A Cold Day in July

Twilight looked out her bedroom window and sighed.  The snow was gusting even more heavily that morning than it had the day before.  She shook her head as she descended the staircase, bracing for another day confined indoors, as was the rest of Ponyville and Equestria beyond it.

"Hmm," she grunted, tapping her hoof against her chin as her eyes wandered a nearby bookcase.  "I need a pick-me-up.  Aha!"  She levitated a book from among the others and inspected the title.

"Daring Do and the Flying Kingdom!"  She tended to favor the ones that were based off of pony folklore anyway.  She set the book down at her table, and opened the cover.

Suddenly, the book sprang up and began to waddle away from her.  "Stop it, Discord," she said as her eyelids hung at half-mast.

"Bah, you're too quick!" Discord replied, appearing behind her with a pop.

"It's not like I didn't know you were around," Twilight said.  "I don't know why the Princess lets you get away with these immature pranks.  You may claim to have reformed, but actions speak louder than words."

"Immature pranks?" Discord gasped.  "I take issue with that!"

"Take all the issue you like, I still think they're immature," Twilight said, pinning the rogue adventure novel to the table with her hoof.

"No, no, that's not the part that offends me," Discord replied.  "It's your use of the plural 'pranks'."  He gestured quotation marks with his fingers as he said the final word.

"I've only pulled one prank since I promised to fly the old straight and narrow, and that was making your pedestrian adventure novel slightly more entertaining," he said.

He snapped his fingers, and in a flash, was sitting atop a worn-down looking carriage being pulled by two duplicates of him attached to reins, the original dressed in an outfit reminiscent of travelling ponies from the old west.

"I would hardly classify that as a tumble from atop the proverbial wagon," he declared, placing the back of his right hand over his eyes and forehead and leaning backwards, losing his balance and falling off of the carriage.

"Oh, really?" Twilight asked, turning to Discord and jerking her head toward a nearby window, which was covered with ice.

"Well, I can't be blamed for the occasional blizzard, now can I?" he asked as his literal demonstration of relapse vanished.  "That's just nature, after all."

"It's the middle of July!" Twilight shouted, jumping a few inches off of the ground.

"Oh, so that's how it is!" Discord replied, recoiling.  "A little unseasonable chill and suddenly I'm the bad guy?  Well, now I see where I stand with you, Twilight Sparkle, and just when I had started to think we could be friends."

"Oh please," Twilight replied, taking another step toward her verbal sparring partner.  "You're not interested in being friends with me or anypony else."  Her brows furrowed and a small vein became visible near her temple.

"I really do think you're jumping to conclusions here, Twilight," Discord replied, backing away.

"I actually believed you had changed," Twilight replied, continuing her approach.  "I really thought that Fluttershy had set you straight, but silly me, that was just another one of your tricks."

"Now see here," Discord replied, raising the palms of his hands toward Twilight.  "Even if I were responsible for Ponyville's current weather-woes, which I'm not, would it really be worth assassinating my character?"  The look he gave her was reminiscent of a puppy dog that had gone too long without the proper amount of attention, his eyes glossy and shimmering.

"Businesses have been closed for days, I'm sure the Apple Family isn't growing any food, and just about everypony in town has to be going crazy with cabin fever by now.  But does any of that matter to you?  No!" Twilight shouted again, ceasing her approach and widening her stance.  "I want you out of my library this instant, and I will be sending the Princess a letter about this."

"You know what?  Fine!" Discord barked, causing Twilight to recoil a little, herself.  "If that's how you're going to treat me, then I'll just take my leave.  I was going to help you, but now?  Forget it!  You can handle that popsicle stick-in-the-mud on your own!"  He vanished with a snap of his fingers before Twilight could question his words, followed by a sudden, forceful knock on the front door.

"I wonder who would try to come to the library on a day like this," Twilight said as she opened the door.  She was surprised to see two of Princess Celestia's pegasi guards standing before her.

"Twilight Sparkle," said the guard on the right.

"Yes, sir," Twilight replied, nodding, before her eyes widened.  "But please, come inside out of the cold!"

"We appreciate that, ma'am," the guard replied as the two of them strode into the library.  "Pegasi are more resistant to the elements than most folk, but this blizzard was starting to get to us."

"I know, it's obnoxious," Twilight replied.  "Would either of you care for some tea?"

"No thank you, Miss, we're here on urgent royal business."

"Princess Celestia requests your presence at Canterlot immediately," the second guard replied.

"Oh my, that sounds serious," Twilight replied.  "It's going to be difficult to make that trip though, with the weather behaving as it is."

"Indeed," the first guard replied, "which is why the Princess sent us with a complimentary chariot to fly you there.  Five other guard pairs with similar vehicles have been dispatched to collect your friends, as well.  The Princess asks that you bring the Elements of Harmony with you."  He gestured towards the glass display case that contained the Elements.

"This must be about the weather," Twilight said, opening the display case.

"That would be my guess," the second guard replied.  "We'll get you there as quickly as we can, but the journey will still be extremely cold.  I suggest that you dress warmly."

"Alright, give me five minutes, and I'll be ready to leave," Twilight replied, before she went upstairs.

***

Canterlot was barely visible to Twilight as her chariot drew near the city.  Aside from the fact that the blizzard reduced visibility, Canterlot was blanketed in a layer of snow that rivaled the one covering Ponyville.  Despite Twilight wearing the thickest coat she could find, combined with a large scarf, unfashionable wool hat, and insulated boots, the trip had been one of the most unpleasant she had ever been on.

Her chariot circled over Canterlot before coming in for a landing slowly and carefully, so as to compensate for the ice that had formed on the ground outside the throne room.   She shivered beneath her protective garments.  Even so, she couldn't help but smile beneath the layers of clothing upon seeing her friends arrive just outside the palace entrance at the same time she did, in chariots identical to her own.

They were all dressed similarly to herself, with the exception of Rarity, whose outfit was color-coordinated, symmetrical, and appeared to be less effective at its task.  Pinkie Pie was dressed in a thick brown tunic and white pants (with what appeared to be a toy gun holstered to her hip), topped off with a fur hood, goggles, and a face mask.

Rainbow Dash wore nothing at all and seemed to be concentrating all of her will power on not shivering.  The six friends waited until they had entered the warmth of the throne room, which was empty at the moment, before they began to speak.

"It's so good to see you all again," Twilight said, removing her scarf and hat, the latter garb meriting a disapproving glare from Rarity.  "I know it's only been a few days since the blizzard started, but it feels like I haven't seen you girls in months!"

"Likewise, darling," Rarity replied, removing her brimmed hat while continuing to eyeball Twilight's.  "In spite of the weather, it's nice to finally be out of the house."

"It's so cold, you guys!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, raising her goggles and lowering her hood and mask.  "I almost started to turn blue, but then I realized I'd have to change my name!"  Twilight shook her head and grinned.

"How's the farm doing, Applejack?" Twilight asked, turning to her friend.

"I got a halfway decent look at the orchard when we took off," Applejack replied, lowering her head.  "The trees ain't lookin' so good.  It'll take a lot of work to get 'em back in shape after all this snow melts away."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Twilight replied, bowing her head.  She turned to Fluttershy.  "How are your animal friends doing?"

"Well, it's certainly been crowded in my cottage for the past few days; I'm trying to shelter as many animals as I can," Fluttershy replied.  "But more than anything, they're all very confused.  It's much colder than it should be for this time of year, and it's not time to hibernate. Animals know that sort of thing."

"Hopefully we can get this unnatural snow cleared away soon," Twilight replied.  Her gaze drifted towards the sound of chattering teeth.  "Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, approaching the pegasus.  "How could you leave the house with nothing on?  It's freezing out there!"

"P-p-p-egasi are immune to the cold, and I'm as t-t-t-tough as they come!" Rainbow Dash replied, her shivering becoming more apparent.

"Land sakes, girl," Applejack said, "you're liable to give yourself pneumonia with that attitude."  Rainbow Dash responded with a loud sneeze.  "Or at least a bad cold," Applejack added leaning back and covering her nose and mouth.  "And mind your manners; you're supposed to sneeze into the bend of your elbow so you don't go infectin' the ponies around ya."

"I'm not s-s-s-sick!" Rainbow Dash replied, raising her voice and pressing her hooves against the top and bottom of her head, forcibly stabilizing her chattering teeth.

Twilight was about to scold her friend a second time when a familiar voice called out.  "Thank you all for coming so quickly," Princess Celestia said, striding into the throne room.

"Of course, Princess," Twilight said as she and her friends approached her.  "I assume this is about Discord and his meddling with the weather in Ponyville?"

"I understand your suspicions, Twilight," Princess Celestia replied, approaching the six ponies to meet them halfway.  "However, the storm afflicting Equestria is not the result of Discord's chaotic magic."

"What do you mean?  What else could it possibly be?" Twilight asked.  "Surely, you aren't suggesting that this is natural."

"No," Celestia replied, shaking her head.  "Like you, I suspected that Discord might be behind this, but I sensed no lie from him when he denied it, so I took a closer look.  I was able to follow the wind currents back to the source of the storm."

"So this is somepony else's doin'?" Applejack asked, walking to Twilight's side.

"Who would do such a thing?" Fluttershy asked.

"The bitter winds are being carried across the land by windigos," Celestia replied, looking toward one of her stained glass windows, specifically the one depicting hers and Luna's victory over Discord in the days of old.

"Windigos?" Twilight asked, her eyes growing wide.  "I thought they were driven away over a thousand years ago."

"They were," Celestia replied, nodding.  "And now they have returned.  They are coming from a place I'm somewhat unfamiliar with: the Flying Kingdom."

"Like in the Daring Do novel?" Rainbow Dash asked, sniffling.  "A land where the pegasi packed clouds under the ground that were so thick that they lifted the whole thing into the sky?

"I thought that was just an old ponytale," Twilight replied, shrugging.  "The floating continent atop the clouds that all ponies once called home.  A safe haven from the predators below, in a time before ponies began keeping solid records?  It doesn't even sound like it's physically possible."

"While the specific nature of that land is shrouded in mystery," Princess Celestia replied, "I can assure you that it is very real.  I only saw it once, in my youth, floating in the sky above Equestria, before it suddenly rose to heights so great that I have not been able to find it since."

She paused for a moment before speaking again.  "Now it has descended over Equestria once more, obstructed from view by the storm, but there all the same. The windigos originated from somewhere atop it.  I want you and your friends to go there and find out what's causing all of this, and stop it.  Use the Elements of Harmony if you must."

"Now hold on," Rarity said, stepping forward as well.  "Could we not simply use the Elements of Harmony to clear away the snow here on the ground?"

"Unfortunately, that would only be a short term solution," Princess Celestia replied.  "Without identifying what's causing the storm, it would just happen again."

"Then we need to get moving!" Twilight replied as her friends nodded.

***

"Alright," Princess Celestia said as the magical aura around her horn died down.  "I've cast a protection spell on each of you that will resist the cold.  Otherwise, the trip would be devastating."  They had relocated to the area just outside the throne room once again.

"I feel warmer already!" Pinkie cheered, having discarded her previous outfit, replacing it with sunglasses, a tanning mirror, and the Element of Laughter hanging around her neck.  The other five had donned their Elements as well.

"Thank you, Princess, we'll do our best," Twilight replied as their new mode of transportation landed nearby.

"One big chariot this time?" Rarity asked, observing the large cart drawn by two pegasi guards.

"Seems a bit sturdier than the other ones," Applejack said as she inspected it, tapping her hoof against its side.

"The storm is going to be far more intense the closer you get to the Flying Kingdom," Celestia explained.  "I don't want to run the risk of any of you getting separated, so you'll all be travelling together.  Halt and Whogoesthere will pull this chariot."  She nodded toward the two guards who simply saluted the Princess.

The six ponies climbed aboard the carriage.  The guards galloped forward a few feet before spreading their wings and taking to the air, pulling the cart higher and higher until they had faded from sight.  "Good luck, my little ponies," Princess Celestia whispered.  "I fear you are going to need it."

***

"I'm gonna be honest," Rainbow replied as they soared upward through the sky.  "I'm not completely convinced that what the Princess told us is true; that there's some giant country on top of the clouds that's been missing for all these years."

"I know it seems hard to believe," Twilight replied, the ponies only able to hear her because the Pegasi guards were using their wings to manipulate the flow of air around them.  "But the Princess seemed to be sure of herself."

"By the way," Pinkie interjected, nudging Rainbow Dash.  "How's the cold, Dashie?  Feeling any better?"

"For the hundredth time," Dash replied, throwing her hooves into the air.  "I am not sick!"  She sneezed again.

"Allergies?" Rarity asked, a coy grin on her face.

"Shut up," Rainbow replied softly, folding her arms.

"Brace yourselves!" Halt shouted as their flight path began to change.

"What's going on!?" Twilight shouted.

"Are those windigos!?" Fluttershy yelled as she pointed straight ahead.  The sight that greeted them was like nothing they had ever seen before.  With forms transparent and shifting, the supernatural constructs that bore resemblance to horses appeared to be made out of the wind itself.

Eyes glowing brightly, three windigos were hurtling toward them at incredible speed, roaring as they closed in on their target.  They left a trail of frost and hail in their wake.

"Break right!" Halt commanded his partner as the pegasi pulled the cart to the right, rolling the entire vehicle over in the process.  The windigos zoomed by, having narrowly been avoided.  A trail of falling ice shards was left behind, crossing paths with the pegasi and creating turbulence.

"Think I'm gonna be sick," Applejack groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut, her face turning a light shade of green.

"At least we're strapped in," Twilight noted.

"There may be more on the way," Halt said as they stabilized their flight path.  "I doubt it'll be any smoother from here on out!"

"Fan-dang-tastic!" Applejack muttered, burying her head in her hooves.

"They seem to be dispersing once they reach a certain depth," Twilight noted as she watched the windigos they had just avoided split up and soar off into separate directions.  Though visibility was limited, the travelers could hear the roars of additional spirits all around them, descending in every direction.

"They don't seem to be coming directly after us," Halt called out as they banked right, glimpsing another windigo pass them on the left.

Suddenly, the sound of the rushing wind vanished altogether.  The chariot had breached the thickest of the clouds, coming up on a significantly clearer area in the atmosphere.  "I... don't believe it..." Rainbow said as they all caught sight of the Flying Kingdom.

As the legends had described it, the terrain was surrounded on all sides but its surface with dense clouds, dark gray in color.  Small electric currents could be seen bouncing across the surface of these support clouds.

"It's a little... smaller than I was expecting," Rarity said, pointing out how its size was little more than that of a small island as they flew into position to get a better look at the landmass.

"It certainly isn't the bountiful, thriving country in the sky described in the old stories," Twilight replied, nodding.

The land was covered with multiple layers of ice and snow that still vaguely maintained the aesthetic traits of a courtyard, filled with frozen trees and the undetailed outlines of statues.  A single building was visible in the middle of everything.

Through large archways on all sides of it, windigos could be seen galloping out, before leaping off the edge of the land and taking flight.  The ponies had finally found the source of the problem, and the guards brought the chariot in for a landing just outside of it.

"What do y'all suppose we'll find in there?" Applejack asked as they approached the entrance to the tall, ice-encrusted structure.

"Hopefully, some answers," Twilight replied as they passed through the arch way.

"It doesn't look like anypony's here," Fluttershy said as they all scanned the span of the large, sterile, white chamber.  The ceiling was high, and the width of the room was vast.  Aside from an assortment of pillars placed every few yards, the room was empty.

"This place is rather drab," Rarity observed, scanning the area.

"None of this makes any sense," Twilight said, shaking her head.  "Princess Celestia, herself, said that this was supposed to be an entire country, and none of the old stories about it mention windigos or this strange, perpetual frost.  What could be causing this?"

"Generosity, honesty," a voice called out, followed by footsteps.  "Laughter and kindness," the voice said as the sounds drew closer to them.  "Loyalty, and magic."  Twilight and her friends beheld the man that was speaking to them.  Standing roughly six feet tall, he had the body of an adolescent dragon and the head of a stallion.

The scales that covered his body were a light shade of blue, and the fur on his head was white.  The whites of his eyes blended with the rest of his head, and were only noticeable because of the small black dots in the center of each.

The strange creature spoke again.  "The Elements of Harmony now stand before me.  It is fortuitous that you would seek me out.  I am pleased to see that you survived my windigos."

"You're a draconequus!" Twilight gasped.

Well, now," the man replied, raising his brow.  "I find it very surprising that you would not only know of that term, but be able to recognize one on sight."  Twilight noted that while he was, indeed, of the same species as Discord, he lacked Discord's inconsistent features.  His entire body was completely proportionate and symmetrical.

"Do you know Discord?" Fluttershy asked.

"He is my brother," the chimera replied quickly, his eyes drifting to the side.

"I never would have thought there would be two of you.  Is there some faraway land where draconeqi come from?" Twilight asked.

"There are only two of us," the man explained.  "Our father was a dragon, and our mother was an alicorn, neither of whom is still alive in this age.  Their prodigious magical abilities, however, live on in my brother and I."

"And your name is...?" Rarity asked, gesturing for him to finish her sentence with her hoof.

"Melody," he replied.  "I propagate order, just as my brother propagates chaos, and with the six of you being Elements of Harmony, we're practically family."  His face remained stoic.

"So why in tarnation are ya freezin' Equestria!?" Applejack asked, stepping forward.

"What do you mean?" Melody asked, tilting his head up so that he looked down on the ponies.  "My purpose is to secure order in Equestria, and so that is what I am doing."

"Ooooooh," Pinkie said, nodding.  "No, wait, that doesn't make sense!"

"I would have thought that all of you would already understand.  Very well, I will explain it to you," Melody replied, snapping his fingers in the same way Discord would.  The snow blanketing the floor at his feet began to move at his command, and it took the form of a pair of miniature ponies, one an earth pony, and one a pegasus.

"Shortly before the founding of Equestria, ponies of differing tribes did not get along.  The earth ponies grew the food."  As he said this, the miniature earth pony prodded the snow at its feet, causing a small pumpkin to form out of it.  "And in exchange, the pegasi looked after the weather."

The miniature pegasus flew in with a cloud also sculpted from snow and placed it above the earth pony's head, with water, representing rain, dripping from it.  The two figures waved at one another.

"However, that arrangement made life too easy for both groups, as it did for the unicorns that used their magic to change the seasons.  As these ponies found themselves with less hardship and more time, they began to realize that they wanted more than the bare minimum of survival."

More pumpkins grew from the snow, and the pegasus model began to sweep them up before being kicked away by the earth pony.  The pegasus grabbed the rain cloud and flew off with it, causing the pumpkins to shrivel away.

"The earth ponies, the pegasi, and the unicorns sought to bend the elements to their will, disrupting a natural order and creating chaos.  From that chaos came disharmony between ponies."

"It sounds like you're accusing us of cheating," Twilight replied, cocking her eyebrow.

"I suppose that is one way to look at it," Melody replied, releasing his control over the snow and stepping closer to Twilight and her friends.  "My solution to this dilemma is a simple one:  covering the land in a bitter frost, and making you ponies struggle for everything you need."

Twilight and her friends gasped as Melody continued speaking, "By occupying all of your time trying to meet the minimum requirements for survival, you will not lose sight of the struggle you all share, and you will not wander away from your responsibilities.  The cold will preserve things as they should be.  There will be no chaos.  There will be no disharmony.  There will only be order."

"Now wait just one feather-picking minute!" Rainbow Dash shouted, floating towards Melody.  "Ponies put their difference aside a long time ago, right when Equestria was founded!  What you're doing here is pointless!"

"That's true," Fluttershy added quietly, "I mean... ponies already live in harmony."

"They're right," Twilight agreed.  "Have you seen the state Equestria is in?  And for that matter, why did you wait so long to do this?"

"I have been away for quite some time," Melody replied, "and I know very little about the state of Equestria, but I do know this:  Discord's ideals failed, and that can only mean that my ideals are correct.  No matter how long you might maintain the illusion of harmony, eventually your species' unpredictable natures will destroy it."

"And what, exactly, gives you the right to go interferin' with our lives in the first place?" Applejack asked.

"Nothing," Melody replied, shrugging his shoulders.  "Save for the simple fact that my magical abilities happen to be stronger than yours, which means that I can set things the way that I want them."

"You make it sound as though there's no gray area between total order and total chaos," Rarity said.

"Gray area?" Melody replied.  "Anything less than complete order is chaotic.  Would you dispute this?"

"Order is important, but uncertainty, spontaneity, even creativity," Twilight replied, frowning at Melody.  "Those elements are part of what makes life so special, and what makes each individual life so unique!  True harmony between ponies means embracing all of those things.  Without those things, we have no innovation, no invention, and no culture!"

"How naïve," Melody replied.  "And here I thought that I had found kindred spirits at last.  I see now that your 'Elements of Harmony' are nothing more than an ironic joke.  You do not understand harmony, and I have nothing more to say to you.  Begone.  Let me resume my work."

"Alright, girls," Twilight said, preparing their offensive.  "If he won't listen to reason, then it's time to use the Elements."

"Right!" her five companions shouted in unison as they lined up side by side.

"You will do no such thing," Melody replied, snapping his fingers.  Twilight, her gaze fixed upon Melody, did not immediately realize what was happening until her friends shouted.  She turned to see that ice was slowly forming around her five companions.

"What in tarnation!?" Applejack yelled as their hooves became encased in ice.

"I can't move!" Rainbow Dash shouted as the ice covered their cutie marks.  She flapped her wings but could not lift herself from the ground.

"How dare you!?" Rarity called out to Melody as the frost reached their necks.

"Twilight, help us!" Fluttershy screamed as their heads became entombed.

"I've heard of 'chilling out', but this is ridic-" Pinkie's final words were cutoff as the ice closed in around her mouth and the mouths of her friends, completely encasing the five ponies.

"Girls!" Twilight screamed, revving the magic in her horn.  "Hang on, I know a heat spell that'll melt the ice!"

"You will act as my messenger," Melody replied, approaching Twilight.  "Return to Equestria, and tell your Princesses what is in store for them."

He snapped his fingers again, and a massive gust of wind tore through the hall, propelling a screaming Twilight out the exit, into the sky, and over the edge of the Flying Kingdom.  The pegasi guards and their chariot, which were still waiting outside, were also blown off of the precipice.

"Miss Sparkle!" Halt shouted as he and his companion, having abandoned the chariot, caught her amidst the clouds.  "What happened in there!?  Should we go back!?"

"No!" Twilight shouted over the rushing wind, tears forming in her eyes.  "There's nothing I can do against this, not by myself."

"So what is our next course of action?" Halt asked.

"Take me back to Princess Celestia," Twilight replied, sighing.  "As much as I hate to admit it, we're going to need Discord's help."