//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five 
// Story: Traitors, Adventures, and Pirates 
// by Poppy green 
//------------------------------//

The sun rose over the still smoldering hull of the Crystal Palace. The fire had been put out sometime during the night. Giving the crew their first look at the damage. From the beach Poppy could see that much of the fire had been kept forward of the center beam of the ship. 

That morning Commander Contrail had reported to the captain with a message from Commander North on the state of the damage and now Poppy found herself in the Captains tent listening to the report herself. One of the ships stewards had poured both of some tea before giving them privacy. From the report it sounded that the Commander had done well keeping the fire contained and that by pulling some of the crew back to the ship the damage could be fixed withing the next day or so.  

“So, Mrs. Poppy as the civilian lead on this expedition I felt it prudent to keep you informed on the event that transpired last night. The captain said as he put down the hoof written report. 

“Thank you captain I appreciate that.”  

“So from the report it sounds that North believes that much of the damage should be easily fixed by I am concerned about the damage to the ship's weapons deck. The fire destroyed a great deal of the ship's munition stores as well as 4 of the ships' 20-pound guns. Now I know we were supposed to head out to the hot springs today but much of the crew is needed back on the ship to help deal with repairs. So unfortunately, I will have to postpone the expedition due to the fire I am afraid I don’t have enough crew to man an expedition that would require us to be so far from camp. With that said I think it will be okay to let you explore in the vicinity of the camp so long as you carry a weapon with you and don’t stray off the beach.”  

Poppy did not like the idea of having to carry a weapon she had only handled a one once before during a basic naval trading that she had been required to go through before going on any expeditions.  

“Captain, I don’t have much experience with firearms but if you saying I have to then I will.”  

He nodded at her. Using his magic, to levitate a key from around his neck floating it towards a locked cabinet on the far side of the tent. Poppy watched as the key slipped into the lock and turned. The cabinet door opened revealing g small arsenal of mostly Smith and Wesson rifles. The cabinet had two small drawers just under where the rifles hung. The drawer on the right opened and the captain proceeded to levitate out a Colt revolver. Poppy recognized the revolver as the standard issue one for naval officers in the Crystal Navy. From her basic training she had learned that the navy used these revolvers due to the use of magic that helped keep them from rusting due to salt water exposure. The revolver was followed by its holster with a big CN emblazoned on its side. The holster too was standard issue for the navy with the big CN standing for Crystal Navy and the holster being designed to go around a pony's neck and barrel with a strap across the chest. 

Once the revolver was levitated close enough the captain reached out and grabbed it. Poppy watched as he checked that it was loaded before holding it out to her. 

Reaching out Poppy grabbed it. The captain helped her with his magic to help fasten it across her barrel. The gun held snug against her as she tightened the straps. Once the gun was secure Poppy retook her seat. 

“Now we have that settled I have some good news. I plan on leading the expedition to the hot springs tomorrow bearing in mind that the ships repairs go as planned.”  
Poppy was happy to hear that they would finally be getting off the beach.  

“Did Commander Contrail finish the ariel map of the island?” Poppy asked. 

The captain nodded before lighting up his horn once more and levitating a rolled up parchment from a wooden steamer truck. With the parchment unrolled Poppy looked it over with the captain. She was surprised at the detail of the hoof drawn map. The map listed serval small streams with one cutting through the beach about a twenty minute trot down the beach.  

“May I take the map with me today captain. It would be a great help to me?” The captain nodded before rolling up the map and giving it to Poppy. Taking the map Poppy tucked it into her saddle bag. 
The rest of their breakfast went by in relative silence before Poppy excused herself and left the tent. 

Stepping out of the tent Poppy began trotting up the beach towards the location of the stream that the commander had spotted. Poppy kept close to the vegetation line as she trotted along. The going was hard as her hooves sunk into the loosely packed sand and the heat of the sun made her hot. At several places Poppy stopped spotting a plant that she wanted to take samples of or to get a closer look at.  

The map turned out to be accurate as Poppy found the stream exactly where the map had shown. The stream its self was around three yards across and only a few inches deep. Testing the water with her hoof she found it to be freezing cold. The walk had warmed her up so with the water in front of her Poppy decided to take a sip directly from the stream. To prevent the risk of getting ill Poppy decided to use a special plant mixture she had created. The mixture was made from basil and bay leaves that were ground up into a paste. Dipping her muzzle into the cold stream Poppy took several gulps of the cold water. The water tasted pure and fresh and helped her cool down. Once she had finished drinking Poppy opened the container of paste and dabbed her hoof in it. Spreading some of the paste on her hoof. She brought her hoof up to her mouth. Licking the paste off her off she winced at the strong taste. While she knew the paste was not a perfect preventive measure for preventing illness, she figured it would help. 

Around noon the captain arrived with a small basket of food and tea. The two ponies sat together. The captain gave an update on the progress of the repairs and that he figured that everything was on schedule to still go on the expedition the next day. Poppy was glad that things were expected to get back on track so she could get to the hot springs and start her studies of the fauna in the jungle. When the two finished their lunch, the captain returned to camp.  

With her belly full Poppy spent some time lying near the stream. The day had been perfect. Now as the sun was beginning to lower a slight breeze started to blow in from the ocean. Poppy took out the map again. The map showed the stream that she was lying along led near the hot springs. Using her pencil, she sketched out a potential path through the jungle to the hot springs. Once she had finished with the map, she rerolled up the map stowing away in her saddle bag. Next, she took out her journal and pencil. Using the sand to hold down the page in the wind Poppy took the pencil in her mouth. While most earth ponies struggled with fine details in their art having to hold there writing utensils in their mouths but, Poppy had been doing it for years now and had developed her skills well enough that even a unicorn would struggle to accomplish 
The sun had nearly completely set by the time she began her trot back to camp. This time the walk was decidedly less pleasant with the sun setting the air was beginning to get cold. As Poppy stepped back into camp, she found that most of the crew had come back from repairing the Crystal Palace. Looking around for Commander Contrail she found the red and green pegasus just on the edge of the camp with several other members of her flying team. The group was in a shallow trench that they were working on deepening with shovels. Poppy set down her saddle bags with her sleeping bag before sauntering over to where the trench was being dug.  

“Good evening, Commander.” Poppy greeted. 

The commander looked up at her.  

Poppy felt a little warm as the pegasus wiped her brow with a feathery wing. The gesture let Poppy see her well defined muscles. 

The commander seemed to notice as Poppy's cheeks turned crimson in the final moments of sun light. The commander used the opportunity to leap out of the trench and shaking her tail in front of Poppy as she began to walk back to camp. 

“I am fine this evening, but you look a little hot under your fur.” She said with a cheek smile spread across her face.  

Poppy followed the other mare back towards the center of camp where the two had set out their sleeping bags. Poppy made sure to walk just slightly behind the commander so she could keep the commander's flank in view. She knew the commander had been teasing her, but that flank was just hard to ignore. 

The two mares settled back around the fire. They talked about what Poppy had seen and she showed the commander some of the samples of fauna that she had gathered. After a time, Poppy felt the commander's wings wrap around her. The two mares eventually fell asleep in each other's warmth.