Eyes Wide Closedby Quillian InkheartChaptersIntermission: ⓍMemory #1Entry #1Memory #2Intermission: ⓍThe video camera sputters to life, the images heavily distorted. Colors invert, time skips and static dances over the screen like snow. A little Pegasus filly with an orange coat and sleepless, haunted eyes sits at an unadorned table, right at the center of the viewfinder. On the table in front of her sits a knife. She gives jerks every now and again in the fragmented skips of the recording. On the wall behind her rests a particularly terrifying array of drawings, scribbled with by fear-maddened hooves; things best left unseen. Eyeless faces and faceless figures stare at her back from the white, unyielding paper. Messages silently roar for her to run, to hide, that it is always right there, that it will always find her. For several whole minutes, the filly simply stares down at the knife. Slowly, she lifts her head. "You kn-w," the recorder skips, fragmenting her words between two frames. "Hard as it's to believe, there was a time when I could sm-le and really truly mean it." Briefly the distortion flashes, showing a quick image of the filly wailing in agony, holding her head. In an instant, it's replaced by her somber, emotionless stare. "I was always with my f-iends, always h-ppy, never alone. Now, I don't think anypony even knows I'm a-ive." She was weeping now, shaking her head. A shadow darts over her, though she doesn't seem to notice. "I can't remember any of it. Not a single thing, not even my name. Sometimes I get little flashes, but... everything I am is on these tapes now." She shifts her hoof, nudging the knife this way and that. "One thing I do remember is that we shouldn't have messed around w-th this. It's not from here and it was never meant to be here. We did this to ourselves, you know. We did t-is to ourselves..." She lowers her face into her hooves, crying uncontrollably, until a distortion wracks the screen. After, she is staring at the camera blankly again. The camera marked a two-minute passage of time. "I'm leaving this behind because it's all I have left, a me-ory of me that hopefully nop-ny will ever see. Please, don't look for me. If I'm alive, I'd rather be lost than let anypony else suffer. If I'm gone, then leave me where I am and never look back. It's not worth it. Maybe, if I die, it'll stop. Maybe-" - a horrible distortion wracks the screen - "-stop taking them. M-ybe. Maybe." She is silent again, staring at the knife. She takes a deep breath, there is a burst of distortion, and when it calms the knife has vanished. The clock at the bottom of the screen shows that five minutes has passed. "I can feel it, right now-" her voice is cut out by screaming static, like a foal's crying, played backwards. She puts a hoof on her head, her eyes gaining an immensely haunted look. The noise ends."-hear that voice. That awful voice! I need to. Before it finds me. Before it happens again." The filly lowers her hoof just as the shadow of a pony, seeming impossibly tall, stretches across the wall behind her. The shadow reaching out towards her, as if to grab her. However, the shadow doesn't pass over her, but continues on behind her, impossibly. The camera flashes with sudden static and the shadow is gone. Instead, the filly's hoof is raised, holding the knife to her own throat. A bead of blood gathers at the point, sending a line of crimson down the blade. "If you find t-is, please stop-" There is another fit of static and the image flashes very briefly to a picture of the woods. Between the trees stands a ghostly-white pony, wearing a black outfit. It is too far away to make anything else out. "-never -appens again." The filly is crying uncontrollably as the video flicks back, blood oozing down the knife. "Celestia, please have mercy on me." She crams her eyes shut, the pushing the knife in deeper. "No!" The voice didn't belong to the filly, but it clearly belonged to a much older pony. There is a smashing sound, like splintering wood and the filly jerks the knife away, turning towards the voice and holding the knife in front of her, as if to defend herself. Distortion shreds the audio, making almost every word fragment. "D-n't you da-e! No -riend of mine-" The face of the filly slowly grows more and more terrified, her whole body shaking in fear. "-hers. So put the kni-e down and lets go ho-e!" "You... I k-ow you! No. No, you c-n't be here! Please, if t-e camera sees y-" Another image dominates the screen amid a brief distortion; the words "HA HA" written in the same maddened style as the drawings on the wall. "-n't be a-ound me! It -omes! Run! Run aw-" The distortion grows worse, worse than ever before. Visual elements break down and the audio becomes a cacophony of screeches and howls; the voices of the eternally damned, crying out from Tartarus. The shadow returns to the wall, standing head and shoulders over the filly, seeming to stare down at her. There is no sounds, but the fillies eyes suddenly go wide in unnameable horror. The shadow darts to the right, behind her, and she spins suddenly, throwing the knife at something off the screen. She screams silently, the audio completely gone now thanks to the intense distortion. Tears poured down her face and she backed away. Before she could take more than one step, she is ripped downwards, as if her legs were torn out from under her. The distortion vanishes with her. The screen is still for several seconds, but the sound of terrified, labored breathing could very clearly be heard. From the left side of the table, a Pegasus steps into the scene, her rainbow mane a frazzled mess. She was trembling all over, staring blankly at the place the filly had just stood, as if stupefied. She turns, spotting the camera, and tears start to roll down her face. "No... No no no..." She leans over the table, staring at something behind the camera. When she leans back, she's openly weeping. "Oh, dear sweet Celestia... What have I done..." Memory #1"It's been three days, Applejack. I'm not leaving them out there!" Rainbow Dash turned to stare her friend down. She knew Applejack was just as worried as she was; after all, Applebloom was missing, as well as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. But she couldn't believe she was hearing this. "Look, we've been at it non-stop now, Rainbow. We looked all over the place, from Ghastly Gorge to Saddle Lake and everythin' in between. We ain't seen hide-nor-hair of em and, as much as I hate to say it, we need to get back to Ponyville and get more ponies." Applejack looked around the forest around them, the foreboding Everfree Forest, so close to home. Yet, right now, it felt like it might as well be miles away. Home just wasn't home without Applebloom there. The dark of the night seemed oppressive and Applejack couldn't help but wonder; was her sister thinking the same thing? "I'm not going back, AJ. I won't even sleep until I find them." Rainbow tried to fly a little higher, but she was unable to. She was exhausted, though she'd never admit it. Between the stress of Scootaloo's disappearance, not being able to find her, and now this, she was being slowly worn down. She felt like, if she gave up - even for a second - she would fail her. "Dear, listen to Applejack." Rarity joined them, walking from some nearby bushes. "We aren't getting anywhere by ourselves. We need help." Even Rarity was disheveled; three days without even a good mirror to tidy herself. Were it for anypony except Sweetie or her friends, she would've given up long ago, at least to take a break and tidy up. "You look dreadful, Rainbow... Please, consider getting some rest." "Zecora?" Rainbow asked with hope, ignoring Rarity's input. Rarity sadly shook her head. "Nothing. She warned me about something though, in her usual, vague way." Rarity sighed, closing her eyes. "Shadows move throughout this land. Something dark is close at hand. That's what she said." This didn't exactly fill the three with confidence. "So you expect me to go back now? After hearing that?" Rainbow shook her head, frowning. "You two are nuts." "No, but we just know we ain't gonna do those three no good, passed out. If they got taken by somepony or somethin', we need to be in tip-top shape to kick some flank and get the girls back." Applejack trotted over to Rarity, but kept her eyes on Rainbow Dash. "We ain't leavin' em, Dash. We just can't do it alone." Rainbow wanted to argue more, but she was just too tired. As the last spark of defiance left her, she sighed, drifting back down to the ground and nodding. "Yeah... yeah, you're right." She didn't say any more as the three started home. Her gloom was contagious and the walk back to Ponyville was a silent one. Nopony wanted to mention the fears that loomed over their heads. It was weeks ago now; when Twilight had returned from the world of Canterlot High, bearing with her a few minor bits of technology from that world. She had hoped to unlock their secrets and better Equestria with the knowledge. However, something or somepony didn't take well to the idea of advanced technology. The very next day, ponies began vanishing, leaving behind no trace, nor any clues as to where they could have gone or what could have happened to them. Paranoia spread over Ponyville and soon, nopony would leave their homes, afraid of becoming the next victim. Finally, things reached a grim climax; the Cutie Mark Crusaders vanished, three days ago. Worse still, a few pieces of Twilight's tech vanished with them - a video recorder, a pile of tapes and a playback machine that went along with them. The Crusaders had taken the devices with hopes of finding their cutie-marks in video making. Twilight had begrudgingly let them take the machines, not able to say no to the fillies' bright eyes and excitability. Nopony could have imagined the repercussions of such a small, innocuous decision. Twilight greeted her three friends as they found their way to the Castle of Friendship the next morning. "Did you find them?" The silence was all the answer she needed. "Don't worry everypony, they'll be fine. With you three looking for them, I know you'll find them." She motioned them further in, but stopped when her friends didn't follow. "That's actually why we're here, Twilight." Applejack took off her hat, fiddling with it nervously. "We've been at it for over three days now, and we ain't found a single clue. It's like they just vanished. We need help, Twilight." Twilight looked between the three, frowning. Sadness battled with the neutrality of her features as she bottled her emotions. "Girls, I... I've been tasked with finding out about all of the missing ponies, not just the Crusaders. They're special to me, but if I singled out looking for them, how would it look to anypony else who lost somepony important? I'm sorry, but I can't look for them specifically, as much as I want to. Have you spoken to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?" "Fluttershy has been locked in her cottage for days now." Rarity spoke up, keeping her eyes downcast. "She's terrified, with ponies vanishing like this. We can't ask this of her, not seeing how afraid she is. I doubt she even knows what happened to Sweetie Belle and the others. It's better that way; she won't feel guilty if she doesn't know. She's always been so good with the Crusaders... We couldn't tell her..." The unicorn trailed off, biting her lip and fighting back tears. As Applejack moved to comfort Rarity, Rainbow Dash picked up where she left off. "And Pinkie Pie is away right now, remember? She's been with her family for a week now, helpin' them around their farm. We're outta options, Twilight." Twilight shifted on her hooves. "No pressure, or anything..." She muttered under her breath. "All right, I can't help directly, but I can share what I've learned with you." Twilight walked further down the hall, the others following. "Nopony saw anything, as far as I can tell. The victims just vanished; some disappeared right in public, in the middle of the day. They'd walk around a corner and just... be gone." Twilight stopped at one of the hall's many doors, opening it to a room filled with clutter. A massive pin-board dominated the far wall, strings leading from one thing to another, linking key events to bits of minutia and back again in a pattern that no one but Twilight would understand. "The vanished ponies had very little in common... Berry Punch, Cheerilee, Vinyl Scratch, and Bon-Bon being a few of them, as well as several foals from the school; Silver Spoon, Pipsqueak, Snips and Snails being the most recent of that category..." Twilight searched through the massive chart, finding one string and following it. Her hoof stopped on a piece from the Foal Free Press. "I started putting things together when I saw this." The article was about Twilight's video recorder. Apparently, the Crusaders brought it to show and tell, causing a big fuss at the school with the amazing technology. Several ponies were recorded by them, all of which had pins attached to their names, leading off to pictures, crossed off with large Xs. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders recorded every foal who vanished, as well as Cheerilee, just days before they all disappeared. When I did my research, they were seen recording each and every pony who vanished over the course of these past few weeks." Twilight looked to her three friends. Rarity looked stunned, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked more angry than anything. "Are you sayin' my sister is the kidnapper, Twilight? 'Cause that's ridiculous." Applejack said, deceptively calm. "No, I'd never accuse them of this. Especially when..." Twilight looked to the corner of the board, a picture of the Crusader's there, each one crossed off. "I'm just as worried about them as you three are, believe me. Those three were a beautiful group of fillies, destined for great things and beautiful friendship. I adored them, you know that." Applejack calmed down instantly, ashamed at her anger. Rainbow Dash nodded to herself, but still looked angry. "So, what are you saying then, Twilight? That somepony was following them, picking the ponies they recorded as targets? That's just as ridiculous." "It is indeed. Why would somepony go through such unusual methods to take their victims? And why take the Crusaders at all, if that's the case? It doesn't make sense." Twilight sighed heavily, shaking her head. "But I can't lie, you three. Ever since the Crusaders vanished, there hasn't been a single disappearance. I'm not accusing them, never that, but it's directly linked to them somehow. I think..." Twilight followed another string, stopping at a picture of her recorder. "I think it might have to do with this." "Your recorder? But darling, how could it be responsible?" Rarity asked, recovering herself from her earlier sorrow. "I don't know yet. But technology like this has never existed in Equestria before. Who knows what it could do here." Twilight bit her lip again and turned back to her friends. "There is one theory I have. I haven't put it up here, because there isn't any supporting evidence, but..." When Twilight didn't immediately continue, Rainbow gave an agitated groan. "Out with it, Twilight! I need to get back out there and find Scootaloo!" Twilight took a deep breath. "It is the idea of creatures with unusual abilities, ones that are too advanced for the world they're born in. Things that are ahead of their time, born with latent abilities that utilize things Equestria hasn't accomplished yet, if that makes sense." Rainbow Dash adopted a confused look, but Rarity nodded. "I see. You're thinking that something, perhaps somepony, is using the technology of the recorder to kidnap these ponies with some kind of magic or ability." Rarity pondered, shaking her head. "But that can't be proven, can it?" "Of course not. Which is why it's just a theory. It's just postulation on the idea of advanced entities. But I know for a fact that the recorder has no special properties of it's own. It's just metal and plastic, applied together in the correct order with electricity to power it. It's nothing special, beyond that. But what if, to something else, it's like a gateway." Twilight looked back to her board, eyes growing distant. "If it is, then this is all my fault. The Crusaders are in trouble, they might already be..." She trailed off, fighting back a fit of tears. One or two still slipped free down her cheek. "All these ponies, gone because I decided Equestria needed something more." Applejack stepped forward, putting a hoof around Twilight. "Listen, Sugarcube, you said yourself, it can't be proven, right? So don't beat yourself up over it. If it didn't do nothin' like this in that other world, how could you know it'd do this here, if it even is doin' it? Don't blame yourself. We need you at the top of your game." Applejack poked Twilight in the chest with a hoof. "Thanks for all the help. We'll get back out there and keep lookin'." Applejack looked Rainbow Dash and Rarity, who nodded their agreement. They'd learned all they could here. "If it helps any, you should go talk to Roseluck. She was the last pony who saw them, from what I've learned." Twilight said, just as her friends turned to leave. Applejack smiled, looking over her shoulder to nod to Twilight. "That's news to us. Thanks, Twi." "Your welcome." Twilight whispered, then turned back to her board, staring at it with a blank, defeated stare. Entry #1THUMP! Sweetie Belle shot up from sleep, panting and sweating. Another nightmare. She pulled herself out of the makeshift bed, looking over at her two friends. She smiled, happy that she could remember their names today. That wasn't always something she could do. She trotted over to where they stockpiled the water, taking a gulp from the bucket. If she ever started to get tired of these difficult living conditions, she only needed to look to the videos, piled in the corner, to realize why they had to live like this. Her and the other Crusaders needed to vanish, along with the thing that was chasing them. It was the only way to keep all the other ponies safe. "Applebloom, Scootaloo, time to get up." Sweetie Belle walked between each of them, giving them a light nudge with her hoof. "Ugh... Five more minutes..." Scootaloo rolled over, grumbling. "Now, Scoots. We need to move camp. Applebloom, help me get her up, will you?" Sweetie Belle looked over to her other friend, blinking. Applebloom was snoring silently into her pillow. Sweetie Belle groaned, pulling their blankets off with a burst of magic. "Get up. If we stay in one place too long, it'll find us." "It'll find us anyway... Sweetie Belle." The delay meant that Scootaloo had to struggle to remember her name. Sweetie Belle felt her chest grow tight with worry. "Just... Let me sleep..." Scootaloo was taking this harder than any of them. Sweetie Belle was always too scared to be depressed and Applebloom was like a pillar of strength, no matter what happened. But her Pegasus friend, for all her boasting, wasn't made of stuff nearly as strong as Applebloom and, unlike Sweetie Belle, fear didn't keep her moving - it dragged her down. Applebloom grumbled, but rolled over. "Scootaloo, it's too early to argue. We ain't stayin' here and we ain't leavin' you behind, so get your orange flank up and lets get this camp movin'." The earth pony pushed herself up, giving a little shake to help wake herself up. She licked her lips, trying to dispel the dryness in her mouth, eventually giving up and going to get a sip of water. "We're gettin' low." She noted, eyeing the bucket speculatively. "I saw." Sweetie Belle sighed, peeking out from the cover of leaves and twigs they'd used to hide their little camp. "You think it's out there?" "It's always out there, Sweetie Belle. The real question is, how long can we keep doing this?" Scootaloo said, still laying where she had slept. She showed no signs of moving, except to curl in a little closer to herself to keep warm. "We're not getting away. It took all those other ponies away and now it's coming for us. It's only a matter of time." "Scootaloo, please get up..." Applebloom moved to Scootaloo's side, nudging her friend to her feet. "We won't let it get us. We'll run to the end of Equestria and back before then." Scootaloo stood reluctantly, but her eyes still had the empty quality they'd gotten on the second day of running; they were distant and baggy from lack of sleep. Worst though, they were bloodshot. On the second day, Scootaloo started claiming that, when she blinked, she saw the monster, staring at her. "Do you think those other ponies ran, Applebloom? How far do you think they got?" She shook her head, looking down. "Not far enough. I'm starting to think there isn't anyplace far enough away. I still see it in my dreams. And Princess Luna doesn't come to help me. She just... isn't there." The other two knew how she felt. They all had nightmares of the creature that was chasing them, but none of them remembered enough about the dreams to place what the monster actually was. Sweetie Belle had the worst nightmares of the group, though Scootaloo was always afraid to go to sleep. When they woke up, all they remembered were trees, lots of trees, which was why they stuck to the forest for cover. It was safer there. "We'll be fine, Scoots." Applebloom walked to Sweetie Belle's side, peering out of the foliage with her. "It's clear. Come on, get our things and get goin'." The three friends went about their tasks; Applebloom carrying the saddlebags of food, Scootaloo carrying folding the blankets, stashing them in her saddlebag along with the tapes and camera, and Sweetie Belle carrying the water with the help of her magic. "Where to now, Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking over to her friend. The three fillies were traversing through the White Tail Woods, hoping to reach the distant west. The further they were from other ponies, the better. The three had been thankful they had tried to be astronomers once. While they couldn't tell the names of all the planets, they had learned how to judge direction from the stars and sun. "Same way we go every day, Belle. West." Applebloom hiked up her bag, slipping out from the cover of the trees. THUMP! This wasn't the first time Sweetie Belle had heard the sound while awake. Nopony else, not even the other Crusaders heard it, but she knew it was real. She knew it meant it was coming for them. "Faster! Don't stop!" "You don't need to tell me twice!" Applebloom rushed alongside her friend, ducking through trees. Scootaloo was right there with them, at least in body. Mentally, however, she was miles away, completely overcome with fear. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had made a point to run on either side of their friend, protecting her in whatever way they could. It wasn't much and when things got bad it didn't help at all, but Scootaloo always appreciated it. THUMP! The sound shook Sweetie Belle's whole body, threatening to make her legs turn to jelly. Yet she kept running, panting and afraid. Applebloom looked all around as she ran, trembling. She was always the first to spot the monster when it came for them; even though she could never remember what she saw. Whenever Sweetie started hearing the noises, she would eventually see the monster. Running in the opposite direction was usually in order, at that point. Applebloom saw a telltale figure among the trees, almost a pony, but not quite. It was just wrong, with too-long forelegs and tendrils lashing to tree branches as it moved. And, yet it didn't move. Applebloom had no idea how to explain that the monster was there, but also wasn't. She just knew, instinctively, that it both could and could not see them. It could and could not take them. She had no idea what any of this actually meant. Scootaloo gave a loud cough, stumbling between the two of them. Both turned, looking in horror as Scootaloo tripped, skidding to a halt. The two other fillies stopped, rushing to their friend. "Scootaloo, get up. Please, we can't stay still." Sweetie Belle was panicked, the sounds getting louder, closer. Applebloom didn't talk, focusing all her attention on their surroundings. She wouldn't let this thing take her friends. "Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle nudged her friend, who rolled a little to look up at her. "Sweetie... Belle..." A black ichor, like blackened blood, was oozing from Scootaloo's mouth. She went to speak, but turned, coughing violently, hacking up a growing pool of the black sludge onto the ground. She screamed in pain after she was done, trying to walk away from the pool of filth. This had never happened before. Sweetie Belle had no idea what to do. She frantically pushed Scootaloo to her feet, trying to get her moving again, but her Pegasus friend simply wasn't able to go any further. Her eyes were glazed over, though the ooze had stopped leaking from her mouth. Instead, a thin line of it leaked from her nose, dripping onto the ground. "It's not like we were doing anything wrong..." Scootaloo swayed slightly as she spoke in a deadpan tone, staring up at the branches above them. "We did it all the time. We just wanted to know who we were." "Scootaloo, now ain't the time for whatever it is your talkin' about! It's out there, somewhere!" Applebloom was growing more afraid of her friend than she was worried for her. "A-and stop talkin'! You're freakin' me out!" "It's not like we unlocked the door. We didn't break it. He just... We saw how to get there, and we were there." She opened her mouth in a silent scream, tilting her head back as far as it could go. "We were just playing pretend... I don't know what happened." "That's it! Sweetie Belle, knock her out!" Applebloom was trembling now, eyes darting all around in untold terror. "B-But Applebloom, she's..." Sweetie trailed off as Scootaloo fell to the side with a thud, like a puppet who's strings had been cut. There was a thin line of blood seeping from one of her ears, but she was still breathing. "Scootaloo..." Sweetie Belle leaned down to her friend, nudging her a few times. "She's out cold." Sweetie Belle lifted her head up, staring to Applebloom. Her friend was still panicked, spinning this way and that, as if they could somehow see everywhere all at once. "It's okay, Applebloom... I don't hear the noises anymore..." Applebloom visibly relaxed, then looked over to Sweetie Belle. "You coulda' told me sooner..." She turned her eyes to Scootaloo, who's face was smeared with that strange black ichor. Applebloom shivered, getting their water bucket and a spare rag. "Come on... Lets clean her off..." "But, we're almost out of water..." Sweetie Belle commented, but obeyed all the same. "Sweetie... If things keep up like this, we won't need water much longer..." Sweetie Belle shivered at Applebloom's emotionless tone, looking up to watch her friend clean Scootaloo's face. She looked like Scootaloo was already gone; like they were just cleaning up her corpse. She felt terror and regret wrench through her body. Why was this happening to them? Memory #2Roseluck was a pony of extremes - everypony in Ponyville knew that. Fear seemed to rule her, along with her friends Lily Valley and Daisy. Despite this, nopony would ever call her anything but predictable. Everypony knew how she would react to any given situation; horror. But when Applejack asked around, it seemed like something had changed. Nopony had seen any of the flower-trio for days now. "Another dead end." Applejack sighed, returning to Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who were looking similarly dejected. "Don't use that word. Do you think Roseluck was taken?" Rarity asked, looking from one friend to another. "That doesn't explain why nopony's seen Daisy or Lily neither. I think somethin' strange is goin' on here." Applejack responded, looking around critically. "When we went to their houses, nopony answered the door. I think it's time we go in and see what we can find." "Woah, are you seriously suggesting we break into somepony's home, Applejack?" Rainbow suddenly animated, smirking. "Because I totally agree. It's the fastest way to get information, and we can apologize to the flower-ponies later. Lets start with Roseluck's place." "One moment, you two." Rarity huffed, frowning. "I am as worried about the Crusaders as either of you, but this might be going a little far..." "Rarity, we're out of options here. Nopony's seen Roseluck and she's the last clue we have. We have to find her." Rainbow landed, her face close to Rarity's. "Either you're with us, or you can trot home and we'll find Sweetie Belle." Rarity stared at Rainbow, shivering slightly, then nodded. "Fine. I won't like it, but I'll play along. I might have a few skills we can put to use." She looked away from Rainbow, motioning with her head. "Roseluck's home is that way. Lets hurry, before I change my mind." Rainbow and Applejack watched, awed, as Rarity picked the lock to Roseluck's home. When they had arrived, finding the door locked had been a big surprise. However, as Rarity had said, she had skills that were proving very useful. "I don't see what the big deal is." Rarity said, after pushing the door open. "It just takes a delicate touch, a keen eye for detail and a little bit of skill, that's all." "It's not the fact that you can do it, it's that you did it at all." Rainbow blinked, giving her head a hard shake to clear it. "Alright, lets get this party started. I say we split up." "Alright. Dash, you take the upstairs. Rarity, you get this floor and I'll check the basement." Applejack trotted inside ahead of the others, looking around. Come to think of it, they'd never seen the inside of Roseluck's home. As far as any of the three knew, only the flower-trio had ever come in here. Applejack stared down the door into the dank cellar, heaving a sigh. She wasn't comfortable, rummaging through a ponies house while they weren't here, but she was getting desperate. Finding the light switch, Applejack illuminated the stairs. However, she hadn't taken even one step before she heard Rainbow Dash shout. "Everypony, get up here!" Applejack flicked the light off, trotting from the door, but leaving it open. She was going to search down there, even if Rainbow had found something worthwhile. Once she was a few steps away, she looked back. Had she just heard something? She stood still, listening in the silence of the empty house. There is was again; a sound like squeaking wood, coming from the basement door. Sweat started to bead on Applejack's head. Somepony was in the basement, walking up the stairs. She stared, the door blocking her view of the doorframe. After a moment, she heard the sound of a hoof clack on the floor. A face leaned around the door; it was wearing a bleached white mask, the eyes crossed off with frantic scribbles of black and twin tears of red depicted rolling down the face. The mouth was a manic grin, twisted by a level of derangement Applejack had only seen in the mentally unstable. She turned, bolting. Fear had gripped her and there was no stopping it. Why was that pony in Roseluck's house? Why was she in her basement? What the hay was going on? Darting around a corner, Applejack slammed into Rarity, the two toppling backwards onto the floor. "Applejack, what are you doing, charging around this house like it's one of your rodeos?" The Unicorn demanded, pushing herself up. "Rarity, there's somepony in the house with us! They were in the basement, wearin' this creepy lookin' mask!" Applejack spouted, eyes wide with terror. Rarity looked the way Applejack had come and trotted over, peering around the corner. "Well, whoever it was, they didn't follow you. Did you see anything else about them?" "Yeah." Applejack shivered all over, recalling that masked face. "Their mane was a kinda yellowish color, though the lightin' was a little weird. I uh... I ran before I saw anythin' else." Rarity looked back to Applejack and smiled. "Don't be embarrassed, darling. I think you did the right thing, running. I would've done the same, if I saw some strange pony climb out of a basement. I was just on my way to go and check on Rainbow. You heard her, yes?" Applejack nodded. "Yeah... If I hadn't, I would'a gone into the basement..." Realizing how close she'd come to an even worse situation gave Applejack another boost of fear and adrenaline. "Well, good thing you didn't..." Rarity leaned back around the corner. "Maybe Rainbow found something we can use to find the girls." The two hurried up the steps, Applejack occasionally shooting looks over her shoulder. She felt like she was being watched now, like that mask was following her, watching her with those crossed out eyes. Rainbow was standing outside of one of the rooms, the door wide open. She looked worried, but that had been her default expression for days now, so it was hard to tell if it was a new or old concern. "What did you find, RD?" Applejack asked, trotting over to her friend. "This." Rainbow motioned into the room. "Whatever it is..." Applejack blinked and looked into the room. The windows were closed tight, letting only thin streams of light into the room. All over the room, every wall, the floor and the ceiling, were covered with strange drawings, notes scribbled in a manic, crazed hoof, spouting messages that made less than no sense. Applejack gaped, trotting into the room, looking at all the drawings and scribbled words. "What... I don't..." She had no idea what to say. This gave her more questions than it did answers. Picking up one of the pages, Applejack examined it more closely. It depicted a forest, a pony standing among the trees. All around were words, like "It's here" and "Tried to run." The picture wasn't finished though; the pony had no face. Applejack lowered that one, picking up another drawing. This one bore the same faceless pony, staring back at Applejack with an eyeless stare. Across it's face were the words "It's coming for us. It wants us back." "Roseluck was nuts..." Rainbow's voice drew Applejack from the picture. The Pegasus was hovering off the ground, studying some pictures on the ceiling. "I mean, why doesn't this pony have a face? That's just weird." Applejack looked back down at the drawing, staring at the unknown figure on the page. She picked up another, staring at it calmly. "Seems to me like we got a clue, girls." Rainbow and Rarity moved to Applejack's side, reading the drawing. All at once, the three shared a moment of fear. The drawing was of the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking into a forest. Scribbled into the white spaces were a flurry of words; "Their fault." "Westward." "It will find them." "It will take them." "Westward? No wonder we didn't find them... The Everfree goes south." Rarity muttered, shaking her head. "Way to state the obvious. Come on, we need to get looking over that way." Rainbow quickly put in, looking anxious to get going. The messages had all three of them spooked, but Rainbow looked the most concerned now. "Now, don't go runnin' off like a foal, Rainbow. We need to find Roseluck and find out what's goin' on here." Applejack lowered the picture down, looking up to her flying friend. "I bet she knows somethin'." "Yeah, well-" A creak echoed through the room, cutting Rainbow Dash's reply short. Three heads snapped to the door, still wide open. The sound had come from the hallway, just outside the door. Rarity cleared her throat quietly. "Applejack, darling... I think your friend might have found us." "Friend? What are you two talking about?" Rainbow asked in a whisper, trying to put on a brave face. Another creak silenced any more conversation. The three stood in absolute silence, staring at the door. "H-Hello? Is anypony there?" The three friends relaxed, instantly recognizing the voice of Daisy. The pony walked into the door frame, freezing when she saw everpony in the room. "W-what are you all doing in here?" Rarity stepped forward, smiling as kindly as she could. "We're very sorry, Daisy, but we heard that Roseluck was the last pony to see the Crusaders and we wanted to-" "Get out." While Rarity had been talking, Daisy's eyes had focused on the drawing in Applejack's hoof. She looked up to the three ponies, who were all shocked by her sudden words. "I said get out. Now." She stepped aside, pointing down the hall with a hoof. "And don't tell anypony about this room. Understand?" "Look Daisy, we aren't leaving until you give us something to help us find the girls!" Rainbow darted in front of the flower pony, staring at her sternly. Daisy met her stare, not withering. It was so unlike her that Rainbow was a surprised enough that she backed off herself. "Get. Out." Daisy emphasized the words with a fresh point of her hoof. "And, if you've got any sense, you'll keep your mouths shut about this. Some things are best left forgotten." The three ponies started down the hall, stopping to look over their shoulder at Daisy again. The mare was just staring into the room now, looking as if nothing else existed. They met nopony else until they were back out on the streets of Ponyville. "Forget about it? Yeah right!" Rainbow threw her hooves up in frustration. "We didn't learn anything!" "No, we know the girls are goin' west. They ain't in the Everfree like we thought. That's somethin'." "Should we tell Twilight about this?" Rarity asked, frowning. "I know what Daisy said, but... If this has something to do with the disappearances, it could help Twilight find the other missing ponies." She looked over to her friends, looking conflicted. "What should we do?" Applejack walked in silence, trying to keep a level head. Something was wrong with Daisy; she wasn't telling them everything, obviously. And that masked figure kept creeping into her mind. Applejack was missing something, something important, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. She ground her teeth, wishing she was as smart as Twilight. "I think it'd be a good idea to tell her. I ain't gonna be responsible for anythin' bad happenin' to another pony, even by keepin' information to myself." "What do you think she meant about forgetting?" Rainbow asked, looking over to Applejack. "I don't know, RD... But I'm aimin' to find out."
Intermission: ⓍThe video camera sputters to life, the images heavily distorted. Colors invert, time skips and static dances over the screen like snow. A little Pegasus filly with an orange coat and sleepless, haunted eyes sits at an unadorned table, right at the center of the viewfinder. On the table in front of her sits a knife. She gives jerks every now and again in the fragmented skips of the recording. On the wall behind her rests a particularly terrifying array of drawings, scribbled with by fear-maddened hooves; things best left unseen. Eyeless faces and faceless figures stare at her back from the white, unyielding paper. Messages silently roar for her to run, to hide, that it is always right there, that it will always find her. For several whole minutes, the filly simply stares down at the knife. Slowly, she lifts her head. "You kn-w," the recorder skips, fragmenting her words between two frames. "Hard as it's to believe, there was a time when I could sm-le and really truly mean it." Briefly the distortion flashes, showing a quick image of the filly wailing in agony, holding her head. In an instant, it's replaced by her somber, emotionless stare. "I was always with my f-iends, always h-ppy, never alone. Now, I don't think anypony even knows I'm a-ive." She was weeping now, shaking her head. A shadow darts over her, though she doesn't seem to notice. "I can't remember any of it. Not a single thing, not even my name. Sometimes I get little flashes, but... everything I am is on these tapes now." She shifts her hoof, nudging the knife this way and that. "One thing I do remember is that we shouldn't have messed around w-th this. It's not from here and it was never meant to be here. We did this to ourselves, you know. We did t-is to ourselves..." She lowers her face into her hooves, crying uncontrollably, until a distortion wracks the screen. After, she is staring at the camera blankly again. The camera marked a two-minute passage of time. "I'm leaving this behind because it's all I have left, a me-ory of me that hopefully nop-ny will ever see. Please, don't look for me. If I'm alive, I'd rather be lost than let anypony else suffer. If I'm gone, then leave me where I am and never look back. It's not worth it. Maybe, if I die, it'll stop. Maybe-" - a horrible distortion wracks the screen - "-stop taking them. M-ybe. Maybe." She is silent again, staring at the knife. She takes a deep breath, there is a burst of distortion, and when it calms the knife has vanished. The clock at the bottom of the screen shows that five minutes has passed. "I can feel it, right now-" her voice is cut out by screaming static, like a foal's crying, played backwards. She puts a hoof on her head, her eyes gaining an immensely haunted look. The noise ends."-hear that voice. That awful voice! I need to. Before it finds me. Before it happens again." The filly lowers her hoof just as the shadow of a pony, seeming impossibly tall, stretches across the wall behind her. The shadow reaching out towards her, as if to grab her. However, the shadow doesn't pass over her, but continues on behind her, impossibly. The camera flashes with sudden static and the shadow is gone. Instead, the filly's hoof is raised, holding the knife to her own throat. A bead of blood gathers at the point, sending a line of crimson down the blade. "If you find t-is, please stop-" There is another fit of static and the image flashes very briefly to a picture of the woods. Between the trees stands a ghostly-white pony, wearing a black outfit. It is too far away to make anything else out. "-never -appens again." The filly is crying uncontrollably as the video flicks back, blood oozing down the knife. "Celestia, please have mercy on me." She crams her eyes shut, the pushing the knife in deeper. "No!" The voice didn't belong to the filly, but it clearly belonged to a much older pony. There is a smashing sound, like splintering wood and the filly jerks the knife away, turning towards the voice and holding the knife in front of her, as if to defend herself. Distortion shreds the audio, making almost every word fragment. "D-n't you da-e! No -riend of mine-" The face of the filly slowly grows more and more terrified, her whole body shaking in fear. "-hers. So put the kni-e down and lets go ho-e!" "You... I k-ow you! No. No, you c-n't be here! Please, if t-e camera sees y-" Another image dominates the screen amid a brief distortion; the words "HA HA" written in the same maddened style as the drawings on the wall. "-n't be a-ound me! It -omes! Run! Run aw-" The distortion grows worse, worse than ever before. Visual elements break down and the audio becomes a cacophony of screeches and howls; the voices of the eternally damned, crying out from Tartarus. The shadow returns to the wall, standing head and shoulders over the filly, seeming to stare down at her. There is no sounds, but the fillies eyes suddenly go wide in unnameable horror. The shadow darts to the right, behind her, and she spins suddenly, throwing the knife at something off the screen. She screams silently, the audio completely gone now thanks to the intense distortion. Tears poured down her face and she backed away. Before she could take more than one step, she is ripped downwards, as if her legs were torn out from under her. The distortion vanishes with her. The screen is still for several seconds, but the sound of terrified, labored breathing could very clearly be heard. From the left side of the table, a Pegasus steps into the scene, her rainbow mane a frazzled mess. She was trembling all over, staring blankly at the place the filly had just stood, as if stupefied. She turns, spotting the camera, and tears start to roll down her face. "No... No no no..." She leans over the table, staring at something behind the camera. When she leans back, she's openly weeping. "Oh, dear sweet Celestia... What have I done..."
Memory #1"It's been three days, Applejack. I'm not leaving them out there!" Rainbow Dash turned to stare her friend down. She knew Applejack was just as worried as she was; after all, Applebloom was missing, as well as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. But she couldn't believe she was hearing this. "Look, we've been at it non-stop now, Rainbow. We looked all over the place, from Ghastly Gorge to Saddle Lake and everythin' in between. We ain't seen hide-nor-hair of em and, as much as I hate to say it, we need to get back to Ponyville and get more ponies." Applejack looked around the forest around them, the foreboding Everfree Forest, so close to home. Yet, right now, it felt like it might as well be miles away. Home just wasn't home without Applebloom there. The dark of the night seemed oppressive and Applejack couldn't help but wonder; was her sister thinking the same thing? "I'm not going back, AJ. I won't even sleep until I find them." Rainbow tried to fly a little higher, but she was unable to. She was exhausted, though she'd never admit it. Between the stress of Scootaloo's disappearance, not being able to find her, and now this, she was being slowly worn down. She felt like, if she gave up - even for a second - she would fail her. "Dear, listen to Applejack." Rarity joined them, walking from some nearby bushes. "We aren't getting anywhere by ourselves. We need help." Even Rarity was disheveled; three days without even a good mirror to tidy herself. Were it for anypony except Sweetie or her friends, she would've given up long ago, at least to take a break and tidy up. "You look dreadful, Rainbow... Please, consider getting some rest." "Zecora?" Rainbow asked with hope, ignoring Rarity's input. Rarity sadly shook her head. "Nothing. She warned me about something though, in her usual, vague way." Rarity sighed, closing her eyes. "Shadows move throughout this land. Something dark is close at hand. That's what she said." This didn't exactly fill the three with confidence. "So you expect me to go back now? After hearing that?" Rainbow shook her head, frowning. "You two are nuts." "No, but we just know we ain't gonna do those three no good, passed out. If they got taken by somepony or somethin', we need to be in tip-top shape to kick some flank and get the girls back." Applejack trotted over to Rarity, but kept her eyes on Rainbow Dash. "We ain't leavin' em, Dash. We just can't do it alone." Rainbow wanted to argue more, but she was just too tired. As the last spark of defiance left her, she sighed, drifting back down to the ground and nodding. "Yeah... yeah, you're right." She didn't say any more as the three started home. Her gloom was contagious and the walk back to Ponyville was a silent one. Nopony wanted to mention the fears that loomed over their heads. It was weeks ago now; when Twilight had returned from the world of Canterlot High, bearing with her a few minor bits of technology from that world. She had hoped to unlock their secrets and better Equestria with the knowledge. However, something or somepony didn't take well to the idea of advanced technology. The very next day, ponies began vanishing, leaving behind no trace, nor any clues as to where they could have gone or what could have happened to them. Paranoia spread over Ponyville and soon, nopony would leave their homes, afraid of becoming the next victim. Finally, things reached a grim climax; the Cutie Mark Crusaders vanished, three days ago. Worse still, a few pieces of Twilight's tech vanished with them - a video recorder, a pile of tapes and a playback machine that went along with them. The Crusaders had taken the devices with hopes of finding their cutie-marks in video making. Twilight had begrudgingly let them take the machines, not able to say no to the fillies' bright eyes and excitability. Nopony could have imagined the repercussions of such a small, innocuous decision. Twilight greeted her three friends as they found their way to the Castle of Friendship the next morning. "Did you find them?" The silence was all the answer she needed. "Don't worry everypony, they'll be fine. With you three looking for them, I know you'll find them." She motioned them further in, but stopped when her friends didn't follow. "That's actually why we're here, Twilight." Applejack took off her hat, fiddling with it nervously. "We've been at it for over three days now, and we ain't found a single clue. It's like they just vanished. We need help, Twilight." Twilight looked between the three, frowning. Sadness battled with the neutrality of her features as she bottled her emotions. "Girls, I... I've been tasked with finding out about all of the missing ponies, not just the Crusaders. They're special to me, but if I singled out looking for them, how would it look to anypony else who lost somepony important? I'm sorry, but I can't look for them specifically, as much as I want to. Have you spoken to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?" "Fluttershy has been locked in her cottage for days now." Rarity spoke up, keeping her eyes downcast. "She's terrified, with ponies vanishing like this. We can't ask this of her, not seeing how afraid she is. I doubt she even knows what happened to Sweetie Belle and the others. It's better that way; she won't feel guilty if she doesn't know. She's always been so good with the Crusaders... We couldn't tell her..." The unicorn trailed off, biting her lip and fighting back tears. As Applejack moved to comfort Rarity, Rainbow Dash picked up where she left off. "And Pinkie Pie is away right now, remember? She's been with her family for a week now, helpin' them around their farm. We're outta options, Twilight." Twilight shifted on her hooves. "No pressure, or anything..." She muttered under her breath. "All right, I can't help directly, but I can share what I've learned with you." Twilight walked further down the hall, the others following. "Nopony saw anything, as far as I can tell. The victims just vanished; some disappeared right in public, in the middle of the day. They'd walk around a corner and just... be gone." Twilight stopped at one of the hall's many doors, opening it to a room filled with clutter. A massive pin-board dominated the far wall, strings leading from one thing to another, linking key events to bits of minutia and back again in a pattern that no one but Twilight would understand. "The vanished ponies had very little in common... Berry Punch, Cheerilee, Vinyl Scratch, and Bon-Bon being a few of them, as well as several foals from the school; Silver Spoon, Pipsqueak, Snips and Snails being the most recent of that category..." Twilight searched through the massive chart, finding one string and following it. Her hoof stopped on a piece from the Foal Free Press. "I started putting things together when I saw this." The article was about Twilight's video recorder. Apparently, the Crusaders brought it to show and tell, causing a big fuss at the school with the amazing technology. Several ponies were recorded by them, all of which had pins attached to their names, leading off to pictures, crossed off with large Xs. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders recorded every foal who vanished, as well as Cheerilee, just days before they all disappeared. When I did my research, they were seen recording each and every pony who vanished over the course of these past few weeks." Twilight looked to her three friends. Rarity looked stunned, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked more angry than anything. "Are you sayin' my sister is the kidnapper, Twilight? 'Cause that's ridiculous." Applejack said, deceptively calm. "No, I'd never accuse them of this. Especially when..." Twilight looked to the corner of the board, a picture of the Crusader's there, each one crossed off. "I'm just as worried about them as you three are, believe me. Those three were a beautiful group of fillies, destined for great things and beautiful friendship. I adored them, you know that." Applejack calmed down instantly, ashamed at her anger. Rainbow Dash nodded to herself, but still looked angry. "So, what are you saying then, Twilight? That somepony was following them, picking the ponies they recorded as targets? That's just as ridiculous." "It is indeed. Why would somepony go through such unusual methods to take their victims? And why take the Crusaders at all, if that's the case? It doesn't make sense." Twilight sighed heavily, shaking her head. "But I can't lie, you three. Ever since the Crusaders vanished, there hasn't been a single disappearance. I'm not accusing them, never that, but it's directly linked to them somehow. I think..." Twilight followed another string, stopping at a picture of her recorder. "I think it might have to do with this." "Your recorder? But darling, how could it be responsible?" Rarity asked, recovering herself from her earlier sorrow. "I don't know yet. But technology like this has never existed in Equestria before. Who knows what it could do here." Twilight bit her lip again and turned back to her friends. "There is one theory I have. I haven't put it up here, because there isn't any supporting evidence, but..." When Twilight didn't immediately continue, Rainbow gave an agitated groan. "Out with it, Twilight! I need to get back out there and find Scootaloo!" Twilight took a deep breath. "It is the idea of creatures with unusual abilities, ones that are too advanced for the world they're born in. Things that are ahead of their time, born with latent abilities that utilize things Equestria hasn't accomplished yet, if that makes sense." Rainbow Dash adopted a confused look, but Rarity nodded. "I see. You're thinking that something, perhaps somepony, is using the technology of the recorder to kidnap these ponies with some kind of magic or ability." Rarity pondered, shaking her head. "But that can't be proven, can it?" "Of course not. Which is why it's just a theory. It's just postulation on the idea of advanced entities. But I know for a fact that the recorder has no special properties of it's own. It's just metal and plastic, applied together in the correct order with electricity to power it. It's nothing special, beyond that. But what if, to something else, it's like a gateway." Twilight looked back to her board, eyes growing distant. "If it is, then this is all my fault. The Crusaders are in trouble, they might already be..." She trailed off, fighting back a fit of tears. One or two still slipped free down her cheek. "All these ponies, gone because I decided Equestria needed something more." Applejack stepped forward, putting a hoof around Twilight. "Listen, Sugarcube, you said yourself, it can't be proven, right? So don't beat yourself up over it. If it didn't do nothin' like this in that other world, how could you know it'd do this here, if it even is doin' it? Don't blame yourself. We need you at the top of your game." Applejack poked Twilight in the chest with a hoof. "Thanks for all the help. We'll get back out there and keep lookin'." Applejack looked Rainbow Dash and Rarity, who nodded their agreement. They'd learned all they could here. "If it helps any, you should go talk to Roseluck. She was the last pony who saw them, from what I've learned." Twilight said, just as her friends turned to leave. Applejack smiled, looking over her shoulder to nod to Twilight. "That's news to us. Thanks, Twi." "Your welcome." Twilight whispered, then turned back to her board, staring at it with a blank, defeated stare.
Entry #1THUMP! Sweetie Belle shot up from sleep, panting and sweating. Another nightmare. She pulled herself out of the makeshift bed, looking over at her two friends. She smiled, happy that she could remember their names today. That wasn't always something she could do. She trotted over to where they stockpiled the water, taking a gulp from the bucket. If she ever started to get tired of these difficult living conditions, she only needed to look to the videos, piled in the corner, to realize why they had to live like this. Her and the other Crusaders needed to vanish, along with the thing that was chasing them. It was the only way to keep all the other ponies safe. "Applebloom, Scootaloo, time to get up." Sweetie Belle walked between each of them, giving them a light nudge with her hoof. "Ugh... Five more minutes..." Scootaloo rolled over, grumbling. "Now, Scoots. We need to move camp. Applebloom, help me get her up, will you?" Sweetie Belle looked over to her other friend, blinking. Applebloom was snoring silently into her pillow. Sweetie Belle groaned, pulling their blankets off with a burst of magic. "Get up. If we stay in one place too long, it'll find us." "It'll find us anyway... Sweetie Belle." The delay meant that Scootaloo had to struggle to remember her name. Sweetie Belle felt her chest grow tight with worry. "Just... Let me sleep..." Scootaloo was taking this harder than any of them. Sweetie Belle was always too scared to be depressed and Applebloom was like a pillar of strength, no matter what happened. But her Pegasus friend, for all her boasting, wasn't made of stuff nearly as strong as Applebloom and, unlike Sweetie Belle, fear didn't keep her moving - it dragged her down. Applebloom grumbled, but rolled over. "Scootaloo, it's too early to argue. We ain't stayin' here and we ain't leavin' you behind, so get your orange flank up and lets get this camp movin'." The earth pony pushed herself up, giving a little shake to help wake herself up. She licked her lips, trying to dispel the dryness in her mouth, eventually giving up and going to get a sip of water. "We're gettin' low." She noted, eyeing the bucket speculatively. "I saw." Sweetie Belle sighed, peeking out from the cover of leaves and twigs they'd used to hide their little camp. "You think it's out there?" "It's always out there, Sweetie Belle. The real question is, how long can we keep doing this?" Scootaloo said, still laying where she had slept. She showed no signs of moving, except to curl in a little closer to herself to keep warm. "We're not getting away. It took all those other ponies away and now it's coming for us. It's only a matter of time." "Scootaloo, please get up..." Applebloom moved to Scootaloo's side, nudging her friend to her feet. "We won't let it get us. We'll run to the end of Equestria and back before then." Scootaloo stood reluctantly, but her eyes still had the empty quality they'd gotten on the second day of running; they were distant and baggy from lack of sleep. Worst though, they were bloodshot. On the second day, Scootaloo started claiming that, when she blinked, she saw the monster, staring at her. "Do you think those other ponies ran, Applebloom? How far do you think they got?" She shook her head, looking down. "Not far enough. I'm starting to think there isn't anyplace far enough away. I still see it in my dreams. And Princess Luna doesn't come to help me. She just... isn't there." The other two knew how she felt. They all had nightmares of the creature that was chasing them, but none of them remembered enough about the dreams to place what the monster actually was. Sweetie Belle had the worst nightmares of the group, though Scootaloo was always afraid to go to sleep. When they woke up, all they remembered were trees, lots of trees, which was why they stuck to the forest for cover. It was safer there. "We'll be fine, Scoots." Applebloom walked to Sweetie Belle's side, peering out of the foliage with her. "It's clear. Come on, get our things and get goin'." The three friends went about their tasks; Applebloom carrying the saddlebags of food, Scootaloo carrying folding the blankets, stashing them in her saddlebag along with the tapes and camera, and Sweetie Belle carrying the water with the help of her magic. "Where to now, Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking over to her friend. The three fillies were traversing through the White Tail Woods, hoping to reach the distant west. The further they were from other ponies, the better. The three had been thankful they had tried to be astronomers once. While they couldn't tell the names of all the planets, they had learned how to judge direction from the stars and sun. "Same way we go every day, Belle. West." Applebloom hiked up her bag, slipping out from the cover of the trees. THUMP! This wasn't the first time Sweetie Belle had heard the sound while awake. Nopony else, not even the other Crusaders heard it, but she knew it was real. She knew it meant it was coming for them. "Faster! Don't stop!" "You don't need to tell me twice!" Applebloom rushed alongside her friend, ducking through trees. Scootaloo was right there with them, at least in body. Mentally, however, she was miles away, completely overcome with fear. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had made a point to run on either side of their friend, protecting her in whatever way they could. It wasn't much and when things got bad it didn't help at all, but Scootaloo always appreciated it. THUMP! The sound shook Sweetie Belle's whole body, threatening to make her legs turn to jelly. Yet she kept running, panting and afraid. Applebloom looked all around as she ran, trembling. She was always the first to spot the monster when it came for them; even though she could never remember what she saw. Whenever Sweetie started hearing the noises, she would eventually see the monster. Running in the opposite direction was usually in order, at that point. Applebloom saw a telltale figure among the trees, almost a pony, but not quite. It was just wrong, with too-long forelegs and tendrils lashing to tree branches as it moved. And, yet it didn't move. Applebloom had no idea how to explain that the monster was there, but also wasn't. She just knew, instinctively, that it both could and could not see them. It could and could not take them. She had no idea what any of this actually meant. Scootaloo gave a loud cough, stumbling between the two of them. Both turned, looking in horror as Scootaloo tripped, skidding to a halt. The two other fillies stopped, rushing to their friend. "Scootaloo, get up. Please, we can't stay still." Sweetie Belle was panicked, the sounds getting louder, closer. Applebloom didn't talk, focusing all her attention on their surroundings. She wouldn't let this thing take her friends. "Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle nudged her friend, who rolled a little to look up at her. "Sweetie... Belle..." A black ichor, like blackened blood, was oozing from Scootaloo's mouth. She went to speak, but turned, coughing violently, hacking up a growing pool of the black sludge onto the ground. She screamed in pain after she was done, trying to walk away from the pool of filth. This had never happened before. Sweetie Belle had no idea what to do. She frantically pushed Scootaloo to her feet, trying to get her moving again, but her Pegasus friend simply wasn't able to go any further. Her eyes were glazed over, though the ooze had stopped leaking from her mouth. Instead, a thin line of it leaked from her nose, dripping onto the ground. "It's not like we were doing anything wrong..." Scootaloo swayed slightly as she spoke in a deadpan tone, staring up at the branches above them. "We did it all the time. We just wanted to know who we were." "Scootaloo, now ain't the time for whatever it is your talkin' about! It's out there, somewhere!" Applebloom was growing more afraid of her friend than she was worried for her. "A-and stop talkin'! You're freakin' me out!" "It's not like we unlocked the door. We didn't break it. He just... We saw how to get there, and we were there." She opened her mouth in a silent scream, tilting her head back as far as it could go. "We were just playing pretend... I don't know what happened." "That's it! Sweetie Belle, knock her out!" Applebloom was trembling now, eyes darting all around in untold terror. "B-But Applebloom, she's..." Sweetie trailed off as Scootaloo fell to the side with a thud, like a puppet who's strings had been cut. There was a thin line of blood seeping from one of her ears, but she was still breathing. "Scootaloo..." Sweetie Belle leaned down to her friend, nudging her a few times. "She's out cold." Sweetie Belle lifted her head up, staring to Applebloom. Her friend was still panicked, spinning this way and that, as if they could somehow see everywhere all at once. "It's okay, Applebloom... I don't hear the noises anymore..." Applebloom visibly relaxed, then looked over to Sweetie Belle. "You coulda' told me sooner..." She turned her eyes to Scootaloo, who's face was smeared with that strange black ichor. Applebloom shivered, getting their water bucket and a spare rag. "Come on... Lets clean her off..." "But, we're almost out of water..." Sweetie Belle commented, but obeyed all the same. "Sweetie... If things keep up like this, we won't need water much longer..." Sweetie Belle shivered at Applebloom's emotionless tone, looking up to watch her friend clean Scootaloo's face. She looked like Scootaloo was already gone; like they were just cleaning up her corpse. She felt terror and regret wrench through her body. Why was this happening to them?
Memory #2Roseluck was a pony of extremes - everypony in Ponyville knew that. Fear seemed to rule her, along with her friends Lily Valley and Daisy. Despite this, nopony would ever call her anything but predictable. Everypony knew how she would react to any given situation; horror. But when Applejack asked around, it seemed like something had changed. Nopony had seen any of the flower-trio for days now. "Another dead end." Applejack sighed, returning to Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who were looking similarly dejected. "Don't use that word. Do you think Roseluck was taken?" Rarity asked, looking from one friend to another. "That doesn't explain why nopony's seen Daisy or Lily neither. I think somethin' strange is goin' on here." Applejack responded, looking around critically. "When we went to their houses, nopony answered the door. I think it's time we go in and see what we can find." "Woah, are you seriously suggesting we break into somepony's home, Applejack?" Rainbow suddenly animated, smirking. "Because I totally agree. It's the fastest way to get information, and we can apologize to the flower-ponies later. Lets start with Roseluck's place." "One moment, you two." Rarity huffed, frowning. "I am as worried about the Crusaders as either of you, but this might be going a little far..." "Rarity, we're out of options here. Nopony's seen Roseluck and she's the last clue we have. We have to find her." Rainbow landed, her face close to Rarity's. "Either you're with us, or you can trot home and we'll find Sweetie Belle." Rarity stared at Rainbow, shivering slightly, then nodded. "Fine. I won't like it, but I'll play along. I might have a few skills we can put to use." She looked away from Rainbow, motioning with her head. "Roseluck's home is that way. Lets hurry, before I change my mind." Rainbow and Applejack watched, awed, as Rarity picked the lock to Roseluck's home. When they had arrived, finding the door locked had been a big surprise. However, as Rarity had said, she had skills that were proving very useful. "I don't see what the big deal is." Rarity said, after pushing the door open. "It just takes a delicate touch, a keen eye for detail and a little bit of skill, that's all." "It's not the fact that you can do it, it's that you did it at all." Rainbow blinked, giving her head a hard shake to clear it. "Alright, lets get this party started. I say we split up." "Alright. Dash, you take the upstairs. Rarity, you get this floor and I'll check the basement." Applejack trotted inside ahead of the others, looking around. Come to think of it, they'd never seen the inside of Roseluck's home. As far as any of the three knew, only the flower-trio had ever come in here. Applejack stared down the door into the dank cellar, heaving a sigh. She wasn't comfortable, rummaging through a ponies house while they weren't here, but she was getting desperate. Finding the light switch, Applejack illuminated the stairs. However, she hadn't taken even one step before she heard Rainbow Dash shout. "Everypony, get up here!" Applejack flicked the light off, trotting from the door, but leaving it open. She was going to search down there, even if Rainbow had found something worthwhile. Once she was a few steps away, she looked back. Had she just heard something? She stood still, listening in the silence of the empty house. There is was again; a sound like squeaking wood, coming from the basement door. Sweat started to bead on Applejack's head. Somepony was in the basement, walking up the stairs. She stared, the door blocking her view of the doorframe. After a moment, she heard the sound of a hoof clack on the floor. A face leaned around the door; it was wearing a bleached white mask, the eyes crossed off with frantic scribbles of black and twin tears of red depicted rolling down the face. The mouth was a manic grin, twisted by a level of derangement Applejack had only seen in the mentally unstable. She turned, bolting. Fear had gripped her and there was no stopping it. Why was that pony in Roseluck's house? Why was she in her basement? What the hay was going on? Darting around a corner, Applejack slammed into Rarity, the two toppling backwards onto the floor. "Applejack, what are you doing, charging around this house like it's one of your rodeos?" The Unicorn demanded, pushing herself up. "Rarity, there's somepony in the house with us! They were in the basement, wearin' this creepy lookin' mask!" Applejack spouted, eyes wide with terror. Rarity looked the way Applejack had come and trotted over, peering around the corner. "Well, whoever it was, they didn't follow you. Did you see anything else about them?" "Yeah." Applejack shivered all over, recalling that masked face. "Their mane was a kinda yellowish color, though the lightin' was a little weird. I uh... I ran before I saw anythin' else." Rarity looked back to Applejack and smiled. "Don't be embarrassed, darling. I think you did the right thing, running. I would've done the same, if I saw some strange pony climb out of a basement. I was just on my way to go and check on Rainbow. You heard her, yes?" Applejack nodded. "Yeah... If I hadn't, I would'a gone into the basement..." Realizing how close she'd come to an even worse situation gave Applejack another boost of fear and adrenaline. "Well, good thing you didn't..." Rarity leaned back around the corner. "Maybe Rainbow found something we can use to find the girls." The two hurried up the steps, Applejack occasionally shooting looks over her shoulder. She felt like she was being watched now, like that mask was following her, watching her with those crossed out eyes. Rainbow was standing outside of one of the rooms, the door wide open. She looked worried, but that had been her default expression for days now, so it was hard to tell if it was a new or old concern. "What did you find, RD?" Applejack asked, trotting over to her friend. "This." Rainbow motioned into the room. "Whatever it is..." Applejack blinked and looked into the room. The windows were closed tight, letting only thin streams of light into the room. All over the room, every wall, the floor and the ceiling, were covered with strange drawings, notes scribbled in a manic, crazed hoof, spouting messages that made less than no sense. Applejack gaped, trotting into the room, looking at all the drawings and scribbled words. "What... I don't..." She had no idea what to say. This gave her more questions than it did answers. Picking up one of the pages, Applejack examined it more closely. It depicted a forest, a pony standing among the trees. All around were words, like "It's here" and "Tried to run." The picture wasn't finished though; the pony had no face. Applejack lowered that one, picking up another drawing. This one bore the same faceless pony, staring back at Applejack with an eyeless stare. Across it's face were the words "It's coming for us. It wants us back." "Roseluck was nuts..." Rainbow's voice drew Applejack from the picture. The Pegasus was hovering off the ground, studying some pictures on the ceiling. "I mean, why doesn't this pony have a face? That's just weird." Applejack looked back down at the drawing, staring at the unknown figure on the page. She picked up another, staring at it calmly. "Seems to me like we got a clue, girls." Rainbow and Rarity moved to Applejack's side, reading the drawing. All at once, the three shared a moment of fear. The drawing was of the Cutie Mark Crusaders walking into a forest. Scribbled into the white spaces were a flurry of words; "Their fault." "Westward." "It will find them." "It will take them." "Westward? No wonder we didn't find them... The Everfree goes south." Rarity muttered, shaking her head. "Way to state the obvious. Come on, we need to get looking over that way." Rainbow quickly put in, looking anxious to get going. The messages had all three of them spooked, but Rainbow looked the most concerned now. "Now, don't go runnin' off like a foal, Rainbow. We need to find Roseluck and find out what's goin' on here." Applejack lowered the picture down, looking up to her flying friend. "I bet she knows somethin'." "Yeah, well-" A creak echoed through the room, cutting Rainbow Dash's reply short. Three heads snapped to the door, still wide open. The sound had come from the hallway, just outside the door. Rarity cleared her throat quietly. "Applejack, darling... I think your friend might have found us." "Friend? What are you two talking about?" Rainbow asked in a whisper, trying to put on a brave face. Another creak silenced any more conversation. The three stood in absolute silence, staring at the door. "H-Hello? Is anypony there?" The three friends relaxed, instantly recognizing the voice of Daisy. The pony walked into the door frame, freezing when she saw everpony in the room. "W-what are you all doing in here?" Rarity stepped forward, smiling as kindly as she could. "We're very sorry, Daisy, but we heard that Roseluck was the last pony to see the Crusaders and we wanted to-" "Get out." While Rarity had been talking, Daisy's eyes had focused on the drawing in Applejack's hoof. She looked up to the three ponies, who were all shocked by her sudden words. "I said get out. Now." She stepped aside, pointing down the hall with a hoof. "And don't tell anypony about this room. Understand?" "Look Daisy, we aren't leaving until you give us something to help us find the girls!" Rainbow darted in front of the flower pony, staring at her sternly. Daisy met her stare, not withering. It was so unlike her that Rainbow was a surprised enough that she backed off herself. "Get. Out." Daisy emphasized the words with a fresh point of her hoof. "And, if you've got any sense, you'll keep your mouths shut about this. Some things are best left forgotten." The three ponies started down the hall, stopping to look over their shoulder at Daisy again. The mare was just staring into the room now, looking as if nothing else existed. They met nopony else until they were back out on the streets of Ponyville. "Forget about it? Yeah right!" Rainbow threw her hooves up in frustration. "We didn't learn anything!" "No, we know the girls are goin' west. They ain't in the Everfree like we thought. That's somethin'." "Should we tell Twilight about this?" Rarity asked, frowning. "I know what Daisy said, but... If this has something to do with the disappearances, it could help Twilight find the other missing ponies." She looked over to her friends, looking conflicted. "What should we do?" Applejack walked in silence, trying to keep a level head. Something was wrong with Daisy; she wasn't telling them everything, obviously. And that masked figure kept creeping into her mind. Applejack was missing something, something important, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. She ground her teeth, wishing she was as smart as Twilight. "I think it'd be a good idea to tell her. I ain't gonna be responsible for anythin' bad happenin' to another pony, even by keepin' information to myself." "What do you think she meant about forgetting?" Rainbow asked, looking over to Applejack. "I don't know, RD... But I'm aimin' to find out."
