Once they had a plan in place and had actually taken the time to think about what they needed, it wasn’t too much of a hassle to gather their supplies together in preparation for the journey tomorrow. All they had to do now was pass the time until morning came. Then, at first light, the three mares planned on leaving the island behind and striking across the water to the southwest, where unknown hardships awaited them.
Rarity set the last basket down on the raft and tied it in place. They’d amassed their two jugs of water, two baskets full of fruit and coconuts, and had bundled their spears and tools and lashed them securely to the body of the raft. They had everything they needed to survive and meet any challenges the unknown island could throw at them, and they had enough food and water to last a week with careful rationing. At that point, if they needed more, Rarity could take the raft back to their home island and they could resupply before launching another expedition. Simply having a much more efficient means of propulsion under their belt left Rarity feeling much more confident in their ability to cross the sea safely.
With that taken care of, she trotted back to their camp, swatting at a pesky fly or two along the way. A nervous anticipation had settled in her gut shortly after lunch and hadn’t gone away in the time since. If anything, it’d only gotten worse. The simple fear of the unknown almost made her want to hide on their island and not venture forth once more into uncharted territory. At least here they’d be safe… but they wouldn’t be any closer to getting home.
Whether or not her fellow survivors shared her worries, she couldn’t tell. When she got back to the camp, Rainbow Dash was perched on the roof of their shelter like an oversized blue pigeon, watching Gyro exercise in the sand. Rarity innocuously cleared her throat as she approached, catching the prismatic pegasus’ attention. “Oh, hey Rares,” Rainbow said, spreading her wings and dropping off the rooftop. “Everything taken care of?”
Rarity stepped forward and brushed cheeks with Rainbow. “Tied down and secured,” she said. “I just have to drag the raft out into the surf tomorrow and we’ll be ready to go.”
“Awesome.” Rainbow nuzzled the crook of Rarity’s ear where the base met her skull. “We’re gonna have a long day ahead of us.”
“To say the least.” Stepping past Rainbow, Rarity watched as Gyro panted and came to a sweaty stop, the vine hitching her to the sledge falling slack. “You’re still pulling that? I would’ve thought you’d take the day off to rest your muscles for tomorrow. They’re going to be sore from you straining like that!”
Gyro shrugged her way out of her makeshift harness and stepped over the limp vines in the sand. “It was either do that or feel like I’m sitting on coals,” she said. “Exercise clears my mind, and I’m not thrilled about leaving the safety of this place so soon. I’m just… j-just worried that it’ll be like the last island.”
The little stutter in her voice andthe hard bobbing of her throat failed to escape Rarity’s notice. “Oh, Gyro, darling, don’t even worry about that,” she said, wrapping her forelegs around the earth pony’s thickening frame. “You will be with friends, and we’ll keep you safe. Nothing like that will ever happen to you ever again. I swear on my honor and my life, you’ll never be locked up like that ever again.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow said, trotting up and pitching into the conversation. “I can fly now, G, so nopony will even stand a chance against us. With Rarity’s magic, my speed, and your freakishly strong earth pony strength, we’ll send any minotaurs that come after us packing. They’d need an army to take us out!”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Gyro said. “Do you even know what you’re saying half the time, or do you just love the idea of tempting fate?”
“Fate’s made up,” Rainbow said, waving her hoof. “I’m where I am today because I’m awesome. Fate didn’t make me pull off the sonic rainboom; I did that. Fate didn’t make me join the Wonderbolts; I did that myself, too! Fate’s just made up stuff.”
Gyro and Rarity shared a look that left even Rarity shaking her head back and forth. “To answer your question, that would be a ‘no’ to the former.”
“Yeah, I figured.” Gyro wiped some sweat dripping off of her muzzle with a fetlock and glanced at the sky. “Wanna go catch the sunset? It’s almost time and we’re usually busy doing nothing around camp.”
“It would be a nice change of pace,” Rarity agreed. “If nothing else, the sunsets and sunrises on this island are exquisite.”
Rainbow nodded along. “They’re pretty rad.” Her legs coiled for a split second before she hopped into the air, her wings snapping open. “Race ya to the west ridge!”
A gust of wind sent Rarity’s and Gyro’s manes blowing into their faces, and then Rainbow darted through and above the trees. There was a startled squawk from the camp, and Rarity’s blue eyes flicked to the left to see Chirp taking wing and chasing after Rainbow. Both ponies hesitated for a few seconds before they looked at each other.
“You’re gonna have your hooves full with that mare,” Gyro said, nudging Rarity’s shoulder. “You had her grounded before, but now she’s got her flight back.”
“Tell me about it,” Rarity said, setting off to the southwest corner of the island. “I’m going to have to put up with this from now on. Thankfully I’m patient.”
“But are you that patient?” Gyro asked with a wink.
“Gyro, darling, I run a business. Everypony thinks that everypony below them is incompetent and everypony above them is a jackass. I’m at the very top of the ladder, and as a result I am a paragon of patience.”
“You sure about that?”
“Well, I haven’t killed anypony under me yet, so I would like to believe I am.”
“I guess Rainbow will be your first, then?”
“Oh, you have no idea how much I wish she could hear that implication right now.”