an unlikely duo gets some unexpected mail
The Chronicles of Frost:
My Unexpectedly Excellent Adventure.
A My Little Pony fanfiction. All rights to their respective owners.
Chapter one: An Unlikely Duo Gets Some Unexpected Mail
By Cryofire
The day started off like any other day. I woke up, got out of the comfy cloud that was my bed, left my dark room and groggily trotted down the hall to my bathroom in order to wash up. Upon entering I took one glance at the mirror and shuddered. The unicorn colt staring back at me looked Like something out of a horror film. Using my magic, I picked up my nearby brush and began the tedious work of making myself look presentable. No matter how much I brushed it it always got tangled and knotted when I slept. After a few minutes I set the brush down to inspect my work. It looked just like It always did: long wavy cerulean hair that hung down to just below my shoulders. I then got to work grooming my off-white coat. Glancing back, I looked at my cutie mark, a cyan ice-crystal flanked by a pair of pegasus wings on the cover of a hazel book (I've always found the wings odd since I'm a unicorn). I brushed the fur around it and then brushed my tail, which was likewise to my mane.
Although i had already taken care of most of myself, my glacier blue eyes were still bloodshot from my tiredness: That, combined with my long mane, made me look Like i had one too many drinks last night ( which i didn't, I'm only nineteen).
I splashed some water in my face, practically washing away the grogginess and the appearance of a drunk.
After that process was complete I took one last look at myself before deciding I was ready to take on the day, no matter what it had to throw at me.
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Walking downstairs to the living room I noticed my roommate (and best friend) Stratus was already awake and eating a bowl of oats on the couch. Let's stop real quick as there are a few things you should know about her:
One: Her antics may be odd at times, but she means well.
Two: Although her figure doesn't show it, she has one hell of an appetite.
Three: She's a dragon. An ice dragon.
I know what you may be thinking, why am I roommates with a five foot tall dragoness? Let's just say she's been like a sister to me for years, albeit a scaly blue-fire breathing one, but a sister nonetheless. She has pale white scales with a powder blue underbelly and spines. She has the most amazing deep blue eyes, a rarity in itself with her being a dragon and all.
Like most dragons her size she is bipedal. Unlike most dragons however, at nineteen years of age she is already nearly full-grown as ice dragons are the smallest and rarest of all the dragon breeds. Despite her size she still has a twelve foot wingspan. She's also almost completely a herbivore with the exception of a gem or two.
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The two of us have lived together for years, as we have almost no recollection of our origins, and as a result we have almost always been on own own. We lived on the streets of vanhoover for awhile, scavenging what we could to survive. Although We had some harsh times, we never gave up.
One day however when we were both ten years old, a mother took notice of stratus and I lying in our crate home in an ally. We typically always tryed to stay out of sight but on that perticular day we were trying to warm up by basking in the midday sun, as it can get pretty chilly in Vanhoover. She must have called social services (And animal control, not realizing that stratus was a sentient being, not some random reptile from the everfree. Sweet celestia the looks on those workers' faces when they found out she could talk. It. Was. Priceless.) because that night, instead of our shanty lean-to, we slept in the Vanhoover orphanage for abandoned foals. They let stratus stay mostly because of our bawling and crying at the thought of being separated. We went to school, and quickly proved ourselves to be two clever young minds. There were some who bullied us for being kind of nerdy or stratus just because she was different, but we always pushed through, never letting anything get us at heart. We both studied hard and one day it all paid off as we passed our eighth grade finals with near record scores.
Soon after that our luck seemed to have finally turned around, as we had moved to Canterlot because stratus and I both received letters of acceptance. I was accepted into princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, while stratus was accepted into princess Luna's academy for bright minds. Unlike princess Celestia's school, princess Luna's acadamy welcomed bright young minds of any sentient race. And although only being open for five years prior, it was already one of the greatest academies in Equestria.
The two schools were sister schools (kinda redundant if you ask me) and therefor, to our delight, our respective dorms were only a mere six blocks away from each other.
For four years I studied advanced theoretical magic under the instruction of Professor/ headmistress Twilight sparkle, while stratus studied archeology under the instruction of professor Spike Sparkle. Being the only dragon student in the lunar academy he immediately took a liking to her, although he never played favorites.
Originally the princesses both were headmistresses of their respective schools, however both had to step down do to pressing political issues that left them unable to run them, much to the sisters' and the students' disdain. In Celestia's place Twilight sparkle became headmistress of the solar academy while princess Mi Amore Cadenza honorably took her aunt's place as headmistress of the Lunar academy.
We both studied hard and eventually even became the personal students of our respective instructors. After four long and hard years we both graduated with again near record scores. We soon after moved into this two-story house just a few miles from the schools. I got a job working at Donut Joe's while Stratus works as an intern at the Canterlot History Museum. Due to our combined strengths mentally the Canterlot University awarded us both full scholarships, and we both plan to start this fall.
However, there was still one thing we always wanted to do: Straus and I wanted to join the Curiosity guild, the greatest group of explorers in the world. They travel all of Equestria and beyond in search of the amazing and egmatic. The dream of uncovering ancient magics and wonders from another time enticed us to work towards our goal of becoming members. We've both sent in letters of application and recommendation with the hopes of joining, but alas, nothing yet.
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As I walked into the living room Stratus took notice and greeted me.
" Morning Frost" she chirped with her usual cheerfulness (I envy how she is such a morning pony- er well dragon, but you get my point.)
" Morning stratus" I responded with a yawn. Walking past her I entered the kitchen and proceeded to the fridge. Grasping the door with my magic I opened it to retrieve an almost empty carton of milk.
"I guess I'll have to go get more soon," i said to myself. "Might as well go today, we're almost out of lettuce and OJ too. Celestia knows how irritable stratus gets when we're out of OJ."
Shutting the fridge I retrieved a bowl and a box of cereal and went about fixing some breakfast for myself.
"Hey stratus, I'm going to the market later," I hollered from the kitchen. "You want me to get anything for you?"
Stratus walked into the kitchen carrying her bowl in her claw. "if you could get a jar of powdered opal or lapis that would be great, I'm almost out." being a dragon, she loves powdered gems, and as a result uses them as a spice for just about any meal.
"got it" I smiled as I sat at the nearby dining table with my meal. Stratus smiled in return and proceeded to wash her dish in the sink and, after drying her claws, took a seat across from me.
"Could you also stop by Carousel boutique and see if Miss Rarity got that shipment of Jade gems? If so could you perhaps buy a few for me please? I'll pay you back." she asked with her usual politeness she used while asking for something.
"Sure thing" I said between bites. "I'll head over after work."
"Thanks Frost" and with that she got up, walked over to me, and gave me a quick sisterly hug. "speaking of work I've got to get going. My shift starts in..." she glanced at the clock above the fridge"..uh...thirty-two minutes. I'll see ya later Frost" she waved as she walked past me to the front door.
"See ya Stratus"
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As I stepped into the shop my nostrils were assaulted with the sweet scent of donuts and various other glazed goodies baking within. Joe greeted my as I took a step around the counter to retrieve my uniform apron and hat.
"Frost." he said with a smile in his usual Gruff yet friendly tone. "Right on time as always. Good job."
"Thanks Boss. Do you want me at the glazer today?"
Joe chuckled. "Sweet tooth asked if she could take that shift today, so I'll just have you work up front. That okay with you?"
"Sure thing boss" I answered.
Joe rolled his eyes. "You know I told you that you don't have to call me boss." He said, with a light small smile.
"I know, I know, It just feels natural"
"suit yourself." Joe answered. And with a chuckle stepped back into the kitchen, leaving me to my shift.
The day was pretty slow, with only a few patrons every hour or so. Just a few regulars entering with empty stomachs, hoping to get a dozen of our finest fresh off the glazer donuts. I even made sure to have some muffins ready as well seeing as that mail mare with the odd eyes always comes by each Monday, asking for the fluffy confections.
After working here for months a few regulars have begun referring to me as 'Frosting', since they associate me with their favorite glazed/frosted snack.
After my six hour shift was complete, I bid Joe and Sweet Tooth farewell, stowed my apron and hat under the counter, and made my way to the exit.
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After work I made my way to the trade district in the mid-afternoon sun to pick up what I needed. I scored an excellent deal on ground lapis from the apothecary Remedy Mix at only three bits for an eight ounce jar. She even tossed in the opal for only two bits more. An advantage of living in Canterlot is that more common gems like opal or lapis can be bought for cheap, given that they can be found in abundance in the nearby mountains. Another advantage is that stratus and I are kind of well known for our dealings with gem vendors. I thanked Remedy, bid her farewell and made my way over to the farmer's market.
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The market was bustling with ponies all trying to get some delicious ingredients for their respective meals. As I walked past rows of stalls, I took in the sights and smells of fresh produce. As always, there was an exceptionally large stall chuck full of delicious red green and yellow apples owned by the beautiful yellow mare with the red mane and the cutest scarlet bow in her mane. She wore a friendly and cheerful smile that was practically as infectious as the plague. I made eye contact and smiled as I walked by.
"good day"
"Why hello there, care ta buy an app'l or two?" sweet Celestia her voice was as cheerful as her demeanor. How could I refuse a smile like that? I may be Frost, but even I'm not that cold.
"uhhh, sure. I'll have two golden delicious please."
"Sure thing partn'r, that'll be four bits"
I levitated four gold pieces out from my saddlebags and placed them on the stall table. "Here you go."
"Why thank you very much." she said with another cheerful smile. I levitated the apples into my bag, bid the nice girl farewell, and went on my way to get the rest of the groceries on my list.
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After I bought what I needed from the farmer's market I traversed over to the Canterlot Carousel boutique and home residence of the fashionista Miss Rarity. In the past few years Her clothing line really took off and she now has boutiques stationed all across Equestria, from Baltimare all the way to Vanhoover.
As I opened the door to the boutique it rung a bell hanging from the frame. There was nopony in the showroom so i figured Rarity's employees had already gone home for the evening. Rarity then greeted me from the back room with her usual sing-song welcoming.
"Welcome to carousel Boutique, where each garment is chic, unique, and magnifique. How may I help y- oh Frost." Rarity exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise. I presume you are here on behalf of Stratus for some jade, correct?"
"I sure am." I answered, giving a small smile and a nod. "Could I perhaps buy a few pounds please?"
"Absolutly. Here," she picked up a medium sized bag with her magic. "I have already taken the liberty of preparing a bag before hand. Here you are", she levitated the bag towards me, and I took it with my own magic. It weighed about five pounds. "that will be ten bits dear."
My eyes widened and I almost lost my hold on the bag "ten bits?!? Are you sure? This is like five pounds.That's only two bits per pound."
"I'm absolutely sure darling. Consider it a gift for being a good long-term customer and friend." she said to me with a warm motherly smile. She really does live up to her title of the embodiment of Generosity.
"thank you so much Miss Rarity." I replied as I payed her the proper amount. She stowed my payment in the register while I placed the bag of jade in my saddlebags.
"You're welcome Frost, now If you'll excuse me, I must get back to working on my fall line for this season. Send Stratus my regards, and have a splendid evening."
"You too, and thanks again." with that, Rarity took her leave and returned to her work in the back room. I in turn trotted out the front door, plunging myself into the cool crisp Canterlot evening.
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My walk home was fairly uneventful. The cool early autumn air nipped at my coat, giving me slight goosebumps. I love the cold. I'd take winter over summer any day. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not Immune to it. I'll be wearing my favorite coat by the time Hearth's warming eve rolls around, but for today I'm perfectly content with having nothing but my saddlebags on as I walk through the side streets of Canterlot. The quiet evening scene around me feels so peaceful as I watch Celestia's sun dip below the horizon in the distance.
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By the time I got home It was already dark. Retrieving my keys from my bag I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
"Hey Stratus, I'm back" I called out into the house.
"Hey" she replied from upstairs. She soon walked down as I was putting the milk and OJ in the fridge. "Did you get the gems?" she asked with foalish but cute anticipation, like a filly begging for candy.
"Sure did" I retrieved the opal and lapis from my bags.
"Yay, what about the jade?"
" Miss Rarity sends her upmost regards madam" I said in a faux butler voice as I levitated the jade bag into her claws. She giggled.
"Frost, your the best. Enough said right there" she spoke as she swept me up in a loving hug.
"I know I am."
Stratus stuck her tongue out playfully in response. "How about I make us something to eat? I'm famished" putting a claw to her stomach. "How about you Frost? You want a sandwich?"
"sure, can I get a lavender and bluebell on white bread please?" my favorite by the way.
Stratus rolled her eyes"Coming right up" she smiled, fully aware of my taste for those sweet succulent flowers.
After Stratus fixed us some food we sat down at the dining room table and proceeded to chow down. The sandwich was delicious. The tastes of the lavender coincided with the bluebells perfectly. Stratus on the other hand had a Small salad sprinkled with opal and a jade on the side. After a moment of silent eating Stratus spoke up.
"so Frost," she said, smiling and leaning slightly towards me. "Check this out." she picked up an envelope from the nearby counter and placed it by my plate. "This letter came this Afternoon for us, check out the seal. Doesn't that crest ring a bell?" she was smiling so hard I was surprised her snout didn't split in two. I then glanced at the seal and with eyes wide I almost died choking on my sandwich , nearly ending this adventure before it even started.