//------------------------------// // Getting Into Trouble // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash’s whole world was a dizzying blur of pain and nausea. Her skull felt like an ursa had clawed it open and then tried to climb inside to hibernate. She could feel her limbs, albeit faintly, and whenever she moved, she felt like she was going to throw up. Slowly, noises started to come back to her. Fuzzy blue ears twitched as Rainbow began to notice sounds apart from the ringing in her skull. They rose and fell with different cadences and pitches. Eventually Rainbow realized that they were voices, and they were not happy. When she tried to open her eyes, she hissed and winced as the sudden sensational overload sent her reeling. The voices stopped, if only for a moment, and the soft ground vibrated as something approached her. This time, she took much more care on opening her eyes, barely cracking one open until she could see a silhouette standing over her. “Look who finally woke up,” a mare’s voice purred. Rainbow recognized a horn and a messy mane on a slender figure, but when she tried to raise her head for a better look, she gagged and clutched her muzzle. She was too dizzy to even manage sitting up. “Mmrrffff… Rares?” Rainbow croaked, fighting the urge to curl up into a ball. “Wha… where?” “Who—oh, I see.” When the mare spoke again, Rainbow realized it wasn’t Rarity who was standing in front of her. “No, I’m not your friend. I’m… more of an acquaintance. Call me a business partner, if you want.” With a shuddering breath, Rainbow managed to steel herself enough to actually open her eyes. When they finally adjusted to the light, she saw a salt-streaked red unicorn leering down at her, with pale gray eyes and a streaked gray mane. A salty tricorn hat rested on her head, and a pair of swords crossing her chest complemented a quartet of pistols on her shoulders and flanks. Rainbow shrank back in horror when she recognized who she was looking at. Captain Squall grinned and leaned in closer when she saw Rainbow’s startled reaction. “Oh, so you do remember me? Glad to see you haven’t forgotten. I would’ve been terribly offended if you did.” Little by little, Rainbow took in the situation from where she lied on the silt. She was in a small clearing beneath the thick canopy of the jungle, and she counted two shoddy lean-tos across from her that looked like they were just used to keep supplies dry or for shelter from the rain. Next to them was a bigger longhouse made from salvaged wood from the Concordia’s wreckage and filled in with fronds and vines, much like the shelters her and Rarity had built on their home island. Seven or eight pirates stood around the clearing, all looking ragged and worse for wear after the crash, but just as vicious as when they first attacked the Concordia a month and a half ago. And they were all armed in some fashion, most with swords or spears. Squall took a step back and smiled at Rainbow like a hungry cat toying with a mouse. “I didn’t think you survived the storm. The entire bridge was destroyed long before the ship crashed. There were a few other survivors from the lower decks when the wreckage landed here, but we dealt with them accordingly. Wouldn’t want them getting any ideas once they could organize.” Rainbow blinked and managed to raise her head off the ground. “You… you killed them?” “Did you expect me not to?” Squall shook her head. “There were more of them than there were us. Rather than lose ponies once they organized, I did the smart thing and put an end to it before it even started.” “Yeah, because a smart captain would fly her ship made of money right into a friggin’ hurricane.” Several of the pirates looked at each other and took a step back. That warning was all Rainbow had before Squall’s red magic grabbed her by the throat and hefted her into the air. Coughing, choking, and with the world spinning around her, Rainbow clawed at Squall’s invisible hand of magic around her neck. “We all make mistakes sometimes, don’t we?” she said in a voice far too honeyed and sweet for her actions. “Sometimes the best thing to do is forgive and forget, especially when it helps us keep our necks.” She punctuated the last bit by squeezing down on Rainbow’s throat so hard she felt her windpipe on the verge of popping and her eyes bulged out of her head. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the magic vanished, and Rainbow gasped and choked as she hit the ground. Writhing and clutching at her bruised neck, Rainbow’s hind legs and wings uselessly flailed on the ground until she finally slowed her heart and got enough air back into her lungs to feel like she was actually breathing again. The moment she finally felt like she wasn’t being suffocated anymore, she immediately doubled over and vomited on the ground as a fresh spike of dizziness nailed itself into her brain. Behind her, she heard Squall turn on one of the pirates at her side. “I think you hit her a little too hard,” the pirate captain mused. “She seems to have an awful concussion. Get her some water and some food, and tie her up. I don’t want her going anywhere.” “Yes, ma’am,” the pirate responded, and Rainbow faintly heard hooves shuffling about the camp. Magic suddenly gripped her mane and pulled her head back, and she kicked out at the air in feeble protest. Hot breath tickled her ear as Squall leaned in close. “A good friend holds a mare’s mane back when she’s getting sick,” Squall hissed into her ear. “And until we find some way back to Equestria, we’re going to be the best of friends.” Then, releasing Rainbow’s mane, Squall stood up and walked around the pegasus until she stood in front of her doubled-over form. “Now, answer me this,” she said, squatting down. “Who else survived the crash?”