"May I have the next petitioner, please?" Twilight said.

A pony entered the throne room. She was a mint green unicorn mare with a distinctive golden lyre as her cutie mark. Like many of the petitioners before her, she was wearing a scarf, hat, and heavy winter coat. Nevertheless, she still seemed to be suppressing shivers. When she reached Twilight's throne, she sunk into a deep bow.

Twilight smiled sheepishly. Ever since she had become a princess, ponies insisted on coming to her, instead of Mayor Mare, with their problems. By Celestia's suggestion, Twilight had decided to set up "court" every so often so that she could address them. Given that Mayor Mare was busy enough with paperwork and political relations with other towns, she was glad for this new arrangement and happily promoted Twilight from “Ponyville Librarian” to “Public Relations Manager.”

And every time they came, ponies bowed. Twilight had insisted that ponies not bow to her unless she was in the company of the other princesses. Even so, many ponies found it more comfortable to always bow to royalty and address them "properly," no matter who it was. Twilight let it happen. After a few seconds, she spoke up.

"Rise, Lyra. We're all friends here," Twilight greeted, smiling as Lyra got back up. "So, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, Princess. Why is it so cold and dark today? The renovations on Town Hall started today, and I wanted to help, but it looked like it was still nighttime. And the moment I stepped out of my house, I had to go back inside to bundle up more. Even with my heaviest winter coat, I don't think I could spend more than a few minutes out in the cold. I was lucky that the cart that brought me here was heated." Lyra shivered and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. Even inside the warmed castle, it seemed that Lyra was still feeling the chill.

Twilight sighed. This was the same question she had received countless times earlier today. The repetitiveness didn't change the harsh reality, however. "It's because of an asteroid, I think. I've been tracking one for a few months now because it was orbiting our world quite closely. Yesterday, I couldn't see it with my telescope, but I saw a shooting star over the Badlands. That was probably the asteroid."

"But how does an asteroid cause the sky to go dark and the air to grow so cold? It's freezing out there!"

"I know it's cold out there, Lyra. I've been told that all day," Twilight said. "The truth is, a large enough asteroid, when it hits the ground, can raise a blanket of dust into the atmosphere. That's probably why the sky is so dark; the dust is so thick that it's blocking out the sun."

Lyra backed up, a worried look on her face. "A-and if the sun isn't getting through the dust . . ."

Twilight nodded grimly. "It's not warming the earth. That's why it's so cold."

"Can you fix it, Princess?" Lyra looked at Twilight pleadingly.

Twilight hesitated. "I . . . I don't know. There's so much dust that I don't think I could destroy much of it. It's not a cloud, so pegasi have no power over it either." Twilight shook her head and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I'm still working on a solution."

Twilight turned around and went to the large floor-length window in the throne room. She placed a hoof on the crystal, feeling the icy condensation that had formed on the inside. "I don't know when, or even if, I'll be able to fix this. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to solve this problem tomorrow, or the next day, or even soon,” Twilight sighed. “I just don't know."

Twilight turned back and fixed Lyra with an authoritative look. "The days are only going to get colder. Until I find a solution, please tell everypony you can to stay inside as much as possible and to keep a fire going at all times. That goes double for you, Lyra. You're a unicorn, which means you're more susceptible to the cold than most."

Lyra shivered again. "I know! It's so cold out there that I can feel my horn trying to freeze off!"

Twilight shuddered. She didn't want to know what that felt like. "It's alright, Lyra. I sent a message to Princess Celestia about this a few hours ago. She'll be able to help us, I'm sure," Twilight said, sitting back down on her throne.

"Oh, that's good. Thank you, Princess." Lyra sunk into a bow again. When she rose, Twilight saw her eyeing the ominous weather outside through the window behind Twilight. With the dust obscuring the sky, the ground was lit in a dirty brown light. The wind had picked up, blowing flurries of snow around. It would be even colder now than before.

Twilight saw the look. "Will you be okay on your walk back home?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, maybe? I hope so?" Lyra shrugged, uncertain.

Twilight shook her head. She stood up, lowered her head, and with a grunt, surrounded Lyra with a bright red glow. When she stopped the spell, the glow dissipated, and Lyra was left with a pulsing pink aura surrounding her figure. Twilight let out a huge breath and collapsed back on the throne. "There," she said, gasping, "that will help stave off the cold. Please travel quickly, Lyra; I don't know how long the spell will last."

Lyra had her mouth open, amazed that Twilight would go to such lengths to ensure her safety. Closing her mouth and bowing quickly, she ran out of the room.

When Lyra left, Twilight took a few moments to catch her breath and then sat up straight. She cleared her throat and called out, "Spike? Send in the next petitioner, please."

"That was the last one, Twilight. I think we're done," Spike called back.

Relieved, Twilight slumped back down to her throne, exhausted. Thank goodness, Twilight thought. I don't know how many more times I could cast that spell. Even as an alicorn, she found that particular spell exhausting. Twilight's heat shield spells required that she transform her own energy into heat. To counter this much cold, even for just a few minutes, it took an inordinate amount of energy.

Spike emerged from behind the doors of the throne room and closed them. He jogged up to Twilight and sat on the smaller throne next to her. He frowned. "You did the heat spell again, didn't you, Twilight?" he scolded. "You can't keep doing that. You're gonna die of exhaustion!"

"I have to, Spike," Twilight said, panting. "How else will unicorns and foals make it home safely? I can spare some energy for them."

"Not if you keep doing it," Spike said. He shook his head and, clearing his throat, spit out a scroll. "Here. The Princess got back to you a few minutes ago, but I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Oh!" Exhaustion forgotten, Twilight took the scroll in her magic and hastily unrolled it:

Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I have read your theory on what has happened recently, and you are correct: an asteroid has indeed hit Equestria in the Deep Badlands. As it is uninhabited, there have been no direct casualties by the impact, but I cannot say the same about its secondary effects. The dust it has raised has clouded Equestria and beyond. The professors at Canterlot University tell me that they estimate the cloud to be at least a mile tall and thickening . . .

"A mile?" Twilight gasped, shocked. She never imagined the dust to be that expansive. If there was any hope of destroying the cloud of dust before, it was gone now. Twilight kept reading.

. . . and the dust is so thick already that I cannot pierce it with the sun without fear of igniting the world. This is, without a doubt, the worst natural disaster that Equestria has ever seen.

Cadance, Luna, and I have tried destroying the dust ourselves and met with little success. There is too much dust for our efforts to make a meaningful difference. We again consulted with the university professors and tried their ideas. They were unsuccessful. I have since made that research a top priority and maximized their funding for environmental catastrophe research. Nearly every professor in Canterlot now is trying to find a solution. A Foalbel Prize will go to the one, whoever it may be, who finds a solution to this problem. I am sorry that I cannot help you further.

"No . . . There's no solution?" Twilight looked out the window in worry. What do I do now, then?

Discord is a remarkable being, but even he is a being. I have relayed your dust transmutation ideas to him, but he has expressed his doubts. His chaos magic is powerful, yes, but he claims that the cosmic origin of the dust has repelled his own magic. I have no reason to doubt him. At the moment, he is helping us with Canterlot's emergency preparedness and relief efforts.

This is a terrible calamity, Twilight, and it will test the limits of our leadership abilities. Luna's, mine, Cadance's, and yes, yours as well. In lieu of Mayor Mare, who has told me that she is unfamiliar with these situations, you must remain strong for the citizens of Ponyville. They are lucky to have a princess such as yourself in their town, and you must lead them through this storm. Lead them, protect them, give them hope, and be the princess I know you can be.

This will, unfortunately, be my last missive to you for a while. I have grounded all pegasi for safety reasons, so I cannot send you letters by traditional mail. Dragon magic, like chaos, is impeded by dust, and I fear it will soon be too thick for Spike to send me your messages.

But I have faith in you, Princess. Good luck.

Celestia Sol Refulgens

Twilight put the letter down slowly. "I have to lead Ponyville out of this?" she said, trying to come to terms with reality. She had been holding court and accepting petitioners for a while, but she never imagined she'd be thrust so quickly into the leadership of an entire town. Twilight's tail twitched in apprehension.