Surviving Sand Island

by The 24th Pegasus

Food, Water, Shelter

Rainbow Dash and Rarity pushed on through the foliage on the island. Rarity expected to hit the other shore in five minutes, but it seemed the reality of the situation defied her expectations of a stereotypical deserted island. It was much larger than she thought it was going to be when she only saw a little bit of the coast and interior shortly after waking up.

The island was thick with palm trees, their fronds swaying in the gusts still tossed around from the tail of the storm. The trees themselves were heavy with immature coconuts of a variety of sizes, and Rainbow figured that when she could fly again or when Rarity’s horn had healed, they’d be able to knock the coconuts from the trees for food. But even just looking at the immature nuts made Rarity hungry, and the dry grasses poking out of the sand didn’t do much to sate her hunger. Still, the grasses would at least ensure that her and Rainbow didn’t go hungry, even if they weren’t that nutritious or didn’t taste that good.

Birds chirped and sung from the treetops all around them, and Rarity noticed that the further inland they went, the less sandy the ground became. Soon, they found themselves among actual green grasses with swaying seed pods, with a few brightly colored flowers scattered around them. Both ponies didn’t waste any time chowing down on the grasses and the flowers; the last real meal they’d eaten was more than a full day ago. When they’d finally eaten their fill, the two friends found themselves lying on their stomachs, listening to the sounds of nature all around them.

“Do you think ponies have ever set hoof on this island before?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t think so.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Come on, Rares, you know I don’t really know.”

“I’m just trying to make conversation, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “Otherwise I might just go mad during our stay here.”

“Heh, yeah, I feel ya.” Rainbow nibbled a little bit more at some grass between her hooves. “At least you have me for company.”

Rarity teasingly rolled her eyes. “Oh, joy. Just promise me, darling, that you won’t spend our entire stay here bragging about yourself?”

“No promises.”

“Right.”

A colorful bird landed on the ground maybe ten feet away from them, and both ponies fell silent. They watched it move its head about in jerky movements as it examined the newcomers, and after a second, it hopped a step closer. It chirped a few times, but the moment Rainbow moved a hoof, it let out a flurry of little squawks and flew back into the air. It perched on the bulging fruit of a palm tree and began yelling at them, hopping from coconut to coconut.

Rainbow Dash snickered as she watched it. “That bird certainly doesn’t act like it’s seen ponies before.”

“It’s a really pretty bird,” Rarity said. “If only I still had my art supplies with me. Its colors would inspire a great summer dress.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure we’ll see it a ton more.” Rainbow stood up and pointed with her good wing through the grasses. “We still gotta find water, but if there’s this much grass and flowers and stuff, it’s gotta be close by. At the very least, there’s water in the ground or something.”

Rarity stood up as well. “If it’s in the ground, I think we’re out of luck, darling,” she said. “We don’t exactly have the tools to build a well.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to hope there’s a pond or something. C’mon, let’s go.”

They set off again, paying attention to the wildlife around them. So far it just seemed like birds and insects, and after a few minutes, both ponies were grumbling and using their tails to try to swat at green flies landing on their flanks. The longer they walked, the bigger the cloud of flies following them became, and soon the two were trotting along just to leave the nuisances behind.

“I already want to go home,” Rarity complained. “Why won’t these things just buzz off?”

“We’re probably the biggest animals on the island,” Rainbow muttered. “They all want a taste. Why couldn’t—ow!—why couldn’t Fluttershy have been here too to just get them to leave?”

“My skin is going to be covered in all sorts of nasty bitemarks and—oh!” Rarity squealed as they crested a small hill of sand and dirt. Without warning, she broke off into a gallop, racing down the side, and after maybe thirty feet, she jumped and flung herself into a crystal blue lake surrounded by trees and short, sandy beaches. A second later she emerged from the water, rivulets running down her mane and split horn, and she began treading in place. “Fresh water!” she exclaimed, dipping her muzzle under the surface and taking a few gulps. “And the flies can’t get me here! This is wonderful!”

Rainbow jumped in after her and shook the water out of her mane. She took one drink just to slake her thirst, but other than that, she tried to keep her mouth away from the water. “Don’t drink too much, Rares. We really should boil it before drinking it. There’s probably parasites and all that nasty stuff in the water.”

Rarity grimaced and looked at the water again. “Eugh… well, at least it’s fresh! We won’t die of thirst, at least!”

“Hopefully.” Rainbow ducked her head under the water again and began running a hoof through her mane. “It feels great on my skin though.”

“I bet you’re wishing we were at the spa right now, aren’t you, darling?”

Rainbow sighed. “If it meant that we weren’t stranded here…”

Rarity’s eyes fell. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. She lowered her head into the water, careful to keep the split end of her horn above the surface. When she emerged again, she started looking around them. “So, food and water are taken care of. What about shelter? Where should we go?”

“Not too far from here, but somewhere near the shore,” Rainbow said. “We want to keep our food and water close by, but we also need to be close to the beach so we can signal any airships that come close.”

Rarity looked around for a few seconds. “How about there?” she asked, pointing to a gap in the trees. “I can even see the ocean from here. Maybe there’s something good we can set up there?”

Rainbow followed Rarity’s eyes and nodded. “It’s worth a shot. C’mon, let’s take a look before those damn flies come back.”

They both splashed their way out of the water and immediately broke into a gallop when they heard the dreaded buzzing of the flies around their ears. Pretty soon, they found themselves between two lines of trees in a little sandy hollow almost shaped like an oval with its long axis parallel to the beach. From here, the rumbling of the waves on the sand was muted but still present all the same, and the trees were thin enough to let an ocean breeze through to keep the flies at bay.

“This is perfect,” Rainbow said, walking to one of the ends of the ellipse. “We can get a little hut built here with branches and palm fronds, and we’re close to food, water, and the shore. I don’t think we could pick a better place.”

“I’m sure in a few days we’ll make this a cozy home,” Rarity agreed. She trotted up to the seaward tree line and watched the surf come in. “If we just pretend that we’re on a beach vacation then it won’t be so bad, right?”

“Heh, I guess you’re right,” Rainbow said, walking up next to her. After a few minutes of watching the peaceful rolling waves in front of them, she nudged Rarity’s shoulder. “Okay, let’s put the vacation on hold for a bit. We gotta start on this shelter before nightfall. I can taste more rain coming, and I don’t want to get soaked to the bone again.”

Rarity sighed and followed Rainbow back toward the interior of the island. “Can’t let me have just an hour of peace, can you…”

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[RoboRed]

flies are bad m'kay

[O24u]

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[Maksvel]

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