//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: The Grim 
// Story: Lost 
// by MLPTMNTPegasister 
//------------------------------//

"Jeez," Elusive winced. "You'd think that Zach would've already creeped me out enough." 
"Elusive! Ssh!" Scarlett covered the colt's mouth, much to his disliking. 
"It's okay, my dear mare," Zach sighed. "Ponies say I'm scary and quite fair. It's not the first time I've been called a creep, they sometimes yell and say, 'Go back to your nest in the deep!'" 
"Sorry, Zach. I'm not used to being this scared and insecure." Elusive apologized, continuing his journey up the mountain. 
"Hey Zach," Pizza squealed. "What nifty creature lives here?" Zach shook his head solemnly.
"The creature here is very lean and slim. It was named long ago a Grim. Claws like swords and teeth like heck, when it eats, it prefers to peck. It stares into its victim's eyes, and then that creature or pony gets a surprise. The soul gets sucked out, the heart stops, the eyes roll back, the body drops. The Grim then pecks the victim's organs away, then leaves the victim to rot one day. One day when I was very young, this very thing happened to my mum. She went to the mountains to gather supplies, and my theory is she experienced the surprise. I vowed one day that I would come, and kill the Grim who ate my mum." 
As the zebra said this, the ponies' eyes grew wider and wider. When he finished, Scarlett's jaw dropped, Elusive screamed, and everypony there seemed to fret wildly. Their manes shook, their teeth chattered, their horns sparked, and their wings flared.
"I am sorry to scare you as so," Zach apologized. "I just thought you wanted to know." 
"Well," Sundown said. "It doesn't matter. I would not let you all get eaten if it was for 1,000, 000 bits." 
The ponies moved on, waiting for Zach's approval every time they heard an unusual sound. As they climbed up, they got colder and colder until Scarlett almost froze. Then, Sundown cast a warm spell upon them, so they moved on again. 
Each step they took was more near danger, for a Grim was secretly watching them, waiting for the right time to attack. 
"Why do mountains have to become so cold?" Elusive complained. "Soon, my mane and tail will freeze, then my beautiful, handsome face! Why? Why is this mountain going off on the wrong foot with me?!" 
"He got his dramatic personality from Mom," Scarlett told Hummingbird. 
Zach hung back from the group to see Elusive, who had collapsed in a dramatic heap. "You must not worry, my dear friend. Our journey up is almost at its end. Once we reach the top, the slope will come to a drop. The temperature will soon go down, so please, please wipe off your frown." The zebra colt pulled Elusive up, and walked him to the rest of the group.
An hour later, the ponies could barely see down below, they were passing the clouds that surrounded the top of the mountain. Hummingbird and Sundown decided to fly up together, to check how long they were going to climb. 
"Guys!" Hummingbird yelled underneath him. "Only about 100 feet to go! We're almost there!" 
"But," Zach yelled from below. "We're running out of luck. Down here, we have to dodge, hit and duck. The Grim is here, to attack. Hummingbird, Sundown, please come back!" 
"Oh no.." Sundown dived, landing right behind the monster that must've been the Grim.
The Grim was in the shape of an Alicorn, its wings and horn made out of shadow. Its eyes were like pools of tar, and its mane was raggedy. It dawned rags, and its Cutie Mark was itself screaming. 
"This pony really needs to go to a spa sometime!" Elusive yelled, running behind a bush. 
"Elusive, our future looks quite dim! Because this isn't a pony, it's a Grim! Ponies, do not look into its eyes, it might give you the surprise!" 
The Grim screamed loudly, charging at Zach. Zach threw one of his potions at it, and it effected, burning a hole in the Grim's chest. The Grim stopped abruptly, screaming like a banshee and dissolving. Its body became mud, and its rags disappeared. The mud was shaped in the Grim's Cutie Mark. 
"Ponies you can open your eyes! The Grim is giving me quite the surprise! Now our future is singing like a hymn, for we have survived an encounter with a Grim!" Zach exclaimed. 
The ponies opened their eyes, saw the mud, and began to dance happily and cheer. 
"WE DID IT!!" screamed Pizza. "WE SURVIVED THE GRIM!!" 
"Let's move on then," Sundown said, panting. "We have one more mountain left to climb."