Evenfall
Evenfall
"It's useless, Twilight," Celestia said. "Pointless."
"I never said it wasn't. I never even said I didn't know it was."
Celestia shook her regal head. "Then why? Why are you still trying?"
"I’m still trying because I don't know if it is useless either. Besides, I must."
The princess sighed. "Can't you see the full picture? I showed it all to you. I showed you everything."
"You should know better than thinking I'll ever listen to your advice. In fact, I think it’s you who is not real."
"Of course I am unreal. I'm just as fake as you, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Luna, Celestia, Granny Smith, or Even. None of us is real."
"You either don't understand, don't want to understand or are pretending not to understand," Twilight responded. "You may think we're only delusions; but whether or not this is the case, you're beneath us. You are not real, not even by my standards."
"'Not even by your standards.' Deep in your heart you already know I'm right, don't you? So, I ask you again: why are you struggling?"
"I'll answer your question if you answer mine. Why do you want to convince me?"
"I must. You know I must, for that's who I am."
"That's my answer to you, as well. Let me ask something else: you say I'm not real. Maybe so, but I feel myself, I see myself. I'm thinking, I experience myself. How can I not be real?"
"You're a shard of imagination, Twilight. Nothing more. A part of someone's subconscious. An idea."
"And if I'm an idea, what defines me?"
"The mind of your creator."
"Exactly." Twilight smiled. Celestia arched an eyebrow; the alicorn herself wasn't sure about who was the cat and who was the mouse anymore. "Do you understand now?"
"I think so."
"I don't have to elaborate. And you know why? Because I think you're..." Twilight giggled. "...you're my shard." She looked around; she could see nothing but the emptiness of the marble hall. "I tire of this place. I'm going back to Ponyville."
***
The cheeky afternoon breeze tousled the lush green grass surrounding the old library tree. The sun shone brightly and only a few fleecy clouds swam lazily through the azure sky. The songs of many cheerful birds filled the air, bees flew from flowers to flowers, grasshoppers were playing happily on the ground like mischievous foals.
Ponyville was empty. With Even at her side, Twilight looked around; apart from them, not one soul occupied the streets. No ponies chatting, working or playing anywhere near, like they used to... if there was ever a time when they used to. The birdsong and the buzzing of the insects only made their eerie absence all the more unsettling.
"I'm home," Twilight said, smiling.
"We're home," Even corrected.
"I was missing my library," Twilight continued, clapping her front hooves together happily.
"We know," Even said.
They didn't take a step towards the library tree.
They sat down on the middle of the street.
They waited.
"What now?" Even asked.
"I'm thinking."
"We do that."
Coming into view from around the street corner, Applejack was now trotting towards them.
"Well howdy there, Twilight and Even! Mighty fine day, ain't it?" She waved her brown hat with a merry smile.
"Yes, it is! How's life?" Twilight asked.
"Jus' perfect, Twilight, jus' perfect! The crop will be right rich if the pegasi keep up the good weather!"
"He was right," Twilight said. "It's not the same. Yes, he was right."
"Unfortunately," Even said.
The revelation hung heavily on the two unicorns' shoulders. Finally, Twilight spoke up. "I have to escape."
"We have to escape," Even corrected.
"Escape what?" Applejack furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey, Twilight, Even, y'all ‘re okay, aren't ya? Ya need help?"
"Stop it, Applejack," Twilight said. "I'm not fooling myself."
Applejack’s body stiffened. With a muffled thump, she pitched sideways onto the muddy street, stiff-legged and unmoving. The friendly smile was still frozen on her face.
"Mine?" Even asked.
"Mine, I think." Twilight answered.
"Well, that was just rude, iffin' ya ask me," Applejack said behind them. "I know y'all study hard and get stressed, but still."
Even and Twilight turned around; sure enough, there was an Applejack, looking at the other one lying in the mud.
"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "I didn't want to offend you."
"Nah, it's all right. We're friends, ain't we?" Applejack smiled. Friendly.
Then she disappeared.
"Yes, that was mine." Even said. "Sorry about that."
"How did she vanish?"
"Honestly? Don't know."
"Of course."
Minutes passed in silence.
"We have to go back to him," Even said finally.
"I know," Twilight sighed. "That's the only way outside. To Ponyville."
Even looked at her. "Are you sure about that?"
"Sure? No, I'm not sure. I still doubt he's the one behind it all. But do I have a better idea?"
"Why did you misunderstand the question? 'Outside' is the point. Are you sure Ponyville's outside?"
Twilight eyes widened. "Are you... are you saying Ponyville is inside?!"
"No. Only that maybe it's inside. Let's go back to him."
"Let's."
***
Even and Twilight looked at each other uncertainly.
"Hi. Name's Even. If you like."
"That'll do," Twilight answered. "Now, this is my library. We're on the upper floor, this is my bedroom –"
"We know. We know everything about the library."
"Ah. Of course you do." Twilight cleared her throat. "So... should we write to the princess about this?"
"Guess so. Spike!"
Silence.
"Spike!" Twilight called out as well.
Nothing.
The two unicorns trotted down to the ground level, stepping down into the centre of the library. Twilight opened the main door. On the other side they saw a perfect copy of the library; if not for the lack of themselves, they could have believed the door was replaced with a mirror.
"Should we check?" Even asked.
"Not likely," Twilight answered.
"What about the basement?"
"I doubt he's there."
They checked the basement anyway. It was empty.
***
Princess Celestia landed gracefully before the library's door. As soon as she stepped inside, the seven friends bowed deeply.
"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed joyously. "We're so glad you could came!"
"Think nothing of it, my little ponies," Celestia said, folding her wings and smiling upon her subjects benevolently. "I came as soon as I heard what happened."
"You can say that all right," Applejack nodded. "I had barely enough time to get here from the farm!"
"And I couldn't prepare your 'Welcome to Twilight's Library!’ party! But we can still party, right?" Pinkie asked hopefully, blinking with calculated cuteness.
"That's because you're too slow," Rainbow Dash said, inspecting her wings with a confident grin. "If you were as fast as me, you could have prepared two parties by now!"
"Your Highness, I do trust we didn't cause any inconvenience, did we?" Fluttering her eyelashes, Rarity looked at Celestia. "That would be positively dreadful!"
Fluttershy, hiding behind her lush light pink mane, didn't say anything, simply hoping she would remain unnoticed. Instead, Twilight started to speak again.
"Princess, please, can you help me with Even?"
"Of course." Celestia beckoned with a flare of her wing. "Come to me, my little pony!"
Even stepped close to the alicorn, allowing Celestia to wrap her majestic snow-white wings around her.
"What are you going to do with her, Princess?" Twilight asked.
"Nothing. Do you know who she is?"
She shook her head. "I don't."
"Oh, but I think you do."
"You can't help me." The sudden realization dawned on Twilight. "You can't help me, Princess."
"What do you mean, my faithful student?"
"You can't help me," Twilight repeated. "You’d better leave."
"Well, if you say so." Princess Celestia left.
***
Deep below Canterlot Castle, much deeper down than the abandoned mines, there lay a white marble hall. A grandiose white hall, a hall so vast its blank walls stretched into the infinite. This hall was completely empty, except for a simple stone throne in the centre. On this throne, Princess Celestia sat. Before her stood Twilight Sparkle.
"Princess Celestia?" Twilight addressed her.
The princess tilted her head. "Yes, my little pony?"
"How did I get here?"
"You wanted to be here, didn't you?"
"Maybe. I don't know. I wanted answers."
"And answers I have," Celestia said. "But do you need these answers? You already know everything about Even. You have examined what happened at the library well. What more do you want to know?"
"So, I made the right decision in the library." Twilight tapped her chin absently. "Does this mean the Celestia there wasn't you?"
"Rather, neither she nor me are me."
Twilight nodded. This made sense. "Were she and you the same?"
"Far from it. At least as far as you can get here; which is not very far, I'm afraid."
"Then who are you?" Her tone wasn't accusing, but simply curious.
"You'll see soon enough. Are you ready to go outer?"
"'Outer’?" Twilight repeated.
"From whence you came."
"No! I want answers! I need answers!" She pawed at the floor. "I have to figure everything out!"
"But you can't, Twilight Sparkle. You're struggling in vain."
***
Spike stepped inside the library.
"Uh, hi, Twilight, Even. You need something?"
"Spike! There you are!" Twilight said. The two unicorns trotted to him. "Take a letter, please!"
"All right." Spike pulled out a quill and a parchment from out of nowhere. "What about?"
"I must ask the princess to visit the library." Starting to organize, Twilight felt herself in control again. “Even, I need you to go and gather our friends. Can you do that?"
"It’s probably possible. We'll see." Even trotted out.
"Interesting," Twilight muttered as she saw that this time, Ponyville was outside the library's door. "Should I have expected that?"
***
Twilight and Even looked around. Ponyville. Is this it real this time?
It appeared so. The market was full with the colorful hustling and bustling of ponies, though neither of them could locate any of their friends. The sound of indistinguishable gossip, interlaced with occasional laughter and the shouting of the vendors offering their wares filled the air. A ball rolled through the market square before them, some foal chasing after it. Twilight was carefully examining a ladybug; Even was scrutinizing a pebble.
It all looked real. Existing. Factual.
"Well," Even asked, "what do we think?"
"Strawberries!" a merchant yelled. "Fresh strawberries here! Get your strawberries right now, right here!"
"I'm not sure." Twilight shook her head. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she would ever be sure again.
"Excuse me," a lime-green mare called, "I'm trying to pass here..."
"Sorry." Twilight stepped aside.
"Well, there's only one way now," Even said. "To the library?"
"To the library." Twilight nodded, still looking at a cheerfully chatting couple of ponies.
The library tree wasn't far from the market, and they both knew the way perfectly. At first glance it seemed there was nothing extraordinary about it. Both of them knew, however, that this didn't necessarily mean anything.
Even stepped to the threshold, her horn glowing. "Shall we?" she asked.
"After you," Twilight answered, winking at her. Even opened the door, and they both entered.
The library was a mess – books lying on the floor, the tables tipped over, the rug tossed aside. Oddly enough, their first impression was not that there had been a fight here; instead, they felt like someone had been searching desperately for something or somepony here.
"Looks like Spike hasn't been doing his job lately," Twilight said. "At least I hope he's all right and this clutter is nothing but the result of him slacking. I'm afraid that would be too much to ask, wouldn't it?"
"Probably." Even sighed. "Let's find him before it gets worse."
"Spike!" Twilight shouted. "Spike! It's me, Twilight! I'm home!"
The ponies immediately heard the noise of clawed feet running up the basement stairs.
"Twilight! Even! There you are! I'm so glad you're okay!" Spike skipped up the steps in pairs. "Where were you? I was so worried!"
"It's okay, Spike." Even smiled. "We're home now. That's all that matters."
"You gotta tell me sometime," Spike said, running to Twilight and hugging her. "You can't imagine how afraid I was after you disappeared without a word!"
"Even, you talked to Spike." Twilight hung her head abjectly.
"Yes," Even answered. "And we know what that means."
Twilight sighed. "Spike, would you please prepare dinner for us? I'm starving."
"But I'm cooking it right now!"
Twilight and Even looked at each other. "Then come here, please."
"Can't. Soup will boil over!"
"Never mind the soup," Even said. "Just come here."
"You said you're hungry!"
"Spike, please, we need you to do this!"
Spike crossed his arms. "All right, but don't blame me when you can't eat your soup!"
Another Spike walked in from the kitchen, this one wearing an apron and a chef's hat. "Well?" he asked.
"Which one is yours?" Twilight asked.
"Not sure," Even answered. "Try both."
Twilight and Even closed their eyes and concentrated. Both Spikes stiffened, then vanished into thin air.
"Ah, so that's the trick," Twilight said with a small smile. "Are we going back?"
"We must."
"Is it actually farther in or out?"
"Do you expect a real answer?"
"I guess not."
***
"I'm not struggling in vain. I’ve already realized what's wrong."
"You just said you need answers and that you have to figure everything out. You seem inconsistent for somepony who likes scientific methods so much."
"I've figured out what's wrong with Even, but that doesn't mean I know everything yet."
Celestia let a small smile creep upon her face. "Then please, enlighten me, Twilight. What's wrong with Even?"
"She's –" Twilight hesitated. "She's not real."
"Thank you, Twilight. This is exactly the direction I'd hoped to steer the conversation." She paused for a moment. "Do you know anypony else who isn't real?"
"Princess Celestia," Twilight answered. "The Princess Celestia who visited me in the library. She already knew that I know who Even is. She didn't even ask anything. That wasn't scientifically possible."
Celestia seemed entertained. Happy, even. "I thought the princess is all-knowing. Surely, knowing your theories about Even isn't an impressible feat for her, much less proof of her... unreality."
"The whole event... the princess herself popping in the library... and then her abrupt departure... everything about her. I just can't put the pieces together. She can't be real."
"Interesting. Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, can I be real?"
"You said neither you nor the Celestia in the library was the real Celestia," Twilight answered immediately. "The Celestia in the library wasn't real, and so you aren't, either. Actually, the fact that we're having this conversion right now is proof that you aren't the real princess; she'd never act like you. I think you are an... illusion too."
"An illusion," the princess echoed with barely noticeable sarcasm. "Do you know anypony who'd cast illusions to deceive you for any reason?"
"I don't. But it's still the best explanation I can find." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Unless, of course, you can give me a better one."
"I can." Celestia's smile was almost motherly. "You see, I'm Discord."
"Discord," Twilight repeated cautiously, neither believing nor denying the claim.
"You don't have to accept it right now; you'll see later. But first, let me remind you of your first question. How did you get here?"
"I wanted answers. I wanted answers, and the next thing I knew was that I was here."
"Exactly. There are a couple of explanations for this – being the expert magic user you are, maybe you used some teleportation spell unconsciously –"
"That's highly unlikely," Twilight interrupted. "And by 'unlikely,' I mean 'impossible.' Magic doesn't work that way."
"Well then, maybe I really am Discord, who granted your wish with his reality-warping powers."
"That is a possible, though improbable account," Twilight said. "I still think there's a simpler explanation."
"I have the simplest: this is all a dream. Problem solved, hmm?"
"If so, it's quite a long dream. One I can't wake up from."
"Have you tried?" Celestia asked.
"I have. I couldn't. But it's still by far the most believable explanation."
"Or maybe," the princess sat back, "maybe you're crazy. Maybe none of this is happening in reality; maybe your body is in an asylum, and we're only in your head."
Twilight didn't answer for a long time.
***
The white hall reappeared.
"I couldn't," Twilight said, almost surprised. "I couldn't go back to Ponyville."
Celestia shook her head. "You're going to try again, aren't you, Twilight?"
"Yes, I am."
Celestia sighed.
The white hall disappeared.
***
"That... is possible," Twilight said finally. "It's technically possible. I'd still prefer the dream version, though."
"Sadly, my dear Twilight, reality doesn't care about your preferences. Reality..."
The word echoed heavily between them. Twilight sat on her haunches, silently gazing at the floor. After a long, soft pause, Celestia started to speak again. "I think you're ready to glance at the whole picture. I know I'm Discord, and probably you know it too, but listen to me, because sometimes you need Discord to tell you the truth."
"You're not necessarily Discord," Twilight countered. "Don't take me for a fool. You could be a changeling, you could be an illusion, you could even be the princess herself trying to test me. I'm listening to you, but I'm taking your words with a grain of salt."
"Very well." The princess nodded. "What I have to say has nothing to do with who I am anyway." Celestia stood up and slowly walked beside Twilight. "You know, Twilight Sparkle, that Even is not real."
"Yes, I do know that," Twilight said, impatience in her voice for the first time. "It wasn't too hard to figure out. She knows everything and exactly everything I do. When I saw her I sensed something was wrong immediately."
"You're smart, Twilight. You quickly realized in the library that Princess Celestia wasn't real either."
"Naturally. That princess also knew everything I did, even my theory about Even, which I hadn't told anypony. It was only logical to draw a parallel between her and Even."
"Also correct. But it's far from being everything. Do let me ask you: if Even and Celestia weren't real, how could you and your friends interact with them?"
"Changelings. Illusions. They're capable of deceiving the observers."
A victorious smile appeared on Celestia's lips. "And tell me, do changelings or illusions know everything you do, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight remained silent. She avoided the princess' gaze.
Celestia continued, "No, they don't. And you, too, know what that means. Neither they, nor your friends, who could talk to them, are real."
"So..." Twilight took a deep breath. "Am I crazy? It cannot be a dream. I can't wake up. Am I insane?"
Celestia turned around and walked back to her throne. "No. No, you aren't," she answered, sitting back. "But you aren't real either. None of us is."
Twilight shook her head. "I may be crazy, but you definitely are. This makes no sense."
"Doesn't it? We're all delusions. Puppets of unseen forces. Your will isn't yours; your actions are not your own."
"Are you talking about mind control? I don't feel anypony controlling my actions."
"No, not mind control. I'm talking about imagination, Twilight. You're a prisoner of someone else's imagination. You're inside. We all are. We answer to imaginary forces. We must."
"'We must,'" Twilight repeated. "We must... No. I have to break out. I have to get outside!"
"You can't. You're unreal."
"Then I will die trying."
"It's useless, Twilight," Celestia said. "Pointless."
***
"You're back again," Celestia stated. "You'll return every time until you accept your fate."
"No, I won't. And even if I will, I must keep trying. And you know why?" Twilight threw back her head. "Because you forgot one thing. One simple thing, that makes me right and you wrong."
"Really?" Celestia tilted her head. "And, pray tell, what is this simple trifle that I forgot so foolishly?"
"I doubt I have to tell you. Do I, Twilight?" She smirked.
"Excuse me? I thought I made it clear that I'm Discord. But, for all I care, you can call me 'Twilight' if you want. Or 'Celestia', for that matter."
"No, no." Twilight stepped closer. "You know it too. We know it. Because you're me, right? We're inside, but we're inside my imagination! That means we're both me. You're just a part of my subconscious."
Celestia stifled a giggle. "Interesting, but don't you think your logic is flawed? I spent all my time trying to convince you you're wrong. If I really am you, why would I do that? Why would I oppose you? Shouldn't I aid you with all my power?"
Twilight's smile didn't waver. "I expected this retort. But, you know, 'Discord' – or should I say, 'me' – everypony doubts in themselves. The most confident pony I know, Rainbow Dash, became a nervous wreck when she had to win the Best Young Flyer Competition. And what better form could my self-doubt assume than Discord's?"
Celestia sat back. She didn't look shaken. "So, you yourself just admitted we're inside your imagination. Doesn't this only provide further proof of my point? You're not real, Twilight Sparkle. Just try to remember your life. Your memory is nothing but a cluttered mess of chaotic fragments of events. You can't think chronologically... And he who can't navigate in his own mind is naught but a shard of imagination. Face it, Twilight: you're not real."
"Ah, but I am." Twilight started to trot in circles. "You see, the way I see – and, since you're actually me, I should say we both see – existence, there are two options.
"Firstly, I could be real after all. I could be dreaming or insane, but I could be real. In this case I hope the former is true, but either way, 'outside' I am real. I won't waste my breath on explaining this option further.
"And secondly, I could be part of someone else's imagination –"
"That's what I was saying," Celestia interrupted, but Twilight didn't heed her.
"But if I am imaginary, you see, that's the beauty of it: I'm still real. I'm a real idea in someone else's head. If I really am an idea, a concept, then someone invented me and all my characteristics, my personality, my existence. They dreamt me into reality, they dreamt me into somepony who wouldn't give up the fight, and that's why I'm here, fighting for my world: because I must, just as you must oppose me. We were created this way."
"But you don't know if you're crazy, dreaming or imaginary," Celestia insisted.
"The last two times I tried to enter Ponyville I went inside, not outside. I ventured further into my imagination, and those Ponyvilles weren't real. That's why I, and Even, who isn't real either, could interact and even warp their inhabitants to our will. But to decide if the outer Ponyville is real? That's not my job. My job is to return to my real or real imaginary friends."
Celestia huffed. "And how, exactly, are you planning to do that? The last two times you tried weren't exactly a resounding success, I understand."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Twilight answered with a playful wink. "The method is clear to me – defeating my self-doubt. Which, by the way, is what I just did right now."
The white hall disappeared.
***
Twilight opened her eyes. She lay in her soft bed, and felt the morning sun gently warming her, filtering through the blue curtains. Somewhere above her a clock ticked; she didn't have to look up to picture her old clock. Bookcases surrounded the walls, like old friends.
"Welcome home," Even said. She was standing beside the bed. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
"You're still here? That's just great," Twilight muttered, yawning and stretching her legs. "Would you please call Spike?"
"Actually, it would be for the best if you did," Even answered.
"Well, okay." Twilight sat up in her bed. "Spike! Spike!"
They didn't have to wait long for the opening of the bedroom's door.
"Huh, Twilight," Spike said, stepping in without as much as looking at Even, "you're up early today. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Pancakes would do. Spike, tell me, how many ponies are there in this room?"
Spike arched his eyebrows, his claws still on the doorknob. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"No, please, just answer. This is important to me. How many ponies are there in this room?"
Spike shrugged. "...One? Or is Pinkie Pie hiding in a bucket again or something?" Twilight didn't answer. "Huh? What's the punchline?"
"Never mind, I was just sleepy. It's still morning to me!" Twilight chuckled, then turned her gaze to Even, silently mouthing the words ‘What about you?’
"We, or rather, the part of your imagination that's called 'Even,' is still only a delusion," Even answered. "You imagined us, so you're the one who's responsible. We can't part ways, for we are one and the same."
"But you can't interact with others, because we’re outside now, can you?" Twilight asked.
"Uh, Twilight?" Spike scratched his head. "We're indoors, you know. And what's with this 'interaction' thing?"
"Nothing!" Twilight smiled sheepisly. "I just remembered something I, uh, read in a book."
"Figures." Spike smirked.
Twilight returned her gaze to Even.
Who was nowhere. Gone.
Twilight closed her eyes and imagined Spike stiffening. She tried to make him vanish. But when she opened her eyes again, he was still standing before her.
"You should see how heavy your lids are," he said giggling. "You're still dozy! Anyway, I better go and get to work on those pancakes. They won't prepare themselves, you know!" Saying these words, he left Twilight alone with her thoughts.
She lay back and stared at the ceiling. Even was gone.
So, Twilight thought, she'd escaped at least. She was ‘outside’. She could no longer manipulate this world according to her will, and this meant she was no longer a prisoner in her own imagination.
Wait a minute...
She suddenly realized what Spike had said.
"Or is Pinkie Pie hiding in a bucket again or something?"
Pinkie Pie hiding in a bucket. Pinkie Pie jumping out of places where, according to the laws of physics, she couldn't have fitted. Pinkie Pie appearing multiple times simultaneously. Pinkie Pie inside a mirror.
Twilight’s eyes widened. Sure, she wasn’t imprisoned in her own imagination anymore...
Author’s notes:
I’d like to express my thanks for the following people:
-Christopher Nolan and numerous ponyfic authors for providing inspiration,
-Shho13 for the Twilight vector in the cover image,
-Starfall for proofreading and all in all being helpful,
-You, for deeming my writing worthy of your time. I’d be honored if you left your opinion in the comments section!
Best regards: the author
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I'm not 100% sure how to interpret this, but what I do know is that it is 100% brilliant. It's brilliance condensed into a few thousand words.
I'm going to read it again.
This is great!
I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed this trip into the Twilight Zone. Thank you.
(Never thought I'd be saying that.)
blog.ancientlasers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Mind-Blown.jpg
-Delta-
Uh... Uh... UuUh....UGh.....UGHck.....AHCh....Ag....uh...uhhhhhhhhy.....uhm.....
A mindscrew fanfic. You don't see too many of these.
This...it confuses me. I have absolutely NO IDEA what I just read.
but have a like for your trouble.
A-hoy! The announced "mindfuck fic" you were writing! Well, I'm glad I've found it. Now let's start with it. But, "Adventure"? This is an adventure?
The idea behind it is familiar: Twilight doubts if she's real or not. And goes "inside" and "outside" and tries to find it. I must admit that it confused me a little in the beggining, and when I started to unrestand it, I guessed that the fic wasn't written in a chronological order and thought "well, at the end everything will become clear". I was right, but I needed to read it once more before feeling able to comment.
Let's see: Even is not real, it's a part of Twily's imagination. So is Celestia and Discord. As everything is inside Twilight's imagination, or at least the "inside" part, Celestia is the representation of authority, of everything that is right. If Celestia says that A is A, then A is A, because she's the mentor. (Hell, today I'm feeling stupid, I can't write correctly. Stupid second language). Discord, on the other hadn, represents the exact opposite, being the epytome of chaos and evil. If he says that A is A, then A is B.
HELL, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I JUST SAID. Let's try it again: Inside Twilight's mind, Celestia is "good" and Discord is "bad", so when she fights against something, she sees her enemy as "Discord", and when she needs help, she sees "Celestia". That's the reason why when she thinks that Celestia is worng, the princess says "I'm Discord". It was Twilight who reordered her thoughts: Celestia can't be "evil", so the thing in front of her must be Discord.
Gah. I'll edit this later. I'm sleepy, I can't talk or think correctly.
TL; DR: Good, fic, I understand it, or so I think. The twist end is that she's in Pinkie's imagination or in a human imagination? It's that important? In the end, Twilight says that she doesn't care if she's real or not, because she's there no matter what. The realization that she's in the mind of someone else is not important anymore for her. Or that's what I thought, at least.
PD: Christopher Nolan? So I was right when I thought that this was similar to Inception in some things (just a few, because Twilight didn't shoot any gun. Huh). And I'm going to be a snob and thought that I'm one of the "ponyfic authors" you mention.
And please, don't take my comment seriously, or at least don't do it now, because I have to edit this. Now I'm going to sleep, because I'm starting to see sparkles and that can't be good
.
See ya later. When I stop being idiot, at least. Aaaaaaargh.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words! I'd like to state, however, that I cannot be held responsible for any exploding heads or blown minds.
862786
I see what you did there!
901285
I assume if someone is reading the comments, they are already done with the fic, so spoilers are fair game.
>But, "Adventure"? This is an adventure?
Just kidding, of course, I know there's an in-universe explanation for that. But back to your concern, adventure was the closest tag I could find, so I tagged adventure for lack of a better. You could argue that this is an... um... "mind adventure"?
Asked the author whose fic, tagged as comedy, contained cold-blooded psychical and emotional torture.
About your interpretation: I don't like telling the readers if they are "right" or "wrong", because if you started to think about it, you can't be wrong. I should say, however, that your interpretation of Discord and Celestia isn't exactly the same I intended to weave into the fic, but it's actually awesome. No, really.
>And I'm going to be a snob and thought that I'm one of the "ponyfic authors" you mention.
Hmm, let's see, "Aragón"... Nope. I've never read anything from you. Who are you again?
>See ya later. When I stop being idiot, at least.
I don't think I'll live long enough for that... boy, am I in a trolling mood today!
My brain still hurts from this one, in the best possible way.
Been there, done that, got the imaginary T-shirt
SPOILERS BELOW!!!***
Pinkie Pie.
That's all you need to know.
She constantly tries to escape her mind and constantly fails. But when she finally escapes her mind, it turns out she's probaly in somepony elses mind.
I'm having a really hard time trying to classify this as MIND FUCK or inception.
...I'll go with both.
So it WAS all a dream! What da heck!
Haha, na, this was brilliant. Well done. I liked the ending too, that was pretty funny
Personally, I was thinking that it would end with some sort of Lauren Faust thing, but it didn't so... I was wrong!
Congrats on the EqD post!
So we were inside twilights head, now we are trapped inside pinkies
run to the hills
best meta fic I've read. Wish there was still a star system so I could vote 5 stars!
862591 He summed up my feelings.
(<- this is the most serious emoticon I found)
To the author: You see, you have put in words many ways one ends up thinking about reality. [Random thoughts follow]
Twilight regains a mind which is, in part at least, independent from the world she is in.
And for those who are too scientific to accept this, please remember that the abstraction that our universe is is as valid as the one this fiction depicts.
Brilliant.
I hate and love things like this.
Great writing.
I'm tempted to reorganize this into chronological order.
Thanks for the mindf**k.
Journcy Out.
...just when I think the days of good, original, thought provoking ponyfics were over with, this comes out!
Nice ending btw!
I can't dumb today, I just brained my rape.
Congrats, you have successfully crammed 3,000+ tons of ABC gum into the internal cogs of my brain. You hurt my ideas.
Twilight, the fact that the above occurence was actually enjoyable obviously pins me as the insane one.
923407 So, wait, are you saying I summed up your feelings, or the author did? Also, I think this emoticon here means some serious s***:
. Finally, yay, deep philosophical considerations of the universe we perceive!
Reasonably neat premise diminished by conceptually weak but technically competent execution. Is that cold and mechanical enough? I'm sorry, I'm not used to giving negative feedback and I'd rather not leave a stinging sensation.
I'm fairly certain I have left reality, and entered the space between spaces...
But what is real now?
It only made sense when I had finished reading, and it blew my mind.
Well done, a fantastic little story!
Frostwyrm
Ok, I THINK i got most of it though I probably didn't. The only main part I didn't get was the paragraph talking about Pinkie Pie and how Twilight wasn't trapped in her imagination anymore. What was that about?
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I'm confused on what just happened here. First, Twilight got convinced everything is fake, she tries to escape the fake imagination land multiple times, asks Celestia about it, Celestia says she is Discord, She comes up with a theory how to escape, and then.... she escapes to Pinkie Land? I AM CONFUSED ON WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE.
Thank you all! I almost got an infarct logging in and seeing I have 60 unread notifications!
I'm happy if I managed to provoke some thoughts out of you, that was the intention. For those who feel their brain got violated, you might want to read it again. When I was writing this, I expected my readers reading it twice, so ideally, most everything should make sense after a second read (and perhaps given a little thought). This goes to 924649 and 925249 too! 
922919 I liked writing the story, apart from the ending. I feel a twist ending is so mandatory in these kind of stories that it's almost an untwist. My only defense is that I hope the twist isn't what the readers would expect.
923524 Thanks! Well, who's stopping you?
924024 No, no, I need negative feedback! Without it, I can't improve. By "conceptually weak", you mean the idea behind the fic is weak? Is it boring? Or maybe not boring, but overused? Does it not make any sense?
This fic was very well thought out. I haven't seen this concept used before, but it does remind me of something out of The Twilight Zone or Inception.
Congrats to the author, this is one of the best fics I've read yet!
Augh. I think I might have gotten it... which only makes me think that I really don't get it at all.
Anyway, I like the implicaition at the end that the world is a product of Pinkie's imagination. Clever!
923973 Yeah, I fixed the confusing change of person targeted.
Meta fic is meta...
Strange story you got here. I enjoyed it, but it didn't really satisfy me. The whole premise, well, it just doesn't go anywhere engaging. It's a big "mindfuck," as others have termed it. I mean, I get the gist of what you were saying, but it's just not something that wows me.
928193
I think I see what you mean. I always thought the interesting part is figuring out what's going on and how, not the actual plot. Perhaps I should have implanted a more engaging, overarched plotline in addition to the unusual setting.
Trivia, but I also have a comedy/slice of life rejected by EqD because of the lack of an engaging plot. I guess it's more or less the same: you can't go anywhere simply with jokes (or "mind screw", for that matter) without an attracting storyline. Thank you for reminding me to this, I'll try to avoid this kind of mistake in the future.
926166
Thank you!
This is really clever. I can see why you'd thank Nolan - Memento, right? A story where it doesn't matter when stuff happens, rather that the reader pay attention to it and add 2 and 2.
Your memory is nothing but a cluttered mess of chaotic fragments of events. You can't think chronologically This single line made it click for me. I don't know how or what, but it clicked.
And Pinkie Pie... well, it's a theory as good as any other about why she's so, well, Pinkie Pie. Way to deliver a killer ending.
Gonna reaarange this chronologically, see if I can put things into a different perspective. Cheers
928710
Actually, it was after Inception I started to think about this whole reality business, so it's better to say Nolan's name rather than one specific work of his.
I gotta admit though, Batman added little to the fic
I'm confused. Isn't the whole idea that Twilight is actually a part of a collective imagination created by those who watch FiM? This means that she is both imaginary, since she does not exist physically, and real, since we make her real.
But what does Pinkie Pie have to do with all this?...
939512
I don't really like detailing my original intentions in the comments, but if you read the fic again and are still confused, and still interested, shoot me a PM, and I'll see if I can answer your question.
941194 Okay, thank you!
I should probably write down to do that...
That was absolutely Celestia-damned brilliant. My only complaint - a personal one - is that I don't like the last line. It gives me the same feeling that one gets when one finds out at the end of a movie that the whole thing was a dream. I feel somewhat crestfallen and disturbed.
dat ending
tasteofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/SlowClap2.gif
Wait Twilight was having dreams inside of her dreams inside of her dreams inside of her dreams inside of Pinkie's reality.
img.ponibooru.org/images/68/68b6951574e4947d7d64eb803bf6144e
Yes. Just Yes. That is all.
What. The. Buck.
I cannot help but feel like that was the most long-winded explanation of "Cogito ergo sum" ever.
Hey, nice trick you played here.
I really like the fact, that the real answer was hidden in the show this whole time. This twist was smart, sharp, and it definitely succeed at turning this whole story upside down in two sentences.
And it also made me kinda sad.
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Well deserved gold star, mister.
Sorry for bad English.
Thanks for commenting on my waste of time, I really enjoyed this
Correction: I'll be telling the Vault guy about this one.
My only criticism is that there's a bit of "talking heads syndrome". Other than that, it's a singular experience.
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
--Edgar Allan Poe
1615405
Thank you!
I guess you're right about the "talking heads syndrome". I deliberately kept descriptions minimalistic, to help focusing on the characters, but this doesn't change the fact that the story is somewhat lacking of actual action. I think this is similar to what 928193 meant by the story "not going anywhere engaging".
Thanks again, constructive criticism is the best way to learn!
Only one word came to mind as I read it...
'nuff said.
I think the best part is Twilight acknowledging that she might not be real, but also that that doesn't matter- she's still verifiably in the wrong layer of reality. She'll never be able to prove whether the world around her actually exists, but she can spot when it doesn't interact with her and the known unreal elements she carries with her in the way it should, and that will tell her whether or not it's as real as she is, which is all she wants anyway. "Celestia," whatever she is, only thinks Twilight's task is impossible because she doesn't understand the true objective.
Of course, the Pinkie Pie bit is also pretty great. "And that's how Equestria was made!"
This story fascinates me. This story has its problems, yet it continues to fascinate me.