Chapter 1: The Introduction
Moonstruck
Chapter 1: The Introduction
The night Screwball arrived in Canterlot was a chaotic night. It was a cold, windy night, which would not have seemed abnormal except for the fact that the middle of the spring had just arrived, and there was no scheduled wind storm for another three weeks. The storm only lasted for about twenty minutes, however, before it all dissipated and the night became quiet again. The only sound that could be heard was that of a crying baby.
Celestia woke from an uneasy slumber to these sounds, and several thoughts ran through her mind. Why is there a baby crying in the castle? The Canterlot Hospital is three miles down the street!
Just then, a frantic maid ran into Celestia’s bed chamber, carrying a small, lavender colored filly.
“P..P..Princess...I found this here young un’ crying next ta Discord’s statue. What shoulda’ do?”
Celestia looked at the little filly, and then back to the maid. Both the origin of the surprise filly and the purpose to which it might be put immediately flashed before her.
Reaching a decision, the Princess of the Sun said, “Well, this seems to be another one of Discord’s little tricks. I believe we shall raise this filly, as one of our own. When Discord makes his return, she may be the key to defeating him.”
That same night, elsewhere in the castle, a young orange colt was just starting to learn to walk. His mother, Ruby Folio, had finally been allowed to return to her work as the castle librarian and was trying to teach her young colt ambulatory skills before her return in the morning. His father Sear Prism, one of the castle mages, was off on business that night. Strangely enough, at the same moment that Celestia was taking the unknown filly in her arms, young Tuxedo Prism was successfully taking his first steps. A filly and a colt, both new in Equestria...
1 YEAR LATER
It had been a year since the odd storm came about, bringing a new pony into the world. Celestia had been personally teaching the young lavender filly everything she would need to know to be a functioning member of society.
While the Princess was teaching the filly now known as Screwball, young Tuxedo was beginning his first days of schooling in magic kindergarten. While most children waited until they were three or four to start their schooling, his parents had noticed how adept he was to learning new things quickly. They had decided it would be best for him to start his schooling as early as possible, and they were correct. He was quickly moving towards the head of his class, both in learning magic and reading and writing skills.
After a few months of schooling it became apparent to Celestia that Screwball was a hopeless cause. She had decided it would be in the filly’s best interest to just keep her contained in the castle since, as the Princess eventually came to say, Screwball was the ‘embodiment of the spirit of perverseness’. When Celestia taught her about being kind and listening to other ponies, Screwball did the opposite. She ignored any testing thrown at her and even made fun of the test givers. This behavior persisted, and it had become obvious to the royal Alicorn that this truly was the daughter of Discord, the god of chaos. Celestia decided it would be in the filly’s best interest to keep her contained within the castle walls, so that she would not cause too much trouble in the outside world of Equestria. All efforts were made to keep her from feeling like a prisoner.
Screwball accepted her new life, and, like Tuxedo, was a very progressive learner at things she enjoyed. She could speak with elegant language, at times, but usually misused a few words and never made sense. It was still astonishing that a filly only a year old could even pronounce such words, but, if it was needed for a prank, Screwball could say it.
It was around this same time that young Tux was starting to become the head of his class, not to mention the envy of the other ponies. He was quickly alienated by his classmates, and frequently responded to questions about playdates with, “What friends, mother?”
This sad state of affairs continued, much to his parent’s worry and his own disappointment. It was not until, on the way home one day that things began to change.
Tuxedo saw strange lavender filly walking into a wall repeatedly He stopped and dropped his saddle bag to go see what was wrong with her, happy for some distraction from an otherwise regularly disappointing day.
He called out to her “Miss! Miss, Is something the matter?”
The lavender pony quickly turned around and stared blankly at young Tuxedo. Tux noticed how her eyes were not like that of a normal pony, but instead, a single shade of purple with no noticeable pupil. It gave him a start, but was easily the most interesting thing he had seen recently.
While Tux was staring at strange pony, she gave him her reply. “FRAGGLEROCK!”
The young unicorn stared blankly at this response “What!?”
“Fragglerock,” said the strange lavender pony, by way of clarification. A smile rose across her face as she elaborated by saying “isrockthatisfragglesandandand doyoulikebananas?”
The orange unicorn stared blankly at the strange earth pony. After a moment’s hesitation, he said again, “Are you alright?”
She stared at him with a gleam in her eyes. “BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!”
Tux couldn’t help but laugh at this statement and how outrageous it was. Screwball stared at the orange unicorn with a puzzled look.
“whylaughatscrewwwwyyy?”
“Because you are quite a silly filly”.
She looked at him with a smile and nodded in agreement. Tux continued. “Would you like to come over for dinner? If it’s all right with your parents.”
The lavender filly looked back, confused. “whatparents, I liveinthecastlewithCelestia andshetrytoteachmebutvoice inheadsaystodo oppositeandIdothatand jokeheeheehee.”
The unicorn was stunned at this statement, but tried his best to hide the shock from his face.
“Why don’t you go ask the Princess if it would be alright if you spent some time with me? I need a friend, and it looks like you could too.”
Screwball stared blankly at the orange colt and then nodded, finally understanding. With a loud “BEEP” the filly was off, more excited than usual, and galloping happily to and fro in search of Celestia.
Tuxedo looked after her.
“My, what a strange filly...”
Moonstruck
Chapter 2: Growing Up
As Screwy ran home to find out if she could go visit with Tux some more, she heard the voice again.
Interesting... Screwy’s made a friend, hmm?
She had never told anyone about it until her voice, and it had never seemed odd to her until she met that orange colt. He didn’t seem to mind that she was a little crazy and in fact seemed to enjoy her company. She was thrilled that he invited her over. The poor filly had never had much in the way of friends, and no one would spend much time with her because of her mischief and oddness. She had never been able to go anywhere special and she was very excited to be able to go visit with another pony. Her dreams were going to be short lived, though.
As she entered the royal dinning hall she was met by a very irate Princess.
“Where have you been, young one?” asked the Princess.
“Iwastakingwalkandmetniceunicornandheinvitemetodinnerandstuff!” replied the lavender filly.
The Princess gave the young filly a confused look, her anger momentarily derailed. “What do you mean, Screwball?” she inquired.
“LikeIsaidbefore Imetacolt namedTuxedo andheinvitedmeto comeoverandhavedinner andstuff.” replied the silly filly. Thinking on it a moment, she added a word (a rather unfamiliar word) that she realized was correct.
“Likeafriend!FriendforScrewy!”
The Princess’s anger subsided slightly and a feeling of glee came over her as she realized that the young chaotic pony had found a companion. “Do you want to go?” the Princess asked.
“BEEEP! yusIwould” the lavender filly said.
“Then you may. But don’t forget your saddle bag.” replied the Princess.
“okokokokokokok thankyouPrincess!” replied the lavender filly, as she went to grab her things. She left with an enormous smile on her face.
Tux, meanwhile, had gone home to tell his parents the news.
“I’ve done it mother, I’ve done it!” he exclaimed.
“What? What have you done?” Ruby inquired.
“I finally did it, I made a friend!”
“That’s wonderful, dear, but keep your voice down.” she said tenderly. “Sear is still trying to recover from that fight last night.”
“What fight?” Tux asked.
“Oh, did I forget to tell you...” Ruby said softly “Your father..well...he encountered some diamond dogs trying to steal the royal gems, and I’m afraid he was injured in the fray.”
“Is he going to be alright?” the young colt’s face was an image of worry and fear.
“He’ll be fine, Tux. Mostly just cuts and bruises.” Tux’s mother smiled to reassure him.
“Okay, mother.” Tux replied. “Would it be alright if my new friend ca...” before he could finish, there was a loud knock on the door followed by an even louder ‘BEEP’. Ruby went to answer the door, only to be very surprised by what she found there.
“hihihihihihImScrewball!” said the lavender filly standing in the doorway.
Ruby stared. “...umm.... Hi there. Can I help you with something?”
“Herefordinner.....Tuxinviteme!”
Understanding dawned on the older unicorn’s face. “Well! Come right in! Any friend of my little Tuxedo is a friend of the family.”
As Screwball entered the house, a loud grumbling sound came from the bedroom.
“Oh dear!” Ruby looked worried. “You two go ahead and start without me. I need to tend to Sear.”
As Tux’s mother went to get Sear some pain relief, the two young ponies sat down and helped themselves to the delicious hay and apple stew that Ruby had prepared. After they had finished their food the two young ponies went to play some more, as Ruby was still tending to Sear. They had soon decided it would be in their best interest to make a pact.
“So then it’s settled, Screwy.” said the young colt “We will remain the best of friends until the end of days!”
“yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes” replied the lavender filly. “alsoyouhelpmefind,daddylateronsright?”
“Of course, Screwy!” replied the orange colt “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?.”
After a little more playing, Screwball decided it would be best to return to her room at the castle. While she was truly happy with Tux, she was still new to having a friend, and wanted some time to think about it.
The following year seemed to go by very fast for young Tuxedo, as he spent the majority of his time hanging out with his new best friend. The duo did everything little ponies loved to do. They hunted for their cutie marks all through the year and explored every inch of the castle. Under special permission from the Princess they went out to explore Canterlot as well. They played tag with some of the under-privileged ponies who lived in the slums, and collected treasures from around the city.
They also learned about their shared love of practical jokes and pranks. The majority of the jokes the two young ponies played were on poor Tux’s mother. She would be organizing the royal library or shelving some new books when suddenly she would pick up a semi-open book only to have it explode with streamers and confetti. She took the jokes with a light heart, but still, warned Tux not to bother his father with them or there would be harsh consequences.
After Tux had graduated magic kindergarten he was then sent into grade school where he would learn even more about the joys of pranks. Since Screwball wasn’t allowed to be left alone in the castle while Celestia was taking care of her daily routine it was decided that the best course of action would be to send her to school with her friend, Tuxedo. She was never formally enrolled as a student and she was exempt from all tests but, she was still expected to attend classes. This kept Screwball happy and gave the rest of the castle staff a few hours of total peace each day.
As their lives progressed, Tuxedo learned about himself and his natural talent for not only magic but also learning in general. He was much younger than most of the other ponies in his classes and was an easy target for bullying. Verbal attempts were usually in vain (Tux didn’t care what other ponies thought, and could easily return insults that were infuriating). Most insults led to a physical confrontation after school.
This is where Screwball would save Tux’s life many times. She was always at his side. She usually started talking backwards and rolling her eyes around to scare the bullies away from Tux. That did not always work, however, instead causing all of the attention directed at Tux to get transferred over to Screwy. The bullies focusing on the lavender pony caused Tux to do the thing he hated most, which was using his magic for violence. At one point the amount of trouble the two were in was so immense that Tux had to lift a statue of Celestia out of ground and hold it over the bullies’ heads, threatening to drop it with quick dips. Luckily, in the end, no one was hurt and Tux was able to put the statue back in its original place.
Their antics hadn’t gone unnoticed though. Celestia had been a witness to Tux’s display of strength. Tux was now in his seventh year of schooling when Celestia had approached him about his skills.
“You have a lot of potential, young one” said the Princess sternly.
“Thank you ,Princess! Tux knew this was a high compliment coming from the ruler of Equestria, but was worried by her tone.
“You are most welcome”, Celestia replied. “Why, though, did you opt out of my advanced magic courses?”
“Well, Princess... “ Tux searched for the right way to phrase what he had to say, glancing behind him at the lavender filly approaching. He pointed to her.
“Because then I wouldn’t be able to spend anytime with my best friend, Screwball.”
“I see. You are indeed the Tuxedo that she is always talking about. I thought so. I want to thank you for all that you have done for her, and for me as well. You’ve helped not only her self-esteem but also have all but gotten rid of the voice she hears.”
“I see,” replied the young colt. “I have never been able to figure out what that voice was supposed to be. Would you care to tell me?”
The Princess sighed. “I wish I could, but alas, not even I know that.”
Celestia, of course, knew full well that the voice was that of none other than Discord, but she wouldn’t dare reveal that he had even the slightest presence in Equestria since his banishment.
“Well, thank you anyway. I thought maybe the voice would be a clue to us finding her parents... But I suppose it was just a phase she went through.” Tuxedo began to leave.
Celestia stopped him, then stared for a moment at the colt in front of her. “W...why would you need to know that?”
“Well when we first met we made a pact, to be best friends until we die, and that I would help her find out who her parents are, and where they came from.” he replied. “Why is it a problem, Princess?”
“Well, it’s not really a problem. It’s simply that... Well... Her parents had a very diverse history and a very good reason to have given her up.” Celestia smiled reassuringly at the orange unicorn.
It was then that the lavender filly arrived at both of them. “HIhihihihihIPrincess and hihihihihiTux!!” she exclaimed.
“Hello, Screwball.”
“Hey, Screwy!!”
Tuxedo turned to Celestia. “Well Princess, we must be off. We owe my mother some work in the library today for the prank we pulled on her last week.”
“I hope you two have fun!”
And with that, the duo were off. They often had to work in the library; not because they had to repay Ruby, but so they could research Screwball’s family. So far they had come up with nothing, but they were not deterred by this lack of success and continued researching every chance they had. They kept at it through their schooling years.
Unfortunately, though, time moves on. Eventually, Tux came to the age where he would be sent off to high school, where Screwy, who was confined to the castle grounds and nearby areas, would not be able to follow. Things looked grim for the two, but they refused to worry.
After all, they would be friends forever. And ever....
Chapter 3: Emotional Years
Moonstruck
Chapter 3: Emotional Years
The young unicorn colt had just started with his High School education when the his young filly friend, Screwball, had made a breakthrough on her origins. She had discovered a journal pertaining to a certain chaotic night in which the weather was out of control. On the same day she was found in the castle, ten years ago. Screwball realized that this journal would be a prime chance to find out about where she came from and who her parents might be.
Tonight started all well until that damn storm started. The storm dun knocked out all our communications with the other cities and towns in Equestria. I hope we find out who started this and make them pay. Probably some pegasus. The big storm wasn’t supposta happen for another week.
Oh, lordy, who am I kidding? This storm wasn’t caused by no pony. Not even Celestia knows who dun this. I hope it isn’t anything too major. Could it be the Everfree Forest? Maybe- hang on, somepony’s at the door.
*********
Da Princess is sending me out to check on Discord’s statue, I dun know why. Am gonna go check when that darn storm lets up.
*********
Just returned from checkin tha’ statue and dun found nuffin. I swear I keep hearin’ dis damned baby cryin’. I dun know how that’s possible when we aren’t even close to da hospital!
*********
The crying sound is gettin ta be insufferable. Am gonna go check the statue again for.
*********
I just returned from da Princess’ chamber. I can’t believe what ah found...
.
The pages were torn out of the journal from there, leaving Screwball with even more unanswered questions and very few answers. She wanted to know what happened and who was the owner of this journal. She also wanted to know why Celestia never told her about this night and how she ended up int the castle. She was beginning to get angry with the Princess when she heard a voice. The same voice that had plagued her for a long time, off and on.
“Ahhh, it’s quite good to talk to you again, young one.” said the voice.
“Is...isityou...again....Ithoughtyouweregone!” exclaimed Screwball. Luckily, she was alone, so nopony was there to hear her.
“Oh, my dear, it is impossible to get rid of me! Your world depends on me. Without my influence, your life would simply cease to exist,” replied the strange voice.
“Whowhowho...whoareyou?” stammered the lavender pony.
“Now, how do you not even recognize your own father? I am disappointed in you, young Screwball.” said the voice sternly.
The lavender filly yelled out, “IDON’TKNOWYOU!”
“Oh, quite on the contrary, my dear. Everypony knows me, for I am the balance that keeps your world from collapsing. No matter how hard your dear Princess- [Screwball could hear the condescension in the voice]- tries to get rid of me, I will continue to exist and will always have some presence in your world.”
“b....butWhooooareyou?” replied Screwball.
“I thought you were more resourceful than this, my daughter. Ah, well. ‘Tis most likely my own fault for making you... such a screwball, as ‘twere.”
Screwball held her breath. Finally...
I am your father, the god of chaos and disharmony. I’m....”
However, before the voice could finish Ruby burst in.
“What’s with all the yelling, dear?” asked Ruby tenderly.
“it..itwasnuffin” replied Screwball.
“It didn’t sound like nothing. Are you positive you’re alright?”
“Yes Ibeok Ruby.”
“Alright, Screwy. Calm down.”
“ok...cando!”
Screwball left. She ran out of the library and headed over to the high school to meet with Tux, like normal. When she arrived, however, she couldn’t find him anywhere. He hadn’t gone to their normal meeting place outside of the school, and it was starting to get late. Screwy waited there for a little while before the voice returned to her.
“He’s not coming, he doesn’t care about you. ….. But I do.” said the voice
“thatislie.....wearebestfriends.....tilldeath,” Screwball replied angrily.
“Then where, oh where, is your beloved friend?” the voice asked.
“Hebehere.......healwayshere...”
Screwball was beginning to get worried. Just then, however, the orange colt strolled up.
“H...hey Screwy, sorry I’m late” he said. Tus seemed a little nervous.
Screwball was oddly curious. “whatwhathwhat tooksolong?”
“Well....I...ummm..I met a pony and we were just hanging out....and I lost track of the time.” Tux’s eyes shifted from side to side.
“ooookkkkk...wellwellwell whereisthisotherpony?”
“She had to go home. I’m really sorry I’m late,” Tux repeated again.
“itfine....I foundoutabout mypast.” Screwy said softly.
Tux’s eyes lost their shiftiness. “Oh, What did you find out?”
“Iwasbornandfound onanightwhen an unschedualedstormhit (atleast atleast Ithinkit wasme) andIthinkImight bedaughter of Discord too.”
Tux was stunned. The smallest fear crept into his heart as he began to wonder about his friend and what she was capable of. All of a sudden he wasn’t so hot to be with Screwball “I..I have to go,” he said.
“butbutbut...youjustgothere!” The lavender filly was shocked.
“I know, but I spent too much with that other pony, and I should probably be home. I’ll make it up to you, I promise...”
“okay” she said with a large grin on her face. “Tomorrow,wedoadventure!”
“Uh, yeah. That sounds good to me.” Tux rushed off towards his home.
The next day Screwball waited for Tux in their usual meeting spot only to find that he was late again. She thought somehtingmustbewrong...he’dneverbelatetwodaysinarow. The voice in her head, however, merely chuckled.
She decided she would go look for him, and headed into the school to check all of the classrooms. The lavender filly was about to give up when she heard a light giggling noise, followed by a deep chuckling. She thought she recognized the second laugh, and began to head toward the sound.
The reason for Tux’s absence quickly became clear. Screwy, after staring blankly for a second, broke down and ran. Tux, noticing this, let go of the mare he was with, but Screwy ignored him and continued to run. She wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop. The voice in her head laughed maniacally. The mare Tux was with came up to him and tried to pull him back into the room to continue their exotic exploits.
And Tux went.
A few weeks passed. No one had seen or heard from Screwball. However, the word about what she had learned about her heritage had spread to the Princess, who had long since formulated a plan for the young filly, and was now seeing it come to fruition before her eyes.
Tux was worried about his friend, but the mare he was with kept his worries at bay. He couldn’t figure out why this mare liked him so much, and why she was keeping him so preoccupied, but the truth was he didn’t much care. He continued his relationship with her while Screwball remained on the sidelines, sad and almost forgotten.
Another three months went by, and no one had seen or heard from Screwball. Celestia had all of her pawns in place. The mare she had hired was keeping Tux occupied, and Screwball had just been given a reason to return to the castle.
It was late on a Saturday night when Tux got home from an outing with his mare friend. When he got there, his mother was waiting for him with a look of worry on her face.
“What’s the matter, mother?” Tuxedo asked.
Ruby cast her eyes downwards. “It..It’s your father...he.....he just went out with his squad to find Screwball.”
Tux was shocked. “What? But...she’s been missing for months now...why..why would he be searching for her...he....he” His eyes were cast downward as his mind leapt to conclusions. ”What did she do?”
“It was by order of the princess. She came by and charged him to find Screwball.”
“But... but how can she do this? She..She can’t! I won’t allow it.” he replied as the tears started to well up in his eyes. What he had been doing hit him with as much force as a lightning bolt. He realized that he had forsaken his childhood friend for a sleazy mare.
“I can’t lose my best friend!”
Ruby reached out and drew Tux into an embrace. “It’ll be ok, Tuxedo. I promise everything will get better.”
“No...No it won’t...if I ignore her now, I’ll never be able to live with myself!” he exclaimed as he broke away from his mother grasp. “I have to go find her and protect her. It’s the only way!”
Tux left in a mad dash to find his forgotten friend.
While Tux was on the hunt for Screwball, the lavender filly was on her way back to the castle. She entered into the throne room and was greeted by a distraught Celestia and her royal battlemage, Sear.
“what...whatgoingoninhere?” she asked.
Celestia took a deep breath. “Well, my dear... I always knew this day would come.”
“whatday?..Isitmybirthdayagain?” replied the lavender pony with a look of genuine confusion.
“No,” replied the Princess. “It’s....”
Before she could finish, Sear took over. “It’s because you’re the daughter of Discord. And must disposed of.”
Celestia looked down at the floor of the palace. “We must. For the safety of the kingdom.”
The alicorn’s horn started to glow brighter and brighter, until a blinding flash filled the room. Sear, who was staring intently at the lavender filly, was caught off guard. Screwball cried out. When the room cleared there appeared to be a barrier around the edges of the room. Screwball looked up and saw the bright light still emanating from Celestia’s horn. She realized that the princess had made it impossible for her to escape.
Sear, meanwhile, took this as an opportunity to attack. He lunged forward, pointing his now glowing horn, and a fireball erupted from it. The filly noticed Sear’s aggressive action and flattened herself out on the ground in an almost cartoon-like manner. As the fireball passed over her, the immense heat from it singed her mane and she let out a loud and painful “BEEP!!”
She began to cry. The father of her used-to-be best friend was attacking her with no remorse. He was trying to kill her, and the Princess, who she considered a mother, was aiding him in doing so. All she could do was attempt to dodge the onslaught of attacks Sear threw at her. He shot fireball after fireball at her and she managed to dodge each one. She knew this was life or death. She stopped to wonder how she could escape, but in doing so, she momentarily forgot about Sear. She realized all of a sudden that the secret to escape would be to simply keep the Princess from concentrating. As she turned to look at the alicorn, a fireball took her in the back, singing off much of her mane.
“BEEEEEEEEPPPPPP!”
*******
A distraught Tuxedo was wandering around the courtyard, calling out for Screwball. When he heard the loud beep, he thought, What could be making her cry out like that?
Tux immediately started to sprint towards the castle to rescue his friend. He had gone about half the distance to the castle when his special mare friend stepped out from behind a tree and tripped the colt.
As he rose back on his hooves, he recognized her and cried out, “What in the hay did you do that for??!!”
“Because you can’t save her,” she replied sternly.
“Wh...what do you mean?” Tux asked with a puzzled look.
“She’s evil. You can’t save her,” she repeated.
“How can you say that!” the orange colt shouted. “You don’t even know her!”
“But I do know about where she comes from. And that she knows, too.”
“What does that have to do with it?” Tux asked frantically. His mind was starting to clear some, but he was still desperate.
“It has everything to do with it. Can you even think? She is Discord’s daughter. Therefore, she is a goddess. A goddess of chaos. That means she can summon Discord to enslave Equestria again. And you’d condone that?”
Her tone startled Tux. He had never heard her like this before. “She would never do such a thing! She is a good pony and an even better friend!”
Tux’s horn started to glow brightly as his anger increased. When the mare noticed his horn, she backed off some. She had been well advised of his parentage and what he could be capable of.
“Look....You know what she is....You had to have known it would have come to this,” she said.
Tux’s eyes were filled with tears. “I knew!...how could anyone have missed it....she was always different...b-but that doesn’t change anything! ......We’ll be friends until the end of time!”
Noticing how his emotions were affecting him, she stood her ground and thought He seems so emotionally weak for the son of a powerful stallion. Still, to cross him...
But before she could counter his attack, there was a bright flash and Tux was gone.
“That sneaky colt.......he teleported away,” she said as she began to slowly walk away from the castle. I have to get out of here she thought. If not Celestia will surely have my head.
Back in the castle, Screwball was still attempting to avoid the onslaught of attacks from Sear, while trying to distract Celestia enough to make an escape. As she jumped over a large fireball she saw her chance. She ran directly in front of the Princess and waited for Sear to attack her again. As expected, the mage attacked her again. As the fireball approached Screwball, she stared in amazement as time seemed to slow down until it felt like everything had stopped. It was then that she heard the familiar voice that called itself her father.
How can someone such as yourself be getting beaten by two pathetic ponies? Your plan might work, but why not use your own powers to save yourself?
The voice fell silent again, possibly watching to see what would happen. Screwball, however, now knew what she had to do. As time restarted itself she disappeared completely. She was still trapped by the Princess’ barrier, but luckily she wouldn’t be detected, thanks to the fireball. As it hurled along its path, it headed straight for the Princess who was forced to drop her barrier to protect herself. As the barrier fell, Tux, who had teleported himself just outside the room, rushed in to see what was happening.
“What’s going on in here??!” he cried out.
His father, who was beginning to tire, and the Princess both gave him a cold stare. They knew what they had to do, but they also knew the young colt was still very impressionable. To do what needed to be done in front of him....
“It was Screwball,” Sear started.
“What about her?” Tux asked as he frantically searched the room for his friend.
“She came into the throne room and attacked us. She said it was in the name of Discord,” Sear replied.
“What?” Tux exclaimed. “Th....that....that’s impossible...she...she would....No! She would never do that! I know her!.”
“But she did, young one,” the Princess replied. “She tried to kill myself and your father.”
“But..but...” Tux tried to find a reason for why the lavender filly he had befriended so long ago would do such a thing, but could find none. “She...she was....”
Tux stopped. He realized he hadn’t been with Screwball for months. She could have changed. Maybe he didn’t know her anymore. He broke out into tears and ran to his father.
“It’ll be okay, son....everything will be back to normal before you know it,” his father reassured him.
“No...It’ll never be normal again....she’s gone....and and..I couldn’t even tell her goodbye.” he cried out.
As father and son were talking, Screwball, who was now on the other side of the room, could hear everything. She knew she’d never be able to see Tux again after what the Princess and his father had just told him. She decided that her best option was to just leave, without attracting attention to herself. She’d decide what to do from there. So while more and more ponies were showing up to find out what had happened, she took her leave.
Tux, however, was never the same after this night. He spent his last years of High School in solidarity. He had decided on his own that he wouldn’t stay in Canterlot and he would not, could not follow in either of his parent’s hoof steps.
He had decided to move to Manehatten and get his college education there.
