Chapter 73 - Gifts and Aid
-Sanctuary-
It’s 7 pm on the Ark as the last vestiges of the artificial sun’s presence nearly give way to night’s coming darkness, the artificial crescent moon barely visible over the northern mountains.
Within the tribe’s three-story home and on the second floor, Rarity observed the scene playing out before her with great, focused interest—a hoof to her chin.
“Be sure to get every last shred of his proper measurements, HLN-A, dear,” The fashionista said. “Even the smallest misread can lead to a fashion disaster of immense proportions.”
HLN-A’s mechanical form hovered around the deadpanned and mildly annoyed form of Rudey, a holographic measuring tape being projected from the AI’s visor.
“Why are you so insistent on making… clothes for me?” The dinosaur spat the word, rolling his orbs. “Seriously, I have scales—why would I want to wear a bunch of woven-together fiber?”
“I’ll have you know that It’s also made of hide, not just fiber,” Rarity corrected. “That’s why it’s called Hide Armor.” She finished with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m literally living Hide Armor with scales!” Rudey scoffs. “Fucking smartass.”
“Takes one to know one, darling. Now, hush up; HLN-A needs to-”
“All done!” The AI boomed with a dinging sound and purple lights, their visor projecting an exclamation mark.
“Marvelous!” Rarity exclaimed, trotting over to HLN-A.
The AI floats over to the unicorn’s flank and accesses their cutie mark/implant. A sort of transfer ensues as transparent energy seeps out from the AI and flows into the mare’s implant, and upon completion, HLN-A floats higher into the air, wiggling their flaps.
“That should do it!” The AI began. “Your nerve cells should be processing the information right about-”
Rarity’s eyes shot wide open. “My word, HLN-A, this-this is fantastic! You’d be a tremendous help in the fashion industry!” She shouts excitedly before running over to nearby large storage boxes of wooden composition. “I’ll get started right away.”
“And there it is,” HLN-A amusingly dropped, giggling.
“Nerve cells?” Rudey inquired, garnering HLN-A’s attention.
“Oh, it’s nothing much, mate. Put simply: I accessed Rarity’s brain via her implant.”
The dinosaur’s eyes shot wide open, followed by a growl. “You stay the fuck away from my brain.”
The AI mischievously turned the lights on their form crimson red, a dark and shadowy face with jagged teeth cackling with a deep and feminine tone.
“Mwahahahaha! I am HLN-A, Destroyer of Minds.”
Jolted, Rudey swiftly runs away and crawls onto a nearby bookcase as gracefully as a lizard, resting on its precipice while hissing at the AI.
HLN-A regresses to their normal state, lights blue with a singular ‘eye’ present on their visor, giggling at the dinosaur’s expense.
“Come on down here, love; I was just messing with ya.”
“I’ll spit on you, bitch!” Rudey threatened, his frill fully fanned out with a constant rattling sound, his claws digging into the shelf’s wood. “Just try me!”
“If you two are quite finished,” Rarity chimed in, deadpanning, garnering their attention. “I’d like for Rudey to try on his new garments.”
Rudey shifts his frilled gaze back to the AI. “Something that can mess with minds so casually doesn’t sit right with me!” He points a claw at HLN-A, “I’ve got no reason to trust you! Heck, for all I know, you probably did some funny business with her mind, too!” He finished, his claw having moved in Rarity’s direction.
Rarity became appalled by the accusation. “Rudey!” She scolds. “That is no way to talk about my friend here. And for your information, I gave them my consent to do what they did.” The mare ended with a loud ‘Clunk,’ her hoof slamming down upon the wooden floor.
“O-oh, dear…” HLN-A’s ‘eye’ widens, “I, um, didn’t really consider that.” The AI looks up at the dinosaur, a pleading emoji shifting onto their visor.
“Mate… I know that we only just met, and yes, I possess unique abilities as an AI forged by a Homo-Deus. But I swear upon Helena Walker’s name; I have NEVER used my gifts to exploit anyone.”
The dinosaur stared on in suspicion, not entirely convinced.
HLN-A sighs. “Is there any way for me to earn your trust?”
Rudey maintained his glare, but his frill began to fold slowly, its rattling sound dying down along with it. “Just… keep your metallic ass away from my brain, got it?”
The AI nods. “You have my word, love. I’ll never tamper with your implant unless explicitly told to do so by you. After all, that’s how I operate with Spike, Rarity, and the other ponies. I would never break someone’s trust like that.”
“She’s telling the truth, Rudey,” Rarity states, the Dilo turning his neck to her. “She has been nothing but a divine treat to us, and we would’ve never gotten this far without her help.” She takes a breath, “Now, please come down from there so I can give you your armor.”
The Dilo’s frills finally rest folded against either side of his neck, and he lets loose hot air from his nostrils before scaling down the bookcase and returning to the wooden floor. He approaches the duo, cautiously keeping an eye on HLN-A along the way.
Standing several feet away from them, Rudey sighs after some silent pondering. “Fine.” He relents. “I’ll give you one chance.”
A celebratory audience sounds off from the AI. “That’s all I ask for! Cheers, mate!”
Rarity giggles to herself, covering her muzzle with a forelimb. “Honestly, you allowed her to measure you earlier, so why only now be bothered?”
“That was before I found out she could do that mind-fuckery business,” Rudey emphasized with an appointed claw. “And I didn’t exactly agree to the measurements; I only did it to shut you up.”
Rarity’s left eye twitches, but she composes herself with a breathing exercise. “Anyway, you absolute jerk,” Those words crept through her clenched teeth, “here’s your armor.”
The unicorn sets down a brown, leather, rectangular package with her implant etched on top like a pin, seemingly holding it together. Rudey studied the package for a moment before raising a single digit of his right claw, driving it just under the implant and popping it off, the pin clanking nearby upon impact.
The Dilo fully unveiled the package, and his eyes rested upon neatly folded Hide Armor apparel, now freed from its confines. And if Rarity’s words were to be believed, it was catered to a Dilophosaurus’s anatomy.
“Well, go on,” Rarity motivated with a waving hoof. “Try it on.” A smug grin forms. “Unless, of course, you’re too fat to use it?”
Rudey shoots her an unamused gaze before picking up the apparel. “Ha. Ha.” He quipped, walking away and toward the nearby downward staircase.
“W-wait!” Rarity called out with an extended forelimb. “Where are you going? I need you to try it on so-”
“I’ll let you know how badly you fucked up in the morning, little miss fashion,” The dinosaur responds while walking down the staircase, vanishing from the unicorn and the AI’s view.
And as Rudey reached the home’s ground level, he looked back over his right shoulder with a toothy grin, almost as if waiting for-
“What did he just saay?!” Rarity’s voice boomed from upstairs. “Rarity Belle does NOT! BUCK! UP! FASHION!”
“Oi, mate! Watch your mouth, and use your inside voice, plea-!”
“I should’ve just thrown him into the ocean when I…”
Rarity’s voice becomes muffled and dies down as Rudey exits the tribe’s home, closing the door shut behind him with a smack of his tail. He lets out an amused and drawn-out chuckle while walking to the nearby stone railing.
He sets the armor down on the stone foundation and curls up around it, his head peering out and over the inner sanctum of Sanctuary. The bowl shape of the territory allowed shadows to take hold of the internal surroundings, but the sky still attained the last remnants of the sun’s late orange hue.
Rudey spots two Carbonemys floating at the central water source’s surface, a mated pair that had always inhabited the watering hole. And from what he could see, the tribe seemingly made no effort to tame nor bother the ancient turtles.
A sudden breeze blew through and kissed the Dilo’s scales, garnering a slight shiver from the dinosaur. His eyes slowly traveled back to the armor resting beside him. True, he laughed at its durability, seeing as it’s just fiber and hides stitched together, but it certainly does look warm…
And he slowly reached a claw out to grab it.
“Oh, hey!” A familiar voice called out, startling the dinosaur, who quickly bolted off the ground and into a quadruped stance, growling furiously.
But the Dilo’s face instantly morphs from cautious fury to genuine shock, his eyes widening from what he saw: a purple and green presence floating before him with flapping wings.
“Woah, woah, sorry about that!” They waved their claws as if to calm Rudey down. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But wow, Rarity and HLN-A have been busy while I was away.” They cleared their throat, extending a limb, one the dinosaur recognized as a greeting gesture.
“Welcome to the tribe! And man, let me tell ya, it’s nice to have another dude around for a change. My name’s Spike, the tribe’s current leader, at least until we can get Twilight back.”
A moment of silence ensued as Spike waited for Rudey to accept his gesture, but the dinosaur simply stared with an agape jaw. And as the seconds passed into a whole minute, things only began to grow more awkward by time's passage.
“You, uh… you’re supposed to shake it, uhm, Rudey? Am I reading that right?”
The stunted scenario continued, but Rudey was now confident of one thing: between HLN-A, the awkward Equus named Rarity, and now some flying purple Rex…
This tribe is fucking weird.
-EARTH-
The sun continued to shine down upon the Earth, having created innumerable wastelands due to the presence of eternal day. The globe’s legendary large bodies of oceans have long since dried and withered away. At least, this only transpired on that half of the planet; the other half being consumed by a cold void of darkness.
But the entire planet contained patches, scars, and entire landmasses of an eerie, lavender, and radiated substance. And above all, the globe had long since lost its rotation. Earth was sick, and it cried out for anyone who could tend to it.
To sweep away the infectious corruption that has consumed it.
But hope for the world’s salvation would carry on in the form of a female humanoid figure floating over an abandoned yet futuristic city.
Helena Walker’s eyes focused on one of the many Arks that dotted the Earth’s orbit, seemingly positioned in the skies just above the city, also sharing the name of Sanctuary.
“You must overcome your obstacles, my little ponies… my brave Survivor…”
Her hands clasp together, resting on her chest as if she were going to perform a prayer.
“You have all been scattered across the Ark, but you will find opportunities to evolve in that separation. Conquer your fears, stay true to your ways, and do what you must to survive. But remember that your friendship, your bond, and the bonds forged with those you will meet along the way… is magic.”
The Homo-Deus raises her arms and cups them together, forming a circle and aligning the Island Installation within its epicenter. She peers into it with a single eye, focusing her gaze like a scope.
“I wish I could do more for all of you, but fiddling with the Arks, even as a Homo-Deus, always has lingering after-effects. After all… it’s how the creatures of The Island and Scorched Earth became what they are now. Evolving far beyond what Helena- what I used to know.”
A surge of energy grows within her transparent chest region before traveling up her arms and into her hands. And her face morphs into determination.
“But there are things I can do to help you,” She giggles, “Transporting tames around The Island can be a pain at times, so here’s a nifty little gadget we’ve come to call:
Cryopod.”
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"Featured in groups: Vore group."
Mouse hovering over watch later..moves it away.
11474569
Wait... is it really? The heck?
11474571
i know! s'weird.
also, actually gunna watch, just wanted to see a reaction. :P
Cryopods. Ark's answer to the classic question "Is that a giga in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"
There's going to be way too much fun happening with these things, I can already see that.
Rarity: *Flings out a cryopod* "Go, Rudey, I choose you!"
Rudey: *Pops out, dazed and confused, and not the least bit impressed* "That wasn't funny the first time you did it, it's still not funny you stupid bitch!"
11474605
I had the biggest WTF face I've likely ever worn. And after looking into it, it seems some of that group's members tend to add stories that really doesn't belong there.
11474724
Ah, the glorious moments that shall happen thanks to those pods.
“How many tames do you have in your inventory?” Asks the naive pony “YES” says the experienced survivor with hundreds of hours on the ark, you can never have too many cryopods
11474733
Amen.
Heh, don’t tell him about Equestria, the poor dino will have a stroke.
The Elements Of Harmony are basically a mind washing gizmo (the way they worked on Nightmare and Sunset)
That reformation spell Twilight wanted to use on Discord.
Discord.
The Alicorn Amulet.
Cadance’s love spell.
Whatever the hell the Crystal Heart does.
Chrysalis’s mind control spell.
You get the gist.
11474820
Real talk though, if Rudey was placed on Equus, he'd be dropped to dang near the bottom of the food chain. He's a very capable predator, but that is until a unicorn shoots him with magical beams (Element), pegasi zapping him with clouds (Genesis Simulation kicking in), and earth ponies being able to throw him around like the boulders they smash to pieces. (Element)
And that's not even getting into things like Hydras, Dragons, Ursa Majors, etc.
In essence: most lifeforms on Equus have been designed to fully adapt and integrate Element into their very being, to which they call their magic. Kind of like the creatures of the Genesis Simulation and those from the Extinction expansion.
Sadly, Rudey is not one such creature who can be empowered by Element. Closest he'll get is if the ponies made Tek Armor for him.
11474823
It’s not like Dilos are doing all that better on the Arks.
11474825
Oh, definitely. Rudey has his uses, and his paralyzing spit will be very beneficial. But at the end of the day, Dilos are small-tier carnivores in Ark.
11474832
Even when you've got them bred up, imprinted, and wandering around the base perimeter in packs. Or otherwise penned off in what you dub "the meat grinder" where they're just waiting for a random diplo to walk in through the low spot in the fence.
11474922
11474733
i just used the soul orb mod. it's like 20 crystal to make a soul orb and you just right click your tames with them and there in your bag
Yesssssss!!!!!!! Thank you for more Rudey and Rarity!!!
Oh and don't worry Rudey, that tribe is weird but one glance at Equestria and your eyes will bulge.
11481020
No problem!
Just wait until the tribe gets more tames, some that can talk and others who can't. So many conversations and interactions are coming.
It’s good that the ball is starting to get rolling. Also yeah it’s a wonder that the Earth is any state of inhabit ability with its whole stop rotation and dried up oceans and stuff. We call that Mars lol Although technically title he locked planet still rotate just really really slowly