Chapters Prologue: Sustain in Dejection
A SLENDER CHANCE
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree.
~Charles Baudelaire
PROLOGUE: SUSTAIN IN DEJECTION (July 31st 2012)
Rarity doesn't believe anything we tell her even though she doesn't have any reason to think we would lie.
~Sweetie Belle's Diary
The warm summer month of July was ending and August was rolling in, a bit cooler, though still leaving Ponyville in a heat wave that had swept across all of Equstria. The heat wave was not good news for anypony. Many questioned Cloudsdale for not providing rain, but they continued to claim that there was simply not enough water anywhere to provide rain to every part of the land. Of course, this left the bitter idea in each ponies' mind that they seemed to be the only ones not receiving water.
Rainbow Dash was starting a campaign to collect water from anywhere that could supply it, but even ponies in the city refused to share their water. Celestia had not made a ruling on any of this as of yet. Everypony- even her royal guards- were pressing her to give them orders, but she insisted that she had not yet come to a decision as to how the water should be distributed.
In the meantime, Sweet Apple Acres had dried up. The trees no longer bore any fruit and the family- who survived on very little to begin with- was losing the money they'd not spent during the winter, fast. Of all the times to run into hardships, this was definitely the worst. Having no money now, meant they could not begin saving for the winter when times would be tough. None of them frankly knew what they were going to do when winter came.
The only idea they'd had was to find water in the Everfree forest. However, neither Big Macintosh, nor Applejack would let each other take the risk, so the past few days had been spent with much debating and not much getting done. This was where Apple Bloom came in.
She was confident that she could find water among the forest, and perhaps gain a Cutie Mark for whatever skill she had to use to find it. Confident enough, that she was sure she could find it on her own; the first day. She did not feel right in asking Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to tag along. Sweetie was being worked to death by Rarity and didn't need the extra stress and strain, and Scootaloo was campaigning to help Rainbow Dash, which left little room for anything else in her mind.
So as she entered the forest at noon, Apple Bloom was alone among the trees. Thankfully, the foliage shielded her from the afternoon sun but as time drug by and eventually became three'o'clock (the hottest time of day) it seemed not even the shade could provide any protection from the heat baring down from Celestia's sun.
Most all ponies, Apple Bloom observed, preferred Celestia day time. But as of late, they'd worked and done things under the cover of Luna's night, often too lethargic and dehydrated to work during the day. Seemingly, the only one who worked day and most of the night was Big Macintosh, who refused to stop plowing the fields and turning the dried soil, even if it was futile.
Apple Bloom suddenly came back into thoughts of the forest around her, and became fearful. It was much, much darker here and it was strangely cooler. Could this mean there was water nearby? Her fear was pushed away slightly by this thought of hope. But her fear did not disappear completely as she continued through the dark woods, glancing around and jumping at every slight sound. Now that she thought about it, she really wasn't sure she'd ever been this deep in the forest.
Apple Bloom squealed and dove behind a tree, peaking around a few moments later, and squinting as a light shown in her eyes. As the light drew away from her face, she could see Pipsqueak holding a flashlight that attached to his shoulder from a sling connected to the saddle bags he had on. Apple Bloom was naturally curious of the flashlight. Most of the Apple Family insisted upon working with their old technology and such things as this were not commonly used among them.
Apple Bloom stared at him for a moment, stunned that he might have thought of this himself, and a bit embarrassed that she hadn't thought to bring some saddle bags to fill with water as well (though her main goal was simply to locate it).
However, Apple Bloom was not thrilled to have him as a companion and kept a few paces ahead of him. She was sure he was behind her because the flashlight shown over her shoulder and lit the path for her. It came to her attention that he also had some sort of camera that he was snapping pictures of everything with (despite that very little was visible). When asked why, he said he wanted to remember it. This made no sense to Apple Bloom but she didn't question it.
Pipsqueak talked and talked and talked. Apple Bloom wished that he would be quiet so she could listen for running water (at least, she tired to tell herself that was the reason and not because she wished for him to plainly shut up).
His voice did die down, but she didn't notice it at first. In fact, she didn't notice he was quiet until the flashlight began flickering. She took note of that but didn't glance back.
No voice answered her and the dark was not becoming any less dense. The flashlight came back on after a moment, and she was blinded temporarily by the beam of light. She trotted to where the light was coming from and picked the light up off the ground. Holding it in her mouth and shining the light around her, her nervous eyes searched for Pipsqueak. There was no sign of him among the trees. She glanced around for a few more seconds before something reflected the light back at her from the ground. She came closer and found Pipsqueak's camera sitting on the ground.
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Chapter One: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
A SLENDER CHANCE
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree.
~Charles Baudelaire
CHAPTER ONE: LIES, DAMN LIES, AND STATISTICS (July 31st 2012)
Applejack tells me not to take what Granny Smith tells me too seriously. But she hasn't lied to me so far. She might have a silly way of sayin' things but...
~Apple Bloom's Diary
It was, of course, not the first time a filly, or anypony, had come charging through the middle of town, crying out about some sort of emergency that needed immediate attention, but it was the first time any pony had been screaming something along the lines of a missing foal. Everypony came forward to hear Apple Bloom's screams as she ran around in circles, finally falling over in a daze as the camera she had around her neck smacked her in the face. The Ponyville militia (the town didn't even feel a need for a police service) congregated and took her back home where they began their questioning.
By this time, the small filly had fallen into an almost state of shock and didn't speak, only produced a photo that had been taken by the instant camera Pipsqueak had been using. The group of five ponies all gather around the photo and studied it for a minute before looking at Apple Bloom questioningly.
Apple Bloom only stared back at them for a moment before snatching the photo back, though hiding the blurry image from her own eyes. They questioned her for awhile longer, but upon obtaining no answers, they gave up and left to search for Pipsqueak before darkness fell.
Apple Bloom found her way to Granny Smith's room, where her elder was sitting in bed, glancing out the window in a strange manner. Apple Bloom thought over what she was going to say before making her presence known. She had not wanted to believe what she now did, but it seemed the photo she had collected was the ultimate testament to what was truly going on.
Granny looked at her for a moment before nodding slightly and looking back towards the window at something invisible. Her gaze consisted of the same combination she had had when the Timber Wolves were coming but she was either much calmer, or scared stiff.
Granny sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She was so stiff and quiet as she thought back to the tale she had told Apple Bloom on her first Nightmare Night, that she caused Apple Bloom to reflect on a disturbing phrase; “When the temperature beings to rise, the elderly begin to die.” Before she could argue with the thought, Granny pushed everything out of her head by beginning with what she knew.
Apple Bloom left, though her only thought was: “There must be more than that.” How could you have a legend, pony-tale, whatever, without some sort of purpose? Why does Slendermane take fillies and colts? Why does he disrupt electrical appliances? What does he do with the fillies and colts when he takes them? There was nothing to be sure of but one thing; it wasn't good.
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“You're not serious,” Scootaloo laughed, followed by the chorus of Sweetie Belle's voice.
Zecora. Apple Bloom thought to herself. Even if the zebra didn't believe in it, she would at least know something about it. That was something she needed to look into. But thinking about it now, made her realize that Zecora had to believe in it. She believed in much farther fetched things than Granny Smith, and Granny thought this disappearance was the real deal.
Apple Bloom offered the photo, which brought more laughs to the girls who said Pipsqueak had taken a picture of a tree before running off. The image did look like a blurry photo of a tree. But it was what had reminded Apple Bloom of the story and let her know who it was...or who she thought it was. Her confidence continued to slip on whether this was really Slendermane, and if such a creature existed.
She looked down at the picture that had frightened her so badly when she had had her “realization” as to what it was. Four crooked branch-like objects extended towards the top of the picture while four black things that possibly could be roots touched the ground. No they couldn't be roots. They were too stiff and straight. But it was the middle of the photo that had made her sure, and looking back at it, it still looked awfully like what she thought it should be.
The center was merely like a black smudge across the tree limbs (or maybe legs) that extended toward the other tree branches and the stiff black things that were almost like silts. But among that black smudge was a pure white one, that had a sort of shape among the blur effect that had been created by Pipsqueak obviously swinging the camera or flinching as he snapped the photo. She was sure she could make out the contours of a pony's face, or lack of one. At least the head. Surely among it there was the ears sticking up, and the definition of a muzzle, but no mouth, eyes, or nostrils. Simply an unfinished face.
She looked back up at the fillies who were still cackling to themselves and put the photo in her saddle bag, frowning at them and interrupting their laughter.
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Chapter Two: Myths That Are More Than Fancies
A SLENDER CHANCE
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree.
~Charles Baudelaire
CHAPTER TWO: MYTHS THAT ARE MORE THAN FANCIES (August 1st 2012)
I don't buy anything Rainbow Dash hasn't seen, at least I try not to. If Rainbow hasn't seen it, then I haven't.
~Scootaloo's Diary (October 31st, 2011)
The trip had to be postponed until the next day because darkness had fallen and the fillies were expected home, as well as the fact that Apple Bloom would not be caught dead (or otherwise) in the forest at night now. Whether she doubted the existence of Slendermane or not was not the case, she was frightened no matter what. And now as she and the other Crusaders trekked through the forest in broad day light, she still continued to shake in fear.
The atmosphere was of course, not and felt barely breathable and light came through the trees, but she hadn't heard anything in the myth saying that Slendermane couldn't attack during daylight. And if Slendermane didn't exist at all, then daylight certainly wouldn't stop whoever took Pipsqueak.
It had crossed her mind that maybe Pipsqueak had run away, but the circumstances just didn't feel right. He left his flashlight, camera, and left without saying anything to her? That was hardly like him, and he was so young. It wasn't like he was capable of plotting elaborate tricks or anything. He knew what was in front of him, and that was it. She was sure of it.
In the meantime, the two other Crusaders had fun giggling at Apple Bloom's fear. This left her with serious disdain for them. Out of everything they'd been through, and the alienation they claimed to have experienced (They had always had each other though, hadn't they? She'd gone it alone for quite some time.) they obviously didn't know what it felt like right now to be the laughing stock of the ponies closest to her other than her family. That was probably worse than the ponies at school.
But if anything, she'd show them. Zecora would at least scare them, and then it would be her turn to laugh. This was the only comfort she found in the existence of Slendermane. At least she would be right....
Apple Bloom was fairly sure Scootaloo wouldn't have done that on a normal basis. It was because of how funny she found this whole serious matter that she found it necessary to point out obvious things...obvious things that Apple Bloom was sure she would have noticed, given a second or two more.
As soon as her hoof knocked on the door, it swung open. This was strange, as was the steam that drifted out of the house. The windows were closed. Could Zecora be hurt? They rushed in to find out, but after thoroughly checking the hut, and getting most of the steam out of the house, they found no sign of her. The steam had been produced by her cauldron, which had boiling water in it, and a few plants mixed in with the water, but it had all been left unattended. Zecora was lucky that her house didn't burn down. Whatever she had left to do or get must have been important.
Indeed it was, but the sweat pouring down the young Apple family member's face could not mask that it was not all from heat. There was a sweat that was produced as her brain began to imagine the worst possible scenario and then her heart began beating faster and spreading extra warmth through out her body. There was no doubt that Zecora had left her hut quickly and without preparing to be gone as long as she apparently had been. It might have been only a few minutes, but surely she had the common sense to put out the fire? Of course, this had only occurred to Apple Bloom because she was beginning to think things through, and reading between the lines was opening up new doors that her normal common sense wouldn't have pointed out to her.
Her real wish was to find out where Zecora was. Already, bad ideas that Slendermane didn't mind taking adults were crawling through her mind and so far there was nothing to disprove that except what her aged Granny told her.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stood silently for a moment before nodding, finally realizing just how seriously Apple Bloom was taking the situation. They all began searching through the hut, looking for things she might have touched before leaving, or things that might have made her leave. There was no sign of a struggle, nor were there signs that Zecora had been well organized before taking off. Many of her normal ingredients were mixed together in random piles, that surely couldn't be any sort of mixture for a potion. Some of the leaves and other items were even rotting, leading Apple Bloom to believe that Zecora might have actually known that Slendermane was coming for a while now.
They found nothing of interest however, but one room was left unchecked. It seemed wrong to go into somepony else's bedroom while they were away, and without their consent, but this common idea was not present in the brains of the three fillies as they opened the door.
The room was without windows, so it was pitch blank inside. They bumped around for a few minutes before discovering candles and lighting them. When the room was revealed by the burning flames, several things became very clear. The first that came to them, met their noses. The candles had a pungent odor that wasn't exactly pleasant, but perhaps could be enjoyed by strange individuals such as Zecora.
The next was that the bed sheets looked undisturbed except for ripples that spanned outward from the middle of the bed. The pillows were perfectly fluffed, and it seemed as though Zecora had spent some time simply sitting in the middle of t he bed, without using it since the last time that she had fixed the bedding. The next were the books lying scattered around the bed. Upon reading the titles it seemed some didn't fit among the others.
The titles were as follows: “Atlas of Equestria”, “The End is Near and What He Will Look Like”, “Accounts From Equestria Mental Institute Residents”, “Old Equestrian Art”, and “Turning Circles”. They skipped “Turning Circles” because it was an actual novel with small print and no pictures and went to the others in order.
In the atlas, locations were circled all over Equestria, dated and numbered. Paths were traced to connect the locations but none of them were possible to take by anypony but Pegasi. The second book was flipped to a specific page and several parts of the three paragraphs left of the picture were underlined. However, being fillies; their eyes were not attracted to the words, but to the picture, which brought a chill down Apple Bloom's spine and perhaps the others.
The picture showed a tall pony standing in the middle of a path. He was about eight feet tall and long branch-like appendages stretched from his back and were focused upon reaching a small filly, who was cowering below him. He had no face, and no mane upon his head.
They moved to the next book, which had several pages bookmarked and when lifted, dropped several photos on the ground. They examined the photos first and found them to be more disturbing than what they imagined the context of the book to be. There were five photos, three depicting forested areas where a strange tree, seemed shaped like a pony (each was circled among the photos). And the other two featured fillies and colts at play on small playgrounds. The first was near a forested area, and a blurry figure stood among the trees.
The last (and second of the different environment ones) presented itself to the fillies as one that Zecora had taken the most interest in, as well as apparently feared the most. The photo showed what looked to be Canterlot, a playground somewhere near the royal grounds. The photo was rather old, and ragged but they noticed a filly that made them all gasp.
Cadence could be seen being pushed on a swing by a young Shining Armor. They were circled by Zecora, and then a line drawn from the circle showed something that was nothing but definite proof. A clear image of a tall pony with tendril like appendages and no face stood in the background, touching no trees or any sort of object that he could be mistaken for being part of. He two, was circled and words were written above him; He came all the way out of the forest to get somepony. He's looking at Cadence and Shining Armor. But he didn't take either of them.
A colt at the very bottom of the picture, looking dejected and lonely was sitting in the sand box alone. He was circled and below him was written; Slendermane took him. Why?
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Chapter Three: If We Knew What We Were Doing, It Would Not Be Research
A SLENDER CHANCE
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree.
~Charles Baudelaire
CHAPTER THREE: IF WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING, IT WOULD NOT BE RESEARCH
(August 1st, 2012)
I don't understand why some ponies like to wear those boxy black suits. They look so uncomfortable and stupid.
~Sweetie Belle's Diary
The fillies were too frightened by the new found information to look at the other books. They simply gathered them all into Apple Bloom's bag and ran for Ponyville. The forest seemed more foreboding with the apparent proof that a Slendermane existed, and they were not eager to return to the forest again. When they broke from the trees and found their way back into town, they found Ponyville in an uproar.
Diamond Tiara had disappeared. If the ponies hadn't been taking Pipsqueak's disappearance seriously (hopefully because they thought he had simply run away), they were certainly taking it seriously now. Filthy Rich had paid every pony he could find (or buy) to search for his daughter and already,several search parties were headed for the forest.
The ponies glanced at each other and then back at the Crusaders. The look that had been shared between them now focused on to the fillies. They didn't believe a word of it.
The search party shared another look and then after only seconds of murmuring, Cheerilee stepped forward and began leading the Crusaders away while the searchers continued in the direction of the forest. There was much protest from the three fillies, but Cheerilee didn't buy a word of it and took them each home.
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The only Crusader who even managed to get three sentences out about Slendermane was Apple Bloom, but that was because Applejack “humored” her in looking at the pictures she claimed were proof.
She never heard a reply from Applejack, and slammed the door in frustration, locking it and quickly moving to her window to look outside. Nothing was out there. She could see Rainbow Dash moving clouds away from the waning sun in an attempt to give the search parties more time to look for the missing children. Apple Bloom felt a pit growing in her stomach in knowing that they weren't searching for Zecora. Nopony but she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders knew that she was missing, and perhaps had been taken by Slendermane.
She moved away from the window and headed for the door. Already her sense of duty was growing. She would speak to Twilight Sparkle about this. Whether Twilight believe it or not, she could at least read Zecora's notes and tell them what Zecora had found out about Slendermane.
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After gathering the other Crusaders, they headed in the direction of the library. Already, there was the mutual nervous feeling about the photos they had seen. The very ponies who's wedding they had bore flowers at had been stalked by the Slendermane. Obviously, they had not been taken yet, but maybe they knew something about it? And nopony was to say why exactly Slendermane hadn't taken them... yet. Their nerves became just so, that they galloped the rest of the way and burst into the library in a panic.
Apple Bloom gave her the saddle bag full of books and papers. Twilight gave them a questioning look before going over to her table and clearing it off, then dumping the contents of the bag on it. She began sorting the books and papers into what she thought was the correct order and after a quick glance, she froze at the sight of the picture; showing her brother and sister being watched by some figure.
Twilight Sparkle was quiet for a moment, staring at them and then glancing down at the picture. It was obvious from her expression that she was rationalizing that all the other pictures were simply trees or other objects, but every time her eyes met with the one of her brother and his wife, fear clouded her eyes, as she could not find a rational explanation for what she saw. Of course, she could just lie to herself, and say that it could be anything, but part of the fear she held in her chest was of that possibility. If it wasn't Slendermane, what was it?
This was said to deaf ears however, for Twilight had already buried her head into one of the books and her eyes were scanning across the pages at an amazing rate. The Crusaders found themselves pacing in anxiety as they waited for Twilight to come to some conclusion about all this. It took some time, despite Twilight's quick reading and comprehension skills.
After some time, Twilight made a comment aloud that got their attention; “Zecora is quite the researcher.”. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered around Twilight to see what she had found out.
Twilight left the atlas and located the books she had mentioned. Placing the three she had picked out on the table, she opened the first, which was labeled; “Equstria's Earth Ponies' History in Hoof Painting”.
She pointed to a page she finally flipped to. At the bottom, the picture was labeled; “Das Rössel”. Above it was a stallion dressed in gleaming armor fighting off a strange being that was skeletal and had two extra legs.
Twilight shook her head however, and the fillies could already tell what was going to follow; “I don't think that's such a good idea. You need to leave this to the adult ponies.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle began to argue further, not yet ready to give up their rites to the case, but Apple Bloom interrupted them.
*Penmanship
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Chapter Four: When Silence Is Not Understood
A SLENDER CHANCE
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree.
Granny Smith says each entry in a diary tells a story. But nothing happened today. Nothing exciting or interesting. My friends were both busy today.
~Apple Bloom's Diary
January 20th, 2011
Cadence was well aware of the unseasonable heat. To say that it could be too hot during the summer didn't seem to make any sense, but it really was uncharacteristic of Equestria to be at this grueling temperature. Ponies in Canterlot spent their time in doors mostly, rather than outside. The regal residents usually worshiped the summer sun, but they practically shunned it now. Cadence was worried what effect this would have on Celestia. Of course, she didn't understand why Celestia couldn't just lower the temperature... Maybe she meant for it to be this hot. She didn't seem visibly bothered by the negative attention the sun was causing, and maybe the land needed it for some purpose only she (and perhaps Luna) knew.
Cadence felt bad for her husband, who was having to dress in full military outfit and train soldiers outside today. They were the only ones in the heat, and they were surely toiling and cooking in it. She had suggested giving the men a day off, but they both knew this heat was not about to improve. Putting it off to another day would do nothing but put the men out of practice.
Still, today seemed to be the hottest of all so far. She continued to move a fan with her magic as she sat in her suite, gazing out of the large window at her husband, who was doing magical combat with his soldiers. The field was clear all the way to a group of trees that stood outside of their land and sphere of influence. The trees had stories surrounding them, about them producing fruit that saved the lives of starving ponies or producing shade on the hottest of days. How ironic.
Today they cast a dark shadow on to the ground, despite being almost completely bare of leaves. In that darkness, it was easy for her eyes to miss the black suit, but her eyes caught hold of the bleach white face of a strange pony standing there. She stood up. She couldn't see whoever it was too well, only that there was indeed somepony there. She went out on to the balcony, trying to shield herself from the sun as much as possible, and adjusted a telescope that was set on the railing. Once adjusted, she peered through at the strange figure.
The magnification did nothing to his features, simply because he had none, though the shape of his head and body was more masculine. He looked almost like a floating head, but the telescope revealed the suit that was covered by the trees' shade, and the dark tie that was pulled tight around his neck.
Despite the heat, a chill went down Cadence's spine as she brought her eyes back up to his featureless face. There were no eyes set into the head, yet he seemed to be intently watching the field. She followed his gaze with her telescope, and found it resting exactly where her husband was standing and calling out orders. She looked back to the head, which was frozen still, and she wondered if the pony was even...alive.
Why was it there? Was it just a statue? She shifted her gaze back to her husband. He finished calling orders and circled around to the other side of the troops to view them as they did their tasks. When her eyes came back to the face, the head had moved, while her eyes had been turned away, and was now focused on her husband's new location.
She gasped slightly feeling her heart race. It was most certainly alive, and she didn't like the way it was watching her husband. She heard the blow of a whistle that snapped her vision back on to her beloved, who had called his soldiers together and was leading them back inside. Good... She sighed, mentally. Now that creep can't watch--
She let out a squeak of fear as her eyes went back to the figure, and saw that the head was turned, and now the non existent eyes were looking straight at her. She stood frozen in fear, looking deep into the hollow pits of the blank face. As luck would have it, a drop of sweat fell in her eye and she was forced to wipe it clean. When she looked back, the figure was no longer among the trees. It was nowhere!
Her eyes began scanning frantically across the open field and the clearing beyond the trees, but there was no sign of the strange pony. How can it move that fast?! It must be some sort of magic... Yes... that seemed rational. Probably just some stranger, trying to spook her. But boy was he doing a good job...
She backed away from the telescope, keeping her eyes on the field as she wiped sweat from her brow and closed the door. Now feeling safe, she sighed and looked away, going into her bathroom and splashing water on her face to get rid of the sweat. She turned and looked through the door way as she moved for the towels, and let out a scream. Through her watery vision, she saw the pony standing on the balcony, looking in at her. Long black tentacles wavered about in the air, and danced like snakes. One dropped down and pushed the door of the balcony open slowly.
She fell backwards out of the door way, panting heavily as her heart raced and she summoned any objects nearby to protect herself, though she could not see well at all. She waited. Soon the figure would walk in through the door and attack... Her heartbeat somehow went even faster at that thought. What did it want? It was no pony of Equestria, that was for sure. It had the body of an earth pony but those tentacles...she'd never seen anything like them. She hoped that her blurred vision had only created the illusion of them. Blurred vision....
She carefully got up and moved toward the towels, not taking her watery eyes off the door. She could fight much better if she could see... She pulled the towel over her face and quickly wiped away all the moisture. As the towel unblocked her vision, she was met with an empty door way. Where was he...?
A soldier charged into the bathroom and was smacked silly with a large brush Cadence used for her mane. She quickly apologized and helped him back to his feet. Once his wits were about him, he asked; “Is everything alright?! I heard you scream!”
Of course she wasn't alright! Did he not see the-... While peering out of the bathroom, she saw that the room was empty of anypony.
