By the time dinner snuck up on the survivors, Rainbow Dash had already packed some makeshift bags full of food and water for her and Champagne. Their trip was going to be a long one, and even if the island had ample supplies of both, Rainbow knew that her and Champagne wouldn’t be in the mood to start scavenging for supplies once they landed. It was better to have things on hoof and ready for when they needed them instead of trying to find something that might not even be there. Rainbow really wished she could have gotten a better scope of the island in her flight, maybe by flying higher; simply knowing the size of the island would’ve given her a good clue as to how much food and water she could expect to find on it.
As it stood, she could only prepare as best as she could and hope that luck would be on her side. Flying off to the island was a gamble, and it could be a costly one; she knew there was a good chance that something could kill her and Champagne, and if they died, then that would leave the rest of the survivors with even fewer numbers. She also didn’t like leaving Flag and Roger on the home island with the others, but it was a risk she was going to have to take. Taking Jolly Roger along would just be a liability, and his refusal to cooperate could end up getting them all killed. It was better if he stayed on the home island where his temper could be somewhat controlled by his brother and hope for the best.
Rainbow found herself sitting next to Gyro as she worked on her dinner. The rations the other survivors brought over had greatly improved their meals; just eating something that wasn’t fruit or bread left Rainbow twitching in ecstasy from the first bite to the last. She never appreciated how much of a luxury having the ability to choose what she wanted to eat was until now, and though she didn’t consider herself a picky eater before, she knew when she went back to Equestria she’d never turn down something different or new if it was offered to her. A solid month of eating nothing but star and sugar apples had left her taste buds traumatized.
She could tell that Gyro was annoyed with her, though. The engineer was hardly her lively or crass self, and she ate her meal in relative silence. She would occasionally pipe up and offer a few remarks to the conversation around her, but she didn’t speak much to Rainbow herself. For some reason, the gray mare’s disapproval stung her, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to leave in peace of mind if she left it unaddressed. So while the rest of the crew shared stories and laughter, Rainbow finished her meal and poked Gyro’s side. “I get enough of this stuff from Rarity to know you’re upset, G.”
“Upset?” Gyro glanced at Rainbow, but sighed and shook her head. “Not upset. Just… worried. Worried about you and your thick head.”
Rainbow smirked. “My thick head’s been pretty useful at keeping my brains intact. You wouldn’t believe just how many wipeouts and crashes I’ve had while flying around.”
Gyro rolled her eyes, but Rainbow noted she at least seemed a little amused by the joke. “I don’t doubt that, Rainbow. But I don’t really think I need to restate what I think about this whole expedition of yours.”
“Me and Champagne can look after ourselves,” Rainbow said. “Besides, if it’s just the two of us, we can sneak around without being discovered.”
“I still think you’d do better if you had more ponies with you,” Gyro said. “You could even take Stargazer. He’s not doing anything.”
Rainbow blinked. “Oh. Yeah. Forgot about him.” She glanced across the fire to see the pegasus talking with Ratchet. “He wasn’t at lunch, so I missed him. It’s… been hard to keep track of who lived and who died,” she admitted with a frown.
“Stargazer likes to pretend he’s nocturnal,” Gyro said. “He was still sleeping at lunch.”
“But still, he’s probably better off here.” Before Gyro could say anything, Rainbow discreetly gestured across the camp with a wingtip. “Flag and Jolly are still gonna be here. We can’t afford to thin our ranks too much, because we still don’t know how much we can trust them. Besides, leaving Stargazer here will give you guys a pegasus to deal with any of Roger’s shenanigans. If he gets up to something, it’ll probably be a good idea to have somepony who can fly on our side.”
“I… guess.” Gyro crossed her forelegs and lifted her eyes to the sky, where the setting sun had started to paint it with oranges and yellows. “I’m still more worried about you and Champagne than all of us. We can handle ourselves. We’ve got numbers, supplies, and weapons. But the two of you don’t know what you’ll find over there. It could be anything. And if you’re gonna be contending with something that’s intelligent enough to leave a message, it could also be cunning enough to set up a trap. That could be all this is: a trap to get more of us caught.”
“We still have to check it out either way,” Rainbow said. “Trap or no trap, I need to… to find out what happened to Rarity. I won’t be able to sleep easy until I do.”
“Will you be able to sleep easy if you don’t like what you find?” Gyro asked her, cocking an eyebrow.
Rainbow sat in thoughtful silence for several moments. “It’ll be better than not knowing,” she eventually said in a small voice. “That would tear me up inside even more.”
Gyro nodded her head once and, shaking her head, shifted across the sands just enough to bump her shoulder against Rainbow’s. “I don’t doubt you’ll find her,” Gyro said. “Just make sure you come back to us in one piece. We can’t afford to lose anypony else.”
“I will,” Rainbow assured her. “I will. And I’ll bring both Champagne and Rarity back with me. Maybe even another statuette.”
“You still think we can get off these islands?” Gyro asked. “Even after what happened on the other one?”
“It’s not going to stop me from trying,” Rainbow said. “I’ll try until the very end. One way or another, I don’t intend on sitting around here forever. We’ll get home… or we’ll die trying.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to the last one,” Gyro said. “But so long as there’s still hope…”
“There’s still a chance.” Then, standing up, Rainbow quickly nuzzled Gyro’s ear and waved at her. “I guess I should get Champagne now. If we wanna hit the island before sundown, we’ve gotta leave now.”
Gyro reluctantly dipped her head. “I suppose you’re right. Stay safe, Rainbow.”
“I will,” Rainbow said. “You’re in charge, G. Keep the place in one piece until I get back.”
Gyro chuckled. “No promises, Rainbow.”
“Eh, good enough.”