Our story starts in the middle of the Equestrian ocean, with a ship who was crossing it. It was a luxury cruise, one which carried several earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns inside. Originally it was going to be a simple trip: leaving port at the east side, crossing through the ocean and then resting on the west. Originally, because its trip had to be suddenly stopped. Disaster had just struck in a way that anyone could only define as bad luck.
The luxury cruise had been hit by a wild sea serpent. The creature, clearly disturbed by the arrival of the ship in his hunting territory, quickly gave the ship a single powerful strike with his pointy tail. The tail struck the hull of the ship with great strength, succeeding in breaking through and letting the water enter.
In Equestria voyages always had the danger of running into hostile animals. As such ships always avoided going through uncharted areas or deep places, such as near the Everfree Forest for example. This ship had probably made a logistic mistake, going outside of it's normal course for some unknown reason.
The creature looked at the destruction he had brought: pieces of wood began scattering outside the wound of the ship. Seeing that the invader of his territory had started to sink, the serpent simply returned to the depths of the ocean. His job was done: whatever 'animal' this thing was, he had been successful in defeating it.
While for the serpent it was a quick victory, for the ponies inside the ship it was chaos: with nothing but water alongside them the prospect of survival seemed pretty blurry.
The pegasi, fortunate by having born with pair of wings quickly managed to fly away. While some of them actually bothered to try to rescue another life, the majority just didn't care, wanting to get themselves as fast as possible from the danger. A selfish attitude, but one hard to judge because of fear of death.
Next it was the unicorns: those who knew water breathing spells used them, quickly jumping into the water. Others preferred to use levitation, which helped them to leave the ship through the air. And a few others used teleportation, simply disappearing from the middle of the ship. Some of them bothered to try to rescue a few others, but just like the pegasi the majority preferred to save their own hides.
The majority of the population of the luxury cruise was earth ponies however. With no supernatural means of survival available to them, they quickly started to run towards the nearest life boats, their only remaining hope.
As a matter of security ships were usually provided with enough lifeboats to ensure the survival of every passenger. This ship was an exception however: the number of lifeboats was far less than the number which was required. Furthermore, when the serpent hit the ship the impact of his tail ended destroying and launching some sideway lifeboats into the ocean, diminishing even more their number.
Seeing that the remaining boats were far less than the expected number, the remaining ponies quick entered into desperation: ponies started to push each other, struggling to ensure a place on the remaining lifeboats. Those who couldn't get inside one would quickly grab into barrels, scattered planks, technically anything that they could find to float at the ocean.
It was a catastrophe. Those who had responsibility for this cruise would probably receive Celestia's justice when this was over.
After the initial panic ended, only a small group of ponies remained on the ship. Most had found a way to escape, using their wings, horns or the remaining lifeboats. The others who couldn't just grabbed anything they could hold of, trying to float at the ocean. It was hard to say if they would succeeded at it... or if the ocean was going to be merciless.
The group which remained was composed of eight earth ponies: five stallions and three mares. They were standing near a small lifeboat, one which has been kept separated from the others. It was probably reserved for the ship personnel, who actually escaped by taking the bigger lifeboats reserved for passengers. It was hard to say if they did it for desperation or because they thought they would have a higher chance of survival this way.
The small boat had the following message written in it: ‘Capacity: five ponies.’ The group started to look at each other, unsure of how to proceed in a situation like this.
The first of them to talk was a gray stallion using a pair of glasses. He had previously introduced himself was Grey Hoof, his vocation being a math teacher. He pondered for a bit, seeming intrigued by their dilemma. He asked: “So it seems only five of us can get inside this lifeboat. Logically, this also means that three of us will have to stay. How do you guys propose that we decide this?”
“Pretty easy: mares and foals first.”, answered a pink mare. She was none other than Little Star, a popular singer and promising celebrity in Equestria. She had a yellow mane and was using a very expensive, purple and yellow colored dress. She immediately went to inside the boat, only to be physically stopped by Grey.
“I protest: that wouldn’t be fair with the rest of us.” Grey Hoof argued. He tipped his glasses a bit, perhaps trying to look smarter. He then continued: “We really should draw straws. As a math teacher I can assure you that would be the fairest way to resolve our little dilemma. Don’t worry, I will oversee the entire process to avoid cheating.”
“Do you really want luck to define who is to live?” asked a second stallion. He was pretty young and muscular, being colored deep blue. He was none other than Mighty, a professional athlete and winner of the Manehattan juvenile running competition. “The younger ones should survive! After all we still have an entire life ahead of us!”
“That is a pretty interesting argument.” said the third stallion. This stallion was pretty old, his body was dark brown and he had grayish hair. He was also using a big pair of glasses, probably even bigger than the teacher. “Age… and what does it matter when compared with the importance of what you are doing? I am a scientist, my name is Brain by the way. I have created many things that each of you use every single day. So of course I should enter first, after all this world needs my projects.”
“So you are pretty important, huh? But who do you have waiting for you at home?” asked the second mare. She was a bit older than Little Star, having a cyan color and a curly green mane. She was kind of chubby and was holding a photo in her hand, tears falling through her cheeks. “Listen, my name is Olivia and I have two small fillies at home. My husband died not too long ago… if I were to die, who would take care of them? Can't you ponies have compassion for a poor single mother? They are there, waiting for me. Oh my, they must be crying right now just by thinking about me! As such I really should go inside the...”
“Silence!” shouted the fourth stallion, interrupting her. His body was orange and his mane was yellow like gold. He had a diamond circlet on top of his head. “Listen your commoners, I am a prince! Prince Gold Crown to be more exact. My nobility is proof enough for my need for survival!”
The six ponies then started discussing, each trying to prove why they deserved to enter the boat more than the others. All while the water slowly rose, they kind of forgetting the urgency of the situation. Seeing this, the fifth stallion decided to get up and take a distance from them, walking until he was out of their presence. The third mare noticed his attitude and got intrigued, starting to follow him...
Finally alone, the fifth stallion sat down on the deck, calmly watching the sky. This stallion had brown mane and eyes, his body being white. His name was Light and he was carrying a small silver memento in his hooves, probably something from his homeland.
“See… this is why the world is so messed up.” said the third mare, the one which had silently followed him. She was purple, wearing a black dress and earrings in form of pony skulls. Her name was Midnight and she was not only a rock fan, but also a rebel against the government, society, her parents and any other form of authority she could find to oppose.
The mare continued: “Look at those idiots bickering about who should live and who should die. Just like my father… a rich bastard who jumped in a lifeboat without not even remembering me, his own daughter! I hope that the sharks or the serpent find and devour him!”
Light didn’t reply, simply staring at the sky.
“Huh, are you okay dude? You keep holding this thing in your hooves like it was the most important thing ever. It’s just a piece of silver.” Midnight said, a bit annoyed by his reaction.
“Actually it isn't. It symbolizes something bigger for me. I guess it's a matter of faith.” The stallion answered, looking at her with wide eyes.
“Faith… about what?”. The mare took a little step back, taken by surprise.
“About a better place for those who have gone?” Light answered. “Well, I do believe in it. And this pendant reminds me of it. So I have decided to let things in the hands of our maker.”
“Uhh… wouldn’t it be better for you to try securing a place on the boat? You know, do something that may actually save your life?!”. Midnight was clearly annoyed. She stood still, glaring at him, her stare demanding an answer.
“Each of them said a reason for surviving, because each one of them wants to be saved. I could try to share my mind, explain why I should enter the boat: but wouldn't that remove the chance of survival of someone else? All of them had actually pretty good reasons for surviving, so how can I say that mine is better than theirs?" explained Light with a frown.
"I think it's hard to believe that you have a reason worst than everyone else. At least I don't think it would be worst than the prince. 'I should survive because I said so! Bow to my authority!'. I mean, what a huge jerk!". Midnight exclaimed, a somewhat rude smile in her face.
"Even with his bad attitude, who am I to say that he doesn't deserve to live? Who knows, maybe in the future he may become a kinder person." said Light, slowly closing his eyes. "I have lived mostly a good life, I have made many friends and I have found my light. If it's my time to go, then it's time to go."
“So you will just resign to death?” asked Midnight, don’t being able to understand why he was doing it.
“No, not at all. I said that I would let things in the hands of our creator and I meant it, but that doesn't mean I am giving up. I saw that many pegasi managed to fly away from here. Also there are others who escaped by the boats or through magic. I am sure that they will report what happened to the authorities, who will come flying fast to rescue all survivors. I don't know if they will actually come before this ship sinks... but if they do, I will gladly go with them." Light opened his eyes, answering with a smile. "If I get another chance at live I will gladly take it. But I don't want to survive if it means taking the chance of another pony.”
Midnight looked at him, shocked by his words. She thought a bit before finally saying: “Woah… that was... a really big bunch of trash! I really couldn’t care less if any of them died. They are all disgusting scum, I cannot fathom why you would care about them.”
“Hmm, if you believe that, why aren’t you trying to get a place on the lifeboat for yourself?” asked Light, truly curious.
“And have to be locked with four of them in a tight boat, in what could be weeks?! I prefer death! My father is a monster who only cares about money, the government is corrupt and us ponies are selfish morons. I would rather that this entire world just blew up!” Midnight shouted, angrily stomping on the floor.
“I really don’t know what went in your life… but you really shouldn’t give up this world. There are still many good things in it.” Light replied, looking worried. "Just like there are some mean ponies out there, there are a lot of others who are nice and decent. Not just ponies, but kind beings of all races."
“Ah, don’t try to preach on me!” replied Midnight angry. “It's not like it will really matter after we are all dead!"
The two ponies stood looking at each other for a few moments, standing in silence. Midnight was the first one to break it: "Anyway... we should return to those fools and warn them that we plan to stay. Perhaps then they will stop this little circus they are doing.”
Light got up, nodding with his head. Both were decided on what they were going to do, even if by complete different reasons. Together they started walking towards where the last lifeboat was…
Midnight and Light arrived at the main deck: as expected, the six ponies were still discussing about whom should have the privilege of entering the boat.
The majority of the cruise was now inside the water, the ocean slowly raising as time passed. The group however was so caught up in their argument that they didn't notice how little time they still had left.
“Listen, you morons!” shouted Midnight, stomping a hoof on the ground to get their attention. “I and Mr. Nice Stallion here took a decision: we are going to stay! So that means that only one of you idiots actually needs to stay with us!”
“Well, that does make things easier.”, said Grey Hoof with a smile. “We just need to find another pony to be left behind. We could make a vote for it, nothing fairer right?”
“Why even make a vote? We should leave this arrogant prince here to drown! It’s so obvious!” Mighty quickly replied, hatred filling his face.
“Leave me to die? And who would then take care of my fief?”, answered Gold Crown offended. “Remember what Brain, the scientist there told us: the most important of us should survive. I hold a very high position and a very important responsibility. It's pretty obvious that the singer is the one of us who is the most useless.”
“Yes, I agree. Gold Crown may be a jerk… but he will be missed far more than a simply juvenile singer.” Brain, the old scientist agreed.
“Wait, you can’t be serious!”, shouted Little Star horrified. “What would be of the world without my music? It is through music and entertainment that ponies smile and feel better with themselves. A world without me would be a catastrophe.”
“Then who should be left behind, 'Miss Important'?”, asked Gold Crown with a smug smile.
“Isn’t it obvious? Of course it's Mighty. He is an athlete after all, he do have more chance of surviving than any of us. He could try to swim or something.”, Little Star replied.
“That is an irrefutable fact.”, said Brain fixing his glasses, perhaps to look smarter. "An athlete has the physical fitness that clearly lack on all of us. His chance of survival would be far greater than any of us if he were to be left behind."
“Now that wouldn’t be fair!” Mighty shouted, tears starting to fall from his eyes. The bulk stallion had gotten pretty emotive, his pupils starting to clearly hurt: “Listen, I have just won an award so of course I am important to the world! And I am the youngest of the group… I have never kissed a mare yet! I can’t just be left to die…”
Mighty put his head down, still shocked at the other ponies suggestions. Suddenly he got up, having an idea: “What about the teacher? He seems pretty ordinary.”
Now the attention of the ponies was back at Gray Hoof. He simply gave a smile, before arguing: “Hmm… talking statically, then yes, it would look like my profession is quite ordinary. I would be the most common of all of us… but digging further, there is other evidence that you ponies are forgetting: I have many students who depend on my subjects to learn. Not only that, I am also guiding a potential reform in the college where I lecture… should it be successful, it could revolutionize the entire educational method. As such it's mathematically wrong to put me in the 'ordinary' label.”
He used his hoof to fix the glasses on his eyes, also trying to look smarter. “Not only that, it’s also through me that many… like the scientist over there get their basic knowledge. And talking about that… Brain, you are old and your body is weak. You know that taking probabilities into account you are the one of us with greatest chance to die. You could get pneumonia or something like that with easy. In fact I don’t think you would survive this journey even in a life boat. The cold water from when the waves splash would quickly be your doom. Why don’t you just stay behind and let those who, talking statically, have more chance of surviving taking the boat?”
“I can’t deny this fact.”, replied Brain with a sarcastic smile. “However there is another thing that you seem to be forgetting: we have a prince with a land to rule, we have an athlete who is a champion, we have a singer who is famous through the entire country and a scientist of remarkable intellect. Looking further, the teacher and the mother are the most common ones. However I concede your point: you really are special. Taking this into account it’s pretty clear which of us should stay… besides being a mother, what do you do miss Olivia?”
“What… WHAT?!” Olivia shouted, now feeling outraged. “What kind of animals are you, leaving a poor mother to die without seeing her children? Where is the solidarity, the compassion? Will I never be able to see my children again… to hug them… or sing them a lullaby?”
“Listen mare. This is a hard time and we all need to do hard choices. Are you sure you don’t have anypony else to look after them?” Grey Hoof asked without showing any remorse.
“Ah, so if I have a cousin or an uncle then it’s okay for me to die?! I will disappear from this world, without being able to take care of my family! I… I am completely alone. I don’t have anyone to look for them...” Olivia answered, tears falling quicker than ever from her eyes as she lied down on the ground.
Olivia suddenly got up, like she had just thought about something: “...I didn’t want to tell before… but I am also pregnant. This means that I am not a single life… but two of them! That does open a big hole in yours argument that I am the one who should be left behind!”
“Likely story.”, said Grey Hoof with disbelief. “If you truly were, why didn’t you say this from the beginning? And even if you are… this would be your fault, not of any of us.”
“How could you?!” Olivia shouted again, never feeling so insulted before. “Can you prove that I am lying?!”
“And can you prove you are telling the truth?” Brain asked, also don’t believing her story.
“And how would I do that, you morons!? We are in the middle of ocean, you monsters!” Olivia screamed, one of her hooves pushing her own mane up, a clear act of desperation.
“It doesn’t matter. Logic triumphs over emotion in times like these.” Brain concluded firmly. "It always does."
“Really, Mr. I know it all? Then tell me: if this situation was different, if there was a boat who only fitted one pony and you were there with your wife and kids… who would enter the boat? Would you really save your own skin just to continue whatever profession you have… while letting your family to die?” Olivia pleaded in the middle of tears.
“That is… an interesting question.” Brain answered, lowering his head for a few moments. He thought for a bit before turning up and answering: “But the thing is: you are not my family. There is no reason why I should care about you. Or any other pony in this ship. Sorry if this sounds mean… but life is just like this.”
“Are we really going to send a pregnant mare to her death?” Mighty said with disgust. “I said before and I say again: dump the prince, he never did anything useful anyway.”
“HOW DARE YOU?” Gold Crow shouted in hatred, approaching the young athlete with fire in his eyes. “You should be praying to be saved with me! I am sure my followers already sent several search ships to find what happened. Those who stick with me will have greater chances of survival!”
Light could only look at the discussion. He lowered his head feeling a bit of shame for the entire group… this was surely going to end badly. The water was starting to touch his hoofs too, so hopefully they could settle it soon...
“Do you understand now why I said I didn’t care if any of them died?” Midnight approached Light, giving a small tap on his back. “Bunch of self-entitled jerks.”
The ship trembled as another huge wave hit him. Everypony was taken back by the water touching their knees, the ship getting even more inclined. They were brought back to reality: it wouldn't be long before it was all over.
“ENOUGH!” Now it was time for Grey Hoof, the math teacher, to finally lose his temper. “The ship is quickly sinking; we need to resolve this right now! Let’s do it with a quick vote. Each of you says who should be left behind.”
Grey Hoof stopped for a moment, before saying: “My vote is for Olivia. She is just a simple mother, who doesn’t have much to offer society was a whole. The monarchy can probably do a better job raising her children than she would, anyway.”
Prince Gold Crown quickly followed: “So be it. Who cares, I vote the same.”
Brain fixed his glasses, quickly concluding: “So is it. I agree for previous reasons. And I want to remind the others that we all need to vote the same if we are to survive this mess.”
Olivia could only look horrified, as the three ponies simply signed her death sentence. She was almost blacking out, when she heard a voice:
“I disagree.” It was Mighty, the athlete. “The one who should die is you, Brain! You are old, arrogant and a heartless monster!”
“I concur.” Said Little Star, the singer. “Leaving a mother in despair… that could probably be pregnant just to save our skins? You ponies are horrible.”
“What we do now?” asked Grey Hoof, who wasn’t expecting this outcome.
“Well, since each of us had a single vote and Olivia clearly isn't going to vote for herself… why don’t we allow the lady and the mister over there to vote too? Just because they chose to die doesn’t mean they can’t vote.” said Brain, pointing both at Light and Midnight.
“Uh, don’t look at me.” Midnight said bluntly. “For me all of you could die. In fact, if I could have unlimited votes I would vote for each of you… one million times each. All of you are a bunch of chickens that would probably push the other out of the ship only to save your own rotten skin!”
The six ponies stared at Midnight, clearly offended at her words. They suddenly turned to Light, who simply stood silently. Grey Hoof took the initiative, asking: “So… I guess its fall upon you to decide… what do you think?”
Light closed his eyes. The other seven ponies were looking at him, waiting his vote. He thought for a minute, before opening and saying: “Who am I to decide this?”
“Each of you gave a lot of good reasons to live. And each of you truly believes that you deserve to survive more than the others, am I right?”, asked Light.
They only looked at each other, wondering where the white stallion was going with this talk.
“If I am going to take what each of you said as the truth… then each of you deserve to be saved. And if that is the truth… how could I choose which one of you should be saved?”, continued Light getting emotional, his eyes getting a bit red.
“So… what is the solution? I guess there are many solutions who could solve this problem. But what would be the right one? The only, right thing we can do at this situation is wait for somepony to open his or her heart, doing the most selfless act a pony can do. If we were to force one of us to stay, while we all know he seeks life… what would that makes us? For what we condemned him or her? We just don't have this authority.” Light continued.
“If we really are innocent then we deserve to live. But sadly three of us have to be left behind. What I can do... is to offer myself. And so did Midnight, even though I don’t agree with her reasons.” Light kept going.
"The same choice I did any of you can make. If all of you think that you deserve to live, then you must accept that the others deserve to live as well. So why don’t any of you join us to save the others?”, the white stallion offered. “Or do you guys really believe that your reason triumphs over all the others? If that is the conclusion we get today… that it's impossible for us to care about others more than we care for ourselves... then perhaps it would be better that we all sink together.”
All other ponies could only look in shock: they were taken back by surprise by Light speech. They stopped, clearly thinking about Light words.
The first one to talk was Gray Hoof, the math teacher: “Well, well, well. Now that was a cute speech. Care for the others, you say? Well, I am caring for my students.”
“Ah right, you are a teacher. You have a duty to your students, to teach them and guide them in the right path. So why do you refuse to teach the best lesson we can learn? And what if we were your students? Would you really sacrifice yourself for our sake?” Light asked bluntly.
“That is true. The teacher only has a duty to a small number of ponies. I however have developed many tools for the best of Ponykind, so my value is unchallenged.”, argued Brain, the old scientist.
“Is that so? But isn't the exact purpose of your tools to help Ponykind? Well, now you have the chance of helping it without having to develop anything." Light countered. "It really doesn't matter how many things you help creating: none of them actually have the power to replace pony spirit. You may improve our society with your tools... but they cannot replace the need for empathy!"
“I understand what you mean, white stallion… my love for my family is my main motive.” Olivia said, shrugging her tears.
“That is true. But do you remember that others have families too?”, asked Light intrigued. "That each mare and stallion on this ship have parents, brothers, husbands, wifes... even children? What about their families?"
“Well, I have a duty to care for my followers! I have an entire country to stand for!” Prince Gold Crown shouted angrily.
“You are right, a monarch duty is with his followers. And who are your followers: aren't they ponies just like those on this ship?!”, asked Light, his face getting red. "If we were your fellow country ponies, would you really give down your life for us?"
“He probably wouldn't. But what about me? I bring happiness everywhere. Smile is important to everypony.” Little Star defended herself.
“Right, smiling is important. Well... I don’t see any smiles going on here. There is something you could do right now that would not only bring a temporary happiness, but be able to forever change the life of other five ponies.” answered Light. "There is no need to smiling if you aren't alive."
“I fear that you may have already an answer ready to me... but please understand that I have much to still fulfill in my life.” Mighty argued at last.
“How many things you need to fulfill before taking your life as complete? How many awards do you have to win to compare with the action of saving other ponies lives?” Light finished. "You can actually accomplish now the greatest deed you could make in this life."
All six ponies stood frozen at the white stallion speech. They all looked down feeling shameful, finally realizing how the situation had brought the worst of themselves.
Prince Gold Crown was the first to stare up, his prince pride talking louder: “You are right: we were all being selfish. But you know what? Who cares?! Of course you don’t care about dying: you must believe in some type of reward for you after you are gone. But I don't! For me there is only a big deep pit of darkness. This is my life, my only one... and I shall drink every last drop of it!”
“If that is true, then you are going to that pit anyway. So why don’t you go while doing something good? If you believe that there is only darkness at the end of your road and that you will inevitable fall into it... isn't it more important the things that you do through your trip, rather than their quantity? But I do have to ask... if there is only darkness waiting to you, why don’t you seek where your light is? Surely as much as darkness exists so does the light.” Concluded Light.
“Blah, I don’t care! You know what? Go jump from a bridge! There is no light, just like there is no good or evil here! There are just two things: those who will get out of here alive and those who won’t! Nothing else and nothing besides this actually matters!” Gold Crown shouted, his body being taken by anger.
“And you know what?! You can all stay here and rot… for I AM GOING TO LIVE!” Prince Gold Crown shouted, before giving a short run and throwing the lifeboat on the sea. The other ponies could only look frozen as the prince tried to escape alone.
“OH ROTTEN APPLES! I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE LEFT HIM BEHIND!”, shouted Mighty, who quickly started to run after him.
The prince then jumped inside boat, quick using his hooves as a paddle. Little Star, Olivia, Brain and Grey Hoof saw Mighty running after the prince, quickly following him. In panic they all started to run the closest as possible to the end of the cruise, ready to try a leap of faith.
Nopony could predict what happened next: Little Star, Mighty, Olivia, Brain and Grey Hoof all jumped together from the ship. The prince could only look up as the five ponies fell upon him.
“This is going to hurt...” were the Prince last words. Each of the ponies feel hard on the boat, right on top of the prince. The impact was strong and their combined weight proved too great: the life boat sunk, bringing down all of his occupants into the sea.
Light approached to see what had just happened: before he could think about doing something (such as throwing something for them to grab), the strong waves quickly swallowed each one of the survivors, only leaving him and Midnight on the ship. Horrified at what had just happened through his eyes, he simply looked down.
Midnight also could only stare… but for a different reason. She suddenly started laughing manically, saying: “Ha ha ha! I don’t believe it: all of the leeches drowned on the same boat!”
She quickly ran towards the side of the boat, wanting to see what remained from the group of six ponies. She jumped at the security bars, grabbing them with force. The impact was loud, the bars seemingly loose. She didn't notice it however, approaching Light and giving him a tap on his shoulder: “See, Mr. Nice Stallion? I told you that they all deserved to drown. Ah, you have no idea how happy I am with the way things have gone! Why, I would die just to watch it again!”
It seems that destiny suddenly accepted her offer: a great wave had just hit the ship on the other side, the whole cruise trembling. Light and Midnight suddenly lost balance, struggling themselves to hold at the side bars. And while this happened, Midnight kept gloating: “As I was saying… you cannot believe... how happy I am... with how things unfolded! Ah I am so happy I COOOOUULLLLDDD…!” She shouted, as the side bars proved to don't be strong enough to contain their both weight and the impact from before... suddenly breaking apart.
“WHAT THE FEEEAAATHEEER?!” was the last thing Midnight could scream before rolling outside of the ship, head first on the ocean. Light was also pushed outside the ship, he falling with half inside the deck, the other looking at the ocean. He could just see Midnight falling and screaming, she being quickly engulfed by the ocean.
Standing on his last legs (literally!), Light looked at the horror of his situation: he was the last one remaining. All others had fallen into the ocean. He was left there all alone. Would his reward for caring about others be to leave this world alone? He just couldn't how quickly the tragedy happened through his eyes... even through a part of him thought that somehow they could have survived.
Light gathered his strength, trying to put his body at a standing position. The cruise was now more stable, but almost fully sunk: the previous sectors were already taken by water. There was only one place to go now...
Light was currently sitting near the sail, at the tallest place of the ship. He had separated a huge piece of wood, probably broken from the cruise during the chaos: when the ship finished sinking he would simply lie down on top of it, see where the ocean would take him. It wasn't the best survival plan... but what else could he do?
The ship had been entirely gobbled by the water: only the little top deck and the pole remained outside of it. There were also several pieces of wood floating around, remains of the catastrophe which had just happened. Water was going up, having successfully taken the hardest parts of the ship. The only good thing is that the waves seemed to have finally calmed themselves, giving a somewhat relaxing feeling.
Light only lied down, like waiting for the ending. He was getting there of waiting, but he still had some hope that something would save him. If not, he would try to make do with his backup plan.
Light closed his eyes, silently praying. Deep down he wished to be spared, but he didn't want to enforce his will upon his deity. Whatever happened, he was sure there would be a purpose. But perhaps it was not for him to know.
So he stood lying down there, watching the sun. He wasn't sure of how much time had passed... or if he had fallen asleep while he was there. But perhaps it was time to put his plan into action. He crawled on top of the wood board, lying on top of it. If the top deck was taken by the water he would still have this board to stay.
He wasn't sure if this would do any good, but again, what could he do? He then closed his eyes, letting his fatigue take over himself...
Light was sudden awaken by the sound that resembled a plane. When he opened his eyes there were three lines of smoke cutting through the sky. They were quickly approaching the area, zigzagging through the air like they were searching for something. Gathering the strength he still had, Light used his hoof to help blocking the sun, getting a better look: they were the famous military group of Equestria, the Wonderbolts! How they made that sound he had no idea.
“Could this be?” Light asked to himself. Talk about luck... or perhaps there was someone really taking care of him.
The Wonderbolts started to fly lower, doing cycles towards the region and looking through the scattered pieces of wood floating on the water. The leader of them, Spitfire, noticed what seemed to be a white stallion floating on a piece of wood.
The yellow mare approached quickly, stopping in mid-air near him. She stopped a little, checking his state: “Hey there stallion. Tell me: are you the only survivor around here?”
“I… I am not sure. There were other seven ponies, but they fell into water.” Light answered, looking sad and tired. He then asked: “How did you find me?”
“Well, you see… some of the pegasi who escaped warned the coast pony guard of what had happened. They relayed the news to princess Celestia, who dispatched us to recon and rescue any possible survivors. There is currently an entire fleet of ships coming here, to help search the area for everypony that we can find.” Spitfire explained, giving a reassuring smile.
“I understand. Thank you a lot for coming for us!” Light answered, quickly giving her a few nods out of gratitude. He was very happy, just the thought of getting out of here was enough to make him overjoyed.
“You're welcome, but we have to be fast. Grab me fiercely, for I am going to take you back to the rescue ship. My friends here will continue searching for the others.” Spitfire said, turning herself so Light could get on top of her. “Hold tight, the ride may be a bit fast!”
Light grabbed her, holding her with all his strength. Being pretty strong, Spitfire showed just a minor discomfort in carrying the stallion on her back. She managed to fly him away from the place of disaster with ease, ending what seemed to be several hours of doubt and questions...
From the eight ponies that stood besides the lifeboat, only one of came back. Those who heard the story could just wonder if it was luck, the protection of a divine being or just logic that allowed him to survive. Nevertheless, the fact remained that he was still alive.
The search groups managed to find ponies who were drifting on the lifeboats, bringing them to safety. They also managed to find ponies near the wreckage, who had escaped the water by grabbing into pieces of debris and floating away. There were no news about his seven 'companions' however.
Light was properly fed and muffled, just like the other rescued ponies. His return home was tough however, still shocked of staring the final fate so closely. He couldn't stop thinking about how it was a miracle that he left alive.
Some time passed. Back at home, the words 'Did it really have to end this way?' would ponder into Light's mind many times, especially when he was alone at bed. And no matter how many times he thought about it, he would always come to the same conclusion: that no, it didn't. Everypony could have gotten out alive if at least another pony had offered to stay. But their flaws in the end proved to surpass their empathy, which was what brought their doom. The same was true for Midnight, who had been blessed with life only to give it away. She let her hate of the world cloud her judgement, perhaps in the end taking from her what she had offered. Regardless of what was their fate, he could just feel pity for them.
Deep inside he didn't regret his actions. Still, those thoughts kept bothering him for a long time: how much he wished he had thought of another way to solve it, one which would allow everypony else to live. There should have been another way. But then... perhaps there wasn't. Life doesn't work as we wish it does.
All the newspapers took the history of the sinking ship. They would keep pestering the survivors, getting and printing multiple accounts of how they managed to survive against such odds, the history of Light being between them.
The newspapers main headlines would call those ponies winners, victors for actually living through such difficulty. But Light knew that his victory was not in surviving. His victory was a moral one, because he managed to put the others lives besides himself. Who knows, perhaps there was a reason for what happened. Or maybe it wasn't. Regardless, he felt that his tale may actually have touched some hearts. This thought was a relief, but he also knew that it was a matter of faith.
The End
Author's Note
'Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends'
John 15:13
Last Update: Tuesday, 6 January 2015
