Interesting little there...

Thank you, for the story.

Teh end ?

Well, that was an interesting read. Confusing and ambiguous, but that was the point, no ?

Nice job !

That was a good read . I expected a gloomier end, but was surprised with how things turned out. Yay Rarimac

And really, that twist near the end. Sequel, or just a small detail?

Well that was great! Still feels like something is unanswered though...

The End...? (cue dramatic strings here)

So, how about that anticlimactic ending, guys? Pretty meta if you ask me. Although that Hollow Kingdom name drop was unexpected. What does it mean, I wonder?

Maybe I just can't remember because of how long the story is but what's the significance of "hollow kingdom"?

For those of you who particularly enjoyed this, the greatest thing you can give is your recommendation to anyone else you think would enjoy this.

I've been doing that for awhile now, and will continue to do so.

2803717 Tru dat.

You, motherfucker, have a gift.

Well, that still left a bunch of questions, but oh well. This was one of the most amazing stories I've read. It should have gotten more attention.

I must say, you write for big mac excellently.

This was a great Psychological Story you wrote here. Great job on keeping me confused, yet wanting to know more.

I am glad Regidar tipped me to this. Very nice story, good ending.

One of the best stories I've ever read. Thank you for something spectacular.

Was good trip.

I read all of this in a day. This was more unique, intriguing, confusing, and (somehow) uplifting than most stories I've read on this site. I'm glad it had somewhat of a happy ending. I loved the RariMac and the constant twists and turns you threw our way. Awesome story and I will be definitely keeping this in my favs.

Herculean! What exactly is "The Hollow Kingdom"? Some kind of place where you can't lie to yourself? Answer me. PLEASE! Incomprehension of this conception is killing me from inside!

A thought provoking piece on the concept of what constitutes reality; is it our preconceived notions, or is it dictated by outside factors - perhaps both?
The psychological aspects add a near surreal detachment to the protagonists' plight, the way one might observe a mouse caught in a trap - we feel bad for it, but it's really not our problem.
If ever there were a message to be had from this glorious tale, it should be that those who suffer from some sort of mental 'wrongness' need not go it alone; the best way to fight it is to gird oneself with friends and loved ones. It should also go without saying that for those who would be considered 'normal', the battle against psychosomatic disorders will only be won once the stigma of being mentally ill is removed.
This should be heralded as one of the crowning stories of this sight, a true masterpiece of the mind.

Wow... I'm glad I got around to reading this. This was mind-blowing read!

I'm still left with one question though; If Rainbow mentioned the "Hollow Kingdom", the same thing Big Mac saw (In his mind supposedly), does that mean the Hollow Kingdom is real? Like, does it exist in magical form that can connect ponies minds or something?

I don't know, I'm probably just overthinking this.

So Rainbow Dash had similar condition as Big Mac eh?

Congrats. This story almost made me think more than Background Pony. Still kinda confused about the Hollow Kingdom, though. Merits a favorite nonetheless, methinks.

Vale.

Great now I'm gonna be stuck on the shared hallucination thing. Good story though, gave me something to do instead of mingle with the folks. I liked the concept and writing style too. Hmm kinda wanna write about the hope Kingdom now but that might kill some of this story.

3611042 House of Leaves is similar in that it has a very surreal feeling, most notably you question whether or not the narrator is in a trustworthy state of mind. In this story, its because Big Macintosh has been apparently hallucinating his whole life, whilst in House of Leaves the narrator is being driven insane by the house itself.

Where this story can't replicate House of Leaves is in the presentation, in House of Leaves, the text on the page will often been presented on the page in a way that relates to what the narrator is experiencing. For example, when the narrator is walking down a spiral staircase, the words are placed in a spiral pattern on the page, if the narrator is squeezing through a tight space, the text will get smaller. Also certain words are always written in a different color than the rest of the book.

There's a lot more than that, stuff that would ruin parts of the experience of the story if I told you. Honestly I'm surprised you haven't read it or heard of it, from what I can tell its exactly the kind of thing that you would like.

3614498

I find it can as well, but it just came across as a tad too vulgar in context to really flow well.

Dear Lord! No that's not right... Dear Herculean,

I could kiss you right now. I could fucking kiss you.

This may be the single greatest fic I have ever read. No, I don't think you understand. I want to print out this entire story and annotate for its brilliance. In fact, I might just do that! When I finished reading this story I stood up and clapped and declared to my family I had just read the most genius piece of literature I have seen in a very, very long time!

Where do I even start!

Your characterization! Every single character was interesting and intriguing. Especially Hippocampy and Big Macintosh! Oh, Big Macintosh's complacency about his insanity was wonderful to watch as he interacted with both real ponies and hallucinated ones. Every hallucination was so fascinating to watch, from shoehorn to Coast Tucoast they were all just so engaging!

The plot! It was brilliant! Pure brilliancy! Every single plot point related to the theme so perfectly. And those themes! Dear lord, those themes! They were so eerily relatable, especially relatable to me for a number of reasons! The complacency that we have over deciding what is reality and what is fiction and the importance of such things is something I think about on a daily basis. I just loved it so much!

The psychological thrillingness of it all took me in, as a reader I was unable to see what was true or false until it was painfully revealed!

I simply cannot say how much I love this story! Every word seemed so important! Every paragraph with its metaphors and imagery was utter bliss!

You are a wonderful writer.

Yours truly, The Insula Sol

I don't think I've ever seen this done before. Outstandingly well done. I especially appreciate your straight ahead, no frills writing style. It's like Dashiell Hammett decided to write about ponies.

That was brilliant and terriffying, Herculean! It wove together so well it actually made me shudder some. I absolutely loved it.

one more thing... Why isn't this featured on Equestria daily? This deserves to be in Twilights library!!! So good.

Pills save the day yet again. Bro Team Pill knew the truth.

This was a really fantastic character portrait. There was mystery, insight, and the kind of bizarre perspective and prose I want in a story. The idea of Mac having this and the gradual unfolding of his kingdom is a fascinating one. The hallucinations were very, very good and many of them were realistic. There's a dreamy and melancholy quality to this story in equal measure, and they made the build up of reading it great.

This is a beautiful and honest look at mental illness.