//------------------------------// // Poison // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rarity and Rainbow labored through the sand and trees. Their hides still stung and burned from where the urchin spines stuck them, and the intense heat on the windless day wasn’t helping much either. They were covered in sweat, and in Rainbow’s case, a little blood as well. Even though her wounds weren’t that wide or deep, for some reason, they refused to stop bleeding. It looked like Rainbow was sweating blood over her left cutie mark. As for Rarity, she could hardly walk. The bottom of her hoof burned, and the sand touching the puncture in her frog added a fresh sear of fire with every step. Every fourth step left a red mark in the sand, and soon, she was trying to hobble along on three legs, using Rainbow for support just as much as Rainbow needed her to even move. “Almost there,” Rarity panted, spotting their shelter through the crooked palm trees. “How are you feeling?” “Miserable,” Rainbow whimpered. Rarity noticed that she was shivering now, and she immediately stopped to make sure Rainbow was alright. Rainbow stared forward with a dazed look, her eyes finding it difficult to focus on Rarity. “Urchins aren’t poisonous, are they?” Rarity bit her lip. “I don’t know, darling,” she admitted. But seeing as how the pain wouldn’t go away and Rainbow looked on the verge of passing out, she was starting to think that they were. “Do you feel sick? Lightheaded?” “I feel like I’m gonna puke,” Rainbow said. “My ass burns and I’m really dizzy.” She swayed as she took a step forward, nearly falling over, and Rarity had to catch her. “I just wanna lie down…” “Okay. Let’s get you down, darling.” Once more putting her shoulder to Rainbow’s side, Rarity helped her friend stagger back to their camp. Chirp followed them from overhead, letting out quiet, concerned squawks as Rainbow dragged her numb hooves through the sand. When they finally got back, Rarity had to gently let Rainbow down on her bedspread; Rainbow didn’t have the strength to lie down on her own. Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut and whined as she shook. Her forehooves pawed at the sand and tangled themselves in the fronds of her bed. Teeth grinding together and her whole body shivering, the proud Wonderbolt looked deathly ill and frail. “Stop spinning,” Rainbow moaned, curling up even more. “Why won’t the ground stop spinning?” Rarity’s breath caught in her throat and her heart began to beat faster. There was little doubt left that those urchins were poisonous. Her hoof was starting to swell and she couldn’t put any weight on it, but while she’d only taken one spine to the hoof, Rainbow had been stuck with seven in her flank. There was a lot more poison circulating through her light and small body than in Rarity’s, and her flank had already ballooned into red, puckered wounds. Rarity wanted to help… but she didn’t know what she could do to help. “Just… j-just breathe, Rainbow,” she said, trying to reassure her friend. “Maybe fix your eyes on something and just breathe. I’ll be right back with some water and something to bandage your wounds with, I promise.” “Okay,” Rainbow squeaked. She drew another shuddering breath and tried to focus her eyes on the corner of their shelter; her gaze was listless and kept wandering with the spinning that only Rainbow could see. Rarity patted Rainbow’s leg, then walked outside to fetch some of their limited cloth supplies to bandage Rainbow’s flank. While outside, she saw Chirp watching her from the top of their shelter. “Oh, Chirp, what do I do?” she asked the bird as she dug through their salvage. “How can I help her? You have to know, right?” Chirp didn’t say anything. The macaw just ruffled its feathers and watched Rarity. Rarity found a salt-crusted shirt inside a battered suitcase, and she put it on her back for now. “This’ll have to do,” she muttered to herself. She struck off in the direction of the lake, not wanting to bandage Rainbow with salty rags that would almost certainly make her injuries hurt worse than they already did. She hoped that the cool water dripping off of the cloth would help soothe Rainbow’s pain, at least a little bit. Anything she could do to help. By the time she’d returned, Rainbow had curled up into a shivering, shaking ball. Rarity laid the wet bandages on Rainbow’s flank; they immediately began to turn red as they soaked up her blood. Rainbow let out a little gasp at their icy touch to her burning flank, but she otherwise didn’t move. “Take a drink, Rainbow,” Rarity said, quietly setting the bucket of water in front of Rainbow. “Can you raise your head and drink?” Rainbow inhaled and grunted, trying to sit up at least a little bit. After a few moments of struggling, however, she gasped and flopped back to the ground. “Everything hurts,” she squeaked, closing her eyes again. “Everything hurts…” Rarity anxiously chewed on her hooves. She knew Rainbow needed to drink water, otherwise the heat and her bleeding would just sap more and more of her strength. And strength was what Rainbow needed the most of if she was going to tough it out through the poison. But if she couldn’t raise her head, then she couldn’t drink, and Rarity didn’t have a cup or anything she could use to help Rainbow drink. Maybe if they had a coconut shell, but they hadn’t started harvesting coconuts, and she wasn’t going to take the time to go hunting around for one. But that didn’t mean she was out of options. Maybe she could help her drink. After taking a few drinks out of the pot to satisfy her own thirst, she put the pot next to Rainbow’s head and tried to support her. “Here, let me help,” she said, using her hooves to try and maneuver Rainbow’s head to the pot. “Just a little bit. You can do it.” Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. “I can’t,” she hissed through them, her chin trembling in pain and effort. She repeated her cries a few moments later when Rarity tried to encourage her to move. “I can’t! Rarity, stop, it hurts!” “But you have to drink, Rainbow,” Rarity pleaded with her. “Please, drink!” “I can’t,” Rainbow whimpered, and her breathing turned ragged. The sudden change was enough to frighten Rarity into complying, and she gently laid Rainbow’s head back down on her bed. “Celestia...” Rainbow moaned. “Somepony, kill me now...” Rarity started to panic. She needed to do something. If Rainbow didn’t drink, Rarity was almost certain she’d be dead by morning. Between the sun and her bleeding, she needed something to drink to stay hydrated. The poison would just kill her faster otherwise. An idea struck Rarity, and it brought a tinge of red to her cheeks. If she couldn’t bring Rainbow to the water, then maybe she could bring the water to Rainbow. And in lieu of cups or glasses, she had to improvise. Sliding the pot a bit closer, she laid down next to Rainbow. “Tilt your chin up,” she said, using her hoof to help Rainbow do so. Then, sticking her muzzle into the water, she filled her mouth and pressed her lips to Rainbow’s. Rainbow jolted in surprise, but it was the only thing Rarity could think of to help Rainbow drink. After flooding Rainbow’s mouth with water, Rarity took her lips away and let Rainbow swallow. Then she did it again, and again, despite the blush building in her cheeks. Once Rainbow had swallowed several gulps, Rarity pushed the pot away and sat up. She wiped the water dripping off of her chin and abashedly looked away. “Are you… better?” she awkwardly asked, still feeling a little embarrassed at what she’d done. Rainbow’s head feebly moved on her bedspread. “Thanks,” she whispered, still shivering. Chewing on her lip, Rarity lied back down next to Rainbow. This time, she spread her forelegs around her friend, holding her shivering body next to her own. Grunting, Rarity managed to pull Rainbow right against her, tucking her friend’s head just below her chin. Rainbow’s shivers lessened a bit with somepony warm to hold onto, though she remained almost as limp as a ragdoll. “Sleep,” Rarity whispered, stroking Rainbow’s mane. “You’ll feel better, darling, I promise. I’ll be right here while you do.” Rainbow remained wordless. Instead, she clung onto Rarity like her life depended on it. Rarity swallowed. Maybe it did.