Breezie Blossom was even colder than the Breezies had said by this point, and most of the Breezies the ponies found were already asleep.
One white Breezie who was awake managed only a soft hello before nodding off, and Sparkleworks ran to catch her before she hit the snowy ground.
Skywishes was horrified. "This is terrible! We have to get them back as soon as we can! Oh, I wish things would be alright!"
"It's okay, Skywishes," Razzaroo said, trying to calm her. "We can help by getting them back to Ponyville for now."
Skywishes nodded, and began to search the snow with Sparkleworks.
"Found one," said Sparkleworks, uncovering a sleepy green Breezie under a leaf.
"Got two," said Razzaroo, who'd found two orange Breezies snuggled together for warmth.
"And I have four—whoa," Skywishes yelped, nearly tripping over a Breezie pile in the snow.
When no more Breezies were found, the three ponies headed back, somber. Their little friends were all asleep, many shivering from the cold. As they approached Ponyville the Breezies' sleep became more relaxed, but it was still a very deep sleep.
"No, no, no," mumbled Razzaroo. "This is so sad…"
"It is. But we helped," said Skywishes. "And I bet my wish for things to be okay will come true!"
"We could sure use a wish like that," said Sparkleworks.
Minty and Wysteria were quick to provide the Breezies with warm socks and sweet-smelling flowers once they got back to Ponyville. Sunny Daze set up a mirror to reflect the sun onto Breezie Blossom, taking care that it was medium-sized, as Pinkie Pie had recommended. Zipzee, Tiddlywink, and Tra-La-La were placed together, as they would have wished, and their sleep was contented and peaceful.
In no time, the Breezies were, if not awake, as comfortable as the ponies could make them.
"They don't seem to be in danger," said Cotton Candy, who'd closed the café early to visit. "Temperature's normal, their breathing is fine, wings and antennae aren't damaged, and overall, things seem A-OK. That's good! Right?"
"Since our darling Breezies are safe for now, we should visit Storybelle and Kimono," said Rainbow Dash. Cotton Candy nodded in agreement.
"Agreed," said Spike. "Any volunteers?"
"I'll visit Storybelle," offered Minty. "I visited Kimono for her birthday, and while we both had a lot of fun, I didn't understand what she meant at first when I talked to her. Not that anyone does right away, but—"
"We understand, Minty," Pinkie Pie said with a smile. "You can visit Storybelle, and Spike and I will visit Kimono!"
At that Spike smiled. "I do love stories and legends! Did I ever tell you about-"
"No, but you can on the way," said Pinkie, turning to the others and waving goodbye. Spike frowned a bit, but soon perked up and joined her.
Pinkie Pie and Spike headed for Ponyville's southeastern exit, while Minty headed northeast. The other ponies waved goodbye, and it wasn't just Skywishes who wished them luck—every pony in town wished for any bit of knowledge that could help the Breezies.
They had no idea that it wasn't just the Breezies they should be worrying about.
###
Storybelle's story loft was built into a windmill near the Ponyville lake, south of the giant teapot and north of the Cotton Candy Café. The lower floor was a beautiful library, full of books of every subject. The last time Minty was here, she, Pinkie Pie, and Sunny Daze had heard a story about Star Flight and Heart Bright—two earth ponies who wished for magical wings, but found that in the end it was better to be on the ground with their friends.
Minty knocked on the door. "Storybelle? Are you home? I-it's me, Minty!"
"Good afternoon, Minty," said Storybelle, opening the door and gesturing for her to come in. "What brings you here? Story Club isn't for another three days!"
"Well, uh, I was looking for a story. Something really weird happened to Breezie Blossom! It's cold and snowy, even though it's summer, and we were wondering if there were any stories about something like that!"
Storybelle frowned. "Snow in summer, and in Breezie Blossom? Oh my… I'm not sure if I have such a story, but it can't hurt to look. Follow me upstairs!"
Minty followed her up the stairs and watched as Storybelle stood in the center of the loft, where the sun shone the brightest. The windmill outside began to spin, generating magical, multicolored sparkles of light. The light came in through the window and spun around the room, settling in Storybelle's windmill cutie mark. Her cutie mark began to spin much like the windmill outside, and she turned to look at whatever story would be revealed.
Slowly, images began to form on her cutie mark. It showed a purple pony with a red and white mane painting with a sparkling brush, then a shot of her looking with delight at her painting. Finally, it showed the pony looking surprised and a little scared.
"It's decided," said Storybelle. "The Magic Paintbrush! Gossamer, can you fetch that for me, please? I'm not sure where it is…"
At her words, a yellow dragonfly roused himself from sleep and flew to a shelf near the top of the loft. Gossamer pulled it out and flew under it, nearly falling from the weight, but managed to deliver the book to Storybelle. It was a picture book; short, but beautifully illustrated.
"Thank you, Gossamer," Storybelle said kindly. "You can go back to sleep now if you want."
Yawning, the dragonfly flew off, and Storybelle turned to Minty. "Ready to hear the story of The Magic Paintbrush? It's short, but I hope it can help you."
"Sure," Minty said, hopping onto a chair.
Storybelle cleared her throat, opened the book, and began to read.
"Once upon a pony, there was a pony who loved mysteries and magic. Her name was Moon Shadow."
She turned the page to show Minty. Moon Shadow was a tall pony with long, thin legs compared to Minty and her friends. Her cutie mark was a crescent moon surrounded by stars, and on the first page she was peering with interest into a blue and purple box.
"One day, while looking through her magic box, she found something she'd never seen before—a sparkling paintbrush."
She turned the page, and Minty let out a gasp at the lovingly drawn brush; every bristle was a different color, and it looked so real it seemed to pop out of the page. "Wow, that's really pretty!"
Storybelle smiled. "Moon Shadow decided that the brush was beautiful, and she wanted to paint with it right away. So after borrowing an easel from her friend, Miss Painter, she set to work."
Storybelle turned the page. Moon Shadow was painting a sky with a full moon and twinkling stars—but both were light pink, like her cutie mark, and the sky was as purple as her body.
"Moon Shadow decided to paint a starry night sky, but used her symbol as reference for the colors—Minty, 'symbol' is an older term for cutie mark."
"Thanks," Minty giggled. "What then?"
Storybelle turned the page. It showed Moon Shadow glancing away from her work to stare at a shining pink light coming from the window.
"When Moon Shadow finished her painting, she noticed that the air felt cooler, and there was a strange light coming from the window of the castle. She went to the window to see what was the matter."
Minty gasped as Storybelle revealed the next page, and read the words along with the pink pony.
"'The sky had changed from day to night in an instant. It was the same color as her painting, and so were the moon and stars!' Wow, Storybelle! So the paintbrush made her painting real?"
"It did, Minty! And look what happened next!"
On the next page, Moon Shadow watched as pegasus ponies crashed into each other, unicorns looked confused, and earth ponies were staring at the sky.
"Moon Shadow saw that the altered sky, while pretty, could be dangerous. Her friends were very confused—Princess Twinkle Star, a pegasus pony, became lost while flying. Golden Glow, a unicorn, found that her magical horn was glowing when it shouldn't have. And earth pony gardeners like Berry Bright would have no idea when to pick flowers and crops!"
"Wow. I had no idea one little change could mess so many things up! B-but wait, in this story unicorns, Pegasus ponies, and earth ponies all lived together?"
"That's right! According to this story they all lived in Friendship Gardens, a place in Ponyland!"
"That is so cool! So, Storybelle, what happened next?"
Storybelle turned the page and saw Moon Shadow dipping the brush in water. The facing page had her applying the water to the painting.
"Moon Shadow realized that the magic paintbrush was probably to blame—and so was she. She had to take responsibility for her mistake and fix what she'd done, even if it was an accident. So Moon Shadow decided to erase what she had painted with water. Using the brush, she swept over what she had painted—and in a few magical seconds, the painting was erased."
"How does the story end," asked Minty. Storybelle smiled and continued.
"The sky was restored to the way it was as if nothing had ever happened. Moon Shadow decided to keep the magic paintbrush locked in the box for safekeeping. Perhaps one day she would use it again, and properly, but for now she would remember the magical lesson the brush had taught her. The end."
Minty was glowing with admiration for the storyteller and the wonderful story. But she remembered why she had come to Storybelle in the first place, and she frowned.
"So do you think that's what happened to Breezie Blossom? Maybe the magic brush is real—and someone used it to call down winter!"
Storybelle's face was solemn. "I can't be certain," she said, "but it's a possibility. Every story, no matter how fantastic, has some truth to it."
Minty nodded. "I sure hope they fix it like Moon Shadow did…and if not, we'll have to."
She brightened. "Here, let me put that book away for you—whoops!" As she reached out to take it, Minty tripped and tumbled down the stairs head over hooves. "I'm okay! I better get back to Ponyville and tell the others. Thanks, Storybelle!"
Storybelle waved. "Goodbye, Minty! And watch that—"
Minty tripped again. "I'm okay!"
"…First step."
###
Kimono's pagoda wasn't very far from town, and the walk was short.
"Do you think she'll be alright with seeing a dragon," asked Spike. "You were frightened of me at first!"
"It'll be okay," said Pinkie Pie. "I'll tell her you're friendly!"
"Be sure to introduce me with my full name," he cautioned, and Pinkie Pie giggled. "Sure! Look, there she is."
Kimono was a pink pony with a purple mane. Her cutie mark was a pair of yellow lanterns, and her eyes were a piercing green. At this moment, she was meditating, but when she looked up to see Pinkie Pie she gave a warm smile.
"Greetings," said Kimono. "What brings you here, Pinkie Pie? Is it my birthday again?"
"No, nothing like that—but your birthday was great fun," Pinkie Pie said. "I'm here because of something that happened to Breezie Blossom. It's like winter over there!"
Kimono frowned, but before she could inquire further, Spike approached from behind Pinkie Pie. The pink pony blushed, realizing she'd forgotten someone.
"Oh! And this is Master Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike. He's a dragon! We found him sleeping under the castle moat about a year ago. He—"
Spike had seen many reactions to his being a dragon. Some were friendly, while others were frightened, but overall he assumed he'd seen them all.
He hadn't expected Kimono to bow to him.
"The Dragon Emissary," she breathed, awed.
"The what," asked Pinkie Pie.
"An emissary is someone who serves to represent someone," explained Kimono. "Spike, I know about you from the pony legends! You once represented Ponyville as an ambassador."
The dragon blinked, deep in thought. "I'm sure I'd remember that," he commented. "Let me think…"
Kimono waited, and when Spike opened his eyes they were clear.
"I do remember," he said at last. "I remember...I had a mission."
He turned to Pinkie Pie. "Do you remember when Rarity was here last fall, how I knew the way to Unicornia?"
Pinkie Pie nodded.
"I knew because I had been there, years ago…and Butterfly Island, as well!"
"Really? What were you doing there? We had no idea those places existed until Skywishes found Star Catcher and Rarity found us!"
Spike frowned. "My memory's hazy there, but I think my mission was…to spin straw into gold? No, that's not it…"
Kimono stepped forward. "I think I know what it was. Pinkie Pie, Spike, listen. Seeing you both here today, and from what you've told me about what happened to Breezie Blossom… I have no doubt in my mind that what I thought was a legend…is true."
Kimono leaned forward, and a sudden, cold wind sprang up, though she paid it no mind. Her mane was swept up in the wind as if by magic. Kimono's eyes closed and she seemed to be listening intently—to something or someone only she could hear.
When she opened her eyes they seemed to be very far away.
"This legend spans many years," Kimono said. "This is a sad and scary story. But it must be told. Are you ready to hear this?"
"We are."
Kimono nodded, and began.
"Many years ago, the three pony races lived apart—but knew of each other, and wanted to live together. The mayor of Ponyville sent her Dragon Emissary—that's you, Spike—out to the other lands. His mission was to prove whether or not the three races could coexist in harmony. To do this, he selected a pegasus from Butterfly Island and a unicorn from Unicornia to live with the others in Ponyville."
"In our Ponyville," Pinkie Pie asked.
"Yes. And, at first, it went well. The legend says that they played games, celebrated together, and even befriended a female dragon all by themselves. But…this is where the legend becomes troubling."
"What happened," asked Spike, concern evident on his face.
"I don't know exactly, Spike. All I know is a force of darkness, of mistrust, arrived and conspired to keep the ponies apart from one another—and it succeeded. Following that, Unicornia, Butterfly Island, and Ponyville cut ties with one another. And, in time, they forgot that the others even existed."
"But why would it do that," asked Pinkie Pie, horrified.
"There is a prophecy," Kimono said. "'When the races become one, a light will lead them to a golden age of unity.' I can only assume that the darkness didn't want that."
"A light leading the way, hm? And what of the Breezies," asked Spike.
"There's another prophecy, and this one involves recent events. Are you ready to hear this?"
Pinkie Pie and Spike nodded.
"When winter comes to Breezie Blossom the Forgotten Ones will rise. Ponyville will be plunged into darkness, and Unicornia and Butterfly Island will follow—unless a light can be found to save them all."
"The Forgotten Ones? Who are they?"
"It doesn't say…and I'm afraid my knowledge ends there."
Pinkie Pie and Spike nodded, determined. "Whatever this is, we will see it through. That I promise," said Spike, bowing and turning away.
Pinkie Pie turned to leave along with Spike, but Kimono stopped her. "Wait, Pinkie Pie. There's one more thing."
"Yes?"
Kimono was the most serious she'd ever been.
"The Ponyville ponies, the unicorns, and pegasus ponies—and the Breezies, if possible—must work together if we are to get through this. We cannot do it alone, for that is what the darkness would want."
Pinkie Pie thought it over and nodded.
"We won't do it alone, Kimono. I promise."