//------------------------------// // Part 10: Decisions // Story: Adventures in the TARDIS // by Scroll //------------------------------// Perhaps I should have expected an earth pony stallion named Leg It to be able to race so far ahead of the rest of us that we'd lose sight of him. Even after the heavy lifters in our party dumped most of our gear just so they can run faster, no pony can keep up with Leg It. While perhaps I should have expected that, I must admit that I had no way to predict that Leg It would also find us after proceeding so far ahead that we lost sight of each other. But, when he did return, he tells us that he may have found shelter that can offer us protection from whatever large carnivorous creature we have discovered. He tells us to follow him. Since none of us take that much time to more fully evaluate our situation, we just proceed to do so. Leg It leads us under the trunk of a very tall tree. The roots of this tree is so thick, they would have qualified as most average tree trunks back in Equestria in terms of length and thickness. There is a gnarled look to them that thrusts the rest of the tree up off the ground. Either that, or some creature dug out a hole beneath this tree at some time. In any case, it is large enough to fit the whole party within, but we do have to duck and squeeze ourselves past some narrow openings along the way in. Once inside, my hide crawls upon sight of how many large insects are down here as well. It may offer us protection from the large predator for the moment, but I really think I can't sleep down here personally. We take quite a few minutes to catch our breaths with the curious exception of Doctor Smith. He alone looks like he did not break a sweat which is quite surprising since he doesn't look like the kind of stallion who can keep up with a professional sports pony. He seems more like a nerdy professor so his stamina in this situation feels really unexpected. In hindsight, however, I start to more fully realize how nothing about this stallion is what he seems. He's been constantly surprising me left and right. And then he does it to me again right now. “You all stay here and catch your breaths,” Doctor Smith says as he starts to venture towards the exit. “I'll find our stragglers and lead them to our position as safely as I can muster right now.” “Wait a minute! What stragglers?!” Leg It exclaims in startled surprise. “You mean we're not all here?” Doctor Venture wonders as she scans those who are here and appears to do a head count. “Straight Arrow, Terminus, and Trump Card are missing,” I inform this group with more confidence than the majority of us are expecting. “I know because I saw them wheel about and deliberately try to stall the creature from chasing the rest of us.” My declaration stuns the majority of the group who suddenly stare at me with unblinking eyes. “The good news is it seems they succeeded,” I go on to announce. “The bad news is . . .” I trail off because I lost strength telling them the bad news. “The bad news is they are not here,” Doctor Smith finishes for me. “Which is precisely what I'm going to change if I can.” “Then I'm going with you,” Tanon announces as he floats up and loads a bolt in his crossbow. “Me too!” Leg It quickly volunteers. “It's my fault that we got in this mess in the first place. If I hadn't-” “You're right. It is your fault!” Tanon agrees with harsh accusation. “And that is exactly why you are not going. I'm not giving you another chance to screw up again as severely as you have before. Right now we can't afford more set backs like that again.” Leg It frowns as his ears fall flat. He visibly winces at Tanon's harsh accusation, but he goes on to argue, “And that is why I need to fix this! I can't-” “Are you aware that those three are probably dead because of you?!” Tanon growls harshly. “Do you hear me? DEAD!” Tanon shouts which causes the whole party to flinch. “All three of those stallions are way past the prime of their lives, and they had to face that gigantic creature with just the three of them. Only if we're lucky will we find any shred of their corpses to bury, and I refuse to escalate the danger any further by allowing incompetent green legs to tag along. Stay here where it's safe. You've done enough damage.” Every word Tanon threw at Leg It is like a punch to the face. By the end he looks truly devastated. Likely because of Leg It's reaction, Doctor Smith takes a step towards the other stallion and says, “Right now there is something useful you can do for us here.” Leg It looks up at Doctor Smith with a desperate look of hope. “Stay here so you can look after the others here,” Doctor Smith proposes as he nods to indicate every other pony here. “We're not helpless Senior,” announces one of our heavy laborers. This brown coated stallion sports very bushy mustache but no other facial hair at all. He takes a step forward to announce his presence as the one who just spoke and looks at the rest of us meaningfully. “We're all used to heavy lifting and labor. Pretty much all of us could deck and take out any average pony.” He scans among us then nods to indicate Doctor Cabbelleron's henchpony Rouge who is the largest of those three. “Except maybe you, Senior,” this worker stallion amends. “You probably could out deck all of us.” Rouge looks surprised by that announcement. He then takes a closer look at the rest of us gathered here. What he sees eventually causes him to close his eyes, nod his head, and wear a faint proud smile in agreement. “All that said,” the worker stallion goes on to say as he scans among all of us again, “none of us could have done a thing against that creature. That remains true. This shelter,” he gestures above, “is the only thing protecting us right now.” He then nods towards Tanon and Doctor Smith. “And you amigos still can't do anything to that creature, so why go?” “There is something I can do to that creature,” Tanon argues then shakes his head. “But it wasn't an option for me before. At the time, my job was to secure the safety of the group here. Now that that is done, I can more easily concentrate my efforts on the next task.” I swallow a lump in my throat before clearing my throat then going on to announce while desperately trying to squash the panic I feel welling within, “Allow me to come too. I want to help.” “But you're not even an adventurer,” Doctor Venture argues with a look on her face and expression in her voice which both points to genuine concern. “Yeah, but she is a pegasus,” Doctor Smith announces. “And the only one in this party we have. That just might give us some vital options against this creature we might not otherwise have access to. In this case, I say the risk is worth it as long as she is willing.” He nods to me proudly as he goes on to say, “And I admire your bravery, Miss.” “We don't need her,” Tanon argues but with a considerably softer expression than the one he gave to Leg It. It's more like he's stating a fact rather than trying to deliberately hurt the feelings of yet another pony. “I have a way to deal with that creature and it would be easier if we limit those who are involved.” “But you have to admit, an aerial scout might come in handy,” Doctor Smith counter argues to Tanon. “She could also lure the creature away from us, or those stallions, using a method none of the rest of us have access to. I say having access to those options is too good to refuse right now.” I am surprised to see a look of pained reluctance from Tanon. It is only then that it occurs to me that he might have a personal objection to me coming. I am the granddaughter of one of his best friends after all. “I . . . I can do this!” I cry out insistently after I recover from a slight stutter. “I want to do this. Let me help you. If you find any of those stallions alive, you might need my help to carry them back anyway. I understand the need to keep the party smaller for the sake of tactical mobility and stealth, but we'll have to consider what happens next after we find them.” I point to Doctor Smith as I say, “Having a pony with medical expertise makes sense. After all, we might not find any of them in tip-top shape.” I then point to Tanon, of whom I am still talking to for the sake of convincing him. “You also makes sense because you're our most senior explorer and claim to have a method of dealing with this creature. As for me, I should go because I have the ability to fly. We should also bring-” I go on as I look at Doctor Cabbelleron, but I cut myself off when I see that stallion sit down, lift both of his forehooves, and shake his head no. “No. I absolutely refuse to go,” Doctor Cabbelleron insists. I can't believe what I am hearing! Doctor Cabbelleron is among the most experienced adventurers in this party and one who made some of the most important discoveries among us. As a result, it didn't even occur to me that he'd refuse until I witnessed it right before me. “I will, however, stay here and watch after those who remain,” Doctor Cabbelleron amends as he closes his eyes and gestures to himself with a graceful flourish. “We'll need somepony here who can take charge and keep those remaining here from panicking. That shall be my role.” Hearing that calms me down a little. It's hard to deny a surprised and numb sense of disappointment that Doctor Cabbelleron refuses to accompony me after it took so much courage for me to volunteer, but he also does have a good point. If we're going to split up, having a pony here with a cool head on his shoulders probably would be very useful. Those of us who are going will probably feel better about it if we can feel more certain that those we are leaving behind will be safe. “That's a good idea,” Doctor Smith agrees. “We need to keep the party who is going light and agile, and it would be better to leave somebody here who has a good head on his shoulders.” He nods to Cabbelleron. “Keep the others safe and organized till the rest of us get back.” “Are you sure you-” Leg It began nearly with a begging expression but Tanon's harsh glare at the stallion silenced the rest of Leg It's sentence. As a result, Leg It returns to a moping expression for he looks genuinely guilty for putting us in the situation we are facing so far. Noticing this exchange makes me feel numb inside. Only in this moment does it occur to me that I've been looking up to every professional adventurer in this party in the same way I once looked up to my parents and grandparents during a time when I was still a filly. I once looked up to all adults, really, as if they were infallible because they knew more things about the world than I did. Back when I had so little knowledge of my own to command, I absolutely relied upon every adult around me to know what was best for me and it took many years to notice that some adults disagreed with each other. Only at that time did I start to question the validity of an adults claims. If they all have the correct answers in life, then how is it possible for any of them to disagree with each other? The moment any argument came up seemed to automatically mean one of them had to be right and the other wrong, but if both were adults, how can I tell which is which? It was only then that I became disillusioned to this idea that absolutely all adults are infallible. It is only now that I start to realize that that same youthful idealism I once had towards all adults lingered in my perception of professional adventurers who have some real field experience. I guess I figured it was because I knew, by then, with each of them armed with approximately the same amount of experience under their belts, that they would all inevitably reach the same conclusion as to how to properly survive out there with this kind of profession. But no. In the real world, both wisdom and experience of each individual adventurer greatly varies. The stories I've read, both fictional and non-fictional, are always written by those who survived the experience or at least imagined the experience. For those who didn't survive the experience, their tale is downright silent. As a result, the rest of the world has less of a chance to learn from their failures. Overall, it makes the profession itself seem safer when we're only hearing it from the side of the winners. Reality is a much harsher mistress, though. Until Tanon had said it, it didn't consciously occur to me that those three elderly former guards who stayed behind voluntarily may, in fact, be dead. When I think of that, I harden my resolve to find out. Dead or not, I have to know. I just can't live with the idea that we abandon them without even checking. Even if we find only one survivor among the three, that one survivor may save the rest of our lives one day. After all, despite and because of how elderly they are, they have access to techniques the rest of us lack. Now that we're out here on this lost continent all alone, we're the only ones we can count on to save each other. The death of each one of us diminishes the odds of success for all the rest. Besides all that, this is just the right thing to do. I feel it in my heart.