The very next day, Starling was up, looking at the four pieces. Three of them now fit together, but they didn't fit all together yet. There was a yawn and she looked up to see her brother entering the room.
"Star, it's too early for this…"
"How so? It wasn't too early for you to pass down the crown to me when I was born…" She scoffed.
"What?"
"You take me for a fool, big brother? The day Mother announced she was expecting again, you saw it as your getaway card so you wouldn't have to be king…"
"That's because I never asked to be the next ruler!"
"And you think I did?! The moment I learned that I was supposed to be queen, I soon found out it was supposed to be you to begin with, but you gave it up for my sake. Others would see that as selfless, but it's selfish to me… You gave up your birthright just so you could do your own thing…"
"Well, why haven't you said anything, then? I thought you liked the training given to you."
"And disappoint our family? You already did that. Why should I do that?"
"Hey! I didn't disappoint anyone!"
"Are you sure about that? I can remember Mother being upset. I'm pretty sure she was looking forward to training you, but when you gave it up, she was sad."
"I… I never intended to do that…"
"You didn't think things through. You never considered my feelings or our parents'…"
"All the more reason why I wasn't qualified for the job. Because if I am as selfish as you believe I am, then it's a good thing I stepped down when I did."
During their heated discussion, they didn't notice their manes growing white again.
"Growing up, I kept thinking how lucky my brother was to be free from the duties that was set before Mother and would soon be set toward me… I thought… for once in my life, I had something that was mine… But…" Tears welled in her eyes, "…he left me…"
"We're not talking about me or you anymore, are we?"
"Pen Pusher. He was unlike any other stallion I had met… He didn't pursue me the way those other suitors were doing, so I pursued him myself. He is so scholarly, so gentle… and quite funny when he wants to be… I treated him unfairly when we met, but once I realized I was wrong, he forgave me for my mistakes… I knew then my heart was his… I just hoped I would get his… like how you have Dawn's… You were smart to give up the crown because you know her love for you is true… She doesn't crave power, only your love…
"I thought any stallion that would care for me just wanted the position that would be given to them once I married them, but Pen… he didn't care about that… He knew first-hoof of what royal life is really like… All the more reason I ended up pursuing him and falling for him…"
He shook his head, "I had no idea… I should have known that was why you and the rest of the girls didn't want the proclamation to begin with… You were afraid that no one could love you for you…"
"Now… I don't know if Pen could ever return my love for him… but I want to see him one last time… so I am trying to understand how we can find the rest of the shards faster since we managed to get these pieces."
"Luckily, Mother and Grandmother already summoned the rest of our aunts to the castle, so it won't be long until we find the shards with them."
"Hopefully, it will be soon."
Screwy and Mothy went down the steps as they conversed.
She asked, "How old are you?"
"Twenty-five. You?"
"Nineteen. But that's only a six year difference. That's nothing compared to my dad's age with my mom's."
"And my mother is over a thousand years old, so age doesn't matter to me, either."
"We're close enough in age to like each other."
"You said something about playing something today?"
"Yup. And you're in luck. I managed to round up enough players to play with us." They reached the bottom of the stairs to see her cousins and Rock Salt waiting.
Little Button said, "It's a good thing Snowy has the powers to make an ice rink!"
Whirl clopped his hooves together, "I can't wait to get out there and show off my moves!"
Fire pointed, "We need teams. Star, you're with me-"
Whirl was forced to clear his throat, "Since Screw Ball and I are the team captains, I should say who's on my team. Fire, you're with me."
Screwy gestured, "Star's with me."
Whirl motioned, "I call Rock Salt!"
"LB!"
"Snow Pea!"
"Moth Ball!"
Whirl sighed, "And Gem."
"Hey! Why was I picked last?!"
LB held her hoof up, "But wait, there's only four on our team and five on theirs!"
Mothy questioned, "What exactly are we playing?"
"Ice hockey!" Screwy piped up.
"What?"
When they were outside, Snow Pea had frozen up a pond and Screwy conjured up two goal posts on it. She also made hockey sticks, a puck, and a penalty box. Then, she gave every pony skates.
Moth Ball felt wobbly as he tried them out and said, "But Screwy, I don't know how to skate!"
"Relax, Mothy. It's easy!" She helped him onto the ice. "It's like walking, only… not."
He took a step forward, but then started slipping. Luckily, she caught him with her magic.
"We'll take it one step at a time."
After a while, he finally did get the hang of it, thanks to his very special somepony.
Whirl blew a whistle around his neck, "Let's get to playing some hockey!"
The teams lined up on each side of the ice and got their hockey sticks at the ready. Once Whirl blew the whistle again, the game began. It was a challenge getting the puck at first, but LB managed to get it and was about to score the goal that Gem was guarding until Rock Salt stole the puck from her.
"Hey!" she called out to him.
"Gotta be fast!" he called back.
"You want fast? I'll give you fast!"
It was a struggle, but she managed to steal the puck back and score the goal as Gem ducked for cover.
Screw Ball shouted, "That's a point for us!" Her team cheered.
Whirl scowled at Gemstone, "Gem, you're supposed to stop the puck, not cower before it!"
"You wouldn't be saying that if you were here! That thing was coming at me. I could have been seriously hurt!"
"You're wearing protective gear!"
"Not enough, if you ask me!"
"Fine! I'll take over being goalie!"
"Fine with me!" She magically put the hockey mask on him.
The game resumed and it was a long battle, but thanks to Whirl stopping the puck and his team scoring, they won.
When they finished playing, they were shocked to find more white in their manes.
Moth Ball said, "But I don't get it. You're not feeling resentful now."
Snow Pea said, "I think the curse is progressing, only slower without the resentment."
Little Button asked, "So there's no way to stop it?"
Snowy differed, "We're going to find a way to break this curse. I promise."
A voice came, "There you are! I was looking for you… whoa…" Twilight saw the frozen pond before her in the middle of a hot summer day! She was also shocked to see more white in the ponies' manes. She shook out of it and called out to them, "My sisters have arrived! Come inside!"
The cousins exchanged looks as the moment of truth has come.
As they were walking to the throne room, Twilight explained to them that she and her mother had explained the situation to the sisters and that they were waiting to see them.
They walked in and saw Pinkie - who went by Pinkamena now - Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack - who looked tired.
Once introductions were made, the princesses explained how their lives went since their arranged wedding.
Applejack may have had a devoting husband, but she couldn't return the devotion. Instead, she had a devotion to grow her own apple orchard on the castle grounds she lived on. Every day, she tended to her orchard to avoid her husband as much as possible.
Rarity didn't need to worry about a doting husband since he would always spend his days being pampered, so she was allowed to do her own thing. She mainly sewed dresses to keep herself occupied to forget how she ended up in a loveless marriage.
Pinkie didn't work on parties anymore for she had nothing to be happy about and couldn't spread that joy to others. She spent her days moping about in the manor she lived in.
Fluttershy had it a bit better than her other sisters. She actually liked her husband, though she never could love him. Nevertheless, he was a good husband and friend. She still got to attend to creatures' needs where she lived, but there were days she missed her Canterlot home and her family. Once she had received her mother's summoning, she didn't waste a second to get there.
Applejack spoke up, "From what Mother and Twilight have been telling us, it turned out we were never supposed to marry these stallions but other colts we loved all because we knew them ahead of time?"
Star said, "Correct."
Fire pointed, "Only you were supposed to marry a dragon."
"Say what?!"
"And have a pony-dragon hybrid." said Screw Ball.
AJ gaped.
Screwy turned to her mother, "Just like you were supposed to marry a draconequus and have me."
Fluttershy's mouth went wide open before saying, "You… You're my daughter?"
Screw Ball slowly approached her and Fluttershy held her arms out to wrap her into a hug. It caused Screwy to release some tears since she figured she wasn't going to get a hug from her mother again if they couldn't fix the timeline.
Gemstone approached her mother, "And I am your daughter. My brother Dignity isn't here right now, but he is your son as well…"
Rarity had tears welling up, "I… have a son and daughter?! Oh…" She moved Gem into a tight embrace.
Twilight looked at Star and Fire and they glanced at her as well. In one swift move, they moved into a hug.
Snow Pea told Pinkie, "And you have a daughter, too."
"I do?!" Pinkie mane slightly inflated, "I'm a mommy?!"
LB giggled, "You do. Sorry she's not here now, but you'll see her soon…" She mumbled, "I hope…" She had no idea where the rest of their cousins were and was starting to worry about the twins and Apple Butter…
The trio made it back to the mainland and arrived in Pony-Ville. It was back to square one with them since they needed to find their mothers and fathers. They knew Uncle Button was king of Marendelle like he always was meant to be, but they weren't allowed inside the palace to see him. So thus, they thought it was best to look for the rest of their family in the meantime.
"My dad lived with Aunt Hazel Nut in their inn here. I think he's still here." said Apple Butter.
Skater pointed, "But didn't he tell us that the inn was running out of money and that's why he became a personal escort to our mothers and Aunt Sweetie Belle?"
Roller said, "But since they never came to the island… that would mean Uncle Pip couldn't be their escort…"
Apple Butter said, "I have to at least see if he is still here!"
"Who's here?" Matilda came up to them with Cranky.
Cranky said, "So ya came back. Well, your cousins ain't here right now. Last time we heard, some of them went to Canterlot."
Roller asked, "You wouldn't happen to know a stallion named Pip, do you?"
"Pip? Why he's the assistant mayor." said Matilda.
"Assistant mayor?!" the three gaped.