//------------------------------//
// Fights 
// Story: Daughter of Discord 
// by DisneyFanatic23 
//------------------------------//

	Discord paced around Screwball's bedroom, trying to control his frustration. His daughter sat on the bed, glaring down at her hooves while Fluttershy stood a safe distance away from them both.

"I'm a reasonable father!" Discord ranted. "I let you bend reality, I let you stay up late, I let you eat dessert before dinner! I never ask for much! Yet the one rule I make, the one thing I tell you not to do, you go out and break!"

"Daddy, you don't understand..." Screwball started to say.

"Did you know who that stallion was?"

"I..."

"Did you?!"

She hung her head. "Yes."

He crossed his arms. "How long have you been seeing that boy?"

Screwball looked away.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Changelings are dangerous! You can't trust them, especially that one!"

"You don't even know him!" his daughter spat.

"Yeah? Well, like mother, like son! All changelings are the same: heartless, cold, hideous monsters!"

"You're the one to talk!"

"What?!"

Screwball covered her mouth while Fluttershy gasped in horror. Discord narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"Oh," he growled. "Oh! So that's the way you're gonna play it, eh, missy?! Yes! I'm hideous! But at least I have a heart! Changelings are incapable of any..."

"Daddy, I love him!"

The only sound that could be heard was another gasp from Fluttershy. Discord's eyes grew to the size of frying pans.

"No," he uttered. "Have you lost your senses?! He's a changeling!"

"I don't care!" Screwball said defiantly.

"Can't you see he's bewitched you?! Can't you see he's feeding off your emotions?! He's only using you! A creature like that cannot love!"

The young mare could not take it anymore and hopped off the bed. "You're such a hypocrite!"

She raced toward the door.

"I'm not finished with you, young lady!" Discord bellowed.

"Well, I'm finished!"

As she threw the door open with her magic, she heard some shouts. Behind the door were the Tri-Pies and Prism. Screwball ignored them and ran sobbing down the hall.

"Screwball Fluttershy Draconequus!" Discord shouted. "You come back here this instant!"

"Discord!" Fluttershy said sternly, laying her hoof on his shoulder. "I think you might have been too hard on her."

"Too hard on her?!" the draconequus repeated. "She deliberately disobeyed me! On top of that, she used her magic against me and called me a heartless monster! A hypocritical one at that!"

"But Discord, don't you see?"

"Don't I see what?"

"This is precisely how I was treated when I fell in love with you!"

The draconequus grew silent. He tried to find a proper response, but he found none.

"Our daughter's right," Fluttershy declared. "You are a hypocrite! You forbid Screwball from falling in love with a changeling, when the world forbade me from falling in love with you!"

"That was different!" Discord insisted. "I loved you back! Changelings are incapable of love! They say they care for you, but once their hunger is satisfied, they stab you in the back!"

"Honey, I know you're probably too upset to discuss this, but exactly what happened between you and Chrysalis that made you enemies?"

He sighed. "It was a long time ago, when I was just a kid alone in the wild. I met Chryssy, err, Chrysalis when she was just a princess. Even at that age, she was devious! She did not seem to mind my appearance and she said she was my friend. I told her I was looking for a home, and she told me of this land where creatures of all kinds are accepted."

"Equestria?" Fluttershy guessed.

"You got it. Well, she was clearly wrong! But that's not what ticked me off! Years later, when I took over Equestria, newly crowned Chrysalis and her changelings took advantage of my disorder and fed off the ponies!"

He looked at his wife sincerely. "She used me! She sent me to Equestria, knowing the ponies would reject me and make me so mad that I would take over so she wouldn't have to do it herself!"

"Are you sure that's what happened?"

"Oh, I'm sure! She wasn't the least bit modest when she came to my lair to gloat about it!"

He groaned and collapsed on the bed. "I wish Screwball would just realize that I don't want her to get hurt! And I certainly don't want her to face the same..."

"Shhh," Fluttershy whispered, stroking his head. "What happened with Chrysalis is all in the past now. Maybe her son is different."

"How could you possibly know that?" Discord huffed.

"I don't, but seventeen years ago, I met someone whom every pony thought was a monster. I thought he was a monster too, until I got to know him better. A year later, I married him, and have been happy ever since."

"But those changelings...they're evil!"

"You were evil too, weren't you?"

"Yes, but..."

"And you changed, didn't you?"

"I did, but..."

"Well, what made you change?"

He looked up at her. After all these years, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Of course, he had cast an eternal youth spell on her not long after their wedding, so she did not look any different.

"You."

Fluttershy smiled. "Because you fell in love with me."

He sat up. "It was more than that. You were my everything! My life was incomplete without you in it!" He reached out to caress her cheek. "I would give up my power for you!"

"Then don't you think Prince Mothball could feel the same about Screwball?"

He stiffened. "I...I..." He sighed heavily. "Maybe you're right, but...you can't be too careful. I suppose I should go talk to her."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Give her a moment to calm down."





Screwball did not know where else to go. She instantly teleported to her sanctuary. Her first instinct was to sob into her hooves.

Why could her father not understand? He was always supportive with everything else she did. Even though she knew he would never allow her to see Mothball, it never seemed to matter until now. Now that he had figured out her secret, he was going to make sure she never left his sight again. It would be only a matter of minutes before he found her.

"I thought you'd be here."

Huh. Sooner than I thought.

"Go away!" she shouted.

"Huh?"

Screwball did a double take and realized it was not her dad's voice. She turned around to see Mothball. She quickly cast a spell to fix her hair and makeup.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I thought you were my dad. What are you doing here?"

He took a step forth. "I came to see if you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...Daddy and I got into a fight."

"Oh. I guess that's my fault."

"No. I was the one who told you to change into yourself. I'm also the one who threw my dad into a tree. You know I've never used magic on him before? We've always been so close and never fought." She sighed. "I guess it was bound to happen at some point."

She hung her head and was silent for a while. Mothball cautiously approached and sat down beside her.

"So how have things been? You know, other than trouble with the parents."

Screwball sniffed. "Okay, I guess." She smiled a bit. "I have a baby brother now."

The changeling raised his eyebrows. "A brother?"

"Yeah, his name is Zany. He's the cutest baby you'll ever see!"

"Does he, um...do the things you do? I mean can he do magic?"

She nodded. "Though he has trouble controlling it. I can't wait until he's older! That way, we can play catch together and I can show him my wicked curve ball!"

"How old is he now?"

"Five months."

"What about your friends? How are they doing?"

"Dinky and Cinnamon Stick got together at the dance, so did Thunder and Apple Blossom. I think..." She scooted closer to him. "A lot of ponies got up the courage tonight to..." She touched his hoof with hers. "Tell the pony they liked that they...well..."

She did not need to say anything. Mothball could feel her emotion. Things were going according to plan. All he had to do was pretend he returned her affections and wriggle more information out of her. It is what his mother would want. But it was not what he wanted.

He pulled his hoof away. "Screwball, you can't! You can't have feelings for a changeling! You can't love something that has no heart to love you back with!"

Screwball looked at him seriously. "Why do you not see what I see?"

"See what?"

"This!"

She took his hoof again and this time placed it over his chest.

"Feel that?"

Something inside his chest was pumping rapidly.

"That's a heartbeat," Screwball stated.

Mothball stared at her in disbelief and then shook his head.

"That's impossible," he murmured. "I'm not supposed to have a heart! I'm exactly what your father says: cold, unfeeling..."

"If you're so cold and unfeeling, then why haven't you sucked me dry yet?"

"Because...because..."

He could not think of a reason, for there were too many candidates: because I don't want to hurt you, because I'm supposed to keep you alive, because I think you're really pretty...

He chose the safest one:

"You're the only friend I've ever had."

As she smiled, Mothball could have sworn he heard music. He figured it was his imagination until fireflies surrounded them in a heart-shaped pattern. Screwball batted her purple eyes innocently.

"Sorry," she said. "When I get emotional, I get a little carried away."

Exactly who is the seducer here?

Once again, he found himself lost in those hypnotic swirls. He did not know if it was her magic, or if her eyes truly sparkled. He almost did not realize she was leaning in, until her lips were inches away from his.

He wrenched himself away and the spell was broken.

"Did you not hear my warning?!" he snapped.

Screwball pouted. "I don't care!"

"You should! Do you think I would be able to live with myself if I hurt...?"

He paused, shocked at the words falling from his mouth. Screwball was equally surprised, not by his words, but by his frightened tone. Mothball decided he should get out of here before he gave her the wrong idea and so he could sort out this strange thumping inside him.

"You should go home," he said quickly.

Screwball blinked. "What?"

"Your family's probably worried sick about you."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm in enough trouble as it is. Will I see you again?"

Mothball looked away. "I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"But..."

"For your own safety, Screwy, I think it's best you stay away."

It pained him to say it even more than it had the first time he had left. This time, it was for real, and Screwball knew he was not lying. He heard a sniff and resisted the urge to look at her, knowing those beautiful eyes were filling up with tears.

"Goodbye," he muttered.

Mothball took off before he could change his mind. Screwball's ears drooped as she began crying for the second time that evening.

She did not want to go back to Canterlot, but she felt she had no choice. Her parents would flip if she did not return soon.





"Any sign of her?" Fluttershy asked her friends.

Applejack shook her head. "We've looked everywhere!"

Discord was growing nervous. "You don't think she ran away, do you?"

When Screwball materialized in front of him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Celestia!"

"Where have you been, young lady?" Fluttershy demanded, crossing her hooves.

"I was just getting some air," Screwball mumbled, not making eye contact with any pony.

"Screwy, I want to talk about..." her father started to say.

She turned his back to him. "I don't want to talk now. I just wanna go to bed."

Discord scowled. "How dare you turn your back on me?! You come back here, or I'll..."

"Let her go, honey," Fluttershy said, taking his paw in her hooves. "It's been a long night. She needs some rest."

"We could all use some rest," Twilight declared.

The others agreed and departed for their bedrooms, all except Rarity. She tapped the yellow pegasus on the shoulder.

"Fluttershy, may I speak with you?"

Fluttershy looked to her husband. After the family dispute, Discord needed her especially now, but Rarity's expression was desperate.

"This will only take a moment, dear."

The draconequus nodded solemnly and left the two mares alone.

"How do you make it work?" Rarity asked suddenly.

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Your marriage. It can't be easy! I mean don't you two ever fight?"

"But of course. Married couples get into fights all the time."

"Then how are you still together?"

"The thing with fights is that we argue about what is bothering us and after the fight, we try to fix it. If we never talk about our problems with each other, how will one know what's troubling the other?"

"But..." Rarity stammered. "Don't most marriages end because of...a fight?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Fights are normal. Of course, I wouldn't know, but I think marriages break up due to a lack of a fight."

"Fancy Pants and I never fought, until..."

The unicorn trailed off, which caught Fluttershy's attention.

"Until what? Rarity, you can tell me anything. Whatever it is, I won't talk about it with anyone. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Rarity smiled a little and took a deep breath. "I caught Fancy Pants with another mare."

Fluttershy gasped. "What? When?"

The whole story came pouring out. "A few days before Screwball and Dinky's birthday, Fancy Pants told me he was going out to lunch with a friend. Then while I was shopping, Upper Crust said she saw him at the café with his old marefriend, Fleur-de-lils! I tried telling myself it was only a casual meal, but I was curious and asked Upper Crust to lead me to them! When we got there, her filthy hooves were all over him! In public, nonetheless!

"Humiliated and hurt, I rushed home, packed my things, left Fancy Pants a note, picked Gemstone up from her piano lessons and hopped on the next train to Ponyville!"

As tears sprung in Rarity's eyes, the pegasus stood speechless. She tried to process Fancy Pants ever doing such a thing. He was always such a gentlecolt to all of them.

"Maybe it isn't what you think," Fluttershy suggested.

"And what if it is?" Rarity snapped.

"Did you even talk to Fancy Pants about this?"

"Well, I...no. I was just so upset, I couldn't talk to him! I haven't even told Gemstone about it!"

"Then how do you know that's what happened?"

The unicorn said nothing.

"Look, I won't say anything, but you should not leave something like this unsaid, especially to Fancy Pants. If you don't discuss this matter with him, it will never be resolved."

Rarity looked her friend in the eye. "You're right. I shouldn't hold my anger in. I must speak with Fancy Pants. I suppose that means I should throw those divorce papers away."

Fluttershy grinned. "That's good, Rarity."

"But...I need to sleep on it. Thank you, Fluttershy. You really are the best friend a pony could ever have."

Twilight did not mean to eavesdrop. She had returned to ask Fluttershy about the changeling when she overheard the conversation with Rarity. It got the alicorn thinking about her situation with Flash. They never really talked about what happened five years ago. Perhaps it was time they did.

She was also thinking about what had occurred with Screwball and the changeling, whom Discord had claimed was Queen Chrysalis' heir. Screwball had turned against her father to defend the boy. Twilight wanted to know why.





When Mothball arrived at the hive, his mother was waiting.

"What did you find out from the halfling?" she asked.

The prince turned away from her. "I don't want a part of this anymore, Mother."

Queen Chyrsalis narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said I don't want a part of this anymore!"

The elder changeling gritted her teeth. "Are you disagreeing with me?"

Mothball faced her defiantly. "Maybe I am. What are you going to do about it?"

Furious, her horn glowed green as she blasted a beam at him, sticking him to the wall.

"No one defies me!" Chrysalis bellowed, stepping toward him. "Especially my own son! Now tell me what you know!"

Mothball was scared out of his wits. He had never stood up to his mother before, nor had she ever used force on him! Nevertheless, he kept his courage.

"I don't care what you do to me! Why can't you just leave that family alone?"

Chrysalis growled. "I should have known you'd be too weak for the task!" Then she smirked. "And I know precisely what makes you weak. That halfling, she's something of...value to you, is she not?"

Mothball froze in fear, causing Chrysalis to grin in triumph.

"I see she is. If I cannot get information from you, I could always go straight to the source."

"No!" he protested. "You can't! Please, don't hurt her!"

"You don't want her hurt?" the queen chuckled. "Then tell me what I need to know."