//------------------------------//
// Canterlot PT.2 
// Story: Discord's Family Vacation 
// by DraconequusMaximus 
//------------------------------//

Luna trotted into the room casually after her dramatic entrance & used her magic to repair the door. 
"Greetings assorted friends & relations." She said after making sure the door was back in order. "Tia the posted court time has passed, we shall take thy place in the merry making. I have already taken the liberty of properly aligning the moon after lowering the sun."
Celestia merely sighed before looking to the room full of family & friends.
"It seems I must be off, it was good catching up with everyone. We must do this more often." She said before giving Draco & Skyla a hug. Afterward she left obviously not looking forward to court. Luna however was overjoyed to be away from the stuffy nobles. 
"It is so good to see you all, we have been finding it increasingly dull as of late. There is little to no strife in the land & ponies are growing fat & complacent as of late. It is a welcomed relief from the stuffy nobles we have to deal with on a daily basis as well." Luna said walking to the center of the room. The group chatted for awhile but as the clock rang out Luna adopted a serious expression.
"Draco, Twilight, & Shining Armor, I believe the time has come for us to adjourn to the war room. The hour grows later still & time is of the essence!" She said in a tone just short of the royal Canterlot voice. The three stood at attention & saluted.
Discord began laughing, while Cadence rolled her eyes & Spike just nodded his consent to Draco. Luna motioned for the the party in question to follow her. The group walked (or floated) behind Luna, she led them down into the deepest parts the castle. They were farther down than any of the dungeons, the group eventually came to a door made of dark black metal, it had no knob, handle or markings save for a white crescent moon in the center. Luna motioned for the group to wait behind her she stood before the door & spoke.
"luna in aliquet copia"

The door slid upward with a great rumble. Draco always loved this part. Shining was still confused by the string of foreign words, Twilight had translated for him once but she had to off been wrong.
"Hey Luna? What does that mean?" He asked hoping to get a real answer. Luna smiled at him.
"It's an inside joke between Tia & I, don't worry about it." She said before leading them inside.
Luna's "War Room" was actually her personal lounge that not even Celestia could access. The walls were midnight blue, & the carpets were a deep black & were extraordinarily plush. The main room had a wrap around sofa that was a deep purple, it was complete with cup holders & had heating & vibrating settings for each individual seat. The television was larger than most movie theaters & took up an entire wall, Luna said it had been made in Neighpon on her request. She had every video game system you could think of & a few you'd never heard of. The next room was full of pinball machines, a slurpee maker, a cotton candy maker, & a nacho cheese fountain. The next room was full of collectibles of all shapes & sizes, no reproductions, all originals or props. Then was another room full of filing cabinets full of comic books in sleeves, all first prints in mint. The last room was mostly empty save for a good sized round, black marble table. Around the table were hooks on walls behind each of the four chairs with costumes on them. Each of them took their proper place & donned their attire. Twilight a fancier version of her Star Swirl The Bearded outfit minus the beard in her own colors, & a beautiful wood staff with a crystal wrapped in it's branched top. Shining Armor wore intricate gold & silver armor complete with a claymore fitted to the back. Luna herself wore Leather padding decorated with bones & metal patches & had a truly frightening spiked war hammer at her side. Draco wore a black robe that shaded his face & enchanted his eyes to glow red while the hood was up, he was sitting in a particularly detailed chair seemingly made of bones & horns of various creatures. They were ready.
"Remind me again how you afforded this gaming sanctum & collectibles & all." Twilight said looking over to Luna.
"Tia is the diplomat & mother of our nation, whilst we are the military mind & financial wizard. We had a bank account with hefty interest made before we became the Nightmare, it was a fortune then but after a thousand years it is truly staggering. Tia has no idea that we are worth roughly a hundred times what she is." Luna said setting up the maps & handing everyone their character sheets. Draco was also given the necessary accoutrements for his role, including a bag of dice."Now then mighty dungeon master, we desire a quest worthy of legend!" Luna said looking to Draco.
Draco cracked his knuckles & smiled evilly with his illusionairy hood over his head, making him seem fairly menacing.
"The barbarian Night Bringer, The Nameless Mage of Meadowdale & The Paladin Shining Light continue their adventure when they find themselves in a fog. Magic is seen through the haze before the trio find themselves whisked away to a dark cavern. Before you lies the dreaded dungeon of the undead sorcerer Malacarcha. It is surely filled with his diamond dog servants & numerous traps, but the reward will most certainly be worth your troubles. Does your party dare venture into the den of the greatest evil in all the Shadow Lands?" Draco asks the other costumed players.
"It would besmirch the honor of my house to turn down a chance to rid the world of such evil." Shining said pounding a hoof to the table.
"Barbarians never turn down the thrill of the fight!" Shouted Luna as she raised the hammer to the air with her magic.
"We know the risks, we shall not stray from danger so long as darkness threatens the world of Achera" Twilight said striking the staff on the ground activating the crystal light."
"Very well. The door opens revealing two guards sleeping on the other side, one holds a ring of many keys. They could aid you greatly later on, will you try & take them?" Draco asked the group.
"I cast a spell of stealth to aid me in taking them without awakening the guards." Twilight said. Draco rolled a twenty sided dice behind the partition he set up, separating him from the group.
"The guards awaken! Battle is imminent!"


Meanwhile


Cadence, Discord, & Spike were sitting in Celestia's study. Discord had made drinks for everyone, as Skyla had decided to go back to her room to listen to Vinyl Scratch's new album. Cadence was having a changeling mead, a specialty of the Chimera Kingdom at Spike's insistence. She hated to admit it, but drinking alcohol made from love was probably one of the best feelings she had ever experienced. She was still wary of changelings since her previous experience. Discord was drinking something that seemed to be steaming, he called it "pan galactic gargle blaster" & said it was like having your brain smashed out by a lemon wrapped around a solid gold brick. When asked what was in it he simply replied: "I could tell you but I forgot as soon as I drank one, I just make them with magic now." This led the others to decline his offers to make them their own. Spike stuck with his favorite peppermint schnapps, it had become a sentimental thing for him.   
"So little Draco's really growing up quickly isn't he?" Cadence asked the proud parents. "He's a little bigger than you were at that age, huh Spike?"
Spike thought on that for a minute.
"Yeah, I suppose he is. He's definitely smarter than I was at that age, plus his crazy powers certainly make things interesting. I have trouble sleeping sometimes you know? I mean he's an amazing child, & I couldn't think of anything I'd rather be than his father, but sometimes I think he's not gonna need me for anything after awhile." Spike said before taking a mighty drink from his bottle. Dragons could process alcohol exceptionally well, so he never worried about getting drunk & Discord could only get drunk if he magically allowed himself to. Cadence stopped at three glasses of the mead. Discord looked over at him with a sad expression.
"Spike, you know our son would never up & leave us even if he had learned everything we had to teach." Discord said almost hurt that Spike would think such a thing.
"Discord's right, believe me. You may not be a typical family by any means, but you three have a great bond & you go well together. Spike, you're the serious one. Discord, you inject comedy into situations & keep things interesting. & little Draco is a literal & figurative mix of the two of you. He has a wonderful personality & always wants to learn, & he's not all work or all play. You love each other just as much as anyone I've ever met, & that's my department even. I've seen you fight, but conflict is necessary to grow. You three will be together forever, even if Draco decides to wander eventually he'll be back." Cadence said resting a hoof on Spike's clawed hand.
After that Spike's stress seemed to melt away, hearing you had a wonderful family from the goddess of love was pretty reassuring. The group talked about embarrassing things about those not present, that would have had them blushing for hours if they had been. Discord talked about the Hearts & Hooves day myth with Cadence who didn't know what to say to him in response. Spike changed the subject for her when he asked what they could get Skyla for her upcoming birthday. After several more hours & twice as many bottles of schnapps the conquering heroes returned.
"We're back." Draco said obviously annoyed before landing on Discord's head in his typical fashion.
"Something wrong?" Spike asked his son as he put all the bottles into a recyclables bin Discord had conjured.
"Luna had a string of bad rolls & took it out on the table." Twilight said trotting into the room with Shining following behind.
"We had to stop there, for obvious reasons." Shining said still wearing his armor & claymore.
"Shining, you are not taking the armor home with us We go through this every time you four play Oubliettes & Ogres." Cadence said looking him over with an annoyed expression.
"But it's so cool!" Shining said acting like a foal arguing with his mother.
"Go put it back Shining." Cadence said still frustrated.
"I don't know the password to get back into the gaming sanctum." Shining said as an excuse & honestly. Discord took it upon himself to snap his fingers stripping Shining of the armor.
"Done, & I fixed the table too." Discord said looking over to Cadence.
"Thank you, at least somepony can act their age once in awhile." She said looking from Discord back to her husband.
"If Papa acted his age he'd be a pile of dust." Draco said giggling. Everyone had a good laugh at this, even Discord. While they were laughing it up Luna teleported into the room. She looked over everyone in confusion.
"Did we miss something?" She said, feeling left out.
"Discord just got called out for being ancient." Spike said putting his arm around his husband.
"Ah yes, we feel odd knowing that we are actually only the third oldest in the castle at the moment." Luna said chuckling a little.
"Well excuse me for being old, see if I fix anymore tables for you." Discord said turning his nose up in mock annoyance.
"Oh, yes. Thank thee for that, that was black Istallion marble. That would have set us back a few bits for certain." Luna said genuinely grateful. The clock struck midnight before anyone could say anything else.
"Well, it's definitely past someone's bedtime." Spike said collecting his son from between Discord's antler & horn. Draco yawned in acknowledgement, not even bothering to fight it. He was merely grateful he had been able to play dungeon master again. 
Draco remained conscious long enough to say his goodbyes to his family before they headed back to the throne room that held the telepad. Everyone saw them off as they stood on the platform. The last thing Draco saw before slipping into sleep's gentle embrace was the smiling faces of his family. Their vacation had truly been an interesting & enjoyable experience. They had another day to go, but it was to be a day to rest & relax before their lives settled back into a degree of normalcy. Though there had been a few scares along the way, their family was definitely stronger than the previous week.