Slender

by The Wizard of Words

Mystery

The trot to Pip’s home was uneventful, if a bit awkward. While Rainbow and Twilight alone would have drawn no more a crowd than any other pony, the presence of the Princess of the Night earned a bit more than a passing gaze from the many shoppers of the market. For every twist of the dark alicorn’s head or gaze, a collection of ponies would fall to their knees, haunches raised in the air in a low bow.

Dash snickered the first few times, gently tapping Twilight towards the display, as if she had not seen them herself. The unicorn, however, was far more than used to the over zealous display of loyalty, following Princess Celestia through her daily routines in the castle and out about the roads of Canterlot. But there at least it was more subdued. Expected, definitely, but about as noticed as some pony sneezing. Here, they might as well have said… that… well that Princess Luna was in Ponyville. There wasn’t a metaphor Twilight could conjure through mind or magic that could relate to the level of attention they were receiving.

The Princess herself either did not mind or felt it expected. Both unicorn and pegasus put their bits in the later. For every collection of ponies that bowed, the princess would nod her head towards them or lightly speak “rise,” in a subdued tone. It was enough, but the wide eyes never left. For those reasons alone, Dash and Twilight followed behind a few hooves pace. If Luna was expecting this, as she very well did, trotting in front of her would most likely be an insult, especially to a mare that held herself close to customs.

Twilight found it hard to contain the sigh of relief when they reached the house Rumble had described to them. It was red, very red, almost out of place like Big Macintosh red. From the housing sides to the door to the window shades and even the thatched roofing itself, the whole home seemed to be shaded red. It nearly hurt her eyes, the way Twilight was looking at it. But just as the small colt had also said, a tree limb was beside the house.

Limb was not the right word. This was a tree, period. Twilight was able to visibly observe the roots pulled from the ground, the large trunk of the tree groomed for the many branches that sat the once tall canopy.

“Guess this is it, huh?” Dash asked next to her sarcastically, or so the unicorn noted.

“It seems so.” Luna spoke in return. She let out a slow breath before trotting towards the door, giving neither motion nor observation for the two mares to follow. The princess raised her crystal covered hoof to the door, lightly tapping on the rough surface. Silence echoed beyond the wood before a very soft but audible thud was heard from within.

“P-Please, just one second.” The voice already sounded pained through the door. Twilight knew she wouldn’t need to imagine what it sounded like once the door opened. That mystery would solve itself. A few dull moments passed before the latches of the door undid themselves, allowing the wood to swing inward, revealing the troubled mare within.

The pony had a coat very similar to Pipsqueak’s own, white with patches of tan or brown scattered across the coat. It dotted her much the same way a batch of chocolate would be thrown onto a vanilla cake. That detail alone was all it took for Twilight to chalk up the mare as Pip’s mother. The rest of her, however, revealed far more.

Her mane was brown like the dots on her coat, but twisted and knotted without care or comb, the outer fibers wet and clinging to the others. Her eyes were sunken in with red linings, bags hanging from her lids weight. The only thing about her that appeared collected was her hooves, still against the ground she stood on.

That changed the moment her red eyes fell on Princess Luna.

“Y-Y-Your Majesty!” The pony nearly cried in fright as she fell to a bow, no different than the many others that surrounded her home. “F-Forgive me I… I didn’t know that y-you were coming. I would have… I’d-I’d-”

“Calm yourself.” The dark alicorn spoke in a voice not far from ordering. “It is already clear to us why you are in… the state that you are. We are here only to help.” The mare’s eyes remained wide and cautious as she stared up at the alicorn, nose to the ground and tail in the air. “Rise.” Like all the ponies before, the mare rose. “We are here only to speak of young Pipsqueak.”

For a moment, a flash of time that would make Rainbow Dash appear slow, the mare’s quivering form stilled, her eyes widening as her pupils dilated. But as fast as the signs came, they vanished, leaving behind the same nearly broken mare, staring dumbly up at the Princess of the Night.

“Y-Yes.” She spoke softly, eyes moving to an object other than Luna. “Please come in. A-All of you.” The multi-colored pony let her vision rest on Rainbow Dash and Twilight as she spoke. Leaving the door wide, she trotted back inside, the three ponies following close behind. Rainbow closed the door with a swift kick of her rear leg. The journey into the home was very brief, a single turn from the initial hallway into a spacious foyer.

The foyer, however, was ill kept with wrappings and papers spread about the table, some cushions pulled from the furniture, as the doors of cabinets and display cases were open. Some pictures were ill aligned and others were lying on the floor. It wasn’t a wreck, not nearly, but it was also a far cry from proper, or so Rarity would label it.

“I’m sorry about the… the mess.” The mare apologized as she started to nose papers out of sight or lifting cushions with her hooves. “My m-mind has just been… b-been on other things.”

“Hold a moment.” Luna spoke again in the tone that demanded attention. The multi-colored pony froze at the words. With a flash of magic, the room began to straighten itself. Bright lights of colorful blues surrounded papers or misplaced items, brushing dust and aligning portraits the longer it glowed. Then in a flash just as intense, it was done. The room was spotless and clean.

“That was pretty sweet.” Dash noted absently before knocking one of her hooves against Twilight. “You think you could do that? It’d save Spike a whole lot of time cleaning up your messes.” She got a small kick in return.

“Thank you.” The mare spoke to the princess, a steady breath flowing in and out of her lungs. “I’m sorry again for the state you have caught me in.” She turned her attention to the two other ponies in the room. “I guess Rumble found you two, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did,” Twilight confirmed taking in the professional role the situation required. “He was hysterical when he found us, talking about Pip being foal napped and-” She stopped. The mare had broken eye sight with her, turning her attention to the floor. She was just as focused on the growing pool of tears as the rest of the ponies in the room.

“Then the colt spoke true words.” Luna spoke softly, her words doing little more to the mother than the actions passed had not already done. The dark alicorn let her eyes shut as her form stood to its tallest, meditating on thoughts neither the unicorn or pegasus could read.

“Can… you please explain to us what happened?” Twilight ventured carefully, phrasing her words as best she could. She was no Fluttershy, she couldn’t know the best words or actions to speak to a pony, not on a whim. This time, however, she must have at least been close.

“Yes,” the curt answer came, due to the breath that it shook on. “Y-yes, of course. Please, sit.” The mare took her own seat on a fluffed cushion facing the party before her. Dash and Twilight took to their own small pillows as Princess Luna took to the sofa, her form large enough to dominate the entirety of it. No one spoke word or remark of protest. With a deep breath to calm her quivering chest, the multi-colored pony began to speak.

“My name is Emma Pinto. I am originally from Trottingham, with my son Pipsqueak. We came to… leave behind a life that I didn’t want my son to grow up in. Trottingham, it’s a nice city, I did enjoy growing up there, but… but where I was when I had Pip, I couldn’t let him stay.” Her eyes focused on a picture along the far wall, out of sight for any of the ponies around her. Her vision refocused on the group before they could question her.

“Ponyville was the first town that I came across with Pipsqueak. It’s small, friendly, and in the line of sight of Canterlot, and by extension the princesses.” She gave a small nod of her head towards Luna as she spoke. The dark alicorn smiled with a spark of pride, though she hid it well beneath years of practice and training. “Pipsqueak loved it too. He made friends so quickly with the rest of the fillies and colts at school, spent a lot of time with Rumble on playdates, and he was still able to come home smiling and bouncing with energy, ready for his… ‘next big adventure.’ Mrs. Pinto whispered the words harshly, her voice growing high as she did so. The reason why was obvious.

“B-but, that’s in the past.” She spoke again, collecting herself however briefly she could. “What matters now is… what happened to my colt.” Her lower lip worked itself through her teeth, blood nearly drawn between them.

“My colt was foal napped.” Her words were nearly as harsh as Celestia’s Sun in a summer blaze. “Some time last night… d-during that terrible storm, he vanished. I-I remember a loud crash echoing from outside, no doubt from that tree falling, and then a small bleep as the power went out.”

“Not really surprising given the size of it.” The unicorn nodded absently as Mrs. Pinto continued on.

“That’s when I heard him scream.”

“Whoa, what, just because the power went out?” If Dash had anything else to say, it was silenced between a rough kick from the unicorn next to her. Pip’s mother was open to continue.

“Y-Yes, you see, he has become terribly afraid of the dark. I don’t know if… if it is because of his illness or a phase, but whenever he is alone in the dark…” Her chest began to shake again with unsteady breaths. “H-He j-just screams a-a-and cries. It’s like… l-i-ike…” The mare broke down into muffled sobs, a hoof shaking harder than the trees in last night’s storm covering her muzzle.

“It is alright Emma Pinto.” The dark alicorn spoke from the cushioned sofa. “We understand the difficulty of these times. Do not strain yourself more than you have to.” The mare, however, shook her head fiercely before responding.

“No,” she hoarse whisper came from her throat. “No, my little Pip is in trouble, an-nd if I have to cry a little in front of you to make sure he’s… he’s safe, I’ll do it a hundred times over.” With another trembling breath, the multi-colored mare continued on. “A-A little over a week ago now, he… Pip grew violently ill. He had chills, vomiting, flash-sweats, more than I could bear to watch. T-the doctor said tha… th-that he must have caught something in the woods d-during one of his little… escapades.” A bitter laugh came from her throat. The ponies around her smiled pitifully.

“Over… Over the last week h-he started crying at the sight of shadows, aski-begging me to put more lights in his room. I-I did, but when I… ran out of lights… h-he added candles. Then there were… nights where he wanted to sleep with me, a-and when he did, he clung to me harder than e-even when he was born.” The tears had yet to stop to falling.

“Do you have… any suspects you think would want to hurt Pip?” Again, Twilight chose her words carefully. The mare was already hurt and badly damaged, breaking her would do no pony any good.

“N-No, well… his father, but… b-but he’s… locked up.” Suddenly, it became rather clear to Twilight just why Mrs. Pinto wanted to leave Trottingham before. “But no… no one around here as ever th-threatened us, n-not even in a prank.”

That left a lot of unanswered questions. So far, they had only confirmed what they had already known. Pip was foal napped, he had been sick for the past week, and there were no suspects that were at the forefront of any ponies mind. All they had learned so far was the unnatural fear of the dark the young colt had seemingly gained. Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought.

Maybe it had something to do with his illness. It wouldn’t be the first time a criminal took advantage of the weak or ill to perpetrate a crime. That would at least narrow down the list of possible suspects in this. A pony would not only have to have the motive to commit it then, but also the means of getting Pip sick. Those symptoms, however, didn’t register in Twilight for any known medical condition. Alone, yes, of course, but vomiting is a regurgitation instinct of the body to rid itself of harmful bacteria or viruses that were still within the digestive tract, to minimize the amount of infection. Over a week of it, however, in combination with flash sweats would usually mean some kind of bacterial infection. However, just including chills into that list completely undid any known form of natural immune response.

That would mean that it would have had to of been a state purposefully inflicted upon poor Pip. Again though, it was all speculation until they could find more. There was one more question the multi-colored mare could answer, however.

“Out of curiosity Mrs. Pinto, but why haven’t you called the police yet?” Twilight made sure her tone was soft, losing none of the care and tenderness she had began with. The multi-colored pony sighed to the ground before responding.

“I’m… I’m scared to.” Luna opened her mouth at the answer, but was silenced as the mare continued. “Pip is my responsibility. I promised the courts that I could take care of him. I knew I could. His father… his father was not a pony I wanted around my son, not with what he drank… and ate… and… did.” The dark alicorn slowly closed her muzzle, watching the mother continue with a cool gaze.

“So, what? You were scared that the police would say you did it?” Twilight almost gasped at the pegasus’s brash remark. A choke from the mare in front of them was enough evidence that the words went too far. However, Pip’s mom continued before the unicorn could reprimand her friend.

“That… i-is probably part of it. But no… no I was scared that if they… when they find him that they would take him a-a… away from me.” She bit her lip to hold back tears. It did little good. “I’m already a single mother, and Pip… he’s… he’s such a small colt. Everypony thought he should stay with his father, b-but I knew he couldn’t, I proved that. I couldn’t let him go back. So… So I thought that if I was able to find him alone then… e-everything would be okay.” Any confidence the mare had when she came up with that logic was gone as she spoke it.

“Then why ask Rumble to help? The little guy was hysterical when he came to us.”

“Rumble is Pip’s absolute best friend.” The answer was the clearest thing Mrs. Pinto had said yet. “I knew he would find you two to help. He’s… his family knows about Pip and I, so I knew he wouldn’t tell the police… not unless he was asked.”

“You speak honest words, damning as they are.” A shiver came from the multi-colored mare as the dark alicorn’s words washed over her. “Your concerns are both genuine and brittle, but void of meaning now.” Luna stood too her tallest again, eyes scanning the home as she did so. “Where is Pipsqueak’s room? I wish to see this… illness you spoke of.”

“Y-Yes of course. Just… please don’t judge him.” Mrs. Pinto spoke as she rose from her cushion, Twilight and Rainbow not far behind the pair. Pip’s mother walked out of the room behind her, the three ponies following close behind. The clopping of hooves was the only sound that echoed through the home as they moved, quickly approaching a door at the far end of the hallway. On the outside, it appeared no different from any other in the home, save for a small sign that hung from the center of the polished and stained wood. “Lair of Pip the Brave” It displayed proudly, though written by a foal’s hoof and skill.

“H-He was really proud of himself when he made that.” Mrs. Pinto spoke as she noticed the group collective reading the sign. “So was I…” Her voice trailed off as she spoke. That was when a dark wing extended over the mare.

“Do not worry Emma Pinto,” The Lunar Princess spoke with a kind tone Twilight nearly mistook for Celestia. “We shall return Pip home safely. I vow to you on the honor of my throne.”

“Thank you.” The mother spoke, a faint smile playing over her lips before vanishing beneath the perpetual sorrow that surrounded her. “Thank you, your majesty I… I trust you. Please,” She motioned towards the room with her hoof. “Feel free to look around. If you can find anything to help you, take it. Just…” She bit her lip.

“Yes?”

“I wasn’t exaggerating earlier when I spoke of my little Pip having terrors in his sleep, nor of how he began to… draw them.” Her eyes looked across all three of them, from alicorn to unicorn to pegasus. “He’s just a scared foal. Please don’t judge him.”

Without waiting for another word, she left the three, trotting down the hall and, doubtlessly, to rest her terrified mind. The three watched her off before turning their attention collective back to the door.

“So…” Rainbow trailed off, eyes never leaving the door. “I guess we just, go in and look around?”

“Yes, that would be the best place to start.” Twilight agreed, marching forwards as her horn sparked with the lavender aura of her magic. The knob on the door twisted clockwise before the audible click of metal signified the now open pathway. The door swung open, revealing the contents within.

Twilight expected a mess.

She did not expect paranoia.

Pictures, drawings, scribbles, and marks the likes of which Twilight had never seen before mared all of the walls within Pip’s room. The decorative wallpaper was torn from the hard surface, ripped in circular patterns or dramatically large “x”s. Writing papers were taped along the few sections of walls that were not marred, scribbles of notes that were only barely legible for even her trained eyes. But above that hung more lights than Twilight had ever seen in one place in her life.

There were at least two dozen of them, screwed or taped to the ceiling with wires falling loosely to floor, connecting to sockets or extensions cords that traveled out of her sigh. All different shapes and sizes without any discernable way to tell one bulb from the other when the wires began to cross. As if the over abundance of light was not enough, candles were placed along the room as well, one for every corner and at least a claw’s worth for each wall. Would the room be lit up, the unicorn doubted she’d be able to see a thing.

“Kind of… excessive.” The words were rather bland, but Dash didn’t say anything that either Twilight or Luna could disagree with. “Creepy actually.” Her voice muttered closer to Twilight, very much aware of the protective princess nearby.

“I’m not about to argue that.” Twilight returned. “I’m just… confused really. All I know is that Pip had some kind of inane fear of the dark.” She trotted closer to one of the walls, examining the notes that hung from it. As before, many were little more than scribbles. Any patterns that were meant to be conveyed were lost beneath the myriad of the young colt’s mind. Her eyes, however, were able to lay on a single note, taped just above her eye level, that was both literate and… informational.

“Is that the bogeymare?” Dash asked besides Twilight, eyes reading over the same parchment. “Kind of an odd way to draw it, don’t you think? Where are the hooves? The mane? The tail?”

“I suspect that is what Pip fears so heavily from the dark.” The voice of Luna spoke from behind the two mares. Twilight looked back to her, towing over the unicorn and pegasus without any effort. The lavender mare nodded.

“That would be a safe bet, the only question now is who is he?”

“No,” Dash disagreed. “The better question is what is he? I mean, Pip has known about this thing for… what, his mom said a week?” The pegasus put a hoof to her mane, giving it a scratch. “Honestly, this thing sounds a little like that guy you were reading up on last night Twi?”

“Oh?” The princess inquired. “And who would that be?” Twilight focused on neither of the two ponies, still analyzing the paper in her magic.

“You know, hide in the shadows, alone without light, all that stuff. C’mon, that poem made us both jump out of our coats.”

“What are you speaking of?”

“A thing from some story book Twilight was reading.” Rainbow answered the princess, alleviating Twilight to focus on her study of the parchment. “It’s some kind of monster from these human myths. Wasn’t all that scary till we got to what was supposed to some pony’s poem about what happened.”

“Interesting,” Twilight heard the princess note almost absently. “And what did these myths title such a monster?” The unicorn could just feel Dash preparing to speak, waves of pride washing over her.

“The Slenderman.”