“Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle, are you okay?”
Applebloom had narrowly saved Sweetie Belle from Slenderman and was trying to wake her friend up some distance away from where they originally were. “Sweetie Belle, please wake up.”
Sweetie Belle slowly opened her eyes and groaned softly. “Applebloom?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Is that you?”
Applebloom breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re alive. We were both lucky to get out of there.”
“What happened?” Sweetie Belle asked, rubbing her horn.
“Slenderman attacked you with some weird power that looked almost like Fluttershy’s Stare. He knocked you out and very nearly killed you. You were saved by some alicorn, but I never got a good look at him. He just threw you on my back and told me to gallop away as fast as I could with you.”
Sweetie Belle was barely listening. She had a huge headache and a ringing in her ears. As well, her vision was blurry. “Applebloom, I can’t hear you too well.”
“Oh. Well then you won’t hear this at all.” Applebloom began tearing up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I pulled you and Scootaloo into all this. I never should have even gotten this idea. I never should have asked Spike for the book... never should have asked Big Macintosh about the forest... never should have ignored that voice that tried to warn us before we got the first page... never should have forced you two to come along with me. We should have stuck to trying to get the skydiving thing to work.”
“Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle moaned. “You don’t have to be sorry.”
“But Scootaloo is dead and you’re dying, too.”
“I know, but you had to do this. It was always up to you to defeat Slender and grant Big Macintosh peace. We were there to help you, but only you really had to survive.” Sweetie Belle then motioned for Applebloom to lean in a little closer. “When Slender did that Stare on me, I saw everything. I saw Big Macintosh when he was colt in this forest. I saw Scootaloo in her final... agonizing moments. I saw inside Slender. But I saw one more thing... Fear. He’s afraid of something, and I think it might be you. He knows that you really can find all the pages, so he picked Scootaloo and I off first to weaken your resolve. That means something good. It means that not only can you do this, but it could do something to Slender. If you can find all eight pages, you might be able to defeat him once and for all.”
“No, Sweetie Belle. We can beat him. We can do it together.”
“You’re wrong, Applebloom. I’m finished. I can barely move and Slender will be here any minute.”
Applebloom began tearing up once again. “No!” she shouted. “You have to try! I’m not going to leave you here to die!” (WTF? When did Applebloom suddenly become Zecora?)
“Look, Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle said, her voice getting weaker. “There’s nothing you can do for me unless you can find the rest of the pages.” She then rolled over and pointed at a tree in the distance. “There’s a page on that tree over there. If you keep going in that direction, you should find another page after a while.” Sweetie Belle rolled over back to Applebloom. “It’s up to you and you alone, now. Find the pages for me, for Scootaloo, for Big Macintosh... for Equestria.” Sweetie Belle then slowly closed her eyes.
Applebloom just sat there for a moment, doing her best not to cry, but she couldn't hold back her tears. She leaned over her fallen friend and sobbed for several minutes. “This is all my fault,” she said. “I'm so sorry.”
“I’m not dead, yet,” Sweetie Belle said. “And while I appreciate your apology, please don't cry on me. Just get going.”
“Oh, okay,” Applebloom replied, getting up and wiping her tears. She then galloped off to the tree where Sweetie Belle said there was a page. Sure enough, it was there. Applebloom took it and looked back at her fallen friend. She looked so peaceful yet so tormented laying there as she was. Applebloom forced herself to turn around and keep going. “Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle. I won’t let you down, and I’ll save you if there’s any possible way to.” She then continued on, eventually hearing Sweetie Belle’s scream in the distance. Slender had already gotten to her. “I’m sorry,” Applebloom said quietly to herself. She then continued, all alone with nopony to turn to and a deadly monster that already took two of her friends and is coming after her with a vengeance.
(6/8)