The ̶M̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶T̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶T̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶F̶o̶r̶g̶o̶t̶ End

Excerpt from “Tragedy, Time, and Twilight” by Split Second, Ph.D., (Baltimare: Axis Press, 1007), p. 221-246

XXI

Though I walk through the land of the dead, I fear nothing, I leave nothing, for I am nothing...

-Silent Quill

And often overlooked aspect of Twilight's predicament is fear. Not in the classical sense, obviously. Twilight's fears in the moment are clear to us, her fear of never returning to the real world64, never seeing her friends, never being able to tell me65 never being able to say "I love you" to those she thought deserved it. Also, Twilight's fears book-ending those already discussed. Her lack of understanding what is, what has, and what will happen. Of course, much more potent is the lack of "others."66

"Every sentient being on this planet requires companionship. As much as some refuse to admit it, absolute solitude is a weight that cannot be borne by any single person. Even the sanest of us can, and will, crack under that weight. At first, denial. Then frustration, anger. Last comes the fear. It's so quiet, one doesn't even notice it until it's all they can notice. You become afraid. Too long without others becomes unbearable much the same way darkness can. An inability to remember what it is truly like, to not be alone."67

Yet, perhaps there is a more, enigmatic element to the composite form of absolute terror that can be derived from the events surrounding Twilight's mysterious experience. Twilight's fear primarily forms from the event's themselves. But perhaps we must consider events that failed to transpire entirely to fully consider the breadth of this subject.

At first, Twilight "made a cup of tea"68 and simply sat and read as much information she could to attempt an easy solution. A quick spell, and then she'd be back to normal, fast as you like. However, the anomalous behavior of the world around her slowly becomes clearer as she attempts to unravel the web of complexity that now dominates her very existence.

Twilight's first real showing of true fear came from what some are calling the Book Incident, (If I may make a quick side note, constant break downs and delineations of each and every event, then giving all of them names to distinguish them from each other is pointless. It is the analysis of the whole which gives us our true answers, not breaking it into barely recognizable crumbs then haphazardly sticking them back together with paper clips and chewed gum.) in which she teleports a book across the room, and it fails to appear to where she designated its new position to be.69

Further investigation leads that any and all teleportation attempts results in the chosen object being brutally mutilated and destroyed abruptly. This is where fear of what hasn't happened is best shown. Had Twilight chosen to teleport herself over to the book, or even teleport herself closer to the shelf, her story may have been much shorter.

Perhaps maybe there is a possible commensurate for Twilight's fears. Perhaps something more powerful we can't see that keeps her going for an entire three and a half

Once upon a Time, I looked upon the stars
Upon the sky they sat, laden with their scars
Then, I learned, how far the deep void lets
And I screamed, for I could not forget

No. I need a break. I need to just vent for a second, alright? Just....

Bear with me for a single red second of your tiny insignificant life, okay? Someone just fucking died and no one really gets the gravity of it all. Do you even understand what happens? Do you care?

You're still reading, so I think, somewhere, you know you don't care enough.

We already talked about this back in Chapter V, but I don't think I really got my point across, and I honestly don't think any of you were listening. Or reading, I guess. Just, go back and read the goddamn chapter again, I mean really read it for Celestia's sake, so maybe you can truly understand what I'm trying to say. That chapter is pretty much a prerequisite for understanding the point of this entire forsaken book.

Finished? Good. Now, this chapter...

I am afraid.

There, I said it, wrote it, erg. I just. I'm too afraid. I can't help but pour of over those logs again and again and again and again. It terrifies me.