Slendermane

As I walked between the trees I couldn't help but keep glancing over my shoulder. My subconscious was nagging at me, repeating This is suicide! and Go back! in my head. I knew I couldn't go back..... The creatures would surely follow me. I cringed as the giggling started up again, and I almost collapsed right there. If it wasn't for the realization that the giggling was coming from an outside source I probably would have curled up to die on the spot. I avoided the source of the laughter, as I was already scarred enough from my encounters with slender man and the rake; I didn't need some ghost children haunting me as well. Remembering the deaths of both Pinkie and Applejack did a great deal of harm to my already delicate mind, and one realization caused me to freeze.

I wasn't sad about the deaths, and I didn't grieve. I cried because I didn't want to die, and I felt weak because I knew that would be me. The only feeling I felt was... Anger. Does that mean that something's wrong with me?

I glanced up once again at the gap in the foliage, and shielded my eyes from the sun. Though eclipsed, it still had that certain vibrancy that made the eyes sting. Here I am, distracted once again. I need to stay focused. I shook myself out of the state I was in. I started to hurry, the beam from the flashlight never varying from the steady, solid line. As I slowed to catch my breath, I slowly ran my hand along the bark of a nearby tree. It was distorted and shriveled, giving me the feeling that this forest had lived much, much longer than I could have previously imagined. But, why hasn't the slender man shown up yet? Do I need to find a note first? What is this, some sort of sick game? I don't trust this at all. I thought.

I was so deeply lost in thought that I didn't realize that I had exited the forest and started to enter a.... Castle, of sorts. It was obviously lost to the elements, the walls long since crumbled and decayed. It seemed like an ideal place for an ambush, and I still doubted my sanity, even now. Though the grounds seemed more like a city, I could tell that the large structure in the middle of the area acted as a sort of fortress, though the pillars lining the wall were collapsed, decayed, destroyed... With some, all three. I could tell even from this distance that the structure itself was much, much larger than I had originally considered. I wandered at random intervals between the many collapsed structures serving as a form of moral support. My flashlight did nothing but reveal more and more of the stone structures, the same grey everywhere but the black sky. I could only imagine how the ponies were reacting with my disappearance.

A loud scream interrupted my thoughts, slicing through the quiet.

I shakily turned off my flashlight, plunging my surroundings in pure darkness. My eyes adjusted quickly, and I started to make my way towards the source of the noise.

What I saw made my blood run cold, yet again.

I could see the ponies there, tied with leather straps and being dragged across the ground... By the five proxies I had evaded earlier. I had run into the forest out of either courage or cowardice, but I knew I didn't have the courage to rescue the four of them. The four that lived... I realized with a quick frown. The proxies seemed to be taking them somewhere, and seeing as how they continued to whisper to one another and the ponies kept writhing, I was assured I hadn't been detected.

I decided to follow them.

I stealthily shifted from structure to structure, using the rubble around the area to stay undetected. After awhile they came to a crumbled stairway leading down. With no more than a glance of consideration, the proxies proceeded to drag the screaming ponies down the flight of stairs. Poor Fluttershy was crying, but that only proceeded to fuel my rage.

I'll kill them all. Nothing will get in my way.

I blinked and cringed as the slender man appeared, and turned his head in my direction before signaling to me to approach with one of his tentacles, before fading away as quickly as he had appeared. I tentatively climbed over the rubble I had been using to hide behind and made my way across the cracked stone to the entrance. I froze as I noticed a note there, taped to the frame of the crumbled doorway. I quickly took it and read it. A riddle? Why do they proceed to toy with me? I thought angrily.

Proceed down these steps, and rescue each friend

Before they all meet their untimely end.

In these tunnels you will find

All your memory, just to be kind.

If you win, all will live

And an offer I will give.

But if you fail, all will die

Each one blaming you for your notorious lie.

Your enemies will slow you down

In their minds, I hold the crown.

If you succeed, your memory will return.

I wondered why there was no rhyme to finish the last statement, but I proceeded to make my way down the stairs with my flashlight in hand. I flicked it on as I got even deeper and the light was beginning to falter. As I reached the bottom though, words written in the wall in blood made me feel lightheaded.

Though the memory you receive will not be the memories of which you yearn.

I swallowed nervously. The memory is not what I yearn? What could possibly be so bad that I won't hope for it? I wondered over the returning whispers. I slowly glanced down the long hallway to both my left and my right. Trust my instincts. Go.... Left. I thought, steeling myself for the beginning of a whole new challenge.