Surviving Sand Island

by The 24th Pegasus

Because It Almost Certainly Does

Five minutes came and went far too quickly for Rarity. The longer she stayed seated, perched on that rocky ledge, the less she wanted to move. It was all too tempting to simply curl up and take a nap, especially given all she’d struggled through that night, and especially since it was likely approaching the sunrise. But she knew that if she stopped and took a nap here, she’d never wake up from it.

It was ultimately that terrifying prospect that sent Rarity climbing back to her hooves when she found herself nodding off. Her entire left hind leg from hoof to flank was covered in sticky red blood from the still bleeding wound in her side, and Rarity’s head was swimming. She didn’t have much time left to make it back to her friends before it was too late. She needed to move now, and that’s what she did.

Limping over to the seam in the stone, Rarity rose up onto her hind legs and shimmied into the gap. Then, placing her back against one wall and her hooves against the other, she grunted and began to pull herself up the crack. By alternating which hooves she used to pull herself up the rocks and which to carry her weight, she made slow and agonizing progress, but it was progress nonetheless.

She had to stop about halfway up to catch her breath and rest her forelegs, using one hindleg and her back to carry her weight while she was wedged into place. It was then that she realized she could hear the steady drip, drip, dripping of blood trickling down her injured leg, distorted all the more by her missing ear. Every drip was another bit of her life flowing away, another milliliter of blood closer to empty. It drove her mad, and she hurriedly resumed her climb, probably before she should have done so, not waiting for her limbs to be fully rested to continue.

And she almost paid the price for it. After shimmying up a little further, her hind hoof slipped on the stone, and she immediately jammed her other leg into the rock walls and reached out with her hooves for something to hold onto. She ended up in an awkwardly contorted position with a leg dangling over nothing when she came to a stop, her lower lip brought to the verge of bleeding as she chomped down on it. But she had stabilized herself, and she wasn’t falling any more, so she carefully maneuvered her legs and reset herself for the remainder of the climb.

A climb that would surely kill her at this rate…

But Rarity was nothing if not stubborn and determined to see her goals through. She continued onwards, her latest brush with death sharpening her senses for a few minutes, just long enough to see the climb through. Cautiously placing her hooves so she wouldn’t repeat her slip, she managed to drag herself up the last bit of the climb, ultimately flopping onto the ledge just above. Panting and panting, she took a few moments to recover her breath before dragging herself up the rest of the way. Her limbs were stiff and her muscles ached from the exertion, but she’d done it. Somehow, she’d done it. She didn’t even think it was possible, but here she was.

But she knew that didn’t mean much if she didn’t make it any farther. The light shining from her horn was fizzling and dimming, bleeding away along with her life and energy. She decided to momentarily give it a rest to save energy, and she let out a breath of air when she stopped letting mana trickle into her horn. But she blinked in surprise when she realized she could still faintly see the topography of the cave around her.

It took her several seconds for her sluggish mind to realize that if she could see inside the cave, then there was light reflecting off the stone from somewhere. And with her horn no longer casting, the only light that could possibly be illuminating the caves had to be from the moon. Once more, she dragged herself onto protesting legs and started to walk, fumbling about in the dark but lured onwards by the promise of moonlight and an escape from the tunnels.

The cave made a twist to the left, but it gradually opened up, bit by bit, into a larger cavern, the light on the walls brightening the farther Rarity progressed. When she finally rounded a corner and was greeted with the sight of the moon knifing through the leafy tops of the palm trees in the open, Rarity almost cried out with joy. Somehow, the meandering caves had taken her to the far end of the island with the mountain, and she found herself peering out of an opening in the stone from about a third of the way up and looking out over the interior of the shattered archipelago. The moon practically touched the oceans swallowing the horizon, and the sky was very faintly beginning to brighten. Soon, it would be morning, and the horrible night would finally be put to an end.

But the moon and her escape wasn’t the only thing she happened to see. Nestled into a crook of rocks with its face to the entrance of the cave, the remains of a skeleton sat, peacefully slouched over. Rarity was too tired by this point to even scream when she saw it, but when she looked at how old it was and how it hadn’t moved for a long time, she started to calm down. Though this night had taught her to expect anything, the skeleton standing up and attacking her didn’t seem likely right now. She hoped.

The remains weren’t there alone, however. Under a bony hoof, Rarity saw a green gem like an emerald resting on the stone. She carefully plucked it out with her magic and held it into the air. It had been meticulously cut and polished, so much so that it even retained its luster after all these years. If she rubbed it on her coat, she could wipe away what dust had accumulated on it and see almost perfectly through it. It was beautiful, and neither was it a small gem. It was slightly larger than her hoof, and even in gem-rich Equestria, a stone like this would have significant value. But what it was or why it was so important that this pony had died while holding it, Rarity didn’t know.

She winced as her hooves started to go numb and her stance began to sway. She was losing too much blood to linger up here. Maybe she could revisit this cave opening later if she wanted, but for the time being, she needed to bandage her wound, rest, and recover. But with the survivor camp all the way on the other side of the island, she doubted she’d be able to make it back there before she collapsed from blood loss and exhaustion.

But she was close to their original landing site some days ago. It would be a much shorter walk down the mountain and to their supplies and raft than to try to cross the archipelago. Besides, there was food and water there, and she was in desperate need of both, along with some bandages and stitches. The latter would be difficult without Doctor Gauze’s needle and thread, but Rarity knew she could find a way to improvise. Worst case scenario, she could try to fashion a needle out of some tree bark. She just needed something to carry a thread through her flesh.

Knowing that her salvation lied in moving to her supplies and not wasting time thinking and not moving, Rarity started to hike down the mountain, angling toward the beach.

Comments

[alamais]

Chekov's Gem

[zaponator]

Quest item get!
Rarity's gonna slide back into the fight right when all seems lost and whip out the Emerald of Alicorn-Killing just in time to save the day!

...either that or it was just some poor farmer pony who had a shiny rock and fell off a mountain.

[Willmar]

8789560
Inb4 she knocks Soft Step out cold by throwing it at her.

[Merula]

Chekov is probably cackling in glee right now

[SIGAWESOME]

Worst case scenario, she could try to fashion a needle out of some tree bark. She just needed something to carry a thread through her flesh.

Not too sure if tree bark would work, but soldier ants can be used as emergency sutures in a pinch

[Mocha Star]

Daaang, go Rares...

[Aurora Dimmet]

8789612

Its great magical powers are meant to be activated in a twelve night long ritual, such as when it was first used to kill the deranged moon god- and she just threw it. ... And it worked.

[Eroraf86]

Well, now it’s gonna be at least a few days before anypony finds out she made it. Hope Rainbow doesn’t beat herself up too much in the meantime. Or the pirates don’t turn against the survivors.

[FridayPie]

8789547
Wait, is that like Chekhov's rifle?

It better not to be Bondarchuk's.