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The Waking World
Twilight Sparkle knew the telltale signs of a dream.
She was no Princess Luna, but she considered herself an expert. There was an entire row of books in the Golden Oak Library dedicated to the subject, after all.
She knew if she paid enough attention, walls would be there one minute and gone the next. Any magical spell she’d cast, no matter the weakness of its thaumic fortitude, would achieve its desired purpose. She’d run slower than tree sap, or faster than a blast of magic. Sometimes, she’d have wings along with her horn, or no horn at all.
As Twilight galloped toward the exit, the castle walls collapsing behind her, she rattled off her checklist. No matter how hard she thought, she could not change the setting around her. Physics felt real. She felt pain.
Princess Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice boomed like thunder. “Twilight Sparkle! You’ve failed me not only as a student, but as an individual.” Her wrathful beams of magic skewered pillars, shattered stained glass windows in her path of rage against her former student.
As hard as it was to admit, this time, Twilight Sparkle was not dreaming.
“Please, Princess!” she called out as she continued running. “I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know what it was I did, but… I’m sure it was unforgivable. But please, please. Give me another chance, Princess.”
“Never.” With a powerful crack, her magic demolished the ceiling in front of Twilight, sending heaps of rubble crashing below.
Twilight swore. She was panting heavily, face contorted in an expression of hurt. At least there was a side exit not far. She turned right, hooves echoing in the cramped hallway.
Light streamed ahead of her, a reminder of Princess Celestia’s continued pursuit. Too late, she realized the exit had been walled off, and skidded to a halt. She was trapped.
She turned around, eyes wide, knees shaking as Celestia slowly advanced on her.
“I’m sorry,” she wailed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Celestia prepared one final beam of red. “Die.”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open. She gasped for air, flinging her blankets off her wildly flailing limbs. As her eyes adjusted to the early morning sunlight, her breathing slowed and she wiped the sweat off her forehead.
Not long after, Princess Celestia knocked on her door. “Twilight? Are you doing alright?”
Twilight swallowed heavily. She cleared her throat and said, “Yeah. I-I’m doing fine.”
The door slowly clicked open, and Celestia walked in. She climbed onto the bed beside Twilight, a strained expression on her face. “Did you have another one?”
“Yeah.” Twilight curled into a ball, rocking back and forth. “Even though Sombra’s gone, they’ve… they’ve been getting worse. More vivid. More real.” She exhaled quickly. “I don’t know how to make them go away. Maybe if I were stronger, knew more magic. Maybe I really am a bad stu—”
“Twilight.” Celestia pressed a firm hoof on Twilight’s back. “You’re the best student I have, Twilight. I could never, ever be disappointed in you.” She gave a half-smile. “It’s been a great frustration for us, as well. Princess Luna’s been increasingly angry she is not able to detect your nightmares. Perhaps it would be wise to allow you to stay in the castle for a little longer.”
“Yeah.” Twilight uncurled, nestling herself into Celestia’s fur like she used to when she was younger. “I mean, at least Sombra is gone, right? You’re right. I can figure this out, however long it takes me. Thanks, Princess.”
Celestia’s smile grew. “Believe in yourself, Twilight,” she said. “I believe in you, my faithful student.”
Twilight Sparkle knew the telltale signs of a dream.
As she galloped toward the exit, walls collapsing behind her, she rattled off her checklist. She felt pain and gravity. Nothing she imagined would come into existence.
But in the waking world, Princess Celestia would forgive her. She’d hug Twilight and tell her things were okay, and she was forgiven, no matter the mistake she’d made.
Right?
She turned to face the illusion, her eyes hardened. “You don’t scare me.”
She hesitated. Instead of the snarling monster she’d predicted, she was met with a face of anxious concern.
“I just wanted to talk,” said Princess Celestia. “I’d never want to hurt you, Twilight, and I’m sorry if I have.” She spread her arms, offering a hug.
Twilight checked for any signs of malignancy. There were no crazed eyes, no weapons, no hidden magical auras. Reluctantly, terrified, she accepted the hug.
As she did, she woke up to the sound of Celestia’s knocking.
“Good morning,” Celestia said as she entered the room. “How were your dreams?”
“Morning, Princess,” replied Twilight. “They… they were surprisingly good. Maybe I don’t have so much to be scared of anymore.” She smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”
Celestia beamed back. “Of course, my faithful student.”
Twilight held the hug for a long time. She felt Celestia’s warmth and let the sense of calm wash over her.
“Do you really mean it?” she asked Celestia. “That I could never disappoint you?”
“I mean it.” Celestia withdrew from the hug and curled her lips up at Twilight.
Twilight had a second to view Celestia’s face. It had a look of exhaustion. Like her smile wasn’t genuine, or like how her eyes betrayed a hidden sense of boiling malice.
“Just kidding.” With a snap, Celestia fired up another beam of magic and sent it through Twilight’s heart.
She woke up screaming and flailing again as Princess Celestia burst into her room.
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Celestia shouted.
“Princess, I—” Twilight stopped. She stared at her mentor with incredulity.
Twilight Sparkle knew the telltale signs of a dream. She knew she was not in one.
And yet, she saw the wrinkles behind Celestia’s eyes. Her dead-eyed stare, and her mouth that only seemed to force itself into a smile. Her tensed muscles, as if she were poised to kill Twilight at any minute.
It would only take a split second. Twilight took a deep breath, and made her move.
She was no Princess Luna, but she considered herself an expert. There was an entire row of books in the Golden Oak Library dedicated to the subject, after all.
She knew if she paid enough attention, walls would be there one minute and gone the next. Any magical spell she’d cast, no matter the weakness of its thaumic fortitude, would achieve its desired purpose. She’d run slower than tree sap, or faster than a blast of magic. Sometimes, she’d have wings along with her horn, or no horn at all.
As Twilight galloped toward the exit, the castle walls collapsing behind her, she rattled off her checklist. No matter how hard she thought, she could not change the setting around her. Physics felt real. She felt pain.
Princess Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice boomed like thunder. “Twilight Sparkle! You’ve failed me not only as a student, but as an individual.” Her wrathful beams of magic skewered pillars, shattered stained glass windows in her path of rage against her former student.
As hard as it was to admit, this time, Twilight Sparkle was not dreaming.
“Please, Princess!” she called out as she continued running. “I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know what it was I did, but… I’m sure it was unforgivable. But please, please. Give me another chance, Princess.”
“Never.” With a powerful crack, her magic demolished the ceiling in front of Twilight, sending heaps of rubble crashing below.
Twilight swore. She was panting heavily, face contorted in an expression of hurt. At least there was a side exit not far. She turned right, hooves echoing in the cramped hallway.
Light streamed ahead of her, a reminder of Princess Celestia’s continued pursuit. Too late, she realized the exit had been walled off, and skidded to a halt. She was trapped.
She turned around, eyes wide, knees shaking as Celestia slowly advanced on her.
“I’m sorry,” she wailed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Celestia prepared one final beam of red. “Die.”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open. She gasped for air, flinging her blankets off her wildly flailing limbs. As her eyes adjusted to the early morning sunlight, her breathing slowed and she wiped the sweat off her forehead.
Not long after, Princess Celestia knocked on her door. “Twilight? Are you doing alright?”
Twilight swallowed heavily. She cleared her throat and said, “Yeah. I-I’m doing fine.”
The door slowly clicked open, and Celestia walked in. She climbed onto the bed beside Twilight, a strained expression on her face. “Did you have another one?”
“Yeah.” Twilight curled into a ball, rocking back and forth. “Even though Sombra’s gone, they’ve… they’ve been getting worse. More vivid. More real.” She exhaled quickly. “I don’t know how to make them go away. Maybe if I were stronger, knew more magic. Maybe I really am a bad stu—”
“Twilight.” Celestia pressed a firm hoof on Twilight’s back. “You’re the best student I have, Twilight. I could never, ever be disappointed in you.” She gave a half-smile. “It’s been a great frustration for us, as well. Princess Luna’s been increasingly angry she is not able to detect your nightmares. Perhaps it would be wise to allow you to stay in the castle for a little longer.”
“Yeah.” Twilight uncurled, nestling herself into Celestia’s fur like she used to when she was younger. “I mean, at least Sombra is gone, right? You’re right. I can figure this out, however long it takes me. Thanks, Princess.”
Celestia’s smile grew. “Believe in yourself, Twilight,” she said. “I believe in you, my faithful student.”
Twilight Sparkle knew the telltale signs of a dream.
As she galloped toward the exit, walls collapsing behind her, she rattled off her checklist. She felt pain and gravity. Nothing she imagined would come into existence.
But in the waking world, Princess Celestia would forgive her. She’d hug Twilight and tell her things were okay, and she was forgiven, no matter the mistake she’d made.
Right?
She turned to face the illusion, her eyes hardened. “You don’t scare me.”
She hesitated. Instead of the snarling monster she’d predicted, she was met with a face of anxious concern.
“I just wanted to talk,” said Princess Celestia. “I’d never want to hurt you, Twilight, and I’m sorry if I have.” She spread her arms, offering a hug.
Twilight checked for any signs of malignancy. There were no crazed eyes, no weapons, no hidden magical auras. Reluctantly, terrified, she accepted the hug.
As she did, she woke up to the sound of Celestia’s knocking.
“Good morning,” Celestia said as she entered the room. “How were your dreams?”
“Morning, Princess,” replied Twilight. “They… they were surprisingly good. Maybe I don’t have so much to be scared of anymore.” She smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”
Celestia beamed back. “Of course, my faithful student.”
Twilight held the hug for a long time. She felt Celestia’s warmth and let the sense of calm wash over her.
“Do you really mean it?” she asked Celestia. “That I could never disappoint you?”
“I mean it.” Celestia withdrew from the hug and curled her lips up at Twilight.
Twilight had a second to view Celestia’s face. It had a look of exhaustion. Like her smile wasn’t genuine, or like how her eyes betrayed a hidden sense of boiling malice.
“Just kidding.” With a snap, Celestia fired up another beam of magic and sent it through Twilight’s heart.
She woke up screaming and flailing again as Princess Celestia burst into her room.
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Celestia shouted.
“Princess, I—” Twilight stopped. She stared at her mentor with incredulity.
Twilight Sparkle knew the telltale signs of a dream. She knew she was not in one.
And yet, she saw the wrinkles behind Celestia’s eyes. Her dead-eyed stare, and her mouth that only seemed to force itself into a smile. Her tensed muscles, as if she were poised to kill Twilight at any minute.
It would only take a split second. Twilight took a deep breath, and made her move.
I'm getting some inception-esque vibes from this one! You do a very nice job of establishing the tells of the dream world before you go breaking them and muddying the waters. Well done!
recursion start(dream)
I love ye olden baby Twilight, so props for subject matter. I've had recursive dreams once in a great while, and they can be well and properly terrifying, or just weird, and I think you did a great job capturing the small differences that can cascade through someone's psyche as they go through a more elaborate Nightmare Loop, I suppose is a decent enough name (like a time-loop, but without the sweet release of proper death).
I'd be happy to see this subject explored in a longer format. The paranoia that comes from this sort of looping is bound to be fantastic.
I love ye olden baby Twilight, so props for subject matter. I've had recursive dreams once in a great while, and they can be well and properly terrifying, or just weird, and I think you did a great job capturing the small differences that can cascade through someone's psyche as they go through a more elaborate Nightmare Loop, I suppose is a decent enough name (like a time-loop, but without the sweet release of proper death).
I'd be happy to see this subject explored in a longer format. The paranoia that comes from this sort of looping is bound to be fantastic.
Splitting 1250 words into four scenes is tough. Spreads your story right thin, it does. And for a cerebral story about dreams, what's real, and what's fake? Man. I'm sorry, but I'm totally lost.
So we have one chase scene which Twilight thinks is not a dream. We line break when Twilight wakes up, and have a bed scene which Twilight thinks is real. Then a line break that accompanies no transition, we are just asleep again and experiencing one more chase scene that isn't a dream (according to Twilight), and then we wake up mid-scene without a line break. And then we line break into a fourth scene that's a direct continuation of what was just happening ahhhhhhhhhhhhh—
I'm all for stories where the reader is left to come up with their own theory, but there's a fine line between an open-ended story and a story where little to no clues have been presented as to what's going on. I'm unfortunately not the type to fill in gaps very well, and the only conclusion I could come to is that Celestia is torturing Twilight and secretly hates her. I had to come to the comments to see the recursive dream idea. But whose to say these scenes are even sequential? And since when did Sombra have anything to do with nightmares? Wasn't he more of an illusionist? AND WHY DID WE LINE-BREAK MID-SCENE??
Sorry. I'm too lost. There are many ways out of this forest, but I have no compass, and have been snared by thickets.
Thanks for writing, though! And good luck with your bad self.
So we have one chase scene which Twilight thinks is not a dream. We line break when Twilight wakes up, and have a bed scene which Twilight thinks is real. Then a line break that accompanies no transition, we are just asleep again and experiencing one more chase scene that isn't a dream (according to Twilight), and then we wake up mid-scene without a line break. And then we line break into a fourth scene that's a direct continuation of what was just happening ahhhhhhhhhhhhh—
I'm all for stories where the reader is left to come up with their own theory, but there's a fine line between an open-ended story and a story where little to no clues have been presented as to what's going on. I'm unfortunately not the type to fill in gaps very well, and the only conclusion I could come to is that Celestia is torturing Twilight and secretly hates her. I had to come to the comments to see the recursive dream idea. But whose to say these scenes are even sequential? And since when did Sombra have anything to do with nightmares? Wasn't he more of an illusionist? AND WHY DID WE LINE-BREAK MID-SCENE??
Sorry. I'm too lost. There are many ways out of this forest, but I have no compass, and have been snared by thickets.
Thanks for writing, though! And good luck with your bad self.