Silver Spoon and Scootaloo eventually regained consciousness, only able to vaguely feel the ground underneath them. The new sensation felt much more like dirt and grass than the cold Palace floor that had been stained with the blood of that disturbing apparition...
Scootaloo was the first to find the strength to blink her eyes into focus, the world began to take shape before her with her blurred vision. Silver Spoon followed suit soon after as they both rose to their hooves. This certainly wasn't the Palace they had previously been in, and it wasn't the Arena either.
Scootaloo put a hoof to her head as she steadied herself, tilting her head up to see not even a crack of moonlight showing through the dense forest around them. She glanced behind her upon sensing a pressure on her back, and realized that the red saddlebag was still with them, papers and the like completely intact despite the vortex that had pulled them to... wherever this place was.
Silver Spoon breathed a sigh of relief that they were still alive, adjusting her sky-blue glasses that had nearly fallen off her muzzle. However, it was as if the simple act of readjusting her vision caused the full weight of the environment around them to come to light. "Wh-Where are we?" Her inquiry was accompanied by a faint echo which seemed to ricochet off the trees, fading into the darkness.
Scootaloo raised her own voice to carry the call farther. "Hello?"
There was no answer to their call, only the slow, swaying creak of branches overhead.
"I'm not sure whether to be glad or not that nopony else seems to hear us," Scootaloo murmured, shifting her weight slightly and causing the saddlebag she carried to shake a little more than she meant to.
Luckily, the only pony who was drawn toward the sound was Silver Spoon. "Hey!" she exclaimed, noticing the bag on Scootaloo's back. "We still have it! Check if the camera's in there, we might be able to see something with it." She peered around them, the density of the tall trees around them almost stifling. The close proximity quickly caused her to grow more impatient. "Hurry up!"
"I'm trying!" Scootaloo lowered herself to the ground slightly to slide the bag off without accidentally entangling her neck in its strap. Unclasping the lock that held the satchel shut, Scootaloo moved the papers and books aside, realizing that the twisted lock from their previous excursion was still in there as well. A brief purple spark of magic indicated that whatever force that had affected it in the former world still remained.
Scootaloo attempted to touch the lock, but was surprised to feel a smooth surface around the object, a faint shimmering seeming to indicate an invisible force field in close proximity. "That force field wasn't there before..." She peered at the lock questioningly. "I wonder why it's acting like that..."
Just as she began to lift her hoof to attempt to make contact with the metal again, a loud crack startled the two fillies into instinctively huddling together.
"M-Maybe we'll investigate this stuff another time," Scootaloo stammered, eyes darting about frantically for the source of the sound as the lock lay undisturbed.
"Yeah..." The other filly tried to suppress a shudder. "Just get the camera out of the bag and we'll worry about that other stuff later."
"I guess you're right," Scoocaloo muttered before rummaging through the bag's contents and hoisting the camera out, half-expecting it to fall apart. "Ugh, got it! Let's just hope the camera works." Scootaloo held the camera steady in her hooves as she pressed the button to activate the flash. Maybe it hadn't broken, was somehow still functional...
"Yes!" Scootaloo exclaimed as the camera lit up in a flash, serving as a dim but functional flashlight. The close proximity of the trees, as she gazed at them, were even more claustrophobia-inducing in the newly formed light. The camera light reached no farther than the cluster of trees that enclosed them.
"This doesn't seem like part of the story," Silver Spoon commented after a moment of hesitation. "It's way too different." She frowned. "I thought for a moment that we might have been in the forest near the Palace, but..."
Scootaloo looked visibly worried, trying to quell her rising concern. "Maybe something went wrong with the portal network? What if the story was supposed to be over, and we're stuck in some alternate world?"
"I hope not," Silver Spoon murmured, looking hesitantly upward as the trees seemed to tower above them.
"Don't be alarmed."
The voice of Lightning caused the two fillies to jump in surprise, the atmosphere definitely not doing them any favors.
"It seems you've found your way into the Slender Forest," the stallion's voice echoed, a hint of pride present in his tone. "Good job, the portal decided to open the way for you. Now, all you have to do is find a Slender Note, and you'll be out of here before you know it. Then we can proceed."
"You mean to the next Level?" Silver Spoon inquired.
If the two fillies had been able to physically see Lightning, they would have observed that he was nodding. "Yes. Don't worry though, once you reach Level 2 it won't be much different from the previous one."
"Hey, wait a minute," Scootaloo called upward, using her wings to barely hover like a hummingbird. "Didn't you say that the Levels just keep getting harder?"
"Yes, but Level 2 isn't so bad. Just a little more danger that's all."
"What do you mean 'a little more danger'?"
There was no response from the Iridescent, as if the voice had never been there at all. They were on their own again.
Silver Spoon looked at her companion hesitantly, whispering as if anxious that she'd alert anypony who might be seeking them out. "If that's true, then some of us might get hurt during the next Level. And the Levels after that..."
The dark gray earth pony trailed off, knowing she didn't need to say any more. The possibility of severe injury or death occurring in the later levels—assuming they made it that far—was beginning to come to the forefront of their minds. As guilty as the pair felt for having their thoughts to turn to such a gruesome circumstances, they couldn't help the mental assertion all the same: better to go through this stuff early than to risk death later.
"At least we're out of that freaky Palace..." Scootaloo said, attempting to say just about anything to keep their spirits up and prevent the two of them from running in a panic.
"A lot of good that does us," sighed her companion. "We're stuck in a dark forest with nothing to go on, no map, no guidance, and no items or voice giving us hints at what to do. We're completely and utterly lost."
"Well, the only way we're going to actually get out of here is to find one of those Slender Note things," Scootaloo sighed, hoisting the saddlebag onto her back once more and managing to keep the camera steady. "Just look for a piece of paper or something..."
"I doubt they'll be on the ground or we'd never find it," Silver Spoon pointed out. She waved a hoof at the trees around them. "Maybe there's a clearing or something beyond all these trees that might give us some kind of hint."
Scootaloo nodded in agreement.
As the pair traversed through the trees with the aid of the camera's light, the dense forest around them finally gave way to what seemed to be a clearing, just as Silver Spoon had hoped. A small and rectangular orange building met their gazes, a wide doorway in their sights entering into a white-tiled room.
"Finally," Scootaloo said with relief, wings buzzing slightly as she dared to step forward, trying to maintain a sense of bravado. "Cutie Mark Crusader Building Explorers!"
"In case you've forgotten," Silver Spoon hissed, "one, I'm not a Crusader, and two, somepony might hear you! Like Slender Pony!"
Scootaloo lost a bit of the spring in her step as her hooves made contact with the cold tiled floor. This place was called the Slender Forest, after all, and they couldn't be too careful. "It that case, let's just hope there's a Slender Note thing here so we can get out of here as fast as possible!"
With that thought firmly set in their minds, the two fillies fully stepped into the building, the walls and floor covered in the same white tile material. A lone wooden chair rest in the hallway's corner, dismal and lonely as if it was made for a long-departed pony spirit that had left it behind.
"This place feels haunted," Scootaloo whispered, halting in her hoofsteps as her voice faintly echoed throughout the building.
"We might end up being the ones haunting it if we don't find a note and get out of here!" Silver Spoon insisted, cantering ahead of Scootaloo and leaving the desolate chair behind.
They soon entered into the largest area of the small building, a trio of white bathroom stalls indenting the left side. Trying to avoid looking at the stalls which looked cavernous in the dim camera light, Scootaloo walked alongside her companion and moved the camera's light around with her slightly shaking hooves.
A scrap of white caught Silver Spoon's eye as the dim light passed over the left wall. The object didn't reflect off light the way the tiles did, and it looked like a sheet of paper...
"Scootaloo, shine the camera over there again!" Silver Spoon exclaimed, feeling more relieved than anything else. "I think I found the note!" She galloped over with Scootaloo hot on her tail, eyes bright in the light of the camera as she reached the wall and looked at the paper in question.
The rectangular sheet of parchment was torn slightly, and slightly gray with patches of dust from having been placed in that dusty bathroom for who-knew-how-long. But what really caught their eyes was the writing on the paper itself, a few short words with a symbol in the center; a circle with two lines crossing down the upper right and left components of the shape. The words, in hurried, sketchy pencil, read: ALWAYS WATCHES. NO EYES.
The two fillies looked at one another and involuntary shuddered. or some reason just reading the words to themselves gave them each the uncomfortable sensation of eyes staring at them in the darkness. They each chanced a glance behind them, taking comfort in their apparent solitude before turning back to the Slender Note.
"We should both grab it at the same time," Scootaloo suggested.
Silver Spoon glanced over at the orange pegasus. "Why?"
"If this is supposed to activate or something and take us back once we get it, it might leave one of us behind," Scootaloo reasoned, her hoof hovering slightly over the lower left corner of the paper. "Our best bet is to hold onto it at the same time and hope it works."
Silver Spoon nodded in reluctant agreement, placing her hoof an inch over the lower right corner while Scootaloo returned the camera to its place in the saddlebag—no sense risking the camera being lost, or worse, her being strangled in its strap. While they weren't able to see the paper in detail anymore as a result of their light source being removed, their hooves could still be positioned over the edges.
"On three, okay?"
Silver Spoon nodded, hoof tense but prepared for what she suspected might happen. "One..."
"Two..."
"Three!"
The pair shouted the last word simultaneously as their hooves gripped the paper's edges in unison. The Slender Note began to glow with a faint white aura, and the two fillies felt a vortex begin to swirl around them. It started first as a gentle breeze, then increased both in speed and volume to the point that it seemed as if a severe storm was coming straight toward them, surrounding them in its tightly-packed winds. Silver Spoon used her opposite forehoof to hold her glasses in place so they wouldn't go flying off.
"I hope this works!" Scootaloo called out over the rising wind, the illumination from the Note obscuring their view of one another as the tiled building around them began to vanish into darkness as if it had never existed.
Silver Spoon was about to reply, holding onto the Note as much as she could with the light, darkness, and wind distracting her, but her sense of disorientation from a lack of any substance to fix on was quickly replaced by a disorientation of a different kind.
Blurring into view almost as suddenly as the Slender Forest had vanished, the fillies were harshly greeted with the cold floor of the Arena and the baffled gazes of dozens of others as they fell to the ground, the saddlebag slamming to the ground along with them as the Note was released from their hooves.
I know, I know, this took a while to get out, and I do apologize for it. It was in part trying to figure out how to proceed and in part a lack of motivation on some days.
So yeah, Level 1 is over and Level 2 will soon begin! As Lightning indicated, Level 2 is similar to Level 1, however Level 2 stories are ones that can have the potential to hurt them—not a lot (3 and 4 will be when that kind of thing starts) but just a little. So as always, suggestions are welcome!
Next chapter will be out a lot faster.
Yay! Update!
Did you consider eyeless jack or masky and hoodie for masky/hoody just watch marble hornets
Man I feel a little scary of this history but its awesome!
3697015 SAWHEEET!
By the way, I'm a guy who personally hates grimdark fanfictions with a passion. And now you've made a grimdark that I actually really like. Bravo good sirs. Bravo.
P.S. if I can put in a request, sonic.exe or rap rat.
Perhaps putting somepony into a scenario with HABIT from EverymanHYBRID/Tribe Twelve. Of course, since HABIT seems to be antagonistic to Slendy at this point, and is openly homicidal and sadistic, he may be better saved for a later level if he's used at all...
At any rate, I'm enjoying this greatly. You create great atmosphere and tension, and just imagining Jeff chomping at the bit to start murdering is exciting.
I'm just waiting for the Squidward's Suicide...
Dis gon b gud.
Smile dog would be a good one
Do the showers! Also MOAR!!!!!!
congrats on the feature :3
I am actually to scared to read this.
Getting ready for SCP-173
The one that actively haunts my windows at night.
3698272 I get what you're saying. I searched the definition of a creepypasta and found this:
Yeah, Cupcakes is definitely not a creepypasta, as it's not passed around.
Why not Mr. Bones Wild Ride for Level 2?
Tell me the proof that its not then I might believe give me no proof well then buck you
3698393 SCP-173 isn't a creepypasta. It's a preternatural anomaly inside of a horror collab.
The creepy thing was that SCP-173 was a statue that kills people when they aren't looking, yet it was only ONE of the tamer SCPs in the Foundation. Hell, SCP-106 would be enough to warrant it's own creepypasta, and it's not even the scariest thing on the site.
3698926 Maybe because Fan Fiction can't be creepypasta? Or the fact that a creepypasta has to be an urban legend set in our universe?
Some of the most wanted ones will probably be in higher levels.
Im betting Squidward's Suicide on level 2 or 3.
Ben Drowned around 5-6
If Pokémon Black/Lavender Town/Buried Alive comes into this fic, it'll be almost like this
Pokémon Black (Considering you are the player, and it's instant death at the end, 6-7)
Lavender Town (I can't make the bet on this one, so i'll just leave it.)
Buried Alive (Probably 5-6)
Smile Dog (Make your bets )
My headcanon for the levels is this:
1. Supossed to scare you.
2. Can hurt you.
3. Will hurt, a lot, and a slim chance of dying.
4. Can kill.
5. Is supossed to kill.
6. Everything becomes a Serial Killer
7. Each step has a 70% of killing you.
8. It's an OHKO!
3698997 SCP-173 was some guy on 4chan's idea that spawned the website. Technically, it's still a creepypasta.
I have a short list compilied...
Masky/hoody
Ticci-toby
Clockwork
Eyleless jack
Herobrine
Not cupcakes but RD there dead meat trauma
Squidward suicide
Trust me. I know more I'm like a creepypastas encyclopedia...
A pastapedia
BUT WHEN WILL WE FIND OUT WHO WAS PHONE?!
I'm enjoying this a lot so far.
I'd like to see smile dog in later chapters though. It's one of my favourites!
3697074
I'd like to see MarbleHornets in this, but how would that work? The story is not done being told...
Also, MH seems to be like a lvl 2 or 3 type pasta, maybe 4 if the author chose a point in the story where people started dying.
3700117 But...
What about Funnymouth? How could you forget him?
0)_(0 (A personal favorite. Also, anyone else happily surprised to find candlecove here?)
3702102 it could be like observing the most scary episode. Hard to tell what's scariest but i guess Google could work
3702207 I said I knew some more. but I was being called and couldn't finish the list
3702102 also they might just experience a dangerous part, like attacking Alex with a rock
Oh. I wonder if Zalgo will come into this...? Come to think about it, I'm wondering if God's mouth or the Russian Sleep Experiment will. Or Polybius. Or... eh, I'll shut up now.
Are you just going to do all the more well known ones like squidwards suicide or BEN drowned or eyeless jack or smile dog
Lemme guess, Level 5 will be when ponies start dying?
So, that means maybe our good friend Jeff will come into play...
but seriously, pls put in Jeff the Killer at whatever level is the one when you can die. If he can hurt somepony (i think he can), then BEN should have some fun.
3699088
VASHTA NERADA. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES PLEASE. Count the shadows Goddarnit! The Doctor has to deal with the Vashta Nerada! *It would be so perfect* Although he needs to go with someone besides Derpy, preferably with, like, Fluttershy or someone like that. OR LUNA. THAT WOULD BE TOO AMAZING.
Please add the Weeping Angels. Please.
3702667
Or maybe the part where Masky almost shot Alex, or when Masky's leg was broken, or more recently, when Jay.... you know >.<
3711625
So would the Weeping Angels. Creepy as hell, those things.
3718101 Yes, yes they are. But I wonder... Would weeping angels as ponies be Weeping Pegasai or Weeping Alicorns? I've seen and heard of both versions.
Please do "Chatroom 98".
Is Herobrine from Minecraft actually considered a creepypasta? Cause if he was that would be gosh darn perfect for Button Mash or Sweetie Belle (you did say some could go in twice...) to go in. Or both.
I don't know too many creepypastas and I don't want to look any up. ^^'
3718100 there are pretty good dangerous parts, in my opinion. But you think Sonic.exe might end up being included ? Ben drowned would be interesting to potray as a pony... What would he look like?
3718685 technically, equestria still could have angels, so angels could work. I think. But it seems level 2-3. And to go, I personally would send Fluttershy and the doctor. The Doctor just needs to be there for info and to keep flutters from dying of shock. Flutters probably would be underestimated. Have they MET her? Total stare master. They'd probably crumble.
3718101 I agree. I didn't blink for three hours. Luckily I had eye drops, so my eyes didn't shrivel up and fall out as I sat huddled in a corner til I saw light and did a happy dance. Still awesdomer has to be in there or I'll write my own... IDEA!!! Seriously Weeping angels are epic.
3722665 Also: Flutterhulk. And, come on. You don't plan a murder out loud! I mean, because of the whole Flutterhulk thing, it's been shown that she has extensive pent-up rage always inside her. Heheheheheheeeeeeeeeee... *Rubs hooves together like Lesson Zero Twilight*
If suggestions are still being taken, then what about the Russian Sleep Experiment?
3697015 When u say "hurt" do u mean physically or mentally?
Is it weird that I rad Cupcakes,Rainbow Factory,and Secret Life of Rarity without blinking an eye,yet I was terrified by Road to Insanity?
3724414 she could go totally psychotic from fear and shock. I'd really enjoy seeing phsyco flutters. Especially permanately. If this goes south, I'm writing my own fanfic. With phsyco flutters. And any other thoughts that come to my creepy pasta filled mind
3697015
Hmmm... I've been thinking and here's what I'd do
Doctor/flutters vs weeping angels
Applebloom vs eyeless jack
D.T vs laughing jack
Celestia vs Russian sleep experiment
Luna vs Jeff (let her LIVE!!!)
Rainbow dash vs masky/hoodie
Applejack vs SCP-173
Twilight vs clockwork
Rarity vs squidwards suicide
Shining Armour vs ticci-toby
Just ideas. Mainly cuz I needs MOAR!!!
How about a holders story .
They have the instructions on whT to do but its never easy to listen to.
Use Sonic.exe Plz!!!!
Wow, this story so far is incredibly creative. As a Creepypasta fan, myself, I can't wait until certain favorites arise (maybe the Seed Eater or even something from the Foundation?).
3862511 when id da updates comin !?
3866832 ... What?