Surviving Sand Island

by The 24th Pegasus

What Now?

Rainbow woke up as a ball of feathers and fluff, happy and warm. The sun shining down on her from above made her feel wonderful, and she was so contented that she didn’t want to move. Sometimes, life could be a joy out on a deserted island—especially when she had the warm body of the pony she loved curled up next to her.

The pegasus groggily shifted, not wanting to open her eyes for fear that the bright sun would chase away her rested feeling. She rubbed her cheek against a warm coat and sighed. Her wing tickled Rarity’s side, and when she flinched, Rainbow snickered to herself and cracked an eye open.

A gray face with blue eyes and white mane gave her a confused look. “Rainbow?”

Rainbow’s eyes snapped open and she jumped, her other wing sending sand scattering as it swiftly extended. Gyro held up a foreleg to shield herself from the pegasus’ startled reaction, and she angled her body away, shying back from Rainbow’s limbs. When Rainbow had finally recovered and withdrawn a few paces, Gyro raised an eyebrow. “You alright, Rainbow? I’d come over there myself and check on you, but I still can’t move my legs yet.”

The weight of the world suddenly crashed back down on Rainbow. Her warm and rested body turned into an avalanche of aches and bruises, her broken teeth scratched at her gums, and the hollow dread that had settled into her gut after the previous night’s failed expedition crawled its way back inside. She remembered all the ponies they’d lost, all the ones that had died, and most painfully, how Rarity wasn’t with them anymore. She looked around the camp, hoping against hope that maybe, maybe, the seamstress had returned while she slept, but there was no white unicorn in sight. In fact, there was hardly anypony in sight. It looked like it was just her and Gyro, as best as she could tell.

“Rarity didn’t…” her voice trailed off, losing the will to finish the question. She already knew the answer even before Gyro sadly shook her head.

“Nopony’s wandered back from the jungle yet,” Gyro said. “Me and Gauze have been keeping watch all morning, but there’s been nothing. Nothing at all.”

Rainbow’s heart fell, and with it, her body. She practically collapsed back into the sand, awkwardly coming to a rest on splayed limbs. “She’s… she’s probably fine, then,” she said, more to herself than to Gyro. But she didn’t want to dwell on that for too long; it’d just bring her more worry and misery than she had the capacity to deal with. Quickly seeking to change the subject, she took note of the lack of activity around the camp. “Where is everypony? Is it just us?”

“Nah. Doctor Gauze is out somewhere taking a shit. One of those pirates—Jolly Roger, I think? The subordinate of the two.” When Rainbow nodded, Gyro shrugged and continued. “Yeah, anyway, he and Stargazer went off to check on the tomb, make sure it was still closed and stuff. Everypony else is mostly lying low and sleeping off the madness of last night.” Gyro yawned and shook her head. “Which doesn’t sound like a bad idea, honestly.”

Rainbow blinked and checked the sun. “It’s like, nearly noon. Didn’t you sleep?”

Gyro shrugged. “You try sleeping when ponies were performing surgery on your back and then don’t even have painkillers to give you afterward.”

“Point taken, I guess.” Rearranging her legs into a more comfortable sitting position, Rainbow tried to focus on the feeling of warm sand under her flanks. With the sun shining overhead and blue skies stretching from horizon to horizon, it seemed like it was almost a perfect day over the islands. Colorful birds chirped and filled the lush trees with noise and life, and there was even a gentle wind drifting through the jungle to keep the worst of the tropical humidity at bay. Add to that the distant crashing of waves on the beaches, and it was the makings for a perfect day.

It was a lie.

Rainbow knew what horrors were buried deep beneath this island. She knew that there were mummies and zombies and a dark alicorn simply waiting to break free. The only thing between the survivors and the dead was a stone door that Rainbow didn’t know whether it would open or not come nightfall. And there was no way of knowing for sure whether or not it would open. If the door only opened to the full moon or any moonlight, or if the clouds would return that evening or not, Rainbow didn’t know. But it wasn’t exactly something she wanted to sit around on and find out later.

Gyro seemed to see the gears turning in Rainbow’s mind, so she raised an eyebrow at her. “What’re you thinking about?” she asked.

“Our next move,” Rainbow said. “We can’t just sit around here all day and do nothing. We’ve gotta prepare for whatever happens tonight. Because the way I see it, if the tomb doors open again tonight, and all those mummies and that dark alicorn fly out, then we’re screwed. There’s nothing we can do except run and hide—and these islands aren’t big enough for us to hide forever.”

Gyro nodded her head in agreement, and she began to purse her lips as she also puzzled over their next move. “What if we just ran?” she asked. “Ran as far away from here as we could?”

Rainbow blinked. “I, uh, don’t think you’re going to get very far with your legs like this,” Rainbow said. She nodded back towards Gauze’s hut, where two ponies lied inside, still unconscious. “Neither can Coals or Fresh Linens.”

“That… wasn’t what I meant.” Gyro shook her head. “Just because all us earth ponies got is our four hooves, doesn’t mean we can only think about running with them.”

“Oh.” Clearing her throat, Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “So, like, what did you mean then?”

“I meant the raft,” Gyro said. “We can take that and go back to our own island. We can even get the others out of here, too.”

“But we don’t even have the statuette thingy from here,” Rainbow said. “We can’t leave without it, or we’ll never go home.”

“That figurine is probably way below ground in the caves with the mummies and the alicorn,” Gyro reminded her. “I don’t think we’re ever going to get it. So we should probably cut our losses and get out of here before we all die.”

Rainbow chewed on her lip, fighting with herself. On the one hoof, Gyro was right. If they didn’t have the statuette, and if it was still deep inside the tomb, then they were never going to get it. They should just cut their losses now and not risk any more lives by abandoning these islands as fast as they could. But on the other hoof, she hated losing, hated giving up, and leaving these islands empty-hooved would be exactly that. Plus, running didn’t guarantee their safety, it only delayed the inevitable at best. Without those figurines, they weren’t getting home, and if the alicorn ever got out of that tomb… then they were dead anyway. It was a lose-lose situation, with one option short, quick, and painful, and the other a drawn out, slow death.

“I… need to fly,” Rainbow said, dodging out of making a decision or offering a suggestion at the moment. As much as she liked to play the role of leader, she wouldn’t make a decision like that without consulting everypony else first, Ratchet especially. What she needed right now was a quick flight around the island to clear her head. She always thought better when she flew, and now, she needed it the most.

Right after a quick break for a drink and some food, first.

Comments

[Sir Budginton]

So they’re going to go to the raft and will see rartiy’s Dead body.

Or, they’ll go to the raft and see a pool of dried blood where rarity was.

[zaponator]

If they don't find Rarity, or a blood trail leading to her, at the beach, then there's a chance the gang will end up leaving her behind on the island.
As if that poor gal hasn't been beaten up enough already, things might be getting much worse before they get better. The grizzled veteran Rarity is real!

[Willmar]

8797822
"The dead shall not suffer the living to pass."

"You will suffer ME, darling."

[Merula]

And leave Rarity behind? Yeah, I don't believe for a second the Element of Loyalty is gonna pull that shit

[dotLuna]

This story is insane! Can't wait for more.