//------------------------------// // Into Darkness // Story: The Darkness Below // by Zetriax //------------------------------// Scootaloo tumbled down a dark hole, feeling rocks and debris rain around her. She was thrashed the whole way down, scraping against the rocky walls and being hailed on from above. Eventually she slammed into the ground below, crunching her wing beneath her. “SHIT!” she screamed at the feeling of bone snapping. Scoots rolled off of her hurt wing and held it out, careful not to brush the wall… or as careful as one could be without the ability to see the wall. It was completely black at the bottom of the hole with the exception of the small grey dot she could see far over her head where she had just come from. “So much for a change of scenery. I can't see anything!” she griped as she felt her way around. She was apparently in some sort of cave. The walls tunneled in one direction, not giving her much of an option on where to go as up was clearly out of the question. Water dripped on her periodically as she went deeper. Or rather, she hoped it was water. Cool and wet were the only defining features she could really tell about it. Just to make it worse, it was quite chilly down there. She bet that if there was any light, she'd be able to see her breath. Because of this the water was getting on her nerves, making her much colder than she wanted to be. Scoots grimaced and continued onwards, not wanting to stop. However, her feet were starting to drag with fatigue and her wing stung badly. If she didn't find a way to splint it, the bones could mend wrong and she'd be forever crippled. She made sure to keep in mind to try to find something for it as soon as possible. The tunnel continued to dig deeper and deeper, and the scent of cold stone was getting to the point where she was starting to feel light-headed. The areas where water dripped into her mane were also getting more frequent. She even splashed through a couple shallow puddles. The hours dragged on, getting colder and wetter. Now soaked, cold, and blind, all Scoots wanted to do was curl into a ball next to a fire or something. She was absolutely miserable. At least on the surface she was dry and could see. Shaking her head to clear it of wistful thinking, she willed herself to push onward. Soon enough, she was splashing through inch-deep water. To make it worse, the tunnel still angled down. Scootaloo kept on heading down. The water reached her knees. Then her chest. Then her chin… She stopped. There was no way she was going to press on. So that meant she was stuck. She could go back and attempt to climb the hole she fell down, which would lead to the endless forest of hopelessness. Or she could risk drowning and see if there was an exit below the water. Or would she? If she was already dead, could she drown? Although she didn't want to find out, it was still more promising than exploring a dead forest for years to come. She took as deep a breath as she could muster and dove. The darkness was pressing all around her. Swimming as fast as she could, she sought any upward rise in the ceiling. No such luck. Her air was running out. Scoots tried swimming back up the way she came, but she was having trouble. A current! she hadn't noticed it before as she had been traveling with it. Where did it come from? Another stream joining this one? But then 'why' became less of the problem as her lungs reached their limit. Scootaloo's heart began pounding as the urge gasp for air started taking over. She fought as hard as she could to keep her mouth shut as the current dragged her down the tunnel. Her eyes bugged and she clawed at the walls, feeling her lungs cave in on themselves. Sparks danced before her eyes as her willpower was wearing thin. Then she breathed in a mouthful of water. DROWNING!!!!!!! She screamed in her mind. She thrashed in the cold water, trying to dispel the suffocation. Then her mind began to go numb… Water was everywhere. It was the only thing her mind could process. Water was weird. It didn't feel wet when you were totally submerged in it. Instead it felt like… thick air. But when you were out of the water it was absolutely wet. It was clingy and slick and made your fur stick to you. Suddenly, Scootaloo felt a pull on her. She was being dragged up. She was dragged ashore, but there was still no air. “Scootaloo!” a voice cried. It sounded all too familiar. She tried replying but water was still clogging her lungs. “She can't breathe! Get somepony to help!” the voice said again. “On it!” said another voice. Another familiar one. There was intense pressing on chest. Then somepony breathed into her mouth. CPR. The episode unfurling before her was extremely uncanny. She thought she'd be unconscious through CPR. Not that it mattered. She was still on the verge of death. Or a second death. After a third cycle of CPR, all the water in her lungs came up and Scootaloo opened her eyes. She was greeted by an overwhelmingly bright sun and open blue skies. In a mixture of shock, confusion, and still having water in her lungs, she puked into the green grass beside her. Once she regained a bit of her bearings, she turned to thank the pony that saved her… and… and saw… It was Apple Bloom.