Expedition to the Cloudbreak Islands

by Starglider

Intruders

The explorers made their way back down the short trail Blaze had carved through the undergrowth, heading west along the old road until they came to a crossroads, then north towards the ruins marked on Summer's helpful map. The journey took half an hour on hoof, alternating between a brisk trot and brief breaks while Summer sketched a mysterious, overgrown stele or Reef Skimmer attempted to catch an unusually colourful vole. The explorers were surprised by how quickly the climate changed here: even more than the islands they'd visited before, going from deciduous forest to dense pine trees to rocky barrens and weathered shrubs in the space of a few kilometres.

Crossing two streams via ancient stone bridges and taking a left at the next fork, they came to the site in question. To one side of the trail, a cluster of curious rounded structures that blended into the landscape, like a series of oversized, upturned clay pots. On the other side, a much more elaborate structure: a complex of sizable flat-roofed buildings linked by colonnades and ringed by a perimeter wall. The construction here was massive and squared-off, enormous sandstone columns and slabs fitted together without mortar.

"Well, here we are!" Summer Scribe held her head up high. "Abandoned or not, this will be an important study of the native cat population. One must be adequately prepared, after all!" Onward she strode, fearlessly approaching the seemingly unoccupied huts to examine them closer.

"The climatic anomalies of this place would occupy a team of pegasus researchers for years," muttered Reef Skimmer. While the archaeologist did her thing, the hippogriff occupied himself sketching the various shrubs and comparing them to his earlier notes. It was as if hordes of invisible weather ponies were up there, tirelessly maintaining the patchwork of microclimates. He thought of Cloud Cutter... no doubt she would have loved to study it all, had she not lost her weather working. Despite her unwarranted hostility, he still felt a pang of sympathy for the mare.

"Such a strange place," Azure said quietly to herself. Her new Pegasus senses were indeed going off in ways she still didn't understand, with all the strange weather around here. She kept her face blank, not letting the others see it was bothering her - they weren't pegasi, so they probably didn't pick up on the little twitches of her wings. As always the guard was at the rear of the squad, keeping everypony in sight at all times. While she still wasn't entirely confident in her new abilities, Azure was feeling less lost than she had right after the transformation. In any case, she'd do whatever she had to, to keep her team safe.

"I sure haven't seen none of these cat fellows yet, but I don't suspect we'll be running into them soon. This is their home after all, and some of us sure are making noise," Blaze Trails remarked, the last part under her breath. The deep green mare stood near a stand of pine trees, staring at the weird pot-shaped buildings, not sure if she liked the look of them.

Grenelda had maintained a certain level of paranoia all the way from the camp, glancing left and right, keeping watch all around the party. The hen felt like she's had eyes on her for the past twenty minutes, but she hadn't caught a peep of the watchers. Somegriff was out there, she just knew it - but who, and when would they make a move? "Not sure I like the looks of those," the rough lady griffon told Blaze, seeming somewhat distracted. "Don't move in yet. Just wait a sec, see if Summer makes anything explode." The griff kept a close eye out for any movement within the ruins.

"Explode?" Blaze Trails said in surprise, looking Grenelda's way. "These are homes not bombs, dear," she explained, "They make them out of clay and woven sticks... you don't see 'em much outside of Zebrica. I'm just a little antsy about waltzing up to somepony's doorstep."

"What part of 'abandoned buildings' don't you get?" Grenelda asked incredulously, "These are houses? Could still be traps." The hen stared around unhappily. "And... it's too open around here. Any kind of monster could spring out of those trees."

"Well I think they're fine," Sprocket said, sticking very close to the big scary griffon right now. She wasn't sure if she liked all this adventuring. Not a monster or a truck to be seen so far, "So nopony's attackin' Summer... might as well just go in and..." It took a concerted effort to step away from the relative safety of her companion, but she did, cautiously heading among the ostensible dwellings after Summer Scribe.

As it turned out nothing exploded, and there wasn't much to see in the long-vacant roundhouses. Summer quickly moved on to the much larger complex, trotting confidently up to the entrance then closing her eyes for a second to sense for dangerous magic. There were traces of... something, traces of a lot of different castings in fact, but it didn't feel like there was anything coherent and active. As for physical barriers, if there had been gates here, they were long gone.

Once past the perimeter wall, things were looking very promising. Intricate carvings were everywhere, in bands and rows on the walls and columns. The symbols were unfamiliar, more like tiny pictures than runes, but there was a definite cat theme; cat heads, bipedal cats, winged cats, armoured cats, regular cats, you name it. Then there were the statues... several scattered around the complex, along other worked stone shapes that seemed completely abstract in nature.

Each statue depicted a creature that seemed to Summer like a cross between an Abyssinian and a centaur: the lower body of a lion or panther, with a smaller upright torso where the neck should be bearing two fingered arms similar to Abernathy's. The poses were proud, contemplative or suggestive of spellcasting; the less-damaged statues held long staffs topped with unfamiliar ornaments.

Azure Feather had taken flight to get a quick bird's eye view of the area, and soon spotted the marks of a battle long past. Judging by the numerous holes, cracks, scorch marks, craters and similar damage, it hadn't been your typical pony battle. She shook her head - whether danger still here lurked or not, they were better off together. Alighting on a column, the pegasus motioned with a wing, indicating that the others should follow Summer. It would certainly make her job a lot easier. A part of her wished she could be examining the ancient architecture herself - her younger self would have loved this.

"May as well head in," Blaze Trails said, trotting forward and looking back to Grenelda. "C'mon, don't be a scaredy cat! ...bird."

"Whatever," Grenelda replied, leaping into the air and flying straight over the perimeter wall, leaving the unhurried Blaze trotting crisply along behind.

Sprocket looked up as the griffon flew over her: the dusty unicorn mare's hackles went up as she realised her bodyguard had flown the coop. Blaze paused beside her though, laying a hoof on the other pony's back and saying, "Let's go see what the others are getting into." So the two entered the statue garden together, while Grenelda and Azure circled for a bit before landing nearby.

Summer Scribe paused again, letting her horn sense her surroundings. "OK, no active magic, we're in the clear." Striding in, she took stock of the architecture and of the carvings. "Looks like a pictograph-based language system - hopefully Blue Type can translate them." She studies the statued as well, remarking: "Hmm... tauric body-type, definitely a celebration of magical capabilities; I wonder if their magical knowledge is still extant? Regardless, it strikes me as a race that'd be able to make our Obelisk problem with no problem." The unicorn wracked her memory. "...In fact, I remember seeing statues that looked like this outside the pyramid? I didn't have long to look, but I think that'd cinch the relationship."

Reef Skimmer arrived just in time to hear her musing: "Remarkable!" he said, trotting from one statue to the next. "'Tauric body-type' you say? Haven't heard that terminology, but it does suit. One certainly wonders if there are more species in the family..." He sat down and fiddled with his pack, looking for his camera and its tripod.

Summer Scribe nodded eagerly: "Yeah! I figure with all the species variety up in the Cloudbreak Islands - it's practically all new to science! - this might not be the last four-legged two-armed species we learn of." She peered at what he was- oh! A sudden moment of realisation: "A camera... I really wish I had one of those handy. It'd save a ton of time doing sketches." Of course, her quill and book are always nearby, with her satchel and telekinesis alike.

"Oh, did yours go missing in the crossing?" Reef said sympathetically. "Alas I have no flash powder, so of limited use indoors, but still... a completely new sapient species! Definitely worth a few plates... one does hope there are live specimens around somewhere!" He frowned, looking at the nervous Sprocket. "Assuming they're friendly, that is." Then he went back to fiddling with the camera, unfolding the bellows and setting it up on its tripod.

That was enough to set Summer's hoof tapping nervously. "Mmmm, 'friendly'... yeah, that's what I'm worried about - they have a big grudge against the Landsharks - maybe warranted? so I'm fretting about what they'll feel about us when we make contact."

"The place sounds like it's seen Tartarus and then some," Azure noted to Grenelda, shaking her head. "Whatever we're stepping into, we'd best be careful. Don't know about you, but there's something about the notion of 'magically blasted battlefield' that makes me think there's either a monster, a trap, or worse waiting the further in we get," she brooded.

"Those battles do tend to linger," Blaze Trails remarked, worry written on her face. She was sizing up the statues from a different perspective: "Hopefully these are just statues, and not the critters that were battling."

Summer shook her head; this speculation wasn't getting them anywhere. She took the initiative and started forward towards the main entrance, announcing: "Okay, I'm dying to know what's inside the complex." The question of whether anyone would follow was left hanging in the air.

Azure shrugs a little. "If the squad's going into a potentially dangerous area, the guard followed. I'm in." The pegasus took a few steps forward, then looked to the rest of her allies. Who else wanted to head into this... alien building, scarred by a battle of violent magics?

"It sure looks ancient," Sprocket said cluelessly, staring up at the tops of the sandstone columns, "I'll uh... take the rear. But... tell me if you see any traps, I might be able to unjigger them."

"Less worried about traps," Blaze said, peering into the building, "than spells left half finished, still intending to do harm. But.. it's not much riskier than the chance of tripping and falling on an old spear somepony left lying around though."

"Y-yeah well... maybe I can... do something..." Sprocket stuttered nervously.

"Don't worry we'll make sure it's safe," Blaze reassured her, "You take the rear, and see if you can open up any huge stone doors that close us off, or whatnot." The earth pony headed up to stand beside Summer, smiling and saying, "Thanks for asking! Good that you make sure you aren't leaving anypony behind. I agree let's go see what's inside now."

Sprocket just sighed, looking to Azure hopefully, for somepony safe to stick with.

"Knock yourselves out," Grenelda said, "I'll keep watch out here." However spacious as the entrance looked, she didn't feel like going into any sort of confined space right now. "With the doctor, I guess," she added, seeing Reef Skimmer still taking photos of the statue garden.

---

The interior spaces of the complex turned out to be a series of dusty halls and rooms, most carpeted in the scattered shards of smashed stonework and ruined equipment. Further in there was less damage; Summer recognised many of the items as instruments of magical research - a table covered in strangely shaped glassware, jars of dimly glowing sludge, wire frameworks that had once held arrangements of crystals - thought she had no idea what exactly had been researched here. The alchemical charts and sorcerous runes carved into the walls might yield answers, if she had a team of academics and a way to translate all the accompanying hieroglyphs.

Summer's eyes twinkled as she walked slowly through the building, gawking at all of the fascinating items. "Ooh, yes! This is a magical research building. It'd take me ages to fully figure this place out, and I guess we don't have that time, so I'll try to stay cursory." A pout of dissatisfaction, but still an amazing discovery!

Staring at the runes in awe, but then total incomprehension, Sprocket groaned and facehooved, saying "I'm the worst unicorn ever. Shoulda paid more attention in magic class." Still sticking close to Azure, she added, "So you don't have a horn anymore at all... must suck not being able to levitate things."

Azure had stayed quiet, shooting curious glances at the abandoned equipment but mainly keeping an eye on the dangerously excitable Summer Scribe. Sprocket's question prompted a thoughtful look on her face. After some reflection she opened her mouth to reply... only to find the words would not come. How could she sum up her life's quest, a dream realised but at an unexpected price, the intense embarrassment of fumbling around like a foal?

At last the ponies reached the largest, central hall. Here shafts of light shone in through holes blown in the roof to cast pools of light on a mosaic floor bearing an intricate circular mandala. One wall drew Summer's eye in particular; a large-scale if slightly stylised map of the island, bearing a series of prominent symbols inlaid in silvery metal. On the north arm, a stylised representation of the tauric creatures they'd seen in statue form. To the west, over the largest cluster of buildings, an Abyssinian rendered in side profile.

To the south, a shape that gave Summer a little chill of recognition - a sphinx, the legendary pony-headed giant winged lion that had given Somnambula so much trouble. To the east, what looked like a bipedal lion wearing bulky plate armour - likely a different species, or even a golem, given the massive build that bore little resemblance to the lithe Abyssinians. Finally, on an outlying island to the north-west, a symbol of interlocking curves that the ponies didn't recognise.

Blaze looked puzzled, asking, "Is it a magical map? Weird symbols - 'specially that one in the corner. Maybe whatever blew that whole island arm sky high messed up the map in here? It doesn't seem to be shifting about or changing or anything."

The armoured lion drew Azure's gaze, but she held back, maintaining her ready posture, scanning the various pillars and doors for any creature that might be lurking in the centre of the complex.

Summer had no such reserve: the unicorn trotted forward eagerly, fixated on the sun-lit map and ignoring the rest of the chamber. "Let's see how these catfolk categorized their islan- huh. Is that... a sphinx?" She tilted her head, staring with sudden recognition. "Huh. I wonder if that's something we can still- ahhhh!" Her musing was interrupted by the sudden pressure of a spell activating, right under her hooves.

If it hadn't been for the congealed residues of thousands of castings all around she would have noticed it earlier, but as it was, Summer's sideways leap came slightly too late. Green energy flashed through the stone mandala, creating a column of light filling most of the hall. Summer rosed up into the air, floating lazily in mid-air at the centre of the space, legs waving to no effect. Blaze Trails had been following close behind and was caught up in the effect, all sensation of weight disappearing as she too went drifting through the air, caught in the levitation trap. The two ponies would be stuck there until the monastery's owners came to deal with them; which would likely be a while, seeing as it had been abandoned for over a century.

"Oh - waaah! Seriously?!" Summer Scribe's griping was hardly an effective remedy, but it's all she could muster as her reflexes failed her and she was levitated into the air. She looked over at the also floating Blaze Trail, letting out a belated sigh before yelling: "Assistance, please!" She wasn't sure if the trap had any further functions, but she certainly didn't want to hang about! The little unicorn flailed her limbs a bit to see if she could get any sideways momentum going, but escaping the trap under her own power seemed impossible.

Blaze Trails seemed much less perturbed. "Oh a levitation trap! Boy does this bring me back," the earth mare declared, twirling in mid-air to get into her saddlebags. "Guess you were right, Sprocket!" she called out, "I dunno why they'd set their traps after a huge battle, but there you have it! Here, can somepony catch this?" Biting down on one end of a rope, Blaze tossed the other end well outside of the glowing field of magical energy.

Azure regarded the glowing green field warily. Two ponies trapped, including their lead researcher - unharmed so far, but who knew what other lingering magic might be here. Wind blades weren't likely to help here. If only she still had telekinesis... this would be so much easier, Azure thought. Instead she stepped forward and bit down on the rope, hesitating as she realised that only Blaze was connected to it. Then again, would she even have enough strength to pull even one pony out? Maybe if she used her wings...

Summer watched as Blaze got the end of a rope free, and Azure grabbed hold of it. All she could to was encourage them: pumping a hoof and waving at the newly minted pegasus. "Yeah - haul Blaze out, then you can lasso me afterwards!"

Biting down hard on the rope, Azure backed up, straining her legs and teeth to pull as hard as she could. Blaze was dragged away from Summer to the edge of the column of magic, but the force resisting her escape got steadily stronger, until she was stuck floating near the edge, caught between the straining pegasus and the spell determined to keep her trapped.

Blaze tried pressing her own foreleg down on the rope, wrapping it around it, but gave up quickly when that only dragged Azure closer to being trapped herself. Holding the rope, Blaze declared, "Boy howdy this thing has got us good! Can you tie the rope off somewhere? Those columns look pretty sturdy!"

"I'll go get Reef he's huge!" Sprocket declared helpfully, trotting quickly through the dusty halls, heading for the courtyard and leaving Azure struggling to tie off the rope without magic.

At the sight of Blaze barely making it out Summer let out a huff of sympathetic frustration; it looked like her own rescue would be prolonged. She nodded to Sprocket: "Yes, get Reef!" but the other unicorn was already out the door. Summer was left to fidgets with her hooves, spinning in place as she hung weightless in the air.

Azure Feather was happy to follow Blaze's advice: either she'd lose her grip on the rope, or they'd have a third pony trapped in the field. Thankfully, the column wasn't too far. She still felt intolerably clumsy doing everything with her mouth, but soon enough the knot was secure. She gave the rope a quick tug to double-check, then called out: "Alright, all set!"

Blaze twisted about to tie the rope around her torso, yanked to test the strength of the connection, then spooled the rope around her forelegs, by jamming one after the other down on its increasing tension, until slowly she started to drag herself out of the trap's incorporeal grasp. At last with a sudden squeak, she was free, briefly tumbling across the floor to slide to a stop near Azure.

---

Outside, Grenelda was perched on the perimeter wall, allowing her to scan the area while still glancing down occasionally to watch the hippogriff playing with his camera. It was always funny to see him get so excited over new kinds of creature - though she had to admit, these feline centaurs were genuinely interesting - a squirrel with neon stripes, not so much (though it did make it easier to find lunch). Every so often her keen eyes caught a glimpse of movement in the trees; so far just wildlife, but... there. That... was definitely a biped, crouching behind a shrub. Triangular ears, large eyes... had to be one of the native cats.

The griffon perked up in alarm, then held perfectly still, calling down to Reef: "I see them! I just knew we were being trailed by the cats. Going to take a closer look." In a sudden burst of movement, the hen spread her wings and leapt from her previous perch to a closer one. No doubt that would tip off their observer, but she didn't mind that: she wanted to be a strong, visible statement that this bunch of explorers was alert and not to be messed with.

Grenelda couldn't hear the hiss from so far away, but the griffon could definitely see the cat creature baring its teeth in alarm as it crept backward, startled by the griffon's sudden approach. Cover blown, the furry biped slunk away into the dense pine forest. As it went, Grenelda got a good look at the bow it carried, an arrow already nooked and ready, while a dagger glinted on its belt.

"...Shit. Thing's armed, too. Got a bow and a dagger," she reported back to Reef. "And I don't wanna assume that's just for self-defence and get bitten. I bet they'd make the first move if they felt warranted. We're not welcome here."

"Oh, erm, surely we shouldn't jump to conclusions?" Reef mused. "Abyssinians are carnivores of course, maybe the creature was out hunting and we piqued their curiosity? Then again... felines are generally territorial, and if they've been sabotaging the shark's expeditions, one imagines they might default to treating visitors as threats..."

Grenelda narrows her eyed at that. "Yes, quite. We should probably..." the hen gave her claws an instinctive flex, talons glinting, "...Let it know that we'd strongly prefer otherwise. Want to come help, Reef?"

Into the middle of this little drama, Sprocket came charging out of the complex, hurrying up to Reef Skimmer and panting, "Summer and Blaze got caught in a trap. We need you to help pull 'em out!"

"Sprocket! A trap, you say? One is at your disposal, of course..." Reef's beak hung open in a little grin, though Sprocket might not have realised it was such. "Alas Grenelda, it seems I must decline, at least for now... probably best if you keep watch while we dig Summer out once again?"

Grenelda leaned back on her high perch. "Hrmmm... sure, sure. I don't want to take any risks right now. Go help free Summer from whatever mess she's in now, Reef." She waved a claw at the pair then returned to staring into the woods.

Sprocket ran back through the complex with the hippogriff in tow, paying little heed to the abandoned facilities. They reached the central hall just as Blaze had finished untying the rope from the thick sandstone column. "One sec, and I'll lasso your unicorn friend!" the earth pony told them.

"Hmm," Reef said, looking sternly at the column of light and pony floating within. "So, was this spellwork so devilishly hidden that even creeping forward with horns out, there was no way to detect it before contact?" he said accusingly to Summer. "Or were you perhaps a little too eager to inspect those symbols over there?"

Summer Scribe blushed, feeling guilty and defensive. "I tried, I couldn't make heads or tails of anything! It was all a wishy washy mess of discarded magical residue that this didn't stick out at all. Really sorry!" She kicked her hooves, trying to keep some sense of dignity around her even as she did a slow involuntary backflip.

"Hey don't blame her," Sprocket said, looking at Reef in surprised offense, "It's all... woobly in here!"

"'Woobly', you say?" The hippogriff gave Sprocket an odd look, then jerked his head around, staring into space. "You know, it does feel strange in here. Mixed up. I wouldn't know what to make of it either, though I've only had these a few days..." Reef tapped the pearls now permanently attached to his head "...so honestly not much is making sense." He looked at Summer. "Consider your court-martial cancelled," he told her, then his tone softened: "Apologies. Was anyone hurt?"

Summer let out some of the tension in an explosive chuckle. "Honestly, things could have gone a lot worse: this seems to be a trap with entirely nonlethal intent. So far, all that's happened is me and Blaze hung out here for a bit, and now it's just me." She kicked her legs again, then sighed as she resigned herself to waiting passively for rescue. The only real casualty had been her ego.

Azure Feather shook her head. "No injuries sustained here, Doctor." The trap was a bother, but Blaze was out and rescuing Summer shouldn't take much longer. They'd got lucky - she worried if the next trap they missed would be less benign.

Blaze Trails stepped up, flinging the rope such that it unfolded as it flew forward until Summer could catch the loop tied in the end of it. With Summer hanging on for dear life, the combined forces of Reef, Azure, and Blaze smoothly pulled her out of the field, step by step, until she too popped loose. Sprocket restricted herself to cheered them on - there wasn't much room left to grab onto the rope anyway. The column of restraining force continued to glow behind her, as Summer Scribe climbed back to her hooves.

Summer scrambled back to her hooves after been yanked out, escaping the forcefield with a sudden pop. "Whew! Thanks, ponies." She took a moment to steady herself, turning around to satisfy her curiosity, holding her horn out to the base of the forcefield. "As I suspected - magic's coming right out of the design on the floor, here. We can walk around it, of course, but I'll have to pay attention to other traps here - shouldn't assume that was the only one."

"Good show Blazing Rails." Reef congratulated the capable earth pony. "Interesting that your rope wasn't deflected upwards as you cast it. One can only assume that spellwork affects living and unliving matter differently, or perhaps discriminates by mass, hmmm..." He shook his head again; a matter best left to unicorns.

"Oh, well it did fly a little funny," Blaze told Reef, "These sorts of traps look for something to big grab ahold of, like an unwanted intruder. They're not just a big blob of glowin' jello, more like a bunch of..." she glances at Reef's forelegs, "Grabby claws of light, looking for something to hold onto. They wrap around the rope, but it's them pulling against each other that keeps you there, not their grip."

"I think it's meant to stabilise you in the centre of the cylinder, otherwise we'd just have smacked into the ceiling..." Summer muttered out loud. Now that she was out of the trap, she could take a closer look at the map. ~Reveal your secrets to me, map...!~

"Starswirl's beard," Sprocket swore, looking in awe at the mandala at the floor, "I feel like these guys were like triathlon runners, and I'm just splashin' around in the kiddie pool."

"Good to see every creature's safe," Azure said in contentment, but was soon shaking her head again. "Keep your eyes open though. We're likely to run into more traps, or perhaps even worse. I can't stress it enough, be careful. We're lucky that trap didn't hurt anypony."

"Oh Azure, err, indeed, very fortuitous." Reef agreed. "You know, Grenelda was just saying something about cats trailing her. A cat with a bow and a dagger in particular. I think it ran away, she wanted to go hunt it down, but then Sprocket requested my assistance and, erm, one does hope she's still perched on the wall rather than doing anything rash..."

Azure frowned at Reef's information. "So we've literally got natives who know we're here? Lovely, if that doesn't scream 'major threat' - especially with them armed with bows, daggers... maybe even controlling that laser... this could even be worse than the drow." Her mind was going to dark places as she scanned the room for threats again, even more carefully this time.

Summer Scribe looked nervous at the mention of hunter cats. "Oh, so much for a peaceful first contact..." she lamented. "I'd be surprised if they have the laser under their control - I think it just does whatever it wants at this point, but... yeah, can't rule anything out at this point."

Sprocket tried to calm things down, saying "We don't know if they have horns or anything like that, or those zappy spear things bipeds carry in comic books and stuff. Just having bows and daggers doesn't mean they're harmless, sure, but it doesn't mean they're hot stuff."

Summer nodded, still looking shaken: "A bow's already enough of a credible threat that I'm concerned. I just hope they'll listen to reason!"

Meanwhile Reef Skimmer had carefully slipped around the glowing forcefield to get a closer look at the map on the far wall. "I say, that's a sphinx! They were said to live in pyramids, weren't they? And this... hmm, another subspecies of feline bipeds? With an affection for heavy armour?" He shot the unicorn a curious glance. "Do you have any means of determining how long this place has been uninhabited?"

Summer Scribe trotted over, nodding eagerly: "Oh, yes! There's techniques you can use, you can measure the levels of erosion and accumulated dust, gives you a pretty good estimation."

"Are you all nuts?" Blaze declared in shock, "They're gonna box us in here! At least if we're outside we'll have somewhere to run if they decide to tussle with us!"

The earth pony's words jolted Summer back to reality. "Err, uhh, yes! Sorry, going to have to abandon the investigation for a bit. Grenelda's still outside, right? Let's go see what she has to say?"

"Blaze has a point," Azure agreed. "We're up against foes with no intelligence on their capabilities, or disposition. The most foolish thing we could do is to let them to flank us on both sides. We need to get the advantage, at least, terrain-wise. Let's move out."

At least one of these ponies had her head screwed on straight, Blaze thought, even if the others were a bit nuts. She led the way as they all hurried back outside to check on their guard griffon.

Grenelda had been perched on the highest roof for only ten minutes or so before she spotted movement out in the pines again. A lot more of it this time; she couldn't be sure exactly how many cats were out there, but at least a clawful... and over there, more furry shapes taking position in a copse near the clay houses. They were a lot bigger than drow, more like a griff reared onto paws, and there... there was one shape bigger still, padding on four paws while carrying something long in its fleshy claws, something with a glowing tip.

She squinted, trying to make out the details. "Shit: this looks bad! Trouble inbound, and I think I see a magical staff of some kind," she called down to Blaze as the pony returned to the courtyard. She didn't want to get in a scrap with that creature, not until she knew what they were capable of. Arrows, daggers - those she understood well enough.

"I'll go hide, just in case," Blaze said quickly, "Wouldn't do to get all of us captured at once, if they're ornery." The earth mare dashed off to find some sort of a hiding spot.

Sprocket was the next to emerge, asking "What's going on? We're not gonna have to fight them, are we?"

Grenelda's eyes narrowed. Well, if Blaze wasn't going to fight, then hiding was probably the best thing she could do. The griffon glanced between the cat warband and the clueless Sprocket. "We might. Are Reef and Azure with you? I need some real firepower so I can stand up to them," she clucked.

Said creatures were right behind Sprocket, along with Summer Scribe who was still engaged in speculation with Reef Skimmer about what species were still extant on the island. "Say what? Cats with magic? We're facing Magicats?" Reef exclaimed. He considered turning into a roc... but would that escalate the situation unnecessarily?

Azure Feather was to the point: "Grenelda, hearing a lot of chatter... we've got hostiles incoming?" She gritted her teeth at the prospects of conflict, then sighed. "Let's confirm they're even hostile first: if they shoot first, we shoot back." The pegasus stared into the distance for a moment. "We can't trust anyone here - but that doesn't mean we have to fight them."

Summer Scribe perked up as she listened to the chatter. "They've got a magic weapon? Oh geez, this is serious." Her voice was more nervous than ever, looking over to Reef for reassurance.

Up on the wall, Grenelda shook her head. "They haven't fired a shot yet - if we can keep it that way, great. If not, you're gonna need to fight too, Reef. Azure, are you ready? Sprocket and Summer, you keep out of it for now."

Azure listened closely: "Understood, but..." There was still a chance for diplomacy. Summer had done it with the gill folk, and again with the dragons. Why wasn't she taking the initiative now?

"Okay, I... I can go hide nearby, I guess?" Sprocket said uncertainly. Blaze had already disappeared - should she run after her or what? She certainly didn't want to get hit by a magical weapon or whatever, but what if her team needed help? She just had no idea how to handle this sort of situation. Reluctantly the unicorn retreated, edging her way around the complex and looking for a rear gate to get out of the place.

From Grenelda's high vantage, she could see two of the creatures emerging from the trees, heading straight for the entrance to the compound. One looked like a big cougar that walked on two legs, dressed in a simple green tunic and carrying a short bow in elongated forepaws. The other was clearly one of the creatures depicted by the statues, a leonine centaur with an oddly flattened face, carrying a gnarled wooden staff topped by a crystal that cast a green glow. The two kept their eyes on the griffon as they approached, their weapons at the ready but not yet aimed.

The griffon clicked her beak, and hopped down to the courtyard, forming a loose formation with Azure and Reef. "Here they come. If they want to talk, we'll talk. If they're here to fight, we won't roll over and show our bellies." She stretched her lithe leonine body, wings stretching and floofing up, eagle talons tearing at the ground.

"Roger that, Grenelda. Leave Summer to diplomacy first," Azure repeated. "If it turns sour, I'll follow your lead." Before she'd expect to be in command, but uncertain as she was about her own abilities following the transformation... in truth Azure was relieved that some other creature was taking charge for this battle. Whatever the outcome, she was ready.

For once Summer Scribe didn't seem up to the challenge. "W-Wait, I don't know if I should be in charge of diplomacy if they're here with weapons..." she said timidly, hiding behind Grenelda and peeking out from under her wing. "I mean, uhh, I can say hi if desired?..."

Beyond the walls, the two strange creatures halted as Grenelda disappeared from sight; they hadn't yet reached the entrance, so couldn't see inside the compound. "Griffon!" a male voice shouted. "This territory is claimed, and defended! Out of respect for your clan, we give you one chance to retreat with your honour intact! Fly now, or taste steel!"

Grenelda's brow furrowed. Their diplomat seemed to be out of commission, and... well, you'd have to be an idiot not to take that offer. They was nothing to gain and much to lose from forcing a fight, after all. With a leap and a few flaps she was back on the wall, staring down at the Abysinnian and the cat-centaur. Raising a wing, she said reasonably: "I hear you. We accept your offer and will retreat." She glanced down to her allies, "We have some non-fliers with us in our party, so we ask only that you give us time to vacate them as well."

"You tread in the sacred halls of the mystics," the felitaur said in a deep female voice, gesturing with her staff for emphasis. "Don't test my patience!"

Then the biped again: "Alright, griffons, round up your pets. But... our eyes are everywhere, our bows at the ready, so if you're thinking of trying anything, think again."

To Grenelda it seemed like there was an undercurrent of fear in his voice, like he was projecting bluster to cover up his uncertainty. The female though... she seemed certain of herself. She got the impression they were afraid of a conflict too - and didn't blame them. Griffins here seemed to have a reputation, and while parts of it might be unwarranted, she could hardly complain.

With a quick flap the griff was back on the ground, out of sight of the cats and ready to address her companions. "Alright, let's get ready to leave. Azure, Reef, we're carrying a pony out each. Once we're airborne, then we'll figure out what happens next," she said gruffly.

No diplomacy, no battle, nothing? Just a straight retreat? If anything, Azure Feather looked... was that frustration, disappointment, or both? Either way, she headed to Summer's side. "Either we ride together again, or maybe you'd be better off with Reef... I don't know, Summer, it's your call." Azure could understand the other mare being afraid of the magical weapons - she'd seen some terrifyingly effective ones back in Equestria! But to call a retreat first without even trying diplomacy? She could only shrug.

"Retreat?" Reef Skimmer frowned: he'd also been expecting the ponies to do their friendship thing. "Very well." He concentrated for a moment, then his form rippled, warped and expanded again, as he transformed into an enormous grey eagle, or rather, small pink-crested roc. Aside from making flying less tiring, the intimidation factor should help keep those magi-cats at bay. "Oh, just climb on my back Summer, it worked well enough with Nutmeg."

Summer was sweating buckets. "...I-I don't know. I mean, we could try, b-but we're soundly in the wrong here. They've got us red hooved!" She turned to watch Reef's miraculous transformation in action - a few seconds and he'd become an elephant-sized bird! "Okay, you got it! I think that means you get Sprocket, Azure? Don't worry! I trust in your wings." She nodded as she clambered aboard her ride.

"Now this may feel a little strange - believe me, the feeling is mutual - but just, erm, sit tight there, ok?" Reef instructed his passenger, before sucking her hooves down into the gooey interior of his back and gripping them tightly. Then it was just a matter of letting his claws revert to tentacles and blasting off. The enormous grey raptor shot skyward, propelled by jets of high-pressure water that sprayed from the tips of his tentacle-feet, climbing rapidly (and incidentally turning the statue garden into a rutted mess of muddy puddles) before levelling off to circle high over the complex.

Summer gawked. "Woah, my hooves! Oh, I get it, this is how you keep me in place..." She looks out from the side and yelps as Reef started blasting water: "And this is the propulsiiooonnnn...!"

Grenelda clicked her beak in admiration: Gustus had mentioned it but this was her first glimpse of Reef's new form. Then she took wing herself, flapping around in search of Blaze Trails. "Hey! Blaze! We're leaving, let's be quick about it."

Azure was wordless in response to it all. As much as she wanted to protest, she couldn't, so she just mechanically followed orders: "Understood, Summer." Yet she couldn't help but add another comment under her breath as the unicorn walked away. "Well that makes one of us..." Confidence in these wings? Not yet; not even close. Still, she went galloping after Sprocket, catching the other unicorn just as she was about to slip out through a breach in the rear wall. "Guess I'm the one carrying you... fair warning, probably a rough flight ahead," she said apologetically, as she took one last look back at the complex. Lost opportunities. Well, one can't win everything.

Sprocket just trotted over to Azure, her expression meek as she stood ready to be picked up. "Not like I could get myself out of this. If you can carry me, that'd be just... way cool. Still can't believe you can fly with those things. Like, they're real wings, not... I mean... I dunno what I mean. Let's just get outta here."

Straining to the limit, Azure managed to get them both airborne, struggling to gain altitude with such a heavy weight in her hooves. Meanwhile Grenelda searched the grounds high and low, but couldn't find a trace of the earth pony. "Blaze? Hello? You out here? It's a cease fire!" she called out. Nothing. The griffon clicked her beak in annoyance: ok, fine. If the pony wanted to make her own escape, she could. Grenelda was left to spread her wings and fly away empty-clawed; she could only hope they'd find Blaze back at camp.

Author's Note:

This story is a collaboration between myself (playing Reef Skimmer), Ferret (playing Blaze Trails and Sprocket), Patashu (playing Summer Scribe and Grenelda) and Spearmint (playing Azure Feather), based on an online RP.

This chapter is based on thirty-eighth session, with me as the GM. Summer Scribe's sudden self-confidence crisis nixed any attempt at diplomacy with the cat-folk - though to be fair, it was going to be a tough sell after waltzing into their sacred ruin.

The anthro cats and felitaurs are both based on individual Skylanders:

Like most of the Skylanders, they're the only member of their species appearing in the games, but the lore assures us there are whole populations of them out there somewhere. The ponies assume that the anthro cats are the same species as the Abyssinians (from the MLP movie and comics), though this hasn't been confirmed.

Next up: sphinxes!

Illustration by MissMele Madness (except for the symbols on the map, which were me).

Comments

[Derpmeister]

Looks like your story got featured, and with such a good like to dislike ratio maybe you'll get the attention this story deserves

[Starglider]

10727789
Thanks. I can understand a lot of readers taking a brief look and moving on; quality of writing aside, making a story out of an RP log has some inherent compromises. The pacing is slower than it would be if I was writing from scratch, and this story was rejected by Equestria Daily for 'breaking the rule of one viewpoint character per chapter'. Still, I hope it's interesting to read, particularly for people who already enjoy or are thinking about trying RP.