Slen stood at the mouth of the Everfree Forest. He knew what was waiting for him within, but he also knew what would happen to his friend if he didn’t get the Eight Pages out of here and to the library. “You’ve got what you wanted,” Slen called out to the forest. “I’m here, but you brought my friend into this, so I’m not going to surrender until he’s safe, got that, Slendermane?” Silence. The only reply Slen was expecting. “I’ve been running from you all my life, but now I know how to beat you, and I’m not going to stop until my friend and all of Equestria are free of your terror!” Motivated by his own words, Slen reared up on his hind legs, let out a confident whinnie (like the noise real horses make) and galloped into the forest, his horn alight so he could see where he was going. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched.
“Excellent,” Slendermane said to himself. “Gallop straight into my trap, young one.” Slendermane then began walking towards Ponyville.
Slen didn’t know how long he had been walking. All he knew was that the forest was entirely unfamiliar to him and that he was hopelessly lost. To top it all off, he didn’t even have a single page yet, either. Another thing he knew, however, was that Slendermane wasn’t going to be that aggressive at this point quite yet. He only starts noticeably chasing ponies once they have two or three pages. This actually didn’t help Slen, given the fact that Slendermane wasn’t going to hurt him on account of his secret. Still, though, Slen would have thought that by now, he’d have at least found one-
“Page!” Slen shouted out loud as he noticed a piece of paper stuck to a tree not too far away. He paused for a moment and looked around in a paranoid manner to make sure Slendermane didn’t hear him. Of course he heard you, Slen thought to himself. He hears everything. After shaking his head at how stupid he was, Slen galloped over to where the page was and grabbed it with his hoof. The page came off of the tree with ease, and it read “Always watches. No eyes.” He doesn’t need eyes. With this thought, he used his magic to cause the page to disappear from his hoof in a greenish mist. The colt then turned and continued his search for the rest of the pages, still wondering where Slendermane was.
Back in Ponyville, Twilight and Rei were still reading through the book about Slendermane. “It’s astounding how little ponies actually know about this thing,” Twilight commented.
“I have to agree with you there, Princess,” Rei said. “Look here. It says that Slendermane used to be a regular pony before some kind of curse befell him.” As Rei continued to read, neither pony noticed the faceless figure peering in through the window. “The source of the curse was never discovered. The pony simply disappeared into the night without a trace.”
Just as Rei read this, Twilight heard a noise. A subtle one, but it was enough to cause both ponies to jump. They both slowly turned around to find the tall suited figure standing behind them.
Back in the Everfree, Slen was up to three of the eight Pages, and he still found no sign of Slendermane. “What are you up to?” Slen asked the darkness of the forest as he cantered on. “You don’t do something like this unless you have something big going on in the background.” As Slen said this, he saw a fourth page in the distance, barely visible within the light his horn gave off. Wanting to waste no time, Slen galloped over and grabbed the page, bringing his page count up to four. Just then, he heard a noise behind him. Slen didn’t turn around. He already knew what was behind him. He just took off galloping the second he heard the noise.
“Why do you keep running, Slen?” Slendermane asked. Though Slen was still galloping, it felt as though Slendermane was talking right into his ear. “You know I’m not going to harm you in any physical way.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t know what you actually are going to do,” Slen replied, still galloping.
“You can’t run from your destiny forever, Slen. And neither can your friend.”
Slen immediately skidded to a stop shen Slendermane said that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I would have thought it would be more obvious,” Slendermane said, entirely out of Slen’s sight no matter where the colt looked. “You went off on this little adventure and left the young pegasus completely defenseless.”
“He had Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony to stop you.”
Slendermane did something at that moment that Slen thought he’d never do. Slendermane laughed. “You really think I’m enough of a foal to not know of the Elements of Harmony? You really thought I wouldn’t be ready for Princess Twilight Sparkle’s defense of the young pegasus?”
It didn’t take Slen five seconds to process what Slendermane had said. “No... You couldn’t have...”
“You know me better than anypony else, Slen,” Slendermane replied. “I’m a monster. A monster with great power. And you also know that I’ll do everything in my power to force you to surrender.”
“I’LL NEVER BE LIKE YOU!” Slen shouted. He then turned and began galloping back in the direction of Ponyville. (At least that’s where he hoped he was going.)
“Go on, little one,” Slendermane said to himself. “Keep running, but know that the time for hiding is over.”
Slen was galloping at top speed, but it still felt like it took hours before he finally found the exit to the forest once again. How could I have been so foalish? Slen thought to himself. I should have known Slendermane would be smarter than that. I should have known he’d- Slen’s train of thought was instantly derailed faster than a double rainboom when he got to Ponyville.
Or at least, the fire and devastation that used to be Ponyville.