Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow as she and her brother, Big Macintosh, hauled their last cart of apples towards the barn. It had been an unbearably hot afternoon in Sweet Apple Acres and Applejack wished for nothing more than to put her hooves up and enjoy a cold mug of cider.
“Can ya get that last bushel to the other end of the barn, Big Mac?” Applejack asked. On any other day she might not have let on that she needed help; but today was different. She was far too hot and sore to worry about her pride.
“Eeeyup,” came his short reply. Big Mac was also drenched with sweat, but somehow maintained his goofish grin and calm demeanor.
“Woo-eee, that’s some weather we’ve been having aint it? Ah sure hope it’s a might different when the zap-apples get here. Not sure they could stand this kinda heat.” Applejack said, breathing a sigh of relief when she was finally able to release the harness of the apple cart she was carrying.
“Eeeyup.” Big Mac replied.
“See you inside.” Applejack said, already out the barn door as she bade him farewell.
Applejack’s thoughts drifted as she imagined all the possibilities she could enjoy now that the work was done. However, when she rounded the corner towards the house something peculiar caught her eye. It was a familiar-looking carriage with an iconic dollar symbol on the side. Two earth ponies harnessed to the carriage nodded in her direction as an informal greeting and Applejack warily nodded in return. She wondered why Filthy Rich would be visiting on a day like this. There really was no business to attend to with his family until after they had made the zap-apple jam, right?
Applejack trotted up to the front door and saw it was slightly ajar. She peered inside suspiciously and found Filthy Rich talking to Granny. Granny was sitting in the corner looking timid and frail, curled up on her rocker with a tremble in her hooves. It didn’t take long for Applejack to realize this was not a pleasant visit.
“You owe a great deal more than that, Granny Smith, and I for one would hate to see you lose this farm.” Filthy Rich said; all manner of pleasantry was gone from his tone. Granny Smith looked up at him with wide and pleading eyes, but before she could answer Applejack stepped in to the rescue.
“What in tarnation are ya goin’ on about?” Applejack asked sternly, she narrowed her eyes and glared at Filthy Rich, those protective instincts taking over. No pony talks to Granny Smith like that and gets away with it.
“Your Granny Smith here is in quite some debt with me, young filly, and it’s high time I’m paid my money.” Filthy demanded.
“What are you talkin’ about? The Apple family hasn’t borrowed money from you in ages!” Applejack protested, stomping towards him with a growl.
“Now hold on there, Applejack, that aint quite true youngin’.” Granny admitted softly.
Applejack broke her glare to look at Granny in confusion.
“Whaddya mean, Granny?” Applejack asked, stunned.
“Well… Ah didn’t want to worry you none but this season hasn’t been too kind on Sweet Apple Acres and we’ve been needing an extra bit or two just to keep up with demand. It’s just a bad weather spell is all, it’ll pass.” Granny admitted.
“That may be so, but what WON’T pass is my deadline and it’s high time you pay me what I’m owed. What with interest and everything I’d say you’d owe about a half of your farm’s worth by now.” Filthy said with no inclination of mercy in his tone.
“Half of the farm?! Granny why didn’t you tell me we were hurtin’ for money?!” Applejack asked in horror.
“Now now Applejack, this here is my business, don’t you worry none.” Granny said. “You’re a reasonable pony, Filthy, can’t we work something out?”
“I believe I may know just the thing.” Filthy said, calming his speech a little and straightening his necktie. “I think I could overlook this little debt of yours if you gave me twice the amount of zap-apple jam this year.”
“But you already take half.” Applejack pointed out.
“Precisely.” Filthy Rich said, smugly.
“Wait a minute, you want our entire supply of zap-apple jam this year?! We need that money along with the sales of cider just to keep this family going in the winter time!” Applejack protested.
“Well, the way I see it, you don’t have much of a choice now do ya missy?” Filthy Rich said, his patience growing thin.
“You can’t actually be considerin’ this, can you Granny?” Applejack asked.
“Well…” Granny stammered.
“I’ll be by in two weeks for my product.” Filthy Rich said, having already considered this a done deal. “And I’ll be countin’ them jars too, don’t you go thinking you can hold out on ole Filthy Rich. I get every last jar or this farm goes into foreclosure, you hear?”
Applejack was stunned into silence and didn’t move out of the doorway when Filthy Rich attempted to leave. He cleared his throat a couple times until she snapped out of her trance and realized she was blocking his exit. With his head held high, Filthy Rich left the farmhouse with a sarcastic ‘Good day.’ Applejack waited until he had gotten in his carriage and was out of hearing range before she confronted Granny again.
“What are we going to do if we don’t get those zap-apple jam earnings this year? We can’t pay off a debt if it means we’ll be hurtin’ for money again in the winter months.” Applejack said.
“Your Granny Smith always thinks of something, Applejack. You just worry about harvesting those zap-apples and leave the rest to me, ya hear?” Granny said, offering her an apologetic smile.
Applejack didn’t reply. Instead, she looked back outside the open door to see the blistering heat beating down on their apple trees. She figured Filthy Rich’s sour mood came from the unforgiving weather. It seemed as if all of Ponyville was trapped in this blistering heat with equally blistering tempers. She also recalled that most of the apples she’d bucked that day had rot in the sun, but she didn’t have the heart to tell Granny about it now. If this weather didn’t let up soon she feared their troubles were only going to get worse.
The Potion
Twilight Sparkle was startled when she heard a loud frantic knock at her door.
“Twilight?” Applejack called. “Are you in there? Ah need your help!”
Spike, Twilight’s number one assistant, made it to the door before her and let Applejack in.
“Is something wrong AJ?” he asked warily.
“Applejack, what is it?” Twilight asked soon after.
“It’s… well…. It’s a lot of things really.” Applejack said. She was once again drenched in sweat and had dark circles under her eyes from a clear lack of sleep.
“Quickly, sit down, what’s wrong? Here, drink this.” Twilight said, offering her a refreshing drink of water. Applejack accepted the drink gratefully.
“Ah came to you because Ah have no other option.” Applejack started, panting between gulps of water.
“What’s happened?” Twilight asked, concern rising in her voice as she watched her friend.
“First thing’s first: have ya heard anything from Rainbow Dash regardin’ the weather?” Applejack asked, finishing the last drop of water from the glass. Twilight quickly pulled it away and re-filled it for her.
“No, not much. It seems Ponyville isn’t the only place suffering this heat. There’s a terrible drought all over Equestria. I’ve heard that rainbow production has completely shut down for the time being. It seems pegasi are having a hard time finding enough water to make clouds, let alone rain!” Twilight said sadly.
“Ah was afraid of that.” Applejack said, sighing softly. “And the princess? What does she say?”
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are looking into it. I offered to help but… they said I’m needed here.” Twilight said, slightly offended they wouldn’t allow her to come along.
“Well, they were sure right about that. Ah need ya.” Applejack said, finishing her second glass.
“Tell me what’s happened.” Twilight said.
“It’s Big Mac. He caught wind of Granny’s debt to the Rich family and worked himself to the bone harvesting apples. I think he was hoping to make up some more money before the zap-apples got here. Darn fool was out in the sun so long he went and got himself sick with heat stroke.” Applejack said sadly.
“Oh no!” Spike said worriedly.
“Oh Applejack, I’m so sorry!” Twilight said.
“He’s gonna be alright. Doc says he’s got to stay in the hospital for a few days…” Applejack added, trailing off towards the end.
“Wait, if Big Mac’s too sick, who is going to help you harvest the zap-apples?” Spike asked.
“That’s precisely why Ah’m here.” Applejack said.
“Oh Applejack I… I want to help, I really do but…” Twilight started.
“Ah know, Twi, you’ve got a lot on your plate already. Ah didn’t come askin’ for your help like that.” Applejack said.
“Then what did you need from me? Anything I can do to help, I’m happy to do it.” Twilight said with a smile.
“Ah seem to recall a spell you said you’ve been working on. If Ah remember right, it was supposed ta help ya stay up studying on the nights Princess Celestia gave you those ridiculous reading assignments.” Applejack said.
“Yes, but how will that help you?” Twilight asked.
“Well, Ah may not be studying late into the night, but Ah will have to figure out a way ta stay awake long enough to get those zap-apples harvested.” Applejack said, leading Twilight to come to the conclusion on her own.
“Oh I don’t know AJ…. I haven’t perfected that spell yet and I have no idea what kind of side effects it might have. Besides, you’d be using it to keep up your strength; all I needed it for was to stay awake a couple more hours for reading.” Twilight said.
“Twi, Ah wouldn’t ask if it weren’t absolutely necessary. Seems Granny Smith has gotten us into quite a financial pickle. If Ah don’t meet Filthy Rich’s quota, Ah’m gonna lose the farm!” Applejack said.
Twilight furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to protest but couldn’t find the right words. She saw the pleading and the fear in her friend’s eyes; how could she possibly turn her down now? Feelings as though there was no other option, she nodded warily and Applejack smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The blistering heat showed no remorse on the day of the zap-apple harvest. Despite the severity of their situation, the Apple family found it difficult to gain any outside assistance for the harvest. Most of the Apple family were tending to their own dying orchards and Applejack’s friends all had places to be. Still, there were a few kind Ponyvillians willing to lend a hoof; though most of them didn’t last more than a few hours under the sun.
By sunset, only Applebloom, Applejack, Granny, and a couple other ponies remained.Applejack bucked a zap-apple tree just as the sun set over the horizon. The other ponies collapsed on the ground, grateful that the blistering heat would finally subside. Although Applejack felt as exhausted and useless as they did, she wasn’t about to give up. She looked at the few bushels they’d collected and then at the remaining zap-apple trees. She realized that despite their hard work more than half of the bucking was left to do. Applejack looked down at the satchel attached to her side and noticed a potion vial sticking out of it. Making sure no pony saw her, she quickly pushed it back inside and out of sight.
“Sis? Aint ya comin’ in?” Applebloom asked her older sister warily. “Granny says there’s fresh cider inside…”
“No can do Applebloom, Ah was hopin’ we’d get through more trees before sun down. You know as well as Ah that these disappear at midnight.” Applejack said.
“Now Applejack, we done our best. ‘Sides, I can tell yer about to drop young filly and I’m not about to have another grandchild in the hospital from exhaustion.” Granny said.
“That aint gonna happen, Granny. Y’all go on ahead, there’s still a few minutes of strength left in these legs of mine and Ah want to make sure we get as many zap apples as we can.” Applejack said, walking away from them.
Applejack knew it worried Granny to see her working this hard, but she also knew she wouldn’t risk letting on how important this was with Applebloom around. Thankfully that little filly had no idea how serious this zap-apple jam was going to be to the farm. So far as Applejack knew, only Big Mac, Granny, Twilight, Spike, and herself knew the severity of the situation; and they had all sworn to keep this a secret.
Applejack felt the little vial of potion move in her satchel as she walked from tree to tree. She was reminded that when Twilight produced the sleep preventative potion earlier that week it came with a condition. Applejack had to promise to use this as the last resort; the absolute last option. Twilight was worried that the side effects might cause more damage than it was worth. Applejack could see the genuine concern in her friend’s expression and gladly made the promise, even though she knew that it was more than likely the potion would have to be used.
Still, AJ gave the late-night bucking her best effort without it. Unfortunately, it was only another hour or so after sunset that she felt her muscles begin to tense up. Soon after, her coordination began to suffer and her vision became a little hazy. Although the sun was long gone, beats of sweat were still rolling off her cheeks and her breathing became raspy and short. In her rapidly escalating exhaustion, Applejack made a miscalculation in her bucking and ended up being pummeled to the ground by zap-apples. She groaned and put a hoof to her throbbing head and shook some loose apples from her hat. Applejack frowned and pulled her satchel towards her.She carefully pulled out Twilight’s potion and held it up in the moonlight, admiring its strange grey-ish shimmer.
“Ah’m sorry Twi,” Applejack whispered aloud. “But Ah’ve got to save this farm.”
Applejack pulled the cork free from the potion vial and downed it in one gulp. The moment she drew the vial away from her lips she felt a wave of unbearable sickness. Clasping her mouth with her front hooves she turned away from the zap-apple trees as the potion and most of her dinner came back up with a vengeance.
First Effects
Applebloom awoke just after sunrise when she heard a crash coming from the kitchen. She wiped the sleep from her eyes as she quietly trotted downstairs to see what was happening. When she entered the kitchen she was surprised to find row upon row of jars of freshly prepared zap-apple jam. Somewhere hidden behind them she could see the outline of her older sister who was busily stirring the current pot of jam while simultaneously measuring out the correct amount of honey.
“Sis?” She asked; her voice cracking as she was not completely awake yet.
“Applebloom!” Applejack said, startled. “What in the hay are you doin’ awake so early?”
“Ah heard a crash…” Applebloom said. She maneuvered her way into the kitchen making sure not to knock over a single jar. “How long have you been up, Applejack? How’d you make all this jam?!”
“Once Ah got a little more focused the rest was easy. Don’t you worry none little sis, Ah’ll have all the jam jarred and ready for sale two days earlier than expected. Then we can be done with all this financial nonsense! He’ll get his order alright.” Applejack said, speaking so quickly it was hard for Applebloom to hear or understand what she was saying.
Applebloom took a step back and accidently hit the kitchen table where a completed jar of jam wobbled and threatened to fall. Applebloom gasped and tried to catch it before it hit the ground but Applejack beat her to it, swiping the jar from mid-air and setting it down on the ground before hurrying back to the jam she was making. Applebloom blinked a couple of times in awe of her sister’s speed and agility. Had she always been this focused?
“Uh… how many jars do ya think you’ve got here, sis? Ah don’t recall makin’ this much jam last year, and we weren’t even able to get to most the trees yesterday.” Applebloom asked warily.
“Oh Ah finished the bucking.” Applejack said so matter-of-factly.
“Finished the bucking? On your own? ALL of them?” Applebloom gasped in disbelief.
“Yup. We’ll have more jam this season than ever before.” Applejack said.
“But… when do Granny and Ah get to help make the jam?” Applebloom asked.
“You don’t have to worry about that this year lil sis, Ah’ve got ya covered.” Applejack said, oblivious to the longing in her sister’s tone.
“But Granny promised!” Applebloom whined defiantly.
“The thing is, Applebloom, Granny’s got a lot on her plate now what with Big Mac being gone and ah figure that ah can get the jam made a lot faster.”
“But it just aint fair! Ah already told the crusaders they could come ‘n help out with this year’s batch!” Applebloom protested.
“Sometimes ya can’t have what ya want, it’s just how life goes.”
“But…”
“Applebloom , Ah’m not arguing about this now.”
“But Applejack…”
“AH SAID NO!” Applejack screamed. She turned to Applebloom and growled with a slight twitch in her eye. Applebloom felt the pit of her stomach drop and she backed away from her nervously; she’d never seen her sister so angry before and it frightened her. After a moment or so of silence Applejack blinked a few times and shook her head returning to the pot of jam.
“Ah was just gonna ask if ya needed mah help…” Applebloom whispered.
Applejack paused for a moment and looked back at her little sister with a frown.
“Ah’m sorry sis. Why don’t ya just run along and play instead. Maybe you and the crusaders can try another one of your crazy little ideas to getcher cutie marks.” Applejack said, laughing as she busily continued her work. Applebloom stormed angrily outside fighting back the tears that threatened to come.
*~*~*~*
“I’m sure she didn’t mean it, Applebloom.” Sweetie Belle reassured her friend. She and the other crusaders had all convened in their clubhouse after they’d learned the disappointing news that they couldn’t participate in the jam-making.
“Besides, Applejack can’t make ALL that jam by herself. It took you and your family almost two days to do it last year, remember?” Scootaloo offered.
“But that’s what’s so wrong… when Ah saw the kitchen this mornin’ it was as if Applejack had been making jam all night! When’d she sleep?” Applebloom wondered aloud as she paced around the clubhouse. “And how in Equestria did she buck all them apples by herself?” She added.
“Maybe some of her friends came to help her last night?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Ah don’t think so. She told me they were all too busy to help with the bucking.” Applebloom said.
“Well, at least we know she’s gotta get some rest eventually, right? I mean… she can’t keep going on like this forever. We’ll just make our batch of jam when she tires herself out.” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle added.
“If there’s any left to make. Ah don’t think she’s doin’ it right, y’all. Granny says it’s a long process but ya have to get it just right in order for it to taste any good.” Applebloom said.
“Guess we’ll find out.” Scootaloo shrugged.
The three fillies paused when they heard the sound of a carriage making its way up the dirt path towards the farm. They each poked their head out of the doorway to the treehouse and watched inquisitively.
“What’s he here for?” Applebloom asked bitterly.
“Maybe he’s coming to take some jam?” Sweetie Belle wondered aloud.
“He can’t be! It’s only been a day since the zap apples were harvested, ‘n Granny said he’s got quite a large order this year.” Applebloom pointed out.
“You don’t think he’ll take all of it, do you?” Scootaloo asked worriedly.
“Nah… we Apples need the money from zap apple jam sales there’s no way mah sister would let ‘im have more than his share.” Applebloom said.
“Unless you owe him more than your precious jam is worth,” came a voice from below. The three fillies cringed when they heard Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, none of them were in the mood to deal with their snobbery.
“Whaddya mean?” Applebloom snapped defensively.
“You mean they haven’t told you?” Diamond Tiara said, followed by one of her cruel giggles. “Your granny owes my daddy a lot of bits and he won’t settle for anything less than twice the amount of your zap apple jam.”
“That’s a lie!” Applebloom shouted defensively.
“Go see for yourself.” Diamond Tiara offered.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Scootaloo asked, flapping her wings rapidly as she attempted to contain her anger.
“I came to make you crusader cry-babies a deal.” Diamond Tiara said.
“Yeah” Silver Spoon added awkwardly.
“We’d never make a deal with you.” Sweetie Belle said defiantly.
“Not even for a jar of your precious jam?” Diamond Tiara said.
“You might wanna reconsider.” Silver Spoon said.
“Mah sister wouldn’t give y’all every jar of jam; we won’t need your stinkin’ deal.” Applebloom said. She and the crusaders had finally emerged from the clubhouse and made their way down the ramp to confront their filly bullies.
“You really don’t know anything do you? My daddy gets every last jar or the deal is off.” Diamond Tiara said with a smirk. “So… do you wanna hear my offer or not?”
Applebloom didn’t respond. Instead, she raced away from the others towards the house. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were close at her hooves as she ran.
“Fine!” Diamond Tiara shouted from behind them. “But you can forget about making any deals, and forget about getting any of your precious jam too!”
“Yeah!” Silver Spoon added.
*~*~*~*
“My my my… that IS mighty impressive young filly!” Filthy rich exclaimed. He was watching in delight as his staff loaded the jars of jam into a cart. “It’s nice to see a little hustle these days.”
“And the debt?” Applejack asked, finding it difficult to remain still as she stood beside Filthy Rich.
“Repaid in full ‘s far as I’m concerned.” Filthy Rich replied.
“Good.” Applejack said, rubbing her right front leg with her left. She could feel the tremor in her body and was aching to get some more work done. “400 jars of jam for a debt repaid.”
“Pardon?” Filthy Rich asked.
“400 jars… that was the deal. Twice your order from last year?” Applejack said cautiously.
“I believe I said the deal was every jar of jam young filly.” Filthy Rich said with narrowed eyes.
“Now you’re a reasonable pony ‘n all… you know if we don’t get the sales from the zap apples we’ll be hurtin’ again in the winter months. Ah figured since yer gettin’ yer order so quickly you wouldn’t mind us holdin’ onto a few jars…” Applejack said, trailing off.
“I appreciate your business sense Applejack but a deal’s a deal. Even with the extra jam that debt would still be technically underpaid. I’m doing you a favor, and all I ask is for the jars I was promised.”
Applejack’s heart began to race and little beads of sweat formed on her brow and cheeks. She could feel her blood pressure rising as she attempted to contain the anger boiling just under the surface.
“Now hold on just a minute!” Applejack said, her anger betraying her common sense.
“That aint fair and you know it!”
“Aint about bein’ fair. It’s about knowing how to conduct business.” Filthy Rich said, cutting her off.
Applejack stamped her hoof in frustration but Filthy Rich held out a hoof to stop her before she could say anything else.
“Y’all know if you end up needing assistance you can come to ole Filthy Rich.Maybe you can increase your cider sales this season. Tell you what, I’ll let you buy back some of your jam - half price. For personal use of course.”
Applejack snorted angrily her legs began to quake and her eyes narrowed. She clenched her teeth shut but thought better than to reply. Instead, she stormed away from Filthy Rich towards the orchard.
Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were watching Applejack and Filthy Rich’s conversation from a safe distance behind a bale of hay.
“It can’t be true… it just can’t.” Applebloom whispered sadly. Sweetie Belle threw her hooves around her friend in a hug until Scootaloo interrupted them.
“Um… guys? I think there’s something off about Applejack.”
“Whaddya mean?” Applebloom asked.
“Well… she seems kinda… mad.” Scootaloo said warily.
“Of course she’s mad! That greedy stallion won’t even let us keep a single jar! And after she worked so hard too…” Applebloom said trailing off.
“Yeah but--“ Scootaloo started
“I’d be mad too! I can’t believe Diamond Tiara is gonna have this to hold over our heads. She’ll never let you live this down Applebloom.” Sweetie Belle pointed out sadly.
“Guys--“ Scootaloo said, her eyes growing wide.
“Ah ain’t gonna give her the satisfaction! Ah say we grab us a couple jars and hide ‘em before Mister Rich can get ‘em all from the house.” Applebloom said.
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle replied happily.
“GUYS!” Scootaloo shouted.
“What is it Scoot--“ Applebloom started but was cut off when she followed Scootaloo’s gaze and saw something she’d never thought she’d see. Applejack was bucking one of the regular apple trees but not in any way she’d seen before. She was kicking the same tree repeatedly and it was beginning to weaken. The branches shook and the three fillies could hear the unmistakable sound of the trunk cracking. They all raced from their hiding place towards Applejack, calling out her name in warning. With the rate Applejack was going, she could be crushed.
Applejack couldn’t hear the fillies’ cries as she kicked madly at the tree. She was imagining that she was bucking a certain greedy pony and had lost her ability to think straight. With every buck she could see his smug grin and that selfish gleam in his eye reflected in the trunk of the apple tree. She was panting and sweating, so focused on getting out her frustrations that she didn’t realize that the tree was falling apart. Branches were coming loose and cascading down around her. Several of them cut her fur when they fell but she remained unphased; she didn’t feel the slightest bit of pain. The image of Filthy Rich on the tree began to laugh, mocking her in her efforts to take out her anger. Although her back hooves were physically unable to handle the amount of stress she was making them perform, she didn’t care; all she could think of was bucking that smile right of that pony’s face. Even though the tree was weakened, it was still far too strong for a pony to bring down all alone.
Applebloom and the other crusaders were only a few yards away when they heard a terrifying crunch sound. At first they believed that Applejack had actually managed to buck down an entire apple tree but upon closer inspection they realized the sickening truth: it wasn’t the tree that had cracked, but the bones in Applejack’s back legs. The broken bones were unmistakably visible under Applejack’s skin, jetting out to the side causing her hooves to turn the wrong way. Sweetie Belle screamed in surprise and Scootaloo lost all the color in her cheeks. Applebloom screamed, wishing she could turn away but found she was unable to solely because of the concern she had for her sister’s well-being.
Applejack’s ears were ringing and she felt a wave of nausea as she attempted to buck at the tree again. This time, however, she felt a tremor in her body when her hooves made contact with the bark. She didn’t recognize the feeling as pain and it only served to confuse and anger her more. When she tried bucking again the ringing got louder and her vision blurred. Contact with the tree sent a wave of shock through her body and she felt her muscles tense and freeze. Applejack stumbled to the ground still oblivious to the broken bones. She looked up at the tree but saw that it no longer resembled one at all; instead, she saw Filthy Rich towering above her, mocking her defeat.
“Applejack!” Applebloom cried, avoiding looking at her sister’s back hooves. “Applejack!” she screamed again. Applejack seemed unresponsive; she just stared up at the apple tree. Applebloom caught the look of fear and anger in her eye and looked at the tree in confusion.
“Applejack?” Applebloom asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Somewhere behind her she could hear Sweetie Belle throwing up.
“I’ll get help!” Scootaloo offered, taking the first opportunity to get as far away from that place as possible.
“Quit yer laughin’!” Applejack gasped, her voice cracked as she spoke. She still didn’t understand why her body refused to respond to her. She attempted getting up but each time she tried she faced a new wave of nausea.
Applejack noticed her vision would become blurry now and again and furiously blinked her eyes in an effort to clear it. She felt some pony tugging at her front hoof and turned to see Applebloom hovering over her. Applebloom was saying something to her but all she heard was muffled shouts with no meaning. She tried once more to get up but Applebloom protested, pointing to her back hooves. Applejack propped herself up to see what all the fuss was about and realized what had happened.She tilted her head to the side, wondering how she could be feeling no pain. She didn’t even notice the cuts and scrapes from the fallen branches; several of which were bleeding. Applebloom shouted something incoherent again and ran away. As soon as Applebloom left, the ringing in Applejack’s ear decreased but didn’t disappear. Applejack pulled a few branches within reach closer to her looking for a few thick and sturdy ones. Her head was swimming and she felt wave after wave of nausea but wasn’t deterred from her task. She pulled her useless back legs in front of her and laid them out as straight as they could go. Her heart was still pounding rapidly in her chest as she calmly searched for some rope from her saddle bag. Once she had the sticks in place and the rope in her mouth, she positioned her front hooves over her back right leg. Applejack wasn’t sure what to expect when she applied force to her leg. She’d never set a bone before, but she wasn’t willing to wait there useless on the ground until some pony found her.She heard a snap and felt a shiver run up her spine, but pain didn’t follow. The second time was even less of a shock, despite the multiple snapping sounds she heard. Once she’d properly tied her make-shift splints to her legs she pulled herself up using what strength she had in her front hooves. Now she just needed to figure out a way to make it to Ponyville hospital across town…
