//------------------------------// // Scheming // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rarity watched the minotaur village and chewed on her hoof. So far, everything seemed normal. The minotaurs idly talked with each other and gathered around fires, likely sharing stories and boasting. At the very least, there wasn’t any surprised shouting or even cheering. If Rainbow got caught, Rarity expected to hear a lot of that. She glanced at the moon. It’d moved further across the horizon, though by how much, Rarity couldn’t tell. Astronomy wasn’t one of her hobbies; the alignments and movements of planets and stars rarely ever mattered in designing dresses. But it’d been quite some time since Rainbow disappeared, and of course, Rarity had started worrying the very minute she slipped away into darkness. That concern had only grown in the lengthy minutes that had ticked by since. What would she do anyway if Rainbow got caught? What could she do? Storm the town by herself and try to free her, fighting off every minotaur along the way? She wouldn’t get very far doing that. Sneak in and break Rainbow out? That assumed that they’d just lock her up somewhere and wouldn’t immediately throw her in a pot to boil. If they did put her in a pot, then that put Rarity back to plan one. Even if it killed her, it was probably better than being trapped on these islands all alone. She doubted she’d ever be able to get all the figurines by herself. Of course, if things went wrong here, they wouldn’t even get the first one. And if they couldn’t do that, then there wasn’t much point in visiting the other islands. The brush rustled up ahead, and Rarity drew further back into the darkness of her cover. When Rainbow Dash stuck her dirty head out of the leaves, however, Rarity relaxed and stood up. She waved to get Rainbow’s attention and then drew back into the shadows as the pegasus slinked over to her. When they were both within the safety of the ferns, Rarity hugged Rainbow and nuzzled her cheek. “Oh, sweet Celestia, I was worried about you!” Rarity exclaimed. “I thought for sure those nasty minotaurs had found you!” Rainbow pressed her feathers to Rarity’s lips. “Ssshhh, Rares, not so loud,” she hissed. Pulling her wing back, Rainbow started wiping some of the dirt and sand out of her coat. “And did you really doubt me? No minotaurs even came close to finding me. I was in and outta there in a flash!” “Forgive me if I doubt your choice of words,” Rarity said. “You were gone for at least an hour!” “Are you sure?” Rainbow asked, furrowing her brow. “It only felt like twenty minutes to me.” “Well it may as well have been an hour, I was having a nervous breakdown!” Closing her eyes, Rarity inhaled and exhaled several times. “Alright, it’s behind us, and you’re safe. What did you learn?” “Not here,” Rainbow said. “We should at least get some distance between us and the village. We’re pretty close.” Rarity nodded and checked their surroundings before standing up. “Back at the mountain?” “We don’t have to go that far,” Rainbow said. “But I’ll tell you about it on the way.” They set off toward the island’s south end, still being careful about making too much noise or being too visible in the moonlight. Only once did Rainbow think she heard something, and when both ponies hid in the brush, they waited a few minutes until the noise of a pair of distant minotaurs passed by. Even after dark, it seemed that the minotaurs remained active through the lower portion of the island to some extent. They didn’t encounter any more minotaurs by the time they hiked back to the spring. In that time, Rainbow had told Rarity everything she’d seen when scouting out the village. They stopped by the water to rehydrate, and while they were there, Rainbow drew out the fishhook shape of the village and marked off a few key landmarks. “I think this one’s the chief’s hut,” she said, pointing to a big square just at the inside curve of the fishhook. “And there’s a big hill behind it. If we go down that, we’ll be right at its back door.” “Does it even have a back door?” Rarity asked. “Did you get close enough to take a look?” Rainbow fidgeted with the stick. “…No,” she said. “I didn’t get a good enough look at it. That would’ve meant I had to get closer into the village and I wasn’t gonna try that while they’re all outside around their fires.” “Fair enough,” Rarity conceded. She frowned as she scrutinized the crude map some more. “Okay, so that’s the chief’s hut, and there’s a hill behind it we can use to get down. Then what?” “Well, we break in and steal the medallion thingy!” Rainbow exclaimed. “That shouldn’t be too hard. Those huts don’t even have doors!” “And what happens if their chief is wearing it? What happens if he finds us in his hut?” Rainbow stopped and bowed her head slightly as she thought. “I don’t know. Maybe… maybe we cause a distraction?” Rarity blinked. “A distraction? Like what?” “Something to clear out the village! Something that’ll let us slip in unnoticed!” “I’m not sure whether I should ask if you have a plan or not.” “Don’t worry, Rares, I do.” Rarity thought for a moment. “Perhaps what I should have asked was if it’s a good plan or not.” “My plans are always great,” Rainbow insisted. “And we only need a few things.” Rainbow Dash grinned, obviously proud of the idea forming in her head. Rarity wasn’t so sure. Narrowing her eyes and shooting Rainbow a skeptical look, she leaned in a bit. “Like what, darling?” “Easy stuff,” Rainbow said. “All we need is a little bit of wood and something to light it with.” “You want to make a fire? I’m not exactly sure how that helps us. They’ll send one, maybe two minotaurs to investigate, and that still leaves a whole town of them.” Rainbow winked at Rarity. “The fire itself isn’t the most important part, Rares. Just trust me. We’ll gather the wood and stuff in the morning, and then let’s be ready to snatch this medallion tomorrow night and get the hay off this island.” Rarity chewed on her lip as Rainbow stood up and started walking around the spring, back toward the mountain. “If you say so,” she muttered, following after her. “I just hope you actually have a plan that doesn’t involve just making things up on the fly.” “Come on, Rares, don’t you know me at all?” “Yes,” Rarity grumbled. “That’s why I said that.” “Just you wait.” “Celestia, help us.”