//------------------------------// // Food and Friends // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rarity tossed her mane as she cantered out of the spa, Rainbow behind her. “See, darling, don’t you just feel so much better?” she asked, twirling in front of the balcony so she could admire the glistening sheen in her coat and mane. Though she was still achy and exhausted from the tennis game, she felt much more limber and loose after the massage and pampering. Rainbow, meanwhile, did her best to keep a disinterested air about her. “Meh,” she said, following Rarity out of the spa. “It was alright.” “Yes, yes, of course,” Rarity said. Really, it was the best she was going to get out of Rainbow. She sighed and looked at a clock hanging on the wall nearby. “Dinner is in a few hours, and I haven’t done any designing today. Shall I meet you in front of the dining room for dinner at six?” “Yeah, sure, sounds good to me.” Rainbow stifled a yawn and shook her head. “I think I’m gonna just take a nap until then. Today’s been busy.” Rarity just nodded and smiled; Rainbow wouldn’t be Rainbow if she didn’t disappear in the middle of the day to catch a nap. “Do rest well then, darling. I’ll see you in a bit!” Rainbow hummed her agreement, then fluttered over to the nearby staircase while Rarity went to the elevator. She briefly attempted to press the button for her floor with her magic, but rolled her eyes and grumbled when the restraining spell meant it was more effort than it was worth. Slapping the button, she hummed to herself and waited until the doors opened again. Then it was just a quick walk back to her room, and when the door shut behind her, she immediately walked over to her bed and sprawled out across it. Maybe Rainbow Dash had the right idea. It’d certainly been a long time since she’d exerted herself like that, and even though she’d beat her friend pretty soundly, it’d taken everything she had. She was exhausted. It felt like she’d only closed her eyes for a minute, but when she opened them again, her room was noticeably darker. Pawing at her eyes, she slid off of her bed and trotted to the window. She pulled the curtain aside and looked out over an almost endless horizon of blue sea rolling by thousands of feet below her. A few clouds drifted across the horizon, outlining the dark specks of distant airships, and far below, she could trace the wakes of other traditional vessels sailing along the seas. She had to press her face almost against the far end of the window and look sharply toward the stern of the ship to see the coastline disappearing into the haze behind her. “We’re truly over the open sea now,” she murmured to herself, stepping away from the window. She gave a quick glance at her portfolio of drawings and sketches, then looked at the clock. “Celestia, I didn’t mean to sleep that long,” she grumbled, and brushing the portfolio aside, she went to her closet and picked out a dress. She nosed through each dress at least twice before she settled on a stunning red one. She was feeling great from the day’s spa treatment; why not feel sexy as well? Half an hour later, she left her room and hid the key in her dress. She was going to arrive a few minutes early to the dining room, but she didn’t really mind; that’d give her time to pony watch and see if there was anypony worth fostering some connections with. It was amazing how much time she’d saved by having her mane and everything done at the spa today! Though as she expected, she wasn’t the first one up to the dining hall. Several older passengers were already seated inside, chatting with the waiters and waitresses as they readied for the meal to officially begin. Ponies slowly trickled past her as she sat off to the side of the doors, waiting for Rainbow, and occasionally she noticed a few surprised looks and gasps at her presence. The attention made her smile to herself; it always felt great to be recognized, especially when she looked how she did. “Miss Rarity Belle?” a stallion asked, strolling into Rarity’s view. He wore a pressed suit and sharp tie, and his facial hair was neat and prim. A mare with a low-cut dress stood by his side, but it wasn’t the mare herself that Rarity recognized. Only a true expert could hide the stitching around the hems in such a way. “Yes, that would be me,” she said with a smile, standing up to properly greet him. “Pardon me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe we’ve met before.” “Oh, no, certainly not,” the stallion said with a chuckle, sharing a friendly embrace with Rarity before stepping back. “At least, not in person. My name is Textile Ferry, or just Ferry for short. I’m on the board of the distributing company your boutiques use. Me and my wife, Pearl Path, have become intimately acquainted with your work over the past few years.” Rarity smiled and politely kissed cheeks with Pearl. “I was going to say, I thought I recognized that dress!” Chuckling, she admired her own design for a split second. “Last spring was such a wonderful season for me. With the funds I made from that line, I was able to open a Vanhoover boutique. That dress in particular is one of my favorites.” “It’s mine, too!” Pearl exclaimed. “I feel like a runway model when I wear it, and I’m sure Ferry will agree.” “Oh, of course, dear,” Ferry said, nuzzling his wife’s cheek. “It’s no wonder your dresses are the envy of mares everywhere, Miss Belle!” Rarity laughed. “Oh, please, Ferry. We’re business partners, even if only as intermediaries. You may call me Rarity; everypony does.” “If you insist, Rarity.” Ferry turned his head toward the dining room, which was slowly beginning to fill up. “We should probably get a table before they’re all gone, don’t you think, dear?” he asked Pearl, who nodded in response. He turned back to Rarity and smiled. “What about you, Rarity? Care to join us?” “I’d be delighted,” Rarity said with a grin. “I’m just waiting for a friend. I promised her I’d wait for her out front.” “And wait no more!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she glided over to the three. Landing by Rarity’s side, she flicked her eyes over her dress and raised an eyebrow. “You on a date, Rares? Who’s the lucky pony?” Rarity giggled and shifted slightly so Rainbow could join the conversation circle. “No, darling, I just do my best to look my best.” She pointed to Ferry and Pearl, who offered warm smiles to Rainbow. “Rainbow, this is Textile Ferry and Pearl Path; they’re business acquaintences. As for you two,” she said, turning to the other pair, “I doubt that you don’t know who Rainbow Dash is.” “An honor, truly,” Ferry said, shaking hooves with Rainbow. “So, are you two traveling together?” “It’s actually the most remarkable coincidence,” Rarity said. “I didn’t even know that Rainbow would be on this flight until I ran into her at the air harbor.” “Funny how that works sometimes, isn’t it?” Pearl said. “It sure is.” Rainbow Dash shuffled her wings. “Not to be rude or anything, but I’m super hungry,” she said, and she flicked her ear toward the dining hall. “Can we get something to eat first?” “A fair point; I suppose we can continue this inside.” Rarity smiled and made her way to the door, Pearl and Rainbow close by her sides while Ferry let the ladies go first. “Hopefully there’s still a table open for the four of us!” The dining room of the airship was already filling up, but the four ponies spotted an open table near the back and snatched it before anypony else could. As they sat down, a waitress came by and introduced herself, took drinks, and just as quickly disappeared. It didn’t even take a minute before their drinks arrived, and soon the four slipped into idle conversation while they waited for their food. “So, you fly for the Wonderbolts and manage the local weather?” Ferry asked Rainbow, somewhat incredulous. “Not at the same time,” Rainbow clarified, fiddling with her drink between her feathers. “Wonderbolts is mostly spring, summer, and a bit of fall. Besides, fall and winter are the hardest seasons to manage the weather. Summer and spring are a breeze; all you have to do is set up the occasional rain shower and bust some clouds from time to time. But in the fall and winter, you have to manage snow and cloud cover and all that.” “Sounds dreadful,” Pearl said. “I certainly wouldn’t want to work then. I don’t know why you still do it if you don’t have to.” Rainbow shrugged. “It’s something to do when I’m done with shows for the year. Also, I like the challenge. Keeps me busy when I’m not flying for a living.” Then she winked at Rarity. “Plus, I don’t trust my replacement in Ponyville to run the kind of cold weather that everypony there is used to. They’d be completely lost without me.” “Rainbow, darling, have faith in your successor! Dewdrop does a very good job during the spring and summer when you’re not around.” Rarity took a sip of her wine; it was a good thing she played those matches today with Rainbow, otherwise all the wine she’d had this trip was really going to do a number on her physique. “Besides, it’s not like you’ll be running weather forever. The other Wonderbolts officers are busy year-round with the organization, and soon you’ll be, too.” “Yeah, but that’s not for like another five years at this point,” Rainbow said with a shrug and a wave of her hoof. “I’ve got plenty of time to hang around Ponyville. And I mean, when I’m there, why should any of you guys have to settle for anything less than the best?” Rarity chuckled and turned to Pearl and Ferry. “There’s a reason she’s loyalty, not humility,” she said, and the other two joined her in a friendly laugh at Rainbow’s expense. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Rainbow said, taking a sip from her beer. It nearly slipped out from between her feathers, however, when the ship shook and rattled for several seconds. The four ponies hesitated and looked at each other, and several of the passengers looked around as the ship resumed smooth flying. Ferry, however, looked like he was going to be sick. “Ugh, I hate this part about airship travel,” he muttered, resting his forehooves against his temples. “What even was that?” Pearl nervously chewed on her lip. “I heard something before we left Canterlot from Whinny,” she said to her husband, lowering her voice. Her eyes shifted across the table to where Rainbow and Rarity just looked on at the two of them, confused. “Whinny heard that there have been… unregistered airships seen over the ocean. They don’t fly a country’s flag; they only fly their own.” Rarity and Rainbow glanced at each other and raised an eyebrow each. “So… you mean pirates?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head at her. Pearl nodded. “Two cargo ships have gone missing between Equestria and the Confederacy over the past month. It has to be pirates! How do you lose something that big otherwise?” “Erm… Pearl, darling, has anypony actually seen pirates over the waters?” Rarity asked, frowning. “An airship is an incredibly complicated and expensive machine to maintain. If there were pirates, I’d imagine that they’d be on the sea, preying on easier ships with cheaper vessels.” “It’s pretty obvious that it’s just been bad weather,” Rainbow said. “Bad storms can happen over the ocean since there’s no weather team out here to tame them. And if you have a bad captain who doesn’t know how to stay clear of them, then they can tear a balloon and take a ship down in a flash.” Rarity placed her hoof on Rainbow’s and gently shook her head. “Let’s… not talk about such unpleasantries, hmm?” She offered a comforting smile to Ferry and Pearl, who definitely seemed like they needed it. “CelestiAir are professionals, and they did say to expect a bit of foul weather on our trip. But we’ll be well clear of any storms before they cross our path.” She chuckled a bit to lighten the mood. “Might mean we have a bit of rain when we land in the Confederacy, but it can’t be helped, can it?” “Not until the griffons get some weather teams of their own,” Rainbow said with a shake of her head. “They’re too busy trying to squeeze gold out of each other to work together enough to raise a weather team out there. That’s why the CWC is trying to offer them a deal.” “Well, certainly a commendable initiative,” Ferry said, managing a smile. “I hope it goes well for you.” “Of course it will; I’m involved, after all,” Rainbow said with a cocky grin. Then she leaned back as the waitress arrived with the table’s food, and she rubbed her hooves together. “Alright! Now we’re talking! I’m starving!” “I believe we all are, darling,” Rarity said, thanking the waitress as she set her food down in front of her. She was really looking forward to digging into her eggplant parmesan; hopefully CelestiAir’s comfort and luxury extended to their meals as well. One bite later, she laid that worry to rest. She felt like she was eating at one of Canterlot’s high-class restaurants again. Ferry raised his glass in his magic, and the other three soon raised theirs as well. “Well, here’s to a good flight, a relaxing vacation, and successful business deals on the other side,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see each other again before the flight is over.” “Oh, but of course,” Rarity said, and they all clinked their glasses together. “It’s a small ship. It’s not like we could get away even if we tried!” Rainbow chuckled. “Speak for yourselves,” she said, stretching her wings. “Hush you.” “Ehehehe…”