"S-so, it's just a l-little... adverse weather problem, huh?" Rainbow Dash shivered. "N-no problem. I-I'll just f-fly up there and bust t-those clouds. A-and there's more than e-enough pegasi here to d-do the job."
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both shook their heads in unison, and Celestia explained. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. The harsh blizzards of the Frozen North are too powerful for mere ponies to disperse, the few who've tried froze to death."
"We will hold the snow storms at bay for as long as we can," Luna offered. "With our enhanced magical powers and durability, we'll survive far longer than any pegasi. But in time, we too will succumb to the frost and the flurries, and will have to withdraw."
"So, that's it then? The empire's lost? And after all that trouble we went through to keep it from King Sombra's hooves," Soarin grumbled. "I hate feeling useless!"
"All hope is not lost yet," Luna corrected. "What my sister and I are doing, is buying time for the rest of you to hopefully find a way to restore the Crystal Heart. It's the only way the empire can be saved!"
"But it's not going to be easy, the Crystal Heart can't just be reassembled by a spell," Celestia cautioned. "The Heart contains a powerful magic, and if it's not reassembled and reconstructed in the proper way, it'll be useless."
"Any ideas on what kind of spell we'd need, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, hopefully.
"Alas, if there is such a spell out there, I've not heard of it," Celestia shook her head. "Your best bet will be to search the library. With any luck, you'll find the answer there. Now, my sister and I must be off."
"Time is of the essence!" Luna advised. "If the Heart cannot be restored in time, then all must be evacuated before the tracks freeze over!" And then, flapping their wings, both sisters flew up into the sky, populated with dark clouds full of snow.
Shining Armor quickly took charge of the situation. "There's no need for all of us to rush over to the library. There are lots of ponies out here who have no idea what's going on. Even with Celestia and Luna fighting the blizzards, temperatures are sure to drop below freezing! It's imperative we get all the citizens off the streets and into their homes before that happens! So, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Thunderlane, and Fluttershy, all of you stay here and get the crowds off the streets!"
"What should we tell them?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"For now, there's no need to cause a panic, but it's also important that ponies understand the gravity of the situation," Shining instructed. "Tell them the Crystalling's been postponed indefinitely, and everyone is to remain indoors and await further instruction! If worse comes to worse and we're not back before Celestia and Luna, give the order to evacuate!"
"We'll try our best." Fluttershy promised, and the five ponies went out to address the crowd.
Meanwhile, Flurry was getting impatient! She was used to getting all the attention from the grown-ups, but now they were busy with other things. Besides, it was getting cold out here, and the little alicorn didn't like how it felt. She'd much rather be inside, nice and warm, curled up with her favorite blanket. So she did the only thing she could think of to change her situation, she lit up her horn and teleported away.
Shining and Cadence both gasped, when they noticed Flurry had disappeared! Fortunately, she hadn't gotten far, but she was already making a beeline for the castle! "Flurry, you get back here this instant!" Cadence shouted, but Flurry didn't listen. Teleporting in front of the foal, Cadence carefully grabbed her with her magic and scolded. "No more teleporting, or you'll get a time out!" That seemed to more or less quite the rebellious tendencies lingering in the little princess for the time being.
"We may need help keeping Flurry content, or at least keeping her from wandering away again," Shining commented to the others, as they headed for the library. "We can't afford any distractions, every second counts!"
"To the library, on the double!" Twilight shouted, and the rag tag group rushed away as fast as they could! The temperature was already dropping fast, and the snow and wind were starting to make visibility difficult!
"I hope Starlight and Spike are having better luck with their task," Shining thought to himself. "And I hope they're watching what's going on outside. Spike might be okay with his fire breath, but Starlight certainly didn't come packed for an arctic blast."