Titanic: Ponified

by NotARealPonydotcom


The Final Hour

Chapter 6: The Final Hour.


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Pinkamina Diane Pie was a mare known for her spontaneous behavior, her knack for throwing parties, and her strange ability to be able to be anywhere at the exact moment she was needed without any explanation for how she managed to pull it off. She was not, however, known for her depression.

At the moment, though, there was nothing anypony could do to keep her from leaning over the lifeboat and crying. It was not the crying that most ponies heard from her, full of exaggeration and other generally annoying traits, but the kind of crying one hears when they meet somepony who had just lost something very valuable to them. It was depressing, it was gloomy and worst of all, it was-

"Pathetic!" Trixie covered her ears with star-covered hat to block out the faint sound of Pinkie's sobbing. "Would somepony stop this pathetic showcase of sorrow before Trixie puts her horn down her throat!?" Pinkie had been crying since the ship had split in half, and Trixie was tired of her two-minute "sob fest", as she called it.

Applejack glared over at Trixie, tempted to buck her out of the lifeboat. The other ponies in the lifeboat were also glaring at the blue unicorn, and she simply stared back, ignorant of their ill-will. Applejack finally spoke, and her tone gave her intentions away. "Ah dare ya'll ta say that again, sugarcube." She moved closer to Trixie, and this time she sensed the line she was crossing, and simply turned around and continued to mumble to herself, as she had done since the lifeboat hit the water.

Applejack turned to Pinkie Pie, whose face could not be seen under the long strands of now-straight, now-dull pink hair. She moved over to the moping earth pony, and said, "Pinkie, look. Ah know that your torn up about Dash and all, but so are we. Do you think we didn't love Rainbow Dash too? And what about Rarity? She-"

"She doesn't matter." Pinkie looked up from the side of the lifeboat, and Applejack was frightened by her look. The straightened hair gave Pinkie a look that made her seen as though she would attack Applejack without warning. The farm pony backed up a bit, and tried to continue. Pinkie stopped her with a hoof. The pink mare tilted her head to the side, and asked, "Do you think that Rainbow Dash left me?" She lowered her hoof from Applejack's mouth.

Applejack paused. She didn't know what to say. She knew what Pinkie was like when she looked and acted this way, and the orange mare didn't know whether or not she should say Yes or No, or if it even mattered at all. Pinkie would still think that Applejack was lying if she didn't say what Pinkie wanted to hear, and that always ended badly. So instead, she made a zipping motion with her lips, trying to play with Pinkie, not answer her.

Once again, though, she found this method to be more damaging than she though, and Applejack soon found Pinkie Pie crying her eyes out on her shoulder. The two hugged each other, and Applejack found herself crying over her own love lost. Trixie simply sat there, watching with nonchalance. She yawned, and curled up into a ball on the floor of the lifeboat. None of the three mares were watching the ship anymore, unlike a certain lavender unicorn at a lifeboat that was slowly moving back towards the Titanic.

Twilight stared at the massive piece of the ship as it grew steadily larger as the lifeboat made its way back to said piece. She had warned the navigator of the ship that there were most likely other ponies still left there, and that with their lifeboat being the least occupied one, they should make their way back to the ship. The navigator had agreed, and now Twilight could barely make out the features of the stern. There was a blob on the end that could be a propeller. A small rectangle that could be a bench. A struggling, frantic shape that could have been a pony.

Twilight sat back and let Fluttershy's calm breathing lull her towards sleep. It would be at least 15 minutes before the lifeboat would be near enough to the ship (or what was left of it) to start looking for any still-living passengers. She closed her eyes, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


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The stern of the sip was rapidly closing in with the ocean below, and Rarity was afraid that the shock of the cold would give her a heart attack. She shut her eyes again, and leaned into Jack, who was equally as worried about the sea's temperature. The ocean was only 200 feet from them. 180 feet now...

Jack turned to the cowering mare beside him. "Don't worry," he whispered in her ear. "I won't let you freeze." She looked up at him, and tried to see if he was telling the truth or not. But, like the night they had first met, she could not see a thing. She sighed in defeat, and nodded. 120 feet...

She pressed up against him. "Do you think we can make it to the nearest piece of driftwood if we jump?" At first, Jack looked at Rarity like she had just suggested taking on both the princesses mono e mono. Then he understood what she meant, and nodded. "I think that if we make our way to the right a bit," he said, gesturing towards the nearing life boat. "We’ll survive long enough to get to the lifeboat. If we find a raft.” Only 70 feet...

She nodded, and cautiously stood up on the rails. She felt as though she were defying gravity as she made her way to the right. Jack followed her, and they both felt themselves begin to slide as the rails bean arching down into the water. 50 feet now...

The two glanced at each other and nodded. They took each other’s hooves, and Jack began to count down.

"Okay. 3..."

40 feet.

"2..."

30 feet.

"1!"

The two unicorns jumped.

There was a short rush of chilling wind, and they hit the water. Rarity froze up when she hit, unable to move from the shock of the freezing water. For a moment she thought she was having a heart attack, and she began to sink. Then Jack pulled her up, and she gasped as her head broke the surface of the water. Jack pulled her as he began swimming away from the ship, trying not to stop and let the cold overwhelm him. He swam past bits of scrap wood, testing any piece that was large enough to climb on. Eventually he felt the weight of carrying Rarity start to pull him down as well, and he began to lose hope.

Rarity was trying to move her legs, wanting desperately not to pull Jack down. She forced her eyes open, and by some amazing chance she saw a large plywood board floating nearby. She tried to speak, but she couldn't manage to open her mouth. Instead, she began weakly pushing herself through the water, trying to get Jack to notice the possible raft. Her movements got stronger and stronger as her body adjusted as well as it could to the frigid waters, and eventually she was fighting Jack's movements well enough to be pulling him instead. That, or he's getting weaker, Rarity thought as she felt his weight shift onto her. She paddled the last few feet to the raft, and tried to get Jack onto it. She was too weak, and began slipping under the water when Jack pulled her onto the raft in one swift motion.

Rarity felt what seemed to be a warm blanket envelope her. She looked at Jack, and saw his horn was glowing. He's using every last bit of energy he has... to make sure I'm okay. She tried to speak twice, and on the third try it worked.

"Th-thank you." Her voice sounded like it hadn't been used in days, and she coughed before continuing. "Now you," she said, and took Jack's hoof in hers and began pulling him up onto the platform.

The board dipped. In an instant, Jack was back in the water, pulling himself away from the raft and Rarity. He still held onto her hoof, as if letting go would drop him into the ocean, never to return. He looked up at her, and said in a very clear voice, "The board will only hold one of us."

Rarity understood what he said, but denied that it had any meaning. Again, she tried to pull Jack up onto the platform, and again it dipped under his weight. She tried again, and this time Jack resisted, not letting her pull him up. Looking down at him, she saw he was shaking, and wasn't sure if the blue she saw was his coat or frostbite. His teeth were chattering, and she could see bits of frost appearing on his shirt where the water met the frozen air. Her horn glowed to warm him, but he raised his hoof to stop her. "R-Rarity," he said, his emerald eyes shining out in the cold, blue light. "Don't. It's p-pointless. Th-the w-waters t-to c-cold."

She bit her lip, and again attempted to move him. To her horror, his limbs felt stiff when she moved them, and she knew then that he was freezing to death. Jack stared intently into Rarity's eyes, and they never once broke eye contact. She felt the burn of hot tears on her cheeks in the cold. She whispered, "No, Jack. It isn't pointless. Let me-" He interrupted her, again raising a freezing hoof, this time to her lips. The chill frightened her.

"Rarity, p-please. Y-you know that w-we c-can't both f-float on that. It c-can't support our w-weight t-together. There isn't any other thing out here that I c-can get to, and the l-lifeboats won't make it t-to the ship in t-time," he paused, shuddering, and looked out to the stern, which sank into the sea, following the prow to the bottom of the ocean. Then he turned back to Rarity, and said, "Y-you'll be alright, I p-promise."

"And you?"

Jack winced at the question, and pulled her closer to him. "P-please, d-don't worry about me," The look in her eyes told him that she was not going to take that as an answer. He sighed, and placed a hoof on her cheek. She shuddered at the touch, but he did not move it away. Without avoiding the answer he didn't want to give her, but had to, Jack said, "I have to leave you here, Rarity. I'm sorry." He had stammered once.

She stared down at him, and lowered her head on the raft. Her eyes were looking out into space, and she said nothing for a moment. Then, she opened her mouth, and let out a miserable groan. Jack placed his hoof on her face again, and when it made contact with her cheek she said, "Take me with you."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

Rarity looked over at Jack, and found that their hooves had remained held together throughout their conversation. She tightened her grip, and said, "What if I hold onto your hoof? You won't sink. Why can't you just stay afloat?" She had a hopeful sparkle in her eyes that made her look almost childish.

"B-because I'm going t-to-"

"DON'T!" Rarity suddenly stood up on the raft, making it tilt. She was still holding his hoof, and she had to lay back down to avoid falling off the float. She leaned in closely, and whispered in his ear. "Don't you dare say what I think you're going to say." It was almost a threat to him. Almost.

"Rarity, I am going to die."

She screamed, and began sobbing into the plywood. Jack simply watched her, and he felt like he deserved to die. Then he leaned in and kissed her forehead. The cold pinch of his lips made her look up, and he saw the hurt in her eyes. "Rarity, listen to me." Somehow, he was not shivering anymore. Rarity felt his pulse weakening in her hoof.

Jack lifted her chin up, and spoke to her in a comforting voice. "There is nothing you can do about this. Just know that even after I'm gone, I want you to keep living. Find somepony else. Don't dwell on me. That will only hurt you more."

Rarity tried to interrupt. "Jack..." He stopped her.

"Let me finish. There is no reason you should forget me. I know how much I mean to you, and to me you're the most important mare in the world. Seeing that you're going to be okay made me more relieved than I've ever been, and I'm so happy that you can continue to live and laugh, even if I can't. Every hour we had together, however few there were of them, was perfect. I couldn't have asked for more, and I hate that this has happened more than you do."

He was slipping.

"But there's no reason you shouldn't be happy anymore. I'm one of billions of living beings on this planet, and I can assure you that there is somepony else out there for you. Do not let me keep you from being happy after this. It's okay to mourn, but let there be a time you can open yourself to others. Don't let me be your last. Please."


Rarity was crying again. She gripped his hoof, and kissed it once. Every moment now mattered, and she leaned in to kiss him. Jack stopped her again.

"I'm not done yet. I know you can't imagine it right now, but I can see it in your eyes as we speak. I see a beautiful mare sitting by a fireplace. She's surrounded by young fillies, and she's reading them a bedtime story. There's another pony in the room, a colt, who is watching you with the kindest, most caring eyes. He's watching you read your grandchildren a story, and when you're finished he'll bring them up to their beds and kiss them goodnight. And while he does this, you'll have a moment to yourself, sitting by the fire, to remember me, and remember what I said. And you'll close your eyes, and see my face, and you'll say 'You were right, Jack. I made it.' And no matter what happens in your life from now on, you'll never have to be afraid of how you might turn out, because no matter how badly things go for you, you'll always be alright. Do you know why?"

She shook her head, silent with awe at Jack's words.

"It's because I've seen how you'll turn out."

Now his horn glowed, and a sapphire necklace levitated from under his frozen shirt. He offered it to her, and Rarity took it in one hoof, still holding on to his with the other. With some difficulty, he said, "I want you... to keep this as a... token of my love for you." His breathing was slowing down, and he leaned forward. Rarity met him halfway, and they kissed once more, one last time before he left her, and she ignored the cold, biting pain from his lips. Their tears mixed when they met, and some fell into the sea, others on the raft. They pulled apart, and finally Rarity spoke.

"I love you."

Jack stared into the azure pools, and slowly let go of her hoof. He began to slide down into the ocean, and he whispered back.

"I love you, too."

The necklace slipped over his head, and Jack Hearts disappeared under the surface of the water. Rarity gripped the necklace, feeling an unbearable rush of sadness wash over her as Jack became no longer visible. She curled up on her raft, setting the necklace in the center of it, and cried into the night, letting her sadness overtake her. She let her tears pool around the gem, and soon she felt them soaking against her coat. She realized she was still wearing his dinner jacket. She removed it, and laid it down next to her. Using it as a pillow, she waited for the lifeboat to return, crying herself into a barely-conscious state.


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Twilight was frantic. In the time the lifeboat had spent looking for survivors, they had found almost nothing. Everything around them was either dead or otherwise non-living. The corpses around them had scared Fluttershy into burying her head into Twilight's chest, which for her had been extremely uncomfortable and slightly disturbing. To her, each of the corpses reminded her of either Rarity or Rainbow Dash, and she'd stopped looking for them, unable to stomach the sight.

Fluttershy's experience had been worse. Along with the sight of the ship's remains, she had continuously heard the words of the crew member she had spoken to just before the nightmare had started.

You may have just saved the ship.

She had shut her ears, not wanting to hear the words playing over in her head. But that hadn't helped, and the yellow pegasus had broken down crying after the ship's stern sank into the water. Her whispers of "I'm sorry" had frightened her fellow passengers, and Twilight had been kind enough to comfort her, patting her on the back and stroking her pink mane. There was nothing she could do to help Fluttershy deal with her guilt, though, as Fluttershy had refused to let Twilight know anything about what had happened.

After several minutes of silence, save the sounds of the paddles pushing the boat through the icy water and Fluttershy's sobs, the boatcolt turned, and said, "If you want to have a look, you can still see a part of the ship. Maybe." Several ponies poked their heads over the side of the lifeboat, but Twilight was ready to turn around and head towards the nearest ship to be rescued. She couldn't find Rainbow Dash, and Rarity was nowhere in sight. At the moment, she couldn't care less about Jack's whereabouts. She was ready to curl up against her crying friend and fall asleep (or try to), but was stopped by the sound of the boatcolt crying out.

"I see somepony! There's somepony out there!"

Twilight spun her head in every direction, looking for the pony the boatcolt had said he'd seen. Please oh please let it be one of them. It has to be one of them. At first she could not see anything moving, and she began to believe that the boatcolt had seen a piece of drifting debris make a strange movement. Then she heard the sound of a very familiar voice ring in her ears.

"HELP! HELP! FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, HELP MEEEEEE!"

Twilight almost jumped out of the boat. There, on a random piece of what looked to be plywood, was Rarity. She was ragged, tired-looking, and was clearly freezing to death. Twilight waved and called out to her. "RARITY! IT'S TWILIGHT!"

The white unicorn looked elated, and she began trying to paddle the board closer to the lifeboat. Finally, after several minutes of panicked paddling, from both Rarity and the boatcolt, Rarity was close enough to the ship that she could hop on. The boatcolt helped her onto the lifeboat, and both Twilight and Fluttershy rushed over to hug their friend. Her skin was almost freezing, and it was amazing that she hadn't perished in the sinking.

Rarity described her experience on the ship as it sunk. Fluttershy had to hide behind her mane when Rarity began telling them about Gold and his horrific actions, and she'd hugged Rarity when she began to tear up after describing the things he'd tried to do to her.

"It's okay, Rarity," Fluttershy said, hugging the sobbing mare and stroking her mane, as Twilight had done only minutes before. Fluttershy's own tears had disappeared from her face entirely, and the mare that had been sobbing into the floor of the lifeboat minutes ago had been replaced with one who knew exactly what to do to comfort a friend. When Rarity had calmed down, Fluttershy pulled away and let her continue. The white mare had gone on to explain how she got onto the platform they'd found her on when she stopped suddenly, a tearful expression appearing on her face as she choked on her words. Fluttershy moved forward to comfort her, but Rarity shoved her away, a strange reaction to the kind mare's attempt to help.

Rarity began to sniffle, and brought what appeared to be a jacket to her face, and began to, as Twilight saw it, "take in its scent". At first, Twilight was properly confused with the grief-stricken mare. Then she recognized whose jacket she was smelling.

Realization hit Twilight like a blast of misguided flame from Spike. She trotted over to Rarity, and placed a friendly hoof on Rarity's shaking shoulder. The white unicorn looked up from the jacket, and she saw the sympathy in Twilight's lavender eyes. The purple unicorn hugged her, and Rarity heard her whisper, "I'm so sorry, Rarity." Then she'd lost her grip, and began crying profusely into Twilight's shoulder. Twilight simply nodded, and continued to comfort her, letting her run herself dry of the tears she was shedding.


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Applejack was still holding a shuddering Pinkie Pie when she heard the sound of a ship's fog horns. She looked up from the pink mare's back, and began to look around wildly for any sign of a ship that could help them. Seeing none, she hoped that it was in the areas she couldn't see due to Pinkie's grip, or else she would begin to think she was losing her mind. Even as Pinkie Pie sobbed over her lost lover, Applejack herself thought about her last words with North Star before she'd reluctantly and sadly entered the lifeboats. The exchange had not been happy.


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"What?" Applejack couldn't believe the words she heard. She looked to Rainbow Dash for confirmation that North Star had indeed said what she'd heard. The shocked look on the cyan pegasus' face told her enough to believe it was true. She turned back to North Star, who had on a regretful expression. "What do ya mean, ya have ta stay?"

North Star turned away from the orange mare, and began to fiddle with several knobs. "I was always told that a good captain goes down with his ship. I was also told that I was destined to go down this way. Now my time has come, and instead of fighting, I'm going to sink honorably and calmly with the Titanic." He looked back at Applejack, and was shocked to see her look of sadness gone, replaced by one of rage and disbelief.

"Am ah really that bad?" She took a step forward, and North Star didn't dare move. He began to speak. "Applejack..."

"Don't try an' make me think otherwise! Ah know a colt like yerself would never let die this way when he had a promisin’ lady waitin' for him." She started to choke up, and she stared up at him with unwilling hatred. "A lady who loves him more'n anything in the world." She took another step, and Dash found herself being pushed out of the way by the teary-eyed farmer.

"Now tell me, North Star," she said, pushing her face up close to his, letting their foreheads meet in what she wanted to be a fighting stance. "What makes ya'll think ah ain't got the feelings to care that ya'll're gonna let yerself go down with the ship because'a some dumb ol' story that yer Pa' or whoever told ya when ya'll were a little filly?" She stared straight into his eyes, never fidgeting. He stood still for a few moments, then said, "You could never understand my reasons for this, and for that I must apologize-"

"OH! YA'LL APOLOGIZE!" Rainbow Dash winced. Whenever Applejack began using sarcasm when she was angry, things got ugly real fast. She edged toward the door, but stopped short when AJ said, "Stay here, Dash. Ah might need you yet." She continued to stare angrily at the captain, and began using a fake voice.

"Oh, ah couldn't understand! That explains just about everything! The simple little farm pony is too stupid ta understand the fancy workings of a city pony like you!" She slapped him, and Dash winced. She wished desperately that she could be with Pinkie Pie at the moment, laughing and cuddling together in the lifeboat. But AJ had tricked her into coming along using reverse psychology, and now she was stuck in this mess.

As Applejack continued yelling at North Star, the captain rubbed his cheek, and slowly came closer to Applejack. He put a hoof on her cheek, and she tried to push it away. Before she could, though, North Star had brought her face up to his and kissed her.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, and she turned around, not wanting to ruin everything. Every few seconds, though, she peeked behind her to see if the two were done. North Star held Applejack to his lips, and after struggling for several second she gave up, and closed her eyes. The two ponies wrapped their forelegs around each other, and North Star felt tears running down Applejack's cheeks onto his own. He kissed harder, and Applejack was brought onto her flank by the passion in his actions. He loves me, she thought. He really loves me.

She pushed back, and North Star fell into a chair. Just as Applejack began to straddle him, a little cough sounded from the corner of the room. The two earth ponies broke their kiss and turned to a severely traumatized-looking Dash. The cyan mare blushed, and said, "Uh, are you gonna come with us or not? Because as nice as it is to see you two are happy together, I've got my own marefriend to fly back to."

Applejack's face turned beet-red, and she slid off of North Star. She turned to him, and asked, "Ya'll still ain't comin' with us, are yah?" She was looking down at the floor, already knowing what his answer would be. North Star lifted her chin up, and said, "Applejack, my dearest, please understand that I must stay here. I'm going to keep the lights on in the ship for as long as possible, and when they finally go out, then I will try and find you." He gave her a one last kiss, and let her go. He turned back to the control panel, and began configuring the lights again. He turned at the sound of Applejack's voice.

"Ah love ya."

He smiled, and said, "And I love you." Then he tipped his hat, and said, "Farewell, ladies. May the first lifeboat leaving hold the both of you."

Applejack tipped her hat in return, and left without so much as a "C'mon, Dash." The pegasus had caught up with her moments later, and when she asked why Applejack was crying, all she could say was, "Because he loves me."


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After that, Dash had been kind enough to load her onto a lifeboat. The pegasus herself had not, however, and Applejack had not seen her since. She had at first been hopeful that North Star would join the passengers in boarding the lifeboats, but her hope had been shot down when the she'd seen the prow dip under the water. When the ship's lights finally did go out, it was several minutes before the ship itself broke in half. It had been half an hour since the lifeboats had all been sent out. When the lights had still not gone out, Applejack's heart broke.

Now, though, she held in her sadness for Pinkie Pie. The mare was still crying over the loss of Rainbow Dash, and Applejack couldn't help but feel it was somehow her fault. If ah hadn't tricked Dash into comin' with me, she'd be here with Pinkie, not... She could finish her thought. Instead, she clutched Pinkie tighter to her chest, and tried to calm her down. Then she heard the fog horn again.

This time, Applejack pushed Pinkie away and began searching frantically, trying to make sure she was not going mad. Suddenly, Applejack was blinded by the searchlights of a large boat that came into view. She fell backwards, and Pinkie squinted in the bright light cast down on the small lifeboat. The other ponies on the boat cheered, with the exception of Trixie, who simply yelled, "What took them so long?" up at the ship. AJ sat back up, rubbing her head and staring up at the ship before them. Then, slowly but surely, a smile spread across her face.

They were going to make it.


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"...and he gave me his necklace, we kissed one last time, and then..." Rarity felt more tears come to her eyes as she recounted her story to Twilight and Fluttershy, and she choked up before she could continue. The two listening mares each put a hoof on a shoulder, and Rarity stopped herself from breaking down again. "I-I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes and smiling. "I really am being over-dramatic about all of this, aren't I?"

Fluttershy shook he head. "No, Rarity. There's nothing wrong with how you're reacting to this. You've lost somepony important to you, and we're here to help you." She nuzzled against Rarity, and the white mare blushed. "Fluttershy, please!"

Twilight watched the two mares, smiling. She turned towards the other lifeboats, and gasped in shock when she saw another ship pulling them up. She'd heard the fog horn, but it had been so distant that she thought it was an illusion. Only now did she realize that illusion were strictly visual. She motioned to the boatcolt, and he began frantically paddling towards the large ship, shouting "Wait! Wait! There's still one out here!" Twilight chuckled at the act, and settled back to wait for the lifeboat to be raised.


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The crew of the Clopathia was in a state of utter panic. Sometime during the night, one of the crew members had come rushing into the captain's chambers, where his wife had also been staying, and had interrupted a very private moment between the captain and said wife. After several smacks upside the face, the officer had delivered the news that the Titanic was sinking, and that it needed their assistance at once. The captain had laughed, stating that the Titanic was "unsinkable", and that the officer had read the message from the ship wrong. When the captain was told the officer had not been sent a message, but seen the ship sinking itself, he demanded to see proof that the ship was indeed going down. What the officer had shown him was unimaginable.

The ship had risen out of the water. It pointed up in an almost vertical angle, before it broke apart and began to sink into the sea. The captain, after a moment of stunned silence, had ordered the immediate change in course to help the surviving passengers. By the time the Clopathia had arrived, the Titanic had already sunk. But the sight of at least a dozen lifeboats gave the crew enough to go after, and they began pulling up the lifeboats.

Now Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Trixie were waiting for their friends (or rather, Pinkie and AJ's friends, and Trixie's lover) to step off any one of the lifeboats that were being hoisted up at the moment. Applejack sighed, and turned to Pinkie Pie with a hopeful smile.

"Hey, maybe Dashie managed ta get onto another lifeboat, huh Pinkie?" She grinned at the moping mare, whose hair was still straight, and whose colors were still dull. The pink pony violently faced Applejack, almost banging their heads together in the process.

"Only I can call her Dashie," she said, and AJ smacked herself mentally for making the small mistake. Pinkie Pie got upset at the smallest of things when she was like this, and it annoyed everypony else constantly to see her this way. The pink pony was in the explosive stage of her depression, and eventually Applejack knew that she would soon begin crying again, cycling through the two stages of her demented gloom. Until then, however, Applejack braced herself for whatever Pinkie could throw at her, and in the case of Pinkie Pie, it could be anything.

"Why wouldn't she board our lifeboat, though? What could she possibly have forgotten that made her go back?" Pinkie was pacing back and forth, angrily pounding her hooves into the ground with each step. She was in hysterics, and Applejack didn't dare to approach her, waiting for her energy to die out instead. As she watched, the deranged mare began counting her hooves, trying to name reasons Rainbow Dash was not with them now.

"Maybe she forgot her favorite Wonderbolt doll or something! No, she didn't bring any of those. Maybe there was something I forgot, and- no, I brought everything I had with me. Then maybe she- no, that doesn't make sense- well, what about- no, she didn't need that- but that only leaves..." She let out a terrified gasp, and began to choke on her tears. "She left because of me!" She broke down crying again. Applejack shook her head, giving up on the mare having any chance of getting any better anytime soon. The earth pony turned to where the lifeboats were being raised, and waited for Twilight and Fluttershy to appear. She was desperate for Fluttershy's help with Pinkie Pie: if anypony could cheer her up, it was Fluttershy. Twilight’s presence would also be a benefit: along with the knowledge that another one of her friends was alright, there would be somepony to keep Trixie occupied.

The blue unicorn, though clearly frightened that her lover had not yet shown up on the Clopathia, had been arguing with Applejack since they'd left the lifeboat. No matter how long Applejack ignored her, there was nothing stopping the unicorn from talking her ear off. Applejack was getting to the point at which she would gladly have swapped places with Rainbow Dash to get away from the nightmare that was Trixie. Nah, scratch that, Applejack thought, thinking through her choice again. Swap Rainbow Dash with Trixie an' ah'll be happy. She nodded to nopony in particular, and was surprised to feel a hoof on her shoulder in response. She jumped and turned, effectively startling the pony who'd put their hoof on Applejack's shoulder.

Trixie pulled away from the startled orange mare, a look of disgust on her face. "Ugghh! Don't do that! You'll get Trixie's mane dirty!" She fluffed her silver mane, tilting her head up in content at the farmer pony. Applejack gritted her teeth, and managed to put her anger into words.

"Why exactly did ya'll startle me, then?"

"Trixie was simply trying to more you out of her way. You have not yet done so, and Trixie demands you do."

"Oh." Applejack said "oh" with a kind of sarcasm Trixie had heard in many of the ponies she'd met in her time. It was the kind of tone that told Trixie when to expect the next buck to the face. But she'd gotten used to threats, and her horn glowed a brilliant blue. With a profoundly calm air around her, the ego-inflated unicorn pushed Applejack out of her way, and trotted over to the railing of the Clopathia. Looking over, she attempted to spot Twilight Sparkle out of the hundreds of ponies that were still in lifeboats. She knew her lover was alright, but until she was standing next to her, she would be taunted by the scratch she felt at that moment in the back of her chest.

Glaring over at the selfish mare, Applejack contemplated bucking Trixie over the edge of the railing. She shook her head and sighed. "They'd probably just rescue her," she told herself, and turned back to the bawling pink mare who was now moping in a corner, pulling her tail and covering her face with her hair.

Applejack was about to try and calm Pinkie down again when she heard Trixie scream. Spinning, Applejack was delighted to see Trixie dancing around the lifeboat docking station. This could only mean that the next lifeboat coming up held the only pony in the world who could keep Trixie from being the self-centered unicorn she was. Applejack heard distant cries of "Trixie!", and she knew Twilight would be the first one off the lifeboat when it was ready to unload.

Once the lifeboat had made its way up the side of the Clopathia, Applejack grinned at the sight of her prediction coming true as Twilight Sparkle bolted out of the lifeboat into the waiting arms of her lover. Trixie fell to the ground, and the string of complaints that came rushing out of her mouth was almost immediately silenced by Twilight as she forced her lips on Trixie's. As the two mares kissed on the floor, the other ponies began climbing off the lifeboat, and Applejack saw Fluttershy waiting for the others to leave. She rushed over to the unloading area, and eagerly awaited Fluttershy's exit. When the yellow pegasus finally did leave the lifeboat, it was with somepony Applejack had thought was long dead.

"Applejack, darling! You're alive!" Rarity rushed into Applejack, wrapping her forelegs around the confused earth pony and drawing her into a hug. Fluttershy smiled at the show of affection, and Applejack, more embarrassed by it, pushed Rarity away. "How- What- When- Yer still alive?" she stammered out, making Rarity laugh. "Of course I'm still alive! I just hugged you, did I not?" She giggled again as she watched Applejack blink slowly several times, trying to take in that the unicorn before her was not a ghost. She turned to Pinkie Pie, who had finally stopped crying, and said, "Pinkie, dear! I'm so glad you're alright! Where's Rainbow Dash?"

The effect was immediate: Pinkie Pie once again burst into tears, curling up into a small pink ball in the corner. Rarity looked confused for a moment. Then she saw the look on Applejack's face, and her eyes widened. She trotted over to Pinkie, and sat down next to her. Her wet mane brushed against Pinkie's, and the pink mare looked up. Rarity smiled sadly, and said, "I lost one too." Then both of the mares were crying, and Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around Rarity, and they hugged each other while tears flowed down their faces.

Applejack turned to Twilight and Trixie, who were standing up from their session together on the floor. "Ah don't suppose Jack made it, did he?" Twilight shook her head, and Applejack looked back over at the two sobbing mares. Well, at least yer not the only one who lost somepony, AJ. She realized what she was thinking, and almost hit herself for thinking that way. How could ya say that about one'a yer friends? That's terrible! Looking at Rarity, crying with Pinkie in the corner, Applejack herself felt like simply trotting over and joining them. Instead, she turned to Fluttershy, and began to make small talk about how she'd survived the sinking. The conversation got boring, though, and they soon fell into a deep silence that reflected throughout the group. Even Rarity and Pinkie stopped crying, and simply laid back against the wall, staring into space for a time.

Eventually, all of the lifeboats were emptied. There was nopony left behind that could be saved, and the Clopathia began to sail away from the final resting place of the RMS Titanic. Rarity got up and trotted out to look at the remains of what was once the Ship of Dreams floating in the water. She raised a hoof to her lips, and blew a kiss out to the wreckage. Goodbye, Jack. I'll miss you. Then she turned away, and didn't look back.

She joined the others as they all sat around in a circle, each holding a cup of hot chocolate that a crew member of the Clopathia had passed to them. She sat down in time to hear the end of Applejack's story regarding North Star.

"...ah knew he loved me. He proved it, too. After he said that, he came up ta me and gave me the biggest kiss ah've ever had. Ah don't know how long we were glued together, but ah guess ah got a little carried away, 'cause suddenly Dash was coughing nervously, tryin' ta warn us she was still there. An' ah had it bad: if Dash hadn’t done that, ah would'a done him then an' there." The orange mare blushed, and sipped her cocoa passively. Then she gained a somber look, and stared into the hot beverage. She finally spoke again, whispering, "Ah can't believe Dash is gone."

Pinkie threw her cocoa away. The others hardly noticed, each in their own reflection on the loss of their rainbow-maned friend. Pinkie looked between each of them, and she began reminiscing aloud. "I remember all of the pranks we'd do. They were always the best, and I think that's when I realized I loved her." She sniffled, and each of her friends looked over at her, remembering the pranks she'd play on them. Pinkie continued, letting a single tear drop off her muzzle. "We had such fun times, making cupcakes together and playing games. And when she finally admitted she felt the same way about me, I was so happy. That first time we kissed, I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with her. I miss everything about her. I miss her wings, I miss her rainbow mane, I miss her cute magenta eyes, and I miss how I'd know she was nearby because I could hear her falling towards me."

As she spoke, the others around her found themselves imagining Rainbow Dash this way as well. With her eyes closed, Fluttershy could remember her oldest friends look perfectly. Her magenta eyes, her glossy multicolored mane, the sound of her scream as she fell on top of her... Wait. Fluttershy opened her eyes, and began looking around, trying to find a source for the noise she'd just heard. It had sounded just like a scream, and it was distant, almost as if she'd imagined it.

Fluttershy heard Pinkie Pie talking over the noise, which she could now hear steadily getting louder. "...and I remember her when she'd crash into my room, and I'd pretend I was mad, and then we'd laugh and-" She stopped, sniffling a bit, as the sound of somepony screaming grew louder and louder. Now all of them were looking around, trying to find the source to the screaming. Then Fluttershy looked up.

"Eep!"

She zoomed out of the way as a blue blur rocketed down towards them. Applejack's jaw dropped open as she identified the blur for what it was. "No... it can't be..." The blur zoomed down, and they all could now tell that it was what was giving off the screaming noise. Pinkie's eyes widened, and her hair began to spring back into its usual place when the blue blur slammed into her. The other five mares gathered around Pinkie and simply stared in amazement.

Rainbow Dash got up. She looked between the others, and said, "What? Is there something wrong with my face?" She was suddenly surrounded by them as they all tried to hug her at once, resulting in some form of a group hug. The cyan mare struggled, crushed in the grip of the four mares hugging her. When they finally let go of her, she chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I kinda left you hanging there, huh?" Then she noticed the pink mare underneath her.

Pinkie Pie stared up at her lover, tears forming in her eyes again. To her great surprise, she saw that Rainbow Dash also had tears in her eyes. "Pinkie," she said, and that was all she could manage, because the pink pony had grabbed Dash's face in both hooves, and mashed their lips together. Rainbow Dash took only a moment to act surprised, then pushed into her marefriend, rubbing a hoof on her shoulder. Pinkie's hoof rubbed down to Dash's flank, and Dash pulled away and said, "Not yet, Pinkie. Wait for when we're alone. Then you can have what you want." she giggled, then got up, and pulled Pinkie Pie up with her. The pink mare had returned to her normal self, if she could be called such, and she was grinning madly. She also appeared to be compressing, and when she began to vibrate Rainbow Dash yelled, "Take cover!"

The six mares hit the floor just as Pinkie shot up into the sky, leaving a trail of pink behind her. When she reached the apex of her climb, a large firework seemed to go off as large colorful lights seemed to shoot out of Pinkie. When she fell back down to the ground, she landed gracefully on her hooves, and cheered at the top of her lungs.

"DASHIE'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE!!! LEEEEEEEEEEET'S PARTY!!!"

She grabbed Rainbow Dash and tried to kiss her and dance with her at the same time. Other passengers stared at the strange spectacle, and Rarity, noticing the strange looks, was quick to intervene. "Pinkie darling, please, we're all excited that Rainbow Dash is alive and well, but I think that we can hold a party for her after we make it back to Ponyville." Pinkie gasped, and said, "Oh my gosh! That's right! Rainbow Dash, what happened to you?" She sat down and pulled out a bucket of popcorn, letting the others know for sure that she was back to her Pinkie Pie self.

Rainbow Dash nodded, and began her story. "Well, it was after Applejack and I came back from our little talk with North Star (I'm sorry he couldn't be here, AJ, really I am), and I put Applejack onto the lifeboat. But instead of getting on, I went to the other side of the ship to look for Rarity and her coltfriend what’s-his-face. Anyway, once I got to where Rarity's room was, I began snooping all over the place. I finally think I'm getting somewhere when this crazy-looking guy comes outta nowhere, and he starts spitting and clawing at me like an animal!"

Rarity gasped. Rainbow Dash had a run-in with Gold? No wonder she was so held back! She listen intently as Dash continued, undisturbed by her gasp.

"This guy's obviously lost it. I tried to help him up to the main deck, but he just starts screaming at me and rambling like crazy. So I grab him by the tuxedo (he had really fancy clothes), and I flew above deck. He was still screaming, and he popped me a good one in the head. I fell about 30 feet with him onto the hard wood floor."

She shivered. "I blacked out, and I don't know what that psycho did while I was out, but when I woke up he was gone. I also noticed that the ship was now tilted about 30 degrees downwards."

"Once I got back on my feet, I started to rush around the ship like crazy, trying to find somepony who could explain a thing to me. But there was nopony, and just as I was getting ready to fly off the ship, a fishing net fell outta nowhere and got me all tangled up. That was when the ship broke in half. And, being the lucky mare I am," she said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "I managed to end up on the front end of the ship. So I went under."

Pinkie gasped. "But how'd you survive, Dashie?"

Rainbow Dash looked annoyed for a moment. Then her expression cleared, and she responded, "How indeed, Pinkie. I managed to disentangle myself from the net, but to avoid drowning I had to climb in a barrel, which I got stuck in for a while, until I was able to fling myself out just in time to see this ship sailing away. I figured, 'Hey, it's worth a shot.' and flew over here as fast as I could with wet wings on a below-zero night. Which is why I fell on you just now, Pinkie." She grinned and blushed, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry about that."

Pinkie Pie giggled, and said cheerfully, "On, that's no problem, Dashie. It was worth knowing that you're still here to have fun with us!" It was like there had never been any other Pinkie at all.

Dash laughed again, and said, "Aw, you guys didn't really think I'd die that easily, did ya? It's me, remember?" The others rolled their eyes, knowing full well that the big-headed pegasus in front of them was indeed Rainbow Dash. They laughed, and with Dash's story done, they fell into a deep, reflective silence about their time on the ship.

Rainbow Dash thought about Pinkie Pie, who had saved her from falling off the ship before the cruise had even started. If Pinkie hadn't come along at that moment, she probably never would have admitted her feelings towards her, and she'd be unhappy the rest of her life. The Ship of Dreams really had given her the opportunity to live her dream, and he knew that it was a reality now. Rainbow Dash smiled.

Fluttershy thought about the words of the crew members before the iceberg struck. Only now did she realize that it wasn't her fault for warning them too late. The ship had been doomed from the beginning, and she had done her part to help the ponies aboard. That would have to be enough. Fluttershy smiled.

Applejack thought about North Star, the honor-bound captain she'd fallen in love with. He'd left her, his love of the sea too great to separate from it, but Applejack was alright with it. She would find somepony else, somepony who could put her over everything else. Her time with him was brief, but it was the happiest time of her life. Applejack smiled.

Pinkie Pie thought of Rainbow Dash, who'd scared her more than enough times during the past two days. From falling of the ship to not boarding a lifeboat when the ship was sinking, the risks this mare took were enough to give Pinkie a heart attack. But she loved Dash with all of her heart, and she couldn't have asked for anypony better. Pinkie Pie grinned.

Twilight thought about Trixie, the mare whom she had first been a rival with. And yet, after months of traveling alone, the mare had met Twilight again, and they had become lovers in one night. She silently thanked Sethisto for what he'd done for her, and wondered if he was on the ship they were on now or in the waters with the Titanic. The ship had given her what she'd always wanted: somepony to love and be loved by beyond blood. Twilight Sparkle smiled.

And Rarity thought about Jack. The stallion had appeared out of the blue, swept her off her hooves, and left her, though quite without meaning to, in only two days. He had been an amazing pony, and Rarity only wished she'd had time to ask him why he'd kept that mask on during that first night. But she was happy with what she had, and she knew she could find love again. Not like his, but she could find love. Maybe. Gripping onto the jacket he'd left on her and the jewel he'd given to her, Rarity smiled, and looked up at the stars that shone brightly down on the six mares, promising them a light they would be able to see until they were old.


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Oh God! It's Another: Note From the Author.

Well, here we are. We've reached the end of the story, and I've got nothing left to say about it.

Some of you may be disappointed with this chapter, maybe because it's much shorter than you thought it would be, maybe because it doesn't seem dramatic enough to you, I don't know.

Looking back at my words, I think I may have lied. I do still have an epilogue to write for this, and I plan on making it a nice sweet wrap-up to the story. You'll love, I'm sure. If not, well $*@# you.

I've done the best I can with this, so I hope you enjoy. The last bit of this'll be up in a few days, and then I'll be changing the little symbol to complete. Sigh.

Well, that's all I've got to say. So long, folks.