I froze, listening to the jungle. Nope, all good, birds were still singing and chirping. That was a clear sign that nothing big was around. They didn’t seem to mind ponies, but big predators caused them to go quiet.
I gave the soup/stew another stir. No recipe, but I had emptied a bunch of cans of tomatoes and about half a bag of lentils into a massive pot, together with some carrot pieces and a bunch of bell peppers, boiled it up and then added spices and salt to taste.
It needed to fill ponies up, not win any awards.
Suddenly there was a flash above and I glanced up just in time to see an air carriage fly past above. A purple pony appeared in a flash of teleportation in front of me.
“Page!” Midnight said and trotted up, “I’m glad you’re alright. How is everypony? I figured it would be best to get some medical ponies here as soon as possible.”
“I’m fine, Midnight,” I said and hugged her before letting go, “We have some injured ponies laid out inside the carriage,” I then added and pointed with my wing, “I’m fine, so Sunset and Twilight. Applejack has a concussion though.”
“I have several doctors along, they’ll check on them as soon as they land,” Midnight sighed and sank down to sit, “I wanted to get them here as soon as possible, so I teleported as much of the way as I could.”
Which explained the tired looking alicorn before me.
“Thank you.”
“Princess Midnight, you’re here earlier than we thought,” Moon Glow said as she approached.
Midnight nodded to her, “I have doctors and medics along, they’re landing the carriage now.”
Moon Glow nodded and motioned to a thestral. She took to the sky to guide the carriage down. Moon Glow turned to her and smiled, “Thank you, Princess.”
Midnight smiled at her, “The rest will arrive before the end of the day with enough carriages for everypony,” before she turned to frown at me, “You look…”
“Thanks, you’re pretty too,” I answered with a small wry smile as I stirred the stew, “This is about done, so I’m going to go pass out now if you don’t mind. Luna must be worried.”
Midnight nodded, “Go sleep, I’ll organize things with Moon Glow.”
I gave her a tired smile before I walked inside to see, Sunset deep asleep next to Twilight already. I made my way over to them and sank down on Twilights other side before-
I opened my eyes in the dream realm, Lunas wing settling across my back and pulling me close,
“I spoke to Twilight and Sunset,” she said softly, “How are you doing?”
“...I’m tired, Luna,” I said as I leaned against her, closing my eyes with a sigh, “Everytime we seem to take a step forward, something happens and pushes us a dozen steps back. Ponies got hurt again. Ponies died.”
“Page…” Luna said softly, “It was an accident.”
“Like that matters to the ponies that died,” I answered against her coat, “...They likely saved more lives, you know. The brakes engaged a second before we hit. Even that little might have saved a lot of lives.”
Luna didn’t answer, she just rested her head against the top of mine.
“...And you know what’s more?” I asked quietly, ”The rail is bucked. I haven’t gotten an aerial view yet, but hundreds of meters of track are twisted and ripped up. No more trains for Nocturnis until it’s cleared up and… I don’t know how long that would take, especially in this place.”
“My sister has already ordered the railway to investigate, the Solar Guard is going to provide protection for it,” Luna said, “I think we may have it repaired faster than you may think.”
I shook my head, “It’s not just that, Luna,” I said and looked up at her with a sigh, “I thought about that. Nocturnis may handle a couple of months to half a year without problem. We’ll be really short on grain, but we have enough iron and tools and such to last. We have enough food. But that’s not really the problem. The problem is the future. Any train in the future has to travel slowly enough to stop in time. Going that slowly or even worse, stopping would be almost as dangerous as going at full speed and risking a collision. What pony in their right mind would drive that train?”
Luna pulled me tighter, “There are solutions,” she said, “Maybe pegasus scouts could fly ahead of the train when in the forest? They could watch for fallen trees as well.”
I nodded, “Maybe,” I agreed, “And… special armored train if they do have to stop. Not sure we could stop a Rexsosaurus from wrecking the train with just armor, but might be enough to keep the ponies on it safe.”
“See?” Luna said with a small smile, “It’s not hopeless.”
“No. Just difficult,” I admitted with a sigh, “More and more difficult.”
“If there is anything critical that you need,” Luna continued, “We will send it by airship. In fact, if you need to travel in the future, it should be by airship.”
I shook my head, “No.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one, asking everypony else to take a train through the monster infested jungle while I take an airship sends the entirely wrong message,” I told her, “And second, airships aren't exactly safer as we have seen before. Especially during the rain period… which we’ll be hitting in three months or so.”
“Oh.”
“If I’d actually want to make it safe out of the jungle, I’d go by hoof,” I said with a small smile, “Fly by night, sleep in treetops during the day. It's easy enough, nothing would see me. It'll take a week just to reach the edge, but it would be safe. Fairly sure Moon Beam would tie me down if I expressed the intent to try though.”
Luna nodded and sighed, “I suppose you’re right,” she admitted, “But we’re still going to send an airship if there is something you critically need.”
I nodded, “Thank you,” I said, looking up at her.
“We’ll figure everything out,” Luna said and gave me a small kiss, “Now rest. No dreams, just sleep.”
The Jungle is probably the most complex area to survive in...
11054886
That's why (modern) humans when they want to settle the jungle burn the damn thing down and kill all the predators.
11054893
Even barring doing something as drastic as turning the jungle into plains using fire, we don't allow large predators near population centers.
Urban areas and suburbs capture and relocate animals to more rural areas...
Rural areas take a more permanent approach to dealing with problem animals.
I’m so glad this series is still going he’s kind of a Mary Sue but also not he’s kind of one but not in a obnoxious way and there are justifications for it also I just love the world building
11054911
Exactly.
Honestly, I really enjoy this story but don't like that Page really isn't approaching this problem like a human would anymore if they truly were this involved in the success of this colony.
He is approaching these problems like a prey animal. Not a former Apex Predator and current demigod. We get hints of it at times but overall he is being too mild and nice. He is living in a freaking death jungle with dinosaur analogs, time to use his advantages, one of which is knowledge of technology the ponies do not use, to remake that area into one that will support his colony.
Yeah the only good and permament and safe solution would be a underground train,at least partially in that part of the jungle.
Hello human brain are you still there,or are you as rainbow slushie now?
Also Diamond Dogs and Changelings are available
11054986
If only he knew of a species that was particularly used to living in underground tunnels and could likely help with construction.
11055019
Yeah I was going to write that about Diamond Dogs but changelings could do it too
Diamond Dogs could especially be quiet cheap to hire
Maybe even employ them permamently to mine minerals in a colony mine,etc later.
In both cases, they will want gems that aren't that rare and expensive in this world.
While colony gets minerals and other metals and space
Couldn't come up with anything in particular to write so.....
11055019
Could provide a pretty useful opportunity for Chrysalis and her hive to make a big PR splash if her changelings construct the underground Trainline out of the jungle.
Hell, it'd be a potential industry that she could try and get into, using her hive to construct tunnels and other underground stuff like storm shelters
I was going to suggest a tunnel, but a tunnel would make many kinds of locomotive asphyxiation hazards, so that the line would have to be electrified (or magicified or something) and/or the tunnel specially ventilated, which would require a lot more along-line infrastructure which might itself be vulnerable to damage.
11054986
and the best part about this thought is that when you realize the tunnel would be far more naturally stable than most tunnels in modern infrastructure, due to the tree roots holding the soil in place
11055079
From half-remembered books and a quick search, it looks like a low-traffic tunnel could be just fine if it's not also a steep climb and had some vent shafts bored in every so often. The tunnel would naturally clear itself before the next train rolled through a few days later. The train itself would stir the air a fair bit, and the exhaust concentration wouldn't get too bad as long as the train kept moving.
11054893
Brother! get the flamer, the heavy flamer!
11055028 11055079
As been mentioned, this is a rainforest, so flooding would be a big issue with below-ground tunnels. The only viable solution would be an aboveground-bunker/earthen-berm design, but yes, the diamond dogs would be helpful in doing that, too. As Matt mentioned, ventilation would also have to be a consideration, as well as any potential expansions for multi-train tracks for two-way traffic.
The solution to all the problems is a Monorail. Monorail. Monorail. Monorail.
11055141
Nice. I laughed harder than needed for this
And I'm sure everyone is saying it already but page has lost his predator status. He is no longer a human he is just an alicorn. Maybe he will have something click in when a close one gets really hurt. Who knows.
11055190
Monorail being a single railed train system, typically raised off the ground...?
Well that might actually work, but I'm not sure the ponies have advanced enough metallurgical and Civil engineering technology for that yet.
11055190
11055233
11055166
11055098
There is also an option of doing above-ground tracks,build around the high trees but it's worse than the underground option because of high maintenance
Trees grow,branches grow,fall,change bend,etc
Also, it will be susceptible to weather,flying creatures,big predators, and other creatures that can climb.
Underground train tracks would be simple because there would be one train track for now.
media.istockphoto.com/photos/straight-circular-subway-tunnel-with-tubing-and-two-different-lights-picture-id984049944?k=20&m=984049944&s=612x612&w=0&h=sWotR-D1Wd10WXXNRMB6vR3udHqE39oJ-r7IzKjoQgc=
cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/161115110902-mail-rail-5-large-169.jpg
Ventilation should be simple, especially if the pressure of the train moving (if the tunnel won't be too wide) forward will push it all out.
All you need to do is set up:
-magical lamps
-segments with exits to the surface for emergencies
-enchantment that will push air strongly into the tunnel if the train won't arrive for weeks or months,etc
-movement notifications that will alarm the Colony and the whole tunnel,like for example will light up in color red
So if something is detected in both places in the tunnel, it will do that.
So 2 trains won't collide if some idiot will allowe to do that without building new tracks.
Or won't collide with an animal or some idiot that decided to go there.
Well, at least the repairs will hopefully be performed fairly quickly... I'm amazed they were travelling so fast in such poor conditions to begin with though, that's a violation of just about every rule in the book when it comes to safety. Someone messed up badly, and it probably falls to the now-dead engineers, assuming they weren't specifically told to go fast or were and didn't lodge a protest.
11054916
Page isn't a Mary Sue, or a Gary Stu for that matter either. The only sueish trait he possessed from the start is being remarkably likable, but one powerful trait doesn't make a Sue. A Gary Stu would have rolled up and punched Tirek out rather than tricking him, he certainly wouldn't have botched two military exercises through incompetence, would have instantly got unlimited resources rather than spending most of the first book penny pinching (and even now, he still has limits), etc...
While Page is certainly powerful now, sueishness comes from unearned success and power. Where he is now is the result of eight previous books of development and in-universe years of work. In other words, he's earnt it.
11054918
Important to consider that:
A. Hunting some of these beasties isn't a simple solution with the tech they have. You'd need things like anti-tank guns to reliably put down a rexosaurus, and the herbivores might be even harder to kill (though they might be docile enough to simply place shaped blasting charges on). This world, while early industrial in many respects, is horribly behind the curve on military tech.
B. The logistics of launching a massive hunting campaign in the jungle would be terrifying. You'd have to feed, shelter and equip tens of thousands of soldiers (which in itself would probably mean training and maybe even conscripting more, since I don't think Equestria's army is very big in this world) far away from your core industrial regions. Not to mention dealing with the inevitable sickness that such a putrid climate would cause.
It'd be the Emu War all over again, only worse since you'd be hunting actual monsters in far worse terrain with a vast amount of both political and fiscal capital behind it.
C. The area is largely uncharted, so you might well kill hundreds of giant beasties only to miss enough to render the operation ineffective.
11055141
I for one support this plan. Cut back the forest and the beasties won't cross the space probably, especially if you place hazards like stakes or tank traps on either side of the track.
Grammar jackboot:
Missing space: Every time we
11054916
Giant predators are by definition usually low in numbers, hard to have enough food supply to maintain a large population generally.
Cannons are well within their technological ability, but it would be easier just to use poisoned bait. If you were feeling particularly nice it could even be done non-lethally, but the rexosaurs etc.. are actually a great source of resources so no need to waste it.
Of course the human way would be to advertise rexosaur gall bladder as a cure for impotence and let the poachers and other adventurers do your work for you for free, heck maybe even pay for guides. He is the Alicorn of Stories afterall. Introducing big game hunting to remove a danger and make a profit is quite doable.
I suspect the giant herbivores could be driven off using materials from the rexosaur corpse, usually prey will avoid predator scents etc...
Could also dig deadfalls with spiketraps. Even a large ditch dug around their areas would increase their safety.
For the train, berms and clearing the local forest near by would help a lot. You could shape the berms at intervals to provide a funnel pass under/animal crossing for an elevated stretch of track too. Would only need one every couple miles or so.
Even something as simple as running a breakaway fence/wire alongside the track and electrifying it in intervals, not to discourage wildlife but to serve as an early warning system would help. I.e. where you have a recent break in electrical connection you know the fence is breached and something has crossed the tracks and how recently.
rail isn't that hard to fix when you have manpower to do so, keeping the tracks clear is more of a problem. Maybe instead of pylons barring beasts they put them along the tracks spaced enough that they ward them off, and put some kind of teleportation relays along the rails to let a pony teleport large distances without being midnight or twilight
11055270
safety wasn't exactly a top priority of early rail, there's numerous horrendous wrecks where the train was just running along in terrible conditions regardless
AND NOW...DRAMATIZATION OF WINDY PRANCE'S (lack of) WRITING PROCESS...
Me: *humming innocently*
Discord:...BOO!
Me: EEP! Discord! Ummm...I can explain!
Discord: Did you forget about making a funny comment for Hiver's story?
Me: Well...yeah but I was busy!
Discord: With what?!
Me: The new Pokemon remake came out! I needed to play it!
Discord:...BAD WINDY! Write something right now!
Me: Ok! I'll do it now! SORRY!
I don't understand why they need to be THAT far into the jungle to begin with. Why not be at the edge, if they need to be there at all?
11055349
True, odds are this is going to be one of the cases that helps define future regulations.
11055253
Well sir, there's nothing on earth like a genuine bona fide electrified six-car monorail.
11055349
Don't forget boiler explosions.
11054768
I get that. but, an elevated track wouldn't be out of the rexosauruses reach. Building a track tall enough to be safe, would be just as laborious and would cost significantly more to maintain. Just having access to magic and flight would alleviate the biggest difficulty of digging: getting the dirt out of the way.
Encase the tunnels in concrete or use enchanting to move the settling water elsewhere, and the tunnel solution has far fewer drawbacks than an elevated track would.
it really is interesting here, the 'death by a thousand cuts' stoytelling going on here...each chapter is only around 1000 words long give or take ususaly but one by one day by day this story is pushing 100k words...truely impresive
11055610
boilers only really explode if the crownsheet in the firebox gets exposed either through too much grade or not enough water, it wasn't as much of a problem of design by the later half of the 1800s
11055684
they don't really have the technology to drive a train hundreds of miles underground either
11056037
posibly but they have enough maagical pro nees to keep a city dangeling on a cliff edge and they have some tunnels and mines so that is no strangers to them so creating a undeground tunnelsystem would not be out off there skill set and i think the lings ways to make walls glow would be help full for a tunnel system
11056036
Understandable
11056037
I've had that conversation with someone on here already. It would be impossible for them and their current tech level.
11056386
Actually, Canterlot isn't out of the realms of possibility even without magic, especially if one has a monarch inclined to spend the money for the extreme construction. One simply needs to have enough support from the arch beneath the castle (note that the majority of the city is built on solid ground), which is entirely possible through two means: Either extremely sturdy reinforcements within the structure (probably steel, mithril or whatever other wonder materials they have) or carving an existing rockface back to create the arch, then smooth over the result with cement and paint.
Yaknow......
An underground tunnel from outside the rain forest's end to as close to Nocturnis as possible might not be a bad idea...
Either for hoof/wagon based travel, or even tracks. The issue I see there though is either way, that will not be an easy task.
11077195
Lotta rain there, so lotta flooding for anything underground unless they put in more effort to account for that.
JUST figured something out. Extremely difficult and cost/time consuming, but that would work. First, non-steam engine. magitech or electricity. Second, underground trains. A subway, so to speak. You can leave it on the ground for most travel, when going into the jungles go underground before it, and make a station under the town.
11295590
The problem with that is its rain most of the time there and the wet ground above would prove very dangerous to build an underground train rail way. They don't have half the machines we have now to do the job, they have to do it the old fashioned way. And who knows what knowledge and skills would be needed to make an underground railway in what's practically a rainforest.
And they might have never even tried to make an underground railway before so the whole concept would be new to them.