Daughter of the brother Of Discord

Freak, monster, devil child, doesn't belong...

The words echoed throughout Cherry Blossom's nightmares.

Go back to the Canterlot Gardens where you belong!

"No," she murmured, tossing in her bed.

You're evil, just like your uncle!!

"No! NO!"

Screwball was instantly at her bedside. Fortunately, she had not put a magical barrier around her room as well.

"Cherry?" she gasped. "What's wrong?"

The filly shrieked as her eyes popped open. She sighed in relief at the sight of her twin cousin.

"I'm okay, Screwy. I just had a bad dream."

"Oh, I see." she sat upon her bed. "Care to talk about it?"

"It was...those things they said about me today...they won't go away..."

"Is that all?" She patted her on the back. "There, there. What do I always say?"

Cherry Blossom scrunched her nose. "What fun is there in making sense?"

"No, no, the other thing."

"Never bring pie to a cake fight?"

"No, no, no! I mean about name-calling!"

"Oh. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."

"Exactly! Well, technically the sticks and stones won't hurt you either after a healing spell, but you get the picture."

She pulled away from his embrace and looked up at him desperately. "But Screwy, what if they're right? I lost my mind today! I even scared my friends! I eve scared YOU!"

She waved her hoof as if it were a minor detail. "Every pony loses their mind once in a while. You should have seen my mom at her first Grand Galloping Gala!" She tapped her chin. "Actually, you can!"

She clapped her hooves and an image appeared on the wall. Cherry Blossom gasped at the sight of a slightly younger version of her aunt in a torn ball gown, standing beside a huge net.

"I'll catch you yet, my pretties!" she said creepily to the animals cowering in fear. "Oh, yes. As soon as one of you little birds, or monkeys, or bears touches this net, you'll be mine! MINE!"

She then broke into maniacal laughter, lightning striking from nowhere. Cherry Blossom did not know whether to be scared or amused. It was hard to believe that the mare she was watching was her sweet, nurturing aunt.

Screwball poofed the image away. "Now you know not to get on my mom's bad side. The treatment she gave you and I today was nothing."

"Okay, so it's not as bad as I thought," Cherry Blossom admitted. "It's worse! I'm crazy on both sides!"
She groaned as she collapsed her head onto her pillow.

"Cherry, Cherry, Cherry," Screwball said, shaking her head. "Every pony's crazy! Some just show it better than others."

"I’m being one of them," she mumbled, flipping onto her side.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, cuz’," her twin cousin assured her, stroking her head. "You have something that other ponies do not: chaos!"

"And where is that going to get me? Look at what it did to your dad!"

Screwball was taken aback by this. Cherry Blossom sat up and faced her.

"I'm sorry, but..." She hugged her knees. "Sometimes I think I might go too crazy...that I might turn evil...that they'll have to turn me to stone!"

"Oh, Cherry, don't say such a thing!" She tenderly wrapped her hooves around her. "No pony's going to turn you to stone, or bring you any harm of any sorts, not while I'm here to protect you." She wiped her tears from her face.

Cherry Blossom crawled back under the covers and smiled up at the pink earth pony tucked her in.

She sighed and sang the lullaby she had written for her. This time, she added a new verse:
"Remember that one time
I took you to that baseball game?
We got our cutie marks
And things were never quite the same.
our wild pitches flew
Driving the ponies all insane
'Cause I...am your cousin Screwball,
And you...are a piece of me."
It was a subtle reminder of how special she was to her.

"I love you," Cherry Blossom said as Screwball teleported in her bed.

‘’I love you too.’’

When Cherry Blossom awoke, it was nearly dawn. She often rose early, as it gave her the perfect opportunity to sneak out. She needed to clear her head.

she opened the door a crack and saw that her dad was still asleep on the couch. she looked at her cousin and made sure she was asleep. She floated into the air and slowly made her way to the front door. Seeing that she had not stirred her father or cousin, Cherry Blossom transported outside of the colorful castle and crossed the bridge into the Everfree Forest.
Teleporting was harder than it looked. At her current age, the filly could travel no further than a few feet. Even that would leave her slightly dizzy. This is why she ran the rest of the way.

She came upon a brown lake, one she had found a few years ago the first time she had snuck out. The water had not been brown then. She had turned it into chocolate milk, so the creatures of the forest would not come for a drink, so she would be left alone.

This was her sanctuary. This was where she could spread her chaos freely. No rules, no judgment, no ponies, just her and chaos.

Fifteen minutes later, she heard sounds in the bushes she turned around and readied her horn. But it turned out to be Screwball.

‘’Cherry?’’ Screwball gasped.

‘’Screwy?!’’ Cherry Blossom gasped as Screwball walked closer. ‘’ what are you doing here?! I thought you were in bed!’’

‘’I thought YOU were in bed!’’ Screwball replied.

‘’Well,’’ Cherry Blossom said. ‘’What ARE you doing here?’’

‘’I figured you’d ask that. Come with me.’’

Cherry Blossom followed her twin cousin. Screwball held out a hoof in front of her as they came across a giant bush.

‘’Wait here.’’

Cherry Blossom stared as Screwball went through the bushes. She wondered what she was doing.

‘’Close your eyes,’’ Screwball said.

Cherry Blossom closed her eyes as a soft pink hoof led her through the bushes.

‘’Now open them!’’

Cherry Blossom opened her eyes and her lips suddenly curled up into a smile. A chocolate lake was set up just like hers.

‘’You wanna play?’’ Screwball asked.

She was cut short as Cherry Blossom tackled her into the chocolate milk. Screwball assumed it was a yes.

‘’This gonna be so much fun!’’ Cherry Blossom giggled.

Miles away, in a forest much darker and more sinister than the Everfree Forest, Queen Chrysalis was sitting on her throne, plotting her next move. One of her servants approached cautiously.

"Uh, your majesty?" he whimpered with a bow. "The princes are here to see you."

"Oh, yes," the queen muttered. "Let them come forth."

The changelings who approached were slightly different from the others. While they had sleek black bodies with a green beetle's back, translucent wings and deformed legs, they had blue hair flowing down to their shoulders and green eyes with black pupils. They were quite young, foals at that, small male versions of the queen.

"Ah, my sons," she said with pride.

She stepped down from her throne to inspect their growth. She lifted their chins so that they may look into her eyes.

"Today's the day you go on your first hunt. If you are ever to one day rule as Kings, then you must be able to find food for your subjects. Are you ready, my dears?"

The princes straightened up and held their head high. "We are, mother!"

"Show me! What is the first rule of hunts?"

"Do not get caught!"

"And the second rule?"

"Make sure the pony you change into is not around!"

"And our motto?"

"Love is weakness for the victim, but strength for us!"

"Excellent! Now, since you are still young, I suggest you keep your targets simple, perhaps a young foal of some sort. And steer clear of Canterlot. They are always on the lookout for 'suspicious characters.' And don't return until you've had your fill. Go, my sons! Make your mother proud!"

The princes nodded and took to the skies. They had not left the Changeling Forest without an escort before and was not familiar with the outside world. They gawked at the greenness of it all. They imagined what it would be like to roll in that soft grass.

They shook these thoughts out of their mind. They had a job to do.

Their expedition led them to the Everfree Forest. The best way to catch an unsuspecting pony was in a closed area. They were not aware of the forest's danger or its lack of ponies. They landed on the path and began their search.

Their ears perked up as they heard a noise. They hid in the bushes and listened again. It was soft, it was haunting. It was the most beautiful thing they had ever heard.

The sound guided him to a clearing. They gawked at the sight. Where trees should have been, there were enormous candy canes with slightly less enormous gumdrops surrounding them. The ground was pink with orange and green polka-dotted toadstools and swirly lollipops growing up from it. What sort of place was this?

The princes jumped as something emerged from the muddy lake. It was a filly looking about their age wearing a mask and snorkel. The brown water dripped from her curly purple and white mane and pink fur. As she started humming, the princes realized that beautiful melody had been coming from her.

The filly sighed. "Snorkeling can get boring."

A small dingy appeared beneath her, a newspaper hat atop her head. The princes were astounded, swearing that they had not seen her horn.

"Sailing, however," she said.

She summoned a small mast and pulled up a flag with a screw and baseball on it, matching her cutie mark. Then she made an eye patch appear over her eye.

"Argh!" she cried. "Ahoy, mateys! Next stop, Fillydelphia, where we shall rob them of their gold, their jewels, and their cream cheese!"

Something else emerged from the lake. Another filly with aqua blue eyes, blue hair and soft red fur with a horn. One of the princes’ eyes widened at the sight of her. She was so… so…

‘’Beautiful.’’ He muttered.

He shook the thought out of his head. She was just… pretty, that’s all.

‘’Oh no! a shark! Steer the port! Steer the port!’’ the pink earth pony yelled.

‘’OM NOM Nom!’’ the red supposed ‘’unicorn’’ screamed.

‘’Ok! Enough with the games Cherry!’’ the earth pony said.

The unicorn emerged from the lake. But the princes gasped. That wasn’t a unicorn, She had wings. Wings! She was an… an…

‘’Alicorn?!’’ the muttered.

‘’ Ok, Screwy!’’ she replied. ‘’ let’s play pool monster!’’

The earth pony rolled her lollipop eyes.’’ Ok, Cherry.’’

The princes stifled a chuckle. These fillies were quite amusing.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" she sang.

At that moment, something pounded hard inside the princes’ chest. They took it as their hunger and remembered what they were here for. They thought back to their mother's lessons and looked into the fillies’ minds for their loved ones. The first thing they saw startled them, for they were hideous creatures that they figured to be brothers. Next were pegasi that he assumed to be the mothers. That would not do. He had not mastered adult transformations yet. Then they saw them both. Then a unicorn filly with strange eyes. They gagged at the thought of turning into a girl, but it was the best they could do.

They closed their eyes and concentrated, adopting the pony's shape. In a blaze of green fire, they had both had turned into the unicorn. The disguised changelings jumped out of the trees and approached the sailing filly.

"There you are!"

Screwball shrieked in surprise. She had not told any pony. Let alone her friend.

"Dinky, what are you doing here?"

Cherry Blossom emerged from the lake, staring at them with her, precious blue eyes.

The princes gasped as the filly floated to shore, changing her paper hat into a propeller one. The first prince then got a good look at her eyes as she removed the patch. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before and he could get lost in those hypnotic spirals. The other filly jumped out and shook the chocoalate out of her mane. The next prince got lost in the blue eyes and mane. He watched as she did it in slow motion.

"Dinky?"

They snapped out of their trance, remembering they were disguised as the unicorn filly (Dinky, was it?). They borrowed one of the excuses their mother taught them:

"I came looking for you! Your mothers’ worried sick!"

"But why are you out here?" Screwball asked, tilting her head. "Don't you know it's dangerous out here?"

‘’Besides, the forest Scares you to death!’’ Cherry Blossom exclaimed.

"You're out here, aren't you?"

"Well yeah, but I practically live here. Besides, I thought this forest scared you to death!"

The changeling hesitated. "Uh, yeah! But I got brave! Your mom's looking for you!"

They could feel the love on their tongues. Friendship was not the most filling of meals, but it had a decent taste.
Screwball and Cherry Blossom, in the meantime, were growing suspicious. They could not explain it, but they could tell when ponies were lying, and Dinky was not one to lie.

"You're not Dinky," Screwball stated.

The changeling's false eyes widened and then he laughed. "Don't be silly! Of course, I'm Dinky!"

‘’Not you’re not!’’ Cherry blossom stated.

They squealed as they were lifted by the tail off the ground. They faced their adversaries upside-down. No! they could not be caught on their first hunt!

"Put me down! It's really me! I'm Dinky!"

"No, you're not!" the filly snapped, stomping her hoof. "Show yourself!"

‘’Or I’M gonna have to make ya’!’’ Cherry Blossom threatened as she pointed a carboard knife towards the fake Dinky’s nose.

Then the princes were unwillingly changed back to their true self. Screwball and Cherry Blossom gazed at the creatures in wonder. Swiss cheese legs, cobweb hair, a deformed horn, insect-like wings: they had never seen anything like it before.

"What are you?" Screwball asked, circling around them.

"How did you do that?!" the prince demanded, finally noticing something about the filly. "More importantly, how did you do that without a horn?"

"That's none of your business! Who do you think you are, posing as our friend? Impersonating ponies is not very nice!"

"But how did you know...?"

They cried out as she rammed their head into the ground.

"Answer my question! Who are you and what are you doing here?!"

"Are you nuts?!" the prince hollered before receiving another blow to the head.

"I'm not nuts! I'm Screwball!"

"What's the difference? Ow!"

‘’Let me handle this Screwy,’’ Cherry Blossom said.

Cherry Blossom used her magic to ram the creatures' heads multiple times into the ground. Screwball watched this amusingly. When she finished, Screwball approached them.

"I'll ask you one more time! What are you doing here?"

He waved his forelegs desperately. "Look, I don't want any trouble! I was just so hungry and…"

The filly's mouth broke into a smile. "Well, why didn't you say so?"

The princes cried out once more as she dropped him. He rubbed his head in pain. Cherry Blossom gave them a warning IM-watching-you glare before backflipping into the lake.

"If you're hungry, we can just give you something!" Screwball said cheerfully. "You like cotton candy?"

"Huh?" they uttered.

"How about chocolate milk?"

"What's chocolate milk?"

Screwball gasped as if she had heard a naughty word. Cherry Blossom emerged with a shocked looked. "You've never had chocolate milk?! What sick, twisted home did you grow up in?! Oh well. I'd say it's about time you tried it."

Cherry Blossom ran up to one of the changelings. She made a glass full of Chocolate milk in his face and shoved it in his mouth.

‘’Drink.It.’’ She demanded.

Screwball summoned a glass and dipped it in the lake. She handed it to one of the changelings, who looked at it like he had no idea what to do with it.

"Go on, drink it!" the filly urged.

The first prince cringed. "You want me to drink mucky water?"

"It's not mucky water. It's chocolate milk! Trust me, you'll love it!"

He figured he should tell her that he did not eat or drink, but for some reason he did not want to disappoint this filly. He was still trying to process how she had unmasked him and why she had not run away by now. So, he hesitantly took the glass and raised it to his lips.

His eyes shot open as the liquid touched his tongue. He then chugged the rest of the contents down his throat. The other prince had the same feeling.

"This stuff is amazing!" they exclaimed. "It tastes just like love!"

Screwball and Cherry Blossom tilted their heads. "Well, We don't know about that, but We told you it was good!"

Cherry Blossom giggled as the peculiar colt scooped his glass into the lake. She still did not know what he was.

"I've never seen a creature like you before," she stated.

"I could say the same about you," the prince said, looking her over. "How do you do all this with a horn? And your eyes are very..."

"Strange, I know."

"I was going to say beautiful."

she blushed. "Really?Well, We’re... unique ponies. You could say We’re the only ones of our kind."

"Really? Oh, what we would give to be the only ones of our kind!"

"Why? Are there many of you?"

They fiddled with their glass. "Let's just say we have five thousand brothers and sisters at home."

"Five thousand?!" Screwball exclaimed in disbelief. "Golly! Imagine the grocery bills!"

The princes burst into laughter. "Actually, we get our food from..."

they trailed off as they heard a loud roar in the distance. The foals turned to see a large manticore leap out of the trees. She was in a furious state, waving her scorpion stinger frantically. The princes grabbed Screwball and Cherry Blossom's hooves.

"Let's get out of here!"

"But we can..." they tried to protest.

"Run!"

He practically lifted her off the ground as he pulled her along. She was amazed at how strong he was, considering he was slightly smaller than she was.

"Wait!" they cried, tugging themselves out of their grasp.

"You crazy?" the changelings asked. "That thing is huge!"

They ignored him and approached the roaring beast.

"Easy, boy!" Screwball cried, holding out her hooves. "Or...girl. Which one are you?"

The manticore kept wailing.

‘’Its ok! Its ok! We’re not gonna hurt you!’’ cherry Blossom cried.

"Would you shut up and stop moving for one second, so We can help you?!"

This time, the creature stopped and turned her attention to the fillies.

"That's better," they said, nuzzling her paw with their snouts. "It's okay. we won't hurt you."

"You won't hurt her?" the princes uttered.

Screwball and Cherry Blossom looked up at the manticore with a smile. She then held out her other paw, revealing a thorn.

"Typical," Cherry Blossom sighed. "You manticores should watch where you step. Now hold still. This will only take a second."

She used her magic to make the thorn disappear. The manticore roared in her face. The princes were about to cry out when the beast began licking their manes. Screwball giggled.

"Yes, yes, I know. You're welcome." She smoothed out her damped hair. "Run along now and be careful."

The manticore nodded with a smile and vanished into the forest. The princes stared at the fillies in awe.

"How did you...?"

"Mom told us to show every beast a little kindness," Screwball and Cherry Blossom explained. "It amazes us how many angry manticores have thorns in their paws."

"That was amazing! You were..." he paused as he and the fillies locked eyes. "You must be the bravest ponies we've ever met."

Screwball blushed. "You were pretty brave yourself, trying to get me out of danger. Hey! We weren't properly introduced. My name's Screwball."

He raised an eyebrow. "Screwball? That's weird."

"I know. Wasn't my idea."

"No, I mean it's weird, because my name is Mothball."

She gasped. "We're both balls! We could invent a new sport with our names! Hey, you want to hang out?"

Prince Mothball blinked, as if he had never heard the expression before. "Hang out?"

"Yeah! I don't have school today. We can play all morning!"

"Play?"

She tilted her head at him. "What's the matter? Don't you know how to play?"

He said nothing.

"Oh. Well, we'll teach you!"

‘’Hi my name’s Cherry blossom!’’ Cherry Blossom held out her hoof to the other prince.

He accepted her hoof with a smile. ‘’Screwdriver.’’

The princes were skeptical about this. They should really be returning to the hive, but they were feeling so strange around these ponies. They assumed it was because of the positive emotions emitting from them to their stomach. Their mother had told them not to return until their bellies were full, and they could obey that command by staying with the girls.

"Well..." they stammered. "Can we have more of that chocolate milk?"

Screwball giggled. "Sure."

Neither of them noticed the changeling scout that had been hovering above, disguised as a fly. He had been sent to keep an eye on the princes. The queen was not going to be happy about this unexpected turn of events.