“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!” Applejack yelled as the flock of giant birds dove down at her, their sharp beaks and talons primed to grab her and tear her to pieces.
She slammed her hoof down on the ground and sent out the most powerful tremor she could. Instantly all the snow shot up like an explosion had gone off and the Rocs had to stop and scatter as they lost sight of their prey. Snow fell about them as they flew in circles around the field, making sure not to collide with one another while the powdery fog obscured their vision. The birds were surprised and confused by what had just happened. No pony had ever done something like that before.
But it wasn’t enough to dissuade them. It was still just a pony and she was in their territory. They couldn’t possibly let her escape.
Finally the snow collapsed back to the ground and things were quiet and still once more. The Rocs opened their talons and prepared to go in-
She was gone.
The Rocs squawked in disbelief as the field was completely empty of any ponies. Those squawks changed to screeches of rage that echoed throughout the mountains as they flew up high and went searching for their prey. It was only a moment, she couldn’t have gotten far.
And meanwhile—on the other mountains—the screeching brought forth more Rocs, telling them that it was time to hunt.
Huffing and puffing, Applejack ran at full speed down the mountain. She ran past the nests, ran down the side of the cliff, ran back right where she had come from. Forget about taking things slowly or taking things safe—Applejack needed to get out of here.
“Why does stuff like this always have to happen to me?” Applejack asked herself in frustration.
It wasn’t long before her smokescreen escape was made futile though, Applejack heard powerful wings soaring through the sky, accompanied by high-pitched cries as the flock of Rocs came for her. They were done being stealthy and letting her walk herself into a trap. Now they’d come after her like the true aggressive hunters they were. And from the sounds of it there were a lot more than just the dozen or so she had seen coming.
Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and Applejack briefly glanced north while she ran down the mountain. There were Rocs coming from farther away. From all across these big mountains.
“Kicked the hornet’s nest didn’t I...” Applejack grumbled.
A far louder screech accompanied by the sound of rushing wind told Applejack she was in imminent danger. She looked up just in time to see a Roc diving for her, talons outstretched and looking to grab and crush her against the rock all the same. Applejack sucked in her breath and ducked low while jumping forward at the same time. The Roc’s talons sailed right over her head, right over her hat, and Applejack went sprawling to the ground, sliding down the icy rock and almost right off the edge. The Roc itself slammed into the side of the mountain—its talons gouging out deep slices into the rock but not finding anything else.
Applejack picked herself up while the Roc flailed about and tried to come at her, flapping its wings to keep from losing its momentum. Applejack couldn’t pay it any extra attention whatsoever though—there were three more Rocs now diving at her from above. They were keeping close to the side of the mountain, flying down parallel to it and pretty much directly on top of her. They wouldn’t strafe by her and give her the opportunity to jump out of the way, they were going to land on and crush her.
Then probably eat her.
Applejack had to stop them. And the fact that they were flying so close to the mountain gave her the perfect weapon. She gathered another tremor in her hoof and unleashed it into the side of the mountain, sending it upwards and having it explode right when the Rocs were flying by. The side of the mountain blasted apart and shot rocks and detritus into the flying trio of Rocs, broken pieces of granite ranging from pebble to pony-sized smashed into them, their bodies, their heads, their wings, and knocked them off-course and away from Applejack while they roared in pain. The other Rocs that had been circling saw what had just happened and hesitated for a moment. The flight or fight instinct was kicking in, but it wasn’t enough yet.
As Applejack turned and started running back down the mountain with the brief moment of opportunity she had, the birds regained their fierce desire to get her. They weren’t afraid of her just yet. They didn’t see her as too much trouble yet. She was still only prey.
Now the other Rocs had reached this single mountain and the multiple flocks swarmed about it at all elevations. They circled the mountain in search of the single pony who had dared entered their territory and now sought to get the best of them. Applejack at this point had made it down to the crevice, doing her best to evade the huge birds of prey. She could hear them all out there, their noises growing louder, the flapping wings growing far more numerous. There was no time for her to plan or worry about the fact that she was about to enter the open again and be easily spotted by the Rocs the moment she left the crevice. She just had to go fast and get out of here.
Hopefully the birds would learn their lesson after the next couple of times they tried to eat her. If not she was looking at a long and painful run to the bottom of the mountain. She didn’t want to have to do any worse to them than she had to—just make them stop chasing her. But depending on how persistent they were…
Applejack jumped out of the crevice and slid down another path as fast as she could. Pretty much instantly the Rocs were upon her with all their talons and beaks. That was actually not entirely to their advantage though. There were so many now and they all wanted to be the one that devoured the reckless and disrespectful pony that had invaded their territory. They ended up fighting with each other, nipping at each other with their beaks, clawing with their talons, getting in the way of each other. After all there was only a small amount of open space around Applejack, the whole flock couldn’t fly around easily.
Applejack didn’t take it for granted, she kept running.
One Roc came at her from the front as she rounded the mountain with its big talons open wide for her. She couldn’t duck under it so she put her powerful legs to work and jumped over it. Going airborne for a second and surprising the birds with her agility and her fearlessness. She was wide open and defenseless in the air like that. What if one of them had swooped in and grabbed her? And yet Applejack safely came down behind the large bird and kept running.
More flew at her this time, getting an opening in the huge flock. This time there were too many coming where she could actually avoid them like normal. Thankfully though, Applejack saw a ledge below her and a few more outcroppings down the mountain and got an idea. As soon as the Rocs got close she let herself fall down towards the ledge off the side of the mountain while leaving another exploding tremor behind. The moment the ones coming for her reached where she had been—the edge of the mountain exploded and showered them in rocks.
Applejack landed on the lower ledge in a second and instantly hopped off it for the next while more Rocs came at her.
And just like the others they got treated to a shower of rocks as the ledge she had just been standing on exploded. Applejack couldn’t help but grin as she heard their surprised squawks when they found the gift she left behind. It kept going like that, with Applejack jumping from place to place as she recklessly descended down the side of the mountain and using her Hoof of the Earth to create explosions in the rock. The Rocs even started to be more wary of diving right for her despite the large number of them still gliding around her.
Some still came at her while she was in the air and before she landed on her next spot—so Applejack reached back and tapped her hoof against the side of the mountain to send a tremor ahead of her that blasted away her next ledge before she landed on it. The Rocs had to fly back to avoid all the rocks but Applejack too then had to duck her head in and took a tumble before she finally landed on a lower level of the mountain. Flat and broad, she could no longer jump from place to place and the Rocs had more space to dive at her.
Applejack stood up, bruised and dirty, and warily looked around her. Several Rocs landed on the mountain around her, encircling her while others stayed in the sky above. Surrounded completely now. The Rocs that had landed were just as wary as she was though, they kept their wings folded in and didn’t move in on her just yet. Each one stared at her with its own sharp eyes either waiting for her to make a move or waiting for one of its braver comrades to go in first.
They were just animals, they didn’t know if she would or could cause more of the ground around her to explode.
They were scared. Applejack wanted that fear to be enough to drive them off, but it still looked like they weren’t giving up just yet.
She took a deep breath, still breathing a bit heavily, and stalwartly planted herself in the middle of them. Making sure they saw that she wasn’t running or scared of them at all. “I’m giving you birds one last chance to get off my back without you getting hurt. If any of you still think you can come after this prey, then just try it right now.”
The Rocs once more chittered and looked between each other, a few wings twitched, some talons opened and closed. They were antsy as well.
Finally one Roc facing her spread its wings and screeched loudly. Jumping up it flapped its wings and propelled itself full speed at Applejack. Its talons gleamed brightly and it opened its beak in preparation to devour her.
“So you’re the unlucky one,” Applejack narrowed her eyes at it.
The Roc came at her fast but Applejack held her ground until the sharp tip of its beak was nearly at her skull. She tilted her head to the side and dove down low, running underneath it. It spread its talons wide and tried to grab her but Applejack jumped to the side just as it passed—lightly tapping it on the leg as it went. She skidded across the ground as the Roc made a sharp turn and landed before staring back and screeching at her, preparing to take to the air again and come at her once more.
It didn’t know that it wouldn’t be able to do such a thing in just a moment.
“Sorry about this,” Applejack sighed as she looked at it. “Didn’t want to hurt you since you’re just an animal, but I can’t exactly let myself get eaten and all.”
The Roc blinked in confusion at her words before a strange vibrating feeling came up from its leg. Unable to understand—the Roc could only screech as the vibration got stronger and stronger as it built up in its wings. The other birds around it squawked and flew away, and those in the sky overhead watched as this one member of their flock shook and spasmed. Right up until the moment the vibrations reached a fever pitch and the Roc screamed in pain and terror as the ulna and humerus in both its wings snapped apart. It fell to the ground moaning in agony and Applejack herself had to wince and look away in regret.
“Dang it…” she whispered before putting a strong face back on and yelling out to the other Rocs. “You see? If you keep chasing me that’s what’s going to happen to all of you! And it’s going to happen if you try and attack or eat the ponies of Roc’s Nest too!” She pointed in the far off direction of the village. “Understand?! Don’t ever let me catch you doing nothing like this again!”
She didn’t like having to do that to the Roc, but she got the feeling if she didn’t target its wings specifically it wouldn’t have been scary enough for the rest of them to get the message. If she could help the ponies of Roc’s Nest in the long run too then it was worth it.
Thankfully it worked. When the other Rocs saw what had happened most of them flew off in terror, afraid to have that happen to them. A few stuck around, still circling over her warily but not coming any closer, and a fair lesser few stood around their fallen friend and seemed to be trying to help him up and see if he was okay. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief, wagering that she was okay now, and turned away from them. It wouldn’t take long to get down the rest of the mountain now and start making her way back to Roc’s Nest. She patted her bags and made sure they hadn’t ripped or any of her belongings or the Icebane had fallen out. Satisfied, she got a move on.
A shadow occasionally passed by overhead but they wisely never got any closer.
With just one more step though, Applejack paused as a sudden powerful sneeze racked her body. “Achoo!”
She lifted her hoof to her muzzle to wipe away its remnants and shivered. “Please tell me I’m not getting sick...”
She was getting sick. No question about it.
Maybe it was the cold weather, digging through the snow, or the possibility she had caught the same flu that she was looking to help cure in her brief visit to Roc’s Nest. But no matter what it was she was definitely getting sick. She had sneezed a few more times, her nose was runny, her head was hot, her throat starting to get a little sore, and a drowsiness was coming on from out of nowhere. Symptoms that every pony had felt at least once in their life. Applejack had plenty of experience with stubbornly ignoring when she was getting sick and this time would be no different.
She still had to get back to Roc’s Nest.
No matter how miserable she felt.
Already she was back on the path that Alpine Climb had brought her to, the mountain behind her. But getting back was going much more slowly. She felt so lethargic and the bags she was carrying with her were starting to feel ten times as heavy. Each hoofstep she seemed to sway from side to side while her head got fuzzier. She was worried about falling off the path, or accidentally collapsing and not even realizing what had happened at first.
But Applejack was tough, she knew she could beat this. She had gone through way worse in her life. There were times when she was half dead and she’d still gone out to buck acres of trees. This was nothing compared to that. If something had to be done then it made it easier for her to do it.
Somehow, without even being able to tell herself, she made it back to the large rock formation and the stairs where Alpine Climb had left her. So halfway back—that was at least good. It was a pain getting down the stairs but that old railing proved really helpful, by the time she got to the bottom she was breathing heavily and sweat was pouring down her face.
“What a nasty reward for doing something good...” Applejack said and wiped some of the sweat away.
The march back to Roc’s Nest continued in much the same mood with Applejack stumbling about and doing her best to not accidentally fall down the ridge. She could see the village ahead again now—nestled in that carved open mountain. A cold shiver shook her body but she ignored it. It wouldn’t do good to collapse here when she had made it so far and had all the medicine those ponies needed. She had to look strong, be strong, and make it back to Herbal Remedy’s home. It wouldn’t help the ponies there in the village if she was walking through looking like a zombie or got more of them sick with whatever she had come down with.
Hopefully it was just a cold from the snow but Applejack didn’t want to make their situation any worse.
The heat in her head was getting much worse and her thoughts were becoming muddled, but eventually she did make it back to Roc’s Nest without incident.
Her vision was blurry as she walked up the multiple levels of the mountain village. There might have been other ponies out, there might have been some watching her from their own windows. She couldn’t tell. And a pounding headache now moving through her skull was affecting her hearing too. It was a good thing she had been here only yesterday and could remember precisely how to get back to where Herbal Remedy lived. Her hooves and legs were working on near autopilot as she walked, moving a sweaty and about to collapse body on sheer willpower and forward momentum.
It was like she had blacked out and lost the last five minutes of her life—but Applejack suddenly found herself in front of Herbal Remedy’s door.
Lifting a shaking hoof up she pounded it a few times on the door and stood there, breathing heavily, and hoping that Herbal would answer it real soon. The feverish feeling going through her body was nearly unbearable and she wasn’t sure when she’d finally keel over.
Thankfully it was but a minute when Herbal Remedy opened her door and gasped in surprise to see Applejack standing there. “You’re actually back! Did you find the Icebane?”
“Sure did,” Applejack managed to say, patting the bag full of the herb and stumbling her way past the door. Once she was inside she began shakily removing the duffel bag gifted to her.
“I almost can’t believe it. I hoped… I mean, I really wanted you to make it back safely but I didn’t exactly expect…” Herbal said as she took the bag from Applejack and opened it up to see it full of Icebane. “This is amazing! This is more than enough for the whole village!”
“T-That’s good to hear,” Applejack sighed, holding a hoof to her forehead and leaning against the wall.
Herbal Remedy frowned, looking up at her from the bag and now fully taking in her appearance. She didn’t need to be an apothecary to notice something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Applejack nodded.
And then her eyes promptly rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed to the floor.