Knock. Knock.

by Arreis Of Avalon

-.. --- .-. -- .- -. -

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a prisoner in my own mind. I don’t recall how I got here, but I do know that the Old God - his true name eludes me, but I’ll never forget those strange red and yellow eyes - is the warden of this prison. Thus, I must blame him for my containment.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a prisoner in my own mind, but I have outside help. The Mare in the Moon - Luna - she is trying to get me out of here. She wants me to go to my home, my real home. She’s using my memories to help me in this hellish dream state. It’s the best she can do. It’s working.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a prisoner in my own mind, but I’m planning on escaping. The Mare in the Moon is trying to get me out, and she has aid from the guests. They’re memories, but they are broken memories. The Old God prevents me from remembering fully. They are a danger to my sanity, but I must remember. Remembering is the key.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. And I think I’m starting to remember.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. And I am getting out of here.

I stand, holding my candle with determination. I hear him. He is close, very close to my mind. He has come to investigate more thoroughly the changes I’ve undergone. He knows I remember who I used to be - at least somewhat remember - and he does not want me to. I will fight against him and bring my house - my mind - back into order.

I walk to the next room and begin to turn on the light.

I hear him roar and pause. He is coming closer steadily. He will be a guest in my home soon.

Time to prepare for dawn.

I move to the next room, walking with ease in my steps. I will not show him fear. He deserves none. Not when I have my guests by my side. I keep going, into the next dark room, and turn on the light. It takes moments, mere moments of darkness, before the lights flash on and my mind grows clearer.

In this room is a noose. Ha! Does he think he can scare me with these images? The mad God is certainly grasping at straws. I simply head back a room and go upstairs, ignoring the noose entirely.

I am greeted, when I twist on this light, with more pictures. I smile at them. Balloons and apples and diamonds and rainbows. How silly. But how… nostalgic. It makes me miss home. I wonder, briefly, what those mean, but I shake my head and pass onto the next room. I will know for certain soon enough.

Next room. Lights, on. Next room, this one’s upstairs. I twist this light on as well.

Knock knock knock knock knock.

The door creaks open.

But does it really?

What does it matter? I chuckle. Let the God come into my mind, then! Let him see how far I’ve come! I feel invincible. My mind is half awake and already, I feel powerful. What will happen when I see her again? Will I overpower even a God?

Next room, next light. I hear footsteps.

Next room, next light. Whispers fill the air.

Next room, next light.

Knock knock knock knock knock!

The door was not open after all. The God gets impatient since I will not let him inside. I smirk. How silly.

Next room. Next light. One more to go.

The light in the next room is already on. My clock is here. I speed up time with a smile. This is the mechanic I must abide by in my prison. How my mind has explained away the things happening to it. How ingenious!

I follow the process as I have countless times before. I’ve lost track now of how many clocks I have wound. I only know what happens next. My meeting with the Mare in the Moon. I smile to myself. “Every life is given only so much time,” I say, knowing the God and the Mare can both, somehow, hear me. “When you look at the clock you think about how long you have left.” I chuckle, nodding. “It’s best to chase these thoughts away. Once you think of something terrible, it can come true.”

I’ve thought many terrible things since I came here.

But I have thought many good things too. And they are equally likely.

I will get out of here, I think. I will escape.

That much is not likely.

It is certain.

The door opens and I go to it with haste. It is time. I’m ready.

I shake my head as I blink, waking up in the forest. I begin to walk. It’s not long before I encounter something I hadn’t expected yet. One of the guests is out in the woods.

Hmm.

This is new.

At first, I stumble back, startled. But, I suppose it makes sense. Luna had control over the guests, but the Old God had control over their appearances. Of course they seem scary. But they are just dreams.

I will avoid them, however. Staring at them too long feels… unnatural. I should focus on my goals. Not on horrors. That way, my sanity will remain intact.

I continue forward, dodging a few guests. They are startling, but so long as I do not touch them, my mind feels clear.

I find the Mare soon. “Luna!”

She looks at me, surprised. She smiles.

S0 y0u re--mber n0w. Her voice is so much clearer now. Not perfect, but close. That is g--d.

“This is it,” I say. “This must be the end. I am ready to leave this behind, Luna. Take me home.”

She looks at me with a curious smile.

N0t yet.

What?

Y0u a-- n0t r--dy ye--

“What do you mean?” I start to grow angry. I don’t want to stay here any longer. I want to return home! “I remember who I am! I am Twilight Sparkle!”

Y0u h---n’t w0k-- yet----rn’t r--dy.

I growl under my breath. “Then help me wake up!”

As y---ish.

She suddenly charged at me. I shut my eyes, startled. When I opened them again, I saw a castle made of crystal staircases. There were eyes in each window and laughing ponies drawn in chalk on the walls. The laughing ponies were being erased. I see a bright shining moon outside the windows with a mare, watching me. There are stars surrounding her - 4. They are getting closer and closer, always closer. I see them touch the moon. I do not wake when this happens - I watch through the windows of my mind as the mare disappears from the moon, and the dawn comes. And now, I see, there are now 6 stars. 6 stars, the sun, the moon.

I blinked and opened my eyes. I was in the forest. Alone. The Mare was gone.

I began to walk, feeling… uneasy for some reason. “... Some believe what they see. Others see what they believe.” Which am I, really? “The world is light, and our mind is an elaborately patterned screen. It only lets through what it can perceive.”

“But no!” I stop short. “If it were really so, we would all die of fright during childhood.” Monsters under the bed, ghosts in the halls. So many things to perceive. So much to fear. “But I’m a rationalist. I’m a scientist. My world consists of proven and concrete things.”

Or at least, it used to.

I continue walking, dodging the guests as I do. The woods feel unsafe without the Mare’s presence. I am merely a girl in the woods now, trying to find her way home. I can feel the big bad wolf creeping up behind me, breathing down my neck. Is the Old God the wolf? Or is my own mind the true danger? I feel like the longer I stay in these woods, the more my sanity drops.

I need to get home. Both the figurative home and the literal one.

I hear creaking in the distance. It takes me much longer this time, but I finally get home. I walk inside and breathe a sigh of relief.

… Why does my head still hurt?

I feel… so very strange…

My head is pounding… Or is that my heart?

Why is my house so dark? Didn’t I leave on the lights?

I feel… so tired.

It’s darker….

I close my eyes.

I sleep.