The Bigger Pony

Chapters

Chapter the First: Afloat
Chapter the Second: Stability
Chapter the Third: Civilization
Chapter the Fourth: Construction
Chapter the Fifth: The First Night
Chapter the Sixth: Good Morning
Chapter the Seventh: Finding Comfort
Chapter the Eighth: A Strong Foundation
Chapter the Ninth: Splitting Hairs (and Logs)
Chapter the Tenth: The Ties that Bind
Chapter the Eleventh: New Arrival

Chapter the First: Afloat

Rainbow swam as hard as she could, propelling herself toward the surface. She had to breach. She was running out of breath, and she refused to drown here. Not if she could avoid it. She ripped through the surface, and flew into the air, taking a deep breath as she soared.

The ship was in two pieces, the many waving tentacles of the kraken splashing wildly. There was no way she was making it home the way she'd come. She'd have to hop one of the lifeboats when they were all free. She needed to buy some time. She swooped down and grabbed some debris, chucking it at the giant creature that had caused all of this ruckus. "Hey, ugly!" she called, trying to draw its attention. "Come this way, over here! Bet ya can't catch me!"

The kraken turned its attention to Rainbow, giving the sailors more time to launch the lifeboats and row off. The captain had doubled back, having his rower circle the beast while he helped Rainbow to distract it, lobbing whatever flotsam he could grab and shouting for its attention.

It was the first mate who now led the crew, drawing in the lifeboats by waving flares over his head as he was rowed away. To his credit, most of the lifeboats were following him, as that was the direction that would take them away from the kraken. It was a smart move.

Rarity was one of the last ponies remaining on the ship, making sure that everypony made it to the lifeboats. She had just finished as the forecastle dipped into the black waters below. With a bit of magic, she fired red and green sparks into the air and leaped onto the last boat, rowing after the rest of the escapees.

That was everypony. The captain called out to Rainbow to let her know that the crew was cleared and retreating before he began to retreat himself.

"I'll keep it busy for a minute more!" called Rainbow after him, dodging a tentacle. "Then I'll fly out of his reach and follow after you!"

As the captain rowed off as quick as he could, trying to reach the front of the lifeboats, Rainbow kept pelting the kraken with little chunks of wooden debris, which kept flying up with every splash. It was almost over. She just had to keep going unti--

"AAAAAHHH!!!" Suddenly, Rarity began flying through the air, her lifeboat hit by one of the kraken's tentacles.

"Rarity!" called Rainbow, dashing toward her, intending to catch her out of the sky. It was going to be close, as Rarity was already at her apex when Rainbow started after her, and she had to dodge the frenzy of tentacles whipping at her.

All at once, the three of them collided. Rarity, unable to control her spin in the air, landed headfirst on Rainbow's back, putting lateral pressure on her horn, just enough to crack it, but not enough for a hard break. At the same time, the directed pressure of Rarity's body against Rainbow's wing caused a similar crack. Both were made worse by the impact of a tentacle spearing out of the water, smacking them both aside, landing them on a broken-off section of hull. The impact knocked them out, and before they could check to see if they were still being pursued, they were drifting away.

Rarity was the first to awaken the next morning, though it wasn't long before Rainbow perked up, as well. They found themselves on the sandy shore of a small island in the middle of the sea. It was tiny, just big enough to supply a very small ecosystem. If any creatures lived here, they would have to be partially aquatic. There was no way this island could support larger life on its own. On top of that, a brief scan of the horizon told them that there were no islands nearby. They were stranded here.

"Where are we?" asked Rainbow, stretching her left wing. Her right was in pain due to the damage done to it in the fight, and as a result, she was unable to fly.

"I think this is that one sandbar that grew into an island," Rarity answered. "The waves carrying sand onto the pile of rocks, turning into a bigger and bigger landmass. Kind of the reverse of what's happening to Vanity Harbor. I heard it from the captain." She put her hoof to her chin. "Or perhaps this is one of the ones that formed around an underwater geyser?"

"We'd better hope that this is a geyser one. We can't stay here without fresh water."

"Stay?" scoffed Rarity, "Oh, no, no, no! We can't stay here! We simply must go home! If you wish to come back after we return to Ponyville, I will not stop you, but at this juncture, I believe that what we need is to go home and show Twilight that we are well. She'll be horrified when she finds out that our ship sank!"

"I'm not staying any longer than we have to," grunted Rainbow, "but I figure it'll take a week or so for Twilight to hear about the event and gather the necessary supplies to come out and find us. Or at least a few days before another ship sails by close enough to spot us. Be reasonable; we have to at least survive until help arrives. That means we need fresh water."

"Well, I am quite parched," reasoned Rarity, "And I highly doubt we're going to have a big crate of bottled mountain spring water wash up unexpectedly. I suppose we'd best have a look around."

With moderately stiff joints, no doubt made worse by the salty breeze, the two of them trotted inland. The island had seemed small from the beach, but unable to fly up and scout, Rainbow couldn't be sure. She was sure that the island wasn't particularly tall, with the highest point visible from the beach being about fifteen metres, and that was one of the palm trees. Even though that was short for a palm tree, it did give her some hope. After all, if there was plant life, there was certainly a good chance that there was fresh water. If it was all saltwater, the plants would not be so dense.

Chapter the Second: Stability

Vines hung from the fronds overhead, drooping down over the ground. It was shady and breezy, but still warm. The ground was covered in grass, which was fine at first, but as they proceeded into the thicker stuff, they found that it was very good at hiding the rocks that they kept kicking.

"It's not half bad," nodded Rainbow, prompting Rarity to look at her with incredulity. "Well, I'm not saying I want to build a summer home here, but the trees are quite lovely."

Rarity shook her head and proceeded further into the brush. "Come on, we don't have all day."

"I'm just saying, there are worse places to be stranded."

They continued through the trees, Rarity making it very clear that she needed a fresh hooficure with every step. "It really is unfortunate that you can't use your wing," she huffed. "It would be all manner of convenient if you could fly up there and scout the whole place in one fell swoop."

"It's broken, Rarity. It won't heal faster just because it's convenient. I mean, it sure would be convenient if you could make use of your horn."

"Well, I can't," scoffed Rarity. "And the sooner we accept that, the better off we shall be."

"You certainly won't hear any arguments from me."

"At any rate, how does one navigate such a place as this? There're rocks everywhere, the grass hides everything, and we still haven't found anything to drink. What I wouldn't give for a tall glass of Applejack's signature cider right about now. Oh, how delectab--"

"Quiet!"

Rarity froze for a moment. "Did you hear something?" she whispered.

"No," answered Rainbow, walking ahead. "I just want you to be quiet." She also didn't want to think about the cider right now, as that would only make her thirstier.

"Well, that's just plain rude!"

"Look, we need water. We're in agreement on that fact. If there is running water somewhere in this thicket, we'll probably hear it before we see it, what with all of these ferns blocking our view."

"Actually, they're shrubs," corrected Rarity.

"They can be a maze of fine linens for all I care," answered Rainbow. "I can't see through them, you can't see through them, and if there is water running nearby, there will be some sort of trickle that we can hear, but you have to stop blathering on abo--"

"Quiet!" commanded Rarity.

"I'm just trying to say that we need to keep an ear out fo--"

"Hush, already, I hear something!"

They stopped, and what was heard was a tiny splash, just a bit to the east. Rainbow began pushing aside the shrubs, slipping through them and gingerly trying to keep them from touching her wing. Rarity followed behind, and after a few moments, Rainbow's hoof sank a few centimetres into gloop.

"Ugh!" sneered Rarity. "That's a repulsive sight!"

"It's mud," said Rainbow after giving it a sniff. "Clay, more specifically. Very little sand mixed in with this particular hoofful."

She grabbed a stick and pushed aside a few branches. Immediately, they gave way to a clearing that seemed to be mostly flat, with a shallow pool of mud. It had to be shallow, as several plants were growing all throughout. On the far side was a large stone cairn, out of which burbled a steady stream of crystal-clear water.

"Well, we found the water," huffed Rarity, "but there's no way to reach it. How are we supposed to make it all the way over there?"

Rather than answer, Rainbow just started walking through the mud. She knew it wasn't all that deep, so the worst-case scenario was that something was living in it. Considering that this was an island, and a rather small one, at that, whatever was living in the water had to be either something that was here from the moment the island was formed, or had to be capable of living in both freshwater and saltwater. At worst, she imagined that there was a new breed of leech. Even so, it was a necessary risk. There were no other sources of fresh water that she knew of, meaning that if she did not brave these waters, she would dry up. Between possible bites and definite dehydration, the choice was pretty simple.

Reaching the cairn and sinking no lower than knee-deep into the water, she pressed her lips against the rock and drew some of the water into her mouth to taste it. If it was full of chemicals, she would find out right away. Her walk had stirred up the mire and caused a rather obnoxious stink as the bacteria sitting on the bottom were churned to the surface behind her, so she couldn't possibly smell if anything was wrong.

"I'm pretty sure it's safe!" called Rainbow back to Rarity. "It doesn't taste salty, or like Sulphur or anything like that! I think we can drink this!"

"Are you sure?!" called Rarity back. "It smells pretty bad over here! There might be something in it you couldn't taste!"

"Do you want to see if they have a public drinking fountain somewhere?!" chided Rainbow. "If you think it'll do something to your mane, we can keep looking!"

"Oh, ha, ha!" sneered Rarity. "I'm just saying, there's a good chance we'd be ingesting some kind of bacteria! We really should filter it, to make sure it's safe!"

"Filter it through what?!"

Rarity shook her head. "Is there a way to access it without heading through the muck, at least?! I don't want to have to wash up several times a day just because I needed something to drink!"

Rainbow looked around. While she was less upset about being dirty, she didn't really like the idea of something lurking in the water, waiting to attack her when she least expected it. At the same time, she knew that walking through the muck had only stirred things up and caused the stench. If there was a way to avoid it, that would be preferable.

"I don't see one," she said finally, "but I'm pretty sure this rise in water is recent; the grasses just below the surface look like they were drowned out and haven't had the time to rot away! Something must be blocking its way out! If we find out what, we might be able to lower the water level! Let's walk the edge of the pond and see if we can find it!"

Chapter the Third: Civilization

"All this mud everywhere, you'd think it had rained recently."

Rarity had still not stopped complaining about the situation, and Rainbow had picked up the pace to try to find the blockage and clear it. She was still parched, and not shy about saying so, but with the water still up and stagnant, she didn't want to go in. There was nothing Rainbow could do until the blockage was removed, and Rarity probably wasn't going to help with that, either.

"What do you think blocked the water?" she asked, her first question in the last five minutes that really seemed to connect to their current situation.

"If I had to guess," sighed Rainbow, glad to actually be able to answer, "I'd say a tree. Either one fell and blocked the path, or some of these fronds fell down to act as a plug, or some roots swelled up, something like that. I don't think it was put here by beavers or made by ponies. Ponies would have built walls closer to it and let a basin fill up, and I haven't seen any signs of beavers, like chewed trees and such."

"If there are beavers, I wonder if we could channel our inner Fluttershy and convince them to help us. I wager she'd be invaluable here."

It was a long few minutes before they came to a section of land that seemed to slope down away from the pond. A very slow, but visible current drifted past their hooves from the pond toward what must have been the shore. All of the grass was matted to one side, meaning they must be coming closer.

Sure enough, through a wall of shrubs just a bit past this, there were clear markings of a river that flowed through a hole in a large stone. Except it didn't. Two palm trees had fallen in front of it, and several shrub branches and palm fronds had clogged it all up, and the bed was dry for several metres until the spillover rejoined it.

"This here's the problem," nodded Rainbow, gesturing to it. "I told you it was probably a tree."

"So now what?"

"Now, we have to move all of this rubble."

Rarity groaned. "I don't suppose you have an excavator?"

Rainbow shook her head and waded into the water. She began tossing palm fronds out of the way, picking up shrubs that had washed into the blockage and tossing them onto the spillway. A few of them washed off and slipped down the riverbed, but there was nothing she could do about that.

"That's just going further downstream," noted Rarity. "What if those fronds end up caught again? We'd just end up flooding out another section, lower down the way."

"If you're not going to help, can you at least stop complaining?"

Rarity scoffed and walked off, making her way down the river. The thick foliage meant that Rainbow lost sight of her right away. Why couldn't Rarity understand that she was only trying to help her? She'd been so insistent that she was thirsty, parched, even, and Rainbow's attempt to clear all the mud away so she could drink was being treated as an inconvenience.

Rainbow pulled off frond after frond, tossing them to the side. The more she pulled off, the more water flowed through, until the force of the water being pushed through by its own weight was so massive that she was practically stuck against the trunks. If she were to try walking out into the pond, she'd just be sucked right back to the logs. In fact, the pressure was so intense that, if she were not braced against it, she may have very well been sucked between the logs and spat downriver.

She crawled sideways to the broken section of trunk of the topmost tree and used it to climb out of the water. The surface had dropped a good four or five centimetres, and that number promised to keep climbing for a bit as more and more water rushed out of the dam. There was too much pressure for her to still be working in there, and she was exhausted.

"There's no chance of it blocking up again until the delta," came Rarity's voice behind her. She turned around, and despite the fact that they had arrived with only the debris they had been floating on, she was now sporting four brand new saddlebags. Really, they were baskets made from vines she'd found that had been tied and braided together and placed on her back. She'd even taken the time to weave a pattern of a single diamond on either side of one pair and a lightning bolt on either side of the other. "Unless, of course, another tree falls across the stream and blocks it off."

"You know those won't hold water, right?"

"They're not meant to," answered Rarity. "Yours is full of rocks, actually." She slid it off of her flank and onto the ground.

"Why?"

Rarity looked shocked. "Now, Rainbow, wasn't it you who was insisting that we had to live here until we had the capacity to go home? We need rocks and clay for our fire pit. I actually found a clay deposit just downstream that looks pretty clean. Once we have the pit, we'll need wood to fuel it, some way to light it, some method of clearing a path from the beach we washed up on back to this water source, and all kinds of other things. I doubt you have a tent, so odds are we'll have to make one, but I've been thinking about that, too. That wooden slab we came in on can make up one wall, and the vines downstream make for a pretty sturdy construction once woven. After all, they managed to hold their shape pretty well carrying a bunch of rocks all the way up here. If they make it back to the beach without spilling everywhere, they're probably sturdy enough to build a tent out of."

"Hang on," huffed Rainbow, putting her hooves up. "Do we really need a firepit? What are we going to use it for? We just need to survive. We're not hosting cocktails or roasting marshmallows."

In response to Rainbow's scowl at the thought of unnecessary work, Rarity smiled. "I have a reason. You're going to love it when you see it."

Rainbow folded her hooves. "I'm not lifting a single rock until you tell me what the plan is. I'll stand behind building a shelter, and I'll agree that having a clearly marked path to fresh water is a good idea, but if it's your goal to convince me to haul several baskets of rocks and clay across the island, I'm going to need to hear a good reason."

Rarity sighed. "I was going to save it for a surprise, but fine. Since you need to know so badly..." she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a big green fruit. "Coconuts are much easier to work with once cooked."

Chapter the Fourth: Construction

Rainbow was not very happy with the way things had turned over the afternoon. After returning to the beach, she had begun constructing the firepit as best she could with the rocks. Rarity had taken a sharp one, the same one she had used to cut the vines, and made her way into the foliage. Her intent was to clear the path to the water source, but she had the secondary goal of gathering a lot of grass for their shelter, for which she'd emptied her basket, leaving the unpeeled coconuts sitting in the sand.

Rainbow had dreaded walking all the way across the island, or even just to the pond to gather clay, but it wasn't long before Rarity found another deposit much closer, under another upended tree. She was nearly finished with the rocks, at least as far as she could go with the clay she had. After a base layer, she'd made a hollow shaft up the inside to let air flow in from underneath before starting the basin. It would do for now. After all, it was made to be useful, not pretty.

She'd actually been the one to pick its location, and cemented that decision by beginning construction while Rarity had been away. Rarity had been talking about setting it up on the sand, but Rainbow knew with certainty that this sand bank followed a strict horizontal line around the whole island. That was the sea level at high tide, and if she were to build there, the waves would wash it away, or at least wash away the foundation on which it stood. Other than that, she'd chosen a spot away from the trees. She'd told Rarity it was to keep from setting the trees on fire, because she felt that Rarity would scoff at her real reason. In truth, it was because she'd seen so many trees fallen over today that she didn't trust the rest of them to stay up, and she didn't want to wait for one to come down on top of her.

After washing the clay residue off her hooves with the seawater, Rainbow made her way over to the chunk of wood they'd floated in on. It turned out to be part of the stern, and after shooing away the crabs that were scuttling across it, she found out that the name was written on it. "St. Louvia."

She dragged it the rest of the way up the beach, as it had already floated up a bit as the tide rolled in. Rarity had explained that she intended it to be part of their shelter, though she didn't remember exactly which part. Rainbow guessed that it might be a wall, as it was sturdy enough, but not knowing for sure, she just brought it over and left it leaning against a tree, propped away from the clearing.

She hoped that it wouldn't be broken down, as having the name so clearly marked would make it a fitting monument to the ship's memory. Then again, having it as shelter would be narratively fitting, as well. She'd tried to protect the ship, and now it was going to protect her. At any rate, she needed a break. It had been a few hours since they'd first found the source, meaning it was about time to visit the spring again. She just hoped that Rarity had made it that far.

She followed the trail of cut grass and trimmed back shrubs. It wasn't exactly a straight line, as she regularly had to move around trees, but it followed a direction fairly adequately. It was also pretty clean, given that Rarity had picked up a lot of the grass for later use.

She made it all the way to the mud before finding Rarity. She was sitting on a rock that protruded from the mud, her baskets sitting next to her as she worked on something out of view. "I see you made it all the way back," called Rainbow, walking over to her.

"Rainbow," acknowledged Rarity, keeping her eyes glued to her project. "I don't think we'd be able to follow the path so well in the dark, but during the day, we should have little trouble making it out here."

"I'll stand by that statement," agreed Rainbow. "What's that you're making?"

Rarity held it up. "I started with eight branches of equal length, then squared them off with two longer ones," she said, gesturing to the multiple layers. "Once everything was secured in place, I started using the longer grass to spin some flax-like rope, which I'm using to weave a lattice. I'm going to wrap it in palm fronds when I finish this."

"So... what is it?"

Rarity stopped and turned to Rainbow. "A roof. It will keep the elements out."

"You could have just said so."

"If I did, you would have asked how this was supposed to be a roof."

"Well, I'm still going to ask, so there. What's going to make this thing stand?"

"Tonight? More branches. Tomorrow night, hopefully, the other half of the roof. It's a lean-to."

"Yeah, it is a bit late in the day to make a second one, and I don't know how to make my own rope."

"And I can't really expect you to do the proper weaving work, either, darling. It requires patience, grace and smooth, even strokes."

Rainbow furrowed her brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing, dear," said Rarity, her tone a bit condescending. "You're clearly more suited to sturdy things like stone and wood works, whereas I would be better suited for the more intricate work, such as weaving and stitching. We have our own strengths, and when we sit down to compare them, mine are more delicate, whereas yours are more basic and robust."

"Hey, I can weave with the best of them!" argued Rainbow. "I'm the best flying slalom in central Equestria! And that's with moving cloud pillars, not the stationary ones. A half-second off, and you have to make a wide turn and loop back around. I think I can handle a little bit of thread."

"It's more of a cordage than a thread..."

"Whatever! It's not going to scare me off!"

"Did you come out here just to pick a fight?"

Rainbow didn't answer right away. She looked from where Rarity was working to the fountain, then to the dam. She had come out here for a few things, and arguing with Rarity wasn't among them. "I have more important things to do," she said, sliding off the rock into the mud. "This conversation isn't over. It's just on break until I stop being busy."

"Good luck in your endeavors," smirked Rarity, chalking that up as a victory for herself.

Chapter the Fifth: The First Night

After taking a sip of water from the source and clearing away more debris from the dam, hopefully enough to remove the remaining water, Rainbow walked all the way back to where she'd set up camp. Rarity was already there, pressing some branches into the ground. There were only a few fronds actually woven into the roof, but darkness was about to set in, so it would have to do.

"We're going to have to really huddle together to fit under there," observed Rainbow. "And we don't have the foundation to hold up the other side."

"I know," answered Rarity. "It's not ideal, but it's only half the day's work with no tools outside of my own hooves. The best tools I had was the Flemish twisted grass cable and a sharp rock, and I don't have the rock anymore."

"What happened to it?"

"It cracked. Too much force broke it apart. There's a reason we no longer use stone-age tools, you know."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. Rocks could break, especially when they were thin and subjected to impact over and over. It actually made her pretty glad that most of the rocks she was using for construction were small, as it would be difficult to break them down.

Rarity turned to Rainbow. "It's going to be dark soon, and we haven't eaten all day. Why don't you start on the fire, hm?"

Rainbow looked over to the firepit she'd made. There was some dry wood and grass that had been gathered over the course of the day, sitting in two piles next to it. "How do you expect me to start it?"

Rarity shrugged. "You go camping with Applejack a lot. I figured you knew how to start a campfire."

"Yeah, with a ferro rod."

"I don't know what that is. I use matches. Didn't Applejack start one by rubbing two sticks together?"

Rainbow tried to remember back to that. It was true that she had done something that looked like she'd rubbed two sticks together, but it would take a bit more than that. "I'm going to try to find a rock and a piece of wood that are capable of doing that. Do you have any more of that cordage?"

"Of course. Why?"

"I need you to find a straight-ish stick and tie a cable to both ends. I want a flexible stick and a tight cable, if you can."

Rarity looked to Rainbow and raised her eyebrow. "Okay, I guess it's my turn to ask for an explanation."

"The method you described is called a fire bow. You wrap the cord around a spindle, then spin it over and over until the friction creates enough heat to light the dust that will spark your kindling. The rock is to make sure the spindle stays upright."

"Why not just use your hoof?"

"Because the principle for a drill is the same thing, and I'd rather not bore a hole in my hoof." Rainbow found a splintered piece of wood that would do a decent job as a base board. A knot near the split provided a ready-made notch for the charcoal dust to gather. She also found a pretty straight, fairly dry piece of wood. The friction would cause enough heat to dry it the rest of the way.

Once she had the bow, it took almost half an hour to generate enough heat to start the fire. Rainbow was sore and exhausted, but she fed it enough kindling to take off, and enough wood to keep it going for a good hour, at least. In the meantime, Rarity had been skinning the coconuts, and with the fire roaring to life, she could set them near the flames and let them cook for some time, turning them occasionally.

Rarity settled in next to the fire. "Isn't this about the time you start in on the ghost stories and such?"

"I'm in no mood right now," huffed Rainbow. "It's hot, I'm sore, I've been working all day, and the last thing I ate was yesterday's lunch. Cucumber sandwiches? There's nothing there. I just want to eat something, anything, and go to bed. Hopefully, I'll wake up tomorrow and realize this was just a terrible dream."

"Oh, come now, Rainbow. We're sitting around a fire, waiting for our dinner to cook. Do you really want to sit in silence for the next half hour?"

Rainbow said nothing, just staring into the fire. She had no intention of treating this like it was a fun camping trip. This was a situation she was not happy with, and she was not going to just cover up her displeasure. Survival was key.

"Well, I don't want to," said Rarity after a short wait. "This is not an ideal situation, I know. I also recognize that I was being very difficult this morning. I want you to understand that my observations, in which I was pointing out problems, is something I should have dialed back. However, I don't regret it."

Rainbow looked over and scowled.

"I mean it. Every word I said. We're not well-off. I may have been pointing out all of the issues I had with our situation, but I regret none of it. It is only by understanding the state in which we find ourselves we're in that we can start to make it better."

"Complaining about the issues doesn't solve them."

"Au contraire!" countered Rarity. "I complained about not having a way to reach the water without walking through mud, and as a direct result, we started looking for a clog. Would you have drained that pond if I'd said nothing? Would you be able to trot right up to it tomorrow morning with dry hooves, or would you have spent the whole day trying to find food, something that we only have now because I brought up the idea that we should make sure the water doesn't just clog somewhere else?"

She had a point. Rainbow, unable to fly, would have actually spent most of the day trying to find something to brace her wing, so that she could fly again sooner without as much risk of it breaking. She had considered it over the course of the day, just to keep her mind occupied, but only near the end of the day had she thought about what would happen if she slipped free of it in the middle of the ocean.

"I suppose you're right," she admitted. "Perhaps I'm just saying that because I'm stuck with you for awhile, and I don't want this to be a total nightmare, but I need more than just complaints. What good is knowing a problem when you can't come up with a solution?"

Rarity turned up her nose at the assertion that this was going to be a bad time as long as she was around, but she was willing to at least put in the effort. "I don't have all of the answers, but knowing the problem allows us to try possible solutions until something works." She quickly turned the coconuts with a crude pair of tongs that was just two short branches tied together. "The scary stories are just me trying to raise your spirits. I don't want you to be scowling all the time; it makes me uncomfortable."

Rainbow smirked. "You really want a scary story?"

Rarity nodded and smiled.

"This is the tale of when I fought a kraken..."

Rarity buried her face in her hoof. "Oh, sweet Celestia..."

Chapter the Sixth: Good Morning

Rainbow woke up the next morning, her joints still very stiff and her skin kind of itchy. No doubt that was the salty air coming off the sea. She sat up, her back popping like a string of firecrackers.

"Ugh, that's very obnoxious," came Rarity's groan. This was immediately followed by an exact copy of the sound as she sat up, as well.

"You don't sound any better," chuckled Rainbow, stretching and trying to stand. She looked around and took stock of what was on the horizon. There were no ships on the water, the fire had burned out, and the water had receded from when she went to sleep. "What's the plan today?"

"Hm?"

Rainbow turned around. Rarity was still working on standing up. "You said last night that the reason you were bringing up problems was to know what needed to be done. Don't tell me now that that was a lie..."

"Of course not. I just want to know what you said. I wasn't paying attention, that's all."

"What's the plan for how to proceed today?"

"Well," she said, moving over to the wooden slab, "This thing, as beautiful as it is, needs to be propped up. It was a spectacular wall last week. As long as a kraken doesn't swim up to the island, I think it'll protect us from the wind."

Rainbow looked at it. "I guess that's my job?"

"That's right," smiled Rarity. "With the rocks and the clay, you'll want to build a wall that is strong enough to support it. A few notes, before we begin, though. Shall we go have some water, first? I'm absolutely parched."

As they walked down the cut path toward their water source, Rarity made her case. She wanted two stone walls, starting at the level their floor would be at and at least tall enough for them to crawl under something placed at the very top. This would determine the location of their roof. The slab needed to face the water, because it had the name of the ship on it, and anypony with a spyglass from a ship would see it, possibly be aware of it having been attacked, but at least know that it looked odd being in such a location, and come to investigate. That would for sure set them up with a ride home. They just had to wait and attract attention.

"So that's what you'll be doing today," nodded Rarity.

"What about you?" asked Rainbow. "If I'm going to be doing all of the heavy lifting, where are you going to be?"

"I have three jobs today," announced Rarity. "One of the first ones is going to grab some more coconuts so we can eat again tonight. Bring those back, and I can start building more of the roof panels. At least one more so we can cover our hooves and avoid the weather. Yeah, we woke up to the sun shining in our eyes this morning, but I don't want that every day. If, and that's a big if, I finish all of that, and still have time? I'll help you make more walls."

"What if I finish first?"

Rarity laughed. "Rainbow, I will not stop you from making more walls."

They had saved the shells from the coconuts the night before, the parts that didn't have eyes, and were now using them as cups. Now that the bog had cleared, the pond was down to just a plunge pool under a fountain. Even better, both were crystal clear, not murky at all, and did not produce any kind of stink. The plunge pool led into a stream that flowed under the logs from yesterday. It was a slow, steady, quiet flow, almost serene. They both enjoyed a cup or two from the stream before parting ways. After their sip, they both felt pretty refreshed, and ready to begin.

Rainbow made her way back to their ramshackle overhang with her saddlebaskets filled with rocks and stones. Now that she had water, a little bit of food, and a plan, she was feeling much better and ready to follow Rarity's plan. Honestly, she thought it was a good plan, at least, now that she was in a better mood.

It didn't take long to build up the walls. It was just moving rocks, mixing clay with water, tamping everything down and baking it in the sun. Rainbow had been on the weather team long enough to know what it would take to knock down a wall made of rock and clay, and she was pretty sure this would hold against the weather.

After Rarity left, having brought half a dozen coconuts back, Rainbow looked over the wall again. Sure, it would keep out the weather, but would it keep up the slab she was supposed to put on top of it? Not until it was dry, at least, but she wasn't willing to test its integrity as it was. Rarity had said she was fine with Rainbow building more walls, and that's exactly what she was going to do.

It started with doubling up the walls she'd already built but leaving channels of air between them to help it all dry faster. After that, she grabbed a hard stick and started digging at the ground. She needed a pit for them to sleep in. If the walls failed, even doubled up as they were, the slab was falling down on their heads. That was not an option. With a pit, they might end up with a broken nose, or a few chipped teeth as the walls collapsed on them, but they'd probably survive.

She used her own body as a measurement, and when it was the right length, width and depth, she dug out a set of stairs, a channel to funnel out any rainwater in the event of a storm and finished it off by just building more walls of the same height above the rim. It was above and beyond what Rarity had described at the beginning of the day, and when she returned just before sunset with two long, filled in roof panels and a basket of palm fronds, she was greeted by the smell of freshly cooked coconut, a nice place to sleep, and a crackling fire. She almost came to tears at the sight.

Chapter the Seventh: Finding Comfort

"You've certainly been busy," chuckled Rarity. "Those walls look very sturdy."

"They'll be sturdy when they're dry," smirked Rainbow, kicking a log next to the fire. "Have a seat; we need to talk."

Rarity set down her saddle baskets and sat down on the log. "Is something the matter?"

Rainbow nodded and pulled the coconuts off the fire. "I'm glad you're happy with how the walls came out, first of all. I know that's not the most important takeaway for this whole thing, but thank you, really. With those panels you made being lightweight, perhaps they wouldn't pull the whole thing down, but as of right now, I don't trust that slab not to fall on us in the middle of the night. I don't think the walls are strong enough for that."

Rarity waved her hoof. "Now's not the time to be doubting yourself, Rainbow Dash. I'm sure the walls you made are steady enough."

"Under the weight of that slab?" Rainbow shook her head. "That thing's really heavy. Even doubling up the walls, I don't think it's safe."

With a slow sigh, Rarity brushed back her mane with her hoof, smearing a bit of mud on her forehead. "Are you certain?"

Rainbow nodded. "I doubled the walls, but even then, I'm still concerned."

"Well, what do you want to do about it?"

"Actually, I already have," smiled Rainbow. "Well, kind of, anyway. I started. I dug a hole."

Rarity cleared her throat. "You, um... dug a hole?"

"I grabbed a sturdy stick, started chipping away at the ground, pulling it up and chucking it into a pile just over there." She indicated a spot just behind some shrubs. "I made it a little deeper than my shoulders are wide, as long as I am tall plus a few extra centimetres, and," she held her hooves out as far as they would go, "this wide."

"And how does that make your walls stronger?"

"It doesn't," confirmed Rainbow. "It's not to make the walls stronger, it's to make it so that if the walls collapse, we're showered with rocks and clumps of dirt."

Rarity shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to be showered in rocks and dirt."

Rainbow pointed to the slab. "That thing, if it comes down on top of your head, will kill you. The rocks might, but that slab will. I'm not going to risk that if my work doesn't hold up. I know I said being stranded on an island with you would be awful, but being stranded here without you? That's even worse."

Rarity put her hoof to her chest and smiled. "That almost sounds like a compliment."

"It very nearly was."

Rarity shook her head. "Where's this hole? Show me the hole you've dug."

Rainbow stood up, grabbed a burning chunk of wood for light, and stepped down into the pit. It wasn't particularly deep, and while she was standing up, her shoulders and hips would have moved the ceiling, even with the walls over the top. "The floor's still pretty lumpy. I tried to stamp it down, but I ran out of time. I wanted to have the fire lit back up before you arrived."

Rarity nodded. "Well, we'll probably have to duck down while we're inside it, but it'll probably be cozy enough."

Rainbow nodded. "In all honesty, I think we'll only be sleeping in there. It's not as though we're putting in a wardrobe, a sewing table, or a fully functioning shower. What are we going to be doing inside of here?"

"Sleeping," Rarity agreed, "mostly."

Rainbow started out of the pit, but stopped to make sure Rarity had enough light to see the steps. "Something wrong?"

Rarity nodded. "It's something we'll have to work on. I think tomorrow, for sure."

"What is?"

"You said the floor is lumpy, and you're not wrong. We need to do something about that. No time tonight, but we'll see how tomorrow looks."

They sat back down next to the fire, picking up the now cooled coconuts. The fire crackled gently, with the short waves lapping at the sand below. The wind was calm, and with the two of them silent, it was a very peaceful environment. Even the birds were quiet.

"There's one more thing that I need to say, before we go to bed. I should have said it last night, I should have said it this morning, and I need to say it now, because if I don't it's just going to fester."

Rarity leaned forward. "Fester? Are you telling me you have an open wound?"

"No, I..." Rainbow shook her head. "It was boiling up inside. It's an emotional thi-- Look, I'm sorry, alright?"

"Sorry?" scoffed Rarity. "Sorry for what? Do you have any idea how difficult this would be for me if I had to do all of the heavy lifting? All of the rocks, all of the clay, breaking that dam? If you hadn't mentioned how recently that pool had sprung up, I never would have even considered trying to remove it. I'd have tried to build a bridge going out there, if I'd even noticed the water at all. And then I wouldn't have checked down the river, I never would have found that coconut tree, and I still likely wouldn't have had somewhere to sleep comfortably. I should be the one apologizing to you. I've saddled you with all of the hard labour."

"Oh, don't even think about that," waved Rainbow. "Or do think about it. You figured out how to make rope, so you'd probably figure out how to make a crane to lift that slab easier than I can. Anything I could have done, you're capable of doing better with a smart idea."

"But an idea is meaningless without the means," argued Rarity. "I can sit and try to come up with all kinds of crazy things, but I need some way of making it, right? No horn, remember?"

"Yeah, but I still need to apologize for not trusting you."

"Of course you didn't trust me," huffed Rarity. "I was too focused on the problems and didn't have any solutions. I needed you, Rainbow. I still do. And yesterday, I drove you up the wall. I'm sorry."

"No, I was the one who snapped under the pressure. The exact same pressure. You handled the whole thing with grace."

"Grace, yes, but handled it? You did all the work!"

For a moment, they were silent, then they let out a chuckle. "Anyway, it feels good to say it," smiled Rainbow. "From this point on, remember that I'm behind you, all the way."

Rarity cracked open her coconut. "As long as you remember that I'm giving you one hundred percent."

Chapter the Eighth: A Strong Foundation

Waking up today was far easier than it had been the last few days. Aside from yesterday proving far more physically straining and begging them for a good night's sleep, the girls woke up on their own, with no help from the sun flashing in their eyes. Likewise, despite sleeping directly on dirt, they had stayed warm, sleeping very close to each other and away from the walls. After all, there was still the possibility that they would collapse.

"Good morning, Rainbow Dash," smiled Rarity, standing up. "Did you sleep well?"

"About as well as I could," smirked Rainbow. "You?"

"Comparatively, in relation to sleeping in a bed, terribly. However, given the circumstances, I'd say I slept pretty well."

Rainbow chuckled. Perhaps it wasn't the best sleep, but there was some improvement. Perhaps there would be more in the near future. She had a few thoughts on how to go about that.

"Okay. Our plan for the day is--"

"Hang on," interrupted Rainbow. "Today, I want to decide our plan. I will begin by digging this a little bit deeper. Not a lot deeper, just a little bit. I need a slightly raised platform, so I have to dig out some extra space for it. After that, the walls need to dry out more, but I can still patch a few holes with clay. It'll probably take the whole day, so here's what I need from you: I need a sharp, flat stone, like an axe head, and as many loose palm fronds as you can bring me. But first, you need a bath."

Rarity examined her body. She was filthy. Her mane was a wreck, she was covered in mud and dirt and her tail was filled with grass and twigs. "I certainly wouldn't say no to a spa retreat," she smiled.

"I never said anything about a spa," denied Rainbow. "A quick dip in the ocean to remove the surface grime is all I can offer right now."

Rarity sighed. "It'll have to do..."

Rarity took a few twigs with her into the ocean and used them to brush out her mane and tail as best she could. It wasn't ideal, by any stretch, but it was better than just letting it fester. For all she knew, there were bugs that were tangling it up even worse. The number of things she would do to be gifted a hairbrush right now was unfathomable.

Coming out of the water, she had to fight the urge to ask for a towel. As barbaric as it was, she shook herself dry. This was normal for Rainbow and Applejack, but she preferred something a bit more sophisticated. Still, she preferred shaken dry to dripping, and dripping to dirty. It wasn't perfect, but in both cases, it was a step up.

She immediately began searching for a sharp rock. Rainbow had emphasized that it was important, and thus she was going to concentrate on that. Before disappearing into the trees, she took one look back at Rainbow and saw her digging away with a stick. How dare she disappoint somepony working so hard? If Rainbow wanted a sharp rock, she'd find one.

Rather, she'd make one. She spent the first two hours looking at every rock on the beach. She found a few that were sharp enough to be useful, but they were either too big or oddly shaped. She even picked some up out of the sand for closer examination. It wasn't until she tossed a large boulder over her shoulder that she came up with the idea. The rock she'd tossed had cracked, leaving a somewhat sharp edge. If she were to rub it against another rock, it could smooth out into a crude axe head.

It took half an hour to grind it down, making it seem far easier to make a small blade than it was to find one. After all, half an hour to find something "good enough" was better than searching all day for "perfect." On her way back, she stuck to the woods, picking up fronds as she went. She wasn't sure what Rainbow was going to do with all of them, but if there was one word to describe Rainbow, "trustworthy" would be a top contender.

Unfortunately, on her return, Rainbow was not around. She'd wandered off, likely to the freshwater source for a drink, but not before she'd finished digging her pit a bit deeper, funneling more channels for water to drain out, and driving a few branches into the ground at the bottom. It didn't look nearly as comfortable anymore, but Rarity just sighed and shook her head. Rainbow probably had a plan for this, but she'd have to wait and find out what it was.

She made her way down to the source, expecting to see Rainbow on her way back, but the two didn't see each other until Rarity was close enough to the dam. Rainbow had taken Rarity's remaining rope and fashioned a simple harness, and was slowly but surely dragging one of the trees that had blocked the water back toward camp.

"What in Equestria are you doing?" asked Rarity, rushing over. "Couldn't you have found something closer?"

"Of course," grunted Rainbow, finally freeing the tree from the mud. "But this thing's already dead. I don't want to cut down a tree that's still alive."

"No, I mean, there are fallen trees closer. I've seen them."

"This one was the most in the way," answered Rainbow. "If we move this one, the pond probably won't ever flood again, and even if it does, it won't flood nearly as high."

Rarity placed herself in front of Rainbow, stopping her walk. "If you think you're going to drag that tree all the way back to our base of operations, then let me make it perfectly clear that I'm not going to let that happen."

Rainbow scowled. "I'm serious, Rarity, this thing's coming back to camp. It's necessary."

"I'm not going to stand here and argue with you," growled Rarity, pushing Rainbow a few steps back. With the slack in the rope, she fashioned a second harness and looped it around her chest. "You'll never make it back before sunset on your own. We are going to drag it."

Rainbow had to hold herself back from laughing. Rarity wasn't particularly powerful, so she didn't expect much, but any additional aid, no matter how small, was at least welcome. Perhaps she would have enough time today, after all, to finish what she'd intended.

Chapter the Ninth: Splitting Hairs (and Logs)

With both girls pulling, it took just over an hour to drag the tree to camp. Having been dead for a month, all of its fronds were gone, and any coconuts that may have been growing had long since disappeared. Rarity directed Rainbow to the sharpened stone, and she immediately began chopping away at some cutoff shrubbery branches, turning them into wedges. Once she had about five, she began beating the rock lengthwise with a baton into the trunk down near the roots. As soon as a crack began to form, she started driving in the wedges, until finally, the trunk split right down the middle.

Rarity had been assisting the whole time, moving the wedges that had fallen out to tighter positions and keeping them straight so Rainbow could work faster. "Rainbow, that was spectacular!" she congratulated, hugging her. "Now what?"

"Now we do it again a few more times," panted Rainbow. "It'll be much easier from this point, so can I ask you to go collect more fronds? We're going to need more than what's in that basket."

Rarity looked to the basket indicated; the one she had filled on her way back. It wasn't even full. She'd just picked up what she could find on her short walk back. Collecting more would take no time at all; they were scattered everywhere. "Are you sure you don't need any more help?"

Rainbow looked over what she had left to do. It would be a lot easier with Rarity helping, and even if she came back with all of the island's foliage, it was useless until Rainbow was done with this. If they finished this, however, Rainbow could go out with Rarity and collect it all faster. Or worse, if they ran out of wood, she didn't want to have to drag another tree out here, even one that was closer.

"Okay," she nodded. "I appreciate it. I just thought you might have liked something a bit easier to do."

"If this was easy, I'd have built a separate house, and we could have the luxury of privacy. Besides, I run a business, so I'm no stranger to hard work."

"Just as long as it's not sweaty work, right?"

"Even sweaty work," corrected Rarity. "I really would like a bath at the end of it, though, and the minute we return to Ponyville, I'm scheduling a spa day."

Rainbow scoffed as she started to split the log down further. "Shouldn't you fix your horn, first?"

Rarity crossed her eyes as she looked up at her forehead. "I suppose, but wouldn't the doctor want me to be clean? Kind of a big deal. Plus, we don't want to wet the bandages, because it could damage the plaster."

"Well, I'm going to schedule surgery as soon as possible. I want to fly again."

"That's perfect," smirked Rarity. "A surgeon can't work on both of us at once, so you should go first. Really, I insist that you take priority."

"Well, I'm not going in alone," she huffed back. "It's not like the operation's going to take days. You go in, they set it up, and you're out in a few hours. I would rather inconvenience you a little from the bath to make sure your horn heals up properly. You don't want to be without your magic forever, do you?"

"Of course not! I just don't want the doctor to be repulsed my how awful I smell."

"I'm pretty sure the nurses will give you a sponge bath..."

"They needn't bother, as they likely have more important matters to attend to. I'm perfectly capable of bathing myself."

"And that's why you're going to have the twins wash you, instead?"

"You know very well that they're trained professionals that are clearly better than I am. Plus, it comes with a massage, and a date with Fluttershy."

Rainbow chuckled at the phrasing. "Yeah, and AJ owes me a hoof wrestle."

"It'll have to wait until after Pinkie's "welcome home" party. The poor dear probably already set one up and was distraught when we didn't show. No doubt she'll plan an even bigger one when she finds out what happened."

"Who's to say she won't jump on the ship coming out just to make sure we're okay?"

Rarity chuckled. "I'll give you that. She probably would come out just to make sure we were alright."

"Heh. Yeah, she's a keeper."

They had managed to split the log into several planks. It wasn't as flat as sawn wood, or even as smooth as if it had been cleaned up with an actual axe, but it was reasonably flat, and very sturdy. They carried the planks over to the pit and used that to measure how long they needed to be. Rainbow was pretty sure they had made the whole thing wide enough with multiple planks, so now they just needed to be cut to length. While a saw would have been very useful here, the sharp rock would have to do, and it would take a lot of chopping with it to cut through, even with how thin the planks were, averaging between two and three centimetres thick. It was a hard wood, especially around the edges. The heartwood was soft and punky, but still fairly sturdy.

"It's not the best material," grunted Rainbow, dragging the scored wood over to a rock to finish snapping it at the seam, "but it'll have to do."

"It's not like there's a lumber yard nearby," agreed Rarity. "I have to admit, when you issued your plan this morning, I had my doubts, but you've really pulled through. This was a spectacular idea for a floor."

"It keeps us up off the dirt," panted Rainbow, "Gives us some clearance from the water if it comes in, and once it's covered in fronds, it'll probably stop being as lumpy. That'll hopefully act as enough of a cushion."

"If not, I have an idea of how to fix it," nodded Rarity. "Before I do that, though, let's see how it operates as it stands, currently."

After the planks went down with a decent amount of clearance, meaning there weren't a lot of alterations to make, Rainbow still had some wood, which slid into place and would act as very sturdy braces for the stone wall to hold up the slab.

The sky was darkening, meaning there wasn't a lot of time left in the day. Rarity rushed around, trying to pick up all of the fronds she could while Rainbow started the fire. Rarity had brought extra coconuts the day before, and they could just eat that.

Chapter the Tenth: The Ties that Bind

When Rarity returned, Rainbow had some free time available, and they spread out the fronds over the planks. Rarity had collected enough that, even after they had put several layers on the floor, they could put the roof panels on and cover them completely. They even moved the slab into place, meaning that tomorrow, a little bit of patching and a door was all that stood between them and a reasonable shelter. Even after all of that, a few more fronds remained, which Rarity rolled up to act as pillows.

Glad to finally be mostly done, the two sat next to the fire and looked out over the ocean. It'd been three long days of hard work to reach this point, but they were finally situated properly. Any improvements they made to their situations from this point would just be gravy; unnecessary, but still welcomed.

"So what's left?" asked Rainbow. "We have food for as long as these coconuts will last, a safe enough place to sleep, water to drink..."

"We're pretty well taken care of," agreed Rarity. "We can upgrade the seals tomorrow, but that won't take but five minutes. After that, who knows? I'm all for taking the day off. We can go for a swim, have a long walk, or just lounge in the sun. Dealer's choice, I suppose."

"Lounging sounds pretty good," smirked Rainbow. "Only, without being able to fly, and with none of the trees around here actually having branches, I guess my only option is to lie in the sand."

"What's wrong with that, darling?"

Rainbow pointed down to the beach. "Crabs. Lots of them."

Rarity nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. How about making a hammock, then?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I don't know how. Not tying the ropes into a hammock, not making the rope, I don't even know how much we'd need."

Rarity chuckled. "Rainbow Dash... All you have to do is ask. I'll gladly make one for you."

Rainbow waved her hooves. "No, no, you don't need to bother yourself. You've been working just as hard as I have, and I don't want to diminish your relaxation. I'll find something else to do, you just relax."

"Oh, it's no bother at all," smiled Rarity. "It's hardly a difficult task at all, and it'd give me something to do. Really, it's my treat."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Thank you. Really, I mean that. It's very generous of you to offer."

"Oh, think nothing of it. I'd do the same for anypony."

"You certainly would. What can I do to repay this?"

"Don't worry about it. It's my treat."

Rainbow furrowed her brow. "Rarity, I can't just let you do stuff for me like this. Seriously, anything."

"Darling, it's fine," insisted Rarity. "You've done a lot to shape this islet into a livable space, and I'm not going to make you keep working. Some time off will do you all kinds of good. Trust me."

"Do you really think I can relax while I know you're doing something solely for my benefit?"

"If the benefit I'm giving you is the ability to relax, then yes."

Rainbow stood up, walked just into the woods, and came back a moment later with a hoofful of grass. "Show me."

Rarity looked from Rainbow's face to the grass. "Show you what, dear?"

"I'm going to help you. You're not doing this on your own. I'd never leave you hangin'. I'm going to make some rope with your instruction."

Rarity chuckled and shook her head. "This is your solution to our impasse?"

"And' I'm not taking "no" for an answer."

Rarity let out a small, reserved chuckle. "You truly are incorrigible." She sighed, stood up, and returned with even more grass. "It all starts with a simple twist. Figure out how thick you want your rope to be, then start with half of that."

Rainbow followed Rarity's example, doing exactly as she said and showed. By the time Rarity had made half a metre, Rainbow had finally reached the end of her first twist, mere centimetres long.

"So, how do you make these longer?"

Rarity looked over at Rainbow's cordage. It wasn't as finely controlled as hers, but as Rainbow was new to this, she wasn't expecting perfection. It was also quite a bit thicker and a bit uneven. It took practice, something Rainbow had not had, for reasons that were her own.

"Where the two ends meet, stuff some more grass in. The closer you are to the middle, the better; it means your strands will be about equal length at the end if you do it right. And remember, if it's clockwise on the inside, it's anticlockwise on the outside, and vise-versa."

Rainbow nodded. During the demonstration, Rarity had mentioned that four times in just as many minutes. It was the most important thing to remember about the process, as it was the main function as the rope went on. The beginning and ending would only happen once per line, and the joints would only come along every so often. For all of these, however, that single rule would exist.

The two kept going for as long as it took to cook dinner, plus a bit longer, as they were really working on it. Rarity had made just shy of four metres of cordage, and Rainbow had made about half of a metre. It was not nearly as long, not nearly as clean, and not nearly as uniform in its thickness. It had thinner sections and thicker sections that were easily noticeable at a glance, whereas Rarity's was passable as being purchasable at a hardware store.

"Of course, I'll need a lot more of this," mentioned Rarity, scraping flesh from the inside of her coconut. "Depending on exactly where we want to try hanging it, and what other materials we're going to use, the amount we'll need will vary. Have you given any thought to where you want to hang it?"

"Not at all. By the time it came up, it was too dark to find a place. We'll look in the morning."

Rarity nodded. "We'll certainly have the time. And Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

Rarity bowed her head. "Thanks."

Chapter the Eleventh: New Arrival

The next several days, despite being categorized as rest, relaxation and recovery, were spent in a competitive battle of one-upsponyship. Whenever Rarity would try to do something nice for Rainbow, she had to do something nice in turn. The same was true in the opposing direction, as well. Rainbow couldn't do something nice for Rarity without her being so full of gratitude that she had to do something in return. The gifts just kept growing bigger and more bombastic, starting with Rarity making a hammock for Rainbow, and Rainbow making a long strand of rope directing them more accurately to the water source, allowing them to drink at night. At most recent, Rarity had trimmed some shrubs in the shape of Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow had built up the source to make it dribble water from above in some mock-up of a shower.

Rainbow was walking along the beach, trying to come up with something to balance out the massage Rarity had promised her after her shower. She was running out of ideas, and she really hoped Rarity was almost out, as well. She really hated the idea that she could no longer share her gratitude.

As she rounded a bend, her eyes lit up. An ironclad ship, whose name she was unable to read from this distance, was anchored about two kilometres off the coast. Even more of a shock, a small boat was rowing toward the island, and seemed to be directed at their camp. No doubt, they had seen the slab and were coming to investigate.

She took off the baskets she'd filled with coconuts, and stashed them in the rocks. In the best case, she wouldn't need them, and in the worst, she'd be back to pick them up. Rainbow dashed through the trees, rather than along the beach, just in case the ponies approaching were not friendly. She would need to watch them from behind some foliage, first, and perhaps bolt off to inform Rarity.

The boat pushed itself up on the beach, and four stallions hopped off. They looked a bit rough, as though they'd been at work for weeks with little rest. The scruffiest of them all looked familiar, somehow, as if she'd seen him before, but she couldn't place it. He was sporting a ragged, dark blue mane and tail and a pair of goggles with a yellow strap. His wings obscured his cutie mark.

"St. Louvia," he said, reading the wreckage. His voice was hoarse and gravelly. "This is the ship that went down. More importantly, there's no way in Equestria that this is how it landed here." He poked his head into the shelter, then came back up. "Almost looks comfortable in there. Somepony's definitely here." He coughed into his hoof a few times, then spat something out. He approached the firepit and looked in. "Undoubtedly, whoever's here is still alive. We're looking for warm bodies, men. Spread out and meet back here in half an hour. The islet's not that big, so you'll have found something, at least."

Immediately, two of the sailors started down the path towards where Rarity was showering. In order to reach her first, Rainbow would be required to either rush through the brush, making all manner of noise and giving away her position, or jump out into the open where everypony could see her. It didn't take her any time at all to make her decision as to how to proceed. Even if it meant she would be taken in her place, Rainbow couldn't risk any more damage to Rarity.

She leaped out of the bushes, tackling the pegasus she'd almost recognised to the sand and pinning him down. This close, she could see his green eyes through the goggles. She kept a stone face throughout, unsure of where she knew him from until a big smile stretched across his face. "We've been looking all over for you, Dash!" He reached up and hugged her.

She backed off a bit to let him stand. She knew him from somewhere, he knew her by name, and he was happy to see her. That led her to the conclusion that this was indeed a rescue party, and not a band of pirates. As he stood up, she caught sight of his cutie mark, and realisation washed over her. "Soarin!" She immediately returned the hug. "What happened to you?"

"We've been all over the place for the last week," he explained as the other sailors gathered. "Princess Celestia received a report of the shipwreck, and noting that there were four souls unaccounted for among the survivors, sent us out to look for you."

Rainbow swallowed hard "Four?"

"You're the third we've found," assured Soarin. "The other two are okay, if a little bit worse for wear. One was starving, both were dehydrated, but both are being brought back to health as we speak. Just one more to go, and we can call this mission a success." His smile faded, and he placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "The bad news is that we haven't found Rarity yet. She's still missing."

"She's in the shower, actually," corrected Rainbow. "She should be back soon."

Soarin coughed into his hoof again, spitting out another gob. "Do you want somepony to go let her know that we're waiting?"

"No, she'll be here soon," nodded Rainbow. "If she's not, I'll fetch her myself. What's wrong with your throat?"

"Just a cold. We've been in and out of the water and in some cramped spaces while we were looking."

"That explains it."

Rainbow spent the next ten minutes relaying to Soarin everything that had happened, starting just before the kraken attack and glossing over most of the details. She also gave him a tour of their sleeping quarters, as small as it was, and he was pretty impressed that they'd done all of this themselves with only stone tools.

In the end, Rainbow did have to go collect Rarity. After finishing her cold shower, she'd gone to the other side of the island to dry in the sun and pick up some more coconuts, not knowing that Rainbow had already done so. As soon as she heard there was a boat there to pick them up, she raced back to the camp, leaping into the arms of a sailor, who carried her back to the boat. The shelter would stay as it was, in the event that somepony else washed up after a shipwreck. Rainbow stayed by Soarin's side, not really caring if she caught his cold. They were going home. That was all that mattered to them.