//------------------------------// // Rest, Relax, Restock (11) // Story: Embrace the Darkness, Carpe Noctem // by musicman722 //------------------------------// “Alright here's the plan.” We had anchored the ship above the island, I was with the crew on the deck. “Camo, take the pegasi and search the trees for any fruits we can eat. Flamel, take the Dogs and scout the island for any valuable resources such as ores and gems. Take some spears or weapons and keep an eye out for any dangerous creatures. Flamehoof, take the Earth Ponies and gather any foods on the grounds. Storm, I want the Unicorns transporting everything from the ground to the ship and have them run quality control on the goods. I don't want any nasty surprises or useless material on board. Make sure to let Check Mark take inventory of what goes on.” I pointed at Inject who jumped and shrank with nervousness, “Inject, search the island for medicinal plants, I'll assist you later in picking them out.” 'Thank you Swift for the knowledge.' The five of them saluted, Inject still trying to shrink herself down. I searched the crowd and picked out a griffin at random, “You, what's your name?” The male griffin was fairly big and strong-looking. He had an air of intelligence and calm which made me single him out, “Name's Jun.” “Well Jun, I want you to take the griffins and go hunt for meat. You might want to take a couple of the net launchers from the armory and use them to go fishing.” I gestured to everyone, “I'll be going around and checking everyone's progress. Now let's gather as much as we can so we can feast and celebrate our first day of freedom!” We all cheered and the crew practically jumped off the ship to get to work. I turned back to the young ones and grinned, “So who's up for some exploring?” They all raised an arm and I gave a slightly evil chuckle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So why are we doing this?” Astrid huffed angrily. “This is all junk!” She tossed a small piece of metal onto the pile. “Because we are looking for anything useful. 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'.” I said with a smirk. We were exploring the obscure parts of the ship and trying to find anything we could use, kinda like the dumpster diving I had to do for most of my school projects. It was mostly for my interest and the youngsters were kinda entertaining. So far we had found some old armor that Airsoft and Stepper had put on and started to act like knights, wrestling and jousting around. I found the irony of the concept hilarious. Astrid looked confused, “How can this junk be treasure? Treasure is shiny and glitters like gems and gold. This stuff is nasty and grimy, not to mention ugly.” She gestured to the piles around us. Rover was in the corner gnawing on a shaft of wood. Sanctum and Steam Tail were poking around the piles, pulling out random parts and tossing them about. “Simple,” I pick out a bent bar of metal and held it up in front of her, “See this? What comes to mind when you see it?” “A stupid metal bar.” She deadpanned. “Well, I see a club, a sword, a bracelet, a replacement leg, tongs, a poker, a spear, a hook, a monkey wrench, a bolt, and more. You just need a use for it.” My dad used this trick on me when he introduced Legos to me. Astrid now stared at the pipe with confusion and awe, as if expecting the bar to transform but she wasn't seeing it. “C-could it really do that?” “Sure. It can be whatever you want it to be. Here, I'll let you have this one.” I tossed it to her and she caught it and held it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Astrid, still holding the bar dove into the piles with a new vigor. I returned to my pile and kept digging. I found three black cases at the bottom of the pile. They were instrument cases, probably Honey and Crunch's instruments. I opened them to show a single snare drum, a worn acoustic guitar and a small violin. I closed the drum and guitar cases and set them aside. I pulled out the violin and examined it. It looked it hadn't been used in a long while. It was still in good condition, though the strings would need some tuning and the bow cared for as well. I set the violin back in the case and closed it. “Hey guys, I need to do some other stuff. I'll be back. Stay out of trouble. Astrid, you're in charge. Don't make me regret the decision.” Kill them all. Start with the foals. The others won't hear them scream until it's too late. Ah, such wonderful screams of agony. “Yes, sir!” Astrid saluted. She's got the makings of a leader. I picked up the cases and went to my room first to drop them off before heading to the top deck. I went to the rails and looked into the forest. New island may mean new monsters. I pulled out my pistol and checked my HUD. Full clip. I paused and went to my weapons tab to see that my Rifle mode currently had four clips. I un-paused and held up my gun. I put the gun on my back, and turned around to face the other side of the ship. I ran straight for the rail and jumped out as far as I could. I hung in the air like I was in slow motion and looked down, starting my free fall. “Trans Form Harpy” I turned to my harpy form and flew out to the center of the island. I watched the scene below me. The Pegasi and Earth Ponies had amassed a huge pile of food and the Unicorns carefully went through it. The griffins were hanging near the ocean and river, hauling in large amounts of fish. I couldn't spot the Dogs though. “Locus Flamel” A Nav point appeared on my map and in my vision, and I made a beeline for it. I dropped into a clearing where I found Flamel and the other Dogs digging up holes in the ground. “Sup. How’s it going?” Flamel kept digging, “We found a few good ores in the ground and also some gems to eat.” “How do you find the ores and gems?” I asked, a little curious about the Dogs abilities. “Diamond Dogs have an innate sense of smell that helps us distinguish certain rocks from others. It helps us find metals and gems in the mines and some dens use a trail of ore for directions in case a Dog gets lost.” He said this matter-of-factly, still digging in his hole. “The more I learn about dogs the more I want to be one.” I said wistfully, “Anyways I just came to see how you were. I got to find Inject. See ya later.” Flamel gave a grunt in reply as I turned away. “Okay, Locus Inject Vial.” Another Nav point appeared and I took off towards it. I found Inject picking some flowers out of the ground and I was about to say hi when I saw a snake slither down a tree behind her with a hungry look in its eye. ‘Deja vu. Fuck you.’ I turned to my Base form, pulled out my DMR and lined up my reticule with the snake's head. “BYYYEE!” I said in my best Mr. Popo impression. Inject jumped and squealed when she saw me with my weapon pointed in her direction. CRACK I saw the snake's head explode in a shower of red and watched the entire body fall limply from the tree. Achievement Unlocked: BOOM! HEADSHOT!- gained 30 XP “Try to ambush my friends now, bitch!” Inject had dropped unconscious from the gunshot. I picked up her body as gently as I could and glanced at my map to see the inland river not far off. I quickly took her over to the river and removed her bags. Once off, I dropped her into the water. Now I know what my brother felt like when he did this to me on that camping trip. Inject immediately woke up from the liquid shock and began flailing about. “Help! I can't swim! Somepony! Anypony! Help!” she yelled. I pulled her out. She hung from my hand like a wet towel, water dripping from her body. “Therma” The water disappeared and Inject turned into a giant fluff ball. I hugged her, “Warm and fluffy, how all things should dry.” SHE WAS SOOOO SOFT! It was like hugging a warm stuffed animal. I held her out again, her coat now all mussed up, “Feel better?” She looked at me dumbly before anger grew on her face, “What was THAT for! You scare me half to death with that...thing and then you dump me in the river and turn me into a cotton ball!” I said nothing but set her under my arm and grabbed her bags and went back to the snake. I dropped her in front of it, giving her a good view of the carnage, “That's why. I nearly lost a friend because a snake bit him from behind and I almost didn't save him in time. Like hell, if I was going to let it happen again. Next time, bring a buddy with you.” I'm going to have to enforce the Zombie Apocalypse rules from now on if I want to prevent this from happening. Inject looked shaken from it all, but she composed herself as best she could and turned to me with sad, guilty eyes, “Sorry about that.” “S'okay. I just came by to assist you so let's continue getting some plants.” “Oh, right.” She threw the bags back on and we began to compare notes of the Zebra methods I got from Swift and Pony methods as we picked out plants for the next hour or two. I think it's safe to assume we learned a great deal from each other. Turns out she's not shy at all when she gets into her element. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was evening now and everyone had finished their jobs. Inject was in her room trying to turn it into a makeshift medical bay. Flamel was up in the forge organizing his alchemy stuff. The kids were in their room with their pile of treasure they collected. Everyone else was hanging around the ship or doing some small tasks, the cooks were getting food ready for the party. Me, I was sitting on my hammock working on my experiments and fiddling with the pause menu. My inventory showed just my butterfly knife, the spider silk, necklace and my specialized bone bolts. ‘I should probably upgrade this stuff sooner or later. Maybe make another weapon. I wonder if...No. How about...Naaah. Maybe...why did I even think that? Or...That could work. I will have to begin experimenting soon. Muahahahahaha. I'm such a horrible person.’ I checked my Consumption levels to see that I had enough for almost a year now thanks to my endurance building. I skipped Weapons since I saw it earlier and went to the Map. Most of the world was fogged up except for a small streak that led from my current location to the island I started on. I took a glance at Skills to see I needed to work some more on my Strength and Combat. Quests showed the ones I completed and ones I’ve started. I scrolled through this tab for a bit. Apparently the quests are named by what happened during it. There were a couple side quests too like gathering plants and races I did for the extra experience. Those didn’t appear like the normal quests. They were more like random encounters. I went to Achievements next and was a bit surprised. I had about thirty five achievements so far. They were styled like Xbox achievements, like ‘I wanna cast a spell’ showed a Lumberjack Dwarf casting a white ball of energy. I scanned through some of the descriptions and went to the locked ones to see what I needed to do later. The locked Achievements didn’t show any requirements. Hell, I couldn’t even highlight them to see the name. I guess these things are made up on the fly. Last one, Data. This tab was organized into different information categories. Magic listed the words and spells I knew, Hazards showed monsters and enemies like harpies and Dog slavers, and so on and so forth. There wasn’t much here that wasn’t review. ‘Maybe if I get I book, I could download info off of it. I wouldn’t have to carry them around as well.’ I closed out of the menu and went back to my experiments and plans. I had some ideas for my new airship, though I was considering a single light fighter. I need to know more about this world’s tech first, but then again, I have magic at my disposal. ‘Ehh, I’m bored. I wonder if they’re starting to eat yet.’ I grab the drum and guitar case and head up to the top deck. “Locus Honey Almond” I followed the point to the side of the ship where I found Honey lifting the fruits into the hold. “Hey Honey, look what I found.” Honey saw the instruments in my hands and her face turned to joy. “Oh,Celestia! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She cried out as she tackled me with a big hug. She grabbed the case with her magic and opened it to check her guitar for any damages. “No problem. I found it when I was searching the ship. When you’re done, I want you and your brother to play us some songs.” She gave a wide grin, “Sure thing!” She put her guitar away with the drum in the corner and got back to work, moving the cargo even faster. I walked around just seeing what others were doing. Everyone was conversing with one another, different races mixing in some spots. The strum of a guitar and a drum beat got all our heads turned. Honey and Crunch were sitting on some boxes and were tuning their instruments. After a minute or two, they got to playing a song and some of the crew had gathered around. When I finally finished school It was the first thing that I did What every townie foal dreams of, I packed and started west A thousand bits I had saved And my sister's two cassettes: The Dead from Fillmare East And Otis Redding's Greatest Hits Coffee and Cigarettes As simple as it gets Of all the things I think I'll miss, There's staying up with you Coffee and Cigarettes Coffee and Cigarettes Then, I commit with some restraint To a colt I thought might care It didn't work but I found out soon And never dug roots there Been a lot of places since But nothing else compares To easy times and easy eyes To meet you in a stare Coffee and Cigarettes As simple as it gets Of all the things I think I'll miss, Staying up with you Coffee and Cigarettes Coffee and Cigarettes When I finally finished school It was the first thing that I did What every townie foal dreams of, I packed and started west Coffee and Cigarettes As simple as it gets Of all the things I think I'll miss Staying up with you Coffee and Cigarettes Staying up with you Coffee and cigarettes Coffee and Cigarettes Staying up with you Coffee and Cigarettes 'Damn, they were good.' Now everyone was getting into the music. Some danced and others were wall flowers. I rushed back down to get my violin and tune it before coming back up with it. “Okay, my turn.” I began to play one of the greatest classics of all time. That's right, Zelda. I started off slow to get a feel of it and then ran straight into the song. I had practiced this song so many times, that it's muscle memory to me. The notes and keys were ingrained into my ears as I listened for any wrong notes. Achievment Unlocked: Old Habits Die Hard – gained 20 XP I finished and gave a bow. Honey came up to me, “Didn't take you for a violin type, much less one who could play.” she said with an impressed tone. I shrugged, “Some of the best music is played on violins. Guitars are good too but violins can be just as awesome. I actually know some good songs you could play.” “I see. You're going to have to show me some time.” “Of course.” We continued playing songs between the three of us as the crew danced and ate on the sides. The youngsters were having a hell of a time dancing all around the deck. Soon enough, some of the crew began to wind down and start going to their bunks. Some mares were getting the foals to bed though they protested through yawning mouths. Honey and Crunch packed away their instruments and started to go down to put them away. I slowly finished up my song and began to play a more soothing one that would take them to sleep. Eventually all the crew was gone except for Star Streak. Star Streak was wide awake and ready with a piece of paper and a pencil in his mouth. He looked at the night sky for a few seconds before jotting down some markings on his paper. I packed away my violin and went over to him, “Nice night, huh?” Pencil still in mouth, he replied, “Mmh-hmm” he jotted some more dots and drew some lines for the constellations. We sat there in silence. I enjoyed the sight while Star Streak worked. The scratch scratch of pencil on paper and the soft breeze making the only sounds on the ship. “Well, see ya around. Night.” I said, breaking the delicate peace with my voice. I grabbed my case and went down to my room to drop it off. I then walked casually down to the room where the prisoners were kept. I had the Dogs I captured put aboard soon after I released everyone. I didn’t want them to get chewed out by their former captives until I was done with them. The door was in the back and bottom of the ship. It was a big closet but it held all of them easily. I looked up to the beams. I had the dogs tied tightly up so they couldn't escape easily. I floated myself up to the closest one and woke him up with a sharp jab. He gave a muffled yelp and opened his eyes wide at the sight of me. Particularly at the evil grin I had on my face. “You and I are going to have a little chat.”