Ark: Friendship is Survival

by Pomp-Neigh

Chapter 83 - Cragg's Island pt: 2

Fluttershy sighed as she began scaling the stone ramp to the arena’s upper levels. Craglorn falls in line at the pegasus’ rear, running a hand across the stone railing that borders either side of the incline.

They turn at a bend that evens out, before going up in another direction while offering an admittedly beautiful view of the open ocean. Fluttershy even spotted a small pod of ichthyosaurs breaching the water’s surface off in the distance.

The creatures were a comforting sight for the animal lover, even causing her to stop on the incline.

“Keep moving, dodo!”

“Ee-ugh!” Fluttershy released a surprised yelp as she was suddenly kicked from the rear, making her stumble a bit, but was fortunately able to stay on her hooves.

But to Craglorn’s shock, the pegasus looked back over their shoulder with an expression of pure fury and a vicious growl.

“Stop hitting me,” Fluttershy threatened.

Craglorn’s eyes widened, and the duo maintained eye contact in the moments of silence that followed. Then, laughter slowly grew from within the ape before she threw her head back and cackled.

“Hah! Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Craglorn’s mocking grin caused Fluttershy’s expression to falter in horrifying realization. “Go on, dodo, do it.”

“No…” Fluttershy’s eyes fell to the floor, and her pupils slowly reduced to pinpricks. “No…n-no, I…”

Craglorn lowers herself, taking a knee to meet the equine’s conflicted gaze. “Go ahead…hit me,” she wiggles her eyebrows, “You know you want to~.”

Fluttershy definitely shakes her head. “N-no! I won’t l-let you turn me into… i-into…”

“A real fighter?”

“A monster!”

“Oh, please,” Craglorn scoffed, dismissively waving off the equine’s words. “This whole island’s filled with monsters. So why not join in on the fun?” She shrugged, “Way I see it, you’ll come to thank me someday.”

“Never.”

“Never say never~” The ape chirped. She then rises to her full stature, looking down at the equine sternly. “Want to know a little something we’ve all learned from Lord Threx?”

“Not really.”

“Well, too bad, I’m going to tell you anyway.” Craglorn chuckled, earning a glare from the equine. “Let me tell ya, that Threx is one smart bastard. Fucking love the guy.”

“Just get to the point.”

“Hmmph. Fine, be that way.” The ape raises a finger. “The time will come, little dodo. You will eventually meet a primeval threat, alone - and with no one else to help you. It’s different when you don’t have anyone to fall back on.”

Fluttershy began to retreat backward with terrified eyes, slowly going up the incline but never taking her sight off of Craglorn, who stalked forth slowly as she spoke.

“But in that very moment, when your back is up against the wall, your heart racing and sweat dripping down your face, that’s when the survival instincts kick in. So, whaddaya think so far? Lord Threx has a way with words, doesn’t he?”

Fluttershy’s heart began to race as she realized…Craglorn was right. At least, the words she cited from Threx were.

The clipped pegasus’ former outburst, her inner thoughts of vengeance that plagued the depths of her mind, and even horrid fantasies of inflicting the same pain upon these apes tenfold. All of which grew throughout her time of imprisonment.

It hasn’t even been a week since she was captured, and yet…

Craglorn suddenly stepped away, walking toward a nearby railing as the pegasus stopped, eyes following the ape’s every move. Craglorn then rested her arms against the obstacle, breathing deeply, eyes resting on the coastal sights.

“The big guy would always talk about those apes over at the Redwood Biome, the yetis up north, the fucking Silk Spitters over at the Green Obelisk to the east, and schmucks like you. He’d say, ‘You know what they all have in common?’ Well?” She asked of the equine without shifting her gaze.

Fluttershy’s ears folded against her head. “W-what?”

“‘You all have multiple layers masking your true inner selves, the uniforms of society, education in its highest form, lavish indulgences. Admittedly, you all have evolved beyond creation’s expectations. But you have forgotten one important thing in your hubris - what with your guns, armor, explosives, and all that fancy technology’. His words, not mine.”

The ape turns around to meet the equine’s eyes, “But here’s my favorite part–under the right circumstances, facing a primeval threat, one’s evolution will revert back to its primal, savage form. Fighting for survival at the very cost of modesty.” Craglorn then squees in delight.

“Threx’s scales, I fucking love it!”

Fluttershy was simply at a loss for words as her head slowly went down, eyes feeling heavy as she squinted in deep thought.

“But don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s really not your fault.” The pegasus’ ears shot up in attention. “That’s just…nature.”

Nature…

Fluttershy’s eyes shoot wide open, and she releases a quiet gasp. Nature. Craglorn dared to lecture her about nature? This ape dared to apply what they were doing to the very same laws she respected–no!

Luna dammit, this wasn’t nature! Craglorn…how dare she!

“How dare you,” Fluttershy scolds as she raises her head to meet Craglorn’s surprised expression. “Don’t you dare try to justify what you and Lord Threx do here by bringing nature into this. I know nature, and there’s nothing natural about any of this!”

Craglorn is about to retort, but Fluttershy intervenes.

“Granted, you’re right about some of the things you said. Yes, when the chips are down, even civilized ponies can become about as primal as the fiercest manticore from the Everfree Forest.”

Craglorn blinks with confusion present on her face. “Wait, what the fuck even is-”

“But there’s a difference between that and what you’re doing,” Fluttershy shot forth an accusing forelimb. “They’re fighting for survival. A rabbit will run for all its worth from the fox that’s chasing it. That’s nature taking its course. Predator and prey.” She steps forth.

“Meanwhile, you’re capturing others just to satisfy your sick indulgence in this stupid arena. That’s cruelty, not nature.”

Craglorn chuckles. “An interesting perspective.”

“It’s a fact!”

“It’s a perspective, dodo,” Craglorn asserts. “I’ve seen trikes kill dodos just for being in the same vicinity as them. Wouldn’t that make the trike cruel?”

“W-well, I-”

“And yet, from your perspective, if a rex hunted a trike and one of them dies due to the relation of predator and prey, that’s acceptable to you?”

“Y-yes…”

“And there it is! Perspective. That’s just how you view nature, and you’re right, but you blatantly ignore the ‘other half,’ if you will. We here at Craigg’s Isle condition the ignorant, like yourself, into accepting what you all deny. That we are just polar opposites of the same grand design called nature.”

Fluttershy growls at that, frustration taking hold of her emotions.

“Let me put this in a way that you might understand.” Craglorn points at the yellow mare, “You represent nature’s kindest aspects,” she points to herself, “and I, its worst. But both halves, us, share one thing in common–the struggle for survival. That’s the point I’m trying to drill into your skull.”

The pegasus grits her teeth but doesn’t form a retort.

“Even you must acknowledge that to be absolute truth. We have different views on the subject, yet we both contribute to the great chain of, you guessed it, nature. That. Is. Truth.”

Their battle of views reached a pause as they stared at each other in silence, Craglorn sporting a smirk with Fluttershy portraying defiance on her face.

“That still doesn’t make what you’re doing right,” the pegasus challenged with narrowed eyes. “I’ll never accept that.”

“And yet you’re oh so close to acting the part,” Craglorn shot back with a wink. “But I guess time will tell which of us is right, right~?”

Fluttershy lets out an aggravated snort. “Fine.”

“Then get your ass moving, dodo. As fun as this chat of ours has been, there’s still a tour in progress, so get moving.”

The pegasus turned away with an irritated growl, her hooves clopping against the stone.

-Ohoho, I’m going to have fun breaking you, dodo.-

-I’ll never accept her ways! Stupid Craglorn, I’ll show you!-

They finally reached the incline’s precipice and gazed upon the upper level. It was comparable to a sort of check-in station for some grand event held at a stadium.

Craglorn steps up and gestures to all of it as if she were some home salespony back on Equus.

“In case it wasn’t obvious, this is where the audience register themselves. They can also place bets, and some, like me, even have their own fighters participating in the events.”

“And I’m one of your fighters…” Fluttershy comments bitterly.

“You sure are, bitch.”

“Yay…”

“‘Yay’ is right.” Craglorn turns away and walks forward. “Come along now,” she beckons with the back of a raised hand, “It’s time to give you a proper name for the arena.”

Fluttershy obeys, much to her displeasure, as she follows Craglorn. The duo proceeds past the green flag and straight to a red tent to the far right.

Craglorn stops before a desk resting between a series of stacked barrels beneath the tent, turning back to face Fluttershy.

“Tell you what…for being so fun since I caught ya, I’ll let you choose a name for yourself. Come here.”

The pegasus walks over to the desk, where she sees a chart with a competitive bracket that has several names already written down.

Merciful Celestia…It was just like the brackets back home…

Craglorn points to an open space on the right side of the brackets. “Go on,” she presents a wooden writing utensil with charcoal as the tip. It was a near-perfect replica of a typical pencil.

“What’s your name?”

“Fluttersh-”

“Your name is Bitch!” The ape roars. “At least it will be if you don’t make one for yourself. Now do it. Think about it. It’ll be fun~.”

Fluttershy sighed as she tore the pencil away from Craglorn’s hand, reared up, and rested her forelimbs on the desk while staring at the open spot. But she didn’t need to think for very long, for she already had the perfect alias in mind.

The pegasus’ hoof guides the pencil over the bracket as if they were dancing at the Grand Galloping Gala. And when they stopped, their movements left something engraved onto the metaphorical dance floor.

Yes, Fluttershy was content with this. “There.” She sets down the pencil and steps back. “That’s my name.”

Craglorn leans over her to see what was scribbled down.

Beast Queen

“Beast Queen, huh?” She chuckled. “Pretty cocky name, but… nice.”

Comments

[Eventide100]

Craglorn needs to go and suck on a dick!
NO ONE CAN BE MEAN TO FLUTTERSHY!!!

[Pomp-Neigh]

11586792

[Frostgear]

Anyone else want Fluttershy to ram a spear down Craglorns throat and shut the ape up?

[Legioner8]

Don’t be ashamed. It’s only nature, running its course. You have no choices to make. Nothing to answer for. You can die with a clear conscience.

You can’t fight nature, Jack. Wind blows, rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak.

That bitch would’ve loved Monsoon.