• Published 14th Aug 2017
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Surviving Sand Island - The 24th Pegasus



An airship wreck leaves Rainbow Dash and Rarity stranded on a deserted island. Together, they must find a way to survive until help comes—if it comes.

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Confessions

Rarity looked at her reflection in a cracked makeup mirror. While she would’ve appreciated a full-length mirror to assess her haircut with, none had been kind enough to wash up on the island. At least they even had this tiny mirror in the suitcase they’d found.

Sand-streaked purple locks ended just below Rarity’s shoulders. They were ragged and dirty, caked with salt and sand, but at least the ends had split neatly with a little hacking and hewing. But now Rarity’s head felt a little lighter. She must’ve sliced off a couple of pounds of hair and salt. The trimmings were lying in a basket at her hooves, ready for whatever Rarity would do with them next. She didn’t know exactly what that would be, but on an island without much in the way of thread, she wasn’t going to waste what she could get.

Again, doubt flickered across her face as she flounced the ends of her mane. Maybe she should’ve cut them a little shorter simply so she had longer trimmings to work with. It was too late now, though, and besides, Rarity wanted to preserve at least a little bit of her mane. Maybe she could compensate for it by cutting her tail down shorter.

“Too short?” she asked over her shoulder. “Well, I suppose I can’t do much about that one now. Too long, perhaps? What do you think, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash, who’d been hovering at the edges of Rarity’s vision while she worked, cleared her throat and stepped a little bit closer to get a better look at her new mane. “Uh… I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not really a mane stylist, Rares. I just know that it looks better without all the tangles and half the salt in it.”

“Some help you are,” Rarity grumbled. She carefully balanced the mirror on their calendar plank, noting the seventeen notches in it. “Perhaps I can style this in some way. It won’t be perfect, but it’s better than it all hanging loose.”

She took a few lengths of hair from the basket and wove them together into a cord. Then, bunching her hair up, she tied it back in a loose ponytail of limp curls, separating the bundle into different lengths to fall down from behind her ears at different intervals. After tossing her head around a few times to make sure it all stayed in place, she once more glanced at her mirror and smiled.

“There!” she exclaimed, making a few last adjustments with her magic. “It’s rough and messy, but I think it at least imparts some semblance of style and care to it. Wouldn’t you say so, Rainbow?”

Rainbow’s eyes traveled over Rarity’s mane. “I think it looks pretty awesome,” she said. Her tongue darted over her lips and she smiled. “Add a little bit of that beach sweat in there and I think you’ll look pretty hot.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Not beautiful? Pretty? Fashionable?”

“Uh… sure. Those too.”

She touched her mane a few more times and stood up. “I suppose if I’m dating a mare who’s favorite adjective in her limited thesaurus is ‘awesome’, then I suppose ‘hot’ will do,” she teased. She hesitated, seeing the look on Rainbow’s face, and stepped a little closer. “I… suppose we should clarify that bit there, shouldn’t we?”

Rainbow blinked. “Uh… what bit, exactly?”

“Are we dating?” Rarity asked her. “Or is this just fun to pass the time?” She swallowed hard when she saw Rainbow fidgeting. “Please don’t get me wrong, Rainbow. You’re attractive and a pleasure to be around, and your mere presence has saved my sanity just as much as it’s saved my life. I just… well, I’m not sure if you wanted to continue this when we get off of the island. Because there will come that day, sooner or later, and it won’t be just us two anymore.”

The pegasus across from her searched the sand for answers. “I… I like you, Rares,” she admitted. She shrugged her wing and started drawing circles in the sand with her hoof. “I always thought you were pretty and attractive, but we were never really the closest, right?”

Rarity hesitantly nodded. “Your love of sports and all things Wonderbolts never really meshed with my love of fashion and high society when we were younger.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fair,” Rainbow agreed. She looked up at Rarity and shrugged. “Just… listen.”

Rarity’s eyebrow rose. “Yes, darling?” she asked.

Rainbow’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Just because it’s only the two of us doesn’t mean it’s all made-up,” she said. “I feel like… well, I don’t really know what I feel like, because I’m not good at that crap. But I can just feel it, you know?” Feathers fidgeted at her sides. “What I do know is that I think you’re… pretty, and you’re nice, and you’re smart and resourceful and generous in ways I wish I could be. And I like that.” She swallowed again. “And… and I like you.

Rarity felt her breath catching in her throat. Rainbow seemed so small and vulnerable in that moment. Perhaps in a way, she was.

A blue wingtip danced over a blue muzzle as Rainbow idly scratched her nose. “And… I’d like to think that even if we get off this island… even if we go back to our lives… I can still have you. At least for a little while. Because I want to see if this grows into something more, just as much as you do.”

She took a deep breath and held her eyes steady to match Rarity’s. “You saved my life from the urchins like, ten days ago or something. You kissed me ten days ago. And I know I like to do everything fast and you probably don’t think I have patience for anything, but I’m willing to figure this whole thing out if you are.” A few seconds passed, and she grimaced and looked away. “Damn it, Rarity, I hate it when I talk about my feelings. Why’d you do that?”

Rarity smiled and nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Rainbow,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it honestly. But…” she hesitated, and when she saw Rainbow’s wary eyes turn towards her, she stroked the mare’s cheek. “I don’t think I could’ve said it better. And I think you’re right. We should take it one step at a time, but for now, I have no problems with calling you my marefriend.”

She planted a light kiss on Rainbow’s muzzle and wrapped her forelegs around her shoulders. “If at any time you’ve decided you’ve had enough or you simply don’t want to do it anymore, just tell me. I’ll understand. But if you want to keep going…” Salty white lips curved upwards in a particularly impish smile. “You’ll find no complaints from me.”

Rainbow seemed to smile easier. She drew Rarity closer into the hug and kissed her forehead. “Then I don’t think I’ll have problems calling you my marefriend either,” she said.

“Good.” She tilted her head back and planted another kiss on Rainbow’s muzzle. “Because that’s exactly how I want it to be.”

“Then I’ll try not to disappoint you.”

“I don’t believe you will.”

“I don’t either.”

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