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It was a fairly uneventful Tuesday for Ponyville. Pinkie was in the middle of a baking rampage, Twilight had locked herself away possibly to study for an important test and the Carousel Boutique was closed due to the sole worker probably needing time for what must have been some new seasonal lineup. The sun gradually made its way across the sky, ponies went about their daily routines and the only thing out of place was a strange smiling filly with a rather unique mane and choice of headwear.
Screwball was extremely pleased with herself. Three of the Element Bearers and the resident dragon were all out of her way and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Her reserves of magic had suffered more than she would have liked, but wasn’t a real setback. There were no Unicorns left to oppose her and her scheme so as long as she had enough magic to hypnotize the rest she would have victory. Going full power on Twilight might not have been necessary but that was the one pony where Screwball would not get a second chance. Three of her targets were down. She only needed to take care of the remaining half and she would have what she set out for.
She would have her father back.
She took note that a few walking ponies noticed her presence. Lacking enough energy to keep invisibility active required some tweaking to her plans to keep the rest out of her way; but it wasn’t an obstacle she couldn’t handle. It was just a matter of making new calculations and possibly setting aside time to recover if she needed it.
Abruptly something happened that took her focus off her plan. Her stomach rumbled.
It wasn’t a real surprise to her. She had skipped breakfast and didn’t remember dinner the night before. She paused to consider when the last time she even ate was.
Putting her next objective on a metaphorical shelf she elected to turn around and go straight back to the library. She made her way past the public area and into the owner’s own living space. Twilight was too busy with her books to even notice Screwball’s return. The filly started going through Twilight’s tiny kitchen space in search of something quick and filling.
Screwball tossed out the notion at the sight of half a sponge cake.
She helped herself to the treat and started to remedy her stomach’s complaints. She completely devoured the cake in a small amount of time and briefly considered searching for another delicious thing to eat. Her motions were disturbed by the distinct feeling of a hoof on her shoulder.
“Hey kid, Twilight knows you’re going through her stuff and eating her food?”
She had only heard the voice of Rainbow Dash once, and that one time was all she needed to recognize it coming from behind her. She steeled herself for confrontation. She readied her spell. Her still unsatisfied stomach growled again, breaking her concentration.
She started to panic. She was vulnerable. There was no outrunning the physically adept Pegasus. Even if she did get away, the others might be alerted. If Twilight’s state of mind was discovered then Princess Celestia might be called to intervene. If that happened…then all her planning would be ashes in the wind. Her father would remain in stone and she might find it a lot harder to visit him. She tried to grab her magic again and just like before her hunger broke her focus. Hope seemed like the flame of a dying candle in a blizzard.
“Chill out squirt, I’m just messing with ya. If you weren’t supposed to be in here then Spike would have ushered you out.”
Screwball froze as the cyan creature moved passed and helped herself to the fridge. The recent events echoed in her head several times over. Rainbow Dash took out a carton of milk and drank straight from the container. Screwball remained still. Rainbow Dash helped herself to a brownie. Screwball remained in her stunned state. Rainbow Dash fixed herself a sandwich. Screwball managed to get her breathing under control.
At least for a moment. The athlete gave her an inquisitive look. Screwball steeled herself for an interrogation. She tried to get her spell ready but still couldn’t focus.
“Chill out kid.” The paragon of loyalty said with a smirk. “It’s really me; the best flier in Equestria. I got a few fans your age; maybe a fan club in a pretty sweet club house around somewhere, so I’m used to being looked at like that.”
Screwball’s mind ground to a halt. Was this one of her obstacles? Was this carefree and egotistical creature really one of the ponies who defeated her father? Was this Pegasus really a threat to her and her plans?
Rainbow Dash finished her sandwich and started walking out of the kitchen. Was this fully grown mare not in the least concerned that a strange eyed Earth Pony filly was discovered unattended in her friend’s living area going through her stuff? Clearly a lot of confidence was placed on Spike’s ability to ward out intruders while Twilight was entranced in her studies.
Screwball reached into her recent memories and grabbed the plate what held the brownies. She followed Rainbow Dash as she made her way to Twilight. Clearly the adept flyer was used to the sight and elected to make herself comfortable next to her with a book of her own. Rainbow looked up at Screwball and with a confident voice addressed her like she was somehow in the trust circle.
“Hey kid, brownie me.”
With a smirk Screwball complied. She calmly went over and offered the mare one of the treats. Rainbow took it and said what might have been a form of ‘thank you’ as she took a bite from the chocolate square. Screwball started eating one herself as she considered what to do next. She didn’t expect Rainbow Dash to abruptly enter the library, much less settle in ad join Twilight for a reading session. Clearly there were some things that Screwball didn’t know about these ponies.
She took a moment to soak in how trusting this mare was. Rainbow Dash just caught her invading Twilight’s space and elected to remain neutral on grounds that somewhere there was a guard dragon on duty. She even interpreted the surprised stunned appearance as an awestruck gawking.
She grinned. This was going to be easy.
Rainbow looked up and realized that Screwball was grinning like a friend.
“That’s…kinda creepy. Could you not do that…or maybe at least back up a bit?”
Screwball channeled her energy when their eyes met. The vortexes in her eyes began to swirl. The cyan mare was trapped in her gaze. The filly laughed to herself at how quickly she went from certain failure to a victory that was practically gift wrapped.
“You are going to stay here…with your friend…”
Rainbow Dash didn’t need to be told twice. She simply looked away from Screwball and back to her book.
Screwball briefly mused on how easily they were all falling to her power. Eating another brownie she made her way back to the outside world. Four ponies were out of her way. The dragon was out of her way. She only had two targets left and then she would have what she wanted more than anything in the world.
She sighed sadly as she stepped out into the streets. If she could share this moment with her father then the day would be perfect.
She drowned her rush of regrets with another brownie. Her father needed her to be strong and she needed her stomach to be full. Screwball made her way along her path and paused at the dress shop. She looked over the quiet building and could have sworn that in one of the windows in a corner that wasn’t fully closed off by heavy drapes she could see flickering candle light. She glanced in the direction of the bakery and could still see the towering plume of smoke. She glanced around the streets at the ponies going about their business.
To them it was just an ordinary Tuesday. For her it was the last day she would have to spend alone.