A Natural Order to Things

Gunpowder, an unintentional byproduct of an alchemical experiment created by the Daemon. The powder is quickly weaponized and further refined by the Werewolves. When the Western World of Daemon, Elf, Werewolf, Dragon, and Vampyre met the Eastern World of Terran and Angel, an exchange of ideas and culture happened. The new people united together to bring down Discord and his army of monsters.

From the ashes of the Eastern World rose a new civilization of unity between Elves, Daemon, Angels, Terran, the new Empire of Equestria, named for all the wild horses that called that land home. Gunpowder helped secure the new land. Dragons, Vampyres, and Werewolves travel back to the Western World to try and reclaim land sacked by Discord.

Gunpowder weapons advance for the next three hundred years from mere tubes of metal to refined, deadly rifles. Flintlock, muzzle loaded rifles, and pistols are the norm nowadays—in the East; in the West, Werewolf ingenuity and weaponsmithing have advanced guns and armor by a hundred years. A solitary and secluded West keeps all information in their borders from passing to the East.

Terrans build especially well rifles and pistols and much more powerful gunpowder, mostly out of necessity, since they can not use magic nor have Dragon like strength. With a gun, the playing field is mostly even for them. A well-placed shot could drop even the largest of monsters.

Applejack is a Terran, a well known Terran, from a well-known family. Her family was the first to settle Ponyville and established an apple orchard. The town grew around the Apple family farm, Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack is the middle sibling of three; her older brother is called Big Mcintosh, and her younger sister is named Apple Bloom. Applejack's parents had died in a monster attack when Apple Bloom was a baby; Granny Smith Apple takes care of her three grandchildren. Big Mcintosh hopes to inherit the farm from Granny Smith.

Another famous Terran from Ponyville: Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie, a well known/respected ordinance operator and munitions expert—she loves things that go "Boom!"—in short, and is highly skilled in that field. She designed the defense cannons and mortars for the capital of Canterlot and the cannons that keep monsters at bay on the Wall.

Pinkie Pie was born and raised in a small town called Quarry, on her parent's homestead called Rock Farm where her family harvests… rocks. That life was not destined nor liked by Pinkie Pie, and she moved to Ponyville to become an apprentice to Wrought Vulcan, a blacksmith, and gunsmith. She excelled in creating guns and explosives and later invented the breech-loading cannon.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack became close friends over time. Applejack is an avid outdoors-woman and with Pinkie Pie's rifles in hand, has defended Ponyville from many monsters. Pinkie Pie loves inventing new weapons and explosives.

Ponyville lies ten miles from the Wall. The Wall—a sixty foot tall, six thousand miles long, granite fortification that took two hundred years to construct. The Wall stretches from the easternmost city of Equestria, Baltimare, heads west to central Ponyville, and then south to Arid Bia, Beu-heyrit, the southernmost part of the continent of Equus. Many lives were lost in defense of building the Wall, but the Wall has protected more people than without it.

Applejack is doing rounds around Sweet Apple Acres when she notices wolf tracks and a broken section of wooden fence. She furrows her brow and spurs her horse to race back to the farm, the direction the tracks lead. She hears her animals in a panic. The sound of gunfire catches her ear. From the top of the house, Big Macintosh takes up a position to fire on the brown wolves below. Apple Bloom sits behind him to reload rifles while Granny Smith throws junk at them from inside through a window. The wolves begin to scatter, a couple charge at Applejack and her horse. She fires her rifle, drops the wolf on the right, and quickly draws a pistol to shoot the second wolf that launches itself at her.

Applejack dismounts her horse and starts checking on the goats where the wolves had amassed. Half of the flock gone and a quarter had sustained injuries. She kicks up dirt in frustration and mutters an expletive under her breath.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh comments as he inspects a dead wolf.

Applejack narrows her eyes in the direction the wolves ran away. "Big Mac, I'm gonna go and rid these varmin for good," she states as she storms into the house.

"You can't go out there alone, Applejack," Granny Smith tells her granddaughter as the blonde walks past.

"I know that, Granny. I'm gonna round up a posse and get Pinkie to help," Applejack hollers from her room. A few minutes later, she descends the stairs with three extra pistols, an additional rifle, ammunition, and flasks of gunpowder. She bends down and kisses Granny's forehead, "I'll be back later, Granny."

"You better!" Granny exclaims and shakes a fist at Applejack as she rides off. She sighs and looks over to see Big Mac's green eyes. He nods his head and walks away with two wolves in his arms. "Mother, keep that girl safe," Granny prays and walks back into the house.

Pinkie Pie stands up from crouching and looks back over her shoulder at Applejack. "Yup. The wolves dug under the Wall here," Pinkie Pie affirms. She skips back to her noble brown steed and pulls herself up into the saddle.

Applejack points to the five men to her left, "Y'all stay here and fill in that hole. Make sure none are in there and none come out."

The men nod and dismount from their horses to start their assignment.

"The rest of y'all, we got some varmin that needs culling," she snaps the reigns and her horse lurches forward. The other twelve people and Pinkie follow after the cowgirl.

An hour later, the group finds themselves on the other side of the Wall, officially in Monster Territory. Applejack leads the posse of fellow ranchers and friends into the dark Everfree Forest. Blood and tracks lead them to a cave twenty minutes into the forest. Applejack begins to load her rifle and the others begin to do the same. Applejack looks to the right and nods at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie's face lights up as she lights the fuses of three grenades and quickly lobs them into the cave. Pinkie Pie throws tar bombs that cover the front of the cave with thick tar.

Wolves run out of the cave after the explosions spook them. They slip and roll in the tar. Pinkie lights an incendiary grenade and throws it. The Terrans whoop and cheer watching the wolves burn. Snarls mix with screams from behind Applejack and Pinkie. The other half of the pack had returned, catching the mounted Terrans by surprise.

Applejack drops four wolves and Pinkie Pie shoots two. The men fight back with their empty rifles, bludgeoning the wolves but the wolves outnumber them three to one. Applejack spurs her mount and Pinkie follows her friend. The wolves leap out of the bushes and pull riders off their horses.

"We sure kicked a hornet's nest!" Pinkie Pie exclaims and drops grenades behind her.

"No kiddin'!" Applejack replies. "Whoa!" she interjects and ducks under a flying wolf.

"C'mon, A Monkey's Uncle!" Pinkie Pie urges to her horse.

Minutes later and the two women explode out of the bushes with their horses. Applejack pulls out a flare gun from her hip and fires a red flare into the dark sky. Wolves growl and howl after them. Just when the closest wolf was about to bite A Monkey's Uncle, shots erupted from the ramparts of the Wall. Applejack and Pinkie heave a sigh of relief as the brown wolves start to retreat. Pinkie Pie holds out her left fist to Applejack as they crossed the drawbridge over the Moat. Applejack shakes her head and smiles, bumping fists with her friend.

"We will hold a service for all the men who didn't make it," Applejack says solemnly.

"Hopefully, that is last time we'll see wolves for a long time," Pinkie remarks.