> Cardboard Casket
>  by Silk Rose
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Cardboard Casket
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I lay in the box, drawing stale air with a raspy, shallow breath. The box's cardboard bottom provides little comfort for my sore side. Regrets tick through my mind with each beat of my heart as the blackness surrounds me.

I shouldn't have eaten those cupcakes. Spike said they were good, but he eats rocks! I shouldn't have listened to him. I shouldn't have agreed to play hide and seek with Sweetie Belle. I shouldn't have closed the lid. I shouldn't have stayed in here after I felt sick. I shouldn't have done many things.

I try to slow my stuttered breathing as the air in the box becomes suffocating. A piece of dust gets caught in my throat, sending me into another involuntary coughing fit. Each cough brings up an unknown substance from the depths of my stomach.

I want to cry out, to scream, even if nopony can hear me, but I just don't have the strength. I feel paralyzed. My body isn't listening to me anymore. I just have to lay here, afraid of the inevitable.

I'm going to die. I've accepted it, but I still fear it. Nopony ever wants to die, but here I am, forced to endure each breath until the end. Forced to die a slow and painful death as my best friend tries to find me, blissfully unaware of the hiding place I'm trapped in.

I was always afraid of the dark, but that's nothing compared to death. I'd gladly go blind if it means I can still feel the grass under my hooves, and breathe the fresh outside air, and hear my friends' voices. I'd take that deal in a heartbeat.

I'm more afraid for my friends. They'll have to live in a world thinking they're the reason I'm no longer in it. Sweetie Belle will feel the worst guilt; hide and seek was her idea. I don't fault her at all, but I know her. She'll blame herself forever. She doesn't deserve to live like that.

Suddenly I hear hoofsteps near the box, and hope floods my thoughts. Somepony is close, somepony can save me! They get so close to the box, I can feel the vibration of their hoofsteps through the floor. I can hear her calling my name as I try with all my might to yell, scream, kick, anything to get her attention.

Sweetie Belle trots away as all of my attempts were for naught. The one chance I had for salvation, trotting away, sealing my end. She was so close, and I so helpless. Nothing worked, nothing could save me now.

My body seems to pity me as it lets me cry. I enjoy every teardrop as it will most likely be the last shred of comfort I have in life. Each drop falls down my face as I dream of making a sound. Wishing for one last good cry before I go.

As the next teardrop slowly rolls down my face, it brings a memory to mind. Rainbow is hugging me and agreeing to be my big sister. The memory replays in my head, in slow motion and fast-forward, at the same time. She was such a good sister.

The memory fades and a new one follows with the next teardrop. Me and Sweetie Belle meet Apple Bloom and form the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Little did I know how much our group, our calling, would mean to me.

Another teardrop, another memory. The moment we decide to focus on helping other ponies find their cutie marks, causing us to get ours. It meant so much to us, that we finally got what we wanted after so long.

As the last memory fades, I ask for one last wish. Please, just one more hug with my friends. One more chance to tell them I love them. One more final goodbye. Please! But my wish is not granted, and I can feel myself starting to give out.

Seeing no other option, I gather all the strength I can, using all the memories, tears, and hope as fuel for the determination to not die in this box. I scream, I don't want to die, in my head, as I try to force my back leg to kick as hard as I can.

I manage to move my leg, but only barely. It softly impacts the cardboard wall, making a weak sound, then falls limp as my control loosens even more. I hope with every fiber of my being that it's enough that somepony will come save me.

After a few more seconds, I hear something rubbing up against the box. Is somepony there? Who is it? But, after it continues to rub the box, it starts purring, vibrating the box. Opalescence is outside the box!

I hear the purring stop for a second before the entire box shakes. The purring continues from above. Opal is on top of the box. I need to get her attention, but how? I fail at lifting my leg again. What now?

Cats have good hearing, right? I might be able to make noise to get her to look in the box. I do my best to control my breathing, barely managing to affect it. I feel light-headed and dizzy as I attempt to make a noise, any noise. I meow as loud as I can.

I hear movement above me as the cardboard rustles, then there's a blinding light as a cat pokes its head into the box. I quietly meow again, exhausting the last of my efforts. Opal meows at me before taking her head out of the box, the lid falling closed.

All I can do is hope as the minutes pass by. Eventually, as I'm about to pass out, I hear meowing, and it's getting louder. I feel hoofsteps behind Opal. She went to get help! I love you, Opal! The box opens, and the blinding white light is the last thing I remember before passing out.

I'm saved…