Applejack reached her right hoof out and let out a cry as she caught the edge, her body slamming into the hard rock surface with the momentum from her leap. She heaved her left hoof up alongside her right and turned her head, hearing vicious barking behind her. The wolves were trapped on the other side, taking a moment to bark in protest at her escape, but eventually bounded away along the edge. She guessed that they were going to try and find another way around the ravine, which meant she didn't have a lot of time to act. Taking a deep breath, she slowly started to hoist herself over the edge of the ravine, her limbs burning with adrenaline. She sighed with relief, rolling herself onto solid ground and panting heavily. She suddenly smiled, laughing a little as a wave of relief washed over her. She had made it! She had actually made it across!

She took a moment to catch her breath before pushing herself up and galloping away. She couldn't dilly dally any longer, knowing that Rainbow was nearby. She jumped over logs and ducked under low hanging branches, pushing herself to her limits as she practically flew through the forest. She ran until she burst out of another treeline, her eyes immediately looking upwards at the mountain that housed the pillar of black smoke about half way up. She gasped, looking towards the smoke and feeling her heart swell with joy. Rainbow Dash HAD to be up there! Wasting no time, she galloped towards the upward path that seemed to wind its up the mountain. She panted, her body tired but refusing to give out, her goal too close for her to stop now. She turned a corner with a small smile, confident that she'd be with Rainbow soon. It wasn't until she heard a shrill shriek of

"WATCH OUT!!!" that she was brought back to reality. Her hoof had snapped a vine tripwire and catapulted forward a slim tree with thorns wrapped around its base. Applejack's eyes widened as she wheezed

"Horseapp-" 'TWHACK!'. She collided with the tree and sailed backwards, rolling a good thirty feet down the path before hitting a large boulder and growing very still. Rainbow Dash lept over the tree and barreled down the path, screaming her head off.

"Applejack!!! APPLEJACK!!!" she cried, rushing to her friends side and shaking her with her front hooves. Applejack's chest, the left side of her face, and her left hoof were all cut and bleeding, a few thorns sticking out of her coat. She looked unconscious, her expression one of severe pain as her breath came out in labored wheezes. Rainbow Dash knelt down, pushing her nose under Applejack's belly and slowly crawling underneath, effectively hoisting the bleeding mare up on her back. "Hang on Applejack...just hang on!" Rainbow shouted, grunting as she trudged back up the path towards the cave.

After weaving in and out of the traps, being careful not to set anymore off, Rainbow Dash gingerly stepped out onto the plateau and towards the cave, rasping for breath. "Not...to insult you any...Applejack...but dear CELESTIA you weigh a TON!" Rainbow Dash gasped, moving into the cave and gently laying near the rear wall. Rainbow Dash fell back on her haunches, letting out a soft 'whew' and poking at her fire with a stick, making sure it didn't go out. Satisfied that her fire was still blazing, she went back to Applejack, going over her wounds. The country mare let out a soft moan as Rainbow ran a hoof along her body, checking for broken bones or any other cuts she may have missed. She took up Applejack's saddlebags and dumped the contents out onto the ground, sifting through them in hopes that she had been smart enough to pack medical supplies. Relief passed through her as she found a roll of white bandages amongst the supplies, picking them up with her teeth and unraveling a small stretch of the roll. She pushed a hoof agaisnt the end of the strand which rested against Applejack's chest, holding it in place while she wrapped the bandages around her chest. She did the same for her foreleg, gently removing the large war-knife and sheath and setting it on the ground next to the rest of the supplies.

She laid on her belly, looking at Applejack's wounded face, three long scratches running along the left side of her face, from the top of her eye to the bottom of her cheek. She needed to clean the blood off her face...but she didn't have any water on her, and thought about her options. She suddenly blushed, an idea springing in her head as Applejack's left ear twitched, another low moan escaping her. Blushing, Rainbow Dash leaned forward and gently licked at one of Applejack's scratches, getting some of the blood off. She licked her again, and again, each time the taste of blood growing stronger on her tongue and the wound being effectively cleaned. It took a few minutes of careful, and not to mention affectionate, licking before Applejack's face wounds had been cleaned of blood and bandages wrapped around her head to cover half of her face. Rainbow Dash sat back on her haunches and made a 'bleh' noise, trying to lick her own foreleg to get the taste of blood out of her mouth.

She jumped suddenly as a loud roar echoed from somewhere outside. She snapped her head to the left and shouted "What the hay was THAT!?" She galloped outside and looked around quickly, another roar echoing out from what she perceived to be near the base of the mountain. Rushing over to the cliff, she looked over the edge and gasped loudly, her pupils contracting to the size of needles. A bear, a giant, brown, pissed-off looking bear, was trying to get up the path towards her cave. It had only sprung two out of the seven traps Rainbow had rigged along the path, blood seeping from its sides and face. Rainbow Dash squeaked with fright as she realized that before she had moved in, the cave must have belonged to the BEAR! Panic began to set in as she thought about any options she had. She didn't know if it was fate or sheer dumb luck, but she thanked Celestia that The Voice called out to her, practically shouting

"The Bear is another predator that lurks around in forested areas. Unlike other animals, the bear is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! High stamina, high strength, and VERY stubborn, the bear is a tank like creature that is best left undisturbed. In the event that you have to face one of these monstrous creatures, be sure to use whatever you have on hoof to your advantage! Although stubborn, bears can be hindered and pestered into believing you're simply not worth the effort it would take to kill you. Setting traps, throwing rocks or large branches from tall heights, or simply using agility to outrun it are effective methods." Rainbow Dash quickly rushed about, grabbing and loose rocks she could find on the plateau, making sure they were a good, medium size. She peered over the edge of the cliff again and gulped, noticing the bear looked even MADDER then before, and had gone through two more traps. With only three lines of defense left, Rainbow quickly heaved a rock off the edge, aiming for the bear. A loud roar of pain and rage emitted from the beast as the rock struck its back, another following it quickly and landing on its paw.

Rainbow Dash let out a loud "HA!" but suddenly squealed with fright as the bear broke out into a charge, crashing through the next two traps that stuck sharp sticks in its sides and dropped a large rock out of a tree and onto its back. The bear looked like it was ready to murder somepony, moving through the last trap which consisted of another thorn tree, and two more rocks from above, thrown by Rainbow Dash. With no defenses or traps left, Rainbow hastily retreated back to her cave, panicking and squealing "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!!! What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO!?" She rushed into the cave, heading for Applejack who still had yet to wake up. A roar behind her made Rainbow Dash jump and she turned her head, her eyes falling upon the bloodied bear who stood at the entrance to the cave, a venomous look in its eyes. Rainbow Dash looked towards Applejack, and felt a feeling of rage build up inside her. There was no way that she was going to let Applejack's efforts to find her be in vain. She had risked her own life to come to her rescue, and now it was Rainbow's turn.

She let out a furious battle cry and rushed forward, galloping towards the bear. Surprised at this sudden charge, the bear took a moment to step back before rearing back on its hind legs, bringing a paw back and holding it at the ready. As Rainbow Dash approached the bear roared and swung, hoping to catch her in the face. She dove however, sailing through the bear's legs and coming up behind him. She hopped up and gave the bear a swift buck in its rear, galloping forward as the beast cried out in pain. It turned and roared, bringing its claws around and catching rainbow in her right wing with a heavy swipe. The cry of pain that emitted from Rainbow Dash was unlike anything anypony had ever heard before. It was so shrill, and so loud, that Applejack slowly started to open her eyes, her ears perking at the sound of Rainbow Dash's screams. She picked her head up and gasped, spotting the bear who was attacking her friend. She looked over towards her rope and knife and back towards the bear, narrowing her eyes.

Rainbow held her side tightly, blood seeping from her already broken wing. She screamed as tears spilled down her face, her body on fire with pain. She looked up and saw the bear approaching, lifting up its claws. She shut her eyes tight, bracing for her inevitable death. As the bear's paw started to come down, it suddenly roared in pain and stopped, a whirling noise penetrating the air followed by a loud 'THWACK!'. Applejack had chucked her pappy's knife from the cave entrance, the blade sticking out of the bears back from when it stood to strike at Rainbow. Rushing forward, Applejack jumped and landed on the bear's back, ripping the blade free and jumping away in time to avoid a heavy slash from the beast. As she landed she slid her rear legs up and backwards, kicking up dust and dirt into the bear's eyes. The hulking beast roared in pain as it flailed about, swiping at the air.

Using the precious moment she had earned for herself, she took the rope she had brought out of the cave and rushed towards the cliff edge, wrapping it around one of the rocks. The bear looked over as it heard Applejack's taunting shout

"HEY! FATASS!!! OVER HERE YA DUMB VARMINT! COME AND GET YA SOME DELICIOUS PONY!" The bear let out a deafening roar and charged towards Applejack, no visible signs of escape available to the country mare. Rainbow Dash looked up and gasped as Applejack took a step back and fell from the cliff, the bear barreling through the spot that Applejack had only just occupied. The bear's roaring could be heard clearly as it sailed through the air, having run right off the cliff. A thunderous boom echoed out from below, signaling that the bear had successfully fallen to its own demise.

Rainbow Dash looked towards the cliff and screamed with all her might,

"APPLEJACK!!!! APPLEJACK!!!!!!" She gasped as she actually heard a response being shouted back to her

"WHAT!? WHATEVER IT IS, IT CAN WAIT! COME PULL ME BACK UP FORE' THIS KNOT GOES UNDONE AND AH GO AH TUMBLIN'!" Rainbow Dash heaved herself up, limping quickly over to the cliff and peering over, blinking in surprise. Applejack was dangling dangerous by the rope she had tied around her belly. She took the rope up in her teeth and tugged, slowly pulling Applejack back over the cliff. As soon as Applejack found solid ground, she rushed forward and pulled Rainbow Dash into a tight hug, openly sobbing into her shoulder and shouting "You dumb stupid FILLY! Don't you ever go and do somethin' like this again, ya hear!?" Rainbow Dash winced in pain as Applejack squeezed her tightly, wheezing

"G...good to see you too!? OW! Mind the wing!"