The Island

“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.