The main six had everything set up once more for their therapy sessions. So far it was going extremely well. Most of the time Twilight talked but her friends opened up too. Every pony was surprised when Pinkie brought up 'Pinkie Pie you're so random.' Not because she brought it up but because it bothered her so much, so they stopped doing that. Of course, it was very awkward, sometimes even after the meetings had finished but that awkwardness would eventually pass as they ended up laughing it off. The hardest part was opening up in the first place that's why Twilight gave everyone two glasses of wine and no more. The point wasn't to get trashed, it was to relax, get comfortable.
So with the glasses poured and the main six seated around the table in Twilight's living room they waited to see if Discord and Sombra would show up. They usually bailed. Well, they assumed they bailed, since the main six were always told that Discord and Sombra were too busy, either by word of mouth or by parchment. The main six suspected there were other reasons. That's why Twilight sighed to herself and blew the whistle she carried around her neck. They had to come at some point. Now was that point.
"Hello, Twilight." Sombra greeted as he suddenly appeared in Twilight's living room, curious as to why he was called her.
"Hey Twi what's going on?" Discord asked following right behind Sombra, wondering why he had been called here. Maybe she wanted to have some more fun. He hoped so.
"Sit down, join us for our therapy session. I'm sorry but I can't help but feel like you're avoiding them. So sit down, let's talk." Twilight said as she motioned to two empty chairs. She watched with a smile as Discord and Sombra quickly sat down.
"Yes, we have been avoiding them but for a good reason. I don't have anything to say. Discord and I are pretty happy these days. Soooooo, meeting over?" Sombra said as he picked up a glass of wine and sipped it, red wine, his favorite.
Discord picked Sombra up, careful not to spill the drink he had in his magic, and carried him how he would many ponies. "Yeah, agreed. There isn't much to say. Is there something that has been bothering you? You're the ones that keep insisting we come to these."
"Why do you do that?" Rarity asked, "pick up ponies. Why do you pick up ponies? I've always been curious if you had a reason or if you just did it to do it." She personally felt as if he had a reason, especially after spending so much time with him as her model.
"Excuse me?" Discord's heartbeat increased, he had to tell them at some point. Yeah, Cadence, Spear, Shining, and Ivy knew. Discord and Sombra never explicitly told the elements so they had no idea. He didn't think he had to, no, more like he was nervous too. He hated seeming like he was weak. Even now, it was still something he struggled with. Like being straight forward.
"Picking up ponies," Pinkie clarified, this bothered her too ever since Sombra had started his reformation. He was so strictly no touch. "especially Sombra. He hated touch when he met him. He's better now, hugs and hoof shakes. But why, why did he allow you to pick him up, and why do you pick us up?" Pinkie Pie added she loved touching things, everything. She wanted to understand her friends. Why did Sombra avoid touch for so long? She knew it wasn't her from talking to Sombra, so why?
"Oh...I guess we could tell you. Our other friends know and that went well." Sombra said as he looked back at Discord who nodded yes. "Our reasons have changed though, well mostly. There are rare occurrences. Discord picks ponies up due to his time in stone. He wasn't always sure he left, so he picks ponies up, when he was in stone he couldn't do that. The visions would disappear when he tried to. Probably due to his powers being what they are, but that is now a very rare thing. Despite his demeanor, he's a pretty anxious creature, so that, and he just likes doing it."
"I was frozen in ice. I sometimes get the feeling I'm still there, in ice. Discord is very warm, like a weighted blanket. Also, my aversion to touch has nothing to do with affection. Well, sometimes it's too much, but it's more the texture. Discord is like a blanket most creatures I touch are greasier, or rough in the wrong way. Also, it's just very comfortable. As for why we became evil, I caved to temptation. Discord.....I guess you could say he caved to his own powers but that is all we will ever say on the matter." Sombra explained calmly, they were still working on telling Cadence everything. They wanted to tell her first, before any other creature. They knew no matter what she would still love them, other creatures were a lot riskier.
"Oh....we...had no idea," Twilight said with surprise, though the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Who wouldn't be affected after a thousand years in stone? It made her think of Cozy Glow, she was just a child, and she was stuck in that. So were two others, they may have earned it but that didn't mean they deserved it.
"Why... is Sombra talking for you Discord?" Rainbow Dash asked noting that her friend had been completely silent, a thing he didn't really do all that often.
"Straightforward isn't really my thang, I make a lot of jokes and you wouldn't be able to tell when I was being serious, so it's best if he talks. Doesn't super matter anymore anyway. The past is the past. Any more questions?" Discord replied, doing his best to be as straightforward as he could. He also tried his best to get the conversation over with, it was truly uncomfortable for him.
"Of course it matters, we care," Twilight stated, making sure that they knew that they were their friends, and their friends loved them.
"I have more questions! How long have you known each other? How old are you? When are your birthdays? I just sort of gave you one since you never said anything." Pinkie Pie rambled, she had been wanting to ask these things for a long time. She tried to before, but always got shot down, now was the time.
"Uhhh how long have we known each other?" Sombra asked Discord, a pondering expression covered his muzzle. He tried to remember, he really did.
"I'm not sure...." Discord said as he sported a similar expression as he tried to think about how long it had been.
"Do....do we know how old we are?" Sombra asked hesitantly as a feeling of dread washed over him. How much time had passed them by?
"Uh, we spent a thousand years trapped, so at least a thousand." Discord said, how old was he? How long had it been? "At least as long as Celestia has been alive I think we were late teens when Celestia rose to power. She was what, 12? How long has she been ruling?"
"I don't know, nor do I remember my birthday. I had one at some point, I think." Sombra said as he stared into the map, hoping that maybe looking at it would jog his memory in any capacity.
"I don't even know mine, so I guess you could argue we were never born." Discord joked and laughed at his own joke causing Sombra to laugh too. "We're sooooo helpful, packed with knowledge." Together, they snickered.
That's when it hit her, Discord's comedy wasn't just for show. It was a coping mechanism. A heavyweight fell onto her shoulders, how many of his jokes were jokes? All that, brushed away, they could have been cries for help. Cries that went unheard. He told so many of them over the years she had known him. It would be impossible to remember them all, but maybe if they worked hard enough they could remember a good chunk. That was something Twilight was going to do later, with the help of her friends of course. For now, there was something she wanted to know.
"Who are your parents?" Twilight dared to ask, surprising every creature in that room. Though what happened after that was even more surprising. Sombra never looked afraid, Discord never looked ashamed. The elements had only seen them that way very few times.
"We...we will not bring that up," Sombra stated, his heart beating in his ears, that's how nervous he was right now.
"But-" Twilight started.
"No, I do believe we had enough questions for today. Look do you wish to talk about your mental breakdown Twilight? You all have something you wish to not talk about, even here. We do too, it's this. We don't have anything to say besides asking you to respect that. We will not bring up what we don't want to." Sombra snapped at them, purple poured from his eyes. It was clear they hit a nerve as old flickers of a well dead king were ever so briefly seen in his angry demeanor.
"I'm sorry," Twilight said as she looked off to the side. It had been so long since she had seen him behave like that, whatever happened must have been bad. If that wasn't bad enough Discord was just completely silent, the familiar air of a well dead lord washed over him. Twilight realized, she messed up.
"It's fine, drop it. I think we will be going back home now. It was nice to see you all." Sombra said as Discord teleported them away without saying another word.
"Well that was somethin'," Applejack stated not sure what to make of what just happened.
"Well, I think we have upset them enough for one day. They know they have a place here if they need it." Twilight stated, "that being said we should talk about Crystalis, Cozy and Tyrik."
"You know it's really annoying to just keep saying their names all the time. Just call em what every other creature calls them. Doom Trio." Rainbow stated as she flew in small circles above her chair.