Hearth's Warming Eve in July
"Twilight! Wake up!"
"Wha... what is it?" Twilight asked groggily.
"Twilight, you've gotta get up!" Spike said. Twilight opened her eyes to see her baby dragon assistant standing in front of her with a worried look on his face.
"What's wrong, Spike?" she asked.
"Twilight, you've gotta come outside! Something's wrong with the weather!" Spike exclaimed.
"What's wrong with the weather?"
"You just gotta come outside! You're not gonna believe it!" Obviously, Twilight wasn't going to get an immediate answer from her excited assistant so she followed him out of her house. When she opened the front door and stepped outside to gaze upon the early-morning Ponyville, she realized that Spike was right.
"IT'S SNOWING!!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she skated by. The sky was dark, snowflakes were falling and the ground was covered in a sheet of ice. Ponies from town had already begun clearing the roads, creating banks of snow on the sides of some houses. Rarity was standing by Twilight's house wearing a stylish purple and pink winter outfit.
"What's going on?!" Twilight asked, shocked. The three watched Pinkie skate in the middle of what should've been solid ground. Overnight, it seemed Ponyville's landscape had taken on a winter appearance. "It's July! There shouldn't be snow for months! This doesn't make any sense!"
"Rarity just came by and told me about it. It's some freak storm and we don't know what caused it," Spike explained.
Rarity nodded. "I would've come inside but I'm a little preoccupied trying to keep track of Pinkie." A loud crash confirmed that was a hard in and of itself. A levitation spell from Rarity set the wild mare back in an upright position.
"What in the hay's going on with the weather?" Applejack asked as she and Fluttershy walked carefully over to Twilight.
"I've had to dress all my animals in their winter coats early. It wasn't easy," Fluttershy said as the two approached. Her voice sounded jittery, the yellow Pegasus shivered slightly.
"It's the middle of the summer, our whole harvest schedule's been changed! This could ruin the entire crop back at the farm!" Applejack declared. "Did y'all talk to Rainbow Dash? She say anything about this freaky storm?"
"We haven't talked to anypony yet," Twilight explained. "Spike just woke me up."
Rarity nodded. "I woke up this morning with Opal in my bed, clinging to me for warmth. Since then, it hasn't stopped snowing and I can't even see the sun."
Spike blushed. "I'd be happy to come help keep you warm, Rarity." The remark got a few strange glares from the ladies in the group, Spike quietly stepped back inside Twilight's house and closed the door behind him.
"I don't even think a rainstorm was scheduled for today," Twilight thought out loud.
"Twilight!" As if on cue, Rainbow Dash descended from the gray skies. "It's not the pegasi!"
"You're not controlling this storm?!" the other five asked in shocked unison.
Rainbow Dash shook her head as she hovered. "We can't control the clouds! We can't stop them from snowing and we don't know what's caused it!"
"Oh but isn't it wonderful?" an all-too familiar voice asked. Skating by, an old 'friend' danced on the ice, hopping and pirouetting with close-eyed glee.
"Discord!" the six ponies shouted his name in accusation. "I thought you'd reformed!" Twilight said, remembering the fiend's promise to turn over a new leaf and use his magic for good. The six mares took on an offensive posture, bracing their bodies, ready for any attack the draconequus might attempt. It never came, however. Instead, he continued delighting in the snow and ice for a few more seconds until he noticed the six angry faces staring at him.
Discord frowned and put his paw/claw in the approximate position of where his hips would be if he was a bipedal being. "I'm surprised at you, Twilight Sparkle. You think I'm responsible for this?" he gestured to the sky.
"How is it you're not, Discord? You love doing crazy things like this to the weather!" Rainbow Dash countered.
"Guilty but as I'd said earlier, I have changed my ways," Discord bowed. "That doesn't seem to stop some ponies for still blaming me every time something out of the ordinary happens."
"You're not responsible for this?" Twilight asked, still skeptical. Her past interactions combined with the current circumstances made her wary of the draconequus' motives.
"Oh yes," Discord said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's so easy just to blame it all on Discord, isn't it? No, I'm never the first to pick when anything GOOD randomly happens to somepony. It's always, 'Oh thank Celestia, I passed that test' or 'thank Luna, I've found my special somepony' or 'thank the writers, there's going to be a season four'!" he said in a mocking tone. "Really, that gets old."
Twilight still wasn't entirely convinced but... she did sympathize with Discord. A little. He said he'd reformed and he'd even seemed genuine the last time they'd spoken. So she decided to let him explain himself but still remained suspicious.
"You really have nothing to do with this?" Twilight asked.
"For the third time, NO," Discord stated flatly. "Does the snow taste like strawberry ice cream? Is the ice made of gelatin? Really, whoever is responsible for this has no sense of creativity. I'd have done something far more grand and... delicious."
"If you're not the cause of this storm," Twilight thought. "Who is?"
Discord through his paw/claw up into the air, an expression of 'beats me'. "I haven't the slightest idea. But I did happen to spy some new real estate on my way here from Canterlot," he said, putting his paw on his chin.
"New real estate? What do you mean?" Rarity asked.
Discord pointed over his shoulder with the digit that passed for his thumb. "There's a collection of the cutest little igloos just outside of town. Looked like a bunch of penguins were milling about them."
"Penguins?!" the group asked in exasperation. "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder..." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Uh, what's a penguin?" Applejack asked.
"Penguins are small birds that thrive in cold climates. They can't fly but their feathers help them to keep warm," Fluttershy explained.
"I think I saw one at the pet store once," Pinkie Pie commented. "They look like little butlers! I wanted one to answer my door for me but that's kinda Gummy's job already."
"Do you think they could have something to do with what's going on in Ponyville, Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know. But it's a good place to start, come on girls!" Twilight declared, marching out onto the ice. The six ponies were out on a mission to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with the weather. They strode with determination over the icy road.
"Can I come?! Can I come?! Please?!" Discord asked. Twilight turned to the draconequus. His hands were clasped in anticipation of approval, he even batted his eyelashes in a display of pleading affectionate sincerity. The ponies huddled for a moment and exchanged whispers.
"You can come," Twilight said, having reached a decision. "But you must be on your best behavior. No chaos."
"And afterward, you have to make it snow chocolate ice cream. With sprinkles," Pinkie added in a resolute voice.
Discord saluted. "Ooooh. I love a challenge. Let's get going my little ponies!" the draconequus took the lead as the band headed out into the frozen landscape.
Author's Note
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on this nifty straw hat and sing an original song parody.
*ahem*
I'm Mr. Gray Christmas, I'm Mr. Rain
I'm Mr. Thunder and Lightning, I'm Mr. Hurricane!
Friends call me Storm Miser, whatever I touch
Gets soaking wet in my clutch!
It's just too much
I never want to know a day that's not pouring down rain
I'd rather the sky be like a faucet, washing everyone down the drain!
*chorus, tagline, curtain*