//------------------------------// // The Fall // Story: Waking Up // by Paladin-mlp //------------------------------// Falling, you’re falling… You’ve had this dream before, several times before. Yet this time it felt different, you could feel the wind against your face. It felt so real. Yet this dream usually is much shorter, you hit the ground and then you wake up, but not this time for some reason…. “WAKE UP!!! YOU’RE FALLING, WAKE UP!!!” A frantic feminine voice yells at you. “Wait, what’s going on?“ “YOU’VE FALLIN ASLEEP WHILE FLYING! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” The female voice screams at you, a wail of fear and panic filling her voice. “What… OH FUCK!” This realization hits you, you remember you were in the middle of making a late night delivery, you were nodding off, the cool fall air felt comforting against your fur, you were tired and weak, you were sick, you should have stayed home but went to work anyway because you didn’t have any PTO… You were going to die if you don’t wake up… You begin to focus on waking up. Your consciousness begins the process of pulling out of deep sleep. You can feel the wind against your wings, you try to flap them but nothing happens, you are still pulling out of deep sleep, you do not have motor functions yet. A few seconds passes, feeling like an eternity, you finally pull out. You open your eyes to see the city streets below, dangerously close and rapidly drawing near. You attempt to stabilize from the free fall, adjusting and wildly flapping your wings. You partially begin to resume control and then… SLAM … “GHHUUUUUAAAAAH!!!!” You painfully let out a gasp for air as it enters your lungs. “Stay with me!” A strong feminine voice yells to you from the distance. Excruciating pain covers your entire body “Listen to me, you need to focus!” You try to curl up into a fetal position, and in doing so are overcome another immense wave of pain. As you attempt to curl your legs into your chest, you realize that you cannot feel anything below your kneecaps. “Relax, remain calm!” Shock overtakes you. You try to cry out for help, but the pain overtakes you, blackness overtakes you. … You come back to your senses. The overwhelming pain has left your body, but the memory of it is still fresh in your mind. You shudder remembering how terrifying the pain was. You try to open your eyes, but all you can see is blackness. The top of your legs are submerged in what feels like wet sand. You try to flap your wings, but they feel restrained. You try to move your legs, but you are unable. Fear begins to overtake you, and you feel yourself slowly sinking into the sand. You try scream, but you can barely make a sound. “He…” You struggle just trying to speak just a few syllables. “Heell” The sand slowly creeps further up over your body. “HELLLP MEEE!” You manage to cry out the best you could. Panic begins to take hold of you as the sand moves up to your neck. You sense a flash of light occurring far off in the distance. “Where are you, speak!” the familiar yet unknown voice calls out. The sand makes its way up to you lips. “H-H-HELLP MEE, I-I-I’M S-S-SINKING!” You take one last breath of air as the sand moves to your nostrils. “I can barely sense you, hold on I am coming!” The unknown voice calls out. A faint blue glow approaches from ahead of you. You cannot make out the blurry form in the darkness. “Where are you, say something?!” You let out a pathetic yelp, and sand fills your mouth in the process. The sand covers your head and you are completely submerged. You are overcome with terror and you feel yourself quickly plunging into the wet sand. You feel the sand compressing upon your body as your lungs begin to pain for air. You try to move your limbs once more, but to no avail. You come to realize that this is it. You are going to die here. You let your body go limp. As the lack of air begins to overtake you, the sand against you skin begins to feel familiar. You remember a time when there was sunshine, sand, water… it was a beach. There was someone else there too; you were playing together in the sand. You were both young, she said it would be fun to see how big of a hole both of you could dig in the sand… A blue aura surrounds you. You begin to feel yourself being pulled upwards. “I have you! Hold on!” A feeling of hope begins to fill your mind, and the panic is begging to subside. However, the lack of breath is taking its toll on you, you are becoming light headed. “You shall not pass out! Stay with me!” Confused by the loud and angry voice, you begin to drift off, but you continue to try to recall who was with you that day at the beach… Was it a friend? No… It was family member… It was your older sister. Together you were able to dig a pretty deep hole in the sand, but then… the walls of the hole collapsed on top of you… you couldn’t breathe… “Enough of this…” The unknown voice says to herself. The aura surrounding your body disappears and instead shifts to the sand above your body. Suddenly, as if a land mine went off, the sand above your head explodes into the air. You gasp for oxygen and your lungs rejoice as they are filled. You remember your sister… she saved you… she dug you out of the sand pit. The first thing you saw after she brushed the sand off your eyes was her face, the sun shining brightly behind her. Her face filled with tears and fear. She grabbed you in her hooves and pulled you close… The dark sky begins slowly illuminate with light. Everything appears blurry, but you clearly see the tan sand beneath your hooves. You can hear waves of water calmly hitting the sand behind you. As the sand settles you begin to see a tall dark figure with a blue aura hazing in and out of view. “T-t-thank y-you s-sis, thank you...” You manage to welp out to the mysterious figure as tears roll down your eyes. She pauses for a moment, as if you caught her off guard. “I am not your sister.” She says in a stoic tone. “Do you know where you are?” “S-s-sand, quick s-sand.” “No… let us start with a simpler question. What is your name?” “I..I…my n-name… is…I…I.. .d-don’t …know.” “Listen...” the voice says with a sigh “You have been in an accident, there was a period of time where your brain was deprived of oxygen. I need to gauge how much damage has been caused. I need you focus and answer my questions. …I am afraid that if you are nothing but an empty shell, I will have to let you succumb to your demise…” After taking a second to comprehend what was said to you, fear grips your mind. Have you become nothing but an empty shell of your former self? Are you still you? You begin to feel the sand pulling you down again. “What is your name?” The voice sternly asks. You look down, the sand is slowly enveloping your body again. You continue to stare in fear as the sand moves past your legs and up your torso. “Tell me you name!!” The voice yells, grabbing your attention. “I-I-I’m…” Realizing that if you don’t say something soon you will be doomed, you say the first name that comes to your mind. “DASH, RAINBOW DASH!” The voice pauses for a second, then replies. “What?!? No… you not even a mare... Your real name! What is your real name!?” Your mind erupts into fear and chaos, swirling all over the place to try to remember who you are. The sand begins to approach your lower lips. The voice of the dark mare becomes bleak. “I am sorry, but the brain damage appears extensive… There is only one thing I can do to end your suffering… Try to relax, it will all be over soon…” The encroaching sand begins to hit your lower lip. Your mind scrambles over what appears to be random flashes of memories, you recall sitting at a desk, surrounded by several other ponies. A teacher reading off a list of names. “Rainbow Dash” “RAINBOW DASH!” “Sorry, sorry, here” “Starry Eyes” “Here” “Candy Floss” “Here” “Moon Glider” … … … “HERE!” You let out with a cry, tears forming in your eyes. “What?” The mare’s voice confusingly asks. “M-M-MOON.” “SAY IT!” “MOON G-GLIDER.” “YES!” The blue aura surrounds you and stops you from sinking further. “What country are you from Moon Glider?” “I-I’m from E-E-Equestria.” “YES! You’re doing great! What is your profession Moon Glider?” You think for a second, then remember yourself sitting behind a counter in front of a cash register. “C-c-cashier.” The voice pauses, and then replies with a little less enthusiasm. “Hmm… yes, you were a cashier in the past, but what was your most recent job?” You pause as you try to remember. You remember a lot of soaring through the sky. “I f-flew.” “Why did you fly?” You recall being strapped to something, a heavy load burdening you down as you flew, you remember an angry pony, your asshole boss yelling at you. “I was a d-d-delivery p-pony…” Then a memory stirred deep inside you, the memory of the intense pain came back to you. Your vision begins to fade to black. “Moon Glider focus! You are going to cause a collapse!” The sand surrounding you disappears. The blue aura in front of you begins to fade. “Moon Glider, you must relax and-” Her voice is cut off, a familiar blackness overtakes you.