Chaos and Harmony

by MLP Fangirl

Cold Catastrophe Pt. 4

As they looked down from the mountain peak, all they could see was a blanket of white. No grass was visible, no trees in sight, just snow. Twilight looked down with panic, realizing they had to hurry. As they continued climbing, the snow pressed on. Upon further observation, a swirling hurricane of snow and ice lay ahead. No doubt the answer was near.

Rainbow decided to try and fly up to get a better view. Using every ounce of energy she could muster, she flew up. Her hoof in front of her face, she noticed a little cabin about seven hooves below the snowy vortex. Rainbow quickly came down to alert the others.

"Guys! There's a small cabin up there. I think the weather's coming from there," Rainbow pointed up towards the cabin, which was slightly visible from where they were.

"How could a cabin possibly be responsible for this here cold?" Applejack shivered, speaking with skepticism.

"Well, duh! The answer's inside! Cabins aren't alive, silly," Pinkie giggled at the thought of a walking cabin.

Fluttershy looked up then quickly looked down. "Um, do we have to go up there? We're pretty high up."

"We have to. Something in that cabin might be responsible for this crazy blizzard. We need to investigate," Twilight's eyes showed determination.

"Well, a lady always prepares for these kinds of situation," Rarity levitated several items from her saddlebag: four, rather fashionable hiking boots; ear muffs; and diamond-studded goggles. She daintily put them on.

Discord scoffed. "Yah, that'll help you climb. Rarity, honestly, must you always make every trip a fashion outing?"

"Oh, what would you know? Now, shall we ascend?" Rarity asked with dignity.

"All right, everyone. Let's go." Twilight and Discord combined their magic and created an air-tight force field around them. The higher they went, the less oxygen they breathed. Quickly, they made their way up the cliff.

After a few minutes, the gang arrived at the cabin. The wind was howling viciously. The snow blew in every direction. But, they paid the cold no mind. The answer to this wintry mess might possibly be in that cabin. Bravely, Twilight carefully approached the door and knocked. The girls, despite their squinted eyes, looked on with slight apprehension, not knowing who or what would answer.

The door opened, and they were met by, surprisingly a unicorn stallion. His coat was white and his mane was a bluish-grey hue. He looked to be about the same age they were.

"Oh! Princess Twilight! The Element Bearers! Discord! Oh, please, don't arrest me. This isn't my fault, well not entirely, but I assure you it was an accident!" The stallion fell on his hind legs begging for mercy. Twilight looked at the others.

The wind was whipping more, making it hard to hear.

"I THINK WE SHOULD TALK INSIDE!" Twilight shouted. Reluctantly, the white colt let them in.

The stallion offered them hot cocoa, which they were ever so grateful for. His cabin was equipped with a cold-dispelling force field. It wasn't working perfectly due to the unnatural chill, but it was good enough. Hopefully, now, they would get their answer.

"Forgive us for barging in like this. But, all the evidence pointed here. Albeit we didn't have a lot of evidence, but we've come this far. Who are you? Do you know anything about this weather?" Twilight asked in earnest.

The stallion sighed, "I suppose it's only fair. I am Tundra Ice, Your Highness. A simple stallion with a love of winter. I've lived up here for about two years now." He took a sip of his cocoa.

"Why ever would you want to live here? It's positively freezing up here," Rarity shivered, sipping her drink as well.

"It's kind of a long story. When I was a foal, my family lived in the Bahaymas. As you know, it's usually very warm up there. Winter doesn't really effect it. Nothing but sunshine and warm days. You're probably wondering how I could love winter. Well, when I was seven, my dad took me to Canterlot for the annual Winter Solstice Celebration." Tundra smiled at the memory.

"When we arrived, I saw the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Snow. It covered the grass in a white blanket, the sun ray's shining on it made the snow sparkle. That was also the first time I had ever felt cold before. It felt good, much different than the heat I was used to. I then realized that this is what I wanted. I didn't want heat, I wanted coldness. My special talent made it somewhat possible. I can turn inanimate objects animate. I'd tell you about how I got my cutie mark, but that's another story." He chuckled slightly.

"Anyway, when I was eighteen, I studied at Manehattan University, mostly about winter and the like. I got a degree in Snow Making and Weather Control. After I graduated, I decided to come and live here. May have been stupid at the time, but I'm glad I did it." He concluded.

His audience sat in silence for a few minutes. Pinkie, of course, broke it.

"Awwww! What a nice story! I know how you feel. I like winter, too!" Pinkie chugged the rest of her drink down, and popped her marshmallows into her mouth.

"We all like winter, but not to this extent. How did it become like this?" Discord asked, his eye brows slightly furrowed.

Tundra cowered slightly under the draconeques' gaze. "Well, I--"

Fluttershy noticed this and tried to alleviate his fears. "Don't worry, Mr. Tundra. Discord won't hurt you."

"I don't like hurting ponies. Violence is only used as a last resort. I come in peace, I swear," Discord put his eagle claw on his chest.

"Are you sure?" The unicorn wasn't entirely persuaded yet.

"Yes, Mr. Tundra. You don't need to be afraid. He's harmless. Now, what were you saying?" Twilight gently prodded.

Tundra Ice took another deep breath. "Very well. I don't know if you remember me saying this or not, but my special talent is bringing inanimate objects to life." They nodded. "Well, about a week or so ago, I was experimenting with some snow and ice. I was trying to create a living snowpony. Sounds a bit childish, I know. But, I was hoping to create a companion. Someone to keep me company up here in these mountains. It gets rather lonely up here." His face turned slightly downtrodden, but he quickly shook it off.

"Anyway, I mixed up a batch of 'animate elixir,' as I like to call it. I didn't realize it at the time, but a few drops of Carbonate D had fallen into the pot. Carbonate D, as I'm sure you know, Princess, is the liquefied DNA of Windigoes. Don't ask me why I have it. So, I began mixing--" Rarity's hoof shot up.

"Um, yes?"

"Pardon me for interrupting, but DNA can be liquefied? How?" Rarity asked.

Twilight answered for Tundra. "It's a very complex process. Only high-level unicorns and alicorns can pull off the spell. It's also very dangerous, which is why it's rarely done, and few ponies know about it."

Rarity seemed satisfied with that answer and gestured for him to continue.

"Where was I? Oh, yes. I began mixing the brew. Not suspecting anything was wrong, I spread the elixir onto my test subject. Naturally, I cast my signature spell. However, as I cast it, something felt different. My magic seemed to be acting up. I felt the magical energies build up on the base of my horn. Was I having a magic surge? I wasn't sure. Suddenly, the snow and ice erupted and manifested itself into a living maelstrom of snow and ice. The storm was alive. I tried to stop it, but it was too powerful. It escaped through my chimney and penetrated Equestria. The climax of the storm has remained here, but it's or...my magic has caused it to spread. And because the storm was created by magic, it seems to have be resistant to other magic. Heat spells included." Tundra firmly finished, his face stern and serious.

No words could describe how the ponies felt. All of this caused by a mere accident.

"Do whatever you want to me. I'm responsible for everypony's misery." He slumped his head in shame.

Applejack put a hoof on the stallion's shoulder. "Listen, sugarcube. None of us blame ya. As you said, it was purely accidental. You weren't aimin' to cause this. Don't go beating yourself over it."

"Applejack's right. You are not going to be blamed for this. You didn't know. It's not like you did this on purpose. We're not going to hold it against you." Twilight assured him.

"Thanks, Twilight. But, now that you know, what are you going to do?" He asked.

Twilight looked down. "Well, I don't know yet."

"But, don't worry, she will." Discord placed a paw on her shoulder.

Twilight quickly smiled, but it soon faded as she sat in contemplation. "I hope you're right, Discord. Wow, a sentient snow storm. That's a new one. I didn't realize there were such spells. Sure, I mean, I know one or two animation spells, but none quite to this extent. Do you have any idea on how to stop it?"

Tundra Ice sighed once again. "I don't. As I said, my magic is resilient to other types magic. If somepony were to discover my creations, they might want to try and replicate it. Some might even go to the extremes just to do so. For safety, I've attuned my magic to resist opposing forces. So, I don't have any solutions."

Twilight wasn't happy about that answer. She believed it, but it wasn't easy accepting it.

"I say we ram the storm head on. Physical assault may put a dent in it," Rainbow punched her hoof.

Applejack face-hoofed. "Dash, how do you attack a living storm? And don't go sayin' it's like any other storm cloud. I ain't no weather expert, but even I can tell that ain't yer everyday, ordinary snow cloud."

Rainbow wanted to give a rebuttal, but nothing came out.

Rarity gasped. "Hey, we can combine our magic. Twilight, Tundra, and I can each cast a melting spell on it. It has to work."

"Didn't you hear what he said? His magic is resistant to other magic. We've tried heat spells, and they don't work,'' Twilight reminded her.

Fluttershy meekly raised her hoof.

"Yes?"

"Um...I'm no alchemy expert, but you created the storm with a potion, right?"

Tundra blinked, unsure where she was going with this. "Yes, why?"

"Well, I studied chemistry a little, and...well, can't you like make an antidote? Something that will reverse the effects of your...what did you call it? Oh, right, animate elixir?"

The ponies were silent. Did that idea just come from Fluttershy?

Tundra stared at her. "That...could work! Brilliant idea, Fluttershy! I can use the opposing chemicals of each compound, and recast my spell. It should return the storm into regular snow and ice. Why didn't I think of that before?" He ran over to his chemistry set and began taking out some beakers.

Pinkie hugged Fluttershy. "I didn't know you were a scientist. Can you make a pink potion?"

Fluttershy stammered. "Um...well...I...only studied it for one semester. I...didn't really enjoy it."

Twilight put a hoof around her. "Well, if you ever take an interest for it again, my lab is always open."

Fluttershy smiled bashfully. They all watched the white unicorn hustle from one end of the cabin to the other. He mixed in some liquids and some other products.

He walked back to them. "Well, the liquid needs to settle for a little while. So, we wait." Suddenly, the ghostly howl they heard from before came back, only much louder this time.

Fluttershy jumped behind the counter followed by Pinkie.

"Um, Tundra? You...wouldn't happen to know what that is, would you?" Rarity, stiff as a log, asked.

"Oh, yah. Did I mention the storm has taken a physical form? I think it senses your body heat and isn't taking too kindly to trespassers."

"So, the storm made that noise? Kind of creepy, if you ask me. " Discord asked, regaining his composure.

"Yes. But, do not worry. Once the elixir has settled, I'll cast my spell on it. Hopefully, this will disintegrate this weather. Again, I apologize."

"It was an accident. We've already forgiven you," Twilight looked out the window and could barely see anything because of the ceaseless snowfall. "But, this had better end soon. Equestria can't endure this cold much longer. If this lasts much longer, we may not even have Hearth's Warming this year."

The blizzard continued its course, but now they had a solution. They weren't sure it would work, but they weren't going to give up hope.

Author's Note:

How'd you like that? Took a while to think through, but there you go. If any of you were thinking this was going to be like Frozen, you were mistaken. I was never planning to go down that route. Anyway, this is the last part of Cold Catastrophe. The next part will be entitled differently. Something like "Taking Down the Storm" or something. Hope you enjoyed this, and I'll see you next time.
Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Hearth's Warming Eve to all!

BTW, I know liquefying DNA is probably impossible (maybe it is, I'm not sure), but what's impossible in our world can be possible in Equestria.