//------------------------------//
// Freedom 
// Story: The Misadventures of Slendermare 
// by Slendermare 
//------------------------------//

	I read over the spell for the hundredth time. I had to get this right, my sister wanted to see the outside more than anything. This spell was in all aspects difficult, but not a difficult as-
"Hey Slendy, how's it going?" Dementia asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I was thankful for the distraction, for I had no desire to mess with those skeletons. I read over the spell once more, then stood. "Dementia, are you sure about this? I haven't cast this spell before, I may get it wrong." I admitted. I abhorred admitting I may be wrong about something, but when it came to her safety, I was willing to swallow my pride. 
"I'm ready when you are Slendy." She said with a grin. I looked at the book and began the spell, but before I had gotten even five words in, yet another box appeared between Dementia and I.



what is the weirdest thing  you've seen or heard

 

I was taken aback and faltered, the box startling me. Dementia seemed just as startled as I was, and walked to where I was so she could read the question as well. 

"Well, there was this time when I was younger, and I was outside playing. Slendy had to go into a shop and buy something for an experiment, and from this house I heard these weird sounds. It sounded like moaning and kissing, and they kept saying each others names-" I put a hoof over her mouth, cutting her off before she could continue. For her age, she was much too sheltered and I had put off explaining sex for far too long. I lowered my hoof and she stayed quiet, albeit confused. I inwardly sighed, that was a conversation I was not looking forward to.

"The weirdest thing I've 'seen' was when we were in the forest," I began. "It was late and we were out looking for food. At the moment, we had no shelter, and Dementia was getting tired. Soon, I had found a small underground cave for us to rest in. During the night, I had awoken and I swear I saw the moon glow and change, and since then the moon has always seemed different." Dementia grinned as I spoke. For some reason, she had found the story to be amusing when I recounted it. 

I picked up the book as the box vanished, Dementia getting back into position. I started to read, and Dementia was surrounded in an aura of red magic. As I read, I picked up the small rabbit in the magical aura as well. Soon, a separate golden aura lifted from my sister, and settled on the rabbit. I slowly lowered them both, and cast a minor containment spell on the rabbit, making it so the rabbit could not leave the forest. My sister was practically shaking with excitement, and handed me the second animal, which was a squirrel. I started to repeat the process, and shivered from the icy cold of the aura leaving my body. As soon as it settled on the squirrel, I lowered us both to the ground. I cast the same spell on the squirrel as I had on the rabbit, and turned towards Dementia, who was beaming with joy. 
"I'm so excited! Are you excited? I think you're excited but it's hard to tell with you. You're probably excited at the chance to leave this forest for a change of scenery, and.." She started going on at a mile a minute, and I closed the book. "Come dementia, unless you wish to stay here." Before I had even finished the sentence, she was flying off ahead of me. I chuckled at her enthusiasm and galloped after her. Suddenly she halted, and it took me a moment to see why. She had almost flown straight into one of the boxes.



have you meet Zecora she lives in a hut in the Everfree Forest like you



Dementia and I halted to read it.
"Yes."
"No." 
She turned to face me, confused. "Who's Zecora?" she asked and I sighed. 
"She's the Zebra that also lives in the Everfree. You've met her before when you were younger. She helps us with supplies sometimes." I explained, and Dementia smiled. 
"Oh, her! She's cool." She exclaimed. At this, she dashed forward again, and I had a hard time keeping up. "Dementia, wait up!" I cried as galloped after. She saw me and slowed down, and I caught up. Soon, we were at the edge of the forest, looking out. This was the closest she had gotten in awhile. I knew this area, as it was by Sweet Apple Acres, and Dementia rarely gets near the edge, except for today when she got next to the cottage for the animals. She looked to me nervously. 
"Is it.. Can I.." She asked timidly. I nodded my head and she took a tentative step forward. She looked around in wonder and stepped out fully. I stood, waiting for Celestia's guard to attack, but nothing happened. I slowly followed her, and looked around. It was early morning, but already bright. Perhaps that's due to the perpetual darkness in the forest, but that didn't matter now. The only thing of importance now was that Dementia was happy. Off in the distance, I saw the town we had lived in before. There were so many questions I had about it, like if the town hall was still in the same building. Or if that young couple ever opened that sweets shop they wanted to run. 
Dementia trotted ahead, stopping every so often to examine a plant, or a bug, or some other thing she found to be fascinating. As we walked, I kept wondering about the quaint town from what felt like a lifetime ago. I never had many friends, but there was one mare who was always friendly to me. I wonder if she and her brother still lived in town? I wonder if they'd allow me to work on their farm for some money. Soon we were only about one hundred feet from the town. 
Was it still called Ponyville? And would they accept us, or write to Celestia? I swallowed my fear, thankful my emotions weren't obvious. Dementia smiled and looked forward to the town. Due to the time, it wasn't as busy, but there were still many ponies. I started to panic, hoping they wouldn't try to talk to me. Dementia was far more social, and I was incredibly awkward in these sorts of situations. It was one of the reasons I liked the forest, there were no other ponies except for Dementia and Zecora. They were patient and understanding, but I knew others would be frustrated with me, and afraid. I took a step forward with more than a bit of trepidation, and stopped Dementia by touching one of her wings. 
"I.. Dementia, can we stop at the farm? I was thinking.. Somepony there may be able to help us." I said quietly. Dementia nodded, understanding, and I led her to Sweet Apple Acres.