50 days

by Solaris Hemera


50 Days

Day 1:

I picked you up in the trash today. You look like a nice book. Sad thing, though.

Your cover was red. So, I tore it off. Easy.

I hate red.

Sorry if my writing sucks today. I'm just not in the mood, okay? That rhymed. How funny.

I'm sorry if I don't make much sense.

I think I need some sleep.

Sorry about the cover. Good night.

Day 2:

I hereby apologise for yesterday's entry.

I wasn't quite me when I wrote those sentences. I guess spending a day running from the ponies you used to call your friends can do that to you. Anyways, I found some food for you. Go eat. The cabbage is a little rotten, though. Hope you don't mind.

By the way, can you see all the emptiness outside? Can you even see me? I wish you know how I look like. After all, you're my only friend now. You're my only friend left without the crimson eyes.

I'm camping out at Twilight's castle now. Sitting on Rarity's throne. It's pretty comfortable in here, you know? I just hope none of the Red-eyed will get in here. After all, this is the best place around here to stake it out. To survive.

But I miss them, ya know? I miss my friends. I hope it wouldn't come to the point where I have to kill them all.

I really, really do.

Day 3:

I've pretty much figured out that you can't hear, talk or see me. You're a book, that's all.

But I want to introduce myself to you. We can't be friends if you don't even know who I am. Okay, okay... maybe I'm just using you as a substitute for actual social interaction since I have none now. Maybe I'm just using you to keep my sanity. But anyway, let's be friends.

Hi! My name's Starlight, Starlight Glimmer. I was Princess Twilight Sparkle's student for a while, and I used to have a group of friends. I was even friends with a dragon, imagine that. It was a baby dragon, but still, a dragon. Oh, and a magician. A great and powerful one. Maybe even a crystaller that used to be my childhood friend. This all changed one day, though, when I woke up and everypony had red eyes.

Crazy, right?

Their irises! All of them! Just red everywhere! They were all feral. I tried reasoning with them. Didn't work. Now I'm short of half my right hoof, all thanks to the monster that used to be Rainbow Dash. Seriously, she was really fast before, but now? Now she seems to move at the speed of light. She doesn't stop. I ran from her. Didn't work. Nothing worked. No wonder she got into the Wonderbolts.

I wanted to cry. I was so scared when the remnants of my right foreleg started leaking blood. She had literally ripped my hoof off the leg. It hurt. It hurt so much.

My ponies? My friends? They're just monsters now. It used to be just Ponyville, but the red irises spread to everywhere in no time. I'm crying now. I'm so sorry that I am staining the pages.

It'll happen to me soon. I know it. I'll just be one of them soon. I wish thi

Wait.

Sorry. I heard a crash upstairs.

Gotta go check now.

Seeya. I hope I won't have to kill. I hope.

Day 8:

That idiot. That stupid, no-good flying pile of horseapples.

She BUCKING FLEW THROUGH THE WINDOWS. THE BUCKING WINDOWS. I knew I should've closed them.

Dash came by to visit four days back. It was one hell of a fight. Got a really long laceration on the side on my left forehoof. Ragged flesh everywhere. It was bleeding really bad.

Just removed my bandages for a peek just now. I regret it. I swear I could see my bones from the wound.

Sorry for missing four days of talking to you. Or at least, I think it's four days. It got pretty hard to count days when the sun stopped moving.

I just got...distracted.

But that's just avoiding the point, isn't it?

I killed Dash. I killed a friend. I killed. I don't know what to do anymore. All I did was to lock her in my telekinetic grip. Then I ripped out her cutie mark. She stopped struggling then. I blasted a hole through her. It was a clean shot.

A hole.

I let the mark return to her post-mortem. I realised that her eyes had returned to its normal cerise after she died. Did I free her from a nightmare? Or did I cause one for myself?

I was a killer. I could never walk in the path of harmony again. What do I do? I can't go back in time anymore. I'm useless. The only thing I can do now is to find a counterspell for this mayhem. I know I can do it. It's the only way I can begin atoning for my sin. If I could save the world, maybe the pain of killing my friend would be lessened. It's the only way now. I need to end this madness once and for all.

At least I knew how to take down a Red-eyed now.

Day 15:

No luck. Counterspells don't form themselves so easily when you don't know the cause of a plague. The library here is huge. I can understand Twilight's excitement.

I'm running out of food and water. Rainbow's ghost haunts me, a thought hovering at the edges of my vision. I'm sorry Rainbow.

Some good news, though, I've created a spell to measure the passing of time.

Day 18:

Supplies out. Oh, crap... I can feel them pounding at the doors and windows. This place isn't safe anymore. I gotta go, but I can't. The spell's almost done. It's almost done. Everything is gonna be okay again. Soon.

Day 19:

I'm so hungry. So thirsty. Found out that a window broke. Something got in. Can't find the Red-eyed. Too tired.

Day 20:

I'm sorry. I can't do this. Holy shit I can't do this anymore. Spells spells spells magic. I'm not Twilight so not Twilight what do I do what do I do I screwed up Rainbow is here where did she come from the spell did something I SWEAR. WHY IS SHE HERE. HER GHOST IS REAL IT SPEAKS TO ME. HELP ME! SEND HELP! BUCK SHIT BUCK BUCK I'M SORRY I

Day 21:

She likes you a lot, you know. She likes you so, so much. Rainbow? You still there? Good, good. I know you like red. I fixed the cover back on you so that Rainbow can enjoy you. It's sure good to have you back, Dash. Do you prefer life or death?

Day 22:

Rainbow wants Twilight to help find the counterspell. I gotta go find her. I'll let Rainbow handle you for the time being.

Ciao!

Day 25:

Twilight is dead. I killed her myself. Partly because of the counterspell, partly because I'm hungry. Her liver tasted particularly good, Iron and all.

The fact that she's dead is okay, though. I've got my spell! Just a zap here and a zap there and Twilight will join us as a ghost. Oh, how exciting! She'll be able to save us all!

Day 25 (2nd entry):

It's me.

I woke up today, hungry and tired. The last thing I remembered was my failed counterspell. Then I read the previous entries. I don't know what's going on. Did I really eat Twilight? I'm so scared. What did the screwed up counterspell do to me? I'm so, so scared. I've gagged myself up with duct tape and bound up my hooves. Before I go to sleep again, I'm gonna cut off my horn. I don't want to hurt anypony anymore. I'm scared of myself. I'm even worse than what I was at my markless town. This is the real Starlight.

I don't know who the other pony was.

I need to find Dash's ghost. I swear she was real...


Day 35:

Dear me. It took me a full ten days to get myself out of the duct tape. Also, ten days to regrow a horn. That's a new record. Also, I found Dash's ghost! So happy right now. I don't know what the other Starlight was telling you, dear red book, but I am pretty darn sure that I'm the real Starlight. You know what? Call me Glimmer! We really need to differentiate ourselves – Starlight and Glimmer are good enough for me.

Starlight's the weakling who mopes around all day. I work day and night to complete the counterspell. Besides, Rainbow and Twilight talks to me, not you Starlight. Am I right, girls?

My abdomen is caving inwards in the best way possible. Ribs are literally sticking out everywhere and I can count myself as severely emaciated if I wanted to. My sclerae are piss-yellow too. Brilliant! I think I look better this way.

Anyways, what do you think, book? Should I go get more of the girls? I really should.

Day 39:

SHUT UP, OKAY? Celestia, those two keep arguing all day, all night. Twilight wants vengeance because I killed her. Really? I pulled out the rest of her body and started cleaning up the loose flesh on her bones, all the while staring at her. She knows who's boss now.

Anyway, I got Pinkie Pie with me. Kept the feral beast in a cage. She won't keep still! I can't kill her, not yet, anyways. I can't still her enough to get a clear, clean shot. Besides, I gotta get her cleaned up first. Don't wanna feast on dirty meat. Managed to silence her, though, by biting off her tongue. Rainbow even had the gall to laugh at my awkward position! I supposed that it kinda looked like I was kissing her...

Day 45:

I had slipped again, apparent from the cage filled with gore at the corner of my room. I just read my previous entries and learnt that that was Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie.

Yet again, I've killed another friend.

Yet again, Glimmer won.

I give up.

I'm a monster, through and through.

There's no way to stop a monster.

Day 46:

I know, though.

I know now why I'm acting this way.

It's you, isn't it? You're causing this. You dare split my consciousness, and then leave me like this? How dare you. I trusted you.

Buck you.

I'm too weak to dispose of you. I'm confined to my bed now. My mouth tastes like blood. Ponies. I've caused the death of three of my friends, so far.

Maybe I'll just launch you into the distance. You'll never come back like this.

You took the form of my friends. Tricked Glimmer and I into thinking that they were ghosts of the ponies we have killed.

Wait.

"We"?

I'm really losing my mind.

I know that I'm talking to a book. A homicidal, cannibalistic book that possessed me.

I know that Glimmer and I are the same pony. Are we?

I'm delirious, making excuses.

No, I'm not. I'm perfectly sane.

The book is the one affecting me.

Right?

Day 48:

You caused the plague too, didn't you? You sneaky bastard.

You were the object that ruined my life.

I don't care where you came from, and what you did, but everypony and everything deserves a second chance. Even you.

So I will be your friend for the rest of my life.

I won't throw you away.

I'll just be your friend, because I have nopony left.


Day 50:

hllo.

i Dont wanna writ anymroe.

Im hungry

in pain

scared.

help me.

They're closign in. the redeyed. im writn relly fast now.

cant see. cant tihnk

hurts too much.

guess theres no cuontarspell

no saving the world.

gonna die

light fading

must keep writin keep writghn. theyve got my leg. skin bones fat muscle pain help im barely conscoiues too dark

i hate this. i wanna know about the plague. counterspel? evli book? got so much to live for.

live

for

friends.

Twilihgt.

Rannbow.

Pinke.

Rerity.

Appljack.

Flutterhsy.

Triske.

Sunburst.

ponyville

equestria



goodbye.

**********

Upon scrawling her last word in a flurry of faint green energy, Starlight closed her eyes. The red-eyed took the opportunity to climb swiftly atop and tear at her mane, her throat, her gaunt face.

More of them swarmed towards the body, drool slopping out of their mouths as they crowded around Starlight, obscuring the unicorn from the sight of ponykind until there was nothing left of her anymore.

As the monsters ambled away, anypony in the scene would have realised that the book had vanished too.