My eyes flew open, a dark gray sky greeting me. My entire body hurt, making various popping sounds as I attempted to get up.

I felt resistance in my movement to get up, when I saw an unconscious Fluttershy on top of me, slowly breathing.

I let out a sigh, falling back to the ground. "At least we're okay." I said, reassuring myself. "At least we're okay.."

I decided my next step of action would be to try and wake up the yellow pony that was holding me down.

I poked her face softly, whispering "Hey. Fluttershy. You gotta wake up."

After a few more pokes, she began to stir. "Eclipsal…? Is that you..?"

"Yeah. It's me." I said, as she began to get her bearings.

She looked up, seeing the cliff looming above us. "Did we fall?"

"Yeah.. yeah we did. You took a tree for me, and then you started to fall. I caught you right before we fell, and here we are." I explained.

This made her look down at me quickly, registering that she was still on top of me, and she scrambled off of me, a furious red tint on her face. A second after, she let out a squeak of what sounded like pain, looking to her left side.

I looked too, seeing that her wing was partially red, hanging limply from her back. Her back leg and front leg looked bruised as well, looking slightly bigger than they should be.

"Oh no.. Fluttershy, are you okay?" I said, getting up while ignoring the pain that was screaming through my body.

"Ah… I think my wing is broken. My back leg is sprained, and my front leg…" She tapped her leg against a rock, recoiling quickly. "Front leg is broken too.." She muttered in a strained voice.

"I am so sorry, Fluttershy. If only I was able to use my magic to fight that stupid monster…" I guiltily said, feeling angry with myself. 'How the hay could I let this happen to Fluttershy, of all ponies? She helped me without even being told to, and here I am not even able to protect her…' My train of thought broke as she began speaking again.

"How long were we out for?" Fluttershy asked me, glancing towards the top of the cliff.

"I… I don't really know." I responded back.

"It looks dark out... we might have to set up camp. It's a bad idea to travel this area in the middle of the night." She said, looking up at the sky.

"More monsters are out here..?" I asked her, looking out towards the darkened trees surrounding us.

"Yeah, though I imagine they won't bother us. They usually don't bother me at least, because most animals know who I am." She explained, before attempting to stand up.

"Woah, don't you think you need to stay off of your legs?" I asked her, as she made a small 'eep' and laid herself back down.

"Well somepony needs to go get some sticks to start a fire.." She muttered.

"Well that will be me who does that then. You're hurt, and now it's my time to take care of you, instead of the other way around." I sternly said, hoping she would listen to me.

She let out a sigh, and replied back to me with a small smile. "Okay then. This time, I'll be in your care."

'And this time, I won't let you get hurt.' I thought to myself.

I had collected a lot of dead trees, and some logs to keep our fire burning. It hurt to break the wood into pieces, but I didn't want Fluttershy to worry about me, so I hid it to the best of my abilities.

"This should be enough fuel to keep us going for the night, and part of tomorrow morning." Fluttershy said, observing the fire.

"That's good. Then we can make it back to Ponyville tomorrow. It only took about an hour to get here, right?" I asked her, chucking another piece of wood into the fire.

"Yeah, but now I can't use my wings or my legs. I have no way of travelling to Ponyville in my condition." She said, laying her head down, and releasing another sigh.

After a moment of thought, I came up with an idea. "Maybe… maybe I could take you there on my back? Would that work?"

Fluttershy's eyes widened in surprise, her face glowing a slight red. "Oh my.. I-I Eclipsal, you've already done enough to help me feel comfortable. It would be better if I just stayed here while you went and got help."

"There is no way I'm going to leave you here Fluttershy!" I said, which made her jump in surprise. "I refuse to leave you behind. You're my friend, and I don't leave friends behind. Especially since this entire thing is my fault."

"Eclipsal, it's not your fault. You did your best.."

"But it wasn't good enough. You still got hurt in the end. If I had just let you go with Applejack or Twilight, then they would have been able to actually protect you."

"Eclipsal…" Fluttershy sadly muttered.

"I am just so useless.. I can't even help you, the pony who helped me when I most needed it." I said, lowering my body and head to the ground, as I spent the next few minutes staring into the fire. Fluttershy broke the silence.

"Listen to me, Eclipsal." Fluttershy said, her eyes staring into mine. "We fought a Hydra. One of the fiercest monsters in Equestria. You weren't able to use your magic, and even then I'm assuming you did everything you could to try and save me from falling. I took that tree because you were my friend and I didn't want you hurt, just like how you caught me because I am yours."

She broke eye contact with me, looking now back into the fire. I looked back at it too.

"I… I guess your right. I still feel guilty about it though, like I could have done or changed something to prevent this from happening…"

"You shouldn't dwell on the past like this. It's always good to know where you came from and what made you who you are, and even to learn from your past mistakes; but you shouldn't dwell on things that can't be changed." Fluttershy replied to me.

It was quiet for another minute, until Fluttershy spoke again. "I used to be bullied a lot in flight school. I was a bad flier, and people would call me Klutzershy, and chant 'Fluttershy can hardly fly'. Then I met Rainbow Dash. She stood up for me, one of the very few ponies to ever do so. They made fun of her too, and eventually she challenged them to a race, to stop the bullying once and for all. When I waved the flag to start the race, they zoomed past me so quickly that I fell off the cloud I was on."

"Were you okay?"

"Yeah. A flock of butterflies caught me, and while I was down on the ground I realized my connection with animals. I was able to understand them, and communicate with them, in ways that most weren't able to. That's how I got my cutie mark. Afterwards, I learned that Rainbow had won the race, and also got her cutie mark."

"But… why are you telling me this?"

"Because, a year or so ago, we were tasked with taking the water from a local lake all the way up to Cloudsdale, so they could produce clouds. Rainbow was in charge of the entire thing, and because Soarin of the Wonderbolts was going to be there, she wanted to break the world record of fastest wing power used to make a tornado."

Fluttershy turned her head downwards, a sad look crossing her face.

"Rainbow needed me to be able to help break the record, but because of what happened at flying school, I was too afraid to. She tried to convince me. To give me courage. And she did. I finally went to practice to see how fast I could fly. My wing power was less than average though…"

"What was your wing power?" I asked curiously.

"It was .5, and the average is 7 or 8 for most ponies. When I saw my power, and the some ponies laughing at me again for being a bad flier, I lost my will to join. Then my animal friends helped me, training me to get faster. I came back to the training area, fully prepared to be faster than before. Yet, for all that work I did, I only got to a 2.3 power."

"That seems like it's a huge improvement though, especially in such a short time." I added, which made Fluttershy give a small smile.

"Yeah, that's what Twilight told me too. Anyway, the next day it was time to bring the water up to Cloudsdale. A lot of ponies got the feather flu though, and weren't able to show up. They weren't able to break the record anymore, but Cloudsdale still needed the water, so they tried to make a tornado. They were just below 800, the bare minimum wing power needed to make a tornado. They weren't able to maintain it, and broke apart, everypony getting slightly hurt. Rainbow was somehow able to convince everypony to go again, even though they would end up worse off if they crashed again. They were just below 800 again. Twilight gave me courage, telling me that I would be able to stabilize the tornado if I were to fly in."

"Did you fly in, though? Even though some ponies made fun of you?"

"Yeah, I did. I refused to let my past mess with me when everypony needed me. So I took off, and flew into the tornado to help. All I remember is that I kept going faster and faster, until Rainbow herself has to stop me from flying, because we already finished transferring the water up to Cloudsdale. Then everypony was so proud of me.. they started cheering my name. It was definitely one of my most memorable days, and one I won't forget. Especially with the lesson I learned from it."

"What did you learn?" I asked, now fully entranced with her story.

"Exactly what I told you. Don't let your past get in the way with the present. Don't let it taunt you and ruin things for you. Don't let it taunt you for years, like I let it do to me." She said, finishing her story.

"…thanks for that. I actually feel a bit better. I'm still taking you back to Ponyville on my back though. I won't leave you behind." I said, giving my definite answer.

Fluttershy gave me a soft smile, her face glowing the light of the fire. "In that case, I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, if you're going to do that, we better go to sleep now, so you have the power to get us home tomorrow."

I nodded my head in agreement. In no time at all, I began to hear Fluttershy softly snoring in her spot. I was up for a little while longer, enjoying the relaxing moment. I closed my eyes, slowly fading to sleep, when I heard a small whimper from around me.

I opened my eyes again, lifting my head up in search of the noise. I looked to Fluttershy, who appeared to be whimpering and shivering, obviously cold, even with us being in such close proximity to the fire.

I got up and lay down next to her on her good side, hoping that would help her stay warm. After I did that, she quieted down again, and leaned more into me, nuzzling her head into my body. I smiled, happy that she wasn't cold anymore, and sleep quickly overtook me as well.

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping, and looked around, seeing the fire from last night had gone out while we were sleeping. 'I guess it's a good thing I moved over next to Fluttershy, or she would have froze.' I thought to myself.

Speaking of Fluttershy, it was now morning, and time for us to start heading out to Ponyville. I got up, quicker than I should have, as I felt a rush of pain flow through my body.

"Ugh… why does everything hurt so much..?" I growled, testing a few of my limbs. "I know the fall from the cliff was going to hurt, but the pain should have been gone by now.."

"Mmm… Eclipsal?" I heard Fluttershy mutter, obviously waking up from sleeping.

I decided to ignore the pain to the best that I could, and responded to her. "Hey. G'mornin, Fluttershy. Ready to start the trek down to Ponyville?"

She gave a slight nod, before asking me, "How am I supposed to get on your back though?"

I gave a smirk, and answered her with one word:

"Magic."

Fluttershy was holding herself still on my back as we walked through the forest. Every once and awhile, she would point me down a different part of the path, knowing the layout of the area better than I ever could.

"Okay, that should be the last turn. There should only be a straight path back home, now." Fluttershy confidently said.

It was quiet for awhile as I walked, Fluttershy often looking around the area. In truth, my entire body still hurt. It felt like it was on fire, while being numb, while just aching and hurting in general. I didn't tell that to Fluttershy though; I wanted to get her back to Ponyville as quick as possible so that she could get herself fixed. Then I would worry about myself.

A few minutes later, we came upon a small ledge, only 3 feet steep, and I jumped down it. I let out a gasp as I hit the ground, my knees tempting to buckle themselves under me. I groaned, forcing my legs to stay upright.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked me, a worried look displayed on her face.

"Yeah.. yeah I'm fine. Just wasn't ready for that small drop, I guess." I lied to her, hoping she didn't pick up on the pain I was in.

I continued down the path, feeling Fluttershy looking around us, probably looking for some landmarks that would show that we were closer to home.

I came across a hill in what looked like a huge opening, and walked over it.

Seeing what was on the other side of it made me smile in triumph, as Fluttershy let out a happy gasp. Ponyville was now right at the bottom of the hill, looking like the most welcoming place in existence.

"We did it, Fluttershy!" I yelled in excitement, heading down the hill.

"Good job, Eclipsal. And.. thanks for not leaving me behind." She said with a smile.

"Any thing for you, Fluttershy. Now it's time to get you to the hospital." I replied, entering the town.

Many ponies saw us, looking very worried, and even made room for us as we approached the Ponyville Medical. It wasn't long before a bunch of ponies were just worriedly staring at us, everypony stopping their normal business.

We got into the door of Ponyville Medical, and told the doctors what happened. They had me follow them into one of their rooms, and had me use my magic to gently lift Fluttershy off of my back, and onto the bed in front of us.

"You still okay?" I asked her, making sure I hadn't hurt her while placing her on the bed.

"Yeah I'm fine." She replied, giving me a smile.

The door opened, as one of the nurses came in. "Hello there, Fluttershy."

"Hello, Nurse Redheart." Fluttershy welcomed with a smile.

Nurse Redheart closed the door behind her, then enveloped Fluttershy in her magic, closing her eyes. She then opened them again, and began speaking.

"Fluttershy, it appears as though you have your left front leg and left wing broken, your back left leg is sprained. Your ribs are extremely bruised, and some are even fractured." Nurse Redheart said, finishing her diagnosis.

"Ah, I knew about my legs and wing before, I didn't know about my ribs though. Thank you for helping Nurse Redheart." Fluttershy said.

"Well, I'll begin putting your body in a magic cast, so that your ribs will be fine. You have got to tell me what happened to you, though.. I haven't seen something this bad since the Discord attack a few years ago." Nurse Redheart said, pulling out rolls of bandages, while magic encased Fluttershy.

The door flew open, a livid Rainbow Dash appearing from it. "Fluttershy, are you okay?! What happened?!" Rainbow asked, rushing to her bedside.

"Uh.. maybe it would be better to explain it once everypony got here.." Fluttershy suggested.

"Well I flew here as soon as we heard that Eclipsal brought you back into town, hurt. The others should show up here soon, though." Rainbow explained, wearily looking at the nurse wrap up Fluttershy's back leg.

A minute passed in an awkward silence, when Rainbow broke it. "Fluttershy… I'm glad you're okay. We were up looking for you most of last night… I'm just… I'm glad you're fine."

"I'm a lot more tougher than I look Rainbow. You of all ponies should know that." Fluttershy said with a soft giggle.

At this moment, the other ponies we were waiting for stampeded into the room, questions flying out of their mouth quicker than I could keep up with.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?

"Did sompony hurt ya?" Who's flank do I gotta kick?"

"Oh dear, Fluttershy, what happened?"

"Yay! We found Fluttershy! You're not that good at hide and seek though."

I interrupted them all. "Uh… everypony. Calm down, so Fluttershy can speak."

Fluttershy thanked me, and then told them all what happened. From her looking for them but finding me, taking me down to the bog, moving the rocks, getting attacked by a Hydra, me not being able to use my magic, then us escaping from the Hydra, her getting hit trying to protect me, and me jumping off the cliff to help her. She left out the conversation we had last night, but did tell of me carrying her back. Our friends were quiet and listened to the whole thing, asking for explanations to some parts, but ultimately paying full attention.

Nurse Redheart was actually the first to speak. "Sounds like you had another crazy adventure. Good thing that none of your injuries are permanent, though."

I looked to the other ponies, Rainbow looking flustered, while the others just shocked that we went through all of that.

"I'll be fine, everypony. Don't worry about me. I would like to be alone now though, so I can get some rest." Fluttershy explained, letting everypony leave.

We walked outside of the hospital, and I let out a sigh. Now it was time for me to get some rest. I tried to say goodbye to the others, when Rainbow flew up to me, fire burning in her eyes.

"You." She snarled, angrily grabbing me.

"You should have protected her better!" Rainbow yelled, pushing me to the ground.

"You should have known that you wouldn't be strong enough to protect her against a BUCKING Hydra! You SHOULD have gotten one of us! You aren't the fastest pony in Equestria. You aren't the most magically inclined pony in Equestria. You aren't even skilled in fighting like Applejack is!" Rainbow said, jabbing her hoof in my face.

"Rainbow, dear, let him go. He did what he could." Rarity said, approaching us.

"Don't. You. Dare." Rainbow said, casting a glare that made Rarity stop and begin backtracking.

"If it weren't for you," Rainbow snarled, looking down at me. "Fluttershy wouldn't be in the hospital now, unable to take care of her animals!"

"You should have been the one to take a hit for her, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!" Rainbow continued yelling.

Rainbow got off of me and turned around, preparing to walk off. Then she stopped. "You don't even look like you have a bruise on you, and Fluttershy is sitting in there with two messed up legs, her wing broken, and her ribs all messed up…" She shook her head.

"This is all your fault. I never want to see you again."

I got up from where I was, staring in shock at the once friendly Rainbow, now angrier than I had ever seen her before.

Then she cast a gaze over her shoulder, and said, "One last thing…"

Her hind legs flew upwards, sending me sliding across the ground, until I hit the walls of a building. I heard the other ponies gasp, as Rainbow flew up to me.

"Buck you." She said, now flying away from the scene.

Twilight was the first to run up to me. "Are… are you okay?"

I tried to speak, but I ended up coughing instead.

She told the others that she would take care of me, and began walking me back to her house.

The entire time, I couldn't stop coughing. It felt like there was something bubbling up inside my body, which just wouldn't go down.

We got into the library, and Twilight brought out a first aid kit. She tried to look through the bruising on my chest, but my dark fur got in the way of seeing anything. She than said, "Here, let me go get something. By the way… I'm sorry about Rainbow. She tends to be pretty hot headed, but she should be fine soon."

I continued coughing up a fit, before I finally felt something coming out of my mouth. I looked down to see some red substance all over the hoof that I was using to cover my mouth.

"Hey, Twilight… what is this?" I asked her, watching her turn around and drop everything that she was levitating.

"Oh my Celestia.. Eclipsal, do you feel lightheaded?" Twilight asked me, grabbing the things she had before.

"Not really, I think." I replied, now feeling a bit worried. "Is something wrong?"

Twilight's horn began to glow, as her magic surrounded my body. She began to focus as much as she could, before letting out a gasp.

"Do you have any idea how much your body is broken right now!? How could we have been so stupid to think that you would be fine after catching Fluttershy off a cliff… And I think Rainbow might have punctured something inside of you, and you're internally bleeding…" Twilight muttered. "We have to get you back to the hospital, now."

"No! I can't go back to the hospital! I don't want Fluttershy to see me like this, and start to feel guilty for me carrying her here!" I said, backing up.

"But.." Twilight began.

"No buts. I'm not going. You have to promise me you won't take me to the hospital." Remembering something Pinkie had said, I changed my previous statement. "You have to Pinkie Promise that you won't take me, AND you won't tell anyone about this."

Twilight sat there, trying to say something, but just ended up shaking her head. "But… Rainbow Dash… Fine. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick up a cupcake in my eye." Twilight sighed.

"Okay, thank you." I said, sighing in relief.

"You have to let me help heal you though." Twilight said, ushering me towards the guest room.

"Fine, I can accept that." I said.

A few minutes passed as I relaxed on the bed in the guest room. Twilight came back in with multiple bandages, intent on fixing my limbs before trying to heal my bones.

As she rapped one of my hooves, she began talking to me. "Why do you not want anyone to know about you being hurt?"

I sighed. "I don't want Fluttershy to feel guilty about me caring for her while we were at the bottom of the cliff… and what Rainbow said. She was right.. I shouldn't have thought that I would be an acceptable replacement for a freaking Element of Harmony. Any of you would have helped Fluttershy better than I did…"

Twilight sadly looked down at me. "Eclipsal, you took care of her though. You did the best you could."

I stared out the window silently.

'But it wasn't good enough.'

Loyalty has been questioned.

Author's Notes:

(A/N) So, remember when I said I would update on Tuesday? I changed my mind. I decided to give you the content of two chapters in my usual timely fashion. Enjoy thyself. ANYWAY. This was a very interesting chapter to write. I MEAN 4000 WORDS. Yeesh. Onto reviews? Yeah.

Fanfiction:

Voice of Hunger- hehe thanks :P

Kiri the brony- I feel like all I do is cliffhangers lol

GAMMA DAWN14- hehe thanks ^-^

Stillwater- I think some people are lol like it shocks me to see what some of the ideas people come up with that are close to the truth xD

FiMfiction:

toasty_muffinz- again, Fluttershy is less shy around her best friends, which is why she seems slightly out of character :P