Chapters Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
Author's Note
Greetings everyone! Now that I joined FimFiction as well (besides FanFiction and Wattpad XD), I'm gonna start posting my first fanfiction, which is a crossover between MLP and Slender: The Eight Pages. Hope you guys will find this story enjoyable, and stay tuned for the next chapters! :D
Prologue
We all know that Equestria is a land full of joy, love and friendship and that everything that lives here depends on magic, in one way or another. Even the simple phenomena like the rise of the Sun and the Moon are conducted by the magic of the two Royal Sisters: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
Despite all the bright sides of this magical territory, nopony knew about the links to other worlds that were totally different from what was known in their own. Although the Royal Sisters were the only ones aware of these worlds through dimensional mirrors, they never managed to keep the balance in them. Celestia had always been curious about only one world, though; it was a world where the hopelessness, hatred and fear were pushing the limits of desperation. Who knew what troubled those places? The elder princess always wanted to find out, but she never had the chance, considering that her duties to her subjects were very important…
One day, while Princess Celestia was wandering through the halls of the castle, a sudden thought caught her mind for a short time: what if she sent somepony to that world and they reported to her everything wrong there? It would be more convenient, indeed. But there was an issue: not everypony was allowed to enter that world, especially when they weren’t prepared enough. So she remembered her faithful student, Twilight, and her friends; they were the most suitable choice for her objectives.
One week later
“Hurry up, Spike! I’m gonna be late!” Twilight yelled with a slight panic.
“I’m coming, Twilight! Just a moment, so I can pack all the things!”
The pony trotted with impatience, while waiting for her dragon assistant to come downstairs. Her friends were waiting for them outside, also impatient in their own ways. (particularly Pinkie Pie, who started jumping all around)
“Are you done yet?” Twilight yelled.
Spike came down the stairs in a hurry with his bag, and left the library in no time, followed by his silghtly annoyed unicorn friend.
“Come on Twilight! We’ve been standing here for more than five minutes! We gotta catch the train!” said Rainbow Dash with utter rashness, just like usual.
“I’m sorry…but you know that the luggage needs to be checked at least five times” Twilight excused with a hilarious seriousness.
“Oh, darling, you and your amazing sense of organization!” Rarity chuckled. “Now, shall we go?”
“Absolutely-dudley!” Pinkie Pie said with a cheerful tone while bouncing once more.
The six ponies and the small dragon got into the train at the last minute; the vehicle puffed and steamed noisily around, announcing its road to Canterlot.
(In the train – dialogue only)
Rainbow Dash: So, what are princess Celestia’s intentions with us, Twilight?
Twilight Sparkle: From what I remember, she told me about a small journey to another world. She needs to find out more about it, but she can’t leave Equestria so easily.
Rarity: Oooh, a new world, you say? I wonder if the cratures out there love fashion as much as ponies do…
Fluttershy: …Or if there are more cute critters than here…
Pinkie Pie: *cheerfully* OR PARTIES! With even more confetti, and ballons, and cakes! Oh, and silly games!
Applejack: Let’s not dream that much, fellas! It might be just the same as dear ol’ Equestria!
Twilight Sparkle: I don’t know about you all, but I’m mostly interested in their culture and their way to live. It might be something entirely new, after all…
Rainbow Dash: I hope it’s not a world full of nasty creatures, because I really need a break after the last time…
Twilight Sparkle: I understand how you feel; after that intense battle against the Changelings, I truly hope that our new destination won’t give us too much trouble…
(While the girls continued their conversation about the other world, Twilight looked out the window, thoughtful about all the events that might occur.)
(At the castle)
“Greetings, my dear ponies!” Celestia said with a welcoming tone.
“Good afternoon, princess! Ah, I’m so glad that we meet again! So, about the new world…” Twilight paused with a deep curiosity.
“I do not know that much about it, my student, except that its name is Earth…”
The girls were in awe. “EARTH?”
“Yes. That’s why I want to send you there; to collect more information about it. I never had contact with the beings that roam over there, but let’s hope that they will not be too hostile. As for where you’ll live, I made sure that you will blend in no time”
“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash intrerrupted, but not impolitely. “And, when will we go?”
The Princess of the Sun chuckled. “Well, if you don’t feel like waiting more, you can all go right now”
Fluttershy muttered softly: “Yay!” and Spike was very enthusiastic: “Alright, off we go!”
“Spike, wait!” Princess Celestia called. “I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid you cannot go with Twilight this time”
“Why not?” he asked, almost tearing up.
“It is already quite dangerous to bring a new species there, I cannot risk bringing two different species; it might disrupt the balance between Earth and Equestria” Celestia explained.
“Aw, I understand…then it means that this is it, right?”
“Not at all, silly!” Twilight replied. “We will pay a visit from time to time, in case we have to stay longer” She hugged her small friend tightly, along with the other ponies.
“Just, take care of yourselves, okay?” Spike said with a remaining tear in his eye.
“You bet we will!” Rainbow Dash finished with confidence in her voice.
Celestia smiled at these acts of true friendship, then called: “This way, my dear ponies...” She led them to a small room in the castle, where a beautifully-crested silver mirror was situated right in the center. While performing an unusual magic spell, the mirror started glimmering, opening a portal to the new world called Earth. Mane 6 went through the portal one by one.
“Be careful, Twilight! Remember that you need to send me a report each week, and if you notice anything out of ordinary, don’t hesitate to come back and tell me!”
“Don’t worry, princess! I’ll do my best!” Twilight promised while vanishing in the bright light of the portal.
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
A loud thud was heard. Mane six found themselves in what seemed like a small, dark room. The space felt tight between them.
“Wh…Where are we?” Twilight asked, blindly struggling to make her way through her friends’ limbs. “Girls, are you here?”
“Yeah, Twilight. Kinda crushed, but fine” Rainbow Dash confirmed. “Better ask, what are we? Because I don’t feel myself at this moment…”
“Let me see if there’s a way out…” Twilight’s limbs felt weird when she moved, like she was on sticks; with all her efforts, she touched something that seemed like a door knob. Her new members made it difficult to open the door and get out, but she finally managed. The unicorn tripped and fell on the floor; it felt rough.
“This is strange…” she muttered.
Meanwhile, Rarity rose to stand on her feet and turned around to look in the mirror. When she saw her reflection, she gasped in awe. She wasn’t a pony anymore, but a being with two long legs and other two members with…claws? Her skin was a light shade of peach instead of white and her face was totally different, she noted as she patted it; it lacked the nuzzle, but there were other new features instead. Rarity descended her upper extremities to the chest and squeezed the two mounds of flesh on it. This felt even weirder to her.
“What are those?” she asked, completely puzzled by the sight of her new body parts.
“I don’t know, let me see if there’s a library…Ah, here we go…” Twilight replied. She struggled to rise from the floor and stand up while approaching the small bookshelves in the wall near her; squinting her now small eyes at the titles, she noticed a book titled: “Imaging Atlas of Human Anatomy by Jonathan D. Spratt & Co.”. Twilight stared at the book for a second, then tried to pick it up with her little long ‘branches’.
“Sweet Celestia, how can I even open it without magic? Or at least a nuzzle…”
After a while, she finally figured it out; she had to pick two of her bony extremities in order to turn the pages of the book. Twilight took a look on each of the pages with beautifully-colored illustrations and essential information about this weird species called ‘human’…species to which she and her friends belonged at this moment, it seemed.
“Girls, I found something! We are some beings called…humans. Seems like they’re the inhabitants of Earth. And that’s what the princess meant when she said that ‘we’ll blend in’ “
“Humans? What kind of sorcery is this?” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Well, get over here if you wanna know more! Here, let me show you how humans walk…”
Twilight applied the new theories on her friends, and taught them how to walk and keep their balance while standing up. The six girls spent the entire night doing research on the humans’ complicated anatomy, structure and customs.They learnt that the long extremities that grew out of their ‘hooves’ are called ‘fingers’ , and that they have many uses, like picking up objects and writing. They also learnt about the physiology of the human body, like its stages of development: baby, child, teenager, adult and elder. From what Twilight read, she placed herself and the others in the ‘teenager’ category, considering that wrinkles weren’t present on their faces, and they looked too mature to be children.
“How old are we, I wonder?” she asked. “If we are teenagers, it seems that we also study in a school or something. Right?”
“I suppose, darling” Rarity shrugged. “Why not ask the locals about it?”
“Not yet…” Twilight murmured. “I don’t think it’s safe for us to go out for now. There has to be brochure or something with information about this town.” She spoke while searching through the shelves. “I don’t even know where we live, to be honest!”
Meanwhile, someone was knocking at the door. The girls panicked and and started hiding around the apartment. Only Twilight approached the entrance door and looked through the peephole; she saw an old female human that seemed quite harmless, even well-intentioned.
“Hello? Is anybody there?” the woman asked with a soft voice.
“Um, yes?” Twilight replied.
“I heard a young girl moved in our complex and I wanted to give her a warm welcome…I even brought something sweet for her; I hoped she would be home”
Twilight quickly opened the door and stood in front of the old lady. She had greyish white hair tied in a bun; this hairstyle pinpointed her glimmering brown eyes that were surrounded by deep wrinkles and eyebags. Still, her expression gave a hint of kindness in her heart. The woman wore a perriwinkle angle-length dress with a white ruffled apron over it. She held a tray with a big pie in her small and wrinkled hands.
“Oh, you must be miss Tara Sparkle, right?” she asked while pinching one of Twilight’s cheeks.
“Uh, yes, I guess…” the young girl answered, puzzled that the human had addressed her with another name.
“You guess? Ahahaha! Youngsters nowadays and their odd sense of humor!” the old lady chuckled.
“Um, excuse me, ma’am, but what school for teenagers is in this area?” Twilight interrupted.
“Oh, you mean highschool, sweetheart? You must be new here…Welcome to Waukesha, by the way! The nearby highschool that you’re asking about is Waukesha South High School, dear! It’s a few meters from here. I’m sure you’ll find it easily, you’re a smart girl, from what I see…”
Twilight noticed a hint of irony in the old woman’s sayings, but she decided to ignore it.
“Well, thank you for the information, miss…” “…Abigail. Abigail Wilson. But you can call me miss Abby, my dear!” the woman added with a smile on her face. “Oh, almost forgot! Here is your pie! Hope you like it, and have a great time, sweetie! Good night!”
“Um, thank you…You as well!” the teenager replied while taking the tray. She smiled at miss Abby, then closed the door slowly.
“So, who was at the door?” Rainbow Dash asked, dumbfounded by their conversation at the doorstep.
“One of my neighbours. Yeah…” Twilight sighed, while putting the pie on the kitchen table. “Seems like we’re students at Waukesha South High School or something”
“Wau-what? Woah, this must be a secluded place in this world…”
“It might be, who knows? What time is it, by the way?”
Pinkie Pie looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s eight o’clock…”
“…In the evening.” Fluttershy pointed out while looking through the window. “What’s the date though?”
“Is there a calendar? Oh, right; it’s Sunday, 21st May…We can go tomorrow then” Twilight replied.
“Where are we gonna stay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“Here, I suppose…” Twilight said with uncertainty. “Please, make yourselves at home!”
Say no more; Rainbow Dash already started looking for food, and found nothing more than a few tomatoes in the fridge and five bread slices in the cupboard.
“Aww, that’s all we’ve got to eat? Bummer!”
“I’ll buy more tomorrow, after I finally figure out how humans’ system works.” Twilight explained while rifling through another book that she just found in the bookshelves: ‘Life in the USA, by Planaria J. Price and Euphronia Awakuni’
Two hours passed and the girls already fell asleep one by one, except Twilight, who was still reading information about the human society. She was eager to find out more about this entirely new species, and she couldn’t stop just now.
“A little less sleep won’t kill anyone, so let’s dig deeper into all of this…” she said to herself while continuing her studies.
*Next day*
A rooster’s cry sounded in the distance, which woke up Twilight despite her tireness, and she startled, suddenly realising that it was morning and she had to go to school. She watched the clock in deep shock.
“Girls, wake up, it’s half past seven!”
“Mph, what the heck is so important today, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash muttered, visibly annoyed by her friend’s call.
“It’s a school day. Good morning sunshine!” Twilight ironically whispered in her ear. She furiously draped the curtains.
“Ugh, sweet Celestia!” RD screamed in ‘agony’, blinded by the light outside.
The others woke up slowly to the noise, completely confused. It took a while for everyone to get ready and Twilight grew impatient with each minute.
“Come on, we’re going to be late!”
“Be patient, darling! Nobody will kill you if you’re five minutes late…” Rarity said, trying to comfort her.
“Unless it’s the very first class…and it’s been more than five minutes!”
“Calm down, egghead. We’re ready to go now!” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Though, I don’t have any books with me…”
“I’ll just take three books and these papers over here for now” Twilight replied while grabbing said pieces of paper. “Took the key, let’s go!”
Almost everyone got outside, except Twilight, who struggled to lock the door with her new assets called ‘hands’.
“What is it now, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash yelled from downstairs.
“I don’t know how to lock this thing…Just a second”
“Let me show you, sweetheart” a voice offered from behind. It was her neighbour, miss Abby.
“Goodness, it was you, ma’am!” Twilight startled. “Please do…”
“Alright, so you use your fingers like this and then you rotate like this…” miss Abby explained patiently. “Are your locks different than ours?”
“Not really. Only the way of locking doors is…quite different.”
“Ah, I see. Here you go” the old lady nodded, then gave her the key. “Have a nice day at school, dear!”
“Thank you!” the youngster replied while heading downstairs.
*at the school courtyard*
“Here we are! Wow, this is nothing like what is in Equestria…it’s more grey in the surroundings” Twilight pointed out.
“So, which one is our class, Twilight?” Pinkie asked in excitement. “I can’t wait to meet my new classmates and make new friends!”
“Be patient, we have to ask the principal first. They must have one, right?”
“There’s only one way to find out. Come on!” Rainbow Dash called out to her friends.
The school hallways were definitely duller and less colourful than the equestrian schools, but at least there were a few strange ‘colour patches’ that lightened the halls, and way larger than any other school they had ever seen before. Twilight was astonished by the organised atmosphere of the high school, and she was eager to discover more.
“So, does anybody know where’s the principal’s office or something?” Rainbow Dash asked, interrupting Twilight’s current state of trance. “Or lemme see if one of these people do” she continued while going to a group of students.
“Um, hey, we’re new here, and we need to see the principal. Can you give me and my friends some directions please?” she asked to a long-haired brunette dressed casually, who seemed pretty nice.
“Welcome!” the girl greeted with a broad smile. “Well, the principal’s office is not too far, just turn to the left and you’ll find it in no time; the door actually has a sign on it, and it can be easier to find. Good luck!”
“Thank you lots! See you later” Rainbow Dash replied, completely satisified on the inside. “Yes, it was too easy! Come on girls, to the left!”
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
The girls found the principal’s office in no time; luckily, there was a sign, because the door looked like it was camouflaged within the entire high school, almost the same as a secret chamber, where nobody is allowed to walk into.
“So, who’s going to knock?” Pinkie asked, feeling slightly uneasy.
Twilight sighed. “I will do it…it’s my duty to finish this task after all,” she continued in a dramatic tone.
“The door won’t bite, you know?” Rainbow Dash added, amused by her friend’s unreasonable anxiety.
Twilight glared at her teasing remark, then turned back to the door. She knocked slowly, almost silently. When she was starting to think no one was there, a voice called from inside:
“Come in!”
The youngster startled a little, then took a deep breath and opened the door with her small, trembling hands.
“Good morning, Sir. We’re the new students that transferred here recently, and we have some questions to ask, if it’s alright…” Twilight said nervously, almost staring at the man in front of her.
Xavier Barnes, the principal of ‘Waukesha South High School’ , was different from most humans; his skin tone was significantly darker, and he had distinct features unlike the others: thick lips, a wide nose bridge and baldness. Still, his expression showed a hint of kindness and good intentions towards all of the students, even the new ones.
“Yes, of course! You can call your friends in as well!” the principal answered with a calm tone.
The teenager called the others to come inside the office . One by one, they filled the room in no time.
“Please, take some seats,” the principal kindly invited them.
Almost everyone found a few chairs to sit down, except Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but they didn’t seem to mind.
“Alright, girls, so what are the questions that you need to address me? Do you wish to request a tour of the school, or your timetables, perhaps?”
“Yes, we need those too, but we also…want to see our transfer files…if you have them, of course…” Twilight pointed out.
“I just received them this morning. I didn’t actually get the chance to have a look at them and approve them…but considering that you’re all here at this moment, we’ll discuss them together, shall we?”
“Of course!” Twilight approved.
“Alright, then; let’s see yours first…” he said while taking a folder from the drawer and opened it to find a multitude of papers that described their new human identities. Twilight peeked on the documents, fully astonished and confused at the same time; how was it possible that they managed to disguise themselves without any effort? Did Princess Celestia take care of all the details, or is it a phenomenon that usually happens during interdimensional travels? Either way, she was relieved that the humans didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, the principal started reading the papers aloud:
“Name is Tara Sparkle, born on 15th September 1997; says here that you were a straight-A student at your former school; congratulations on your performance, and I hope you will achieve the same results in our school!”
“Thank you, Sir” Twilight replied with a soft smile. “I’ll try my best not to disappoint anyone here.”
“Very well, then…and please call me Mr. Barnes.”
The young girl nodded. Principal Barnes took another folder and looked at Rarity.
“As for you, miss, your name is Rachel Damon, right? Born on 5th October 1996; you seem to have a passion for fashion design, and we’ll surely need students with such abilities; maybe you could come up with a new design for the cheerleader’s costume, who knows?”
“Oh, certainly!” Rarity nodded.
The principal kept looking through the files, then nodded at Fluttershy.
“ Florence Woodheart, born on 17th March 1996; selfless and willing to help others, particularly the animals. We have some volunteering activities here, if you’re interested.”
“Oh, thank you! I’d be glad to help,” Fluttershy replied with a soft voice, but feeling very excited on the inside.
“Alright; the next one is Rebecca Dash, born on 1st April 1997. It seems like you have an aptitude for sports in general; we’d gladly invite you to join one of our teams: basketball, voleyball, track, anything that you wish to do.”
“Wow, sounds great!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, truly eager to try all of the sports in the near future.
“And here we have the last two: Penelope Diane Pie, born on 29th May 1997, and Anne-Jay Smith, born on 12th December 1995. I see you both made several contributions to the former school, such as organizing events. I’d be happy to see more students like you as a part of the school's development committee.”
“Thank you, Mr. Barnes! We’ll do our best!” Pinkie confirmed with pure joy. “Right…Anne-Jay?”
“Yep, sure thing!” the country girl replied, almost confused by the situation.
“Alright! In this case, I wish you a warm welcome to our high school! Here are your timetables,” the principal said while handing six pieces of paper to each of the youngsters. “Good luck in these years that will follow!”
“Thank you!” Twilight replied, then left the office along with her friends, each of them wishing the principal a good day.
“Look, Twilight! We’re in the same class! You too, Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash announced with excitement while walking through the halls.
“Woo! This is great!” Pinkie squealed behind them.
“Yay, seems like we’re in the same class, Rarity…” Fluttershy continued on the other side of the corridor.
“Wonderful, darling!”
“Aw, I’m alone in another class though…” Applejack pointed out, quite disappointed by the outcome.
“You aren’t alone, Applejack! We’re still in the same school!” Pinkie replied, then hugged her friend to comfort her.
“That’s true, can’t deny it,” Applejack chuckled.
“What’s our first class, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked while starting another conversation with the friend in front of her.
“Geography…Oh, great! It’s a good way to learn more about Earth”
“And also a boooooring one!” the reckless teenager sighed. “Did I tell you that I haven’t missed school AT ALL?”
“Oh, come on, we don’t have time to whine about this! Let’s go!” Twilight replied while grabbing Rainbow Dash’s arm.
“Wait for me, Twilight! Bye, girls! See you later!” Pinkie Pie called, waving ‘goodbye’ to her other three friends from behind.
The three girls arrived in the middle of the class, panting and apologizing simultaneously for being late. While introducing themselves, Twilight noticed that the class was filled with a disciplined atmosphere, but for the first time, she felt awkward and very uneasy. After they finished the introductions and occupied their seats, the teacher returned to the lesson. Twilight listened attentively while looking at the World Map. She took notes from any word that her new teacher said, feeling more eager to discover Earth from its depths…
When the bell rang and the teacher left, the atmosphere of the class changed drastically, from calm and disciplined to lively and almost chaotic. Pinkie Pie didn’t wait more than five minutes until she befriended nearly half of the class, along with Rainbow Dash, who started having a conversation with one of the jocks. Still, Twilight remained at her desk, studying the new notes that she took from the Geography class. From time to time, she turned her eyes from the papers to observe the environment; while having a look to the right, she noticed one of her classmates who seemed as lonely and isolated as herself. Unlike the other ones, this girl was of a paler complexion which was in contrast with her short and dark blue hair that had a few faded neon pink and green strikes. Her clothes were also very dark, like she was trying to get out of the colourful routine of ordinary people. The expression, highlighted by the black makeup, showed a slight feeling of disgust towards her classmates, whom she considered ‘ignorant’ and ‘blind’ in front of a potential horrific reality.
Twilight wanted to talk to her and introduce herself, but she hesitated due to the apparently aggressive nature of the strange girl. Surprisingly, it was her classmate who started the conversation:
“You must be new here…but looks like your pals went ahead of you with the integration”
“To be honest, I don’t really care about socializing at the moment. There are more important things for me than having pointless conversations,” Twilight explained, visibly annoyed by the attitude of her other two friends.
“I know how you feel, um…Tara? Right? I usually forget new names at the beginning.”
“Yes, it’s Tara.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Emma, or the ‘emo freak’, as the others usually call me”
“I don’t think you’re a freak…You’re just different from the majority, from what it seems”
“Wow, that’s the first nice thing about me I’ve heard this week…” Emma answered with a faint smile.
“Glad to help, Emma,” Twilight nodded.
“Why did you choose Waukesha out of the other cities from US? Cities that are significantly better…”
“I’m not sure exactly, it seemed the only choice that I had…”
“A bad choice, more like.”
Twilight was puzzled by Emma’s last remark. She paused for a few seconds, then leaned closer to her classmate’s desk.
“What do you mean by ‘a bad choice’?”
“Girl, you have no idea how cursed this place is…Miles away from Waukesha, there is a huge forest, and in this forest lives a grotesque being. It is creepy as Hell, if you ask me: tall as fuck, very pale, faceless, and wears a black suit. Rumour has it that this creature hunts to death the ones who trespass its domain; it also has a thing for children, especially the very curious ones. Once they enter the forest, they’re kinda forced to collect eight pages from different spots; nobody knows precisely who scribbled those pages though. It might have been an unlucky victim, or the being itself. As for the page hunt, if you lose the ‘game’, you’re gonna have a terrible fate, I tell you…even I fell for this shit, and I have no idea how I escaped from that Hell. I swear I saw it RIGHT in front of me, and even though it didn’t have a face, I could sense an expression that almost pierced my damned soul, and then…”
“Hey, emo freak! Are you for real?”
Emma’s storytelling was interrupted by a girl’s call; suddenly, there was an exchange of fiery glares between each other. Right after the mocking question was asked, all the other classmates, including Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, turned their heads to Emma, who felt like bursting with hatred and anger towards the one who interrupted her.
“Um, excuse me? What’s your damn problem if I talk to her?”
“None, freak! It’s just that you scare her with your bullshit about the Slenderman, or whatever! He’s not real, for crying out loud!”
“He’s as real as possible, bitch!” Emma yelled, counterattacking viciously the remarks of her classmate.
“Oh yeah? Prove it, then! If you claimed that you saw it, why don’t you have photos?”
“Because I was too busy showing him this!” the emo girl replied while showing the middle finger to her classmate. “FUCK OFF!” she yelled while storming out of her desk, getting out of the class and slamming the door behind her.
The others suddenly came back to their usual routines, with the addition of gossip about Emma. Both puzzled by the whole argument, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie went to Twilight’s desk.
“What in the name of Celestia just happened there, Twilight? And who is this ‘Slenderman’ they kept talking about?” Rainbow Dash whispered, deeply curious about the situation.
“Can we discuss about it after school, please? You know why…” Twilight replied while subtly pointing her head at the other students, who seemed very offended by Emma’s unusual beliefs.
“Alright, then,” Rainbow Dash nodded, going with Pinkie back to their seats. The bell rang again, and it was time for another class, but without Emma.
*after school, at Twilight’s studio* (dialogue only)
(Twilight prepared some tea for her friends, because a very long discussion was about to start soon.) TWILIGHT: So, how was your first day? Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack?RARITY: Oh, it was really delightful, darling! We’re actually going to stay in the dorms while we study here. Fluttershy and me in a room, and Rainbow with Applejack and Pinkie in another one.RAINBOW DASH: Wow, really? Didn’t have the chance to check that out today. Well, at least I have my own bed from now on.FLUTTERSHY: (sees Twilight with a thoughtful expression while taking a sip from her cup of tea) What’s wrong, Twilight? You don’t seem very content.TWILIGHT: (sighs) Oh, nothing special…just had a discussion with a classmate. She told me a weird story about a local legend …RD: And a whole scandal happened.RARITY: Oh my, what happened? Is the girl alright?TWILIGHT: I don’t really know…Haven’t seen her since she stormed out of the class…FLUTTERSHY: Goodness! There was also a boy in our class today who kept rambling about a man in the woods…TWILIGHT AND RD: ‘A MAN IN THE WOODS?’APPLEJACK: Can somebody explain to me what’n the hay’s goin’ on?RD: (screaming) It’s a ghost in the forest that takes people, Applejack, like what’s so hard to understand? TWILIGHT: Calm down, please. Whether it’s true or not, I think we should explore that area…RD: Are you nuts, Twilight??? TWILIGHT: Just listen. I’m saying this because Princess Celestia gave us a mission, and she didn’t mention anything else; maybe this is our main task.RD: You got it all wrong! She just told us to study the humans, not solve their issue with that…thing. Plus, we don’t even have our powers anymore, like our wings and horns, your magic…TWILIGHT: Maybe, but we don’t know if we don’t try.RD: I tell you this is a very bad idea! TWILIGHT: Are you scared?RD: Not at all, egghead. It’s just…well…TWILIGHT: I know it’s hard, I’m a bit scared too…but we have to stay together. This is one of the main points that Celestia advised me on in private before we left.(There was a pause. Rainbow Dash thought for a few seconds about the consequences, then the lack of loyalty that she showed in front of her friends at that moment. There is no place for fear when it’s about duty, not at all.) RD: (sighs) Very well, then…I’m coming with you.FLUTTERSHY: If Rainbow is coming, I’ll come too.AJ: Me too.PINKIE: MEEEE TOO!RARITY: Absolutely!RD: But if anything bad happens to us, it’s just your fault, Twilight…TWILIGHT: Don’t worry. Once we see something out of its place, we simply run away.RAINBOW DASH: (mutters in distrust) Ugh, if only it would be that easy…
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
Chapter 3: Journey to the Abyss
Next evening, when it started getting dark, the bus station was cramped with six colourful teenage girls, literally and figuratively. Twilight had looked over the routes before she left and had learned that there was only a bus which stopped by the station near the forest. Everyone was ready to go, but not mentally, it seemed; while waiting for the bus to come, Rainbow Dash was very quiet and thoughtful, and Fluttershy stood near her on the bench. On the other side, Pinkie Pie was tremendously excited about the ‘ghost hunt’ and slowly passed her feeling on to the others. Twilight couldn’t help but notice Rainbow Dash’s internal doubt; even if she didn’t say anything, it was clear that she didn’t agree with her friend’s plan in any way.
“What’s the matter?” the studious teenager asked, trying to start the conversation.
“This is just…wrong, Twilight…are you sure this is a good idea?” Rainbow Dash replied with deep worry in her tone.
Twilight chuckled softly. “How many times do I have to repeat that, Rainbow Dash? As long as we’re together, there’s nothing that can hurt us,” she stated, then patted her athletic friend on her shoulder.
“How can you be so sure?” Rainbow Dash inquired, her doubt getting more intense.
“I don’t know, I just am…”
Twilight didn’t get to finish her statement, because their bus had just arrived. The girls got on the vehicle one by one. As the bus left the town, the tension increased with every mile closer to the dark and mysterious forest…
(X)
“This is our destination. It’s time to get off,” Twilight stated in a stoic manner, while the bus stopped by the station near the forest. Although the spot had been abandoned by the public transport for a long while, this particular bus line broke the norm and made life easier for the campers around. Still, the old driver didn’t fail to notice the Mane 6, who got off the vehicle in this area (maybe because they didn’t wear camping outfits and it was also 10 PM), and this was made obvious by the way he shot them an odd look.
Twilight noticed the old man’s expression and didn’t hesitate to give him a confused glare. Still, before she got off, she thanked him for the ride with the same stoic tone as before.
(X)
“Here, turn on the flashlights,” Twilight requested as she shared the illuminating objects to her friends. “I did some research on this ‘game’ and if it’s true, you must collect eight pages from different landmarks before Slenderman catches you. In conclusion, we have to be very careful,” she continued.
“Woah, this guy is really possessive about his papers, huh?” Rainbow Dash chuckled, trying to cope with the circumstances that they’re in. The others didn’t seem very impressed by her statement, so she sighed in disbelief. “Oh, come on!”
“Alright, let’s get going then!” the nerdy teenager said, skipping the previous subject entirely. “The place is a few meters to the left, so this way!”
Later on, Mane 6 finally arrived to their final destination; the place was secluded by a high-wired fence, but the gate was wide open. Suddenly, Twilight felt a chill down her spine; it was a like a ghastly presence that completely paralyzed her body and blurred her sight for a few good minutes. A multitude of faint, mumbled whispers crawled inside her mind; most of them were high-pitched cries of help, and she didn’t know who those belonged to, which intensified her current fear. But out of nowhere, there was a familiar voice that screamed:
“Twilight? Twilight! TWILIIIIIIGHT!”
The third time she heard her name, the voices disappeared by miracle. When she snapped back to reality, she saw Rainbow Dash in front of her with a shocked expression, tightly clenching her frail arms.
“Twilight, are you ok? What just happened?” her friend desperately asked again, emphasizing her tone on the last question.
“It-It was…I don’t know…Honestly, I…” she babbled, still unable to come to her senses.
“Calm down, Rainbow Dash! If you scream, you’ll make it worse. Let me talk to her,” Fluttershy intervened, then pushed her friend aside. “Everything is okay, Twilight…Please tell me what you saw or heard; no need to say it right now,” she continued with a soft and calming voice.
Twilight took a few deep breaths and tried to tell them everything that she experienced, still trembling:
“I…heard some voices. I don’t know how, or why, but they were crying for help. Something’s definitely odd in this forest…”
“Ya worry too much, sugarcube. Maybe ya had a bad dream last night, or ya didn’t sleep at all and now you’re too tired,” Applejack stated, trying to reassure Twilight that it was just in her head.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right…Come on, girls! We have no time to lose! The mistery needs to be solved once and forever!” Twilight replied, then came back to her usual confidence when it’s about the unknown.
The nerdy girl took the lead and entered the area along with her friends. But something indeed scary happened afterwards: when the last of them got in, which was Rarity, the gate loudly slammed behind her and startled the others in an instant. After the scare they got, Rainbow Dash went straight away to check the gate. Too late, it was already locked…
“DAMMIT, WE’RE STUCK! HE GOT US, TWILIGHT, I TOLD YOU!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, her entire body trembling and sweating with fear. “THAT’S IT, WE’RE DEAD!”
“I’m pretty sure you won’t solve anything if you yell, you know?” Pinkie Pie reminded her with a worried tone.
“He’s gonna find out where we are, genius!” Twilight shadily replied to her terror-stricken classmate.
“Yeah, sure thing! Since he locked the gate behind us, he already knows that we’re here, so what’s the point anyway?” Rainbow Dash claimed, completely agitated.
“The point is that you don’t want to ‘lose’ right at the beginning of the ‘game’, am I right? Just be wiser, please! It’s the best for you, and for us all…”
Rainbow Dash got silenced by her friend’s last remark, which was quite harsh. She didn’t get upset, but she was actually baffled by Twilight’s different behaviour. It was clear that the human world changed all of them right from the first day; everything must be taken more seriously, and the utopian paradise of Equestria has faded from their sight in an instant. Still, she had noticed some changes in behaviour in herself, too. She used to never be afraid of anything, no matter how threatening it seemed; but now, she felt genuine fear right in her bones, even if she hadn’t encountered the real danger yet…But she couldn’t back down either.
“Rainbow Dash, come on!” Twilight yelled, breaking her friend’s train of thought in an instant. “Now you’re hearing voices?”
“What? No! I was just…thinking about stuff,” Rainbow Dash replied, then ran back to the group.
Meanwhile, Twilight focused her flashlight on the surroundings. It was ridiculously dark and confusing to her, but with a bit more concentration, she managed to find the first landmark: something that looked like a huge cylinder. A silo. She approached and inspected all the sides of the enormous object, and there it was: the first page. While taking a closer look, she noticed that the paper was very old and deteriorated, full of dirt stains and creases. But that wasn’t the main issue; the writing on it made Twilight’s heartbeat accelerate. Right in the center of the page, there was a spooky circle doodle with two X’s that resembled a pair of eyes…or non-existent ones. The actual message was ‘ALWAYS WATCHES’ on top and ‘NO EYES’ at the bottom of the scribble. Although both were written in capitals, the shaky handwriting could not be ignored by Twilight, who started wondering if there wasn’t an actual victim who made those pages.
(I drew this one btw :D)
She took the page with a trembling hand, and right when she did so, a very loud and ominous boom was heard out of nowhere. But it didn’t happen just once; the sound became continuous and pestering from now on, which gave Twilight a headache. The other girls were also terrified, and started looking around for the upcoming threat.
“He’s getting close. Let’s split up, it saves more time for us,” Twilight suggested, while turning her head to her friends.
“No way! You’ll actually make this harder for us!” Rainbow Dash argued. “This is what he ACTUALLY wants.”
“Seriously, do you even listen? What I mean by ‘splitting up’ is that we’ll go in two groups, not separately. Of course I wouldn’t risk that much!” Twilight explained herself, trying to convince her friend that there’s no other way.
“Oh, really? And what are the groups, egghead?”
“I’ll go with you and Applejack, and Rarity with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.”
“Great! We’ll go this way, then!” Rainbow Dash agreed, while heading straight to the left, and with Applejack after her.
Twilight remained behind for a few moments to give some indications to the other group.
“Remember to just take the page and leave. Whatever you do, don’t waste time. From what I heard, there should be a crossroads, so we’ll meet there, okay?”
“Got it, darling! Anything else?” Rarity asked.
“Yes. Avoid him as much as possible,” Twilight warned, then left to catch up with her other two companions.
Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked at each other in disbelief, not saying anything to each other for a few seconds. They were already too afraid, but they didn’t have any other choice and decided to head to the right, going deeper into Slenderman’s ‘playground…
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Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
[Not an actual chapter, but my personal gallery of human Mane 6]
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Author's Note
Hello, everyone! Long time no see :D I finally found some time to write the hardest chapter of this fanfic and I'm quite proud of it!
But we'll see about that...
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this fresh chapter!
Chapter 4: Page hunt
*With Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash*
“Wait for me!” Twilight yelled from behind while trying to catch up with her other two friends.
“Seriously? What did you have to do back there? Tie your shoelaces?” Rainbow Dash asked with a hint of irony.
The nerdy one rolled her eyes in despair. “Yeah, sure thing, the laces from my slip-ons!” then continued with a clipped tone “I had to explain a thing or two to the others. Your point?”
“We don’t have time to be encyclopedias, egghead! Pinkie Pie won’t take anything seriously anyway!”
Twilight scowled at the last remark. She wanted to reply, but Applejack intervened, trying to avoid any conflict: “Alrightie, that’s enough. I think we should go before my eardrums explode, though.”
“Agreed,” Twilight confirmed, then started walking, still glaring at her athletic friend on their way.
A few minutes passed in utter paranoia, due to the loud and upsetting booming sounds that kept resonating. All of them only looked in all directions continuously, still hoping that the noise was just in their heads. But it wasn’t…
After all those concerns, they finally reached another landmark, which seemed to be a weirdly-structured building made of bricks. The entrance was already “guarded” by the deep darkness, so it wasn’t very welcoming for the girls since the very beginning.
Rainbow Dash trembled like a leaf and took a few steps behind. “Nope, nope, nooooo waaaay, I’m outta here!”
Before she even started running, Applejack grabbed her in a single move by the hoodie that was tied around her waist.
“You ain’t goin’ anywhere! Weren’t you the bravest as ya claimed?” The country girl scolded her with an unimpressed expression.
“…But it’s daaaark! And creepy! And what if Slenderman’s already there?” Rainbow replied in sheer panic.
“Ugh, you sound like a child that’s scared of monsters under the bed! Stop wasting time and man up!” Twilight sassily commented on her friend’s attitude.
But when Twilight turned around, she gulped and formed a worried expression on her face. But she had no time to lose, so she was the first one who entered the building, with Rainbow Dash and Applejack behind her.
The place didn’t have any furniture or other objects around, just…wall and floor tiles. And a weird chair in a corner, of course. The corridors were also very long, so it almost felt like a labyrinth inside.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. Humans are weird architects, it seems…” Twilight implied, breaking the silence that lasted for a few minutes.
“Oooor…it might be a TRAP! So we can get lost and then wait for the worst things to happen!” Rainbow yelled, almost having a panic attack.
“As you can see, nothing showed up, so CALM DOWN!” Twilight replied back, also raising her voice.
It didn’t take long until the two girls started a long argument. Meanwhile, Applejack noticed a piece of paper on the left wall. It looked similar to the one that Twilight found on the silo, but it had another message, this time way more obscure than the other. The only word that contained was ‘NO’ , written several times on both sides of the page, but the element that caught most attention was the stick figure that was roughly scribbled in the middle.
“What in tarnation is this?” The eldest of Mane 6 thought to herself, not understanding the meaning of the message on the paper. Suddenly, she felt an unpleasant presence, like someone or something was watching them from a distance. Without any hesitation, she slowly turned around, flashlight in hand, and saw an eerie figure right in front of them. As Twilight described it one day ago, it was tall to the ceiling and had a black suit. It also had no face, but it still felt like it pierced your soul just by staring at you. Applejack slowly gulped at its sight, and tried to warn the other two:
“I ain’t sure about ya both, but I think we found the Slenderman that you’ve been looking for…”
Twilight and Rainbow stopped in an instant and both turned around at the same time. No words could describe their expressions of fear at that point, which almost paralyzed their legs and senses.
“…I think HE found us, Applejack! RUUUUUUN!”
Rainbow Dash was the first one that came back to her senses and started running to the exit. The next one was Applejack, then a terrified Twilight. When she finally got out of the building, Rainbow didn’t wait for the others and ran towards an alignment of tanks in front of her. After the other two finally came out, Twilight’s nose started bleeding all of a sudden and the voices from the beginning came back to haunt her mind.
“Are ya okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, worried about her friend’s state.
“I can’t…walk…anymore…I’m…tired…” Twilight babbled, trying to stop her bleeding with the sleeve of her shirt.
She didn’t even get to pronounce any other word, because Slenderman suddenly made his appearance at the builing’s entrance. Applejack didn’t have any other choice than to carry Twilight in her arms and then flee from the creature’s mischievous sight…
*With Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy*
On the other side of the forest, the situation was quite different. Instead of worrying about a potential danger, the three girls had other concerns. Right after Twilight left them, Rarity stepped into a puddle of mud and her high-pitched screams were heard throughout the entire forest.
“AAAAAAA, THIS IS. THE. WORST. POSSIBLE THIIIING!”
“What happened, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, scared by her friend’s shrieks.
“I STEPPED INTO MUD! MY SHOES ARE DESTROYED!” Rarity replied, still screaming.
“Shhh, or the big bad guy will find us!” Pinkie Pie warned her fashionista friend with a dorky expression.
“Did you really take Twilight seriously, dear? She’s just too stressed about this stuff. There’s no such thing as Slenderman; he’d show up if he knew we trespassed into his forest, right?” Rarity implied, questioning Twilight’s beliefs about the eerie creature from this world.
Pinkie Pie decided not to answer, so she turned around and continued her walk along with Fluttershy. Rarity was left behind for a few moments, but after all, she decided to get used to the filthy conditions and carried on.
It didn’t take long to reach their first landmark, which was a pile of rocks that stood up to the other elements of the forest.
“Wow, there are the same rocks at my family’s farm. Ah, the memories…” Pinkie recollected, feeling homesick after her statement.
“That must be a trap! Can’t we proceed? There might be nothing there…” Fluttershy insisted while faking a smile to hide her inner fear.
“Oh, come on! They’re just rocks,” Rarity replied, totally unimpressed by Fluttershy’s exaggerated anxiety.
Thus, she was the only one who got closer to the rocks and started inspecting it. “Ugh, it’s soooo dirty,” she muttered while she tapped the rough structure of the landmark. At last, she spotted a page with the same framework as the one that found Twilight, except the message was different. There was only a simple statement: “CAN’T RUN” , which was accompanied by a circle doodle and other scribbly lines below.
“Ugh, poor thing…can’t even write properly…” she muttered again.
Meanwhile, Pinkie and Fluttershy were a few meters behind, checking the surroundings with their flashlights. Nothing yet. Still, Pinkie already grew impatient.
“Come on, Rarity, it’s cold here! Come back!”
She didn’t have any other chance to say a word, because there he was: right behind Rarity, hiding half of his body behind the rocks. He was just like Twilight and other unfortunate classmates described him: tall, faceless, wearing a black suit.
“Rarity! RAAAAARITY! SLENDERMAN! RIGHT BEHIND YOU! RUN!” Both yelled at their friend, trying to warn her.
“What are you talking about? There’s no such thing as Slen-“ then she turned around and gulped, not having the courage to finish her sentence (*insert dramatic piano noise*) . Her first reaction was a high-pitched scream, again:
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The other two started screaming at the top of their lungs as well:
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The three girls of Mane 6 ran simultaneously from the bizarre being. Suddenly, their stamina decreased very quickly, which was unusual for them, especially for Pinkie Pie, who’s hyperactive in general.
“I…can’t…run…anymore…” she panted, struggling to form a clear sentence.
“Is he still there?” Fluttershy asked while looking behind her. “He’s getting closer!”
“I want to take a break! I beg you!” Rarity exclaimed while panting too. (Indeed, it is quite difficult to run with heels)
While Pinkie and Rarity stopped for a few moments to catch their breaths, Fluttershy proceeded to the next landmark, which was something that looked like two crossed brick walls. She didn’t have any other choice than to inspect the area, even if the hesitation and fear levels were as high as the monster that was chasing them.
The timid teenager looked for the next page near the peculiar structure, and she found it in no time. The paper had the same outline as the one that Rarity found, but the message was different this time. It looked like a desperate call: “HELP ME”.
“Who am I supposed to help?” she asked herself.
Then suddenly, Slenderman appeared again; this time in front of her. And he was pretty close.
“Do you need…help?” she asked him, feeling pity for the lonely creature.
But the creepy being had its own answer. Out of nowhere, a pair of tentacles sprouted from his back, trying to ensnare the youngster. Unfortunately, Fluttershy couldn’t feel anything, because she was paralyzed by the sight of this abomination. She started hearing loud static and her vision got blurry, so the only defensive reaction that she could have was covering her face with her arms. After all this dreadful experience, she finally heard her friends’ voice, initially faded, then it slowly got clear.
“Fluttershy?” “Fluttershy!” “Well, that was intense…”
Fluttershy opened her eyes, and she felt relieved that Pinkie and Rarity were in front of her instead of Slenderman.
“Sweet Celestia, I just witnessed a true nightmare…” she muttered, still unable to come to her senses.
“It’s alright, darling, he’s gone. We’re here, with you,” Rarity spoke to her with a calm voice, trying to reassure her friend.
Fluttershy tried to rise on her feet, even if she still felt dizzy, but again, they had no time to rest.
“You sure you can go on, honey?” Rarity asked, deeply worried about Fluttershy’s state.
“Yes, let’s get going…”
The three girls took deep breaths and headed to the next landmark, still scared for life, but determined to win ‘the game’.
*With Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack*
It didn’t take long until Applejack and an unconscious Twilight met Rainbow Dash again at the tanks. Even if the athletic teenager was glad to see her friends alive, the country girl was deeply mad at the other, so she slapped her hard without any hesitation.
“What was that for?” Rainbow asked, clearly confused by her friend’s attitude.
“ What was that for??? Think about it, you left us facing that thing and ya just ran away like a coward. I thought we were a team, Rainbow Dash!”
“I was terrified, what else I was supposed to do?” the reckless teenager replied, trying to explain herself.
“Um, help Twilight, maybe??? Something happened to her, and I’m sure it’s the monster’s doing!”
“Okay, okay, just calm down, miss Rodeo! While you both were distracting Slender, I had plenty of time to find the other page. It says ‘FOLLOWS’ on the right side and then it had a doodle of this guy, again. And I was like ‘You don’t say…’”
“Yep, apparently, it’s the only good thing that you could do tonight. Let’s go before he tries to scare the pants off us all again!”
Ironically, Slenderman suddenly appeared a few steps away from the group, stalking them. The girls had no time to waste and ran away from the being as fast as they could. Twilight still didn’t wake up, so Applejack had to carry her like her life depended on it.
A bold reaction made the group turn left, which lead them to another landmark: a portion of the forest, where the trees were cut into equal logs. Fortunately, Slenderman decided not to get closer to them, so they also decided to rest there for now. Applejack carefully laid Twilight on the ground and then she sat near her, waiting for her small and smart friend to come to her senses soon…
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
Chapter 5: The Unexpected Companion
It had almost been one hour since the last encounter with Slender Man. Meanwhile, Mane 6 finally reunited, and it was quiet and peaceful in the woods of terror, for now…
The girls could finally catch their breath and get some rest until the next attack. Not even Rarity cared, the dirt felt like the best place to sit on; anything is better than Slender Man after your tail. On the other hand, Twilight was still asleep, and Applejack sat by her side, with a worried expression on her freckled face.
“How come she isn’t awake yet?” Rainbow Dash asked while approaching her elder friend.
“It ain’t the first time she behaved weirdly tonight. Before we even got into this cursed forest, she was almost paralyzed, if ya remember…And this time, it was a nosebleed and a fainting spell! What’s next?”
Applejack didn’t even get to finish expressing her worries, because Twilight suddenly woke up, feeling a lump in her throat. The other girls were looking at her with wide eyes, totally startled by this abrupt awakening. Even if she was still weak, the petite girl rose up to her feet and went to the nearest bush to throw up out of nowhere.
“Sweet Celestia, sugarcube, are ya alright?” Applejack exclaimed, extremely concerned about her friend’s illness.
As if it wasn’t enough, there was a noise coming from the other side of the landmark. It was accompanied by a few light steps. The panic reinstalled among Mane 6.
“He’s back!” Fluttershy muttered, scared to the bones.
“Fetch me a stick! This is gonna turn out reaaallly bad!” Pinkie Pie requested, determined to defend her beloved friends. They didn’t take her seriously, so the energetic teenager grabbed a stick from the ground and approached the area.
“Pinkie, are you crazy???” Rainbow Dash exclaimed at the top of her lungs.
But the pink-haired girl didn’t listen. Without any hesitation, she was ready to hit the intruder in the head, while suddenly:
“WAIT, DON’T HIT ME!”
When she heard these words, Pinkie Pie stumbled into the stranger, causing both of them to fall on the ground. When she looked closer, it was actually a young girl, just like them, but still different. The youngster had long and dark hair complimented by icy blue eyes, a very thin body, and an extremely tired expression.
“Would you please get off me? I assure you that I’m not who you think I am,” the girl asked, almost begging to be released from Pinkie’s “paranoia trap”.
“Oh, sure thing! I’m sorry!” Pinkie giggled, rising back on her feet. “I honestly thought, you were, um…Slender Man! You would not believe…”
“…How horrible this monster is? Yes, I do, because I have to confront him almost every night,” the newcomer complained. “And, by the way, who are you and what are you doing here at this hour?”
“Oh, I’m with my friends over there. We were trying to find Slender and see if he’s real, but apparently, he found us and…”
“I KNOW. Everybody is coming here like they’re doing a funny ghost hunt on Halloween, but it’s more than that, I tell you! It’s a true nightmare!” The girl confessed in desperation, while tightly gripping Pinkie’s shoulders.
“Oooookayyy…I’m Penny Pie, by the way! But you can also call me Pinkie! What about you?”
“I’m Kate. Kate Milens. And I have a feeling I’m going to die tonight…”
“Oh, don’t be so silly! We’ll get out of here soon! Come, let me show you to my friends!”
Kate seemed hesitant at the beginning, but she had no choice. Any human seemed like a better alternative than the faceless eldritch monster, who had been haunting her since childhood.
“Hey, everybody, look who I found!” Pinkie exclaimed in utter happiness.
“Shh, the freak might hear you!” Rainbow Dash aggressively whispered, while scowling at the friend in front of her.
“Anyway, as I was saying…” Pinkie continued, quite annoyed by the obvious remark. “This is Kate Milens! It seems that our ol’ friend Slendy is after her as well. Kate, these are my best friends of all time: Rachael, Rebecca, Anne-Jay, Florence and Tara” she presented as she pointed to each of her companions.
“Hello, Kate!” the others greeted the new one simultaneously.
“Nice to meet you all! Glad I can finally meet someone who’s a human around here…and alive,” Kate replied with a faint voice.
Meanwhile, she glanced at Twilight, who clearly felt ill. Her face was paler than usual, dark circles started appearing under her eyes, her expression signaled fatigue, and her vest was stained with remnants of her vomit. Kate knew what the problem was, since she experienced the same symptoms anytime she encountered Slender Man.
“I see you’re also suffering from the Slender Sickness. Don’t worry, it’ll pass once we’re out of here”
“Slender Sickness? Wow, I should have known it’s his fault for all of this” Twilight stated with deep worry in her tone. “We just want to go home, Kate. Do you know the way?”
“Yes, I know every inch of this forest since I was little. Come on, pack your things and follow me, we don’t have much time left to stand still…”
“Say no more!” Rainbow replied with excitement.
(X)
“You said you’ve been coming to this forest since you were a child. What were you doing here at that age?” Fluttershy asked Kate all of a sudden, while they were heading to the next landmark.
“He always called me. Almost every night. At the beginning, I didn’t even know where that voice was coming from, so I blindly followed what it said. I was too scared to ask questions, to be honest. But despite all of this fuss, he always let me live, I don’t know why.”
“Wait, Slender Man CAN TALK??? That’s it, we’re doomed,” Rainbow intervened in the conversation, this detail being the only one that she picked up from Kate’s confession.
“I’m sorry for everything that’s happening to you, darling,” Rarity comforted the genuine human among the group. “I hope you’ll find your peace away from this horrible creature soon”
“Me too, Rachael. Me too…”
Suddenly, the wind started getting louder, along with the low droning sound from the beginning.
“Oh, no, he’s back! The page must be in that tunnel. We have to be quick!” Kate warned with panic.
“I’ll go first this time! Fetch me the stick !” Pinkie Pie exclaimed while grabbing another thick wooden branch from the ground. “Be right back! Slendy won’t stand a chance against me and my new friend, Tim! Come after me if I scream, by the way!” she boasted with excitement, then ran away to the tunnel.
“Damn, I swear she’s so crazy sometimes…She even named that stick ‘Tim’??? What the heck? Please excuse us, Kate, we’re a special group here,” Rainbow Dash apologized in her utter disappointment.
“Truth be told, I actually admire her enthusiasm and bravery…but for how long will it last?” Kate admitted, gulping in distress.
(X)
Before entering the eerie tunnel, Pinkie Pie looked all over the surroundings for anyhting out of order.
“Ha! Easy peasy! Though Slendy’s middle name is ‘unpleasant surprise’, if you ask me…Am I right, Tim?” Pinkie asked her imaginary wooden friend, then made it ‘nod’ by swinging her wrists. Still, she held her new weapon tight, because it was time to enter the dark enclosed area. The girl started shivering out of nowhere: it was the Pinkie Sense.
“Didn’t know I’d still have this as a skill here…” she muttered to herself.
In order to calm herself down, Pinkie started humming “Giggle at the ghosties” , the song that confirmed she’s the Element of Laughter, in almost the same circumstances.
“When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooown…”
Suddenly, something slimy grabbed her ankle. Uh-oh…” she thought to herself. The feeling of it made her startle in an instant.
“The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown...” she continued singing, this time trembling.
But Pinkie stopped before she could finish her cheerful song. Her heart was racing faster than ever, and cold sweat was dripping down her round face.
“I shouldn’t have come by myself, that’s for sure…”
*Meanwhile, outside the tunnel*
“It’s been a while…shouldn’t we call after her?” Kate asked with a frightened expression.
“PINKIE PIE!” Twilight screamed.
“PIIIIIIINKIIIIIEEEE PIEEEEE!” the others screamed as well in unison.
They realized it was no fun game with Slenderman, so headed straight to the tunnel.
*Back in the tunnel*
“You know what’s weird, Tim? I’m pointing my flashlight everywhere, but no sight of him. It’s like he’s a shadow…”
But at last, she found the page; it was at the end of the tunnel. This time, the message was ‘LEAVE ME ALONE’ , scribbled in the same manner.
“Gotcha! And oh yes, I can totally relate to this one…”
It also didn’t take long for Slender Man to appear right in front of her, with the same unmoving, but menacing posture he had got in front of his victims. Pinkie Pie didn’t hesitate at all to let out a piercing scream, and due to the adrenaline, she reacted by throwing ‘Tim’ right at the eldritch horror. Right after a few blinks, the creature disappeared, and right on time, because the other girls arrived.
“Pinkie, are you ok?” Twilight asked with concern.
“How can I be okay when I just saw him in front of me?” she replied with panic in her tone, and it didn’t take long for her to burst in tears, and hug Applejack in search of protection.
“Easy, sugarcube…he’s gone, we’re here now…” Applejack comforted Pinkie while hugging her tightly.
“You should have learned this lesson by now!” Kate started scolding the group. “If we’re together, he gets discouraged and attacks less. I learned that when I was with another friend…NEVER go alone into his woods, I’m telling you!”
“You’re right, we’ll have to stay together from now on…” Twilight agreed. “And that means no heroic acts, okay? We have no power to do something here.”
The others also agreed in unison.
“Let’s go, we have no time to lose!” Kate concluded.
The next landmark was an abandoned truck with a tank. The girls looked around the vehicle, but there was no page.
“Have you found anyhting? Because he’s right behind us!” Rainbow screamed in fear. “Go, go, GO!”
Without any hesitation, the girls ran away as fast as they could, even if their stamina was decreasing dramatically with each step.
“I can run faster than this, what’s going on?” Rainbow asked, while panting all the way to the next stop.
“This is also Slenderman’s fault…” Kate replied.
“AH! WONDERFUL!” the other screamed in pure annoyance.
The following landmark was a portable cabin made of metal. The door was locked, so the only way they could find the page was on the exterior of the building. Kate was vigilant this time.
“Found the page! One more left!”
This time, the paper only contained doodles of trees and a simplified sketch of Slender Man in the middle. But that was the least thing to be concerned about. After taking the page, Kate could feel it in her bones: an unnerving beeping sound, that started getting louder and louder. The Equestrian girls were also affected, and they couldn’t move their limbs because of the sound’s high-pitched frequency.
“WHAT IS GOING ON???” Rainbow screamed again.
“This is the last stand, it’s now or never!” Kate replied ambigously. “No victim has ever reached this stage by far!”
But it was too late to contemplate about anything anymore. This time, Slender Man’s appearance was by far more terrifying than the others. The moment he appeared, several thick black tentacles sprouted from his back. It was clear that he was enraged by the girls’ presence at this point. As much as he enjoyed a good ‘challenge’, humans always drove him crazy when they were alive on his territory for too long. Thus, he went berserk in a short time and started coiling his tentacles around the girls’ waists and necks, lifting them up to his level. Suddenly, the whole forest was filled with bloodcurdling screams. It was a frightening sight for Twilight, the only one that wasn’t ensnared in the faceless being’s tendrils; she was right behind the cabin, too afraid to make any move.
“The end is near…” she mumbled to herself, a tear falling down her cheek.
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind
Chapter 6: Reawakening (ENDING)
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