Journey Into the Frozen North, Part II: Vision

Anna broke out into brief hysterical laughter upon seeing the snow melt off the tank thanks to the flamethrowers. In addition, she was jumping around whilst prancing like a lunatic. After her little fit ended, she sat back on the stool with a very large grin on her face. A sigh of relief soon escaped her lips, and her eyes closed as if in a dream.

Lance held his chin up using the knuckles of his hands. A faint, very devious smirk crossed his lips. It quickly turned into a frown as his eyes widened. "Ah hell, I forgot the coats!" He cried desperately as he looked at the snow-laden screen.

"About that..." Anna said, still smirking as she pointed to the coat rack. Hanging on its racks were precisely three coats, one of which being the same exact one that Lance gave Pinkie before leaving for Manehatten. Underneath this coat and hanging on the same rack was a layer of black fur, which would provide warmth. Another coat hung on a separate was a light brown with tan trimmings around the neck and wrists. It was made entirely out of forest bear fur, and the trimmings were made from dyed chimera bear fur. The last coat, built for a pony, was made of a combination of wool and more chimera bear fur. There were small holes on the backside to allow wings to slide through with ease.

The palm of Lance's hand connected with his face as a wry smile crossed his lips. "Derp," was all he said as horselaughs escaped his mouth.

"We all derp sometimes, so don't take it too hard." Anna sighed, leaning towards and wrapping an arm around Lance.

For some reason, the flamethrowers stopped altogether. Rainbow put her coat on before trotting over to the couple. She eyed the screen that showed what was before the tank and her jaw dropped. A gasp of horror escaped her mouth. Lance and Anna looked at Rainbow, and then slowly moved their gazes towards the screen. They too gaped in horror, for the screen showed the feet of a creature whose pelt looked as though it were made of the cosmos. Small white stars dotted a dark blueish-purple landscape, and other colors and shapes of stars were present.

The tank shook as if it were being lifted high into the air by a crane. Rainbow was frantically flying around as she gave Anna and Lance their jackets.

"Bucking hell, bucking hell, BUCKING HELL!" Rainbow shrieked as she circled the inside of the tank. Her hooves were on her head and her rear legs kicked frantically in the air. Now, the screen was showing a dark blueish-purple bear's face. Yellow sclera and blood crimson irises greeted all three. A blue, eight-pointed star sat just between the eyes and its points aligned perfectly. What's more, the monstrosity was partially transparent, making the snow blanket behind it appear to be lost in space.

"What. The. FUCK?!" Anna and Lance shrieked simultaneously as their eyes went wide and their ears fell flat.

The beast roared angrily at the tank, as if its presence offended its very magnificence. The action also revealed teeth seemingly made of gold that were dripping with quickly-cooling saliva.

"WE PISSED OFF AN URSA MAJOR! IT'S GONNA EAT US ALIVE!!!" Rainbow yelled in such fright she sounded like a little filly.

The Ursa Major roared once more, and it was still angry. But Anna picked up something else in the monstrosity's voice...

Sadness. The creature was sad. But why?

Anna got off her stool and climbed to the hatch. She began to quickly pry it open.

"What are you doing?!" Rainbow yelped in surprise as her wings snapped open.

"I wanna try something." Anna replied, opening the hatch and climbing out into the howling winds that kept trying to remove her dress and coat. It was nipping at her skin and hooves, and not in the good way. The beast roared yet again right into the archer's face, and this time it scrunched its eyes shut in doing so.

Anna's horn was flaring up again. At the same time, the eight-pointed star seemed to glow and resonate as well.

My child....

Anna's ears perked up. Whose child was what speaking of? Her horn flared brighter now, and leaf-shaped sparks danced about to and fro.

My baby....my sweet little baby boy...

The eight-pointed star kept giving off a faint glow. And then, Anna's eyes went blank white as she entered a trance.....no, not a trance.

A vision. A vision of a small, human sized blue bear cub with a white star on its forehead. Approaching the hapless creature was an entire group of ponies with knives in their mouths.

Skinning knives.

The bear cub wailed in agony and all sight went to darkness. The sounds of ripping, tearing, and slicing flesh were heard and they rang in Anna's ears. And then, the vision showed a brown-grey stallion with a black mane and a red horn protruding from his forehead. This horn had no segments, and was curled inwards. He wore sinister silver armor around his horn and makeshift crown and silver, bladed horseshoes. On his back and concealing his cutie mark was a long robe ending in royal white trims. The interior of this robe appeared to me made of the same material as the fur of the bear cub, and it was translucent to boot. In front of him on a gold platter was cooked flesh with stubby legs. And behind him on a platter of copper was the cub's head, a look of horror and pain forever frozen on its once-living frame.

The vision ended. Anna's horn ceased sparking. She blinked and was staring at the Ursa Major again.

Tears fell from the mother bear's eyes and solidified onto the snow blanket below. The Ursa Major was....crying. She let off a low growl, as if she couldn't shake off her grief.

Another piercing howl of agony sounded from the bear's throat and was carried far and wide by the winds of the raging snowstorm. She then looked at the archer somberly, and blinked a few times as more tears fell onto the cold world below.

At last, Anna's mouth formed words. "I.....I want to help. It....it won't get your baby back, but it's the best I can do."

The beast looked at her, blinking a few times again. She was somewhat shocked, but seemed intent on listening.

"I.....I'll get what's.....what's left of your child and......find a......find a nice place to bury it in. I'll....make sure it's warm. I'll make it warm so its afterlife won't be a cold hell!" Anna wailed, scrunching her eyes closed as she tried holding back her own tears.

The Ursa Major nodded and let off a soft growl that sounded sad, but her sorrow seemed to have been softened somewhat. She slowly lowered the tank onto the snow blanket and a white glow soon encompassed her form. It soon flashed very bright for a moment before fading away. Anna opened her eyes and felt something in her hand. She lifted it to her face and saw that it was a rock.

A rock the same blueish-purple as the Ursa Major. It even had her star on its frame and smaller, white dots on its frame. The archer then looked ahead of the tank as the winds kelp howling in her ears and caused her attire and tail to billow viciously.

There in the distance stood an irregular structure obscured by the raging snow.