Strength

by Snowfrost

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