A Very Screwy (un)birthday
‘Nothing beats getting up early going groceries shopping before anypony gets to it,’ Fluttershy thought to herself as she got what she needed from the Ponyville Marketplace.
She made her way through the various shops with a little help from a little filly. Fluttershy’s young helper had a light purple coat, white and purple highlighted mane that matched her eyes and a propeller hat.
Fluttershy had been taking care of little Screwball for the day since Discord had some ‘important meeting’ that suddenly came up. She loved spending time with Screwball even though she could be a little out of hoof. The little filly yawned lightly as they walked.
“Are we done Miss Fluttershy?” Screwball asked.
“Almost dear, we just need to pick up some cupcakes” Fluttershy answered. “Then we can go home.”
“I hope so. I’m still tired from waking up early.” Screwball said as she let out another yawn.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Fluttershy and Screwball left the quiet market and headed toward Sugarcube corner. Once they arrived and stepped inside they were greeted by a party in progress. They saw fillies and colts running around, laughing and having fun.
“Oh, I forgot Pinkie was hosting a birthday party today,” Fluttershy mentioned to herself as they pressed onward.
“A...birthday party?” Screwball asked while wearing a confused look on her face.
Screwball looks around more of what this so called ‘Birthday party’. Colorful balloons were everywhere. She saw some fillies and colts playing strange games Screwball never seen before. She saw a table covered with boxes big and small with strange colorful wrapping and bows on top of them. She glanced above them and saw a banner saying ‘Happy Birthday Golden Wing’.
Screwball lightly tugged on Fluttershy’s mane to quietly get her attention.
”Miss Fluttershy, what are they doing?”
“It’s a party to celebrate the day a pony was born,” she answered with a gentle smile.
Screwball looked back at the so called birthday party and saw all the fillies and colts gathering around a periwinkle Pegasus colt with a dirty blond mane who was smiling. An orange Pegasus stallion with a crimson mane stood next to him while returning the smile.
“Happy birthday, son” the Pegasus said, as he ruffled the young colt’s mane.
“Thanks dad,” he responded happily with a laugh.
A mare unicorn with dark mane came over holding a big cake in front of the colt with her magic. “Happy birthday, Golden Wings,” she said while smiling at him.
“Thanks mom,” he said as he blew out the candles while the other fillies and colts stomped their hooves. “This is the best birthday ever.”
‘Birth...day?’ Screwball thought to herself.
She had no idea what this thing called “birthday” was. In fact, she’d never heard of it before. Then without warning, Pinkie Pie hopped out for being the counter and then bounced next to Fluttershy.
“It sure seems lively here today, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy quietly said, as the pink party pony maintained her orbit around her and Screwball.
“It sure has Fluttershy! I have those special yummy cupcakes you ordered!” Pinkie Pie said, as she pulled a small cardboard box from her mane.
Fluttershy let out a small laugh as she took the parcel of baked goods.
“Thank you Pinkie” she said with a smile.
She looked down at Screwball and became aware of her growing curiosity and confusion towards what she was witnessing.
“Screwball are you okay?”
“Huh?” Screwball snapped out her mild trance and looked at the mare before responding. “It’s nothing, can we go now?”
“Okay, see you later Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, while she waved goodbye to her.
“See you later then, Fluttershy. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!” Pinkie replied while bouncing back towards the kitchen.
Fluttershy and Screwball started to leave but were stopped by the birthday colt making his way over to them.
“Hello there,” he said in a friendly tone that matched the mood of the party.
“Um…hello?” Screwball said with an evidently uncomfortable tone.
“Here,” he said as he offered a piece to her. “You look a nice filly, so I want to share my cake.”
Screwball didn’t know what to say. She never had been in this situation before. She looked at Fluttershy and silently asked with her eyes what she should do.
“Go on sweetie, the nice colt is offering it to you” she said softly.
Screwball look back at the colt holding the slice of cake in front of her.
”Um...thank you,” she responded nervously while taking the slice.
“Hope you like it,” he said before going back to his party,
Without another word spoken, Fluttershy and Screwball left the excited bakery and stepped into the now calm and quieter streets of Ponyville
“That was nice of him,” Fluttershy softly said, as she felt a wave of relief wash over her as the stress of being in a crowded place slowly became forgotten.
“Ms. Fluttershy, what’s a ‘birthday party’ supposed to really mean?” Screwball asked abruptly.
“It’s a party to celebrate the day you were born,” Fluttershy answered. “You’ve have one before right?”
The little filly slowly frowned at Fluttershy’s question.
“To be honest…” she paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “I never celebrated this...birthday party you speak of. My daddy created me to enjoy his work a very long ago…so I guess we never really had thought of having it.”
“Oh my...” Fluttershy gasped
She believe what she just heard. Her beloved Screwball had never celebrated the day of her birth. Suddenly, an idea came to the yellow pegasus.
“Well, how about we throw you a birthday party? I mean if you don’t mind?”
Screwball thought for a moment if it was a good idea to throw a birthday party, but she a tragic revelation came to her mind.
“I don't think it’s a good idea. I really don’t know when I was born or created. And I don’t think my daddy would remember it either.”
The two of them walked onwards without another word spoken. Once they arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage they just headed inside. Screwball slowly put the piece of cake on the living room table and slowly ascended the stairs.
“If you need me I’ll be in my room,” she said quietly with a bit of sadness in her tone.
When the little filly was out of sight Fluttershy sighed heavily. It pained her to see the young child upset.
“Poor dear...”
As night had fallen over Equestria, Fluttershy sat by the fireplace sipping a mellow tea with Discord by her side. At least it had started with him by her side, now he had loosely wrapped his torso around her like a large affectionate snake. They both enjoyed the peaceful silence as they gazed into the crackling embers.
“Discord, I have a question to ask you…” Fluttershy said breaking the silence. “Why hasn't little Screwball never had a birthday party?”
“A birthday party, you say?” Discord replied as he raised an eyebrow and slowly taped his chin. “Now that you mentioned it she actually never had one. We never really had to time celebrated it, we were too busy spreading chaos.”
He then to began to sip his tea.
“Well...I think it would be a good idea to throw her one,” Fluttershy said quietly. “If it’s okay with you.”
“Hm…” he breathed as he slowly stroked his beard.
He then floated in the air as he thought over the idea. As he was lost in thought, a realization hit him.
“Why are you so desperate to throw my little abomination a birthday party?”
Fluttershy slowly looked away before speaking.
“Um, well it’s just that…”
Before she continued, she paused and took a deep breath. She then began to fiddle with her mane with her hoof.
“Well I see her as my own daughter. I just have this motherly urge to do something nice for her.”
After her explanation, she heard a low chuckle come for Discord. She turned to see he was grinning at her.
“Motherly urges, Fluttershy? Sounds to me like this is more for you want to do this for her,” Discord said while he took her into his arms. “You wanted give this to her as a mother, don’t you?”
She then lightly blushed.
“Oh, no it’s nothing like that. Well, I don’t think she’ll think of anypony as her mother. I just want to make her happy.”
“Alright then, tomorrow I’ll take her out for a while so you can get a hold of Pinkie Pie about making an arrangement,” He said warmly as he patted her head. ”You know what? I think this might be that kindness thing you’re so well known for.”
“Well, that’s my element after all,” Fluttershy said quietly, as a slight blush came over her.
“Not to mention being too adorable to resist,” Discord muttered to himself.
“What was that?”
“Oh, nothing my dear,” he chuckled while he sipping his tea.
This left the timid pegasus to ponder on what she will do for her special little filly’s first birthday party.
The following afternoon came quickly, as Pinkie and Fluttershy were just about finished with setting up the surprise birthday. With everything in place, all she needed to do was to wait for Angel to give her the signal the Discord and Screwball. Earlier in the day, Discord had told her something of taking Screwball out somewhere for some ‘special’ fun. She then heard Angel give heard the signal.
“Oh,they're here,” Fluttershy said bit nervous. “Thanks angel, Go hide with the others.”
Angel nodded and jumped down to get to his hiding place.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Everything will be fine. I’m sure she’ll like her party,” Fluttershy said to herself. “It will be okay. Everything will be-”
“We’re back!” Screwball shouted, as she appeared behind her.
Fluttershy then leapt into the air in surprise.
“...Fine,” she finished her sentence, as she hovered in the air.
Screwball then appeared on her muzzle as a miniature pony.
“Sorry if I scared you Ms. Fluttershy,” Screwball apologized. “I’m just so pumped. I had so much fun with my daddy today.”
She then showed her excitement as the propeller began to spin rapidly. She then set her hat down.
“That’s...nice,” Fluttershy said, still a bit shakened. “I have something for you, might like it.”
Fluttershy pointed down at the ground. Screwball then followed her hoof to see all her animals come out throwing confetti and wearing party hats.
“I hope you like your birthday party.”
“My birthday party?”
Fluttershy nodded with a gentle smile. Screwball then teleport herself and Fluttershy back down to the floor. Once back on the floor, Screwball had changed back to her normal size.
“Do you like it?” Fluttershy asked.
The little filly looked around the room with a sense of wonder and apprehension. The scene in front of her resembled what she saw at Sugar Cube Corner the other day but this was different. She wasn’t watching somepony else’s party from the other side of the room. This time it was for her. She stepped further into the scene and found herself now the target of light tosses of confetti. Angel had somehow made his way to the chandelier and she had stepped right into his scope.
The Daughter of Chaos took another glance at what she saw and smiled. She didn’t really know what it was supposed to be but knowing that it was done for her by those who cared about her was what counted. She wiped away a lone tear while swiping confetti out of her mane to hide that she even cried.
“You did this for me while Dad spent the day with me?” The filly quietly asked as she scraped a hoof across her face a second time.
“Of course we did sweetie.” Replied the gentle Pegasus.
She turned to look at her father who already had a party hat on. He held up a strange curled up straw like thing in his claw and brought it to his mouth. He blew into the end of the odd object and it uncurled while making a slightly high pitched whistle and lightly flicked her shout. She laughed to herself and scratched her nose as it recoiled back. The strange thing vanished into a small puff of pink smoke and she looked around once again.
“So…what am I supposed to do?” Screwball asked as she twirled the propeller on her beanie to blow the remaining confetti out of her mane.
“Whatever you want Screwball.” Her father replied with a grin. “It’s your special day and it’s thousands of years overdue. I’d say you earned it.” Abruptly the strange noisemaker was again in his paw. This time he aimed it straight at Angel and this time it had more reach than before. The small bunny narrowly dodged the device and jumped onto the couch. Normally Angel would have squeaked and shook his front paw at Discord but this time he was very well composed. This time he just put on a smile and found a place with the other animals.
Screwball took a moment to think. It was supposed to be a party, and there was only one thing she was completely sure about when it came to parties. She took off her beanie and reached her entire foreleg inside. Abruptly she pulled out a large set of speakers and casually tossed them to the corner of the room. Fluttershy squeaked and prepared to cover her ears as they began to vibrate. The floor began to tremble as they started to build up power and Discord simply stared at them while trying to deduce their purpose.
What happened next was expected by none but should have been expected by all of them.
First there was a mild base note that echoed through the room. Then there was nothing. Then the speakers exploded into a dense cloud of confetti that went everywhere. Screwball giggled as the room’s occupants spent some time trying to regain a sense of direction. She could make out the shapes of the animals who had earlier covered her in the tiny flakes of mild colored material. All of them now had a layer of their own. She giggled again at the thought that somewhere Fluttershy’s co-conspirator Pinkie Pie also suddenly got buried under a cloud of confetti. The small bout of chaos settled and Discord lightly ruffled her mane with his paw. She smiled and hugged her father, then glanced at Fluttershy who was a pile of confetti with eyes and a pink tail. Screwball let go of her father and tightly hugged the mare.
“Thank you so much Ms. Fluttershy.”
“Of course Screwball.” Fluttershy replied as she gently wrapped a now very colorful foreleg around the filly.
Screwball gave her propeller a twirl and chaos was briefly restored as the confetti flakes swirled around the room a second time. She glanced at the couch and saw that Angel had failed to retreat under it in time and was now a small colored pile with ears. She smiled warmly despite not really knowing what else to do. With the wave of her hoof the confetti settled onto the floor. Abruptly all the confetti vanished along with the destroyed remains of the speakers. She turned to see Fluttershy calmly carrying out a round cake coated with fondant that matched the color and swirls of her mane. The cake also seemed to be wearing a beanie that was probably made of more cake.
Upon closer inspection she saw that the propeller was on fire. She could have sworn that it wasn’t lit when she first saw it. Discord carefully picked up the cake and set it to hover in the air in front of her.
“I gave up on trying to fit the appropriate amount of candles on the cake.” Discord sheepishly said. “So I went with a small fire instead.”
Screwball paused while gazing in wonder at the cake. She remembered what the colt had done the other day. She was about to try to blow the fire out when she heard Fluttershy’s soft voice.
“Make a wish sweetheart.”
Screwball paused and held her breath. She pondered what to do next. The then wondered if this pastry really did somehow have the power to grant a wish. Such a mischievous thing to grant to every colt and filly in annual ritual to celebrate that they were born. She ginned. Such an opportunity to cause chaos. She looked at the fire and her head swirled through her priorities and wishes. Upon reaching what she desired above all else she stared at the fire like a hawk. She finished taking a deep breath and uttered a steady whistle. The gust from her lungs hit the propeller in the fire and forced it to pick up speed. Slowly the spinning created a small vacuum and snuffed the flame. With her wish cemented in her mind she grinned at where the defeated fire used to be. She turned her gaze to Discord and Fluttershy and her grin became slightly more mischievous. She looked past them at a spot on the wall where her breath settled and her eyes slowly swirled as she quickly cast her spell.
Fluttershy gave a nervous laugh. “So what did you wish for Screwball?”
“Oh…something I’ve always wanted yet something I’ve always had. Something that’s been part of me yet something I can hold. Something unique and precious to me yet something that pretty much everypony has. Something that is found anywhere in the world and yet is my entire world. Something…wonderful.”
Fluttershy blinked as she tried to think about what she just said. Discord scratched at his beard and seemed to be either lost in thought or doing complex math in his head. Screwball simply smiled at them and Discord gently gave her propeller a twirl.
“My own daughter just spun a mischievous little riddle on her own.” Discord said as a drop of liquid pride escaped his left eye.
“What does it mean Dizzy?” Fluttershy asked as she turned to look at him.
Discord turned his head to look back at her. As he opened his mouth to answer he was cut off by a small amount of chaos. Fluttershy had suddenly lurched forward and lifted into the air. She softly kissed him and seemed to be just as surprised as he was. Fluttershy found herself back on the ground and her eyes were glued to his.
“Well…that was nice but I don’t see how a gift for me would be…” Discord paused and grinned as the answer dawned on him.
Fluttershy blushed a considerable degree. She turned to look at the grinning filly as a few things lined up in her mind.
“Screwball…did you wish…for a mother?”
Screwball said nothing. She just looked at Fluttershy and then she looked at her father. Her grin slowly receded into a simple smile as she looked at Fluttershy again.
“Doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to me.” Discord said with a quiet voice as if he was imagining what the next few days might bring.
“Well…” Fluttershy softly said as she regained herself. “I…I think I’d love that…It’s not like I haven’t thought of it…”
Screwball stopped paying attention to what they were saying. Did she really do it? Did she really get her wish? She wiped at her eyes again and abruptly jumped right over the cake to hug them both. She felt a pawed arm and a hoof secure her in place.
“Best birthday ever” she whispered to herself.
