The sun gleamed on the tiny speck flying across the broad expanse of the floating island. A small wooden cart, designed to be drawn by a pair of pegasi, was instead being pulled through the sky by a single larger creature. A hybrid of avian and equine, with the head and claws of a sea eagle joined to the frame and hindquarters of an Arabian horse, the hippogriff's bright pink crest and tail constrasted with the smooth light grey of his coat. Far below, the dense green canopy passed beneath them, turning from forest to jungle as the party crossed to the far side of the island.
Seated in the cart was a unicorn with a mane of blue and white stripes, her fur tinted in pale teal. Next to her sat an earth pony: a lavender mare, with a blue mane once again wrapped neatly in a bun. Following along behind the cart, the purple-maned blue unicorn named Azure Feather was flapping along with a somewhat self-satisfied expression, her magically-endowed membranous wings scintillating in the sun. Blue Type, the lavender mare, seemed nervous.
Summer Scribe was mentally preparing herself for the Diplomatic task ahead, whatever form it ended up taking. This lent itself well to musing out loud about their unprecedented situation. "So, we have a toll gate, our first sapient contact will likely be its owner... Why do they even have a toll gate up? Do the people here use it often enough to warrant the effort? The island seems pretty abandoned now, but the village was bustling at some point, so it might just be a relic of a bygone era. May or may not get to update beliefs with new information..." She hmmed. "Are we hoping to get passage, or just to talk? True, many of our crew can fly around it, but the rest of us would appreciate having a more direct thoroughfare."
Out in front, his wide wings thrumming as he hauled the extra weight across the sky, the unicorn's words didn't register on Reef Skimmer the hippogriff. He stared down at the increasingly dense jungle, not really seeing it as his mind continued to churn on recent conversations. What was going on with these creatures? First the kirin acted friendly, showed him her secret blueprints, then rebuffed his gift and accused him of tricking and making a fool of her. Was she bipolar?
Then there was newly promoted pony captain, Wet Gale, ignoring his restraint in keeping that hen under control and acting as if walking a little further in search of the chomp beasts was some major insubordination. If she was just a strict disciplinarian, he could respect that, but she didn't even put him on report! Just said she was disappointed and looked like she was going to cry, didn't even cheer up when he volunteered to pull the cart. Not to mention the researcher, she couldn't seem to make up her mind how to treat him either, upset one minute, pleased the next. Was he doing something wrong? It was never this complicated back in the navy.
Azure wasn't thinking much about the toll gate: diplomacy used to be something she wasn't too bad at, but her mind was on other things, mainly the... magical working she'd used for the bramble clearing. What was supposed to be a repeated series of cutting beams to clear a path through the branches, had ended up being, well... just the one, enormous... blast. Yeah, blast. Never mind the whole thing sounding like Celestia had followed behind the EAS Harmony and brought the power of the Sun to obliterate the whole jungle. Not something she was keen to discuss; she remained silent for now, flying steadily and keeping the cart in view.
Hearing Summer's musings, Blue Type glanced at her companion, obviously tense but trying to smile as she said, “It’s quite possible the cottage is abandoned too. It may have been a long time since anypony ever lived here. If there is some... creature living there, I think passage through this gate isn’t as important as finding out the hist- finding out what happened here, and why their people have never attempted to communicate with Equestria.” She shivered, scooting closer to the centre of the gently rolling cart, adding curtly, “I certainly wouldn’t turn down a chance to get across without flying though.” The mare kept her eyes down, not looking at the cart’s driver, or the frighteningly powerful unicorn following close behind.
Summer nod-nodded in consensus with Blue Type's thoughts. "Yeah, I basically agree: this'll be our first in-person talk, so we want to be polite, respectful and learn about each other as equals... Well, hopefully! Being this devoted to a toll booth strikes me as a certain hostility... but! We'll just have to see what we can do." Summer settled down and devoted the rest of the journey to note-taking and planning things out in her notebook, occasionally glancing over at Azure. Come to think of it, a blast as big as the one at the one at the dig site would make short work of pretty much any hostile encounter! She wondered if it was a repeatable performance...
As the party approached the far side of the island, the landmass beyond came into view, mostly shrouded in morning mist. Reef banked right, crossing the edge of the first island some way from the tree bridge, before gliding down in a wide anticlockwise spiral. The tangle of trunks and vines linking the two islands was directly ahead, a waterfall of plant life with the massive hollow trunk at its centre. "There it is, dead ahead." Reef shouted. He aimed for the small clearing near the top of the tangle, between the cottage and the trunk entrance.
Azure was still considering the possible hazards ahead. The idea of a toll booth and possibly hostiles more intelligent than those stupid teeth-filled... things, that was something to be concerned about for sure. The one thing that was worse than a enraged predator was an intelligent enemy. As it stood, her mission wasn't complicated: you have allies, you protect allies, and that's it. If they return unhurt, then you did your job well. Though... her mind drifted to another possibility: the danger of friendly fire, previously remote, now seemed quite real. Hay, it had been a close call yesterday when she was trying to do nothing more than clear some branches, never mind casting in a combat situation.
Her train of thoughts was derailed as Reef Skimmer began his final approach to their destination. The griff backwinged and slowed as they came in for a landing; as they approach the small dwelling came into view, sitting on a knoll above the clearing with a clear view of the toll gate and its approach path. It seemed nice enough, Azure thought, but appearances could be deceiving. Touchdown was a little bumpy, but everything stayed inside the cart and they soon rolled to a stop. "And here we are," the hippogriff said pleasantly, "apologies if I jostled you around back there, it's been an age since I last pulled one of these things you know."
The party found themselves in the unusually open space, bordered by dense forest on three sides and the sheer dropoff at the island's edge. It was a nice, pleasant, sunny morning, even in the dappled shade of the dense foliage. Crossing the clearing was a pebbled path, leading down though the undergrowth to the heavy iron toll gate, where it joined the more substantial thoroughfare leading from the hollowed-out trunk to the ruined village. In the opposite direction it curved up around a prominent trunk to reach a quaint looking cottage. Blue Type wasted no time in exiting the wooden cart, clambering onto the grass before hastily trotting further inward, finding a hollow within a tangle of roots and taking a moment to rest there.
Summer Scribe studied her surroundings: in all her travels through the wilds of Equestria, she'd never seen anything quite like this. The little unicorn squeezed her way around a tangle of thick branches, or are they roots, emerging from the earth only to plunge downward to the second island. Now she had a clear view from the very edge of the island, getting a good look at the giant hollowed out tree forming a bridge down to the mysterious neighbouring landmass. Pointing a hoof at the structure, she said "I gotta say, just from an aesthetic and pragmatic perspective, this is a really cool setup." She sighed and turned away from the stunning panorama, trotting back to the path and staring at the cottage. "But I suppose we should start by knocking and seeing if the lights are on! Everyone who's involved with negotiations, come with me please."
Such a nice place. Had this just been a peaceful retreat, a camping trip, Azure would have been first to relax, at least a little. Under the circumstances though, if anything, she was just getting more tense. This was too quiet. Especially since she knew there were hostiles out there, lurking in the jungle. And as Summer requested every creature involved with negotiations to follow her... the blue unicorn was the first to step up. "In case things go wrong," she stated.
Reef Skimmer parked the cart at the edge of the clearing and unbuckled the yoke harness; he'd had to combine the two pegasi-sized harnesses into one to fit his larger barrel. "I'll just, err, stay in earshot then?" he said uncertainly, before looking away and admitting "I realise we griffs can sometimes be a little, erm, intimidating? To non predators I mean."
Blue Type smiled at that, saying, "You are a true gentlepony, Doctor Skimmer." Her smile tensed as she adds awkwardly, "Err, a true... gentlecreature. Sorry, old habits."
She fell in behind Azure and the three little ponies moved towards the dwelling: Summer Scribe first, trying to act casual, seeing if she can catch a glimpse of the occupants through any of the windows... no, that might be rude, the first thing she'll do is knock and stand back. 'Gotta treat people as your equals!' she thought. Reef followed at a distance, keeping a good dozen griff-lengths back from the ponies, glancing around looking for anything that has changed since his last visit, ready to render assistance if things got ugly.
The cottage was very well kept, built of weathered grey stone with a roof of soft red clay tiles, certainly not wreckage like the abandoned village at the far end of the path. It had a glass paned window in the front, but there are shades drawn across it, and nothing could be seen through them. Next to that is a painted wooden front door, with a pull lever for the doorbell on one side. No sound could be heard from within.
Summer checked to see if there was any kind of garden being grown: indeed there did seem to be some rows of vegetables planted around the back, a strong indication of ongoing habitation! "Certainly LOOKS currently inhabited." she remarked. Azure nodded quietly; she was all set to do her part in these negotiations... and that's to just shut up and listen. She'll be ready if things go wrong, but until then...
Without much else to study beyond that, Summer gave the doorbell lever a tug and listened for a response. Instead, a secret trap door suddenly opens... but not underneath the ponies. It was a tiny little door in the bottom of a hidden compartment high overhead, opening to release a single marble. The glass sphere drops down and strikes a bell with a resounding clang, after which a hidden whirring mechanism returned the marble to its hiding place.
Some way behind, Reef Skimmer's gaze had settled on the vines linking the islands; did they grow down from the upper level then put down roots, or did the tree grow from the lower island then fall, giving them a path to grow up? At that height it was really amazing that the xylem could still pull water up, unless of course... he blinked and pulled his attention back to the ponies. This was history in the making!
From deep inside the old stone cottage came a crashing sound, followed by the thump of a flailing body. A stallion’s voice called out from within, “One minute! Just a second!” There was the sound of thumping feet, followed by the clacking of a lock at the front door. As it swung open, a strange creature was framed by the portal, bipedal and very tall. He didn’t seem to have any fur, just leathery green skin from head to toe. He was wearing a half-buttoned shirt, and a brown jacket with one skinny arm threaded through the arm hole. Hastily adjusted suspenders held up his pants, also brown. Judging by the smooth, dextrous digits on the end of his forelimbs, the lack of a tail, and the triangular floppy ears, he looked like some kind of goblin, albeit a rather large one.
“Oh ho ho,” the creature said, his droopy eyes widening in surprise as he saw the intrepid explorers gathered before his door, “You’re adorable!” His face filled with a pleasant smile, “Hey little guys... who brought you here?” Then his expression grew more serious, as he straightened up and looked over everpony’s head, calling out, “Silas? Barnaby? Is this one of your little jokes again?” He looks down at the three ponies again, scratching his head, saying, "Well they seem friendly. Maybe they’re some kind of new jungle sheep?”
Summer had to push past her initial reflexes at the sight of this strange... bipedal creature! As tall as a minotaur, though much slimmer in build, with a face frankly unlike anything you'd see back in Equestria! She stepped back a bit and looked around, expecting to see more... but if 'Silas' or 'Barnaby' were indeed out there, they weren't visible. But... ponish! It seemed like just as in Equestria, writing systems and accents varied, but all sapients still shared a spoken language (save for the Prench, and respectable Equestrian academics all believed they were deliberately putting it on).
To be sure, adorable wasn't exactly the first impression she was hoping for, nor did she envision starting with comparisons to sheep, but at least it implied an openness to discussion! So she cleared her throat and began: "Greetings, inhabitants of Cloudbreak Islands! We are ponies... and a hippogriff... from Equestria far below, and we've come here on a mission of scientific discovery and exploration! I am Summer Scribe, and these are Blue Type, Azure Feather and Reef Skimmer. To that end, we'd like to extend our friendship to you, and learn what we can from each others' kind!"
Azure Feather had stood her ground as the strange green creature arrived. Adorable? There was a slight tilt of her head at the term, but she otherwise had no reaction. As Summer Scribe began her introduction, though, the blue unicorn kept her silence. As long as things kept going well, she had nothing to do. And so far so good.
Some way down the path, Reef Skimmer was trying to get a good look at the new specimen, without drawing attention to himself. 'Fascinating!' he thought 'Bipedal, obviously... minotaur sized, but plantigrade, unlike a diamond dog or most known bipeds. Some kind of primate maybe... but hairless, and how is his skin green? Chlorophyll perhaps?'
At “Greetings,” the creature jumped back with an “euaah!” Staring down at Summer, who was merrily continuing “inhabitants of the Cloudbreak islands we are,” he murmured, “...talking sheep?” He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to what she’s saying, but when she falls silent he asked, “What the heck is a ponyzanda hippagriff? You don’t look like sheep! Talking sheep from the Underlands? You don’t have a hint of Undead in you though.”
Again he looked over the ponies, staring into the jungle and calling out, “Seriously, is this a joke?” When no answer was forthcoming, he turned back to the ponies, saying, “Look, I don’t know where you came from, but you’re uh... trespassing here on the Blissful Pastures if you don’t pay a toll. Sorry uh, I didn’t think anyone was actually going to come here anymore. I’ll have to dig out the cash register. One sec.”
With that he turned and bipedaled his way back into the house, leaving the door hanging open. Inside, it looked like a relatively bare living room, with some rickety chairs that look poorly hand made, an empty dining table, and a very ratty looking couch.
Summer Scribe's ears were pressed flat against her skull: being talked at rather than with! She was not on the level of a talking sheep! But she couldn't let that sidetrack her now. The unicorn looked around at her allies as the troll moves out of earshot. "Doesn't seem much like diplomatic material, unfortunately... As for the toll, I hope that he takes old coins from the ruins?"
Meanwhile Azure was thinking 'What the heck is a Ponyzanda Hippogryph? This creature thinks ponies are sheep? Ugh.' At the mention of trespassing and a toll, though... Azure seemed to tense up a bit, looking even more uneasy. So much for diplomacy if the creature wouldn't accept their currency, lucky as they were to even have any! She kept all this to herself, staying silent for now.
Summer popped open a saddlebag, and hovered a few small silver discs out: they'd been cleaned and brushed off a bit, but their age was clear. "Hopefully this does the trick." Taking a step forward, she stood on the threshold and peered around the interior of the cottage: it seemed simple and quaint enough, and gives some idea of the level of technology and logistics here... though who was to say this isolated cottage was representative of the other islands?
Reluctant to get close, Reef Skimmer paced awkwardly around through the trees. As the biped seemed to have disappeared for now, he decided to check out the garden at the rear of the cottage, hoping to get an idea of the creature's diet. Given the prominence of the lower canines, it seemed unlikely the species was herbivorous, but exactly how much of their diet consisted of meat remained an open question.
The native returned with his hands wrapped around a rather bulky contraption. It appeared to be some sort of typewriter, but with no place to feed in the paper. There were strange $ symbols engraved in the metal on either side of it. “Okay, it...” he began, dropping the thing heavily onto the table in the room, making the table wobble dangerously on a half broken leg. “It’s thirty gold per... three,” he mumbled distractedly, pressing the keys down with a noticeable clack.
'Thirty gold?' thought Summer, shocked at the price. 'Shoot, I've only got copper and silver here... and wait until he hears how MANY people are here!' She watch nervously, braced for the impeding negotiations breakdown when the creature realised they could pay his toll.
Finally he pulled a large lever on one side, causing a spring to burst out of the top of the machine, knocking aside the upper casing which now dangled askew. Whatever internal process he was attempting ground to a halt: with a final 'sproing' a gear popped out of the hole and just kind of rolled across the floor. “Oh who am I kidding,” he groaned, head sinking in despair. Looking up at the ponies still waiting patiently at the door he said, “Oh you... ponyzandas can come in I suppose. Can’t hurt at this point. Do you like uh... do you like Jungle Apples?”
Summer stared at the broken device for a moment before it dawned on her that they were getting off scott free! What a relief! She discretely tucked the coinage back away and gave a happy nod and smile! "Thank you for inviting us in, sir!" She looks back to her companions as she trotted into the cottage, before giving an enthusiastic nod to her host: "Sure, I'd love some!" How bad could they be, right? Apples were ostensibly edible!
Azure had winced as the strange device... completely fell apart in the creature's hands. The invitation to enter was met with a little scepticism from Azure, but after Summer's cheerful response she moved to follow. No choice now, right? Her wings were tightly folded, and her posture remained tense.
Outside, Reef Skimmer was experimentally poking a... radish? with a talon when he heard the clack-sproing of the broken register. Peering around the corner, he saw the ponies disappear from sight as they trotted into the building. It seemed like things were going well? Thinking he should keep them in sight, and wanting to observe the intriguing biped further, he gave a little flap-jump-glide over to where the ponies had been standing, allowing him to peer in through the door.
“Hold on while I...” He spotted Reef nosing his way in then, tensing at the sight of the much larger creature with a much sharper beak and talons. “Friend of yours?” he asked, not looking away from the pink-ruffed hippogriff. “I suppose you’re not here to pay the toll either,” he grumbled, “You flyers don’t know the meaning of private property. Not that you could tell from looking at this island. I suppose you want a jungle apple, too, Mister Griffon?”
Azure's head gave a sharp tilt at the creature's apparent dislike of flying creatures... but she said nothing of it. She was a flier too, most of the time at least, and darn well knew that trespassing on private property was a mistake... and Griffon? ...hardly... surely the doctor would correct him. The native seemed harmless enough, but she didn't like his tone.
Reef Skimmer blinked: coming from a pony that would be annoying, but he's rather surprised this creature even knows of griffons (to be fair, his hindquarters weren't visible from the native's position). But then... there was that legend, discredited by every serious researcher but stubbornly persistent, that griffons originally came from these islands. The hippogriff raises a claw to his chest and is about to correct the creature, before thinking better of it. "Ah, you've met my, err, people then? Do they come here often?" He cocked his head and stared at the green biped. "I must say your species is new to me, what do you call yourselves? Oh and, erm, an apple, yes don't mind if I do."
"New to you? You've never run into trolls before?" the creature asked, giving Reef an incredulous look. “I don’t see how that’s possible. I know I’m a tall one, but you know, we’re all uh, all over the place. Anyway, I’ll be right back with your apples, hold on.”
Troll? Reef Skimmer racked his memory; weren't those mythical? A creature from nursery rhymes, something that lived under bridges, always grumpy or causing trouble? He'd never heard of a real creature called that... had he?
The green biped returned a few moments later, bearing three pleasantly red fruits. “I’m Abernathy, for what it’s worth,” he said, “Keeping this bridge family owned since, well, forever. I think you said your names already, but I didn’t catch ‘em.” He began handing out the apples.
Summer enthusiastically accepted one in her magic: she bit down on the juicy flesh, discovering it has a tangy, yet spicy taste, not unlike lily or rhododendron. Pleasantly tingly! Seeing that the troll doesn't appear alarmed by Summer's display of telekinesis, Azure took one too, though she doesn't take a bite just yet. He then tossed one to Reef, who caught the fruit in a claw and stares at it, seemingly more interested in its morphology than what it tastes like. Blue Type seemed more reluctant to accept the unfamiliar food, asking, “Ah, I don’t suppose you would have any hay, perhaps?” as she gave the fruit a sideways glance.
“Hay?” the troll replied. “You mean like... sheep?”
"Mmmm! This is delicious! Can you show us where you find these later?" said Summer's, tail swishing briskly as she takes another bite. She smirked over at Blue Type: as bothersome as the connotations were, they were certainly in need of a balanced diet, and hay was an excellent source of fibre. "Yeah, like sheep! But... we're ponies, not sheep. As I said.. I'm Summer Scribe! It's fine if you don't have any, though, this is great!"
Finally taking a bite herself, Azure nodded slowly at the taste of the apple. "Not bad... not bad at all. Thank you." First few words she's said, but at the same time... at least she's speaking now. And with the food, she seems to relax at least a little. "My name is... Azure Feather." Her wings partially unfurled as she looks around, falling silent again.
“I’ve never heard of ponies,” the troll named Abernathy said, sitting down carefully in one of the rickety chairs, “But I haven’t been around a lot. Still if you haven’t heard of trolls, then you’re definitely not from around here.”
He looked up at the shaded window with a sigh, “Regardless, if you came here for the grass, you’re about two generations too late. This island hasn’t been any good for grazing in as long as I can remember. But I guess that’s what I get for being a smarty pants.” Looking away again, he continued, “But enough about my problems. Why are you all here out in the middle of nowhere? I haven’t had any guests, or customers in uh...” He glanced over at the broken cash register machine, “...a while.”
Summer made a mental note of this; it sounded like the island, as expected, used to be a lot more vibrant. Maybe there would be something closer to civilisation on the far side of the bridge? "As I mentioned before, we're here on a mission of scientific discovery and exploration." she said cheerfully.
"These islands are completely surrounded by an enormous storm cell, impenetrable by normal means, so we're making first contact right now!" She nodded for emphasis. "And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. We're as pleased to see someone here as you are us, I imagine!" Anyway, the thrust of the line of conversation... "Do you think you'll be able to let us pass through your toll gate?"
Azure nodded as well, but doesn't break her silence. This wasn't her conversation, Summer Scribe seemed far more suited to play the role of diplomat... so she just kept munching on her apple.
Reef Skimmer had been absent-mindedly dissecting the apple with his talons, but chose this moment to chime in: "...and if you wouldn't mind giving us a few pointers, you know, to where we might find more speci... inhabitants, griffons especially, one would be entirely in your debt." The griff frowned; hopefully that wouldn't be interpreted literally, although if this 'troll' had an actual map, that might be worth trading for. "And oh, erm, Reef Skimmer, at your service." he concluded, ducking his head in a brief bow.
“A storm cell?” Abernathy said to Summer, seemingly in shock. “You mean the... you mean The Storm Wall? The one that goes around the whole islands? There’s nothing on the other side of that! If you... I mean, no offense but, you’d get torn apart if you tried to fly through it with those little wings.” He gestures at the hippogriff’s flanks, “Nothing could get through it, not even a dragon!” He paid no attention to Reef's question, or for that matter Blue Type, who had abandoned the conversation and was snooping around the house, searching for books she could ‘borrow’.
Before Reef could take offence, Summer nodded in confirmation: "The very same! And believe me, it WASN'T easy to get through: we came in on an airship with specialised equipment. We're lucky to be standing before you today! And we have no way back, until we can repair the ship, or rescuers come..." Summer trailed off, realising she may have said too much. Who knew how long it would take to repair the Harmony, or if it was even possible with the spare parts gone? Even if a rescue ship was sent, how would it survive the storm better than they did or find them if it did get through?
In truth the expedition was stranded here for the foreseeable future... 'Better make the most of it, huh?' Summer thought, 'we still have so much to learn about just these first two islands: hopefully they're not a dead end!'
Azure couldn't think of anything to add to that, but she did seem... at least a little concerned as Summer mentioned they're stranded on these islands for... yeah, who knew how long. Her wings drooped rather significantly. Not good.
“Oh, well that’s too bad. Sounds like you got your hands full,” Abernathy said a little irritably, “I’d be more sympathetic, if you hadn’t gotten to the tunnel leading to this island, seen the sign that says to ring the bell, then flown around it instead of paying. I’m already a laughing stock, and who ever heard of troll who couldn’t keep people from crossing his bridge for free? Between that and the chompy problems I’ve been having, I’m afraid there’s not much I can do to help you.”
Reef's ear tufts perked up at this. "Chompies? Are those... creatures? Small green creatures that live in a pit, by any chance?"
Blinking, Abernathy replied, "Well... you could say they live in a pit. It's more like they are a pit. You miss one rooting itself, and don't take care of its pod, and bam you have a chompy pit in the most inconvenient place possible. They've been infesting the island recently and I haven't been able to keep up with getting rid of all the pits. They're a royal pain, I'll tell you that."
Summer leaned over to Azure, and beckoned Reef to listen in. "Huh, sounds like we have a good opportunity to do a good deed, and learn about a foe that's likely common and indigenous to the islands, right?"
"Oh, don't worry. I know how much of a pain in the flank they are." Azure muttered, shaking her head. "We fought the bastards, and they landed me in the injured list. Would rather that not happen again. Blasted things." The little beasts clearly didn't have a place in her heart.
Reef ducks his head down to the ponies. "Indeed, if this... troll... can help us locate them, capture some specimens, his gratitude would be a bonus." he whispered, rather loudly. "Perhaps then he'll tell us where the native griffons can be found."
"They're on the lower island?" the troll interrupted, half standing in alarm, "I thought that place was clean! Where did you run into them? It wasn't by the docks, was it?"
Summer exchanged glances with Azure. Docks? Presumably a feature of the lower island? "No, we encountered them on *this* island, in the forest, in a nasty pit," she corrected, "Though Reef told me they no-showed when he went to check on it."
"Indeed, no sign of the blighters, not even tracks or bodies; we were there twice, dropped a fair-sized rock in the pit even." Reef said. The hippogriff had been staring around at the furniture, the cupboards, searching for a biology textbook, a cookbook (the next best substitute) or even a map. Failing to find anything, his gaze settled on the machine on the table. The top hanging off and gears lying underneath made it clear that it was broken. "Hmm, perhaps we might also assist... with this? Not my area of expertise, you know, machinery and such, but we do have..." He winced, thinking of how the kirin had acted last time he brought her a device. Maybe her assistant, Rocket? "...ponies, on the ship, handy with this kind of thing."
Azure just let the others talk... as she was rather annoyed to find out that the darn 'chompies' were apparently a widespread problem. It seemed her services as a guard would not be required for this encounter, and that was something at least. But if they had to fight the darn things again...
"There are more of you?" Abernathy said, looking Reef's way with some modicum of hope, "I don't care about the cash register, but if you've got more griffons you can probably take down a chompy pit easy. Uh..." he gave an apologetic wince at the ponies, saying, "Unless you just have ponies. Sorry, obviously darling little things like you can't go out fighting chompy pods. But a griffon or two..." He stood up and paced across the room, looking back at the big hippogriff and saying, "I'll even give you the key, so you can get back through the tunnel to your ship without flying. If you can help me take out a chompy pit, I'll consider your toll paid in full!"
Azure looked more than a tad irritated at the implication that ponies can't fight chompies. "Oh, I assure you... we can fight the things," she said in a confident tone, "I've fought them. I've destroyed a few... and I'd be willing to do it again. I can safely say I'd do a lot better, second time around." Of course, while she was getting herself either frustrated or excited, a glowing charge of magic was building around her unicorn horn... one she dismissed as she reminded herself of what she almost did earlier, and what she was thinking about on the way over. "So! I don't know about you creatures, but if we need to blast that pit to shreds to get through... I've been looking to take down the creatures that put me on the injured list."
Reef tried to offer support, taking a step forward and starting to spread his wings before he realised the room was too small. "We do indeed have more griffons, but I must say, that cute little pony there can... neutralise more foes in a second than a pack of griffons could in a minute! More than meets the eye, these pony-folk, I can assure you. So... if you could just clarify this 'pod' business..."
Abernathy waved the hippogriff away, trying not to laugh as he said endearingly to Azure, "What'd you do, stomp on it with your adorable little hooves? You don't have to pretend you can fight chompies. Not everything has to be all that strong. You just keep using your big, strong magic to pick yourself some tasty fruits. Your friend here will keep any of those nasty bad chompies from getting you." He gave a knowing look to an increasingly nervous Reef Skimmer, his voice full of amusement as he continued "If you can't do more damage to a chompy pod with one claw tied behind your back than these silly little critters can do all day, then I'm a monkey's uncle."
Azure just stared at Abernathy for a moment. "...Well. I see words mean nothing." Her tone was dangerously serene, but the spark of magic was quickly returning to her spiralled horn as she looked to the roof. "I apologise in advance." is all she said, before she fired what was intended to be a tight beam of magic, sized to pierce a neat hole through the roof. As with her last attempt at a beam strike, magic took one look at her intentions and decided to do its own thing instead.
The room was replaced by an intense bubble of light and sound as the entire roof of the building exploded upwards, tiles shattering and timber disintegrating as they're carried away, the fragments swirling around the expanding tornado of destruction. The roaring wind and spiralling debris rushed upward, soon replaced by a steady torrent of crashing and splintering as bits of house and jungle rain back to earth. Slowly everything settles back to silence, the cottage now four stone walls completely open to the sky, the attic floor and roof seemingly vanished from existence. Sunlight beamed down on the group through a neat circular hole in the canopy far above, vegetation obliterated by the same massive beam.
"Well," Abernathy said faintly, covered in the dusty remains of his own roof, "I suppose my third nephew was always the rambunctious type." Her consciousness fading away, Azure Feather collapsed quietly to the ground.