//------------------------------//
// Chapter 46- Returning Home 
// Story: Of Heaven and Earth 
// by Garuda IV 
//------------------------------//

Despite them enjoying their time at the castle, Sol and Twilight were both looking forward to returning back to Ponyville to relax and recuperate after their week of ruling, but not before spending time with their respective families. After breakfast, Sol and Twilight tried to spend as much time as they could with Celestia and Luna before Celestia had to attend to her royal duties, and for Luna to go to bed and get some sleep. Giving them both a goodbye hug, the couple thanked Helping Hoof for her help during their time ruling before they began to leave the castle, but not without a contingent of guards to escort them to their destination.

It was around mid-morning by the time Sol and Twilight left Canterlot Castle, giving the two plenty of time to make it to their next destination before they would leave for Ponyville. Following Twilight's lead, Sol and their guards were led towards a part of the city that Sol was starting to recognize, and expecting to become much more familiar with in the future. After a while of walking and trying to get through the growing traffic, they came upon a house that Sol instantly recognized. Ordering the guards to wait for them outside, the couple went in and were quickly greeted by Velvet and Night Light, the former having squealed in joy upon seeing them enter. At first Sol and Twilight though that she was just happy to see them, but after they all got settled down in the living room, they found out that Velvet and Night had been informed of their first date just a few days ago.

For the next few hours, Sol and Twilight told Velvet and Night how their date went. Even as they sat down for lunch, the two continued on with their story. But, while they did add in the part of Twilight falling sleep against Sol towards the end of their date, they made sure to leave out what happened after he had brought her to her bedroom. The telling of their story prompted Velvet and Night to reminisce their own first date, which led them to telling the younger couple about it. Unfortunately, as much as they were enjoying their time together, and as much as they enjoyed spending time with them, Sol and Twilight were starting to feel like it was about time for them to return home, but not without talking about plans for trying to set up a family game night in the future. And so, with a hug and kiss goodbye for Twilight, and a goodbye hug for Sol, the two said their goodbyes and left the house to return home.





Having taken the chariot back to Ponyville, not only did Sol and Twilight managed to avoid the crowds and any news reporters, but mange to make it back and land at Twilight's castle around mid-afternoon. Once the carriage came to a stop by the castle, Sol and Twilight hopped out of it, the former grabbed the luggage he and Twilight had brought, allowing for the four guards that had accompanied them to return, while the latter closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh Ponyville air.

"Ahh. Home sweet home," Twilight blissfully sighed.

"I missed it too," Sol agreed, carrying his and Twilight's luggage in his magic. "It's rather strange. Even though mother and Aunt Luna live in Canterlot, I still find this place to be more... homey? Am I saying that right?"

"I believe so... and I think I know why."

"Hmm?"

Twilight smiled as she leaned against Sol's side and began nuzzling his chin.

"I don't know if you've heard it yet, but there is a saying; 'home is where the heart is'. It means that your home will always be the place for which you feel the deepest affection, no matter where you are... or in your case, when."

Sol chuckled at Twilight's addition at the end. "I suppose that makes sense. After all." Draping an arm around her shoulders, Sol took Twilight by surprise when his lips met with her own, causing her to let out a startled yelp before she relaxed and let herself melt in his moment of affection. "My deepest affections lie with you, Twilight. Wherever you are is where my home will be."

Blushing at his sweet words, Twilight brought a hoof up to caress Sol's cheek while gazing into his eyes.

"And what about Celestia and Luna?"

"Of course I love them, Twilight. But what I feel for them can never be the same as what I feel for you, nor can it be as special."

Twilight giggled and gave Sol a small peck. "How did you get to be such a sweet talker?"

Sol let out a weak chuckle. "Heh... actually, you can thank Spike for that. He's the one who taught me how to sweet talk during this day and age."

"Really?"

"Yes. For one as young as him, he can be deceptively knowledgeable when he wants to be. Probably has something to do with living with such a smart, intellectual, and beautiful mare all his life."

Twilight gave Sol a playful shove. "Okay, that sounded like something Spike would say. Speaking of Spike, I'm going to head on over to the library to check it out. Hopefully he kept it clean while we were gone."

"Alright. I'll catch up with you after I-" Before Sol could finish, the luggage he was holding was suddenly teleported away, leaving him with a smirking Twilight. "... I really need to learn how to cast a teleport spell."

"It definitely comes in handy, and I'm sure you have enough magic to cast it."

Sticking close beside her, Sol followed Twilight as they walked into Ponyville towards the library. Along the way, they would give a wave to some of the ponies they'd passed by, or exchange a friendly 'hello'. As they continued their way, they heard the sound of something bouncing between them, which caused Twilight to smile as she continued looking foward.

"Hello, Pinkie."

"Hey, Twilight. Hey, Sol," Pinkie greeted.

"Hello, Pinkie."

"So, how was ruling Equestria? Was it any fun?"

Twilight looked over to her friend. "Honestly, it was stressful, tiring, and sometimes boring. But I can't deny that it was a good learning experience for me."

"Agreed. Ruling is harder work than one would think."

"Oh. Well that's too bad." Pinkie's smile fell a little, but barely enough for Sol and Twilight to notice. "Sooo, does this mean that you two are too tired from it for a 'Congratulations on Successfully Ruling Equestria' party?"

Twilight mulled it over for a moment as they walked.

"We are tired, yes, but I also don't want to miss out on a Pinkie Party. Would you be okay if we took a raincheck on it?"

Pinkie gave an enthusiastic nod. "Sure you can. How does tomorrow sound?"

"Tomorrow actually sounds good to me," Sol replied. "It will give Twilight and I an afternoon and night to wind down and get settled back in."

"Great! Then I'm off to tell the others. See you two tomorrow night at the party!"

"Actually, Pinkie," Twilight began, holding a hoof and stopping Pinkie from bouncing away, "I was also thinking about all of us having a picnic for lunch tomorrow."

Pinkie's eyes light up. "Ooh! Even better! We haven't had a picnic lunch since you got that letter from Shining Armor about his wedding."

"... yes... thank you for reminding me of that, Pinkie."

"You're welcome!"

In a trail of dust, Sol and Twilight watched Pinkie speed off through Ponyville, no doubt to tell their friends about tomorrow. Seeing her disappear behind the buildings, the two resumed their walk to the library, which barely took them any time as the large treehouse was already within sight of them. Approaching the door, Twilight went to open the door, but found it locked. Though curious at first as to why it was locked, Twilight quickly concluded to herself that Spike was probably out and had locked it behind him, and proceeded to pull out the spare they'd hidden away within one of the nearby bushes.

Unlocking and pushing the door open, Twilight and Sol walked in, the latter scrunching his nose as he began to sniff the air.

"Hmmm..."

"Something going on?" Twilight asked, seeing and hearing Sol.

"I smell something."

Curious, Twilight took a few sniffs herself. "I don't smell anything."

Continuing to sniff the air, Sol started to follow it to where it was strongest, which led his nose leading him upstairs. As he followed the scent, his mind began to slowly identify, to his increasing horror, what this scent was, and worse, where it was coming from. Coming to the source, Sol stopped in front of the door in front of him and stared.

"Why'd you stop?"

Sol nervously gulped. "... I don't think we should go in there right now."

Twilight gave a confused look as she walked up alongside him.

"Why? It's just my bedroom."

Oblivious to what Sol had perceived, Twilight opened the door to her bedroom and walked in. Unfortunately, when she did, she was blasted with a wave of unknown and intoxicating smells.

"Sweet Celestia! What is that smell?!" she cried, covering her nose with her hooves.

"Trust me, Twilight, you may not want to know," Sol said, grimacing at the familiar scents.

"Do you know what this smell is?"

"..."

"Sol?"

"Unfortunately, I do. However, I doubt that you would want to know."

Twilight furrowed her brow. "Something happened in here that's stinking up my home. If you know what it is, then please tell me."

Sol looked nervously at Twilight's unyielding glare.

"... very well," he sighed. "If you must know, this scent is the result of a rather... physical session. More specifically, an intimate one between a pony and a dragon." Sol coughed as he accidentally breathed in a lungful of the pungent air. "Correction. Make that a pony, a dragon, and a dragoness."

Knowing the implications to Sol's words, Twilight's now horrified face erupted in a fierce blush.

"Are you saying that Spike had sexual intercourse here?! In my bedroom?!!"

"Yes. Most likely with Rarity and Ember."

"Both?! How the hay can you tell?!"

"I recognize the smells."

"And how do you know that, exactly?"

"I... may have accidentally walked in on mother and father when I was little..."

Twilight leaned against Sol for support and brought a hoof up to her throbbing cranium.

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"We should get out of here and let the place air out. With how potent this scent is, they were probably at it for at least few days."

"Uhg. I really didn't need to know that."

"We'll most likely have to burn the bedsheets, too."

"Sol!"

"Sorry."





Fluttershy hummed a tune to herself as she made her way down the trail to her cottage. As she was coming back from town with a saddlebag full of groceries, she met up with Pinkie, who stopped to tell her about Sol and Twilight's return. She also told her about their plans on having a picnic lunch tomorrow with their friends, along with moving their party from tonight to tomorrow night so Sol and Twilight could have an evening to relax after their week of ruling.

Smiling at the thought of her and her friends gathering for a picnic, Fluttershy crossed the small bridge over the creek and walked up to her cottage. Opening the door, she walked inside and slid the saddlebag off of her back before closing the door shut behind her. Stretching her back and feeling it pop in several places, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief and walk further inside. When she did, she paused and blinked when she walked past the coffee table by her couch. Backing up a few steps, she noticed some things sitting on it that wasn't there before. Though confused at first, she quickly realized what was going on as she saw the cup of chocolate milk and a piece of cotton candy sitting on the coffee table.

Knowing who's doing this was, Fluttershy smiled softly and closed her eyes.

"Welcome home, Discord."

Hearing chuckling coming from behind her, Fluttershy's smile widened upon hearing his voice, and felt her heart quicken when she felt a pair of mismatched arms wrap around her and lift her off the ground and into something both soft and familiar. When she opened her eyes, she reached out and gently caressed the grinning face that had appeared before her.

Discord, who held Fluttershy to his chest, had leaned his neck over in front of her, and had his head readjusted on his neck, turning it around to the point where it looked reversed so he could look at Fluttershy face-to-face.

"Hello, my dear. Did you miss me?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

With a giggle, Fluttershy took Discords face in her hooves and pulled him to her in a long awaited kiss. Closing her eyes, Fluttershy focused on the feeling of his lips against hers, humming as she enjoyed the moment that she was denied these past several months since his last visit. After several minutes of bliss had passed for the two, they finally separated and gazed into one another's eyes.

"I'll go ahead and take that as a yes."

Smiling with a small nod, Fluttershy turned herself around so she could wrap her hooves around Discord in a hug. Feeling the softness of his coat, and smelling his familiar scent, Fluttershy sighed and relaxed in his embrace.

"I did miss you," she said, nuzzling into his furry chest. "I'm really glad you're back, Discord."

"So am I, Fluttershy," Discord said, holding Fluttershy to him with one arm while using the other to stroke her mane.

After several moments of the two embracing, Fluttershy let go of Discord and sat herself down on the couch with an excited look on her face.

"So, tell me about your travels," she eagerly said. "What did you do? Did you make any new friends... have you been keeping out of trouble?"

Discord chuckled as he sat down next to Fluttershy. "Keep out of trouble? Me? My dear, just who do you think I am?"

Fluttershy playfully rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, yes. I know. Now, let me think." Discord brought a paw up to his chin and began stroking his beard. "I suppose that I did make a new friend I guess."

"You did? That's wonderful!"

"Yes. Actually, I believe that you even know him."

Fluttershy's excitement faded. "Please tell me it isn't Zephyr Breeze."

"Oh, no, no, no. Not at all. No. The pony I'm talking about is none other than Grand Pear."

"Really? Applejack's long-lost grandpa?"

"Correct."

"Well that's nice. How did you two meet?"

"Now that's the thing. We've actually met before."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Really?"

"We did... well, in a weird alternate universe sort of way we did. Don't ask me why or how. I doubt that your pony mind could handle it. Heck, even I barely understand it. But yes, we did meet, and even now, I can't help but feel a little bit nostalgic when thinking back to when I first saw him, despite us having different forms now and not being able to remember our past lives."

Fluttershy gave a confused look. "... ookaaayyyy. Well, I'm happy that you made a new friend."

"Me too... although..."

"What?" Discord's face suddenly had a nervous look to it, one that Fluttershy recognized and frowned. "Discord. What did you do?"

"Well... during my trip, I decided to do a little dimension hopping."

"... that doesn't sound so bad."

"Normally no, but it's what happened in one of them that you may not like."

Fluttershy's frown hardened. "What did you do?"

"Well, during one of my travels to one of the human worlds, I may have..."

"What?"

"... I may have covered the Whinnysota state capitol building in some... questionable images with spray paint."

"Discord!"

"What? It was funny."

"Maybe to you, but I don't think that they thought it was very funny."

"Well, maybe not for those who were working there, but there were still a lot of others who did find it funny. At least I didn't use the waterproof spray paint, tempting as it was."

Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you."

"Oh, come on. It's not like I hurt anyone. If anything, they should be thanking me for bringing a bit of color and laughter to their lives."

*Sigh*

"Although..." Fluttershy's ears perked. "I did run into someone rather interesting while I was there."

"'Interesting'? That's rare coming from you."

"Yes, but I assure you, this one was by far the most interesting person I saw there. Oh, the chaos he would bring was enjoyable to watch. As subtle and minor as he was with it, I found it to be rather refreshing."

"Did you talk to this person?"

"Oh, no. I kept my distance from him and merely observed."

"... so you were stalking him."

"Pfft. I wasn't stalking him." Fluttershy raised an unconvinced eyebrow. "... okay, maybe I was. But I assure you, it wasn't with any malicious intent."

"I know, but you still shouldn't do that." Fluttershy leaned over against Discord's side. Maybe I should tell him...

"Something on your mind, Fluttershy?"

"Hmm? I'm sorry. What?"

"You look distracted, my dear. Tell me, is something the matter?"

"No. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"... our friends are having a picnic tomorrow-"

"Oh, splendid! I haven't had a picnic with everypony in a very long time. How is the gang doing, by the way?"

"They're doing alright... but..."

"Hmm?"

"... well, I don't think you know this yet, but Twilight's found herself a coltfriend."

Discord's eyes widened with a sparkle of mischief. "Really now? Well then, I suppose I should go see who this-"

"Wait!" Discord froze from Fluttershy's shout, his paw primed and ready to snap him away to Twilight's. "Just wait, okay? Twilight just got back from her week-long trip to Canterlot and is feeling very tired right now, so could you wait until tomorrow? Pinkie told me that Twilight's coltfriend will be coming as well. You can meet him there."

Though he wanted to go to Twilight and see this coltfriend of hers, Discord let out a sigh and folded his arms.

"Oh, alright. For you I'll wait."

"Thank you."

His grumpiness was quickly forgotten when Fluttershy flew up and kissed his cheek.

"So," Fluttershy eagerly began, "are you feeling hungry at all? I just got back from the store, and it's getting close to dinner, so I can make us something nice to eat if you want."

"Thank you, Fluttershy. I suppose I could use a bite to eat," he said, watching as Fluttershy grabbed her saddlebag and make her way into the kitchen with a small sway in her hips. ".. and maybe even some dessert afterwards."





The following day came around, and with it, the day of the picnic. Over in the fields outside of Ponyville, Sol, Twilight, and their friends had set up their picnic spot beneath the tree by the swimming hole. Even Spike and Rarity were there, both of whom were being given a death glare from Twilight for what they did to her library bedroom. But, before they could get started in earnest, they had to wait for Fluttershy, who was running unusually late.

"I'm telling you, if you'd let me go get her, we can get this started. I'm hungry," Rainbow said.

"Just be patient, Rainbow," Starlight told her. "Fluttershy will be here soon."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because she's already here," Pinkie said, pointing to a yellow form flying towards them in the distance.

A minute later, Fluttershy landed by the picnic blanket with a basket in her mouth.

"I'm sorry, everypony," she apologized, opening the basket and pulling out the food contained within. "Angel Bunny was throwing one of his fits today, so I had to calm him down before I could leave."

"It's alright, Fluttershy," Twilight said, approaching her yellow friend and giving her a hug. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too," Fluttershy said, hugging her back. A moment later, she let go of Twilight with a look of unease. "Um, Twilight?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"We... may have a small problem on our hooves."

"A problem? Like what?"

Fluttershy gulped. "It's Discord. He's back from his trip."

Twilight's face paled. "You're kidding."

"I'm sorry. I had meant to tell you last night, but I was just so happy to have him back, and after we ate dinner together, I got a bit distracted and completely forgot about Sol."

"Well, where is he now?"

"You see, that's the thing. He's-"

"Hello, everypony!"

"... here."

In a flash of light, Discord appeared before the collective group of friends with a big smile on his face.

"Ah, it's so good to see everypony again!" he said, extending his arms around everypony and wrapping the seven of them in a large hug. Eventually, his eyes fell on Spike. "Is that you, Spike? Wow. You've grown up quite a bit since the last time I saw you. What has Twilight been feeding you?"

Spike chuckled at the compliment. "Thanks. It's good to see you too, Discord. Hopefully now that you're back, we can continue our Ogres and Oubliettes campaign."

"Oh, you have no idea how much I missed it. And to think, I didn't think I would like it at first."

"I know, right?"

Laughing with Spike, Discord put his pony friends back down and looked at Twilight expectantly, who wore a look of worry on her face.

"Now, Twilight, as I understand it, a little birdy told me that you have found yourself a coltfriend," he eagerly said. "So, who's the lucky stallion?"

Before she could say anything, Discord's fur stood on end as he felt the ground beneath him begin to quake, along with a familiar source of power growing directly behind him. Slowly, he turned to look at the source of this power. When he did, he froze as his eyes met with Sol's, the latter's pupils shrinking to pinpricks in rage, while the former's widened in fear.

"... oh, po-"

"TRAITOR!"

With a rush of magic flowing from Sol, multiple stone spikes erupted from the ground, each aimed at Discord with the intent of impaling him. With a startled yelp, Discord contorted his serpentine body to avoid the deadly stone spikes, but he wasn't quite fast enough and winced as his right forearm ended getting cut by one of them. Flying up, Discord snapped his paw with the intent of incapacitating Sol by turning him into a tortoise. However, much to his surprise and fear, he felt his magic become nullified as it made contact with Sol, causing a new wave of fear and worry to wash over him. Now feeling in a serious amount of danger, Discord turned tail to try and fly away, only to halt in place as a large pillar of light shot down from the sky in front of him, missing him by mere inches.

"DISCORD! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY FATHER! GET BACK HERE!!!"