As much as both ponies wanted to investigate the town and get off the island as soon as possible, they both realized that they couldn’t risk approaching the minotaur settlement until night had fallen. They’d be too easy to spot in the sunlight, as colorful as they were. Rarity’s beautiful white coat and deep purple hair had nowhere to blend in with the island’s foliage, and the less said about Rainbow’s bright colors, the better. The dim light of the night would be the only way they could approach the village without being spotted.
In the meanwhile, they had no shortage of tasks to complete. First among those was securing their means of survival; that meant refilling the jug of water, gathering more food, and making sure the raft was secure. That last bit fell to Rarity and her magic, and as much as she didn’t want to trek all the way back down the mountain to check on the raft, she knew she had to. Though Rainbow volunteered to help, Rarity knew that the pegasus wouldn’t be able to provide that much assistance. The raft was simply too heavy and too cumbersome for Rainbow to help move with her mouth and hooves.
That left Rainbow behind to deal with the food and water while Rarity started on the hike to the shoreline. She stayed along the eastern slope of the island’s backbone as much as she could, giving herself shelter from the interior of the island and the minotaur village. If her and Rainbow were discovered, it would only be a matter of time until they ran out of places to hide; therefore, she tried to limit her exposure as much as possible.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, Rarity finally made it down to the shoreline. She sighed with relief when she saw that their raft was still on the beach, untouched and in one piece, exactly how they’d left it the day before. But it was still exposed to the east, and if any of the minotaurs happened to come sailing by in their canoes at that moment, they’d see the raft for sure. Rarity had to get it inside the safety and shelter of the trees as soon as possible rather than risk it being seen.
“Alright, horn, let’s do this,” Rarity muttered to herself. She widened her stance and lowered her head, aiming her horn right at the raft. Little by little, she worked on developing her field until she had a tangible and strong hold on each individual trunk. Then, linking them together, she swung her head back like she was cracking a whip and grunted as she exuded her will over the shoddy piece of construction in front of her.
It shifted in the sand, shedding sediment on the beach. Inch by inch, Rarity hoisted the whole thing skyward until she had about a foot of clearance to work with. She took a moment to catch her breath and proudly regard the feat of magic in front of her. If she kept this up, maybe she could strengthen her magic, much like exercise or weightlifting.
Spying an open patch big enough to lie the raft down flat on, Rarity dropped it beneath the trees before her horn gave out on her. At least here it was mostly hidden from the beach—certainly it was impossible to spy from the water. The only way the minotaurs would find it was if they actually stumbled across it while roaming the island. But really, Rarity and Rainbow couldn’t do much more than pray that that didn’t happen.
With the raft safely concealed, Rarity once more started the daunting ascent to the top of the mountain. She didn’t know how many times she’d have to climb it during her stay on this island; hopefully not too many more. “And certainly not because I’m pony stew,” she muttered to herself, tail flicking at a few flies attacking her sweaty flanks. Really, she was already getting eaten enough without the minotaurs trying to join in.
It took her nearly an hour to return to the ruins of the city at the top of the mountain. She stopped by the spring along the way for a drink of water, but Rainbow wasn’t there; she probably took care of her business there while Rarity was still hiking down to the beach. At the very least, the water was cool and refreshing, and it’s not like that would’ve changed with company to talk and socialize with.
The taste of the water, that is. Everything could be improved by ponies to exchange gossip with.
Once she’d quenched her thirst, Rarity finished off the hike to the ruins. They seemed less eerie during the day and were now simply quiet. Now that everything was sharply outlined with the sun and the temperature was rapidly climbing, there wasn’t much that could send chills down her spine. At the very least, the lack of distinct noises was disconcerting in its own way. Further down the mountain, Rarity could hear all sorts of birds singing and calling to each other through the dense foliage. Up here, there was nothing but their echoes and the occasionally ruffling of feathers as some large bird of prey took off from the rocks to scout out a meal.
At least they weren’t golden eagles. Rarity had learned perhaps more than she’d wished to about them from Fluttershy. That they preyed on goats by flinging them off of mountains with their powerful wings and talons meant that ponies likely wouldn’t be off the menu either. And Rarity certainly didn’t want to consider the idea of falling to her death from hundreds of feet high.
It actually took her some time to remember where they had set up shelter. Between all the ruined and crumbling buildings, Rarity didn’t have much in terms of landmarks to work with. That, and she simply hadn’t been around their makeshift campsite that long to know where it was. As such, it took her longer than it should have to make it back to camp and find Rainbow again.
“The raft’s safe,” she said when she spotted the blue pegasus through an empty archway. “I moved it further up the beach and put it in the shade of some trees. It should be completely invisible from the water.”
“Awesome,” Rainbow said. The mare was busy organizing her spoils in the form of all kinds of berries and roots. She’d also set aside a big bundle of grass she must’ve trimmed with her knife. “I got a bunch of stuff. I’m excited about the berries.”
“Let’s hope they’re not poisonous,” Rarity said.
“They’re not,” Rainbow said. “As far as I can tell. I’m not dead yet.”
Rarity blinked. “Did you eat them before figuring out if they were poisonous or not?”
“They weren’t bitter!” Rainbow protested. “They were sweet and I couldn’t help myself and I may have already eaten two dozen when I was collecting them. But I’m not dead, so that’s good, right?”
“Sweet Celestia, Rainbow.” Rarity’s head fell into her hooves. “I thought you were the one with survival training.”
“Survival training that got us these awesome berries!” Rainbow shook the bundle of cloth she’d collected them in. “Here! Try some!”
Rarity unfolded the cloth bundle and pulled out a few of the berries. They were dark blue instead of a warning color like bright red or yellow, so that was a start. But she figured if they were poisonous, Rainbow surely would have felt it by now. With that little consolation, she popped a few of the berries in her mouth and crushed them between her teeth.
Sweet, sugary sensations assaulted her tongue. Almost as soon as she swallowed them, she found her magic reaching for more. “These are amazing!” she said before popping a few more in her mouth. “Why, we might just have to pick this island clean before we leave!”
“I’m sure the minotaurs would love that,” Rainbow said, grabbing a few as well. “Speaking of which, you haven’t seen any, right?”
Rarity shook her head. “Not a sign. They must keep to the lower end of the island whenever they aren’t doing whatever it was that brought them up here last night.”
“That’s good.” Rainbow covered the berries again before her and Rarity went through their whole stockpile in one sitting. “We’ll save the rest for later. As for now…” she turned her eyes to the sky, where the sun was just sitting overhead. “Looks like we just gotta wait until sundown.”