The Town Below

The air swirled and danced before me as I stood on the platform. Today had dawned cool, but by midday Celestia’s bright summer sun had brought the mercury up to at least one hundred degrees with no breeze to be had. As one might expect from a town with very few pegasi.

I stepped off of the platform and into the shade of the train station itself, -essentially just large porch with a ticket office- casting my green eyes over the town in front of me.

Appleoosa, it would seem, sprang out of the ground in a hurry. Every dirt street met with its fellows at a right angle to form a simple grid pattern; each building was square with a taller, more elaborate facade on its front face.

Despite the fact that the whole town could have been built in a matter of weeks, it certainly wasn’t hurting for residents. The main street before me was fairly bustling as a matter of fact. Each and every pony wearing a ten-gallon hat. No accounting for taste, I guess.

I quickly brushed my short, red and orange mane back into place before taking a few steps forward, intent on joining the masses on a crowded sidewalk.

“Well howdy there!” a young earth stallion greeted from the busy sidewalk  “Welcome to AAAPPLEOOSA!” he yelled, rearing onto his hind legs as he did so.

I looked to my left. Nopony. Same on my right. Guess I was the only pony on the train this far out. He must be talking to me, then.

“Ma name’s Braeburn. I grow apples ‘round these parts” the now-named stallion continued. The brown vest and stetson he wore contrasted against his yellow coat and orange mane. The hat, at least, seemed to be a uniform of sorts for the locals. He turned his green eyes to me now, expectantly.

“Rocky Soil” ...And there it is. The look. “Weird name, I know”

Definitely not a typical unicorn name. Kind of odd for an off-white pony, too. But, I put up with it.

I offered him my hoof, and he accepted it with his own “Do you greet everypony you meet that way?”

“Sure do.” He stated matter-of-factly “Somepony’s got to make ‘em feel welcome. Now where ya from?”

I lifted one hoof and pointed to a cluster of craggy peaks off on the distant horizon. Braeburn whistled appreciatively.

Know to the world as the Shatterpeaks, the mountains surrounding my home are some of the most active volcanoes in Equestria. Despite their inhospitable facade, little valleys hidden here and there between the slumbering giants are rich in both resources and beauty.

Stark beauty, but beauty nonetheless.

“If I grew up in a place like that, I’d leave some place far off too”

“To be clear, I very much liked it there. Just, sometimes we all need a change of scenery.”

“Mighty sorry, I didn’t mean to offend ya” Braeburn winced

“It’s fine” I sighed. I’d just gotten here. It wasn’t worth making an enemy- at least over something so small. Glancing up at the clock tower some distance down the street, I was shocked to see it read only nine O’clock.

“That’s been broke for quite a while, I reckon” Braeburn explained “The only clock-maker in town ran off a little while back, and now there ain’t no pony can fix it.” His face fell a little as he spoke. I wasn’t sure if it was because the clock was broken or because somepony left town, though.

“Has anypony tried? It’s certainly not my area of expertise, but I’m good with machines. Should I give it a look?” I asked. I didn’t plan to stay here in Appleoosa forever, but a few extra bits never hurt; I would certainly need more to get all the way to Canterlot.

“Darn tootin, you should! Tell you what, I’ve been helpin’ Sheriff Silver Star run things here in town ‘till we get the new mayor elected; if you can fix that clock, I’ll make sure there’s a reward for ya”

“Alright, I’ll try-”

“Alrighty, then. You seem like a nice enough stallion, I’m sure you’ll fit right in. Let me show you around town”

Braeburn took me on a quick tour of the growing town. We visited the orchards, the post office, the hotel -where I dropped off most of my things and bought a room for the week-, the saloon, the Sheriff’s office, and the general store.

Finally, we found ourselves at the base of the clock tower. Like the rest of the town, it was simple and square; the kind of thing very dedicated ponies could put together in only a few days. It rose to about fifty feet high not far from the center of town. Somepony had taken it upon themselves to decorate the otherwise plain wood of the tower with red paint and an apple motif at some point, making it noticeably more elaborate than many other buildings in town.

All around us, the townsfolk went about their business. Buying, selling, walking, talking; the everyday goings-on of a frontier town.

One thing did surprise me, though. I saw a few diamond dogs out and about as well. Diamond dogs are typically known for causing trouble, so I felt more than a little curious. I decided to ask my companion about it.

Braeburn, predictably though, was the first to speak: “Here we are! It ain’t fancy like the ones in Canterlot, but we Appleoosans are still proud of our little tower anyways. You know I was there when we first built this here tower. Took us six days to do build it, but then we had to wait a month for the clock to get here! Hahaha ain’t that funny?”

That actually was kinda funny. “Haha! Yeah, thats-”

“At least we had a whole month to decorate it!” Braeburn cut me off. Again. I’d had about enough of that for one day, so I opened my mouth as he stopped for breath.

“I noticed there are some diamond dogs over there-” I never got a chance to finish my question.

“The whole pack came to town one day. Said they wanted to make peace, so we did. Now they come to town just like any pony.” Braeburn replied, before smiling and waving to a few nearby mares.

Most of the ponies around us did not seem to be enjoying the heat. I wasn’t bothered, -and neither was Braeburn- but the rest of the town definitely was. They loitered in the shade, wiped their brows as they walked, or sat fanning themselves with those big hats. suddenly, a hat that big actually seemed a lot more reasonable.

“They’re not the only non-ponies here, either” Braeburn continued “We had some trouble with the buffalo at first, but they came around. They’ve set up camp just beyond the orchard. Maybe I should show you…”

I was saved from any further gab when another pony -this one with a large mustache to match his oversized badge and hat- trotted over to the two of us. Huge black marks marred his face under the eyes and he walked with slow, heavy steps. Beads of sweat ran down his coat as he gave me a quick, tired hello before turning his attention to Braeburn.

“Those Timber mares are at it again, Braeburn.” he sighed “Another of their shipments got delayed…”

“Don’t you worry, Sheriff, I’ll talk to them. Lack of materials ain’t no reason to start causing trouble.” Braeburn gave Sheriff Silver Star an encouraging smile. “But where are my manners? This here is Rocky Soil; he’s said he’s gonna fix up the clock tower.”

I nodded politely. The Sheriff gave me a good once over until his eyes fell upon my cutie mark - a magnifying class superimposed over a small flame-. I could practically feel the question coming on, so I beat the tired stallion to it “It’s not my talent, but I’m good with machines. I said I’d give it a look”

Silver Star gave me as much of a smile as he could muster “Well, it’s still nice to hear some good news for a change. If you can fix it, that’ll be one less thing for everypony to worry about.”

He shot me another inquisitive glance before continuing “How long are you staying? Seems like more people have been leaving than staying lately.”

Braeburn must have felt he was more qualified to answer the question than I was, because he jumped right in “I just got done giving him the tour, Sheriff. He’s got a room in the hotel and everything.” Good to know I’m not the only one he interrupts. He must like to hear himself talk.

The Sheriff grumbled something about ‘lots to do’ before heading off in the direction of his office. Braeburn agreed and gave me one of his signature smiles before trotting off to parts unknown. “I’ll check up on ya later today, partner”

Finally on my own, I took the opportunity to take a few breaths. Nice as he may be, I definitely could only tolerate so much of Braeburn’s flowing tongue before it got on my nerves. That pony liked to talk. No question about it.

I spun around and started to search the tower for an entrance. I found it quickly enough, opposite the street, and mounted the stairs towards the top.