//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse // by AdrianJNovelle //------------------------------// "Well, Rainbow Dash, you've certainly kept your word when you said that it isn't scary." "What?" "Rainbow, that wasn't scary." Twilight sighed. "Clearly Spike's just easy to scare." "The only thing that makes it scary is that it's true." "What?" "It's true, you know." "Please, Rainbow Dash: like you expect me to believe a story like that is true." "It totally is!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Do you have any proof?" "Well...no..." "Ah-hah!" "But! Do you have any proof that it's not true?" "Well...uh...no, no I don't." Rainbow Dash giggled. "Didn't think so...but what if I dared you?" "Dared me to do what?" "To prove that I am just making up stories, rather than admitting that Equestria is haunted by the Slender Mare." "Rainbow Dash, if Equestria was haunted by the Slender Mare - and I'm not saying it is - he would've been caught by now." "No he wouldn't. His duties are done in total silence!" "You know what, Rainbow? I'm not much into arguing with you or anypony, especially when it's about something as lame as the Slender Mare." "Alright then - I dare you - prove me wrong!" "You dare me?" Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically. "Ah-huh! I dare you to prove to me that there is no Slender Mare." "How would I do that?" "Easy. The Slender Mare doesn't suck the soul of only one victim a night. He can do several. It's a slow process, but flexible, like me. And the presence of anypony stirring is sure to attract him. And since he can be anywhere at anytime, it shouldn't take long for him to find you." "Sounds like an easy victory for either of us then...Fine, I'm in." Rainbow Dash brought her hoof to her mouth and spat on it. Twilight cringed at the sight of Rainbow Dash's spit-covered hoof. "Aw, c'mon, don't be such a germaphobe." Twilight spat into her hoof and pressed hers against Rainbow Dash's. It was one in the morning, about fifty minutes before the Slender Mare would supposedly make an appearance, if what Rainbow Dash claimed was true. Twilight went to bed really early - immediately after dinner - so she could be up for her late-night expedition around town. It was difficult to remain calm and quiet in such an arousing and intense situation, but the entire rest of the town was nodding off to sleep, so Twilight knew she had to be quiet. Joining her was of course Rainbow Dash, who invited herself to "tag along" so Twilight could admit defeat or - in Twilight's perspective - claim victory any time. The two mares met on the ground in front of Rainbow Dash's house, where they then trotted back to town. "Okay, Rainbow Dash," Twilight whispered. "Where's your precious Slender Mare?" "The story says ten to two," replied the rainbow-maned mare. "We still have an hour before we'll see him." "What about the pages?" "What about them?" "Well, the wind is blowing gently. I can feel it in my mane. Wouldn't the pages be scattering now if the wind is blowing?" "How would that make any sense if he hasn't made an appearance?" "You said in your story that he spends his days as a shadow in a dark alley. If that's true, then he's here in town - and could be ten feet away - and so the pages of his book are still susceptible to being blown around in the wind." "I don't think so." "AH-HAH!" Twilight put her hooves over her mouth and gasped in panic. She cleared her throat. "I mean, ah-hah." "Shh!" was all Rainbow replied with. The two ventured through town casually, as if they were sightseeing in a foreign place. Twilight paid particular attention to places where the Slender Mare supposedly could be: dark alleys, cramped, tight places, and just places where the darkest of shadows would be found. Of course, she had found nothing. After about half an hour of wandering through town and back again, the two planted their plots on the statue near the center of town and rested their aching hooves. Twilight yawned. "I'm so tired," she said. "Me too," Rainbow Dash added. "I stayed up all night scaring Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Now I kinda wish I hadn't." "Because you spent the last half hour walking around in folklore?" "No, because I was tired this morning and now, even though I napped, I'm still tired now. I've never been up this late. Not even on New Year's." "Not even on New Year's?" Twilight inquired. "I'm usually out by half-past-twelve." "Oh." "Yeah, sleep and me see eye-to-eye...but not tonight." There was a moment of silence. "So...about the Slender Mare...when it becomes ten to two...how will we know when he's stirring?" "We won't," Rainbow Dash admitted. "What? Why is that?" "Well, first of all, the Slender Mare is a phantom being: he's not exactly able to be seen moving. And even if he were, he'd make sure you didn't see him. It's one of the reasons why he always hangs out at night: he blends into the darkness." She peered up at the full moon. "Fortunately for us, there's a big moon out tonight. Makes it a little easier to see." She looked back down at her tired, aching hooves. "Second, the Slender Mare is the Slender Mare. He doesn't stir. He just appears. Scares you out of your skin, and then sucks out your soul. Just like that. Without making a sound about it. Pretty easy for a guy with no face." "I have a few more questions, Rainbow Dash." "What?" "Well, first, how is Slender Mare able to tell where he's going if he doesn't have a face and therefore doesn't have any eyes?" "Beats me, Twilight. But he's ghostly. How does a ghost see where its going?" "Ghosts have faces. Well, at least they did back when they were living, but..." she failed to finish that sentence. "Okay, you got me there: nopony really knows how a ghost sees where its going, so they can't explain how the Slender Mare gets around." "See? He may be hard to explain, but he's real." "And that brings me to my second question: if he's so deadly and dangerous and stuff, then why'd you A. dare me to prove that he either does or doesn't exist and B. bring yourself along? If he's real and as quiet as you claim, we're both gonna be killed. Don't you realize that? Or are you just insinuating that he's obviously not real because you'd never put yourself in that level of danger like that?" "That's a good question, Twi," Rainbow answered. "And I do have, as you say, an explanation." "I'd love to hear it." "One of the Slender Mare's weaknesses is nosie. He hates noise. Can't stand it. Not even quiet talking. It's one of the reasons why he has to silence his victims before he sucks out their souls. If we keep talking, that might be enough to have him pass us by. He has a lot of weaknesses, actually. Another one is water. A third is daylight. And a fourth is magic." "Magic?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah. He's vulnerable to magic. That's why he usually tracks down only earth ponies and pegasi. But I have heard stories of him taking unicorns and alicorns alike. It's not like they get a chance to use their magic against them." "Ah-huh. And, lemme guess: if we hang around this fountain for the rest of the night, the Slender Mare won't catch us because he's afraid of water?" "It's not so much a fear of water as much as it is a deadly weapon to him. But, yeah. I figure if we hang out here by the fountain all night, he won't dare come near us because we have both your magic and a source of fresh water." Despite Rainbow's encyclopedic knowledge of the Slender Mare, she did sound convincingly scared of the Slender Mare, as if she did believe in his existence, and was also not very confident in her remarks. It was almost as if she was making half the story up on the spot in order to explain how the termination of their search through town was beneficial to their search for the Slender Mare. Even somepony as socially impaired as Twilight could tell there was fear in her voice. What was she truly afraid of? Was she afraid of looking like a fool in front of Twilight, or actually losing her soul to the ominous spectre that is the Slender Mare? The night went on.