Frozen Soul

  The four mares stared at the stallion for some time before giving and answer. “Nice name,” Rainbow Dash said.

  “Thanks,” Frostbite replied quietly.

  “Umm, I don’t know if you don’t mind, but, the animals aren’t really comfortable with a stranger in the house,” Fluttershy said, pointing at the crowd of critters that were eyeballing Frostbite.  “Oh, why don’t we go to my library? We can get Rarity and Pinkie Pie on the way,” Twilight added.

  “Sure, besides we need to ask him about his stuff anyway,” Apple Jack responded.

  “What about my stuff?” Frostbite asked, curious to what she meant.

  “We’ll ask you when we get there,” Rainbow Dash replied. Frostbite nodded and got off the couch and went to collect his belongings. As he threw his saddlebags over his back, Fluttershy went to get his large items that were laying near her.

  “Hey, be careful where you point that!” Frostbite warned, as he snatched the rifle from Fluttershy.

  “What, oh, okay,” Fluttershy said with her head down.

  “C’mon, we don’t have all day to be fussing over where that things pointing,” Rainbow Dash said exasperated.

  Frostbite let out an annoyed breath, “All right, let’s go.”  The five trotted down the road leading into town. As they passed Rarity’s house, Apple Jack went to get her out of the boutique. They went to go get Pinkie Pie and on the way, Rarity began fussing over Frostbite attire.

  “Oh, but you look horrible in those dreaded rags!” Rarity exclaimed as she kept looking over Frostbite.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Frostbite asked curiously.

  “I mean, what’s with your pants being so baggy? And that vest looks much too solid, even though it matches the rest of your clothes, but still! You had must see me at the boutique tomorrow and get a new set of clothing.”

  “How about, no.”

  Apple Jack looks at the two before interjecting. “Hey Rarity, lay off will ya? He looks fine. Besides, it looks fine on him.”

  “Oh, you have never had a sense of fashion,” Rarity replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

  “Hey guys!”

  Everyone had been caught up listening to the small conflict that they nearly missed Pinkie when she came up on them.

  “Oh, hey Pinkie Pie, we were going to get you. Since we’re all here, let’s get to the library,” Twilight said. All except Pinkie, who bounced along, walked to the library, with Frostbite keeping a distance from Rarity. When they reached the library, Frostbite looked up at the large oak.

  “You live in a tree?”

  “Yes, this is the Ponyville library,” Twilight replied confidently.

  “So you live and work here.”

  “Yeah, you’re not from around here, are you?”

  “What do you think?” Frostbite asked back coldly.

  “Can we just get inside!?” Rainbow Dash questioned loudly.

  “All right, come on,” Twilight responded.

  When they entered the library, Frostbite laid his saddlebags against the wall along with his rifle, keeping his personal USP .45 holstered. The six mares walked over to the center of the room with Frostbite following. They sat around in a group with Frostbite the only one standing.

  “Sit down, we’d like to ask you some questions,” Twilight told Frostbite.

  The stallion looked at her and nodded, and sat as well. “All right, what questions do you have?” Frostbite asked.

  “All righty. First off, where are you from?” Twilight asked.

  “I do not know,” Frostbite replied with his head down.

  “You don’t?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, next, what is your job?”

  “My what?”

  “Your job, you know, as in what you do for a living, what your occupation is, that kind of stuff.”

  “I don’t have a job.”

  The six mares gasped. All of them were blown by the one statement. “But, everypony has something they’re good at!” Pinkie Pie said back, worried.

  “I’m serious.”

  “What does your cutie mark mean then?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.

  “I never actually looked at it.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Rainbow Dash, stop it,” Apple Jack commanded, “He probably just has amnesia or something.”

  “Oh fine.”

  Frostbite looked at the Rainbow Dash with cold eyes when she looked back. Twilight eventually broke the little staring contest with another question.

  “All right, with that aside, what is a stallion like you carrying a knife around for, particularly, a kind that’s made for combat?” Twilight asked.

  “Yeah, what do you do with that knife?” Rainbow Dash added, still suspicious.

  “Well, you never know when one would come in handy,” Frostbite answered without a hint of caring.

  “Yeah, maybe we should hold onto the knife for now,” Twilight said putting away the knife, “anyway, last question, what are those things?” pointing at the sniper leaning on the wall then at the pistol in the holster.

  “Wait, you don’t know what these are?” Frostbite asked.

  “Well, no, we don’t.”

  “Oh well, might as well tell you. These things,” Frostbite said as he pulled out the USP .45, “are dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing with them. But if you only use these in your own defense, no one will blame you if you, say, ‘hurt’ somepony with it. And I don’t mean whack them with it, I mean if you pull this trigger,” he finished, pointing at the trigger on the pistol. “Oh, and if you want a demonstration, what would you mind not being destroyed here?”

  Twilight looked around the library for anything, but couldn’t find anything. “Sorry, maybe tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Frostbite replied.

  Then twilight noticed something she missed before, Frostbite was sitting with his hind legs out in front and was leaning on his knees with his arms crossed. “Hey, I just noticed something. Why do you sit like that?”

  “Because I feel comfortable this way.”

  Just then, the door to the library opened, considering it was still the afternoon. In came a Pegasus who had a light Persian-blue coat and had a pale cerulean mane and tail. “Hey Twilight, Flitter wants to renew this book but she’s busy foul-sitting Rumble,” the new mare said.

  “Of course, Cloudchaser. Let me see book,” Twilight replied.

  Frostbite looked at Cloudchaser for a few seconds then quickly tore his eyes from her.

I have got to stop doing that.

  While the two mares went over to the desk, Rainbow couldn’t help but let out a snicker escape her mouth. “I see you have you eyes on her,” Rainbow said with a smile.

  Frostbite simply looked back into her eyes with a cold stare, and when Rainbow looked back, the two were immediately locked in a starring contest that would take a while for either side to win.

❄❄❄

  Cloudchaser quickly flew back to Flitter’s house to help with Rumble and to give her back the book. When she got inside, she saw Flitter and Rumble chatting away.

  “Hey here’s your book,” Cloudchaser said, getting Flitter’s attention.

  “Oh, thanks!” Flitter said, taking the book from Cloudchaser.

  “Yeah, hey, have you seen the new stallion in town?”

  “No, why? Something going on?” Flitter said with an innocent grin.

  “What? No! I mean, he seems like a nice guy.”

  “Ohhhhhhh,” Flitter said, still keeping the same grin.

  “It’ll probably pass by tomorrow,” Cloudchaser replied, and she turned to leave and go see Thunderlane.