Crown of Winter

by CartoonNerd12

Chapter 13

Author's Note:

Song featured: A Rumor in St. Petersburg.

Everypony in Marendelle was surprised to see snow falling on their island kingdom. Such cold weather was unheard of on Marendelle. Thus, they scrambled to get warm.

A male pony sang, "Dear Marendelle is gloomy…"

A female pony sang, "Fair Marendelle is bleak…"

Another stallion shivered, "It has changed from hot to cold in less than one week…"

Many citizens of the kingdom then sang, "Oh, we don't understand it…Why's the weather so gray? Thank goodness for the gossip…that gets us through the day. Hey! Have you heard? There's a rumor in cold Marendelle...Have you heard what they're saying on the street?"

A stallion in a newspaper stand sang, "Although the plants will not survive, a legend may be still alive."

The crowd sang, "Not the fearsome Windigos!"

"But please do not repeat."

"It's a rumor, a legend, a mystery. Something whispered in an alleyway or through the crack. It's a rumor that's part of our history!"

A female vendor selling snow globes sang, "They say the king and his queen are trying to chase the clouds…"

The crowd sang, "In their efforts to bring the warm sun back!"

Meanwhile, Rock Salt ran his way through the active crowds. He kept saying, "Excuse me! Sorry! Pardon me! Coming through! I'm in a really big hurry!" When a male vendor got in his path, Rock Salt skidded to a sudden stop as he cried, "Whoa!"

The vendor then sang, "Twenty bits for hot cocoa…It's chilly here, I swear!"

A female vendor sang, "Heated thermal pajamas…My dear, buy the pair…"

Another male vendor sang, "I have some homemade honey…It was made by me…"

Rock Salt sang, "They're really nice, thank you, but I need to see LB!"

He then ran past the vendors and made his way to the now-snowy gardens at the palace. He found an anguished Little Button in the gazebo and entered. He asked in an almost-frantic tone, "Little Button, what's going on out there? Why is it snowing? Is it your sister?"

LB sang, "It has happened, the legend, the prophecy…"

Rock Salt sang, "So your sister has been taken…Now I know that's why…You and I, Lil, will go out and find Snow Pea…We will deal with the Windigos and beat them into hay…Save Snow Pea and bring her back safely…Imagine all the praise the Marendelle ponies will say…Who else could pull it off but you and me? She'll be home!"

She sang more cheerfully, "She'll be home!"

"She'll be free!"

"She'll be free!"

They both sang, "And lush Marendelle will be so proud of you and me!" They then ran out of the gardens.

Meanwhile, the crowd of Marendelle citizens sang, "Shh! Have you heard? There's a rumor in cold Marendelle…Have you heard what they're saying on the street? Hey! Hey! Hey! Have you heard? There's a rumor in fine Marendelle…Have you heard? Goodness, what do you suppose? A fascinating mystery…"

LB sang, "The biggest search in history!"

"Oh, the fearsome Windigo-o-o-o-o-o-os…Alive or dead?"

A sweeper colt finished, "Who knows? Shh…"

---

Little Button was at Rock Salt's humble hovel as he got out his mountain-climbing gear. He now wore a dark gray coat and a red hat with boots of the same color.

He asked her, "Are you sure Mount Everhoof is where the Windigos are supposed to be?"

LB nodded, "That's where Mom said they took her while she was pregnant with Snow Pea."

He held a pickax and rope in his hoof as he said, "Well, then we're definitely going to need these."

"Once we get up to their lair, what will we do then? I suppose we're just going to charge in, hope we take down every Windigo, and get Snow Pea the hay out of there before they come to. We don't have magic, Rock Salt. The Windigos tried to encase us in ice before Snowy sacrificed herself for us."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. I thought Snow Pea had to be kidnapped in order for the prophecy to come true."

"Yeah, I don't understand that myself. But then again, maybe the part about destroying time won't happen, either."

"So, how do you propose we beat the Windigos without destroying time? Or using magic, for that matter."

"Oh, we'll be using magic. The Windigos are much too powerful for two Earth ponies to take on by themselves. But with the help of my cousins, the whole thing should be easy-peasy."

"You mean your cousins on the mainland? It would take them days to get here. It'll be too late by then."

"Oh, no, they're already on Marendelle."

Rock Salt said in surprise, "Say what?"

"They're here on vacation after the whole suitor thing fell through."

"So much for their parents' master plan. What happened? Nopony was good enough for even one of your cousins?"

"I think some of my cousins found some ponies they liked. But the trouble was that Screwball hypnotized Gemstone to dump her coltfriend."

"What?! Why would she do that?!"

"There was this agreement between my cousins and their parents before suitors even came to the palace. Basically, if none of the girls were taken with their suitors, they would come here for a vacation. That must've been one of the reasons Screwball duped Gem."

"And the other reason?"

"During the fight my cousins had, Screwball ranted that nopony would be in love with her, so in a sense, she might've made Gem dump her coltfriend because she didn't want anypony else to have someone if she wasn't going to."

"From all those stories I heard about the Windigos, they only feed off of fighting and hatred. So was the fight just before the Windigos took Snow Pea?"

Little Button was hesitant to say it, "I…I think that the fighting gave the Windigos a chance to make their move. Snow Pea gave herself up to save us from being frozen solid."

"Ah…So it must've been your cousins' fault."

LB retorted, "What? No! They might've been just…testy from the arrangement their parents set up with the suitors."

"So if their folks had just trusted their kids more, then none of this would've happened."

"Right. And I doubt that they would even trust my cousins to go look for Snow Pea."

"But doesn't your Uncle Discord have teleporting powers? He could easily get us to Mount Everhoof."

"As far as I'm concerned, we don't need him to teleport us there. Besides, we already have somepony who's willing to do the job for us." She gave a sly grin.

---

Screwball pointed to the far right edge of the base of Mount Everhoof. "Okay. I teleport us all here and then we make our way up to the top. We ambush the Windigos and POW! We rescue Snow Pea and reverse the winter!"

Apple Butter asked, "But, Screwball, won't anyone in the Crystal Empire notice there will be ponies climbing up the most dangerous mountain in Equestria?"

Screwy flashed a smirk, "Why do you think the Windigos would be based there?"

Starling said, "But if Uncle Button and the others trekked up there before to save Aunt Sweetie Belle, why would the Windigos risk making Mount Everhoof their lair again?"

Whirl Wind said, "She's right. If I was a Windigo, I would want to leave my trail…" He then joked, "…cold."

A few of his cousins laughed with him, but Dignity said, "I don't think this is the appropriate time to make jokes, Whirl."

Gemstone said, "I agree with my brother. None of this would be happening…" She then flashed an angry glare at Screwball. "…if Screwball didn't hypnotize me in the first place!"

Screwball shot back, "Hey, it's not my fault all of my cousins get true love and I don't!"

Apple Jewel shouted, "Well, I don't have one anymore, remember?!"

Screwy shot back, "But you never told us in the first place! And I'm still upset about how you kept your dragon prince a secret all this time! We never kept secrets from each other!"

Cotton mentioned, "That's very true. It wasn't up till now that we drifted apart and didn't say anything to each other."

Screwball said, "And it's all because you were all being too lovey-dovey to notice."

Gemstone uttered, "While you were just being too bitter…"

Just then, Little Button and Rock Salt entered the drawing room and saw the cousins quarreling amongst themselves. When they looked at a window, they could see the gust of snow outside intensifying.

LB moaned, "The citizens of Marendelle are panicking and all my cousins are doing is duking it out."

Rock Salt grumbled, "They just have to keep screwing it up, don't they?" He went to the cousins, but they paid no attention to him. When he stomped his hoof loudly three times, the ponies turned their attention to him.

He chastised them, "Really, guys? You have the nerve to come to Marendelle while you're all in foul moods. And how did that bode for Snow Pea?" He gave a scornful chuckle, "Well, I imagine not pretty well. Here you are, feuding and fighting, and you don't even care that Snow Pea's in real danger out there!"

Little Button protested, "That's not true!"

Skater agreed, "LB's right! Of course we're worrying about Snow Pea right now!"

Gem said as she lifted the map, "And here's proof of that!"

Fire Spark said, "We're trying to figure out a plan to rescue Snow Pea and defeat the Windigos once and for all."

Rock Salt said, "Wait a minute. Wasn't Snow Pea supposed to be the one who would destroy the Windigos?"

Roller Blade scoffed, "The prophecy only said she would, but that doesn't mean it will happen! Look what happened to Snow Pea when the Windigos took her! The prophecy claimed that she would be kidnapped, but-"

Screwball interrupted him, "Wait, Roller Blade! What did you say before that last sentence?"

He repeated in confusion, "I only said that Snow Pea was supposed to be kidnapped, but –"

Screwball said, "No, it wasn't 'kidnapped'. Olaf never said that she would be kidnapped. He only said…"

Apple Jewel finished, "That she would be taken! Of course! I was there, so I know that's exactly what he said!"

Whirl Wind asked, "So, wait. What's the difference here?"

Fire Spark said, "Don't you see? Being taken could mean a number of things. It could mean 'kidnapped' or letting someone take you away. Snow Pea chose to let the Windigos take her from Marendelle if it meant that we would be safe. Get the picture?"

The cousins stood in silent shock over this realization. Little Button breathed, "Then…the prophecy could still come true."

Rock Salt said, "So it comes down to either snow or lost time. Either way, Equestria's going down."

LB said, "Don't say it like that, Rocky! We could still find a way to fix everything and Equestria won't be doomed. We just have to think on the bright side."

A guard then appeared from the doorway and cleared his throat, "Ahem! Your family requests your presence in the throne room."

When the cousins followed the guard to the throne room, they were afraid that their parents might've arrived at Marendelle. Screwball whispered, "Well, there goes our chance at finding Snow Pea."

Thankfully, the only parents in the throne room were Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Rumble, Apple Bloom, and Pip. Sweetie Belle was distressed by her elder daughter's capture while Button was overwrought with heartbreak.

When the doors closed behind the royal children, Apple Jewel apologized, "Aunt Sweetie Belle! Uncle Button Mash! We are so sorry that we let Snow Pea get taken by the Windigos. If we hadn't been fighting, none of this would've happened."

Instead of lashing out as the cousins feared, Button Mash only nodded in understanding, "It's all right. We saw the whole thing when it happened. We know that Snow Pea went on her accord, though I wish it was under different circumstances."

Sweetie agreed in a voice thick with emotion, "And besides, we couldn't really stop the prophecy from happening. With the many myths of this island proven to be true, we knew the prophecy would be the same way."

"We could've tried to prevent it, but it was inevitable. Since we couldn't stop it altogether, we knew we just had to wait until it came to pass. But even after Snow Pea was taken, it's still so hard to bear."

Little Button spoke up, "But the prophecy hasn't been entirely fulfilled yet! If the rest of Equestria hasn't been blanketed by snow yet, then Snow Pea hasn't agreed to be their queen yet! If something hasn't happened to time by now, then the Windigos aren't gone yet."

Rock Salt pointed out, "And you know what Snow Pea would have to do to make that happen. She'd have to strike her hoof three times."

"But what if there was another way? What if Snow Pea doesn't have to strike her hoof three times and destroy time? What if the Windigos could be destroyed all the same? There must be another way. There has to be!"

Her father gave a sad chuckle, "Oh, Lil, you always were the optimist of the family, just like your mother."

Sweetie gave a small smile.

Scootaloo said, "You care for your sister very much. We get that. When we thought your mom died from falling off the cliff, we were just devastated."

Apple Bloom said, "It's true. We sisters gotta look out for each other, even adopted ones."

Sweetie Belle said, "Maybe that's why your parents are so protective of you. They went through crisis after crisis and each time nearly lost someone they loved. That may be the reason you grew up the way you did. Your parents don't trust you enough because they're scared for you. Believe us, we feel the same way with Snow Pea and now about you, Little Button. If you decide to go after your sister, we might never see you again." She faced her nieces and nephews and said, "It might've been because of that sort of fear that your parents kept you sheltered."

Cotton said sadly, "And if you tell them about what's happening in Marendelle, they'll shut us from the real world for the rest of our lives."

Starling gravely said, "I may be the heir to the Canterlot throne, but if we have to be stuck behind palace walls forever, then I'll forfeit my inheritance."

Everypony looked at her in shock. Fire Spark exclaimed, "Starling, you can't do that! What's going to happen if Mom and Dad are gone too soon? Who's going to watch over the kingdom, then?"

"And who's going to save Equestria if we don't?!" She implored her aunts and uncles, "Please, let us prove ourselves to you and our parents by bringing back Snow Pea and ending this horrible winter."

Screwball said, "We started this mess, so we have to clean it up."

Whirl Wind said, "And we're with these girls all the way."

When the rest of the cousins agreed, the adults were pleased to see this newfound nobility and bravery. They only wished the children's parents were here to see them now.

Sweetie Belle smiled, "How about this? We're going to let you find Snow Pea, but in the meantime, we have to tell your parents about the situation here. Of course, we won't tell them where you are. Screwball, you can teleport like your dad, right?"

Screwy answered proudly, "Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"Good. Then you can be right back here when Snow Pea's rescued and the Windigos are at least thwarted. When you leave to go find her, we'll give you a ten-minute head start. Now go and save Snow Pea."

Whirl Wind said, "You got it! Onward to Mount Everhoof!"

Sweetie Belle stopped them, "Wait. Mount Everhoof? If the Windigos were found there the first time, it's probably unlikely they'll be there again."

Roller Blade whispered to Screwball, "So much for your theory."

Screwy hissed back at him, "Well, no one's perfect!"

Rumble said, "Okay, think about it. The Windigos didn't have much power when they captured Sweetie Belle because they couldn't go further than the Crystal Empire. And when Snow Pea was at Yakyakistan, they only attacked because she and the others were at the Frozen North. Am I right, Screwy, Jewel?"

Screwball nodded, "Yep."

Apple Jewel agreed, "Every word."

Button Mash said, "But they might've still been weak because it was only five years between incidents. It's been thirteen years now since the darkness and the Windigos could've gained more strength between then and now."

Starling said, "They also could've gotten more power because of our behaviors after the proclamation was made."

Cotton agreed, "Yeah, the fact that it was our fighting that drew them here tells us that it was partially our fault."

Apple Jewel said, "We were so busy worried about what was happening to us that we totally ignored each other."

Dignity said, "We didn't see past the ends of our noses when the big picture was right there."

While the cousins talking, Sweetie thought back to the ice floe. What if it wasn't just a warning sign from the Windigos? What if it was also a product of the contempt that had spewed among her nieces and nephews? Maybe Star was right about the Windigos gaining more strength from the children's selfishness, but what if such behavior was also rooted from worry? Sweetie also thought about where the ice floe might've come from. Mount Everhoof was too far inland to even have a chunk of ice land in the ocean, and a piece of ice as big as the floe would've been spotted in Canterlot if it broke off the mountain the city was built on the side of. That left only one other place…

Sweetie suggested, "Well, if you want to fix your mistakes, you could start by searching the Yaket Range. It's the only snowy place closest to Marendelle."

Button saw her point and said, "You're right! It might've also been where the ice floe came from!"

Rock Salt shrugged, "Then I guess we're going to the Yaket Range."

The queen said, "Wait! When I was kidnapped by the Windigos, I saw that they had a room full of mirrors. They saw everywhere in Equestria with them. They might even see you coming before you're even ten feet from the lair."

Scootaloo said, "Just be careful out there, will ya?"

Skater said, "We will, Mom."

Roller Blade wrapped his hoof around his sister and said to their mother, "You can count on us."

Just then, the windows abruptly flew open and everypony in the throne room rushed to close them. Before they could, they gaped at the snowy scene before them. The blizzard raged on, but that did not keep the royals from seeing how much snow had now blanketed the island kingdom.

Little Button breathed, "Marendelle…"

Rock Salt said, "It's completely frozen."

Sweetie Belle knew that there was no choice at this juncture. She either had to let her daughter and the others search for Snow Pea and hopefully bring her back, or risk letting Marendelle – and soon all of Equestria – turn into an arctic wasteland. She looked to her husband, who nodded sadly as if he knew what she was thinking. As much as they hated risking losing their youngest daughter too, they knew that LB wanted to find her sister and would stop at nothing from doing so.

The queen said to LB and the other children, "Go. Find Snow Pea and put an end to this wintery reign before it begins."

Pip agreed, "This time, the Windigos must be gone for good."

The Marendelle cousins all hugged their parents and they – along with their cousins - received wishes of good luck from them.

As soon as good-byes were exchanged, Fire Spark said, "All right, Screwball. Do your stuff."

Screwball then concentrated and the propeller on her hat began to spin in response to that. When the propeller spun fast enough, it generated a yellow teleportation bubble that engulfed the cousins. When it flashed, the kids had disappeared into thin air. Fearing that she would never see either of her daughters again, Sweetie Belle dug her face into her husband's neck and wept profoundly, something she was not able to do until this moment. Button felt the same pain as she did and shed a few tears.

Comments

[Skye Mist]

It's all your fault, [insert name here]! ...I don't know who to yell at!

[CrimsonBlitz66]

[Godslittleprincess]

[Godslittleprincess]

7349069 Are you mad at everypony or just the kids? I'm personally mad at just the kids. I know that Twilight and the parents weren't completely in the right, but at the same time, I have a super hard time being upset with them.

[Skye Mist]

7349938 I don't know anymore!

[Mythic Eithne 597]

Little Button breathed, "Marendelle…"
Rock Salt said, "It's completely frozen."

I just love it when I find these quotes from movies. Please let Rocky and LB get together, they really are perfect for each other.
Loving the story, can't wait for the next chapter

[Bronydude23]

So let me get this straight
LB is Anna
Rock Salt is Kristoff

[WolfGoddess1990]

7349069
I know who to be mad at... SCREWBALL YOU ARE SUCH A B*TCH FOR DOING THAT TO SOMEONE WHO HAD REAL LOVE