Ark: Friendship is Survival

by Pomp-Neigh

Chapter 79 - Cryopod

Following Applejack’s successful trapping attempt, the Survivor leans against the outside portion of the wooden trap as the cowmare tends to the taming process of the unconscious ankylosaur within.

The human’s eyes go skyward, looking upon the artificial sun in thought. He then raises his left hand and accesses his implant to check the time.

9:45 am

He nods with a satisfied grunt. The morning was still young, and they were making significant progress. Now that they had the Ark’s undisputed champion in harvesting metal, his next target would be something that served a similar purpose.

With that in mind, the Survivor scrolls through the mental archives of his implant and accesses a particular tab aptly named ‘Explorer Notes.’ From there, he began to skim through several folders, each given a special designation that correlates to a figure of the past and, in some cases, the present:

Diana

John Dahkeya

Raia

Helena Walker/The One Who Waits

Gaius Nerva

Mei-Yin Li

Edmund Rockwell

A vicious growl is let loose, which vibrates the Survivor’s chest and throat as he spots the folder of the ‘crazed old man with a god complex.’ However, Rockwell’s works were also somewhat incomplete compared to the others, for his story was missing a vital piece to the puzzle.

Rockwell was a prominent intellectual and extravagant explorer with a heart of gold. But all of that came crashing down as he slowly but surely fell into the depths of depravity and obsession, which resulted in a horrific monstrosity—a physical manifestation of the corruption that had staked its claim.

But therein lies the issue: what drove Edmund to such ends? This question racked the minds of many who knew of Abberation’s ‘deity,’ not to mention Helena Walker herself, Rockwell’s closest friend.

Perhaps there was some merit to the Survivor’s current predicament. He only managed to escape from the broken Ark due to the actions of the HLN-A unit stationed there. It was because of the AI that he was able to return to The Island. He could only pray that they got out somehow, someway.

But now he was given an opportunity to find any possible leads he might’ve missed concerning Sir Edmund Rockwell. The jigsaw piece that-

“It’s hard finding hope among the hopeless.”

The Survivor is suddenly drawn out of his thoughts as Applejack’s muffled melody graces his ears through the wall.

“Sometimes it feels like wasted time.

A house of cards, and now you’re homeless.

But all you remember is the climb.”

The ghillied human steps away from the wall and leans into the nearby door frame, seeing the singing equine within, who rested a forelimb upon the slumbering dinosaur.

“It’s hard to know where ah’ might be,

If you hadn’t left us three that day,

Who ah’ would become or what ah’d see,

What advice you’d give me to lead the way.

But it’s not hard to feel proud of who we are.

You’ve raised a daughter that’s going far.”

It’s been two days since they’ve met, and in that time, the Survivor often caught Applejack singing to herself in her moments of solitude. Hence the sight unfolding before him now.

The equine had a strange tendency to break out into song, and while the Survivor had seen this on Aberration with some of its survivors, that was mainly around a campfire or in celebration of a victory over Rockwell’s crazed zealots and even the mad god himself.

But Applejack? Singing was second nature to her. And he had to admit… she’s got a damn good voice.

Chuckling in amusement, the Survivor pulls back from the doorframe and takes several steps away from the trap as the cowmare within continues her melody. He then resumes browsing his implant’s archives, picking up where he last left off as a cool breeze rustles nearby trees.

He mentally navigates away from Edmund Rockwell and toward two folders that diverged from the Explorer Notes—the dossiers of countless creatures and, interestingly, the guardians of both The Island and Scorched Earth.

Accessing the dossiers of the Ark’s more common life forms, the Survivor ‘scrolls’ down the alphabetically organized library before slowing his pace upon reaching the D-section. It was here that he’d pull up the next target of his and Applejack’s taming endeavors, narrated by the voice of his longtime guardian angel.

Helena Walker.

Due to the near-constant conflicts on Aberration, the HLN-A unit stationed there saw fit to add a sort of voice-over feature for the Survivor’s dossiers. It was quite handy for getting information on the fly rather than disrupting one’s focus in favor of reading Helena’s works.

But the Survivor had to wonder, was it the same for the gigantopithecus on the island? What about Applejack? Did any of them have this feature? Questions for later, he decided. Besides, he knew that Applejack and her friends have been in good graces with the HLN-A unit of this installation, so there’s always that route to getting answers.

Satisfied, the Survivor began to browse his engrams and cerebral matrix to confirm the offered knowledge of the ankylosaurus and doedicurus saddles. Perfect. He had unlocked them both.

However, something else immediately caught his attention, and he let loose a resounding gasp as, despite the item’s blacked-out silhouette, he immediately recognized its shape and designation.

-No way… she did it! Helena, you’ve finally finished the-

---

-Sanctuary-

“Cryopod!” HLN-A exclaimed in glee, a fireworks presentation showing on their visor as they floated several feet above the current members of the Tribe of Harmony. “Oh, this is simply smashing, mates!”

Rarity, Spike, Rudey, and a recently respawned Rainbow Dash looked up to the AI inquisitively, positioned on the patio of their three-story home.

Spike sat on the patio’s stone railing while Rarity rested on one of the three wooden chairs placed on the paved outdoor area. The dilophosaurus, Rudey, donned in hide armor that was graciously given to him by the Element of Generosity, much to his begrudged acceptance, laid on his stomach while lazily swaying his tail.

“What the hay is a cryopod?” Rainbow inquired, wings folded against her armorless frame while standing beside Rarity.

There was resentment present in the cyan mare’s voice due to her run-in with Mawlchu. Following that, and upon respawning within the safe confines of Sanctuary, the pegasus had updated her fellow tribe members on all that had transpired prior to her death.

Surprisingly, Rainbow had a somewhat neutral introduction to Rudey, which consisted of her greeting and welcoming him to the tribe. His response was a simple yet clearly annoyed grunt; he was quite the character.

However, she lacked the full details of how Rarity, of all of them, managed to pull it off—questions for later. There was also an interesting event with Spike and a direwolf named Astrid.

“I’m glad you asked!” HLN-A responds before descending and hovering just beyond the patio’s railings. “Let me put it this way, loves. How would you like to have a tame of any size manifest before your very eyes with a single toss of a particular item?”

“What?!” Rarity shouts in shock.

“Really?!” Spike exclaimed in excitement. “That’ll come in handy! How do we make it?”

“Huh.” Rainbow brings a hoof to her chin in thought. “It sounds like that Pokémon show Fluttershy and Discord once tried to invite me over to watch with them.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Spike responds in realization, snapping his clawed digits. “It’s a show that began to air in Neighpon not long before Twilight’s coronation. Thanks to Autumn Blaze, I was able to catch a few episodes of it, and it has something called a Pokéball that acts similarly to what you just described, HLN-A.”

“Blimey!” The AI was simply amazed. “So this Pokéball has a similar premise, huh? Well, I’ll be darned.”

“So how exactly does this Cryopod work, darling?” Rarity asked of the AI.

“Riiight. Meanwhile, I’m just gonna sit here and pretend like I know what the fuck you’re all going on about,” Rudey drops while rolling his eyes. “You guys get weirder by the second.”

“Gee, thanks…” Rainbow said with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, excuse me, but some of us, no names, aren’t freaks from another world. Context, am I right?” Rudey waves a claw dismissively. “Who needs it?”

The dinosaur earns deadpanned expressions from Rainbow, Spike, and HLN-A.

“Ignoring Rudey’s namesake attitude,” Rarity expressed while shooting the dilophosaurus with a sideways glance before resting her sights on HLN-A. “Please continue, dearie.” She gestures with her forehoof.

“Right then,” The AI happily began. “Without getting too complicated with innumerable calculations and vast spectrums of the design process, a Crypod is capable of storing a single life form within a pocketed space. Or, in Equus’ terms, a pocket dimension, only artificially crafted and stored within the device.

It’s similar to what the Arks use to hold their guardians within their respective arenas, but on a much smaller scale. In addition, the creature stored within is preserved in cryostasis, hence the name cryopod. But be warned, there is indeed a time limit. And should your pod expire while still holding a tame, well… Heh, oops.”

A moment of shocked realization and silence ensues.

“Yeah, no, fuck that!” Rudey roars out, breaking the silence. “If any of you even think about shoving me into some cryo-crap, I’ll-”

“Honestly, Rudey, what do you take us for? Barbarians?” Rarity interjects and asks, appalled by the accusation. “We’d never do such a thing without your consent.”

“Says the equus who clubbed me into servitude,” Rudey shot back with a scoff. “Thanks for the consent, you force taming hypocrite.”

“Oh, this again.” The fashionista groaned with a forehoof sliding down her features. “How many times do I have to apologize for that? Which, by the way, you’ve yet to do. Where’s my apology?”

Rudey grins devilishly. “The only thing you’re getting from me, missy,” In one swift motion, the dinosaur gets up, turns around, and lifts his tail while looking back at the unicorn, “is a nice, big honking turd.”

True to his word, Rudey proceeds to do the unthinkable: defecating right there on the spot. The action causes all, save for HLN-A, to reel back in disgust.

“Jeez, dude!” Spike shouts while shielding himself with his arms. He nearly falls off the railing but flaps his wings to steady himself.

“That’s so uncool!” Rainbow exclaims while looking away and fending off the stench with a fanning wing.

“Oh, look!” HLN-A beamed. “Fertilizer! Gosh, if only we had crops going, not to mention Plant Species X.”

“Aaaahhhck!” Rarity screamed in horror. “How dare you! That’s disgusting!”

“Tell that to all the farmers on this island.” Rudey chuckles darkly. “By the way, master, you’re cleaning that up.”

Rarity’s wide-eyed and muzzle-dropped features stare at the dilo, shifts to the droppings, and back to their owner.

“I will do no such thing, you absolute beast!”

……….

As Rarity and Rudey continued their argument, Rainbow, Spike, and HLN-A subtly ventured off through the air, floating and flying over to the other side of the territory’s central water source before descending to land themselves near Sanctuary’s eastern entrance.

“Well, he’s certainly a character,” Rainbow said, landing on the grassy terrain and folding her wings.

“No kidding. Yeesh.” Spike lands alongside the pegasus as HLN-A floats between the duo.

“Oh, come now, mates. I’m sure he’ll prove to be an invaluable ally in time.” HLN-A projects each hoof of the tribe’s equine members and Spike’s fist bumping against Rudey’s claw.

Rainbow shrugs. “Eh. I’ll have Vanellope knock some sense into him if it comes down to it.”

“I hope she’s alright,” Spike comments worriedly. But his eyes shot wide open as he comes to a horrifying thought. “Wait! Was she with you when you were-”

“No, no,” The pegasus interjects. “She’s safe, thank Celestia. I left her with those merchants I told you all about.”

Spike sighs, thankful for the raptor’s safety. “Ah. That’s a relief.”

“About that, Rainbow,” HLN-A starts, garnering the pegasus’s attention. “If I understand correctly, you’re on good terms with these merchants, right?”

“Yeah, I’d say we’re cool.” The pegasus chuckles, confidence forming and radiating off her face. “Not to brag, but I’ve got some serious connections now. Oh, what the hay; I’ll brag anyway. I’m awesome.”

“Oh, boy,” Spike jests while crossing his arms.

HLN-A giggles. “Perfect. Then you’re going to be an enormous help in getting the supplies we need to craft some cryopods.”

Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of a howling wolf presents itself, causing Rainbow’s ears to jet upward at attention.

“It’s Astrid,” Spike excitedly shouts as his gaze shoots toward the behemoth-sized stone gateway nearby, its wooden doors closed and secured. “Perfect timing!”

As the draconian flew off toward the nearby gateway, Rainbow possessed some knowledge of the dragon’s meeting with the ancient species of canine thanks to a briefing from Rarity.

“That must be the direwolf Rarity told me about.”

“Sure is, love. And I am quite interested in meeting them, especially since I recognize the name of their pack. It simply can’t be a coincidence, and I want to take this time to confirm a suspicion of mine.”

The pegasus cocks her head. “What do you mean?”

“Astrid’s pack calls themselves the Howling Wolves. But the thing is, Helena also knew of a tribe who went by that exact same alias a long time ago. Back when she was still... human.”

Comments

[Legioner8]

Rudey - tamed but not broken.

[Charlie_K]

Gonna be interesting to see if Harmony's tribemates can by cryopodded as well.

[Frostgear]

Rainbow should probably head back to the merchants since she technically lost the bet. Better to show honor in defeat than just cut and running.

[Pomp-Neigh]

11543346

[Pomp-Neigh]

11543382
You know, funny thing is: I actually always wanted an option to cryopod tribe mates in-game. Sure, there'd probably be dev limitations, but there's nothing really saying that you can't cryopod other survivors with their consent.

It's a portable cube capable of cryostasis that also sucks you in like a black hole. I would think almost any living thing could get stored.

Fun Fact: the original plan for the cryopod was that we'd be able to catch wild creatures simply by throwing the item at them. But the devs removes that feature due to balance issues.

[Pomp-Neigh]

11543699
Oh, she will!

[Charlie_K]

11543814
Yeah I can understand that. I mean, I know me. And if cryopodding wild creatures was an option, survivors would be figuring out ways to duct tape cryopods onto the ends of rockets so they could be capturing gigas and wyverns from a safe distance, and sticking them in taming/milking pens far removed from danger. Or worse, flying overhead of enemy bases and releasing them on unsuspecting saps.