As the snow quietly fell from a battle that seemed so distant, a woman with long, white hair felt the man in black's hands tighten around her back. Softly smiling, she thought to herself, "What a gentle soul..."
With her consciousness fading, she continued, "Let me go... my brothers and sisters are waiting for me..."
"...Father...I've been such a fool...forgive me..." She murmured toward the ceiling.
With every flake, she felt the freezing snow accumulating on her cheeks. "It was snowing on that day too...wasn't it?"
She slips down. The corners of her mouth turn up, hauntingly as her consciousness begins to fade...
...
...
...
...
...
A woman with long, white rabbit ears and equally long hair stared blankly out at the world with silver eyes. Her large coat was several sizes bigger than her with a strange poncho layered atop with an orange highlight down the left half where a zipper would be. A long, tiger-orange ribbon wrapped around her right bicep, fluttering behind her with another stitched into the back of the coat. Several other tips of her coat were tinted this shade, torn and jagged.
Clasped to her left hip were a pair of swords. One short the other long like a rapier. Under her coat she wore black barding though it was thinner than she'd have liked, ending at a pair of shorts under the dress. There was a gap between it and her thigh-high socks under a pair of hiking boots.
She didn't understand what she was seeing. A wide, empty world of white stretched out for miles under her boots. Yelena carefully inspected herself, prodding her thick, white coat and face. It had to be an illusion before death, right? Or had the Doctor saved her? No, none of this seemed right. Her breath was visible in the cold air, she felt... cold, that was her first visible sign something was amiss.
"Strange..." She lifted a hand from her waist, seeing the molecules in the air crystalize. Her strength was back, she was... Infected. She felt her body beginning to warm up in an attempt to stave off the tundra's frigid nature yet she could still perform Arts? "What has happened? Lungmen is gone, am I within the Ursus Tundras? No, this still feels off..." It grew from a panicked curiosity to frustration.
Fishing around in her pockets, Yelena lightened up at the sight of the small sweet in her hand. Unwrapping it she tossed the spicy treat into her mouth, feeling it stave off the cold a little more. Chewing her sweet she felt her legs move forward. She had no direction, no answers, nothing but herself and the sins she felt weighing on her heart.
"I can worry later, I need to know where I am," A small jolt to her step did help though, she technically was now a member of Rhodes Island. A tiny smile graced her. "Fighting for the same ideals, that, I cannot waste."
Navigation. One of Yelena's lacking skills, she often relied on the relayed information of others to gauge her surroundings, however, when everything for miles looks the same as where you started one tends to walk in circles. She was freezing, ironically, a quality she was beginning to see the downsides of rather quickly. "I need shelter, a fire, something..." "I suppose this was how those nights in the tundra were for the others."
That drew her lips into a thin line; Reunion was a home she'll never forget, but something twisted her friend's mind, the woman with optimistic ideals and a good heart became scornful and manipulative. She used her own comrades as martyrs for her cause that Yelena still had no concept of what. Was there a need for senseless death? Who was really pulling the strings? And could those she entrusted to save her friend truly prevail against a living dragon?
Shaking her head, Yelena tripped, landing face-first in the chilling snow, pawing at the soft mounds to lift herself high again, sneezing. "Clouds are rolling in, not good."
Her teeth chattered away on her continuous struggle through the snow, wanting, yearning for warmth. She considered eating another of her candies but something in her chest gripped her, withholding that urge. Was she afraid? Maybe... if this truly was her afterlife, they remained a small piece of her previous life, perhaps she was frightened by the idea to let them go? She was too exhausted to argue against it.
Then it hit her, flicking her ears up from under her hood she spotted a change in the tundra. Mounds, large, circular mounds not far from her position. They looked like igloos. A second wind rushed through her, taking several steps forward until she froze like the ground under her. Inspecting the snow, large, deep impressions were left ahead of her own. Boots, and flakes of... crystals.
On instinct, she found her rapier's handle, sifting through the snow with much-needed haste. Regardless of this world's purpose, death or otherwise, that sinking feeling in her stomach screamed for her to move and fast.
Wading through the snow she found that it soon became flat, tended to by someone judging by the hoof markings in the snow. Strangely, she saw no stables among what she suspected were igloos. There were an abundance of them, ranging in various sizes and depths from what she could see. Screams were heard further into this camouflaged village, forcing her steps to quicken.
Darting between buildings and around sharp corners, the ex-Reunion leader stopped behind a wall of an igloo, observing the commotion from a secluded spot. What she saw only unearthed many more questions. Creatures with bulbous abdomens and spindly legs skittered about the snow. Their shells white with ice-blue liquid glowing beneath the cracks. A variant of Slugs from Terra mutated into abominations, the explosive kind Yelena was all-too-familiar with.
No, the part that perplexed her was that of who did the screaming. Not humans, they were far from the sort. The tracks she saw outside of the village belonged to these creatures, small, colorful... equines? Ponies? She was unsure, they had big eyes, a strange marking on their flanks, and displayed fright comparable to human intelligence. "So this isn't a form of an afterlife? I suppose this leads to more questions but... I'm not alone, granted, this isn't any better,"
"P-please, no!" One wailed, pinned in a corner by two of the approaching arachnids. Yelena knew what came next, if they got too close or decided on it, that... female pony, would be a red stain in the snow. "Somepony, please!" She squeezed her eyes shut.
Yelena continued to observe, conflict wracked in her head like a drum. Should she really help it? An animal killed by a mutated Slug wasn't uncommon, they were animals, still, this one was intelligent so did that mean it was worth saving? Shaking her head, she felt pensive in the shadows. "Why am I debating this? What reason am I searching for?" Was it remorse or simply instinct compelling her? Why... why was she even here. "I'm already dead, so why does it matter...?"
FrostNova's fingers grope at the Doctor's face, his eyes widened at the sensation. "Your fingers... they're warm?"
FrostNova smiled slightly, curiously. "Strange, your face... is cold." Something warm fluttered inside her. "My body temperature... Is not so low anymore?"
The Doctor chuckled, growing misty-eyed. "Yeah, you're okay... you're not infected anymore."
For the first time that day, her eyes shared his emotional state. "I... can touch someone again..."
"Help me...!" The mare wailed as the first of the Slugs began to glow much brighter, almost as intense as the sun had a sudden rush of wind not blotted out the light.
"Hmph!" Yelena brought her leg forward, swatting the insect high into the air before it erupted into a cryo bomb, showering ice particles down on the settlement. The mare hesitantly peered through her hooves, gasping at the sight of the woman with long white hair slicing the second back, throwing it far enough away that the next explosion sent only snow flying everywhere. The cold hardly caused a stir in Yelena who trudged forward.
Several more Slugs crawled from the shadows, some atop the roofs, all honing in on the lone Yeti who raised her blades in a cross, eyes closed momentarily. "..." She waited, listening to their legs shift the snow, their chittering mandibles drawing near. Exhaling a frigid breath, Yelena dived back into a flip, two Slugs exploding while she rushed the pod.
She drew her rapier through the snow, slicing the first skyward before backhanding it with her inverted short sword, twirling with the blade's momentum to slam it against another, flinging them through a snow wall. Continuing her pivot Yelena slashed upright with her right, tossing on that pounced over her head while driving the next into the earth past her feet, skipping back from the follow-up blast, using the snow cloud as a smokescreen.
Ducking into an open igloo, similar to a corner store, she met the gazes of several other equines of various colors. One younger than the others staring up at her with the curiosity of a child. Yelena gave the filly a tiny smile, dipping her head politely before skewering another Slug through the head, tossing it back as snow fell past the Cautus. "Please remain hidden."
"W-who are you?" One male pony stuttered, meeting her silver orbs as silence hung over their heads.
"..." She said nothing, gripping the edge of a bench to throw herself back into the fray.
Placing her left foot against a wall she vaulted up and onto a wagon next to the house, leaping onto the flat roof to punt another off the ledge and into the sky, some skittered up the face of the packed snow. Poising her blade downward she shot across the street, impaling three behind her in a single, silver streak, blowing them to gooey pieces.
Flicking her left foot in the said direction her body dived down, the snow-white legs grazing her hair as the woman spun around to plunge her blades through its stomach, flicking the Slug away before it could erupt in her face, snap kicking another that emerged from the snow cloud. The snow settled, the Slugs no longer crawling from the snow, still, Yelena held her breath.
"Behind you!" One of the ponies cried, only for a shining crescent of silver to decapitate two more mid-pounce, their unstable bodies tumbling past the Yeti for a photo finish at her back, tugging at her coat.
Now, she released her breath, panting slightly from the battle. "Are there any others?" She pondered until something heavy crunched the snow.
"Grr..." A hollow voice snarled, shambling into view with a trail of blood behind it. Hardening her stare Yelena-
When the night sky is at its darkest
"There... is no way," Yelena's eyes were shaken by the sight before her. Standing with blood dripping from the blade to stain the snow was another Infected. Wrapped in a dark grey coat and barding across its legs and boots, the figure kept its hood up over a skull-like mask, eyes dark and featureless. For the first time since coming to this strange world, Yelena looked stricken with grief. "Why... why are you...?"
When the battle is at its hardest. When I'm beat down and broken hearted
A Yeti known as an Icecleaver raised its odachi in both hands, stepping toward its old commander without a hint of humanity in its stride. The residents looked onward in fear, the two Infected coming face-to-face as Yelena dipped back from the rising slash of the blade. She tried to speak out but was forced to divert the weapon with her own, tossing snow to blind it until she stepped away. It swung frantically, banishing the snow as it shambled toward her again.
I won't give up. No I can't give up
"What is this place? Intelligent equines, and now my own comrades, one of my brothers is..."
But it feels like it's over. What if it's too late for me?
The Yeti stumbled back, releasing a gargled warcry that caused the snow to shift, black ice materialized as though it were Yelena's own. The moisture crystallized, becoming a tangible form. Many more human-like figures came to life, like dolls. Dressed in thick white ponchos and dark barding layered in rime, crystals protruding from their skin as these undead monsters simply crawled from the snow itself. Several standing to defend the Icecleaver.
Feel my blood getting colder. And I can't get the breath I need
What was once grief slowly froze into a demanding rage, she didn't show it, rather, the white shards of ice crystallizing around her displayed her hatred for this cursed sight. Even the wind bent to her whim, "I... will not stand for this."
Just a burden on your shoulders. But I don't want to be
The several Yeti Soldiers marched forward, charging Yelena without a shred of worry or fear. That was it, they weren't even human, hollow, soulless husks made of ice. Sympathy was lost in a blizzard caught in the whitette's gaze, lifting her left hand forward. The air grew shockingly cooler, white mist expelled from the tips of her fingers. It gathered around the closest two, their blade drawing closer to her neck.
So I'll keep on pushing forward, oh. You haven't seen the last of me
*Boosh!*
A small, jagged glacier of ice erupted at her feet, impaling the pair as their blade clattered down the face of the ice she stepped by, seeing their forms crumble to shards. Yelena diverted another sword into the snow beside her, kicking the Yeti in the stomach, disarming him before running her rapier through its neck.
Another swiped to her left, missing her body as it shuffled back, then to the right, locking blades with both of hers. Yelena spun around, lacerating its side, plunging her short sword through its back, parrying an approaching slant with a rising thrust from her right, knocking the Yeti backward. Carving through the shattered mass of the soldier behind her she amputated the last of the footsoldiers, crisscrossing both weapons down the length of the man's chest, splitting fabric and barding like butter. Her foot slipped back, impaling a hidden one behind her as the sound made her rabbit ears flick in distaste.
The Icecleaver lunged, striking fast against the barrage of ice as it shattered against its blade, blinding it to Yelena's approach, her rapier dug through its stomach, herself sliding around against the packed snow, deflecting its wide swing with another thrust, seeing it grasp the odachi above its head, bringing it down to lock between both crossed swords. The wind blew the bangs from her angered eyes, ice freezing from her feet, snaking to root the Icecleaver to the earth.
Twisting left, Yelena plunged her rapier through the snow, running parallel with the odachi while rushing forward to sever the Icecleaver's hand across the wrist. Turning sharply she gasped, the hand didn't emit blood or even the heat of raw exposed flesh. It was... made of black ice too? She looked at her own hand, then back to the struggling Yeti who thrashed, ice snapping at its clothing, traveling up its legs. Closing her eyes, she brought her short sword forward, plunging it through its chest, seeing nothing but glassy shards spill across the ground.
"Please... rest," She prayed, relieving the Yeti of her blade as its whole body began to crack, arms disintegrating.
"A-ah... b-b-bi-g s-sis..." Hearing the strained tone she rushed to meet the mask, the ice beginning to flake. "T-t-tha-an-k... y-y-ou..."
Seconds later, the Yeti shattered into a pile of black crystals, not a trace nor breath to be seen. Retrieving her rapier, Yelena turned her gaze to the grey skies above, a gentle patter of snow drifting from the ceiling. "It... snowed back then, didn't it?" Soon, she too collapsed from exerting her strength, inviting the cold once more.
Another cold, quiet night passed over the Northern tundra. Like most nights many sat by either the large bonfire or their smaller setups. It wasn't ideal but it was quaint for what little they had as roaming Infected. FrostNova sat by the bonfire with someone she considered a dear friend. She was optimistic about their future, but optimism and realism stem on different sides of a wide ravine. But she had a good heart.
While her friend, Talulah explained her motives for their most recent and future plans, it was clear she felt unnerved by the large figure sat close to FrostNova. His stature was intimidating among all Infected, silently listening without a word behind that metal mask of his. His armor and cloak thick and heavy like his plating. His head sprouted bony antlers under an angular helmet molded like a skull, eyes blood-red and unblinking.
The conversation continued, the Draco spoke of a place where they'd be safe to live, rather, those that came after them. Where the Infected could be educated, grow food, tell seasons apart. In honest, FrostNova would like that, but her wants and needs were so far apart. After taking in her friend's words she sighed. "We're thin on the ground, if you weren't an Infected would you shake my hand?" Even something so simple was a hurdle.
Talulah's face softened but that fire in her eyes persisted. "We'll start from a handshake, in that case."
"What you're saying is probably..." The large man beside her shifted, grabbing his massive shield. "Dad? Where are you going?"
"I've had enough," His deep voice murmured over the crackling flames, turning to return to his patrol of the area.
"Sir..." Talulah looked conflicted when he did, grasping her mug tightly.
"Hey," She met FrostNova's eyes as they left her father's back. "Don't mind it too much..."
"Ah," Yelena sat up in a thick bed of wool and cloth, grasping at her thin under jacket tightly. Inspecting her surroundings she wasn't six feet under nor was she lying in the snow. Technically she was just it formed an insulated barrier called walls, even a strange, glowing crystal on a table to act as a light source. Touching her forehead she let the lingering memory fade. "I wish that future was tangible."
"Oh, I didn't know you were awake," That voice was vaguely familiar, minus the lack of terror. It was the female equine she saved from the Slugs. She wore a thick, wooly coat over her body which was covered in light-blue fur. She tugged her hood down to let her own short, white mane free, the rest tied into a ponytail, ironically, and her tail was short and frazzled. Two kind, pink eyes met silver as they tried desperately to make sense of what they saw. "Are you... well?"
Realizing she was staring, Yelena shook her head. "I am, you... are a very strange creature."
The pony giggled behind her hoof, rolling her eyes. "You're quite the looker yourself, I don't even know what you are." That was very fair. She sat... Yelena's coat down on the table. "Right, sorry, thought I'd take it to a tailor to patch some of the damage - oh, and I'm Blue Rose or just Rose."
"Thank you, and... I'm Yelena," If she was being honest, this was beyond weird. Stifling her concerns over whatever 'Rose' was, the Yeti pulled off the covers to stand and stretch. "I suppose no other creatures have appeared?"
"Nope, you cleared them all, quite the feat too, everypony's talking about it," Another strange thing to the list, her use of vocabulary. Shaking off the trivial woes, Yelena was just thankful that she wasn't alone, and that these locals weren't hostile. "Are you okay to walk?"
"Yes," Yelena nodded, slipping her coat on again, feeling warmth and protection from its weight. Grabbing her swords she followed Rose out, noticing that a few small pairs of eyes watched from atop the snowy stairway. They quickly disappeared.
Once outside, the once barren town was filled with more colorful ponies dotting the tundra settlement. They worked on repairing damages to homes. Some either stopped to stare at the white-haired woman, others passed a glance but left her be while she took in the settlement. "Tell me, the blood I saw, who was it?"
Rose's ears flattened, "One of our guards, we don't have many 'cause there's no real reason for protection given what little lives out here, that was also the reason he didn't... yeah," She tried to put on a brave face, waving a hoof to those curious smaller ponies that had been following them. "One casualty, a few injured but if not for you things might have been worse."
"I see, I'm sorry I couldn't save him," Yelena offered her condolences, making the mare's mood improved a little.
"Thanks," She sighed, looking back at the woman. "So, you're not a Minotaur, that much is obvious, so what are you, and the rabbit ears...?"
Yelena flicked the left one. "I'm a Cautus so we share similar traits to leporids," She explained simply. "And what are you?"
"Never seen a talking pony before?" Rose's knowing smile only increased at seeing Yelena's blank stare. "Thought so, well better get used to it, most of Equestria's populace consists of us, other races too but nothing like you so I'm assuming you're not from Equestria."
"That would be putting it mildly," Rose snorted at that as they approached a large bonfire set in the middle of the town, a number of ponies, some with horns, others with wings, and ones like Rose who lacked either. Food was being prepped by the fire on rocks while families huddled together. "..."
Rose stopped at the edge to see that Yelena stood motionless, eyes lost in her own little world. "Yelena?" The woman flinched, approaching the bonfire to sit on a log with Rose. "You spaced out for a second there?"
"I... was remembering something," She answered vaguely, enjoying the warmth. It was much stronger than when her Arts left her feeling nothing but cold, it was intense but in a nice, soothing way. Her feet no longer numb and tingly. "It has been quite some time since I last sat at a bonfire."
Rose, sensing she was mulling over a lot of unpleasant feelings, went to procure a bowl of soup from the others. Some did pass the silent Cautus a look, others were apprehensive about going near the same stranger that killed the monsters and commanded ice itself. "Here," When Yelena pried her eyes from the flames she found a bowl waiting for her. "Given you fainted from exhaustion I'll assume you don't have food on you,"
"I... thank you," Taking it kindly and the spoon she slowly tasted the mixture. Her ears perked up upon smelling and tasting carrots. No longer hesitant she gently enjoyed the warmth that slithered down her throat, warming her up greater than before.
"Kuhar to your right made it, amazing what one pony can whip up from nothing," Yelena glanced to a large, brown pony with a horn stirring a large pot atop a smaller fire, adding a pinch of seasoning into the soup. "Can I ask you something, if that's alright?"
While the pair ate, Yelena nodded, the pleasant atmosphere so much like the days she spent in the tundra on Terra. "That thing you fought, with the sword... did... did you know it?" The question made her freeze, dropping her spoon back into her bowl.
She remembered it so vividly. It was her own comrade but... something twisted him, molded him into that senseless monster. Taking in a shaky breath she held her hand up to stop Rose from apologizing. "I... did, he was my brother, that's how we've always called ourselves, against my word too but... I loved them," Her hand gripped the bowl tightly. "So to see one of them suffer, turned to ice right before my eyes I... I was furious, what kind of monster did he become?"
Rose looked down at her food, mulling it over. "I'm sorry, having to... kill somepony you care for to save them I... don't think I could do that."
"No one should need to consider it," Yelena added, drinking down the rest of her soup. "Something in this world turned him into that, and while I am uncertain as to why I am here, I will find the person responsible."
"I hope you do," Rose met Yelena's gaze, chuckling lightly. "I'm not so soft to not think about that dark stuff, when you live in a harsh place like this it's hard not to think of the bad, which is why I think you wanting to avenge him is so hopeful, it probably makes him feel at ease knowing you won't just bite it out here."
That advice made Yelena soften her gaze, no longer riled up with anger. "You remind me of an old friend, you both have a strange way with you words," She closed her eyes, enjoying what remained of her soup. "I... would also care for more."
"Gee, first that so-and-so compliment, and you're a glutton? Maintenance much," Rose sighed, taking the bowl and setting it atop her own. "Good thing I agree with you."
"Lovely - and I'm not a glutton." A tiny smirk appeared on her lips at the mare passing by.
The next day wasn't as frigid on the skin, Yelena never felt envious of many things, these ponies were a new addition to that list. Standing outside the settlement, indicated by the small wall of packed snow, Yelena held her hands forward. She closed her eyes, focusing on the environment and how it felt, memories of when she first manifested her Arts, while unpleasant, it was a turning point in her life, regardless of what followed. Her hands tucked tight into her gloves, she felt the air crackle and pressurize around her.
Crystals of white ice took form in the air around her, drawn into her aura while frost expanded on the snow. Exhaling, she shot the lances of ice forward, freezing small columns of rime ahead of her. What baffled her further was how she wasn't coughing from the pain in her chest or lack thereof. "I'm still Infected yet my Arts hasn't caused me anything close to the symptoms I had before?" Another pile of questions for the day.
"You know-" Rose appeared on the wall. "-folks around here are timid of you because of that trick of yours, can't blame 'em."
"Why's that? Given the display of Arts, your kind has used." Yelena questioned, earning a chuckle from the mare.
"No-no, that's magic, which... yeah, guess that is sorta like these 'Arts' of yours, issue is, no pony here uses ice, only... one," Rose suddenly grew quiet, drawing the kindred whitette's attention completely. "Erm, well, there's one pony - but he's like... long dead, or banished - whatever it is."
"Is that so?" She deflated, a glimmer of hope smashed. Instead, she asked. "Who was he?"
"King Sombra," Just the title alone made the wind howl. "He was the previous ruler of the Crystal Empire, 'was' being the keyword - when he was defeated he took the whole kingdom with him, it's been lost in the Frozen North for decades now."
"And he commanded ice like me?" Yelena answered, earning a slow nod, seeing the seriousness in the mare's eyes.
"He used Dark Magic," She looked around to ensure none of the younger ones were around. "Ponies say his spirit became part of the land, giving him command over darkness and ice, so seeing your ice put everypony on the fear you're like som reincarnation of the King."
That struck Yelena, ironically, she was called the Yeti Princess, but this King sounded no better than a noble from Ursus with power gone to their head. Scoffing, Yelena drew her rapier, giving the air a few swings. "He'd get along with those corrupt in my world then."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I think the rumors are stupid anyhow," Yelena saw Rose grin out the corner of her eye. "I mean, what kind of evil King saves a bunch of snow-dwelling ponies in a wasteland?"
"How many would use a false sense of kindness to their advantage?" Yelena countered, seeing her lower her hoof.
"Huh, touche - my point stands, you're not a bad pony - erm, person, yeah," She corrected herself, then leaned forward. "Huh, somepony's coming..."
Lowering her blade, she too saw a figure in a wooly cloak galloping through the snow toward the settlement. From this distance, and the fact the pony was ranting and raving to himself or the snow, Yelena could make out his appearance slightly. Black fur to contrast the snow with a grey muzzle and hooves, surprisingly. A thick cloak attached to a poncho with tussled, dark green hair with matching eyes that seemed to dart left and right constantly.
"-Finally, civilization at last...~!" He threw himself down into the snow, Rose now standing beside Yelena who looked as baffled as she was. "Rose, I bring good news/We're all gonna die!" His personality suddenly shifted to a scornful tone compared to the lightly timid one.
"Is he well?" Yelena spoke after a pregnant pause.
"Oh, he's fine, Trench is just being dramatic," Rose brushed off casually. Though he was still face down in the ground. Or until the mare kicked him to stand up. "Wakey-wakey, Trench."
"I'm up! I'm up/That hurts!" He trembled in two tones again. "Right, ahem, yeah so I found something good - g-great even!"
"Well?" Rose spun her hoof to entice him further.
"The Empire, big shiny place with actual heat!? Yeah, that one/It nearly burnt my retinas!" Trench rambled, and from the jubilated shock written on Rose's face, it was clearly worthy of surprise. Then again, Rose told Yelena it was lost for decades, and if returned... then does that include its previous ruler? Could he be behind the Infected she's seen, and her own comrade's change?
"Are you sure?" She gripped his shoulders, shaking him. "I'm serious."
"So am I/You're crushing me!" He growled, dusting the snow off his cloak. "Big, shiny, warm, even the Captain of the Royal Guard and his spouse are here."
"So it is true..." Rose stumbled back a bit, shaking off her jubilation for worry. "Hold on, that's good and all but... why were you running?" Where had Yelena heard that line before? Slowly, she stood up to face the snowfield ahead.
"O-oh um, I... kinda have company.../Forgot about that part!" Looking past the courier, Yelena stepped ahead of Rose, drawing both swords toward the snow that moved of its own accord. It was subtle but spending a good portion of her life in the Northern Tundra on Terra meant she could spot the slightest change in the blank environment. "Uuuuh, who's this?/She's weird..."
"A friend - what's coming, Yelena?" Rose asked seriously.
"..." She didn't say, drawing her left hand forward with the blade, conjuring icicles around her arm until she sent them flying across the snow, impaling three moving mounds of snow, or that's how they appeared to the naked eye. The bodies were that of white hounds with eyes featureless and ice-blue, cracks webbed like stars from the sockets. Blue shards of ice grew from their backs. "Frostfangs too... stay behind the wall, I don't wish to harm either of you."
"I ain't going anywhere/I'll kill 'em!" Trench bellowed as more ice expanding around Yelena, the pack leaping from the snow, howling as one.
Two Frostfangs flanked Yelena, evading her projectiles in favor of the left biting down on her sword, tugging back while the right moved in swiftly, jaws widened for her ankle. Not to be outdone by some mutts she used her remaining ice to skewer the wolf attempting to disarm her before booting the second in the jaws, hearing it yip. Dragging her shortsword free of the impaled Frostfang she slashed the second across the forehead, slitting its throat with her rapier. They too shattered into black ice.
"Move back!" Yelena ordered, leaping onto the wall to swipe another wolf back, kicking another until she threw her left hand across her chest, sending a jagged line of ice to decapitate the mutt. Vaulting from the wall to the face of a house, Yelena dived into a twirl, tearing through two Frostfangs in the process, clearing the way for Rose and Trench to retreat.
Skating into the main road Yelena gathered frost around her forearm, tossing several thorns of ice to shred another Frostfang, two more galloped under the blades to circle her. One dived, missing her hip due to the size of her coat thrown in the wind, a blade plunged through its throat and out the nape. With a flick she snapped its neck, retrieving her blade while parrying another bite from the second wolf, only its claws grazed her thigh in passing.
It doubled back, biting at her legs until it was thrown back with two precise slants with the Yeti's blades, reducing it to ice. Seething through her teeth, Yelena peered out across the tundra, pausing. "What?" Narrowing her eyes she swore she saw someone standing there in white. It was hard to tell if they were truly human before something red tackled her to the snow, biting down on her rapier until it was discarded, leaving Yelena pinned, using her short blade to hold back the slobbery fangs of the pack leader. The eyes blood-red as well as the flesh inside its ears. A Razorfrost.
She tried to shuffle her feet under her but found the thrashing of the wolf to be too much of an inconvenience to budge, the beast's muzzle coming closer to her face. Or until something blunt slammed into its stomach. Shifting her neck, Yelena spotted Rose, who had thrown a rake as it clattered into the snow. The Razorfrost threw Yelena aside, growling as it neared the mare who stood there, trying to find something else to throw. The monster approached, stalking her slowly.
Pushing to her knees, Yelena narrowed her eyes, feeling her panic flood her body, her blood feeling colder as ice crystalized under her palm, turning the snow pitch black. Leaping into a sprint, she tackled the monster away, taking a claw to the forearm as the pair rolled through the snow, herself pinned under the Razorfrost. It snarled in her face until a hand was pressed against its muzzle, turning the crystal white fur black with infection. a large, jagged blade of onyx ice hardening through its skull, killing the Infected instantly.
"Hah... hah..." Taking in deep breaths she shoved the crumbling beast off to the side, sitting down in the snow as her own blood dripped into the snow. Looking over at the startled Rose, she found that the mare's eyes weren't one her own, rather, the black ice left in the area, left by the Yeti.
"Your ice... is black?" That tone was the first to actually sting the woman's ears.
Yelena was alone later that day, inspecting the bandages on her forearm, covering the ones around her stomach with her barding. She had a new plan, finding the Crystal Empire. If what Trench said were to be taken as truth, then perhaps she'll find answers there, or be met with disappointment. No matter what she couldn't say here longer, Her presence was beyond expired now.
"So I continue northwest, right?" She inquired from Trench who sat on a bench while she worked.
"Yep, can't miss it/Unless you want to die!" His two halves replied.
"I see," Nodding, she collected her weapons and stepped through the tarp and back into the cold wasteland. She promptly ignored the looks the judgemental equines gave her in passing. Much like Terra, Infected weren't welcomed here, though for an entirely different reason given her power. It didn't hurt but that hardly made it feel better to bottle up. She would miss the pleasant atmosphere for a time. "Your information may have just given me some answers to why I'm here, thank you."
He gave a small wave, then scowled that nosy ponies. "Don't give me that, you all want her thrown out after she saved your flanks, no wonder you're all living in the middle of nowhere!" Trench sneered, trotting up beside Yelena. "Well, looks like we're both heading the same way, so..."
"I wouldn't, no luck comes from traveling with me and my Arts," She warned, seeing him wave his hoof.
"Eh, potato, potato, I travel a lot and it's always better with a companion." On that note, she could not rebuttal. "Who knows, might get a good song going, 'The Legend of the Yeti'," He frowned. "Nah, too tacky/I like it!"
"I would prefer keeping my head low, thank you" Yelena requested, a folk song about her wasn't on her list of things to do in her life or was this her second? Once near the exit into the vast tundra, a chilling wind tickled her face. "My brothers and sisters, I'll figure this mystery out, I swear it."
"A girl who stands on two legs and uses ice-" Rose pipped up from the wall again, appearing with her own saddlebags and coat over her head. "-you'll fit right in."
"Rose?" Yelena was perplexed, why was she here?
"I like the folks here but the tune they're all singing doesn't fit me, not now anyway," She sighed, looking back at the surprised, some aghast faces at her waving cheerily. "Seeya around!" She trotted to Yelena's side, tapping the Yeti's leg. "Well, an ancient kingdom awaits, and I doubt trusting his loony will help you much."
"I... can't refute that/I will end you!" Trench waved a hoof at the cunning grin stretched over Rose's muzzle.
"Are you sure? Traveling with me?" Yelena knew the dangers her Arts could cause, and with other Infected roaming the wasteland it could become hazardous.
Rose shrugged. "I told ya, what kind of evil king saves a bunch of innocent ponies? Sure, wasn't expecting the black ice but hey, we all got our secrets, right?"
It was strange, these two reminded her so much of the Yeti Squadron. It was nice considering the cold bothered her anyway. Walking a tundra alone was far worse. "Yes, I suppose you're right, Rose." Yelena agreed with a nod, following Trench who led the way deeper into the uncharted canvass of white.
There was uncertainty in what Yelena felt moving forward, however, she was not alone, nor would she squander this second chance.
To Be Continued...?
Author's Note
Yeah... the question mark at the end there is if I ever decided to make more of this, I dunno, I suck at one-shots. The idea just kinda came to me a while back so I just thought I'd make a little story about FrostNova, aka Yelena. She's an enemy/ally character from Arknights and a fan favorite, mine too. She also controls Ice-based Arts which is cool, no pun.
Well, I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always. Seeya next time readers.
Oh, and here is FrostNova's Theme, Last of Me, enjoy ^_^
