//------------------------------// // Rally the Crew // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Gyro wasn’t even sure if she’d managed to sleep or not. The excruciating pain in her back prevented her from actually resting, and though she kept her eyes closed and tried to be as still as possible, she wasn’t sure if she accomplished anything more than dozing off. She was tempted to ask Doctor Gauze for another painkilling spell, but the doctor was already sound asleep and she didn’t want to wake him. He’d already done so much for her as it was. But of course, another brief flurry of pain had woken her up from her nap, since she really couldn’t call it any more than that. Between the constant stabbing of pain in her back and the growing weight of exhaustion clawing at her eyes, Gyro half-wished that she hadn’t had the surgery. She was miserable, to put it at its simplest. But if she could walk again when this was all done with, then it would be worth it. Hopefully. As it so happened, her pain had woken her up just as some commotion broke out across the camp. Though groggy and exhausted beyond anything she’d ever felt before, Gyro managed to lift her head and rub at her eyes to see what was going on. The simple motion brought with it another sharp wave of pain, and it was all she could do to not double over and shake as the feeling wracked her body. But eventually, after holding her breath for several seconds, she managed to force the sensation away enough to focus on what was happening in front of her. She saw Clever Ruse return with Champagne close behind him, and the stallion was using his special talent to project his voice and hurriedly rouse the entire camp. Champagne, meanwhile, looked like she’d seen a ghost or a monster or something; it wasn’t hard to miss her wide-eyed expression and trembling wings. Gyro immediately noted that there wasn’t anypony else with her; none of the ponies that left on the expedition were anywhere in sight apart from her. Her gut immediately sank as she started drawing conclusions, each worse than the last, each only given credibility by the expression on the concierge’s face. “What’s going on?” she shouted from the sidelines, unable to go right up to Champagne and ask the mare herself directly. “Where’s everypony else?” Champagne saw her and diverted her path toward Gyro. “Something bad,” the Prench mare said. “Something really bad!” “Is everypony alright?” Gyro asked. “Where is everypony else? Was it the pirates?” “No, it wasn’t the pirates,” Champagne said, shaking her head. “But I can’t really explain what I saw! Soft Step and Blow Off, something bad happened to them, and we really need to help them!” Gyro frowned at the ground while the ponies of the camp slowly started to gather around Champagne. She didn’t really care if something bad happened to Blow Off, but Soft Step was a really nice mare and she really didn’t want anything bad to happen to the masseuse. But if it wasn’t pirates, then what did Champagne see? “What’s going on?” Ratchet asked, voicing the question on Gyro’s mind as he approached the circle of ponies. “What happened to everypony else?” “Something’s happening at the temple,” Champagne blurted. Gyro noticed that the pegasus still shook like a leaf, even when surrounded by her friends someplace safe. “I can’t explain it. There’s some evil magic or something there.” “Evil magic?” Clever Ruse asked. “I know a thing or two about magic, but what exactly do you mean by that?” “Breathe, Champagne,” Ratchet said. “Just breathe. Tell us what happened.” Champagne tried to do as she was told, nodding her head and sitting down on the sand. “I was on watch after Rainbow cleared the skies with the Sonic Rainboom,” she said. “Soft Step and Blow Off were with me, but they were on the ground. I saw two pirates marching on the temple, so I went down to warn then, and then we took up positions to attack them once they got close.” “Did the pirates get the better of you guys?” the unicorn mare, Fresh Linens, asked. “Let her finish!” Gyro hissed. Champagne swallowed again, her wings unfurling and folding repeatedly at her sides. “Soft Step and Blow Off shot both the pirates, but they didn’t die. They didn’t die! A-And then they stood up and all these bats showed up and attacked Soft Step and Blow Off and Soft screamed and…” Champagne shuddered and sniffled as her chest heaved. “I don’t know what happened to them, but then they started acting like those pirates! Something’s wrong, something’s really wrong at the temple, and I didn’t know what to do!” “Started acting like the pirates?” Ratchet frowned down the length of his muzzle. “What do you mean?” “There’s something not right with any of them,” Champagne said. “They acted like they were possessed or something! I don’t know, I got away from there as fast as I could! I didn’t want that to happen to me!” “What about Rainbow and Rarity?” Gyro asked. “Are they safe?” Champagne reluctantly shrugged her wings. “I don’t know,” she said. “They were deep inside the tomb when this happened. But those… those zombies could be on them any minute now!” “Then we need to work fast and figure out the details later,” Ratchet said. “I am not going to lose more crew to whatever this is if we can stop it.” He offered Champagne an encouraging smile and patted her shoulder. “You did good to come to us like you did,” he assured her. “Hopefully with the rest of us from the camp, we can save the others and maybe figure out what happened to Soft Step and Blow Off.” He stepped away from Champagne and began to address the rest of his crew. “Grab whatever spare weapons you have lying around and rally here as soon as you can. I want to send everypony we have at the temple. It sounds like whatever’s happening there has to be stopped, or else we’re all screwed. And I don’t want to risk the pirates interfering with us or jumping us along the way, so make sure you stay vigilant.” Everypony nodded and began to go their separate ways, with the exception of Gyro. The gray mare just smirked at Ratchet and managed an uncomfortable salute. “I’ll be right with you, captain, somepony just hook me up to my wheelchair and roll me at them.” “You need to stay back here,” Ratchet said. “We’ll leave Doctor Gauze to look after you.” “You sure you don’t need him?” Gyro asked. “I’ll be fine on my own. It’s not like I’m going anywhere, remember?” “I know. That’s why we need to leave him here to keep an eye on you.” Ratchet shook his head. “If something happens to the rest of us, you need at least one pony to help you get out of here safely.” “I don’t want anything bad to happen to the rest of you because you’re one pony short,” Gyro said, dismissively waving her hoof. “Go, take him.” “I will most certainly not be leaving my patients alone at the camp,” Doctor Gauze said. “Besides, from the way this sounds, ponies might need treatment when this is all said and done with. It’s best if I stay here and prepare to take care of the wounded when they inevitably arrive.” Ratchet nodded his agreement. “My thoughts exactly, doctor. Take care.” He turned to Champagne as the doctor left and raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, Champagne? Do you think you’ll be able to go back out with us?” Champagne shakily nodded. “I believe I can, yes. I’m not actually hurt, just… just scared.” “Nothing wrong with being scared, so long as it doesn’t stop you from doing what you have to do.” Ratchet looked her over and nodded approvingly. “At least you still have your weapons. You can help us keep an eye out for pirates from the sky until we make it to the temple.” To Gyro’s surprise, Champagne seemed to shrink back and tapped her hooves together. “Uh… about the pirates…”