Strength

Chapters

Frost's Start
The Power Within
All Grown Up

Frost's Start

Before you read this, know that some parts of this story were written roughly a year ago, so at times it may seem very amateurish and might not be the best writing you’ve ever seen. More info will be in the author’s note.

Strength

Edited by Kodeake

A sapphire blue colt walked swiftly down a narrow white hall. Beside him was a taller pegasus mare with a white mane and forest green coat. The young unicorn colt was smiling as he strode down the hall, the mare’s face bearing quite the opposite expression as she looked down the sterile white hallway with a feeling of dread weighing heavily in the pit of her stomach.

“I can’t wait to see him!” The colt chirped with glee, adding a slight skip to his step.

“Just don’t overwhelm him, Frost,” the mare cautioned. “Your father isn’t feeling well and he doesn’t need any added stress.”

“I know. But I still like visiting him!”

The mare sighed heavily. “I do too, but if we want him to get better then we need to take it easy.”

“Okay…” Frost relented after some hesitation.

They continued the journey down the hall in silence, neither daring to break the thick blanket that had fallen over the hospital hallway. Their business in the hospital was to visit a unicorn stallion named Floeburg, Frost Nexus’ father, who had contracted an unknown illness a few weeks beforehand. The doctors were baffled by how the sickness could’ve come about. Needless to say they tried all known practices and methods to try and cure him, but none succeeded and they were all stumped by this strange new disease. With no hope of a cure in sight, Grace Feathers, Frost Nexus’ mother, was told to expect the worst to occur sometime soon.

Frost, however, had this knowledge withheld from him on account of his age to prevent causing him any undue pain. Grace would have to break the news to him eventually, but it wasn’t something she was too keen on doing.

They came onto the room that held Floeburg, Frost’s smile reappearing as Grace placed her hoof on the handle. She looked to Frost, her face turning stern that was most likely due to the increased stress she was experiencing. “Now remember what I told you, Frost,” reminded Grace, “Don’t overwhelm him.”

Frost withered a bit under her somewhat threatening gaze, “O-okay. Sorry mom.” He apologized, calming his own nerves.

Her gaze softened as she opened the door, “Sorry,” she said, “just… be as calm as you can.”

Frost nodded as he followed her into the room, the beeping of the life-support machines entering their ears as the door was now fully ajar. Before he was struck with the illness, Floeburg was healthy and rather fit for a stallion of his age. But this was not so in his current state. As the disease progressed, he was gradually losing his appetite and thus began losing muscle-mass, which eventually made him weaker. In addition to weakening, the life and vitality that he once possessed was drained away, which aged him considerably. But even though his current health was less than stellar, he still found the strength to talk to the ponies he loved.

“Hey, there’s my two favorite ponies,” he wheezed out, his hoarse voice barely audible.

Frost was the first one to be at his father’s bedside, greeting him with the same smile he’d always love to see, “Hey dad!”

“Hey, Frost,” he playfully roughed up his mane, “How have things been with you?”

“Great! I’ve been reading those books you gave me so I can get my magic to work.”

“Oh have you? How’s that going so far?”

Frost sulked, his ears laying back against his head, “My magic still won’t work…”

“Ah, that’s alright, Frost. You’ll get the hang of it eventually. You just gotta keep at it.”

“I’m trying really hard! Hopefully someday I’ll be as good as you!”

Floeburg chuckled, “I know you will. Heck, you’ll probably be better than me. You’ve got-“ He was stopped by a violent fit of coughing that suddenly struck him; coughing with such ferocity that it almost seemed like he was about to hack up a lung. Frost shrunk back while the coughing continued. If there was one thing that made him concerned about his father’s condition, it would be the coughing. The coughing was one of the things that the sickness brought about and it only proceeded to get worse from the moment he contracted the illness.

Grace went beside Frost, tapping on his shoulder, “Frost, sweetie?” Frost turned to acknowledge her, “Could you wait outside for a minute? Mom and dad need to speak alone for a moment.”

“But I want to talk with dad!” He begged with a pleading look.

“I know you do, honey, but we need to talk about some private things.”

He sighed sadly, “Okay…” He moved away from Floeburg’s bed, bound for the doorway.

When Grace heard the door shut, she let her pent-up feelings rush out in a torrent of emotions. Her head fell onto the bed, sobbing relentlessly into the sheets. Floeburg called upon the last bit of strength he had left in his body to sit up and bring his wife close, brushing her mane soothingly as she wept into him.

Grace lifted her head back up, wiping away the tears that clung to the fur around her eyes, sniffling. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, “but I’ve been keeping that in for a while. I don’t want Frost to see me crying like that. That’s the last thing he needs to see.”

“I know it’s been rough without me around, but you’ve been doing great since I was put in here.”

“I want to believe you, but trying to be a parent to Frost and making sure you still have a room here is tiring…” Grace sat back on her haunches, sighing tiredly as she rubbed the side of her head.

“You know it’s the truth, Grace. We knew we’d be in for a lot of responsibility when we had Frost, and so far you’ve been a terrific mother to him.”

Grace smiled at his words, but it faded as quickly as it came, “But that was when you were still around. And the doctors said…” she choked on her words, swallowing thickly before continuing, “that there’s nothing else they can do.”

Floeburg went silent for a moment, laying his head back on the pillow with his eyes shut. “Nothing at all?”

Her head sulked, “No.”

Floeburg sighed, “Alright.” He opened his eyes, leaning over to the nightstand and picking up a black rectangular box. “Give this to Frost.”

Grace took the box, slightly curious as to what was in the box, “What is it?”

“It’s my watch. I was going to give it to him when he was old enough, but I think I’ll have to move that plan up a bit.”

Grace looked at the box, her face expressing slight sadness for the moment when she was going to have to give this to her son. She knew he’d want to thank Floeburg, but if he was giving this to him now, then it must be that he was not long for this world. “Alright. I may have a hard time getting it out of the room without him noticing, though; I left my bags outside the door.”

“There is a magical seal on the box that will only be broken once you open it. Until then, it will remain invisible to him.”

“Okay.” She set the box down on the floor. “So what should I do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, Floe.” Grace replied sternly.

“I can’t know what you’re thinking, Grace.”

“His magic still isn’t working, and I don’t know the first thing about how to even point him in the right direction.”

“Yes, that may be true now. But you can learn along with him. You remember the books I have back at the house, right?”

Grace thought for a moment, “You mean the one that told your family's history?”

He nodded, “It’s what my father read to me when I was his age and it’s what guided me all this time. The beauty of ice magic is that each pony has their own variation of it so all he needs is an idea and he’ll learn on his own.”

“Even still, he’ll have questions. How will I be able to answer them when I know nothing about magic?” She asked, a hint of desperation slipping into her voice.

“Then answer them as best you can. If he thinks something’s wrong then he can find out for himself. This is something he needs to figure out for himself, but don’t be afraid to nudge him in the right direction every now and again.”

“I’ll try… all I know is it will be even harder without you.”

Floeburg cupped her cheek with his shaky hoof, “It will for a while, but once things calm down then it will get easier. Just be strong.”

Grace held his hoof, tears rolling down her face, “I’ll try.”

Frost cracked open the door, “Can I come back in now?”

Grace wiped away her tears, also making sure to keep the box out of view just in case he could see it, “Yes, you can come in now, honey.”

Frost pushed the rest of the door open, trotting back to Floeburg’s beside. “So how is school going?” Floeburg asked with a kind smile.

“It’s going great! I’m learning all sorts of new things! I bet I’ll be able to use my magic in no time! I’m even...”

Floeburg passed away the next week. His body couldn’t withstand the relentless sickness that continued to afflict him until he was a vegetable, which was when Grace was given the decision to either pull life support or to keep him on it. She thought it better to end his suffering rather than continue with something that would be far worse than death. When Grace returned from the hospital that day, she gave Frost his watch. He was elated to receive his gift, but he knew there had to have been a reason for why he was given the timepiece. When he begged the question, Grace broke the news to him as gently as she could, but Frost was still hit hard by it.

A few months after Floeburg’s funeral, Grace thought it best that they move to a different city in an attempt to try and escape the bitter memories that were sure to follow them no matter where they went in Canterlot. So it stood to reason that they should simply avoid the heartache before it affected them anymore. But she still had the matter of keeping Frost happy, which was something she did know how to do even if she knew next to nothing about magic; even the most basic of spells.

Frost Nexus didn’t like the idea of moving to another place, especially after his father had just passed away. He always did his best to follow his father’s words, “You’ll always find strength when you need it most,” which were also transcribed on the back of his newly acquired watch; which took him a while to muster up the willpower to put it on for the first time. He may have been young, but he knew the gravity of the situation that he and his mother were in, so he could pick up on his mother’s sadness and did his best to try and make her feel better.

However, she would occasionally seclude herself in her bedroom, silently lying on her bed with her back to the door. Frost left her alone during this time, he figured that this time was her time to grieve and let her do so. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned for her when she did that.

After a period of two years, Grace and Frost had successfully moved to Manehatten. While the city was a bit more cramped than Canterlot, it still provided them with a reprieve of their hardships in Canterlot. Frost didn’t like leaving all of his friends behind, though. He especially didn’t want to leave his father behind, but he figured it best if he was ever to ever move on.

Once he got used to wearing the watch, Frost was hardly ever seen without it firmly strapped onto his hoof. He lived by those words that were engraved into the back of his beloved timepiece. Even if he doubted himself, he never once gave up. He still practiced his magic, read every book his father owned, and tried every exercise that his father told him to do. His magic had yet to show itself, but he still pushed himself and kept at it despite his limitations. He knew he could do it, all he had to do was believe.

"Frost!" Grace Feathers called from the kitchen. "Wake up; it’s your first day at your new school. You don't want to be late now do you?"

Frost Nexus grumbled and sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. He reached over to his nightstand, picking up his grey glasses and placing them on his face. He threw off his covers and walked over to his closet, grabbing his favorite white vest off a hanger. He slipped the garment over his shoulders, putting his hooves through the holes in the side and zipping it up.

He returned to his nightstand and picked up his father's watch, taking a moment to read the engraved words to himself. After paying a silent tribute to his deceased father, he strapped the timepiece around his left hoof and walked out his bedroom door. He’d need all the help he could get if he was to get past today without any trouble.

"Hey mom." Frost greeted, walking out of his bedroom.

"Good morning sweetie, did you sleep well?" Asked Grace Feathers in a motherly tone.

When she noticed the somewhat somber look on her son's face, she went over to give him a hug. "Something wrong, my little snowflake?" His mother smiled warmly at him.

He immediately perked up at the mention of his nickname, returning the hug. "I'm just a little nervous about today. What if nopony likes me?"

Grace chuckled, picking him up and kissing his forehead. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll make tons of new friends. You're a wonderful young unicorn." She sat him back onto the floor. "Now go sit at the table. I have your favorite; hay bacon and pancakes."

Frost beamed, quickly taking a seat at the dining room table.

Frost liked his lips with anticipation as she walked over to her son with the steaming plate, holding the outer edge of it tightly between her teeth. She set the plate down in front of him and he dug in. She chuckled at the site, sitting at the other end of the table eating her Caesar salad and coffee.

Once they finished their morning nourishment, Frost went back to his bathroom and brushed his teeth. He also combed some of the stick ups out of his mane, though some stuck out naturally which was just a part of its unusual style.

Frost exited his bathroom, bound for his bedroom where his saddlebags were stored. He had not yet been able to use his magic so he had to do everything with his hooves until his magic got stronger. He placed his supplies in them and threw them over his back, tightening the strap around his waist.

He trotted out of his bedroom with a smile. He looked down at his watch which read 7:45 a.m. "Hurry mom or we'll be late!"

Grace chuckled, "Hop on my back, I'll get you there before the first bell." She let down a wing so he could climb onto her back. She felt his little hooves wrap around her neck, squeezing her tightly. "Hang on." He tightened his grip around his mother's neck. She effortlessly ascended into the air above the Manehatten, flying with extreme grace. Truly fitting of her talent.

After about five minutes of flying, she landed gently on the ground outside the school. She let down one of her wings, allowing her son to climb off her back. She gave him a motherly kiss on his forehead and flew off to her new job at the Manehatten weather factory.

Frost watched his mother fly until she was out of sight, then turned his attention to the school building. He took a deep breath, 'Be brave Frost.' He thought to himself as he opened the doors.

Frost walked down the hallways of the school, shying away from everypony that met his gaze. The halls had double stacked lockers on either side that were dark green in color, the floor tiles beneath him where in a checkerboard pattern of grey and white that sequenced perfectly all the way down the long corridor.

He was looking for his home room, room 191. Upon reaching his destination he looked up at the door with a feeling of dread. He banished the feeling, reaching for the doorknob and turning it.

Frost walked into the room quietly, making his way to the teacher’s desk. He noticed that the class had more students than his last school did. He counted twenty or so. The room also had no windows, something he’d never liked; it gave him a closed in feeling, like he was trapped.

He reached the teacher’s desk and tried to get her attention, "Um, excuse me, miss?”

The teacher looked up from her desk, seeing Frost she smiled warmly. "Oh! You must be our new student! Frost Nexus right?" He nodded. "Oh good! Class, meet our new student; Frost Nexus." He waved to them, smiling sheepishly.

"Hello Frost Nexus." The class responded in monotone.

"Hmmm," That teacher tapped a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. "Why don't you go sit over there by Neon?"

Frost looked to where she was pointing and saw a pegasus filly about his age. Her coat was a crimson red color, the same shade as her eyes. Her straight mane and tail were a dull blue that complemented her neon red highlights nicely. She looked in his direction after she heard her name being called and waved to him with a warm smile.

She didn't know this new colt, but he seemed nice enough to befriend. She was lacking in the friend department anyhow. She could be rather blunt at times that didn't warrant it. It wasn't like she tried to, it was just that she always forgot to take her friend's perspective into account.

Frost walked over to the desk next to her, taking off his saddle bags and sitting down. He opened the textbook that was sitting on the top to the page number written on the chalkboard.

"Hey, new foal, where are you from?" She asked with a somewhat raspy voice.

"Canterlot." He stated flatly, not taking his eyes off his book.

"Not big on talking are ya?" He simply shook his head.

She rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, 'Geeze, he's pretty hard to talk to.' She thought, opening her book as well. 'I'll try talking to him at lunch. Maybe he'll feel like talking then.' She opened her book and began reading as well.

The bell rang, releasing the young foals out to lunch. Frost made his way to an empty table in the lunchroom and sat down. He sat his saddle bags on the table and pulled out his lunch bag.

The lunch bag contained a daisy sandwich, an apple and a carton of apple juice. He also saw a pint an ice cream at the very bottom, by far his favorite dessert item.

"Hey, new foal!" Shouted a gruff male voice.

Frost stopped, mid-bite, to see two colts standing behind him. The one in the center was a tan pegasus with a brown mane, he assumed this one to be the leader. The other was a navy blue unicorn who was rather large for only being in the fourth grade, towering over the tan pegasus and Frost alike.

"You're in our spot, shrimp," the tan pony said with a wicked smirk.

"Oh, I didn't know. S-sorry,” Frost apologized. “I'll just move." Frost was packing up his lunch, when he was thrown from his seat by the unicorn's magic.

"We can't just let you walk away without punishment," the leader said with a sneer. But the smile was wiped when an apple hit him square in his face.

"Who threw that?!" He seethed snapping his head around as he searched for the culprit.

"I did!" He turned his head to see Neon Lightning standing there, apple in-hoof. "Leave him alone you jerks. He just moved here and doesn't need to be bullied by any of you."

"Such big talk from a tiny pegasus like yourself, Neon," the unicorn taunted.

Neon used her wings to get eye-level with the unicorn. "And what are you going to do about it, Galaxy?"

Galaxy gulped at her harsh glare and took a few steps back.

Neon huffed. "Beat it, all of you. Unless you want to get your butts kicked by a filly."

"Bah! Fine; he wouldn't be much fun anyways. C'mon Galaxy let's bail." They scoffed, turning to leave the two alone.

"Hey, you alright?"

Frost looked up from shielding himself with his hooves to see Neon holding out a friendly hoof. "Don't worry about Dart and Galaxy. They've bullied a lot of other ponies."

"Thanks for taking care of them," Frost said, grabbing her hoof and pulling himself up.

"Don't worry about it. If you show them that you don't take anything from anypony they'll back off."

The two returned to their lunch. Frost offered some of his but Neon politely declined, insisting that she had already eaten. The two merely talked for the entire lunch period, becoming friends in the process.

Frost needed a friend just as much as Neon did. But even though they didn't have a lot in common, they got along fine. They spent the rest of the day together, simply talking with each other when not in class.

The final bell rang, releasing the students back to their homes. Frost and Neon were more than happy to be free of the prison that was school. It just meant they could finally talk more.

"So what do you think our cutiemarks will be?" Neon asked. "Maybe mine will be lightning related, like my parents!"

"I don't know," Frost replied. "But my dad was able to use some ice magic. Maybe my special talent has something to do with that?"

"Ice magic?" Neon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I guess it's some sort of magic that supposed to be very rare and hard to learn."

"Wow, can you use any of it?"

He shook his head. "No, I can't use any of my magic yet." He tapped his horn with his hoof. "I don't know why my magic hasn't appeared and everypony else's has, but I guess that just means I won't be able to live up to my dad."

Neon wrapped a hoof around his shoulder, "Hey, don't think like that. I may not know who your dad is, but if he's anything like you are then I'm sure you'll be great!"

"Neon!" A female voice called, sounding like Neon's only slightly deeper.

The mare that called her name was her mother, Thunder Burst. Her coat was beautiful shade of orange that resembled a sunset, while her mane was the same dull blue color and straitened style as Neon's, just slightly longer. Her cutiemark was of a black storm cloud and had what looked to be three white waves of sound coming off either side.

"Hey mom!" Neon shouted happily as she ran up to give her a hug.

At the same time, Frost heard her mother's voice call his name. "Frost!"

He turned his head skyward to see his mother gliding effortlessly through the air, landing silently next to her son.

"Hey mom." He chirped, giving her a hug.

"So, anything eventful happen today?" She asked.

"Mhmm." He nodded. "I made a new friend." He pointed a hoof at Neon who waved to them both.

"Oh? And who's this?"

"Her name is Neon Lightning." Neon's mother stated with a pleasant smile. "I'm her mother, Thunder Burst." She extended a hoof out to Grace.

"I'm Grace Feathers," She said, returning the smile and shaking Thunder’s outstretched hoof. "This is my son Frost Nexus."

"But I just like to be called Frost." He added with a sheepish smile.

"Okay then, Frost." Thunder chuckled. "From what Neon's told me you had a little incident with some bullies today."

Grace frowned slightly. She didn’t like other ponies messing with her little snowflake one bit, but she made sure she didn’t shield him from everything like some sort of overbearing mother who would spaz out over somepony who accidentally bumped into their child, forcing them to drop something.

Neon puffed out her chest, "But I scared ‘em off so you don't have to worry."

Grace's frown faded and was replaced by a smile, feeling a sense of relief, "Well, thank you for helping my son."

"Well, Neon here has always been a little headstrong. But she stands up for what is right," Thunder stated scruffing up Neon's mane.

After engaging in idle chat for a short while, they bid each other farewell and went back to their homes. Grace Feathers flew Frost Nexus home on her back. He enjoyed flying through the air with his mother. The cool air flowing through his mane and buffeting his coat was something that simply couldn't be matched.

They arrived home just a few minutes after leaving the school grounds. Frost Nexus took his saddlebags to his room and began working on his homework. Though while he was doing it, he couldn't help but notice that his horn was cold and there was a chill in the air. He dismissed them as imagination when the feelings faded as soon as he noticed them.

After he and his mother had supper and prepared for bed, the feelings came back as Frost was getting into his bed.

'Where is this coming from?' He thought. 'It's the middle of spring but my room feels cold.'

It was a strange feeling for sure, but he once again dismissed it, still though, he buried himself in his covers in an effort to help ward off the cold. His effort was rewarded by the cold vanishing once again, leaving him with a warmer fuzzier feeling as he relaxed into his bed. His eyelids began to slide shut as sleep slowly began to tighten its grip on him.

'Can't wait for tomorrow.'

Author's Note

I'm sorry for those of you who were anticipating me releasing a story shortly after me writing that one shot for my friend Kodeake, and I apologize for taking so long. I wanted to get this out sooner but I was severely lacking in the motivation department so I basically left this fic in a word document to rot for a number of months. But recently, I was struck with a sudden drive to actually get this thing semi done and get it to you guys. It's not the best quality, admittedly, but I just needed that extra boost in confidence to actually start writing again. And if this story takes off like I hope it will, then you may see me writing more and more. If not, well... we'll just have to see what the future holds. But don't let my depressing mood get you down, I still may write stuff even if this particular story doesn't take off.

Anyways, enjoy the rest of the story!
-Frost

The Power Within

Neon and Frost’s friendship continued to strengthen over the months that they’ve known each other. They had enjoyed every second they spent together and cherished the memories they had made. Frost's magic still refused to respond and his flank was barren of his cutiemark.

Neon Lightning, however, had successfully achieved her cutiemark. It was a black lightning bolt that was outlined in neon red. She had received it after she discovered she figured out how to make storm clouds that, when charged with enough electricity, shoot out neon colored lightning bolts. She used this knowledge to put on a show for the entire school, setting up clouds so that they would set each other off at certain times; much like a perfectly executed fireworks display.

But she wouldn't have gotten her cutiemark if it hadn't been for Frost Nexus. He helped her practice the movements and planned out each step of the show. Even though the idea was entirely hers, Frost made the show flawless with his strategic planning.

Frost continued to feel those random cold waves that surrounded him from time to time. It was odd because no matter how warm he was, he could always feel them. It wasn’t anything too cold, but they were just cool enough to be noticeable. There was something about the sudden bursts of cold, something familiar, comforting, almost. Like it was an old friend coming back after a long time of being away.

Frost didn’t think much of them, though he did try to see if his magic would work during these times to see if he could get even a little spark. Everytime he tried, however, the cold would instantly fade, making him even more frustrated because he almost thought his magic was actually capable of thinking on its own and was playing games with him. He dismissed such an idea as it was utterly ridiculous that his own magic was doing this on purpose. But what he did think was that he just needed to wait until he matured enough to use his magic. Which was far more believable and would definitely not label him as a lunatic.

Frost Nexus arrived at school just like any other normal day, he walked there today rather than having his mother fly him there. He was afraid of heights, even if his mother was careful while flying, so while he rode on her back he scouted out a quick path to get to school and decided to take it instead.

“Hey, Frost!” A familiar voice called.

He turned to see Neon trotting over to him, giving him a friendly high-hoof before they walked to their home room together. “How was your weekend?” She asked, looking to him with a smile.

“Pretty good. My mom treated me to a really awesome dinner for my grades,” he replied nonchalantly.

Neon chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Is that even a surprise anymore?”

Frost shivered as the cold sensation returned to him, only this time it was stronger. He could've sworn he could see his breath. "Do they always have to crank the air conditioner in here?" He asked rhetorically, his teeth slightly chattering.

Neon gave him a puzzled look, "It feels fine to me. You feeling alright, Frost?" Concern leaked into her normally confident voice.

"Yeah," he lied. "Guess it's just me." The cold feeling subsided as soon as the words left this mouth. It was the third time it had happened to him today and it was beginning to worry him. Though even after the cold had subsided his horn still felt cool, something that didn’t happen after the cold and only increased his level of confusion and worry.

The day continued without another cold flash, much to Frost's relief. Neon and Frost had most of their classes together, the only ones they didn't share were their race specific classes, like Frost’s magic class and Neon’s flight instruction course.

Since Frost Nexus had yet to tap into his magic, he was ridiculed by Galaxy and some of the other unicorns for it. But even though his horn was useless, he was easily the most studious of them, earning high marks in the class as well as many others. He just wished there were more books on ice magic. Though, the more he thought about it, the stronger the links got between his cold flashes and his ice magic that had yet to surface.

Today the teacher for his magic studies class had yet to show, so he chose reading a spell book to pass the time. He suddenly felt a piece of paper hit him on the back of his head. He turned around to see Galaxy laughing like a hyena. He frowned, grumbled something under his breath and returned to his book.

"What's wrong, Frosty the Snow Mare?" Taunted Galaxy. "Nothing witty to say?"

Frost let out an exasperated sigh. He hated that nickname. He had gotten it when Dart and his friends threw him into a snowpony. Needless to say he was angered every time it was mentioned.

"No," replied Frost. "And you are going to have to do better than call me a stupid overused nickname." He turned a page. "But then again you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

The laughing turned to Galaxy, who silenced it by giving the other ponies a harsh glare. He rose up from his seat and approached Frost Nexus.

"That was real funny Frosty," he growled rhetorically, smacking him on the back of the head. "You should think about going into the stand-up comedy business." He shoved Frost out of his desk, knocking off his glasses in the process. "Too bad Neon isn't here to bail you out," he sneered. "May as well have some fun by beating a few bruises into ya before the teacher gets here."

Frost found his glasses, returning them to his face. He frowned as the cool sensation returned to him, only this time it was strong enough that he could see his breath. He got to his hooves, a frown still evident on his face. 'Maybe I should try to focus my magic again.' He thought as he strained his horn.

He felt the cold sensation shoot up his body and into his horn, becoming even stronger. The room suddenly became cold, making everypony but Frost Nexus shiver. His horn flickered to life with a white aura, the ground around his hooves beginning to form a thin layer of bright blue frost.

Galaxy took a few uneasy steps backwards as Frost's horn grew brighter. Galaxy suddenly felt his hooves fall out from under him as he slipped on a patch of ice, falling on his back.

Frost wasn't casting any specific spell, he was just focusing his magic into his horn like he was taught to when he felt the presence of magic. Though upon opening his eyes, he saw the fruits of his exertion.

Everything in the room had been lightly coated in frost and the ground Galaxy was now lying on had a thin layer of ice covering it. He would be happy, if it wasn't for the fact that Galaxy was still in the room.

"You think you can scare me with that lousy display of magic?" He chuckled. "Your magic is weaker than I thought!" He stood over Frost Nexus, a sneer still plastered on his muzzle.

Frost closed his eyes again, feeling the cold returning to him. Only this time it wasn't as strong or invasive, rather it felt as natural to Frost as breathing.

A bolt of energy shot out of Frost’s horn and at Galaxy. He dodged the attack with great ease, the bolt hitting the wall behind him; ice instantly appearing upon impact. Galaxy walked towards Frost, but neglected to remember the same patch of ice he slipped on before, sliding on it once again but face-planting this time. Frost couldn’t help but laugh at Galaxy's misfortune.

"What is going on here!?" An angry voice shouted.

They turned to see their teacher, Star Charmer, standing over them with a frown . Her coat was yellow with a light purple mane and tail. Her cutiemark was of a blue shooting star, accompanied by several smaller stars of the same color.

Galaxy got to his hooves, putting Frost in what seemed to be a friendly headlock. "Nothing!" He answered with a smile. "Me and Frost here were just messin' around, isn't that right?"

"If you call pushing me out of my chair and nearly punching me in the face fun, then yes. We were," he quipped.

Star Charmer looked around the room, seeing that everything had been covered in frost. She looked to Frost Nexus with a suspicion that he was the cause. His mother had informed her when she enrolled him in this class that his father was able to use ice magic, while also making the assumption that Frost Nexus could do it as well. Needless to say she was skeptical as the magic was very rare and barely even heard of, so she had reason to doubt such magic existing in this young foal. Yet the evidence in the room couldn’t be ignored: Frost indeed had the power to use ice magic, leaving her in a state of slight amazement.

"Galaxy go to your seat. I'll have a word with you in a moment," she said in a stern voice. "Frost, would you come with me to the principal's office?"

Galaxy smirked, releasing Frost from his headlock and returning to his desk. After giving Galaxy a glare, he looked up to Star who motioned him towards the door. He gulped hard.

The walk down to the principal's office was a silent and foreboding one. Only making Frost's nervousness intensify. Only his second month in his new school and he was already in trouble. His mother would have a fit about this. She may have a sweet, gentle tone and demeanor most of the time, but when she was irritated that voice would turn into a roar that would rival even a manticore's. His legs grew weak at the thought of his mother going ballistic.

"So," began Star Charmer. "I heard your father was able to use ice magic. Was he very good at it?"

Frost was drawn away from his turbulent mind to answer his teacher's question, "Yeah, he showed me a few spells, but I wasn't able to use any of them. Until now I guess."

"Do you know how any of it is supposed to work? It is a very difficult magic to learn and even harder to use."

He nodded. "I know a little bit." He paused to remember what his father had told him about the unique form of magic. "He said that ponies who are capable of casting ice magic are connected with the ice itself, using it to gain an advantage in battle should they ever need it. But he also said that it can be used for things other than battle too. But he never said what those were."

“Hmm, I see,” Star hummed thoughtfully.

They arrived at the principal's office, entering the waiting room before knocking on the door. Star Charmer talked with the receptionist for a few moments, then went over to the door that led to the principal's office. The window on the door had opaque, reinforced glass with letters on it that read: "Principal Quick Silver. Please knock before entering."

She knocked, hearing a stallion utter a muffled "Come in.”

When Frost entered the room, he saw an earth pony stallion in a brown suit sitting behind a rather large desk. His mane was slicked back and brown with silvery streaks running through it that glinted from the sunlight streaming through a window just behind him. His coat was a soft white, also shining slightly. He looked to Star Charmer with an inviting smile.

"Hello Star Charmer," he greeted in a friendly voice, rising from his desk and making his way over to them. "I see you've brought somepony with you." He sat a hoof on Frost's head, roughing up his mane. This also allowed him to see his cutiemark, which was a book with a red placeholder draped over the cover. "Did he do something wrong?"

"Oh no, but I think he would do better in a more advanced class."

"Oh?" He went back to his desk, taking a seat and putting his hooves together in a sort of thoughtful arch. "And what would warrant something like that?"

"Well, he performed a bit of the ice magic his mother warned us about today when he was being confronted by one of the students, who will be in your office shortly."

He chuckled, "Lemme guess, Galaxy?" She nodded. "Oh boy," he sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Well, that problem will be solved later. For now, would you leave me and Frost here alone for a moment? I wish to speak privately with him, which would also give you the time to get Galaxy and put him in his chair in the waiting room."

She nodded, letting herself out; leaving the two to their business.

"He has his own chair in the waiting room?" Asked Frost with an undertone of mild humor.

"He and Dart both have their own seats out there. If I had my way they’d even have plaques on them," he chuckled.

Quick SIlver motioned for him to take a seat in one of the brown synthetic leather chairs. Frost went over to one of them and hoisted himself onto the one in front of his desk, slipping once or twice on the slick surface. Frost Nexus figured the chair to be uncomfortable, but instead it was rather pleasant to sit in. Like what he imagined sitting on a cloud would feel like.

"So, Frost. Is it okay if I call you that?" He asked, receiving an approving nod from the young colt. "Ah good, good. I'm not one to make ponies feel uncomfortable unless they did something to deserve it." He went back behind his desk, his face still holding onto a friendly smile. "That 'ice magic' your teacher spoke of intrigues me. Would you care to tell me how you're able to use such magic?"

"Well, my father was a unicorn just like me and he was able to use some spells. But I was never able to cast any of the spell before he..." Frost trailed off, his mind going back to his father's passing.

"It's alright, I get the gist of it." He paused. "I knew of your father, we went to school together. We were friends, in fact." He reached into a drawer in his desk, pulling out an old photo. It was of Floeburg and Quick Silver, though they looked much younger and both wore smiles. "We met in highschool. We were around, sixteen or seventeen, I can't remember which. But we had good times together." He looked at the picture nostalgically. "Wish I could've been there for his funeral. But that’s the life of a principal."

He pulled out the drawer again, placing the photo in it and shutting it with a sound thud. "But that's enough about me, what I would like to know from you is if you would like to attend a more advanced magic class."

He returned his hooves into an arch, his tone turned from friendly to official in an instant. "Some of the exercises may be harder, but I think it would help you greatly if you attended. I know about this type of magic you possess and how hard it can be to learn it. This class could help you do just that. But in the end, I can only advise what path you take, the decision is entirely up to you."

Frost brought a hoof to his chin, assuming a thoughtful pose. He had always wanted to figure out how to use his magic and use it as well as his father did. Now he had the chance to harness his abilities and use them to carry on his father's legacy. There was no doubt in his mind now.

"Yes, I want to go," he answered with glee in his voice.

Quick Silver smiled, "Good to hear. I'll enroll you right away. Your first class starts tomorrow," he stated, extending out a fore hoof.

Frost Nexus, reached forward a ways, eventually grasping it and shaking. "Thank you, Sir."

"Please, call me Silver."

Frost left his office with high spirits, after years of waiting he was finally going to learn about magic. His mind raced with possibilities.

As he left he saw Galaxy sitting in his chair, tossing him a smirk that made his blood boil. Frost clenched his teeth and growled with anger, though it quickly diminished as Galaxy was called into Quick Silver's office.

"Galaxy, c'mere son. We have to have a talk."

He gulped, cursing Frost in his mind, and headed into his office.

The final bell rang just as he left the school's office. The timing was too perfect as it allowed him to go straight home and tell his mother who he saw today as well as telling her that he was able to use his ice magic for the first time. First though he needed to tell Neon about it; she’d surely like to hear about how he stood up to Galaxy.

He found her just leaving her final class for the day and got her attention. He first told her about how he showed Galaxy what for with his ice magic and then about how the principle and his father were old high school friends.

“You can use your magic now?” Neon gasped with amazement.

“Yep!” Frost chirped excitedly. “I don’t think I can do any of the stuff my dad was able to do yet, but maybe if I practice I could be just as good as him someday!”

“Heck, I bet you could be better than him if you really wanted to!”

“Maybe, but right now I need to get home and try some of this stuff in this magic book I-.” Frost was about to reach into his saddlebags when he realized they were back in the classroom. He was blinded by the recent events and had forgotten about his bags, which at this point contained a book that would help him with his newly found magical skills. He groaned, “I forgot my bags in the class room…”

Neon chuckled, “It’s not the end of the world.” She encouraged, throwing a hoof around his shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go get ‘em.”

Frost and Neon entered the classroom, scanning the room for the misplaced saddlebags, which weren’t hard to locate since they still hung on the back of his desk chair. Neon was about to go pick them up, when Frost said he wanted to try and use his magic to get them instead. He poured his magic into his horn once more, though this time was much easier since he knew how to control his magic a little better.

The saddlebags were enveloped in the same white aura that surrounded his horn, lifting off the back of the chair and floating over to him; the book also levitating off the top of the desk and into one of the open compartments. Once they were placed on his back, Frost secured the strap with a flick of his horn.

He looked down at his watch, which read 3:23. “Oh dang, I’m running late to meet my mom.”

Neon looked up to the clock on the wall, “Oh horse apples, you’re right. C’mon let’s go. I don’t wanna get grounded again.”

The two hastily exited the room towards the exit of the school building. The halls were suspiciously vacant, normally ponies could still be seen in the halls at this time; even if school had only let out twenty minutes ago. But there was something in the back of Frost’s mind that was throwing up red flags about walking down the hall. Mostly about how an enraged Galaxy would try to get revenge for getting him sent to the principal’s office. But he figured since he was with Neon that he’d be safe, so he wasn’t too worried about it. His magic was still new to him so he couldn’t rely on it for protection or even a deterrent.

They were mere hoofsteps away from exiting the building when Frost was pulled back by an unknown magical energy. He was slammed into the lockers with a loud crash, his head hitting them and causing his vision to blur. Neon was about to go over to him when Dart blocked her path, a sneer on his face.

“Get out of my way, Dart!” Neon shouted angrily, staring daggers at the tan pegasus.

“Awww, afraid your coltfriend is gonna get hurt?” Dart mocked sinisterly.

Neon held back her blush, gritting her teeth, “H-he’s not my coltfriend! We’re just friends!”

Dart clicked his tongue, “Whatever. Just stay out of this and let the stallions talk.”

Neon hissed as Dart turned his back on her. ‘I’ve got to do something!’ She thought to herself, sneaking off to get help.

"I got detention because of you," Galaxy seethed, slamming his hoof against the locker just centimeters from Frost's head. "You're gonna pay for that you little shrimp."

Frost looked at them, fear absent from his eyes. A defiant look formed on his face. The smirk making the vein on Galaxy's forehead pop out.

"I’d hate to let a debt go unpaid. How much do I owe you?" Retorted Frost Nexus.

Frost Nexus's reward for the remark was a punch to his stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs. He wheezed as he tried to find more air for his vacant lungs. Only making the smile on Galaxy's face widen with sadistic delight.

"Got anything smart to say now, punk? Or do you need more encouragement?" He punched Frost's gut once more. "C'mon, I know you're just dying to say something!" Another jab connected with Frost's body.

“I’m afraid if I do say something smart it’ll confuse you,” Frost quipped.

Galaxy roared, punching Frost Nexus in his muzzle, which also slammed his head against the lockers. Galaxy released him, allowing Frost to cover his injured muzzle. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. He uncovered his nose for a second and noticed blood on his hoof. He wanted to get angry. He wanted to kick Galaxy as hard as he could in his face. Yet he willed himself not to.

Frost’s expression went flat. He stood up to look Galaxy directly in his eyes. Galaxy would’ve hit him, but there was something about the stare he was giving him that made him seize up.

“So, Galaxy.” His voice was evenly toned, showing no emotion whatsoever. “Are you beating me up because you’re angry that you got detention? Or, are you jealous because I’m able to use a rare form a magic that would be near impossible for you to learn?”

He clicked his tongue. “Yeah, like I’d be jealous of you, runt.”

“Really?” Frost got closer to his face. Seeing sweat form on Galaxy’s brow. “Because from the looks of it I can tell it just tears you up inside to know that I have something that you will never, I repeat, NEVER have.” Frost’s voice remained calm, yet forceful.

“You want to know why you will never be able to learn this magic? It’s not because you weren’t born with it, oh no. If that were true you’d be able to use at least some basic ice magic spells, but you can’t use ANY ice magic spell even if you trained yourself to your last day. You want to know why that is?”

Galaxy gulped. He withered underneath his stare, his calm yet cruel lecture only adding to the damage.

“Ice magic gets its strength from the pony who uses it. You’re weak. You only think you're strong because you belittle other ponies into thinking their worthless, when it’s the opposite. You make them feel small so you can make yourself feel bigger, when in reality you’re no bigger than an ant.”

Frost about-faced, going towards his saddlebags and throwing them over his back. “You’ll never be strong. You’ll only be weak.”

Galaxy was filled with nothing short of pure rage. “YOU LITTLE PUNK!” He roared. “YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT! I’LL SHOW YOU WHO THE SCHOOL’S STRONGEST UNICORN IS!”

He charged Frost Nexus, but when he tried to move he found that his hooves were frozen to the floor. “What the?!” He shouted with frustration, straining at the ice.

“While you were having a fit, I was busy making sure that I could stop you,” he said with a neutral tone. Motioning to the floor.

Galaxy looked at the ground around him and saw that it was covered in ice. “Why you little…” Galaxy seethed, straining at the ice even more. “You haven’t stopped me yet. Get him, Dart!”

Dart tried to extend his wings, but found that he couldn’t unravel them, or feel them for that matter. He looked to them and saw that they were frozen to his sides, rendering them useless. “How did-?”

“I also made sure you wouldn’t be able to fly, because I knew Galaxy would rely on somepony else to finish up for him.” Frost explained, smirking confidently.

“Oh yeah? Well you may have frozen my wings, but you haven’t gotten my hooves, so you’re in no position to talk,” Dart retorted. He lunged at Frost, a hoof raised ready to strike him; Frost flinching and awaiting the blow. Dart stopped however when Quick Silver appeared in a flash of grey right in his path.

Frost opened his eyes to see Quick Silver standing in front of him with a frown on his face. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s enough Dart,” commanded Quick Silver.

“Frost!” Called a familiar voice.

He averted his gaze from Quick Silver and Dart to see his mother galloping over to him. She scooped him up in her hooves, nuzzling him as if he’d been gone for a year.

Ever since his father’s passing, Grace had become more protective of him. Frost figured this to be because she was afraid to lose another pony that she loved deeply. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t any less embarrassing.

“Don’t ever worry me like that again!” She scolded, while still maintaining a caring tone.

“I’m fine mom,” he said, a blush forming on his face from embarrassment. “I was just having some trouble with these guys.”

She sat down her son, looking at Galaxy and the ice that lay about the room. She looked back to Frost. “Did you do this?”

Frost rubbed scratched his forearm with his forehoof nervously. “I was just defending myself.”

She sighed, “Well, now that it’s over. I think it’s time you unfreeze this colt’s legs and got rid of all the ice around here.”

“But, I don’t know how,” he said helplessly.

“That’s alright,” Silver reassured, “It’s already melting and I’m sure it’ll be gone by the time school starts tomorrow.” He went over to Galaxy, stomping on the ice around his hooves to free him, also making sure to free Dart's wings of their icy prison as well.

After Galaxy got rid of the stiffness in his limbs, he faced Frost once again, a scowl on his muzzle. His advance was stopped by Quick Silver, who rested a hoof on his shoulder, giving him a glare of his own and shaking his head.

“You two are in A LOT of trouble,” Quick Silver bellowed. “Or in simpler terms: detention for a week. I’ll also be notifying your parents.”

Both Dart and Galaxy’s eyes went wide, begging him not to give them detention and pleading him not to tell their parents what happened.

“Enough you two. Just go to my office and wait until your parents arrive to pick you up.” Quick Silver turned his gaze to Grace Feathers. “I’ll leave Frost’s punishment in your hooves, Grace.”

Grace nodded, nudging Frost Nexus to follow her. “We are going to have a talk when we get home.”

Frost grimaced at her words, hanging his head low and laying his ears flat against his head. He never liked seeing her mother angry, especially at him, and judging by the frown on her face, he was in for it.

After arriving home, Grace told Frost to take a seat on the couch. His mother sat in front of him, staring at him sternly. He didn’t know what to expect. All he really knew, was that he was in trouble.

“What, exactly, happened?” She questioned.

Frost was drawing imaginary circles in the couch’s fabric, ignoring her question.

“Frost. What happened?” She asked again, putting more force into her tone. “You aren’t going anywhere without an answer.”

“After I left Principal Quick Silver’s office and got my saddlebags I was walking down the hall. They showed up and attacked me,” he explained, not making eye contact. “Honestly, that’s what happened.”

“Did you do anything to provoke them?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Grace lifted up his chin with her hoof, looking him in the eye. “I can tell when you’re lying, Frost. You’re my son, so I know enough about you to know when you’re lying.”

“I may have acted like a smart aleck to them,” he admitted. “I also insulted Galaxy a little bit.”

Grace let out an exasperated sigh, “What possessed you to do that?”

“I was tired of being pushed around. I did what dad would’ve done; I stood up for myself by showing them what kind of magic I can use.”

“Frost, I know your intentions were good, but you don’t just freeze ponies because you don’t like them. That’s not what your father used his magic for and it’s not what you should use it for.”

“Then what else can I use my magic for? As far as I can see that’s the only thing it can help me do…” He trailed off, his eyes glazing over as his mind went back the incident in question. “And the look in his eyes…The fear he felt when he couldn’t move…Knowing that I was the one who did it. If the other ponies in the school knew what I could do…Then maybe I wouldn’t be a punching bag anymore…Then maybe I could show them all what I’m capable of…”

Grace gently shook her son, snapping him back to reality. She didn’t know where this came from, but it scared her to hear him say such things.

“Sweetie, ice magic is meant to protect ponies. Not harm them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ice magic is unique because unlike most magic, it prefers to take a defensive form rather than an offensive one.”

She went over to a bookcase that lay on the other side of the room, grabbing a very old book from one of the shelves. She sat down next to Frost, opening the book to its first page.

“You see, back when the three races were divided, ice and snow blanketed the ground. There was a certain group of unicorns, your ancestors, which tried binding their magic to some of this ice. Once they did, they found that they could control it. Giving birth to a whole new type of magic. But this one was special in that it behaved a certain way.”

Frost looked at the pictures in the book, seeing several illustrations of ponies who were controlling ice like his father could. His interest didn’t fade as she continued telling the story of his magic.

“When a pony tried to use ice magic in anger, the ice didn’t respond to them at all. But when a calm pony used ice magic, the ice followed their command without missing a beat. They also found that ice didn’t destroy, only preserved, which is why the trees, flowers and grass freeze but don’t die.”

“So, ice just wants to protect the living things from being hurt by the cold winter?” Frost asked.

She nodded, “Exactly. Ice doesn’t kill, only preserve. It doesn’t want to gain any power, yet at the same time it doesn’t give any. Finding balance is the key to using ice magic.”

“Oh,” Frost said in awe.

“That is what ice magic is. It’s not about how strong or weak a pony is, but how well they’re able to stay balanced. Both physically and mentally.”

She closed the book with a thump, then returned it back to the shelf with the other tomes. She returned to her son, roughing up his mane. He uttered a chuckle, smiling brightly at her.

“How about some supper?” She suggested.

He nodded in agreement, his stomach announcing its vacancy as well.

After having their fill of food, they returned to the couch. Grace had retrieved an old photo album, showing Frost several pictures of his family. She turned one of the pages, showing a photo of herself and Floeburg holding a small, blue unicorn foal. Her hair looked quite frazzled, as if an industrial sized fan had been turned on her.

“Who’s that?” Frost asked, pointing to the foal.

Grace chuckled. “That’s you right after you were born.”

“Oh. I was really small, wasn’t I?”

“Mhmm. But the doctors there said you were a very strong and healthy foal. They were especially surprised by what you did after you were born.”

Frost looked at her with a puzzled look. “Huh?”

“A few days after your birth, you used some of your ice magic for the first time. Surprising everypony, including your father, by how early your abilities showed up. They also played a part in how you got your name.”

She turned the page, showing a picture of what seemed to be a portrait of Grace and Floeburg’s faces in what looked like a layer of frost that had accumulated on a wall.

“I did that?” He asked.

She nodded her head. “Even your father was surprised by what you did. The hospital room was also covered in frost, except for the ponies in the room. It also covered you a little bit, it reflected the light in the room and made you glisten. Which is how you got the ‘Frost’ part of your name.”

“The ‘Nexus’ part came after you were able to control the frost and make a picture out of it. Your father said you had a connection with the ice, telling it what to do by the thoughts in your mind. When you opened your eyes for the first time, we were the first ponies you saw. So you used the images in you to make the picture.”

“Wow,” Frost gasped, a smile on his face.

She smiled at him, noticing something on his flank for the first time. What she saw was Frost Nexus’s cutiemark, a light blue snowflake with a black outline surrounding it.

“By the way, Frost. I think there’s something on your flank,” she pointed out.

He raised an eyebrow, looking to his cutiemark. He rose from his lying down position to get a better look at it. He was unable to contain his excitement as he continued to stare at his newly formed talent badge.

“I finally got my cutiemark!” He exclaimed.

Grace giggled, “Yes, and it’s a fine cutiemark at that.” She grabbed him with her hooves, nuzzling him. “Plus it suits you perfectly, my little snowflake.”

“Mom!” Frost protested playfully.

Grace then turned him over on his back, tickling his underside. The two laughed for a good while. It had been ages since they did something like this. Frost loved playing with his mother, she always knew how to make him smile when he was down.

After they settled down, they resumed their snuggling position. Grace draping a wing over Frost while he snuggled up close to her side. Thankfully it was a Friday, so they could stay this way for as long as they wanted to, and they wanted this to last for as long as possible.

Grace brought the photo album back over, looking at some of the photos of her and Floeburg. She didn’t let Frost see it, but sometimes she would mourn his death from within her room, crying to herself silently. She had gotten over most of the grief of his passing, but some of it still refused to go away.

She got to the picture of them having their kiss at their wedding. She remembered how handsome he looked with his tuxedo. She fished out the picture from the sleeve in the book, looking at it as her bottom lip began to quiver.

Tears began clouding her vision as she continued to gaze at the picture, only adding to her growing sadness. She shut her eyes as she let the tears flow from her eyes. At the same time, she felt something tugging on her mane. She turned to see Frost Nexus looking up at her, a comforting smile on his face.

“It’s okay mom. I’m still here, don’t worry,” he declared, hugging her neck.

Grace set the photo down, wrapping her hooves around her son and kissing him on his head. She loved her son with all her heart, he helped take away some of the pain of her husband’s death. She thanked Celestia that she had such a loving son to help her get through his death.

Frost separated the hug, finding a sudden interest in his mother’s mane. In a matter of seconds, he cloaked himself in its snow white locks. He poked his head out and looked back up at her. She chuckled at the sight. It always made her smile when he did this.

He reached out a hoof to wipe away some of her tears.

“Don’t cry mom, it makes me sad when I see you cry.”

She sniffled a little, nuzzling her son. “I won’t anymore, I promise.”

Frost smiled, returning his mother’s soft touch. While he was near his mother, he felt safe. He knew that she would protect him no matter what. He felt sleep’s grip on him as he nodded off, along with his mother. They would get through his death in time, but they had something to combat the pain and sadness. They had each other.

Author's Note

So sorry for the wait guys! I've been really busy with things lately. Finals are coming up and I've gotta study for those or I'm gonna be up a creek. I'll try to get these out for you guys as fast as I can from now on.

andI'vealsobeenplayingalotofvideogameslately

-Frost

All Grown Up

Neon and Frost still remained the best of friends all the way up to their senior year of high school, their friendship just as strong as when they met in the fourth grade. It was rare to see them alone, even after they had passed their general studies and were about to be inducted into their specialized schools. They wanted to wait a little after graduating, however, to relax and prepare mentally for the road that lay ahead. It was also one of the last times they’d see each other for a while, so they wanted to make the most of it.

They spent most of this time hanging out with each other. More often than not they spent a fair deal of their time at the arcade; playing a variety of the games there, such as Pinball and Ski ball. Though they occasionally spent time at the park, sometimes playing pranks on passersby whenever the whim struck them. Their favorite was altering the patterns in a cloud to make it snow on the ponies below. Neon supplied the cloud while Frost used his magic to change the cloud, something Neon was not yet skilled enough to do.

Frost had grown in not only magical prowess, but in height as well. He now stood at a respectable twelve hands tall, his horn not included. He excelled in his magic classes, easily reaching the top of his class with not only his ice magic, but with other magic as well.

Neon was turning out to be quite the daredevil, performing for her school at several flying competitions. Her signature stunt was, of course, the Neon Blitz, which won her many a contest. She was sportier than Frost was, so needless to say she was faster on her hooves than he was.

Though, while she knew Frost only thought of her as a friend, she started to feel closer to him. Occasionally, when she laid her eyes on him, her heart would beat a little faster and her wings would grow restless in certain instances. She thanked Celestia that Frost didn’t know enough about pegasus anatomy to know what it meant. She just dismissed these feelings as nothing more than a foalhood crush that would pass once she got older, yet they kept coming back. Just as they had been for the past several years.

“Oh c’mon!” Frost shouted, watching his last ball completely bypass the flippers into the out hole; the machine lighting up and a “you lose!” flashing as if to add insult to injury.

Neon snickered, “Hey, look at it this way Frost; you got fiftieth place! That’s way better than last time!”

He huffed, scrunching up his snout. “I still don’t get how you can manage to get one and a half million points at this game.”

“Lots of practice,” Neon gloated. “Let’s get out of here; you used up your last bit on this game.”

He snorted. “I still think that thing is rigged.”

They left the arcade, the various dings and chimes fading away as they ventured down the streets of Manehatten. The streets were just as they always were; bustling with the movement of countless ponies off doing whatever business needed attending to.

One such pony had to be somewhere in a hurry, galloping past Frost and Neon, nearly hitting them in his haste.

“We’re walking here!” Frost yelled, shaking an angry hoof in the air. “Geeze, one of these days I’m going to settle down in a nice quiet place away from any city. This is just ridiculous.”

“Yeah; I hear ya. Oh, let’s take a detour down this alley; it should lead to less crowded street,” suggested Neon.

“Anything to get away from this mess.”

The two hung a right, venturing down the alley way to what they hoped to be a more open space. Upon exiting the alley, their assumptions were proven to be right as there were far less ponies inhabiting this street than the previous one.

“Nice eye, Neon,” declared Frost.

She smiled back, finding his comment to be to her liking. The pair walked for a while longer, idly chatting about their waning schooldays and what they were going to do once they were out on their own.

“So Frost, what magic school are you going to?”

“Haven’t really set my eye on any to be honest,” he said thoughtfully. “Even if I do go it won’t be as fancy as Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. But it would be nice if I could go there.”

“Yeah. Besides; you’d be too good for that school anyhow.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, probably. But what about you; you going to Cloudsdale for flight school?”

She nodded happily. “Yep; figured I’d help refine my daredevil skills and make myself ten times better!” She puffed out her chest proudly. “That and I’m sure they’d be interested in learning about my special neon clouds.”

Frost chuckled, rolling his eyes. His gaze ventured to their right, spying a snow cone stand. “Hey, those look pretty good,” Frost pointed out as he rummaged through his saddlebags, finding it full of everything but money. “Darn I’m out of bits. Knew I shouldn’t have played that extra game of pinball...”

Neon put a hoof to her chin, “I think I have some extra cash.” She too searched her saddlebags, only returning with one bit. “I found some, but there isn’t enough for us to both get one.”

“Hmmmm.” Thought Frost. He assumed a thoughtful look as his brain processed for a possible solution to their dilemma. His face lit up as an idea came to mind. “Can I see that bit for a second?” Neon shot him a puzzled look, reluctantly handing him the coinage.

He trotted over to the stand, giving the owner his payment and selecting his flavoring. He used a scoop that was secured to his hoof by way of an apparatus that was strapped around his foreleg, allowing him to use it without the need for magic. He scooped a generous amount of the shaved ice into a pink and green cone, adding an equally copious amount of cherry flavoring to it, dying the white substance a deep red.

Frost secured it in his magic, thanking the clerk and walking back over to Neon. She looked at his curiously, tapping a hoof to her chin. “So, why did you only get one, Frost?” She questioned.

“Let’s go over to a table and I’ll show you,” he suggested.

Neon didn’t release her confused look as Frost directed her to a nearby café table. The two friends sat down, Frost levitating the frozen confection between them.

He sat one of his forehooves on the table, a line of ice snaking its way from his hoof to the base cone. The ice crept up the cone, encasing it completely in ice. Just as quickly as the ice appeared it receded, retreating back to the patch of ice beneath it. Shortly after, another trail of ice crept its way from the patch beneath the cone, forming another equally sized patch a few inches away.

The ice began to take the shape a cone that had a rounded top. The colors soon followed, the slush quickly taking on a crimson red color, the cone changing into a pink and green. Frost levitated both cones up, not a single thing differed one from the other. If you were to switch one with the other you wouldn’t notice a single difference.

“Go on, try it,” he urged, waving the treat in front of her.

She grabbed the cone with her hoof, taking a bite out of the icy treat. Her taste buds danced as the cherry flavoring rushed over her tongue and down her throat. “Mmmm, that was delicious!” She chirped happily. “Are you sure this is just a clone?”

Frost chuckled, “Yep, that’s a one hundred percent accurate clone,” he stated, taking a bite of the original.

Neon furrowed her brow for a moment, looking at the snow cone copy inquisitively. “Wait, I thought you could only make clones out of a single piece of ice?”

Frost nodded, “Normally, yes. But for this one I did something a little more intricate. To make this one I had to make sure the shaved ice and cone were separate from each other. I also had to command the ice to take a small amount of flavoring from the original so it would retain the same flavor. Neat huh?”

Neon looked at the snow cone with an impressed look, “I’ll say.”

After they finished their snow cones, they took a short walk to the Manehatten Park. They strolled down one of the park’s many sidewalks, taking in the beautiful scenery. Frost particularly enjoyed the springtime scent that was in the air. The freshness of plants having just been released from their sleep was intoxicating. Neon also took great joy in springtime; feeling the fresh air flow through her wings while she flew was utter bliss. But their serenity was broken when they heard the mocking of two ponies they loathed.

“Hey look! Frosty the Snowmare is dating Neon Frightning!” Dart taunted, followed by a round of laughter from Galaxy.

“Think they’ll finally kiss?” Galaxy mocked, making a kissy face at the pair.

Frost and Neon both groaned, expressing their disdain for the two ponies. They weren’t bullies anymore. Far from it, in fact. Instead they turned into more of a nuisance than anything else, calling upon Frost’s old nickname and Neon’s fairly new one, of which she got for her so called “Frighteningly terrible flying”, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Both Dart and Galaxy were the same height as Frost was, though Galaxy was just a hair taller than he was. Even with that, Frost was still a better unicorn that he was, being the second best in the school as far as magical prowess. Dart and Neon were also rivals, each claiming to be the best flier in the school. Though Neon was clearly the superior flier, Dart was too proud and stubborn to admit it.

“We’re not dating!” Shouted Neon. “We’re just friends!”

Dart clicked his tongue, taking flight and hovering near the two. “Yeah, and I’m Princess Celestia. You two are always together, you hardly talk to anypony else, and just a few weeks ago everypony saw Neon hug you, Frost,” he rebutted.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything. Friends can’t hug each other every now and then?” Frost added, remaining the calm head in the discussion.

“When said friend is a mare it’s kinda hard to deny the fact that you’re going out,” retorted Galaxy with a snicker.

Frost rolled his eyes, Neon groaning as well.

“Plus you were the one who helped her get her cutie mark. So you’re also like her cutie-twin!” Dart added.

“Hey! I earned my cutie mark on my own! Frost just helped with planning it, I performed the actual trick!” Shouted Neon, furious that he would accused her of fraud.

“Please, that cutie mark is a fake and you know it!” Dart poked her chest with a hoof, staring her down.

Neon didn’t give an inch of ground to the belligerent pegasus, glaring back harshly at him. Frost Nexus, on the other hand, had had enough. He used his magic to throw Dart backwards, landing on his back.

Dart sat back up, rubbing his head and glaring back at Frost. “Why you little-!”

He was stopped when he met Frost’s cold glare. He summoned two dragon-like claws from ice that formed on the ground. The arms of the claws were about the width of a small tree, the claws were about as big as an average sized pony.

Frost opened the claws, preparing to strike at a moment’s notice. “Test me, I dare you,” he spat, glaring daggers at the pegasus.

“C’mon Dart, let’s get out of here; it’s not worth it right now,” advised Galaxy. “Besides, if he were a real stallion he’d fight without his magic. ‘Course he’s too weak for that.”

“If you two know what’s good for you, you’ll get out of here before I mangle you both,” threatened Frost. “And if I ever catch you saying Neon’s cutie mark is fake-” He slammed one of the claws on the ground next to them, startling everyone but Frost. “Well, let’s hope you two are actually smarter than that.”

They nodded, scurrying away like scared puppies. Frost snorted triumphantly, deconstructing the claws and ice in an icy mist. Everypony knew better than to get on Frost’s bad side, but they also knew that he wasn’t as cold as some ponies claimed him to be. Though he is one of the more stubborn ponies out there.

“Thanks,” said Neon with a grateful smile. “You didn’t have to do that you know.”

“Hey, I’m not going to let some punks insult my best friend,” he replied, smiling back. “Plus I’ve had enough of them to begin with.”

She gave Frost a thank-you hug, squeezing his neck with a generous amount of pressure. Frost didn’t know how much these hugs meant to her, knowing that it would never work out between them left her with only these embraces to satisfy her. Though this one was lasting slightly longer than intended, making Frost’s cheeks turn rosy.

He cleared his throat and addressed her, “Um, Neon? You can let go now.”

Neon’s eyes shot open, quickly releasing his neck from her grasp. Her coat was aiding her in hiding her red-hot cheeks. “Heh, sorry,” she apologized, offering a sheepish smile.

Frost noticed her wings twitch and pondered this in his mind or a moment, then dismissed it, instead thinking about a way to get back at Dart and Galaxy without fighting them. He smiled wickedly.

“Hey Neon,” he called to her. “Want to make a couple of snow ponies?”

Neon looked at him with her head cocked to the side, then lit up as his words finally clicked into place. “Oh, that. Heh heh.” She rubbed her hooves together like a mad scientist, an evil grin on her face. “I’ll go get a cloud.”

Neon arrived home that evening, greeting her parents then heading back to her room. She plopped down on her bed as her mind wandered back to the hug she gave Frost that afternoon. It felt different than the others, as if she was hugging him for more than just saying thank you or to fulfill an unrequited love. It brought up so many emotions that she didn’t even knew she had.

She put her forehooves behind her head, sighing and staring blankly at the ceiling. She couldn’t deny it anymore; she had a huge crush on him. Whether he felt the same way or not she didn’t know, but she knew deep down that he was the one for her. With how he defended her when she was in trouble. How he was there for her when she needed him most.

How handsome he was.

Her cheeks flushed at the last thought, covering her face with one of her pillows to hide her shame.

‘No no no!’ She scolded herself. ‘You two are just friends, you shouldn’t think about him like that! But…’ Her train of thought was derailed when her mother called her for supper.

“Neon! Dinner’s ready!” Called Thunder Burst.

‘I’ll have to think later.’

As Frost made his way home, his mind was tormenting him with the thought of the hug he and Neon shared today. It felt different than the others, like it was more than just a gracious gesture. He couldn’t quite place it, but he thought it to be related to her wings flicking after he called her out on it.

He dismissed the thought of her liking him as more than just a friend, reasoning that there was no way she felt feelings for him. Though he couldn’t deny the fact that he started feeling increasingly attracted to the crimson pegasus. There were a lot of things he admired about her. Her courage, her tenacity, her kindness. They all played a part in enhancing his emotions for her, but one things stood out that he didn’t like thinking about.

Her beauty.

Why he suddenly felt this way towards his best friend he didn’t have a clue, but seeing her made his heart flutter with a warm feeling surging throughout his body. He blushed as he continued to let the emotions and thoughts run wild. He was thankful that he learned to keep a stoic face, thanks to his innate ability to keep a level-head in stressful situations. He chuckled to himself at the thought of himself asking Neon out on a date.

After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at his apartment, ascending the stairs to his apartment door. He twisted open the handle, greeting his mother.

“Hey mom I’m-.” He stopped when he saw another an orange unicorn stallion sitting in the chair in front of where she sat on the couch, a cup of steaming tea levitating in the yellow aura of his magic. He cocked an eyebrow at this, feeling slightly confused. “Who’s this, mom?”

“He’s a representative from Celestia’s school,” she explained, smiling warmly.

The stallion arose from his seat now, walking over to Frost with a friendly smile that helped to quell his beating heart that was pounding after the mention of Celestia’s school, “My name is Sunny Day,” he stated with the elegant sophistication that was commonplace in the capital city, “it’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Nexus.” He extended a hoof to Frost, which he shook eagerly.

“It’s an honor, sir. And you can call me Frost.”

“Whatever makes you most comfortable,” Sunny said, going back to his seat. Frost sat next to Grace on the couch.

“Well, I may as well get to the point,” Sunny recited, his voice taking on a more professional tone, “my superiors have taken notice of your skill, and they sent me to see if you have the right stuff for our school.”

“I didn’t apply though,” Frost argued, “and my basic school is hardly on the map here in Manehatten. Did someone mention me?”

Sunny nodded. “As a matter of fact, two ponies have mentioned you to our school. Your basic magic teacher Star Charmer and your principal Quick SIlver. They both sent in very positive letters to the school board, who decided it best to see if your skill was anything like they described.”

Frost was still trying to process everything that happened. He had expected to come home just like every other day, practice some spells, have supper and then go to bed. To find that he had been nominated to go to one of the most prestigious schools in Equestria took him by surprise so much that he was debating whether or not it was a dream.

“W-well,” Frost began, shaking slightly from both nervousness and excitement, “what do I need to do to prove myself?”

“Just a few tests,” Sunny began, levitating out a clipboard from the bag that lie next to the chair, “You first have to cast at least five spells that are at an advanced level, demonstrate a healing spell, use a reconstruction spell, and finally I need to test how well you can control yourself during a magic surge.”

Frost assumed a questionable look at the final trial he’d have to face, “I read all about the tests they give before entry, but it didn’t mention that.”

“It’s a new addition,” Sunny stated simply, scribbling some things down onto the clipboard, “one of our students experienced a magical surge while taking their own test and caused a great deal of damage to the testing room.”

“Oh wow. I guess that would be a viable reason to put that in there I guess,” joked Frost.

“Yeah, we had to change a few rules after that. And It took all the examiners by surprise that’s for sure,” Sunny chuckled, clearing his throat and looking up from the clipboard, “anyways, are you ready to begin the tests?”

“Yeah, I need to calm my nerves first, though.”

Sunny nodded, smiling pleasantly, “Whatever makes you most comfortable.”

Frost took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as he felt his frayed nerves slowly come back into order. He needed his wits about him if he had any hope of passing. He needed to think about something relaxing, something that would comfort him. That train of thought led him to the hug he and Neon shared earlier that day. Just being so close to her made his heart flutter, he wasn’t sure why he felt that way towards his best friend but all he knew was that just thinking about it was calming him down.

After his swirling mind had calmed down, he looked to Sunny with a determined look, “I’m ready.”

Sunny returned the look, “Show me what you got.”

Frost lit his horn, extending his magic into the air to find any and all water vapor. He then sent the harvested water molecules to the ground where he condensed it and froze it, repeating this action multiple times until a sizeable area was covered in ice around his hooves. “This was my first spell. It’s something I have to do before I can do my next spell,” he explained.

Frost waited for Sunny to finish writing before commencing his next spell. He focused his magic onto the icy ground below, generating more ice from the stuff already existing around him. Slowly but surely he began constructing the general shape of a pair of ice claws. These were different than the ones he used on Dart and Galaxy in that they were several fractions smaller and used much less material to form.

“What can those do?” Sunny questioned.

“These are just to help me with a few simple tasks. Like helping me carry stuff and helping me multitask,” Frost explained.

“Hm! Care to give me a demonstration?” Frost nodded, “Pour me a cup of tea.”

Frost gave the command to the icy appendages using his mind. He thought about the task he was assigned, going through each step as the claws followed every instruction to a T. As one poured the tea into the small porcelain container, Sunny couldn’t help but silently admire how dexterous they were. Moreover, he was also impressed by how well Frost was controlling them. It must’ve taken an incredible amount of concentration to make something move so intricately, something he’d definitely have trouble with, and yet Frost seemed to be executing it without breaking a sweat. If Sunny saw more of this, he couldn’t think of single reason why the board wouldn’t want Frost to go to their school.

Sunny took the cup extended to him from one of the claws. “Well I must say I’m impressed. But you still have three more spells to do.”

Frost nodded, breaking down the ice claws and then covering his body head to hoof in the ice he got as a result. He then made the chunks of ice form more angular surfaces that began reflecting more and more light as the process continued, each angle getting smaller than the last. Frost eventually faded completely from view, becoming fully invisible and hidden from the naked eye as the ice bounced light the light perfectly around his body..

“An invisibility spell? Very nice,” complimented Sunny.

“There is a few downsides to it, though. I can’t use it if the environment around me is too hot. Which goes for almost all my other spells.” Frost stated, fading back into reality after he shook all the ice from his body.

“Interesting,” Sunny added, scribbling a note down on the paper. “What’s next on the list?”

Frost made use of the same patch of ice he used earlier, but this time he poured more magic into it. He looked up at Sunny for a moment, scanning him for his features to make a mental image of him. Once he gathered what he needed, he began slowly building up the ice in a similar fashion as his second spell. This time, however, he formed the basic shape of a pony rather than an animate appendage of frozen water.

Frost then used the mental image of Sunny as a guide for adding in any additional features to the blank slate that lay before him. Frost slowly began carving Sunny’s physical attributes into the ice, also being sure to include his coat color as well as his cutiemark, which was the hardest part of the process. The result was what seemed to be an accurate statue made from ice that resembled Sunny’s profile perfectly.

This didn’t impress Sunny at first, but his mind only really started to change once the sculpture started to move, also surprising him when it moved with the same fluid movements as a real pony.

“You like it? I figured you’d like seeing a clone that looked and acted like you,” Frost commented, smirking cockily.

“Oh so this is a clone, huh? Color me impressed,” Sunny joked, gawking at his own life-like visage. “So what’s your final spell going to be?”

Frost raised a hoof to answer, but he was at a loss for words as he couldn’t seem to form any in his head. He had presented all of the best spell he had and was short just one more. Any other spells he had left were either works in progress or he hadn’t figured out how to execute them properly. Though he did have one spell that could work, but it was very risky.

Frost took every ounce of mana present in his body then focused it into his horn. He then focused all that mana onto his back, about where a pegasus’s wings would be. Once he found the perfect spot, he began gathering ice and sending it to converge on the single point. After a while, the distinct shape of pegasus wings began to form on Frost’s back, but it was still missing the one crucial thing to complete them. Feathers.

It was the one thing about this spell he had the most trouble with, even after studying the anatomy of pegasi wings he still couldn’t nail down how he was supposed to make them. He had to try his best, though, he just needed to get airborne for a few second to at least get a pass on this spell. With that, he began forming the feathers which had to be made of very thin layers of ice if they had any hope of getting him into the air. He strained his horn more and more, feeling the heat from his horn increase as more of his mana surged out of it.

Soon after, he felt the last of the feathers form on the wing’s frame, leaving the completed pair of wings glistening in the artificial light of the room. Panting from the intense exertion, looking back to see the fruits of his labor. He was still wary about the strength of the wings, not being entirely certain that they’d be able to handle the stress they were about to be subjected to.

“It’s impressive that you were able to make those wings,” commented Sunny, “but will they function like real ones?”

‘I hope they do.’ Frost thought, extending his magic into the wings. The other hard part about this spell was the amount of effort it took just to make the wings flap, it required him to be solely focused on making the wings articulate in just the right way to get the lift he needed to hover. He used what he saw his mother and Neon do when they flew, mostly using the image of how they flapped to help aid him. Frost then used those images set to repeat in his mind while at the same time instructing his new wings what to do, eventually feeling his wings pump as well as feeling the air they generated.

Frost strained his horn even more, feeling his head throb the more effort he put into the spell. He repeated the same action over and over again, no longer using the mental image to help guide his actions which helped him focus more on the spell rather than both the template and the spell. Frost now felt his hooves leave the ground, hovering slightly above the floor. He opened his eyes for a moment to allow himself to see what the result is of all his strain and allowed himself to smile at his achievement, but only briefly as he needed to concentrate.

*crack*

He both heard and felt the distinctive noise emanating from his newly formed wing. Frost searched the structure of the appendage with his magic, scanning high and low for the site of it, eventually locating it on his left wing just above the point where it was attached to his body. The crack was growing steadily with every flap of the wings, showing no signs of stopping and was impossible to fix while in the air. Frost slowed the wings down to allow him to land, albeit a bit roughly due to time constraints. The last thing he needed was to fall flat on his face in front of scout.

“Why’d you stop?” Questioned Sunny, cocking his head to the side.

It was at that very same moment that the icy wings shattered into hundreds of fragments, the pieces falling haphazardly to the ground. “Well,” began Frost, scratching the back of his head nervously, “the spell was one that I hadn’t quite perfected yet. So as you can imagine it was bound to be unstable, I also got the structure of the wings wrong by making them too heavy and not giving them enough support.”

“I see. Well, while you may have gotten airborne for a few seconds, you used an imperfect spell which is very dangerous and above all reckless. So you’ll be marked down for that,” Sunny stated in an authoritative tone.

Frost cringed as the quill scribbled forebodingly on the paper, but his worries eased when Sunny looked up with a smile. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though,” reassured Sunny. “You’re still doing very well. All that’s left is the healing spell and reconstructing spell.”

Frost breathed a sigh of relief, “Alright. What do I need to heal?”

Sunny pulled out a tiny flower from his bag, using a special spell to make it double in size. When it grew to normal size, it looked in deplorable condition. The petals that weren’t lying on the soil were brown and almost completely dry, the stalk of the poor plant wilting sadly to the right. It was difficult to decipher what kind of flower it was, but if Frost had to guess he’d say it was a rose; a very pitiful looking rose.

Without a second thought, Frost enveloped it in his magic to begin the healing process. The first thing he needed to do was restore the water it had lost, taking the water out of the air to inject it into the sickly flower. The presence of more water helped it perk up, losing its wilt after it gladly took the liquid sustenance. The next thing Frost had to do was repair all the damage that was caused by the lack of water. He trimmed off all the dead petals, forcing new ones to grow back by supplying it with more water and nutrients from the soil..

It didn’t take long after that for the rose to return to its former glory, its deep red petals full of the same color and vibrancy as if it had just bloomed a few seconds ago for the first time; also standing erect proudly as if to make its presence known in words rather than stature.

“Impressive, Frost,” Sunny complimented, “I must say that it looks even better than before it underwent the drought treatment.” He stowed away the flower, pulling out another small object which he used the same spell to make it grow to full size.

The object in question was a beautiful stain-glass portrait of Celestia rearing up in front of her glorious sun. Frost marveled at its beauty for a moment before Sunny broke it apart by way of magic, letting the pieces of the once beautiful masterpiece fall to the ground with several light tinkling noises.

Sunny pulled out a golden stopwatch, resetting the time and looking to Frost, “I forgot to mention that this is timed. You have thirty minutes.”

Frost scoffed confidently, “That all? I can complete it in half that time.”

“Then let’s see it. Begin.”

Frost wasted no time in gathering up all the pieces in his magic’s white aura, the pieces floating all around him. Making use of his photographic memory to slowly place the pieces back together much like jigsaw puzzle, only a million times harder. Frost was at the ten minute mark and was already three fourths of the way done, there wasn’t a change in Tartarus that he would fail this part of the test; but he didn’t relax for a second lest he get cocky and fail it outright.

“Alright…” Frost said thoughtfully, “this pieces goes here… that one there and… done!”

Sunny stopped the stopwatch, looking at the time and nodding approvingly, “Well I’m happy to say that you’ve completed the entrance exam and I’ll be submitting this sheet to my supervisors for review. I can’t promise anything yet, but I’d say your chances of getting in are very high.” He lifted his bag onto his back, pacing everything back within its confines. He averted his gaze to Grace, “I’ll send the results of their decision in the mail. I don’t expect them to give too many negative feelings.” And with that he was out the door, allowing Frost to slump back onto the couch, sighing with relief.

“That was brutal,” Frost stated tiredly, “exciting, but brutal.”

Grace kissed him on the forehead, “Well, you did great. I’m sure once they read what he wrote down they’ll fight tooth and nail to get you over there.”

Frost chuckled, “I bet. I mean, what school wouldn’t want me?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Well, we still have to wait for the letter. But I think you earned a rest.”

“That’s for sure.” Frost stated, retreating into the kitchen to cook up a reward for Frost. ‘Neon’s gonna freak when I tell her what happened.’