Applejack at the Edge of the World

by MagicS

The Still Undiscovered West

She still couldn’t see. That was the biggest issue facing her right now.

Leaning up against a tree, breathing heavily, burning up, and tired, the fever still wasn’t as bad as it was just a few hours ago. The irritation was mostly in her eyes now so she was hoping it would fully pass soon. She wanted to just get out of this swamp already and get to a nice bed with a cold glass of water to drink down. There probably wasn’t much more ground to cover, not with how far she had already gone. But again she was in a spot where the water level had risen up almost to her neck. Traveling through here was getting more and more uncomfortable.

She could push herself through it. She knew she could.

What was truly bothering her, what was on her mind more than any physical pain, was what she had lost in the swamp. Her bag and everything inside it. And Twilight’s journal most of all. She had really been contributing to it, she had really wanted to bring something back for Twilight to read about. Now it was gone—even if not totally lost it would be destroyed and degraded by the swamp. Everything she had drawn and written down in it was gone too.

“I’m sorry, Twilight… I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Her hat tilted down over her face a little and Applejack reached up to adjust it. While doing that she felt the two roses she had embedded in it. Remembering the gift, and their meaning, a somber look passed across Applejack’s face. She wouldn’t let her friends down—no way.

And she still had a job to do.

Applejack took one more deep breath to steady herself before leaving the tree and starting her final walk out of this swamp. She had to get to Elysium’s View one way or another.

---

Reedsville was a quiet town. It wasn’t always that way but it had been for a while. Used to be that quite a few ponies would stop here after coming around the swamp, or stop here before going around the swamp. That had pretty much all ended recently with what was going on at Al-Karamaretel. Reedsville was just a small town that existed in the wetlands right outside the swamp, they had always subsisted on the land and weren’t truly hurt by the lack of travel, but nopony in town was exactly happy with it either. The spread out town existed mostly of small wooden homes and dirt paths, with wildflowers and tall grass growing all around it.

Marzipan, with her green coat and maple-colored mane, lived in the house closest to the swamp. She was busy outside hanging up a few of her sheets on a clothesline when she heard a pony walking in her direction. A little surprised by that, she paused what she was doing and walked out from her yard to check the dirt path that came from the swamp.

Sure enough—there was a pony walking down it, right into Reedsville.

Marzipan knew well how bad the condition would be of anypony that was coming right out of the swamp and of course, whoever this was they looked like a mess. The sickness must have gotten them good. But since they were out of the swamp it looked like they had gotten over the worst it. Marzipan looked into the other mare’s eyes and saw that while they were still a bit bloodshot she could clearly see the world around her. When the mare noticed her she lifted her head and stopped where she was.

“Just came from the swamp, did you? Must not have known what you were getting into,” Marzipan casually said.

The other mare, with her messy orange coat and dirty hat, nodded. “Not exactly, Miss. Could I ask if you’ve got a place I can rest here and get a cool drink of water from?”

Marzipan raised an eyebrow, that accent was unfamiliar to her. “Do you have any money on you?”

“No Miss, no money,” the mare shook her head. “Nothing at all to my name. But… could I… just...”

Before the mare could finish she collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.

Marzipan sighed and rolled her eyes. “I guess it would be rude if I just left you out here.”

---

Applejack woke up in a warm bed with a cool and damp washcloth on her forehead, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. “Where am I?”

“You’re in Reedsville,” a voice came off from the side and a mare Applejack vaguely recognized from before stepped into view. “Congratulations on making it here through Red Agony Swamp. Dumb as it was for you to travel through there on your own in the first place.”

“I didn’t know anything about it. Didn’t know anything about this side of the canyon,” Applejack said, still exhausted.

“Thought you had a strange accent. But if you came from the other side of the divide… then is Al-Karamaretel letting travelers through again?” The mare asked.

Applejack made herself sit up and took the washcloth of her head. “Al-Karamaretel isn’t blocking travel anymore, that’s for certain.” She glanced at the mare and raised an eyebrow. “That oughta be good news, right?”

The mare shrugged. “Most ponies here won’t care too much but it’s certainly not bad news.”

“I figured you’d want to spread the news to the lands over here as much as possible...” Applejack said.

“For the countries that care enough to begin with that news is a little too late for most,” the mare said.

Applejack sighed. “I was worried about that. Things must’ve gotten pretty bad over here.”

The mare regarded her strangely, raising an eyebrow at her. “Who are you? Where are you from and what’s it all to you anyways?”

“My name is Applejack—and thanks for taking me in,” Applejack smiled at her. “What’s your name?”

“Marzipan. And you’re lucky I was feeling generous today,” Marzipan snorted. “Can’t believe I’m taking care of a total stranger for no money or anything...”

Applejack chuckled. “Well thank you all the same. Anyways… I’m from far, real far, east. And I’m trying to get to Elysium’s View. Have you heard of it?”

Marzipan crinkled her nose in amusement. “Of course I’ve heard of Elysium’s View, it’s at the edge of the world.”

“So I’ve heard...” Applejack shook her head. “How far is it?”

“You’ve got quite a ways to travel and not a lot in-between anymore thanks to how much has fallen apart from what Al-Karamaretel was doing. There’s the remains of the Kingdom of Diamonds to go through, then you hit Equinestan which is pretty spread out, and then finally the White Forest, after that you’ll reach Elysium’s View,” Marzipan explained.

Applejack memorized all those names, nodding along. “And I suppose I can’t take a train through any of that?”

Marzipan tilted her head in confusion. “What’s a train?”

“Eugh, never mind,” Applejack dragged a hoof down her face. She then raised an eyebrow at the mare. “What do you mean by the “remains” of the Kingdom of Diamonds?”

“The Kingdom of Diamonds was the largest and wealthiest country on this side of the divide. Al-Karamaretel blocked off trade and then for whatever reason did everything it could to financially ruin the kingdom. The royal family was deposed out of anger and scapegoating, everything collapsed, other countries and rich vultures took advantage of it, all the ponies that could immigrated away from it like a sinking ship. The whole country is just a bunch of ghost towns and empty cities now. Might as well be a big wasteland between here and Equinestan,” Marzipan said.

Applejack winced, remembering part of what the Warden told her back at the citadel. So this was what his actions had caused. One kingdom reduced to basically nothing thanks to simple economics.

“The only ponies left in the old kingdom now are the ones who were too late to leave. Or too attached to leave. Some travelers told us there were packs of vagrants and vagabonds causing trouble in it too, though that might just be rumors ponies are spreading. Either way I wouldn’t advise heading through it. Especially alone,” Marzipan said.

“But going straight through it is still the fastest way to Elysium’s View?” Applejack asked.

Marzipan sighed. “Yep. Suit yourself if you think you can handle any of the trouble.”

“I’ve been traveling through the west long enough. And I can’t really afford to take detours,” Applejack said.

“Well if you do get through the old kingdom with all your legs still working the rest of the trip should be easy. Equinestan’s far enough from the divide that it could weather any of the problems that started up from Al-Karamaretel. That country oughta be more or less the same as always,” Marzipan explained.

“What’s it like?” Applejack asked.

“It’s not really a kingdom or a single unified country, it’s more like a big confederacy of a bunch of city-states that mostly share the same history and traditions and all that. Some might have different laws or customs but no matter what city you’re in the ponies there will consider themselves Equinestanians. All in all though it covers a pretty large area so you still might have to travel for a while before you get to the White Forest.”

“And why’s it called the White Forest? Please tell me there’s nothing horrible about it,” Applejack really wished that wasn’t the case.

Marzipan just rolled her eyes again. “It’s called the White Forest because it’s covered in fog almost the entire year. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a perfectly normal forest besides that.”

“And right on the other end of it is Elysium’s View… I’ll finally be there,” Applejack said with a wistful look on her face.

“Yep, edge of the world and all,” Marzipan shrugged.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at her. “You been there before?”

Marzipan shook her head. “Not even close. But everypony in these lands knows about it at the very least. The city on the cliffs that looks out over the clouds—where the whole world seems to just come to a stop.”

Applejack quietly tried to picture it, wondering what it would be like when she finally got there. Wondering what feelings it would elicit in her chest.

“Before you get back on the road you should probably at least rest for another day. Wait until the fever is totally out of your system,” Marzipan said.

Applejack had to admit that sounded like a good idea. She could see again and that was pretty good but she didn’t feel back to 100 percent. And she didn’t have any food or water with her so she should probably do something about that before getting on her way. Of course as she looked around the small house she was in and her memories of her initial encounter with Marzipan came back she doubted she would get much from the other mare. Not that Applejack wanted to impose on her or guilt her into anything, but she just knew she might need to go elsewhere for what she needed.

“Is it alright if I stay here on your couch for the night then?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t have a couch, just a bed,” Marzipan said and gestured around to the rest of her one-room home.

Applejack looked around again. “Oh. Yeah.”

Marzipan frowned and grumbled a little bit. “You can take my chair for the night though, it’s comfortable enough and I’ll get some sheets for you. And I’ll get you some soup. Least I can do.”

“Uh, thanks—again—for all this,” Applejack nodded in appreciation.

The other mare only clicked her tongue. “Don’t mention it, nothing to thank me for, it’s not a big deal.”

Applejack lied back for the moment, just resting a little more. “Well some soup sure sounds nice. I’ve been walking on the road for a while now so even a chair to sleep in sounds pretty dang good too.”

“I’ll get things ready. It’s already a little late in the day but maybe later I can go around town and see if anypony is willing to give you some extra food and water for your trip through the Kingdom of Diamonds,” Marzipan said.

“I’d much appreciate that,” Applejack said.

Marzipan just grumbled some more.

---

“So about how long until I actually pass through the borders and start traveling through the old Kingdom of Diamonds?” Applejack asked as she stood with Marzipan at the western edge of Reedsville. Looking down a road that winded through the green grasslands to the west.

A nice night of sleep, even in just a chair, was exactly what Applejack needed to fully get over her fever. The soup and water she had had might as well have been the greatest meal she had ever eaten in her life with how much it helped her in that moment. How satisfying it was to have some good food after getting out of that dang swamp. If she had a bit more time on her hooves now she would’ve enjoyed staying an extra day in Reedsville and meeting some of the other ponies here, but since she was perfectly healthy she figured it was best to get on the road and get back to traveling towards Elyisum’s View. No time to waste.

She had thankfully also received some generously given food and water from some of the other denizens of Reedsville to take with her. A flask of water that could last a day or two and some fruits and vegetables gathered from some small family gardens. Together it was all being carried in a drawstring pouch Applejack now wore on her side. Didn’t hold a candle to her old saddlebag but it was still serviceable.

“You have about a full day of walking before you hit the border. There’ll be a bridge over a river you’ll need to cross and then you’ll be in what was the Kingdom of Diamonds,” Marzipan said. “Don’t expect to see or come across anypony else for a while though. The outskirts of the kingdom are probably even more barren than the interior.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Applejack said.

“You’ll probably also have trouble finding food and water once you’re deep in there.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Applejack smiled to her. “I’m usually pretty good at scrounging up what I can though.”

Marzipan just frowned before shrugging. “If you’re still set on this then I won’t try and stop you. Enjoy your trip to Elysium’s View.”

“Maybe I’ll see you on my trip back, but goodbye for now, Marzipan,” Applejack said, giving her a wave.

“Yeah, yeah...” Marzipan waved her off.

And Applejack returned to making it through the Far West on her trip to Elysium’s View.

Comments

[redmar]

Applejacks troubles aren't over yet since there will be difficulties in the old Kingdom of the Diamonds. It will take time before the area west of the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel will recover from the Warden's actions.

[RoboRed]

It's quite fortunate that Applejack was able to find someone out there in the swamps to help her out and get her back on her hooves. Even if that someone wasn't all that thrilled about it. Hope we see Marzipan again.

Damn shame that all of AJ's belongings and the notes are all gone, though.

None of those locations listed by Marzipan sound familiar at all. Time to visit some exciting new places. The White Forest and World's Edge certainly sound like spectacles already.