While Twilight and Fluttershy go on a friendship mission, Starlight babysits Screwball. Will it be easy? What chaos will Screwball cause? Read to find out?
Starlight has been left alone with Screwball. She thinks that it's going to be easy as pie but will it since Screwball is the daughter of Discord and Starlight doesn't even know about it. How much chaos will Screwball cause? Will Twilight and Fluttershy complete their friendship mission? Read to find out.
It was just another day in Ponyville. The birds were singing, ponies were playing with their friends, and cutie marks were glowing. Well, cutie marks don't always glow unless you've been called on a friendship mission and today, Princess Twilight and Fluttershy were called on a friendship mission.
"I can't believe that Fluttershy and I were called on a friendship mission!" Twilight said excitedly.
"But you both have been called on a friendship mission before," Starlight said confused why Twilight sounded so happy.
"Yes, but this is the second time the map paired two ponies who have already been on a friendship mission together. The first one was with Applejack and Fluttershy not too long ago," Twilight explained to Starlight.
"Right. So, where is Fluttershy? I would have expected her to be here by now."
"Same here. I wonder where she is?" Twilight asked. Just then, Fluttershy came in and standing right next to her was an earth pony filly that looked to be around the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She was a pink filly with a purple and white mane and tail, she was wearing a propeller beanie hat, her cutie mark was a screw and baseball. The one thing that threw Starlight off was her eyes. They were endless purple swirls.
"Sorry, I'm late. I was asked to watch Screwball but once her father left my cutie mark started to glow and I had to talk to everypony to see if they could watch her," Fluttershy explained.
"I could watch her," Starlight said. Both Twilight and Fluttershy looked her as Screwball started to look around the throne room.
"Are you sure, Starlight?" Twilight asked.
"This room is huge! Does this map have every place in Equestria?" Screwball asked.
"I'm sure. I'm the school counselor and I've watched fillies before. I'm sure Screwball will be a piece of cake." Fluttershy and Twilight looked at each other worried.
"Well, if you sure. Screwball's father should be here by sundown. I left a note letting him know that I was bringing Screwball here. She is a really sweet filly. You two should have fun together," Fluttershy told her.
"Just make sure you keep her out of trouble."
Starlight scoffed. "If I can handle running a school with Discord causing chaos, I'm pretty sure I can handle a filly," Starlight said boastfully. Fluttershy and Twilight looked at each other knowing how hard Screwball can be.
"Okay, Fluttershy and I should be back once we solve the friendship problem. Have fun!" Then Twilight and Fluttershy left and as they left, Spike entered the room.
"Hey, Starlight. Hey, Screwball," Spike walking by both of them. Spike stopped once he saw Screwball. "When did Screwy get here?" Spike asked confused.
"Fluttershy was going to watch her but I'm going to today."
Screwball walked over to Starlight after looking at the friendship map and thrones. "Yeah, my daddy should be back to get me by sundown," Screwball said happily.
"You sure you can handle Screwball? She can be a handful," Spike commented.
Starlight scoffed. "I can handle it." Spike was concerned since Screwball was Discord's daughter but he didn't want to tell Starlight since Screwball normally wanted to tell other ponies herself.
"Okay," Spike said then he left.
"So, what do you want to do, Screwball?" Starlight asked.
"Hide-and-seek! I hide and you seek. You have until sundown to find me." Starlight was a little struck by this since Screwball was giving her a deadline.
"Okay. Do you know your way around the castle?"
Screwball nodded. "My daddy showed me a few months ago. Now, close your eyes and count to 20!" Starlight turned around away from the door, closed her eyes, and counted to 20.
"18, 19, 20! Ready or not here, I come!" And so began Starlight search for Screwball. "Okay... If I was a small energetic pink filly, then where would I hide?" Starlight asked herself. Starlight teleported to every room of the castle to find Screwball but she was unable to find her. "Where could she be?" Starlight was so distracted she didn't even notice somepony come from behind her as she was searching in the library.
"Whatcha doing?" Starlight screamed in fear. She turned around and saw Trixie drinking a chocolate milkshake.
"Trixie? I thought you were on tour." Trixie stopped drinking her milkshake and got into a dramatic pose.
"I was but the grreat and powerful, Trrixie wanted to visit her great and powerful, friend!" Starlight smiled at the antics of her best friend.
"Actually, I'm watching Screwball, she's a pink earth pony around the CMC's age. We're playing hide-and-seek and she's hiding in the castle but I can't seem to find her."
"Did you try reading that scroll on the table?" Trixie asked as she resumed to drink her chocolate milkshake.
Starlight turned around and saw the scroll on the table. "Huh, when did that get there?" Starlight used her magic and read the scroll. "How to find Screwball in three easy steps. Huh? Guess, Screwball left this for me. If you're reading this, then you are playing hide-and-seek with me, Screwball, and the only way to find me by sundown is to follow these three easy steps. First, I love chocolate. Chocolate milkshakes, chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, it's my favorite food of all time! Okay, so if Screwball loves chocolate then maybe she ran off and hid in Sugarcube corner," Starlight concluded.
"Oooh! Can I come? It would be a good chance for me to spend time with my great and powerful friend!"
Starlight smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I could all the help I can get." Starlight then left the throne room with Trixie behind her.
"Oh, yes you do, Starlight. Yes, you do," Trixie whispered with a mischievous smirk.
"You say something, Trixie?" Starlight asked.
"Uh... I finishing drinking my milkshake and since we're going to Sugarcube Corner I thought that I should get another one." Starlight looked at Trixie but shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk to Sugarcube Corner. 'Hide and seek is going to be so much fun.'
Starlight and Trixie walked into Sugarcube Corner and were quickly greeted by Pinkie Pie. "Hey, Starlight! Hey, Trixie! Whatcha doing?" She asked.
"Trixie is helping me play hide-and-seek with Screwball."
Pinkie Pie started to get excited. "Screwball is in town! She is so much fun! The cake twins love to play with her! She loves chocolate just as much as I do!"
Starlight smiled. "Great! Have you seen her?" Starlight asked hopefully.
"Nope. Haven't seen her at all today, sorry." Starlight sighed.
"Pinkie, can I get a large chocolate milkshake, with chocolate whip-cream, chocolate fudge, and chocolate sprinkles?" Trixie asked.
"Sure thing, Trixie!"
Starlight looked at Trixie confused. "Wow, get enough chocolate, Trixie?"
"Heh, Guess I forgot to tell you that I love chocolate," Trixie told her bashfully.
"Here you go, Trixie! One extremely chocolate milkshake," Pinkie Pie said as she brought out the milkshake.
"Thanks, Pinkie Pie." Trixie used her magic and brought the chocolate milkshake to her. "Hmm. Screwball did say that there was more than one step to find her, what's the next step?" Trixie asked as she started to drink her milkshake.
"Right!" Starlight took the scroll out and read the second step. "Second, I love to play pranks on my friends. I have friends all over Ponyville but some of my closest friends are the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I also work with Rainbow Dash to pull pranks on other ponies. Okay, so, maybe the CMC knows where Screwball could be or Screwball is with them."
"Oooo, maybe. They're probably at their treehouse right now. We should check," Trixie said as she continued to drink her milkshake.
"Yeah, maybe she is. We should also check the joke shop. She might be there getting pranks," Starlight said.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go!" Then Trixie and Starlight left.
"Good luck, Starlight! Hope you beat Screwy!" Pinkie Pie shouted as they left.
As they were walking to the joke shop, Starlight asked Trixie, "Trixie, you know Screwball, right?"
Trixie nodded. "Everypony in Ponyville knows her," Trixie answered as she continued to drink her chocolate milkshake.
"Has anypony beaten her in hide-and-seek?"
Trixie shook her head. "Nope. Nopony and I mean, nopony, has beaten Screwy at hide-and-seek. She leaves the same three clues that you have so somepony can find her. I haven't met a single pony who has beaten her yet."
Starlight then felt a bit defeated. Screwball seemed to be a master at hide-and-seek, but Starlight refused to give up. "Well, I guess I'll have to be the first," Starlight said confidently. 'We'll see, Starlight. We'll see.'
They arrived at the joke shop and were about to talk to the owner but they saw Rainbow Dash. "Hey, Rainbow Dash," Starlight said as she and Trixie walked over to her.
"Hey, Starlight. I thought Trixie was on tour?" Rainbow asked confused.
"I was but I decided to take a break and hang out with my grrreat and powerful, friend, Starlight!" Trixie told her.
"What are you two doing here? GASP! Are you here to prank somepony?" Rainbow asked hopefully.
"No, I'm actually playing hide-and-seek with Screwball. Have you seen her?"
"Screwball's in town?! And you're playing hide-and-seek?! Is her dad in town?" Rainbow said shocked.
"Yeah, Fluttershy was going to watch her but she and Twilight went on a friendship mission so I offered to watch her. Who's her father?"
Rainbow now knew that Starlight didn't know that Discord was Screwball's father so she put a hoof on her shoulder and said, "Good luck, once Shrewy hides then she is impossible to find."
"Trixie said that too. Screwball must be really good at hide-and-seek," Starlight said concerned.
"Yeah, I love playing with Screwy. You know, she only will play hide-and-seek with you once. Hopefully, you'll be the first to find her."
"How is Screwball so good at hide-and-seek?" Starlight asked.
Rainbow sighed. "I can't tell you. Screwy will though even if you don't find her. Anyway, I have some pranks to pull. Later." Then Rainbow quickly paid for her pranks and flew away quickly.
"Trixie, do you know anything about Screwball?" Trixie nodded as she used her magic to clean out her milkshake cup of all the chocolate inside. "Can you tell me?" She asked hopefully.
"Nope, Screwball requested that she tell somepony about her herself. Anyway, since Screwball isn't here, we should check with the CMC. They might know where she is."
"Right, let's go!" Starlight ran ahead with Trixie behind her. On the way, Trixie threw away her cup and bought three chocolate bars, two for herself and one for Starlight. Starlight ate the chocolate bar and her face turned red. "SPICY!" She ran into the farm and drank a bucket of milk. Trixie laughed as she watched her friend run to get a drink of milk.
"Trixie, what kind of chocolate is that?" Starlight asked as she drank milk to sooth the burning sensation.
"That is the world's hottest chocolate. It's at nine million Scoville units. I thought it would be fun to play a small prank on you after being at the joke shop." Trixie laughed as she also took a bite of the chocolate. He faced turned red and she got a bucket of milk to drink.
"Trixie, are you sure you're feeling okay? You've had two chocolate milkshakes and a taste of the world's hottest chocolate. Plus, you haven't been acting like yourself." Starlight said concerned.
"I'm fine. As I said, chocolate is my favorite food. It's something Screwy and I have in common. We both love chocolate!" Trixie said happily as she continued to eat the chocolate bar. Starlight rolled her eyes playfully as the two continued to walk to the CMC's treehouse after they got cleaned up of course.
Once they arrived, they had just finished a meeting helping another pony with their cutie mark problems. "Hi, Starlight!" They shouted.
"Hey, girls. Have you seen Screwball? I'm playing hide-and-seek with her and I can't seem to find her."
"Screwball's in town? When did she come?" Applebloom asked.
"Earlier today. Fluttershy was asked by Screwball's father if she could watch her but she and Twilight were summoned for a friendship mission so I offered to watch her. She left me clues to find her and she said you were some of her closest friends."
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yeah, we've known Screwball since her father introduced us. We became quick friends with her."
"But we haven't seen her. We've been in the treehouse all day. Sorry, Starlight," Scootaloo told her.
"I hope so. If you do, then you'll be the first person to find her and win her game of hide-and-seek. Anyway, we got to go, we have another cutie mark problem to deal with. Bye, Starlight. Bye, Trixie." Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom left them alone.
Starlight groaned. "This is bad. Sundown is in two hours and nopony has seen Screwball. How could I lose one earth filly?" Starlight was clearly frustrated. She couldn't seem to find Screwball anywhere.
"Starlight, isn't there one more step to finding Screwball?" Trixie asked.
Starlight used her magic to bring out the scroll that Screwball made for her. "Last step, start from the beginning and then you have found Screwball. Thanks for playing! Okay... so we have to start at the beginning. So, back to the castle, let's go."
Trixie followed suit as the two returned back to the castle throne room. "Okay so, Screwball loves chocolate and she likes to play pranks on her friend. What could that mean? I checked the possible places she could be but we couldn't find her. So, where in the wide wide world of Equestria could she be?! There's just an hour until sundown and Screwball's father will be here then."
"I'm sure you'll find her, Starlight. Don't worry. Even if you don't find her in time, she'll show up. That's what always happens when somepony loses."
Starlight sighed. "I just don't get it. I looked everyone in the castle and we found no trace of her. I just don't understand how I lost a small pink earth filly. She can't fly, she has no magic, how did she disappear?" A knock took Starlight out of her small rant. "Who could that be?" Starlight went to answer the door and she was shocked to see who was at the door.
This was not Starlight's day, first, she loses Screwball in a game of hide-and-seek and now, Trixie is at the door. "Trixie?!" She said shocked.
"Yes, it is I, the great and powerful Trrrixie! Here to see her great and powerful, best friend!" Trixie shouted. Starlight just looked at her in complete silence with her mouth agape. "In case you're wondering, I finished my tour early and thought we could hang out, get a meal, have a sleepover. What do you say?" Trixie asked. Starlight still just stared at her, mouth agape, and in silence. "Okay, what's wrong? You've been looking at me like that for a while. Are you excited to see your best friend?"
Finally, after another minute of silence, Starlight asked, "Trixie, how are you here? You've been with me all day helping me find Screwball."
Trixie just looked at her confused. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen you since I left for my tour over a week ago and who's Screwball?"
"Hey, Starlight, maybe you can yell something that tells Screwball that you give up then maybe she'll come out." Trixie and Starlight but turned and saw the Trixie that was with Starlight all day. Once she saw the real Trixie outside she said, "Aw, chocolate clouds. You weren't supposed to be here for another two weeks. Oh, well. It was getting hard to be you anyway, Trixie. Question, how do you roll your r's like you do so many times? It can get really difficult."
Trixie ran away screaming in fear since she felt a little too freaked out but Starlight was mad. "Okay, who are you? What have you done with Screwball?!"
The Fake Trixie laughed mischievously. "You'll have to catch me first! You have until sundown or I win and you'll never see Screwball again!" The Fake Trixie teleported away and her laughs could be heard throughout the entire castle.
Starlight cast a spell on the castle so whoever this fake Trixie was couldn't escape. "Okay, what could this fake Trixie be? An evil changeling?"
"Nope! Try again!" Fake Trixie shouted.
Starlight looked around for the Fake Trixie but the castle was huge and she couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. "A different kind of creature that can form at will."
"Oooh! You're very warm but I won't tell until you find me!" Starlight growled and used his magic to teleport to every room in the castle in search of the fake Trixie.
She teleported to the throne room last. She looked all around and saw Spike sitting on his throne drinking a chocolate shake with gems inside. "Hey, Starlight, still searching for Screwball?" He asked.
"That and there's a dangerous creature here that's disguised itself as Trixie. It's holding Screwball hostage and her dad will be in less than an hour," Starlight said worriedly.
"It will be all right, Starlight. I got a letter from Twilight saying that she and Fluttershy will be back before Screwy's dad gets back." Starlight breathed a sigh of relief but just then the door opened and Spike came in.
"Hey, is there a reason why I can't leave the castle and nopony can come in?" Spike asked. He looked and saw a shocked Starlight looking at him and another him. "Okay, that's new."
"Oh, come on!" The Fake Spike flew to the real Spike and spun the two of them around. As the Fake Spike was spinning them around he said, "Figure out which one is the real Spike, Starlight, or else you'll never find Screwy!" The Fake Spike stopped spinning them leaving a confused Starlight looking at two Spike's. "I'm the real Spike, he's the fake one!"
"What?! That's preposterous! Only a fake would say that!"
As the two were bickering, Starlight was in a pickle, she couldn't tell the difference between the two Spike's. There had to be a way to find the fake one. She was running out of time, she only had 15 minutes till Screwball's father came to pick her up. Then Starlight remembered something important. The fake Trixie that hung out with her today had a lot of chocolate and the fake Spike had a chocolate shake.
"Well, I can't figure out which Spike is which," Starlight said as she turned away from the two Spike's.
"What?!" They both said shocked.
"Yep. Too bad really. See, the other day, I asked Pinkie Pie to make me the ultimate chocolate cake."
"The Ultimate Chocolate cake?" She heard one of the Spike's say in awe.
"Yep. It has chocolate everything from chocolate icing to chocolate sprinkles, chocolate roses, and even chocolate cherries. In fact, she should be here by now."
"All right!"
She heard one of the Spike's fly away quickly and she teleported herself to the front door just seconds before Spike got to the door. She saw him flying happily to the door and just before he got to the door, Starlight tagged him with her hoof and said, "Ha! I win!"
The Fake Spike landed on the ground and just stared at her in awe. "I lost..." The Fake Spike smiled happily and started to fly all over shouting happily, "I lost!"
Spike walked in just at that moment he heard the shouting. "So, you really couldn't tell the difference between me and that Spike?" He asked.
"Nope, but now I'm more confused. Why is the fake you happy that he lost?"
Just then, Fluttershy and Twilight came back from their friendship mission and they did not look happy. "Well, Discord created another fake friendship mission and glamour spell on our cutie marks," Twilight said clearly annoyed.
The Fake Spike quickly flew to Fluttershy and said, "Miss Twilight, Miss Fluttershy, I lost! Wha-hoo!" He flew back into the air and began to do more tricks happily.
"I have no idea what's happening and why would Discord create another fake friendship mission and glamour spell? That doesn't seem to make sense," Starlight told her.
"You can ask him when he gets here," Twilight told her.
Starlight was about to ask her what she meant by that but Fluttershy stopped her. "Did you have fun with Screwball?" Fluttershy asked.
Starlight gasped. "I haven't found her! We were playing hide-and-seek and I spent more time with a fake Trixie and a fake Spike then looking for Screwball. What am I going to do when her father gets here?" Starlight said worriedly.
In a flash of light, Discord appeared. "So sorry I'm late, but Celestia kept me so busy and I got to your house Fluttershy read your note then came here."
"Discord, why are you here?" Starlight asked confused.
"Hmm. Well, isn't it obvious? I'm here to pick up..."
Before he could finish, the fake Spike fly into Discord's arms and shouted, "Daddy, guess what?"
"What, my little abomination?" He asked sweetly.
"I lost! Miss Starlight beat me! And I perfected my transformation spell!"
Discord smiled and said, "Excellent, my little abomination! I'm so proud of you."
Now, Starlight was even more confused. "Will somepony please explain to me what is going on?!"
Everyone looked at her then Fluttershy looked at the fake Spike and said, "You need to explain everything to Starlight, Screwball."
"SCREWBALL?! But she's been missing since this morning," Starlight said distressed.
The fake Spike flew down in front of her and said, "Okay, remember the note Screwball left you?" She nodded not knowing where this was going to go.
"Well, the first step said that Screwy loved Chocolate and what have you been seeing me eat most of the day?"
"Chocolate, but how will his help me find Screwball?" Then she put two and two together. "Wait, you're telling me that I've been with Screwball all day?!"
The Fake Spike smiled and said while jumping up and down, "She wins! She wins!" He glowed brightly, and in front of Starlight was none other than Screwball. "Hello, Miss Starlight. I'm Screwball, the daughter of Discord!" Starlight just stood in shock but Discord and Screwball were laughing. "Did you see the look on her face, daddy?"
"I know, my little abomination, priceless!"
The two laughed in utter glee until Twilight asked, "Why did you cast another fake friendship mission and glamour spell on me and Fluttershy?"
Discord grinned. "I didn't do anything to your cutie marks or your friendship map."
"Yeah, right, then who did?" Twilight asked.
"Me! How'd I do, daddy?" Screwball asked sweetly.
"Perfect! Now, let's go home and get you packed."
"Hold on!" Starlight shouted. Everypony looked at her and waited to hear what she had to say.
"First off, how does Discord have a daughter and how is she a pony?!"
Fluttershy and Twilight were about to answer but Discord beat them to it. "It's quite simple actually. When I was first ruling Equestria, I wanted somepony to play with, somepony to appreciate my chaos. So, using a bit of cotton candy cloud and my magic, I created Screwball here."
"That's me. While I may look like a pony, I have the blood of a draconequus in my veins. Chaos flows through me. I was the one was cast a fake friendship mission and a glamour spell," Screwball said proudly.
"Why?!" Twilight and Starlight shouted annoyed.
"Because I asked her to, I mean she has to get to know Starlight before she leaves."
"What are you talking about, Discord?" Starlight asked confused.
"Why isn't it obvious? Screwball is going to the school of Friendship."
"WHAT?!" Starlight asked.
"Wait, you mean this planned to Screwball could meet Starlight?" Twilight asked trying not to lose her temper.
"Well, you can't expect me to have Starlight to meet my little abomination the old fashion way, do you?" Discord asked.
Everypony rolled their eyes in amusement and annoyance. "But why is Screwball coming to the School of Friendship?" Starlight asked.
"Well, since Cozy Glow left, there's been an opening and Discord suggested Screwball since she doesn't know much about friendship, I suggested that she come and learn."
Screwball nodded. "Yeah, I mean, sure, I have the CMC and the mane six but I want to learn more about friendship and Daddy can't teach me everything."
Now, Starlight understood. Since Screwball was Discord's daughter and she wanted to come to the School of Friendship, she wanted another pony to trust with her secret of being Discord's daughter.
"So, who knows that you and Discord are related?" Starlight asked curiously.
"Mostly Twilight and her friends. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The Cutie Mark Crusaders. I felt that if Screwball made more friends then she could be just a good and happy as I am with friends."
"Yeah! Daddy and I should leave. I'm going to be going to school soon so I should pack. Bye, Miss Starlight. Thanks for beating me." Then Screwball and Discord left Twilight's castle.
Starlight sighed heavily. "Man, I really did underestimate watching Screwball, huh?" Starlight asked.
"Don't worry. We all had that same problem with her when we first met her," Fluttershy told her.
"How did you all meet Screwball anyway?" Starlight asked.
"Let's save that story for another time. It's late and we have a school to get ready for in a week," Twilight told her.
Starlight nodded in agreement then Fluttershy went home and Starlight and Twilight went to bed.