//------------------------------//
// A New Quest 
// Story: Son-In-Law of Discord 
// by DisneyFanatic23 
//------------------------------//

	When the rooster crowed at dawn, Mothball was in bad shape. His eyelids were droopy, his mane was more tangled and dusty than usual, and his chest was tight inside. He could not get a wink of sleep last night, and yet he refused to stay in bed.

He rose from the ground and rubbed his eyes. Today he would have to go back to the hive and receive the Royal Blessing. He doubted Trixie had changed her mind, as she seemed every bit as stubborn as their mother. The only loose end that remained was Screwball.

"Well," he sighed as he lifted the flap of the tent, "time to face the music."

When he poked his head out, he was shocked to see Screwball coming out of her tent at the same time. She froze when they locked gaze. Her mane was also in a tangle, and purple bags were developing under her eyes.

For a long while, they just stared at each other, contemplating who should make the first move. Eventually, Screwball fully emerged from the tent and Mothball followed her example. He slowly walked towards her. She looked down at her hooves, embarrassed to face him.

"Hey," she murmured.

"Hi," he softly replied.

There was silence again.

"Look," he began. "I'm sorry I said those things yesterday."

"No," Screwball said, shaking her head. "You were right."

"No, I wasn't."

"But Mothy, you've done so much for me while I haven't…"

"Yeah, you have. You were my friend when no one else would be. You gave me a home when I needed one. You've even saved my life a few times. I know what I asked from you was a lot, but if I don't become King…"

"I'll do it."

He blinked. "What?"

She lifted her head. "I've been such a brat through this whole ordeal. When you heard your mother was going to die and you had to take the throne, I should've been more supportive. I thought we were on the same page, but I never let you voice your opinion on the situation. If you want to be King, then I'm okay with that."

She sighed. "When I said I would be your friend, I knew the road was gonna be bumpy, but I didn't care. You were interesting, and an outcast like me. I was willing to take any risk just to be with you. I guess I really didn't know what I was getting into, but if changing my species means getting to be with you…I'd do it."

She hung her head again. "You don't have to take me back if you don't want to…"

"Who says I didn't want you back?"

She looked up at him. "Huh?"

Mothball smiled as he took her hoof. "Screwy, I made a promise to love and cherish you, no matter how crazy you get sometimes. And you know very well, even if you wouldn't take me back, I couldn't bear having someone other than you as my queen."

She returned his smile and flung her hooves around him. "And I'd happily be your queen, if you're willing to put up with me."

He chuckled. "Always."

Then he pulled away as something occurred to him. His horn illuminated and the amethyst ring floated out of the brown tent. He held it up in front of her.

"You know," he smirked, "I never did get to finish my speech."

"Finish it then," Screwball said, pushing him down to one knee. "I won't interrupt you this time."

Mothball laughed and took a deep breath. "Screwy," he said, taking her hoof, "the day I met you was the happiest day of my life. When I first saw you on that lake, playing in that pirate ship, I couldn't help but think: that's the strangest creature I've ever seen, and yet, the most beautiful too. I felt my heartbeat when I thought I didn't have one.

"You were the pony who showed me how to have fun, the one who saw the good in me even when I didn't. I always thought I was a heartless creature, but you showed me otherwise. As if that wasn't enough, by taking me into your home, you've given me the family I've always wanted.

"Now, I'm going to need you to be a part of my family, which is a lot to ask, but I know that if we put our heads together, we can make things better for the changelings. You should know that I'll love you no matter what form you take, just as long as your beautiful heart doesn't change.

"So…will you marry me and be my queen?"

There were tears in Screwball's eyes as she nodded. He slid the ring on her hoof and she sighed as she gazed at it.

"I was really starting to miss this thing."

Mothball smiled. "So…I guess we're going back to the hive now, huh?"

She gave him a serious look. "Will it hurt? The spell, I mean."

He shrugged. "I don't know. I've never cast it before."

"How do you think I'd look as a changeling?"

He smirked. "As long as you get to keep those eyes, who cares?"

"Well, if you think about it, with me being able to change and all, I could still look like myself."

He caressed her cheek. "You'll always be beautiful to me."

Screwball grinned. "Maybe being a changeling won't be so bad."

"You might not have to find out."

They turned to the wagon where Trixie was standing on the steps. Her eyes were filled with determination.

"I've made my decision," she declared. "I'm accepting the throne."

Screwball and Mothball glanced at each other and then at Trixie.

"You sure?" the latter asked.

She nodded. "I'm sure."

The young couple looked back at each other. Screwball shrugged.

"Well, I guess that makes things easier."

"On one condition," Trixie added.

They cocked their heads at her and said, "Condition?"

She stepped towards them as she replied, "You must get me my heart back."

"Excuse me?" Screwball said.

A yawn came from the pink tent. Twilight emerged looking just as frazzled as the rest of them.

"Morning, every pony," she groaned as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. "What's going on?"

"Trixie says she's going to take the throne," Mothball replied.

The alicorn's head shot up. "What? Really?"

"Only if you get my heart back," Trixie reminded them.

"Okay," Screwball nodded. "Your mom took it, right? So we just go over and demand her to give it back. Simple."

"Not as simple as you think. I told Mother to hide my heart far away where no pony, not even I, could get to it. And knowing Mother, she wouldn't just lock it away somewhere in the hive. She'd also put up high security so no one could get to her heart, especially her enemies who could use it against her."

"We can still ask where she hid it."

Trixie scowled at the ground. "I doubt she'd tell me."

"Well, if you don't want to ask Mother, how do we find it?" Mothball asked.

Twilight tapped her chin and then gasped. "The brush!"

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

The alicorn brought the green brush into view. "The brush we used to find you! At one point, it was telling us to go in two different directions. I thought it was just recalibrating or something, but if the hairbrush was tracking your essence…"

Screwball gasped. "It was pointing to your heart! No wonder it went crazy!"

"We can cast the spell again, and if you always stay behind us, we could track your heart instead of you."

Trixie touched her chest and muttered, "I could feel love again."

Mothball laid a hoof on her shoulder and whispered, "You could finally love your daughter for real."

She lifted her head with wide eyes. "Moonbeam." She turned back to the wagon. "What do I tell her?"

Twilight shrugged. "The truth. If you're going to be Queen, she'll be next in line."

"What do you expect me to say? That I lied to her? That she's from a lineage of love-sucking parasites? That she might rule them someday?"

"Well, you might not want to put it in those exact words," Screwball said.

"You have to tell her," said Mothball.

"Tell me what?"

Trixie stiffened at the sound of Moonbeam's voice. The disguised filly was standing in the wagon's entrance, rubbing her eyes. Trixie looked pleadingly at Mothball.

"If she doesn't want to be with me anymore," she whispered, "take care of her."

He smiled. "Sure."

Trixie looked down at her daughter. "Moonbeam, honey, sit down. Mummy…has something to tell you."


	
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Moonbeam said, holding up her booted hooves. "Let me get this straight. There's a whole swarm of changelings living in a giant hive somewhere that you're the princess of and their queen, my grandmother, is dying, so you have to go back and be their new queen and that's why all these ponies are here."

Trixie nodded. "Yes, that pretty much sums it up."

The filly blinked. "So if you're gonna be a queen, does that make me…a princess?"

Her mother shrugged. "I suppose so."

Moonbeam stared at her for a long while. "That…is…" She smiled brightly. "Awesome!"

The adults looked at each other in confusion.

"Huh?" Trixie uttered.

"Not only are there others like me," Moonbeam continued, "but I'm a princess too?! This is the best news ever! How come you never told me before?"

Her mother bit her lip. "Well, your grandmother and I didn't exactly part on good terms, so I couldn't really go back until now. It was best you didn't know about it. You're not mad, are you?"

"Why should I be? You're telling me now, aren't you? And how can I be mad when you're telling me I'm a princess?!"

Screwball smiled. "I like this kid. Always looking on the bright side."

"You see, Moonbeam," Twilight said, "that's the real reason we all came here. We needed to find your mother so she could come back and take the changeling throne."

"As soon as possible too," Mothball added. "Mother doesn't have much time left, and she has to give Trixie the Royal Blessing."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Moonbeam asked, jumping up and down. "Let's go! Our stuff's all in the wagon anyway!"

"Not yet," Twilight explained. "First, we have to find…"

"The Royal Treasure!" Trixie finished quickly. "Yeah! It's kind of a test. Mother hid a special treasure that I have to find to prove myself."

Twilight stared at her in confusion. Trixie looked at her with pleading eyes and tilted her head towards Moonbeam.

"Err, right," Twilight said unsurely as she levitated the hairbrush into view. "And this magic brush will help us find it."

"Cool!" Moonbeam beamed excitedly. "I love treasure hunts!"

"Then I guess we're off," Screwball declared.

The two tents then automatically folded into two suitcases. Screwball picked them up and hovered in the air.

"Come on!"

Mothball and Twilight flapped their wings to join her.

"Wait!" Trixie cried. "We can't fly there!"

Screwball rolled onto her back. "Why not?"

Trixie looked down at Moonbeam, who was staring at her bare back.

"Oh," Twilight said.

"But can't she fly in her changeling form?" Screwball asked. "Or just change into a pegasus?"

"She can't control her transformations," Trixie reminded her.

"And I can't fly," Moonbeam sadly admitted.

"How come?" Screwball inquired.

"I couldn't risk ponies seeing her out in the open," Trixie replied, "so I never got a chance to teach her."

"Hmm," the chaotic pony said as she tapped her chin. Then she grinned in excitement. "I know a way we can all fly!" She floated over to the caravan. "You don't mind if I make a few adjustments to this thing, do you?"

"Actually, I…" Trixie started to say.

Screwball didn't wait for her to finish. Two of the curls at the end of her tail unfurled and quickly brushed together, making a snapping sound. The wagon's roof opened and Trixie and Moonbeam gasped as a giant pink balloon slowly emerged from it. As it rose in the air, its strings brought up a balcony large enough to cover where the roof once was.

Right before their eyes, their mobile home had become an air mobile home.

"Wow!" Moonbeam exclaimed. "That is so cool!"

Screwball blew on her hoof and rubbed it on her chest. "I also did a little renovating on the inside. You might want to get in there before it flies away."

Sure enough, as she was saying this, the balloon was slowly lifting the caravan off the ground. Trixie threw Moonbeam onto her back and leaped inside. The rest flew in after them. The mother and daughter gawked at how much more space there was.

They were in a living room containing two red sofas with yellow polka dots, an orange and green striped easy chair, a swirly purple and pink rug, a blue crescent-shaped coffee table and wide windows to look out on.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Moonbeam gasped.

"I figured we'd need more space with the five of us in here," Screwball explained, "or else we'd be all cramped. Come on, I'll show you the kitchen."

"Kitchen?" Trixie uttered.

They followed Screwball to the other side of the room, where another door stood. She opened it to reveal a clean kitchen with black and white tiles.

"The fridge and cupboards are stocked with lots of food," Screwball said. "Who knows how long we're gonna be on this trip?" She shut the door. "Now for downstairs."

They glanced around the room.

"Uh, Screwy?" Mothball said. "There aren't any stairs."

"There aren't?" Screwball gasped. "Oopsies!"

Her tail snapped again and a staircase appeared in the floor. Screwball guided them down to a hallway with four doors: one pink, one purple, one green and one blue.

"That one's my room," she said, pointing to the pink one. "The purple one's Twilight's, the green one's Mothy's, unless you want to have a room together." She smirked at her fiancé. "And the blue one's for Trixie and Moonbeam. Each room has its own bathroom, so we won't have to fight to pee. You can all check these out later. I want to finish the tour with the deck."

She flew back upstairs. When they returned to the second floor, they noticed another staircase going up. They found themselves outside on the large balcony Screwball had created.

"One of us should always be out here on lookout," she said, "in case there's any danger in the sky."

"Wow, Screwball," Twilight marveled. "This is quite impressive. You really thought of everything."

"I feel like a pirate!" Moonbeam said, leaning on the rail.

"Now we can navigate across Equestria with ease."

"I'm gonna go check out my new room! Mom, you coming?"

Trixie glanced at Twilight. "Mummy will catch up with you in a moment."

Once the filly was down below, Twilight narrowed her eyes at Trixie.

"Why didn't you tell her we were looking for your heart?"

Trixie scowled. "Would you want to tell your daughter that her mother doesn't love her?!"

"She has a point," Screwball shrugged.

"But what are you going to do once we find your heart and put it back in you?" Mothball questioned. "How are you going to explain that?"

"She doesn't have to know," Trixie insisted. "She doesn't have to see it."

"What about when we get there and there's no treasure to back up your story?" Screwball asked.

"You have chaos magic. You could conjure up a gem or something."

"I thought you were done lying to Moonbeam," said Mothball.

"Trixie was lucky her daughter didn't hate her for hiding the fact that she was a princess, but this is something she'll never forgive her mother for."

She stormed below deck before anyone else could argue.

"Well," Twilight said as she lifted the hairbrush and illuminated her horn, "I guess we should get started."