Volcanic Wastes
Two Weeks Later
Night Wing
Standing by the helm, which was currently in use by a brown unicorn, I was observing the coast ahead of us. The past two weeks had been rather quiet, other than someone painting the name ‘Star’s Embrace’ on the side of the ship with a surprising amount of detail. It was written in dark blue paint and used extremely neat and flowing cursive. No one had stepped forward to claim responsibility, but it was obviously one of the Thestrals that went with me to the pirate port. The superstitious Minotaur bartender seemed to have made one of them nervous. It wasn’t really an issue, and it seemed to help morale a good bit, so I didn’t push the issue.
“Rock ahead, starboard side!” A pegasus called down from above the ship. The shore we were slowly approaching was still a good distance away, yet large jagged rocks protruded from the water randomly. The ship creaked as the helmspony turned left and another sharp rock seemed to glide by. Turning my gaze back to the shore, I watched smoke curl up into the sky from numerous craters dotting the mountains and valleys. Black sand made up the beach, which only lasted for a hundred feet or so before turning to dark stone and gravel. “Rock, port side!” The ship swung back to the right, narrowly missing another large rock. Smoke and ash in the air, combined with the low light of the ash-smothered sky, made spotting the dark rocks challenging at times.
An eruption of steam on the left of the boat made everyone on the deck flinch, and a plume of fire and gas suddenly belched from a midsized crater on a small mountain. We were at the southern side of the equestrian continent, far more south than any ponies were known to have gone. When Silver had suggested we explore the ocean, I had remembered the reports of fire-breathing lizards to the south of Equestria. So I instructed the crew to head south along the coast until something changed. That change had been a large increase in volcanic activity, until the land transformed completely into what was before us. A barren volcanic landscape that seemed totally inhospitable.
Gorgeous… Another crater erupted with a distant crack and boom. Well Silver, hope you like the heat. I tapped the helmspony with a wing, getting his attention. ‘Once we get within flying distance, anchor the ship as far from any rocks as you can. And make sure to have plenty of ponies ready to fight fires at all times.’ The unicorn nodded and began shouting out orders. The deck was noisy with hoofsteps and wing beats as I made my way below to my room. Silver already had orders to prepare a landing party, so I simply needed to get myself ready. Surprisingly, Greenhorn had wanted to join. It wasn’t an issue, as we would be portalling over anyways, so I agreed to it.
I didn’t have much to get ready really, as I had lost my armor and blades in the explosion on the pirate ship. An unfortunate loss, but nothing terrible. At least I didn’t lose my life. A smile came over my beak and avian chuckling filled the hall outside at that thought.
“What are you laughing about?” A voice asked from behind me, making me jump. I turned to see a smiling Silver. “It’s good to see you in such a good mood.”
‘Just my own thoughts, nothing much.’ I pulled a piece of iron armor, made hastily by an earth pony, over my chest. It was originally made for a Thestral, but a hammer and some brute force shaped it into something that somewhat resembled my previous armor. I winced as it pinched a bit uncomfortably at my wing joint, shifting to get it into a more comfortable position. ‘Is the landing group ready?’
“Yes, we have a group of about 10 that will be coming with us, including the deer.” Her lips curled down in a frown. “Why are we bringing Greenhorn anyways? I can’t imagine him helping, and you told me that he was ordered to write reports on you.”
‘He wanted to come to see if he could get any useful herbs here. The pirates didn’t have much in the way of medicine.’ My claws scraped the floor as I turned to look at her. ‘Besides, as far as I can tell, he hasn’t actually sent any reports yet. It seems like his opinion of his bosses is a little low, for sending him away. He could be a useful ally.’
“Well, I don’t like him.” She grumbled, and I had to fight down a chuckle.
‘You’re just upset that the deer captured us without much of a fight.’ She grumbled and left the room without responding, hoofsteps heading toward the stairs. I exited behind her, ready as I could be to leave for the shore. On the top deck the landing group was waiting, standing in rows as they did in the guard. Focus on something else. I had been communicating with Celestia more during the past two weeks, trying to help both of us move past what had happened. It was still painful to think about home though.
“Finally, been waiting long enough.” Greenhorn was standing behind the group of Thestrals, looking out over the water. A few Thestrals glared at him for his comment. “I can’t wait to be on dry land again. Even if it is some cursed land with no green for miles.”
‘Well, it will certainly be dry. Don’t get your antlers in a twist, we’ll be leaving shortly.’ He frowned and reached up to feel his antler, getting a snort from me. “Caw!” I got the Helmspony’s attention. ‘Keep us from drifting too far out here. We should be back in a few days. If we aren’t, head back to the nearest port without us. We’ll meet you there.’ At the unicorn’s nod of agreement, a portal opened up above the deck. A cloud of ash billowed out of it and covered the Thestrals in front of it. The air on the other side of the rift in space was distorted with heat and contained an ominous red glow. The group nervously shuffled before I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of them. This seemed to bolster their confidence and they followed through behind me.
My eyes flinched closed as I emerged, the heat drying them nearly instantly. Makes me glad I’m not a regular pony. This would be unbearable otherwise. Mist formed around me as I pushed out my magic, cooling the air around the portal. Thestrals filed out of the portal as the rocks popped and fizzled around me.
“Thanks Night.” Silver was the last one through, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the cooler air around me washed over her. “Feels better here than on the ship.” We were on the edge of the shore, on the inland side. I waved a wing to the ship, letting them know we were fine. I could barely see their answering wave through the steam rising from the water’s edge.
“Chirp!” Everyone looked to me as I began giving orders. ‘We need to get away from the shore. Hopefully the volcanoes calm down inland. I can keep us cool, but I would rather conserve my energy to deal with the things that live here.’
“What lives here?” Greenhorn looked around at the black gravel and fire-spewing mountains. “This is a wasteland!”
“We had reports of fire-breathing creatures coming up from south of Equestria for years. Night seems to think they live here.” Silver glanced over at me. “Although I don’t share his strange excitement at finding the creatures, they would make useful allies.”
‘Yes, they would. However we need to be careful. I’m pretty sure they won’t welcome us warmly.’ A few Thestrals groaned at that. ‘Oh hush, it’ll be fun! Forward march, adventure awaits!’ I couldn’t help but quiver with excitement at the thought of meeting dragons. Sure, they may not be the friendliest of creatures, but they were dragons! They didn’t need anything else to make them cool.
A few hours later had us several miles inland. We would have flown in further, but Greenhorn wanted to stay on the ground and look for plants. Surprisingly, there were quite a few. Once we got away from the shoreline, the volcanoes seemed to settle down and plants took advantage of the mineral-rich soil, the little soil that there was anyways. It was by no means a tropical paradise, but plants pushed their way through cracks and crevice here and there. Greenhorn was collecting the majority of them, though he was leaving the bases of the plants so they could try and regrow.
“Look at this specimen! I’ve never seen anything like it…” My eyes rolled before I looked back to the rear of the group. There, I could see Greenhorn with his head stuck in a crack between rocks, his horns buried in the gravel beside his head. With a small puff of ash he pulled his head out, carrying a strange plant that seem to glow with red light from the leaf's veins. The light pulsed, slowly getting dimmer and brighter as he held it up for a random thestral to see. “It’s gorgeous, look at it!” He was practically leaning on the Thestral. “Beautiful…”
“Don’t say it like that when you’re touching me.” The mare moved out from under Greenhorn and he hit the ground with a wheeze. Gravel scattered everywhere as he tried to get back to his feet.
“Some beings just don’t appreciate herbalism…” He grumbled while making his way to me.
‘Let me guess, you want me to drop off another bag in your quarters?’ My eyebrow was raised as he approached. He simply nodded, his eyes not even on me as he looked for more plants. A bag levitated off his back and floated over to me, which I opened a portal under with a sigh. The bag dropped through into the Deer’s room on the ship, joining two more just like it. At this rate, he’ll sink the ship with herbs before we get back.
As he wandered off to look behind the rocks for more pleasure treasures, Strawberry came over from looking at some rocks to the side of the group. “What exactly are we looking for Sir?”
Fighting a grimace at his continued use of the word Sir, I looked around the relatively flat gravel field we were in. Other than the occasional large boulder, or ominously glowing pit, it was empty for miles ahead of us. I flinched a bit as an eruption echoed from the mountains behind us. ‘I honestly don’t know. Even if we don’t find the creatures that live here with this excursion, Greenhorn should be kept happy for a while, and hopefully he can restock our medical supplies with all these plants.’
“Night! Come look at this.” Silver had wandered ahead a short distance and was looking at a group of large boulders. Seeing nothing strange from where I was, I walked around to look at the backside, where she was staring. Strawberry and the other thestrals followed behind to see what the commotion was about. A few let out quiet gasps as deep claw marks came into view, at least an inch deep in the rock. One of the rocks seemed to be half melted and chewed through, exposing a hollow space within. “What could have done this?” I didn’t answer her as my heart sped up with glee and I approached the hollow stone for a closer look.
It was mostly empty, looking as though something had clawed out whatever was inside. Just before I turned away, however, I noticed a small shard of a dark red mineral in a tiny crack. Curious, I pulled it out with my magic. Or I tried to, as it didn’t seem to be effected at all. Frowning, I instead balanced on one foot and reach out with a claw to pinch it between two talons. With a grunt of effort, it pulled free. ‘Any idea what this is?’ I asked the group as I held it up to look at closer. It was made of a material so dark red, it almost looked to be blood. The shard was around the size of one of my talons but weighed a surprising amount.
I turned and floated it around the group, getting head shakes all around. ‘I figured. Well, might as well save it for later.’ A quick portal later, and it sat among my little collection of items on the ship. ‘Wait, where’s Greenhorn?’ My head swiveled back a forth, trying to locate the wandering deer. Worry spread among the group as everyone realized he was not with the group. My heart began to speed up as I prepared to take off and search for him.
“Hey! Look at this amazing flower!” Greenhorn pranced around into view, levitating an orange flower with black leaves. My wing connected with my face in exasperation.
‘Alright, we’ll set up camp here.’ My eyes scanned the horizon for movement. We had left the gravel plain a few hours ago and found ourselves in a valley between what seemed to be dormant volcanoes. About an hour ago we had started hearing strange screeches echoing between the mountains. With the sun going down and reducing our dim lighting to a red glow from the various fissures in the ground, we all agreed to settle in for the night. A shallow cave seemed to be the best spot, so the thestrals were unpacking the small packs they had brought with them. Mainly containing food, the bags also had a sleeping bag for each. Though, with how hot it was, I doubted many would be using the sleeping bags.
“Greenhorn! Get back over here!” Silver’s shout echoed around the small cave as she caught the deer sneaking off to find more plants. “If you end up getting cooked alive by something out there, I’m not going to save you. Stay with the group.”
“Bu-“ The despondent deer turned to argue, but was interrupted by a glaring Silver.
“No. Sleep now, plants tomorrow.” With a huff, she turned around to set up her sleeping area. Greenhorn followed reluctantly while I rolled my eyes at his sudden high spirits. Lavender and Healing Touch probably would have gotten along with him. Memories of traveling with another group long ago filled my head before I shook it clear. The rumble of distance eruptions made me look down the valley before turning to join the others in the cave. Walking over to a spot near the entrance, I opened a portal and a pillow fell out for me to lie on. Sleeping bags didn’t work as well for birds, believe it or not. Not that it was cool enough to be in one anyways.
“Ow!” Everyone turned to see a thestral frantically waving his wings and front hooves at his rear end, while stumbling away from a small mound of ash. “Hot, hot, hot!” A few of the others chuckled as everyone went about their business. “Stupid ash pile…” The thestral muttered as he got back up. I chuckled quietly at his pouting before continuing to fix my sleeping spot. Soon enough, with the last of the fading light, almost everyone was laying on sleeping bags. A couple thestrals were staying up and keeping watch in the barely noticeable crimson glow. If not for the extremely volcanic nature of the area, it would have been pitch black to a normal pony. Of course, the thestrals and I wouldn’t have an issue. Greenhorn had already hit his antlers on the wall several times however. That will never get old. I smiled at the memory of Greenhorn grumbling in the deer language. Hopefully we’ll make some more progress in the morning.
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Aaaaaaa another chapter two I'm one day?
11484555
Yep. Was it good?
Ye, I like greenhorns personality so far after the first meeting
I am nothing short of mortified that his only experience with dragon-kind is going to be those useless idiots.
I know you're probably writing this so that the readers understand this easier, but technically, they should be using nautical terms like Starboard (right side), Port (left side), Stern (rear of ship), and Bow (front of ship).
11484574
Not sure what you mean. Which idiots?
11484762
Wow, thanks, I’ll try to remember to fix that in a bit. Not home right now.
Had to reread it all as a reminder. More mistakes than I remember, but enjoyable nonetheless. Glad to see you back in action!
11484762
Think I fixed it, thanks again.
Good chapter
‘Star’s Embrace’ Darn I would of gone with "Night's Cowl"