Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49

Subject 131: Frigid Pain

“STICK TOGETHER!’ Diamond shouted at the rest of us. We heeded his orders as the leader.

The avalanche was rather forceful as the ground continued to wobble beneath us. This was uncanny. Just what could’ve caused this? Even I could feel that the earth was in a stable, relaxed state with no sign of danger. This rapid snowfall was artificial. Someone did this on purpose.

But there was no time to worry about that. We had to keep our wits about us as we navigated away from the snow. It had already traveled halfway down the nearby mountain and was set to travel over and barrel down our hill next! We had no time to waste!

Unfortunately, I heard someone trip. “Ahh!”

I looked behind me, and saw a stallion and his colt both trapped within some of the snow. They must have set hoof on a weak part of it which made them sink in! I rushed back up as fast as I could, but the rest of the snow was on its way at a rapid pace.

“I’ve got you, hang on!” I called out as I rushed to their aid.

“Take him and go!” the pegasus stallion said as he extended his colt to me, “There’s not enough time!”

The colt naturally shrieked out of distress. “Dad! No! I can’t just--”

I did my best to pull him out, but there was no chance of getting him to budge. I looked up, and the snow had coagulated with heavy bits of rock and ice. It was now a class five emergency that would cause deadly damage to anyone who was caught in the sweep. In the end, I had to make a choice.

I put the colt on my back. “I’ll make sure he’s safe and sound, sir. But then I’m coming back for you immediately afterward.”

“But--!” The colt tried to interject, but there was no room for it at that moment. We had to go.

And so, I raced back down that hill without looking back. It wrenched my gut to leave him behind, but I had no choice. It was a swift endeavor as I rushed down that hill where everyone else had been waiting safely. The mother of the colt, a pegasus mare approached us.

“Bolt! You’re okay! But...where’s my husband?!” she cried.

I placed the colt down, and he scrambled to embrace his mother. I looked back up at that mountain that had been snowed over. The avalanche had come to a stop, but I knew that father was still trapped up there. “...He’ll be fine. Because I’m going back,”

Cozy tried to call out to me. “Pale, stop--!”

But I didn’t listen. I ran back up that hill with intent to find that stallion--a father, a husband. I refused to allow his life to be lost on this day. As I left the group, I could hear Double Diamond lead the group away from the hiking site so that they could return to safety. “Get back, everypony. We need to get you all to safety.”

With a deft, shaky gait, I galloped up that hill. That stallion would not fall so long as I drew breath. I swore that to myself.

It was all quiet now with no sign of any further impending snowfall which was good. But at the same time, I was in a state of panic. Where was he? All of this frozen white mush looked the same. Coupled with the fact that rocks were among the pileup, there was almost no chance of locating the poor soul. But I had to at least try.

And so I did. For what felt like forever.

I dug my hooves through that snow and hit the occasional rock, but no sign of the male pony. It pained me to my core the more I searched, only to turn up with nothing. Even against the cold, I felt like my internal organs boiled within the confines of my jacket. My heart rate increased, my breath was taxed with laboriously choppy huffs, and I could feel a dark sense of despair overtake me the more I searched. I could not imagine the state of mind that the mare and her child would be in if the pony they loved dearly was lost by something so happenstance.

“No...no...no…!”

Unfortunately, over time, I started to lose faith. Mostly in myself and the fact that I could not find this stallion. Was I so incompetent that I couldn’t find a missing pony? No. Come on, Pale. Just keep it together. Keep it together…

At last, I found a feather. He had to be nearby. I kept searching, and even cut my hoof against some of the jagged pieces of debris that had been carried along in the now-still pile of snow. It took a while, but I finally found something else. A bit of a limb buried beneath the snow. I dug as fast and hard as I could. The snow became a bit pink as it mixed with the blood from the cuts I recieved.

There he was. Frozen over with his wings frostbitten, but alive. I could hear the pony’s heart beat every so slightly. But I needed to act fast. Just as I did with his son from earlier, I put him on my back, and raced back down the hill.

---

Meanwhile…

“And now you’ll see...not everyone will appreciate what you do.”

---

After a quick dash to the hospital in Sire’s Hollow, the stallion was defrosted and put under a sort of magical thermal stasis to regulate his body temperature. I wasn’t entirely sure on how all of the details worked, but I knew that he was in good hooves.

I was also treated and got my forelegs bandaged up as well as a quick checkup to make sure that I hadn’t suffered from the extreme conditions either.

Then, the stallion’s wife and child showed up to check on the status of their loved-one. I was actually on my way out of the building by then. However, before I could leave, I was called upon.

“You...sir!” the mare addressed me, her tone had a hint of unexpected malice.

I wasn’t sure how to approach her, so I responded cautiously. “Yes, madam?” I asked as I turned around.

“The doctors said that he may not fully recover. Half of his brain was frozen.” She walked up to me, her eyes filled with broken rivers of tears. “...Why...why couldn’t you have saved them both?”

I felt nothing but sympathy for her. I answered in the only way that I could. “...There wasn’t enough time,” I said as I looked away, “I prioritized the life of your child first. Please, don’t hold it against me.”

A long silence that deafened the sense filled the air. The tension was thick enough to cut through. I wasn’t sure if the mare was going to flip her lid or not. But I would not shy away. I had to at least hear what she had to say about it.

In the end, her response was brief. “...While I wish you could have rescued them both, I’m grateful that my boy is safe. I just hope my husband won’t suffer permanent damage. But despite that...thank you.”

I felt...damaged, by her words. Not a personal level, but in a way that made me rethink myself. Could I really have saved both? Could I have done more? Did I chicken out of the risk involved? Was it ultimately my fault if her husband never recovered?

“You’re welcome,” I replied and left the hospital. I was immediately greeted by a relieved Cozy and Cheerilee who caught me in a tight hug. “Aah!”

“Oh thank goodness you’re okay, pops!” Cozy said.

“We were so worried! Is everything alright?” Cheerilee asked.

This feeling of comfort and love...was it entirely possible that the stallion I failed to save would never feel the same embrace of his family again?

All of it made my head hurt.

Comments

[Neo4K]

The avalanche was rather forceful as the ground continued to wobble beneath us. This was uncanny. Just what could’ve caused this? Even I could feel that the earth was in a stable, relaxed state with no sign of danger. This rapid snowfall was artificial. Someone did this on purpose.

Of course. The question is, who?

“And now you’ll see...not everyone will appreciate what you do.”

😠 Smug bastard.

In the end, her response was brief. “...While I wish you could have rescued them both, I’m grateful that my boy is safe. I just hope my husband won’t suffer permanent damage. But despite that...thank you.”

😌 Crisis averted.

I felt...damaged, by her words. Not a personal level, but in a way that made me rethink myself. Could I really have saved both? Could I have done more? Did I chicken out of the risk involved? Was it ultimately my fault if her husband never recovered?

😟 But at what cost to Pale's mentality?

[GamePlayer64]

True Fathers put their own kids lives over theirs. I put 'True' because there are deadbeat and purely awful fathers, along with crappy mothers

[Jmaster49]

10591803
Just like Spider-Ham in Spiderverse said, you can't save everyone...

[Jmaster49]

10591831
That's right. Pale did what he could in that situation.