On December twentieth, the day before December twenty-first, Icy did nothing but ice-skate all day. She skated so much that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, tired out from all that skating, went home early to rest. Icy didn't mind; her friends were understandably exhausted. She would be, too, if she were the one who had to practice with herself. But she kept skating, skating, skating for hours. By the time she finally went home, it was sundown. Icy had been ice-skating from morning to sunset, with a short break for lunch.

Dinner that night was daisy-and-daffodil sandwiches, salad with Bitalian dressing, and celery soup, with a dessert of frosted cloud cake cupcakes. Icy and Rose Petal sat in the dining room, eating their meal quietly.

"Are you nervous, Icy?" Rose Petal asked suddenly, noticing her daughter's silence.

Startled, Icy's hoof bumped into her bowl of celery soup, and some of the soup spilled onto the table. Rose Petal patiently cleaned up the spilled soup while she waited for an answer.

"Yes, Mother, I'm nervous," Icy confessed, prodding a loose piece of daisy that had fallen from her sandwich. "What if I mess up when it's my turn to skate in Canterlot? What if I forget my entire routine? What if–"

"Icy, dear," Rose Petal said, stopping her. "It's all right to be nervous. It's natural. But you're not going to mess up, sweetheart. You're the best ice-skater in two towns. You won gold for the Ponyville and Cloudsdale Ice-Skating Competition when you were only six years old! You're going to be perfect and amazing, Icy, I just know it."

"Thanks, Mother," Icy said, managing a smile. "You're right. There's nothing to worry about."

Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about, Icy told herself over and over again as she lay in bed that night, after Rose Petal tucked her in. Nothing to worry about.

But there was something to worry about. There was always something to worry about.

Icy turned her face to her bedroom window and stared out at the nearly full moon that hung in the sky. She felt the cool silver moonlight on her coat, and it calmed her. Everything will be all right. She burrowed under her warm quilt and closed her eyes. But even though she was calm now, sleep did not come easily. It was a long time before exhaustion pulled at her and dragged her into slumber.

The next morning, Icy woke up at dawn and pulled back her window curtains. It was a glorious winter day – the sun was shining, and the thick layer of snow on the ground sparkled. She was feeling a lot more optimistic than she was last night.

Rose Petal had prepared Icy's favorite breakfast – berry pancakes. She'd also left a note next to Icy's plate:

Dear Icy, I had to leave early for a big shipping of flowers at the shop. Don't worry, I'll be back in time for the train ride to Canterlot. Hope you like your breakfast! –Love, Mother

Icy read the note as she drizzled thick, golden maple syrup over her berry pancakes. When she had eaten her fill, she decided to go to Rarity's to see if Sweetie Belle was home and wanted to do something together. It was better to have fun with your friends than worrying about a competition.

Leaving a note to her mother in case Rose Petal came back and was wondering where she was, Icy flew down to Ponyville and trotted through the streets until she reached the Carousel Boutique. Like always, the doorbell rang when she pushed the door open.

Sweetie Belle was sitting in the front room of the boutique when Icy entered. "Hi, Icy," the white unicorn filly said cheerfully. "Do you want to color with me, to pass the time?" She nodded at a stack of colored paper and a box of crayons sitting on the table in front of her.

"Sure," Icy agreed, sitting down next to Sweetie Belle. She looked over at her friend. "What are you drawing, Sweetie?"

"I'm drawing you," Sweetie Belle answered, holding up her piece of paper. It was a drawing of a pale blue pegasus skating on a frozen pond, wearing a glittery dress. A gold medal hung around her neck, and she wore a big smile on her face.

It was a picture of Icy, as a winner of the Canterlot Ice-Skating Competition.

"Do you like it?" Sweetie Belle asked eagerly.

"I do like it," Icy said. "That's really nice of you, Sweetie, but I haven't won yet, and I'm not sure I will."

"Oh, come on, Icy!" Sweetie Belle argued. "You just need to think positive. Think positive, not negative, and you'll definitely win."

Right, Icy thought as she took a blue crayon and drew a snowflake on her paper. Think positive, think positive, think positive. I wish I had Sweetie's optimism.

An hour and a half later, Icy was standing at the Ponyville train station with Rose Petal, waiting for the train to Canterlot. Icy's ice-skating dress was tucked safely in her mother's bag. She would put it on in the dressing rooms at Canterlot Castle just before the competition started. During the few hours before all the contestants had to be at the Silver Moon Pond in the Canterlot royal gardens, Icy and Rose Petal would go sightseeing in the city and maybe visit some cousins who lived there.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were also there, bouncing in anticipation. Their families had agreed to let Rose Petal take them to see the ice-skating competition.

"When is the train going to be here?" Icy asked for what had to be the hundredth time. She couldn't help it; she had a case of the pre-contest jitters!

"Honey, it'll be here any second now," Rose Petal soothed her patiently. "Oh, look – here it comes!"

The train screeched to a halt in front of the station. "All aboard, to Canterlot!" called the conductor, waving a hoof.

Icy, Rose Petal, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo showed their tickets to the conductor and boarded the train. They made their way to a relatively quiet train car and sat down. Icy had brought a couple of snacks and an embroidery piece she'd been working on, so she wasn't bored. As the train started moving, she took out the embroidery and some colored thread and started to gently weave the needle through the cloth to form a pattern.

At four o'clock, it was time to get ready for the Canterlot Ice-Skating Competition. Icy, Rose Petal, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with the other contestants, flocked to the Canterlot Castle gardens. The palace workers had set up huge white tents near the Silver Moon Pond for dressing rooms. Rose Petal took the Cutie Mark Crusaders to get good seats where they could see the pond clearly, and Icy went into a tent to change into her dress.

There were countless ponies milling around in the tent. Icy shyly squeezed through the crowd, keeping her head down, and ducked into a small space behind a zippered tent flap to change. Her dress had a sparkly, night-blue chiffon skirt and a silvery-white top. She wore a necklace of sapphires around her neck, and her neatly brushed mane was loosely braided with a strand of sapphires, too. When Icy was finished changing, she picked up her ice-skates in her teeth to carry them outside.

Each contestant had a number, and it was their turn to skate on the frozen pond when their number was called. Icy's number was twenty-seven. She was the last contestant.

The Silver Moon Pond was a big pond that was located in the Canterlot gardens just for ice-skating. In the winter, it always froze into a thick, smooth sheet of ice, ideal for ice-skating. Icy found a good spot near the edge of the pond so she could watch the other contestants. She sat down, careful of the fabric of her dress. She saw Rose Petal and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sitting in the temporary stands around the pond, and she waved to them.

Oh, I really really really really hope I won't disappoint them, Icy thought, nibbling nervously on her hooves.

"And now, presenting contestant number twenty-seven, Miss Ice Harmony from Ponyville!" Princess Celestia announced from her podium.

The crowd of ponies clapped politely as Icy stepped onto the ice with her ice-skates securely on her hooves. She stared up at the stands, where hundreds of ponies sat to watch her perform, and swallowed nervously. Then she spotted Rose Petal, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, waving happily to her. Encouraging her.

Smiling back to her mother and friends, Icy nodded at the pony who was in charge of the music to start it.

A sweet, familiar melody, the same one from Sweetie Belle's music box, danced in the cool air.

Icy closed her eyes and let the music fill her.

And Ice Harmony began to skate.

As the captivated crowd watched, Icy whirled and spun and leaped on the smooth ice, dancing with all her heart. Her mane and skirt trailed behind her in the breeze created by her graceful movement. Though she was surrounded by hundreds of strange ponies she did not know, Icy ignored them and just skated. She skated like she'd never before, feeling like she could do anything.

At last, the music stopped, and Icy did too. She paused in the middle of the pond, looking anxiously up at the audience. How did I do? Was that good enough? I hope that was good enough.

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause and wholehearted cheers. The three judges, who were high-society Canterlot ponies, all held up signs with big black numbers on them. 10. 10. 10. Three tens – a perfect score! Icy couldn't believe it.

As the ponies continued to cheer, Icy noticed a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at her side, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. On her flank was a beautifully detailed sky-blue snowflake with a dark blue treble clef next to it. I have my cutie mark! Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

Icy stepped off the ice, took off her ice-skates, and sat back down. The pony next to her, a seventeen-year-old unicorn mare, gave her a genuine smile, and Icy returned it happily.

"Now it is time for me to announce the contest winner," said Princess Celestia, speaking through the podium microphone. "The winner of this year's Canterlot Ice-Skating Competition is . . . Miss Ice Harmony!"

For a moment, Icy couldn't believe her ears. Then the crowd starting cheering and clapping again. Rose Petal and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were whooping and clapping especially loudly and enthusiastically.

I did it. I won!

Dazed, Icy stepped up to the podium to receive her prize. Princess Celestia's long horn lit up with a golden aura, and she levitated a silver circlet, set with a snowflake-shaped crystal in the center, onto Icy's head. "Congratulations, Ice Harmony," the Sun Princess said, smiling.

"Thank you, Princess." Icy looked up to admire her new crown.

"And now, a word from our winner!" said Princess Celestia, gesturing to Icy with a wing. "Go on, don't be afraid," she whispered to Icy.

Swallowing, the pale blue pegasus stepped up to the microphone and looked around. Clearing her throat, she began shyly. "If somepony told me when I was a little filly that I would one day be standing here as a winner of the Canterlot Ice-Skating Competition, I never would have believed it," she said. "But here I am, just twelve years old. I hope that everypony has learned something from me today. No matter how young you are, you can always make a difference if you never give up. Thank you. Thank you, everypony!"

Author's Note

And that's the end of Harmony of the Ice. This was sort of short, but I hope you readers all enjoyed it!