"Mrmmmmmgfff..." Rainbow ran and ran and—"Aaack!" The world spun as she spontaneously pratfalled. Wh-Wh-Wh-Whump! "Ooomf!"
At last, she tumbled to a stop against the base of a hill.
Pain rolled through her... then sank into a numb sea.
Wincing, the mare spat grass out of her muzzle and looked up.
Two saddlebags loomed on the top of a hill beneath a setting sun.
"Mrmmfff... grrrrrr..." Growling under her breath, Rainbow shook... quivered... and finally pushed herself back onto all fours.
Wham!
"Ugh!" Rainbow collapsed against the bottom of the hill.
Panting... wincing... she looked up.
The hill cast a shadow over her now. The two saddlebags were dark sihlouettes against a dimming afternoon sky.
"Dang it... it's just a hill!" Resisting the urge to curse, Rainbow struggled... pushing against the earth... against gravity... against all the numbness in between. "Mrmmmgnnnghh-guhhhh!"
At last she stood up... only to teeter backwards.
"Whoah whoah whoah—dang it!"
Thwump!
Rainbow lay limply on her back, her tingling legs curled above her.
Silence.
"... ... ... ...maybe I need a longer start."
Rainbow panted.
Rainbow gritted her teeth.
Her legs jerked and blurred beneath her as—
Stomp!Stomp!Stomp!Stomp!Stomp!
—she hurled herself towards the base of the hill.
"I can make it... I can make it..." She clenched her jaw tight, nostrils flaring as she reached the base of the damnable hill. "Come onnnnnn—!" Her voice mutated into tense squeaks as she fought and struggled against friction and gravity.
The two saddlebags grew closer and closer. Rainbow could almost kiss the alicorn goblet—it was so close.
"Yes..." Rainbow wheezed, her eyes sparkling as the ground soared beneath her. "Yes...!" The grass and the dirt flew past her. "Yes...?" She blinked, gawking as the gained more and more impossible speed. At last—with a forlorn breath—she looked at her sides.
The mare's wings were spread. She reached the top of the hill through subconscious wingpower.
Rainbow drew her feathers in. Plop! She landed anticlimactically beside her last remaining possessions.
The sun was setting.
A dark shadow hung over the valley.
"... ... ..."
Tired... stained with sweat...
...Rainbow slumped down next to her saddlebags. She inhaled and exhaled slowly... her ears drooped.
At last, she reached a tentative hoof towards her bags. She couldn't tell if she was touching them or not; she had to look. Using her eyes has her only means of guiding her numb limb, she drew out one of two massive medicine jugs.
The mare breathed and breathed. She glanced over at where the stage had been erected for the announcement of the Marathon. Then—with a heavy sigh—she fussed and fumbled to get the lid off the mouth of the jug.
She ultimately had to use her teeth.