From Regret to Rage

by GivingSpider

Rating: teen
Tags: Screwball, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Sad, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike
Length: 7669

Screwball laments her father being trapped in stone for the second time. Then she decides to do something about it.

Screwball laments her father being trapped in stone for the second time. Then she decides to do something about it.

Something terrible.

Takes place before season 3.

Rated for implied unfortunate events

Published 2015-02-23 14:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-13 00:36:02 UTC

Chapter 1

Characters used here are property of their respected owners

-

Summer had arrived and brought very comfortable weather with it.  Practically all of Equestria was actively enjoying the season’s bounty of sun and fun.  From the golden coasts to the small towns nestled in the hearts of old forests there was much rejoicing.  Celestia’s sun graciously sent warm rays that seemed to still give comfort and joy after the moon had taken its place.  If there ever was a perfect time to spend with family; this had to be that time.

Unless of course your father was trapped in stone and in what looked like a state of agony.

Screwball slowly climbed her petrified parent and hugged his cold and hard neck.   She glanced at the sun and muttered a silent curse.  Everypony except her had found comfort in the warm glow.  Everypony except her loved the sun.  Screwball wasn’t a real fan of the moon or its master but she easily hated Celestia more than Luna.

She glanced around the garden where her father stood and could see the castle.  She saw the grand stained glass windows that decorated the audience chamber.  The young filly could make out the simple pictures that depicted the six ponies that put him back in his statue form shortly after he escaped.  Six ponies who each and every day since enjoyed their time with their loved ones and never once thought about her sadness.

A lone tear crept from her eye as she averted her gaze.   Screwball gently nuzzled her father’s neck and muttered a silent wish for him to be free again, but just like her words for the sun there was no reply from anypony or anything.

The young earth pony steadily crept to the top of her father’s head and looked around the garden again.  She had inherited Discord’s powers, imagination and his love of chaos.  She could go forth and find plenty of amusement.  If there was no amusement to be found she could create some at will.  She could spend an entire day playing pranks on the unsuspecting in memory of her father’s antics.  Screwball had even formed a very complex plan that resulted in taking off with the manes of Celestia and Luna and hiding them in a box full of paper snakes sitting on a pressure sensitive trigger wired to paint their coats a putrid green.  She giggled to herself as she wiped away at her eye.   She was so sure that her father would have loved to see it that she was ready to sign her name under it.  Even if it meant that she would be caught.

Screwball paused in her thoughts at the sound of somepony coming.  She looked and saw a family of five moving through the garden.  She didn’t pay any mind to what they were saying.  She didn’t pout or threaten when the youngest stopped to make fun of her father’s distorted body.  She simply watched them proceed with their little family outing.

By the time they were gone her tears were back in force.  She was so broken that she just about lost her focus on the magic that kept her invisible.  Screwball clung to her father’s antler for support as she sobbed.  Even though her family was close enough to tightly hug she felt intolerable lonely.  Her father was literally right under her hooves yet he was so far away.  She let her body slide downward until she rested in his outstretched arms.  She lay there pretending that his warm limbs were really holding to mask the reality that she was in an uncomfortable position on what may as well be two long suspended rocks.  She looked at the sun and offered a more audible insult.  She looked at the window dedicated to her father’s second defeat and with the shake of her hoof she donated some colorful language to the silent garden.

Two guards came into view after that.  They glanced around in a thorough search for the outbursts and went from indignant to very confused.  Screwball took some comfort in their confusion and admitted that it did make her feel a tiny bit better.  She admitted that this wasn’t the first time she took her frustration out on the sentries that patrolled the garden; but she also had to admit that her problems weren’t with them.  The guards themselves did nothing to her father.

She looked at the sun.  She had to make Celestia pay.  She looked at where the moon would rise from.   She had to make Luna pay.  She looked at the stained glass window.  She had to make the Element Bearers pay.

She wiped her tears away and saw another family coming.  Or was it the same one just going back to the exit?  Screwball didn’t care.  She stared at them from her perch on her father’s practically dead arms.  She felt a distinct heat growing in her chest the felt an awful lot like jealousy.  Her jealousy slowly burned and merged with her growing hatred.

She dropped from her spot and stepped towards them as her judgment started to fade away.  She only stopped when her anger turned into a reminder that the random family had nothing to do with her broken family.

She paused as her anger slowly turned into a plan.  She glanced at the window again and started to make careful calculations.  Time seemed to just stop mattering as she thought.  The sun fell and rose then fell again before she budged and scratched her nose.  She abruptly gave her beanie propeller a spin and rose up to her father’s neck.  She gave the cold surface a quick nuzzling before soaring off from the garden for the first time in what felt like ages.

She flew with the determination of a storm towards her destination.  She couldn’t remember ever going that fast in her life.  Screwball shot through the air with such force that it was just easier to aim at an angle towards the ground than to slow down and stop.  She pounded the ground with such force that she carved a decent wound in the ground.  She got up and shook herself off before taking note of the confused ponies who witnessed a sudden unseen force carving up the earth.  Screwball recognized the element of Honesty immediately and briefly considered skipping a few steps and getting revenge on the heartless farmer early.

She took in some deep breaths for composure.  She had a plan and was going to see it through.  Step by step.  Line by line.  Her plan was perfect and it deserved a perfect execution.

She trotted away from the farm towards the town in the distance.  She dropped her spell of invisibility just before finding herself in the streets.  She marched with purpose to her destination and sat in the road.

She waited for the damn sun to come back up.

The sun rose and she stared at the door in front of her.  At the sound of the inside latch opening she marched inside.  The smells of the bakery filled her instantly.  They almost dulled the pain in her heart.  She walked up to the Element of Laughter and gently tugged at her tail.  The older earth pony turned and looked down at Screwball with a smile.  Upon making eye contact Screwball channeled more energy and the ‘it’s a beautiful day and anything is possible’ smile turned into a cold stare.

Screwball looked deep into her eyes and uttered a simple phrase.

“I would like to order some cupcakes.”

Chapter 2

Characters used here are property of their respected owners

-

Screwball had never had to run so fast in her life.  Manipulating that pink pony had come with downright scary consequences.  The Daughter of Chaos fled the bakery in such a fever that she almost forgot to reapply her invisibility spell.  She didn’t even care that others had witnessed seeing a strange Earth Pony filly suddenly disappear into nothing.  She didn’t care who saw the door open and slam shut either.  All that mattered to her was her father and escaping the storm that she had started.

Just as soon as Screwball had released Pinkie from her gaze the energetic creature bolted into a mad frenzy.  Everything in her way was either jumped over or got out of her way.  She took another deep breath as she stepped away from the door.  Screwball turned and saw thick smoke coming from the chimney of the bakery she had escaped from.

Clearly her first target decided that the ovens weren’t good enough and elected to use the fireplace as another method of preparing cupcakes.

Pinkie’s burst of labor was enough to keep her and a good chunk of Ponyville preoccupied.  When Pinkie either broke free of the suggestion spell or exhausted herself she still wouldn’t be in any shape to leave the building to possibly get in her way.  Screwball grinned as she started towards her next target.  The biggest obstacle of her plan was the fabled ‘Pinkie Sense’; and it was no longer a threat to her.  All she had to fear now was the collective abilities of the remaining element bearers.

She skipped lightly along her path.  At her next stop she would remove two more opposing pieces from the board.

Screwball let her heart rate return to a relaxed pace.  Pinkie falling under her spell marked the beginning of the end of her father’s imprisonment.   She glanced at the sun for a moment and with very smug satisfaction she taunted the great orb in the sky.

Her path led her to a building with an atmosphere that was the exact opposite of the state she had left the bakery in.  The town’s library stood as a metaphorical monument to inner peace.  The fact that you could see Sugar Cube Corner from the library doorstep made the symbolism much easier to spot.  The eager filly took some composing breaths and ran over her plan once again.  She had two targets to deceive inside the structure and at least one of them would pose a challenge.

She ran through her plan again before dropping the spell that kept others from seeing her.  She raised her hoof and knocked on the wooden door.  After a moment it opened.  Screwball held back a growl as she looked at Twilight Sparkle.  She anticipated the dragon.  She made a few quick calculations and before the Unicorn had a chance to saw anything; Screwball put on her best pleasant face and addressed the resident librarian.

“May I come inside?”

Twilight looked down at her with a smile that did a fair job of concealing a small amount of amusement.

“Sure.” She said as she stepped aside.  “It’s a public library after all.”

Screwball stepped inside and glanced around.  Books, books and even more books upon shelves, shelves and more shelves greeted her.  She glanced around and at the sound of the door closing she asked the Unicorn another question.

“Have you read all these books?”

“Yes I have!” Twilight replied proudly and she walked up to the filly.  “If there’s anything I can help you find just let me know.”

Screwball pulled out a random book.

“You read this one?” She asked as she held it up to Twilight.

“Of course.”  Twilight replied.

“This one?”  The filly asked as she withdrew another tome.

Yes.” Twilight responded with enthusiasm.

“This one?”  Screwball asked as she pulled out yet another book.

“Yes.” The Unicorn replied with slowly diminishing enthusiasm.

Screwball continued her game until Twilight’s tone turned into an obvious attempt to be polite and humor the strange filly.  When Celestia’s student’s attention began to wane Screwball called upon her power and changed the next book she could reach.  She held it up for Twilight to see and before she could repeat her question again Twilight hurriedly snatched it up.

“I…I’ve never seen this book before!” She said with excitement.

Screwball took a step back and waited for a few moments.  Twilight had seated herself on the floor and used her magic to hold the book in front of her face.  The new fabric bound collection of paper sheets had captured her attention.  Twilight seemed to forget that Screwball was even there.

Discord’s spawn smiled to herself as she made her way up the stairs.  With Twilight indisposed she could carry out her plans for the first target without interruption.  She gave the Unicorn a last glance before leaving the public area of the library.  Twilight hadn’t budged at all.

Screwball helped herself to the upper floor and into the first door she found.  Inside she found her target as well as something very surprising and yet very predictable.  The young dragon that served as Twilight Sparkle’s assistant was sitting at a small table.  The table held a simple tea kettle and two small cups.  Across the table from the dragon was a good sized pillow with a photograph of a certain white mare with a purple mane.  She cracked a smile as the dragon softly spoke sweet nothings to the photo of his apparent beloved.  Screwball didn’t foresee this altering her plan, other than making Spike a bit more susceptible to her powers.

Screwball waited for the dragon to realize that he was being watched.  When he turned to face her his face became a crimson shade.  He started to stammer and stopped only as Screwball stepped forward and addressed the young drake.

“I think it’s kind of sweet.”  She said calmly as she made her way to an empty spot at the table.  “It’s fun to pretend to be with somepony you care about deeply…but the real thing means so much more.”

“Yeah…” Spike replied as his face returned to its normal shade.  He glanced longingly at the photo and seemed no longer fazed that a strange filly had just helped herself into the room.  “…I’d give anything…but it’ll never happen…”

“Not with that attitude it won’t.”  Screwball spoke with a degree force that made the dragon give her his full attention.  “As long as you’re content to play with a pillow and a photo you’ll never go after the real thing.  You have to get up and make your dream a reality.”

She locked her eyes onto Spike’s.  She took hold of her power and went straight to work.

“Spike…when a real dragon chooses another dragon or pony he goes right up to his object of affection and proves himself.  He puts on a display of dominance to prove that he will be a strong and protective mate.  He uses his brawn to hold his partner down without hurting them until they submit and accept; or until an outright rejection is announced.”

Spike hesitated.  He seemed slightly dazed by what he heard.  Screwball tried to imagine what was going through his head.  The dragon stood up and made a confident announcement.

“You’re right.  I’m gonna do it.  I’m going to march over there and show her how much of a dragon I am!”

Screwball took note of Spike’s lack of a certain type of drive.  She leapt from her spot and firmly planted herself in front of him.  She began to channel her power and her eyes began to swirl.

“Hey…you’re not quite ready.  You have to do it properly without hurting her.  Since you’re still small you can’t pin a Unicorn down.  If you’re weak then she’ll toss you off.”

Spike didn’t look away from the filly.  Even as he succumbed to her will he stayed locked onto her eyes.  Even as he slowly grew in size to just a bit taller than a full grown pony he continued to look into the swirling vortexes in her head.  Screwball gently let go of her spell and went on.

“Use your strength and purpose as if to seduce her.  Use rope, silk scarves or a bit gag to give your argument some impact.  Get over there and make that Unicorn yours!”

Spike’s response was to soundly pound a clenched fist against his heart.  He marched down the stairs and right out the door.  Screwball fought back her laughter.  Not only did this keep Spike and Rarity out of the game, but it left Twilight alone to fend her herself.

Something that Twilight might not be able to do.

She returned to the lower floor and saw Twilight still absorbed in her new book.  Not even the sight of a mature dragon marching out the door could get her to look away.  The summer breeze coming in from the open door didn’t distract her either.

The strong sent of smoke however, did manage to get Twilight to look up.

She dropped the book and darted to the door and from a window Screwball could see dense smoke rising from the chimney of the bakery.  Not wanting to lose her chance to ensnare the Unicorn she grabbed her power and teleported herself in Twilight’s path.  The Unicorn stopped in her tracks and stared at her.

“But…you’re an Earth Pony…you just…how…who are you?”  The librarian asked as she steped back away from the filly.

Screwball identified a problem.  Twilight now had just cause to be suspicious.  A suspicious Twilight could blow the whole thing.  Screwball grabbed at her resolve.  Her father was counting on her to get it right and she only had one shot.  She mapped out some quick changes to her plan and steeled herself for her ‘Plan B’.  She thought of her father's imprisonment.  She thought of his pain.  She though about how much she missed him.

“My horn is smaller than it should be for my age…and I’m self conscious about it…so I wear a beanie.”  Screwball said as wore a sad expression while aiming it at the floor.

Twilight seemed to be taken off guard by the words and stepped back further.

“I…I’m so sorry…I’ve never heard of that kind of thing before?  Has this affected your magic at all?  Are you a few grades behind because of it?”

Screwball strongly fought her urge to grin as Twilight had unknowingly stepped right into her improvised trap.   The filly looked right at the grown mare and went straight for the throat.

“You don’t know?” She asked as she began to channel her magic.  “Twilight…you’re about to be tested on this condition.  Did you forget?”

Twilight paused as she looked into Screwball’s eyes.  She shook her head and seemed to be resting Screwball’s spell.

“No…I never forget a test.  Not once have I ever let the Princess down like that.  Who are you?”

Twilight took at step forward.  Screwball matched the action and regained eye contact.  She elected not to take any chances and went full power.

“Never forget a test?  Like how you knew every book in the library?  You forgot Twilight…it’s as simple as that.”

Twilight couldn’t look away.  Screwball stepped closer and maintained her spell.  She reached with her magic and shut the door.

“Twilight…you need to study for your test.  You need to study.  You need to practice a spell.”

“What spell?” Twilight calmly spoke in a droning voice.

“How to unlock a body from stone petrifaction.”  Screwball replied with a grin on her face.

Chapter 3

Characters used here are property of their respected owners

-

It was a fairly uneventful Tuesday for Ponyville.  Pinkie was in the middle of a baking rampage, Twilight had locked herself away possibly to study for an important test and the Carousel Boutique was closed due to the sole worker probably needing time for what must have been some new seasonal lineup.   The sun gradually made its way across the sky, ponies went about their daily routines and the only thing out of place was a strange smiling filly with a rather unique mane and choice of headwear.

Screwball was extremely pleased with herself.  Three of the Element Bearers and the resident dragon were all out of her way and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.   Her reserves of magic had suffered more than she would have liked, but wasn’t a real setback.  There were no Unicorns left to oppose her and her scheme so as long as she had enough magic to hypnotize the rest she would have victory.  Going full power on Twilight might not have been necessary but that was the one pony where Screwball would not get a second chance.  Three of her targets were down.  She only needed to take care of the remaining half and she would have what she set out for.

She would have her father back.

She took note that a few walking ponies noticed her presence.  Lacking enough energy to keep invisibility active required some tweaking to her plans to keep the rest out of her way; but it wasn’t an obstacle she couldn’t handle.  It was just a matter of making new calculations and possibly setting aside time to recover if she needed it.

Abruptly something happened that took her focus off her plan.  Her stomach rumbled.

It wasn’t a real surprise to her.  She had skipped breakfast and didn’t remember dinner the night before.  She paused to consider when the last time she even ate was.

Putting her next objective on a metaphorical shelf she elected to turn around and go straight back to the library.  She made her way past the public area and into the owner’s own living space.  Twilight was too busy with her books to even notice Screwball’s return.  The filly started going through Twilight’s tiny kitchen space in search of something quick and filling.

Screwball tossed out the notion at the sight of half a sponge cake.

She helped herself to the treat and started to remedy her stomach’s complaints.  She completely devoured the cake in a small amount of time and briefly considered searching for another delicious thing to eat.  Her motions were disturbed by the distinct feeling of a hoof on her shoulder.

“Hey kid, Twilight knows you’re going through her stuff and eating her food?”

She had only heard the voice of Rainbow Dash once, and that one time was all she needed to recognize it coming from behind her.  She steeled herself for confrontation.  She readied her spell.  Her still unsatisfied stomach growled again, breaking her concentration.

She started to panic.  She was vulnerable.  There was no outrunning the physically adept Pegasus.  Even if she did get away, the others might be alerted.  If Twilight’s state of mind was discovered then Princess Celestia might be called to intervene.  If that happened…then all her planning would be ashes in the wind.  Her father would remain in stone and she might find it a lot harder to visit him.  She tried to grab her magic again and just like before her hunger broke her focus.  Hope seemed like the flame of a dying candle in a blizzard.

“Chill out squirt, I’m just messing with ya.  If you weren’t supposed to be in here then Spike would have ushered you out.”

Screwball froze as the cyan creature moved passed and helped herself to the fridge.  The recent events echoed in her head several times over.  Rainbow Dash took out a carton of milk and drank straight from the container.  Screwball remained still.  Rainbow Dash helped herself to a brownie.  Screwball remained in her stunned state.  Rainbow Dash fixed herself a sandwich.  Screwball managed to get her breathing under control.

At least for a moment.  The athlete gave her an inquisitive look.  Screwball steeled herself for an interrogation.  She tried to get her spell ready but still couldn’t focus.

“Chill out kid.”  The paragon of loyalty said with a smirk.  “It’s really me; the best flier in Equestria.  I got a few fans your age; maybe a fan club in a pretty sweet club house around somewhere, so I’m used to being looked at like that.”

Screwball’s mind ground to a halt.  Was this one of her obstacles?  Was this carefree and egotistical creature really one of the ponies who defeated her father?  Was this Pegasus really a threat to her and her plans?

Rainbow Dash finished her sandwich and started walking out of the kitchen.  Was this fully grown mare not in the least concerned that a strange eyed Earth Pony filly was discovered unattended in her friend’s living area going through her stuff?  Clearly a lot of confidence was placed on Spike’s ability to ward out intruders while Twilight was entranced in her studies.

Screwball reached into her recent memories and grabbed the plate what held the brownies.  She followed Rainbow Dash as she made her way to Twilight.  Clearly the adept flyer was used to the sight and elected to make herself comfortable next to her with a book of her own.  Rainbow looked up at Screwball and with a confident voice addressed her like she was somehow in the trust circle.

“Hey kid, brownie me.”

With a smirk Screwball complied.  She calmly went over and offered the mare one of the treats.  Rainbow took it and said what might have been a form of ‘thank you’ as she took a bite from the chocolate square.  Screwball started eating one herself as she considered what to do next.  She didn’t expect Rainbow Dash to abruptly enter the library, much less settle in ad join Twilight for a reading session.  Clearly there were some things that Screwball didn’t know about these ponies.

She took a moment to soak in how trusting this mare was.  Rainbow Dash just caught her invading Twilight’s space and elected to remain neutral on grounds that somewhere there was a guard dragon on duty.  She even interpreted the surprised stunned appearance as an awestruck gawking.

She grinned.  This was going to be easy.

Rainbow looked up and realized that Screwball was grinning like a friend.

“That’s…kinda creepy.  Could you not do that…or maybe at least back up a bit?”

Screwball channeled her energy when their eyes met.  The vortexes in her eyes began to swirl.  The cyan mare was trapped in her gaze.  The filly laughed to herself at how quickly she went from certain failure to a victory that was practically gift wrapped.

“You are going to stay here…with your friend…”

Rainbow Dash didn’t need to be told twice.  She simply looked away from Screwball and back to her book.

Screwball briefly mused on how easily they were all falling to her power.  Eating another brownie she made her way back to the outside world.  Four ponies were out of her way.  The dragon was out of her way.  She only had two targets left and then she would have what she wanted more than anything in the world.

She sighed sadly as she stepped out into the streets.  If she could share this moment with her father then the day would be perfect.

She drowned her rush of regrets with another brownie.  Her father needed her to be strong and she needed her stomach to be full.  Screwball made her way along her path and paused at the dress shop.  She looked over the quiet building and could have sworn that in one of the windows in a corner that wasn’t fully closed off by heavy drapes she could see flickering candle light.  She glanced in the direction of the bakery and could still see the towering plume of smoke.  She glanced around the streets at the ponies going about their business.

To them it was just an ordinary Tuesday.  For her it was the last day she would have to spend alone.

Chapter 4

Characters used here are property of their respected owners

-

The town slowly disappeared behind Screwball as she marched along the road.  She only had two targets left and neither of them actually lived in Ponyville.  She smiled as her destination drew closer.  Sweet Apple Acres seemed to be the logical place to go next.  She would leave Fluttershy for last.  The filly paused and gathered her resolve.  Fluttershy was going to be difficult.  Screwball took a few deep breaths and reminded herself that her father was counting on her for his freedom.  She reminded herself that somewhere in his prison he was still somehow very much alive.  She reminded herself that they had a lot of lost time to make up for.  She barely noticed the rainbow like trail firing through the sky at a velocity that rivaled Pinkie Pie’s baking rampage.

Her heart stopped.  It couldn’t be Rainbow Dash.  Could it?

Up in the sky the rainbow streak slowed down and the unrecognizable blur leading it turned around.  Screwball took a cautionary step back and shut her eyes tight.  A headache came on as she channeled her energy.  Upon opening them she saw that she was inside what had to be a barn.  She fought against her sudden dizzy spell and made some quick calculations to guess her energy level.  Her math was interrupted by the sight of a powerful looking Stallion with a red coat step into the barn.  His physical build was very impressive, and the yolk he carried on his neck certainly did not look light.  From just beyond the open doorway past the mighty creature she could see what looked like a rainbow slamming into the ground.

Screwball averted her attention from the Stallion and dove into a nearby hay bale.  She carefully peeked out from improvised cover and scanned the barn.  The filly channeled her magic and plucked her eyes out of her head and polished them carefully on her chest before setting them back in.  She groaned slightly upon realizing that she set them in upside down and set them right.

She clearly made a mistake.  Right in front of her was indeed the Pegasus she thought the hypnotized.  Rainbow Dash was here in the barn; and scanning the place with as much tension as she was.  The stallion paused and acknowledged Rainbow Dash’s presence and quietly left.

Screwball felt her heart drop like a block of lead.  Her spell failed.  Rainbow Dash had escaped her power and chased her down.  The Daughter of Chaos took note that the only real exit she could see was the open doorway just past the pony that tracked her.  The Pegasus stayed stationary and continued to scan the barn.

“If you don’t come out; I’m gonna come after you.” Rainbow said with an annoyed tone.  “And I’m not good at waiting.”

Screwball sunk a bit back into her shelter.  She fought to get her heart rate down.  The Pegasus blocking her escape just might be in the mindset to hurt a filly.

She took several deep breaths and made another attempt to measure how much power she had in her reserves.  Maybe she had enough to hit Rainbow Dash with a stronger attempt but she wasn’t willing to jump out on a maybe.  Her eyes roamed around some more and deduced that from inside the hay bale she wouldn’t see any solution.  The Pegasus suddenly turned around and walked to the doorway.  She stood up on her back legs and put all her weight into closing the door with a very audible slam.  Clearly it was an attempt to scare her into coming out.  Screwball felt a pang of indignation.  How dare that simple creature threaten the spawn of Discord!

Rainbow Dash came back down on all her hooves and snorted.  Rainbow Dash was suddenly well within her right to threaten her.

Screwball remained still in her hiding spot.  All that stood between her and the grown mare was a brick of dried hay.  Rainbow Dash stared moving away from the door and the filly had a spark of confidence.  All she had to do was wait for Rainbow to get far from the door and she could just sneak out.  When the Pegasus got out of her cone of vision she started counting steps.  Screwball prepared to come out of the hay bale when suddenly a though came on her like the fore mentioned lead brick.

A door slammed that hard might be stuck shut.

She drew a heavy breath and started to re-evaluate her position again.  The door would only be an option if she was willing to spend magic on opening it.  Her other option was to ambush the clearly formidable opponent and make sure to hit her with enough energy to bring her to hoof in one go.  Either way she couldn’t fail her father.  Not after coming this far.  No matter what was thrown in her path she refused to let her dad spend any unnecessary time petrified in that horrible stance.  She refused to let her father remain frozen in a state of pain and panic.

She wiped away at her eyes and refused to let more tears out.  She paused and something clicked into place.

She took out one of her eyes and let it drop onto the barn floor in front of her hiding place.  Her ocular orb rolled across the floor and she could see Rainbow Dash wandering the barn checking just about every nook and cranny.  Her eye continued its path and Screwball took note of the generous about of light from Celestia’s damn sun.  She offered a few muttered curses and paused in between obscenities.   The door was sealed but there was still light.  Her eye aimed itself upward and Screwball took note of the windows and upper loft that was reachable by a rope tied to a support beam in the ceiling.  Her eye rolled to the rope and slowly began defying gravity as it rolled up the rope as if it was the floor.  She took note of Rainbow’s location and her eye hopped onto the loft and was greeted by more hay bales and an open doorway that matched the ground level exit.

Screwball plucked her other eye out and set it out of her hiding bale and had it follow the Pegasus.  Upon feeling confident about her plan she made her way to the rope.  With dexterity that she didn’t know she had she reached the rope and gave the propeller on her beanie a firm swipe.  She lifted off the ground and quietly landed on the loft.  She picked up her eye and set it back and smiled when noticing that she had got it right the first time.  She wondered how her dad never got the two mixed up.

Her other eye quickly made its way towards the rope and back into her head.  She let herself take a few heavy steps and grinned as the boards creaked under her hooves.  The pony with the rainbow mane quickly turned and looked right at her.  Screwball took a few steps backwards to get out of her line of sight.  If she immobilized her in the loft, then no pony would stumble upon her.  Her sudden prison had been turned into a very useful place to store a formidable opponent.

It didn’t take Rainbow Dash long to get to the loft.

Screwball charged her energy but stopped when she looked at the Pegasus’s eyes.

They were closed.

Screwball froze upon seeing the mare’s eyelids.  Rainbow Dash took a single step forward and the filly started pushing her brain into over dive to map out a plan B.

“Ok kid.”  Rainbow spoke in a slightly friendlier tone.  “What’s the deal?  What did you do to my friend?”

Screwball was caught off guard by the change in tone.  The bruiser on a mission had suddenly turned into something different.  Screwball elected to capitalize on her change of tone.

“You…you’re not mad at me?” Screwball asked with a small degree of confusion.

“I’m not mad.” Rainbow Dash replied.  “I’m just disappointed.”

Abruptly Screwball found herself pulled into a gentle one legged hug.  Her mind stopped working.  The gears ground to a halt.  It felt like a few of them even fell out of place.  Screwball just barely stopped herself from returning the embrace while pretending it was her own mother in front of her.  Before Screwball could get her senses back the mare spoke up while keeping her strange new tone.

“I got a filly that looks up to me who’s about your age.  I know I can get hot headed sometimes…but she really needs me to keep my cool…and I’m guessing you also need me to chill.”

Screwball couldn’t tell if she should break away and force her eyes open or sit still and listen.  Before a choice could be made Rainbow Dash went on.

“Look…I’m not mad…and you don’t have to say anything…you just gotta listen for a bit.”

Screwball felt her rage slowly subside.  She found herself leaning into the Pegasus as a soft wing draped over her.  Somewhere in the back of her head was a voice screaming at her; telling her to bite the wing.  The rest of her genuinely felt like she needed this.  Rainbow Dash paused as if trying to map out what she wanted to say and then went on.

“I remember you now.  You were that filly randomly flying around when Discord turned Ponyville into the Chaos Capital of the world.  You were the only pony around who wasn’t hiding under a rock or anything.  At first I thought you just snapped or were under his spell; but after thinking about how that weird thing you did felt I know I felt it before.  That weird feeling I got in my head that went through the rest of me…that’s how I felt when Discord used his magic on me…”

Screwball’s eyes went wide.  This brash and egotistical mare wasn’t only comforting her but was also analyzing her.

“So…guess you’re his kid then…can’t believe none of us thought about it before.  You didn’t want anypony to get hurt…you just want your daddy back.”

Genuine tears started to swell as Screwball nodded.

“Look kid…scrambling our heads isn’t going to bring him back.”

Screwball found her voice and spoke up.

“If I get all of you…then the elements you’re connected to will turn off and he’ll be free.”

Rainbow Dash let out a small bout of laughter.  “Seriously?  If that was gonna work then wouldn’t it have let him out after you got one of us?  The Elements of Harmony were meant to be used in union…um…unison.”

Screwball paused.  This cyan mare had a valid point.  Tears began to fall freely.  She had miscalculated at the very start.  She failed her father before the first step was taken.  She felt angry at herself.  She felt alone.  She felt like she turned to jelly and half fell to the loft’s floor.  The mare sat down and slightly cradled her in her wings.

Screwball wondered if she would be getting this kind of treatment if there were any witnesses.  This was a completely different Rainbow Dash.

“Tell you what…you turn my friends back and we’ll forget this whole thing happened…and…I’ll…help you.”

Screwball felt the muscles in her legs find their strength.  “Why?” Was the only word the filly could get out.

“Because…I’ve got a filly who would do the same thing if she could…plus if something like Discord could end up with a kid like you…maybe there’s more to him that he let on.”

Chapter 5

Characters used here are property of their respected owners

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Screwball took a good long amount of time to ponder what had been said.  The plan that she has slaved over and executed with surgical precision was unraveled by an unlikely saboteur.  Screwball calculated that if anypony was going to break her resolve it would be Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy.  For Rainbow Dash to logically yet simply dismantle her design in front of her was a shock comparable to looking back to see her father suddenly turned into stone.

Tears stopped falling from her eyes as she sat and thought.  The fully grown mare held her a little closer with her wing and smiled at her.  It looked like the Pegasus would patiently wait for Screwball to do something; whatever that something happened to be.  Rainbow Dash didn’t sound or appear angry.  She didn’t resemble the fearsome creature that shut the door with the force of a dragon.  The warmth from her wings and body gave Screwball some small comfort that contradicted the eroding hope in her heart.

Screwball leaned further into the embrace and breathed deep in her sorrows.  From this point she had two options.  There was no hidden and easier to accept third option.  She simply sat in place and weighed her choices.

In the time it took her to exhale she channeled some of her magic.

The world went grey.  The air grew still.  Warmth stopped coming off Rainbow’s body.  Screwball focused to keep her heart beating at a snail’s pace.  With time crawling along at a fraction of its usual pace she facehoofed for forgetting that her father showed her this trick for her birthday long ago.

She could stop her plans.  She could give up her schemes.  She could release the Element Bearers from her spell.  She could accept responsibility and inevitable consequences for her actions.  She could plead her case to them; and perhaps they would show lenience.   There was a chance that Rainbow Dash might even feel slightly inclined to take her side.  There was an equal chance that the others might even play a role in bargaining with Celestia for terms of her father’s release.  Maybe this wasn’t an end but a new beginning.  Maybe this was her chance for her to start over.

Maybe Discord could start over.  Maybe they could be the family they always wanted to be while keeping peace with Equestria’s monarchs.

On the other hoof she had Twilight in a trance studying the spell needed to free her father in case ‘Plan A’ didn’t work.  Plus Rainbow Dash’s eyes were open.

Screwball gradually let her heart quicken to its neutral state.  Color gradually returned to the world and she could again feel the warmth of her suddenly acquired older sister figure.  She gazed at gentle smile gazed into magenta eyes.  Her eyes began to swirl and she hit Rainbow Dash with another attempt of hypnosis.

The time she took to make her decision had only taken place within a second but for her it had stretched several hours.  Her mind and body were only capable of accounting for a few minutes but her energy reserves had the benefit equal to a night’s rest.

To say that Rainbow Dash was hit by the full force of the spell would be an understatement.  A more accurate description would involve the word ‘pulverized’.

The Pegasus stood in a daze as Screwball carefully got out of the one winged hug.  Rainbow’s eyes were wide open and fixed on her own.  Screwball had to admit that it crossed her mind to let go and start over; but she still had a reasonable chance of success.  The tender moment had distracted her from the constant run of her method and memories of her father.  Hypnotizing the Element Bearers was a part of the plan; not the plan itself.  She took in a confident breath and spoke to the helpless creature in front of her.

“Stay right here.  Do not leave this loft.”

Rainbow Dash said nothing.  She simply lied down and patiently waited for the world to end.

Screwball made her way to the door of the loft and slowly opened it.  It made a convenient way of getting hay bales out of storage but the drop down was less than idea for an Earth Pony.  She gave her beanie a twirl and descended to the ground below.  She took note of her energy reserves and calculated that she had enough for the rest of her task.  She shouldn’t need to stretch a second for a seemingly instant refresh, which was good since she wouldn’t be able to do it again for a month and she had much less than a month to spare.  She needed to be done by the end of the day.  It was critical that she finished her plan before the sun went down.

Screwball gave her beanie a hard turn and lifted up to the sky.  She climbed higher than the barn and drifted towards the apple trees in the distance.  The child of Discord followed the sound of steady impacts being made almost without rhythm.  She looked down at the trees and at the sound of another heavy blow she saw one visible shake.

She grinned as she descended closer.  She could see the muscular force of a true Earth Pony laborer.  She was the same size as Pinkie Pie but clearly had much more muscle and more will to use it.  A head on fight with Applejack would end shortly for the filly, but she wasn’t here for a fair fight.  She grinned as she continued her decent towards her next target.  With almost full energy and a reinforced spirit she landed behind the worker pony and had a brief daydream of flying with her father.

Applejack was unaware of the menace right in front of her.  She continued to hammer at the tree with her hind legs and apples fell into several barrels.  She then lifted the barrels onto a large cart and took down empty ones to place around the next tree.  With unrelenting drive to put in a fair day’s work Applejack continued her vigil.  More barrels were filled.  More barrels were put onto the cart.  More barrels came down to be filled.  Screwball took a moment to admire the work ethic.  She started to wonder if she needed to incapacitate the farmer.  Even if she kept up her pace there still were a lot of trees left.  Clearly the orange boulder on legs had no intention of stopping until the job was done.  Screwball briefly thought about saving her energy and moving on to her last target.

The only thing stopping her was that she needed all six of them to be under her power for at least two minutes.  Screwball needed the ponies at her mercy.  Screwball needed dominion over all of them.  She needed to complete her task.

She took a deep breath and began to channel her energy.  Screwball spoke up to get her victim’s attention.

“Excuse me.”

Applejack didn’t respond.  She continued her labor.

“Hey!”

Applejack’s reaction was the same.

“LOOK AT ME!” Screwball shouted at the orange Earth Pony.

Applejack loaded more barrels as if nopony else existed.

Applejack’s focus was broken only by Screwball popping out of a full barrel as it was grasped to be lifted.  Screwball channeled her energy and took hold of the farmer.

Screwball then was rather forcefully made aware of a flaw with her plan.

Applejack dropped the barrel out of surprise.  The wooden container tumbled and rolled along, spilling apples along its path.  It struck the base of an apple tree and Screwball fell out of it.  Screwball sat up and clutched her left foreleg and let out a scream of pain.  The grown mare ran over to her with an almost motherly concern.  She picked up the wailing filly and hurried her to the cart.  Abandoning her daily grind she prepared to pull the cart straight out of the orchard and straight to the closest place she could take a filly with a broken leg.

Screwball kept crying and screaming and Applejack charged onward.

Screwball stopped her charade and sat up.  The cart stopped at the sudden lack of noise.  Applejack grew pale and turned around and uttered a silent prayer hoping that the filly had only passed out from the pain.  What she got was eye contact with a strange filly with a sinister grin and swirling eyes.

Screwball cast her spell and Applejack was unable to look away.  Screwball leaned closer and after allowing herself a small laughing bout she addressed the farmer.

“I need you to go back to work.  I need you to put in some overtime.  Do not stop until all the apples are collected.”

Applejack obediently pulled the cart back to the section she was harvesting.  Screwball hoped out of the cart and steeled herself for her last target.

She thought about her father trapped in stone for what she hoped would be one of the last times.  She thought about how they would be together again soon.

Only one Element remained; the only one with a gaze attack of her own.