//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Answers // Story: The Big Cats of Bakula: The Apple's Lesson // by PantheraMan //------------------------------// Sweet Apple Acres, home of the Apple family, where they harvest their apples, and make apple cider for the residents. Banda and Tulu worked here, ass now Banda had to have a job in order to pay the bills. He and Tulu liked working on the Apple farm since they could be outside, and it was something they'd take over having to hunt for their own food and also having to avoid certain areas due to certain enemies. While they were working, Applejack was picking apples when she heard some whimpering nearby. She got down from the ladder, and found that a coyote had been caught in a steel trap that Big Mac had set up. Speaking of which, Big Macintosh himself overheard the whimpering, and rushed to the scene with his shotgun. Applejack on the other hand was just staring at the coyote, normally she could care less, but this time was different. After all, she and her friends had helped an injured big cat, had made friends with a hyena and a weretiger, and they were helped out by a pack of sabertooths of all things, so this time, she knew she couldn't just let her brother kill this coyote, so she got a large branch and was able to pry the trap open, and set the coyote free. However, right when that happened, Big Mac just so happened to be right behind her. "What in the hay did you just do!?" asked Big Mac "I set that coyote free." Answered Applejack "For the love of, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!!?" asked Big Mac "I just couldn't bring myself to let you kill it because two of my friends happen to be predators, we helped an injured predator, heck, we were even helped by a bunch of them!" answered Applejack "I suppose that's a good point, but I'll still hunt that thing down until I kill it. That thing has attacked our chickens for the last time!" replied Big Mac "Look Big Mac, I can't let you do that because unlike you, I'VE been in that coyote's position, I know what it's like to be hunted. But to be fair, we were in their cave, but I do feel like there was more to it than that." Responded Applejack . "The second reason you speak of is that they're nothing but brutes, simple as that, and this whole world would be better off if predators didn't exist." Responded Big Mac At night, when Applejack was getting ready to go to bed, she was thinking about what her brother had said, surely he wasn't right was he? Just when she was thinking that, a familiar voice came out of nowhere. "Applejack! Big Mac! Come to me!" Applejack and Big Mac came at once, and outside, was the Spirit lion that helped Applejack and her friends in Bakula. "It's you! what brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?" asked Applejack "I saw your argument with your brother, and I decided to take you two on a trip to the past and to Asia." Answered the lion "The past?" asked Big Mac "Yes, now let us move." "RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH" With that single roar, a flash of bright white light came out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, they were in a place that looked like Africa. "Africa? why am I not amazed you brought us here?" asked Big Mac "This isn't Africa, take a look over there." Answered the lion They took a look, and they saw a pride of the cats that attacked Applejack and her friends in the cave. Applejack began to sweat, and now her instinct was telling her to run. "Don't worry, they cannot see us." Said the lion "At this time, the predators coexisted peacefully with humans, the humans did not hunt them, and the predators did not hunt humans. However, that was all about to change." Another flash of light came, now they saw european settlers arrive in that place, and they brought horses, dogs, and guns. With those guns, they began their hunting. They killed everything from monkeys all the way up to elephants. They barely ate an of what they killed, normally, they would just leave dead animals laying around. They spread fire to the land, burning vegetation, driving all the animals away from certain areas. The predators weren't spared. The europeans hated them with all their hearts, for they saw them as nothing more than competitors for game. The lion then used his magic to show the two a group of the same species of cat they saw earlier, they were in a cave, and the cubs weren't doing well. One of the females had her cub in her paws, it was very thin, and breathing slowly. Then, it stopped breathing, the mother nudged it with her nose, but it didn't budge, and the mother had tears running down her face. A huge male, likely the father, went up to his mate, and teared up as well. "That's horrible! no parent should have to go through that!" said Applejack Another male looked at the dead cub, then went outside the cave, looked over at the europeans who were setting the land on fire. "RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" After that, the lion then showed then a scene where the same pride of cats attacked those hunters, they showed no mercy, even the kids the men brought with them weren't spared. They killed them with single paw swipes, cracked their skulls, and broke their necks or backs. After they got done killing them, the cats then used their powerful jaws to chew their heads off, carry them back to the cave, and placed them in front, obviously to use them as a message to other humans. The lion then showed them a scene where a big game hunter has killed an impala, and a pack of the species of wild dogs that tried to attack Rainbow Dash arrived on the scene. Normally, they avoided humans, but this time was different. The dogs were desperate, and this was a chance to eat, and they weren't going to give it up. The dogs attacked the hunter, bit him on the flanks, and killed him, then they ate the carcass. After that, the lion showed them a clan of the hyenas that tried to chase them of the giraffe carcass and a pack of the sabertooths that stole their kill chasing off a group of hunters as well, and many of them were mauled. Eventually, the lion showed them the humans leaving the region. After that, the herds began to bounce back, habitats were restored, and things were back to normal, only now the predators had a new hatred and intolerance for humans. "So that's why they did all that to us, because humans did the same thing to them. But I still don't get why the elephants didn't try to trample us or something." Said Applejack "The elephants know that the odds of a human surviving in that place is very low due to the predators, that's why it's called the Hunter's Deathtrap. Now come, I still have much to show you two." Answered the lion