//------------------------------// // Pulling into a Station of Troubles // Story: Snow // by Party Poison //------------------------------// Armada was standing at the cold train station in the arctic north. The wind bit at his exposed back end, and he shifted slightly to try and get his coat to cover it more thoroughly. No such luck was had, and a shiver vibrated through his body. His coat was naturally a sandy color, but had taken a slightly blue-white color from the frost that was gathering on the exposed areas of his body. An earth pony, he was built strong and hardy, better equipped for the land. This is one of the reasons why his employer had chosen him for the job currently at hoof for the earth pony. Armada was waiting for a certain mare to show up at the station. He had arrived a few days earlier, and was luckily graced with the kindness of of the only other pony who was up here, the trainmaster. He had slept in the little side room of the station for the past three nights, the furnace clanking loudly to provide heat for them. They had eaten their meals in silence, and almost never spoke, only for the most basic of things. Armada was never a pony for talking, anyhow. The snow had been falling ever since he had gotten to the station, but this morning, it was falling harder than before. The winds were colder, and the ice was thicker. Armada attributed this to the fact that Hearth’s Warming Eve had been celebrated only slightly over a week ago. Equestria was heading into the depths of winter, and the north would be hit hard as always, if not harder. Through the blizzard flakes, he saw the steel behemoth of the train pull into the station. A sickening crunch of ice breaking free from the rails was made available to everypony’s ears as the breaks were slammed, and the train rested to a stop. The doors of the train slowly opened, and a blue mare with a purple scarf wrapped around her neck stepped daintily off. The winds blew her green mane about, snowflakes dancing their exoctic and twisting dance around her. She walked with careful precision, as if a false step would send her plummeting into an abyss. Armada looked up at her with a faint smile. His lips parted, and slowly he spoke. “Ah, so you showed up then.” The mare scoffed. “But of course, Armada. Did you think I would not?” “One can never know.” Another scoff. “Well, I want you to get into the habit of remembering that I always keep true to my word.” Armada nodded curtly. “Duly noted.” “As it should be.” The mare reached back her head, and deposited the grey saddle bag from her back onto the ground before Armada. Armada took the bag in his teeth, and plopped it down onto his back. The mare nodded, and turned away to return to the train. “Wait!” His voice was nearly lost to the winter winds, cracking slightly. “You’re leaving? Already? Just like that?” The mare paused her in her step, and she turned around to face the earth pony. “There is nothing more to be done here. There is a radio in the bag if you wish to talk to her.” Armada opened his mouth, but she was already on the train. he considered, for a brief moment, running after her, boarding the train to escape. But he didn’t, and he stayed with his mouth open a bit too long. His saliva froze in his mouth, and he had to break the chilled spittled with his hard teeth. The earth pony opened the pack, and observed his supplies. An insulated tent, roughly two months of trail rations, several jugs of water, and an insulated blanket. Armada scoffed at how the water jugs would most likely freeze in this weather, but ignored this and pressed on down into the rest of the bag. There were a few flares, and at the very bottom... Armada pulled out the object. It was roughly the size of his hoof, box like in shape, and had knobs and buttons all over one side. It had a small interface panel, which was currently turned off. It was a radio. Armada knew what he had to do with this, but now was not the time. he checked the bag, and sure enough, tucked behind the left water jug was three packs of batteries. He smiled a smug grin underneath all the layers of clothes which protected his muzzle from the biting winds. At least he knew he wouldn’t be totally alone. He headed back into the train station. The stallion who ran the place was sitting down the small kitchen area, smoking a pipe while some tea boiled in a brass kettle on the stove. The younger one stood in silence for a few moments before being noticed. “Eh? Whas’it you want?” The stallions voice was gravelly from years of smoking. Armada made a silent vow to never smoke. The younger stallion was quiet for a moment, before mumbling something into the cloths that obscured his muzzle. “What’s that? I can’t hear yah!” Armada rolled his eyes, and pulled down the face coverage a bit. “I said ‘thanks for holding me up in here.’ If I didn’t stay here... well...” Armada trailed off at the end, the whistling of the winds outside and the tea boiling in the kettle the only noises. “Yeh, it was no big deal. Now get a move on! I’ve got my tea to deal with.” Armada scowled, and pulled his face protection back on. Slowly beginning his trudge outside, he took into account all that had been whirling through his life lately. How he came to be here, on this crazy mission, who he was doing it for, what the whole thing was about. He took a look back at the train tracks, almost gone into the sea of white that had fallen from the sky. Even under all the layers of clothing, he still felt cold. It was special, this arctic wind. It really bit at you, it ate at you, hungry for more. It was as though it wanted your life essence itself. The sandy coated pony turned his gaze towards the sky. It was black, but he was unsure if it were day or night. He doubted it would matter for a very long time. With a final sigh and gaze at the train tracks, Armada set hoof out into the deep snow. He held his left hoof up, where a compass was tied securely around it. “Alright... heading... north...” With that, he set out, the blizzard consuming him like a foal would a midday snack.