pearl, when thrown, would teleport him wherever it landed.
“You know I will stop you,” Barricade commented. It was true, too; if the creature so much as tensed his muscles to throw the pearl, she could be on him in a split-second. He could conjure a sword and run her through even faster than that, but then the Night Guard would have no reason to hold back their ire against him. She prayed her armor was enough to deflect the blow if it came to that.
It was a test of wills once more, this time over to take the chance of freedom once again. The chance, the faintest chance, of escape was not something the creature was willing to ignore. But... what would that accomplish? What was the purpose in endless running? Endless fear? He could escape now, but what about later? The ponies dominated the land and sky; he would be captured eventually.
Run, and the cycle begins anew.
The stone vanished into the palm, replaced by its familiar sword. He nodded, ready to follow Barricade once more.
Barricade exhaled the breath she was not aware she was holding. That had been close. In no way would it had gone well for the creature, but she was thankful events hadn’t escalated nearly as much as she dreaded.
It wasn’t much longer until they reached their impromptu Site Command. The garrison was built in a grid to best establish a defensive perimeter, with the highest-ranking officials and sensitive documents housed in the largest tents at the center. Barricade emitted a disgruntled sigh; the Magi hadn’t gotten around to setting up a temporary spell to shield Site Command from the rain. She made a mental note to talk to them in the morning.
As requested, not a soul was present, save for a solitary Night Guard holding a lantern in her teeth. She set the lantern down and addressed the Captain, “Sergeant Nebula, Captain. Your request was a little short notice, so there may be a few Guards or possibly an insomniatic Magi wandering about.”
Her eyes widened as he took in Barricade’s ragtag capture squad and the creature. He, in the same, twitchy sense of precaution, tightened its grip on the sword. Nebula tensed, but was ordered to stand down with a frosty glare by Captain Barricade. Barricade was making a lot of use of her arsenal of Stares that rainy night. Like mother, like daughter.
“So you’re the one we’ve been scrambling to find...” Nebula said in half wonder, half analytical instinct. She sized the creature up and he did the same, each eyeing every corded muscle and wayward glance the other made.
Barricade really didn’t have time for this, especially with an arrow still lodged in her side.
“Man your post, Sergeant,” she growled.
Nebula chided herself for her temporary indulgence. “This way, Captain.” Nebula picked up the lantern and walked down the rows of tents at a trot. The group followed, but the creature, wide-eyed with awe, was silently poking the fabric of the oilskin tents.
“Come here, you.”
After dragging him from... whatever he was doing, Nebula guided them to one of the tents near the outer edge of the base. Several eyes were poking out of several tents, silent observers and eager recruits all hoping to catch a glimpse of the rumored captured creature. He himself did not appreciate the added attention and he raised his sword in a defensive posture.
Barricade really wanted to get this over with. The pain in her side was reaching a boiling point and had progressed to the point where it had become uncomfortable to breathe. Barricade grit her teeth, trying to block out the pain through her trek in the mud and tents.
For whatever the reason, whether it be due to her wound or another incomprehensible rationale, the Crafter conjured another item. The Night Guard jumped at the sudden introduction of another item; the slightest twitch was putting them all on edge.
Until they saw it was only a loaf of bread.
The creature offered the loaf to Barricade. Barricade could only stare blankly, not really sure how to process the offer. Bread? Really? At a time like this?
Besides, she wasn’t all too hungry either, even if she believed that the loaf was safe to eat at that moment in time. Barricade shook her head, causing him to start wolfing down the loaf with abandon.
“What the Discord!?” Nebula had set down her lantern. As soon as the creature finished the loaf, the lacerations and bruises across the creature’s chest began to mend. “He heals by eating food? How in Tartarus does that work!?”
“Soldier, I have an arrow inside me. I really don’t have time for as-of-this-moment meaningless questions.”
Sergeant Nebula gasped at seeing the rivulets of blood cascading down her black rain cloak. “Captain, you need a surgeon right now!”
“You have no idea. Let’s get this guy safely contained, than I will gladly listen to the load of manure that comes out of Hemos’ mouth.” Not likely. Even Doctor Hemos knew better than to antagonize the Captain of the Pegasus Corp.
“Do you need help walking?” On one of the accompanying Night Guards asked timidly.
“I walked here just fine,” she snarled.
“...you’ve been panting for the last five minutes.”
Barricade licked her dry lips; he was right. She did not realize the sound she had been hearing was her own wheezing this entire time. At least she hadn't been coughing up blood; bleeding into her lungs would really hamper her day.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
For just a brief moment, Barricade pulled the pain out of the corner of her mind and examined the state she was in. Her hooves were getting cold. Definitely not a good sign. She ticked off what else was wrong with her: labored breathing, cold sweat, hemorrhaging wound, and a sharp pain every time she moved her wings.
If she couldn’t fly after this, Barricade was definitely going to need a “private” chat with the creature.
Sergeant Nebula was eyeing the Captain uncertainly, but proceeded to lead the way to the prescribed confinement tent.
Barricade sighed. “Look, this creature seems to have a respectful fear of me for beating it. Let’s use that while we have it and post a guard once he’s secure. I don’t want to take the chance that he’ll escape once I’m out of sight. The sooner we get this over with, the better. I’m... I’m not sure how much longer I can stay conscious.”
Sergeant Nebula quickened pace to a quick trot, but slowed down once she realized Barricade could not keep the pace. She was observing Barricade and her wound, ready to intervene at the slightest opportunity. Barricade clenched her jaw shut and shoved the agony back into her mind, harnessing all her discipline she had gathered over the long years. Focusing every particle of her mind to keep walking upright and straight, she followed the Sergeant to the lit military tent straight ahead, completely ignorant of the trail of crimson left in her wake.
The Crafter conjured a loaf of bread once again and offered it to Barricade.
“If he could do that to himself, Captain, perhaps eating it could heal your own wound,” a Guard offered.
“We don’t even know what he is, let alone how eating bread,” Barricade paused for a second. Bread? Seriously? “can do that. You’re welcome to be the alien’s guinea pig. I’ll stick to sutures and forceps, thank you.”
The creature, seeing Barricade talk to the random Night Guard, offered the bread to him instead. The Guard, pondering Barricade’s words, gulped and shook his head.
Barricade laughed. “Smart colt.”
Together they entered a large tent with candles magically suspended in the air for illumination and all fourteen ponies gave a sigh of relief at escaping the inundation. Both the left and right walls were lined with Night Guards and a single, sleepy Magi swayed on his hooves nearby. The creature stopped in his tracks, the loaf quickly shifting to a sword.
The Guards knew in advance that the group were coming, but that didn’t stop several of them from getting ready to charge. For a brief moment, tunnel vision had consumed them. They saw a hostile and a weapon, and that was all.
Barricade would have none of that.
“If any of you make a move on this creature, any at all... unless you has a blade at your throat or preparing to escape, you better sit on your flank and not make a move. Otherwise, I will rip each and every one of your wings off and beat you to death with them! IS THAT CLEAR!?”
Barricade was fairly certain some of them would need new undergarments after her tirade. Even the creature appeared equal parts impressed and intimidated.
“Yes, Captain!” The crowd stood back in formation, ready to receive further orders.
“Good.” The ring of Guards hung back as Barricade pulled pulled the creature’s hand towards the center of the tent. The creature stood exactly where he was, and given Barricade’s weakened state, she was in no condition to force him otherwise. There were fifteen Night Guards already prepared to contain him and he was eyeing each and every one uncomfortably.
“It’s fine.” Barricade smiled warmly. “We’re not here to hurt you. We’re here to stop ponies from getting hurt. We just want to help.”
The creature didn’t look convinced, and not understanding her had a slight chance of being part of the reason why. The creature panned across the room, calculating every means of escape it could. There was only one entrance and exit, but Barricade knew full well that the oiled cloth currently sheltering them from the rain would be of little resistance to the might of this creature.
Nevertheless, he nodded.
Barricade breathed a sigh of relief as the creature allowed himself to be lead to the center of the tent. ‘What I would give to know what’s going through your head right now.’
It seemed wrong to abandon him and limp to the hospital. Those wide, scared eyes, the uncertain twitches of his sword arm concerned her; Barricade pointed to herself, “Barricade.”
The creature cocked his head to the side and pointed at her.
“Barricade,” she repeated, and then she pointed at him. The creature shook his head sadly.
“Well, we’ll have to fix that sometime.” Barricade circled around to leave, but stopped as he grabbed her tail. Their eyes met and the silent question crossed between the two, ‘Why are you leaving?’
He was scared to see her leave. The Captain, the only one he seemed to marginally trust among them, was about to leave. That, understandably, frightened him a little.
“I’ll come back.” Barricade removed her helmet from her bags and offered it to the creature. The language barrier was becoming a serious problem, but, hopefully, the message was understood.
The creature took Barricade’s helmet and ran a hand across the smooth, polished surface. Barricade waited for the creature’s response, choosing to ignore the buzz going around the tent. The Night Guards stationed there had noticed the arrow in her side and the slow drip of blood from her cloak and the once white fletching. Sergeant Nebula held up a hoof, silencing the idle chatter.
The creature held Barricade’s helmet in his hands forlornly, but once again nodded to Barricade. Setting the helmet down, the creature conjured a cobblestone cube in the middle of the tent and sat down on it quietly, as quietly as a mute could anyway.
Barricade presented a respectful bow to the creature. “Thank you. I will be back as soon as I can.” And she waved goodbye. The creature waved back, watching Barricade leave him in the center of a crowd of guards.
“Cast a defensive barrier around this tent to ensure he doesn't escape.” Barricade ordered the Magi. “Underground, too; conventional barriers aren’t much help against this one.”
Barricade sighed “You.” Barricade wrapped a leg around the nearest Night Guard. “We’re going to visit the Doctor.”
The pair left the tent and entered the storm once more. Barricade barely took ten steps outside before she fell to her knees, panting heavily.
“Captain!”
“I’m fine. I –” Barricade rose to her feet, but blood loss had made her legs cold and sluggish. She fell to her knees once again.
“Fine, help me get to the hospital.” The Captain wrapped her hoof around his neck again. Barricade was easily larger than her companion, but if the added weight, or the blood now staining his armor and fur, troubled the soldier, he did not express his displeasure. Good for him.
Barricade felt the long walk through every step she made. The hospital, being a critical part of operations, was near the center of Site Command and the creature’s containment tent was near the western border. It was a long, agonizing trip, even if she was being half carried there. She was having a hard time blocking out the pain now, but the blood loss was doing that for her. Barricade’s thoughts had begun to slow and muddle with the exsanguination, dulling the feeling of cold and pain.
When the pair finally reached the domain of Doctor Hemos, they were quite fortunate that the facility was not busy; work-related injuries were low and mostly superficial. Barricade used her other hoof to part the tent flap and scanned the interior.
“He better bucking be here,” Barricade growled. Sure enough, Doctor Hemos was in the back filling out some paperwork. First Lieutenant Chaser, still not cleared for duty due to her concussion, was quietly snoring on one of the beds.
“Surgeon!” the soldier shouted.
The Doctor’s eyes rose in pleasant surprise and he stopped humming some sort of creepy lullaby once he realized he was no longer alone.
“La la la la, la la la – Captain Barricade! Onto the bed!” He commanded the soldier. The soldier dragged Barricade over to the surgical bed. The cushioning under her armor had already become saturated with blood, so she hadn’t noticed the steady drip of crimson trailing behind her.
“Arrow... wound,” Barricade panted.
“Poisoned?” Doctor Hemos, seeing as the soldier was much too small to heave Barricade onto the surgical bed, used his magic to steadily lift her. Her body was enveloped in an orange hue and kept stable until he laid her down flat.
“I don’t think so... It happened almost a half hour ago.”
“I’ll run some tests to be safe. You,” Doctor Hemos’ usual cantankerous attitude had shifted to an urgent one as he addressed the accompanying Night Guard. “Find me a nurse; the next shift should be in the tent outback getting ready for tonight. And tell Major Stormcloud where the Captain is.”
The Doctor shoved the soldier out of the way when he didn’t acknowledge the command fast enough. Simpering slightly, the soldier galloped out the door to to carry out the command.
Using his magic, Doctor Hemos removed Barricade’s cloak, leg armor, and saddlebags and unceremoniously tossed them in the corner. Gingerly now, he removed her chest and abdomen armor piece by piece. The process was slower than he wished, but it needed to be done at a controlled pace; the Doctor was observing her skin for any further sign of trauma, and aggravating an arrow wound would not help matters.
Doctor Hemos levitated a wing splint and began attaching it to the Captain’s wing to keep it out of the way during the arrow’s removal. She cringed due to her injured muscles protesting the movement, but once it was securely attached to her wing, the Doctor could get to work.
Somepony opened the tent flap behind him. Without looking he said, “Suture, needle, thread, disinfectant, antitoxin, gauze, scalpel, and ready an intravenous transfusion in conjunction with a morphine drip. Start with a plasma solution, if there’s any in stock.”
“Yes, Doctor!”
The nurse scampered outside to the medical bay’s cold storage unit to fetch some plasma, giving time for the Doctor to examine the wound. Half her abdomen was saturated in blood, making it difficult to examine the wound. Gathering a basin of water and some towels, he began to slowly clean the wound. Another nurse came in shortly and began sterilizing herself. “Clean her wounds when you’re done!” Hemos called out.
When done, the nurse rushed over and began washing the Captain’s abdomen, taking extra care to not put too much pressure near the hemorrhaging wound. The arrow entered an inch or two under the base of the wing. That would certainly give her problems flying, but that was the least of the Doctor’s worries; the tip would be dangerously close to her spine and not knowing what kind of arrow head would complicate matters. A simple target point would be easy to remove, but if it was a broadhead, the Captain could quickly bleed to death upon if he wasn’t careful during removal.
The Captain’s breathing was slowing, but what concerned Hemos was that she had stopped talking. Barricade always did her best to put up a strong front, whether through orders and a brash attitude or making light of the situation. Here she was, utterly devoid of any complaint, comment, or question.
“Captain?”
“Hmm?” Barricade’s voice was weak.
“Who did this to you?” Hemos already knew, having been debriefed on the creature’s abilities, but he needed to keep the Captain aware and awake. If she fell asleep due to blood loss, she would be a stone’s throw away from death.
“The creature was apprehended... he got off a lucky shot...”
“Doctor, we’re out of stock,” The now-entering nurse reported.
“Wonderful.” Hemos sighed. “You need a blood transfusion, Captain, and to tell me if you know your blood type rather than me looking it up will make this go much faster.”
Captain Barricade did not respond. Doctor Hemos’ felt all the blood drain from his face. “No...” He rushed to her head, fearing the worst. “Captain?”
Captain Barricade did not respond.
“Captain! Don’t fall asleep!”
“...”
“Captain!”
Minecraft/MLP:FIM crossover.
For chapter updates, chapter commentary, and my ramblings, visit my page on Fimfiction HERE.
CHapter Commentary: LINK
Barricade is a character by KnightMysterio that I have been graciously allowed to use. Click the link to check out his stuff.
Edited by: Wolfmaster1337, Cor Thunder
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barricade wont die will she?
1849299
1849299 Well, okay, I guess I didn't really need the comment anymore... Hehe.
Oh shit, this is not good for Barricade. Losing consciousness is not good.
MOARDOR
Squee.
i.qkme.me/36e2mz.jpg
Instant dramatic tension!!!!
sanitaryum.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/So-It-Has-Come-to-this..png
Fluttershy won't be happy about this.....
Should just taken the goddamned bread you salty pink haired madmare. He was trying to heal you.... Also didn't he have a potion on him? Or did I lose track of his inventory.
1849893
He had a healing potion, but he used that in his fight against First Lieutenant Chaser to heal his damage against the Ender Pearl. He does have a Potion of Swiftness, but that's not going to help much when he's surrounded. And sure, it looks like bread, but would you want to be the alien's guinea pig?
1849384
You think that's bad? I guess you didn't see my foreshadowing for the next chapter. Barricade facing death is the least of everypony's worries.
1849411
The next chapter broke 10k words. That "MOAR!" enough for you?
Once I saw what it did to him ummm yeah I would mow down that loaf of bread like there was no tomorrow. But then again I fuckin love bread.
I don't usually like escort quests. But I'll make a exception for this.
Barricade: "...should've taken the bread..."
...
...
He's keeping the helmet.
He's keeping that helmet, and he's gonna enchant it to be the very best, like no helmet ever was, and he's gonna wear it while he leads ponies into battle with Abaddon's Abomination Army, AND HE'S GONNA USE IT TO HEADBUTT THE EMPEROR'S STUPID FACE IN!!!
All of this has to happen. I don't care what you have to change, this all shall happen.
...
Please?
BEST EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT WOOT
" unless you has a blade at your throat" I think it should be 'have'... Great chapter as per usual.
For someone who has never had any desire to play Minecraft, I'm seriously digging this story.
Should be quiet, not quite.
Wait, what's with all the deleted comments?
I always want to click like on this story, but it is already clicked every time.
I can't say anything that would even slightly improve the story. I do prefer seeing things from the crafter's view, but I personally think that your view of how it should be quite overrides mine.
lawl she dead
1850251 Alternate ending maybe? *CHARGE!!!!!*
"What do you think it's saying?"
"Hell if I know...."
If she dies you had better make a damn temple to mark her grave.
Like those small sand/sandstone ones with water.
1849988
I'll be getting into how Equestrian magic and his powers act and react with and against each other in later chapters.
1850251
Ummm.... I'll see what I can do. I can say you'll be seeing both of them very soon, though. I've always wondered what would happen when Celestia meets Cthulhu.
And my auto checker says I misspelled Celestia. -->Right Click --> Add to Dictionary
1850276
Seeing comments like yours warms the cockles of my heart.
I can hear you all googling that word from here.
1851203
I'm doing good, I hope. It takes a fair amount of skill to make a blank, featureless world interesting.
1850355>>1851307
Thanks! Fixed.
1851356
Trixie approves of censorship, I guess.
I asked Softy to perform an experiment for me and deleted the comments afterward. The rest, only the writer knows.
1852069
I find writing his chapters so much more fun, but I really can't do that. That is just one soul in a town of hundreds. There's plenty of pony characters to work with already in addition to the OCs I've been using to fill in the gaps. There are a lot of characters in my story, let alone Equestria, and a single action can have rippling consequences reaching far and wide. I have to settle matters among the dozens of other characters before I can return to him, unfortuneately. My estimated next Crafter chapter will be about chapter 20. I have to take care of the results of Barricade's attack, Celestia's return to Canterlot, and what happened after the creeper attack. Then we can have creamy Crafter goodness. God, that sounded dirty.
1853180
I deal with the aftermath in the next chapter, which happens to be a huge, 15,000 word chapter. A lot of stuff happens in the next chapter, including answering some much-needed questions.
1860325 Just "The Aftermath"? No hints to her fate? Any hints on if it is just the Crafter's actions that are presented or the monsters' attraction to him, wherever that is?
Just the aftermath and nothing else?
1860325
Ah, okay. As long as it's not valid criticism that's getting deleted. I was just worried there for a second
1861041
I can give you the chapter name, but that's about it: Into the Darkness I'll Sing You a Song. If you want a hint as to what happens in the next chapter, I foreshadowed it in the second half of Chapter 16. Nobody's found it yet, though.
1861698
Does it have to do with fluttershy?
1869419
Nope!
I will answer the next wild guess from anyone, but after that, you all will have to argue and bounce ideas off each other.
1869545 The crafter goes missing and is found next to baracade singing a luliby!
Health Potions anypony?
1872070
No, but I like the imagery there.
1872589
Yeah, my early chapters could use a facelift. This is only the second serious fic I have ever done, so my writing skills were and still are undoubtedly shoddy. My later chapters have more proof readers, as I got more popular over time, but I would not turn away an editor, if you so wish to be one. PM me if you wish and I'll send you the gDoc to any chapter you want.
As for mods, you aren't quite correct. Why the Nether Portal is larger than normal is explained later in the story, but it's not due to mods. At least, I am not aware of mods that make Nether Portals that large. For the issue of mods in general, I do have some ideas bouncing around my skull. We may yet see them.
Thanks for the compliment and the track. I admit, my development of the core cast is weak. I'm terrible at writing characters that aren't my own. I'm trying to do better, but my writing skills in general are still amateur. Nevertheless, it's something I am working on
1873722
I completely understand the difficulty of writing some canon characters. I fervently avoid writing many of them except through analogues, like the Clover the Clever set. It takes a bit of the fun of world-building away having too many of the built-in canonical restrictions. Explicitly I avoid Zecora, for reasons most who have tried to write dialogue for her would know. Accursed rhymes! On the concept of mods, there actually is one for differently sized Nether portals. Mainly used for trans-dimensional traps. Those can be fun. But it wasn't what I meant originally, when I said I haven't seen one with mods. I meant it more as a wondering of the mind. As in "I've seen almost six MC/MLP crossovers, but all are Vanilla." Rereading that I can see where I was ambiguous, though. My apologies for that mix-up.
1876059
Ah, I forgot this Crafter is different than most player's, or perhaps only my, playstyle. Which is on hard, yet not hardcore and spending almost every night outside with a pile of stone swords and iron armor, strictly for the fun, xp, loot, and "honorable" combat. I can see how a sentient creature would prove a challenge after isolating himself from all challenge, even the Vanilla MC mobs. I guarantee a few nights on the prowl with Mo' Creatures would be interesting for Crafter.
The 'Cthulu' pony intrigued me. I remember he said a similar 'so filled with hate and malice' comment about the Endermen's eyes when he gazed upon them through a reflection on his sword while they pushed him into the portal in chapter two, yet this hate-filled creature's effect was a startling contrast to the anger, and the desire for retribution the Endermen earned. I suppose the level of hate is important to his reaction, or perhaps just because he was used to Endermen trying to brutally murder him, while a small, intelligent hyper-cow with wings being equally hateful might be significantly more intimidating. I feel like I just answered my own question, it is an odd feeling.
Tangent aside, I would be glad to proof-read for this. The other projects I've been proof-reading for have slowed down production considerably. Thank you for responding. It's always a pleasure to have a burning question answered. Now just seven more chapters to enjoy...
Society of Syntax Socialists,
-Onyx
1877477
Congratulations, for I foreshadowed something waaaaaay back when, and you are the first to discover it. There is a very good reason the hate differential is so extreme. Perhaps Chapter 11 will fill in some of those questions.
You stumbled onto a crucially important plot point and you don't know it.
(Also you have two "the the"s in this chapter.)
1909411
Finally, one noticed.
I've been waiting for somepony to discover that.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/329/125/a6c.gif
1873722 "At least, I am not aware of mods that make Nether Portals that large."
Here's the minecraft forum post for one: link.
Just noticed
Missing a 'you'
1873722
Story can haz Tekkit?
2873099
Sorry, no. I don't know anything about Tekkit. I can't write what I don't know how to use.
2873119
Well, you have youtube. You could use it to get a general idea of what's new and how the new things work.
One thing I can tell you right away. Milk and sewage(poop) are new liquids in Tekkit.
Also, MOOON!
I hope Barricade won't die, that'dd just be cruel.
2873119 Some silly mod with goofy machines.
Oh, I do so love death threats, they remind me of the night sky over a pile of burning corpses. [insert demonic laughter]
Ah hit this not good