Ark: Friendship is Survival

by Pomp-Neigh

Chapter 11 - I'll Make Survivors Out Of You.

-INSTALLATION: THE ISLAND-

"My word! That sounds so horrible!" Rarity shouts in response.

"Ya' mean to tell us that there are those who leave their friends behind to escape that monster?" Applejack questions in disgust.

"I know how bad this might sound, but you're right, and I've seen first hand how tribemates would turn on each other just to save their own arse. I personally never done such a thing, of course. That is also why I was so happy to find all of you. Your loyalty to each other even in the face of death is a beautiful trait. One of the many reasons you're all the type of survivors that I needed."

"I appreciate everything you've done for us ever since we got here, but…." Twilight then saddened before she continued: "What if I made the wrong call?" The lavender mare's words confuse the ponies, dragon, and Ai.

"What do you mean, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash inquires.

"I mean, after looking at all of these creatures, we ponies aren't exactly the strongest things on this Ark. Going by the list of creatures that currently exists here… we are at the bottom of the food chain." Twilight then sighs with her sad expression still present.

"Bullocks love!" Helena responds. "I believe that you are all perfectly abled survivors. In fact, you ponies are almost no different than us humans are. We might not be able to wrestle with a Tyrannosaurus, but you should never underestimate our intellect. As for the smaller creatures, we just need to kick you into shape. I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't see your potential. Besides, we've yet to talk about your leveling process."

"I'm just afraid that I've doomed everypony here, and Spike… we're not that strong. We're not a Titanosaurus, and we're not apex predators. I appreciate you having faith in us, Helena, but we're just-"

"Not all that strong," Applejack interjects as she cuts off Twilight's words. "Ah' know what Twi is trying to say. How can we ever hope to ascend from Ark to Ark and eventually reach Earth if we don't have the power to do it? Ah' don't mean to doubt us or anything, but ah' don't see us being able to ever dance with even half of this island's creatures. I'm sorry if that sounds rough; honest is just what ah'm bein'." Applejack says as she too takes on a saddened expression and holds her hat against her chest region.

"Oh, well… um, I think we can do it. Look! I tamed so many Dodos, so that has to show that we're capable, right?" Fluttershy says to liven the mood that was slowly taking over all of the ponies and dragon present.

"That's the spirit, love! See? Just listen to-"

"Fluttershy, you tamed a bunch of the weakest creatures on this Ark, and they're passive tames," Rainbow Dash interjects as she cuts off Helena's words. "You think you could do that to one of those stronger creatures? Like that giant bird Spike and I faced? You'll have to knock it out, but I know how much you love animals; you'd hesitate."

Fluttershy wanted to protest, but she also couldn't deny that fact. Helena had informed them on how to tame most of the Ark's creatures, and not only did she start to feel that they didn't have the necessary tools to do it. The shy pegasus just couldn't go through with it, for she saw it as a barbaric practice towards these creatures. Animals, in her eyes. Gone was the confidence she once had when she stared down the projection of the Giganotosaurus. The yellow pegasus sighs in defeat and finally replies to Rainbow's question:

"N-no… I don't think I could…."

One by one, Helena had to watch the confidence of these ponies slowly start to drain from them completely. Even Pinkie Pie's mane became deflated as she too had a worried expression. The AI would not have any of it, nor would 'she' give up on them. She indeed saw the survivors that lay deep within each of these ponies and dragon.

"That's enough of that!" Helena shouts with an exclamation point present on her optics. "You're all so much more than even you seem to realize. You're also forgetting about one thing: You have me. I will teach you all that I know, and I swear that I will make a survivor out of you by the end of this!"

Helena then starts to do something that she no doubt knew would reach the ponies; she starts to sing:

🎵
Let’s get down to business,
To ascend the Arks.
Did they send me Dodos?
All the way from Mars.
You're the bravest bunch I've ever met,
And you can bet before we're through.
Trust me I'll make survivors out of you.

Tranquil as a forest,
But a fire within.
Once you find your center,
You are sure to win.
You're all so much more, an impressive lot,
And you haven't got a clue.
Trust me I'll make survivors out of you.

I’m never going to catch my breath.

Say goodbye to those who knew me!

Gosh was I a fool at school for cutting gym.

Oh my... I can't do this...

Hope everypony at home will miss me!

Now I sort of wish that I stayed on Equus...

We shall ascend!
We must be swift as a Gallimimus!
We shall ascend!
With all the force of a Wooly Mammoth!
We shall ascend!
With all the strength of a raging Giga!
Mysterious as the dark side of the Arks!

I'll be waiting on Earth,
Till you all arrive.
Heed my AI's advice,
And you shall survive!

You are all here,
Don’t give in to fear,
Don't pack up, go home, and flee.
Trust me I'll make survivors out of you!

We shall ascend!
We must be swift as a Gallimimus!
We shall ascend!
With all the force of a Wooly Mammoth!
We shall ascend!
With all the strength of a raging Giga!
Mysterious as the dark side of the Arks!

We shall ascend!
We must be swift as a Gallimimus!
We shall ascend!
With all the force of a Wooly Mammoth!
We shall ascend!
With all the strength of a raging Giga!
Mysterious as the dark side of the Arks!
RAAAAAAAAW!
🎵

After a whole day of training and Helena's various teachings, everyone stands proudly while donned in a complete set of cloth armor and spears and bows strapped to their bodies. They all watch the sunset before their very eyes as Helena turns to them all and says:

"Sleep well tonight, my dear survivors. Tomorrow we shall travel more inland, and your first goal will be to obtain a powerful ally. I'll go into more detail about your level-ups in the morning, and we should probably start harvesting some hide to make some bolas. Remember what I taught you today; you must forget all about your teachings on Equus, for they will only hold you back on The Island. However, my little ponies, never lose sight of who you truly are. You might be forced to change to survive the Arks, but who you are shall always remain deep inside." Helena then starts to float towards everyone else present, starting with Applejack, as she comments:

"Applejack, you will always be that honest pony who loves her family." Applejack smiles in response and a content nod as Helena then floats over to Pinkie Pie and says: "You, my pink friend, will always be the life of the party, and no matter what you will have to do here, that will never change."

"Hehe, you know it!" Pinkie Pie responds. The Ai then floats over to Rarity and says:

"You will always be the beautiful and generous mare you've always been. Never allow what you face here to change that even if you're forced to make non-generous decisions."

"I shall not, darling. I understand that we'll have to make drastic calls here and there, but we shall never forget our true selves." Rarity responds to which causes the AI to nod in response. Helena then floats over to two individuals as she sighs to herself and says:

"Spike, Rainbow, there's nothing truly wrong with being adventurous. However, overconfidence can kill you on this Ark, and even though you will respawn here at our base, you shouldn't try to throw yourselves into the jaws of death forcefully."

"You're right..." The duo says in unison. Rainbow Dash, in particular, was going to tell them what actually happened, seeing as she was the one who challenged the Argentavis, but Spike beats her to it and says:

"Me and Rainbow challenged that thing to a fight because we thought we could take it. We should've just flown away from the start..." Spike turns to Rainbow and winks at her, "Isn't that right?" Rainbow Dash is surprised by this at first before she then smiles in response and says:

"You're right... it was a bad decision on my- our part." Helena nods with a happy face emoji present on their optic before floating over to Twilight. Rainbow Dash looks towards Spike with a look that could translate to: Thank you.

"You know something, Twilight," Helena starts as the lavender mare continues to observe the sun that is now mere moments before setting ultimately.

"You were wrong about what you said before we sang that adorable song."

"What?" Twilight questions, turning to the AI.

"About you making the wrong call, love. You're a leader of one of your world's many nations and, in a way, that's almost no different to a tribe leader. Sure, there are some bad ones here and there, but you are far from those selfish--pardon my words--assholes. You're a great leader, and you will continue to be that no matter what. After all, you had the courage to agree to come here and save Earth in the long run. We can then give Equus a proper future instead of Discord's resets. We can never truly make the right decision, Twilight, just the ones that are true to our hearts. And so long as you do so with good intentions, those who look up to you would follow you to the world's end. Or does that phrase change to 'To the Ark’s end’?"

Twilight chuckles in response before she takes on a determined expression and says:

"Thank you, Helena. For everything. You taught us so much today that will aid us in our survival. Me and my friends were admittedly feeling like we couldn't do this, but thanks to you, I know we can. If, of course, um, you're still willing to teach us more?" Twilight questions sheepishly.

"Love, we sang a song today about me making you into the survivors I know you can be. Of course, I'll be there to help you all!" The AI then flies into the lavender pony as they embrace each other before she then flies towards Fluttershy.

"Ah, hello there, my animal lover. You holding up ok?"

"Oh, um, I'm fine, Helena. Well... not exactly. I know that I have to do what needs to be done to help everypony here and back home, but I'm not too fond of how the creatures here are tamed. H-how did you do it? I remember you telling me that you love animals just as much as I do."

"To be honest with you, I had a similar reaction to yours. I wasn't a fan of it which is pretty ironic when you consider all of the dossiers I've created throughout my travels. It wasn't until I met my good friend, Mei-Yin Li, who taught me that the bond that's forged afterward could last forever despite the somewhat cruelness of the taming method. You are me and her combined into one little pony package, although you're much nicer than Mei ever was; bless her. I can even see you raising a pack of raptors like she did one day. What you did today when you stared down that Giga's projection is proof that hidden deep within your shy exterior, there lies something similar to what Mei was."

"Oh, um, what was she?"

"The Beast Queen. Back in my time on this installation, she was the first survivor to tame dinosaurs and many of the other creatures on the Ark. She had a bad run-in with other survivors and became distrustful of them as a result. From this distrust, she instead found true companionship with the Island's creatures. I once came to her in hopes of studying her methods and her creatures. It was a bold move on my part, and trust me when I say that there's nothing more terrifying than approaching a survivor who has a pack of carnivorous titans who will tear you apart with but a word from their owner. Luckily for me, Mei seemed to deem that I was worth talking to, and our bond started to form from that day onwards. Going off of your profile, you and Mei are quite similar. Sure, you weren't trying to get killed by most of your fellow ponies, but you did connect more with your animals. You two also protect the innocent and love those you allow into your hearts; I sometimes even consider you to be Mei's reincarnation."

Fluttershy forms a smile onto her muzzle, to which the AI then hugs her as she did with Twilight.

"I know that you hate the methods of taming here on the other Arks, Fluttershy. All I can tell you is to nurture the creatures we bring into our fold afterward with love and care. You may wince in response when we start to knock out more powerful dinos. But, once we bring them in, I want you to shower them with your love. Think you can do that for me? I think the others will agree with me when I say that you are our tribe's Beast Queen like Mei was. You just need to rise, your majesty."

Fluttershy nods in response as she then looks towards her flock of Dodos, all of which were currently resting against their home in a large bundle. The shy pegasus takes on a content smile and says:

"Ok, Helena... I'll do my best to become our Beast Queen."

A few moments later, the sun finally sets as the blanket of nightfall covers the island. Everyone enters their wooden home and turns in for the night as they make their way towards their sleeping bags.

Unbeknownst to this tribe of ponies, dragon, and AI, an entity with a raised sickled toe was observing them.

Comments

[GlitchyFox]

dilo?

[Pomp-Neigh]

10639961
Dilophosaurus, it's shortened in game but we will get a more fleshed out encounter with it in the next chapters.

[Loganic]

Good chapter. Nice song too.

[Pomp-Neigh]

10639966
Thank you!

[Loganic]

10639968
No prob.

[Fennekin11506]

I cant want to read this when I'm done with foe love ark love to play it to (unless a tribemates tamed Sarco scarce you neer the artic waters that is)

[Pomp-Neigh]

10640027

I had someone scare me with a Tusoteuthis.
nothing better than seeing tentacles come up from beneath your raft.

[Fennekin11506]

10640045
wow with me I had very few items on me and was in the freezing waters bad thing was we were on split-screen and I had very little space to glacier hop. and I hate those things

[Charlie_K]

Oh shit. Either they've got a raptor about to attack, or a pack of troodons.

[Pomp-Neigh]

10640245
Ok not gonna lie, from my perspective... I think I'd prefer the raptor over those... things, at night.

[Legioner8]

Fluttershy now
-Oh my... I can't do this.
Fluttershy later
-What level are you? Sorry, but you're a prime meat.

[Pomp-Neigh]

10642552

[Spirit of Harmony]

Mei-Yin was not the first survivor to tame a creature. She tamed her first creature, a Raptor named Wuzhui, in her sixth explorer note, while she killed a hostile survivor on another Raptor in her fourth explorer note. In fact, it can be inferred that she took the hostile Raptor's saddle and used it to ride Wuzhui, as in her seventh explorer note she mentions that she isn't much of a crafter.

[Pomp-Neigh]

10644330
Yikes! That is a big oof on my part. I misinterpreted her notes big time if that is in fact the case. I always thought that she was the first to tame a creature among her generation of survivors or during Helena's time as a human.

[Spirit of Harmony]

10644351
Another thing. The way I see it, there are two possibilities regarding the ponies' magic and special talents.

The first is that the Pony species has its own unique abilities, enabling them to fly, use magic, and otherwise interact with their environment in ways that other species cannot. However, this means that Twilight and Rarity should have no troubles using magic, as it is an innate ability. Fluttershy should also be able to communicate with any of the ARK's creatures, provided they are intelligent enough to be tamed, as well as use her Stare to pacify any creature.

The second possibility is that the special abilities that each pony possesses are powered by Element, and cannot function without a steady supply, or proximity to an Artifact. The problem with this is that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight should not be able to fly unassisted, as their wings are far too small to elevate their bodies on their own.

That being said, this story has piqued my interest. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

[Pomp-Neigh]

10644356
Thank you very much!

I am also very impressed by your perception. One of those two options you've listed is exactly what I was going for

[Charlie_K]

10644356

The problem with this is that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight should not be able to fly unassisted, as their wings are far too small to elevate their bodies on their own.

Well in all fairness, a lot of what we see in Ark shouldn't be physically possible. Like the sheer size of the giganotasaurus, easily standing 2-3 times taller than its real-world brethren, which only measured in at 18 feet tall at the hips. A land animal that large simply couldn't exist, much less even survive the strain gravity would put on its frame.

[almiok]

No 👎

[MLPFollower]

Helena then starts to do something that she no doubt knew would reach the ponies; she starts to sing:

[Green-Venom]

Words of encouragement: My first tame was an accident. I got attacked by a Dilo and knocked it out in my panic using a stone hatchet. I managed that on day 1, what excuse do you have?