- >A loud, painful rumbling in your guts pulls you from your restless sleep.
- >Rarity's loud snoring made it hard for you to rest easy.
- >Seems a battered, bloody nose restricts airflow.
- >Sitting up in the tent, you see the sky is a rusted red color.
- >Going to be dawn soon.
- >You crawl out from under the leaf blanket into the cold morning.
- >Stomach wrenching in pain, you feed some sticks to the fire in an attempt to warm up.
- >As you stare, half asleep at the growing fire, you feel a sudden impact on your shoulder.
- >Glancing down, you see a large grasshopper landed on your shirt.
- >You absently move to brush it off, but stop yourself.
- >A grasshopper is food.
- >Not MUCH food, but better than nothing.
- >You slowly carefully position your hand over it.
- >As fast as you can, you snatch it off your shirt.
- >You take a look at your prize.
- >As hungry as you are, you're not liking the thought of eating it raw.
- >Those legs look pretty iffy, too.
- >Carefully, you pluck all the legs off the squirming insect, as well as it's wings for good measure.
- >Finding a solid, thin stick, you run it through the side, and stick it in the fire.
- >You don't know how long it'll take to cook, but it shouldn't be long.
- >After a few seconds, you pull it out of the flame.
- >It's a dark, roasted brown color, and it doesn't smell half bad.
- >You tentatively take a bite.
- >It's not the best thing you've ever eaten, but hunger will do strange things to a picky eater.
- >All too soon, the insect has been devoured, and your stomach is screaming for more.
- ----
- >That wasn't nearly enough to be filling.
- >All you did was remind yourself of how hungry you really are.
- >But maybe you can find more?
- >As soon as the thought crosses your mind, you become aware of the constant chirping coming from the grass around you.
- >You never payed attention before; you were used to hearing it at home.
- >But to your starving mind, it was the sound of food.
- >Rushing to the nearest patch of grass, you hear it go silent.
- >There are some in here.
- >Rooting through it, you see quite a few.
- >Snatching as many as you can, you impale them on your roasting stick.
- >More escape than you manage to catch, but you still pull in a fair amount.
- >Pulling their legs and wings off as fast as you can, and stick them in the fire.
- >It's going to be dawn, soon, and Rarity will be awake not long after.
- >You'd prefer if she never knew about this.
- >Pulling them out of the flame, you gorge yourself as fast as you can.
- >They could use some salt, but they'll do.
- >A few more trips through the grass, and you've eaten more insects than you'd ever care to admit to anybody.
- >You're not full, but you feel much better than you had.
- >Satisfied for the moment, you decide to crawl back into the tent and see if you can get some more sleep.
- >It's not like there's much else to do.
- ----
- >You hear Rarity groaning beside you, and it wakes you up.
- >Rolling over, you grimace at the sight of her leg.
- >The gash has scabbed over, but the wound still looks pretty bad, and her pure white fur was stained a dull, rusty brown from the dried blood.
- >Looking from her leg to you, the two of you lock eyes.
- >She stares a look raw anger into you, forcing you to look away.
- "I'll, uh... go get something to drink."
- >You quickly crawl out of the tent and look around for some more coconuts.
- >There aren't many fresh ones on the ground at this point.
- >You'll have to get some more out of the trees.
- >Looking around, you glance at all the remaining coconuts.
- >It leaves an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.
- >You grab two, and head back into the tent.
- >In the last few days you've gotten pretty good at opening them without tools.
- >Peeling on apart, you hand it to Rarity.
- >She takes it with her magic and drinks deep while you open your own.
- >You almost gag as you drink.
- >Drinking nothing but coconut milk has gotten you quite sick of the taste.
- >Still, it's all you have, so make due.
- >You both sit in silence for a moment.
- "Rarity."
- >She doesn't answer, but her ears perk slightly.
- "I took a look around at how many of these we have left." you said, waving your coconut for emphasis.
- "I can't say with any certainty, but at the rate we've been drinking these, they'll probably be gone within a month."
- ----
- >"Oh." she replies, emotionlessly.
- >You can't tell if she's not taking it well or if she just didn't hear you.
- "So. That's something we need to consider."
- >She doesn't answer.
- >She's probably taking in the gravity of the situation.
- >The conversation breaks off into silence.
- >You might as well move it along.
- "We should get your leg cleaned up."
- >Again, she doesn't answer.
- >With a sigh, you crawl out of the tent.
- >The sun is already high in the sky, now.
- >Even in the shade of the trees, it's sweltering.
- >You look around for something, anything, you could possibly use.
- >Rarity could probably weave some leaves into a bandage, but that wouldn't do much to actually CLEAN the wound.
- >Maybe you could wet your shirt down at the beach?
- >You're not sure how clean ocean water is, and the salt would be unpleasant, but it's the best you can come up with.
- >Leaving the trees is like stepping into an oven.
- >You make your way down the beach as fast as you can without running.
- >No need to overexert yourself.
- >Reaching the water, you wade in about waist deep, and take your shirt off.
- >Once it's in your hands, you give it a quick sniff.
- >Whoo that's nasty!
- >You've been wearing the same shirt for days now, stewing in your own sweat.
- >Better scrub this out first.
- ----
- >You do your best to clean the shirt until you can no longer smell B.O. then ball it up, and shove it underwater.
- >Trying to keep it as moist as possible, you trek back to the camp.
- >By the time you get back, the shirt is half dry and hot, but it should work.
- >You duck back into the tent.
- "Alright, I'm here."
- >Rarity turns to look at you, and seems taken aback by your shirtlessness.
- >"Where are your clothes?"
- >You hold up the wet ball of shirt for her to see.
- "I told you, we need to clean your leg."
- >She looks disgusted.
- >"I'm not having you touch me, let alone a WOUND, with that glorified sweat rag. Why, it must be festering with-"
- "I cleaned it."
- >She stares at you, a look of annoyed skepticism stuck on her face.
- >You give another irritated sigh.
- "Would you like to smell for yourself?" you say, shoving it in her face.
- >She reacts as if you were offering her a bowl full of shit, but gives it a small sniff.
- >Smelling nothing, she gives it another, stronger smell.
- >Apparently satisfied, she rolls onto her side, allowing you full access to the gash.
- >You have no idea what you're doing, but how hard can it be to clean a cut?
- >You drape the shirt over her leg, and apply light pressure, letting the warm water to loosen the dried blood.
- >After a few minutes, you take the shirt and begin to scrub as delicately as you can.
- >Rarity makes a show of it, of course.
- >"Ouch! Anonymous, honestly! Can't you do this more gently?"
- "No, Rarity, I really can't. If I use any less pressure, I won't be touching you. Just deal with it, I'm almost done."
- ----
- >She huffs, but stops complaining.
- >A few minutes of scrubbing and a few grunts of pain from her later, you have her leg as clean as you're going to get it.
- >Her leg is still stained that rusty brown color, but the cut itself is nowhere near as bad as you expect.
- >Ideally, it should be stitched up, but it's nothing life threatening.
- >You sit back, and let out a out a satisfied sigh.
- "There. That's about as much as I can do for now."
- >Rarity gingerly sits up and inspects the wound.
- >She grimaces at the sight of it, but still looks relieved it wasn't as bad as it looked.
- "So, what about a bandage? Can you, like, weave leaves together or something?"
- >Rarity rolls her eyes at the question.
- >"Yes, I could. I don't suppose you had the foresight to wash some for me to use?"
- >...
- "Fuck."
- >Rarity lets out a sigh of her own as you venture from the tent yet again, shirt in hand.
- >You throw the shirt back on, then gather some leaves off the ground.
- >You're not sure how many she'll need, but this should be plenty.
- >With no small amount of reluctance, you set off for the beach again.
- >You shouldn't be getting tired this easily.
- >Probably because you're under hydrated.
- >When you reach the water, you realize you don't know how you'd actually go about washing the leaves.
- >Scrub them off one by one, or just dunk them in the water?
- >Deciding the latter is less effort, you just wade into the sea up to your chest, and swish the leaves around a bit.
- >Glancing up, you see what looks like a dorsal fin out ahead of you.
- >And here you are, standing in a bloody shirt.
- >Yeah, these are probably clean enough.
- ----
- >Turning, you run as fast as you can through the deep water.
- >Glancing back, you see the fin is so much closer, now.
- >Your muscles burn as you fruitlessly try to sprint.
- >The shark makes a pass at you, bumping into the back of your legs.
- >At this point, you give up on trying to run and just start swimming, losing half the leaves in the process.
- >Before long, you're in the shallows, and can properly run out of the water.
- >Even though you're safely back on dry land, you keep a quick pace back to the camp.
- >The whole thing just has you a bit spooked.
- >You duck into the tent and plop the leaves down on the mat.
- >You lay down on the mat next to Rarity, trying to catch your breath.
- >"Anonymous? Are you alright?"
- >You decide not to tell her.
- >Don't want to get her worried over nothing.
- "I'm fine," you say between breaths. "Just moved too fast for this heat."
- >She looks like she wants to press the issue, but instead, turns to the leaves without another word.
- >Using her magic, she shakes off any remaining water and sand, then weaves them all together.
- >Carefully, she wraps the makeshift bandage around her leg, and tucks it snugly to stay put.
- >You could probably doze off, at this point, but you suddenly hear Rarity's stomach growl loudly.
- "Hungry?"
- >"Well obviously!" she snaps.
- >She clears her throat, and takes a dignified tone.
- >"I apologize. Yes, I am hungry."
- ----
- "I can go get you something, if you want."
- >"If you would be willing, I'd greatly appreciate it."
- >She forces a smile, but it's not convincing.
- >She's still pissed at you about her leg, and she's none too happy that you have to take care of her, now.
- >Sitting up, you crawl out of the shelter and walk deeper inland.
- >She's a pony, right?
- >Shouldn't be too hard to find stuff for her to eat.
- >Finding some tall grass, you grab a few handfuls until you have a sizable bundle.
- >Easy enough.
- >Walking back, you spy a bush with berries growing on them.
- >They're dark red and roughly oblong shaped.
- >Maybe they're something she can eat?
- >You grab a handful and put them in your shirt pocket, just in case.
- >Back in camp, you present Rarity with your bounty.
- >"Ah, yes. Thank you."
- >She's obviously less than enthused, but she eats anyway, using her magic to levitate each individual blade of grass to her mouth.
- >You watch her eat for a while, before remembering the berries.
- "Oh, I also found something else." you say, pulling a few of the berries from your pocket.
- >Her eyes light up when she sees them.
- >"Oh my, roan berries! This is a pleasant surprise!"
- >She snatches the berries from your hand with her magic and snarfs them down.
- >"Mmm, simply divine!" she says, savoring the taste.
- "So you seem to like them."
- >"Like them? Roan berries are a delicacy, dear! Do you have more?"
- ----
- "Uh, yeah."
- >You pull the rest from your pocket and Rarity immediate swipes a few more.
- >"Mmm. You simply must try some!"
- >Well, she obviously likes them... a lot.
- >You pop two or three in your mouth and almost gag.
- >They taste like pine needles, but have the texture of snot.
- >Still, food is food, so you manage to swallow them.
- "Not my cup of tea," you sputter.
- >"Hmph. Suit yourself. That's more for me."
- >You lie back down on the pad, and try to relax.
- >Wow, it's gotten a lot hotter.
- >Come to think of it, your stomach burns, too.
- >And you're suddenly aware you can hear your own breathing echo.
- >You sit up in alarm, and almost topple back over.
- >The inside of the tent is spinning, and colors are flashing in front of your eyes.
- >"Anonymous? Is something wrong?"
- >Rarity sounds like she's yelling in a tunnel, but it's muffled at the same time.
- >You look at her to answer, but only end up screaming.
- >Her eyes are so massive they're sticking off the side of her head, and they're dripping a thick, red liquid.
- >You scramble to your feet and run from the monster.
- >A few steps outside the tent, and the pain in your stomach is too much.
- >You fall to your knees and vomit.
- >Relief turns to horror as several snakes emerge from your pool of sick and slither away.
- >No wonder your stomach hurts, there are snakes inside it.
- "GET THEM OUT!" you scream, clawing frantically at your own gut.
- ----
- >Outside the tent is worse than the inside.
- >There are shadowy figures all around you.
- >They duck behind trees and into the grass when you face them but your vision is still too messed up to focus on them.
- >You run out onto the beach to escape the shadows, but the sand is constantly moving and shifting.
- >You can't get good footing and fall to the ground.
- >Above you, colors swirl in the sky.
- >They clash together, producing a deafening roar every time.
- >With every collision, the sky gets darker and darker.
- >Voices around you begin to call your name, softly at first, then louder.
- "Who's there!?" you cry, looking for the source.
- >You don't see anyone, but the voices are still there.
- "Help me!" you scream.
- "I'm scared and I want to go home!" you cry, over and over, tears streaming down your face.
- >You fall onto your back in defeat, squeezing your eyes closed, trying to block it all out.
- >Suddenly, you feel your head being lifted and you open your eyes.
- >There's something standing above you.
- >It looks like it's made of light, and it's presence is calming.
- >The entity reaches out, and gently strokes your face.
- >It feels like velvet, warm and soft.
- >It leans down closer, and speaks in Rarity's voice.
- >"Anonymous!"
- >A loud clap of thunder snaps you into clarity.
- ----
- >You feel a warm softness under your head.
- >You reach back to see what it is, and stick your hand in Rarity's mane.
- >"Are you finally awake?"
- >You're laying on the beach, with your head on Rarity's side.
- >Sitting up, you notice it's much colder, and much darker.
- >The sky is covered in black clouds.
- "What the hell happened?" you say, fingers on your temples.
- >It feels like your head is splitting open.
- >"I'm not sure. I think you had some kind of reaction to the roan berries."
- "How long was I out?"
- >"A few hours, at least."
- "And how long was I using you as a pillow?"
- >Her face reddens.
- >"That's not important. We should really-"
- >There's a flash of light above you as the sky is ripped apart by lightning.
- >Mere seconds later, thunder booms loudly.
- "Looks like a storm." you say, sarcastically,
- >"Yes, I was just getting to that."
- >You shakily get to your feet.
- "Come on. Let's get back to camp."
- >You head up the beach, but find you quickly outrun her.
- >Looking back you can see she's struggling pretty bad on her leg.
- >You feel guilty that she walked this far on it because of you.
- "Ok, let's do it this way."
- >You walk beside her, and quickly hoist her up.
- ----
- >"I beg your pardon!" she says, indignantly.
- >"I do not need to be carried around like some common-"
- "Shut up." you cut her off.
- "Unless you REALLY want me to leave you out in the rain," you add as droplets begin to fall from the sky.
- >It's not much more than a sprinkle, but it gets your point across.
- >She silently concedes, and you make your way back under the trees.
- >Gently, you place Rarity on the mat in the tent.
- "Be right back." you tell her, before heading back out into the storm.
- >Luckily, the trees block most of the rain, but you should still get the fire going hotter, just in case.
- >You gather some sticks and toss them in, getting it nice and high.
- >You should probably get something to drink, then head to bed.
- >Snatching a couple coconuts off the ground, you head back to the tent.
- >Rarity is already laying down when you enter.
- >You offer her a coconut, but she wordlessly waves it away.
- >Sitting down, you crack yours open, and down the contents.
- >You sit in silence for a bit.
- "I'm sorry, Rarity."
- >"Hmm?"
- "It's just... I've done everything wrong. Anything bad that's happened is because of me."
- >Rarity rolls over to face you.
- >"Anonymous..."
- "I'm serious. I'm just a screw-up. I'm worthless."
- >"Anonymous, that's enough."
- "What? I figured you'd love to have a chance to discuss my faults."
- >"Normally, yes. But I don't want to hear your whining when I'm trying to sleep." She gives a teasing smile.
- >You can't help but laugh.
- >Laying down, you roll on your side, facing Rarity.
- >It isn't long until sleep takes you.
- END
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A Lifeboat Made for Two- part 5
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