Prologue
When you’re young, everypony tells you that you can be anything when you grow up. Sure you could say that you want to be a baker, a princess, a librarian, a Wonderbolt, an animal caretaker, a fashion designer, or a farmer. But what if you wanted to be something else? What if you wanted to be something that not many ponies would see as normal?
In the Ponyville Schoolhouse, all the little fillies and colts sat at their desks waiting to say what wanted to be when they grew up.
“What do you want to be when you grow up, Cheerilee,” the teacher asked the young filly.
With a smile on the filly’s face, she replied, “I want to be a teacher like you when I grow up!”
The teacher smiled, “That’s very good, Ms. Cheerilee. I have a feeling you will be a wonderful teacher.”
Sitting to the right of Cheerilee was a light blue Earth pony. Playing with her silver mane, the filly was poised and ready to be called on by the teacher but what everypony didn’t expect was what the filly would say.
What are you gonna’ tell ‘em, a disembodied voice asked. Looking around the filly wondered where the voice came from.
“What?” Confused, she continued to wait to be called on.
You and I both know what you’re going to say. Go on and-
Before the voice could finish speaking, it was her turn. The students directed their attention to her as the question was now directed towards her.
“And what would you like to be when you grow up, Sapphire Gray,” the teacher asked her.
“When I grow up, I want to be… a dog!” the small filly exclaimed with a proud smile on her face.
The silence that followed Sapphire’s answer brought everything in the schoolhouse to a halt. Seeing all the odd looks, the fillies smile slowly turned into a confused frown. This lull was then followed by a mix of whispers and chatter accompanied by scattered snickering. The silence was then killed by a single comment.
“FREAK!”
This insult came from a colt sitting in the back of the room. Before the teacher could reprimand him, the room erupted in a crescendo of laughter and scattered insults. With the classroom descending into disarray, the teacher had to let the troublemaker’s comment slide to maintain order in her classroom. Amidst the chaos, Sapphire Gray grabbed her saddlebag and fled from the schoolhouse. No matter how hard she tried to shake off what her classmates called her, the words couldn’t escape her head as she galloped over the bridge and into Ponyville.
“Shut up! I’m not a freak! Shut up! Stop yelling at me!” she screamed as the voices in her head grew louder.
Ponies stopped in their tracks as Sapphire Gray darted past them; barking at ponies to get out of her path. The day quickly turned into a blurred memory. After blinking her tear filled eyes for only a brief moment, she found herself standing in the middle of Everfree Forest.
How did she get there? Her hooves were sore and covered in dirt and mud. It felt as if she was running for hours. Scared and alone, the only source of light was the moon in the night sky above her. On the face of the moon, the imprint of a mare looked back down at her; lighting her way. With the voices gone, Sapphire became aware of her surroundings. She felt alone. The only friends she had was the voice in her head and the moonlight guiding her way.
The light glowing around her illuminated the muddy moss covered trail. On both sides of the path were areas shrouded in almost unnatural darkness where the canopy of trees was so thick that moonlight couldn’t even shine through. The only lights that could be seen was the glowing of countless eyes of various threatening hues (red, yellow, purple, and green). With every glance to either sides of the path, ominous growls turned into threatening snarls. Ghastly faces formed on the trees from the dark void of foliage and glowing eyes.
On the verge of tears, Sapphire ran down the path as fast as she could. She wanted to go home. Better yet, she just wanted to be alone. As she ran down the muddy path, she approached a large clearing. In the center of the clearing was a statue of an Alicorn that towered over the filly. The stone Alicorn fashioned ornate armor with its wings extended outward as it stood on its hind legs on top of a pedestal.
Staring up at the statue, Sapphire could hear distant laughter which was followed by distant howls from both Timberwolves and wolves alike. Frightened by what creatures could be watching her, Sapphire turned back and galloped back down the beaten path which seems like it went on forever. She ran without any intention of stopping to look back. The sounds grew louder and louder until even the voices that haunted her returned. With tears in her eyes, she galloped down the path until she could see the lights illuminating from Ponyville. As mysteriously the sounds came, they were gone. Silence. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her heart racing, her heavy shaking breathes, and the chirping of crickets hiding in the tall grass.
Running…running from ponies that judged her for being different... barking as she fled… this was something that would carry on for years to come.
Author's Note
I think I spent more time trying to come up with a name for Screwloose than anything else. I couldn't come up with anything. Making Screwloose her name right off the bat just messed with the flow of the story and made it near impossible to progress. Since I couldn't find any preexisting ideas for what Screwloose's birth name, I had to do tons of studying. I first thought of making her and Shoeshine the same pony but decided keep them as separate entities. I then tried putting my knowledge from Color Theory class to use and settled on the name, Sapphire Gray.
Making a flashback the prologue would help set the mood of the story and give a bit of an origin.
I hope everyone enjoys my take on Screwloose's story.
Sapphire Gray
Screwloose
Sapphire Gray lived in Ponyville for most of her life. As an outcast, she had few friends. When her parents moved to Baltimare, she chose to stay behind and live in Ponyville with her sister. Whether she was mentally stable enough to take care of herself was debatable. Looking after her was her sister, Shoeshine, a young mare who owned a shoe and horseshoe tailoring business in Ponyville.
As Sapphire grew older, the voice in her head did not disappear. Almost as if it had a life of its own, the voice interacted with her on a daily basis. Sapphire knew the voice was a friendly one. It supported Sapphire’s dream of becoming a dog (despite how odd that dream sounded). This dream was more than some foalish fantasy that would vanish during her transition into adulthood. This dream…this destiny was something Sapphire knew she could achieve but wasn’t entirely sure how.
Being a bit unbalanced, Sapphire Gray earned nicknames over the years. The two names that stood out the most were Screwloose and Screwy. While you might find yourself wondering who would call her names like that, the reasons are not the most pleasant. Since her filly years, Sapphire was bullied and picked on by her classmates as well as most of the fillies and colts she met during her life in Ponyville.
One summer day, Sapphire watched ponies pass by from her bedroom window in the attic. Her room wasn’t a shabby one. As a filly, her parents renovated the attic and turned it into bedroom for her. It was…nice. It gave her privacy and solitude. Sapphire Gray liked to be alone.
All the ponies in Ponyville were preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration. A pony (a Unicorn) arrived earlier that day from Canterlot to supervise the preparations for the festivities. It had been quite some time since the Summer Sun Celebration was last held in Ponyville. As she looked through the window, she could see Shoeshine approaching the house. Climbing down from her bed, she bolted downstairs to help her sister with the groceries.
“Hey, Sapphire, the Summer Sun Celebration is tonight. There’s going to be a party at Town Hall. Want to come?” she asked as she placed her saddlebag on the kitchen table. She nodded to Shoeshine,
“Sure, I’ll go with you.”
After helping Shoeshine with the groceries, Sapphire went outside to see if she could help with any preparations for the celebration. On the way to Town Hall, Sapphire could hear birds singing from across the river. As she crossed the bridge, she saw the Unicorn and her dragon from Canterlot speaking with Fluttershy, a Pegasus and one of the local animal caretakers. As quickly they had arrived, they were gone. The last thing Sapphire heard was the beginning of the dragon’s story.
“Well…I started out as a cute little purple and green egg…”
Approaching the choir of birds perched on a branch; the pony tilted her head to the side like a confused (but curious) pup.
This is the choir? The voice in her head wondered.
“Um…I guess.” The two stared at the birds confusedly as they stared back down at them.
“Hey look,” a voice shouted.
“Screwy is trying to talk to birds now! I guess the tramp thinks she’s a bird now too!”
In a small twitching spasm, Sapphire turned around and saw a pair of younger fillies standing at the bridge. A pale magenta filly named Diamond Dazzle Tiara, and her posse, a bluish gray filly named Silver Spoon.
Let it go, Sapphire…, the voice said as it tried to keep her calm. Trying not to growl, she whimpered and took a deep breathe.
“Buzz off, Diamond Tiara,” she replied. The fillies scoffed at Sapphire’s comeback.
“Oh look! Screwloose thinks she’s tougher than us!” Silver Spoon taunted.
“Shut up!” Sapphire Gray shouted and barked as she charged at them.
The fillies laughed as they ran off in the opposite direction; knowing that Sapphire couldn’t keep up. Having chased the fillies across Ponyville, she gave up and sat on the steps outside of Sugarcube Corner as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon galloped away beyond her line of sight. All that remained was their chanting as they galloped away.
“Screwloose! Screwloose! Screwy, screwy, Screwloose!”
The chants lingered before quickly fading as they traveled further away. Sapphire sighed as she sat on the steps in front of the bakery.
“Screwloose?” a new voice repeated curiously.
Sapphire looked up and around wondering where the high pitched voice was coming from. Before she could look behind her, she found a pink frizzy hair Earth pony leaning on her shoulder.
“Screwloose? Screwy Screwloose? Screw, screwy? Screwy, screwy, Screwloose?” she repeated with a tone that sounded more and more confused with each repetition. Brushing her messy gray mane away from her face as she looked up to the pink pony.
“Um…no my name is-“, before she could even start to explain, the pink pony cut her off.
“Who’s screws are loose? Oh! Wait! Wait! You’re Screwloose!” she exclaimed.
“I…-“, once again the energetic pink pony cut her off.
“Screwy, screwy, screws? Screw…loose…you’re Screwloose!” she concluded as she hopped up from Sapphire’s shoulder before prancing in a circle around her.
“Really…could you please-“, for the third time, the pony interrupted her.
“Screwloose! That’s a really awesome name! I wish name was Screwloose but name’s Pinkie Pie! By the way, my name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?! Oh yeah you just said it was Screwloose! Nice to meet you, Screwloose!” Unsure what just happened, Sapphire stared at her with a confused (yet shy) stare.
Just roll with it, the voice insisted.
“You…think it’s an okay name,” she asked.
“Yeah! Coolest name I’ve ever heard! I know a lot of pony names so coolest name so far!” Pinkie Pie complimented enthusiastically. Sapphire blushed but for some reason, she felt alright with the name. Normally, the name was like a knife in her chest but when that pink pony complimented the nickname, the feeling was gone. With the name lacking the sting that it used to, she decided to keep the name and see how it stuck.
“Um…yeah…my name’s Screwloose and thanks.” Pinkie Pie smiled and sat down next to Screwloose.
“So were those little fillies your friends,” she asked. Screwloose looked down at her dirty hooves.
“Not really. They were actually picking on me because I’m…well…I’m different.” Pinkie Pie frowned and placed her hoof on Screw’s shoulder.
“That’s not very nice. How are you different,” she asked.
“Well, I want to be a dog,” she confessed to the pink pony.
Bridge burning in three…two…-
But before he could finish counting, Pinkie Pie reassured her.
“That’s not weird at all! Everypony wants to be something when they grow up! I wanted to be a balloon once but then I realized that I couldn’t fly but gosh darn it I tried!” Screwloose gave a weak smile to Pinkie’s comforting words and chuckled.
“See there you go, Screwy! Everypony is special! Just remember that,” Pinkie assured her.
“Hey! I’m going to be throwing a surprise welcome party for my new friend at the library! You should come,” Pinkie Pie offered her. Screwloose smiled and nodded.
“Sure, I’ll come.”
With a big smile on her face, Pinkie Pie helped Screwloose back up onto all fours and pulled the wagon of baked goods out from the front door of the bakery. The pink wagon was stacked with cupcakes, bowls of punch, and a collection of colorful balloons tethered to the handle. Screwloose had never seen cart so colorful in her life. The sight was something that brought a positive feeling that would stick with Screwloose for the rest of the day.
“Come on! We gotta hurry! She’s going to be at the library at any moment,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she started to swiftly push the cart up the street to the library tree.
Screwloose followed behind the pink pony as they rushed over and into the library where dozens of ponies were already preparing inside. As quickly as they set up, Pinkie closed the blinds and put out the lights. The inner voice chuckled,
I’m pretty sure half of Ponyville is crammed in here.
Suddenly, the front door swung open. She could hear the pony talking as she stepped inside.
“Yes, yes, we’ll get right on that. Well, good night,” the purple unicorn said as she slammed the door shut. She could hear another voice in the midst of the darkness.
“Heh…rude much…,” the disembodied male voice commented with displeasure. The Unicorn apologized,
“Sorry, Spike. But I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we’re running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now where’s the light?”
Crazy? Making friends? Sounds like you, Screwloose, he joked light heartedly.
“Shut up,” Screwloose tried to whisper to the voice without drawing attention to herself. In a sudden flash, the lights were back on.
“SURPRISE!” the dozens of ponies shouted in unison.
