//------------------------------// // The Encounter // Story: Lunar Ambrosia // by Waxworks //------------------------------// Morning came without fanfare. Thesis awoke to find that the wax had protected the fabric from the poisonous mud of the island, and there wasn’t any soggy bedding. She awoke at the crack of dawn and pulled herself out of bed to go shake the other tents of anypony still sleeping. Desperado had either been awakened by her movement or had already been awake, lying still and waiting, as he sat up with her and followed. He was already dressed, with a brown jacket and a hat with his horn poking through the top. He had rope, a flask on his flank, and saddlebags filled with bottles and other containers for collecting. He had his head on right and ready. The only ponies she had to wake up were Banger and Crash Test. Dust Devil and Stormy Eye were out flying above the island, racing each other through the sky and kicking at the odd cloud here and there. Cumulus and Shilling were on the ground stretching, but Banger and Crash Test looked to still be holed up in their tent. Thesis shook the flap and called out. “Banger, Crash Test? You okay in there?” The flap was unzipped and Banger stuck his head out. “O-oh, miss, uh… professor Thesis. We’re fine. Not sick, just not used to getting up so early. We’ll be out, uh… soon.” “Glad to hear it. Have a drink and get up. We have a lot of things to do today.” “Yes, ma’am,” Crash Test nodded, grunting his way out of bed. “Perfect. Desperado, you got breakfast?” A package of limp vegetables was floated over to her, and Thesis gave Desperado a grateful smile. She chewed on a few as she dressed herself and slid on her saddlebags. She double-checked her own supplies and water, and yelled at the others. “Alright you lot! Banger, Crash Test, Stormy Eye, and Shilling, get over here and let’s check your supplies!” The ponies all assembled at a crawling pace. Banger and Crash Test shuffled over, manes messy and saddlebags unfastened. Stormy Eye and Shilling were peppy and prepped. Thesis checked their saddlebags and their water, making sure everypony was ready to carry their own weight, and helped Banger and Crash Test prepare their own. “Alright, Dust Devil and Cumulus will remain and wait for us. We will be marching out some distance, mapping as we go, and will return when the sun is halfway across the sky. Depending on our fitness and the location, we may just fly back, but at midday, that’s when our expedition ends. No questions. Understood?” “Yes, ma’am!” Came the chorus of responses. Thesis smiled and nodded. “Stormy and Shilling, if you would lead the way, please.” Stormy Eye and Shilling took the lead for the group, and everypony began walking away from the campsite, leaving Dust Devil with Cumulus to glare after them. Shilling and Stormy Eye had picked out a path down the side of the cliff they had settled on. It was winding and difficult to see among the beanberry bushes, but Shilling had it mapped out and led them well. Desperado took the second position and helped push the beanberries aside to ease passage, but the thick growth still hindered their progress. The vines scratched and groped at them as they passed, and touching the berries was unavoidable. When they finally reached the base of the cliff, and found themselves at water’s edge, they were speckled with beanberry juice. “W-why didn’t we, uh… just fly down?” Banger asked as he splashed water on the stains. “I told you before, we don’t want to frighten the natives any more than necessary.” Thesis explained as she perused the vines near the beach. They didn’t come down any further than the tide-line, which was important to note. She scribbled that little tidbit in her journal, then turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, well that’s a good walking path down, in case we need to transport anything to the beach. Let’s follow this for a ways and see what we fine.” The group mumbled a thankful agreement, and they marched down the beach in pairs. The beach was short, and ended in a large outcropping of dirt, but they did manage to find something interesting: Tracks. A set of hoofprints came up out of the woods, passed through the sand briefly, and went back into the grass and possibly up the hill. Thesis looked up and out toward the top of the hill facing the ocean. There were no trees, but beanberry bushes covered it like everything else. A pony could easily be hiding in them somewhere. “Care, all. I think a native is nearby,” she said. Banger looked terrified. Stormy Eye rubbed his withers with a hoof. Crash Test wasn’t even looking at the tracks, and Shilling had a stick he was holding in a wing. Desperado didn’t look like he much cared, but his horn was lit. He was ready, which made Thesis feel a little bit safer. “Stay here for the moment. Desperado and I will go investigate. If it’s dangerous, he can at least shield us from it. Watch yourselves, and stay at the beach,” Thesis ordered. The four other ponies retreated onto the dunes and clustered together while Thesis and Desperado skirted around the base of the small cliff. They picked their way through the beanberry bushes and walked up the small incline leading toward the top. When they got halfway up, Thesis slowed down, eyes flicking back and forth, searching for any rustling. She was rewarded when the beanberry bushes just ahead shivered. She and Desperado flinched and went low, but the rustling stopped without moving. Thesis reached into her saddlebags and pulled out some of her lunch. Using her wings, she removed a small piece of dried fruit from her bag and tossed it in the direction of the rustling. It landed among the beanberry bushes, in between Thesis and it. She took a couple steps back, pushing next to Desperado, then waited to see what would happen. It would have to pass by them or jump off the far edge. Either way, they would likely be able to see it wherever it decided to go. They waited for a few minutes, the thing hiding in the bushes ahead. It finally moved, digging through the vines toward the place the food was dropped. Thesis could see the small chunk of dried apple sitting nestled on two criss-crossing vines. She watched as the rustling came closer, and she unconsciously bent down to try to get a better look, wings twitching in anticipation. The faint rustling came up to where the apple slice waited, and Thesis could see something inside the beanberry bushes. An eye came into view through the thick vines, and it looked at her. It was large, yellow, and inquisitive. It blinked, and tilted side to side as it appraised her, then she could see a purplish muzzle come out of the bushes. The pony’s face came up out of the bushes and sniffed the apple slice, then snapped it up and disappeared, rustling down the hill through the bushes. Thesis made to follow it, but Desperado held her back. She looked at him, annoyed, but he just shook his head and pointed at the moving bushes. The pony inside them somehow managed to wade through the tangled vines toward the treeline, where it popped up out of the bushes and clung to a tree. Thesis felt her breath catch as she finally got her first glimpse of one of the island’s natives. It was shorter than most earth ponies, but stockier too. It’s fur and mane were both shades of purple, which wasn’t surprising, considering the beanberries everywhere. Its eyes were wide and round, but the strangest part of it was the strange claws it had at the end of its hooves. It almost looked like they were trying to be both paws and hooves at the same time. It appeared able to move them somewhat, as it was clinging to the bark of the tree, staring back at them. “…what?” Thesis said. The pony chewed on the apple slice, staring at them. Out of the vines and in direct sunlight, the pony’s eyes were a bright gold, reflecting the sunlight and shimmering as it moved its head back and forth. It stared at them, looking at them with as much inquisitiveness as they were staring back at it. Thesis and Desperado stood as still as possible, not wanting to startle it. It looked at her, tilting its head, then dropped down into the vines. “Wait!” Thesis called out, and made to chase after it, only to be stopped by Desperado again. The bushes shook as the pony disappeared into the trees, then it jumped back out and began leaping from tree to tree, using its strange claws to cling to the bark as it climbed about for purchase. Thesis could only watch as it moved deeper into the trees, leaving the group at the beach alone with more questions than answers. When it was gone, Desperado let go of Thesis, and muttered a quiet curse. “That, was incredible!” Thesis danced in a small circle, spinning around as she cheered. “We met a native! It wasn’t a bad meeting either! It took the food, didn’t attack, and we got to see its entire body!” She stops spinning and pulls out her notebook and quill. “I should draw it while I still remember what it looks like!” Thesis began scribbling in her notebook while Desperado went to the edge of the cliff and waved the rest of the crowd up. They flew up the side and joined the two ponies on the small ridge. “Y’see it?” Desperado asked. Only Stormy Eye raised her hand. “I saw it moving. Didn’t get a good look. It looked like it could hold on to trees?” Desperado nodded and motioned to Thesis. “Picture soon.” Upon seeing Thesis frantically scribbling down an image, the other four crowded around her and watched as the drawing came to life. She wasn’t an amazing artist, by no means, but she was able to capture the character of the creature, and its inquisitive eyes. The drawing stared out at them, asking them questions without a word: “Where are you from? What are you?” And most important: “Why are you here?” “It’s amazing,” “What, uh… what’s that on its hooves?” “What an interesting creature.” “Neat.” Thesis tapped at the illustrated hooves with her quill. “It holds onto the tree with these strange claws. Finding out how and why they evolved them will be interesting. I imagine it has to do with the pony traversing the trees, like we saw. We need to investigate the trees more.” “What for?” Shilling asked. “Claw marks!” Stormy Eye gushed. “If the ponies here use the trees for travel, we can find claw marks!” “Precisely!” Thesis beamed with happiness. “We’ve learned here our first big breakthrough in understanding the natives! The fact that we can track them with this knowledge is huge! We can find out where the tracks are most concentrated, and might be able to locate their village with this!” “Assuming they, uh… they even have one? This picture makes the, uh… the thing… the native, look pretty feral,” Banger said. “That’s a good point, Banger. I assumed they would have reached a point where they would live in a village. They communicated with the previous settlers, but maybe they are nomadic? For what reason I couldn’t fathom.” Thesis tapped one end of the quill against her cheek. “Something to ponder. But hopefully we’ll find something soon. Are you all ready?” They looked confused. Thesis pointed at the forest where the native had scampered off to. “We’ll follow it!” “Should have known.” Crash Test said. “Are we, uh… walking?” “No. We’ll hover. We want to make good time before we have to return to camp, and with a lead this fresh, we don’t want to waste any time. Just stay close to the ground, and land at the first sign of natives.” The five of them took off and flapped in place. Desperado cleared his throat and looked up at them. Thesis gave a sheepish grin. “We’ll hover slowly. Everypony stay with your partners and check the trees, find out what the scratches look like, and search them out. Sketch them or commit them to memory, whatever you see fit, but stay close to everypony else, and especially your partner!” The group moved into the woods. Those that could fly hovered over the beanberry thicket, and Desperado pushed aside the vines with his magic, staying below Thesis. They all went to the tree the pony had been clinging to while it ate the apple slice. The claw marks were shallow, but their shape was easy to discern. Thesis sketched them out, the claws appearing to be thick and hook-like, made specifically for climbing. The group moved over the vines closer to the next tree the pony had leapt off of. The claw marks in this tree were much more pronounced, fitting the motion of pushing off the tree it had used. Thesis drew those out as well, and the group hopscotched through the woods, following the track the pony had left behind for them. They got deep into the woods, and Desperado had to climb up, down, and even teleport a few times to keep up, but they were determined to keep up with the tracks and find what lay at the end. Thesis tried to keep a record of where they were while they moved. She added to the map the further they went while she sketched quick pictures of claw marks, plants, and even a small pile of what they assumed was droppings. Despite their best efforts, they eventually lost the pony in the thick woods when the claw marks on the trees combined with those of other ponies, some with larger claws and others with smaller. It was clear that wherever they were, it was a place frequented by the natives on the island, and Thesis was excited beyond belief. “I can’t believe there’s so many! This is incredible! We must be at some tree roadway or something!” Thesis gushed as she flitted from tree to tree. “Look at these claw marks! There’s one that looks like one of them must be huge!” “If one of them is so large, might we assume that pony is possibly the leader? And in addition, for our own safety, might we also assume if this is a ‘road’ for them, we are trespassers?” Shilling said. “No, these marks aren’t fresh, except for our little friend. We should be sa-” A bush next to Desperado rustled, and something scuttled through the underbrush. Desperado reflexively shielded himself, but whatever it was moved away from him deeper into the woods. As whatever it was moved deeper, several more instances of movement scurried after it, shaking the beanberry bushes. The sound of motion came from above as well, a frenzied yipping as ponies leapt from tree to tree overhead. The ponies all huddled together, staying near the rest of their group, hovering just over Desperado, watching as a crowd of natives who had them surrounded all moved into the woods. “What, uh… what was that?” Banger asked. “I don’t know. They didn’t attack us, so we either aren’t threatening, or they’re gathering even more ponies to attack us with,” Thesis said. “If they had wanted us dead, we would be dead. We didn’t even know they were there,” Crash Test said. “But maybe they’re just scared. I mean, we’re flying, and Desperado is glowing,” Stormy Eye said. Thesis looked down at Desperado, who still had his shield up. He was staring at the direction the entire crowd of ponies had gone, scratching under his hat. “We still have some time before noon. I want to follow them,” Thesis said. Stormy Eye shook her head. “I think we’ve scared them enough for one day.” Shilling nodded in agreement. “I think I’ve been, uh… been, uh… been-“ “Banger has been scared enough for one day,” Crash Test finished for him. “Alright. I understand if this is making you all nervous.” Thesis looked down at Desperado, who was staring up at the group. “Desperado, are you willing to follow them with me?” Desperado shrugged. “Aye.” “Excellent. We will meet you back at camp.” “And if you don’t?” Shilling asked with a straight face. Thesis looked back at the mare, who stared back with a straight face. “If neither Desperado or myself return by the time morning comes tomorrow, you are to follow emergency evacuation procedures. Which were outlined in the guide I sent out.” Shilling nodded and grabbed Stormy Eye by the hoof, then the two of them flew up and out of the trees, followed soon after by Banger and Crash Test. Thesis and Desperado were alone, with only each other for protection and company in the alien forest, populated by strange natives. Thesis had never been more excited. She landed next to Desperado and pointed in the direction the group of natives had gone. “Let’s follow them!” Desperado led the way, pushing aside the vines of the beanberry bushes. Having been forced to walk, he was covered in purple stains. His jacket, saddlebags, and hat were all covered in juice, and his legs were entirely soaked in it. He looked miserable, though his face betrayed none of it. “Are you sure you’re okay to keep going?” “Aye.” “Okay. I’ll keep an eye on the direction we need to go, and you just plow along.” He nodded, and the two of them followed the ponies that had run away from them, leading them deeper into the island to some unknown destination. It was slow going, but Thesis kept everything apace, flying up to check the trees where the ponies had gone. She checked the trees for claw marks, even going up into the treetops where they had heard the natives before. Up there she saw perch marks, and took the time to sketch them out. She was happier than ever, with so many new things to find and catalogue. Desperado was a mystery, just following along and keeping an eye on her. Eventually, Thesis could see movement in the distance. The sun was at about midday, and they had almost been prepared to head back when Thesis could see something up ahead. It looked like a crowd of ponies, leaping up and down and shouting in their own strange language. “Be ready, Desperado, I think we’ve found the natives.” Desperado’s horn hadn’t stopped glowing the entire time they were out, but he nodded and plowed on through the beanberries. Thesis landed behind him and followed, clambering over rocks as they approached the gathered crowd. The natives were clinging to the trees, hooting and hollering, waving hooves at the two of them, and it seemed like they were encouraging them to come closer. Thesis looked at Desperado and nodded. He nodded back and the two walked closer, side-by-side. The natives didn’t seem scared of them. In fact, the natives had gathered on both sides of them, and as they approached, they swarmed behind them and pushed closer, urging them onward. Thesis was ecstatic at the proximity of the natives. This close, she could see that many of them were drastically different from each other. Some were slim, others stocky. Some had longer legs, while others had shorter stumps. Some had longer fur while others had short. The one thing they all shared, however, was the purple beanberry stain covering their bodies, and the claws. Thesis tried to stop and sketch some of them, but they weren’t sitting still, and although they hadn’t come close enough to touch them, they were outnumbered, and those claws looked wickedly sharp. She didn’t want to test them. “Be prepared to teleport at a moment’s notice, Desperado,” Thesis whispered to her companion. He nodded in response, his own eyes wide and wary. They allowed themselves to get pushed along, watching the ponies run about them through the beanberry bushes. Thesis was impressed at their ability to navigate the vines, and made a mental note to ask them about how they did it when she had learned the language. They arrived at a copse of trees. The natives all scrambled away from the two ponies and gathered in, on, and around the treeline. They pulled back a screen of beanberries to reveal the dark interior of the circle. Inside, there looked to be a thick beanberry vine, cut off at the top, unusually large and colored purple like the berries themselves. None of the natives entered the circle, but they were motioning for Thesis and Desperado to do so. Their intent was clear, and it made Thesis wary. “They want us in there. It looks like the stump is important, but I can’t imagine why. Not to mention, none of them are going inside. Does this seem like a trap to you?” Desperado nodded. “Aye.” “But how do we get out of this without offending them?” “Don’t think they want us dead.” “You don’t?” “Coulda killed us anytime. Tried to, anyway.” “Maybe they know what unicorns can do.” “Doubt it.” “Then should we go inside, you could teleport us out, right?” “Aye.” “Okay. We go inside, prepared for an attack or something else, and teleport back to base camp if necessary.” Desperado nodded, and the two of them inched forward toward the open portion of the copse of trees. The two natives standing on either side of the entrance were holding back the vines of the beanberry bushes with their claws. The opening was big enough for a single pony to enter at a time, and when Thesis could see inside the little clearing, she could tell that the beanberry bushes did not cover the ground inside. The beanberry vines stopped at the tree line, climbing up these trees toward the sky. The ground just inside was covered in snaking lumps, indicating the presence of vines underground leading toward the strange stump. The stump itself wasn’t made of wood. It was a vine, about as thick as a dozen or so of the typical beanberry vines found around the island all grouped together. But unlike the green vines elsewhere, this was purple, and lead up to a flat surface, topped off by a nest of sorts, made of regular beanberry vines. Thesis and Desperado entered the copse. Thesis went first, and Desperado followed immediately at her flank. Contrary to what Thesis had expected, the entrance vines continued to be held open, and the crowd of natives gathered around the entrance to watch. “Not what I expected, but not terrible. They’re still not threatening us, but what do they want us to do in here?” Desperado walked closer to the vine and look in the strange nest on top. He stepped back almost immediately and motioned for Thesis to come closer. “What is it?” He motioned harder, his eyes filled with concern and amazement in equal measure. Thesis quickened her pace, walking up to the nest and peering inside. When she got to it she gasped and looked back at the natives crowding the entrance. They just stared inside, their curiosity plain. She turned back to the thing inside the nest. It was a large berry. Thesis called it a berry because it was growing from the beanberry plant, but it wasn’t just a larger version of the typical beanberry, this was shaped like three carrots connected to each other at the vine, with golden skin. It seemed to glow with its own inner light, but it didn’t cast any light by itself. In fact, the enclosed area seemed darker for its being there. “What is this?” Desperado just shrugged, his eyes wide as he stared at the thing. “And what do they want us to do with it? I mean, they brought us here for a reason, and that reason, according to their body language and their directing us here, doesn’t seem obvious.” Thesis turned to the crowd at the entrance and pointed at the nest with a hoof, then opened her mouth and pointed at it, clacking her teeth up and down. “Eat?” The natives didn’t respond. They just blinked at her and waited, crowding around the door like they were foals looking to see if two lovebirds were going to kiss behind the schoolhouse. “I don’t understand. I don’t want to eat it because it might be poisonous. I mean, it’s growing off the beanberries. What do we do?” “I think we’re gonna have t’ touch it. See how they react.” “They didn’t react when I mimed eating it. Either they didn’t understand or don’t care.” Desperado looked at the group staring their direction. He reached out a hoof and nudged the fruit. Nothing happened when his hoof touched it, but the natives tensed up. One of them hissed, but they still didn’t enter. “Afraid,” Desperado said. “It seems they are. Maybe we would be doing them a favor by taking it off their hooves.” Desperado shook his head. “Nay. Don’t know why.” “Good point. We don’t know what it does. Do you think they do?” Thesis jerked her head at the natives. “Aye. Else they wouldn’t be afeared.” Thesis turned to the group at the door and approached them. They pulled back a bit, but didn’t break apart, seeming intent on keeping her inside. She pointed at the fruit, then at herself, then shook her head. The natives looked at each other and started muttering. Their voices were calm for the most part, but eventually the timbre rose and quarreling started. One of them hit another and an all-out brawl began. Thesis stepped back, closer to Desperado, in case they turned the anger on her. There was a shout, and the fighting stopped. All the natives loosed their holds on each other and stepped back, opening the entry for a medium-sized pony to approach. This pony, unlike the rest who were mostly naked, had a coat made of beanberry vines, topped off with a circlet of woven vines, leaves, and decorated on the front with the first instance of metalwork she had seen among them! “Desperado, they have metal! This is incredible! They–!” She was interrupted when the native shouted again. A different word, but all the natives disappeared into the bushes, leaving just him, Desperado, and herself. “The leader?” “Leader.” Desperado nodded. “I’m not sure if we should be worried. Do you think they were doing this without his knowledge?” “Doubtful. Too important somehow.” The well-dressed native flexed his strange claws somehow, and they dug deep furrows into the ground. Thesis noticed that his claws were much bigger than the others, like those of a timberwolf. The shape was reminiscent of an ursa, but they were thankfully not that large. The native pointed with a claw at the fruit behind Thesis, then at Thesis herself, then at the sky, then at the ground. He said something she didn’t understand, and gave her a small bow. Thesis leaned toward Desperado and whispered to him. “Did that make sense to you?” Desperado shrugged. “He wants us t’ do somethin’ with it. We could prob’ly take it, if you’re so inclined.” “But that’s what he wants. They all want us to take it. That leads me to feel like we shouldn’t. Not until we know what it does.” Thesis turned and walked up to the big pony. She pointed at herself, then at the fruit, then shook her head. “We don’t want it.” She pointed to herself and Desperado, then at the pony and swept a hoof around in a big circle. “Not until we understand you and your island. We don’t want to take it and cause offense.” “He don’t understand.” “I know that, but I’m trying to convey emotion through words, even if their meaning goes over his head.” She pointed to herself, then the fruit, and shook her head. She pointed to herself, then to the pony and the beanberries, and nodded with a big smile. “That could be taken wrong.”Thesis blushed but stood firm, waiting. The native nodded and left the copse of trees. He pointed at Thesis, then at the sky, then back down at the ground. He said something in his own language and nodded, inflecting the last words with a query sound that Thesis did recognize. “I think he’s trying to tell us something is going to happen here.” “If’n they go by sun-time, then I think he’s tryin’ ta tell us ta come back tomorrow.” “Do you think so?” Desperado nodded. Thesis turned to the pony and nodded at him. He nodded back. At least they could communicate that much, and then he leaped away, the sound of his claws digging into the tree disappearing into the distance. They didn’t close the entrance to the copse, and the natives didn’t appear anywhere else. They seemed to be alone again. Thesis stepped out of the copse of trees, looked up at the trees, then turned back to Desperado. Her eyes were wide with excitement, and her mouth turned up slowly in a huge smile. She started laughing and dancing and turning in a circle. She tried to grab Desperado and make him dance, but he backed away. “We met the natives, nopony got attacked, and nopony was scared or frightened! We even have a chance to come back and meet with them again! This is the best opportunity I could have asked for!” Desperado just smiled and chuckled. “We need to get back to camp, now! Teleport us, Desperado! We have to tell the others and plan what we’re going to do! Hurry, Desperado!” “Okay! Okay! Come ‘old m’hoof.” Thesis took his hoof and with a flash of light, the two of them were gone. The fruit in the nest pulsed and flashed, it’s three “fingers” curling up, then relaxing. Back at the camp, Dust Devil was speeding through the sky, trying out acrobatic maneuvers. Shilling was looking at some of the beanberries up close under a microscope with Stormy Eye, and the rest were all playing a game of dice. There was a flash near Thesis’ tent and the two ponies appeared, covered in beanberry juice. “Gather around, ponies, have I got news!” The others all gathered together to listen as Thesis related to them the story of what they had seen, done, and discovered. When they reached the point where they got to the copse of trees, Dust Devil interrupted. “Wait, these savages have a treasure hidden on the island?” Dust Devil said. Thesis frowned at him. “They’re not savages, and it isn’t treasure. It’s a piece of fruit.” “Fruit? That’s a curious thing to value,” Crash Test said. “Well, you see, that’s what we need to figure out. They value it, clearly, but they wanted us to have it!” “They were giving you their treasure? Do you have it?” Dust Devil asked, his eyes wide. Thesis shook her head. “Something seemed off about it. A golden fruit nestled in a shrine that they were eager to either share, or be rid of? I can’t trust it.” “Whyever not? They wanted you to have it,” Stormy Eye asked. “Beanberries are poisonous. Incredibly so. This is growing out of the island-wide beanberry plant. That fruit is likely as deadly as everything else.” “That’s a huge assumption,” Dust Devil said. “This entire island could just be a single, interconnected beanberry bush. The berries kill everything that eats them except the natives and the juice can kill in large enough doses. The vines choke the life out of every other plant except the trees, which we still need to understand how, and I think the only reason they haven’t grown to the mainland is that they kill birds that eat them, and shrivel in saltwater. Something is strange about that fruit, and I won’t take it until I know what!” “You don’t trust the savages.” Dust Devil gave her a nasty grin. Thesis was silent a moment, glowering at him. “No, not yet. Not until we can properly communicate with them.” Dust Devil pranced in a small circle, laughing. “Ohhh, you talk a good game, professor, but you think them as nasty as the rest of us do. Way to be an example.” “Dust Devil, shut up. She’s taking safety first, as you should,” Stormy Eye said. “I dunno, Stormy. Golden fruit, heretofore unseen by Equestria, hidden away on an island, freely given by the savages? That’s the find of the century!” Dust Devil stamped a hoof. “It should be taken to the academy and studied immediately. Find out what makes this island tick. Find out what makes the savages so strange. You said they had claws? How’d they get those! And they can eat poison!” Dust Devil picked up a beanberry from the table near the microscope and shook it in their faces. “You came here seeking information, Thesis? That’s your best ticket to it besides killing and dissecting a savage.” “We’re not killing, dissecting, or stealing anything or anypony. We’re here for research, and we will be patient.” Thesis jabbed a hoof at Dust Devil. “We find out what we can about the fruit and what significance it has to the natives before we do anything with it. We don’t need to be part of some ritual we don’t know about. Understood?” “Too scared to take chances, Thesis?” “That’s Professor Thesis to you, Dust Devil. Now am I understood? Do not go near them, or their fruit.” She whipped around and stalked off to her tent. “Desperado, I’m not really concerned, but keep everything to yourself. I have things I must write down. Everypony go back to work. We’ll discuss progress at dinner.” Dust Devil glared at her as she left. Cumulus stood just behind him, silent as usual. The others all went back to work except for Desperado. Dust Devil caught his eye and they stared at one another a moment, before Desperado broke off and followed Thesis toward the tent. Dinner was fetched from the mainland by Banger and Crash Test. Fresh food and clean water to ensure they weren’t going to end up with anypony poisoned. None of the crates or barrels seemed to have lost integrity, which was promising. It meant they might be able to continue using what they had, and Thesis’ plans were done correctly. The only thing not working out were the ponies she had been forced to bring. Dust Devil was swiftly becoming a problem. He was confident, opinionated, and not the nicest pony. She wouldn’t have brought if it she could have avoided it, but she had no other options. If he got worse, she would have to send him away, and that might incentivize the academy into pulling their funding. Dust Devil was right in that regard. She needed results. She needed something she could show the ponies at the academy they were learning something new. She needed that fruit. Thesis stepped out of her tent after writing down the day’s events in her journal. She’d drawn a sketch of the path they’d taken to the fruit. A rough one, along with a description. It wasn’t accurate, she knew that much, but it should help them get back. She hadn’t marked it on the map Stormy Eye and Shilling had created. She didn’t want Dust Devil getting any ideas. She wanted to be there for the meetings with the natives, and didn’t need his bravado getting in the way. “Alright everypony, let’s eat and discuss what we’ll be doing tomorrow.” Everypony gathered around their little fire and sat down. Dust Devil smirked at her. “Should I just assume I’ll be guarding the campsite again? From the ‘untrustworthy savages’?” he said. “No, you and Cumulus will be scouting. I want you to see if you can find anything that looks like a village where the natives live.” “Well, at least it’s something better than sitting on my flank all day, waiting while the rest of you get to experience the new and undiscovered island.” “I don’t want you to approach it, just see if you can find it, and mark it on the map, understood?” “Aye-aye, captain. I getcha real good.” He gave her a mock-salute, grinning. Thesis glowered at him a moment but turned to the rest of the group. “Everypony else will come with me. I suspect the natives could have attacked the camp if they wanted to. They gave us a customary warning, and then showed us something they think highly of.” “W-wait. We’re all going to, uh… to where?’ Banger asked. “To see the natives and their special fruit. They brought their crowd, I wish to bring mine.” “You don’t think they’ll be scared?” Stormy Eye asked. “They have claws, and the pony that looked like their leader had claws the size of my ears. They’re tough enough to be confident.” “Do they know magic?” Thesis shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll know what to do about a unicorn. Desperado and flight is our best bet at protection. Not to put too much pressure on you, Desperado.” He nodded, but said nothing. “That’s all we’ll be doing tomorrow for most of the day. I appreciate you spending time studying the beanberries, but we’ll talk more tomorrow. Everypony get some sleep, and once again–” “Stick with your partners?” Dust Devil said. “Yes.” “Thanks, mom.” “I’ll keep reminding you every day if it sees us all home safely. Now sleep.” She marched off to her tent, not looking back. She heard Dust Devil muttering something, but paid him no mind. He was going to cause trouble, she was sure. She’d just have to be prepared for the worst when it came.