//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Learning to Be 
// by ShadowArchitect 
//------------------------------//

	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.