Rainbow Dash was covered in sweat by the time she tossed the crude shovel aside. With some luck, her and Rarity had managed to scavenge a square coal shovel that must have come from the Concordia’s engine room, and they’d spent the remainder of the morning digging Jetstream’s grave. Now, with the sun directly overhead, all that remained of the concierge was a slightly upturned mound of sand and silt just inside the tree line of the island, where the surf wouldn’t just wash open the grave in a month.
The two friends stared in silence at the grave in front of them. The waves rolled in and out, in and out, all along the island, adding a calming melody to the peaceful, cloudy day. Though each had their own thoughts, they kept them private for the time being, at least until Rainbow’s ragged panting had slowed into a more reasonable pace.
“What do we say?” Rainbow asked, not taking her eyes off of the grave.
Rarity swallowed hard. “I… I-I don’t know, darling. I was never one for religion and ceremony. It seemed like such a waste of time when I had so many other things to do.”
“Heh, yeah, and when you’re personal friends with a living goddess, you don’t spend much time on superstition.” Sighing, Rainbow absent-mindedly patted down a corner of Jetstream’s grave. “Um… I didn’t really know you, Jetstream, but you were a really nice pony. And…” She shook her head in frustration. “I’m sorry you’re dead. I wish I could’ve saved you.”
Rarity bit her lip and watched as Rainbow hung her head. “You were a pretty mare and a good mare,” she continued for Rainbow, adding her own contribution to the eulogy. “You and your husband were a happy couple. I could see that and I hardly knew either of you. And now that you’re gone, you two can be reunited in the afterlife.” She sighed and added, “If Rainbow and I are the only ones who survived this tragedy, then we’ll do our best to make it home in your memory—in the memory of everypony who died on that ship.” Kicking a little more sand over the grave, she finished with, “Rest in peace. The hard part is already behind you.”
Rainbow Dash turned away without another word and walked back to the water. The sound of the waves on the beach felt like a ghost calling to her from beyond the grave, a siren’s song trying to lure her into the water and slip beneath the waves. She wondered if there were any sirens or seaponies around, anyway. She didn’t know much about them other than that they were real and they lived somewhere. Maybe they could deliver a message to Equestria for them. Maybe they were a way out.
She sat down on the sand, and a few moments later, Rarity joined her. Together, the two friends just stared out over the ocean, each imagining more blue and bloated bodies like Jetstream’s floating on the waves. Rainbow wondered how long it’d be until the next body washed up on that very beach. She hoped the answer was ‘never’.
“Rainbow, I’m sorry,” Rarity said.
Rainbow’s ears perked. “Eh?”
“I know that you’re taking it personally.” Rarity placed her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “You wanted to go save them, but you didn’t, and now you’re blaming yourself that she’s dead. If anypony, blame me. I’m the one who convinced you not to try.”
Rainbow sighed with exasperation. “I’m not blaming myself, Rares, I’m just… I don’t know. It sucks! None of this should’ve happened! We should be in the Confederacy right now, not sitting on some beach in the middle of nowhere! Jetstream should still be alive. Celestia damn it, they all should still be alive!”
Rarity put her hoof under Rainbow’s chin and turned her head toward hers. “Darling, it’s alright. I know it’s awful, but there’s nothing we can do. We just need to survive for them so that somepony remembers what happened, okay? That’s our job now. That’s our job, and we need to do it. If not for us, then for our friends and everypony who passed in the storm. We’re the only consolation we can offer the families of everypony on that ship, because we’re the only ones who were there.”
“I guess you’re right.” Rainbow shook a little bit, but she sucked down a deep breath to try and stop herself. “We’re here for a reason, right? Isn’t that what all that religious stuff says?” She shrugged her good wing and stood up. “I don’t really know, but I’m not gonna give up. Rainbow Dash never quits. Even if it takes us ten years, we’ll find our way back home, somehow!”
“I’d much rather it not take us ten years to get off of this island, but I can appreciate the sentiment.” Rarity forced herself to her hooves and brushed shoulders with Rainbow. “We’ll make it through this together, darling. We’re both used to working hard, and we never give up once we put our minds to something. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better pony to be stranded with.”
“I mean, if we’re excluding Twilight,” Rainbow said with a snicker. “Admit it, if she were in our situation, she’d just teleport us all the way back to Equestria or something. This wouldn’t even be a challenge for her.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Well, I suppose you are correct in that, darling. But I feel like that would be cheating.”
“Heh, ‘cheating.’ You make it sound like it’s a game.”
“Why not, darling?” Rarity asked. “If we’re going to be stuck here for Celestia knows how long, why not at least try to make it enjoyable?”
Rainbow chuckled. “Can’t argue with that. At least when we get back, I can brag to AJ that I’ve survived longer on a deserted island than she has.”
The rising tide splashed near their hooves, calm and soothing. Both ponies simply sat side by side, letting the water wash around their salty coats. Resolute in her conviction to make it off of the island alive, Rainbow was determined not to end up like Jetstream. She’d live, and she’d take Rarity with her. She knew they’d get home safe.
One day.