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// S𝕡𝕚raling 𝕆𝕓se𝕤sio𝕟 
// Story: Fading Sanity 
// by MorganaTheNotCat 
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Damn it. The curtain is open again. With what has been happening recently, I can’t chalk that up to a mere coincidence. Fortunately, my glasses were in the right position and I could easily reach for it, although I did have to wipe the lens off before putting it on. 

Yet again, rays of unsolicited sunshine invited themselves into my bedroom. Into my eyes. Usually, I would close the curtains again. But I honestly appreciate the light and the sun coming from the outside. It somehow feels as if it’s lifting the thick unnerving atmosphere most of the dark corners of this house carry. I had to stretch myself out before being able to stand on my own four hooves. My eyes were still a bit heavy as I couldn’t sleep well last night. I kept thinking about everything that had happened, and what it could mean. I couldn’t feel safe wrapped around my sheets. It was like I wasn’t alone. 

Despite that, I managed to fall asleep. I had the weirdest dream too... Or rather, a nightmare. That same horrid birthday where I lost all faith in friendship. It was a memory replayed in my sleep, tormenting and taunting me. But I have my books. They will keep me company. I don’t need friends.

I stepped around my bed yet again and made my way over to the closet doors. Which felt different for some reason. I opened them both and grabbed my sweater which was hanging on the inside, sliding it on before stepping back and closing them again. 

Today is the perfect day to test out a few of my theories. I can attempt to discard the most inexplicable ones right off the bat, It’ll help me focus on what’s important. Starting with the idea that what I’m seeing is just figments of my imagination, or my mind which for some reason seems to be giving in. If this is the case, then that must mean there is some kind of trigger making me forget or hallucinate these events. But once again, I remind myself that these are tangible things. Physical, tangible events which I can not only see, but touch. I didn’t have proof that others were hallucinating. The fact that the receptionist saw the book is actually proof against this theory. 

If I did in fact return the book the day before yesterday, then that means that the book I saw on my table did not exist to others, yet it did exist to me. But that’s simply impossible since I actually reached out and touched it, even put it in my bag.An unlikely theory, but a possibility to consider nonetheless. If I wanted to get some solid proof I’d unfortunately have to reach out to others... I’ll be sure to write a letter to some known ‘friends’ to see if they’d be willing to visit. I hope I won’t have to make amends.

Onto the next theory. Somepony was living inside my house with me. Who it could be or why they could be doing this was unknown, but if there was in fact somepony living with me, then there must have been signs of tampering or displacement. Why you would move my glasses from one side of the bed to another, I don’t know. But it isn’t impossible. Perhaps I had a way of proving if there was somepony with me or not. If they’re living with me, then there must be signs of it. Food being taken away from bowls for example, or secret rooms where somepony could live in. I’ve got a few things in mind to test out this idea.

I’ll get to the bottom of this. This is just the start. Today will be spent researching and exploring every theory.

I head down from the upstairs and once again, the creaking of the old floorboards fills me with a sudden wave of anxiety. I went through this same place every day with no issues or worries, but today felt different. I was cautious instead as I stepped down, figuring that for once, I should probably look a bit more into the structure. 

My head scanned around the room. I was looking for signs that something had moved out of place. The clock seemed to be on the same spot by the side of the window, the coat hanger was at the corner next to the door. My work desk was empty aside from the unlit candle that was on top of it. But I specifically remember it being populated with pieces of parchment filled with annotations from my late-night research session. I stepped closer of course, opening drawers to find that actually... The parchment was nowhere to be seen. Even the empty rolls had completely vanished.

Seeing this made my eyes open wide. All my research, all gone. I had just started making some good progress too, only for it to be thrown down the drain like that. I wouldn’t let this go. There has to be some kind of explanation to all of this. I searched the drawers in the desk, I searched underneath the desk, behind the desk, I searched on the tucked away corners and in hidden crevices next to it yet — Nothing. Somepony or something was conspiring against me. Now I knew this all meant something. Just as I’m starting to make progress and question the events around me, I’m stumped and halted. I won’t let this be.

Unfortunately, both of the tasks that day had me going out of the house to get some utensils to help me. If I’m quick, I might finish my shopping list before noon. Once again I grabbed my bags and slung them over my body, carrying a small sack of bits for the purchases as well. Let’s get this over with





I pushed the door open with a sigh. Going out to the streets was always an exhausting task, almost daunting if I’m being honest. But with what’s been happening, I’m not sure if I prefer the outside or the inside. Either way I stepped through and my eyes took quick looks around to make sure I was alone. One potted plant in a dark corner almost scared me to death, but I’m glad it was just a random plant. Which... I don’t remember owning it. This one looked green, like it had been either taken care of, or it had been recently bought. Maybe I did just own it and I wasn’t sure? I don’t know what to trust anymore. My memory is unreliable, my lack of sleep from last night has gotten me drowsy already and it’s barely 1 P.M. 

Using my magic, I floated my recent purchases off their respective bags, placing them on the work desk before me. I first grab some string and a few golden shining bells. Small ones too. These would be perfect for my plan. 

I started out by floating the tools by my side, including the hammer and a few nails. The front door was the first one. I kneeled down and prepared the nail and despite having no experience with this, I feel proud to say I did a decent job, not that it is too difficult to hammer a nail. I looped one end of the string a few times over the nail, making sure that the line was just slightly below knee-height. I pulled it along and repeated this process for the doorway at the kitchen, and the one at my bedroom. By the time I was finished coordinating all these strings around, most of the doorways had strings with spools and nails all around the house, leading up the stairs and into my bedroom. 

At the foot of my bed, hanging on the wall were distinct bells. If one of the strings were to move, the bell would trigger, waking me up in the process. Not a very efficient setup, but it gave me some comfort at the very least. Each bell had its own marker beneath it. ‘Bedroom’ ‘Kitchen’ ‘Entrance’ one single step and they’d fall right for my trap! But that wasn’t all I came up with. 

After the bell setup was done, I headed back to my work station, taking care to not trigger the series of strings that had webbed the insides of my rooms. I took some fruits I had bought earlier today at the market and enticingly placed them on the food bowl at the table. I know exactly what kinds of fruits and how many there were. 3 Apples and 2 bananas. If somepony took any of the fruits, I would know. 

Now comes the part I don’t like. I feared that I was the only one suffering these strange hallucinations, it was a theory that couldn’t be discarded. Unfortunately for me, if I wanted to prove this, I would have to reach out to other ponies. If they could come to me, they’d be able to see if there’s in fact something wrong with me. And at first, I was skeptical. 

I don’t think I  need to repeat myself. I don’t like making friends, and I don’t have many. I barely remember anypony that spoke to me in the last few years aside from the receptionist at the library. Inside, I had everything I needed. But not everything it seemed. Either way, I had to reach out to somepony. The first pony that immediately came to mind was Minuette. She was part of my friend group back in school, but it annoyed me how friendly and outgoing she was all the time, I didn’t want to have to deal with that. Lemon Hearts could be an option but unfortunately I don’t know where she lives. I suppose Twinkle Shine would be a good option to try but then again she did go on an Equestria-wide adventure ever since the start of last year. I know this because she wouldn’t stop sending me letters about her travels, only stopping once she realized I never answered a single one.

Unfortunately, that left me with the only option I didn’t want any kind of contact with. For a Princess of Friendship, she is incredibly indifferent. Guess when you go big, you forget the ponies who stood by your side when the world was much smaller. It’s not fair. How come she gets to become an alicorn and I’m forced to be left behind? Discarded away like I’m nothing? Memories of the past quickly come back to me. The birthday party was clear as day again in my mind. I despised Twilight Sparkle, and despite that, I had to talk to her. If I wanted some help, I’d need to reopen some old wounds. 

I made my way over to my work table. It was about 4 PM already which is strange, I didn’t notice the time passing by so quickly. A piece of paper lay before me, completely blank. It was waiting on my move, itching to be filled with words. I prepared my pen and got to writing. 






	Dear Twilight Sparkle.



	I know it’s been a long time since we last spoke, but I hope this letter reaches you well. I know we have grown apart over time, but I still believe we share the strength of the relationship we once had, especially after the day you turned me down. But I don’t want to lie to you, I need your help as well. 



	Lately, I’ve been experiencing some inexplicable events within the insides of my house. Items shifting places, missing furniture, and much else. I don’t know who is doing this or why it’s doing this but I’ve been on this for a good while now trying to figure it out myself. Unfortunately, I can’t do it alone. With your expertise in magic and your intelligence, you could help me find clues so I can solve this mystery once and for all. And if we got some time, we could even go out for tea and catch up. I currently reside at 14 Crescent Moon Lane in Canterlot. 



	Your old friend, 



	Moondancer.






Short, but it’d get the job done. As I started preparing the letter to be sent though, I could feel as if I was being watched. I turned around but looking into the darkness of my house, I found nothing. I need to buy lanterns or more candles, something that can illuminate the dark. Seems like the sunlight from outside isn’t doing the job, and I can’t stand all this darkness inside anymore. At one point, I felt so comfortable and relaxed inside but now... It felt eerie and gloomy. The creaking of the floorboards wasn’t a charm anymore, it was a weary sound. The darkness that I often enjoyed now seemed to hide figures and shapes within it, but what they could be I didn’t know. 

The letter was sealed. I’ll go to the post office tomorrow, I have one last thing to check today before I head to bed. The building where I stood was old. It was already old when I first got there, and was clearly something that had been built around. For some reason, among the beautiful and colorful structures of Canterlot, this had gone completely untouched over the years, perhaps it was even here before they began construction of the capital city. Not to mention the fact that this place had seen many owners, most of which left soon after. This leads me to believe that there are hidden trap doors or passageways, secret rooms that you can somehow access if you look hard enough in-between the old and torn wallpaper.

I never tried to look for any of these. I didn’t care for it. I never believed the stories either. Some ponies say that this place has some kind of dark magic related to it, that some old mare’s tale from decades past about spirits haunting this place. At the time, I was indifferent and dismissive. Sure, as if spirits would actually haunt a place like this. But now? It was a theory to be considered, even if extremely unlikely. The reason I wanted to find these rooms is that if there is someone living with me, that’s where they’d be hiding. They sleep and hide during the day, only to creep out at night when no one’s awake and stalk the many rooms. 

I didn’t want to waste time, so I immediately went to action. First, I searched around the lower floor. I carefully inspected every wall, every corner, I even moved the bookshelf I kept on the corridor to see if there was some kind of hidden passageway. Unfortunately, all I ended up doing was making a small mess of books that fell down from the shelf, with no signs of an entrance anywhere. The kitchen seemed promising. A few of the cupboards had a lot of empty space inside of them — But that’s all there was to it. Empty space. I had to step over my traps in order to not trigger them as I made my way upstairs to check the final room.

Under the bed? Nothing. Behind the drawers? Nothing either. I was already starting to lose hope. Maybe it really was all in my head, maybe I had been seeing things or something had affected me and I just didn’t remember it properly. But that’s before I opened the closet doors. 

At first, it really was just an empty closet with clothes and boxes. But there was something else to it. A strange marking, the wallpaper seemed torn out in a small section. Seeing this as some kind of lead already made my heart spike, my eyes widening as I dug out the boxes that hide what I assumed was entrance. I don’t remember having this many boxes though. 

Finally, after I had removed everything, I could see it. A square indent that went into the wall, it almost looked like a trapdoor and was certainly large enough for me to fit through. And if that’s the case, somepony else could too. However something was weird about this. It was just an indent. There was no handle, or a button to press, or something that’d make this open. It seemed like the wallpaper had just been placed on top of it to hide some kind of hole. If that’s the case, I suppose I can just... 

Leaning down, I pushed my horn against the wallpaper, and just like that, the wallpaper ripped right open and gave way to something behind it. I had to peel off the rest with my hooves before I could finally identify that it was some kind of staircase, a very tight staircase that spiraled up toward the ceiling. Apparently I did have an attic. I wonder if I also had a basement, and if so... Where could the entrance be hiding? 

I took a deep breath before stepping through the newly opened entrance, finding myself in that same winding stairway that spiraled up. It was claustrophobic to say the least, but it worked for its intended purpose. It seemed that the further up I went, the darker it became. At one point, I was surrounded by complete darkness, so much so that I had to use a spell to have some horn light, just so I could see the steps. This stairway was different from the rest of the house. It didn’t feel old, it was incredibly new in fact, completely brand new almost. And it seemed to go on for way longer than It should have... Way too long... If I had an attic, I would’ve reached it by now. 

Finally, a door. It was the end of my climb into the unknown. Fortunately or Unfortunately for me, as I tried to open the door, it didn’t budge. Figures, it’d probably be locked. I can’t really break it down myself so I’d have to find another way inside, perhaps from the outside-in? A hole in the ceiling or a window would suffice. I don’t remember there being windows in my attic though, but that’s something I’ll have to figure out later. 

I started going back down. Step by step, illuminated by the light on my horn but... Something felt off. I kept going, and going and going and going and yet, I didn’t reach the entrance. My heart began racing. Has someone closed me in here? My walk became a trot, then a gallop. I was running down these stairs with wide open eyes, they jolted across every corner of my vision to find an exit and yet nothing. I just kept running, I could feel my heart pounding faster and faster, sweat running down my forehead, my breathing becoming shallower, quicker. This feeling... It was horrible. It felt like being trapped in a hamster wheel. I ran and ran and ran but I didn’t reach an end. The descent... It seemed a whole lot larger than the ascent. I had gone down a lot more than I had gone up. It was a solid 4 or 5 minutes of running, and at one point I almost felt like screaming for help but who would even hear me?  I felt trapped, the darkness around me felt like it was closing in, and were those whispers? Speaking softly into my ear? What were they saying? 

What is happening? What's going on? Where am I? Where am I headed? What is this place? Is this even my house anymore? Is it all in my head? No. It can't be. Can it? No. I can't think straight. 𝕀 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝.

Finally, an actual floor! It seemed to be a small tunnel made of stone and dirt, this wasn’t where I started. At the end of the dark tunnel a light that shined brightly, was that outside? I quickly galloped with all my might, my glasses almost dropping to the floor before I finally jumped out with a yelp. 

Where... Am I? I found myself laying on a patch of grass. I looked around to see... This was my back garden. That’s the kitchen window. My first thought was to immediately look up and yet... Nothing. Despite going up and down a large spiral staircase, there was no sight of the remains of it. My house looked completely unchanged.  I took a look back to where I came from, it was a trapdoor, like the entrance to a basement. It  had seemingly closed, locking itself.

I took this second to calm down, my heart was still racing and my breathing was still as heavy as it could be. That feeling... I don’t want to feel it again. It was like I was trapped with nowhere to go, with just darkness around me... What were those noises too? It couldn’t be whispers... This is not some kind of haunted manor, there has to be some sort of explanation for this. After I was decently rested, I pushed myself off the ground and headed inside, almost tripping over the string I had set up. I immediately rushed upstairs and... 

The closet was closed. The boxes I had displaced around the room so I could access the passage weren’t there anymore. No... This has to be wrong, there has to be something wrong here. I opened the doors and shoved the boxes aside, spilling documents all over the floor in the process and once I could finally see it — Empty. There was no indent. I tried pressing my hooves against it, I tried other spots in the wall, I tried using my horn to cut through yet again but... Nothing. I need some time to think... I need some rest. I’ll... Try to figure everything out in the morning. Again. ℍ𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝

Wait, how is it so late already?