Chapter 19 - They Come At Night.
-INSTALLATION: THE ISLAND-
It was now nightfall on the Ark, 9pm from what the ponies saw via their implants, as a blanket of pure darkness engulfed The Island. And to make matters slightly more foreboding: Tonight was a new moon. In other words, there would be no artificial celestial object to guide any living thing through the blackness. Except, of course, those who could craft a light source.
A thatched house was currently sitting on a lush field of grass and just on the outskirts of the swamp biome; surrounded by a wall of spikes. A large wooden gate offered both an entrance and exit to the somewhat fortified compound as various standing torches were lit, offering their orange aura of enlightenment. And as a nice addition for even more security, a platform was established just next to the large gate upon which an overwatch could be positioned. As it so happened, Rainbow Dash agreed to take this role without hesitation.
The Tribe of Harmony decided to establish this shelter as their leader, Twilight, saw fit to avoid traversing the swamp. At least not when it was so late into the afternoon before nightfall. 
As Vanellope slumbered on the side of the house, just under the small patio with wooden railings, Fluttershy was the second to the last tribe member to enter the shelter. Just behind the yellow pegasus was Twilight who turns around to look back at the platform, and shouts:
“Are you sure you’ll be alright, Rainbow?! I can take the first shift of Nightwatch if you’d like?!”
The cyan pegasus turns back to the alicorn, positioned on the platform as the night’s overwatch, “I’m good, egghead! You guys get some shut-eye! Besides, Applejack’s going to be taking over after a few hours so I’ll get my sleep eventually! She’s the one who built this place, after all, so she turned in early!”
Twilight nods, “Ok! And remember, if you see anything-”
“Wake you guys up and we’ll handle it together,” The pegasus interjects. “I’ve got this, Twilight!”
The alicorn nods once more before turning away and entering the thatched house, closing the door behind her.
With her bow and arrow at the ready, Rainbow Dash stares into the blackness all around them as she could also hear the sounds of the nearby swamp biome. Crickets were singing their lullabies, frogs of multiple sizes croaked outwardly, and even the sounds of distant creatures could be heard from places such as the nearby snow biome. One among them was the unmistakable howlings of a wolf. Actually, after listening closely, the pegasus was certain there were more of them.
Two whole hours have passed as the cyan pegasus was now sitting on a chair she had crafted, and still positioned on the wooden platform. She was on full alert, ready to draw her bow and fire off an arrow. After she awoke everyone else at the sight of danger, of course.
“Alright, Applejack should be waking up within the next hour or two,” She says, yawning afterward, “After everything that’s happened today, I definitely need to- huh?” A sound cuts off her words as she turns back towards the thatch house.
The sound was revealed to come from Vanellope who suddenly jumped up from her slumber, causing the thatch foundation she slept on to rustle and creak. The Raptor began to walk around the compound, sniffing the air while also growling.
Rainbow Dash didn’t need to say anything for the dinosaur’s actions were obvious to read through: Vanellope could sense something. The pegasus jumps out of her seat and looks all around her, even taking flight as she floats just over the walls of wooden spikes.
“Hey, what do you sense?” She questions the Raptor, but then runs a forehoof across her face, “I can’t believe I’m actually trying to talk to you…”
Vanellope continues to growl before actually jumping onto the platform the cyan pegasus once stood. The agile gracefulness of the Raptor’s actions was enough to impress Rainbow Dash, but she’d never admit that. Then, the Raptor lets loose what could best be described as its own form of barking mixed with screeches.
“What is it?!” Rainbow shouts as she descends onto the platform, standing next to Vanellope, “What do you… s-see… oh, buck.”
Within the darkness was a sight that sent a shiver down the pegasus’s spine as her eyes widened, along with her pupils being reduced to pinpricks. It started with just a pair of orange-slitted eyes, then two more opened up… three more… four more… and soon enough, a whole gathering of night-dwelling entities stared hauntingly towards the compound. Not to mention the pegasus, and raptor, who stood on the platform.
A series of growls and chirps are released from the newly revealed army of raptor-like night dwellers. And following this, the legion of eyes began to rush towards the compound. Vanellope braces herself for combat, baring her fangs with pursed lips while readying her claws in anticipation; clicking her sickled toes against the wood of the platform.
In one swift motion, Rainbow Dash rushes towards the thatch house and literally shatters the door before shouting:
“Everypony, get up! We’re being attacked!”
This exclamation causes everyone within to jolt onto their hooves, and catching onto the situation immediately, they each turn back to their implants and call forth their weapons. Both Rarity and Applejack bore spears, although the cowmare also had a lasso strapped to her cloth armor, while Twilight and Fluttershy wielded bows in a similar fashion to Rainbow Dash.
“Alright, everypony!” Applejack roars out. “Y’all know the battle formation! Y’all with wings go on an’ take flight!” She turns to Rarity, “Yah ready to use that spear?”
Rarity nods in absolute determination, “Whatever is out there, I won’t hesitate to defend us, darlings.”
……….
The tribe members exit the shelter as the three flyers, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Fluttershy, take flight. Already aiming their bows and drawing an arrow. In tandem, Applejack and Rarity wielded their spears with narrowed expressions as they stood within the compound’s protective walls. Vanellope hops off of the platform and into the compound as well, joining the two spear holders.
The army of night hunters was now surrounding the compound as their orange eyes could be seen zipping to and fro, their blackened forms blending well into the darkness.
“What in the name of Celestia are these things?!” Twilight shouts.
“They’re Troodons!” Fluttershy responds, floating right next to the alicorn with Rainbow just beside the yellow pegasus, “Be very careful, everypony! They’re really, really, smart!”
Arrows are let loose by the tribe’s flyers, but the pure agility and speed of the Troodons allowed them to slip past the projectiles. However, just as Fluttershy had forewarned, some of the creatures of the night actually began to fiddle with the wooden gate. Trying to get it open as if they themselves were the ones who crafted it.
“They’re messing with the gate!” Rainbow Dash shouts, preparing to fire an arrow directly at the Troodons performing the action.
“Clever girls…” Rarity comments with gritted teeth.
Your Tribemate Rainbow Dash killed a Troodon - Lvl 67!
These words that took on a yellow bold text appear before the tribe, via their implants, as one of Rainbow Dash’s arrows pierces the head of a Troodon. Causing it to roar out before falling limp to the ground. One of the very same beings that was fiddling with the large gate. However, two more entities replaced their fallen pack member as they too start to work at the entrance to the compound.
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash continue to rain down arrows upon the species of raptor. But for every one they killed, it seemed as if more would simply replace the fallen. All while various bold texts signified the flying trio of ponies who were able to land successful shots. Then, a terrifying scenario ensues as the Troodons had finally fulfilled their plan: The large gate is now opened.
Applejack, Rarity, and Vanellope brace for combat as the horde of night hunters begin to flood into the compound. They successfully destroy the two standing torches that were positioned near the gate as they hungrily rush towards the terrestrial members of the Tribe of Harmony.
Applejack leads the charge as she jumps into the air and brings down her spear upon a Troodon’s head; piercing right through its lower jaw. The entity’s body goes limp while still being impaled upon the cowmare’s weapon, upon which she thrusts her spear sideways and hurls the body towards another night hunter.
Rarity follows up by firing up her horn and unleashing a beam of magical energy, or element-powered projectile. This action causes various Troodons to jump sideways in evasion, but others are hit by the beam as their charred remains fall where they once stood. And, of course, Rarity’s actions cause the yellow bold texts to appear before her.
“Don’t underestimate a proper lady, brutes!” She shouts.
A troodon was currently en route at high speed, and ready to pounce towards the white unicorn, but a lasso wraps onto the entity while it was in mid-air; followed by the words:
“Get ov’r here! Ya’ varmint!”
The entity is pulled away as the lasso’s wielder, Applejack, yanks the item with her right forehoof while preparing to stab the night hunter with her spear held within her muzzle. A splatter of blood is let loose as the cowmare’s spear goes right through the Troodon’s stomach region, said dinosaur screeching all the while.
Rarity shoots the orange earth pony a grateful nod before turning towards Vanellope just nearby. The Raptor was truly a force to be reckoned with as she dashed her foes with her flesh cleaving claws, bit down on others before throwing them aloft, and pinning down other Troodons underneath her sickled feet before piercing the struggling entities with her raised, sickled toes.
A sudden pair of Troodons managed to pounce onto the back of Vanellope, clawing and scratching into her. But before either one could attempt to bite down upon the Raptor, a sudden ‘POP’ noise ensues; followed by the form of a certain fashionista who now stood on Vanellope’s saddle. Having casted a teleportation spell, albeit by the cost of her limited mana.
“Don’t you ruffians know how rude it is to touch a lady like that?!” The unicorn shouts before spinning her spear above her head in a helicopter propeller-like fashion, knocking the two Troodons off in the process.
Vanellope follows up by finishing off the downed night hunters, swiping at them both and killing them. Garnering more yellow-colored bold texts as a result. All the while, the three flyers of the tribe could be seen hovering just above the battle ensuing below, firing off their arrows and killing more foes.
As the conflict continues to rage on, a single member of the Troodon horde manages to creep its way in between the spiked walls; just behind the thatch house. It digs its claws into the shelter and scales it effortlessly before it stands upon the house’s rooftop. The entity crawls on all fours towards the opposite side of the house in a fashion similar to a feline lurking within the tall grass. It looks down upon the forms of Applejack, Rarity, and Vanellope, and chooses a target.
Still mounted upon the Raptor’s saddle, Rarity fights off the Troodons who tried to pluck her off of Vanellope’s back. Stabbing into their heads with her spear, although the durability of her weapon was wading as the fight went on. However, a sense of dread overtakes her senses which causes her to turn backward.
“O-oh, d-dear…” She mutters in horror as the Troodon from the house’s rooftop was in the process of a pounce, ready to come crashing down upon her with killer intent.
“No!” A familiar voice shouts from above as the form of a yellow pegasus crashes into the night hunter.
“Fluttershy!” The white unicorn exclaims in utter concern.
Both Fluttershy and the Troodon crash onto the earth before engaging in a wrestling match. Rolling around and trying to overpower the other. The yellow pegasus manages to get topside, standing over the night hunter and preparing to use her stare to get an even further advantage. However, the beast bites down upon her right forehoof which causes her to scream out in pain.
“Ah’m comin’, sugarcube!” Applejack shouts, taking notice of Fluttershy’s struggling form as the pegasus tries to pry off the Troodon, who still had its jaws locked onto her forehoof.
“Get off ‘er!” The cowmare shouts after stampeding over to aid the pegasus, driving her spear right into the night hunter’s neck region. This causes the entity to let loose its bite, freeing the yellow pegasus’s forehoof from its maw.
“Y’all ok, sugarcube?!” Applejack inquires.
“I-I think so,” Fluttershy responds. However, the yellow pegasus starts to feel incredibly light-headed, her eyes rolling upward. “A-Applejack… I d-don’t feel so good…”
Both Applejack and Rarity’s eyes were shot wide open as the yellow pegasus fell over, now rendered unconscious. A horrifying event takes place as a large multitude of Troodons in attendance stopped their various actions, even halting their attack on both Rarity and Vanellope.
Twilight looked down in momentary confusion, but Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen in horrific realization before shouting:
“They’re swarming towards Fluttershy!”
“Wait, what happened to her?!” The alicorn questions.
As if a dinner bell was struck, nearly every night hunter in attendance began to rush towards the yellow pegasus’s downed form. Teeth bared and claws ready to tear into the yellow flesh. Applejack was prepared to defend her unconscious tribe mate, but a sudden white hoof grabs onto her as Rarity pulls the cowmare onto Vanellope’s saddle.
“Get us out of here!” Rarity orders, upon which Vanellope crashes through the horde of Troodons and exits the compound. All while Applejack cries out:
“We can save her, Tartarus dang'it!”
“We can’t, Applejack!” Rarity roars back, sorrow drenched into her tone. “There are too many of those things all over her, darling… we can’t…”
Tribemember Fluttershy - Lvl 12 was killed by a Troodon - Lvl 92!
The last two remaining flyers of the Tribe of Harmony take notice of the retreating forms of Vanellope, Applejack, and Rarity. Not to mention Fluttershy’s death message. The duo flies alongside the Raptor’s form, but before Twilight could ask about what had transpired, other members of the Troodon horde suddenly erupt before them from the tall grass.
Vanellope recoils from this as the Raptor prepares to strike once again, but a desperate call from Twilight shouts from above:
“Run into the swamp! We can lose them there!”
“Are you absolutely mad, darling?!” Rarity responds, mounted upon Vanellope with Applejack just behind her. “You said it yourself, the swamp is horrible!”
“It’s a terrible call, we know!” Rainbow Dash said. “But these things are relentless! Get that Raptor moving, now!”
With that, and although Rarity was still incredibly hesitant, the fashionista orders the Raptor to run into the swamp as Vanellope's feet dig into the muddy landscape. This does indeed cause the Troodons who pursued them to stop dead in their tracks, but at a very dangerous cost:
They were now officially in the swamp biome, and to make matters worse, they did so during the dead of night.
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Fucking, Troodons! I hate those little devils!
Yes, they are knowing the pain and suffering of ARK newbs, but as a bit of an experienced player, I know to upgrade and stay in one area until I have the “firepower” to go deeper in. So let more of their blood be spilled, and have them learn, the ARK’s show no mercy, and that it’s kill or be killed.😈
Mister Stark, I don't feel so good
i forgot how manny leaches is the max on someone? cause i hope rarity just gets covered
Seriously, what is with these levels? I can imagine running into a 50 or a 100 at the worst possible time but this is every single one.
10957724
There’s actually a reason for it. Encountering high-leveled creatures isn't so back to back as what’s been happening. But there is indeed a reason for it, rather than me just throwing high level creatures at the cast for the lols.
10957593
10957626
*fades away into Element particles*
10957651
I think there is indeed a limit to the number that can be attached, but I'm going to remove that limit for the story. I see no reason as to why every Leech in the vicinity wouldn't jump at the chance to attach to a host, even if one is already attached to it.
10957730
Hmmmm, I'm starting to think some of these encounters are artificial. Ironic, given the Ark itself, but I'm starting to believe HLN-A is messing with them. Possibly to help them improve at a rapid pace.
And I know that you're aware of me reading your Terraria series, and that's the kind of curveballs I like about your writing.
Great chapter, though I feel you don’t plan on letting them make it to their destination.
I also just noticed that all the levels are quite high, you have them on an amped difficulty for realism I and a longer story.
Lastly, how many Dino’s are you planning to allow them to take with them to the next island? As many as they have, or is there a limit?
10957823
I can't say much for the first part, but I do believe that when this arc concludes in the next chapter, it'll be a nice payoff.
The upped difficulty does indeed make readers raise an eyebrow, but there's a reason for it. It's not me just throwing high leveled monstrosities at them.
As for the transfer of tames, I'll need to handle that carefully as to not have it so that they start off with a high-leveled Rex, for example, in Scorched Earth. But I'm sure readers will assume the cast will have tames that they become attached to, and will want to bring along.
Am I the only one that realizes there were plenty of better candidates for beings that could go to an Ark and survive? Like Capper. One does not live as a con-artist without being cunning and creative. Not a complaint, I love the story, I just had this thought.
10957869
. Heck, Spike gives us insights into this scenario, of which I do plan to expand upon.
I actually haven't forgotten about the other beings on Equus
Just re-read a bit of the earlier chapters, I wouldn’t mind seeing an Equestria interlude chapter to help break up all the chaos and give us a fun, lighthearted moment, before dropping us right back into the action, giving us emotional whiplash and destroying our emotions/hearts.
😈
10957841
So pretty much Syntac’s Ultimate ARK series then. For tame transfer rules? But for each map instead?
10957622
I usually make a boat and go to Herb Island, there are metal pockets, no carnivores and pteros for initial flying, i go all the way to rock base then go back to mainland, its a pretty safe strategy.
OK, in gonna call it right now, Pomp ignore this post so you dont accidently give anything away, They are all going to Die, they are treating this like its their usual adventure, they gonna die and everyone will be revived later so the experience gets engraved on their minds.
10957894
Maybe, but we won’t know until it it written and posted in this story. Hell, I normally just keep hitting minor metal at the beach, Tek creatures, and all creatures I can kill safely, stockpiling the resources until I move to a better location, (Pretty much the central area on the map between the TEK cave and metal/obsidian mountain) with an Argy, Bronto, and a small pterodon army as my “body guards”, and maybe 2-3 trikes as extra carrying tames.
10957902
Yeah. I'm also thinking that this is HLN-A pretty much telling them: "You're not on Equus anymore. Think outside of the box, heck, none of you even upgraded your equipment yet. You just moved onward without preparing yourselves."
Especially since my personal theory is that HLN-A is doing this to them. These spawns, not to mention the Theri on Herbi Isle, aren't actually natural on the Ark. Which is ironic in of itself.
10957913
i know right, i like the idea that since they arent "natural" they lack the survival instincts a naturally borm creature would have.
10957923
As someone who's read Pomp's other stories, this is actually the kind of plot twists he often does. And if that truly is the case, then all of this hell actually makes incredible sense. The ponies are completely alien compared to the other Arks, and Equus is sunshine and rainbows in comparison. This is some serious conditioning for the Main Six, and Spike.
And it's also why I made my theory. Heck, Helena gave us the biggest clue a few chapters back.
"Everything you've learned on Equus, you must forget them in order to survive the Arks."
Something along those lines.
i0.wp.com/mediachomp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clever-who-comic-01.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1
i1.wp.com/mediachomp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clever-who-comic-02.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1
i0.wp.com/mediachomp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/clever-who-comic-03.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1
So. We've got Rarity pulling a Jurassic Park reference. And we've got Applejack doing a Mortal Kombat reference. I'm counting a lot of spiked walls in the pictures, which require about 10 hide each, so the ponies and vanellope must've gotten comfortable with doing a lot of killing before nightfall.
And wooden spike walls, and a wooden dino gate? Which one of the ponies is currently level 18 or higher?
10958001
Fluttershy had gathered a fair amount of hide and stored it within Vanellope's inventory in the last chapter. Granted, she did this "off screen" as I didn't see a need of showing her having the raptor kill various creatures to get the hide. This was also why Twilight asked her if she was sure she could do this, not to mention asking her to stop by the house on the way back. The Spike Walls can be made at lvl 13.
As for the Dinosaur Gateway, I can say this without much of a spoiler, but in the next chapter they talk about finding that gate and its accompanying door in a Green Drop, which does drop in those from my own personal gameplay. I feel I can reveal this since I had a feeling people might see the gate, but realize that none of the ponies are lvl 18 yet.
A survivor can access the green drops at lvl 15, Rainbow dash is currently 16. Heck, I've gotten the Dinosaur Gateway and its door in White Drops, on vanilla settings. So some of this is also my personal RNG.
10958032
Yeah the drop system is frustrating at times. Done deliberately, I'm sure.
The first thing that sprung to mind when I saw the title was "Screw Troodons." I went through hell trying to get a good pair to make my own pack. I do have a funny story though.
I was nearly through taming a Rex in single player when a pack of those little devils swarmed me. I was knocked out almost instantly, and they were circling around biting me just enough to keep me unconscious. Just when I was ready to rage quit, my Rex tamed out and devoured all of them! Just goes to show that you should never play with your food on the Ark, because there's always a bigger fish right around the corner.
10958072
That's awesome! It's moments like that which makes Ark such an enjoyable game, and its unpredictability has its rewards.
Mind you I’ve never played the game just watched videos but it’ll be kind of cool when they discover they can make rifles and tranquilizer darts. On or the crossbow although they don’t have metal yetx
Oh lol rarity reaction to knowing they have to collect poop. Also I wonder what the reaction to seeing a horse that can’t talk back will be like
10957947
HA
MMMMM, XDD
HOLD UP, THAT‘S ILLEGAL!!! Troodons are repelled by light sources, and a single torch is usually enough to stop them from attacking. A base as lit up as the one shown in the picture, should’ve been enough to keep the Troodons at bay with all its torches!