//------------------------------//
// Lost Memories 
// Story: The Slenderpony 
// by Drifter 
//------------------------------//

	"So, how did it go?" June asked. I was back at the police station, in the front room. June sat at the desk I had fallen asleep on.
"Well, I visited Sapphire's house, took a couple pictures, then I went over to Bolt's house and... and..." I frowned. And? It was a blank. I couldn't remember anything beyond arriving at the front door. It was as if everything from that point on was gone.
"And?" June said impatiently.
"I.. I don't remember." I said.
"What do you mean you don't remember? It just happened!" she said in an annoyed tone.
"I don't know... The last thing I can remember is arriving at Bolt's house. Then it's all the a blank until I came up to the police Station." I shook my head. Something strange was going on.
"Well, you've been gone for a while. How long did you spend at Sapphire's house?"
"I don't know, somewhere around fifteen minutes." I said.
"That leaves about an hour. An hour of... something. What the fuck." She said. 
An hour? I looked at the clock. 2:30. An hour and twenty five minutes since I had left the police station. For a moment we stood in uncomfortable silence, both of us trying to put together puzzle pieces that just weren't there.
"What's in your saddlebag?" June finally asked, breaking the tension. 
"Oh, lets see." I said. We dumped the contents of the bag on the table. Keys, a flashlight, a camera, an audio recorder...
"What the hell...?" June muttered. Five pictures, two plastic bags (each with a copy of Myths, Monsters, and Other Old Mare's Tales), a knife, and a small book that read Bolt's Diary: Keep Out!. The spare batteries were gone. 

Two of the pictures were from Sapphire's house-the ones from the living room and bed room. One picture was of a bedroom that was in a mess, with sheets on the ground, a bookshelf knocked over, and a poster for some book with the Ⓧ symbol painted over it. The next picture was of an attic. A flashlight shinned on a ton of papers nailed to a wall, all of them saying different things like:

It's watching frⓍm the trees
Hidden by fⓍg and darkness
HⓍme isn't safe

And the fifth picture... It was a brown hoof-my brown hoof-on a muddy floor. Branches and leaves were everywhere. Tree roots were off to the right. I had been in the forest.

One of the books was the one from Sapphire's house, the other seemed to be from Bolt's house. It had even more scribbles and notes in it-more paranoid thoughts translated onto paper. Nothing I hadn't seen before. I handed it to June.

The audio recorder had a tape in it. It was used earlier. Reluctantly, I pressed the green arrow.

*leaves rustle*
*heavy breathing*
*the sound of running*
*the running stops*
"Oh, oh Celestia, I think i'm safe for now. Listen. My name is Drifter, i'm a cop. I work at Ponyville's police station. If you find a body near this tape, or i'm missing, then it got me. If i'm listening to this myself... woo hoo, i'm alive. Now, run. If you're listening to this, run. After you escape, forget this ever happened. Pretend Slenderpony is a silly legend to scare children. It's a better alternative to the truth. If you're some knuckle head that continues looking into this, i'm sorry. But stay out of the woods. Stay out of the woods and out of dark places." 
*chuckles*
"Says the pony who's in the woods in the middle of the night. Anyways, look for Sapphire. Tell her she's in danger. Tell her she was right, and that she's next-"
*the sound of a branch snapping is heard nearby*
"..."
*silence*
"...fuck."
*recording ends*

Me and June looked towards each other.
"Where's Sapphire?" I asked.
"She's in the break room." June said. For a moment it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Then there was a scream.