Life, Love, & Magic

Twilight was galloping at full speed.

By the time Frost was able to catch up, they had arrived at their destination. Twilight headed inside without the slightest hint of hesitation. The first thing Frost noticed when he entered the library was how amazingly neat it was. Absolutely everything was spotless, and every book, from dictionaries to cure-all remedy guides, was stacked on the shelves in such a way that not a single paper was out of place. Twilight must have either been obsessive about this sort of thing, or had too much time on her hands. Judging from the way she was scouring every drawer and emptying every file looking for something, he was going to go with the former.

Frost may have been completely clueless as to what was going on, but that didn't mean that he couldn't help in anyway possibly could. "Uh, Twilight? What exactly are we looking for?"

"Where is it....where is it....oh, I can't find my schedule! I haven't got a clue as to where it could be! Normally, I'd leave it under 'S', but it's not there! I normally keep a backup schedule in case things like this happen, but I never got the chance to copy down the original! If I can't find it then I'll have to write a new one all over from scratch!"

"Um, Twilight?"

Frost tried to get her attention, but apparently, when Twilight rants, she RANTS. "Ohhh, where in the hay would I find the time to write up a whole new schedule?! I'm already way off track! I still have to re-stack all the books on the 'Modern Magics and Sciences' shelves, and then I have to get down to Rarity's Boutique to pick up those gems that Spike wanted..."

"...Twilight..."

"...and speaking of Spike, where is he anyway?" Twilight immediately ran upstairs, almost immediately finding who she was looking for after reaching the top room.

"SPIKE!!" Frost heard a loud thump, and a minute later, Twilight was descending the stairs, giving a stern lecture to the little dragon as he walked behind her, rolling his eyes.

"...And another thing," Twilight continued,"It's the middle of the day! You knew I would need help today taking those books to the Mayor's office, and you had me go all alone!"

"Hey, you managed! Besides, you found someone else to help you, AND you made a new friend! That's like, a double win or something, isn't it?" Spike replied, his eyelids still half closed.

"That's not the point! Spike, you're my number-one assistant, and if I can't count on you to help me get the job done, who else can I rely on?"

"What about Owlowiscious? He should've helped you too, but you aren't lecturing him!"

"That's because he was busy delivering my report to the Princess, since you were apparently soooo tired that you couldn't have possibly moved, let alone BREATHE!"

"Hey, I have a good excuse! I was up really late last night helping you sort the scrolls in the back, remember? And I was working all day yesterday to help you clean up around here, as usual. Besides, I'm just a baby dragon. I need my required sleep!"

Twilight gave him a scowl. Frost had been too absorbed in watching the argument to have interrupted, but now that they were finished, or at least taking a break, Frost cleared his throat.

Twilight swung her head at him, and immediately a slight blush crossed her face. "Oh, I...sorry. I guess I got a little carried away. Uh, Frost, this is Spike. Spike, this is Frost Grey. He's the pony I was telling you about."

"You mean that one guy who knocked you over? Really helpful."

Frost, looking back on the incident, saw it with a completely new perspective. He was a complete stranger, and if Twilight was so easily willing to just forget about the whole thing and even ask him to help her with something despite the fact that he could have been going about his own business, then the ponies in this town must be extremely nice. They had to be better than the ponies that lived in Canterlot, that's for sure. They were always so uptight... Frost once again buried those memories in the bottom of his mind. He knew exactly who was bringing them up to the surface, and reminded himself that Canterlot was a part of his old life. If he kept thinking about that place, it would only make it harder for him to live here.

Frost came back to reality in time to see Spike receive a quick hoof to the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"You know that's not what happened! Which reminds me, sorry about earlier, Frost. If I had been paying attention instead of thinking about where that schedule could be hiding..." Twilight trailed off. It was pretty obvious that she had begun to think about where that schedule could be hiding again.

"No, I think it's my fault." Frost's comment got both Spike and Twilight's attention. "I wasn't looking either, and if I had been then maybe the whole mess could have been avoided. Actually... now that you mention it, if we hadn't crashed into each other, we wouldn't have met, and I think that's something that I don't want to change. That also means that you wouldn't have offered me a chance to stay here, and that's something I couldn't have passed up!"

Spike reeled for a bit. "Wait...you what??"

"...Well, he needed a place to stay!" Spike gave her a look of disbelief.

"Auggh! That's just what I need - MORE ponies to clean up after! I swear, sometimes...." Spike continued to mumble to himself as he walked over to the other side of the library, fixing up some file drawers that Twilight had scrambled with her thorough efforts.

"So..." Frost decided to break the silence after Spike left the conversation. "Is he like that all the time?"

"No, he's just a bit cranky since I just woke him up. He is only a baby dragon, after all, no matter how much he wants the opposite to be true."

"Uh Huh. So, is there anywhere I can put my things? I've been lugging them around for most of the day."

"Yes, actually. The bedroom is just up the stairs. There's an extra mattress lying next to my dresser, and the frame is under the stairs in a small hideaway."

"Got it. Thanks!" Frost levitated the frame out of the hideaway Twilight mentioned and unfolded it when he got to the top of the stairs. He grabbed the mattress over by the dresser and lowered it down on top of the frame, making sure that it was secured in place. Now that he had set all his thing down, all that was left to find was a set of sheets, and Twilight would know where they were.

"Tw--"

Frost was cut off mid-sentence. He felt it. It was back.

'N-no....no....'

A familiar voice rang through his mind, it's seemingly unbreakable grip holding him in place, unable to even call for help.

'Hello Frost. It's only been days since our last little chat, and already you've gone and gotten yourself into trouble again. No, that's not it. It's a presence, but nothing like those filthy vermin you always seem to run into. Especially that bunny earlier. UGH. Ooooh, what's this? An element....and with such a strong aroma. This will be fun! It's just like last time, remember? When we almost got rid of that pesky little urchin? Hmm? Hmm? Oh, don't play coy! You know you loved that part! Oh wait, that's right, you couldn't have, because if you did, then I wouldn't have taken matters into my own hands. Oh the thrill of it all! This time you and I are going to have so much more fun. You do love my fun, don't you? Oh of course you do! Everyone does! The screaming and shrieking only means that the ponies are enjoying themselves that much more. But this time, I have an edge. This time, I can get rid of them, and my influence can finally spread. And this time Frost, you and I are going to paint the town RED.'

Not again.....

Not you again.......