The planet Gunsmoke. An arid world covered almost entirely with sand, save for the scattered cities made by humanity. Gunsmoke wasn't named inappropriately; it earned the gritty title due to the lawlessness on the planet caused by all manner of bandits, thugs, and murderers. But one man stands out from them all: Vash the Stampede. Also known as the Humanoid Typhoon, Vash has been counted responsible for all sorts of disasters on the planet, such as the complete destruction of the city of July, which was lost in the blink of an eye. This event has since been called: Lost July.
However, despite his reputation, Vash has a nonexistent body count after July, some calling it a miracle without God's help. Many have tried to claim the enormous $$60,000,000,000 bounty on Vash's head, but none have been able to succeed. But right now, Vash had himself locked in a battle for his life in the center of the desert, and this is where our tale begins.
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Just another day... Vash thought to himself.
*Bang!*
Another round sailed over Vash's position behind a rock outcropping in the midst of the desert. Leaning to the side of his cover, Vash quickly aimed down the barrel of his custom revolver, firing a round that nearly hit his attacker in the arm. Cursing himself for firing before he could stabilize his arm for the shot he got back behind cover before two rounds whizzed past and impacted the sand.
"Why do I keep getting dragged into your messes..." Another man groaned next to Vash.
This other man had black hair, wore a suit with the shirt unbuttoned near the top, and had a massive metal cross planted in the ground to expand their cover slightly. The man took a handgun out of a compartment in the cross, and unloaded a few shots without aiming, hoping it would keep their attackers from getting a decent shot.
"You didn't have to follow me, Wolfwood..." Vash countered.
Wolfwood scoffed as he replaced the now empty pistol with another from the Cross Punisher. "After all that Gasback nonsense I figured I'm just going to keep getting dragged into your problems no matter what, so why not get it done with? Doesn't mean it isn't annoying though."
Vash pulled out a moon clip and reloaded his revolver with expert speed. "How very kind of you..." He sarcastically remarked.
Another burst of gunfire came from the outlaws. Vash could tell what type of weapon he was using. It was a submachine gun that had a clip of 30 rounds, which meant it was about to be emptied right about...
*Click*
"Now!" Vash shouted as he vaulted over his cover.
Wolfwood followed his example and brandished his pistol, aiming for the second of this outlaw duo. With a carefully aimed shot, Wolfwood managed to hit his target in the shoulder. Vash stabilized his aim this time, and let a round hit the other outlaw in the arm forcing him to release the round object from his hand mid swing. Vash managed to recognize the object as a grenade, an unimprovised one at that.
Vash and Wolfwood ducked back behind cover to sit out the explosion. Once the dust settled, they both noticed the crackling noise left in the explosion's wake. Vash gasped as he saw a giant glass bulb buried in the sand bearing a massive hole from the grenade.
"Huh, so there was a plant out here? Must have been covered up by a sandstorm ages ago." Wolfwood shrugged. "Oh well, guess it's broken now."
Vash however was not as calm about the situation. "It's not just broken! It's going critical!"
"Uh oh..."
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The hot desert sun beat down on Applejack as she trotted in the badlands outside of Appleloosa.
Celestia sure doesn't slack off out here. I wonder what Braeburn called me out here for in such a hurry?
Applejack took a moment to adjust her stetson as she caught a glimpse of her cousin.
"Cousin Applejack!" He called as he galloped over to shake her hoof.
Applejack returned the gesture and tipped her hat to Braeburn. She may have thought of him as a blabber mouth, which he kind of was, but they were still family.
"Howdy Braeburn! What in tarnation did y'all call me out here for?" She asked, getting right to the point.
"Oh cousin, you wouldn't believe what I found out here! It's just over that ridge." He said, pointing to a rise in the terrain.
Applejack trotted over and found herself baffled by what she saw. Lodged in the sand was some kind of giant glass... thing. Inside there was a big green glowing sphere that pulsated with some kind of energy. Applejack couldn't make heads or tails of this strange thing, but she knew a certain alicorn back in Ponyville who would be giddy as a school-filly once she got a chance to look at it.
"Just what in the name of Celestia is it?" Applejack asked as she went in for a closer look.
"Beats me, cousin Applejack. That's why I thought you might have an idea. You've been friends with Twilight for so long, I thought maybe a thing or two may have rubbed off on you."
Applejack began inspecting the glass bulb, surprised with how dense the glass was. She stopped as she found a small metal panel near the top where the wires connected to the orb.
"Plant No. 436? This ain't like any plant Ah've ever seen..."
"Maybe it's one of them alien devices you keep reading about in those sci-fi books they started printing?" Braeburn suggested.
"Y'all are startin' to sound like Lyra, always goin' on about her 'humens'."
"I think it was pronounced 'humans'." Braeburn corrected.
Applejack fought the urge to facehoof, but got startled by a crackling sound. Looking back at the plant, the orb in the center began to spark, and the glowing was intensifying.
"Braeburn... y'all might want to run."
Braeburn followed the instruction of his cousin and galloped away. Applejack turned to follow, but tripped over a rock buried in the sand. Her eyes became blinded by the light the plant radiated, and she began to feel light headed. She could no longer tell which way was up, and fell unconsious.
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Just when Vash was sure the Plant had reached critical mass, it suddenly shot a massive beam of light straight upwards, forcing him to shield his eyes. Once the blinding light finally subsided, the plant had completely vanished.
"It's... gone?" He asked in disbelief.
Wolfwood clapped his hands together. "Praise be to God!"
Looking back at where the plant was moments before, Vash caught a glimpse of something laying in the center. He ran down to investigate, and soon recognized what it was.
"Ahhh~! A beautiful flower blooming in the desert! Fear not madam, I will bring you to safety!" He triumphantly recited as he rolled over the woman collapsed on the sand.
She had long hair tied back in a ponytail, and wore a stetson on her head. She wore a white shirt, an orange flannel, and jeans with brown boots.
"Ughhh... Rainbow... No more cider drinking contests..." She moaned.
Vash paused at her words. Even for the planet Gunsmoke, Rainbow was a strange name, and cider wasn't exactly a common drink considering how few trees could grow in the harsh environment.
"Hey, Needle Noggin! Don't just stand there gawking, help the poor girl!" Wolfwood called to him.
Vash felt annoyed by being called that name by Wolfwood, but he was right; now was not the time to be distracted by her beautiful hair, or her well toned curves or... or...
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Applejack finally felt the world starting to reform itself around her, as the pounding in her head managed to subside. She could still feel the sand beneath her, a sign that she was where she should be. She could feel somepony breathing down her neck, and she could only assume that Braeburn was panicking over her safety.
"Braeburn... Could you back off?" She asked as she was still too tired to open her eyes.
"Braeburn?" A voice asked.
Applejack's eyes shot open once she realized whoever was breathing on her was not Braeburn. What she saw was unlike anything on Equestria. It was a bipedal creature wearing a long red coat and had spiked up blonde hair. For some reason his gaze seemed very unnerving, as though he was looking at her body rather than her. It was also then that she noticed her body had changed as well. She was in a body similar to the creature before her, aside from two strange lumps on her chest, both of which seemed to be the focus of the creature.
It was at this point that her mind went into shock, and she was terrified of whatever stood before her. She balanced on her forelegs, or whatever they'd been turned into where called, and delivered a strong buck to the face of the creature.
"OWWW! Who knew such wonderful legs could cause so much pain!" He cried as he grasped at his face where he was hit.
"Where am I?! What'd y'all do to me?! Where's Braeburn?!" She demanded as she crawled over to Vash.
"Gunsmoke! Nothing! I don't know!" Vash answered in order, afraid to suffer another kick to the face.
"Gunsmoke? What in tarnation is Gunsmoke?"
"The planet you're on!"
The word "planet" carried much weight to Applejack. She wasn't on Equestria, nor where any of her friends or family with her. Whatever that plant was, it seemed to have whisked her away to another world entirely.
"Ah'm... on another planet... Ah might never see home again... My friends... family... they're all gone!"
Overcome with this revelation, Applejack did her best to avoid breaking down into tears, but she couldn't fight the pain in her heart. This wasn't like the mirror Twilight went through just a few months ago; there was no exit in sight.
Vash was now entirely confused. "You're not from here?"
Applejack wiped the tears from her eyes. "N-no... Ah'm not sure how to get back..."
If there was one thing Vash couldn't stand to see, it was somebody crying. He wiped away a tear that was rolling down Applejack's cheek.
"Maybe I could help you. What's your name?"
As the Element of Honesty, Applejack could tell that he was sincere in his offer. "Applejack... Mah name's Applejack. What's yours?"
"Vash. Vash the Stampede."