At a fair held in the town of Dappleshore, Twilight stumbles upon something from her family's past and is drawn to investigate. But will she succumb to its sinister influence, and can Trixie and Luna set their differences aside to help her?
The title and certain themes were inspired by the song Filistata by Stolen Babies. The plot is loosely based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft.
This story was updated and improved on June 27, 2013 along with the addition of a bonus chapter. The changes are not massive, but there are a few new details and scenes.
Also available on deviantArt. Featured on Equestria Daily
Chapters (8)
A rather unique and well thought story.
Poor lil' Twilight fiddling with that stuff..
the end runind it to me
I gotta agree with TKilljoy69T there. The ending was very blah. I loved the whole Lovecraftian transference thing you had going, and the idea of occult magic in Equestria but happy endings don't belong in Lovecraft tales. I could accept a bittersweet ending, but the happily-ever-after feel destroys it. Everything else was amazing (I generally don't approve of shipping, but I think you used it well to give characters motivations for their actions instead of shoehorning it in) right down to the puppet theater idea. My only suggestion would be rewriting the epilogue.
Either way, great job!
Very nice, this story has drawn me in!
955788
SPOILERS
You don't think Twilight dying horribly is a sad ending? You don't consider a funeral speech for Twilight, Zecora, Sweetie Belle and a bunch of dead little fillies to be at the very least bittersweet?
Well, that's a new one. I've had many comments on the ending, and for those who didn't like it it's always, always been that it was too sad. Even those who did like it often did so because it was so sad and bittersweet, myself included.
957077
The deaths are sad, that's true. However the whole thing with Trixie and The Princesses is just sappy and silly. Don't be so defensive, I liked everything else I just think you had something wonderfully dark and then gave it a happy ending out of nowhere.
Sweet! Great story, loved the ending however the Luna x Trixie part just clashed with my whole view of the fic. Anyways, congrats on an awesome story!!
957209
I'm just surprised, because I've never had anyone call it a happy ending before. It's a little good in a vast sea of bad, which is what I'd call very bittersweet.
I'm glad to hear you liked it, though. Just surprised that you'd call it a happy ending
957248
Thanks
Damnable this is actually getting down right suspensful
Bravo bravo a great read worthy of a few roses and a favorite
Oh, this is here now! I totally missed this! This was one of the first sad/dark fics I ever read, and for some reason this and its sequel were incredibly compelling to me. I kept wanting to put it away and not finish it, but I kept coming back. Good to see it here though, even if it didn't get much attention.
Oh god yes. Charles Dexter Ward is my favorite Lovecraft story and this is the best adaptation I've ever seen. And you know what? I like the ending. The ending is good. The ending is nice. I think that bittersweet endings are good in Lovecraftian fiction. Too many writers try to make it seem hopeless, like nothing good will ever happen to anyone ever, and that just gets annoying. I mean, how many times can a protagonist utterly fail to stop the ancient horror from beyond the stars before it gets to be a cliche?
5 Shadows out of 5 (see what I did there?)
I read this over on deviant art when it was being posted there and I really enjoyed it. It was probably one of my first experiences with the dark tag but I thought to give it a shot.
The atmosphere, the mystery and the final climax were all handled well. About the only thing that I felt lacking was the growing relationship with Twilight and Trixie. Beyond their first few encounters, it didn't seem the two were together enough to really form the bond that pushed Trixie over the limit at the end. Though, it has been a while since I've read this, so maybe I'm forgetting something.
Anyway, great job here!
I think this story is very interesting, is it based on a play, like a crossover or something? Is it completely OC?
1094691
It's based on a story by Lovecraft as I mention in the description, it's not exactly a crossover or anything, just borrows the basic plot a little
Heh, I just wanted to stop by and mention that this story introduced me to Lovecraft, and since then I've become a huge admirer of his work. I read this twice, back in the day, and I have a very fond memory of this fic; so... for that, thanks!
1281115
Very glad to hear it
Always a treat to find good writing. Even more of a treat when it takes something horrifying and makes it readable, I've seen very little in the horror area that I can read. Excellent piece, it feels like older writing, but has the life of a newer piece.
1800751
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it :)
Huh, funny thing to find this here. This was the first pony story I ever read, over at your DeviantArt. I've tried finding it before here on FimFiction but that's a loooong time ago. It was a pretty decent story too as far as I remember. You were also the one to introduce me to Stolen Babies through this story, which is a pretty good bonus as well. Thanks mate, for being my introduction to this kick-ass fandom as well as some kick-ass music.
1822489
You're welcome
Yeah, it took me a while to get my stories posted here
Aha! I read this story back when it was on deviant art. Nice to see it here!
I finished reading this two days ago (before I broke down and got a G-Mail account), and I must say that this is literature worthy of a golden award.
I truly believe that this story is worthy of as much fame as Allegrezza, if not more!
1992282
High praise. Thank you
My apologies--I've been bustling about as of late and forgot to finish my thoughts.
The way the story opened and closed was wonderfully done, as well was the amount of customization added to the cliches. Also, if Trixie was able to tell this entire story using puppets, then I daresay she should have much more of a clamoring crowd than she began with!
Trixie becoming an Alicorn... sorry but
gnnaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/what-a-twist.jpg
Now I'm curious... *Spoilers for MitM ahead*
I'm willing to bet that the eye beyond the peephole was filly Twilight, and the blue light that accompanied it would reflect the filly's connection to Trixie. At the same time, the last we see of this eight-legged creature reveals that it sees the castle and garden--isn't it in the garden maze where Trixie first talks to Filly Twilight? This makes me wonder if the both of them were actually Twilight. Or, perhaps, was the creature actually Nightmare Moon? I know these ideas are a far stretch, but it still makes me think...
2796618
Luna believes the creature to be Midnight, actually, and that Midnight was trapped in this dream by Luna's spell. The ending suggests that Midnight escaped along with Luna.
2796667
...Oh. I knew she suggested that in her letter, it just didn't stick out to me. I should've figured out the obvious escaping after that. Sorry.
I'm left speechless by this story. It ended up not at all as I thought it would.
And it was fantastic. Definitely onr of my all-time favorites!
I like how you made Trixie. She's so darling. :D
Wha?! What the what?!
Great story
957055 110 weeks? That's a long time.
I wonder if this is all just a story Trixie is telling
Except that one time when I tried to kill you, but other than that we're cool.
What?
WHAT?
WHAT?!
THAT'S how it ends?!
I just- I - NO. UGH. it feels so horribly anticlimactic. It's just- UGH. I LOVED THIS STORY but then nope. Twilight dies, Trixie's an alicorn and somehow together with Luna.
WHAT?!
I just....no. Dammit, no.