- >Rarity doesn't say anything for a while.
- >Neither of you do.
- >The fact that you're trapped on an island in the middle of an ocean you don't even know the name of has sapped your desire for conversation.
- >A bead of sweat rolling into your eye pulls you from your thoughts.
- >You don't know how long you're going to be stuck here, and sitting her to bake in the sun won't do you any favors.
- >With a sigh, you get to your feet.
- "Rarity, we should head for the trees."
- >"No."
- >You stare at her for a moment.
- "What?"
- >"I'm staying right here in case someone comes looking for us."
- "Rarity, all you're going to do out here is burn up and dehydrate."
- >"I don't care. Someone will find us soon, I just know it."
- >She never takes her eyes off the ocean as she speaks to you.
- >Whatever. She'll come to her senses eventually.
- >As you trek toward the comforting shade of the trees, you can't help but feel you shouldn't be this exhausted.
- >It occurs to you that you haven't had anything to drink for almost two days.
- >As you finally drag yourself out of the sun and into the shade, you collapse.
- >This'll be good for now.
- >May as well just take a short break.
- >Your eyes slowly open a while later.
- >Laying on the ground, you notice something a few feet in front of your head.
- >It's a large, green, roundish object.
- >Huh.
- >A coconut.
- >You take a look up into the trees over your head.
- >Coconuts everywhere.
- >Seems like things may be looking up.
- ----
- >Forcing yourself to your feet, you walk over and grab it up.
- >You can hear liquid sloshing around inside.
- >You can't help but giggle to yourself as you pick a stone off the ground.
- >Sitting down, you hold the coconut firmly between your legs and bash it with the rock.
- >After a few good hits, it finally splits open, revealing the prize inside.
- >Pulling the husk away, you grab the tender innards.
- >Jamming a finger through to make a hole, you bring it to your mouth and take a drink.
- >You almost gag at the flavor.
- >You were expecting it to be sweet; instead it's metallic tasting.
- >But, you're far too thirsty to be picky, and you drink every drop.
- >Rarity would probably like something to drink by now, too.
- >Even if it's not imported.
- >Turning back toward the beach, you spot the boat.
- >Squinting, it looks like she's not in it anymore.
- >Scanning the beach, you finally spot something on the sand in front of the boat, almost impossible to see from the glare of the sun.
- >It looks like Rarity, laying on the sand.
- >Well, why the hell would she be...
- >Oh fuck.
- ----
- >You sprint down the beach toward her, renewed by your rest, your drink, and mostly determination.
- >You come to a stop beside her.
- "Rarity?"
- >She doesn't respond.
- >You nudge her in the ribs with your foot.
- >Still nothing.
- >Getting worried, you check her pulse.
- >Good, she's still alive, and seems fine.
- >She probably just fainted from the heat.
- >You've got to get her back to the shade.
- >Unsure of exactly what to do, you grab her front legs and begin to drag her through the sand.
- >After a few feet, you decide it's more trouble than it's worth.
- >Stopping, you scoop her up off the burning sand, cradling her in your arms.
- >It's not easy.
- >She must weigh eighty pounds, easy.
- >Stumbling a few times and almost dropping her, you make your way toward the trees.
- >By the time you reach the shade, your back is killing you, teeth clenched in pain.
- >You gently lay her down on the ground.
- >You place a hand on her forehead.
- >She's burning up.
- >After a few quick shakes, she's still out.
- >You don't want to waste the only water you have, but you don't see any other options.
- >Quickly looking around, you find another coconut laying on the ground.
- >Using the rock to break the husk away, you pull the innards out and poke a hole in it.
- >Carefully, you drip a few drops of the milk onto her face.
- >Her eyes twitch and she winces, before finally opening her eyes.
- ----
- "You ok?"
- >She blinks a few times before climbing to her feet.
- >"I'm... fine." She replies, clearly embarrassed.
- "What happened there?"
- >She's silent for a moment, then sits down on the ground.
- >"After a few hours in the sun, I decided the shade sounded pretty nice. I suppose I waited too long."
- >She shifts uncomfortably, not looking you in the eyes.
- >"Thank you, Anonymous."
- >You hand her the coconut.
- "I know it's not what you're used to, but it's all we have."
- >She levitates the coconut to her mouth and takes a drink.
- >She grimaces, but downs the whole thing in one go.
- >She sets the empty coconut on the ground beside her.
- >The two of you sit wordlessly for several minutes.
- "I guess we should get ready for nightfall."
- >"How do you mean?"
- "Well, we have water for now. We need a fire, next."
- >You glance at her horn.
- "I don't suppose you could, like... magic us up some fire?
- >She rolls her eyes and scoffs.
- >"Honestly, Anonymous! Could you be any more clueless?"
- >You shake your head and sigh deeply.
- "Fine. I'll try and get a fire started."
- >This was nothing you've ever actually tried, but you remember seeing something about it on TV.
- >It didn't look so hard.
- ----
- >You set off looking for a flexible stick.
- >Walking deeper into the island, you find plenty of sticks littering the ground.
- >Looking around for a good one, you see movement out of the corner of your eye.
- >Turning your head, you see a chicken standing there, staring right back at you, before walking on it's merry old way.
- >Looks like there are wild chickens, here.
- >That is information worth knowing.
- >For now, you go back to your search.
- >Spotting a good looking stick, you snatch it up off the ground along with a shorter, thicker one, and a large dead one about as thick as your arm.
- >You awkwardly carry everything back toward where you left Rarity.
- >She turns to face you when she hears you approach.
- >She seems to be wearing a sun hat made of palm leaves on her head.
- >"Ah, there you are! Just give me a moment and I'll have yours ready."
- >She uses her magic to weave a mass of the leaves together.
- >After a few seconds of twisting and wringing, the leaves take the shape of a boonie hat.
- >She levitates it over to you.
- >"Here you are! That should make this dreadful heat more bearable."
- "Oh. Thank you!"
- >You drop your sticks to the ground and snatch the hat out of the air, putting it on your head.
- >It's a good fit, and you already feel cooler.
- >She eyes the sticks you dropped by your feet.
- >"What are those for?"
- "These are for the fire."
- >"How are you going to make a fire with just sticks?"
- "How do you ponies make fire?"
- >She scoffs at your question.
- >"With flint and steel, like any sane p0ny would."
- "Well, we don't have flint or steel. So we have to improvise."
- ----
- >Tearing the hem off your shirt, you twist it taut and tie it to the ends of the flexible stick.
- >There's your bow.
- >You find a sharp rock and carve a notch out of the dead branch and stuff it with any flammable looking grass you found.
- >Finally, you loop the shorter stick through the bow and stick one end into the notch.
- >There, looks like it's all set up.
- >This has all been surprisingly easy so far.
- >Rarity looks at your handiwork with a raised eyebrow.
- >"Anonymous, are you sure you haven't spent too much time in the sun?"
- "No, that would be you, if you remember."
- >She huffs at the comment, her face blushing slightly.
- "Anyway, why do you ask?"
- >"Do you honestly believe you'll be able to start a fire with that... thing?"
- "There's nothing to it," you say with a smirk. "I'll have a fire going in no time."
- >About 30 minutes later, it's getting dark, and you're no closer to a fire than when you started.
- >This is exhausting, and your arms are already sore from rowing the boat earlier today.
- >So far you've had to stop and drink from a coconut twice.
- >Rarity is just sitting there, watching you struggle with a bemused look on her face.
- >It looks like she's trying hard not to say "I told you so."
- >Which is good, because you'd probably smack her.
- >Arms aching, thirsty, hot, sweat pouring down your face, you keep at.
- >Is it possible for your arms to be so tired they fall off?
- >Because it really feels like it.
- >Just a little more, come on.
- >No, you can't do this... you can't-
- >Wait, is that a spark?
- ----
- >YES!
- >You drop the bow, and quickly begin nursing the budding ember.
- >You gently blow on it and drop more kindling on top.
- >Your heart begins to sink when you accomplish nothing but cause the grass to smolder, until finally, a small flame erupts.
- "AHA!" you shout, startling Rarity half to death.
- >She stares speechless as you pile on additional sticks until the fire is a respectable size.
- >Completely drained, but with a smile on your face, you sit down next to the fire.
- >Looking over at Rarity, you can help but laugh at her expression.
- >"And what, may I ask, is so funny?"
- "I told you so."
- >Rarity might have resisted the urge, but you don't feel the need to.
- >"I suppose you did," Rarity says, taking that jab with annoying dignity.
- >"Now we have water and fire. All we need now is a bite to eat. I am absolutely famished."
- >You point back to where you came from with your thumb.
- "There's some grass growing back there."
- >"I see. Thank you." She says, climbing to her feet.
- >"What about you?"
- "I can't eat grass. But right now, I'm just tired. I'm going to sleep."
- >"Then you'll be happy yo have... this!"
- >She magics up a gigantic square made of woven palm leaves.
- >It's pretty amazing what she's capable of with her magic.
- >"I made it while you were starting the fire. I thought it would be nice to have."
- "Oh wow, a blanket? Thanks!"
- >You grab it from the air.
- >Laying down on the still warm sand, you cover yourself with it.
- >For being made of leaves, it's actually quite nice.
- "G'night, Rarity." you say through a long yawn
- >Rarity, who was walking toward where you said the grass was, stopped for a second.
- >For a moment, she stood silent.
- >"Good night, Anonymous."
- ----
- >As you open your eyes, you realize you can't see anything.
- >At first you're scared by this, until you realize it's just night.
- >Looking over at the fire, you see it's almost out.
- >That also explains why you're so cold.
- >With a frustrated groan, you begin to force yourself up, when you feel something beside you.
- >Carefully reaching out to see what it is, you find that it's Rarity.
- >It takes your half asleep mind a few seconds to realize she must have gotten under your blanket with you to fight the cold.
- >Getting out from under the blanket is like stepping into a freezer.
- >You quickly run behind a nearby tree and do your business, before gathering up some more wood.
- >It's not easy seeing as it's almost pitch black out.
- >You feed the hungry fire more wood until it's burning nice and warm again.
- >You delicately climb back under the blanket, as to not wake Rarity.
- >Getting in comfortably is difficult, laying on sand.
- >You accidentally bump into Rarity as you climb under.
- >She lets out a loud snort and mumbles to herself.
- >It's all you can do to keep from laughing.
- >She flails around a bit before finally colliding with you.
- >Once she feels you, she scoots back into you and lets out a contented sigh.
- >It's a little uncomfortable, but you can't deny she's warm.
- >With a yawn, you lay your head back down on the ground.
- >Before you can drift off, your stomach growls, loudly and painfully.
- "Shut up," you say. "I'll deal with you tomorrow."
- End part 3
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A Lifeboat Made for Two- part 3
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