Slender Mane

by 2tailedpony

Chapter 4: Where's Fluttershy?

When Twilight woke up she was walking. She had no idea where she was. She was in an excruciating amount of pain. She felt light headed, as if she was in some sort of trance. It was all she could do to raise her head up and look around. As she did, a familiar scene came into view. The moon was rising. In front of her was a small cottage. Its roof was covered with moss, and several bird houses hung from trees nearby. Twilight was standing on the far side of a small bridge that lead up to the door. Through the window she could see a flickering light.
"Fluttershy..." she tried to call as she reached the front door, but her voice was too weak. She nudged the door with her head, and it easily swung open. As she stepped inside, she saw the source of the light. A wax candle was set on a small table near a reading chair. It was burned nearly down to the base. A thick book was lying open on the floor.
"Fluttershy..." Twilight tried to call again. There was no response. She walked over and picked up the candle, raising it into the air. Although the light didn't reach very far, it was enough for her to see streaks of blood splattering the ceiling, just as she has feared. She lowered the candle again, illuminating the floor around her. She nearly dropped it in surprise as she saw a pool of dried blood in front of her. A crimson trail lead from the pool off into the darkness.
As Twilight followed the trail, it lead her to the backdoor of Fluttershy's cottage, where another pool had formed. She had to set down the candle in order to open the door, and as she did a gust of wind rushed in, blowing it out. Now the only light was that of the moon. A beam of moonlight spread across the house as she opened the door wider, clearly illuminating the trail of blood. The trail continued for a short distance out the door, but then faded into the dirt. She looked into the distance, feeling drawn toward something. A far ways off, near the edge of the Everfree Forest, she saw something that looked out of place. An irregular shape that stuck out from its surroundings.
At that moment she suddenly heard a creak from behind her. She jumped and quickly spun around, but as she did she felt the bones in her shoulder grind against each other, and the pain made her stop. Instead she slowly turned her head to look toward the front door. A blue pegasus whom she recognized was standing there.
"What is this?" said Rainbow Dash, as she looked around in horror, "What happened here?"
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash. I didn't mean to. Please, don't tell anypony."
"You did this?" she responded in disbelief.
"I wasn't myself. I was..." Twilight voice trailed off. Standing in the dark place between the small front window and behind the open front door was Slender Mane.
"You... you're crazy Twilight. No one knew where you went after you fell out that window. We've been searching for you. We were worried. Now I find you here, and... this?" Rainbow Dash took a step back. Tears started falling from her eyes. "She was your friend Twilight! How could you? How could you? I'm gonna go back and tell everyone what you did, and then they'll come for you... and you'll get what you deserve."
As Rainbow Dash turned to fly away, Twilight yelled, "Wait!"
"What?!" Rainbow Dash replied desperately, hoping that Twilight would say something, anything to make her believe she was innocent.
"Don't leave me alone with him."
Rainbow Dash shook her head, not understanding, "You're on your own Twilight," and with that she bolted into the sky. As soon as she was gone, Slender Mane began to move.
Twilight had thought that she was beyond fear. That despair was all that she had left, but she was wrong. As Slender Mane pushed the open door out of the way, her body once again filled with adrenalin. She needed help, but who could she rely on now? Quickly grabbing a piece of paper and a quill from the table next to her, Twilight turned and ran out the backdoor toward the forest.
As she ran the pain in her shoulder was so severe that she was constantly on the verge of fainting, but she couldn't stop. She ran toward the shape she had seen earlier. As she got closer she realized what it was. It was a small cylindrical object, jammed into the ground at a crooked angle. It was black, and had several ponies carved into its surface. The totem pole that Zecora had given her. How it had gotten there was as much of a mystery to her as the rest of that day.
Upon reaching the totem pole, Twilight had to stop. The pain was too much. She didn't want to think about what type of damage she was causing by running, but unless she let it subside she would pass out for sure. She took this opportunity to write a quick letter. One that could very well be her only chance to be saved. Laying the piece of paper on the ground, Twilight began to write.
Dear Princess Celestia....
As she continued to write, she heard an odd sound. A quiet scratching noise. At first she thought she was imagining it. But a moment later she heard it again.
Scratch scratch scratch.
Twilight tried to ignore it. She didn't have much time, but as she finished her short letter she heard it yet again.
Scratch scratch scratch.
Where was it coming from? Twilight got to her feet and looked around. It was too distinct to be random noise from the forest. As she stood there the sound came again, but this time it seemed quieter. Twilight looked at the totem pole. Was it making the sound somehow? She leaned towards it, noticing for the first time that it was stuck in the ground upside-down. Slender Mane was now on the top, putting Fluttershy....
Scratch scratch scratch.
"Oh Celestia! Fluttershy!" gasped Twilight. Using her one good foreleg, she desperately dug at the ground. The dirt around the totem pole was loose, as if it had been moved recently. She barely had to dig a few inches below the surface when she hit something made of wood. As soon as she did the scratching momentarily stopped, then suddenly became frantic.
Scratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratch!
Twilight hysterically cleared more dirt away, searching for an edge to what she quickly realized to be a crude box. Once she had, she grabbed it with both hooves and pried up on it. It wasn't nailed down, but the weight of the dirt she hadn't cleared away was still substantial, and she heard something in her shoulder snap. A new type of pain shot through it that didn't go away.
As the lid was removed, Twilight stared in horror at what she saw inside. Before her was Fluttershy, bound, gagged, and blindfolded, but still horribly alive. The blindfold and gag were completely soaked with blood. Her hooves were worn to stumps from the constant scratching. As Twilight reached down to untie her, she began to cry. Tears of joy or fear, Twilight couldn't tell.
Once Fluttershy's hooves were free she frantically climbed out of the coffin. She ripped the band of cloth away from her mouth and coughed, expelling globs of coagulated blood in the process, then proceeded to lay her head on the ground and sob even louder.
"Oh please don't let this be a dream!" she whimpered, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die...."
"It's not a dream Fluttershy," Twilight attempted to say in a comforting tone, but Fluttershy reeled back at her voice.
"Twilight! I'm sorry for whatever I did! Please don't hurt me again! I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy tried to get up and run, but she was still blindfolded, and was only able to make it a few steps before she tripped and fell. Twilight limped over to her.
"You didn't do anything Fluttershy! I didn't mean it! I don't even remember doing this! I don't know what to say. I-" suddenly Twilight's ears began to ring again. It was shriller than ever before. She looked up to see Slender Mane stepping out of Fluttershy's cottage.
"Fluttershy. I need your help. I know that you have no reason to help me, and if you don't, I understand. I can't explain everything, but if you have any kindness in your heart left for me then please, take this letter to Princess Celestia!"
Fluttershy continued to lay on the ground and cry, but she lifted the blindfold off of one bruised eye and looked at the letter Twilight was holding. As Slender Mane got closer, Twilight dropped the letter to the ground. She gave Fluttershy one more pleading look before turning and running into the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy watched her in confusion until she was out of view.

~~~~~~~~~~

As Twilight ran through the Everfree Forest she caught glimpses of Slender Mane through the trees. Although he never seemed to be moving faster than a slow trot, he was never more than a few paces behind. Twilight's shoulder had given out on her some time ago, and now she ran as fast as she could on her three remaining legs. She had to be close now....
Twilight suddenly found herself on the same path she had been on just the other day. A tree that was almost indistinguishable from the others came into view that she recognized as Zecora's house. She urged herself onward. Just a little further and she would be safe.
"Zecora!" she yelled, banging on the door, "Zecora please! Help me!" Twilight heard movement from inside, and a moment later the door swung open.
"Twilight Sparkle? Are you alright? What brings you here this time of night?"
Twilight shoved her way past Zecora and slammed the door shut. She peeked out the window, searching for where Slender Mane had gone, but she didn't see anything.
"It's him Zecora. You were right. At first I thought he was just a hallucination, but he can't be. He must be something else. I've felt him. I've seen him move things. I've even seen him bleed! There must be some way to stop him, to protect me from him. There must be something you can do to help me. You're an expert on this after all, aren't you?"
"I am," replied Zecora, "more than you know," something about her voice caught Twilight's attention.
"What do you mean, 'more than you know'?" she asked, looking toward her. As she did she froze in fear. Standing next to Zecora was Slender Mane. He was looking down at Zecora, one of his twisted hooves resting gently on her shoulder.
"Do you remember the story I told you Twilight? Of the village where the monk appeared those years later?"
"What- what is this?" asked Twilight, backing away from the two of them.
"It was more than just a story Twilight. I am surprised you did not see sooner."
"I don't understand...."
"That village was real, and it was quite prosperous not too long ago. When the body of the monk appeared, there were a few who said that he should receive a proper burial. That the rituals should be performed to free his tormented spirit, but the villagers were superstitious. They refused, saying that it was an evil act to try to free a being such as this. All those that tried to perform the rituals were killed. When they buried his body on the edge of the forest, there was only one who still dared to help him. She was so young. She didn't understand what the consequences of her actions would be."
"No..." muttered Twilight as the pieces began to fall into place.
"When the villagers found out what had happened they tortured the poor girl by locking her in a cage in the center of town, barely giving her enough food or water to survive. It was like this for years. All of the villagers taunted her. She only ever had one friend. Every night he would visit and share with her secrets. Teach her things that no other mortals knew..." Zecora took a step toward her, picking up a smoldering log from the fire as she did so.
"There was a river in the forest. When the roots of the tree reached it, the water became tainted. Every villager that drank from it became infected. They burned down the forest in an attempt to try and stop the spread, but they could not save themselves. That night the villagers tore themselves apart in their madness, amongst the flames and screams of the trees. Only one survived, because the cruel zebras had refused to give her anything to drink that day.
"The girl managed to escape that cage Twilight. She used what her friend had taught her to become a well known doctor in her land, but it was only a matter of time before her secret was discovered. When they found out about the source of her powers, every scari berry tree was burned. She fled to a new land, determined to be more careful this time. To only grow as much as she needed. To never let the tree spread beyond its borders, but accidents are prone to happen, and one day as she was returning home from a successful harvest, one did."
"You don't have to do this," Twilight begged as Zecora raised the burning club in the air, "I promise, I won't tell anypony your secret. Just don't let him touch me! Please!"
"I tried to help you Twilight, as all friends should, but I knew that there was nothing that I could do. What has occurred can't be undone. Now I implore you Twilight, run."
As Zecora swung the club down at her, Twilight jumped to the side. Her injured leg prevented her from catching herself though, and she fell to the ground. As Zecora approached from one side and Slender Mane approached from the other, Twilight channeled all her willpower into a spell.
There was a sudden flash of light as a tower of flames erupted from the fire pit, causing the large kettle sitting on it to go flying into the air and covering the ceiling in flames. Zecora yelled in surprise and stumbled back as the intense heat caused the tree to catch fire. To Twilight's surprise, Slender Mane stopped as well; looking over at Zecora with what she could only assume was concern. She took this opportunity to scramble to her feet and dart out the backdoor.
As she left the burning tree behind her, Twilight heard Zecora screaming. She glanced back, momentarily feeling pity for the zebra she had once thought was her friend. As she did she thought she saw the face of Slender Mane in the window, but a split second later he was gone.

To be continued….