Cold and Alone

The Frozen North is an unexplored wilderness imagined as a frozen treasure trove. Not many ponies have dared venture even in it's direction, and those that have... their fate is still unknown to this day. For one bat mare named "Aqua Breeze", the promise of treasure was too great, and the risks small. As her airship soared though the cold air, the mare shivered, not from the chill, but from the thrill and excitement hitting her at the same time. She looked out over the pure white wasteland and pondered where to start. She wouldn't have to wait for long, however, as her ship started to shake as some unknown force took control. The full brunt of the risks hit her as she started to worry. She was confident in her piloting, but the fact that it felt like something had turned her ship into a bobble head doll scared her beyond belief.

BOOM

A sudden explosion from right underneath the mare's position told her everything she needed to know: she wouldn't be airborne much longer. As she shot up from the deck, a second explosion sent debris in her direction. Attempting to dodge most of the debris ended with her taking a plank to the head. The sudden collision caused her to lose consciousness and plummet to the ground below. In the cold air, you could hear the mare's body contact the ground below.

She finally came to nearly an hour later. As she awoke, she instinctively shook the snow piled on her coat off. She looked in all directions, trying to figure out her situation. When her eyes fell upon a wooden structure close by, the memory of the crash found it's way back into her mind. As her mind caught up further, she felt her head pounding. She reached a hoof to her head, as if doing so would end her pain. As soon as her hoof made contact, she fell forward, screaming. Her mind had finally grasped the full situation, and it scared her.

"What the buck in Celestia's name!?" Aqua screamed, "How the buck did this happen?"

She just couldn't believe what was happening. She'd just lost her ship, so she had no way to get home, she had no communication options, and she had refused to tell anypony where she was going out of fear that they'd try to take the proposed treasure out from under her hooves. She was shipwrecked in an uncharted wilderness, and had nopony to offer her comfort.

Instead of dwelling on the bad, however, she moved towards the hunk of wood that was once the bow of her ship. She gathered up as many planks as possible along the way so she could warm up with a fire. Being a species that began in caves, her coat is naturally moisture proof, so wet, sloshing snow doesn't affect her. The wind, however, will eventually kill her if she can't get a fire started.

She dug a hole in the ground because she lacked rocks to hold the wood in place. Once a good cone of wood was set up, Aqua set to work lighting it all on fire. Nothing she tried seemed to work, however.

"Wish I had my claws and a lighter," She said, starting to noticeably shiver from the feeling of cold finally catching up and setting in, "And some clothes".

Not wanting to die shivering, Aqua decided to see if maybe, just maybe, some of her luggage had survived. With the angle of the bow, it would be hard to imagine anything being right where it was at the time of the explosions, but the mare was out of good, logical options. She punched a hole in what used to be a floor to get to where she needed to go.

"Thank Luna for night vision," Aqua said as she looked around the darkened area.

What she found disappointed her. A barrel of solid ice that used to hold water, a single apple, and plenty of debris. She pounced the ground out of frustration, and then, the tears came.

"I can't believe it's going to end like this," She said between sobs, "All this work... for nothing. Nopony knows I'm out here, so I can't depend on a rescue. I haven't even started my real journey".

Frustrated, she punched another wall, hoping it would save her... and it did. She glanced up but only a second, however, the top of one of her hoof crafted chests was unmistakably sticking out of the snow close by. She punched again, then Dove through the new hole towards the chest lid.

"Thank Luna for miracles," Aqua said silently as she approached the lid.

She nearly squealed with joy as she found the chest was still intact. She opened it to find exactly what she was looking for. She pulled out the dress and slipped it on, then carefully attached her claws.

"I don't know the odds of this, but whatever," She said, clinking her claws together to get a couple of sparks, "My lighter might not be in here, but that should be ok. With any luck, the sparks I can produce with my claws

will be enough".

It took a few tries, but Aqua was eventually rewarded with a decent fire. As the warmth returned, she moaned slightly. She happily bit down on her lone apple, it's juices flooding her mouth and bringing a smile to her muzzle. For the moment, all previous fears ceased to exist. By this point, night has since settled across the land. Aqua, slightly refreshed, decided to take some time to go and enjoy the nighttime sights of this previously unmapped corner of the world. As she stepped outside, she was greeted by the sight of a beautiful blue Aurora stretching as far as the eye can see. The very sight brought a smile to her muzzle.

"Even out in this unforgiving environment, there is still happiness and beauty to be found," Aqua said to nopony in particular, "At least there is some solace in that much".