Dear Diary,
I hardly know where to begin with you. There's so much to say since my last entry. There was our first camp on this new continent, roaming about in the jungle and encountering this very large creature which chased the majority of us away but the three former Canterlot Guards held back to cover our escape. I later discover that Terminus and Trump Card lost their lives to that giant two-legged creature.
I'm . . . going to have to pause a moment and reflect on that one. Honestly, I've been trying to process that aspect alone ever since I encountered evidence of some of their shredded remains. The closest thing I had ever come to encountering death before is the death of one of my former pets and the remains of a dead woodland creature. On this day I can say it was shock and horror that sank into me, but ever since then, I've been surprised by how numb I feel. I expected grief or perhaps something much worse. I didn't know either of these ponies very well but I do know they were old, what their old profession was, the fact that they are among the very few unicorns we had in our entire party, and they were honorable and brave enough to cover our escape to the bitter end. Straight Arrow's life hangs in the balance too. He may die as well before the end of this night.
Why aren't I feeling more about this situation? I know I'm not heartless and I've been smothered in grief with related topics on this before. I don't know what it is, but out here it just doesn't feel important enough to warrant my attention yet. It is as if my heart is wounded but temporarily and voluntarily turned to stone as if realizing I absolutely need the reprieve for the moment. That my heart is deciding to cry later, but for now, I need to avoid distractions to help avoid any further deaths.
When did I get so practical? Right now, I know, this helps, but emotions aren't like a switch. One cannot just turn them off or on whenever it is convenient. In both my own experience and my observations of others, most ponies are stuck with it either totally on or off, or if it is somewhere in between then it tends to hold in that mode for them. Dramatic shifts like this is highly unusual, but I suppose the one situation where I would expect it the most is during an emergency.
I remember my grandmother once told me, “You'd be surprised what a pony can endure when it becomes absolutely necessary.” Back then, because I was a young foal, I just instantly took her at her word. As I grew up, I began to question the validity of adults, including that saying as if asking to myself, “Is that really true? Was she right?” Now it seems I'm beginning to discover that maybe she was indeed right, at least in my specific case right now.
There should be many other issues to emotionally process right now as well, such as looking up to adventurers such as Tanon Burrows who actually has given me some small signs of approval. Enough to give some professional advise of his own to me as if recently convinced that maybe I can be taught. That maybe I might have a knack for this after all.
As for Doctor Smith . . . where do I begin with him? Not to mention his mysterious confidence in me. I really don't know why, but that pony, more than any other pony, has been encouraging me to take big leaps and put on big girls pants or skirt. That's certainly not the only thing about him that I find mysterious. Really, I am not sure where to begin with that pony. Part of me is worried I might run out of ink before I finish all of my thoughts about that particular stallion. While it is true I brought plenty with us on this trip and I do know how to access more if we retrieve our abandoned supplies, there is also the anxiety hanging over my head that anything we use up here is potentially irreplaceable.
Another thing I find unexpected and, frankly, even aggravating is Doctor Caballeron choosing not to join us when Tanon, Doctor John Smith and I went to look for our missing survivors. I know he had his reasons and my rational side can't help but agree with him. Frankly I'm surprised enough that I volunteered to go.
Still, there is some irrational side of me that feels a bit abandoned by Doctor C. I know it's not his fault, but he doted on me ever since this trip started. I guess somewhere along the way I grew into the habit of always expecting him to remain with me no matter where I chose to go, but I have to keep in mind that Doctor C. is a professional adventurer. He's been over situations like this enough to know when he should press forward and when is wise to back off. A proper measurement of one's personal abilities and knowledge of our limitations is probably what keeps professional adventurers like him alive when all others die around him or have already died facing the same thing long ago. It's the survivors that ultimately tell the story, and the reason he is able to do that is because he knows when to back off. The fact that I pressed forward probably shows how much of an amateur I am at this, but at least in my case I have a valid excuse.
Anyway, we never did encounter that large creature again. Thank Celestia! But we haven't dealt a final blow against it either so it remains on the prowl. A creature that large might need to feed often too, but then again, there might be other lifeforms in the jungle that aren't carnivorous but they are large as well and thus able to sustain the large carnivore long enough so that another encounter with the same creature does not guarantee it will attack again. I have to keep in mind that these creatures are not evil, they are just driven by very basic survival instincts.
Speaking of carnivores, we encountered another that resembles smaller versions of the one that attacked us, only this tribe is far more numerous and considerably more intelligent. Intelligent enough to wield basic tools, craft and wear some kind of tribalistic ornamentation, and speak their own language. They are, without a doubt, the most intelligent species we have encountered that is native to this territory so far.
Oddly enough, Doctor Smith can somehow communicate with them which makes absolutely no sense to me. To my knowledge this is the first time he set hoof on this continent as well. It wasn't possible for him to get here before now because it required a brand new navigation method to help us navigate our way here this time. How could he have learned a language from a land where no pony has gone before?
My best conclusion to this mystery is he must be wearing a magical item or something that helps him translate any kind of foreign language. That's the only logical explanation I can think of, and it does make sense to craft and bring such an item if he were expecting to go on a trip like this. If such is the case, I wonder if anypony can wear and use it. If he indeed has such an item and he dies, we cannot afford to abandon an item that valuable. Out here we could use all the help we can get.
Well, in any case, he managed to convince this tribe of hunters to lead us back to the rest of their village. Tanon and I are currently alone in one of their huts that is mostly constructed of something at least akin to bamboo and palm tree leaves, although a pair of these creatures are guarding outside. I get the distinct feeling that Tanon and I are not welcome to roam the village just yet. They have no reason to trust us to that degree a this time, although Doctor Smith is probably currently working to change that with them.
Wow! I just realized it is true what some ponies say that writing things down can be therapeutic to a stressed pony mind. I guess, for me, it is this idea that I feel comforted and more secure to know my thoughts and feelings are locked in paper somewhere. A record for others to see and help to verify my existence and purpose in life. No matter what happens to me, I live on through somepony else reading my work. Right now it feels important to embrace any psychological comfort I can get.
Part of me feels annoyed with the return of Doctor Smith because I feel like I haven't finished putting my thoughts down on paper. It feels as if I barely scratched the surface of all the things I need to put down now not only because of the degree of importance but also because it is possible I might forget those details later.
On the other hoof, what the Doctor has come back to report might be of vital importance as well and this; therefore, makes me very interested in what he has to say.
On the way in, Doctor John Smith pauses a moment to say something to the guards of our hut. Based on the way he's acting, he seems to be answering some question the guards had for him.
I turn my attention to regard my roommate in this hut, Tanon Burrows. Until now, it seemed like he was sleeping. His back was to me, he was lying on his side, and he was being very still while here. Not once, however, did I hear a peep from him during that time such as snoring. Now that the Doctor is back, though, Tanon just instantly gets up as if he was awake and aware the whole time. Perhaps he was only semi asleep? It would make sense to me why a professional adventurer who survived this long has habits that kept him alive during a dangerous adventure.
As Tanon gets up I notice something I wasn't aware of before. Tanon stretches and I hear a lot of bones crack because of it. He occasionally painfully winces at it too but he otherwise takes it like a champ. It is then that it reminds me just how old this stallion is and, during his life, he probably survived some harsh adventures on top of that. As I regard him with a thread of pity because of his painful awakening which might be commonplace for him these days, I also start to wonder if I'll be like that someday if I survive to his age, even without the harsh adventures.
Both of our attention turns to Doctor Smith simultaneously when he enters our hut and crouches down nearby us.
“So what did you discover?” Tanon asks with a heavy croak to his voice. Like the rest of his body, his throat wasn't prepared to give him one-hundred percent yet. These days maybe his body is never prepared to go that high anymore and therefore sets a new standard of “normal” for him.
“Quite a bit, actually,” begins Doctor Smith's report. “First of all, I've established that this race calls themselves the Silurians.” Doctor Smith waves a hoof at Tanon for a moment as he goes on to report, “I've actually encountered members of this race before, but not this exact breed of them.”
“So Silurians are something like ponies,” Tanon figures aloud. When he said that, his voice seems more steady this time. There is still some croak in it but it has dropped by about sixty percent this time which means he's recovering. “Like, for example, unicorns,” he gestures to himself, “pegasi,” he gestures to me, “and earth ponies,” he concludes as he gestures to Doctor Smith.
“Something like that,” Doctor Smith somewhat agrees.
“Wait a minute,” I broach. “You've actually encountered members of this species before? Where and when? Also is that when you learned their language?”
“Miss Keystone,” Tanon says to summon my attention. When he has it, he just regards me as he shakes his head no but there is a glimmer of understanding in his eyes too. As scoldings go, this one is a particularly light form of it. It's as if he's non-verbally saying, “Believe me, I fully understand why you asked that, but right now I need you to just shut up and listen.”
That lightly admonishing look made me feel like a foal again, but I appreciate how he seems to have warmed up to me somewhat as if partially regarding me as a near equal. Not somepony who is at his level yet but acknowledges me as having the potential someday.
When we both return our attention to Doctor Smith, Doctor Smith resumes his report by saying, “Now Silurians are simply the name of this race. This particular tribe calls themselves the Tuk-Tuk and it is lead by a chieftain named Sissmalez who is actually a female chieftain.” The two of us listeners simply give a neutral nod in acknowledgment. Doctor Smith resumes, “They do consider this territory sacred and they are sentimental about it.”
“They seemed to have partial recognition about us,” Tanon notes. “Did you ask about that?”
Doctor Smith nods then says, “Yes, but to them, they regard us as legends that they didn't actually expect to encounter during their lifetime. They said their culture encountered members of our species many centuries ago and haven't encountered us often since, but there were unverified rumors here and there of sightings of us since then. From what I gathered, including from the occasional pauses from the chieftain as if she was reluctant to say more, ponies had a mixed history with them before. My guess is some of them were good to them and some were bad.”
“Makes sense,” Tanon agrees with another casual nod.
“But whatever they did, it was important and marked a pivotal shift in their society,” resumes Doctor Smith. “This culture used to be members of some larger tribe, and that tribe used to have access to very advanced technology. Technology that still exists today but this tribe deliberately avoids it. They consider it taboo as if blaming it for the corruption and downfall of their ancestors.”
“Oh.” Tanon looks taken aback. “Maybe I should hide my crossbow around them, then,” he figures.
“Perhaps, but something tells me the technological level they are talking about is way above that. Something like creating portals through distant locations and times,” says Doctor Smith.
“Gotcha,” Tanon says with another nod. “But you said they used to be part of some larger tribe. I take it this other tribe is still using this technology?”
“Again, perhaps, but this other tribe is a member of a different species. Some kind of snake-like sentient species with arms and hands. They call them the Naga,” Doctor Smith reports. “The Naga are very much in favor of using this ancient and advanced technology, but for some reason they don't have nearly as much mastery over it as this tribes ancient ancestors. Maybe the original power source was more abundant back then or the details on how to use that technology has eroded over time. In any case, the Tuk-Tuk consider this tribe of Nagas to be very dangerous and evil with further ambitions to match.”
“Right,” Tanon accepts with another nod but this time also a very deeply thoughtful look.
“This tribe of Nagas the Tuk-Tuk consider a blight in this land that's too powerful to remove,” Doctor Smith goes on. “So, instead, the Tuk-Tuk have protected themselves by being on the move and in hiding.”
“How is Straight Arrow?” I ask Doctor Smith in concern.
“Being cared for by their tribes shaman,” Doctor Smith answers. “Who is convinced Straight Arrow will eventually make a full recovery under their care. Their method to accomplish this is holistic medicine with perhaps a dash of magic.”
“Sounds legit,” I instantly accept. “Many kinds of plants can have magical qualities. When properly mixed, it can have highly medicinal effects.” I smile. “Anyway, I'm glad to hear that he'll make a full recovery.”
Doctor Smith nods at me briefly then shifts his eyes to Tanon as he goes on to say, “The chieftain has also told me that other members of our tribe have also been spotted, and their status has changed in an alarming way. This tribe of Naga have somehow discovered them and captured them. They are currently leading them to their old temple where this tribe expects they'll either be used for sacrifice to their dark gods or put to work as slaves.”
“Oh no!” I cry in alarm. “We have to help them!”
“Agreed,” Doctor Smith replies immediately. “And the Tuk-Tuk are willing to help us to a point. They're willing to lead us closer to the vicinity of their old temples which the Naga have since made into their home.”
“Why would they be willing to help us?” Tanon checks. “Did they ask for some service in exchange?”
“Not yet,” Doctor Smith answers. “I get the feeling that rescuing members of our tribe would already be considered a service because if our team remains there, they'll either be put to work towards some dark agenda or be sacrificed in such a way that it basically accomplishes the same thing. Either way, this tribe does not wish to see the Naga further empowered.” Doctor Smith shrugs. “Helping us may also be a way for the Tuk-Tuk to believe they are repaying some ancestral debt. I also get the feeling that, while they are fascinated to see us, they also want us to leave as soon as possible.” He shakes his head. “And there is less of a chance of that until we rescue the other members of our party.”
“I wonder how they got captured in the first place,” I wonder aloud. “Maybe they went looking for us after all.”
“Or maybe they simply got discovered where they were,” Tanon proposes. “The Tuk-Tuk did say that this Naga is using ancient and advanced technology that this tribe has long since abandoned. Who knows what those devices are capable of?”
“But we are in agreement that we'll commit to find out?” Doctor Smith checks as his eyes shift back and forth to the both of us.
“There isn't much of an alternative,” Tanon figures. “I've been hired to guide and protect this party anyway and I take my duties very seriously. Even if I abandoned that duty, there isn't much else I can do without their help. We'll need them to use our ship to get back to Equestria. If we do this, not only does that mean the Naga lose the resource they nefariously gained, but it also means we have additional incentive to leave this continent. It sounds like this tribe would consider this a plus.” Tanon nods with a grin. “If the Tuk-Tuk are telling the truth then it means I now trust them. I needed to know what their motivation was first before I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Now that I know what is 'in it' for them, their motivations are understandable enough to count on.”
“I agree,” I put forward. “It's nice to know we have some allies in these new lands too even if there are some conditions attached to it.”
“And they've apprised us of another threat in these lands as well,” adds Tanon. “One which sounds vastly more dangerous than the giant animal we encountered. As powerful as that creature was, it is lead by simple motives. As long as it is fed, it isn't much of a threat.” He shakes his head. “However, not only do we have to contend with this Naga tribe to rescue our people, but there is their motivation to consider as well. If the Tuk-Tuk are telling the truth, then what if the Naga try to use our people to accomplish some grand nefarious end? Whatever it is, there is a chance that it'll be a threat that could follow us back in Equestria. For example, what if it is a means to have the moon block the sun everywhere on the planet? Finding out what this other tribe is trying to do might be of paramount importance as well. Depending on what it is, it might be necessary for us to do more than just rescue our own people.”
“I agree with the reconnaissance strategy at the very least as well as the rescue of our people,” says Doctor Smith. “Pretend, for the moment, that the Tuk-Tuk are telling the truth.” Doctor Smith shakes his head. “That doesn't mean they have the whole story. It only means we're getting the Tuk-Tuk's version of it. It's possible the Naga don't have some evil agenda and this is all just a case of misunderstanding. That's why we need to find out before we commit to some further strategy.”
Tanon nods in agreement as he adds, “As long as it is within our means to accomplish.”
“Do you think you can communicate with this Naga as well?” I ask Doctor Smith hopefully.
“Well . . . there is one way to find out,” he replies with a daring grin.
“What about Straight Arrow in the meantime?” I probe further.
Doctor Smith drops his grin as he says, “Straight Arrow is in no shape to follow us right now. He'll need some time to recover and the Tuk-Tuk have agreed to tend him while we're gone.”
Tanon winces as he says, “You can also look at it this way. As long as Straight Arrow is here, the Tuk-Tuk have a hostage to manipulate us. Even if they never threaten him directly, that doesn't mean they have to continue to attend him either.” Tanon brightens as he goes on to say, “But in a way I consider this situation ideal. Since the Tuk-Tuk have some leverage over us even after we leave, it gives this tribe an incentive to trust us as well. That, in turn, makes them more cooperative with us.”
“Brilliant deduction!” Doctor Smith commends to Tanon proudly. “You are a credit to your profession, Sir.”
“As long as he stays here, that'll keep Straight Arrow from any further danger as well,” I figure.
“So everyone here has some chips in the pot, so to speak,” says Tanon. “It's good to know where everyone stands so far and why they do so. For now, I say we agree to their terms. We'll allow Straight Arrow to remain with them under their tender care. In return, they'll guide us closer to this other tribe so we can rescue our people and make sure the Naga do not use them to accomplish some evil end over there. Once we've done that, we agree to leave this continent in peace after returning to recollect Straight Arrow. Hopefully, by then, he'll be in better shape to travel. At that point the Tuk-Tuk can escort us back to our ship to verify the fact that we left as promised. During that time they'll also guide and protect us from any other threat that may exist here.”
Doctor Smith nods as he says, “That sounds like a plan.” He then looks at me to see if I agree as well.
“I agree that sounds like the best plan for the moment,” I say. “We need to move quickly but also cautiously. While the rest of our people remain in the clutches of the Naga, our people might be in danger even if the Naga otherwise have innocent intentions for them. Sheer ignorance might cause them to accidentally harm our people. Maybe by accidental exposure to some disease or something.”
“That threat could swing both ways,” Tanon realizes. “All of us could carry diseases that we're each immune to but the other is not because it's totally foreign to the other side.” He regards the Doctor as he goes on to say, “At least we have a trained medical professional on our side, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't react with all due caution mixed with haste.”
“If we're in agreement, I'll tell the chieftain our decision,” Doctor Smith decides as he finally stands up again.
“Are you going to ever tell us how and when you met the Silurians and learned their language?” I check with Doctor Smith. “You seem knowledgeable to a highly unusual degree.”
“I'll tell you later. I promise,” Doctor Smith tells me with a very sincere look in his eyes towards me. In return, I just nod in acceptance. I don't have much other choice right now anyhow.
When Doctor Smith leaves, presumably to do what he said he'll do, I return my attention back to my diary. There very much is more to report to it now.