There was a knock at the door
Twilight sat in the main room of the Golden Oaks Library sipping a cup of warm tea whilst reading a lovely book. She had cast a spell to block out the noise of the heavy blizzard which had come out of nowhere, surprising even the pegasi. Twilight remembered where she was at the beginning of the storm. She was outside getting groceries for the week when out of nowhere, came a tiny snowflake, then another, then another. Soon, the town was getting covered rapidly in snow and she had to teleport with the things she had back to the library, less she wanted to be stuck out there.
She didn’t understand though, why was there a blizzard? It was almost time for winter, yes, but the pegasi didn’t say anything about the oncoming storm. Not only that, the pegasi tried to move the clouds away, but the clouds fought back! Something wasn’t right, Twilight knew that for sure. Yet there was nothing she could do but wait it out with Spike, who was asleep upstairs. With a soft sigh, she looked out the window to see the storm... it has been going on for 3 hours and yet it acted like it just started, it made her worry that another 1,000-year-old bad guy came back to town and started to make a storm that would last a long time... maybe starve them?
“No Twilight!” she said, shaking her head, ”It's going to end soon, and it probably isn't a bad guy that is one-thousand years old since you didn’t get a letter from Princess Celestia!”
She smiled a wary smile, then face hoofed,” I’m talking to myself again...”
Then... the house went silent, the only noise is that of the candles flames and Twilight’s own heartbeat, a slow, rhythmic thumping that sounded like hoof steps walking up and down a hollow floor. Twilight started to calm down, the lack of noise was both peaceful and... odd. Normally she would hear Spike snoring and without the spell, the blizzard’s roar of fury. With a half content smile, she set down her tea and picked up the book, a nice little book that talked about powerful legends of old. She found the idea silly, most legends tell of ghostly spirits that could affect the mortal world, but she knew that it was all for not since she had science at her disposal. Even though the thought was silly and nothing but superstition, she liked it, they made for interesting stories, especially spooky ones for Nightmare Night.
She opened the book and read through it, taking her time to study the different legends from different cultures. One of them was something called the Frozen Storm legend. It told of a stallion that was killed accidentally by walking in the middle of the storm and onto a train track, he got hit by a train that ended him quickly but left him with unfinished business. When the police found out about it, they looked for the body but they could never find it.
“If they couldn’t find it, then maybe it was eaten by a predator?” Twilight mused as she flipped the page. The next page of the book told of what the stallion’s identity could have been, and that he possibly had a wife and family. Yet they couldn’t find out since the storm had already taken many husbands that worked out in the field or were coming back, trying to, but failing to outrun the storm. She felt bad, even though this was a legend, every legend has some facts behind it. She just hoped that either the stallion’s family was alright... or that the stallion was alone.
“Okay... I hope he wasn’t alone... but I hope he survived...” Twilight said.
She shook her head, this story sounded similar to what was happening now, a large storm. She kinda laughed at this, like the story was happening in real time. She flipped the page once more to see the “signs” that he was had appeared. First, it was a large scale blizzard, then a knock at the door. If you open it, you’ll freeze to death instantly, unless you wait for the second knock, in which case you can let him in with no problem. The stallion will act friendly and if you are to ask him questions, he’ll tell you what he knows, like a normal pony would. Yet what made Twilight confused was the fact that he would appear in different forms, looking different yet acting the same. She wondered if it was a changeling that got killed, one that was an actual father to a wife that knew his identity... No, that wasn’t possible, for as long as she knows, the changelings have always been at war with ponies, only a few hives were known to be friendly or neutral to ponykind in general. Twilight sighed, she had read too many books about interspecies relationships that it was kinda taking over her thoughts.
Just as Twilight turned the page, she felt a shiver go down her spine... like the cold had somehow gotten in, yet, the room was warm and there wasn’t a draft or anything that could explain this. She chalked it up to be the book, so to calm her nerves, she grabbed her tea and took a small sip, allowing the calming brewed leaves to take effect and relax her. She shook softly a the tea warmed her up, she smiled and set the tea back down. After turning a few more pages, she could start to hear something. A low thumping noise, like her heart. Yet it wasn’t that, no, it sounded distant, long and far from where she sat. As she listened in, it grew louder, and louder, like somepony was walking down the stairs.
“Spike?” Twilight called out,” Is that you?”
No answer, all that she heard was the sound growing louder. She knew it had to be him! He may have been very kind and sweet, but he wasn’t above a practical joke, the conditions were just too right for this. So, with a loud snort of annoyance, she got up and trotted up the stairs to her bedroom... and the thumping stopped. Twilight smiled wide as she got closer to the door, she could hear low and raspy breathing from the other side, maybe Spike had walked quickly up the stairs as she heard him coming, which scared him cause he was going to be caught. She smiled as she reached the door, with a quick turn of the handle, the door swung open to show...
That Spike wasn’t awake... in fact... he was asleep, curled up in his blanket with his Rarity plushie next to him. Twilight’s heart sank a little as she looked around for what may have caused the noise. Yet nothing in the room could have caused it, nothing had fallen over, Spike was asleep, nothing, not even a branch from the tree.
*Thump thump thump*
She heard it again, and once again, it was distant, downstairs as opposed to upstairs. She walked downstairs, not bothering to close the door as she left the room. The thumping grew louder, and now, it didn’t stop as she got closer to its origin. With one step to go, the thumping had grown loud enough that Twilight knew exactly where it was coming from... her front door. She waited and her heart sank once more... this was just like the story. Acting out of fear and the stories directions, she waited for the second row of knocking...
‘Ya know... for safety!’ Twilight thought, trying to give herself a reassuring smile.
...
*THUMP THUMP THUMP!*
The second row of knocking was louder and sounded angrier this time. As slowly as she could, she walked over to the door and grasped the handle... it was cold to the touch, way colder than anything she had ever felt, even in the Crystal Empire. She slowly turned the handle, giving off a low creaking noise as she opened the door.
She expected to find that something had hit it three times... nothing more nothing less, but no, on the other side was a stallion... and eyeless stallion. She jumped back a bit as she stared at him. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, her jaw just hung open as the stallion spoke.
“Its cold out here... please, can I come in?” He asked, his voice filled with fear and sorrow.
Twilight nodded her head and slowly backed away from the door, allowing the stallion to walk in. She closed her mouth and shut the door, the air was now cold, and the candles light started to fade from the room as the stallion slowly walked over to the middle of the room. It was like his very presence caused all light to start to fade. That is when she noticed how... blue he was. She noted that he was a dark blue pegasus, his mane and tail had bits of frost hanging on them, so he must have been out there for a few minutes or so, not only that, but his mane and tail looked to be the same sickly blue color as his coat, like he was a victim of hyperthermia. He looked around as if gathering all the information about the surroundings he was in, even though he had no eyes.
“I did not know this was a library... this is interesting, to say the least,” he said, his voice had turned from fear and sorrow to cold and monotone.
“I-I... yes... this is Golden Oaks Library...” Twilight said,” M-My name is Twilight Sparkle! Nice to meet you... Mr.?”
“My name is Frostbite,” he said, his tone still cold,” I’m sorry to intrude, but the storm has caught me by surprise... I tried other houses but nopony would let me in, fearing that I would track in the cold.”
“Oh... I’m sorry to hear that...” Twilight said,” So... do you need a place to stay for the night? Do you need anything to warm up?”
“I can sleep on the floor, I’m not picky, but I would like some black tea if you have any,” Frostbite said, turning to look at her.
“Sure!” Twilight said, forcing a smile,” I’ll be right back!”
With that, Twilight left the room, an odd chill following her. She entered the kitchen and got the ingredients needed for black tea. She couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched, and that chill never went away. She tried to not think about it as she put the pot on top of her stove and waited for it to boil. With the wait, came boredom, but she had a strange feeling that, if she were to go out, back into the living room, she’d see something she wasn’t meant too. This confused her, why was she acting like this? The stallion needed help, and she asked if he needed anything, so here she was making tea and she was scared of him?
“Gah!” Twilight groaned,” I shouldn’t be like that... even if he looks strange, he is still a pony in need!”
She sighed and looked at the water... which was now boiling? How... she was only standing there for a few seconds... how did?
“What?” she asked, her confusion growing as the situation continued. She looked at the tea bags, then back at the pot of boiling water, with a defeated tone, she said,” Ya know what? Today has been strange... I’m just going to go along with it.”
With a soft ploop, she set the tea bags in the water and walked towards the living room. As she neared the door that separated the two, she felt the temperature drop significantly. She shook slightly, her body trying to adjust to the now cold air. She slowly walked in to see something that she didn’t expect. The candles’ light, once faded, and near gone, were now alive and burning brightly, the couch that Twilight had been using to read was now where the stallion currently sat, staring down at the book she had been reading. With careful steps, she walked forward and said,” So... your tea is going to be ready in a little bit...”
“Hm?” Frostbite looked up and smiled... warmly,” Ah, thank you.”
“So... I have a question... if I can ask,” Twilight said, looking away from the stallion.
“Sure, ask anything you want,” He replied as he looked up from the book.
“How... can you read?” Twilight says,” There isn’t any Braile in that book that I know of...”
“Oh!” Frostbite chuckled,” I know this book, my father used to read it to me when I was younger, I know it front to back.”
“Oh!” Twilight replied,” Do you have any... any legends you enjoy?”
“Any ghost or spirit ones...” He said with some fondness,” The reason why is because... they aren’t special, they are just ponies without a body to call their own... That is why.”
“Oh! Intereseting!” Twilight said.
‘I forgot the TEA!’ Twilight thought out of nowhere as she turned and rushed to check on it. The tea was done and didn’t look overdone like she thought it would be. Quickly, she took out a white mug with simple writing that said,” In this mug is the elixir of life.”
She poured the tea into the cup and walked back into the cold room, giving the tea to the stallion. He said thank you and the two sat there in silent... the only noise is the sound of him flipping the pages of the book. She heard a low thumping again, this time, it was all around her, no point of origin. It wasn’t her heart this time... nor the stallion, it was just a low thumping noise.
Without a single thought, Twilight said,” Do you... hear that?”
“Hear what?” The stallion asked as he looked up,” I hear nothing, why?”
“Oh... nothing,” Twilight lied as she hid her embarrassment.
Then, came a laugh from the stallion. Twilight looked up and directly at him to see... he was looking over the mug.
“In this mug is the elixir of life? Huh, how funny,” he mused,” I’ve seen... many of these before but never one like this.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, forgetting that he could not have seen the writing.
“Yes,” he said, softly putting the mug down,” I’m a traveler, and I have asked for residence for a night or two from many a stallion and mare. I even once shared a house with a dragon!”
“Wow! Really?” Twilight asked,” I thought dragons were-”
“Mean and territorial?” he finished,” I thought that too, but after being with that dragon, and seeing yours, I am starting to take back my ideas.”
That hit Twilight like a brick. Shakily, she asked,” After... seeing mine?”
“Yeah!” he explained calmly,” In the Crystal Empire’s newspaper, it told of a hero dragon. It even describes him.”
“I didn’t know they-”
“Had it in braille, yeah, they didn’t,” Frostbite said,” I just bumped into the statue and was told the story.”
“Oh...” Twilight said as the room fell back into the realm of silence.
*Thump Thump... thump... crunch crunch crunch crunch*
Twilight’s ears perked up as they heard the sound of snow crunching. She had thought that all outside noise was gone, but she still heard the crunching, as if somepony was outside. Twilight jumped up, her ears twitching as she heard the crunching made its way around the tree... then there was a low crunch as if the thing fell to the ground.
“You had to hear that!” Twilight said to Frostbite.
Frostbite gave her a confused look and replied,” Are you okay? I do not hear anything...”
“I could’ve sworn I heard something outside!” Twilight explained.
“Hm... I have a feeling you are jumpy from reading this book, right?” Frost asked.
“How did you know I read it?” Twilight asked as she gave Frostbite a suspicious face.
“Truly, I didn’t know if you did, all I know is that this was sitting out here and that you might have read it,” Frostbite explained calmly.
“Fine...” Twilight started getting angry, but cooled off just enough to not yell at the stallion’s calm tone and demeanor.
“How about we break the ice with some stories,” Frostbite said,” Pun intended.”
“Alright,” Twilight replied,” You first.”
“Okay, what story do you want me to tell?” he asked.
“Any... interesting stories from your travels?” Twilight asked.
“Hm... well,” Frostbite started,” I was traveling the old trail when I got caught in a thunderstorm, so I found the nearest house and asked to come in. The mare was nice enough to let me sleep the night and eat, though she did ask for something in return for the trouble.”
“What was it?” Twilight asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Frostbite responded.
Twilight huffed but nodded, no need to pry too deep into this stallion’s life. With a calm voice, the stallion asked her if she had any adventures, to which shr told him all of them, ending with the defeat of King Sombra.
The stallion sat there and nodded at each defeat of a villain, chiming in every once in a while to tell something he has learned about them. With the ice broken and Twilight much calmer near the stallion, she said,” So... where are you from?”
Instantly, the stallion looked up and said,” From out of town, someplace that you won’t find.”
Twilight was taken aback by this comment, it had seemed the stallion’s calm tone had been broken by the simple question. So, acting out of caution, she did not ask any further questions about his place of origin, or his family, since that seemed to be another nerve that she had stepped on. An old friend named silence had returned, the stallion’s cup was empty, his gaze cold and hard as he looked down at the book. The silence felt heavier than normal, no sound once again, not even the flame of the candles gave off a noise and her heart laid silent.
Out of nowhere, the stallion asked calmly,” Do you like riddles?”
Twilight looked up and replied,” I’m okay with them, why?”
“I have a riddle for you.” Frostbite said coldly.
“Sure?” Twilight replied, her heartbeat could now be heard as it increased.
“It knocks on doors alone, waiting to go home. Cold to the touch, the thing is, no matter if it is alone.” He said, gazing at her with a low, burning glare.
She looked at him, her mind working to solve the answer. A cold salespony? No, to dumb... A walking ice cube? No... to Pinkie Pie... She went through many possibilities, even considering him one, but decided not to say it. With a bitter tone of the bitter defeat, she said,” I... don’t know...”
“How about I give you a hint?” the Stallion said calmly. He reached out with his arm and said,” Touch it, and you’ll find your hint.”
With slow and caution-filled movements, she reached out and touched his arm... it was cold to the touch, way colder than anything... even the door handle... She pulled back and held her hoof, the burning pain of frost still there from the coldness of his arm. With fear, she looked into his soulless eyes and almost screamed,” What are you!?”
Yet, as calmly as a monk, he asked softly,” Do you believe in ghosts?”
Twilight froze as she stared at him, her face morphing into one of great fear and terror. Her heartbeat soared through her chest, the loud thumping could be heard a mile away as she backed away from him. She bumped into the table and a mug fell off, shattering against the floorboards as she tried to yell at him to leave... but only a faint whisper came out. The stallion got up and...
...
Twilight awoke in her bed, covered in sweat as she breathed heavily. She looked around her room, looking for the thing, the stallion, yet she found nothing but a mug next to her. She calmed down, her breath and heartbeat slowing down as she sighed. It was all a dream.
“I need to lay off that tea...” Twilight said as she turned to look at the mug. It was the mug she had given to that nightmare stallion, maybe that is why she saw it. She reached over and picked it up and glared at it. She turned it in her hooves and nearly screamed once more at what she saw... on the back, written in blue, was a message for her.
It said:
“Dear Ms. Sparkle,
Due to you passing out, I have left this mug for you and brought you to bed. I hope I did not cause too much of a scare. Also, the answer to the riddle can be found in the book you were reading last night.
Your guest,
Frostbite”
Twilight gulped and placed the mug back onto the bedstand, then got out and walked down to grab the book that she was reading. Cracking it open, she scanned the pages until she got back to the legend of... Frostbite? Twilight glared at it, this couldn’t be right... it wasn’t the legend of Frostbite, it was something else! Right? She skimmed through the pages and saw one thing that made her heart pound...
“Hello, Twilight,
Remember that thumping and crunching you heard outside? Well... go look at it now, investigate...”
Twilight roared with fury and slammed the book down and raced outside without any winter clothing. She ran across the house and to the side and almost missed it.
It was covered in snow... but it could still be seen... there, covered in heavy, white snow, was a pink tail...
The end!
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed this one-shot!
If you did, please, like the story and, if ya want too, tell me why! I love feedback on my stories!