The westernmost docks on the north side of the lake were used for personal, recreational boats that were mostly owned by families who enjoyed sailing and having a fun time out on the lake. Larkon and his family did not own one such boat but they had a friend who did that allowed Larkon to borrow it. Very eagerly allowed him when they learned that Rainbow Dash had something to do with it. So now Larkon, Shibu, and Rainbow Dash were enjoying a relaxing trip out on the lake.
It was a single mast boat with a large, triangular, sail that looked like it could comfortably hold a small family of mammoths. Larkon was at the helm while Shibu sat in the back gazing out over the calm waters and Rainbow Dash flew around the boat, never being able to sit still in one place for long. It wasn’t just that she was looking the boat over but also checking out everything else that was on the lake. Unlike when she sailed out with Gollak there were a bunch of other boats out on the lake too. Mammoths out partying and relaxing just as they were.
There was also one really big barge going to the south side of the lake. It was totally flat and didn’t have any sails but instead a big paddle at the back that was being turned by a team of mammoths. And the top of the barge was filled with piles and piles of garbage.
“So that’s a garbage barge?” Rainbow Dash asked Larkon as she buzzed up right by him.
“Yes. Thankfully it’s far enough away where the smell isn’t carrying to us,” Larkon said.
“Right… it was you or Gollak that told me about your dump on the other side of the lake,” Rainbow said.
Larkon grinned awkwardly. “Sorry that something so ugly is out here when we’re supposed to be having a fun cruise.”
“Everyone’s got garbage,” Rainbow Dash just shrugged and looked over at the barge again.
Their boat passed by another family’s boat and Rainbow Dash waved at the other mammoths. They looked excited to see her and waved right back. Their boat was a bit bigger but it didn’t have a sail, they had a set of oars on each side of the boat. Must’ve been some mammoths that really liked to exercise. With how naturally strong they were they could probably make that thing go pretty fast.
“Rainbow Dash? Do you want some dried kelp?” Shibu asked from the back of the boat.
“Sure, just a second!” Rainbow yelled and turned to Larkon. “There aren’t going to be any sudden gigantic waves you have to steer the boat over or anything cool like that happening, right? I don’t want to miss it if there is.”
“I can assure you that nothing like that is going to happen out on this lake. Go have your snack with my wife,” Larkon told her.
“Figures,” Rainbow Dash muttered and flew over to Shibu. She had a bag of snacks and a sheet to lay them on that she had brought with her from home.
The sun-dried kelp had an interesting texture to it, completely dry and cracked; it was like eating a flimsy and unsalted potato chip. All there was to it was the natural flavor of the kelp. So it wasn’t exactly her favorite thing to eat but she was always willing to try something new… that wasn’t too weird. Shibu was proud of the kelp and the time it took her to make it perfectly like this too. Although Rainbow Dash didn’t know why it couldn’t have any seasoning on it or anything like that to make it a little tastier. Norma put all kinds of stuff on her bread after all.
She looked out over the side of the boat while she ate and spied a lone mammoth in a canoe paddling out further into the lake. A few days ago she would’ve thought it was weird but not so much anymore.
Mammoth of the Blue was out in the middle of the lake today too, anchored in place as the crew of it probably went diving for more kelp. That huge ship—it deserved that title more than merely being called a boat—dwarfed everything else out on the lake right now. The garbage barge was actually slightly longer but it didn’t have the height and mass.
“Do you like the kelp?” Shibu asked after finishing chewing a big bunch of it herself.
“Yep,” Dash nodded, grabbing another piece and swallowing it. “I never thought I’d like it this much after seeing it on your dining room table that day but, hey, what do you know?”
“Glad to hear it,” Shibu smiled. “I wish Alykon and Samarkon could’ve joined us out here today though.”
Rainbow nodded, only half agreeing with that sentiment. Alykon had been invited to a party with her friends and actually Samarkon could’ve joined them out on the lake but he just refused to. Instead he chose to lock himself up in his room after glaring at Rainbow Dash this morning. He hadn’t said anything lately but Rainbow Dash felt like his mood had been even worse than normal ever since the spring festival and Karkona’s words. Even if his parents forced him to come out here he’d probably just be a grouch and bring everyone else down anyways, so Rainbow Dash didn’t mind his absence.
“Perhaps next time we’ll all have a party!” Larkon shouted back from the wheel. “I can invite some friends over for dinner!”
“That would be delightful!” Shibu said and then looked over at Rainbow Dash. “I’m sure you would enjoy being the guest of honor?”
“Does that equate to “center of attention”? Cause if so, then yeah,” Rainbow grinned at her.
“It will be a lot of fun, lots of mammoths still want to meet you personally,” Shibu said.
“Who can blame them?” Rainbow shrugged. “As long as the food is good and I can tell some awesome stories then it sounds fun to me.”
“You can already do that anywhere!” Larkon yelled again.
“Psh,” Rainbow snorted and flew from the back towards him. “Yeah but it’s still different at a real party that’s celebrating me. Besides, if your average party is like your average wedding here it should be a blast.”
A loud honking horn blew from behind them suddenly and the three on the boat looked back to see a larger boat sailing right past them. The mammoths on it waving their trunks at Rainbow Dash while the helmsman pulled a rope, causing the horn on top of the boat to blow again. The prow of the boat was painted white with blue fish all over it and the end carved like a mammoth’s trunk. A few of the mammoths added trumpeting from their trunks to the loud horn while they said hi to Rainbow Dash, Larkon, and Shibu.
They all waved back, their boat being slightly rocked by the wake from the larger one, and Rainbow Dash flew up a bit and cupped her hooves around her mouth.
“Have fun sailing!” She yelled to them.
The day slowly went on as Larkon sailed her and Shibu all the way around the lake, exploring the coastline and pointing out the mountains that formed their enclosed valley that kept the mammoths secluded from the rest of the world. Thanks to the slow speed of the garbage barge they ended up meeting it right as it docked on the far side of the lake and Rainbow Dash watched as mammoths started removing the piles of trash and take them to the large garbage dump in the mountains. She could just see the edge of it along the foothills. And smell it. It looked like a huge wastedump and landfill where mammoths were pulling wagons full of garbage into it and wagons full of dirt out.
“Lots of compost there,” Larkon said.
“I can tell. Ugh,” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings to try and shoo the smell away while pinching her nose shut.
They started sailing up the east coast of the lake then, Mammoth of the Blue in the center of the lake the entire time. Now Rainbow Dash also had a clear view of some of the farms that lied just outside the city too, they covered so much area and actually got pretty close to the lakefront at places. There were probably more farms and farmers she could visit out there. She knew the mammoths had to grow more stuff than what she saw on her first visit.
A group of canoers was also coming down from the docks to meet them and Rainbow Dash had to give them a wave too. They didn’t wear any sort of flotation devices so they must be adequate swimmers. It made her think of Yona and that one unfortunate time she and Applejack took the students out…
“Have you ever gone canoeing?” She asked Larkon
“I had one when I was a kid but I haven’t done it in years,” he shook his head.
“I’ve actually done it a couple of times. Our canoes are smaller though.”
“What a surprise,” he wryly grinned.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you mammoths are big, giant, lumps of fur. Everything in this city looks like it was made for giants to me.”
“Rainbow Dash!” Shibu called from the back of the boat again. “Do you want some biscuits?”
“Yeah, give me a second!” Rainbow replied again. She looked at Larkon. “Anyways thanks for the day trip. It’s been fun.”
Larkon shrugged. “This is why you’re here.”
“Not quite, but sure.”
By the time they finished their trip around the lake and brought the boat back to the docks it was late in the evening. Larkon tied the boat up and lowered the sail, and he and Shibu walked off while Rainbow Dash flew above them. The buildings around the docks here weren’t just shops or places for sailors to hang out like the other side. There were a lot of houses and even a schoolhouse close by along with a small marketplace. But there were still places like boat repair, construction, and other stuff related to that kind of work.
It was a long walk back to Larkon’s house from here too and it’s not like Rainbow Dash could make it any faster when she had to keep pace with Larkon and Shibu. Mammoths may have been good swimmers but they were slow walkers even with their huge stride. Late evening turned to a quiet night and snowflakes started to fall from the sky.
“How pretty,” Shibu warmly said as she watched the snow begin to fall.
“You just had your spring festival and its snowing like this?” Rainbow said. A snowflake landed on her nose and she licked it off.
“That’s the kind of weather we’re blessed with here,” Larkon said, holding his trunk out to see if he could catch any.
“I knew it snowed every night already but I guess I was expecting it to let up a little more than this...” Rainbow Dash trailed off as they traveled through the falling snow.
When they got back to the street Larkon’s house was on, Rainbow Dash was much colder than she preferred to be and a thin layer of dusty snow covered the road and sidewalks. She had dealt with far worse though so she wasn’t about to start complaining. And the house was right there, along with the warm bed inside it. She didn’t know what she’d be doing tomorrow here in the mammoth city but she could tackle anything after a warm night’s rest.
The thought of that rest was interrupted however by the sound of crying. The three of them heard it right as they reached home.
Who’s that? Rainbow Dash frowned, flying up, that crying voice was definitely familiar…
Larkon and Shibu quickened their pace too, walking up the stoop of the house and seeing the door wide open, Alykon on the floor in the entryway, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Alykon!” Shibu yelled and ran to her daughter, Larkon following and Rainbow Dash swooping in. “What’s wrong?! What happened?”
Rainbow Dash reached her first and held her head, the young mammoth opening her eyes and looking up at the pegasus. Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. “You’re okay...”
“Alykon!” Larkon said, he and Shibu running up to her to see what was going on.
Alykon looked up at her parents and her lip quivered, more fresh tears flowing from her eyes. “Mom, dad, I’m sorry...”
“What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked her.
“I-It’s Samarkon...” Alykon choked out. “He’s gone!”
“Gone?!” Larkon gasped, rearing back in surprise. “What do you mean, gone?”
“He ran away!” Alykon cried. “I… I was coming home from the party… a-and I saw him leaving the house so I asked him where he was going...” She rubbed her face to try and clean up some of the tears. “He pushed me down and said he was going to Karkona! He said he was going to join him at the slums! I tried to stop him but he hit me a-and he said he hated me and then he ran away!”
“Ohhh...” Shibu faltered, she looked almost like she was going to faint but she held on, affectionately hugging Alykon and rubbing her head.
Larkon and Rainbow Dash had different reactions. They shared a grim look with each other.
“Rainbow Dash?” Larkon said.
She nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”
And with a sonic blast into the sky she was off towards the slums.