THigh Noon: Applejack

• MLP: FiM
• Equestria Girls
• Adventure
• Comedy
• Random

The Mare of the West must put down a dirty desperado in the town of Appleloosa. A novella by Penny Dreadful

• Violence
• Applejack

Ninjadeadbeard · 2.3k words  ·  85  3 · 852 views

Applejack is a myth, a legendary gunfighter in the Equestrian Old West. Well, South. Since the San Palomino is due south of Ponyville, but West has certain connotations, and isn't it all west of Canterlot anyway?

The point is, she's back in Appleloosa to take out a no good black hat who's gone and tried taking over the town.

And it's High Noon...

How exactly do ponies use guns? Guess we'll find out.

Opening remarks

High Noon: Applejack by Ninjadeadbeard (Ninja) is a comedy adventure fic starring Applejack. The premise is interesting based on the description alone. I’ve read some of Ninja’s previous work and take particular delight in their writing style. Looking forward to seeing where this comedy goes. 

Note: Any text that has been spoiler discusses specific details about the story itself. View at your discretion.  

Technical

No spelling or grammar errors found. Full marks. 

10/10

Character

The main players of the story are Applejack and original character Big Iron. Both are the perfect archetypes of an old western plot with a white hat (hero) and black hat (villain) respectively.

Applejack is the personification of the “good guy” cowboy with the stern persona and no nonsense attitude on the hunt for criminals. Big Iron is an excellent “black hat”, the bad guy who feels the heat coming with nowhere to hide. Both fill their roles in the story perfectly and help immerse the reader in the absurd plot of this fic. 

Additionally, some late story additions to the cast are perfectly in tune with their expected personalities. A very enjoyable inclusion and banter mid-scene that really added to the comedy of the plot. It recontextualizes the plot around a punchline and a good one at that. 

Overall, great character work that fulfill their roles perfectly for a paperback western. Full marks.  

10/10

Concept

This story has an excellent opener. The story description draws the reader in and the beginning immediately immerses the reader into the world of this old timey western. It just hits the exact right feel of the genre and sets the scene for the story about to unfold. 

The execution is spot on as an emulation of paperback westerns. Every element feels exactly as it would in the published novels and it is a perfect homage to the genre. All the pieces echo the story beats and characters of those plots. It all just ties together in all the right ways. 

Speaking of execution, this fic is funny. The absurdity of the plot, very much on purpose, and the core joke of the fic is executed well. It fits perfectly in the narrative of the fic and is a wonderful joke that only adds to the overall enjoyment of the piece. Honestly, the concept works so well that I’m shocked it hasn’t been done before now. 

A truly fantastic concept and execution. Full marks. 

10/10

Vibe

This fic perfectly encapsulates the feel of an old paperback western, the dime store type novels with over the top plots and traditional good versus evil type narratives. It’s cheesy, it’s absurd, and that’s why it’s great.

The particular mechanics of how the “guns” work is fantastic. That each handler pulls a massive cart with a cannon in it is just so silly and over the top. It’s the best. 

The dialogue, the prose, and descriptions all work incredibly well together to tell the story of a traditional western and the author has perfectly emulated the style of the genre incorporating a lot of the tropes and cliches of those kinds of stories. 

Now, here’s where I have mixed opinions. The mid story twist is that the plot of the story is in fact a book from Equestria being read by the humane 7. This twist is funny and really adds to the comedy of the piece. However, I think it would have been better to do one of two different things.

Either lean all in on the twist, and have the humane 7 continue making commentary about the story as the back half of the plot unfolds or have that part removed and play the absurdity straight. The reason for this is that with the human characters going silent after their comments makes the fic feel incomplete. Like there should be an additional moment with the other cast before the end, but there isn’t. This is really my only complaint and the story still works wonderfully as is.  

Overall, this story really hits the feel of both a comedy and an old western. 

9/10

Closing Thoughts

High Noon: Applejack by Ninja is a fantastic comedic western that really nails the feel of those dollar store paperbacks. The absurd comedy hits well, and the world really draws the reader into the plot. 

Excellent read, I give it a full otter recommendation. 

9.75/10

<For archive purposes: 9.75/10>

Personal Score

Yeah, okay, you got me with this. Made me think of the old paperback westerns my grandfather liked to read. Really appreciated the genre humour and comedic aspects. Great imagery and description work in this, especially in regards to the “guns”.

Definitely one of my comedic favourites.  

10/10

Aw shucks! This is a really wonderful thing to wake up to. Thank you for doing this, and especially thank you for that score!

I’m a huge sucker for the western genre, but more than that I am the sort of person who likes a lot of verisimilitude in my stories. I could never get into a lot of the fallout style stories on this site precisely because I could never buy the mechanics and systems they went with to justify ponies wielding firearms. Not saying you can’t have fun with that, but that it never worked for me.

And then I realized something. The show clearly showed that ponies had access to firearms in various ways. But it also showed that they didn’t mind carting around things like a real horse. And since flying artillery is a real thing, the pieces all fit together for me.

Although, now you’ve got me wondering what sort of final bit I could’ve added onto the end with the Equestria girls to try and hit that perfect 10/10 score. That’s going to haunt me for a while, darn you!

Either way, thank you!