It was probably the best sleep Rainbow had gotten in a while.
As soon as they’d returned to their shelter last night, she’d felt all her fears and worries melt away. It was still standing, still in one piece, and still dry inside. Flopping down on that bed of moss and fronds was the greatest feeling in the world. No more stone, no more mountain grit and chilly air. Just greens and sand, providing a comfort she’d sorely missed these past few days.
When she finally woke up the next morning, the shelter was empty, but she could tell by the way the sand had been moved that two other ponies had slept inside it with her. She immediately felt a pang of guilt; poor Gyro had no bedding of her own to sleep on, and it looked like Rarity had tried to drag over some fronds to fashion a makeshift space for the starved mare to sleep. All that must’ve happened while Rainbow was asleep. After all, she knew that the moment her head had hit the metaphorical pillow last night, she had passed out. Rarity and Gyro had to fuss with getting some simple bedding made for the new mare while Rainbow was contentedly snoring away.
But speaking of the other mares, Rainbow wondered where they were. It looked like it was at least the late morning, judging by the angle of the light coming through the gaps in the walls. She’d already slept in late enough, so she forced herself to get up and out of bed. It’d be a good time to take stock of the island and see if anything changed since they’d left.
Of course, as soon as she sat up, her neck screamed in protest. Like she’d predicted the night before, everything was sore and hurt. At least now that they had the pegasus statuette, she could take a few days to rest and relax. After all the stress and crap they’d gone through on the minotaur island, Rainbow knew that her and the other mares deserved it.
She stepped out into the sun, and for once didn’t feel the urge to stay low and out of sight. The familiar crashing of the waves greeted her, accompanied by a subtle breeze and a choir of birds. Looking around the camp, she saw that their supplies were still sitting in a jumbled mess by the hut. Rarity and Gyro likely hadn’t felt it worth the time and effort to organize them yet. If they felt anything like how Rainbow felt, they probably just wanted to enjoy the peace and the sun. She did notice that Rarity had added a few more tick marks on the calendar plank. Now there were twenty-three marks instead of the nineteen that were on it when they’d left.
Rainbow simply regarded the plank for a time. They’d already been stranded for more than three weeks? At the rate things were going, Rarity’s proclamation of ‘forty notches until freedom’ was starting to seem a little optimistic. They’d be lucky if they were home before a hundred notches.
That was a scary thought. Three or four months until they got home? It was almost impossible to imagine… but that was what they were looking at. At least getting home in three months was better than not getting home at all.
Hoofprints led away from the camp and towards the pond, so Rainbow decided to follow them, figuring she’d find either Rarity or Gyro soon enough. And after a little bit of walking, that was exactly what she found. Sitting by the water’s edge was Gyro, snacking on star and sugar apples in a basket by her side. It was probably the liveliest Rainbow had seen the mechanic since they’d rescued her… was that only a day ago? Everything that’d happened at the sun temple had just been a dizzying whirlwind of events.
“How you feeling?” Rainbow asked, catching Gyro by surprise. The earth pony jumped but quickly calmed down once she got her wits back about her. Her muzzle was plastered with fruit juices, and Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle. “Feels good to have all the food you could want again, right?”
Gyro smiled and wiped some of the juice off of her chin. “I think I’m full for the first time in forever,” she said, pushing the basket a few inches away. “I don’t want to eat too much or I’m pretty sure my stomach will explode. It’s probably the size of one of those coconuts by now.”
“Well, there’s plenty more food where that came from,” Rainbow said. She sat down by Gyro’s side and helped herself to a drink of water. “You know, when me and Rares first came here, we were afraid to drink the water because of disease and parasites and crap. We wanted to boil it first. You know, survival 101.”
“And now?”
“Now I don’t give a damn.” She took another drink and grinned at Gyro. “I figure if the birds drink from this pond, then it’s gotta be fine. Plus, I’m pretty sure there’s a spring or a source for this pond somewhere underground. That means the water’s moving and it’s fresh, so we don’t have to worry about it too much. You’ll notice there’s not a whole lot of mosquitos here.” She flinched when she felt a prick at her flank. “Just stupid fucking green flies!”
Gyro whipped her tail at one that landed on Rainbow’s side to help her out. “They haven’t been bothering me,” she said. “I guess I’m too dry and stringy for them.”
“Well, consider yourself lucky,” Rainbow grumbled. After a moment to look around, she glanced back at Gyro. “Rarity go to the south hill for more food?”
“Yeah. She told me to just hang out here where the water’s at.” Gyro flopped onto her side, rubbing a hoof over her belly. “You girls will have to give me the tour when I can actually walk again.”
“You did pretty well hiking down the mountain,” Rainbow said. “But yeah, just rest up and crap. You don’t need to exert yourself or anything for a few days. There’s lots of food and lots of water. The most important thing is just getting you back up to strength before we try and hit up the next island.”
The mechanic nodded. “Yeah, sounds fair. I just hope that the other islands aren’t like the one we just came from.”
“If they are, that might mean there are other survivors out there,” Rainbow said. “Rares and I thought we were totally alone until we found you. Now I’m hopeful that you aren’t the only one.”
“Hopefully they’re better fed than I was,” she said. “I only lasted this long because I’m an earth pony and we’re really stubborn.”
“You remind me of Applejack,” Rainbow said. “Just without the country twang and obsession over apples.”
“I’m flattered, then,” Gyro said. “Maybe I’ll get to meet the rest of your friends in person when this is all over. Assuming we make it out of here alive, of course.”
“Well, we’ll make it out alive or die trying,” Rainbow joked. “Really, there’s only two ways this could go.”
Chuckling, Gyro closed her eyes. “You said it,” she agreed. “Hopefully it goes the way we want.”
“That’d be nice.” Standing up again, Rainbow glanced toward the south. “I’m gonna go find Rarity. Just hang tight, and if you see a macaw that’s really friendly, just tempt him with some food. His name’s Chirp and he’s pretty cool.”
“Chirp,” Gyro echoed. “What a clever name.”
“I know, I only come up with the best names.” Waving her good wing, Rainbow started off toward the south. “Seeya!”