The Island

Chapters

Act 1 - The Wave
Act 2 - The Inhabitants
Act 3 - The Truth
Act 4 - The Aftermath

Act 1 - The Wave

Applejack climbed to the top of her barn and looked to the south. She'd been hearing rumbling noises the entire morning and after four hours, enough is enough. She grumbled something about monsters breaking out Tartarus again or some other Celestia blessed or forsaken event that she didn't hear about or forgot. She looked up, over the orchard that made the Apple's livelihood, over the town of Ponyville, over the land beyond.

"Ah don't see...well, ain't that odd. Ah swear those mountains are new." Applejack squinted at the supposed 'mountains' that crested over the horizon. It was odd considering she should just be able to see Appleloosa in the distance, except, now there were mountains. She tilted her head, perhaps she's been working too hard and the light's playing tricks on her. That must be it. She frowned. Ain't nothing playing tricks on her. "Ah better go to Twi's then."

She shimmied down the ladder and went down to Ponyville proper. She explained a little of the predicament to Big Mac as she passed him, making sure he knew about her absence. He just nodded and went back to work like nothing was wrong. To be fair, she had trotted out of work many a time because of some random shenanigans.

She strolled through the now busy streets of Ponyville, deftly bypassing her way through crowds of Friendship students, Ponyvillians, tourists, royal ambassadors, and even dignitaries. Ever since Twilight took to the crown, Ponyville has been swamped. Ain't no surprise there, Applejack mused, but she would like it if it went back to normal, back to the peaceful little town. It wasn't sightly, seeing all these random folk out and about.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and kept her head high. She marched with purpose, only diverting her attention on occasion to say hello with her students or friends. She soon came up to the crystal doors of Twilight's castle. On a normal day, she would be in Canterlot ruling the nation, but today she was visiting little ol' Ponyville for a meeting with some scruffy dignitaries. By Applejack's reckon, the meeting should be over.

"Hey Twi? Can ah talk to ya about somethin'?" She asked, opening the door.

"Of course Applejack!" Twilight teleported into view with an overeager grin. "How can I help?"

"...Twi. Did ya just teleport out of yer meetin'?"

"Whaaaat. No." Twilight gave her best smile. "Okay, fine. Yes. I did. It was booooring, all they talked about paperwork, and you know how much I love paperwork! It was like, they were trying to suck out my soul..." Twilight let the sentence hang for a moment, staring, haunted, into the distance. "Anyhoo, what do you want help with?"

"...right. Well, over yonder, mountains have sprung up. 'Fore Appleloosa too, couldn't see the town from mah roof."

"Mountains?" Twilight perked up. "What do you mean sprung up?"

"Like, they wasn't there yesterday and now they are."

"THat's weird..."

"Ya don't say."

"Well, time to hit the books!" Twilight exclaimed and tried to head straight to her library, but a strong hoof stopped her. "What is it?"

"Why don't ya just, ah dunno, actually go up to the thing? Suppose it actually ain't a mountain?" Applejack asked with a weary smile.

"That's a pretty good point. Alright, time to go on an adventure, you and me! A long trek to these mountains and we'll investigate thoroughly." Twilight nodded confidently, still sporting a very unconvincing smile.

"Twi, it ain't healthy to run away from yer problems."

"I can and I will. I'm the Princess of Equestria!" Twilight snorted, then paused, as if, frightened. "...I promise I'm not shirking my duties, though."

"Ah never doubted ya for a sec, Twi." Applejack tried for a reassuring smile, it seemed to work as Twilight visibly calmed down. "Now, what's got ya in a tizzy? Somethin' 'bout paperwork?"

"Yeaaaah." Twilight sighed. "They want me to read 40 different copies of a single document, they want to see which version is better. The problem is, is that all they've changed is a word, three at most! And they've done this with me for the past five documents, meaning, I've read at least 200 copies that all look the same. Even I have limits, Applejack!" She wailed. "Please! Let me go with you, I don't want to read anymore paperwork!"

Applejack chuckled and hugged Twilight. "Of course, anythin' for a friend. Now, ya said ya wanted to trot?"

"Yep. It'll take my mind off of those annoying stallions."

"Sounds good, yer Highness."

"Oh, stoooop!" Applejack just laughed.

***

"Say, didn't you say that it was just in front of Appleloosa?"

"Yeah. Why? Did ya find anything?"

"Yeaaah." Twilight stopped trotting and looked at her surroundings intently. Applejack stopped too and inspected the mountain. Now that they were closer, there was something weird about them. It was as if...it were moving. "Applejack. I don't think that's a mountain."

"Ah don't think so too."

"We should head back."

"Yes, yes we should."

The two mares took off as fast as they could with the 'mountain' slowly closing in behind them. As they painfully slowly closed in on Ponyville, the dread crept on just as fast. Panic started flaring in their chests and instinctively moved their ligaments faster and faster. It was then did Twilight remember her teleporting spell and quickly flashed, bringing the two friends crashing into the Mayor's building. There were a couple of surprised exclamations.

Applejack popped back up immediately and glanced around her frantically. Too many ponies were here! She nudged Twilight roughly, desperate. "Twi! Twi! Get up! We need to get these folks out!"

"I'm up!" Twilight stood up so fast she fell back onto the ground. She scrambled to her hooves again and looked at the 'mountain' in horror. "I need to contact Celestia and Luna. Applejack, you get everycreature. Gather them...here! Yes, here."

"Ya got it, Twi." Applejack turned and faced the confused crowd while Twilight teleported away. She frowned at the sheer amount of creatures that wasn't here. Ponyville had gotten way too big. "EVERYCREATURE! Find yer friends, yer colleagues, yer neighbours, everycreature and bring em here. We need everycreature in this square, Princess Twilight has somethin' to say. And quickly!"

After that speech, Applejack took off. She bounded through the streets, calling out to creatures of all sizes to meet at the square. Pinkie Pie was the first one she found, and thank Celestia it was Pinkie. Applejack needn't explain, Pinkie simply saluted and zoomed off. Applejack continued.

Rainbow Dash was next, then Rarity. Applejack left Fluttershy to Rarity, so she turned and galloped with all her might to Sweet Apple Acres. She burst through the orchard, hollering at the top of her lungs. She gave her thanks to Celestia once again as they all appeared within minutes. She quickly explained that they needed to head over to the Ponyville square. Big Mac nodded and ushered Granny Smith and Apple Bloom down the road. Applejack tipped her stetson in thanks before taking off once again.

By her reckon, it took an hour and a half for the entire population of Ponyville to be gathered in the center. Twilight was already there when Applejack led the last few to the square. She was explaining that everycreature needed to head to Canterlot with haste. Twilight and Starlight were providing teleportation spells for the young, weak, and old. The rest needed to take the Friendship Express or gallop.

The next three hours was a blur. Applejack barely remembered anything, but by the end of it, her muscles were hurting in ways she didn't know could hurt.

"Everypony." Twilight said wearily with a smile. She could barely stand, her horn was even smoking. But everycreature had been evacuated. "Celestia and Luna, as well as a few other leaders and mages, are taking care of the other villages and cities."

The others nodded in appreciation. Spike raised a claw with a concerned look. "Twilight, why did we need to evacuate everybody?"

Twilight grimaced. Fluttershy whimpered and was immediately comforted by Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash growled and was looking around like she was looking for a fight. Starlight was barely awake, collapsed on the ground. Applejack pulled her stetson over her head, not wanting to see her friends.

"A giant wave is coming straight towards us."

There was a shocked silence.

"Right, so what can we do?" Rainbow was the first to pull herself together. She stared determinedly at Twilight. "I mean, there has to be something, right? We can still save the town!"

"No Dash." Applejack trotted over a put a hoof on her shoulder. "There ain't nothin' we can do."

Rainbow attempted to push here away angrily, but failed. "THERE HAS TO BE! We can't just leave Ponyville behind! We can't!"

"Rainbow, dear." Rarity trotted up as well with a pained smile. "Ponyville is a people. And we saved them. We did our best, but there are times when even our best can't move mountains." She put a hoof under Rainbow's chin and lifted her face. "Smile, darling. We are role models, are we not?"

Pinkie bounced forwards with a big grin. "Yeah! Rarity's right! We can just rebuild everything with everycreature anyways, we'll make new memories! And we'll have fun doing it. So smile."

Fluttershy appeared behind them and wrapped them all in a hug. "It's okay to feel sad." She all but whispered.

It was as if a dam was destroyed. Everypony in the room started crying, wailing about the things they'd leave behind, the memories, the good times. They even mentioned the little things, how that wall had that funny looking dent when Tirek rose to power. Or even that flowerpot that had survived all the disasters no matter what.

They had no idea how long they were there for, but it was Starlight Glimmer who broke them out of their misery. "Girls! We need to go!"

Applejack looked up and through her hazy gaze, she saw that the 'mountain' had gotten extremely close. "She's right. We need to git."

"I'm out of magic!" Twilight exclaimed, looking frantic. "What should we do?"

"Twilight. Breathe." Starlight shook her mentor slightly. "I have a plan. At the castle, there's a magic artifact I've been investigating. From what I could gather, it appears it's a portal to Canterlot. There are a few runes that I haven't been able to decipher, but I'm a hundred percent sure that we can go to Canterlot from there."

"You're a lifesaver, Starlight!" Twilight turned around with a triumphant smile. "Everypony, to the castle!"

It was a mad gallop. There was no time for elegance, no time for hesitation. The wave was behind them, the edges had already reached the edge of Ponyville and was slowly lapping up buildings. It was when Applejack was nearing the castle did she hear a soft roar. It was that type of roar you hear near a waterfall but it was ten times louder. It was so loud that it dulled her senses into a constant humming in the back of her head.

Together, they burst through the doors and galloped through the hallways. Starlight crashed through a set, stumbled slightly, and then continued her gallop. There, in the center of the room, lay a fountain of intricate design. She skidded to a halt and Twilight slipped next to her. They held a conversation through some weird magic spell. While they were doing that, it was enough time for the rest of them to catch up.

Alright everypony, we need to go one by one otherwise the fountain short circuits. Starlight's horn was glimmering, her indecipherable words somehow entering their brains. With that, she was the first one to dive in. The water in the fountain barely rippled. Twilight nodded then looked back at them, mouthing something. Rainbow Dash dove in next. And so it went. Fluttershy was next, then Spike, then Pinkie Pie. Rarity had just entered, when the ground shook. Applejack glanced back fearfully and saw down the hall that the water was dangerously close. She wasted no time and grabbed Twilight and threw her in. She waited a few seconds and then dove in after her, the water drenching her tail.

***

Applejack groaned as she pushed herself off the ground. Her head ached mightily as she put a hoof to her forehead. She stumbled around, blind-like, as she tried to get her bearings. The ground beneath her felt grassy, lush, good for planting. There were foliage around as well, bushes, trees. Her ears twitched from the sound of waves. So she was near a shore. Then she froze and listened more carefully. After a moment, she relaxed again, they were calm waves. Ones that lapped softly.

She navigated slowly through the dense foliage without her sight. She wanted to be in a safe environment before she rested properly. It took a moment, but Applejack eventually found a cove of some sort. She laid against the wall and waited for her sight to return all the while straining her ears just in case.

Time passed. Applejack rested. Her thoughts were in turmoil. Starlight had said that the fountain would drop them off in Canterlot, yet this clearly wasn't Canterlot. And what about her friends? Where were they? Also blind and confused? There was one thing of comfort, Applejack decided. It was that the giant wave was gone.

By her count, an hour had passed and her sight was returning. Darkness became smudges, smudges became details, details became an entire picture. Applejack stood up and looked around, thankful that her headache also faded away. The place where she was staying turned out to be a shallow cave. She exited and took in her surroundings. She froze and looked around in despair. The trees suggested that this area was tropical, the water lapping at the beach was a bright turquoise, and there was sea as far as the eye could see.

Applejack shook her head and skirted the edge for a bit, get her bearings. Maybe she's been here before, Las Pegasus or something like that. They've got beaches. The further she went, the more she was convinced she was alone on this island, in the middle of nowhere. Applejack fell to her haunches and looked out.

"Where am ah?"

Act 2 - The Inhabitants

Applejack got up and shook herself. Right. First order of business, look around. All she’s been doing is skirting the edges, there has to be more inland, right? She nodded, confident that there must be more to this. Perhaps she’ll even find her friends, surely they must be around here somewhere.

With that, she made her first steps forward and entered the forest, leaving the beach behind.

Inland was cool, that was the first thing she noticed. The sudden temperature drop made her shiver slightly. Applejack sighed and kept her head on a swivel and continued trotting. Trees, rock formations, bushes, peat, stuffy air. It was all very different from the countryside she grew up in. She wasn't sure she would be able to survive all that long if she couldn't find anything remotely familiar in the next day or two.

***

Three days later and many steps later, Applejack found herself at the water's edge yet again. She plopped down on the sand and looked out across the stunning visage of a sunset seeping into the ocean. She pulled her stetson over her chest and watched. She was tired and hungry, thirsty and exhausted. These past few days, she's just been nibbling on berries and tree bark. She also found several streams where she drank until she felt like bursting, but it wasn't enough. None of that was enough to help prepare her for the disappointment of finding herself on an island.

As the sun's last rays flickered above the horizon, depression soon followed the disappointment. Applejack allowed herself to flop onto the sand and without ceremony started bawling. The life she knew was gone. The last remaining shred of hope that she was holding onto, vaporized. Her friends, family, all gone. She cried herself to sleep.

***

She awoke, blearily. Her eyes were puffy and stinging. Applejack groaned as she rolled over, trying to find some purchase on the sand with her hooves. It took a while, but eventually, she got back onto her hooves. Her body ached all over.

Maybe…no.

Applejack shook her head, trying to dispel any hopeful thoughts. There’s nothing for her anymore, time to rework her priorities. A sustainable source of food and fresh water. A permanent shelter. She would also need to get a lay of the land, see what she’s working with. Then, after all of that, maybe, just maybe, she might consider the possibility of building a raft and escaping the island.

Applejack shook her head for the last time, filled with new determination. She donned her stetson and marched back inland.

***

Follow animals. That was something she learned from Zecora and Fluttershy. Wild animals are smart, they live to survive. After following a group of birds, Applejack stumbled across a stream that ran across a rocky divide. It was shallow enough to stand in, so first things first, Applejack got to cleaning herself as well as drinking enough to quench her thirst.

After, feeling refreshed, Applejack marched upstream. She was careful though, fresh water attracts all sorts of flora and fauna. It wasn’t before long she found herself at the beginnings of a hill. Looking upwards, nothing looked anything of interest, so Applejack decided against going up for now. Instead, she went around the base of the hill, hoping she could find a grotto or something to camp in for the foreseeable future. No such luck.

She was about to give up when she noticed a space within the trees over yonder. She trotted over, cautious. It turned out to be a clearing, just wide enough to fit three ponies. It looked perfect, exactly what Applejack needed at that moment. A space that’s somewhat easily enough to defend if need be, enough space to store supplies as well as a space for herself, and best of all, the trees’ canopy around the clearing was enough to cover her.

Satisfied, Applejack made sure to make note of all the notable landmarks so she could find her way back, then took off, now determined to find a food source. Fruits would be best, as long as it’s not strawberries. Apples would be even better. But, seeing as she had no idea where she was, food could be something of a hassle.

Applejack scrounged through the brush, combed the beach, and even clambered up tropical trees to get a better lay of the land. In the end, she only found these weird reddish berries. She saw this rodent-looking animal munch on them earlier and Applejack couldn’t see any discernible factors that indicated that that animal was capable of consuming poisonous berries, so she took a bite. Bitter, but not bad.

She took half of what the bush provided and went back to her clearing. Applejack peeled off some bark and layered it with leaves, and then placed the berries on top of it. That would serve her plate for now. She then placed her stetson next to her makeshift plate and found a comfortable spot to curl up and faded from consciousness.

***

A week has passed and Applejack has gotten acclimated, more or less, to her new home. On top of the berries, she found this bulbous fruit that hung from these tall trees that were cumbersome to climb, so Applejack just bucked the fruits down.

She has also built up the clearing using driftwood and dead trees to create walls and fences. It made the place feel secure. Applejack also transplanted some moss and laid it all around the clearing, making it much more cozier.

After that, she went ahead and dug a separate route for the stream to take, which allowed the fresh water to flow closer to the clearing. It would also allow for the transplanted moss to be irrigated. After that, she started making plans to start planting berry bushes all around the clearing as well, maybe even a couple of fruit trees.

Before she could start investigating whether or not that could work, it started to rain. And rain it did. Being out in a tropical region meant when it rained, it rained hard. Soon enough, the stream was flooding over. The tree canopy gave way to the unrelenting torrent, drenching the clearing even more. Applejack clambered over to one of her half-built projects that had a roof and just watched in agonized silence as all of her work went to waste.

That was the second time she cried herself to sleep.

***

Another week passed. Applejack gloomily fixed everything. Rebuilt the fences and walls. Replanted the uprooted moss. Strengthened and deepened the stream so overflow wouldn’t happen as easily. Even made a shack. It was after this moment she sat down and took a break.

She was tired. Beyond tired even. She had drowned herself in her work, in her survival, in order to do anything but think. Thinking would mean remembering. Remembering meant pain. Pain meant giving up, and Applejack wasn’t about to give up. That was her, wasn’t it? Applejack, Element of Honesty, stubborn as a mule, and a hard worker.

She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head, whimpering every so often. She couldn’t, she mustn’t. So she didn’t. She made her mind go blank and focused on the present. Right now, she was sitting in her clearing, her home. She had just finished with her starter shack, what would eventually be her house. Now what? Her stomach grumbled and Applejack let out a mirthless chuckle. Why, it’s time to get food.

She heaved herself upwards and took a well trodden path to a fruit grove she found a while back. She squinted and picked out the tree with the most fruit and bucked it a couple of times. Four of them came tumbling down and with practiced ease, Applejack plucked all four before they splatted on the ground.

Placing three on her back, she took a bite of one and savored the bite, placing herself even more in the moment. A few more bites later and the last bite was now in the process of being chewed and swallowed when Applejack noticed a glint in the shadows.

Without thinking, Applejack threw herself to the ground, letting the fruit tumble off her back, and felt something whoosh past her ear. Panic set in and she scrambled onto her hooves and galloped out of the orchard. She needed to get out, somewhere she could see whatever was attacking her. The beach. It was open. She veered to the side and sprinted with all of her might.

The orchard wasn’t too far from the beach so it only took an hour before Applejack burst out of the shrubbery and into the open. Out of breath, she collapsed onto the sand. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was telling herself she needed to keep moving, but her legs didn’t seem to work. A diet consisting of three things probably wasn’t nutritional, leaving her well-toned body into something unfit and undesirable. Applejack was ashamed and felt tears welling up again.

A heavy thud sounded behind her. It was quickly followed by four more thuds. Applejack strained her head to look through blurry eyes and noticed five pony-like shapes. One of them raised a stick to its lips. Applejack sighed, so this is how she goes out. Not with a partner that she loved dearly, where they raised a family and grew old together. No. It was out here, on this Celestia-forsaken island in the middle of nowhere. She closed her eyes and the world faded to black.

***

“Ah, you’re awake.” Applejack blinked, feeling more rested than she'd ever been. She blinked and looked to her right and noticed a purple shape. A familiar looking purple shape.

“…Twi?” She rasped out, speaking for the first time in days.

“It’s nice to see you again, Applejack.” Twilight choked out, held still for a minute, then embraced her friend and held tight. Applejack held still in shock, then fiercely returned the gesture. It didn’t take long before the two started sobbing.

***

“So…uhhh…what happened?” Applejack asked after they composed themselves. She was sitting on a proper and comfy bed and the two seemed to be in a well crafted wooden lodge as well. Everything about this felt very surreal. Twilight opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Applejack’s stomach growled fiercely. She smiled sheepishly. “Do ya have a bite to eat, perhaps?”

Twilight laughed and dragged her hoof over her face, then sighed. She smiled and got up and extended a hoof. “Come on, let’s get you a bite to eat.”

Applejack accepted the offered hoof gratefully and pulled herself to her hooves. It was then did she noticed the drastic height difference. “Twi…”

The mare in question blinked, confused, looked down, then gasped in realization. “Oooooh, uhh, yeah, about that. Ehe. I’ll explain that all later. How about for now, we just grab a bite to eat, the two of us, just like old times.”

“Yeah. Just like old times.” Applejack frowned slightly but went along.

The two of them exited the room and found themselves in a long winding corridor, also made out of wood. Applejack followed Twilight as she navigated through the maze, leaving Applejack speechless. It also didn’t help that Twilight was twice the height of Applejack now.

“What is all of this? Who made all of this?”

“The locals.” Twilight answered simply, not looking back.

“The locals.”

“Right…” Applejack shook her head, wondering if this was just some fever dream. Maybe she ate a bad fruit and was now lying on the ground, dreaming up this whole scenario. The only problem with that, this felt all too real. The heartache, the relief, the confusion, the awe. All of it. “Twi, do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Tell me where we are. Are we still on that island?”

“…It’ll be better if I explain it later. Trust me. It’ll all make sense after.”

“Ya promise though? Ya promise to tell me the truth and nothin’ but the truth?” Applejack asked, more dead serious than she’d ever been.

“I pinkie promise.” Twilight stopped and looked back. She lowered herself down and looked Applejack in the eye and then placed her hoof over her heart and made the motions. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Ah’ll hold ya to that.”

“I didn’t expect anything else.” Twilight replied with a smile. She lingered there for a moment before turning around and continuing forwards. Applejack frowned still, she swore she saw a tear slip.

Then, they entered another room.

This wasn’t like the other room, this room was massive. Almost as big as Ponyville’s town square, and it was all built out of wood. It was a whole canteen. Tables and chairs in neat rows and in the front of the room was what looked like a kitchen.

“This is…amazin’!”

“I know.” Twilight replied with a smug face.

“Ya did this, didn’t ya?” Applejack asked, teasingly.

“I…ehe,” Twilight rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, “I might’ve been partly responsible.”

“It looks great, Twi. Really.” Applejack smiled warmly. The two shared that moment for a beat, then another.

“Food?” Twilight suddenly broke the moment.

“Yeah…yeah, food.”

The two, ladened with delicious looking food. sat down at a table, it didn’t matter which one, because the entire canteen was empty.

“What’s with all them locals, ya talked about?”

“Oh, I asked them to hide, just so you could get used to the present.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means…uhhh…” Twilight scratched her head, looking a bit lost. “I don’t know how to explain. The locals are a bit of a hooffull, you’ll understand when you meet them. Let’s finish up this meal and then you can meet them, how’s that?”

“Sounds good.”

***

“The food was delicious, mah compliments to the chef.”

“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”

“She’s ‘ere?”

“Of course.”

“Ah would like to meet her then.”

Twilight got up and Applejack followed. She gestured for her friend to follow then took a smaller door, in which Twilight had to duck to fit through. Applejack trotted behind, filled with trepidation.

“Ah, a small tip. Don’t be scared.”

“Ah’ll try.” Applejack replied, still feeling a mite confused.

The two turned a corner and then through another door. As Applejack fitted herself through the last door, she came face to face with something entirely different.

“Uwah!” She leapt backwards and mentally prepared herself for a fight. It took her a moment to get her bearings and noticed that the creature was cowering. “Oh! Oh…uhhh, mah apologies…ma’am?” Applejack looked at Twilight, who nodded encouragingly. “Mah sincere apologies, it’s just, it’s been a while since ah’ve seen any creature.”

“Oh…no, it’s okay.” The creature tittered. That was the word for it. The creature tittered. “I…I understand. You’re the next Chosen One, sent from the Past to give Gifts to us, the Ascended Ones. You have no knowledge of us yet, as the Prophecy foretold!” The creature then started making a bizarre movement, almost akin to bowing. But that wasn’t what caught Applejack’s attention. She kept her face as neutral as possible as she turned to look at Twilight.

“Twi. What’s she talkin’ about?” She was only met with stony silence. “Twi. How long as it been?”

“1,000 years.”

Author's Note

didn't expect to go that far in depth into the survival bit, but yeah, now we have it.

Act 3 - The Truth

“Whaddya mean…” Applejack trailed off, looking up at the stricken face of Twilight. “Ah see.”

“AJ?”

“Ah need a moment.” Applejack turned around and stalked off. The rest was a blur, she was later told that she was found in a closet an hour later, laying in a puddle of her own tears.

***

Applejack blinked her eyes open and saw Twilight looking down. She closed her eyes again, letting the darkness seep in. She didn’t want to feel anymore and seeing brought emotions.

“I’m sorry, Applejack.” Three words and enough was said. Applejack heard everything behind those words. She shifted in her bed, determined to not start crying again. “Do you want to be alone or…?”

“Stay.”

“Alright.”

The two stayed there feeling each others presence for another hour before Applejack worked up the courage to say something.

“Twi. Ah want ya to be honest with me.”

“When am I not?” Twilight tried for a joke and the two chuckled drily at the attempt.

“What happened.” Even with her eyes closed, Applejack could easily imagine what her friend looked like in that moment. Eyes closed, head down, lips pursed, slowly drawing in air and then slowly letting it out.

“Remember when Starlight activated the portal?”

“Yeah.”

“She wasn’t lying, it really did send us to Canterlot. The problem was that it didn’t send us all to the same place in time. Starlight was the first one to go through the portal, which means she was sent to Canterlot first. She arrived the day after all the evacuations. Equestria was completely underwater by that point, the only thing left standing was Cloudsdale and the Canterhorn.”

“Canterhorn…remind me again?” Applejack asked, her entire being focused solely on Twilight.

“The mountain that Canterlot is on.”

“Right.”

“The pegasi with their weather magic, mostly fled to Cloudsdale, making it much bigger to encompass the larger population. The earth ponies and unicorns were left on the Canterhorn.”

“Ponyville? Mah parents?”

“The majority of Ponyville made it to the Canterhorn. Your family included.” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief, then she paused.

“Wait. How do ya know all this?”

“Starlight wrote it all down.”

“Ah.” Applejack smiled a little.

“Yeah, a scholar till the end.” Twilight smiled sadly. “Anyways, after a few years of looking for survivors and scouting new lands, Celestia and Luna concluded that the Canterhorn and Cloudsdale were the only suitable places to live for ponykind. With the help of Starlight and Sunburst, they were able to teach some unicorns the cloud walking spell which in turned allowed them to live on Cloudsdale. That cut down the population here on the Counterhorn. After that, they started working on making the Canterhorn viable to live in. Your family helped with the food supply.”

“What about the other creatures?”

“Ah…” Twilight stopped for a moment, then opened her mouth again. “The Hippogriffs turned into sea ponies again with their crystals and swam for Seaquestria. The Griffons flew to Griffonstone which was still standing. The Changelings can shift shapes to match any creature so they split up, they themselves deciding on where they wanted to go. The Yaks were teleported to Yakyakistan over the years, that place being high enough to escape the flood. The Kirin stayed here. The Dragons left for the Dragon Lands. Donkeys and other lesser known creatures also stayed here.”

“Our friends?”

“Starlight…Starlight did the calculations after the survivors got settled. Because we entered one after the other, the next pony would arrive here when the one before them was nearing the end of their life. When Starlight reached the age where it was normal for a pony to start losing their functions, Rainbow Dash arrived, and so forth.”

“Wait…wait.” Applejack opened her eyes and looked directly at Twilight who was trying very hard not to meet her gaze. “‘When the one before them was nearin’ the end of their life’, that’s what ya said. Ya can’t be dying! Yer an alicorn for Celestia’s sake!” Applejack was in tears now. “Ya can’t just leave just like that! It ain’t fair!”

“I know.” Twilight whispered.

“It ain’t fair!” Applejack was in hysterics now, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I know.” Twilight leaned forwards and wrapped her massive wings around her friend. “I know.”

***

“Celestia? Luna?” Applejack asked, her voice raw.

“Luna disappeared during a search and rescue two years after Rainbow appeared. A bad storm ravaged Equestria for several weeks before that. After that storm, we lost contact with Griffonstone and the Dragonlands. Not long after, Yakyakistan stopped talking with us as well. Cloudsdale even drifted away, we here from them occasionally, but not often. Celestia…” Twilight trailed off, then cleared her throat. “Celestia went mad with grief. It was said that she passed away in her sleep, Rainbow was the last one to have talked with her.”

The two became silent, paying their respects.

“And then?”

“And then, life went on. Ponykind evolved, adapting to the limited space on the Canterhorn. Our friends guided their journey through the years. Starlight taught them magic and power, Rainbow taught them loyalty and having ambitions, Fluttershy with kindness and the beauty of nature. Spike taught them through his long life that helping others and keeping optimism. He passed away sitting on a pile of gold, I was told. Pinkie…Pinkie was Pinkie. They still get birthday gifts from her despite it being nearly 400 years ago. Rarity taught them about generosity and the beauty within one another. Then I came, that was almost 350 years ago. I held Rarity in my wings as she passed from old age, as beautiful as the day we meet in Ponyville.” Twilight’s voice cracked, she sniffled and rubbed her wings over her face, trying very hard to compose herself. Applejack kept her peace and waited for her friend. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Ya have nothin’ to apologize for, Twi.” Twilight looked up and saw that Applejack’s face was streaming with tears, but she still bore a smile. “Our friends did what they loved. We can’t ask em any more than that.”

The two fell into each others embrace once again.

***

“What are they called?”

“What?”

“The…uh, ponies?”

“Oh, I call them Pygmies because of their smaller size, but they still call themselves ponies. There are about 500 of them here, some of them live underground, some above, some even have the ability to breathe underwater, but all stay near Isla, which is what they call this place.”

Applejack nodded slowly then stopped. “And, uhh, what about that prophecy mumbo jumbo? Chosen Ones?”

“Ah, yeah. From what I could gather, it seems Pinkie knew exactly what was happening and created this Prophecy in which foretold our arrival as well as explained the arrivals before her. It was an instant hit with the Pygmies. You, being the last pony to have gone through the portal, are now the last Chosen One to bear Gifts.” Twilight fell silent after that, looking at Applejack with cautious eyes.

“Ah see.” There was silence for a stretch of time.

“Do you…want to go outside? See Isla? See…the graves?” Twilight asked slowly, unsure on how to move forward with this.

“Yeah. Ah think ah do. Thanks, Twi.” Applejack took a shuddering breath. “Ah do mean it. Ah can see that yer really tryin’, so ah thank ya Twilight.”

“No problem.”

***

The two friends emerged from the maze atop a large tree overlooking the island and the ocean. It was stunning, a view of a lifetime. The island was the size of two Ponyvilles, Twilight’s Castle and School of Friendship as well as Sweet Apple Acres included. The island’s edge was wrapped with a meter of sand all around. As for inland, there were tropical trees, scattered shrubbery, and several small outcroppings of forests. Applejack thought she could even see her hollow. As for the water, it took more of a pinkish sheen, contrasting well with the aquamarine blue.

“Beautiful, isn’t it.”

“Aye.” Applejack wiped away a tear, then another, then took another deep breath. Enough tears had been shed. “Alright, ah think ah’m ready. Show me.”

Twilight nodded silently, then led her friend back down the maze and eventually outside of the entire thing. She continued walking, through the outcroppings and eventually ended back at the foot of the hill. Applejack looked up with a slight hesitation, then pressed onwards. She noticed Twilight didn’t follow her, but she kept on going. Twilight must’ve been here countless times and soon, she would join their ranks. Applejack pulled her stetson over her eyes and continued the ascent.

She didn’t stop trotting until she saw polished stone from underneath the brim of her hat. Still not looking, she sat down and pulled her stetson even lower. She took several shuddering breaths, trying to keep herself calm. It took much longer than she would be willing to admit, but when she eventually decided that enough was enough and looked up.

Six graves.

Six heroes.

Six friends.

The first one, a simple square marble, polished smooth. Engraved with a wand a turquoise swirl wrapping around the entire gravestone. In one corner, there was a small depiction of a kite, flying away to be free.

The second one, a bombastic round shaped granite block, rough in some places. A cloud with a lightning bolt was etched in the middle. The sides were touched up with rainbow stripes. It certainly looked awesome.

The third, softly shaped andesite, but the design never detracted itself from the ones beside it. A butterfly was chiseled into the middle and surrounding it were all sorts of animals, big and small.

The fourth was the biggest, but not by much. This one was created out of crystal and inside of the gravestone, it looked like fire was encased and preserved. As a bonus, it seemed to light up the place, bringing light to the other graves.

The fifth. It was a clever combination of limestone, marble, quartz, and a few more, blending into one simplistic design. In the middle, there was this pink rock that was in the shape of a balloon with a joyful smile.

The final one was the prettiest, as it should, but it was also the most simplistic. A rock, that could be found anywhere, without a hint of touch or polish, and a elegant engraving of a gemstone in the middle.

A dam broke and everything came out. Applejack sobbed her heart out, clutching her stetson close to her chest and heaving. Wailing up to the heavens.

Act 4 - The Aftermath

It has been many, many years since Applejack first came to this island, and it was time. She made an excuse to the Pygmies and started her climb up the hill one final time. One creaky step at a time.

As she ascended, she reflected back on her accomplishments she achieved during her time here. She was a farmer, she knew how crops worked. That was her first Gift. She helped plant and maintain plants with all sorts of uses, medicinal, edible, aesthetic, and ones that supported. She even planted an apple tree and a pear from the seeds she kept on her at all times. She planted them overlooking the sunset.

Then, Twilight passed away in the night in her sleep.

Applejack wasn’t able to cry as she witnessed all of the Pygmies mourn and rejoice the death of a Chosen One. She wasn’t able to cry after the celebrations and burial happened. She wasn’t able to cry many days later when she barged into Twilight’s room to ask her a question and found nothing but an empty room. She wasn’t able to cry many years later when her back started to hurt and her senses dulled and she needed an old friend. She wasn’t able to cry when she felt death right at her doorstep, about to press the doorbell.

Applejack kept on climbing.

The second Gift she bestowed was Honesty. To tell the truth to yourself, to others, and to everything else. But she also taught the ways of deception in the truth. That truth may not always be the answer. Applejack trusted the information to the Pygmies and hoped that whatever they did, they would never ever use Honesty to severely harm themselves and others.

A storm arrived on Isla.

The wind tore up crops, lightning burned down sections of their tree home, water flooded entire sections of the island. Applejack had but one thought, to protect her friends. She rushed out, ignoring the warnings of the Pygmies and charged up the hill and bellowed at the clouds up above. When the inevitable lightning arced itself towards the hilltop, Applejack pawed the ground like an angry bull and launched herself towards the bolt and intercepted it. When she woke, all of her fur had been fried and her stetson in tatters, but the graves were intact.

Applejack could see the summit.

Through that, Applejack taught her last Gift. The strength to continue onwards. Where a daunting effort needs to be undertaken, you must persevere and finish the task. Where there’s nopony left but yourself and threats face your way, you charge right back into the fray. Where there’s no hope left and that everything you know and love has disappeared, you continue onwards to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

Applejack slumped in front of the seventh grave.

It was a tree. Throughout the years, it had grown sideways, it’s branches stretching over the other gravestone, as if protecting them. In the bark, a six pointed star was carved with precision and love.

Applejack started to cry, placed her tattered and old stetson on a branch, and leaned back on the trunk. She looked out across Isla for the last time, tears still running down her cheeks. Despite that, she smiled.

Then she closed her eyes.

Author's Note

tadaaaaaaaaa, wrote these past three chapters on a road trip.