Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

A raging snowstorm howled all around as far as the eyes of one could see; it appeared there was no end to the thick white blanket for miles around. Houses were but mounds piled under the white, and unbearable cold made it very difficult for one to traverse in this frozen wonderland.

Trudging slowly against the odds were five ponies, all of whom had scarves wrapped around their necks and cloaks wrapped on their bodies. One with a tan pelt had a crossbow strapped to his foreleg, another of green had a sword partially hidden in a saddlebag, and a third marred in purple had a ball attached to her hoof via string. The other two--one with an orange pelt and the other with blue--followed close behind with an odd object on one and the other carrying a boomerang, scarves, cloaks and manes billowing as the shrieking cold snowstorm raged on full-force.

Cold nipping at hooves was not a concern for this lot, ice beginning to form on their legs as a result. They were somehow undeterred by the menacing weather; it was as if their lives depended on them approaching some unseen destination. The group stopped briefly, all exchanging glances with one another before they looked up.

Above them wheeled a chariot, pulled by pegasus ponies of purest white wearing scarves and cloaks that did not hinder flight. The chariot landed, and the ponies with weapons hopped on before it took off again. The ponies sitting in the golden carriage tried their best to pull the hoods of their cloaks over their faces, but it was difficult to manage with the snowstorm present around them.

A train whistled loud and clear, causing the mare with the ball and the stallion with the odd object to look at the white blanket below. The others inside soon mimicked those two, seeing a train of blackest hue shooting its way northward on tracks that were revealed thanks to the wheels, only to be obscured by the unforgiving snow once more.

“What’s that doing out here?” The mare with the boomerang asked, eyes wide in disbelief as she watched the train.

“I wish I knew, Koto!” Cried the purple mare, her hood falling off of her head. Her purple mane billowed in the snow wildly as the chariot went onwards.

“How’s that locomotive even able to be on frozen tracks?!” Yelled the tan stallion, glancing between the train that whistled once more and his fellow cloaked ponies.

“I think it’s best for us to not know, Tenmei!” Replied the orange stallion, long red tail billowing behind his frame.

“Let’s focus on the main task at hoof!” Wailed the green stallion as he too exchanged glances with the others.

“Nagare’s right! We can’t sit here expecting the answers to come to us!” Cried the purple mare, her eyes still set on the train.

“You all heard Yuuki!” Yelled the orange stallion.

“We can’t do anything while we’re in this bloody chariot, Rekka! We have no alternative as it currently stands!” Tenmei yodeled, staring at the train as it whistled once more before an amalgamation of auras--crimson, light blue, and navy--bathed the train’s entire exterior before its wheels were replaced with many a pony leg.

“Actually, I think we can!” Koto cried, pointing a hoof at the train as it metamorphosized further, growing a head with ears and a horn. It roared instead of whistling, its new appendage glowing a deep blue-violet in color as its first two sets of legs propelled its front cart off the tracks, followed immediately by the second and third.

“The hell’s it doing?!” Nagare hissed, watching the train’s multi-segmented body twist around in such a way it looked like a snake about to snatch a bird out of the air, mouth lined with fangs poised right at the chariot.

The pegasi pulling the carriage dodged the beast as it crashed into the snow, white cascading around its form as it pulled itself cart by cart off the tracks. This also caused all within the flying vehicle to fall onto their stomachs and backsides.

“Whatever it’s trying to pull, it sure ain’t happy!” Yuuki caterwauled, scrambling to her hooves awkwardly. The train roared as it rose up, multitudes of legs springing it into the air as it twisted its metallic body again, this time spouting claws and arms made of barbed iron from its maw. The claws succeeded in knocking the pegasi who pulled the chariot out of the air, causing the flying vehicle to spin in the air and fling the ponies inside out, making them roll in the snow as they landed.

The sight of all seven was obscured in darkness, the vicious snowstorm howling in their ears as the thick, white blanket of cold rapidly engulfed the lot and obscured them entirely. The train returned to its tracks and previous form as though nothing had transpired, wheels dragging it northwards towards some destination.

A cloaked stallion with a gold horn protruding from his hood trudged to where Yuuki had been buried by the snow. His horn glowed with a hue of crimson, and he brushed aside the snow to unearth the mare who was surely dazed and nearly frozen to death, grinning as she kicked weakly with her hooves.

He knelt down, putting his muzzle next to her ear, grin still plastered onto it. He whispered something as the snow piled another cold blanket onto the mare.

“AAAH!!” Yuuki cried, breathing frantically as her eyes splayed wide open. She found herself on a hard, shiny surface that was illuminated by the light of a very thin crescent moon that could be seen from the nearby window. The young mare got up onto her hooves before instantly freezing as she heard hoofbeats outside her current area.

She turned around slowly to find a door being splayed wide open, and trotting inside was Kaguya. Her mane was frazzled, and her eyelids hung heavy as though she had yet to get a wink of sleep in days. “What are you doing…” Kaguya started, yawning before she continued, “up? It’s three in the freaking morning…”

Yuuki shook her head. “I had...I had a bad dream...I think.” She answered, ears flat on her skull. “You?”

“I could not sleep for more than a minute…” Kaguya groaned, turning around and trotting into the hall. Yuuki sighed and followed the elder, tired mare and noticed she was going downstairs.

Kaguya already sat down on a chair at the table, groggy eyes watching intently as the purple mare made her way down the stairs and towards her. The younger mare sat next to the elder who continued to stare at her with bloodshot eyes.

“Want me to get you something?” Yuuki asked, putting her front hooves on the table.

Kaguya shook her head, placing one front hoof over Yuuki’s. “No, thank you very much.” She answered, her voice weak. “You’re...aware we still need to talk, right?”

Yuuki sighed as she stared rather blankly at the table. “I guess so.” She murmured.

“Where were we before you flipped? Something about a dark place and that….jerk?” Kaguya inquired, rubbing her eyes with the hoof that wasn’t touching Yuuki. She yawned again, ears twitching.

“He...asked me why I was pretty. When I failed to answer his question, he...he hit me in the gut.” Yuuki started, ears flat on her skull. She continued to stare blankly at the table.

“What happened after that?” Kaguya inquired. She yawned once more.

“He...even with his horn glowing, I couldn’t see too good...I think...he put something slimy in my mouth?” Yuuki continued, putting a hoof on her head and rubbing it vigorously before setting it down again.

“What...did it feel like, aside from slime?” Kaguya asked, an ear twitching.

“It...was kinda thick, like an apple and a half being shoved into my mouth at once...maybe two whole apples...it tasted bad too.” Yuuki sighed, still staring at the table. Slowly, it was coming back to the tired purple mare.

“What happened after that?” Kaguya asked, rubbing her eyes.

“A...sort of goo or something slid down my throat...after the thing left my mouth, I kinda threw up the...slime? I swear it was saltier than the ocean, and really bitter.” Yuuki stated, her ears perking up momentarily.

“I...I’ll be blunt: I’m starting to dread what happened next. Do continue.” Kaguya said, her mouth twitching into a visible frown.

“He...hit me again, and then threw me into a wall or three and started calling me a bitch. He also threw in ‘dirty’ and ‘worthless...’” Yuuki recalled, turning her head to look at the elder with eyelids slanted in a sad look. “Am I worthless?”

“No, you’re not. Do...continue.” Kaguya answered, gulping hard after yawning again. “Great heavens, what else did he call her?!” She thought, sighing.

“Anyway, he...put something in my rear...it felt like it was in my...uh...I forget what’s it’s called…” Yuuki sighed, turning her whole body in Kaguya’s direction. She slowly put a hoof between her hind legs. “Right here...I think…and it hurt a lot. It felt like I was being ripped apart.”

Kaguya’s eyes widened in an instant, and a very faint blush came on her face. “A-anything else n-noteworthy?” She stammered, ears flat on her skull as she quickly looked away.

“He...told me I was in something...heat, I think? He put a chain on my neck...to shut me up, and...I blacked out.” Yuuki said, staring at the table again as she turned her body away from the elder mare. “Nothing else happened...before I woke up in the hospital.”

“You were...wait, WHAT?!” Kaguya stammered, turning to Yuuki with shrunk pupils and mouth hanging ajar. “I-In...heat, you said? Did I hear right?”

“Y-Yeah...why?” Yuuki replied, looking at Kaguya as if about to say something along the lines of ‘I did nothing wrong.’

“We’re...we’re taking you to the doctor later today. I...I hope it’s not what I think it is.” Kaguya stammered, face unable to twist towards any other emotion she could muster.