//------------------------------// // The Crystal Lagoon // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rarity tucked the last sugar apple from the tree into her basket and grunted. The fruit in the baskets pressed on her back, and she shook and shimmied herself from side to side to get the backstrap to settle more comfortably over her spine. Still, she had two full baskets of fruit, and with the other two Rainbow had, they had enough fresh fruit to last several days, maybe a week. So long as Chirp didn’t eat it all; Rarity could see the parrot lounging on a tree branch, a stolen fruit in one foot. She found herself standing on the south side of the hill, looking down at the lagoon below her. It was a pretty sight; the sunlight glittering off the crystal clear waters, the swaying palm trees, seagulls nesting on tall rocks—even the pure white sand looked inviting. More than ever, all Rarity wanted to do was pull up a chair and lounge on the beach. It didn’t help that the bloodthirsty green flies were back out again and mutilating her perfect hide. Hoofsteps over grass alerted Rarity to Rainbow’s approach. “What’s up, Rares?” “Admiring the view.” Rarity sighed and sat down. “Wouldn’t this just be perfect?” she asked, pointing to the lagoon. “Maybe one day after we go back home we can take a vacation here with the girls. It’s such a beautiful lagoon; it’d make a great island retreat were we ever to come back.” Rainbow seemed to frown at that idea. “I don’t know, I’d think we’d get sick of this place after a while.” “Well, yes, there is that, but has it really been so bad?” “We’ve only been here for a couple of days, Rares. Yesterday we just buried a pony that’d washed up on the beach.” Rarity’s skin crawled at the mention of the burial; she had been happy to keep it out of her mind for the time being. “But look at it this way, darling, this island has saved our lives.” She threw her hooves wide, gesturing to the trees around them. “It has food! Water! Shelter! Most importantly, it’s dry ground! And even if it’s lacking in the conveniences and essentials of modern living, it’s still a beautiful locale.” A sly grin. “With just a little bit of work, we could make this island quite the popular getaway.” “Heh, look at you, ever the businessmare.” “Fashion is my passion—pardon the rhyme—but business is my living. One must be able to market and sell her products if she wants to advance in life.” “I mean, I just fly fast. That works for me.” A white hoof to a white muzzle stifled Rarity’s ladylike chuckle. “Well, yes, I suppose our career paths do differ in regards to aspects like that.” “That’s putting it one way.” The wind blew through their tangled, sandy manes as they sat in silence, side by side. The itchiness from the sand in Rarity’s coat had started to subside since washing up on the island; she wasn’t sure whether to consider that a good thing or a bad thing. She knew that she looked horrible, at least by her standards; Rainbow just looked rough and sandy, but she still looked herself. The curls had long since fallen out of Rarity’s mane and tail, so they just hung from her body, slightly twisted but limp. The ends were frayed and ragged, and her hair was tangled and stiff. Perhaps it was for the best that she didn’t have a mirror right now. Perhaps it was for the best that she had an excuse not to care. There wasn’t any makeup on the island, true. Her shadow and eyeliner had washed away long ago, and as much as she felt naked without it, she felt… liberated. There wasn’t anypony else here watching her every move, no hidden cameras she always had to be ready to show her best side for. It was just her, Rainbow, a bird, and a whole lot of empty island. For the first time in forever, she felt like she could take the mask off, the mask of a beautiful an elegant lady, an intelligent and calculating businessmare. She could just be Rarity. And the best part? Rainbow Dash seemed to think that she looked just as beautiful without everything that went into maintaining her masks. She still didn’t know why Rainbow used that particular phrasing; Rainbow likely was just saying things without thinking, as per usual. Still, it calmed her, and it was fresh and relieving to still be considered beautiful when Rarity herself would have been horrified at her own appearance right now. She stood up. “What more do we have to do today?” she asked Rainbow. “The sun is already beating on into the afternoon. Too bad we missed the whole morning.” Rainbow shrugged. “Bring this stuff back to camp? Boil water? Probably haul in more salvage? We only have a little left. Might as well get it taken care of now.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Now that the storm’s gone, air traffic will probably start showing up again in a few days. We should work on an SOS signal of some kind.” “Do you think anything’s likely to show up today?” Rainbow tilted her head back, looking up at the clouds. They were spotty and few; she expected nothing but empty blue skies tomorrow at this rate. “Can’t say, Rares. It’s been… what, three days since the storm? It’s probably hit the mainland by now. If there are gonna be any airships in the area, they’ll show up tomorrow at the earliest.” Rarity smiled. “Good,” she said. “Then, Celestia willing, if this is to be our last day on the island, I’d like to enjoy it.” She started trotting down the south side of the hill, and after a few steps, looked back at Rainbow. “Well? Are you coming?” A grin broke out on Rainbow’s face, and she stood up again. “Yeah, sure, I’m game.” Looking up to the trees, she whistled at the bright red macaw preening its feathers. “Come on, Chirp! We’re taking the food this way!” Chirp raised his head long enough to watch Rainbow set off after Rarity. A moment later, with a loud cry, the macaw glided off of the tree and landed on her back. With its wings held open for balance, the macaw carefully plucked a star apple out of Rainbow’s basket and started chewing on it. Rarity made it to the beach first. Shedding her baskets at the edge of the brilliant white sands, she galloped straight for the water, splashing into the gently sliding waves. Her hooves shattered pure crystal, and droplets of liquid glass flew into the air around her, catching the sunlight in brief bursts of brilliant color. The shore was so shallow here that Rarity went splashing nearly twenty feet out into the water before it got to her knees. Turning around, she waved to Rainbow, who’d just dropped her own baskets and was galloping into the water after her, Chirp flying to the safety of a nearby tree. “It’s so warm! Isn’t this great, Rainbow?” Her eyes widened when Rainbow abruptly changed course and galloped straight towards her, a wild smile on her muzzle. “Rainb—!” Rainbow tackled Rarity right into a wave, sending them both into the water. They both emerged seconds later, finding their hooves on the sandy ground beneath the clear waves. Rarity coughed a few times, but she found herself supported by Rainbow’s shoulder until she finally cleared her airways. When that was done, she abruptly turned and swatted Rainbow’s cheek. “What in Celestia’s name was that for?!” Rainbow rubbed her cheek but kept her smile up all the same. “You looked like you needed a good dunk!” she said, quickly jumping backwards when Rarity tried to hit her again. “Nuh uh! Gotta be faster than that!” White hooves splashed through the water as Rarity lowered her stance. “Oh it is on!” She broke into a gallop without warning, and Rainbow jumped backwards again before kicking up the surf around her in a full gallop away from Rarity. Giggling and laughing, the two mares chased each other across the shallows, stopping only for the occasional splashing of two bodies hitting the surf.