Slender
by Armalite
First published
Twilight Sparkle's last letter
...
The Burned Letter On Twilight Sparkle's Desk
If you're reading this, then I am already gone. Whether I'm dead or just gone doesn't matter. All that matters is that you don't repeat my mistakes. I knew it was going to get worse; I just didn't know it would be so soon.
Spike, I'm so sorry that this has happened. Stay with my friends, they'll take care of you. I love you, don't ever forget that. You were like a son to me; thank you for everything you have brought into my life.
To my friends: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity; I know that this is sudden, and I know how much this must hurt, but please remember it's better this way. You were the greatest friends anypony could ever wish for. We had so many good times, and that's what I want you all to remember. I know I seemed distant these past few weeks, but it's over now. I can't remember when it started, it's been there since I can recall. It's always been there. Watching me. Waiting, and hunting. I'm sorry I can't explain, but I don't have much time. Even as I write this I can feel it watching me. It's behind me, I know it is. When this is over; do not pursue me, do not look for me. I don't want you all to be dragged into this.
Princess Celestia; I know I should have told you about this, but I didn't want to endanger you. I thought that the Elements would stop it when we used them, but they didn't. I remember it there with Luna. Watching from the distance. I remember it there with Discord. Blending in with the chaos. It was there after too; at the ceremony. It stood next to Luna. I remember it at the wedding; next to Chrysalis as she paced the pews.
You're lucky. You've been here over a thousand years, and you somehow haven't seen it. Haven't heard it and haven't felt it. It's so cold. It's what corrupted Chrysalis and it's what changed Luna. Princess, you helped me move past it for a while. For two years I lived without fear. It would make it's appearance known now and then, but it never took me again.
These have been the happiest two years of my life, and it's all thanks to you all.
To my mom and dad, I'm sorry. I love you both so much. You both helped make me what I am now. This isn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. This was all my own fault. I would say to burn a certain book, but truth is, I wouldn't. I don't trust you two, or anypony else not to read it. Pony curiosity is what brought me into this. I took the book far away, someplace where nopony would find it. It can't be destroyed, it can only be moved.
To my Brother, Shining Armor, I love you. So, so, so, so much. You stood beside me when I acted bad. You always stood up for me when other fillies picked on me. You tried to comfort me when I had a particularly bad encounter. I know you never truly understood what was wrong with me, and I made sure you never did. But you knew, you knew that something was wrong; something truly, horribly wrong. Don't blame yourself, you did all you could, all I would let you do. I love you BBBFF.
To Cadence, you always knew. You always knew that I was something special, even when I was a filly. Even when I would lock myself in my room for hours on end. Throughout my life, you have been there for me. You were somepony to lean on. To go to when it all got bad. I know I must have seemed a little crazy to you, and to be honest, I felt a little crazy myself. You were always the nicest foalsitter, and the days you came, my life brightened. It went away while you were there. You weren't just the highlight of my weeks, or just my foalsitter. You were my protector. You kept it at bay.
There were times when I was a filly, I would go on sprees where I wouldn't talk for days. I wouldn't eat. I couldn't sleep some nights. Insomnia and paranoia would tear at me. It was getting to the point where I was contemplating, just, ending it all. But Shining Armor, mom, dad, Cadence, and Princess, you were all there for me. You all thought that I was getting better. Really, I was just adjusting. I learned to live under it's constant glare. I learned to live with the nausea, the insomnia, the headaches. You all brought me back from the brink. You helped me live with it by giving me light in the dark.
You all gave me the happiest two years of my entire life. I know this is an abrupt end, but do not mourn. Thank you all, I love you.
~Twilight Sparkle
Please, this next part is for Luna. Please don't read it. Send this to Princess Luna. You all don't deserve this to happen to you. Don't read it.
Luna. If what I'm assuming is right, then you have been under the constant watch of a being. It's tall. It's slender with a black suit. It has no face. I have searched every book I could find, hoping maybe to find something on it. The most common thing I found that resembled it was a human, but they don't have the same powers as it. There is however, a myth. Not a pony myth, but a human myth. The myth of Slender Man.
It's a monster. A godlike monster. It stalked humans, hunting them throughout their lives, then, it would take them. Their bodies were never found. Since it's a human myth, this means that humans must have been in Equestria once, long ago. Slender Man may or may not be responsible for their disappearance.
Luna, I know what it does. It follows you. Sometimes you wake up in another room, and you don't know how you got there. You have insomnia, and paranoia. If it is after you, remember, follow your friends. Let them help you. Don' make the same mistakes I did. I know that it can do things, but if you keep your head straight, and stay sane, you should be alright.
I don't want to lie to you, it will get you eventually. I don't know how, why, or for how long it has been following you, but it will catch you. I can feel it's presence getting stronger, I don't have much time now. The book, the book that brought it to me, it's in the Everfree, in the old castle behind a pillar. The pillar has a marking, a circle with and X through it. Find it, destroy it.
And Luna, I'm sorry. Since I'm gone, it's going to get worse. Find the book, it will tell you how to kill it then, burn the book. Don't let it live. You have to. It's the only way.
I guess it's time now. Goodbye Luna, and good luck.
The Scorched Book Tangled In The Vines
Day One: I have to do this. It killed Twilight. I've started seeing it too. The others, they don't believe me. I haven't confronted Luna yet, I don't know what I would say. I'd found the note. The note I wasn't supposed to find. And I read the last part. It's in the Everfree. And that's where I'm going.
Day Two: I don't want to do this. Celestia's sake I don''t want to do this. It's gotten worse. I think it knows what I'm trying to do. I've been having amnesia, and I think I'm hallucinating. I haven't even gone near the forest yet and it's already unbearable. It's like where ever I turn I feel it behind me. Even when I'm surrounded by ponies, nopony sees it. It can't be a coincidence, it's just like how Twilight described it. And it's horrible. But I have to do this. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm going.
Day Three: I'm not going.
Day Six: I thought maybe if I stopped it would stop. It didn't. I couldn't take it. I'm a coward. It's no wonder Rarity doesn't love me, I'm weak. I'm a pathetic excuse for a dragon. That's why I have to do this. I'm doing this for Twilight. For my friends, Luna, myself, and anypony it's killed. I'm leaving now.
Day Seven: This is worse than I ever imagined. In Ponyville, I was surrounded by friends. People I loved and knew. Out here, there's nothing. I'm alone. I tried to find Zecora, maybe crash with her for a night, but I couldn't find her. I stuck to the path Twilight told me about, but it just ended. I think it, Slender Man, might be behind this. It wants me to be alone. None of the animals will go near me. Manticores, cockatrices, hydras, harpies; they all avoid me. I think IT's behind this too. I think it's preserving me. I need to hurry. I found a stash of gems in a small chest. I don't know what to think about that.
Day Eight: I see it more frequently now. I just catch glimpses of it. I can't bear to look at it. It just stands there. I'm scared. The only thing that keeps me going is the though of Twilight. I'm still her Number One Assistant. She gave one last task, and I'm going to fulfill it.
Day Nine: I have it. I have the book, and it's massive. Over two thousand pages. And now I don't know what to do. I never thought about it. I just focused on getting here. And now... When I grabbed it, I felt dread. Dread, sorrow, anger, guilt; a jumbled mess of horrible emotions that made my head pound and my body shake. I swear it was right in front of me.
Day Eleven: Three days here, and I still don't know what I'm doing. This journal has been the only thing keeping me sane. I swore I saw Luna. She was cut, bruised, filthy, and scared. But she was alive. I called out to her, but she didn't answer. I tried to follow her, but she lost me in the forest. Now I'm lost. I don't know which way leads back to Ponyville, or even the castle. The canopy is too dense, and all the branches are too high to reach. The book has been doing strange things. It moves when I'm asleep. It will be open when I turn around. I've read through it. It's a picture book. All mouth drawn. They all show Slender Man. There's rambling and diary entries. Letters and notes. One night, I awoke and found it open. Page 2341. Twilight's note from her desk. All the pages after are blank. I think these might be letters or drawings of ponies it's killed. I wonder if mine will join them.
Day Twenty?: I'm loosing track of time here. I'm running out of gems. I'm running out of time. I've made a campsite in a small clearing. It's a tent made of branches, grass, and mud. I've been reading nonstop for the past nine days I think. I'm only to page 1465. So far there's a common occurrence. The book, and The Alter. I don't know what The Alter is, but I have to find it.
Day Twenty Two: I heard Luna. She was talking to somepony. I couldn't find her, but I kept hearing her. She was shouting in anger. I got lost looking for her. All I have is the book. It slowed me down, but I think I'm actually getting some muscle. I wish I was with Rarity. I wish I was with Twilight. I wish everything was back to normal. I wish this thing never existed. I wish I could just live my life. But I can't, and it won't go back to normal. Not until I stop this thing. I've been reading. The Alter, it's deep in the Everfree. It's in the epicenter of the forest. I don't know how to get there, but I need to find a way.
Day Twenty Three: I'm starving. I ran out of gems to eat, and all the animals run from me. Slender Man is getting closer. It hovers over me when I sleep. When I read. When I write. I'm making progress though. I'm getting closer I can feel it. I'm tired now. This might be my last entry. If so, Luna, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't help more.
Well, I live another day. Barley. I don't have much time now though. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would though. It's kind of a relief to know that it will all be over. The Alter, it's what created Slender Man, and it's how to destroy it too. It needs to be destroyed by a highly concentrated bolt of magic. Luna. She's the only chance. I can send this to either Princess with different flames.
Luna, you need to have strength. Don' let Twilight's death be in vain. Don't let my death be in vain. Kill this thing. Do it for your sister, do it for Equestria. Do it for everypony this thing has killed. And whatever you do, don't fight it. Good luck Luna.
~ Spike, Twilight Sparkle's Number One Assistant
The Mare On The Moon
She walked for days. Then, she ran for days. She knew that it had killed them both. She didn't want him to go, but he did anyway. She had found his scorched book tangled in the vines. She knew how to kill it now. She just needed to get there.
Her hooves were chipped and ragged. Her hair was tangled and greasy. Her skin was torn and dirty. Her mind was cracked and fractured. She wasn't seeing straight. She wasn't thinking straight. She felt out of body as she ran. She felt dead. terrible howls, and far away screeches; woven in her mind as she ran, and above all of it, two words rang out.
The Alter.
It was all she could think about. All she knew. Everything rested on it. The fate of a goddess lay in it's ebony grasp. She needed to destroy it.
She ran. Never stopping, never slowing. She used to fight the noises. Scream at them to stop. She'd started hallucinating. Seeing ponies she'd known. She'd seen Her. She'd seen Him. He was yelling at her to stop. She was begging for help. She knew neither were real. All that mattered was the Alter.
She was getting closer. Somewhere in her broken mind, she knew that it was almost over. All the times she'd seen it. All the times it had taken her. Locked her up somewhere deep in her mind. All the thoughts she'd had. Gnarled roots tripped her and branches whipped at her face. She had to press on.
She saw it again. Behind a twisted, broken tree. The canopy blotted out all light, casting the forest into the eternal night she'd once dreamed of as somepony very different. She saw the markings etched on the trees. She saw them drawn in the dirt. Carved in the stone and laced in time.
Her head was pounding. Her movements were jittery. She heard voices in her head. She heard herself as a filly, laughing, crying, screaming. She heard her sister, she heard the Elements, she heard her long deceased parents. She heard the spirit of chaos and she heard the Changeling’s Queen.
Her heart hammered deep inside her deteriorating body. She stumbled into a clearing. It was there. With it's suit. It's arms outstretched and digging into the loose soil. As she stared, her eyes grew wide. It started to grow upward, it's arms slowly lifting towards her.
She moaned and ran to her left, back into the forest. It was trying to stop her. Her mind guided her body to the right, dragging her to the Alter
She saw the captain of the Royal Guard before he was dragged into the underbrush beside a tall, dark tree. She saw her sister beckon her. Her sister took flight, before she was dragged down by long, black tendrils. So she ran on. They weren't real. The only thing that was real was the Alter.
Her muscles burned with lactic acid, and her eyes burned with tears. She saw it out of her peripheral. Watching, always watching. Seeing with no eyes, and hearing with no ears.
She leaped felled trees and scrabbled over large round rocks, all in an effort to reach it.
She stumbled down the steep incline of a hill. Large jagged rocks jutted from the ground like miniature mountains. Walls of rock rose on either side of her. Trees and dirt were being replaced with stone and rotting vines. The stone ground leveled out, making it easier for her worn body to dodge the rocks. The symbol, it was everywhere. Carved into the cliff faces and on the rocks.
She saw it on the cliff top. She saw it behind the rocks. She saw it. She felt it behind her. She pushed herself, her horn lighting. Flashes of ponies she'd loved danced across her vision.
It got closer, she got closer, her horn got brighter. She could hear their voices now, shouting and hollering. Laughing and screaming.
It grabbed her, she heard herself scream far away, her horn reached its pinnacle, and light shot at the small black pedestal, ivory horns petruding from the top.
The Alter.
Those two words rang in her head as a godly flash of azure light erupted from it.
Her scream mixed and was absorbed by a horrifying screech unlike anything she'd ever heard. She was flung backwards.
She slammed into a jagged rock, causing the top to snap and fall. She lay there in pain. She felt relieved, like a great weight had been lifted. She moaned with relief as blackness crept over her vision. She'd destroyed the Alter. She'd killed it. Her vision was funneled and compressed. She tried to say something, but the blackness dominated her mind. She closed her eyes and let the blackness carry her away.
Beginnings and Endings
Dear Miss Sparkle,
I'm afraid we had to send your daughter Twilight home from school today. She was having another panic attack during class. I wish I didn't have to do this, but she was scaring the other kids. As much as I loathe to say this about a child, I recommend a psychological evaluation. She has been having panic attacks more and more recently, and I'm starting to worry for her. It hurts to see her this upset, and she won't tell me anything. She just keeps repeating, “Strange pony.”
Canterlot Mental Institution, File 3679857
Subject: Twilight Sparkle
Date: June 14th, 1991
Patient, Twilight Sparkle, experiences symptoms of disorders such as: Insomnia, panic disorder, anxiety disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, paranoid schizophrenia. Subject experiences acute feelings of fear and anxiety when alone for long periods of time. However, subject also avoids large crowds, and other ponies in general. Subject reports see a tall bipedal figure, with a black suit, long arms, and a blank face. Subject also reports hearing fillies laughter or screaming at night. Subject becomes unresponsive when asked what the tall figure is doing. Subject experiences paranoia and fear when presented with an artist's rendering of the tall man. When left alone, she says the tall man is with her. When she is in public, she says the tall man watches her. Subject says the tall figure avoids her babysitter, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.
I recommend psychiatric therapy, as well as a more in depth evaluation.
~Lead Medical Doctor, Mentis Medicus
PONYVILLE TIMES
August 7th, 2001
LOCAL LIBRARIAN AND ELEMENT BEARER, TWILIGHT SPARKLE MISSING!
Late last night, Spike the dragon, Twilight Sparkle's librarian assistant, filed a missing mare's report for Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic. Police searched her residence, and found no sign of a struggle, and no clue. None, except for a small burned note on Twilight Sparkle's desk. The rest of the desk was unharmed. The details of the note have yet to be released, but sources claim it was a goodbye letter. The whereabouts of Twilight Sparkle is still unknown, with no clues as to where she has gone. If you see Twilight Sparkle, please contact your local authorities.
Sister, if you are reading this, please come home. I miss you so much. Why didn't you tell me about this before? I could have helped you. Luna, I don't know where, you are, what you're doing, what you're fighting, or if you are even coming back, but know this. I love you. Please be safe. This thing you described... It is unlike anything I have ever seen before in all my life. And if what Twilight said is true, it has been shadowing her, her entire life. Luna, I don't know how long this has been going on, but you should have told me. When you get back, I am going to lay you out. Please be careful. I've already lost you once, I can't lose you again. I've sent my finest guards, and the remaining Elements into the Everfree. Luna, if you don't come back. I love you. I have always loved you. Good luck Lu-Lu.
Trottingham Observatory report #8135
September 4th, 2001
I witnessed a most spectacular display this evening. Around 3:00 AM, a large explosion of magical light erupted from, what looks like the epicenter of the Everfree forest. It was a deep purple light, almost blinding, and sent a shock wave of magical force across Trottingham, and I assume, other nearby cities. I believe it is likely this has something to do with Princess Luna's disappearance, after all, they were sending ponies to look for her there. This has been the most exciting this to happen since her disappearance, as the night sky has been almost devoid of the beautiful stars she brings.
Equestrian Royal Guard after action report
September 5th 2001, Everfree Forest
Objective: Locate and secure Princess Luna
We had been walking for a good two days. We were finding no trace however. The zebra, Zecora, said that she heard somepony outside her residence, but found nothing. We followed the trails at first, then started combing the forest off the paths. Each team was sent with an Element Bearer, all of whom were grieving, but still functional enough to operate. We were attacked relentlessly throughout our campaign. It was like the animals were trying to stop us.
Rainbow Dash's team finally happened upon a large ravine, it's walls carved with strange rune like symbols. There was a large scorch mark in the middle, and Princess Luna unconscious nearby. She was banged up pretty bad, and we had no medical staff on hoof. Rainbow Dash refused to leave her side, and one of my lower guards was required to fetch the rest of the platoon.
We were able to haul the princess back to the trail, and out of the Everfree where medical evacuation was on standby. Oddly enough, we were not attacked on our way out. Not once.
Princess Luna was evaced, and her condition is pending.
~ First Sergeant Serrated Blade
Canterlot Royal Medical Facility file 69374068
Subject: Princess Luna
Date: September 7th, 2001
Princess Luna was admitted into intensive care at approximately 3:32 AM, and sported six minor lacerations across the shoulders and barrel, one major laceration diagonal from her horn to her cheek, three leg fractures, one broken leg, a concussion, exhaustion from magical overload, and is in a comatose state from which she may never recover.
It has been two days since she was admitted, and there have been no changes in her mental condition. Princess Celestia has been going rampant for us to try and wake her up, but there is simply nothing we can do. Physically, she's fine, but mentally. Even if we do wake her up, there is a high chance she will be mentally unstable. Only time can tell. We've done all we can.
The elder sister sat her her younger sister's bed. She'd been there all day. The royals knew better than to pester her with her duties. Her sister's chest rose and fell rhythmically, and the constant, reassuring sound of her thaumocardiogram beeping endlessly was the only sound. The elder sister had felt that magical explosion. And when she did, she'd felt relieved. Like a dark presence had been lifted.
All that was left, was for the dragon assistant to return, and her younger sister to awaken. Although deep down, she knew both of those were unlikely to happen. Her sister had risked her life to keep the land safe. She'd been through so much in the past years.
The elder sister leaned over and gently gave a whisper of a kiss on the younger sister's forehead. She had done it. She had defeated it. Now, she could be at peace. Now she could sleep soundly.
The elder sister stood, and slowly left the room, knowing that one day, her sister would awaken to a better world for herself.
When she was gone, the room was thrown into a calm order. The thaumocardiogram beeping, and her chest rising and falling. The stillness was broken by a slight movement in the closet across from the younger sister.
The door creaked open slightly, and one clawed, paled hand grasped the edge. It growled lowly, then, shut the door. And cast the room to stillness once again.