> Fire > by Cocaine > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Fire > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was that awkward time of class where the period was about to end and the teacher sat at her desk, her face delved into a book. Students sat and stood, talking and laughing. Among them, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat in the back of the room, secluded from the rest of class. "Ugh..." Scootaloo groaned, clutching her stomach. "I am so hungry." Sweetie Belle smiled. "Yeah, me too. Isn't it going to be pizza today?" "Uuuuggghhhh," Scootaloo whined as she grew hungrier. "Oh! No, it's actually burritos," Sweetie Belle corrected. "UUUGGHHHH!!!" Scootaloo put a hand over her friend's mouth. "Lunch isn't for another two periods! Please, spare me!" Scootaloo could feel a smile form against her hand. "Annnfffdd cupfcakessf!" Sweetie Belle managed to squeal. Scootaloo stomped her foot, rolling her eyes. "You are the worst." Sweetie Belle continued her mischievous smirk as her mouth was released. "Tell ya what. We hang out today, and I'll make some chocolate obsession cake.!" Scootaloo grinned. "Deal. Now stop talking about food," She said as her stomach growled like a bear. "Hey- don't you have class with Applebloom next?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Yeah, why?" Scootaloo asked. "You want to give this to her? She...forgot it at my house," Sweetie Belle held a purple beanie hat to her purple-haired friend. The young athlete raised an eyebrow. "Since when does she wear hats?" She asked as she stuffed it in her hoodie pocket. "Let alone...this." "I don't know. It's a thing she's been getting into lately," Sweetie Belle explained. "Teenagers," Scootaloo droned. "Yeah, teenagers." Sweetie Belle stared right at her friend. "Hey," Scootaloo began defensively. "I'm not a teenager. Not anymore!" Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "Here we go-" "Because I'm sixteen! Awe yeah," She exclaimed with triumphant thumbs. "I know. The school knows. In fact, I'm pretty sure all of Equestria is goin' to know if you have anything to say about it, which you always do." Sweetie Belle held her head by her chin, sighing. "Come on, eventually you'll be as old as me." The purple-haired teen said. "And then you will be awesome." Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes just as silence befell upon the room. It was an unspoken rule that no one talked when the bell rang, like it would ruin the ritual of being released. It would somehow cause unbalance in the universe, the teens would outrage, and then they would have to learn. And by all that is holy, no one wanted to learn. The school was greeted by a different obnoxious sound than the normal, routine beep they were all used to. It was even worse. A fire alarm. Scootaloo along with the rest of the class groaned in annoyance when the repetitive screeching noise invaded their ears. "Ugh, just what we need." The hunger-stricken teen complained. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and drug her friend out of the chair. "Look at the bright side; we get to skip most of class. Maybe they'll let us go home." Scootaloo sulked to the door as she dug her hands into her hoodie pocket. She hated this. The way everyone looked when they walked in an 'orderly fashion'; until they got to stairs or a door. Then everyone jammed their bodies together to get through first. It was pitiful and pointless - surely there was a better way to organize this. As Scootaloo walked like a zombie towards the nearest fire exit, she smelled something. Something distinct. Something very, very clear. Smoke. Scootaloo started walking slowly, taking several wide gazes around her. No Applebloom or Sweetie Belle in sight. At least, not around this crowd. There were too many mindless zombies. The adults ushering her peers through the door much quicker than any other fire alarm Scootaloo's seen. Was this a drill? Scootaloo hated being short, and this was one of those reasons. She had to stand on the ends of her toes to see any head beyond the first. Still no sign of her friends. Did they already get out? Scootaloo pushed through the crowd, bumping taller kids out of her way which resulted in several colorful remarks. She was following the smell of smoke. She just had to know. When it got to the point where Scootaloo had to squint her eyes, she knew it was close. The halls became scarce as Scootaloo searched for the emitter of the very distinct smell. When she rounded a corner near the janitor's storage room, she immediately put her hands up to her face. The intense shift in temperature caused her to utter a whimper as she shielded herself, stepping back into a wall. It took her what felt like a minute to lower her arms and stare ahead. Scootaloo saw, heard, and felt the fire mere feet away. It was beyond its early stage and was quickly engulfing all its surroundings. Behind the rising flame, she could see a double door. Embedded into the ground was a 'FIRE EXIT' sign. She stared at the fire. At first, she was in awe. The fire was spreading over the marble floor, walls and reaching the ceiling. Then, she quickly became curious. What would have caused a fire at an exit? If anything, it would be at the chemical lab. It's happened before. "Hmm..." Scootaloo pondered as she squinted her eyes. The heat was getting intense. "Scootaloo!" A familiar voice shouted from behind, coming to her friend's side. "What are you doing!?" Scootaloo turned in shock, resurfacing from her thoughts. "I-...I...Don't know." Her eyes went back and fourth from the blaze to her friend. "Come on! What are you waiting for? We have to get out of here! Everyone's heading outside already Scootaloo!" The athlete was yanked by strength she never saw coming. It was then that Scootaloo realized how hot it was, and, how close she was. Maybe it was the crackling of the fire, the very sound of the ground breaking apart and the natural destroyer spreading down the hall - or maybe it was the sight of this beautiful light flicker and roar. Whatever it was, Scootaloo had a switch in her mind click upon seeing this primal destruction. And then she realized something. Scootaloo turned around to her friend. "Wait!" She said, planting her feet to the ground. "The fire exit was that way." Her thumb pointed to the other side of the fire. "What?" Sweetie Belle's chest heaved as she looked down the hall. "Then...we go out the front door." Scootaloo nodded. "Good thinking." The hallway led directly to the cafeteria where rows and rows of tables sat. Plastic trays of uneaten food lay about. As Scootaloo jumped over chairs and slid across tables, she grabbed a cupcake. Shouldn't let it just to waste. Plus, she would look awesome walking out of the burning school eating a cupcake. When she got to the doors, Scootaloo huffed in a deep breath. The young purple-haired teen pushed against the handle. It didn't move. So she pushed again. And again. and again. Nothing. By the time Sweetie Belle had caught up, Scootaloo was slamming one of the chairs on the glass. After six hits, not even a crack. "Rrrrhhha! What. The. Fuck!" She roared in sync with three more whacks. "Scootaloo...They won't open, we're wasting our time." Sweetie belle put a hand on the angry young adult's shoulder. "I know that! Why won't they break!?" Scootaloo chucked the chair like a toy, sending it bouncing off several tables. She peered outside and didn't see a single person. No firefighters, policemen, teachers, students...nothing. Scootaloo took three breaths; in through her mouth, out through her nose. Then she turned to her frightened friend. "Tell me there's another way out." She pleaded into those emerald eyes. Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin thoughtfully, looking around the cafeteria. Smoke began to rise to the ceiling. "We can get to the fire exit if we go upstairs, go around the west wing, then go down the stairs. It's the back exit, so the fire can't possibly reach it." Scootaloo smiled and patted her shoulder. "You're a damned genius. Let's go." A smile spread on Sweetie Belle's face from ear to ear. She quickly followed Scootaloo down the hallway to the stairs. On the walls were billboards with hundreds of posters about upcoming events, like the Talent Show, and Bully Awareness Day. The Talent Show was always great; Scootaloo still remembers when Power Chord brought his guitar. It's tomorrow? She thought, So much for that. "There-" Sweetie Belle brought Scootaloo out from her daydream and rushed up the stairs. The athlete took three steps at a time, passing up Sweetie Belle and, when she got to the second floor, she didn't wait for her friend. Something else caught her eye. Scootaloo sighed in glee as she saw a fire extinguisher box. She immediately tried pulling open the door, and when it didn't budge, she pulled harder. It was when blood started to drop onto the floor that Scootaloo stopped and looked at her hands. Tiny cuts in her palm, making her tassels unrecognizable. She went to the box and examined the door. On it was an indent, just deep and wide enough to keep it closed. "What the fuck...?" Sweetie Belle's pants were loud as she ascended the stairs. "What's...wrong?" She wheezed. Scootaloo shook her head. "This thing won't open." She took off her hoodie and started wrapping it around her hand. "What...are you doing?" Sweetie Belle watched the wrapping, then looked at the glass door of the box. "Oh...Scootaloo, come on! It's not necessary." Scootaloo shook her head. "If we get to the stairs and the exit is blocked, then it is necessary." Scootaloo stood in front of the box, hand wrapped in her favorite orange hoodie. "Stand back." As advised, Sweetie Belle took a step back and shielded her eyes. Scootaloo struck the glass with all her might, shattering it open like a pinata. She covered her eyes too. Dropping her hoodie to the floor, she pulled the small extinguisher from the box, avoiding any surviving shards. "Help!" A voice resounded through the hallway. Scootaloo paused, looking in the direction. She looked to her friend. Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Help!!! Please! I'm stuck!" Scootaloo yanked the fire extinguisher from its box and pointed to the opposite end of the hallway. "I'll handle it, get out of here." Sweetie Belle took a long, deep stare at her friend. This person didn't look like Scootaloo anymore, with her expression hard and posture even more ridged. Her muscles were refined, strained. That steel focus in her purple eyes was something far beyond her years. "I'll see you when I see you," And without any further words, Scootaloo ran down the hallway and vanished around the corner. "Help! Please! Someone!! I'm in the bathroom! Oh Celestia, please help me!" As Scootaloo drew closer, she recognized the voice more and more. When she got near the last bend before the bathroom, she yelled, "Diamond Tiara!?" "What? Who is that!? Scootaloo! Scootaloo, please! I'm trapped!" Diamond shouted. Before Scootaloo could reply, she skidded across the floor and held up her hands. "Holy shit!" She yelled as her exposed skin was met with a burning sensation. There was the bathroom. Next to it was the boys bathroom, which was completely engulfed in flame, the door turned to black long ago. The fire was spreading incredibly fast onto the girls bathroom door. Smoke filled the ceiling all the way around the hall. Shit...How did it reach up here? Scootaloo could barely stand being six feet from the fire. She could feel her skin peeling from that distance alone. It looked like the fire was coming out from the boy's bathroom. Was there two different places it started? That's no fucking coi- "Scootaloo!? Are you there!? Please, it's hard to breathe!" Diamond squeaked and coughed from behind the door. "I got you, Diamond. Just hang in there." The door was becoming increasingly flared - she had to think quick. There was no way a puny fire extinguisher would put out the raging inferno - but it would buy her some time. She aimed the nozzle, and squeezed the handle spraying white snow straight out. She had a good twenty seconds of juice before it sputtered little dribbles out. Scootaloo dropped the fire extinguisher and grabbed the doorknob - and an unbelievable sting shot up her entire arm. She cried and screamed as she desperately yanked and pulled. Locked. Unbridled rage swelled in Scootaloo and exploded in repeated shoulder-bashes to the door. It snapped off its hinges, falling to the ground. She whimpered and cried as she slowly pulled her hand off the scorched doorknob. Some flesh refused to abide and stuck to the metal. Scootaloo clutched her wrist, staring at the muscle tissue throbbing in exposed air. She didn't register the smoke filling her lungs, or Diamond pushing her out the bathroom. "My goodness, Scootaloo! What did you do!?" Diamond shouted, her hands at the mouth as they left the smoke-filled room. "The fuck kind of question is that?" Scootaloo held her hand tight hoping in vein that it would ease the pain. It didn't. "Aagghh! Dammit...!" The girl shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. She didn't notice that the fire was mere feet from her legs. Then she lost her breath. Not from the screaming, but the absurd amount of smoke blocking her vision and airways. She sucked in what little air she could find, then immediately puffed it back out at the taste of ash. "Fffuuu...." She tried to groan in pain as she wobbled away from the fire. Diamond came to the injured teenager's side. "Scootaloo? Where are we going? What's happening?" She asked worriedly. "Ahh..." Scootaloo closed her eyes as she wobbled through the hallway. "There's a fire-" "Well clearly! Di-" "There's a fucking fire..." Scootaloo stared up at Diamond, whom was much taller than her. "Downstairs and upstairs. The doors are locked. Except the..." Scootaloo sucked in a big heap of air, coughing the ash away. "...fire exit." Diamond became increasingly antsy. "Where are they? Let's hurry up! Come on, Scootaloo! Please, let's get out of here!" There was a long moment of silence in the hall. Only the sound of crackling fire and falling debris were heard, but that was becoming common place for Scootaloo. "...Yeah, yeah. Good idea." She mumbled, desperately trying to pry herself from the sting in her hand. She didn't dare try to move her fingers - or the arm for that matter. It hurt just looking at it. Scootaloo turned and sulked around the corner, and passed the stairs. Diamond Tiara was close behind. When they made their last turn, Scootaloo stopped. She took a small breath, looking through the glass of the door leading to the stairs. She couldn't see inside. "Fuck..." Scootaloo whined, clutching her eyes shut. Diamond began to panic. "Wh-...what do we do now? Wasn't that the only way to the exit?" She asked, her voice on the edge. Scootaloo turned and looked at Diamond, then said in a very clear, very calm voice, "We either go in there, and risk being burned and getting countless lung problems, or we stay up here." Diamond gulped. "W-well, when you put it like that-" she wiped her head of sweat. "Let's make haste-" "Wait!" Scootaloo shouted, swatting Daimond's dainty hand from the doorknob. The purple-haired athlete panted, staring at the metal knob for a moment, then up at Diamond. "You won't be able to see an inch from your face. Damn well can't breathe," her eyes darted around for...something. She didn't know what - maybe a solution would crawl out of the floor. Diamond had an idea. She grabbed Scootaloo's hoodie and began wrapping it around her head. Seeing the confusion on Scootaloo's face turn to admiration brought a smile to her face. "You're a damned genius." Scootaloo reached into the hoodie's pocket and pulled out Applebloom's purple beanie. She stretched and tore it until she could wrap it around her like a bandanna. When they were both protected, Scootaloo grabbed Diamond's dainty hand. It was such a soft, smooth hand, and it was so awkward. "I'll lead. Watch your step." Scootaloo glared at the door...and brought her foot over her head, and brought it down right on the doorknob. It snapped off and the door slowly swung open, a thick cloud of smoke pouring out. Probably wasn't necessary, but Scootaloo was not touching any doorknobs for a long time. Scootaloo huffed and puffed as a thick black cloud engulfed her. "I can't see shit." She wheezed out through a single stitch of air. "Me neither," Diamond squeezed tight on her friend's hand. Scootaloo tried to pull up everything she remembered about this stairway. It was a 180 flat turn - there couldn't be more than ten steps each. Straight ahead from the bottom of the stairs was the fire exit, and to the left was a door back into the school. Knowing our luck, it's probably locked. "Scootaloo...?" The young athlete closed her eyes, taking calm breaths, despite the thick ash she sucked in. The cloth only did so much protection. Diamond must be fairing much better. Scootaloo opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything but what was directly in front of her feet. The air burned so terribly in her lungs and throat that she ignored her hand. She got what she wished for - a distraction. She stepped wearily ahead, inch by inch as she kept her eyes as wide open as she could. She could feel them drying up and sealing shut with every moment. When she came across nothing but black and no floor, she paused. With a cautious foot forward, Scootaloo stepped down. One down, nineteen-or-so to go. Finding a familiar step, she began descending the stairs. With each one, she felt dizzier and dizzier. By the time she was five steps down, she wasn't sure what was left and right. She continued, and when she came halfway down the stairs, Diamond said; "Scootaloo? Are we almost there?" Her voice was raspy. Not much better. It was then that Scootaloo realized she had her breath held in the entire time. "Don't talk." She said, using the last of her lung power. Now she was running on fumes. She descended the stairs, and quickly found that having no air in her lungs was worse than ash. Her chest twisted and her heart beat began to cascade, then slow down. It was like hundreds of steel wires wrapped around her chest and squeezed. Scootaloo powered through, holding Diamond close. The posh teenager was silent when they had no more steps to clear. Quickly unwrapping the hoodie, Diamond sighed. "It's not that bad," she looked up at the ceiling. Most of the smoke gathered at the roof, and while there was a huge thick amount, most of it was pouring out the still open door. Scootaloo dropped the torn hat to the floor and peered out the door back into the school. Plenty of smoke, and a raging fire on the other side. It was far worse than when she first encountered the fire. The janitor's storage room was completely engulfed in flame. She turned back to the fire exit to see Diamond struggling with the metal push-bar. Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You're kidding." With all the rage the ash in her lungs could muster, Scootaloo kicked at the door. Again. Again. And again. The tiny window was big enough to squeeze through and she could see sweet, precious, clean daylight peering in. If only it would break. "Fuck! Why did I leave it there!?" Scootaloo groaned and looked around for something to bash with. Seeing they were out of options, Scootaloo started slamming her elbow repeatedly against the glass. The posh girl desperately slammed her fist against the glass. No one was outside. No one heard their cries. They did hear the explosion. Scootaloo's body jerked to the side in a violent whip into Diamond, both of them slamming into a wall. In a daze, the little adult looked up. She got to see concrete and stone before everything went black. When she awoke, Diamond Tiara first opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything. Then, she breathed. It wasn't clean by any means, but it didn't burn her mouth anymore. When she tried to move, she felt a faint heart beat against her chest. That's when she realized she wasn't alone. "Scootaloo...?" She spoke with surprising coherency, but got no response. She tried raising her head, but felt something cold against her neck. "Scootaloo...? Are you okay?" Diamond tried again. "What's up?" Scootaloo wheezed. Diamond sighed happily. "Oh goodness...We're alive. I thought I was dead at first, but we're alive!" "Yeah..." Scootaloo replied. "Can you move?" Diamond asked as she tried to wiggle her arms, but was met with hard concrete. Scootaloo sucked in air. She tried to move her legs, but she couldn't tell if she was met with success or not. Then she attempted to wiggle her arms, to find out where they were. That's when Scootaloo became worried. She didn't know where her limbs were. She couldn't move them. She couldn't move her head. Her breath began to quicken as she clenched her eyes shut. "No." She said in a raspy, sorrowful tone. Diamond could feel the poor girl's heart rate accelerate. "Scoots...? It's...going to be okay. There's going to be a rescue. We're going to be saved." Scootaloo sucked in a heap of air and felt her chest rise. It was odd, that she could feel herself move, but not actually able to do it. It was all automated. Scootaloo shook her mind loose of any nightmarish thoughts. "Help. Save. Gotcha." Diamond gulped down what saliva she had. "Scootaloo?" "Yeah...?" "Thanks." There was a long pause. "Thanks for...being there for me. I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't shown up." "Yeah...no problem. I just hope Sweetie Belle got out." "Sweetie Belle? What do you mean...?" "Oh, yeah...we were...well, I was...I was...watching the fire. It was just...really weird. Then she found me and dragged me away. We tried to go through the front doors at the cafeteria, but we...we..." "Pace yourself dear." "The doors were locked." "...what? Locked? Why?" "I don't know. We went upstairs and I found a fire extinguisher. I told her to get out while I go and help you. Now, here we are. Under a fucking rock." "I think you're under me." "A fucking rock." "I'm not that heavy." "You are." "Hey! How would you know?" "I'm under you." "...hmph." "..." The only sound was a distant crackle of fire scorching everything in its path. A soft breeze found its way to wherever they were. Scootaloo found she could still feel her wind blowing. It was fantastic. "You...saw where the fire started, right?" Diamond asked. "Yeah...." Scootaloo replied. "Where was it?" "Uhh....at one of the fire exits, near Mr. Proton's office." As she replied, Scootaloo began to wonder at the placement of the fire. Right at the only other fire exit, right by the janitor's office, right under... "How did a fire just...start like that?" "...I don't know. Diamond...are the bathroom's above the janitor's room?" "Now that you mention it, yeah. That...oh, wow. That must be how it got to the bathroom's so quick." It hurt Scootaloo to laugh at the absurdity of the situation - both her sanity nearly snapping and her body's inability to move. "The last fire was at Chemistry, and that was just a mess up on Snips and Snails' part. Even so, it wasn't a dangerous fire..." Scootaloo thought for a moment, choosing her precious words carefully. "Diamond...I think we should just save our energy for now. Think about this when you get out." Diamond sighed and nodded her head as much as she could. Which was not at all. The sound of crackling fire had grown distant. The breeze was the only thing Scootaloo relied on for feeling, letting herself get lost in daydreams. Applebloom is going to hate her for destroying her hat. Oh how badly she just wants to hug her friends. If this hadn't have happened, she could be outside. With her friends. Even if she followed Sweetie Belle, she could have made sure she at least got out. If not for... "...hey, Diamond?" "So much for energy," She mused with a smile. "Yes?" "What were you doing in the girl's bathroom?" "Oh, I...I was...fixing my nails." "..." "..." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "...I know." "My hand is fucking go-...uughh...gone...because of your stupid fucking nails?" "...I'm so...so sorry. I...didn't know. It happened so fast." "What do you mean you didn't know? Didn't you hear the alarm?" "N-no, I mean yes, I did. The restroom door wouldn't open." "...That's fucked up." "...I'm sorry about your hand. I promise I'll make it up to you." "You know what? I'm not even mad. After all this, I just want to go home." "I do too. I want my daddy to hug me and my mommy to cuddle me." "Woah...Cuddle? I didn't figure you that kind of girl." "What? Aren't you comforted when your parents hold you?" "...Yep." "..Don't you have parents?" "I have a mom." "...why do you sound so angry when you say that?" "Because she is a bitch?" "...Oh. I didn't know." "This is old news, Di'. All the other assholes that make fun of me know about it, but you didn't?" "Well, no...I barely know anything about you, or your mom." "Now seems like a great time to start, don't it? Right before we die and all." "...Don't say that." "Tch..." "How could you say something like that?" "Maybe I want to." "...Wh-what? Scootaloo, you've dealt with so much, how could you say that? You...have you been thinking about committing suicide?" "Ha! What?" "I've bullied you for so long, I just...thought that..." "Paha!" Scootaloo choked, both because the question at hand and the sudden invasion of dust in her mouth. "No- no. I didn't let you get to me...that much." "Oh...that's...somewhat reliving. You're stronger than you look." Scootaloo let that settle for a good while. Never has Diamond Tiara ever complimented her without some underlining insult behind it. "Damn...all this because the front doors were locked...." "Huh...?" Diamond asked with ash. "The front doors...if they weren't locked, we would've gotten out." Scootaloo replied. As she did, some dust fell over her face and burned her closed eyes. Diamond began to reply, doing her best to conserve her breath. "If...you did get out, I would have still been stuck in the restroom." Scootaloo remained silent, mind the pained breaths, and desperately wanted to hug Diamond Tiara. Friend or not, no one should feel such despair. "Thank you..." She said, hugging the smaller, stronger girl beneath her. "We're alive now" The purple-haired athlete huffed and replied sarcastically, "Alive? We're under a rock." Diamond pouted and held even tighter to the point of harm. "Someone will find us. We'll hear sirens and then they will dig us out." Scootaloo sucked in the dusty, bacteria-ridden ash. "Di," she began. "Yes?" "...Why have you tortured me for so long?" "You're asking that now?" Diamond whined. "We are stuck together for Celestia knows how long. I deserve to know." Scootaloo scowled. Diamond opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. Only ash filled her lungs more and she laid her head against Scootaloo. With the silence setting the mood, Diamond mumbled her answer on the dirty skin of the smaller athletic girl. "I don't know." "You don't know?" Scootaloo asked, too hurt to speak her anger. "No...I just did it, not thinking about what I was doing," Diamond replied. Scootaloo remained silent as the musky air invaded her closed eyes. It burned. Diamond continued with, "I am sorry. I shouldn't have been such a prude." "You caused me years of pain and you don't even know why?" Scootaloo interrogated from beneath. "I guess...You were weak, and I could establish my place as someone not to bully, If I displayed the difference between your and my social standings." Scootaloo scoffed. So she'd been bullied because she was there? Wrong place, wrong time, wrong social standing. Should have been born with a million dollars. "...So..." Scootaloo huffed out. Diamond replied in tune with one of her own. "So...?" "Nails huh?" It was time for a change of conversation. "Yes...my nails." Diamond replied quietly. "...I can't even fucking see them," Scootaloo remarked. "They're white, purple and tinted with silver," Diamond replied happily. "Heh...should throw some orange in there." Diamond thought for a moment, then said, "Purple, orange and silver? I have a dress that would go great with that." Scootaloo was in too much pain to giggle properly. "You're so clever." "You are too," Diamond cooed. The young athlete sucked in a breath, upon which a thick chunk of ash got lodged in her throat. She heaved and coughed all over Diamond. "You okay?" The regal girl asked. "You didn-" She heaved out the rest in a slur of coughs and wheezing. "just...ask...that?" "It's a perfectly reasonable question, considering you were breathing fine moments ago." Diamond defended. Scootaloo huffed, now barely wheezing out a sigh. "I can barely fucking breathe." Diamond gulped and made tiny soothing circles with her thumbs on Scootaloo's ribs. If only she could feel it. "I know. Me either." Scootaloo started making choking sounds, desperately trying to move her hands to grab her neck. Her body didn't register the commands and remained limp. Diamond noticed the frantic disgusting coughs and felt the fluttering of Scootaloo's heart against her own. Her hands clenched tighter, her knuckles grinding against the concrete. "Scootaloo, calm down. Breathe, okay? Breathe, nice and slow..." The girl soothed to her enemy-turned-friend, holding their bodies together. Scootaloo's eyes clenched and her heart continued to race. There was a thick amount of something in her throat, though she couldn't tell what. It replaced her saliva with ash and air with charcoal. Her chest was heaving up and down, though all of it was for naught. There was no air in her lungs. "Scoots!" Diamond yelled out, her heart in sync with the girl below. "Just...hang on! Someone will be here." Scootaloo didn't reply. She emitted sounds with minimal air and success. They sounded distant. "See...you...when I..." Diamond was squeezing so hard onto Scootaloo that it would hurt her. If she could feel it. "Help! Someone, we're in here!" Diamond shouted as loud as she could. It came out in a choked, muffled yelp. The abrupt burst took a lot more oxygen than she anticipated, and upon sucking in the air around her desperately, her lungs were practically stream-pumped with ash. Scootaloo wasn't making a sound. Diamond Tiara began to panic, thrashing around where she could. Her elbow smashed into concrete, her head hit cement, and her legs wouldn't move. Worst of all, it was dark, she couldn't see, and all she could feel was her own heart thumping. And that's when she realized it. Scootaloo's heartbeat was gone. "S...Scoots?" Diamond squeaked, completely still. No answer. She listened carefully with her head conveniently stuck on Scootaloo's shoulder. Nothing. "Scootaloo!?" She yelled in hoarse, her voice squeaking and heart racing violently in her chest. Nothing "L-listen! There's someone coming to get us! Just...hang on a little longer, okay!?" No one was coming and there was no reply. Diamond swallowed chunks of dirt. She held onto Scootaloo's corpse, her hands shivering like they were coming over a bad addiction. To which, Diamond Tiara laid under rock and cement for an unprecedented amount of time. She could barely breath, barely think, only lay there, holding the best friendship she'd ever had. And she was gone. Sometime after Scootaloo died, Diamond heard people calling out for her. For Scootaloo. She would desperately cry out to them. They could save Scootaloo, surely. They were adults, they knew what they were doing. They were here to save them. But that just wasn't the case. Their fire had burned out before it could kindle. Name: Scootaloo Mayfly Birthdate: 5/17/90 (May 17, 1990) SSN: 1938-298-0594 Birth Mother: Annabelle Thayer Birth Father (Deceased): Marcello Mayfly Time of Death: 5/18/06, (May 18, 2006), 10:44 A.M. Cause of Death: Suffocation of ash, dirt and debris. Two rivets lodged through the spine and caused paralyses of the neck down. Scheduled Funeral: Not enough funds Ash