Six Story Freefall

Chapter 1: 60 ft

I just had the strangest dream; stretching out in all directions was blue sky, bright and vivid, with two sparrows; one white and one black, flying in slow motion towards each other each with a spool of twine clutched in their talons. After what seemed like hours, an explosions of feathers and down signaled the end of the dream and the start of the alarm clock’s pure evil ring.

I've always hated waking up; the sharp realization that you have been snatched from your dreams, the return of dread and anxiety once again flooding in to take residence within your mind. They say that your dreams are all just tricks of the mind, your unconscious brain moving memories from one area to another (clearly my brain needs to be more organized). However I've always felt that my dreams were always more "colorful" than real life. I never need to pinch myself to tell if I'm dreaming; I only need to sit up and stare out the window into the grey sky, ever vigilant of the concrete jungle it covers. Ah! Where are my manners? Introductions first, they are the key to good relationships, and as such I extend my greetings to you. My name is Alex lo, if you would like a more accurate description of me just think Bruce Lee but more handsome. Okay fine, it’s not accurate but if you’re going to imagine me, might as well make me look good.  I live by myself in the cheery wasteland of the Toronto downtown.

Canada has a reputation for being a land where nature still rules, its majestic painter’s hand brushes the horizon with gold and purple, and lush green forests coat the hills for as far as the eye can see; its beauty will take your breath away . Well, from personal experience it’s a horizon of onyx colored concrete and hosts a collection of trash that will indeed take your breath away.  As I swiped at the alarm clock blaring its 4:30 am warning, I replayed the dream in my mind. It was without a doubt the weirdest and most boring dream I’ve ever had (Not that I’d been keeping track or anything). I quickly jotted down my thoughts in my dream journ- I mean I quickly went over today’s itinerary. Another boring class, combined with another long shift at work makes for a horrendous day.  I begin the day like any other with a strenuous exercise regimen consisting of rolling out of bed, clothing myself, and dare I say it stretching my bac-

-wings! A bead of sweat forms on Rainbow Dash’s brow as she arches her back, straining all her powerful back muscles. She holds the pose to ensure maximum stretching, a quick glance at her Wonderbolts clock confirms that she is on schedule, and it was only 5:00 am. Her morning yoga started the day,  some quick muscle training for tone and then a quick breakfast before her warm up lap followed by an aerial stunt practice. Rainbow smiled, knowing few could match her routine.  Her mind briefly wandered to what was in the kitchen and what aweso-

-Stale, terrible food lied in wait for me in the kitchen. I should clarify; the kitchen consists of the mini-fridge and the microwave, both of which are too small to keep or cook real food. After my grueling five minute walk to the kitchen I’m rewarded with a plethora of breakfast goods including milk, cereal, tea, and…. Well that’s about it, actually. Oh well, cereal for the three hundred and twenty fifth time this year isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’m sure if I hold onto that thought eventually I’ll have tricked myself into believing it but for now the taste of cardboard masquerading as frosted flakes stains my tongue. I drearily stare out my first floor window, the all too familiar sight of the brick wall of the next apartment complex stares back at me. The month of the year dictates the weather and the middle of December promises us snow. The amount however, is left to the discretion of global warming who has decided that two cm of snow was adequate this year. Rather than the white Christmas I hoped for every year I am given a wet, slightly slushy, damp and uncomfortable Christmas; what a nice present. I could already tell this morning was going to be the wors-

-Best morning ever! Cloudless skies, perfect wind conditions, and the best part: not a soul in sight. Celestia’s bright sun crept up on the horizon vying to coat the landscape in its velvety glow. Sure, having fans roar over your every move was great but it’s mornings like these that Rainbow felt the most free; free to practice her moves, free from judgement, free to just fly. But that had to wait. She had to finish her breakfast, because after all an athlete’s diet is just as important as training. Rainbow surveyed the table, unsure of what to start with: oranges, cauliflower, cherries, hay, even alfalfa! On second thought, maybe Rainbow would skip the alfalfa today, instead going for the always delicious home grown Sweet Apple Acres’ apple (hoof-picked by Rainbow Dash herself). Quickly she got to work and took a bite of said delicious apple being sure to savo-

-choke down the rest of this pseudo meal and finally quell that stomach. Yes, stomach I know you don’t like Kellogg’s; no, stomach we cannot have anything different. Strange how the best things in life follow the worst things, in this case my morning tea, a steaming thermos of freshly made orange pekoe tea in this case.  If there is one luxury I allow myself, it’s this tea; if the gods drink anything I’m 120% sure that it is tea. Also following my daily bowl of pain is where I go up to the roof and enjoy the tea, there’s something to be said about watching a city wake up and turn its serene slumber into a bustling machine. Remember how I said the best things in life follow the worst? Well, the only roof access is by the fire escape, and as we all know are not fully automated escalators; rather a creaky mess of tetanus inducing metal rods. However it was once spoken that the ends justify the means, and the roof was definitely an end worth reaching, but my calves always regret it. I throw on my sneakers and grab my thermos, taking my first step on-

-off the porch; Rainbow dash unfurled her wings to their full span and glided gracefully away from her cloud home, beginning her warm up lap of Ponyville. Only the pegasi know the joys of true flight, the freedom of motion and the wind through your mane; those were the things Rainbow lived for. Sensing a thermal nearby a quick snap of her wings and a short aileron roll brought her to the heart of the updraft, immediately skyrocketing her to her optimal cruising height.  Finishing her relaxed lap she began her best part of the day: aerial tricks. Snapping her wings shut she angled herself into a free fall dive, the wind whistled into her ear steadily getting louder as she approached terminal velocity. Rainbow closed her eyes, it was moments like these Rainbow chased her entire life, no feeling beats the wind rushing through your ma-

-hair, ugh, no feeling is as bad as bone chilling wind blowing your hair awry in the morning. However, it was welcome at the moment as my calves screamed their defiance; practice makes perfect, but I feel worse every time I do the climb. Having snowed their fill the clouds have retreated and left the early morning sky crystal clear. It was still dark and the stars still shone hard and bright, almost unwilling to let the sun overtake them. Below, the city began to rouse; the first car honks of the day signaled the creeping suns arrival to illuminate the city skyline in a  brilliant array of colors and swirls. But I never watch because I’m busy looking to the stars, standing there on the roof, sipping my glorious tea and watching the stars, that’s the kind of moments I live for.  They make me feel so small and insignificant and obsolete like a libr-

-TREE HOUSE. Rainbow’s mind had wandered during her free fall, the curse of routine is monotony and she had done this trick a thousand times. She was currently barreling at breakneck speeds towards the town library desperately struggling to slow herself down knowing it was too late to pull out. Seeing as it was such a nice morning Rainbow decided to forgo the rest of her routine and visit her good friend Twilight. It would be rude to arrive unannounced wouldn’t it ,therefore Rainbow decided to call ahead to confirm the appointment

“TWILIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHTT!” screamed Rainbow, just before she smashed into the window, her hooves absorbing  most of the impact. She could have sworn she saw a purple beam of light zoom past her head. Her momentum carried her through as she spiraled into an uncontrollable roll across the library floor knocking over black boards filled with notes and calculations and obliterating anything in her path. Rainbow finally came against a bookshelf and on a very conveniently placed pillow.

“Not the worst crash I’ve ever had,” though it did rank top 10. She groggily got to her hooves, the pillow making it hard to get a good footing.

“Worst I’ve had,” groaned the pillow a.k.a Twilight.

“Oh my gosh!” Rainbow said, realizing what she had done. She craned her neck to Twilight's level to meet her eye to eye.

“Are you okay? Twilight?”

“No, but please get off me,” Twilight grumbled, finding it harder and harder to suppress her anger.

“Oh right, hehe,” Rainbow smiled sheepishly, gingerly stepping off her friend’s back.

Spike came running down the stairs, his stubbly limbs moving as fast as he could warrant. He sped across the room to help his friend.

“Peewee, thank Celestia you’re okay”  Spike whisked his pet up in a hug, Peewee chirping happily in response. Spike glanced over to Rainbow Dash and said “Oh hey Rainbow, what’s up? What happened, Twilight?”

“Spike, get me the bandages,” Twilight said in a flat voice

“Okay, how many?” Spike said, nervously anticipating the volume level to jump.

“ALL OF THEM!” Twilight screamed.

This morning was especially peaceful. Nothing like a calm and relaxing morning to make the day bearable, kind of like when you sit on the beach and watch the waves crash into the seawall. I had finished a third of my tea when a glint in the sky caught my eye. Stars rarely move, much less align, so it’s got to be worth like, six or seven wishes, right? Well, I only had one: to leave this place. Anywhere but here, and when I say here I mean away from the concrete cage and the strife riddled world, off this forsaken planet of miscreants plague. Careful what you wish for; as soon as the stars aligned, a beam of violet light raced towards me striking me in the forehead and also effectively blinding me. The force of the blow made me stumble backwards, the fact that I couldn’t see at all was not helping me regain any footing.  Before I knew it my heel had caught the ledge and suddenly rather than a hundred tons of concrete between me and the ground floor there was nothing but thin air. My last thought, “I wish I had finished more of my tea”.

The library was a buzz of commotion as Spike and Owlowiscious were busy putting the books away and sweeping up debris. Twilight, covered in bandages, was busy mending the window Rainbow smashed with her magic, welding each piece back together all the while lecturing Rainbow on her mistake.

“Rainbow! I spent two months preparing for that experiment, Star Swirl’s comet only passes by Equestria once every twenty four point five lunar cycles! I had already set the spell matrix and had enchanted it to recognize and deter any inorganic material. I had even begun charging the resonance spell that would curve its trajectory into a perfectly abandoned field, then you come barging in and ruin the spell circle and my concentration!”  Twilight's frustrations could be heard from outside the library.

“I already said I’m sorry, Twilight,” Rainbow said, ears folded back expressing her guilt. “and Star Swarly what? Could you speak in equestrian?”

Twilight’s rage subsided (but not by much), she gave rainbow a flat stare and said in a monotone voice “I wanted to get a space rock, and it’s Star Swirl’s comet.” Her displeasure was audible.

“Let me make it up to you,” Rainbow pleaded “I’ll help you prep for the next time Star Spindle’s rock comes by.”

“It’s Star Swirl’s comet.”

“Whatever, you name it, I’ll get it”

“Well, when you put it that way...Anyway, I need to survey all the residents of Ponyville for the monthly bit consumption census I’m putting together.”

“Again?! I just did that last month. It took forever to track down Derpy”

“It’s what monthly means Rainb-“ Twilight was cut off by the massive explosion of light and heat that rocked the house, a surprisingly impressive feat seeing how sturdy the root system of the library was.

The collision had shattered all the windows and threw half the books onto the floor while simultaneous incinerating the other half. A three meter wide crater scarred the inside of the library, smoke and flames erupting from its depths.

Rainbow Dash, recovering from the impact, got to her hooves for the second time that day and said “I think you got your space rock anyways, Twilight.” Rainbow turned her head to see if Twilight was okay and had to stifle a laugh when she saw her.

There stood Twilight, teeth gritting and trying with all her might to not spontaneously explode. Mane and bandages drenched in a brown liquid, with a strange cup ringed around her horn.

“I hate orange pekoe”.

Authors note: Thanks for reading my story i hope you had as much reading it as i had making it. Please leave whatever criticism you have as a comment as this is my first story and any and all feed back would be great. I had little pictures i drew to go along with each chapter but i cannot for the life of me figure out how to get them onto this site. So once i figure it out ill add them all in. I'm trying a new thing where i switch view points in my story for added effect i color coded it to make it less confusing but i don't know if it really works as things that sound good in my head don't always come out right.