Mabel lied down on the forest floor, one hand on her stomach as she breathed heavily, quietly muttering "Ow, ow, ow ow ow."
Dipper was quickly at his sister's side, frantically asking "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"It hurts." said Mabel, whimpered as she gripped her stomach again. "It h-hurts so much."
Dipper, while panicking mentally, struggled to appear calm for Mabel's sake. "C-could you tell me where it hurts?"
"Stomach." said Mabel. She let out a weak "Ow!" in between breaths.
Dipper quickly helped his sister to her feet. "W-well, we should try to get back home. They'll be able to help you there, a-and you'll be able to rest. Okay?"
Mabel slowly nodded and managed a very slight, very weak smile.
Dipper and Mabel continued making their way through the forest, Dipper keeping a tight grip on his sister's hand as she staggered along with him. She was still clearly in pain, letting out tired groans of agony.
"Ow, ow oww!" cried Mabel, one hand still gripping her stomach. "Dipper, what's happening to me?"
"I don't know." said Dipper, slowing down his walking. "You'll b-be fine, o-okay?" he said shakily.
Mabel managed to nod as they continued walking, significantly slower this time.
Soon, Mabel started breathing rapidly, crying "Dipper, it's getting worse! I don't think... I don't think I can keep going."
Mabel fell to the ground, tears leaking down her cheeks. "I wanna go home." she whimpered.
Dipper's thoughts were in a complete jumble. He had no idea how to relieve his sister of her suffering, because he had no idea what was causing it. It couldn't have been from the candy she ate, could it? An ordinary stomachache shouldn't be putting her in this much misery. Maybe she had appendicitis? Maybe the candy was cursed? He had no idea what to do, but he knew that the quicker they got back home, the quicker he could get her help. And if she wasn't able to continue on, he'd take her there himself.
Crouching down, he picked Mabel up by her arms and legs and lifted her up to his chest, finding it a bit harder than he was expecting.
"Dipper." said Mabel, looking like she was struggling to stay awake. "You don't have to do this..."
"No." said Dipper, gently but firmly, "I'm getting you home even if it kills me. I promise, you'll be okay."
"Dipper..." said Mabel, but she was in too much pain to continue. She breathed in and out, but it seemed to hurt her to do so.
Dipper carried his sister through the woods, her hair and cape dragging along on the ground. He didn't expect that he'd be strong enough to carry her at all, but sometimes he ever surprised himself. Though, he couldn't help but notice that it felt like Mabel was getting heaver with time. He tried to convince himself that this was just a result of him getting tired, and her condition, whatever it was, wasn't getting steadily worse.
But Mabel certainly wasn't looking any better. She was still clearly in pain, and she was now too tired to even scream anymore, only managing to whimper "Ow, ow, ow, ow ow." as tears poured down her cheeks.
Dipper was growing steadily more terrified, but continued carrying her towards home. Part of him was sure that he should try to keep her awake, because if she fell asleep she may never wake up. Another part wanted him to let her asleep, because at least then she'd be having pleasant, happy dreams instead of the complete misery she was in while she was awake. He had no idea what to do, and every decision he had to think about made him more and more anxious.
"Dipper." she said quietly her skin starting to get paler. "I-I think it's spreading. It's.. it's not just my stomach anymore. Now it's my chest, and my guts, and my heart, and my shoulders, and a bunch of other places."
"Please, just..." Dipper decided to make a decision on the matter of whether or not he should let Mabel get some rest. "J-just close y-your eyes." he said, trying to be reassuring but speaking far too shakily to pull it off.
"O...okay, I'll try." said Mabel. "But, it hurts so much..." said Mabel.
"I know." sighed Dipper. "But just try to close your eyes, please. And when you wake up, you'll be home, safe and feeling better in no time."
Mabel closed her eyes, and Dipper continued through the forest. He managed to cover some distance, but it became increasingly clear that somehow, his sister really was getting heavier in his hands. Eventually, she was just too heavy for him to lift, and he had to set her, as gently as possible, in a bed of grass as he caught his breath.
"Mabel, I'm sorry." he said. "But I just can't keep going like this. I'll find another way to get you home, I promise."
Mabel's eyes slowly opened, and Dipper quickly saw that her pupils had turned a pale grey.
"Dipper..." she said, still clearly in agony but sounding calmer than she was before. "It's alright... It's not your fault... you did your best. But I think... I don't think I'm gonna make it."
"What?!" cried Dipper, his terror abundantly clear. "No, no, no, no! Please, Mabel, don't think like that! I-I'm gonna make sure you live through this, even if it's the last thing I do!"
"Dipper, it's fine." said Mabel, breathing heavily as she managed to sit up, though it clearly took all the strength she had left. "I think... my time's almost up. I just have a couple... things to say."
Dipper took a deep breath and sighed. He had no idea how to help Mabel, but the least he could do was try to comfort her as much as he could no matter what happened. "I'm all ears." he said as he crouched down towards her and forced a very small smile.
"I'm..." Mabel gripped her abdomen and let out a groan of pain before continuing. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault... it's because of me we're out here."
More tears poured from Mabel eyes as she said "If I hadn't been such a careless moron and taken your stuff without asking what it was, we wouldn't be out here. I'm so, so, sorry."
"Mabel, it's okay." said Dipper, eyes welling up as he placed a hand on his sister's back. "It was just a mistake."
"Mas... Dipper." said Mabel. "I want, I want you to leave me here and go home yourself."
"No! I'm not gonna abandon you, no matter what!" exclaimed Dipper desperately. "P-please, just stay with me, you're gonna be okay!"
"I'm done for, Dipper." said Mabel, the slightest bit of sternness in her tone. "I'm j-just gonna slow you down. Either you get... get back home or neither of us will."
Mabel gritted her teeth and let out another groan of agony. Her skin was getting paler by the second and her movements were getting slower and stiffer. Still, she managed a pained, tired smile.
"You'll b-be... f-fine." she said. "You can j-just find another... act."
Her smile grew ever so slightly and said "At least my last performance was a great one..."
"Mabel, please." said Dipper, feelings of dread in his chest. "Please, j-just, try to get some sleep. No matter what happens, you'll wake up in a better place."
Mabel nodded, though she did so very slowly, and very slowly creaked her eyelids shut.
Dipper gave his sister the biggest hug he could manage, not knowing if he'd ever be able to do so again. That's when he noticed that her skin seemed to be getting stiffer. He took a look at Mabel and saw that her skin wasn't turning pale. it was turning grey.
She was turning to stone.
Dipper stepped back. Mabel's skin gradually turned from stiff and grey to pure rock over the course of a few seconds. This was soon followed by her hair, then her clothing. A statue of Mabel was now right in front of him, and all Dipper could do was stare in shock. He couldn't even scream, or cry, and his thoughts were no longer in a jumble so much as a complete blank.
He was in such a state of shock that he didn't even notice at first when the statue's eyes opened.
"Hey, Dipper!" said the statue form of Mabel. "It doesn't hurt any more!"
Mabel, despite being made of stone, was apparently able to move, as she stood to her feet and triumphantly declared "I'm gonna be okay! I'm gonna be o-"
Mabel stopped when she noticed that Dipper was still in too much shock to say anything. Her expression turned into one of confusion as she asked "Uh, why are you looking at me like that?"