//------------------------------// // Something Frozen This Way Foreshadows // Story: Urohringr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// The Noble Jury throttled its way south, dipping low so that it skimmed over the jagged peaks of several icebergs floating at random. A veritable field of alabaster chunks lay across the Frozen Sea, some of them reaching so high that their twisted summits made beams of shadow in the pale sunlight. Rainbow Dash flew parallel to the ship, scanning the bobbing mess below with goggled eyes. She’d occasionally dip down beneath the level at which the Jury hovered, inspecting the icebergs closer, studying the moving mountains from different angles. Some of the ice shards’ surfaces were so smooth, so shiny, that they reflected Rainbow Dash’s leather-coated figure completely. She found herself gazing at them, squinting at the flecks of frost clinging to her exposed muzzle and mane. Then, following a sporadic flicker of her ruby lightning pendant, she swore she spotted a black shape swirling by in the reflected sky. With a gasp, she hovered in place, staring up at the heavens. All she could see was a blank blue sphere. The desolation of the world once again settled across her skin, shaken only by the sound of the Noble Jury’s thundering engines. With a shuddering breath, Rainbow Dash pressed on, threading her tiny body between separate icebergs as she weaved a meandering path southeast. Along the way, she couldn’t help but glance at the waters directly beneath her. Through the edge of her vision, she could have sworn she saw a hint of crimson light glistening just beyond the waves. The pegasus’ brow furrowed, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raising slightly. However, the more she looked at the waves below, the less she saw of anything but black depths gurgling indefinitely. Undaunted, she pressed on, escorting the Noble Jury into the southern stretches of the Frozen Sea as the sun melted its way towards the western horizon. “Is… is that it?” Ebon Mane asked as he squinted off the starboard railing. “It definitely has to be,” Props murmured, wide-eyed behind her goggles. “Why does it look like a crashed shipping freighter?” Ebon remarked. Meanwhile, Eagle Eye was squinting. “That’s because it is a crashed shipping freighter.” He gulped. “Or at least half of it.” Rainbow Dash hovered alongside the Noble Jury as it levitated high over a large slab of ice. Along the frozen chunk’s western edge, a jagged hull of rusted metal lay deep in the translucent surface. The unmistakable signs of a stern, a rudder, and a snow-covered top deck lingered in the amber sunlight. “Looks like it ran aground at some point,” Eagle Eye murmured aloud. “How long do you suppose it’s been stuck in there?” Rainbow Dash asked. Floydien stuck his head out from the cockpit’s entrance. “Many years since the kerplunk-a-chunk, Floydien thinks! The ship is half as old as the iceberg from the looks of it.” “Certainly doesn’t match any design I’ve seen,” Josho grumbled. “Perhaps…” Ebon fidgeted, then glanced at the others. “Perhaps Propsy’s Uncle was part of a separate expedition that got stranded out here and this was their only place of refuge?” “Or he could have been abandoned here,” Josho said. Eagle Eye flung him a disgusted look. “Old stallion…!” Josho shrugged. “Just saying. Looks right like a Spark-forsaken prison to me.” “And we’re sure the signal is emanating from here?” Rainbow Dash asked, eyes squinting. “Yeah!” Props stammered breathlessly. “I know it! Something inside that chunk of a ship is broadcasting the signal!” “And on Prowse’s frequency…” Ebon murmured. The mare nodded. “As best as can be managed with the technology available!” “One thing’s for sure,” Eagle Eye spoke into the frosty air. “Whatever or whoever is in there--they can’t be all that comfortable for long. Place looks like a tomb.” “Oh please…” Props bit on the edges of her hooves. “Use another word that rhymes with Nancy Jane’s belly!” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “Well, there’s no sense in waiting up around here.” “What’s the hurry, paint bucket?” Floydien spoke up. “Does the boomer think Nancy Jane is being followed?” “At least being oogled from afar, yes.” Rainbow nodded. “But we came for Prowse, and we might as well go all the way. But I don’t want to stick around here any longer than we have to.” “Sorry for adding my own miserable two bits as usual, but…” Ebon gulped and pointed over the railing. “That ship doesn’t exactly look stable.” “Nothing that the heaviest set of hooves this side of Ledomare can’t bother to test.” Rainbow Dash turned towards the stallion in question. “Josho?” “Hell, I’m game.” The unicorn pumped a crystalline shotgun levitating beside him. “Beats dying of old age on this ship.” “Count me in as well,” Eagle Eye said with a nod. “There’s no telling what freaky stuff could have crept on board that thing.” “Uhm… uhhhh…” Props fidgeted from one set of hooves to the other, biting her lip. “I… uhm…” “Oh, knock it off, girl,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she signaled Floydien to bring the ship further down. “Consider this your first complimentary away mission.” Props blinked, then smiled with rosy cheeks. “Squee….!”