//------------------------------// // Tension // Story: Son-In-Law of Discord // by DisneyFanatic23 //------------------------------// Screwball and Mothball sat quietly on the couch and watched Discord pace back and forth, ranting as he had been doing for the past hour. Fluttershy sat in an armchair with Zany in her lap, waiting for her husband to cool down. "COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?!" "As you've said a hundred times now," Screwball muttered. "DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE A NOTE, OR CALL ON THE MAGIC MIRROR, OR EVEN INVENT THE TELEPHONE! YOU KIDS HAVE PULLED CRAZY STUNTS BEFORE, BUT THIS…THIS IS…" Fluttershy gasped and covered Zany's ears. After a full three minutes, she put down her hooves and whispered to her son. "Go play upstairs." "Aw!" Zany pouted. "But it's fun watching Daddy be cranky!" She gave him the Stare and the young colt floated up and disappeared through the ceiling. As Discord continued his rant, Screwball was getting bored and Mothball was getting hungry. She summoned a chocolate shake for him and a comic book for herself. "I TRUST YOU WITH MY DAUGHTER, I LET YOU PROPOSE TO HER, AND THEN YOU GO BEHIND MY BACK AND…" Discord trailed off when he noticed the two were otherwise occupied. "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" "Mmm-hmm," they nodded nonchalantly. He slapped himself in the forehead. "Do you know what I thought when I saw both your beds empty?!" "That we eloped?" Screwball grumbled. "That we ran off to do something naughty?" Mothball muttered. "That Mothball dragged me into the forest and left me for dead?" Discord opened his mouth, annoyed and speechless. He growled as he clenched his fists together. "Alright, smarties!" he grunted. "Where were you then?!" Screwball looked up from her comic. "Are you quite done?" "NO! I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU BOTH! AND YOU ARE BOTH GROUNDED FOR FIVE CENTURIES!" He paused. "Now I'm done." She glanced back at her comic as she replied, "We went to the changeling hive." "You WHAT?!" both Fluttershy and Discord exclaimed. "What in Equestria were you doing there?!" Fluttershy demanded. The engaged couple remained silent as Mothball sipped his shake and Screwball turned the pages of her book. "WELL?!" Discord bellowed. "We'll tell you everything if you'll just calm down and stop shouting," Screwball said firmly. "CALM DOWN?! HOW CAN I BE CALM WHEN YOU TWO…?!" "Discord," Fluttershy said gently, placing a hoof on his back. "Deep breaths." Discord quickly inhaled and exhaled. "Now count," she commanded softly. "One, two, three, four, five, six…" It took him until two hundred and thirty-seven, but Discord managed to calm down. Mothball and Screwball put their distractions away and looked at each other worriedly as they silently decided who should speak. Mothball hung his head and Screwball nodded in understanding. "Well," she said, looking up at her parents, "you see, these changeling guards tried to kidnap Mothball last night because Chrysalis is dying and they need a ruler, but Mothball doesn't wanna be King so now we gotta find the other heir who Chrysalis apparently had before Mothball so that she can rule the changelings and we only have a few days until Chrysalis dies, can we have some breakfast now?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Discord said, putting up his paw and claw. "One more time, please, and a little slower, if you don't mind." "Mother is dying," Mothball muttered solemnly. "Oh dear," Fluttershy whispered. Discord looked as if an anvil had just landed on his foot. "C-Chrissy? D-dying? But…that can't be! She's only a thousand and seventy-two! Or was it seventy-four?" Fluttershy fluttered down to Mothball's side and put her hoof around him. "You okay?" He sighed and looked away from her. "Apparently it happens to all royal changelings," Screwball explained. "Some inherited disease, I guess." She paused and looked at Mothball. "Hey, should I be worried?" "We've got at least a thousand years," he said. "Can we not worry about the distant future right now and focus on the present?" "Right. Anyway, Chrysalis apparently had a daughter before Mothball named Princess Bellatrix whom she apparently banished a long time ago, so now we gotta go out and find her." Discord slowly sat himself in the armchair. "She's dying?" Fluttershy flew to her husband's side and stroked the back of his long neck. "I know it's a shock, honey. I mean Chrysalis has never been the nicest pony, but she's still your oldest…" "Hey, wait a minute!" the draconequus shouted, standing up and looking down at Screwball. "Did you say there was a lost changeling princess you had to find?" "Yeah," Screwball replied. "And where exactly is this princess?" She shrugged. "Heck if we know." Her father folded his arms. "So what you're saying is that the two of you are about to go on a wild goose chase, going who knows where, going up against who knows what, for who knows how long?" She looked up at the ceiling and then nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much it." "ABSOLUTELY NOT! IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET YOU GO OUT ON YOUR OWN WHERE YOU CAN GET MUGGED OR ABDUCTED OR MANGLED BY SOME MYTHICAL BEAST…" "Here he goes again," Screwball muttered, rolling her eyes and picking up her comic book. "WELL, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, MISSY! YOU AND YOUR CHANGELING FIANCÉ ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITHOUT AN ESCORT! AND I…" A knock on the door interrupted him. "I'll get it!" Fluttershy squeaked, anxious to break the tension. She opened the door and was met with Princess Twilight Sparkle and her little daughter, Twinkle. "Twilight!" Fluttershy piped, smiling awkwardly. "What are you doing here?" "It's Saturday, remember?" Twilight said, scrunching her nose in confusion. "Ten o'clock?" The pegasus looked down at Twinkle and gasped. "The playdate! I completely forgot!" The princess leaned past Fluttershy and saw Discord glaring crossly at Screwball and Mothball. "Is this a bad time?" "Oh, no!" Fluttershy insisted. "Come in!" She called upstairs. "Zany! Your friend Twinkle's here!" "Mom, why?!" Twinkle whined. "Zany's annoying! He bugs me!" "Now, now, sweetie," Fluttershy said, kneeling down to her. "Zany adores you!" "He turned my books into paper bats!" "Uh…that was just a way to show his affection!" "Don't you worry about it," Twilight said, summoning a comb to straighten out her daughter's short mane. "You just be nice to Zany and he'll be nice to you." "Humph!" the three-year-old grunted. "He's a big meanie and always is!" "'Always will be,' honey." "See? You think so too!" "Hiya, Twinkle Toes!" Twinkle screeched as she looked up and found Zany balancing on her horn with his front left hoof. "How…wha…?" she stammered. "Prince of Chaos, baby!" he cackled. He yelped in pain as sparks emitted from Twinkle's horn and burned his hoof. He sucked on it while the young alicorn smiled in triumph. "Gotcha!" Zany took his hoof out of his mouth and smiled. "Oh, but I got you. Or rather…your wings." Twinkle gasped as he held up two small purple wings. She glanced at her back to confirm that they were no longer there. She glared up at Zany. "Gimme back my wings!" "You want 'em?" Zany taunted. "Come get 'em!" He stuck them in his mouth like a dog with a newspaper and chuckled as he floated off. "Zany!" Twinkle shouted, racing after him. "Come back here!" Discord blinked as he watched her chase Zany around the room. "Remind me again why we keep meshing these two together?" he whispered to Fluttershy. "They obviously hate each other." "'Hate' is a strong word, honey," Fluttershy replied with a small smile. "If they spend more time together, they'll learn to get along." "OW!" Zany screamed as a blast from Twinkle's horn singed his rear. As his mouth opened, Twinkle's wings fell out and she caught them in her hooves. "Ha!" she exclaimed with a smug grin. "I win!" "Sure," Zany said nonchalantly. "You got your wings. Too bad about your tail though." "What are you…?" She gasped when she glanced back and realized her tail was gone. Zany smirked as he held it up triumphantly. "Point for the Prince of Chaos!" he laughed as he flew upstairs. "Zany, give that back!" She started to chase him and then stopped and looked at the wings in her hooves. She tried to stick them onto her back. "Ugh, how do you put these things back on?!" she whined. "Hey, Twinkle Toes!" Zany called. "You too chicken to chase me?" Twinkle narrowed her eyes. "Do not call me Twinkle Toes! I don't have toes!" She dropped her wings and pursued the chaotic foal upstairs. Every pony flinched as they heard a blast and a yelp. "MOM!" Zany's voice yelled. "TWINKLE TOES SET MY HAIR ON FIRE!" Discord rolled his eyes at Fluttershy. "Oh, yeah. They're so in love!" She blushed in embarrassment. "I'll just, uh…go sort that out." She picked up Twinkle's disembodied wings and flew upstairs. "ZANY!" her voice boomed. "PUT DOWN THAT ANVIL! TWINKLE! STOP SHOOTING LASER BEAMS AT ZANY!" Discord and Twilight looked at each other and held up their hands and hooves. "I didn't teach him/her that!" they said at the same time. "Well," Screwball coughed as she stood up. "It's actually a good thing you're here, Aunt Twilight. We need your help finding a lost princess so Mothball doesn't have to become King of the Changelings." Twilight blinked. "Wait, what?" The chaotic mare sighed. "I'm going to have to explain the whole story over again, aren't I?" After Screwball had briefed Twilight on the situation, the alicorn nodded in interest. "Wow," she marveled. "I always wondered how changeling culture worked in terms of reproduction." Fluttershy, who had returned from upstairs after breaking up the foal fight, turned to her friend with wide eyes. "Really?" she asked, cringing. The princess blushed. "I mean the whole thing with the queen and all." "So now we have to find Princess Bellatrix before Chrysalis croaks," Screwball continued. "She apparently has to give some 'royal blessing' or it won't be official or whatever." "One thing I don't get," Twilight said, turning to Mothball. "Why don't you want to be King? I mean with you ruling the changelings, you might keep them under control and find a way for them to feed on enough love to survive without hurting any pony." "It, uh…" Mothball gulped, glancing at his fiancée. "It wouldn't work out for me and Screwy." "Why not?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "King of the Changelings or not, can't you still be together?" The changeling turned to Screwball, who gave him a pleading look. "I can't marry a pony and be King," he said bluntly. Screwball sighed in relief. Neither of them wanted Discord to know of the option of turning Screwball into a changeling. "But maybe this princess could be a better queen than Chrysalis," Fluttershy suggested. "She did leave the hive for some reason," Screwball pointed out. "I'm sure she's lovely." "I suppose," Twilight said, rubbing her chin. "And finding the lost princess could get the changelings on our side and we can work out a treaty of some sort." "So you'll help us?" Screwball pleaded. The alicorn nodded. "Of course, I will. But…why do you need my help?" "You can use that location spell you showed me." She took out the crystal brush. "See? We even brought something of hers!" "I suppose I could." Twilight scrutinized the younger mare. "Haven't you been practicing the spells I taught you?" "Um…" Screwball stammered, her cheeks turning red. "Look, can you do the location spell or not?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Give me the brush." Screwball held it out as the princess lifted it with her magic and set it on the coffee table. She stared intently at the brush for a few seconds. Then she closed her eyes as her horn glowed. A beam shot from her horn to the brush, engulfing it in bright magenta. When the light diminished, Twilight opened her eyes. The brush was still glowing, but the magic had turned green. Then it slowly rose from the table and started spinning in place. "It's searching for her," the alicorn explained. The brush came to a sudden stop as it pointed in one direction. Twilight smiled in triumph. "It has her trail." "So now what?" Mothball inquired. "Now we have to follow it." "Okay!" Screwball chimed, hopping off the couch. "Let's go!" "Hold on!" Discord exclaimed, standing up. "What makes you think you're going? The two of you are grounded, remember?" His daughter scowled. "Dad, this is important!" Twilight shrugged. "Finding a lost changeling princess is a pretty big deal." "But no pony says you have to go!" Discord argued. "I mean Twilight here has the spell. She can find her on her own!" The alicorn shook her head. "Even if I do find her, she won't trust me. After all, I have a bad reputation among changelings, not to mention I'm a princess to an enemy kingdom. It's best that Mothball comes along so I don't alarm her." "But Screwy doesn't have to go!" Screwball put her hoof defiantly around Mothball. "I go where he goes!" "WHAT?!" "Honey," Fluttershy said softly, touching his shoulder. "Screwball's old enough to make her own decisions. You know she'll be alright. She has your magic, after all." She turned to Screwball. "But you should wait a while before you leave. You two didn't get any sleep last night and haven't had breakfast." Twilight nodded. "Your mother's right. We should prepare ourselves before heading out. Who knows where this brush will take us? I suggest we leave later this afternoon, so you two have time to rest and eat. I'll go get supplies from the library…" "Uh, Aunt Twilight?" Screwball said, summoning a large brown backpack. "Right. But I'll still have to send a message to Flash that I'll be gone for a while. He's in the Crystal Empire on business." She gasped. "Oh gosh! He won't be back for two days! Fluttershy, do you think you can take care of Twinkle until then?" "But of course," Fluttershy smiled. Every pony jumped as the castle suddenly shook. "AN EARTHQUAKE?!" Zany's voice shouted from upstairs. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU GOT, TWINKLE TOES?! HOW ABOUT A VOLCANIC ERUPTION?!" "He's not serious, is he?" Twilight questioned. "I'll look into it," Discord volunteered. He disappeared and returned a few seconds later, wearing a smile of satisfaction. "I put them in a time-out. That should keep them quiet for a few minutes." Twilight looked at him nervously. "Uh…what exactly do you mean by a 'time-out?'" Fluttershy threw her hoof around the alicorn and forced a smile. "Don't worry! She's in good hooves here!" "Then it's settled!" Discord declared. "We leave this afternoon!" Screwball bit her lip. "We?" "I'm coming with you, of course! You didn't think I was going to let you go on this quest without supervision, did you?" "Um, Aunt Twilight…" "Besides, it never hurts to have another chaotic claw onboard, right?" "Um, Dad?" Screwball said, laughing nervously as she pushed the draconequus towards her room. "Can we talk?" "Talk?" Discord repeated. "I know that word! It's never anything good!" She slammed the door behind them and turned to her father sincerely. "Look, Dad," she sighed. "I… How do I say this?" She took a deep breath. "You can't come with us." Discord was taken aback. "What? Why?" "Well…" She bit her lip. "See…you… His arms drooped to his sides. "You…don't want me around?" "No, no! It's just that…when you and Mothball are together, things can get…pretty ugly and…" "Oh, I see!" He glared at her as he folded his arms. "It's him, isn't it?!" "Dad, please…" "Now that you have your big, strong, changeling fiancé, you don't need your old dad protecting you anymore! Is that right?!" "Dad, stop! This is something I have to do on my own!" "No, it's fine! I can tell when I'm not needed! After all, I spent the first thousand years of my life not being needed! I just didn't think my own daughter…" "Dad, I didn't mean it like that! Why you always gotta freak out about everything?!" "You know what? Forget it! You wanna go on this quest so bad? Then go! Don't let me slow you down!" He flashed out of the room before Screwball could say anything further. She pressed her back against the door and slowly slid to the floor, groaning in frustration. She hated getting into fights with her dad, because he hardly ever let her get a word in. When he did, he wouldn't listen and take everything the wrong way. But she really didn't want him to come. Not only would he spend the entire journey lecturing her and Mothball on how unmarried couples shouldn't hold hooves, but this was something she wanted to do alone, without his help. This problem involved her and Mothball, and only they should be working to fix it. They needed Twilight for the location spell, but her dad would just get in the way. Still, she wished she hadn't yelled at him like that.