Lisa Garnet-- the girl who knew herself as Twilight Sparkle, sat defeated upon her cot, still tethered to the strange machine that hummed quietly behind her. She felt no hunger nor thirst, and she had come to assume that it was due to the tubes that ran from her side. Multiple times already she had put the headset back over her face, hoping to find the comforting confines of her life she'd lived in Equestria.
But as per usual, she was met only with darkness and silence.
And so she continued to sit on the small cot, waiting for something- anything to happen. She had come to notice a small time reading in the corner of the display on the machine, and came to estimate approximately an hour and a half had passed since she had awoken.
Her mind turned to Equestria. Was any of it ever real? And if so, how could she possibly have known that it was in the first place? How long had she been attached to this... monolith of a device? And why hadn't she remembered her life as a human upon waking up?
She glanced back down towards the wristband. The only inscription on it was the mentioning of her name, and nothing else. No date of entry, no location, no nothing.
Sighing in defeat, she leaned back on the cot, placing a hand over the cot's railing for support. She paused for a moment as her fingers brushed by a small nub. Slowly, she began retracing her movements, feeling what seemed to be a button of sorts on the underside of the railing. Leaning over to get a closer look revealed text to accompany the button, likely labeling its function.
"Press button for assistance." She whispered, following the label's instructions.
A small beep sound emanated from the machine behind her, startling the girl. A small red indicator light appeared underneath the display, blinking rapidly before dimming, instead gently pulsing between states.
Once again, the girl leaned back in the cot, and waited.
Eventually, after around another two or so hours, Lisa awoke to a gentle knock on the door.
"Come in." She called raising herself upright.
An older man entered the room wearing a heavy coat, a large briefcase at his side. He let out a low grunt as he set down his things on the floor, making his way seemingly towards Lisa...
...Only to pass the girl, and instead face the the screen of the machine whirring behind her.
He tapped on the screen a couple times, and with a mechanical click, a small keyboard emerged on a tray underneath the display. The man turned towards Lisa for a moment, before returning his attention to the machine.
"So," he began as he tapped away on the surprisingly loud keyboard, "What seems to be your problem, miss..."
"Twili--" Lisa began, pausing to glance down at her bracelet, "I... I mean Lisa Garnet."
The man nodded without facing the girl. "Pleasure to meet you, Lisa. Now tell me, what is the problem that you called me for?"
Lisa shook her head. "I-I don't know..." she replied, "I guess I just wanted somepo...body to talk to."
The man let out a strange noise that sounded somewhere between a hiccup and a burp, before turning back to Lisa with a stern expression.
"You're not supposed to be awake."
Lisa raised a brow. "What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine right now, aside from being... well, y'know, stuck here. I'm completely awake, albeit confu--"
"No, no. I didn't mean that you're not allowed to be awake," the man cut in, "I mean that the programming's connection to the rest of the network was severed somewhere. You should still be off somewhere in whatever happy-land that it was that you were in.
The girl's mood brightened upon hearing that she was still there, virtually, in Equestria.
She leaned closer towards the machine, and the man standing at its console. "So, how long will it take?"
"How long will what take?" he mumbled in return, his eyes still focused on the screen.
"Until I can go back." Lisa replied, "Until I can be Twilight Sparkle again."
The man sighed, and turned away from the machine. "It takes a couple days on average to find exactly where the connection was severed." He turned his attention to the cluster of tubes and wiring running from the girl's side. "If you'd like, I could give you a temporary discharge, and allow you into the outside world."
"...Outside... world?" Lisa said in confusion, attempting to mentally comprehend what such a society would be like if an entire reality such as hers could be simulated so seamlessly up until that point.
"Yes." the man confirmed, "The outside world. Go see some places, do a few things, then take it all back as memories to wherever."
Lisa nodded. "I think I'll greatly appreciate it if I do."
The man stumbled back towards his briefcase, opening it to reveal various metallic trinkets and bottles.
"Okay," he began, measuring out a number of pills, "This shouldn't hurt too much, but I'll put you on sedatives just in case while I remove the life supports."
Shortly after she swallowed the prescribed number of pills, Lisa quickly fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.