Chapter 15 - The Coastal Conflict.
-INSTALLATION: THE ISLAND-
The late morning sun shines down upon a traveling tribe of equines, a single draconian, and a dinosaur that is the embodiment of ‘fast and lethal.’ Their steps sank into the warm sands of The Island’s coastline, all while the ocean’s freshwater glistened with a crystalline clarity. In fact, the water is so clear that the Tribe of Harmony could spot various assortments of sea life from the shoreline.
These sea creatures consisted mainly of dolphin-like entities and ancient arthropod invertebrates. Said arthropods often crawling onto the beach after exiting the ocean. Of course, of everyone present, Fluttershy was ecstatic in seeing some of the ocean’s wildlife.
“The beauty of this place still blows me away,” Twilight comments, turning her head in various directions to take in the sights as she walks in the lead. The rest of the tribe are right behind her with both Rainbow Dash and Spike floating just above; flapping their wings to stay aloft.
“Is this really the big and scary island Helena told us about?” Rainbow questions sarcastically from above, chuckling seconds after, “This is a piece of-”
“Rainbow!” Applejack interjects, looking skyward towards the flyer. “Don’t ya’ dare start gett’n overconfident on us.”
“Have you already forgotten that whole Argentavis incident, darling?” Rarity questions.
“I’m just saying!” The cyan pegasus responds as she lands next to Applejack and Rarity. “It’s just not as dangerous as she made it out to be, that’s all…”
All the while, Pinkie Pie was walking alongside Vanellope, with Fluttershy currently mounted upon the Raptor’s saddle.
“Keep in mind, the only reason things are pretty tame at the moment is because Helena told us about The Island’s coasts,” Twilight comments while looking back at the group over her right shoulder. “The coastline is by far the easiest part of this island. I want to avoid conflict and danger for as long as possible.”
Rainbow Dash flaps her wings, and in one swift motion, she flies through the air and lands in front of the lavender alicorn. Causing both her and the tribe to stop in place.
“And if we DO get into a confrontation?” The cyan pegasus inquires.
“Then that’s why, and when, we will have to use our weapons,” Twilight responds. “However, I also want to ask something of you all.”
Hearing the alicorn’s inquiry, the rest of the ponies perk their ears upwards as Spike floats just above them, keeping his gaze on Twilight. Fluttershy pats Vanellope’s head all while Pinkie Pie had managed to mount the Raptor as well, sitting just behind the yellow pegasus.
“I want us all to make this decision together,” The alicorn starts. “If we run into trouble, and if running away is still an option, we will retreat and NOT fight back. Agreed?”
Everyone nods in response without hesitation, upon which Twilight looks to Rainbow Dash, who stood beside her, “Rainbow?” she questions with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh come on, egghead,” The pegasus responds while rolling her eyes, “I’m not stupid… I won’t jump into a fight if It’s not necessary.”
Spike raises an eyebrow while flapping his wings in the air, “And no more fighting giant birds for no good reason?”
“I’m sorry, ok? It won’t happen again. Look, I’ll even make a Pinkie Promise!” The cyan mare responds, then performs the ritualistic gesture, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“I’ll hold you to that!” Pinkie shouts from Vanellope’s back.
“But, um, w-what happens if we can’t run away?” Fluttershy questions.
“Then we fight back, together,” Applejack responds as she then walks forth and stands next to Twilight, “No one gets left behind in our tribe. We ain’t noth’n like the ones Helena told us about.”
Twilight nods in agreement, “Applejack is right. Besides, Helena has been training us ever since we got here,” She spreads her wings with utmost confidence, “Let’s show her that we truly can survive these Arks an-”
A sudden rustling from the nearby treeline cuts off Twilight’s words as everyone turns towards the direction of the commotion. Then, a series of loud and large stomping began to make itself known. The ponies flickered their ears about, but Pinkie Pie starts to vibrate as she shouts:
“Twitchy tail, guys! Twitchy-”
Two entities burst out from the forest in a scenario of pursuit, with the one in the lead obviously trying to run away from the other that was behind it. One is a herbivore, the lead dinosaur in question which has a crested head, a beaked mouth, and is currently roaring frantically.
However, what was pursuing this herbivore is an entity that caused the entire tribe to freeze in place, albeit Vanellope seemed ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. The creature in pursuit of its’ prey is, of course, a carnivorous dinosaur who sported a pair of horns just above its’ eyes.
These two beings are giants in of themselves as their girth could easily flatten the ponies, dragon, and raptor with no difficulty. The crested herbivore is now on the beach as the horned carnivore began to close in on it, opening its maw with flickers of drool spraying outward. With nowhere else to run, the herbivorous entity attempts to defend itself as it turns around and starts to rear up, letting loose another roar.
The carnivore lunges forth and aims for the neck region of its prey, but the plant-eater turns sideways in the nick of time, and with a mighty thrust of its powerful tail, the herbivore thrashes its predator across their face region. This causes the carnivore to fall over for a brief moment before it rolls and gets back onto its feet. After recovering, the horned predator roars out and bears its flesh rendering maw of teeth.
All the while, the Tribe of Harmony stood a distance away; just before the ocean water; with caution, as Rarity turns to Fluttershy and shouts:
“Fluttershy, dearie! What are those things?!”
“A Parasaurolophus! And a... C-Carnotaurus,” The yellow pegasus responds from atop Vanellope with Pinkie Pie seated just behind her.
“Go, Parasaur!” Rainbow Dash shouts with a raised forehoof, “Kick that thing’s butt!”
“Come on, everyone!” Spike shouts. “We should leave before-”
Spike’s words are cut off as the Parasaur begins to roar out frantically. A horrific event plays out before the group as they bore witness to the Carnotaurus rushing itself forth with all its might, ramming into the Parasaur with its horns. The strike causes the herbivore to fall over, but its predator seized the prime opportunity as it swiftly closes the distance and plants its jaws onto the neck region of its downed prey. In addition, the Carno plants its right foot onto the Para’s form to destroy any chance for retaliation.
The Tribe of Harmony could only wince and feel sympathetic towards the Parasaur as it struggles within the Carnotaurus’s maw, and is pinned under its predator’s foot. Blood starts to drip out of the Para’s mouth, and its breathing slows down as the carnivore relentlessly applies its bite force onto its prey’s neck. The Parasaur’s legs continue to kick against the sand in some effort to resist, but they start to go limp as its struggle soon follows suit.
With a sudden and powerful jerk of its head, the Carnotaurus instantly ends the Parasaurs’ life as it goes completely limp. The carnivore finally lets go of its now-deceased prey before raising its head upward and unleashing a triumphant roar.
Although the Arks are mere imitations of nature, some elements of nature did indeed still reside here. The struggle between predator and prey played out before the Tribe of Harmony, and unfortunately for the Parasaur… it lost.
As the Carnotaurus wasted no time on feasting upon its kill, tearing chunks of flesh off with every bite, Twilight was the first amongst her shocked tribe members to recover before saying:
“C-come on, e-everypony… l-let’s go before-”
“T-Twilight!” Pinkie Pie interjects, now standing on the beach after dismounting Vanellope, but just before the ocean behind her. But what got everyone’s attention was the fact that the pink mare was still shaking, frantically.
“T-that was- oof! T-that wasn’t what caused my- oof! P-Pinkie Senses to-”
A loud splash erupts from behind the pink mare as a large, scaled, and quadrupedal entity lunges out of the ocean, its large and elongated maw now agape. Ready to bite down upon its chosen prey.
It happened so quickly, and the world all around the tribe goes into slow motion. Pinkie Pie turns her head backward, and her eyes widen in absolute horror while her pupils reduce to pinpricks. And all she could see around her was either end of an opened jaw, said jaw’s razor-sharp teeth, and the void that was the back of the beast’s throat.
The newly revealed monstrosity clasps its mighty jaws shut with such force that it lets loose a loud ‘CLOWP’ noise. The crocodilian raises its head upward, and the terrified Tribe of Harmony could see a lump going down the beast’s throat. Then, much like what had happened to Rainbow Dash, crimson words appear before their eyes, via their implants, which states:
Tribemember Pinkie Pie - lvl 11 was killed by a Sarco - lvl 48!
A moment of silence ensues as a result of the pure shock of the situation. Pinkie Pie’s fellow tribe members stared at the beast with varying emotions now starting to consume their forms. Anger, sorrow, rage, hatred, a plethora of emotions overcame them. All the while, and despite its pink furred snack, the Sarcosuchus turns its gaze towards the Carno, not to mention the meal that was the Parasaurus’s corpse.
The beast lets out a bellow before lumbering over to challenge the Carno for the bountiful feast, leaving behind the Tribe of Harmony with all of its members having a trail of tears strolling down their faces.
“I’m gonna kill that thing!” Applejack roars out, her tears still flowing. She looks back to her cutie mark and conjures forth a spear from her inventory, via the cowmare’s implant. The earth pony holds the weapon within her muzzle and practically growls in anticipation.
The cowmare wasn’t alone as Rainbow Dash had naturally joined in, bringing forth a bow and readying its arrow.
“I got your back, A.J! Let’s make that thing pay for-”
“We have to go, now!” Twilight shouts with sadness, her cheeks damped from her own tears. “Please, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt…!”
“We know how you feel, darlings!” Rarity exclaims, matching Twilight’s sorrow. “But Twilight’s right, we’ve got to go!”
Vanellope suddenly runs forth as the Raptor scoops up both Applejack and Rainbow Dash into its claws, holding them up and under its chest region, via the order of her current rider: Fluttershy. In addition, Spike now sat behind the yellow pegasus, the same spot that Pinkie Pie once stood before.
“Go, Vanellope! Take us away!” Fluttershy orders, but evidence of tears were left behind on her cheeks as well. The Raptor then stops in front of both Twilight and Rarity as the white unicorn mounts the dinosaur while the lavender alicorn takes flight.
The entire tribe retreats as they run along the coast, heading northwest. All while both Applejack and Rainbow Dash continue to cry out for retaliation within Vanellope’s grasp. All while they hear the conflict between the Carno and Sarco roar out in the distance as the tribe draws further away.
Some time passes by following the events that lead to Pinkie Pie’s death, and it was about to become noon. Most in the Tribe of Harmony wore faces of sorrow, although Rainbow Dash and Applejack still had anger present on their faces. All while Vanellope continues to carry them along; Twilight flying just above.
No words were spoken as everyone simply remained silent, mourning the loss of their pink friend. Then, Spike decides to break the silence as he comments:
“It hurts… I know that Pinkie Pie will respawn, but… it doesn’t take away how hard that was to watch…”
“It’s all my fault,” Twilight said. “I was the one who chose that route…”
“Don’t blame yourself, darling,” Rarity responds from behind Fluttershy, mounted upon the Raptor, “None of us could have foreseen that brute showing up…”
“Pinkie Pie did…” Twilight responds. “But it happened so fast that none of us could… c-could… save her.”
“Ah’ don’t get it!” Applejack roars out, held up by Vanellope’s right claw. “Why in da’ hay were those creatures there?! Ah’ mean, the Parasaur ah’ could understand, but what about those other two rotten apples?!”
“The coasts were supposed to be safe,” Rainbow Dash said, held up by the Raptor’s left claw. She scoffs, “So much for that…”
“Helena said that they generally were the safest option,” Fluttershy comments, sighing sadly, “She never said they weren’t without its share of dangers...”
Twilight brings out a map from her implant and inventory, unfurling it before landing in front of everyone else present. The tribe stops and gathers around the lavender alicorn while Vanellope lays down in front of them.
Their eyes shot wide open in realization, and it was Spike who spoke exactly what they were all thinking as he comments:
“We aren’t even that far away from where we left off... and we already lost someone...”
By the way! Ever wonder just how big a Raptor in Ark is compared to the ponies? I personally envision, this:
And a Raptor is more on the smaller side... compared to other beasts of the Arks...
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Holy moly! I do love the fact that you're showing exactly how unpredictable and scary the Arks can be. Heck, danger can be waiting right OUTSIDE your base.
Called it! Also oooof.
it will be fun in the future to see raritys reaction to the leaches. btw is permenent diseases on in this ark?
10949029
They sure are! I threw the ponies enough bones, I will not spare them the sickness.
Yep. Ark is very fucking brutal, punishing, and unforgiving. And yet we can't stop playing it.
10949036
if you want to realy torment them and us you could recreate what happend on the island to me. found a unicorn on herbavor island and it swam away and got killed immediatly by megs. after all most of us can remeber times when a wild dino we tryed to get either died due to other dinos or drowning. after all you might want to lead up to swamp fever with small jumps in difficalty.
So reading over this story has only increased my desire to do my own Ark: Survival Evolved story. Six characters, three from the show, three of my own, wind up on The Island, but it's actually in the video game so they're bound by video game mechanics, like structure placement and harvesting and whatnot. Sort of presented like Neebs Gaming does their Ark videos. Making it worse is next to none of them really know how to play Ark.
Whelp…there’s the Carno/Gator (cause I can’t remember the name off the top of my head attack. I have a feeling next will be either a Saber, Rex, or Quetzel due to them not going through the snowy section yet…to my best guess.
awesome chapter dude, keep up the good work!!!!
ah yes, welcome ponies to the true challenge of Ark, Progression, every little step you do only to get mailed by the sneakiest carnivore shows how insignificant you are, if you are a builder, you risk not progressing fast enough, if you are a explorer you can lose evrey thing you had over a misstep.
Side note, which would be your next objective at this point fellow chatters?
How could the animals not resist eating pinkie? She tastes like Cotten candy
Joke; well let’s hope the ponies don’t just Defecate at random as every other creature does.
I am ready to read the next chapter. This story is underrated imo
10949061
Oh trust me, I will be adding practically every frustrating moment one would typically encounter on the Arks.
10949075
I love Neebs Gaming. I've especially been watching their Ark series ever since their run on The Island.
I will definitely check that story out once/should you post it!
10949175
TYVM!
10949532
Thank you for that!
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dont forget the chance to have some other survivors think they are tameable.
10949715
Oh, naturally! That's inevitable,
Given time to get used to it and I bet they will start to troll each other about all the silly and stupid ways they died.
10949721
"Stop hitting me with stones you ruffian"
Also, AJ should totally craft a lasso, I know it not an actual item in-game but still.
10949932
LMAO, indeed!
10949934
Actually, there's an actual lasso in-game.
https://ark.fandom.com/wiki/Lasso
So you bet she's getting that!
. . . These things aren't immortal either.
10950733
True, but the tribe is nowhere near ready to fight beasts like a Carno or gator. Im sure they will be eventually.
Face palm
11476197
Too accurate.
So according to that last image, the.ponys be a bite sized snack for most things .
11725827
Indeed. The enhancements help, but at the end of the day, the ponies of MLP are entities who stand 3-4 feet in height. That's about half the height of the average human.
Celestia is often considered the tallest pony in the MLP-Verse, with many placing her height at 6ft. But 6ft is still comparatively small to most of the creatures that live on this island.
Heck, the raptors are even taller than that and are considered low on the mid-sized dino size chart for Ark.