"How do you suppose we'll find them?" Rarity asked once they each had their necklaces on. "They could be anywhere in Equestria by now!"
The ponies gasped as an all-too-familiar laugh echoed throughout the palace.
"He's here!" Fluttershy shivered.
"Discord!" Twilight called. "Stop this madness!"
The draconequus laughed again, still not revealing himself. "Madness? I assure you, I am quite sane. After all, how else do you expect me to react when I discover that my innocent, devoted wife is not so innocent and devoted!"
"Discord, listen to me!" Fluttershy shouted. "What you saw, it wasn't me!"
"Oh, really? How many other ponies can match your delicate beauty? Applejack, you were there! You saw!"
"I don't know what I saw!" Applejack cried, looking around for the source of the voice.
"We have the Elements of Harmony, Discord!" Twilight declared. "Surrender Screwball and Zany and you won't be harmed!"
"I won't be harmed?" He roared with laughter. "That's rich! That's real rich!"
The alicorn stomped her hoof. "Enough! Why are you even here?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Fluttershy squealed as Discord came out of nowhere and scooped her into his arms.
"I've come to collect my wife, of course!"
"What?!" Flutershy gasped. "I...I thought you were mad at me."
"Oh, I was," he purred, stroking her mane. "But I don't blame you, my dear. It was that pesky stallion who corrupted your innocence. Don't worry. He won't be a problem anymore."
Her eyes widened. "W-what did you do to him?"
He chuckled. "You don't want to know."
Applejack gulped. "The stallion...was real?!"
"Oh, yes," Discord sighed. "He was real. I could tell by the way he screamed."
Twilight gulped, but maintained her stern appearance. "You've gone too far this time, Discord!"
"Oh, blah, blah, blah! Tell it to someone who cares, Princess! That title is so weak, by the way! I mean come on, who does Celestia think she is, handing a crown and wings to a plain, ordinary unicorn?"
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted, floating defensively in front of Twilight.
"After all, that crown should go to some pony who really deserves it."
Twilight gasped as her crown levitated from her head and onto Fluttershy's.
"Discord, what...?" the pegasus started to say.
"Picture it, my dear!" Discord said, holding her out to face him. "You and I will rule this land together as the King and Queen of Chaos!"
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "What?"
"It'll be better than anything you've ever dreamed, darling! We'll improve this boring, pathetic world into a beautiful playground for our children! And since we have forever, there will be more children to come! We could repopulate!"
Fluttershy yanked herself out of Discord's grasp. "What's gotten into you? I thought you had abandoned these thoughts!"
"I did not abandon them. I merely...set them aside for a while." He smirked as he put his arm around her. "Come now, sweetheart. You've always been my queen. Now we can make it official."
She shoved his paw away. "Never!"
With a toothy grin, he grabbed her by the shoulders. "But honey bunch, I thought you loved me!"
"No!" Fluttershy cried, kicking her legs furiously. "You're not my Discord! You're not the stallion I fell in love with!"
"Reality check, dear! I am!"
"Enough!" Twilight bellowed, shooting a poweful beam at him.
Discord's paw recoiled as the magic stung him, releasing his hold of Fluttershy. The pegasus bolted behind the alicorn.
"You leave us no choice, Discord," Twilight said, placing her crown back on her head. "Unless you cease this insanity within twenty-four hours, the next time we meet won't be as pleasant."
The draconequus laughed maniacally. "You'll have to catch me first!"
After he had vanished, his laughter continued.
"What's happened to him?" Fluttershy sobbed.
"He's flipped his wig!" Applejack exclaimed.
Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but it must be done."
"No," Fluttershy uttered.
"It's the only way to save Equestria...and Discord's sanity."
The draconequus chuckled as his body transformed into Chrysalis.
"Oh, that was too easy! Soon Discord will be nothing but a lawn ornament and Equestria will be mine for the taking! I love it when things go my way."
Meanwhile, the real Discord was searching the cotton candy clouds for his son.
"Alright, Zany!" he called. "You win! I give up!"
After a few moments, the infant appeared in front of him. The draconequus grinned and snuggled him in his arms.
"Oh, you little troublemaker, you!"
Discord put his paw to his head as he started to feel faint.
"Sheesh. Hostile takeover is hard work. What say we find your sister and we take five?"
Zany opened his mouth in a smile and clapped his tiny hooves. Discord scanned the streets below for his daughter.
"Ah, there she is!"
He swooped down beside the young mare, who was sitting still and staring at her reflection in a puddle.
"I found him!" Discord declared, holding Zany out to her. "After all the excitement, the little scamper's probably worn out. How about we all take a nap on a cloud? Just like we used to."
He awaited a response, but received only silence. She did not even lift her head to look at him. Confused, Discord cleared his throat.
"I said..."
"I heard you," Screwball mumbled, almost inaudibly.
"Aha! She speaks! So what do you say to that nap?"
"Dad, I wanna go home."
Discord froze. "Later, honey."
She finally turned her head toward him. "I'm tired, Daddy. You said that after the game, we would go home, but the game ended an hour ago." She scowled. "You Pinkie Promised!"
"Have I taught you nothing, dear?" Discord asked, holding up his crossed fingers. "Crossies don't count!"
Screwball gasped. "You...you lied to me? How...how did I not know that?"
He shrugged. "You're slipping, my dear. Maybe you just need a rest."
"I do need a rest, in my own bed. Why can't we go home?"
"This is our home!" Discord gestured to their surroundings. "This entire city is ours for the taking!"
"Dad, stop it! I'm tired of this game! It will not only get us in trouble with Mom, but the princesses won't..."
"Who cares?!" he snapped. "Who cares what your vile mother thinks?!"
"Daddy! What's gotten into you? Why do you keep talking about Mom like that?"
Discord bit his lip as he looked down at his angry daughter. He then sighed and handed Zany to her.
"Okay," he breathed. "I'll tell you the truth, but you're not going to like it." He turned his face away. "Your mother...left me." He clenched his paw into a fist. "She left us!"
Screwball blinked in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"
"SHE LEFT ME FOR ANOTHER STALLION!" he roared.
"WHAT?!" Screwball shrieked.
"It's true! I saw her! She was playing tonsil hockey with that...that..."
Screwball quickly covered Zany's ears as he said the word. Discord faced his children.
"But we don't need her, my darlings! We don't need any of them! We'll show them what happens when they mess with the House of Chaos!"
"Daddy..." Screwball said in a broken voice. "Mom couldn't...she wouldn't! She...she loves us..."
"Loved us!" Discord hissed. "But we apparently were too repulsive for her to continue loving!"
"No! She would never! Mom loves us more than anything! She told me..."
"Lies! All lies!"
"She wasn't...I didn't..."
"Then your talent is clearly flawed, my dear!"
The young mare was trying to process all this. Her thinking was fuzzy due to her shock and fatigue. None of this made sense. Why would her sweet, caring mother do such a thing? Did she not love them? Did she not know what Discord would become?
"She wouldn't!" Screwball insisted, her eyes filling with tears. "You're...you're lying!"
"Am I?" Discord said with an arched brow. "It's time you learned, my dear: you cannot trust anyone, especially the ones you love!"
Screwball glanced down at her reflection again and then at Zany. She closed her eyes and sucked up the tears before glaring at her father.
"Well," she said, "I suppose that means I can't trust you either."
Discord blinked in surprise. "What?"
Still cradling her brother, the adolescent stood on her hind legs. "I don't want this, Daddy! It wasn't so bad when it was just a few harmless pranks, but this...this...this is wrong! It's...it's evil!"
"Honey, listen to me..."
"NO! You listen! All my life, ponies have told me that you were evil and that I was evil too! I never believed them, but now...now I see they're right! You promised you would never be evil again! You promised the princesses, you promised Mom, you promised me!" She paused. "But you lied."
Her words pierced him like a sword. "Sweetie, I..."
"Go ahead, then! Spread your evil! Just leave me out of it!" She looked down at Zany. "Leave us out of it."
"What are you saying?"
Screwball turned her back to him. "Bye, Daddy."
"Screwy! Wait!"
But the young mare was gone with the infant before he could stop her. The two reappeared deep within the Everfree Forest. Screwball's knees collapsed beneath her.
"Wow, I'm more tired than I thought," she said aloud.
She glanced at her brother who was smiling with glee, clearly oblivious to what had just occurred.
"Well, it looks like it's just you and me now, bro." She gazed up at the sky. "Where can we go? Mom will be looking for us, and so will the princesses. I don't believe what Daddy said, but if it's true... Mom certainly won't be happy, that's for sure. What if the princesses punish us?"
She held Zany close to her. "I won't let that happen to you, I promise. We can't go home. That'll be the first place they'll look for us. We can't stay with Dinky, and I can only imagine what my other friends must be thinking of me right now. Every pony must think I'm a monster!"
She sighed and held out her brother. "I really screwed up this time, didn't I?"
As she gazed into Zany's eyes, they suddenly turned green and Screwball felt her own eyelids grow heavy. A soothing voice inside her head told her to lay down and sleep. Sleep certainly sounded good right now.
Then another voice screamed: "Snap out of it!"
Screwball shook out of her trance. "What the...?"
She then looked at the infant in her hooves, whose mouth was agape in confusion. In realization, she dropped him.
"You're not Zany!"
The baby scowled as he changed form. Screwball gazed up in fear at the queen of the changelings who now stood before her.
"I underestimated your perceptiveness, I'll give you that," Chrysalis grinned. "Though the fact that I have kept the charade this long just shows how good I am!"
Screwball choked on her words. "Where...what have you done with my brother?!"
"He's alive, I assure you. We changelings may be heartless, but we just love foals! Your baby brother is quite powerful for his age. I think I will raise him as if he were my own dark prince!"
The young mare gritted her teeth together. "You leave my brother alone you...you monster!"
Chrysalis put her hoof to her chest, pretending to be offended. "Monster? My, what a hypocrite you are."
Screwball yelled and made a giant hammer appear behind the Queen. It came down hard on her head, but instead of causing damage, it squeaked. Chrysalis snatched the mallet from the air and chuckled.
"Rubber. How adorable!"
"W-what?" Screwball uttered.
She tried casting another spell, but the only result was an explosion of confetti. She tried again, but a sharp pain in her head broke her concentration. Chrysalis made no effort to conceal her laugh.
"It's no use, sweetheart! Since I switched places with your brother, I've been feeding off your love, draining you of your power! Of course, thanks to my son, there wasn't much power left to consume."
Screwball's head shot up. "What?"
"Oh, haven't you guessed? My son was playing you since the day you met."
It was as if the world had crashed down upon the young mare.
"No. No! You're lying!"
"Oh, really? Pitiful girl, you lack so much power now you can't even tell a lie apart from the truth!"
"He wouldn't! He...he..."
"Cares about you?" Chrysalis cackled. "He was only pretending! He was doing exactly as Mummy told him! Yes, the boy was quite useful in my plan. Not only did he drain your power, but if it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have known about your brother!"
Screwball's mouth was open, but her voice had been stolen from her.
"Unfortunately, my dear," the queen said lowly, "now that you're powerless, you are of no use to me anymore."
A rustling in the bushes snapped the mare out of her shock. She turned to see changelings emerging from the darkness, surrounding her and blocking all routes of escape.
"Feed on whatever she has left!" Chrysalis ordered them. "Then dispose of her, slowly and painfully."
Screwball gasped in alarm. She had to get out of here, she had to find her brother. She closed her eyes and harnessed as much power as she could. It gave her a terrible migraine, but she did not give up.
Just as the changelings were inches away from her, Screwball exploded into confetti. The changelings yelped in confusion.
"What happened, your majesty?" one of them asked.
Chrysalis growled in anger and pointed to half the group. "You lot! Find her and destroy her at once! Search everywhere! If she tells anyone what she has witnessed, my plans will be ruined!"
The changelings saluted and separated for their hunt.
When Screwball arrived at the chocolate lake, she found she could no longer stand. Her strength failed her as she collapsed to the ground. All hope seemed lost for the Princess of Chaos, until a figure appeared before her. She opened her eyes to see the dark silhouette of a changeling, a pair of bright green eyes staring down at her.
Instead of running, her head fell softly to the ground as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Mothball gently stroked her mane. He had been searching for her since her father's mental breakdown. He knew his mother had gotten to her, for he could feel her power slowly fading away. If she had just escaped, his mother could not be far. He had to get her to safety.
The prince used his magic to levitate the comatose mare onto his back. Fortunately, she was light as a feather.
"Don't worry, Screwy," he whispered. "If it's the last thing I do, I will fix this."