//------------------------------// // Group Consensus // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Smoke rose high into the sky as the day beat on into the afternoon. A blazing inferno roared on the lagoon’s beach. Rainbow Dash watched the pyre’s flames flicker and flash as the wood snapped and popped. A haze seemed to settle over the island as the thick smoke dispersed every which way, while Stargazer and Champagne sat on a cloud nearby in case they needed to quickly douse the flames. It would be nothing short of catastrophic if they accidentally set their home ablaze, especially if there was no clear sign that they’d ever be heading back to Equestria. Rainbow scoffed inwardly. ‘Home.’ That’s what the island had become now. It was more of a real home than Ponyville was, now. At least the island was here. Ponyville was so far away that it felt like it didn’t even exist. But with the bodies buried and the pyre lit, the mood around the lagoon had turned dark and somber. Even though the night was over, everypony seemed to be coming to terms with the fact that it hardly meant their suffering was finished. They still hadn’t lowered the barrier, and therefore they still couldn’t go home. Sure, they’d ended an immediate threat to their existence, but how long would it take before the next one showed its ugly head? All this meant one thing to Rainbow Dash: it was time to come clean with the others and sort out what their next move would be. She rubbed at her eyes to get some of the salty tears out of her face and steel herself for what was likely to be an unpleasant conversation. Then, spreading her wings, she flew above the water and cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Hey, so, uh, there’s something we need to discuss,” she said, raising her voice so that they could all hear her over the roar of the pyre in the background. “Can everypony come closer?” Ears perked and heads turned in her direction, and within a few seconds, the scattered survivors congregated at the water’s edge around Rainbow. “What is it, Rainbow?” Ruse asked after he’d taken a seat on the sand. “It’s about going home,” Rainbow said. Black Flag scoffed. “Really? We’ve finally figured it out now? Let’s hear it, then.” Rainbow hung her head. “It’s not that simple,” she said. “Soft Step did most of the work lowering the barrier—that’s what she needed sacrifices for. Jolly shooting her through the heart took care of another part of it. But it wasn’t finished.” She sighed. “To lower the barrier, Soft needed hearts from each race and then herself. She already got unicorn and earth pony, and getting shot through her heart finished off the crystal totem. But she never got to the pegasus part.” “So, what?” Roger asked, crossing his forelegs. “You’re saying that the only thing stopping us from going home is a pegasus heart?” “Yes,” Rainbow said, narrowing her eyes at him. “A pegasus heart. Like mine. Or yours.” “Do we even know that it will bring down the barrier if the totem were to be given a pegasus heart?” Ruse asked. “As a hypothetical question, of course.” “It should.” Rainbow’s gaze swept to the hill behind the fire. “The barrier was raised with pony blood. It needs blood to lower it again.” “There’s really no other way?” Champagne asked. “Couldn’t we try to achieve the same effect with… I don’t know. A little blood?” Rarity nodded. “It’s certainly worth the effort at least. We don’t have anything to lose.” “We can definitely try that,” Rainbow said. “And in fact, we should try that before we do anything else. But to be honest, I’m not all that hopeful that we’re gonna be able to pull it off that way.” “So what do we do if we can’t?” Stargazer asked. “We aren’t really gonna…?” “We should draw straws for it,” Roger said. “Pegasus with the short straw gives up their heart.” “That could be you too, you know,” Ruse flatly stated. The pirate shrugged. “I got one in four chance of it being me. I’ll take those odds.” “We are not drawing straws to see who lives and who dies,” Rainbow said. “And to be completely honest, I’d rather not have to kill anypony else just to go home.” Champagne nervously fidgeted on her cloud. “But if that’s the only way…” “Then we’re stuck here,” Flag flatly concluded. “Stuck here until we all grow old and die.” “There’s always hope that maybe there will be some other way to go home,” Rarity said, trying to remain optimistic. “Melody said her mother would come to the edge of the barrier whenever her choir was in this area. Maybe we can say something to her and have her relay a message back home!” Roger frowned at her. “Do you even know when the siren bitch’s mom would come around or where she’d even be?” The white siren fidgeted. “Well… not exactly. We did hear her one time, somewhere out to the east…” “And nothing since,” Rainbow said. “But… at least that’s something we can fall back on, right? It just means we’ll be stuck here a little longer.” “A year is a lot more than just ‘a little,’” Flag said. But he nevertheless shrugged and looked away. “But it’s a lot shorter than the rest of my life, too.” “Right.” Though it wasn’t exactly the most pleasant situation, she could at least try to appear hopeful for everypony else’s sake. “I think we can do it,” she said. “We’ve already been here for almost two months now. Two months. And they’ve been pretty sucky two months, sure, but now that we’re all together and united, maybe we can make the next ten less sucky. What do you say, guys? Do you think we can do it?” “I’m with you, Rainbow,” Rarity said, her tail swishing through the shallow water. “You can always count on me.” “Me too,” Ruse said. “You saved our lives, you know? We’ll always be thankful. And besides, we need a new leader now.” He looked over his shoulder, and both pegasi sitting on the cloud nodded along. Flag scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Spare me the cheerleader routine,” he said, but he nevertheless dipped his head once. “But fuck it, it’s a better plan than nothing.” All eyes fell on Roger, who frowned at the sand around him. “Yeah, sure, fuck it,” he said. “So long as we’re not at each other’s throats by the end of the week.” “We’ll just have to learn how to play nice,” Rainbow said. She offered everypony a relieved smile. “Thanks, guys. I was… really worried that we’d have to do the unthinkable to get home.” “If we do that then we’re nothing more than animals,” Ruse said. “We can survive and keep our dignity intact. We don’t need to stoop so low just to get home.” “We can treat it like an extended vacation,” Champagne said. “There are worse things than spending a year in the sun, right?” “Running out of booze, for one,” Roger grumbled. “Maybe we can find a way to make some more,” Stargazer said. He nodded to Champagne and winked. “Champagne’s Prench, after all. Making alcohol should be in her blood.” “I was a weathemare,” the mare protested, “not a vineyard worker!” Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle at the playful banter around her. Sure, they were stuck out here, and who knew for how much longer. But even out here, they had friendship to get them through the tough times ahead. She let her eyes wander toward the sky. Twilight would be proud of her and Rarity.