Chapter 4: Revelation
Chapter 4: Revelation
"So, tell me again what happened?" Rainbow Dash stroked her foster daughter's mane, tears running down her face.
"Wull..." Applebloom started.
"Scootaloo got sick when we were taking a walk through the orchard... She said she has been seeing a tall, skinny thing for the past few days and every time she looks at it she gets sick." Sweetie Belle stood up and paced about the room. "She said she wanted to show us... so she knew she wasn't crazy. But we didn't see it. It was just a balloon. Just a balloon..." She sobbed the last part out.
"Sweetie Belle, Applebloom... you should probably get back to your homes. Scootaloo needs her rest." Fluttershy quietly suggested.
"But..." The fillies sounded in unison.
"I'll walk you home. Grab your things." The yellow pegasus took their saddle bags in her mouth and led them out the door into the cold night air.
Rainbow Dash picked up Scootaloo carefully and brought her to her bed. As she set her down, the filly let out a soft groan and fluttered her eyes. The mare watched over the filly for several minutes, noting each time she took a breath and the covers gently raised. It was at this time Dash remembered why she agreed to be a mother all those months ago. The brash pegasus always had a soft spot for the little orange filly, and secretly relished the time they spent together.
Time that may be coming to an end.
Tears flowed freely from the pegasus' eyes, and as she blinked, the blurry image of Scootaloo dripped back into position. Breathing, sleeping peacefully; but she was not peaceful. Rainbow wondered what to make of this Slender Man and what it could mean for her foster daughter. The character was obviously not real... a figment of a filly in distress; some kind of escape from the reality she lives in.
When a parent abandons a child, it leaves a void in them that they will never truly be able to fill. It hurts every day, and it will never be forgotten. A void that Rainbow Dash knew all too well. She blinked another tear down her cheeks and laid her head down on the bed.
"I'm so sorry, Scootaloo..." The mares quivering voice was muffled by the bed sheets and covers. "I know how it feels."
"You have no idea how it feels..." came the reply. Several seconds of silence followed and neither party dared even to breathe. The tension in the room had become thick, with both mares at a loss for words.
"I know how it feels..." repeated the older pegasus, "because I never had parents. Mine left me when I was just a filly. I never even knew them." She choked out the last few words through her tears.
"I don't care about my parents. This isn't about them. It's about that thing in the window," Scootaloo said calmly. To her, the figure was standing just beyond the window, waving at her from the trees with its long, skinny arms. Welcoming her into the hell that has become her daily life.
"Scoots... " Rainbow closed the shutters and resumed pacing about the room. "So tell me about this thing. This Slender Man. Is he friendly?"
"No. He is not friendly. And I'm not a foal anymore; I can tell you don't believe me. Just like everypony else..."
Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced by the sound of the front door opening. "I'll be right back."
As soon as the mare left the room, Scootaloo's tears finally came out. She did not miss her parents. She honestly didn’t. The time she spent with her parents was far from pleasant. Between her mother’s temper, her father’s cider addiction, and the general disregard for their daughter’s care, she wanted nothing to do with the foals that called themselves her parents.
The past few days had been straight from Tartarus but the Slender Man was real. It had to be. She couldn't believe something that felt that real could be fake. Maybe Rainbow was right. Maybe everypony was right. The Slender Man was fake. All in her head.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy entering the room. She did her best to hide her tears, wiping her face in the sheets while pretending to stretch. After the two mares, a stallion entered the room. The filly did her best to appear as if she did not recognize him but she did. It was Doctor Whooves, Ponyville's resident psychologist.
She had seen him many, many times right after her parents left. He always said that he was there to help and that she could tell him anything. Her father told her that, too. She didn't trust him.
"Scootaloo, you can't lie to us anymore. We need to help you," The Doctor explained.
"I don't need your ‘help’! I need you to believe me!" she cried, her voice changing from sad to angry. Rainbow and Fluttershy knew that she didn't like him very much. Why did they bring him in? Was her torment some kind of joke?
"It's okay, Scootaloo, I do believe you. And I can help you!" Whooves pleaded.
"I don't want your bucking help..." the filly muttered under her breath.
The stallion took a step forward and craned his neck. "What was that?"
"I said I don't need your help! Leave me alone..." The filly crawled under the covers.
Several seconds of silence passed, and the three ponies muttered to each other. From under the blankets, Scootaloo could barely make out a few words at a time. They were obviously talking about how she was very 'disturbed'. She needed 'psychological treatment'. This was why she wanted to keep this a secret.
Soon, she could hear a female voice suggest that they take the conversation outside. She heard hoofsteps leading out of her room and closing the door behind them. After a few sweet moments of silence, the filly heard a different kind of hoof steps entering her room. It sounded like a pony was entering on two hooves but why would they do that unless... oh no.
The filly flung the covers off her bed and looked at the door, only to find an empty, open doorway and the hushed voices of her foster parents and the doctor lofting through the halls. The young mare hopped out of her bed and put her hoof on the door to shut it. As soon as she gripped the handle, she felt a cool chill wrap itself around her spine. She felt the eyes on the back of her head, so close she could turn around and touch them.
Keeping her head held high, Scootaloo closed her bedroom door and locked it. She took a deep breath and turned around to find nothing there but her cold empty room. Scootaloo was by herself, but not alone. The lamp flickered and the little filly threw herself on the bed, pretending she didn't just see what she thought she saw standing in the corner of the room.
Warm beneath her blankets and pillows, Scootaloo kept vigilant long into the night. Her eyes shifted this way and that in order to get a better look into her peripherals. Every so often, something would move out of the corner of her eye and she would crane her neck to get a better look. Minutes turned to hours, and sleep never came.
As the first of the morning light seeped in through the shutters, Scootaloo yawned. Turning on the lamp, she rubbed her eyes and wrapped the blanket tightly around her body. She had beaten the dreams at least and felt better for it. What good is sleep if it's more tiring than being awake?
The feeling of being watched was gone, as was the headache and upset stomach. She felt she had beaten back the creature for now so she justified herself a little sleep. She closed one eye and then the other. She was gone as soon as her head hit the pillow.
"Scootaloo... uhm. Dinner is ready, if you want to eat it..." The voice coming from the door was so soothing and angelic, it almost didn't wake the filly.
Almost.
Scootaloo groaned and tossed in her bed. She rolled up in her blanket and remained silent and still for several seconds.
"I'll just... leave, then," the meek mare called out into the room, shutting the door very quietly behind her. Seconds ticked by like minutes and the young mare's heartbeat increased in pace every tick. She had another nightmare but this one was unlike the rest. Where the others had been abstract darkness and shadow, this one was clear.
It was as if she was living the stories she had read in the book. First, she played the role of Stella being forced to stab her own twin sister. Next, she lived as the factory worker whose family burned up in a fire. The third and final dream followed a story she didn't read in the book. It was her story. From the sleepover, to the dare, to an untimely demise at the hands of the Slender Man.
The filly quivered. "It was only a dream," she half-convinced herself. "I'm coming!" she shouted after Fluttershy.
Scootaloo shook her head and jumped out of bed, opening the shutters over her window. Judging by the position of the sun, she deduced that it was already almost time for dinner. Far too late for her to be waking up for school.
She opened her bedroom door and was once again greeted with an eerie silence in place of the scurrying and tweeting of Fluttershy's animals. She listened intently, ignoring the creaks and groans of the floor beneath her shifting hooves. She heard a commotion in the kitchen so she set off down the hall to investigate.
"I just don't- oh, hey, sleepy head! How are you this morning?" Whooves snapped his attention to the entering filly. The doctor sat at the dinner table and the two mares were preparing food at the kitchen counter. Judging by the smell, they were about to be treated to some of Fluttershy's famous hay and onion stew.
"I'm good. What time is it?" Scootaloo took a slice of bread in her hoof and silently munched on it.
"It's a quarter past four, so I guess it really isn't morning after all!" The stallion’s cheery attitude was lost on the filly as she resumed chewing on her bread.
"Obviously. So, why didn't you wake me up for school?" Scootaloo asked, turning to the kitchen.
Adorned with a chef's hat and a pair of unnecessary oven mitts, Rainbow Dash trotted into the room. "I thought you could use a few days off." The mare lowered her head next to Scootaloo's ear, "and I think that means some extra flight practice for you."
The filly’s face lit up for a few seconds and then returned to its previous somber stare. Great, more flight practice for me to fail.
The next half hour was spent awkwardly chatting with Dr. Whooves. While the mares were in the kitchen, Scootaloo defended her foster parents from the stallion’s incriminating statements. The conversation got heated and the doctor thankfully dropped the subject.
Soon after, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash brought in a pot full of stew. The steam was still whipping off the top when the mares served up four large helpings of the light brown, chunky liquid. Since the food was obviously too hot to eat right away, the mares exchanged awkward glances.
"So... Scootaloo, I hear you are doing well in school." Rainbow smiled.
The orange filly sighed, "yes. It's fine, you can drop the small talk. What did you bring him here for?" Scootaloo motioned a hoof towards their house guest.
"I am here because you are unhappy, Scootaloo," the doctor suddenly spoke up, "I am here because you need help."
"Okay, then, what do I need help with?"
"If I had to guess, you are... upset with your parents departure. Would you like to get anything off your mind?" The doctor sprinkled some bread crumbs into his stew and stirred it carefully with his spoon. Several seconds passed by, nopony daring to speak. Everypony took a few bites of stew.
"Go buck yourself."
"I take that as a no, then. Excuse me, ladies. I have an appointment. Think about this, Scootaloo. If you have a problem, don't hesitate to tell me. We all just want to see you happy." The doctor rose from his seat and wrapped a coat around his shoulders. "Good day."
"Scootaloo! Where did you learn that word? I never-”
"I learned it from you. Now, if this is done, I'll just be in my room..." Scootaloo got up to leave but was interrupted by a hoof holding her in place.
"No, young mare, you are going to sit right here and tell us what's wrong!" Rainbow Dash's voice cracked and Fluttershy's eyes brimmed with tears. The yellow pegasus quickly gathered all the dishes and retreated back to the kitchen.
The orange filly trembled, her eyes threatening to give way to tears of her own. She choked down a sob, "fine. I do miss my parents. I miss them and I hate them," she lied. Rainbow released her grip on the fillies arm. "I'm sorry, I made it all up. The bloody nose, the headaches, everything."
"There. Was that so hard to admit?"
She never got her answer as her foster daughter got up and left the chair, the young mare's tears finally breaking loose under the pressure. Several seconds of silence followed before Fluttershy re-entered the room.
"Shy, we have a problem with Scootaloo," the mare choked.
Why did you have to do this to me? The young mare thought silently to herself, her tears flowing freely. Her breathing was interrupted every so often with a sob.
She cursed the Slender Man with all her broken might. She thought she had gotten over her parents sudden departure; she thought she had finally established some sort of normalcy in her life.
Still, she wondered why everypony thought she missed her Celestia-damned parents. She certainly didn't miss the late night screaming and the breaking of glass. She didn't miss the bruises on her face and the smell of hard cider on her father's breath. Why would she ever want them back in her life?
Dr. Whooves didn't understand. Neither did Fluttershy or any of her friends from school. The only pony who was capable of understanding was Rainbow Dash and she didn't even care. Nopony cared, not really. All they wanted was for her to be happy but they didn't understand.
There, in the solitude of her own bedroom, Scootaloo broke.
She cried for her lost and painful childhood. She cried for the problems she had brought upon her foster parents. She cried for the way Diamond Tiara looked at her when she knew the insults were all true. She cried for her pain, her sins, and her pitiful excuse for a life.
And once there were no more tears to be shed, she was angry.
She was angry at Rainbow Dash, who pranked her when she knew she was truly afraid. She was angry at Fluttershy, who sat around the house all day and did nothing when she knew Scootaloo was in pain. She was angry at her friends for not believing in her. But most of all, she was angry at the Slender Man.
Why did you have to do this to me? She thought again, pulling her mane with both hooves. What did I do to deserve this?
Completely spent, the little orange filly wrapped herself up in her blanket and turned off the lamp on her night stand. With no more sadness or anger to occupy her heart, she curled up and waited. Unable to feel anything but the fear that was twisting and wrenching itself into her very soul.
It became hard to breathe and the room seemed to pulse around her. The sun cast its final orange light across the land and through the window, casting shadows across her bedroom walls. She could see the shadows of the tree branches blowing in the cold wind. She could see the shadows created by the blades of her shutters. She could see the circular shadow of something foreign.
She could not move, she could not speak. She could do nothing to stay the flow of blood from her nose, or the headache pounding into her skull. With all her might, she craned her neck to the window, praying to Celestia that she wouldn't see what she thought she might.
Fortunately for the filly, she saw nothing but the lines of the shutters and the blowing branches of the trees beyond. The fog from before began rolling like misty blankets out into the forest. She strained her eyes peering into the woods, almost able to make out the figure beyond. She could see nothing, yet everything could see her.
"I'm worried about Scootaloo, Shy." Rainbow tightened the covers around her and her lover.
"I am, too... but I don't know if there's anything else we can do."
"Well, I mean, think about it. Why now? Her parents have been gone for years, you think she would have been more upset when it actually happened! I know I was..."
"Well, Dashie, sometimes it takes time to start hurting. Maybe she was angry at them before and now she misses them." Fluttershy cuddled against the other mare’s soft, blue coat.
Rainbow readjusted to the contact and flipped onto her side to allow more comfortable positioning. "Do you think... no, that's a bad idea."
"Huh?"
"I just thought, what if we found her parents? It could give her a sort of... closure, ya know?" Rainbow sighed heavily, "I used to spend hours at night wishing my parents would just come knocking on the door..."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean... she seemed a lot more angry than sad."
"I was angry, too, until I found their graves." Dash sniffled and Fluttershy held her tight, "and besides, Scoot might seriously need our help. I think we should find them."
"Whatever you think is best, Dashie."
Several seconds of silence passed with no interaction between the two mares. Fluttershy cleared her throat quietly.
"Oh, sorry. I thought I saw something moving outside the window... It was just a tree or something."
"The winds have been picking up lately. Is that your doing?" Fluttershy nuzzled her lover's neck.
"Heh... yeah. It's supposed to snow this weekend, but I heard the weather foreman talking about a problem in the snow flake receptors, or receptacles, or... something. Apparently the clouds are overloaded with snow, and we might not be able to unload them in time."
"So?"
"There's going to be a ton of snow in the next couple weeks. I hope Ponyville can handle it."
"Oh, we'll be fine. We have the world’s best weatherpony here on patrol." Fluttershy playfully poked Rainbow's chest, and kissed her muzzle lightly. "Yay~" she whispered into Rainbow's ear.
"Yup! That's me. Twenty percent faster, stronger, and... all the rest." The pegasus yawned, "I gotta get some sleep. I have some flight practice to coach in the morning!"
"Goodnight, Dashie."
Instead of responding, the technicolor pegasus stretched and took one last look out the window. The pre-winter wind was howling and blowing the Everfree trees this way and that. A shiver ran up her spine and she returned to the bed and snuggled into the blankets.
Man, those trees are really freaky at night, she thought before closing her eyes. She took in the scent of her lovers mane and fell asleep with a wide smile on her face, just like so many nights before.
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Greetings my friends.
Here is your latest slender dose. I know I told you this would be the last chapter, but I ended up having enough material for two.
Also, somebody somehow got into the Gdoc as I was writing it and changed things, and inserted stuff... Just a warning. If something seems out of place, let me know and I'll change it. I looked through the chapter once already, but I don't have a lot of time on a computer today, and I wanted to post this for you ASAP.
Good night, good morning, and good day to all.
"just like so many nights before."
That's going to end very soon..
1145129 You have no idea how happy you have made me on this day. First Op finishes his story with 11,000 words, and now you post a new chapter... IN THE SAME DAY!
Things end on a semi-positive note here, so how horrible and soul-crushing will the conclusion be? I can't wait to see.
Next chapter is the last you say? I believe this calls for a dramatic: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUU
By the time Dash realizes that Scootaloo was telling the truth, it will already be too late.
my god its been to long, but im not complaining. great chapter as usual. the last chapter is next you say, well "boo" but cant wait for it.
Well, I'm late this time...
Great chapter as usual, you left me waiting for the last one...
1145314 Indeed... Muahahaha.
1145489 Haha yup. I'm getting close to the end now. It's kinda just taking a life of its own now. My fingers are but conduits.
1146320 All I can say is that I'm legitimately regretting using my favorite filly for this story.
1146696 Yup, and then there may be an epilogue.
1147358 It just may be...
1147524 Haha yeah, it's been tough to find the time to write but I'll get them out soon. Also, the last chapter doesn't exactly mean the end of the story
1148941 Haha yeah, I knew that I could expect you sooner or later. Get ready for the beginning of the end. See ya on the flip side, friend.
1150113
Expect me to show up, friend!
Meanwhile...
1150113 AWW SHIT! IT'S BIG FINALE TIME!
The tension has built and it will burst!!!
Observation: the fourth chapter was the first which didn't scare me thoroughly enough (unlike the previous three). Normally I get scared enough not to dare to look at the picture that's slowly creeping up as I scroll down, but at the second picture, it didn't happen, I wasn't scared enough.
The chapter is still good though, keep it up.
They learn. They die.
4209449
He who increases knowledge increase sorrow.......