Edited by TwahlahtSporkle.
Darkness. That is all he could see. He could not see even his dark body; try as he might, the room was as black as his coat and he could not see a thing. He squirmed as much as he could, but could not break free of his restraints. Unable to move, he seemed to be bound to a table of some sort-- all he could do is lay there, listening for any hint of where he was. There was nothing, just the sound of a leaking pipe, dribbling water every few seconds.
He tried to remember the previous day; maybe it would give him some clue as to why he was here...
“...We gonna race or what?” There was a voice. He opened his eyes to see a light blue mare with a rainbow-coloured mane and tail staring at him. “Well? Are we gonna race or are you gonna chicken out?” said Rainbow Dash.
“Of course! I never back down from a challenge!” Storm replied. It was a bright day when all this happened; he hadn’t even been in Ponyville for a day and already had found himself in a race.
The sights and sounds of Ponyville were always so vibrant and bright on most days. However, this day was different. The sky was gloomy and grey; everypony seemed to be down somehow, possibly due to the weather. But one thing was for sure-- whatever it was, everypony, even Rainbow Dash, seemed to be irritated in one way or another.
In hindsight, a race on a day like this was not the best idea; the low visibility and rather strong winds would make flying incredibly difficult.
The race would begin where he first came into town, where he met the first Ponyville citizen; Fluttershy, a mare with a bright pink mane and tail, a vibrant yellow coat, and three butterflies on her flank. It would take place at her cottage.
“So, why are we doing this today of all days? It’s rather dark and pretty windy,” asked Storm Wind.
“Well, why not? It’s the perfect way to prove just how much better I am than you! With the wind and the fact that you won’t be able to see a lot, it will show just who can handle themselves better in rough conditions!” she exclaimed.
“...But, the risk of injury is also much higher... Any smart flyer knows that you don’t fly in strong winds like this!” He rebutted.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, obviously not caring. “Are you just going to keep complaining, or are we just gonna get there and race?” she asked, irritated.
“Like I said, I’m not gonna back down from this, no matter how bad the weather is. But I feel I should be questioning your logic behind wanting to race in this weather,” he answered.
“Look, if you’re scared because you know you’re going to lose, just say so!” she exclaimed.
“I am not scared of a little wind, and I’m certainly not scared of losing. If you are so set on racing in this weather, then I will.” He then fluttered into the air to make his point; however, even this low to the ground the wind caught his wings, causing him flip backwards. Luckily he landed on his hooves. “...Hm, I guess the wind is even worse than I expected... But that won’t deter me,” he said.
Rainbow Dash laughed at this. “No point in talking anymore, clearly.” She smirked.
Storm knew his irritation was visible. But she was right, there was no more point in talking. He would let his wings do the talking for him once they started the race.
The rest of the walk was quiet and quick; not a word was spoken until they reached their destination. Fluttershy was standing there, waiting with a checkered flag in her mouth. Under other circumstances, Storm would have found the sight rather cute, but right now he was too focused on the race to notice. Still, thinking back on it put a slight smile on his face, even in such a horrible situation as he was in now.
“Where are we racing to?” he asked to Rainbow Dash.
“We fly through Ponyville all the way to the other side through Sweet Apple Acres, then we make a U-turn, heading back here. Obviously, first one back is the winner,” she answered.
It seemed simple enough. There wouldn’t be too much of a risk of the wind being able to catch him with how fast he would be moving. Just glide, don’t flap your wings more than necessary and you’ll be fine, he thought to himself.
They stepped up to the starting line, crouching down on their front legs, ready to take off at the speed of light... so to speak. The next few moments seemed to take ages to pass by as Fluttershy waved the flag and they took off. The wind was pushing in the direction they were heading, allowing them both to move even faster than usual.
The wind felt great, at least while they were using it rather than fighting it. Storm actually closed his eyes for a moment to take in how great it felt. This was a mistake. When he opened his eyes, he could see a purple unicorn mare not far in front of him. He swerved, narrowly avoiding crashing into her.
It was a fairly simple race after that, they were pretty much neck and neck until they reached Sweet Apple Acres. Once they reached there, they swerved through the trees, trying to avoid hitting them. Storm seemed to be more effectively doing this, as he had pulled ahead and was reaching the spot where they would make a U-turn.
Storm had to make sure to take the turn sharply. If he didn’t, he would be taken off course by the wind immediately. Even with the quickness of it, he was still almost blown away once he began fighting the wind; the slow speed would make avoiding the trees a little easier, however.
He turned back to see his opponent but as he did, all he could see for but a second was a light blue blur coming at him very quickly, then he could see nothing but a blur. He was spinning out of control.
The wind pushed him back and forth, to and fro. When he finally straightened himself out, all he could see was the trunk of a tree. He was heading directly towards it. There was no time to react; it got very close, very quickly. Then, there was nothing.
That was it? That’s all? he thought to himself. It explained little about how he got here. All there was, once again, was the leaking pipe, still dripping water every few seconds. There was still nothing to see, just the blackness of the room.
Still, he struggled with his restraints. It was useless, they were too tight; but what else was there to do? Sit there and die? Think happy thoughts? That second idea sounded good, but there were no happy thoughts.
“Come on! You’ve had your fun, now let me go!” he shouted. Once again, there was no response, as expected.
Just then, he remembered he had wings. Maybe he could use them to help get himself free. He tried flapping them once, twice, thrice. Nothing. Clearly they were bound as well. He should have expected as much. Disappointed, he laid back on the table. What else is there I can do? Not even my wings work, he thought.
There really wasn’t anything to do, stuck in this room, unable to move. The pipe was still leaking. The noise was almost comforting; it was the only thing that reminded him he was still alive. Count the drips, that’s what I’ll do. Maybe It’ll keep me from losing my mind. What else was there? He began counting every last drop. 1...2...3...4... Comfort, at least something could help to keep him from going completely insane.
“Two and a half seconds,” he said. Whilst counting, he had noticed the time between each drop to be two and a half seconds. This is pathetic. Why am I still here? I should be breaking free already and getting the hay out of here! Not a moment after that thought, he began trying once more to break free. Why did he do this? He knew every time he would fail, but still, he struggled.
For a moment the restraint on his front right hoof seemed to begin to come free. However, no matter how hard he tried to wiggle it free, it would not budge any further. Still, it was something. Hope, something he hadn’t felt since he had found himself here. It was a slim chance, but if he could possibly get one of his hooves free, he could use that to give himself leverage to break free of his other restraints.
That was his mission, his challenge. If he could overcome it, he would be free. But where would he go? He couldn’t even see a foot in front of him. A simple solution occurred to him-- feel around for a door. No, that may not be the best idea. There was no telling what might be in the room with him.
He wiggled and pulled, trying to free his hoof, but it seemed to accomplish nothing except give him a sharp stinging pain in his hoof. It was bleeding; he couldn’t see it, but could feel the blood start dribbling out. There was a consideration. Could the blood be used as a lubricant, making it easier to slip out of the restraint? However, there simply was not enough coming out, and doing the amount of grinding that would be required would leave him very drained, barely able to move from the lack of blood. Laying back once more, he began to consider if it was worth it.
Of course it wasn’t. The chances that he’d even be able to free his other hooves after losing so much blood was slim, and it was an even slimmer chance to be able to get up and find the door, if there even was one. This brought out another thought. If there was a door then I would be able to see light from under it, unless this building is bigger than I originally thought, making it certain that I am far from any exit, and will likely have to navigate corridors in order to find it. By the time I find it I will have lost too much blood. No... It’s not worth it. I will have find another way to get free. There wasn’t much. What could he possibly do now that his only option was no longer an option?
He lay there for a while, simply listening to the pipe once more. Almost all hope seemed lost at this point. All he could do was listen silently as he used the leaking pipe to count time. It was still comforting to feel like he wasn’t completely alone. At least he had something to let him know he was still alive. But for how much longer? There was nothing to do at this point. All he could do is wait. Wait for death to come to him, and end his misery at long last...
“Why me? Why am I here? That doesn’t matter anymore, I’m dead. Nopony is coming to help... It’s over...” he whispered to himself, sighing softly as he did. There was nothing more to do. He closed his eyes, and waited for his death to come.
The sound of the leaking pipe disappeared completely. Did this mean he was dead? For a moment, there was no sound, but then there was something, a faint beeping in the distance. The beeps came every two and a half seconds, every time getting slightly louder. It became clearer and clearer what the beeping was exactly.
After a little while, he heard a faint voice. He was barely able to make it out, but the voice sounded familiar. The beeping was getting even louder now, almost a nuisance to listen to. But then he heard another voice, this time it was very clear. “Nurse! I think he’s waking up!” The voice was unmistakable-- it was Rainbow Dash.
Finally, he opened his eyes. There was a bright light; after having been in the dark so long, it burned his eyes slightly. When he was finally able to see again after being blinded by the light, he saw a familiar face staring at him. It was the yellow, pink-maned pony, Fluttershy.
“W-what...? How...?” he managed to mutter out.
“Oh, I’m so glad to see you’re okay. You had us very worried, we thought you were never going to wake up!” exclaimed Fluttershy.
All the information was coming fast, it confused him greatly but he shook it off quickly. “But... How did I get here? What happened...?” he asked.
“I can answer that.” It was Rainbow Dash, wo had just walked back into the room. “During the race, I shot past you very suddenly, cut it too close. When I looked back and couldn’t see you behind me I got worried. I finished the race first, of course, before going to find you. When I got there I told Fluttershy about my worries and we headed back to Sweet Apple Acres together. We found you laying against a tree. You were unconscious, so we decided to carry you back here, to the hospital. Nurse RedHeart said you had suffered a serious concussion. You've been out for almost two days now, we were here almost the entire time.”
The information came as a relief. It had all been in his mind. His imagination; simply a bad dream induced by a concussion. Laying back, he lifted his right hoof to wipe the sweat off his brow. There was a stinging pain in his hoof that came immediately as he touched his head.
He looked at his hoof to see it was cut up rather brutally. Dried blood had formed on the sides...
