Surviving Sand Island

by The 24th Pegasus

Hide and Go Seek

Rarity tried to slow her beating heart. She’d wedged herself into a shadowy corner and wrapped her tail around her to keep it out of sight. The minotaur procession right outside had woken her from her sleep, and she’d immediately scurried away to someplace safe and hidden before they could find her. For once, she thanked Celestia that she usually slept light; if she’d been a heavy sleeper like Rainbow, she wouldn’t have heard the minotaurs in time to escape.

And now she could hear them shouting and chanting from somewhere further up the mountain and she had no idea where Rainbow was. Knowing her, Rainbow probably went off to investigate what was beyond the stairs after she’d fallen asleep. Rarity didn’t know how long ago Rainbow left, but it couldn’t have been that long. Hopefully the pegasus had either slipped away before the minotaurs arrived or was hiding somewhere safe. Rarity didn’t know what she’d do if Rainbow was caught, but at least she hadn’t heard any shouting or struggling. Her marefriend’s cracking voice was nowhere to be heard.

But what were the minotaurs doing up there? Rarity needed to find out. There had to be a reason so many of them had made the hike up to the top of the mountain from their village down by the shore. It must’ve been some kind of festival or ritual or something. After checking that the streets were empty of any stragglers, Rarity slipped out of her hiding place and approached the stairs, sticking to the shadows.

She immediately had second thoughts when she stepped out into the direct moonlight. Her pearly coat practically glowed like a second moon, and she realized that her shorter mane and tail exposed more of her body than she was used to. Any minotaur who happened to glance in her direction would see her. Sure, she’d look something like a ghost in the night, but she’d still look like a pony ghost. One hoof resting on the bottom stair, Rarity looked up the steps and swallowed hard. Did she turn back now? What would Rainbow do?

That was a pretty straightforward answer. Rainbow would’ve brazenly risked life and limb to push onwards. Rarity felt encouraged to do the same, especially when she considered that Rainbow could still be trapped up there. If there was anything she could do to help her friend avoid the minotaurs, then she needed to do it. After all, she had her magic, and telekinesis was a very flexible cantrip.

Her legs cried out in protest as she climbed the stairs, and her adrenaline started to wear off little by little. A wave of tiredness struck her, and she had to pause to stifle a yawn. She didn’t think she’d slept for even an hour before the minotaurs woke her. At this point, she felt like she was running on fumes. It certainly took extra effort to stay focused on the task at hoof.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she hesitated and peered over the edge. A huge mass of minotaurs crowded around a large stone arch, waving their arms and cheering. She couldn’t see what they were focused on, but she could hear a loud, angry voice speaking in a language she didn’t understand coming from the center of their circle. Was that their leader? She needed a better vantage point.

After a few deep breaths to calm herself, Rarity darted across the terrace to a crumbling statue when the minotaurs began to cheer. Hopefully their noise would hide the sounds of her shoes on the stone. If only her hooves weren’t shod like Rainbow’s; the pegasus didn’t have to worry about sand and moisture getting trapped underneath steel shoes or making a ton of noise every time she crossed a hard surface. But no minotaurs turned their heads around when she moved. And as soon as she reached her cover, Rarity huddled down behind it and peered through a gap in the rocks.

She saw musclebound gray arms rise into the air at that moment, holding aloft a metal star about two hooves wide. The crowd cheered at that moment, and then the star disappeared again. Moments later, the mountain shook as enormous stones slid and unlocked, and soon Rarity saw a pair of massive stone doors begin to open inwards. A torch was passed to the front, and after a minotaur placed it in a bowl just inside the door, sconces lined along a lengthy hallway flickered to life. From the angle she was at, Rarity couldn’t see all the way down the hall, but she knew that it went onwards for some time.

As one, the minotaurs began to funnel through the open doors, and Rarity started to back away from her hiding spot. Their noise would mask her hoofsteps, and she figured this would be the best time to leave. She hadn’t seen Rainbow up on the terrace; perhaps she’d managed to slip away. If that was the case, then Rainbow might be looking for her. The last thing she needed was Rainbow freaking out and wondering what happened to her when she didn’t find Rarity inside the building.

Leaving the terrace behind, Rarity galloped down the stairs as quickly as she could without falling on her face. She yawned again; she really needed to sleep, but now wasn’t the time. She did nearly topple over when she hit the bottom of the stairs and forgot that she didn’t have to descend anymore, but she righted herself and darted back to the building they’d taken shelter in. Once inside, she started putting their supplies back together and tearing apart the bedding. Just like with their shelter back home, the minotaurs mustn’t see any evidence that they’d been nearby recently. Their very lives depended on it.

A pebble clattered across the stones outside. Rarity froze, ears pointed in that direction, head cocked to try and pick up any more noise. When nothing more happened, she swallowed hard and plucked one of the spears from the corner with her magic. Keeping it pointed at the door, she cleared her throat. “…Rainbow?” she whispered.

She heard an audible sigh of relief from around the corner, and soon Rainbow trotted through the doorway. The pegasus jumped in surprise when the point of the spear Rarity held towards the door poked her chest, and Rarity quickly through it back in the pile. “Sorry, Rainbow,” Rarity apologized. “I just didn’t know if it was you or those minotaurs!” Her eyes drifted to the jug and basket Rainbow dropped on the ground. “What are those?”

“Food and water I stole from the minotaurs,” Rainbow said. “They nearly got me up there! I had to hide behind a statue right next to the big doors so they wouldn’t see me.”

“That’s a relief,” Rarity said. She quickly hugged Rainbow and pressed her neck against her marefriend’s. “I was worried when I heard the minotaurs and you weren’t here. I thought they might have caught you out exploring.”

“I was afraid that they’d find you while I wasn’t here.” Her shoulders sagged in relief. “I guess we’re more capable than we think.”

“Or lucky,” Rarity suggested. Her magic popped the cork off of the jug and she pressed it to her lips. Sure enough, sweet refreshing water washed over her tongue, and she greedily took several gulps before passing it off to Rainbow. “It’s water,” she confirmed. “Thank Celestia. I don’t know if I would’ve survived having to walk all the way down to that spring every day for a drink.”

Rainbow took the jug and quickly quenched her thirst. “We need to move deeper into the city,” she said once she corked the jug again. “At least for now. We’ll need to get into that temple later, hopefully when it’s not full of minotaurs. We just need to figure out how.”

Rarity nodded. “One of them had a big star. I think that opens the door. I saw it right before the doors started to open.”

“Yeah, their leader has it.” Rainbow picked up her share of the supplies. “We’ll have to get it off of him somehow. Not looking forward to that.”

“Me neither.” Rarity gathered the rest in her magic and peered out the front door. The streets of the ruined town were still, quiet, dead. “They’re still in the temple. Let’s move now before they find us.”

Rainbow nodded and followed Rarity out of the door and deeper into the city ruins. “Like the most dangerous game of hide and seek, I swear…”

Comments

[RoboRed]

yaaaay spoils

[Snow]

.... Is it spiteful or just cunning to want to stay and see if this is a regular thing? Because if they went back up the next night, I'd have gone down to the village and set the place on fire, as well as their canoes.

Or at least the canoes.

EDIT: Well glad to see that was addressed.

[zaponator]

This first quest is getting a little more complicated...