//------------------------------// // I Have Become Comfortably Numb // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Stillness. Wind lightly brushed the mountainside... blowing at trailing bands of powdery snow. Clouds shifted overhead. Columns and beds, shifting, breaking apart, coming back together, then dissipating. Sunlight dwindled, then intensified again. And the snow beneath the summit... ...began breaking from underneath. A crack formed... a tiny fissure. Then streams of trickling frost spread in opposite directions. A hint of blue... a glimpse of fuzz... ...and then— "Grnnghh-aaugh!" A shivering figure burst out of the snowbank, covered in a tattered swath of tent canvas. The pegasus fought with the material from underneath, pulling at it, tugging, yanking it clear. At last, with her muzzle exposed, Rainbow took a mighty gasp, inhaling as much as she could. Then, with chattering teeth, Rainbow pulled herself the rest of the way out of the buried patch of snow. The hole in the frozen material closed beneath her with a brief groan. At last, littered from head to tail in bits of frost, the mare rolled onto her back and simply lay there, staring up at the hazy blue sky and panting. Four spectres had emerged alongside her. They too hyperventilated—if only through sheer relief. "Oh goddess, Rainbow!" "Are you okay, darling?" "Speak to us! Say something!" "Please!" Rainbow panted... panted... panted... swallowed a tight lump, and muttered, "Ow." "Sweet Celestia!" Rarity fanned herself. "That was... was..." "Woohooo!" Pinkie Pie pumped a hoof. "Way to go, Dashie! You teach that bullying avalanche what for!" "But... b-but are you hurt, or...?" Fluttershy fidgeted. "None of her bones are broken," Rarity said. "Unless..." She squinted Rainbow's way. "...you're feeling any pain in your extremities?" "I'm... fine... Rares... I... think..." Rainbow sat up, wincing. Eventually, she gave up with a groan, slumping back on her flank. "Mrmmmfff... just... a breather... please..." "Erm, Rainbow?" Twilight floated up close. "I hate to be a downer, but..." "What... egg... head...?" The unicorn pointed past the mountain summit. The sky was darkening... broiling. One layer at a time, the blue atmosphere disappeared, giving way to a fresh new blizzard rolling in from the north. "... ... ..." Rainbow's eyes rolled back. "Eunnngh..." She clutched her shaved head and gnashed her teeth. "Why couldn't Verlax be the Divine of Tropical Paradises instead?" "You'd rather have this or giant diseased dragon mosquitoes?" Pinkie remarked. "I don't plan on having any foals." Rainbow frowned. "You?" "Rainbow..." Twilight stared at her. "I'm sorry, but... you must get moving again. If this storm is as bad as the last one—" "Right. Right. Find sh-shelter." Aching, Rainbow pushed herself back onto her hooves and gathered her supplies. "Rarity...?" "Senses peeled and already searching, darling." "Good." Rainbow Dash shuffled uphill, one pained hoof after another. "Stay frosty." She winced at her own words. "Y-you know what I m-mean..." Within hours, Rainbow wished that she hadn't pulled herself out of the avalanche. The blizzard hit at full force—and she was in the thick of it. The mare had formed a haphazard scarf from one of the surviving blankets. She covered her nose and muzzle as she trudged across a steep plateau. The ravaging fingers of the blizzard knifed against her, nipping at her eartips and flank with every howling second. Stifling her grunts, Rainbow Dash pushed against the maddening gusts. She faltered every now and then, forced to crouch on bent legs. Her body shuddered, and after a brief struggle she picked herself back up again and resumed her lurch. "This... this is intolerable!" Fluttershy stammered through the blinding bedlam. "How can we continue to force Rainbow through this?!" "If she doesn't keep moving, she'll be worse off!" Twilight turned around. "Rarity?! Any luck?!" "There's some porous rock in the mountains to our right!" Rarity tried pointing through the blizzard, but her pale limb only blended with the obscuring precipitation. "There m-might be a place to rest in there!" "How far away are we talking about?!" Pinkie hollered. "It's closer than the other mountaintops!" Rarity yelled. "You hear that, Rainbow Dash?!" Twilight shouted in their anchor's direction. She clenched her teeth as wave after wave of blizzard phased through her lavender body. "It might be best to head due north!" Rainbow Dash was too busy battling the blistering winds to respond. She squinted into the haphazard frost being flung her way. Her eyes teared, but it was far too cold to risk blinking. She rubbed her lids dry with a forelimb instead. This blinded her, and the mare stumbled. "Unf!" Rainbow collapsed in the snow—and her whole body instantly screamed with frigid pain. "Grnnngh... mmfrfff..." "She c-can't just lay there!" Rarity's voice cracked. "Rainbow!" Twilight flew in. "Get up! The blizzard's one thing, but if you lie still while exposed to the elements—" "Right. Right." Rainbow hissed, her breath turning to frost in front of her and being blown away by the whistling winds. "Right right right... nrnnghhh..." Her limbs refused to function at first, battling waves of numbness. Then, with gradual motion, she lurched back into an accelerated trot. "Good. Just head north, Rainbow. If nothing else, the mountainside should provide a bit of wind resistance." "Uh huh..." Rainbow pivoted to the right, teetered, then continued her trek. The wind was blowing constantly against her left side, which somehow felt even more challenging. The mare winced from her left wing, until the sheer exposure to the blizzard eventually numbed it. "Just... g-gotta climb a mountain..." She gulped. "Never d-done that before." "Rainbow..." "Heheh..." Rainbow seethed through chattering teeth. She didn't have the strength to bear a smile that matched her breathy tone. "Just... a joke... egghead..." Twilight merely bit her lip. "Any luck, Rares?" Pinkie squeaked. "I... I-I haven't sensed anything yet." Rarity squirmed. "Just... k-keep moving, Rainbow, dear." "Oh dear..." Fluttershy looked around as the blizzard only grew thicker and more menacing. "Oh goodness... mmmmm..." Rainbow marched and trudged and... "Oomf!" Rainbow Dash tripped and fell hard on her chest. She winced... though her body hardly understood why. At best, she felt a flutter of tingling sensations rolling up and down her spine, then nothing. Nothing but cold. Her ruby eyes twitched, squinting past the mounds of snow before her muzzle. A steep mountainside loomed before the mare... above her. Rolling patches of ivory whiteness hung under billowing curtains of gray mists, carried sideways by the merciless storm. There was a murmur against her ears. Rainbow shifted. She tilted her head to the left. A lavender shape danced in the fog, then came into focus. Twilight's panicked face looked back at her. Lips moved, damnably desperate and flickering from the snow phasing through them. With a wince, Rainbow sat up. She shook her head until the cobwebs in her neck and skull dissipated. "...back up, Rainbow! Did you hear?! Rarity's sensed something!" "A cave!" Rarity hollered, hovering ahead of the mare and point up the crooked mountainside. "There's a cave up ahead! A deep one! You can get there very easily, Rainbow!" "Mrmmmff..." Rainbow hobbled forward, tripped, then caught her shivering weight with wobbly legs. Gnashing her teeth, the mare tigthened her muscles and forced herself uphill. It was a slow, lumbering battle. Four bright shapes swirled around her in the blinding blizzard. "That's it, Dashie!" Pinkie huffed. Puffed. "Just keep moving! Get that blood flowing in your—" "Augh!" Rainbow yelped. It took her three belated seconds to realize that she had stubbed her fetlock against an exposed chunk of rock. She collapsed again, falling hard on her belly. The world faded, then flickered back along the current of panting yelps. "Rainbow! Get up, darling!" "Rainbow, you must get up!" "Please, Rainbow. Just a few more steps. The cave isn't very far." Rainbow panted and panted—but she could no longer feel the breath pumping in and out of her lungs. The world shifted. She knew that she was tilting her head up, but she sensed as though somepony else was moving her head from the outside. Her body was a cold, shivering shell, and it suddenly felt a lot more comfortable to just... leave it altogether. "Mrmmff... I'm..." Rainbow hissed. She heard a clattering sound that she once recognized as her own teeth. "I'm... I'm sorry, girls..." "Don't say that, Rainbow!" "Rainbow, don't say that!" "You have to keep moving!" "You're awesome, Rainbow! Nopony can move like you! Now get up!" "Not... giving up..." Rainbow wheezed. Her breath solidifed and clung to her nose. "I could h-have gotten us there faster. You don't even know." She drifted. "But right now, just..." Her lids lowered, as did her head. The snow didn't feel quite so cold any more. "Just so... t-tired..." "Rainbow..." "Sorry... just... t-tired..." "Rainbow." Twilight dropped until she was even-faced with the pegasus. "Rainbow, look at me." Rainbow's eyes twitched. Twilight furrowed her brow as she spoke: "I know you're tired. And I know it hurts to keep fighting the blizzard. But if you don't make it to the cave, you're done for. And so are we." "And so's everything!" Pinkie yelped. Twilight gritted her teeth. "Would the Noble Jury settle for you quitting now? Do you want to give up on Princess Luna and Ponyville?" "Mrmmff... Twilight..." Rainbow whimpered. Her ears twitched, digging into the painful blizzard. "Twilight... I-I just... can't..." Fluttershy's voice pierced the howl. "We can't leave Applejack hanging..." Rainbow's pupils instantly shrank. She gnashed her teeth as a deep snarl formed deep in her throat. "Mrmmmfff..." She pushed against the earth, rising one trembling inch after another. "Ngrnnngh..." "Yes... yes..." Twilight nodded, drifting backwards through the onslaught. "That's it, darling!" Rarity cheered. "You've got this, Dashie!" "Rrmmmgfff..." Rainbow Dash stood up on numb limbs. She took one step forward, then fell again. "Oh goodness—!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Rkkk!" Rainbow bit at the air. She pushed again. This time, a pained breath ripped through her lungs, and she released it in a haunting scream. Rarity and Pinkie trembled, their ears drooping. Shouting into the blizzard, Rainbow trudged forward. She heaved and heaved. For every five steps, there was another scream, followed by a whimpering inhale as she powered through the next few meters of snow. "That... th-that's it, Rainbow!" Twilight bravely maintained focus as she motioned the mare along. "Just keep it up!" "You've got this!" Pinkie stammered. "Just keep—" Rainbow screamed again—but it was not enough. Her knees buckled, and she fell flat on her face. A stab of pain rolled through her chin, electrifying her. The air was too cold for the blood to ooze out. She stared up with trembling eyes. A dark shame loomed beyond the miasma—a hole. A cave. It wafted in and out of reality as Rainbow was reduced to a sluggish crawl. "Rrrnnngh... g-goddess!" Rainbow cried, tears forming along the edges of her eyes. They warmed her, mixed with her pain, and drew her forward, hyperventilating, one trembling fetlock after another. "Rnnngh... haaaaugh!" "Just keep moving, Rainbow." "I know it hurts, Rainbow. But you're almost there." "Don't stop now." Somewhere, Fluttershy was weeping. Rarity let loose a pitiable moan. Colors and shapes huddled together, forming a harmonic halo around a quivering strip of fuzzy misery. "Oh Rainbow..." "We believe in you, Dashie!" "We're right with you, Rainbow. You can do this!" The pegasus clenched her eyes shut. She sobbed into the darkness. The darkness echoed back with the voices of dead friends. Somewhere, off to her right, Yaerfaerda pulsed. A distant orange. Faithful and strong. Rainbow's nostrils flared. She forced her eyelids apart and glared through the melting tears. A snarl, a hiss, and she shimmied back onto her feet, finding even hoofing on slick, wet stone. "That's it, Rainbow!" "Just a few more feet!" "You feel it clearing, darling? You're almost at the cave!" "You've got this, Dashie! You've got this!" "Mmmrff-hrrrghh!" Rainbow threw herself onto dry rock. The still air was a shock to her system. Her lungs emptied, and she shivered at the sound of her own echoing breaths. "It's not over yet, Rainbow." "Your limbs are super blue. Quick, make a fire!" "Use the rest of the Desperadoes' fibers if you have to!" "Rainbow, you must make a fire! If you're to survive—" "Your body will feel much better. Trust us, darling." Rainbow wheezed and coughed. She found herself sitting up. Looking down, she saw a pair of blue forelimbs unbuckling her saddlebag and reaching into the contents within. Pinkie's head phased through the material. "The flint's on the left side! The bag of flammable strings are in the middle!" "Take your time." Twilight gestured. "Be slow. Steady. Don't want to drop your supplies now—" Huffing and puffing, Rainbow threw the whole bag's worth of fibers into a gross pile on the floor of the cave. The world was growing black along the edges of her vision. The blizzard's howl dissipated, quieter than a kitten at this point. Rainbow saw a pair of pegasus limbs striking the flint together. "Just a spark, Rainbow." "Just one spark." "That's all it needs." "You'll be warm in a moment, Rainbow. Trust us." "We're all with you on this, Rainbow. You can still make this work." "Just start the fire. Then you can rest." "We promise." Rainbow's breaths had been reduced to periodic, animalistic grunts. She struggled and fussed with the flint. Sparks formed, but they landed on sterile stone. Growling, she fought and struck the rocks some more... ...until the metals fell completely out of her grasp. Pinkie blinked. "Dashie?" She looked up, her eyes widening. Rainbow's lids had grown heavy. Her ears folded back and her eyes rolled. "Rainbow!" Fluttershy yelped. The mare teetered. The world went black. Twilight's voice shrieked: "Rainbow! Stay awake!" "No, Rainbow!" "Stay with us—" Rainbow fell. And when her body hit the floor of the cave... ...she didn't feel a thing.