Magic Paint Brushes 3: This Ice Life...

by Ugly-Duckling123

Chapter 2

“What do you mean ‘There may be something going on in Equestria?’ ” Sarah and Eric asked wide eyes shocked.

“Well... Last week, the two of us were visiting Arachnie and the others,” Suzy said speaking of her old Changeling brothers and sisters. “And around Hearths Warming, should be the best time of the year for Changelings behind Hearts and Hooves day,” she continued “But they said there’s not as much love in the air this Hearths Warming, and it’s colder than normal, even in the Badlands where it’s never cold.”

“So deciding that this was a too big case to carry for just the two of us,” Jack said speaking up. “We decided to come here and get the gang back together. You know...” he said with a grin on his face and his eyes shifting a bit, nervously. That only being picked up by Sarah.

“You sure there’s nothing else going on, Jack?” she asked crossing her arms.

“If there is I’ll tell you when I’m sure and we’re with the others cuz...” Jack said quickly whipping out his pencil and gently grabbed Suzy before vanishing in a flash of light.

“So much for baking cookies then,” Sarah said heading for the kitchen to place their cups in the dishwasher.

“Meh... you can do that when we get back,” Eric said pulling out his paint brush “Besides I’m sure Pinkie would be honored to let you bake some stuff with her.”

Smiling, Sarah took hold of the brush together the two Warriors of Harmony were also gone in a flash of light.

---

---

In Equestria, the winter holiday season was underway.

Trees were up everywhere, ponies were rushing around buying and delivering presents, schools were rehearsing for the reenactment of the first Hearths Warming, and there was snow everywhere.

On top of the hill overlooking Ponyville, after a couple of flashes of light (one a bit more delayed than the other) stood Eric, Sarah, Jack, and Suzy all in their ‘Equestria outfits’. Two in rainbow colored outfits, one in a midnight blue one looking almost like the other girl but different, and the last one... Well he was a total mess with what he looked like, but then again he was the Student of Discord.

“Whoa...” Sarah said instantly wrapping her arms around herself and shivering, “I sure wish these things came with winter coats.”

Suddenly just like that, and a sparkle of light coming from her charm bracelet everyone was now in thick coats, and the girls now wearing thick warm tights under their skirts to keep warm.

“Huh,” Jack said taking his coat off and looking at it. “No offense cuz,” he said snapping his fingers and poofing it away “But I don’t do winter outfits.”

“Well then remember that when you get stuck with a cold when we get home then Jack Frost,” Eric said sheathing his sword and began to slowly descend the hill not taking more than three steps before a snowball hit him in the back of the head.

Quickly he turned back to Jack who was whistling innocently looking to the sky.

“What?” he asked “I didn’t do it? Somepony’s throwing stuff. We going down to the village or what?” he said as he began to lead the way down, Suzy next to him.

Quickly Eric reached down to pick up a clump of snow and was about to set aim and fire when Sarah stopped him with a hand to the shoulder.

“Just leave it Eric,” she said quietly. “Besides you deserve it.” She said once Eric dropped the ball of snow.

“What?” he asked “How did I deserve being hit with a snowball?”

“You know how he doesn’t like that name,” his girlfriend said looking over to her cousin. “Besides we’re not here to have fun. We’re here to see what so wrong they needed to come to us and ruin our holiday.”

“As usual you’re right princess,” Eric said sighing as they too now began to descend the hill and follow the others.
***
After a few minutes and some almost slipping ups and falling overs, save from Jack who was floating the way down, the four of them came to the edge of Ponyville and met by a rush of pink.

“HEY EVERYPONY!” the pink party pony of Ponyville, Pinkie Pie said smiling widely, dressed in a cute pair of yellow ear muffs, snow boots and a snowflake covered blue scarf.

“HEY PINKIE PIE!” the four cried together laughing slightly that they all thought of the same gag.

“So what brings you to Equestria?” she asked bouncing around them “Oh! Did you come for Hearths Warming? I bet you did. You came for Hearths Warming didn’t you? Well you’re a couple of days early...” she said whipping out a calendar out of nowhere “But that doesn’t matter,” she said throwing it away “That just means more time to play with you. Come on lets go meet the others.”

Just before she zoomed off Jack grabbed her tale and lifted her up.

“Actually Pinkie Pie,” he said looking into her eyes, both of them upside down “you mind if we go see the Princesses first? Suzy and I have reason to believe they might need to be told something first.”

“Okie dokie lokie” Pinkie said beaming wide and after being placed down said. “Twilight’s in her library, Cadence is last known to be in the Crystal Empire, and Celestia and Luna are up in Canterlot.”

“To Canterlot then,” Jack said Pinkie Promising Pinkie to come straight back so they can spend some time together.

---

*Canterlot Castle, Dining Room*

“So sister,” Luna said to Celestia smiling as she helped herself to a cookie “What do you want for Hearts Warming this year?”

“Another year of my ponies having safe happy holidays,” her older sister said.

“I mean something I can give you in a box Tia,” Luna said rolling her eyes but agreeing that that would be a nice gift too.

Suddenly there was a flash of light from the other side of the door, a ’CRASH’, a 'BANG', a 'WALLOP', and suddenly the dining room doors were flung open and there stood their friends Eric, Sarah, Jack and Suzy. On either side of them stood a guard their eyes narrowed and aiming for Jack who was smirking a ‘I totally just did something’ smirk.

"Princess," the guard on the right said stepping forward "We found these four trying to sneak into the palace and then this one..." he said nodding to Jack who was now sucking on a silly straw out of a glass of chocolate milk, looking around innocently at all the decorations "Made the floors all into ice meaning two thirds of the guards now need to be tended to..." he said more to Jack who wasn't listening.

"Thank you guards," Celestia said kindly. "My sister and I will take it from here. Please go tend to your fellow soldiers."

With that the guards bowed and left.

---

It wasn't even five seconds until Discord zapped up laughing as loud as he could rolling around on the floor.

"Oh that was just hilarious..." he finally calmed down enough to said high-fiving his favorite student.

"Hello Discord..." the other three guests dragged on ignoring him as he gave Jack a gold star for his work, turning to the Princess'.

"Hello friends," Luna said kindly also ignoring the two beings of chaos "Might we ask why you've come to visit?"

Suzy stepped forward. "We... Jack and me..." she explained "Believe there might be some sort of danger coming to Equestria this Hearths Warming."

That got the two princesses to look confused and lord of Chaos to go silent and have a worried face.

Then turning to Jack asked him "You sure..?"

"Not sure..." Jack answered "But more that then any other way..."

"Err... mind explaining... cuz?" Sarah said getting the two beings of chaos to look at the others confused faces.

"I'll do the explaining Sarah," Discord said for Jack, then turning to the princess' added "But you might want to call your Elements of Harmony here. I think they might need to know what's going on too."

Sensing that Discord was being serious (which meant there had to be something wrong) Celestia wrote a note to Twilight with a Post Script of using a teleportation spell to get here.

A few minutes later everyone was in the library sat around Discord reclining on beanbag chairs and wondering what was wrong.

"First question..." he said trying to work out where to begin. "Do you know what caused the blizzards back when and before the first Hearths Warming?" he asked the ponies.

"It was the Windegos wasn't it?" Twilight asked confused.

"The what?" Eric and Sarah said together.

"Winter spirits that feed off of fighting and hatred," Twilight explained "The more hate the spirit feels the colder things become."

"The first Hearths Warming was when the three clans the Pegasi, the Unicorns and the Earth Ponies, went in search of a new land 'cause they brought the Windegos to their homes 'cause they were always fighting," Applejack continued.

"But as soon as they all got there," Pinkie Pie carried on "The leaders brought the Windegos and the cold to the new land eventually making them into pony-cicles."

"The cold was about to reach the first hoof followers of the leaders, when they all looked past their differences and lit the fire Heart of Friendship, getting rid of those horrible creatures," Rarity followed up.

"Eventually the warmth of the fire reached the leaders and said to of melted their cold hearts," Fluttershy continued bravely.

"And with that the six of them decided to split up the land and that land became Equestria," Rainbow finished.

"O...K..." Sarah and Eric said together trying to get this new info into their heads and turning, with the others to Discord to ask why he asked the question.

"Well..." he began "Windegos are actually like ants," he explained "They only follow orders, collect the food they find, and bring it back to their leader."

"So there's something more dangerous than these 'Windegos'?" Sarah asked catching on.

"Not something," Jack said getting everyone's attention "Someone. Old Stallion Winter."

It was a random hardly ever heard ten seconds of silence before Rainbow Dash burst out laughing.

"Oh come on you two..." she said calming down wiping a tear from her eye. "That's just an old pony's tale."

"And how many OTHER old pony tales have be just that Rainbow?" Jack asked sternly getting up to be taller than her.

"Wait Old Stallion Winter?" Sarah said confused "As in Old Man Winter back on Earth? The guy that was said to bring winter before Jack Frost took over?"

"Yeah," Jack said turning to his cousin. "And I'm afraid to say, he's just as mean and cold and vile and everything else the stories back home about our Winter is said to of been."

"And you know this... How exactly?" Eric asked his friend.

Taking a deep breath, Jack asked with out looking to anyone in particular "Where do you think I get the powers to control ice and snow from?" receiving slight gasps from everyone but Discord.