Stone Parasprites

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Epilogue

Chapter 1

Monday, October 1st

~~My name is Apple Bloom, and this is my journal.~~ You are about to read a wonderful story about a young filly in Ponyville named Apple Bloom! I am an earth pony living with my brother Big Macintosh, my sister Applejack, and my grandma, Granny Smith. We all share a big house on Sweet Apple Acres, the family farm. Some ponies would think it's a little cramped in here with all of us, but to me, it's nice and cozy. My teacher, miss Cheerilee, told everypony in class that she wanted us to write a journal about our daily lives. It's supposed to make us better at writing or something. I never really thought about it before, but maybe writing in a journal everyday will help me get my cutie mark! My best friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are also trying to earn their cutie marks, but we haven't had much luck. Well, I guess that's it for the first entry. In the future I'll find even more fun stuff to talk about! Hopefully I'll get more used to writing with my mouth. This pencil tastes kinda yucky. I'm jealous of Sweetie Belle's unicorn magic.

Tuesday, October 2nd

Today was a pretty ordinary day. I went to school, played with my friends, and helped out on the farm afterwards. While I was tending the flower gardens, our friend Zecora stopped by. She's a zebra, which is different from a pony, though I don't really know the difference. She asked me if I had made any potions lately and I told her nuh-uh (it's an inside joke). She bought a bunch of various flowers from us, probably to use in her own crazy potions. She lives out in the Everfree Forest, away from the rest of Ponyville. It's pretty weird that she secludes herself like that, but she's always been nice to me and my friends! I guess you can't judge ponies by how they look...

Wednesday, October 3rd

Last night I had the weirdest dream! In the middle of the night, I had this sense that somepony was trying to get into my room! I got out of bed and locked my door and huddled up in my blankets. I think my imagination was getting the best of me though. I never heard any footsteps and nopony else in the house heard anything either. The funniest part was in the morning when Applejack called me downstairs for breakfast. I got out of bed, and ran straight into the door! I wondered why my door was locked, but then I remembered the weird dream. I'm not usually one to sleep walk or nothing. Probably just some bad dream that I let get the best of me.

Thursday, October 4th

After school today, Scootaloo was in one of her “Rainbow Dash” moods. She kept running around as fast as she could, pretending she was the head weather pony. She just went on and on about how Rainbow Dash is the coolest, bravest pony in all of Equestria. Sweetie Belle and I have heard this all before, so we just kept quiet and let her talk like she normally does. Scootaloo wants to be just like her hero. Fighting monsters, saving Ponyville, that kind of thing. She likes to brag about how Rainbow once kicked a dragon in the face. I tried telling her how that's more dumb than brave, but she wouldn't listen. Sweetie Belle just laughed at the two of us arguing. She's very shy, but can be very curious too. She looks up to her sister Rarity just like I look up to Applejack. Rarity makes all these very pretty dresses, and Sweetie Belle loves watching her work. Like Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle will go on and on about Rarity. I just kind of nod my head a lot since I don't really know what all those different fashion terms mean, but I'm not sure Sweetie Belle knows either. I guess we're not that different, because I love to tell them about all the nonsense that Applejack and Big Macintosh put me through. The Apple Family has had it tough out here, and I just know someday it might be me who's got to be the responsible one.

Friday, October 5th

I'm sorry journal, but it's been another normal, boring day. Went to school, wandered around town with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, helped out at home. I didn't realize until I started this journal how little actually happens around here. Well, I guess a lot of stuff happens, but very little involves me. I've been trying to earn my cutie mark for what seems like forever now, and my mind is as blank as my flank. I really wish something more interesting would happen...

Saturday, October 6th

Today I didn't have any school, so I ran some errands for Applejack in town. While there, I ran into Zecora again borrowing a book from Twilight. Maybe it's just me, but Zecora don't usually come to town this often. I asked her if something was the matter, but she said it was nothing to worry about. Her hair was a little more messy than it normally is, too. I don't know how much work goes into keeping a mohawk straight, but something tells me she had other things on her mind.

However, something else happened today that was really odd. As I was getting some bandages from the store, I saw this weird looking pony. He wore a hood and cape over himself like he didn't want anypony to recognize him, and he avoided crowded areas. He wasn't walking right either. He trembled with every step. I couldn't tell you what type of pony he was, or what his cutie mark looked like. I guess he noticed me staring at him, though, because he turned and looked directly at me for a moment. As far as I could tell, he had black hair and a gray face with big bags under his red eyes like he hadn't slept in a while. I told Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about him later. I know it's not good to judge other ponies by how they look, but what kind of pony tries to hide himself like that? Who was he?

Sunday, October 7th

I helped out on the farm again as usual, but I couldn't stop thinking about that weird pony I saw yesterday. Part of me wants to think he was the one creeping through our house earlier in the week, but that's just crazy. The way he walked was so unstable and clumsy. There's no way he'd be able to sneak quietly through our wooden house! Plus I'm still pretty sure that was just a dream. There weren't even any footsteps or nothing. All I felt was a sudden urge to hide. What else could it be?

Monday, October 8th

As my friends and I got out of school, I saw the weird pony from Saturday looking at the class from a distance. I tried pointing him out to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but when I turned back around he was nowhere to be seen. Did he remember me from the other day? Why would he be following me? Gosh, I'm asking so many questions. Maybe I need to just sit down and enjoy the finer things in life. Like this apple pie here, mmm. It's great having a chef for a sister!

Tuesday, October 9th

As I left the schoolhouse, I looked around for the hooded pony and didn't see him anywhere. I know I told Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle about him, but I wonder if I should let some other pony know. Then again, he really hasn't hurt anypony, and it's not like looking around is a crime. I just find myself watching my back a lot more.

Wednesday, October 10th

I was helping Applejack buck some of the apple trees today, and I coulda swore I saw the hooded pony towards the edge of our farm. I tried going towards him, but the apple fields are so large it's easy to lose track. I wandered a while before giving up. Normally I don't go this far away from our home without Applejack or Big Macintosh around, but Ponyville's been such a nice place to live that I never thought anything bad could happen to me out here. This hooded pony is really making me nervous...

Thursday, October 11th

I had that weird dream again. In the middle of the night, I just felt this sudden urge to hide. I didn't get up and lock my door this time, but I listened carefully to the house. No footsteps, no weird noises or nothing. I tried telling myself there was nothing to be afraid of, that it's just my mind playing tricks on me. But usually when I'm scared in bed like that, it's because of a scary dream or something. This time I just wanted to huddle under my blanket for no reason. Is something going on, or is it just me?

Friday, October 12th

You're not gonna believe this! I was having lunch with my friends, and while Scootaloo was talkative as normal, Sweetie Belle was really quiet. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she's been having this scary dream lately. Scoots made fun of her for bein' a wimp, but I asked more about the dream. She said it was hard to explain, but eventually she revealed that she's been having the same creepy dreams as me! You wouldn't believe her face when I told her I've been having them too! We started asking each other stuff, and Scootaloo just laughed at us and said we're too old to be having scary dreams.

After school, I suggested we go to Twilight's library and see if we can find some interesting books on dreams. Scootaloo complained, but I think she was just as interested as Sweetie Belle and me. Twilight was surprised to see us, but she let us take a look around anyway. Every time I go to her library I'm amazed at how many books she has around. On the farm there's not much time for reading since we're always working, but from what I know Twilight's buried in a book almost every spare minute she has.

We got all the books on dreams we could, but we didn't really find anything interesting. Usually if ponies are having similar dreams it's because of some experience they've shared. All Sweetie Belle and I have done together is go to school. Well, I guess we're the only ponies in class that haven't gotten our cutie marks yet, but we've been going through that for a long time now. Why would the dreams start only now?

Scootaloo started getting bored of reading and complained. I guess she's right, since we haven't made any progress figuring out these dreams, but there's gotta be something we're missing.

Saturday, October 13th

I couldn't sleep last night, but not because of another scary dream. This time I just laid awake in bed all night trying to figure out this whole mess. Now that I think about it, I bet Scootaloo was just playing tough. She usually hates reading. If Scootaloo hadn't had any dreams, why would she have come to the library with us? Maybe we should ask some of our classmates if they've been having weird dreams too. If they have, we might be able to make sense of this whole thing! Tomorrow. Right now I'm fighting off a stomachache thanks to some bad apples. Blech. Way to spend a Saturday.

Sunday, October 14th

Since we had the day off from school and chores, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I did some investigating around town. It turns out, there were a few ponies that DID have bad dreams like us! What's even weirder is most of them were foals just like us! A lot of our classmates admitted to having bad dreams, and Pinkie Pie mentioned that one night while babysitting, the babies started crying for no reason at all! Then again, it's Pinkie Pie, so she could have done any number of things to upset them. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara denied having any bad dreams, but all they do is make fun of us anyway so I doubt they're telling the truth.

However, one adult pony in town said she'd been having some trouble sleeping, and that's Twilight. When we asked her why that might be, she said she had no idea. Even her pal Spike has been sleeping normally. Before Twilight opened her mouth, I thought I was starting to make sense of this whole thing. But since kids aren't the only ones with the problems, we're back to square one.

Monday, October 15th

I don't know what's happening to me. Nothing makes sense anymore. I'm feeling okay now, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened last night. I'm glad I've been keeping this journal. Maybe if I write it all down it might all seem clear.

I was in my bed at night as usual. It had been a few days since I had any of the nightmares, so I was almost back to being my usual, cheery self. However, in the middle of the night, I woke up and screamed as loud as my lungs would let me.

I couldn't stop myself. I cried and wailed, thrashing around in my sheets. I felt like something was possessing me. At some point I fell out of my bed and hit the floor. My screams fainted a bit since falling down takes a bit out of you, but I was hysterical. I don't remember how long it took, but Applejack opened the door and turned on the light to find me huddling in the corner.

“Apple Bloom! What's the matter?!” she cried out.

“There's something here!” I yelled. “Something's in the house!”

Applejack sighed. “Sweetie, if something got into our house, I would have known about it. You're just having a bad dream, that's all.” As she said that, Big Macintosh walked into my room, yawning.

I knew I should have believed her, but I didn't. “Please check! I just know something's going on!”

Applejack sighed and looked at our brother. “Big Macintosh, could you take a look around and see if anypony is in here who's not suppose'd be?”

Big Macintosh said "Eeeyup," and walked out the door.

I was scared out of my mind, and yet the way he said that she might as well have asked him to carry a bucket of apples back to the barn. I sat there shivering in Applejack's arms for a few minutes before Big Macintosh showed back up and shook his head.

“See Apple Bloom?” Applejack tried to reassure me. “Everything's fine. You just had a bad dream.”

I took a deep breath and tried to listen to my big sister. Nopony had been hurt, and Big Macintosh didn't find any sign that somepony had been in the house other than us. Just as I was starting to get back to our senses, we heard a rumble outside and a bunch of loud squealing.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack yelled and looked out my window. “Big Macintosh, the piglets got out of the barn somehow! Quick, we gotta round 'em up before they cause any damage to the crops!”

My two siblings rushed out of my room and left me alone. I sat on the floor a while and listened to them bark orders at each other outside my window. I had no idea what happened to me that night. I was sleeping soundly, and out of nowhere I just felt terrified. My world just crashed down around me for no reason. After a few minutes, things finally quieted down. I looked outside and saw the two of them walking back from the barn.

“Gosh darn it!” Applejack yelled at my brother. “I told you to fix the hinge on that door weeks ago! I just knew something like this might happen if you didn't!”

“Eeyup...” Big Macintosh sighed.

Applejack continued to scold my brother, but instead of watching them, I looked in the distance, away from town. It was hard to tell at nighttime, and I might still have been hysterical, but I think I caught a glimpse of the hooded pony.

I don't know what he did, but the bad dreams going around have got to be because of him. The thing is, how is he doing it? I've never heard of that kind of magic, not to mention I'm not even sure he's a unicorn. And why? Why scare all the kids in town? Why scare me? What happened to me last night was far worse than any of the stories my classmates told me.

Because I was so shaken last night, Applejack decided I should stay home and rest instead of being forced to go to school. She even brought me breakfast in bed, though I've been so busy thinking about last night that I almost forgot to eat it.

I just realized that this is the longest entry in my journal since I started a few weeks ago. Maybe Applejack was right to have me stay home from school today. I'm gonna go get some sleep. I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 16th

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were worried about me after I didn't come to school yesterday. They thought that the hooded pony may have done something to me, and I'm not entirely sure they're wrong. The problem is, it might be our fault that he even noticed us. We spent all day on Sunday gathering clues. Maybe he spotted us and I didn't notice. I don't know if I want to keep on trying to solve this mystery. Maybe if I just throw this notebook away and try to go back to my normal life, he'll leave us alone. Then again, he knows I'm aware of him. He might not leave me alone even if I quit snooping around.

I guess my stress must be really noticeable, because Sweetie Belle kept trying to change the subject. She'd talk about Rarity and the homework we've been having and asking about how Applejack's been doing on the farm. It's nice of her to try to take my mind off of things like that, but it'll be a while before I can forget, and that's assuming everything goes fine from here on out. On the other hoof, Scootaloo was all gung-ho about finding the hooded pony. Partly because she's worried about me, but I also think she's just trying to find an excuse to be brave. These two girls are the best friends a filly could have, but even they can't cure my troubles this easily...

Wednesday, October 17th

After school I saw Zecora wandering around town again. She looked even worse than the last time I saw her. Her mohawk was drooping to the point where it almost looked like any normal pony's mane, and she had bags under her eyes like she hadn't been sleeping well. I always wondered how she kept such a calm mind despite living alone in the Everfree Forest. I went up to her and said hello, and she jumped backwards in shock before realizing it was me. We chit-chatted for a little bit, but when I brought up the hooded pony, things got serious.

She looked me straight in the eye and asked “You have seen the hooded pony?”

It wasn't like her to speak like normal pony folk. Usually she rhymes. Says it's to help her keep in the rhythm of the earth, but I guess even she's been thrown off-balance.

“I'm not sure, but I think he's been following me,” I told her.

“Following you? But for what reason?”

“I'm not really sure,” I responded. “I started having these weird dreams...”

“Dreams?” she enquired. “What kind of dreams?”

“Just... suddenly at night I'd be really scared. I'd be sleeping normally, then I'd be wide awake and thinking that something was there to get me.”

“Oh no...” Zecora replied, closing her eyes. “I thought this would be something that I alone would have to face. Apple Bloom, you must heed my words. Do not follow the hooded pony. He is dangerous, and you and your friends are too young to help me.”

“I don't know if I can avoid him!” I told her. “The other night, I saw him walking away from the Apple farm just after the worst nightmare I've ever had!”

“Leave it to me, Apple Bloom,” Zecora told me. “I will handle this on my own.”

“But-”

“QUIET!”

I looked at her, eyes wide open. I had never heard Zecora shout before, and she was so loud that the other ponies in town started looking at her funny.

After a moment, even she realized what she had done, and tried to comfort me with a smile. “I appreciate that you are trying to help, young one, but this is something I must face alone. Take care of yourself.”

I watched Zecora walk off into the distance. I know she is trying to help me, but I feel useless just sitting around doing nothing. And seeing as how she's even more stressed than me, I'm not sure she can handle this on her own...

Thursday, October 18th

I've decided to start carrying my journal around with me in a little pack. After everything that's happened, it kind of helps for me to write it all down. Diamond Tiara was making fun of me for keeping it so close, but miss Cheerilee caught on to her teasing and gave her detention. Then she praised me for putting so much effort into the journal assignment. I don't know what she'll think when she reads all this, but I bet this journal is going to wind up nothing like the others in the class.

When I told Scootaloo about my conversation with Zecora yesterday, she got really fired up. “There's no way she can handle this on her own! If she's as worn down as you say she is, then we have to help her!”

“But how?” Sweetie Belle reasoned. “We have no idea where the hooded pony could be hiding!”

“It's not about finding him,” Scootaloo responded. “It's about making him come to us.”

“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle replied.

Scootaloo put her hoof to her chin and pondered. “Well, for starters, he knows who Apple Bloom is, and if she's right, he's been following the rest of the kids at school around as well.”

The conversation got quiet as my two friends looked around. As far as they could tell, the hooded pony was nowhere to be seen.

Scootaloo turned back to Sweetie Belle. “He might come after one of us next. We just have to be ready for him.”

“And how exactly are we going to be ready for him with his weird paranoid dream magic?” Sweetie Belle yelled. “With that hood on he could be anypony in town!”

Scootaloo got angry. “Well what do you expect us to do? Just sit around and wait? Zecora might be in danger, and who knows what he'll do to Apple Bloom next?”

“I don't know, alright!” Sweetie Belle started crying. “I'm just worried! I was really hoping it was a coincidence that we had all these bad dreams, but now my friends might be hurt and, and...” Sweetie Belle wiped her eye with her hoof.

Scootaloo calmed her temper and gave Sweetie Belle a hug. “I'm sorry I got all mad. I'm just as worried as you. For now, let's just sit on it. We'll figure something out, okay?”

Sweetie Belle looked up and smiled. Then she turned to me. “Apple Bloom, maybe you should put the journal down a bit. We should hang out and have a normal day for once.”

Did I just write that? Oops.

Friday, October 19th

I'm really glad I found this journal, because I thought I had lost it somewhere! I coulda swore I left it in my bag at recess today, but when I checked it back in the classroom, it was gone! At first I thought somepony might have stolen it, but Sweetie Belle just found it on the lunch tables outside the school. I don't remember taking it out and reading it, but my head's been kind of a mess lately, so maybe I did. I'm just glad it's back in my hooves. I think I'll try to keep it with me at all times now. Writing like this calms me a bit. Instead of all the thoughts swirling around in my head, they're here on paper.

Other than that scare, today was pretty normal. Went to school as usual, hung out with my friends, did chores. Some other pony might call it boring, but for me it was a reminder of how my life used to be before the hooded pony messed it all up. I tried to enjoy it while it lasted, but I have a feeling things won't be like this for long...

Saturday, October 20th

I messed up.

Applejack, Twilight, Miss Cheerilee... if you ever find this journal... I'm sorry. As I'm writing this, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I are trapped in the Everfree Forest. It's dark, it's cold, and we're hungry. We've been wandering around so long that we've lost our sense of direction. Thank Luna that there's a full moon tonight, otherwise it would be pitch black. My friends are huddled against a nearby tree, trying to get whatever rest they can, but all I can think of is what happened during the last several hours.

It started around noon. I met up with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in town. We talked for a while, played catch, looked around the stores. It was just your average, typical, sunny day in Ponyville. But if you've read this far, you know that I've had a lot on my mind. Every so often I'd bring up the hooded pony, and they would just ignore me and talk about something else. Over and over I tried, and every time I did, they would immediately change the subject. This went on for a while, until eventually I had enough.

“Why won't you guys listen to me?” I said. “We have a huge problem on our hands and you two just keep acting like it's no big deal!” They frowned and looked off to the side, not speaking. “What is it?” I asked them.

Sweetie Belle looked at me sadly and said, “Apple Bloom... you're the only one we know who's even SEEN the hooded pony.”

“Well of course I am!” I told her. “He's always staying out of sight. He's trying to hide!”

Scootaloo trembled as she spoke. “He's all you've been talking about for the last few weeks. If there really was some creepy pony around, wouldn't some other ponies in town have seen him?”

I stared at them, my mouth hanging open. “Wh... what are you saying?”

Sweetie Belle looked really sad. “Apple Bloom, I don't think he exists.”

“I'm just imagining him?!” I yelled at her. “All the weird things going on around here, and you think I'm just making it up?!”

Scootaloo stepped in. “No, we don't think you're making it up! You've just... been having bad dreams lately, and starting to get them mixed up with reality. That's all.”

I shook my head hard. “I'm not the only one getting bad dreams! You two had them as well! And the rest of the kids at school!”

Sweetie Belle looked to the side. “Maybe it's just a disease going around. You know how it is. Just makes you feel real nauseated.”

“What kind of weirdo illness does that?!” I yelled.

Scootaloo frowned. “You had a disease where Cutie Marks appeared all over your body! Anything can happen!”

“Well, what about Twilight?” I reasoned. “She had the bad dreams too!”

Scootaloo started getting impatient. “Just because she's an adult doesn't mean she can't get sick!”

“No, no, NO!” I screamed. I shut my eyes tight and hit my head with my hooves over and over. “I swear, I'm telling the truth! There's a hooded pony in town and he's giving everypony scary dreams!”

Sweetie Belle put her hoof on my shoulder. “Just take it easy, Apple Bloom. Like we said, maybe you're just sick or something.”

For a moment, I thought that they might be right. Maybe I just ate something bad that night that I woke up screaming. Maybe there's just an illness going around. Maybe the hooded pony was just my eyes playing tricks on me. But then my eyes opened wide as I remembered something important.

“Zecora!” I shouted. “She's seen the hooded pony too! I think she may have been tracking him or something, because she looked tired when she warned me about him!”

Scootaloo looked at me wide-eyed, then knocked on her head with her hoof. “I can't believe I forgot all about her! Fine, let's go see her and get this sorted out.”

Sweetie Belle suddenly looked scared. “Apple Bloom, she might be in trouble! It's been a while since you told us about how she looked all week!”

I realized this was right. “I hadn't even thought about that! She was going after the hooded pony alone! Who knows what he might have done to her! We need to go to her hut, now!”

My friends looked at each other and nodded, and we ran together toward Zecora's.

The sun began to set as we made it to the edge of the Everfree Forest. The path to her hut was as clear as ever, but even though we've been there multiple times before, this time we just stood still, looking in.

Scootaloo turned to me. “You know Apple Bloom, if you happen to be right, it might be really dangerous in there. We've faced scary stuff in the forest before, and today doesn't seem any safer.”

Sweetie Belle looked back towards Ponyville. “Maybe we should go get one of the adults. They might be able to check on her instead.”

I shook my head. “They don't know about the hooded pony or Zecora or nothing. I don't think they'd believe us. Plus, it's bad enough that we've waited this long to go see her. If she's in trouble, the sooner we help her, the better!”

Sweetie Belle slouched. “But the hooded pony might be in there somewhere. It'd be a lot easier to hide in the trees than it would in the middle of town...”

“No!” I shouted. “I'm going in there right now! And you're coming with me! If the three of us just stick together, we'll be okay!”

“If you say so,” Scootaloo murmured.

The three of us followed the path in the forest. Even though it was getting late, we would still have plenty of time to get to Zecora's hut and back before dark. It seems like no matter how many times I walked through those woods, they never stop being creepy. The way the trees are shaped, the random noises you hear, the uneven ground. Plus, with monsters like the cockatrice around that nearly turned us to stone, you never really know what to expect. Finally, after a little walk, we made it to Zecora's hut. The three of us looked around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I walked up to the front door, gulped, and pushed it open. We heard a familiar voice.

“My little pony, why didn't you knock on the door? It's only common manners, as I assume you have learned before.”

The three of us looked into the hut wide-eyed and saw Zecora. Her mane looked straight as usual, with not the slightest sense of weariness. Her hut was in perfect order, and she seemed surprised to see us. Before she could say another word, the three of us ran in and hugged her.

“Zecora!” we cried.

“I thought you were hurt!” Sweetie Belle sobbed. “I was so worried!”

Scootaloo smiled at Zecora. “I thought you could take care of yourself, but sometimes you just aren't sure, you know?”

I looked up at her. “Tell us what happened, Zecora! Where have you been? Last time I saw you you looked just awful!”

She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, dear Apple Bloom? From your behavior tonight, it seems as though you thought I was doomed.”

Scootaloo smiled and wiped a tear. “We thought the hooded pony may have done something to you!”

Sweetie Belle hugged Zecora's legs. “Apple Bloom told us you were going to fight him or something! We're just glad you're okay!”

Zecora looked at the three of us, confused. “Who is this hooded pony of which you speak? Was it him who caused you to give those awful shrieks?”

The three of us stepped back and stared at her in silence. I gulped and my mouth trembled as I asked a question. “Y-you don't r-remember talking to m-me in t-town last week?”

“I do not, as far as I recall,” she said. “I have been meditating in my hut this past week, and that is all.”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other and sighed, relieved. With the main issue out of the way, the two of them talked with Zecora for a while, catching up on what's been going on with their lives.

They didn't tell her anything about the hooded pony or the nightmare I had.

As they talked, I sat in the corner as my mind drifted off into space. I was glad that Zecora was unhurt, but she was the last hope that I wasn't losing it. Was the hooded pony really a figment of my imagination? I remember him looking directly at me. His gray fur and his dark, messy mane. His dark red eyes. How he walked like his legs could barely support his weight. And we ran into each other so much, it seemed like there was no way it was a coincidence. Either he was following me, or I was just...

I looked over at the group chatting to each other. Zecora seemed just like her older self. Did I just dream that encounter with her? I remember how tired she looked, how she snapped at me not to interfere with the hooded pony. Her “rhythm” was all but gone and she spoke like us normal ponies.

Eventually, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle finished talking and said goodbye. I tried to, but it was more of a mumble. As we walked back through the Everfree Forest, the sun was nearly gone. The three of us walked in a straight line, not talking or anything. It continued on like this for several minutes until I finally broke the silence.

“When we get back, let's talk to some of the pony folk in town. Maybe one of them saw Zecora talking to me...”

“No!” Scootaloo stopped walking and glared at me. “We're done with this! Nothing bad has happened! There was no hooded pony, Zecora wasn't hurt, and we all just got sick or something!”

Sweetie Belle put her hoof on my shoulder. “Scootaloo's right, Apple Bloom. I think you might be coming down with something. It's making you see things that aren't there. When we get back, we're going to the doctor's to see if you ate a bad plant or something. Are you... crying?”

She was right. I was crying. I held it in the whole time we were at Zecora's, but now that it was just us three, I just let it all out. I sat down on the ground and sobbed. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hugged me and sat with me for a few minutes until I was ready to speak again.

“I'm so sorry, girls!” I told them. “I didn't mean to worry you so much! I just don't know what's going on! I'm not sure I can tell what's real and what isn't!”

“It'll be alright...” Scootaloo reassured me. “Give it a few weeks and you'll be good as new, I promise!”

“We're not gonna let anything happen to you!” Sweetie Belle smiled at me. “You're our best friend! We don't know what we'd do without you!”

I sniffled and stood up again. “I'll be more careful from now on. I think I can walk alright again. Let's just get back to Ponyville...”

They smiled at me and the three of us continued our trek through the woods. Ponyville was a ways away, and I knew we wouldn't make it out before nightfall. I took deep breathes to calm myself as we walked. Instead of getting lost in my thoughts, I decided to focus on what was around me. The dirty road. The unusual shapes of the trees. The unusual berries that grew on the bushes. The last thing I noticed before the sun set was two red eyes staring at me from behind the trees.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at them. They looked right back at me, unmoving. I rubbed my eye for a moment and looked back. They were gone. I continued to stare until Scootaloo snapped me out of it.

“Apple Bloom, what are you doing? The sun is down! We need to get back home!”

“But I...” I mumbled.

“We have to go!” Sweetie Belle insisted. “You know what kind of creatures come out of these woods at night!”

“But...”

Scootaloo tugged on my hoof. “Come on! I know you're not doing so well, but you could at least walk with us!”

I let go of her hoof and slowly stepped towards the trees where I saw the eyes. My friends just stared at me as I walked towards nothing in particular. But I had to know. I stepped off of the main path into the forest and inched toward where I had seen the glowing red eyes. As I went in deeper, Scootaloo called out.

“Apple Bloom! Where are you going?” Her voice wavered. “You're kinda creeping me out over here...”

I ignored her and continued on slowly and quietly. Just up ahead were the two trees on either side of the eyes. I jumped as something grabbed my arm.

“Stop this right now!” Sweetie Belle cried. “We're taking you home whether you like it or not!”

“No!” I shouted at her, struggling to let go. Scootaloo came and wrestled me to the ground. Once they had me pinned down, I gave up. I was sure it was just a trick of the light playing with my eyes. Whatever disease I had was making me see things.

Until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hoof quiver behind one of the trees.

“YOU!” I shouted. I shoved Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle away, got up, and ran full speed towards the hooded pony. As I rounded the tree, I saw him directly in his red eyes. His hood shadowed his face, but his eyes gave away his expression. He was afraid. I don't know why he would be scared of three little ponies, but when I discovered him, he ran. I chased right after him, leaving my friends behind. I could hear them calling after me, but I ignored them. All of my attention was focused on the hooded pony, fleeing deeper into the woods.

It was difficult to--------------

Um... sorry about that. Anyway, it was hard to chase him through the forest. Vines hung from the trees and loose roots threatened to trip me wherever I stepped. I've never been the most athletic, and it was difficult enough just to follow him, let alone run. But on the other hand, he didn't seem like he was having it any easier. I had noticed the wobbliness in his legs before, but now I realized how difficult running was for him. He would constantly trip over roots. He'd be forced to duck under low-hanging branches that I was too short to hit. I'm guessing that hood of his wasn't helping him, because I saw him turn and run smack into a tree once. But no matter how many times he would fall, he got right back up and kept moving.

At some point we came across a tall tree that had fallen down. It laid on a slope on top of the rest of the landscape. I followed the hooded pony as he ran up the tree trunk. As I followed him, I took a look at the surrounding area. Off in the distance I saw the lights on in the houses of Ponyville. I didn't realize I had run so far off-course.

The hooded pony stood on the edge of the tree trunk looking out. I steadied my balance and made my way to the top. In the glow of the moon, I got a good look at him. His mane was messy and pure black. He looked far younger than I had imagined. I bet he wasn't much older than Big Macintosh! He didn't look anywhere near as strong, though. If anything, I doubt he had had a full meal in a while. Even up here, his legs quivered so much he was in danger of falling off.

“Who are you?” I asked.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and bit his lip. He closed his hoof and tapped his forehead over and over. He looked around the area, then back at me.

“Tell me what's going on!” I demanded.

The hooded pony's eyes widened as I yelled, but he remained silent. He bit his lip and shut his eyes tight like he was thinking. As we stood there, we heard the sound of my friends.

“Apple Bloom! Where'd you go? We can't find you!”

The hooded pony looked at me and swung his cape over one side, revealing a pegasus wing. Not only that, but I got a look at his cutie mark. A yellow lightning bolt descending from a storm cloud. Looked kind of like Rainbow Dash's. He turned to face the edge of the tree trunk. He turned his head to look back at me, then spoke.

“I'm not your enemy.”

He lept off of the tree trunk over the forest. He didn't fly like a normal pegasus. It was more like a glide. His cape billowed over the side opposite his wing. In an instant, he was gone.

“She's up here!” Scootaloo cried from the bottom of the tree trunk. Sweetie Belle and her ran up the tree trunk to find me staring off into the distance. They yelled my name a few times, but I just ignored them and tried to figure out what just happened. If he was a pegasus, why would he need the cape? Why did he look scared of me? When he said he wasn't my enemy, was he telling the truth?

Scootaloo snapped out of my confusion by shaking me so hard I nearly fell. “What's the matter with you?!” she yelled. “Why did you run all the way out here? We thought you were about to come home peacefully and let us sort things out, but noooo, you just HAD to go crazy on us and get us lost in the Everfree Forest!” Scootaloo eye's looked like they could burst into flames at any second, and she was breathing like an angry bull.

“She's right!” Sweetie Belle yelled. “We tried to be patient and understanding with you, but you see something in the woods and you just have to chase after it! There are monsters around here, Apple Bloom! We're lucky we haven't run into any already!”

“You don't understand!” I told them. “I saw him! I saw the hooded pony! He tried to run, but I chased him all the way up here!”

They looked at me like this was some kind of practical joke. “Well where is he now, then?” Scootaloo snarked.

“He lept off and glided into the forest!” I said. “He's a pegasus! He had gray fur, and messy black hair, and a thundercloud for a cutie mark! He looked about as old as Big Macintosh!”

“Hold on,” Sweetie Belle said. “If he's a pegasus, why would he go back into the forest? Why wouldn't he just fly away? It's not like we could catch up.”

“Beats me!” I told her. “I'm just as confused as you! He looked like he had something to tell me, but he couldn't quite spit it out.”

“You know what? I don't care anymore,” Scootaloo complained. “We need to get back home. I don't want to hear about any of this ever again.” She started walking down the tree trunk. Sweetie Belle and I followed.

When we made it to the bottom, I put my hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. “You need to listen to me! The hooded pony-”

“Stay away from me!” she yelled, shoving me away. I caught her eyes again. She was as angry as she was before, but this time there was something else in them: fear. She wasn't just mad at me for getting them lost, she was scared of me. Sweetie Belle just looked at us and didn't say anything.

We walked in the direction of Ponyville that we saw from the high tree trunk, but with no path to follow, we weren't always sure we were headed the right direction. Occasionally we would hear a rustle in the bushes, but I thought that maybe I had caused enough trouble for the night and decided not to look into them anymore. After wandering for what seemed like an hour, we still hadn't found the edge of the forest. When we found a little clearing, we decided to call it quits. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle huddled together for warmth, while I wrote the story that you're reading now.

You know, while I was writing the part about chasing the hooded pony through the woods, I had that scary feeling again. The one that started this whole mess. I think I saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo wake up and look around, but after a few minutes they just brushed it off and went back to sleep. I don't know if Scootaloo is right or not. I mean, I know what I saw. That pony was real, and he looked like he had something important to say. I don't know how he could give us bad dreams or make Zecora forget about him, but I don't know if I want to let this go or not. On one hoof, I've caused my friends enough problems, and maybe I should just try to go back to normal. On the other... if something really is happening, then ignoring it might only make things worse. If I see my sister again, I'll tell her everything.

It's cold out here. I'm going to go over to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and see if they'll let me huddle next to them. Wish me luck.

Sunday, October 21st

I'm safe in my room on the Apple Farm. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are back at their homes, too. None of us were hurt, but we did scare our families quite a bit. I told Applejack I was staying over at Scootaloo's place. To be honest, I don't even know where she lives, and I doubt Applejack knows either. Right now my big sis thinks I'm just taking a nap in my room, but there's no way I can sleep. Not after what I saw this morning.

Sweetie Belle was the first to get up. “Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! You have to see this!” she yelled, pushing us to wake us.

I yawned and opened my eyes to the faintest bit of sunlight. I'd have liked to get more rest, but it was still welcome after being trapped in the dark so long. At first I wondered why Sweetie Belle was so excited, but then I remembered we were in the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo and I shook ourselves awake as fast as we could, expecting to deal with a monster or something. But instead of a fight, we saw a line scratched into the dirt on the ground. One side of the line ended in our clearing, but the other went straight into the forest. We couldn't see the end of it.

“That wasn't there last night,” Scootaloo pondered, shaken. “Was somepony watching us? That's... so creepy.” She shuddered.

“Where do you think it goes?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I thought Ponyville was in the other direction...”

“Look!” I said. “There are hoofprints on the edges of the line!” The two of them took a closer look at the line and realized I was right. The dirt wasn't very deep, but you could see the faint outlines of hoofprints on either side of the line. “Somepony wants us to follow this! I bet it's that hooded pony from last night!”

Scootaloo gritted her teeth. “Apple Bloom, we told you, there is no hooded pony! And even if he did exist, would you really want to follow him? For all we know this line is leading us into a trap!”

“Well what do you expect we do?” I told her. “We couldn't find our way out last night, and now there's a line leading us somewhere! I don't know about you two, but I want to see where this line leads! I don't think we'll ever get out of here if we just blindly stumble through the forest like last night!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Says the filly that got us lost out here in the first place.”

Sweetie Belle glared at her, then stepped towards the line with me. “I think Apple Bloom is right. Besides, she told us last night that the hooded pony isn't our enemy. Maybe he's trying to lead us out...”

“Don't tell me you believe her!” Scootaloo scoffed. “Ever since that nightmare she's been nothing but trouble!”

“I... I trust her.” Sweetie Belle looked at me and gave a weak smile. “I don't know if everything's she's saying is right, but I'm going to stick with her on this one.” After all that I put her through, she still thought of me as her best friend. I hugged her tightly, burying my face in her mane.

Scootaloo sighed in defeat. “Alright. I'll follow the path with you two. Just remember... I warned you.”

The line twisted and curved as it went through the forest. Usually it was because of some debris in the way from all the broken branches around, and other times it would loop around seemingly nothing at all. I didn't really question it. After all, we were in the Everfree Forest, and there could be traps or monster nests anywhere. Yet, for as dangerous as we knew the forest was, this morning was surprisingly quiet.

At some point, Scootaloo broke the silence. “You know all the stories the older ponies tell us about this forest? How it's filled with manticores, ursas, parasprites, dragons, and all other creepy things? We even ran into that Cockatrice a while back. But all night we haven't run into a single monster. We even slept for several hours without anything disturbing us? I'm starting to think those stories are exaggerated.”

“You might be right,” Sweetie Belle said, “but even though it's not THAT dangerous, that doesn't mean there aren't things out here that can hurt us.”

“I'm just saying...” Scootaloo responded, “that isn't it odd how we haven't run into anything this time around?”

“What about that dream?” I asked.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other in silence.

“I had that dreaded feeling again last night! And I saw you two wake up from it! You can't tell me I'm the only one! We all experienced it at the same time!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “It was probably just a cold breeze or something. We didn't have anything covering us, you know!”

“All you've been doing is giving excuse after excuse to make me think I'm going crazy!” I shouted at her. “I don't know what happened with Zecora or that nightmare I had, but just sweeping it under the rug and pretending it doesn't exist is a huge mistake!”

“I don't even know who you are anymore!” she yelled. “You had one bad dream and you became obsessed with it! This 'hooded pony' is nothing but an illusion! You're the only one who can see him! When we get back, I don't want to have anything to do with you!”

“Fine!” I screamed. “You're just holding me back anyway! If this path leads us out, I'd sooner side with the hooded pony than I would with you!”

“Girls?” Sweetie Belle asked us.

“WHAT?” Scootaloo and I yelled at her simultaneously.

“S... somepony is... following us...”

Scootaloo and I looked back at the trail we covered. We didn't see him, anything, but then again we had been yelling at each other the last few minutes.

“Well, let's just go take a look for ourselves then, shall we?” Scootaloo snarked.

“Yeah, let's settle this once and for all!” I snapped back.

The two of us ran down the trail, with Sweetie Belle behind us screaming to slow down. I didn't care about whether it was safe. I just wanted to prove Scootaloo wrong. I wanted to show her the hooded pony once and for all and teach her not to be so condescending towards me. As I ran back down the trail, I found myself coming down with a splitting headache, but I didn't care. Scootaloo also looked like she was having one, but we both persevered. Our vision blurred and our balance was knocked off, but proving the other wrong was the only thing important. We rounded a corner and found our stalker.

It wasn't the hooded pony at all. This pony was tall and slender. He wore a business suit with a red tie. The morning sun shined on his face. He had no eyes, no mouth, and no ears. Not only that, but tentacles protruded from his back, making his already tall form look even larger. With them, he almost stood like a spider. When I saw him, I was more scared than I had ever been in my entire life. Worse than Nightmare Moon turning Equestria into eternal night, worse than finding Twilight's stone body, and a sense of chaos more disturbing than Discord's reign over Ponyville. I didn't want to find out who he was. I didn't want to know why he was following us. I just wanted to get out of there, as soon as possible.

Scootaloo and I ran, screaming the entire way. Sweetie Belle watched us with wide eyes as we bolted past her. I took a look behind me and saw that she was stunned, just staring at the creature who had now stepped out from behind the tree. I ran back, grabbed her hoof, and snapped her out of it long enough to get her moving. At this point, we didn't even care where the line went. All we knew was that the end of it was the slender pony. With those long legs and tentacles as arms, he wouldn't even have had to run to keep up with us. I didn't look back.

The three of us ran until we were out of breath. I was scared to stop, but my lungs were about to explode. Finally, I collapsed on the ground. I weakly looked behind me, and sighed in relief. The slender pony was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked me, helping me back up. “I'm sorry I didn't believe you...” she said, panting.

I shook my head. “That wasn't him!”

“What?!” Scootaloo cried.

“Weren't you listening to me when I was describing him? That wasn't him! He didn't have a blank face, or, or, or tentacles coming out of his back! And he was wearing a hood and cape, not a freaking suit!”

“Then who was he?” Sweetie Belle whimpered.

“I don't know...” I told her. “When I saw him, I just... felt the most intense fear. I can't even explain it. Just being near him made me want to cry.”

We walked along the line again in silence. Every so often, one of us would give away a hacking cough. I don't know if it was being we spent the night outside, or because we were in the presence of the slender pony. Along the way, I realized something.

“Scootaloo... do you remember how mad I got at you back there?”

She looked at me. “I got mad at you too. I'm really sorry...”

“No, it's okay!” I told her. “I don't think I ever get that mad! And when we got near that pony, I started feeling really messed up in the head! Maybe he did something to us!”

“You're right!” she told me. “I got the worst headache ever as we rounded that corner. There's more to that pony than we know of.”

“Girls, look!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “The exit to the forest!”

Scootaloo and I looked down the path, and she was right! The line led us out of the forest where we could see Ponyville in the distance. As we took our steps out of the forest, we collapsed and laid in the grass. It was much nicer than all the dirt and broken branches in the Everfree Forest.

“Are you three Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?”

The three of us jumped up and saw him in broad daylight. The hooded pony. His cape covered his body, hiding his pegasus wing and cutie mark from sight. His black mane looked a lot darker against the sunlight. His legs quivered as always. The three of us stared at him in disbelief.

“I get it. You're all scared of me. Understandable, considering the circumstances.” He closed his eyes. “I'm sorry for getting you all involved in this. But I have a favor to ask.”

We looked at each other, worried, but there wasn't anything any of us could do. We looked at him and silently nodded.

“Do not speak a word of this to anypony.”

We all sat there on the ground, not sure whether or not to believe him.

“Ponies fear that which they do not understand,” he continued. “There is more going on than you can imagine. Don't make assumptions. Don't jump to conclusions. I apologize for getting you three involved in this. Go home. Get some rest.”

The three of us looked at each other hesitantly, then stood up. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle started walking towards Ponyville, but I continued looking at the hooded pony.

“Is there something else you want?” he asked me.

“What's your name?” I asked.

He looked away before giving me an answer. “Dark Storm.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, um, thank you, Dark, for leading us out. I-I mean, Mister Storm! Sorry.”

I could have sworn for a moment there, he actually smiled.

“I don't know what's going on,” I continued, “but it just don't feel right to sit here and do nothing. Is there any way at all I can help? Who was that slender pony we found?”

Dark sighed. “It's a long story. You're better off getting some rest.”

“But I wanna help!” I demanded. “You can't expect me to go through all that and just forget about it!”

He shut his eyes for a while like he was in deep thought. The wind rustled the trees and his eyes opened suddenly, as if he was panicked. “Quick, let me see your notebook!”

“Wh-why?” I asked.

“No questions! Just do it!” he demanded.

Surprised, I quickly opened my bag and gave him my journal.

“A pencil!” he said. I grabbed the one from my bag and gave that to him as well. He opened my journal up to a page in the back and scribbled something in a hurry. He shoved my journal and pencil back into my bag. “Now get out of here! They're coming.”

“Who's coming?” I asked, both scared and confused.

“Doesn't matter! Go home!” he demanded. I decided to trust his instruction and I ran back to Ponyville. I met up with my friends in town, but we decided to just go our separate ways.

That was the longest night of my entire life. There are so many questions I have. What happened to Zecora? Who is the slender pony? Who was Dark Storm so worried about that he rushed me off in a hurry? Why is it so important that we not tell anypony? I guess for the time being, I should just be happy that I'm safe. Had a nice bath. Sitting on my cozy bed. The sound of Applejack barking orders at Big Macintosh. I guess you don't really appreciate what you have until you find out what it's like to lose it. Tomorrow I'll try to sort everything out, but for now I'm just going to take it easy. If I can. This image that Dark drew in my journal is creeping me out.

Chapter 2

Monday, October 22nd

It's been over a day since my friends and I encountered the slender pony in the Everfree Forest. I'm surprised I'm still going. I spent all day yesterday resting in bed, going over what happened in my head. All this time I thought that the hooded pony was casting some kind of spell on us, but he was the one who showed us the way out of the woods. If he wanted to hurt us or trap us, he could have done so. But he lead us out and insisted we try to go on with our lives. But I couldn't. I had to know more about the slender pony. About Dark. And I can't rest easy knowing that there are others out there that he didn't want me to meet. Today I almost found an answer, but instead I just have more questions than I did before.

Let me see if I can sort my thoughts. The slender pony must have been the one causing those dreams. I don't know if it was a spell, because he wasn't even a unicorn. When he followed us on the trail, Scoots and I wanted to hurt each other. I know she'd never mean to say those hurtful things to me, and I'd never wish harm on her either. When I got close to him, I got that splitting headache, and the very sight of him filled me with dread. Was he watching us as we slept, too? I accidentally scratched my journal page the same time that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo woke up. He must have been nearby. But again, if he wanted to hurt us, why did he let us go? Not to mention that night in my room, when I screamed so loud that Applejack and Big Macintosh came up to check up on me. Was he watching me outside? I'd hate to think that my big brother and sister went outside to him, but they didn't see anything. Am I being toyed with? What does he want?

I saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at school today. They were both really quiet. I can't really blame them. I asked them if they told anyone, and they said they hadn't. I don't think they trust Dark like I do, but I guess leading us out of the forest was good enough for them to listen to his advice.

“Ponies fear that which they do not understand.” Was he talking about the slender pony? He had to have been. But then again, I was plenty scared of Dark himself before our encounter. I'm trying to think of reasons why he would ask us not to tell anypony. Maybe if the ponies in town found out about the slender pony, then it would just scare everypony. Plus, I'm not sure I would believe it myself if somepony told me. My friends and I would just get weird looks (not that we haven't already thanks to our snooping around town). Even if they did believe us, what would they do? Go out in the Everfree Forest and try to find him? There's all sorts of creepy things in there already! The more I think about it, Dark was right. We're better off keeping this to ourselves.

After school I asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo if they wanted to come to Twilight's home with me. Neither of them did. They just stayed silent and didn't even hang out. They just went straight home. I figured that since Dark drew that symbol in my journal, the least I can do is figure out what it means. The library where Twilight lives seemed like it would be a good place to start.

Twilight was surprised to see me when I knocked on the door. I don't go to the library very often, and this was the second time in a few weeks that I had shown up (last time was when my friends and I were trying to figure out what was causing our weird dreams). I asked Twilight for a bunch of books about symbols, but I didn't say much more than that. She offered to help me look through the stack of books she had for me, but I wanted to keep it a secret like Dark asked me to. Her dragon friend, Spike, wasn't around. She told me that Spike went to help Rarity out with a project. I don't know why a dragon is so interested in a unicorn, but I didn't give it much thought today.

For three straights hours I went through the books she gave me. I didn't read any of the words. Instead, I just flipped through pages trying to find the circle with an 'X' through it. First I went through a mythology book. When I didn't find anything there, I tried a book of ancient cultures. Nothing there either. Finally, I tried a more recent book explaining symbols in everyday pony life. Once again, I came up with nothing. The entire time I studied, Twilight sat and read something on the other side of the room. I saw her watching me, trying to figure out what I was looking for. A couple of times she asked me if she could help, but I refused her every time. Eventually, I finished looking through the last book. I closed it, sighed, and laid my head on the floor. Apparently Twilight noticed, because she came over right away.

“Couldn't find what you were looking for?” she asked me.

I shook my head, still resting it on the floor.

“It might be in another book, if you gave me a little direction...” Even though she wanted to help, Twilight sounded a little frustrated with me. I couldn't blame her.

I raised my head up from the floor. “Are these the only books on symbols you have?” I asked. “I didn't think there would be so few.”

Twilight explained. “Well, I picked out ones that are filled with pictures, since that's what you're looking for. There's a few similar ones that go into detail about each symbol, but it's all pretty much the same information.”

“So that's it?” I asked. “I don't know where else to go! This was my only lead!”

“Only lead for what?” Twilight gave me a confused look. “Is this for a school project or something? I doubt Cheerilee would care if I pointed you in the right direction.”

“I just... I can't tell you, okay?!” I didn't mean to scream at her. It just came out. Twilight backed up when I yelled. She was speechless. I took a deep breath to calm myself down, then asked her again. “Is there anything at all? Any book aside from the ones you've given me?”

Twilight's eyes darted off to the side. “Well... there is one, but I doubt it has what you're looking for...”

“I have to know for sure!” I told her.

“Hold on, Apple Bloom.” Twilight sighed. “It's not an ordinary book. I wouldn't let just anypony come in here and borrow it.”

She had my attention. “What kind of book is it? It sounds important.”

Twilight hestitated. “I don't know if I should be sharing it with you. I mean, you caused plenty of trouble when you looked up the cutie mark and love potion recipes.”

“Please, Twilight!” I begged. “I think what I need is in there! You have to let me look.”

She shut her eyes tight, took a deep breath, then gave me an answer. “Alright Apple Bloom. I'll show it to you. But only under one condition – you have to let me look through it with you. I'm not going to leave you alone with it.”

I didn't want to, but I realized there was no other option. I quietly nodded my head, and Twilight went off to get the book. I felt bad for breaking my promise to Dark Storm, but maybe letting her in a little bit wouldn't cause any problems. She didn't know about Dark or the slender pony. She does know about the nightmares, but I doubt she'd be able to look into it that far.

Twilight came back hovering a black-colored tome in front of her. The cover didn't look like an ordinary book cover on it. I don't know what it was, but it looked like it had fur on it. Twilight kept the book a bit away from her face, like she was scared to touch it.

“This is a book of dark magic,” she told me. “It's not kept on the shelves with the other books. To get it, I had to... well, nevermind that.” I guess I couldn't the only one hiding something. “Normally it would be in the magic hall in Canterlot, but there was a break-in several years ago, so she decided to move it out of the way where it wouldn't be found so easily.” Twilight set the book down on the floor in front of me. The cover didn't have any words on it. Just... fur. She was was really hesitant to open it. “Are you really sure this is what you need, Apple Bloom? I can't imagine that what you're looking for could possibly be in here.”

As creepy as the book looked, I knew the symbol had to be in there somewhere. “I'm certain,” I told her. “Let's just open it up and get it over with.”

Twilight gulped. We opened the book and saw scribbles in a language I didn't understand. Some of the illustrations looked really gruesome. Ponies were spread out in strange positions. One drawing showed a pony staring down into a pool of water, its reflection looking back at it. Another had a picture of an alicorn head on the front of a necklace. Even though I couldn't read the language, some of the writing still looked illegible. Some pages had dried red splotches on them. One page that stood out to me was a perfectly drawn five-pointed star with a circle touching each point. It didn't bear any resemblance to the symbol Dark drew in my journal, but the care in which it was drawn made it stand out amongst the crude illustrations in the rest of the book.

As we looked through it, Twilight repeatedly asked me if I wanted to continue. She didn't look very comfortable as we saw all the creepy illustrations, but I insisted we continued. I don't know how long we sat there, but we had gone through nearly the whole book without finding what I needed. At some point, Twilight just sat there next to me, letting me look through it by myself. I guess she couldn't handle it. Just when I was about to give up hope, I saw it.

“Here it is!” I cried.

Twilight jumped. “You found it? Let me see!”

The two of us huddled around the book. The symbol was on a page about 20 pages from the end. Like most of the illustrations, the circle and X were drawn very crudely, with excessive scribbling. However, unlike the rest of the book, the language underneath was written in plain equestrian. Was it added more recently? Several pages in the back of the book were blank. I have a feeling this book wasn't all written by just one pony.

Before I could take a closer look at the words on the page, Twilight screamed. “Where did you see this?!”

“Well, I, um,” I stammered.

“Tell me where you saw this symbol!” Twilight grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “Please tell me right now! This is important!”

She gripped me so hard I was almost in tears. “Let me go, Twilight! You're hurting me!”

“Please,” she begged. “Tell me! If you saw this, please tell me where!” As she held on to me, her hooves shook. Her eyes teared up.

I didn't know what to think, but Twilight was scaring me. I slipped out of her grasp and backed away, towards the door. “I-I think I'm just gonna go home now... see you later...”

“Wait!” she yelled as I ran out the door.

After that, I went straight home. I had stayed at Twilight's so long that the sun had gone down. As I walked home, I looked around, half expecting to see Dark Storm or the slender pony somewhere. It seemed like any other evening in Ponyville. Applejack was wondering why I stayed out so late, so I told her I was doing some studying. Kind of true, anyway. I didn't say much at dinner, and afterwards I just stayed in my room, writing what you just read.

Now I'm wondering how Twilight is connected to all this. I didn't expect such a violent reaction when she saw that symbol. And we saw it in that creepy book made of fur. If I remember correctly, Twilight was having the same creepy dreams as the kids in Ponyville. If she has something to do with the slender pony, it would make sense, but I can't imagine why. I want to talk about this with Dark somehow, but he didn't leave me a way to contact him. He drew the symbol for me when I asked if I could help. Does that mean the answer is in that book? The one Twilight wouldn't even let me read? I'd hate to have to touch it again, but I don't think I have much of a choice. If she'll even let me. She freaked out and I didn't even let her know why I was looking for it.

Come to think of it, maybe I should let her in on this. Tomorrow I'm going to go back to her house and apologize. I'll be straight with her. Hopefully she'll have calmed down some, and we can sort this out together. This has been a pretty long entry (though not compared to what I wrote over the weekend), so I think I'll end it here. Goodnight.

Tuesday, October 23rd

I mentioned in the last entry that I was going to come clean with Twilight and tell her everything. I had hoped that this would be able to clear the air between us and help us get to the bottom of this. But after hearing what she had to say, I'm terrified. Nothing bad has happened to me today, and there was no indication that anything will, but this uncertainty is killing me. And where in Equestria is Dark?! I have to talk to him! I might be able to help him now, but he's nowhere to be found! Argh... Alright. I'm just going to start from the top, as usual. I really wish I could have written part of this down earlier in the day, but I've had my hooves full trying to figure all this out.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo still aren't feeling all that great. Once again, they were really quiet during class, and for a while at lunch, they didn't say anything. I don't blame them, after all. We could have died that night in the woods. But for some reason, I didn't feel the same depression as they did. Maybe it's because as scary as the night was, it at least confirmed that I wasn't crazy. Meeting Dark face to face and finding out he's not evil gives me one less thing to be worried about, even though now we have the slender pony on our minds. Plus, that drawing he scribbled at least gave me a lead. Something I could focus on, instead of just worrying about what'll happen next. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have nothing. So, I decided to tell them about my trip to the library yesterday.

They weren't enthusiastic. Scootaloo just wanted to forget the whole night ever happened, while Sweetie Belle wasn't sure what the book would actually accomplish. She pointed out that even if there was an answer in it, we have no way of getting in touch with Dark (and she's right, considering I haven't seen him since Sunday). Both of them did seem worried about Twilight, but once again, they just didn't know what to do about it. I remember last week how I seemed determined to handle all this on my own, but with my two best friends too scared to do anything, I don't think I have a choice.

So once again, I went to Twilight's house after school. I knocked on the door, and instead of Twilight, Spike answered.

“Hello? Oh, hi Apple Bloom! Um, sorry to disappoint you, but this really isn't a very good time...”

“Huh?” I asked. “Why not?”

Spike frowned. “For whatever reason, Twilight's refused to leave the house today. She's been all panicked and worried ever since last night.” Spike folded his arms. “I tried to get an explanation out of her, but she's not answering any of my questions and just tells me not to leave the library.”

I sighed. If I hadn't shown up yesterday, she probably wouldn't even be acting any differently. But I knew I couldn't let this go. “Spike, I need to talk to her. Can I please come in?”

“SPIKE!” Twilight yelled from inside the house. “SHUT THE DOOR! DON'T LET ANYPONY IN!”

Spike called through the library. “Twilight, it's just Apple Bloom! She's not here to hurt you!”

“Apple Bloom?” Twilight asked. She hesitated before asking, “I-is she okay?”

Spike looked back at me and sized me up, then called back in the house. “She looks fine to me!” He turned back toward me. “Sorry about that. You know what, come on in. You know how Twilight gets sometimes...”

He opened the door for me and shut it as I went in.

“LOCK THE DOOR!” Twilight called from upstairs. Spike sighed and did as she insisted. I looked up the stairs and saw Twilight slowly walking down. Her hair was a complete mess, and she had huge bags under her eyes like she hadn't gotten any sleep. Even though she was in her own home, she constantly glanced from side to side like something could attack her at any second. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stood uncomfortably close to me and whispered. “Did anypony follow you?”

“No!” I told her. “Well... I don't THINK so...”

Twilight sighed and started walking over to the table in the center of the room. “Good. We have a lot to talk about. Spike? Go upstairs. This doesn't concern you.”

“Huh?” Spike protested. “But I-”

“GO!” Twilight glared at him. Spike took the hint and left us alone. A moment of uncomfortable silence passed before Twilight spoke again. “I'm guessing you're here about that book.”

“Well, kind of...” I told her. “I guess I have some explaining to do...”

“Me too,” she agreed. “How about you start first? How did you even know about that symbol?”

I took my journal out of my bag and went through the entire ordeal with her, starting with the first scary dream I had. It felt so weird to relive all those terrible memories. I spent so much time worrying about Dark, when he wound up being the least of my problems. The terror I felt that night in my bed was the same I felt when I gazed upon the slender pony for the first time. Wondering whether or not I was losing my mind... well, knowing I wasn't imagining it is something to be considerate for. And I still don't know what happened with Zecora's memory. Was it the slender pony? Finally, we caught up to the current page.

“That's quite a story you have,” Twilight said, contemplating. Then for a moment, the fear in her voice dropped to a more curious tone. “And how in Equestria do you remember what everypony says?”

I shrugged and blushed a little. “It helps to have something to focus on...”

Twilight paced back and forth. “So if I understand, you think that book might help this Dark fellow stop the slender pony somehow.”

“That's right!” I told her. “We just found the weird symbol in the back when you... um...”

Twilight shuddered and took a deep breath. “I'm sorry I reacted that way towards you. It reawakened a memory I haven't thought about in a long time. Not since I was a filly like you.”

“What happened, Twilight?” I asked her.

“Yeah, what happened?” Spike asked, sitting on the stairs looking down at us. Twilight gave him a glare that even Fluttershy would find impressive. Spike quickly decided he would rather be upstairs. With him gone, Twilight told me her side of the story.

“It was during my first year at Canterlot studying with Princess Celestia. I was still getting used to the hallways that seemed to go on forever, and it was easy for a filly like me to get lost. There were several rooms where only the staff was allowed in, since my classmates and I were still learning to control our magic. I always wondered what kind of experiments went on behind those closed doors, but one day I found out for myself.

“I was walking back to my room from class one day, and I passed by a door that wasn't usually open. When I looked inside it, I saw a room full of all sorts of protective equipment like helmets and goggles and magic-resistant suits. On the other end of the room was a stairway heading underground. I could hear some of the professors talking to each other, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I knew I wasn't supposed to go in there, but my curiosity got the best of me, so I quietly tip-toed into the room and down the stairs.

“When I walked through the door at the bottom, I saw a large, wide-open circular room. Several glass shields were placed around, as well as tons of tables full of books, chemicals, and lab beakers. Most of the professors were in the center of the room, drawing markings on the floor. I hid underneath one of the tables and watched from a distance. I don't remember everything they said, but there was an argument going on. Some of the ponies were warning about the dangers of this experiment, but one lady unicorn was adamant that they perform it. I don't remember all the details, but one thing stuck out to me: they wanted to summon a soul from Tartarus.

“To most ponies, Tartarus was just a fairy tale that mothers told their foals. However, in the scientific community, Tartarus was a constant source of study and speculation. Nopony dared to venture inside it, either for fear of becoming trapped with the tormented souls, or for facing its gatekeeper, Cerberus. On one hoof, I was terrified that the horrors I had read about in my books were about to come real. But on the other, I couldn't back down. I wanted to see for myself what would happen.

“After the professors finished setting up, most of them stood behind the glass barriers. The only one left was the insistent unicorn from before. They all watched as she spoke an enchantment in an ancient language. Her horn glowed as she mixed potions together in mid-air. The room began to shake, and many of the professors looked at each other with hesitation. But the unicorn continued to perform the enchantment, as the lights in the room flickered and the floor rumbled. One pony decided he had had enough, and went for the stairs. The others continued to watch, trembling in fear. A beaker fell off of the table I was hiding under, and I just barely avoided touching the chemical inside of it. Some of the professors yelled at her to stop, but she refused, and continued on. The lights in the room went out, and suddenly we all realized we weren't alone.”

Twilight shut her eyes tightly. Her legs trembled, and she gulped like she was swallowing a large breath. I saw a tear drop from her eyes, and when she continued, she was crying.

“I couldn't see anything. But I knew SOMETHING was there. We could all feel it. The professors bolted out of the door screaming as I sat under that table, sobbing. At some point, I realized I had to get out of there too, so I tried feeling my way over to the entrance. As I moved, I heard the clutter of hooves hitting the hard floor. One pony wasn't running, though: the unicorn. She stumbled over her feet, but instead of screaming or yelling like the others, I heard her laugh. It wasn't like a normal laugh. She muttered a 'heh' out one breath at a time. As she walked out, she shut the door behind her, and I heard the sound of her magic. When I made it to the door, it was locked tight. I didn't know any unlocking magic at the time, so I was trapped. With... him.

“I pounded on the door and screamed, but nopony answered. Even though it was pitch black, I could sense him coming towards me. Since the door wasn't an option, I felt my way across the walls in the room. I bumped into tables here and there, and I accidentally stepped on a broken barrier. But all my efforts were for naught, because the door I came in was the only exit. In a panic, I tried attacking him with a fire spell that I had only read about. The spell succeeded, but the flame missed him, illuminating the room long enough for me to see the tentacles growing out of his back, his tall, skinny body, and his featureless face.

“I gave up and cried. I couldn't run or hide, and his very presence drove me crazy. I got a massive headache, and my only method of coping was to huddle against a wall whimpering. I could hear the sounds of his hooves clopping against the floor. His tentacles slithered around the broken glass and tables. But my own crying was the only breath I could hear. Every so often he would come back towards me and just observe. The closer he got, the more I wanted to scream.

“I don't know how long I sat there, but when I woke up, he was gone. Princess Celestia and some of the Royal Guards were standing over me, asking if I was alright. The room was lit again, but when I looked around, I saw that... symbol. The crossed-out circle. On the walls, everywhere. They weren't there when I had wandered in. I screamed at the sight. Princess Celestia hushed me and asked me to stay still. When I nodded, she lowered her horn toward me, and it glowed. The next thing I knew, I was back in my bed on campus. When I woke up, I had forgotten all about it. I remembered there was some accident that had happened at the school, but I had no idea I had been involved. I went to class and studied like normal, just like any other student. Everything was fine until yesterday, when...”

Twilight stopped talking. She looked off to the side at nothing in particular. I sat there, dumbfounded. I had no idea that something so traumatizing happened to her. Then again, I guess she didn't know either. I remember how scared I felt just seeing the slender pony. I can't imagine what it would be like to be trapped in the same room as him.

“I'm so sorry, Twilight!” I told her. “If I hadn't come and insisted on looking through that book, you would have never remembered!”

“It's okay, Apple Bloom,” she replied, sniffling. “I guess I can't outrun my past.” She glanced towards the shelves in the library. “I haven't looked at that book since yesterday. Do you still want to take it out?”

I shook my head. “No, that's alright, Twilight. I think I've had enough for today,” I said, packing my journal into my bag.

“Let's meet again tomorrow. We'll figure out where to go from here.” Twilight gave a weak smile. It was the first time I had seen her smile all night. Before I left, I ran over and hugged her tightly.

“Sorry, Twilight.”

“Sorry, Apple Bloom.”

I don't know if the answers are in that book or not. But now I have even more questions. Has the slender pony been trying to find Twilight? Or did he just wind up here? Somehow, I doubt it's the second one. And what's Dark got to do with it? He wasn't in Twilight's story. What's he doing, anyway? Is he out there fighting the slender pony? Is he still hiding in the shadows around town? I don't know if he's capable of handling himself. Chasing him was surprisingly easy considering how clumsy he is. But then again, he was able to lead us out of the forest, so he has a good sense of direction. I don't know, I'm just worried.

I wonder what's going through Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's heads. They didn't try to stop me when I told them about the book at lunch, but they didn't want anything to do with it either. They just hope that if they ignore it, everything will go back to normal. With what Twilight told me today, I don't think that's possible. I have to find some way to stop the slender pony before all of Ponyville goes into a panic.

Wednesday, October 24th

Ponyville is filled with a bunch of hypocrites.

The ponies in town do nothing but pity me. They may not say it to my face, but I know they're thinking it. “Poor Apple Bloom!” they say to each other. “A filly of her age without a cutie mark? Why, I was a grade beneath her when I got mine!” My constant attempts to gain a cutie mark are nothing but a piece of entertainment for them. I can't cook, or bowl, or dance, or anything! Applejack tells me she wants me to take my time and earn my cutie mark on my own, but with how much she expects me to help out around the farm, I just know she'd rather I be a farm pony like her. Can't have a pony from the Apple family without a baked good on her flank, can we?

I hate it. I'm tired of working all the time when I get home from school. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle get to do whatever they want, but in my free time I have to buck apples or feed the pigs or whatever chore my big sister has lined up for me. She thinks she's so smart and strong, but she's just bossy. She thinks I can't do anything on my own. Maybe that's why Big Macintosh is so quiet all the time. As such a big, strong pony, he could be destined for a lot of things. In the right circumstances, he could be a hero for ponies to look up to. But instead, he just helps out on the farm all day. Towing things back and forth, like a common mule. But whose fault is that, really? He lets Applejack boss him around every day. If he'd stand up to her once in a while, maybe he could really go someplace in his life. But instead, he's content to just do the same menial chores day after day.

But maybe Big Mac knows better than Rainbow Dash, who can't shut up about her athletic abilities. So you can make a rainbow explosion appear whenever you want. Big deal. Doesn't give you the right to show off all the time and be lazy whenever you feel like it. Applejack works hard every single day to provide for this family, but because you can make a pretty rainbow appear, you get to just sit around on clouds all day taking a nap whenever you want. Or parade yourself in front of endless fans who'd rather worship someone than go out and do something productive with their lives.

Of course, if all you want is to be surrounded by smiling ponies all day, look no further than Pinkie Pie. She can't survive a minute without telling somepony how happy she is and how much she would love for them to come to her latest party. Little does she know that everypony secretly detests her. Nopony wants to come to your stupid parties all of the time! It's always the same thing! Music so loud that you get a headache, food that'll leave you with a serious stomachache the following day, and you find yourself wishing you'd just stayed home with a book instead. How could anypony willingly want to spend time with Pinkie Pie, with her obnoxious, in-your-face attitude and terrible jokes. She barges in on random conversations at the worst times. I've never met anypony so annoying.

But at least Pinkie Pie knows how to handle herself. Fluttershy is such a freaking wimp. I can understand if you don't like being showcased in front of everypony, but at least show some self-respect! I bet if we hadn't even gone chasing after that chicken into the forest, it would have been doomed to stone forever. Twilight too, come to think of it. Who knows how long she would have been stuck there if we hadn't tried to rescue that chicken? I guess I have to give Fluttershy props for staring down a Cockatrice like that, but that's rare. She wouldn't even come out on Nightmare Night, despite knowing that it's just a bunch of kids in costumes. What a wimp! She'd be useless against anything that's really a threat! Well, except Cerberus. That was pretty impressive how she-------------------------------------

I don't understand how Sweetie Belle can look up to a sister like Rarity. Everything has to be just perfect for her. She insists on being all clean and perfect, when my sister is forced to get her hooves dirty every single day working the farm. Rarity think she's doing something great with all her artsy-fartsy dresses, but she's not fooling anypony. The only ponies who care about that are the ones with more money than they know what to do with. They don't know what it's like for us normal folk. And yet Rarity wants to be right there with them! She freaks ------------ out everytime one of those celebrities shows up in town that the rest of us haven't even heard about. Always buried in those dumb fashion magazines.

Of course, Rarity at least only reads them on occasion. Twilight can't stop reading. Every moment of free time she has is spent with her face in a book. Story after story after story. Or those dumb history books that Cheerilee makes us read in class. They're just so boring! Who cares what happened in Equestria 500 years ago? How's knowing any of that gonna help my family and me survive on Swe------------------et Apple Acres? Twilight gets so wrapped up reading those stories that I doubt she even gets out much. Sometimes she'll practice magic, but I really don't see how making somepony grow a mustache is useful. It's all just fluff. How did a pony as antisocial as her become the leader of the elements of harmony anyway?

Speaking of harmony, I have no idea where miss Cheerilee got the idea that she should be ------------------- teaching school. Why on Equestria did she think it was a good idea to let Diamond Tiara run the school paper? She's nothing but a total brat at school, but miss Cheerilee just put her in charge, no questions asked? I bet Diamond's dad had something to do with it. Just because you have tons of money doesn't mean you can break the rules! And she thought we were trying to be funny at the talent show? I don't like being given an award for being terrible! She thinks she knows what's best for us, but I don't think she has any idea.

Finally there's my so-called “friends”, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. After all that I've been through with them, they still doubted me about seeing Dark. Don't they know when I'm telling the truth? Even after it came out, they decided to just pretend it never happened. Sure, you find a weird stranger and some monster out in the woods and you just want to ignore it? Yeah, go ahead and do that. Let the problem work itself out. Leave poor Apple Bloom to fix the problem on her own. Even if it means finding out a horrifying secret about Twilight and reading a creepy old book written by a bunch of freaks. Even after they found out I was right, they still looked at me like they didn't want anything to do with me. Some friends.

No, that's not right. We're not just friends. We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Together we'll figure out what's wrong with us! I'll never leave them behind!

But they hurt me...

They just misunderstood! If I talk to them again and tell them what's going on, they're sure to stand by me!

No they won't! They'll just ignore you and go on without you! You're better off without them!

No I'm not! I need to go talk to them right-----------------------------------------------------------

That wasn't me who wrote that. Well, it kind of was, but it's complicated. When Dark led my friends and me out of the woods, I thought I had some time left. I went to Twilight's, found the book, and listened to her talk about the incident with the slender pony back there. Today we were supposed to examine the book further and figure out where to go next. But after what happened today, everything is different. I don't know how much time we have left.

I had just heading out the door to school in the morning. I waved goodbye to Applejack and Big Macintosh and walked along my usual route. I was walking through town to the schoolhouse when I heard a cough. At first I ignored it, thinking it was just some random pony, but then I heard it again, louder. I looked around, and hidden in the alley between two of the stores I saw a pony with red eyes, gray fur, and a hood and cloak covering him.

“Dark!” I cried. I saw him cover his mouth with his hoof and remembered that I'm supposed to keep it quiet. I snuck over to him and tried to contain my excitement the best I could. “Where've you been?!” I asked him. “I have a lot to tell you! And I gotta know what's going on with you! What have you been doing these past few days? What's the deal with the slender pony? Is everything okay now?”

He didn't answer any of my questions. Instead, he just said, “Follow me,” and walked away from town.

I followed him, but naturally, I was confused. “Where are we going?” I asked him. No answer. “Is there something you want to show me?” “If there's something you need my help with, you could at least tell me what it is!”

The entire time, he stayed silent. He led me away from town and toward the forest surrounding Ponyville. His silence creeped me out. I tried telling myself that I barely know him and maybe he's normally this quiet, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. When we reached the forest's edge, he stopped and talked to me.

“Something very problematic has happened. The one you refer to as the 'slender pony' is planning an attack on Ponyville. I have a way to stop him, but I need you to be there with me in case something goes wrong.”

I gasped. “What's he going to do? We need to warn the others!”

“There's no time!” he told me. “If we do not act quickly, then everything will be lost!”

“I can help!” I told him. “I found some information about him that might be able to stop him! But we need to get back to town!”

Dark looked taken aback. “You... found something?”

“Yeah!” I said. “A bunch of information about how he was summoned! If we take a closer look, then we might be able to send him back!”

Dark looked lost for words. He gazed into the forest and then back at me. Then he did the creepiest thing: he grinned. “Well then, how about you tell me all about it as we go inside the woods?”

“No!” I protested. “We have to go back to town! I can't do anything out here!”

“Quiet!” he yelled. His voice was so strong that I instinctively cowered on the ground at his feet. For the first time, I was scared of him. I thought he was my friend. He led me out. Why would he be so insistent that I follow his orders without any explanation?

As I looked up at him standing over me, I noticed something. His legs weren't trembling.

“Dark?” I asked him.

“What?” he replied.

“Whenever I saw you before, your legs looked wobbly. But you're standing up just fine right now.”

He laughed. “You're a very observant little girl.”

I saw a bright glow from the trees, and my vision blurred. I tried to stand up and get my balance back, but my head got heavy. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

I didn't know how long I was asleep, but I woke up surrounded by darkness. My head pounded as I laid on the floor. At first I didn't have the energy to stand up, so I just felt my way around the dark. I was laying down on a wooden floor. My back hooves bumped into a bunch of boxes, while my front hooves felt a door. After a few minutes of getting my bearings, I found the strength to stand up. I pushed the door open, and some light from the other side made its way in.

It looked like a bedroom, but it hadn't been used in a while. The bed and the dresser were covered in layers of dust. I realized that the room I had been in was an ordinary closet. Old pictures were hung on the walls of the room, but they were so old that it was hard to make anything out. I tiptoed my way to the exit of the bedroom and quietly opened the door. When I took a look into the hallway, I didn't see anypony. Whoever's house this was, I wanted to get away from it. The floorboards creaked as I walked on them, though I tried my best to keep it quiet. I wandered into the living room and saw an old couch and a circular table covered in dust. On one side of the room was a huge shelf full of books. But as curious as I was about my surroundings, I had to find an exit. Then I heard the last voice I would have expected.

“Apple Bloom? Are ya in here? Apple Bloom!”

“Applejack!” I yelled. I rushed over to the cabin's kitchen where I heard the voice, but instead of my big sister, I saw three ponies wearing cloaks who burst out laughing as I ran in.

The center pony had to calm himself down. He coughed to cleared his throat, then said, “There ya are! Ah just dun know what to do wit' ya when ya disappear on me like that!”

The three ponies once again burst out laughing. I looked at them wide-eyed and sat on my flank, almost ready to burst into tears.

The largest of the three ponies snickered and made a suggestion. “Ooh, ooh, I know! Do her unicorn friend!”

The pony who mimicked Applejack once again cleared his throat. He made a panicked, helpless expression on his face. “SHUT THE DOOR! DON'T LET ANYPONY IN!” he yelled in a tone exactly like Twilight's. “THE SLENDER PONY IS GOING TO GET ME! HELP ME, APPLE BLOOM!”

The room shook a bit from their following uproar. I didn't know what to do. I laid flat on the ground with my front hooves over my head like that would somehow protect me.

The female pony in the group wiped the tears from her eyes from all her laughter. “Oh Flash, one of the greatest mysteries in the universe is how a stallion like yourself has such a wide vocal range!”

“Well,” he replied, “it IS my special talent, after all!”

“Aw look, you made her cry!” the buff pony pointed out.

It was true. While they had their conversation, I sobbed on the floor. Whoever these three were, they weren't my friends. I didn't know where I was, and there was nowhere I could go for help. If I ran, they'd catch me easily. Things felt as hopeless as they did back in the woods. But at least then, I at least had hope that Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I would be able to find our way out in the morning. But this time, my only option was to wait for hope to arrive. I doubt Applejack or Twilight even knew where I was. Which mean only one thing...

I looked up at my kidnappers and asked the obvious question. “Where's Dark?”

“Oh, he'll be here, don't you worry,” the female pony said. “Though if he doesn't show, then I guess we'll just have to keep you here with us.”

“Is that why you kidnapped me?” I asked her. “To find Dark?”

“No way.” The buff pony shook his head. “We've already gotten all the information we could out of him. He think he's better than us, but you'd be surprised how little roughhousing it took to get him to squeal.” He stomped his foot on the floor.

I gasped. “You hurt him? Why?”

“He left us no choice!” The female pony laughed. “We just had to know who those three little fillies were that he was protecting! Of course, the only one we managed to catch a glimpse of was you...”

My eyes opened wide. “You were watching us that night in the forest!”

The mimic pony rolled his eyes. “We wish. The only indication that anypony was in this forest was your little screams.” He cleared his throat again then screamed, “Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

He did it in my voice.

The female pony suddenly looked impatient. “Let's move this conversation in the living room. This kitchen is far too cramped for the four of us. Brock, she looks a little stiff at the moment, so could you bring her with us?”

The buff pony picked me up by my tail and hung me upside-down. He followed the other two as they made their way to the living area. He dropped me onto the couch and sat down next to me. I turned myself right side up and looked a good look at him.

Brock was definitely one of the largest ponies I've ever seen. I always thought Big Macintosh was the biggest pony around, but now I wasn't so sure. His fur was red like my brother's, but it was also a lot darker. His hair was even darker, and kind of purple-ish. Is mauve the right word? I think so. I also noticed a scar on his right cheek. He looked at me for a moment, and I got a look at his deep blue eyes. With his size and that scar, this pony has probably gotten into a lot of fights. Big Macintosh is strong, but he's also gentle when he's not pulling carts. I could only imagine if he'd be able to take this brute in a fight.

I looked over to the pony that imitated the voices of my friends. He must have been the one who pretended to be Dark in order to kidnap me. The female pony referred to him as “Flash”. He didn't look as intimidating as the pony sitting next to me. In fact, his face actually looked rather handsome. His fur was green, and there were freckles on his cheeks underneath his purple eyes. He had slicked-back brown hair with a purple stripe in it. When the female pony talked about his ability to imitate voices like that, he said it was his “special talent”. Must be a hint at his cutie mark underneath his cloak. I guess these three ponies must be trying not to be recognized, just like Dark didn't.

The fact that Flash could mimic Twilight's and Applejack's voices perfectly really bothers me. I thought Twilight was just being paranoid when she asked me if I was being followed, but maybe she was right to be worried. Flash must have been following me. That's so creepy. And how did Applejack not notice him hanging around? Has he been stalking me since Sunday? Part of me doesn't want to know.

Finally there's the female pony who remains nameless. I can tell by a bulge in her hood that she's a unicorn. She has dark blue fur, although in spots it looks like the color has gone. Her mane is gray and messy. Her eyes are yellow, and it looks like she has a lot of wrinkles on her face. As far as I can tell, she looks significantly older than Brock and Flash. Not only that, but she has an odd twitch in her left eye. It didn't look damaged or anything, but seeing it twitch at random moments made her seem the creepiest of the three.

“I think this belongs to you,” she said, levitating my school bag onto the table in front of me. “Mostly just a bunch of outdated textbooks and school supplies. Nothing of value at all. Well, except for one thing...”

When she said that, I panicked. I looked through my bag and realized my journal wasn't in it.

“Looking for this?” the unicorn asked, hovering my journal next to her.

“Give that back!” I cried. I instinctively tried jumping towards her to grab it, but Brock caught my tail in his mouth and dropped me back on the couch next to him.

The unicorn ignored my outbust. “You should really be careful what you put in this. You wouldn't want everypony knowing your secrets, would you? Fillies your age without cutie marks? How pathetic.”

I sank in my seat.

“And you clearly have no idea how to write a proper intro. You're supposed to grab the reader at the start, not go on and on about personal details that nopony cares about. Some of these entries aren't even a hundred words long! Is your everyday life really that insignificant?”

“I... I wasn't trying to...” I muttered.

“Of course... the tale of how you got your friends lost in the woods was far more interesting than the nonsense that came before.” As she finished the sentence, I noticed her eye twitch again. “Nothing we hadn't already figured out, but a little background always helps.”

I glanced at one of the doors that led outside, hoping that Dark would suddenly show up and rescue me. But I doubted he could take on the three of them by himself. And like they said earlier, they were expecting him.

Flash turned toward the unicorn. “While we're waiting, wouldn't this be a good time to try out that spell you were so excited for?”

She grinned. “Good idea! I've had it in my repertoire so long, but never found a good time to try it. Here's your journal back, Apple Bloom!”

To my surprise, she hovered my journal back onto the table in front of me, along with a pencil. I looked at it unsure if I should open it or not.

“Oh, don't worry about it,” she said. “I've done nothing to the journal itself. You, on the other hand, are about to learn a lot about yourself. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the world through another pony's eyes?”

I stared at her, not saying a word. She used her magic to flip the journal open to the most recent entry and stuck the pencil in my mouth.

“Now you'll get to see what Ponyville would look like through MINE!”

Her horn glowed brightly, and I found myself surrounded by an orange haze. I could see the three of them sitting next to me, but they were blurry, like in a dream. However, within the haze I found myself reliving the events of the past few years. Applejack snapping at me during a difficult harvest. Doing poorly on a test that I thought was too hard for me. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon making fun of me for not having a cutie mark. Scootaloo shoving me away like I was some kind of monster. I thought of all the friends I've made in Ponyville and all the adventures I've been on. But instead of happy, nostalgic memories, I just wanted to blame them for everything.

That is the reason for what you read in the entry before this one. I didn't mean to say all those terrible things about my friends and family, but under this spell, I had no choice but to hate them. I exaggerated their flaws to the point where they were no better to me than a stranger. In this moment, they deserved all the pain and suffering they had gone through. The worst part is that some of it is what I've truly thought about them. In the past I just pushed it far aside and tried to forget about it, but this time all those horrible thoughts came front and center.

But at some point while writing that entry, something went wrong. I remembered how Fluttershy babied us three when we had that sleepover, but after the encounter with the cockatrice, I realized how much she was willing to go through to protect us. For just a moment, the spell broke, and I saw something else.

Instead of writing in my journal, I was making notes in a spell book I had stolen from the library. Most of the book was just essays on forbidden magic, but there were a few small spells . It was scary what they were capable of, but fascinating at the same time. Unfortunately, it was hard to read because my father and mother were arguing in the other room. They did this all the time, so I had gotten used to it, but tonight was louder than ever. Suddenly I heard my mother scream. I ran to the other room and saw her lying on the floor, blood oozing from her skull.

I gasped and looked at my father, who held a bottle with a dripping red mark on it. He stumbled as he looked towards my direction, then screamed at me incoherently. I backed up into the hallway towards my room as he clumsily followed. I turned and ran into my room. I tried to escape through my window, but it was rusted shut. I looked at the door to my room and saw my father standing in the doorway. He laughed and took another gulp from the bottle.

I hovered the book I had stolen over to me and flipped through it, looking for the spell that I had discovered earlier that evening. My father walked toward me, nearly falling over with every step. Finally, I found the page I was looking for. I closed my eyes and my horn glowed. I recited words from an ancient language that I had only the vaguest understanding of. I heard my father scream with anger, before his voice stopped.

I opened my eyes and looked at my dad. His eyes had no motion in them. He dropped the bottle and then fell on the floor before me. I sat on the floor in my room, crying. I noticed a small flash of light and looked towards my flank.

My cutie mark. The five-pointed star within a circle. A pentagram.

My vision flashed, and I was back to writing in my journal. I had forgotten about the images I had just seen, and went on writing about the wasted potential that all of my friends were. But I think the spell was weakening or something, because I kept seeing small flashes. I dealt with terrible customers at a low-end restaurant, who made impossible demands. I sat alone at a table in school, as others whispered to each other nearby. Yet one image was a happy one. I was accepted as a professor in Canterlot, the most prestigious school around!

But that wasn't the end. I balked at the incompetency of my peers, who had worked far less to get this far than I did. I spent a lonely night in my room as the same ponies had a gathering down the hall, to which I wasn't invited. Despite being told that I was brilliant, nobody ever seemed to want to talk to me. After everything that I had accomplished in my life, I felt as lonely and scared as I had as a child.

I drifted between the unfamiliar images and the ones of Ponyville. When I came to writing about Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, I felt like I wanted to resist. They were my best friends in the world. How could I possibly hate them? One moment I felt furious, but the next I was defending them. After struggling for several minutes, I found myself lost in another extended vision.

I was organizing an experiment, arguing with several other ponies. They were all inept, so I had to carry out the important aspects of it by myself. This experiment could possibly change everything we knew about Tartarus and the pony condition, so I didn't want to mess it up. I studied notes written in a book that I had received special permission to read. Not only that, but I added notes for myself. Eventually, the time came for me to perform the experiment. With some chalk, I drew a crossed-out 'X' on the floor in front of me. I performed my magic and read an incantation. The room shook and ponies shouted at me to stop, but I had come this far. I wasn't willing to give up all my research.

When that thing appeared, he blew out all the lights in the room. In his presence, I knew that I was in danger. I watched as everypony panicked and fled the room. I too feared for my life, but at the same time, the feeling that I had summoned this being into the world made me feel proud. I laughed and shut the door to the dungeon behind me.

Another flash. I had just been fired by Princess Celestia herself. I had just finished packing my things and was about to leave once in for all. I went to the mirror in my quarters and looked at it one last time. I stared at the pentagram on my flank. Ponies feared me because of this symbol, but they didn't understand that without it, I wouldn't have ever made it this far. I looked at my face and saw the effects of the years of loneliness and depression. Graying hair and wrinkles were setting in far sooner than they should have.

My eye twitched. Then I blacked out.

I don't know how long had passed, but I woke up to a familiar voice. “What in Equestria did you do to her?!”

“Oh, relax. She'll be fine in a few hours,” a female voice exclaimed.

I weakly opened my eyes and found myself still in the cabin. Daylight shone in through the windows, illuminating Dark's face. Upon the sight of him, my eyes opened wide and I sprang up. My head pounded at my sudden movement, but I was too excited to notice.

“Dark!” I cried out. “Where have you been?”

“Apple Bloom, can you walk?” Dark knelt over me, trying to figure out if there was any damage.

“I think I can... ow!” I tried to get up on my legs, but I was still too disoriented from the spell. As soon as I stood up, I fell right back over.

“This isn't good...” Dark sighed. “I'll have to carry you. Can you at least climb onto my back?”

Brock, apparently still here, laughed at the idea. “You sure about that? Those legs of yours can barely support your own weight!”

Dark scoffed at Brock. I looked at Dark's legs and saw them trembling as usual. It was a surprisingly welcome sight, considering I was fooled by Flash's impersonation of him. But this didn't deter Dark. He slid his cape off of one side and helped me onto his back with his wing. He seemed to struggle under my weight, but he could hold me up. When I managed to climb all the way, he looked back at me.

“Listen carefully, Apple Bloom. I'll need you to close your eyes as tight as you can.”

“What?” I asked him. “Why?”

“Because if you don't, you'll be driven mad at the sight of him.”

I gasped. “The slender pony? Here? Now?!”

“Well why else do you think he'd be here?” Flash snarked. “By yourself, you're useless to us. But apparently helpless little girls make good bargaining chips.”

I gasped and turned my head towards Dark. “You BROUGHT him here? Where is he?!”

Dark's voice turned stern. “There's no time left. As soon as he arrives, we're granted permission to leave. Now close your eyes right now!”

I did as he said and braced myself. But then I remembered something. “My bag! My journal!” I had knocked the journal off of the table when I had passed out. I held on as Dark knelt over and put the journal into my bookbag.

But just as he had the bag's strap in his mouth, I felt it. The slender pony was in the room. I didn't hear him walk in, he was just there. He was close. I did my best to suppress a scream, but tears fell from my eyes. Dark stumbled a bit in the presence of the slender pony, but he managed to make his way out of the door. Brock, Flash, and the unicorn who cast a spell on me laughed excitedly at the slender pony's presence. Dark did his best to move quickly, but his weak legs and the combined weight of me and my bookbag were making it difficult for him. I heard the unicorn chanting something louder and louder behind us. I wanted to look back and see, but I knew that it'd be best to just keep my eyes shut.

When we were a decent distance from the cabin, Dark slowed his pace to a walk. He gasped and panted. I wanted to get off and walk alongside him, but it was taking everything I had just to hold on. Our walk was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind. Dark stopped in his tracks, set my bag down, and looked back at the cabin.

“Oh no...”

“What happened?” I asked him, opening my eyes.

“Binding magic,” he told me. “They tried it on him the last time you encountered him in the forest, but he managed to escape. This time, they were ready for him.”

That didn't sound good. “What's going to happen?” I asked.

Dark slipped the bag's strap over his head and picked up the pace. “We'll have to evacuate everypony from town.”

I gasped. “They're going to attack Ponyville?!”

“Not quite,” Dark explained. “Ebony is not the type to cause mindless destruction. She would rather use his abilities to turn the townsfolk against each other.”

Ebony. That was the unicorn's name. I thought back to how Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo became distrustful of me after my nightmares made me obsessive over finding the cause. I had already experienced Ebony's magic firsthoof. If she could overpower the slender pony...

I tried not to imagine it. Instead, I used the opportunity see if he could answer some questions I had. “Dark? Why was the slender pony scaring the kids in town?”

Dark stopped for a moment, then continued walking. “He wasn't trying to.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Dark explained. “You've been near him. You know that his very presence drives ponies to fear and irritation. Most of the times he sticks to the woods or abandoned areas. But even a creature such as himself is curious. A couple of times, he wandered the roads in Ponyville at night. Just to see what was out there.”

Dark's words implied something else that I had to ask. “Are you friends with him?”

“We're both lost souls,” Dark told me. “ We wander the world, unsure of where to go or what to do.”

I had a sinking feeling in my gut. “One night, I had a nightmare worse than the the others. What was he doing that night?”

Dark sighed. “I apologize for that. I told the slender pony about how you had taken notice of me in town. He was... curious about you. He wanted to see your face.”

“See my face?” I asked. “How could he do that?”

“He was in your room.”

My heart sank. I thought back to that night, thrashing about in my sheets and rolling onto the floor. I told Applejack that somepony was in the house with us, but she didn't believe me. Big Macintosh looked around and didn't see anything either.

“So he just... teleported in my room?” I asked.

“That's right,” Dark said.

“But I didn't see a flash or nothing! Whenever my friend Twilight teleports, there's always a spark!”

Dark frowned. “The slender pony came from Tartarus. The magic there is unlike anything in Equestria. To most ponies, Tartarus is just a legend. A fairy tale to scare young children. The slender pony's presence does not have the same effect on adults that it does on children. That explains why you and your friends experienced the nightmares, but the adults noticed nothing out of the ordinary.”

“What about Twilight?” I asked him.

He turned his head toward me. “What do you mean?”

“She had the nightmares, too! And she's a full-grown adult! She told me this story about how she was present when the slender pony was summoned!”

Dark stopped walking. “What did you say?”

“I found this weird book with the symbol you drew in my journal! When Twilight looked at it, she remembered the story from a children that Princess Celestia tried to make her forget!”

Dark's mouth hung open. “Hold on, you found what? ARGH!”

He suddenly collapsed under my weight. I got off of his back and apologized profusely. “Are you okay, Dark! I think I can walk now! Please, take it easy from now on!”

Dark squirmed on the ground. “My wing!” he cried. “I put too much pressure on it!”

“Let me look at it!” I told him.

I took his cape in my teeth and started pulling it off him. Dark yelled, “No!” but it was too late.

I gasped at the sight. His wing was horribly mangled. Every joint in it was bent in a different direction. I heard about Rainbow Dash having to go to the hospital to repair a broken wing one time, but there was no way it was as bad as this.

“What happened?!” I cried.

“It's not your fault... ooohh...” Dark struggled to get back up and put back on his cape. “It's a long story. I'll be okay. I've managed this far.” He brushed myself off and started walking again, free from the burden of having to carry me. “So what's this about a book?”

On the way out of the forest, I told him all about the mysterious book I found at Twilight's library, and her first encounter with the slender pony. I also discussed with him the spell Ebony cast on me, and the visions I saw while under it. It seems like Twilight's past is coming back to haunt her even more than she thought. Dark and I agreed that the book may be our only means of breaking the spell on the slender pony.

Eventually, we made it out of the forest, with the afternoon sun still up. Dark kept his distance from town, but he agreed to meet me in the morning outside of Twilight's library. Strangely enough, I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres around the time I usually do in the evening, so Applejack didn't even know anything was wrong. She did notice that I looked a little dirty today, but I told her that we had some gymnastics lessons at school. As much as I'd like to tell my sister the truth, I don't think she and Big Macintosh would only get themselves hurt if they tried to take Ebony head-on. Not to mention, would they even believe me? They might just think I'm making up stories.

With Ebony having control of the slender pony, things could get really bad really fast. That book is our only chance at stopping her. And worst of all, she read my journal. She knows that the book is there. Dark plans on meeting me there tomorrow, but hopefully it's not too late. I'd hate to skip another day of school, but I think the safety of Ponyville is more important right now. Miss Cheerilee? I'm sorry.

Chapter 3

Thursday, October 25th

Last night after I wrote that journal entry, Twilight came to check up on me. We were supposed to meet yesterday, but I never came. I couldn't tell her the whole story, considering that Applejack and Big Macintosh were around, but I let her know that I would be coming the next morning along with Dark. Twilight was nervous about meeting him, but she understood.

I woke up early the next morning and had breakfast with my family as usual, when we all heard a knock at the front door.

“Now who could that be this early in the morning?” Applejack wondered. I followed her to the door, scared of who it could be, but I sighed in relief when it turned out to just be Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Hi, Apple Bloom...” they said in unison. They didn't sound very enthusiastic.

Applejack laughed at them. “Howdy, girls! Sorry Apple Bloom was too busy snoozing last night to see you!”

My eyes widened. “What did you say, Applejack?”

She laughed. “Last night these two came around lookin' for you about an hour after Twilight showed up. You were fast asleep in your bed and I didn't want to disturb you. I didn't realize they'd be here this morning!”

I looked at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who looked back at me emotionless.

Thankfully, Applejack didn't seem to notice their moods. “Well, I'll let you three girls be,” she said, walking back to the kitchen. “I'm gonna eat the rest of your breakfast if you don't finish it, Apple Bloom!”

When Applejack was out of earshot, Sweetie Belle closed the door behind her and hugged me tightly. “Where were you yesterday?! We were so worried about you when you didn't come to school!”

“What's going on, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo looked angry with me. “You're not the type to skip school, so tell us what happened!”

“It... it's a long story.” I sighed. “And there's something I have to do today.”

“Oh no,” Scootaloo said. “We're not letting you go anywhere on your own!”

“Things are getting complicated,” I told her, “and I don't want to get you two involved.”

“But we're your friends!” Sweetie Belle protested. “You can't expect us to just sit quietly in school while you go do who knows what!”

I took a good look at them. “You aren't going to leave me alone, are you?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “No way! Wherever you go, we go!”

Just two days ago, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wanted to forget everything we had seen. While I was reading books in Twilight's library, they had gone straight home. But now that I've missed just one day of school, they realize that they can't just pretend everything's fine. They want to help me, and it would be dumb of me to refuse it.

“Thanks, girls,” I told them. “Let me get my bag and we'll go straight to Twilight's.”

On the way there, I filled them in on as much as I could. I already told them about the weird book on Tuesday, but this was the first they had heard of Twilight's encounter with the slender pony. So much has happened to me lately that I didn't even realize how big of a shock it would be to them. We only saw the slender pony for a moment. Compare that to spending who knows how long with him in total darkness gave Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle the shivers.

And of course, I explained my kidnapping yesterday. They hugged me tightly when I told them about it, but for whatever reason, I didn't feel scared. They thought I would be really shaken up about it, but instead I just wanted to get to Twilight's house and figure out what happened next. When I got to the part where Dark traded the slender pony for me, they thought I might have been going crazy again. The idea of that faceless creature not just leaving me alone, but helping me was too much for them. But it didn't matter whether or not they believed me, because they would see for themselves soon enough.

When the three of us arrived at Twilight's library, I looked around to see if Dark was waiting for us. It would be hard for him to hide in broad daylight, but I wanted to be sure. As far as I could tell, he hadn't arrived yet.

“This feels kind of familiar,” Scootloo remarked.

I shot her a glare.

“Sorry!” she said quickly, then looked aside. “It's just that for the longest time you kept talking about him, but we never saw him until the morning after we slept in the woods.”

Sweetie Belle reassured me. “Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up. Let's just go inside with Twilight.”

I agreed. The three of us knocked on the door. We saw Twilight take a peek through the eyehole, then opened it to let us in.

“Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Apple Bloom was absent from school yesterday!” Scootaloo said. “We're not leaving her side until we know she's safe!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed.

Twilight sighed. “Alright, girls. Come on in. Let's see what we can figure out before Dark shows up.”

After we walked in, Twilight locked the door behind us. I got out my journal and started explaining what happened yesterday. I... kind of glanced over the part where I was being mind controlled. Even though I knew I was looking through Ebony's eyes, some of what I said was true. I thought it would be best to just skip over it and explain it later.

During the discussion I noticed it was quiet in the library. “Where's Spike?” I asked Twilight.

Twilight gave as big a smile as she could considering what had been happening. “I knew we'd be busy today, so I asked him to go to Rarity's and help her out. He was very appreciative.”

My friends and I giggled a bit, but the lightened mood didn't last long as Twilight read about Ebony, and the revelation that she was the one who summoned the slender pony, and accidentally locked Twilight alone with him. When we finished that section, Twilight stopped reading and sat down on the ground, staring off into space. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle talked to themselves about it, trying to piece together everything that was going on, but I was too preoccupied with Twilight's mood to join their conversation.

After a few minutes of silence, Twilight turned to me, afraid. “She's here too? For the past few days, I thought that the slender pony was all I had to worry about. But now, we have to deal with the professor that ran that horrible experiment...”

I rested my head on her shoulder. I wanted to tell her it would be okay, but in my vision, I personally felt how angry and alone Ebony was. When she lost everything she had worked for, I could feel myself losing it. I'm glad the visions ended after that, because I can't imagine what she must be going through day after day.

I got Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to stop wrestling with my journal long enough to start the story again where Twilight left off. Just as we read about Dark carrying me off to avoid the slender pony, the four of us jumped when we heard a knock at the door.

Twilight looked towards the entrance and gulped. “Is that...”

“I think so,” I said. I walked towards the door and opened it enough just to peek through. I saw Dark quickly looking from side to side before he spotted me.

“I'm sorry if I'm late, Apple Bloom,” he said. “I wanted to be sure nopony in town spotted me.”

Twilight, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked up to the door. As I opened it for them, they felt very nervous. My friends remembered him from the night in the forest, but this is the first time Twilight had seen him in person.

“C... come on in...” Twilight opened the door all the way as he stepped in. She was trying to be brave, but I could tell she was intimidated. After being rescued twice by Dark, I knew he wasn't scary, but Twilight only had my word to go on. As Dark stepped into the room, I realized something.

“You ARE Dark, right?” I asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Huh?” Sweetie Belle said. “What are you talking about, Apple Bloom?”

“No, she's right,” Dark replied. “Flash is known for being deceptive. I won't go on until you all are convinced I'm who I say I am.”

“How am I supposed to know?!” Twilight looked like she was ready to panic. “I've never even met you before!” She looked at my friends and me. “Please tell me you all have an idea!”

“We only got a glimpse of him!” Scootaloo complained. “This is only the second time we've seen him!”

“I can do it!” I told them. Everypony quieted down and turned towards me. “He rescued me yesterday. I think I know how.”

At first I looked down at his legs, and they were wobbling like they always did. I thought this would be enough, but that was how I saw through Flash's disguise yesterday. I doubt he'd overlook it this time. But then I realized what I could do.

“Can we see your wing?” I asked him.

Dark hesitated, but started to pull his cape off. “Girls, you may want to look away.”

“Well not after you say something like THAT,” Scootaloo replied.

Dark sighed then pulled off his cape, exposing his mangled left wing. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight gasped. My friends turned their eyes away, and Twilight winced at the sight.

“How long has it been like that?!” she asked.

“A long time,” Dark said.

Sweetie Belle still wasn't looking, but she squirmed at the thought. “Doesn't it hurt?!” she asked.

“Every second of every day,” Dark told her. He turned to look at me. “Are you convinced, Apple Bloom?”

I hated to do it, but I took a close look at the wing. It looked real. If Flash was also a pegasus, I didn't think he would cripple himself just for this.

“I believe you,” I told Dark. He put his cape back on, sparing us from the sight.

“You know...” Twilight said, “My friend Fluttershy knows a few medical tricks. She can't repair your wing, but I bet she could-”

“This is not the time to be worrying about me,” Dark replied. “We have bigger problems at the moment.”

“Just trying to help...” Twilight muttered.

Since all that was left in the journal was my walk home with Dark, we decided to skip it and just let the two of us explain what had happened. Just like Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Twilight couldn't believe it when we said the slender pony traded himself for me.

“Why?” she asked. “Why in the world would he go out of his way to save Apple Bloom? He's evil! Everywhere he goes he just spreads fear and misery!”

“You are letting your emotions get the best of you,” Dark retorted. “The one you refer to as the 'slender pony' has never gone out of his way to harm a living thing.”

“Are you kidding?!” Twilight's eyes started tearing up. “As a filly I had to spend hours locked in a room with him! They were the most terrifying moments of my entire life!” Twilight started breathing heavy, and practically yelled. “How do you expect me to believe that he's on our side?!”

“Tell me,” Dark calmly replied. “When you were trapped with him, what exactly did he do to you?”

“Well he-” Twilight stopped to think about it. “As soon as he was summoned, I felt this horrible fear. I couldn't get out. I couldn't fight him. All I wanted was to curl up and die...”

“But you didn't,” Dark explained. “All that time, and you walked out of that room without a scratch on your body. Because of the princess's memory loss spell, it was like it never happened.”

“...What are you saying?” Twilight asked.

“It's simple,” Dark said. “He had just been summoned from Tartarus. The place where ponies go to suffer. In his first moments of freedom, why would he attack a defenseless filly?”

“He...” Twilight tried to find the right words, but nothing came up. “But...”

“Furthermore,” Dark added. “Isn't it true that there was no recorded 'attack' that week in Canterlot? The only news was that a science experiment had caused an explosion. Nothing more.”

Twilight looked at him with a blank face. “You're... right...”

Dark wasn't done with his explanation. “One of the abilities he discovered he had was to become incorporeal. That way, he managed to sneak out undetected. Through walls, floors, and whatever else he needed. I'm sure he chilled the hearts of a few fillies who were in his way, but he avoided them at all costs.”

Twilight was dumbfounded. All of us were. During Dark's explanation, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I had sat quietly, listening to every word. A few moments passed after Dark spoke, and then Scootaloo realized something.

“If he's not evil,” she asked. “Then what was he doing following us in the woods that night? I thought he was going to kill us!”

Dark actually grinned when she asked that. “Did you notice that all night, you hadn't run into a single monster in the woods?”

“That's right!” Sweetie Belle suddenly spoke up. “There are all sorts of weird creatures in the Everfree Forest, but we slept there all night without anything happening to us!”

“That's because he was watching out for you,” Dark told us. “His very presence frightens animals. He ensured that you got a good night's rest, though it can be difficult to keep his distance at the same time.”

The three of us were shocked. We knew that Dark had been watching us because of the line he drew to the exit, but we hadn't even considered that the slender pony was protecting us that night.

“Of course,” Dark continued, “It was an accident that you noticed him at all. When I heard your screams that morning, I realized that he had been spotted. But it didn't matter, because I knew that you wouldn't be harmed.”

Up until this point, Dark had been talking calmly, explaining everything as simply as he could. But at this point, he turned his head away and his voice turned sour.

“Of course, your screams had an unintended side effect; they led Ebony and her gang right to the slender pony.”

The three of us gulped.

“I was hoping we could move away from Ponyville once you all had been returned safely to your homes, but as you can see, that wasn't the case.” Dark looked outside through the window of the library. “We've been avoiding Ebony and her followers for a while now, but running is no longer an option. It ends here.”

The room remained quiet as we took in everything he said. I wanted to feel bad for accidentally helping Ebony find Dark and the slender pony, but it seemed like they would catch up eventually. There was no point in worrying about it anymore. However, there was something else we all needed to know.

“Who... are you?” I asked.

Dark looked away from the window and back toward us, silent.

“How do you know Ebony?” I continued. “And the slender pony? And Brock and Flash? Why are all of you here in the first place?”

We all looked at Dark intently, waiting for an answer. He sighed and did his best to explain.

“All I know is that Ebony wants ponies to suffer. She unleashed the slender pony upon the world, and intends to use his power for her own selfish desires. As for the others and me... we wanted to assist her.”

Dark's words made all of us stand up and take notice.

“You what?!” Twilight glared at him. “You were trying to help her?!”

Dark backed away and hesitantly held a hoof in front of himself. “It was a foolish idea! A decision made at my weakest moment...” Dark looked to the side and sighed before he continued. “When I met the slender pony for myself, I realized that he was as much a victim as we were. So I defected, and the two of us have been wandering Equestria ever since.”

The room was silent for a moment.

Scootaloo was still curious. “Um...”

“That's all I'm going to say about it.” Dark seemed uncomfortable to talk more about what happened.

Twilight had been quiet a long time. I didn't blame her, since it was a lot to take in. But since Dark seemed to be done talking, she decided it was her turn.

“Well, now everything's all cleared up, we need to focus on what we're going to do next.” Twilight walked to the table in the center of the room and hovered the top sheet of a stack of papers in front of her. “These are all the notes I've taken while studying the book yesterday. As you can see, we still have a lot of work to do.”

My friends and I looked at each other hesistantly.

Our silence didn't stop Twilight. “Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there isn't a way to send the slender pony back to Tartarus. The only information I could find was about taking a soul out of there, not putting it back.”

Dark wasn't swayed by Twilight's words. “Nevermind the slender pony. What can you do about Ebony's binding magic? There must be a way to reverse it.”

Twilight rested her hoof on her chin and thought for a moment. “Well, it's definitely a possibility.”

“What do you mean?” Dark asked her.

Twilight pointed towards her notes. “When I couldn't find any more information about the slender pony, I took a look through the rest of the book. A lot of it is written in ancient Equestrian language, but I've been making some progress translating it. As much as I hate to admit it, some of our modern pony magic is derived from these ancient spells.”

“So things aren't hopeless after all.” Dark gave a sigh in relief, but still looked distraught. “But even if we succeed, Ebony will still pursue us, and next time she will take every precaution she can.” Dark closed his eyes and looked towards the window of the library. “If worst comes to worst, I may have to end things once and for all.”

We all took in what he said. I knew that Ebony was dangerous, but still, ending her life? I wasn't sure Dark had it in him. I know I wouldn't. Would he even be able to? Dark would be easily overpowered. Twilight might be able to stop her, but I don't know if she could bring herself to kill Ebony.

My thoughts were interrupted when we all heard a banging on the door. My heart dropped when I heard my big sister's voice on the other side.

“Apple Bloom! I know yer in there! Cheerilee told me you've been skipping school! I've got Big Macintosh here with me, and we're gonna knock some sense into ya right now if ya don't open this door right now and co-op-er-ate!”

Everypony in the room's eyes widened. Twilight whispered to Dark to hide upstairs. As for me, I don't think there was any place for me to hide. When Dark was out of sight, Twilight hesitantly opened the door. Before any of us could get a word in, Applejack stormed into the library without even acknowledging Twilight.

Applejack marched up to me. “What in the hay has been goin' on with you?” Applejack leaned forward to look me right in the eyes. “You've been acting all weird ever since you had that weird dream. Is there something going on that I need to know about? Or are you just playing hooky for the fun of it? Say something to me, Apple Bloom!”

I quivered under the weight of her words. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at us, their mouths hanging wide open. Even Twilight was speechless. Big Macintosh walked in. He didn't look as angry as Applejack, but his eyes were directly focused on me. He stayed as quiet as he always was.

“And you!” Applejack turned her attention towards Twilight. “What's so important that you gotta pull my sister out of school without even telling me?”

Twilight slumped. “Applejack...”

“Spit it out!” my sister yelled.

“It's a long story...” Twilight tried to explain, but Applejack was impatient.

“I don't have all day! As soon as I find out what's going on I'm dragging Apple Bloom right out of here!”

Twilight tried to reason with her, but Applejack was just getting angrier by the second. Instead, Scootaloo stepped forward and spoke as fast as she could.

“All the kids at school started having these weird dreams that were caused by this weird faceless slender pony and there's these three evil ponies in the forest who kidnapped Apple Bloom but this other pony named Dark went and rescued her even though we thought he was evil and now this scary pony wants to cast a spell over Ponyville or something and now we're trying to figure out how to stop them because if we don't then everypony in town will be in danger!”

Scootaloo panted after her long-winded rant.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“It's... complicated.” Twilight sighed. “But what Scootaloo said is right. Ponyville could be in a lot of danger, and Apple Bloom is directly involved.”

Applejack didn't seem convinced. “If Ponyville is in danger, then what's a little filly like Apple Bloom going to do?” Applejack looked over at me. “If something's going on, ya shoulda let me know! I'm no slouch in a fight. I bet ah can take whatever they've got.”

“It's not that simple!” Twilight pleaded. “The unicorn we're dealing with, Ebony, could be one of the most powerful magic-users in Equestria!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ah doubt she's any more trouble than Nightmare Moon or Discord or Crystalis. What makes her so tough?”

Twilight sighed. “Look, it'll be easier to just show you. We have this book that might have the answer to all this.” She turned and started walking towards the shelves. “It's hidden behind a panel over here...”

“TWILIGHT! NO!”

Before anypony could react, Dark glided down from the stairs and tackled Applejack, causing the two of them to tumble over on the floor.

“What the?” Applejack struggled as Dark pinned her down to the floor. “Who in the heck are you supposed to be?!”

“Dark!” Twilight's horn glowed and Dark found himself floating above Applejack, futilely reaching toward her with his hooves. “What's gotten into you?”

“It's not her!” Dark explained, trying to break out of Twilight's spell. “She's Flash! And you were just about to give him the book!”

“What?” Twilight's horn stopped glowing and Dark fell from the air. “How can you tell?”

“I... I can't.” Dark got up and fixed his gaze directly on Applejack. “But if it was him, we couldn't let him get ahold of the book.”

“This is all going by too fast for me,” Applejack said. “What's so special about this book? And are you accusing me of not bein' me? Why ah aughta teach ya a lesson the hard way!” Applejack took a step toward him and cracked her hooves.

“Applejack, no!” I ran between the two of them and faced her. “Dark's on our side! If it is you, you have to believe me!”

My comment only made her madder. “If it is me? Apple Bloom, have you lost your mind? I just get knocked over by some creepy-lookin' pony I've never seen before, and you're on his side?”

I looked towards my older brother. “Big Macintosh! You believe me, right?”

His eyes widened and darted around the room for a moment.

Before he could say anything, Applejack interrupted. “Don't ya go trying to get your brother involved! This is between me and mister cape over here!” She walked past me and stood Dark looking straight in the eye.

I looked as close as I could at her as she past. She walked like Applejack, talked like Applejack, behaved just like her. I do remember Flash imitating her voice back at the cabin, but could it really be him? Then I realized that if Applejack was Flash, then Big Macintosh must have been...

“You!” I stepped towards my supposed older brother and looked him in the eyes. His eyes widened and darted from side to side before looking at Applejack.

“Good luck gettin' any words out of him. He's had a bad sore throat all mornin'.”

Big Macintosh raised his hoof to his throat and coughed. I was getting suspicious.

Twilight had been analyzing the situation, and even she wasn't sure what to think. “Hold on, I still have the reveal spell I used on the Changelings at the wedding. Just let me use it on them and we will know for sure.”

Dark scoffed. “It'll be no use, but go ahead.”

Applejack sighed and walked over to Big Macintosh. “Ah'm sick of having to prove ah'm really me, but if this will convince ya, then fine. Give us your best shot.”

Twilight focused. As her horn glowed, a wave of light shone over my siblings and dissipated. Nothing changed about them.

“Thank you.” Applejack looked towards Dark. “Now can ya please explain who this fella is and why he felt the need to tackle me?”

Twilight sighed and tried to smile. “He's saved Apple Bloom's life twice now. Please forgive him. He was just trying to be careful.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Saved her life, huh? What'd he do, beat up a scary-looking tree?”

“No, it's true!” Sweetie Belle had been silent for a while watching all of this, but she finally spoke up. “We all went into the Everfree Forest and got lost, and Dark led us out!”

Applejack got angry. “You all got lost in the Everfree Forest? What have ah told ya about going there without an adult? Ah'm gonna have a long talkin' to with your parents about you three!”

“We're sorry!” Scootaloo pleaded. “Please, we have bigger things to worry about!”

“Don't waste your breath!” Dark focused his eyes on Applejack. “You're definitely Flash.”

Twilight smacked her hoof on her forehead. “Will you leave it alone, Dark? I cast the spell. They're real. Leave them alone!”

“I know how to find out for sure.” Before anypony could react, Dark lunged at her again and bit hard into her side. Applejack let out a yell in pain, and Twilight once again used her magic to separate Dark from my sister.

As he was pulled away, his bite unfolded a pegasus wing from my sister's fur.

Twilight dropped her spell as all of us gasped. Dark spat some feathers out of his mouth and stood up. Applejack, or rather, Flash disguised as Applejack, looked at his extended wing and folded it back. The wing vanished when it pressed against his fur.

Flash turned to Brock and scolded him. “You just had to stand there and do nothing, huh?”

It was so bizarre seeing a different voice coming out of my sister's mouth. Twilight and my friends stared in silence as the two of them yelled at each other.

Brock glared at him. “You told me to just keep quiet and let you do all the talking!”

“And you almost blew it sooner than that! If I had let you speak it would have ruined everything!” Flash pressed his nose up against Brock's. “And we both knew Dark might be here! Why in the world were you just standing there?!”

Brock scoffed. “Doesn't matter now. Let's just get the book the hard way.”

They looked over at us. In an instant, Twilight put up a protective shield. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Dark, Twilight, and me all stayed on the side of the library where the book must have been hidden.

Twilight stood on the edge of the force field. “Get out of my home!” she yelled. “I'm not letting you get the book!”

Flash tossed off his hat and undid the bands on his hair and tail. “I hate playing women. Keeping up that accent was hard enough. If I tried imitating one of your more higher-pitched friends, you would have seen through it immediately.”

“How?” I asked him. “How did you imitate my sister so perfectly? Have you even met her?”

Flash laughed. “You think you're safe in the peace and quiet of Ponyville? Hardly. Everypony knows the tale of the Elements of Harmony. How the six of you forged a bond to overturn Nightmare Moon's magic. I don't have to meet Applejack in person to know every detail about her. Or even you, Twilight.”

Twilight shuffled in place. I doubt she'd ever felt so exposed.

Flash smirked and said something else. “Of course, a little spying does help get the finer details down...”

I gasped. “You've been watching us?!”

Brock rolled his eyes. “Don't act so surprised. You know Ebony's not going to leave anything to chance.”

I've been worrying so much these last few weeks. Those weird dreams, lost in the forest, being kidnapped, and then I found out that I've been followed this whole time. Maybe even my family and friends! Even safe inside the bubble, I had to sit down and cry. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hugged me while Flash and Brock just laughed at us.

“Quit crying, little girl!” Brock squinted his eyes. “Life is unfair, so get used to it.”

“Why?” I asked them in between sobs. “Why are you doing all this? First you trick me with Zecora, then Dark, and now my own sister!”

“Zecora?” Flash thought to himself for a moment before realizing what I was talking about. “Oh! That zebra woman!”

“Huh?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Tsk, tsk.” Flash laughed. “I'd love to claim credit for Zecora's performance, but you were speaking to the real one, Apple Bloom.”

“But that doesn't make sense!” Scootaloo yelled. “She told Apple Bloom that Dark was dangerous! I think. I mean, I wasn't there...” Scootaloo looked at me hesitantly, but I could tell she believed me.

Sweetie Belle also chimed in. “And when we went to visit her, she didn't remember anything! If you weren't imitating her, then what's going on?”

Flash laughed. “I believe there's somepony here who can answer that better than I can...” He looked over at Dark expectantly. The rest of us couldn't help but follow his gaze.

Dark took a step back and stammered a bit. “I-it was just a misunderstanding! Zecora got the wrong impression of me, just like you all did!”

“How come she didn't remember you, then?” I asked.

“Well,” Dark explained. “The slender pony has more powers than you know of...”

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo were focused on Dark, but I noticed Twilight standing still with her eyes closed. I knew she had her hooves full with keeping the force field up, but it looked like there was something else on her mind.

“Flash...” she said. “ For some reason, I feel like I've heard your voice somewhere before.”

Flash's eyes grew wide. I didn't know what was going through his mind, but I think that was the first time I had ever seen him look scared. But it only lasted a moment before he decided to end the conversation. “Well, miss Twilight Sparkle. I think it's about time you gave us what we want.”

Flash and Brock began walking towards the force field, but Twilight kept her ground and opened her eyes. Whatever she had been thinking of she wasn't important to her now. She gritted her teeth and reinforced the shield. “And what do you plan to do? If you know so much about me, you must also know I'm one of the strongest magic users in Equestria!”

Flash stopped right in front of Twilight and looked her straight in the eye through the force field. He held his hoof up to the edge and grinned.

“Twilight!” Dark raced over and pulled Twilight away just as Flash swung his arm through the force field as if it wasn't even there.

He and Brock stepped all the way through and laughed. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I huddled together against the bookshelves, not sure where to go.

Twilight dropped the force field and backed up next to Dark. “But... how?” she asked. “That was the same spell my brother used against the Changelings! There's no way you should have been able to break through it!”

“Have you forgotten who you're dealing with?” Flash laughed and slowly walked toward her. “Brock and I are coated with an anti-magic shield. Anything you cast on us simply bounces off.”

“I told you it'd be no use,” Dark muttered.

“Now then,” Flash continued. “We're going to get it either way. I recommend you make this easy, because it's been a while since Brock's been allowed to use his muscles. Isn't that right?”

“Mm-hm.” Brock cracked his hooves and looked at Twilight and Dark expectantly.

Twilight sighed. “Alright. You can have it.”

“What are you doing?!” Dark pleaded. “That's our only hope against Ebony!”

Twilight ignored him. “There's a hidden panel behind a shelf. Let me show you.”

Flash and Brock followed her as she walked along the wall to a specific shelf. Her horn flashed, then piles of books fell off of the shelves onto them.

“Girls! Dark! Get down!” she yelled as books all over the library came off of their shelves and hovered in the air of the library. When Flash and Brock dug themselves out of the pile, they looked up and saw countless books pointing at them.

Twilight's horn glowed brightly as she spoke. “You may be immune to magic, but physical objects still hurt!”

Flash looked at Brock. “You think you can handle this one for me?”

Brock nodded, and the two dived out of the pile of books. Twilight shot several books at Brock, but because of his huge size many of them just bounced off. Flash put his wings to use and started flying around the shelves, pulling books off as he looked for the secret panel.

Dark ran over to me and quickly whispered, “Did Twilight show you where the book was hidden?”

“Nuh-uh,” I told him.

“So it's not in your journal?” he asked.

“No...”

“Good.” Dark ran off to find it before Flash could.

At first I didn't realize why Dark would ask me that, but then it hit me. I'm the reason they're here.

I turned to my friends and whimpered. “Girls...”

Sweetie Belle tried her best to talk amongst all the chaos. “What is it?”

“They're here because of me.” I admitted.

“What?!” Scootaloo yelled, though the noise drowned her out.

“When they kidnapped me,” I explained. “They read my journal. That's how they know about all that we've been doing. They found out that Twilight had the book because I wrote about it.”

They both hugged me tight. “It's okay,” Sweetie Belle reassured me. “You couldn't have known.”

I stayed silent. For the moment, all I could do was watch the action happening. Twilight constantly teleported in order to stay out of Brock's way. Dark tried to wrestle Flash to the ground, but with only one good wing, he couldn't keep up with him in the air.

As Twilight moved around and hurled books, I could hear her talking to herself. “Oh, I really wish I didn't have to use all these as weapons. I can't stand to see any of them hurt! Wait, what's this?” Twilight hovered a novel with a black cover in front of her. “Fifty Grains of Hay? What's this doing in my library?” She then repeatedly hit Brock on the head with it. I could see the book's spine crack, but Twilight didn't seem very worried about it.

As Brock and Flash got hit in the fight, I saw their disguises come off. Brock may have looked like my brother, but his fur was a lot darker than Big Macintosh's. It didn't look like their disguises were magical, because I saw a puff of makeup every time one of them got hit. Nothing like the Changelings we saw in Canterlot.

At one point, Dark managed to grab ahold of Flash as he was flying around. The two of them hovered in the air for a bit before Flash's wings gave out and the two tumbled to the ground. Dark kept grabbing Flash's limbs and trying to restrain him, while Flash was actively trying to attack Dark. The two swiped and punched at each other for a while, until finally Flash pinned Dark down for good.

Dark bit Flash's front limb once he was pinned down, but even though Flash yelled in pain, he still wouldn't let go. Eventually, I saw both of Flash's hooves press against Dark's neck. Dark tried to push Flash off of him, but it was no use. Dark's arms started to become weaker and weaker, and Flash just grinned as he strangled him.

I panicked.

“Stop!” I yelled, running over to the two of them as fast as I could. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were right behind me.

Flash was too distracted to notice us running up to him, but when the three of us jumped on him, he let go of Dark instantly. I walked up next to Dark's face and looked at him, but didn't see any signs of movement.

“Wake up!” I yelled. No response. Dark's eyes stared straight ahead. I shoved him repeatedly. “Dark! It's me, Apple Bloom!” Nothing. Tears started welling up in my eyes when I noticed that his chest was still moving. He wasn't dead.

I watched his chest for a bit just to make sure. It went up and down over and over. Flash hadn't killed him. Dark had just passed out. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when I realized that Flash was still standing beside us. I leaped to my feet in case he tried something. But even though Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and me were standing there straight at him in case he made a move, he didn't do anything. Instead of the angry look he had when he was strangling Dark, his jaw hung open. His eyes darted from us to Dark repeatedly.

I thought back to several minutes earlier, when he was taunting Twilight through her shield. He seemed so confident and sure of himself, but now he looked like he was scared. Dark said that he had worked with them in the past. Did Flash still think of Dark as a friend?

Twilight and Brock had also stopped fighting to see what was going on. The six of us stood there in silence as we watched Dark's chest grow and shrink. Even Brock seemed lost at the sight of him on the floor like that.

Now that we were all still, I noticed something. With the makeup scraped off, I could see Flash's cutie mark. It was partially obscured by the three apples that were put on to imitate my sister, but I could make out the shape of an opera mask. One of those solid white masks that only covered half of your face. I looked over at Brock too, and saw his cutie mark: the spear indicating the “male” symbol. When he saw me looking at it, he panicked, and grabbed Dark's cloak that had been thrown off during the fight. He laid it over his flank, though he was too big for it to cover much of him.

Flash walked over to Brock and whispered something in his ear. The two whispered back to each other for a while, then Brock walked over to Dark's body.

“We're taking him with us,” Flash said flatly.

Immediately, Twilight's horn glowed as she braced herself for another fight. “Oh no you-” Flash held up his hoof, but his expression didn't change. Twilight's horn stopped glowing, and she stood upright again.

“Come to the cabin in the woods. Bring the book.” Flash glanced towards my friends and me. “Whether Ebony wins or you win, it doesn't matter. It'll finally be over.”

When Brock slumped Dark over his back, I had to speak up. “What are you going to do with Dark?”

Brock glanced at me. “He'll be safe. We'll make sure Ebony doesn't hurt him.”

The two of them nodded at each other, then walked out the door.

When the door closed, the four of us in the room looked around in silence at all the books scattered across the floor. Twilight picked one up and flipped through the pages. She cast a spell on it, and after a few seconds, the book looked good as new.

“Are all the books going to be okay?” Sweetie Belle asked her.

Twilight gave a weak smile. “It'll take some time, but I'll have this place back to normal before you know it.”

Scootaloo picked up a few books. “We'll help you put these back...”

Twilight laughed. “Don't worry about it. It'd be better if I did it by myself. Oh, and Spike!” She frowned. “I wonder how I'm going to explain this to him...”

I breathed a big sigh. Everypony seemed worried about what would happen next, but didn't want to talk about it. I decided that I had to be the one to get things going.

“Twilight, do you really think you can stop Ebony?”

She looked at me. “I don't know, Apple Bloom. I've studied the book a lot, but there's still a lot to look through. If I knew the ancient Equestrian language better, then maybe...”

“What about Princess Celestia?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Could she help us?”

Twilight shook her head. “I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. Dark magic is very different from ordinary magic. Do you remember at the wedding how Chrystalis managed to overpower the princess?”

Sweetie Belle slowly nodded.

“That was a form of dark magic,” Twilight continued. “Chrystalis used the energy from Shining Armor's love for Cadance. That's how she was able to win that fight.”

Scootaloo pouted. “If dark magic is powered by love, then where's Ebony getting it from? Those two didn't seem very loving...”

“You're right, Scootaloo,” Twilight said. “But love isn't the only form of energy. It can also be created from the destruction of the user's body, or even... their soul.”

The three of us gasped at her words.

“Even the tiniest fragment of a pony's soul contains vast quanities of energy,” Twilight explained. “That's where I think Ebony's power is coming from.”

“Huh?” I asked. “She's using her own soul to power her magic?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Twilight sighed. “If Ebony is as dedicated to her cause as we believe, then she wouldn't hesitate.”

Sweetie Belle looked scared. “How are you going to be able to stop her? She sounds really terrifying!”

“Well,” Twilight replied. “I may not have to overpower her. If I can break the seal on the slender pony long enough, we might be able to... well...”

She didn't say it, but everypony knew what she was talking about. Ebony would have to be stopped through physical force, not magic.

Twilight sighed and walked around the room a bit. After several minutes of contemplating, she picked up my book bag and gave it back to me. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo? It's been a long day. I want you three to go home and get some rest. I'll have a talk with Cheerilee tonight about why you were gone. I'll come up with something. Just make sure you're in class tomorrow, alright?”

The three of us nodded. We were all too shaken by the day's events to talk about anything else, so we left the library and went home. It was late in the day and the sun was setting, but it looked like any ordinary day to me. The ponies went about their business as usual, unaware that big things were happening in the woods outside of town.

When I got home, I gave Applejack and Big Macintosh a hug. They wondered why I was so eager, but even though I wanted to spill everything to them, I decided against it. The only reason Twilight has a chance is because of her knowledge of magic. As strong as my big brother and sister are, I don't think there's anything they can do to help.

Friday, October 26th

Compared to how the last several days have been, today was uneventful. I woke up at my usual time, went to school, and came home and helped with chores a bit. No kidnapping, no creepy dreams, no sign of Dark or Flash (at least, I don't think so). At school, my friends and I all behaved like it was a normal day. We were just happy to have a day where we didn't have to worry about anything. Miss Cheerilee was kind of worried about us missing school, but I guess Twilight managed to convince her that we were okay.

When I was helping out on the farming, catching up on some of the chores that I've been too busy to deal with, Twilight came over and had a short chat with me. She told me that she thinks she's uncovered the spell to the binding magic. She wouldn't need the whole book to perform it either, just a few pages. However, she had never seen a cabin in the Everfree Forest before, so she told me that I would have to show her where it was. I'm wary about going into the woods again, but Twilight needs me now. Dark rescued me twice, but now it's my turn to rescue him.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow. It might all be over, but will Twilight be able to stand up to Ebony's magic? Will Dark be able to finish her off? Will Flash and Brock protect her? Help us? Or just stand by and watch? If we lose, what will happen to us? Will Ebony kill us? Or will she use some more mind-control magic to make us do what she wants? Whatever happens, I've decided to leave a note on my bed for Applejack. If she doesn't see me for a while, she'll probably check my room and see it waiting for her. She'll see my journal, and everything that's happened so far. She might come out to the woods and look for me, but she'll be smart enough to not go alone.

Today in class, Cheerilee reminded us that our journals are due next week. To be honest, I had completely forgotten that I started this thing because of a class. It's been the only way for me to sort my thoughts out and figure out what's going on. I don't know how I'll explain it to her. Maybe I'll just say it was for a story I was writing. Maybe I won't turn it in and just take a bad grade instead. Applejack will be mad at me, but it's an option if everything turns out okay. And I'd rather be yelled at than have everypony in town forced to leave their homes.

Either way, this ends tomorrow.

Chapter 4

saterday, october 27

my name is appul blum. i live with my sister applejak, my brother big maccintosh, and my grandma granny smit. i live in a town called ponyvil. my best frends are sweety bell and scootaloo. my teecher at school is mis cheerily.

my frend twilite told me to rite down evrything i can rememer in this jernal. i cant reely think of much tho. i reccanize this room, so i ges its mine. i didnt even now i had a jernal, but i so it lying on top of my bed and it had my nmae on it. ther was a note besid it to that siad for aplejack. i didnt no wat the note was toking abot when i red it, so i thru it away.

im tyring to think abot wat hapened befour i got home. i rember wakling with twilite sweety bell and scootaloo. we wer all wering sum kind of hood and cape taht was all torn up. they kep talking to each ohter and asking me a bucnh of questons. when i coundlt anser them, twilite seem reelly weried, so thats why she tlod me to rite as much as i cood in my jernul.

i jsut looekd at my clok and saw how ltae it was. i beter go to bed. and i shoud shwoer in the monring becuz my fur is reelly ditry.

Sunday, October 28th

When I woke up this morning, I felt a lot better. At least, I thought so. I accidentally tripped and fell down a few steps when I was coming down the stairs. Applejack got some bandages for me fast, but us Apple family folk are pretty tough. I did notice some other bruises and cuts on me. Applejack asked me about them and I couldn't remember how I got them. I don't think I fell down the stairs that hard...

I still feel like I'm missing something. After brunch, Applejack asked me to clean the dishes, but I accidentally dropped three of them and broke them. She just sighed and took over for me after that. I wanted to make up for it somehow, but when I suggested it Applejack just asked me to keep to myself. She was right, because I did feel kind of dizzy all day.

Twilight came by in the afternoon and talked to me. She mostly just asked questions about how I felt and what I remembered, which wasn't much. Some other details came back to me today, like how Scootaloo is obsessed with Rainbow Dash and Rarity is Sweetie Belle's older sister, but that's about it. Twilight asked me if I remembered a wedding that I supposedly went to in the spring, but nothing came to mind. As we talked, I noticed that she had some bruises on her waist. I asked her about them, and she just evaded the question.

Twilight took me on a walk away from town. There, she introduced me to this pony named Dark, who wore a hood and a cape. He looked scary to me, but Twilight promised me that he was friendly. He asked me a lot of questions, but what was weird is that I felt like he was examining me. He asked me to open my eyes wide so he could get a good look at them. He also tested my hearing by speaking at various distances away from me. I felt really nervous as he was doing this, but Twilight told me over and over that it was okay and that he was just checking up on me. I don't know why she would take me to this weird-looking pony outside of Ponyville instead of the town doctor.

I overheard some parts of her conversation with him, too. They mentioned a bunch of names I can't remember, and Twilight seemed really worried about me. I'm not really sure what to think either, because I can't remember anything besides the ponies closest to me. That hooded pony talked to Twilight a bit, though I don't really remember what they said. They just kept looking at me funny.

After Twilight brought me back to the farm, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came over later and hung out with me. We tried playing catch, but I kept tripping and missing the ball, so we stopped after a while. However, none of us really talked that much. I don't think that they had problems remembering things like I did, but they were both really quiet and nervous. I asked them if they knew what happened to me and they said they didn't want to talk about it. I saw that Scootaloo had a bandage on her right front limb, but I don't remember her getting hurt. Also, I noticed that Sweetie Belle was moving a lot slower than Scootaloo and me. I almost looked like she had a limp or something.

I don't know how long it'll take for me to get my memory back. Tomorrow's Monday, which means I'll be in school again. Maybe being in the building will help me remember more. I hope miss Cheerilee doesn't give us a pop quiz or anything.

Monday, October 29th

I was worried that I wouldn't be myself in class today, but miss Cheerilee and the other students didn't treat me any differently than normal. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were still acting funny after yesterday, though. At least we didn't have any hard tests or anything.

Something really weird happened to me during class, though. I was listening to miss Cheerilee go over some math problems, when suddenly I got this really bad headache. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again, I was the teacher! But instead of being in our little schoolhouse in Ponyville, I was teaching in a big room with lots and lots of students who looked way older than me! I kept talking and talking about magic spells and our souls and the inherent energy within us, but most of the ponies in the room looked really bored. I shouted one of them to wake up, and he just gave me a mean look. But then I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was back in the schoolhouse with miss Cheerilee.

I guess I was just daydreaming, but what kind of dream was that? Sometimes I'll remember dreams if they're really scary or funny, but this one seemed kind of ordinary. Like it wasn't a dream, but a memory I had a while ago. When I woke back up, it didn't look like anypony had noticed, so I guess it was all just in my head.

Something else weird happened at home not too long ago. Applejack and I were cleaning up after dinner when she accidentally dropped the pickle jar on the floor. When I heard the jar break, I yelled and cowered on the floor. Applejack was really apologetic, though she did think that I overreacted a bit. To be honest, I think I did too. Stuff like this happens every once in a while, so why was I so bothered by it? When I heard that glass shatter, I just wanted to hide. I felt really scared.

I think I'll just go to bed. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 30th

I can't think straight. Something is happening to me, and I just don't know what's going on. All day long I feel like I've had to look over my shoulder no matter where I was. When I was walking to school, I felt like everypony was staring at me and murmuring. They were scared of me. I don't know what I did to deserve it. I just wanted to run and hide, but there was nowhere I could go. And I didn't want to go back home.

In class I couldn't pay attention at all. I just stared directly in front of me the whole time. Miss Cheerilee called my name a few times, and I guess I snapped out of it long enough to answer her. But she seemed really worried about me. At lunchtime, I think I was really worrying Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They kept saying things to me that sounded like responses to things I had said, but I couldn't recall saying anything. At one point, I looked at the two of them funny and got a really weird feeling. I thought about how Sweetie Belle was such a great singer, but felt bad for her because all her friends would be beneath her. Then I thought about Scootaloo and how she's different from other ponies and doesn't even realize it. I shook my head out of it and things went back to normal for me for a while, but I still don't know why I would think such terrible thoughts about my best friends.

The worst part of my day came when I was walking through town after school. I passed by some fruit stands and got really hungry. I snuck over next to one of the pear stands and when nopony was looking, I stole one, put it in my bag, then ran off. I went into an alleyway and ate the pear as fast as I could. I felt like it had been forever since I had last had something to eat. I threw the pear aside, and when I walked out of the alley, I found Twilight standing in my way, glaring at me.

She was really mad at me and wanted me to explain why I had just stolen food. I tried to explain to her that I was really hungry and didn't know what else to do, and she asked me why I didn't just go home and have an apple from the farm. When she said that, I realized that she was right. I had never had problems getting food before, so how come I was so desperately hungry this time?

I guess Twilight knew what was going through my head, because she stopped being angry and started looking very worried. She decided to walk me home, because at that point neither of us knew what to do. She also bought another pear from that stand, and paid extra for it to make up for the one I took. I told her a bit about the weird experiences I'd been having all day, and she just stayed silent. When we made it back to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight told me that everything would be alright, and that I should just take it easy the rest of the day. So far, nothing else has happened. I hope tomorrow will be better. I hate these visions.

I was really hoping that would be it for tonight. After I wrote that journal entry, I turned off the light in my room, and I suddenly felt really scared, like there was something in here with me. But at the same time, I was just... giggling to myself. I sat there and just quietly laughed at the darkness. After several minutes, I had to force myself to get back up and turn the light on. I'm really scared, Twilight. I hope that you can help me, because I don't know what's happening to me.

Wednesday, October 31st

This will be my last journal entry. I have to write down everything that I can right now, because if I don't, then my story will be lost forever.

When I left home last Saturday, I believed that I might not return. I hugged Applejack and Big Macintosh tightly, and even Granny Smith, though I went a little easier on her. I packed my bag full of food and left Sweet Apple Acres. When I walked outside, I saw that rather than the bright, sunny days we've been having, it was overcast. I guess the pegasi knew exactly what I was about to get myself into. Once my home was out of sight, I made my way over to Twilight's library, where the longest night of my life began.

When I knocked on the door, I didn't get an answer. I knocked again, harder, and still got nothing. Finally, I opened it up and saw Twilight frantically running around the room, hovering books overhead. Sheets of paper were scattered everywhere. She looked like a complete mess, and didn't even notice that I had come in.

“Is everything okay?” I asked her. Then I realized how stupid a question it was. We could die that night.

“Oh! Apple Bloom!” Twilight stopped what she was doing and looked at me. “Sorry... I've been looking everywhere to see if there's any spells I've missed that might help us tonight. So far, the unbinding spell is all I could find.”

I heard a pair of voices come from the side of the room. “We're here too!” I looked over and saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo sitting in the corner. They got up and ran over to me.

“What are you girls doing here?” I asked them. “You can't come with me and Twilight! You'll just get yourselves hurt! Or worse...”

“No!” Scootaloo shouted. “We saw what happened on Thursday! We're not leaving you alone!”

Twilight sighed. “I tried talking to them already, Apple Bloom. They won't budge.”

“Please let us come with you!” Sweetie Belle whined. “I don't care what happens to us!”

The two of them looked at me with tears in their eyes. I realized that I needed them. I was scared enough as is, and just having them by my side may be enough to get me through this.

“Thanks, girls.” I hugged them tightly. Then I turned my head towards Twilight and asked, “Did you already tell them everything?”

“As much as I can,” she said. “I still don't know what we'll find when we're out there.”

As Twilight went silent, I looked around the library. Papers and books were scattered everywhere, but she seemed more depressed than worried. Applejack liked to tell stories of how Twilight would obsess over minor details and assignments, and the way she described them, they always sounded far worse than what I saw in front of me. I guess when Twilight is faced with a real danger instead of a hypothetical one, even she knows when to stop.

“We're almost ready,” Twilight said, packing up as many notes and supplies as she could. “Just let me do one last thing.” Twilight wrote a full letter on a sheet of paper, then curled it up and cast a spell on it that made it vanish into thin air.

“What did you just do?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Just a small time-travel spell,” Twilight explained. “It will appear here tomorrow at noon on Spike's bed. If everything goes fine, I'll stop it and he'll never know. If I'm not here, he'll find it, and he'll contact Princess Celestia. I don't think she knows much more than I do about dark magic, but if things go wrong, she needs to know.”

A moment of silence passed before Twilight spoke again.

“Is everypony ready?”

Soon, the four of us were heading out of town towards the Everfree Forest. However, the problem was that I was leading the way. I had only been on the path one time before, and that was a few days earlier (though it felt like a lot longer than that). After we all walked along the perimeter of the forest for a while, I found the pathway that would lead us back to the cabin.

As we walked along the path, Sweetie Belle thought aloud to herself. “I wonder who this cabin belonged to.” She turned to address me. “Did you see any pictures on the walls or anything while you were there?”

“The walls were pretty blank,” I told her. “Just a bunch of leftover furniture. It was pretty big though, and I only saw a few rooms. Maybe there's a picture or something in a different part of the house.”

“It seems like it's pretty far from Ponyville,” Scootaloo said. “Maybe it's just a getaway spot? I can't imagine living there.”

For a while, the three of us talked about the cabin, speculating on who it belonged to and how long ago it had been abandoned. It was just mindless chatter, but it helped take my attention off of what we were about to face. My friends and I were just having one of those silly moments, like we used to. After a while, I noticed that Twilight had been silent the entire conversation. She just kept her eyes on the road in front of her.

“Is something wrong?” I asked her.

“It's nothing, Apple Bloom,” she said, smiling. “Don't worry about it.”

“What in Equestria could you possibly be keeping a secret about?” Scootaloo asked.

Twilight frowned. “It's just that... using the unbinding spell will take a lot of energy.”

“Don't worry, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle smiled. “I'm sure you can handle it!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo cheered. “You've done magic like that before! You remember how you handled the Ursa Minor?”

Twilight closed her eyes. “You don't understand, girls. Dark Magic isn't like normal magic. To use it, I might have to tap into my very soul.”

The three of us got quiet, not sure of how to respond. As we walked, I looked down and noticed a few black feathers on the dirt path. I guessed that Flash and Brock must have been telling the truth when they said they were bringing Dark to the cabin. As we walked further down the path, I kept my eye on the road, hoping to see if there were any other feathers. I didn't find any, but they would have been hard to see with the increasingly thick branches overhead.

After a while, Sweetie Belle broke the silence. “Twilight, are you going to be okay?”

Twilight gave a weak smile. “I will. A pony's soul contains immense energy. Even a tiny fragment of it should be enough to help me perform this spell. And just like normal wounds, the soul will heal over time.” Twilight sighed. “I'm sure it will be painful, though.”

“Do you really think the unbinding spell is all it will take?” Scootaloo asked.

Twilight continued looking straight ahead. “If worse comes to worse, I'll use some of the other spells I deciphered from the book. They won't be pretty, though...”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “Wouldn't it be better to ask Princess Celestia? I mean, she's really powerful...”

“I can't get Princess Celestia involved,” Twilight told her. “She's the ruler of Equestria. She needs to be at full strength to raise the sun every day.” Twilight took a deep breath and straightened herself as she walked. “If I can protect her, I will, no matter the cost.”

At that point, I realized something uncomfortable. “Hold on,” I asked her. “If this Dark Magic you'll use will hurt your soul, does that mean that Ebony... you know...”

Twilight gritted her teeth. “I'm afraid so. Her soul is probably severely damaged... possibly beyond repair.”

“What will happen to her?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I don't know,” Twilight replied. “Ponies shy away from Dark Magic for that very reason. I don't know if there's even a documented case of it happening.”

The whole group stayed silent after that. I thought back to when Ebony was using the mind thing on me. I remembered how angry she was during the slender pony's summoning, how she felt they were incompetent and demanded that she be in control of the experiment. And after the fight at the library a few days earlier, Dark and Brock almost seemed like they were scared of Ebony.

After a long walk where nopony talked, we finally arrived at the cabin. The four of us just stared at it, bracing ourselves.

“Maybe it's just me, but has it gotten darker since we entered the forest?” Sweetie Belle observed.

We all looked up and saw that she was right. It was true that the branches were thicker there than they were at the entrance, but even then, there was very little light shining down between them. We had all left early so we wouldn't have to face Ebony at night, but now it felt like there wouldn't be much of a difference.

“Ready?” Twilight asked. We all nodded.

She walked up to the door of the cabin and slowly pushed it open as we huddled behind her. Twilight lowered her horn just in case something happened, but nothing did. The cabin was silent. She took a few steps forward and looked around, but she saw nothing. My friends and I slowly followed behind, but we kept our distance as Twilight scouted the rooms. After a few minutes of total silence, she came back looking both relieved and confused.

“I don't get it...” Twilight said. “They said they'd be here, but there's no sign of them.”

“Um...” Sweetie Belle murmured. We all looked at her. “I think they just told us to come here...”

Twilight suddenly braced herself as if she expected an attack, but nothing happened.

“Well,” Scootaloo thought out loud. “They didn't give us an exact time to come. Maybe they just aren't here? Should we wait for them?”

Twilight growled and turned around. “If they can't be bothered to be here for us, then I'm just going to... huh?”

“What is it?” I asked her as she stared at the side of the house.

Twilight pointed towards a window on the side of the house opposite where we came in. “Is it... darker over there?”

The three of us looked over to the window and saw that she was right. There was no light shining in from the other side.

“Told you it was getting darker,” Sweetie Belle said.

“I bet that's where the slender pony is!” I said. “We gotta go save him!”

“You're right,” Twilight said, heading towards the door. “It's now or never.”

“Oh sure,” Scootaloo complained. “Let's all go into the scary forest where we can barely see! THAT'S a smart idea!”

“You coming?” I asked her as Sweetie Belle and me headed towards the exit.

Scootaloo shoulders sank, but she followed us. “Yeah... I am...”

The four of us walked outside into the dark. Clouds were packed tightly overhead, and it seemed like the trees had lost most of their leaves. A few rays of light filtered through the clouds, but not enough for us to see far ahead. We walked forward into the forest, making crunching sounds on the leaves as we stepped on them. Every so often we'd see a large boulder or discarded wheelbarrow that had been rotting for some time. However, at the same time, we all suddenly felt a chill.

“He's near,” Twilight said.

My friends and I gasped.

“Keep quiet, girls,” she whispered. “I'm going to take a look around. I won't go far.”

The three of us kept our heads down and huddled together as Twilight scouted the landscape. Our hesitation felt weird. We knew that the slender pony wouldn't harm us, but we would never forget that night we first encountered him. How his presence made even the closest friends fight with each other. But at that moment, we were with him again. We all took deep breaths to try to calm ourselves, but it was futile. We looked around the landscape and saw how many leaves had fallen the past few days. I guessed if he had an effect on ponies, he may have been able to disturb nature as well.

After a few minutes, Twilight came back looking disturbed. “I found him,” she said. Her face was white.

I could only imagine what it felt like for her. She had finally run into the monster that traumatized her as a child. However, this was no time to talk about it. Twilight shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her bag and levitated the notes she had taken from the book she'd been studying the previous few days.

“He's... in a clearing over there.” Twilight motioned her head towards a spot opposite us. “I don't know how well I'll be able to concentrate, but here goes nothing.” She took a deep breath, then turned around to walk off.

“Wait!” I squeaked out. Twilight turned to look at me, and I ran up and gave her a hug. Soon, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo joined in.

“Thanks, girls,” she said, forcing a smile.

We held on to her as long as we could, but Twilight gently forced her way out. The three of us watched her walk off, and held our breaths in anticipation of what would happen next. After a few minutes, we heard Twilight speaking. She didn't say any words we understood, so it must have been the ancient Equestrian language that was written in the book. The same language I remembered Ebony speaking when I was in her body, summoning the slender pony into this world. I shuddered hearing Twilight speaking those words, but I understood that it had to be done.

However, my thought process was interrupted when we all felt a gust of wind so strong that it made a noise as it blew through the trees. We heard Twilight scream, and without hesitation, we ran towards her. The wind kept blowing as we rushed towards her. When we arrived in the clearing, we saw no sign of the slender pony, but Twilight was curled up on the ground, looking like she was in a lot of pain.

“Girls...” she said. “I don't know what happened, but I didn't get to finish the spell.” Twilight coughed and continued. “The pages scattered when the gust of wind blew. Please... get them back so I can save us.”

Twilight shut her eyes and rested her head on the ground. She was still breathing though, so that was one less thing to worry about.

Sweetie Belle spoke up. “I think I saw a page fly past us! Hold on Twilight, I'll go get it!” She ran off the way we came, leaving us alone.

Scootaloo looked around. “I guess we don't have a choice.” She pointed into another section of the woods, saying, “I'll go search over there, okay?”

Before I could say anything, Scootaloo ran off into the woods. I looked at Twilight and hoped that by the time we recovered them all, she would have regained her strength. I quietly turned her head into a more comfortable position for her, then wandered off into the woods opposite of Scootaloo.

The woods were creepy enough as is when I was walking together with my friends and Twilight, but when I was by myself, I was alert at all times. I would turn my head towards even the tiniest of noises, only to see nothing there. The crunch of the leaves beneath my feet made me constantly feel exposed. My heart raced even though I wasn't running from anything in particular. I don't know what happened to the slender pony, but I knew that he wasn't out to hurt me.

After several minutes of walking, I finally spotted one of Twilight's pages caught in a hole in one of the trees. After I pulled it out, I looked over it. The top section was written in the ancient Equestrian language while the bottom was written in modern pony language. I saw a lot of instructions on how specific words were pronounced, but most of it seemed like gibberish to me. In the bottom right corner, I saw that Twilight had wrote the number '4'. I figured she must have numbered the pages. I did my best to wipe the dirt off, stuck the page in my mouth, then turned around and quietly trotted back toward Twilight.

Getting back to her turned out to be harder than I thought. There wasn't a sun or moon in the sky to guide me, and I had never been in this part of the forest before. However, I managed to make my way back to the clearing where Twilight was still laying there undisturbed. As I put the page I had found into her bag, I noticed a few pages stuck underneath her. I gently pulled them out and saw that they were numbered 1, 2, and 8. I didn't remember Twilight having many pages, so I guessed that there were only eight. Still, I saw no sign that Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo had gotten here, so I had to keep searching.

As I put the pages back in the bag, I heard Sweetie Belle's scream in the distance. Without even thinking, I bolted towards the sound. I hoped that she was just fine, and that the slender pony had just startled her without meaning to. Even though I knew he wasn't our enemy, it would have been a bad idea to get anywhere near him. I galloped through the trees, hoping to see Sweetie Belle terrified, but safe. Instead, when I rounded a corner, I found her body laying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open, and didn't blink or notice me when I walked up to her.

“Sweetie Belle!” I yelled as I tried to shove her awake. “Sweetie Belle! Wake up!” It was no use. Sweetie Belle didn't respond. I almost wanted to cry before I noticed that she was still breathing. She spasmed and drooled, but she was okay.

Just then, Scootaloo ran up carrying a sheet of paper. She let it down and asked me, terrified, “Is she... okay?” I nodded yes, and Scootaloo sighed a breath of relief.

“I don't know what happened to her!” I said. “She's not responding to anything I do!”

“Don't you get it?” Scootaloo asked. “The slender pony attacked her!”

“What?” I argued. “No way!”

Scootaloo glared at me. “Didn't you say that that Ebony unicorn wanted to use his power or something? I bet you he's under her control! He could be watching us right now!”

When Scootaloo said that, both of our eyes went wide. We frantically looked around for the slender pony, but didn't see him. Still, I conceded that Scootaloo was right. Ebony wanted to control him, and now he was being used to hunt us.

Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle. “Did you find a page on her?”

I realized that I had forgotten to check. I took another look at Sweetie Belle and noticed that her leg had gotten caught in a vine on the ground. No wonder she was attacked. She probably tripped on it and couldn't get away. I searched the ground around Sweetie Belle and found a page that she must have been carrying. “Here, she had one,” I said.

“Good,” Scootaloo replied. “I found one too. What about you? Did you have any luck?”

I nodded. “I was dropping it off at Twilight's when I heard the scream.”

“Let's go and give these back to her,” Scootaloo said. “We're still not done.”

She started to walk off before I asked, “What about Sweetie Belle?”

Scootaloo frowned. “I think she'll be okay. Besides, what else can we do?”

I grumbled but realized that Scootaloo was right. The two of us walked side by side in silence back to the clearing. Along the way, we kept an eye out for the slender pony, but we didn't see or feel anything. However, both of us had become noticeably cold. We shivered as we walked, both from the atmosphere and from our paranoia. Scootaloo and I made it back to Twilight, who murmured as she slept. As far as we could tell, nothing happened to her. We put the pages in her bag and tried to figure out what to do next.

“Hey Scootaloo,” I said. “Let's stay together in case something happens. I don't want to run into the slender pony on my own.”

“Agreed,” she said.

We picked a direction that none of us had gone in. As we walked in a straight line, we looked around for another lost page. However, we did our best to keep our attention focused right in front of us, because even a glance at the slender pony would be a problem. We walked in a straight line for what seemed like forever, until we found ourselves in front of a barbed wire fence.

“What's this doing here?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well...” I thought about it for a moment. “There is a cabin nearby. Maybe this place used to be for cattle or something?”

“Whatever.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Let's just follow it and see if we find anything.”

The two of us followed the fence, which seemed to circle around the forested area. As we walked, I looked through the wires off into the distance. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the dark clouds overhead started to disperse, and I think I saw just the tiniest bit of sunlight. However, it had been a long walk out here, and it was hard to tell how much time we had spent trying to find the pages. Maybe the sun really was setting, which meant we would be trapped in the dark for good.

Scootaloo broke me out of my daydream by yelling, “There's one!”

She ran ahead of me to a white page that had gotten stuck to one of the wires. When I caught up to her, I saw that it had scratched a hole in the middle of the page.

“Hrm...” I whined.

“It'll have to do,” Scootaloo said.

As she tried to get the page free from the fence, I saw how sharp the barbed wire looked. “Careful, Scoots,” I said. “You might accidentally-”

“OWWW!” she yelled. She fell to the ground and rubbed her right front limb.

“Are you okay?!” I asked, kneeling down beside her.

“I'll be okay...” Scootaloo growled, grimacing in pain. “Is the page free?”

I looked at the fence and saw that the page had fallen free. “Yeah,” I told her. “I'll grab it. You can still walk, right?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she said, standing back up.

I picked up the page in my mouth, then the two of us turned and walked away from the fence and back towards the clearing.

“You know,” Scootaloo complained as she rubbed her cut. “I am getting really sick of wandering around creepy forests at night.”

“Mm mmm,” I agreed. I hated walking with a sheet of paper in my mouth.

“Maybe I should get a cutie mark for a lumberjack,” she continued. “That way I can chop down trees and make everything safer for ponies like us!”

I rolled my eyes, but Scootaloo didn't notice it. However, she did get noticeably quiet. I couldn't say much, but I did manage to squeak out a, “Hm?”

Scootaloo looked back at me. “Apple Bloom?” Her voice was much quieter than it was a moment ago. “What do you think will happen after this is all over?”

I looked at the ground after she asked that, hoping an answer would just write itself in the dirt.

“I mean, even if Twilight does get better and we stop Ebony,” Scootaloo continued. “What'll happen then? Will we just go back to our normal lives?”

I shrugged. I didn't know how to answer her question.

“Are we supposed to just keep this a secret and not tell anypony? Or do we let them know? Even if they're safe, they'll be terrified knowing there are ponies like Ebony and the slender pony out there. And what about you?” Scootaloo pointed at me. “You've been kidnapped and you had that weird mind-thing done on you. At this point, getting your cutie mark seems like the least of your worries!”

I couldn't respond, but she was right. Even if everything turned out fine, this adventure would stay with us the rest of our lives.

Scootaloo sighed. “No point in worrying about it now. Let's just focus on...” Her eyes suddenly widened. “Uh oh.”

At that moment, I felt it too. He was nearby. I could feel my vision blurring and my head aching, and I saw Scootaloo also trying to stay focused.

“Where is he?!” she yelled, looking frantically around.

The two of us panicked as we turned our heads in every direction. Finally, he appeared. We saw the slender pony standing in the path to the clearing. I only glanced at him for a second, but I knew to quickly look away.

“Go around him!” Scootaloo shouted to me. “You have the page! Get back to Twilight, now!”

“Mmm-” I said.

“Forget about me! Just GO!” When she said that, Scootaloo shoved me as hard as she could off to the side. “Run!”

I had no time to think about it. I regained my balance and ran the way she pushed me before I turned and headed toward the center. I had to get back to Twilight as soon as I could.

In the distance, I heard Scootaloo taunting him. “Come get me you faceless freak! I'm not scared of you! I'll do whatever it takes to protect Apple Bloom! So just come and- AAAAAAAH!”

I winced when I heard her scream, but I kept moving. Sweetie Belle looked like she was okay, so hopefully the slender pony would spare Scootaloo as well. But at that point, I was alone. All of my friends were out cold. My only hope was that I could recover the last page and Twilight would be conscious enough to cast the spell.

I managed to make it back to the clearing, but Twilight was still out, and didn't notice me putting the seventh page in the bag. I decided not to waste anymore time, so I picked a section of the woods and went in it. I had been wandering around so long that I couldn't even tell anymore where I had and hadn't been. It all looked the same – dark. I trotted along carefully looking for the sheet of paper, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the slender pony was right on my tail. I didn't sense him, but I knew better than to look behind me.

In my search, I avoided dense clusters of trees where I could be cornered. Even if there was a page, I would have been cornered anyway. As tired as I was, I didn't stop moving. I was in no shape to gallop, but I was able to maintain a steady trot as I searched. My paranoia began to overtake me, as I expected him to appear behind every tree, every bush, every piece of debris. I imagined his tall, thin form blending into the scenery. The unearthly tentacles protruding from his back that looked like branches on a tree. His blank face obscured by the shadows, only visible once it was too late.

I became so caught up in my delusions that I didn't even notice the page in front of me, laying on a tree stump. I grabbed it and looked it over. More notes, mostly written in the modern language. The number '3' was written on the bottom corner. I was done. All I had to do was get back to Twilight and this nightmare would be over. I turned around, and I didn't even have time to react when I saw him standing in front of me. My vision blurred, and I fell over onto the ground from dizziness. I held my head, but it was no use. I felt like I was going to die, and nopony was there to save me. I shut my eyes and expected the worst.

Except, after a moment, the headache went away. I opened my eyes, and the slender pony was nowhere to be found. The note page was exactly where I left it. I didn't even think I had passed out. I looked around for him and didn't see him. However, the feeling of clarity didn't last long. I began to feel that nausea and irritation again, but this time I decided not to dawdle. I picked up the page and galloped as fast as I could back to the clearing.

As I moved, I tried to figure out what just happened. I was at the slender pony's mercy. He showed no hesitation in attacking Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but why me? I remembered Dark telling me that the slender pony showed up in my room for a moment only because he wanted to see my face. He protected us a week ago when we were lost in the woods. He sacrificed himself to save me from Ebony. That must have been it. Ebony's magic is strong, but her power couldn't be limitless, and the slender pony came from Tartarus, which has all sorts of unknown magic. He must have been able to resist her spell, even for just a moment. Long enough for me to get back up and run.

When I made it back to the clearing, I was panting as hard as I could. I went over to Twilight and tried to wake her. “Twilight!” I yelled. She stirred in her sleep. “Twilight! Get up!” I didn't know how long I had. All eight pages were there and ready for her to use. I was about to try hitting her to wake her up when I heard a voice from behind me.

“Congratulations.”

I recognized the voice. I stopped what I was doing and slowly turned my head. The clouds over the clearing had parted, allowing the moonlight to shine onto the pony in the clearing. The figure's cloak cast a shadow onto the ground underneath, but the hood was pulled back to reveal a messy gray mane and unicorn horn.

“You won the game, Apple Bloom. Don't you feel proud?”

As Ebony's horn glowed, my vision blacked out.

Several hours later, I woke up to the feeling of a cold wind blowing against my body. I opened my eyes and realized that my legs were tied together with rope. I looked around me and saw that I was still in the same clearing, except that Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Twilight were lying there with me, tied up just like I was. Not only that, but Dark was there too. His cape had been taken off of him, and I saw him painfully lying on his broken wing.

His eyes opened and saw me looking at him. “Apple Bloom...” he whispered. “I'm sorry...”

“It's okay...” I whispered back.

It seemed like the cold wind had woken all of us up. I looked towards the center of the clearing and saw Ebony there, casting a spell while standing in front of a summoning circle. Brock and Flash stood on each side of her, watching. The slender pony was nowhere to be seen, though I assumed he was close by. The concentration of clouds that had blocked out the sun earlier were gone, and instead the moon was shining brightly.

Twilight groaned as she tried calling out to them. “Ebony...”

Ebony's horn stopped glowing as she turned around to address us. “Well, well, look who's finally waking up? Do you remember me, little miss Twilight?”

“I do now,” Twilight groaned. She struggled to get to her feet, but the ropes made it impossible for her to do anything but lie there. “Because of you, I could have been traumatized for life!”

Ebony scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Oh really? A quick mind-wipe spell and you were good as new.” She glared at Twilight. “But because of YOU, I lost everything I had!”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Don't act like you don't understand!” Ebony yelled. “At worse, I would have gotten a suspension! I had the proper permission for that experiment and everything!” She squinted at Twilight. “But no, the princess's prized student just happened to wander in that day, because some IDIOT didn't shut the door!” Ebony's eye twitched.

Twilight looked to the side. “I was just... I didn't mean to...”

“I was even banished from Canterlot!” Ebony continued. “Everything I had worked for my entire life, gone in an instant!”

“So this is what you do now?” Scootaloo snarked. “Kidnap fillies and scare them senseless for no reason?”

“Nopony is innocent,” Ebony replied. “Even the ones you hold closest to you can betray you in an instant.” She turned her head to look at the ponies beside her. “Isn't that right, boys?”

Flash and Brock stayed perfectly silent. They didn't smile or frown. The only movement I saw was a brief glance between them.

“Take Brock here,” Ebony said, stepping towards him. “He was a fine, upstanding citizen growing up. Very friendly, very helpful.” Her frown turned into a grin. “Until one day, he figured out that he wasn't quite -like- the other colts.”

Brock sunk his head, and instinctively pulled his cloak over his cutie mark even further.

“He did his best to hide it,” Ebony told us. “Until one day, his secret got out. And as a young adult, he didn't quite understand what strength he had.” She turned her head and looked straight at him. “But I'd say that bully got what was coming to him, wouldn't you agree?”

Brock stayed completely silent, not even acknowledging her.

“And here we have Flash, the performer,” Ebony said, walking over to her other companion. “As a young colt, he discovered he had a voice that would make angels weep. I seem to recall he showed you some of his talents.”

Like Brock, Flash didn't even acknowledge her.

“Over time,” she continued, “he made quite a name for himself as an actor and a singer. With riches and adoring fans, he had everything a pony could ask for.

“Of course... it's lonely at the top,” she said, grinning again. “All that money, and yet he couldn't find himself with a single friend. Every time he went out, paparazzi stalked him. He no longer had a private life, and the friends he had were hoping to make a name for themselves by leeching off of his prized name.”

Flash's shoulders drooped and his head sunk.

“He hasn't had a performance in years,” Ebony finished.

“Hold on.” Twilight's eyes widened. “You're Flash? As in, Flash Bang?” Her voice picked up in excitement. “I remember you! You performed at Canterlot a few times, right?”

Flash didn't respond to her. Ebony laughed.

“I don't think he'll be giving you an autograph, miss Sparkle.” Ebony's voice suddenly got loud. “And don't think I haven't noticed you using your magic to untie Dark!”

Ebony's horn glowed, and Twilight gasped as she floated up and flew several feet, slamming into a tree. I looked over at Dark and saw that the knots around his legs were almost undone.

“Oh Dark, if you wanted to be free, you should have just asked!” Ebony's horn glowed, and the ropes around Dark's legs came undone. “Now get up!” she said. “I don't have all day.”

He rose to his feet as quickly as he could, though I still saw his legs shaking. He looked straight at her, unsure of what to do.

“Here, let me help you,” Ebony said. We all watched as she hovered a thick tree branch in front of her. Her horn glowed brightly, and layers of bark peeled off to form a wooden knife. She then hovered it in front of Dark, handle facing him. “Take it,” she ordered.

Dark picked up the knife and looked at it with uncertainty. Ebony laughed.

“You were planning to kill me tonight, weren't you?” she asked. “Well now's your chance!”

Dark backed up as Ebony took several steps closer to him.

“No need to be shy!” she said. “I'm just making it easy for you! No magic protecting me or anything! Just you, me, and that knife.”

She stopped directly in front of him. Dark grimaced and pulled the knife back as if he was about to thrust it. I heard Sweetie Belle gasp. Scootaloo's teeth were chattering in anticipation. I just laid there and watched him hesitate.

“Well?” Ebony asked. “I'm waiting.”

Dark's hoof trembled as he held it. His eyes shut tight and he took a deep breath. Then, he dropped the knife. “I'm sorry, Twilight,” he said, lowering his head. “I can't do it...”

“Well of course not,” Ebony said, walking back towards the summoning circle. “I knew you wouldn't be able to.” When she made it back to her spot, she turned her head back towards him and spoke in a low tone. “Because without me, you wouldn't even be alive.”

Everypony was silent. Dark looked at the ground.

“Is that true?” I asked him.

He slowly nodded his head.

“What happened, Dark?” I said.

“Indeed, Dark,” Ebony said, grinning and turning around to face us. “Tell them all what happened. After all, you're much better at explaining things than I am.” She looked at the summoning circle behind her. “If you share your story, I'll even hold off a bit before I cast the spell to control the being from Tartarus.”

Dark sighed, staring silently at the ground.

“Oh, and little miss Twilight?” Ebony said, looking behind me, toward her. “I'd recommend you put the notes down and listen to Dark speak. It's rude to not pay attention when somepony is talking.”

I shuffled my body around to see Twilight, and saw her with a shocked look on her face as the notes we collected hovered in front of her. Then, they burst into flames. All the work we had done had gone to waste.

“Well, Dark?” Ebony asked. “We're all waiting.”

Faced with no other options, Dark decided that it was time to tell us.

“I grew up in Fort Cirrus,” he began, “a cloud city far away from here. I had a next door neighbor named Light Sky, a mare with gray fur and a white mane. Light was the polar opposite of me. While I was shy and reserved, she was outgoing and energetic. Despite our differences in personality, we quickly became the best of friends.

“Light pushed me to try out for the weather team as we were growing up. We found that both of us were adept with controlling clouds. She was great at controlling the wind, and I found that my specialty was the creation of storm clouds. Hence, my cutie mark.” Dark motioned at his flank. “We became the star performers in town, and ponies from all over Fort Cirrus would come to see the storm shows we made. We wound up becoming lovers. If not for her, I'm not sure I would have ever discovered my cutie mark.”

I looked at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as he said that. While we still weren't anywhere close to finding our cutie marks, we all knew that we'd be nowhere without each other.

“One day,” Dark continued, “I was asked to create a powerful thunderstorm, as the pegasi who were supposed to be on rain duty that week had not been doing their jobs, and the surrounding area had been overdue for rain. After putting all my effort into creating a thunderstorm that would last, I returned home to the apartment where Light and I had been staying. I walked in on her sleeping with a colt I had never seen before.”

Dark grimaced when he said that. Everypony stared at him in silence. I didn't know too much about grown-up pony relationships, but even I could tell how much it hurt him to know that his very special somepony wasn't his after all.

“I didn't say anything when I saw them together,” Dark said. “I left immediately. Light called out after me, but I wouldn't listen. I flew out into the storm I had created and started kicking several of the clouds in frustration, causing lightning to strike much more rapidly than normal. Light followed me into the storm, but I refused to stay near her, so I fled deeper in. Eventually she chased me to the eye of the storm, where the two of us were alone in silence. She begged and pleaded with me to listen to her, but I had none of it. In a panic to get away, I flew out of the eye of the storm, and I was struck by a bolt of lightning. As I lost my balance and started falling, I saw Light in the corner of my eye, horrified. Afterwards, I lost consciousness.

“I woke up in the forest below with the most excruciating pain I had ever felt. While pegasi have been known to have soft landings, my wing had gotten caught in a tree branch as I fell, twisting it horribly out of shape. I laid there for hours, crying in pain. I couldn't tell what were tears and what were raindrops. Everything I had ever known was taken from me in an instant.”

“Poor, poor Dark,” Ebony interrupted, shaking her head. “A broken heart, broken dreams, and a broken wing. Such a cruel fate life has dealt you. Now, care to tell everypony where we came in?”

Dark glared at her, but Ebony was unimpressed. He looked to the side and continued his story.

“The pegasi in Fort Cirrus searched for me, but with what little strength I had, I tried to remain hidden. There was nothing left for me in that city. Without my wing, I couldn't fly. Ponies would have taken pity on me. I didn't want to see Light ever again. Just when I was on the verge of starvation, Ebony, Brock, and Flash found me. They took care of my wounds without my permission, and fed me what few supplies they had. I found that they had also been wronged in their lives, and so I decided to start a new life on the surface with them.”

I looked directly into Dark's eyes and saw a few tears. I tried to get up, but the ropes still bound my legs together tightly. Instead, I squirmed toward him.

Ebony took notice and rolled her eyes. “Fine, I guess I'll let you two have your 'moment'. I don't know what a filly could do to stop me.”

To my surprise, she undid the knots around my legs. I awkwardly stood up and walked over to Dark. I wrapped my front limbs around him, and he put one of his around me.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered to him.

“I'm sorry too,” he said.

“Now then!” Ebony stated. “It's about time this gathering got interesting, wouldn't you agree?” She turned to the summoning circle and her horn started glowing.

“Ebony...” Twilight groaned, gathering what little strength she had to speak. “You don't have to do this. Just because you had a traumatic childhood doesn't mean you have to take it out on everypony!”

“YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!” Ebony yelled, turning around and glaring at her. “My father was a selfish drunk that I was happy to be rid of. My mother was pathetic for never having the courage to stand up for him. The day that child protection took me away was the best day of my life, because it meant never seeing that pitiful excuse for a home ever again!”

“Then why?” Scootaloo asked. “Why kidnap us and make us play your stupid game? What's the point?!”

“Because you have no idea what it's like to suffer!” Ebony yelled. “All my life, ponies have looked at me in fear. Despite my abilities, they treated me like a freak! Everywhere I went, I was made fun of! Gossiped about! I studied every day, working as hard as I could to accomplish something, anything with my life! But that was an uphill battle, because most ponies went out of their way to refuse to help me!

“I thought things would be different once I was accepted at Canterlot.” Ebony started nervously pacing back and forth. “For once, my talents were recognized! I was one of the most powerful, most intelligent unicorns in the entire school! But instead, it was the same old story. My fellow professors feared me. Students disobeyed me. Conversations would grind to a halt whenever I entered a room. All because of my cutie mark!” Ebony stopped and looked at the pentagram on her flank. “They never realized that without this mark, I wouldn't even be alive.”

Ebony stared off into the forest. “The only pony who would ever be able to understand my suffering is the one from Tartarus. Ponies flee at the very sight of him. His presence makes them question their sanity. We're both abominations, wandering Equestria. And it's time we did something about it.”

Ebony's frustration turned into an evil grin. “I want ponies to know what it's like to be afraid wherever you go. Do you realize what I can do with the Tartarus being's power? I can turn friend against friend, mother against child. Towns would go to war. Soon, nopony would be able to trust anypony else. I would stand tall amongst the chaos. All because they didn't know how to treat a pony with some proper respect!”

We all stared at her with our mouths hanging open. Brock and Flash just stood there in silence, neither approving or disapproving what she said.

“Not to mention, do you think you are any better?” Ebony told me. “I saw what you wrote in that journal. Before you said even a single word to Dark, you assumed that he was up to no good. You branded him a villain when all he was trying to do was protect you. And who would have thought that the faceless creature stalking you in the forest was just doing his best to keep monsters at bay?”

I looked up at Dark, who lowered his head when she spoke. We shared a brief glance that said everything. Once we were all silent, Ebony smirked.

“Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a world to destroy.”

Ebony turned back toward the circle and began casting a spell. Her horn glowed brightly, and she began speaking the ancient language. Dark bolted toward her, but when he got close, she picked him up and tossed him aside without even flinching. I looked around at my friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle laid there with their legs tied, looking utterly helpless. Twilight watched from afar, but it looked like she was too weak to do anything. We were out of options. Ebony would take over the slender pony for good, and Ponyville would become her first target. Dark tried to attack her, but she repelled him effortlessly.

I slowly walked toward Ebony. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cried out for me to stop, but I didn't listen to them. Brock and Flash watched me as I approached their leader. The wind from the spell did a number on my hair, and I watched as Ebony's cape billowed from the gust. I stood in front of her and looked up at her for several seconds before she opened her eyes and saw me.

“Is there something I can do for you?” she said. “I'm kind of busy at the moment.”

Without hesitating, I hugged her.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, her voice trembling. “G-Get off of me!”

I ignored her and hugged her front leg tighter.

“D-do you think you're going to change my mind with a single hug?” she yelled. “You should know that my soul is far too rotted away to care about a stupid show of affection! Now let go!”

It didn't matter to me. I held onto her.

“W-well then!” Ebony yelled. “I guess I'm just going to have to finish this spell faster!” She began speaking in the ancient language again, and I could see a bright line shining from behind me. Suddenly, everypony screamed. Brock, Flash, and Dark backed away. I could sense it. The slender pony was standing right behind me. Ebony continued to chant with tears running down her face. As terrified as I was, I couldn't let go of her. I just held on and hugged her as tightly as I could.

Then, Ebony's spell stopped. She screamed. And everything went black.

When I woke up, I was being carried on Twilight's back. But I couldn't remember anything, and I'm pretty sure I was speaking gibberish. I was a little better when I got back to the Apple Farm, but I was still really clumsy and couldn't think straight. That's why the journal page for that night was so weird. I'm sorry about the misspellings, by the way. The next few days, I was starting to get my memory mixed in with Ebony's. I got really scared and paranoid, and had no idea why I was acting the way I was. When Twilight realized what was happening to me, she talked to Dark and figured out how to help me.

We were having a festival for Nightmare Night today, which gave Twilight the opportunity to slip me, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo out of school. I was really scared and nervous, and I think I lashed out at my friends, but they took care of me as we headed away from town. Eventually, we met up with Dark in the edge of the forest. Dark took me by the hoof and led me not far into the forest, where I met Ebony.

Now, I didn't recognize Ebony at the moment, but seeing her was bizarre for a number of reasons. It was like having an out-of-body experience, for one thing. But the second reason it was weird was that she stood there, completely motionless. She didn't acknowledge me or Dark, and stared straight ahead. Dark told me to stay right next to her and not to move, no matter what happened. I obeyed him, not knowing what was going on, but after a moment of silence, the slender pony showed up. I screamed and wanted to run, but I obeyed Dark and stayed by Ebony's side. I cowered as the slender pony stood over us, and I felt his tentacles wrap around me and Ebony. Then, there was a flash, and I could think clearly again. The slender pony disappeared, and Dark came back to get me. Ebony, however, remained motionless. She would walk when guided, and I saw her eyes blink naturally, but she was completely unaware that anything had happened.

Once I was back with Twilight and my friends, Dark explained to me what happened that night. Ebony's soul had mostly eroded away, but the hug I gave her touched the one part of her that still longed to be loved and appreciated. As powerful as her magic was, deep down she couldn't bring herself to do it. The spell went haywire because of her lack of focus, and the slender pony used the opportunity to jump in and attack her, effectively erasing her memory. But because I was so close, some of our memories got mixed up, and that's how I got so messed up in the head.

When I found out that the slender pony had erased Ebony's memory, I had a bunch of other questions. Dark said that because her soul had whittled down to almost nothing, she had become an empty shell of a pony. She was incapable of holding a conversation or performing basic tasks. Dark didn't know what he would do with her, but he assured me that he would find some way to take care of her.

In addition, Dark and Twilight came to another conclusion. Since the slender pony could erase memories, they wanted me to forget all the things that have happened to me this month. They said that there's no way I could forget an experience as traumatic as this, so the best thing to do was to just start with a clean slate. I argued as much as I could about it, but they said that it had already been done, and when I wake up tomorrow morning, I won't remember anything. That's why I've been sitting here writing for the last few hours instead of playing outside on Nightmare Night.

Dark assured me that I would turn out okay, and used Zecora as an example. She had gotten into a fight with Dark and the slender pony, and they wiped her memories so they wouldn't be disturbed further. Twilight, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo also agreed to have their memories erased so they wouldn't have to keep this secret from me in the future. I was sad that I wouldn't be able to remember Dark even though he protected me so much, but he assured me that it was for the best. Besides, his own nightmare is over, and he can finally stop running away now. When I asked him what would happen to the slender pony, Dark said he would be okay. He told me that as bad as having everpony run away from you on sight is, it's still better than being trapped in Tartarus. After that, we all gave Dark a tight hug and said goodbye as he disappeared into the forest with Ebony.

Am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah! Brock and Flash! Apparently, Dark doesn't know what happened to them after the incident in the forest. They just ran off somewhere. I guess that means that they're probably okay, but who knows? I didn't think they were very nice, but they seemed like they had been through a lot, too. And I doubt they'll come to kidnap me again anytime soon. I wonder if Applejack has heard of Flash Bang.

I'm getting really tired. I've been staying up really late writing all this, and it's hard for me to keep on going. I've been fighting sleep as long as I can, because I know when I wake up I'll have forgotten everything. But I don't know what else there is to write. It's no use. I'm going to fall over on this book if I don't stop writing right now.

Goodnight, Dark.

Epilogue

The bell rang in the schoolhouse, letting the students know that they were all finished for the day. As they packed up, Cheerilee cheerfully reminded them of their assignment that night.

“Remember class,” she said. “Read chapter 8 of your history textbook, because there will be a quiz on it tomorrow!”

Many of the students nodded their heads in response. As the fillies and colts walked out the door, Cheerilee called out to three students in particular.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo?” she said. “May I see you three for a moment?”

“Did we do something wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked as the three of them walked up to her desk. They got a few looks from the other students, but none of them stayed around to listen to what Cheerilee had to say.

“Oh, well you see...” Cheerilee thought about the best way to handle this. “I just wanted to ask you three about the journals you submitted last week.”

“What about 'em?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I just wanted to know...” Cheerilee sighed and chose her words carefully. “How much do you remember writing in them?”

“To be honest,” Scootaloo said, “I don't remember doing all that much.”

“Me either,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah just woke up that morning and remembered that it was due. Ah felt like two whole weeks just disappeared on me!”

“Hmm,” Cheerilee thought. “What about you, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle frowned and looked down. “Beats me...”

“I see...” Cheerilee looked at her three students with concern. She glanced out the window. “Have you three noticed anything odd happening around Ponyville lately?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders thought about it for a moment before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shook their heads. Apple Bloom's expression changed as she remembered something.

“I think I saw some weird pony in town,” she told her teacher as she scratched her head. “And ah've been having these weird dreams lately. Hey, wait a minute!” Apple Bloom said, looking at her friends. “Didn't you two have nightmares or sumthin' too?”

“Huh?” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said simultaneously. They muttered amongst themselves, unsure of whether or not they agreed with Apple Bloom.

“Oh girls!” Cheerilee quickly said. “It's nothing to worry about! Just a minor bug going around, that's all!”

“What about that pony I saw?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Oh Apple Bloom,” Cheerilee told her, “ponies come in and out of town all the time! There's nothing to worry about!”

Cheerilee smiled at her students brightly. The three of them frowned and looked at her. Cheerilee did her best to force a smile, carefully watching the expressions of her students.

Before long, Apple Bloom's face turned into a smile as well. “If ya say so, miss Cheerilee!” Apple Bloom's smile infected her friends, and soon the three of them were back to their normal selves.

“Was that all you needed?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yes, that's it!” Cheerilee told her. “You three are free to go. Have fun!”

“We will!” the three of them said in unison.

Cheerilee watched her students walk out the door. Outside, she could hear Scootaloo suggest they try to get a waterskiing cutie mark. When they were out of earshot, Cheerilee opened her desk and looked at the covers of the three journals the students had submitted. She sighed and put them into her bag before leaving the classroom herself. Instead of going home, however, she made a stop at Ponyville's Post Office.

Two ponies wearing cloaks walked on a dirt road in the middle of the day. For the longest time, the two of them traveled in complete silence. The larger pony's stomach growled, but he said nothing. They traveled on the road for what felt like hours, until eventually they reached a fork in the road. A sign gave them two options. To the left was Las Pegasus, and to the right was Fillydelphia. The two of them looked down each road and tried to come to a conclusion.

“Let's go to Las Pegasus,” Brock said to his companion. “We might be able to gamble our way to a decent living.”

“Are you crazy?!” Flash complained. “I've performed shows there time and time again! I'll be recognized in an instant!”

Brock scoffed. “Well maybe you could get us some cash by selling some autographs! I don't know if you've noticed, but now that Ebony's gone, maybe we could get some decent hotel rooms without frightening the receptionist!”

“You know darn well why I won't do that!” Flash growled. “And what do you think the tabloids will say when they find out the kind of pony I've been traveling with? Rumors will spread like wildfire!”

“Then just pull one of your stupid impersonations!” Brock yelled. “Anything to get us a decent meal for once!”

Flash rolled his eyes. “Not every pony in Equestria is a living legend!” He frowned and looked off to the side. “It's a miracle I even pulled that Applejack shtick as long as I did.”

“Then what do you recommend?” Brock asked his companion. “Sooner or later we're gonna reach a city. Better to have a plan by the time we get there.”

“Look, let's just go to Fillydelphia,” Flash insisted. “We'll hide out for a while. I'm sure somepony could help us out.”

“What will we tell them?” Brock asked.

“I don't know,” Flash responded. “Let's just be honest. Say we fell on some hard times.” Flash poked his friend's shoulder. “Plus, you're a big, strong stallion. I'm sure we could find work for you.”

“What about you?” Brock asked him. “I doubt they'd hire an actor they found on the streets.”

“Doesn't matter,” Flash told him. “I bet compared to most of the folk that wash up there, we're way ahead of the pack.”

“You think so?” Brock said.

“Sure.” Flash smiled. “As long as we stick together.”

Brock's mood lightened as well. The two of them nodded and headed toward Fillydelphia.

Princess Celestia stood in the royal hall, looking through the windows as snow fell onto the ground of Canterlot. It had been several weeks since she had received an unusual package in the mail containing a short letter and three journals. Celestia had read the journals over and over in the intervening time, trying to figure out how things could have gone better. She had barely known Professor Ebony all those years ago, and fired her without hesitation upon learning that her prized pupil had been in mortal danger.

She also regretted not teaching Twilight more about dark magic. Celestia had not anticipated that the symbol of the being from Tartarus would trigger a forgotten memory. Not only that, but if Celestia had been more open with her student, she would have realized that she was actually very proficient in dark magic, as rarely as she uses it. Because of these circumstances, Celestia did not hesitate to demonstrate her powers to Twilight when she sent her out to save the Crystal Empire, as well as try to do something about her student's hero complex. Celestia's thoughts were interrupted when the door to the hall opened and one of her soldiers entered.

“They've arrived, Princess Celestia,” he announced.

She turned her head toward the soldier. “Send in the pegasus. I wish to speak to him alone.”

“And the unicorn?” the soldier asked.

“Put her in one of the cells,” she ordered. “She's probably harmless, but let's not take any chances.”

“As you wish.” The soldier bowed and walked out the door.

Princess Celestia stared outside for a moment longer before returning to her throne. She took the three journals out of a case and set them down on a table next to her throne. One last time, she flipped through Apple Bloom's journal. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary schoolbook used for taking notes. The young filly was not even aware that she may have saved Equestria. Her story would have been lost to history without this journal as proof.

After a few minutes, the doors to the royal hall opened again. Celestia set her eyes on the pegasus with gray fur and a black mane that she had read about. He was escorted by two soldiers on either side of him. His hair was a mess, his cloak was torn, and the dirt in his fur fell off of him and made a noticeable mess on the pristine floor of the hall. The pegasus looked around the throne room in amazement before realizing the dirt he was tracking onto the floor.

“I'm so sorry!” he told the Princess. “I didn't mean to! I-I'll clean it up right away!”

“It will be taken care of,” Celestia told him as she walked down the throne room, hovering the journals close to her. “Guards?”

“Yes, your highness?” the escorts said.

“Leave us in peace,” she told them. “I will have somepony clean up the mess in a moment.”

“Yes, sir.” The two of them exited the hall and shut the door, which echoed throughout the room.

“Now then,” Princess Celestia said, standing a few feet from the pegasus. “You are Dark Storm, I presume?”

“Th-that's... correct.” Dark stared directly at her, standing perfectly still and upright.

Celestia noticed his stiff body language and smiled at him. “You may stand at ease, Dark. There is no need to be formal with me.”

“Oh! S-sorry!” Dark tried to relax, but it was no use. He continued to stand still and upright.

Celestia decided not to push the issue. “How was the journey here?” she asked him. “Were my soldiers rough on you?”

“N-no ma'am!” he stammered. “I-I was a little hesitant to cooperate when they found me, but they have treated me as a guest, not a prisoner.”

“Good,” Celestia said. “And I suppose you understand why I have brought you here?”

“I, um, have an idea...” he told her.

“And what would that be?” she asked him.

Dark hesitated for a moment before answering. “To be... um... commended?”

Princess Celestia smiled at him. “That is certainly part of it.” She watched as Dark breathed a sigh of relief. “Because of your actions, Equestria may have evaded a terrible war. It is a shame that Apple Bloom will not remember you.”

“Will there be a, um, ceremony?” Dark asked.

Celestia gave him a look.

“N-not that that's necessary!” Dark panicked. “I was just wondering, that's all!”

Princess Celestia smiled at him. “While you deserve one, I think it would be better if this situation stayed quiet. No need to reveal your presence to the world just yet.”

Dark looked at her. “W-what do you mean?” he asked.

“You befriended the being from Tartarus, did you not?” she asked him. “The... slender pony?”

“That's true.” Dark told her. “I tried to help Ebony capture him, but when I saw that he was not malicious, I did what I could to free him from her grasp.”

“Was the slender pony with you when my soldiers found you?” Celestia asked him.

“No,” he told her. “I needed to look after Ebony's empty shell. I let him go because I knew that he would not be harmful to anypony.”

“I see.” Princess Celestia closed her eyes and sighed.

“Um...” Dark said. “What will happen to Ebony?”

“She will be cared for here,” Celestia explained. “She may only be a hollow shell, but there is still a chance that she can cause harm. It is best that she is left under our watch.”

“I understand,” Dark said, sighing. “It is probably for the best.” The two of them stood in silence for a moment before Dark asked another question. “So... are we done? You brought us here to congratulate me and imprison Ebony?”

“There is one more thing,” Celestia told him.

“What's that?” he asked.

“I have a job for you.”