Chapters The Slender Mane of Everfree Forest
Chapter 1: A Monster amongst Monsters
The Slender Mane of Everfree Forest
By: MrDenim
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. I also do not own Slender Mane, or Slender Man, and credit to those that made them, because I do not know who you are.
Side Note: Wish me luck with this project of mine! Let's see how long I last. By the way, play either Sawdust in the Blood by Rob Zombie or go to my favorites on my YouTube account and play Slender Man song (Instrumental) (Nightmare's Remix). Both with work fine for background music during the beginning.
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Chapter 1: A Monster amongst Monsters
Everfree Forest. The only location in the known world to be free of normal Equestrian Magic. The weather rules itself. The trees dark and eerie. So thick that any possible trail has been overrun by ferns and thorn bushes. Because of this, is has become home to many of Equestria's more dangerous species, Manticores, Cocktrices, you name it, the Everfree Forest probably has it. There is one creature though, that is unknown to Equestria. It has no conscience. It has no morals. It knows no fear. Why? Because it is fear in and of itself. It is dark. It is deadly. It is a pure and unrelenting evil that has never been seen before.
What is this creature you ask? It has been dubbed the name of Slender Mane, due to its widely accepted appearance of being as tall if not taller than Her Highness herself. It wears a suit that is black with a red tie. It is unknown what it's cutie mark is, if it even has one. But it's victims have been seen drawing numerous circles with an x through them. It has no mane, just a tail. But, it's most notable and most feared feature, is it's distinct lack of any facial features. No eyes. No mouth. No visible nostrils.
And this is where our story begins my little ponies. In the Inner Depths of Everfree itself. Where this all began...
{~Location: Everfree Forest~Inner Depths~Exactly 20 kilometers from Ponyville Limits~}
{~Time: 0200 hours Military Time~2:00 a.m. Civilian Time~}
{~Date: Unknown~Accepted to be approximately 3 days after Nightmare Night~}
The rainy nights of Everfree were the same as ever: Wild and unruly. Anypony would be out of their right mind to venture around just inside its thorny borders. Never mind the Inner Depths, where only the most dangerous of beasts roam. The Hydra, Giant Spider, even the fabled Ursa Minor and Major have been rumored to live among the forest's untamed wilderness. There was one creature, that resembled a pony, and it was currently walking through the Inner Depths as though it had lived there it's entire life. It walked across a decent sized clearing full of muddy water, letting its hooves touch the surface and appeared as though to glide across. Yet it's hoof falls didn't make a single sound, not even a faint whisper.
It reached the other end of the clearing and continued, and walked right into a Giant Mother Spider, the biggest and most dangerous of the Giant Spider family line. Known mostly for its sheer size, nearly as big as an Ursa Minor, and its potent venomous bite. The spider raised up onto its back legs and reared its fangs threateningly, a clear message to anypony and everypony, 'Get out now, or you will die.'
The tall pony just stood there and looked at the fangs with it's faceless gaze. The Giant Mother Spider shrunk back in fear almost immediately. It scuttled off into the treeline, waiting for some new and not-so-evil prey. The faceless pony continued its walk as though nothing had happened.
It continued to walk through the forest, appearing to not give a single care as to where it was going. But it did know, it had a plan. It has waited for nearly eight millennium to unleash it, and it wasn't going to wait another second. It stopped to observe a territorial duel between two Manticore. With the smaller and inexperienced one to surprisingly come out on top. The victor took a single look at its only audience member, and yelped in fright and ran off. Not even marking its new territory. The faceless pony walked on, towards it's destination.
It stopped at the edge of Everfree Forest, roughly two hours later and just a few miles from the edge of Ponyville. It saw three little fillies with matching capes on their backs, following an older mare with a yellow fur tone and pink mane, who also currently had a rabbit asleep on her back. It followed their trek to a cottage nearby, it's sightless gaze lingering on the orange filly with wings.
When they were in the cottage and out of site, the tall pony used two of its numerous techniques and turned invisible and turned into a living shadow. It went under the door frame of the cottage's front entrance and found it's first target in nearly eight thousand years, sleeping comfortably with it's two companions. The mare was out of sight, which was both a good thing, and an inconvenience. It continued to use it's two abilities and went up a flight of stairs that was nearby. It went under another door and found the missing mare asleep with it's bunny companion asleep in a custom made house nearby.
The faceless pony returned downstairs and dismissed it's shadow ability, now standing next to and staring at it's first target. It released one of its appendages from its back and wrapped it around the little pegasus's head until it was completely covering everything except the mouth and nostrils. Wouldn't want the little thing to suffocate now would we?
The appendage started glowing a creepy deep purple. Small flashes of light went through the appendage and into the faceless pony's body. Said pony was convulsing ever so slightly. The filly, on the other hoof, was trying to roll around in her sleep, emitting pitiful muttering of 'No' and 'Need to get away'. This continued on for the entire night. When the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, the appendage retracted back into the faceless pony. Who also became invisible again and returned to the Everfree Forest. Satisfied. For now...
{~Third-Pony Point-of-View~}
Scootaloo woke up with a frightened yelp and looked around rapidly. She calmed down slightly when she realized where she was. She gave a sigh of relief and looked out the nearby window and saw the sun having barely risen in the sky. She groaned and muttered, “Worst. Dream. Ever.”
She got up and stretched. She saw her two friends, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom, still sleeping quite soundly, content smiles on their faces. Scootaloo smiled lightly at the sight and yawned. She smacked her lips together a couple times and felt her stomach rumble. She blushed lightly despite that fact that she was the only one awake at the moment. She decided to wait until Fluttershy woke up to ask for breakfast. She quietly walked outside and into the front yard of Fluttershy's Cottage, remembering to shut the door behind her. She sighed again as she felt the warm rays of the sun hitting her feathers and fur, dispelling away the morning dew and coldness of the previous night. She gazed around her field of vision aimlessly, moving her head from left to right.
Scootaloo thought she saw something just on the border of Everfree Forest. A pony. A really tall pony. A really tall pony wearing a suit and had no face. She rubbed her eyes and saw that it was gone. She stared at where it was for few more seconds before shrugging and returning to pointless looking.
A few minutes later the door opened and Fluttershy came outside, with Angel rubbing his right eye and yawning, following close behind.
“Good morning, Scootaloo.” Fluttershy greeted warmly.
“Morning Fluttershy.” Scootaloo greeted back.
Angel gave a brief salute to the filly and put a carrot in his mouth seemingly from nowhere and held it there like a cigar. The bunny then walked off to one of the nearby holes. He whistled and a few seconds later a light turned on in the hole. A female bunny came outside with a grumpy expression on her face. Angle raised his eyebrows a couple times and the female bunny slapped him, took the carrot from his mouth, and went back inside her home. The light turned off and snoring could soon be heard from inside. Angel stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face then suddenly bowed his head in defeat. His sulked back to the two ponies and climbed onto Fluttershy's back and crossed his arms. Fluttershy giggled despite her friend's rejection.
“Oh Angel,” Fluttershy said, “When will you learn that that's not how you're supposed to treat the female bunnies?”
Scootaloo just smiled a little and shook her head at the bunny's misfortune. Scootaloo turned to Fluttershy, who was currently waking up some of the animals, and asked, “Hey Fluttershy. Do you know of anypony else that could live in Everfree Forest?”
Fluttershy stopped what she was doing and turned to Scootaloo, and asked, “Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”
“It's just that I could've sworn that I saw a really tall pony wearing a suit at the border of Everfree Forest.” Scooaloo replied, not noticing Fluttershy freezing in her tracks.
Fluttershy managed to say, “Wa-was there anything else that you noticed about the pony?”
“Well I don't know if I was just seeing things, but it looked like the pony didn't have a face.”
Fluttershy visibly paled at that and stammered her words. “Are-are you sure about that, Scootaloo?”
“Like I said, it just looked that way to me.” Scootaloo turned her head and looked at Fluttershy, who was cowering on the ground. “Fluttershy, is something the matter?”
Fluttershy gulped and said, “N-no everything's fine. Just fine.”
Scootaloo stared at her for a few more seconds and shrugged it off as Fluttershy being cautious. She decided to change the subject and asked, “So what's for breakfast?”
Scootaloo swore that she heard Angel face-hoof. Fluttershy gave a small sigh of relief and said, “I was thinking of making some small sandwiches before I take you three home. If that okay with you I mean...”
Scootaloo nodded and said, “Yea that'll be fine. I'll go wake up the Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom.”
Scootaloo didn't hear Fluttershy's comment as she went back inside. Fluttershy watched the receding form of the filly and muttered under her breath, “He has awoken.”
Then just as quickly as she could manage, she went back to work on waking up her early rising animal friends. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was currently trying to wake up her two friends.
Apple Bloom yawned and said, “I told you that trying to get a Stay Up All Night Cutie Mark was a bad idea.”
She sent a small glare to Sweetie Bell, who gave an apologetic smile in return. Sweetie Bell turned to Scootaloo and said, “And you look worse for wear, Scoots. You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I think I did.” Was Scootaloo's reply.
The three fillies just sat there in silence before all of them yelled at the time, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS YEAH!!!”
They all ran outside talking to each other excitedly. Scootaloo gave them the details of what she thought she saw. Sweetie Bell was writing taking notes on a pad that she pulled out of nowhere. Apple Bloom was looking as far as she could into Everfree Forest. Little to their knowledge, Fluttershy was keeping a close eye on all of them.
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Tell me what you think! First try at a creepypasta, so go easy on me!
This has been MrDenim
Random Quote of the Day: Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television. - David Letterman
Random Questions of the Day: How comparable would you say this is to the other Slender Mane fics out there?
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The Slender Mane of Everfree Forest
Chapter 2: A Fainted Friend with a Nightmarish Experience
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. I also do not own Slender Mane, or Slender Man, and credit to those that made them, because I do not know who you are.
Side Note: Took a lot longer to get this chapter going because I needed to get in the mindset of Slender Mane to get a decent idea of what he would do next... So... yeah :/ Here's the next chapter!
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Chapter 2: A Fainted Friend with a Nightmarish Experience
{~Location: Everfree Forest~Two miles in~}
{~Time: 0830 hours Military Time~8:30 a.m. Civilian Time~}
{~Date: Morning~4 days after Nightmare Night~}
{~CMC~}
“Are you sure that we're heading the right way to Zecora's?” Sweetie Bell asked, rotating a map while levitating it in front of her, squinting her eyes against the darkness.
“Ah'm certain that we are, Sweetie Bell. Ah found my way to her hut by myself, 'member?” Apple Bloom stated, not looking back.
Scootaloo didn't say anything. She just couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. She looked into the forest that surrounded her and her friends, seeing nothing but the eerie blackness swallow the trees like a hungry maw. She jumped at the sound of twig snapping somewhere in the distance. She couldn't explain it, she wasn't normally this scared of being in the forest, but something was making her more nervous of being in the lightly explored area. Scootaloo looked at her friends still talking, but for some strange reason she couldn't here what they were saying. There wasn't any wind or animal cries that could drown out the sound.
As she was trying to overcome her sudden fear, she thought she saw something out the corner of her eye. She quickly looked in that direction and saw nothing. She heard the sound of something moving through the leaves behind her. The silence had turned into the sounds of muffled voices that had stopped abruptly. She turned to her friends and saw them a few feet ahead of her, giving off looks of confusion and slight concern.
Sweetie Bell took a few steps forward and, still muffled, asked, “Scoot, are you okay?”
Scootaloo shook her head to try and stop the muffling. All the while the presence of something behind her ever increased her fear. Scootaloo asked, with the smallest of voice cracks, “Sweetie Bell, is there something behind me?”
Sweetie Bell gave her a look a confusion, yet leaned upwards a little bit to see over her friend's head. Sweetie Bell got back down to her proper height and shook her head.
The presence was still there.
Scootaloo gulped at that and slowly turned around... She saw the hooves of somepony in a black suit standing a mere six feet away. Her head slowly moved upwards and she saw the head of the pony, and saw no face. Only a slight discoloration that was in the shape of a blank frown was existent on the face. She was frozen in terror and was unable to move as the faceless pony took two steps forward, already covering the distance between them. It's limbs shrunk until It was her height. A single black tendril came from It's back and caressed Scootaloo's cheek like a special somepony would do. The tendril of shadow retreated back into the pony's back and It leaned forward until It's head was right next to her's. It whispered something silent and It quietly took a few steps back and stretched It's limbs until they were the same length as before. It suddenly disappeared and left nothing behind as though It was never there.
Scootaloo stared at the place where the pony disappeared as what It said was moving throughout her mind.
The Operator wishes you luck...
It was echoing through her mind like a bat's sonar. She did the only sensible thing she could do: She fainted.
As her two friends rushed to her side, the faceless pony was moving towards Ponyville, more specifically, the medical center.
{~Change of Setting: Medical Center room 203~}
{~Change of Time: 2330 hours Military Time~11:30 p.m. Civilian Time~}
{~Point-of-View: Third Pony~}
Nurse Redheart quietly closed the door to Room 203. She took a small breath and turned around to see Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. All of them had looks of deep concern. She took another small breath and said, “She's stable.”
They all gave a sigh of relief. Redheart said, “According to our analysis, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her physically. Sweetie Bell, can you tell me again what happened before she fainted?”
Sweetie Bell nodded and said, “Well, we were walking along inside the Everfree Forest. She was acting far from normal. She was jumpy, nervous, and outright scared. She's never shown that before. Something must've scared her enough to show it. At one point she stopped and asked me if there was something behind her. I looked over her head and saw nothing. I shook my head and she turned around and moved her head upwards. She stood like that for a few minutes before she fainted.”
Nurse Redheart rubbed a hoof under her chin. Rainbow Dash had look of concern. Fluttershy was silent as always, but she had her gaze on the door. She had, almost, a quizzical look on her face. She then gave off a small smile and remained silent. She saw the smallest of specks of black glide under the door and into the room. Fluttershy thought nothing of it and returned to the conversation.
“I suggest that we keep a close eye on her. If she's seeing things that aren't really there, that can be point of concern.” Nurse Redheart said, “I've got a friend that deals with the Psyche of fillies. I'll give him a call and make an appointment.”
Fluttershy asked, “Shouldn't we wait and see if these events continue before we make a decision like that?” She lowered herself to the ground and mumbled, “I mean, if that sounds reasonable to you...”
Sweetie Bell said, “I agree with Fluttershy. I think that we're thinking too drastically.”
Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom agreed as well. Nurse Redheart sighed and said, “Alright, I give her a week. But if she shows no signs of improving I'm calling him.”
They all nodded. Everypony walked back to the entrance, Fluttershy stayed back, muttering something about going to the little mare's room. Nopony seemed to notice, so she walked down the hall in the opposite direction they were walking and went past Scootaloo's room. She went to the restroom and as she neared Scootaloo's room, she stopped at the entrance and peeked in. With a quick look around and seeing nopony she quietly walking into the room.
She stopped at the foot of the bed, looking at the sleeping form of the orange pegasus. Scootaloo was constantly rolling over in her sleep, trying to get comfortable. Fluttershy either was ignoring or wasn't even aware of the faceless pony that was appearing as though to be watching both of them at once.
Fluttershy smiled and muttered, “You know that you've been asleep for a while.” There was no response and she continued, “I've been worried the whole time that you would be asleep forever. But once I was told that you would be up and kicking soon, I was so happy. I never imagined how soon though.”
She smiled again and said, “Come back to us. More ponies miss you then you think.”
With that she left the room without another word. The faceless pony then walked over to Scootaloo and did as he had done before. A black tendril come out of his back and wrapped around Scootaloo's head, completely covering it except for the nose and mouth. The same hue of purple surrounded the tendril and the same small flashs of light went through the tendril and into the faceless pony. He convulsed again, this time with slightly more erratic spasms. His target was rolling around in a cold sweat, muttering 'No' and 'Need to get away'. A particularly bright flash went into the pony and he convulsed greater than the other times. The heart monitor was going crazy and the sounds of hoof falls could be heard getting louder in the halls. The faceless pony waited until a doctor ran into the room to retract the tendril. With him being slightly satisfied, he left the medical center and went into the Everfree Forest.
{~Three days later~Cheerilee's Class~}
“And class before the final bell I would like to make an announcement.” Cheerilee said happily. She continued when the class was silent. “As you may already know, the Ponyville Talent Show is going to be in three days. Anypony is eligible to enter. You can do it as a group or solo. But, the thing that makes this different is that there will be prize for the top three ponies.”
At the word of 'prize' the classroom was filled with mutterings of what the prize could be. Cheerilee had to raise her voice to get their attention again. Everypony was excited for the talent show, except for one. A certain orange pegasus was currently drawing in class. It wasn't a normal picture by everyponies standards. It showed herself in a forest-y setting, with a tall and skinny pony behind her, tentacles coming out of It's back. She sighed, and put it with the multitude of others that she had drawn in the recent days. She even had a small notebook where she was writing a story of her experiences with the pony that she has come to name, Slender Mane. It was mostly full of nightmares or personal sightings and theories. She even named a pony that she has seen with him as a Proxy. It was a little known term regarding somepony that was authorized to act for somepony else. The Proxy's identity was unknown, as the Proxy wears a mask and completely covered their body. When she heard the final bell ring, she put her notebook in her saddle and left with her two friends.
“So what do you think the prize is goin' to be?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly.
“It's probably something cheesy like a coupon for the local Spa.” Sweetie Bell claimed.
“What do you think, Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked. With no response she said, “Scoots?”
They both looked at their friend to find Scootaloo appearing absent-minded. Sweetie Bell nudged her friend's shoulder and said, “Hey, Scoots. Scoots!”
Scootaloo shook her head and said, “Huh?”
“We were wondering what you think the prize for the talent show is going to be.” Sweetie Bell said.
“Oh uhh...” Scootaloo thought for a moment before saying, “A trip to Canterlot?”
Sweetie Bell started jumping up and down while exclaiming, “Ohh ohh I hope it's that!”
They all laughed and went on their way to the CMC Clubhouse.
~-_-~
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell were fast asleep in the clubhouse. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was wide awake and staring out the window. Without even turning around she said, “You know, if you could do something for me just once.”
Slender Mane, who was currently behind her, didn't respond as she continued, “If I manage to convince them to let me do a performance with somepony else, would you and your Proxy mind joining me for the talent show?”
She turned her head to see Slender Mane tilt his head slightly. They stayed in that position for at least an hour. Slender Mane gave a silent and small nod, then left the clubhouse and went back into the Everfree Forest, giving her a single night of peace. And she enjoyed it with every fiber of her being.
{~Time: 1130 Military Time~11:30 a.m. Civilian Time~}
{~Location: Ponyville~}
{~Date: Two days until the Ponyville Talent Show~}
Scootaloo had managed to convince her friends to let her do it with somepony else. She was currently walking towards the home of the town's D.J.: Vinyl Scratch, or as she's most famously known as, D.J. Pon-3. She stopped at the front door and knocked a few times. After a few seconds, Vinyl answered and said, “Yes? Oh hey, Scootaloo! What brings you here?”
Scootaloo said, “Oh nothing. I was just wondering if you could help me out with something?”
Vinyl gave her a small look of confusion and said, “Uh sure thing, come in.”
She opened the door more and Scootaloo walked inside. She saw the basic furnishings, but a door to her left had a sign on it that said, 'Studio'.
“So,” Vinyl said, “What do you need?”
Scootaloo at her and said, “I was wondering if you help me make some background music for my performance in at the talent show?”
Vinyl smiled at that and shrugged, then said, “Sure why not. Come on, let's get started.”
She went into the studio with Scootaloo following.
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Tell me what you think!
I'm really wanting to move this story along so that I can finish my other two. But don't worry, this story's going to be at least five chapters long.
This has been MrDenim
Random Quote of the Day: "You are WRONG, you ol' brass-breasted fascist poop!" -- Bloom County
Random Question of the Day: What is it about this story that you enjoy?
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The Slender Mane of Everfree Forest
Chapter 3: Talent Show Winning and a Proxy Unmasked
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. I also do not own Slender Mane, or Slender Man, and credit to those that made them, because I do not know who you are.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS EPIC USAGE OF MOVIE REFERENCES, FLEXIBILITY THAT WILL MAKE LYRA JEALOUS, AND EPIC SWORD FIGHTING.
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT ALL OF THE REFERENCES.
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Chapter 3: Talent Show Winning and a Proxy Unmasked
{~Date: Day of the Ponyville Talent Show~}
{~Time: 1500 Military Time~3:00 p.m. Civilian Time~}
{~Location: Ponyville Town Hall~}
{~POV: Third Pony~}
The Talent Show was about to begin. The seating area was packed. She could see Twilight Sparkle and her five friends in the front row. Scootaloo walked up to them, hoping for some last minute comfort.
Rainbow Dash saw her and said, “Hey Scoots! Good luck today!”
The others gave off their own levels of assurance. Suddenly, Angel ran up to Fluttershy and started chattering in his tongue. Fluttershy gave off a look of worry and she said, “I've got to go. One of the younger Blue Jays fell on his wing when he was trying to fly. It might be broken.”
They all gave her a nod and she ran off with Angel hanging on for dear life on her back. The lights started to dim and Scootaloo said, “I've got to get backstage guys. See you after the show.”
She ran backstage in time to see the first performance: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon acting over-dramatic as usual. They were performing an act from one of William Trottingspear's famous plays. It wasn't very good. When it was over, they got very few hoof stomps. The only ones that cheered were their parents. When they were off stage, Snips and Snails went on stage and tried to act out a scene from a book. It was even worse than the previous one.
As they left the stage, Lyra went on stage and danced on her hind legs to a catchy song. During Lyra's performance, Scootaloo got dressed in her outfit: A simple red cape and a belt that held a real steel short sword. She heard hoof steps behind her and she saw Slender Mane's Proxy walking towards her in their usual garb of a mask and black robes covering their body. The only difference was that they too, had a real steel short sword inside it's sheath connected to a belt. They nodded to each other. A temporary truce, one that neither of them rather liked. They had almost managed to kill the other a couple times.
A few minutes later, Slender Mane himself showed up, everypony there stared at him. He was in his suit, again. It was nearing the end of the Talent Show when the mayor gave them their cue. They nodded and Scootaloo and Slender Mane got into their positions: Scootaloo in middle center stage, Slender Mane in middle right. The Proxy was off stage, for now.
{~Play Slender Mane (Instrumental) (Nightmare's Remix) It can be found in my favorites on my YouTube Account~}
When the music that Scootaloo personally made started, the lights on stage dimmed to where Scootaloo and Slender Mane were the focus.
Scootaloo took a breath and said, in a rebellious voice, “I've done what you asked for over a year, Operator. Why can't you tell them I work for you?”
Slender Mane was silent for moment. But he said in a whisper and echoic voice, “Because we, do not exist. ”
Scootaloo was silent for moment before she sighed and whispered, “So be it.”
She drew her short sword with her tail and charged at him. The Proxy, seeing their cue, charged in with their sword drawn and blocked Scootaloo's sword from hitting Slender Mane. Scootaloo smiled and said, “I was wondering when this day would come.”
She back flipped through the air and landed a few feet away. The Proxy charged at her and unleashed a series of blows. Most of which Scootaloo dodged or parried. One managed to graze her shoulder. The Proxy thrusted forward with the hilt of their sword, driving it against Scootaloo's stomach, launching her back to the front left stage. Scootaloo quickly got up and threw a bunch of slashes and stabs at the Proxy, all of which they blocked. They gave Scootaloo an uppercut, lifting her a few feet in the air, and put their sword to where Scootaloo would be impaled by it when she fell. Slender Mane just stood there and watched it happen.
Scootaloo rotated while in mid-air and swiped away the Proxy's sword. Scootaloo rolled to the side to avoid a stomp to the face. She stood up and stabbed at the Proxy's chest, which they dodged and actually spoke for once. But their voice was really distorted.
“Tell me something... Have you ever taken a sword through the chest?”
“No.” Scootaloo replied.
“It's about time you find out how it feels.”
The Proxy growled and ran forward. Scootaloo managed to nearly dodge it and she landed on her front hooves. Still on her front hooves, she spun around with the sword going everywhere. She did a back flip with the sword going outwards to block a strike from the Proxy. She landed on her hooves several feet away, breathing heavily. They both saw this and used their final cue. They ran towards each other, swords outstretched, towards the other. They swiped at each other as they neared and stayed still, facing away from each other a few feet away. After a minute they both fell to the ground, pretending to be dead.
Slender Mane stretched out his limbs and brought them to the middle center stage. With the same voice he said, “Such a shame, that these two Agents should have ended their lives so prematurely. They had so much... potential. ”
Without another word, Slender Mane enveloped all three of them in his Shadow ability and went off stage. The lights brightened and the whole crowd gave them a cheer and hoof stomps. The mayor went on stage, avoiding a very realistic puddle of blood.
“Well, I think it's very clear who the winner is. Scootaloo and your group, come on stage.” Mayor Mare said.
Only Scootaloo came on stage. Mayor Mare asked, “Uh Scootaloo, where are your two friends?”
Scootaloo said, “They had to catch an early train ride to Trottingham. They only had time to help me out.”
“Shame. Well I guess that you get to take home the blue ribbon. And an all expense paid luxury treatment courtesy of Aloe & Lotus's Spa Resort!”
There were more cheers from the crowd as Scootaloo walked backstage. When she was backstage, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell ran towards her and congratulated her on the performance.
“That was totally wicked!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.
Sweetie Bell nodded and said, “I agree. If only our performance was that good!”
They had tried to do a duet, it didn't end well.
6~~~~~~~~~~9
{~Time: 8:00 p.m.~}
{~Location: Edge of Everfree Forest. Near Fluttershy's Cottage~}
Scootaloo was pacing back and forth silently near the edge of the forest, muttering to herself. The sudden strong wind buffeted her against her face, causing her to stop and move it. As she was doing so, she saw the Proxy sitting in front of her, appearing from nowhere. The Proxy took a few steps towards Scootaloo, who did the same.
“You know Slender Mane won't like it if he sees you trying to kill me, again .” Scootaloo deadpanned.
The Proxy said nothing. Scootaloo scoffed and muttered something under her breath. She turned and started to walk into the forest when she heard the Proxy say, “You really have no idea. Do you?”
Scootaloo stopped and asked, “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you have no idea who I really am. I'm surprised that you haven't seen the signs I've quite clearly made.”
Scootaloo shook her head in confusion and said, “I have no idea what you're talking about.”
The Proxy rubbed their temple and said, quite angrily, “Think, Scootaloo think! Who do you think was there since the very beginning, before we even met? The forest!”
The twig snapping and the thing that I saw at the corner of my vision!
“The Hospital!”
The pony that was talking to me!
“The fact that the proper music files was in Vinyl's home!”
She's right!
“The Talent Show!”
Scootaloo remembered something... something important. She gazed out at the crowd as they were cheering. She looked the front row to see one of the seats empty.
Scootaloo growled and leaped onto the Proxy. With the Proxy pinned down and struggling, Scootaloo was able to tear the mask off, revealing...
“Fluttershy?” Scootaloo exclaimed in disbelief. Fluttershy was smirking and there was determination and fire in her eyes.
Fluttershy threw Scootaloo off of her and said, at a normal noise level, “And so the pieces finally fall into place, eh, Scoots.”
Scootaloo stared at her and said, “But why you?”
Fluttershy paced around Scootaloo as she said, “Oh let's just say that my eyes have been opened for long time now, Scootaloo. And now finally, with both of us here alone, my plan can now come to an ultimatum.”
“And you think that Slender Mane didn't plan for this moment?” Scootaloo asked, with the smallest of smirks on her lips.
“Oh no. He gave me the free will to plan and to act on my own. Quite the pleasure might I add. Shame that you won't live to experience it.” Fluttershy suddenly leaped at her, aiming for her neck.
Scootaloo jumped out of the way and ran into the forest, dodging the trees and foliage as if she's done it her entire life. Fluttershy was right behind her, a knife in her mouth that she got from out of nowhere. They ran through the thick underbrush that the forest was famous for. They dodged past tree trunks and ditches, all the while neither of them gaining or losing an inch over the other. They didn't stop running until Scootaloo rounded a sharp turn and disappeared from Fluttershy's sight. Fluttershy slowed down, her knowledge telling her that it was a dead end. She leaped into the only path out to see Scootaloo covered in cuts, most of them bleeding. She was leaning on her front left hoof rather heavily, signaling that her front right was either sprained or broken. Fluttershy smiled wickedly and closed the distance between them a few feet. She stopped when she heard Scootaloo laughing. The thing that made her stop was that the laugh, wasn't normal.
With a closer look, she saw that Scootaloo's eyes were glowing slightly. Her grin was only adding to the rather sadistic expression that now inhabited her face. Fluttershy growled and asked, “What's so funny?”
Scootaloo laughed again, this one was more distorted and dark, “You really think that Slender Mane would congratulate you for killing me? He picked me out of my friends, not you.”
Fluttershy felt a tinge of fear when she heard other, faint laughing seemingly coming from everywhere around her. She looked around quickly, seeing nothing. Despite her lowered emotions and feelings, that still only crept her out even more. Scootaloo's laugh only got more distorted and started to blend with the other laughing, which was steadily getting louder. Fluttershy's eyes widened in horror when she saw her master appear behind Scootaloo.
Scootaloo spoke again, her voice completely unrecognizable, “Despite what you might think, Fluttershy. You are not Slender Mane's favorite.”
Her eyes glowed a blood red. Fluttershy turned tail and started to run in the opposite direction, but she felt something latch onto her. She felt herself get lifted up into the air and turned around. She saw her master's faceless gaze boring a hole into her mind, her deepest fears getting realized.
She heard Scootaloo again, “Despite what you might think, Fluttershy. You are...”
Fluttershy felt searing pain course through her body. She saw a single bloody tendril belonging to her master stinking out of her stomach. A piece of her small intestine on the tip.
As she was fading she heard Scootaloo's muffled and distorted voice say, “You are... expendable .”
{~~}
Tell me what you think! Sorry Fluttershy fans!
This has been MrDenim.
Random Quote of the Day: "There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn what it is I'll get married again." -- Clint Eastwood
Random Question of the Day: Why do you like my stories so much?
The Slender Mane of Everfree Forest
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, that belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. I also do not own Slender Mane, or Slender Man, and credit to those that made them, because I do not know who you are.
Side Note: Terribly sorry for not updating in so long! With Finals and me working to get enough cash to make my computer less crappy, I've been rather busy. No angry emails?
{~~}
Chapter 4: Conclusion
{~Time: 1300 hours Military Time~1:00 p.m. Civilian Time~}
{~Point-of-View: Third-Pony~}
Scootaloo was found 15 miles in Everfree Forest, bloody, beaten, and breathing. She was taken to the Medical Center in Canterlot. It wasn't until three days later that they found Fluttershy's body. It was in a tree, impaled on one of the branches. The autopsy revealed that her internal organs had been taken out and placed inside plastic baggies, then put back in the exact place they were supposed to be. The doctors and nurses of Canterlot were unable to identify what had gone through her small intestine, as the hole was far enough away from any possible stray sticks or branches. The Royal Guard had closed off Everfree Forest to everypony except the Princesses. Even Zecora wasn't allowed to enter her home.
Both of the Princesses had scoured the entirety of the forest, but their efforts were in vain as they had found no evidence as to what had happened or who had caused it. They had asked the best of the best in all of Equestria to help, but they still had found nothing. They had only one option remaining: to ask the only survivor. They dreaded doing this to a filly that had gone through something like that, but they had no choice.
{~Location: Canterlot Medical Center~}
Princess Celestia knocked lightly on the door. She heard a muffled 'Come in' and she and her sister walked into the room. She saw Scootaloo looking at them with slight surprise before she smiled lightly and laid back down on the bed.
Princess Celestia walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down on her haunches. She sighed and asked, “How are you feeling?”
Scootaloo said, “I'm feeling fine. I'm surprised that the first thing you didn't ask was 'why wasn't I praising you when you came in?' Well, when you go through something like I have, not much will scare or surprise you.”
Scootaloo smiled lightly and tried to sit up, but failed.
Princess Celestia said, “I know that you have been through a traumatic experience recently. Something that nopony should ever to have to go through. But both me and my sister have gone through the entire forest and found no evidence as to what had happened or who had done it. So... what I'm asking of you is for you to tell me, what happened?”
Scootaloo closed her eyes and was silent for a few moments. She opened her eyes and nodded.
She turned towards both of them and said, “Here's what happened...” She coughed and cleared her throat and continued, “I was just sitting at the edge of Everfree forest thinking about how me and my friends did in the talent show.”
She nodded towards the first place ribbon and coupon for a free spa treatment that was laying on the side table next to her bed. Princess Celestia looked at it and smiled then said, “Congratulations.”
Scootaloo said, “Thanks. Anyway, I was thinking about how the talent show went, when suddenly the wind grew heavier for some reason. I was confused because there wasn't any storms scheduled until next week. I went to move my mane from my face. When it was out of my face, Fluttershy was sitting in front of me, as if she appeared from out of nowhere. That alone freaked me out. We had a short conversation and I turned to leave, but I stopped when I realized something. She was talking at a normal conservation level, not her usual one.”
Scootaloo paused and thought for a moment, then continued, “I asked why her voice was louder than normal. She suddenly started muttering wildly trying to come up with an excuse, so I tackled her to get her to snap out of it. She suddenly kicked my off and, growled.”
“Growled?” Celestia asked.
Scootaloo nodded and said, “Yes growled. It wasn't like Pinkie Pie's growls either. It was like an animal's. I started to get scared and ran into the forest. I could hear her chasing me from behind. We ran for a while. I ran into some branches which allowed her catch up to me. She started to...”
Scootaloo started to tear up and her voice started to crack, “She started to beat me. I don't know what had happened to Fluttershy but she was violent. I-I had no choice but to fight back. I kicked her off of me and ran even faster into the forest. I took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead-end. I turned around and saw her standing at my only way out. I walked backwards until I felt the fern walls against my haunches. I closed my eyes... hoping that it would be quick. But I soon heard her screaming and the flap of wings that were much too large for her size. I couldn't help myself but I started to cry for her, hoping that she was safe.”
Scootaloo took a shaky breath and continued, “I opened my eyes and saw nothing in front of me. Except for a single feather from Fluttershy's wing. I took off running back to Ponyville or at least to try and find my way to Zecora's. I heard the sound of wings behind me and I ran faster than before. I ended up in a rather thick part of the forest and I felt what felt like claws against my back. I tripped and they managed to get my hoof. The thing went upward so fast that I felt my carpus break. It carried me up into the air for several meters before it suddenly dropped my into a ditch where I fainted. Then I woke up here.”
Both of the Princess were silent for a few minutes before Princess Celestia said, “Thank you... and I'm sorry for what you had gone through.”
Scootaloo nodded and said, “I'm just happy that I could help.”
Princess Celestia nodded and left with her sister. When they were out the door, Princess Luna asked, “Sister, what does thou think of the filly's story?”
Princess Celestia was silent before she said, “Something doesn't add up.”
“What does thou mean?” Princess Luna asked quizzically.
“Why would she be outside of Ponyville, near the Everfree Forest, as it was getting dark? She said that she was thinking about how she did in the Talent Show, but why there? Why not with her friends?”
“Thou thinks the filly is lying?”
Celestia sighed and said, “Yes. But would she have any reason to lie to us? Unless...”
“Yes, sister?”
“Somepony threatened her to make her lie.”
Luna gave a look of surprise and asked, for once not in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “But why would somepony do that? Why would anypony even have the coldness to harm a filly in the first place?”
Celestia sighed. She looked at the closed door and said, “I don't know, Luna.”
They both started walking down the hall when Celestia said, “I just don't know...”
{~Date: Three weeks after Scootaloo was found.~}
{~Time: 1:30 a.m.~}
{~Location: Room 1403~}
Scootaloo was rolling over in her sleep when the sound woke her up. Her eyes snapped open and she had a blank expression on her face. She got off the bed and winced lightly when her front right hoof hit the tiled floor. She tore off the patient's coveralls and was about to go out the door when she heard the sounds of hoof falls outside her door. She paused next to the door frame in the darkness until she heard silence for a good minute. She quickly and quietly opened the door and went out into the hall. She took a quick look in both directions before running towards the Emergency Exit. She ran around the door and shut it with a rather loud bang! With her heart skipping beats she wasted no time in running down to the first floor.
She paused a second to catch her breath. She slowly opened the door a crack and peaked out, to find a rather muscled stallion nurse with a needle for a cutie-mark. She groaned to herself and opened the door just enough to where she could squeeze through. She leaped under the closest thing, which happened to be a desk. When the door closed she waited until the stallion walked over and opened it to look inside.
She took the chance and ran for the front exit. She ran down the street and into the city. With only the occasional homeless pony the roadways were empty. She ran straight for the road that would take her to Ponyville...
{~Location: Unknown. Accepted to be near the Inner Depths of Everfree Forest.~}
“... So she made her way to Ponyville and eventually into the Everfree Forest where she continued to serve her Master, The Operator.” The mysterious pony finished from where she was hidden in the shadows, making her appearance unrecognizable.
A young brown stallion with a magnifying glass cutie-mark jumped up and asked, “But-but what happened next. Was the Operator ever found? Was Scootaloo ever seen again? Was-”
The unknown pony raised her hoof and the young stallion was silent. The unknown pony asked, “You know how monsters wait until nighttime to come out and 'play'?”
The young stallion gave a look of confusion and said, “Yeah...? Why?”
“Well, some wait until you turn on the lights.” The unknown pony's voice grew distorted and dark.
The pony walked into the light and revealed in older pony with orange fur and a purple mane. The young stallion gasped in fear and tried to run. He was tackled before he could turn around and felt a blade against his neck. He started to hyperventilate as he saw the knife that was on his throat.
Scootaloo grinned an evil grin and her eyes started glowing a blood red. She started whispering to him as she drove the knife deeper into his neck.
“When words fail, actions speak.” She drew a thin line against the stallions neck which started to draw blood.
“When actions fail, eyes speak.” She cut into the line making it bleed even worse.
“When eyes fail, tears speak.” As if on cue, tears began to streak his face as Scootaloo drove the knife half way into the neck, cutting off his supply of oxygen and shredding his vocal cords.
She brought the knife down all the way to the hilt, killing the young stallion.
“When tears fail, Silence speaks...”
{~~}
Tell me what you think!
This has been MrDenim.
Random Quote of the Day: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." -- Karl, as he stepped behind the computer to reboot it, during a FAT.
Random Question of the Day: What did you think of the ending?