Four of the main six are trapped on an island, waiting for help.. if it ever arives
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity are on their way to the summer estate of the royals for their birthday celebration. The royals have arranged for them to travel in a new type of carrage powered by magic, not wings. On the way, one of the pilots dies on duty, sending the carrage crashing into an island in the middle of nowhere. The five (the other pilot included) must now not only survive the wrath of the island, but eachother.
Narrorated by Death, and will include elements found in the tv series, 'Lost', and the book, 'Lord of the Flies'
Gore:the initial crash. Injuries described of each pony.
Welcome to my world, where everyday is a day of mourning. Everywhere I go, and everything I see, revolves around death. Between both the realm of Earth and the realm of Equestria, I have seen terrible tragedies, from famine to natural disasters, which have cut young lives short. I have seen civil wars tear families apart. World wars with millions dead on both sides. I have witnessed murders, disease, and accidents of all types. Luckily for me (if you call my job "lucky"), after thousands of years at this profession, I have grown cold to most of these events. When I find my next 'appointment', as I call them, I sometimes stop to hear their story. Some are still able to pierce my stone cold heart, almost driving me to tears. One of these stories takes place in the realm of the ponies: Equestria. This is a tale of friendship turned sour, of revelations turned to disaster, and of strengths and weaknesses reversed. Of the six which embarked on this journey, five of them would meet me, leaving just one to return home. This is the tale of the Stranded.
Chapter 1
From a grand beginning...
It all began on Monday, August 14. 3 years after Luna’s Return. This would have been a normal day, filling the ponies of Equestria with the usual Monday downs. No pony liked Mondays, just like the humans. However, unlike most others, this one was special. Everywhere in Equestria, ponies were preparing their own celebrations for their beloved Princess Celestia, who would be celebrating her birthday on Wednesday. In Manehattan, banners were hung from the tops of buildings and ribbons were attached between each light post. In Fillidelphia, the historic bell, which had first rung when the monarchy defeated Discord thousands of years ago, was being prepared for a ring. Bands and choirs were practicing for their debuts at concerts and parades. The small village of Ponyville was also preparing for the celebrations. The bakery was producing themed treats, such as star cookies shaped and dyed to resemble the princess. The mayor and the rest of the town committee were overseeing progress of decoration placement, only to be overshadowed by Derpy doing something wrong. In good spirits, the Apple family was preparing special batches of Apple Cider for the town picnic. Every pony was busy getting ready for the event in their own way which would take place on Wednesday, just 2 days away. All of them, except the Elements of Harmony... Ok, that’s a lie; everybody except the Elements of Harmony...minus Rarity, who was busy putting the final touches on the dresses she made for the rest of her friends. Unfortunately for them, they would never be worn.
Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were already in Hooveolulu, which is where the new summer estate for the royalty had been built. The castle was whitewashed with a red slated roof. The entire premises covers over 80 acres and included 2 swimming pools, a bowling alley, and a private beach and boat dock. Twilight came a day early to spend extra time with her teacher, being her most faithful student. The two shared stories of their lives that the other had missed over a year (although Celestia had already heard most of them from her letters). Pinkie Pie had been there for nearly a week, setting up for the birthday bash. Setting up the streamers and preparing the food took up most of her time, and she had had very little sleep over the timespan, however she never lost her cheery self. The other 4 would be leaving for Hooveolulu later today, and spend the night at the grand castle.
Applejack, the element of honesty, was on her way back home to Sweet Apple Acres to finish packing and say goodbye to her beloved family. Once she had finished packing, which only included a brush and a light snack, she began a formal goodbye to her family.
“Well, guess this is goodbye every pony. I’ll see y'all in three days,” she addressed to the crowd of twenty or so earth ponies that had gathered by the front porch of the ranch. The crowd began to say goodbye by waving their hooves and hats in the air. In her mind, Applejack was happy to spend time with her friends and the Princess, however, she couldn’t help feel a little afraid. They had only been informed yesterday that they were taking a new type of carriage. This carriage was build for both luxury and speed’ a real advancement for their times it was called. She had a good reason to worry...
Fluttershy panicked at trying to find someone to watch her dearly loved animals for the few days she would be absent. Unfortunately she was unable to find any other pony to watch the during her absence. Out of luck, she put Angel in charge.
“Now please take care of the others Angel,” the element of kindness softly spoke to the bunny,” remember, only feed them what I told you, and no staying up too late.” Impatiently, and with a darting look, Angel left the house and went outside. Fluttershy wanted to believe that Angel would be able to bear the responsibility of the others. However, even as nice as she was, even she was unable to fully trust the rabbit. Leave out until I can figure something else out (out of character) Fluttershy finished brushing her light pink hair and proceed to head to Rarity’s for her dress.
Then there was the element of loyalty, Rainbow Dash. She claimed to be the fastest flyer in Equestria. However, I would not know this, because I am too busy to attend sporting events. Anyways, she packed the lightest of them all: bringing only herself. Sleeping in a cloud above Ponyville, she almost forgot about the celebration, until a lone ray of light pierced the inner cloud, startling the blue pegasus. Letting out a yelp at the intense light change, Rainbow dash looked below the cloud and saw Applejack entering the Carousel Boutiques where Rarity and fluttershy were already waiting.
“Oh my Gosh” the said, still half asleep, “I almost forgot!”.
Quickly dashing out of her resting place, Rainbow Dash made it to the front door in a little less than 12 seconds from a staggering distance of a half mile away. Her rainbow mane was still waving as she entered the door to the shop, cutting off Rarity in mid sentence.
“Why I do believe that these are my best-” (Rainbow Dash enters.) “Don’t worry every pony,” Rainbow Dash rudely interrupted, “I didn't forget”.
“of course ya didn't Rainbow” Applejack flatly said in response very well knowing she had.
“Ladies, if you will please. As I was saying, these dresses are easily the most elegant and beautiful creations to have ever been made by me. Are they not just dazzling!” Rarity has proudly said. From there she began to report every detail of the dresses to the other three. Every stitch, every flower, every gem, she said, came together in perfect harmony to make the greatest apparel of all time.
To spare you the time, I will leave out the details of how they all commented on how wonderful the dresses were, and of their party predictions over the following days. During the next few minutes while they waited for the coach, they shared jokes and had some small talk. Then the carriage arrived to the front of the Carousel Boutiques. Fluttershy was the first to notice that their ride had arrived.
"Um Rarity, I am sorry to interupt, but the carriage is here... and don't we need to pack these dresses?" Fluttershy softly said, barely loud enough to hear over the noise on the street.
"why you are correct!", Rarity said startled at Its arrival, "Applejack, be a darling and help me pack these. Careful! you're going to wrinkle them! and did you wash your hooves before you touched the velvel?"
Applejack, rolling her eyes, responded, "are ya calling me dirty?"
"well you said you just came from home, so y-"
Rainbow dash came back inside. "will you two stop arguing and hurry up!" Dash said impatiently.
several more minutes passed where Rarity complained to Applejack, until she finally thought that the dresses were packed correctly to avoid damage. Using her magic, Rarity levitated the boxes out the door and headed for the carriage.
the carriage was a dark red with gold trimming. It reminded me of an old stagecoach from earth. I could see that Rainbow dash was puzzled as much as I was. At the front were two unicorns, and not pegasi. Normally two or more Pegasi would carry the carriage, but apparently this was powered by magic.
I know you are probably wondering how I know all of this? I happened to be checking on one of the drivers, who, unknown to him, had a critical disease and was expected to die any day. I attempted to tug on his soul, however it was still logged tight within his body.
Rainbow dash began to complain about not feeling comfortable with a unicorn up front, and did not trust the carriage.
"Rainbow Dash" Rarity finally said, "Will you please stop your complaining and get in? this is a beautiful work of art, if I do say so myself. I for one am glad to not only travel in a new exciting way, but also in style".
"Yeah Rainbow, you're almost complaining as much as Rarity over here!" Applejack joked as she entered the left side door of the carriage. Rarity gave Applejack a glare, as she entered the carriage and sat opposite of her. Then Fluttershy crept into and sat next to Rarity, leaving Rainbow Dash to sit next to Applejack.
The inside felt larger than three outside, giving each pony plenty of hoof room. there was also an AC within the carriage which kept it cool. A small snack compartment was in the middle, which held beverages and chips.
"This is a 4000 kilometer journey, which will take approximately a day and a half, "the healthy driver said, "I will be driving during the day. You can call me Captain Feather."
The other pilot, after letting out a wicked cough, then began to speak as Feather begun to lift the carriage, "My name is Captain Goodheart, (he let out another cough), sorry I think I am catching a cold. Anyways, I will be flying during the night. Don't worry you're safe with us.
Just as the driver had said, it was going to be a long journey... longer than any pony would have expected.
The earth pony and unicorn were mesmerized for the first few hours at seeing how everything looked from the air. This of course had no effect on the pegasi. Rainbow Dash, being somewhat cocky, decided to jump out of the carriage and fly around within a short distance to release some of her energy. The other three watched her. They commenting on how well she flew, until the three of them got tired of her showing off. The two pilots also watched. They, however, were only watching to make sure that they didn't collide with the blue pegasus.
Seeing that her crowd had gotten bored, Rainbow Dash had decided to head back inside and proceeded to retire early. By now it was roughly 7PM. The three remaining ponies watched out the West window to view the spectacular event in the sky. The sun had produced a beautiful sunset tonight. The clouds below them were brightly lit, which look beautiful on the orange and red sky, which blended together at all points of the sky. It was a great reminder of the alicorn they were going to see. The ocean below was glistening in the last rays of light. A few small islands off in the distance pierced the course with their mountains.
Soon the sunset gave way to Luna's night. The moon, which seemed bigger tonight, was now directly above them, and in the stage of a crescent. The stars danced in the sky, sometimes giving way to comets which could be see through the windows of the carriage. Fluttershy, being the final one left awake, heard the conversations between the captains. They talked of their families, the royalty, and the passengers (mostly of how rude Rainbow Dash had been).
"well I'm heading to sleep now Heart", feather had said with a yawn, "Got the controls?”
"you know me’” Goodheart said, "I’m one of the best pilots of the fleet."
.
Fluttershy began to feel drowsy. With the humming of Goodheart, she fell into a deep sleep. Fluttershy dreamt of her friends, Angel, and of Celestia.
This is where I came into the equation... again. It was now the captain’s time. I sat down next to Goodheart, which I could tell had gotten worse from the disease. The darkness of the night had hid his physical condition to his friend. His face was pale, almost white, which was a bad sign for a dark blue unicorn. His nose was red and his lips were dry, and with bloodshot eyes he was guiding the carriage to their destination. It was only a matter of minutes before the bacteria would hit his lungs, which would then collapse, killing him.
I had no say over the next series of events, after all I was only doing my job.
The carriage was 30000 feet above the water when it happened. I quickly reached in to find his soul, which was now loose within his body. It only took a slight tug to free it from the body, which now slumped down, eyes wide open, mouth hung down. I held him gently within my hoofs, fearing that I may crush him in his frail state. As soon as I did this, the magic which held the carriage up vanished.
Suddenly, the carriage plummeted at a startling rate, almost straight down. This woke everybody up. The other captain awoke as well, and attempted to regain control of the situation. The accelerating carriage was impossible for Feather to controlled. His magic was useless as the carriage began to fall faster and faster. The passengers inside, except Rainbow Dash, began to panic and let out screams of terror.
Rainbow Dash knew what to do. Within an instant she flew out of the carriage, flew under, and desperately attempted to slow the fall. With speeds upwards toward 300mph, the carriage was only a thousand feet off the ground. Letting out a grunt, Rainbow Dash was still trying to slow the descent with all of her strength. However, her futile efforts were to no avail. Blacking out between the carriage and the ground, Rainbow Dash was rendered unconscious. The crash had let out a defining noise on impact which has awoke birds in the tropical trees. The others, torn from the carriage on the initial impart, were scattered across the wreckage field. Captain Feather took the worst of the free fall. He was thrown into the jungle of the island they had smashed into. The body of Goodheart was thrown into the sea, vanishing under the tide, and never to be seen again. The chariot which they rode upon, smashed into the ground with Rainbow Dash still under it, broke into hundreds of pieces, and exploded around the ground. the dresses which were packed, were torn from their boxes and fell across the land, now stained by the mud and sand. The red wood of the carriage was now infused by another shade of color. It was stained with blood.
The island they crashed on, along with their lives, would be scarred forever.
note: updated VIA Android. I will add tabs when I get to a computer
It was midday when Rainbow Dash awoke. Immediately her head hurt with a splitting headache. She propped herself up on a nearby tree and surveyed her surroundings. Rainbow Dash had ended up in a small ravine. All around her were tall jungle trees, which created a canopy to shield her from the sun. But even under the canopy, the heat was still strong enough to drive a pony crazy. The only two sounds were Rainbow Dash’s breathing and the sound of small bugs flying from plant to plant. To her left was a trail of disturbed dirt and gravel, where she had skid on before slamming into a tree during the accident. Fearing for her friend’s safety, and her own, Rainbow Dash begun to yell as loud as she could.
The sound of Rainbow Dash had startled Fluttershy back to reality. She was on top of a large hill which overlooked the island. By this time she was very weak from dehydration. Unlike Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy had been in direct sunlight for the entire day. Spotting a small amount of blue amongst the trees further away, Fluttershy was quick to recognise that small dot was her friend. She managed to stand up, and leaned forward to prepare to fly to her friend. As soon as she jumped off the ground, a surge of pain filled her body. She squealed loud and peered back at her wings. Her left wing was trapped under the fallen tree that Fluttershy had hit last night. Once the pain subsided slightly, she called out to her friend.
“Rainbow Dash, up here!”
Rainbow Dash heard the general direction of where Fluttershy was, and begun to venture her way through the jungle towards her. Still bearing a migraine, she now began to feel dizzy as she navigated through the thick jungle plants and vines. Finally out from under the canopy, she spotted Fluttershy and her pink mane. Rainbow Dash begun to move up the hill when she passed out. This is because she moved too quickly from a cooler shade, to a hot, bright, sunlight. When she got back up, her eyes met Fluttershy’s. They could both tell the other was deeply afraid. After several more minutes, Rainbow Dash caught up to Fluttershy. Both of them were exhausted, but glad to see each other.
Rainbow Dash spoke first. “Fluttershy”, she said, with a weak voice, “I- I’m... you have no idea how glad I am to see you.”
Quickly glancing down to see what the trouble was, Rainbow Dash turned pale.
“Please, help me Rainbow.” Fluttershy said, even more quietly as normal.
Rainbow Dash knew that there was only one thing they could do now. The same thing happened to her when she was trying to find the right pet. Unfortunately, this time Tank was not here.
“Flutters, you going to have to trust me”. Rainbow Dash said with a shaky voice.
“Well of course-” Fluttershy began to speak, when Rainbow Quickly bucked her in the back. By doing this, Fluttershy jolted further away from the tree, which only moved because this had broken her wing. Fluttershy let out a terrible scream, as Rainbow began to kick again, and again. After several more tries, Rainbow Dash let out one final buck to free her Friend. This proved successful, unfortunately, this left Fluttershy’s wing shattered in multiple places. Blood was oozing out of the bottom of her wing, where a large gash was formed due to a broken branch that part of the wing was caught under. The pool of blood begun to form, and began to trickle down towards Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy was sobbing from the pain of it all, when she spoke again, “Rainbow.. why?”
“It’s either that, or you would have died.”
Fluttershy understood fully, but was angry at her best friend for hurting her so much. Two more sound pierced the jungle. The first sound, a high, feminine scream, was recognisable as their friend Rarity. The other, was more masculine, which they could not identify. Both of them agreed to find the source of the noise.
They searched the southern part of the island for the source. Sweat was dripping off their bodies, when they found the source of the yelling. The pilot, Feather, was on the ground, face up. Only a few yards away war Rarity, sitting and sobbing in the dirt. In front of her was one of the dresses, which was now torn and dirty. Physically, Rarity had small gashes and bruises, but other than that looked healthy.
“Thank Celestia, others.” Heart said.
Rarity turned around, eyes full of water, and ran over to her friends. “Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, you're ok!”
“More or less.” Fluttershy angrily, glancing over at Rainbow Dash.
“Look at what happened to my dresses!” Rarity said, which was the main reason she was crying.
Rainbow Dash became furious. “Rarity, we just survived a carriage wreck and are now STUCK on an island in the middle of nowhere. Fluttershy can’t fly, and we still don’t know where Applejack is, or if she is even alive... and you crying over some stupid clothing!”
“Will you girls stop arguing!” Cpt. Feather interrupted the feud, “The heat is getting to you people. We need to work together if we want to be rescued... what about your other friend... Applejack. You need to go look for her, and captain GoodHeart.”
“He is right,” Rainbow Dash admitted, “I'm sorry I yelled at you Rarity, I’m just scared. We need to split up and look for the other two. Rarity, you head south. Fluttershy, I want you to go look North. Mr. Feather, can you please go look towards the East, and-”
“Wait. I can’t” Cpt. feather said, “I- I can’t feel my legs.”
Fluttershy, having the only source of medical experience, immediately stabbed a red shard of the carriage into his back right leg. Feather didn’t even flinch, as blood splattered on his face.
“Um.. I’m sorry to say this, but I think you're paralyzed.”
Feather was in disbelief. He refused to believe the grim news. The only thing he was able to do was cry.
They all agreed to look for the others for roughly three hours, then head back to where Feather was. It was sunset when Rarity found Applejack, who was wandering aimlessly amongst the trees.
“Applejack, over here!” Rarity called out to her. Applejack then turned towards her friend’s general directly, and began to cautiously walk towards her. Rarity caught up to Applejack, and began to speak. “Thank Celestia, we thought you may have... well that’s not important now. The others are ok, except for one of the pilots, who the others are looking for..”
“Rarity-” Applejack said.
“And just look at me, I’m filthy! Fluttershy’s left wing looked pretty badly hurt, and Rainbow Dash-”
“Rarity” Applejack said louder, “Where are you?”
With a confused look, Rarity responded, “I’m right in front of you.”
“I guess it’s just too dark for me. Where are the others?”
“They should be back with the pilot now,” Rarity said, “We should be heading back now. Would you like some help?”
“Yes please” Applejack said, a little uncomfortable of asking help from Rarity, only because the two were not on best terms before they left.
Rarity grabbed a vine off a tree and instructed Applejack to cary the end in her mouth. Together, they ventured back to camp.
Fluttershy was startled awake by the sound of her stomach. It had been nearly a day since she last ate, and just as long since she had anything to drink. Looking around, she saw the rest of her unfortunate friends, all of whom were still asleep. Every muscle in her body ached, as the pains of the crash began to set in. Her her Maize colored body was blotched with her own blood, which now produced large scars on her fractured wing. The sight of her own wing bent so far forward that she could touch it with her nose made her want to puke. After regaining what little composure she had left, Fluttershy managed to stand up.
The ‘camp’, which consisted of only the remains of the cabin, a dying fire, and the other injured ponies, was a sorry site. The overpowering stench of blood and Celestia-knows-what, filled her nostrils, forcing her to hold her breath. She examined each of her sleeping friends, all of whom had the terrible markings of the wreck on their bodies. The worst of them was the captain. His black legs were beginning to turn an eerie shades of green and brown.
Struck by hunger, Fluttershy ventured out of the camp, and made her way through the thick jungle in search of any form of food. The trees seemed to reach into the heavens. The leaves formed into a canopy which, for the current time, was able to shroud her from the sun. The thick layer of jungle plants made navigating difficult, as it would be impossible to see any cliffs or predators which lurked the ground, waiting to strike. The sounds of cheerful birds going about their daily life mocked Fluttershy. How she longed to return to her peaceful life in Ponyville with her animal friends.
The sun was directly overhead, when she finally reached her destination: a small brook. The murky stream was small enough that one could hop over it with ease, but it would be enough to quench her thirst. Fluttershy informally dunked her head directly into the water, allowing the water the rush into her mouth. Unlike water back home, the water here had a unique taste, but it would do for now. Lifting her head out of the water, Fluttershy began to navigate her way through the forest in search for food.
**********
“Rainbow Dash”
There was no response.
“Rainbow Dash!”
Still, there was no answer.
“Rainbow Dash, wake up!”
Finally, Rainbow Dash awoke. Her head was dizzy as she peered around to see who was calling her. It took Rainbow Dash a few seconds, but was finally able to make out the blurry image of Rarity standing to her right. She was unused to seeing her friend in such a terrible state. Rarity’s white body was covered in a thin layer of brown dirt, caked on by the heat of the sun. her hair was in an unnatural state for her, as it was hung over to the side in a survivalistic fashion.
“Oh thank Luna, I thought there was something wrong.” Rainbow Dash mindlessly said.
“But there is”, Rarity began, “Fluttershy is missing.”
Rainbow Dash quickly stood up, sending all of the blood out of her head. Her vision further depleted as she frantically felt around for something to grab onto. Luckily, this time she did not fall.
“I haven't seen her since last night, when Applejack and I found our way back to this dreadful camp.”
“It’s ok Rarity, She probably just went out to search for food or something.” Rainbow Dash said. She did not have the energy to search for her friend again.After all, she saw how small the island was yesterday, so it wouldn’t be hard for her to find her way back to the camp.
“What’s all the commotion ‘bout?” Apple Jack said. The other two were startled, forgetting about the other party member. Apple Jack emerged from the wreckage of the cabin where she had slept last night. She peered into a direction far left from the other ponies, indicating she was still unable to see.
Rainbow Dash ignored her friends for a second as she limped her way over to the captain. Captain Feather was still (somehow) asleep...but alive. He was seeping under the shade of a large tree.
“Does anypony pack any food?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yeah I did,” Apple Jack said, “I brought one of Granny Smith’s famou-”
“Well, where is it!” Rarity butted in rudely.
“Calm down, It should be in cabin. I’ll go get it.” Apple Jack responded accordingly.
Several minutes passed as the other two waited for their friend to reemerge from the cabin, when Finally Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity, “What’s taking her so long?”
Rarity decided to investigate. She walked over to the other door of the cabin and peered inside. Inside, she noticed Apple Jack fumbling through aimlessly searching for the food. It only took Rarity a second to notice that the food, which was a small apple cake, was turned over on the floor. Flies had already conquered the sweet cake, as dozens of the small black beast devoured the cake in front of her eyes. Without thinking, she threw the door open and quickly snatched the cake away from the insects.
“Here it is!” She said.
“Quick, give me some!” Rainbow Dash demanded as she attempted to snatch the cake away from Rarity. However, Rarity held on strong. The two struggled over control of the food for several minutes, all the while Apple jack was yelling at them to cut it out. The feud ended when Rarity tripped over a large rock, sending the cake flying into the tree behind her. Upon impact, the cake smashed into millions of smaller pieces, which were then scattered on the tree and the ground below. The pieces were now too small to eat, leaving the hungry trio without food.
“Well I hope your happy!” Rainbow Dash yelled, startling the sleeping pilot awake.
“What’s going on?” The pilot questioned.
“And you! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Never leave a unicorn to do a pegasus’s job!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she turned her attention to the crippled pilot.
“Rainbow Dash, that’s enough!” Apple jack sternly said to her out-of-control friend.”
“She is right,” Feather said meekly, “It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is. Like I said yesterday, the heat is turning you ponies against each other. If we just had some water, none of this would be happening.
The three friends quietly acknowledged the pilot and the fact that what he said was true. Oh, how they longed for the feeling of the cold waters of life to once again touch their lips.
“I think we should go search for some water, like the pilot said,” Rainbow Dash said to Rarity.
“Quite. But what about Apple Jack and the captain, we cannot take them along.”
“I’ll stay here with the captain.” Apple Jack responded.
With everything settled, the two set into the less dense part of the jungle in search for water. The two traveled for several hours seeing the same scenery around them.
“Are we walking in circles?” Rarity questioned.
Rainbow Dash ignored her friend, mostly because she did not have the energy or patience to respond.
As I followed the two, a familiar smell began to appear in the air. It was too faint for the other to smell, but as it is directly related to my career, I was keen to smelling it. The smell, was of death.
