//------------------------------//
// Rain 
// Story: Lost 
// by AJapple 
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Cold water saturated the earth, tiny droplets assaulting the dry dirt, penetrating the skin and sinking further into the depths of soil. The sky above flashed angrily, nets of lightning outlining the dark clouds. 
A lone pegasus stood with her wings spread, letting the rain wash away the grime that clung to the feathers. Water soaked her fur, down to the very skin but that was fine. It was fine, all of it. The storm was just a reminder of a day long ago, when everything had gone wrong. But, all she could do was fly. To soar away, faster and faster. Leave behind what had plagued her for so long. 
Rose eyes stared at the puffy grey shape below her hooves, poking at it tiredly. She’d been flying for hours now and the horizon was choked with thick darkness. She raised her head to the sky, blinking from underneath sopping wet rainbow colored strands of hair. Tonight she would have to stop running, if only until the storm stopped. 
The pegasus glanced down at the small town below her, cheery yellow lights daring to shine in this dismal weather. One house was not lit, the windows long ago shattered and the door bolted shut. The pegasus readied herself before launching from the cloud, her strong wings propelling her forward as she prepared for a dive. 
The booming of thunder did not faze her as she closed her eyes and let herself fall, her body relaxed and she let out a long sigh before twisting and tensing. Her wings folding to her sides as she rocketed headfirst downwards. The ground was a smear of brown and green as she pulled out from the dive, landing safely in front of the house. 
The structure wasn’t very impressive. Grey walls with a thatched roof. Nothing special. She pushed on the door only to find it shut tightly, her eyes flicked to the heavy metal padlock chained to the door and sighed. The windows on this level were boarded up, but she had noticed that all of the upper level windows were broken, leaving a way to get in….or a way out. 
She beat her wings and landed skillfully on the small patch of roof outside one window. She eyed the opening and waved a cautious hoof inside the window, knowing full well she may not be the only one using this abandoned home as a shelter for the night. When nothing popped out at her, the pegasus slipped through the jagged hole left in the glass, stepping lightly on the old floorboards. 
Peering around, the pegasus found the room to be completely empty except an old armchair that had been tipped on it’s side. Pushing it over, the pegasus sat down, her wet body shivering in the icy wind blowing in through the window, but there was nowhere else to go. She was too tired to inspect other places to try and rest, and if she met anything threatening, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to fight it off. Not like this. 
The pegasus closed her eyes, the image of another place filling her mind. Warm and welcoming, a cosy fire crackling and a body pressed against her side as she dozed off. The feeling filled her with happiness but one crack of thunder and it was gone. 
The heat melting and hardening into ice. The pegasus could picture the pony, and the background blurred behind her, but the face. She couldn’t think of anyone she knew with that face. That beautiful freckled face. With a spike of fear, she couldn’t think of anyone she remembered….except the one she’d failed. The thought spiraled through her mind, the pulse of panic spreading over her body. She’d met other ponies on her hurried journey, but their faces, their expressions were lost in a soupy haze. All she could remember was him, and he was anything but comforting. The pegasus stifled a sob, she didn’t cry, not anymore. Just wait a little more. She assured herself, and then you can keep going, all the way to the end of Equestria. They won’t find you that way. As the wind howled and the storm raged, a pegasus fell asleep, the image of a forgotten pony sinking into her dreams.