//------------------------------//
// Chapter 33 
// Story: Crown of Winter 
// by CartoonNerd12 
//------------------------------//

While the guards were taking Rumble and the twins into the palace, Snow Pea and LB led the group and Soarin' to a secret passageway that only few knew about. They reached a panel at the end of the tunnel and opened it slightly.

Apple Butter whispered, "What do you see?"

Snow Pea, who was peeking through the tiny crack, said, "Okay, they just brought in Rumble and the twins."

At that moment, Rumble and the twins stood face-to-face with Button Mash and Babs Seeds. Even though Roller and Skater knew Babs was the queen through word-of-mouth, it still shocked them to see her seated right next to Button.

Babs spoke out in an authoritative voice, "You have been brought here today on the charge of theft and the accusation of involvement. How do you plead?"

Rumble and the twins all protested, "Not guilty!"

Button muttered, "Why do they always say that?"

Babs whispered to him, "I got this." She pointed to the twins and said, "You were seen pouncing on this colt in the alleyway. Were you trying to stop him?"

The twins answered, "Yes."

Rumble then asked, "But how did you use a move only I knew?"

Babs said pensively, "Yes, indeed. Where else did you learn his move?"

Just before Roller could reveal the identity of their teacher, Skater covered his mouth and said, "Our dad taught us."

Button asked, "And just who is your dad?"

The group hiding in the secret passageway grew nervous about how Skater would respond. She surprised them and everyone in the throne room by saying, "Let us tell you a story. And it's all true."

Babs nodded, "Speak."

Skater took a deep breath and said, "Once upon a time, there was an island prince. He played games and practiced sword-fighting all day long when he was a young colt."

Button's eyes widened when he realized how accurate the story was to his life.

Catching on to his sister's plan, Roller said, "On the other side of Equestria, there was a Pegasus who lost his parents in a weather accident. All he had left was his brother, but they became separated in Appleloosa."

Now it was Rumble's turn to gape in shock.

Babs asked in curiosity, "And was there a princess?"

Skater nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. There was a princess who had very strict parents. They always told her how to act like royalty and behave like royalty. She couldn't even think for herself. To do so would mean disgracing her family forever."

Babs softly gasped as she knew that what Skater said reflected her own life. But how was this possible?

Button asked, "What about the island prince? What happened to him?"

Roller said, "One day, his mother told him about a contest for every princess for a chance to become the prince's bride."

Skater added, "The serious princess went to the island on behalf of her parents and…" She almost couldn't bring herself to say the next part, but finished, "…won."

Rumble asked, "What about the Pegasus?"

Roller said, "He joined a band of treasure hunters and became a thief for them." It made Roller sick to his stomach to acknowledge that his father was still a thief in this timeline.

Babs asked, "Where did this story come from?"

Skater said, "The last part shouldn't be true. We're from an alternate timeline when everything is as it should be." She pointed to Button and said, "You would've married your true love, who would've been another princess." She pointed to Babs and continued, "You would've married someone funny and have the joy in your life that you're missing."

Roller turned to Rumble and said, "And you would've married a princess and become…our father."

Rumble was surprised yet bewildered to hear that. Even after everything the twins said, he could still hardly believe it. He then asked skeptically, "How do we even know what you're saying is true?" He faced the king and queen and asked, "Shouldn't we test them in some way?"

Button said as he rubbed his chin with his hoof, "You're right. We need to know if they really are from an alternate timeline."

A voice then said, "Then test us."

The ponies in the throne room turned to see a large group appear from beside the throne platform. The guards, Rumble, and the rulers all were shocked to see more ponies appear like that.

Button sputtered, "Who are you?! How'd you get in the throne room?!"

Snow Pea explained, "There's a secret passageway hidden behind one of the panels."

The guards checked it out and said, "She speaks the truth, sire!"

The king asked in bemusement, "How did you know there was a secret passageway in the first place?"

Snow Pea answered, "In the alternate timeline, my cousins, sister, and I stumbled upon another secret tunnel in a hallway. We also found a map detailing every hidden passageway in the castle."

"And you were servants in that timeline?"

"No. My sister Little Button and I are supposed to be your daughters." When Button was shocked to hear such a thing, Snow Pea said, "Look at my eyes. They're brown, like yours. LB's mane is supposed to be like yours, but she was cursed."

The king stayed silent for a moment before he came up to the sisters and said, "If you really are my daughters from another timeline, answer me this question: what did my mother sing to me when I was a little colt?"

To his surprise, the sisters sang together, "Come, stop your crying, it'll be alright…Just take my hoof, hold it tight…" 

Amazed, Button sang with them, "I will protect you from all around you…I will be here, don't you cry…" 

LB said, "You taught us that song when we were little."

Snowy added, "You sang it to us every night before we went to sleep."

Tears of joy then filled Button's eyes as he embraced them. He said in wonder, "You really are my daughters." Everypony in the room gushed at the scene.

Rumble turned to his kids and said, "Well, I guess this makes you my kids, too. Who wants give your dad a hug?" Both twins raced into his arms and he held them tightly.

Babs was happy at the reunions, but dwelled on the fact that this timeline was not meant to be. She said sadly, "I would've been happy."

Button agreed, "So would I."

Rumble said, "And me, especially." He pulled out the map and said, "I shouldn't have submitted myself to living the life of a thief. I regret that now. I will return this map to the ponies I stole it from."

When Button glanced at the map, his eyes widened. "No…It couldn't be. May I see that, please?" When Rumble gave him the map, Button exclaimed, "No way! It's the map to the Lost Treasure of Marendelle!"

Babs cried, "What?! But I thought it was just a myth!"

Snow Pea explained, "Every myth and legend on this island is true. There is a Lost Treasure of Marendelle, there are Diamond Dogs…" When Button wanted to say something, Snow Pea said, "And yes, Dad. There are zombies and skeleton ponies, too."

Button gulped at that.

Just then, Babs glanced to her right and saw something sticking out between the cushions of Button's throne. She pulled the shiny piece out and said, "Hey, Button? What's this doing on your throne?"

The kids gasped when they saw she had a mirror shard in her hoof! At that moment, Rock Salt caught a glimpse of something in Rumble's bag. The Earth pony said to him, "Could you open your bag, please?"

Rumble asked with trepidation, "Um, why?"

LB grabbed the shard from Babs as the former said, "This is a mirror shard. An important day was erased by mistake and it messed everything up. That's why we're in a different timeline. We need to find pieces of a mirror so we can set everything right again."

Skater, now getting the picture, said, "And we think you might have a mirror shard in your bag, too."

Rumble said, "Well, I can tell you I have nothing in my bag. See?" He opened the bag, but he was surprised to find a mirror shard in it! "Whoa! How did that get in there?"

Roller took the shard as he said, "Shards like these appear every time we mend a bond in the family."

Babs asked, "What's our bond?"

Starling clarified, "Well, you're just a family friend. Rumble and Button Mash are brothers-in-law."

Both stallions cried, "What?!"

Snow Pea said, "You were supposed to marry our moms. They're sisters in our timeline."

Button asked with hope, "Who was I supposed to marry?"

Snowy answered, "Her name is Sweetie Belle. She's still a maid at Canterlot Castle, but in the other timeline, she and two other maids were adopted as princesses."

"Well, make sure everything gets back to the way it was so we can all live happily-ever-after."

Snow smiled uneasily, "We'll try. We'll definitely try."

Just then, Roller looked into the shard and an image played on it. He thought in surprise, What? The tornado affected Dad, too? But how?

He then saw a torn piece of paper flying in the air by very strong winds. A door to a bar opened and a rugged stallion with a golden skull cutie mark stepped out. Roller thought, That must be Caballeron.

Caballeron said to his henchponies, "Come. Let us seek our next venture somewhere else. The Golden Idol of Boreas was a - as they say – bust." Suddenly, the paper landed on Caballeron's face. He grabbed it and muttered something as he looked at it. His eyes then widened as he exclaimed, "Boys…we've hit our jackpot! This is one half of the map to the Amulet of Amethyst! We will be filthy rich!"

Roller knew that it took Caballeron years to find the other half of the map. By that time, his dad had joined the treasure hunter's gang. When they did eventually find the magical amulet, Rumble spirited away with it first chance he got.

Skater asked, "Roller, did you see something?"

He nodded breathlessly, "Uh-huh. The tornado affected our dad, too."

Suddenly, a messenger burst into the throne room and said in urgency, "Your Highnesses! The Crystal Empire is under attack!"

Many ponies in the room gasped before Button ordered, "Gather up ponies willing to march there and face the enemy."

"I'm afraid this enemy is impossible to stop. They're…Windigos."

Snow Pea's heart dropped when she heard that. She thought, No…Aunt Luna…

Suddenly, the snow princess realized something. She gasped, "Guys, what about Screwball? She was supposed to take Cadance and Shining Armor to the Empire!"

Whirl Wind said, "They could be in big trouble!"

Soarin' then said, "We'll take my cloud hovel and flap our wings as fast as we can!"

Roller then shivered, "But what about our wings? We can barely even move them."

Rumble said, "Hey, if what I've seen today is any indication, you definitely have the strength to move a cloud at top speed."

Soarin' agreed, "Yeah. Every wingbeat counts, even if you are cursed to freeze by Windigos."

Button, Rumble, and Babs all cried, "What?!"

Snow Pea said, "No time to explain. We need to go now!"

Rumble said, "I'm coming with you. Anything's better than being a thief."

Babs said, "Button and I will gather up volunteers here."

Button hugged his daughters and said, "Just be careful out there, okay?"

LB nodded, "Okay, Daddy."

Snow Pea said, "We'll fix everything. I promise."

As the group left, Snow Pea still worried whether or not she would fix everything.




The cloud hovel flew at high speed with the help of the wind machine blowing on the makeshift sail Soarin' put up. The Pegasi also used their wings to row the cloud in a way while the rest were either in the hovel or outside on the fluffy surface. Even though Whirl and the twins were cold from head to toe, they mustered every bit of their strength to flap their wings, even if their wingbeats weren't exactly strong.

When they were halfway across Equestria, Gemstone shouted, "Mothball!"

Soarin' looked all around as he said, "What mothball?"

The unicorn clarified, "No, not 'what' mothball! 'Who' Mothball! He's someone we know and he may still be back at Canterlot!"

Apple Jewel realized she was right and said, "We have to get him!"

Soarin' said, "Well, if you say so."

The cloud hovel then arrived at Canterlot after some time. When Snow Pea, Fire Spark, and Cotton got off the cloud just outside the gates, Snowy said, "We've got to find Mothball and hurry out of here."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The ponies looked to their right and saw a rolling green cocoon made out of goo. Through a transparent opening in the cocoon, they could see a changeling repeatedly pushing against the encasement.

"Mothball!" all three shouted as they rushed to the cocoon.

Mothball chuckled weakly, "I'm glad somepony found me."

Snow Pea said, "Hang on. We'll get you out of there."

With a blast of her horn, she transformed the cocoon into ice. When she concentrated again, a blue aura surrounded the ice cocoon and broke it into little pieces, leaving a weak Mothball on the pile.

Cotton asked as she and Fire took Mothy's hooves, "Are you okay?"

Mothball said as he stood up, "Yeah…Though you two look like you've seen better days."

Snow Pea said, "Mothball, Screwball might be in danger. The Crystal Empire is being attacked by Windigos and she could be there already."

Mothball's eyes widened when he realized, "What about my mother?"

All three cried, "Your mother?!"

"She trapped me in the cocoon when I accidentally blurted about you guys and Screwy. If she's in trouble because of me…"

Snowy said, "Don't worry. We're going to save Screwball and everyone in the Crystal Empire." She then thought, I hope.

Mothball then groaned, "I don't have much energy right now. Breaking the cocoon free and then rolling it all the way here took its toll on me."

Fire Spark said, "Let's get you inside the hovel."

At first, Soarin' and Rumble were alarmed that the cousins were friends with a changeling, but when they saw everything from the cloud, they knew Mothball was all right.

When Mothball got on the cloud, Soarin' muttered to the kids, "You know, you make the strangest friends."




After the group left Canterlot, Mothball snacked and drank inside the hovel to regain energy. However, he could hardly do so with his mind clouded with thoughts of Screwball. He was so worried about her, but he had to nourish himself so he could have the strength to kick the hide of whoever was putting her in danger. He then noticed that the hovel seemed to be slowing down. He went outside and soon, a shocked expression appeared on his face.

"Whoa…" he uttered.

The fields just outside the Empire were now covered in snow and many blocks of ice dotted the now-frosty plains. Upon closer inspection, the ponies were horrified to see soldiers encased in the ice chunks.

Snow Pea breathed in shock, "Oh, no…" She feared that she would become a threat like the Windigos and worry filled her heart even more.

Just then, her cousins started shivering and shaking. Whirl quivered, "We must be getting close."

When they came up to the Empire, they gasped at the sight of it. The kingdom was now coated in ice and torrential snowfall was furiously blowing all over.

Rock Salt remarked, "Now that's completely frozen."

Starling shivered, "It hasn't been like that since Flurry Heart broke the Crystal Heart."

Suddenly, the kids all realized, "The Crystal Heart!"

Dignity shook, "You don't suppose it's broken, do you?"

Mothball said, "Only one way to find out."

Meanwhile, inside the now-frozen throne room, Sleet peered out the window and said, "We have an incoming cloud heading this way. Its passengers are the ponies who infiltrated our cave. The snow princess is with them."

Cold Front then floated to the window and said, "Finally. It took them long enough."

Next to the throne, Screwball was on the floor and bound by ice chains around her neck and hooves. Her legs were now decorated with frost as she shivered and gasped from the curse. She said in a voice as stalwart as possible, "You…will never win…My cousins will…see to that."

Cold Front said in a snide voice, "Oh? Especially if one of them is the snow princess? We know of the prophecy, and if she doesn't want to destroy time, she must do as we tell her." He and the other Windigos whinnied and laughed maliciously.

Outside the palace, the cloud drew close to the dais. The ponies gasped when they saw iced-up pieces of the Crystal Heart strewn across the floor.

Roller quivered in the cold, "Wow. Those Windigos are really smart about this."

Snow Pea landed on the ground and said, "I'm going inside. Stay here where you'll be safe and as warm as possible."

Little Button shivered, "Snow Pea, no."

"It's me they want, and I don't want to put any more lives at stake."

Rumble said as he got on the ground, "You're not going alone. I'm coming with you."

Mothball followed suit as he said with determination, "So will I."

Snow Pea gave a small smile, "Thank you." When she ran inside the palace, Rumble and Mothball followed her.

Cold Front weaved through the ice blocks that contained Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor and said, "It's a shame about your friends, strange one. They could not procure a mirror shard in time and they hardly put up a fight. I suppose it was because Princess Luna was too traumatized by the memory of the blizzard to even fight at her best."

Screwball asked, "Why...did you wipe out…the alicorns…and the…draconequui?"

The Windigo answered, "It was mostly their fault, really. Much hatred and ire built up between the two races. The feast of their anger towards one another was simply delicious, but the dessert was getting to freeze them into statues to match their icy hearts. And then, we simply…broke them."

The Windigos then laughed cruelly before the double doors burst open.

Snow Pea shouted, "Stop, you wicked Windigos!"

Cold Front said, "Why, snow princess. We've been expecting you. It's been a while now, hasn't it? We could not just leave the Frozen North without losing our strength, now could we? Had it been otherwise, we would've just swooped down and taken you back to the timestream. Well, since you're here, we should do just that."

Snow Pea grunted when she felt her magic being controlled by the Windigos again. The feeling stopped when Rumble said, "You're not taking her anywhere."

Mothball said, "We're going to stop you, no matter what it takes."

Cold Front said, "Even at the cost of somepony's life?" The other Windigos drew back to reveal a shivering Screwball chained to the floor.

Snow Pea gasped while Mothball cried, "Screwball!" He growled at the Windigos, "Let her go."

"Admit it, you feel for her. You're not willing to risk her life to restore history."

Screwball weakly said, "Mothball, no. Don't save me if it means fixing the timeline."

Snow Pea pleaded, "Please, spare her. I'll do whatever you want."

Cold Front flashed a wicked grin just before his eyes glowed blue again. Snowy felt the magical surge course through her body again before a strange buzzing was heard. The leader grunted, "Oh, now what?!"

Mothball felt that familiar chill and uttered, "Oh, no…"

The double doors flew open again and this time, changelings flew in. The trio of heroes gasped as they turned to face the bug-like surge. Mothball's heart dropped when Queen Chrysalis herself entered the cold room.

Chrysalis taunted, "My, my, Mothball. You certainly got out of your cocoon. I might've expected such devotion for a…strange little pony."

Mothball shot back, "Screwball is not strange! She's everything I could ever want in a pony!"

She waved dismissively, "Eh. Such is love."

Cold Front asked, "And whose side are you on?"

The queen said, "Why, yours, of course. We can't have them restoring the proper timeline, now can we?"

He chuckled evilly, "No. Ever since the snow princess broke another mirror than the one we intended, we would rather see them suffer in this timeline. After all, did the prophecy not say that she would destroy time? Well, she has already destroyed her time and doomed all of Equestria."

Snow Pea fell to the floor in despair. Maybe Cold Front was right. Maybe she did fulfill the prophecy and doom the fate of everypony on the earth. She wanted to weep now, but she was too shocked by this revelation to even shed a single tear.

Rumble went to Snowy's side and said, "She and the others will find a way to fix everything! They will never give up trying to restore the rightful timeline."

Mothball scowled at his mother, "Even if it means stopping you!"

Rumble continued, "Pop quiz: how and why was the first Hearth's Warming created?" When the Windigos gave no answer, he smirked at Snow Pea and asked, "Snow Pea, would you like to give the answer?"

This gave Snowy new confidence, if only a bit. She stood up and said, "The first Hearth's Warming was created because you Windigos sent a blizzard upon the ponies' land as long as each tribe mistrusted each other. When the founders of Equestria were trapped inside a cave, three of them realized how much damage they caused. As a result of their remorse and unity, the Fire of Friendship was created to drive you back so you could never threaten any more lives again. Thus, with the founding of Equestria, Hearth's Warming became a new tradition to celebrate the union of all three tribes and the discovery of friendship. You see, Windigos, you only doomed yourselves because you helped create friendship. And friendship will always stop you."

Chrysalis chuckled, "Well, I wouldn't know about friendship, but I certainly know a lot about alliances."

Suddenly, Caballeron and his gang entered the throne room with smirks on their faces.

Rumble gasped, "Caballeron!"

Caballeron said, "We meet again, my young apprentice. All those years I spent training you and practically treating you like my own son, and this is how you repay me?" He then tsked, "Such a bad choice, my friend."

At that moment, ponies flew in from the nearest window. Snow Pea gasped when she realized that it was her cousins, friend, and uncle. Their eye colors had dulled and their cutie marks were missing.

A pair of yellow eyes then peered into the room as Tirek said, "You're next."

Snow Pea activated her horn and shouted, "Stay away from me!"

Cold Front said, "Good. Use your magic to attack Tirek. After all, you're just trying to protect your family, aren't you?"

Screwball whispered to Mothball, "Mothball…the mirror…in my hat…"

Mothball knew what she meant, but just as he was trying to figure out how to get out the mirror without attracting attention, a small light caught his eye. He looked up the throne and saw the last mirror shard peeking from behind the topmost crystal. Suddenly, he got an idea.

He whispered to Snow Pea, "Hit the large crystal when I stomp to three. Then immediately afterwards, free Screwy."

Snowy asked, "What?"

"Just trust me." He went to the area between Snowy and Screwball and pretended to act like his hooves were cold. "Brr! Are my hooves freezing!"

He then lifted one hoof and brought it to the floor almost as if he was stomping. Snow Pea got the picture now.

Mothball continued, "Couldn't you be – I don't know – the spirits of summer or something?" He lifted the other hoof and stomped it to the floor. "I mean, it's really cold in here!"

When Mothball stomped for the third time, Snow Pea shot at the topmost crystal and shattered it. During the commotion, she freed her cousin of her icy chains while Mothball flew into the air to catch the flying mirror shard.

Screwball pulled the mirror from underneath her beanie and said to Snow Pea, "Take it!"

Sleet gasped, "The mirror!"

Mothball threw the shard to Snowy as he said, "Here, catch!"

This time, Snow Pea concentrated on the gem on the tiara and summoned forth the other shards that were outside the palace. The pieces whizzed by Tirek and flew into the throne room.

Cold Front cried, "Stop her!"

Frost said, "We can't! Her magic's too strong for us!"

Snow Pea then used her magic to fit the last shards into the mirror. With a strong flash, the mirror was finally restored! Just then, a wormhole appeared and sucked the mirror inside.

When the Windigos were getting sucked in, they shouted, "NOOOO!"

The wormhole also blew away the villains as time was starting to reset itself, much to their dismay.

The wormhole kept on going and the cousins felt themselves being lifted into it. Rock Salt grabbed on to LB's hooves as they kept getting higher. In that one instant, Screwy realized that she had to say goodbye to Mothball before it was too late!

Mothball thought the same thing and quickly held onto her and the throne to keep her from going into the wormhole too soon.

Screwy gasped, "Mothy! I –"

Mothball said, "Screwy, listen to me! No matter what happens, I will always love you! Search for me! Even if it takes you a thousand years, find me! I was born to love you, Screwball!"

Tears fell from her eyes as she shouted, "And I was born to love you!" In one swift move, they kissed in passion and once they stopped, he slowly let go of her…

She managed to get one last look at him before she disappeared into the wormhole.

Before anypony knew it, they were back at the void. Thankfully, the ponies that were drained had their cutie marks back. Screwball was still on the verge of freezing, but thanks to Mothball's bittersweet kiss, the warmth of the love in her heart stalled the process for now.

Snow Pea looked at her cousins and friend and saw that they were still frosted with ice. She stammered, "I…But I don't understand."

Cold Front chuckled menacingly, "This is their fate, snow princess. Even you cannot stop it. As long as we exist, your family shall perish from this curse."

LB shivered, "Snow Pea…it's okay…You need to stop the Windigos and…save Equestria…"

Snow Pea sadly said, "But what good is that if I don't have my loved ones?"

Cold Front scoffed, "Love? Ha! What good is love for?"

In that moment, Snow Pea glanced at another mirror. That mirror showed her parents being presented with a bundle. One look at the bundle and Snowy knew that it was her the day she was born. With sadness and acceptance in her heart, she knew just what to do, even if it was hard.

She sang to the Windigos, "You ghoulish creatures of darkness…you do not know what love is…Hope I have courage in my heart…For them I…do…this!"

With one powerful shot of her magic, she broke the mirror that showed the day she was born. Everyone in the void was caught by surprise.

The Windigos cried, "NOOOOO!"

LB shrieked, "Snowy, what have you done?!"

Just then, Snow Pea was lifted into the air by a beam of light. She wept as she began to fade away. Then, in a bright flash, the void became a cave once again. No longer were there ice shards, for now the silver mirrors they had been before were broken. The cousins were thankfully rid of the curse, but their hearts were as broken as the spell itself. LB and a few others wept as soon as they and the rest took one glance at the tiara on the ice floor…