Applejack charged down Stirrup Street. Her hooves pounded into the ground, churning up a trail of dust and clods of earth in her wake. The buildings of Ponyville formed a blur in her peripheral vision – the crystal castle in the distance her focus.
“Hey, Applejack!” cried Pinkie, waving from the door of Sugarcube Corner. “I need you to taste test my new and improved cinnamon cilantro cupcakes.”
But the plea fell on death ears as the Element of Honesty galloped by.
Applejack sprinted up the stairs – two at a time – flung the door opened and raced down the foyer. Entering the Map Room, she saw Twilight standing by, books floating in the aura.
“The map called me,” Applejack said unnecessarily.
“Yes, I know.”
Noticing the alicorn’s not flashing cutie mark, she asked, “Am Ah goin’ with you?”
Shaking her head, Twilight said, “I’m afraid not.”
“Fluttershy again? We did pretty good with the kirin.”
“No – ”
“Well, then it’s got to be Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie.”
“Pinkie Pie is my sister,” came a monotone voice from the back.
“Maud!” cried Applejack. “Ah’m goin’ with you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, where we goin’ Twi?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” She trotted over to the map. “It’s an island off the coast, but I can find almost nothing in my books. Honestly, nopony knew it was inhabited. About the only information I can find indicates that the island has steep, rocky cliffs making it impossible to reach by boat.”
“So that means – ”
Applejack had come from a long line of earth ponies. They had lived off the land for generations, reaping the bounty. They were bound to their ancestral land, that much was clear. It was also abundantly clear that there wasn’t a single pegasus in the family tree, as she leaned over the edge of the basket and heaved yet again, her vomit plummeting into the churning wine-dark sea below.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hoof, she slid down onto the floor. The balloon lay at the mercy of the gusty winds, the basket underneath swinging back and forth, often violently.
“Ah can’t take much more of this!” Taking a page from her younger sister, she whined, “Are we there yet?”
“Yes,” responded Maud, as she stared out to the horizon.
Applejack pulled herself up and saw the dark form emerging from the fog. Waves battered the rocky islets and broke over the hidden reefs that surrounded the island. Jagged cliffs marked the shores of the island. The terrain inland was marked by deep, eroded valleys that twisted and turned. And above all loomed a massive weathered peak.
“Thank Celestia!” was all Applejack could say before leaning over and heaving again.
Coming in for a landing, the balloon had hardly touched down before Applejack leaped out, kissing the welcoming earth beneath her hooves. She let out a contented sigh before turning back to see Maud tying the balloon down.
“Well, let’s see. First thin’ we gotta do is find this friendship problem. Now, if I was a town, Ah’d – what are you doin’?”
Maud set the pickax aside and looked up, “Taking samples. This is an unusual form of igneous rock.”
“That can wait. We’ve got to solve who knows what kind of problem.”
In short order the pair had loaded their saddlebags and set off. Not sure of where to go, they followed a creek to a river, then headed upstream.
As fog continued to burn off, they could fully appreciate the lush, green landscape they found themselves in. It wasn’t tropical, being primarily coniferous, but it definitely was some sort of rain forest. Trees loomed overhead, with vines hanging from the limbs. Along the riverbank, lush ferns competed for space and light.
Passing through a narrow gorge, the pair of earth ponies emerged onto a wide, fertile plain. There were few trees here, with vast swathes of farmland taking up most of the space. The fields seemed healthy, supporting acres of corn, pumpkins, squash and all sorts of other vegetables. There were even a few orchards scattered about. And in the center lay a small village.
“That’s where we need to go,” pointed Applejack.
The pair continued on, reaching the village within an hour. Their presence had not gone unnoticed.
The townsponies gasped and whispered at the sight of the newcomers. “Who are they?” “What are they doing here?” “Where did they come from?” “They have no horns.”
As disquieting as it was for the locals, it was equally uncomfortable for the newcomers. It seemed much like a small hamlet like Ponyville, but there was one thing that stood out above anything else. All the ponies were unicorns. And not just unicorns! Though they were of average stature, their spiraled horns rivalled that of Princess Celestia herself!
Coming to a stop, silence reigned over everypony. At last, Applejack said, “Howdy. Ah’m Applejack and this here is Maud Pie.”
“Hello,” added Maud in her usual stoic voice.
“Ah know that y’all may not see other ponies that much, but Ah want y’all to know that we come in peace.” Instantly she cringed at falling into the cliché.
A mare, not quite as old as Granny Smith but definitely older than the two Ponyville natives, slowly trotted up. “Hello, I am Morning Glory, the mayor. Welcome to our humble village. I must say we haven’t had any visitors before.”
“Yeah, it was kind of hard to get here,” said Applejack. “We took a balloon, and it wasn’t pretty.”
“Applejack vomited all over the side of our basket.”
Scowling slightly, she said, “That’s not the kind of information they needed.”
“Yes, our ancestors didn’t expect to be here. They had left Manehattan two hundred years ago, but shipwrecked off the coast. We are their descendants.”
“Well, that explains why nopony knows you are here.”
“What brings you to our village?” asked Morning Glory.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story – ”
“We were sent by a map,” said Maud.
“Well, that’s the short answer,” admitted Applejack. “But this map indicated there was a friendship problem here and assigned the two of us to solve it.”
Morning Glory’s eyes widened and she cocked her head slightly. “A friendship problem here? No, we do not have any issues here. Are you sure you went to the right place?”
Applejack chuckled. “Trust me. There’s a problem here.”
“Ah cain’t believe there isn’t a problem here!” lamented Applejack as she fell onto her sleeping bag, rolling over and staring up at the tent. “Ah talked with everypony, and everypony seems to be getting along. Ah even tried to help them with their fields. But they’re better farmers than me! You should see the turnips and carrots they grow. The only thing ponies are complaining ’bout is the occasional earthquake.”
Maud gathered her things and stood up.
“Where are you goin’?” she demanded.
“I’m taking samples.”
“Didn’t you here me? We’ve been here three days and we haven’t found the problem.”
“Yes.”
“Y’all don’t need tah waste yer time on geology. We’ve got a mission here.”
“I’m going to take samples,” replied Maud.
Applejack huffed and rolled over as Maud departed.”
Applejack felt something shaking her awake. She peered through the darkness of the tent. “Huh? What?”
“I found the problem,” said Maud.
Everypony of town had gathered together to hear what the two foreigners had to say.
“Maud has somethin’ she needs to tell you.” Applejack stepped aside and let her companion step up.
“Your volcano is about to erupt.”
Cries echoed throughout the town. “What?” “When?” “Seriously?”
Morning Glory came up. “Our volcano?”
“This is a volcanic island,” explained Maud.
“But we’ve never had an issue before,” protested the mayor.
“I do not quite understand why. But your volcano will erupt and destroy the town in seven days.”
The townsponies continued their murmuring.
“How can you make such a prediction? What makes you qualified?”
“I have a rocktorate in geology.”
Applejack stepped forward. “Don’t y’all worry, we’ve got a plan. You can use your magic to create a shield that will protect the town and valley.”
“No we can’t,” said Morning Glory.
“’Course y’all can. Ah’ve seen unicorns create shields before. Why, Princess Twilight’s brother made one that protected all of Canterlot.”
“No we can’t,” repeated Morning Glory. “None of us can do magic.”
“What?”
“Our ancestors were unicorns and earth ponies. When they shipwrecked on the island, they needed to survive. They didn’t need unicorn magic, they needed earth pony magic to grow enough food. So our ancestors ensured that all their descendants would be earth ponies.”
“But – But – The horns!”
Shaking her head, Morning Glory explained, “They don’t work. All any of us have is earth pony magic”
“We’re doomed!” cried someone in the back.
Needed to get a hold on the situation, Applejack said. “Well, we can still save your town.”
“How?” asked Morning Glory.
Thinking fast, she remembered the tale. “We’ll do it the earth pony way then!”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll do it the same way as Rockhoof. We’ll build a channel for the lava to flow away from the town.”
For the next six days, the ponies labored away. Maud surveyed the land and selected the best route for the channel. Applejack organized the ponies into teams. Some dug the channel, digging from dawn to dusk. Some hauled the dirt away to build levees for further protection. Others provided meals and water for those working on their salvation. Everypony contributed, from the youngest foal that could walk to the oldest pony in the town.
On the seventh day, the ponies gathered on the ridge separating their valley from the next one over. Everypony waited with baited breath. As the day wore on, tensions began to run high. Some began to question if they had been wasting their time.
Then, the earth began to shake. The trees shook back and forth. Ponies fell to the ground as the earth shook so violently they couldn’t stand. Huge boulders tumbled down the ridge into the valley below. An ear-splitting rumble came from the distance, and great torrents of lava shot into the sky like as a fiery fountain.
Everypony waited anxiously as the river of burning red flowed down the mountain. Would the levees hold? Was the channel big enough? Was their town saved.
At last the lava reached the channel. For a moment it seemed like their efforts had been in vain. But then the lava flowed in the other direction away. The town was saved!
Applejack slipped away from the celebration. There was somepony she needed to find.
Wandering out of town, it took a little while, but at last she found the mare hard at work.
“Taking samples?” Applejack asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, Ah’d say we earned a bit of a break. Tomorrow we can continue lookin’ fer this friendship problem.”
“Yes,” was another emotionless response.
Applejack tipped her hat and rubbed her forehead. “Maud, Ah owe you an apology.”
The grey mare gave a blank stare.
“Ah know Ah’ve been givin’ yah grief fer yer geology. But f it wasn’t fer yer dedication, this here town would’ve been destroyed.” Fighting for the right words, she continued, “Ah know a lot of folks don’t understand it. Heck, Ah don’t. But it’s yer mug of cider. Ah ain’t ever gonna take yer skills for granted and Ah’m gonna make sure everypony wont’ take it for granted either.”
Maud smiled for the first time on this trip.
Suddenly there were flashing lights and Applejack looked at her flank. “You mean this was the friendship problem the entire time!”
Author's Note
I wrote this for Everfree Northwest's Iron Author competition. It's unaltered, save for adding a few words for clarity (shown in red). There's a few typos, but I didn't want to polish a story and give a false impression of what I had been able to compose. As my followers can probably tell, I'm a painfully slow writer, so writing and proofing a story in two hours was extremely difficult. I think the annual competition has made me a better writer. I hope you enjoyed it!
Dreadnought
