Grandaughters of Discord

There was no doubt about it. Fluffball proved to be a difficult baby.

Tennis Ball was easier, despite her magical surges and eagerness to fly. The second daughter of pure chaos had that and more.

While her magic satisfied her hunger, a task that the parents were relieved of, the infant did not fully understand the capability of her powers. A single thought from her simple mind would cause something extraordinary to happen. One day, Fluttershy had the misfortune to come into the nursery and find her child gnawing on the bars of her crib, which had been turned to licorice.

Mothball would never forget the night he made the most shocking discovery. A month after bringing their filly home, the couple woke in the middle of the night hearing her wails.

"Your turn," Mothball said wearily.

With a groan, Screwball teleported to the nursery and gasped when he saw the crib empty.

"Fluffy?!" she called desperately, using his nickname for her. "Fluffy, where...?"

She heard a sinister laugh and looked up to see Fluffball floating (floating!) above her head.

''What?!'' Screwball shrieked. ''But your wings aren't fully developed yet! usually it takes a year or so, but that doesn't matter right now!''

She never guessed this would happen. She jumped up and swung her hooves at her, oh, but she was as stubborn as her mother and easily dodged her.

"Get down here, young lady!" she demanded.

Then she jumped so high that her head crashed into the ceiling, her hat leaving her stuck. Fluffball snickered, but gasped when she saw the angry look on her mother's face. She took that as her cue to flee.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play it, huh? Come back here!"

shee flew furiously as she chased her around the room. For an infant, she was quite fast and sneaky. She flew beneath the crib and she collided into its side, thanks to her hat, once again. she chose to go around and finally got a grip on her with his magic.

"Gotcha, you little scamper!" Screwball shouted triumphantly.

The filly tried to struggle out of his grasp, but her mother's magic were too strong. At last, she gave up with a pout. she laughed as he stood and held her up.

"Now to get you back to bed so your Daddy and Mommy can get some sleep," she cooed.

Then she took a sniff of the air and cringed. Fluffball snickered again.

"But first, some pony needs a change." She sighed. "Ugh, I hate this part!"

in a flash the filly's dirty diaper disappeared, a clean diaper replacing it.

"Who knew raising a foal would be so much work?"

she grunted as she set her down into her crib. She crossed her hooves and glared at her with her spiral eyes. She began to wonder if she had inherited her grandmother's Stare.

"Don't give me that look, little missy!" she ordered, pointing her hoof at her. "You may have chaotic power at your disposal, but I'm the princess of Chaos! I make the rules around here, got it? Playtime is over! Now get to sleep before I make you sleep!"

The filly suddenly broke into tears, causing Screwball to freeze. That had been louder than she had intended.

"Please, please don't cry!"

She opened her mouth and wailed at full volume. It was not that she hated his daughter or vice versa, but when it came to her crying, she was helpless. She had the ability to calm down any living creature like Screwball. So far, she had been the only one to handle situations like this.

"Please!" she begged. "You'll wake your father!"

She had to get her to quiet down and go to sleep. She had tried a sleep spell on her ages ago, but the filly had developed a resistance to most of her magic, she had discovered. A trait she had received from her father, no doubt. She considered fetching her husband to take over from here, but she did not want to rouse him from bed. he had been working harder than ever this past month, taking care of the baby along with their pets.

Screwball decided he at least had to try to calm her daughter down. First, she considered what was making her cry. She had already changed her diaper and she clearly was not hungry, because she could handle that herself. She considered getting a laugh instead of a cry.

"Hey, Fluffy!" he exclaimed. "Watch this!"

In a flash, she was on top a unicycle juggling a pie, a boot and an anvil. Fluffball stopped crying and watched this act with curiosity. The objects then slipped out of her mother's hooves and landed on his head: first the boot, then the pie, then the anvil.

"Ta-da!"

She blinked for a moment and then cried again.

"Sheesh," she muttered. "Tough crowd." She knelt to her bedside. "For goodness sake, what do you want from me, kid?!"

Her outburst did not make it any better. She slapped herself in the face. What would Mothball do in this predicament? In the time that she had known him, she still had trouble being gentle with other creatures. She thought the problem was that others were too absorbed with her appearance to give her a chance, but then she realized that the problem might be her not giving them a chance, or rather kindness a chance.

Maybe she should give it a chance now. He thought about what Mothball would use to calm the baby down and then a literal lightbulb appeared over her head.

"A lullaby! Is that what you want?"

The filly seemed to understand her for she stopped wailing for a bit and held out her hooves with a whimper, indicating that she wanted her to hold her as well. She carefully scooped her in his hooves. She was so tiny and soft. She would not be surprised if she grew up to be as beautiful as her. Thank the heavens she had inherited that part of her.

She cradled her gently and attempted to sing the lullaby Fluttershy would always use:

"Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed..."

She trailed off as she began crying again. She rolled her eyes.

"Everyone's a critic."

Unfortunately, she was not as gifted in singing as her husband was, mostly because she had not had much practice. Besides, the song was not in her key. Maybe she should try another song, but she did not know that many. Then an idea came to her. She remembered that song she made to get Tennis Ball to sleep a long time ago. Maybe if she sang her that song, SHE would go to sleep. She sang softly and sweetly:

"Please do not cry, my dear

Your Moma is so very here..."

She paused a moment to listen to the haunting tune. Screwball glanced down and saw that her cheesy song was working, so he continued:

"And if any pony

Causes you any harm or fear..."

She thought about what she would do if anything happened to her daughter.

"Then I will bring them pain

And drown them all in chocolate rain

'Cause I...am your Mother, Screwball

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

The filly giggled in delight, clearly enjoying the song. She clapped her tiny hooves for more. Screwball smiled down at her.

"Life here, is not a game,

It's full of endless Joy and Pain,

But we'll get through it all,

As long as you, Oh, call my name,

You are, my precious gem,

And I can't ever replace you again,

'Cause you...are my daughter, Fluffball

And you're...gonna sleep right now."

The lullaby took its effect as Fluffball let out a yawn and closed her eyes. She gazed in awe as she innocently sucked her hoof. She would have given her a pacifier, but she knew it was useless, considering she had eaten the last three. So she laid her in her crib, careful not to wake her. She picked up her stuffed dragon Sir Fangs-a-lot and slid it under her free foreleg. She then gently tugged the quilt Apple Bloom had made over her small body.

Smiling, she leaned forward and lightly kissed the filly on the forehead. Perhaps she was not such a bad Mother after all.

When she teleported back into bed, she announced to her husband, "Our baby can fly."

Mothball sighed, still half asleep. "Of course, she can."

❊ ❊ ❊

Despite the complications, Mothball and Screwball loved their newborn filly. She had a contagious laugh that was a combination of joy and sneakiness, much like her mother's. Her powers, while making her difficult to deal with, were actually quite entertaining. Once she had learned to teleport, she and Screwball took the game of peek-a-boo to new heights. She would often get restless, but Screwball was able to calm her down with her tenderness. When that did not work, she would use the Stare on her. Mothball was grateful that the filly had not inherited her grandfather's immunity.

The biggest issue was finding a babysitter. While Pinkie was the most eager, not even she could handle the filly's unpredictability. Rainbow Dash had to rest up for her delivery, Twilight was too busy on her studies and Rarity was too occupied with her store. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had tried, but not even three normal ponies could control this powerful, ecstatic infant.

Dinky proved to be the best babysitter, with the assistance of Cinnamon Roll. As she had to raise Pumpkin seed Doo from infancy, she had the most experience, though her son could not do magic. Even though it was a pain searching for her whenever she disappeared, she would not lose her patience and actually found ways to calm the filly down. The unicorn considered her quite adorable. She had reminded her of Pumpkin.

"I wish we had Another one," she had once said while cradling her.

She had forgotten that Cinnamon Roll had been standing right next to her. "What?"

Screwball was excited about her daughter's powers, not realizing how unusual it was for a filly like her, and she got the most excited whenever Pumpkin seed was over. As Dinky had promised, she and Screwball would bring their daughter and Son together for play dates. Fluffball so adored her little playmate and was fascinated with his funny yellow eyes. She would stare at them for ages and wonder what the earth pony was looking at with one eye or the other.

She would amuse her playmate with her powers, making their toys levitate and circle in the air. Pumpkin would clap his hooves in pleasure. The only magical surges the unicorn had had were when his pacifier, the same one Screwball had given his when they met in the hospital, was out of reach.

When Apple Blossom's twins arrived, Fluffball was given two additional playmates. They were fraternal twins, a boy named Apple Thunder and a girl named Zapple Bloom. They both had their Mother's green coats and their father's violet eyes. Apple Thunder's mane had a dark purple, light orange and light blue streak while Zapple Bloom had the same but with a lighter purple.

Fluffball took an immediate interest in their wings, finding them similar, yet smaller, to their father's. The two could fly before they could walk. Fluffball was a little over a year old when she had discovered this and was just learning to walk on four legs herself. She was able to fly at their age too, but she noticed that her wings were not like theirs. She also realized that their eyes looked in the same direction, but she already knew that Pumpkin's eyes were unique.

Some point at this age, she met a pony she had never seen before and jumped back at the sight of her. Her short curly mane was green with streaks of white, her coat was a light purple, but it was her eyes that interested Fluffball the most. They were different. They were nothing like Pumpkin's. She seemed to have no blackness in her eye, only a green swirl.

Fluffball reached out to touch the filly and at the same time, the filly reached out to touch her. Their hooves met and Fluffball flinched at the smooth texture she was feeling. It was not a hoof, it was glass. Her parents had already observed that Fluffball seemed quite intelligent and understanding for a foal her age and it did not take long for her to conclude that the strange filly was indeed her.

That was when she knew.

Screwball found her daughter sitting in front of the full-length mirror and flew down to her.

"So there you are," she said, reaching her hooves out to her. "I've been looking..."

"Differ," Fluffball uttered.

Her mother blinked in surprise. She had gurgled a few words before, her first one being 'Grandpa,' much to Discord's pleasure, but this was new.

"What did you say?"

The foal pointed to the mirror. "Differ."

Her hoof then tapped at the reflection of her eyes.

❊ ❊ ❊

As Fluffball grew older and developed better speech, she began noticing other things that were different about her. Her diet was the first indicator. Her friends always stared at her when she drank her sip cup instead of the milk inside it. Her playmates, their mothers did not do the things she did. Objects did not appear out of nowhere on their command, nor did they just come to them from afar. It happened to Fluffball, but not as much. She noticed her mother did the same things as her frequently, even more often.

Ah yes, her granddad. She was only starting to realize how different he was from the other ponies: his size, his shape, his appearance, his behavior. She only saw the contrast whenever her mother or one of the other ponies was next to him.

When she was four, she finally approached her grandparents about this. It was after they read her a bedtime story that she asked.

"Grandmommy, Grandaddy?"

"Yes, dear?" her grandmother responded softly.

"Why am I different?"

Discord and Fluttershy paused, their smiles disappearing as they shared a look.

"You're not different, honey," her grandfather insisted. "You're just...unique."

"Like your friend Pumpkin," Fluttershy added.

"He don't do magic," Fluffball said. "Not like mine. Twins have no magic. None. Why me? Why my eyes different?"

Her grandmother glanced to the side. "Sweetie..."

The filly pointed to Discord. "Granddaddy very different."

He winced. "Fluffy, I think you..."

"Why?"

The couple looked at each other again and sighed simultaneously.

"Yes, my love," Fluttershy said. "You and Granddaddy are different. As you may have noticed, I am a pegasus, your grandfather is a draconequus."

Fluffball tilted her head. "Like Uncle Spike?"

Her grandmother laughed. "No, honey. A draconequus. They are wonderful, majestic creatures with incredible powers that can bend reality."

Discord put his paw over his heart. "My dear, you flatter me! Yet your flattery is an understatement. I am the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony! It is my duty to make the world less boring with my little...quirks. After all, what would this world be without chocolate rain?"

Fluffball squealed and kicked her hooves happily in agreement.

"Anyway," Fluttershy continued, "it is very unusual for two different creatures to marry, so when your grandfather and I fell in love, no pony really approved. We found a way through however and had you. You look like a pony, but you have your father's powers. There's never been such a pony born before."

"What your grandmother's trying to say is," Discord interrupted, leaning forward to brush his granddaughter's hair, "you are special, because you are a product of two species, two creatures who love each other very much despite their differences."

He smirked as he wrapped his tail around Fluttershy and pulled her closer. She was startled at first but then laughed and kissed him on the snout.

"Your grandfather's right," she said to the filly.

"Well, duh!" Discord huffed. "Of course I am!"

She nudged him playfully in the ribs with her elbow. "Don't you worry about being different, honey. Your eyes, your powers are what make you special."

The draconequus leaned forward. "And there's no pony more special than our little Screwball, FluffBall and Ten-!"

The draconequus paused. He then switched his direction to Fluttershy, who gave him a warning glare.

''And Mothball!''

The filly smiled, assuring them that their words had helped. After her parents had kissed her goodnight and turned out the lights, Fluffball closed her eyes and sighed contently.

Special. That's what she was. Special.