Chapter 17
-- Fieldtrip --
“Got everything sweetheart?” Trail asked.
“Yep. Got everything, now come on Daddy, we’re gonna be late!” Comet said, excitement spilling from her mouth.
“Alright alright, keep your tail on kiddo.” He said.
Tala and Zala stood in the living room, watching as Comet ran back and forth like a filly who had too much candy at Nightmare Night. Zala chuckled at this, while Tala had an uneasy look on her face. She moved up to Trail and caught his attention.
“You sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Tala asked.
Trail looked at his sister, “Tala, I know you are concerned. But Comet will have me, Starlight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Zecora with her. We will keep a close eye on her and all the students.”
“I know, I know. But if that little punk tries anything…” Tala growled.
It was then Comet appeared in front of her aunt, “Auntie Tala, my friends and I won’t let Tourmaline mess up our field trip. We’ve been looking forward to this all month.”
Tala sighed, “Alright kiddo. I know you can take care of yourself. But at least take this.”
Tala then handed Comet a whistle, it was small and had a rope so she could wrap it around her neck. It was a long cylinder shape, red with marks similar to Tala’s.
“This is a type of whistle that magically emits a sound griffins can hear for miles. If anything happens, blow this and I’ll be there quick as lightning.” Tala said, looking down at her niece with a serious yet concerned look.
“Alright Auntie. I take it. For you.” Comet said, giving her aunt a hug.
Tala hugged her back tightly and moved back. Zala smiled, proud of her sister.
“Be well dear Comet, and enjoy your day.” Zala said.
“Bye Aunties! Now come on Dad, we’re gonna be late!” Comet said, waving back to her aunts and racing out the door.
Trail waved his goodbye as well before dashing off to catch up with his filly.
“It’s about time you got here Comet, what took you so long?” Sandbar said as Comet joined in their circle of friends in the main hall of the school.
“I had to make sure I had everything. And Auntie Tala is still worried about you know who.” Comet said.
“Eh let ‘em try something. We’ll catch him in the act this time.” Smoulder smirked.
“I just hope he doesn’t ruin the field trip. I’m so looking forward to this.” Ocellus said, grinning brightly.
Comet wrapped a hoof around her, “Nothing is gonna keep us from our prize, right Ocellus?”
Ocellus nodded confidently, a look of determination on her face.
“You know, we never shared what topics we picked did we?” Silverstream asked.
All seven friends looked at each other, and all shrugged.
“Well, we still have time before we leave, so let’s share! I’ll go first!” She said, hovering in the air.
She struck a dramatic pose, “I’m going to study the bugs in the swamp. We don’t have many bugs at Mount Eris, so I bet they have lots of cool ones!”
“Yeah, I picked dragonflies for my topic. Always wondered why they call them that. Do they breathe fire?” Smoulder said, pondering that last question.
“Yona picked snakes. Headmare Twilight said it was ok as long as Yona doesn’t get too close.” Yona said.
“Why snakes Yona?” Comet asked.
“Yona not afraid of snakes. Yona hear of big snake in bog called the Bog Boa. Yona want to see it.” Yona replied.
“I picked the Bog Boa too. Headmare Twilight thought it would be safer if two of us were working together.” Sandbar said, a small blush visible, just barely as he scratched the back of his head.
“I picked cragadiles.” Gallus said.
They all looked at him and said in unison, “What!?”
“I thought Headmare Twilight said nothing too dangerous Gallus.” Sandbar said, taken aback.
“She did. The Hydra is too big, but cragadiles aren’t. So as long as I fly high enough they can’t reach me, I’ll be fine. Headmare Twilight wasn’t cool with it at first, but I talked her into it.” Gallus said, puffing his chest out.
“Screw dragonflies then, I wanna join in on that coolness!” Smoulder said.
Gallus and her high fived each other and everyone laughed.
“And what about you and Ocellus, Comet?” Silverstream asked.
“We are on the hunt for one of the rarest creatures in all of Equestria. It is said to live in the bog, but is rarely seen by ponies. The Froggy Bottom Fox.” Comet said.
“A fox? Well it’s not as cool as a cragadile, but if it’s rare I guess it's cool.” Smoulder grinned.
Just as everyone was about to go into another fit of laughter, a bell rang out and they all turned to see Princess Twilight walking up onto her podium in the front.
All the students went silent, turning their attention to their Headmare.
“Thank you students for coming on time. Now I know you all are looking forward to this trip, but I remind you that you are to follow instructions and not wander too far from base. Also, I’d like to take this time to introduce your three chaperones for today.” Twilight said, gesturing to her right, revealing three beings.
“Now you all know Counselor Starlight Glimmer. But allow me to introduce our two guides into the forest and the Froggy Bottom Bog. This is Trail Blazer and Zecora.” Twilight said.
Students all stomped her hooves in applause for the three, more for Starlight than the other two, but that’s to be expected.
After the stomping died down, Twilight spoke again, “Excellent. Now I shall pass the stand onto Trail Blazer.”
Trail swapped places with Twilight and addressed the student body.
“Good morning students. Now before we head out towards the forest, I would like to go over a few rules for today. Firstly, no one is to wander too far away from the main base that Zecora and I have set up in advance.” Trail said.
Groans could be heard from the crowd but no one spoke up against Trail’s rule.
“Second, everyone is to avoid making too much noise. While the spot we have selected is out of the way of most of the dangerous wildlife in the area, enough noise could draw unwanted attention towards our group. Now I want to assure all of you that as long as I and my two fellow chaperones are with you, you will be in no danger. But caution is still advised.” Trail explained.
“Third, we will not tolerate any mischief in the bog. No pranks, tricks, or any sort of ill willed action against your fellow student. This is a dangerous place we are going to and not a place for messing around.” Trail said sternly.
“Any questions?” He asked.
No one said anything, so Trail nodded.
“Right then, I’ll pass this onto Miss Glimmer.” Trail said, earning him a hoof in his side from Starlight.
Starlight sat behind the podium and spoke, “I expect every student to follow those rules. Let me be clear, that if anyone is caught breaking these rules, they will receive a zero on this assignment and be forced to stay at base camp until the trip is over. Am I understood?”
“Yes Counselor Starlight!” Everyone said.
Starlight nodded and just as she got off the podium, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew into the main hall and landed at the front.
“Sorry we’re late everypony, had some last minute things to check for the survival course.” Rainbow said.
“No problem Rainbow. The podium is yours.” Starlight said.
Rainbow nodded and Fluttershy and her both too to the podium.
“Alright kids. We’re about to head to the forest. Remember, Trail Blazer and Zecora are in charge. So you better listen. As for the class itself, I’ll let Fluttershy explain.” Rainbow said, gesturing to Fluttershy.
“Alright students. When we get to base camp, everyone will have two hours to complete their animal nature report. Remember, you only need one page, but it must have a description of the creature, its habitat, behavior, and its diet. If you want to draw a picture instead of a description, that is fine. After two hours, everyone will return to base camp for Rainbow’s survival course.” Fluttershy explained.
“Alright, grab your stuff kids, it’s time to head out!” Rainbow proclaimed as she took to the air.
The students all cheered and raced for the door, Comet and her friends joining in on the excitement.
In the crowd, a unicorn colt could be seen carrying a bag in his magic. No look of excitement on his face, but a smile nonetheless.
The school group arrived at base camp without any problems. The bog was everything Comet had thought it would be. Similar to the Hayseed Swamp she had visited, but different plants and wildlife could be seen even from base camp.
“Alright everyone huddle up!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
Everyone crowded around her as she hovered in the air.
“Time to start the nature report. Now we ask all students to stay in the main swamp area, where the camp is still in plain sight. All of the adults will be walking around, keeping an eye out for trouble and answering any questions you may have. Remember the rules and if you see anything dangerous, find an adult quick as you can. Any questions?”
An earth pony colt raised his hoof, “What about the hydra that lives here? You sure it's not around?”
Trail Blazer spoke up, “The Hydra lives further inside, near the heart of the swamp. We are well out of its territory. No need to worry about that.”
Fluttershy took to the air, “Alright everyone, find your creature and remember to not to scare or hurt any of them. And also remember to have fun.”
With that, the students all scattered across the swamp, going in groups to keep safe. Comet and her group were no exception, everyone moving together towards the bog, setting up their own little base camp near the water.
“So, do we want to stay together, or split up into smaller groups?” Comet asked.
“Well Smoulder and I can go look at the cragadiles on the far side of the swamp.” Gallus said.
“And Yona and I think we saw a bog boa on the east side.” Sandbar said.
“And there are bugs everywhere! I mean look at them all. So many weird kinds of bugs. Nothing like we had underwater!” Silverstream said, taking off before anyone could say anything.
“So I guess that leaves me and Comet to look for our fox?” Ocellus said, smiling to Comet.
“Sounds like a plan. Meet back here in an hour?” Comet asked.
Everyone nodded and took off in different directions, leaving just Comet and Ocellus.
“Ok, any idea where we should start?” Ocellus asked.
“I think we should try the far west side of the swamp. That seems to be the most isolated, and these creatures try their best not to be seen.” Comet said, pointing off to the west.
Ocellus started buzzing in the air, moving along while Comet followed on the ground. They passed by many students looking at all kinds of animals. One unicorn filly a little older than Comet shrieked as a spider crawled on her back. But Fluttershy was quick to help remove the creature carefully and place it away from the students.
As Comet and Ocellus reached the west side of the bog, they started looking for any sign of the fox, tracks mostly. It took awhile but eventually they did find a small tuft of fur, green with a hint of brown and gray.
“Looks like we might be in luck Ocellus. Keep looking for tracks.” Comet said, placing the fur in a plastic tube.
Ocellus landed and looked around for any track, but as she looked up, she noticed somepony sitting under a tree not too far from them.
“Comet, Tourmaline is here.” Ocellus whispered.
Comet looked up and sure enough, there he was. The unicorn colt was actually sipping tea under a tree, not even putting much effort into the assignment from what she could see.
“Just ignore him. Come on, we gotta find this little guy.” Comet said, putting her gaze back to the ground.
And as she did, she heard something in the bushes to her right. Immediately, she and Ocellus stopped in their tracks. Looking over, they soon found what they had been looking for.
A fox, green coat with hints of brown and gray, seeming to blend in with the moss and mud of the area crawled out of the bush slowly. It looked around before spying the two of them. Comet and Ocellus did not dare to move, for fear of scaring the tiny creature away.
As the creature began moving again, it walked away from them slowly, but not too far before it started to dig at the ground. Most likely it was looking for worms or other such underground creatures to feast on.
But as the two began to slowly get out their notepads, a sudden popping sound burst from behind them, causing the fox to jump and scurry away quickly into the bushes once again.
As the creature disappeared, Comet turned to the source of the noise and began to stomp her way towards it. Tourmaline sat under his tree without a care in the world, until he noticed Comet coming towards him and put his tea down.
“You are a real piece of work Tourmaline! What was that about?” Comet asked, clearly agitated.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said nonchalantly.
“Horse apples. We were told not to make any sudden or loud noises. That includes you, jerk face!” Comet yelled out.
“I sneezed and the spark just came out of my horn. Surely even a low born unicorn like you has those types of moments.” Tourmaline smirked at her.
“And I figured a high born spell caster like you would have more control!” Comet spat back.
That comment made him get up and glare at her, both of their horns lighting up in irritation. Ocellus was about to get between them when she heard the flapping of feathered wings.
“Alright break it up. Break it up.” Rainbow Dash said, landing next to them and pushing them away from each other.
Comet backed off after seeing the teacher, but Tourmaline still growled at her, his horn not losing its glow.
“What is going on here?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Ocellus came forward, “Me and Comet were observing a bog fox we found just over there. Then Tourmaline sent out a flare with his magic and scared it away.”
Rainbow looked over to Tourmaline, “Is that true?”
“As I told them Professor Dash, I sneezed and lost my concentration, sending out a flare by accident. It is a very common thing for unicorns.” Tourmaline said.
Rainbow eyed the colt for a moment before sighing, “Alright look. We can’t have any fighting out here. So Tourmaline, if you are done here, head back to camp. If not, find another area to work.”
She then turned to Comet and Ocellus, “You two can stay here and look for your fox again. But I don’t want anymore fighting or arguing, got it?”
Both fillies lowered their heads, “Yes Professor Dash.”
Rainbow nodded and proceeded to lead Tourmaline back to camp. The colt looking back at them over his shoulder and giving them a sinister smirk.
“I really don’t like him.” Ocellus said.
“Neither do I Ocellus. Neither do I.” Comet said.
“Are you serious? He pulled a stunt like that?” Smoulder said, her voice hot with anger.
“Yeah he did. And how convenient he was right where we wanted to go.” Comet said, suspicion in her tone.
“You think he overheard us talking about where we were going?” Sandbar asked.
“More like he eavesdropped on us. Just his style.” Gallus said.
Everyone had reconvened at their meeting spot, sitting in a circle underneath a large tree. Comet was drawing in her sketchbook, while Ocellus was writing down her report.
“I’m just glad we were able to find the fox again. It took a while, but we tracked it down. Was a bit out of the safe zone, but not by a lot.” Comet said focusing on her drawing.
“Just be glad no one caught you. Zecora caught a couple of students heading towards the heart of the swamp, claiming they just wanted to see the Hydra.” Silverstream said.
“They were not smart ponies. Even Yona wouldn’t try that.” Yona said before going back to writing her report.
“Moving onto another topic, how were the cragadiles?” Comet asked.
“Pretty cool. Even from high up you can tell how big they are.” Gallus said.
“Yeah. Gallus actually pointed them out. I thought they were just logs.” Smoulder said.
“That is the point. They wait for prey to step near them before they snap their jaws around them.” Comet said.
“You would know, considering your experience with them at Hayseed Swamp, eh sweetheart?” A stallion’s voice said from right behind Comet.
She eeped and turned to see her father chuckling at her shock.
“Dad! Don’t do that!” Comet yelled at him.
“Sorry kiddo, couldn’t resist. How goes the assignment? You and your friends get what you needed?” Trail asked.
“Sure did. Just need to finish my sketch and we’ll be done.” Comet said, showing off her sketchbook.
Trail looked at it and nodded, “Ah, the Froggy Bottom Fox. Never seen one myself. That’s pretty impressive sweetheart.”
Comet giggled.
“So, you kids run into any problems?” Trail asked.
“If you mean other than Tourmaline being a jerk, not really.” Smoulder said.
Trail frowned, “He pull something?”
“Nothing serious. Just scared off the fox with a flare.” Comet grumbled.
“I did see that. What about the rest of you?” Trail asked.
“Nah. Only Comet and Ocellus. I saw Professor Dash take Tourmaline back to camp.” Gallus said.
“Well at least it wasn’t anything serious. Though I’ll keep a closer eye on him.” Trail said.
“Don’t worry Dad. He won’t get to us. Besides, the survival course is coming up soon. And he’ll have to get past all the adults to try anything then.” Comet said, grinning.
“Good point kiddo.” Trail said.
After another 15 minutes of finishing up their reports, a whistle rang out over the swamp, signaling that the first assignment was over, and it was time to head back to camp.
“Alright kids, time to head back.” Trail said, urging them all to get up and start walking.
Everyone followed Trail back to camp, gathering with the rest of the students in the center of camp. Fluttershy flew up and got everyone’s attention.
“Alright students. I’ll be flying by to collect your reports while Rainbow Dash briefs you on the survival course.” Fluttershy said.
“Thanks Fluttershy, now listen up kids, cause this is where the trip gets serious.” Rainbow said, flying high above the students.
“Learning about animals and stuff is great, but the real part of this trip is to show you how to navigate the swamp if you ever find yourself stuck out here. We are going to show you every danger out here, and everything that can help you.”
Rainbow then smirked, “Stay close and pay attention kids. This is where the real fun starts.”