Life, Love, & Magic

Five Years Ago...

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Frost was finally ready.

He was now old enough to work, meaning that he was old enough to finally stop depending on his parents' legacy and live by his own code. He wouldn't need anyone to help him. He would finally be able to live without anyone's help.

It started out well enough. He used the remaining wealth of his parents to become a well known, anonymous benefactor to Canterlot society, known only to outsiders as 'Fancypants'. He spent the money in all the ways that he'd read about, paying others obscene amounts to gamble his money for him on races and casinos around Equestria. He had amassed quite a fortune, and began to believe that his luck would never run out. However, fate had different plans in store. An unknown representative of his betrayed him and took every bit he had stashed in the bank before disappearing. Frost had lost everything, and was reduced to living at the bottom of Canterlot's food chain. He did whatever he could to gain money, to support himself and his sister, now completely separated from the rest of the world, but never lost his dignity. He refused to lose faith that he could pull himself up, that he could return to where he had once been. One day, when he returned home from the menial labor that he was now required to do to make ends meet, his sister was waiting for him. That....that was impossible. She hadn't left that room in over three years. Something was happening, something he could've stopped, something he would've stopped, if only he had known.

She looked awful. She didn't look dirty, despite the fact that she probably hadn't cleaned herself in all that time, just shockingly...pale. Her coat had become a very light grey color, almost completely white, and she hadn't put on a lot of weight in all those years, but her eyes, those big, beautiful eyes, hadn't changed a bit, making her look as if she was the exact same filly he used to know in love, and her body had simply aged incredibly quickly, beyond her ability to keep up.

She just stood there, blank eyed, staring at Frost, for a good two minutes, before falling over. Frost had been paralyzed by her stare, and felt something....changing him, as if something other than his sister was behind those familiar eyes, holding him still while it did whatever it chose to his body, his mind. Almost immediately after his sister passed out, a pony was standing over her, watching Frost in much the same way. This was unreal. It was as if time had stopped, and this stranger and him were in their own little world. The stranger was wearing a dark red suit, and he had no tail or mane. His coat was a blank white, and his entire body looked smooth, as if he didn't have a coat at all. The most disturbing feature, however, was his face, or more accurately, his lack of one. Everything was in the right place, his pointed nose, his ears, but other than that, most of his face was missing. No nostrils, no mouth, and the only thing remaining of his eyes were two faint stitch-like markings. Aside from that, his forehead bore a stitch too, although this one was much more prominent. A similar stitch existed over his right hoof, enough so that Frost could clearly make it out despite the sleeves of the suit covering most of the stranger's forearms. Frost never knew how he spoke despite his lack of a mouth, but when he did, it left behind a faint echo, an echo that sounded much more sinister than his calm, soothing voice.

"Hello little pony. You called for me, correct?"

Frost was confused. "I-I never---"

The stranger was suddenly in front of him. "Don't plAy coy. You called me. I felt it. I came. Simple."

"But---"

"Don't interrupt me, little pony. I have a short fuse. Now, relax. I have a proposal that I believe you can't ignore."

Suddenly, the old fireplace lit up. That was impossible. No wood had been there even when his parents were still here.

"Now, I believe you have....something I want. It's nothing important. I just need you to give me what I ask for, and you'll have everything you want and more."

He waved his arm, and an image appeared in the air. It was Frost, dressed in a dashing suit, having the stallion who betrayed him arrested, with his sister, looking the way she should after all these years, standing next to him. He had all the bits in Equestria, and stood second only to the Princesses in fame and glory. But before Frost could grasp it, it faded away. "No, no give it back!! I NEED IT!!"

The stranger's voice took on a more sinister tone. "Of course you do. Doesn't everyone? But you - you could have it. Have it ALL. And all I need from you is a signature on the dotted line." A floating scroll appeared out of mid-air. It unraveled itself until all the small print and the large line for signatures was completely visible. Frost was no fool. He always read his contracts. But in spite of all the times he looked over it, there wasn't a single loophole that the stranger was trying to exploit. All he had to do was help him with his problem, and he got everything he had seen - everything. He wasn't actually completely sure yet, but his hoof moved on it's own, stamping the contract with it's impression. The impression instantly became seared into the scroll in a small haze of flame, and the contract disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

The stranger's face instantly gained a grim smile out of nowhere, stretching all the way from ear to ear. He appeared face to face with Frost, so closely that one could smell the smoke on him.

"Thank you for signing. Now, here's your *REWARD!!!!!*"

He dissipated into a cloud of red mist, and shot into Frost's eyes, nose, and mouth. Frost couldn't see anything, feel anything, for the next few seconds other than pain. He saw only red. He heard only white noise. And then he blacked out.

When he woke up, his sister was next to him, staring with curiosity. He tried to talk to her, tell her what had just happened, but she remembered nothing after the day of their parents' deaths, which shocked him. Her mind was the same, but she was different, physically older now.

When Frost got up to explain to her the past several years, a Voice spoke to him inside his head.

"Well, little pony, you've gotten what you wanted. Now keep your end of the bargain. I wanted a host so that I may manipulate the most powerful beings in this world.... but that will come later. It is of no concern now. When the time comes, I will approach you again, but until then... well, consider me nothing more than a Voice in your head, one to... guide you on the path that is now your destiny. You cannot break free. Don't even try. We are now one, and will be so until I dictate otherwise. Until then, little pony.... I await the day our funcan begin...." With that, The Voice disappeared, and Frost came to a horrifying realization.

He would never be able to live on his own again.

He was never alone.

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Applejack led Twilight into the library. Nopony payed the two particular attention, save for the small group on the other side of the room. As they approached, Rarity began to scold Applejack. "Ugh, how disgusting!! Applejack, couldn't you have at least tried to tidy yourself up before coming here? You look positively filthy!!"

Applejack rolled her eyes. " Well excuse me, miss princess. Ah wasn't planning on staying long in the first place...."

This earned a dejected "Awww" from Pinkie.

"....but Ah decided that I just had to meet that new stallion you were goin' on about!" Applejack turned her attention to Frost.

"Ooowee! You are a handsome one, aren'tcha? Twilight sure knows how to pick 'em!" This earned a few giggles from the rest of the group and a massive shade of red for Twilight's face. "A-applejack!! Don't say that!! I-I mean, I---"

Twilight was interrupted by Applejack's hoof closing her mouth. "Now Twi, I doubt this is the time or place for you to be talkin' about yer relationships an' what not." She whispered just loud enough for Frost to hear, "Don't let 'em get away!"

That was enough to elicit a rare chuckle from Frost.

Once again, Applejack turned her attention to him. "Now then, what's your name? Pinkie didn't really mention it earlier 'fore she dashed off."

Pinkie chimed in. "Well duh! I had to hurry and invite everyone else in town!!"

Frost replied, deciding to ignore Pinkie's outbursts. "Well, my name is Frost Grey. I just moved here from Canterlot."

"Oh, one of them big city type ponies, then! Well, if you were lookin' ta get away from some of those snooty types, then yall've come t' the right town."

Frost knew he was going to like her. "Actually, that's exactly why I had to leave. Canterlot was getting to be a bit.... much, so I decided to start over."

This time it was Rarity who chimed in."But how could you WANT to leave Canterlot? The glitz, the glamour, the famous ponies! It's all so wonderful!"

"Pro'bly 'cause being around so many ponies who don't know the meaning of 'selfless' and wouldn't get off their high horses for five seconds to help someone out on the street got to be too much for 'em!"

"That is called 'refinement', dear Applejack, and it's something that SOMEPONIES in town are in serious need of!"

The two scowled at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter. Frost guessed that they had resolved their differences long before this, and the fact that they still managed to joke about it must've meant they truly did have a strong friendship. Applejack stopped laughing for a moment and asked a serious question. "Oh, Frost, have ya seen a pegasus named Rainbow Dash? That silly filly had the nerve ta challenge me to a cider drinking contest before flying off over here! Ah wouldn't be surprised if she'd fallen out of the sky on the way, what with all that she drank in her belly. Heh, I'll admit the girl can hold her cider, but she ain't an Apple!" Applejack obviously held her abilities in high regards. She reminded him a bit of Rainbow Dash.

"Uh, I wouldn't wake her. She managed to introduce herself to me before passing out, and she's asleep in Twilight's room."

Pinkie had a big smile cross her face, which, under consideration, actually was much more noticeable than normal. "Ooh, Ooh! I've got an idea!!" She dashed upstairs towards Twilight's room, while AJ and Rarity decided to take their conversation elsewhere. It wasn't until Frost turned around that he understood why.

Twilight was standing there, a small blush on her face and a smile crossing her lips. "I wanted time to talk to you alone. It's a private thing. I...I do have feelings for you."