the borderlands [Lore] Appleloosa

[Bellosh]

Appleloosa - A Blossoming Frontier Village

 

 

Far off within the fringes of Equestria’s western frontier, Appleloosa is for all intents and purposes the most isolated settlement in Equestria. With the exception of a lone oasis, the cacti-inhabited desert sprawls for miles in every direction. And yet somehow, the area plays host to a nascent town that shows no signs of being left out to dry anytime soon.

 

When ponies first set out to trek through the Painted Pinto Desert, valuable tips from the nomadic buffalo tribes led explorers to the oasis by which Appleloosa would later be founded. For countless generations, the buffalo used this strategic spot as a waypoint for their seasonal stampedes, as water’s such a valuable commodity out in the sun-baked wastelands of the West. Most ponies however saw almost no practical use for this desolate land, as the West Road between Fillydelphia and Rockwington swept around the desert for the convenience of travelers.

 

This state of affairs lasted right up until a few years ago, when recent construction for a transcontinental railroad made taking a shortcut through the Painted Pinto Desert a tangible reality. Now that the desert oasis could be safely traveled to, a band of ponies, led by various members of the immense Apple family, saw a future for this land as a place to sell apple treats to railroad construction crews and future travelers needing a stopover. Naming their new town Appleloosa, these settlers made quick work in planting an apple orchard to guarantee their future.

 

That future almost never came to pass when it became evident that Appleloosa’s orchard interfered with the passage of the buffalo stampede. When negotiations to peacefully solve this dilemma broke down, a food fight ensued between the settlers and the buffalo. Ironically, the use of apple pies by the settlers allowed the buffalo to taste the sweet benefits brought by the orchard, thus allowing the clash to peacefully cease. By granting the buffalo a share of their apple harvest, Appleloosa’s citizens currently live free of external conflict as they await the completion of the railroad to Aquellia.....

~Hitchhiker's Guide to Equestria