The Moonlapse [ABANDONED]

XVIII

A feeling of death rested over the dreamscape, plunging everything into an endless feeling of despair. The stars all slept for eternity, and the skies so far above were nothing but an endless plane of gray sorrow. Bellow stood a dark labyrinth of woods, but a "forest" wasn't an appropriate name for it. It was more a tangled maze of long-destroyed black shafts. The ruckus of life had vanished forever ago.

Squirrelstar sat solitary in this place of death. A hapless silence gripped her, keeping her in place like an invisible cage and refusing to let her fly free. All the others in the group were deep in slumber, resting somewhere. She was alone in this endless darkness.

The ginger molly rose up, her tail lashing under the influence of the cold winds. Feeling possessed by isolation she took off into the maze of dead trees, running alone like a single spark flying away into endless abyss. There was nothing here. The deathly feeling of the location reminded Squirrelstar of the Place of no Stars, except this place had a warped quality to it that whispered to her that it was not real. It was a warped place painted by the mind, and she was running through those thoughts. 

Squirrelstar.

She was stopped in her tracks by the eerie whistle of wind. It whispered as though it was trying to say something. She turned away, continuing to dash through the labyrinth.  

Squirrelstar.

There it was again. The sound. She begun to notice it sounded less like the whistle of wind, it sung more like the low crackling of a fire. It lulled her forth, the biting chill of that night stolen as she was embraced by a blazing warmth. She kept going, wandering into the heat. It brought an overwhelming sense of comfort. She could finally rest after all the pain.

Squirrelstar was gripped by surprise when she noticed a faint orange glow calling her forth, but that did nothing to stop her. She proceeded into the burning light, soon surrounded by flickering gold. Fire. A blaze was roaring as it swirled around the forest. It destroyed all the evil and all the sorrow of the night. Squirrelstar felt the fire roar as it flew around her, crushing all the feeling in her body. But the burning didn't sting. It embraced her warmly.

As she floated senseless in the warmth, her life replayed in her mind. She remembered everything. Remembering Bramblestar's death, remembering Bristlefrost's betrayal, and losing Spotfur to the flames. 

Why?

She felt it all tormenting her. Ripping through her flesh, impaling her, tearing her apart. Why did it have to happen?

The question screamed within her mind, and she was suddenly pierced through the heart by that piercing revelation. She'd never realized how broken her existence was, how cruel life had been to her all this time. Now Squirrelstar was feeling all those experiences swirl in her mind, they felt like one ocean of insanity together. And she could feel that madness ripping her soul apart to build another deranged version of her.

That abyss was swallowing her as she dived deep into that ocean of blood, the sea left behind from her vicious torture burying her. It was like finally realizing she was living in hell. And now that the molly finally saw that, the bloodsoaked torment was the worst idea to ever come to her mind. And it'd been what she had been experiencing this whole time.

She found herself running. All around was an endless dimension of pyre, but the dazzling ocean of red light was nothing compared to the frenzied madness that blazed through her mind and soul to break them down to ash. Helpless under the control of the psychotic mayhem, she chuckled as she wandered forward into the heat of the blaze. She found herself reverting to a state of childish glee, mindlessly playing and twirling in the flames. She was hysterical now. Her laughter was close to screams now. Unable to control anything, Squirrelstar shattered into roaring cackles as she frantically played and twirled in the glaring pit of fire.

Footsteps sung against the fire's wonderful crackling, defiling the divine melody. Squirrelstar spun around, completely shocked that someone could try and break this beauty. Without even noticing the face of the cat who'd disturbed, she threw herself forward and slashed her claws through the prey. Squirrelstar sank her teeth into the sweet meet and ripped it apart. There was nothing left of her soul. She continued to smile in innocent glee as she was possessed by this wild instinct. 

Squirrlestar continued to tear her prey apart until nothing left. She felt every cool splash of blood wash over her, comforted by the ethereal waves. They were the cool, refreshing wash-off within the hot, blazing day. Soon there was nothing left to rip apart, and she was drowned in splashes of that blood. 

She kept smiling, giggling without any thought. Within one night, one revelation, there was nothing left of her old self. 

It'd been lost within an ocean of pain, and it'd never wash back up again.