> Daughter of Discord: Of Love and Darkness
>  by kahnac
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Key to Equestria's Undoing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Okay! I'll never sneak out to see you again! Goodbye!", said Mothball, the young prince of the Changelings, as he quickly zoomed into the sky. A sad smile, and tears falling from his eyes. Due to being discovered by his mother, Queen Chrysalis, who was under the impression he had befriended Screwball, the Daughter of Fluttershy, and Discord, as part of some plan he had devised, she decided it was time to put it on hold, and break up his so-called "friendship" with the little Draconnequus pony. He wanted nothing to do with it, but he had no choice. He was only lucky that Screwball had the power to sense when another is lying, so he was able to subtly warn her of his mother having caught him, and that he was currently being watched. Thus they were able to stage their "break-up" with the hope that they'd see each other again someday. A thought that stretched across Screwball's mind as she watched her dear friend take to the skies to his home. The other two who had accompanied him swiftly following behind as they returned to the hive.

But all Screwy could think aloud to herself was, "*giggle* You're lying.", as she happily smiled before she teleported herself back into her room before anypony else would noticed.

As Mothball, and his Changeling escorts who had spied on him to make sure he followed his mothers orders, flew back towards their hive, they were unaware that THEY were the ones being spied on. 

Peering out from a nearby cave was a pair of demonic creatures that were like a cross between ponies, and dragons.Also known as Qirins. Their scaly skin was pitch black, and they had decent-sized tails, while their yellow-eyed heads bore a small pair of tusks on each side of their mouths. They also had bat-shaped wings that seemed large enough to carry them. And strangely enough, they had what seemed to be a tattoo of an eye placed precisely on their foreheads. But they apparently weren't just for show, as they began glowing an eerie yellow as they kept watching the Changelings. As it happened: this was another form of a scrying spell. One that used living beings as a means to cast it. Which means that, as of now, the two Qirins were being used as living video camera's for an unknown party. But who could it be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere, in a darkened chamber in some unknown location, a goblet-shaped cauldron was releasing a plume of grey smoke. Which had actually swirled around itself, forming a sort of mystical projection of Mothball, and the other two changelings as they returned to the hive. And in the darkness of this mysterious domain, a deep, devilish voice began speaking his thoughts, all while being concealed in the shadows of his large, gnarled throne.

"Yeees, hurry home, little prince. We wouldn't want to make dear mommy angry, would we? Or worse yet: let dear, old, daddy Discord find out about your secret playdate with his daughter." 

Afterwards, the figure let out a rather loud grunt at the very thought of Discord, as he bore an irritated expression concealed by darkness.

"Daddy Discord", indeed. Ohoho, BAH!" He exclaimed swining his hand backwards in a dismissive manner.

"That such a great, and powerful being should stoop so low as to not only befriend those.....ponies" he said in disgust. "But worst of all: he fraternizes with one to produce an offspring! How pathetic! And to think: I offered him a chance to reclaim his greatness." 

Suddenly, a red, brawny hand reached down to a plate sitting right next to him. On it were a bunch of parasprites, their wings seemingly damaged. As they saw the hand reaching down towards them, they quickly scurried to the side in the hopes he wouldn't catch one of them. Sadly, he did catch one: a parasprite that was sleeping until it woke up - only to find its wings in the clutches of the mysterious being.

"But it seems he enjoys playing the errand boy for those worthless, weak-minded equines."

He then plopped the struggling, squealing, pleading parasprite into his mouth, which he ate in just a few seconds. After his snack, the figure suddenly leaned down on of his seats arms, revealing more of his features: a muscular, humanoid figure with bright-red skin, silver cuffs on his wrists, his torso being covered in pitch-black fur reaching all the way to the back of his head. His face was also red, with a ring in his nose, and he had a long white beard, as well as plume of white hair in between his large, curved horns. At first glance, anyone would mistake this for being a devil. Though none's to say they would be wrong.

"And now, here i am," he said, as he put his other hand up to the bridge of his nose. More frustration coming over him. "Wasting away to practically nothing. Banished, and exileded, and practically starving! And with not but my own powers sustaining me." 

As he said that, he looked to a stool standing a few inches in front of his throne. On top of it was a small, black pouch with some kind of engraving on top of it. But the most disturbing thing about this bag was how it seemed to pulse with life. Beating like a still-living heart was being kept inside. He quickly reached for it, fastened it around his neck, and began rising out of his throne.

"All the while, HE and his flimsy, foolish nags frolic in happiness!" 

When he stood, it was not only revealed that he was even taller than Discord: but also that he was a centaur - his dark-furred, lower half was of equine, or at least bovine, relation. Save for the cloven hooves, and the mildly elongated tail which swung behind him as he moved.

"Well, i'll give them all something to be happy about soon enough. OPRHEUS, SISYPHUS!" 

The sudden shout from their master startled the two Qirins, making one of them smack their head on the ceiling of the cave they were in. But even so, both listened to the bidding of their master with glee.

"I want you to keep an especially close watch on this pretty little daughter of his. But also keep your eyes on the young, Changeling prince as well. He could be just as useful as her."  

With that, the Qirin's did as instructed, and were off. Back in his domain, the demonic centaur adopted a malevolent smirk, as he held up his bag. Letting the top open slightly.

"Yes. Useful, indeed. Wouldn't you agree, my friend?" 

As if to answer his question, a black mist suddenly began slithering out of the bag, and wrapping around his neck. He reached up a finger to caress the tendril-shaped form of living shadow like it was a pet, as he gave a deep chuckle.

"Of course. Just wait: our time will come. But it will be done more.....discreetly. Just like Discord, the witch Chrysalis dared to spurn me: even after i told her of that royal wedding two years ago. It would have been a chance for us both to take control of Equestria, but she had to cast me aside. I'll happily return the favor by playing her at her own game. And in turn, rid myself of my enemies through her own machinations. Changelings, ponies, and even Discord himself, will destroy each other, and plunge the world into true chaos. A mighty avalanche which will bring ruin to all that stands before. And the young children who find kinship in eachother will be the stones that sets it all in motion." 

The dark mist then began slinking behind him, before splitting into a series of tendrils that slithered before him, twisted, and circling around. All while the Dark One clasped his hands together, and his piercing, yellow eyes glowed in the rising darkness. The thought of his plans bringing a devilish grin to his face. Finally, he spoke in a rather ominous tone, saying:

"Oh, yes indeed. Prince Mothball, and little Screwball. Two creatures who may be the key to Equestria's undoing."

to be continued?
> It's too easy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Happy Birthday, Screwy. Hope you like the rose." Were the words of Prince Mothball. Now a few years older, and longing much more to be with his dear friend, Screwball. Despite his mother's orders to "break up" with his friend, and not see her again for a good long while-he still went out of his way to visit her at night, leaving something small, and significant to her. While she in turn would leave him a bar of chocolate, which he loved dearly. Though it was difficult to not be able to see her like he used to, he was able to make it work.

However, as he landed in the place where he used to meet, and hang out with Screwball, his previously happy face slipped into a somewhat somber one. A symbol that he was not happy with how things have been going for him, as of late. He let out a depressed sigh, as he began speaking his thoughts aloud to noone in particular.

"It's just not fair! I don't want to have to keep doing this. I mean, what kind of good friend am i if i have to keep sneaking out like this because i'm afraid of Mother? I just-i just wish things could be like they were before. I just want to be with her, again. Is that really so much to ask for?"

"That depends on who you should ask." said another voice fro the shadows. Which startled Mothball, and almost made him jump. However, his eyes widened in shock, and mild fear as he saw General Mantis himself, stepping out of the shadows. Right beside him were two other changelings that Mothball knew just as well: Private Acari, and Private Bombus. While the other two had neutral expressions, Mantis had a rather stern expression. One which made Mothball more than a little nervous.

"Oh! G-general!" he stammered. "W-w-what a p-pleasant surprise! W-what b-brings you out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, young prince."

*eyes darting left, and right* "W-what do you mean? I'm just hunting."

*eyebrow raised* "In the area where you used to see Discord's daughter?"

"Uuuh, i-i-"

"With all due respect, your highness: cut the act." Acari added. "We heard what you said a few minutes ago."

"W-what?"

"Yeah, dude." said Bombus "We were actually following you for quite a while. Although we didn't go into ponyville, buuut-"

"So, wait. You 3 were following me?!"

"More like keeping an eye on you." said Mantis. "The queen actually suspected you might still be sneaking out to see that mare, and wanted to know if it was true, or not. I was going to just send these two, but....for curiosities sake, i decided to come along. At least so i could try to understand."

"Understand what?" Mothball asked curiously.

"Why, even after the Queen commanded otherwise: you would go out of your way to disobey her, and still see the Chaos child!"

Mothball actually flinched at the strictness of the General's tone. While he wasn't exactly Mothball's father, General Mantis did sometimes tend to him when Chrysalis didn't. So, in a sense, that made him as close as one could get. And though he didn't want to say anything, he didn't want Mantis getting mad at him. Unlike with his mother, he wasn't afraid of the General: he just didn't want to disappoint him. But he could see he wasn't gonna get out of this, so with a heavy sigh, he relented.

"I-i just wanted to see Screwball again. I know mother was against it, but i can't just leave her be. She's my only frie-oops!" he exclaimed, covering his mouth before he finished that word. But Mantis already knew what he was going to say, and he just shook his head before speaking up.

"My prince, this issue's already been discussed: friendship is weakness, the same as love. Whatever you think you feel for this mare is not real. We have no hearts, so we can't feel anything. Don't you understand?"

He did understand. He just didn't care, because he got aggravated when he was reminded of that day when he was discovered, and forced to leave Screwball.

"I don't care! I might not have a heart: but she's the only one who's ever made feel like i do! And unlike you, and the other Changelings, she doesn't hate me!"

Hearing this actually caused the trio's eyes to widen, and look to each other in confusion. 

"Prince Mothball, don't be ridiculous. Noone in the hive hates you. You're the queens son, and-"

"And because of that, every single changeling is jealous of me! Don't try, and lie to me, because i hear it all the time! Every day, i hear them whispering behind my back, wondering why a changeling like me deserves to be next in line to rule! Why i have to be so.....DIFFERENT from every changeling in the hive! Even...even though i never asked for any of that! I never asked to be different!" he yelled, as he closed his eyes, trying to reel in the flood of emotions that were escaping.

And all the General, and privates could do was look at him with sympathy (surprisingly enough). They could tell he was really upset by this, and they'd be lying if they said that they weren't aware of the other Changelings disdain for Mothball, even though they hid it whenever Chrysalis was around. It seemed like, aside from her, they were the only ones who didn't scrutinize him behind his back. If only because they saw no reason to. But, of course, they never really explained this to him before for some reason. Before they could even consider doing so, to perhaps ease the young prince's upset state, he spoke again. This time, in a much calmer tone, now that he'd taken the time to relax, and calm himself.

"But screwball......she isn't like that. She understands-she knows what it's like to be different. She doesn't judge me, or consider me something that doesn't belong. She accepts me for who i am. Even....if i'm a creature with no heart. She cares for me. She actually makes me feel.....like i have a heart. That's why i can't stop seeing her. Even if everyone says my feelings aren't real.........they're real to ME."

He then lowered his head to the ground, no longer sad. But not quite feeling satisfied, either. Because he knew that nothing he said would matter to them: they were set in how things worked, and no amount of Mothball spilling his "feelings" was going to change that. His ears perked when he heard hooves approaching him. This was what he was expecting. General Mantis would come up to him soon, and reprimand him for acting like this. For fantasizing about something that wasn't real, and how his mother would be angry once he tells her everything. He waited.....and waited. Pretty soon, the clopping stopped, and Mothball saw Mantis' shoe covered hooves standing right in front of him. He let out a sigh, accepting the inevitable.

But he didn't expect to feel a hoof suddenly get placed on his shoulder. Nor to see the sympathetic expression of the general as he spoke.

"I'm sorry." he said gently. "I had no idea it's been like this for you. If i'd had known, i would never have let any of those Changelings disrespect you so. You are the prince, and deserve respect. And even though we have no heart.....no Changeling should have to put up with that. Just keep in mind......i never judged you, either. My loyalty is to the ruler of the Changelings, be it the queen.....or even the Prince."

Hearing those words helped lift Mothballs spirits a bit. Even causing him to slightly smile at such a revelation. At least, until he heard the next part.

"But i'm afraid that, as such, i have to inform the Queen of what you've done."

Mothballs eyes quickly widened into saucers, and a great fear came upon him.

"No, General, please! You can't tell her! If she finds out about this, she-she might do something bad! She might never let me leave the hive again!"

"It's not our choice, your highness." said Acari. "The Queen ordered us to inform her of your progress, and of all your activities. We HAVE to."

"Yeah!" said Bombus. "Did you already forget how she gets when she doesn't have her way? She gets mad, and FRE-E-E-AKY!"

"We must do as we are commanded." said Mantis "There is no other way."

"......So that's it? You're really going to do this? Let her punish me for-for this? I thought you DID care for me."

"You're highness, please! You are our prince: we DO care for you. We just-"

"Then please! PLEASE! I'm begging you not to tell her! I-i just want to see screwy any way i can! Even if i have to just give her a short glance through a window, that's all i need! But, please: don't take that away from me. It's the only way i can be happy. Wouldn't YOU be the same if you had someone you really liked?"

The General was about to rebuke the prince, before he quickly realized something. Upon being asked that question, he quickly remembered something that made him see that Mothball was right. While he never showed it, he had a secret infatuation with someone which he kept to himself, because he knew they would never return such feelings. And that so happened to be Queen Chrysalis herself. The reason for his devotion was that General Mantis actually had feelings for his queen. Which was ironic, considering he had no heart. But deep down, he knew Chrysalis would never feel the same way for him. So he kept such feelings, if they really were, in check, and simply played the loyal general for his Queen. But having seen how Mothball himself seemed to care so much for another simply reminded him of himself. And that question, as well as the pleading expression of his young charge proved to be the final straw. He knew what he had to do. So, with a long sigh as he closed his eyes before opening them again, he said:

"Very well. If that's what you wish for, your highness: then i'll keep this a secret. For your sake. The same goes for you two: understand?"

"Uh, y-yes, sir!"

"Sure thing, boss-i mean, sir!"

That little screw-up annoyed mantis somewhat, but he just shook his head and brushed it off. Though, when he turned to look back at the prince, he was surprised with a quick hug around his neck. Which made his eyes widen, and the two privates mouths to hang open. But Mantis' surprise changed to a somewhat proud one when he saw how happy Mothball was.

"Thanks you so much, general! Thank you!"

"Heh, no problem, Mothball. And you can call me Mantis, if you want."

With a pleasant smile, Mothball looked to the general as he let go of him, and said, "Okay, gene-Mantis. Thanks, again. I promise you wont regret it."

"Don't worry about that. We just need to act like none of this ever happened. Acari, Bombus: when the queen asks, Prince Mothball was hunting, just as he said he was going to. No matter what happens, she will NOT know of this. None of you will tell her, and I wont tell her. ......That way we can all stay in one peace. Your highness?"

"Yeah?"

"I recommend you return to the hive. We'll arrive shortly after, so no suspicion will be had. And i promise to you: we'll keep your secret safe."

Once more, Mothball gently smiled as his insect wings lifted him in the air, as he said, "Got it. Thanks again, Mantis."

The General simply gave him a nod of approval. He then took off back to the hive, at least hoping to bring this night to an end. He was already a good distance away, when he turned back towards Discord's castle one last time. Letting his thoughts speak out, once more.

"Just you wait, Screwy. Some day, i won't have to keep sneaking back here to see you. I don't know when, or how. But it'll happen. You'll see. Someday.....i'll be a part of YOUR world."

With that, he took off back home. Hopeful for the days that lay ahead of him. But just like before, he was unaware that he, and his fellow Changelings were being spied on once again. Two tree-tops, several meters away from where Mothball had been, began vaporizing into a thick black smoke-before finally materializing into the Qirin's, Orpheus, and Sisyphus: their 3rd eyes once again glowing, and once more broadcasting to their master.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oho, no! Ohonononono! Anything but this!" the demonic centaur said, as he watched the whole spectacle up to Screwballs departure. 

And all that he saw made him absolutely ecstatic, as he chortled in amusement while returning to his throne. Leaning on it as he did so.

"I just can't stand it! It's far too easy! He doesn't even realize it yet, but the child is in love with the mare! And from what i've seeing, SHE is in love with the Changeling! And he's not just any Changeling: A PRINCE! Hehehahahah! Ooooh, their mommy, and daddy'll love that."

As he continued pondering over this recent bit of info, his gaze soon turned to a different part of the room: specifically, the hall outside the chamber. There, the shadow of multiple figures in motion could be seen.

"Still, both Discord, and Chryssy's headstrong, lovesick kids......would make quite the charming additions to my own collection."

As his shadow cast over that part of the room, the visage of the beings could be seen: equine bodies that seemed like undead ghouls, glowing an eerie orange from their mouths, AND from the cracks that formed along their bodies. All while the half of them which held their legs seemed to be meshed, and molded together, and then welded to the ground. This made them seem like prisoners: prisoners who were almost writhing in agony from a pain that could not be seen. And what was worse: there weren't just equine forms there. Aside from appeared to be pegasi, unicorns, and even earth ponies-there were also, surprisingly enough, Zebras, mules, diamond dogs, minotaurs, griffons, and even some Changelings as well. A large assortment of equestrians, all seemingly trapped in the domain of this demonic figure. Who simply laughed in dark pleasure at the sight of them, and the thought of what he had in store for Mothball, AND Screwball.

"Hmmmhmmhmhmhmmehahahahahahah! HAHA HAHAHAHAHAH!"

to be continued?
> Poor Unfortunate Souls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Already a few minutes had passed since the disaster at the Grand Galloping Gala. Mothball, and Screwball had finally, truly reunited after 5 years of being apart. And during their short time, Screwball had convinced him to let her see his real form once again. Unfortunately, it was at the same time Discord decided to spy on the two. And he was not happy to see who the stallion really was. But when he tried to deal with Mothball, Screwball attacked him and gave her Changeling friend a chance to get away. To say that everypony was shocked was an understatement: their eyes were as wide as Saucers, and their jaws nearly fell to the ground. And Discord? To put it simply: he was miffed. Now the chaos family was about to deal with the issue at hand.

Discord paced around Screwball's bedroom, trying to control his frustration. His daughter sat on the bed, glaring down at her hooves while Fluttershy stood a safe distance away from them both.

"I'm a reasonable father!" Discord ranted. "I let you bend reality, I let you stay up late, I let you eat dessert before dinner! I never ask for much! Yet the one rule I make, the one thing I tell you not to do, you go out and break!"

"Daddy, you don't understand..." Screwball started to say.

"Did you know who that stallion was?"

"I..."

"Did you?!"

She hung her head. "Yes."

He crossed his arms. "How long have you been seeing that boy?"

Screwball looked away.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Changelings are dangerous! You can't trust them, especially that one!"

"You don't even know him!" his daughter spat.

"Yeah? Well, like mother, like son! All changelings are the same: heartless, cold, hideous monsters!"

"You're the one to talk!"

"What?!"

Screwball covered her mouth while Fluttershy gasped in horror. Discord narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"Oh," he growled. "Oh! So that's the way you're gonna play it, eh, missy?! Yes! I'm hideous! But at least I have a heart! Changelings are incapable of any..."

"Daddy, I love him!"

The only sound that could be heard was another gasp from Fluttershy. Discord's eyes grew to the size of frying pans.

"No," he uttered. "Have you lost your senses?! He's a changeling!"

"I don't care!" Screwball said defiantly.

"Can't you see he's bewitched you?! Can't you see he's feeding off your emotions?! He's only using you! A creature like that cannot love!"

The young mare could not take it anymore and hopped off the bed. "You're such a hypocrite!"

She raced toward the door.

"I'm not finished with you, young lady!" Discord bellowed.

"Well, I'm finished!"
As she threw the door open with her magic, she heard some shouts. Behind the door were the Tri-Pies and Prism. Screwball ignored them and ran sobbing down the hall.

"Screwball Fluttershy Draconequus!" Discord shouted. "You come back here this instant!"

"Discord!" Fluttershy said sternly, laying her hoof on his shoulder. "I think you might have been too hard on her."

"Too hard on her?!" the draconequus repeated. "She deliberately disobeyed me! On top of that, she used her magic against me and called me a heartless monster! A hypocritical one at that!"

"But Discord, don't you see?"

"Don't I see what?"

"This is precisely how I was treated when I fell in love with you!"

The draconequus grew silent. He tried to find a proper response, but he found none.

"Our daughter's right," Fluttershy declared. "You are a hypocrite! You forbid Screwball from falling in love with a changeling, when the world forbade me from falling in love with you!"

"That was different!" Discord insisted. "I loved you back! Changelings are incapable of love! They say they care for you, but once their hunger is satisfied, they stab you in the back!"

Fluttershy simply looked at him in silence, as she let him have a moment to cool. Once he did, she spoke in a stern, but still comforting tone to keep things civil. 

"Because of what happened with Chrysalis?" she asked, trying not to sound too accusing.

He just gave her a mildly surprised look, as she didn't expect her to bring up a topic they discussed so long ago. But nevertheless, he was compelled to respond as best as possible, though he didn't say anything as he felt a pang of shame from that distant memory. All he did was lower his head while his eyes were closed, and slowly nodded his head. 

"Honey, i know you feel terrible about what happened back then......and how it effected you so. But you're letting your feelings cloud your judgement, and influence your actions."

"Well, what do you expect from me?" Discord inquired. "Chrysalis is the reason i became the lord of chaos in the first place! She used me for her own benefit! And now i find that my own daughter is no doubt being used by a Changeling that happens to be Chrysalis' own child? It's like history's repeating itself all over again!"

"You don't know that. From the way Screwball defends him so, it seems possible that there's something different about this changeling. Don't you think we should at least give him a chance to prove he's not like them?"

Discord simply scoffed upon hearing this notion.

"A chance to do what? Trick her into giving Equestria over to the Changelings? To lie, and manipulate my little screwy before he drains her dry? I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but there is no way i'll ever let that happen!"

"Discord, please! You can't let one bad experience with one changeling mold your perspective on ALL of them! And he hasn't done anything bad to you, so why do you have to hate HIM specifically?"

"I DON'T hate him! I just.......*sigh* I'm just afraid, okay?"

Hearing this statement managed to silence any words Fluttershy was about to say next. Seeing her so surprised, Discord went ahead, and elaborated.

"Chrysalis i can never forgive for what she did. But i do understand that...other changelings just do whatever she says without question. It's all they really know. It's always been that way. Maybe i do act out of anger towards them, because i keep getting reminded of Chrysalis everyime i see them. But i mainly do it because i'm afraid for Screwball. All i want is to protect her from a potential danger. What happened to me........it's something i don't ever want her to experience."

Now it made far more sense to Fluttershy. Especially considering that fear is the thing that fuels anger. And given his experience, he had every reason to be weary of other changeling. As such, she placed a gentle hoof on his paw, as he warmly smiled to him in understanding before saying her piece.

"And she won't. Have you already forgotten? She's our daughter - and she's the best of both of us. She can see things in others that nopony else could ever imagine was there.............just like i ended up seeing something in you. If she truly does care for the changeling prince, then she see's something good in him that's worth cherishing. And even if i'm concerned for her: i still trust her choice."

*Nervously* Yeah, but.....but what if he IS just like her? Can we really-"

"Shh. It's okay. Just believe that our screwball knows what's right. Everything will be okay."

Discord really wanted to press the issue further. But after taking in everything she said, he had to admit: she had a point. So with a heavy sigh, he conceded, and with a sad smile, took her hoof in both of his paws.

"Okay. I'll try for her sake, at least. And for you, my sweet."

"Thank you, Discord. That's all i ask."

*Chuckle* "Y'know, it's funny: but it always seems like i keep getting reminded of why i fell in love with you in the first place. *wink*"

Fulttershy giggled gleefully, as she embraced her dear husband. He still smiled as the warmth of her body warmed his heart. But when he looked out the window, his smile faded as he remembered Screwball. He knew he was going to have to make it up to her somehow: someway. But still, he thought of the changeling, as well. He would at least TRY to trust that screwy was safe with him. But if something happened to her because of him:

All bets are off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Screwball did not know where else to go. She instantly teleported to her sanctuary. Her first instinct was to sob into her hooves.

Why could her father not understand? He was always supportive with everything else she did. Even though she knew he would never allow her to see Mothball, it never seemed to matter until now. Now that he had figured out her secret, he was going to make sure she never left his sight again. It would be only a matter of minutes before he found her.

"I thought you'd be here."

Huh. Sooner than I thought.

"Go away!" she shouted.

"Huh?"

Screwball did a double take and realized it was not her dad's voice. She turned around to see Mothball. She quickly cast a spell to fix her hair and makeup.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I thought you were my dad. What are you doing here?"

He took a step forth. "I came to see if you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...Daddy and I got into a fight."

"Oh. I guess that's my fault."

"No. I was the one who told you to change into yourself. I'm also the one who threw my dad into a tree. You know I've never used magic on him before? We've always been so close and never fought." She sighed. "I guess it was bound to happen at some point."

She hung her head and was silent for a while. Mothball cautiously approached and sat down beside her.

"So how have things been? You know, other than trouble with the parents."

Screwball sniffed. "Okay, I guess." She smiled a bit. "I have a baby brother now."

The changeling raised his eyebrows. "A brother?"

"Yeah, his name is Zany. He's the cutest baby you'll ever see!"

"Does he, um...do the things you do? I mean can he do magic?"

She nodded. "Though he has trouble controlling it. I can't wait until he's older! That way, we can play catch together and I can show him my wicked curve ball!"

"How old is he now?"

"Five months."

"What about your friends? How are they doing?"

"Dinky and Cinnamon Stick got together at the dance, so did Thunder and Apple Blossom. I think..." She scooted closer to him. "A lot of ponies got up the courage tonight to..." She touched his hoof with hers. "Tell the pony they liked that they...well..."

She did not need to say anything. Mothball could feel her emotion. Things were going according to plan. All he had to do was pretend he returned her affections and wriggle more information out of her. It is what his mother would want. But it was not what he wanted.

He pulled his hoof away. "Screwball, you can't! You can't have feelings for a changeling! You can't love something that has no heart to love you back with!"

Screwball looked at him seriously. "Why do you not see what I see?"

"See what?"

"This!"

She took his hoof again and this time placed it over his chest.

"Feel that?"

Something inside his chest was pumping rapidly.

"That's a heartbeat," Screwball stated.

Mothball stared at her in disbelief and then shook his head.

"That's impossible," he murmured. "I'm not supposed to have a heart! I'm exactly what your father says: cold, unfeeling..."

"If you're so cold and unfeeling, then why haven't you sucked me dry yet?"

"Because...because..."

He could not think of a reason, for there were too many candidates: because I don't want to hurt you, because I'm supposed to keep you alive, because I think you're really pretty...

He chose the safest one:

"You're the only friend I've ever had."

As she smiled, Mothball could have sworn he heard music. He figured it was his imagination until fireflies surrounded them in a heart-shaped pattern. Screwball batted her purple eyes innocently.

"Sorry," she said. "When I get emotional, I get a little carried away."

Exactly who is the seducer here?

Once again, he found himself lost in those hypnotic swirls. He did not know if it was her magic, or if her eyes truly sparkled. He almost did not realize she was leaning in, until her lips were inches away from his.

He wrenched himself away and the spell was broken.

"Did you not hear my warning?!" he snapped.

Screwball pouted. "I don't care!"

"You should! Do you think I would be able to live with myself if I hurt...?"

He paused, shocked at the words falling from his mouth. Screwball was equally surprised, not by his words, but by his frightened tone. Mothball decided he should get out of here before he gave her the wrong idea and so he could sort out this strange thumping inside him.

"You should go home," he said quickly.

Screwball blinked. "What?"

"Your family's probably worried sick about you."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm in enough trouble as it is. Will I see you again?"

Mothball looked away. "I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"But..."

"For your own safety, Screwy, I think it's best you stay away."

It pained him to say it even more than it had the first time he had left. This time, it was for real, and Screwball knew he was not lying. He heard a sniff and resisted the urge to look at her, knowing those beautiful eyes were filling up with tears.

"Goodbye," he muttered.

Mothball took off before he could change his mind. Screwball's ears drooped as she began crying for the second time that evening.

She did not want to go back to Canterlot, but she felt she had no choice. Her parents would flip if she did not return soon.

In time, Mothball stopped in an area surrounded by large rocks, with seemingly noone in sight. But when Mothball stopped in the middle of this little quarry, his eyes narrowed as he turned his head backwards.

"You three might as well come out, now! I noticed you before i even came to this spot!"

Upon being called out by the prince, General Mantis, Privates Acari and Bombus changed from 3 birds that were standing on one of the tall stones back to their true forms as they hovered down to the prince. And they each had a shameful expression as they looked Mothball in his eye, meeting his angered gaze.

*nervously*"H-how did you know?" Bombus asked.

"Let's just say that i learned alot more than how to be a changeling.....like how to tell when there are Changelings following me."

Somewhat satisfied with his answer, Bombus said nothing more.

"So should i even ask what you three are doing here?"

*sigh* "It was the Queen's order." answered Mantis. "Right before she left, she ordered me to send some drones to keep an eye on you. I volunteered myself, and these two so that-"

"So that you could spy on me for Mother! And tell her all about my meeting with Screwball, am i right?"

"No, you got it all wrong!" claimed Acari. "She just wanted us to make sure you were safe!"

"Likely story. I should've known she would try something like this. And like it wasn't bad enough with what happened at the Gala."

"Your highness, please!" Mantis exclaimed. "We promised we wouldn't tell the queen about you, and the mare, Screwball. And we've done what we can to keep that a secret."

Though he was angry, Mothball was at least able to see some honesty in the General's eye. That was at least enough to quell his anger. But now it had just been replaced by a new feeling of sadness. One centered around something he already knew was inevitable.

"Maybe not......but who knows how long it'll take before she finds out. I'm just.....i'm so tired of doing this! But she won't let me stop! She'll just-she'll force me to do something to hurt Screwball. *somber sigh* And i can't. I don't want to."

His body began to feel tired. Like all of the emotions he was feeling had drained his energy away. And now he had just flopped down onto one of the rocks in the quarry, tears falling from his eyes as he thought of how it seemed happiness with his closest friend really was impossible. The trio were surprisingly saddened by their princes current state. Even if they were just drones, some part of them really did care for the prince's well-being. Which would explain how they kept his secret for this long. Not wishing to see his protectorate like this, Mantis tried to console him.

"Mothball.....I-"

"Just go away."

It wasn't anger, or even spite he had spoken with: it was despair. Realizing they were never gonna get through to him like this, the changeling trio left, with Bombus being the last as he looked to Mothball with more sadness. Now Mothball was alone to deal with his emotional strain that was not thought possible for changelings. But nevertheless, he let these feelings escape him as he stay in the solitude of this place.

Or so he thought. 

In one of the shaded edges of the quarry, the Qirin's Orpheus and Sisyphus. They had been watching the whole time, and waiting for a moment just like this. Now it was time to make their move. Unfurling the bat-like wings on their backs, the serpentine creatures began making their way towards the distraught prince.

"Poor child. Poor, sweet child. He has a VERY serious problem." said Orpheus.

"If only there was something we could do." added Sisyphus. "But there IS something."  

Mothball was quite startled by these strange, creepy creatures. He had never seen anything like them, and their distorted voices didn't help. But obviously, they came here for some reason, and the least he could do was find out what it was. Even if they did freak him out just a little.

"Who-......Who are you?"

"Don't be scared."

They then each began slithering around Mothballs body at least once. Like a pair of winged snakes.

"We represent someone who can help you."

"Someone who can make all your dreams come true." 

They then wrapped around each other in a sort of "embrace", which they used as symbolism.

(both)
"Just imagine: your and your precious mare - together forever." 

While he might have been tempted by such a proposal, Mothball was far more confused about the meaning behind these creature's claims.

"I don't understand. How could you make that happen?"

"Lord Tirek....has GREAT powers." 

And at the mention of that name, Mothball felt a sense of dread. Because while he didn't know the one who bears the name, his mother sometimes told stories of him. And under a title he also possessed.

"The Dark Master?"

And then he came to his senses. While he was desperate to make a change, he wasn't SO desperate as to go to Tirek himself.

"But that's-...i couldn't possibly! NO, FORGET IT! Get out of here, and leave me alone!"

He swiftly turned his back on the two Qirin's, refusing to give them another moment of his time. But instead of being angry, or outraged: the two monsters simply smiled to each other, even as they turned to leave.

"Suit yourself. It was only a suggestion. Oh, and before we go: here's a little something to remember us by." 

Orpheus used his magic to conjur up something, and then toss it over to mothball via a tail swipe. Mothball noticed, and to surprise he saw what seemed to be a simple, piece of chocolate: the same kind Screwball herself gave him. Upon seeing this, his thoughts began racing as he had second thoughts. Though he said he wasn't that desperate.........he proved himself wrong as his desires returned. He so desperately wished to be with Screwball. Even if it meant striking a deal with a demon to do it.

"W-WAIT!"

(both)
"Yeeeeesssss?"  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several kilometers away from the quarry, Mantis, Acari, and Bombus were discussing the matter with Mothball. Even though he told them to leave, they still had orders, for one thing. For another they refused to leave him alone as he was. Especially with the prospect that it could lead to him doing something.......drastic.

"Poor prince mothy." Bombus said sadly. "I feel bad for the kid. Even changelings shouldn't have to put up with this kinda stuff."

"Come on: nobody could've expected what happened to happen. It was a freak accident." said Acari.

"Even so, we can't let the prince carry on like this. I-" Mantis said, before a passing shadow caught his next words in his throat. All 3 looked up to see Mothball, with a determined look, flying through the air with the two Qirin. In a direction leading AWAY from the hive.

"Young highness? Where are you going?" shouted General Mantis, as he and his subordinates flew in front of Mothball as he flew on, following his guides.

"Prince Mothball! What do you think you're doing with these creatures?"

"Simple: i'm going to see Lord Tirek."

Mantis immediately stopped in his tracks, and gasped aloud. Now the prince was putting himself in very REAL danger. And he couldn't just let that happen.

"Mothball, NO! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"

"I've never been more serious in my whole life. And nothing you can say, or do is going to stop me."

"But.....WHY?!"

"Because i can't do this anymore! I want nothing to do with mother's plans! And i never wanted to hurt ANYPONY! But...i know deep down that if i try, and confront her: she'll just make me do something i don't want to - including hurting Screwball. And i don't want to be hated, and feared just because i'm a stupid changeling anymore! I just want to be with Screwball. She's my friend - the ONLY one who cares about me. If Tirek can really help make that happen, then i'll see him."

"But you don't know what he really is! He's a demon! A monst-"

"Then why don't you jut go tell my mother, huh? I'm sure she'd care sooo much!"

And that was the final word before Mothball just pushed past General Mantis, and continued following the Qirin's. Mantis, for lack of a better term, was at a loss for words. He tried to think of a way to convince Mothball to stop. But nothing came to mind.

"But-But, i-"

Acari, and Bombus flew up beside him, worried for Mothball. But a few moments later, Mantis recollected himself. Even though Mothball didn't believe it: the general did. As did his two privates, evident ally. And he was going to prove it to him.

"Both of you: come on!"

They wasted no time in following their commander. The trio stood right on the tails of the 3 travelers. Even as they began reaching into territory which seemed to grow darkened skies the more they traveled. And they traveled for several miles, passing through to the edge of the everfree forest, until reaching the edge of what appeared to be the wastelands. And it was blacker than midnight itself. Like the billowing smoke of a fiery mountain was fuming into the sky, creating a cross between pure-black, and fiery red. There was even lightning coursing through these dark clouds like a vile storm. Yet it wasn't this sight alone which that gave Mothball such a fright.

It was the nightmarish mountain of a structure which stood in the center of it.

To Mothball it was a terrifying sight: like a malicious, mountain which had been shaped into a twisted, gnarled tree.  Yet there were also some elements of a castle, as well. Several jagged stones surrounded the mountain, giving it an even more fearsome appearance. Yet what was most striking about it was the numerous holes that seemed to have been mountain. The largest one being at the base, with the imprint of a sharp-toothed skull. This made Mothball nervous enough to halt in midair, momentarily unsure of himself.

(both)
"This way."

Quickly remembering what he was here for, and that he'd already come this far: Mothball swallowed his fear, and followed Orpheus and Sisyphus into the skull-like entrance. Once inside, Mothball quickly noticed how numerous holes continuously changed - opening, and closing like a wound being sealed. Kind of like a changeling hive. But he noticed the lack of things that would make it a hive, such as glowing, green sacks/cocoons of various sizes. The whole interior was shaped like an ancient, yet traditional castle - which also happened to be dark, and foreboding. Pillars stood all around, torches hung upon the walls, and there were also gargoyle statues placed almost everywhere. Plenty of time passed as the 3 traversed the halls of this mysterious castle. Walkways, and stairways were strung all over the place. Many being upside down, sideways, and even slantways. Yet the two Qirin's seemed able to navigate their way through, and surprisingly, Mothball felt a bit familiar with this place. And he wasn't the only one, as the Changeling trio soon arrived. Acari, and Bombus were in complete awe of the place, while Mantis seemed to be somewhat disturbed by this place.

"Man, this place is huge!" exclaimed Bombus. "What is this?"

"The central hive."

Mantis spoke in a low, angered voice which Acari, and Bombus quickly caught on to. But they didn't say a word, and silently urged him to explain.

"This was once the central kingdom of the Changelings. The central hive were we ALL resided."

"Really?" asked Acari. "Cause, no offense sir: but this place only slightly resembles a changeling hive. If that's true, then what happened to this place?"

"........Tirek."

Sadly, this only brought confusion to the two privates, as Mantis himself could plainly see.

*sigh* "I'll explain later. Right now, we have to stop the prince before it's too late. More than his life is at stake now."

Eventually, they reached a long hallway after flying up a spiral staircase, which was devoid of light save for what seemed to be a small, red light. The Qirin's managed to go on ahead, leaving the young prince behind. He followed the dark hallway, following the light. Along the way, however, he was met with the sight of the ghoulish creatures trapped in the floor. To his horror, they all seemed to resemble a number of equine races - including Changelings. And they all seemed to be writhing in agony as they moaned, and groaned in the most horrendous way possible. This display chilled Mothball to the core, and just motivated him to hover just a little higher to stay away from these things. But suddenly, what seemed to be a griffon grabbed him by his front hoof, and tried pulling him back. Mothball struggled for a bit, but managed to free his hoof before the other ghouls could reach him. For a moment, though, he was left to wonder what that was all about. What were those things trying to do? Perhaps they wanted to eat him? Change him into them?.....or perhaps warn him of something?

His train of thought, however, was interrupted by the sound of a deep, booming, but mildly aged voice echoed out into the darkness.

"Orpheus, Sisyphus, you divine little serpents. Hmm, i see you've brought us a new guest. Good. I always love seeing visitors." 

Mothball soon realized he was at the entrance of a large room. One which looked like a massive cave, which was glowing with a fiery red aura. The room itself seemed to have some minor decoration with several drapes lining the walls, some pillars here, and there. A worn down, macabre chandelier even hung from the ceiling. There was also what looked to be a strange cauldron sitting in the center of the room. Yet even with all of these things, it was what stood in the back of the room which caught Mothball's eye: a large, obsidian stone with jagged, sharp spikes at the top. There were some holes at the base. But as he squinted at it, he noticed something rather LARGE occupying it like a massive, black throne. He was proven right when a large, red hand extended outward, before making a gesture for the young changeling to approach. He slowly did, while still weary of what he was dealing with.

"Well? Come in. Come in, my child. Or have you no manners? After all, we mustn't lurk in doorways." 

That was when Mothball finally saw who the figure was as he used his magic to hoer down to the floor: a large, red and black furred centaur with pure, white hair, two large bull-horns, wearing a strange satchel around his neck. His eyes were also pitch black, with only his pupils being piercing yellow. With no question about it: Mothball could now be certain that this was the notorious Lord Tirek himself. And he was every bit as intimidating.........and terrifying as he imagined.

"It's rude. One might question your upbringing. But then again, who has time to worry about that? Just come closer, boy, and let me get a closer look at you." 

Nervously, Mothball did as he was told, and flew up to the much larger creature. Mothball wasn't quite sure: but he could swear that this guy might be taller than even Discord. But he didn't have to time to think of that, as Tirek then picked him up under his arms, and held him like some kind of domesticated animal. He then began turning him left to right, much to the changeling's discomfort, and continuously studied his younger guest.

"Oh! So you ARE a royal changeling after all. Most intriguing. Though i have to ask: is this REALLY how royal changelings wear their hair back in Equestria nowadays?" Tirek asked as he brushed a hand through Mothball's mane, before letting him go. He hovered in the air just so he could keep himself leveled with the demonic centaur. 

"Of course I wouldn't know of such things. By all accounts, i've been banished forever by the equestrian princesses. Oh! And let's not forget dear, old Discord. By their presence alone, i'm reduced to living in this wretched hovel for all of eternity. And for what? Because i was a little ambitious? Because 5,000 years ago i made a few pitiful attempts to elevate my station in life?" 

"You tried to overthrow the princesses." Mothball said matter-of-factually. Tirek looked annoyed at first, but then burst out in a brief fit of laughter.

"Well, I think that's blowing it a bit out of proportion. But then: maybe it's that way of thinking that turned Chrysalis against me." 

Mothballs ears perked when he heard that.

"You knew my mother?"

"Correction: i know your mother. And i'm still a little sore for what she did 17 years ago." 

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say that i'm part of the reason she even knew of the canterlot wedding. After escaping from Tartarus, i decided to lay low, and learn about this new decade as much as possible. One instance involved the wedding. I went to the Changelings because i knew we could BOTH benefit from an event such as this: they would get all the love they need, and I would get all of their magic. It was a win-win. But chryssy doesn't like sharing, and is a hopeless paranoid. So she tried to have me killed on the spot. Heh. Quite alot of good that did her when i drained the soldiers she had attack me. I left of my own accord, but promised to return. And let's just say......thanks to another "friend" i met in the frozen north: i kept my promise. Once she came limping back here, i took advantage of her weakness, and evicted her from her house, basically speaking. Imagine how surprised she was when her precious throne did nothing to negate my powers." 

"Then........this place-"

"Was the central changeling hive. Your original kingdom, if you will. But as you've already seen: i made some....adjustments to suit my own needs. Now it serves as my Castle of Midnight. And since i came to this place, and after eventually seeing Discord do it himself: i managed to reform myself. I only do good for others these days. But enough about me: let's talk about you!" 

He then walked over to some kind of cabinet with numerous items inside, include a pair of wrist bands. The first thing he pulled out, however, was some manner of conditioner which he rubbed into his hair-like mane while levitating a medium-sized mirror in front of him.

"Now then, YOU'RE here because you have a thing for this pony - this, uh, Screwball, i believe. Not that i blame you, i suppose. By equine standards: she IS quite a catch, isn't she? *chuckle*"

He then used his magic to pull out the two wrist braces, and lock them onto his arms.

"Well, "ladies" bug, the solution to your problem is simple."

Once they were fastened, he flexed his hands to make sure they fit well. He smiled as he saw they still fit perfectly before turning his attention back to Mothball.

"The only way to get what you want......is to become a pony yourself." 

Mothball grew confused when Tirek said that, because for some reason it made no sense to him.

"Become a pony? But....i can already do that. Easily."

"No, no, you misunderstand. Not some illusion, not some cheap, simple, mystical disguise: i mean a REAL pony. No longer a changeling that is always starving for love, but a creature that has all the love he needs in his heart. A genuine, official pony." 

Now Mothball understood, and he gasped in surprise. He though only someone like Discord could do something like that. But the way Tirek simply said it made it seem like it was no real problem. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he was getting eager from this by the second.

"You can do that?"

Tirek gave him a wily glance via his mirror. He'd set up the bait perfectly, and now his little fish had been hooked.

"My dear, sweet child: that's what i DO! It's what i live for: to help unfortunate creatures - like yourself! Poor souls with noone else to turn to." 

The demon then walked around Mothball, and slowly hovered in the air while mildly trotting. Like he was doing some kind of slow dance in the air.

~I admit, that in the past i've been a nasty
The weren't kidding when they called me kinda strange
But you'll find that nowadays, i've mended all my ways
Repented, seen the light, and made a change~

"True? yes." 

He moved away from Mothball, as he slowly walked around the cauldron. And with a wave of his hand, it opened like a round, spikey mouth. In the center was a glowing, yellow liquid. As he continues, he conjurs up the images of an obese mare, and a gangly stallion. Both looking downright miserable, and perfectly wretched.

~And i fortunately know a little magic
it's a talent that i always have possessed
And here lately - please don't laugh - i've used it on behalf
Of the miserable, lonely, and depressed~

Pathetic.

~Poor unfortunate souls! 
In pain, in need! 
This one longing to be thinner, that one want so get the girl
And do i help them? Yes, indeed.~

With a snap, the ponies changed forms: the stallion was now bigger, and far more well built, and the mare was slimmed down into an absolutely gorgeous creature. Both looked to each other happily, and held each other in a loving embrace.At the same time, General Mantis, Acari, and Bombus had finally reached the hallway leading to the throne room. They each saw the ghouls, and were either appalled, or in Bombus' case, downright spooked out. Nevertheless, they pressed on, avoiding the ghouls, and proceeding to their destination.

~Those Poor unfortunate Souls! 
So sad, so true!
They come trotting to my cauldron crying "Spells, lord tirek, please!"
And i help them! yes i do.~

As he went on, he made a gesture with his hand indicating that he wanted something from the astral projections of the ponies. When they indicated they had nothing, he waved his hand, and clenched it into a fist, resulting in the ponies being dragged into a swirling vortex beneath them, and being turned into Ghouls.

Now it's happened once, or twice:
Someone COULDN'T pay the price
And i'm afraid i had to rake 'em across the coals
Yes, i've had the odd complaint
But on the whole, i've been a saint

Bizzarely enough, after the cauldron closed, Tirek grabbed the top of his horn, and bent them downwards. This made it seem like he was wearing a hood on his head, as he hovered up to something resembling a stain-glass window. Until a new pair of horns sprouted from his head, the ones he just pulled off turning into freakish serpents, and his hole body began coursing with fire as his shadow loomed over the frightened ghouls.

TO THOSE POOR UNFORTUNATE SO-O-O-O-O-OULS!~  

Mothball, for much less terms, was disturbed by the identity of those sad, shambled creatures in the hallway. And he also felt pity for the fate which had befallen them. But a jolt of his body drew him out of his thoughts, as he was pulled towards Tirek. The latter pulling him close, before he pulled an arm over his shoulder, and walked him over to the cauldron.

"Now, here's the deal: i will make you a potion which shall turn you into a true pony for at least 3 days. Got that? 3. Days. Now listen, THIS IS IMPORTANT: before the sun sets on the 3rd day, you've got to get dear little screwy to fall in love with you."

As Tirek spoke, he conjured up images to emphasize his instructions. Including 3 revolving suns, a propeller hat, and a blueish-green heart sitting under it.

"Specifically: she's got to kiss you. Not just any kiss, though. A SPECIAL kiss - what they call the kiss of true love."

The heart itself began glowing brightly in demonstration. Meanwhile, the changeling trio finally arrived, but stayed near the doorway so as to not risk making something bad happen.

"Now, IF she does kiss you before the sun sets on the 3rd day: you'll remain a pony. Permanently."

Seeing himself as a pony in the projection made Mothball smile in happiness, as he thought of what it meant. But his smile faded when Tirek mentioned the downside, while his new pony form reverted to that of a changeling, and was dragged into the cauldron.

"But if she doesn't: you turn back into a changeling, and........you belong, TO ME!" 

"No, Mothball! Don't be stupid, he'-MMPPHPH!" Mantis began shouting, before the Qirins made themselves into winged serpents, and coiled themselves around the 3 changelings. Even managing to muffle the 3 so as to keep them quiet. Mothball glanced at them for a moment before Tirek drew back his attention.

"So, have we got a deal?" 

As this was the end of Tirek's proposition, all that was left was for Mothball to think it over. And he did. At least for a few moments, before he considered what he'd be doing to make this happen.

"But, if i become a pony.......then-then i'll never be with my mother, and hivelings again."

"Why, that's right!" Tirek stated sarcastically, holding his left arm with the other while keeping it under his chin. Then, a devious smirk formed as he brought up the upside to his deal. "But: you'll have your mare. Mmhmhmh. Life's full of tough choices, Innit? *chuckling* But then again, i doubt it would be that difficult a choice to make." 

"W-why would you say that?" Mothball asked nervously.

"Well, consider: unlike your fellow changelings, you have no desire to force the love out of others. No wish to carry out whatever scheme your queenly mommy wishes for you to take part in. But most of all: you wish to spend your life with your closest, and TRUEST friend without the terrible persecution of ponies, changelings....and even Discord to stand in the way. If you do this, i can guarantee that you'll be free of that. No overbearing parent to force you to harm, no "Siblings" to harass and scorn you, no ponies to hate and fear you for what you are. And best of all? No more feeding. You'll be free of your endless hunger, and can safely be with Screwball. For the rest of your own, natural life." 

Once again, temptation grew strong within Mothball's mind. Everything Tirek said was true, and he wanted every single piece of what was being offered. Yet still, part of him hesitated. Tirek saw this, and decided that the young prince still needed some persuasion.

~Come on, i know you need a little magic
And magic is my speciality dojour.
Don't just stand there looking sick!
Would i kid you? Play a trick?
Like i told you, i don't do that anymore!~  

To Mothball's surprise, a series of smokey, black tendrils wrapped around his body, and began pulling on him, as Tirek trotted along the room. Forcing into a sort of "dance" with the dark master. At one point he stopped, and brought Mothball over to him again. He briefly stroked Mothy's mane, to the latter's discomfort, and then released him. 

~So i think you ought to take my little bargain
Yes, i think you ought to make my little deal
Sure, it's hard to leave your life
But she could be your precious wife!
Why don't you let me take that dream and make it real?

He then began conjuring up images of Screwball, and the time Mothball spent playing with her.....and even their moment at the gala before it went wrong.

~Come on, you poor unfortunate soul
Poor child, poor "fish"!
Aren't you glad you brought your problems to a person you can trust?
Won't you let me. Grant your wish?

~You poor unfortunate soul
Poor boy, don't fear!
Aren't luck that i'm ready with a potion - with a plan?
Aren't you glad you came and asked if i can help you, and i can?
When a creature comes to Lord Tirek: they always lose their ban!

You poor unfortunate so-o-o-o-o-ul!~  

Seeing these images, and listening to Tirek, Mothball knew that there was no more debating it. He knew what he wanted, and he was going to get it. So with a fierce, determined look in his eyes, Mothball worked up his confidence, and made his choice.

"Okay. I'll do it!"

"Atta-boy, Mothy! OH!" Tirek exclaimed. "But there is ONE more thing i forgot to mention: we haven't even discussed the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing, you know." 

"Wh-But i don't have any-!"

"I'M NOT asking much. Just a token, really. A trifle! Trust me, you'll hardly even miss it! You see, what i want from you is......your voice." 

While he was afraid of what Tirek was going to ask of him, he was shocked when he heard what his payment was going to have to be, as he raised a hoof to his neck. That feeling of nervousness coming back, once again.

"M-My voice?"

"You got it, cheesecake. No more talking, singing, zip. *pop*

"But i don't understand. What can i do without my voice? How can i even-"

"You'll have your looks! Your pretty face! And don't underestimate the importance of "body language", hmm?" he said, flexing his arms in a powerful display. He then let out a deep, menacing chuckle as he made his way to a large gargoyle head which opened to reveal numerous potions, and ingredients which he sorted through, and then began pulling out.

~The mares out there don't like a lot of blabber!
They think a colt who chatters is a bore!
Yes, out there it's much preferred 
for stallions not to say a word. 
And after all, boy: what is idle prattle for?  

The items, carrying things that may have been alive, hovered over to the cauldron, before being dropped into the vat, and releasing a reaction that had Mothball take a step back. Even as Tirek himself returned to the cauldron.

~Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation
the pretty mares avoid it: they don't care
But they dote, and swoon, and faun
On a stallion who's withdrawn
It's he who holds who gets the mare!  

He even threw in a literal tongue, creating a bright, violet explosive display that stunned Mothball. He then appeared behind Mothball twice, startling him further.

  Come on! You poor unfortunate soul! 
Go ahead, make your choice! 
I'm a very busy Centaur, and i haven't got all day! 
It won't cost much - just your voice!

H circled around the cauldron, and then conjured a visage of Screwball, smiling as she looked at Mothball. Seeing her made him smile, as well, and he got close to the visage, being entranced in the same way he always was. Though he got quite the shock when Tirek himself burst through the visage, scaring him. Suddenly, he grabbed a bat as it flew in front of him, and he threw it into the brew, as well. Resulting in another explosive chain reaction. Tirek then flew around the plume of smoke that had formed, and stetched out his arms as another plume erupted from the cauldron.

You poor unfortunate soul
It's sad, but true!

Tirek returned to Mothball's side, briefly wrapping his arm around his shoulders. Then he conjured out of the ether a bright, golden piece of parchment which looked like a contract. Mothball looked at it, and saw at the top it read "I hereby bestow unto Tirek, the Master of Darkness: one voice". The rest was print so small, he could barely make any of it out. But at the very bottom was the final line which read 'for all eternity, sincerely-". His curiosity grew from seeing this, until a quill pen formed right beside the paper. And at this point, Mothball knew that this was the point of no return. A moments hesitation let him realize that once he did this: there was NO going back. No way to undo any of this. And it made him quite nervous.

If you want to cross a bridge, my friend, you've got to pay the toll
Take a gulp, and take a breath, and go ahead, and sign the scroll!
(whisper) Orpheus, Sisyphus, now i got him, boys.
The boss is on a roll!

But when he looked to Tirek, who caused a cloud of shadow to swirl around him, before dispersing it in a magnificent display: his eyes furrowed, he took the quill, and much to the changeling trio's horror, he signed the contract, and sealed the deal, much to Tirek's delight.

  This poor - un-for-tunate - So-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ul!~  

Once it had been signed, and as Mothball nervously looked on, Tirek summoned the contract, and caused it to disappear in a shower of sparks as he grabbed it in his hand. He then cast his gaze back on Mothball, his piercing eyes glowed as a triumphant grin formed. Now all that was left was to cast his spell.....and his plans would continue as intended. 

~Beluga sefruga, come winds of Equestria's se-e-e-e-a!
Larynxis glositos et max laryngitus, la votce to me-e-e-e-e-e-!~  

Tirek's hands waved over the cauldron's surface, and as he invoked his spell, a maelstrom of magic arose, and enveloped the whole chamber. A dark, blue illumination overtaking the chamber, and leaving Mothball at a loss for words. At the climax of the spell, Tirek summoned forth a pair of spirual hands that lit the room in a pale, yellow light. His eyes began glowing even brighter as he looked menacingly at Mothball.

"Now....SING!"  

He did as commanded, and began singing a single melody as the tempest continued. As he did so, his throat began glowing almost as brightly as the light. This was the indication that the spell was working.

"KEEP SINGING!" 

At Tirek's beckoning, the now ghastly, skeletal hands began approaching Mothball. But even though the hands intimidated them, he continued singing his melody. Even as one of them hands reached down into his throat, and pulled out the glowing voice, and both holding onto it as the brought it to Tirek. The poor prince was so freaked out by what just happened, that he gripped his neck, unable to make a sound to display how terrified he just was. And in mere moments, the voice which was now in a glowing miasma of magic, was slowly reeled in towards Tirek's satchel, and then placed inside. Right where it would stay for all eternity. Tirek's feeling of triumph reached its peak at this point, and as a stream of glowing, red magic rose out of the cauldron, and viciously wrapped itself around Mothball, Tirek released a deep, maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the castle. For Mothball, the magic was overwhelming, and he could feel it effecting his whole form. His chitin shell of a body was turned into simple black fur. The holes in his legs filled up, and became ordinary equine legs. His mane changed from aqua blue, to a straight, emerald green without any of the holes it once had. Unexpectedly, his horn crumbled into nothing, and quickly vanished. And as for his wings: they recoiled for an instant from feelings of intensity, before sprouting into strong, black, feathered wings. The red spiral miasma soon vanished to reveal Mothball had been changed from a Royal Changeling, to a simple pegasus pony.

But the spell seemed to effect him more than he thought, and he fainted so quickly that the 3 changelings almost didn't catch him, with General Mantis carrying him on his back. Now that the spell was finished though, they made it a point to grab the prince, and run away as swiftly as possible. Even so, Tirek's deep, booming laughter kept going, and it seemed to follow them outside even as they exited through a hole in the ceiling. They flew as fast as possible, with Midnight Castle shrinking behind them. And they didn't stop for a really long time. Eventually they grew tired, and they seemed about ready to drop. That soon proved true as the whole group soon fell down into a short free fall. To their fortune, it seemed that they had unknowingly reached a familiar, brown lake that they all fell into. The feeling of sweet, chocolate milk nearly entering his lungs caused Mothball to regain consciousness, and swim to the surface quickly. He breached the surface of the lake, taking in a deep, silent breath of fresh air. But even so, he was still exerted from the spell's effects. Luckily, the changeling soldiers helped him swim to shore. As he was now, they had no intention of leaving his side.

Not when he'd need their help now more than ever.

to be continued.
> Aftermath, and Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aftermath, and reunion

At the same time, Screwball sat on the park bench in ponyville, her brother in the baby buggy beside her. She reached in and tickled his stomach. He giggled, which made her smile a bit.

"Sometimes," she said, "I think you're the only one who understands me, bro."

A pink ball rolled up to her feet. Screwball glanced down as a filly rushed up to retrieve it.

"Hey, Prism," she said. 

The multi-colored filly looked up and grinned. "Hey, Screwy! Whatcha doing?"

"Just...taking Zany for a walk."

"But you're sitting."

"Well, I'm resting. What are you doing here?"

"Playing catch with the Tri-Pies and," she grimaced, "Gemstone. Well, not so much with her, cuz she's afraid she'll break a hoof if she touches the ball. Our parents are all busy today, so we decided to hang out."

"Where are the twins?"

"They're having a race somewhere. They didn't invite me along because..."
She brought out her wings. Even though Prism was nine, she could not fly yet. It was embarrassing for her, considering every pony in her family was an accomplished flyer.

"I see," Screwball said.

"Well, I gotta get back now. See ya!"

"See ya."

Screwball watched her young friend run off, leaving her alone with Zany. And her own thoughts. Ever since last night, she had refused to speak to her father. In fact, she didn't even give him so much as a sideways glance when she took Zany out with her. Sadly, she was still bitter about their first argument, and wasn't quite willing to settle things just yet. This combined with what Princess Twilight had just told her before she came back home. 

*sigh*"I know they're all concerned about me." She thought to herself. "But i just wish i could make them understand Mothy ISN'T bad! I'd probably feel better if i knew where he was. I hope he's okay." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Screwball's secret place, Mothball was now laying on the grass while Mantis, and his cohorts crawled out of the chocolate milk lake: exhausted from flying the prince out of Midnight Castle, and using that teleportation spell. But while he was tired as well, Mothball was still able to stand up on his hooves to examine himself. And he was EXTREMELY pleased with what he saw: his hooves no longer had those holes in them, he could feel his body was nice and soft with a light fur coat. Though he was a bit sad that his horn was gone, he was at least happy his mane was also just an ordinary ponies mane - it just kept the original aqua green color. But what he was especially gleeful about where the things on the sides of his body: nice, big, strong-looking wings. Just as dark as his fur, but still every bit as healthy, and strong as a pegasus. He would have to get used to not having those holy, paper-thin bug wings of his. But as he flapped his wings a few times, he knew it would be worth it.

"Holy cicada! I didn't get to see what you looked like before, but i'm glad i get to now!" said Private Bombus, who was the first of the Changelings to recover, with Mantis, and Acari following suit. Like a child, he giggled lightly as he flew up to Mothball.

"Wow! Look at you! Really: look at you! There really IS something different about you now. But don't tell me what it is, i'll guess. Oh, i know: it's your mane, right? You got a sweet deal on some snail-gel, right?"

Mothball said nothing, for obvious reasons. And instead gave him a......somewhat confused, and questioning glance. The same went for Mantis Acari, but they ended up looking far more bewildered than anything by Bombus' apparent ignorance.

"No? Okay, let me see." he said, sitting right next to Mothball, in a thinker's pose. "Neeeeeew chitin polish?"

Now, the General was beginning to get annoyed. And Mothball, instead of feeling similar, decided to just have a bit of fun with Bombus by patting his head with his right wing. And as the Private kept up his stupidity, Mantis' patience was beginning to reach its boiling point.

"Okay, no chitin polish. Now i gotta admit: i really can't put my hoof on it right now, but maybe if i just sit here long enough, then-"

"HE'S GOT WINGS, YOU IDIOT!!!" yelled Mantis, as a startled Bombus came up beside him in front of the lake. "How can you be so stupid? You were there with us when it happened: He traded his magic AND his voice to Lord Tirek, and he got pony wings. Geez, Private."

"Uh....ii-i-i knew that, sir! But.....w-with all the excitement that just happened, it kinda slipped my mind. I'm sorry, sir!"

"Well, just let me refresh your empty brain for a minute, Bombus!" said Acari in a less than amused tone. "The prince has been turned into a pony by that monster. And if he wants to avoid being his property for the rest of his life, he has to make that Draconnequus pony fall in love with him. And he's gotta kiiihihihihgh! He's gotta kiiighgihgiH!...........HE'S GOTTA KISS HER! BLERGH! I hate saying that: it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, it's so sappy!"

While Acari explained to Bombus what he should already know, Mothball decided that perhaps now would be as good a time as any to try, and use his new wings. After all, pony wings shouldn't be that different from Changeling wings. It can't be that hard, right? Wrong. Mothball kept flapping his wings furiously, too used to the steady, fast-beating flaps of his insect wings. These new wings didn't move as fast, so he had to put every ounce of effort into flapping. He at least made it 6 feet off the ground, before he began swaying from side to side, losing his balance.

"And he's only got three days!" said Mantis in an aggravated tone, just as Mothball lost his control, and plopped back into the lake, splashing chocolate milk all over them again. Bombus somehow managed to get a candy-cane stuck in his nose, while Mothball was laying flat on his back in the shallow milk water, looking a bit bewildered. He definitely had alot to learn.

"Just look at him! A pony! A pegasus pony!" Mantis exclaimed frantically, before he seemed to begin hyperventilating a bit.

"Sir? Are you okay?" asked Acari concerned.

*rapid breath*Yeah.......i'm......i'm okay. Just........give me......a second. *deep breath* Alright, it's out of my system...............AAAAAAHHHH! NEVER MIND, IT'S NOT! I am NOT okay! I am SERIOUSLY not okay: my nerves have been shot, and reduced to ashes. This is way more than i was ever expecting! This is bad! This is a catastrophe! I mean, his mother doesn't even know about this! What will his mother say?! *to Bombus* I'll tell you what his mother'll say: SHE'LL SAY SHE'S GONNA HAVE HERSELF A MANTIS MEAL! THAT'S WHAT HIS MOTHER'LL SAY!" Mantis exclaimed.

He then began trotting angrily towards the direction of the hive, much to Mothball's frightened concern. When he saw this, he practically leaped out of the milk, and tried blocking the general's path while shaking his head.

"Now, i'm gonna march myself straight back to the hive right now, and tell her just like i should've done the very first minute-! And don't you shake your head at ME, young aphid! It was bad enough you developed feelings that you should KNOW you don't have for this mare: but then you made a bargain with the ultimate evil of equestria which requires you to do the ONE THING changelings can't do?! I should never have let you go off like that. This is my fault now, and i'm going to fix this. Maybe there's still time."

The verbal lashing from Mantis caused Mothball to feel a bit of guilt for making him feel this way. And that he may have inadvertently caused him a great deal of trouble. He never wanted that to happen, but there was nothing to do about it. A shame Mantis didn't think so, as his idea was not something Mothball agreed with in the slightest.

"Yes, yes! We can fix this before time runs out. If we can just get that monster to change you back to your real self, and give back your magic AND voice: you can go back home to all the normal changelings, and just be-!........just be-......."

But anything Mantis had to say was cut off by Mothball's sad, pleading eyes. Though no longer slit, they showed the timid, gentle, mostly innocent nature of the mute prince through his emerald eyes. And when he saw that look from them, Mantis remembered when Mothball had spilled his figurative heart and soul to him, and his two privates about how he felt like an outcast. How none of his fellow changelings cared for him because of those same qualities Mantis knew he had. It was a long while ago, but he never forgot - nor did he forget his promise to the young prince. So when he thought over what he was talking about, he came to a single understanding involving his charge as he sighed wearily.

"Just be miserable for the rest of your life. And all because your own subjects - your fellow changelings - treat their own future ruler so unfairly. To think i almost forgot that for a bit. Guess that makes this the third time i failed to look out for you." he said in a shameful tone.

His head was lowered towards the ground, as he felt unable to look Mothball in the eyes. But a gentle hoof to his shoulder prompted him to look again. And the expression Mothball held said it all: "I don't blame you". Mantis held a little smile, before he asked something to help make things easier for him.

"Do she really mean that much to you?"

With a sad smile, Mothball nods his head. This gave Mantis exactly the answer he needed.

"Heh. I knew it already, but i just needed a bit of reassurance. And far be it from me to try and stop you after i swore to the Queen that i'd keep you safe. Maybe this can help me TRULY make up for my failures."

A look of eager anticipation appeared over Mothball, as he grew hopeful from hearing Mantis' words.

"Don't worry, my prince: i'll try and help you find that mare. And you know these two will help, too: especially if i order them to."

"Not that you'd have to, anyway." said Bombus, with Acari actually nodding in agreement.

Mothball grew so happy, that he actually hugged the General in a cute embrace. This surprised Mantis, but he didn't refuse it. Being considerate, he let the prince embrace him for a while before he finally let go. He then brought a hoof up, and rubbed the back of his neck due to the tension catching up to him.

"Ay. What a flipping soft-shell i turned out to be. And i'm supposed to be the fiercest general in the changeling kingdom."

"So now that we've gotten all that out of the way: what do we do next?" asked Acari.

"That's easy: we go, and find this mare as soon as possible." Answered Mantis in a calm, reserved tone. "Time's not something Prince Mothball has much of, so it's important we find her as soon as possible."

"Well, there's a chance she might be in Ponyville. And it's not far from this location."

"Oh,oh! Oooooooohohohoh! I've got an idea!" said Bombus.

"Really?" asked Acari incredulously. "You couldn't even remember what happened 10 minutes ago. What kind of idea could you have that might help out the prince?"

"Easy: it's to help prince Mothball better blend in with pony society. And that's by looking the part!" he exclaims while picking up a discarded sheet nearby. "Huh. Wonder what this' doing here? Oh, well."

"Oh, be serious, Bombus! What do you know about pony society in regards to "looking the part"? They don't even wear clothes, same as us!"

"Come on: we wear armor, don't we?"

"N-........uh, actually, yeah."

"And ponies actually do wear clothes when they're partying, don't they?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Therefore, if the prince wants to be considered a pony, then it's important he tries to dress like one. Now, let me see..........."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Screwball was carrying on with walking through the park, with Zany in his baby strap. He was sleeping peaceuflly as she continued with her walk. But then, suddenly, one of his eyes peeked open as he suddenly sensed something. He didn't know what he felt, but he really liked it alot. So much so that he giggled happily, and then briefly flashed out of existence.

"Zany?" She said, feeling a little worried.

Next thing she knew, Zany was hovering around her, giggling excitedly while wrapped in a blanket. oh great, she thought, looks like another one of his chaos moments. But instead of causing the kind of accidental chaos he did at home, Zany began floating towards the everfree forest while also teleporting to cover more distance.

"Wha-ZANY!" Screwball yelled, chasing after the little baby ball of chaos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*wolf whistle* "You look great, pal." said Bombus, inspecting his work. "You look.........sensational."

Of course, Mothball wasn't sure he could agree since all Bombus did was wrap that white cloth around his waste. It was simple, but not quite sufficient either. Mantis, and Acari had deadpanned looks. And Acari was the one who made everyone's thoughts on his idea perfectly clear.

"Bombus, you are the stupidest living thing to have ever lived."

But suddenly, they saw bright flashes occur as trees began turning into waffle sticks, and twizzlers. They turned, and saw a laughing, giggling colt hovering towards them making all manner of crazy, confectionery things appear out of nowhere. Acari shouted in surprise, and shifted into a rock out of pure instinct. Mantis and Bombus tried to fly away as fast as possible. 

"Chaos baby! CHAOS BABY!" Bombus yelled as he hid in the trees.

General Mantis turned into a cricket, and hid in a small pouch formed on the sheet without completely thinking out of panic that Discord had shown up, or that this colt was just like him. Mothball also panicked and starting running all over the place as the colt chased after him. He climbed up a particularly large rock, thinking it might help him somehow. But it didn't matter, as the colt hovered close to him, eyeing him rather carefully, and making him nervous in the process. But then the colt began giggling happily, as he seemed to find what he was looking for.

"ZANY! WHERE ARE YOU, ZANY?!" a mare's voice cried out.

Both Mothball, and the colt - or Zany, now that his name had been revealed - looked to an opening to see the ever familiar sight of Screball. Mothball felt a strong thump in his chest when he saw Screwball, making him briefly clutch it again. Why did that keep happening? Maybe he was just so excited from seeing Screwy again. But he couldn't say for certain. What was certain was that Zany was happy that Screwball had followed him. Because he giggled happily, and then flashed back into the baby strap. Much to Screwball's gratitude.

"There you are, Zany! What the heck's gotten into you?" she asked before she noticed Mothball looking at her nervously. "Oh. Oh, i-i see."

Though he was a bit nervous about this, he knew he had to stay strong. He'd already come this far. So there was little point in attempting to go back now. Screwball, meanwhile, was curious about this new pony, even as he turned the area back to normal -or as normal as it can get - before making her way to him.

"Hi. Are you okay?" she asks before giggling slightly, and briefly looking to her brother. "Sorry if this little pixie-sprite startled you. He IS harmless, really. H-"

But when she got a closer look at Mothball, she suddenly seemed to recognize him. He quickly picked this up, and was actually growing happy with it. If she knew it was him, it would make things easier for him.

"Hold on. You look really familiar."

She then inspected the mystery pony much more closely: his fur was dark grey, his mane and tail were a familiar aqua blue. And his eyes were emerald green. Yet it was not these things alone she took notice of: it was the eyes of someone who was nice, considerate, caring, and fun. But also with something deeper within. Shades of sadness from being alone. For being uncared for, and having noone. But mellowed down with hope - the hope of having someone that truly cares for you in ways you never thought could ever happen. She had seen eyes like those before. And when she remembered where, things clicked into place.

"Mothy?"

A smile formed on Mothball's face as he eagerly shook his head. This made Screwball also smile happily, knowing the one she knew she truly, deeply cared for was back. And all the while, Mantis in his cricket form watched the scene from in the small space in the sheet. 

"Oh, mothy! I'm really glad to see you again. But, i thought you said you wanted me to stay away from you. And why do you look like that? You look like yourself, but as an actual pony instead of a changeling. What gives?"

As if everything else slipped his mind, Mothball tried to explain everything that happened just hours ago, and tell her that he could now finally be with her. But when he tried to utter something - no words came out. That's when he remembered he gave up his voice to reunite with his screwy. And that realization hurt alot more because he couldn't tell her anything.

"Mothy? What's wrong?" Screwball asked, noticing him trying to speak with no words, followed by his saddened expression, and then watching him point to his throat. Thankfully, it didn't take her long to understand what he was trying to tell her. "Y-you can't speak?"

He then shook his head somberly.

"Oh." she said, feeling sorry for him. "I see. Well, however it happened, i'm real sorry."

Mothball then sighed silently as he realized this would be harder than he thought. But then he decided to try out something. And hopefully it would let him tell her the whole story. Unfortunately, his body language wasn't quite that great, so she had no idea what he was trying to tell her.

"Now what's wrong? You.......got attacked by a jackalope? No, you.......you got bit by a big bug? No, no...........you're hopping mad?"

Mothball moved so frantically he lost his balance on the rock, and fell towards Screwball. She caught him in both her hooves, careful that he didn't fall into Zany as she did.

"WHOA! Easy, there! Be careful. Gee, whatever happened with you last night, you must've really been through something. C'mon, let's head to Ponyville. I'll see if i can get you some help."

Without any issue, Mothball got back on his hooves, and followed her. As they left, he turned back to see if Acari, and Bombus were still there. To his relief, they were there. Not just that, but they changed back to their real forms as the two ponies walked away: both giving him encouraging glances as he left. A brief smile formed as he left. He was grateful knowing he wasn't alone in all of this - nor was he as alone in the Changeling world as he thought he was. That strengthened his resolve a little, and left him thankful.

Because he was gonna need their help if he was going to deal with this before it was too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy had just arrived to Ponyville. She was in a neutral mood at the moment. But overall, she was feeling pretty good at the moment. This elevated a bit when she saw her daughter approaching..........with a pegasus stallion? Needless to say, Fluttershy was quite confused by the sight. But she was hopeful her daughter would explain things in a minute.

"Hey, mom. What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to meet Rarity at the Spa."

"What's she doing in ponyville?"

"Trouble at home, so far as i can tell. But never mind that for the moment: who is this with you?"

"Oh, him? He's........someone i ran into. I saw him running out of the forest, and he looked like he'd just had some trouble. I think he was being chased by timberwolves before he came out. I was going to try, and help him out."

"Oh, my! You poor thing! Are you alright?"

Mothball nodded his head in reply. Fluttershy was a bit confused by his non-verbal response, when Screwball stepped in to explain.

"Sorry, mom: he can't speak."

"Oh!" exclaimed Fluttershy, feeling a little bad. "I'm sorry, i had no idea!"

But mothball shook his head, with a small, friendly smile to let her know it was okay. Thankfully she took the hint, and smiled politely. Though she couldn't help but feel like she's seen this pony before. Oh well, she thinks, no time to worry about such things.

"Well, it was supposed to only be me, and Rarity. But i'm sure it wouldn't be an issue if you, and your friend came along. I'm sure a nice, relaxing spa might help him relax after the stressful time he must've had."

"That sounds good, actually. To be honest, i think i need a bit of pampering: i've been feeling a bit stressed out, myself. But wait a sec: what about Zany?"

"Hmm. Maybe you could ask Granny Smith to look after her for a while. I'm sure she won't mind. And don't worry about getting in: i'll go ahead, and sign up you, and......ummm......" Fluttershy said as she looked to Mothball. Screwball had to think of something fast to help him out. Luckily, and idea sprung to mind.

"How about Emerald Shade? I mean, we don't know his name, so we might as well give him one until he can maybe right it down for us. Is that okay with you?" Screwball asked, looking at Mothball. He nodded yes, helping her to help him.

"Okay, then." said Fluttershy. "You go ask Granny if she can look after Zany, and i'll sign you and Emerald up for a spa treatment."

"Sounds good. Be back in a bit, mom."

"Take care, sweety."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some time later, and Screwball came out of the farmhouse of the apple family, with Granny smith following her out the door.

"Thanks again for agreeing to look after Zany, Granny Smith. I know it's pretty soon since the gala was just last night-"

"Aw, it's no problem, young in'. Ah always enjoy watchin' over little Zany when Fluttershy asks. Yer family's like family to the apples, and it's a pleasure ta help y'all out whenever you ask."

"And we really do appreciate it. Even if Zany is a bit of a hoof-full."

"Aw, don't worry yerself about it: ah've had to raise two bickerin' youngsters for many years. Ah can handle Zany. Besides, he always behaves when he's here."

"Right. Well, me and mom should be coming back later to pick him up. Thanks again for agreeing to look after him."

"No problem, Screwball. Take care of yerself."

"See ya!" Screwball says smiling before she disappears in a flash.

Once she was gone, Granny Smith went back inside. Once in, she went back up to the room where Zany was resting peacefully in a crib. After taking a quick glance into the room while in the hall, she opened up another room where her eyes fell on another sight.

A bound and tied Granny Smith, and Big Mac.

Walking over to them, "Granny" gave a rather devious smile before her form began changing into that of a horrible, winged monster that resembled a cross between a dragon and an equine, with a glowing, yellow eye tatoo on his forehead. As Orpheus looked down on the struggling, captive ponies, "Big Macintosh" appeared outside the door, looking every bit as devious as the Qirin.

"And how are the ponies, brother? Nice, and comfy?" he asked in a horrid, distorted voice.

"As comfy as they can be, Brother Sisyphus." Orpheus said, as the red pony standing out of the door physically changed into his true, Qirin form. "Neither of them suspected a thing: thought we were their dear Applejack, and Spike coming to pay a visit."

*chuckle* "It really is fun to trick helpless thralls like this. I can actually see why the Changelings love it so much."

"Indeed. But now the mare's gone: it's time to inform our master that the prize is secured." 

"Yes." 

With that, both of them exited the room, leaving the apples where they were after casting the same spell that kept them docile when Screwball was here. They then entered the room where Zany was still sleeping. After closing the door, and pulling down the shade, the two Qirin's made their sigils glow brightly before beams of light conjoined above the colt, and formed a swirling, magic mirror. In the middle was the familiar, horned visage of Lord Tirek.

"Ah, my faithful pets. Have you something to report?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. As you expected, the changeling prince has met with the Draconeqqus mare, and she's now looking after him. Along with the element of Kindness." 

"It's true, master. I was in the village, as you instructed. I saw him with her, and her parent. I heard them say they were all going someplace to "take care" of him."  

"Have they left the infant with the elderly mare, as i anticipated?" 

"Yes, master. The farm was the first place the chaos pony brought the colt to. You were right to send me here to "move them aside". Now things are progressing as you expected."

"Excellent."  said Tirek, with a villainous smile. "All these years, and i've been able to study these ponies well: especially the elements of Harmony. That includes the going ons of the house of Discord. I already knew Screwball would be drawn to him - though i did not expect it to be because of the infant. But i also expected her dear, kind mother to care for a poor, young stallion in need of help. It always helps to keep an eye, or two, on her to know what her plans are. And with her, and her daughter busily occupied, they would need to send their infant somewhere while they were busy "Helping somepony in need!" Tirek said in a mock, sad tone with his hands clamped together, before he laughed boisterously. "How amusing. And always fortunate that i have such perfect little snakes like you to help me."

"Believe us, master: It's our undying pleasure. Now what do you wish us to do with the Draconeqqus colt?" 

"Cast the combination spell i placed in your minds, and then, Sisyphus, you will bring him here to me. After the group leaves with the "infant", wipe the ponies memories of the past several hours. There can be NO mistakes. There WILL be no mistakes. While i have every confidence Mothball will fail to meet his deadline, you can never be too careful. If i sense things going south, the infant will be......quite the useful bit of leverage to acquire the help of an old friend. One who'll be DYING to have her chance to take revenge on dear, daddy Dscord. Hehehahahahahahahahahahaaaah!"

to be continued.
> Family introductions, and kitchen shenanigans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say that Mothball was in wonder would be an understatement.

He was having a SPLASHING good time.

As Fluttershy promised, he'd been brought to the Spa, and treated to a full on service starting with a relaxing, hot bath. Though he requested to try out this stuff called 'bubble bath'. Or, he at least was curious as to what was in the bottles of cleaning substance that had those crystal, clear orbs in them. The ponies who worked there, Aloe and Lotus, were mildly confused by his request, but they didn't refuse him. Especially after Fluttershy had told them of "Emerald Shade" and his unfortunate circumstances which, as far as they knew, almost cost him his life. So they gave him the VIP treatment, and did all that they could to make him relax from the traumatic experience - even if it meant letting have a hot bubble bath. Either way, it did the trick as he seemed to be enjoying himself. Mothball had never seen bubbles before, much less taken a bath. Now here he was, popping little orbs of soap, and blowing them around like a foal. Aloe and Lotus found this endearing, though they also still felt sympathy for the young colt. "Still, I cannot believe it: chased by a pack of Timberwolves?" Aloe said. "Oh, de poor dear."

"But don't you vorry about anyt'ing, Emerald." Lotus said, approaching the rag that had been his 'clothes', and a used towel laying next to it. Mantis, this time taking the form of a little crab, hid under the towel to make a better vantage point for himself, and keep an eye on the prince. But then, "After we're through vith you, ve'll have you feeling more relaxed, and sensational than you've ever been!" He was then snatched up in both cloths, with Lotus giving the rags a disgruntled look. "Meanvhile, i'll....eh.... i'll just get zis vashed for you, while I go get some fresh towels."

Her idea of getting his rag 'washed', of course' was to have it tossed in the trash while the towel Mantis held onto was thrown into the laundry bin passing by. By the time it made it to the laundry room, he was buried under dozens upon dozens of towels. It was so suffocating he was left coughing, and gasping for air from all the pony 'essence' on those towels. But his bad luck didn't end there as he ended up getting tossed into the wash for half an hour, before ponies came to collect, and ready the steaming cloths for use. while they did so, a mare seemed to be engaging in some gossip with two other worker ponies regarding Mothball aka Emerald Shade. "Well, you must've at least heard about this colt."

"No." the others said in surprise.

"Bulk Biceps saw him, and for some reason said he looks like a prince." She then tossed the towels into a super-fast steamer, that spun Mantis around like a pebble in a tumble, hollow log. By the time the steamer was done, he was dizzified, and out of his wits end as the pony worker pulled out the steaming towels. "But since when has Bulk ever gotten anything right." After burping out bubbles from the washing machine due to the bit of nausea the steamer gave him, he suddenly found himself with the towels being squished by a rolling press to get the extra water out. He came out a pancake for a minute before getting mixed up again in the steam towels, just as the gossiping mare was setting them into a stack. "I mean, really? This mystery colt who can't even speak, just shows up in rags without any way of saying who he really is, or where he came from. Not exactly MY idea of a prince, if you ask me. But after watching him mix it up with Screwball when they came in, I will say this: if Fluttershys little girl's looking for a boy, then at least we've got one more highly available one right here."

Finally deciding he had enough, Mantis, upon getting over his nausea, and being squished, turned into a high-jumping frog, and hopped out the nearest window. Almost getting attacked by a barking dog. "AAaah! Nononononono! Get away, you flea-bitten throw rug! Go chew on a bone, or something, i'm not-" But he wasn't watching where he was going, and he ended up cloncking his head on a window sill before bouncing into the new building. Once inside, however, his mouth was agape at the sights that lay before him: a full on kitchen preparing different meals for different tastes. But his attention was drawn to all of the aquatic quissines being prepared in what Mantis was now considering a horror butcher shop. But then he let out a loud gasp at something that, ironically wasn't food.

It was a case filled with pinned, dead insects of numerous varieties, and of different species.

This was more than enough to make him faint......and see that ponies were sadistic creatures.





Having dried himself off, Mothball made his way to the front of the spa, and got ready to meet up with the others. However, as soon as he did, he noticed only Rarity was there. She smiled as soon as she saw him. "Ah, there you are, Emerald darling!" She greeted, surprising him a little at first due to being a little shy around ponies. But nonetheless he gave a polite, albeit barely noticeable smile and waved at the fashionista as she met up with him in the waiting room. "I imagine you must be wondering where Fluttershy, and Screwball are right now, aren't you?" Soon as he heard that question, he nodded spastically, which made the mare giggle. "Well, don't worry: we decided that you deserve to be treated further to help overcome your ordeal. So, Fluttershy and I agreed to meet up at "Chef Fillete's" for a little lunch. I was surprised when I learned Gustave Le Grande opened a shop here in ponyville. But, I AM expanding my own fashion business, so I understand how business expansion is. And I volunteered to wait for you, and encouraged them to set up reservations for the four of us. Sweetie Belle, my sister, offered to look after my daughter Gemstone, so I could have a day to relax with Fluttershy. Your sudden appearance simply.....escalated things to an unexpected surprise for us."

Mothball wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel bad, because he feared he was being a burden on Screwball, her mother, and her friend. Rarity picked up on this, and said, "Now, don't you feel bad, Emerald, dear: while it IS unexpected, I meant your arrival was a pleasant surprise. That's why I want to give you some further hospitality by providing you with new clothes for yourself." She then frowned at the memory of that rag he arrived in. "With all due respect, Shade, darling, that.....thing you were wearing was a crime against fashion itself. And no friend of my friends daughter is going to be made to look like a stuffed burlap sack. So come with me, and i'll take you to my boutique to get your sizings, and then help you pick out a suit." Shen then made a coy smirk. "You do want to impress dear Screwball, don't you?" This made Mothball blush like crazy, and wave his hooves around frantically in denial. Rarity simply laughed in good humor, and brought down his hooves. "Emerald, darling, relax: I was only teasing." She giggled. "But the way you kept looking at her makes me think there might be something......going on between you two."

Mothball really wished he had his voice right now so that he could better deny her claims.

"Sorry, darling, that's my teasing, again." Rarity giggled before calming herself, and then sighing. "I suppose it's just my way of handling stress, and getting my mind off things: something else I owe you for now." Mothball blushed a little. "So let us be off!" She proclaimed. "After some introductions to my family, we can get you all ready for the afternoon." Mothball looked like he wanted to protest in a way suggesting he thought he was being a burden, and he had no means of paying her back. She simply 'tutted' and said, "And don't worry about price, or anything: any friend of my friends family is a friend of my family, as well. And there's no possible way I could leave you with nothing after you were brought to ponyville in literal rags. Think of this is my way of saying "Welcome to Ponyville." She smiled warmly. "And I truly hope you enjoy your stay, Emerald."

That's what Mothball thought as he followed Rarity out of the spa.....but if he could do what he needed to before the three days ended, then he could stay as long as he likes.

And maybe he can be with Screwball forever - the thought of that made the familiar thump in his chest go off again.

"I still wish I knew what that was."





"Uh, Ms. Jolly Carol, what is the special?"

"Oh, you're gonna love it! Chef's been whipping a speciality: light cheese, and salmon casserole."





A few minutes later, and Mantis now disguising himself as a crab for a more "crafty" travel, came upon the head chef of this restaurant: a griffon decked out in a traditional chefs uniform. Even wore a toque, and had a curled moustache to accompany it. He was humming a french song of some kind while rummaging in a cupboard for something. When he emerged, Chef Fillete' brought out a bowl of deceased salmon as he danced to his french tune while closing the cupboard, and then bringing the bowl over to the cutting board.

Mantis then watched in horror as the Griffon prepared the fish while singing in full, while carrying out what he was singing he would do - down to the last detail.

(I know it might be cheating, but this is pretty much how the scene goes)



🎵Les poissons, les poissons
How I love les poissons
Love to chop and to serve little fish
First I cut of their heads
Zen I pull out their bones
Ah mais oui, ça see'est toujours delish

Les poissons, les poissons
Hee hee hee, haw haw haw
With the cleaver I HACK them in two
I pull out what's inside
And I serve it up fried
God, I love little fishes, don't you?

Here's something for tempting the palate
Prepared in the classic technique
First you pound the fish flat with a mallet
Then you slash through the skin
Give the the belly a slice
Then you rub some salt in
'Cause that makes it taste nice🎵

He then noticed the leaf Mantis hid under, and saw the changeling in the form said changeling now realised he should never have chosen. "Zut alors! I have missed one!" Fille' exclaimed as he picked up Mantis, who pretended to be dead. At least until he could find an opening to get away from this psychotic bird-cat, who continued his song with a new verse.

🎵Sacre bleu, what is zis?
How on earth could I miss
Such a sweet, little succulent crab?
Quelle dommage! What a loss
Here we go, in the sauce
And some flour, I think just a dab (ACHOO!)
Now I stuff you with bread
It don't hurt, 'cause you're dead
And you're certainly lucky, you are (COUGH!)
'Cause it's gonna be hot
In my big silver pot
Tout à l'heure, mon poisson!
Au revoir!🎵

But Mantis would not go in so easily, and just barely grabbed the side of the pot he was tossed to as the steam made the flour disappear, and a hot bubble shoved him back on the table. Chef Fillete' seemed to hear the impact, and noticed Mantis on the table. Catching the changeling in disguise in a prong fork as he played dead again, now stressing that is was time to get away. "What is zis?", the gryphon questioned as he gave a suspicious look to the seemingly dead crustacean.

Then screamed in pain when said crustacean snapped his nose.

From thereon it was absolute mayhem, with Chef Fillete' chasing Mantis around like a cat chasing a mouse. All the while getting such abuse in the process: from getting stove burned to foot-panned, then having a batter pot dropped on his head after hurling knives at the horrified changeling. The gryphon was enraged to the point he cleaved the whole table in half, and chased Mantis until he was cornered in the spice rack. With butcher knife in hand, the gryphon charged at said rack with the fury of a thousand, enraged lions before pouncing forth.


"RRRRRREEEEEEEHEEAAAAAAAAAAGH!"





The crashing, and smashing was so loud it could be heard in the dining area. Everypony was looking in the direction of the kitchen doors, wondering just what exactly could be going on in there. Jolly Carol, just finished with bringing our main ponies their drink refills, slowly put down her tray, and as calmly as possible said, "Please excuse me, I think i'd better go see what Fillete' is up to.", before she raced to the kitchen.

Though it was no longer a kitchen, but a warzone that the other ponies who had been watching their sous chef wage with an enemy they didn't know was there watched in panic and terror. They always suspected Chef Fillete' might have been just a little unhinged, but this just proved it. He was completely out of his cotton-pick'n mind! "Come out you little pipsqueak, AND FIGHT LIKE A GRYPHON!" Fillete' roared before diving into the rack once more. Until....

"FILLETE!" Carol shouted enraged, and finally got the gryphon's attention. He did bump his head from the sudden shout on the rack, and almost got a close shave from his own knife that was previously embedded on the rack. But he heard her: and when he saw how furious the mare was, any rage he had died, and was replaced by embarrassment laced with fear as she angrily asked, "What are you doing?!"

"Uh, well, I was just-...uh, eh, d-uh........uh, i'm sorry, Madam?" He flashed what few teeth were left in his beak as he extinguished his candled moustache, and left the mare huffing with the entrees for the four pony guests on a wheeled tray.





"You know, Fluttershy, Screwball, darlings?" Rarity said after taking another sip of her jasmine tea. "Perhaps our friend Emerald Shade might like to see some of the sights of the town, and....maybe even the kingdom." She then raised a knowing eyebrow to Fluttershy as Carol placed their meals on the table. "Perhaps something similar to a tour?"

The cream-furred mare was distracted from watching how her daughter, and the young pegasus were giving each other such endearing looks. She was wondering if maybe Screwball might have been misleading about Emerald, and there was more to him than they were lead to believe. He DID somehow look familiar to her....she just couldn't remember where she'd seen him, though, if she even did. But then she realized Rarity had spoken, and after clearing her throat, asked, "Oh, i'm so sorry, Rarity: what did you say?"

"You can't honestly expect to let Screwball stay in the dismal state she's been in since the gala, do you? I think it's fairly obvious she's taken a liking to this young colt, and he her. If anything, this might be what she needs in order to get out of her unwanted depression. Spending time with a new friend might do that." She was so enamored in her speech, she absent-mindedly opened the lid on her plate. And after a brief glance, Mothball noticed a green crab on her plate, silently shushing him while even Screwball was distracted. Thinking quickly, he ushered the Changeling Captain to bolt for his plate, which he did. "It might even-"

"Easy, Rarity, please!" Fluttershy said politely. Then, after a thoughtful hum escaped her lips, she said, "That might actually be a good idea: if he's interested that is." She turned to him just as he closed the lid, and got Mantis safely hidden, while pretending to just be listening to the conversation. "Screwy, what do you think? Would Emerald be interested in a tour of Ponyville, and Canterlot tomorrow?"

"Hm." She hummed. "No, I don't it's a bad idea, if he wants to go, like you said." She turned to him. "Do you?" He nodded excitedly, as he knew it meant spending more time with Screwball. But even though Screwball herself was happy, another thought occurred to her. "Oh, but mom: Emerald doesn't have any place to stay right now!" Fluttershy herself gasped in realization. "Oh my! I didn't even realize!" She then turned to Emerald Shade. "Do you remember where your home is, or how to get back?" She merely received a sad shake of the head, as she gave an 'oh' of understanding, and sympathy. "I understand." It was here Screwball made a suggestion. "Why doesn't he stay with us, mom? We can take care of him until he's feeling better. And maybe we can help him get settled somewhere in Ponyville once he's ready."

"Screwy, I don't know." Fluttershy said with some uncertainty. "You know how your father is about you and other colts. And after what happened at the gala-"

"Who cares?!" She exclaimed angrily, sounding harsher than she intended, and startling everyone. But she quickly realized her mistake, and as he cheeks blushed she meekly said, "Sorry, mom. It's just.....i'm tired of having to deal with Dads constant, overprotective attitude, which is why i'm still not talking to him yet. But i'm sure you can convince him to let Emerald stay with us. Can't you? If not for Emerald, then for me? Pleeeease?" Fluttershy really wasn't sure if she should just cave in like this, but in her heart she knew it would be cruel to turn away a young pony in need, nor could she turn down her own daughter. So in the end, she relented. "Alright. I'll talk to your father, and tell him we're having a guest over for a few days."

"Hooray!!!" Screwball exclaimed happily, before disappearing then reappearing in a flash of white next to her mom to give her a big hug - literally, as her arms wrapped around the cream-colored ponies body 3 times. "Thank you, mom! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She then returned to her seat, and hugged Mothball, which made him blush. "Isn't this exciting, Emmy? I've never been so excited in so long!"

"Emmy?" Fluttershy inquired.

"Sure: short for Emerald. What else am I gonna call him? Lard?"

This got everypony laughing in amusement, then Rarity said, "Marvelous! Now let's eat, darlings, before this meal wanders off my plate."

Imagine her surprise when said meal was nowhere to be seen: as if it got up, and scuttled away.





"This has got to be without a doubt.....the single, most HUMILIATING day of my life!" Mothball would've chuckled as he patted the miniaturized General Mantis on the head, as he was pulling out some lettuce from his shell. But since he was mute, he just settled for the patting, which earned him the general's attention, and agitation. "I hope that you appreciate what I go through for you, young grub!"

At this point, Mothball was just tuning Mantis out. He was just so tired he wanted to go to bed, and nothing else. He expected his bed to be as hard as the kind he was used to sleeping on. But he was surprised when he sank into the bed, and felt how soft, and comfy it was. A happy smile stretched across his face as he jumped on the soft bed, and cuddled into one of the many pillows on the bed. Mantis, on the other hoof, was completely oblivious to this as he was in his own little world.

"Now, we need to come up with a plan to get that mare to kiss you. Tomorrow, when she takes you for that tour, you've gotta look your best! From what i've heard of wooing ponies, you gotta......oh, yes: you gotta bat your eyes like this *looks like a mare batting her eyes*. Y gtta pckr yr lPSTHS lk ds!" he muffled, until he finally saw Mothball out like a light. At this point, he was grateful he could still feel emotions, because despite the headache he had which he could have blamed the prince for, seeing him like this was too endearing, and he could no longer stay mad at him. He flew up to, and blew out the candle on his nightstand, and then went over to the bed, landing on the pillow. To better ensure he would stay hidden, he disguised as a small head pillow resting over Mothy. But not before he brushed the boy's hair off his face, and jokingly gave him one last comment.

"You're so hopeless, boy, you know that? *yawns* Completely hopeless."





Meanwhile, in the everfree forest, and the Changeling Hive that resided there, a certain queen was beside herself. It was not so much worry as it was frustration at not knowing where Mothball, or her subordinates were. They were supposed to have come back last night, and yet they were gone for far longer. Something that did NOT fit into her own plans for taking Equestria. Without the Prince, and whatever intel he had garnered, she would be halted in her plans and her revenge would be wasted. As she stared out the window of her throne room, a changeling drone entered. "Any sign of them?" She asked  with a hint of anger.

"No, your majesty." The drone answered with a hint of fear in his voice. "We've searched everywhere, but found no trace of your son, the general, or the guards accompanying him.

"Well, keep looking!" She exclaimed in anger. "Leave no stone unturned, no cavern unexplored! Let NO changeling in this kingdom sleep until he's brought back home."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" Came a voice from the shadows. Surprised, Chrysalis, and those in the chamber with her turned to see a wicked sight: a centaur with long horns, a white head of hair with a beard of the same color, red skin, yellow, pupil less eyes and black fur decked out in midnight blue armor, and a red and black cape. Chrysalis' mouth fell open, and she hissed, "It can't be?"

"Oh, but it is." Tirek said smugly, before he was surrounded by the Changeling Guard. Yet he did not show any signs of fear in the slightest. "Don't waste your time: unless you enjoy the poisonous taste of pure hatred." he chuckled, which only made Chrysalis angrier as her horn ignited. "You have some nerve appearing in my throne room, after what you did!" she said.

"I only did what was best for me." he said. "Besides, if you hadn't cast me aside, and spurned my offer of an alliance, I would have had no need to steal your hive from you. But you forced my hand, and made me teach you another lesson in humility." He looked around himself with his arms behind his back, and then said, "But if you're wise, then this time you'll accept my new offer of an alliance. Face it, Chrysalis: you need me."

"Like I need a sunburn." she said scornfully.

"You Changelings were once a pinnacle of fear, and power in this world. You pillaged, and plundered love while leaving no survivors in your wake." Tirek then gained a look of disappointment. "Now look at you all: scavengers taking scraps of what love they need to survive. Now that Equestria knows of your existence, there's no way to launch a true invasion on this land again. You cannot claim the amount of love you once had aplenty."

"Then maybe we'll start by draining every last ounce of love in your heart, you wicked beast!" Chrysalis snarled, preparing to do just that.

"I already told you," Tirek said while rolling his eyes, "my heart is nothing but hate. And hatred is a poison to Changelings. You would die where you stand if you fed on me." He then smiled. "Besides, why settle for just one meal when you could be feasting for ages? With my help, you could claim the lands where love is shared, and plentiful. Where you, and your kind can never go hungry again. I'm sure the notion is most appealing to you, isn't it? To have Equestria the way you want it? The only catch being that you may have Equestria if you agree to let me claim it as my kingdom. I'm more than willing to share."

Chrysalis merely scoffed, and said, "Even if I were to agree to such a plan, Chrysalis obeys noone. And besides, those lands are not yours to give. They are protected by Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and even that no-good Discord. What miracle do you possess that could deal with them?"

Tirek's smile widened as he suddenly approached the queen, much to the Changeling's paranoia. But he got no closer than a few feet from her before he said, "Two creatures that will prove to be the key to Discord's and the ponies undoing: Mothball.....and Screwball." When Chrysalis tilted her head in confusion, Tirek said, "You son has been with little Screwball ever since the gala. He has abandoned the hive, and chosen to live among the ponies forever." He chose to leave out the part where General Mantis and his two subordinates were also with him deliberately. It would make the surprise all the more fun when she found out herself. Speaking of Chrysalis, she was seething with anger, and almost in denial. "My only son - fraternizing with the ponies?!" She yelled, startling her drones, and making Tirek's smile widen. "Why should I believe you? What proof do you have?"

"Oh, let's just say that I have my.....certain ways of keeping track of things." He then used his magic to open a portal, and summoned Orpheus and Sisyphus to the hive. In Orpheus' hooves was the sleeping form of Zany. Chrysalis and the changelings were surprised to see them, and allowed Tirek to explain, "Kirin can be a most elusive species: especially when mixed with dragon, and changeling DNA. My little darlings here keep me informed of all that transpires in Equestria, and bring me potential.....customers in need of my services. They are veeery good at staying hidden, and their shapeshifting, and magic puts even a changeling's to shame. They revealed Mothball's treachery to me, and i've been keeping an eye on him through them ever since. I couldn't be more proud to have these two in my service. They even managed to bring me this little one: Discord's son."

"You foalnapped Discord's own son?" Chrysalis said in amazement.

"Indeed." Tirek said. "He will prove to be of great use to my plan - our plans, if you're interested."

Chrysalis raised a brow, and asked, "What sort of plan is this, Tirek?"

Tirek merely chuckled, and said, "The kind which will destroy Discord, of course."


Distant murmurings from the Changelings showed they were intrigued by this notion. But there was also a hint of doubt in their tone. Sensing this, Tirek spoke up. "Discord has allowed himself to fall from grace, and become Equestria's servant. But when I am Lord, the mighty will be free to take whatever they want. Because a Changeling's belly is never full."

"Discord is far too powerful to challenge." Chrysalis bitterly said. But what Tirek said next only turned the murmurs of doubt into the murmurs of belief. A feeling even Chrysalis herself was now feeling.

🎵Discord is yesterday's message
A clamped down, distracted regime
Whose failings undoubtedly presage
The need for a different dream

Yes, equine times are a changing
Which means that all Changelings must, too
My vision is clear, and wide ranging
And even encompasses you

So prepare for the coup of the century
Be prepared for the murkiest scam

Meticulous planning
Tenacity spanning
Decades of denial
is simply why i'll
Be king undisputed
Respected, saluted
And seen for the wonder I am!

Yes, my teeth, and ambitions are bared

Be prepared~🎵

Pretty soon, all of the Changelings were chanting "Be prepared" at the same time. They were growing closer to Tirek's side, and felt inspiration to join his cause. Even Chrysalis felt persuaded to help Tirek in his wicked scheme, whatever it may be. And if things went south, they could always destroy him. Besides, it would all be worth it to get her revenge on the ponies, and especially on Discord. Tirek himself was pleased to see that he was winning over the Changelings, and his predatory teeth flashed in the light as he continued.

"Be prepared, be prepared!"

🎵Be prepaaaaa-aaaaaaaa-aaaaaa-aaaaared~🎵

"Be prepared!" he proclaimed as the Changelings all shouted in appraisal, ready to aid in his plan.

🎵Yes, our teeth, and ambitions are bared
Be prepaaaaaaaaaaaared~🎵
> Kiss the Girl
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Screwball, and Mothball went exploring through Canterlot with a pair of royal guards as their chaperones. All day long, they spent it observing how the ponies lived, and witnessed the sights of the kingdom. Neither Screwball nor Mothball had a chance to truly take in this cities beauty, what with Screwy being more focused on the gala, and Mothy on his so-called hunt. Now, however, they had a chance to take in all the sights. And they were both impressed at the grandeur of it all. Mothball accidentally interrupted a puppet show because of his curiosity.

But as soon as that little incident was cleared up, it was back to sightseeing for the ponies. Little did Mothball's cohorts know that they were still being carefully watched by Mantis, Acari, and Bombus, who had taken different flying forms to follow the pair, and check to see if they kissed just yet. "Hey, Acari, you see any kissing?"

"No, not yet, you dope." She said in annoyance.

"Well, they better get cracking."

During the tour, Screwball, and Mothball came upon an open dance party taking place. Smiling fondly at the memory of their dance at the gala, Mothball offered his hoof to the swirl-eyed mare, and indicated he wanted to dance. Screwball giggled as she picked up on his indication, and accepted. The two danced in perfect synchronization, never missing a beat as they went on. An air of warmness, and affection radiated off of them as they stared into each other's eyes during the dance. Those that saw them couldn't help but feel a little of that affection themselves. Their feelings for each other were starting to blossom forth, and nothing was going to stand in its way.





Several hours later, and the two had decided to try their hooves at boat rowing in a local lagoon. The night was quiet, and the air was cool. Both ponies were sitting in absolute silence, enjoying each other's company. Even while Mothball had no prior experience rowing a boat, he soon got the hang of it. Needless to say, the atmosphere was quite invigorating for the two of them, even with the guards watching. However, there were three who were not as happy as the couple about the situation.

"Get your big, fat feathers out of my face!" Acari whispered harshly while in the form of a fish. "I can't see a thing."

"Yeah? Well, nothing's even happening!" Bombus said a little louder in his seagull disguise. "Only one day left, and that kid ain't puckered up once." Suddenly, an idea came to him. "I got it! Alright, this calls for a little 'vocal' romantic stimulation." He then flew up to a tree branch overlooking the couple as they rowed in his direction, and began to "sing" in a grating warble that sounded nothing like a romantic stimulation. It was even grating on Screwball. "Sheesh! Maybe somepony should put the poor guy out of his misery for his own sake."

Mothball could only smile nervously as he looked at Bombus, whose singing only got worse, and forced the prince to facehoof in embarrassment. He wasn't the only one as General Mantis, in his crab form, tried to block out the noise. "I can't believe this: i'm surrounded by amateurs!" He then jumped in the water, and snapped off a reed at the bottom of the lagoon, saying, "If you want something done right, always do it yourself. Haven't had to do this since I infiltrated that orchestra a few years ago, but desperate times and all." He was then met by a trio of ducks AND turtles who he was able to speak to in his animal state. "First, we've got to create......the mood. The turtles then flipped over, and the birds took up position to play their que.

[MANTIS, spoken]
Percussion.
Strings.
Winds.
Words.

He then leaned down on a leaf next to Mothball, who recognized him easily, and began to sing.

(sung)
There, you see her
Sitting there, across the way
You don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her
And you don't know why, but you're dyin' to try
You wanna kiss the girl

He then flipped away before Screwball could fully process the singing crab she thought she saw. "Did you see that?" She asked, to which Mothball merely smiled, and shook his head. Mantis continued, but this time with a lagoon's worth of an ensemble. All the while, Mothball considered what he was being told, and was put deep in thought.

[MANTIS & ENSEMBLE]
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she want you too, there is one way to ask her
It don't take a word, not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl

[MANTIS, spoken]
Sing with me now.

[MANTIS & FROGS]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, my, oh, my
Look like the boy too shy
He ain't gonna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, ain't that sad?
Ain't it a shame? Too bad

[MANTIS]
He gonna miss the girl

The two ponies sat in silence once again, with neither one knowing what to do at first. But then Screwball broke the silence, and decided to speak. "I realize how difficult this has to be, Mothy: whatever you did to turn yourself into a real pony, and leaving behind your hive. But I just want you to know that....i'm here for you. And i'm never gonna leave your side for any reason." She then looked at him pleadingly, and said, "I know you said you don't believe you have a heart, but I don't believe that for one second. You are the most caring, sweet, and honest being I could ever have the honor of falling in love with." Mothball's eyes widened, and he gave her a look that asked if she truly meant that. Her response was a giggle, and to say, "That's right: I love you, Mothy."

[MANTIS]
Now's your moment
[FISH]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
[MANTIS]
Floating in a blue lagoon
[FISH]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
[MANTIS]
Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better
[FISH]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
[MANTIS]
You don't say a word and you won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl

The pair had rowed under a weeping willow tree, where a school of sea creatures began circling their boat, including a swarm of fireflies, and began to reach the crescendo of their musical tune.

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't be scared
You got the mood prepared

[FISH]
Yeah, yeah, yeah

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Go on and kiss the girl

[LAGOON CREATURES]
Whoa, whoa

[MANTIS]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't stop now
Don't try to hide it how
You wanna kiss the girl

[FISH]
Whoa, whoa

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, float along
And listen to the song
The song say, "Kiss the girl"
[LAGOON CREATURES]
Whoa, whoa

Mothball looked into Screwball's eyes, and could feel that thumping in his chest growing stronger. But he didn't care if it was a heart, or not. One thing for certain was that he loved her as much as she loved him. And the two began to move closer to share their first kiss.

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, music play
Do what the music say
You gotta kiss the girl

[LAGOON CREATURE]
You've got to

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Kiss the girl
You wanna kiss the girl

[MANTIS]
You've gotta

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Kiss the girl

[MANTIS]
Go on and

[MANTIS & LAGOON CREATURES]
Kiss the girl

But just as Mothball, and Screwball were but inches away from a romantic kiss, the boat suddenly overturned. All of the lagoon creatures were scared off by the commotion, and Mantis was left slapping his face in frustration. Little did anypony know was that this was no accident. Orpheus and Sisyphus had turned into snakes, and were the culprits behind Mothball, and Screwball's watery mishap. Both of them hissed out a laugh as they shook tails. All while the voice of their master spoke  to them through their magical bond.

"Nice work, boys. That was a close one." Tirek said as he watched through his cauldron in his castle the two ponies helping each other up. Suddenly, he exclaimed as he slammed his fist down on his throne, "Too close! The little gnat! Ugh, he's better than I thought." he said, before groaning in exasperation. He then got up from his throne, and went over to his supply cabinet for ingredients to a spell he was preparing. He pushed most of them aside, shattering a few until he picked up an orb with a butterfly in it in one hand, while holding a bottle with the other. "At this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure! Well, it's time Lord Tirek took matters into his own wicked hands!" 

He made his way over to his cauldron, and then threw in the bottle. The chain reaction was explosive, and caused an eerie, yellow light to shine from it. Just as he then shoved in the orb, he said, "Discord's daughter will be mine!" while holding up his satchel. His expression then changed from one of anger to one of vile pleasure as he said, "And then i'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!" He began laughing maniacally as the light of the spell enveloped him, and he began to change his very form from a centaur........to a red-furred unicorn with a small beard the same dark red color as his mane, and a fireball for a cutie mark.

Now was the time to set the plan into motion.
> The Malignant Deception
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville since the Discord family returned home. They had retried Zany from Granny Smith and returned home - with Mothball part of their group. And even though Discord was reluctant to let him stay with them, Fluttershy convinced him to allow Emerald to stay with them until he could get back on his feet. Though he couldn't say it, Mothball was grateful for this chance. Now, he was out with Screwball and Zany to hang out with her friends, while Fluttershy went to meet Rarity for another of their spa trips. At the same time, Applejack was in the town square, selling apples with Cinnamon Roll, on this nice, sunny day. "Thanks for helping me out today, sugarcube."

"Well, it was either this, or spend the day with Gemstone." Cinnamon Roll said unhappily.

"Now, hon, that's not very nice-"

"Why couldn't you have any friends my age, ma? Everyponies either fifteen, nine, or a baby. I'm just the awkward twelve year old with no clip."

"Y'all don't have to be the same age to be friends with somepony."

"Hey, who's that stallion holding aunt Fluttershy's hoof?"

"Stallion? Hoof? Wha-?!" Applejack exclaimed as she saw Fluttershy, indeed, with a stallion. His coat was bright red, with his finely combed mane a deeper shade of red. As was his short beard. He was a unicorn with bright, yellow eyes and a cutie mark that resembled a twirling comet of fire. He also had some kind of necklace around his neck that looked a bit.... disturbing. What's more, the two of them seemed to be more than friendly with one another as affectionate giggling and chuckling could be heard between them. Applejack was beyond horrified by this. She never imagined Fluttershy could do something like this. But not everything was what it seemed, and Applejack was determined to find out what was happening.  After Cinnamon Roll remarked about them being cousins, Applejack told her to stay by the cart, and marched up to the duo. "Fluttershy, who is this?"

"Oh." Fluttershy said uncharacteristically so. "Just some handsome hunk I found."

"Oh, dearest, you flatter me so." the stallion said with a smile, before bowing to Applejack. "A pleasure to meet you, dear Applejack. My name is Fire Star. Fluttershy has told me many things about you, and her other friends. It's truly an honor to meet one of the saviors of Equestria." Fluttershy giggled before giving Fire Star a kiss on the cheek.

Applejack shook her head, and said, "Fluttershy, wh-what do you think you're doing?! What about Discord, Screwball, Zany-"

"They'll be fine as long as they don't find out. And even if they do, they'll get over it."

Applejack couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What's come over you, Fluttershy? This isn't like you. Do you have any idea what DIscord'll do if he-"

"Don't talk to me about Discord." Fluttershy said coldly. "He should've been nicer to my children. I should've known....some creatures can never change." She then pushed past Applejack, with her hoof still wrapped around Fire Star's. "Now, move aside. Come along, my handsome stallion."

"As you wish, my creamy mare." Fire Star said seductively. The two of them then ignored Applejack completely as she just stood there. Stammering as she watched them walk away, turning left down one of the lanes. She was then startled by the sudden appearance of Discord, who gave out a "Yeehaw!" before saying, "Howdy there, cowgirl!"

"Discord!" Applejack exclaimed nervously.

"Aw, what's the matter? You look like you've just seen a cow on rocket skates.....though come to think about it, that's not such a bad idea." He said, conjuring a miniature rocket cow on top of his nose. "I'll have to write that one down." He suddenly found himself being pushed away by Applejack, who nervously said, "Uh, Discord? I have, uh, something I need to show you! Um.....Way over there, where there are no specific kissy couples walking around-" Suddenly, she was lifted up by her tail, with Discord chortling in the air as he said, "I know what's going on here."

"Y-ya do?"

"I most certainly do........Fluttershy has a surprise for me, and she doesn't want me to see it yet. Spa appointment, indeed. Hmph. I wonder what my sweet, loving wife has in store for me this time."

"Uh.....well, it's....really surprising, alright."

"Of course, I really shouldn't spoil it." Discord said. And for a moment, Applejack felt a sense of relief wash over her. But then Discord said, But, then again, i'm not that kind of creature, now am I? Hahahahahaha! I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to take a teeny, tiny peek at whatever it is she's-"

"Don't look over there, please!" Applejack pleaded.

"Oh, come on, Applejack. It's just one little-" he suddenly gasped as he saw Fluttershy, and Firestar together. Both of them acting like a real couple. The draconequus felt his heart shatter into a million pieces as he saw this. A pain greater than anything he could ever imagine tore its way through him. Which was only made worse as he saw them kissing each other. He was in such shock he dropped Applejack, and just stood there. All but dead to the world. Applejack nervously asked if he was alright. But his sorrow was soon replaced with rage as he clenched his teeth, and balled his fist. "I was a fool. It's happening again." He whispered in an intimidating growl.

"Discord, something's not right. Fluttershy ain't actin' like herself." Applejack said

"It's happening all over again!" Discord exclaimed. Applejack called to him, but he wasn't listening. His only response was to take to the sky in an enraged huff. Meanwhile, the two ponies snuck into a nearby alley, and watched him leave. 'Fluttershy' then burst into green flame, and revealed himself to be a male changeling. Fire Star smiled wickedly at the changeling, and said, "Stellar performance, my dark-skinned friend. The fool fell for it completely."

"It was nothing, really." The changeling said. What neither of them realized, however, was that Bombus was disguised as a fruit fly, and had been buzzing around to see the sights of town when he stumbled upon the scene. He watched as Fire Star said, "On the contrary. This is the push Discord needs to return to his.......monstrous roots. All that remains is to ensure the other ponies believe his change in behavior is genuine. Then the real fun begins. Now leave me."

"Sure thing." The changeling said before turning into a fly, and buzzing off. Bombus was confused because he thought they were both changelings in disguise. But when he looked in a mirror laying on the nearby wall, his heart stopped as he saw the awful truth of who the now laughing stallion, whose laughter echoed in the mirror truly was. "Lord Tirek!" He said in his tiny voice. He pondered what to do as Tirek looked into the mirror, and laughed some more. At this point, there was only one thing to do as Discord let memories of his past torture him in his sorrow.

He had to warn Mothball.





Speaking of which, Mothball was currently in the middle of sitting with Screwball while the foals played monkey in the middle with each other. The rest of Screwball's friends had been too busy to hang out, so she was just sitting on a bench with Mothball. General Mantis, and Acari were disguised as birds, and sitting in a tree overlooking the pair. They were growing worried for the prince's wellbeing. Now that it was the third day, Mothball had little time left before his deal was up.

He had to kiss Screwball today, no matter what.

Right now, though, she was giving Zany some attention, which he didn't mind. Until he noticed her suddenly wince in pain, and brought a hoof to her head. He placed a hoof on her shoulder, indicating he was worried about her. "It's okay, Mothy, i'm fine." She assured him. "Just got this.......weird headache all of a sudden. Maybe when we get home, i'll ask mom to make some of her cure-all tea. That usually seems to work."

The two changelings also noted something was off. But they were unsure as to what that was. Then they heard the sound of Bombus shouting "General!" at the top of his lungs in bird language. He nearly crashed into the branch as he panted while saying, "General, there's something....very wrong going on!"

"Not now, Bombus." Mantis sighed.

B-b-but it's about Tirek!"

"Tirek?!" Acari exclaimed. "What do you mean by that? It's still midday, so we don't have to worry about him yet."

"That's what i'm trying to tell you about! I think he's joined forces with-" He was shushed as the sound of rumbling thunder suddenly went out overhead. But there was no lightning to speak of. Just fluffy, pink clouds floating in the sky that suddenly began pouring chocolate rain. Gemstone was wining about the liquid ruining her fur while the tri-pies enjoyed every second of it. Yet when Screwball was accused of causing this mayhem, she claimed she didn't do it. Bombus' eyes widened as he realized, "Oh, no: it's already happening!"

"What is?" Mantis asked, when suddenly Discord appeared.

"Hi, my darlings!" Discord said in an almost deranged voice. "Like what i've done with the weather?" he chuckled.

"Uh, what's going on?" Screwball asked confused. "Didn't the princesses forbid you messing with the weather without their permission?"

"Oh, nevermind the princesses! Besides, a little chocolate rain never hurt anyone. And your little friends over there seem to be enjoying it." he said, pointing out the tri-pies splashing, and gulping down the chocolate. "See? Perfectly harmless." Then Gemstone came running down the hill with a pink cloud hanging over her as she ran. Discord was unimpressed, and said, "Oh, come on, she's always been a drama queen."

"But why the sudden chocolate storm, dad?" Screwball asked as Mothball sat in his seat fearfully. "Did something happen that I should know about?"

"Pfft! What? No! No, no! Nothing happened! Who said anything about a kiss? I know I didn't!"

"I didn't either. Dad, you're not making sense even in your nonsensical way."

"I just, uh.....i've..had a bit of an epiphany, my dear. Anyway, if....if I can be serious for a minute, i'm sorry about our little fight a few days ago. "

"You're sorry?"

"Of course!" Discord exclaimed. "After all, your betrayal was lowkey compared to the BACKSTABBING I just received."

"Uuuuum.....you're welcome?"

"But that's all in the past now! Anyway, how about we make up for it with some father-daughter bonding?" Mothball didn't like the sound of that, and his eyes widened in worry. "You know: just the two of us." Zany made a baby sound to attract Discord's attention, which he received. "Yes, of course. You as well, my boy."

"What did you have in mind." Screwball hesitantly asked.

"If you thought chocolate rain was fun, imagine what other beverages we could throw into the mix."

"Liiiike.....orange juice?"

"Now, we're talking!" Discord said excitedly. "I hear Manehatten has a severe Orange Juice shortage, and i'm not talking about Applejack's cousins." More baby noises came from Zany. "See, see? Your brother thinks it's a good idea. Don't you want to agree with your little brother? I mean, look at this face! How can you say no to this face?"

Screwball hesitantly asked, "Noponies gonna get hurt, are they?"

"Oh, of course not." Discord said nonchalantly. "What kind of creature do you take me for?"

"I'm not sure."

"Although," Discord said slyly, "when I think about it, if it's revenge you're looking for, I know where we can find that pesky coal-digging colt who used to tease you in school. Don't you think we should teach him a lesson about being nice to his fellow ponies?" To Mothball's growing chagrin, Screwball suddenly developed a mischievous look in her eye, and a sinister giggle escaped her lips as she said, "He could use a lesson."

"The best part is, there's no teacher around to give you detention." Discord said. Mothball looked to Screwy, hoping she wasn't really falling for this ruse. But to his dismay, she giggled that sinister giggle of hers, and said, "What are we waiting for, then?"

"Oh, that's my girl!" Discord said, before hearing his son coo. "And boy. Keep on forgetting to include you. Sorry about that. Anyway, come, my little abominations! We have work to do!" And the chaotic family laughed in devious delight, with Screwball completely forgetting about Mothball in her emotional high, before disappearing to spread chaos to Equestria. Mothball could only look on in defeat as the mare he cared for disappeared in front of him. The changeling trio flew down, feeling the same as the prince as they turned into random ponies while nopony was looking. Bombus shook his head, and said, "I'm too late."

"You most certainly are." Came an all too familiar voice. All turned around to see Tirek in his pony disguise, flanked by Orpheus and Sisyphus. Bombus' expression widened, and he shouted, "Tirek!"

"Wait, that's Tirek?" Acari asked. "But I thought only changelings can look like other creatures."

"With the right spell, one can look like anything they desire." Tirek said as he slowly walked towards the group. "And it served me well to aid in Chrysalis' endeavor to see our shared goal accomplished. Soon, Discord will be made to suffer for his transgressions, and I will reap the rewards to follow."

Mantis was shocked when he heard that Tirek was in league with his queen. "You lie! The Queen would never ally with the one who stole our hive from us."

"I think you'll find I can be very persuasive when I wish." Tirek said with a smile. "I convinced your little prince to sell his soul to me, after all. It only takes a little leverage," he looked down at his mouthed satchel, "and incentive to get what you want in this world. Chrysalis knows this, and deep down, so do all of you."

Mantis growled, "That's enough!", before he fired an unexpected shot at the unicorn. The hit landed because Tirek didn't see it coming, and it sent him careening to the ground. The magical blast also sent Tirek's satchel crashing into a nearby rock, forcing it open. As if it were alive, it spat out Mothball's voice, which remained a golden wisp that began sailing toward the young prince. It returned to him, and he could feel his voice had returned to him. He happily laughed as he said, "I can talk! I can actually talk again! This is amazing!" But then he quickly realized something. "Oh no, Screwy! We have to find her, and fast!"

"I think not!" Growled Tirek as he rose back to his feet, glaring at the pegasus stallion before he suddenly stood on his hind legs, and summoned forth lightning to strike his hooves. Suddenly, to the horror of those watching, Tirek's true form burst out of his pony body in all his armored glory, snarling like a vicious beast. The changelings were now intimidated by his form as the trio stood in defense of their prince. But Tirek smiled as he said, "You should have read the contract, bug boy. If the payment is rescinded.....so too is the gift!" He then struck Mothball with a burst of magic from his hand, and painfully turned him back into the changeling he was before. He then said, "Because of your general, the contract is now null and void. But I still have other uses for you."

"You'll need to get by us, first!" Mantis said with his horn glowing, and Acari and Bombus doing the same. Tirek merely laughed at their pathetic display before he drained the magic from them. "General! Acari! Bombus!" Mothball exclaimed as he watched all three of them fall to the ground in exhaustion. He was then suddenly picked up in a fiery red aura, and grabbed by the throat by the imposing centaur, who smiled and said, "Now, while your mother keeps the plan in motion, how about we make ourselves another deal?"





"Zany!" Screwball called for her missing brother. "Zany! Come out, come out, wherever you are! I've got some chocolate milk!"

"Screwy?"

She turned and saw her best friend standing behind her. Only one eye was looking directly at her, but both of them were sad.

"Dinky!" Screwball exclaimed. "Hey! How'd the date with Cinnamon Stick go?"

"It got cut short," the unicorn said bluntly, "on account of the rain."

"Oops!" the earth pony giggled. "Sorry about that! I hope you didn't get too wet!"

She expected Dinky to laugh along with her, but the unicorn's serious expression did not falter. After a while, Screwball's smile was gone again.

"Dinky, you okay?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Screwball blinked. "What? This? Relax, Dinky! Dad and I are just having a bit of fun! By the way, have you seen Zany?"

"No."

"Come on, Dinks!" She summoned a smiley mask. "Get into the spirit of things!"

Dinky stared at her for a long time and then turned away. Screwball lowered her mask in puzzlement.

"What's the matter with you? It's not like I haven't done stuff like this before."

"Yes, but..." Dinky said in a choked voice. "You weren't...mean to other ponies before."

Screwball scoffed. "Mean?! Dinks, it's not like any pony's getting hurt!"

The unicorn looked up at her. "Cinnamon Stick slipped on a banana peel and hit his head."

The earth pony froze. "Dinky, I...I didn't know! I can fix it! I mean I can't, but I can get Dad to!"

"Just because you can fix him doesn't change the fact that you hurt him in the first place!"

Screwball was taken aback. "Dinky, I've never seen this side of you..."

"Really?!" Dinky snapped. "Gee, that's really funny! Because I've never seen this side of you! What happened to my best friend? The pony who always stood up for me, who would never hurt a fly? What happened to her?"

"What are you talking about, Dinky? She's right here!"

The unicorn shook her head. "No. You're not my best friend."

Screwball's heart shattered into millions of pieces. "Dinky, how can you say that?"

"I wanted to believe that Gold Digger and Silver Tray were wrong about you, but...now I see they were right. You...you're just like your dad. You're...you're bad."

Dinky turned and ran while Screwball stood hurt and bewildered. In all their years of friendship, Dinky had never spoken so harshly to her, and never had she said such a thing.

"She's wrong," she declared to herself. "I would never hurt anyone! I'm not bad! I'm not!"

Screwball stomped her hoof, splashing it in a chocolate puddle. She subconsciously cleared the water and saw her reflection. Her parents always said she had a sweet and pretty face, but now it looked fierce and menacing. Realization overwhelmed her, her scowl turning into a frown. She gazed around at Ponyville and only now noticed how different it looked. Buildings were floating upside down and splattered in paint, the streets had a checkerboard design and banana peels scattered everywhere, the school she attended as a filly was hanging sideways from a tree. Everything looked...wrong. This was not the town she grew up in, these were not the streets she played in, this...this was chaos. Not a few harmless whimsical pranks, but full-scale chaos, the kind of thing her father said she was meant to create.

She did not like it.





"Alright," Twilight said. "Now that we have the elements of harmony just in case, we must find DIscord at once."

"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."

"You didn't." Applejack paled.

"Oh, I did."

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. "Hey! Give me back my crown!"

"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."





Outside the window, DIscord had been listening. A wicked glee filled his eyes as he heard the ponies plans for him. He began laughing maniacally before his body was suddenly engulfed in green flame. Thus revealing the maniacally laughing form of Queen Chrysalis. "Foals!" She said. "After all these years, ponies are still so gullible! Oh, Tirek is going to love this!"





"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?"

"That might be, but then again, we all make mistakes, don't we?" Came the mysterious voice of a centaur emerging from the woods. While she wasn't scared, Screwball was intimidated by what power she could sense coming from this being. Screwball stood up with Zany in her foreleg as the two stared at the massive figure. "Greetings." He said cordially. "My name is Lord Tirek. Tis an honor to meet you."

"Uh, not now, okay?" Screwball said, turning away from the centaur. But Tirek was not one to be turned down as easily as that, and teleported in front of her. "Now, now, let's not be hasty, my dear. At least let me explain my purpose here. You see, I have an important venture to deal with, and you seem to be constantly standing in the way of-"

"Will you just leave me alone?" Screwball said in annoyance as she walked past him, earning some of his anger.

"JUST HEAR ME OUT, YOU LITTLE-" He yelled, before quickly composing himself once more. "Just hear me out, alright? Now, I would be eternally grateful if you would just take a brief reprieve from this chaos business of yours. Creating candy clouds and unnatural disasters? Surely that can wait a day. And-"

"You're out of your mind!"

"Not so fast!" He said, grabbing her by her scruff, and turning her around to face him. "You see, I do have a little leverage you might want to know about." He then snapped his fingers, and materialized Mothball in his true form. Worry in his eyes as he saw Screwball. But she was shocked to see him here, and concerned for his wellbeing. "Mothy!"

"Don't listen to hi-" The Qirin twins turned into snakes, and used themselves as bindings to wrap around Mothball's body. Even around his neck to cut him off from speaking. Gasping, Screwball put Zany down to run to Mothball, but Tirek snapped his fingers again, making the changeling disappear with his two pets. Turning around, Screwball glared at the centaur and yelled, "Let him go!" But when she tried to ram into his body, she phased through him like smoke, landing roughly on the ground. Lord Tirek turned around, and addressed the halfling in a controlled tone. "Now here's the deal: you surrender your magic to me, and in exchange," he snapped, and conjured Mothball back into existence. "Your precious prince here will be free as a bird, and the two of you can run off to have that happily ever after you so desperately wanted."

Screwball thought on this for a moment before asking, "Noponies going to get hurt, are they?"

"Of course not." Tirek assured her. "Then again, it is possible. These sort of things happen in life. There's no guarantee otherwise. But what do you owe these ponies, anyway?" He then went over to Mothball, and cusped his face. "Isn't your precious Mothball more important than they are?"

"Stop it!"

"ISN"T HE?!"

"You need to promise nothing bad will happen to him."

Tirek rolled his eyes as he let Mothball go, and approached Screwball. "Very well, as you wish. The prince is safe, otherwise you regain your magic immediately afterwards. Now, with that out of the way...." He then conjured a contract identical to the one Mothball signed. "And.....all I have to do is sign this?" Tirek nodded with a smile as he watched Screwball take the magic quill in her magic. Yet he noticed she was hesitating, and that didn't sit too well with him. "There's no room for reluctance, Screwball. This is a one time special offer that you can't get a second time. So I need an answer - now! Going once."

"But maybe if I-"

"Going twice."

Screwball turned to Mothball, who was shaking his head as well as possible to tell her not to do this. But in the end, she made the only choice that was free to her. "Alright." She said, before signing her name on the glowing parchment. Once that was done, Tirek drew the contract into his hand, and it vanished into sparks. He then grinned at the halfling, and said, "We have made a bargain." Before he picked her up in his aura of magic, and then proceeded to drain every ounce of magical power in her body. The magic looked like it was being vomited out while Tirek greedily gulped it down, to Mothball's horror. When it was done, Screwball's cutie mark disappeared, and she was left feeling drained. 

"I wouldn't strain myself, my dear, if I were you. Perhaps you should," Tirek formed a ball of magic in his hands, "sit....DOWN!" he roared as he hurled the ball at Screwball's feet, knocking her on her back as he came up to her, and loomed over her like a ruthless predator. "Now you know how it feels to be an ordinary pony." He smiled. "Isn't that what you wanted? Oh, and there is just one more thing." He then went over to Mothball, and with a snap of his fingers bid the Qirin release him. "As they say: a deal's a deal. You're off the hook." Mothball, of course, was busy catching his breath now that he was out of the Qirin's coils. But he was soon lifted into the air by Tirek's aura as the centaur said, "On a related note, don't you agree that the prince is quite the marvelous actor?"

"What do you mean?" Screwball asked weakly as she stood back up.

"I mean that little Mothball here was working for me, and his mother all the time, of course."

"No....you're lying!"

But Tirek simply smiled, and waved a hand towards Zany who was now flying through the air. She gave him a confused look before his eyes turned green, making Screwball gasp in shock. "You're not my brother!" And with that he burst into green flame. There, standing over the dazed mare was Queen Chrysalis in all her diabolical glory. "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! They have a habit of giving love unconditionally." Chrysalis laughed. "Imagine the power my hive will gain from feasting on all that love." She then turned to Mothball, and coyly said, "Well done, my son - just like we always planned."

"What?" Screwball chocked again.

"No! I didn't have anything to do with this! Whatever they're saying, Screwy, it's not true!" Mothball pled. But Screwball was too angry to listen. 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 tried to make a giant hammer. But nothing appeared, to her confusion. That's when she truly understood how powerless she really was. And the growing headache she'd been suffering only grew worse now as she yelled in pain while clutching her head. Both Tirek, and Chrysalis laughed in amusement, with the latter saying, "My, my. You, and your son truly did a number on the girl, haven't you, your majesty?"

"What can I say? We royal changelings have a greater appetite for love." Chrysalis said. "I'm surprised there was any power left for you to steal."

"A little magic goes a long way, my dear." Tirek said, while materializing a smoking cigar into his hand, and taking a puff from it. "And soon, I will have all the magic I need to make this land a place where we can rule forever."

"That sounds delightful." She then looked at Screwball. "But what of this one?"

"Do what you will with her. She has served her purpose, as has your son."

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. I even promised him he could have you as his queen when he rules the changelings as a reward. Granted, I did not expect him to go to Tirek himself to form an alliance between us, but it worked out in the end! 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. Tirek tossed Mothball next to her as they were both cornered. Screwy turned to Tirek, and shouted, "We had a deal, Tirek!"

"Relax: no harm will come to the bug boy," he grinned, "but I didn't say anything about sparing you."

"Indeed." Chrysalis affirmed. "Take them both back to the hive. I'll decide what to do with them both later." 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 and Mothball 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!   She's also the only leverage we have over the prince!"

The changelings saluted and separated for their hunt. Tirek, meanwhile, was not worried in the slightest. In fact, his smug grin remained on his face. When Chrysalis saw this, she angrily flew up to him, and shouted, "What are you grinning about?If she tells anyone what she has witnessed, our plans will be ruined!"

"Don't worry, my dear." Tirek calmly said. "Those two alone cannot thwart what we have begun. Soon our revenge will be complete, and you shall have your just reward."

Chrysalis calmed down a bit, and said, "You better be right about this.

"Believe me: you, and your hive will get exactly what's coming to you."





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 and held her up. 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 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."
> Most Chaotically in Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tirek stood before the hall of the soulless creatures who had become ghoulish polyps. Long had he kept these abominations in his domain because his black heart fed on their despair and misery. That, and they also added a sense of macabre to the castle. Now, however, he would actually have another use for these sniveling worms. One he had considered, but lacked the proper power to see it through. With the power of chaos at his disposal, those plans could now bear fruit.

He stretched out his hand, and began to will the polyps to begin changing. And in a purple aura, the polyps did indeed begin to change, in mind and in body, into horrendous creatures. Massive beasts around Tirek's height with massive wings, and glowing swords in their hands.



"The time has come, my children." Tirek said with Orpheus and Sisyphus hovering close by. "Together, we will show the ponies, and Changelings who their master is. Once they feel my full wrath, every living creature in Equestria will bow to my will. And there is NOTHING they can do to stop me." He grinned. "Soon I will have power to revel the gods themselves, and ensure the stars themselves align to my design!"

🎵And at last
I'll live the life that i've longed for
All the glamour and the glitter and the glitz
Not to mention, by the way
The huge magic buffet
I love my subjects literally to bits

As for those
Poor Unfortunate Souls
My reign, my rules!

I'll employ delicious terrors
from the trenches to the shores
And enjoy sadistic pleasures
From the tropics to the poles

And, oh boy, i'll get revenge
With you know who
In starring roles

Those Poor. un. for-tunate. SOOOOOUUUUULS!

The monsters began roaring in triumph, and with bloodlust on their minds literally put there by Tirek. And Tirek himself couldn't help but laugh triumphantly as he took in all that would soon happen. All had gone according to his plans, and it would soon end with him ruling Equestria and beyond.

Nothing could take this away from him.





Mothball hiked through the forest, carrying the unconscious mare on his back. His ears perked up as he heard a group of changelings nearby and quickly dove into the bushes. Screwball let out a moan. He silenced her with his hoof.

"She must be around here somewhere!" one of the soldiers said. "I smell chocolate milk!"

The prince gulped, but then had an idea. He took the form of a soldier changeling and leapt out of his hiding place.

"You dumb bugs missed her!" he exclaimed, pointing in the direction he had just come. "She went that way!"

One of the changelings sniffed the air. "He's right! The trail is fresh! We can still catch her!"

As soon as the three were gone, Mothball picked Screwball up and moved as fast as his legs could carry them both. After a while, he came across a strangely decorated hut inside a grand tree. The light was on, so whoever lived there was home.

Maybe they can help, Mothball thought.

He was about to knock on the door when he realized he was still in his changeling guise. No pony would assist him while looking like this. He transformed into the disguise he had used earlier that day with Screwball. He tapped his now gray hoof on the door.

"Who is knocking so late?" a deep female voice called from inside. "I'm coming, please wait!"

A black and white striped pony opened the door.

"Who are you, stranger? Do you not know the danger of being out at night in this forest of fright?"

"Please!" Mothball pleaded. "You have to help me! My friend here, she's..."

The pony's eyes widened at the sight of the unconscious mare. "Screwball! Bring her in, place her on the bed, and tell me why she looks near-dead!"

She guided the disguised prince over to the bed and helped him in setting Screwball down.

"Can you help her?" Mothball begged.

"I can, do not stress, but what caused this sickness?"

He bit his lip. If this mare knew he was a changeling, she would kick him out and keep him away from his Screwball.

"She, um...well..."

"Do not speak!" the pony commanded as she examined her patient. "She is very weak. I can barely feel her heartbeat. I'll make a soup for her to eat that will help her get well. When she will recover, only time will tell."

Mothball watched curiously as the striped mare searched her shelves of bottles and flasks.

"I've never seen a pony like you before," he observed.

"That's because I'm a zebra, not a pony," she said, turning to him with a bow. "I am Zecora, the one and only."

"Oh. Well how do you know Screwball?"

The zebra answered his question as she pulled a bottle from the shelf. "Seventeen years ago, her mother came to me to seek comfort on what she was about to agree. She chose to be the bride of an evil draconequus, but I told her that if she went, she would find great happiness."

Motball blinked. "You got her parents together?"

Zecora chuckled throatily as she poured the contents of the bottle into a boiling pot of water.

"That, you could say. Oh, I'll never forget that day." She was about to pick up another ingredient when she saw that Mothball was standing with nothing to do. "How rude of me. Would you like some tea?"

He was not a fan of tea, but he did not want to reject the zebra's hospitality. He nodded dumbly.

After mixing several more herbs and spices into the cauldron, Zecora muttered something in a language the prince did not understand. He sipped his tea with disgust, but it did not matter to him. All he could think about was how fragile his friend looked as she lay motionless on the bed beside him. While he held his cup in one hoof, he held Screwball's hoof in the other.

In a few minutes, the soup was ready. Zecora poured a bowl and approached the sick mare.

"Tilt her head back," she said to Mothball.

The prince set down his cup and did as the zebra said. As he gently pushed back Screwball's head, her mouth fell open. The zebra put the bowl to the young mare's lips and slowly poured the soup into her mouth. When she was done, Mothball carefully released Screwball's head and her mouth closed again.

"Is she going to be alright?"

Zecora sighed as she pulled the leopard print blanket over the young mare's body. "I do not know, I fear. For now, she must rest here."

Mothball's eyes glazed over with tears as he laid his hoof on his friend's forehead. "Please get better, Screwy."

The zebra picked up Mothball's cup and examined the tea leaves. Her eyes widened in fascination, her lips curling into a smile.

"How interesting," she murmured.

"What?" the changeling asked, facing the zebra.

Zecora smirked at him. "It was very noble of you to help Screwball, something I would not expect from a changeling, Prince Mothball."

His jaw dropped in surprise.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about!"

The zebra shook her head with a laugh. "You can drop the charade. I promise, you can stay."

He stared at her for a long while and then reluctantly changed back into himself.

"How did you know? Did my eyes give it away?"

"No," Zecora replied, holding out the tea-cup. "The leaves told me all. There is no tricking me, Prince Mothball."

He sighed and slumped to the floor. "Please, it's just Mothball. I'm no prince. I'm a traitor to my kind."

"Yes," Zecora nodded. "You did it because you fell in love with the pony you were supposed to dispose of."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you psychic or something?"

Instead of answering, the zebra gestured for him to sit at the table. He hesitated at the thought of parting from Screwball, but he did as she requested. After a few seconds, Zecora joined him, still holding his teacup in hoof.

"Well, your guess was only half right," Mothball claimed. "Changelings cannot love, let alone fall in love. I don't even have a heart. I did for a short while when I was turned into a true pony, but," Mothball sighed, "but that spell was broken. Now any chance I might of had at loving Screwball went down the hole I dug for myself. Now i'm a heartless monster again."

"Are you sure?" Zecora asked, tilting her head. "After bringing Screwball here for a cure?"

"She's the only friend I ever had. What was I supposed to do?"

"The Queen has led your thoughts astray. Perhaps I can show you what made you betray."

She circled the table and without warning, placed Mothball's hoof on her chest.

"Hey, what are you...? Why are you making me touch your chest? I'm very uncomfortable with this right now."

"What do you feel in my chest?" Zecora inquired nonchalantly.

He paused. "Your heart?"

"Indeed. Now come."

As he followed the zebra, Mothball realized something.

"Hey, how come you stopped talking in rhyme?"

Zecora did not answer and pulled the covers off Screwball. She took Mothball's hoof again and laid it on Screwball's chest.

"What do you feel now in her chest?"

"Her heart. What does this have to...?"

He was cut off as the zebra moved his hoof to his own chest.

"And now?"

Something thumped wildly against his hoof in a way similar to the thumping inside Screwball and Zecora. He had felt it many times before, but told himself it was nothing but the love he consumed pulsing through him. Then why was it in the exact same place in his chest as in Screwball's and Zecora's?

Where the heart should be?

Mothball looked up at the zebra. "There has to be another explanation. I can't- I'm not supposed to have a heart."

"That does not mean you cannot," Zecora stated. "What else could fill that spot? If you are heartless, Mothball, how do you explain your feelings for Screwball?"

The prince looked at the mare in the bed. Some of the color had returned to her cheeks, giving her face a gentle glow. It made him smile to see this, but also sad that she was still not awake.

"I can't explain it," he admitted. "The moment I saw her, I was bewitched. Sometimes I wonder if she cast a spell on me, but the more time I spent with her, the more I was compelled to stay with her. I tried not to, because I didn't want to hurt her, but I kept coming back. I know she loves me. I've always known. I was supposed to feed off it, but you know something? No matter how much time I spent with her, she never seemed to wither, not in the slightest. I felt her love transfer to me, but her energy never diminished. I began to assume she was immune." He hung his head. "That was clearly not the case, after what my mother did to her."

Mothball noticed Screwball shivering, so he pulled the covers back over her body.

"I can't stop thinking about her," he continued. "Everything about her: her laugh, her smile, her sense of humor, her hair, her eyes..." He sighed. "Oh, what I would give to see them again. Do you think she'll get better soon?"

When he received no answer, Mothball turned his head. The zebra was no longer behind him.

"Zecora?"

"Do not fear! I am here."

He glanced around the room and found her stirring her cauldron. As he approached her, Zecora took the tea-cup he had drunk from and dumped the leaves into the boiling water.

"What are you with my tea leaves?" Mothball asked, peering inside.

Zecora took some green powder from a jar and blew it into the brew. Green images started to form, making the changeling gasp. Soon he was gazing at two silhouettes, one that resembled Screwball and another himself. The figures embraced each other and bent their bodies in a way that they formed a heart. Suddenly, the image evaporated into thin air and all that remained in the pot was green liquid.

"What was that?" the prince questioned, still in awe.

"That," Zecora replied, "is what happens when two become one, when they possess a magic more powerful than the sun. What you think as a weakness is not so. Strength is what comes with the glow."

"Do you ever give a straight answer?"

"No."

He stared at her and then at Screwball.

"If nothing changes, I could make more stew," the zebra said, "but I'll need some herbs, and help from you."

Mothball turned back to Zecora. "How can I help?"





Discord sat sadly on an upside-down tree stump, his head in his hands.

"First my wife," he uttered, "now my children! I should have known! The only creature you can trust is yourself!"

As he spoke, Zany appeared in the air before him, bringing a smile to the draconequus' face.

"Ah, my boy!" he exclaimed, taking the baby in his arms. "You missed your daddy, didn't you? You'll never leave me, right?"

Had he not been caught up in his joy, he would have noticed the devious smile on the infant's face.





As Screwball gained consciousness, everything came flooding back: her father's mental breakdown, her unpleasant encounter with Dinky, her mother's supposed betrayal, her bargain with Tirek, her brother turning out to be Chrysalis...

Her brother.

"Zany," she murmurred.

She felt something cool on her forehead, causing her to slowly open her eyes.

"Zany," she said again.

"Shhh," a warm voice whispered. "Take it easy, my little filly."

When Screwball's vision came into focus, she saw the zebra smiling over her and pressing a wet cloth to her forehead.

"Zecora?"

"It is good to see you awake. Tell me, does anything ache?"

The young mare groaned. "My head."

Zecora left for a moment and came back with a cup of tea. "Drink this, but not too fast. You lack your strength, but the worst has past."

Screwball struggled to sit up. "How did I get here? How long was I out?"

"For an hour you have been here. It was one of your friends that brought you, dear."

"Really?" she asked, sipping the tea. "Who? Dinky? One of the twins?"

The zebra was about to answer when a voice interrupted her:

"Hey, Zecora! I think I got the things you asked for!"

A gray stallion carrying a saddle bag stood in the doorway. Not knowing Screwball was awake, he transformed into Mothball. The young mare gasped.

"YOU!"

The changeling turned in alarm, but then smiled. "You're awake! Thank goodness!"

Screwball looked accusingly at Zecora. "How could you let him in here?! Do you have any idea who he is?!"

"He is the one who saved your life," the zebra replied. "I do not know why this causes you strife."

"Humph!" the mare huffed. "Saved my life, my hoof! What happened, your highness? Didn't want to lose your primary food source?!"

Mothball's grin had faded. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! You've been using me all this time! You told your mother, and Tirek all my secrets! You betrayed me! I thought you were my friend!"

The prince was confused, until he remembered their ordeal in the woods. "Screwy, let me explain..."

"So you didn't make a deal with that freaky monkey-bull thing?"

"No!" Screwball exclaimed, before he corrected himself. "Well, I did, but it was-"

"Oh, so your mother DIDN'T send you to drain me of my love, and promised you could have me as a prize?"

Mothball hesitated to speak until he finally said, "Well.....yes, mother did say all that, but I didn't-"

"I knew it! You DID betray me! What a relief! I am so glad we got that cleared up! I'm so glad we can go back to the way things were! La-dee-da-dee-de!." She shouted hysterically. "Oh, wait, we can't! 'Cause you know why? My father was tricked, and now he's probably gonna get turned to stone, and who knows what else is going to happen?!"

"Screwy, listen to me-"

"How could you do this?!"

"It was the only way to save-"

"I trusted you!"

"Screwball, please lie down..." Zecora started to say.

"No!" she screamed. "I won't be in the same room with him!"

"Screwy, please!" he begged.

But the mare was already up and running toward the door.

"You don't have the strength!" Zecora yelled.

Mothball moved in front of the mare. "Tirek and the changelings are looking for you! It's not safe out there!"

Screwball scowled at him. "I don't care, so long as I'm away from you!"

She pushed him back and raced outside. She did not know where she was going. She just wanted to get as far away from him as possible. And yet, her heart was telling her to go back, but she would not listen. She did not trust her heart anymore.
It did not take long for her to run out of breath. She had gained some strength during her rest, but not enough to teleport. She panted with thirst and then spotted her chocolate lake nearby.

As she knelt down for a drink, she caught her reflection, making her pause. The mare in the water looked just like her, only paler and...broken.

Screwball:
🎵Don't know why I did it
Don't know why I gave in
Now my heart is breaking
I won't be made a fool again
I thought he was honest
When I looked into his eyes
But look at where that's got me
My life has been a lie

She sobbed. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so foolish, if I had listened to Daddy, none of this would've happened. I'd still be at home with my family, my friends...Zany."

Her little brother was her deepest regret. The poor infant had done nothing wrong, and yet he was paying the price for her actions.

Screwball shook her head. "No, this...this was all Mothball! He...he tricked me!"

If that was the case, then why could she not stop thinking about how hurt he had looked when she had rushed out? For that matter, why had he brought her to Zecora's in the first place? Why had he not taken her to Chrysalis?

Why did her heart still ache at the thought of him?

She looked at her reflection again and splashed the water furiously.

"I don't know what to think anymore!" she bawled.

She buried her face in her hooves, not hearing Mothball as he came out of the trees.

He looked at her with sad eyes, wanting to wrap his forelegs around her and assure her everything was alright. She had every right to be upset with him and he could not help but feel guilty. He had to let her know how he felt, but he was not sure how. He was not disguised as a pony with nothing to lose. He was his changeling self. After what he had done, would she believe him? He thought back to the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, when they had danced together. She had looked so beautiful. He then realized that at some point that night, he had fallen utterly and completely in love with her.

Then he remembered that song and how strangely the lyrics fit their relationship. This gave him an idea. It was corny, and he didn't remember all the lyrics, but it was the only way he knew how to express himself.

Mothball:
🎵I feel a connection

Screwball's head shot up at the sound of his voice.

We...yadayada harmonize

She turned to him as he cautiously approached. Her instincts told her to run, but her heart kept her in place.

Our bond cannot be broken

She turned to him as he cautiously approached. Her instincts told her to run, but her heart kept her in place.

Mothball gulped as he continued: Though...Dracula might criticize

Screwball raised an eyebrow at him, slightly confused about why he was singing. It was not the sweetest of voices, and there was nervousness in his tone, but it was not horrible.

You see, I've gone mad

Descended periodically

Because I...

Because I...

F-Fell...down

Mothball sighed in defeat as he began to walk away. She was still hurting, and would never understand what he was trying to accomplish. Little did he know that at that moment, her mind clicked into place, and recognized the song he was singing. The song they danced to at the grand galloping gala - the song to which she fell in love with him. It was those same feelings buried beneath the lies, and deception that compelled her to sing with him, much to his joy.

Screwball:
And I've been falling faster
With every moment we spend
Mothball:
We'll dance tonight and after

"Promise we're more than just friends?" She was now looking directly into his emerald eyes. They were so sincere, so sad, so desperate, in a way no creature could possibly fake. She did not need her power to see the truth in them.

Screwball turned fully toward him. He extended his foreleg to her. "Much more." He smiled. "I love you, Screwy."

The young mare could not contain her emotion any longer and did not hesitate to rush into his embrace.

Screwball (same time as Mothball):
🎵We have a connection
Let's face it we harmonize
Our bond cannot be broken
Who cares if they criticize?
Mothball (same time as Screwball):
I've met an odd girl
Who's unlike any other
She has changed my whole world
And right now I discover
And I know that I have a heart

Both:
Because I fell for you (I fell for you)
Most chaotically
> Revealing The Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I never wanted any part of Mother's plan," Mothball explained.

He and Screwball were sitting at Zecora's table, eating soup with one hoof and holding hooves with the other. Well, Screwball was the only one eating anyway, since Mothball was not accustomed to solid food.

"But what was I supposed to do?" he continued. "I was young, I had nowhere else to go. The hive is the only home I've ever known. The changelings never really felt like family, but..."

"I get it," Screwball said, giving his hoof a gentle squeeze. "No matter how crazy they are, you can't pick family." She hung her head. "And sometimes, you'd do anything to please them."

"Part of what my mother told you is true, though. I was supposed to feed off your love, but...I couldn't bear to hurt you. Eventually, I kept away from you altogether." His head lowered in shame. "That's when I ran afoul of Lord Tirek."

"Yeah, i'm still a bit fuzzy on the details about that guy." Screwball said while scratching her head. "Who is he? What is he?"

"He's an evil that even my mother was always weary of: a centaur with the power to steal magic from all living things." Mothball explained. "I don't know all the details, myself, but I do know what i've been told: and that was to always stay away from him because he's a demon, and a monster. He lures creatures to his castle, which he created from our original hive using the powers of Darkness, and he strikes deals with them. Using spells, and curses he apparently learned, he can make anyponies dreams a reality - for the right price. And that price is usually the magic/souls of his victims."

"How has he gotten away with this for so long? I thought my dad, or the princesses would have done something about him by now. Especially since dad can sense a magical imbalance like stealing magic."

"You remember that contract he forced you to sign?" Screwball nodded. "I think somehow those things shield him from being sensed by creatures like your dad. Either that, or he's protected by the magic-nullifying powers of The Throne."

"The Throne? Gee, that doesn't sound ominous."

"It should." Mothball said. "Mother once told me that it was carved from an ancient, dark stone that feeds on magic like we changelings feed on love. So only changelings have been able to use their magic around it so far......until Tirek came along."

This confused Screwball. "But.....if this throne drains magic, how can Tirek still use his?"

"Maybe because his powers are similar to a changelings in his ability to drain magic? I don't know. All I know is that he formed some kind of symbiotic bond to the throne, and then he became strong enough to take over our entire kingdom after our failure at the royal wedding. I have a feeling dark magic was involved somehow, but mother wouldn't say. I think she was too ashamed to have lost the source hive to somecreature like Tirek."

"I can get that." Screwball said. "But what I don't get is why you went to him in the first place. He's the one who gave you that pegasus body, isn't he?"

"He did, after those winged monsters of his took advantage of my emotions the night of the gala, and convinced me to come to his castle. He took my magic, and my voice in return for making me a real pony." Mothball sighed. "I thought it was the only way we could be together, so I went along with it." His eyes then narrowed. "But I think he was just using me as leverage all this time, and he manipulated my mother into helping him in a plot against your dad. That would explain the pony form he was in."

This caught Screwball's attention. "Wait a minute: did you say 'pony form'?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Dad said that he saw my mom with another stallion earlier today." She gasped. "HE must've been the stallion dad saw!"

"And your mom must have been a changeling in disguise." Mothball said in shocked realization. "He must have also been spying on us all this time, and shared your secrets with my mother! After all, I was with you for three days without anything happening until today, so there's no other way she could've known about Zany!"

"Oh, man. Now I really feel bad about doubting you, Mothy." Screwball said in guilt.

"Don't. I understand, and I forgive you, Screwy." 

"But how can you forgive me so easily?" She asked, earning a warm smile from the former prince. "Because I love you, Screwy." Which made her giggle happily. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Hmm. It's funny. You keep saying that the more time I spend with you, the weaker I get, but the thing is..." She put down her spoon and scooted closer to him. "When I'm with you, I feel...stronger."

"You do feel stronger. I still don't understand how that's possible."

"Perhaps I can explain," Zecora volunteered, "why she feels no pain." She held up the card 'Temperance.' "I spoke to you of balancing your traits. There is more to what this card dictates. You gain power from Screwball's love, it's true, but from your love, she gains power too. What you give replaces what you take. 'Tis such a rare magic that you two make."

"So what you're saying is," Mothball attempted to clarify, "that instead of me taking away her power, we're...sharing our own?"

The zebra nodded.

"It makes sense," Screwball declared. "Love is the most powerful form of chaos there is." She smirked. "But I thought you didn't have a heart, you big softie."

"So did I," the prince said. "But Zecora told me something interesting. If I were heartless like my mother, I would have left you for dead." He gazed into her eyes. "But I didn't."

Screwball smiled and nuzzled her head into his chest. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

He grinned nervously. "Well, you had reason."

She slowly pulled away and looked at him seriously. "What else do you know about Tirek and Chrysalis' plan?"

Mothball shook his head. "Not much. I haven't seen either of them until today. But if I were to guess, i'd say it involves turning Equestria against your dad. I have no idea what Tirek wants from all of this, but it can't be good for anyone if he was willing to hand Zany over to the changelings. He's alive, as far as I know. If I can guess right, he's being held in the hive's nursery. Changelings find babies to be..." he winced, "a bountiful food source, because in their innocent age, they tend to love everything and everyone."

Screwball's eyes were wild with worry. "Why is she doing this? I know you don't know Tirek's motives, but why is Chrysalis going this far?"

"She wants revenge on your father. What for, I'm not sure, but I know for sure that this was all so she could get him back into stone. With him out of the way, and his power transferred to Chrysalis by posing as Zany, the changelings would be free to take over Equestria!" Mothball shook his head. "She and Tirek planned it all! Having a changeling pose as your mother with Tirek as a random pony to kiss in front of you father, and get him angry."

Screwball's jaw dropped. "I knew Mom would never betray us!" She gasped. "Mom! Oh, she's probably gonna ground me for life after this! She might... No, she would never let Daddy be turned to stone."

"My mother probably figured that, which is why, if I know her as well as I do, she'd pose as Discord and act so evil that your mother and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony would have no choice but to turn him to stone. Once that's done, she intends to dispose of them so that nothing can stop her!"

"Oh no! What if it's already been done? What if we're too late?"

As she spoke, a frog crossed with a teapot hopped onto the windowsill. Its lid opened as it croaked.

"I think your dad's alive," Mothball observed.

"But we might not have much time!" Screwball exclaimed. "We have to warn him! We have to save Zany! We need to explain things to..."

"No," Zecora said. "You have not fully recovered, and you cannot risk being discovered."

"But if I wait too long, it'll be too late!"

"Your father is crafty, clever and cunning. He will sense the ponies coming. It will take time for them to hunt him down. I suggest you rest till morning comes round."

"But..."

She trailed off as Mothball laid a hoof on her shoulder. "She's right. You need your strength if you want to go up against my mother and Tirek." He hung his head. "I wouldn't recommend it though. My mother is clever too, not to mention she has a whole army on her side. Not to mention Tirek has your magic now. Fighting him would be a death sentence with all the power he has now."

"I don't care! My family's fallen apart and I have to help put it together again!"

"You'll need a plan first."

"Yes," Screwball said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, my mind is so jumbled right now!"

"You should get some sleep."

"Yeah. Zecora, do you have a sleeping bag or something?"

"You are welcome to sleep in my bed," the zebra offered. "I will find a place to rest my head."

"Oh, Zecora, really. You've done so much for my family already. I don't want to..."

"Nonsense. You both need your rest. For that, the bed would be best."

"But where can I...?" Mothball started to ask.

He trailed off as Zecora winked at him. He was silent as she gathered the empty teacups and disappeared behind a curtain. Screwball and Mothball simultaneously glanced at the bed and then at each other with a blush. "I suppose there will be no harm in..." Screwball stammered, "snuggling?"

In a few minutes, they were lying under the covers, tight in each other's embrace, their hooves entwining. They were careful not to do anything...inappropriate, but Screwball tried to get a kiss from her love. Mothball leaned his head back in hesitation. "Come on," Screwball groaned. "We already know you won't hurt me."

"Yeah, but...I...I just don't want to risk it. At least, not now when you're not your strongest."

She sighed in disappointment. "Fine." On that note, she turned her body away from him.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Mothball insisted. "I mean...now that we know how...different I am with you...I just...don't know what will happen!"

She faced him again. "Why don't we find out?"

He stared into her pleading spirals. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he could not risk hurting her.

"Some other day," he said.

She sighed again and gazed up at the ceiling. He looked in the same direction and for a while, neither of them said anything.

"Did you know?" Screwball asked abruptly.

Mothball raised an eyebrow at her. "Did I know what?"

She locked eyes with him. "Did you know how I felt about you?"

He looked away shamefully. "I can sense emotion a mile away. I've always known."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Her tone was sounding angry now.

"Because I thought I couldn't return your feelings. And...I didn't want you to think I was just staying with you so I could feed."

Screwball could understand that, considering how she had treated him earlier.

"Sorry," she apologized again. "Also...I never properly thanked you for saving my life."

That made her feel even more guilty.

"That's okay," Mothball said with a shrug. "I never thanked you."

"For what?"

"For saving me...from myself." He winced. "Okay, that was cheesy."

Screwball laughed. "I love you anyway."

She took his hoof and snuggled against him again. He smiled and stroked her mane. Even though he had always known it, hearing her say those three words warmed his heart, which he supposedly had. "What I mean is...I always thought I was a heartless creature who didn't deserve love of any kind, until I met you. Not only that, but you showed me what it's like to have fun, to be crazy, to be...well, a kid."

She smiled. "How long have you been in love with me?"

"I was bewitched the moment I saw you. What I don't get is why you love me."

"When we first met, you were so different that I found you interesting. I knew you weren't as bad as Daddy said, because you tried to save me from that manticore. I...I can't really explain it, but...I just feel so...complete with you."

Screwball sighed contentedly as he wrapped his hooves around her.

"I feel the same way."

She was so happy that she finally had her prince, but her heart sank at the thought of her family.

"I have to make things right," she whispered.

Mothball shook his head. "It's hopeless. There's no stopping my mother or Tirek."

"She was stopped before at Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding. And i'm sure we'll find a way to beat Tirek."

"Huh? What do you mean when you say mother was stopped before?"

Screwball raised an eyebrow. "You mean your mother never told you about that?"

"If she was defeated, I don't think she would have."

"Well, basically, what happened is that Princess Cadence and Shining Armor cast a spell that banished the changelings from Equestria. But they're all the way in the Crystal Empire now! By the time they hear about Chrysalis, it'll be too late!"

"What kind of spell did they cast?"

"I...I don't remember. My mom told me a long time ago, right after I met you, but I don't remember. I just know they cast it together and not even Chrysalis could fight it."

"That must have been some spell."

"If only I could remember..."

"We'll worry about it in the morning. For now, let's get some sleep."

As they held each other, Mothball could feel her love transfer to his body, but he could also feel his love going to her in return.

So he could not hurt her, but that did not make up for the fact that he was the Changeling Prince. He had to prove his loyalty, not just to her but to everyone.

He had to clean up the mess he had caused, and he knew exactly how.





When Screwball awoke, she was alone. Her hoof went to the empty space beside her.

"Mothball?"

She stepped out of bed and looked around the hut. Her eyes fell upon a note on the table:

Stepped out for a moment, will be back before evening. MB

A few minutes after Screwball had read the letter, Zecora returned with a plate of scrambled eggs.

"Let me guess," the young mare said. "Daddy made it rain eggs."

The zebra shook her head. "No, my dear Screwball. In fact, they were pouring from the waterfall."

"Typical."

The two waited hours for Mothball to return, untill Screwball grew impatient.

"Where could he possibly be?" she demanded, slamming her hoof on the table.

"Hush, my dear," Zecora said sternly. "You must have patience. It's not like we've been waiting for ages."

"But what is he doing?! Can't you look in your magic brew or something?"

The zebra rubbed her chin. "I will see what I can do. Hand me that jar of dust, would you?"

After Screwball handed her the jar, Zecora scooped up the green powder and blew it into the cauldron. As she said a few words, an image began to form in the brew. Screwball peered inside and saw the silhouettes of six mares she knew well. She gasped as she started hearing voices.

"His twenty-four hours are up," said the voice of Princess Twilight. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Fluttershy."

"No!" cried Fluttershy's voice. "Just a little more time! Please!"

"You could try to reason with him once more, but it must be done. Come on, girls. Let's find Discord."

As the image disintegrated, Screwball felt a wave of panic.

"No! They're going to do it! They're going to turn Daddy to stone!"

The filly rushed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Zecora demanded.

"I have to warn him! Or, if I find Mom first, I'll explain things to her! I have to fix this! When Mothball gets back, tell him where I've gone!"

The zebra was about to protest further when Screwball slammed the door.





Mothball hid behind a dead tree so the changelings guarding the entrance to the hive would not see him. For a second, he considered turning back. Suppose he were caught, or worse, if his mother caught him! She would do worse than ground him! She would blast him to dust!

Then he remembered Screwball and the promise he made. He had to prove he could keep that promise and that his love was sincere. The task was dangerous, but he would face a thousand changelings for Screwball!

Under the circumstances, that might be exactly what he would have to do.

The prince closed his eyes and took the form of a nurse changeling.

"I hope my smell doesn't throw them off," he muttered to himself.

The guards did not appear to be suspicious, which was a great relief to Mothball, but the most difficult part of the task was yet to come. He took the passage to the lower level of the hive where the nursery was. He immediately caught sight of the gray foal lying in a cocoon shaped like a cradle. Despite the number of changelings surrounding him, the infant was laughing and clapping his hooves. The changelings, in the meantime, were feeding off his unconditional love.

Now what? The prince had to think of a way to get the child out of there without arousing suspicion. He cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

The changelings turned to him.

"Her majesty," he stammered, "would like...the child...to be...brought to Ponyville! She wishes to...show him off to Discord."

The group murmured amongst themselves in confusion.

"Why would she do that," one said, "when she is disguised as the child at the moment?"

Mothball bit his lip. "Uh...well...she wants to..."

Then he grunted. "Oh, to heck with it!"

His horn glowed and the changelings scattered as he blasted open the cocoon. The baby applauded, as if wanting him to do it again. Mothball swept the baby in his hooves and felt its love transfer to him.

He's actually kind of cute, he thought with a smile.

"Stay where you are!"

The prince looked up and saw that he was surrounded by soldier changelings.
> The Final Deal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sat up and realized he had fallen asleep on one of his clouds. He looked down and saw Zany cuddled up beside him. He smiled at the infant's innocent face and petted his pink mane.

That pink mane...

It was just like Fluttershy's.

Zany's eyes then opened, revealing his spiral eyes. If they were purple, they would be just like Screwball's.

Discord recalled the memories from his dream.

"Those were the days," he muttered.

Since he had fallen in love with her, Fluttershy had always brought joy to his miserable existence. The birth of Screwball had doubled that joy. They were a family. They loved each other, comforted each other when troubled. Sure, they had had their ups and downs, but they would always work it out in the end.

Why could it not be that way again?

He knew the answer. Fluttershy had broken his heart.

Since their marriage, there had scarcely been a day without Fluttershy. Even when she was not there, she would never be gone for long. Now that he thought about it, this was the longest they had been apart. There had been another time when they had parted under dark circumstances. During her captivity, he had nearly forced her into marriage and in his anger had physically harmed her. Then he released her and did not see her again for three days.

This was different. This time, she was not coming back. Why would she? After all, it was clear by the way she had kissed that stallion that she did not love him as she had before. It had destroyed him.

No one had told him that love did not always last forever.

Then there was Screwball: his daughter, his flesh and blood, his chaotic protégé. She was no different from her mother.

She had left him too, obviously not caring how he felt about it. She and her mother were probably in the home of that stallion, rejoicing at how they had broken the Lord of Chaos.

Discord shook his head. No, he was not broken! He was more powerful than any pony in Equestria!

"Look at the world I've created!"

He did so and thought it would prove that he was not weak, but as soon as he laid eyes on the chaotic town, his heart sank. It was all so beautiful, but who was there to appreciate it?

He glanced down at Zany who was smiling up at him with an open mouth. He at least had him.

"But you're a foal," he whispered. "You'll appreciate anything."

He put his paw to his heart. It was beating slower than usual and he could hear a string snap.

He had told his family time and time again that love was the most powerful form of chaos there was. How ironic it was that the very thing he lived for would ultimately destroy him.

"There he is!"

His ears perked up at the sound of Princess Twilight's voice. He looked down at the ground. The six bearers of the Elements of Harmony were directly below him, but the only pony he really saw was Fluttershy. While the others were glaring up at him angrily, her eyes were sad and pleading as he locked gaze with her.

Despite everything that had occurred the last two days, despite the tension between them, he still thought her the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Are you listening to me?"

Discord had been so focused on his wife that he had not heard Twilight's words.

"I said: your twenty-four hours are up!"

He scratched his head. "Twenty-four hours?"

"Yeah! And I see you're still causing chaos!"

Still confused, he picked up Zany and flew down to them. "Did I miss something?"

"Yes!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Your sanity!"

"We will give you one more chance, Discord," Twilight said. "Unless you stop this madness now, we'll have no choice but to use our Elements."

Discord's eyes widened in fear and then tuned to Fluttershy. "You...you're letting them...do this?"

The pegasus hung her head shamefully. "I thought you had changed, but I was wrong."

He could not believe it. True, she had betrayed him, but he never would have thought she would be so cold as to turn him to stone! He shivered at the memory of his stone prison. He would be frozen forever. He would be alone in the cold. He would hear the world around him and not be a part of it. Fluttershy knew all this. Which is why he had to ask:

"Why, Fluttershy? Why?! What have I done to drive you away?! Was I a bad husband? Did I offend you? Was it because I yelled at Screwball? Because I apologized for that!"

"Hey," Applejack said, glancing around. "Where is Screwball?"

Discord bit his lip. "She...she...she's making cream cheese in Fillydelphia."

He could not tell them that Screwball had abandoned him. If he did, they would know that she hated him and would not care if he were turned to stone. But the fact that she was not with her mother worried him.

"Please, Discord," Fluttershy pleaded, stepping forth. "It doesn't have to be this way. We can go home, be a family, like we should. Be the stallion I fell in love with, the stallion I married, the stallion with whom I raised my children."

Her beautiful teal eyes were now stained with tears. "Discord, please..."

He wanted to do what she asked, to take her in his arms, but the memory of seeing her with that other stallion still burned in his mind.

"If you love me so much," he snapped, "why did you betray me?!"

"I didn't!" Fluttershy insisted. "It was..."

"If you love me so much, why do you still take their side?"

"Discord, please listen..."

"You would turn me to stone? Your husband?" He held up Zany. "The father of this child!"

Suddenly, the baby vanished from his hands and then reappeared on Fluttershy's back. Discord's hands fell to his sides.

"Et tu, Zany?" he choked.

His wife, his daughter and now his son. Whatever was left of his shattered heart was destroyed in that moment. He fell to his knees in defeat.

What was there left to live for?

The six mares tilted their heads in confusion.

"Well," Discord uttered, lifting his eyes slightly. "What are you waiting for? Do it."

"Discord..." Fluttershy started to say.

"I said DO IT!"

She gasped, but then hung her head. Twilight turned to her sympathetically, though it was clear she was equally shocked.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy," she whispered.

The six mares had used the Elements of Harmony multiple times, but this time, neither of them were willing to do it. Zany grinned evilly as Twilight's horn began to glow. Discord looked up at Fluttershy who had tears streaming down her cheeks.

He would not take his eyes off her, not even to blink. Despite the fact that she was crying, he wanted her beautiful face to be the last thing he would see.

"Fluttershy, I love you," he said under his breath.

He gripped his hands, preparing for what was to come.

"WAIT!"

Twilight stopped her spell and looked up. Everyone did the same. Screwball zoomed overhead and landed between her father and the ponies.

"You can't do this!"

"Screwball, sweetie," Twilight said gently. "Stand back."

"No! This is all a big mistake!"

"Honey, please..." Discord urged, not wanting his daughter to share his fate.

"Daddy! It wasn't Mom you saw kissing that stallion! It was a changeling! They both were!"

The draconequus' jaw dropped. "What?"

"Yes!" Fluttershy shouted. "It's true! I would never betray you, Discord!"

"But...but...why were you going to turn me to stone? Didn't you want me out of the way so you could run off with that stallion?"

"It wasn't going to be forever! We were just going to put you in a time-out! I didn't want to, but after the way you acted yesterday, talked about ruling Equestria, I...I felt I had no choice!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything to you about ruling Equestria!"

"That was Chrysalis!" Screwball declared.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

The filly pointed at Zany. "Care to tell them, baby brother? Or should I say....your majesty?"

The ponies gasped and turned to the baby. Its eyes were blazing with green fire. Fluttershy shrieked and dropped him as he started to grow. Everyone backed away as it took the form of Chrysalis. She growled at Screwball.

"You really are a thorn in my side, you know that?"

"It is her!" Applejack cried.

Discord grabbed Fluttershy and Screwball and pulled them closer, his teeth bared at the Changeling Queen.

"What have you done with my boy?!" he demanded.

"Doesn't matter!" Chrysalis bellowed. "What you should really worry about is yourselves, as I put Plan B into action!"

She whistled and everyone looked up as a swarm of changelings filled the sky.

Discord laughed. "You think a few bugs will stop me?"

He snapped his fingers, teleporting himself and the ponies.

"Ha!" Discord said when they reappeared. "I sure showed her, didn't...?"

He gasped and saw that Chrysalis was still in front of him. They had only travelled a few inches. The queen threw her head back in a laugh.

"You foal!" she taunted. "While I was disguised as your son, I fed off your love! Whatever power you had left was wasted on chocolate rain!"

"No!" the draconequus cried, looking down at his paw and claw. "It's not possible!"

"Big mistake, Chrysalis!" Twilight exclaimed, powering her horn. "You're going back to the Changeling Forest where you belong!"

Just as the magic was about to transfer to her crown, Twilight's horn vanished.

"W-what?" she gasped. "H-how? W-why...WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!"

"Perhaps it's your own hubris that proves to be your downfall, princess." Came a male voice. Suddenly, a torrent of red fire erupted from the ground, and with it, Tirek emerged laughing like the maniacal demon that he was. His massive appearance, which towered over Chrysalis herself, intimidated everypony present. He was amused by this, yet even moreso when Discord recognized him. "Tirek!"

"Were you expecting someone else?" Tirek said gleefully.

"Wait a minute." Princess Twilight said. "Tirek? As in the magic stealing Tirek from Equestria's past? But....that's impossible: you should have been locked away in Tartarus when the Princesses-" She suddenly held a shocked expression, and turned to a certain Draconequus. "Discord? You said you dealt with Tirek all those years ago."

Discord looked nervous as he tried to explain himself, chuckling nervously. "Well, you see....the thing is.....I, uh....."

"You lied to us?" Rainbow Dash accused.

"I wouldn't say I lied, I just.....dealt with the situation in the way I thought was best, and never told anypony."

"That's still lyin', sugarcube." Applejack said with disappointment.

"Yes, Discord truly is a talented liar, isn't he?" Tirek inquired. "And yet, he is also surprisingly easy to manipulate. When we first met, and he told me he was capturing me for his PONY friends, I attempted to appeal to his ego and get him on my side." Tirek huffed. "It didn't work: his love for Fluttershy was too great for him to return to his old ways. So I appealed to his newfound sympathy and we made a deal."

"What sort of deal?" Rarity asked.

"In exchange for my freedom - and a chance at redemption - I would not openly seek out ponies, or other magical creatures to steal their magic. Discord believed my spiel about being open to reformation. All he had to do was say that he had banished me back to Tartarus, and let me go free. And for these past years, I have kept my end of our bargain. I never once sought out any manner of creature to steal their magic. After establishing my own kingdom, I let others seek ME out. Forging bargains here and there, and claiming the magic that becomes rightfully mine when those fools fail to uphold their end of our bargains." Tirek crossed his arms. "Ungrateful, the lot of them. And after I provided them their hearts desire," He then grinned, "including a certain changeling prince."

"Mothball!" Screwball cried out. "Where is he? Have you done something to him?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out, little halfling." Tirek said with a chuckle. "This is all the Queen's game now: i'm merely here to offer support to my new comrade."

"Indeed." Chrysalis said with a grin. "I have absorbed Discord's power......just as Tirek has absorbed his daughters. Now that you cannot use magic, nothing can stop me now!"

Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "You're not a very nice lady!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

They were now surrounded by changelings, in the air and on the ground. Chrysalis circled her victims.

"I've been waiting to get revenge on the lot of you for years!" she gloated. "It's a pity that Princess Cadence and Shining Armor aren't here to join the party, but I'll see to them later. I've watched you all in your perfect little lives and well...they were just too perfect! So I spiced things up a little."

Twilight faced the queen. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, haven't you guessed?"

She gasped and spun around at the sound of her own voice and saw a duplicate of herself.

"It was I who told your boyfriend all those years ago that he was nothing but a peasant."

The alicorn stiffened. "What?"

Chrysalis turned back into herself. "That was all I did, of course. It was you who refused to talk things over with him. Shame, really. He had bought a ring for you, too."

Twilight clutched her heart. All that time, she had thought the reason Flash had left her was because he did not see how a relationship between a princess and a guard would work out. With all that talk of formalities, it had seemed the most reasonable, though it had not made sense since that had been the situation with her brother and foalsitter.

Now that she knew the real reason, she felt a weight of guilt on her shoulders.

"Flash," she uttered.

Chrysalis smirked and loomed over the white unicorn. "Your love life, Miss Rarity, was not so hard to ruin."

Rarity gasped as the queen transformed into Fleur-de-lils.

"I didn't even have to kiss him to make you angry," she said in her new voice. "But of course, I had to do it when you decided to go back to him. Oh, how he resisted me. He would not stop telling me how much he cared about you! If only you had listened to him."

The unicorn mimicked Twilight's gesture, tears forming in her eyes.

After turning into the queen, the changeling turned to Applejack.

"I was going to take Rarity's form and rekindle your Spikey-Wikey's old flame, but I had to keep your friendship with the unicorn stable if you were going to turn Discord to stone."

"That was all you?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"Indeed."

"I don't get it," Screwball said. "I mean I get why you're mad at them, because they helped defeat you and all, but why pick on my dad?"

The Changeling Queen darted her eyes at the filly. "So he'll know what it's like to have a broken heart!"

Without warning, she shot a beam at Discord, sending him flying back into a floating cottage. Berry Punch stuck her head out the window to see what was going on. Once she did, she slammed the shutters.

"Dad!" Screwball cried.

"Do what you like with the others!" Chrysalis shouted. "But the Draconequus is mine!"

Thus began the battle for Ponyville, with our heroes facing against the Changeling Horde while their queen went after Discord. The changelings deployed the same tricks they did in Canterlot on the Wedding Day: shapeshifting into the Mane Six's loved ones in order to confuse them with mind games. Even so, with the ponies struggling to hold back the Changelings, the only one who remained on the sidelines was Tirek. He was merely standing in place, watching as the chaos unfolded around him.

"All goes according to plan." He said aloud to himself. He then produced an orb of magic out of the palm of his hand. "Now let's hope those three bugs bring the princesses in time."





Mantis, Acari, and Bombus continued running towards canterlot as fast as their legs could carry them. The object of their sprint soon appeared to them past the hill. "There it is!" Exclaimed Mantis. "Now we must reach the palace, and get to the Princesses! They must know about this plot!"

"But won't the guards just arrest us on the spot?" Bombus asked.

"It's a chance we have to take!" Mantis said.

Soon enough, the changeling trio were racing through the streets of Canterlot, earning screams of terror and causing pausing to emerge among the masses. But they wouldn't let that stop them. They were determined to reach the palace as soon as possible. Once they reached the courtyard, a platoon of guards drew their spears and aimed them at the changelings. "Wait!" Mantis said. "We come in peace - and with a dire warning for the Princesses!"

This caught the ponies off-guard, and soon enough, the three changelings were being escorted to the Throne Room. There, both Princess Celestia and her sister were standing in preparation of these unexpected arrivals. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to see Changelings in their natural state without the intent to attack." Celestia said. "Who are you three?"

"I am General Mantis. These are my comrades, Acari and Bombus." All three of them bowed to the princesses, which came as quite a shock, to say the least. "And the reason we are in our true forms is because we have no choice but to be: our magic was taken from us, and thus we are stuck in these forms."

"And how have you come to lose your magic?" Inquired Princess Luna.

"You see, that's the problem we came to warn you about." Acari said. "Our queen has formed an alliance with Lord Tirek, and is undoubtedly trying to take Ponyville as we speak."

This shocked both the princesses, who had believed that Tirek was locked away in Tartarus. If he was somehow back, and in league with Chrysalis, then things were more serious than either could have imagined. Yet one thing confused the two as Celestia asked, "If what you say is true, then why are you telling us this? As servants of the queen, are you not also part of this alliance as well?"

"No way!" Bombus spoke. "That Tirek guy's a psycho, and our queen made a mistake teaming up with him! If you ask me, she's off her nutter, and-"

"Bombus!" Mantis shouted, silencing his subordinate. "Despite his lack of tact, Bombus is correct. Queen Chrysalis has lost her way, and joined with the very being who not only stole our ancestral home.....but who has been using her own son as a tool for their shared agenda. "

"Her son?" Luna asked. "I recall Princess Twilight mentioning something about Screwball defending a changeling by the name of Mothball, but we did not know the full details. Is this son of Chrysalis the same Mothball?"

"Yes, you highness. My purpose was to protect the prince no matter the cost. After these past four days, that mission has become all the more critical. Chrysalis doesn't even seem to care about using Prince Mothball as an expendable pawn, but I do. I would risk my life, and my heart to defend him."

The princesses were moved by Mantis' dedication, and concern, and were now more eager to listen to what this changeling had to say. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning, and tell us how you came to be involved with Tirek." Celestia said.

And so, Mantis decided to regale the sisters with the story of Mothball's deal with TIrek.....unaware of two pairs of guards smiling as their left and right eyes glowed while observing the whole affair.





Tirek watched all of this with interest until he looked around himself once more. "They might be at it for a while longer. For now, I think I shall multitask in observation until the moment is right." He smiled. "Then revenge is mine."

The families of the mane six soon began to appear, and aid the girls in their battle against the changelings. Red Shoes had even performed an astonishing magic trick with a rabbit named Harvey who turned into a giant monster after being pulled out of a hat. All the while, Discord continued to play guerilla warfare with the empowered Chrysalis, who only seemed to grow more unhinged as the fight went on. 

"Come on out, you coward!" she bellowed.

"Honestly, Chrissie!" called Discord's voice. "You used to love hide-and-seek! What happened to you?"

She growled. "You happened to me!"

Her ears perked up as she heard a twig snap behind her. She turned around just as Discord landed on her back. The two began wrestling each other, rolling in the dirt, taking turns pinning the other down.

"What did you mean by that?" Discord demanded.

The queen shouted and switched places with him so she was on top. "I was perfectly fine until you came into my life!"

"Oh, how tragic!" He rolled her onto her back. "I'll send you an apology card!"

He cried out as she kicked him in the stomach, forcing him off of her. The queen stood and looked grudgingly down at him.

"You've heard that changelings don't have hearts. Didn't you ever wonder why that was?"

Discord was caught by surprise at this question. He scratched his head, trying to think of a witty comeback.

"Evolution?"

She groaned. "Even after all these years, you're still ignorant! Changelings weren't always heartless. I still had my heart when we met. You do remember those days, don't you?"

He scowled. "You mean when you tricked me, made me your pawn in your scheme to conquer Equestria?!"

"Oh, Equestria was never part of the plan. When you took over, I simply saw an opportunity and took advantage of it."

"But...you said..."

"I lied! The real reason I sent you to Equestria was so you could feel the pain I had felt! I knew those ponies would never accept you, just as you never accepted me!"

"What are you talking about?!" Discord asked again. "You're not making sense!" He paused. "Wow. Never knew how annoying that could be."

"Now," the queen said ominously, "I can have my revenge!"

"For what?!"

"For rejecting me!"

Discord could not remember a time where he had been more shocked. He blinked multiple times before he was able to speak.

"Wait. You...me...you had a...crush...on me?" He paused. "I don't know whether I should be flattered or disgusted."

Chrysalis cried out angrily and charged up her horn. Discord quickly scattered out of the way and hid behind a rock.

"You rejected me!" she shouted again.

"In my defense," Discord called desperately, "I had no way knowing!"

He rushed to a garbage can as Chrysalis shattered the rock into millions of pieces.

"When I realized you had no love in your heart for anything," she growled, "I sent you to Equestria so you would know what rejection felt like!"

Discord moved behind a crate as the queen destroyed his hiding place.

"I thought you and I were alike," she continued. "Two outcasts in a world of rejection. I thought you would understand."

She blasted the crate, revealing the draconequus huddled in a ball. He hurried inside a mailbox.

"But I couldn't stop thinking about you," Chrysalis admitted, her voice cracking. "I had to take the pain away. So, using a spell I had discovered in a book of dark magic, I removed my heart from my chest!"

Discord gagged. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

He teleported out of the mailbox when he heard her horn charge up. He watched as she made it explode into paper. Discord searched frantically for another place to hide.

"The spell did more than I thought," Chrysalis said, smirking at how helpless he looked. "When I became Queen and started having children, I discovered that my new race of changelings lacked of hearts as well! Unfortunately, it meant we had to fill that empty space in our chests with love from others. Oh, but it was all worth it! From feeding off the love of others, we gain power! And power is stronger than any emotion you can ever inflict upon me! And with you out of the way, Equestria will be ours!"

"Now, now, Chrissie!" Discord said, holding up his hands as he backed away. "Let's not get hasty! It wouldn't have worked out. I mean didn't you eat your last three husbands?"

Chrysalis growled and was about to cast another spell when something hit her on the back of the head. She looked down and saw it was an apple.

"Who threw that?!" she demanded, spinning around.

Lined up behind a wooden table was a purple dragon, two adolescent fillies, a colt with a bandaged head and a muscular red stallion. They were all wearing pots on their heads and were each holding an apple, except for the younger filly.

"Good shot, little cuz!" Apple Blossom exclaimed.

Cinnamon Roll cracked her hooves. "It's all in the ankle!"

"Now let's really teach her a lesson! The Apple Family way! Right, Pa?"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh nodded.

"Ready?" Cinnamon Stick exclaimed. "Aim!"

The Apples raised their ammo.

"Fire!"

They threw the apples at the queen, who was too stunned to dodge them. Cinnamon Roll tossed some toward Spike. He set them on fire and batted them with his tail. Chrysalis shrieked as they burned her.

"Why, you meddling..."

She prepared her horn, ready to vaporize the lot when she heard Discord fall to the ground. She turned back to him and saw that he was running away.

"I'll deal with you later!" she shouted at the family.

Discord looked up to see the queen flying after him. He flapped his wings, hoping he would pick up speed, but she landed on him with a thud.

"Now, I can..."

She trailed off as she saw the battle's progress. Most of her army had fallen at the hand of...a giant rabbit.

"No!" she cried. "We will not lose! Especially not to a bunny!"

She fired at the rabbit's back. It roared as the magic enveloped him. There was a flash of light and in the giant's place was a tiny, fluffy, white bunny. It hopped away in fear.

"Harvey!" Red Shoes exclaimed.

"Oh my gosh!" Screwball uttered. "She's gained more power than I thought!"

Flutershy squeaked when she saw her husband lying beneath the queen's hooves.

"No more interruptions!" Chrysalis declared, her horn glowing green. "Say your prayers, Dissy dear!"

Discord tried to struggle out of her grasp, but he was too weak.

"Discord!" Fluttershy cried.

She flew out of her hiding place. Screwball reached for her tail, but missed.

"Mom, don't!"

A beam shot from the queen's horn and a painful scream was heard. Every pony, even the changelings, went silent and turned to the sound. Screwball's eyes were wild, Discord's mouth fell open, the others stared at the horrific scene.

Even Chrysalis watched in shock as the yellow pegasus fell limply to the ground.

Tirek, however, was grinning maniacally at the sight.

"No!"

Discord shoved Chrysalis off him and was instantly at Fluttershy's side. He took her limp body in his arms.

She felt so lifeless.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he uttered, desperately stroking her mane. "Fluttershy, speak to me! Please!"

He held his paw over her chest and closed his eyes. No matter how hard he concentrated, nothing happened.

"Come on!" he grunted. "Work, you stupid magic! Save her! Come on!"

After a while, he sighed in defeat. It was no use. He did not have enough power to heal her. His ears perked up when he heard a soft moan.

"Discord?"

He glanced down at her. Her eyes were open, but weary. Discord smiled and gently lifted her head.

"Yes, Fluttershy! I'm here!"

"I feel so..." she said in a dry voice, "so..."

His happiness faded. "No, Fluttershy! Please! Don't leave me! We'll find some pony to heal you! You'll make it! I can keep trying!"

He moved his paw to her chest, but she stopped him with her hoof.

"No," she whispered.

Tears formed in the draconequus' eyes. "Don't die, Fluttershy! I love you! I need you! We're supposed to be together forever! I...I can't live without you!"

She smiled up at him. "You'll have to." Discord held her tighter as she coughed. "Take care of the children. They...need you."

He took her hoof in his paw. "Don't talk like that! You'll live, Fluttershy! You must live! My life has no purpose without you! I...I forgot that for a moment. But never again, Fluttershy! I promise you! I will never doubt you again! Just please! Live!"

He sniffed. "Forgive me."

Fluttershy looked at him solemnly and slowly reached her hoof to his face. "I forgive you." She winced in pain. "Just know that...you are the only stallion I've ever loved."

Discord could no longer hold back the tears as he ran his fingers through her mane. "I'm no stallion."

She struggled as she rose and kissed him softly on the lips.

"You are...to me."

He felt her hoof slipping from his face and Discord watched as Fluttershy closed her eyes and collapsed in his arms. For the second time that day, his heart shattered into millions of pieces.

"No," he uttered. "No! NO!"

Discord shook her, but she did not respond. Finally, he buried his face in her fur and sobbed.

His wife, his sweet, loving wife, the thing he adored more than chaos, was gone.

The others looked at the heartbreaking scene. Applejack removed her hat as Spike put his arm around her. Pinkie cried into Red Shoes' shoulder while the triplets embraced each other. Rainbow Dash held Prism as she sobbed while Rarity and Twilight hugged sadly. The others shared embraces and wiped away their tears. Screwball was the saddest of the bunch as she threw her hooves around Dinky's neck.

"Now you know."

Every pony looked up as Chrysalis spoke.

"Now you know how it feels...to have your heart ripped out of your chest!"

Discord lifted his head and turned it towards the Changeling Queen. His tear-stained eyes were burning with hatred and fury.

"You," he whispered.

He put down Fluttershy's body and rose to his full height. He then erupted into flames.

"YOU! YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED THE ONLY MARE I EVER LOVED!"

Chrysalis shrugged. "Too bad."

He growled as the flames grew stronger. "Stealing my power is one thing, but THIS!" He held out his claw and created a ball of fire. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, YOU MONSTER!"

Discord let out a cry as he threw the fireball at her. Chrysalis dodged out of the way, letting it hit a group of changelings. The fire in Discord's eyes frightened the queen, though she did not show it. She bolted into the air and he followed her.

Queen Chrysalis

Do You Know How It Feels To Be Pining?
For Someone Who Won't Love You Back
Did You Once Think Of How I Felt, 
When You Spoke Of Princesses' Pink Hair?
And Love Had Forever Turned My Heart Black

Do You Know What It's Like To Be Heartless?
To Never Have Reason To Cry
To Never Take Joy In The Pleasures Surrounding You
If You Have Then, 
It's Time For You To Die

Discord

I Know What It's Like To Lose Someone,
I Didn't Need To Learn That Again

You Say You Blame Me For Your Actions

Queen Chrysalis

Never Felt Pain Or Loss

Discord

But I Wasn't The One Who Took Your Heart

Queen Chrysalis

The Bridge You Made Me Cross

Discord

Though I Know Love Can Make Creatures Do Crazy Things, 
I'm Not Responsible

I'm Tearing You Apart (For Tearing You Apart)

Queen Chrysalis

We Were Two Outcasts Without A Friend, 
I Thought You Would Understand
I Loved You But You Tossed Me Away, 
Now Everything That I Have Known Has Changed
Hearts Are Made For Breaking

Discord

You Took My Love Away

Queen Chrysalis

It's Best To Have None At All

Discord

Now You're Going To Pay

Queen Chrysalis

Love Just Keeps On Aching

Discord

Enough Of This Power Play

Queen Chrysalis

So Why Even Have It At All

Discord

You Think That You Know Love

Queen Chrysalis

Magic Comes With A Price

Discord

Well Guess What There's More To Tell

Queen Chrysalis

This Is The Price I'm Taking

Queen Chrysalis & Discord

I'm Bidding You Farewell

"It doesn't have to be this way Discord, I can give her back to you!" Chrysalis transforms into Fluttershy, which catches Discord off-guard.

"Fluttershy?"

We Can Start Our Lives Anew, 
Forever Just Me And You
For, All Eternity, My Love

Discord

Though You May Look Like Her, You Will Never Be Her

I Know What's It Like To Be

Discord & Queen Chrysalis (singing at the same time)

Truly In Love And Have All Of That Taken, 
You Will Never Know The Feeling (Hearts Are Made For Breaking)
So I Will Now End Your Misery (So I Will Break Yours)

Suddenly, both combatants were struck by red lightning bolts that sent them careening to the ground. The blast made him lose consciousness, causing him to fall. Every pony gasped in fright. Pinkie and the Tri-Pies rushed into their house and came back with a mattress.

"To the left!" Pinkie commanded.

"My left or yours?" Blueberry asked.

"Right!"

"So we go right?" Cherry inquired.

"No, left!"

"Which way is left?!" Raspberry exclaimed.

Lightning Dash smacked herself in the forehead. "Oh, give us that!"

She and Thunder swooped down and grabbed the mattress. They positioned themselves under the falling draconequus and flew straight up. Every pony sighed in relief as he landed on the feathered bed.

The twins lowered him to the ground. Screwball raced to his side and shook him while Twilight checked his pulse.

"He's still alive," she confirmed.

"But not for long," Tirek said, landing in front of them with a thud. "If at first you don't succeed..."

"Why did you blast me, as well, you fool?!" Chrysalis roared in fury. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

Tirek grinned again. "Playing my hand." Just as the changelings all rushed to their queen's aid, Tirek snapped his fingers, and the Tiracian monsters appeared. Every creature gasped at the sight of these hulking beasts, who came up to Chrysalis' horn length in size. They roared loudly, and summoned swords into their hands to commence battle with the smaller insects. And unlike the ponies, the Tiracians proved to literally be much tougher opponents than imagined. Equal in number, but not in strength, the Tiracians were making short work of the bug ponies without killing them. Chrysalis was shocked by this, but even moreso when she found herself in Tirek's magical grip. "What are you doing?! We're supposed to be partners!"

"Partners? Bah! I could never ally myself with a weaker species of parasite." Tirek explained. "Though I admire your leech craft, it is still nothing compared to me. Still, you have proven useful by acquiring Discord's magic for me. Now I don't have to dirty my own hands in retrieving it."

"No! This is my power now!"

"It was your power, Chrysalis." Tirek corrected. "Now let me show you what someone truly capable of wielding it can do." He then opened his mouth, and drained every last drop of magic from her body through her horn. When he was done, he tossed her aside and left her there as he admired his newfound power. "So this is what it is to be all-powerful." he laughed, and then raised his hand to the sky. The cotton candy clouds were soon replaced with fiery red clouds, and turned the land into a twisted visage of Tirek's demented design. Tree's were on fire, houses were withered, and the ground itself was merely ash and rock. The once prosperous land was dead.

"Behold what the power of Hatred can accomplish!"

The ponies were all horrified by this display of power. It was worse than when Discord was spreading his brand of chaos around. This was nothing but desolation. And the warring Changelings, and Tiracians weren't making the situation any easier. In fact, after his laughter fit ended he finally took notice of the group. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot about you." Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, and Twilight's horn reappeared while Discord was healed. "My horn!" she exclaimed, then turned to Tirek. "But....why?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, princess." Tirek said. "However, there is one other player in this game that has yet to make his appearance. Here, let's bring him in!" With another snap, Mothball suddenly appeared before everypony, with Zany on his back. "Whoa. Finally, we're back in-" Mothball started, but then noticed the changes done to the town. "Hold on....this doesn't look like ponyville to me."

"I know: shocking, isn't it?" Tirek said as his hands charged with electricity. 

"Mothball, look out!" Screwball cried out.

The prince turned to see TIrek preparing an attack, and thinking fast, threw Zany to the first pony he could see. "Princess Twilight, catch!" She caught the foal in her magical aura, and watched with the others as Mothball was struck by red lightning fired from TIrek's hands. The changeling prince screamed in anguish as his body was wracked with pain. Tirek laughing as he tortured Mothball, to Screwball's horror. "Mothball, no!" She screamed, before running over to him just as the centaur ceased his attack, and left Mothball sprawled on the ground. She held his hoof as he convulsed with shock and pain. "No! Mothball, please be okay! I can't lose you, too!" She then put a hoof to his chest, and willed that he be healed. She didn't care that Tirek had stolen her magic, she was still willing to try.

Then, to everyponies surprise, a white glow began enveloping the pair. It lasted for a few moments, before dissipating. When it was gone, Screwball was in a surprised state while Mothball was healed. His eyes fluttered open as he saw Screwball above him. "Screwy?" He gently said. "What's happening?"

"A dealbreaker, that's what!" Tirek said, before grabbing Screwball by the neck, and yanking her away from Mothball. "Screwy!" He shouted, giving the centaur an angry glare. "Let her go!"

"Not a chance, boy!" Tirek said. "We had an agreement: Screwball was supposed to protect you from harm. She may get her magic back, but she forfeits her freedom to me as a result."

"That's not what you said, you lying bullhead!" Screwball shouted.

Tirek merely smiled, and produced the contract she refused to read through. "It was all in the contract. Now, you're livin' it, toots." But she was unwilling to let this slide, and teleported out of his grasp, and behind the centaur. Before any of the others could do anything, with the exception of Discord and Twilight, Tirek snapped his fingers and produced Plundervines that ensnared everyone. He then snapped again, and summoned his minions, Orpheus and Sisyphus. "You can't get away, little halfling: you're mine, now!" Tirek said, as the smiling Qirin shapeshifted into winged serpents, and coiled around her. Furthermore, they began to electrocute her to keep her stunned and in place. As the battle raged around them, Screwball was brought before Tirek, who clicked his tongue and said, "Poor little pony. Don't be frightened. It's not you i'm after: you're merely the bait. I have much bigger fish to-"

"TIREK, STOP!" Came the royal canterlot voices of The Royal Sisters, who began blasting the TIracians with their full magical might. Their blasts sent the demons careening, and made them weary of the two alicorns. Tirek raised his hand, and willed his minions to cease fighting. The changelings stopped fighting as well, as they saw the Princesses descend. None of them wanted to cross the pair, especially when they were together like this. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" Twilight said as she embraced the two alicorns. The others began to feel hope well up inside as they believed the Princesses would handle this. Mantis, Bombus, and Acari were teleported to the area, and went to check on their queen.

"I'm fine!" Chrysalis snarled in anger. "But how could you traitors bring them here? Now my chance for revenge is ruined!"

"Your highness, your revenge was never going to come: not with Tirek around. Just let the princesses handle him, and we'll protect you as we've protected your son." This gave Chrysalis pause. She hadn't seen these three in four days, and she believed Tirek when he said they were helping Mothball get together with Screwball. She had thought them traitors, but seeing how they were still defending her now, she began to doubt her own feelings. Even what she felt about her son.

"Why Princesses," Tirek chuckled, "how are you? It's been such a long time. Hm, I see you've put on a little weight, Celestia. What a shame: you used to be such a lovely creature."

"Let the child go!" Luna commanded, as all three alicorns ignited their horns.

Tirek wasn't intimidated in the slightest. In fact, he was looking livid as he cusped Screwball's face. "Try and kill me, if you dare! But i'll take this precious little minnow with me! She's mine, now: we made a deal!" He then produced the contract again for the Princesses to see. However, the three of them together thought that they could destroy the contract, and then challenge Tirek. Imagine their horror when their combined magic proved useless against the mystical parchment. And Tirek laughed in triumph as he observed the display. "You see? The contract's legal, binding, and completely unbreakable - even for the likes of you."

"What do you want.....with my daughter?" Discord asked as he finally woke up, and stood beside the princesses.

"Oh, nothing." Tirek answered menacingly. "It's you I want: all of you. I want to see you suffer as I suffered all these centuries." He then began circling the four figures with a sly smile on his face. "Of course, I always was a centaur with an eye for a bargain. The daughter of the great Discord, and The Element of Kindness is a very precious commodity." As he said this, the contract began turning into a tornado of golden magic that encircled Screwball, and began changing her into a polyp. "But!" Tirek exclaimed as he raised up his cape when the four creatures went to aid the halfling. "I might be willing to make an exchange.....for someone even better." His grin grew wider. "Or some creatures."

When noone was looking, Mothball turned into a fruitfly, and slipped through his bonds. He then changed back as he took to the air. He watched as the four figures made their decisions, with some conditions. "If we do so, you will agree no harm will come to any of the ponies or changelings-" Celestia began, only for Tirek to rudely interrupt her. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, I won't harm a single hair on any of their little noggins. Now, do we have a deal?"

Discord and the princesses all looked to one another, all sharing the same thought. And though Screwball shook her head in refusal, they all nodded in agreement. "Ha! It's done, then!"With a snap of his fingers, TIrek replaced Screwball's signature with that of the four figures. The glowing vortex reverted Screwball to her original form, and then rushed to her father, aunt, and royal sisters. It split in four, and enveloped them while Tirek laughed in triumphant glee. When it was over, Tirek was gorging on the magic of the alicorns, as well as what little Discord had in him, leaving them empty shells as they became polyps. Everyone's hearts sank as they saw the most powerful rulers in Equestria fall from grace in such an abhorrent manner. But even worse was what this had meant for all of them. 

Tirek had won.
> Facing the Darkness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Daddy? Screwball meakly said as she saw her father's fate.

"At last, it's mine!" Tirek proclaimed as he took the Princesses crowns, and merged them into a single crown. When he placed it atop his head, he began to laugh wickedly as his hands surged with the now godly might he had claimed for his own. He reveled in the power that was now his. All he would need is the magic from that princess in the frozen north, and he would become truly all-powerful.

However, he remained blissfully unaware of a certain mare whose sorrow had turned to anger.

Screwball stood on her hind legs and gripped her hooves into fists. This monster had manipulated Mothball for his own ends, kidnapped her brother, stolen her power and now practically destroyed her family!

She had had it!

Tirek grew quiet as pink clouds covered the sky and thunder sounded. He looked at the young mare. Lightning struck behind her, her spiral purple eyes glowing between flashes.

"Uh oh," Lightning Dash uttered.

The other teenagers and foals all panicked, knowing what was to come.

"You," Screwball breathed, "have messed...WITH THE WRONG MARE!"

A series of pies appeared beside her and rocketed towards the queen. He blocked them with a shield, but one hit himsquare in the face.

"Cherry?!" he cried. "I HATE CHERRY!"

"Hey!" Cherry Pie exclaimed. "I ain't so fond of you either, buddy!"

As Tirek aimed her hand at Screwball, Twilight and her friends quickly moved the unconscious Discord and Fluttershy out of the way. The Centaur shot a beam at her, but Screwball avoided it with a tilt of her head.

"Don't waste your breath, brat!" Tirek snapped. "I have the Princesses power and your father's! You cannot defeat me!"

"You may have the Power of Chaos," Screwball said, "but I've been using it much longer! Hope you like Mozart!"

A shadow cast over the centaur. He looked up and saw a piano falling towards him. He gasped and snapped his fingers, turning it to bubbles.

He smirked. "Silly, but effective. I could get used to this."

"Well, you're not going to get a lot of time!" Screwball declared. "By the way, meat sauce or alfredo?"

Tirek blinked. "What?"

He yelped as acres of spaghetti dropped on her head, followed by a flood of meatballs. He growled at the filly as he burned off the spaghetti. "How are you this powerful? You're only half of what your father is, and even then you should not be able to compete with the power I now wield!"

"I'm stronger than you took me for!"

Tirek hummed in intrigue. "Yes: I underestimated you. But don't think you can fool with me, you little brat. As I said, I wield more power than you can possibly imagine. Observe." With a roar, he then charged up his body with magical energy. All of the power he had collected over the years, as well as the magic he had recently stolen were now bubbling to the surface. Screwball let a bead of sweat fall down her brow as she began to worry. She could sense the raw power Tirek was calling upon, and knew she stood no chance against it. Yet she would not falter: the lives of her friends and family depended on it. 

"Go ahead!" She cried out. "Call on as much power as you want! In the end, you'll still lose, Tirek!"

Tirek laughed as he summoned a demonic sword with a red eye at its center, "You overestimate your chances, halfling." He then struck her with a bolt of magic from his sword, and forced her on her back. He loomed over her with the tip of his blade pointed at her throat. "There is nothing in your arsenal that could-" he suddenly cried out in pain as a spear lanced through the air, and cut the skin on his right arm. He turned to see Mothball, glaring at him in the air. "Why you little fool!"

"Mothy!" Screwball cried out.

"No more games!" Tirek snarled, then turned to his pets. "Orpheus, Sisyphus: after him!"

Mothball yelped as he flew away from the winged creatures. Unfortunately, they were the faster, and they caught him: turning once more into winged snakes, and wrapping around his body in an attempt to smother him. Mantis, Acari and Bombus ran to their princes aid once they were on the ground. Mantis bit into Orpheus' tail, making him scream in pain. Bombus held Sisyphus in a stranglehold while Acari repeatedly punched him. The made the pair release Mothball, and they reverted to their true forms once again while sneering at the three changelings.

"Say goodbye to your sweetheart." Tirek said in a wicked tone as he aimed his sword at Mothball. But Screwball was quick, and leaped onto his back. She grabbed his hair, and yanked it as hard as she could just as he fired a beam of purple energy from his sword. Instead of hitting the prince, it struck and vaporized the two Qirin who had been his servants for years. "Babies!" Tirek cried out, almost dropping his sword in horror. Screwball took this chance to run up to Mothball, and get him to his feet.

Tirek soon felt the same thing Screwball had felt moments ago: Rage.

These two whelps had caused him a great deal of pain, and now he would make them suffer for it. A dark mist sparking with mystic energy began to circle around his body as he began calling upon the stolen magic. Together, they began to change his very form.

"Mothy!" Screwball said. "You have to get to the woods! He'll kill you!"

"No!" Mothball protested. "I'm not leaving you!"

Suddenly, the very ground beneath their feet began to quake, and tremble. Then it started to crack as something massive tore through the earth. The two avoided the massive form as it reached out to grab them. But as bellowing laughter echoed throughout the land, they were both horrified to see a giant Tirek, sporting a pair of gigantic devil wings of red and black towering over them with mad glee. He looked down on them, and said as he finished his laughter in a deep, booming voice, "You pitiful, insignificant fools!"

"Look out!" Screwball cried as one of dozens of enormous plundervines came slamming down on where the two figures once stood. Were it not for Screwball's teleportation skills, they'd have been crushed under the massive vine. They then witnessed TIrek swing his sword around as purple lightning coursed through it, bringing forth massive thunderstorms that began to tear apart everything with bolts of lightning. He proclaimed, "Now I am the ruler of all Equestria! The winds, the earth, and its magic obey my every whim!"

The very land itself began to contort as earthquakes tore at it from all around.  Pieces of stone erupted from the ground, and deep crevices formed. All the while, Tirek stood firm in his position with his writhing vines surrounding him. Mothball and Screwball rushed over to where their friends were still trapped, and freed them from the vines. Screwball wanted to do more for them, the princesses and her father, but for now a magical barrier would have to suffice. All the while, the Changelings and TIracians were being blown around by the thunderous winds and rains as they tore apart the land. "This world, and all its spoils bow to my power!" Tirek proclaimed as he whirled his sword around again, causing the fires below to twist, and swirl around him in a frightening display of power.

"We gotta stop him!" Rainbow said.

"Yes, but how?" Rarity asked. "Without Twilight and-...and Fluttershy, we simply cannot use the elements!"

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Applejack said.

Screwball gave it some thought, and then said, "There's nothing any of you can do: but Mothball and I can."

"Wait, seriously?" Mothball asked incredulously. "How?"

"By working together, and going past our limits. We need to go beyond what we normally can do if we want to win."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a sec!" Pinkie interjected. "This is probably the part where I say "Plus ultra!", or something, but even I gotta admit that's crazy talk!"

"Indeed, Screwball." Rarity added. "Besides, what would your mother and father think if you went, and tried to-"

"Mom and Dad aren't here right now!" Screwball exclaimed before taking a breath. "I know it's dangerous. I know we could get hurt, or worse. But right now, it's the only chance we have of saving our home. My mind's already made up, so don't try to stop us." She turned to Mothball. "Are you with me, Mothy?"

He smiled, and held Screwball's hoof. "To the ends of Equestria, and beyond." He then thought about what he said. "Okay, that was a little cheesy, but you get what I mean."

Screwball just giggled, and then teleported the both of them away. The other ponies tried to get out to stop them, but none of them could get through the forcefield. All they could do was sit, and pray that those two would make it.





The duo appeared on a raised platform of stone right next to Tirek as he continued to wreak havoc on the land. "Alright, i'll try and come up with something to deal with Tirek while you keep him busy." Screwball said to Mothball.

"How exactly am I supposed to keep him busy?" Asked Mothball. "It's not exactly as if I can turn into anything significant to get his attention."

"Sure you can: you're a changeling! Just think big, and you'll come up with something." Screwball said. "Now let's hope I can do the same thing before we end up getting vaped."

"What?! Screwy!" Mothball protested, but he was too late. Screwball teleported away again to who knows where, leaving Mothball alone. Even though he thought this was crazy, he knew this was the only course of action available. So he began to concentrate. Focus all of his energy on selecting a form that could match Tirek. And after a while, in his desperation, Mothball thought of a form, and with great exertion, he transformed into a green and black dragon with large wings, and curved horns. He was surprised that this actually worked, but also thrilled. He was a full-grown dragon now. And now he was going to teach Tirek some manners. "TIREK!" He shouted, earning the centaur's attention.

"Well, well." Tirek said mockingly. "The little prince has finally grown, hasn't he? Do you really think you can stand up to me, boy?"

"It doesn't matter what I think!" Mothball said while climbing down the platform. "The only thing that matters is stopping you: and i'm gonna do my best to do it!"

"You'll forfeit your life in trying, but by all means, come for me, little prince!" Tirek said, raising his purple-flaming sword. "Come and face your destiny!"

The two foes collided with tremendous force. The massive titans putting all of their force into overpowering the other. Mothball tried to bite Tirek's head, but he dodged each one. When he made another attempt, Tirek headbutted the dragon in the face. He then raised his sword, and prepared to cut off Mothball's head. The prince saw this, however, and quickly set fire to Tirek, distracting him long enough to punch him. Tirek snarled, and punched Mothball back, forcing onto his back. Tirek threw his left hand down, and called forth lightning to strike Mothball. He was electrocuted, to be certain, but his dragon physiology made him more durable than almost anything on the planet. He slammed his tail into TIrek's legs, nearly tripping him in the process. He got back to his feet, and then breathed his fiery breath once more. Only this time, Tirek blocked it with his hand, and then condensed the fire into the palm of his hand. Charging it with dark magic, he hurled the ball at Mothball, who ducked to avoid the ball of dark fire. It obliterated a nearby hill.

Meanwhile, Screwball was putting her idea into motion. "Alright, Screwball, you can do this! Think big, think big, think big!" Putting all of her concentration into her power, she called forth a massive airship with a broken point at the front. She then teleported to the helm, and began the task of sailing this airship towards Tirek.

As for the centaur, he was growing weary of this battle. Mothball managed to get some more hits in, but they did little but annoy the mighty deity. After catching Mothball's fist, he began pummeling the changeling prince as his Plundervines began to ensnare him. After a particularly nasty uppercut, Tirek stomped his foot on Mothball's chest, pinning him to the ground. With a sinister grin, and maniacal laughter, he raised up his sword, and pointed the blade downwards.  He intended to run the dragon through with his blade. "So long, lover boy!" Mothball grew fearful as he saw his death drawing near. Unknown to either of the giants, Screwball piloted the airship until it was but inches away from the centaur's exposed centaur. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late: he had been impaled through the middle of his body. With a loud scream of pain, his moans echoed out for all to hear. Mothball smiled as he noticed Screwball at the helm. "Way to go, Screwy!" he shouted.

But sadly, it was not over yet.

A purple orb of magic grew between Tirek's horns, and he began blasting apart the ship until only the piece protruding from the center of his chest remained. Screwball teleported beside Mothball, who finally had given into exertion, and reverted to his true form. "Foolish child!" Tirek shouted, as he ripped out the wooden piece from his chest. "Did you really think I could be felled so easily?! You have both proven to be more trouble to me alive! And I have been generous for too long! Now you perish!" He then fired another beam of magic at the pair, forcing them to dodge the attack. Several times this was done, until Screwball began to feel tired from teleporting herself, and Mothball so frequently. This amused Tirek greatly as he said, "So much for true love!"

"No!" Chrysalis shouted as she suddenly appeared with most of her Changeling forces, struggling against the stormy winds. "They are mine to finish off!"

Tirek only laughed in response. "You always knew how to be amusing, your "majesty". But how do you intend to finish them off when you have no magic to spare?"

"I have strength enough to finish them!" Chrysalis claimed.

"Is that so?" Tirek inquired. "Then by all means, finish them. But know that when you fail, the end will come for all of you."

Chrysalis ignored this, and left Tirek to continue raining down his chaos upon the land. "Surround them." She ordered her troops before addressing the pair. "I must admit, my son, you have impressed me with your skill against Tirek. You would have made me proud were you still on my side. Sadly, you have proven a disappointment, and must pay the consequences for your foolishness. More, your foolishness has cost General Mantis whatever love he had inside of him. "Well, doesn't matter!" Chrysalis shouted. "You have disobeyed me for the last time!"

Mothball felt a small sense of fear at having to confront his own mother. Then Screwball stood firmly in front of Mothball. The queen paused at this action and felt the love pass between the two. She could sense its power and that instead of it transferring to Mothball, it was bouncing back to the filly and growing stronger each second.

This frightened the queen, but she covered her fear with a smirk.

"Oh, my son," she said, shaking her head. "Have I taught you nothing? Love is weakness! Besides, you have no heart to feel it!"

Mothball stomped his hoof. "You're wrong!"

Chrysalis jumped at his assertive tone. "What?"

"You're wrong! I do have a heart! I've felt it! You've known all along, haven't you?"

"Mothball..."

"Haven't you?!"

His mother stared at him for a moment and then grunted. "Alright. I suppose since I'm going to destroy you anyway, you might as well know."

The couple tightened their grip on each other as the queen circled them.

"You are right," she began. "You are more different from your siblings than you appear. You see, my dear, making a common changeling is simple. Making a royal changeling is a...two-creature job. Unlike your half-siblings, you have a father."

Mothball stiffened. "W-what?"

"It was a one-night stand with some random fool who thought I was his wife. Honestly, I don't  even remember his name. A changeling's gotta eat."

Screwball gagged. "That's just sick, lady."

"I was shocked to discover a prince had come out of it. At first, I was thrilled at the idea of having an heir, until I realized just how much of a pony you really were. Seems your father, along with giving you life, gave you a heart. So I tricked you into believing you didn't have one. I intended to shape you into a cold, cruel changeling so you would become the evil tyrant you were born to be! I almost succeeded too, until this meddling halfling captured your interest!"

"So it's true then!" Mothball exclaimed. "You've lied to me all these years!"

"Oh, Mothball, Mothball, Mothball. I lie to everyone!"

"Apparently she even took her own heart out because daddy didn't love her back." Screwball explained.

"Really, mom?" Mothball asked. "You had a crush on that guy?"

"Hey! That's still my dad, you know!"

"But, if you were able to take out your own heart, then why not just take mine?" Mothball asked. "It would have saved you alot of trouble."

That question caught Chrysalis offguard, and she couldn't respond properly.

"And what about General Mantis? You didn't take his heart, either. You just fed on the love he was carrying around to get your strength back."

"How did you know about that?" Chrysalis asked.

"I think I know." Screwball said. "It wasn't enough to remove your heart, was it, Chrysalis? You're still hurting, aren't you? And you were so focused on bottling up your emotions that you shut everyone out. You refused to love again, so noone loved you. That's why you let Mothball keep his heart: in some sick, twisted way, you were hoping that he would love you."

This worried Chrysalis. "Y-...You know nothing about-"

"But shutting everyone out won't work, Chrysalis. I know: I tried that, and it didn't work. Only when you let others in can you truly feel-"

"Enough of this!" Chrysalis shouted, charging up her horn. "I will not have you interfering any longer!"

She fired a green beam of magic at Screwball. 

"No!" Mothball cried.

As he moved in front of her, a golden bubble formed around the pair that caused the green beam to bounce off.

"What?" Chrysalis uttered.

The two looked around the magic they were encased in. It reminded Mothball of something and Screwball was thinking back to her mother's story.

"What is this?" Screwball wondered.

"I don't know,"  the prince said. "I...I was just thinking about saving you and..."

Mothball then recalled the image of the two ponies in Zecora's cauldron and the zebra's words:

That is what happens when two become one, when they possess a magic more powerful than the sun. What you think as a weakness is not so. Strength is what comes with the glow.

"Love is strength."

"What?" Screwball said.

Their forcefield did not last long and Chrysalis took her chance. Screwball quickly used her magic to seal her and Mothball in a steel box, hoping to buy them time.

"Zecora!" he exclaimed. "When she was talking about balancing powers and strength, she was trying to tell us that our love is creating some sort of magic that could possibly defeat my mother, and possibly even Tirek!"

"But that makes no sense!" Screwball insisted. "She gains power from love! How can it be used to defeat her? And what about all that stolen magic Tirek has? How can love-"

Then she remembered who had defeated Chrysalis in the first place: Cadence and Shining Armor. Those two were in love. Cadence was the Princess of Love. Maybe...

Screwball gapsed suddenly. "Chocolate milk!"

Mothball blinked. "Screwy, this is hardly the time for a snack!"

"No! Hear me out! You've said so yourself that chocolate milk is like love, right?"

"I said it tasted like love, but..."

"Well, chocolate milk is the best thing ever and it makes you feel great, but if you drink too much of it, you get a belly ache. If chocolate milk is anything like love..."

"...excess of it can make you sick!" The prince gasped and gripped her shoulders. "Screwy, you're a genius!"

She batted her eyes and flipped her hair. "Yeah, I know."

Their moment was interrupted when Chrysalis' horn burned a hole in the steel wall. The queen was growling in frustration.

"Enough is enough!"

The couple glanced at each other and stepped out of the box defiantly.

"We agree, Mother!" Mothball exclaimed. "This has to end now!"

"And it shall end - for ALL of you!" Tirek said, having watched the whole drama, and finally grown sick of it. He was now standing over the gathered group, and raised his sword over his head to finish them all.

They stood on their hind legs and squeezed each other's hoof. Mothball whispered to her.

"How are we going to do this?"

Screwball spun him around to face her.

"Kiss me."

"WHAT?!"

Queen Chrysalis panicked for a moment but quickly reverted her expression to one of anger.

"Quit stalling and meet your fate!"

"Kiss me," Screwball repeated, pulling her love closer.

Mothball flinched away. "I...I can't."

"You have to."

"I don't want to hurt you!"

He tried to pry out of her grasp, but she held him firmly. She looked at him sincerely with those purple swirls that enchanted him so.

"You won't," she whispered.

She did not savor the moment. There was no time for that. Instead, she was straightforward. Their lips met before he could protest. He expected her to feel pain. He expected her to slip away. He expected her power to transfer to him permanently.

Instead, he felt warmth, not just from her, but deep within himself.

He found himself liking the kiss. Her soft lips tasted of chocolate. Her gentle hoof caressed his face. He at last closed his eyes and flung his forelegs around her in surrender. Their manes blew in the wind. They rose into the air as golden mist swirled around them. Tirek watched in worry, as Chrysalis looked up in terror.

"No," she said. "NO! NOT AGAIN!"

Unbeknownst to the villains, the elements of harmony began to interact with Screwball and Mothball, enhancing their magic. The storm died, and allowed the Tiracians to land. As they watched, they could feel Tirek's curse was being undone by the magic of Harmony, and Love, and smiled. Tirek himself could feel his own power begin to wain over his slaves, and the magic within him began to turn on him. The Tiracians all began reverting back into various creatures in the light of the two lovers. Even the Princesses and Discord were returned to normal. He squinted above the fire and made out the figures of two ponies within a ball of golden light. His eyes popped open once he realized who the ponies were.

"He's kissing my daughter."

He scowled.

"HE'S KISSING MY DAUGHTER!"

The others nodded dumbly, watching with their mouths agape.

"WELL, DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE IDIOTS!" Discord bellowed. "DO SOMETHING! GET THAT CREEP AWAY FROM MY..."

He trailed off when Zany jumped onto his stomach, gurgling happily.

"Dada!"

"Zany?" Discord said, taking the infant in his hands. "Is it really you?"

A tiny pink cloud appeared above the boy and dripped chocolate milk. The draconequus smiled.

"It's you, alright! But...how did...?"

The baby pointed up at the floating couple. "Mothball."

The light around them grew brighter as they rose higher. Then the two opened their glowing white eyes. The bubble burst and expanded towards Chrysalis. The queen cried out as the magic pushed her back. The other changelings attempted to flee, but the force field was too fast for them.

The army screamed as it was sent hurdling to the Changeling Forest, not to be seen again for a long, long time.

And as for Tirek, he once again screamed in anguish as the magic tore him apart from within. The combination of harmony, and love was too much for his black heart to handle, and he began to burn inside the magic. His whole body collapsed as he lost his strength, and all of the stolen magic began pouring out of his disintegrating body. In moments, there was soon nothing left of the demonic centaur.

Tirek was finally no more.

But things did not stop there: the magic released by Mothball, and Screwball washed over the land, and began to restore everything to the way it used to be. Creatures could feel their magic return to them, including the Princesses and Discord. Soon all was as it had been before Discord's chaos reign had begun. Peace had been restored at last.

When the young couple floated back to the ground, their lips were still locked. The world around them had returned to normal and not a changeling, except Mothball, was in sight. The fillies and colts hopped out of their hiding places and cheered. Discord was struck in awe, but still angry.

"At some point they should come up for air!" he exclaimed furiously.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Hon, the boy just saved our lives! Not to mention he brought Zany back."

When the pair finally pulled away, Mothball was smiling like an idiot.

"Wow!"

His eyes spun in circles and animated hearts popped up behind his head. This made Screwball giggle. Her friends rushed to her side and embraced her as the forcefield died down.

"That was amazing!" Apple Blossom shouted.

"Heroic!" Cinnamon Stick added.

"Cool!" the Tri-Pies piped.

"Romantic!" Cinnamon Roll sighed.

"Awesome!" Prism said, but then she stuck out her tongue. "Even if it did involve kissing."

"So you guys aren't mad at me?" Screwball asked hopefully.

"Of course not!" Dinky insisted. "We forgive you!"

"Yeah," Cinnamon Stick said, putting his hoof to his bandaged head. "It wasn't even that bad."

Meanwhile, Mothball was twirling in circles, lost in the memory of the bliss he had just experienced.

"Uh oh," Apple Blossom chuckled. "Screwy, I think your kiss did more than save the world. You've made the poor boy all loopy!"

The group laughed. Screwball broke their hug and walked over to her coltfriend. She put her hooves on his shoulders to stop him from falling over. Mothball then returned to his senses, only to get lost in her hypnotic swirls.

"I'm proud of you, Screwy."

They both turned toward Twilight, holding each other's hooves.

"You lost yourself in your emotions, but in the end, you did not lose sight of what was truly important: the love for your family, the love for your friends, and," the alicorn smirked, "the love for your colt."

Mothball blushed nervously. "Princess...I know I've done some bad things in the past, but I swear I'll be careful around ponies! I can become a vegetarian and live on chocolate! I'll become technicolored, and look like a jewel beetle!"

Twilight laughed. "You are pardoned, Mothball."

The alicorn's mirth diminished when Discord stepped in front of her. Mothball shrunk under the draconequus' strict glare. His arms were folded and his face wore a frown. The changeling clung to Screwball for leverage. She gave him a reassuring squeeze.

Discord glanced between the two. Neither said anything for a long while. Then he sighed and extended his paw towards the changeling.

Mothball looked at it unsurely. He glanced at Screwball, who was grinning excitedly. She let go of him and nudged him toward Discord's paw. The prince gazed up at the draconequus. His eyebrow was raised, as if to say: Do you want my daughter or not?

The changeling slowly raised his hoof and placed it in his paw. As soon as they made contact, Mothball felt a bolt of electricity and shook uncontrollably. He wrenched his hoof away.

Discord started laughing and revealed the joybuzzer in his paw. He clutched his stomach as he collapsed to the ground. The Pie family was laughing as well, as was Screwball. The others either giggled or just grinned in amusement.

Mothball looked at his marefriend in confusion. "What are you laughing at? Your dad just electrocuted me!"

Screwball chuckled as she patted him on the back. "Baby, that's his way of showing that he likes you!"

The changeling looked at the others. Cinnamon Stick gave him a shrug.

"It's true."

Mothball then found himself snickering. Suddenly, he noticed three insects emerge from the dirt before reverting to their true forms. "Mantis! Acari! Bombus! How did you-!?"

"We were given our magic back just as that love wave passed over us." Mantis explained.

"I guess it must have sensed we had no bad intentions, so it let us be." Bombus theorized.

"Which is honestly a surprise." Acari remarked. 

"It doesn't matter right now." Mothball said happily. "I'm just glad you three are okay."

"As are we." Princess Celestia said as she approached the group. All of them bowed to the princesses before they were bidden to rise. When they did, they saw a gentle smile on both their faces. Both nodded to the 3 changelings, showing their appreciation for all that they had done. But the moment was ruined when Discord remembered something both important.....and tragic.

"Fluttershy!"

He raced over to where they left her as Screwball took back Zany, and then the whole group followed behind the draconequus. They reached the spot where they had laid Fluttershy when everything had gone crazy. Now, here they were, standing over her with looks of heartbreak. Discord felt it worst of all.

"No," Discord uttered.

He lifted Fluttershy's lifeless body and held her close. Her once soft yellow fur was now pale and stiff. He sobbed into her pink mane. Its rosy scent had gone stale and her strands of silk had gone brittle.

He pulled away slightly to look at her face. Never again would he see her sweet smile, nor her sparkling teal eyes. Never would he hear her enchanting voice or her delicate laughter.

She was gone. For real, this time.

Screwball squeezed Zany as tears fell from her eyes. Mothball pulled her in for an embrace and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. He stroked her mane sympathetically.

Fluttershy's friends all shed tears, but they knew neither of them were as heartbroken as Discord.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy," he whispered, running his hands through her fur and mane. "I'm so sorry! No amount of chaos can replace my love for you. Please, don't leave me now. I love you. Fluttershy, I love you so much."

He pressed his face to hers. "Come back to me."

As he said that, a golden tear fell from his eye and landed on Fluttershy's forehead. Slowly, her colors returned and her heart started up again.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at her husband's teary face.

"Discord?" she uttered.

Discord gasped and looked at her. "Fluttershy?"

The others lifted their heads in disbelief, their mouths spreading into smiles.

"Doesn't anypony check a pulse anymore?" She weakly joked.

"Oh, Fluttershy!"

He embraced his wife, surprising her, but she returned his hug.

"How...?" Applejack breathed. "How is this possible?!"

"It...it isn't!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "There's no way she... Oh, but who cares?!"

Screwball left Mothball and ran to her parents.

"Mom!"

The couple pulled away and opened their arms for their daughter. Fluttershy weeped at the sight of Zany.

"Oh, my baby!" she cried. "I thought I had lost you!"

"We thought we had lost you!" Screwball sniffed.

"Our family," Discord sighed, "together at last!"

"Promise me we'll never split up again?"

The draconequus shook his head with a laugh. "Never."

Mothball smiled as the family embraced each other. He was happy that they were whole again, but it also made him sad. The changelings were the only family he had ever known. Now that he had left them, he had no one. Noone except the 3 changelings who had risked everything to help him these past four days. But that was about it. He did not even have a place to live.

Then Fluttershy noticed Mothball. She was surprised to see him here, but given the fact that Discord had not vaporized him, she figured things were sorted out between them now. She reached out her hoof toward him. Mothball beamed as he took it and she pulled him in.

Pinkie Pie blew her nose in a handkerchief.

"It's so beautiful!" she cried.

Then she smiled suddenly. "Hey! You know what this calls for?"

Everyone laughed.

"Yes, Pinkie," Twilight said. "We definitely do."
> Happy Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The park was covered with streamers, balloons and ponies dancing to Vinyl Scratch's music. Ponies were crowding Screwball and Mothball, thanking them for saving Ponyville. However, amidst the celebration, Mothball noticed his changeling friends talking to the Royal Sisters off to the side, and he was curious about what they were talking about. He gently pushed his way past the crowd, and made his way towards the gathering. It seemed he had caught onto the last part of their conversation, yet he was still surprised by what he heard.

"Are you sure you don't wish to stay, General Mantis?" Luna asked.

"You would be more than welcomed to stay as our personal guard if you so choose." Celestia offered. "Having changelings within our ranks could prove most beneficial for us both."

"A generous offer, your highness." Mantis admitted, before a sad look fell on his face. "But sadly we have to decline. It's best that we set off into Equestria, and live our lives as WE choose."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "Maybe you can stay here, and continue protecting Prince Mothball as you've been doing all this time."

Mantis chuckled. "An appealing notion, princess......but no. Mothball has proven that he is more than capable of defending himself against those who wish him harm. Besides, I do not wish to be a burden on him."

"You were never a burden, Mantis." Mothball finally added, coming up behind and surprising the changeling trio. "If it weren't for you three, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did. Plus, you saved my life when I was in danger. That doesn't make you a burden at all."

"Your words are kind, Mothball." Mantis said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "But this something we have to do. We've been under the hoof of your mother for too long - never given the chance to be who we really are. The time spent with you, however, has changed all that. Now we have an opportunity to truly live: and you need to live with those who truly love you. You were wise to choose happiness over a crown, and throne. Now it's our turn to do the same."

Mothball smiled sadly, and said, "I understand. Just promise you'll take care of yourselves out there - especially you, Mantis. You've been like a father to me since I was little. I'm more than happy to have known you all my life, and for everything you've done for me. I'm going to miss you."

"And I will miss you, my prince." Mantis said. Suddenly, Mothball embraced him in an affectionate hug, which let the young prince share some of his love with the former general. Mantis hugged him back for a few moments, before the two broke off their embrace. He then turned away, and allow Acari and Bombus to say their goodbyes. Mothball smiled, and shook each of their hooves. "Take care of yourselves out there, okay?"

"Don't worry." Acari said with snark. "I'll make sure this dummy doesn't get into too much trouble."

Bombus gave her an annoyed glance, but then turned back to the prince. "You just make sure you keep that marefriend of yours happy, your highness. She's your everything now, and the best thing to ever happen to you. Never forget that."

Mothball was surprised by the good advice from the more incompetent changeling, but he still smiled as he said, "Trust me: that's one thing I won't be doing any time soon."

Both changelings bowed one last time before following Mantis. Once the three were together, they turned into birds, and flew off into the horizon. Mothball was sad to see them go, but he was also glad they were off to live their own lives. They deserved to be happy, too, after all they'd done for him. Screwball came up beside Mothball, and kissed his cheek. He grew dorky look from the love he soaked up, which made his marefriend and the princesses laugh. Just as the pair went off to enjoy the party, Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around to face...

"Flash?"

The golden pegasus was not wearing his armor. It had been a long time since she had seen him like that. He looked down at his hoof as it drew circles in the ground. Twilight was about to ask the princesses to leave but saw they were already gone.

They were silent for a while and did nothing but stare at each other awkwardly.

"Hey," Flash finally said.

"Hey," Twilight repeated.

Another silence.

"Look," the stallion sighed. "I know you hate me, and you probably don't want to speak to me..."

"I'm sorry."

His ears perked up. "What?"

Twilight stepped toward him. "I'm sorry. What happened between us was stupid. I mean what we had was wonderful, but the way it ended was just plain stupid! I didn't even bother trying to patch things up with you. I...I've been an idiot."

Flash Sentry lowered his head. "I'm sorry too. It takes two ponies to end a relationship, after all. And...for what it's worth...I never wanted it to end."

She blushed slightly. "Can...can we start over? And at least be friends again?"

He raised his eyebrow at her. "No."

Her smile faded. "What?"

"I don't want us to be friends."

"Then...why did you come here?"

"To give you this."

He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a small blue box. Twilight gasped as he opened it to show a sparkling amethyst ring.

"I was planning to give it to you before we broke up," Flash explained. "You don't have to say yes, but I at least want you to have it. See, I saved up a lot of money to get this and I was hoping that someday you might..."

"Yes."

He looked up. "What was that?"

Twilight shouted, "YES!"

She surprised him by fiercely pressing her lips against his. He smiled and wrapped his forelegs around her. Twilight had forgotten how wonderful it felt to kiss him. She silently swore never to doubt him again.

Others were also making the same pledge as their loved ones came up to them, and their children played. Fancy Pants had come all the way from Canterlot to assure Rarity that he had no feelings for Fleur De Lisle, and only for the mare he married. Rarity remembered the cruel deception played by Chrysalis, and was touched by Fancy's devotion to her. The two reconciled, and vowed to always be open with one another. Rarity agreed, and boy, did she have a great deal to open up about.

Spike reassured Applejack that he may have had a crush on Rarity once upon a time, but he chose Applejack to be his wife. He loved her, and nothing those evil changelings said about her not being as beautiful as Rarity meant nothing. Her friend may shimmer like a gem, but Spike assured AJ that she shined like gold.

And both Derpy and Dinky had a chance to, albeit briefly, see their husband and father respectively before he returned to the stars as The Doctor.

And as for Discord, and Fluttershy.........

Both of them had decided to get away from the festivities and walked to an empty area of the park. Their time alone together was long overdue and the first thing they did was share a passionate kiss.

"I never should have doubted you," Discord said. "I should have known you would never betray me." He chuckled nervously. "I'm such a nutcase."

Fluttershy smiled. "It's alright. It's all in the past now." She glanced back at the party. "Are you alright with Screwball's coltfriend?"

"Well...he's not exactly what I had in mind, but...he did rescue both our children and...Screwy seems happy." He grunted. "Does he really have to move in with us though?"

"Now Discord, you know he can't return to the hive. He helped bring us back together. The least we can do is give him a place to stay."

"I've already given him my daughter! Next thing you know, he'll be asking for my throne! Why, if I could get my paw and claw around his neck..."

"Honey!" Fluttershy gasped.

He sighed. "You're right. You're right! He'll take good care of Screwy. It's just that..." He turned away. "I don't want to lose my little girl."

"Aw, Daddy!"

He looked up and saw Screwball hovering above him. She had been listening to the conversation. Not on purpose, for she and Mothball were taking a stroll too.

Screwball floated down and hugged her father around his neck.

"I'll always be your little girl," she declared.

Discord smiled and wrapped his arms around the filly. No matter what would happen, no matter how big she would get, she would always be his daughter Screwball, and he would always be there for her.

For he was her Daddy Discord.

And she was a piece of him.