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// Chapter the Fourth: Construction 
// Story: The Bigger Pony 
// by Kiernan 
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Rainbow was not very happy with the way things had turned over the afternoon. After returning to the beach, she had begun constructing the firepit as best she could with the rocks. Rarity had taken a sharp one, the same one she had used to cut the vines, and made her way into the foliage. Her intent was to clear the path to the water source, but she had the secondary goal of gathering a lot of grass for their shelter, for which she'd emptied her basket, leaving the unpeeled coconuts sitting in the sand.

Rainbow had dreaded walking all the way across the island, or even just to the pond to gather clay, but it wasn't long before Rarity found another deposit much closer, under another upended tree. She was nearly finished with the rocks, at least as far as she could go with the clay she had. After a base layer, she'd made a hollow shaft up the inside to let air flow in from underneath before starting the basin. It would do for now. After all, it was made to be useful, not pretty. 

She'd actually been the one to pick its location, and cemented that decision by beginning construction while Rarity had been away. Rarity had been talking about setting it up on the sand, but Rainbow knew with certainty that this sand bank followed a strict horizontal line around the whole island. That was the sea level at high tide, and if she were to build there, the waves would wash it away, or at least wash away the foundation on which it stood. Other than that, she'd chosen a spot away from the trees. She'd told Rarity it was to keep from setting the trees on fire, because she felt that Rarity would scoff at her real reason. In truth, it was because she'd seen so many trees fallen over today that she didn't trust the rest of them to stay up, and she didn't want to wait for one to come down on top of her.

After washing the clay residue off her hooves with the seawater, Rainbow made her way over to the chunk of wood they'd floated in on. It turned out to be part of the stern, and after shooing away the crabs that were scuttling across it, she found out that the name was written on it. "St. Louvia."

She dragged it the rest of the way up the beach, as it had already floated up a bit as the tide rolled in. Rarity had explained that she intended it to be part of their shelter, though she didn't remember exactly which part. Rainbow guessed that it might be a wall, as it was sturdy enough, but not knowing for sure, she just brought it over and left it leaning against a tree, propped away from the clearing. 

She hoped that it wouldn't be broken down, as having the name so clearly marked would make it a fitting monument to the ship's memory. Then again, having it as shelter would be narratively fitting, as well. She'd tried to protect the ship, and now it was going to protect her. At any rate, she needed a break. It had been a few hours since they'd first found the source, meaning it was about time to visit the spring again. She just hoped that Rarity had made it that far.

She followed the trail of cut grass and trimmed back shrubs. It wasn't exactly a straight line, as she regularly had to move around trees, but it followed a direction fairly adequately. It was also pretty clean, given that Rarity had picked up a lot of the grass for later use.

She made it all the way to the mud before finding Rarity. She was sitting on a rock that protruded from the mud, her baskets sitting next to her as she worked on something out of view. "I see you made it all the way back," called Rainbow, walking over to her.

"Rainbow," acknowledged Rarity, keeping her eyes glued to her project. "I don't think we'd be able to follow the path so well in the dark, but during the day, we should have little trouble making it out here."

"I'll stand by that statement," agreed Rainbow. "What's that you're making?"

Rarity held it up. "I started with eight branches of equal length, then squared them off with two longer ones," she said, gesturing to the multiple layers. "Once everything was secured in place, I started using the longer grass to spin some flax-like rope, which I'm using to weave a lattice. I'm going to wrap it in palm fronds when I finish this."

"So... what is it?"

Rarity stopped and turned to Rainbow. "A roof. It will keep the elements out."

"You could have just said so."

"If I did, you would have asked how this was supposed to be a roof."

"Well, I'm still going to ask, so there. What's going to make this thing stand?"

"Tonight? More branches. Tomorrow night, hopefully, the other half of the roof. It's a lean-to."

"Yeah, it is a bit late in the day to make a second one, and I don't know how to make my own rope."

"And I can't really expect you to do the proper weaving work, either, darling. It requires patience, grace and smooth, even strokes."

Rainbow furrowed her brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing, dear," said Rarity, her tone a bit condescending. "You're clearly more suited to sturdy things like stone and wood works, whereas I would be better suited for the more intricate work, such as weaving and stitching. We have our own strengths, and when we sit down to compare them, mine are more delicate, whereas yours are more basic and robust."

"Hey, I can weave with the best of them!" argued Rainbow. "I'm the best flying slalom in central Equestria! And that's with moving cloud pillars, not the stationary ones. A half-second off, and you have to make a wide turn and loop back around. I think I can handle a little bit of thread."

"It's more of a cordage than a thread..."

"Whatever! It's not going to scare me off!"

"Did you come out here just to pick a fight?"

Rainbow didn't answer right away. She looked from where Rarity was working to the fountain, then to the dam. She had come out here for a few things, and arguing with Rarity wasn't among them. "I have more important things to do," she said, sliding off the rock into the mud. "This conversation isn't over. It's just on break until I stop being busy."

"Good luck in your endeavors," smirked Rarity, chalking that up as a victory for herself.