((Prompt: Rainbow Dash on the seas.))
“I'm gonna take another sweep, see if I can find more survivors.”
“Give it a rest, Dash. Weren't nopony the last five times ya looked.”
“What if I missed something?”
“Look, even if ya found other survivors, they can't be much worse off than we are. Jus' sit tight, sugar. Save your energy.”
“But I—”
“No.”
“Aw, come on!”
“Fine. Ya wanna fly around whistlin' yer hero tune, ain't like I can stop ya. Go on an' save a couple pieces of driftwood. I'm sure they'll be mighty grateful.”
“Okay, okay, you made your point! Geez. There's just nothing to do here!”
“Yep, that's the nature of bein' stranded. Ain't much to do.”
…
“Hey, AJ.”
“What?”
“It was pretty cool, the way I caught you in mid-air, wasn't it?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don't reckon I was payin' much attention to relative coolness, what with the airship explodin' and all.”
“No, that sucked. That was really lame. But then I saw you falling and I was like, 'woosh!' just before that burning stuff was about to hit both of us! Lucky I got us both to this piece of wood, huh?”
“Yeah... 'lucky.'”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“...Nothin'.”
…
“Hey, Rainbow?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for savin' me.”
“No problem. It's not like I was gonna just let you fall.”
…
“Dash, what are you doin'?”
“I'm so thirsty!”
“Dash, stop! That's saltwater!”
“Don't care. Thirsty.”
“Celestia's sake, you featherbrain! Saltwater'll just make ya thirstier! Spit it out!”
…
“AJ...”
“Hm?”
“What's up with your hoof?”
“Nothin's up with my hoof, sugar.”
“No, something's up with it. You haven't moved it from that spot on your side since we got here.”
“I jus' like my hoof here. It's comfy.”
“Move your hoof, AJ.”
“No.”
“Move your hoof.”
“Ow! Dash!”
“Celestia, AJ! When did that happen?”
“It's just a scratch. Must've got it when the airship went down.”
“We need to do something with that!”
“That's a great idea, pumpkin. Why don't I just unfold that first-aid kit I got tucked under my tail, an' get right on that.”
…
“AJ? ...Applejack?”
“Hnn... wha?”
“I... I've heard stories.”
“What kind of stories, sugarcube?”
“I heard... I heard that when sailors get lost at sea sometimes, and there's no food, they end up eating each other.”
“That so?”
“I don't wanna eat you, AJ.”
“Heh. I reckon those stories are about gryphon sailors, hon. Ponies can't eat meat, we'd get sick.”
“So... I don't have to eat you?”
“I wouldn't recommend it, sweetheart.”
…
“AJ... AJ, wake up. I think I see something in the sky.”
…
“It's the search and rescue, AJ! HEY! OVER HERE! DOWN HERE! AJ, look! They found us!”
...
“...AJ?”
Why ya do this ta AJ, ya dun like country folk or somethin'?
Ouch my heart. Again. Ouch.
3186974 You know, I discussed this with Kitsune Risu once, why Applejack seems to be such an easy target when writing tragic things. We came to the conclusion that, because she's got a family that's so invested in her, she has more to lose than the others, making her the go-to choice to get some feels happening.
Applejack is, in fact, my favorite character in the show, but you wouldn't guess it from all the crap that happens to her in my stories.
Poor Applejack.
3190503
I approve. Still heart-wrenching.
I can't decide which one makes me more , this one or chapter 17. On the one hand, poor Spike's gonna finally wake up, thinking that was a nice nap, and get up to give Rarity that needle he went to get, but then he'll look around and his world will shatter. But on the other hand, poor AJ. And poor Dash too, I suppose.
Chapter 18 is pretty funny, though. Morbid humor is awesome.