Applejack at the Edge of the World

by MagicS

The Newly Discovered West

When Applejack woke up from her nap the train was going over a flat expanse of land in the western reaches of Equestria. There were grassy plains stretching out past both sides of the tracks going for at least a couple of miles until she could see the edge of a forest at the back. There weren’t any small towns or any signs of civilization at all out here. And to think some folk considered Ponyville part of the countryside. This train ride was proving even more plain than the one through the wilderness on the way to Appleloosa.

It couldn’t be much further before she reached the end of the line, could it? How many ponies even came out this far? Why’d the train even come out this far at all if there weren’t even any towns or nothing? It was like that time she went with Fluttershy to the Kirins…

Applejack yawned and stretched, looking away from the world outside and returning her mind to more important matters. It was about time she read what Twilight had left for her. All she had right now were the names of the places she needed to go, and the Undiscovered West was a big place so she bet she needed a bit more direction than that. Otherwise she’d probably end up wandering around for days. From the sound of it, both Fire Vent and the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel were a far way into the west too.

“Let’s see what you’ve got for me, Twilight...” Applejack said and reached into her saddlebag. It almost burst when she opened it, so full of supplies. Most ponies would probably feel a bit weighed down or off-balance if they wore it. But not her. Bag might as well have been light as a feather.

After just a bit of searching she took out the journal on the Undiscovered West and opened it up. The first few pages were just some of Twilight’s old notes, but then she noticed a bookmark near the middle of the journal and opened it up there. A smiley face greeted her at the top of the page and Applejack found herself grinning right back.

Hello, Applejack! Here I’ve highlighted the most important things for making your way to Fire Vent and then the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel! I want to make sure you know exactly what to do as soon as you step off the train at the end of the line.

“Typical Twilight,” Applejack shook her head good-naturedly and kept reading.

You’ll reach the final stop by the end of the day, after that you really just need to start walking west for a good long while. It’s unfortunate, but there aren’t really any set roads or paths where you need to go until later. However, I get the feeling that you won’t mind roughing it all too much. You need to go through the rocky mountains to the west and after that you’ll come out to a jungle. If you keep following the path of the sun from there you’ll eventually reach a small town called Hacksaw. Tell the locals you want to travel to Fire Vent, they should be able to guide you to another town that exists on the side of a river that runs through much of the Undiscovered West. At that town you’ll be able to step onto a river barge that’ll take you most of the rest of the way to Fire Vent. But I believe it stops and you’ll then need to either walk or make the rest of the way in some other manner by yourself as Fire Vent doesn’t lie directly on the river.

I’ve included a number of bits in your saddlebag to pay for travel. It’s unlikely they use the same currency, but hopefully the gold the bits are made from should still be good enough to trade.

Now because of the distance you need to travel it might still take you a few days to reach Hacksaw after stepping off the train. So I’ve included a small collapsible tent in your bag along with some long-lasting oats. Although from what Amethyst Star told me I don’t think you’ll need to worry about food too much on your trip. You should be able to find plenty to eat where you’re going. But I just wanted to be safe.

I also included a compass even though I doubt you’ll use it. Just please remember it’s there, Applejack.

Now on the next pages you’ll find some crude maps I drew up on the Undiscovered West based on older ones already available in Equestria and from what Amethyst Star told me. I hope they can help you at least a little bit, though I’m not expecting much. Also feel free to add to them as much as possible. I would like a much more detailed map when you get back. If possible.

Good luck, Applejack! I hope the map isn’t sending you too far away. Maybe you won’t even need to go all the way to the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel? But regardless, I know you’ll fix any friendship problem and then some.

Since you’re certainly reading this for the first time after you’ve already left, I wanted to tell you that we all miss you already. I can’t wait to see you again.

P.S. Please take notes on anything new or interesting you find in the Undiscovered West.

Applejack rolled her eyes as soon as she finished reading. “I hear ya, Twilight. At least I know what to actually do now. Doesn’t sound so bad.” She skimmed over the bottom of the page again. “Course thanks to Discord I already know you’re wrong about something...”

She sat back and thought for a second. “I said I’d be back soon but it looks like it might take twice as long as I thought.”

Curiosity then getting the best of her, she flipped to the next page to see the maps Twilight had mentioned. Unsurprisingly, they were far from “crude”, at least in Applejack’s opinion. The hastily drawn maps still showed Twilight’s characteristic finesse and care. And Applejack instantly knew they were going to be far better than any maps she could draw.

She shook her head and put the journal away. “I think you’re gonna be a little bit disappointed when I get back, Twilight.”

After that she didn’t really feel tired enough to get back to sleep so she stayed up and watched more of Equestria go by. A quiet, empty, view is what she got. Even the nice plains had started to fade away until the train started to pass through a more yellow and orange landscape with dry grass and dirt all around the tracks. Big rock formations and small hills dotted the horizon, and it was starting to look less and less like the Equestria she knew. Applejack glanced up at the sky and saw a few birds flying around up there but nothing much else aside from a couple of clouds.

Her train ride remained pretty typical for the next couple of hours until the late afternoon when she felt the locomotive start to slow down and come to a stop.

Applejack perked up. “That the end?”

She pressed her face up against the window, not opening it, and looked ahead as best she could to see what was coming up. She didn’t see much. Even as the train slowed down more and more, all Applejack could really see was a small, rickety, platform leading off it and a single ticket booth that looked like it was about to fall over. Fitting, all in all.

“I guess this is my stop.”

Finally the train stopped moving completely and Applejack rocked back in her seat slightly before grabbing her saddlebag, hopping into the aisle, and putting it over her side. If this journey was going to be as long as she thought it might be, there was no time to waste. However before she could just jump off the train herself, the door to the car was opened up and the conductor walked in.

He smiled to her, though a bit unsteadily. “End of the line… are you sure this is where you’re getting off, Miss Applejack? There’s really nothing out there.”

Applejack beat back a sigh and instead just smiled reassuringly at the stallion. “I’m sure, got business out there after all.”

“Well it was nice getting to transport an Element of Harmony on important business then,” the conductor nodded. “Good luck on whatever it is you need to do.”

“Thank ya kindly. I might even end up taking this train back to Ponyville later,” Applejack said and walked over to the door leading out of the train, throwing him a grin over her shoulder. “You take care too now.”

“Sure will.”

And with that she stepped down onto the platform, the boards creaking beneath her, some even wobbling a bit. Applejack merely shook her head at the state of it. Not really surprised and kind of just happy there was any platform at all. How many ponies even used it?

A second later and the train blew its whistle before getting back into motion—going forward where the track made a wide loop and came back around on a switch so it could start heading back into Equestria. While it was going, she walked over to the ticket booth to see if the pony in it knew anything about the local area. Might help with her first few steps into the Undiscovered West.

Of course as soon as she walked up to the booth she could see how dusty it was. Nopony had been in there for ages. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at a sign hung up in the window.

GONE FISHING

“Figures,” Applejack snorted. She then turned her attention fully to the west. Mountains not far away rose up, creating a natural divide between the unknown and the familiar. Applejack shrugged and got to walking, leaving the rickety platform behind and making her way through the unkempt grass in the general direction of the mountains. “Day one.”

---

Traveling through the wilds of the Undiscovered West closest to E questria proved to not be too difficult an affair for Applejack. Her body was strong and hardy after years of labor on her farm, and she had traveled herself through so many places like this before it was nothing new to her. Idly, she thought that the… long and rather eventful trip she had been stuck on in the recent past may have also made this kind of traveling easier for her. The weather being good was also a big help, seemed she left Ponyville at the perfect time, but she was thankful it wasn’t too hot or too cold outside. Knowing her luck though she was probably gonna have to charge through some rain or hail or a big heaping tornado at some point.

She knew from previous experiences it was best not to tempt fate.

But still, the two days it had taken her so far to travel through the Undiscovered West on her way to Hacksaw weren’t bad. The tent worked and was surprisingly comfortable (probably because it came from Twilight herself) and she had found plenty of edible flowers and other food so she could save the oats for an emergency if she needed them. Even though the rocky mountains ended in a canyon that was easy to travel down but would’ve been a pain to go back up didn’t dissuade Applejack. When she was making her return trip she’d just come back another way.

She couldn’t remember the exact route she had taken through the mountains anyways. Though now that she thought about it it might’ve been a good idea to draw her route or take some notes on the layout of the mountains. Instead here she was stubbornly going to tackle a problem head on out of pride when she could’ve been a bit smarter about it. It was the same kind of attitude about not needing a map like she had always had.

Guess that was one thing she never learned.

Now the jungle she had to travel through wasn’t so bad at all either. Flat, pretty, there was fruit, and there were even some well-worn paths on the ground through it. Seemed this was the closest part of the Undiscovered West that might have had other frequent travelers go through it. Not Equestrians, but ponies who lived out here on the fringe. Applejack was thankful to them. The only thing that impeded her progress through the jungle was the occasional fallen log, overgrown vines, or a critter scurrying out across the path from one side of the trees to the other. She did still have to put up the tent in the jungle though, that’s just how her timing had worked out. She had checked the journal again that night though and was sure that sometime tomorrow she’d arrive at Hacksaw.

Applejack kind of hoped she’d see some ponies soon too. The world just felt too empty without any other friendly faces around.

Luck came for her on day three.

After making her way through the entire jungle and over some hills, a town appeared before her. A small town, dusty and surrounded by wilderness, but alive all the same. Applejack could see that plainly. Twilight was right that all she really had to do was follow the sun west. And maybe her instincts a little bit.

Most of the buildings she saw in what had to be Hacksaw were made of red brick, flat and squat, nothing particularly tall or very fancy looking. A town built for practicality’s and simplicity's sake.

Applejack’s kind of town.

“Bet there’s the good sort of ponies living here,” Applejack said with a smile as she walked onto the road leading into town from the jungle.

As she passed the threshold and made it into town she saw a number of ponies there too. Either walking through the dirt streets or hanging out in front of buildings, it didn’t look like a busy day or nothing, kind of like a casual day in Ponyville. Applejack of course got quite a few looks as she walked into town—an obvious outsider, the ponies that lived here probably knew all their neighbors. Now Applejack wasn’t shy or nothing but she didn’t exactly know where to go or who to talk to next. Would the ponies here appreciate a stranger coming up to them and chatting them up out of the blue?

They looked nice enough. And staying optimistic about her earlier assumptions, Applejack decided she’d find some ponies who didn’t look like they were really doing anything and ask them about directions to getting on that river barge.

She saw one building that looked like a hotel, covering quite a bit of ground. If she was planning on staying here the night it might’ve been a good place to go to. Since she was pretty much planning to leave Hacksaw the moment she knew where to go though she instead walked up to what looked like a brick general store with a number of ponies milling and talking around outside it. Seemed to be a place where locals liked to gather and shoot the breeze, kind of like how Sugarcube Corner could be.

Naturally as she walked up to them, stallions and mares alike, they easily spotted the pony who stuck out like a sore hoof.

Applejack decided it would only be polite to introduce herself first. “Hey there! Hope I’m not interrupting nothing, but my name’s Applejack and I’m from out of town. I was wondering if y’all could help me out with something?”

A young mare around her age, tan and with a flowing green mane, met her with a happy smile. “Sure thing, pleased to meet you, Applejack. My name’s Jade Root, how can we help you out?”

“Well uh, first of all, this is the town of Hacksaw, right?” Applejack asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Sure is! Where are you from? We usually don’t get many visitors this time of year,” Jade Root asked.

“Don’t be so nosy, Jade,” an older stallion behind her said. By the look of him he might have been her father. “It’s up to her if she wants to share that with us.”

“I’m just curious,” Jade Root pouted.

Applejack breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that the first leg of her journey had been successfully completed. “It’s alright, I don’t mind it one bit. In fact I’m happy to tell ya. I’m from a place called Ponyville a bit far east of here. Been traveling for a few days to get here.”

“East of here?” The stallion raised an eyebrow. “Past the mountains then? Must’ve been a tough trip, if you need a place to rest or anything to drink just ask.”

“I appreciate that but it’s alright, I don’t plan on staying here for long,” Applejack smiled and shook her head. “Normally I wouldn’t mind that hospitality none—and I’d be happy to return it—but I’ve got a long trip ahead of me still. You see, I heard that from here you could direct me to another town that sits on the side of a river that goes all throughout these lands? I’m trying to get to a place called Fire Vent but I don’t know the names of pretty much any other place between Hacksaw and there. But I heard that riverside town has boats that travel up and down the river.”

“How’d you learn about Hacksaw in the first place?” Jade Root asked. Meanwhile the others who had been standing in front of the general store were all listening in on the conversation too now.

“Well another mare from Ponyville came through here not too long ago. She told us about some of the far west—what we consider the far west at least. But she didn’t know all the details,” Applejack said.

“I know the town Fire Vent,” the older stallion said. “My name is Sage Root, never been there but we’ve had ponies from there who have visited Hacksaw before. I can’t rightly tell you how to get there but… town down by the river that’s pretty close to here? That has to be Saddleport. We trade food with them sometimes. I know for a fact that they run all kinds of boats for all purposes up the river. I’m sure they’ve got a sailboat, or barge, or whatever it is you need. Just tell them where it is you want to go.”

“There’s a road that goes south out of Hacksaw that’ll take you right to Saddleport,” Jade helpfully added.

“Well thanks a lot, you’ve been a big help. Sorry I don’t have any gift to show you some Ponyville kindness or nothing… I’d like to stay and visit if I wasn’t on a schedule and all,” Applejack said.

“So long as you let your town know that the ponies of Hacksaw are friendly when you get back,” Sage Root smiled.

“You don’t need to worry nothing about that. I’m more than happy to let my home know that ponies are friendly all over,” Applejack smiled. “And if you ever find yourself in the area, try and make a visit to Sweet Apple Acres. I’ll return your hospitality twice over. Aint nothing about it.”

“We sure will, although we’re not much of travelers.” Sage Root said.

“So you’re going to be heading out on the road right now?” Jade Root asked.

“Yep,” Applejack nodded. “Just don’t have the time to spare, sorry to say.”

“Let me take you to the road then and you can get right on your way to Saddleport,” Jade Root offered and before Applejack could even accept she trotted away from the general store and headed down the street beside it. “Right this way!”

Applejack smiled and gave a quick tip of her hat to Sage Root and the other ponies at the general store. “Thanks for everything, maybe I’ll see you again on my way back home.”

“Maybe. Hope you have a nice trip to Fire Vent,” Sage Root said and waved after her when Applejack started walking away.

“I certainly hope so too!” Applejack called over her shoulder and quickly strode up alongside Jade Root.

“You know we actually do get a ton of travelers coming through Hacksaw or coming for some of the festivals we put on so I’m used to talking to ponies from all over and showing them around Hacksaw and such, but you’re the first pony from Ponyville I’ve met. I’d say that makes this a pretty special day,” Jade Root said to her.

“Well I only wish I wasn’t in a rush so I could stay here and learn about y’all and Hacksaw a little more,” Applejack sighed. “I was told to learn all about the west, and to especially make some friends, but I also just found out that my trip is probably going to be a lot longer than I thought. And there’s something that might be a little urgent I need to do. So if I can afford to, I’d rather not stop every place along the way.”

“That’s alright, I heard what you said to my dad, maybe you can make some time on your return trip?”

Applejack smiled slightly. “I certainly hope so. That wouldn’t be so bad at all.”

The two of them walked through the rest of Hacksaw quickly to get to the southern side, it didn’t take long since it was a pretty small town. Jade Root and Applejack both kept the conversation pretty simple since they both knew they wouldn’t be chatting for much longer. The local mostly pointed out what some buildings were and told Applejack how long the town had been standing here. Applejack was a good listener, always able to appreciate the love a pony could have for their hometown. Always interested in the history small, homey, places like this had. They were just like Ponyville.

In another minute they reached an open spot in Hacksaw between a couple of larger buildings and Jade Root pointed ahead. A road traveled south out of town, and eventually into more jungle before Applejack could no longer tell how far it went.

“There you go. If you just keep going down that road you should reach Saddleport by the end of the day,” Jade Root said.

“Great!” Applejack stood up straight and grinned. “Thanks for being such a kind guide, I’ll be on my way now.” She gave a friendly wave to Jade as she started down the road. “You all take care though!”

“You too!” Jade Root waved back.

Applejack gave her a last nod of acknowledgment before making her way down the southern road now towards Saddleport. After walking a decent distance she checked over her shoulder once to see Jade Root still watching her go. It warmed Applejack’s heart that the first ponies she met were such a kind and helpful folk out here. Maybe that was a sign for the rest of her trip out west?

But as she thought about that she inevitably also went back to thinking about what Discord had said. Evil ponies trying to destroy the world notwithstanding—he had said the journey was just as important as the destination. There could be other problems out here that she might run into. She was certain after walking through it that things in Hacksaw were just fine but that might not be the case for everywhere. Things had started out well enough though. She was already into the Undiscovered West, she felt she was making good time, and she already had a decent idea of how she’d get to Fire Vent and then the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel. Whatever was beyond there… she’d figure it out when she got there.

So Applejack wasn’t going to dwell on the disconcerting things Discord had said. He could’ve just been pulling her leg anyways. And even if he wasn’t, whatever dangers or problems there might be out here wouldn’t be anything she hadn’t dealt with before.

Comments

[redmar]

It's good that Hacksaw was a friendly town.

[RoboRed]

Hacksaw's lively as ever.