“YoU sHaLl FeAr Me
YoU sHaLl Be DrIvEn MaD
YoU cAn’T StOp Me
FoR I aM oNe WiTh EvErYtHiNg”
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter One:
Exploration and Plot
We need to get going Aeron,” Said a light blue mare. “It’s not safe here after dark.”
Aeron was a few steps ahead of her, and he turned back and noticed she looked a little scared. Trotting over to her he grinned and she looked at him, nervously.
“It’ll be ok Star,” Aeron said, confidence in his voice. “I’ve been in the Everfree forest at night, we’ll be out of here soon.”
She nodded and began to trot along the trail, Aeron next to her. Silence filled the air as they went along the trail as the sun set behind them. Just as the sun set, almost instantly, there was sound coming from every direction. Star stopped in her tracks, and looked around, then noticed Aeron had started getting ahead of her and galloped after him.
Panting, she noticed that the trees and vines were clearing up. “Are we close to the edge of the forest, or is that just my imagination?”
Aeron shook his head. “Nah, that’s the edge of the for-” He stopped mid sentence when he saw a stallion near the clearing.
Aeron stopped in his tracks when he saw that the strange stallion had no face, he was wearing a clean business suit with a red tie. The stallion seemed to be looking at him, not moving an inch. Aeron jumped slightly when Star poked him in his side.
“Umm, are you alright,” She said, poking him again. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
Aeron looked from Star back to the clearing, and noticed the stallion was gone. “You didn’t see that?” Aeron asked looking back to her. “That strange stallion that was near that clearing?”
Star shook her head and started toward the clearing, Aeron followed closely behind her. “No, nothing was there...are you sure you’re okay?”
Aeron nodded in return and kept following Star again. A few minutes later they were out of the Everfree forest, and headed towards their house in Ponyville. As they walked through the small town, they saw a few houses with lights on, and a few ponies doing some small chores outside. They arrived at their house, a nice 2 floor home, colored with various shades of brown.
“Home sweet home,” Aeron said, opening and holding the door for Star. “It’s been a long day, I can’t WAIT to hit the hay.” He yawned, closing the door behind her.
As the two ponies headed upstairs and climbed into bed, Aeron rolled over, to look at Star, who was grinning. “You know,” She said, the grin still on her face “I’m glad we met.”
Aeron pulled her close and gave her a kiss, then said “I’m glad we met too, and I’m happy I get to call you my mare-friend.”
She giggled a little and wiggled closer to him. “Good, because I feel the same way,” Then she looked up at Aeron. “We’d better get to sleep.”
Aeron nodded and soon enough they passed out in each others hooves.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aeron looked around at his surroundings, and noticed he was back in the orphanage he had been raised in. ‘Why am I here?’ He thought to himself as he began walking through the room and headed towards the door. Suddenly, he felt the sensation that someone was behind him, he spun around quickly and saw that it was the strange stallion from before, standing still as a board, his face truly did not have any features at all.
“YoU ArE hErE aT lAsT,” The stallion said, his voice echoing in Aeron’s head. “yOu ArE tHe OnE tHaT wIlL LeAd ThE wOrLd InTo MaDnEsS.”
“How are you doing that” Aeron began stepping back a bit, scared. “and what do you mean I’m going to die, and leading the world into darkness, are you crazy?”
The stallion just stared at him “YoU cAn CaLl Me sLeNdeRmAnE, AnD yEs AlL I sAiD iS tRuE”
Aeron shook his head, denying what the stallion said. “No, that’s not true at all, why...hell, HOW would I do that...even IF I were to help you?”
“YoU sHaLl SeE…” Slendermane said, just as everything started to fade.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aeron woke with a start, panting he rolled over to see Star looking at him, concern on her face. “Sorry hun, it was just a bad dream.” He said, letting out a sigh.
Star laid back down, and stared at the ceiling, rays of sunlight danced around as the sun began to rise. Finally she rolled over and faced Aeron, moved close to him, and held him.
“Well, you woke up at a good time anyways,” she whispered “Suns up already, I swear it feels like it should still be nighttime.”
Aeron nodded in agreement as he sat up quietly and got out of bed. “Well, we may as well get the day started.” He moaned as he stretched out, yawning a little.
Star rolled her eyes as she too got out of bed, and walked towards the nearby bathroom. Aeron grinned as he walked downstairs to prepare breakfast, but stopped suddenly when he saw the familiar pale pony standing at the bottom of the stairs. He slowly backed up the stairs, Slenderpony following him with his non-existent eyes. Aeron shook his head in denial ‘He’s not there, its just a hallucination…’ he thought. After a minute or two, he decided to make his way back downstairs to the kitchen. To his surprise the Slenderpony was gone, and everything was normal ‘See, it was just your nerves.’ he thought to himself again, walking into the kitchen and beginning to prepare breakfast.
Soon enough, Star trotted into the kitchen, the smell of pancakes filled the air. “Mmmm, that smells delish!” She happily said, trotting up next to Aeron, and grabbing plates, she began to set the table.
After setting the table, she decided to make some coffee, so she started the coffee machine and sat down waiting for the food to be finished. The smell of coffee and pancakes lingered in the air and filled the kitchen, making Star hungrier than she was.
Aeron walked over to the table, placing a plate full of pancakes in the middle. “Here ya go, fresh made pancakes and some coffee!” he said, filling his cup with coffee, and digging into the fresh pile of pancakes.
Smiling, Star helped herself happily to a cup of coffee and a pancake. “Smells delish,” She said. “so what’s the plan for the day?”
Aeron looked up from his plate, food shoved in his mouth, and swallowed quickly. “Well I have the day off, maybe we can go run some errands today?”
Shaking her head and giggling, she nodded and continued to eat her food. “You are one strange, silly, stallion.”
~~~~~Meanwhile in a secluded cave~~~~~
“He Is StIlL dEnYiNg EvErYtHiNg, BuT nO mAtTeR...He WiLl CoMe ArOuNd SoOn EnOuGh.” Slendermane said, standing before a large circular table surrounded by 3 other stallions, their faces shrouded in shadow.
“GoOd, GoOd… ThAt BoDeS wElL fOr Us,” Began one of the stallions. “We MuSt GaThEr ThE oThErS.”
The stallions face came into view, its eyes sunken deep into his face, surrounded by black paint, his face completely white, but the most prominent feature was his smile, his mouth was wider than normal, stitches held the outer parts closed, it looked as if someone had taken a knife and cut from the corner of his mouth upwards.
“PaTiEnCe,” Began one of the other stallions “He WiLl Be OuRs SoOn EnOuGh KiLlEr.”
The pale faced pony turned his head towards the stallion who had spoken. “ThAt’S JeFf To YoU, YoU UnGrAtEfUl LiTtle-”
“ENOUGH Of YoUr BiCkErInG JeFf...YoU tOo LuCiFeR.”The final stallion said, looking from Jeff to Lucifer.
“ThAnK YoU KrUeGeR,” Slenderpony said, annoyance in his voice. “CaN wE gEt ThIs MeEtInG uNdErWaY?”
Jeff, Lucifer, and Krueger nodded and fell silent as Slendermane began to fill them in on the details of their plan.
~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~
TiCk ToCk, TiCk ToCk
ThE tImE iS dRaWiNg NeAr
Do NoT tRy To UnDeRsTaNd
FoR aLl WiLl SoOn Be ExPlaInEd
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two
Mind Games
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile back in Ponyville
~~~~~~~~~~
Aeron and Star exited the bookshop, their saddlebags full of groceries, some treats, and now books. They then decided to go relax at the town square, and headed that way, meeting a couple of friends of theirs and stopping to chat with them quickly. Once they entered the town square, they found a nice spot under a tree and set their saddlebags down, and sat on a nearby bench.
“Such a nice day, it’s nice that everything is a little back to normal.” Star said, resting her head on Aerons shoulder. He looked down at her, noticing that she had changed her mane-style, which she hardly ever did.
“Ok, what’d you want,” Aeron said, chuckling a little, as Star looked up at him “you only change your mane when you want something...so what is it?”
Star shook her head in denial. “I don’t want anything,” She said, taking her head off of Aerons shoulder “I just wanted to change it up...is that so bad.”
Shaking his head, Aeron put his head on top of Stars and smiled. Ever since she had gotten permission from Aloe and Lotus, to be a mane stylist there, Star was always looking for new styles to try out. ‘I guess that what comes with having a cutie mark like hers, after all she is the best at what she does’ Aeron thought to himself. He snapped back into reality when he heard Star talking to someone.
“Oh hey there Twilight,” She said, as Twilight sat next to her on the bench “How has the Library been holding up?”
Twilight shrugged, letting out a giggle as she noticed Aaron's head on top of Stars. He smiled dreamily, as he moved back from Star. “It’s been ok I guess, got a couple of new books in from Canterlot, so Spikes been organizing those,” She paused for a second “I had a question for you Star...would you mind if i set up an appointment to get my mane done?”
Aeron and Star looked at each other surprised, Twilight was usually so toned down, plain, and strict. ‘I wonder what she wants her mane done for...no matter I guess...maybe she just wants to change things up’ Star thought, turning back to Twilight, who looked a little embarrassed to be asking such a thing.
“Sure thing Twilight, I have a pretty open schedule this week,” Star said, trying to hide the shock in her voice “I believe all I have set up is Rarity, and Diamond Tiara on Thursday, so maybe i can get you in tomorrow?”
Twilight’s eyes lit up at the answer, then quickly disappeared as she caught herself. ‘Don’t get too worked up you idiot...just because you’re falling for somepony doesn’t mean get your hopes up’ she thought, nodding in agreement when Star had told her she could see her Wednesday.
“Thanks again Star,” Twilight said, starting off towards the library “I’ll see you then!”
Aeron and Star watched as she trotted off, as Aeron watched Twilight he suddenly saw her walk through, not past, but THROUGH, that same pony he had seen in his dream. Slendermane just stood there, watching, and waiting. He didn’t move a muscle, just stared directly at Aeron.
“ThE tImE iS AlMoSt HeRe…” Slendermane said inside Aeron’s head. Then he turned to leave, several ponies walking through the suited pony.
“What do you mean…” Aeron said “I won’t help you, I ALREADY SAID THAT!” several nearby ponies and fillies jumped when Aeron yelled.
Regaining his composure, Aeron blinked and looked at where the faceless pony had been, and saw that he was gone. ‘What’s going on...he was there!’ he thought to himself, looking around for Slendermane, only to find him nowhere in sight.
Star and Twilight in the meantime were looking at Aeron, confusion showing on their face. “Umm Aeron,” Twilight began to say, nervously “what exactly is wrong, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Star nodded in agreement, and walked over to comfort Aeron. He sat on the bench, confused and slightly scared. When Twilight asked if he was ok, he replied. “You mean you did-didn’t see it...that faceless pony in the business suit?”
He felt Star sit next to him and place her head on his shoulder. He looked from Twilight to Star as they both shook their head. He nodded, completely aware of how crazy he must sound, then he let out a sigh and leaned back against the bench.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I saw something or someone...I don’t know what to call it, but it wants something from me.” He groaned, looking down at the ground.
Twilight looked at Aeron, and simply replied. “Just know that you're not crazy, and even if everypony thinks you are, just remind yourself that even the most intelligent people are.”
Aeron looked at Twilight, confusion and wonder on his face. It took him a few seconds to realize what she meant, but as he went to reply, he saw that she had trotted off. Star poked him in the side, making him jump and giggle a little. She smiled when he reacted like that, and poked him again. ‘I love how easily distracted he gets, it makes cheering him up so much easier...but still...if he’s seeing things...I hope he can manage to figure out what’s going on...I’ll try my best to help!’ she thought as she poked him a third time, and causing him to hop off the bench, trying to escape the poking that she was giving him.
“We better drop off the groceries and whatnot at the house, because we still need to get to Canterlot to see your parents,” Said Aeron, giggling as he trotted over to the packs they left by the tree. He put his on his back easily, and carried Stars over to her, and he placed it on her back.
As they made their way back to their house, Aeron kept an eye out for the slendermane. Star noticed that he was cautiously looking from side to side, and she poked him again. “What are you looking for you goofball...you were just seeing things, it doesn’t mean they were bad.”
Aeron just continued to check the surroundings, and gave up a few seconds later. “Maybe you're right Star,” Sighed Aeron, as he walked up the porch and opened the door. “It’s probably nothing but my mind playing tricks on me.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Slendermane walked into the room, noticing he was the first one there. ‘ThEy ShOuLd Be HeRe By NoW...FiGuReS tHaT ThEy WoUlD bE lAtE.’. He thought to himself, standing in his usual spot at the table, and waiting for the others to arrive.
Ten or so minutes later Krueger, Killer, and Lucifer arrived quietly taking their respective places at the table. Looking from one another, Slendermane looked from left to right, at all three of his accomplices.
“It’S AbOuT tImE,” He sighed “He DoEsN’t BeLiEvE sTiLl...We MuSt BeGiN tHe PlAn.”
Killer cocked his head, an idea forming in his head, and after a few seconds, his ears perked up. “I’vE gOt It, To GeT hIm To UnDeRsTaNd...LeT’s StRiKe ThOse WhO hE hOlDs DeAr!”
Slendermane, Krueger, and Lucifer all looked at Killer, amazement on their face. Killer looked at all three of them, noticing the amazement on their face. ‘I kNeW iT...tHeY tHiNk It’S a StUpId PlAn.’. He thought to himself, shrugging a little as realization struck him.
Then suddenly Krueger spoke up. “WhO dO yOu HaVe In MiNd?” nodding his head approving of Killers plan.
“YeS, WhO?” Both Slendermane and Lucifer said, also nodding in agreement.
Killer grinned a little, his ego slightly inflating due to all the acceptance of his idea. “WeLl...ThIs Is WhAt I hAd In MiNd.” He replied, then he pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began filling his cohorts in on his plan.
~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~
