Ark: Friendship is Survival

by Pomp-Neigh

Chapter 91 - Services Rendered

-Herbivore Island-

The creaking of the ship in motion, along with the labors of its’ able-bodied crew up on the main deck, graces Pinkie Pie’s ears as she transports a set of cannonballs in her inventory over to a metallic storage containment down in the cargo hold.

She opens the storage box while humming a familiar lullaby involving smiles as she accesses her inventory, manifests each ball one at a time, and sets them down carefully on cartons within the metal storage designed to hold them in place.

With her task now complete, the pink mare closes the storage box and hurriedly makes her way back up to the main deck, passing by other forms of storage space, several sleeping quarters, and the captain’s cabin along the way before finally reaching a flight of stairs.

Upon reaching the main deck, the harmonious mare instantly picks up the abrupt sound of an explosive splash of water, causing her to follow her ears as she hurries over to the vessel’s starboard side. There she spots Sedan swimming along the water’s surface, one of the two direbear members of this band of seafarers, as the ship enters the bay of Herbivore Island.

Pinkie watched as Sedan submerged beneath the waters’ surface, although the crystal clear sea still offered a fine view of what was transpiring underneath. The dire bear uses its limbs for propulsion as she chases a small school of fish, managing to pin one against a reef with a claw as the ship passes over the piscivorous scenario.

“Oi, Pinkie!” Captain Jack beckoned from the helm, his fateful dodo bosun, Mr. Pecks, perched on his right shoulder.

“Yes, captain?!”

“Lower the longboat! Portside!”

“Aye, aye!” Pinkie obeys the command, shuffles over to the ship’s portside, and starts to undo the ropes that hold up the longboat as Jack turns his gaze to the ancient turtle amongst the crew.

“Shellshock! Drop anchor!”

The carbonemys roars out and waddles over to a rusty crank before biting into it and rotating his head clockwise. The mechanism allows the anchor to fall freely into the sea, evidenced further by the resulting splash and flickers of water droplets thrown into the air.

Salamaya, the hammer-headed salamander, and Urd, the last remaining direbear still onboard, disembarked from the now-parked vessel as they lept off the starboard side and swam ashore.

Another splash sounds off as Pinkie frees the longboat from its attachments, and the floatation device bumps against the ship now and then via the ocean current. The pink mare looks down to assess the watercraft and ladder, nodding in satisfaction.

“Okay, las,” Jack says on approach, coming up on the equine’s rear and standing alongside her with a wooden paddle held under his left armpit. “Mr. Pecks shall keep an eye out in the crow’s nest. The number one rule on the high seas is always assuming that another ship with less-than-pleasant company will stroll by. Savvy?”

Pinkie nods, flashing a smile, “Okie dokie, lokie!”

The yeti blinks his eyes in confusion, “I still don’t know who this Lokie fella is, but if they can get me a few more barrels of beer, they’re welcome to come along.” He bows with a flourish before scaling down the ladder, leaving behind a wide-eyed pink mare frozen in thought.

“Hehehehe!” She bursts out into a giggle. “Silly captain, that’s why the beer is always gone.”

“Right you are, las,” the yeti responds, lowering himself onto the boat’s bow seat or bench. “Right, you are.”

Following Jack’s gesture for her to join him, Pinkie scales down the ladder, dismounts it, and joins the yeti on the longboat, rocking the vessel slightly as she maneuvers over to the stern seat.

“Is Mr. Pecks going to be alright?” Pinkie asked, sitting down and grabbing the paddle Jack offered her.

“Aye. Nothing gets past Mr. Pecks’ watchful eyes. Well, except for that whole Silk Spitters incident, but no one’s perfect love, and Mr. Pecks is as fine a bosun as any. Now row, Pinkie. Row!”

The equine nods with a beaming smile as she adheres to his request and rhythmically rows them to shore.

……….

Following Jack’s orders as the boat approaches the shoreline, Pinkie doubles her efforts and paddles harder, causing the vessel to build up admirable speed before finally exiting the waters and sliding up the sandy incline.

“Well done, Pinkie,” the yeti compliments, leaping out of the boat and landing on the sand in one fluent motion. “Rowing a boat with a yeti of my size isn’t as easy as other apes might think.”

The pink mare flexes a forelimb and winks, “Ain’t no mare like an earth pony mare!” She boasts. She then exits the watercraft as her hooves dig into the earthly grains.

“So I’m going with Sedan and Urd to collect some food, right?”

Jack turns to face her, “Aye, that be your role.” He grabs the boat and pulls it inland, Pinkie walking alongside him. “While you three are off scurrying about, meself, Shellshock, and Salamaya will see to our crafting supplies. Savvy?”

“You got it!” The pink mare boomed, turning her gaze over to the direbear duo and kicking off to hurriedly make her way across the sands to join them, leaving Jack, Salamaya, and Shellshock to their own devices.

“Hi, girls!” Pinkie greets, positioning herself between the ursal titans. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

Urd looks back and mumbles in confirmation, prompting the trio to venture onward to the outlying island’s forestation.

Rainbow Dash sat with folded ears at a respectful distance from Harley, who wept several feet away from the corpses of her long-deceased parents as members of the Traveling Merchant began to build a protective wall around the bodies.

As for Moss, the adopted spinosaurus of the paraceratherium couple was nowhere to be seen, save for the clear signs and forcefully established path through the swamp made by an enraged behemoth.

This was so not cool… She liked Herbert and Shirley. The original plan was simple: return to the merchants, explain why she couldn’t complete the challenge, which she was sure to have been mocked for; everyone would get a good laugh from it; she gets some materials for fur armor and a cryopod, and off she goes with Vanellope in tow.

But now… A remorseful sigh escapes from her throat. She then spots Thrum, the Traveling Merchant, turn away from his tribe members in the distance and begin to walk towards the pegasus.

Rainbow stands up to reciprocate and meets him halfway across the terrain of mud and sand.

“H-hey…” She began, unsure of what to say but still felt the need to express her sympathy. “I’m so sorry about, well,” she gestures toward the paraceratherium corpses with an outstretched wing, “them. I didn’t know Herbert and Shirley for long, but I liked them.”

The top-hat-wearing ape sighed in sadness, “Alas, such is the way of this island. It can be a paradise one second and a total nightmare the next. But we merchants always repay our debts, Rainbow, and you have done us a great service. Thank you.”

“Heh, no problem.” The cyan mare looks over to the bodies, “Any idea what might’ve done this?”

“Ah…” Thrum runs a hand along the back of his neck in thought. “Well, Tharn has his theories regarding large predators, but what you explained to us is simply mind-boggling.

A raptor pack? Taking down not one but two paraceratheriums who are also Speakers—Speakers… The very thought is inconceivable.”

“Yeah…” Rainbow responds before solemnly remaining silent, trying to recollect anything that could help- “Wait…” Her eyes shot wide open in festering realization as she had forgotten one particular detail.

“What is it, Rainbow?”

“When I saved Vanellope and Walken, there was something strange about the raptors that attacked them.”

Thrum crosses his arms and brings a hand up to his chin. “Strange?”

“It… It was their…eyes. It was all flashy and red, like those troodon things at night.”

“I see… Interesting…” Thrum hummed in thought. “And you say that those raptors displayed such characteristics even in broad daylight?”

The pegasus nods. “Yup. It wasn't long before noon.”

“Mmm… We have quite the mystery on our hands. Hooves, in your case. For now, all we can do is hope that Tharn finds any clues that could lead us to an explanation.” The ape looks skyward and nods before raising his left arm and accessing his inventory.

“Two-thirty seven pm. Come, Rainbow. Let’s check on your raptor friend and Walken. The sooner we get them up and going, the better. The last thing I want is for you two to travel back home at night, especially since that raptor pack is still out there somewhere.”

“Thanks, Thrum. I appreciate it.”

The ape turns and beckons the equine to follow, who does so happily as they trek over to a series of wooden spiked walls Rainbow had built to protect the unconscious forms of Vanellope and Walken.

“Think nothing of it,” Thrum states. “Perhaps we can even discuss proper payment for services rendered.”

“I don’t know…” Rainbow hesitated. “Maybe if-”

“It’s alright, Rainbow,” the top-hatted ape gently interjects. “As I said before, you deserve this.”

Pausing in front of a spiked wall, Rainbow steps closer and performs her implant’s ‘Destroy’ feature. True to its name, a strange yet all too familiar phenomenon causes a single wall to crumble, following red particles that exited her implant, unveiling both Vanellope and Walken while also gaining some of the materials used to craft the spiked wall.

“Well, if you’re offering,” Rainbow said after turning to face Thrum. “I’d like some materials for fur armor and a cryopod if that’s ok.”

The ape stared at her with an inquisitive yet curious expression.

“...I’m sorry… Cryo-what?”

Comments

[Frostgear]

Sounds like someone has a unique Ingram in current company.

[Pomp-Neigh]

11669623
Those cryos are going to make the ponies famous. For better and for worse.

[Green-Venom]

“...I’m sorry… Cryo- what ?”

Humanity has done it again. Even years later with entirely new and inteligent species running around their technology is still on top!

[Pomp-Neigh]

11670368
Indeed!

Heck, the Arks and the Colony Ship(s) ARE humanity's greatest accomplishment in this universe. All of the life that thrives on them, including Equus, was all thanks to mankind despite them nearly getting wiped out by the infection and the Titans.

[Green-Venom]

11670375
True.

Honestly, Ark is my favorite take on post apocalypse. Instead of going out guns blazing, they chose the option to try and tech their way around the problem...

[Charlie_K]

11670375
Colony drop one of them on top of the King Titan and the problem might be solved. Billions of burning hot tonnage cares not about how fearsome the target is or what gets in its way.

[Zubric]

11681810
Apparently the humans tried a nuke and that didn’t work so million tons of metal isn’t gonna do nothing