Dark Skies

The air in the hallway began to feel…cleaner. I didn’t notice myself deeply inhaling through my nose, taking in the fresh air, to which my nostrils were beginning to whistle.
Twilight chuckled at the sound, but continued to lead me toward down the hall. Most of the building was practically dirt, give or take a few candles that gave the only light. We turned the corner, only to be met by a large metal door. The door seemed to have plenty of rust forming around the edges and only one wheel in the center of it. Twilight used her magic to turn the wheel, she seemed to struggle with it (the door could have been unused for Celestia knows how long) but she was able to finally turn it and door unhinged with a loud creak. She opened the door slowly, light creeping in through the crack and getting wider. I had to shield my eyes with a wing while the bright light engulfed my entire being. My eyes adjusted to the outside, and what I found was not all sugar & sprinkles. I saw a barren field, maybe even what used to be a valley; but it was just a desert now. The ground was dry and cracked like aged stone, soil brittle and free flowing in the lightest of breezes. Lifeless, and somewhat cold, the clouds only resided in patches so only thin rays of sunlight shown through. My god it was horrible, it was harder to imagine what this land looked like before the event. A gush of wind blew passed me and Rainbow Dash hovered in front of Twilight before landing.

“Damn it! I don’t know what this is, but I can’t move these clouds; I just pass through them!” She whined.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin and her eye drifted off to space.

“Hm~, clouds that can’t be manipulated by a pegasus…strange…”
There was a rumble in the distance, and I look to see darker clouds rolling in with flashes of light emanating from within the clouds.

“We have to move, I am not sure that this bunker can survive this one.” Twilight stated, voice quivering with fear.

“Our stuff is still at the campsite, I’ll go get it.” Rainbow Dash said and zoomed off south, a rainbow trailing just behind her. I was about to take flight to help as well, but I was pulled on the tail by a pink aura. I looked behind me, Twilight shaking her head. “No, you’re still injured. Dash can handle this.”
I sighed, stomping a hoof on the ground; I don’t like to sit by and do nothing, but Twilight does have a point.

"What did she mean by campsite?" I inquired. It seemed to me that the bunker that I woke up in would have been a more reasonable base. Twilight looked at me with a slightly worried look.

"We...Dash and I..." She started, but she seemed to have a difficult time putting the words together.

"Dash and I were having a camp-out with the rest of our friends. But when the explosion erupted, we got separated. I was able to find Rainbow caught in the limbs of a tree a few kilometers west from here. Since then, both of us tried to search for the rest of them, and always turn up nothing." Twilight hung her head low and I noticed a few droplets fall to the dirt, darkening the spot instantly. I walk up to Twilight and place a hoof under her chin, gently pulling it up to look at her face. I was able to see her face clearly this time, her eyes blood shot from crying and probably working late night shifts in their search efforts.

"Hey, listen." I say, wiping a tear drop with my wing, "It's going to be ok." My god that sounded cliché.

"Thanks." Twilight said, beginning to calm down. When she looked at me again, she gave a light smile.

"Chase?"

"Uh-huh?"

"What's your story? I mean, why are you out here?"
I was almost taken aback by her question, but I knew exactly what I needed to do.

"I also lost a friend of mine... and I know that I have to find him."

"What's his name?" Twilight asked, tilting her head a little sideways.

"Silver Shore."

"And what is he like?"
I took a long minute to think about it. It's was a while since I reflected about my life so far, even longer still about how I describe my best friend.

"Silver is...of all things, intelligent...he is kind...and...he always looks out for me." I began to tear up at the thought of him. It was only now that realized how much I missed him, how much I cared for him. For so long I have bottled most of my emotions, but now I can't hold on any longer and I began to cry profusely.

"I guess it's true what they say." I gasp between sobs, "You really don't know what you have until it is lost. I...I just need a minute."
Twilight nodded her head and went inside the bunker, leaving me to greave.
A few minutes have passed and it was pouring. Thunder kept rumbling with the occasional lightning strike. I stood outside, scanning the horizon to find Rainbow Dash. After my short breakdown, I felt calmer when the droplets impacted on my face. Twilight comes back out with an umbrella, but I refused to let her cover me from the rain. It was like therapy to me. My ear twitches at the drops of rain until I faintly hear something and I tense up, preparing to run.

“Heeeeelp…” A voice whimpered.

“Hey, Twilight…did you hear that?” I asked. Twilight simply cocked her head and gave me a befuddled look.

“Hear what? All I can hear is the thunder and the rain!” Twilight hollered over the wind.

“Help me, somepony…anypony!” I heard the voice again but it was getting fainter.

“Somepony’s in trouble!” I yell and take to the air, speeding towards the voice.
Twilight tries to yell something to me but I was too focused on the voice to hear her.

The raging winds kept getting stronger, but I didn’t let that deter me from my goal. Somepony cried for help, and I’m not going to sit around and do nothing.

“Grrh!” I grit my teeth. Although my wing is able to move, flying with it sends a sharp pain in my shoulder. No…I will not give in to the pain, I have to keep going. Eventually I find the source of the crying, a pony had their leg caught under a fallen tree. I try to focus more onto the pony but the rain made my vision very burry and I only caught a glimpse of rainbow hair. Crap, Rainbow Dash must have been on her way back when the storm hit. *CRACK!!!!!* A lightning bolt strikes a couple yards away from me. *CRACK…CRACK!!!!!* The storm had gotten worse in a heartbeat. One of the bolts struck the fallen tree and it burst into flames. The inferno illuminated the surrounding area and I saw Rainbow struggling even harder. Another bolt struck and things began to move in slow-motion. For a split second, I saw Dash’s face…even the rain; I saw the tears flowing out of her eyes as the bolt was shooting down right at her.