PW got into the hollowed portion of the canoe and felt the vibration of the wood as Frosty hacked it into completion. She next dumped all their gear inside and began it across the forest floor, out over the sand on the beach close to the water’s edge.

“Watch these for a minute please, I’ll be right back.” She asked.

The sound of wood tearing and cracking could be heard in the woods. Frosty emerged with two flat strips of wood torn from a trunk and two sticks. She took some twine from her gear and lashed them together with her fingers.

“Ah, paddles!” PW realized.

She took one and pretended to smack PW’s back with it, then offered it to him.

“Funny!” He smiled.

“Do we have it all?” Frosty asked, looking around.

“Believe so.”

“Alright. Gear goes in the middle. You’re in the front. I’m in the back.” Frosty decided as PW positioned their supplies between them.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t be in the back? I’ve always done it with the power in the front.” He asked.

“Trust me, PW. With a Night-Mare in the boat it’s an entirely different experience.” She reassured him.

With that PW got in position and Frosty pushed the canoe into the bay, walking with it for some distance until it had enough clearance.

When she hopped in the boat tipped back several degrees and left a large displacement wake.

“Hold onto something.” She warned, raking her paddle through the water and accelerating.

“Woah!” He exclaimed as the canoe shot forward.

She repeated her stroke a second time and then a third. By now they were proceeding at walking-speed. She quickened her pace.

“Sweet Celestia – this is fast!” PW exclaimed as they reached trotting-speed.

“Here comes the plane!” Shouted Frosty.

PW noticed the bow of the boat coming out of the water, as though it were being pushed up from underneath.

“Drop your oar over the side, PW. Steady us like a rudder so we don’t spin out!” She shouted.

He did as he was told right as the canoe accelerated to full-gallop.

“Two miles across the bay! At this speed, we’ll be into the river in just over ten minutes.” Frosty guessed.

PW looked out as the boat crossed the long bay separating the barrier island from the mainland jungle. The bay wasn’t as clear as the ocean, for it contained some river water, but wasn't too terribly brown.

As they neared the mouth of the river the water took on a sickly tan color and was totally opaque. It stank as well, and swarms of flies pestered them. They entered a delta-like structure of the river, with many islands separating several channels. They were in the main channel, bearing a width of around a thousand yards, paddling up the flat muddy river with nearly no current.

They had the ocean in sight for another half-hour before turning the point-of-no-return into the jungle. An uneventful hour later they stopped at a rocky island in the river for lunch. On the approach Frosty leaned back to tip the canoe’s front end further out of the river. Then as it drifted over the bank she leaned forwards, firmly planting the canoe down onto the island.

“Alright! Making great progress!” Shouted PW, hopping out of the canoe.

“Grab the food out?” Asked Frosty.

“I got it!” He called. His eyes shrank as he heard a sudden pouring sound. “2?!”

“What?”

“You can’t just start casually peeing next to me!” He turned away, disgusted.

“Haven’t you heard of being in the field? I don’t have the need for common courtesy or decency to care one way or another.” She shrugged.

“Yeah and – that’s more flow than I’ve ever heard in the stallion’s room!”

“It’s part of my job to be intimidating, PW. Are you intimidated?”

“More like bewildered and awestruck?”

“Good.”

“You’re dirty, 2!” PW added.

“A big mare has big parts that need maintenance. It’s biology.” She sighed. Polaris shook his head.

Finally finished with her business, Frosty readjusted the nylon covering her rear, cleaned her hooves, then stepped forward to the sandwiches Polaris had unpacked.

“Ah a tasty meal!” Frosty joked, laying her hands on PW and shaking him lightly.

“F-f-fro-hahahasssty!” Giggled PW, “The jungle is making you mad!” He cried, passing her a sandwich instead.

They ate mostly in silence, taking in the sights and sounds of the jungle river. There were brightly colored birds hopping around the rocks, ignoring the island guests for the time being, as well as large fins and other objects moving out in the river.

“Frosty, are there hydras in this river?”

“Not that I know of.” She took another bite.

“So what’s that?” PW asked, pointing to a twisty object in the water.

She squinted. “Probably a snake mating-ball.”

“A what?!” PW reeled.

“You heard me.”

“Strange creatures. Alright. I’m going to be a gentlecolt… and do my business in the woods.” He declared.

“DON'T GET EATEN!” Frosty half-joked.

As PW was alone in the jungle he thought he had heard a voice singing.

“… river of Doom!” He heard as he crept closer. “Go’in up the River of Doom!” Heyyy-aheahay-ah!

It was Frosty who sang.

PW burst out of the jungle, calling her name.

She fell silent, composing herself and ignoring him. He trotted up to her, practically beneath her muzzle.

“Frosty! Frosty, that was beautiful!” Her assistant remarked. She cocked her head down slightly.

“Honest! Please, continue!” He begged.

“O-okay. But first let’s get everything cleaned up… then-then I’ll do it.” She hesitated, obviously uncomfortable with an audience.

They cleaned all of their trash and gear from the island, covered their tracks, and set out into the dark river again.

“Alright Frosty, we’re going! Let me hear it!” He beamed.

“Ugh… okay.” Frosty moped, then took a great breath.

“Go-in’ up the river of doom!
Heyyy-aheahay-ah!
Wild-ward-bound! The bite-a-cud-as nom nom!

Frosty sang, lifting her paddle and revealing one of the hungry fish gnawing on it.

Hiss of hun-gry py-thons!
Mud pits quick sand!
Dan-ger-real-ly lurks here!

You will know the car-ni-vor-ous plants! Oh!
Wild boar-on your hide!
Float-ing-raft-of fire ants bites!
Mad tribe be hind us!

Hornets sting my gun is jammed…

Won’t let the muggy jungle get it’s wayyyyyy!
Hey-ayyyy! Hey-ayyy!
In-the Dra-gon Dra-gon… Lands!
Hey-ayyyy! Hey-ayyy!
In-the Dra-gon Dra-gon… Lands!

Hey! A-yeaa!
On the shore! Fe-vers spi-ders centa-pede-sss
All will get-cha’ in time!
Poi-son snakes! Bam boo trap got-yah-now!
My food ran out oh *buck*!

The-en-em-y armed up!
Must kill or be ki-lled!
Bleed-ing out it's all gone dark! No!

Won’t let the muggy jungle get it’s wayyyyyy!
Hey-ayyyy! Hey-ayyy!
In the Dra-gon Dra-gon… Lands!
Hey-ayyyy! Hey-ayyy!
In the Dra-gon Dra-gon… Lands!

Oh yeah in the Dra-gon-Dra-gon Lands!”

Her last note lingered and PW grinned wide. “Frosty, that was beautiful! You’re a natural singer! And a songwriter too, if you wrote that!”

“Thanks buddy. I suppose it’s one of the few ladylike things I can do.” She gave a small smile.

“You do it well, with such a POWERFUL voice!” PW continued his praise.

“Singing is something popular with our tribe.” She said. “There’s not much else to do up there. Pretty much all the fillies and colts go through choir at school. We have a pretty competitive adult choir too.”

“I’m surprised it doesn’t travel around.” PW wondered.

“The biggest problem is connectivity. We’re not connected to the railroads but, then again, that suits us just fine.”

“The world needs to hear you!” Polaris exclaimed. “We need to convince everypony to make the trek down just once. To carol in Canterlot… I have to imagine you all would be noticed immediately!” PW exclaimed.

“Hm, maybe!” She smiled again.

“By my reckoning we’re about ten miles inland. How’s about taking that tributary to our right?” Asked PW, coming back to the mission.

“Fine by me.” Frosty replied, steering them towards and into the narrow creek. Mangroves and vines stretched out over the creek, nearly creating a bridge of vegetation aside from a narrow passageway.

“This thing is irritating me!” Shouted Frosty, beating the oar with the bite-a-cuda on it onto the water. The creature vanished, but in that time the canoe slowed and dropped back into the water.

“Nuisance of a creature.” She growled.

“It just got destroyed by the most terrifying creature in the jungle!” PW announced.

“About that PW…” Frosty began.

“What?” He scoffed. “I’m not wrong. No way.”

She tilted her head. “You remember the briefing? Recce is coming.”

“Yeah?”

Frosty raised a brow. "Did you work with her in I&T? Night-Mare 1?"

"No, her fitment before I was cleared to fit. You were my first."

She hummed. “Recce is the biggest and most terrifying of all of the Night-Mares. She scares even me.”

“Oh, come on, nothing scares you!” Polaris insisted.

“She does.”

“Oh?”

“Yup. So, stay close. I doubt she’ll be all that receptive to the thought of an assistant.” Frosty warned, reaching forward and patting a hoof on PW’s head as a reminder.

“I’m helpful, though! And smart!” He retorted.

“I know that, but until she sees what a positive influence you are, things will be difficult.”

“How so?” He gulped.

“Well, let me just lay down some rules to live by. Is Recce speaking? Shut up. Is Recce moving? Get out of the way. Is Recce getting rough? Don’t fight her. Is Recce getting angry? Start apologizing.”

“Angry?”

“Yes. Everything about Recce is big except for her fuse.”

“How can I avoid ticking her off?”

“You’re an outsider, Polaris. And a former tech. You can’t.”

“Well… fuck.”

“Best I can say is hang on. Like that guy!” Frosty interjected, pointing to a nearby tree.

“Like what?” PW asked, looking at a tree on the right. “O! An- ana!” He began to say.

“Anaconda.” Frosty corrected.

He leaned away from the hanging giant snake, which was staring dead still, out of its place in the tree. “He’s probably looking for a cragodile to swim under him. Or a juvenile dolphin.”

“They eat stuff that big?” He shakily asked.

“Oh yeah. He’d eat you too if you did something stupid like float on your back or take a drink from the water’s edge while under him.”

The little stallion gulped, feeling that he had just been placed on a menu.

Over the next few minutes Frosty slowed their paddling, and the canoe ran aground in the shallowing creek.

“Alright, ride’s over.” She said, throwing a line over a nearby stump and pulling the canoe across the muddy floodplain. The triple attack of sweaty heat, eye gnats, and mosquitoes bombarded the peculiar pair as they strapped their gear on.

Frosty took her machete out. “Remember – stay close!” She ordered, bobbing the knife.

They trail-blazed southeastward, making slow progress through the thick foliage.

“Second rule of the jungle: if something is colorful, it’s poisonous. Or trying to make you think it is. Don’t test it out.” Frosty warned.

Author's Note

The material in this chapter, along with many of the hazards and less desirable things in the jungle, were largely inspired by the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition, as well as the last expedition of explorer Percy Fawcett, captured in the biography The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Most of the stranger things in these jungle chapters are real.

Also, I'm not going to get into what Frosty's singing voice might sound like, or what this song is based on. Because I'd be in a heap of trouble.