This is a prequel to Hide and Seek with Screwball. This is the story of how the Mane 6 met Screwball.
About one year after being freed from his stone prison and fully accepting Friendship in his life. Discord has decided to do the one thing he has been dreading, asking the Princesses for help in finding his daughter, Screwball. Meanwhile, the Mane 6 are called for a Friendship Problem in an area known for its famous chocolate and candy. They go and there seems to be nothing wrong until they dig deeper into the town's dark secret. Will they solve the Friendship Problem and be able to return back home?
When Discord had first taken over Equestria, he was always having a blast. Causing chaos everywhere, making everyone pony miserable, annoying the Princesses, and overall having non-stop fun but eventually, he was starting to get bored.
One day, Discord was just laying on a cotton candy cloud when he noticed an adult male unicorn was playing with his unicorn daughter. "You're the best daddy ever! I love you!" The young unicorn said as she hugged her father.
"I love you too!"
'Hmm. They're a family.' Discord did not remember his family. He doesn't know anything about his father nor his mother. So, he has always been alone. 'I wonder... if I can create flying pigs, and make things pop out of nowhere, who says I can't create a filly. Somepony to appreciate my chaos.' Discord got up from his cloud and started to imagine what a child like him would look like. "Let's see. If I were to have a filly or a foal, then I would want them to be as chaotic as me. I would also want them to be an unexpected aspect so an Earth Pony." Using a cotton candy cloud, he started to create the filly/colt of his dreams. He thought to himself for a minute then smiled. "Well, I wouldn't want them to just look like an ordinary Earth Pony so their eyes must be unique."
Finally, after a few minutes of crafting the cotton candy cloud. Discord had finally created the filly of his dreams. "Okay, a pink pony with swirls for eyes and a purple and white mane. Now for the main event." Concentrating on his chaotic magic, Discord started to use his magic on the cotton candy cloud that was in the shape of a young filly. Once Discord finished, he stared at the cloud and waited for something to happen but nothing did. He turned away from the cotton candy cloud slightly disappointed. "Hmm. A failure. Too bad, it would have been nice to have somepony to play with."
"What is this stuff? Why is it sticky?" A small female voice asked. Discord turned around to see a pink with a purple and white mane and swirls for eyes covered in cotton candy from the neck down.
Discord smiled. 'It worked! I created a filly!'
"It's called cotton candy. You can eat it and it tastes very sweet."
The young filly was hesitant but she carefully brought her hoof closer to her face and licked it. She smiled at the taste. "This cotton candy taste amazing! It's so sweet!" She shook off the rest of the cotton candy and proceeded to eat the cotton candy that once surrounded her. Once she finished, she looked at Discord's wings then she saw that she didn't have any wings. So, she fell from the sky. "Ahhhh!"
"No!" Discord teleported the young filly into his arms. She curled into his arms and shook in fear. "I've got you. You're going to be fine."
The filly opened her eyes and looked up at Discord. "Whoa... can we do that again?!"
Discord smiled as he chuckled to himself. "I don't think that's a good idea. We'll need something to help you fly."
"What about those things on your back?"
Discord shook his head. "You will need something that is so chaotic that no pony will be able to look away." Discord thought to himself for a moment. "I've got it." He snapped his fingers and a yellow and green propeller hat appeared.
"Whoa! How did you do that?!" She asked with amazement in her voice.
"Don't worry. I will teach you." He placed the hat on her head. "There. That should help you fly. Want to try?"
"Okay. You'll catch me, right?"
Discord nodded. "Of course." Carefully, he watched her leave his arms and she floated in the air. "I did it! I did it!"
"Yes, you did, my little abomination!"
She looked at him curiously. "What does that mean? Who are you? Who am I? Why do we look different?"
"Well... I don't know how to answer the first question but I am Discord, the God of Chaos and you, my dear, are..." Discord suddenly realized that he never came up with a name for the filly he created. "Screwball. Your name is Screwball and you, my dear, are my daughter. The daughter of chaos. You can do anything I can do. You think of something and it will appear."
"Hmm. Okay." Screwball closed her eyes and concentrated. She really liked cotton candy and wanted more of it. When she opened her eyes, a cloud of cotton candy appeared. "Yay! More cotton candy!!" She proceeded to eat the cotton candy happily.
"You know, there's more to eat than just cotton candy," He said with mischievousness in his voice.
She looked at him with awe in her eyes. "There is! Can you teach me, Discord?"
"Of course, Screwy. I'm your daddy Discord. I will teach you everything I know."
"YAY!!"
Screwball quickly learned how to use her chaos powers properly. In fact, she even helped Discord create all sorts of new ways to create chaos throughout Equestria, like cotton candy clouds that made it rain chocolate milk. Until one day, everything changed for both Discord and Screwball.
For Discord and Screwball, everything was perfect. Discord has somepony to appreciate his chaos and a child to call his own. She was perfect and more importantly, made him happier than being alone. "This is so much fun! What else are we going to do?!"
"I don't know, my little abomination, but I'm sure we'll think of something." Suddenly, he heard hoof steps from behind him. "Screwy, I want you to go cause some chaos somewhere while I deal with these two ponies."
She nodded. "Okay, daddy. I'll show you what I did when I return." Then she teleported away.
Discord turned around and saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "Oh, this is so much fun. How about a game of 'Pin the Tail on the Pony'?" Discord said as he magically pulled Princess Celestia's tail out of nowhere.
Princess Celestia gasped once she saw that her tail was gone. Playtime is over for you, Discord."
"Oh, I doubt that." He pulled out a bag of black seeds and started to eat them happily, without a care in the world. "Hungry?" The two princesses said nothing as the seeds fell on them. "Suit yourselves." With a look of determination, the princesses opened their saddlebags and pulled out six different colored gems. "Oh! What have you got there?"
"The Elements of Harmony." A pink dome surrounded the two princesses as the elements started to swirl around them.
"With them, we shall defeat you," Princess Luna told him.
Discord laughed. "You should see yourselves right now. The expressions on your face. So intense. So sure of yourselves." He continued to laugh as the princesses put their horns together and a rainbow appeared. The rainbow went up in the air and went directly to Discord. "Hilarious!" Discord continued to laugh but before he could realize what happened, it was too late, he has been turned to stone.
Screwball flew through the air laughing happily as she searched for something to do to cause chaos. "Now, where can I cause some chaos?" In an instant, the sky turned from pink to blue, the rocks that were floating in the air were gone and back on the ground. Trees were brown and green and even the ground was green.
"What happened? Why did everything change? This isn't what the sky or ground looks like!" She got a bad feeling in her gut so she teleported herself back to her father's throne but a good distance away from where no pony could see her. He told her to make sure that she blended in with other ponies so they could pull their tricks and cause chaos. She walked over and found a white pony with wings and a unicorn horn and a blue pony with wings and a horn just staring at her father. "Daddy?" She whispered to herself.
"We did it, sister. Discord's reign is no more," The blue pony said.
"Yes, we must keep a close eye on Discord. We mustn't let him escape again." She watched as the white pony used her magic to lift her father and quietly followed the ponies back to a castle. "Whoa! This place is huge."
She walked through the small town and heard everypony cheer at the defeat of Discord. 'Why are they so happy? Those meanies took my daddy away from me! We didn't do anything wrong. We were just having fun.'
She continued to follow the ponies until they stopped in a garden. They set Discord's statue down then left. Once Screwball saw that no pony was around, she ran over to Discord and called out to him. "Daddy? Can you hear me?"
There was no response. Discord just stood still.
Tears started to form in Screwball's eyes. She just laid in front of Discord's statue and started to cry. She was now alone with no one to call a friend. Discord always told her that no pony would understand them because they were different. 'Now what? Daddy is gone. I'm... alone...'
Screwball eventually fell asleep in front of Discord. She felt the warmth of the sun on her face. She woke up hoping that yesterday was a bad dream but unfortunately it wasn't. Discord was gone. Frozen in a stone statue forever.
Screwball flew up so she could look at Discord's face. "Daddy," She said sadly as she put a hoof on his face.
"It's so nice that the plants are back to normal."
"Indeed. Now we can make sure that the garden is beautiful once again."
Screwball gasped at the sound of the voices. 'I can't stay here. I need to leave.' Screwball teleported herself away from the garden before the two ponies could see her. "Sorry, Daddy. I'll find a way to free you. I promise."
And thus started Screwball's journey. Screwball stayed hidden in the shadows and whenever somepony asked her about her parents, she gave them the same answer. "My daddy is busy so I went on a walk." Everypony bought her story, no matter how many times she gave them her excuse.
She went to the library every day to read and learn about how to free her father. She had to teach herself how to read since Discord didn't teach her yet. She learned all sorts of things. The ponies who turned her father to stone were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She lived in a land called Equestria and she was an Earth pony, which she knew but didn't know what it meant, but apparently, it meant that she wasn't able to use magic or fly so she shouldn't use her chaos magic or fly around other ponies.
One thing that Screwball did was go to Discord's statue and talk to him. She told him everything she learned from her books and what she did with her chaos magic. She told him that she tried to recreate the world he made but was unsuccessful. She also said that she couldn't find a way to free him and she looked through everything she could in the library.
One day, all that changed. It was a normal day for Screwball, she had stolen food from a farmer since she didn't have any bits and she wanted to talk to her daddy. She trotted happily to his statue until she ran into somepony. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry..." She looked up and her eyes grew big with fear. She had bumped into Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia went down to her level and said, "It's quite all right little filly. I'm afraid I haven't seen you around before. I think I would remember a filly with your unique eyes. What are you doing here?"
Screwball started to stumble over her word. "Um... well... my daddy is busy... so I went on... a walk..." Screwball was terrified of the Princesses. Especially Princess Celestia since she had recently banished her sister to the moon. "Oh, what about your mother? I don't she would want you wondering by yourself."
Screwball had read about mothers but she didn't have one. It was just her and Discord. Feeling the fear and pressure, Screwball ran. She ran out of the garden and out of town. She couldn't risk getting found out that she was Discord's daughter.
Once she was out of town, she fell to the ground and the waterworks fell. She couldn't return to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Princess Celestia knew what she looked like and who knows when she would figure out that she was Discord's daughter. She turned to the faint outline of the castle. "Sorry, daddy. I'll find a way to free you and together, we will take over Equestria once more." Then she turned around and began her journey to find a way to free Discord forever.
Discord had been dreading this since Tirek had been sent back to Tartarus. Since he first escaped from his stone prison, he thought that his daughter was gone since she had stopped visiting him one day. Once he escaped and arrived at the maze, she appeared out of nowhere, he was very surprised to see that she was alive and well.
She hadn't changed in the thousand years he had been gone. In fact, her magic had gotten better since he left. She told him everything about what she had seen and all the pranks she pulled. She even told him how she got her cutie mark from making things a bit more interesting when other ponies were playing. It felt good knowing that she was alive, well, and still causing chaos across Equestria. She also apologized for never visiting him. She was afraid of the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony but he forgave her none the less. They were back together again and nothing else mattered.
Until... he was sealed away again by the Elements of Harmony. She wasn't around when he was sealed away but even though he was frozen, he worried about her safety. She was probably scared that she would get frozen as well but more importantly, she was alone, again.
When he was reformed, he didn't mention Screwball because he didn't fully trust the princesses or the others. He trusted Fluttershy but he wanted to find Screwball himself. Whenever he wasn't messing with the Mane 6 or having tea with Fluttershy, he was searching for Screwball. He looked all over Equestria for her. He disguised himself as a colt to find her in various orphanages but no luck. After the incident with Tirek, he knew that he could trust the princesses and get their help since he trusted them and they trusted him.
Discord took a deep breath. 'They are your friends. The Princesses will help. All you need to do is ask.'
For Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, their days had been rather boring since their fight with Tirek. After giving Twilight new books for her library, things had gotten quite boring. Twilight had also told him about the Friendship map and that it summoned her and her friends on a friendship mission. Now, it had been several months since then, and everything was fairly quiet.
Currently, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were sitting in their throne room, looking over papers for their kingdom. For Princess Celestia, she was looking over her duties over Canterlot and Princess Luna was trying to map out ways to help the fillies and colts who need her help most in their dreams.
As Princess Luna was reading through her papers, the letters on one paper started to rearrange itself. 'What the...?' The letters rearranged themselves into a lined picture of Discord. "Nice dream, huh, Princess?"
Princess Luna dropped her papers out of fright. "Luna, is something wrong?" Princess Celestia asked after seeing her sister drop the papers.
Suddenly, Discord appeared in front of the Princesses with a mischievous smile on his face. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna smiled with amusement on their faces. "Princesses," Discord said with a small bow.
"Discord, what brings you here?" Luna asked wondering what Discord had chosen to visit them. Normally, he was in his home or in Ponyville hanging out with Fluttershy.
Discord normal mischievous stature soon turned into one of nervousness. This shocked the princesses since Discord was always confident and mischievous and now he looked like he was nervous. "Well, I just have a favor to ask of both of you."
The two princesses looked at each other then Celestia told him, "Discord, we may have had our problems in the past and the incident with Tirek wasn't good." Discord gulped nervously. "But all that is in the past now. What do you need?"
"It's just... I need help finding my daughter, Screwball. I lost her a long time ago and I have no idea where she is."
"Wait, you have a child? How? When did this happen?" Luna asked baffled.
Discord sighed. "When I was first ruling Equestria, I was bored and lonely. I wanted somepony to appreciate my chaos so I created my daughter from a cloud of cotton candy. Anyway, I can't seem to find her. I have searched all over Equestria for her and I haven't found her."
"Discord, how is she still alive if she was born when you first ruled Equestria?" Celestia asked. "She's a chaotic being so naturally, she's immortal. After I was freed from my stone prison the third time, I started my search for her across Equestria but no luck. Eventually, I gave up until..." Discord stopped. It was obvious that he wanted to continue but was afraid.
"You gave up until... what? What happened?" Luna asked now concerned for the draconequus and his daughter.
Discord sighed. He turned away from the princesses sadly. "I joined sides with Tirek because he offered me two things I always wanted. To be able to use my chaos magic freely without question and..."
"The location of your daughter," Celestia finished for him.
Discord nodded sadly.
Discord was thinking to himself about Tirek's offer. "Sorry, I actually like having my friends, besides you don't even have anything else I could want."
Tirek smiled and said, "Oh, what about the location of a certain pink filly with a purple and white mane that you've been searching for?"
Discord froze then looked at him with anger in his eyes. "You know about her? Where is she?!"
"Now, now, I gave you a simple offer. Become my 'friend', and I will tell you where to find her. My friendship and the location of your precious child."
"I never learned of Screwball's location but I came here hoping that you and the others could help me find her."
The two princesses smiled and Celestia said, "Discord, the past is in the past. Now, I will send a letter to Twilight to see if she and her friends can help find her, what does she look like?"
"Screwball is an adorable pink Earth pony, with a baseball and screw for a cutie mark, a purple and white mane with a yellow and green propeller hat. You can tell them that they will know her when they see her."
Celestia finished writing her letter and sent it off to Twilight. "Thank you, princesses. Now, off to tea with Fluttershy!" Then he teleported away.
"I don't think he'll ever change, do you, sister?" Luna asked.
"His mischievous ways, no. But he has changed since we first fought him."
A puff smoke came into the castle signaling that Twilight had written back to Celestia and Luna. Celestia used her magic to open the letter and began to read it to herself. "What does it say, sister?"
"Twilight, just like us, is shocked that Discord has a child, but she and her friends were called on a Friendship mission."
"All six of them?" Celestia nodded. "It must be serious if all of them were called."
"Yes, it must be. Twilight said that she and her friends would try their best to aid in the search for Discord's daughter when they return."
The Mane 6 were currently on a train to the town where they were needed for a friendship problem. "So, where exactly is this place with a friendship problem?" Rarity asked.
"I'm not sure, but it must be serious if all of us are needed," Twilight answered.
"Are you kidding?! This place is the place I've always dreamed of visiting! It's CANDY TOWN!!!" Pinkie Pie shouted happily.
"I've heard of that place. It's where the most famous candy is made and spread out through Equestria. They have some tours every now and then," Rainbow Dash told them.
"Wow. It sounds like this place was made for you, Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy told her.
"Yeah, what's in Candy Town anyway?" Applejack asked curiously.
"Cotton candy trees, chocolate trees, candy apples that grow on those chocolate trees, gummy bushes, candy glass, a frosting fountain, and I even heard that they have a mountain made of ice cream!" Pinkie Pie shouted happily.
"Are you sure, Pinkie? I've never heard of a town like this," Twilight told her.
"Yeah, I know of all kinds of apple trees but never a candy apple tree."
"Well, we'll just find out when we get there. Hopefully, if everything is made of candy, it doesn't ruin my coat." Everyone laughed happily as the train continued to its destination.
The Mane 6 soon arrived at the train station for Candy Town. "Hmm... I wonder if the boards are made of chocolate bars!" Pinkie bent down to sniff the wooden floor and bite a piece off.
"PINKIE! What are you doing?!" Twilight asked her freaking out about the damaged property.
Pinkie started to crunch on the wooden board but soon spit it out. "Yuck! This isn't chocolate! This is oak!"
"I guess everything being made of candy wasn't true," Rainbow Dash told them. Everyone laughed in amusement.
"You're not the first pony to do that you know? Everypony who comes for the first time always tried to eat the train station the first time." The girls looked at the sound of the voice and saw a male white unicorn in a purple striped suit with a black mane. "You must be Princess Twilight and her friends. I must ask, what are you doing in a town like this? On a vacation?"
"Actually, we are here on a Friendship Mission. We have a map that told us that there was a friendship problem here," Twilight told him.
"Well, I'm Mayor Sweet Tooth and I'm sorry to disappoint you, Princess, but everypony here gets along very well. No pony is sad and everypony gives ideas for how we can improve our candy."
The Mane 6 looked at each other than huddled together. "Think he's telling the truth? Are things are good here?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not sure. The mayor didn't seem to be lyin' but there could be somethin' happenin' that he doesn't know about."
"We could look around and ask. The mayor was really nice and maybe everypony else is too," Fluttershy said.
"Yeah! Let's look around and eat all the candy!" Pinkie Pie shouted with glee.
They all got out of their huddle and looked at Mayor Sweet Tooth. "Mayor Sweet Tooth, do you mind if my friends and I look around? I would love to see how you make your famous sweets."
"I'd be delighted to show the Princess of Friendship and her friends around. Although, my secret for how I make everything happen will just have to remain a secret." Everypony nodded in agreement. "Excellent. Let's take a tour." The group left the train station and Mayor Sweet Tooth showed them all around town. He told them that the town was not made of candy but the trees were chocolate with cotton candy leaves. They also grew different candied fruits. He also showed them a chocolate bar that will never melt, no matter how long it remains in the sun and it can survive dragon fire. They also had gum that would never lose its flavor and lollypops that are on eatable sticks.
"Wow, you made all of these?" Twilight asked amazed that a unicorn could do all this.
"Of course. I had a huge love for candy when I was a young colt and I wanted to experiment with it to make certain things last longer."
"That is AWESOME! Can we try some of it?" Rainbow Dash asked hopefully.
"Of course! We had plans to send it off to Ponyville and Canterlot soon but I don't mind you trying out some."
"YIPPIE!!" Pinkie Pie ran off faster than anypony could register.
"Pinkie, you don't even know where you're going!"
Pinkie Pie was running so fast, she didn't even notice the young filly she crashed into. "Ow..."
Pinkie Pie stood up and helped the filly up. "Sorry, guess I wasn't watching where I was going."
The young unicorn filly proceeded to pick up the items that had fallen out of her bag and put them back in. "It's okay."
Pinkie Pie also helped her. "I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?"
The young filly put the last item in her bag then said, "My name is..."
"Pinkie Pie, you can't run off like that!" Twilight shouted.
"Sorry, I got so excited to see that candy that Mayor Sweet Tooth was going to let us try."
"Is everypony okay?" Mayor Sweet Tooth then noticed that young filly. "Tootsie Roll, are you okay?" The young filly nodded. "Good, I was worried for a second there. This is my daughter, Tootsie Roll." She did a shy wave at them. They noticed that she was a pink unicorn with a white mane and no cutie mark. She also had light purple eyes and wore glasses.
'Odd. Why does her hair look like that?' Rarity thought to herself.
"Tootsie, why don't we show them our trees?" The young filly nodded. "Great. Come on, I'll lead you to the factory where we make everything."
Once they arrived at the factory, Mayor Sweet Tooth showed them around. He showed them how the candy was packaged and he even let them try it.
"This is AMAZING!!" Pinkie said happily.
"I say this is truly divine."
"Ye-haw! These candy apples are just as good as the apples at Sweet Apple Acres."
"Thank you. It's great to now that all this hard work is going to ponies who will simply love our candy."
Twilight was enjoying the candy apple that Mayor Sweet Tooth had given them then she noticed that Tootsie Roll's eyes were red. Tootsie Roll was using her magic to lift her glasses up and she rubbed her eyes. Twilight walked over to her and asked, "Are you all right?"
Tootsie Roll looked at her and said a bit too quickly, "I'm fine!" She cleared her throat and said a bit slowly, "I'm fine, Princess. It's just my... allergies. I have allergies that make my eyes red and irritating. I have my eye drops on me." She then took out her eye drops and put a few drops in her eyes. "I should be fine in a while, Princess."
"Okay... good to know," Twilight said then she walked off.
The tour continued without a hitch. However, Twilight was concerned about Tootsie Roll. Twilight could tell that she was lying about her allergies. Allergies can involve sneezing, coughing, rashes, and many more that could be much worse. Red, irritating eyes are a factor but something felt off about how she said it, Twilight just couldn't put her hoof on it.
"It's getting late and I'm sure you all are tired. Why don't you stay in our luxury hotel and I can give you all more of a tour tomorrow?"
"Thank you, Mayor Sweet Tooth. Thank you, Tootsie Roll. We'll see you tomorrow." The Mane 6 left leaving Mayor Sweet Tooth and Tootsie Roll for the night.
In the hotel room, the Mane 6 were discussing why they were there and their tour with Mayor Sweet Tooth. "From what we saw on our tour, Twilight, I didn't notice no friendship problem."
"Yeah, Mayor Sweet Tooth seemed really cool. He cared about his employees and the ponies in this town were really nice," Rainbow Dash told her.
Twilight just stared out the window in silence. It appeared that she didn't hear her friends. "Twilight, is everything okay?" Fluttershy asked. She walked over to Twilight and tapped her on the shoulder which startled her.
"Huh?! Oh, sorry, girls. I guess I was lost in thought. This place is perfect. No pony fights, no arguments, and everypony seemed happy."
"We did say that there could be something happening that the mayor doesn't know about," Rarity told her.
"I know. I could also be putting too much thought into it. The map sent us all here for a reason. Question is, what?"
"Maybe the map wanted us to eat the delicious candy for all we've done for Equestria?" Pinkie Pie told her.
Twilight smiled and said, "I don't think so, Pinkie. The map sends everypony somewhere where there is a friendship problem. I know that there is a friendship problem here and I think that it could be something that Mayor Sweet Tooth doesn't know about."
"We ain't going to find the solution in one day. While we have found it quickl' in the past, I think that we need to get some sleep and find it in the mornin'," Applejack told them.
"I agree. After all, a mare needs her beauty sleep."
"All right, let's get some sleep. Good night, girls."
The next day, after a delicious breakfast and another tour from the mayor, the Mane 6 decided to split up to find the friendship problem, Pinkie Pie was with Twilight, Fluttershy was with Applejack, and Rainbow Dash was with Rarity.
Everypony would look around town to find the friendship problem, one group was going back to the factory, another group would ask around town, and the last group would search the school. Fluttershy and Applejack took the school, Pinkie Pie and Twilight took the factory, finally, Rarity and Rainbow took the town.
"Are you sure we'll find the friendship problem at a school, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know, Fluttershy, but it's a start. The school could be having a bullyin' problem and the mayor doesn't know about it."
The two arrived at the school during lunch and recess and watched the school ponies playing with each other. "Seems like everypony is gettin' along here. Maybe comin' here was a bust."
"Maybe not." Fluttershy pointed to a young filly who was sitting under a tree drawing a picture by herself.
"That looks like Tootsie Roll, Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter."
"Wonder why she's by herself. We should ask her." The two walked over to Tootsie Roll. "Excuse me?"
Faster than Fluttershy and Applejack could register, Tootsie Roll crumbled up her picture and stomped on it with her hoof. She smiled at them after she was finished. "Yes? Oh, you were with the mayor yesterday? Where are your friends?"
"Uh... they all went 'round town." Applejack cleared her throat and tried to speak but didn't have the words.
"What are you doing over here? Don't you want to play with your friends?" Fluttershy asked.
Tootsie Roll was silent for a bit then she sat down. "Umm... I don't have any. No pony wants to be my friend."
"Why? You seem like a nice filly and with you being Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter, I would imagine that everypony would like to be your friend."
"Not really. The mayor is nice to everypony and always lets everypony try his newest creations."
"Have you tried asking anypony?"
"Yeah, I bet if ya get to know anypony, they'll be your friend faster than a pig gettin' his grub."
Tootsie Roll bit her lip nervously. She was about to say something then the bell rang. She sighed sadly. "Look, I know friendship is important and all but no matter what you say, I won't make any friends. No pony wants to be my friend and no pony ever will." She grabbed her destroyed drawing and walked inside the school but not before throwing her crumpled up paper in the trash.
"Gee, that was..."
"Sad."
"Yeah, you said it."
In town, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were asking around town to see if anypony had a friendship problem with each other but everypony, just as they had seen yesterday, was getting along fairly well.
"Doesn't anypony have any issues? No town is perfect, not even Ponyville is this perfect," Rainbow Dash told Rarity.
"I do agree. Everypony getting along seems odd. Even in Starlight's village, while everypony seemed happy, not everypony was."
"Yeah, so there has to be somepony who's unhappy."
Then Rarity noticed Tootsie Roll walking through town with a list in her hoof. "Look, isn't that Tootsie Roll?"
Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes and said, "Yeah. I guess school is over for her. Maybe she knows something. We should ask her."
"Agreed."
The two walked over to the young unicorn. "Hey, Tootsie Roll, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Tootsie Roll looked at her and said, "Oh. I'm just doing some shopping for the mayor. He's always busy with other ponies so he makes me do all the shopping."
"So, what are you buying?" Rarity asked.
"Not much. Some seeds to plant to make new candied fruit and a few supplies for me."
"Mind if we join you?"
Tootsie Roll just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure. I guess it would be nice to have some company."
The trio continued their trek through town in silence until Rarity started to ask some questions. "So, do you know of any problems in town?"
"No. Everypony gets along really well. No fights, no disagreement. Everypony gets to suggest new ideas to the mayor and he takes all of them, while not all are used, everypony understands that not every idea is a good idea."
"That makes sense. Even in the Wonderbolts, while we try new trick ideas, not all of them work. Have you suggested any ideas to him?"
"Not really. I'm not that creative."
"Are you sure? I've met all sorts of fillies who are very creative and you did say that the mayor accepts all ideas."
Tootsie Roll sighed sadly. "Yeah, all ideas but mine, but that doesn't matter. Besides, my ideas aren't very good." Wanting to change the subject, the trio finally arrived at the store. "Oh, look, we arrived. I should do the rest of the shopping by myself. Then I have to head home. Bye." Then she walked into the shop without another word.
The two friends looked at each other in silence and started to walk back to their hotel "Well, that was weird."
"Indeed. It seems like Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter does have ideas but she doesn't get to voice them. Could that be the problem?"
"Not sure, but it does seem likely. She also seemed really sad. Besides, she said, "It'd be nice to have some company". That could indicate that she normally shops alone."
"Maybe, but if her ideas not being looked at and being alone is the friendship problem, then why didn't the map send the CMC? They would be much better at this than us."
"Yeah, maybe the others are having better luck. We all agreed to meet back up later. Let's go talk to the others." Rarity nodded and the two ran back to the hotel room.
Pinkie Pie and Twilight returned to the hotel room with nothing from the factory workers. "Pinkie Pie and I didn't find anything at the factory. All of them said that Mayor Sweet Tooth was the best boss/mayor ever."
"Yeah, even I didn't find anypony who was unhappy and that's my job!"
"Well, Fluttershy and I think we found something."
"Same, with me and Rainbow Dash."
"What is it?"
"Tootsie Roll," Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack said at the same time. The four looked at each other in confusion.
"Tootsie Roll, Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter?"
"Yeah, Fluttershy saw her at the school. It was recess time and Tootsie Roll was by herself drawin'. When Fluttershy and I approached her, she quickly destroyed her drawing and talked to us."
"Destroyed her drawing? Why would she do that?" Twilight asked.
"We're not sure. We were so shocked by her actions that we forgot to ask. We did ask her if she had any friends and she told us that no pony wanted to be her friend."
"Yeah, Rarity and I got the same vibe from her. She was doing shopping for the Mayor and for herself. It seemed like she didn't have any friends and even though the mayor takes ideas from everypony in town except from her."
"Why? Tootsie Roll is his daughter, why doesn't he take ideas from her?"
"I'm not sure, but something seems fishy about all this. Somethin' else I noticed was that Tootsie Roll never once called Mayor Sweet Tooth, dad, she just called him, the mayor."
"Something I noticed was when we first met Tootsie Roll. Her mane and tail were dyed."
"How can you tell her hair is dyed?"
"As a mare who spends hours on her mane and tail, I could easily tell that her mane and tail are dyed. Parts of her mane are truly white but the rest of it is dyed white. I just can't figure out why."
"All that does seem weird. Her mane and tail could be something that she wants but not calling the mayor, dad, is suspicious. You girls stay here, Pinkie, let's go back to the factory."
Twilight and Pinkie Pie went back to the factory to talk with Mayor Sweet Tooth and Tootsie Roll. Pinkie Pie was more than happy to go back but Twilight was just confused. She still didn't understand how this friendship problem needed all six of them. 'If Tootsie Roll did have a friendship problem, then why did this require all of us? Wouldn't this particular problem need maybe two of us or the CMC's? None of this makes any sense.'
"Everything all right, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked startling Twilight out of her thoughts.
"Sorry, Pinkie. This whole friendship problem is just so confusing. I just can't figure out why the map sent all six of us."
"Don't worry, Twilight. I'm sure we'll figure it out."
Twilight sighed. "You're right, Pinkie. We'll figure it out."
Twilight and Pinkie arrived at the factory. Twilight was about to knock on the door but the door opened to reveal Mayor Sweet Tooth and Tootsie Roll. "Princess Twilight and Pinkie Pie, we were just about to lock up and head home. What are you doing back here?"
"Actually, we can back because we think we know what the friendship problem is."
Mayor Sweet Tooth looked very surprised. "Really? Are you sure? I think I would have found a problem in my village."
"Pretty sure, Mayor Sweet Tooth," Pinkie Pie said happily.
"Yes, we actually think that it's Tootsie Roll."
Mayor Sweet Tooth looked surprised and Tootsie Roll paled.
"My daughter? But she always talks about her friends. Don't you, sweetheart?"
Tootsie Roll nodded. "Uhh... yeah, I have loads of friends. After all, I'm the mayor's daughter." She smiled a fake smile that Pinkie Pie noticed instantly.
"See, she has many friends, so how can she have a friendship problem?"
"Really, cause our friends, Applejack and Fluttershy, said that you had no friends and that no pony wanted to be your friend." Tootsie Roll gulped once Pinkie Pie said that and both Twilight and Pinkie Pie noticed it.
"Also, our other friends, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, said that while you take everypony else's ideas, you don't really take Tootsie Roll's ideas."
"Hmm. Well, those problems are easily fixable." Mayor Sweet Tooth turned to his daughter and asked, "Tootsie Roll, what ideas do you have?"
Tootsie Roll rubbed the back of her head and said, "Well... maybe candied... pineapples..." She smiled nervously at him.
"Well, that could work. I think we might be able to work with that. I think that's all, right? That's the friendship problem, if so then we must depart. Tomorrow is Saturday and it will be a very busy day for the two of us."
"Actually, one more question, something else our friends also mentioned, why doesn't Tootsie Roll call you dad?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I adopted her many years ago. I guess she still misses her real father. Now, Tootsie Roll and I must be going. Good night." The two ponies left and Tootsie Roll looked back at the two with a look of sadness in her eyes before looking away.
"Twilight, our friendship mission isn't even complete. If we solved it, our cutie marks would have glowed but they didn't."
"Yeah, I think we have to do some research on this town. Something isn't right and has been bugging me for a while." The two started their trek back to their hotel room. "How can a unicorn create a spell that turns a tree into a chocolate cotton candy, candy apple tree?"
"I don't know. He did say that he experimented with a bunch of stuff when he was a young colt."
"Yeah, but experiments can only go so far. From what we've seen, there are candied pears, lemons, limes, and all sorts of different fruits that have been candied from growth. How is that possible? That much would have taken him years, if not decades. If this town was founded just a few years ago, how did he create a candy tree?"
"Not sure, maybe you can find a spell in the town library."
"Oh, of course. Let's do it in the morning. Mayor Sweet Tooth is right. It's late and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
From an open window, a pony watched from the shadows as Twilight and Pinkie Pie went back to their hotel. "Watch them and if they cause trouble, take care of them."
"What about the filly?"
The pony smirked. "I have her wrapped around my hoof. She will obey my orders without question but those mares are trouble. I don't care if they saved all of Equestria multiple times. They will not ruin my hard work." The pony nodded and walked out.
"I have work too hard and too long for those mares to ruin me and this town. I will not lose it to some 'friendship problem'."
The next morning, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy went to the library to find a spell and the history of the town. While Applejack and Rainbow Dash went back to the factory to spy on Mayor Sweet Tooth, something about him didn't sit right with Twilight but she couldn't figure out what.
"So, Twilight wants us to spy on Mayor Sweet Tooth? Why? He seems like a good pony."
"Yeah, but she said that even though she and Pinkie Pie talked to him about Tootsie Roll, their cutie marks didn't glow. She says that somethin' is goin' on in the factory that she doesn't like and when Twilight says somethings wrong, then we should trust her."
"Agreed, so how are we going to spy on Mayor Sweet Tooth?"
"I think I have an idea." Applejack proceeded to tell Rainbow Dash her plan. She would be helping them factory workers by bucking the various candied fruits down while Rainbow Dash would sneak around the factory for answers. With the plan in mind, Applejack walked to the factory while Rainbow Dash flew around, trying to find a way inside with no pony noticing them.
Applejack knocked on the doors of the factory and Mayor Sweet Tooth happily let her in once she explained what she wanted to do. "It's nice to know that a strong pony like you is willing to help get the candied fruits down from the trees, Applejack."
"Not a problem, Mayor Sweet Tooth. I've been buckin' apples my whole life and I know about every apple in all of Equestria. I would love to try and buck a candied apple tree."
"It's not a problem. Though, I am wondering how long you and your friends will be staying in Candy Town? I thought you solved your friendship problem by talking to me and my daughter. Tootsie Roll is hanging out with some of my co-workers' fillies and colts and I am also taking her ideas."
"Well, Twilight thinks it's a bit more complicated than that."
"I see. So, how do you know when your friendship problem is solved?"
"Oh, well, our cutie marks will glow. Since they haven't glowed yet, then we haven't solved the friendship problem." The two arrived at a closed door once Applejack was finished talking.
"Hmm... I see. Well, here is the garden where we grow the candied trees." Mayor Sweet Tooth opened the doors to reveal many chocolate trees with cotton candy leaves and various candied fruits on them. "Who-ee! This wasn't on the tour."
"I don't show these trees often but the fruits are sometimes very sticky so somepony helping to get them down would be perfect."
"Well, let's get started," Applejack said as she rushed to buck down the candied fruit. 'Okay, Rainbow Dash. I hope you found everything Twilight needs.'
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, who found a way inside the factory with no pony noticing her which was through the vents, was searching through the factory for answers. As she went deeper into the factory, she began to notice that there were only workers in the factory where they packaged all the candy but never created or produced it. "Weird... why are there only workers in one room but no the other?" As she went further in, she found a big room that had all the candy that she and her friends had heard about.
Soon, she got out of the vents, flew down to the ground, and began to look around. "Where are all the workers?"
"No pony is allowed back here and now, you will never leave."
"Huh!" Before Rainbow Dash could see who was talking, she was hit on the head and knocked out.
Applejack was having a blast knocking down candied apples. "Boy, I can't wait to tell everypony back on the farm about these trees."
"Applejack, think my daughter and I could speak with you for a few moments in my office?" Mayor Sweet Tooth asked.
"Sure, I could use a break anyway. I didn't expect these trees to be so hard to buck."
"No worries."
The two ponies went to his office with Tootsie Roll sitting on a chair inside. "Hey, Tootsie Roll. You and your dad needed to speak with me about somethin'?"
Tootsie Roll nodded than Mayor Sweet Tooth shut his door. "So, you represent the element of honesty, correct?" Applejack nodded as she turned to the mayor. "And you can tell if anypony lies?"
"Yes, sir. I myself don't tell lies."
"Well, that's very impressive."
"Uhh... thanks. What did you want to speak to me about?" Applejack asked. 'Something's wrong. I can feel it.' She thought to herself.
"Well, Tootsie Roll has something to tell you."
Applejack turned to the young unicorn and asked, "I'm really sorry."
"What are you sorry fo..." Before Applejack could finish her question, she was knocked out.
When Applejack came to, she could feel somepony shaking her. "APPLEJACK!!"
Applejack jumped as she woke up and she saw Rainbow Dash with her in a cell. "What happened? Where are we?"
"I don't know. I woke up and I saw knocked out in here."
"You two are in a magical prison where no matter how strong or fast or powerful you are, you can't escape." The two looked in the shadows and the pony who stepped out of the shadows was Mayor Sweet Tooth.
"Mayor Sweet Tooth?!"
"Okay! What's going on?! Who are you?" Rainbow Dash demanded angrily.
"I'm the Mayor of Candy Town and I will NOT have you ponies ruin what I have built here." Mayor Sweet Tooth turned around away from the ponies. "I have worked too hard to create the most successful candy factory in all of Equestria and I will not have you mares ruin it. You already ruined Gladmane so I already had plans in case you ponies came here to ruin me"
"So, Twilight was right. You couldn't have made all that crazy candy," Applejack suspected.
Mayor Sweet Tooth turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash and shouted, "OF COURSE NOT!! I was able to make some of these things like never-melt ice cream, candy glass, gum that never loses its flavor, and even a frosting fountain but all that other stuff was impossible. I spent years experimenting and creating magic spells to make all my candy ideas come true but for years, nothing happened. Then, I met a young filly who could do those spells like it was nothing. Now, since it is obvious that you and your friends will not leave my home, it seems that I will have to bring you all in here."
"And what? Keep us here? Somepony will get suspicious if we don't return."
Mayor Sweet Tooth smirked. "Tootsie, come here and bring the pony."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other confused as they saw the young unicorn bring in a very scared colt. "I'm sorry, Mayor Sweet Tooth. I didn't mean to sneak in!"
"Don't worry, my little pony. You won't remember this encounter, Tootsie. Take care of him."
Tootsie Roll sighed as she made the scared colt face her and she hypnotized him with her magic. "You will forget this ever happened." The colt nodded. "Go home and be a good colt." He nodded and walked out as if nothing happened.
"As you can see, Tootsie Roll has very powerful magic and once I get all six of you in here, you will forget everything that you encountered in this town." Mayor Sweet Tooth then left Tootsie Roll, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash alone.
"Why are you helping him?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Come on, sugarcube. Help us out of here, please."
Tootsie Roll was silent for a moment then said, "I want to help you. I really do but Mayor Sweet Tooth has something that I can't escape from. For what it's worth, you are your friends are the first ponies to be nice to me in a very, very long time."
"We can help. We just need to get to our friends and together, we can stop Mayor Sweet Tooth," Rainbow Dash told her.
Tears started to form on Tootsie Roll's eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't help you. I'm so sorry." Then Tootsie Roll ran away crying with Rainbow Dash and Applejack watching her sadly and with fear in their stomachs for their friends.
Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy searched in the library through every book they could find but nothing brought them closer to figuring out how Mayor Sweet Tooth created his magic spells. "How can there be nothing?"
"Twilight, darling, maybe Mayor Sweet Tooth really doesn't want to share his secrets. After all, everypony has their secrets, Mayor Sweet Tooth included."
"I'll say. When Twilight and I were talking with Mayor Sweet Tooth and Tootsie Roll last night, I could totally tell that Tootsie Roll had a fake smile. I think even Mayor Sweet Tooth had a few fake smiles as well, but it was a bit hard to tell," Pinkie Pie told them.
"Hmm. Maybe she and Mayor Sweet Tooth are hiding something. We'll have to wait for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to return from the factory to find out anything," Twilight said.
"How long do you think it will take them? Surely those two would have come up with a plan by now. After all, they make a great team," Fluttershy said curiously.
"Yeah, you'd think that they'd be back by now?" Pinkie Pie told her.
"Hmm. It is worrisome but Rainbow Dash and Applejack can handle themselves. They'll be back soon. I'm sure of it."
The girls continued to search through the library for a book about Mayor Sweet Tooth but they still found nothing. Just a basic history about his past home, how he earned his cutie mark, and how he started to town, and the factory but nothing else.
"This library is full of history and a lot of it is about Mayor Sweet Tooth's history but nothing about how he made a spell for the candy."
"I guess it makes sense. Not even Mr. and Mrs. Cake have their recipes written in books for everypony to see," Pinkie Pie told her.
"Yes, Darling. I'm sure Mayor Sweet Tooth doesn't want his competitors knowing his secrets, not even my competitors can know mine."
"Isn't strange how we can find almost anything on Mayor Sweet Tooth but nothing on his daughter, Tootsie Roll? It's almost like she appeared out of nowhere," Fluttershy told them.
Once Fluttershy said that, everything started to make more sense that something was up. "You know what, I think Fluttershy is right. If Mayor Sweet Tooth truly loves his daughter as he has mentioned then why isn't she even mentioned in any of these books? I'm sure he would have mentioned how he met her," Rarity told them.
"If something is wrong, then Rainbow Dash and Applejack could be in trouble. Come on, we have to go help them." The four ran out of the library as fast as they could. They knew that they had to get to their friends before it was too late. They were about to reach the factory but a grey unicorn pony in a black suit stood in their way. "Excuse us, but our friends are in the factory and they are late for a meeting. We need inside," Twilight told him.
"Sorry, but Mayor Sweet Tooth is not allowing anypony inside the factory. However, since I know you are his friends, I can take you four somewhere to wait for them," He told them.
The four were in a silent agreement. Even though Applejack wasn't with them, they could tell that this unicorn wasn't to be trusted. "Listen, our friends are inside and they were supposed to meet us a while ago. Now, please let us in."
"If you four aren't going to take no as an answer, then we'll have to do this the hard way." The unicorn powered up his horn.
"EVERYPONY RUN!" Twilight shouted. Everyone scattered in different directions but this proved to be futile as the unicorn was able to teleport everypony except for Twilight and Fluttershy who were cornered in a small alley with Pegasi flying above them. "Sorry, Princess." The two closed their eyes as the unicorn powered up his horn to teleport them but Twilight was faster and she teleported herself and Fluttershy somewhere else. "Find them! Mayor Sweet Tooth wants them gone so his plans can move forward."
Twilight and Fluttershy opened their eyes the found themselves in a dark room. "Are.... are they gone?" Fluttershy asked with her eyes still closed in fear.
"I... I think so. I teleported us out of there but something else interfered with my magic and brought us here instead of where I originally intended but I don't know what," Twilight told her as her horn provided some light in the darkroom that they were in.
"I brought you here." They two turned to the voice and found Tootie Roll standing there. "I need your help to stop Mayor Sweet Tooth from using my magic."
"Tootsie Roll? You teleported us here, how? Alicorn magic is stronger than unicorn magic, how did you interfere with mine?" Twilight asked obviously confused with how a young unicorn without her cutie mark was able to overpower alicorn magic.
"That doesn't matter right now. What's important is getting you and your friends back to Ponyville," Tootsie Roll told them.
"Why are you helping us?" Fluttershy asked her.
"That doesn't matter either. Mayor Sweet Tooth wants me and only me. He doesn't care you six unless you interfere with his plans. I can get you to your friends and take you home but after that, you must never come back to Candy Town."
"We can't leave. We have a friendship problem that we need to solve and we know it has something to do with you and Mayor Sweet Tooth," Twilight told her.
"Maybe we can help you have a better relationship with him. He is your adopted father after all."
Tootsie Roll scoffed. "He didn't adopt me. He found me and took me in. He had something that I thought would be of use to me and once I learned that he lied about it, he made it to where I can't leave even if I wanted to. I'm the only one who can help you save your friends, please, you can't reverse what he did. Just go home and forget about me." Tootsie Roll turned away from the two and continued sadly. "You can't help me. No pony can. I have no pony anymore. The one who truly cared about me was taken away from me forever by a bunch of meanies and I'll never see him again."
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other with a look of sadness. It was obvious that Tootsie Roll was miserable and lonely. She had no pony to look after her and the only ponies who could help her were them. They walked over to the young filly and Twilight told her, "You have heard of our accomplishments, right?" Then young filly nodded.
"Well, we can help you. I know things seem bad but if you let us help you then we can find your real family," Fluttershy told her with a smile.
"Really? You can help me get my dad back?" She asked with disbelief in her voice.
"I don't about that, but with your help, I think we can try. Look, I know things seem bad now but we can help you."
"You can't! Mayor Sweet Tooth has something that keeps me here and unless you destroy it, I won't be able to leave."
"Do you know what it is?" Twilight asked.
Tootsie Roll nodded. "Yes, it's a piece of chalk."
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other confused then back at Tootsie Roll. "A piece of chalk? How is that keeping you here?" Twilight asked her.
"It's magical chalk! It's designed to keep creatures like me in one spot."
"What do you mean by creatures like you?" Fluttershy asked hoping the filly didn't think of herself as just a creature and not a pony.
"Look, this chalk is something that was created from some kind of dark magic. Once my DNA was connected to the chalk, he drew an invisible line around the town. I couldn't escape even with your magic, Twilight. It's impossible. Unless you find a way to destroy it, I can never leave."
Twilight smiled once she had a plan. "Tootsie Roll." She looked at Twilight who had a determined look on her face. "With the help of our friends, we can destroy that magical chalk and take you back to Ponyville. I'm sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna can help you control your magic."
"NO! I refuse to be trained by them!" Tootsie Roll them with a surprising amount of anger in her voice. Twilight was about to ask why but Tootsie Roll sighed and said, "Look, I don't expect you to understand and we don't have time... but if you can help me leave then... I'll help you. What's the plan?"
Twilight and Fluttershy smiled. With Tootsie Roll willing to help save their friends, this meant that they were one step closer to solving their friendship problem.
Using an invisibility spell that she learned from Starlight a few months back, Twilight used it on herself and Fluttershy to sneak inside the factory from behind Tootsie Roll. They weren't even able to talk with each other because they could reveal they were behind her. They entered the factory without any problem which was phase one, now phase two was to find and free their friends from the jail cell that they were being kept in.
"Tootsie Roll, you've returned." Mayor Sweet Tooth said as he entered the room. "Where were you?"
"Where I always go when I want to be alone. The only place where I can truly be alone to use my magic freely."
Mayor Sweet Tooth rolled his eyes. "Yes, that magic that I need you to use right now. Let's go."
Wanting to see her magic in action and not being able to find their friends until Tootsie Roll leads them to them, they have no choice but to follow her. They followed the pair to a garden full of candied fruits growing on what appeared to be chocolate trees and the leaves were obviously made of candy as well but it was hard to tell. In fact, everything seemed to be made of candy, even the grass and dirt were made of some form of candy. 'Did Tootsie Roll do all this? How is a young unicorn's magic so powerful? If this gets into the wrong hoofs, then who knows what could happen?'
"Tootsie, I liked the idea of candied pineapple. It would make for a great summer candy so..." Mayor Sweet Tooth brought a plain pineapple out and set it down on the ground. "Turn this into a candied pineapple tree."
Tootsie Roll sighed. "Yes, sir."
Twilight and Fluttershy watched in awe as this young unicorn filly in just the blink of an eye used her magic to turn a plain pineapple in a chocolate tree with candied pineapple rings growing on its branches.
"Excellent. Oh, and find Princess Twilight and her friend tonight. Their memories must be erased so I can move forward with my plans. I will become the best candy master in all of Equestria and thanks to you, my child, that goal will be accomplished."
"Right, do you need anything else?" Tootsie Roll asked.
"No, just find those mares and erase their memories for good."
"I will. Those four can't leave their prison anyway, just like I can't leave mine."
Tootsie Roll left the room and the two mares followed her silently. They found themselves at a locked door with Mayor Sweet Tooth's name on it. "This is his office. No pony can enter this room without a key. Mayor Sweet Tooth can't risk having the chalk on him because if it gets wet with anything or breaks then the barrier keeping me here is gone. He has no choice but to keep it in a box in his office. We just need to find it then I'll take you to your friends."
Using a spell she learned a few years ago to sneak into the library when it was locked, Twilight unlocked the door. Tootsie Roll opened the door and once she was confident that Twilight and Fluttershy were inside, she closed and locked the door. Twilight turned off her invisibility spell and said, "Okay, let's find that magical chalk. Are you sure we can keep even a small piece for further study?" Twilight asked her.
"No, we can't. I won't be able to leave unless we break it or find a way to remove my DNA from it then we can leave but I know nothing about it. I don't even know where it is, maybe we should just get your friends and you all should just leave."
"Tootsie Roll," Twilight started. "We aren't leaving. I know you don't feel that you don't deserve friendship but that's not true. Everypony deserves to be happy and free to go where they want and do what they want. Please, we want to help you be free to do what you want. You have more potential than just making candy, isn't there anything you've wanted to do with your life?"
Tootsie Roll bit her lip then said, "Well... I've always wanted to see my daddy again. He's my only family but he's been taken away from me. I just want to see him again."
"Tootsie Roll, are you sure he's not... gone?" Fluttershy asked her.
"No, he's alive. It's... complicated. Can we find this chalk and not talk about my past anymore... please?"
"Okay, let's find the chalk and save our friends." Twilight, Fluttershy, and Tootsie Roll searched all over Mayor Sweet Tooth's office. The two could tell that there was a lot more to Tootsie Roll then what meets the eye but they couldn't talk with her about it until they got her out of Candy Town and stopped Mayor Sweet Tooth.
"Twilight, I think I found something!" Fluttershy said. Tootsie Roll and Twilight walked over to her and a white mouse was standing on her hoof. "This is Stanley. An adorable mouse whose been living in the factory. He knows where the chalk is. He says that it is in a drawer on the desk." The mouse jumped off her hoof and scurried across the floor then jumped onto the desk. He went to the locked drawer and squeaked at the drawer. "He says that this is the drawer that he has seen the chalk in. He says that it is in a small box so it doesn't get wet."
Twilight used her magic to open the drawer and she carefully pulled out the small box. "Okay, we need to make sure that it is in here." The two ponies nodded in agreement and Twilight carefully opened the box and to her surprise, she found a black piece of chalk with symbols on it.
"That's it. How are you going to destroy it?" Tootsie Roll asked her.
"If we can get it wet, then maybe we can get you out of here and save our friends."
"Sorry, Princess Twilight." The three looked in horror and Mayor Sweet Tooth entered his office and locked the door behind him. "I'm afraid you and your friends have... overstayed your visit." Mayor Sweet Tooth pushed a hidden button which opened a trapped door below causing all of them to fall and causing Twilight to release the chalk from her magic and it rolled on the ground in front of Mayor Sweet Tooth. He sighed in frustration. "Figures, I lose her to friendship and kindness. She craved it. No matter." He put the chalk back in its box and locked the drawer once more. "I know a good memory spell to make those girls forget this town for good."
Twilight and Fluttershy groaned in pain as they stood up. "Where are we?" Fluttershy asked.
"Twilight? Fluttershy? Is that you?"
"Girls! Where are you?" Twilight shouted.
"I think we're in the cell next to Y'all, are y'all okay?" Applejack asked.
"We're fine. Tootsie Roll is with us. Are you guys okay?" Twilight asked.
"We're fine, darling."
"Twilight, Fluttershy, Tootsie Roll is dangerous! She erased the memory of a colt!"
"Tootsie Roll is not dangerous. She's a scared filly who deserves friendship."
"Fluttershy is right. Tootsie Roll is not dangerous. We have to help her."
"Okie-Dokie-lokie. How can we help?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"We need to get a piece of chalk from Mayor Sweet Tooth. It's what keeping Tootsie Roll prisoner here."
"Sorry, Princess. That won't work a second time." Mayor Sweet Tooth stepped out of the darkness.
"Let us go, now or I will free us," Twilight demanded.
"Sorry, Princess. Those bars are made from a certain material that not even you can break, even with your Alicorn magic."
"Why are you doing this? Tootsie Roll is just a filly," Fluttershy told him.
"Yeah, she may have powerful magic but that doesn't mean anythin'," Applejack told him.
"I make candy for a living. I wanted to make the greatest candy in all of Equestria but sadly every spell I tried to create failed. I was able to make all sorts of things that amazed any and everypony with potions and many days experimenting but for me, it wasn't enough. I wanted more. I was tired of seeing other unicorns who were like me able to do the spells I wanted to like it was nothing but one day..." He looked at the silent pink unicorn whose glasses had broken in two after the fall and was curled up in the corner turned away from everypony. "I met Tootsie Roll. Her magic was powerful. She could create anything with a blink of the eye. She was sad because her father was taken away from her. Once I gained her trust, I bonded her to this..." Mayor Sweet Tooth revealed the black chalk that Tootsie Roll told them about. "This is an ancient magic piece of chalk that, once it has been bonded to a creature, that bond can never be broken. However... if the chalk is broken or gets wet that bond is broken."
"Why are you telling us this? Once we get that chalk, we're going to free Tootsie Roll and take her back with us," Rainbow Dash told him.
"I'm going to erase your memory. I may not be able to do any kind of candy spells, but I do know a few good memory spells, especially ones that can erase memories. Enjoy them while they last, girls. I'll be back with your train tickets and a few treats for the road home." Mayor Sweet Tooth then left them alone.
"What are we going to do now, Twilight?" Applejack asked her.
"Escape! That's what! We just need to find a loose brick or bar then get out of here, get that chalk and stop Mayor Sweet Tooth," Rainbow Dash said with confidence.
"How Rainbow Dash? Mayor Sweet Tooth said that not even Twilight's Alicorn magic could get us out of here," Rarity told her.
Twilight then got an idea. "Maybe not my magic, but maybe Tootsie Roll's magic. She created nearly everything in the factory with her magic." Twilight walked over to the young filly who was still curled up in the corner silently. Twilight laid down behind her so she could feel safe. "Tootsie Roll?" Silence followed. "I know you're scared of Mayor Sweet Tooth but we need your help." The young filly still stayed silent. "Please, Tootsie." Twilight put a comforting hoof on her. "You're the only one who can help. I know things seem bad and scary, and I know we said that earlier, but we have been in far worse situations. There was a time when we had our cutie marks taken away. We couldn't do anything of the things we were normally good at. We were defeated, we had no way to contact Spike or the Princesses. We nearly felt hopeless but we didn't give up. Wanna know what happened next?" Twilight waited a bit for her to answer but she said nothing.
Twilight proceeded to stand up and walk away from her but a voice stopped her. "What happened next?" She turned to the young filly who was now sitting but was facing Twilight. "How did you get your cutie marks back?"
Twilight smiled walked back to her and said, "We didn't give up. We had three other ponies who helped us now only get our cutie marks back, but we convinced them that your differences make you who you are. We can't do this alone, we need your help. Can you help us?"
Tootsie Roll stood up and nodded. "Yes. I'm tired of being afraid and alone. I've been like this for years. I don't know if I can break those bars but I can try." Tootsie Roll walked over the bars of the jail cell. She took a deep breath and began to powerup her magic. "Come on... come on..." The bars began to crack. "Come on!" The bars on both Twilight's and the others jail cell broke in pieces.
Twilight carefully approached the entrance and held out her hoof. Once she found herself able to leave, the others followed suit. "You did it, Tootsie Roll."
"Nice job, sugar cube."
"I do say, that was most excellent."
"All right, girls. We need to get that chalk from Mayor Sweet Tooth, destroy it, and bring Tootsie Roll back to Ponyville."
"How? Even if we destroy that chalk, he could come back for me. My magic is too powerful for him to lose. He'll do anything to keep me here."
"Don't worry, Tootsie Roll. We're going to find a way. We always do," Rainbow Dash told her confidently.
"All right, here's the plan..."
Mayor Sweet Tooth returned to the seven captured ponies only to find the bars were broken and everypony was gone. "Of course. Tootsie Roll broke the bars. Should have known her magic would be able to break this and I also should have known that they would have convinced her about "friendship". No matter, even if they escaped their cells, Tootsie Roll can't escape."
"I beg to differ." Mayor Sweet Tooth heard her voice from upstairs and proceeded to follow it.
"Come on out, sweetheart. Have you learned your lesson?"
"Yes, but not the one you want me to learn. You were wrong about me. My magic makes me unique, not evil or bad. I don't deserve to be treated like a piece of property that you can use to your advantage. I am my own pony."
"Really? If my memory serves me right, you came to me and told me your story. From what I can tell, you were created to be used to do whatever somepony tells you to do." Mayor Sweet Tooth looked around the seemingly empty factory for where Tootsie Roll could be.
"You're wrong. That isn't what I was made to do." Tootsie Roll stepped out of the shadows in front of Mayor Sweet Tooth. "But now, we are going to stop you."
"We?"
"No, us." Mayor Sweet Tooth looked at the group of ponies who were in Mayor Sweet Tooth's factory. Each one of them had angry faces.
"You told us that you adopted Tootsie Roll out of the goodness of your heart. The princess and her friends told us what you did. We didn't believe her at first but once they brought us here, we believed."
"Mayor Sweet Tooth, you should have just asked for help. Ponies are willing to help, if you just asked," One town pony told her.
"Yeah, I've always wanted to be a candy master like you. I may be a pegasus but I would love to learn how you did what you did. Maybe I could make everything Tootsie Roll made, but you know, without magic."
Mayor Sweet Tooth just watched as the villagers kept reprimanding him but many said that they would forgive him, once he let Tootsie Roll go. "Mayor Sweet Tooth." He turned to Twilight. "Being a unicorn does have its advantages but not every unicorn can become a success in magic. Some are just happy doing what they love. Rarity's talent is finding gems but she also does fashion and that doesn't require magic. Pinkie Pie can make the most amazing cakes and she's an Earth Pony. Just because you can't cast any spells involving candy, doesn't mean you should force somepony else to. You shouldn't give up. Besides, it seems like you have somepony who is willing to be your apprentice. Tootsie Roll is a unicorn who should be free to do whatever she wants and I think we both know that she wants to find her father, her real father."
"Tootsie Roll..." Mayor Sweet Tooth took out the black chalk and broke it in two. "I am sorry. You're right, Princess. I'm sorry for my treatment of you and your friends. More importantly, I am sorry for keeping you prisoner here, Tootsie Roll. I may not be able to do much with my magic... but that doesn't mean I can't teach others to do what I have always loved, making amazingly delicious candy for everypony to enjoy. I shouldn't have kept you here all these years, Tootsie Roll."
Tootsie Roll stayed silent this whole time, giving him an emotionless stare. Suddenly, Mayor Sweet Tooth was engulfed in magic and thrown against the wall. "Tootsie Roll, what are you doing?!" Twilight asked her.
Tootsie Roll didn't answer her "You kept me here for years! I was scared! I was alone! I had no pony to look after me! I lost my father once then I lost him again! I ran off to find a way to help him and you lied! Why should I forgive you? Why should I forgive the pony who made my life even worse than before?!" She asked with tears falling down her face.
"Tootsie Roll, I don't know what has happened to you but you need to stop hurting him," Twilight told her.
"Why? He hurt me and I should return the favor."
"Because it won't do anything. If you hurt him, then my friends and I will stop you as we have done with other threats to Equestria in the past."
"But he hurt me. Physically... mentally... magically."
"Ponies get hurt every day but getting back at those who have hurt you in the past will do nothing. You have scars but you shouldn't let them get deeper. Instead, let them heal. It's the only way you can feel better," Twilight told her.
Tootsie Roll released Mayor Sweet Tooth from her magic then fell to the ground in defeat. The six mares just walked over to the young filly silently and gave her a silent hug. She was hurt, scared, and alone but right now, she needed time. "I want my daddy. I want my daddy so bad..." Twilight could hear her faintly whisper those words over and over again. Their cutie marks soon glowed signaling that their mission had come to an end but now they had a new mission, helping Tootsie Roll find her real family.