Moonstruck
Chapter 2: Growing Up
As Screwy ran home to find out if she could go visit with Tux some more, she heard the voice again.
Interesting... Screwy’s made a friend, hmm?
She had never told anyone about it until her voice, and it had never seemed odd to her until she met that orange colt. He didn’t seem to mind that she was a little crazy and in fact seemed to enjoy her company. She was thrilled that he invited her over. The poor filly had never had much in the way of friends, and no one would spend much time with her because of her mischief and oddness. She had never been able to go anywhere special and she was very excited to be able to go visit with another pony. Her dreams were going to be short lived, though.
As she entered the royal dinning hall she was met by a very irate Princess.
“Where have you been, young one?” asked the Princess.
“Iwastakingwalkandmetniceunicornandheinvitemetodinnerandstuff!” replied the lavender filly.
The Princess gave the young filly a confused look, her anger momentarily derailed. “What do you mean, Screwball?” she inquired.
“LikeIsaidbefore Imetacolt namedTuxedo andheinvitedmeto comeoverandhavedinner andstuff.” replied the silly filly. Thinking on it a moment, she added a word (a rather unfamiliar word) that she realized was correct.
“Likeafriend!FriendforScrewy!”
The Princess’s anger subsided slightly and a feeling of glee came over her as she realized that the young chaotic pony had found a companion. “Do you want to go?” the Princess asked.
“BEEEP! yusIwould” the lavender filly said.
“Then you may. But don’t forget your saddle bag.” replied the Princess.
“okokokokokokok thankyouPrincess!” replied the lavender filly, as she went to grab her things. She left with an enormous smile on her face.
Tux, meanwhile, had gone home to tell his parents the news.
“I’ve done it mother, I’ve done it!” he exclaimed.
“What? What have you done?” Ruby inquired.
“I finally did it, I made a friend!”
“That’s wonderful, dear, but keep your voice down.” she said tenderly. “Sear is still trying to recover from that fight last night.”
“What fight?” Tux asked.
“Oh, did I forget to tell you...” Ruby said softly “Your father..well...he encountered some diamond dogs trying to steal the royal gems, and I’m afraid he was injured in the fray.”
“Is he going to be alright?” the young colt’s face was an image of worry and fear.
“He’ll be fine, Tux. Mostly just cuts and bruises.” Tux’s mother smiled to reassure him.
“Okay, mother.” Tux replied. “Would it be alright if my new friend ca...” before he could finish, there was a loud knock on the door followed by an even louder ‘BEEP’. Ruby went to answer the door, only to be very surprised by what she found there.
“hihihihihihImScrewball!” said the lavender filly standing in the doorway.
Ruby stared. “...umm.... Hi there. Can I help you with something?”
“Herefordinner.....Tuxinviteme!”
Understanding dawned on the older unicorn’s face. “Well! Come right in! Any friend of my little Tuxedo is a friend of the family.”
As Screwball entered the house, a loud grumbling sound came from the bedroom.
“Oh dear!” Ruby looked worried. “You two go ahead and start without me. I need to tend to Sear.”
As Tux’s mother went to get Sear some pain relief, the two young ponies sat down and helped themselves to the delicious hay and apple stew that Ruby had prepared. After they had finished their food the two young ponies went to play some more, as Ruby was still tending to Sear. They had soon decided it would be in their best interest to make a pact.
“So then it’s settled, Screwy.” said the young colt “We will remain the best of friends until the end of days!”
“yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes” replied the lavender filly. “alsoyouhelpmefind,daddylateronsright?”
“Of course, Screwy!” replied the orange colt “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?.”
After a little more playing, Screwball decided it would be best to return to her room at the castle. While she was truly happy with Tux, she was still new to having a friend, and wanted some time to think about it.
-------------------
The following year seemed to go by very fast for young Tuxedo, as he spent the majority of his time hanging out with his new best friend. The duo did everything little ponies loved to do. They hunted for their cutie marks all through the year and explored every inch of the castle. Under special permission from the Princess they went out to explore Canterlot as well. They played tag with some of the under-privileged ponies who lived in the slums, and collected treasures from around the city.
They also learned about their shared love of practical jokes and pranks. The majority of the jokes the two young ponies played were on poor Tux’s mother. She would be organizing the royal library or shelving some new books when suddenly she would pick up a semi-open book only to have it explode with streamers and confetti. She took the jokes with a light heart, but still, warned Tux not to bother his father with them or there would be harsh consequences.
After Tux had graduated magic kindergarten he was then sent into grade school where he would learn even more about the joys of pranks. Since Screwball wasn’t allowed to be left alone in the castle while Celestia was taking care of her daily routine it was decided that the best course of action would be to send her to school with her friend, Tuxedo. She was never formally enrolled as a student and she was exempt from all tests but, she was still expected to attend classes. This kept Screwball happy and gave the rest of the castle staff a few hours of total peace each day.
As their lives progressed, Tuxedo learned about himself and his natural talent for not only magic but also learning in general. He was much younger than most of the other ponies in his classes and was an easy target for bullying. Verbal attempts were usually in vain (Tux didn’t care what other ponies thought, and could easily return insults that were infuriating). Most insults led to a physical confrontation after school.
This is where Screwball would save Tux’s life many times. She was always at his side. She usually started talking backwards and rolling her eyes around to scare the bullies away from Tux. That did not always work, however, instead causing all of the attention directed at Tux to get transferred over to Screwy. The bullies focusing on the lavender pony caused Tux to do the thing he hated most, which was using his magic for violence. At one point the amount of trouble the two were in was so immense that Tux had to lift a statue of Celestia out of ground and hold it over the bullies’ heads, threatening to drop it with quick dips. Luckily, in the end, no one was hurt and Tux was able to put the statue back in its original place.
Their antics hadn’t gone unnoticed though. Celestia had been a witness to Tux’s display of strength. Tux was now in his seventh year of schooling when Celestia had approached him about his skills.
“You have a lot of potential, young one” said the Princess sternly.
“Thank you ,Princess! Tux knew this was a high compliment coming from the ruler of Equestria, but was worried by her tone.
“You are most welcome”, Celestia replied. “Why, though, did you opt out of my advanced magic courses?”
“Well, Princess... “ Tux searched for the right way to phrase what he had to say, glancing behind him at the lavender filly approaching. He pointed to her.
“Because then I wouldn’t be able to spend anytime with my best friend, Screwball.”
“I see. You are indeed the Tuxedo that she is always talking about. I thought so. I want to thank you for all that you have done for her, and for me as well. You’ve helped not only her self-esteem but also have all but gotten rid of the voice she hears.”
“I see,” replied the young colt. “I have never been able to figure out what that voice was supposed to be. Would you care to tell me?”
The Princess sighed. “I wish I could, but alas, not even I know that.”
Celestia, of course, knew full well that the voice was that of none other than Discord, but she wouldn’t dare reveal that he had even the slightest presence in Equestria since his banishment.
“Well, thank you anyway. I thought maybe the voice would be a clue to us finding her parents... But I suppose it was just a phase she went through.” Tuxedo began to leave.
Celestia stopped him, then stared for a moment at the colt in front of her. “W...why would you need to know that?”
“Well when we first met we made a pact, to be best friends until we die, and that I would help her find out who her parents are, and where they came from.” he replied. “Why is it a problem, Princess?”
“Well, it’s not really a problem. It’s simply that... Well... Her parents had a very diverse history and a very good reason to have given her up.” Celestia smiled reassuringly at the orange unicorn.
It was then that the lavender filly arrived at both of them. “HIhihihihihIPrincess and hihihihihiTux!!” she exclaimed.
“Hello, Screwball.”
“Hey, Screwy!!”
Tuxedo turned to Celestia. “Well Princess, we must be off. We owe my mother some work in the library today for the prank we pulled on her last week.”
“I hope you two have fun!”
And with that, the duo were off. They often had to work in the library; not because they had to repay Ruby, but so they could research Screwball’s family. So far they had come up with nothing, but they were not deterred by this lack of success and continued researching every chance they had. They kept at it through their schooling years.
Unfortunately, though, time moves on. Eventually, Tux came to the age where he would be sent off to high school, where Screwy, who was confined to the castle grounds and nearby areas, would not be able to follow. Things looked grim for the two, but they refused to worry.
After all, they would be friends forever. And ever....