//------------------------------// // Applejack vs. Arcanine // Story: MLP VS... Pokemon // by FrostyDawn //------------------------------// "Dag nabit! Out've all the places to be stuck, ah had t'be put in some dad gum desert!" Applejack groaned as she climbed rock over rock. The sun was scorching the area, and the hot sand and searing rocks made Applejack's hooves hurt with every step. Sweat dripped down her forehead, "Quite hot indeed. But it's not like I could put you in a five-star hotel, could I?" A familiar voice said. Applejack hardly looked up. "Ah don't have time fer yer tricks, Discord. All ah want is to go home." "Oh, you will... probably." Discord snickered. "Well, that's reassuring." Applejack muttered. "Quite. Now, I have places to be, things to go, so I'll get right on it. You'll be fighting for your life, kill or be killed, yadda yadda yadda." Discord said. "Let's see... anything left? I've been going over the same stuff with the others... Ah, yes! Turn around, would you?" Applejack slowly turned her head, fearing what she would see. Behind her, on the orange rocks was a large wolf-like beast. Its red fur was striped with black marks, and it had a tan mane, much like it's bushy tail. The best Applejack could imagine was a Timberwolf and a Phoenix fused together. "Aright. I have enough time for introductions. Applejack, meet Arcanine. Piece of advice. There's no use running." Discord said, but Applejack still took off in the other direction. Arcanine quickly sprinted after her. It rammed into Applejack with hardy any effort, and sank its teeth into Applejack's side and flank. The cowpony screamed and tripped, her hat tumbling off. Agony filled Applejack as she lay on the ground, her wound stinging and stabbing at her nerves like hot needles. The Arcanine leaned over her, it's mouth filling with a sphere of fire. Applejack winced in pain as her blood dripped out of her side, but knew she had to act fast. While laying on her stomach, Applejack planted her front hooves in the sand, and drove her hind hoof straight up into the Arcanine's jaw. The Arcanine's mouth focus away from Applejack and shot a stream of flames forward, barely singeing Applejack' mane. Applejack delivered a second blow with her other hoof into the Arcanine's chest, making the beast let out a pained whimper. Applejack winced herself at the sound. It made her feel like she was hurting Winona, her beloved pet. The earth pony quickly scampered away with an injured leg, but the Arcanine regained its stamina and lunged at Applejack once more. Applejack only managed to dodge and roll each attack. She couldn't prepare her own strike with a wounded leg, and in the desert, there weren't any spots suitable for hiding. Except for a crevice in the rocks, just big enough for a pony. Applejack managed to kick up a puff of sand to shroud her escape, and wormed herelf through the hole. Once the Arcanine regained itself it lashed at the hole. Applejack hid in the hole where she was safe from the swipe of the claws and the streams of fire the Arcanine spat in. "There's gotta be somethin' here ah can use." Applejack thought. "Some sort of weapon, maybe?" She asked. She currently kept the Arcanine at bay by tossing stones out of the hole, some hitting their mark with a solid THUNK. Applejack reached for another rock to throw, but it felt odd in her hooves. It had ridges and holes in it, and it was colored a pale white. She didn't know what it belonged to, but Applejack knew one she saw one. A skull. "Gaah!" She said, dropping the skull. There were a few more bones in the area, and the way they were arranged looked rather familiar. Like the ones shown in the drawings. The drawings she frequently came across when around Lyra Heartstrings. Applejack was in half shock, half confusion. There was a dead human, right in front of her. "Sweet mother of Faust!" Applejack muttered. "A human? Ah thought they were myths!" Her train of thought was gone as the crevice spouted more flames, showing the Arcanine hadn't given up. "Oh, right." The earth pony kept searching the cavern. She was out of stones to throw, but there was something else. Smashed pieces of wood, probably from a barrel, and a length of rope. Jackpot. The Arcanine put its eye to the crevice, looking for the cowpony. Applejack flung the rope out of the crevice, which she shaped into a makeshift lasso. The rope tightened around the Arcanine's snout, which tugged back with tremendous force, pulling Applejack out of the hole. The earth pony used the momentum to quickly hop onto the Arcanine's back and grab onto it's mane. The Arcanine thrashed around in outrage, breathing smaller puffs of fire with its mouth being roped shut. "Alright, ya mangy mutt! Time ta put you down." Applejack said, gritting her teeth. She flung the rope to the side, and catching it again as it flung around the other side. Applejack grabbed the rope and reared back with all her might, tightening the rope around the monster's neck. The Arcanine let out another pained cry, and Applejack fought the urge to picture Winona again. She just closed her eyes and pulled tighter. Harder. Harder. Just a little more... and the struggling just... stopped. "Oooh... choking. That's a little dark for one of the Elements of Harmony." "So is bein' forced to murder." Applejack said. "Really? If I remember correctly, you called it a mangy mutt just a moment ago." "Ah was scared! Fightin' for my life!" Applejack cried. "Not to mention he chewed my flank off!" Applejack said, looking down at her numbed wound. "Oh, it's just a flesh wound. But if it's that bad..." Discord said, and the skin and muscle began to grow rapidly around the wound. Applejack's flank sealed up, and her cutie mark reappeared on the skin. "There. Happy?" Discord asked. "Why? Why are you patchin' me up if you're sendin' monsters to kill me?" AJ said, standing up again. "Would it be fair for one of these beasts to kill you after another softened you up? I don't think so. It'd be over too quickly." Discord chuckled. "Now, go on. I have other matters to attend to." The heat of the sun kept beaming overhead, with no clouds in sight. Applejack's only refuge was to pick up her hat. She set it on her head, and turned to the fallen Arcanine. "Ah'm sorry for callin' yah a mutt. Yer not a monster." She said solemnly. Applejack knew it couldn't hear her. But it was better than leaving without a proper farewell. She kept walking as she left a trail of hoofprints in the sand. "Ah'd like to see that Discord take on a' these things himself." Applejack growled.