You can't tell if your eyes are open or closed. In either scenario, all that you can see is an endless void of black. You attempt to move, but there is a weightlessness to your limbs that you aren't accustomed to. You're capable of extremely limited flight, sure, but this is something different. You're just, well, floating. Floating in an abyss with nothing but your thoughts. You can't even see your hand when you hold it in front of your face. You should be terrified, and yet... there is a calmness within you. In a weird way, this existence of nothingness is kind of nice. There is comfort in a lack of anything plaguing your senses. Strangely, you feel like you could get used to this.
Of course, that was never going to last. A sudden burst of white light fills the void, illuminating you and revealing that you are, in fact, in a void of nothingness. The light is warm, and it doesn't seem to harm you in any way, but there is a different kind of problem that it causes: discomfort. You cannot explain the source of this sudden light, but your previous calm demeanor is overtaken by an inexplicable sense of dread. You've definitely felt this before, but where? Why here? Why now? What... what were you doing again?
You barely have time to ponder before the light becomes all-encompassing, forcing you to cover your eyes as best you can. You feel what could only be described as a decompression all throughout your body as you feel your breath being taken from you. The light only seems to grow brighter, and your attempts at drawing air do little but force you to confront the fact that you may be suffocating. What was an almost therapeutic sensation mere moments ago has suddenly turned into a life-or-death scenario, where the latter outcome is seeming all the more likely. At this point, your hands are doing nothing, as even your closed eyes fail to stop your vision from being filled with an intense, burning whiteness. You feel yourself losing consciousness as you make a final attempt to take one more breath...
...
You gasp as you instinctively open your eyes again, air filling your lungs once more. You have a coughing fit for a few moments before getting your bearings. Your eyes don't feel as though they burn, but they do feel crusty. What's more, you can feel a slight headache coming on, and you're groggy. It seems that all of that was a dream. A very, very strange dream.
But why are you so stiff? You rub your eyes and pick your head off of your...pillow? Looking around, you see nothing but wood flooring. Hold on, let's do a double take real quick. Okay, that's your window over there. This is definitely your room, but... where is your bed?
Sure enough, you appear to be laying on the floor where your bed typically is. Glancing around, the rest of the room seems different too. And by different, you mean empty. There is nothing in here at all. No furniture, none of your belongings, nothing. Taking a glance at your still-closed door, you notice that the door frame seems shorter than it was before. You had to have the door frames in this house redone and made a smidge taller when you moved in to account for your human form. So, why is the door back to its old size? You stretch out as best you can on the floor, your popping joints reminding you that you're still stiff from apparently falling asleep on the floor. Did something happen last night that you forgot about?
No, not that you can think of. It was like any other normal day for you, spent mostly working at your Royal-Tea Shop just down the road. You were enjoying the sense of normalcy while you still have it. Twilight is due to take the Equestrian throne from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in just a few short weeks. There is plenty that needs to be done for that, but you're more concerned with what comes after. Specifically, you and Tia are planning to get married about a month after she retires. You're looking forward to it with every fiber of your being, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy these last few weeks of quiet solitude, right? Or maybe you're just coping with the fact that you've been lonely most of your life and you don't want to seem sad about it. Either way, you can't wait to wake up next to the love of your life every day.
That makes this weird situation all the worse. You JUST got a new, extremely expensive bed that is more catered to Tia's tastes than your old one, darn it! Letting out a sigh, you finally gather the energy to stand up. In a life that has by now long since passed, situations like this would worry you. But, Equestria has a habit of turning weird magical adventures into what seems like a weekly occurrence, so you are more or less used to it by now. If anything, that's just further evidence that you really do belong in this world. You slowly trudge over to the window. On the way, you realize that you aren't wearing anything. Odd, you aren't really one to sleep commando. Oh well, this is a quiet part of town. It's not like anycreature is going to see you if you just take a breath of fresh air.
At least, that's what you would be doing, if you could get this stinking window open. It's like the window is stuck, but... it also isn't? The window certainly isn't moving whatsoever. You can't even get the latch to move. But something about it feels off somehow. You ball your fist and give the window a knock. To your surprise, not only does the window not budge, but it also doesn't make a sound when you make contact with it. Actually, now that you think about it, your walk over here was awfully quiet as well. Testing your theory, you begin to pace around the empty, worryingly dusty room. Sure enough, your footsteps aren't making a peep. On top of that, there is enough dust in here to cover the entire floor, but your movements aren't disturbing the dust at all.
Alright, you've had enough of these shenanigans. You'd prefer not to bother her, but you'd better go grab Twilight. And probably find some clothes along the way. As you turn the handle on the shorter-than-usual door, you're met with the same problem you were just facing. The doorknob won't budge. You throw yourself against the stalwart door. It kind of hurts your shoulder, even though the door doesn't seem to react to you and there was no noise whatsoever. That's certainly aggravating, and the eerie silence is starting to drive you crazy. Can't you make any noise in here? You hold out your arm with your palm facing upwards and curl your fingertips. You release a spell that you haven't used in quite a while. A few stray sparks release from your palm, crackling in the air. Aha! You CAN make noise! It just has to be through magic. Now that you think of it, it may be more efficient to ask Tia about this. At least, if she's still in her room. You cast the all-too-familiar teleportation circle spell, and...
Nothing happens. Why does it never seem to work in weird situations like this? Out of curiosity, you attempt an illumination spell. Yup, that works. You attempt to bring out your horn and wings. Yup, that works too. At the very least, it seems like MOST of your magic is still usable. Knowing that, there is a simple way to get out of here. You walk up to the door once again, but instead of reaching for it, you cast a short-range teleportation spell aimed towards the hallway on the other side. Sure enough, a brief flash of green light later and you're out of your room. The hallway seems to be in a similar state, lacking any of your belongings and seemingly coated in a layer of dust, as though no one has lived in this house for ages. Before you moved in, that was the case... dang it, are there more time travel shenanigans going on? Normally you would pull out the cell phone that Pipp gave you to get confirmation or denial of this, but seeing as everything you own appears to have disappeared, you're fairly certain that idea isn't going to work. Nothing for it, you suppose. Time to make your way to Twilight's Castle and hopefully find some answers.
Hopefully.
Not long after leaving your house, you realize that the same problem you were having with the window and the door seems to be applying to everything. Nothing you touch moves. In fact, nothing you do seems to affect the world around you whatsoever. You also realize that your house isn't the only weird thing. Just down the road that you usually take to get to the Royal-Tea Shop, you instead find... nothing. Where the shop that you built yourself once stood, there is now nothing but an empty plot. Whatever it is that's going on, it had better be reversible.
On the way to Twilight's castle, you attempt to cover yourself as best as possible. However, you might not need to. As you get further into town, the first pony you see is the mint-colored unicorn, Lyra Heartstrings. She considers herself an "anthropologist" of sorts, and ever since you arrived in Equestria, she has been... worryingly interested in you. Most of the time, she would take any opportunity she could get to talk to you, but even though she's just sitting on a bench (upright for some reason) and you're in plain sight, she doesn't make any move to approach you. In fact, she doesn't seem to notice that you are there at all. That's definitely weird, right? Oh well. You'd rather not say something and call any attention to yourself. Continuing further into town, you at first try to take as many back alleys as you can to avoid the stares of the local populace. This, of course, is a fool's errand, as Ponyville has a fairly large population these days and these creatures all seem to love the morning. That said, the issue with Lyra seems to repeat itself. Even after working up the courage to venture into the middle of the street, nopony around you seems to acknowledge or even look at you.
Your thoughts about the strange situation unfolding around you are interrupted by one of the local mailponies. Despite being a pegasus, she has a reputation for crashing quite frequently, so it looks like she's playing it safe by walking along her route today. That said, despite the fact that she's looking straight forward, she doesn't seem to notice that you're right in front of her. And unfortunately for you, you're so lost in thought that you fail to notice her about to run into you as well until it's too late. You instinctively gasp as she collides with you.
...Uhh? As she... doesn't collide with you?
Are you seeing things, or did she just walk right through you? You turn to look behind you. Sure enough, there she goes, completely oblivious to what just happened. Okay, let's take stock of what we know so far.
One: You can't interact with the environment around you, except maybe through magic. Two: Nothing you do makes a sound, also except possibly through magic. Three: Other creatures cannot see you. Four: Other creatures pass through you. Five: Your house looked as though you've never been in it. Six: The Royal-Tea Shop is missing. Conclusion? You don't exist.
Wait that's a horrible conclusion to come to what the heck?
After a very, very confusing walk, you finally find yourself at the door to the Castle of Friendship. You knock on the door, hoping to get somecreature's attention.
...Oh, right. No sound.
You cast another short-range teleportation spell, excusing yourself for the intrusion. It doesn't take long to find someone though, as Spike is nearby mopping the main hall.
"Hey, Spike. Can you tell me where Twilight is?"
Spike hums to himself as he continues his work.
"Uhh, Spike?"
Once again, he fails to respond.
"Spiiiiike? Hello?" You wave your arms around in front of the dragon, doing whatever you can to get his attention. Just like everycreature in Ponyville, it seems he has no idea you're there.
Alright, if that won't work, why don't we try the one thing that HAS been working? You cast a telekinesis spell on the mop in his claws. Spike gasps as the mop is surrounded by a faint green magical glow. You twirl it around in the air for a bit before Spike speaks up, a hint of fear in his voice.
"Y-yeah, yeah, very funny guys! Come on out! ...Twilight? Starlight? ...Anypony?"
Okay, this isn't working. You drop the mop and begin casting another spell that you've become acquainted with. Your hand glows a verdant green color as you summon magical, grape-covered vines to grow out of the floor. You only summon a couple, and you have them give Spike a little wave. This spell is basically your bread and butter, seeing as your unicorn friends seem incapable of replicating it (much to Starlight's annoyance). Unfortunately, the result isn't quite what you wanted.
"AHHH! I KNEW IT! I KNEW THIS CASTLE WAS HAUNTED! CASTLES ARE A-L-W-A-Y-S HAUNTED! TWILIIIIIIIGHT!" Spike books it away from the vines and up the nearby flight of stairs. Darn it, this is NOT how you wanted this to go. You begin chasing after him. At least he's going to lead you to Twilight.
You eventually make your way into Twilight's library, where she seems to be sitting at an oversized desk writing and sorting through various papers on Equestrian law. She seems a bit stressed. You can't really blame her, considering her coronation is coming up soon. In spite of her extremely focused appearance, Spike manages to grab her attention fairly quickly.
"Twilight! Something super weird is going on and I think the castle might be haunted!" Twilight gives an annoyed scoff.
"Spike, we've been over this a dozen times already, the castle isn't haunted! You know I asked you not to interrupt me unless there was an emergency. What happened that has you so terrified?"
"Twilight, it was real this time, I swear! My mop got ripped out of my claws and starting flailing around in the air! Then a bunch of vines popped out of the ground and starting moving strangely!"
"Well, uh... credit where it's due, I wasn't expecting that to be your explanation. A bunch of vines? Really?"
You figure that this is as good a time as any to try and get her attention. You once again summon a few grape-covered vines that sprout out of the ground. You have them to a funny little jig. Look at 'em go.
"Wah! What are those!"
"See, I told you!"
Taking a defensive position, Twilight casts what you recognize as a counterspell, causing the vines to quickly wither away and disappear completely.
"You said this started when you were mopping?"
"Yeah, just a minute ago!"
"Okay, well, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Let's see..."
Realizing you need some way to let her know you're responsible, you look around the room for anything that might help you. It's pretty much nothing but books. Well, that and her desk.
...Oh, duh. You can just write with telekinesis. Your "hand"writing is terrible when you try to do it, but it's better than nothing. You use telekinesis to gently lift a book off of the desk and then drop it again, successfully directing Twilight's attention to said desk. Now it's just a matter of explaining what's going on. You do your best to lift Twilight's quill, still wet with ink, and begin writing on a still-blank piece of parchment she had ready to go. You write that you are responsible, you're in the room with them, and you recount everything that has happened so far. Twilight looks on, eyes wide and mouth agape, until you finally finish and set the quill down. There is a moment of silence before Twilight speaks.
"Umm, Spike? Do you recognize this name?" Spike, equally wide-eyed and fearful, responds with a shaky voice.
"I don't think so, no."
"Look, I don't have any idea who you are!" Twilight shouts to the room as a whole, reasonably not knowing where you're actually standing. "You had better not have any weird motives! The last thing I need right now is another villain attack!"
She seems to be on edge. In an effort to calm her down, you begin writing once more, this time detailing who you are, what you've done, your relationship with Tia, and the many adventures you've gone on with Twilight and her friends. To put the metaphorical cherry on top, you mention a few personal details that she has shared with you that you would otherwise not reasonably know about her. Did you know she likes getting scratched behind the ears?
Twilight's fear fails to subside, but now she also looks quite confused by the situation you both find yourselves in. It seems that on top of everything else, no one even remembers you. Your semi-joking conclusion that you came to about not existing is starting to seem more and more likely, and you're starting to feel a bit anxious yourself.
"Look, I can tell when somepony is being earnest, and it certainly seems like you are. But I have no recollection of these events. For one thing, Shadowmere has never escaped Tartarus. On top of that, there was no 'vine ball' when the Everfree Forest invaded. I'm... not sure what has happened to you. Umm..." She looks around the library, seemingly deep in thought. "Look, whoever you are, I'll try to do some research on this, but this certainly isn't ringing any bells. If you're as close to Princess Celestia as you claim to be, maybe you should try speaking to her if she isn't too busy. She's way more likely than I am to know what... any of this is."
Well, yeah, you'd like to speak to Tia yourself. But your teleportation circle spell isn't working at the moment. Maybe it's like your house and the Royal-Tea Shop, and it doesn't exist right now? Either way, you have to get to Canterlot, and it seems like you'll have to go the old fashioned way. You certainly haven't been on that train in a hot minute. You write a quick "thank you" and head for the train station, preparing yourself for the long ride and, hopefully, whatever answers Tia can provide.