//------------------------------//
// Tome 5 - Shovel 
// Story: Guns of Pegasus 
// by Twisted Gears 
//------------------------------//

"Well, this is what I found. Not much, but... At least it's not on fire." Commented the blood-red pegasus as she dumped half a boxfull of assorted tools onto a patch of tall humid grass. From wrenches to mallets, passing by a shovel and a fire extinguisher that, sadly, was empty.

Tin sighed, his hoof extending to take hold of the shovel, his eyes trailing back to the far away blazing remnants of what once was their ship. "I'll... Start digging a grave for Cloud then." He commented with a slight pout. Getting up, he was stopped by the hoof of Pepper laying upon his shoulder.

"Ah'll do it. With these bandages on me, ah' can't do much but dig or lift thins'.  Ye both can do plenty, n' there's a camp to make, tis' a better idea to leave the diggin' to me." Pepper suggested, gesturing to the bandages on her head, face, and as of recently, chest.

Tin nodded, holding the shovel towards her. "Alright. Be careful with the oil spills, Pep." He said, as she took hold of the shovel. "Don't make it too deep."

Pepper took the shovel in her shaky hooves, and gave one determined nod. She held it between her teeth, and limped off towards Cloud's body, by the edge of the debris field. Tin watched her carefully, making sure that she didn't fall.

Bloodwing was already working on something of a camp, with a bedsheet-sized piece of waxed canvas that once used to be part of one of the three baloons of the Galleon. She extended it over the remains of the barrel of a heavy Flak cannon, and rose it to make a tent. "We'll have to sleep on grass tonight." She commented; "But we'll have something over our heads at least."

Tin meanwhile, was working on making a fire pit. Digging onto the soil with a sharp slag of steel, he placed said chunk of the ship down to act as the base of a fire that shouldn't spread all over the camp. He started placing rocks around it, and some rods to make something similar to a grill to head food on, once a fire was lit. "Do you think they'll find us here? The pirates, that is." He asked towards the tent, as Bloodwing pulled it upright with her forehooves.

"I hope," The pegasus said with a side of venom on her voice, "I'll bring tartaus on them."

Tin shivered, not by the cold or the chilling sensation of the humid fog. He started placing dry-ish twigs and leaves on the metal plate. "I-I personally hope not. I don't want to deal with who-knows how many pirates."

Bloodwing huffed, "I'll bring'em all down with me if I have to. Their whole ship and the next if they have a single Lochnagar shot with them." She spat to the side, placing rocks on the edges of the tent for extra stability.

"Blood, please." Tin pleaded, staring at her in her crimson eyes. "Reserve your wrath for when we leave this region. Focus on surviving." He stated, flicking a match lit and placing it on the pile of leaves. Slowly, a fire was made in the safe confines of the little pit.

Bloodwing sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. "Sorry, sorry. It's just- It's not fair!" She exclaimed, raising her arms in frustration. "We would've won if we were on our stations. We wouldn't be stuck down here, and you know that." With a grunt, she slid into the tent, and laid down facing away from the stallion.

Tin couldn't do anything but stare at the fire in total silence, watching the flames flicker the same way that the ones that were consuming the remains of their ship. Time passed, hours slipped between the hooves like sand, until Pepper finally came back, shovel on her mouth.

"Egh ghone." Pepper muttered, spitting the shovel aside. "She's buried now, sorry it took so long. Uh." She gazed at the rest of the camp -One tent, one fire pit, and a crate with all the suppliees and tools they could gather cozily sitting beween a trio of trees. Homey, if there wasn't such a chilling humidity looming over the region. "Just one tent? I thought we had enough for three."

Tin shrugged, his sight raising to meet Pepper's. "We didn't had energy to do more. I'll sleep out here, you two can keep the tent." He said, gesturing towards a patch of dirt. "We can make another one tomorrow while I figure a way to contact somepony to rescue us."

Pepper sat in front of the fire, opposite of Tin. She looked towards the tent, catching a glimpse of Bloodwing's tail swaying back and fro in bottled frustration. "...Ah, I see. Yeah, it'll be better if ye sleep out here. There's no convincin' the stubborn mare when she gets like that." She chuckled, though was forced to hold onto her hoof to stop a stinging pain. "Ow, ow ow..."

Tin pursed his lips, but nodded in agreement. "Does she get like that often?"

"Nah, only when a member of our family dies." Pepper told, leaning back onto a tree to rest her forehooves. "Three months ago, Hard Nail, our previous navigator, fell offboard when we got rammed by a Sky Whale. Fell into the Sea of Clouds, never to be seen again. Bloody here closed up like that for weeks. Dunno how long she'll grump out this time around, since... Y'know, everythin's gone."

"Ah... I see." The stallion pouted a bit more, his sight going between the twigs that acted as a campfire, and Pepper. "We're not going to last long out here like this. Do you think it'll be a good idea to call for help?"

"An' get found by the pirates that shot us down? Hah! Fuck no." Pepper stated, grunting a little as she shifted her position, sitting a bit more comfortably upon the tree. "We lay low a couple'o days, or however long our supplies last. Then... Ah' dunno, we go to the edge'o this rock and shoot flares out. Or just jump down n'call it a day." She added, with a somber chuckle.

The unicorn gave her a look of concern. "We'll do the holdout and flares, but no jumping off the edge." He stated, at which Pepper rolled her eyes, her dark humor whizzing over Tin's head. "I just... I'm sorry. I should've done my job better."

"Pf. Don't beat yer head over it, Tin. Sure ye fucked up and got us n'this, but in the end, it's Owl's responsability as the cap'n." Pepper assured, in her unique way. "We'll make it out. If not, well. We'll make for a nice story in somepony's book one day. Maybe."

Tin stared at Pepper with a deadpan, before he slumped down on the grass, and gave up for the day. Or night. It was hard to tell with the dense fog above their heads.