COMA

She'd probably been sitting zoned out for an hour when she realized the storm had stopped. She couldn't be sure, as the clock didn't work. Fearing the accelerated passing of time outside the dream, she hurried up, grabbed her things and was out the door, locking it behind her as some kind of a sign of respect. It was still very cold and the ground covered by snow, but she could see clearly. It seemed like the area around the sinkhole were mostly steppes, with the ruins of a massive building lying in the distance, fallen to her hoof. It was thoroughly charred, but no longer aflame. She turned back around, facing the flimsy scaffolding leading to the cave. If the key she'd found in the house didn't lead to the elevator, she didn't know what she'd do. Maybe just pick a direction and start walking. But for now, trying to get the elevator wouldn't harm.

It didn't seem like it would, anyways, was what she thought until she felt the ground quake as she saw the ground around her shattering, and the piece of the scaffolding cracking under her hooves. The aged wood didn't seem like it'd hold much longer. Just as she was about to book it towards the cave, the piece of floor she was standing on started to lean, slowly collapsing into the hole. In an act of quick thinking, Twilight leapt toward the still intact majority of the bridge, however, the impact caused it to shatter and break into platforms. Clearly, hopes and dreams weren't enough to hold together a bridge. With each of the segments suspended on beams mid-air, she'd have no choice but to jump between them. And with the platforms starting to break apart and sway under her weight, it wouldn't be easy.

She readied herself, before leaping from platform to platform, her hooves ripping the wood as she jumped. Some platforms fell straight into the hole, others just barely held her up. It seemed to be a working strategy, until she hit a roadblock - The next platform was too far away, and the one under her was falling. In a frenzy, she looked around for anything she could grab onto, but there was nothing. And with the falling platforms trajectory, it looked like she was going to crash straight into the next one...

That's it! She'd just have to let it fall close enough for her to hook her weapon's horn into the wooden frame and pull herself up. Swallowing her adrenaline and trying her best not to jump instinctively. Despite her slipping grip and increasing blood pressure, she focused only on the platform ahead. Just as she was about to slip off, she once more leapt into the air, swinging the sledge and causing it to get stuck in the platform, grabbing onto it and hoisting herself onto the platform. But, the struggle wasn't over yet. The platform she was now standing on had begun to ever so slightly tilt from the sledge's weight. Quickly, she tore it out of the ground before slamming it into the other side, causing it's weight to now tilt the platform towards the still intact entrance to the mineshaft.

Once more, she ripped out the hammer before desperately jumping to safety, landing on her side. Panting, she looked up, watching as whatever pieces of sollar left slowly break and fall down into the abyss. The sinkhole had expanded. It seemed to have been an earthquake that caused it, but by some miracle, the cave was still mostly intact. Some pieces of the ceiling had fallen, but it was still passable. Twilight stood back up, brushing off her jacket, dragging herself and her sledge into the cave.

All tunnels from the room with the elevator had collapsed completely, save for the one she'd just come from. Lucky break. Filled with suspense, she inserted the key into the keyhole, and twisted it. It worked. The lock fell down and hit the floor, revealing a call button behind. Twilight pressed it, and immediately the door slid away to the side. She could enter the elevator, and so she did. She quickly scanned the room for anything she'd left behind, before pressing the only button the elevator had. The door closed, shrouding her in darkness, as it shook to life and began moving. Due to the lack of windows, Twilight had no idea which direction she was actually moving in. But she could feel it turning and moving. The elevator was not going straight down. But that didn't make sense, why would someone make an elevator that goes horizontally? Considering what she'd just been through, she didn't really care enough to complain. She was relatively safe, and by the looks of it, settle down for a long ride.

And a long ride it was. It felt like she'd been sitting there forever as the elevator twisted and turned. It wasn't much of a smooth or relatively comfy ride, but at least the seat she was sitting on was comfy. It had a red pillow and was in good condition, which Twilight found odd considering it was connected to a mine. She wasn't complaining, though. She hadn't felt comfortable since she arrived in this mental jail, in her bed.

Come to think of it, she'd made good progress. She'd come a long way since then. Mentally and literally. She'd gotten used to whatever this place was, and she was well on her way to... Well, she didn't know what exactly, but if she stopped moving she'd probably go insane. Setting an arbitrary goal certainly helped keep her mind on track. After all, coma patients usually suffer brain damage when they wake up. Keeping herself busy was maybe an even better thing than she thought.

In the middle of her thinking, the elevator suddenly stopped and went straight down. The remained of the ride didn't last long, only moving vertically for a few seconds - The doors slid open, and Twilight stepped out of the elevator.