Screwball in DC Universe Online

Another of my attempts to recreate a character from 'My little Pony: Friendship is Magic' in the superhero online game called 'DC Universe Online'.

"What shall we do?"

"Why did this happen to us?"

"We look horrifying!"

"Someone has to save us!"

The citizens of Metropolis and Gotham City were shouting things like this or similar stuff as they ran around in a panic, huddled together nervously or crouched down in a corner while hiding their transformed faces from the world. Most of them were still getting used to their new bodies. Unfamiliar appendages such as two additional legs or a pair of wings or a horn on their forehead caused more than one civilian to freak out. The new ponies were crashing into each other, into buildings or simply down to the floor. New pegasi found it difficult to control their new wings and careened through the air like drunk pigeons, while some of the new unicorns had to deal with sudden surges of magic they were unable to control, causing them to shoot bursts of magic everywhere. The police tried their best to calm everyone down, but as they had to deal with their own changes, it was fairly difficult. On top of that, many members of the police forces were unable to assist the populace, since they had to help with the outbreak at Stryker's and Arkham. At least there were no supervillains running around at the moment... at least not yet.

A certain trio was watching the mayhem in Metropolis from a secluded alleyway. They made sure not to show themselves to the public, as they could all imagine how much more chaos could ensue if the people saw three persons who had NOT been transformed into ponies.

"Wow! I haven't seen such chaos ever since that three-headed dog came into Ponyville," Scootaloo said.

"I feel so bad for those people," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, I couldn't imagine how it must be to be stuck in an unfamiliar form."

Scootaloo just coughed and pointed down. Sweetie Belle looked and saw her own, human body. "Oh... right."

"It's just so crazy, y'all," Apple Bloom said. "Ain't there nothing at all we can do to help?"

"We're not even supposed to be here, remember?" Scootaloo replied. "Zecora's the only one who even knows that we're the new Mare-Do-Well. Do you want to explain to your sisters that we snuck into the Carousel Boutique and took those costumes."

"No way!" Sweetie squeaked in terror. "Rarity might use me again to test her new outfits as a punishment... or worse, tell my parents."

"But there's gotta be something we can do," Apple Bloom said. "We decided to become superheros so we can help others, just like Applejack and the others, right?"

Scootaloo suddenly gasped. "Maybe THAT'S our special talent: Helping others!"

"I would love to have a cutie mark for helping people," Sweetie Belle smiled. "But what would it look like?"

"Maybe a Mare-Do-Well mask?" Scootaloo suggested.

"But then everypony will know it's us."

"Girls. We'll see what our cutie marks look like as soon as we get them. But shouldn't be worrying about what we're supposed to do to get them first?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You're right," Scootaloo agreed. "So what can we do to help these ponies?"

"We need to investigate," Sweetie Belle said. "Pinkie Pie told me that we need to look for clues first."

"What are clues?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Things that seem unusual and out of place, she said. If we find enough clues, we should be able to find a solution."

"Things such as a human who hasn't been turned into a pony?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, like that. Wait... what do you mean?"

"Over there!" Scootaloo pointed out of the alleyway, where a young, HUMAN woman was trying to climb a tree.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at her for a moment. The woman wore a strange set of clothes: Baggy, colorful pants, a purple baseball cap and a makeshift cape that looked more like a tablecloth, which she had wrapped around her head like a hood. They watched as she grabbed a branch, pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around it. After that, she dangled down from the branch upside-down, giggling all the while.

"Y'all think she's from Equestria, too?" Apple Bloom wondered.

"I dunno... but I do know one thing: She acts even crazier than Pinkie Pie."

"Is that possible?" Sweetie Belle asked.

They continued to watch her as she stuck out her tongue and made motorboat sounds whenever a panicking pony ran by.

"Maybe we should talk to her," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"What? Why?" Scootaloo asked.

"Pinkie Pie said to look for unusual things that seem out of place. And I don't see anything around here as out of place as she is."

"She's got a point there," Apple Bloom agreed.

The winged girl sighed. "Fine... but you talk to her, Sweetie. It was your idea."

"Oh... I guess that's right. Okay..." Sweetie Belle gathered her courage and walked up to the strange woman. She was still dangling from the tree, trying to catch a butterfly with her hands. "Um... hello?"

The woman turned her head towards her. "Screwball see little human. But little human not pony-human, right? Other humans became ponies and run around crazy, crazy. But little human not pony? Maybe is human-pony like Screwball. You pony once, little human?"

Taken aback by the strange speech pattern of the woman, Sweetie hesitated a bit before she nodded and replied: "Y-yeah, I'm really a pony. So are my friends. I'm Sweetie Belle and these are Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. We're from Ponyville. Um... so your name is Screwball?"

The strange woman nodded and giggled as she began to sway back and forth. "Screwball pony once. But now Daddy brought Screwball here and Screwball is human. Is fun, no?" Her legs let go of the branch and she fell down. Sweetie Belle gasped, but Screwball simply did a small roll and jumped right back on her feet. She then waggled her fingers in front of the younger girl's face. "Lookie, Screwball has fingers now. And foots with no hoofsies. No fur or tail either."

"Um... yeah, I see," Sweetie Bell responded. She took a few steps back to her friends. "She's crazy!" she whispered.

"Yeah, but she seems harmless and friendly. And if she's from Equestria too, it can't hurt to talk to her, right?" Apple Bloom said.

"What little human-ponies talk about?"

The crusaders were startled when suddenly, Screwball pushed her head in-between them. "Oh, uh... n-nothing," Scootaloo stuttered. "Say, Screwball... where are you from? I don't think I've seen you in Ponyville before..."

"Ponyville?" Screwball's eyes lit up with excitement. "Screwball remember Ponyville. Is when Daddy came there to have fun. Took Screwball there to have fun, too. Screwball flew around having fun with crazy little ponies, dancing buffalos and flying piggys. Was fun time."

The crusaders stared at her. They all knew what time she was talking about. "That's... that's the time DISCORD ran wild in Ponyville," Apple Bloom shouted. "I hid in the barn when it happened, but I remember it all: The flying pigs, Big Mac acting like a dog and Granny dancing like she never had any trouble with her hip at all. And don't get me started on Applejack... she was the worst back then. When I talked to her, she told me nuthin' but lies." Apple Blooms eyes started to tear up at the mere memory.

"But... Rainbow Dash told me that Discord is okay now," Scootaloo said.

Screwball seemed to be very confused by the fear and uncertainty in the little girls' eyes. "Why little human-ponies scared? Daddy not scary. Only want fun! See, took Screwball to human world so Screwball can have fun. Oh, also to find shiny stone, but promised fun after that."

"Who is she talking about? Her Daddy?" Sweetie wondered.

Screwball smiled. "Discord is Screwball's Daddy!"

Now they stared even more. "WHAT?"

"Screwball, dear, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." An elderly man in a trenchcoat and white, tousled hair came walking up to them. Screwball's face immediately lit up.

"DADDY!" She threw herself at the man, giving him a big hug. "Screwball happy to see you, Daddy!"

"Yes yes, I can see that. Now, what about the stone I asked you to look for me?"

"Oh..." She looked at the ground. "I forgot..."

The man sighed. "Oh Screwball, we simply must do something against your absent-mindedness. Then again, that's how I like you, right?" He returned the hug affectionately. "It's how I made you."

"Excuse me..." Apple Bloom then spoke up. "But who in Equestria are you?"

He looked down at them. "Oh, you made some friends, Screwball? How nice. And they seem to be from Equestria, too. Hello, little ones. I am Discord, spirit of disharmony. Pleased to meet you."

Sweetie Belle squeaked in fright. "Y... you are... you are the one who made my big sis Rarity act all scary!"

"You are Rarity's sister? What a coincidence. I can clearly see the resemblance."

"Go away! Rarity was super scary when she came home that day. She talked to that huge rock the whole time and didn't even pay any attention to me. Except when I touched that rock of hers... then she screamed at me and threw me out of her house and..." Sweetie began to sniffle. "It's all your fault!"

Discord sighed. "Oh, that again... can't ponies let bygones be bygones? So I made a few mistakes. What matter is that, in the end, nopony got hurt, right? I mean, I turned her and everything back to normal..."

"You shut up! That stupid chocolate rain you created made my wings sticky so I couldn't fly at all," Scootaloo shouted.

Discord looked at her. "You were able to fly with those little things? Really?"

Scootaloo let out a scream of rage and leapt at him. But Apple Bloom grabbed her friends arms and held her in place. "Don't! Or he's gonna turn you into a a chicken."

Discord was about to say something, but Screwball stepped in front of him. "Daddy don't do that! Daddy changed, is better now. Only wants fun, no hurt pony-humans or human-ponies. Wants help. Send Screwball to find shiny stone, but Screwball forgot. Screwball is bad human-pony..."

"Now now dear, I'm sure you tried," Discord said, patting her backside. "And Daddy is very grateful that you are trying to defend him, but that's not realls necessary."

"Why not? Because it's the truth?" Apple Bloom snapped. She was still holding Scootaloo back, but her eyes were filled with animosity and anger as she glared at Discord. "Maybe you changed, but that doesn't make it any different. You did bad things to Ponyville and all of us! I hate you!"

Grabbing her friends' hands, she dragged them along as she slowly walked away. "C'mon, girls... let's just leave..."

Screwball's little mind was unable to comprehend the entire situation, but the words Apple Bloom spoke made her heart hurt. She looked back at Discord. "Daddy... is not true, no? You not evil. You only want help."

Discord sighed. "No, Screwball. They are right. I did things that can't be forgiven so easily. And those things they mentioned were just what I did after I was released from stone the first time. If you knew what your Daddy did before Celestia and Luna imprisoned him..."

"But you want to help!" she insisted.

"Yes, I want to help. And do you know why? Because I owe it to them after everything I've done. And I won't lie, I still love chaos and mayhem. But not at the cost of others... not anymore. That's what makes me different from the Joker."

Screwball didn't look like she understood what he was trying to tell her. "Daddy not bad," she said again. "Daddy made Screwball... so Daddy must be good, right?" She smiled at him.

He looked back at her. He saw her smiling face, her always happy behavior, her bright colors and her innocent eyes. But he also saw a pony that had not a lot of intelligence or common sense. Screwball didn't even have a family, a childhood or a past. All she had was him.

She was meant to be a little joke, a funny spell woven into the form of a pony. A little experiment with chaotic magic. Just another prank to throw some more chaos onto Ponyville. But even after the town was turned back to normal, Screwball stayed. And she was his responsibility.

"Come along now," he said. "Let's find that shiny stone. Then we can help our friends."

"Yay!" Screwball happily clapped her hands, all sorrow forgotten. She clung to her Daddy's side and walked alongside him.

All around them, Metropolis was still in chaos. But for once, Discord was unable to enjoy that chaos.

'Yes, I made you, Screwball,' he thought. 'And that might be the biggest crime I ever comitted.'