(Story extract)

“Fuck! The fluids are f-freezing up! C-can’t move the d-damn thing!” He beat his leg against the snow, it remaining stiff and otherwise just thudding with each impact. Sliding around to the other side, I lifted up his augmented leg onto my neck – damn, this thing was heavy! – and switched the wing around, holding him close again. We couldn’t stop, we’d freeze ourselves to death if we did. Minty’s breaths hung in clouds that were whisked away by the wind, his eyes barely open as we fought against the storm. I peered ahead, trying to see some sign of shelter – what I saw instead was a helmet lamp. Blinking a few times, I tugged Minty along through the snow, us both stumbling a bit before making way, the icy blast whipping around us. The light bobbed as the figure who wore it moved – oh, please be friendly, please be friendly, please be friendly…

“The right hell are you doing out here!? Are you both insane?!… don’t answer that.” A voice with a rather distinct and strangely familiar accent came from the figure, the form of a set of steel ranger powered armor moving towards us, along with the barrel of a very large rifle mounted upon it. The figure helped lift up Minty, a thick blanket moving out of a case on his armor in a light-bluish aura that gave off an ozone smell, wrapping around all three of us. “You’re both mad to be all the way out here, you know. This storm isn’t going to-” Minty let off a sound halfway between a scream and groan, the hoof that was being supported by the steel ranger rushing to rub against his temple. The steel ranger rushed to get his armored hoof underneath Minty’s body, the visor of his helmet rushing to glance between Minty and myself. “The hell’s wrong with him?!”

“SevenTEEN… FORTY-siX… nine… THIRTY TWO!” A small stream of blood dripped from Minty’s nose as he rattled off a stream of random numbers through gritted teeth, inbetween screams of pain. Holding out a hoof around his neck, I watched as my augmented friend began to dry heave between numbers, the steel ranger leaning in then pulling back and holding Minty’s head with a hoof. The contents of Minty’s stomach sizzled in the snow, the augmented unicorn shuddering as his weight shifted, the both of us moving to try and catch him. The wind blew harder around us both, the blanket being whipped in the air before the horizon – at least, what I think was the horizon – lit up in a brilliant greenish white.

Twice.