Forever Fell Short

“Come on you spineless fillies! Do you want to live forever?!” -Cpt. Daring Do, Wonderbolts.

It was a beautiful day to take the fall.

Lightning felt the wind rushing through her extended wings: caressing each feather from base to wingtip. She squeezed her eyes shut, sucking in a sharp breath to calm her heart. The rustling of leaves from the nearby trees mixed in with her thoughts, floating across as smoothly as if they were on water.

But one thought like a skipping stone floated above. One pesky line, spoken in Lightning’s voice, that refused to go unheard.

Current feels off tonight.

She shuddered violently. Her ribs began to crush her heart and her entire chest felt as if it were folding in on itself: her breath began to quicken and the world began spinning. Lightning’s wings began to shake as she bit down hard on her lips, desperate for something to quell the vertigo.

Justbreathejustbreathejustbreathejustbreathe

Lightning felt a wave of heat wash over her, smothering and suffocating her. She inhaled through gritted teeth, trying to push the nausea from her lungs with air.

Justbreathejustbhreathejustbreathejustbreathe

Her chest rose and fell at even intervals, with the strange buzz in her ears subsiding to the gentle song of the wind. When Lightning opened her eyes again she realized they were blurry. A swipe of her foreleg drained them, and it was only then that Lightning realized she had been crying.

And Lightning Dust became angry. She picked up a nearby pebble in her hoof and heaved it out over the cliff with a frustrated yell. But as she watched it fall, her chest tightened again the roar died in her throat.

The current feels off tonight.

Another shudder ran down Lightning’s spine and she swallowed, as if it would relegate the feeling to her gut.

Lightning Dust would have given anything to be angry, for she would much rather be angry than afraid.

Disgusted at herself and at the world, she ruffled her feathers and turned away, leaving the wind unanswered.

It was a beautiful day to take the fall. But Lightning Dust was scared.

“LIGHTNING!”

“Gah!” Lightning Dust jumped into the air at the shout of her name, sending envelopes flying into the air and falling like oversized rectangular snowflakes. “Celestia’s sake, Rainy! Don’t do that to me!”

Rainy Day blushed, apologizing frantically as she gathered the fallen envelopes. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!”

Lightning sighed in frustration, slamming a hoof to her forehead as Rainy tried to scoop up a pile of letters, only for them all to slip out between her forelegs.

“Just… Just forget it. What do you want, Rainy?”

“Oh! Um, I wanted to ask you something…” Rainy trailed off, eyes drifting the floor and rubbing a foreleg with the other. “If it isn’t too much trouble, that is.”

Lightning held up a hoof. “Let me guess. You want me to swap routes with you so you can spend your shift with Snow Violet?”

Rainy Day blushed, fiddling with her hat. “Um… maybe?”

Lightning sighed, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “Fine! Whatever, I can finish it in like half an hour. But you have to promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Tell her how you feel already! I mean, the entire postal service knows you’ve got a crush on her!” Lightning said, waving her hooves around for emphasis.

Rainy Day gasped, blushing even harder. “B-but, I can’t do that! What if she says no? What if she hates me?!”

“Not my problem!” Lightning jabbed her co-worker’s chest with her wing. “But you gotta sort that out!”

“But…” Rainy Day sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Okay,” she said softly. “I guess I’ll try.”

She flinched as Lightning gave her a hearty slap on the back. “Atta girl!”

Rainy chuckled meekly. “Thanks Lightning. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Lightning rolled her eyes, giving Rainy a mock salute. “Yeah, whatever.”

As her co-worker trotted out of the mailroom, Lightning sighed, turning to the pile of letters scattered across the floor and felt the grin melt away from her face. Plain white envelopes, marred with black ink, sat around her like fragments of a dream shattered long ago.

She shuffled around an envelope, tugging at her uniform collar as she grimaced.

This was not the future she had in mind. But it was safe. It was predictable.

The current feels off today.

It was safe, and Lightning tried to convince herself that was all that mattered.

“Dust! Where you at?”

Lightning perked up at the voice. “Over here, Rolling.”

Her friend trotted over, warily stepping around the envelopes as if they were puddles. “You done in here or what, girl?”

“I haven’t even clocked out yet!” Lightning replied, gathering up the envelopes and replacing them in her sack. “Geez, learn to slow down and live a little.”

Rolling Thunder belted out a laugh. “You even know who I am?”

“Some filly with her head in the clouds?” teased Lightning, trotting over to place the bag in its proper spot.

“I’m hurt… I think?” Rolling replied. “I can’t tell if that’s meant as an insult or not to be right honest with you.”

Lightning rolled her eyes. “Take it as you will. C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

She led the way out of the post office’s mailing room, giving a nod to her fellow co-workers before stepping into the crisp autumn air.

A few stray leaves blew down the street, aided by the breath of the wind, skirting around the hooves of passing ponies before dipping away into nooks and alleys. The shops and storefronts radiated with a welcome warmth, shopkeepers sweeping in the doorways and customers milling about their aisles.

Above, the sky took on a hazy shade of orange as pegasi flittered about, shunting clouds around the sky while beneath them earth ponies did the same with leaves and rakes. Lightning Dust shivered, looking up at the swirling endless sky. She fiddled with the zipper on her jacket, frowning as the wind stirred up her thoughts like dead leaves.

“Reckon we got some time to kill,” Rolling declared as she trotted up next to her. “Hey, some of my mates in Weather are setting up this sick wind bowl! You want in?”

The current feels off tonight.

Lightning flinched. “Uh… think I’m good. I’m pretty tired, actually.”

Rolling gaped at her. “Come on, Dust, you can’t be serious!”

“What? I had a long day! Can’t blame a girl for that!” With a shrug Lightning continued down the street, eyes cast on the sidewalk. She stepped over the cracks, crunching dead leaves beneath her hooves.

“Course I can!” Rolling quickly caught up with her, hoovering beside her. “You use that excuse all the time, Lightning.”

Lightning huffed, rustling her feathers. “Not an excuse if it’s true. Postal work is rough.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lightning shot back, her face morphing to a scowl.

Rolling Thunder gestured vaguely to the sky. “We grew up together, Lightning! I’ve seen what you can do, you’d be a right banging flyer in any job! So why the hay are you wearing yourself out doing postalwork when you could be with the Wonderbolts, or--”

“Stop!” Lightning cut her off, jabbing a hoof in her direction. “That dream is dead, Rolling! I told you!”

“It was one accident,” Rolling insisted. “Are you seriously going to let one single thing hold you back for the rest of your life?”

The current feels off tonight.

Lightning inhaled sharply, leaves kicking around her hooves. “You don’t get it,” she hissed, turning away from Rolling.

“Lightning…” Rolling trailed off as Lightning sulked down the street, ears folded down and a blind rage following.

A part of her hoped that Rolling Thunder would follow her. But she didn’t, so Lightning’s journey home was accompanied by the swirling leaves and howling winds.

The wind swirled around her, in breathless, violent chants. It whipped through her mane and cut a hole in her back: chilling her blood and icing her veins.

Lightning took a deep breath, but the air escaped through her lungs. She shivered, standing atop the cliff and staring down at the pulsing, liminal forest that threatened to swallow the world beneath her.

She ruffled her feathers, looking up at the oppressive blue sky.

It was a beautiful day to take the fall.

Lightning Dust closed her eyes and backed away from the cliff. With a deep breath and a defiant yell she charged towards the cliff’s edge. But her movements were slow and muddled, as if the ground beneath her was quicksand.

She took several labored breaths, feeling her heart race in her chest as her muscles struggled to propel her forwards.

Lightning didn’t remember the jump. She only knew that she was falling, plunging down towards the forest floor.

She spread her wings to turn the fall into a glide, but somehow this only made her fall faster. With a glance behind her, Lightning was mortified to see that her wings were pockmarked with holes; the wind blowing through them sending violent chills down her feathers and into her blood.

Lightning tried to scream but her voice was hoarse and weak. The ground spiraled closer and closer, and each beat of Lightning’s useless wings did little to slow the fall.

And then, she felt it: something was off in the current. Something in the vile wind was wrong, and she had underestimated its force.

Lightning squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact.

There was a pounding at the door and with a gasp, Lightning Dust flew awake and rolled off her couch, forelegs flailing and wings splayed out. Her right leg smacked into the coffee table’s edge and pain shot through her hazy mind.

As she rolled on the ground in pain, she vaguely heard voices from the foyer. “Lightnin’? Yeah, she’s in. I’ll go get her.”

Soon, Lightning’s roommate entered the room, calling out her name. “Lightnin’, that friend of yours is… you okay?”

Lightning waved her hoof, grinding her teeth in pain. “Banged my… leg… into… table.”

Fiddlesticks scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Well done. I’ll go tell her you’re in.”

Lightning nodded, heaving herself up to all fours and inspecting the leg. A small bruise had begun to form, and Lightning rubbed it tenderly with a scowl.

“Hey, Dust,” Rolling called as she entered. “Look, I’m… I’m sorry about yesterday. I forgot how bad that crash messed you up.”

Lightning side, ears folding down against her head. “Hey, ‘s fine. I just… I haven’t wanted to actually do stunts like that anymore, y’know?”

“Uh, not really, but I’m not the one that wiped out,” Rolling replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

They fell quiet, memories of Lightning’s accident and recovery swirling in both of their minds. Eventually Lightning extended her wings, giving them a quick inspection. Few traces of her injuries were obvious, but one could see the scars and surgical lines if they looked closely enough.

She had almost died.

Lightning didn’t like to dwell on the thought, but it was too deeply rooted in her mind to be forgotten.

And now, she was certain to never make that mistake again.

“Hey, look,” Rolling eventually said. “I’ve… I’ve got this mate I know, I think she might be able to offer some help?”

Lightning glared at Rolling. “I don’t need help!”

They fell quiet again, with only the muted music of Fiddlesticks’ fiddle to fill the void between them.

“Fine, but… look, just give her a call, okay?” Rolling set a small white business card on the table before standing. “We’re best mates, Lightning. I’m just worried about you.”

Lightning hated the pitying look in her friend's eye. But as she stared at Rolling’s face, and at the scar which marred it, something churned inside her. She didn’t want to admit that it was fear, but deep down she knew what it was.

Rolling stood and quietly left the room. Lightning barely noticed, her eyes locked on the small white card that her friend had left behind.

Lightning didn’t move for a very long time, the muffled fiddle music through the walls serving as the only evidence the world was still alive around her.

When she finally stood, she went over to the curtains and yanked them open, letting sunlight wash into the room like waves crashing against the shore. Lightning looked up as a flock of geese flew past the window in an awkward formation and sighed.

Lightning returned to the coffee table and seized the card with her wing, holding it up to read it.

Derpy Hooves, Captain
Equestrian Rebounds
It’s Never Too Late for a Second Chance.