Life, Love, & Magic

Years Earlier.....

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Frost couldn't wait. His parents had promised to take him to see the Wonderbolts perform when they had returned from their latest adventure, and they were getting back today. They were so cool! He didn't know any other colts who had a mom and dad that traveled on adventures around Equestria. They always brought something awesome back from their adventures, and he always got to be the first pony to see it before they decided to give it to some museum or something. This usually meant that he was home alone, but he was a smart little colt, and he could take care of himself well enough. The only real company he usually had was his younger sister. They used to play games together all the time, but ever since his parents had brought back that creepy necklace thing from their last adventure, she had been acting really strangely. They had let her see it first, and something about her had...changed. She didn't seem to want to play anymore, but sometimes, when Frost passed her room, he could hear her mumbling something to herself about "having fun" or something.

He didn't get it. Whenever he asked his parents about it, they changed the subject. He may have been young, but that didn't mean that he was stupid. He knew something was up.

Frost had been thinking all day. He knew that his parents were hiding something, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was. He decided that it would be best to ask them about it again when they got back. The afternoon train came and went. Frost was confused. They had sent a letter saying that they would be back by noon today. He was still too young to realize, to understand. The evening train came and went. Frost got tired and decided to come back tomorrow. Maybe they were late?

Frost came back the next day. They didn't come. He came again the next day. They didn't come. He came again everyday for a week. They didn't come. Eventually, as reality set in, Frost, still hoping that they would come home, that they would take him to see the Wonderbolts and explain why they were so late, began to visit the train station less and less.

Eventually, he just stopped coming.

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These foals were proving to be a real challenge.

Barely seconds after Twilight had told him who they were, the Cake twins were already dashing about. Pumpkin Cake was busy chewing on the tablecloth, and Pound Cake was flying around the kitchen, knocking over pots and pans. By the time he and Twilight had gotten them back together, they were already trying to get free again.

Frost tried getting their attention. "No! Bad Cakes! BAD CAKES!"

Twilight gave him a look. "Frost, you do know that they aren't dogs?"

Frost had no idea how to keep these kids in check. He hadn't really ever had to take care of his.... anyway, he didn't know how to watch these kids or keep them entertained. The fact that this was dropped on him as opposed to him getting instructions beforehand didn't really help the situation. "I know that, but it's not like I've ever gotten the opportunity to actually foalsit before. I'm lost here."

After that, whether it was Frost's demand for obedience or something else entirely, the Cakes started crying. And could they CRY.

After about 2 minutes of searching and listening to the screaming foals, Twilight found their pacifiers. "It's ok, I know what to do!" She nearly yelled over the twins' cries. She began to hum a bit, something that Frost could only barely hear, and the twins quickly started to settle down. However, before she could put the pacifiers in their mouths, they started crying again, this time louder than before.

"I thought you said you knew what you were doing!" Frost nearly yelled over the twins.

"I did! Or, at least I thought I did!"

Frost tried calming down the two by rushing to the kitchen and retrieving their bottles from the refrigerator. As he tried to feed them, Pumpkin's flailing had her smack him square in the nose. Frost reeled and stumbled back a bit from the unexpected blow, accidentally hitting the side of a nearby shelf. It wobbled for a bit before the bag sitting on top of it fell over, hitting Frost square over the head and breaking open, covering him from head to toe in flour. The twins almost immediately stopped crying upon seeing him, and began laughing with joy. Even Twilight looked as if she were trying to hold back a laugh. Frost, through the laughter, thought he could hear one of the twins utter "Pinkie" before Twilight took the opportunity to levitate the bottles into their mouths. So that's how Pinkie controlled these little foals. Frost had gained a whole new respect for her, starting to see past her silly, logic-defying exterior. When the twins had finished the bottles, Twilight and Frost both carried one of the two upstairs. They were going to lay the tired foals to sleep, at least until two distinct smells completely put that plan to rest.

"Ugghh... What IS that??" Frost asked.

"They...need to be changed. NOW."

They carried the two over to the changing table in their room, careful to avoid the hole in the floor.

"What now?"

"Well, we have to take off and throw away the dirty diapers, powder them, and get new diapers for both of them. Ok, I'll get her and you take him."

"Right." After a quick trip to the bathroom to wash off the flour (and pick the doughy bit's out of his mane) Frost returned to the changing table. He took off Pound Cake's diaper, only to be hit with a stench so foul it made his eyes water. He instantly recoiled his head, trying to focus on powdering him, when the sight next to him froze him in place.

Twilight had pulled her mane back into a ponytail while she was working on Pumpkin Cake, taking care to keep her face away from the baby's bottom while she worked so that she could more easily avoid the smell, something Frost had obviously forgotten to do. With the light coming in from the window on the other side of the room framing her face, she looked....stunning, to say the least. This time he didn't have time to admire her beauty, as she looked over to see how he was doing while he was enraptured. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers when she caught the expression that he had on his face while he was eyeing her. Both of their faces turned a shade of red, though Twilight's not quite to the extent of Frost's.

"....Frost? What are you...."

"N-N-NOTHING!! NOTHING AT ALL!!" Frost's head shot up like a bullet. His temporary break in concetration, however, was enough for the powder bottle hovering over Pound Cake's rear to tilt a bit.... just enough for Frost to accidentally hit him in the face with a cloud of powder. After a few seconds of delay, he started to cry again, with Pumpkin Cake picking up on her sibling's distress and joining in as well. The awkward moment was broken by the sound of the two foals bawling (thank Celestia), giving Frost an excuse to quickly dump the rest of that bottle of powder over his head. it wasn't a full coating, but it was enough to make the twins pause and begin to laugh again.

"So yeah Twilight can you take care of them I have to clean myself up again ok thanks bye!!!" Frost quickly spouted off before rushing back to the bathroom. 'What was that?!' he thought to himself. That was, quite frankly, a situation that he never wanted to be in again.

'Oh what's wrong Frost? Caught a bit off guard?' The Voice let out a mocking laugh. 'You should really pay more attention, you know. Something could happen. The tiniest little accident--- a flying brick, deadly hailstone strike to the head, choke on an apple-- and you wouldn't be of use to me any longer. It'd be quite a shame, you know. I do so enjoy the fun you and I have together. Much more than---'

"SURPRISE!!!" Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie popped into the bathroom mirror.

This time, even The Voice seemed to be caught a bit off guard.

"Hiya Frost! Hiya creepy guy in Frost's head! I just wanted to drop by and ask: What kind of balloons do you want? Balloon animals, long ballons, regular balloons, or...you know what? I'LL JUST USE THEM ALL!! After all, who doesn't love all kinds of balloons? *GASP!* What if somepony HATES balloons? Oh no way, that's just silly! HeeHee!! Anyway, bye Frost! Bye creepy voice in Frost's head!" She disappeared from the mirror. And with that, another strange encounter of the party pony kind had ended.

'....You know what? We'll talk later, after your mind finishes processing what just happened.'

The Voice faded. That was the first time that Frost could ever recall The Voice being taken completely off guard like that.

...............

Pinkie Pie.