Raindrops hailed down relentlessly upon the endless canopy below as the clouds above me fought for dominance in the sky. Each passing second, the escaping sunlight gets choked out by the invasive screen, covering my surroundings in growing darkness. Lightning flashes danced across the maddening sky, accompanied by the echoing booms of thunder resonating in the very core of my being.
There I flew aimlessly through the air, scanning every inch of the canopy spotting nothing but trees on the horizon. Raindrops pelted me all over forming waves of a stinging pain across my body countless times, resulting in my nerves revolting against this senseless search. My mane and coat were both thoroughly soaked from constant abuse, the former constantly threatening to shield my field of vision to which I briskly brushed it aside. My wings grew heavier and heavier at a constant rate, my flight slowly descending towards the ground until I ascended sharply back into the air.
My thoughts echoed in my head. ‘What am I doing here? What am I frantically looking for in this craziness?’
Just when I would succumb to the pain and aching in my wings, a feeling within me sparked. This primal urge propelled me downward towards the canopy, my wings receiving their second wind to fight off the unrelenting wind and rain, keeping me stable in the air. Brushing away limp strands of hair dangling in my field of vision, I quickly stabilize my flight as I break through the wall of leaves and branches unsheathe.
I could feel the restraints in my mind becoming undone as this instinct completely enveloped me. ‘That’s right. If I could… make it there this time.’
Penetrating the canopy layer I continue my search, bobbing and weaving between the trees barreling my way. A rising sense of dread swells in the pit of my stomach as the urge grows stronger each passing second. Until finally, I spotted it…
A gigantic Kapok tree, whom’s trunk spanned across my line of sight, stood with an air of seniority as if it could somehow look down at my tiny stature. The very top of the tree breached through the thick layer of clamoring clouds and possibly beyond. I could hear the bark creak and whine as the tree took each gust of wind with aplomb, the tree branches swaying to the whim of the storm scattering a few leaves in its mercy. On the very base of the behemoth, I could see a crevice etched deep into the moss covered bark and what seems to be a hole leading into the ground.
I instinctively clenched my chest, either by exhaustion or pure dread, I couldn’t tell anymore. ‘This is… This has to be it. This has to be where she is!’ The white noise grew louder in my head while my weariness threatened to consume me whole at a moment’s notice. But I didn’t care.
“I’m coming!!”
I dove into the crevice headfirst, my vision greeted with darkness as I descended deeper into the tunnel underground. Moments of weightlessness passed, my hooves finally landed on the sickly, moist dirt. Despite the overwhelming black veil clouding my vision, I galloped through the tunnel with stride. With only the slushing hoofsteps filling the deafening silence, I set my mind on this driving force within me… which grows more and more familiar to me as time moves on.
It felt like hours had passed since I entered this accursed place, my hooves joining the rest of my body with its own set of aches and pains. ‘But I can’t give up yet! I’m close! I can feel it! She’s right there! She’s… right there...’
Slowing to a stop, I could feel the rising realization of fear crawling up my back. A bright orange Pegasus mare with a long white mane and tail streaked with light blue highlights laid limp on the soggy dirt floor, multiple tree roots twisting around her body keeping her confined to her makeshift prison. Her face contorted in pain all the while the roots seemed to tighten their grip on their suffering hostage. Before I knew it, I staggered towards her struggling to reach her hoof in the tangled mess.
“Sunrise! Can you hear me?!” I desperately called for my fiancee who only responded with a barely audible groan.
A new wave of adrenaline courses through me as I wildly scratch and crush the accursed roots out of my way. ‘If I can reach her just this once, I’ll never leave her side again.’ I silently vowed to keep going until I could hold my partner again. I cleared the brush at last, but… a new seed of despair took root in my heart.
“No… No…” I breathlessly let out a cry as I stared blankly at the mare laid bare before me.
Ingrained into her flesh like a parasite, I could see the tree’s roots… impaled through the side of her stomach and out the other where it took anchor in the dirt. Sunrise’s coat around the impaled area had lost its well kept beauty, the once vibrant color now leaving behind matted dull patches of fur in its place. I tried to find some solace in her face, but now a pale, pain stricken expression was all what greeted me. Pure desperation drove me forward as I grasped her hooves. They were cold. Unbearably cold…
“Sunrise please, wake up,” The creeping fear of breaking her entered my rapid thoughts for a split second, but I shook Sunrise gently regardless. This time I could hear a nauseating sound coming from her muzzle. Her lower jaw moved side to side in ragged motion.
Tirelessly searching for any other options, I got up and bucked her binds with everything my body could muster. Not a single visible dent was seen. A primal cry almost escapes my lips as I rapidly try again and again, but to no avail. After my umpteenth swing, grunts coming from her caught my attention. She weakly opened her eyes and barely raised her head to cast her distant gaze at me.
“E-Emerald…” Her voice no louder than a whisper swelled my heart with a mixture of relief and fresh worry.
“Sunrise!” I scrambled to get by her side as soon as I could, but before I could even blink she was at the other end of this murky, dark makeshift hallway with her ever tightening binds.
“No! Sunrise! I’m coming! Please, don’t give up!” Desperation ruled my thoughts, propelling my futile effort to reach my dimming partner, the last of my guiding light. No matter how much I tried to close the gap in this endless darkness, she got further and further away from me.
My eyes cutting through the darkness, I could see Sunrise trying her best to say something, but all she could muster was to slowly mouth a few words. She began to close her tired, graying eyes seemingly succumbing to the pain I failed to mend. As if sensing her broken will, the blasted roots awoke from their slumber and fully consumed my fiancee’s entire body. A resounding crack echoed in the void as the roots settled again, leaving a deafening silence in its place.
I fell to my knees, my body threatening to collapse if I even so much as looked up to the scene before me. The sounds of drips broke the overwhelming silence, a desperate wail doing its best to come out and accompany me but all strength I had left in me was gone, resulting in the pitiful gasps of air I could only give in its place. My long forgotten tears trailed down my face, trying to find any possible way to fill the aching hole in my heart, but that too failed.
Hoofsteps rang out from behind me accompanied by a bright, white light I could barely see through the relenting mist in my eyes. I barely acknowledged them, my spirit bending to the will of crushing despair. The light shone brighter enveloping the sticky darkness and me along with it.
Shooting myself out of the suffocating sheet around me, I gasped for air as I returned to the waking world. Trying and failing to catch my breath, I rested my head on my hoof only for it to be drenched with sweat and something else warm. My eyes stung with utter annoyance, what felt like the remains of fresh tears started to trail down my face.
‘Was I… crying?’ I thought while wiping away stray tears, the terror of that accursed nightmare steadily crept back into my mind.
With a few decisive sniffs, I fought back the remaining liquid sadness back where it belongs and took a good look around my room. Instead of the usual sunshine of Celestia’s sun filling the room, it was replaced by the gloomiest of grays of the ongoing rain outside I see through the window. The light pitter patter of raindrops rang their rhythm across the roof, filling the dead silence of my room.
A light knock on my bedroom door broke me out of my trance as I turned to see Cosmo entering the room, his luminescent green eyes focused on me with an unreadable expression.
“G-Good morning, Emerald,” Cosmo broke the stale air with a much needed greeting.
“Morning, Cosmo buddy,” I tried to feign my usual mood, “Is it still raining outside? Don’t these weather ponies think it’s enough already?”
“I mean, you should know. You were part of the team to set up the storm yesterday,” Cosmo pointed out as coldly as he could.
“Oh. Hehe, right.” I totally forgot.
“...Emerald, are you okay,” Worry dipped from his words, his eyes starting to overflow with the same sentiment.
“Of course I’m fine,” I answered quickly, “I’m just having a slow morning is all–”
“I’ve been hearing muttering and crying from you almost all night.”
‘Horse feathers,’ I cursed to myself.
“It’s that nightmare again, isn’t it?” Cosmo concluded, I could hear a twinge of uneasiness in bringing up the subject.
A retort hung on my lips but I couldn’t commit to it. Instead I turned away and looked down towards my bed, “There’s no need to worry about me. It’s just a nightmare. Ponies get them all the time.”
“Yes, but rarely for consecutive nights,” Cosmo softly said, “Listen, I’m here for you Emerald. We can work through this together, but you have to talk to me. Please.”
“Cosmo, I…” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from leaking out again. “I’m… I’m just not ready yet to lay all these feelings out there. But… we will talk about it eventually. I just need time.”
Cosmo brushed a stray purple and green strand of hair away from his face and nodded with oozing sympathy, “Of course, take all the time you need. I’ll get breakfast prepared.”
He turned around to leave the room, almost closing the door behind him until I called out to him, “Cosmo, wait.”
“Hm?” Cosmo hummed as he tilted his head in curiosity.
I tiredly looked him in the eyes as I welled up the courage to say, “...Thank you.”
Cosmo gives a little smile, “Anytime.”
With that, the door closed, leaving me with the dull, stale air again. My mind wandered to the almost soothing rhythm of the ongoing storm outside. With whatever newfound resolve building in my limbs, I got up from the bed and strolled toward the window. My eyes settled on the dense gray clouds stretching across the sky and beyond the horizon, shifting wherever the winds wished. Taking another deep breath, I let my thoughts get washed away by the rain, leaving behind this dull pain in my heart where she used to be.