The first thing she felt was the bed under her. She turned over to the side, expecting to feel Bonbon's body. Instead, it was empty air. Lyra cracked open an eye, and indeed saw that the other side of her bed was empty. No, the other side of THE bed. This wasn't her bed.
She quickly rolled off, and looked around. Definitely not her room. She opened the door to come into a small, cozy-looking living room. There was a fireplace in the center, the fire giving off a warm glow. Around the fire was two chairs flanking its sides, and a long couch in front of it.
She looked around, and the room was otherwise empty, besides a table on the right end of the room. She turned left, and entered a small kitchen. Had a few cabinets on both sides, a sink on the right counter and a fridge on the left. Then a dead end. She re-entered the living room.
"There's food in the fridge, not like that would matter."
Lyra faced towards the source of the voice, and saw a figure of a pegasus at the previously empty table. "Who are you?" Her horn came aglow, and she prepared to attack this stallion.
He looked like he was going to give some type of long explanation, but decided against it. "My name is Havery." He shuffled through the papers before placing them into an organized pile.
Lyra was surprised at his bored tone. She decided to ask the other basic questions. "Why am I here?"
Havery rose his head and looked over at Lyra. "Calm down and sit on the couch. I'll answer your questions, but there is no reason to injure me." He got up and sat onto the chair right of the fireplace. He beckoned towards the other chair.
Lyra hesitantly lowered her magic and sat down on the chair. "So?"
The pegasus took a breath. "I'm going to give it to you straight. You're dead."
Lyra immediately jumped up from her chair and powered her magic. "That's a lie! If I am, how come I'm here?!"
"You aren't actually dead. It's just that you're in this…Limbo, I guess. You are in…a coma, in best words. Bear with me." He got up and went to Lyra. The mare prepared to blast him with magic, but he walked right through her. Quite literally, in fact.
Lyra let out a scream. "What the heck!? What's going on?! What's wrong with me!?"
Havery walked into the kitchen and grabbed a sandwich out of the fridge. "Nothing's wrong with you." He took a bite out of the sandwich, chew, swallow. "It's just that your spirit is alone." He took another bite of the sandwich, and put it back in the fridge.
Lyra fell back down into her chair. "Well, why can't my body be here?"
Havery moseyed over to his chair. "It would be weird if the dying body just disappeared off the scene, wouldn't it? Plus, this isn't a place your body would go to. It's kind of the way your 'heaven' works. You die, and your spirit floats up to it. Except you can return to Equestria from here." He picked up his mug, and took a sip from it.
Lyra stared at him. I…died? "Can I see how I died?"
"No."
Silence.
"Why?"
"You'd go insane."
Silence.
"That, and you wouldn't be able to return home." Another sip from his mug.
Lyra slumped in her chair. "Well, how long am I here?"
Havery shrugged. "As long as it takes for your body to recover. Mentally, anyway. Can be from a day to a few weeks." He put down his mug. "You don't have to believe it. You'll be in your body sooner or later." He got up, stepped into the bedroom, and began browsing the bookshelf. "The door leads outdoors. Explore as you like, you won't get lost."
Lyra just sat there in silence. She wasn't dead, but she was. She would go home after some time. She slumped in her chair. This was confusing.
~
She eventually came to terms with it. It was quite interesting place to be, and surprisingly beautiful. 'Created by my successors', Havery said. She couldn't get any more of an answer from him. But she accepted what was happening, and Havery actually smiled because of that.
She became good friends with him, and he opened up a bit more - not like he had much he wanted to tell - but she learned about him nonetheless. It was interesting, and it helped fight off boredom.
She smiled as he recounted one of his stories. He…did seem happier. Because he had someone to talk to.
~
Havery woke up. He got off the couch and checked the bedroom. Ever since he and Lyra began to bond, he actually looked forward to socializing. Because she was a friend.
She wasn't in the bedroom. She must've gotten up.
She wasn't outside. Even after he called.
Becoming worried, he went inside and shuffled through his papers again. He found the one he was looking for.
Lyra Heartstrings
State: Living
Type of Death: N/A
He sighed and sat back into his chair. She was alive.
She was gone.
He felt a mix of emotions. He was happy that she was living her life, but sad that he lost one of the few friends he gained.
He sighed. Now that she was gone, there was one last thing to do.
~
"Bonbon?"
"Yes?"
"You're crushing my ribs."
The yellow mare let go of Lyra. "Sorry. It's just that…you're back." She began hugging Lyra, softer this time around.
Lyra smiled and returned the hug best she could. The doctor told her that there was an earthquake in Ponyville, and the experienced her ribs being broken, her right hindleg being broken, and being a coma for a week.
"Bonbon?"
Bonbon let go of Lyra and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Yes?"
"While I was out, I was in a place, one I can't really explain. It…" She tried to remember some details about it, but she couldn't remember any. "Sorry, I can't remember that well. But there was this pony, his name…" She blanked out. She couldn't remember his name!
…Whose name?
Bonbon hugged her again. "I bet it was just a dream, Lyra. Don't sweat it."
Lyra nodded, but she still had some doubt. It felt so real. Whatever that place was. What was the place…?
She couldn't remember. Maybe it was just a dream.
But she was happy that she was back.
~
Havery sighed. She forgot. As she was supposed to.
He missed her.
But ponies weren't supposed to remember these types of things.
Until the next pony. He picked up his copy of War and Peace. He still had to finish it.
