Waking up today was far easier than it had been the last few days. Aside from yesterday proving far more physically straining and begging them for a good night's sleep, the girls woke up on their own, with no help from the sun flashing in their eyes. Likewise, despite sleeping directly on dirt, they had stayed warm, sleeping very close to each other and away from the walls. After all, there was still the possibility that they would collapse.
"Good morning, Rainbow Dash," smiled Rarity, standing up. "Did you sleep well?"
"About as well as I could," smirked Rainbow. "You?"
"Comparatively, in relation to sleeping in a bed, terribly. However, given the circumstances, I'd say I slept pretty well."
Rainbow chuckled. Perhaps it wasn't the best sleep, but there was some improvement. Perhaps there would be more in the near future. She had a few thoughts on how to go about that.
"Okay. Our plan for the day is--"
"Hang on," interrupted Rainbow. "Today, I want to decide our plan. I will begin by digging this a little bit deeper. Not a lot deeper, just a little bit. I need a slightly raised platform, so I have to dig out some extra space for it. After that, the walls need to dry out more, but I can still patch a few holes with clay. It'll probably take the whole day, so here's what I need from you: I need a sharp, flat stone, like an axe head, and as many loose palm fronds as you can bring me. But first, you need a bath."
Rarity examined her body. She was filthy. Her mane was a wreck, she was covered in mud and dirt and her tail was filled with grass and twigs. "I certainly wouldn't say no to a spa retreat," she smiled.
"I never said anything about a spa," denied Rainbow. "A quick dip in the ocean to remove the surface grime is all I can offer right now."
Rarity sighed. "It'll have to do..."
Rarity took a few twigs with her into the ocean and used them to brush out her mane and tail as best she could. It wasn't ideal, by any stretch, but it was better than just letting it fester. For all she knew, there were bugs that were tangling it up even worse. The number of things she would do to be gifted a hairbrush right now was unfathomable.
Coming out of the water, she had to fight the urge to ask for a towel. As barbaric as it was, she shook herself dry. This was normal for Rainbow and Applejack, but she preferred something a bit more sophisticated. Still, she preferred shaken dry to dripping, and dripping to dirty. It wasn't perfect, but in both cases, it was a step up.
She immediately began searching for a sharp rock. Rainbow had emphasized that it was important, and thus she was going to concentrate on that. Before disappearing into the trees, she took one look back at Rainbow and saw her digging away with a stick. How dare she disappoint somepony working so hard? If Rainbow wanted a sharp rock, she'd find one.
Rather, she'd make one. She spent the first two hours looking at every rock on the beach. She found a few that were sharp enough to be useful, but they were either too big or oddly shaped. She even picked some up out of the sand for closer examination. It wasn't until she tossed a large boulder over her shoulder that she came up with the idea. The rock she'd tossed had cracked, leaving a somewhat sharp edge. If she were to rub it against another rock, it could smooth out into a crude axe head.
It took half an hour to grind it down, making it seem far easier to make a small blade than it was to find one. After all, half an hour to find something "good enough" was better than searching all day for "perfect." On her way back, she stuck to the woods, picking up fronds as she went. She wasn't sure what Rainbow was going to do with all of them, but if there was one word to describe Rainbow, "trustworthy" would be a top contender.
Unfortunately, on her return, Rainbow was not around. She'd wandered off, likely to the freshwater source for a drink, but not before she'd finished digging her pit a bit deeper, funneling more channels for water to drain out, and driving a few branches into the ground at the bottom. It didn't look nearly as comfortable anymore, but Rarity just sighed and shook her head. Rainbow probably had a plan for this, but she'd have to wait and find out what it was.
She made her way down to the source, expecting to see Rainbow on her way back, but the two didn't see each other until Rarity was close enough to the dam. Rainbow had taken Rarity's remaining rope and fashioned a simple harness, and was slowly but surely dragging one of the trees that had blocked the water back toward camp.
"What in Equestria are you doing?" asked Rarity, rushing over. "Couldn't you have found something closer?"
"Of course," grunted Rainbow, finally freeing the tree from the mud. "But this thing's already dead. I don't want to cut down a tree that's still alive."
"No, I mean, there are fallen trees closer. I've seen them."
"This one was the most in the way," answered Rainbow. "If we move this one, the pond probably won't ever flood again, and even if it does, it won't flood nearly as high."
Rarity placed herself in front of Rainbow, stopping her walk. "If you think you're going to drag that tree all the way back to our base of operations, then let me make it perfectly clear that I'm not going to let that happen."
Rainbow scowled. "I'm serious, Rarity, this thing's coming back to camp. It's necessary."
"I'm not going to stand here and argue with you," growled Rarity, pushing Rainbow a few steps back. With the slack in the rope, she fashioned a second harness and looped it around her chest. "You'll never make it back before sunset on your own. We are going to drag it."
Rainbow had to hold herself back from laughing. Rarity wasn't particularly powerful, so she didn't expect much, but any additional aid, no matter how small, was at least welcome. Perhaps she would have enough time today, after all, to finish what she'd intended.