//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Frosty Fates // by Storm Vector //------------------------------// "Thanks again for coming, Vlyka," the sunshine-yellow mare smiled from her doorway. "See you again next week! Vlyka Velveteen waved politely at the mare as she walked away. But the moment the door closed and she was out of sight Vlyka sighed, rubbing her maroon muzzle again in frustration. She’d just gotten off yet another conversation with the mare Sunburst's dog, Big Bear. The problem was that her dog was so dense Vlyka felt her brain rebelling against the confines of her skull after every conversation! The short mare rubbed her face in frustration as she started to walk home, accidentally tapping her hoof on one of the sharp fangs that jutted from her upper jaw and outside her slight overbite, over her lower lips even when she closed her mouth. In her fifteen years she'd gotten used to ponies staring at her freakish teeth, though it had never quite left her psyche. It was why she preferred using her special talent to talk to dogs instead: They didn't judge her for her teeth, her minor colorblindness, or her heightened senses of hearing and smell that made ponies, herself included sometimes, think she might have been part dog herself. Vlyka sighed and shook her head as she glanced back at Sunburst's house. Sunburst had been one such pony to stare at her teeth, though the staring had died down the more visits Vlyka made for work. It was the only thing that could really get her to socialize: promise of the ease of her financial worries. But after Big Bear's maddening density, not even the knowledge she really should be out getting milk from the market could keep Vlyka from running straight home and locking the door. All she wanted was some quiet isolation, a cuddle with her mountain of a dog Remmy..."Maybe after the crowds die down," she grumbled, staring at town square for a moment. The sight of the market and the throng of ponies she could sense from that direction sent a shiver up her spine...or was that because she suddenly felt very, very cold? Vlyka took another look at the square, only now realizing the dark clouds gathering above, with no help from a single pegasus. They'd started to drop snow... "Winter." Vlyka gasped, staring at the clouds as they continued to grow. One of her recent "social obligations" her sister Crystal insisted upon flashed in Vlyka's memory, reminding her that Winter's parents were supposed to be coming to town today. Winter had spoken at length about her issues, her fear of reuniting with her parents, something Vlyka couldn't quite understand as she would have given everything to meet her mysterious biological parents. Even a pony as socially awkward as Vlyka could tell how Winter's anxiety and the storm could be mixed, especially since she knew Winter well. Without thinking a second longer on it, Vlyka found herself running straight for the center of the storm. Her social anxiety was forgotten for the moment: All she could think about was one of her closest, only friends, one of the three ponies she trusted and admired above all others, was in danger. As Vlyka's charge brought her closer to town square, the temperature dropped as the snowfall rose. Her hooves sank into the new fallen snow, but even the sudden shift in temperature from the summer soil didn't make her shiver. She was too busy panicking over what might be happening with Winter: she'd seen Winter's fine control of ice before, and her friend had mentioned her past experience with her strength, but seeing it for herself was an entirely different experience. "And she's content to needle me with joking insults," she muttered, suddenly wondering if it was a good idea for her to spit out the next playful insult that escaped her mind. She and Winter went at it constantly, tossing insults back and forth whenever possible, because they both enjoyed it. But if Winter could do this much... "Not now!" Vlyka snapped at herself. "Fall apart later, Winter needs help!" The little mare refocused and kept running closer, ducking around the many ponies who had started to run away. To her mild surprise there was a crowd blocking the street, just standing and staring despite the clear danger as hail began to pelt everypony in range. She forced herself to squeeze through a gap and was spat out into the middle of the storm. As she stood, Vlyka stared up in awe and horror. Amidst a swirling vortex of snow stood...no, floated Winter Whisper, hovering almost an entire pony's height off the ground with her eyes glowing ice blue and her mane arcing with power. Her magic aura flared around her horn, a swirling mass of white energy spiraling in her magic and pouring out into the storm surrounding her. Some of her power fell to the ground and created patches of ice, jutting out of the ground and growing in height and reach with every second. "Winter!" Vlyka screamed, but Winter didn't respond at all, not even a twitch of the ear. The storm was growing deafening, to Vlyka's poor ears especially, making her fear for Winter's fate. She could see the white of Winter's magic growing stronger with each moment, what would happen if it kept growing unchecked? "Winter, snap out of it! Winter!" Vlyka stared up at the sky as the snow and ice grew in size and strength. What she barely noticed, however, was a large sheet of ice caught in the maelstrom of Winter's storm that finally got loose of its whirlwind tether, dropping straight for her. Vlyka almost caught sight of it too late and dove to her left as the ice came dangerously close to her, scraping against her right shoulder. Vlyka gasped at the pain, grunting as she slammed into the ground roughly while trying to avoid worse injury. She stood up and clutched her right shoulder, covering the cut a sharp shard of ice had left on her, as she looked back up at Winter. The ice around her was getting worse, growing to her height as more of her power fell to the ground. What was worse was the sensations Vlyka was picking up from Winter's magic. She could sense something...wrong, something different, not Winter or her magic. This was getting terrifyingly bad, the wind was growing stronger and causing Vlyka's mane and tail to whip around violently in her face. She flipped it to the other side of her head as she felt the ice forming under her hooves. She stepped to avoid getting engulfed in ice, but it was suddenly very difficult for her to have a stable stance in the wind. She had to do something, and quickly, or she'd lose every chance she had to help. But how, what could somepony like her even do in a situation this insane?! Vlyka's heart was pounding in her throat, but as she was on the verge of total panic she felt something hard behind her foreleg. A patch of ice had formed beside her, a spike beginning to form near her. As she stared at it, a crazy, half-baked plan started forming in her head. Her hooves had no traction on this ice, but with her little grip she could position herself, crouching with her legs wide and her back right hoof on the ice spike like a runner's block. The storm howled at Vlyka, but she pulled her ears back "Are you insane?" she heard somepony behind her snap. Vlyka ignored them and focused on the ice spires around her friend. The gaps between them were growing smaller, Winter becoming closer and closer to being completely engulfed by it. "Now or never..." Vlyka sighed, shaking her head and flatting herself out with the widest stance she could manage. Then, with all she could muster, she kicked off with her back leg, using the rest of her legs to skate across the ice and keep herself balanced and steered towards the spires. She slipped right as she reached out for the spire, falling off her hooves but just managing to wrap her hoof around a spike to haul herself back upright. She squeezed her way through the spires and tried to reach Winter's hoof. She was just in range, but the power blasting from Winter's body pushed Vlyka down as she reached close. "Winter, please..." Vlyka murmured, unsure what else to so. "Winter...Winter please!" she yelled, desperate. "Winter come back, Winter! You can't lose it like this, please!" She took a deep breath and readied herself to raise her voice louder than she'd ever yelled. "Winter Whisper!" There was a moment of silence, just long enough for Vlyka's heart to sink. She'd failed, she hadn't gotten Winter back, she was out of ideas and had nothing she could try. She was going to lose one of her only friends... "Vlyka..." Vlyka's ears shot up as she looked, recognizing the slight-Canterlot accent anywhere. "Winter?" "Vlyka is...is that..." "It's me Winter, it's Vlyka! I'm here!" "Vlyka...what...what's happening?". Winter's voice was weak, but the fear and confusion were evident enough. "Winter your power, you...you're..." Vlyka couldn't come up with the words to properly describe what she saw happening. "My...my power..." Winter gasped and winced as her magic aura flickered. "My...my power, its..." Vlyka bit her lip. "Can you control it? Come back Winter, please!" "I...I'll try..." Winter replied, as her aura flickered again. This time it grew stronger after it dimmed, growing stronger and gripping more of the icy white power that bled from her horn. Vlyka could instantly sense the strength of the storm falter for just a moment. Winter groaned and strained, her magic growing brighter as the storm began to fade, the wind dying down as Winter dropped to the ground slowly. The spires around her fell as she touched down next to Vlyka, and as the storm clouds evaporated into nothing and the wind faded, Winter's eyes stopped glowing. "Winter, are you..." But Vlyka's words were lost as Winter stumbled and fell unconscious beside her.