The snow didn’t so much fall as it whirled around in the air, caught in eddies and powerful wind gusts that howled like an entire army of timberwolves. Freezing rain pounded against the windows, the ice becoming thick enough to have been a second pane of glass. This was more than a blizzard; more than a whiteout.

This was the storm of the century.

It had been like this for days. It snowed. Then, when the snow stopped, the ice fell. When it wasn’t snowing or icing, the freezing rain came in sheets. Then there were times where it all came at once. And the whole time, the wind beat relentlessly against the houses of the small town.

In one house, a raging fire in the fireplace fought a desperate battle against the biting cold to keep the house warm. Over the fire, a kettle hung, a small puff of steam escaping the spout every so often. A pair of mugs sat on a table just in front of the fire. And near the window on the opposite side of the room, there stood a white unicorn, her multi-hued green tail and mane in sharp contrast to both her body and the weather outside. She looked anxiously out the window, desperately trying to catch sight of anypony that might have been crazy enough to try and brave the storm.

She sighed and turned away from the window, blinking her eyes as she tried to readjust to the sudden change in light. She looked sadly to a sleeping black and white cat next to the blazing fire. “I just wish I knew that he was alright, Cuddles,” she said. The cat made no movement to indicate that she had even heard the comment. “No pony should have to be out in that.”

Just then, there was the sound of a light thud at the door. The unicorn spun around in an instant and raced to open the door to see what was outside. Her horn lit up with magic as she pulled on the handle, but the door refused to budge. She continued to pull, grunting with effort. Next to the fire, Cuddles raised her head and looked over with a vague disinterest, then yawned and returned to her sleep.

“The door must be frozen shut!” the unicorn said through gritted teeth. She closed her eyes as she focused all her energy on opening the door. There was a small cracking sound before the door burst open. The wind roared as it blew the ice and snow through the opening, rocking the kettle and nearly blowing the fire out entirely. Cuddles jumped into the air and scampered off into a separate room. And amidst the mass of snowflakes and icicles, a large white object with four legs and a silver and navy tail crashed to the floor.

In an instant it was on its hooves, turning back and pressing up against the door in an effort to close out the ferocious blizzard. The unicorn had been stunned when the door had opened, but having regained her bearings, she focused her magic again on the door, aiding the newcomer in trying to force it shut. The storm was stubborn in giving way, but at last, the duo had the door shut and latched.

The second pony slumped against the door, looking exhausted. He wore a pure white coat with white boots to match. Only his tail wasn’t white, and it had enough snow sticking to it to make it appear as though somepony had built a snowpony, and it had come to life and just entered the house.

The unicorn looked at him for a moment, then smiled cordially. “Welcome to Polarmino,” she said in an apologetic tone.

The coat-bearing pony rose to his hooves and made a bowing gesture. He then pulled back the white hood over his head, revealing a light blue face with a silver and navy mane to match his tail. His bright blue eyes were tired, but jovial. “That’s quite a welcome that this town has. You give that to each newcomer?” he teased. He shook his head for a moment. “You must be the Mare Lily Pond. I’m surprised I got the right house. I could hardly see anything, so I just picked one and tried to get in.”

Lily nodded in agreement. “And you must be Master Sky Streak. I’ve been expecting you.”

Sky’s smile faded as she spoke. “Please…don’t call me ‘master.’ It makes me feel self-conscious.” He looked down as he started to pull off his boots.

“Oh,” Lily said, frowning. “But…aren’t you in the Service?”

“I am, but I don’t feel like I’ve earned any title. Besides, I never really liked the term in the first place.”

Lily’s ears flattened a little, taken aback. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Looking up, Sky winced as he saw Lily’s expression. “Don’t be,” he said, trying to add some warmth to his voice. “No harm done. You can just call me Sky. It’s what all my friends call me.”

Seeing Sky’s smile, she felt some of her composure return. “Alright. You can call me Lily.” Her gaze was drawn to a furry black and white mass that had approached from her right. “And this is Cuddles.”

Sky turned his attention to the cat, who analyzed him for a moment before meowing in an apparent greeting. “You have a cat?” Sky asked.

“Mhm,” Lily hummed, stoking the weak fire in an attempt to save it. “She likes to curl up next to me when I’m reading or something like that, and we keep each other warm. Which is nice in a place like this.”

“I can imagine,” Sky said, finally pulling off his coat and hanging it on the coat rack by the door. He took off his saddlebags (which had been underneath his coat) and stretched his wings for a few seconds before rolling his neck from side to side, causing a series of popping sounds. He sighed in relief.

“Speaking of warmth, would you like some hot apple cider? I’ve kept it boiling so it’d be ready for you,” she offered, lifting it from the fireplace and trotting over to the table where the mugs still sat.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Sky responded enthusiastically. “Normally, I would have just flown here, but that storm would have blown me to who knows where. I guess that legs do actually have some value. Even though they’re awfully slow.”

Lily proceeded to pour the cider into both mugs, and the two of them were silent as they sipped the steaming beverages. Around them, the house creaked against the wind’s onslaught. Cuddles wandered over and rubbed up against Sky’s leg, purring so loudly that he nearly mistook the sound for the constant creaking of the rafters and walls.

“I think she likes me,” Sky said, eyebrows raised in suspicion.

“Maybe. But I think she wants some of your cider,” Lily replied. Then, seeing Sky’s confusion, she continued. “I let her have some cider whenever I make some, and she’s become rather accustomed to it. I almost think she likes it better than warm milk.”

“Well, she’ll just have to do without this time, because it’s a bit too good for me to be willing to share.”

There was another pause. Cuddles sat down between the ponies, flicking her tail and meowing every so often, as though she were reminding them that she was still there. Finally, Sky spoke up again.

“So, tell me about this freak storm.”

Lily sighed. “It’s been going on for almost a week now. Of course, this far north, there’s hardly anything significant about a snowstorm, but this one…it’s just unnatural. It’s so strong, and it’s been going like this almost since it started. Most of the ponies here are unwilling to go out for any reason, and we can’t get any new shipments of food or anything, so we’re starting to run out of supplies. This is hardly a thriving metropolis, Sky, so we don’t have the ability to cope with something of this magnitude.”

Sky snorted. “I don’t think even Canterlot would be able to effectively cope with a storm like this one.”

Lily took another sip of her cider and shrugged. “That may be true, but it doesn’t help us at all. We’re still in dire circumstances. If this storm doesn’t clear up soon, we’ll run out of our food stores and other supplies. We’re already effectively cut off from any other Equestrian settlements.” She stamped a hoof and stifled a sob. “Sky, we’re all so scared. We need someone to help us. We’re all hoping that you’re the pony to do it.”

The pegasus lowered his eyes and took another sip of cider. For a moment, he was still as a stone. Then, he quickly raised his head, his ears twitching as he turned them in different directions. He wandered over to the window and looked outside. All Lily could see was the blinding white of the swirling snow, but Sky seemed intently focused on something.

“What is it? Do you see something?” she asked.

“Not really. But I hear it.” He let his head fall as he stared at the floor in concentration.

“Hear it?”

“Lily,” Sky said softly, but he said it in such a way that it grabbed every ounce of her attention. “Your name and cutie mark…you know what the unique feature of a lily pond is?”

She seemed surprised by the question. “Well, it has to be peaceful for the lilies to grow.”

“And that’s your special magic, isn’t it? Calming magic?”

“Yes.” She arched an eyebrow in curiosity. “What does that have to do with this?”

“I think you might find that your magic will have an effect on the weather.” He looked up at her, and there was a grim light in his eyes. “Could I ask that you give it a try? I just need to see something.”

“Um…alright, I’ll see what I can do,” she said, walking over to the window. She closed her eyes in concentration, then her horn began to glow. At last, what looked to be a series of ripples exuded from her horn, passing through the walls of her house as they escaped from view. Almost immediately, the wind seemed to weaken and the storm grew calmer. Lily stepped away from the window in shock.

“What—what just happened?” she stammered, eyes wide with surprise.

Sky looked at her with a grin that could have been described as smug, but the same solemn glow was still in his eyes. “Lily, I think your town has a pest problem.”

“A very big pest problem.”

Author's Notes:

So, here we start the second arc of Sky's story. Just for continuity, it's been about six months since the events of "Roots of Fear." There's a copy of an official timeline on my DeviantArt page, if you're interested. Of course, it's not necessary. Just enjoy the story. ^_^