"Hello?" Rarity shouts. "Is there anypony here?"

The dimness of the light is far from the only distressing thing about the entryway to Evening Light's house. Everything is out of place, neglected. Rarity gags a little from what appears to be an old, musty smell coming from the kitchen. A few books and newspapers lay scattered about the den, and the living room is no better, un-dusted, unvacummed for at least a few weeks.

About the time since Snails left, Rarity notes.

The smell from the kitchen wafts closer as she walks further from the doorway. She struggles to find a light switch, stumbling unnaturally as she walks down the steps toward the kitchen. Her fingers luckily find their place and flick the switch.

Rarity gasps at what she sees. Moths, fluttering around moldy food, left out in the kitchen for what looks like weeks at a time. Garbage is piled up and thrown in a corner, with maggots crawling across. The refrigerator is closed, but little to no attention or care is given to keeping the kitchen clean.

"Mr. Light," She says aloud to nopony. "This is...quite the sight." Another blast of the putrid smell causes Rarity to constrict her nose and she wanders away from the kitchen toward the further hallway. The lights are off, and she once again hesitates.

"I really shouldn't be...Well maybe something happened and he needs a doctor. Maybe Twilight is here."

She catches herself and regains her composure, then continues forward.

She walks past the bathroom, and continues toward the back bedroom. The door is closed. She takes a deep breath for a moment, waits, then finally knocks.

"Mr. Light? Mr. Evening Light? Are you there?"

She hears nothing. She holds her breath and silently begs to herself that he isn't. She softly opens the door and it gives off a light creak. The room is pitch black. She opens the door further and reaches for the light. A sudden chill wind picks up outside and bangs the door to the house. The door slams shut. She races back to the front door, but there is nopony inside. She calms her nerves once again and returns to the bedroom door. She flicks on the light.

Strangely, the bedroom is in completely different condition from the rest of the house. Everything is in complete order, made sheets, no clothes strewn about, and a few books on a bookshelf pertaining to unusual topics, such as the occult. She sees a large red book that seems to stand out. The title reads, Make Yourself Known.

"Hmm," she says. "How odd," She grabs the book and reaches to open it, but when she grabs it, she hears an unusual loud metallic clack sound, like something moving. She jumps a little. "What the..."

She walks in the direction of the sound. There is a closet there. The air from the closet feels cold. She feels along the hanging clothes and find an empty space behind it. Again, she feels for a light and finds one.

She gasps audibly and stares numbly at the image in front of her. On the wall are pictures of Twilight and her friends, each with a thread attaching one to the other. She sees her own picture up there and shutters. Below the wall is a desk with a small leatherbound black book and a single unlit candle. She sees two unopened drawers below the desk. She begins to reach for the book and then notices something on the wall. The pictures on the wall, two of them, Pinkie Pie's and Spike's, are crossed out. The threads on each of them leading back to Twilgiht are also cut. She backs away.

All color on her face fades to grey and she stares weakly for a moment. "Oh sweet Celestia. Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means,"

She grabs the book and then runs out of the house as fast as she can back toward the treehouse.

"Please Spike, please be okay,"

It's been a long day, and I return to the palace exhausted.

"Hey Twilight, any luck finding Scootaloo?"

"No Spike, I tried everywhere. Haven't heard back from Pinkie Pie or Applejack either,"

"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry, we'll find 'em."

"What makes you so sure, Spike? Everything is going crazy! I can't keep doing this. I can't keep having sleepless nights, and days that make no sense, with Winona dieing and...Spike, we've had threats in the past, but I can't remember the last time I've seen an animal like Winona die from one, and I still have no idea what happened with Pinkie, and right now, I really just need answers, and I need sleep, and I need things to just go back to normal. I can't take this anymore, Spike. Winona doesn't deserve this, and niether does Pinkie, or Scootaloo, or anypony."

I release tears that have been a long time coming. "What changed, Spike? Why now? Why is everything going wrong now?"

He rests his gentle claw on me. "Twilight, you're always the hardest on yourself, you know. This is an impossible situation. You're doing everything you can and I know you're going to get answers because that's what you always do. We'll make the best of this, insane happenings or not. I mean, come on, you bested Discord."

I sniffle a little. "Yeah Spike, I guess you're right. You've always been there for me, you know."

"Aww, shucks. You too, you know. You've bailed me out of a lot of situations."

I smile. He smiles back. "We're in this together."

"That we are."

"Okay," I say, "Then we can't give up. First order of buisness-"

"Is that you sleep,"

"I can't stop now, I've got to-"

"Sleep. Because you can't help anypony if you're barely awake. You won't be able to find Scootaloo faster by not sleeping. You'll only hinder your usefulness."

I smile. "Heh. I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right."

"Oh, and sorry I was so curt with you earlier today."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Spike. Goodnight." On my way to bed, I think I see a letter back from Celestia, but I really am beat, and Spike makes a good point. I'll read it when I wake.

The static is all too familiar now. The loud crackle, the buzzing. I find myself in what appears to be a completely dark room. It echoes with my steps. I do, however see a small light out front of me. I walk nervously in the direction of the light. It magnifies quickly which each step, as though each step I travel a mile.

Finally, I realize I'm in some kind of darkened theatre. I look to the stage and can see the haziest of outlines of several figures there. I cannot see who they are. Everything is quiet, except the buzzing.

A stage light floods the first figure. Discord stares back at me with the same twisted smile as the others from my dreams. His eyes follow me even as I try to look away. His smile grows even wider and he begins to sing.
"Hello, songbird, how have you been?"

Another spotlight turns on. Scootaloo turns toward me with the same awful face and joins the song. "I've heard some gossip from Mr. Wren,"

Another spotlight, this time Luna. She too joins the song "Mr. Wren said you needed som love, so he told his friend Mrs. Dove."

The next spotlight is Pinkie "That love is just what you're gonna get, and Mrs Dove said,"

The final spotlight turns on. It's Misty. "Don't forget."

Everything goes silent. The smiling figures approach. The buzzing grows, louder and louder. I scream and close my eyes.

The buzzing stops. I open my eyes and find myself at the familiar house from my youth. I hear Pinkie's voice in my head.

"I think it's time you remember. What happened after she disappeared, Twilight? You remember, don'tcha?"

"No...please."

"Sorry, no can do. You only have one choice, and that's to remember, whether you want to or not."

"I...I... don't take me back here. I don't want to be here."

The sound of crashing dishes echo from the kitchen.

"Sure, you remember what happened vaguely, from what other's told you, but do you remember? Really, really remember?"

"I know you're not really Pinkie. Who are you?"

The voice giggles again, doll-like, lifeless.

"Careful now, don't want to catch his attention."

Another glass shatters on the floor. I stand paralyzed. My body shivers and my ears turn back. I try to steady my breath, to keep calm, to listen. I hear a male yelling and a voice crying.

I approach from behind him. Across, I see a younger self cowering in fear.

"P-please, I just want to go home."

He slams his hoof down on the kitchen table.

"You want to go home? What about my Misty? Doesn't she want to go home?"

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Quiet, girl! You killed my daughter, and you expect me to buy your scared girl act?"

" Please, I didn't kill her!"

"I said quiet! You see this glass? I gave it to my wife when she had Misty. No point for this to be hanging around anymore."

Evening Light shatters the glass directly on the floor.

"Come to think of it, don't really need anything at all anymore."

He grabs multiple glasses and dishes and throws them around the kitchen. Young me starts to cry.

"Oh enough of the act," his face relaxes a little. "I've come to accept that you took her life," Tears fill his eyes. "Please, I beg you. Just tell me where the body is."

Young me shrinks. "I would never take her life, uncle. I don't know how or why, but she just disappeared. You have to believe me!"

His face hardens. "Unbelievable. Even now... Even now you deny it."

He pulls a kitchen knife from the drawer and walks closer. "So...How did you do it? How did you kill my baby?"

"Uncle...I, I didn't..."

"Stop that now. Did you cut her ear to ear? Maybe you didn't use a knife at all. There's no blood. Maybe you suffocated her."

"I didn't kill her!"

He grabs young me and puts a knife to her throat. "If you say that again, I'll slit your neck."

Young me whimpers in tears. P.p.please...

"Maybe I'll slit it anyway. You certainly deserve it."

I can't stand it anymore. I won't watch this.

"Leave her alone!"

I jump in front of them ready to fire my magic, but I simply freeze. He looks directly at me. My face is unable to move. His face distorts as he looks at me. Eyes glowing red.

"If only you knew, Twilight. You could have told me what happened. You could have stopped all of this. You could have saved her."

"I...I didn't.. "

"My madness, your pain, her disappearance, you're responsible."

"But I couldn't have..."

"That's what drew you to the Royal Academy. That's why you study, because if only you knew, you would have been safe. None of this would have happened."

"I...I..."

"Tell me, for all your studies, do you know why?"

"No."

"Then what good are you?"

I shudder. The phantom is right.

"...Nothing."

I wake up covered in tears, my whole body shivering and damp. I look at the time. 3 a.m. again. I drag myself to the mirror and rub the moisture off my face. That's when I notice the blood on my face.

I don't feel any pain, so I must've hit something in my sleep. Either that or a nosebleed or something.

I hear a faint dripping sound as I get my teeth brushed. I'll need to remind Spike that the roof is leaking again. I don't bother trying to go back to bed. I already know I'm not sleeping any more tonight.

I decide to get myself ready and plan my day. I brush my teeth. The first thing on my to do list is to read that letter Spike got from the Princess. Hopefully she'll have some news.

Unfortunately, he's still asleep, and the dripping is persistent, and frankly, a little irritating. I don't remember the hole in the castle roof being so large. I decide to get some fresh air and to do some investigation on my own.

I step outside in the cool night air, but something is off. There's no rain. The ground is dry; there's not even a cloud in the sky. So where's that dripping coming from? The blood. Spike. My whole body becomes cold. Celestia no. I dash back upstairs to Spike's hammock.

"Spike! Spike wake up!"

No response but the dripping. His blood, right on my bed. No. He...He can't be.

"Spike! Spike wake up! Get up Spike!"

He's a heavy sleeper. It is 3 am after all. Or, or maybe it's all just an elaborate prank.

"Spike this is not funny. Get up now!"

...

"Spike get up, get up!"

He just lies there motionless. That's when I noticed several stab wounds on him, more than I can count at first glance. In his hands still is the letter from Celestia. On the back is something written with Spike's blood.

"Now you know what it is like."

I grow cold and numb. I hear a distant voice call my name, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters.

"Twilight! Twilight! Spike's in danger, we have to-"

She stops upon seeing my face. She sees Spike, and lets out the most terrified scream I've ever heard. She faints. Me, I just sit here. I shouldn't have slept. I-I shouldn't have listened to Spike...I shouldn't have...I...

Author's Note

Olny daeth.
No rtrbieh.
No rrbteih.
No rrtbeih. Olny dteah.
Dteah aonle. Olny detah.
No rirebth.
Tmie is out.
Olny
Viod
Riamens.