The sudden return and just as sudden goodbye at Sweet Apple Acres had gone far more pleasantly than Applejack expected. Not one of her three family members gave so much as a start at the suggestion that she was going to be heading off suddenly on an indeterminably long trip. Big McIntosh had even already prepared a heavier, sturdier saddlebag for her with a couple week’s worth of rations and various tools, such as her rope, cooking utensils, and even a spare stetson.
It wasn’t that they weren’t all sad to see her go, but by now Applejack supposed they had gotten rather used to her vanishing for weeks at a time after trips to the castle. Apple Bloom was probably the most affected of the three, though Applejack gave a snort of laughter while recalling just how terrible her little sister was at hiding her excitement she would still get to do more around the farm.
Something genetic about Apples desperate to do hard work, she supposed. It would explain why she eagerly volunteered to cross half the planet in search of some magical doohickey with hardly a moment’s thought. She thought of Granny Smith, too, and took solace in the fact that despite her age, she was as healthy as ever. There was really nothing at all to worry about at home so, after sitting down for one final lunch—also prepared ahead of time in anticipation of her departure—she had hugged each of them and then set out, leaving heavy hoofprints in the dusty road all the way down to the train station.
She grunted, and shifted from where she lay down to watch the scenery move by. Train travel for a few hours was one thing. Being stuck in one compartment for almost two days was another, and she was glad to see the smatterings of evergreens start to appear out of the dead desert to the south; signs that Seaward Shoals was close now, and her trip was almost over.
For another to begin, of course. But at least she wouldn’t need to deal with the constant vibration of train on track pestering her rump much longer.
Asides from the monotony and the sitting, the ride had gone smoothly. Applejack had spent the time reminiscing throughout the journey. Thoughts of adventures in the Everfree forest had occupied her mind while the train rounded that menacing grove. The long bridge over Ghastly Gorge had her thinking about when Rainbow Dash first met Tank. Appaloosa had its own plethora of memories attached to it, and Applejack had felt a little tug on her heart when she had to stay on the train at that stop.
The southern jungles of Equestria brought to mind thrilling tales of adventure and mayhem, almost all of which were stories told to her by Dash and Twilight while they gushed about whatever latest Daring Do story they had finished reading, and beyond them was unfamiliar territory, though the endless desert before her hadn’t inspired any desire for adventure there. If she was going to need to cross one featureless length of land, she’d gladly take the cool ocean over dead sand.
“Seaward Shoals!” came the announcement over the speakers. “Seaward Shoals, and end of the line!”
Applejack chuckled quietly to herself as the tall, stilted buildings started swiftly zipping by the window. End of the line for the train, sure. Just the beginning for herself.
The train screeched to a stop near the outside of the town, the sudden deceleration rolling Applejack back a little bit from where she lay. When at last the telltale hiss of steam from the application of brakes had sounded, she stood up slowly, shaking out her stiff legs. She had done a little walking back and forth through the cabooses, but it was a far cry from the regular workout she’d have gotten on the farm.
A mare walked by and stuck her head into Applejack’s cabin.
“Oh, good, you’re awake dear. This is the end of the line, and you will need to depart.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I’m just grabbing my stuff.”
The attendant nodded. “It is appreciated. From this point on you will need a new ticket to travel with us.”
The speaker crackled to life again.
“Final stop, Seaward Shoals. The current time is five-thirty in the evening, and the current weather is pleasant. Sunny skies, warm air, cool breeze. Please watch your legs and hooves while exiting the vehicle.”
“Thank you for taking the Friendship Express!” the mare chirped, stepping aside for Applejack who—after tipping her hat—quickly made her way to the door and hopped down onto the platform.
She hit the humidity in the air like a brick wall, and gasped. What was apparently “warm air” here was stifling, and as she immediately felt her coat become slick with a sweat that would not evaporate, she frowned.
“So this is Seaward Shoals, huh?” she muttered, flicking her tail absentmindedly as if she could somehow scare away the sweltering heat.
It was a fairly busy town for how out of the way it was, she noticed. It did make sense, being a port town and all, but with the distance from here to Canterlot Applejack hadn’t actually been expecting the hustle and bustle about her.
Tall, colourful buildings of purples and yellows surrounded her, their aging lumber obscured by coat upon coat of the paint designed to combat and protect from the constant assault of salt-water spray. Most of the buildings were simply constructed; four walls and a peaked roof, with a door in the center and two windows on each side. If anything, the wide range of colours served to differentiate one abode from the next—a fact which Applejack felt was wonderfully practical.
Other buildings were more fancy. Gables reached out to the sea, their balconies decorated with dozens of plant pots and creeping ivy, with gorgeous trim about the bannisters. Below the stilts each house rested on were rolling, mossy rocks, interspersed with patches of vividly green grass. The dark boulders reached all the way down to the ocean, where a large dock was floating and a dozen or so ships were anchored. She couldn’t make any figures out from her vantage point, but from the constant movement of small shapes it looked busier than an anthill.
Beyond the city the boulders started to form into bedrock, and moss turned into grassland which turned to the thick, bushy forest she had seen on her way in. Beyond it to the south lay the desert.
Applejack stood still on the platform, taking it all in. The immediately unbearable heat. The overwhelming odour of fish and algae, carried by a wind which did so little to counter the sickly warmth surrounding her it felt almost insulting. The creaking, flaking buildings and the families that flitted in and out of them with baskets and bundles. From nearby, behind the train station, she could hear the tell-tale murmur of a market, and judging by the shouts and shrieks that interspersed the buzz of distant conversation she could tell that children were enjoying their summer vacation with veracity.
It was delightful, she decided. She hadn’t really paid much attention to the place the last time she was here, what with how bad a mood she was at that time, but with a clearer mind she was glad she took the time to actually see what was so wonderful about the place. It helped lessen that strange, ever-present pressure to keep searching for the Source which had been bugging her gently the entire ride here.
“Applejack?”
The voice came from behind her, and she turned with curiosity more than anything else. Before her was that same guard from earlier.
“Oh, hey there! Lieutenant Brass, was it? Fancy meeting you again so soon all the way out here.”
“It’s no coincidence, I’m sure you’ve guessed. I was to meet you here and bring you to the Croupiere. She’ll be your home for the next little bit, and we’d like you to get acquainted with your quarters as soon as possible.”
“Mighty appreciated, that,” Applejack replied, hefting her saddlebag up and nodding for Polished Brass to lead the way. “Do you know whenabouts we take off?”
“I believe the plan is at sunrise tomorrow morning, but the captain will have the most recent information. It all depends on weather forecasts and whatnot.”
“What’s their name?”
“Captain Square Sails. Quiet fellow. Barks his orders and then says nothing else, generally. Brilliant conversationalist, if you like talking about yourself. One of the best sailors in Her Highness’ Royal Navy, I’d say.”
“You’ve worked with them before? I thought you were Royal Guard.”
“We’re really more of a single entity with different branches. I did a year out at sea as part of my rotation, before transferring back inland. Pegasi don’t really do well on the waves,” she sighed, looking away in shame. “Makes us jittery to move like we do in air with our hooves on solid ground. And they don’t like us flying about the place, either. Hard to make sure you’re doing your duty or can respond to an emergency if you’re half a mile in the air.”
“I can see how that’d be an issue,” Applejack said consolingly. They were halfway to the docks now, and the ships were all coming into view. They were mostly all fishing vessels, small with a single mast, though the activity about them was all the same as the larger ones—almost moreso, she noticed, which caused her to slow down while thinking.
“Yeah, and trust me, when you’re hovering above the deck and the whole thing keeps swaying back and forth beneath you while you’re in one place, it ain’t pretty— Applejack? Everything alright?” Polished Brass had stopped several steps ahead.
“Why’re ponies catching fish?”
“Why else? Bits. Lots of it. Griffons and dragons both pay out the wazoo for catches they don’t need to make on their own. This might be an unassuming little port town, but it’s quite wealthy underneath, believe me.”
Applejack thought it over and shrugged, before catching up with Polished Brass and carrying on. “Makes sense. Sorry about that. Was a bit of a strange sight for me to see all them nets being hauled up.”
“I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more than your fair share of strange sights over the next little while, Applejack.”
The words hung in the air, Polished Brass having spoken them with a hint of apprehension that was quickly noticed by the earth pony.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, it’s just…” She rubbed the back of her neck, and then whipped the sweat off her hoof as she pulled away. “Nothing bad, I don’t think. But I can’t shake this strange feeling that something isn’t right. Like I’m not doing the right thing right now, or like I’ve forgotten something.”
“Mmm. Yeah, I know that. I’ve got it too. I think everypony does right now, to some extent. Bugs me out somethin’ fierce, I’ll tell ya, but we’re all pretty positive it has to do with the S—”
“Shh!”
“...Right, sorry.”
“I-it’s okay, just… be careful. We don’t want this to have any snags, do we?”
“None at all, lieutenant.”
They arrived at the dock and Polished Brass lead Applejack up to the far side of it, where a ship much larger than all the others was docked. It was long, maybe fifty metres, but narrow. Two masts reached out from the center of the ship like trees, skinny but held taut in place by a dozen different ropes coming from everywhich angle Applejack could see. A gangplank reached out from the deck to where they had stopped, and an earth pony wearing a dark blue uniform with purple and gold trim glanced down from the top of it at the two. He looked up at the sun and then back down, and muttered a “hmph”.
“Applejack, meet Captain Square Sails.”
She wasn’t sure if it was the intensely serious nature of the pony, whose rigid and rectangular face was decorated with a light scar and neatly trimmed beard beneath beady eyes that didn’t seem to reflect light, or the fact that the ship he stood upon very clearly was sporting multitudes of triangular sails despite his name, that had caused laughter to well up within her. She bit her bottom lip and saluted instead of speaking.
Square Sails walked down and met them, and saluted back.
“Lieutenant Brass.” He nodded at her, then turned to Applejack. “Lady Applejack.”
It was too much. She burst into laughter, clopping a hoof on the ground in mirth, which caused the captain to step back with a frown.
“Something wrong?”
“I ain’t ever been called a Lady before, sir,” she said, calming herself down. “Not that I don’t appreciate the gesture. Just Applejack is fine, Captain.”
His hard expression softened a little bit. “A country mare, I see. Well, we might just be in luck then.” He turned around and faced the Croupiere, and kicked his hooves together. “Sailing is inherently dangerous, L- er, Applejack. We are at the whims of nature, far from Cloudsdale’s reach and further still from any immediate assistance. Living at sea takes constant hard work, constant vigilance, and constant preparedness. In a second we can go from favorable winds to monsoon, or be waylaid by thieves and vagabonds.”
He glanced back at Applejack and, seeing her grinning in excitement, cracked a smile. “But it appears that appeals to you, as I suspected upon hearing your voice. I am under orders to convey you at your navigation by the Crown, but I’ll not lie and say I was not apprehensive of who you might be.” He turned back to the ship, following ponies as they ran back and forth, stowing goods and tying knots. “More than once I have been called to transport fairer types who disagreed with the sea. That is, however,” he said, looking down at the water which was peacefully splashing up on the dock, “not an argument one will ever win.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about with me, sir. I ain’t got much sailing practice, nor really much time away from solid land,” she admitted, “but I plan to be as small an obstacle as I can be. You point, I’ll go and do. No fights from me, so long as you don’t argue about what we do to find what we’re after.”
He chuckled, or at least Applejack thought he chuckled; it was somewhere between a snort and a harumph, but came with a smile all the same. “We’ll get you trained on helping out, but for the meantime you may wish to stay in your quarters until we are underway and the weather's fair. If you are ready to board, I’ll show you to your new home away from home.”
Applejack nodded, and Square Sails started back up the gangplank.
“Okay, so, maybe he waxes on a bit eloquently. For somepony who handles stress so well, I think he’s got terrible social anxiety. That little bit there to get to know you probably took all the patience that stallion has for the day,” Polished Brass whispered to Applejack. She then stood up tall and saluted her with a wing. “But I’ll be off. They have a dragonfire communicator aboard the Croupiere, so if anything happens or you need to get in touch with headquarters, feel free. Like the captain said, help won’t come immediately, but it will come. Oh, that reminds me,” she said, craning back and rummaging through a pouch on her armor, “Princess Luna provided these to me to give to you. Said to open them when you needed to.” Polished Brass came back up, holding a bundle in her muzzle and extended it out to Applejack.
Applejack grabbed the bundle and inspected it; it was a small stack of letters, each signed with Applejack's name and sealed with the Royal Stamp. There were five of them, all apparently identical.
“What did she mean by that? Which one do I open first?”
“Dunno,” Polished Brass said, already turning around and unfurling her wings. “She gave them to me right before I left the castle, after I had already gotten my official orders.” She shrugged, and then crouched down. “I guess just whenever you feel like you need to read a letter from her, open one up? Anyways. Good luck, Applejack. Here’s hoping your trip goes well.”
“Here’s hoping,” Applejack replied, still staring at the bundle while Polished Brass shot off into the distance.