Mere centimetres from the forest, a fit and comfortably placed cast, a friend at her side to help her stay strong, and enough time to complete the goal she had set for herself. Everything Fluttershy could have hoped for to make her dangerous mission easier, had been rendered useless, as well as her task.

"Applejack, Rarity... I can explain," Pinkie Pie started looking at the orange and white mare, a fearful and nervous look on her face.

"Don't start Pinkie Pie... We'll talk about this later..." Applejack replied, attempting to keep as calm as possible. She started to walk over to Fluttershy who instantly wanted to curl up and hide herself from the scolding she was sure to receive, but was restricted from doing so as her cast couldn't bend. She started to shun her head from as her legs shook in fear, clenching her teeth and hoping she wouldn't collapse or cry.

"I... I'm sorry Applejack..." She tried to say as loudly as possible, with it sounding only like a faint whisper through the fear.

"Don't worry Fluttershy... Ah'm not angry... Just... Don't make this hard for me please... We're taking you back te the hospital now..." Applejack finished, trying to stick to point and remain calm.

"Applejack... I... I can't..." Fluttershy said very quietly and fearfully. She wasn't afraid of Applejack hurting her in any way, she knew Applejack was only thinking about her safety, but she needed to stand up for herself if she still had a fighting chance at helping Twilight.

"Fluttershy, we will get Princess Celestia's help. You need treatment and recovery time! Do you want your leg to get worse?" Applejack asked, having overheard the consequences of her leg worsening.

Fluttershy was already feeling the weight of her insecurity bearing down on her, but she needed to stay strong.

"Applejack, Twilight's life is far more important than my leg!" Fluttershy said this time audible, and sounding almost slightly agitated.

"But neither of your lives are worth more than the others! Ye'r both important, and you both matter more than anything te all of us!" Applejack replied sternly.

"Then why won't you let me help Twilight?" Fluttershy asked with tears beginning to build up behind her eyelids.

Applejack sighed and tilted her head towards the ground with her eyes closed.

"Because we don't want te risk losing you again. One day scared us te death when we couldn't find you, what happens if you go in and don't come back at all?" Applejack asked, with a grim tone, trying not to become upset herself by the thought of losing a friend. Fluttershy wanted to reply, but her welling tears had started to travel down her cheeks and she couldn't form any words in her head. Pinkie Pie and Rarity had been watching the pair with the same miserable expression, knowing that this wasn't going to work out for Fluttershy to the point where they felt like they knew exactly what she was going through.

"What... What about Twilight? If I don't help her she won't come back... and I'm the only one who knows how to get to the place I last saw her..." Fluttershy reminded her in a broken voice.

"We need help te save her Fluttershy, that creature you told us about is clearly dangerous, and the princesses need to be informed... We're going to take a train to Canterlot tonight..." Applejack explained, hoping that Fluttershy would understand. Fluttershy sighted as she realised that no matter what, she wasn't going to win the argument. She wanted to turn around and gallop into the forest as fast as she could and try and reach Twilight, but she couldn't even walk at a jogging pace without causing herself pain.

Taking a few steps forward, Fluttershy let her tears roll freely as she let the last slithers of hope dither. Pinkie Pie's low spirit was being crushed with Fluttershy's and her already lowered mood had dropped to a low she didn't hit often; her hair had fallen straight and her vibrant pink seemed dark and lifeless. They both could do nothing more now, but pray that Twilight would be alright. Rarity had remained silent the whole time, feeling that she didn't have much to contribute, nor that she needed to considering Applejack had done a large amount of the work already.

"Applejack, Twilight's going to be alright isn't she?" Pinkie Pie asked, hoping to get an answer that would assure both herself and Fluttershy that their friend would return.

"Ah promise sugarcube, in fact, if it makes you feel any better, Ah'll launch a search party te try and find her while me and Rarity are on the train to Canterlot." Applejack replied. As the group walked a small ways away as she said that though, something rustled in the trees behind them. Applejack and Pinkie having been distracted, didn't notice it, but Fluttershy picked up on the noise almost instantly, and turned her head to the shrubbery behind them to find the cause, before feeling her jaw drop in immense shock and awe.

"That won't be necessary, Applejack." spoke a familiar voice, causing the rest of them to turn around, and like Fluttershy, become shocked and speechless. As if she just appeared out of thin air, Twilight stood before the lot of them.

***

"Twi-Tw-Twi-Twi..." Fluttershy stuttered, trying to get out Twilight's name, but being in too much shock to do so. Her tears had stopped, but her heart was having trouble rising, because she didn't know if she could believe her eyes. The others were even more shocked than Fluttershy. They had been worried sick for Twilight to the core, and even though they hadn't been through what Fluttershy had, they still bore a mountain of confusion and shock in their eyes.

Fluttershy stopped attempting to talk and instead took a moment to study Twilight. She looked worse than when she'd been forced to leave her, yet miraculously, she appeared to not be worried or even afraid. She had the same grazes and cuts on her body that she'd originally had, along with a few fresh ones, and her skin had even been sliced deep in some parts. Her body looked in some places like it'd had a sharp blade cut thin slits through her already bleeding wounds. She looked awful.

Twilight however didn't show any sign of the bodily injuries bothering her; she actually seemed somewhat cheerful, in a way that made Fluttershy edgy. Twilight had four specific wounds that stood out amongst the rest though. Apart from the many splotches of her blood caking her fur, and smaller cuts and grazes, Twilight had a very deep wound on both her shoulders, and either side of her flank. They were open and swollen, but not in a natural way compared to most wounds. The odd resemblance however was that the wounds were symmetrical in every way, including position, size and resemblance.

“What’s wrong Fluttershy?” Twilight asked walking over towards the group, as she got close to them though Fluttershy backed up slightly out of anxiety; something was off about Twilight. She wanted to run up and cuddle her and jump for joy, but the unnatural appearance of Twilight’s wounds and her impossibly calm and unbothered expression just didn’t match up. The others had failed to notice these features though, and rather than take any form of caution to observe Twilight’s odd appearance, they let the joy they felt upon seeing their friend rise instantly. Feeling no need to take caution, the rest of them ran forwards and hugged Twilight, leaving Fluttershy on the spot suspiciously eyeing Twilight and trying to work out in her mind if something was wrong.

“Twilight! We we’re all so worried about you!” Applejack said as she hugged Twilight’s neck.

“Oh dear Twilight you look dreadful! Whatever happened to you?” Rarity asked, dreading what the creature in the forest had done to hurt her.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said hugging Twilight under Applejack’s arms.

“I’m fine girls, really.” Twilight replied, grinning at their signs of compassion.

“How did you escape?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, Fluttershy said there was an incredibly dangerous creature out there, we were worried it might have captured you.” Rarity said. Fluttershy flicked her ears up attentively as soon as the question was asked; she wanted to hear the answer. She needed to hear it to believe her friend had truly escaped.

“What creature?” Twilight asked, her expression becoming confused.

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped in an instant upon hearing Twilight’s answer. She wanted to say something but was too shocked and speechless to even try.

“But... what do you mean no creature? Fluttershy said there was something,” Rarity started, before Twilight interrupted.

“I don’t think Fluttershy would remember a great deal about what happened in the forest, considering she was knocked out by a falling branch... before she abandoned me...” Twilight replied, lying blatantly to the lot of them. Fluttershy had seen enough though, she’d become suspicious from Twilight’s appearance, but now she knew something was wrong.

“I... I didn’t abandon you Twilight! You told me to run! To save all the kids!” Fluttershy replied sternly, trying to enforce the truth.

“What are you talkin about? Fluttershy wouldn’t abandon you Twi, why she said you fought that thing te let them escape.” Applejack said, trying to make sense of the situation.

“What creature are you talking about? Fluttershy, why did you lie to them?” Twilight asked frowning and staring at her, receiving confused looks from the others. Fluttershy was beginning to breathe fast and slightly uncontrollably. Twilight was accusing her of leaving her for dead, and she was beginning to become stressed that the others would believe her if she couldn’t make them see the truth. She had no idea why Twilight would turn against her like she was, but she had to fight back.

“I didn’t lie Twilight! You were fighting the Slendermane, and-and you told me to run!" Fluttershy cried with tears filling her eyes.

As she spoke Twilight’s wounds unbeknownst to the others but seen only by Fluttershy, began to split open, revealing her muscles which had become a deep shade of black, rather than the usual pink and red muscle would normally be coloured. As it did so blood began to seep from the wounds, but it was an unnatural black as well, with not a hint of red to be seen. It didn’t bleed down her legs as it should have, but rather bled from the whole round edge of the wound, surrounding the outer skin in a somewhat thick layer of the black blood-like liquid, before it seeped back out of her fur as if it hadn’t been there, and her revealed muscle returned to its natural colour.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asked her jumping back in fright, but taking care not to hurt her leg.

"What was what?" Twilight asked, turning around and looking behind her, followed by the others who did the same, believing Fluttershy had seen something.

"Y-y-your... your leg..." Fluttershy stammered. As everyone turned their attention from Fluttershy towards Twilight she frowned.

"Ugh! You're that afraid to admit you fucked up that you're just trying to change the topic? Just pathetic!" Twilight scowled.

The rest of the group stared at Twilight in shock with wide eyes. They knew Twilight could get annoyed, but they'd never heard her swear, let alone at Fluttershy. The shy mare had been reduced to a mere cowering, bawling, immobile wreck, other than having collapsed on the spot and cried into her fore-leg. Applejack's eyes left Twilight and stopped over Fluttershy,

"Twi... that... don't ya think... maybe that was too harsh?" Applejack asked concerned, not having seen such an angry side of Twilight reveal itself before.

"I really don't care... She left me alone trapped with a bunch of deadly creatures... As far as I'm concerned she can drop dead." Twilight said glaring at Fluttershy with a disgusted look in her eyes. The others had become so shocked and confused. Twilight had walked out of the forest right in front of them, and been delighted to see them, despite her injuries. She'd even shown some concern for Fluttershy's anxiety towards her; now suddenly she was showing nothing but disappointment and hatred towards her. Applejack was confused though now, since Twilight had said that there was no creature originally, but now added that there were multiple creatures.

“Ah thought ye just said there was no creature? What’s this about a bunch of ‘em now?” she asked.

“Oh think about it for a moment Applejack! This is the Everfree forest, this place is full of species that take and kill ponies! How am I supposed to remember all of the ones I was trapped with?” Twilight asked back after snapping at Applejack.

Applejack frowned, about to argue back due to her tone, but realised that to do so might be unfair considering Twilight’s condition after the traumatic experience she must have gone through. Fluttershy couldn't move her body at all. She was shuddering involuntarily, and her mind was flooded with confusion.

‘Why is she doing this to me? I thought she wanted me to leave... She said so herself that I was to go and not come back! Why is she attacking me? Did I really mess up this badly and leave her when she wanted me to stay?’ Fluttershy asked herself over and over as she became more upset by the second. Pinkie Pie after seeing Twilight’s outburst towards Fluttershy had become quite frightened of Twilight, wondering if something had happened in the forest to make her act like this. She kept her head down and stayed quiet, shuffling nervously over to Fluttershy to comfort her, knowing how much of a sensitive soul she was. Rarity however, although knowing Twilight was upset and angry, had to help clear Fluttershy’s name.

“Twilight dear, you don’t realise how desperately Fluttershy’s been trying to get to you. She snuck out of the hospital with Pinkie Pie despite our warnings ready to go in there to save you. She’s likely going to get a serious leg infection if we don’t get her back soon...” Rarity explained. Upon hearing Rarity try to fix the predicament, Twilight simply sighed and avoided all eye contact.

“You better get her back to the hospital then... I need to go back, I saw Rainbow Dash searching around for me inside the forest.” Twilight said turning to face the trees again.

“You can’t go back!” Pinkie Pie gasped at the suggestion, looking at Twilight in shock.

“Are you insane?” Rarity asked, far from her calm lady like tone that she usually maintained.

Applejack didn’t shout at her in objection though, Twilight was out of her mind, and she wasn’t about to let another friend leave on their own accord to put themself in dangers way; even if it was for another friend, which was what made it so much harder for her to do so. Still, she put on an aggressive facial expression and leapt over in front of Twilight, cutting her off from moving any closer to the forest.

“Oh no ye don’t! We ain’t losin’ ye again! Ah don’t care if there’s danger in there or not, you’re not going back in!” Applejack retorted, before walking towards Twilight with an intimidating glare, causing even the others to back away from her with Twilight.

Twilight backed up not out of fear however, but cunning. Very few thoughts flickered through her muddled mind, but enough of her retained memory could tell her that Applejack would likely let her guard down if she felt she was in control of a situation, and then she’d be able to slip by her. Twilight strangely enough however felt simply like crying. A foreign feeling had started invading her mind, and part of it she knew was extreme guilt. She didn’t understand why, nor could she try to understand; she only felt like she was about to do something wrong and get her friends in danger, but she couldn’t stop herself. She wanted to walk over to Fluttershy and apologise profusely, but she couldn’t. Every thought of turning around trying to do the right thing made her memory even more muddled.

Twilight looked into Applejack’s eyes for a moment while trying to sort her mind out. Her intense glare would strike fear into the burliest of stallions, but Twilight could see through the charade. Even though her mind was a mess, she could recognise the care deep inside them, and the reasoning behind her actions in trying to block her advance. She wanted to cry out to her that she was sorry, and that she was making the right decision, but she couldn’t; all she could feel was pain in her many disarrayed thoughts.

Twilight closed her eyes and shunned herself from Applejack’s dangerous gaze, feeling a new sensation building in her head. She knew it wasn’t the first time she’d experienced it, but it still felt like something she’d never been through before. A crackling static built up in her head, and became louder and louder. She clenched her teeth as the static began to become a growl, before then progressing to a fierce roar.

“I don’t know where she is!” She responded to the roar, before it responded in a somewhat snarl. “I don’t want to! Don’t you make me! Just take me! Leave the others!” Twilight responded angrily through clenched teeth.

Suddenly she felt pressure on her shoulder which caused her to flinch away in fright. She looked back at Applejack again who’d tapped her shoulder to get her attention, before she disappeared from sight for a moment in a thick cloud of grey, and then returned to her vision almost as quickly as she’d vanished; but she was backing away, with a worried expression having replaced her recent glare.

“Twilight! What’s wrong with yer eyes?” Applejack asked in a broken panicked voice. She looked like she’d seen a ghost, but rather floating through Twilight’s eyes. Twilight didn’t respond to her; instead she clenched her teeth again and started to mumble incoherently to herself. Applejack still shocked started to scurry over to Rarity, unable to find her hooves on the ground properly.

“Rarity, somethin’ is definitely wrong with Twilight... She ain’t acting anythin’ like her usual self at all.” Applejack whispered to her. “We need te get her te the hospital, with Fluttershy, now!”

“What about Rainbow Dash? Twilight said she saw her in the forest.” Rarity pointed out. Applejack paused momentarily to think.

“Ah’ll go get Rainbow Dash, you and Pinkie can take Twi, and Fluttershy te the Hospital. Ah’d take them separately though, Twilight’s not herself right now, and whatever’s happened te her, has got her taking her anger out on Fluttershy, so I think you should take Twi, while Pinkie takes Fluttershy.”

“Agreed...” Rarity replied with a nod.

They returned their eyes to Twilight, glancing momentarily at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who were both almost in the same state regardless of their hugely different conditions; Fluttershy having been traumatised by Twilight and now unable to stop herself from crying, and Pinkie traumatised by fear and confusion, and all her vibrant features having evaded her, most notable of which being her hair which had become completely straight. Rarity let out a sigh.

“They’re both such fragile spirits... I’m worried Applejack,” She started turning her head back to face Applejack. “Pinkie might recover soon, but I’m not sure if Fluttershy’s going to come back from this... She’s going to be mentally and physically scarred for the rest of her life...” Rarity said with a cough and sputter, as tears found their way to her eyes.

Applejack turned her head away and stood up, turning to face the forest.

“Rarity, Ah’m worried too, but... staying here and doing nothing ain’t going’ te make it better.” Applejack said, taking a few steps forward, before turning back to tell Rarity to start making her way to the hospital. Applejack barely had a moment to open her mouth to speak before her jaw dropped on its own. As if her problems hadn’t escalated enough over the past events, Twilight was gone.

“Where’d she go?” Applejack asked, running over to where Twilight had been mumbling to herself. Rarity turned around and gasped in shock to find the area behind her now empty. The sudden disappearance attracted the attention of the bawling mares further up from the pair, who were startled enough by Applejack’s sudden reaction to take notice. Before any of the others could respond though, an incredibly loud deafening scream echoed through the forest, which the others instantly realised was Twilight’s, but even after scanning the trees there was no sight of her.

Applejack stopped scanning as another scream echoed through the trees, as if taunting them that their friend was in trouble, but they could do nothing about it. She wanted to know what was going on behind the whole sadistic ordeal, and she wanted an answer now, before everything became more confusing.

“That’s it! Ah can’t take this no more! Fluttershy, what the hay is going on?! You said there was a dangerous creature in there, but Twilight says it was deadly animals! What was it? Who’s telling the truth, because honestly Ah’m so confused Ah can’t even tell anymore!” Applejack babbled, having trouble finding her words. Fluttershy though had still barely recovered from tonnes of crying yet again, and could barely manage more than stutters to reply. “Fluttershy, what’s going on?” Applejack asked, trying to get an answer.

Fluttershy began to curl up into a shivering ball as more questions were launched at her. Her sight was beginning to distort and the world around her was growing and shrinking. Everything she could hear had become loud and distorted as if explosions had been going off in her ears, and her body was beginning to convulse violently out of control.. She couldn’t respond to anything, nor could she make out anything to respond to. The trees in her sight had begun to distort even more, stretching and shrinking into impossible shapes. Fluttershy’s heartbeat had rapidly begun to increase in speed and her mouth was beginning to froth. Pinkie Pie leant over Fluttershy and put her hooves on her shoulders, noticing how stressed Fluttershy was really becoming.

“Applejack! Applejack what’s happening to Fluttershy?” She asked, shaking Fluttershy’s shoulders. Applejack had failed to notice that Fluttershy’s reactions weren’t as simple as she had assumed. She ran over to her friend as she quickly became concerned and realised Fluttershy was beginning to have a stress induced seizure.

“Ah... Ah thought she was just scared.” Applejack cried, holding onto Fluttershy, shaking her gently, trying to get a different response. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy Ah’m sorry! Ah didn’t mean to stress you. Oh Rarity help me!” she called out, turning her head in her panic to try and get more help; but Rarity was nowhere in sight.

“Rarity? Rarity where are you? Ah... Ah don’t know what te do!” Applejack cried out turning her head back around. “Pinkie do ye know wha...” Applejack started, talking to Pinkie Pie to request her help if she could offer any, only to find she was nowhere in sight either. Applejack began to breathe harder and heavier, becoming terrified and worrying that if she could do nothing about what was happening she’d hyperventilate with Fluttershy.

She looked down at the shuddering mare, and with no more helpful thoughts going through her mind, and hope seeping from her faster than ever, she grabbed Fluttershy and hugged her to herself. “Fluttershy, Ah’m sorry! Please, please be okay!” She cried as the mare’s convulsions shook her own weak body. No answers, two stories and no proof either is true, four of her friends mysteriously having disappeared, and the only one left cradled in her arms on what could have possibly been her deathbed if she couldn’t help.

Tears streaming down her face and her heartbeat and breathing escalating very fast, Applejack clenched her eyes shut and in a last ditch effort to try anything for help, she tried to pray to Celestia, hoping that if any sort of miracle could possibly happen it’d happen now.

“Princess? Ah... Ah don’t know i-i-if ye can hear me. Ah need help... Fluttershy needs your help. Please! If you can hear me we need your help!” Applejack cried, looking at the skies and hoping desperately for an answer, but the voice she heard next was nothing close to that of Princess Celestia. It chilled Applejack to the bone, and made hair all over her body stand to the point it was stinging. As it spoke in its deep, distorted voice, she felt her grip on Fluttershy weaken, as her last slithers of hope faded from her being and dark tenticle like appendages began to surround her.

“They can’t help you now.”

Author's Note

This is where the story will begin to delve into the grim/dark content that the first story explored, but in far more graphic detail. There will be much more graphic gore description compared to that of the first story, and also more swearing. This will be the last mature warning for the rest of the story.