Expedition to the Cloudbreak Islands

by Starglider

Assassins

Set Sail slept peacefully in her bunk, along with her cabin-mate Comet Tail snoozing away, the gentle rocking of the ship in the slight wind nothing more than a welcome lullaby. There had been a few loud whooshing noises outside, but they didn't disturb the sleeping pair. The sound of several tonnes of high pressure water blasting the meadow to ruin was enough to wake a few ponies, but they figured it was just that doctor, sneaking out to test his newfound powers, like he thought nopony noticed him.

Things went quiet for a while, then finally came a clattering of hooves on the top deck, which startled the crew awake, most of them at least. Comet Tail opened an eye at the noise, but when she heard a mare shout, "The deck is covered in sheep!" she just rolled her eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

Her effort was in vain; the sounds of ponies galloping about and shouting only increased, and she made out the phrases "under attack", "another copter" and "drow invading". Her blood chilled at the last one; just one of the creatures had nearly murdered the griffoness and burned down the ship.

The wiry pegasus mare threw herself out of the top bunk and landed hard, wings spread. The captain was still sleeping peacefully, dreaming of happy clouds and loving hugs - Comet was loathe to wake her, but if the drow were really here... "Captain! Captain, we're under attack!" she shouted, rocked the other mare violently with a hoof. Set Sail squirmed around and grabbed her hoof, rolling over and curling up with it, smacking her lips and drifting off again. With her hoof trapped by the captain's body, Comet Tail declared seethingly, "Set Sail you languid bint wake up!"

"Whususah?" Set Sail mumbled, and began to lightly snore. Briefly gritting her teeth, Comet Tail leaned forward and stuck her tongue in Set Sail's ear. "Blgah!" Set Sail squawked, flailing her arms and wings wide and knocking Comet Tail right off her. "Comet... what time is—?"

"Drow!" Comet Tail shot at her, "About to attack, sounds like. Maybe with suicide sheep!" she suggested, her half-awake imagination running wild. "Or... something... Look you need to get up top and... do your captain thing!"

"Oh—oh no!" Set Sail declared in alarm, waking up like a splash of cold water. She frantically pulled her axe off where she'd hung in on the wall, slinging it over her back. "Defend the balloon!" she shouted, charging with Comet Tail out into the corridor... and straight into Nutmeg, who'd almost made it to her cabin. The kirin was body-checked by the burly pegasus and dropped to her haunches, struggling to avoid toppling over.

Nutmeg slid messily back as she rebounded off of Set Sail, looking with terror at the brown pegasus captain, stating, "D-drow! Reef Skimmer saw a copter land by the... the quarry! He knows the details I was just riding—just talk with him about it. He's the giant bird outside. I-I need to check on... something."

"Nutmeg??" Set Sail declared in confusion, as the kirin just scarpered off right then. "Oh Celestia," the captain groaned, "Couldn't they wait for it to be daytime?"

"Maybe they wanted to catch us in our sleep!" Comet Tail declared furtively, "You need to see the doctor or—whatever he is now."

"He's Reef Skimmer," Set Sail told Comet, "Get every flier around the balloon in case they try to take a shot at us. I'll be right back." She then charged down the hall, up the ramps to top deck. It was chaos with deckhands running into scared sheep running into deckhands, as Set Sail struggled forward shouting, "Fliers, to the balloon, everypony else you have to be quiet! What if they hear us??"

Despite her instructions, there would be no sleeping through the ensuing commotion. A few cabins over, the griffon Grenelda jolted to alertness - after the word 'drow' comes up it doesn't take much to get her attention. "Damnit! I'll REALLY teach them a lesson this time." She threw herself out of her makeshift nest of bedding like a comet, landing on all fours and skulking out in double time.

Behind her Gustus was little more sluggish to respond, slowly blinking himself to some manner of wakefulness. "Goodness, again? Grenelda, wait! You can't just leave me alone and run off if there's drow about!" He shook out his feathers, more to clear his bleary head than any need to look presentable, then racing off after Grenelda. The two griffs made their way above-deck in two different kinds of flustered hurry.

Being undead did have its advantages. Clashing Gale wasn't so much sleeping as he was resting, and the panicked shouts from outside drew him out of his reverie. "Well they didn't waste any time... neither will I." His first action would be to wake up the actual guard: he was soon pounding a hoof against Azure Feather's door, calling out: "Hey, Azure! We got a drow problem!"

Years of night exercises and surprise drills left Azure Feather more prepared than most for such rude awakenings; in fact the pegasus was already well awake and opened the door within seconds. "On it... guess they didn't want to wait until we destroyed their base after all..." she muttered to Clashing as the two made for the top deck.

---

Seeing her crew fall to a frightened silence, some in compromising positions with the unruly sheep filling the deck, a slight smile grew in the corner of Set Sail's mouth. "Donnor, Washout, see if the rigging crew can help herd these sheep off our ship," she told a unicorn stallion and an earth pony mare respectively. "Everypony else, just keep an eye out. We don't want lanterns lit, but they've got a big meadow to cross if they're going to come at us. I need to speak with Reef. He's a... giant bird?"

At the captain's question Nutmeg gestured with a hoof into the sky. Straining her eyes, the pegasus could just about make out an avian form circling far out over the jungle, silhouetted against the moonlit clouds. Scale was difficult to judge from this distance, but the shape was very reminiscent of that roc she'd encountered, years ago above the Griffonglass mountains.

Azure stared up at the raptor silhouette: "...Wait, is that...?" She smiled. "Did our dear friend learn from that book..."

Grenelda cocked a beaky grin, wings fluffing. "Beats me, out of my area of expertise. Figure it's some cool water elemental stuff. Y'think Reef can kick any ass like that? Maybe squirt dissolving acid over everyone and have 'em melt to bits?" She chortles. Oh, to dream of it!

Behind her Gustus was muttering to his mate: "...the Doc's a bird, now? Goodness, I think I missed something..." but Grenelda was already over it: she'd heard 'drow' and 'nearby' and was very ready to spring into action. She tapped the tiercel with her beak: "We have orders - let's go." With urgency they lifted off to guard the balloon.

Meanwhile Set Sail was far into the sky, soaring over the meadow to reach the giant bird high above. She slowed her frantic flapping, coming to coast beside him, immediately declaring to Reef Skimmer tensely: "What are you doing[/b up here? Why are you a giant eagle? Don't you think the drow might spot you up here??"

Reef Skimmer had been staring intently down at the jungle. With a very deep squawk his head snapped around to regard the pegasus. "Captain! Ah, you see Nutmeg had a quite splendid suggestion that..." His voice was different, reminding Set Sail of the bipedal flightless birds she'd traded with to the south, though deeper. The transformed hippogriff shook his head; "but... no time for that now. Look, down there! By the chompy pit..."

The pegasus could make out flickers of movement around the destroyed chompy pods, though they blended with the shadows so well that it was hard to even tell how many creatures there were. "Been waiting for the blighters to show themselves," Reef explained. "Heading for the bridge, it seems... curious." He cocked his head. "Why would they go there? If they wanted to reach the lower island, they could've just landed there in the first place...."

"Oh no," Set Sail declared in horror, "Abernathy!" The captain dove out of the sky, not even waiting for Reef's response. Swooping up to the balloon crew, Set Sail shouted, “Everypony listen! I know what’s going on!!” As everyone turned to her, she explained: “Those drow are going after Abernathy! They still don’t know we’re here. He just had a tussle with them the other day, and now they’re coming to get payback! I need our fastest flier to go warn him!”

“I dunno where he is though!” the pegasus known as Comet Tail protested, unapologetically.

“He’s... by the... bridge that...” Set Sail said anxiously, looking around at Summer Scribe, Blue Type, the distant Reef Skimmer, the engineer ponies, and the only ones who could get there fast enough to warn him, who had been to the bridge, were Grenelda, who was still recovering from that wing injury, and...

The two griffons were sitting together in the crow's nest. Grenelda looked to Gustus with sudden sternness: he shied back a bit, then composed himself. "Ahem. Yeah, I know where his house is - I'll send him a warning." With that, the griffon leapt off the edge, diving low to try and blend in with the canopy and not stand out. He'd have to stay alert: if there were any Drow skulking about below, it's imperative he get to Abby without alerting them!

"Thank you Gustus," Set Sail said with a relieved smile, then shouted out urgently as he left, "Do NOT fight them! They can't know we're here! Just warn Abernathy!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Gustus called back. Him against a whole Drow assassination force? He didn't have Grenelda's guts, let's put it that way! The griffoness just snorted, sitting back and feeling vaguely like a dog on a leash.

The griffon sped over the treetops, pumping his wings hard as he headed for the far side of the island. Last time it had been a pegasus who'd spotted the drow copter; they'd all rushed to the troll's bridge, with Azure Feather guiding them to the dwelling of their native ally. She wasn't here now so he had to make his own way, wheeling down around the edge of the island to land in the darkened jungle below.

Dim shafts of moonlight filtered through the canopy, making everything look alien and unfamiliar, but... there it was, the cottage with its freshly rebuilt roof. No signs of disturbance or sounds of conflict - the griffon breathed a sigh of relief. Still, the dense canopy had shielded the drow from his view on the way over, so who knew how close they were. They might be inside already, or watching from the undergrowth - he had to remain on guard.

The griffon padded quietly up to the door, quickly nudging it open and slipping inside, his head jerking back and forth as he scanned for threats. "Abby? Abby - There's drow coming to kill you. You need to get ready," came the harsh avian whisper.

First came a groan, then a sliding thump, as a lanky troll came padding out to the living room of his little cottage. The tall green biped was clad in striped pyjamas and a pair of fuzzy slippers, and showed a surprising lack of panic. "Again? Are you serious?" he asked, tone aggravated. "They were just here a few days ago! What the heck has got them stirred up so much?" Leaving the oil lamps untouched, he grabbed his shotgun, before looking to the griffon fellow and saying: "Did you catch a look at them? Do you know how many there are?"

Gustus's feathers drooped as he sighed. ...Not because of Abby's jammies, those were fine! It was just... they always seemed to meet the troll under the worst circumstances. "Sadly, I think they're here to kill you, first and foremost; if their goal was wiping the Harmony off of the island, they'd bring more than just a handful of assassins to bear." He clicked his beak.

"I hate to say it, but if they still don't know we're here, well... for our longevity, I'd like for them to remain oblivious a bit longer. Not to worry, though: Reef Skimmer is up there, and he's gone through a bit of a metamorphosis." The griff chuckled politely. "With luck, you'll both be able to scare them off and we can live another day. Do you need me to spot for you?"

With a sad smile at Gustus, Abernathy said, "You Equestrians are so hard core. But that's why they keep coming back, because you keep chasing them off."

"Hmmm... I admit, I don't like the idea of being at war with the Drow - but griffs don't just roll over and show our bellies when challenged! Buuut... if you have an idea for how to deal with the situation, I'm all ears, Abby..." Metaphorically at least - griffs didn't have visible ears, at least not in Equestria.

"How about we do things my way this time? C'mon." The troll kicked off his slippers, pushed open the door and headed out into the night. With shotgun in hand he made a beeline for the dense trees to the east. Gustus followed closely behind, skulking through the bushes and looking nervously around for any sign of the drow.

---

Clashing Gale had followed Gustus up into the night sky, though the griffon had quickly pulled away. As a pegasus, Clashing had been a great flyer, but as a newly minted batpony he was still getting used to new wings. Nothing like the difficulties Azure Feather was facing, to be sure. While Gustus dove for the trees, intent on alerting their troll ally, Clashing continued to gain altitude, searching for the drow from above. He'd yet to encounter the creatures, but he understood the gravity of the situation: getting caught would mean bad things for everyone involved.

The stallion found the giant grey eagle circling high over the island's edge, keeping watch on the small clearing where the forest path reached the hollow log of the toll bridge. "Ah... Clashing Hail!" the creature said, in a deeper voice than he'd had as a hippogriff doctor. "Back in the air, good show old bean. I trust you're aware of our uninvited guests. Any orders from the Captain?"

Clashing's smile was lost in the darkness, but his tone was friendly. "Reef Skimmer... heard about what happened to you... good to have you back," he called out. "Captain's orders are not to fight - avoid aggression if possible. Maybe that's why you've got me and not our actual guard..." He pulled closer, to fly parallel to the hippogriff-turned-roc. "Best if we fly cover for now, I think. Things haven't got dicey... yet." Clashing fell silent, peering down though the moonlit canopy to spot... yes, there were creatures moving down there. Good thing his condition seemed to bestow superior night vision.

"Not to fight? One certainly prefers to avoid a confrontation, but..." Reef jerked his head down at the shadowy bipedal figures, now darting swiftly across the little clearing at the top of the bridge. One was much larger than the others, while another was concealed in robes and cradling a glimmer of light in its palm. "That path leads to the troll's house! Are you saying... he's been evacuated already?"

"Gustus is on that as we speak. For now, though, we should-" His voice died at the sight of the giant biped and its spiked armour. "Hmm... I hope they got out, because these creatures don't look like they've come to play cards..." He wasn't sure what he could do if it did turn to a fight; flying through jungle in the dark was a recipe for disaster, night vision or not, and he had no means of attacking from a distance. Maybe his best use would be carrying Azure up here, he thought glumly.

Mere minutes after the troll and griffon had snuck out, the raiding party reached the cottage. Carefully, they prepared themselves for the assault; several drow crouched in the bushes, crossbows trained, while the minotaur-sized one eyed the door, bladed gauntlets held ready. The spellcaster whispered an incantation, summoning a ball of light that grew between her hands. With all in readiness, she released it to streak into the cottage, smashing a window and bursting inside with a brilliant flash and thunderclap. That was the cue for the goliath to open his eyes and charge forward, smashing the door off its hinges as he stormed into the empty dwelling.

The flash was easily visible through the hole Azure's magic surge had punched in the canopy above the cottage. "What was that?!" Reef squawked "Didn't sound like gunpowder... magic? Do you think they have magic?" he asked Clashing, clearly concerned. "Are we sure Abernathy isn't down there? He wouldn't stand a chance against that many."

"It seems like everyone and everything has magic around here." Clashing Gale griped. "I don't think he's in there, though. I heard about that portable cannon of his - and how good he is at using it. We'd have heard it going off, and Gustus on the attack as well, not just this... one-sided beatdown." He frowned.

Meanwhile Abernathy was leading Gustus down tiny trails, ducking and even crawling under dense underbrush to get past it. At last, they reached a thicket, whose thorny branches lifted aside when Abernathy yanked on them. There was a depression underneath the thicket, with what looked like a small lawn chair laid out underneath it. "Home away from home, heh," he said, kicking back and looking up at the thorns above. "You get pretty good at hiding with those pirates flying around," Abernathy said solemnly, "If they find us here, I just shoot 'em in the face, and go find another one of my spots. You don't have to beat them, just make it more trouble than it's worth for them to beat you."

Gustus startled at the report of the fireball exploding, then winced at the sounds of breaking-and-entering, muffled by the intervening jungle. "And you're fine with these brutes just tearing up your home?" he said angrily, before letting out a weary sigh. "...I suppose it does beat some alternatives. If only we could do it so easily as you! But the Harmony is our home, and we'd hardly last long without it." The griffon seemed crestfallen at just letting the drow get away with it... but at least there wouldn't be losing anyone tonight.

"I'll just have to rebuild anything they break," Abernathy replied with a sigh of his own, "It is pretty terrible, but usually they only come once a year or so. It's not like I have anything valuable. You guys have a much better reason to protect your home. This place here's my home as much as that cottage is. I'm not the only one who wishes those pirates would just fall off the face of the earth into the everstorm, but what can one guy do against an armada?"

Gustus let out a sigh of relief. "I am glad they're too lazy to sweep the island looking for you. Seems we've averted the worst of the danger for now." The griffon practically melted as the adrenalin left his system, mumbling "What can one do against an armada, indeed..." What could griffs or ponies for that matter do against a whole fortress of the creatures? They needed serious allies, with weapons and troops and intel - and they needed them to find them fast.

---

In the night sky above, the two flyers could only circle silently as the angry drow ransacked their friend's cottage. Finding little in the way of loot, the raiders had to content themselves with smashing everything in reach, then slinking back outside. As a final insult, the spellcaster flung a fireball back through the front door that set the building's roof alight.

Once it was clear the malevolent bipeds were heading back down the path, Reef Skimmer carefully maneuvered down through the hole in the canopy and sprayed water on the smouldering structure until the flames were smothered, albeit at the cost of drenching anything that wasn't already smashed or burnt.

Meanwhile Clashing Gale shadowed the drow from above, watching as they crossed the cleared area around the chompy pit and headed back to the quarry. Finally the copter lifted off and flew away into the night, apparently unaware that Blissful Pastures hosted any creatures other than trolls and sheep. Clashing followed at a discreet distance until he was sure the dark elves weren't doubling back, then banked around to return to the smouldering cottage. He soon located Reef Skimmer and not long after Gustus and Abernathy reappeared, the latter staring sadly at his ruined dwelling.

The troll boggled at the elephant-sized eagle for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Oh, thanks for putting the fire out at least. I suppose I need a new roof. Again."

"Oh, it was the least I could do." Reef nodded. "Wish I could've driven the blighters off, but the captain's orders..." He exchanged a glance with Clashing. "We'd better get back, poor Sails will be beside herself no doubt."

The stallion nodded and spread his wings. Batpony, griffon and roc were soon rising up above the trees, leaving Abernathy to pick through the wreckage. A few minutes later they were gliding down towards the meadow, where a whole flock of pegasi were at work, gathering clouds and assembling them into a larger mass above the ship. "Got to say... that form looks pretty good on you," Clashing told the transformed hippogriff. "Great to see you out of the hold, at least."

Reef Skimmer didn't seem reassured; in fact the reminder of his current state made him duck his head with embarrassment. "Oh erm... yes, well, one really should try to be more presentable..." He peeled off from the others to a landing well away from the ship, where he began trying to squeeze himself back down into hippogriff (or at least, hippogriff-like) form, without much success.

Clashing continued down to the ship until a clump of packed cloud struck him in the chest. A pegasus crewpony swooped down, scooping up the remains of the cloud in her arms and telling him amiably "'ere you go, just like that! C'mon then." As he looked on the airship was released from its moorings and nudged gently downwards by several pegasi and the two griffons, while others formed the gathered cloud-stuff into a shroud over the ship.

It wasn't much, but soon all that could be seen of the EAS Harmony was a mysterious cloud bank hugging the barest edge of the island, just a pile of darkness at night. An enemy ship would have to fly all the way around to the east side, where there was nothing but the gulf of air separating them from the storm wall, before they could see the ship's hull, nestled against the cliffside and hidden below the cloud-covered balloon.

---

The crew slept fitfully that night, and it was well into morning before anypony was up enough to do anything about it. Once the scout ponies had verified there were no drow about, the winged crew began the tedious process of lifting the ship. Slowly it rose up until the gangplank could once more be extended out to the island meadow. Blaze Trails immediately trotted out and started trying to flatten out the deep gouges in the topsoil, still muddy from the night before. A plain meal was had, that everypony wished was less plain, and then the crew gathered amid the tents in the meadow for another all-hands meeting.

"Okay, a lot to unpack here," Set Sail announced, from her place in the circle, "First off thanks for coming, Reef Skimmer. It's a real relief to see you with us again. Reef saved our tails last night, with the drow and all, but until we can get his house fixed, the tall green troll fella named Abernathy is going to be staying with us. Sorry about your house, Abernathy."

The troll stood to a height of at least two ponies; holding his hands up, he said definitively, "Not complaining. At all."

"One did what one could." Reef said, fiddling with his tentacle-feet and not meeting anypony's gaze. He'd managed to make his neck look normal, but there was still a broad band of blue goo around his barrel, fins instead of ear tufts, and his legs and tail were loose gooey approximations at best. "Nutmeg deserves the credit really," he gestured with a broad grey wing at the kirin, "she picked up the sound of that enemy copter and it was her suggestion that got me back in the air in the first place." His beak cracked open in an appreciative smile.

Nutmeg blushed at that, taking an unconscious step back from where she was already standing at the very back of the circled crowd.

Summer Scribe gave a cheerful nod to the hippogriff. "Glad to have you back, Reef!" It truly was a relief that he'd managed to figure out the changes to his body; realised that becoming a strange water creature isn't the end. With luck it would be a new beginning - just as it had been for Azure. Between Set Sail wishing for the book, and Nutmeg suggesting techniques, they'd came together as a team to... hmm. It suddenly struck the unicorn that all the time the hippogriff had been down in the cargo hold, she never so much as popped by and said 'hi'.

"So uh, the meeting with the dirt sharks could've gone better," Set Sail continued, glancing aside, "Apparently as part of their culture they force you to negotiate with them the moment you meet them. So our plan to not negotiate didn't... go as planned." She lifted her head to look to the handsome batpony stallion, saying, "Clashing Gale was overseeing the expedition, so you want to tell us what did happen, Clash? And about that island they showed you?"

Clashing Gale stepped up as he was addressed by the Captain. "Out of respect to every creature on the expedition, I'll try to keep this as unbiased as possible," he began. It was no secret that of all of them, he was the most wary of the shark's intentions. "Initial contact went... well, not great, to be fair. Let's just say it was either 'You land here' or 'We shoot you down'. Understandably, we took the former option." He paused before continuing. "We then met... what was it, Pitchbend, and then the actual leader of... Triskellion Nine, I think?" He looked to Summer Scribe for confirmation.

The unicorn was still lost in thought. Why hadn't she visited Reef? Was she... afraid of something? Or just dogged by a guilty conscience? It had turned out fine in the end - but she couldn't help but feel a pit in her stomach when thinking about Set Sail's reprimand... Summer blinked. Clashing Gale was looking at her. Oh... she could totally have given the expedition report! Well, whatever; the truck ride was cool and Set Sail didn't get to have it. So there.

Summer was just staring into space, so Clashing pressed on. "His name was Firesteel, and we were, um... convinced? ...to work for him in one of his mining operations, which I'm sure Summer Scribe would be happy to describe in depth. As for myself and Grenelda - our part was to rescue two trapped miners from what was likely certain death." He paused once more, sighing a little as he recalled the incident. "We stayed on the fancy airship until then." He backed up, hoping their designated diplomat would describe the rest of it.

Summer Scribe nodded, taking over from there. "Yep, exactly. It was hairy at first - these dirt sharks think of everything transactionally, so they were sizing us up to see if we'd be worth our weight in slave labour." She stuck out her tongue at the notion. "But we managed to convince Firesteel of our merits by boasting of our magical talents, and later on rescuing two of their employees from the botched mining operation."

"We got to ride a giant-wheeled trackless train called a monster truck, with internal pistons and chrome plating!" somepony exclaimed in excitement from the crowd.

"You get all the luck!" Sprocket told Static Signal, nudging her playfully. "All I got to see were these weird drafty ruins. Not a single gear in sight!"

"I know, right?" the dusty pegasus replied indulgently, "I should've been the one going to the windy temple, but y'know, wings as needed. You'll get plenty of chances later I bet."

Summer Scribe grinned and waved a hoof to Static. "Whoop! You bet! Most exciting mine I've ever been to. Ahem! So anyway, the short of it is, we need to travel back to them, do them a favour, and then we'll be able to get a big favour from them in turn. I'm certain a powerhouse like them could crush the drow if a close ally asked for it... Plus, once things have settled down, we REALLY need to filch some cocktail making secrets from them. I've never had anything blow my taste buds like their 'Aqua Blast'!" she added, trying to inject a little levity into the meeting.

Grenelda just rolled her eyes and huffed off to the side. That 'fun and whacky mining operation' almost got her vaporised! Well, whatever. Her flying saved the whole lot of them.

"Slave labour?" Reef asked, ear-fins flaring in concern. "Do they keep slaves as well then? If so how can we countenance an arrangement beyond the most necessary and minimal trades?"

Azure Feather looked a little irritated. "So like the Drow, except driven by money. And we want these creatures on our side?" she asked, looking around the gathered creatures. "I get it, strength in numbers, but... ugh." The pegasus shook her head.

Her words triggered a small commotion: squeezing between ponies to the front, the kirin known as Nutmeg Inferno protested fussily: "Technically they only spoke of everything transactionally! Their actions were a lot more... genuine..." She didn't seem to feel like continuing, looking down furtively.

"Nutmeg's right," Static confirmed, "They were totally into their work, and every time they let us off it was always for friendship. I think they were bluffing about the whole slavery thing. They're fighting for their lives just to get supplies, literally!"

Summer Scribe nodded in agreement. "Hmmm, it's true: if they wanted to kidnap us and force us to work, they had every opportunity to, and I didn't see any slaves while I was there. As far as I can tell, it was all dirt sharks voluntarily working for dirt sharks." She waved her hoof in a circle. "So as long as the drow definitely want to kill us and the dirt sharks show interest in co-operation, the best course of action is pretty obvious: we make friends and get their technology working for us, drive the drow off our backs so we can breathe." What a glorious that day that will be, she thought.

"Bluffing huh? Strange place we're in, if decent creatures are pretending to be slavers, 'stead of the other way round." Gustus said, looking thoughtful. "So what's this favour the sharks are after?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really: it's my specialty! Just a laser shooting pyramid that we have to disarm." Summer said dismissively. "I figure there'll be a back entrance for sure, or we can find a blind spot and blow it up. Classic stuff.. we take it down, they'll be in a world of debt towards us just like that!" She reared back to tap her forehooves together for effect. Bam!

"A... monument? That emits destructive beams?" Reef Skimmer said, trying to understand. "On the shark's island? I can see how that would cause them some trouble. Has it been there since they moved in?"

Clashing Gale and Azure Feather shared a glance, as if to say, 'Is she serious?' The guardsmare was soon muttering to herself about losing the whole squad to deadly laser beams. Clashing Gale just said neutrally: "I don't know how long it's been there, all I can really tell you is that if it can bring down a vehicle like they had - it can bring down any creature here."

"The laser thing on a different island altogether!" Static Signal explained. "We flew there in this super-cool airship with eight propellers and fins and cannons and no balloon at all!"

"Yep! It's ancient technology." Summer Scribe confirmed, thinking about that second island's natives. "Ancient cat technology, probably? Guarding the Uberite pillars and their mineral value, possibly? So you see the problem the dirt sharks have." An amused grin was plastered on her muzzle.

"Cat technology?" Blue Type perked up. "Do you mean Abyssinians, Summer? We've found griffons and dragons, oh how many Equestrian cultures are here, do you think?"

"I don't want to earn us a new enemy," Set Sail said with concern, "Especially not one that can shoot lasers at us. If those pillars are important to these ancient cats, we should at least find out why."

"Hmm... all we know is there's an extant population of sapient cats on the same island. Not sure how close they are to Abyssinians, but... I'm definitely in favour of testing your theory of Equestrian-Cloudbreak Islands cultural symmetry. Perhaps you'd like to swing by and ask questions? They might even have a lead on how the laser works, if they're willing to talk..." She tapped a hoof on the ground, mumbling indistinctly about possible approaches.

"But weren't they the ones that set the trap and broke our truck..." Static muttered, unable to imagine any good coming from creatures so spiteful that they'd try to wreck such a magnificent vehicle.

"That sounds wonderful!" Blue Type replied, with a pleased smile to Summer Scribe, "Admittedly my forte is linguistics, but it is a very good opportunity to advance the field of ponypology. Won't it be dangerous there though?"

"Good point: if they know we're co-operating with the dirt sharks, then they'll hate us just as much." Summer admitted. "So! We'll have to..." a dramatic flourish of a hoof "...not tell them! And probably never visit them again once the jig is up." she finished sheepishly.

"It definitely does sound dangerous," Set Sail spoke up, "If they're sabotaging vehicles to fight over mining rights. We don't want a repeat of the last expedition, so anypony who goes there will have to be very careful not to get caught until we're sure we can do so without being threatened with..." she shuddered, "...slavery."

"One would... certainly appreciate the opportunity to observe a new sapient species." Reef Skimmer said, still disappointed that he'd missed native griffons and new kinds of dragon. "And offer my services to the crew, Captain." he added, glancing at Set Sail. "I believe I've begun to get a grip on my... new abilities, so to speak."

"Oh if you would, that would be wonderful!" Set Sail replied in pleasant surprise, "Whatever you've become is very powerful, and I'm sure you could protect us from danger. Your aid will make a huge difference, whether you go on expeditions or not. I'm just glad you're feeling better about yourself, or at least coping with it."

Azure couldn't help but smile at Reef's words. "Certainly it will be good to have you with us again, Doctor. That's for certain." She, for one, had missed having the hippogriff around. For once they were adding creatures to the roster instead of losing them.

"If you can get a sample of this 'uberite', that'd... that'd be great." Melonwater piped up. "Those columns sure sound like a fascinating formation, but... lasers, underground sharks, angry cats... yeah, maybe if all that settles down..." he said unhappily.

"Oh dear, I... I'm really not much of an... an explorer, really," Blue Type said, shrinking back at the prospect of cats that shoot lasers, "I-is it alright if I wait to advance the field of ponypology until you all have explored the island, to make sure it's safe?"

Summer Scribe chuckled. "Yeah, that's probably for the best!" A polite nod to Blue Type: "Hope to see you come soon, too!" Another nod to Reef, "and I'm looking forward to seeing you in the field again."

"I think it'd be best if I went with this squad as well." Azure Feather said, quietly but firmly. "It would be good wing training and preparation for the true mission ahead," she stated. Her confidence faded as she thought of her difficulties taking to the air; the pegasus looked around nervously, adding: "That is... if no one objects, of course." No one did.

"Can I go?" somepony piped up. A dark-green furred earth mare with tan hair held under a dark, broad brimmed hat, she explained, "I was supposed to be leadin' you sciency folks through the wilds anyway, don't you know. But my leg's all better now and—"

"Now Blaze, we discussed this," Winter Hope chided, "That was a serious sprain, almost a break, and you're supposed to avoid galloping or heavy labor for at least another week."

"Winter, you know I said I'm a quick healer," she insisted stubbornly, "I've been gallopin' like a beast pony and I ain't hurting, not one bit! But I think I would be hurtin' if I didn't get ta see this mystical land of forests and pyramids firsthoof. C'mon, I know everything there is to know about campin' far from home, and this place sounds like it's the furthest we've gone yet! Also the biggest, I hear."

"I must insist on an examination first, Graze Trails." Reef said stuffily. "If there's no inflammation, then... one will adjust your brace, and that should suffice. As long as you avoid unnecessary bucking." He snorted: earth ponies seemed to love unnecessary bucking.

"Blaze," Blaze said, rolling her eyes. Summer Scribe just blinked. You'd try to deny a pony their unnecessary bucking?

Grenelda clicked her beak, giving them all a stern eagle stare. "I guess if we're all going to screw around with that pyramid some more, I better come along and make sure you don't get into any hot water." She hadn't curried any personal favour with the dirt sharks, really - she'd love to go tell them to their faces to screw off, but by this point it was clear that would be swimming against the tide. She still felt a duty to do what she could, and of the whole crew, she did have the most experience with dodging lasers.

"Oh oh if there are three flyers... does that mean I can go?" Sprocket said, glancing excitedly between Azure, Reef and Grenelda. "I just have to see this monster trackless train thing!"

"The trackless train is back on the shark's island now," Static Signal said sadly to Sprocket, "Nothing on that other island but forests and mysterious pillars."

"Oh... but... but there's this energy beam projector right?" the unicorn replied. "Gotta be something cool powering that... unless... it might be all magic I guess? But... somepony who knows their way around an engine should go, in case there's any trouble with the copter."

"Indeed. Plus there's the matter of who will actually fly the thing." Reef said dryly.

"Oh, it's quite simple really." Nutmeg explained. "Synchrocopters aren't as dynamically unstable as other rotorcraft, and the compounding - the side propellers - avoid some of the usual coupling modes. I'm sure..." the kirin looked around nervously, as if suddenly realising she'd drawn everyone's attention again "...I could teach Sprocket... in an afternoon?"

"We do need somepony to take care of the engine," Set Sail told the pair. "This is the furthest we've ever gone, and the copter won't be able to make it in a single trip. But I think Nutmeg should go. In an emergency she can start a fire, and recharge the engines that way."

"Hey, I could start a fire!" Sprocket protested fussily, "I could start lots of fires!"

"She has a point," Nutmeg said with a wince, "Sprocket is very good at setting fires. I need to uh... retrofit the EAS Harmony with some sort of defensive weaponry anyway. I'm sure I could make something out of the... stuff the Skylanders left with us."

It was probably a trick of the light that reflected a flickering fire behind Sprocket's deep violet eyes as she smiled hopefully.

"To be fair," Azure started, "some real defensive weaponry for the ship sounds great. We do need a certain level of basic protection, especially with the drow on the offensive..." she admitted, before falling silent once more.

"Oh I have many designs for ideas!" Nutmeg replied hopefully, "Just wait and see. They won't want to mess with us a second time!"

"And maybe we can get some cannons from the sharks as well!" Static enthused, smiling at her boss. "I got a look at their cannonballs... and get this, they're pointy and they go in the back! That must be so much faster than the way the griffons do it!"

"Once more unto the breech then, eh Grenelda?" Reef Skimmer said jovially. "Just like old times... a fortnight back, that is to say."

The hen sized Reef up. His gooey bits looked goofy but if he could really turn into a roc... "Say, new look and all. I need to figure out what you're all about now." Her beak was agape in an avian grin. "This should be a good opportunity. If you don't mind some prodding questions? I gotta know what my allies can do and last night's drow bash was a dud, sadly."

"Certainly one will do one's best to enlighten you." Reef said, hanging his head again. He didn't feel in a fit state to talk to an attractive female griff just then, but she had a point. "What with the squid-propulsion and the roc transformation and the dissolving tentacles. Would be utterly fascinating... if it was happening to some other griff." he said, shuddering.

"Okay, we're all set then," Set Sail said with a smile, "That island might be our greatest opportunity to form an alliance yet, assuming we can resolve the... differences between the sharks and the Abyssinians."

Summer Scribe nodded enthusiastically. "Roger that! Not only is it our best chance, but the best allies in terms of bang-for-our-buck we could ask for. I'm as hopeful as it gets!" Out loud at least: privately, she thought 'Because what chance do we have if this falls through?'

"Now... onto the issue of somepony who's been digging huge divots in the meadow." Set Sail said, her smile fading.

"Indeed!" Reef said, his voice completely serious. "We must find that pony and make them pay for their crimes against innocent turf."

Set Sail desperately tried to maintain her composure despite the snickering coming from a pair of griffon beaks.

Author's Note:

This story is a collaboration between myself (playing Reef Skimmer, Sprocket and Blue Type), Ferret (playing Set Sail, Nutmeg Inferno, Blaze Trails and Static Signal), Patashu (playing Summer Scribe, Gustus and Grenelda) and Spearmint (playing Azure Feather and Clashing Gale), based on an online RP.

This chapter is based on thirty-sixth session, with me as the GM. We were all geared up for a rematch with the drow; the twist of not fighting them (yet) was Ferret's idea. As he put it: "Abernathy's whole life is an anticlimax." As usual the crew meeting was a free-for-all of secondary characters chiming in - honestly they're one of the best bits of the campaign.