Knock. Knock.

by Arreis Of Avalon

First published 18th of May, 2015

Crossover of the horror game Knock Knock, based on a multitude of playthoughs and hours of research. Someone is dreaming - or are they awake?

What you see before you is not exactly what one would call “a story”. It’s more like an unchanging meditation, reenacted from scattered evidence that happened to fall into my hands.
It was written according to instructions, left behind by the original game’s writer.
Many strange things and unclear moments you will encounter in this - whatever this is - are due to the requirements outlined by the original game.
Maybe it was just a mysterious hoax, but it probably wasn’t. I suggest you view this as just another crossover fan fiction.
I recommend you read this in a dark and quiet place, alone.

...

I moved out of my bed, my hooves clopping on the floor. In my magic, I held a candle. It was not very bright, though it was somewhat bright. Was it bright enough? Who could tell.

I moved to my mirror and stared deeply into my grey eyes. I did not blink. I had to see. Just to see. I was awake, after all.

There was a pounding at the door. My ears twitched. I stared deeply into my grey eyes. My house creaked around me. The pounding continued. I tried to ignore it. I did.

“Something woke me up,” I whisper to my reflection. Her mouth does not move. The bags under her eyes grow darker, redder.

Her eyes move toward the window. I can see a tree outside. It is laughing. “Did a window break somewhere,” I ask her. She does not answer. The creaking gets louder. The laughing gets closer.

I whisper further, “or did the door open?” I hope the door is not open. I think of my journal. I hope the door did not open as I think of my journal; that would not be good, my journal says. I think it does, at least. Maybe. I’m sure it says that.

My hooves clop against the floor as I walk through the doorway to the hall. Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. “It will be hard to find.” I refer, obviously, to the window. Obviously. Not the pounding. Relentless, it was. The window breaking, I mean.

The laughing went away.

“This is a huge home,” I said out loud, “with tens of rooms. But I haven’t looked in all of them for a long time.” The hallway creaks. No one responds. Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop.

Thunder rolls. There is no storm.

I hold my head with a sigh. “I’ve been feeling so exhausted lately.”

I’m in my room. “What a migraine! As if somepony is pounding a hole in my poor skull.” My magic holds onto my candle. The light above me will stay on. It is a lantern. Lanterns stay lit.

Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. I look at the door. “I’m terribly tired. I’ve even started to sleepwalk. Last night I woke up standing right here at the door.” I gulp. The face behind me is leering into the back of my head. It is only a mask. My father owned it. “If it hadn’t been bolted, I would have ended up outside! At night, this door has to be locked securely.”

Clo-reak-Clo-reak-Clo-reak-Clo-reak.

I am by my telescope. The pounding resumes. The light above me blows out. My skulls rest soundly around me. “I’m exhausted. I just can’t fall asleep. And then in the dark I keep seeing some strange thing.” A light creak. “By morning, the nightmares are gone, though. How much longer till sunrise?”

The light above me sparks. So does my horn. I have to put down the candle to fix the light. I put it down and lean up to the light, using my magic to fix it. My magic is black. It has no light. The candle does not work without my magic and it goes out. I cannot explain my candle.

I slowly fix my light. The world around me shifts. It creaks. It pounds. It laughs. I don’t know what it is.

I hold my candle again. My light is on. It is bright in my room. It is bright in this room too, now. This room was a hallway moments ago, but that does not matter now. The room is bright.

The pounding is insistent now. I shuffle back to the door as quickly as I can, nearly a canter, holding my candle with magic. I walk to the door. There is no noise. I walk back to the telescope. I stop; there is no sound.

“Wait a minute.” I look around. “What happened to time? It feels like time is standing still.” I glare at the darkness growing around me - my lights are bad here. I just changed this light, but it will be bad soon. Worse. “Why doesn’t this night ever end? Something is very wrong.”

I continue walking. There is no reason not to. Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. Noise. Knock-Knock-Knock. I turn to the door but turn away; no one’s home. I put down my candle and fix the light in the hallway. Click-Crea-Click-Creak. My ears keep twitching at each little noise.

Light floods the small hallway. I can go up, or to the side. I go to the side. There is another lightbulb. I drop my candle and go to fix the light. Creeeak…. I keep fixing it. Crak-le-crek-crackle. I don’t know what the clicking crackling is. It sounds weird. I ignore it as best I can.

It sounds like it’s right beside me. The room is pitch black without my candle. I want my candle. I want light. This bulb takes a while. I turn. I turn. It cracks. I turn. It creaks. I turn.

Light floods the empty room. There is a window. It is black. There is a ladder down. There is light there. No one is here.

I walk down the ladder quickly. There is a clock there. It looks like me. It always does. I walk to it and change time. “This is how it’s done. I can wind up the time too. If the morning is not coming to me, I’ll move myself and my home towards it.”

The clock disappears. I look around the room. Something is amiss. What could it be? I have a shiver in my bones - the door creaks open. Did it? Did it really? I have to check. Just to be sure I locked the door. Surely I did.

I run upstairs. Clopclopclopclop. I can’t help it. I walk as fast as I can to the door. Each room is somewhat darker than it had been before. My skulls look sadder as I pass them. They seem to shudder. I gallop to the door. It is wide open. “So, the sound of knocking came from here! But how did I manage to unbolt it? And not lock it again?”

I look out into the night. It is dark. There are woods. It is terrifying. “... It’s… frightening to go out at night. But I have to check. To make sure that it’s just the wind.”

I step outside.

I am deep in the woods. How did I get here? My candle is with me. It does little. There are laughing trees all around me. Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop.

I keep walking. It is very dark. Laughter is still all around me. Why is laughter here? Why do the trees laugh? I walk faster. Clop clop. Clop clop.

Crickets are chirping. They are the only noise - are they? Is something behind me? I can’t see well. I run through the trees, dodging anything that may be in my path. I’m scared. I run fast. Clipclopclipclopclipclopclipclop!

I’m panting. My breath is shallow. My heart is racing my hooves.

My house creaks as I near it. I am galloping. My candle flickers in the wind.

Something is coming for me.

I run and lock the door. I am inside.

I awaken.

....

I shift around on my bed and stand, my hooves scratching up the rotting tiles as I do. My candle is with me. I am awake, now. “What’s that noise,” I whisper to myself. My ears twitch - ticking? “It’s the clock, ticking… I’m finally awake, now.” I glance out the window - blackness. “And as usual, in the early hours of the morning. It’ll be sunrise soon.”

I hear a creak somewhere in the house. It is just the house settling. I’m sure of it. “... For now, I’ll just check if everything’s all right. I dreamt that the front door was unlocked.”

I thought about the dream, staring at the floor. My shadow danced around me. I spoke to it. “Someone was knocking. I had to get up and look. Then I regained consciousness in the forest and could hardly find my way back.”

I look at my bed. I hide behind it; just testing it, of course. Behind the bed, my candle does not light the room, and all looks dark. I quickly stop hiding. The dark is scary.

I shuffle towards the door. Clop. Creak. Clop. Creak. It’s locked, and takes me a minute to open. The door swings open and I walk into a dim hallway. Another broken light. I set down the candle and turn it. Time speeds up as I do. Actions cause time to go again.

Light burns my eyes as I pick up my candle again. “Just a minute. I’ll wait for my eyes to adjust.”

I stay still for a few moments. The light seems dimmer the longer I stand still. It helps. I walk to the door and open it too. It swings open after a few moments. “I don’t even recognize my own home,” I whisper. “Why does it look so empty?”

It shouldn’t be empty, should it? Where are the pictures and bookshelves and memories?

Gone. No one home.

“It’s probably just my eyesight going bad,” I mutter, glancing around in the darkness. “My eyesight’s getting worse and worse after dark.” I take a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I only have to wait a little longer. Soon it’ll be daybreak.”

I walk into the darkness. My candle does little. I walk under another broken lightbulb as my ears twitch; there is noise, somewhere. “During my nightly rounds, it is vital to turn on the light in each room for a little while. It’s the only way to put everything back in order.”

Order. That’s all I ever wanted. Order, and a break from this nightmare.

“A scientifically proven fact: if the home is kept in order, then the nightmares will go away.” I fix the light. The dark is scary, but order is more important than safety. The light comes in due time. I am by my telescope. The skulls gape at me in wonder at my mastery of the light. “Finally. Everything’s in it’s place. I can see it clearly.”

I stop, thinking. The skulls seem to think too. The lights flicker. “Something is wrong with my head. I’m still half - asleep.”

I shut my eyes softly, exhausted. I open them again; my clock is behind me. I go to it and wind it up. The lights all go out as I do. Time does not like my lights. I will have to turn them on again. I still wind; daybreak is more important than sanity.

The clock disappears. I am hiding in this time. Why am I hiding? My eyes are covered - I cannot see what I am hiding from. If I open my eyes, if something is out there, it will see me. Should I look?

I step out hesitantly. I see nothing. My candle is the only source of light. “All I need is to last until sunrise. Dawn will put everything into it’s place.”

I think I hear something upstairs. Lightning strikes nearby. I gulp. "There turned out to be nothing,” I try to reassure myself. “Daybreak is very close now. I just have to survive until dawn.”

I urge myself to go downstairs. Turning on the light will put all the rooms in order. Perhaps turning on the light downstairs will put it to order too? I go down the ladder only to hear loud static. I try to ignore the static and just make my way to the light.

I turn and it clicks and it crackles. I get halfway through fixing it when the door begins to pound. It sounds angry. I turn quickly towards my ladder and rush to head upstairs. There is no place to hide, down here.

I run through the upstairs, scared. My skulls watch me, and each looks as though they are laughing. I turn on each light as I go. I go up further. It is pitch black in this room. I run to the nearest light and begin to fix it.

Do not - Don’t… no… yo- keep th-- house.

I look around as the light comes on, eyes wide. Nopony home. Nopony here. I run into the next room, trying to shake the whispering from my mind. It wasn’t real. I get to the bulb and start to turn.

No need.

There is a sharp crack and a long creak. The light comes on. Nopony there. I run to the next door.

I shut my eyes for a moment. I’m exhausted. I open them. My bed is in this room, now. I don’t know how, but it is.

The light turns off.

“Who… just sighed? Is someone here?”

It is right… behind you…

I turn quickly. A pony stands in a white gown, a box for a head. Cracks appear in the walls. The pony is gone.

The lightbulb cracks. I am in the room adjacent. “I shouldn’t have turned on that light! Something was wrong in there!” I think. “Actually, everything is wrong in this house. Once again, everything is different. What is real?”

I look at the door but decide against returning to that room. I trod to the ladder and walk down. At least I have my candle.

I walk into my bedroom - the real one. The door to the outside is gone. Nothing can get inside. So where did that pony come from?

I hear creaking. I turn back and walk towards the hallway. I stop in the hallway. I was sure it came from here, but now it almost sounds right on top of me. Upstairs?

I hear pounding. It can’t be on my door, however. Where is it? Knock Knock Knock. Where was it coming from?

It knows where you are.

I turn away from the black telescope room, or what should be the black telescope room. “I have to hide! I don’t know why but I have to hide, now!”

I run towards the bedroom - I can always hide under my bed. I know that. As I run, the lightbulb blows out.

There is a one legged pony in the darkness. I don’t know how it follows me, but it does. The straightjacket around it trails along behind it, the strings to hold it to it’s hooves dragging. I run. I do not scream. I have no voice now to scream.

I run into the dark telescope room. The pony whispers while I run, but I cannot hear it. My heart pounds too loudly to hear it. I do make out one sentence in my mad gallop.

It is inside.

Clipclopclipclopclipclop!

I dash behind the telescope and cover my eyes. I shake and tremble but make not a sound. I cannot let it find me, under any circumstance.

I feel it’s eyes on me. I can feel each and every breath tingle down my neck. My fur stands on end. I want to cry, but I do not in fear of making any noise. I can’t make any sound. Nopony home.

Where… are y- come out!

It watches for so long. Time exists no longer; every clock has stopped ticking. I stay behind that telescope for eternity. I cannot even breath to calm my heart. How does it not hear it racing?

The light flickers. I step back out, the feeling starting to dissipate. I take a deep breath. I am fine. I am calm. I was not found. “This is some game… Brings me back to my childhood. You hide and feel how the time starts rolling backwards.”

I start to make my way to my bedroom.

It knows where you are.

I stop in the doorway. “What’s that over there?” Static. “No. Don’t look. No light. It’s just my nerves.” Creak. “I’m not looking. Not one bit. I’m not even turning my head. There isn’t anything there.”

I turn.

Nothing is there. I sigh in relief and turn back again.

I run as fast as I can after turning once more. I should not have looked behind me. It is there again, that one legged pony. I’m haunted by troubling thoughts, I think. They insist on crawling into my head! As if they were alive!

I keep running. The pony with the box head stands before me. I freeze. She doesn’t seem to notice me. The forest is creeping inside, I think. But my home is impenetrable. The lights are off. The windows closed. The doors are all locked and bolted.

I hide again and hear the static. I cover my eyes once more. I don’t want to see it all anymore. I don’t want to see it at all. The lights flash and I know she’s still there; I can hear the boxhead breathing. I know she will not leave.

I run out and towards my bedroom once more. I just want to escape. I just want it to be dawn now. I want the moon to set.

I get to my room. The darkness is scaring me. Reluctantly, I put down my candle and turn the light. I just need light. A few minutes in darkness will not kill me. Hopefully.

I fix the light. I blink. My clock is there. I breath a sigh of relief as softly as I can and begin to wind it.

The lights go off. I curse silently the darkness I had just fought. I keep winding. Dawn will fix all things.

The clock disappears. I hope dawn will be soon.

Creak.

I freeze. Are they back? I don’t want to move. My hooves have turned to lead.

I walk very slowly towards the hallway, holding my candle high. I can’t see anypony… Clop…. Clop…. Clop….

I fix the light in the hallway. Light will bring order.

I hear something move in the darkness.

Light floods the hallway. I’m alone.

I blink, adjusting my eyes. Another clock appears. I wind. The light stays on this time.

Not much longer now.

I hide out in my room, though not hiding. Hiding turns back time. Winding speeds it up. Lights are bad but good. My candle will save me. Monsters are scary. The forest is coming inside. It’s already inside.

The sun rises.

I awaken.

Author's Notes:

Hide and seek in the dark

This is a test of courage, so you shouldn't really hide when you play. Just try to play fair and wait for the game to end. If the seeker sees that someone that someone is hiding, everything will start from the beginning again. The key is, you have to guess how the seeker interprets the game.

So if he says to someone: "You're hiding", but that person is standing in the open - then it is not about being seen or not.

...

I stand up, moving my hooves over the side of the bed. I go ahead and put on my slippers - they will keep my hooves somewhat warmer. My home did not used to be this cold.

I sigh. “In general, it’s best for the psyche to sleep soundly in the predawn hours. But lately, I’ve been awake and restless. So I decided to spend these hours checking on my house,” I say to the nothingness around me. There is nothing now, and there always will be nothing. “Let’s see if all the rooms are still where they should be.”

I walk with my nothingness. It will remain with me always, here. My magic quivers, the candle in its grasp shaking. I am so exhausted.

I walk into my telescope room. It is dark. I contemplate the telescope. “This house is an observatory. It’s an old science station. I’ve lived here since I was born.” I remember it in great detail; my father, living in… a large city. No. I live near a forest here. He liked the forest as there was little light pollution. My mother… I have trouble remembering. My mind is blank. I suppose it doesn’t matter.

I realize I still have yet to change the light. I stand on my hind hooves and begin to fix it.

KNO-CKNO-CKNOCK

The pounding comes, frantically. It sounds as though they are running, and this is the only safe haven. What could they be running from?

The light comes on. My skulls look fine. Everything is right, although I still fear for my sanity in these insomnia filled hours. I shrug off that fear and move to the next room. It is the hall. “I am a world-ologist,” I mutter. “That is my profession. I inherited it.” I have no idea if that’s true. It sounds right. “We, the world-ologists, watch the world. Study what it’s made of.”

“We write down these findings and analyze them,” I say, looking to the darkness around me. I continue to fill the silence it provides. “And at some point, these notes could be used for scientific research.”

I begin to change the light. Darkness makes poor company. I breathe an internal sigh of relief as the light flickers on. Nothing is here. All is well.

I walk upstairs. I am in a study. “My father worked here before I did. Before him - my grandfather, and so on. Each one of my predecessors added something to this house. But the past is not a very valuable legacy. Which is why many rooms are locked. I never look in there.”

I change the light. It creaks lightly, but that is all. It is an easy night, it seems. The room lights up, knick knacks strewn over the tables. A skull, some insects, what is hopefully a mannequin under that cloth. I continue to the next room.

It is already lit. I do not ask why. There is a clock. I smile; tonight will be over quickly. I begin to wind.

KNOCKNOCKNOCK.

Pounding. So much pounding. They do not want dawn. It soon stops. I sigh as my clock disappears. “Thank goodness. The morning is getting nearer.”

I walk to the study. The door creaks open - did it? Did it really? Perhaps I should go check. I was sure I had locked it.

I go to the hallway. There are no pictures hanging here - no memories. “I don’t want to remember. It’s so repetitive anyway. My state of mind suits me just fine - the way it is right now.”

I walk to my open door. “... I didn’t open this door. No one is alive out there who could have snuck in, and no one whose mind could have called me outside.” I think for a moment. “The only path here is the one that goes around my house. Right now, I can go check that there aren’t any new ones.”

I contemplate my possibilities and nod. Outside it is then.

I am deep in the woods. I do not know how I got here so quickly.

As I walk, I think. I ponder the falling leaves. The laughing trees. I hear an owl coo, calling my name to me from the darkness. I pay it no heed. I simply want to go home. The falling leaves and cooing animals and broken trees mean nothing. A broken tree will never mean anything ever again.

I keep walking, ignoring the tears rolling down my cheeks. I have not cried in years. I don’t know why I do now. Perhaps allergies.

The crickets are deafening. I keep thinking I hear something over their cacophony, but nothing makes its way to my ears. Nothing, that is, until a loud, long, creak.

Perhaps it was a croak? Just a toad? It sounded just like my house, though. Was I near my house? I just wanted to be home. I just wanted to be away from this terrifying place and back in my own home.

I trot a little faster.

Clop clop. Clop clop.

The world creaks again. I cry harder, my house nowhere in sight. I’m a lost little filly, looking for her father and mother. Do I even have those anymore? Lost in these woods, I don’t know anymore. There are too many broken branches.

Clop clop clop clop.

I dart through the trees, running faster. I just want to be home! Why aren’t I there yet?!

I hear a groan; something is following me.

Clopclopclopclop!

It sounds like laughing, but darker. Like the sound a grin makes. The sound is mocking my tears. I run faster; I think I see my home.

Clipclopclipclopclipclopclipclop!

I dart inside. I still cry as I lock the door.

At least I am home.

I awaken with a gasp to the sound of creaking.

-----

I instantly start walking; I can’t waste any time. The nightmares will haunt me if I do not move fast enough. “I’m sleeping,” I say, having finally worked that truth out in my head, “and at this point, who the hell knows what’s going on? Everything’s fallen into disrepair. Many rooms have been neglected.”

I shake my head. “This house should be impenetrable! Even a little crack is a cause for serious concern, which is why I have to find and patch up every single gap. Once they’re closed - everything will go back to the way it was.”

I check the right of the room; no cracks here. I’m good on that front.

I walk to the only door. There’s no handle here.

I hear a growl in the night. The nightmares are already coming; or are they already here? I hurry back to the door, and check again. There is a door knob there now. I quickly tug at it, trying to unlock it. The wind around the house howls, but I try to ignore it. It’s rather loud, though.

The door creaks open. I trot in, my candle held high - I hear static, but cannot see the source of it. I quickly run back to my bedroom, terrified. I feel like a little filly again, terrified of little nightmares. Taking a deep breath, I turn back once more, braving the static.

I begin to turn a light. I can feel the shadows around me, shifting. They have been for a long time. Such a long, long time. Why must the light take such a long, long time?

I flinch as the light flashes to life. Blinking once or twice, I look around. My bed is next to me, despite the bedroom to the right. “Well… I’ve sorted things out in here. Now let’s get going.”

I think about what I just said. ‘Let’s’. Let us. Who is with me? I look around, a tad bit paranoid; nopony is here. It is only me.

Nopony home.

I shake my head and look at the light. “Only… It’s best to turn the light off when I leave. Otherwise, I’ll worry.” Not that I don’t worry anyways. I’ve always been a worrywart. Have I? I can’t recall. “When the windows are brightly lit, I can feel someone’s penetrating eyes watching me from the outside.”

I hesitate a moment. Should I listen to myself? It’s so terrifying with the lights off.

Yes, I should turn it off. The darkness will be better. The darkness is always better.

I turn off the light and rely on my candle. Shaking in fear, I continue trotting along. Yes - the darkness is better. The static is right behind me, but I dare not look back. I walk to the next door and begin to fiddle with it.

I open it. The static is right behind me. I can see her in my minds eye now - the pony with a box as a head. I shiver in fear and keep walking, before it gets me. I quickly get to the next room and the next light and begin to fix it.

The light flashes. I sigh in relief as nothing is in the room. I blink and open my eyes - there is no change. “Why does everything look so neat in here?” I pause, thinking. “Because someone cleaned it up…” I gulp. “Who cleaned it up?”

I think. Who cleans for me? Didn’t I have somepony to do that for me?

No. I live alone. “I did. Who else could have?” I blink again and the room changes again. “Thank goodness. Everything’s in order. I just need to remember to turn off the light when I go. Then they’ll never know that there’s somepony at home.” I don’t know exactly who they are, but I know I do not want to be found. I don’t want to be seen anymore. Not since that time.

I turn off the light. Nopony home.

I turn and go towards the next room. The static invades once more. It is so terribly loud. I keep walking, going a room further. The static is simply so loud. I can’t shake the feeling that something is behind me.

I start to change the light. I hear low rumbles, soft whispers. I shut my eyes tightly and continue twisting the light. So loud. Everything is so loud.

The light flashes on. I take a deep breath. “... I don’t want to think about the past,” I mutter. “It’s less troubling to live in the dark.”

I blink. I open my eyes. I walk to the door. “Everything is locked… Thank goodness. Nothing can creep in here before morning. My home… is my fortress.” I turn off the light. Perhaps I should head back to my room.

I start to head back, but gasp as I see the pony outside my room. Under that box, I can sense an evil grin. My heart begins to pound. It has me trapped. I stumble back into the last room, terrified, and quickly turn on the light. The light makes me safer.

I blink, shutting my eyes to the creature. If I ignore it, it will all go away!

The door slams. I flinch and my eyes open. I rush to open it; I’m terrified. I run into the next room, ready to fight the pony.

It’s gone. “... I’m getting delirious. I’ve got to finish checking the house, and then go back to sleep.” I quickly shut off the light and continue walking. I have to hurry.

I race downstairs, but stop halfway on the ladder - a shade.

It shifts, its shadowy body phasing through the air like a gas. I race back up the stairs before it sees me, eyes wide. What in Equestria was going on in my house? My candle is shaking as my magic quivers. I expect I will drop it soon.

Iii… w-want… to see…. yooou….

I am frozen in fear. Whose voice was that? It sounded so far away, yet right next to me at the same time. I shiver, my hooves trembling. I briefly consider hiding, but the darkness is not worth the terror.

I click on the light and blink before shutting it off quickly.

Wait…

I run to the next door. I hear lights blowing far behind me. Is it that far? No. I only wish it was. I quickly tug on the door, trying to unlock it. When had I locked it again!? I curse the darkness and quickly run inside my bedroom.

This isn’t my bedroom. One more room to go. This is just a room with a bed. I turn on the light and blink.

Listen.

I open my eyes. I turn off the light. I am alone, I am alone, I am alone. I repeat this to myself as I continue to walk, going toward the ladder. My eyes glance at the room beside me.

I dart to the bed, eyes wide with fear. I can feel tears rising to them; why are these nightmares haunting me? I hide as quickly as I can, panting as the one legged pony shuffles in. I can feel it’s eyes on me; I can feel time slow as it looks for me. I try to make as little noise as I can. Nopony home. Nopony home!!

Are you afraid?

YES.

I hear it shuffle out. I peek over the edge of the bed, crying as silently as I can. The shade has come in. I shut my eyes and resume hiding.

I cannot stand the dark. I dart out. I hear it giggle.

-Thought about it? Why- - is inside…

I run downstairs. I don’t care anymore! Time is meaningless now! Dawn will never come now! I will be stuck in this darkness forever. The night will last forever, and it’s my fault. I quickly run to the light, trying in vain to fix it. I hear something come down the ladder. There is no hope now.

The light flashes on. I’m alone.

I blink.

Be still.

I open. Everything is in order.

Everything is okay.

I run upstairs, taking deep breaths. I go to fix the next light.

Just when you thought about it, it came ----

The light flashes on. I think I see something - is it just the lights? I run to the next room, hearing creaking not caused by my own hooves.

You thought about it, and now, it is inside.

I change the next light. It flickers and breaks in my hooves. The one legged pony is right beside me.

It knows where you --

I do not listen anymore. I run. I run down. I will always run now. I cannot stand it anymore! I will not face this past! I will not face what I cannot face!

Down. Down I go. I keep running.

I get to the lowest level. I fix the light, panting.

This is the wrong house!

The lights burst. I turn, almost in slow motion. The one legged pony grins, it’s eyes bleeding. It moves slowly toward me. I am trapped. I back into the corner, sobbing. Why now? Why? WHY?!

You thought about it, and now, it is inside.

I scream. I can feel it. I can feel the beast inside. The pony reaches me. I breathe my last breath.

I awaken.

.--. .. -. -.-

I stand, my eyes wide. My heart is fluttering. Was it all a dream? “...Someone just walked over my grave.”

I walk to the door, twisting the knob. The light is bright behind me; I think I’ll leave it on this time. Perhaps light is not so bad?

I walk to the next room. The static is impossibly loud. My ears twitch, but I keep twisting the light as I fix it. I blink and my bed appears as the lights flicker on. I decide to check my bedroom once more. I sniff. “... Smells like damp earth.” I wonder, has it been raining?

My bedroom is fine. I come back. “In general, I need to fill this empty room with something. At the very least so I have somewhere to hide.” I blink and a pot appears.

I open the next door and shuffle inside. The static is so loud. I fix the light and sigh as the static stops. “Light brings clarity. It separates the imaginary from the real. Confidence arrives with the night; which is why I anxiously await the break of day.”

I blink. I open my eyes. Something has appeared; a gear of some sorts. “Why am I doing all this?... Maybe it’s not even necessary… I forgot something very important. Something that I shouldn’t even try to remember.”

I walk to the next room and change the light. A light I just fixed down the hallway blows. I blink. When I open my eyes, the door slams. Just like last time a time I remember. I walk to the door.

You’ve… trapped yourself…

I quickly open the door. I run to the next room.

The shade launches itself at me. I scream, and the sound matches the sound of the lightbulb above me breaking. It claims me, as the darkness has.

I awaken.

*~*~*~

I stand. “At first… I thought I was sick. But that’s not the case. I’m totally normal.” I take a deep breath. “I’m most likely compensating for something. If only I could take some time off. But it’s so frightening to leave the house now. Something is actually happening outside.”

I feel myself shift, glancing at the window slyly. Only blackness. “Who is it that keeps knocking on my window? There are no trees nearby. The house is in the middle of a clearing.”

Liar.

I walk over to the door and open it, exhausted. I walk to the light and twist it, the floor creaking beneath me. My bed appears once more. “Why haven’t I looked in here for so long?” I stand still for but a moment, contemplating the question as my shadow dances around me.

But I can’t just stand around. I need to hurry. Visitors are coming again soon.

I go to the door and open it. It takes a moment. Behind me, I hear soft thumping. As soon as the door creaks open, I turn the lights off. Good. Nopony home.

Next room. Twist, turn, creak. The room appears as light makes it exist. I blink and exist. My clock appears. With a sigh of relief, I begin to wind.

It disappears without incident. I walk to the light. When I turn it off, I hear a nearby light bulb shatter. Visitors, so soon?

I walk to the next room and begin to twist the light. Twist, turn, creak. The light turns on. My clock appears right in front of me. I begin to wind. It disappears. I close my eyes. I open them. The room is fuller now.

I turn off the light and trot to the previous room. Turn on the lights. Blink. Nothing happens. I turn off the light.

I go down the ladder to the downstairs. There is no storm, but lightning strikes somewhere. I feel eyes in my bedroom. Shivering, I turn on the light. Light will bring order. Believe in the light, and the sun will come someday. The sun will come for me soon.

Twist. Turn. Creak. The lights turn on. I blink. The door next to me slams, but the room is fuller. My eyes flash open. There is something beside my room.

I kill the lights and start to run. Routine.

I race downstairs further, down to the basement areas. I start to turn on the light.

KNO-KNOCKAKNO-KNOCK

It’s trying to break free. It is inside, and it wants out. I can’t let it go now.

W-wwaant to s-see yooou….

I blink. Trashcans appear. I hide instinctively.

D-Doon’t you hiiiiiiiide from m-me-ee-e

It’s a record skipping. It’s a voice, familiar, yet distant. Once so full of cheer, there is blackness and darkness now. I am scared. Terrified. Please, father, help me. Please, mother, help me.

I come out of hiding, shaking worse than ever. I start to cross up the ladder, peeking into the room above.

It knows where you are.

I retreat to the lower level once more, resigned to my fate. The shambling, one legged pony is making her way to the ladder. I know my death awaits.

I try to prevent it. I hide. I hide and cower, my light hidden. Light will not save me now. Only silence. Only hiding.

I feel the eyes on me.

Just w-when you thought about it… it came in.
D-D---- hide f-from meee….

I come out of hiding and run to the light, believing myself safe as the feeling fades. I twist. Turn. Creeeak…

DO not….

I blink. My clock appears.

Stay here.

I wind as fast as I can.

The clock disappears. I blink. Behind me, a machine appears. It looks familiar. Wires. Buttons. Charts. I remember something. Pink. Lots of pink.

H-Hee-eey Yo-o-o---oou~

I start to walk to the ladder, trying to ignore the voices. I’ve gotten a headache.

Dawn approaches. The sun rises. It cannot find me in the basement.

I awaken.

I don't feel like I slept. I stand. Something is... wrong. Very wrong. I look around and realize it.

Where did my diary go?!

Author's Notes:

You should play this game alone.
Get up three hours before sunrise. Say this to yourself three times: "I didn't forget anything."
Walk through your darkened house and turn on a light in each room.
Go back to the room you started in. Close your eyes. Try to focus on the first thing that comes to mind. If you imagine a face, that being will come to live in your home.

...

“Where did the diary go?” I look around my bed frantically, my eyes wide. That was so important. I couldn’t have lost it. “I clearly remember putting it under my pillow,” I say. I check. Not there.

I run to my desk and sift through the papers. “I don’t get it.” Nothing there. “Where could I have hidden it?”

I look around, the pictures on the walls looking like eyes in my peripheral vision. I feel them, searching with me, trying to find my diary. Trying to know. Learn. Why were they all so curious? “My memory d-didn’t used to deceive me like this,” I mutter. “All of this is rather strange.”

Something shatters in the distance. A broken light, or window, no doubt. Those visitors… My eyes narrow. “No matter what happened, I have to find it immediately… or else…”

Shattering. Creaking. I sift through my notes again, trying to organize them. So many drawings. So many, many dreams. “Or else I won’t be able to work tomorrow. It has notes on all the observations I made over the last few years.” How long had I been taking those notes? Ever since my schooling? Since the sun set?

I grab my candle. It’s time to search now, not wonder, not think. Only searching.

I walk quickly into the next room. “Someone gave me this diary when I was first learning how to write.” I gulp, looking around in the darkness. I can’t see anymore. “He said that I would write my entire life down in it. And that with the last page of the notebook, my life would end as well.”

I take a deep breath. “He always speaks in metaphors… I was so young. I took his words literally. I wanted to live a long life, so I rationed the pages. I wrote only in my smallest handwriting, rarely and briefly. It became a habit.”

The shadows seem to close in on me, listening closely for me to finish speaking before they kill me. “But a-after awhile,” I mutter, watching them with my grey eyes, the bags under them growing heavier, “I forgot his words. For some reason, they’ve come back to me now, and they unsettle me.”

As I finish, I quickly begin to turn the light. The shadows watch me hungrily. I take a deep breath. Why had I been talking to? Who was the shadows? Whose eyes watched me so intently?

The light flashes on.

I run to the upstairs room and twist on the light. Downstairs, the door creaks. I don’t know if it’s open yet or not.

The light flashes on. I see it - a torn note. Is the handwriting small? Is it mine? I don’t remember. Who wrote this note for me?

What seems horrible in this house, will stop scaring you if you go out into the woods.
Touch them without fear. Open your eyes. Don’t be afraid to look. Don’t be afraid to see.
This is not death, but simply a new time. There is no death.

“How can these pages be here? Why are they torn?” I shiver. Despite the light being on, I feel watched. Scared. Who is watching? Is it you? “I don’t like this at all,” I whisper. “Did someone get into the room while I was asleep, and steal the diary?”

I hear a soft thud in another room, hardly audible. My ears twitch. “I have to check the house again. I really neglected it…” I feel something strange in my heart. Warmth.

It’s simply the light, warming my back.

I run to the next room and turn on the light.

KNO-KNOCKAKNO-KNOCK

Next room. Next light. “My father worked here before I did. Before him - my grandfather, and so on. Each one of my predecessors added something to this house. But the past is not a very valuable legacy. Which is why many rooms are locked. I never look in there.”

Time is repeating itself. I’ve said this all before.

I run quickly back to the adjacent room. Thunder rolls. “Something is getting closer from the other side,” I shout, my voice echoing around the room. The noise is nice. Where is the other side? I don’t know. “I have to hurry!”

The door is open. I run to the room and straight out the door.

I am deep in the woods. I see her instantly. The ghost. My eyes widen - no one else is allowed here. I run to her, already having a sharp retort in my mouth to yell at her, tell her to go away.

There is nothing there. Distantly, a familiar song is played. My head - it hurts so horribly bad. The song sounds so familiar. A music box. It’s beautiful. I feel tears rise to my eyes.

The ghost is gone. My head stops hurting.

“From time to time… I see things that simply cannot be. Sometimes I even see new stars in the sky.” I remember those clearly now, for some reason. 4 beautiful stars, and the sound of laughter. I shake my head. Such thoughts mean nothing. “But I don’t record that in my archives or reports. It’s simply depression. Or maybe it is something worse.”

I always did worry too much.

I walk. I walk and walk and walk. For some reason, I am not scared. The woods, with their scary faces, are not scary.

I stroll leisurely. The break is… nice.

I reach my house. Back into the fray.

I walk inside.

I awaken.

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

I walk to the next room. Twist. Turn. Light. I blink. There is a bed.

My head hurts.

“I remember now! Someone very small lived here!” Someone, or something? I don’t recall.

I turn off the light. The pony with the box head stands nearby. I simply walk away. I’ve no time for monsters today. No patience. Nopony home.

Upstairs. Twist, turn, light. Blink. The eyes on the floor watch close as the telescope appears. I see another torn note.

They are real. But not as they appear.
You see them like that because you’re in a state of somnolence.

My vocabulary lessons paid off. Did I ever have those? “Somnolence. The state of drowsiness or severe insomnia that can cause peculiar images.”

I take a deep breath. “I often addressed the diary entries to myself. My older self, who, one day, would read these entries. It was just a game - but now, I feel that a complete stranger has penned these pages!” But how am I my own stranger? What has happened to my self?

I turn off the light and turn. The boxhead pony once more. I gasp and stumble back, going back towards the ladder. But I stop myself. What had those notes said?

… Face my fear.

I turn and walk hesitantly towards the beast. I am unafraid. I walk through it, holding my breath.

Nothing is there. “... The air is thick.”

I open the door and walk to the lights. Twist. Turn. Repetition. Somewhere, a door creaks open.

Light. I blink. My clock appears. I wind, quickly. I want this hell to stop.

I turn off the lights. Next room, turn, twist, lightning strike. Lights on. There’s scribbling all over my walls and floors. White hoofprints. I’m scared. Face my fears. I need to face them all.

The door slams. I shut the light off.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Next room. Creeeak…. Twist. Turn. Light. Blink. Clock. Wind. So repetitive. This is my hell. My punishment. I failed.

--_C-Come clos-ssser…

Lights off. She won’t find me.

I’m right here….

I run downstairs, unable to face this monster. In the corner of my eye, I see a shade enter the room I leave. I am safe, for now.

But I am not. Dead end. My end.

Doon’t h-hhhide f-from mee….

Twist, turn, creak. I breathe in the light. I savor it.

I turn it off. Nothing is there.

I peek up the ladder. The shade smiles down at me, her faded grin haunting me from above.

I blink. I go up. Gone.

I walk.

You thought about it, and, now, it is inside.

Upstairs further. I hold my candle steady. Nothing here either. I go to the light. Twist.

Don’t do this!

I close my eyes. Turn. I whisper, softly, my apologies. The lights turn on. Dead end. I turn off the lights. Downstairs. To the door. It takes a moment - the light flickers. I open the door and walk to the next room and the next.

An eye watches me in the room of eyes. It knows. Someone is home. I don’t know what to do. I hear a voice. I know the voice. Whose voice?!

H-Heeeey y-yy-oo-cube!

“... A-And what’s this,” I say, pretending I don’t hear. Pretending the pony is not behind me. “Is it a hole in the wall, or am I just seeing things? Of course, I am only dreaming again, and it is easy to prove. Once the light is on, this will all disappear.”

All of it. Even me. Especially them. I want them all to go away.

I twist. Turn. The shade approaches. Her grey colors shock me, but I keep turning. No shock. No color. Only twist. Only turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Fasterfasterfaster -

Nothing happens!

The shade nears.

I am in an unknown hell with only shadow and grey to guide me. I close my eyes tight. I don't want to watch.

“.. Where am I now?” The eye is gone. The shade is gone. My telescope, gone. “Long periods of isolation are harmful to the psyche. A tired mind distorts the perception of reality. I have to snap out of it. I feel like something eerie is happening to my home.” Home, or mind? Are they the same? Both are gone.

I walk, and walk, and walk. The floor clicks beneath my hooves. It is made of tiles. I see something up ahead. Light? Colored light. I feel my heart racing. I run toward the light.

It gets further and further away. Something calls me closer. I see a flash of purple in the distance - was it grey? My eyes are blind. I see only shadow. I cry out for help.

Nopony came. Not even the one I sought the most.

The shadows close in. I awaken.

*~*~*~

I leap out of bed and kill the lights. A strange dream indeed. No time to dwell on it now. Open door. Turn on light. “I can feel someone was here recently. There’s a lip-shaped star on the door lock. As if someone kissed my door with a clay-covered mouth…”

Downstairs. Next room. Twist. Light. The wardrobe appears. Lights off; next room.

A shadow of a memory crosses over my hooves. “Rotting leaves on the ground… Is it fall now?” Two racers. One winner. Neither won. Betrayal? My head is full of thoughts. No wonder it hurts.

Twist. Light. Blink. Clock. Wind.

Somewhere, a light blows out.

Next room. Twist. Turn. I shed light on all of the cracks. There’s so many here. “Everything is as it was, but still - it’s slightly off somehow. What’s changed?”

You have.

“Or have I just been too overwhelmed lately?” That must be it. “I can’t keep anything straight! My memory is going.”

Gone. What happened to my memories?

Blink. Full room. I kill the light and head downstairs. Twist, turn, procedure. Order. Just what I wanted, right?

Empty room. Upstairs. Lights. Nothing. Lights off. I’ve gotten better at this. More efficient. She’ll be proud, I hope. I want her to be proud, the one I called out to. Then, and only then, will the dawn come. I cross to the next room with tears in my eyes.

I turn on the light. Lightning strikes. I kill the lights and go into the room previous, fear clutching my heart.

The door slams shut behind me. I open it quickly. Nothing there. I cross into the next room.

My magic wavers. My candle flickers. I think to myself - they’re here.

I thought about it.

It’s inside.

The shuffling one legged pony walks in, her straightjacket tugging against the floorboards. She’s right in front of me. I run as fast as I can.

I hide. Her eyes search for me. I pray to whoever will listen - save me. Help me. I cry out, silently, and nopony comes. They’re all gone now.

Nopony home. That’s what I wanted.

Are you s-still here?

She leaves. I step out. I glance at the light, wondering, should I turn it on?

No n--need.

Next room. Nothing. Next room. The eye watches. He’s always watching. Keeping me here. Trapped. Alone. Frightened. I will never be free.

“I know, that when the light returns - this horror will simply vanish.” I twist the light. He watched. He is angry.

The world shakes as the lights come on. I wince in pain. Ow.

I blink. “What happened here? Something is telling me I shouldn’t even try to uncover it.” I turn off the light and hide, unsure if he’s still watching. It appears he is gone, however. I turn on the light. The boxhead I never noticed disappears. I take a deep breath. Why doesn’t she scare me like she used to?

I try to take a step, but suddenly, I am halfway across the house. I stumble, surprised - this is new. Is it? I don’t remember. Everything is new to me now.

Everything but my routine.

Twist. Turn. Light. Blink.

The fan appears. I go upstairs. Turn on the light. Nothing new. I open the door next to me and walk through. Lightning strikes again. The beast is nearby once more.

Twist. Turn. Light. Blin-

SLAM.

My eyes shoot open. My clock is there. I wind, frantically. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere I can really run. I am trapped. Haunted. The visitors hate me, don’t they? I failed, I fai-

Fffrree...zzzee…

Light off. I run to the door. I open it quickly.

It came in.

I run as fast as I can away from the monster. It follows. It chases. I turn on the light upstairs. The eye watches. It knows. The shade catches me. I scream out. Nopony hears.

Lights on.

Nothing is here. I cry softly, feeling ready to collapse. It’s been such a long night. Such a long chapter of my story, and I can’t even write any of it out. My diary is gone. I’ve no journal anymore. It’s all gone now. He made it so. Who is he? I do not know. My memories...

Lightning strikes. The hell continues.

Through the house, I continue. Monsters, everywhere. Monsters, all of them.

You are missing the point.

Why do they keep whispering to me?

Fear not.

I am scared and they cannot help me.

The lights like to flicker.

I go to the next door. The one leg walks through. I simply sigh and turn around, unable to face her. My clock was there. Will I never be free of this hell?

I make my way back to my clock eventually. I wind. My candle shakes. It is still not daw-

H--HhhH----ey!

I gasp, my eyes wide. She is behind me. That voice. I know her voice. The shade? The grey? I try to call out - her name. What was her name!? I don’t want to lose her name again, not after she left us all be-

The sun rises.

I awaken.

Author's Notes:

Something New
This is a game, which should be played in the dark. Sit in front of the window and close your eyes. Imagine that something new appeared in the inky darkness beyond the window.
Say this to yourself: "It's there. I simply didn't see it before now." Repeat this, until you feel that someone is watching you through the window. Then leave the room.