//------------------------------// // Calendar // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rainbow spent the rest of the day poring through the journal with Rarity at her side. They didn’t unearth anything new or vital, only a mundane record of a pony stranded on an island with no way out. Each day’s log grew shorter and shorter as the author found less and less to write about. One entry late in December simply read: Ate a coconut. Still, it was nice to have something to do. Once the necessities of ensuring their survival were done for the day, everything else was boring. Rainbow knew that they’d have to start working on their raft at some point, or wait the next few weeks for her wing to heal, and then to rehab it. A gnawing fear preyed at her worries that her wing wouldn’t heal properly without proper medical care. She’d done all she could for it, had followed her survival training to the letter, but it was still a broken wing. If it set even the slightest bit wrong, it could affect her speed and performance. Rainbow found herself worrying that if she ever got off of the island, she wouldn’t be the fastest flier in Equestria anymore. She prayed that that bit of her didn’t die in the shipwreck like so many other ponies. The book and Rarity’s company kept most of that fear at bay—most of it. It at least stopped her mind from wandering. Otherwise, Rainbow feared she’d end up a shivering, neurotic wreck like she’d been before the Best Young Fliers Competition. She paused her reading and stared off into the distance. How many years had it been since then? Five? It felt like a lifetime ago. Rarity prodded Rainbow’s shoulder. “Are you okay, darling?” Rainbow blinked. “Eh?” “You spaced out there for a minute.” Rarity shifted in the sand, scattering grains of sediment from her coat. “Were you thinking about something?” “It’s nothing,” Rainbow said, lowering her eyes back to the book. She knew Rarity could sense the lie, so she put another idea forward. “Just… look at the dates in the book, Rares. This guy was stuck on the island for more than two months and he never saw anything. No airships, no nothing, and it was just himself for most of it. How did he do it?” “If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say through stubbornness and sheer determination.” Chuckling, she winked at Rainbow. “I’d say that’s something the two of us possess plenty of.” “Heh. Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Rarity’s eyes fell on Chirp, who was napping in a tree across the clearing from them. “Who’s to say he was totally alone, though? Doesn’t he mention the macaws in that diary of his?” Rainbow idly flipped back a few pages. “Yeah, a couple of times. He had one that he liked to feed, and it followed him around.” She likewise glanced at Chirp and smiled. “This book’s twenty-six years old, if the dates in it are anything to go by. Macaws can live until they’re like, eighty or something.” “It would certainly explain our little featherhead’s friendly behavior,” Rarity said. “We weren’t the first ponies he’s known.” “Hard to imagine that Chirp’s older than both of us.” “I suppose you’re right. It is an odd, little quirk to imagine that such a harmless and friendly bird is several years older than you and I.” She shook her head. “Birds don’t visibly age all that much once they reach maturity. Chirp could be thirty, or he could be seventy and we wouldn’t know.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes and angled her head at Chirp, as if by doing that she’d have a better shot at guessing the bird’s age. “That something you learned from Fluttershy?” “You’d be surprised what you can learn from the dear when you get her to talk, darling.” “Oh, I know. Fluttershy was basically my first friend, remember? I’ve known her longer than anypony save her family, really.” Her eyes fell and she shook her head. “I kinda miss that quiet girl right now.” “As much as I’m sure she misses you,” Rarity assured her. “We’ll see her soon. Her and her little… hell bunny.” Rainbow snickered. “There’s only one thing that really scares me, and that’s that fluffy white thing that follows Flutters around everywhere. I don’t know where she found it or why she puts up with him, but I would’ve turned him into rabbit stew a long time ago.” “She claims that he’s sweet underneath it all, but I don’t believe it.” Sighing, she added, “Then again, Opalescence can be ornery and aloof from time to time, but I haven’t kicked her out of the house yet.” “Tank doesn’t do much of anything, really,” Rainbow said. “I hardly have to do anything except remember to feed him and stuff and he’s not destroying stuff around my place. And I can take him flying with me! That’s the definition of awesome!” Her smile faded and she crossed her hooves. “I hope my parents or Scootaloo are taking care of him for me. I don’t know how long it’s gonna be until I get back to see him again…” “I… hadn’t even thought of that,” Rarity said. “Heavens, I’ve been so concerned about my own well-being that I’ve hardly given second thought to Opal. I’ve shown Sweetie what she needs to do to take care of her, at least. Hopefully she’s in good hooves until we return.” “I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Rainbow massaged Rarity’s back with her wing. “If nothing else, Fluttershy will take care of them. You can at least count on her for that.” “True enough.” Rarity sighed and lowered her head. “Assuming we even make it out of here in one piece, we’re going to have quite the story to tell our friends when we get back.” “Among other things…” Rainbow purred, playfully nibbling on Rarity’s ear. The unicorn giggled and gently pushed Rainbow away. “What are they gonna think of that?” Rarity shrugged. “Perhaps a mixture of surprise and understanding. The two of us trapped together for who knows how long? Why, it was bound to happen.” “I suppose, when you put it like that.” Rainbow stood up and arched her back. “Before the days blur together even more, I came up with an idea from reading that journal.” Rarity’s ears perked with interest. “Oh?” Rainbow trotted over to their salvage pile and pulled out a plank. Carrying it back to Rarity, she jammed it into the sand near their shelter. Then she went inside and pulled out the knife, their only quality cutting tool, and wedged the point into the top of the board. “How many days have we been here?” “Just barely over a week… eight, I think?” She narrowed her eyes as Rainbow carefully manipulated the knife with her mouth, scratching lines into the plank. As soon as Rainbow crossed off four of the marks, her eyes widened in understanding. “A calendar? You think we’ll be here that long?” “I really hope not,” Rainbow said when she finished carving eight tallies into the plank. “But maybe it’ll help us keep track of things later if we are.” “I suppose you’re right.” Rarity stood up and made her way over to the calendar plank as well. They had about three feet of plank to work with, and then there were other sides. Rainbow had only used up an inch at the top, her eight marks nearly stretching from one side to the other. “We can fit nearly a year’s worth of notches on the front,” Rarity said. “How much do you think we’ll fill it by the time we’re rescued, darling?” Rainbow shrugged. “Well, there’s a ton of crap we have to do first. I’m gonna be optimistic and say that we can get out of here in a month unless somepony finds us first.” “A month it is, then,” Rarity said. “Forty notches until freedom! It doesn’t sound all that bad when you put it that way, doesn’t it?” “I’m sure it’ll sound worse when it turns into fifty,” Rainbow muttered. “Don’t be so cynical, darling. Optimism is the only way that we’ll survive!” “If you say so, Rares.”