HOME | DD

Description
Snow crunching loudly beneath her hooves, Twilight Sparkle ran. Harder than she'd ever run before. Already her legs were aching, her breath coming in ragged gasps. But she couldn't stop. Not here, not when the air was still almost painfully cold. She wanted to look over her shoulder to see if there was anything behind her, but the fear gripping her had paralyzed everything but her legs. They carried on galloping on their own, taking her as far away from whatever was behind her as possible.
Why hadn't she listened to Zecora?
-----------------------------------
"What's wrong Zecora? You've been quiet for the whole evening. Why are you glancing out of the windows constantly?" Twilight Sparkle asked the zebra, who was even now staring out into the dark. She took hold of her teacup with her magic, taking a sip of the warm tea. She had taken a real liking to Zecora's herbal teas.
The zebra was quiet for a while, before sighing and turning back to her: "Frankly, Twilight Sparkle, I am worried. There is something strange in the Everfree, and back to Ponyville you should already have hurried. Perhaps you should stay for the night, I'm sure Spike will be quite all right."
Twilight couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Something strange in the Everfree forest? Everfree practically defines "strange" you know."
Zecora simply shook her head. "This is different, Twilight Sparkle, and not something you should pass with a simple chuckle. The forest has been eerily quiet for a few days, absent are even the night wolves' bays. The air has gotten colder, sometimes without warning, enough so as to crack a boulder."
Twilight laughed again, as she started to prepare for leaving. Sometimes she felt Zecora's rhymes needed a bit more work yet. "Come on Zecora, this is the Everfree we're talking about. Who knows what kind of strange weather phenomena there are here during the winter. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for those 'cold air zones'." She paused to fasten her saddlebags with her magic, and continued: "Though I agree, I probably should've gone back already. Spike must be worried. I'll make sure to notify the royal herbalists tomorrow about the new plant you found. They're going to be so excited!"
The grim looking zebra did not share her enthusiasm. "Please be careful. If you suddenly feel intense cold, do not be bold. Leave as quickly as you can."
The unicorn turned to regard Zecora as she stepped out of the door. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. Though I doubt there really is anything out there, I'll be careful. See you again soon, and good night!"

As she made her way through the moonlit forest, she kept on thinking about Zecora's words, theorizing about the strange phenomena. How could air just suddenly get colder like that? So engrossed was she in her thinking that she failed to notice that the night air around her was starting to get colder at a rapid pace. When her teeth started to chatter she finally broke out of her reverie. "W-wow, Zecora w-wasn't kidding. The temperature must've dropped by at least a dozen degrees, and so suddenly too..."
As the cold intensified, she got a sudden feeling of dread. She couldn't explain it, but her every instinct told her to move, to get away from the cold. Zecora was right, there was something unnatural about this, even by Everfree's standards. No. No need to panic, she told herself. It could be just a zone of cold air moved by the wind. There's nothing out there. She tried her best to stay calm, and started to trot onwards at a brisk pace. Wait. What was that? Had she heard something? She froze on the spot, swiveling her ears around. Long seconds dragged on as she stood there, trying to hear the sound again. Yet it never came. With a shuddering sigh, she started to move again, slightly faster this time. Suddenly she heard the sound behind her, this time there could be no mistaking it. A constant crunching, as if something heavy was dragged along in snow. Panic seizing her, she broke into full gallop.
--------------------------------------
Finally, her protesting muscles overrode her terror, forcing her to stop. The air was still bitingly cold. For a while, she just stood there, head down, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. This was stupid. She hadn't heard anything after she had started running, and hadn't seen anything either. She wasn't even sure there was something after her. She could have misheard the sound, it could have been just snow falling from a tree. And even if there was, she was sure she could handle herself. She had defeated an Ursa Minor, hadn't she? She chuckled to herself. She'd let Zecora's creepy stories get to her. She really needed to stop being such a scaredy cat. Lifting her head, she looked behind her. She...

She saw it. Behind her was something, unmoving like a statue, a dark shape barely illuminated by the faint moonlight. Twilight's blood ran cold, all thoughts of defeated Ursa Minors forgotten. It's eyes, two gleaming white holes in the darkness were staring at nothing, almost unseeing, but she knew she was the focus of it's attention. She could feel the intense cold radiating from the thing, a layer of frost forming on the trees near it. Forcing her numb muscles to move with a monumental effort of will, she turned and ran. Again the only sound heard in the night was the crunching of snow beneath her hooves, and her panicked gasps. She ran on for what felt like an eternity, afraid she'd got lost, stuck in the forest at night with... That.

Finally, when her tortured muscles were about to give in, she saw familiar landmarks, marking the place as the edge of the Everfree forest. Almost laughing with relief, she burst out of the oppressing shade of the forest. When she got further away from the forest, the biting cold started to recede. She'd made it out! She was safe in Ponyville! As she neared the edge of the village, she heard a terrifying throaty growl, forlorn and edged with the bitter cold of a thousand lonely winters. The sound stabbed into her, causing her to shiver so violently she almost stumbled. For years to come, that sound would haunt her in the cold of the night. Twilight didn't stop running until she was inside her library, door and windows locked. She spent the rest of the night shaking in front of the fireplace, trying to warm away the chill that had seeped into her very core.

We don't go to Everfree no more...
To all of you who don't recognize that thing, it's the Groke from Moomins. The single most terrifying thing to ever grace a children's cartoon. Here's a multilanguage clip of it's appearance, since they took the actual episode down... www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo8tBU…
I forgot the fact that I'm a terrible writer and felt the need to write that little thing to go with this picture. Lucky for you I don't write that often <3.

Description
Snow crunching loudly beneath her hooves, Twilight Sparkle ran. Harder than she'd ever run before. Already her legs were aching, her breath coming in ragged gasps. But she couldn't stop. Not here, not when the air was still almost painfully cold. She wanted to look over her shoulder to see if there was anything behind her, but the fear gripping her had paralyzed everything but her legs. They carried on galloping on their own, taking her as far away from whatever was behind her as possible.
Why hadn't she listened to Zecora?
-----------------------------------
"What's wrong Zecora? You've been quiet for the whole evening. Why are you glancing out of the windows constantly?" Twilight Sparkle asked the zebra, who was even now staring out into the dark. She took hold of her teacup with her magic, taking a sip of the warm tea. She had taken a real liking to Zecora's herbal teas.
The zebra was quiet for a while, before sighing and turning back to her: "Frankly, Twilight Sparkle, I am worried. There is something strange in the Everfree, and back to Ponyville you should already have hurried. Perhaps you should stay for the night, I'm sure Spike will be quite all right."
Twilight couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Something strange in the Everfree forest? Everfree practically defines "strange" you know."
Zecora simply shook her head. "This is different, Twilight Sparkle, and not something you should pass with a simple chuckle. The forest has been eerily quiet for a few days, absent are even the night wolves' bays. The air has gotten colder, sometimes without warning, enough so as to crack a boulder."
Twilight laughed again, as she started to prepare for leaving. Sometimes she felt Zecora's rhymes needed a bit more work yet. "Come on Zecora, this is the Everfree we're talking about. Who knows what kind of strange weather phenomena there are here during the winter. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for those 'cold air zones'." She paused to fasten her saddlebags with her magic, and continued: "Though I agree, I probably should've gone back already. Spike must be worried. I'll make sure to notify the royal herbalists tomorrow about the new plant you found. They're going to be so excited!"
The grim looking zebra did not share her enthusiasm. "Please be careful. If you suddenly feel intense cold, do not be bold. Leave as quickly as you can."
The unicorn turned to regard Zecora as she stepped out of the door. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. Though I doubt there really is anything out there, I'll be careful. See you again soon, and good night!"

As she made her way through the moonlit forest, she kept on thinking about Zecora's words, theorizing about the strange phenomena. How could air just suddenly get colder like that? So engrossed was she in her thinking that she failed to notice that the night air around her was starting to get colder at a rapid pace. When her teeth started to chatter she finally broke out of her reverie. "W-wow, Zecora w-wasn't kidding. The temperature must've dropped by at least a dozen degrees, and so suddenly too..."
As the cold intensified, she got a sudden feeling of dread. She couldn't explain it, but her every instinct told her to move, to get away from the cold. Zecora was right, there was something unnatural about this, even by Everfree's standards. No. No need to panic, she told herself. It could be just a zone of cold air moved by the wind. There's nothing out there. She tried her best to stay calm, and started to trot onwards at a brisk pace. Wait. What was that? Had she heard something? She froze on the spot, swiveling her ears around. Long seconds dragged on as she stood there, trying to hear the sound again. Yet it never came. With a shuddering sigh, she started to move again, slightly faster this time. Suddenly she heard the sound behind her, this time there could be no mistaking it. A constant crunching, as if something heavy was dragged along in snow. Panic seizing her, she broke into full gallop.
--------------------------------------
Finally, her protesting muscles overrode her terror, forcing her to stop. The air was still bitingly cold. For a while, she just stood there, head down, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. This was stupid. She hadn't heard anything after she had started running, and hadn't seen anything either. She wasn't even sure there was something after her. She could have misheard the sound, it could have been just snow falling from a tree. And even if there was, she was sure she could handle herself. She had defeated an Ursa Minor, hadn't she? She chuckled to herself. She'd let Zecora's creepy stories get to her. She really needed to stop being such a scaredy cat. Lifting her head, she looked behind her. She...

She saw it. Behind her was something, unmoving like a statue, a dark shape barely illuminated by the faint moonlight. Twilight's blood ran cold, all thoughts of defeated Ursa Minors forgotten. It's eyes, two gleaming white holes in the darkness were staring at nothing, almost unseeing, but she knew she was the focus of it's attention. She could feel the intense cold radiating from the thing, a layer of frost forming on the trees near it. Forcing her numb muscles to move with a monumental effort of will, she turned and ran. Again the only sound heard in the night was the crunching of snow beneath her hooves, and her panicked gasps. She ran on for what felt like an eternity, afraid she'd got lost, stuck in the forest at night with... That.

Finally, when her tortured muscles were about to give in, she saw familiar landmarks, marking the place as the edge of the Everfree forest. Almost laughing with relief, she burst out of the oppressing shade of the forest. When she got further away from the forest, the biting cold started to recede. She'd made it out! She was safe in Ponyville! As she neared the edge of the village, she heard a terrifying throaty growl, forlorn and edged with the bitter cold of a thousand lonely winters. The sound stabbed into her, causing her to shiver so violently she almost stumbled. For years to come, that sound would haunt her in the cold of the night. Twilight didn't stop running until she was inside her library, door and windows locked. She spent the rest of the night shaking in front of the fireplace, trying to warm away the chill that had seeped into her very core.

We don't go to Everfree no more...
To all of you who don't recognize that thing, it's the Groke from Moomins. The single most terrifying thing to ever grace a children's cartoon. Here's a multilanguage clip of it's appearance, since they took the actual episode down... www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo8tBU…
I forgot the fact that I'm a terrible writer and felt the need to write that little thing to go with this picture. Lucky for you I don't write that often <3.