Chapters Celestia's sun was shining all across the Equestria. In Ponyville, everypony were happy and filled with joy. It was autumn season and they were raking leaves away from yards and stocking jams and jellies to their cellars. They worked together to prepare to the cold nights.
Meanwhile, Twilight was inviting the other five manes to her house for a night. Spike was along with her having her checklist. At first they stopped at Rarity's boutique. Twilight opened a door and peeked inside. Rarity was making those brand new winter jackets for sale.
"Rarity! I would like to invite you with other friends to my slumber party tonight!" she said, giving an invitation letter to her.
"Why thank you, Twilight. After i have finished the decorations of jackets, i will come quickly as possible." she said.
The next one was Pinkie Pie. She was at Sugarcube Corner selling treats. Twilight gave her the invitation and Pinkie Pie accepted with a big grin on her face.
"Oh, i would love to come there, Twilight! We could throw a big party!" she said with an excitement.
The others promised to come too. Rainbow Dash wanted to take a break from cleaning the skies from rainclouds and Applejack wanted to meet the friends after all what happened. But Fluttershy, she declined.
"Oh, Twilgiht. I can't come up today, cause umm....I need to look after all of my animals, so, coulnd't we hold it until tomorrow?" she asked.
"Fluttershy, it isn't a big problem, they can take care of themselves. Besides i'm sure you wouldn't decline." Twilight replied.
"Oh, but it is a BIG problem! Afterall, i promised to Angel to be with him." she said.
"Well, if you could put him asleep, could you then come?" Twilight suggested.
"Twilight, i've never thought that. I'll try, but if it doesn't work, i'll pass." Fluttershy decided.
Twilight smiled and went back to the library.
Luna's moon were shining brightly at that night. Everypony was in their houses and the streets were empty. Only a thin fog was flying through the town. Inside the library, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were partying and talking about everything they had came up.
"Hold on just a minute. Twilight, where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked and other manes watched her too.
"Look, everypony. I talked with her and she said, that she can't come cause she is with Angel." Twilight replied, everypony accepting it, but Pinkie Pie was wordless.
"But parties doesn't feel like they are without everypony. That would make our party to semi-party!" she moaned.
"Don't worry. I'll be sure she will come here." Twilight cheered up Pinkie Pie.
"Just be okay there." she hoped.
It was almost midnight. Fluttershy has tried everything to get Angel to sleep. She tried to play with him, until he would be tired and she tried warm milk, but those didn't work. Finally she tried to sing to him and surprisingly he falled asleep. Fluttershy smiled and then put him to his catch. She then prepared to go in the library. She started to notice, that temperature has fallen very much. She hurried to get her scarf and off to go, but she was starting to get a feeling that someone was looking her. Fluttershy shaked off the feeling, but it didn't get away. She assumed it was coming from outside and enraged she opened the front door to see it.
The whole field was empty. There was nothing. Was she dreaming? Or something else?
"Nopony isn't here." Fluttershy said, reliefed and walked to outside of her house.
After taking few steps, she was again having the same feeling. She watched to her right side. Nothing was there. Then, she looked to her left side.
Then she saw it. It was a big, monstrous thing at there. It was having a wide mouth with a mood, that nopony wouldn't get any clue. It had a dark blue nose, which was wide and bit a long too. But the most scariest things was it's eyes. They were big and round and didn't even stared at her, but still, she knew it was watching her.
Fluttershy screamed with horror, more loudly than she ever had, but the thing just keeped staring. Fluttershy then proceeded to run, away from it. She ran, ran and didn't stop, until she crashed through the library door to Twilight's body.
"Hey look! It's Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie yelled with joy.
"Fluttershy, are you ok? Why did you rushed here, like you have seen the ghost?" Twilight asked.
"IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! IT WAS HORRIBLE MONSTER!!" Fluttershy screamed and everyponies jaw dropped on the floor, except Twilight's.
"Monster, you say? Well what did it look like?" she asked.
"It was big, bigger than Celestia herself. It has a horrifying face and...." Fluttershy explained, but before she got far, a thunderous high-pitched groan came from Everfree forest. The manes heard a very horrible sentence between the groans: "I'll be back!"
Then everything went silent.
Twilight comforted Fluttershy and gave Fluttershy her own bed. Fluttershy thanked, before getting under covers and falling asleep. Twilight took a sleeping bag and slept near Fluttershy.
What could be that thing? What did it wanted from Fluttershy?
"Tomorrow..." Twilight started. "We shall confront this thing!"
The sun has vanquished the horrible night and a new day has began. Twilight woke up and started to think, what to do. That thing in last night has scared Fluttershy very badly. How they could come up with it? Twilight went to take a look outside. It was a normal, clear sky, everypony must be now eating breakfast and there was a thin fog covering the town.
"If somepony could know everything about from it." Twilight thought. "Or, if it lives at Everfree forest, could somepony go to examine?"
Twilight then come up with some plans. She walked back to her friends, who were starting to wake up.
"Alright, everypony. The monster, that scared Fluttershy yesterday must to be known. I had come up with the plans." she said, holding to do-list.
"Applejack, Pinkie Pie & Rarity, you should go to talk to everypony of Ponyville about this thing."
"No worries, sugarcube. Ah won't fail ya." Applejack said and the trio went off to the town.
"Good. Me and Fluttershy will go to investigate her cottage to see, if it's alright. And you, Rainbow Dash, i shall give you a risky task: you should investigate the Everfree forest and seek any clues, if that monster is in there." she said.
"No worries, Twilight. I shall make it happen right away." Rainbow Dash said and blast out from the library.
"Fluttershy, can you come with me back to your house? That monster must be gone for now." Twilight asked from Fluttershy, but after saying this, Fluttershy panicked and rushed straight to her house.
"Hey! Wait up!" Twilight shouted, running behind her.
Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie visited almost everypony's house to ask from this creature. The results were bad: others didn't know anything, others just laughed to that and others told that they have heard the horrible groan last night. They started to lose the faith, but then, Zecora was in a visit at Ponyville.
"Hey, Zecora!" Pinkie shouted to her.
"Well if it isn't Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack." zebra said.
"Zecora, Fluttershy had a little encounter with a monster, that hasn't been seen. Do you know anything about that and from the last night's groan?" Rarity questioned her.
"The monster you seek is not what you expect. You must avoid the forest so you can't met." zebra said with a serious face.
"Come on, Zecora. What does it look like? We need to know." Applejack asked.
"The ice cold monster, it is what you seek. It's not one of my subjects, so another time we meet." Zecora said, leaving the trio spcheechless.
"Ice cold monster? Kinda like ice cream monster?" Pinkie pie guessed.
"No, my darling. It is the cold itself and will shine it to everywhere it goes." Rarity fixed.
"A'h am feeling pity to Rainbow Dash. She just went there without anypony and maybe finds this monster, who knows what's going to happen." Applejack said.
"Hey! Wait up!" Twilight shouted to Fluttershy, who flew to her cottage as fast as she could. She went inside and after Twilight get to the door, she slipped and fall hardly on the ground.
"Ouch! What is this?" Twilight wonder and after looking to the ground, she gasped. The whole ground was on the ice, showing a strange footsprints on it. They lead to the Everfree forest.
"For Pete's sake, Rainbow Dash, if you encounter this monster, fly soon as possible, away from it." Twilight prayed in her mind.
Twilight stepped inside to see Fluttershy with Angel.
"Thank goodness they're okay. I thought the monster had done something to you." she said, petting him.
"Fluttershy, we have more dangerous problem: Rainbow Dash has gone to Everfree forest without anypony!" she yelled to her.
"But, you said to her that she must go to seek something from the monster." Fluttershy told.
Twilight slammed her head. How could she be so fool. She proceeded then to meet the other ponies.
"Fluttershy, you can stay here if you want. I'm going to meet Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack to see if they have found information." Twilight said, running to the Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash landed in the middle of the forest, looking everywhere. It was dark and foggy, the night was coming earlier and it was hard to see. She walked a good time, until came up with ledge. She decided to take a break and sat there.
Next to her was a granite rock, which shadow was clearly visible. 'It must be the one of those rocks, which fell to the Equestria over hundreds years ago', Rainbow Dash thought on her mind. That kind of thing was so big, now just a regular rock.
Rainbow Dash decided to get back to her friends, until she got a feeling that somepony was looking her. She looked around. There were nothing, but she still felt that. First she didn't know what was going on and then she got furious and throw a rock off the cliff. Even there wasn't nothing. Was she just dreaming.
Then she looked back to the granite rock. Then she saw it. The inner mind of her was going horribly scared, when she looked to the rock. She couldn't believe what she saw, but it was true. The form of the rock wasn't anything special, but the shadow of the rock, what was supposed to be a rocks shadow, transformed to a hill-shaped body of the monster.
"HEY! WATCH OUT!" screamed a blonde mane pegasus to Rainbow Dash. She couldn't avoid it and they both falled over the edge on the ground.
"DERPY!" Rainbow Dash yelled and reliefed. She was clearly sure, that behind her was a monster, but was lucky to find another pony. She got up and looked to her.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. If i could see here, i could just avoid you." she apologied.
"It's nothing, but hey. Did you saw anything unusual here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Nope. Not a minor difference." she replied.
Rainbow Dash was confused. How could it be possible, that either one hasn't saw that creature.
"You know what, let's get out of here. I am totally sick of this place." Rainbow Dash said and watched back to Derpy, but she was already going.
"Hey! Wait up!" she yelled, but she didn't stopped.
Rainbow Dash lost the sight of her, so she began to follow her footsprints. Everytime she took a step, the cold around her started to get worse. Then she finally remembered: she could just fly away from here. She started to open her wings, but they were stuck. She examined closer and saw that they were freezed. Then she looked around to saw that every plant has freezed too. Then she looked in front of her. The cold started to get her bones.
10 meters away from her, the monster stood. The body matched, Fluttershy's description matched, but it's mouth was different. Instead it was grinning, which gave more creepier atmosphere. It didn't have any legs, it was like a ghost. To Rainbow Dash's horror it spread it's arms and started to slide foward her. Rainbow Dash panicked, but didn't see any way to escape. When it was just meters away, she started to panic, scream and cry.
"STOP!" Rainbow Dash yelled, and just for her suprise it stopped sliding. It's grin became to a wordless mood, it turned around and slided away from her. Rainbow Dash saw the exit of the forest and when she started to walk there, the same groan filled the forest. Rainbow Dash got out, but it was night time. She had spent many hours finding this creature and now that she found it, she was scared, even more than Fluttershy.
"So, that what it's look like." Rainbow Dash thought and walked to the library.
The night was still on and everypony in Ponyville were starting to go to bed. All, but Rarity, who was still making the winterjackets. She was questioning herself from that monster their heard and was a confused. Why Zecora wouldn't tell anything about it? What business it has in Equestria?
This silent moment was broken, when the front door was opened. Rarity frightened and take a look, only to sigh; it was just Sweetie Belle, her sister.
"Rarity, can i go to a sweet apple arces to meet Applebloom and Scootaloo?" she asked kindly.
Rarity breathed still heavingly. Sure, she would allow her sister to do that in normal days, but now, when the monster was still here, it would get her sister or even worse, it would get instead Rarity, after Sweetie Belle could gone.
"I...I am not sure if you should go, dear..." Rarity desperated. "...But in the other hoof...You can go." Rarity decided, sweating and kept smiling.
"Yay! Thank you, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle hugged her and then disappeared in the darkness.
Rarity closed door, locked it, shut off all lights, and went to bed. She now felt so safe having locked the door, so it wouldn't come after her.
But just when she was going to fall asleep, she had a feeling, that somepony was watching her. Rarity at haste looked to the windows, but nothing was there. Then she know, what hiding place any monster would have; under her bed. She silently pulled the sheet on her lap and then peeked. Luckily, nothing was there, just her tools and clothes in packets. She then smiled and turned around, the smile fade away and changed to a horrifying scream. The monster was just next to bed, it's eyes watching her fear. Rarity threw the whole sheet on her and closed her eyes, preparing to worst.
After a brief moment, she watched back there and saw that the monster was gone. After this, she fainted and suprisingly, fall asleep.
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Twilight ran to the center of Ponyville, only to found nopony was there. She started to search anypony, but suddenly rammed to something. She shaked her head, looked it and saw Rainbow Dash.
"Dash! Are you alright? Did you found anything?" Twilight asked.
"I..i saw it! It was horrifying! Almost same as Fluttershy told, but creepier!" Rainbow Dash yelled to Twilight.
"Dash, relax. You are with me. There's nothing to be afraid about." Twilight tried to calm her.
"Nothing to be afraid? If you could see it yourself, you would be more afraid about it than now!" she panicked.
"Really, we don't have any trouble. Let's go to find Applejack. I'm sure she has found something information." Twilight suggested. She lead the way to Rainbow Dash, who was looking everywhere, where it could come again to her face.
At Sweet Apple Arces, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo had chatted a long time inside the barn how they could got their cutie marks.
"I know what we could try: golfing!" Applebloom suggested, but Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo weren't amused.
"That's what doctor do everytime they have spare time. How about....Oh, fishing!" Scootaloo shouted, but get same answer as 'golfing'.
"Nonono. We shouldn't use something so simple. How about..." Sweetie Belle was thinking, but before she could say, the barn door were starting to open and the moonlight revealed the shadow....the shadow of it's monster.
"I know!" Sweetie Belle whispered to Applebloom and Scootaloo. "We should catch that thing and we could earn our cutie marks!" she said and the two accepted the idea.
"CUTIE MARK MONSTER BEATERS!!!" the trio yelled with joy.
Then the barn's door opened wide and they scared. It was taller than Princess Celestia and darker than the night. It groaned with a loud voice and Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo screamed in horror.
At the farm house, Applejack was sleeping normaly, until their scream went past her ears. Applejack quickly grabbed her hat, ran off to the barn and gasped to her sight. The monster surrounded Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they weeped in the corner. It was horrifying to see, that the whole floor was frozen.
Applejack kept her guts and walked towards the monster.
"Alright, ya ruffian! Get yar hands off mah sister and her friends right now or a'h show how to buck apples to ya!" Applejack yelled to the monster. It walked back to the entrance of barn and then watched Applejack to her eyes. Applejack was stunned. It wasn't anything angry about it, it was sad. It walked to the darkness and disappeared. After a moment, Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked toward the barn. Applejack ran to them.
"Applejack, have you found anything information from the ponies?" she asked.
"No, ah just encountered it. It was big, dark and everything that Fluttershy said, but after ah command it to go away, it was sad. Ah couldn't believe it!" Applejack explained.
Rainbow Dash gasped. "But, if it has met almost every one of us, it means.....It's going to find Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie!" she panicked.
"Hold on to your hooves, Dash! Applejack, take care from Cutie Mark Crusaders until morning. Rainbow Dash, you'll come with me." Twilight said and the two ran off.
"But why a can't come with ya?" Applejack shouted, although it was useless.
At the Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was a strange feeling. She had awoken by somekind of scream, that came from Rarity's house. She get up and walked stairs down to the store-front, where every sweet and cakes were at show. She couldn't get sleep for a moment, so she took a one cupcake out of cabinet and ate it with one bite. She looked around to see nothing, so she decided to put lights on. After doing it, in front of her was the same monster. It were holding a heart-shaped seashell within her hands. Pinkie Pie stared with fear and confuse when it gave the shell to her hands.
"Ouch!" Pinkie screamed, when she felt, that the shell was in solid ice. The monster just turned around, went through the door, to the outside. Pinkie Pie took the shell again to her hands and took it to her room. She placed it on the table and bursted out from the shop to look for her friends.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash ran like a speeding bullets to Rarity's house. When they get to the front door, Twilight knocked to it.
"Rarity! Come here!" Twilight shouted.
"Twilight, there's no time to wait her. We gotta break inside!" Rainbow Dash remarked and rushed through it. They went to the upstairs and after opening the door, they found her, asleep.
"Wake up, Rarity! We need you!" Dash yelled, shaking Rarity and immediatly she woke up.
"Aagh! It was horrifying!" Rarity screamed.
"Hold on your hooves, Rarity. What had happened?" Twilight asked.
"That...monster, just appeared to my room and then vanished. I thought i was going to be a goner." she said.
"You saw it too? Then there's only 2 left!" Dash gasped.
"What are you talking about, Dash? Did it get somepony?" Rarity was confused.
"We'll get to that later. Right now, we must find Pinkie Pie and then, we talk everypony out with the details." Twilight said and so they went off to find Pinkie, but suprisingly, the pink pony has rushed all way to them.
"Twilight, i saw it! It was big and cold! It was like ice, but colder than ice!" Pinkie yelled.
"It's all right now. What just happened?" Twilight questioned.
"It gave me this....shell. One kind of which is heart-shaped." Pinkie described.
"Everypony, it's not the best time to talk now. Let's head to the Sweet Apple Arces to rest." Twilight suggested and everypony followed her lead.
The morning began and everypony woke up. They went to fluttershy's cottage to see she was still there and relaxed from the accident. They gathered around to the circle to speak, what information they have found.
"Rainbow Dash, tell me everything about what happened at Everfree forest." Twilight said.
"Alright then. I was looking any trace from that monster, when i found a granite rock, which shadow transformed to the monster's body shape. But before i dare to look back, Derpy Hooves crashed towards me like a rocket. Although i wasn't alone in there, it was just a few seconds before i lost her too. Then i saw it, just few meters away from me. It was grinning at me and coming closer, then i yelled him to stop, which was unbeliavable, cause it really done it. Then, it just vanished to the forest." Rainbow Dash explained.
"Hmm...That's weird. How come it just leaves you alone, just like that? Anyway, Rarity, if you please." Twilight requested.
"Well, i can't say anything new. It just appeared like a ghost and disappeared like that." Rarity told.
"Applejack?"
"Ah didn't see it, but then mah sister and her friends started to scream and ah checked out only to find it. Ah commanded it to stop and much to suprise it did it. And it was really incredible when it looked really sad." Applejack stated.
"Pinkie?"
"Oh, just hold on your hooves, i forgot it to take with me!" Pinkie noticed and run back to Sugarcube corner to get the shell and bring it to them.
"That ice-slime gave this to me and i don't really know what was that for." she shrugged.
"An ice-slime?" Dash rised her brows.
"Pinkie Pie, you're brilliant! This shell means it tries to find love and friendship from here, but can't find, cause we have treated it like a monster." Twilight said in joy, but quickly stopped it.
"But what about Zecora?" she asked.
"She didn't told us anything about it, sugarcube. Am sorry." Applejack apologized.
"It's nothing, Applejack. We can speak her over with this shell." Twilight said.
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Zecora was at the edge of Everfree forest. Before she could get the hoof on foward, the mane six was just right behind her.
"What is it now? I have spoken what i know." Zecora said, annoyed.
"I think you have more to us to tell." Twilight said, showing the shell to Zecora.
"Fine, i'll tell." Zecora said and started to speak.
"The monster you saw is lonely and sad, cause everything you have done, is making she sad."
"Wait! Do you mean it's female?" Twilight drop her mouth on the ground.
"Yes. It was living in a valley, but then, she lost, and it came here, with a love to cost." zebra said.
"That's it. We must show her our love to her." Twilight shouted.
"But if you do her the touch of nice, you are in deep solid of ice." Zecora warned and went back to her cabin.
Twilight was a loss of words. How could you love somepony, if one touch of her was going to be the horrible fate?
"Umm, Twilight, i think i have courage to face her, if it's going to help anything." Fluttershy said.
Then all of sudden, Twilight was already hugging tightly her friend.
"Fluttershy, if you really are so brave, you can talk to her about how we would welcome her to Ponyville." Twilight said.
"Pinkie Pie, i want you to get decorated my house with party stuff." Twilight ordered.
"Yes, sir, ma'am sir!" Pinkie said and hopped all the way to library.
"Everypony else, help Pinkie and wait for me. I've got a special thing to do...." she said.
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Twilight rushed to Canterlot to Princess Celestia's quarters to chat with her. She explained, that a special quest was coming to first time to Equestria and needed her help to entertain it to her. Celestia accepted it and just before the Luna has moved the moon on the sky, they were ready to meet her. After a brief waiting, the outside lights faded out. Then became a silent. A deep, terrifying silence.
"Um, Twilight, are you sure our quest is coming? I need to get back to castle, if this was total waste of time." Celestia asked.
"If you must, please, follow the road and don't wander off." Fluttershy warned, but other manes kept her silent to not spoiling.
"Aha! Was this a joke to lure me here and scare me out? You know, i don't scare so easily." Celestia boasted, but then, all the light faded out. The whole group peeked from the window.
"There is nopony out there to this time." Celestia said.
"Good. Nopony isn't blocking you to get to the castle." Twilight said.
Celestia gulped. She didn't know, if she was prepared to see, what was beyond the front door, so first, she laughed hysterically, but then, she said:
"Accept it! I'm not going to scare anything you put here! I'm going now!" she said and walked toward the front door. She opened it and nothing was there.
"Hah! not even a soul." she though, but she had just taken a few steps, and then, she turned her head.
It was black, cold, with hill-shaped body, big eyes and the moodless face. Celestia quickly rushed inside and closed the door. The mane six just looked her, almost to die laughing.
"Twilight, if this was one of your stupid jokes, i swear you'll pay from this!" Celestia raged, but Twilight just smiled.
"Celestia, she IS the quest. Why it was so hard to see?" Twilight said and opened the door. It was still there and groaning like an angry pony. Fluttershy stepped foward and sighed.
"Um, hello there, mister. We may have come to annoy you, but when Pinkie Pie received your shell, we figured you wanted to have friends. Is that right?"
The monster nodded.
"Would you be so kind, if....umm, you would tell your name?"
The monster groaned again, and Fluttershy understand it, like she just talked in normal way.
"All right. Welcome, Groke, to the Ponyville. If you don't know us, that pink pony was Pinkie, white one Rarity, yellow one Applejack, blue one Rainbow Dash, purple one Twilight and the princess Celestia, our tallest one. And i'm Fluttershy. If you want, we have made up a welcome party just for you."
Groke started to smile and everypony started smiling too. She came inside, with frozen ground with her and looked everywhere. There was airballoons, party ribbons and party food on tablet. She looked to Pinkie Pie, who was having the shell with her.
"Oh, this was the one you gave to me. Thanks!" Pinkie said, squeeing.
For Pinkie's horror, Groke grabbed the shell and the pain of cold was rushing through her hoof. Pinkie screamed and started to warm up it, while Groke smiled and watched the shell all the time. She was about to leave, when Twilight stopped her.
"Don't you want to be with us, Groke?" she asked.
Groke shaked her head and Twilight sighed.
"But we could warm you up with the bonfire we have made up." Twilight said, showing the pile of woods.
Groke started to grin again and then settled on the pile. With Celestia's power, she lightened up the bonfire, but then, the fire cracked and the steam came under her.
In few seconds, the whole fire was off.
"Well, at least we still have some firewoods." Pinkie said jokingly.
Groke smiled still and then leaved. Only leaving the pile of frozen ground.
Everypony went to their houses and Twilight too jumped on her. The problem was solved and now on, nopony should not fear Groke.
