I tightened the knot holding up my new hammock. This one was made from crab chitin, coated in pig leather to give it a more comfortable seat. I probably wouldn't sleep in it, but it was about as comfy as a lawn chair. I paused as I thought that. When was the last time I saw an actual lawn chair? I paused, did they have those in Equestria? I thought I could kind of remember one on Twilight's balcony, I ignored that thought, beating it back down into my head as I hopped into my hammock. I pulled a block of wood out of my pouch and grabbed my knife from its sheath. Whistling a tune, I began slowly carving the block as I looked over the beach.
A full day off. It was honestly a foreign idea. I couldn't even remember the last time I had a day off. Even before I came here. My days off were hardly lazy affairs, spent cleaning, or socializing. I could still remember Joch's face when he laughed while sipping a drink, soda clearing his nose in an artistic spray. Ally's laugh ringing through the air as I yelled at him for messing up my favorite outfit. I smiled as I looked at the block of wood. I saw the shape I was carving as clearly as if I had already finished. I kept up my whistle, trying to remember happy moments not sullied by betrayal, and found a plethora.
I remembered my life before I was cursed in this wretched land. Poking fun at John for his missing arm as he chased me with a prosthetic, Ally cutting into a conversation with razor-sharp wit. A million memories came to mind, and tears didn't follow. I giggled at a memory, and the knife slipped in my grip. I cursed as the blade grazed against my thumb. A thin line of red was etched in my skin, blood seeping from the wound. I waved it through the air as I reached into my bag. I pulled out a thin roll of cloth. A small trio of butterfly's printed on the ribbon holding it closed. Unrolling it without a thought, I pulled out a thin bandage and wrapped the wound. As soon as I was done I picked up my knife from where it fell onto the ground beside my hammock. I looked at the knife and the half-finished carving. You could see the soda can if you looked at it from a certain angle. I smiled softly before sheathing the knife and setting the wood down beside me.
I kept whistling, before pausing. I remembered this song. I frowned slightly. "Yep, the road goes ever on and on indeed." My good mood took a hit at that, and I bunkered down into my hammock. I closed my eyes, trying to get back in my happy mind space. After closing my eyes I found myself wrong. My hammock was definitely comfy enough for a nap. So I let my inner retiree come forth and listened to the sounds of the waves. I closed my eyes, blanking my thoughts as I tried to fall asleep.
I don't know when I fell asleep, but I know when I woke up. I felt a hoof tap me on the shoulder. My body reacted on auto-pilot. I pulled the hoof towards me, rolling to the side of the hammock which spilled me over the side, causing my newest passenger to flip over with me. I moved my arm in as I fell, forcing the passenger under me as my opposite hand drew my knife from its sheath. As I landed an I saw a flash of blue, and memories invaded my mind. Blue fur stained red, struggled gasps, and tears streaming down two faces. In a flash, the moment passed, but it managed to contain me, and instead of stabbing down, my knife came to rest in a patch of blue fur, the slightest hint of red seeping through as I applied pressure.
Underneath me was a sky blue pony, her wings spread wide. My knife was resting cleanly on her neck, over the pony equivalent of the carotid artery, but tangled in a tuft of her rainbow-colored mane. I scoffed as I slowly rose. "I told Twilight not to send guests, didn't I?"
I wiped the small amount of blood off my knife, sheathing it again as I checked the beach. The area was mostly clear, with Dog staring in between me and Rainbow Dash with a curious expression. I pointed to him. "Don't I keep you around for a reason? Why didn't you bark?"
He quirked his head at me, before rolling over. I rolled my eyes. "Fluttershy drops by twice and you're already spoiled. Next time she comes over I'm gonna tell her to stop petting you, you get complacent."
I pointedly ignored the coughs coming from behind me as I moved towards my hut, dog falling in step behind me as I moved the curtain and pulled a small bottle from my chest. I had been saving it for a special occasion, but the way today was going I would need it. I pulled the cork with my teeth, spitting it into the sand before taking a solid slug. The heat of alcohol flooded my mouth. I never drank before I was exiled, but over time I had grown an appreciation for alcohol in both a medicinal and leisurely method. Plus, this was apparently some choice minotaur rum.
I finished my much larger than average gulp before finally deciding to deal with the annoyance that had crashed into my metaphorical door. "What do you want Rainbow Dash?"
There was a pause as the pony in question rubbed her throat, the small cut already ceasing the thin strip of blood that had marred her fur. I took the time to reach into the small bag that had been resting beside the hammock, pulling out a few strips of pork jerky. After throwing one to dog I began chewing. Only a few seconds after that Rainbow finally seemed to figure out what was going on. "WHAT THE BUCK!?"
I didn't flinch, instead moving my gaze to her eyes with the practiced disinterest gained after years of looking at various things in their eyes before I slipped a blade between their ribs. "You woke up someone who's fought to survive for a decade. If you didn't expect their first reaction to be violent you're stupider than I thought."
I shrugged and shook my head. While relaxing all day was an interesting experience, it was over now. I took another healthy slug of my rum, enjoying the slight aftertaste of coconut. Rainbow appeared to have several comments armed and ready but lost her momentum as soon as her mouth opened. "Yeah, I guess I'm pretty stupid, huh?"
I shrugged. "You seemed smart enough last time we talked. But you could have taken stupid pills for the last decade, so who knows?"
Rainbow looked at me with an odd expression as I knelt beside a small snare trap, checking over the knots before readjusting the jagged metal spike tied to it. I doubted it would kill anything that was unfortunate enough to get caught in it, but one could always hope. I spied a loose knot and began untying it to replace it with a much tighter model. Rainbow spoke up from behind me. "So, uh, what are you doing?"
I grumbled slightly, finishing my knot and tapping the metal barb. Content with the small measure of blood that dripped from my finger at the simple prod I nodded. "Checking traps. I think the stupid crabs have learned this is my spot, but if they wander to close again I don't want them to make it to my front door."
Rainbow looked at the sand that I began shoveling over the snare, careful to leave the small trigger twig mostly clear so it could release easily. Rainbow began trotting towards it, and I held out my hand. "Don't go near it, there's a chance just getting caught in that one will kill you."
Rainbow instantly backed away. "Oh, I'll just..." She took a few steps back, and I snorted. Without another word I moved to my left, walking to the next trap. I stopped at a plank of wood with sand only partly covering it. With a grunt, I lifted it up. I ran my finger above it, checking that the cracks in the wood hadn't broken too much. I glanced at the pit the wood covered, noting the small wooden stakes at the bottom were still all there. I few were broken, but not enough to justify crawling down there and replacing them. Rainbow peeked her head over the lip of the pit. "Ew, brutal."
I smiled slightly at that. "Yep, had to crawl down there a while ago and pull a rabbit out of there." I smiled wider as Rainbow shuffled uncomfortably. Welcome to my life little traitor. "I'll admit, it made a good stew though."
Rainbow seemed to shrink back, and I shook my head. I couldn't work my way to any of the farther out traps without Rainbow following, and I really doubted she would actually avoid all the anti-flyer toys I had hidden in the trees. "Look, Dash. If you have something to say then say it. You interrupted my first day off in a decade, and I don't want to deal with you for a second longer than is necessary."
Rainbow flinched back at that, and I felt a surge of bitter joy at the fact. Despite not wishing her physical harm, I still really wanted her to know just how much disdain I had for her. She slinked down into a little ball. "What happened to us? We used to be thick as theives."
I restrained my base urge to lash out, managing to keep myself from slapping the foolish little pony across her crown. "What happened? You left me for dead in the middle of Hell!" I took a step towards her. "I thought if any of my friends would come and help, it would be the FUCKING ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!" I didn't bother to step forward, instead taking another swig of rum. "But no, I was left on my own to fight, bleed, and kill without a single hoof of help for five fucking years, but maybe that's for the best." I sat down heavily, sand flying in the air from my impact. "I'm sure Twilight told you how poor Blue ended up."
Rainbow looked like shit as I took an even larger gulp of alcohol, downing the last of my bottle and tossing the glass aside. She had tears beading at the corners of her eyes. "I-i didn't know what it was like out here." She ran up to my side, sliding to a stop as I readied myself for whatever came next. She simply stared up at me. "If I had known it was like this out here I woulda been here in ten seconds flat! You woulda seen me coming from a mile away!"
I looked up towards her, remembering some of the time I spent with her. Better days. Her dousing me in rainwater after a Scootaloo inspired waterslide ended in a mud bath. Every time some little annoyance popped up Dash was there, offering a hoof up and a solution. I could draw parallels easily. John, the crippled idiot. Always offering help. He gave me the shirt off his back once, in the middle of winter to boot. I remember looking over his scarred body as I lost consciousness, and him whispering something as blaring lights seemed to meld into the soft black of sleep. It wasn't a good memory, but it seemed fitting. I spit on the ground. "For what it's worth Rainbow, I honestly believe you."
She perked up for a moment, trotting up to my side. She looked over the beach as I simply enjoyed the silence. After a moment she let out a snort. "Hey, do you want to know how I found you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Second star to the right then straight on 'til morning?" She quirked her head as I shook my head. "Lemme guess, Flutters told you?"
She shook her head. "Nah, Fluttershy said you didn't want anypony visiting. She said she was going to have to get a waterproof bag for your dog's stuff though, so I found a map and started checking islands!"
I raised an eyebrow. "You went to an area with no laws, and just flew over random islands to find me?" I smacked the back of her head, sending her sprawling into the sand. "You're an idiot."
She got up slowly, rubbing the back of her head. "Hey, I had to apologize or something, couldn't leave you out here all alone." There was a pause as she looked over my small shack. "Not again, never again."
I rubbed where I smacked her just seconds ago. "Yeah, I could guess. But you could have died, there are some folk out here that can nail a pegasus with a bow from fifty meters unless you already know where you're going to this place is a deathtrap."
Rainbow scoffed. "C'mon Jack, I'm the fastest thing on two wings! There isn't an arrow in Equestria that could catch me."
I let out a sad smile, remembering too many arrow wounds to actually laugh. "Yeah, but it was still way too risky. On your way back make sure to do it in one shot, avoid islands and all that."
Rainbow shook her head. "No way, I ain't leaving until you say you'll come back." She gestured around my island. "Don't get me wrong, your place here is way cool, but it's nowhere near a place to live. It'd have to be way more awesome to actually stick around."
For a moment I thought of agreeing. Being able to relax under the sun without care, not having to hunt for every meal. It sounded like paradise. But then I remembered that it was lost. I was the Jack of this twisted version of Lord of the Flies, and I had never heard that Jack went on to lead a happy life, and he was lost for a far shorter time. If one compared us, I would look like a demon. I shook my head. "No, I won't go back to a place where I might hurt somebody." I looked to Rainbow Dash, noticing the thin red line that still marred her beautiful coat. "I already hurt you today, and the only reason you aren't bleeding out on the sand is because you're lucky enough to have blue fur. What happens the first time Pinkie decides I need a surprise party?"
Rainbow raised a hoof to respond, but couldn't seem to find the words. Her eyes narrowed, and with she fell to her barrel. "Then I'm staying right here! I'm not leaving you hanging, not if you had to do any of the things Twilight said!"
I smiled and ruffled her mane under my hand. "You can't stay here Rainbow. It's not meant for ponies who could be described as anything less than monstrous, and despite how mad I may have been," I paused, searching myself for the righteous spark of anger that had been smoldering for years, only to find it missing. I found I wasn't mad at her anymore and wasn't sure how to respond to it. I kept going, burying that revelation for later. "I really don't want you to change because of this place. So just head on home, you can maybe visit sometimes with Flutters, alright?" She looked ready to argue, so I added another tidbit in. "Plus Tank would miss you, and he likes his home."
She looked down, chewing her lip. The gentle sounds of the beach began to envelop my entire world, drowning out thoughts and worries. Rainbow let out a sigh. "Fine. But if I hear from Fluttershy you got hurt then you need to head back, okay?"
I nodded. "Fine, if I get hurt as bad as last time I'll let you girls drag me back to Equestria. Deal?" I stuck out my fist, which Rainbow tapped a hoof against. I pulled my arm back. "But seriously, get home. Even I don't wander this island at night, and I'd shudder to imagine what predators circle the skies once Luna gets off her ass and does her job." I couldn't hide the contempt in my voice at her name.
Rainbow winced, looking down at my obvious disdain for the least of the princesses, but nodded. "K, just... be safe. Alright, big guy?"
I nodded. "Always." With that, I turned back to my hammock. "I'm going back to sleep Rainbow, get on home." I waved a hand behind me, not listening as my mind raced. I wasn't mad at Rainbow Dash anymore. I thought I'd carry that rage until the day I died, and yet I was actually hoping for her to make it home safe, and maybe that she'd visit. I plopped back into my hammock, letting it swing softly under my weight. "Maybe there is some hope for me yet, eh Tia?" I sighed, looking up to that beautiful sun and leaning my head back. Sleep came quickly, and no nightmares touched me for my nap.
Author's Note
I know it's been a while, and I only have one thing to say. 