Chaos and Harmony

by MLP Fangirl

Cold Catastrophe Pt. 3

The wind was blowing strong. The cold was beginning to become unbearable. Yet, the heroes trekked. They weren't going to allow the weather stop them. They'd been through worse. Besides, at this point, they were pretty much used to being sent on life-threatening adventures to save Equestria. The entire nation depended upon them, and they weren't going to let it down.

Twilight did her best to navigate through the wintry storm. The snow and wind mixing together didn't make things easier. Her heat spells were amounting to nothing. The cold atmosphere was making it hard to concentrate on spells.

Discord was faring no better. Discord was powerful, no doubt, but his magic couldn't solve everything. Chaos magic wasn't known to be a helper. Event though he didn't use his magic for evil anymore, chaos magic was still chaos magic.

The others were not doing much better. They were all bundled up in the warmest of winter clothes the could find. If there was ever a time ponies needed to wear clothes, it was now. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had to travel by hoof. Flying might freeze their wings, and that was the last thing they wanted to happen. Rarity had applied a body warming spell to herself. Though her magic was nowhere near the level of Twilight's, she had learned a few spells outside of her area of expertise. Unicorns needed to how to survive, after all.

Applejack trudged through the piling snow. Used to manual labor like this, the farm pony was determined to get through the blizzard. Pinkie Pie, of course, was bouncing through the snow as if it were nothing. To the average pony, that might seem abnormal but being best friends with the pink mare would make these kind of things seem common.

The group located a cave just a few yards north from their current location. Seeing as it was almost nightfall, they decided to settle there for the night and rest. As they entered the cave, Twilight and Discord used their magic to create a bonfire. It didn't create enough heat to completely warm everyone up, but they would take what they got.

"You know, this reminds me of the Hearth's Warming Eve Story. An unexpected cold front, six ponies, uh, and draconeques," Twilight patted Discord's paw, "Looking for warmth; a cave. Strange, isn't it?"

"I'll say. But thank Celestia we found this cave. I don't think I could have walked another step out there," Rarity looked towards the cave's entrance watching the freezing winds pick up.

"I second that, Rares. My hooves were going to get frostbite if I walked any further," Rainbow hugged herself with her wings, trying to get warm.

"So, what do you think is causing this monstrosity of a blizzard?" Discord asked casually, hands rubbing together.

"D-d-d-do y-y-you th-th-think that i-i-t's w-w-windigoes?" Fluttershy chattered.

"Of course not, silly. Is Equestria fighting? No, I don't think so. Sure we ponies may argue from time to time, but it's usually just little bickering. Windigoes wouldn't go after that," Pinkie said, satisfied with her answer.

"Well, whatever's causin' this, we need ta put a stop to this before ma apples turn into icicles. This cold ain't good for 'em," Applejack rubbed her arms.

"Don't worry. Tomorrow we should reach the Icy Mountains. We'll find our answer there guaranteed. As we get closer, this blizzard becomes stronger. Whatever's causing this, we'll be ready for it," Twilight placed a magic barricade in the entrance, cutting off the cold and any outsiders.

Rainbow gave a long yawn. "Well, I don't know about you girls, but I'm ready to hit the hay. Need all my energy for tomorrow." She pulled out her pillow and blanket from her saddlebag and lied down.

The others promptly followed her example, and pretty soon, they all fell asleep.

Meanwhile back at the castle, the two monarchs had managed to calm down the freezing populace. Spike and Aurora were racing from room to room delivering blankets and warm carrot soup to the sheltered ponies. Canterlot's citizens couldn't survive this cold on their own. They needed ''help'' from the royals. However, given the circumstances, their desperation was believable.

Princess Celestia sent messages to the mayors of each city to do the same for their townsfolk. She also sent a letter to Twilight via Spike requesting a report on their progress. Twilight had answered saying they were settling down in a cave for the night. So far so good.

Spike and Aurora were hanging out in one of the guest chambers, trying to stay warm and at the same time entertained. They resorted to small talk.

"Soooo, Spike, assistant to one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, how's that been working out for ya?" Aurora asked casually, snuggling in her blanket.

"To be honest, she doesn't really need my help. As you said, she's one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. She can do my chores and her chores in half an hour at the least. Ever since she became a Princess, she hasn't been asking very much from me," Spike rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are you okay with that? From what I've heard, you've been her assistant for most of your life," Aurora said, sitting up.

"Well, it's better for me. Before, I'd be running all over the house trying to find a book for her. She's now become more independent. Which I'm rather grateful for. But, can I tell you a secret?"

"Me? Keep a secret? Uh, sure. I don't get told many secrets," She leaned down a little so she could hear him.

Spike whispered quietly, "Twilight would fall apart without me. She's obsessed with order. She needs everything to be perfect. If something's out of place, she'll go to the extremes to put it back. She caused a town ruckus trying to find something to write a friendship report about. She freaks out over the smallest things. I'm here to make sure she doesn't break. If you know what I mean."

Aurora patted the young dragon's back. "Yah, I catch your drift. And I can understand that. Sure, I don't blow up the city when I can't find my pencil, but I do tend to get worked over less than significant things. You're a good dragon. I'll need to try and draw you sometime."

"Well, thanks, I try. Hey, want to head to the kitchen? I think I smell hot chocolate."

"Sure. If you can keep up." Without warning, Aurora took off flying in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start." Spike ran to catch up with her.

The sun's rays peaked through the magenta barricade, casting the same hue of light to shine in the cave. The colored light reached the sleeping ponies' eyes, causing them to awaken. Discord was the first to wake, stretching his snake-like body to get rid of any cramps. He walked over to the entrance, wiping away some condensation that had formed. The wind was still whipping. Discord sighed knowing they were going to have to get back into that.

The mares woke up, slightly cold but not uncomfortable. They gathered their bearings remembering where they were. The six ponies shook their heads clearing away their bed manes. Once refreshed, they decided to have a quick snack.

Their breakfast comprised of granola bars, apples, and hay bales. Nothing much, but enough to keep them from starving. Pretty soon they finished, and, whether they wanted to or not, the heroes stepped into the blizzard.

Almost immediately after leaving the cave, the ponies discovered that the snow had gotten even deeper. The snow was almost up to their necks. To resolve this, Discord snapped everypony a pair of snowshoes. He was fine because of his height. With their new hoof gear, the travelers pressed on.

"Phew, how much farther? I don't know if I can endure this much longer," Rarity squinted her eyes as the wind howled passed them.

"According to my calculations, by Celestia it's cold! We should be approaching the mountains in about two hours," Twilight pumped more energy into her horn warming her body. "Without delay, anyway."

"W-w-what k-k-kind of d-d-delays?" Fluttershy's teeth chattered.

"Avalanches, falling trees, unexpected snow slopes, those sort of things. Don't worry your pink-maned head about it," Discord assured her, "Nothing will prolong our trip." As soon as he finished saying that, a ghostly howl filled the air causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. They all frantically looked around trying to find the source of that terrifying sound.

"Ya'll heard that, right? It wasn't jus' me?" Applejack gulped, eyes showing slight fear.

"N-nope, I heard it to. It was probably nothing, though," Rainbow quivered, trying her best to put on a brave face. Suddenly, they heard it again, only it was much louder.

Fluttershy ducked behind Applejack cowering for her life.

"Yikes! It sounds like it's getting closer! Run if you want to live!" Pinkie tried to run only to be stopped by Twilight's magenta magic.

"Calm down, Pinkie. It won't do you any good to flee. We need to stick together," Twilight looked towards the mountains which were becoming more visible, "That sound appeared to have come from there. My guess is that something is trying to keep us away. We need to get to the Icy Mountains, and we can't afford anyone chickening out. I know this is scary, but Equestria need us."

"Right. Besides, what could possibly hurt you when you've got me to protect you?" Discord posed in a defiant manner causing everyone to roll their eyes.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Discord, but whatever made that noise could be dangerous," Rarity shuddered as she recalled the ghastly sound.

"Well, dangerous or not, we've got a nation counting on us. We've been through this kind of thing before. We'll get through it, we always do. Because we have..." Rainbow placed her hoof in the middle, "Loyalty."

The others joined in. "Laughter!"

"Generosity."

"Honesty."

"Kindness."

"And Magic." They raised their hooves. Discord smiled at this. With a new mode of confidence, the group journeyed the rest of the way and reached the mountains' bottom. Something was waiting for them, but they would stay strong until the end.

Author's Note:

Another chapter done and over. I'd also like to thank my new editor MLP Xovers. Thanks to her, this chapter should be pretty much rid of grammatical errors. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and we'll see you next time.

Comments

[SkaterStreak]

Ponies don't have arms they have Forelegs