Hurricane part 2
Special thanks to Alexstrazsa for editing the story.
Celestia’s sun neared its apex when a small boat reached the shores of the island. Its passengers were all in good shape, save for the recent and cruel memories of last night’s storm, during what was supposed to be a ‘relaxing’ trip to the Gryphon Kingdom.
The sun had climbed higher by the time the first pony composed herself and got out of the boat. She was a white unicorn, who looked around with bright red eyes while rubbing her head with a hoof. “This is so not cool.” Her stomach was somewhat calmer now that the rough voyage had ended, but there was plenty that could have been better, especially in the food and water department. She sighed and looked down at her two friends, though they were closer to colleagues, as they had all taken a job on the newest cruise ship. Ironically, the builders claimed it to be unsinkable and the first storm they crossed on its maiden voyage easily sent it to the bottom of the sea.
“Hey, Octi. Trix. Wake up, you lazy mares.”
Both the azure unicorn and grey earth pony opened their eyes, and both pairs could put to shame any evil in this world. The headache, swirling fatigue, and stomach sickness wasn’t a good combination, and Vinyl’s wake up call just acted as oil on the fire of their bad mood.
“The great and powerful Trixie is not lazy! And you...” snapped Trixie, only to be interrupted by Octavia.
“Oh, for the love of Celestia... Please, can you both remain quiet?” she complained, rubbing her head. The unicorn duo rolled their eyes in unison, but quickly returned to staring daggers into each other. Octavia just sighed, wishing all of it would just go away and turn out to be a mere nightmare she could wake up from. However, the pain was too real, and the memories were too vivid to be mere imagination. All the horror of panicking ponies twisted her guts sharply, but she somehow managed to not empty her stomach even more than she already had.
“Well look, girls, we can stay here and sunbath in our own filth,” Vinyl cringed at the mention of it, “Or we could get some food, shelter, water, and a shine to our coats.”
Trixie’s eyes twitched a little. “...Trixie agrees.”
Octavia forced herself up, and with some newfound strength in her legs, she got out of the boat and dove into the sea. She stayed there for a minute or two to rinse her fur clean of the filth and sickness they all shared. Shortly after, Vinyl and Trixie followed suit. None of them had been keen on getting into the cold water while tired, hungry, and thirsty, but being clean again was worth it.
Soon after, the three mares pushed the boat inland near the forest edge. It was better there, considering it could be turned upside down and act as a decent cover against the elements. Of course, some cleaning was in order. The three checked for any supplies, and with the blessings of the four goddesses, they found three survival packs.
They searched through them quickly, finding fire-making supplies, some knives, first aid kits, and most importantly a set of rations. One was quickly consumed to quell their hunger. Searching more, they found blankets and more fire stones, though with Trixie being an illusionist and fireworks being one of her specialties, it wasn’t the greatest of finds. After thoroughly scavenging, the three settled down in a circle to discuss how they should proceed.
“Alright, I believe we need to plan our moves as best as our circumstances allow.”
“Trixie agrees with Octavia. She may be Great and Powerful, but Trixie is not foolish enough to think she could fare by herself.”
“Well hey, that's the spirit,” added Vinyl, in a bit of a flat tone. “So, we should divide up and explore the shore to see if we can find anything important.”
“Quite so, Vinyl. Also, in the meantime, maybe the Great and Powerful Trixie could set up the camp fire and arrange a shelter.”
“Hmph. Trixie will do so, not that you two would have any experience with manual labor...”
Octavia frowned at Trixie’s comment, but left it at that. Vinyl, on the other hoof, glared hard enough to blow the steam off of Trixie.
Trixie took a quick gulp and added, “Not that Trixie believes you to be incapable of taking care of yourselves.” She finished with a sheepish grin. After a few moments, Vinyl returned the trademark smirk of hers, while Octavia just stared at her with an eyebrow lifted. Eventually, she shook her head and moved on.
“Alright then, Vinyl, which way? Left,” She pointed in the appropriate direction, “Or right?” Vinyl just smirked and gave the best faux-pondering face she could, with one hoof rubbing her chin and the other waving in the air. “Vinyl, today please,” plead Octavia. Vinyl shrugged and pointed to the left, then hopped up and began trotting to the right. Octavia merely stared for a second and facehooved, then tried to formulate some words, but gave up and facehooved again. “I fear for my sanity,” she said, before standing up and venturing to the left side of the coast.
Trixie quietly shook her head, having the exact same train of thought as Octavia. If the wild didn’t get them, their own antics would.
The rest of the day was uneventful for Vinyl. After some tracking, she got back to the camp that Trixie had finished — to the best of her ability, given the timeframe. The boat, cleaned from the remnants of last night, was turned upside down and supported by some large strong branches and rocks, to hopefully withstand a storm if it hit.
“Hey Trix, that looks cool,” Vinyl said as she arrived back, done with exploring. Within a magic field of hers, she held some coconuts.
“Was there ever any doubt? And Trixie sees we have some more to eat.” Vinyl placed the loot down and licked her lips, eager to fill the bottomless pit of hunger she called a stomach.
“Where’s Octi?”
Trixie looked at Vinyl and shrugged. “She hasn’t returned yet, and it eludes Trixie how long she planned to track around.”
Vinyl had an uneasy look. “She's little miss uppity, so it’s not like she would be out for too long...”
The two shared concerned looks.
Deep inside the thick rainforest of the island, Octavia ran for her life. She was being chased by feline-like creatures, and while small, they were deadly in a pack. She have managed to buck or stomp several away, but they were aggressive and filled with a bloodlust to get their next meal. She had some cuts on her hide, caused by the mini predators attempts to leech onto her and topple the earth pony to the ground.
Terror rocked her to the core. Even though she was stronger than the vile little creatures, and even though she was sure she could decimate many more of them, there were just far too many for her to handle. That, and she was forced into the forest, which she realised was her biggest mistake. She was slown down as much as the cats, but they had an unfair advantage in the chase.
“Oh dear Celestia, why is this my life!?” She jumped up as she ran and bucked behind herself, nailing one of the felines right in the head. With a sickening crunch, it was launched far behind her into the depths of the green forest. “Why did I ever accept that stupid invitation to work on the ship?!” She saw a small opening ahead, leading into a clearing. Octavia dashed as fast as she could, but the fierce predators quickly surrounded her in the open area. She was forced to stop and look around. “Oh, buck me!” It was an uncouth expression, but perfectly described the situation at hoof.