Surviving Sand Island

by The 24th Pegasus

We're Hurt but Still Standing

Rainbow Dash led Rarity away from the survivors’ camp and into the dense and dark foliage surrounding it. She didn’t want to push too far out into the wilderness, but she also wanted to find a spot where they could have some privacy. When the glow of the campfire was a faint orange light around them and the occasional chatter of voices had faded into the natural music of the night, she finally came to a stop and sat down where it was mostly dry.

Rarity wordlessly sat down by her side and slid in close until their bodies were touching. Then, with a happy sigh, she laid her head on Rainbow’s shoulder. Blue feathers wrapped around her back, and the two ponies contentedly watched meager white light glow on some of the puddles around them as the moon fought to show its face through the clouds, chasing away the last few drizzles that had drowned the island not too long before.

“I can’t believe we’re alive,” Rainbow said. “We fought that crazy pirate and won. We shouldn’t be alive.”

Rarity nodded, her cheek rubbing against Rainbow’s shoulder. “We’re lucky. But sometimes, luck is all you need.”

“I guess you’re right.” Nostrils flaring, Rainbow buried her muzzle in Rarity’s mane, smothering herself in the seamstress’ scent. Though muted beneath a layer of sand, salt, mud, and sweat, she could still smell a weak aroma of cloth and fresh linen. “I didn’t think I’d see you again,” she admitted. A quick tremble shook her limbs, passing in a flash like lightning. “Squall nearly killed me several times. Only luck stopped me from dying.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Rarity said, snuggling closer against Rainbow to try and comfort her. “I don’t want to hear it. We’re alive, and we’re back together, and that’s all that matters.”

“Is it?” Rainbow reluctantly parted from Rarity’s side and slid a pace or two away. Putting her hoof on Rarity’s chin, she angled the mare’s head so she could see her blue face. “We’re alive, but we’re not in one piece. Squall scarred me for life. She broke my nose, messed up my teeth, and cut my face up bad.” She pointed to the deep cut running along her left cheek from muzzle to just below her eye. “That’s gonna leave an ugly scar. I know I didn’t have the prettiest supermodel face before, Rares, but now I look like a homeless pony who got into a lot of fights on the streets of Manehattan or something.”

Rarity blinked. “Why do you even mention this, darling?”

“Because… because…” Rainbow hung her head. “I don’t know. I know you like perfection and stuff, Rares. I don’t even know what you see in me half the time. And I want to do nothing more than to hold you and be happy with you and celebrate that we’re both still alive but now my face is all messed up and I don’t want you to have to worry about dealing with an ugly pony like me and—!”

Rarity’s magic stayed Rainbow’s lips and silenced her nervous blubbering. The damp sand shifted as Rarity once more closed the difference between them, and her chipped horn pulled Rainbow’s muzzle against hers. Her eyes fluttered shut as she savored the kiss, and Rainbow felt Rarity’s tongue explore every inch of her mouth, running over her chipped or missing teeth one at a time. Rarity didn’t shudder or pull away in horror at the sensation, and she only ended the kiss after locking Rainbow’s muzzle to hers for nearly ten seconds. Licking her lips, she let the corners of her mouth poke upwards. “Rainbow, what’s on the outside doesn’t matter as much as what’s on the inside. I know I can seem superficial at times, shallow, even, but did you really think I was going to abandon you just because a nasty pirate mutilated your face?”

Rainbow let her eyes fall and tapped her hooves together. She suddenly felt very stupid and foalish. “I… err…”

Rarity giggled. “I’d suggest you refrain from finishing that thought.” Then, sighing, she put a hoof to her own face, feeling out her own scars. “Squall did worse to me than she did to you, at least physically. She shot my ear off and put a deep scar over my eye. I’m amazed she didn’t cut it out entirely. I feel like I belong in a spy thriller movie as the evil trillionaire set on world domination.” She allowed herself to giggle some more, and her face twisted into a faux scowl. “First, Equestria, then tomorrow, the world!” she shouted in a scratchy voice, which immediately broke into a fit of ladylike giggles.

A dumb smile plastered itself to Rainbow’s muzzle, and she laughed along with her marefriend. “I’m shaking right now,” she quipped. “That was scary!”

“I’m glad you think so. Maybe I should audition when we finally return to Equestria.” After a few moments, her giggles died away, but a little smile remained. “All told, Rainbow, I believe I received worse lasting injuries. I’ve been trying to adjust to life without an ear for the past hour or two now. It’s a lot harder than one would think.”

Rainbow grimaced and hung her head. “I know, and I’m sorry, Rares. I never wanted any of this to happen to you, and I swear, I’ll find some way to make it up to you.”

“Oh, Rainbow, darling, you don’t get it, do you?” Rarity put her hoof on Rainbow’s cheek, and Rainbow’s eyebrow rose in response. “None of this really matters. When we were back in Equestria, sure, I’d be having a panic attack right now. I’d be curled up on my fainting couch in my bathrobe, downing ice cream by the tub. I’d be too terrified to step outside and let anypony see my face, knowing that it’d be plastered all over the tabloids within hours.”

She shook her head. “But out here? None of that matters. We are fighting for our lives, Rainbow, our very existence. There are too many things that are infinitely more important to worry about than how we look. After being stranded on these islands for more than a month now, I’ve finally started to realize that. And so my first thoughts have since always been centered around our survival and nothing else.” Her hoof stroked the cut on Rainbow’s cheek with a gentle touch, eliciting the tiniest wince out of the pegasus. “It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, darling. I don’t care if Squall broke your nose or scarred your face or even ruined your perfect Wonderbolt smile. All I care about is that you’re alive, darling. And so long as you’re still alive, then I can still be with you. We can still be together.” Practically purring, she added, “That’s all that matters to me.”

That confession settled a deep worry in Rainbow’s gut, and she immediately reached out, drew Rarity in close for a hug, and began to kiss her. Rarity didn’t protest, and instead fought for more purchase to hold onto her marefriend. The two mares fell to the sand in a frantic burst of passion, but neither pony cared about that. Instead, they merely tried to press themselves together, to lock as much of their bodies against each other as they could, all the while celebrating their survival with their lips and their hooves.

It didn’t take long before they rolled off beneath the undergrowth, disappearing from sight entirely.

Comments

[Armyidiot]

That's some good lewd fluff. Lewff. Flewd. Whatever it is, I want more of it.

[zaponator]

derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/7/5/32640.png

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Considering how rich both are and being EOH bearers, and Dash being a Wonderbolt. I can see surgery fixing alot of their issues.

[cosmofur]

8694064
I agree especially since it's Canon that Zecora can regrow broken teeth with a potion.
Not so sure about Raritie's ear though, we've also seen ponies in cannon with scars and eye-patches. And for gyro I'm afraid cannon says ponies CAN become dependent on wheelchairs, so magical spine surgery may not work.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

8694239
They can make a cosmetic thing for Rarity's ear. May not work but it be there. Gyro may still recover.

[Neece]

8694258
They? Rarity herself will start a FABULOUS prosthesis line subsided by the crow to allow ponies to feel beautiful, no matter what happened to them.
Although she having a Bond villain aesthetic has a charm all on it's own.

[PonyDragon]

Hopefully they don't forget Gyro got it much worse than both of them combined...

It didn’t take long before they rolled off beneath the undergrowth, disappearing from sight entirely.

So they basically took a roll in the hay without any hay...
I rather expected they would went to sleep, considering what had happened the last days.

[Merula]

8694060
Damnit, you beat me to it!

[SIGAWESOME]

Pirate raiding party interrupting their...not-snuggling...in 3, 2, 1....