I circled above the pyramid as Amber and I reached it. It was amazing how much progress they had made in just the time we had been getting the fruit harvest.
The barricade was only a dozen segments from being finished and things looked much more organized already. It didn't just have the line of quarter cut trunks this time, it also had a line of them with the pointy end at a forty five degree angle outwards. They had moved the medical tent to the lower level to make it faster to move the injured inside and the cooking tent had been moved up to take its place.
The other tents had been moved around a bit into straight lines instead of just jumbled up like before.
Pones had been really busy.
Spotting Moon Glow, I circled lower and went down to land close by before trotting over to her, "Moon Glow."
"Sir," she said, putting her helmet down. She was out of her armour and it was laid out on the stone next to her as she cleaned it.
"Amber and I spotted something big in the jungle," I said without preamble.
That got her full attention instantly, "Where and what?"
"By where we collected the fruit, maybe a kilometer from the camp," I told her, "We didn't see it, just hear it beneath the tree but it sounded big. It wasn't heading this way directly however, it headed towards the west. We don't even know there was a rexosaurus, just that it was big."
Moon Glow sighed and looked towards the jungle beyond the barricade, "...How many massive predators does this jungle need?"
I sat down on the stone, shifting my wings in a shrug, "To be fair, we don't actually know that it was a predator, we didn't see it. Could just as easily have been a big herbivore."
She raised an eyebrow at me, "Really?"
I nodded, "I mean, the rexasaurus does need to eat something when there are no ponies around."
"Good point," Moon Glow admitted and sighed, "Just another week, sir."
"Just another week," I agreed. We just needed to hold out for another week.
"Kind of wish Captain Armor was here right now," Moon Glow admitted, "One of those shields of his would be really useful."
"No kidding," I agreed before I frowned, "I wonder if Midnight can put something like that up?"
Moon Glow shook her head, "I already asked. She can, but she can't put it up for as long and she was far from convinced it would even help if the rexasaurus was magic immune."
I nodded, "Well, that would have been too easy, wouldn't it?"
She nodded and started to assemble her armour again, "Yes, sir. Well, we'll be as ready as we can. We can only hope that if something like that comes for us, one of the scouts spot it with time to give us some warning."
"Nopony can do anything more," I agreed and moved down the stairs of the pyramid, moving beneath the tent for the injured.
I looked across them for a second before making my way along the ones that were awake, checking how they were doing and if they needed anything. It was the least I could do, I was the reason they were even here.
Then I reached Swift where he was reading a book. I looked down at him for a second, "You look like shit."
"So. Bored," he sighed and let the book drop onto the stone next to his sleeping roll, "It will be weeks before I can move around again under my own power. Doc says a month until I'm on my hooves again."
I nodded and then flicked one ear, smirking as I lowered my voice, "Well... it's not all bad."
"How is me breaking my legs a good thing?" he asked, looking up at me.
I grinned, "Well, we'll be back home in two weeks. That leaves two weeks of being attended to by your marefriend."
Swift blinked and then chuckled, "Okay, maybe not all bad," he admitted before he sighed, "Doesn't really help now though."
"Maybe not, but it does give you something to look forward to," I said and stood back up, "Besides... right now, boring is good. Boring is safe."
"Well, you're right about that," Swift agreed and glanced towards the jungle, "Perhaps boring isn't that bad."
"Not all bad anyway," I said, "Just relax, we'll be out of here before you know it."
With that, I moved to climb the stairs to the second level again and enter the dark of the pyramid. The large center chamber was lit up by torches still, my eyes quickly adapting to the dim light on my way down the hallway to where the research team had set up. Several tables had been assembled and books and scrolls stacked up. Midnight must have done some extra trips back to the airship to get the things because I know we didn't bring any of that on the trek here.
I wish I could teleport like she could.
Right now Midnight and Moon Dancer were arguing about something across one of the tables and as I watched, Midnight stabbed her hoof towards something on a large rolled out map. Moon Dancer shook her head and said something back, causing Midnights wings to raise in annoyance.
"So..." I said as I moved up Dee where she was sketching the chamber, "They have been at this for a bit I take it?"
Dee put her pen down and nodded, "Half an hour or so," she said and shrugged her wings, "Something about ley lines and magic flow. There seems to be some disagreement if it's a natural ley line or if the temple itself diverted a natural one here."
"...Does that matter?" I asked, blinking down at her.
Dee sighed, "You're asking the wrong pony," she said and shook her head before taking the pen in her muzzle again and going back to sketching the statue.
Quite often. Most settings that have laylines have nodes and if a line is diverted then somewhere there is an imbalance. Common consequences include mutations (the fuana seen today might be decedent from them), magic dead zones, dead zone (in that living creatures die there in prolong exposure) to chaotic magic zones.
Wait they still didn't found these 3 or 4 missing ponies?
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No and they (the ones missing) have also not been sleeping for days so chances are not looking all that good for those poor unfortunate souls...
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Looks kinda out of context. Still funny videoclip
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Vampires are just a work of fiction, what we have here are actually Strigoi. Very important to get things right.
And that doesn't mean it wouldn't be dangerous, either. Look at hippos, which managed to terrify the late Steve Irwin.
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They’re dead baby
Page: Hey Dee Dee...what's with that chart behind you?
Dee Dee: Oh me and some of the other ponies here have a betting pool going on Midnight and Moon Dancer! We're counting how many times certain terminologies are said during this argument and we're guessing which one is going to be said the most.
Page: OH! OH! Let me in! Let me in! I put down 30 bets on "Energy Reflective Circuits"!
Dee Dee: Alright! Personally I place my bet on "Negative Orgone Energy"
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A strange pony enters the scene dressed in navy blue cloak, gray silver vest an dark brown leather boots/fore cuffs.
Gebo the Well: I put my bet on "Matrix Path Warp", 50 bit's.
Page sure knows how to lift moral
Good point Page is making overall.
The Expedition had a high price in material and personal but they archived a lot in redicules short time. Despite all the circustances its a success.
The next expedition needs more military and non magic offense. What did they lose in area of expertise? Shipcrew, Security/Soldiers or other stuff like Architecture experts?
What ever will be found out will fill gaps in there history. That is a huge archivment on its own. Hope the sacrefice ponys name will remembered for it. They know the possible price and payed it in full for the benefit of Ponykind
It does, if the temple diverted it then the things that happend here were powerful enough to affect a nearby leyline
I find it kinda cute that Page thought he has the right to judge the Bat Alicorn for what probably was very harsh times.
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This is very true, most of the time herbivores are more dangerous than predators because they feel compelled to defend themselves from threats, hippos are extremely dangerous to be around as they tend to bite and whip around anything smaller than them. Where as predators tend to try and avoid unknown elements in their environments.
If anything this tells us that the Rexasaurus is used to seeing ponies as a food source, it was trained to defend an area, or they were right near its home and it wanted them out to protect its young. So unless there is something unnatural going on, like it being a trained attack animal, they shouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
What I expect given the reaction the wolf creatures from a couple chapters ago, is that a single or small group of thestrals will try to sneak into camp in the next chapter or three and get exposed by Page. Then this story will end and we will have to wait for the next installment, because authors all love cliffhanger sequel hooks.
It wouldn't be an interesting tale now would it, Alicorn of Stories?
When will you stop jinxing it, Page?!
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What? Who? Me? Noooooo...*hides all notes from sight*
Why do they have all the injured outside? If shit hits the fan, and they need to retreat into the pyramid, they're going to have to haul all of them into it while defending against the threat
Hiver: To late! *Evil laughter as Rexosaurus 2.0 gets summoned*
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Shipping HQ has been suspiciously quiet lately…
Attack of the Thestral Amazon tribe... They come for loot, but get the boot. Also the studs... ♤
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It's only 8/10 shipping, 1/10 is action and 0.5 is plot points unfulfilled.
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Evil... Nice
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It's always something... At least outside they have smoke free illumination.
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Never...
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Always...