//------------------------------//
// Reconnaissance 
// Story: Surviving Sand Island 
// by The 24th Pegasus 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow kept her run across the island at a reasonable gallop. Though she wanted to run from one end to the other to get her blood going and wake up some more, she also didn’t feel the need to overly tax herself by galloping full bore through the jungle. She’d exhausted and damaged her body enough two nights prior; what it needed was a reasonable amount of exercise to loosen up, but not enough to hurt her muscles or joints any further.

Chirp followed along at a decent clip, often circling Rainbow as she ran through the jungle. At times, the macaw would lag behind her, but at others, he’d slowly work his way across her shoulders until he was the one leading, not her. He never flew too far ahead that he’d have to wait for her, and he never lagged too far behind, his colorful wings more than capable of keeping up with Rainbow’s gallop. Together, the two feathery friends crossed the island, until once more, Rainbow found herself perched on the south hill.

She decided to pause and take a quick break here, to rest her legs and prepare her sore wings for a brief flight. The trees and plants around her were still heavy with fruit, and many were budding new flowers, attempting to make up for the fruit Rainbow and Rarity had first plucked from their branches upon discovering the hill so long ago. Far down below, the crystal blue waters of the lagoon practically glittered in the morning sun, and Rainbow just knew that they’d feel pleasant and warm if she decided to wander down to the shore and stroll right on in. She filed that thought away for later; maybe she could take the rest of the survivors down there in the afternoon and at least show them around.

Part of her cursed herself for even thinking about that. Why was she wasting so much time? Rarity was out there, far to the south, and here she was getting some leisurely exercise. Didn’t she have more important things to do? Shouldn’t she be flying south as fast as she could, trying to find Rarity before it was too late?

She growled at herself in frustration. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to fly south as soon as she could, but she also needed to prepare herself. Gyro was at least right in that regard, and Rainbow knew just how disastrous rushing in headlong to something she wasn’t prepared for could be. She remembered when Fluttershy and Zecora had nearly died when they caught Swamp Fever because of Fluttershy’s insistence and determination on finding a cure instead of resting and taking care of herself first. A wise pony would see the lesson in that and at least wait a day before venturing south in search of Rarity.

But did Rainbow even have a day? Did Rarity have a day? If Rarity died tonight and Rainbow found her body tomorrow, could she forgive herself for waiting that extra day?

The answer to that was a solid no. This couldn’t afford to wait. Rainbow knew she needed to get across the sea as soon as she could, and then start the hunt for Rarity.

But she could at least be smart about it. Again, Gyro was probably right; going over alone was a bad idea. And Rainbow had worked with Champagne enough while opening the tomb that she felt like she could trust her to handle herself. After all, it was Champagne that had brokered an alliance with the pirates, and Champagne who rallied the rest of the survivors to the tomb when things started to go bad. If Rainbow was going to have anypony watching her back while she was over there, it was the Prench mare. She resolved to go ask Champagne about it and start preparing supplies for two when she returned to camp.

In the meanwhile, she finally decided to spread her wings and begin to climb. Galloping off a steep drop, Rainbow let her wings catch the air like wind filling a sail before she started flapping them, beginning her ascent. Chirp soon flew off to a nearby tree as Rainbow gained altitude; the macaw did not seem interested in flying too high above the treetops, leaving Rainbow to continue her flight alone. But Rainbow didn’t mind so much; just the feeling of air under her feathers was enough company for her.

She circled out and around the island, searching for thermals and updrafts that would carry her higher. Since it was still morning, the thermals were fairly weak, and Rainbow had to do most of the climbing herself. But she worked at it at a steady pace, never pushing herself too hard, trying to save her endurance for the flight that would matter most. It took her nearly half an hour to slowly climb up to a comfortable cruising altitude, and even then, she had to flap her wings every few seconds to keep her height.

But she was about two thousand feet above the island now, and she could see much of the surrounding ocean. She could spot all four islands and island groups from up here, though not in very much detail. First, her attention turned to the one she’d just left the day before, but she couldn’t tell if anything had changed. The mountain there didn’t let her see into the interior of the archipelago, so she couldn’t see the rest of the islands, but they seemed the same from afar. Not that Rainbow would’ve been able to pick out tiny details from this distance, but the mountain didn’t seem to be swarming with mummies, so that was a plus.

She shifted to the right, her eyes wandering over the tall peak of the minotaurs’ island. If she squinted and looked carefully, she thought she could see tiny canoes prowling the waters around it, but she wasn’t sure. There certainly wasn’t anything in the waters closer to her home island, so that was good. She figured she didn’t have anything to worry about in terms of the minotaurs, at least for the time being.

And then she finally turned her gaze south. The south island remained secretive, refusing to offer anything more than a simple green blur on the far horizon. As far as Rainbow could tell, there were no mountains or hills; the island seemed very flat, though she couldn’t get a good estimate of how large it was from where she flew. But there were no peaks poking out above the trees, no curves or bumps to the earth. Just a line of green palm trees on a sandy beach, obscuring whatever hid behind them. Rainbow didn’t even know where the Ponynesians could hide a temple on that island, but if they could bury a massive tomb in caverns deep below the earth, there had to be a place for it somewhere. All she had to do was find it.

And somewhere out there, a white unicorn waited for a rescue.

Rainbow hardened her gaze and tilted her wings down, beginning her descent. “I’m coming, Rares,” she murmured to herself. “Just hang in there. I’ll find you soon.”