Chapters 2: The Quests [Rainbow's POV]
The second I heard his name, I turned and bolted. That is...tried to bolt. Turns out, Tirek's magic is faster than I thought. All I know is, one moment, I'm in my house, bolting towards the door. The next, I'm flying into a mountain of soul sand.
Dazed, I somehow found my way out of the giant pile. Soul sand and Netherrack clung to my mane and wings. I tried to shake it off, but, it was no use. Tirek lifted me about six feet off the ground, moved me to where Applejack was, then let go. I was sent tumbling six feet to the ground, to shocked to open my wings.
I landed on my side with a soft thump. Giving the evil eye at Tirek, I tried to use my wing to help me get up. Pain shot through my body and I swear I saw black dots before my eyes. I decided to stay on my side.
"Tirek, why did you pull us into this game?" I asked him, my voice slightly muffled from the soul sand I was on.
"Yeah, all we were doin' was tryin' to get back ta our home in the overworld." Applejack added, finally finding her voice.
Either Tirek didn't hear us, or choose to ignore us, because he was staring off into the distance, his mouth moving, but no words coming out. When his voice finally did find it's way out, it sounded like claws on a chalkboard. AJ and I both covered our ears.
"IN THE NETHER, DEAD OR ALIVE, YOU MUST FINISH THESE QUESTS, FIVE!" He screeched. I didn't know he had a thing for poems. I let him continue, though, I had a bad feeling about this.
"What quests are ya' talkin' 'bout?" AJ asked.
"THE FIRST ONE IS AS CONFUSING AS IT IS EASY! FIND THE LONG LOST FIRE BREEZIE!" He said.
Applejack looked as confused as I felt. She gave me a weird glance, then payed attention to Tirek again.
"THE SECOND ONE IS SLIGHTLY HARDER, FIND ME A WELL FULL OF WATER!" He shifted his eyes so they were looking at us now. "THE THIRD ONE IS NOT A BREEZE! FIND ME A FIRE TREE!"
"Fire...tree...?" I asked. I have never heard of such a thing.
"THE FOURTH ONE IS HARDER, STILL! FIND ME IRON WILL!"
"Okay, wait." I said. "I can understand Fire trees and Fire breezies...actually, I can't. But, why in Equestria would you want Iron Will? That dude's a total.."
"SILENCE!" Tirek howled. I instantly shut my mouth. "THE LAST ONE, I WISH YOU LUCK! I MUST HAVE A DABBLING DUCK!" He finished.
"What happens if we don't get yer breezie, water, tree, sales manticore, and...duck?" AJ asked.
Tirek paused, as if considering what to do. Finally, he spoke. "IF YOU DO NOT BRING ME THESE FIVE IN 72 HOURS TIME, YOU WILL BE STUCK IN THIS DIMENSION FOREVER!"
"I see He's finally done with his rhyming spree. " I muttered, rolling my eye that wasn't smothered with sand.
"That's not a problem at all!" Applejack pointed out. "Twilight will notice us missin'! She'll just simply whip us out with one of her spells!
I wanted to face-hoof myself so bad! "THEN YOU'LL GET DISINTEGRATED!" Tirek bellowed, having enough. "If you bring me these five within three days, I will bring you back to Ponyville!" With that, he disappeared with a puff of smoke.
AJ came over and helped me to my feet. Pointing at my damaged wing, she asked "How's yer wing doin'?"
I tried to spread it out, but, pain radiated throughout my wing and body yet again. "I don't think I'll be able to fly anytime soon." I said, disappointed. Applejack nodded with sympathy then looked around.
"I guess we better get moving' if we want ta complete two quest by sunset. By the way, how do we tell time in here?" She asked, turning towards me. I immediately saw the problem. Just as quickly, I saw the solution.
"I have this clock here." I said, pulling it out to show her. "It's the break of dawn."
"Great!" Apple jack said. "We have enough time ta finish two quests and find a home for us!" She trotted away and I followed her. Something told me we only had two days left.
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3: What in Equestria is a Fire Breezie? [AJ POV]
I could hardly believe it! There was enough time in the day ta complete two quests, plus, build shelter! Although, now that I think about it, I feel there may be no need for shelter. Rainbow and I could finish four an finish the last one in the mornin! I excitedly told Rainbow mah plan.
"No offense AJ, but, these quests sound really confusing." Rainbow pointed out. That's what I was thinkin' in the back of mah mind, but, I didn't want Rainbow to see the side of me where I doubt everythin'.
"Nonsense, Rainbow." I protested. "I'm sure we can get these quests done in record time. I mean, how many other ponies has he pulled inta the Nether?" Noticing a buried horn to mah right, I quickly blocked it from Rainbow's view and gave her a 'what could go wrong'? smile. Rainbow must'a seen it, though, because she gave me a look that said 'your not fooling anyone, Applejack.'
"Do you know what a fire breezie is?" Rainbow asked, as she continued to walk on.
"Course I do." I claimed. "It's a breezie that...you know, it has flames...and..." I paused, trying to get the right words.
"You have no clue, do you?" She asked.
"Yep." I said, hanging' my head in defeat. "But, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll be able to find it. An, if it's anythin' like the breezie's that came through Ponyville, then, I'm sure it'll come with us."
"I hope so." Rainbow said. We were reachin' a Nether Fortress now, and I swear on Granny Smith's hind leg that I saw a tiny light floatin' above the fortress. Just as quickly, though, it disapeered inta the Fortress.
"Rainbow! I think I saw a breezie on top of the Nether Fortress!" I said excitedly. Once we catch it, there will be four more things ta do! Rainbow looked up, and opened her wings, as if preparin' to fly. She lifted about two centimeters off the ground, froze, then crashed back down ta the floor.
"Man, when will this wing heal? " She asked herself, tryin' to get a good look at her broken wing. I ran inta the Nether Fortress, and I heard Rainbow catch up with me. "Where do you think the Breezie went?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know, but, I have a feelin' that it's still near the top." I huffed. We were probably around the middle of the first floor when we saw a spinnin' death machine. It started throwin' fire at us, and, I was honestly wishin' I brought mah flame-proof boots.
Rainbow an' I were dodging like crazy, and the Blaze just kept spittin' fire at us. There was no way ta go forward, so, I thought we could turn around and try a different way.
I turned around ta escape, but, a black skeleton appeared at the only way out.
I looked at Rainbow and noticed that Rainbow and I seem to be thinking the same thing. WE WERE TRAPPED!!
4: Flava the Breezie [Rainbow POV]
We were trapped between a Blaze and a wither skeleton, and, I personaly thought we were doomed. All of the sudden, AJ started bucking like there was no tomorrow. She kicked the Blaze so hard, it went all the way to the other end of the castle. The force of it slamming into the wall killed it. I quickly galloped over and got the blaze rod, shooting it at the wither. I heard AJ grunt before the Wither died.
"AJ? You OK?" I asked warily. Applejack collapsed to the dusty castle floor, letting out another soft groan. I ran over to her and immediately saw what happened. Her orange coat was tinted green. AJ had been poisoned by the wither skeleton.
Great. Now we have a handicapped pegasus and a poisoned earth pony. I thought. The perfect bait for monsters of all types. I wish we hadn't been playing Minecraft in the first place. We could've raced or bucked apples or something. My wing would be perfectly fine and AJ wouldn't be poisoned at all!
"We all wish things, but, unfortunately, most of those things don't come true." A voice sighed from overhead. "Like getting left behind in the electronic, dark, musty place of a so-called-home while all your other friends and family get to travel to another dimension." I could only make out a small figure. "It's not my fault I'm a one-of-a-kind breezie. Some other breezie could have stayed behind to keep my company! It gets so lonely here."
I gasped. "Are you a Fire Breezie?!"
"Yes, I am." the Breezie said proudly. It hopped down to my feet, where I could finally see it in full color. It was yellow, with red and orange hair. It had on an obsidian-colored suit and no wings. Why doesn't this breezie have any wings? I asked myself. Other than that, it looked like any other Breezie.
"My name is Flava." Flava said.
I decided to cut to the point. I honestly couldn't tell the gender with these things if I tried. They all looked like girls.
"And you are a..."
"Fire Breezie." Flava rolled 'her' eyes. "We just went through this."
I groaned. "No, what gender are you?" I ask. Beside me, Applejack attempts to get up, her eyes partly opened. Staggering, she gave up and plopped back down.
"Female." Flava said. "Isn't that obvious?!" She looked offended.
"Uh... Can you help my friend?" I ask, trying to change the subject.
"Sure." She said. She pulled something out of her jacket and hopped over to AJ. I can't help but notice her lack of wings again I avert my gaze, knowing that staring is rude. Flava poured the red-colored substance onto AJ's wound and poured the rest in AJ's opened mouth. "This is healing potion." She explained. "Your friend should heal shortly. Now...why are you here?"
"It's a long story." I say. "I'd rather not tell it right now."
"Okay, then." She says. "Why don't 'cha at least tell me your name?"
"Rainbow Dash." I say. "Let me just tell you this, though."
Flava leaned in, as if hearing this news was life or death for her.
"Your one of our keys to getting out of this place."
5: Flava's Story [AJ POV]
Mah vision was slowly coming back ta normal, when ah saw Rainbow talkin ta some type a bird. But...what's a bird doin in the nether?
"Your one of our keys to getting out of this place." Ah heard Rainbow say. That's when ah realized what that so-called bird was. Ah quickly leaped to mah feet and ran over to the breezie. Ah guess ah was still healin' though, because pain shot all throughout mah body. I ignored it and kept goin.
"Holy apples! A real life Fire breezie!" I said, leaning down so ah could see it clearly.
"Applejack, this is Flava. She is the last fire breezie there is...Oh, I see you're better now!"
I rolled mah eyes. "Thanks, captain obvious." Rainbow blushed.
I noticed that Flava didn't have any wings. "Where's your wings?" Ah asked her.
She sighed. "It's a long story."
Rainbow an' I both sat down.
"A very long story."
We both switched our positions and laid down.
"Fine." Flava said, laying on her back. She began to weave her tail.
The earliest memory that I can get is when I was three. I remember Mama taking me, along with the rest of my siblings, to the park. There was five of us. Emberlyn, Kenna, Burn, Cancus, and me. I was was the youngest, thus, suffering all of the teasing and hand-me downs that didn't fit me. We were each a year older than each other.
Mama put us in the Ember-box, which is like a sandbox, but, in the Nether. Emberlyn always bragged that the ember-box was named after her. She was the oldest. She told all of us that there would never be a play-box named after us. Kenna and Burn always threw Ember-dust into my eyes, making me cry lava. Cancus was the only nice sibling.
We all heard a huge boom, we were scared and nervous. We looked around and Mama wasn't there. She fled, along with the rest of the creatures there. We didn't know what to do, where to turn. Finally, Emberlyn told us to follow her and she started flying off towards where we came from.
Burn and Kenna followed, but, I was a slow flyer. Cancus stuck by my side and made sure I was safe. Flava had a sad smile on her face. This one time, I almost dive-bombed into a huge pool of lava, because it felt like we'd been flying for hours and I was exhausted. We fire breezies are fire-proof, but, it was still frighting. Cancus caught me on his back and told me to sleep, so I did, knowing everything would be fine as long as he was around.
I think it was five days later, I'm not sure, but, Emberlyn finally landed. She told us it was no use, that Mama had left us and we had to forge on our own. It was rough. I needed this special type of flame-milk, or else my wings wouldn't grow properly. Cancus went on small journey to get me a type of plant that contained the milk I needed.
Things went well for a while. We built a home for each of us, each closely together, in case we needed anything. Cancus had a stock-pile of Fla, the plant that had the milk I needed. I drained one dry each night. Looking back, I wish I hadn't.
"Why?" Rainbow asked.
I bumped Rainbow and made a motion with my hoof. Flava shot Rainbow an irritated look, then went back to her story.
One night, I ran out of Fla. I asked Cancus to go get me some more, for I was almost done with my 'feeding' stage. He told me that there wasn't another pile for miles. I begged him for about a week, and he finally left to get it. I don't know what happened to him, because he never came back. My siblings always reminded me that I was his fault that he 'died'. As if I didn't feel guilty already. She spat out is disgust.
About five years later, we got an announcement. A portal was opening to the over-world. All of us were ecstatic and couldn't wait for it to open. There was a small sacrifice, it read, but we all thought it was a piece of dirt, or a sacred plant, or something. Nothing serious.
The time came for the portal opening a week later. All of us fire breezies gathered round. There was about 400 of us. The president of our nation said the portal wasn't stable for all of us. He said one wing will stabilize 200 breezies. Of course, no one wanted to give up their beautiful lava wings.
Emberlyn raised her hoof. I thought she would volunteer, but, instead, she said I would do it. They didn't question the statement and ripped my wings off. It was unlike any other kind of pain. It was like getting my soul ripped apart. I guess Ember felt bad, because she tried to carry me through. The portal staggered. She told me that she'd write.
Before I could comprehend the situation, she tossed me right into a pit of Lava and fled through the portal. The portal closed and I was left all alone here.
On my 20th birthday, I saw a note drifting through the Nether-wind. It was from Ember. She apologized, and said that the surface world was beautiful, and that I would love it. She said that a kind, yellow pegasus was meeting them that day, and, in two weeks, they would cross over to the Breezie-dimension, taking a shortcut through Ponyville.
Flava sighed. "I re-named myself Flava, after that plant, and the good times I shared with Cancus." She had bright-orange tears in her eyes, and a small lava-flow on her face.
"What was your name before?" I asked.
"Spark." She said. "Don't call me that, though. Let's just..."
I got the message perfectly. "Rainbow, what's the second quest?"
Rainbow thought for a second. "Find a well full of water. In here." She sighed. "This will be harder than I thought."
"Wait...a well full of water?" Flava asked. "Oh, that quest is easy!"
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6: Death, Life, and Arguments [Rainbow's POV]
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. 7: A Pool of Lava [Rainbow's POV]
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. We honestly could be anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, we winded up here.
"I told you that you did the portal wrong!" Rainbow yelled at me. I scrunched up my nose in anger. "I reckon ya'll are the one who built this here portal while I was helpin' Apple Bloom with her homework!
Rainbow rolled her eyes and dodged a ghast's fireball. "Don't try to pin this on me, Applejack! It was your idea to do this!"
I flared mah nostrils, but tried not ta scream at her. "Let's just go back to the portal." I said. For some reason, Rainbow has been getting on mah nerves more than usual lately. Maybe it's cause I haven't got much sleep over the past week.
Rainbow an' I were halfway to reachin' the sweet safety of our portal when the game froze. Rainbow sighed, an' I was close to buckin' her game out her window, when the game snapped back to attention. A huge, red, bull-like figure came down an' crushed our portal, sendin' the obsidian into the lava. The purple gateway ta safety broke under this creature's weight.
"What they hay is going on?" Rainbow asked. I had no words, for I was frozen with shock. The last time I played this game with her, this didn't happen. Then again, we never did ventured into the Nether. I was crossin my hooves, hopin' this was just a cool addition ta Minecraft.
Then, the bull creature started to speak. There was one problem, though. Rainbow had her game muted, but, we could hear the sound as if the volume had been turned up all the way! I shuddered. Rainbow was trying to act like it was no big deal, but, I could see the fear in her eyes.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN BANISH ME INTO THIS GAME?!" The creature boomed. It's voice sounded mighty familiar. I just couldn't put mah hoof on it.
Rainbow must've thought that as well. She came real close to the game, tryin' to get a good look at the beast. "You look familiar." Rainbow said. The beast roared in anger.
"YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE ME?! I AM THE STRONGEST VILLAIN OUT THERE!"
Rainbow an I froze and exchanged looks. I knew we were both thinkin' the same thing. Before either a' us could voice our concern, the beast started ta use some kind a' magic. A yellow cube showed between his horns.
"I AM TIREK!" He called. Magic swooped around Rainbow an' I. We were both quickly swept into the game.
