A Stone Cold Tragedy

by Prince Of Nothingness

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Discord, Screwball, Slice of Life
Length: 1522

Discord, trapped in stone, recounts the tale of his long lost daughter, Screwball.

Most ponies see the story of Discord as one of evil, one too terrifying to remember. No one ever thought of the story as tragic. The only one who did?

His daughter.

Published 2017-08-26 20:10:10 UTC
Last updated 2017-08-26 20:10:10 UTC

I'll Always Love You

Author's Note

I will be saying "Discord said," and "Discord thought," the same way. He is not saying anything out loud, he's saying it to himself. This fic could turn out really badly, so forgive me for this. Just an idea I got on vacation while I was in the shower. Oh yeah, and I don't own Daddy Discord lyrics, I borrowed them from the Daughter of Discord version of the song.

I'll Always Love You

Discord sighed, well, in his head anyway. It was hard to make any sort of noise when you were trapped in stone. Groaning mentally, he wished he could be free again instead of being trapped in stone. Not to mention the ridiculous look on his face. This never would have happened if it weren't for that smarty pants Twilight Sparkle, he thought. Nothing could make this any less boring, or easier to bear. "Except Screwy," he said. Screwball, his daughter, was the only thing he loved more than chaos, and come to think of it, the only pony he had ever cared for at all. He sighed, remembering when he first saw her. "That changed everything, for both of us."

The rain pattered against the thatched roofs of the small village. Discord walked through the dark forest, right near the edge of town. He peeked through some trees, noticing something out of the ordinary. Did he hear, crying? It sounded like a foal, and his curiosity piqued. Walking into town, he noticed a small basket sitting on the street. Even stranger, there was a small foal in there. The child looked sick and miserable. There was a note attached to the basket, in mouth-writing that looked like whoever was writing just wanted to finish and couldn't care less about what they were writing. The note was mostly blurred, due to the ongoing storm, but Discord understood enough. The filly's parents abandoned her, and left her out on the street, with no guarantee that somepony would take her in. About to walk away, the filly began to whimper. Groaning, he continued to walk away, and the filly began to wail even louder. Discord looked at her. He felt some sympathy for her, remembering how his parents abandoned him as a child. The foal was sick, and would surely die if he didn't help her. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he murmured. He picked her up, and she stopped crying. The filly did seem to like him and wasn't breaking into tears at the sight of him. "I'm gonna call you Screwball."

Discord brought himself back to the present. If only his little girl was there with him. She might have died by now unless she didn't use her powers too much. They had already been weakened by his imprisonment, she was smart enough not to risk it. Still, he was scared that something had happened to her. What if somepony saw her? What if she was attacked by something and couldn't defend herself? What if- Discord stopped himself. Screwball may have been young physically, but she was over 1000 years old, despite how immature she could be. At least she had one reminder of him: A small propeller beanie he had given her for her birthday. Discord smiled internally, remembering how much she liked it. "She always loved her birthday."

The rain was beginning to let up, and it was easier to travel through the forest, but Discord didn't want to take any risks with a foal in his arms. He teleported himself and the filly back to his home in the forest. Discord created a small nursery for her and put her in the crib. As he walked out of the room, Screwball began to wail. He ran back, realizing she was still very sick. Knowing the only thing that could save her was chaos magic, he gave her some, causing her eyes to change from their normal, yellow state, to purple spirals, as well as adding white stripes to her curly, purple hair. She stopped crying as Discord put her down. He once more walked out of the room, and the foal began to cry again. She wasn't sick, she just didn't want to sleep. Trying to think of a way to get her to bed, he snapped his talons, and a lightbulb appeared over his head. He began to sing.

"Please do not cry, my dear

Your Daddy is so very here..."

Screwball began to calm down a little bit.

"And if any pony

Causes you any harm or fear..."

He eyes began to close, Discord smiled.

"Then I will bring them pain

And drown them all in chocolate rain

'Cause I...am your daddy, Discord

And you...are a piece of me."

Discord began to slowly walk out of the room, his daughter sleeping peacefully. "I love you Screwy."

As the years passed, Screwball began to grow up. By the time she was a year old, Discord had taken over Equestria. Screwball grew up in the chaotic wasteland and enjoyed it. No matter what though, their home in the forest always stood, and they would be there every night. One day, shortly after she turned two, she said her first word. Discord couldn't have been happier with what it was.

Discord watched his daughter playing, it really was adorable. The filly giggled as she stacked some blocks she had created with her magic. However, after a while of doing this, Screwy got tired. She let out a yawn, letting Discord know that she needed a nap. He scooped her up in his arms, gently laying her down in her crib. Half asleep, she murmured a word.

"Daddy."

Discord was stunned, in a good way. He smiled at Screwy, her eyes now closed.

"I love you Screwy, I always will." He didn't know how true that could be.

The wind started picking up, causing several leaves to swirl around Discord's inescapable prison. He sighed. He messed up, big time. Why couldn't he have protected her? He put his own needs and desires before hers, and now, now she was gone. He hadn't seen her for millennia. He thought about what he was like before he adopted Screwball. He was pretty sad, depressed even. But not evil. Come to think of it, he had never really been that evil. He was just different. He shuddered at the thought of what he might have become if he hadn't found Screwball. "But I ruined everything," he thought.

Discord sat on his throne, Screwball sitting on his lap. It was her twelfth birthday, and Discord was determined to make it special. Screwball had just finished eating three slices of cake. "I have a special present for you Screwy," Discord said. He summoned a small box with his magic. Screwball opened it carefully. It was a small propeller beanie, with yellow and white stripes.

"Thanks daddy!" she said. She put it on. "I'm gonna head home," she said as she hopped down. Once she was into the forest and out of view, Discord looked away. As if on cue, two alicorns walked up to Discord. Screwball was confused. What was going on? Who were these ponies?

"Play time is over for you, Discord," the taller one said. Screwball didn't hear the rest of the conversation, but she saw enough. The mares pulled out six gems from their saddlebags. Their magical auras' flowed through the stones, creating a rainbow beam. Screwy watched in horror as her father was slowly turned to stone. Without thinking, she ran through the forest, following the path to their home. She stopped at the clearing the house should have been in. It was empty, all the chaos magic had faded. She felt the top of her head, relieved that the propeller beanie was still there. Screwball ran back to the formerly befuddling playground of chaos. It had returned to its normal state, and the alicorns and the statue of her father were gone. Screwball sank to the ground.

"H-he's gone."

Rain began to pound on the statues, which were as gray as the storm clouds above. Discord looked at the hedge next to his prison, almost expecting his daughter to come out. He had missed his chance to see her again after he broke free. But, again, his desires got in the way of what was most important to him. Screwball had no home, no parents, and no way to protect herself. He may have caused Screwy's death, all because of his own selfishness. "What have I done?" he thought. He took a deep breath. "Screwy, I miss you so much, I should never have made those mistakes. I ruined both our lives, and if somehow, I ever see you again, please forgive me. I love you Screwball, your daddy loves you."

Screwy sat down on the floor, smiling as she colored with the pencils she had gotten. "Screwy, dinner's ready!" Fluttershy called from the other room.

"Coming mom!" Screwball responded. She looked at the drawing. It showed Discord and her hugging.

"I love you daddy."