Chem slowly reawakens to the sound of knocking. He blinks, and yawned as Ordirus speaks from the other side of the door, “Chem, are you awake?”
Chem sits up, “I am now.”
Ordirus speaks once more, “May I come in?”
Chem nods, “Your castle, Ordirus.”
The door opens, and Ordirus smiles at Chem, “I hope your sleep was well. Sombra made sure to keep your dreams clear of any nightmares.”
Chem smiles, “Well, for my first sleep ever, I’d rate it pretty high.”
Ordirus nods, “Well, I hope you are hungry. Breakfast is fresh and ready.”
Chem slowly stands from his bed, moving over to Ordirus, “Once again, I can only thank you for taking me in.”
Ordirus grins, and begins to trot down the stone hallway, “You need not thank me, it is my pleasure to welcome another into my home.”
Chem follows after, “Well, I want to thank you. Who knows what those ponies would have done to me?”
Ordirus shakes his head, “Fear not the common pony, Chem. They are a paranoid bunch, but they should hopefully accept us given time. But the Minotaur hunt our kind, and Diamond Dogs wish to take us as slaves.”
Chem pauses, and shakes his head, “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Ordirus looks back, “You are but a colt, Chem. While I have no doubt of your intentions, I do hold doubt of your skills. Even I could not defeat Cain, King of Minotaurs.”
Chem moves up to him, “Then train me.”
Ordirus pauses, “Do you know how it would look to everyone if I were to train you as a warrior? It might well turn Satan against us, or the Changelings. We are keepers of the peace, the Harmony, not warriors.”
Chem nods, “Then perhaps Harmony needs to be changed.”
Ordirus turns, and begins to trot once more, “Perhaps, but we have not an alicorn who holds such strength. I can only change Order, Discord can only change Chaos. Harmony remains unassigned.”
Chem sighs, “I just want to help you, to repay you for saving me.”
Ordirus smiles, “You will repay in time, Chem. You are a missing piece in our circle.”
They both trot into a dining room. Sat already at the table is Sombra, Discord, and two fillies.
Ordirus takes his seat on a chair with a circle inscribed into it. Chem moves slowly, sitting next to Sombra, across from the two fillies.
The smaller of the two smiles, “Hi! I’m Luna!”
Chem smiles back, “I’m Chem, Luna.”
The older one nods her head to him, “Greetings, I am Celestia, pleasure to meet you.”
Luna speaks up before Chem can respond, “You know, it’s odd to see one of us as a male, other than daddy.”
Chem looks over at Sombra, “What about him?”
Sombra chuckles, “No, niño, I am no alicorn. Only one horn, cero alas. Crystal is what I am, niño. Umbra, criatura de la sombra.”
Chem nods, “Those weird words you are using, they sound oddly familiar.”
Sombra raises an eyebrow, “Is that so, niño? I don’t even know where they come from, myself. Perhaps your dream had sprinklings of the words I used last noche?”
Chem shrugs, “It just is oddly familiar.”
Luna smirks, “Oh, don’t mind Uncle Sombra’s oddities, we all have them.”
Chem looks back to her, “Really?”
She nods, “Daddy always has to keep a garden somewhere in the castle, Uncle Discord reads cheesy romance novels, Celestia-“
She is quickly interrupted by Celestia, “Luna, it’s not nice to gossip.”
She smiles, “Celestia is easily embarrassed, and a stickler for the rules.”
Celestia shakes her head, “You’d be dead a hundred times over if I weren't here, Luna.”
Luna looks to Chem, “She doesn’t like having fun.”
Celestia looks at her, “Hey, I like having fun! Drinking tea, watching the sun set, reading a good book.”
Luna smirks, “My point has been proven.”
Chem smiles, “It would appear your point is proven.”
Celestia looks over at him, “Oh no, don’t tell me you are going to cause trouble as well.”
Chem smirks, “Hey, Luna, there any dangerous caves or dungeons filled with monsters nearby?”
She nods, “Oh, out in the middle of the forest, there’s a thicket filled with odd creatures.”
Celestia shakes her head, “Luna, we have adventures at home.”
Luna looks to her, “Yeah, because the adventure of hunting down the stray cat is so fun. We’ve scared that cat so much it doesn’t even have fur, let alone the will to fight back.”
Celestia pauses, “Be that as it may, we don’t need to get involved in anything over our heads, lest we drown on our ambitions. Such is what dad would say.”
Ordirus looks up from eating his food, “It is dangerous out there.”
Luna pouts, “But I want to find danger. I want to defeat monsters and rescue damsels!”
Sombra smiles, “Sobrina Luna, your hermana is right. There is much danger out there, too much for you.”
Discord grins, “Oh, you haven’t had fun in so long, Sombra. The world is very dangerous, so we need to be more dangerous.”
Ordirus looks over, “Then our enemies would become stronger in response, until our battles would tear the world asunder.”
Discord nods, “If it means getting rid of Cain, then I would gladly tear the world asunder. He almost killed you, brother.”
Ordirus nods, “Be that as it may, we do not want to kill Cain, for one more powerful will just take his place. We would throw the circle out of balance.”
Discord smiles, “You know that has done nothing but encourage me, right?”
Sombra speaks up, “Silencio, por favor. Chem has just arrived, he does not need to see us arguing.”
After a moment of silence, Luna looks down, “I’m sorry for causing an argument.”
Celestia speaks up, “It’s not your fault, Luna. I am sorry, I should have just gone along with the nature of the conversation.”
Ordirus shakes his head, “There is nopony to blame nor need to apologize. Families have disagreements every so often, as long as we do not act rude or mean it is fine.”
Discord nods, “Yeah, it’s just a tiny difference of opinions.”
Sombra smiles, “Head up, Luna, all is fine.”
She looks up, and smiles slightly, “Good, I don’t want to cause a big argument.”
Ordirus nods, “Now, once we’re done eating, I will show Chem around the castle.”
Chem nods, “I’ll make sure to remember everything.”
Ordirus smiles, “Good. Chem, welcome to your new home.”