Chapter 93 - New Member o' The Crew
-Herbivore Island-
The moonless night casts an ebony blanket upon the Ark, but it does little to deter Pinkie Pie as she patrolled past a series of tactfully placed standing torches to stave off the darkness. She agreed to go first for night watch as the other members of the Painted Sharks had fallen into a slumber within a series of thatch huts.
However, the collective of huts lacked any protective walls or barriers, but Captain Jack had assured her that this little isle’s creatures wouldn’t be a problem so long as no one actively antagonized them.
And yet…
Inner turmoil causes the pink mare to stop, “I can’t help but feel like I’m forgetting something really, really important.” Great worry was present in her voice. She looked around nervously before resuming her patrol.
“No!” The party mare declared while shaking her head to steel herself. “I’m just Twilighting, that’s all. There’s nothing to worry abo-”
‘SCRAAAAWWR!’
Pinkie jumps with an accelerated heart rate as a horrifying screech presents itself, echoing from somewhere toward the small island’s epicenter. She urgently makes her way over to Captain Jack’s residence, passing by the direbear duo, Sedan and Urd, who stir from their sleep, having also been alerted by the strange roar.
“CAPTAIN JACK!” Pinkie called out while slamming a forehoof against the door. “Get up, captain! There’s something out there!”
A loud bump could be heard from within the hut, followed by girthy steps as the door is pulled inward, and Jack pokes his head out.
“What’s with all that there racket?” The yeti asked in a sleep-deprived tone.
The pink mare gives him a saluting gesture, “There’s something out there, captain. I can’t explain it, but I think we should go and check it out.”
Jack blinks at her request before shifting his gaze to Sedan and Urd. Both direbears could be seen growling and rearing up to stomp on the beach face repeatedly, prompting an affirmative nod from the yeti.
“Good work, arr, matey!” He commends the equine. “If them two be gettin’ riled to the sky, then we’d best go an’ investigate.”
Pinkie’s face displays determination as she steps aside to allow the yeti to leave the hut. Upon exiting the structure and standing firm, Jack turns his attention to the other members of his crew, who begin to assemble before him as he conjures forth his hat from his inventory and sets it down on his head.
“Listen to the sky, all o’ ye. ‘Ere’s what we be goin’ to do,” he points at the direbears, “Urd, Sedan, you’re comin’ with me.” The yeti moves his index finger to Shellshock, “You too, me carbonemys mate. That there shell o’ yours might just come in ‘andy.”
As the captain continued, Pinkie tilted her head as she saw how Jack’s speaking pattern had changed from what she was used to. Of course, he always spoke like a typical pirate, but that was only a few words here and there mixed with plain old Equish, similar to Captain Celaeno.
But now? Every box was checked for the stereotypical idea of talking like a pirate and cranked up even further. Was it a situational thing, she wondered?
“Pinkie!”
Jack’s call out draws the pink mare out of her stupor. “Y-yes, captain?”
“You’re comin’ along, as well. Master. Pecks an’ Salamaya will remain ‘ere to watch o’er our camp an’ the ship. Savvy?”
A raised pink forehoof signals understanding.
“Aye, aye, captain!”
Taking a deep and recuperative breath, Jack takes decisive steps forward and into Herbivore Isle’s small forest in the lead while holding a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other. Wielding an alighted torch and ready to call forth the metallic pike gifted to her, Pinkie positions herself between Sadan and Urd, the trio flanking the captain as Shellshock waddles after them at the very rear.
“Stay focused, mates,” Jack whispers while gently pushing aside foliage. “We don’t know what we’re dealin’ with.”
“Hey, uhm, captain?” Pinkie muttered from behind.
“Aye?”
“Is what we’re going to find bad? Like, really, really bad?”
“Can’t really say fer sure. But whatever made that sound been enough to put our direbear mates on ‘igh alert, an’ you’ve got yerself some rather unique senses, too, eh?”
“Yeah, my Pinkie Senses. Ever since I came to this island, there’s been times when they act so…new and wierd and-”
Jack abruptly stops, “Avast,” he orders in a higher tone and raises his sword, causing an immediate pause in the group behind him.
The yeti’s eyes dart side to side, aiming his pistol while shuffling through the leaves and past the barks of nearby trees. Jack steps forward but stops again as a particularly red substance leaks down a leaf within the corner of his right eye, having glistened from the light of Pinkie’s torch.
Eyes narrowing in suspicion, Jack banishes his pistol to his inventory and reaches out to dab a fingertip against the crimson liquid, which he immediately recognized to be…
“Blood.”
He turns around and presents the blood-covered finger to Sedan, whose nose flares as she takes in the scent, Urd leaning in and following suit while Pinkie observes cautiously. Shellshock remained at the very back, stretching and extending his neck high up into the air with an indifferent expression.
The direbears soon emit a low growl as they then move around Jack, rustling vegetation and taking the lead.
Jack summons forth his pistol and takes on a combative stance. “Aye. The lasses be onto somethin’.” He waves a hand, “Let’s go.”
Obeying the captain’s orders, those behind him proceed onward as the pink mare’s heart beats to the rhythm of fear taking hold of her.
Perhaps this fear...was the mare’s senses in full effect.
Sedan and Urd breach into a clearing with several large boulders and metal veins littering the area. Herbivore Island’s central U-shaped cliff is present nearby, offering a fine view of the main island, the sea, and the Painted Shark’s camp and ship.
But as Jack and the other crew members step out into the clearing after parting long strands of greenery, Pinkie’s torch fighting off the darkness with its’ orange hue, their eyes are immediately drawn to what their direbear allies are now investigating.
A triceratops corpse.
Jack approaches the deceased three-horned entity in slight disbelief as he spots the wounds it has received, his crew fanning out to make observations of their own.
“What in the…” He voiced his shock.
From what the yeti could judge, the wounds inflicted upon the triceratops were similar to the flesh-rendering claws of a predator. But that can’t be right… There are no predators on this island, and he was sure to have Sedan and Urd sniff out any other survivors while they and Pinkie Pie gathered resources.
“Whatever did this,” Jack began, gaining the attention of his cohorts, “is a beastie not normally found on this here island.”
Pinkie swallowed nervously, yet there was that strange feeling of having forgotten something important again.
“Y-you don’t think something swam here, do you?”
“A possibility as jolly as any, las,” Jack answered while inspecting the corpse.
Several more moments of quiet observations play out. However, it soon caused realization to rise in Jack slowly. It was quiet… Too quiet. Aside from the dead triceratops, there weren’t even signs of any other wild herbivores.
A sudden and rumbling chirp sends a cold chill down everyone’s spine as Sedan and Urd growl furiously at a presence whose head peaked over a nearby boulder, glaring down at them all.
The rest of the Painted Sharks and their Harmony ally follow the direbears’ gaze and face a particularly feathered theropod, whose gaze never leaves them as it maneuvers around the rock and presents its dangerous frame.
Pinkie’s torch only added further forebodingness as it illuminated elongated claws rubbing against one another, hanging lazily in front of the theropod’s stomach region.
Jack backs away slowly and positions himself between Sadan and Urd, Pinkie and Shellshock coming up on either end as they form a wall only a short distance away from the death-dealing menace that slowly stepped towards them.
The ‘beastie’ stops its approach, looking over the beings in front of it as its feathers slowly begin to rise, its growing volatile temperament easily conveyable.
Pinkie grits her teeth and summons the pike from her inventory while placing the torch onto the ground, preparing for the inevitable conflict. But a joyful chuckle from Jack demanded her attention as she turned her head to face the now-grinning captain.
“Look at what we ‘ave ‘ere…” The yeti sends his sword and pistol away before manifesting a longneck rifle into his grasp. “A therizinosaurus.”
’Therizinosaurus...’ Pinkie states internally, feeling the faintest sense of familiarity again. ’I feel like I know this thing somehow... Hmm...’
All the while, the theri leans back and raises its claws in a threatening display.
“Change o’ plans, arr, maties. This ‘ere beastie won’t be a threat fer long.”
Pinkie’s head turns to him with a curious look. “C-captain…?”
“Aye, Pinkie. What we ‘ave ‘ere be an opportunity… What we ‘ave ‘ere…” The yeti quickly slides his legs to turn sideways before taking aim.
“Is a new member o’ the crew!”
The yeti pulls the trigger and fires off a tranquilizing agent, which practically soars through the air in slow motion before finally making its mark and causing the therizinosaur to flinch from the sudden pinch in its flesh and injection.
With the first strike being made, the Painted Sharks prepare for battle as the angered theri roars out and charges at them with outstretched claws.
”SCRAAAAWWR!”
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Well then.
It's a real good thing that Jack is a yeti with good berry harvesting abilities, because they're gonna need an ass-ton of narcoberries to stuff up that tickle chicken's butt to keep it unconscious long enough to berry tame it.
High enough LV for tranquilizer darts, and yet he still uses a pistol?
11703428
I’ll say this: that pistol has some personal value to it.
In terms of practicality, he could easily craft far greater weapons. But that pistol is special to him.
11702948
Captain Jack’s already prepared for taming situations.
11703437
(I'm going to take a guess and assume that the Survivor has a preference for the pump-shotgun?)
I see. Nevertheless I'm kinda surprised it took this long to finally get to see a longneck.
11703444
The ponies and Spike definitely haven’t used a longneck rifle at this time yet. Heck, they haven’t even touched any guns. But the other inhabitants of the island they’ve encountered so far do and have.
Harmony’s lack of such weaponry gets expanded upon in the coming chapters, but know that this lack of guns is definitely intentional.
HLN-A will come to realize her own flaw, too. One that Granny has called the AI out for.
11703444
As for the Survivor, his presence will be a godsend for Harmony, just as it currently is for Applejack. (He’ll be using all kinds of gadgets, shotgun among them, as this is a man who’s already beaten The Island, Scorched Earth, and escaped from Abberration with the help of that installation’s HLN-A unit.)
11703485
)
Well I'll be waiting with anticipation then. (After all, if a beach bob doesn't get blasted in the face by a LV50+ with an assault rifle, you're not playing Ark.
11703499
)
I expect some 200IQ moves from the survivor, you hear me! (If you don't mind of corse.
11704105
Level 200 IQ move would be using a lasso to drag a downed quetzal out of that one damn water hazard on the map before the bird drowns.
Also with how stats work in this universe with apparently no cap with enough investment into certain stat. The other ponies can potentially be as fast as Rainbow dash or as Strong as Applejack.
11707760
Exactly!