//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17 
// Story: Crown of Winter 
// by CartoonNerd12 
//------------------------------//

The cousins had split into groups of three: Fire Spark, Starling, and Whirl Wind were a team; Dignity, Apple Jewel, and Cotton went together; Screw Ball, Gemstone, and Moth Ball; then it was Snow Pea, Little Button, and Rock Salt; and finally, Skater, Roller Blade, and Apple Butter.

Once Zecora provided them each with provisions, they agreed to meet back at the hut once they all had a piece of the mirror. They said their farewells to each other and Zecora and set off.

Apple Jewel was glowing more as they got closer to the Dragon Lands. Cotton exclaimed, "You're so bright and shiny!"

"It is quite blinding." Dignity had to shield his eyes. "It wasn't like that the last time you had this."

"That's because I was far from the Dragon Lands. The closer we get, the brighter my coat becomes."

Dignity said, "I don't mean to pry, but who is this true love you were talking about, the one you can't have heirs with?"

Jewel sighed, "Prince Asher… I met him in the Dragon Lands the first time around and we wrote to each other afterwards."

Cotton pointed, "I think I remember that. You always got this huge batch of letters every summer and you always kept us from finding out who they were from."

"I didn't mean to keep it a secret… I just… It was special having letters from a friend that only I knew about. But the more we wrote to each other, the more I fell in love with him and he felt the same."

"So… he's a dragon?" Dignity questioned.

"And what's wrong with that? Need I remind you my own father is a dragon?"

"I know that. I'm just trying to understand why you were so upset at me and the guys for not wanting to marry our girls and providing heirs right away."

She sighed, "I didn't mean to sound mean or grouchy, but I was envious about how you can easily settle with the one you love and I am forced to accept that he doesn't want kids with me because it'll ruin his family's tradition of winning the Gauntlet of Fire."

Cotton asked, "What is this Gauntlet of Fire?"

Apple Jewel quickly explained that and why Asher felt complied to carry the tradition. She also told them and in order to do that, Asher had to have heirs that would be capable to compete in the Gauntlet.

Dignity and Cotton gave troubled looks and he said, "I can see his point of view, but at the same time… if he really loved you…"

Cotton gestured, "Yeah! It's just like Cannon Fire and his royal duties! He doesn't want to marry someone he doesn't love, but he's got no choice!"

"I'm so confused. I don't know if I can be upset at him for following a tradition that's important to him, but at the same time, he practically insulted me by saying that any child we would have might not be good enough for him!"

Dignity nodded, "I see your point, but I can also see his. You both make very good arguments that are hard to overcome."

"Well, I decided to end it the moment he voiced his true thoughts, but I can't stop thinking about him."

"I know what you mean…" Cotton sighed sadly, "I can't stop thinking about Cannon Fire… his laugh… his smile… I thought of him as this serious prince before, but the more he loosened up, he showed he had a playful side all along… Once he figured out what fun was, he was so happy. Only now, that happiness will be short-lived when he has to get back home."

Dignity voiced in concern, "Except… time has changed now, so odds are he might already be back home and married to some princess…"

Cotton gasped, "That's right! We're in a different timeline, so that means… Oh, Cannon!" she wept.

Jewel softly said, "You love him… don't you?"

Cotton didn't say anything as she kept weeping.




"So, tell me again what we're doing?" Whirl asked as they walked into Pony-Ville.

"We're going to find out where our mothers are." said Fire Spark.

"Cranky seemed to know a lot about what happened to them, so we need to ask him." said Starling.

Once they found him and Matilda by Sugar Cube Corner, Fire addressed them.

"Excuse us, but we must ask you something."

Cranky huffed, "Weren't you just here before? Where's the rest of your group? And what happened to your manes?"

Whirl nervously chuckled, "Dye job." He and his cousins dearly hoped that no more white streaks would appear during their talk with Cranky.

Star answered, "And to answer your question about the rest of our group, we took separate paths in the meantime. But we were curious about what you said about the princesses and Queen Celestia. What exactly made Princess Rainbow Dash go rogue?"

Matilda spoke, "No one knows for sure, but rumor has it she ran off the day before the princesses' wedding. She was due to marry Duke Zephyr Breeze."

Whirl gaped, "Duke Zephyr Breeze?!"

Cranky said, "There was a lot of talk that the Duke would have the princess for his wife, but when she ran out on him, he placed a bounty on her so anyone who finds her would have to report it to him."

"How much is the bounty?" Fire asked.

"Ten thousand bits."

"Whoa!" the trio gasped.

Matilda explained, "The Duke was very upset that his bride ran off like that and it certainly distressed the queen."

Star had to ask, "Who did the other princesses marry?"

"Princess Fluttershy married Prince Bulk Biceps, Princess Applejack married Prince Trenderhoof, Princess Pinkie Pie married Prince Pokey Pierce, Princess Twilight Sparkle married Prince Comet Tail, and Princess Rarity married Prince Blueblood."

The three shouted, "PRINCE BLUEBLOOD?!"

"Oh, poor Aunt Rarity…" Whirl muttered.

Fire Spark shook his head, "Our moms married other stallions… which means…"

"We don't exist in this world…" said Star.

"I had a strange feeling we didn't, but this confirms it." her brother mentioned.

Whirl said, "At least my mother was smart enough to get away from it…"

Star pointed, "But she abandoned her sisters…"

"Because she was desperate."

Fire said, "And you think our mother wasn't?"

"Something must have prevented her from escaping." said Star. "Or all of them from escaping, except Aunt Rainbow."

"We need to find her and ask her how she did it." said Whirl.

Fire addressed the Donkeys, "You wouldn't happen to know where Princess Rainbow Dash is, do you?"

Cranky grunted, "Going after the bounty, are you?"

"Something like that…" Fire said.

Matilda answered, "No one knows where Princess Rainbow Dash is. But we can tell you where to find the other princesses."




Moth Ball was nervous about going to Canterlot and asked, "Why are we going to Canterlot again?"

Screw Ball replied, "Because that is where our mothers spent most of their childhood after Grandpapa got cursed." She lowered her head, "And my dad was there in the gardens as a statue…"

"A statue? Why was he a statue?"

"He's…Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony."

"Wait…that's your dad?! My mom told me about him! He was this great villain that managed to take over Equestria until the king and queen defeated him! That's what happened to him?"

She nodded sadly, "Until my mother helped release him and turned him to the good side. Then they fell in love, got married, and had me. Of course…I don't know if that's true here…"

Gemstone said, "My parents met in Canterlot, too. My father grew up in the low sections of Canterlot, but eventually got hired as the Head Butler and my parents stole glances from the moment they met. They managed to get know each other more and fell in love. I don't know if that happened here, but I hope so."

Moth Ball told Screwy, "So… you actually had a parent that took over Equestria…"

"Almost took over. It's something my parents rather not talk about. And I'm glad. Daddy doesn't do that anymore and helps my mother and Equestria for the better. Sure, he can still be mischievous, but that's just part of who he is."

"But he doesn't use his hypnotic powers anymore…" Gem mumbled.

"Can you please let that go?!"

"No! I won't! You hurt me, Screwy! You hurt Seam! You should have seen how heartbroken he was when I had to tell him to go! I never wanted that for him! I loved him! I actually loved him! But you took that away from us!"

"I'm sorry! Okay! I was just trying to help all us get away from a controlling lifestyle our parents had over us! Can't you imagine the smug look on their faces when they think they were right to submit us into something we never wanted in the first place?!"

Moth Ball pointed, "I… I'm afraid I must agree with you…"

The girls turned to him in confusion as he explained.

"My mother had controlled me all my life… She trained me for the day I would be king of the changelings… She also taught me what to say and what to do. I obeyed her without question because she knew better than me, but after I went on my first hunt and found that I couldn't even drain Zecora's love, I discovered what I was doing was wrong and Zecora helped me think for myself. Maybe you should have handled the situation better, but anything's better than living under your parents' watch."

Both girls glimpsed at each other and quickly moved in for a hug.

Screwy started crying and blubbered out, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! You guys were right, I was jealous! I was so jealous! All I could think about was how everyone else was getting admirers and how the suitors who did see me were scared of me all because I'm a freak!"

"You're not a freak! If those colts can't see the real you, then that's their loss, not yours!"

"But… will I ever find love, Gem?"

"I believe you will…" Then she glanced over at Moth Ball and a smirk grew on her face.




"Where are we going exactly?" Rock Salt asked the royal sisters.

Snow Pea responded, "To find Aunt Sunset. I got a bad feeling that when the timeline was accidently reset, she ended up back where she was before our mom and aunts set her free."

"So we're going to Starlight Glimmer's old manor." said LB.

"Starlight managed to reform, but if the timeline changed, then she might still be…"

"Be what?" Rock Salt asked.

"Bad." said LB.

"So we're risking ourselves for an aunt who won't remember you and might meet her captor?"

"Rocky, we're trying to understand why that tornado was so important to our family. And Aunt Sunny is part of the family, so she might have one of the mirror shards we need."

He grumbled under his breath.




The twins and Apple Butter had gotten on a boat. Luckily, they had enough bits for passage since they were unable to use the royal ships, given ponies didn't know them. They were on their way to Marendelle, hoping to find a shard of the mirror.

Skater motioned, "Think it'll still be frozen over when we get there?"

Apple Butter said, "It's unlikely. Since we are in a different timeline, it'll still be the same island we grew up on."

Roller nodded his head.

Skater started relaxing, "Better make ourselves comfortable since we won't be there until tomorrow."

They did as they watched the sea moving from underneath the ship.