As the Days Go

by Taiyon

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Dark, Random, Slice of Life
Length: 3139

Applejack and her friends are stranded. What will become of you?

You (Applejack) and your friends are stranded on an island after a plane crash. You have a journal you keep with you that you write in (nearly) every single day. But eventually, you start to go mad. And so does everypony else…

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2011-12-04 20:20:23 UTC

Survival Island

Day 1

It’s the first day of the plane wreck. Pinkie and Rarity are nowhere to be seen. Twilight, Dashie, Fluttershy, and I have all made it. Twilight’s using her remaining power to build a fire. Dashie’s searching for shelter, and Fluttershy’s looking for food. Ditzy drowned. Her wings were too heavy and she was dragged to the bottom. We managed to haul her body out and build her a grave. We’ll take her with us when the rescue plane comes. If it comes.

Day 2

Fluttershy has found some coconuts and berries. Twilight nearly froze to death last night. We can’t afford to lose another one. Dashie made a shelter of sticks. I made some mats out of leaves and some bowls for the food. We’ll eat that tomorrow.

Day 3

Pinkie Pie’s here. We found her in the first few days near a freshwater lake on this barren island. She was wounded. Clear poison was leaking from her arm. Twilight’s aiding her. Ditzy Doo’s grave has been dug. We’ve marked it with stones and a leaf. Fluttershy’s crying. I better check on her.

Day 4

Pinkie’s deathly ill. Twilight’s power is doing little to help. Nopony wants to find meat, being vegetarians or not. Not on this island where we could be killed by our own food. We might have to pull straws. Leaf strips might work.

Day 5

Fluttershy’s going mad. Most of the day she’s huddled in one of the corners of the stick hut muttering to herself about Angel. He’s still safe at Fluttershy’s house. And so is Spike. I’ve set up a small stone SOS signal. Nopony’s rescued us yet. The food supply is running low. We need some meat. We haven’t remembered that we’re ponies and that we don’t eat meat ever since we’ve heard a boar in the distance.

Day 6

We pulled leaf strips. Twilight lost. She’s out in the overgrowth of plants looking for meat. I’m drooling on the leather pocket journal I managed to get from the chunks of plane earlier.

Day 7

Twilight hasn’t come back yet. Rainbow Dash is out looking for her. Pinkie’s well enough to come with me to scavenge the remaining chunks of airplane. Why didn’t we think of this earlier…

Day 8

Twilight’s back. She’s bloody and mauled but she’s got the boar we heard a few days ago. We shall feast on its flesh tonight. Even Fluttershy cheers when she sees the boar. We’ll stuff it with berries and nuts. Pinkie’s almost healthy again. Rarity’s still missing.

Day 9

We’ve sent a search party out for Rarity. Pinkie Pie and I had to stay back at camp. I’ve gathered more berries. We only ate a tiny leg of the boar. Poor Pinkie’s getting worse instead of healthier. I feed her mashed berries through a leaf pipe. That seems to make her feel better.

Day 10

The search party is still out there. I’ve eaten an inch of the boar and given a bit to my only companion at the moment. The poison’s left her but the illness remains. She’s got a virus now. I’ll make her a thicker leaf mat. I made a blanket for her though. Weaving in and out with the strips of leaves like Rarity taught me. Like Rarity taught me…

Day 11

I’m starting to think the search party’s got themselves lost too. I’ve been kicking the only nearby trees with coconuts on them. I need to be more careful. I have a concussion now but I have a cup of coconut juice here beside me. Pinkie’s drinking it with her berries. I can’t even tell if she’s getting better or worse anymore.

Day 12

They’ve come back. All of them. Rarity too. Dashie said they found her unconscious in a pool of blood and clear liquid. She was poisoned too. I’m helping her in the new nursery. She’s a mess, clumps of hair missing and ripped out. How did she get this way?

Crash of the Rescue

Day 13

Fluttershy’s lost it. She’s isolated herself in the forest where there’s a variety of little animals. She left a leaf note for us. All it said was I'm gone. Nopony wants to look for her. I understand. She’ll attack the nearest pony. I guess she misses Angel. I would too if I were her. Rarity’s waking up. I have to go. Goodbye, journal.

Day 14

We’ve been here far too long. The rescue plane should have been here by now. I’m scouring the last bits of the plane. Now I’ve found a survival kit for 5 people! I’m dragging it back to my hopefully temporary home. The others see me. They’re cheering like they did with the boar. Oh, that’s right. I haven’t eaten in two days. I better eat something.

Day 15

The survival kit contained 5 thick wooly blankets for each of us. Bundles of plastic-wrapped food lay in a heap in Fluttershy’s old corner. We’re using the syringe on Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Poor Rarity nearly murdered me with her hooves, trying to punch me into the ocean. I knocked her out myself by suffocating her. I hope she’s alright. I’ve just stabbed the syringe into both of them. The rest of the survival kit contained 2 more syringes (lucky us), bandages of all kinds, 2 flashlights, a box of matches, and toothbrushes with toothpaste. I’ll use the toothbrush later. Pinkie’s screaming. She must have been awake when we gave her the vaccination. I’m tending to her now. This journal is distracting.

Day 16

A storm came. Our tiny group had to hold the leaf hut down. Actually, they’re doing that right now. I’m holding down the survival kit. I’ve already stuffed the food packs into it. It won’t stay shut very long. I hope Fluttershy’s still alive. We haven’t found her yet. Perhaps she’s dug herself a hole and is now hiding in it. I need to put this silly journal somewhere safe. Goodbye, future me.

Day 17

Fluttershy’s returned. She’s messy and angry just like she was at the gala. We’ve restrained her. She’s hiding something. We manage to pull her hooves apart. It’s a downright smashed purple scorpion, the one that poisoned my friends. I try to high-hoof Fluttershy. All she does is snarl at me and run off to the hut. Our friendship’s shattering slowly.

Day 18

Dashie’s set up a signal. Using the strange green wood from what we think is a palm tree, she set up a wooden platform underneath my SOS rock signal. I’ve lit it on fire. Ow, I’ve burned my hoof! Black smoke’s drifting into the air. Fluttershy’s gotten out. Oh yeah. We need to restrain her with the ropes we found in the survival kit. Turns out that there was another part of the kit we didn’t look at. Ok, I have to tie her down to her mat now. I’ll be back tomorrow.

Day 19

The signal’s still burning bright. Dashie’s been feeding and helping Fluttershy. I’m helping Rarity make a stuffed toy of Angel. At least she’s regained her sanity.

Day 20

The signal’s dimming. I’ve set it on fire again but that only increases a bit of the smoke. Oh yeah. Ditzy. I nearly forgot about her. I’m digging up her grave right now. We need another pony with us. I’ll go help Rarity sew more of the white blanket fabric into the Angel doll. I pretend that Ditzy wants to help. It cheers me up a bit. Nopony will think I’m sane in a few days…

Day...21

How long have we been here, a few weeks? Rarity’s finished the Angel replica and has given it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy loved it and apologized. I untied her today. Ditzy’s body is still heavy from being waterlogged. I’ll pour her out. Maybe I’ll stuff her so she won’t rot. But she’s not a hunting prize. Still, I’m going to stuff her. I’m slicing a line down her chest and stomach now. Her organs are rotting and her bones are losing their durability. I sigh and get to work.

Day 22

Twilight’s remembered Spike. Pinkie’s remembered Gummy. Rarity’s remembered Opal and Sweetie Belle. And I’ve remembered Applebloom. I’m sorry. A teardrop splatted onto the side of the page. Poor Twilight now’s forgetting everything else around her and just sits on her mat sniffling sometimes.  I do that sometimes too, sit with her and try and get over it. I’m eating a packet of salted peanuts and apple slices. Rainbow Dash is scouting the island. Fluttershy’s with her now. They’ve come back. Already? It turns out the island is only two and a half miles long and a mile wide. I’m still stuffing Ditzy. I wonder if this makes me a mad freak.

Day 23

A plane’s spotted the smoke! They’re diving down to get us! I squeal with joy. But then I realize…

They’re not coming for us.

They’re crashing on us.

I hide in the hut.

They've Gone

Day 32

Bad news. Dashie and Twi just came from the back of the storage area. Twi’s holding Ditzy and standing directly in front of me. The paper’s going to get soaked in tears in the next few minutes. I reach out for Ditzy with my mouth. Twilight and Rainbow Dash look at each other. Now back at me. Twi nods to Dashie and they give me a vaccination that makes the world spin around. The next thing I know they’re blindfolding me. I feel a gag. And then the world goes dark.

Day 33

I can’t see. I can hardly breathe. I can still write though but I don’t know where the words are going on the page. I feel Ditzy. Her fluffy corpse is on my stomach. She slides onto the floor. I hear somepony. And then I scream. But it sounds like a muffled moan through the gag. I lift my head ever so slightly and feel Pinkie Pie and Rarity brushing my mane and discussing something. The blindfold covers part of my ears. I can barely hear them. And then I fall asleep again after hearing the word “murderer”.

Day 35

I failed to wake up yesterday. That’s why there’s no entry for that day. Somepony is feeding me mashed food through a leaf pipe like I did to Pinkie. I think it’s Pinkie. But then I see a flash of yellow through the thick blindfold and know it’s Fluttershy. She begins to sing. I hear birds chirp outside and the ocean waves. That helps me calm down. Murderer. I hear a voice in my head. Murderer. Get out! Murderer. I begin to pull against the ropes. Fluttershy stops singing. The birds sound like they’re warning each other now. The calming ocean sounds remind me of Ditzy. Saliva and blood bubbles out the side of my mouth. Fluttershy cleans that up for me.

Day 36

I hear a buzzing sound. Is that a plane coming? I want to rush outside. But the ropes refuse to let me. I blink. The blindfold is gone. The gag remains. I turn my head, which only has a forehead restraint. The window shows me my friends running outside. Yes. It is a plane. I try to call to them through my gag. Just a muffled shout. I try again, this time screaming. Nopony hears me. I yell as loud as I can, banging what I can against my bed. Tears escape my eyes. I don’t want to be left here. But Fluttershy comes back into the plane. She’s looking for something. I scream as hard as I can again. She turns and hears me. She gasps. Fluttershy tries to untie the ropes. But then the buzz of the plane begins to leave. I began squirm in the restraints. I look out the plane window.

The plane’s gone. And so is everypony else but me and Fluttershy.

Day 37

Fluttershy and I are alone. After hours of work she finally gets me free. I tear off the gag and throw it on the floor. I stomp and push it into the carpet with my hoof. Running by a slightly scared Fluttershy, I grab my three other friends. They’re a bit dusty but I don’t mind. Those three were lonely. My yellow pegasus friend smiles gently, understanding my needs. We’re not totally alone now. I send out a call to Princess Celestia and the other planes. The radio still works! still works. All is not lost. Not yet, at least.

Day 38

How long have we been here again? It’s been more than a month and I’m grayer than ever. I still have a lot of my color left, but it’s just barely poking out next to the dull gray. Fluttershy’s nearly as gray as I am, but her singing helps her regain color. I try singing to the green pilot. His sewn-together smile warms me. I could have sworn he winked at me. My cutie mark’s color is back.

Day 39

Our little group is making progress. Wanting to pretend as if my stuffed friends were still alive, I ask Fluttershy if she wants to play a game. I add something about cleaning and friendship into the game description. She accepts right away, and I get out the three corpses. I act like I’m talking to Ditzy, who’s holding a feather duster I made from fuzzy leaves, tree sap and a twig. The two pilots are flying the plane again. I make Ditzy walk around with a cart we found in the back, and Fluttershy and I pretend to be on a flight to Ponyville. Happy tears run down my cheek. Maybe being here isn’t so bad after all.

Day 40

The others came back for us. I can’t believe it. The same familiar buzz of the plane rings in my ears. Fluttershy and I didn’t expect this. We gather our belongings and run to the plane…

I bolt awake. Hot tears are blurring my eyesight. But then I hear a plane buzz in the background. I stare out the window. Nopony was there. But then I see it. The same plane. I smash my head into the wall. Ow…I feel my head. The concussion’s worse. I grab my three dolls and run out the door. But I remember Fluttershy. I grab the food and wake her up. I pack the food into the survival kit, which is now bulging. I take the leaf mats. Fluttershy follows me. I have no idea why I’m taking so many things but I run to the plane. Struggling to get up the ladder, I push my things up into the hatch. Fluttershy gets in too. She’s holding her Angel doll. I slam the hatch shut and look up at my friends.

“It’s good to know that we’re gonna live, right gals?”

They nod.

The Part Where You Go Mad

Day 24

The plane’s crashed. The radio still works. We contact the Princess but she’s not there. The pilots are dead now. A purple earth pony and a  green unicorn. We gather the large amount of food and materials they have stored away in some luggage areas and make an unstable but comfortable home inside the plane. It’s a jet plane, but it’s sort of small. After we all move into the plane with our belongings and survival items, I ground the plane using vines, ropes, and rocks. I also found some nails. I use those two using a boulder as a hammer. I buck the plane. It doesn’t move. Perfect.

Day 25

I’ve stuffed the pilots’ corpses. Now I have three secret friends. I hide them in the luggage storage area where I sleep. Thankfully ponies’ eyes and eye sockets don’t get disgusting. I kept those. The skulls too. We have too many white blankets. I took one earlier and used that to stuff the pilots. I asked Rarity to make an Applebloom doll. I can’t hold in my tears any longer. She’s probably starving right now or… She might think I’m dead!

Day 26

Twilight sent a distress signal out. I hug my new friends and wait for a reply. But all I hear is static. So I eat alone in a corner, drinking small sips of water when I can get myself to. The only other thing I do is play with my stuffed friends or write in this stupid journal. I can’t risk going crazy like the others once were. I’ll go outside tomorrow. That’ll work. I won’t go crazy. I promise myself that and go to sleep while Twilight attempts to send out more distress signals. Dashie lights the fire outside. I smile at my new friends.

Day 27

I can’t stand it anymore. I burst outside with my journal. A bewildered Pinkie Pie greets me. She’s better! I can’t help it and smile. I look down at my hooves. I notice that my skin tone is a bit grayer. Pinkie’s is starting to get a little gray too. I wonder what that means. Am I getting depressed?

Day 28

Week 4. I’ve been counting. Nopony else was. My toy friends have gone unseen. They look eerily happy. I punch Ditzy. An hour later I regret that. I cry on her shoulder and nudge her once every so often. A few of you might be wondering about my hat. I plan on reading this to the public once I get back…if I do. My hat’s at my real house. I miss it almost as much as I miss my family. I hope that everypony else is doing fine. I’ve re-isolated myself in the corner again. I think I’m better off this way. Alone.

Day 31

The last few days I didn’t write down. I went mad those days. The other ponies had to restrain me like they did Fluttershy. I’m still in ropes but they’ve allowed me my journal. I want Ditzy back. I want her alive. She’d comfort me. Dash is on guard. As in, she’s standing by my strap bed. I hope they don’t find my stuffed friends. Everypony knows that Ditzy is gone, but they’ve been wondering where the pilots went… no one suspects me.

Day 32

Bad news. Dashie and Twi just came from the back of the storage area. Twi’s holding Ditzy and standing directly in front of me. The paper’s going to get soaked in tears in the next few minutes. I reach out for Ditzy with my mouth. Twilight and Rainbow Dash look at each other. Now back at me. Twi nods to Dashie and they give me a vaccination that makes the world spin around. The next thing I know they’re blindfolding me. I feel a gag. And then the world goes dark.