Applejack Alone

by Masterweaver

Ah guess it's time ta settle down.

Ah mean... Ah'm not going ta build a whole new Sweet Apple Acres out here. Not nearly enough room. Heh. Heck, this island is bout half tha size o' Ponyville. Little more then half.

Nah, Ah'm just going ta build me a lil' cabin. What Ah got works, but it ain't much ta look at. So Ah'm thinking, seaside cabin. Maybe a, whacha call 'em, surfboard? Yeah. Apple Bloom and her friends had one once...

Welp. Can't stand round reminiscing. Not anymore! Ah got me a cottage ta build! Ah'll be back soon, Cocoa, just gotta get me some logs!

...unfff... urrrrrugh.... RUNF! Thar. Got these darn thangs here. Now, Ah cant just plant 'em in tha sand--weak foundation--so ah'm going ta try ta dig the sand away from this rocky patch and out as far as Ah can. This is going ta be a bit tedious, but Ah think it's worth it.

Hrf.

ACK! Phpth. Yuck.

HRF.

Heh heh heh. Hah.

Sorry, Ah'm just thinking... this here rock? Ah think it's tha same color as mah brother.

Heh.

Always was... like a rock...

Anyway. Back ta work!

HRUNF!

Hrf.

Ah.... huh. That seems like... enough.

Ah am sweating up a storm, Cocoa. Actually, Ah'm just going ta sit here in tha shade fer a bit, that alright?

Yer a good friend, Cocoa.

Ah.... Cocoa? Since we are tha two only ponies here.... do ya... maybe... wanna get married someday?

...what do ya mean yer straight?! You're a filly?!

Well, you're either a colt or a filly so--

BOTH?!

Uh. Ah, uh... well, uh... Ah'm... just going ta keep working on this house, okay?

Gotta get this wall up. make it sturdy--

Applejack!

AAA! Oh mah stars, ya startled me Twi--

...Twilight?

Oh my gosh it is so good to see you, I was so worried!

Wait, wait. Twilight?! What are ya--how are ya--?

There was this, this merchant ship that came to Canterlot, and they told Rainbow about a phoenix on an island in the middle of the ocean and Rainbow told me so I tracked down the merchants and I matched where they had seen the phoenix on the map and it was close to where the storm was and you're alive! I'm just so happy you're alive!

Ah... Ah'm alive, yeah...

Oh, hold on, I need to give the signal.

Signal, what--? Twilight, did you just light that scroll on fire--?

Dragonfire spell. Spike and the others-- you have your hat still! Hahaha! That's amazing! That's just... I'm so so sorry, AJ! I should have, I should have ordered some sort of search! Oh my gosh what happened to your leg?!

What, this? It's nothing, really--Look, Ah... this is just... you're actually here.

Yes, I am.

You're actually.... Cocoa, am I seeing things?

....Cocoa?

Oh, uh, Twilight, Cocoa. Cocoa, Twilight. Er, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Ah. Hello... Cocoa...

It's... very nice to meet you!

...so, uh, Twilight... how is... everypony?

Oh! Um... they're... well... Applejack. You... have to understand. We thought we lost you...

Ah... kinda figgered...

They've been... kind of... well... morose and distracted. Um. Because of.... you know... but now we've found you! We can bring you back home! I'm just so happy and I'm sorry and I just... It's all so much! Oh my gosh, there's the ship!

Twilight! APPLEJACK!

UNF! Haha... heh, good ta see ya too Rainbow...

Don't you EVER pull a stunt like that again! YOU HEAR ME AJ?

Loud and clear, Dash. Ah don't intend ta ever--

Um, Dash... shouldn't we get her to the ship?

Right, sorry, Fluttershy's right. You've been out here tanning for too long, AJ!

Besides, we need to let the doctor look at her. I mean, her leg--

It's fahn, Twi. Ah'm not bout ta lose it--

Oh my goodness! That's so... Applejack, please, let us help you to the ship.

Look, Shy, Ah appreciate yer concern. Really. But Ah'd prefer ta wait fer a landing balloon then ask fer a pegasusback ride. Something under mah hooves, yah see?

Ask and ye shall receive!

Old Equestrian, Pinkie? Really?

It's a classic line Rares!

APPLEJACK!

Unf!

Oh mah gosh Applejack Ah missed ya so much! Are ya okay? No sunburn, heatstroke-- yer leg!

Apple Bloom--

Let her fuss over ya, girl, she's been worried sick for a moon and a half.

Eeeeeyup.

And to be quite frank darling, you look positively horrid. All this time in the sand cannot have done your skin any favors!

I just realized something! We're all back together! Do you know what this calls for?!

A party?

No! TWO parties! One on the ship and one when we get back to Ponyville!

Oh, that sounds nice...

But first we have to get her onto the ship. Um... Macintosh, would you...?

Eeeeeyup.

Hey! Ah can walk fahn on mah own!

Pish posh, darling! After what you've been through you surely deserve a little pampering, and your brother is willing to carry you to your chariot. I for one insist on personally repairing that hat.

But--

AJ... let her fix the hat.

....Fahn.

YAY! As soon as we get back to the ship I'm going to start working on that party!

Are ya sure yer okay, sis?

....Ah... Ah guess Ah am now...

Comments

[nullaccount]

Ah.... Cocoa? Since we are tha two only ponies here.... do ya... maybe... wanna get married someday?

...what do ya mean yer straight?! You're a filly?!

Well, you're either a colt or a filly so--

BOTH?!

Thank goodness for being rescued...she was about to lose it.

But...what happens now? Cocoa?

[FanOfMostEverything]

Told you not to give up hope. I hope we helped keep you sane. Say "hi" to Pinkie for us. And don't worry. You won't hear from us again unless you want to.

Now, to Masterweaver: This was a fascinatingly unconventional story. Did you plan on audience participation from the start, or did it just seem like a good idea at the time? If this wasn't the plan, what was? And are you happy with the end result?

[Bandana The Reaper]

I'm happy for you AJ...
...
...um, remember when I said you shoud talk too Twilight about hearing voices, or perhaps Celestia for that matter?
I mean, we may want you well... most of us at least... but haveing voices in your head might not be healthy, so... yeah... um...
...
...it was nice knowing you AJ... goodbye...
...
...
...can we still be friends?

[reignfall]

Twas an honor to be in your head, Applejack. I hope you stay safe and that all is well again.

Seeing as how we could only hear you while you were in the presence of Cocoa, this is most likely goodbye. Perhaps we'll meet in the future.

[Lost Deep]

This thing here.
It just now made me SO HAPPY.
I literally had to stifle a childish squee.

[Ice4smaster]

Oh boy, i knew i had to threthen with nukes so they get it lol.

But you are on your way home, now just rest up from real, and knowing the other girls you will have plenty of fun, and that double party
Twi, you still would deserve a good spanking you hear me! Don't you dare do such manuver ever agen to abandon a friend, leave none behind

Now just have love

[TrackingTarget]

Well, this brightened up my evening considerably.

[RedvsBlue327]

Oh sure, just leave me here in my hole in the side of a mountain, after everything I've done for you.

*grumble* Ungrateful ponies.

[kingtwelvesixteen]

And suddenly everything was rainbows and gumdrops.

Also, it ends. Huh.

[Screw]

Applejack! You can't just leave Cocoa behind! Take erm... it with you and grown it just like Bloomberg!

[Randomreader-001]

RR: "Congradulations Applejack!! Your going to go home. It was great hanging out with you." *big smile*
"YAY SHE'S GOING HOME YAY!!!"

"This is probably a fake ending.."

RR & Pinkie Pie: "........WHAAAAAT!??!
RR: "How could you say that!?"
"Yeah!! What gives!?""Why do you got to be a big Meany-Mcdoubter!?"

".....It just wraps up too easily. Plus don't forget that there's a "Dark" tag on the title page of this story."
RR: O.O .....oh yeah that's right.
"W-well just because there's a 'Dark' Tag on it doesn't mean that this has to have a messed up ending. I mean....The-Author-wouldn't-put-up-a-fake-ending-that-made-it-look-like-that-AJ's-friends-showed-up-just-to-post-another-chapter-showing-that-Applejack-just-passed-out-from-working-on-her-new-island-home-to-pass-away?? .....Right?"
RR: "......*shrugs* I don't know Pinkie. You got me on that one. ......Would the Author do that?"
*Trixie, Pinkie Pie, and Randomreader all look towards the proverbial 4th wall at Masterweaver* *Pinkie pushes past RR and Trixie towards the camera*
images.wikia.com/mlp/images/9/95/Pinkie_Pie_Looking_Into_Camera_S1E09.png
Pinkie Pie: "Would you??

[Randomreader-001]

3286244 It would be and interesting, if not messed up, twist to this story. Though I would be happy either way if the story was left at this.

[Still Wearing Black]

Well that was a nice way to wrap things up. The rainbow of normally-spaced dialogue gave these last few moments a very packed and socially diverse feeling. It would have been very nice to read if only Pinkie wasn't so carelessly dismissive:

I just realized something! We're all back together! Do you know what this calls for?!

"A None-Of-Us-Are-Friends-With-Spike-So-Let's-All-Have-Fun-Without-Him-Party!"

I'm guessing Spike gave a crap about Applejack, but not enough to come rescue her with everyone else, hm?

EDIT: It actually wouldn't been very amusing if Applejack had died. Imagine what the history books would say:

"Applejack, Bearer of the Element of Honesty, was lost at sea on August 19th, 2013, but found temporary salvation on a deserted island. She spent the last few hours of her life talking to herself while married to a cocoanut."

[DF]

Hey, AJ. If you can still hear us, awake or while dreaming, be thankful that Twilight didn't arrive early enough to hear you talking to Cocoa about marriage. That would have been awkward to explain.

Well, it's been an honor to be in your head AJ, stay awesome.

[AcademicPony]

Any chance of getting official clarification about the ending, or is it deliberately ambiguous as to whether it was a hallucination or not? Applejack hit the "unreliable narrator" category as soon as voices became involved.

Still an interesting read either way!

[Twilight Best Pony]

bit confused on the ending really.
can anyone explain if this is a real ending or a fake ending?

[MisterBlonde]

3892446
In all likelyhood, it was meant to be ambiguous. It makes sense, as there was never a confirmation of AJ really being rescued, and AJ was hearing those "voices" in her head.

[thedarkshark24]

3421282 I sort of feel like this is a sort of both scenario not everyone was there but those that were helped her get back home.

[SilverEyedWolf]

I am genuinely sad at having missed this, more stories (esp. the ones with insane ponies) need to integrate some sort of interaction with the comments section.

I guess that's what Tumblr's for, though...?

[Velvet_Divan]

That was interesting and enjoyable. It reminds me of some of the older sci-fi I used to read. Different formats were fairly common back then, like stories told through exchanged letters or journal entries.

[Majk]

That was a very interesting read. Funny how much you can say with a proper use of a buttload of free space.

And that thing you did with the last chapters name? Brilliant, i was actually dreading to read it.

[QueenMoriarty]

3288689 Dude, what is your deal?

[QueenMoriarty]

This story is awesome.

[QueenMoriarty]

6468716 Curiouser and curiouser.

[Still Wearing Black]

6465568 Seriously? I think I've made myself pretty fucking clear. Spike is treated as if his closest friends are not his friends at all. And it happens everywhere in this fucking fandom, and I don't get why you ponyphiles treat the character I relate to the most as if he's a worthless nobody. What the fuck is so hard for you to understand?

[Masterweaver]

6484206

Actually, Spike is amongst the most used characters on this site, according to the tags. Topped only by Rainbow, Twilight, and a few "group" tags. Oh, and Celestia and Luna. And the OC/Other Character tags, but they trump everything.

[QueenMoriarty]

6484206 The part where you won't shut up about it, shoehorn your "why do you all hate Spike" argument into every situation, and assume everyone besides yourself is a pony-Nazi who sees Spike as the Jews. That is, in your own words, "What the **** is so hard for [me] to understand".

[Vinylshadow]

And ponies were surprised to see a new product being sold by the Apples

...dunno why they chose coconuts though

Huh...

[booklover41]

3282857 she has the coconut crab

[dragonus85]

well this was quite the interesting tale complete with a unique format. felt like a tedious passage of time. i enjoyed this.

[AdverseFlower95]

Well Applejack by now you probably won't be able to hear this by now but I am overjoyed that your friends were able to find you! Always remember that you have people all around you who care for you.

[geb]

It’s good.