Twilight was angry.
Big Mac gulped, staring up at the mare, wondering what she might possibly be upset about. She gave him a gentle nudge with her hoof, and suddenly, her sour expression shifted towards something kinder, more relieved. "About time you woke up. I was worried I'd have to watch you all night..."
The stallion quirked a brow. "What...?"
It was just then he realized they were in the woods, and the camp site was nowhere to be seen; not that he could see much, as it was dark and the area was illuminated by naught but a hastily constructed pile of firewood. He looked about and slowly pulled himself to his hooves. "Where are we?" Big Mac did not like saying more than needed to be said; at the same time, he felt so much needed to be asked.
"Well..." began Twilight, her expression growing somewhat guilty. "I uh... sorta don't know... the camp was raided by a bear, and you were kinda doped up on herbal medicine, so I teleported us away..." she rubbed a hoof against the back of her head. "I may have... sort of... got a bit carried away and teleported us as far away as I possibly could..."
Big Mac scrunched his face at this and glanced around a bit. Indeed, he had never dared to wander more than fifteen minutes away from camp - even that was pushing it, really. However, he was certain that with a little Earth Pony ingenuity and Twilight's brilliance and courage, they would--
"SNAKE!"
"Hm?"
Big Mac saw Twilight flapping her wings uselessly, hooves digging to try to climb a tree. Behind her was naught but a little garden snake; it's patterns betrayed it as harmless, probably not even having teeth worth biting with. Big Mac rolled his eyes internally, but dared not do so outwardly. He stepped forward and picked the tiny snake up with his teeth - gently - and tossed it several feet away. Twilight let out a breath of relief.
"Oh, thank you Big Mac... I..." she blushed and looked anywhere but at him. "Kind of... have a fear of snakes..."
Big Mac stared at her, his expression neutral. He wanted to be sarcastic, to say 'Really? I hadn't noticed...' or 'you don't say?' But he didn't like saying more than needed to be said... plus, it might offend the poor mare. "Eeyup." As Twilight composed herself, Big Mac suddenly backpedaled to earlier. "You said Ah was doped up on herbal medicine?"
Twilight nodded. "Oh yeah. You said Applebloom gave it to you..." Twilight glanced at his saddlebags. "It smelled familiar, and I recently remembered it might be the same stuff Zecora gave me a while back when I sprained my ankle. She said it soothes and has minor healing traits; nothing miraculous, but it accelerates the process somewhat." Big Mac hummed. He removed his saddlebag and gently pushed his hooves in; trying to avoid letting Twilight see his secret shame, and pulling the poultice from it. He popped it open again and considered things. He took his hoof and poured some of the sludge on it, pressing it to his nose; it hurt, as the area was still sensitive and healing, causing him to pull back with a wince.
"Oh!" Twilight shouted. "Here, let me do it. With that break and the bruised bone, you'll need to be careful." She poured some of the sludge onto her hoof and placed it over the injury, gently rubbing the stuff into it. It didn't hurt nearly as much as when Big Mac did it, though he was still grimacing a bit at the slight ache. Eventually, Twilight stopped, and brushed what was left of the stuff on the ground, smiling. "There. It should keep your nose from hurting for a short while."
Big Mac hummed and wiggled his nose some. It wasn't having the same profound effect of his pain medication, but it was keeping the pain at a tolerable level; little more than an irritation. It would at least allow him to economize his medication until they could find everypony else and return home.
Everypony else...
"Applejack!"
Twilight nearly fell back with the exclamation. Big Mac looked about frantically, panic clear in his expression. "Applejack!?"
Twilight scrunched her nose some at his sudden uneasyness. "Uhh... she's not here... Nopony else was in our tent, and you were alone in yours." She looked about, racking her brain for ideas. "It's possible they came back, saw the bear, and kept their distance, although if they did that I might have noticed them..." Well, might have was a strong word. Truth be told, she almost left Big Mac there.
Big Mac sighed, placing a hoof to his forehead and rubbing it, staring at the dirt. "Alright..." He began to let his head move around as he thought of the situation and pieced it all together. He pointed his hoof towards her and himself. "We're lost?"
Twilight bit her lip. "Uh... that's... kinda the gist of it, yes..."
Big Mac looked up to stare at her for a moment. The wheels began to turn in his mind and he pointed at her with a questioning look. "Wings..."
The alicorn blinked, confused. "Uhh... yeah?"
"Can ya fly?"
Twilight blushed a bit, drawing small circles in the dirt with a hoof. "Uh... yeah, I... kinda... sorta... can't fly..." Once more, she was finding everything in the world accept anything in Big Mac's particular direction fascinating. "Rainbow Dash says I don't time my wing flaps right, and that I push them too hard..." A grimace crossed her features. "Uhh... I also don't think I preen them right. Really, it never bothered me; I never saw much use for flying, so I just make sure they look presentable." Well, that idea went down the toilet awful fast. Once more, Big Mac pulled into his brain, trying to think if they had anymore options. He grimaced and shook his head; there was only one thing left to do.
"Teleport home?" He nodded. "Get help."
The alicorn's expression soured. "Do you think if I could do that we'd have walked for an hour?" Big Mac turned to face Twilight. It made sense, really. "It took everything I had to get just the two of us this far, and we're probably only thirty minutes away from where the camp sight is. I had to rest while you took your own little nap, and even now, I don't know if I could get just myself back to the camp."
Just how long was he out for? Judging by the lack of light, his immediate guess was perhaps two or three hours. Another sigh escaped the stallion; just what could they do? "Well... " Once again, he pondered. He let out a sigh of defeat. "Let's find shelter..."
"I have a suggestion..." Big Mac turned to the alicorn, nodding to signal he was all ears. "I can use my magic to tear down a few trees or branches, and construct a basic shelter for us."
"Nnope." It was a stern sort of response; one that said he would not change his mind.
Twilight balked. "What? Why not?"
He looked up at the trees and frowned. He stood and trotted towards a tree and put a hoof on it, giving it a few shoves, then looked to Twilight with a defensive expression. "Hurts the ecosystem..."
Despite his wisdom, Twilight stared at him as if he made no sense. "What? But what about us? We need shelter and food!"
He nodded. "Short term."
Twilight processed this. "Wait... are you saying that because it's a short term solution that it'd be wrong?" He gave a nod as his only response. Though she hated to admit it, Twilight knew he was right. She let a frustrated sigh pass her lips and shook her head. "Alright... well... what do you suggest then?"
Once more, the stallion was analyzing the area that surrounded them with interest. "It's dark..." he said. "... Take turns sleepin'."
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "What? You want to take turns? Like... sleep every few hours and wake the other up for their turn?" Big Mac nodded sagely. She grimaced at this. She really didn't like the idea, but if they were to preserve the ecosystem, and if they were to avoid getting even MORE lost, it might be their only option. "Okay... but I'm not happy about it..."
"Nnope..." replied Big McIntosh.
"I could make us a shelter..."
Big Mac fixed her with a firm stare and stood tall in front of her. He had that expression on his face that said it clear as day. 'If you're going to, you're going to go through me.' Twilight considered this for a moment. Physically, he was stronger than her by a great deal, but she was fairly certain he was no match for her magic. She could, in fact, work through him without having to even threaten him, and she was certain he wouldn't retaliate - after all, Big Mac didn't strike Twilight as the type to hit a mare.
But still. The look on his face, the words he spoke... well... kind of...
"Alright, I get it..."
Big Mac's stern gaze shifted to a gentle smile. "Thanks."
Twilight waved a hoof at him. "Don't mention it..."
********************************
"Well... this sucks!"
Pinkie and Fluttershy gazed about the destroyed remains of the camp. One tent had been torn to shreds, all of the food had been eaten, and nopony was anywhere to be found.
"Wh... where are they?" said Fluttershy with a tremble. "M... maybe in the tent?"
They did not find a pony in the tent.
Pinkie almost screamed, stopped only by Fluttershy shoving a hoof into her mouth. Laying there, sleeping, was a bear, it's body seeming to grow and shrink with each breath. Fluttershy gently trotted towards the beast, and gave it a soft poke in the side. It stirred, before turning to face her.
"Uhm, excuse me, Mister Bear? My friends and I were camping here, and you kind of came here and ate all our food. We know this is your home and we're guests here, but we weren't going to stay long. If you could be a dear, could you kindly let us have our camping space - at least the tent, back?"
The bear stared at Fluttershy for several long seconds.
Then it let out a ferocious roar, the yellow pony squeezing her eyes shut as her mane waved about in the force of the creature's voice.
Suddenly, her expression hardened into a glare.
"Look here, Mister," she began, "We're not causing you any trouble. We're not stealing food from you. Your den is probably far enough that you had to go out of your way to get here. Now you be nice and if you see my friends, you leave them alone, you hear me?"
The bear and Fluttershy stared silently at each other for a long time.
Slowly, however, the bear began to withdraw, growling at the pony whose gaze only hardened. Eventually, it let out a defeated grunt and trotted past Fluttershy, an utterly baffled Pinkie Pie, and out of the tent. Fluttershy turned to her friend and smiled sadly. "I didn't want to scold him, but he was being so rude... I'm sure he's a big softy when you get to know him better though..."
Pinkie Pie peeked out of the tent flap. "Eee... well, softy or not, he left a parting gift... and I'll tell you this, it ain't muffins..."
*******************************
It was dark.
That was no surprise really.
Rainbow Dash sighed, realizing she had been fading in and out of consciousness. She didn't know if it was boredom, if her injuries were worse than she knew, or what. All she knew was that she was still alone, still in pain, and still stranded.
"Hey, here it is!"
She was so lonely she could hear voices.
"Ugh... only because we're desperate... it's ONLY because we're desperate..."
And they sounded like her friends.
"Ah'll gather us some sticks n' make a camp fire. Ah got enough snacks t' at least hold us over fer the night..."
Wait a minute...
Suddenly, a light erupted at the end of the cave, stinging her eyes and blinding her momentarily.
"Ugh, it's so filthy in here! What creature would willing... ly... w.... what.... Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!? Oh my goodness, where have-- Oh my, what happened to you!?"
Rainbow smiled some and spoke with a raspy voice - one from a mix of crying earlier (something she intended to take to her grave) and not having anything to drink. "Had a bit of an accident... did Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie ever get back?"
Rarity stuck her head out of the cave. "Applejack! I found Rainbow Dash, and she's injured! Her wing and leg are bending wrong and she's covered in cuts and bruises!" The unicorn quickly trotted towards her friend, kneeling down. "Rainbow, where are they? What happened?"
The Pegasus grunted, shame etching onto her features. "I... sorta lost them in the woods... I couldn't read the map, so I tried to fly really high to see if I could find camp... but I lost track of them, went looking, hit some trees, and limped here..."
Rarity winced. "Oh my goodness, you WALKED here!? How far!? In your condition, I'm surprised you could even stand!"
Rainbow chuckled weakly. "It did hurt like noponies' business..."
"Oh mah stars, Rainbow! What happened, girl!?"
Just then, Applejack trotted into view, clearly very worried for the condition of her friend. Rainbow groaned and rolled her eyes; not only was she going to have to explain this again, she looked absolutely pathetic in front of her friendly rival. "Couldn't read map, flew real high, lost friends, crashed, and limped to this cave."
Applejack stepped closer, examining Rainbow thoroughly; enough to make the Pegasus uncharacteristically self-conscious. "Yer pretty banged up girl..." Applejack frowned, staring at her friend. "We can't leave yer limbs like this... Rainbow, we're gonna have t' put yer wing n' leg in a splint."
Rainbow quirked a brow. "Applejack, you're no medical professional..."
The farm mare shook her head. "Nope, but Big Mac n' Ah both know a little basic first aid, an' you do NOT leave broken bones at odd angles longer than ya need ta... Ah got what we need t' make the splints, so don't you worry."
Applejack turned to rummage through her bag, handing Rarity a first-aid kit, some stick-like things, and the pulling a larger stick that looked like she had found it on the ground from her bag, placing it before Rainbow Dash.
She gently put her hooves on Rainbow's leg; near where the bone had broken, causing the pegasus to wince as Applejack nodded to Rarity. Rarity grimaced, and her magic levitated the stick to Rainbow's face.
"Wh... what's this for..."
Applejack looked to her friend, guilt and pity clear in her face.
"For you to bite down on. This is prolly gonna be the single most painful thing you've ever felt in your life... until we get to yer wing..."
Rainbow Dash gulped and eyed the stick for a minute. "And... and what happens if I don't let you?"
Applejack shook her head. "The bones'll potentially heal wrong, and when we get ya to a doctor they'll have to break 'em again t' fix 'em up properly... it may even make it harder fer ya ta walk an' fly in th' long run... Ah ain't sure..."
As much as Rainbow Dash hated pain, she could not risk her flight. She could live with sub-par walking, but she had to be the best flier she could be. She grimaced, gulped, and opened her mouth, letting the stick slide broadside in between her teeth. Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash, a grimace on her features, then looked down to the leg.
"Ready?"
Rainbow Dash hesitated, but then gave a soft nod. Applejack then steeled herself; she wasn't going to like this anymore than her friend.
Quickly, she bent the bones back into place. Instantly, Rainbow Dash bit hard onto the stick, her eyes shot open, and she let out a blood curdling scream. Working gently, yet quickly, Applejack got to work setting the splint into place on her leg, wrapping it up nice and tight to assure it served it's function. She turned her gaze to Rainbow Dash, to see the mare's eyes filled with tears, whimpering, but not really crying.
"Y'alright, sugar cube?"
Rainbow Dash nodded a slow, pathetic nod.
Applejack gulped. "G-good... c-cause Ah gotta do yer wing now..."
Rainbow's eyes squeezed shut and she lay her head on the ground as if in defeat. The farm mare gently took the wing in her hooves, eliciting a soft whimper from Rainbow Dash; if only her friend knew how much it hurt her to see her like this. She could see it in Rarity's eyes as well; the unicorn mare's own eyes filled with tears, her hooves covering her mouth, not out of disguist, but to block her own emotional response best as she could.
"Ready?"
Rainbow whimpered again, but nodded.
Another swift motion, bending the bone into place, eliciting another scream from Rainbow Dash, tears streaking down her face. Rarity watched her friend as she stared at her, almost pleadingly.
She wanted to believe she was begging her to not tell anypony she saw her cry. But she was likely begging her to make the pain stop.
Eventually, Applejack got the wing splint into place, setting the bone. She sighed, wiping a hoof across her brow. "There ya go... that'll hold ya 'til we can get ya to a hospital... we got enough bandages in here t' take care of the smaller damage, but Ah'm afraid we'll be spent after that..."
Rainbow's whimper suddenly turned into relieved laughter; she was happy to have it over with. So happy. So happy to have her friends nearby.
"... Rainbow, are you still hurtin'? You've got a bit of waterworks goin'..."
"No. I'm fine, Applejack..."