Water, water everywhere...
The gentle sea breeze blew across the small archipelago that was all that remained of Ponyville and its outlying area. The sun shone radiantly high in the bright blue sky, reflecting across the cool, clear waters that rolled and crashed ever so slightly with small waves on the high seas.
A flock of seagulls squawked loudly overhead as they each took turns diving into the waters to try and catch some unlucky stragglers in a school of sardines. A gargantuan blue whale, not too far off the coast of one of the smaller islands, soared through the waters. His mouth was open as he drove forward to a group of krill which he wishes to sate his appetite with.
This is not the Equestria that you once knew. This is a world of endless blue...
* * *
An old, grizzled diamond dog sat in his little fishing boat as he snoozed the day away, with a fishing rod held tight in the pit of his arm. A raggedy straw hat covered his face, blocking away the harmful rays of the sun as he patiently waited for something to happen. Seconds turned to minutes, then minutes turned to hours until he finally felt a strong tug on his fishing rod. The dog snapped to attention and reeled in his quarry with all of his might.
He fought with the fish at the end of his line. A fierce battle of tug of war broke out between the dog and the fish. The dog tried with all of strength to reel in the fish, but the fish constantly fought back, struggling to break the line and swim away into the depths of the ocean. Eventually one of them tired out, and gave into defeat.
The dog reeled in his catch, and smiled greatly. It was a mackerel, and a pretty darn big one too, enough to feed his family for a week if it were dried and preserved properly. He pulled it up onto his boat and placed it in a large basket where there were also crabs, lobsters, and an intriguing assortment of mollusk in all shapes and sizes.
He pooled some water into his paws and poured it over the basket, doing his best to keep the mackerel alive until he could prepare it properly back on the mainland. As he did so, a voice called out his name, causing him to dart his head back up to find the source.
"Hey, Rover!" a female voice shouted. Rover turned around and found out that It was none other than Applejack and her family calling out to him on their floating market of the high seas. He looked to them and waved as they came by in the large boat that had stands filled with all kinds of apples and other important commodities on it as well. Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac all smiled at Rover as he hopped aboard their vessel. All the while, a sleeping Granny Smith sat by the corner of the boat in her old rocking chair, sawing logs as drool dripped from the corner of her mouth.
In the decade that passed, the Apple family have braved both hell and, ironically enough, high waters to be where they are now. Someway, somehow, they all have survived in this world, and have prospered despite the calamity that ensue all those years ago. Nothing, not even a world changing event could break that powerful Apple family pride it seems.
Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac have grown all exponentially. Applejack had grown into a wise and strong mare with almost all of the negative qualities that held her back washed away by the sea. She wasn't as stubborn as she used to, but every now and then she would find herself doing something that made her resemble that honest filly all those years ago. To top it all off, she has certainly gotten taller too. Close to Big Mac's size but that's only if you count her tattered stetson as part of her height.
Big Mac had also grown a lot bigger too. He was at least a half a head taller than Rover, and about as wide as he was with pure toned muscle. He was the picture of health, given everything all the swimming he had to do to get parts of Sweet Apple Acres back from the seafloor onto dry land with help from Applebloom. Yet he was still that stallion of few words. He didn't talk as much, which wasn't particularly a surprise. But whenever he spoke, you listened.
Applebloom was perhaps the most drastic when it came to changes. She was not longer that little filly that caused complete and total mayhem in town attempting to get a cutie mark.
She was about the size of Applejack way back when now. Her mane was tied in a twin pigtail fashion with two bows rather than a single bow with her ponytail. Her cutie mark was oddly enough an image of a snorkel and goggle. She was an excellent swimmer and diver, perhaps the best there was within a hundred mile radius. She worked part time salvaging the ocean for plants, interesting treasures, and random oddities that was sure to fetch a good price on the market.
"Hello, Rover. How are you today?" Applejack asked with a tug of her hat.
"I'm fine, I caught a lot today. How's your business going?" Rover replied.
"Great, thank you for asking" said Applebloom "We managed to sell three full baskets of apples today. Would you like to buy one?"
"Sure, I haven't had anything sweet to eat today" said Rover as he reached into his boat and pulled out a small sack. In the sack was a collection of pressed metal coins that was the currency used within the local area. He pulled out three pence of copper and traded it for a small handful of fresh red apples "Pleasure doing business with you"
"Eeyup" said Big Mac from the side.
Rover ate one immediately as he sat down by the bow of the Apple's ship and stared into the horizon, admiring the sweet and tart taste of the apple. Applejack and Big Mac later joined him, sitting beside each other and staring off into the horizon as well.
"I can't believe it's already been ten whole years" said Applejack.
"Heh, me neither" said Rover "We weren't exactly on the best terms with you guys back then. So much has changed, and by now, I think it's all for the better"
"You really think so?" Applejack lowered her voice.
"Think about it. No more fear of another kind, none of that fairy tale nonsense either. Just cold, bitter reality at it most severe. We all had to work together to be where we are today, whether we wanted to or not. We survived, we prospered while everyone else who tried to hold onto the past got swallowed up by the sea" Rover said solemnly "Who knew how greatly a disaster could influence all of us"
"I'll say" Big Mac joined in, much to the two's surprise "But the question still remains... what actually happened all those years ago?"
"I dont think that matters today, Big Mac" said Applejack "The princesses are gone, and the world seemed to have moved on without them, almost like the world didn't need them in the first place. All that safety, all that security, all of that prophecy and elements of harmony hogwash and for what? Nothing, that's what"
"Do you think they're still here" Rover asked "Those alicorns I mean"
"I don't know, and frankly I don't care anymore" said Applejack with her head lowered "I think it's better that we just forget about everything and move on. Come on, let's head back to town. I'll help you and your boat get back there as well" she offered.
"Much obliged, Applejack" said Rover. With that said, he went and grabbed some nearby rope by his boat and tied it the Apple's own. When it was secure, they all set sailed to the horizon and made their way back to their home all while reminiscing about the past and all that happened.
* * *
Nobody knew how it all happened. One day a stallion and his family would wake up one morning and feel solid ground beneath their hooves, and the next, water. Nothing but water for as far as the eye could see. Ponies panicked, and they all fled inland to escape the creeping tides.
It wasn't so severe at first, at most the water only reached up to their knees. Life continued for a few more weeks unhindered by the sudden wetness and everyone just assumed that the water would go away with enough time. Mother nature on the other hand had other things in mind.
The situtation went from bad to worse faster than a speeding Wonderbolt. The water rose, and it showed absolutely no sign of stopping. More and more pony fled inland, whole cities and towns were swallowed by the sea until the country's capital, Canterlot, became so bloated and swollen with desperate refugees that you couldn't walk out on the street without squeezing though hundreds of ponies all struggling to try and live a normal life. A simple life of normality under the protection of their benevolent rulers.
Everything was a powder keg between the crown, the nobility, and the common pony as day to day routines turned to bloody and violent riots for supplies that left many dead out on the cobblestone streets in the process of the uprising.
It wasn't until a single crazy stallion, a former scientist who was now out on the streets, cried out from atop a soapbox in the middle of a crowded plaza and preached his insane theory as to why the water was rising. This unnamed and hysterical stallion was the match that let all hell break loose in Canterlot.
He preached that the water was rising because of the ice melting from the north where the Crystal Empire was. A plausible idea, one that many ponies went and believed regardless of whether it was actually true of not. He said that the sun was the reason why the ice was melting and he let out all of his bottled up anger and frustration to blamed it all on one and one pony only for the cause of the ice melting: Princess Celestia.
The crowd slowly turned into a rabble once they put two and two together, then into an angry mob when the mad stallion blamed Luna as well. The moon controlled the tides, he said. So Luna should be able to save them, correct? Wrong. He continued to spout more nonsense, more crazy theories that the mob all ate up as truths as to why they were all suffering. As to why the water was rising, as to why Equestria was turning into a playground for the sharks.
It came time until they could stand by no longer. Reason was overcome with fury, and everyone picked up the nearest object to them and stormed the city like a vengeful typhoon. The guards did all that they could to hold back the mob but found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of angry ponies within seconds. Countless guards had been dragged into the mob and beaten within an inch of their life before the mob moved onto the next unlucky bastard. Then they chased after all of the nobleponies that were living cushy lives while the rest rotted in the streets.
Homes and mansions, business and random buildings all alike had been burned to the ground amidst all of the rampant chaos. Nobleponies and guards were hung left and right to showcase the mob's anger. It was a horrible nightmare, one that Celestia and Luna couldn't hope to quell even with their power and influence.
When the mob finally reached the doors of the castle, they wasted no time in trying to tear it down piece by piece until they all flooded into the massive court demanding retribution from their so called ruler for ruining their lives. But by the time they all reached the throne room, they were greeted by the lingering image of two alicorns flying as far away from that place as possible from a nearby window...
* * *
That was all that Applejack could remember before all of the vicious infighting broke out. She remembered it all clearly because... she was there. She participated in the fighting, she participated in the hangings, she wanted to make Celestia and Luna pay for what they had done. Years later, she still questions whether or not everything that happened that day was justified or not. It was just she was so overcome with anger that she would just believe about anything. Like the tens of thousands of ponies that flooded the streets of Canterlot that fateful day.
Many scapegoats died that day to quell her anger. The innocent, and the not so innocent. But even then, that didn't stop the tide from rising. Before long, the remaining landlubbers had to learn to swim quick, otherwise it would be the end of everything as they knew it.
Everything afterwards just seemed to blur together once her memories reached a critical moment in her life. She doesn't exactly remember when, but in the time of great desperation, everyone looked past their difference and all worked together to pick up the pieces that remained of their former home. Dogs, griffons, ponies and Changelings all united and worked to create a new world, a new life here in this waterworld. Unity meant survival, and survival was something that everyone could agree upon.
"Heh, unity..." Applejack whispered to herself with a sad chuckle "Kinda reminds of a certain something I used to be a part of..."
"Applejack?" a familiar voice called out. Applejack raised her head and was surprised to see Twilight visit her at Sweet Apple Acres, or what was left of it once her entire family pieced together all of the driftwood that became of her home when she came back to make a settlement in the archipelago of former Ponyville.
Twilight looked different as well. She was not all that old, but strands of her purple and pink sun damaged mane were gray. The stress of everything she's experienced was still present on her, but she had had time to cope with all the traumatic events. She worked as the local teacher of their little island settlement. She was also responsible for gathering any and all knowledge of the old world to try and document and preserve for future generations to see.
"I take it you were remembering that moment?" she asked with concern.
"Kinda, Rover and Big Mac helped me get through it though" Applejack replied "How are you doing, ya need some apples or something?" she asked.
"Not really, I just wanted to remind you about the little celebration Pinkie put together in honor of our community's anniversary" said Twilight "All of the other islanders are coming to the mainland too, you should come as well" she suggested.
"I reckon I will, Twilight" said Applejack as she got up and started walking beside he friend "I have to admit though, remembering everything still hurts" she admitted.
"You took it a lot better than I did" said Twilight as they both made it to their boat "A lot of good ponies died that day. My brother being one of them..." she sighed "He's in a better place now, bless him. But the thing to remember is that we're all still alive. We can work hard to make this world, this world of endless blue into something beautiful. More beautiful than it already is"
"Hmph, trying to find a silver lining in things, eh?" said Applejack with a smile "Looks like this world ain't so bad after all. We're growing, learning, and I think that someday, this will be the norm. Things didn't looks as bleak as I thought it would. Here we are. Happy and enjoying progress towards a brighter tomorrow"
"Indeed" said Twilight with a smile "Come on, hop in. It's only a ten minute sail there..."