-INSTALLATION: THE ISLAND-
A light rainshower glistens the trees and disturbs the serenity of the installation’s various lakes and the ocean. The rays of the early morning sun are somewhat blocked out, although some of its warmth manages to breach and kiss the land. All while streams of lights - white, green, blue, purple, yellow, and red, send down rotating objects of varying value. Or, as the Tribe of Harmony has come to properly call them: Supply Crates.
Within the three-story home of Sanctuary, both Rarity and Pinkie Pie feasted on bowls of berries at the lowest level of the structure, seated at the tables closest to the home’s exit.
“What do you plan to do today, darling?” The white unicorn inquires as she gracefully plucks greenery from the top portions of a Mejoberry and swallows it whole.
Pinkie Pie swallows a mouthful of her own. “Well, while everypony else is doing their own thing, I thought: why not?”
“Wait a second, does it have anything to do with you collecting a whole bunch of wood yesterday?”
“Righty ho!” The pink mare emphasizes with a raised forelimb before jumping out of her seat, her hooves clopping on the wooden floor. “Okay, I’m ready!”
“I’m glad to see the enthusiasm, dearie. But I’m still confused about what you have planned.”
Pinkie Pie rears back and onto her hind legs, her forelimbs resting on her sides as she poses in determination. “I’m going to conquer the seas!”
In the pink mare’s mind, a giant wave crashes behind her as she sails the seas on a Wooden Raft - wearing her Hide Armor.
A momentary silence ensues.
“Are you absolutely mad?!” Rarity exclaims, appalling. “Darling, do you even have the slightest clue as to how dangerous the ocean here is?”
“Well, duh, silly! That’s where the ‘conquer’ part comes in.”
Rarity facehooves. “Pinkie Pie…” She lowers her limb. “There are creatures down there that none of us could even begin to imagine. You saw the listings HLN-A showed us, so why in the entire Ark would you even try such a thing? And that’s not even mentioning the… others.”
Pinkie Pie lowers herself to all fours. She stares at Rarity for a moment before sighing.
“Because we have to, Rarity.”
The unicorn, in turn, seems to catch onto the earth pony’s true meaning. And as if their minds were in sync, the duo could only see the terrifying eyes of the Demon King.
-I am always watching… survivors.-
“He’s always watching us…” Rarity comments with a downward gaze.
Pinkie nods. “We have to show some progress, or else he’ll come after us again. And that’s why I’m going to focus on the ocean. Besides, we know there are artifacts in there, so it makes sense for at least one of us to get started.”
Rarity thinks upon it for a moment and sighs in defeat. “You make a good point, darling. J-just… just please be careful out there,” The unicorn looks skyward, “There might be others seeking the same thing, and don’t forget,” She meets Pinkie Pie’s gaze with a narrowed expression, “We’re not the only Survivors on this island.”
……….
The wooden door of the Tribe’s home is pushed open by a white forelimb, followed by the forms of Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The sounds of distant creatures grace their ears, but there is a noticeable absence of most of their fellow tribe mates and tames.
The duo turned to the left, and where once a behemoth-sized stone wall was present, a smaller but effective wooden wall with a closed Dinosaur Gateway replaced the former barricade.
The very same section where the Demon King had once broken in.
The two mares shake the chills going down their spines, turning to the right and towards the heart of Sanctuary.
“I think Spike should be down by the waterhole,” Rarity starts, trotting towards the nearby railing.
Sure enough, Spike could be seen at the water’s edge staring at the ancient fish species, Coelacanth, that swam in the water’s depths. In addition, the two large Carbonemys that had always inhabited the large pond are still present, floating together at the water’s surface. A mated pair, as HLN-A called them.
The tribe had considered taming these large turtles but decided against it as they added a more natural feel to their home. And as Spike momentarily observes the large turtles, the gracious voice of Rarity calls out:
“Good morning, Spikey Wikey~!”
Spike turns to the unicorn, waving a claw. “Morning, girls!” However, Pinkie Pie hurriedly shouts, “MorningSpikesorrybutgottagobye!” As her fun-loving form stampedes towards the eastern exit of Sanctuary - giving access to the same dirt trail Rainbow Dash had taken before, granting access to the beach.
Spike chuckles. “I guess she’s really excited to get that Wooden Raft forged and ready to go.”
Rarity’s form skips happily down the small hill beside the home and cliff face, humming a small tune along the way as she approaches the dragon.
“So, have you tried eating some fish, Spike?”
“Oh, well… I, uh-”
“Spike,” Rarity emphasizes with a stern expression. “We’ve been through this. And let me remind you that this was your idea.”
Spike nods and lowers his head, causing rarity’s features to soften. “Oh, Spike. Please understand that we-”
“It’s ok, Rarity,” Spike gently interjects, and as he meets Rarity’s gaze, the unicorn lets out a small gasp at the absolute determination plastered on his features. “I was actually about to hop in!” He finishes with a smile.
Rarity’s mouth drops in response. In truth, she thought that she’d have to convince him even further, even after Twilight herself had lectured the drake upon discovering him hiding his hunger from all of them. But her thoughts are interrupted as Spike plunges into the water with flickers of liquid thrown into the air.
As Spike swam with the use of his arms, legs, and even his wings, the draconian looked around and spotted a gathering of Coelacanth. Every one of them varied in size, but Spike is a manly drake. And he thought to himself:
-Go big, or go home.-
He narrows his eyes, fixated on the largest member of these fish. One that grew to such an incredible girth that it could even dwarf the ponies if one were to stand it upward on land.
The drake closes the distance and prepares to grab onto the fish, but the fish itself dodges his efforts and sways downward before swimming away. This earns a growl from Spike, and as he swims at full speed in pursuit, the words of the Demon King play through his mind:
-You cannot live among them. You are a predator living amongst prey. A Direwolf in Ovis clothing.- Chuckling echoes within Spike’s mind. -But you will prove me right one day. One day… you will devour them all and pick your teeth with their charred bones, dragon.-
Spike’s eyes dilate, and he roars underwater with his right claw extended, closing in on the large fish once again. But rather than simply grabbing onto the coel, Spike dug his claws into the side of the fish as its blood created a small fog of red in the water.
Spike grits his teeth, and in an incredible display of strength, he drags the fish toward the surface. The dragon’s head breaches and he takes in a greedy breath of air while his legs and wings keep him afloat - the coel struggling in his grasp and causing splashes in the process.
“Spikey!” Rarity calls out from the shore in celebration. “You caught one!”
-I’ll prove you wrong, jerk!- Spike screams internally. -I’ll show you!-
He navigates himself and his struggling prey in the direction of Rarity, his wings flapping up and down underwater like a rudder.
-You don’t know anything about me! I’ll show you! I’ll prove it!-
Spike finally reaches the shoreline with Rarity sitting on her flank and clapping her forehooves. And as the dragon finally manages to walk out of the water with the Coelacanth in tow, he turns towards the direction of the Demon King’s mountain.
The dragon raises the still struggling large fish above his head with a grunt and roars out:
“You see this, huh?! Are you watching me, you big jerk?!” Spike turns and drops the fish onto a nearby table, one that he had placed himself, before turning back to the mountain.
“You see this fish?! I’m gonna eat it, and I’ll prove you wrong!”
Rarity’s applauding had stopped, and absolute horror replaces her once celebratory expression. She looks toward the Demon King’s mountain, back to Spike, and repeats this a few more times before running alongside the draconian.
“Uh, p-please forgive him, Mr. Demon king, sir!” She exclaims with a near-crazed expression. “H-he d-didn’t mean it, ehehe.”
“Oh, I meant it!”
“You are not helping, Spikey Wikey!”
Spike simply stares at the mountain in defiance without a word. Then, he growls towards it and states:
“I’ll never eat Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, or any sentient creature on this Ark! And If I have to eat meat, I’ll at least choose something that isn’t like that!”
Rarity’s expression loosens upon comprehending the dragon’s words, and Spike clasps his claws into a ‘closed fist.’
“But even then, I’ll respect this fish by eating every last bit of it, and I won’t let it go to waste!” His clenched claw tightens. “I’m not a demon like you, and I’ll never let you get the satisfaction of watching me do that to any of the ones I love!”
The dragon turns to the table and starts to harvest the fish. In truth, he had no idea what he was doing, but his claws went to work regardless of whether or not he’d do a fine job. The drake removed the fish’s scales and began to carve off rectangular chunks of the deceased sea life form.
A light-blue glow escapes from his implant positioned on his left forearm and below his wrist despite it being concealed behind his Hide Glove. And while most of the fish meat he had gathered began to disappear within light-blue auras of light, one piece remained, which Spike took into his right claw.
He takes a breath and sighs. But a thought comes to him as he turns to Rarity, who watches with expectance.
“Hey, Rarity?”
“Yes, Spike?”
“Could you, um… look away?”
The unicorn tilts her head in momentary curiosity, and a smirk forms on her muzzle.
“Oh? Now, where oh where did that bravado go, Spike?”
“I’m not gonna back out or anything,” Spike responds in assurance, waving his arms. “It’s just; I don’t want you to see me, well - you know.”
Rarity stares at the dragon with a neutral expression. She sighs after a few moments and approaches the table. What remained of the fish is still there, practically stripped to the bone with only its guts, head, and untouched tail. But Rarity cared not for it as she stood before Spike and said:
“I want you to eat it in front of me.”
“W-what?” He responds in slight shock. “You mean, you don’t… mind?”
“Not one bit, dearie,” She answers unhesitant. “And that’s exactly why I want you to see me - to know that none of us would see you differently even if you ate it in front of us. I mean, we don’t say anything when Vanellope does it, so why should you be any different?”
Spike stares for a moment, and a smile forms on the edges of his mouth. “Thank you, Rarity.”
“It’s no problem,” She responds and pats his head with a forelimb. “We love you very much, Spikey Wikey. And a little meat consumption isn’t going to change that. After all, you’re only eating the meat to spite that big brute, right? And to protect us?”
“Of course!” Spike booms without hesitation. “I hate meat, but for you guys, I’ll at least eat fish when we can’t find other means for me to eat.”
Rarity nods. “Then that settles it. Now,” She claps her forehooves, “Bon appétit.”
Spike looks at the meat within his right claw, “Alright then.” He sends forth a small series of green flames and proceeds to cook the meat. “But I at least can choose not to eat it raw.”
“Indeed, darling.”
The duo allows the cooking process to complete, and after Spike blows away the flames and pokes the meat with a claw, he inspects it.
“Ok. It looks like we’re good to go,” He breaks the meat in half to be doubly sure. “Yup, there’s no rawness.”
“Indeed not,” Rarity agreed. "But I suspect you're stalling."
"Hehe. S-sorry," He responds sheepishly.
The duo remains silent as Spike brings one half of the cooked fish meat towards his slowly gapping maw. And so, he bit into it with tightly closed eyes.
……….
Located just outside Sanctuary, Pinkie Pie stands at the water’s edge of the ocean. The wind flutters her mane, and the earth pony breaths in deeply while several flying pelican-like entities flew over the vast sea. Some among them even landed on the water’s surface and paddled along with their webbed feet.
“Ooh! Pelagornises! Maybe I can use them later.”
However, when Pinkie Pie’s gaze shifts to the island that rests just adjacent to her position, her entire body vibrates.
“Scary! I’m not going anywhere near that place. But that’s a future problem - boat time!”
She hops sideways, and a light-blue glow escapes from her cutie mark-shaped implant. A wooden raft manifests itself out of thin air and falls onto the water’s surface, but if one were observant enough, a series of transparent lines made of particles had appeared before the raft’s construction. One of those ‘Ark miracles,’ Pinkie figured.
“Weeeee!” The pink mare exclaims as she hops merrily onto the floatation. “Okie dokie. Sails, check! Wind, check! Food and water - oops, not checked!”
Pinkie Pie dismounts the vessel and runs towards the treeline, stripping down bushels of berries and sending the items away to her inventory. But during all of this, the party mare had failed to notice one thing: she was being watched. And a patch of gray fur disappears into the dense foliage.