Lyra was giddy.
She had been chosen as a best mare for THE Princess Cadence. This was every mare's dream come true! A once in a lifetime opportunity to not only meet a Princess, but to also get a free ticket to what would probably be the best wedding EVER? She'd be crazy NOT to go!
Lyra had packed her bags and was already on the train in the time it took you to read that last paragraph.
Time flies, huh?
This was a disaster!
Lyra had been kidnapped. She was crying and wailing for help, but a ballgag had kept her mouth shut for whatever had come to kidnap her. She was panicking, but whomever had her was keeping an iron grip. She was taken through the whole city, until they found some underground tunnels.
She was shoved inside a... thing. They sealed it, and her stasis...
...began.
FIRST HOUR
Ugh...
What's happened to me?
W-where am I?
What's going on?
help.
Help.
Help!
HELP!
HELP!
HELP!
TWELVE HOURS
It's been so long.
I've been here such a long time.
Oh, how my head hurts.
I've been here for... days? Weeks? Whatever the case... I've been in this... room. I don't know. This... room isn't a room. It's... alive. I can feel it, to. My heart, my mind... they just pours out like water from a pitcher. It flows and flows onward, but it isn't taking it with me. I see things now. These things I see... my friends, family... they aren't real. I know they aren't, I can tell. It's their eyes; they just look so... perfect. They aren't happy or sad, but static. Images frozen in time, burned in to my mind by a loneliness slowly fading in to nothing. This room is a parasite.
I don't remember exactly how I got here. I was at a... wedding? Yeah, a wedding. There was... a bug. A huge bug, black and green. It took me, my body, and it... did something to me? A... pod. YES! A POD! I WAS IN A POD! Oh sweat Celestia, thank you for gracing me with a returned memory! I will never forget... this...
Whatever the case, I woke up here awhile ago. I don't remember ever going to sleep, but I'd have to at some point, right? Right. Then again, I haven't eaten in... days. So I suppose I should be dead a few times over, but Celestia isn't as merciful as I would've liked. My mind is fading, and death isn't an option?
What a shame...
SECOND DAY
Oh... what is it now?
It's been so much longer. My body is weak, frail. My mind... the fakes... they talk. They tell me... they tell me to just let go. Accept it, and it'll all be over soon. The cycle of life will go on without me. Just accept it. Just... accept.
I don't want to, though.
I really don't.
But I really do.
But... they torture my mind with WORDS! They won't leave me alone! I close my eyes, and they're there; I hit my head, and they're there! I can't escape them! They're still... haunting me. It's in their nature; they just want my soul, after all. They want me and my mind. That's it. I would give it to them, but... I'm scared.
I'm more scared then I've ever been able to remember.
I'm not lonely anymore, but it still hurts all the same. I just don't... feel anymore. I have to keep thinking, or else I'll forget everything I am. I am a unicorn. I was a... musician. I played a... harp? No, smaller... ah whatever, I'll figure it out.
I'm still here, after all...
THIRD DAY
I hate them
I hate them so much.
I know they hate me, but I hate them to. They think I'm just some pushover. A worthless blob of unfealing madness! WELL, I'D LIKE TO SEE THEM DO BETTER! They never push too hard, though. It's because they know what I could do. Just gotta hit my head hard enough. Just the right way...
Mutually assured destruction is sweat.
I saw some different ones, to. An alicorn and a purple unicorn. How about that? They were nice, to. They gave me flowers. But... I don't know how. I'm stuck in a room, right? I still felt like I was here, but I wasn't...
The room has gotten smaller as of late. It's gotten softer, to. Maybe when it get's small enough, I'll be able to escape. I have a horn, so if I wait for it, maybe when it get's small enough... just a tear. Maybe just one crack...
Oh well... all for another time.
I'm just angry now. Fearful too, but my sadness is gone. I strike back now. They touch me, and they hurt me. A smack to the cheek, maybe kick to the face. Sticks and stones? Try a hoof to the face. They always wanna make the world seem great, but if this fleshy parasite is the world?
I don't want any part of it.
FOURTH DAY
So I've noticed something.
This whole thing about a parasitic room?
It's dying.
Reality is coming back to me. It's a slow process, but the pieces are coming together. The room is tiny, but the cracks are showing. I'll be leaving soon, I can feel it. My memory is coming back, my feelings to. It's a real rush, and I love it. I sing old songs like I used to. I sing new songs, too. I sing songs about the fakes, and I sing songs about the room. I think, though, that I don't have to.
It's almost gone, after all.
It's a relief to know that I will be able to leave soon. I'll be able to see the real world, and for what it really is, too. The fakes are fading, to. They're less real now. Just flashes in a pan, so to speak. They ARE there, it's just... they aren't real anymore. They used to be so real, and so sureal, but now? They just... exist. I see them, I hear them, and yet, I can ignore them.
This... life is looking up, now, and I can smell the air.
I can hear the birds and smell the flowers.
It's time to wake up.
AFTERMATH
They found Lyra deep underneath the caverns in Canterlot. She was still in a pod, (though in a rather emaciated form). Her mane and tail had turned a darker cyan then before; mementos for what was probably a very difficult time.
She doesn't talk about what it was like in the pod, but she is never sad or angry anymore. She doesn't smile at EVERYPONY, but she hasn't been offended by anything since the pod. When asked why, she said this.
"I've learned a few things, but one of the most important lessons I've learned is that, once you've hit rock bottom, you can only go up."
