//------------------------------//
// Dawn of Ages, Part 2 
// Story: Convergence 
// by Masterweaver 
//------------------------------//


Previously, in Equestria....

"You're living here now, you know. You don't need to knock."

"My special is in alteration of magic. It's easy for me to see when a pony has their own magical field different from... normal..."

"Trust her? Twilight, she stole our cutie marks and nearly destroyed Equestria, like, seven times!"

"Well... I'm sure you know what you're doing. You're the princess of friendship after all."

"Ah'll give her a chance, Twi, but she's the one that has to decide what tah do with it."

"I'm not a magical prodigy like you, darling, but if there's one thing I've learned it's that messing with magical artifacts can be dangerous."

"OHMYGOSH! The map called us all!"

"HEYUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And now, the continuation.






The seven ponies and one baby dragon stared, flabbergasted, at the creature that had just fallen onto the Map from a now-shut time portal. She looked like an ordinary purple-pink pony, albeit one with a crazy plumwhite swirly mane, an unusually large and wide grin, and a cutie mark that consisted of a screw and baseball. Her few accouterments, though unusual, weren't abnormal; the camera around her neck seemed pretty ordinary, a bag of multicolored marbles hung from its strap, and a simple beanie cap valiantly tried to hold the mane in.

The eyes, though, weren't like normal eyes; they were not a ring of color around a black pool but, rather, solid heliotrope spirals.

"I have GOT to say!" the creature declared, "that it is an honor! A pleasure! And a wonder to be here with you all today on this day! It's just amazingly incredibly fabulously astounding! The only thing that would make this even better is if I had a clue who any of you were."

"Oh!" Twilight blinked. "Um. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer." She gave the creature an encouraging grin. "And... who might you be?"

"I?" The marething reared onto her rear hooves, camera bouncing against her chest. "I... have many names! Names of great power, renown, and sheer raw invokiness! But I've forgotten most of them, so you can just call me Screwball." She hopped off the Map and, quick as a wink, was laying a friendly fetlock around Twilight's shoulders. "Can't help but notice you're double-dipping. Horns and wings, huh? Not common where I come from, who do I have to bribe for that deal?"

"Well, I became an alicorn after I created a new kind of magic--"

"Oh, so it's achievement based. Gotcha!" Screwball leapt back, rebounding off a wall and skidding to a stop in front of Twilight's throne which she promptly swung herself into. "Nice place you got here. And a very nice table!" She put her hooves on the Map, peering over the geography. "Does this update in real time?"

"We haven't quite tested that," Twilight admitted. "I'm sorry, but you just... came from a time portal?"

"Really? I'd have called it a reality bubble." Screwball giggled. "Time and space, past and future, outside and inside--it's all relative, you know. Or maybe you don't. I didn't, but now I do!"

"It's just that, recently speaking, I saw a portal like that," Twilight explained. "A time spell changed history multiple times before it was... stopped." She glanced at Starlight, who sagged a little. "The last I ever saw of the spell was it falling into one of the time portals, and I thought that would be the end of it."

The marething looked up at her.... and burst out into crazed, wild laughter. "HOOOOhwohooowowhowhooohohoshohohohooo! You thought it would be that easy?! Really?!"

Screwball vaulted out of the throne, her beanie propeller spinning as she hovered around the throne room. "Reality isn't so cut-clean crisp, Sparks! A river diverted will fill a pond, and even when the river goes back to its usual flow the ponds will keep a-leakin' till they make new baby rivers! Those alternate timelines may not have existed before, but they certainly do now!" She floated upside down in front of the pony. "Ayyyyyyyyye should know, I'm from one of them!"

Starlight Glimmer's eyes widened.

"Well, if you are from one of those alternate timelines," Spike asked, "what are you doing here?"

Screwball landed, her hoof over her chest. "I have come," she intoned gravely, "as the most foul and hideous creature ever to travel. I have come," she added, shutting her eyes, "to perform horrendous acts within this reality. I have come," she growled as shadows gathered around her, "in order to begin something so shocking and terrible that history will mark this day as the day all things went wrong...

"...I have come..."

She grabbed her camera and reared up, her grin managing to somehow widen even further.

"...as a tourist!"

She snapped a picture of the group's utterly stunned faces. And then she spun the camera around and stood in front of the Cutie Map, waving brightly as it flashed again.

Twilight stared at her as she started giggling. "...Girls, huddle."

Instantly every pony but Starlight was in a circle.

"Okay." Twilight took a breath. "We're dealing with a pony from another reality, another Equestria. Thoughts?"

"Well, despite her unusual choice of headwear, she certainly seems very... cheery," Rarity mused. "If a little off the wall. Maybe she just treats reality in an unusual way?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head. "The smile is real, but it's... empty. It's not forced, but there's nothing fueling it. Icing without cake. She's happy, but not for any reason I can tell, just... poof, smiles."

"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, some ponies are just naturally good tempered, right? She's a little dramatic, but I don't think she's trying to cause problems.

"Ah dunno. The way she switched from casual ta laughin' ta creepy..." Applejack shook her head. "Ah'm with Pinkie on this one. That filly has somethin' rotten in her noggin."

"And besides, Twilight told us all about the other timelines she went through," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Do you really think anypony living in one of those dumps could come out being so happy?"

"Well it's all a matter of perspective," Screwball explained.

"GAH!" The ponies all jumped back when they realized she'd somehow pushed herself into the huddle.

"And by the way, it's rude to talk about somepony like they're not there!" she added. "I'll forgive you though, since I know I'm just so very FASCINATING to think about!" She giggled, hovering into the air and swatting at the crystals hanging from the tree roots with small meowing noises.

Twilight shook her head, before turning back to the others. "We still need to figure out what we're going to do about this."

"Can I say something?"

All eyes turned to Starlight Glimmer as she stepped cautiously forward. After a moment, Twilight gave her an encouraging nod.

"The other timelines... they're my fault. Whatever happened to Screwball, whatever made her the way she is, it's because of what I did with that spell. I... don't think I can change that, if what she said about how time works is right. But..." Starlight straightened up, schooling her expression into something resembling determination. "If I can help her, if I can do anything to fix the damage I've done... I want to try."

Twilight looked from Starlight's face, around at her friend's expressions, up at Screwball snapping pictures of her own tongue, and back to Starlight. "...That is actually... a very good idea."

Rainbow's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"I don't think you'll be able to do it all on your own," the princess continued, "given the level of mania that Screwball is displaying. But I know that one thing everypony needs, no matter what they're suffering from, is a friend. You can be that friend, Starlight, and we'll all help. Right girls?"

"Oh certainly," Fluttershy agreed readily.

"Of course we'll help!" Pinkie chimed in.

"Ya got it, sugarcube," Applejack added.

"I shall strive to do my best," Rarity vowed.

"...yeah," Rainbow groused, "I'll help out too."

A gentle smile grew on Starlight's face. "Thank you. Thank you for giving me this chance, I promise you won't regret it!"

"OOOOOO promises!" Screwball cried as she popped up from behind Starlight. "I love promises! What kind of promises are we tikity takity talking here?"

Starlight turned her smile to her. "Miss Screwball, how would you like me to be your friend?"

"Firstly, it's Mrs. Screwball, thankyouverymunchies. But more importantly, I WOULD BE INCREDIBLY HAPPY! To accept your hoof in friendshiperry!" The purple marething wrapped herself around Starlight, snapping a picture of them together. "OOO I have an idea! You can show me around town or village or city or whatever the place you put all the buildings is called!"

"A tour of Ponyville? Well, I'm new in town," the unicorn admitted, "but I think I can do that."


---------------------


The sun shone brightly down on the colorful group as they trotted out of the palace, Screwball letting out appreciative ooos and aaahs and snapping pictures of random things. "The things! The people! The places! There's so much of it all!"

"Ponyville is a very friendly and well-developed place," Starlight agreed, leading her down the road. "I've only been here a short time, and already I feel as though... as though this is a place I could call home."

"Awwww, that's so saccharine!" Screwball cooed. "I remember saccharine. Good times. Gooood times. Is that still Canterlot up there?" she asked, pointing at the distant spires hanging off a mountain."

"...yes. Yes it is."

"It's still here in this world. WOW." Screwball snapped a picture. "Lotta bright shapes, bright minds, and bright jewels, all dazzling each other until they're blind. WHEEEEEEEEEE!"

Starlight quirked an eyebrow. "That's... one description I've never heard of before."

"You'll find that I'm an endless barrel of unheard-of descriptions. And also random subject changes. Are there chainsaws anywhere in Ponyville?"

The unicorn shook her head. "I... think maybe? You might have to look into the local construction crew's warehouses--why do you want to know if there are chainsaws here?"

"There are zombies where I come from."

"...I never saw any zombies," Twilight Sparkle protested. "And I went through every new timeline!"

Screwball twisted her neck impossibly to look at her. "Did you explore every new timeline?"

"...well, no," Twilight admitted. "After the first three, I just took a glance around and cast the return spell."

"Well there you go then! All the zombies were in places you didn't look." Screwball looked forward again and gasped, galloping over to a stall selling carrots. "OAH MAW GAaAaAaAaAaAaAWSH! You have a functional economy!"

The stall pony glanced from the marething to Twilight and her friends; Starlight shrugged with an apologetic smile, quickly trotting up to her. "I know, it's quite impressive, especially in a country as big as Equestria."

"You know, I actually do have a few coins back home. I like to watch them glitter, that's all they're useful for now. Usually I just take what I want from wherever. Oh, whatever, the past is not the current, after all!" Screwball grabbed two of the carrots, stuck them on her teeth, and started hovering again. "AI AHM A VAHPAR!"

The mare behind the stall gave her a flat look. "Are you going to pay for those?"

"A-heh heh..." Starlight quickly tossed a few bits on the wood, lightly pushing Screwball along. "Maybe we should continue on to the town hall! It's pretty impressive."

"Asking for chainsaws and stealing in plain sight?" Rainbow Dash commented dryly. "Yeah, that's not a suspicious at all. Anybody else think that Screwball's up to something?" 

Rarity rose an eyebrow as the group followed after the duo. "A little... inexperience with normal society is to be expected, if what Twilight said about the other timelines is true."

"She did say she was from a world with zombies and no economy," Fluttershy reminded Dash. "Oh, the poor dear must be filled with so much fear and sadness..."


---------------------


"VEEEEEE!" Screwball hovered upside down, snapping photos of the town hall as she spun around in the air.

"You seem to be having fun," Starlight commented with a small grin.

"I remember this building! It was one of my favorites before things happened! I did so many things here, with so many papers..." She gave Starlight a huge grin. "There was this one time I brought my husband here too. BOY did we get in trouble for that."

The unicorn flushed even pinker than usual. "Really?"

"Misfiling tax forms! Serious business." Screwball sighed, flipping over and landing. "And then later I blew it up with a wafflecone and a tuba. Ah, memories. Never can tell which ones are real. Have you ever helped run a town?"

Starlight cleared her throat. "Well... I was a sort of leader for a little hamlet, once. It... didn't end well."

"Reeeeeally?"

"I may have gone a little mad with power."

Screwball nodded. "Makes total sense. Certainly more practical than going mad without power. It's fun at first, but once you realize you can't send the hallucinations out for groceries it kind of becomes an annoyance."

"I'm... sure it is?"

"Which is a big part of the reason I'm happy Master found me!"

"Master?" Starlight tilted her head.

"Uh huh!" Screwball giggled, spiraling around. "He gets me all sorts of things like houses and marbles and cameras and all I have to do is everything he tells me to do!"

"That's... okay, that sounds like a dangerous relationship."

"Oh, it really is. But he's wealthy! I mean, this camera is a Gyrate-brand extendolens with colorific and adjustable focus! Do you know how expensive it is?! Do you really think I paid for it on my own?"

Starlight held up a hoof. "I thought you said your world didn't have a functioning economy anymore?"

"Which means things this complex don't come cheap! I have NO IDEA how this thing even works! I couldn't put it together if I tried! But Master, well, he's got the knowhow and the whoknow to craft these things." Screwball flicked her eyes left and right. "Still, he's not all that predictable, exactly."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean he's the guy who made the zombies in the first place. But hey, it's a living." She giggled. "And being a minion has its perks! I'm here now, on a working vacation! Pretty swanky. Also I get a lot of cool toys."

Pinkie's ears perked. "Cool toys? I wonder what she means by that. Does she mean cool like they look cool or they do cool things or does she mean they're made of ice?"

"Well, given how crazy she's acting," Spike mused, "I'd say her master is Discord. And since we're talking about, you know, the alternate reality evil Discord, he'd do a lot of weird stuff."

"Ah dunno," Applejack grumbled. "Somethin' about the way Screwball's tellin' things... Maybe it's just me, but Ah'm feelin' like she's not tellin' us everything. Just enough to keep us on the wrong path."


---------------------


"Ommynommynommynoms!" Screwball leaned back, picking up her plate. "That was a great baked good."

"It was a scone."

"ANOTHER!" The pink marething shattered her plate against her head.

Starlight sighed, giving the waiter an apologetic look. "Screwball... just because we have more things here doesn't mean you can just go smashing them. It's considered wasteful and rude."

"You know what? You're absolutely right. I should not have smashed that plate, I could have used it as a snowboard."

The unicorn shook her head and chuckled. "I actually knew a pony who did that once. Apparently it was how he earned his... cutie mark." She sagged in her seat. "Sorry, I... I've made so many mistakes, Screwball. And I just want to stop doing that. To be, you know, a good pony. But I don't want you to think I see you as some sort of redemption quest, because I... I don't see you as just that. I see you as a very, very interesting pony who... who I really want to befriend, want to trust and... help, you know?"

Screwball stared at her. For a moment, her smile seemed to shrink.

"Wow. This is actually going to be really horrible then."

Starlight blinked in confusion. "What is?"

She took the bag off her camera strap and poured the marbles onto the table, keeping them from rolling off. "You know what these are?"

The unicorn frowned, looking at them and then up at Screwball. "I can feel some sort of magic in them... it's strangely familiar."

"Well, you were the one that cast the original spell," the marething allowed. "Master tweaked it though, attached the result parameters to a functional quantum alteration thaumic bridge. Then he copied each of those, and tied them to these."

Starlight's eyes widened. "These... these are portals to the other timelines!"

"Mmmhmm. Smash one, and the bubble floats." Screwball swept most of them back into the bag, leaving only one orange sphere. "My master gave me orders, and I have to follow them."

Starlight looked from the marble to the marething. "Screwball... please. Whatever your master told you to do. You don't have to do it. You can find redemption here. We want to help--I want to help you! I don't care what you did!"

For some reason that got Screwball giggling. "You think... you think I care what you think of me? Girl, I've got news for you. I don't care about anything in this world." She picked up the marble and grinned. "Although you were nice enough that I'll give you the warning to run."

"No wait--!"

Screwball spun and threw the glass sphere into the road. It exploded into glass shards and white light, which blew into a massive sphere covered in the same stars and sigils Starlight Glimmer had seen on her own spell. And then, with a sudden flash, it was gone, replaced by an imposingly large figure with four thick black hooves, two meaty red arms, and glowing yellow eyes of rage.

"WHAT HAS BROUGHT ME TO THIS PATHETIC TOWN?!"

"Whoa-oh." Pinkie Pie got up quickly. "That's not good."

"Spike, Princesses! Girls, diversion! Don't let him drain your magic!"

At Twilight's command, the six of them charged toward the massive beast, rushing to keep his attention as ponies all around rushed off.

"Ima gonna go do a thing," Screwball said suddenly. "Wanna come with?"

The unicorn stared at her, wide-eyed. "You just unleashed a fully powered up Tirek on an unsuspecting world!"

"That is indeed an event which has occurred." Screwball rolled her eyes. "Look, Glimglim, if you're really that worried you can stay behind and help the doubledipper do what she's doing. Won't hold it against you. But it's her or me."

Starlight Glimmer looked from the battle, to Screwball's smiling face.

"I..." She bit her lip. "This is the right thing, Screwball. I'm sorry."

She turned and rushed toward the centaur. The marething watched her go, shrugged, and flew away.

"RAAAAAAH!" Tirek's magic lanced out, almost hitting Applejack as she darted around his massive hooves. Starlight Glimmer managed to reach out her magic just in time to transform the beam into harmless glitter, panting as she galloped up.

"What--?"

"Magical alteration. Cutie mark." She gasped, shaking the glitter off her mane. "That was... really high power though! I can keep doing that... just not forever."

The earth pony glanced up as Rainbow buzzed Tirek's horns. "Huh. Good to know. If he starts draining magic, could ya change that?"

"I don't know, if it's a spell I could, but if it isn't my best bet would be to change the drained magic into something volatile on the fly--" Starlight jumped and pushed Applejack out of range of a descending hoof. "And there's that to think about too!"

"Well, just do what ya can!" Applejack yelled, standing and galloping back towards Tirek.

The unicorn reached out with her magic, turning a great blue bolt lancing toward Rainbow Dash into a stream of flowers. "Can't you six just do whatever you did to stop him the first time?!"

"We haven't figured out how ta trigger that at will just yet!"

"What?! I thought it was just harmony magic that you did every time you saved the world or something!"

Applejack managed to somehow shrug while dodging another magical lance. "Don't ask me how it worked, Ah ain't no magical prodigy!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAooof." Twilight collapsed on the ground next to them and groaned. "Uuuungh."

Starlight's eyes fell on her blank flank and widened. "Oh no."

"Twilight!" Applejack galloped forward---and was caught in Tirek's draining magic, falling as her own eyes faded.

Starlight's eyes darted around as, one by one, the centaur took the magic from each of her new friends. It happened so quickly that she couldn't even comprehend how he was doing it. At last she was the only pony standing, and Tirek turned his gaze upon her.

"I... don't suppose you'd like to hear about the power of equality?" she offered weakly.

"No, I don't believe I would."

"Figures." The unicorn took a breath and steadied herself, glaring up at him. "Do your worst."

"You would give yourself up so quickly?"

"Well, I don't think there's any miracle coming."

"HEYUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Tirek whirled, glaring at the hovering purple marething who waved at him with a grin. A beam of magic launched from the fiery globe between his horns.

Screwball sidled sideways, narrowly dodging the beam with a giggle. "Oh dearie me! What a naughty little boy we've got here. I suppose I have to punish you, since your mother isn't around to do it."

"I HAVE CRUSHED THE GREATEST DEFENDERS OF THIS REALM!" bellowed the centaur, gesturing to the weakened element bearers. "HOW WILL YOU DEFEAT ME, WHEN NOT EVEN TOGETHER THEY COULD NOT?!"

"There's a difference between them and me. You see...."

Screwball flipped back, revealing the two chainsaws duct taped to her rear hooves.

"I went shoe shopping!"

"What," said Starlight Glimmer.

"What," said Twilight Sparkle.

"What," said Tirek.

Screwball revved up the chainsaws and dove straight at him, whooping with glee as she dodged the multicolored blasts whizzing at her. A massive red hand rose to swat her out of the air, but she swung underneath and twirled up till at last she was face to face with the great monster. And with a wink, she grabbed his eyebrows in her forhooves and swung her rear legs up in a split, grinning as the chainsaws made contact with the massive black horns.

Tirek's great cry of pain echoed as the two ebony spires detached from his head and clattered to the ground. He reached up and tore Screwball off his face, fury in his eyes as he fixed them on her innocent smile. "HOW DARE YOU DEFACE MY GLORIOUS IMAGE?!"

"Actually, the question you should be asking is 'what happens to a high-energy magical system when the primary guidance stabilizers are removed?'"

The centaur blinked. His gaze drifted upward to the sphere above his head; already it was cackling with lightning, great multicolored cracks causing flares and flickers all across its surface.

He returned his eyes to Screwball. "You are a foul and loathsome abomination."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Flattery will get you nowhere, honeyknuckles, but thanks for trying."

A bolt lanced from the sphere and lashed into Tirek's skull. His hands unclenched and dropped his captive as a great shout of pain echoed through the land, streams of magic spreading through his skin and gleaming in a cracking pattern. For the briefest of moments his eyes shone with multicolored light as Screwball grabbed the fallen horns and sprinted a short distance away. Then, with a great boom, his form was enveloped in a column of sheer magical energy that spiraled up and out into the atmosphere.

Screwball leaned back and clapped gleefully. "OOOOOOOO! Pretty colors!"

Just as suddenly as it had started, the great magical eruption ceased, with no trace of the centaur left but the very horns Screwball held. She giggled, pushing them up like posts.

"You just..." Starlight turned to her, eyes wide even as the magic flowed back into her body. "You just chainsawed off Tirek's horns to blow him up!"

"Uh, yeah? I do things like that."

"You're a maniac!" Starlight cried.

"You just noticed!" Screwball replied in exactly the same tone.

The unicorn backed away, shaking her head. "Screwball... why? Why did you do this? Why'd you bring Tirek, why--why all this? You could have hurt ponies!"

"Could have? You mean nopony actually got hurt?" The marething tapped her chin. "Wow. Master will want to hear about that!"

Twilight Sparkle groaned, standing and shaking her head. "Ooooh. Mrs, Screwball, after what you just did... I think I would be remiss if I did not take you into custody."

Starlight's eyes darted between princess and marething. "What? But I thought I was supposed to befriend her..."

Twilight sighed. "You were. But that was back when she wasn't a threat to Equestria. If she's able to bring in forces from the other timelines, I'm afraid I have a duty to keep her contained."

Screwball giggled. "Oh, I'd love to stay at your palace, princess, but I'm afraid I have other obligations. Still, it was lovely meeting you!" She revealed a grey marble from behind her back and blew them a kiss.

Starlight held out a hoof. "Wait--!"

The marething smashed the marble into the ground and grabbed Tirek's horns, dragging them with her into the resulting portal with crazed laughter.

The unicorn's hoof lowered. "I... this... I shouldn't... this is my fault. I shouldn't have trusted her. I..."

"No." Twilight gave her a firm look. "This isn't your fault. Ponies make mistakes sometimes. You wanted to help her, and she took advantage of that."

"I just... wanted to be a better pony."

"Well... you can learn from this." Twilight smiled. "In fact, why don't you tell me what it is you did learn from this?"

Starlight rolled her eyes. "...I'm a horrible judge of character?"

"No. Positives, Starlight!"

"I... can transform Tirek's magic?"

"Positives that have to do with friendship."

"Uh... that... I... I don't know."

"You stood up for what you thought was right," Twilight offered. "Even when me and the girls were suspicious of Screwball, you tried to help her out. You didn't give up even when things got hard. And after she tried to force you to decide between her and what was right... you chose the right thing." She patted Starlight on the shoulder. "I think you're off to a good start with that."

"...yeah. I guess..." Starlight hesitantly smiled. "I guess I am."