The Lost Changeling

Groans...

Groans and buzzing.

That’s all I can sense.

I have awoken to a numb body.

All of my legs... unmovable... unfeelable.

I cannot open my eyes. They’re too heavy with pain, assisted by a migraine.

I stop my wings from buzzing and I take a minute to tolerate the pain temporarily. I hear nothing but droplets around me off and on. Wherever I am, I don’t think it’s Canterlot anymore. The symphony of droplets leaves a reverb as if I were inside a building like any palace of Canterlot during the night.

I finally get the strength to move my head around, so still unable to feel my legs, I use my muzzle to feel where I landed. However, when I do, I feel a trickle of pain on where I feel around, as if I were to closely sniff a pile of tacks, curious for a scent. Speaking of scents, the surface I tried to feel with my muzzle has the scent of wet leather. Suddenly, a subtle, mild breeze strokes my matted, mangled mess of a mane, which has to contradict the reverb in some way, unless the place I’m in is a cave. But if this was a cave, why does it smell like wet leather around me?

I have absolutely no idea whatsoever of where I am, but there’s something present that I can sense from this location. Unlike any other structure I have been inside, this one has to have the highest density of negative emotion, which must mean someone must’ve been here within the past half hour. I finally give into the migraine and groan a few more times.

Finally, able to open my eyes, I get a good look at where I lay. I see what look like stairs. Their railings look to have a reflective characteristic to its otherwise dark color. Glass panes are present where the support beams should go. However, the metal-like floorboard doesn’t look to have openings for any support beams. In its place is that of a straight crack, cutting directly in half with the slanted floor, supporting the panes.

The glass shard infested stairs have a black and white, rough looking, trance inducing pattern unlike any staircase I’ve ever seen. Beside this ruined staircase is another identical to the one I lay on. The only way to break the trance seems to be to simply close my eyes in hopes I could fly off of this Chrysalis forsaken, glass filled double staircase.

When I look at the ceiling, I see that a good amount of its tiles have fallen. However, there is an opening closer to my proximity. I’ve never seen anything like what is above me. Then, near the top of the double staircase, I see the edge of what is presumably a second floor. Looking at the edge, there is a two tier railing that has what I expected the stairs to have, filled to the brim with support beams. Below the railing, I see the same material as to what is in between, and at the edges of, each staircase.

For a second, I think that this might be only all that remains of the building that I reside in right now. I see that this is an entire room around me as I turn my head left to look behind me. All around the room, there is something to look at. Part of what looks like a futuristic cart is directly in front of the double staircase. Throughout the floor of the lower level from what I can see, it’s littered with glass shards. Then I see a pillar that bears the same appearance as the edges of the second floor.

Right of that, I see two rows of windows with boards behind them, piercing the wall of bricks. Above all of that, there is a label that simply says “JCPenney’s Outlet Store”. I’ve never heard of “JCPenney’s Outlet Store”, but I must be in an enclosed town market if the name suggests anything. Sandwiching the staircase, as I turn my head, stands overgrown plants. Turning to the opposite limit of my head turning capabilities, I see another pillar with a striped design of a dominant white with a recessive grey, all under what appears to be a grey skeleton from what the top of the pillar suggests.

Then, still turning my head, I see a small structure standing across from the staircase. It doesn’t look broken like the rest of the portion of this market suggests. However, looking closer, there appears to be a puncture near the bottom. The design near the top has a rough, orange characteristic to it.

When I turn my head back to facing the double staircase, I notice that my legs don’t feel so numb anymore, just low enough to be able to move them with ease. Of course, not without any pain do my legs move either. However, I should be thankful that I’m still somewhat numb in the legs. By now, had it not been from the numbness, that same small twinge that hit my muzzle earlier would be all around my hooves. So, I decide to get up and have a closer look around where I stand.

Looking behind me again, I see that the staircases end unlike anything I’ve seen before. It looks slightly similar to what little amount of conveyer belts that I’ve seen in my life in all of the invasions onto Equestria that I was ever eligible to partake in. Judging by that, I’m willing to bet that the upper part of the staircases end in a similar way.

Now that I’ve observed all of the area that I physically can, my head's a mess of questions. What’s a “JCPenney’s Outlet Store”? What are these stairs, and are they really conveyer belts? What is this kind of place called exactly? Where am I? How did I even land here? Why does everything look so big? Do I wait out my numb legs before I can observe more of my surroundings, or for that matter, seek help? Should I find a way out of this place that is filled with negative emotion?