Resolve was having fun. Well, he was as close as he could be to that. "Fun" was a word that never seemed to have a place in his vocabulary. Since his foalhood, he had very rarely found himself doing anything he would describe as "fun." However, where he was now, making his way up the side of a mountain not far from his Ponyville home, that word briefly crossed his mind.
Climbing mountains always seemed to take his mind off of his dull, boring job and his dull, boring life. He had an office job in Ponyville city hall, which mainly consisted of just doing whatever he was told to do at any time. Celestia only knew what his actual job description was. And his employer, Mayor Mare, of course. Resolve never felt it was necessary to ask. For his entire workday, he just did whatever job she gave him, which was usually boring paperwork. Whenever he had nothing to do, he just sat his desk, doing nothing. This never bothered Resolve, though. He was used having nothing to do, and the lack of purpose he always felt when he did. To him, it was just another fact of life.
As he slowly made his way up the narrow mountain trail, Resolve smiled. He loved the experience of climbing a mountain. The physical challenge, the feeling of the wind through his mane, and the fresh mountaintop air all invigorated Resolve, driving him to push himself farther and farther up the mountain. It wasn't a surprise that mountain climbing had such an appeal to him. After all, it relied entirely on physical ability. It wouldn't be a challenge if he had wings or magic to help him up, and Resolve wanted a challenge. However, what Resolve enjoyed most about it was the solitude. He loved being alone, not having to put up with other ponies and their unending complaints about him. The solitude never bothered him at all; after all, he was used to it. In fact, he was more comfortable alone than when he was with other ponies. He didn't have a special somepony, not that he would have even wanted one, and friends had never really seemed appealing to him. Well, not since his foalhood, at least.
Pushing that thought, and its associated memories, from his mind, Resolve decided to stop and take a break. He was on a small, safe part of the path, where there was a space wide enough for him to rest. He had used this place for exactly that purpose on his many previous expeditions along the same path, and it had become a sort of temporary home for him along the way. Here, he could get a little break from the challenges of climbing, especially the wind. Resolve noticed that it was a much windier day than usual, though that was probably just because the pegasus ponies were getting ready for a heavy storm that night. It wasn't a problem for Resolve, however. He had made this climb frequently enough, and in worse conditions than this, to know the route like the back of his hoof.
Looking out from his place on the mountain, Resolve smiled. He was well acquainted with this view, maybe even more so than he was with any other ponies. He could recognize the hills stretching out from the mountain at any time of the year. It didn't matter if they were green, or the reds and oranges of leaves changing color, or white with snow; he could recognize the contours of the land no matter what time of year it was. Looking out over these hills always comforted Resolve. As he looked farther, the landscape faded into the distance, its lush green color blending with the calm reds and yellows of the air surrounding the sun, setting low in the sky.
The sun was almost down! Resolve was sruprised; he hadn't expected it to be so late. The sun was already setting, and he hadn't even reached the top of the mountain yet. He realized that it must have taken him much longer than he had thought it would to get this far. Thinking about why this could be, he remembered the storm coming that night. The wind, cold, and approaching darkness must have been what was slowing down his progress. He decided that he needed to get to the top of the mountain while he could still see. He wasn't far from the top; he could make it in time.
Not long after continuing his journey up the mountain, Resolve suddenly stopped. Lost in thought, he had just nearly walked into a large pile of rocks, which was blocking his usual path up the mountain. This surprised him, because he knew that this part of the path was usually completely clear. He looked down over the steep cliff that the path ran along, knowing that a fall from this height would be dangerous, if not fatal. The large pile of rocks took up the entire width of the path, from the edge of the path on the right to the mountainside above him on his left. There was no going around it.
Resolve calmed his nerves. He could see the top of the mountain from here, only about 30 feet above him. After passing this pile of rocks, it would be a short, easy climb to the top. He would be done in less than an hour. Still, judging from where the sun was, it might already be dark by then. However, being this close to the top of the mountain, he wasn't going to turn back now. He looked at the pile of rocks in front of him, and decided it would be best just to try to get past it immediately. Looking at it again, he thought he should try to stay as close to the mountain as possible, to reduce the chance of falling off.
Taking a deep breath, Resolve placed a hoof on a relatively large rock at the side of the path opposite the cliff. Putting some of his weight on it, he was relieved to see that it didn't move. Hugging the side of the mountain, he moved a bit farther up, so that all of his hooves were on the rock pile. This is going to be a piece of cake, he thought. With each careful step, he slowly walked over the pile of loose rocks. Though Resolve encountered a few rocks that were more unstable than the rest, he avoided those and was careful enough to make it to the middle of the pile without problem.
Looking out to where the the path was clear again, Resolve took another step. When he did, he shifted his weight a bit, and the rock that his right hind leg was resting on slipped away, tumbling over the other rocks and falling down over the cliff. He hadn't managed to balance himself on his front hooves, and with only two hooves on the rocks, Resolve lost his balance. He fell onto his side, dislodging many of the rocks under him. These rocks started to slide down toward the edge of the path, taking Resolve with them. Resolve was panicking now. No, he thought. This can't be happening. I can't fall. I'm not going to fall. I have to get back up. I will get back up. He tried to reach out and get a hold on solid ground, but to no avail. Quickly approaching the drop at the side of the path, Resolve tried to jump forward. I can do this. This will be easy, right? Piece of cake. No way I'm going to fall of the edge of that cliff, down to almost certain death. That's not going to happen. Of course it's not going to happen...right? Trying to get up, Resolve was unable to keep his balance, so instead of jumping, he just fell down again. In addition, the pressure he put on the rocks with his back hooves caused them to fall towards the edge of the cliff even faster. No. This isn't happening. I'm not about to fall...no...no!...I'm about to fall... Resolve cried out for help, but it was no use. Facing the mountain, he couldn't see how close he was to the edge, but he knew he was seconds away from falling off. Resolve closed his eyes, still calling for help.
Soon, Resolve felt the ground falling away from him. Scared, he fell silent. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the air rushing past him. It felt like minutes, but only a second later, Resolve opened his eyes, to see the face of the cliff rapidly rising. He knew what was happening. I'm falling...
Resolve closed his eyes again and screamed.
Rainbow Dash was not in a good mood. It was the early evening, and she was supposed to be sleeping right now. However, here she was, out on weather duty, gathering up as many clouds as possible for the storm that night. Of course, she wouldn't have needed to if Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth, who were responsible for the storm, had actually done their jobs. They're probably having their relationship problems. Again. This storm had been scheduled weeks ago, yet there still weren't enough clouds to keep it going as long as it needed to be. There had been more than enough time for Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth to prepare the storm, or at least get over whatever argument they had so they could be preparing it right now. Rainbow, being unable to keep track of all the things they argued about, eventually just gave up trying and hoped they would sort their most recent problem out. Obviously, they didn't. And now I have to do their job. So here was Rainbow Dash, doing somepony else's job because they hadn't, when she could- No. Not "could." Should. I should be sleeping right now, but no, I have to be out gathering clouds, while Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth are probably back home, about to fall asleep, in their nice, warm, soft, comfortable-
No. Stop getting distracted, Rainbow, and finish this up. Rainbow Dash sighed and flew off to where she was gathering clouds from. Great, almost done. I'm only going to need a few more clouds. Unfortunately, fate had decided to play a cruel trick on Rainbow Dash that day. What!? No clouds? The storm's still not going to be big enough! I can't believe this. Where are the clouds? And why couldn't those pegasi have actually done their jobs? Now I have to waste more time, looking for clouds instead of sleeping, and... Rainbow Dash spun around. Dang. No clouds in sight. Looks like I'll have to look somewhere else. This is just getting ridiculous.
Rainbow Dash randomly picked a direction and sped off. Where did all of the clouds go!? I could have sworn there were enough for the storm when I started. Looking around as she flew over Ponyville, Rainbow did not see any clouds whatsoever. Now this is just great. Everpony down there is sleeping, and I'm stuck looking for clouds that I can't find anywhere. And of course, this has to happen when I'm so...tired...
Rainbow Dash, like most pegasi, was well aware of the dangers of falling asleep while flying. Primarily, the fact that a sleeping pegasus tends to crash into something. Or fall out of the sky. That's a problem, too. So when she was suddenly aware of the ground rushing up toward her, Rainbow Dash didn't take long to to put two and two together. She quickly realized that she had fallen asleep, and she caught herself just a few feet above the ground. Oh, that was close. Wait... where am I?
Rainbow had actually been asleep in the air for about half an hour before nearly crashing. By now, Ponyville was several miles away, and Rainbow Dash, not normally the pony with the best sense of direction, was slightly disoriented. Where am I? How long was I asleep? Where's Ponyville? Why am I still so tired? She chose a direction, once again at random, and flew. As if to demonstrate how tired she was, she flew straight through several clouds without remembering that she was looking for them. Stupid clouds...
Oh hey! Clouds! Better bring these to Ponyville... which way is that again? Examining the horizon, she eventually saw the Everfree Forest, and, gathering her clouds, sped off towards it, knowing that it would be right near Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash was soon distracted by a large mountain looming ahead of her. Is that Neigh Mountain? I must have flown farther than I thought while I was asleep. I guess Ponyville must be on the other side. Neigh Mountain was the highest mountain for miles around Ponyville. Well, at least I recognize something.
As Rainbow Dash flew past the mountain, she heard a low rumbling sound. Hm...what's that? Before she had a chance to really pay attention, the rumbling stopped. Nah, it's probably not important. She kept flying, but a minute later, she heard something else, something that caused her to stop cold.
"Help! Somepony! Help me! I'm gonna fall!"
What was that!? Rainbow Dash thought, listening. She didn't hear anything else for a few seconds. I must be hearing things. Yeah, I'm probably so tired that I-
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!..."
Adrenaline surged through Rainbow Dash; her heart was hammering at double speed. Dropping the clouds, she sped back toward the mountain, flying around to the other side. What she saw almost made her heart stop. A dark green pony with a yellow mane was falling from near the top of Neigh Mountain. Looking down, Rainbow cringed. It was a long way down. She knew she had to catch the falling pony right away, so she sped toward him.
As the green pony continued to fall, Rainbow flew as fast as she could. As she approached him, she could only watch as the pony rapidly approached the ground.
"I'm coming! I'm going to catch you!" Rainbow yelled out to the falling pony, who was still screaming. He never saw Rainbow Dash flying in to catch him.
Rainbow Dash was only about 30 feet away from the pony when the worst possible thing happened.
"AAAAAA--" Crack.
"NO!" Rainbow shouted. She rushed to the pony's side and looked him over. "Are you ok?" No wings, no horn. He's an earth pony. A few seconds later, she tried again. "Hello? Equestria to... whatever your name is? Can you hear me?" Rainbow waved a hoof in front of his face. After he didn't respond, Rainbow felt for a heartbeat. Thank Celestia, he's alive. Unconscious, but alive. She tried to pick him up, but soon decided that that was a bad idea. Only then did she realize how badly the other pony was injured. Ooh...I don't think legs are supposed to bend like that. And he's bleeding... a lot. He needs to get to the hospital. Against her better judgement, Rainbow Dash carefully picked him up again, carrying him across her flank. It's not like I'm just gonna leave him here.
Rainbow Dash swallowed, hard. This was going to be a long, hard flight. I can do this. I'm Wonderbolt material, I can carry an injured pony to the hospital. It'll be fine. It's just an exercise in endurance and balance. Yeah, that's it. Endurance and balance. Endurance and balance. Rainbow was flying much more slowly than usual, making sure that the green pony wouldn't fall off.
After about an hour of flight, the sky was getting dark. Endurance and balance. I can do this. It can't be much farther. Endurance and balance. Rainbow's flank was starting to ache from the weight of the green pony. Endurance. Yeah. I can do this.
Soon, she started to see Ponyville buildings. Here we go. Almost there. I can do this. It's not much farther.
After a few minutes, finishing what was possibly the most frightening, adrenaline-fueled flight of her life, Rainbow Dash reached the Ponyville hospital. Opening the door, she tried to talk, but realized she was out of breath. She took a few deep breaths and shouted, "I've got an injured pony here! He looks really bad!"
A few seconds later, Rainbow Dash heard quick hoofsteps from the hallway. Nurse Redheart burst into the lobby. "What's going on? Rainbow Dash?" She looked at Rainbow Dash and let out a small shriek. "You're covered in blood!"
"What? Oh, no no no, it's not mine!" Rainbow gestured to the pony she carried across her flank. She started to talk, taking deep breaths between everything she said. "I was flying by Neigh Mountain, and this pony was falling, and I tried to catch him, but he hit the ground, and he was unconscious, and he was bleeding a lot, and I think his legs might be broken, but I didn't know what to do, so I brought him here."
Nurse Redheart looked at the injured pony. She was suddenly in action mode, her voice serious and quiet. "He looks bad. I'll get a stretcher." She left the room, leaving Rainbow Dash and the injured pony in an uncomfortable silence.
Rainbow Dash looked back at the injured pony. "Please be ok. Please, please, please be ok." She saw all of the blood that had run down her flank, staining it red and covering most of her cutie mark on one side. That's a lot of blood. Like, a lot. More than I thought. Her breathing started to get a bit faster. I can't believe this. How could this happen? If I had been just a bit closer, I could have caught him. Why didn't I pay attention when I first him? Why didn't I just go check to make sure he was ok?
Nurse Redheart's return soon interrupted Rainbow's thoughts. "Rainbow Dash?"
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash yelled, startled. She looked at Nurse Redheart, taking more deep breaths to calm down. "Yeah?"
"Could you help me get him onto this?"
"Ok."
"Make sure not to disturb his legs too mush, if they really are injured like you said. Lay him down right here, facing up. I'll help get him off of your flank."
Rainbow Dash did exactly as Nurse Redheart said. "Is he going to be ok?" she asked quietly.
"Probably. He's an earth pony, so he'll be able to heal better. Besides, we've had ponies survive worse injuries than this. He's in good hooves." Remembering those incidents, Nurse Redheart thought, Funny, those were all earth ponies. Well, I guess that makes sense; they do have a natural ability to heal faster. Healing from injuries more quickly than unicorns or pegasi was one of the benefits of earth pony magic.
As if to anticipate what Rainbow Dash was about to ask, Nurse Redheart quickly said, "I'm sorry, but you won't be allowed in the room for a while. You might as well go home and get some sleep. Also, I would recommend washing the blood off of your flank. It would probably... be a good idea to do that." With this, she turned away, rolling the stretcher down the hall. The door closed behind her.
Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, not moving. After a few minutes, she slowly turned around and walked out of the hospital. She walked down the street for a few more minutes, before she remembered that she still had to get the storm started. Judging from the moon's position in the sky, it was scheduled to start an hour ago, so she needed to get on that right away. The last few clouds were still by Neigh Mountain, but those didn't matter anymore. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She pictured the green pony, lying unconscious on a hospital bed. There's nothing I can do now, but wait. I hate waiting. She took off, flying slowly towards the dark grey clouds. As she approached them, they filled her vision. Look at that cloud. It's just a big grey blob. That's how I feel right now. A big, grey... Oh, I'm not good at metaphors. Stopping before the large cloud, she turned around and gave it a hard buck.
CRACK. The cloud released a bolt of lightning, and the resulting thunder made Rainbow Dash flinch. Wow... I'm jumpy. I need to go home.The rain was already pouring down hard from the clouds, drenching the ground and rooftops below. Rainbow Dash flew off above them to her cloud house.
When she arrived, she made her way straight to her bed. She was covered in sweat and blood. The sweat was partially from carrying the injured pony, but most from the anxiety of the flight to the hospital. The blood was, well... Rainbow Dash didn't want to think about it. Still, she paid her uncomfortable body no mind as she flopped down into her bed. Well, now I can sleep, Rainbow thought.
Hours later, she was still lying awake, the sweat and blood covering her body having dried. It must be like 2:00 in the morning. So why can't I fall asleep? Outside, the storm was still going strong. Occasional thunder made Rainbow Dash's heart race for a few seconds, but it passed quickly each time. The scene from earlier that evening kept flashing through her head. Oh. That's why. She couldn't get it out of her head. For the past 5 hours, she couldn't think about anything other than her failure to catch the other pony. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the pony lying broken, bloody, and unconscious on the ground. I don't even know his name. I... wow. I don't even know his name. I feel terrible.
Rainbow Dash yawned. Her adrenaline rush was finally wearing off, and she could really feel it. Well, at least I'm tired. Now, maybe I can actually get some sleep. I hope. She was ready to fall asleep; she could feel her eyelids drooping. Wow... I'm way more tired than I thought. Slowly, Rainbow closed her eyes and let the depths of sleep take her..
